#great thriller top tier

[ken-katayanagi]

It’s What’s Inside is a solid 4.5/5 for me because I actually didn’t play Cookie Run during it and I took out a piece of paper to write notes. - .5 for being mean to Brooke.

[myusuchaa]

ikemen villains: my recs and route/suitor rankings ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

disclaimer: these are my opinions based on the current released routes in both ENG and JP. i tend to love dark psych thrillers, lots of angst and pining, great banter between characters/lively convos, and a captivating plot, so that's what influences my ranks~ will update with future releases

figured I’d post my thoughts here!! in case anyone is a bit newer to ikevil and is curious OR if anyone has similar interests as me I’d love to squeal about them with you!! ♡

₊˚ପ⊹ROUTE RANKINGS

rank is based on: written flow, plot, descriptive language and emotional pull, uniqueness

1. Elbert

2. Alfons

3. Roger

4. Ellis

5. William

6. Liam

7. Harrison

₊˚ପ⊹SUITOR RANKINGS

rank is based on: how much I fell for them, their likability, personality traits, inner monologues from his side stories, overall character story, their interactions with others

1. Elbert

2. Alfons

3. Ellis

4. Liam

5. Roger

6. Harrison

7. William

₊˚ପ⊹ROUTE RELEASE TIMELINE

Beginning trio (JP/ENG): William, Liam, Harrison

Aug. 1st (JP/ENG): Elbert

Nov. 14th (JP): Alfons

Mar. 19th (JP): Ellis

Jul. 23rd (JP): Roger

my thoughts & recs on each suitor's route (no spoilers)

William: such an interesting take on love. maybe because of his curse but his route is up there with feeling the most historical, period-piece fantasy like (along with elbie and roger imo). he's a very unique LI i honestly felt like his route would do well as a 3 episode anime OVA ヾ( ˃ᴗ˂ )◞ i recommend him if you like a more undefined approach to love, contractual partnership, mature and refined guys and not-so-innocent MC's

Liam: a precious bb ahh, and his VA is so amazing at emotional inflections! liam really shines in being attentive to kate and to the other crown members, i loved how he treated her in his route. i recommend if you don't mind self-deprecating guys, if you like drama and whirlwind romance, and if you enjoy a relationship built on assurance.

Harrison: the best soft opening to ikevil imo. quite a tame route with very real world problems as opposed to dark fantasy. if anyone stays true to his self, it's harry! he has some funny one liners too lol. i recommend him if you like intelligent sarcastic LIs, you like noir crime vibes, and if you don't want a heavy read.

Elbert: i mean he is my oshi for a reason! every time i read his route i fall more in deep love.. the localization team did an amazing job w the translation. i think his POV stories are the best. they add so much to his qualities and i feel really boosts his story. i recommend his route if you love yearning, emotional understanding, tragedy, dark psych thrillers, and slow (but dramatic) burn stories

Alfons: i used to hate him with a passion... until i loved him. his route truly is the definition of "fuck around and find out" keeping you on your toes. i loved the depth he has and how dubious they made him. i recommend his route if you like word/roleplay, morally grey characters, if you like having to guess at things without ever being told the answer, and a "we shouldn't be doing this but.." kinda feeling

Ellis: this man had me doing mental gymnastics to understand his true motives and i looooved that. visuals are also top tier. what i noticed is his route really focuses on his time with kate and has a bit more of a mundane (as mundane can be in ikevil) plot compared to other routes. this let his interactions with kate shine. i recommend ellis if you like hidden duality in a suitor, puppy boys that will do anything for you, a love that feels like a warm blanket, and you're ok with no real character growth (conditional love)

Roger: honestly i put off his route cus i wasn't interested at first but by the third chapter i was like WOW this is a breath of fresh air. the writers showed UP for part 2, i love the new plot points introduced, and his interactions with kate are sooo good. i loved his letters too! i ended up finding him extremely supporting and with a slight gap moe which kept me interested. i recommend this route if you like stories that are plot AND character driven, back and forth banter between MC and LI, and a shojou traditional charismatic love!

[minsarasarahair]

If I have to rank my fave Trump stageplay I have seen...

1. Verachicca - Top Tier cast and music. Well, this is one of the latest one so understandable it has the best quality. Like I feel even side characters are great singers? How did they find so many good actors for this one? I find everyone likable. I like the plot and bittersweet ending too. Nora Verachicca deserve everything in the world. She's such a queen. It made me imagine a FataMoru stageplay. Better to watch this last.

2. Cocoon - As a fan of MDZS Yunmeng Shuangjie, I love Raphael Delico and Angelico Fra's doomed friendship. But I think you'll not able to enjoy it without watching the 1st Trump Stage and Grand Guignol because this explore the nuance of what actually transpired to the supporting characters in the 1st stage. Its a retelling of the story highlighting the supporting character's motivation and feelings. Sure, it softer the characters but it don't really excuse their actions. It just tell you that they are flawed and not downright evil. Despite knowing what's going to happen and not musical, it give you this silent despair that you can't do anything to change their ending so it will hit you hard when you hear "someone" screamed.

3. Grand Guignol - Because Gerhard is here lol jk He's pretty! This stageplay reminds me my love for TsukiSta or KuroMyu. Very basic and easy to consume. I think this stage is actually a good choice as first stage to watch in Trump series because I believe I will never be that interested if I watch the actual first stage. I'm not a big fan of Sophie Anderson's character just like how I'm not a fan of TGCF Xie Lian. I don't mind the character but they are just not my type? I have my preference. This stage will make you ship Dali and Gerhard more. I also like Dali Delico, Kiki and Frida Delico here. This is the story before Delico's Nursery about the death of their wives and promise. I say even if it has sad scenes I still think it has a more hopeful ending compare to 1st stage.

Notable Mention: Lilium - Doomed Lesbians. Psychological Thriller? This is a good watch even if you haven't watch any of other stageplay but I don't think it will make you watch the other stageplays in Trump series because just like I said its fine if you only watch this. Its like a one shot story. These girls deserve the world. The plot is quite similar to TRUMP stageplay(1st one) but with psychological twist and girls edition. Musical too!

[gemsofgreece]

recs for a beginner in greek? my interest is spurred via ancient greek, but i'm sure there are tons of tv shows and films that i'm missing out on

Do you mean Greek course recs? Or media recs? Couldn't tell.

If this is about courses, right now Duolingo is the one I would recommend the most for beginning up to reaching a low intermediate level.

Tons would be... an overstatement haha I do have some good recs though. You can watch all content in ERTFLIX, the ott platform of the Greek state TV channels, which is entirely for free and available worldwide. The TV series I personally recommend there is Καρτ Ποστάλ (Card Postal), it is gorgeous, introspective, philosophical. Then there is another famous show there, Κάνε ότι κοιμάσαι (Pretend you are asleep), which is crime / mystery / thriller, but I haven't watched it. A lot of people also love Τα καλύτερα μας χρόνια (Our best years), which is a family / period show set in the 60s-70s. I haven't watched this one either. Another personal rec would be Αγάπη παράνομη (Unlawful love), which is based on an old novel, but it gets very dark in a realistic way, so that's something you should know. Other than that, ERTFLIX also has foreign content with Greek subtitles, with which you could practice. And it has great Greek documentaries.

You could watch Maestro in Blue on Netflix. Season 2 will be out this spring! Beautiful show, fantastic performances, great music.

There's also a man, George, who has been making English subtitles for various classic Greek series, comedies and dramas, including top tier Είσαι το ταίρι μου (You are my soulmate), a hugely clever and unusual rom-com, Στο παρά πέντε (In the nick of time), a crime and mystery comedy which is considered one of the two best Greek comedies ever and must have the thickest plot I have seen in a comedy (very popular show with the Greek tumblrs here) and OF COURSE ΤΟ ΝΗΣΙ ΑΚΑ THE ISLAND, a drama which is the best Greek series to date and for which I have entirely normal reactions. Here I link the post I had made about George's platform.

If you don't care to have subtitles at all you can find these shows and many others in DailyMotion and especially the website greek-movies.com. (this needs vpn, you know). This one has it all. Literally all, including the classics, classic Greek cinema of the 50s-60s-70s was by far the best era.

I am currently watching Η Μάγισσα (The Witch). There are some talks that it could go to some international streaming platform after it ends but you can watch it in the aforementioned website anyway without subtitles. I love this show, it's semi-daily, so this season will have 70 episodes, and obviously it comes with the limitations of daily shows, but as semi-daily shows go, it is bloody fantastic, I am obsessed right now.

YouTube also has a lot of old Greek series. The first thing you should do after starting any Modern Greek course is to start watching Κωνσταντίνου και Ελένης (Constantine and Helen's) on youtube, the best Greek comedy, or maybe the best comedy in the universe, with only slight exaggeration 😜😇 The aforementioned Είσαι το ταίρι μου, is also available on youtube with George's subtitles.

Some additional links of older posts to check:

10 best animated movies to watch in Greek (foreign ones with great Greek dubs)

My favourite Greek movies

Check my #greek tv series and #greek movies tags for more.

[wondereads]

WLW Book Recommendations

Happy Pride!

Recommendations are under the cut due to the size of this post. The books listed below are:

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Crier’s War by Nina Varela

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett

Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-Iyimide

Seven Devils by L. R. Lam and Elizabeth May

Malice by Heather Walter

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (high fantasy)

Yes, this book is a monster, but it is well worth your time. Told from multiple perspectives spanning a huge fantasy world, an ancient evil is waking up, and humans must be prepared. This book does a great job of blending many different cultures into one narrative, and the way it deals with organized religion is better than any other book I've ever read. While this is a fantasy over a romance, the sapphic relationship in this book is top tier. It develops slowly and naturally; it's not big and sweeping like a lot of romance in fantasy, but the smaller things really come through.

Crier's War by Nina Varela (high fantasy)

In a fantasy world, humans are ruled over by automae, artificial beings that were initially created by humans but have now taken over as the 'superior' beings. Ayla's family was killed by the king, and she vows to take revenge by killing his own family, his only daughter, Lady Crier. I find the history of the automae very interesting in this book, and Crier's story in particular has a lot of good reveals. While this is an intense high fantasy, there is a bit of humor in it. Told from both Ayla and Crier's perspectives, I find it incredibly funny that a human girl is scheming how to assassinate a princess while said princess is experiencing her first crush on said human girl.

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri (high fantasy)

This book is set in a world inspired by ancient India, and tells the story of a maidservant and princess. The maidservant has a dark past that involves illegal magic and old societies, and the princess has been imprisoned by her cruel and despotic brother. This book is very much on the slower side, but some people prefer that. Similar to Priory, this book is told from multiple points of view, not just the two main characters. The unrest in the kingdom is slow and creeping but happens steadily and realistically. Also, concerning the romance, I actually quite like that the two main characters, Priya and Malini, don't exactly have a very healthy relationship.

The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett (high fantasy)

One of my favorite books, The Winter Duke is about Ekata, one of the many children of the duchy of Kylma Above. All she wants to do is leave this place and her family to pursue her dreams of scholarship, but when her family falls into a permanent sleep the day before her departure, she must step up to rule. As someone who loves political fantasy, this book is right up my alley, and yours too as long as that's something you like. I really like that this book explicitly states that Ekata has zero interest in men romantically and is only interested in women. Her romance with Inkhar definitely brings out the YA aspects of this book. Ekata is forced to grow up so quickly, it's nice to see her have a crush and get flustered over it like any teenage girl.

Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-Iyimide (mystery thriller)

At a predominately white private school, the only two Black students are targeted by an anonymous texter, Aces. Though they have nothing in common, they team up in order to uncover Aces and protect their secrets. Plot wise, this is by far my favorite thriller I've ever read. It's tense, it'll keep you on the edge of your seat, and it discusses institutionalized racism, especially in academia, masterfully. One of the main characters, Chiamaka, has a great sideplot of coming to terms with her sexuality. However, when it comes between her safety and her romance, I love that she keeps a level head on her shoulders and always chooses the former. (There is also MLM rep in this book with the other POV character.)

Seven Devils by L. R. Lam and Elizabeth May (space opera sci-fi)

An intergalactic empire spreads across the universe, and it's up to a ragtag group of rebels to stop it. Eris was once heir to the entire empire, but she gave that up to be part of the Resistance, and one mission may be the deciding factor in the universe's continued freedom. While Eris is technically the main character, this is fundamentally an ensemble cast with multiple perspectives. This book has quite a bit of LGBTQ+ representation, including a sapphic relationship between two of the POV characters. While not a huge focus of the book, their relationship is sweet and touching.

Malice by Heather Walter (high fantasy)

Malice is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty following Alyce, the Dark Grace, who is reviled but used by all in the kingdom of Briar. Alyce dreams of escaping Briar until she starts to master her powers and meets the Princess Aurora. I will admit that I prefer the plot to the romance in this book for the most part, but the ending really gets me sometimes. Alyce's powers and her people's history are so interesting, and Aurora is a great, understanding, and kind love interest.

Stay tuned for more pride recommendations all throughout this month!

[knee-stockings]

So I’ve been listening to lots of podcasts at work lately to break up the monotony of my office job. Mainly they’re horror, suspense/thriller, drama, that kind of thing. Trying to give ratings without spoilers~

(Check out updated pod recs here)

The Left Right Game (a journalist investigating an urban legend that gets increasingly more dangerous as they go): 5/5, this being one of the first ones I listened to set the bar really high tbh, it was great, immersive sound design, genuinely suspenseful and creepy moments, interesting plot, my only gripe is that I didn’t love the ending but I couldn’t dock a star just for that, highly recommend, maybe I’ll retire to Wintry Bay someday 

Alice Isn’t Dead (delivery trucker goes searching for her believed dead wife, comes across supernatural towns and creatures and a conspiracy that goes way deeper than one missing woman): 5/5, so so good, enjoyed a lot, I loved learning the truth about the Thistle men, still don’t completely understand oracles but that’s okay, some delightfully creepy moments, this will be high on my recommendation list (also it’s by the Welcome to Night Vale people, which I actually haven’t listened to lmao)

Harley Quinn and the Joker: Sound Mind (it’s a Harley Quinn origin story basically): 5/5, very enjoyable, sound design great, plot was fun, I don’t know how accurate this story is to the original Harley Quinn origin story but I liked this a lot

The Burned Photo (two women try to fight a familial curse haunting their bloodlines): 4/5, not bad at all, I thought the sound design was great and immersive but I thought the monster’s voice was a bit goofy idk, the plot wasn’t bad though ofc it was pretty bittersweet and sad in the end, tho I think it was never going to be happy for everyone involved

Blackwood (group of teens investigate the town urban legend and uncover more than they bargained for): I can’t decide…3.5 maybe? It was okay. I didn’t love it or hate it, I’m pretty neutral about it. It was interesting enough

Gaslight (girl goes missing and then reappears to her best friend years later with little explanation): 3/5, feels like there should be another season, wasn’t as dramatic/suspenseful as I thought it would be (maybe that’s my own fault tho, from the description and stuff I thought there would be more to it)

Ice-Cream (teens suspect the friendly neighborhood ice cream man of abducting little kids and uncover a dark secret): 4.5/5, interesting and a lil creepy, there’s something oddly funny about hearing someone scream “fuck you Beelzebub” even in context, sound design is pretty good and voice acting is great, finale was also pretty good but I’m docking half a star bc of that very last bit and bc I said so, overall short n’ sweet, no pun intendo (I’m kinda glad that it’s only the one season and not super long, gives the feeling of not overstaying its welcome. Also in awe that they made it within like a month, gonna go listen to their other podcast Cascadia too)

Cascadia (submarine expedition to uncharted waters, gone wrong, we almost died!?): 5/5, by the Ice-Cream people so I expected great sound design and voice acting and said expectations were met tbh, yes god love the drama, ocean depths are inherently scary to me so this is top tier horror, season one was chef’s kiss beautiful and I heard season 2 is coming so I’ll be waiting eagerly for that

Listening now:

Within the Wires (season 1 is relaxation cassette tapes from another world, season 2 is a guided museum tour I think): also by the WTNV people, interesting so far, the plot that unfolded in the first season was cool to watch as it played out, but also I am so sad. I like it so far

Rabbits (girl goes searching for her friend who disappeared because of this mysterious Rabbits game): feels like a really slow start after a few episodes, I kinda wanna get to more action soon please

Wake of Corrosion (apocalypse where characters are trying to find other survivors and also answers): mild shrug, not sure what to make of it just yet. Only like 2 episodes in so I think I need to give it a bit

Ars Paradoxica (scientist accidentally invents time travel and is thrown back to the 1940s): pretty interesting so far, science is fun 

Spoiler comment for Cascadia under the cut bc it's the one I just finished and I have Thoughts

As much as I enjoyed Cascadia, when I think about the expedition for more than 2 seconds I get confused. Not the whole alien thing, that’s fine, it’s Badger and Maria and their ulterior motives. Why in the world did Badger spend millions of dollars to make a submarine that’s faulty on purpose? And there was so much media coverage around it so the second something went wrong reporters were practically beating him over the head with microphones, so why risk so much bad press? Plus sacrificing three other talented divers who trusted him with their lives??? That’s the most confusing to me. There’s no way Badger foresaw them getting attacked underwater and losing Declan alone, so he must have been fully prepared to lose captain AND crew. Holden said that he saw Badger as a father, and yet he chose Holden to die? He said he handpicked them, so what did Holden, Alia, or Iris ever do to him to deserve being sent on a suicide mission? Doing all this just to get rid of Declan and be with Maria doesn’t feel right. Feels like there should be something more there. Tldr: surely Badger had another reason for conducting the suicide mission, right? Also since season 2 starts with Lila all grown up, a diver just like her father, I wanna know her opinions of her mother and of Badger. Did she learn about her mother’s betrayal? Is Badger still involved in funding deep sea diving or did the FBI take him out of that? Omg who’s the father of her little sibling…I’m so curious…

[fuckyeah-jessicabiel]

Jessica Biel for Elle USA - June 2007

From the moment she appears, Jessica Biel is gracefully deflecting the attention of men. Wearing Roger Vivier white pumps and snug True Religion jeans, her hair tightly pulled back in a ponytail, she walks out of the elevator in the Hotel Gansevoort in New York City's Meatpacking District at a rapid clip, shedding two young men who had the incredible good luck to have ridden down with her. She nods them off nicely as they walk away grinning and no doubt mentally compiling lists of buddies who'll be receiving the following text message: "DUDE! I WAS JUST IN AN ELEVATOR WITH THE SEXIEST WOMAN ALIVE!"

Next in the gauntlet is a Moby-looking scenester with a paunch who descends upon her in Ono, the Gansevoort's bustling, dimly lit Japanese restaurant, introducing him- self as if he's an old friend. The fact that he's wielding a Treo device like a video camera goes unnoticed by Biel, who later refers to said implication as "creepy." She dis- patches him into the darkness with a tight smile and walks through the large restaurant to a back booth, caus- ing a ripple of chopsticks to go still as heads turn.

If the rhythms and rotations of the mass entertainment media complex are to be trusted, we are currently living in Jessica Biel's Big Moment. After getting her foot in the door in 1996 on the show 7th Heaven, the now-25-year- old actress won the hearts and minds of the boys with her badass ability to wield a meat cleaver in the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and a bow and arrow in 2004's Blade: Trinity. Her turn in 2005's Stealth, which bombed (literally), may have gone largely unnoticed, but the trailer highlighting Biel under a waterfall certainly didn't. Then in the fall of 2005, Esquire bestowed on her the magazine's "Sexiest Woman" honorific. Last summer, she deftly skipped over the threshold from hottie to respectable actor with her supple performance as an early-twentieth-century duchess opposite Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti in The Illusionist and since then has become a red-carpet flashbulb magnet, wearing Valentino to the Golden Globes and, to present at the Oscars, a fuchsia halter-top Oscar de la Renta dress that strikingly revealed her toned shoulders.

And yet "it's still a struggle," Biel says, sitting up straight with the alertness of a ninja. Her tan sleeveless Preen turtleneck highlights her muscular arms. "I thought the Esquire cover was going to be really positive for my career," she says. "But it wasn't, really." Biel recalls being told by one director, "I'm not looking for the sexiest woman; I'm looking for the girl next door."

"Parts that I really want aren't going to me," Biel says. "Like The Other Boleyn Girl with Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman." But she stops herself. "I don't want to say that there's nothing I love that I can have. But there's still the occasional script that the director doesn't want to see you for. They want that top tier of girls."

So how does she go from Big Moment to top tier? Gaug- ing from her acting heroes-Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, and Annette Bening (with whom she will costar, along with Sean Bean, in a screen adaptation of Oscar Wilde's play A Woman of No Importance)-it seems she has good taste. And in addition to working with Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore in the recent thriller Next, Biel is finally getting a turn at comedy-something she's been longing for-opposite Adam Sandler and Kevin James in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, due out next month.

"Jessica is a great actress who also happens to be smart, sweet, and funny," Sandler says. "But the best part of working with her was watching her beat Kevin James at arm wrestling." Not that the movie, about two firefighters who pretend to be gay in order to claim domestic-partner benefits (Biel plays their lawyer), refrains from reveling in her sexiness-she sheds her clothes for a gawking Sandler, and when his character first sees her, his world goes into super slow-mo.

"She's capable of attaining the Julia Roberts crown," says Chuck and Larry director Dennis Dugan, referring to Biel's healthy-American-girl vibe and comic timing. The actress herself is wary of such pronouncements.

"The scary thing about having this opportunity is that if it's 'your moment,' that eventually disappears," she says. "I think about reaching for 'the moment' but never really achieving it. That way, I'm always striving."

BIEL CARRIES HERSELF WITH THE CONFIDENCE OF A DANCER OR AN ACCOMPLISHED JOCK-BOTH OF WHICH SHE HAS BEEN.

When Biel walked onto the set of The Illusionist, director Neil Burger was impressed with her athlete's readiness and resolve. She carries herself with the confidence of a dancer or an accomplished jock-both of which she has been. "She completely gave as good as she got" with her Oscar-nominated costars Norton and Giamatti, Burger says. "That's a testament to her poise and her talent."

Early in the production, Biel had a scene with Norton that put the two of them in a stream in the Czech Republic in March. "It was essentially liquid ice. It was like an elec- tric shock, and it knocked the breath out of both of us and Jess turned blue," Norton says. "When we watched it back on the monitor, you could see it hadn't played out exactly right. Neil and I both wanted to do it again, but some- times you have to give up perfect for safety, and we were hesitant to ask her to get back in that water. But she said, 'It wasn't right, was it? Let's do it again.' And I thought, All right, she's a pro."

"She doesn't take herself too seriously," says her friend and producing partner Michelle Purple.

Stephen Collins, who played Biel's minister father on 7th Heaven, agrees: "She has an incredible goof-off, tom- boy streak," he says.

So what was a tomboy doing in the front rows at fashion week in Paris early last March? ("An intimi- dating and overwhelming environment," Biel says.) Scoring some clothing, including the Preen number she's wearing now, and also celebrating her twenty- fifth birthday. "Someone said, 'You have five years till 30.' I started to think, Wow, over the next five years, my life could really change personally," Biel says smil- ing, with a slight squint of her catlike eyes.

When the tabloids started spotting Biel with Justin Timberlake in January shortly after his breakup with Cameron Diaz-the two were seen snowboard- ing together in Park City, Utah, during the Sundance Film Festival; sharing a glass of champagne at Prince's Golden Globes party; and backstage at Timberlake's concert in San Diego-her personal life suddenly became of great interest to the public. She dodges a probe about her relationship with Timberlake while knocking back shrimp tempura with aplomb, saying that she was in Park City with girlfriends and holding

"WE DIDN'T LOCK OUR DOORS," BIEL SAYS OF HER COLORADO CHILDHOOD,

meetings for her production company, Iron Ocean Films. Nor does she want to discuss her past relation- ships with actors Ryan Reynolds and Chris Evans, or Yankee star Derek Jeter, "for no other reason than I can't even go to the dry cleaner by myself anymore," she says. "You're seen in public with anybody that you might not even know, and you're speculated about."

Asked if the constant attention makes dating hard, she says, "It makes everything hard because you can't even go to pick up a prescription without somebody trying to snap a photo of what you have in your Longs Drugs bag. Thank goodness I'm a nice person," she says. "Thank you, Mom, for teaching me that.

"The day after Biel was born, in Ely, Minnesota, her parents took her to a dogsled race; it was 30 degrees below zero. By age one she was in a canoe. Her mother, who is "New Age," grew up in Colorado, hunting for arrowheads as a child; her father was a "mountain man" who ran an Outward Bound school and worked as an international business consultant. His career took the family (her brother, Justin, is three years younger) from Texas to Connecticut and, finally, to Boulder. "We didn't lock our doors," she says. "We snowboarded, hiked, climbed, rafted. We grew up without a fear of the world."

Although Biel thrived at athletics, she doesn't remember a time when she wasn't dancing or sing- ing. At age 11, she signed up with a talent agency in Denver, which got her to the International Modeling and Talent Association convention in Los Angeles, which in turn got her into meetings with managers and agencies.

"I wanted to be Whitney Houston for a long time. I would be onstage and I would just come alive," Biel recalls. "I begged my parents to let me go out for pilot season."

When she was 14, she landed her central role in 7th Heaven, playing the oldest daughter of seven kids in a wholesome Christian family. But after a few years, she wanted to mix things up personally and professionally. At 17, Biel posed seductively for a Gear magazine photo shoot, topless with scant bottoms. It was a clear sign that she wanted to be off the show. "I was all over the place," she says now. "I was being a rebellious teenager." She feels that she was exploited by the magazine, but 7th Heaven's producers cut her out of the series. (She eventually returned in a more limited role.)

"The Gear thing, while embarrassing, wasn't exactly bad for her career," Collins says. True enough, in that between Gear and Esquire Biel worked on seven major films. But none of those movies had anywhere near the impact that taking off her clothes did . Julianne Moore says that Biel's "extraordinary" beauty appears as if "she were carved from marble," but she also has a body that you'd think only a comic book artist could draw-curvy in just the right places-and yet still healthy. 

"WE SNOWBOARDED, HIKED, CLIMBED, RAFTED. WE GREW UP WITHOUT A FEAR OF THE WORLD." 

Biel works out three times a week, primarily heart-rate training, doing fast-speed soccer exercises, squats, and running. She also does yoga regularly. Still, she feigns dismay at the suggestion that she looks buff.

"What do you mean? This is the thinnest and the least muscular I've been in a long time," she protests. "I'm so lean and feminine!"

As we order tea after dinner, the large party of 20 at the banquet table perpendicular to ours has mostly disbanded, allowing four of the men left at the table to reshuffle themselves so that eventually they sit on one side, facing her. It's as if they're at dinner theater. Biel may feel she has yet to land the role that breaks her out, but until that time, she has no shortage of fans who will be happy to watch her along the way.

When asked to go bowling two days later, after her ELLE photo shoot, Biel scarcely raises an eyebrow. She throws on a black ensemble and arrives ready to roll at Chelsea Piers between two lanes of bouncy seven-year-old girls. Despite doing pretty poorly, losing for eight frames, she pulls a spare, a strike, and two nines at the very end to win the contest. "I was really sucking, but I'm a closer," she says gamely. "You should see me at beer pong."

[invisibleicewands]

A Very Royal Scandal review – Michael Sheen is excellent as Prince Andrew in THAT interview

If you haven’t seen the lively Scoop, Netflix’s version of the catastrophic (for him) Prince Andrew Newsnight interview about his relationship with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, then you might find more to appreciate in A Very Royal Scandal. This is the second time the story has been given a “real events, fictionalised for dramatic purposes” preamble in the same year. As with Scoop, it’s a buffet of top-tier acting talent. Here, Ruth Wilson is Emily Maitlis, and takes the deep voice very seriously, while Michael Sheen is Prince Andrew, and Joanna Scanlan his adoring and doomed private secretary, Amanda Thirsk. The performances are predictably strong, but it lacks the heft you might expect from a such a heavyweight cast, and from a series that follows the excellent A Very English Scandal and A Very British Scandal.

Over three steady episodes, it follows Maitlis and her Newsnight team as they pursue the interview with, and allegations against, the Prince, before re-creating the interview and exploring the fallout. Scoop focused on the producer Sam McAlister, played by Billie Piper, and turned her dogged pursuit of the sit-down into a sort of thriller. This sidelines her almost completely. Instead, it sticks with Maitlis and the Prince, fleshing out their private lives and offering a more in-depth character portrait of each, as they move towards their shared fate. It is elegantly done, though it ambles forward rather than sprinting for the finish line.

That means Maitlis at home, with her husband and sons, having a post-work vodka, talking to her whippet and Googling the links between Epstein and Andrew. We join her as the BBC is under pressure from the right-wing press and the government for its seeming partisanship. Maitlis is rebuked for a Brexit-inspired, on-camera eye-roll, and while Paxman and Humphries would be applauded for that kind of thing, she says, she still feels she has to prove herself. The Andrew interview would be perfect. “I’m not losing out to bloody ITV,” she booms.

The TV industry stuff feels pleased with itself, particularly when it is placed against the absurdity of royal life, shown here to be a surreal catalogue of hunting, golf, fine dining and charades. This goes far deeper into Prince Andrew’s world than Scoop did, and you can see that it is fascinated with his psyche, and the question of not only why he would do the interview, but why he seemed to think, in the immediate aftermath, that it had gone rather well indeed.

We get to meet Fergie (Claire Rushbrook), loyal and amoral, who describes herself and Andrew as “the happiest divorcees in the world”, and has sent her ex-husband off to his old friend Epstein with “a fucking begging bowl” to settle her many debts. Sheen’s Andrew is a near-tragic buffoon, a man-child who believes that he is charm personified, but berates his staff with endless “fuck offs” and furious tirades. If the drama makes an effort to humanise him, it does so through his daughters, Beatrice (Honor Swinton Byrne) and Eugenie (Sofia Oxenham), who by the end appear to if not accept, then at least comprehend the mess their father has made.

A comparison to the later Crown here is inevitable, not least because this spends so much time in the royal households, and runs into the same problem of trying to dramatise very recent history, still fresh in the minds of most viewers. It is hard for it not to dip into caricature. Still, Sheen is great as the ranting Prince – “I am the second fucking son of the fucking sovereign” – but the underplayed star of the whole thing might be Alex Jennings, who plays the late Queen’s private secretary, Sir Edward Young, a smooth master of the old ways. He warns Thirsk against the Newsnight interview, explaining that the royals need protecting from themselves. They live a “frictionless existence”, he says. They will never know what it is to miss a train, because the train will always wait for them if they are late.

The fallout from the Newsnight interview had no intention of waiting for the Prince. This ends with a closeup of that 2001 photograph, of Andrew with the then 17-year-old Virginia Guiffre at Ghislaine Maxwell’s London home, re-created with the actors for both A Very Royal Scandal and Scoop, but also powerfully left in its original form in the final moments here. It is a reminder that this isn’t a simple case of a stupid man making a stupid mistake. When Maitlis replied to Andrew’s description of Epstein’s behaviour as “unbecoming”, she did so with an astonished rejoinder that Epstein was “a sex offender”. Like Maitlis, A Very Royal Scandal handles itself with comportment and class, but as a drama, it is too frictionless for its own good.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

Crown Jewel

We're skipping the discourse around this one. Ginny is Bonney's mother, Kuma's her daddy, and there's the potential of a half-Tenryubito bloodline which would explain a fair amount of leeway we've seen. Bonney is also only 12 years old. Love how it all fits well with her intro, do hate how grim Ginny's story ended up. But she kept that spark until the end, like the wrinkle of not wanting to be seen and trying to hide the pain. Out of respect for that we're not dwelling on the horrific circumstances of Bonney's conception.

I gotta say though, I was already wondering before that if film buff Oda wasn't striking again because Kuma's story of a humble guy weaving around big events was reminding me big time of Forrest Gump. If Wano was the Kabuki revue you'd pick and choose parts you care about...is Egghead a night at the movies? Sci-fi B movie vibes obviously. Then maybe these segments away are almost like, say going to the bathroom and catching a snippet of another. Hence missing parts of it. I'm rambling...

Absolutely adore the origin of the "jewelry" part of Jewelry Bonney. Both this cute scene and how the Sapphire Scale disease hearkens back to Thriller Bark. The core stakes of losing your shadow. Same with the origin of "If you could travel, where would you go?" In hindsight...I bet Perona reminded him of Bonney. It's also pertinent to point out they were at Sabaody around the same time. There's a lot to say about her after this chapter, starting with...

Bonney, welcome to the top tier of the blorbo rankings. How can I hate a chapter that gives me a feisty five-year-old flagrantly flipping the forbidden finger? Young Bonney you are so precious. Er...younger Bonney. So we don't just have the Sapphire Scales connection either. This chapter hits that running Egghead theme of callbacks so hard. I love this bit about calling her a vampire and brandishing a cross, especially with her flatly pointing out she lives in a church, but a lot of things honestly. Talking about wanting to see a Sky Island was nice.

We're gonna peel this one off for tomorrow, but there is one thing I do wanna note. Actually being 12 with a fruit like that is a different angle, but it has that fundamental thematic harmony with a quartermaster. Just like an elegant but lowkey scary big sister with an actress vibe, a bossy little sister with the infinite possibility of distorted futures suits bringing order and wearing many hats. Kiku's deal was being shown as legitimately good but not great at others'skills. The ultimate redundancy. Bonney is the blank slate. Strap in friendos, I have a lot to say on the matter over the next few days.

This is what I was thinking last week, the part that really gets there. The ability to just pop up at island after island is hellacious for a Revolutionary. Makes it easy to pull something like Sabo's simultaneous uprisings which is smart. Paralyzes a World Government that can step in it prioritizing the wrong ones. But yeah, Kuma goes on a tear after Ginny is taken. We get a great run of back-and-forth shots though between the hero and the doting father. Love that. He goes into a pit of despair, but the last remnant of Ginny becomes a reason to live again.

My guess is ultimately we'll see something like he agreed to the cyborg program at least partially because he could take on Bonney's disease himself. That would make sense for something. Kinda dig the theory Im suffers from Sapphire Scale. I know they said Bonney had a limited time but that may be because she'd already started to turn. Im if anyone has the resources to ensure you'd never encounter natural light and it'd be incredibly thematic. I will also laugh my ass off if we end up making the World Government functionally run by the Sohma Family from Fruits Basket. Sickly lil shut-in who was handed control for stupid reasons.

Hearken well, dear reader and don't look away. For what comes next is the tragedy of Sorbet. From priest to tyrant, from man to machine. A tragic tale who's end has already been seen.

Talk about callbacks, yeah this familiar nightmare reminds me a lot of Drum and Dressrosa. It is cool how Wano fits into that, a more benign version of reinstalling the ancient dynasty. This here is the perfect setting to shift us into the parts we already know a bit about. It'll be interesting to see what happens. Somewhere this kind pastor and loving father became known as a tyrant and he was referred to as King of Sorbet. We've only got a short window to cram in a lot of big things for Kuma. That said, could see us out of this by or in 1100. So a break and a big one-two punch?

[uriekukistan]

Top 5 TV shows? ^_^

ty for the ask!!

this is gonna sound crazy bc i have a blog dedicated to 3 tv shows but i dont actually watch a lot of tv + actually ranking the ones i do watch is sooo hard, so instead of doing numbers, im gonna do tiers 🤞

shows that changed my brain chemistry, they’re a part of me, for better or for worse

death note has been a part of my life for soooo long. genuinely i watched it when i was 12, and i’m about to be 22 soon, so almost 10 years now. i still rewatch it frequently, i’ve probably seen it close to 15 times now…i based my whole closet and a lot of other things on mello & misa sksjsk

tokyo ghoul is of course one of my favs, also has been a part of my life for a while, maybe 6 years? i prefer the manga tbh but i still watch the anime a lot bc sometimes im too lazy to read…my comfort show fr tho i always turn to it when i’m feeling down

jujutsu kaisen is the newest addition to this category but i love it just as dearly, as you may have notice lol i wasnt sure about it at first but it quickly made itself out home in my heart and life. tmi but i was in the middle of like a year+ long mental space where i just couldn’t feel things or process emotions, and jujutsu kaisen is what brought my feelings back to me…a lot of sad feelings but feelings nonetheless

other shows i like a relatively normal amount

blind is a kdrama that i never really see that many people talking about but its soooo good and so worth watching. it follows the investigation of brutal serial killer, but it feels like so much more than that. there’s really great psychological horror aspects, as well as commentary on how society fails children, and i literally never saw the end coming. soooo good a bit gory but really worth the watch. watch it when you have a few days off tho bc it’s so hard to look away.

i was torn for what to put as the last show, but i decided to go with another kdrama sweet home. highly recommend for tokyo ghoul lovers, it’s sci fi/thriller and it’s about this disease that turns humans into mindless monsters, and the MC turns into like a half-half…won’t say too much more bc spoilers but the parallels are endless

[hologramcowboy]

The whole branding and social media thing is too confusing for me. If I am trying to be cast for a very much negative character - ie a pedophile or a psychopath - I need to refrain myself from posting good stuff in my personal sm and try to portray myself as a potential evil to make investors believe in me? 😶

I don’t know anything about Hollywood, but I have seen the most goofy person of the industry playing a devilishly psycho and rapist and giving a great hit in my country’s film industry. I have repeatedly seen a man maintaining absolutely normal family man image in social media and subsequently doing romantic hero, villain, tough police officer, comedy, drama or thriller all efficiently. That makes me think social media and PR image is for public, and not for insiders of industry- they have different team to play out that. I mean, if I maintain an image of romantic hero publicly and get cast in such roles only, won't I get typecast? And most importantly what is my credibility and efficiency as an actor if I cannot break myself over and over again and deliver all kind of roles?

Anon, at the beginning of your career and up until you reach top tier you will be typecast. In fact, the only way to get into the industry and work steadily is to typecast yourself based on your essence and then target buyers that need that character type. E.g. let's say you match the superhero vibe, that means your buyers are those who produce those types of shows/movies.

As you career advances and you rich top tiers, let's say you get promoted from recurring to series lead, as your brand becomes established now you have more leeway. You have the option of rebranding your materials to aim for your new desired tier. But, even then, you must be careful to stay faithful to your essence or you risk alienating your fanbase. By essence I don't mean past characters you've played. I mean what makes you YOU. If you are goofy then the way you play a lawyer is very different from how a serious, dark, moody man would and that's perfect. You are you. If your uniqueness centers on being able to be lighthearted and playful because that is who you are at the core then you will play different character in those main notes and you will be credible playing them.

Trying to be everything to everyone ensures failure. The only actors who can pull off a wide range are transformative actors like Meryl Streep, Charlize Theron, Jared Leto, for example, they can fully transform into a character due to intense studies, prep and using behavioral psychology. Unless you are at a tier where you are Tom Cruise famous, you will have to have a defined brand and character types that match your target goals. Once you reach the offer level of your career (meaning you get offered roles directly because you are an established, trustworthy professional and your name resonates in the industry), you get to have way more creative control but, cautiously, because as I've mentioned earlier, if something works, don't ruin it. Don't try to be something you are not. It will always backfire.

No actor is expected to deliver all kinds of roles, they are expected to realistically live the circumstances they get hired for and those will always be in line with their essence. Know who you are. Because who you are does not change. The character type might change, you might get called in as a doctor but your job is to deliver that role along with your uniqueness so your version of a doctor will match your essence and not be a general idea of what a doctor is like or a copy of what some actor actor is doing.

What you say you've seen is impossible. Most likely, the actor you are referring to is from a country where american actor branding does not apply OR you are missing the common thread in all of his roles and how it ties into his essence.

An actor's brand is his essence and under the umbrella of that brand are character types he can play, as I explained earlier. His look, physique and essence are well suited for certain characters so he gets cast as those. It has nothing to do with his family man image, unless that's his main type. All actors may post something about their family but how you do it needs to be inline with your brand or you dilute your image.

I'm really curious about this goofy actor who played a rapist. Which country was this and what is the name of that actor, most importantly, what is his look?

As for an actor social media, it is always, always, always geared at his buyers and goals unless said actor is clueless about his own industry. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that what actor present online is who they are in real life. They are maintaining an image and it is for PR purposes that they make certain posts. It is a part of their job. Their actual private profiles( if they have any because not all do) are not something you will ever be privvy to. An actor is a product and any smart actor knows this and carefully curates their online image.

[stormblessed95]

My Top Reads of 2022

Not totally back yet for another day, so I'm posting about reading rather than BTS. lol feel free to skip over it if you'd rather! I just wanted to share some of my favorite reads of 2022. I read 159 books this year (24 of them during my tumblr break the last few weeks!), here are just a few that I loved! If you want more opinions over these or perhaps over books I didn't love as much, I'd be happy to talk more about them!

In no particular order:

He Who Fights with Monsters by Shirtaloon (5 stars):

Content warnings for violence, mentions of cannibalism and death

A LitRPG style fantasy novel that is both high stakes but Still light hearted at the same time. I loved seeing the mayhem happen and the characters grow. It left me so excited to see how the over arching story continued to evolve. Plus I loved the friend groups dynamics here too! It's a little unpolished and times, can be a little slow, told through a flashback. But I loved Jason for the most part and loved hearing his adventures. Super funny and enjoyable.

The Deepest of Secrets by Kelley Armstrong (5 stars)

Content warnings for murder, gun violence, animal attack and mentioned animal death, sexually explicit scenes

Book 7 and the final installment of the Rockton series, but with the promise of a spin off that makes my heart soar. I love this series an unhealthy amount. Amazing characters, amazing writing, fast paced, engaging, one of my all time favorite OTPs. Thriller novels that aren't terrifying but kept the suspense flowing the whole time too. Can't wait to see where Casey and Eric go next. Book 1 in the series is called City of the Lost.

One for All by Lillie Lainoff (4 stars)

Content warnings for ableism, SA, bullying, death of a parent, grief

I was so excited for this one! It was a little predictable and I honestly think it mightve been better If the romance was left behind all together. But the romance portion still wasn't bad. It was excellent for a debut novel. The representation for POTS here was amazing. I loved the strength in the MC, the friendships were all top tier and so sweet. I absolutely loved it! Especially well done for a debut novel too!

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater (3 - 5 stars through the books)

Trigger warnings, like ALOT of them. Full list can be found here

Had a billion friends begging me to read this one and I finally did! The author is the definition of why authors don't always belong in fandom spaces and is a bit of a mess, but I did enjoy these books! The first one started off super slow and was clearly a set up novel, but they just got better and better as they went. I wasn't a huge fan of her writing in other books, but it worked super well for this series. Massively character driven series and so much fun. The magic system was amazing. The friendship between Blue and the boys was top tier. I cried and I laughed and I had a blast. Not a huge fan of the ending, which felt like a bit of a cop out to me, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment enough to not still give it 5 stars at the end. Lol

Spy x Family Manga (4 - 5 stars)

Content warnings for violence, gun violence

This one was recommended by my sister snd I fell in love so fast. Lol I also then watched the anime after. Very slice of life cuteness, mixed with spy and assassin shenanigans. Chaos incarnate and adorable. The trails of parenthood were hysterical, especially as a parent myself too. Lol although I'm not mixing parenthood with Spy work 😂

Icebreaker by A.L. Graziadei (4 stars)

Content warnings for alcohol, blood, depression, suicidal ideation, homophobia, drugs, racism, sport related violence, sexually explicit scenes

Sports Hockey Romance mlm and so cute and so good! What a great representation for living with bad depression too. MC going through so much, but his relationship with his sisters is amazing, his budding relationship on his team is so good. Rivals to Lovers trope that's perfection too! I loved it so much! Fast and easy and fun to read and enjoyable every second!

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker Chan (5 stars)

Content warnings for Ableism, Amputation, Castration, Death, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Misgendering, Murder (child) , Sexually Explicit scenes, starvation, torture (non-graphic), violence

This was INTENSE. But so freaking good. Historical meets fantasy. Mulan vibes, but way more grown up and based in more history. And it's queer. Fun, thought provoking, intense, and so well written too.

The Lost Metal by Brandon Sanderson (5 stars)

Content warnings for death and violence

This is the 7th book in the series and every book in it is AMAZING. Released this year and wow what an epic conclusion. I laughed and I sobbed and I loved every second. Binged it in a day. These covers are so ugly lol but the stories are so good. So thought provoking. Fast paced but every freaking word counts. Engrossing and amazing story telling. The intricate plot contentions through the entire cosmere had me feeling a conspiracy theorist in the best way

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (5 stars)

Content warnings for Misogyny & femicide, Rape mentioned, Physical & emotional abuse, Suicidal ideation, Alcoholism, Blood & gore depiction, Murder, Torture

This was so good!! So good! It could have used some more flushing out on the world building, magic system and character arcs, but overall I loved every second of it. It's giving me the morally Grey heroine and cast of characters I've always wanted. I loved that it set up with a fairly classic love triangle, but only to give us a bisexual polyship triangle! Badassery the whole way through too! Had me pretty consistently on the edge of my seat.

^the line to end love triangles with all efficiency lmfaoo had me rolling!

Happy New Year! For those who enjoy reading as much as I do too, I hope the new year brings you lots of new good books to read and enjoy!

[septembersghost]

oooh book rec time! 📚

- house of leaves (so good, but can be confusing considering its ergodic literature!)

- the kite runner (top tier, very emotional tho)

- sula (omg, toni morrison is a god, this book was amazing and very sad)

- Ishmael (amazing book, really makes you look at life in a different light, think everyone needs to read it at least once!)

- the viscount who loves me (but any of the bridgerton books really, im partial to romancing mr. bridgerton too though)

- anerican prometheus (this is a biography about oppenheimer but it really is pure poetry as well, and i recommend robert oppenheimer letters and recollections as well, just because oppies own writing is something to behold)

- rabbit and robot (a book from my childhood technically but still has to make the list just because of how utterly hilarious it is)

- ethan frome (such a sad beautiful story, very poetic and tragic)

- girl from nowhere (this has nothing to do with the netflix series lol, but its a pretty good suspensful spy thriller romance!)

- where the crawdads sing (very very interesting and the twist at the end is def amazing)

- the sound of waves (this novel was translated into english from japanese and it's a very beautiful, simple and life loving romance)

those are all i can think of right now but I also of course have to recommend the classics such as the great gatsby and dr. jekyll and mr hyde!

your last sentence flashing me back to the unhinged dni @arthurwilde showed me this morning that had gatsby, to kill a mockingbird, frankenstein, dracula, wuthering heights, and the phantom of the opera listed as "irredeemable media" (along with the magic schoolbus and garfield..?). 🤓 i'm surprised jekyll and hyde wasn't on there too. what did the classics ever do to that person?! i have read and enjoyed them, lock us up for literary crimes!

thank you so much for this list and your thoughts, i appreciate it and am always glad to have new things to add to my to-read ideas!!! ❤📖

[wistfulwatcher]

Very glad you've joined the yellowjackets ranks! Please tell us all your thoughts

Thank you! Oh man, my only real thought right now is

All the women are so interesting and complex and so incredibly fucked up!! And all of their relationships are amazing, and there is such a variety both in 1996 and 2021, and they've (especially Shauna/Tai, but I suspect this will apply to many more in s2) only grown between those timelines.

But not only do we get so! many! great! women!! I am very interested in the mystery/thriller of what happened in the mountains (ESPECIALLY TAI OMG I NEED MORE), and how the cult developed and the symbol and everything. This is all the good parts of Lost right now with triple the women and I am THRIVING.

Anyway I love all of them, but Shauna and Taissa are tied for favorite character right now. And there is no ship/dynamic I don't love (of the women at least - Travis is too consistently misogynistic for me to be thrilled about him/Nat, but I definitely care about them for Nat, which tbh I think is the point anyway), but Shauna/Tai is very top tier for me! (Though I am also feral about the tragedy of Jackie/Shauna, like. A R T.)

[kb-amnewt]

Movies are my JAM!

The wonderful and beautiful @return-of-miss-mgm tagged me in a recent post, and I've decided to follow suit. The following are 9 movies that really meant something to me. My list of movies goes on and on, but here's some that stood out at the time.

Evil Dead 2 was one of the first horror movies I really remember watching. It's been one of my favorites for a long time to the point where I've listened to the commentary multiple times. It really set itself apart by appealing to my sense of humor, and including a level of derangement I rarely see in films since.

Godzilla vs Megalon is an absolute classic of a Godzilla movie. The showa era of Godzilla films is definitely a favorite with their weird story-lines and their occasional 4th wall breaking moments. This one holds a special place though as being on my son and I watch together frequently. Plus it features Jet Jaguar, a fan created hero for this specific film.

Singin' in the Rain makes my list as one of my favorite musicals ever. Gene Kelly was a marvel in his own right and this roll was a perfect fit and he got surrounded by talented costars. The whole movie just makes me feel good and makes me want to dance. Plus I can sing along to the whole darn thing.

Spirited Away was my fist Hayao Miazaki movie. I think it is a beautiful and stunning movie just as much as the first time I saw it. I think the story is sweet and weird. The world it painted was strange and whimsical while also having its dangers. I've since learned that most Studio Ghibli films have the same effect, but still, this was my introduction to a great collection.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind just hits super hard on my interest in aliens. As with most Steven Spielberg films it was kind-of a big deal what with the budget he normally works with. The fact that so much of the movie is done with practical effects really drives home how much better it is to be creative with whats available. It's one of the reasons I wanted to get into special effects in the first place. (along with the evil dead movies) Also you get to watch Richard Dreyfuss go absolutely bonkers for a solid hour and a half.

Tremors 2: Aftershocks made me not want to walk off the bike path behind my house for fear of getting devoured. Eventually it turned into a comfort movie that I would play it on my laptop to help me fall asleep, which I can admit it could be seen as a little odd as this installment in the franchise introduced the shriekers, which I would not describe as comforting to hear. Again, lots of practical effects as well as a very entertaining Michael Gross.

Little Shop of Horrors is again one of those top tier musicals for me. I can sing the whole movie. It's a fun, weirdly dark story wrapped up in a delightfully uncanny package. The baddies get their comeuppance via a hungry meat-eating plant voiced by Levi Stubbs. The special effects are mind boggling and the choreography leave nothings to be desired. Put simply, I love this movie.

Labyrinth to me is not just a great movie. I am incapable of thinking of this movie without also thinking of my wife. We've both loved this movies since before we met and now it's something we can experience and enjoy together. The day our son asked us to watch it together was one of our favorite experiences together. We've since seen some of the puppets, props, and costumes in person. The combined work of David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Jim Henson and his team made a piece of art that has brought my family closer together. (And like that I've made myself cry a little)

Scream was another favorite of mine when it came to the horror/thriller genre. Obviously at this point I know whodunit, but there's still enough substance there where I can watch it time and time again. It puts so many tropes on blast while following many of those very same tropes to a T. Upon re-watching you find that it frequently tells you exactly whats happening or about to happen without you realizing it. The cast was great, the cinematography was on point, and I've had a thing for Drew Barrymore since I was in high school.

All in all I have varied taste when it comes to films. I tend to bounce around from kaiju films, to musicals, to horror, and back to light-hearted animation. I have far to many favorite movies to count but these 9 should hopefully give some insight into what helped form my love of the art of cinema. I'm curious what some mutuals might have in there lists so hopefully I can look forward to what, @drgoblins @fat-tea-fat @kolkhozmilf or @transfatfemme @bigfatbuck @brendakthedonutgirl @the-grove and @chubote have in mind. Of course anyone is welcome to give it a go, I don't always remember everyone who's following me back.

Thank you for coming to my post, I hope I'm not bothering anyone by tagging them. This list was in no particular order.

[justagalwhowrites]

hello love!

I hope you’re doing amazing and taking care of yourself I wanted to ask you since we gotta till 2025 for season 2 of TLOU I don’t know what to watch in the meantime so what shows or movies do you like or recommend???

OMG hi lovely!

I'm doing great thank you so much for asking! I hope you are, too!!

I haven't been watching much lately, I've been spending basically all my downtime writing lol BUT here's some stuff that I've generally enjoyed over the past few (maybe 10?) years!

Shows:

The Sopranos - Watched this right at the start of the pandemic and almost immediately saw why it was considered one of the best TV shows ever made. The idea of a mob boss going to a therapist? 10/10, fabulous. (HBO/Max)

The Newsroom - I'm a former journalist and lover of Aaron Sorkin so this show was addictive for me. Give me a good walk and talk dialogue sequence any day. Season one is far and away the best but the other two ain't bad. (HBO/Max)

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - This show was CRIMINALLY underrated. Several new musical numbers every episode, the writing is so damn brilliant it should be taught in school if it's not already. It also tackles mental health beautifully and is hilarious without being overly silly. (Netflix)

Fleabag - Brilliant, insightful, funny and heartbreaking all at once. Phoebe Waller Bridge is a genius. The worst thing about it is that it's so damn short. (Amazon)

Andor - Probably the best Star Wars series so far (SORRY MANDO I LOVE YOU SO MUCH) the storytelling and character work here is so damn good. If you haven't seen it yet, make it a priority. (Disney+)

Movies:

Baby Driver - A love letter to what you can do with sound in film, it's got so much to enjoy. Great performances, editing that's pure genius, excellent storytelling with fun action and a great script. Watch it if you haven't!

500 Days of Summer - in my opinion, this is the best "romantic comedy" (not sure it can REALLY be called that) since When Harry Met Sally. A really critical look at what it means to put the idea of someone over the actual person, it's funny and insightful while making its point.

Promising Young Woman - It's dark and funny and truthful and cathartic all at once. It's a movie length middle finger to the patriarchy and I'm all about it.

Knives Out - Everyone's probably already seen this but the fact that Daniel Craig plays a southern gay detective and is having the time of his life now that he's free of James Bond, it brings me so much joy. The mystery is great, the performances are top tier, it's damn near flawless. Will watch at any time. (Adjacent recommendation: Logan Lucky, a heist movie with a bunch of rednecks robbing a NASCAR race including Daniel Craig debuting his kooky southern drawl. Super fun!)

Nightcrawler - This was one that was super underrated (even though it was up for Best Original Screenplay at the oscars), a noir psychological thriller about a stringer who shoots video freelance for local TV stations. The appetite for bloody content pushes him further than you would expect. It's dark but so well done!

These might be a bit all over the map but hopefully there's some stuff here you've never seen and it's helpful!

Thank you for asking and for being here! Love you!