#greta is truly a genius

[wutheringvibe]

“How can I help you?”

“I am here to see my gynecologist”

[starberrysap]

thinking about barbie and how it kept coming back to relationships with older women in your life.......how God is a loving mother who stands back in order to let her daughter know how far she's come........how the first time Barbie truly sat and saw the beauty and complexity of the real world she turned to the old woman beside her and told her she was beautiful even though her motive up until that point was avoiding aging.........how Barbie belonged to a mother instead of her daughter because the mother just wanted to feel connected to her child and her own childhood.....................greta you absolute genius

[eye-candy-film-enjoyer]

My favorites of 2023

I wanted to make little wrap up of 2023, so here are my favorite movies and performances from 2023

Top Five Favorite movies

#5 The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds and Snake - dir. Francis Lawrence

I am a YA/dystopian boy through and through. I thought this was a very faithful adaptation and very visually stunning. The performances were all great and I just really liked it. However, I had my problems with the book itself and I felt the movie didn't do a great job truly villainizing Snow (I found him too likable until like the end of the film) All in all though a fun watch.

#4 Saltburn- Dir. Emerald Fennell

If there's one thing I'm gonna do on this account, It's support a boy's wrongs. This movie has so many visual details and story details, it truly blows my mind. The soundtrack? Banger after banger. I'd never heard Murder on The Dance Floor before this movie but now I want to dance around a mansion to it. The cast? I mean just look at them. I do think occasionally this movie occasionally felt like it was just being shocking for shocking's sake and I got a little tired of it.

#3 Spiderman: Across The Spider-Verse- Dir. Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson, and Joaquim Dos Santos

I love art. There's no other way to say it. I am in love with creativity. The amount of details that are in this movie are so utterly mind blowing that every time I read about a new one, I feel like I have to rewatch this movie. The first Spider-verse film is an absolute masterpiece and this movie was not about to disappoint it. From the voice performances to the bleeding-water color, to animating on every other frame, this movie just had me floored. I hope it wins an Oscar for best animated feature or I'm throwing shit. I do want the second part before I fully judge the story but so far I think this is one of the best superhero stories in a while

#2 Barbie- Dir Greta Gerwig

I have never cried harder to a Nikki Minaj song. But actually, this movie made me fall in love with the simple act of being alive. It's a movie about a doll and yet its about enjoying life and growing up and how everything's so messy and it's so beautiful and we're so beautiful and I just. I get it. I get why Barbie wanted to be a human. We are all so fascinating. The ending montage alone is enough to make anyone with a heart cry. I hope that one day everyone is as in love with the world around them as this movie made me.

#1 Asteroid City- Dir. Wes Anderson

If you don't know the I'm Wes Anderson's number 1 fan, I'm doing something wrong. Truth be told, I didn't get this movie at first. I left the theater knowing that there was some deeper meaning but...what? So I thought about it for two weeks and then it hit me. There is no clear answer. There's no clear answer because the actors can't find a clear answer. There's no clear answer because the in-universe playwright didn't write one and maybe Anderson himself didn't write one. The movie has clear themes of grief and love and identity but at the end of the day what you choose to make of it is all up to you. There's also a lot to be said about how the play is existential and about uncertainty in the future and I think that's another reason I liked Asteroid City. I'm always so worried about the future. It terrifies me. But what can I do. And with that I once again realized that Wes Anderson was truly genius, and I don't think I'll ever see a film quite like Asteroid City again.

Favorite performances from each film

#5 Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird

I never got the hatred for Rachel Zegler. She was absolutely phenomenal in the 2021 West Side Story and she ate up Lucy Gray Baird. I just felt through the screen that Rachel understood her role so well. She played Lucy to all her vulnerability and strength and goddamn I am in love with her voice!! The old therebefore gave me absolute chills.

#4 Allison Oliver as Venetia Catton

being complete honest she's who I wanted to be in like middle school. Allison Oliver managed to play her as both such a free spirit and then to haunted on such the drop of the dime. From her subtle emotions to her snapping at Oliver in the bathtub she had me eating out of the palm of her hand. She would've loved Tumblr.

#3 Shameik Moore as Miles Morales

He had me laughing, crying, cheering and getting goosebumps the whole time. The absolute power Shameik Moore gives Miles is truly what tie the whole movie together. I feel like his performance often gets overshadowed for some of the bigger names in the cast and I truly find that shame. He gives Miles such a powerful and realistic portrayal that I admire it so deeply. From "Nah, I'mma do my own thing." to his conversations with Gwen to arguments with his parents, Shameik Moore makes Miles feel like a teenager who's trying to figure out who he is and a superhero saving a multiverse from collapsing

#2 Margot Robbie as Barbie

I'm fucking sick of only hearing Ryan Goslings name mentioned when we talk about the BARBIE movie! It is Margot's movie!! SHE ATE THAT SHIT UP!! She managed to so subtly bring in the changes of barbie being only a doll to being a real person. She provides so much of the movies comedy too. Her laying down crying had me wheezing not gonna lie. But she also shows us that how strong Barbie is and how she's so multi-faceted.She is truly someone little girls should see and be inspired by. Margot truly brought Barbie to life in all the ways that the audience and the script needed. She had me laughing, crying and smiling so goddamn wide the whole film. Here's to you, Margot.

#1 Jason Schwartzman as Augie Steenback/Jones Hall

It was the year of Schwartzman and nowhere was the proved more than in Asteroid City. Here we see, Jason Schwartzman playing and actor playing a single dad war photographer. Schwartzman manages to play all these layers so well, letting them blend together through on intense common factor: grief. Jones' grief bleeds into Augie in such a fascinating way that you might not even realize at first. It's so subtle and yet, it complete makes the performance. When we see Jones on his own a few times, though Jason Schwartzman manages to make him feel like a completely different man than Augie. The entire scene from Jones walking offstage to us being returned to 'Asteroid City' is truly some of my favorite acting of the year. Even through subtle expressions, we can truly see everything that Jones is experiencing. It's just such a sight to watch and it blows me away.

Some honorable film and performance mentions

Oppenheimer- Dir Christopher Nolan. Good film but a little too long if you ask me. Sorry!

Fav performance- Emily Blunt as Kitty Oppenheimer. She might not have been in a lot of the film but she stuck with me

Renfeild- Dir Chris McKay. Sorry I like fun camp! sue me!

Fav performance- Nic Cage as Dracula. I'm sorry Nic Cage is just so goddamn funny

Poison- Dir. Wes Anderson. Maybe the real snake was the Benedict Cumberbatch we met along the way.

Fav performance- Dev Patel as Woods. Wes please cast Dev Patel in a longer on of your films he ate this up.

Five Nights at Freddy's- Dir. Emma Tammi. I wanted to like it more but it felt like 3 different films until the last 20 minuets

fav performance- Matthew Lilard as William Afton. I want Stu Macher back after this.

The Swan- Dir. Wes Anderson. (Last time I mention Wes in this post I swear.) Hey Wesley! Quick question! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?? Thank youuuu!

Fav performance- Rupert Friend as Narrator/Peter Watson. Yeah he was the only guy speaking and he carried! The one moment where he breaks the stoic delivery and truly pleads for them to not kill the swan? Wow.

Gaurdians of The Galaxy Vol 3- Dir James Gunn. I have never cried over cgi this hard in my life!

Bradley Cooper as Rocket. Just hearing him scream sob almost had me open mouth sobbing in public.

Scream 6- Dir. Matt Bettinelli-olpin, Tyler Gillet. Starting to get real pissed at radiosilence.

fav performance- Jasmin Savoy-Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin. She's so funny, I love her.

If y'all want I also have a favorite tv shows of 2023 post

[tilbageidanmark]

MOVIES I WATCHED THIS WEEK (#190):

Jeanne Moreau X 2:

🍿 First watch: MR. KLEIN (1976), my third by blacklisted Joseph Losey (after 'The servant' and 'Modesty Blaise'). An intelligent mystery about mistaken identity. Privileged art dealer in occupied Paris Alain Delon benefits from the misfortunes of his clients who must liquidate their collections at fire sale prices. That is, until he's suspected of being Jewish himself. One of Delon's best roles.

RIP, Alain Delon!

🍿 THE ADOLESCENT (1978), one of the only 3 movies directed by Jeanne Moreau, was a delightful coming-of-age French bonbon. In the summer of 1939, just before the outbreak of the war, a 13 year old girl is vacationing in a small village near Avignon, and falls in love with a young doctor, 20 years her senior. And then her mother, full of sensual energy, has an affair with him instead. (Suzanne Lindon re-worked the same story in her wonderful 2020 'Spring Blossom'). Thematically it was a bit thin, but the pastoral landscapes, accordion score, and nostalgic haze were catnip to any Francophile worth his Vin Rouge. Simone Signoret plays the grandma, and there's one explicit naked scene of the young girl. 7/10. [*Female Director*]

🍿

I AM GRETA is a terrific 2020 documentary about Greta Thunberg, the then-17 brave crusader. It was made by somebody who had close personal access to her from the very beginning of her journey. I admired her steadfast heroism from the first weeks of her school-strikes in Stockholm, and was deeply-moved by her ascent into a global icon and torch-bearer environmentalist. And of course, she reminded me of Adora, both physically and in spirit. It's a very personal experience to me. What an legend. 9/10.

It must be devastating (to her, and to us) to look back today at the enthusiastic movement that she inspired, and recognize that it didn't amount to jack shit. (Screenshot Above).

🍿

Bergman X 5:

🍿 BERGMAN, A YEAR IN A LIFE (2018), another documentary of another complicated Swede, is the best biography about the legendary filmmaker. It focuses on 1957, a year in which he directed both 'The Seventh Seal' and 'Wild Strawberries', as well as television play and 4 massive theater productions. He also had 5 simultaneous relationships, and spent a month in the hospital, suffering from stomach ulcer and mental exhaustion. It paints an honest portrait, warts and all, of a truly iconic 'artiste', and one who enjoyed, from this point forward, the recognition and worldwide admiration as a one-of-a-kind genius. But also a selfish, lonely 'Erotoman', a megalomaniac workaholic, and a power hungry autocrat. (Also, a Nazi sympathizer until at least 1946). Essential viewing to all Bergman fans. 9/10. [*Female Director*]

🍿 TORMENT ("HETS") (1944) is a love triangle between fallen "shop girl" Mai Zetterling, a good looking student who falls for her her, and a sadistic Latin teacher who tortures them both. It was the very first Bergman screenplay which was produced, and he also directed some of the exterior scenes. A good review - here.

🍿 WILD STRAWBERRIES was made by a 39 year old man and perfectly captured the mindset of a really 'old' man, a bitter and resigned man at the end of his life. Of all the thousands of great movies made, this is the one nobody will object to when calling it a 'Masterpiece'. An immaculate 10/10. Re-watch ♻️.

🍿 KARIN'S FACE, a 14-min. visual poem from 1986, composed of still photos of his mother Karin, the most important woman in his life.

🍿 MINNS NI? ("DO YOU REMENBER?") is a quick mash-up of clips from 170 Swedish films, including many of Bergman's. The concept was better played in 'Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen'.

🍿

My 18th terrific film by Agnès Varda, SALUT LES CUBAINS. After her 1963 visit to Cuba, she composed a poetic montage out of the 4,000 still photos that she shot over there. A beautiful homage to the faces and the spirit of the people as well as the revolution. Narrated by herself and Michel Piccoli, and with great music score. I watched it in the original French. 9/10. [*Female Director*]

🍿

Ali Abbasi is an Iranian-Danish filmmaker, who directed 4 features so far. After seeing his 'Holy Spider' last week, I wanted to continue with the rest of his work. BORDER (2018) is an inventive folklorist tale about a woman with a Neanderthal appearance who works for the Swedish Border Service. She uses her feral sense of smell to sniff out people's fear, guilt and shame, for example when they hide child porn on their phones. It's a dark and disturbing story which starts with an unusual premise, but ends as a weird body-horror fantasy about forest trolls and changelings and what-have you.

As a completist, I was planning on seeing his debut feature 'Shelley', which looked like a 'Rosemary's Baby' re-boot out in the country, but I'm not in the mood for another Horror Nordic. Instead I'll just wait for his upcoming Trump Origin story, 'The apprentice'.

🍿

"Don't kill anyone unless you really have to."

GREEDY PEOPLE, a new, twisted black comedy in the Coen Brothers mold: Bumbling characters turn small time crooks by making one worst decision after another. A surprising fun ride, with a specific small island community feel. The title only comes up at 24:00 min. and the defining dog murder falls at exactly the mid point of the story. The initial reviews were not that great, but I enjoyed it very much for fulfilling its genre requirements. 8/10.

🍿

OCEAN WAVES (1993), a lesser known Ghibli Studio film about two student friends who both fall for a new girl who just transferred to their school. Not a typical Ghibli drama of a teen romance, with flatter anime style, but still an understated, whimsical score.

🍿

"The continent is peopled almost entirely by homosexuals..."

DANCE FIRST, my 3rd fictionalized film by British director James Marsh, (after his much better documentaries 'Man on Wire' and 'Project Nim').

A deferential, melodramatic and uninspiring Samuel Becket biopic. I dislike filmed literary biographies in general, and I hated this boring, affectatious one in particular. I don't particularly care for Gabriel Byrne high-brow/low-brow acting style, and I definitely couldn't stomach the dude who played his younger self. The fake inner monologue, the horrible attempt at bringing James Joyce back from the dead... It was excruciating to sit through.

🍿

Michigan J. frog X 2:

🍿 “Hello, my baby; hello, my honey; hello, my ragtime gal.”

ONE FROGGY EVENING, a 1955 Chuck Jones cartoon which introduced the all-singing, all-dancing frog, but who does it only when it feels like it. Based on a Cary Grant movie from the 40's.

🍿 First watch: Mel Brooks Star Wars parody SPACEBALLS, the inspiration to 'Black Mirror' USS Callister. But I never saw any Star Wars or Star Trek movies, and it just wasn't very funny. The jokes were on the 'I Love URANUS' bumper stickers level, and Stephen Tobolowsky as a gay trooper. 2/10.

Colonel Sandurz was much better when he later played Rabbi Nachtner.

🍿

2 by young Canadian documentarian Carol Nguyen:

🍿 NO CRYING AT THE DINNER TABLE (2019) is a simple, yet powerful, family interview. Vietnamese family, father, mother and sister, opens up for the first time about private traumas they each carry with them. Then they listen to the recorded conversations together. 8/10.

🍿 NANITIC (2022) is another simple and sensitive look into the psyche of a young girl who is spending the day with her Vietnamese grandma, as she lays on her death bed in the living room. 8/10. [*Female Director*]

🍿

2 by another young Canadian, Justine Gauthier:

🍿 DEATH TO THE BIKINI! (2023) an award-winning short about a rebellious 10-year-old girl who refuses to start wearing bikini tops when going to the water park. Like the Jeanne Moreau film above, it features nude scenes of the unapologetic prepubescent girl.

🍿 "...So, there's only a living room and a kitchen and a bathroom?"

THE APARTMENT (2018), a newly-divorced mother spends the first weekend with her two kids at her new small apartment. Sad. 8/10. [*Female Director*]

🍿

Philips Cinema / Parallel Lines had a contest in 2010 where 600 filmmakers created shorts using only six lines "What is it? ... A unicorn... Never seen one up close before.... Beautiful."

THE GIFT (2010), one of the only few science-fiction shorts I love. A messenger delivers a mysterious box to a rich man in dystopian Moscow. A frequent re-watch ♻️.

THE BURIED is a 'Breaking Bad' final scene at the desert.

25 of the finalists are on YouTube.

🍿

A few more shorts:

🍿 In THE HAIRCUT (1982), busy executive John Cassavetes has only 15 minutes to get a haircut, but he gets the best one of his life. It includes a manicure, pedicure, shoulder rub, shoe shine, romance, and a performance by The Bangles. Directed by Susanna Hoffs' mother. [*Female Director*]

🍿 PAS DE DEUX (1968), my second by Canadian Norman McLaren (after 'Neighbors'). A ballet short with Romanian pan flute music score.

🍿 Only my second by D.W. Griffith, THE MUSKETEERS OF PIG ALLEY (1912). An early gangster movie, starring Lillian Gish

🍿 FUNERAL AT NINE (2022), a beautiful short directed together by 6 animators. Three brothers deal with grief differently.

🍿 THE COOK is like a Swiss 'Ratatouille' but with weed instead of food, and also it's just a dream.

🍿

IT'S A GOOD LIFE (S3E8) is my fourth-ever 'Twilight Zone'. I wonder how much of the American mindset of 'Magical Thinking' was born out of it. Or did the 1950's paranoia and crushing conformity produce this sense of 'Normalcy' threatened by the mystic, the bizarre, the 'odd'? 'Everybody must always smile, and think good thoughts.'

🍿

"...So I reached out to my local militia..."

AMERICA'S RIGHT-WING RADICALS is a new, German documentary about the military veterans who are systematically building a functioning shadow army ready for a civil war in the near future. Trumpists, Nazis, fascists and racists united for one glorious holy fight, to get rid of the Jews, the blacks, and the poor...

🍿

Throw-back to the Adora Art project:  

Adora with Alain Delon.

Waiting for Godot Adora.

Adora with Greta Thunberg.

Seventh Seal Adora.

Ballerina Adora.

🍿  

(My complete movie list is here).

[kuroppiii]

hiiii omg i saw ur a film nerd in ur about me post and so am i !! whats ur favourite movie/s :P

hello!!! and yes omg i always LOVE answering this question lmao so first and foremost:

my letterboxd top 4 <3 !

( explanations and honorable mentions under the cut ! )

1. little women (2019)

watched it with three of my best friends when it first was in theaters so that definitely added to the message and experience watching it. i love how greta gerwig directed the sister dynamic. she’s gone on record on interviews and also if you can find the screenplay itself that in the script the actors’ lines were written on top of one another to reflect the spontaneity and chaos of sisterhood and family through the film’s dialogue. so genius?!?! this adaptation just felt so real and genuine and i also see a little of myself in all the sisters 🫶

2. challengers

UGH i did like a whole deep dive here but in short: luca guadagnino you absolute mastermind. i love tennis, i love colorgraded film and photography, i love hot people!!!! story was insane, i quite literally had to sit in my car for like half an hour just processing when i got out the movie house before i felt normal enough to drive home lol.

3. emma (2020)

again i did a thorough tedtalk on this one. but i’m a big jane austen fan!!! and the aesthetics and score on this adaptation were just off the charts and so so lovely. love the regency era and i think they translated it to screen in a very appealing and classic (although maybe not entirely historical but hey it’s art) way. i’ll always come back to it as my comfort movie ngl.

4. call me by your name

amazing story. (not a love story mind you!!!) which is actually why it stuck with me sm bc i went in with my hopeless romantic self just to be fuckin crushed. watched it two summers ago and it took me like weeks to recover, it broke my heart in a way that felt so good. also just a downright beautiful film all around (colorgrade, cinematography, acting, music, everything!!). in guadagnino we trust!!!

honorable mentions:

watching the detectives (!!!)

lucy liu and cillian murphy? ummm FUCK YES? my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE in the romcom genre to date. they just match each other’s freak. and the whole movie is abt being film nerdy and awkward and weird and manic pixie dream girl and like lowk…. so ro-core fr!

shape of water

ok don’t call me a freak, it was pretty interesting— from the aesthetics, to the minimal dialogue, to the overall story. it’s a doozy but imo that shit was art. (or guillermo del toro was the real freak all along)

spirited away

my fav ghibli film bc it’s just so haunting in a way none of the other ghibli films are and i like that. like the way some of those characters were drawn was lowk gross—but i find that kinda gnarly. so over the top fantastical it makes my brain tingle in a certain way.

isle of dogs

my fav wes anderson film in both stop motion or live action (my fav live action of his was the most recent asteroid city tho!). truly art and has such a heartwarming story but at the same time the DRAMA. my lord. crazy how captivating the story was even if half of it was in largely unsubtitled japanese—unique choice but i actually liked what it added to the movie a lot especially considering the movie’s pov from an english-speaking dog. i’m actually a big cat person but i finished that movie so convinced that fuck yeah that dog is man’s bsf right there

the amazing spiderman movies

andrew garfield’s spiderman is my fav <3 but also i love the darker feel to this version of spiderman. maybe it’s bc i’m also a big batman/dc fan (sorry my marvel babes </3) and generally those movies have been handled with a more dark tone. but nonetheless andrew garfield is hot too so that’s a plus!

cruella

i’m lowk a disney hater but this movie was SO. CUNTY. fuck i loved it. the actors were amazing and the visuals and the FASHION were just mwah, especially compared to other disney live action films (😭).

maleficent & maleficent: mistress of evil

AGAIN, SO FUCKING CUNTY even if i’m a reluctant disney enjoyer. i watched the first installment when i was real young but in 3d at the movie house. SO COOL. watched the second one with my mom at home. IMMEDIATELY WATCHED IT AGAIN. angelina jolie is maleficent, n i love how these movies characterize the villain in such a genuinely human way i don’t think anyone could’ve seen coming when these babies first came out.

ok thats it finally 💋

[madam-wakefield]

Family Artwork

Just a little fic for the first day of @berenaadvent and the 3rd day prompt “Silhouette”

Read on A03

If you’d told a 15 year old Bernie that one day she’d have a wife she’d have told you you were crazy. Of course by then she knew she had feelings for women, she also knew she was destined to join the army and that she would never share that first fact with another living sole.

If you’d have told a 35 year old Bernie that she’d have a wife one day she’d have told you that she’d lost her chance. That she’d made her choice to join to RAMC and marry Marcus. She’d have said that for her the legalisation of gay and lesbian people serving openly in the British army had come too late. Of course she was overjoyed it had finally happened but it was still too late for her.

If you’d have told a 51 year old Bernie that she’d have a wife one day she’d have told you that she was no good at relationships. That she’d ruined her marriage, ruined her friendship with Alex through the affair that had led to the breakdown of everything else.

Yet here she is now 62 years old, watching her three grandchildren, Florence, Mabel and Ezra and one grandniece, Greta, run towards the castle, as she walks hand in hand with her wife down Disney’s Main Street, on what is unfortunately the last day of their holiday. She struggles still sometimes, still has days where she is riddled with guilt about all the mistakes she’s made in her life, but right here right now she knows she’s exactly where she should be.

Her and her wife are lucky enough that they have a certain calibre of job, that has afforded them a comfortable life, so last year in lieu of Christmas presents they’d revealed they were taking their children and each of their grandchildren, and of course Jason and his daughter to Disney World.

It of course had taken a lot of logistics to ensure both Bernie and Serena, as well as Cameron and Morven, Charlotte and Lizzie, Elinor and Grant and Jason and Greta could all have holiday at the same time. They’ve been naughty and taken the grandchildren out of school, no way they could have organised everyone’s time off work with a school holiday. It’s all be so worth it though, the memories they’ve made together, these past two weeks, as a big giant mixed up family have been more than worth it. And Bernie knows that despite all the mistakes she’s made this is exactly where she’s meant to be, that she’s truly happy.

“You alright?” Serena says squeezing her hand, lets Bernie know she’s been quiet and musing just a little too long.

“Yes just thinking about how happy I am,” it’s as she turns to smile at Serena that she spots it. The silhouette studio off to her right. The images look so beautiful, can’t help built stop and look, the sudden and unexpected pause pulling on Serena’s arm and putting her just a little off balance. Bernie helps steady her, apologising earnestly. Before pointing and speaking

“Aren’t they beautiful?” She watches as Serena catches sight of them, eyes going wide.

“They are but from the look in your face you already have an idea forming in your head.” Serena says nudging her gently. Bernie loves the fact the woman she married can read her every expression, that she doesn’t have to hide herself.

“The art work that we have never been able to find for above the fireplace, I think we might have found it. Five of these, one for each little family arranged together to make a five like on a dice.”

Bernie allows herself to be pulled to face Serena, moulds easily as Serena leans in to kiss her quick and gentle. “You my dear are a genius, they’d look beautiful.”

That is how the next hour finds each little family in turn sitting for a silhouette. Serena and Bernie go first, their grandchildren looking in awe as the artist freehand cuts their joint silhouette out of the black card, before placing it inside the thick black oval frame. Charlotte, Lizzie and Mabel go next, being the eldest grandchild she always says it’s her job to show the others how to behave. Elinor, Grant and Erza go next, Erza is the youngest of their grandchildren, is a little impatient to get to some more rides. So after they’ve finished they send them on their way with Charlotte, Lizzie and Mabel. Tell them they’ll message when they’ll finish. Jason offers for Cameron, Morven and Florence to go next, Bernie and Serena know it’s because he doesn’t want the audience as he sits for his portrait so sends them to join Charlotte and Elinor after they’ve finished. They themselves wander slowly around the shop for the length of time it takes Jason’s little family to be finished.

It’s Bernie who takes the two bags with the carefully wrapped frames and keeps them safe for the rest of the day. That evening when they stand together to watch the fireworks, Bernie can’t help but watch Serena’s silhouette, illuminated by the colourful lights she looks as beautiful as ever and Bernie’s breath is once again take away by how lucky she is.

When they get home, Serena takes the suitcase and sets about sorting the washing while Bernie takes the bags containing the five silhouette portraits, grabs the stepladder and her tool kit and sets about finally adding their fireplace art to the living room. Every day from then on it’s her little reminder of the family she gets to call hers, of everything that is good in her world. That somehow all the decisions in her life have led to this and that there is nothing she’d rather have more and no where else she’d rather be.

[voidpacifist]

I just went to see barbie and oppenheimer together in theaters and I have a lot of thoughts on both

NOTE: as far as oppenheimer goes I just wanna make the disclaimer that when I refer to oppenheimer, im referring to the character. I'm very well aware that nolan depicted him in a favorable light (even if the framing of the movie would lead you to believe otherwise). LISTEN to survivors of nuclear fallout (particularly the indigenous people of new mexico who were affected most by irl!oppenheimer's testing) and understand that not everyone is going to love what appears to be the glorifying of a man who made the atomic bomb possible. I tried to differentiate for film commentary purposes the vast difference between oppenheimer the horrifying historical figure and oppenheimer the sad little conflicted pretty man okay? okay, lets get this show on the road.

THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR BOTH FILMS

I went to see barbie first, because in my mind, it was a strategic decision — did I want to be underwhelmed after a three hour film filled with bomb-y sfx? no, not really. so I went to see it before oppenheimer just so both films could have their intended effects.

I was not prepared for barbie to be as visceral as it was. greta gerwig is a GENIUS with the way she directed this film. in particular, my favorite parts were:

- weird barbie knowing everything because she has, quite literally, been through the most

- ken thinking the patriarchy wasn't just about male dominated society, but rather male-on-a-horse dominated society

- THEY HAD A PREGNANT BARBIE! THEY HAD A WHEELCHAIR BARBIE! THEY HAD SO MANY DIFFERENT BARBIES AND THEY WEREN'T SHY ABOUT IT <3

- og!barbie calling an old woman beautiful the first time she ever calls a human being beautiful just means so much to me

- ALLAN!!!! ALLAN NEEDS HIS OWN MOVIE HE'S MY SPECIAL LITTLE GUY!!!!

- the unexpected fourth wall breaks were quite funny and very well paced, and added a layer of realism to the film that I was not at all prepared for

I don't think there's a single wrong thing I can think of with this film. I sincerely hope it receives multiple awards and I sincerely believe it will! this is a movie for the girls and the girl understanders and if you are either, go see it ASAP!

---

after barbie, I went to see oppenheimer. I too, was not prepared for this film. I already knew from the internets review of christopher nolan that, as a woman at least, I'd have my reservations about whether or not it passed the bechtel test. it did not, but the thing that surprised me most was that I didn't mind that aspect.

I watched a man consumed by his work and his morals and their conflict with one another play out in such an intense marriage of science, politics, etc. and I watched the results of it, how his life was torn to pieces by the american government, colleagues, and the people most affected by his work (this last one is in more of the abstract sense because of course nolan would never outright give a voice to them, way to go ig).

and then, I realized I watched a film that truly depicted a main character I could sympathize with at some points, but never fully empathize with if I ever met the man (the real oppenheimer, not murphy's oppie). this is a main character you don't leave the theater loving or hating. his life, his work, his conflicts in both, do not paint him in any type of way — he does all of that himself, and I think those who left the movie understanding or even liking oppenheimer as a historical figure missed several points of the film that would try and dissuade that conclusion.

these were my favorite parts of the film:

- seeing glimpses of kitty oppenheimer and understanding, just from those glimpses, that she is the backbone of her marriage to robert. there isn't a single moment (except maybe how she got together with him in the first place) that I disagreed with

- now I know how heavily talked about the florence pugh scenes were and I do disagree with how the metaphor of robert "confessing his sins" of infidelity were played out in the manner they were. I am glad that his vices weren't shied away from. we were given everything about him, the good and the bad and the horrifying

- the imagery of how oppie's mind was thinking and processing the physics and the theories of the atom, the overlaying of the sound affects of applause, train tracks, a bomb detonating. from an artistic standpoint this is just *chefs kiss*

- the moment he understood the magnitude of his work, even in just glimpses, and how that left him in such a state after being applauded for the central work that helped to kill tens of thousands of people across the world. the vast difference between his reaction to it and the president of the united states demeaning him for having emotions about it

overall, I'm just glad that I wasn't watching cillian murphy portraying a fictionalized historical figure. he embodied the role in such a way that I wasn't watching the man oppenheimer (from history) nor was I watching cillian murphy. they'd become inseparable in my mind by the time the film was over, creating some not so secret third oppie that wasn't a person pulled from time nor was he just a character.

overall, if you're looking for a film you can sit through and leave unscathed, I would not recommend this one. it will stay with you. and it will make you uncomfortable. and if it does, then it worked.

I will also be quite shocked if this one doesn't receive any awards.

---

now, let's talk about barbenheimer as a unit because it's a metric FUCKTON of the dichotomy of being human and that is beautiful, just BEAUTIFUL to me. where barbie illustrates the beauty and positive meaning you can make of your life, oppenheimer illustrated the horror and ransacking you can make of your life. seeing these two one after the other will have you both loving and hating yourself, and either way, maybe you're right!

here's the difference between them that I loved best though.

at least for me, barbie is a mirror. it's a mirror into womanhood, into the inherent ordeal that is existing, and how you can make the best of it an embrace every part of yourself, even the parts that are confusing. and then you get oppenheimer, and if barbie is a mirror, oppenheimer is a window. it's a window into the horrific parts of discovery, into the terrifying parts of being human that are terrible to look at in oneself, it's a window into how someone makes the worst version of himself, and how it comes back to haunt him. but oppenheimer CAN be a mirror, too, for that matter.

seeing these back to back was not a mistake by any means, and if you're planning on sitting through five hours of film anytime in the near future, make it these two. I'm so very serious about that

[cornfields-td-nonsense]

🧠 all of them

An ask from the OC ask game I forgot to answer oops

What do you like most about them?

Starting in elimination order, then quickly veering off and going in a completely random order:

- William is a dramatic little bitch who dresses like a colourblind D&D bard. Need I say more.

- Sal's just big and dumb and doesn't know her own strength but cmon guys, she's doing her best!

- Nicolas is just funny to me, like, conceptually. Chris really went through the process of adopting a random orphan to have on his show and became an unwilling father. brilliant

- Reggie's just silly. She's the definition of a silly little guy. She operates on cartoonier physics than anyone else. She's a horrible influence on Nicolas. She's Roger Rabbit as a teenage lesbian. Also I just love clowns, I wanted to make a clown character for TDN almost as soon as I thought of it

- Carmen's just fun. She's pretty and smart and she gets along with everyone! And I especially love how human she is. Like. Totally human. I don't know what that one anon was talking about. There's nothing supernatural about her.

- Matt, on the other hand, is an absolute bitch. Sometimes it's just fun to have a horrendously unlikeable character to play around with.

- Greta's a wannabe supervillain that is trying and failing to be evil. She's like if Max wasn't annoying.

- Hans just does not give a crap. I respect that.

- Charlie's aroace and we need more aspec characters like. in general. Also I like it when characters in TD do something, get eliminated, and then the thing they did continues to be important and comes up later, like MK hacking the confessionals in TDI2023. Something similar happens with Charlie's research and notes on his findings about the island - something to do with Alisha and Esther.

- Harper. One, I like the idea of an intern being unwillingly dragged onto the show. Two, I love stories about unrequited romantic feelings that have actual happy endings and show that "staying friends" is a totally feasible option that can actually be the best case scenario. Harper and Charlie manage to snag their friendship out of the fiery wreckage of their not-romance, and they're both better off for it.

- Esther was the first TDN character, and you always remember your roots. Shes basically the reason this thing exists, lol. I also put a lot more of myself into her than I was expecting to, but I do that with a lot of my characters

- Skelly is a punk character that isn't Duncan. That makes them awesome in my book.

- Alisha is a theatre kid. We love a theatre kid. I do have a lot to say about her but I'm saving that for another ask currently sitting in my inbox

- Ming is a menace. In the best way possible. Once Lloyd pulls the betrayal card on Rod, Ming fully declares war on his ass - she is VERY protective of her friends.

- Art is the kind of unlikeable character I really enjoy - he's believable. He's multi-dimensional. There's reasons he is the way he is, and he's capable of change.

- Isla is a bigender artsy kid with ADHD. You know. Like me.

- Eve has a snake. Like. Come on. (Also yours truly forgot to mention she's mute and uses ASL in her character bio. oops. I'll go back and edit that in later lol)

- Lloyd is, like I've said before, utterly overflowing with issues. I want to examine his brain under a microscope.

- Rod's not stupid. I know it's a bit of a weird thing to specify, but oftentimes the optimistic ray of sunshine who's best friends (or more...?) with a jaded grumpier one is portrayed as dumb. Rod isn't some kind of genius, but he's no idiot, either. I think that's important to say.

- Lara is an autistic girl who overthinks every social interaction she has, struggles with sensory issues she doesn't know how to deal with or even explain, and gets pushed around by certain individuals (coughartcough) who perceive her struggles as her being lazy or untalented. And by building a support system and finding someone she can truly connect with in Esther, she comes out of her shell, stands up for herself, develops and fleshes out her skills and manages to win. In short, Lara is the character I needed when I was younger.

[louloulouloulouloulouloulou]

BARBIE SPOILERS

IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT YET KEEP SCROLLING

this is my review. no one asked for it but i’m writing it anyway because i have these thoughts in my brain and i need to get them out.

watched it today 10/10 five stars would recommend. the first half hour was exactly what i expected, the rest was surprising to me but I loved it. less subtle than I was expecting from Greta, but seeing as it’s a movie whose target audience will include a lot of preteen girls i get it and i’m okay with it. the music is fire i will be looping the album on repeat for the rest of my life.

i wish i could have seen this movie when i was like fourteen, it would have changed my life. it’s just so real. and so honest and so true. i always looked down on Barbie (i was a bit of a sasha) but i never processed what an excellent metaphor she is for how impossible it is to be a woman. she’s supposed to represent what a woman can do, personify little girls’ dreams, but no one likes her because she sets an unrealistic body standard (not that it’s not a problem, because it totally is, and we can’t overlook that, but the answer is not to cancel barbie-- make her more inclusive! she can change! but anyways i digress). Greta Gerwig is a genius, i would love a window into her brain to watch the magic at work. no matter what barbie does or what she says or who she is people will always find a way to criticize her and put her down or shove her in a literal box (thank you for that will ferrell?). and that is the dilemma of womanhood. it’s been expressed many times in many ways but i’ve never seen it expressed so directly and beautifully. truly incredible stuff.

my one complaint... where are the gay barbies. that’s what barbies do. if you don’t have a ken you have a lesbian commune and if you have two kens they are definitely in love. like that would have been great. obviously there are amazing LGBTQIA+ actors in the film SLAYING it and certain characters (Weird Barbie, Sugar’s Daddy, Magical Earring Ken) are definitely not straight but like... there were no couples. all the barbies had a ken. where’s the barbie with a barbie, spending the night bc they’re girlfriend-girlfriend and every night is girl’s night? where are the kens in love who appreciate each other the way barbie never could? i would have loved to see that. but the rest of the movie is a slay and a half so i can overlook it.

also small thing but i’m surprised allan had as big of a role in the movie as he did. i genuinely thought they cast him just so they could cut to him making the Michael Cera face a couple of times to lure the bisexuals into the theater and then call it a day. but he was a character! a real character! pleasant surprise, fun times all around

i can’t wait to watch it again.

[a-dotrivenitupontop]

the thing about greta gerwig is that i truly believe she is a genius but a genius at making feminist films instead of feminist theories

[anticipatingevaporation]

Barbie

“Humans only have one ending, ideas live forever”

I talk about movies a lot. I watch and listen to movie reviews just as much. I am very much in ~the conversation~ when it comes to movies and TV shows. So much so that I find I tend to over intellectualise these media forms. I look at them as products to be dissected rather than art.

When I think about my favourite movies of all time, I don’t love them because of their artistic merit (although that is definitely a factor). I love them because of the way they make me feel. That yearning to stay in the world created, to make the movie last just a little longer. The ever present desire to watch it all again the second the credits start rolling.

Barbie is by no means a perfect movie. But it made me feel that way again.

Greta Gerwig is a filmmaker I have been familiar with for some time now. My quest to watch all Oscar nominated movies every year means I have seen all three of her directorial works. Each one has inched closer to my tastes, culminating in Barbie, a personal home run.

I particularly love Gerwig’s sensibility as a filmmaker, the tone she strikes is unabashedly feminine. There is a certain softness to her approach that feels like a warm hug I am growing to love.

Barbie is no different. This truly feels like a movie made for ~the Girls~ and I love it. I love that this movie is not shy about its femininity. It doesn’t masquerade it and it is not ashamed to be a girl movie. In a landscape that is so dominated by the opposite, it is more than refreshing to find something so female that is also, so good.

For starters, the screenplay here is beyond brilliant. It is in equal parts smart and funny. You can tell Greta and her writing partner Noah Baumbach have a true understanding of and appreciation for the world and lore of Barbie. There are some deep cuts here, including characters such as Alan and Midge, as well as outfits and set design that are true to the spirit of Barbie, from the first iconic swimsuit to modern day.

I love that there are “multiples” of Barbie and Ken, all named Barbie and Ken. The fact that there are no stars in Barbieland: the Barbies just float from floor to floor? Genius.

It’s these little touches that demonstrate how much care has been put into this movie. Don’t get me started on the production and set design, it is among the greatest I have ever seen.

Something I think and talk about a lot is the current state of TV and Film. It is not controversial to say the landscape has been overtaken by IP driven content. Whether this is a necessary safeguard to avoid financial disappointment or viewers are truly hungry for original content is another discussion, but the point here is it is almost unheard of to craft a truly original movie or TV show nowadays. Everything must be derived from something else, and everything is often, awful.

It would have been so easy to make a by the numbers Barbie movie, something serviceable and somewhat entertaining but forgettable. Producer Margot Robbie and Director Greta Gerwig go a decidedly different route. This movie is manages to be both an entertaining blockbuster and a nuanced discussion of feminism today. When you think about it, the Barbie doll perfectly lends to conversations like these, and Gerwig more than pulls it off.

When it comes to performances and characters in this movie, there is a clear stand out. And that is Ryan Gosling’s Ken. This performance is beyond brilliant, I would wager the best in Gosling’s career. He perfectly understands the tone this movie is striking and gives it an 11 in every scene he is part of. His every expression is perfect, and his timing is impeccable. Comedic performances often don’t get the praise they deserve. Ken is by far the highlight of the movie, and it would simply not succeed without Gosling’s performance here.

Gerwig’s decision to make Ken’s character such a key aspect of the film is, in my opinion, the secret to its success. Putting Ken in the position of women in the real world is a subtle and brilliant way to drive the point of the movie home and another example of the brilliant writing on display here.

Much has been made of Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig’s lack of nominations for this film in the Best Actress and Best Director categories at this year’s Oscars. The topic has unfortunately become politicised, and getting too involved in the discourse regarding this is enough to make any sane person’s head spin.

Putting all that to one side, I really do think both Robbie and Gerwig were deserving of nominations for their work here. Having said that, I don’t think Ryan Gosling’s nomination is a sleight of any kind, or a knock against feminism. His performance was far and away the best part of the movie, and if by some miracle he wins for this, I would be absolutely elated.

I don’t doubt that Margot Robbie will win her Oscar someday, she keeps putting out really interesting work as a producer. Further, Gerwig stands a chance in screenplay for Barbie, and I personally find that the category she would deserve it in the most. In conclusion, the snub is a shame, but not the end of the world.

Speaking of the Oscars, a trend I find rearing its head time and again is films that are true cultural moments being overlooked, only for us to realise their full potential after the fact. It is often difficult to tell which movies will stand the test of time and which will be forgotten within a year. But it is beyond apparent to me that Barbie did something unique this year. It made an insane amount of money and broke box office records while also having a significant cultural impact. The famous Barbenheimer phenomenon was unlike any of us have seen in recent memory. People flocked to the theatres in droves to experience the double feature, myself included. In a society where our attention is becoming more and more fractured, it was incredible to see everyone do something together again. Barbie was part of an actual watercooler moment, and we shouldn’t take that for granted.

Not only was the movie a cultural reset, the marketing was just as impressive. The “This Barbie is…” posters released, the red carpet outfits paying homage to classic Barbie looks, the unabashed wearing of pink and constant, “Hi, Barbie!” greetings. It is easy to forget how much of a moment this movie was. It had a cultural impact we can’t truly quantify, and I would hate to watch it go unrewarded in its time.

Having said all of this, Barbie is certainly not a perfect movie. While the story elements concerning Ken soared, those involving the Mattel executives faltered for me. There were a good few laughs elicited- I’m not one to find Will Ferrell that funny, but he was amazing here- but overall this portion of the movie just dragged, especially in contrast to how compelling the rest was.

I also found the third act to be a little sloppy. The grand finale where all the characters meet felt a little weak, likely because the Mattel executives were involved again. I honestly think cutting them out would have significantly improved the movie as a whole.

I mentioned earlier that this movie felt like it was made for the girls. More than that, it felt like it was made for me. I recognised almost every side character from some TV show I’ve watched over the years. The sense of humour was a hit almost every time. Not to mention, Dua Lipa is my favourite musical artist ever. Her cameo and song were just SO perfect for me. (Not to be outdone, “I’m Just Ken” will go down in power ballad history, and “What Was I Made For?” is a masterpiece)

It’s easy to get caught up in the discourse surrounding a film, and to let that inform how we feel about the movie itself. Especially in a world where everyone (including me) has something to say. But I’m putting that all to one side. The Barbie movie is really special to me. I love it in a deeply personal way that I can’t explain no matter how long my review is. There was a moment in the theatre where I laughed out loud and said “That is ME!” This movie felt like both a mirror and a lens. I am so beyond happy to see it get so many nominations and so much love. I think it would be so fitting for it to win big at the Oscars, the ultimate celebration of film. Because Barbie reminded me what a movie can do, how it can speak to something you didn’t know needed to be said. And most importantly, how it can make you feel.

To quote once again, “Humans have only one ending, ideas live forever.” I hope the Barbie movie lives on for a very long time.

[thecommandertable]

Wilds of Eldraine - in the 99 of Artisan Decks: Part 2 of 2

Find Part 1 here!

Red

This card screams 'Zada'-- that deck is very good at drawing lots of cards and making lots of creatures, and any card that can draw a bunch of cards while also generating mana has the potential to turn the dial up to 11. The only speedbump here is that the vast majority of creature tokens that Zada decks create only have 1 toughness, so we have to do something to protect them before we can start flicking coins. Kick in the Door and Blazing Crescendo give them some extra toughness, as well as the new cards Monstrous Rage and Witch's Mark. Otherworldly Outburst lets you upgrade your creatures when they die. And once we've got those cards, we might as well run Spawning Breath, too.

A Trumpet Blast with a dual role in aristocrats decks? That seems pretty good.

Hearth Elemental takes some maneuvering to get maximum value from it, but if you do, it's essentially a 3-mana 3/4 that draws you two cards; if you cast Stoke Genius and don't have any cards left in hand, you don't have to discard anything and you draw 2, then, if you have enough of the appropriate cards in your graveyard, you can cast the creature half for a single red mana.

If your red voltron deck can make good use of the adventure half of Two-Headed Hunter, Twice the Rage, adding the option of getting a 5/4 menace creature for 5 mana afterwards is nothing to scoff at. For example, I recently played against a Mr. Orfeo, the Boulder deck that this giant would probably feel at home in.

Unruly Catapult is the latest in a line of creatures that tap to deal 1 damage to each opponent and becomes untapped when you cast a certain type of spell. They are underwhelming on their lonesome, but can enable some very powerful things. In a Malcolm, Keen-Eyed Navigator and/or Breeches, Brazen Plunderer deck, if you change the Catapult from a Construct into a Pirate (with something like Amoeboid Changeling), you get three treasures and/or impulse draw from each of your opponents' libraries. You can also pair it with a Curiosity effect to draw three cards for every activation.

Green

There are a number of big green creatures that can help you ramp early in the game if you need them to, but they're all 6-mana or greater: Krosan Tusker, Shefet Monitor, Greater Tanuki, Beanstalk Giant, etc. Explore-type effects are generally less reliable than Rampant Growth-type effects, but Beanstalk Wurm's unique spot on the curve might get it into some decks. Having reach is another big point in its favor as green ramp decks often have a difficult time defending themselves against fliers.

When I gave my first impression of Greta, Sweettooth Scourge, I wrote that "I expect the deck to be functional, but not especially powerful unless we get some exceptional food payoffs at common/uncommon". Well, this is an exceptional food payoff at uncommon. This will be the card that food decks will want to draw the most; having Night of the Sweets' Revenge on the battlefield will give them access to a lot of additional mana and a win condition.

Just as green decks that care about +1/+1 counters tend to run Snakeskin Veil over Tamiyo's Safekeeping, I expect decks that care about auras or enchantments to run Royal Treatment.

A very functional Naturalize (sorcery speed, but that's ok) stapled to a 6-mana 6/7 with an evasion ability!? Stormkeld Vanguard looks excellent. I expect to be playing with and against this card a lot.

Most of the Artisan 'enchantress' decks out there are aura-centric as it is, so Tanglespan Lookout joins the ranks of Mesa Enchantress, Satyr Enchanter, Gnarlback Rhino, and Season of Growth; we're getting closer to the critical mass of enchantress effects needed for these decks to become truly degenerate. Note that Tanglespan Lookout's ability triggers upon etb of an aura and not on cast, which means it draws when you attach a role token to a creature or flicker an aura with something like Flicker of Fate.

Normally I'd advise caution about cards that trigger off of doing high-mv stuff, since the average deck only has 8-10 cards with 5 mv or greater. But Up the Beanstalk draws a card when it enters the battlefield draws a card when it enters the battlefield, so the floor here is super low. You only need to trigger it one time for it to be good, and obviously a ramp deck or a deck that is otherwise built to cast big spells should be able to trigger it more than once. An excellent card.

This isn't quite the marquee payoff for food decks that Night of the Sweets' Revenge is, but it's still good. The two separate instances of token creation synergizes well with Peregrin Took.

Multicolored

Callous Sell-Sword fits well into Juri for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, Fling effects are a crucial part of eliminating players once you've built up a gigantic Juri, so having that attached to a creature is helpful. Second, Callous Sell-Sword is another way to generate a large creature by sacrificing small creatures, which is good in a pinch if you've drawn an extra fling effect.

Likewise, Frolicking Familiar fills both roles needed in Balmor decks; it's a small, evasive creature that gets pumped by instants/sorceries in addition to being an instant. It's even a wizard, in case you're trying to optimize with Adeliz, the Cinder Wind!

Also, it's adorable.

Colorless

Collector's Vault looks like a serviceable little card selection/ramp piece. It might find a spot in decks that get extra value from treasure tokens like Juri and Thalisse.

To be honest, I don't know where Eriette's Tempting Apple fits into the format. It's entirely possible that no one will use it. I did want to note it, though, because it's the only colorless card with a Threaten effect (ignoring Turn Against). Blue has had Ray of Command, but now green, white, and black have access to the effect.

Whew. That was a ton of cards! This is my first time writing a set review like this, but I suspect that this is a higher density of Artisan-relevant cards than the average Standard-legal set. A lot of the draft archetypes here overlap with existing Artisan deck archetypes, or push themes that weren't quite there before into viability. There's plenty to be excited about!

[themovieblogonline]

Get Ready for a Dreamy Adventure in This New Barbie Trailer

Welcome to Barbie Land, a world of perfection where dreams come true! Brace yourselves as we're going on a cinematic journey in this new Barbie Trailer as Oscar-nominated writer/director Greta Gerwig presents "Barbie." The highly anticipated movie stars the dynamic duo of Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as the iconic couple Barbie and Ken. They took the world by storm when they were filming this movie on Venice Beach and now we get to see the result of their hard work! Prepare to be enchanted by this star-studded cast. Join Barbie and Ken as they embark on an adventure filled with self-discovery, and a bit of existential crisis. Watch their adventure begin in this newly released Barbie trailer! https://youtu.be/pBk4NYhWNMM Greta Gerwig, acclaimed for her remarkable films "Little Women" and "Lady Bird," is at the helm of this imaginative project. Greta is bringing her visionary storytelling and creative genius to the Barbie universe. Joined by fellow Oscar nominees Margot Robbie, and Ryan Gosling, Gerwig has assembled an incredible ensemble cast. The supporting cast is nothing short of extraordinary in this Barbie trailer. Featuring a lineup of talented actors and actresses who will bring this enchanting world to life. America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, and Will Ferrell lend their talents to create a truly magical experience. With such a talented and diverse ensemble, "Barbie" promises to be a captivating experience for audiences of all ages. Get ready to step into a world where perfection meets adventure. A world where dreams take flight. A world where Barbie and Ken embark on a journey that will capture the hearts of audiences around the globe. Stay tuned for more updates and mark your calendars for the release of "Barbie" on July 21, 2023. It's time to experience the magic of Barbie Land like never before! Read the full article

[longtallciara]

Thinking is my fighting - Virginia Woolf

Originally published on my website during Neurodiversity Celebration Week (13-19th March)

I began writing this as a therapeutic essay, but also with an intention of sharing it.

As I have gotten older I have tried to ask myself, 'Do I really need to share this on social media?' so that I avoid, in my own judgmental mind, having what I would consider an annoying social media presence. Oversharing, attention-seeking, humblebragging, are things that everyone, myself included, is so prone to doing now and my distaste for it can feel borderline curmudgeonly, but I know that innocent people's sharing can just strike right into my own insecurities. Jealousy, rejection, and loneliness. It's an emotional own goal. In light of the past few years, and especially the past several months, I have decided to go back and remember what had brought me pleasure when I was younger, when, although I was struggling, I think I felt more connected to myself. Whilst reading Samantha Irby's book Meaty recently, she had me recall a truly meaningful relationship that I had with my tumblr account in my early twenties. Followed by people who I didn't know personally, I felt an ease in expressing myself. It was an extension of my personal diary, but I was also practising my writing craft, and publishing whatever I wrote. I clicked 'Post' to the void. It felt better to express myself in writing because I had always limped my way through talking to people verbally. The less people I have to tell the following verbally, the better.

Just after my 35th birthday in January of this year, I received my autism diagnosis. On 1st February, St Brigid's Day, I received the report from my psychologist who identified my autism. Reading through it felt like I was not reading about me. I couldn't believe it was me, that this was all reporting back on everything I had told her that ended up aligning with diagnostic criteria. The feeling of 'this is a joke ... a joke that has gone too far' came back, along with paranoia that I had lied to her - and myself - throughout the entire process. Yesterday I got off a zoom call with an autistic mentor for what was my post-diagnostic support session. It was tough - I pulled myself open whilst clutching my stuffed seal toy. I related so much to my mentor, and felt so validated. My head felt so full afterwards, I changed into my new fluffy dressing gown, hopped around on my tiptoes and put my headphones on and listened to 'U&ME' by Alt-J to try and calm down. I had unwittingly booked my post-diagnostic support session for a day during Neurodiversity Celebration Week, and my experience with the mentor was so buzzingly wonderful, that it felt fitting to finish and publish this piece now.

I am still going through a tremendous amount of imposter syndrome and that is because I still hold on to the learned stereotypes of autism that I have seen or read or experienced through other people. I compare myself to these stereotypes as well as other autistic people online - my stims are far more subtle than others, I don't know as much as others do about my special interests, and I have no idea whether I notice patterns or connections more than other people. Although, by the same token, I have been extraordinarily validated by reading posts tagged #actuallyautistic.

The thing I have been most worried about is telling people. I find being around people so hard even at the best of times. So far it has been okay, but there have been a few disappointing conversations so far which have refuelled the idea that I am an imposter. I have been met with age-old assumptions, 'but you're an empath', 'but you're very warm', or an actual eye-roll. I ain't nothing like Rain Man, nothing like Greta Thunberg. I am not a non-speaking super-genius. There are autistic stereotypes which I do not live up to, so it's like I have a lot of explaining to do. Because I have lived and worked in communal settings, I have never said anything about my discomfort because there was some forbearance on my part in accepting that most people need to talk or have the radio on all the time, or this is the normal level of lights people need to be able to see. I sidelined my feelings because I like people, and I thought that I was just being an over-sensitive and annoying killjoy. I didn't know the full story, and neither did they, so I acknowledge that all this will be coming as a surprise to people.

I feel terribly selfish that I only have better knowledge about autism at hand now because I am autistic. My awareness was next to non-existent before I began digging. It's not that I didn't care for it - one male friend and one ex-boyfriend told me of their autism, and I read The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida when it came out because I was curious. But in the films and books I had seen/read in various depictions over the years, and even the 'training' I received when I worked in the public sector, they all painted a very narrow and similar picture of what autism 'looked' like. I never suspected that I might be, until the day my therapist, very bravely, asked me, 'Have you ever wondered if you might be...?'

Life is hard enough (and comes with inevitable suffering, that is something that I think we have philosophically accepted), yet on a daily basis we continue to flagellate ourselves for not living up to some spectral expectation. These expectations are entirely made-up (mostly by the media and then perpetuated by us always comparing ourselves to other people, or, the perceptions we have of them). They're imaginary, yet we persistently fail at living up to them. I have always known that most people can relate to this. And yet. The world of work has been a problem for me since day one of my first job. The number of my sick days has always been high, all throughout school and in any job I've had. I have never been able to get through a sizable period of time without calling in sick. Everything has always felt incredibly difficult. The poet Morgan Harper Nichols wrote about being a neurodivergent adult, that you are always 'trying to navigate life's socially accepted checkpoints when everything else is just as hard.' I was always having suggestions thrown at me to try and turn my life around, and I always felt that I must be so useless and lazy. At age 33 I got a full-time job in a bookshop. On paper it is the perfect job - being surrounded by books and it being my job to talk about my number one interest with colleagues and customers all day. Still, I willed myself to get through an entire working week, every week. I endeavoured to be a devoted and dependable colleague, someone who the manager would not regret hiring. I really wanted to make it work, but I felt constantly under threat. I always seemed to get stuck, reverting back to what I meanly called 'being a teenager' - feeling impossibly miserable, ungrateful, lazy. In the year that I worked there I didn't write anything, I had no mental or emotional space to. I went home every night completely depleted.

No matter what convictions I held inside about how to live, there has always been something. A weight, or a block. A block that stops me even though I imagine doing the thing I want to do so much that I am almost convinced I am doing it, or that I will do it; and yet, I can't, don't, and won't do it. I cannot move. A block that in social situations I depend entirely on alcohol to soothe, dissolve. It is a block that can momentarily shift, for example when I decide to embark on a new interest. Last year it was a lino cutting course to give me some nourishment outside of work. I went for three weeks, and then I could no longer do it. Burnout. The most upsetting block is the one I am currently in, being unable to face my book which I started writing in 2020. The block is understandable, the past six months have been objectively challenging. I am burnt out, and have felt swampy for a long time.

The time I felt most myself was in lockdown in 2020, which is awful but true. Whilst retail and healthcare workers were out there every day putting their lives on the line, I was so relieved to be at home. Firstly, so that I was no longer working in an unpredictable public space where I wasn't constantly feeling endangered by people who were not social distancing. Also, it was because I did not have to talk to anybody except my partner, who is always kind to me. I carved out my own routine in which I genuinely thrived. Mostly, it was because I was finally calm enough to be aware that an idea had arrived. I started writing my book, and it was the most precious period of my life so far. The joy of the idea itself, having the time to run with it, and having the space to dive so deeply into research and follow my various trains of thought uninterrupted. It was bliss.

I love and I hate going places. A place is anywhere outside where I live. By where I live, I mean the brick and mortar dwelling. I visualise myself walking out the door and walking into a shop or grabbing a coffee or even just simply going for a walk, just like anyone else. I do these things, I have to sometimes - I need to buy food, and I do need to see friends from time to time. But I cannot explain how difficult it is to leave my home. The hours I have spent dreaming about taking myself out, and getting myself ready, before I wind up talking myself out of it. Sometimes the sun is too much and I worry about how the skin on my face will feel and that people will see me. Even if I dress appropriately for the weather, everything feels too abrasive and cumbersome to balance, carry, or wear, to proceed comfortably. Preparing to dress appropriately still leaves me feeling desperately inadequate. I am always over or underprepared, never at the sweet-spot of being just fine. Even if I bring all my creature comforts away with me to facilitate my habits and routines, just by being in another place that isn't my home throws my entire being out of whack. I don't know how to operate anywhere else. I love my family and friends, of course. I love being around them, and I love when they come to stay. Even though I love them, and I have had an amazing weekend with them, and everyone might be in their own room (no sharing or sofa-surfing anymore), my brain will not calm down until they are gone and I am finally alone again.

When I read Kurt Cobain's journals as a teenager, I was struck by something he wrote: 'I use bits and pieces of others personalities to form my own.'   I don't really know who I am when I am around other people. All I know from feedback is that I can sometimes come across as boisterous or stand-offish. My social anxiety can get the better of me (one ex-boyfriend's uncle said to the group I was sitting in, 'What is she, a mute?').  I laugh at things that I don't think are even appropriate, and steal other people's turns of phrase to use for next time. Thankfully I have met a few people on the way whose souls sing alongside mine, but I still want to be more like them. There is only one person who I do not feel scared around, and that is my partner. I am fortunate to have this single person who understands me, and who can reassure me as my witness that this isn't all in my head. It would be nice if other people could understand as well, but most importantly, accept. To not turn around to me and say, 'Aren't we all...' or 'You don't seem...' or 'But you're very...'; or 'so you're on the spectrum but you're high-functioning' - this came from a person close to me who knew that when I left my job at the bookshop it was because I was neither coping or functioning. I was speaking to my therapist yesterday about my continued imposter syndrome, how 'I seemed to get along fine for the past 35 years, I thought all this was normal,' but then in the next beat explaining the cycle I've been stuck in since I started school of having one sick day, then another, and another, then getting signed off, going back to school or work, then getting sick, sick, and sick again. She asked me, 'How is that 'fine'?' Autism is not about how you perceive a person, but how they experience the world. I need people to find a balance between expectation and acceptance. My ways of being are not preferences, they are my needs. I am 35 now and I am tired. This is not a joke.

In another recent therapy session I said that books are my language. I told my therapist about an idea I had about reading books in which the protagonist is autistic, and that I would highlight passages that I relate to and then give the people in my life copies of that book. I haven't done this with books yet, but I have done this with articles I have read.

Some books and articles I have read so far that have most-closely captured my own experiences: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata Untypical: How the World Isn't Built for Autistic People and What We Should All Do About It by Pete Wharmby Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty The Electricity of Every Living Thing by Katherine May

This article by Hannah Gadsby: Hannah Gadsby on her autism diagnosis

This article by Naoise Dolan: I'm struggling to talk to friends in lockdown. Being alone has been a relief.

I have always wanted to be a writer. Since I left my job in November, I had hoped that suddenly my creative tap would run freely again like it had before I started. Sometimes I forget about the state I was in when I left and wonder why it has taken me so long to write anything. I am still recovering, and in the meantime I have written out a daily routine for myself to ease myself back into life. I have restarted a yoga routine (since I got covid in July last year, my body all but rejected any extra exertion on top of working in retail. I LOVE yoga, and it has been a slow return to being able to get through a 15-minute video without feeling like I've run cross-country afterwards) and I try, fail, and try again to practise mindfulness before going to bed. Instead of trying to penetrate and navigate the multitudinous caverns of my novel, I am scheduled at 2pm every day to 'WRITE ANYTHING' for an hour. Other hours are devoted to reading and watching films or a show. Those activities are laced with guilt, but I try to remember that they are part of creative nourishment, and go into what one of my favourite writers David Mitchell calls 'the creative compost heap'. When all this stuff does become routine, I'm hoping that the fog will clear and I will climb out of the swampiness. I hope that this gives a helpful glimpse, especially to people who know me, into what is really going on inside me, a seemingly high-functioning person. I am still learning so much about myself that I'm sure more will come to the fore eventually, and maybe I will write about it then. Thank you.

[yearningheart]

just finished watching little women.......i have so much to say goddddd anyone else think it's the best film ever made..........my heart is so full and so warm!!! i want to scream!!!!! i want to physically hold this film in my hands and love it forever!!!!!!!

[rose-tinted-juls]

juliana's comfort movies

updated: 15.06.2021.

dead poets society (1989)

main actors: robert sean leonard, ethan hawke, robin williams

short summary (imdb): "maverick teacher john keating uses poetry to embolden his boarding school students to new heights of self-expression."

why i love it (in a few words): incredible actors, loveable scenes, heartbreakingly good performance, perfectly written lines, i love robin williams, dark academia aesthetic, full of adorable (and attractive) characters

hacksaw ridge (2016)

main actors: andrew garfield, sam worthington, luke bracey, vince vaughn

short summary (imdb): "world war ii american army medic desmond t. doss, who served during the battle of okinawa, refuses to kill people, and becomes the first man in american history to receive the medal of honor without firing a shot."

why i love it (in a few words): incredible actors, ww2 movie, true story, inspiring and breathtaking, really graphic (this can be a warning as well)

little women (2019)

main actors: saoirse ronan, timothée chalamet, emma watson, florence pugh

short summary: "jo march reflects back and forth on her life, telling the beloved story of the march sisters - four young women, each determined to live life on her own terms."

why i love it (in a few words): the aesthetic, so many incredible actors, i love this story (loved the novel and the original movie too), somehow it's so relatable, i absolutely adore greta gerwig

good will hunting (1997)

main actors: matt damon, robin williams, ben affleck, stellan skarsgård

short summary (imdb): "will hunting, a janitor at m.i.t., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life."

why i love it (in a few words): i love matt and ben and i'm so impressed that they wrote this whole thing so young, inspiring, somehow relatable even though i'm not a math genius, the aesthetic, the actors' performance oh my, as i already said i absolutely adore robin williams, young matt damon looks breathtaking (sorry not sorry)

the godfather i & ii (1972, 1974)

main actors: al pacino, james caan, robert de niro, robert duvall

short summaries (imdb): "an organized crime dynasty's aging patriarch transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son." and "the early life and career of vito corleone in 1920s new york city is portrayed, while his son, michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate."

why i love it (in a few words): for some reason i have a thing for mob things, i love al pacino (phenomenal acting talent, pretty attractive), this one's a true classic, literally oldie but goldie

dunkirk (2017)

main actors: fionn whitehead, mark rylance, tom hardy, harry styles

short summary (imdb): "allied soldiers from belgium, the british commonwealth and empire, and france are surrounded by the german army and evacuated during a fierce battle in world war ii."

why i love it (in a few words): i love christopher nolan's movies, ww2 movie, perfectly written script with all the needed things, so many amazing actors and characters, the cinematography

memo (2016)

main actors: tamás lengyel, áron molnár, péter haumann

short summary (imdb): "an ambitious psychiatrist is researching a strange and unique mental state: hypermnesia, just so he could help his amnesic father. when he finds a patient with hypermnesia, he decides to take him out of the mental hospital at his own risk and study him. an unusual relationship is formed between the two men, which starts to endanger the doctor's career, his marriage and even the patient himself."

why i love it (in a few words): it's one of the few hungarian movies that i truly love, amazing actors that i love so much, such interesting story, could watch whenever and endless amount of times

back to the future i, ii & iii (1985, 1989, 1990)

main actors: michael j. fox, christopher lloyd, lea thompson

short summaries (imdb): "marty mcfly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent thirty years into the past in a time-traveling delorean invented by his close friend, the eccentric scientist doc brown." and "after visiting 2015, marty must repeat his visit to 1955 to prevent disastrous changes to 1985...without interfering with his first trip." and "stranded in 1955, marty learns about the death of doc brown in 1885 and must travel back in time to save him. with no fuel readily available for the delorean, the two must figure how to escape the old west before doc is murdered."

why i love it (in a few words): could watch endless amount of times, i love michael j. fox and christopher lloyd, they are perfect for these roles, it's funny interesting and so enjoyable, time travel

when harry met sally (1989)

main actors: billy crystal, meg ryan, carrie fisher

short summary (wikipedia): "the story follows the title characters from the time they meet in chicago just before sharing a cross-country drive, through twelve years of chance encounters in new york city. the film raises the question: can men and women ever just be friends?"

why i love it (in a few words): so much fun to watch, honestly though somehow it's so fanfic like, these two actors oh my, this is the standard of romantic movies, it set the bar to high so no romcom ever could reach it, oen of my favourite romantic movies ever

about time (2013)

main actors: domhnall gleeson, rachel mcadams, bill nighy

short summary (imdb): "at the age of 21, tim discovers he can travel in time and change what happens and has happened in his own life. his decision to make his world a better place by getting a girlfriend turns out not to be as easy as you might think."

why i love it (in a few words): i love domhnall and rachel SO MUCH, bill nighy is in it and he's phenomenal, this is such an interesting concept, it makes me think and try to live my life with a more positive mindset, this is my other favourite romantic movie ever, it makes me feel so happy whenever i watch it, time travel