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poorreputation · 5 years ago

Text

That Being Said, So Get This

A Supernatural-Buzzfeed: Unsolved Crossover! All part of the @cocklesdestielfiction Cockles-Destiel Crazy Crossover Challenge! (and @verobatto-angelxhunter)

To read on AO3:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20960567

Wordcount: 6390

Ship: Destiel

Rating: Teen and up

Any kind of warnings: canon-typical violence. If you watch either show, you should be fine. Also, lots of in-jokes. Maybe too many in-jokes.

Also: contains SPN S14 Spoilers

Summary:

What happens when Buzzfeed: Unsolved and Supernatural are set in the same universe! Ryan Bergara, the believer. Shane Madej, the skeptic. The Winchester Brothers- serial killers? And whatever happened to James Novak?

Story below the cut!

Ryan Bergara waits for the sound engineer's cue, then begins reading aloud from his script, "In June of 2008, James 'Jimmy' Novak disappeared, leaving behind wife Amelia and daughter Claire. Just a few years later, in 2010, Amelia vanishes, as well. Jimmy is reported to have been spotted a handful of times since then, but what could have lead a loving father and husband to vanishing from the face of the earth? And what prompted his wife to join him?"

A pause, a second reading of the same paragraph, and then Ryan continues, "The Novaks were known for their devout faith and regular church attendances. According to close friends and family, Jimmy became a zealot in the months leading up to his disappearance, saying that he'd gained the ability to 'talk to Angels'. It's said this put a great strain on his and Amelia's marriage. But, is this what caused him to leave? Did he even leave under his own will?"

More details are fleshed out, more takes are made, until Ryan reaches his favorite part of every Unsolved episode, "That being said, let's get to the theories. Our first theory builds off of Jimmy's known fanaticism. That he had become convinced he could talk to, and become a vessel for, Angels, and so left his family to fulfill his mission to god. This, however, does not explain what happened to Amelia, or why she disappeared so long after her husband.

"Our second theory is more far-fetched, and comes mostly from the internet rumor-mill. Over the years, there's been alleged sightings of Jimmy Novak, not only nationally, but internationally, as well. He's most controversially been claimed to have been spotted with infamous serial killers, Sam and Dean Winchester. Coupled with this is the idea that Jimmy and Dean are romantically connected, which people cite as to why Jimmy left his family in the first place, and that Amelia didn't disappear while looking for Jimmy, but was, in fact, killed by Dean. And, for the record, I think this is horseshit."

Ryan looks up to see the sound engineer silently howling with laughter, which puts a dumb grin on his own face, "But wait, it gets worse!"

Clearing his throat, and fighting to keep a straight face, Ryan continues, "Our third and final theory is that Jimmy and Amelia weren't running towards anything, but away from someone. That someone? Their 10 year old daughter Claire, who some, as in the internet, claim is a Demon-" Ryan breaks off his sentence, laughing so hard he gives himself the hiccups, "This is gonna be our worst episode, ever."

3 WEEKS LATER

Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej step out of one of two rental vans, as the rest of the crew starts to unpack. Shane, the taller of the two hosts, stretches his arms, "God, it's good to get out."

Ryan doesn't respond, looking on at the location for that week's episode. His stomach aches just from the sight of it.

"You all right there?" Shane asks, "Breakfast making a reappearance?"

"Nah, just." Ryan shakes his head, "The cases with murder always get me. So fucking creepy."

"Yup." Shane claps his shoulder, leading the way to the front door.

The house is a single story home, very modern, less than ten years old. Only one family had lived in it, and now it's vacant. The lawn is trimmed, as it's the least the city can do, but the walls, windows and porch are filthy. Items deliberately thrown at the windows are dry and caked on, and Ryan can just picture kids in costumes throwing eggs at the house on Halloween, probably on a dare.

Shane fishes out the keys from his pocket, waits for their cameraman to give them the thumbs-up, and unlocks the door. Motioning for Ryan to go first, Shane gives a cheeky bow.

"Alright, whatever." Ryan mutters.

Everyone filed in, lighting tested and cleared, Ryan begins. He walks into the living room, Shane just a pace behind, and soaks in the scene. The furniture is gone, a light fixture and a bookshelf are all that remain. trying to recall the grisly crime scene photos, Ryan waves hand where the couch should have been. "In August of 2011, Marianne Wyatt and her three boys sat in this area, as someone came up behind them, and shot them, one after the other. They'd been bound, unable to escape, and-" Ryan blinks, nausea overwhelming him, "And a few days later, the father, Marianne's husband, Phil, was found dead. His death ruled a suicide, no note was ever found. Police couldn't prove it, but the theory was that Phil killed his family, and then himself. No one knows why."

"Neighbors on either side said they heard nothing?" Shane says, prompting Ryan out of his daze.

"Heard no screams, no shots. Police couldn't even pinpoint the wife and kids' time of death." Ryan nods, "I think I need some water."

The cameraman shoots some B-roll as Ryan sits, one of the producers handing him a water bottle. "thanks." Ryan nods, as he takes a swallow.

There's rumbling outside, followed by one of the crew commenting, "whoa, look at that ride!"

"Sweet car." the boom operator quips.

Shane looks out the window, "Eh, too obnoxious for my tastes."

"That's a '67 Chevy Impala." the first crew member replies, "You have no taste."

Several people, including Shane, laugh at this, and leaves Ryan with an odd sense of deja-vu. Maybe if the room would stop spinning, he could figure out what it is.

With Ryan looking so sick, the rest of the crew agree to break for the day. Shane drives Ryan to a gas station to get the sickly man some medicine and a Sprite to calm his stomach. Feeling much better, Ryan stays back for a bit to check out the souvenirs the store has to offer, "We could get a hat, or maybe something small like a shot glass."

"Or, we can get gas station nachos!" Shane grins, his smile only getting broader as Ryan pales at the thought, "And here I thought you were a hardened pro, Ryan Bergara."

"It might just be food poisoning." Ryan replies, thumbing through some key chains. A car pulls into the lot, loudly announcing its presence, and Ryan has to stop himself from rolling his eyes, "What's it with people around here and their shitty mufflers?"

"Oh, that's not very fair." Shane replies, the sarcasm lightly sprinkling his words, "I mean- look! -it's the same car from earlier. You shouldn't make such generalizations."

Ryan peers up as they start walking towards the cashier, as the black, classic car comes to a stop, the engine cutting off a second later. Ryan's eyes widen, as he remembers where he's seen this car before. He shakes his head, willing his heart to slow down. As Shane pays for their stuff, Ryan can't resist the urge to try and catch a glimpse of the car's owner. Just to reassure himself, nothing more. However, by the time Shane's ready to leave, the driver of the Impala has already gotten back in the car.

The ride back to the hotel is quiet, save for the radio tuned into some local station. It's a sports station, and Ryan feels it's a nice gesture Shane put it on for him, but Ryan just can't concentrate. He can feel Shane glance his way every now and then, and as he pulls into the hotel parking lot, "Hey, if you're really feeling that bad, I'm sure we can find an Urgent Care, around here."

Ryan shakes his head, "It's not that."

"What's on your mind?"

Ryan stares out the window as Shane parks the rental, "Reading up on all of these cases, it makes ya kinda paranoid after a while."

Shane laughs, "You don't have to be so serious about it."

"No, really. The car we saw earlier? It reminds me of the episode we filmed a few weeks back. The Novaks, remember?"

"I don't recall the devout Christian couple driving a muscle car."

"Right." Ryan nods, "I'm an idiot, I didn't include it in the script, but it's the car Dean Winchester's known to drive."

"So? It's a 'classic car', I'm sure a ton of people drive it."

"But it was in front of the Wyatt house, earlier."

Shane gives a single shrug, "Maybe it's a fan. There was a data breach, last week. Someone could've leaked the location of this week's episode."

Ryan has to admit to himself, Shane's reasoning does make him feel better, "You're probably right."

Dean steers the Impala into the motel parking lot, as Sam sits next to him, reading from his phone, "Marianne Wyatt and her kids are buried together at Eternal Rest Cemetery. Phil, however, was cremated."

"But, a man is reported to be seen in the house?" Dean asks.

"That's right." Sam confirms.

"Some personal items of Phil's still there?"

Castiel speaks up from the backseat, "House was empty when we searched it earlier, save for some signs of 'squatters'." he answers, using air-quotes, "Have we considered the possibility of the spirit not being Phil Wyatt?"

"No one else has lived in the house, let alone died here." Sam says.

"What if Phil's suicide was staged?" Castiel poses, "The wife and children are killed, the husband's taken hostage for insurance. Something goes wrong, Phil is murdered, and it's staged as a suicide."

"There wasn't any physical evidence tying Phil to the murders." Dean agrees, "Could've been a set-up. It'd also make sense why he'd be a vengeful spirit."

"Again, we don't know it's Phil, or what's tying him, there." Sam sighs, "It feels like we're going in circles."

"If not Phil Wyatt, then what? The killer?" Dean asks, "Unless the guy died in the house, why would he be stuck?"

Castiel thinks, "Maybe the real killer has something from this crime. Kept it one his person, even in death."

"So, the 'real' killer's stuck in someone else's house?" Dean shakes his head, "This shit's giving me a migraine, god."

Entering the motel, Sam gets to work researching any possible leads on the Wyatt murders, as Dean hops in the shower, and Castiel is left standing in the middle of the room. After a minute of tense silence, Sam takes the bait, "What's wrong, Cas?"

"The beds look disgusting." Castiel practically spits, not in harsh judgement, but genuine concern. Sam looks over at what he's talking about, and sees the usual grimy, cheap motel pillows and comforters. Both beds have old, faded stains, and minute tears. Sam figures Castiel being without powers makes him more sensitive to cleanliness, or lack thereof, more than as an Angel.

"Don't know what you want me to do about it." Sam sighs, "I'm sure they're just old."

"I think I want to sleep out in the Impala." Castiel mutters.

Sam resists the urge to roll his eyes, "Ask Dean for the keys when he gets out, then."

Castiel resorts to standing awkwardly in the corner, as Sam does his best to just research the Wyatt murders. By the time Dean returns to the main room, back in his old, sweaty clothes, making the shower seem entirely pointless, Sam stumbles upon some interesting information.

"Hey. So, get this," Sam calls the other two men over, "There was this leak at the Buzzfeed headquarters, some of it revealing the Unsolved guys' sites for the new season."

Castiel stares blankly at him. Dean sees this and goes, "It's a couple of assholes on the web who mess with ghosts and Demons. Sam, being the serial killer fanboy he is, is obsessed with their true crime series."

"I'm not a fanboy."

Dean mutters to Castiel, "Yes he is."

"The reason I bring it up," Sam presses, "is because this week, they're covering the Wyatt murders."

Dean pauses, "Wait, that camera crew we saw earlier-?"

"Looks like it's Buzzfeed."

Castiel leans over, peering at the computer screen, "The- the disappearance of the Novaks?"

Sam and Dean turn, and confirm Castiel’s observation, "Oh, my God."

"I mean," Dean starts, "There's more than one Novak out there, you know?"

"From Pontiac, Illinois?" Sam asks.

Dean frowns, "Well, I guess that means you can't meet your idols, Sammy."

Sam scoffs at this, "They're probably gone by now, anyway. They never stay in a location for longer than a day."

"Let's use caution when going back, regardless." Castiel says, turning to Dean, "May I stay in the Impala, tonight?"

Dean, flustered and blushing, replies, "What's wrong with in here? Afraid to share the bed? I was gonna make Sam sleep on the floor, anyway."

Sam feels a part of his soul wither away from the second-hand embarrassment.

"This room is filthy, and I don't want to stay here." Castiel answers.

"That's just character." Dean mumbles, taking out his keys, "Fine. Whatever."

After Castiel shuts the front door, Sam braces himself for Dean's inevitable angsty tantrum, "He didn't have to be so rude. We stay in places like this all the time! Sure, none of these rooms come with a third bed, so maybe he was afraid to bunk with one of us, especially you." Dean points at Sam, "You kick in your sleep. In fact, I was just gonna make you sleep on the floor, with you being the youngest and everything."

Sam wonders how close the nearest liquor store is.

At midnight, Dean can't help himself but to check on Castiel. He needs a good excuse though, so he grabs the remainder of the six pack, all that Sam didn't drink, and heads out into the dimly lit parking lot.

Dean can tell from some distance away that Cas is still awake. The Impala's interior is alight, and as Dean nears he can see Cas in the backseat holding up a book. Reaching the car, Dean knocks on the window, then lifts the cans of beer when Castiel glances up. Castiel moves to unlock the door, and without invitation Dean scoots in, ignoring how close-quarters the situation is, and offers Castiel a drink. Dean's so preoccupied with not brushing up against Castiel in any way, that he forgets to actually say anything.

"Did you need something?" Castiel asks, opening the can with a pop.

Dean, suffering from a brain-fart, "Just, uhm, checking in."

The awkward silence is so palpable, Dean feels like he's about to choke, "So, this place can get pretty uncomfortable. Did you, er, want a pillow? Or something? Blanket?" he says, sweating profusely.

Castiel points to the front seat, "I already have a pillow, thank you."

Dean gives a high-pitched hum, and, with little to add, exits the car.

Back in the motel, "I think Cas is upset." Dean says as he closes the door, "He doesn't want to be in the same room as m- us," he looks up at Sam, who's doing his best to ignore his older brother at the moment, "You think he's still mad about the whole 'you're dead to me' thing?"

Sam rolls his eyes, "Gee, what could ever give you that impression."

"I was just being angry!" Dean starts to pace, right as Sam's head starts to pound, "I yell at you sometimes, and you know I don't mean it!"

"I've known you for 36 years, I think I've picked up on that." Sam deadpans, "Maybe, and here's a novel concept, you tell Cas that yourself?"

"I don't know, I think you-"

"No." Sam presses, "I'm not gonna be the messenger between you guys. You want to patch things up with Cas, do it yourself."

In the morning, after a full night of not resolving their issues, Castiel returns to the motel from a coffee run. Wordlessly passing around three cups, the group huddles around Sam as he gets ready to show them his recent findings.

Ryan and Shane return to the Wyatt house first thing in the morning, the crew waiting for them out front. Working off of nothing but coffee and toast, Ryan's ready for take two. They enter the house, set up their equipment just like the day before, and get situated.

"There's one suspect, outside of Phil Wyatt himself, police posit committed these crimes" Ryan says, "And since the guy's dead, it'll remain as speculation."

"Victor Myers was the personal assistant to a business mogul." Sam begins, "He traveled frequently, mainly within the United States. Occasionally, he would go into the next town over, pick a target, and kill them. The longer he did this, the bolder he got."

Ryan says, "Victor started off killing one, then two people at a time. After a couple of years, he found his rhythm in killing families and making it look like a break-in." he looks around the vacant living room, a chill going down his spine.

"He wrote about some of his kills," Sam continues, "but it's suspected he took many more lives, around 30, at least. He died of a stroke, four years ago. Police only knew of the murders after searching his home and DNA evidence. The deaths of the Wyatts are thought to be connected to Myers, judging by Victor's whereabouts at the time and the nature of the kills, but obviously the police can't pursue it."

"So, we're dealing with the ghost of a serial killer?" Dean asks.

"Serial killers are known to keep 'trophies' of their victims." Castiel adds, "It could be what's tying him to the house."

Sam's eyes widen, as he lifts up the laptop for everyone else to see, "Maybe not."

Castiel tilts his head to the side, "The events began before Victor's death?"

"So," Dean asks, "Who's haunting?"

"The thought of Victor Myers being behind these killings seems like a no-brainer," Ryan says, "but it doesn't have everyone convinced. Personally, I think the cops here know it's the truth, but don't want to go through the trouble of proving Myers did it."

"Wouldn't be the first time." Shane nods in agreement, "Too much paperwork."

After filming, the cast and crew pack their things, and get ready to leave the Wyatt house, and the small suburban town, for the last time. Ryan can't help but breathe a sigh of relief; the suffocating feelings he'd had the day before weren't as strong, now, but they were still incredibly unpleasant. At the threshold of the once occupied home, he turns back to the empty rooms that echoed their steps and voices, "If there's a Victor around here, you can kindly fuck off."

Shane shrugs his bag higher up on his shoulder, "The camera's are off, buddy. No idea what you're trying to prove."

"That there's a thick and toxic presence in the house?" Ryan asks, shutting the door behind him, "One that we'll never have to deal with again?"

Shane groans, "It's True Crime season, Ryan. The one season where you and I are on the same page. And you have to make it about your spooky stories."

"Most murders have some whisper of the supernatural to them." Ryan replies, "I just don't always bring it up. This time I did. So, there."

Shane shakes his head, "What an active imagination you have."

Dean methodically checks all of their weapons, handing each item one-by-one to Sam for packing. Their gear, stored in two duffels, is almost ready to go, Sam zipping up the first bag and readying the second. Castiel does a once-over of their motel room, as after they're done with the Wyatt house, they're heading straight out of town; all three men agreed, with the extra attention on them from those 'paranormal investigators' from Buzzfeed, it wouldn't be smart to linger.

An hour later, Dean gathers everyone around, "We'll park the Impala a block from the house, walk the rest of the way. Someone spots the car, they won't automatically know where we are. Ready?" a nod from Sam and Castiel, "Right, let's go."

Flight not until mid-morning, the crew decide to treat themselves to some drinks at the local bar. A couple of rounds in, Shane returns from the bathroom and says to the group, "Hey, guys, I forgot to leave the key at the house. Can one of y'all drop me off?"

Ryan, who's only had one beer, raises his hand, "Got ya covered."

A minute later, both men are back in the rental, driving down that familiar street. Ryan pulls up to the curb, front passenger's door lined up with the sidewalk leading to the house. Shane steps out, then looks back at Ryan, "Aren't you coming?"

Ryan blinks, "Why would I?"

"Make sure I get to the door safely. For goodness' sake, Ryan, if I can't drive myself, what makes you think I can walk straight."

"Bullshit, you just want me to go near that house."

Shane's face splits into a wide grin, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Get it over with." Ryan says, climbing out of the car.

With more than a little swagger to his step, Shane leads the way. Both men, however, stop in their tracks as a crashing sound is heard, coming from within the house.

Ryan doesn't dare blink, "What-?"

One of the lights turns on. Ryan recognizes it as being the bedroom window.

"Well." Shane says, "Leave a door unlocked for a few hours, and this is what happens." Ryan doesn't miss the note of unease in the other man's voice. Unbelievably, Shane continues to walk towards the front door.

"What are you doing?!" Ryan hisses.

"Well, we should probably kick them out." Shane explains, as if it were obvious.

"No, we call the cops."

"You do that, then."

Ryan pulls out his phone as Shane foolishly enters the house. Before Ryan can pull up the keypad, he hears Shane exclaim, "Holy shit!"

Ryan can't help it, "What's wrong?" Not waiting for an answer, feet with a mind of their own, Ryan walks through the darkened doorway.

More crashes are coming from one of the other rooms, people yelling, grunting, as Ryan turns on his phone's light. All along the walls of the living room are pentagrams, the smell of spray-paint permeating the air, making Ryan dizzy. He can feel his hands start to shake, and he thinks he's gonna puke.

Shane turns to him, pale in the light, "We should leave."

The bedroom door shakes, the voices on the other side increasing in volume until-

-silence.

Simultaneously, the front door slams shut as the one to the bedroom swings open, bouncing off the wall and sending small chunks of plaster flying. It takes a moment for Ryan's eyes and mind to come to the same conclusion, that within the room, standing around the body of a man, crumpled on the floor, are three men. It takes a second longer for Ryan to realize who these men are.

The eyes of infamous killers Sam and Dean Winchester, and missing person James Novak, stare back at them.

Shane runs to the front door, trying for the lock. The door wiggles and shakes against the frame, and Ryan can tell it's not budging. "Come on, COME ON!" Shane grunts.

"That's not gonna work." Dean Winchester, the shorter of the brothers, says, "Bastard is keeping that, and all the other doors, shut. We're on lock-down."

"How did you do that?" Ryan chokes out, impressed with himself that he can say anything at all.

"Let us out." Shane rejoins Ryan, standing side-by-side.

Dean grimly laughs, "Would if I could. Last thing I want is for a couple of vloggers getting in the way."

"We were just returning a key." Ryan doesn't know what else to do, what to say.

The tallest of the trio, Sam, comes walking towards Ryan and Shane, hands held out in submission, a container of table-salt in his right, "I'm not gonna hurt you, but we need to get you guys in a safe place."

Shane isn't so convinced, "And what's 'safe', exactly?"

"Within a ring of salt." Sam answers.

"Oh, god." Shane groans, "Don't tell me- you're dealing with Demons?"

Ryan turns to his friend, "Why would you suggest that? What is wrong with you?!"

"Um, yeah." Sam grimaces, "I realize that's gonna be... a bit of a problem..."

Ryan can already begin to feel his heart race, palms sweating and legs becoming like lead, "No, this can't be real."

"We don't have time for this." James Novak says, and the sheer fact he's in the room, saying anything at all, brings Ryan that much closer to a panic attack. He doesn't even flinch when Novak uses a gun, Ryan has no clue what kind, to direct where he and Shane should go.

At the appearance of the weapon, Shane's tune changes, "You know what? Fine. Demons are real, where do you want us to stand?"

This snaps Ryan out of it, "Wait, so it takes spending five minutes with serial killers to convince you, but I can't?!"

"They have guns, Ryan. They could sell me a piece of the moon and I'd write them a check."

Ignoring the banter, Sam pours a circle of salt around the two men, "No matter what happens, stay in this circle."

"Who are you people?" Ryan asks, feeling unusually brave.

"Not what you think." Sam replies.

"We're Hunters." Dean states, chin up in pride.

"Hunters of what?" Shane asks.

"Monsters, ghosts, Demons." James Novak replies.

"And how'd you get involved?" Ryan asks Novak, "Where's your wife?"

Novak tilts his head, "The Djinn Queen?"

"They were doing a video on Jimmy, remember?" Dean says.

Ryan pales, "You- you saw the leak?"

"That you spoke of the Novaks, yes." not-Novak answers.

Annoyed, Shane goes, "If you're not James Novak, who are you?"

"Castiel. I'm- was, an Angel."

"Was." Shane nods, "So, not anymore?"

Castiel shakes his head.

"Meaning," Shane continues, "There's no way to prove with, say, magic tricks, your claims?"

"Stop needling the serial killers." Ryan hisses.

"You mean monster hunters." Shane sarcastically corrects.

"I'm sorry about my friend." Ryan announces, "He's kind of a dick."

"You don't say." Dean deadpans.

"Hey, is it true," Shane starts, "that you and Columbo over there are knockin' boots?"

Castiel stares down at his shoes, while Dean goes red and Sam sucks in a breath, trying not to laugh.

"You're insane." Ryan says to the air, unable to look at Shane.

"Might as well find out." Shane shrugs.

"Dean," says Castiel, "I apologize if, at any time during the evening, I've stepped on your toes."

Dean looks to age five years in as many seconds, "No problem, Cas."

"And that man, in there?" Shane asks, "He's just sleeping, right?"

"He was dead before he hit the ground." Castiel responds, "We never know for sure, when there’s a Demon present."

This information makes Shane falter, if only a little, "And why do only we need to be in the salt circle?"

Dean and Sam pull down their shirt collars, revealing pentagrams tattooed in black ink, just above their hearts. Castiel lifts up the hem of his shirt, revealing several lines of text written in a foreign language. "We're good. And unless one of y'all's a tattoo artist… ?" Dean says.

"No." Shane relents, "You still can't prove it, but whatever."

"You are exhausting." Ryan says.

"I'm thorough."

"Shut up, Shane."

"That's enough!" Dean barks, "We're dealing with a fucking Demon, now act like it." he glares at his two companions. As the trio resumes their work, Shane and Ryan are left in silence.

"You gonna try your phone?" Shane mutters.

"No, they've got guns." Ryan responds, "I think they can draw faster than I can dial."

After a few minutes of tense silence, Shane pats Ryan's arm, getting his attention. Turning to him, Ryan mouths 'What?' while following Shane's gaze. Down the hall, leading all the way to the back of the house, is the only other door leading outside.

It's open.

Glancing at one another, the intent is understood; at least one of them can make it out. Knowing Shane's got the longer legs, Ryan figures he'll have a better chance, so he prods at Shane's back, encouraging him to make a break for it.

Shane sprints for the door, and is at the other end of the hallway by the time the Winchesters or Castiel notice. Ryan doesn't see the trio's reactions, though, focusing on whether or not his friend escapes.

Shane opens the door wider, gets one foot on the first concrete step-

Cold air fills the room, enveloping every inch of Ryan's skin. The room grows darker, like someone's dimming down the lights. Every breath he inhales is freezing, and every exhale the same temperature. It's like Ryan's overcome with a sudden fever, left weak and in a cold sweat. Arms and legs locked in place, he can feel his heart slow...

"RYAN!"

Dean looks from one idiot to the other; the tall one that tried to leave the house, in what was obviously a trap set up by the Demon, and the second, shorter one that was in the broken salt circle, currently having a long stream of black smoke rush into his throat.

The Demon's found a new body.

"RYAN!" Shane shouts, and for all his smart-ass quips, the tall one wasn't that sharp. Perfect opportunity to get the fuck out and leave things to the pros, but he's gone and pissed that away. Dean feels his lip twitch into a smirk, realizing he'd do the same if it was his family. Hand closing around the Angel blade, his smile falters.

Ryan collapses to the ground, still as stone. Sam intercepts Shane, who tries to rush to his friend's side. "What did you do?!" Shane yells.

"Stay back!" Castiel shouts, charging forward with more salt. Dean's stomach jumps with worry at the sight of Castiel going in on his own. Old habits of being an Angel, thinking himself indestructible. Dean begins reciting the exorcism, his Latin clunky, as always. Smoke begins to spill from the corners of Ryan's mouth as Castiel approaches.

A hand suddenly lashes out, striking Castiel with such ferocity it throws the man clean across the room. Dean continues the exorcism, mind on autopilot, as he looks to see if Castiel is still in the fight. The former Angel knocked out cold, Dean turns his head just in time to see Ryan's hand extend out towards him.

"I'm tired of playing with you." the Demon smirks a toothy grim, causing Ryan's brown eyes to flash to black.

Dean feels his feet lift from the floor, and in a blur of speed, his body be thrown up against the ceiling. Pinned here, and momentarily stunned, Dean tries in vain to continue the exorcism.

"Shut up." the Demon hisses.

Dean's voice dies away. He can only watch as Sam tries to take the Demon on.

Angel blade in hand, Sam goes in, and Dean can tell Sam isn't looking for a kill shot. Swipes, stabs and arcs to distract, but none fatal. Maybe he's hoping for Castiel to wake, maybe he hopes the Demon can't concentrate on more than one Hunter at a time. It's not a bad strategy.

One slice too close to Ryan's neck makes Shane rush forward, spin Sam around, and snatch the blade from Sam's stunned hand. "What are you doing-?"

Both men are sent crashing to the floor, as the Demon steps out of the remains of the salt circle. Cracking knuckles and stretching arms, Ryan's lips curve into a smile, as Dean realizes what's coming next:

Villain monologue.

"Winchesters, your reputations proceed you." Ryan walks over to Castiel, who's starting to stir, "Here I am, with my humble, little set-up, and here you are, sticking your noses where they don't belong." He presses a boot against Castiel's neck, pinning him to the wall, "Don't you have bigger fish to fry? A God to fight?"

Castiel gasps for breath, and Dean struggles to free his arms, legs, willing any muscle to move.

"I'm a nobody." the Demon laughs, "I should be dead, right now. You all have lost your touch."

Shane slowly starts to rise from the floor, trying not to get the Demon's attention.

Ryan's head snaps in Shane's direction, "Shane! Buddy! How ya been?" with a hard kick to Castiel's head, Ryan begins to calmly walk over.

Shane tries for the door, and it looks like Sam was right; it's unlocked, and the Demon can't focus on more than a few things at a time.

With that, Dean frees his arm, can move his lips. He starts the exorcism from the top.

"WHAT DID I SAY." the Demon bellows, waving his hand towards Dean, again. This time, Dean's throat closes up.

Sam continues the exorcism from his place on the ground.

Ryan waves his hand again, throwing Sam into the room with the man's corpse.

Castiel, blood pouring out of his mouth, picks up the chant where Sam left off. The Demon is so distracted, Dean's able to get free. Bracing himself, Dean falls to the floor, and, after a few shaky seconds, joins Castiel.

Teeth clenched, veins pulsing, Ryan yells, "ENOUGH!" sending both men staggering back, falling to the ground, and then pressed up against the wall.

The front door bursts open. Dean cannot, for the life of him, believe that the tall idiot's back.

"Hey! Dumbass!" Shane calls.

The Demon turns to look at him.

Dean, thinking he's seen it all, and can't be surprised anymore, tonight, feels his jaw drop.

"Do you want to di-" Ryan starts, just before Shane douses him with a water gun.

The screams coming from Ryan are simply inhuman. Smoke rises from his skin, as he covers his face. The air, already pungent with sulfur, becomes insufferable.

Sam staggers from the back room, finishing the exorcism.

A rush of smoke exits through Ryan's mouth, the pained scream still echoing off of the walls. And then-

-silence.

Shane considers the squirt gun in his hand, then looks back up at the trio of Hunters staring at him. "It's- it's filled with holy water." he gestures to an unconscious Ryan, "His idea."

"So, you're really monster hunters?" Shane asks, wincing at the alcohol being applied to his scraped knees. They were the worst of the gashes on him, sustained when the Demon threw Sam on top of him.

"Yes." Sam replies, taking a bandage from the Impala's first aid kit. Shane had gotten Ryan, who was still out, in the rental car, and parked that just behind the Chevy. Everyone is now taking a breather before parting ways.

"So, not serial killers?"

"No."

Shane pauses, "Sorry, about taking your knife. I just didn't want you stabbing my friend."

"You ended up saving all of us, so I think we're square." Sam looks over to the open trunk lid, behind which Dean and Castiel were securing the corpse the Demon had initially possessed.

"Ryan's gonna be unbearable when he wakes, you know." Shane says, "'Ooh! Demons are real! We don't have it on camera, but it happened!'"

"Will you keep doing the show?" Sam asks, trying not to sound too eager.

"Probably. Ryan'll want to catch lightning in a bottle twice, but never do another Demon location, again."

"You sound disappointed."

Shane shrugs, "It's fun seeing him scared."

Sam shakes his head.

"So," Shane begins, "You watch the show."

"... maybe."

"How many of the places we visit are actually haunted?"

Sam thinks, "Most were, but we, or other Hunters we know, cleared 'em."

"Huh."

After saying their goodbyes, and with the understanding that no one would believe Ryan and Shane if they tried to profit off of their Demon encounter, the two groups part ways. The Hunter trio climb back into the Impala, but not before Dean throws Sam the keys.

"I'm spent." Dean explains, "You take over for a while." Dean also opens the back door for Castiel, but only when he thinks Sam isn't watching. Dean crawls in after him, and does everything he can to not meet Sam's eyes in the mirror.

It's a half hour later, when on the highway, heading towards the Bunker, that Dean tries to make amends.

"Cas-" Dean starts, voice just above a whisper.

Castiel grabs his hand, both are dried and crusted with blood, "I'm sorry." he mouths, "For everything."

"No." Dean fails to keep the break out of his voice, "I'm sorry. You're family, Cas. Nothing's gonna change that."

Castiel looks away, and Dean knows from personal experience what he's trying to hide.

"I miss Jack." Comes Castiel's broken sob.

Dean squeezes his hand, "I know. I do, too. I should've done more."

"We should have." Castiel corrects.

They sit together in a bittersweet silence. The car interior is dark, the rumbling of the road beneath their feet thunderous, and Sam's eyes on the road. Dean and Castiel are in their own little world.

"I love you." the words spill from Dean's mouth before he can stop them, and funny enough, he doesn't regret it, or treat it like a mistake. It's been years in the making, really. And when Castiel looks back at him, eyes wide with wonder, and more than a little red from fatigue, Dean just brings their joined hands up to his lips, and gives the back of Castiel's palm a gentle kiss. Castiel leans in, meeting Dean forehead-to-forehead, "I love you, too."

Shane's pulling up to the hotel parking lot when Ryan finally wakes.

"Ugh, god." Ryan rubs at his eyes, "What a fuckin' nightmare."

Shane puts the car in park, turning off the engine, "What do ya mean, buddy?"

Ryan looks over at Shane, then around the rest of the car, "Wait, didn't we go by the Wyatt house, and drop off some keys?"

"Yep."

"And I was driving."

"Uh-huh."

Ryan blinks, "Did I hit my head or something?"

"No, we met up with serial killers Sam and Dean Winchester, along with missing person James Novak, and took on a Demon. You got possessed."

Ryan's face screws up in disbelief, "Very funny, asshat."

"No!" Shane insists, "It really happened."

"Bullshit."

"Then, what was your nightmare about?"

"Getting chased by a rabid Paddington." Ryan replies, his eyes glazed over in a haunted stare.

Shane throws his hands up, "Fine, we’ll go with that."

________________________________________________________________

Thank you!! For reading!! ♥♥♥

#SPN #Buzzfeed: Unsolved #crossovers #fanfic #writiers #writing #Dean #Cas #Destiel #Sam #Pray for Sammy #Ryan Bergara #Shane Madej #RPF #AO3 #S14 Spoilers

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ratherashleigh · 6 years ago

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yall, katie mcgrath did not one, not two, but three interviews this week. i’m shook.

obligatory supercorp content:

"I think that's why people have taken it to heart, because in us making it our own, I think people have been taking it for themselves. Yes, it's similar to what you've seen before, but only in its infancy. I think where it is now, it's become something individual and it's become something that is just theirs, and it's just the show's, and it's just the fans', which I think is what makes it compelling and what's made it so popular as a relationship, that it just exists now as its own thing."

i think what she means is the fans don’t give a shit what the show does, and that’s okay?

"I feel pretty good this year because Lena may not know, but Alex has lost her memory and if Alex doesn't know that Supergirl is her sister, then I think it's OK that Lena doesn't know," she says. "When that happened, I was like, this is amazing, it's no longer all on my shoulders. Her own sister still can't tell, so I'm fine now. I'm like walking in and feeling great now, now that I'm not the only one who doesn't know."

i can actually imagine katie seeing this and i’m cackling.

"See, this is the thing. You don't have just one person with a loaded gun behind Lena's head. The bullet is the knowledge that Kara is Supergirl, and before, it was Lillian who had that, but now you have Lex, who's even more of an unknown quantity, and he's holding that information, and it's almost the information that will completely destroy Lena. He could pull the trigger anytime, and that's an amazing dramatic point to have in a show of at any time, if that trigger's pulled, what that would mean not only for Lena, but what that would mean for Kara and Supergirl. So it's this sort of extra added switch to a bomb that could go off at any time."The common goal of finding and catching Lex helps bridge Lena's relationship with Kara and her relationship with Supergirl, McGrath says. "That kind of unifies them…so you get a more friendly relationship with Lena and Supergirl then you had for a season and a half, and then at the same time, the betrayal of Eve has had the result that I think Lena becomes a whole lot closer to the people that she does trust, and the main person she trusts is Kara, so ironically what that has done is it has brought her closer and more trusting to Kara, which from a viewer's point of view, because you know that Kara has been keeping a secret from her, is so bittersweet to watch because you see Lena start to rely on her even more, but at the same time you're going, oh god, but only if you knew. So it's just an amazing, dramatic quality and this extra sort of delicious ingredient to this whole storyline."

IT’S FINE I DON’T WANT TO CRY OR ANYTHING.

“If and when she finds out that Kara is Supergirl,” McGrath agrees, looms large over Lena right now. “I can’t tell you when it’s going to happen … but if it did, I think the results of that are utnold for what that could mean for Lena, her psyche, her emotional wellbeing, her friendships.” Unlike the recent betrayal by Eve, with her true friend Kara, “I think it’s a greater betrayal, and I think it will have more lasting results on her.

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Ironically, what it does is, rather than make her more wary of the people she trusts, it makes her cling onto them even more. So her relationship with Kara is ultimately strengthened by it because she’s driven toward the people she trusts because she’s had yet another person taken away from her — which, especially with Kara, for the viewer watching it, is so heart-rending because she’s growing closer to the friend who she trusts when ultimately the viewers know that this person is also lying to her, for very good reasons and not to hurt her or anything.

is it stupid to hope that last bit matters?

[When we spoke to you at the end of your first season on the show, you said you were happy that Lena was the only person who didn’t know Kara’s secret because it made their relationship special. Two years later, we find out that even Lex knows her secret. Do you still feel that way, or are you dying to join the club now?] No, I still feel that one of the loveliest parts of the Lena-Kara relationship is that Kara can be human and frail and not a hero with somebody — that she can just be Kara Danvers, rather than having to be Supergirl. I think that’s a wonderful thing for Kara to not always have to be the person who has to solve every problem and face the world. I think she needs that. For as long as it may last, I’m very happy for it to be Lena that has that relationship with her. Up until Alex had her mind wiped, Lena was the only person who could have that relationship with her. For Kara, it’s not the same with Alex because Kara knows what’s missing in the relationship and Alex doesn’t.

and literally none of this answer is about how lena. rip me.

anyway, the wild part of this interview spree is that one of them was with the mary fucking sue.

One such factoid that emerged was that Lena’s birth mother was Irish, like McGrath herself. “This is an illustration about how lovely and sweet our writers are,” McGrath laughed. “They do put in little things for us to make us smile.” Further than that, McGrath gushed, “This is why we’re so lucky with this job, that everybody on it cares about you as a human being.”

mhmm, yeah. that’s why they did that.

In the most recent episode, “House of L,” we learned that Lex, like everyone but Lena at this point, knows Supergirl is Kara Danvers. How did that happen? McGrath theorizes that Lillian Luthor told him. “He didn’t figure it out on his own because he’s no smarter than Lena is,”

S C R E A M I N G.

Lena knows how to prepare herself for hard days, even so, and some of that preparation comes down to the gorgeous fashion McGrath gets to sport (sometimes in places where a cocktail dress isn’t appropriate, but we’re not complaining). No Lena outfit has made as big an impression lately as the plum three-piece suit she wore to work with her brother: “I think, when a woman wants to feel elegant and powerful but in control, a very beautiful, tailored three-piece suit goes a long way to making you feel that … and I think that was part of what was going on there with Lena.” McGrath actually brought the idea of the suit to the costumers, inspired by photos of Cate Blanchett in suits that were “sill feminine but totally in control.” Indeed, Lex may have his “Lexo suit,” but Lena has perfect couture, and I think we all know which one is better.

this interviewer is all of us. and all of us is gaaaaay.

ew:

At the same time, though, Lena will be dealing with her guilt over, well, everything that’s happened: the mayhem that Lex’s nefarious deeds cause, Red Daughter’s existence, and James experiencing the side effects of the Harun-El serum. But she won’t let that guilt get her down.“A lot of what drives Lena in the second half of the season is this need to fix those wrongs that she feels responsible for,” McGrath says of how Lena will react to Red Daughter. “[This] is an ongoing theme within the show: Her research, [which] is created for good, is taken and perverted, and it is often the source of all evil for the series. This has happened again to her. So much of the world is dealing with the results of her actions again. So she becomes very focused to fix it, and a focused Lena is a force to reckoned with.”

not for nothing, but i keep trying to think of a real world equivalent to this specific conundrum and it’s like... people who build weapons probably don’t operate under any illusions that what they’re doing is going to hurt people if used by the wrong people (and lol that in this instance the wrong hands were lena’s. and by lol i mean holy fuck.) but like... is lena mark zuckerberg?

(also i think this interview was done by email, otherwise it’s super weird that a lot of katie’s quotes include parenthetical asides.)

[I knew Lex was playing Lena, because it’s Lex Luthor — but I found myself sort of wishing he wasn’t, especially in that moment when he tells Lena about the time he met her mother. How did you feel playing that moment?] He had me in tears. I was weeping down my face. We didn’t do that [scene] many times because I was crying so much. In that moment, I think he made Lex very human, and I don’t think we were expecting that. I don’t think we were expecting a vulnerable, human, relatable Lex Luthor, and I think that’s what’s really interesting about what Jon Cryer has done with Lex. He really [shows] all of these very different sides. There are moments, like you said, where you’re like, “Oh, maybe he isn’t a bad guy. Maybe there’s hope for him. Maybe we’re going to see a Lex Luthor that might be a hero.” (And maybe you don’t want to see another person be horrible to Lena, but that might just be me projecting.)

so anyway, i have this headcanon that lena believed using the harun-el on lex would actually fix him in the head, but this makes just feel bad for lena. like, at the end of the day when someone says they need her, she’s going to bend over backwards to provide. ugh :(

I think her confidence is completely shaken, but at the same time, it has hardened her resolve. She is a woman that when she is faced with a problem, she doesn’t retreat from it — she attacks it. Yes, this has completely shaken her, but it has focused her mind to go forward and to fix the problem. Her drive and her focus to fix this is sort of second to none.

please get this girl therapy.

Although Lena and Supergirl are coming at the same issue from different points, they ultimately have the same end goal. They both believe in helping people and the greater good and saving mankind, which are all lofty goals.

good answer. i wish this is where this answer had stopped when she was talking to e. see below.

(What I love about my job is that I can sit here and talk about this like that’s normal. Honestly, sitting here half in my pajamas talking about saving mankind is a good day. But I digress).

look, girl, you’ve put me through the ringer with this series of interviews but lmao i love you.

and finally, e! online.

warning: there’s a clip from the upcoming ep that autoplays right at the top.

ANYWAY THIS INTERVIEW IS THE WORST.

"They both believe in the greater good and helping humanity," McGrath says. "They just come at it from two completely different sides, like the left wing and the right wing, but they ultimately both want the same thing and the search for Eve and this need to catch Lex sort of unites them and you see them all working together, but at the same time in doing that, Lena is still dealing with the secret that she helped Lex, and she has to carry that through as well."

i would like to go back in time and never have read this sentence with my own eyes. ms mcgrath is forbidden from interviews for another two years, thanks bye.

Lena definitely feels some guilt, but she's also been betrayed, and McGrath says we won't see her "totally deal with it.""I think she can't. I think if she starts to unpick it, she'll unravel completely, so what you get instead is it pushing Lena to be extremely focused on catching Lex and catching Eve and a focused Lena Luthor is a very dangerous thing. With her single-minded pursuit, you should be very wary, and I think that's what they've done is rather than her sitting around and unpicking straight away all the stuff that's happened, it's just lit a fire under her to go fix it, because she feels so responsible.

this part is fine. totally fine. katie has some genuinely good insight into lena’s ongoing trauma and how that drives her, BUT THEN.

But not only does she feel responsible, but she can't tell anybody truly 100% why she is responsible, because she would have to admit that she was helping Lex."

EXCEPT NO. NO NO. sorry, this is spoilers from the clip, but LENA WAS GOING TO TELL ALEX. AND ALEX SHUSHED HER. CONFLICT THROUGH INTERRUPTED COMMUNICATION IS HACKERY. don’t defend that shit katie.

"So I will say that the Lena you get in the show is not going to be what you've expected, and a focused Lena is a very dangerous thing, but that doesn't necessarily mean what you think it might mean. Or it could!"

oh no, she’s totally drunk the kool-aid.

"I don't know if I could like, hold my own in a scene with Jon Cryer and Brenda Strong. I think I would just like, melt into a puddle of Katie on the floor and just be like, I don't know what I'm doing, you guys just talk and I'll watch over in the corner."

giiiiiiiiirl.

also whoever wrote this kept spelling it Tessmacher.

#katie mcgrath #stuff in a list by me #supergirl spoilers

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ava-candide · 6 years ago

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Aidan Turner is at present melting the nation’s collective heart as Captain Ross Poldark. But in his latest role, in a revival of Martin McDonagh’s controversial 2001 play, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, he plays Mad Padraic, a vocal member of the Irish National Liberation Army and a man considered too unhinged for the IRA.

And Michael Grandage, who is directing the new West End production, is not stinting on the visceral horror. “We are doing what’s on the page,” he tells me, backstage at the Noel Coward Theatre. “When they’re dismembering bodies, they’re dismembering bodies, and when they’re shooting people in the head, they’re shooting people in the head. Anything in Martin’s play that caused offence last time we are not doing anything about because we are living in a different time.”

McDonagh, one of Ireland’s greatest living writers, lauded for such stage work as Hangmen and The Pillowman, and films such as In Bruges and the Oscar-winning Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, is known for a dark, some might say sick, humour. Jokes about the IRA are, of course, always likely to draw an intake of breath, but Grandage believes the black comedy is necessary.

“I wouldn’t want to see a play that is this violent as a serious drama. It would not make for good theatre, and Martin understands that,” says Grandage. “You can’t stick a load of people on stage killing themselves and go, ‘Get it? It’s about terrorism, it’s about violence. Thank you and goodnight’. You need to see it through the prism of something else in order to realise the magnitude of what he’s trying to say.”

Turner, who has joined Grandage backstage and whose famous physique is hidden underneath a loose-fitting hoodie, understands the territory. He was born in the Republic of Ireland but has frequently travelled to the north, where he has a lot of friends.

“The world they live in is very different,” he says. “The way people treat each other and talk to each other, and the way violence is treated and accepted at a certain level – it can be quite shocking. The dialogue we all had with each other made it quite normalised. Martin shows that.”

To take an example from The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Mairead, a woman who manages to infiltrate the terrorists’ boys club and, eventually, falls in love with Mad Padraic, is advised by her mother: “Good luck, and try not to blow up any kids.”

“I guess that is what happens with decades of violence – you become desensitised to it,” says Turner. “There’s the daily grind of what that involves – whether it’s avoiding certain areas, ‘Don’t drive down the Falls Road at a certain time’ or ‘Don’t speak to that group of people’. Those things really matter.”

The play is set in 1993, when the Good Friday Agreement was still five years away and the Northern Ireland Peace Process was making small and erratic inroads. Turner was 10 at the time and, as a champion ballroom dancer, made frequent trips across the border.

“I was up there once a month for dancing lessons or for workshops or competitions. I remember going quickly from Loyalist to Nationalist areas and was very conscious of the changes. You would know because the pavements would be painted green, white and orange and there would be IRA flags and whatnot. Then you would see the Union Jack and murals of the Queen.

“Although I didn’t see any actual violence, there was definitely an underbelly, a different feeling.” Grandage believes the play’s reputation has become cemented in the years since it was written and that, if anything, it has gained more relevance, despite the official end of the Troubles.

“It makes us understand the banality of terrorism. Since Martin wrote it, we’ve had 9/11, we’ve had people hiring white vans and mounting pavements and mowing people down. Violence has taken on many different forms.”

I wonder if the play’s preoccupation with senseless killing can be linked to the current knife crime epidemic. Grandage believes this is part of McDonagh’s genius, that he has a gift for seeking out corners of society that aren’t necessarily talked about at the time.

Mad Padraic is extraordinarily violent, but Turner did not contemplate the idea of “playing evil” when he approached the part. “Padraic sees his struggle as a cause worth fighting for. When we first see him, he is in a warehouse in the middle of torturing a young lad for selling weed in a local school.

"He pulls out a couple of his toenails but he’s giving him good advice. He tells him he needs to go to hospital because his toes might go sceptic. He asks whether he has got the money to get there. He doesn’t see himself as a cruel person. So walking into a rehearsal room trying to play this idea of a bad person would derail it.”

I mention the recent backlash against McDonagh’s work, in particular Three Billboards… which faced accusations on social media of racism for the Damascene conversion of its vile sheriff character (played by Sam Rockwell). Does Grandage, as a director, worry that provocative writers will find themselves effectively neutered by the bleatings of over-sensitive snowflakes?

“Writers are among the bravest people I know. They want to go out and challenge us. I don’t see any evidence of them toning their voices down because of the world we now live in. Social media is not affecting them in the slightest.

“In fact, I think there is a bit of a “f--- you mentality that has emerged out of it.”

The role of Mad Padraic is, for Turner, just one of the joys of acting – allowing him the variation every performer craves. After this, he is back on Poldark, filming its fifth and final series (he brushes off those James Bond rumours – “yes, they keep spinning round, don’t they?”) and working on those pectoral muscles.

“I’m always ticking away on that. Intermittent fasting is good for energy levels, and those costumes are quite tight.”

His laid-back stance does, however, harden slightly when I mention the whole male objectivity issue. “I am sick of it now,” he says. “I’ve commented on it so many times. The more I talk, the more it snowballs.”

After the brilliant and abrasive Lieutenant of Inishmore opens, Turner may be thankful that people will be talking about him for other reasons.

The Lieutenant of Inishmore opens at the Noel Coward Theatre on July 4

#aidanpics #thelieutenantofinishmore

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boston-gossip · 7 years ago

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Pls do a review of everyone’s outfits at the gala.

After tonight, my eyes are truly starving for some beauty.

Mara Richardson: A true fiesta del failure. Feathers and lace? Are you serious? That feather piece could’ve been a good idea if you were going for cheap Florida Stripper look, but no. It just hurts my eyes.

Liz Morgan: Surprise! She wore black… Her fashion choices are as bland as her personality, so I don’t even wanna waste my time on that.

Anders Larsson: A navy suit with blue shirt – how surprising! Honestly you might afford fancy designers but you definitely need to hire a stylist first.

Lila Johnson: Thanks for trying to bring 2005 back with that sequin skirt. All you succeed is giving me a seizure.

Winnie Mearns: I like the dress but a ballerina wearing white? So boring and predictable.

Annika Johnsson: One of my favorite looks of the night, you look like a high end hooker.

Zoe Andrews: The dress was okay, nothing interesting nor special but girl, where did you even find that mask? You should burn it.

Emily Price: It’s modest and simple, just like Emily but I was hoping she could show some skin. Booooooring.

Mea Parker: Love me some Hellenistic look but that hair piece? Girl, this is a ball, not Coachella.

Kajal Malhotra: Finally a look that I truly like. It’s outside the box, I love the contrast between feathers and leather jacket. Not a fan of the mask but I can overlook that.

Spencer Brady: Honestly it’s a simple black ensemble, nothing to comment on.

Luke Rivers: Good god, did you guys plan this? Seems like all of you decided to wear black and look boring.

Sam Harden: First of all, brown is over. Second, brown is over. I don’t know why are you trying to make it happen but I can assure you it’s not gonna happen. I wish you could just put a bag on your head instead of that mask and save us from the misery.

Payton Atkinson: You matched your shoes with your mask, which I like. I am not sure about the dress though, you seem a little bit underdressed.

Brody Cohen: N. I don’t even have energy to say no anymore. Boooooooring.

Kristen Palmers: I always appreciate a good LBD with timeless Louboutins. I just don’t know why you murdered that great outfit with those gloves. Murderer!

Anton Stavros: I didn’t know this was a costume party, I thought it was just a black tie event. A for the effort, that’s for sure but that jacket? Did you borrow it from the costume department of Boston Lyric Opera?

Logan Mills: Another black suit. Groundbreaking, who would’ve thought?

Owen Burke: Insert another cliche insult about a black suit. I am tired of criticising, yet you all are not tired of wearing it.

Robert Berkshire: That look may be all the rage in wherever you came from but in Boston, they will arrest you for crime against humanity.

James Kingston: I like how you paired your mask with your suits’ details, maybe you were trying to distract us from your bad hair but whatever, I approve.

Tristan Merriweather: Surprisingly I didn’t hate this look. I would get rid of the mask though, red and burgundy don’t mix.

Gwen Mcguinness: A total cinderalla look. I wonder if she actually rented that dress because from what I’ve seen so far, there’s no way she could afford this dress without selling her right kidney.

Cassidy Michealis: I didn’t know the ball was taking a place in some soccer mom’s backyard because there isn’t another explanation for this disaster.

Lucy Bowers: Those ruffles made her look like a human pinata, I wonder would a candy fall out if I hit her with a stick?

Evelyn Mills: Definitely one of my favorite looks of the night. Sophisticated with a hint of slutty.

Fin Luther: Aww that’s a great dress… For a boring ass tea party with elderly people.

Alice Kingsley: I haven’t seen those cut outs since the movie The Fifth Element. The only good thing about this mask is that it covers up her face.

Keith Ward: Black on black — what a snore. He’s desperately trying to run away from good taste.

Sean Patterson: Am I drunk or did he pair blue jacket with black pants? Good Lord. That jacket with those pants is basically sin against the nature.

Philippa Walker: You actually dared to pair Currant red with Scarlet red. It’s guaranteed disaster. Like eating Mexican food before sex.

Layne Peterson: I was so sure he was going to wear pair of Converses under his suit but he surprised me. It’s your typical black suit, it’s whatever.

Leonie Myers: Hands down the best look of the night. I am trying my best to find a flaw but I can’t see any. I wish your taste in men was as good as your taste in fashion.

Dominic Cuevas: It’s outside the box I like it, at least you didn’t wear a black suit. Did you pick that shirt after snorting five lines of coke? That’d explain it.

Deborah Gray: Very classy and chic, I truly approve this look.

Blythe Rhodes: Someone she managed to dress like a toddler but ended up looking like a grandma.

Elyana Cosio: You tried a little bit too hard there but I like it.

Tallhasse Wolfmeyer: Can I borrow those glasses? Because these retinas definitely need a day off from the disaster you’ve caused with that look. You look like Frank Ocean on a bad day.

Alba West: This is what shows up when someone orders budget friendly hooker. A true mess.

Mason Parker: I just wanna start a fire, pour some expensive champagne on her (that would the only expensive thing on her) and watch her burn. A 90s slip dress with a classic beige trench coat?

Lux Sinclair: She might not be the lightest bulb in the lamp but she sure knows how to dress. I really like her outfit.

Sadie Blair: She’s such a disaster, I think at this point when the trains actually wreck now, they call them “Sadie Farrows.”

#i aint tagging this #Anonymous

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hollywoodx4 · 7 years ago

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Sticking With the Schuylers (42)

Happy anniversary day everyone! 6 months!! I’m so happy to see a bunch of new readers (welcome, hope you enjoy the ride) and I’m very thankful to have made it this far :) Thank you all so much for making this story possible !!

Here’s the second part of your present! A double post day

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1112 I 13 14 15 16 17 18A 18B 18C I 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 I 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41

Tagging: @linsnavi

Warnings: This story is pretty heavy on mentions of both physical and emotional abuse.

A venti vanilla latte with a double shot of espresso; the steam billows into the air from the open lid of a paper coffee cup, granted more air to cool itself down. Through layers of thick and cloud-like foam the steam creates magnificent swirling patterns, its constant change a dance of uncertainty before it disappears completely. The fog blends with the stagnant, aromatic air of the coffee shop. Eliza watches it come and go in waves of attention. How strange it is that the air that gives life to herself is also taking it from this fog-dance.

Her goal is to empty the paper cup. Its contents, much stronger than she is used to, burn on the way down. Caffeine settles in her veins, pumping blood now awake and riddled with anxiety to her rapidly beating heart. She inhales the bagel she had bought-its purpose is to soak up some of the wicked potion, to quell her nerves. The coffee is making her stomach turn. The caffeine does nothing but become its partner, egging it on. It is a power source much too heightened for the weight of her body and the unfamiliarity with copious amounts of artificial energy. Today, however, she needs it.

Eliza leans over the table, eyes narrowed in concentration. Across the space she had claimed lay an organized sort of chaos-a pile of her belongings once neatly organized lost to the busied state of her mind. She can barely see past the thick book she has been filling; can barely feel the ache in her hands or the pinch in her downcast neck. She concentrates on the thinned out scratching of graphite on paper, a brushing as her hand moves in flurried motions. It is controlled by memories, this moment; her mind aches with the task of transferring three-dimensional dreams onto a flat surface. The translation is a difficult one-it is impossible to bring about a feeling through a series of scratches; of lines and dots and sketched figures that fit only the bill of her subconscious world. In Eliza’s head, Lisa had said, these gatherings of color and light and blurred lines make perfect sense. There is a translation of emotion she is able to read just by the touch of blue or a hardened press of graphite. Eliza doesn’t quite buy that theory. It helps, though, this consuming task. It keeps her busy.

The work that she has done lays before her in torn-out pages; it had felt right to keep them side-by-side, in a series of sorts. Her drink is only 1/4th of the way gone. Her table is filled with a dusting of color and torn paper and the potent stench the two espresso shots bring her once tame latte. Eliza cannot bring herself to look at them altogether. She’s sure she’ll have to next week, when she’s stuck in the room filled with a sense of try-hard feng-shui and Lisa’s favorite and completely impractical magenta suede pumps. She’s sure the amount of scratches on paper will at least double by then.

Living by herself hadn’t been hard before she’d known exactly what safety had felt like.

The scratching pauses. Eliza draws in another long sip of what is essentially only caffeine and looks down at the progress she has made on her current scene. Her mind dutifully directs itself back to autopilot, back to graphite shavings and a stained hand and subtle movements that fill her mind with purpose. The art lets her mind wander, to fog and to disappear for a while. For that reason, she loves drawing more than any other hobby she has had.

When their girls were young, Phillip and Catherine Schuyler had sat them down in turn on their sixth birthday. What do you want to do? They had asked, and presented them with flyers and brochures of activities they could choose from; hobbies, interests. These things would keep their girls well rounded-and they had. Angelica chose tennis; she and Phillip had already been out on the courts, during special dad-and-Angie time her sisters had always been jealous of. It had become a way of networking, having a daughter who hit those rubber balls with a vengeance and spoke her mind so passionately. In choosing this hobby Angelica had chosen to become her father’s right hand girl. The zeal for tennis lasted only a short while, but the political upbringing brought her along to eagerly fill the role of Phillip’s doubles partner. Angelica was a pretty good tennis player, but she’d found her calling in networking with his colleagues. This was-and still is-her niche.

Peggy had bounced between activities so many times Eliza finds it hard to keep track. She’d done gymnastics for a while, but the arduous hours in a sweaty gym hadn’t been worth the pretty trophies for the youngest daughter. From there she’d tried basketball, and dance, and then softball. In each sport, she’d found something wrong. The real problem with Peggy and sports is her tendency to fall on her face, proven in several well-hidden home videos.

For Eliza, the memory is vivid. Right when she had woken up on her sixth birthday she’d come barreling down the stairs. She’d been the one to sit with their parents-to initiate the conversation. In her fluffy pink party dress, and hair done-up in an elaborate braided crown, she’d spun on shining white mary janes before insisting that ballet was her only option. From the very first class, she had fallen in love. In elementary school it had been the costumes that won her over; sparkles and sequins and layers of tulle that puffed her out like a cupcake. She’d wear the frocks around the house, only taking them off when bedtime and tulle became an incompatible match. As she got older she got better, and a fixation on costumes turned to trophies. This didn’t last long. The thrill of winning felt glorious in her heart, which swelled with unfiltered joy each time her parents brought flowers to her competitions (a glorious rainbow of gerber daisies-they always brought flowers). The swell of her heart then translated into a multitude of feelings. As her solos grew harder they also grew stories-Eliza was called upon to play a character in these moments, and she’d grown fond of the opportunity to tell stories through movement. That was when she realized how much she could release from a repetition of pirouettes or a leap across the studio floor. The negative feelings in her heart were translated through her heart to her body, and down through the floor. They would stay there in that studio.

When she’d grown too old to compete-when volunteer work and schooling and life had gotten in the way-Eliza had felt lost. Dancing had been her release. When she’d left it, she’d left the ability to spin away her feelings. And then she’d met James.

Sketching became Eliza’s freedom almost as naturally as dancing had. It started on a whim, a trip through a craft store and a glance in the right direction. She’d grabbed the tiny blue sketchpad as an afterthought, perhaps for a project she hadn’t quite planned yet. Then, things turned difficult. Life became taxing to live. Eliza could not dance; she could not even leave her apartment. The colorful sticks of charcoal had taken to her hands like second nature. The colors, their palate often in tandem with her own skin’s unnatural coloring of cruelty, often dusted her arms and the length of her palm. She let her fingers roam across paper, smearing purples and blues and peaches together to create a starry night of colors. Eliza never sketched to gain praise. Her art would not hang on gallery walls. But sitting in front of a blank canvas, her mind took solace in a new medium to press herself onto. The covers of her sketchbooks breathe a sigh of relief when they are opened. In turn, she thanks them for their time. With charcoal, or graphite, or pen, her mind is able to heal.

The healing also comes with the aesthetic of the coffee shop, wrapped in sparkling silver tinsel and cutout snowflakes, cable-knit blankets draped over warm leather couches. Her drink had been served in one of the last red holiday cups, a reminder of the holiday season now in the past. Just before they’d left for her family’s Christmas Eve party Eliza and Alex had sat in this same booth, drawing trees and snowmen and stars on each other’s cups with a Sharpie John had smuggled over the counter. She’d laughed at his rendition of a reindeer; a mess of basic shapes akin to a child’s shaky artwork. Her cup is now bare, devoid of any kind of design. She stares at the dimensionless red, lets its bright coloring hurt eyes which seem to be searching for its imperfections.

“You alright?” The voice pierces through her fog, hushed and soft and bright in timbre. John leans over the counter to speak to her, an eye trained on a fat, handsome man in an identical uniform. It’s the first day in a while his boss has stopped by this particular Starbucks, and as shift manager the collected, charismatic Latino is attempting to look busy. So far the day hadn’t been too taxing-a few discrepancies with a new employee messing up drinks, one millisecond of a lack of filter…yes, so far John Laurens would check this off as a pretty good day. His boss seems impressed, looking over a beautifully painted mural of snowflakes and swirls that graces the glass windows. It is a job he was supposed to assign to one of his employees; he’d scoffed at the thought. Within their ranks, there was not a stitch of artistic talent. He’d called Peggy instead, who’d come a few times that week and adorned a borrowed green apron to paint in exchange for the company-and the free coffee.

His smile widens when his boss turns to approve the decoration, his hands moving as if he’d been cleaning the counter the entire time. When the man turns back around again, John’s shoulders drop. He’d meant to be excelling at the day-showing management that he really did deserve the raise he had gotten. The raise is all but forgotten when Eliza walks through the door. If she hadn’t nearly stumbled her way to the counter, her uncharacteristic exhaustion would have been noted by the sheer weight she seemed to be carrying around. Each footstep hit the hardwood flooring heavy, wading through a tumultuous mud that keeps her pace slow and her eyes to the ground. Her order spills between slightly upturned lips and a smile that doesn’t quite reach her cheeks. And when he hesitates-stares at her dull and unmoving expression-she moves along as if nothing has happened.

So he can’t ignore her. As his boss walks slow and meticulous circles around the shop John juggles his attention between a sudden influx of customers and Eliza’s sinking form in their usual booth. She has a wide span of work lain out before her which she bends over in a concentration only broken by the opening of the door or a voice too loud too soon. Then she’s hyperaware, throwing her hands over her work as her body is jumpstarted by the shock. She fits the lag of the shop’s music; acoustic guitars and soft vocals by artists who use their breathiest voice to convey a dream-like feel. Usually, Eliza Schuyler fits into this aesthetic like the piece of a hand-crafted puzzle. Today, her energy carries to the counter and sets his own heart to her own erratic rhythm.

Between his boss and his currently incompetent employees John keeps a piece of himself tethered to the table Eliza has holed herself up at. For a moment he considers sneaking out back to text Alex, to give him warning and ask for his help. His fingers even hover over the screen of his phone for a moment, typing and erasing before his head is filled with the voices of his mother, and his sisters. They’d think it a terrible idea to meddle like this, sticking his nose in business that only kind-of pertains to himself. He’s not sure about his youngest sisters (Emily would probably have already gone and gotten Alex herself) but Amaia and his mother would adorn identical expressions. The slightly lowered brow, the crinkling of skin between them, and a constant company of arms crossed over chests….this is how he’d been raised. He fears the power of the women in his family, but he respects their opinion more. Even though they are not there, and they have not said a word, they are right. They’re always right.

In lieu of meddling John walks back and forth along the back counter of the bar, scrubbing down machine handles and picture frames and the bottom of the fridge. From this vantage point he can see her perfectly. She’s sketching, a thin pencil between dexterous fingers making hasty lines across paper that is no longer blank. The rip of its release breaks the soft sound barrier of the shop then, cutting through murmured voices and the whirring of appliances to announce its presence. He flinches, watching her lay the piece in a line of matching canvases. There is only the simplicity of a blurred monochrome blanket or art she had been working on for hours now, since he’d opened the doors to the shop. He can’t see much of anything from this point. He inches closer.

He’s lucky, he supposes then, that she’s sitting so close to the sink area. When his boss looks over he can soak his hands in water, clearing utensils and blenders and tools from his path. He does his best impression of a well-tuned employee, eyes turned to a focus and pace moving rapid although he is not really doing much work at all. It turns out that for John, pretending to be busy is harder work than actually doing his job. The façade is worth it.

The pictures she has drawn all seem to be linked, although there is no clear start or finish to the story she is illustrating. Then, it is abstract. There are no real characters, just one hastily sketched figure that is blurred in some drawings and scratched away in others. A page in the middle has been covered in darkness, so much so that John can still see the dusting of graphite that has loosened from a harsher pressure on the tool. Another directly next to it features only a face which, although clearly hastily drawn with a gathering of identical lines, isn’t much unlike her own. There is a blur, where she’d smeared the darks and lights together from her left eye to the tip of her chin so that she is barely unrecognizable. The choice seems odd on such a lovely portrait. Looking closer the blur continues, up toward the head where glossy hair typically fell into loose curls. She had blurred that too, turned dark hair darker and highlighted it with harsh lines throughout its nest. These lines twisted and contorted, wrapped around the neck in tight twists that pinched at her skin. This is where the picture stopped. She’d started another.

The one she is working on now, in hard concentration, features a rolling of markings that resemble the cloth of a curtain, or a dress. A dress, John decides as he leans a bit closer, is more similar to what this picture must be conveying. Through the blackened canvas the fabric stands out, white and clean and polished with a bow. It hangs from one corner of the frame, where it’s being pinched by hands that dwarf it in size. There are hard, sharp lines adorning the hand, which does not translate in harmony to the softness of the silk and the flow of the dress. From the line of focus this scene portrays, from top left to bottom right, there is the hand, the dress, and another figure. This one is small, creating the illusion that it must be floating away. Where the hand is sharp and the dress soft, this figure floats somewhere in the middle. Unlike the other pieces of work she’d created, the girl in this picture does not show her face. Her body is both curled into itself and splayed out, upside-down and floating in a sea of black graphite. Brilliant dark hair billows below her head, hanging and catching in the sketch to create motion. Where John had thought the figure was simply floating, he guesses again. There is nothing peaceful about this piece. Where the sketch of just her face had been pleasant-save the blurring of its left side-this falling in an endless space of darkness gives off a vibe that sticks in his gut. A chill runs through his blood, beginning and ending in an infinite loop that makes him want to turn away from it all. His sight pans back out to the grouping of pictures, depictions of scenes within Eliza’s mind that come in flashes of horrific memories. His intake of breath is audible, and uncontrolled. He puts a hand over his mouth when Eliza turns sharp to face him. He’s been caught.

“John!” Her hands rest on her table, covering the figure and the face to no avail. He’s already seen it all, that much is evident by the uncomfortable brushing of his top and bottom lips to each other, the way his eyes can barely meet hers. She moves to say something else but can’t figure out what it should be; she could explain herself, the pictures and the coffee and the frantic look on her face. She could accuse him for invading her privacy, but what good would that be? She’s sitting in a public place, his place of work…she’d been stupid to think he wouldn’t notice her there. She hadn’t been thinking at all, actually.

There is a level of unrest that’s lain harsh on her gentle features. Soft lips are curved into the mirror of a smile, wistful and hopeful and pretending. The beginnings of dark rings hang under lifeless eyes, illustrating her exhaustion and keeping herself away from him. He nods, although no other hint of conversation has been given. It’s a response to her body language; her harsh covering of art and her inability to say anything more. Although he doesn’t fully understand, he knows. This is not something he should be poking his nose into. In the moment he notices her sharp defense he decides to leave the art alone, although he cannot un-see what he has seen-they are both aware of this fact.

“So….a venti?” Eliza laughs then, shaking her head and piling her art back into her sketchbook. She uses her fingers to shake out her loose curls, tossing them over her shoulder.

“Yeah, it’s been…interesting. It was an interesting night.” She doesn’t need to say anything more-the saccharine fragrance of vanilla espresso and the overly done lilt in her voice are enough to give away her true meaning. John frowns, drumming his fingers on the countertop, contemplating what to say.

“I uh, yeah. Yeah, it wasn’t too good for Alex either. Have you talked to him?”

“Today? Yeah. This morning, just to say hi. About this?” She holds her sketchbook in her hands, caressing the cover and looking down at its worn-out binding with the bite of her lip. There is a sensation that comes along with even looking at its cover, something between the release of peace and an aggressive hold on her heart that keeps her chained to its therapy. The choking of her heart is necessary. Holding the book, it seems useless. But it’s opening its pages-translating feeling to rough lines and vast spaces that make it worth its initial pain. Telling Alexander would mean having to show him what she’s done-to explain each of the moments she’d had to sit down, where words were not enough to release her emotions. It’s something that makes her cringe upon the thought. It’s not necessary, not yet.

“I don’t want to make him feel guilty.”

“Say no more, E. We’re done talking about it.” John has a way of glossing over things; of making people forget he ever even knew what had happened. Flashes of the night before present themselves in the forefront of his mind; Alex standing wearily at the door, his fight with Lafayette…even this morning he had been lackluster, leaving the apartment without breakfast or coffee. If he didn’t like Eliza, he could’ve presented her with all of the consequences her actions had caused, the effects of her choice. If he hadn’t known her, or what she’s going through, this would have been very easy to do. Letting go of people is something he has no trouble with, especially when those people have hurt those that he loves. This is different. While Eliza had hurt Alex she hadn’t done it intentionally-this move had been the best decision for them both. And Eliza…he’d grown closer to Eliza in the past few months than he’d anticipated. Dropping her, if there ever would be a need, would be harder than he’d thought.

John wears a lopsided smile, body propped on the length of his lower arm against the countertop. He drapes the cloth he had been pretending to clean with over his shoulder, eyes dusted with the familiar hints of mischief.

“You want to be distracted?” John sends the proposition her way with inflection in his voice and a quick glance back to his boss. Luckily, he still hasn’t noticed the lack of work ethic he’s been presenting. He turns back just in time to see Eliza’s hesitant nod.

“Emily’s coming to game night on Friday.”

“Oh good,”

“-Oh yeah, I’m kind of making her come.”

“Oh?” Eliza’s turned completely in the booth now, facing John and leaning slightly against her table. He’s completely relaxed now, barely passing a glance at the wandering man with the clipboard. He’s not too concerned with John, either; right now he’s fixated on the well-being of a couple sitting on the other side of the shop.

“She’s….she’s had it rough. Her friends are all assholes and I hate them.”

“John!”

“I’m being generous here. They’re all a bunch of stuck up little hypocrites and she just needs a night away from them. The one person I hate more than them is her girlfriend.”

“What’s wrong with her?” She’s trying to play the middle man and he groans at the thought of it all, rolling his eyes at her sweet tone and open mind. He wants to project his mind to her own, to show her the girl that is currently holding his middle sister’s heart hostage in a rampant game of tug-of-war. His strong, independent sister has been pining over this girl for years to receive nothing in return but an ever-changing frame of mind.

“She’s a serial dater. She’s crazy, and manipulative, and they’ve broken up four times in the past few months. This is so not my sister. And her friends? Her friends could care less, they’re only concerned with whether or not this girl will be at the apartment and if she’s brought food. They’re exploiting Emily for some halfway decent chef who just graduated from dishwasher and hasn’t set a single goal for herself in her life. They’re the worst match.”

“So you’re forcing her to hang out with her brother and his friends because….”

“You and your sisters are good people-you got along when you met her, right? I mean she’s kind of a bitch but once you get to know her she’s great. She needs some new friends, desperately. Plus, she’s Alex’s sister too so you need to get in with the family at some point.”

“Alright, I’m sold.”

“Really, that easily?” Eliza laughs at his shock, nodding and gathering her things. She gestures behind John, pulling her lips into a nervous curl as the sound of footsteps approach them. He turns just in time to see his boss, large and a pitiful attempt at being intimidating. It gets John moving. His lanky form putters around the little bar, grasping at Eliza’s half-empty cup and attempting to recreate what he’d made her much earlier in the morning. His facial features are immediately set to a concentrated sort of smile, which he flashes at his boss with a set of pearly white teeth. His boss nods. Eliza rolls her eyes. Once again, John has avoided work with only his boyish smile.

She leaves him then, thanking him for the mucked up version of her drink she’s already too caffeinated to drink. It feels nice to have a purpose; to set out to class with a new goal in mind. By the time her day is over she’s busy compiling lists-thoughts and facts to tell her sisters about the friend they need to make. Going home to an empty apartment is lonely; quiet. But she has Alex on the other end of the phone, his exuberant tenor telling her every story he knows about Emily Laurens. He understands her; with a goal in her mind, Eliza can be busy. With this goal in her mind, she barely needs the release of her sketchbook. Her thoughts are geared toward an uncontrollable optimism, a need to reach the end result so clearly paved in her mind. Friday can’t come quick enough.

#mine: swts #hamliza #I'm working on fixing the tag list #and getting my life together #sorry everyone

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papermoonloveslucy · 8 years ago

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Lucy and the Monsters

S3;E18~ January 25, 1965

Synopsis

When Lucy and Viv decide to check out the horror movies their boys have been watching, Lucy has a nightmare in which she and Viv are trapped in a haunted castle where they encounter a variety of horror movie characters - until their host turns them into witches themselves!

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carmichael), Vivian Vance (Vivian Bagley), Gale Gordon (Theodore J. Mooney), Jimmy Garrett (Jerry Carmichael), Ralph Hart (Sherman Bagley)

Ralph Hart’s face is completely hidden by a Frankenstein mask and he has no dialogue, merely grunts. Viv says “I’m not even sure that is my son under that mask.” This is his first ‘appearance’ since “Lucy’s Contact Lenses” (S3;E10) two months earlier.

Candy Moore (Chris Carmichael) does not appear in this episode.

Guest Cast

George Barrows (Loretta, the Gorilla Maid) played a gorilla in his very first screen credit, Tarzan and His Mate (1934). He donned the gorilla suit 18 more times from 1954 to 1978. His final simian character was on “The Incredible Hulk.” This is his first appearance on “The Lucy Show” and he will return as a gorilla in two more. He also played human characters on two episodes.

Bob Burns (Ringo, the Werewolf Butler) also played the wolf man in two episodes of TV's “The Adventures of The Spirit” in 1963. Like George Barrows, Burns played many on-screen gorillas, including on an episode of “My Three Sons” in 1966. Burns was a good friend of Glenn Strange, the last actor to play Frankenstein in a Universal horror film. He is also a world renown archivist and historian of props, costumes, and other screen used paraphernalia from science fiction, fantasy, and horror movies. One of his prized possessions is the the wolf's cane handle from The Wolf Man (1941).

The character’s unique moniker is likely a nod to the Beatles’ Ringo Starr. Early in their career’s the Beatles were known for their long hair!

Jan Arvan (The 'Head' of the Household) played a waiter in Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy in 1955 and a gypsy on “The Munsters” ten years later. From 1953 to 1971 he was a regular on “The Red Skelton Show” on CBS, often playing Klem Kadiddlehopper's father. This is his only appearance with Lucille Ball.

Sid Haig (The Mummy) was first employed by Desilu in a 1962 episode of “The Untouchables.” This “Lucy Show” marks his fourth of more than 140 screen credits. He was also seen in a 1969 episode of “Here’s Lucy.” Haig appeared in the horror re-boots Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006) and Halloween (2007).

James Gonzales (Morris, the Chair) was a popular Hollywood extra who first acted with Lucille Ball in the 1953 film The Long, Long Trailer. He was previously seen on the series as Stan Williams in “Lucy Digs Up a Date” (S1;E2). He was seen in more than 20 episodes of “The Lucy Show” and 3 episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”

The character name puns on the Morris Chair, an early type of reclining chair by Morris & Company first marketed around 1866. Gonzales is completely concealed by the chair costume and does not speak.

Shepard Sanders (Costume Party Count Dracula) played a psychic on an episode of the TV series “Werewolf” in 1987. This is his only appearance with Lucille Ball.

Several other costumed party-goers appear uncredited in the final scene, but do not speak. They may have been played by the other ‘monsters’ in Lucy’s dream.

Series Camera Coordinator Maury Thompson (above left) and assistant director / associate producer Tommy Thompson (above right) came up with the premise for this episode and receive screen credit for the story.

The episode opens with Lucy reading a magazine article titled “Psychological Reactions in Adolescents to Terror-Inspiring Visual Stimulation”:

“The over-abundance of spooky stuff in movies and TV can cause traumatic experience in our youngsters.”

Lucy reports that Jerry and Sherman are at the State Theater to see the double-feature The Surfing Werewolf and The Eggplant That Ate Philadelphia. Both of these are fictional films. This is the first mention of the State movie theatre. The Bijou and The Danfield Theatre were both mentioned in “No More Double Dates” S1;E21).

The title The Eggplant That Ate Philadelphia may have been inspired by the 1960 low-budget comedy / horror film The Little Shop of Horrors, about a mysterious eggplant-shaped plant that thrives on human blood and could be an alien sent to conquer earth. One of the film’s stars, Jackie Joseph, was married to Lucille Ball protégé Ken Berry and would appear on “Here’s Lucy” (using her married named) in 1969.

Jerry wears a black cape and Sherman wears a Frankenstein mask. Other than this visual image, the Frankenstein monster is not mentioned or depicted in the dream. Frankenstein and Dracula were already represented on CBS by “The Munsters” (1964-66) on Thursday nights. The series imagined the Universal monsters in a family-based sitcom similar to “Father Knows Best.”

Jerry (and later Lucy) use a Remco “Signal Action Ray Space Gun”. Starting in the 1950s, Remco made many variations on this gun, including different colors. It is likely that the electronic sound heard on the soundtrack was added in post-production.

The mothers resolve to check out these movies for themselves.

VIV: “I haven’t seen a movie with a monster since Gone With The Wind.” LUCY: “There was no monster in Gone With The Wind.” VIV: “You didn’t see my date!”

Lucille Ball was considered for the role of Scarlett O'Hara during the 1939 film's initial casting. The role eventually went to British actress Vivian Leigh (right). The cinema classic will be mentioned several times throughout the series and on “Here’s Lucy.”

Gale Gordon gets a smattering of entrance applause from the studio audience. Mr. Mooney jokingly hums a few bars of “Funeral March” to scare Lucy and Viv. Frédéric Chopin's composition is formally known as Piano Sonata No. 2 in B Flat Minor, Opus 35 and was completed in 1839.

Mr. Mooney mentions his wife, but not by name. Vivian mentions her husband, but also does not use his name. In other episodes, we discover they are named Irma and Ralph, respectively. Both characters remain unseen throughout the series.

Throwing his coat over his shoulders like a cape, Mr. Mooney says

“It isn't a fit night out for man nor beast!”

This is a paraphrase of a quote spoken by W.C. Fields in the 1933 film short The Fatal Glass of Beer, which was NOT a horror movie! More beastly wordplay happens later when Dracula (Mr. Mooney) turns the expression “Heavens to Betsy” into “Heavens to Beastie”!

This is only the second time a scene has taken place in Lucy's bedroom. The first was in “Lucy Buys a Sheep” (S1;E5).

Lucy protects herself from monsters by wearing a garlic necklace (to ward off evil spirits) and holding one of Jerry's wooden tent stakes (the only way to kill a vampire). Both of these tactics are part of the vampire mythology as set forth in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula.

The monster characters featured are mostly from the Universal Studios pantheon of monsters: Dracula (1931), The Mummy (1932) and The Wolf Man (1941). Background player Monty O'Grady was a villager in The Wolf Man and later appeared in 14 episodes of “The Lucy Show” and 6 episodes of “Here's Lucy.” One of Universal's most famous monsters was The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), played by Elsa Lanchester. Lanchester guest-starred as a possible hatchet murderess on “Off To Florida” (ILL S6;E6) and as a hardened criminal in “Lucy Goes To Prison,” a 1973 episode of “Here's Lucy.” The Bride of Frankenstein is also mentioned in “Lucy Writes a Play” (ILL S1;E17). Universal Studios theme parks in Hollywood and Florida later hosted a Lucille Ball exhibit, also selling collectible merchandise and souvenirs.

Count Dracula (Mr. Mooney) calls his werewolf butler by the name 'Ringo.' This is a joke about Ringo Starr of the Beatles, a popular singing group known for their long and shaggy hairstyles. The Beatles have been mentioned several times on “The Lucy Show.” 1965 saw the release of their motion picture Help!

When Lucy and Viv are transformed into witches, they quote the Weird Sisters from William Shakespeare's MacBeth:

“Double double, toil and trouble. Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.”

To find out who is the prettiest witch, Lucy and Viv ask the magic mirror by saying “Mirror, mirror on the wall; Who's the fairest of them all?” This is the same query the Evil Queen asks her magic mirror in the 1937 animated Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. In the original Brothers Grimm story that the film is based upon, however, the question posed is “Who is the most beautiful in all the land?”

In the dream sequence, witch Lucy calls witch Viv 'Sassafrassa.' This is actually the name Lucille Ball gave an imaginary childhood friend who assured her she would one day be a movie star. Once she moved from Jamestown to nearby Celoron, Lucy would often call her best friend Pauline Lopus 'Pauline Sassafrassa.' Other sources say Lucille Ball imagined herself to be a famous film star named 'Sassafrassa.'

A mouse also scares Lucy and Viv in “Vivian Sues Lucy” (S1;E10). That episode also features an insert shot of a live mouse. Women being afraid of mice was a typical TV trope of the time.

When the Mummy tries to help strap Lucy to the operating table, she snaps and says “Please, Mummy! I’d rather do it myself!” The studio audience reacts with a big laugh of recognition. Here’s why…

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In 1962, an advertisement for Anacin pain reliever featured a mother trying to assist her grown daughter prepare a meal. “Don’t you think it needs a little salt?”, the mother would say, only to have her nerve-racked daughter shout, “Mother, please, I’d rather do it myself!" Variations on this scenario became popular and were parodied a number of times, including in the Allan Sherman song "Headaches” (”Mother, don't hand me those pills from the shelf, I’d rather do it myself”), the 1966 film The Silencers, and the 1980 film Airplane.

A year and a day after this “Lucy Show” episode, “My Mother The Car” (starring Lucy’s pal Ann Sothern) aired an episode titled “I’d Rather Do It Myself, Mother” (S1;E20). Coincidentally, the show’s music was by Ralph Carmichael, a real-life combination of VIv’s ex-husband’s first name, and Lucy’s last name!

Callbacks!

Two years earlier, in the first frame of the June 1963 “The Lucy Show” Gold Key comic book, Viv also feared monsters! And shaggy dogs, apparently! Ironically, a shaggy dog was featured in the very first episode of “The Lucy Show”.

This is the first time there has been a 'dream sequence' on “The Lucy Show.” In “Ricky's Old Girlfriend” (ILL S3;E12) Lucy dreams of what life would be like without Ricky if he left her for Carlotta Romero, a sexy Cuban dancer. The dream takes her 25 years into the future.

The most famous dream sequence on “I Love Lucy” was “Lucy Goes To Scotland” (ILL S5;E17) where Lucy Ricardo imagines re-visiting her relatives in Scotland, but dreams in the musical comedy format. Except for the brief opening and closing scenes, the entire episode is comprised of a dream.

The witch voice Lucy uses is very similar to the one she used as the witch in “Little Ricky’s School Pageant” (ILL S6;E10) with a hint of Camille, the Queen of the Gypsies in “The Operetta” (ILL S2;E5).

When witch Lucy and witch Viv try to flee Dracula's castle, the escape turns into an impromptu square dance, with the Head as the caller. This is similar to the impromptu escape that helps the Ricardos and the Mertzes get out of Bent Fork in “Tennessee Bound” (ILL S4;E14). In that episode, Ernie Ford was the caller.

Lucy Ricardo disguised herself as an armchair when spying on the “New Neighbors” (ILL S1;E21). Like the Morris chair in this episode, Lucy's arms also were the arms of the chair.

Fast Forward!

In a 1970 episode of “Here’s Lucy,” Lucy Carter met the Crown Prince of Horror, Vincent Price.

Trying to flee Count Dracula’s mansion, Lucy and Viv search for a secret passageway in the fireplace, touching all the stones, just like Lucy Carter did when trying to find Mumsie Westcott’s loot in “Lucy Goes To Prison” (HL S5;E18).

Blooper Alerts!

Calendar Conundrum! This would have made a fun Halloween episode, but instead it inexplicably airs for the first time in January.

Sitcom Logic Alert! Mr. Mooney drops by the Carmichael home on the premise of hand-delivering Lucy’s bank statement. As usual, he leaves the door wide open for the duration of his scene.

Sitter Situation! Lucy and Viv recruit Mr. Mooney to 'babysit’ with Jerry and Sherman, but it is not clear why Chris (now in her late teens) cannot watch them or even where she might be.

Whose Bed Is It Anyway? Although they are supposedly sleeping in Lucy’s bedroom, the bed frame and the painting above the bed are the same ones seen in Viv’s bedroom in previous episodes.

Layout Logic! Lucy’s bedroom in “Lucy Buys a Sheep” (S1;E5) has a completely different layout than this one. The rocking chair and the white wood dresser, however, are the same.

On / Off! In the bedroom, as Viv reaches for the switch, Lucy yells for her not to turn off the lights but the light switch is already in the 'off’ position.

Made For TV Garlic! When Lucy shakes her garlic necklace to ward off the evil spirits, the hollow sound it makes indicates that they are fabricated cloves and not real garlic.

Quick Thinking Viv! When the telephone booth door is flung open to reveal the skeleton, it immediately starts to swing shut again, but Viv quickly grabs it with her right hand and holds it open so the skeleton can be seen on camera and by the studio audience, thus neatly avoiding a re-take.

Ouch! Backing out of the fireplace, Vivian Vance bumps her head on the mantle. She doesn’t react vocally, but does grab her head when it happens. The ‘Head’ sees the entire incident.

Check the Gate for Crew! When Lucy and Viv are strapped to a table so Dracula can turn them into witches, the screen fades to black for the commercial break and the head of a crew member prominently enters the camera frame on the right. Unfortunately, the newest DVD release did not eliminate this goof by cropping the frame, as they have done with other bloopers. This same mistake also happened on “I Love Lucy.”

Soggy Bottom! When the potted plant spits up the year-old tea, the spray lands on the tan sofa, making a large wet mark where Viv (dressed in pajamas) is supposed to sit. She scoots over a bit to avoid the wet patch. The sofa stays wet for the rest of the episode. When the magic mirror comes crashing down to the floor rather than saying who is the fairest in the land, Lucy or Viv, part of the Styrofoam wall behind it also caves in!

Mirror, Mirror on the Floor! When the magic mirror comes crashing down to the floor part of the Styrofoam wall behind it also caves in!

“Lucy and the Monsters” rates 3 Paper Hearts out of 5

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harrysbbby · 8 years ago

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Blame- Bucky Barnes- Part 8

A/N: sorry for the lack of updates but I’ve been overseas. Please enjoy this new part and feel free to send me feedback and requests

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part-2

part-3

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part-5

part-6

part-7

You were put into a soundproof office while Bucky had his evaluation. You kind of wish that you had been assigned to do it but obviously given the situation that wasn’t going to happen. But you knew that whoever they had probably wasn’t going to treat him like a human being, but a murderous monster. But you felt like you could get Bucky the help he needs, but also remind him that he had people that cared about him, like Steve, yourself and Sam.

Sharon entered the room and handed you a piece of paper, “The receipt for your gear.” Sam peered over your shoulder

“Bird costume?” He squawked

“Come on.” You rolled your eyes and looked at her

“I didn't write it.” She put her hands up in defence. She looked around the perimeter of your ‘cell’ before un-restricting the access to Bucky’s evaluation. You could now hear it. Steve looked around at her but she turned away nonchalantly.

The psychologist continued to talk to him, “I'm not here to judge you. I just want to ask you a few questions. Do you know where you are, James? I can't help you if you don't talk to me, James.”

“My name is Bucky.”

You watched the screen intently before speaking up. “It isn’t adding up. Something here is wrong.” You said looking between Steve, Sam and Sharon. Steve nodded slightly, agreeing with you as he looked at the task force released photo of ‘Bucky’.

“Why would the task force release this photo to begin with?” He asked

“Get the word out, involve as many eyes as we can?” Sharon replied

“Right. It's a good way to flush a guy out of hiding.” Steve continued, “Set off a bomb, get your picture taken. You’ve got 7 million people looking for the Winter soldier.”

“You're saying someone framed him to find him?” Sharon asked

“Steve, we looked for the guy for 2 years,” Sam said

“We found nothing.” You added solemnly

“We didn't bomb the UN. That turns a lot of heads.” You and Sam both nodded in agreement to Steve’s statement

“So? That doesn't guarantee that whoever framed him would get him it guarantees that we would.” Sharon added.

“Yeah.” Steve trailed off, all of your heads now turned towards the small screen, all slightly puzzled.

Suddenly the lights turn off. The entire base powered down. You and Sam stood up immediately. Sharon spoke hastily.

“Sub-level 5, east wing.” And the three of you took off running.

When you got down there the place was a mess. Unconscious bodies littered the floor and the psychologist laid on the floor.

“Help me” he whimpered.

You rolled your eyes at him, knowing that it was all an act.

“Nuh-uh” you shook your head at him. “Get up” His expression hardened.

“Get up,” Steve repeated, yanking him from the ground and shoving him into the wall, “Who are you, what do you want”

“To see an empire fall.” The man replied. A crash came from behind you. Bucky had punched the wall and was now in combat with Sam. He grabbed his face and flipped him over, throwing him into the cage.

“Sam!” you yelled, running towards him. Bucky moved onto Steve, fighting him all the way down the corridor. You watched over your shoulder, seeing Sam slightly come to and figured he would be fine. You followed behind Bucky by a couple of meters. He pushed Steve into the elevator shaft. He turned around and faced you and you could see those haunting eyes again. The ones with so much pain and misery. You planted your feet to the ground firmly, ready to deflect whatever attack he threw at you but he didn’t. He just stared for a moment longer, before sauntering off. You blinked a couple of times, before sticking your head down the elevator shaft.

“You okay, Steve?”

“oh yeah, just peachy.” He responded. You roll your eyes, hearing Sam yell a hey down the hall. You turn to see the therapist making a run for it. You go to chase him when you see him. You hear Sam call out to you, “I got him, you go find Bucky!”

You ran around the building until you found where he could be. You heard fighting coming from around a corner, and there he was, and you watched as he fought with Tony, throwing a powerful blow across his face. Sharon went in next, punching and kicking, quickly followed by Nat. They both hit him at the same time before Sharon’s leg was caught by Bucky. He flipped her over into a table, causing it to crumble beneath her. Natasha did her signature leg move, eventually getting them around Bucky’s head. She hit him multiple times in the head before he pinned her to a table. He wrapped his metal hand around her neck leaving her with no air.

“You could at least recognise me.” She said. This confused you… recognise her? You didn’t have time to waste mulling over the sentence. You quickly ran forward shoving Bucky off of her. She gasped for air, finally able to get oxygen to her lungs. You dodged the punches he threw at you. His human hand hit your head and you cried out in agony, the bruise from Rumlow still relatively tender. You grabbed his human arm and twisted it, only for him to grab yours and twist it back. You felt a sharp pain in your wrist, tears springing to your eyes with pain. You kicked his shin with your foot trying to shake him off but he was as hard as a rock. Your limbs were tangled together and you looked at him directly. Your eyes stared into his and you could almost see the cogs of his mind ticking overtime. He was confused. He had been out of Winter Soldier mode for a while now so this sudden violence dazed him. It’s like he knew you were trying to help, or at least that’s what you gathered since his grip loosened slightly. You went to say something to him, hoping to snap him out but didn’t get the chance to. T’Challa came in and kicked him off you. You nursed your arm after the tight hands around it were gone. Before you could intervene the fight, Bucky’s arm whacked your chest. You were sent backwards. You groaned as you fell to the floor, but surprisingly the blow wasn’t that hard. Maybe it was on purpose.

You knew that with this commotion it would be the perfect time to escape. You ran outside and found Sam.

“I lost him. The therapist dude, he got away.” You nodded.

“Okay. We need to find Steve, hopefully, he’s got Bucky. But we need to lay low… and probably check you for a concussion.” You laughed lightly at Sam swaying and blinking slowly in front of you. You both snuck away successfully in the crowd. You were able to find Steve, who was hauling an unconscious Bucky. Sam helped lug him around you knew you’d have to get out of the radius of the base. You led the boys away from the building, eventually finding an abandoned warehouse a fair few blocks away.

Part 9 coming soon

#Bucky Barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky x reader #captain america #Steve Rodgers #steve x reader #avengers #avengers x reader #captain america civil war

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sevendeadlyseans · 8 years ago

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10 (or 11) Movies Released Last Year That I Really Liked, 2016 Edition

Before I get to my “official” Top 10, one title has been excluded for consideration due to conflict of interest, but would otherwise top my list.

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Darling

Mickey Keating’s 3rd feature (produced by the fabulous Jenn Wexler, a.k.a. my girlfriend) is, of course, my favorite film of the year. I’ve seen it three times in theaters—twice in 2015 on the festival circuit, and again last April on opening night—and still keep finding new, subtle things about it to love.

The story: a young woman is paid to housesit a glorious old building while its eccentric owner is away. Is the house haunted? Is she unhinged? Maybe both? Star Lauren Ashley Carter—rightly recognized as “the Audrey Hepburn of indie horror” by The Austin Chronicle, is in almost every frame of the film and is never short of mesmerizing, whether answering the telephone, putting on make-up or getting her hands dirty by...well, let’s not give away the fun.

The black and white cinematography is gorgeous, the score crawls under your skin and the editing is legit terrifying. Watch with the lights out.

And now back to our official, less personally biased top 10, in order...

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Moonlight

Without question, the most accomplished, most moving film of 2016.

James Joyce once noted, “In the particular is the universal.” Moonlight is atop my list in no small part because it’s so breathtaking in its particular intimacies.

Moonlight is like Boyhood on a budget: it drops us into three important periods in the life of a boy who becomes a teen who becomes a man—at first bullied and confused, increasingly neglected by his crack-addicted mother and influenced by a kind-hearted, drug-dealing surrogate father. We see him harden, over time, under the pressure of a world with no use for softness, and then, perhaps, reconnecting with a lost bit of himself, at long last.

Writing that synopsis, it strikes me how easily such a story could have tipped into cliché and melodrama. Perhaps because writer/director Barry Jenkins and playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney are both from the Liberty City projects themselves. their knowledge—coupled with a great cast, an impeccable soundtrack, a deft use of color and Jenkins’ masterful control of tone—l gives Moonlight specificity, and that makes it universal.

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Jackie

Tone is a theme for the first three films on my 2016 list—four if you count Darling, and you most definitely should. Pablo Larrain’s Jackie puts us inside the experience of First Lady Jackie Kennedy in the aftermath of JFK’s assassination, in a way I never thought I could experience:

Your husband was just murdered; his blood is on your dress. Your life is cracked, and even if you put the pieces back together, nothing will ever be the same. Oh, and he’s the president—was the president—so your country is broken, too. History has its eye on you, so while the crushing weight of grief bears down, try to look good for the cameras. It’s only his legacy at stake.

It seems ludicrous to say that Oscar-nominated Natalie Portman is underrated, but somehow she is—and I adored her in Black Swan. In Jackie, she’s working at another level. Open and wounded when no one but us can see, calculating and brittle and angry before an eager reporter. I am excited to see Portman does next.

Special mention to Mica Levi’s score, her second feature after 2013′s Under the Skin. Can’t wait to hear what she does next, too.

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The Witch

Someone had the terrible idea to market The Witch as “the year’s scariest movie.” It’s not, nor is it trying to be. It is, however, among the most unsettling films of this year or any other. (Again: tone.)

The story: it’s 17th century New England. William, his wife Katherine, and their five children have been kicked out of the settlement being too religious (it seems, or perhaps just too self-righteous) and must find a way to survive on their own on the fringes of the deep, dark wood.

Before you have time to wonder if the titular witch might be metaphoric, she shows up and does something unspeakable to William and Katherine’s newborn son. Things go downhill from there, exacerbated by both outside, malevolent forces and unacknowledged tensions within the family unit.

The Witch looks gorgeous, as well it should. First-time director Robert Eggers made his bones as a production and costume designer, and reportedly built an actual, mostly working 17th century farm for the film. Even the dialogue itself was built out of scraps of things people wrote and said back then. You can feel the authenticity, which makes the family’s isolation feel that much more acute and dangerous.

O.J.: Made in America

Bob Dylan never asked “How many minutes does a film have to be, before we can call it TV?” but the answer, my friend, is probably not much more than the 467 minute runtime of Ezra Edelman’s O.J.: Made in America. (For comparison, that’s almost 3 hours longer than a full season of HBO’s Veep.)

It doesn’t help that it was produced by ESPN, or that it aired on that cable network less than a month after it’s Oscar-qualifying theatrical run. And yet...it was my favorite documentary in a year of many great docs (more on that later), so if wants to call itself a movie, I’ll roll with it.

2014 marked the 20th anniversary of the murders. The revived attention around the so-called “trial of the century” led to two great works of art, Edelman’s doc and FX’s American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson. (One can only wonder how our present political moment will be filtered through the culture of 2018).

Rather than produce O.J. overload, the two projects complement one another—the dramatic series taking us inside the lives and hearts of key figures on both legal teams, while the doc simultaneously expands the scope and deepens the focus—showing us more about who O.J. was before, during and after, and what America was and still is, especially but not only in Los Angeles, but also in Ferguson, on Staten Island, everywhere. If it takes Edelman 8 hours to set up all details to knock us down with his larger point, well, that’s 8 hours well spent.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrB3rOcrJxg&list

The Lobster

Yorgos Lanthimos’ Dogtooth was one of my favorite movies of 2010. He’s back on the list with a film that’s just as strange but far more accessible.

I love absurdism, deadpan humor, magical realism and dystopian fantasy, but I can’t recall a film that manages the trick of juggling all three at once as The Lobster does—with an honest-to-goodness love story right there in the middle.

I’ll skip the premise—if you don’t know it, watch the trailer.

The cast is great, and Colin Farrell is a revelation, topping my previous Farrell favorite, the criminally under seen In Bruges. Lanthimos packs the film with small details that make the surreal world of The Lobster believable. The first shot packs an entire story of love, betrayal and murder (which is never revisited) into a single, long take. And its final, wrenching moments will stay with me forever.

Film critic Britt Hayes got to the heart of the filmmaker’s uncanny alchemy when she noted “Lanthimos doesn’t heighten reality to an absurd degree; he heightens the absurdity of our existing reality.” Or put another way, he doesn’t add absurdity, he just turns the heat up on reality and our own absurdity bubbles to the surface.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTNZmOJxuAc

Hail, Caesar!

There’s this other movie that’s sort of a throwback to old Hollywood, with some singing and dancing in it. That movie’s fine, but don’t hold your breath, it didn’t make my list. For my money, the real love letter to Hollywood—and why the movie industry matters—came from the Coen Brothers.

Now, it wouldn’t be a Coens movie if that tender heart weren’t covered under many layers of arch cynicism, stylized reference bordering on “acting” “in” “quotation” “marks” and the occasional silliness. But you don’t have to peel much of it away to see the real love they have for not just the magic of movies but also the joy in so many abandoned film genres that once ruled the box office—be they Gene Kelly musicals, Gene Autry oaters or C.B. DeMille bible epics, to name but a few recreated here.

For me, Hail, Caesar! sits perfectly between the sour cynicism of the Hollywood in Woody Allen’s misanthropic Cafe Society and the false romanticism of the ambition-for-ambition’s sake “dreamers" of La La Land who prize the warmth of the spotlight over any real human affection.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NYpz_j3e38

13th

Ava DuVernay’s 13th is a civics lesson for a country in dire need of one. With a controlled but searing ferocity, the documentary lays out the case that the 13th amendment allowed the continuation of a system of oppression and control not all that from slavery: the criminal justice system. If you haven’t read your Constitution lately, here’s a refresher on the 13th, the amendment that ostensibly ended slavery:

“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

This one, terrible clause not just perpetuated slavery under another name but incentivized an expansion of the definition of criminality, in order to profit from the subjugation of mostly brown and black bodies, which has led to an explosion in America’s incarcerated population. In effect, through laws designed to maintain segregation, blackness itself has been criminalized.

With Jim Crow, redlining, lynching (terrorism by another name) and the like, the 13th has led to a more unequal society—and, indirectly, to leaders who lie and stoke racial, as well as religions and ethnic, divisions in order to maintain the ever-growing class divide from which they profit.

This poor summation doesn’t do justice to the full weight of the case DuVernay and her experts make, or how well they make it. 13th should be required viewing by everyone, but most of all by those who hold the power to make and enforce the law.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V66F3WU2CKk

The Love Witch

Let’s start with the obvious: Anna Biller’s The Love Witch is a gorgeous film. Turn the sound off, re-order the scenes at random and you still can’t take your eyes off what looks like a lost Technicolor American Giallo from 1972. Biller not only wrote, edited and directed the film but also handled production design, art direction, set decoration and costuming, almost single-handedly crafting one of the best looking films of 2016.

Beneath that dazzling frosting is a rich, feminist layer cake. Elaine is a witch specializing in sex magic, who believes her path to happiness lies in finding the right man, seducing him and pleasing him in every way. On paper, she’s a patriarchy’s dream come true. But when these lustful men inevitably fall short—as they all must, as patriarchy itself is built on a lie—she gets rid of them, permanently. Poor, unfulfilled Elaine.

The Love Witch is Biller’s own magic trick, casting its spell over us with its color, its throwback ‘70s sexploitation vibe and its razor-sharp message we don’t notice until the blade has slid, quietly, between our ribs and stabbed us in the heart. Metaphorically.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXjDEDYlu7c

I, Daniel Blake

Daniel Blake has spent a lifetime working with his hands, supporting a modest but pleasant life for himself and his late wife. After a heart attack, his doctors tell him he’s not fit to return to work—yet with a simple questionnaire (and absent any input from his doctors), the government’s welfare bureau deems him too fit to qualify for disability.

He can apply for unemployment benefits, but only if he’s actively seeking work—work which, according to his doctors, he can’t accept. Caught in a catch-22, he must appeal to an unreachable “decision-maker” for relief—provided he can find a way, without income or assistance, to get by while he waits. Then Daniel meets a single mother in stuck in a similar situation and does his best to help her struggling family, even as his own situation grows worse.

Ken Loach’s drama won the Palm D’Or at Cannes but has received not much notice since then, at least outside the UK, perhaps because of the specific criticism of the British welfare bureaucracy at the heart of the story. But you don’t need much imagination to see how things can be as bad or worse for the many Daniel Blakes of this country.

Loach has been making socially conscious films about the struggles of the working and lower classes for longer than I’ve been alive. As with Jenkins and Moonlight, it’s clear Loach knows this world, these people and their struggles, and knows how to tell their particular stories in a simple yet powerful, moving and universal way.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4KbJLpu7yo

The Handmaiden

Apologies if you’re getting whiplash. I went from a highly stylized Love Witch to a pared-down I, Daniel Blake. Now I’m going to swing back the other way with Park Chan-Wook’s sensual, sensuous The Handmaiden.

As has been the case in years prior, the 10th (really, 11th) and final spot on my list could have gone to a number of worthy films, and almost did—I began writing up another film here before realizing there’s no way I could round out 2016 without giving The Handmaiden its due. (Sorry, Elle!)

The story of The Handmaiden is...too complex to go into here, frankly. There’s a con man and his female accomplice. There’s a rich heiress and her controlling uncle. Some of them are Japanese occupiers; others native Koreans. Oh, ands there’s a library of dirty, dirty books.

Cons are conned, crosses are doubled, no one is quite who they pretend to be and everyone is up to something. In the end, something real is found and, through it, freedom is won.

The Handmaiden is a thriller as elegant as it is perverse. Every change in perspective brings new meaning to all that’s come before. Every twist revealed is a delight. Park Chan-Wook is at the top of his game.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4Z5jfjxdvQ

Honorable Mentions & More

Wait, don’t get up. There’s more!

First, let’s start with honorable mentions that you already know are great:

Paul Verhoeven’s psychological thriller Elle, which features Isabelle Huppert in one of my favorite performances of the year, or maybe ever.

Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival, which goes on my list of essential smart science fiction, along with Gattaca, Ex Machina, Primer and Under the Skin, to name a few.

Sing Street, one of the most joyful films of the year. A misfit ‘80s Irish teen starts a band so he can cast the girl he likes in their highly creative music videos. From John Carney, the filmmaker behind the equally charming Once.

Nicolas Winding Refn’s mad look at fashion, envy and unchecked ambition (kind of the anti-La La Land?), The Neon Demon.

Next, films that might have been off your radar but are well worth seeking out:

Benjamin Dickinson’s Creative Control, a very-near-future sci-fi film about augmented reality, and the augmented lives we all want to pretend we’re living (at least on Instagram). A must-see for all my friends in media, marketing or technology.

Elizabeth Wood’s directorial debut, White Girl, in which a New York City undergrad moves to Queens, dates her local corner drug dealer and learns first hand the limits of her privilege in both their lives.

Taika Waititi’s The Hunt for the Wilderpeople, a reluctant buddy comedy/coming-of-age film that’s way more fun than it has any right to be.

Todd Solondz’s Weiner-Dog, a dark, dark comedy stringing together four tales of unhappy people, all of whom at one point own the same sad canine. Or, for you hard-core cineastes: Au Hasard Dachshund.

American Honey, Andrea Arnold’s sprawling tale of wayward youth living for the moment across a vast swath of America, high and low.

The animated documentaries Tower, which looks back on America’s first campus mass shooting in a surprisingly moving way, and Nuts!, which is the rare doc with an unreliable narrator, which fits the unreliable (Trump-like) conman at the center of its story.

Julian Rosefeldt’s Manifesto, which I was fortunate enough to experience as a multi-screen installation at the Park Avenue Armory but has been adapted (rather successfully, it seems) as a traditional film. Either way, Cate Blanchett takes on a dozen different guises in a sequence of stunning short films, the text of each comprised of bits of famous manifestos, from Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto to Jim Jarmusch’s Golden Rules of Filmmaking.

And last, because the horror genre in near and dear to my heart, here’s #4-#10 on my year’s best horror list. (The top 3 being Darling, The Witch and The Love Witch.)

The Invitation

Green Room

Demon

Under the Shadow

Train to Busan

10 Cloverfield Lane

Southbound

Honorable mention: the “Happy Father’s Day” segment of Holidays

Past years: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008

#movies bestof2016 #darling #moonlight #jackie #oj made in america #the witch #the love witch #the lobster #hail caesar #13th #i daniel blake #the handmaiden

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such-fun · 8 years ago

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Fic: The Things That I’ve Done [Bucky x Reader] One Shot.

I have long promised a sequel to Dance With Danger, and it is finally here!

Title: The Things That I’ve Done

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Sequel to Dance with Danger: You were the ideal spy, unquestioning and obedient, until you saw him.

Tag List: : @kairos34, @johnmurphys-sass, @emstur, @assbutt-son-of-a-bitch, @thecynicalnerd, @buckybass, @boyjaegars, @mrshopkirk, @ageekybookworm, @deadlywinters, @chaoticevilanddowntofuck, @briannaatkins03, @petlaufeyson, @poseidon29, @barnesandrogery

1/1

Your assignment had initially been an exciting one. You were to keep a close eye on Steve Rogers, the newly named Captain America, and report on his movements to your handlers.

All of your enthusiasm had dwindled quickly.

He was no war hero. There was no army of super soldiers to threaten HYDRA. The death of Dr. Erskine had seen to that. Now Erskine’s greatest experiment traveled America putting on a pathetic show every night to wide-eyed dupes, surrounded by dancing girls as he pretended to punch Hitler.

Captain America was a joke, and you felt the bigger fool. You had been a loyal soldier. You deserved better than watching an over-muscled boy from Brooklyn selling himself for government bonds.

Eventually his tour left the country, now intended to entertain the boys overseas. By the time you reached Italy, it appeared the good Captain had begun to lose his sense of purpose. You couldn’t get too close to the American encampment, but the jeers were clear enough to hear miles away. Hardened soldiers had no use for a man in a costume, playing at war.

You couldn’t blame them for their frustration. You felt much the same way.

Hurried movement in the camp caught your attention on the second day. Steve Rogers looked like a man on a mission, from what you could see in your binoculars. He disappeared to an airfield one night alongside his cheerleader Peggy Carter and the notorious Howard Stark.

You couldn’t help but feel a frizzle of excitement course through your body. Finally, your job was getting interesting.

With no means to follow Rogers and no mission jotted on the ledger, you were forced to wait for the plane’s return. Your body was tense, ready to jump into action.

Howard Stark didn’t return for another three hours, and when he disembarked only Agent Carter exited with him. Curious as to Rogers’ whereabouts, you followed the duo back to the encampment.

Stark avoided the military, giving Agent Carter a hearty sendoff before driving away to whatever villa he currently resided in, you supposed. From her squared shoulders and grim expression, it was obvious that Carter was mentally preparing for one hell of a welcome.

From the furious expression on Colonel Phillips’ face, she had been right to prepare.

Deciphering their conversation had been a true test of your skill at lip reading. From what you could make out, Agent Carter had ushered off the Captain to the outskirts of a HYDRA base where he intended to rescue trapped POWs. The Colonel was not thrilled, undoubtedly angry that living embodiment of Erskine’s formula, all that they had now, was being put in danger.

The Colonel was right to be worried. Schmidt and his men were well-armed and showed no fear. At least no fear of the enemy, Schmidt was terrifying enough in his own right. He ruled through fear. You gave him little thought though. Your encounters with him had been brief, but they were enough for you to understand his character.

He was a madman, drunk with power. He wasn’t the first and he wouldn’t be the last. Your job was to follow orders, not to question them. You did as you were told and Schmidt seemed satisfied. Let defeating the villain be someone else’s problem.

By the time you made the arduous trek to Schmidt’s base, it was engulfed in flames and the Red Skull was gone.

For the first time in a long while you felt surprise.

HYDRA was a very capable organization. Its fighters were well trained and had a vast store of arms. You truly had not expected one man, even a super soldier, to be able to pull off such a feat. Surely a meager army of tired POWs couldn’t have been that much help.

When you made it back to the outskirts of the American encampment, the previously reviled Captain America was being hailed a hero. You didn’t stick around that night, skulking in the bushes.

There would be a communiqué waiting for you at your safe house.

It was two days before you received new orders. HYDRA had been dealt an unexpected blow and Schmidt wanted to regroup and fast. But you hadn’t expected to be relieved of your assignment.

The orders were simple: you were to rendezvous with Arnim Zola in his new location and await further instruction.

You did as you were told, grabbing a go bag and following the directions laid out in your instructions. You boarded a train from the city to take you past the Alps, and silently seethed.

For months you followed around a bumbling Steve Rogers as he awkwardly shilled the people for their money. You kept out of sight and dedicated all your time to discovering everything you could about the once scrawny boy you had barely noticed back in New York. And now someone would be taking your place.

Your subject finally gets interesting, and your handlers send you away. Like you weren’t good enough, not capable enough. You didn’t have much in this life, but you had your skills, beaten into you at an early age. They were well honed and uncompromising. You were more than good enough, and it angered you to be passed over once again.

Zola’s newest hideout was in a once Fascist occupied factory in Northern Italy. Your arrival was met with no fanfare, not that you expected any. This was a building full of doctors and scientists. They had little interest in spies and assassins.

You were escorted to Zola’s office, where the little man greeted you with an unbecoming grin.

“I asked for you personally,” he confessed, as he fiddled with the bridge of his glasses, adjusting their seating. “I have an experiment that will need your—gentle touch,” he chose his words carefully and you felt momentary unease.

You were a soldier, you reminded yourself. You followed orders. But getting involved in Zola’s experiments was a terrifying prospect, even to you. Saying nothing, only bowing your head in response, the doctor twittered eagerly and led you out onto the factory floor.

Unsure of what to expect, you found yourself led to the body of an Allied soldier. You didn’t even catch a glimpse of his face, your eyes drawn to the metal where his arm was supposed to be.

“Exquisite, isn’t it?” Zola remarked in barely contained excitement. “He truly was a lucky find.”

“What have you done to him?” you murmured, unable to shake your feeling of alarm at the sight. This wasn’t natural. It wasn’t right.

“He was a HYDRA prisoner, excellent test subject really. I was able to perform a few initial experiments on him before that damned Captain destroyed the base.” You listened closely as you watched a scientist raise the metal hand to the light, testing the agility of the fingers.

“He and the good Captain attempted to capture my train on my journey here,” Zola revealed, smiling pleasantly. “I’m afraid our soldier here lost his footing and fell from the Cliffside.

“But now for the truly remarkable!” he exclaimed. “He survived! Operatives found him, his arm trapped under debris. The arm had to go,” he shrugged. “But imagine my good fortune. What a perfect specimen. I gave him a new arm. I made him better. He could be my greatest accomplishment.”

You looked over your shoulder back to the doctor, dismayed by the manic look his eyes.

“Why am I here?” you asked bluntly.

“Our soldier is having a—difficult time accepting his fate,” Zola frowned. “He killed his first doctor. He can’t be left under sedation all the time if he is expected to be of use. After reading your files, I thought you could be of great service.”

“I’m not a babysitter,” you argued, turning to him fully and crossing your arms over your chest.

“No, you are not,” he agreed with a small smirk. You were displeased with his casual attitude. “You are a spy, but…you are also a woman. You are dedicated to the cause, but this does not mean that you don’t have needs. Wants. Does it?”

You clenched your jaw. What was he getting at?

“You were assigned to Erskine’s detail, you discovered Captain Rogers, yes?” he confirmed, and you nodded a sharp affirmation. “And you met his compatriot, one James Buchanan Barnes. Handsome fellow. Charming. You spent the rest of the night in his bed, did you not?”

While your heart was beating frantically in your chest, your expression remained calm and in control. It mattered little though; Zola knew he had struck a nerve.

“You were being watched, of course,” he let out a small laugh at your naivety and your nose flared with suppressed rage. “Did you really think after that mess in Berlin that you wouldn’t be monitored? Come now.”

“What is your point?” you demanded, your expression hardened.

Reaching into his coat pocket, Zola pulled out worn set of dog tags, dangling them before you. “Sergeant James Barnes,” he read them tauntingly. “Of the 107th Infantry Regiment.”

Your heart dropping into your stomach, you spun around, finally getting a good look at the face of the soldier lying prone before you.

Bucky. Dear God, it was Bucky Barnes.

His face was a mess of bruises and cuts, but that was undoubtedly him. His full lips parted, taking long, slow breaths, as his eyes remained closed. You were flooded with a mix of emotions. Sadness and pity were at the forefront, and you internally scolded yourself for such feelings.

He was little more than a stranger to you. Just a young man with a pretty face who had been shipped off to a war he wasn’t prepared for. His kind was a dime a dozen in these turbulent days.

But you remembered his sweet smile. The fear in his eyes when he spoke of leaving for war. The love and concern he displayed for his best friend. The kindness he had shown you. His gentle touch. They way his arms felt as he held you.

You didn’t remember the last time you cried, but you were ashamed to admit you had to fight tears at the sight of his abused body.

“He is to be HYDRA’s greatest weapon,” Zola’s proclamation broke your concentration and you let your gaze fall despairingly to the floor. “And you will be his handler. His guide. You will teach him what it means to obey.”

You said nothing, standing aimlessly in front of the surgical table Bucky was spread out on.

“He will wake soon,” Zola said firmly. “You are to keep him calm. Do whatever is necessary to gain his trust. Is this understood?”

There was a long moment of silence as you fought every instinct you had to rebel, before offering a quiet, “Yes sir.”

With a click of his heels, he left you at the soldier’s side, making his way back to his office. The small number of scientists and doctors that remained at Bucky’s bedside began to disperse as you moved a stool close to his bed and collapsed onto it. You saw his fingers give a small twitch, and with that the last doctor was gone.

Bucky must have fought hard before. They were all so frightened of him. These were men who worked alongside Zola and Schmidt. These were men who knew fear.

Tentatively you reached out a hand, tracing his fleshed palm before letting your fingers entwine with his.

He stirred slightly and you tightened your grasp. You wanted to comfort him. To tell him everything was going to be okay. To tell him that he was damaged but alive, and that that was all that mattered.

And you felt like a fraud. Your assurances would just be empty words. You weren’t a friend. He deserved a friend.

His eyes fluttered open and he groaned, surely in pain. With your free hand you reached up and brushed a lock of hair from his eyes and his gaze fell on you.

You recognized his look of confusion, then the blossom of relief, before he seemed to realize that you shouldn’t be here in Europe. You could see a million questions in his eyes, but you didn’t have time to answer any of them.

“Shh,” you entreated, moving to sit closer and taking notice of the guards scattered about the floor. He squeezed your hand and you had to fight the urge to cry out. His strength was unbearable.

“What am I—” he stammered, eyes darting everywhere before catching a glimpse of shiny metal. He raised his hand to his face, staring at the foreign object in disgust and disbelief.

Feeling his body tense, knowing he wanted to lash out, you threw yourself across his chest. One hand rested on his now metal arm, the other on his shoulder for balance.

“You need to stay calm, Bucky,” you said in a hushed whisper. “Please.”

He fought for control of his impulses, and began to reluctantly relax under your hands.

“You,” he sighed, and a small look of chagrin appeared on his face. “I still don’t know your name.”

You raised yourself up slightly, closer to his ear, “I’m the one who is going to get you out of here, Sergeant.”

You sat back down, his eyes glued on you now. Despite his desperate situation, he was still a well-trained soldier. He knew how to push the fear aside and finish the job. You admired him for that.

“Can you stand?” you asked softly as you watched him test and flex his muscles. He gave you a small nod. “I’m supposed to be your handler,” you disclosed, trying your best to ignore the flash of anger on his face. You made it clear, you were the enemy, and whatever connection you might have had in the past wouldn’t be able to overcome such a revelation.

“If the guards ask, I am taking you to see Dr. Zola.” His lips thinned at the mention of that sick excuse of a doctor. “You say nothing. Nothing, understand?”

His sharp nod was good enough for you. Moving to stand, you helped him into a sitting position as the few members of staff who remained looked on. Throwing his good arm over your shoulder, your arm going to his waist to help him balance, you began to lead him away from the operating table.

Bucky was holding his own weight. Zola must have given him a very special serum for him to have healed so quickly. He could easily walk on his own, run even, but the more fragile he looked the less of a threat he appeared.

You headed for the maze of halls that would lead to Zola’s office. The guard blocking your way looked you up and down in dismissal. “What are you doing?” he demanded to know.

“Zola wanted to see him once I had him under control,” you replied flatly.

“He’s in your control so quickly?” he sneered.

“I’m good at my job,” you countered. “Are you? Do you really want to earn Dr. Zola’s displeasure? You do know what he does to people who disobey, don’t do?”

With a hard glare, the guard stepped aside and allowed you to pass. With Bucky still using you as a crutch, you lead him further into the factory.

“There should be an emergency exit further along,” you muttered, studying the halls. “Zola’s office is to the right, so no matter what you stay left.” Bucky gave your shoulder a small squeeze in acknowledgement.

You had only made it a couple of turns before you could hear the booted feet of a number of guards. There was no urgency to their walk, but their mere presence posed a problem. You had no reason to be there, especially not with Zola’s prized possession on your arm.

Pushing your coat out of the way, you reached for the gun at your hip. Zola, understandably convinced that you were a loyal dog, had not made you discard your weapons at the door.

Bucky felt your movements and tensed when he saw your gun.

“Things are going to get messy,” you warned him as the footsteps grew closer. “When I tell you to run, you run. Don’t stop until you’re far from this place. Hell, don’t even stop then.”

“But—” you knew what he was going to ask, but you just shook your head. He needed to get away from here. He didn’t deserve the fate that awaited him here. All the rest was incidental.

“Just try not to get shot,” you demanded as you slipped out from under his arm and readied your aim.

It was hard to describe the chaos that descended upon after the group of three turned the corner and you fired your first shot.

The soldier in front fell to the floor with a bullet wound to the head. That would be your easiest kill. The other two wildly grabbed for their guns and you managed to hit one in the shoulder before throwing yourself behind the corner wall for protection.

You kept Bucky close and out of the fight. He was a soldier in his own right, but he didn’t have a gun or a grasp on the way his body now worked. He’d just be a bigger danger to himself more than anyone else.

The sound of gunfire began to attract more guards; you could hear them running in your direction. With a deep breath, you listened for movement around the corner. Hearing a soft rustling as the soldier tried to creep up on your position, you decided to just go for it. You left your cover, firing at the location of the noise.

The bullet hit him in the stomach, painful but not immediately fatal. He raised his gun, aiming for your head, but you were quicker and he joined his comrades on the floor.

“Come on,” you commanded, and Bucky was at your side once more.

It sounded like men were coming towards you from all sides. Your right side would be the path of least resistance. It was nearest the outside of the factory.

You ran faster than ever before, the rush of footfalls at your back making you feel like the hounds of hell were behind you. Even at your fastest Bucky outpaced you. You didn’t call him back. He was the priority. He was your mission now. Getting him out was all that mattered.

Seeing the door to the exterior in the distance gave you a rush of hope. Your mind had blocked out the sounds of shouting and trampling of the guards. Your goal was in sight, Bucky nearing it with every step, and it was all you could focus on.

The bullet piercing your thigh made you stumble.

Bucky turned to you as if he could feel that you were in trouble, the terror on his face clear when he saw the vast line of red trailing down your pant leg. More worrisome was the number of soldiers now closing in from behind.

Seeing him hesitate, you roared, “Run!” He took an unsteady step and your anger flared. Where was the soldier who followed orders? You needed him now more than ever. “That’s an order, Sergeant!”

Something in him clicked and he finally turned back towards freedom and ran. Knowing he was close to escape, you faced the oncoming hoard with your meager gun, letting off a few shots. He needed time. You had to do what you could.

The bullet that entered your right shoulder sent a flare of pain down your arm, and your gun clattered to the floor.

You expected them to keep firing as you began to lose your footing, falling to your knees in front of them. But the guards remained in formation at the end of the corridor, guns aimed but no one firing.

You couldn’t understand why they had stopped. Why none of them raced past you to follow Bucky. You looked over your shoulder, expecting to see the exterior door wide open and Bucky long gone.

The door was open, and filled to the brim with HYDRA soldiers, all with their weapons aimed at Bucky Barnes.

Your heart fell into the pit of your stomach as four men struggled to restrain him. He railed against their hold, but even his monumental strength couldn’t overcome it.

You had failed.

And this time the consequence would not be time spent in the Red Room. It wouldn’t be torture at the hands of Zola or Schmidt. It would be the knowledge that you couldn’t save him. That you, in your own way, had cared for this man, this good man, and you failed him.

The click of Zola’s shoes brought you back to the moment, and you watched him waddle towards you with his soldiers at his back.

He peered down at you through his glasses, tutting in disappointment. “I had hoped you were better than this,” he frowned. “It is no matter,” Zola sighed, “he will be my greatest triumph. And you—”

You could hear Bucky struggling behind you but you could tear your eyes away from that squatty little man whose dreams were the stuff of your nightmares.

“You will be what you always have been,” he shook his head regretfully. “Nothing.”

Zola looked pointedly at the soldier on his right and you closed your eyes, knowing what was coming.

The last thing you heard was Bucky’s agonized scream, and then everything went black.

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The best movies on Netflix: great films you can watch in Australia right now

http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=9110 The best movies on Netflix: great films you can watch in Australia right now - http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=9110 UPDATED: Your Name is one of the true anime masterpieces, and it's just landed on Netflix Australia — find out why you should watch the highest-grossing anime film of all time on page 5!If you're new to Netflix and want to find the best movies to watch, or you're tired of browsing the app for 30 minutes before finding something to watch, you've come to the right place. With thousands of movies at your disposal, it's easy to get stuck in binge-watching mode, but finding the honest-to-goodness best films can be a bit of a hassle.In an effort to determine the best of the best, we've put together a list of the greatest possible films you can watch – curated by TechRadar editors and backed up with ratings from IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes – so that you don't have to sift through the muck. We'll keep this best-of list up to date with the latest movies that are must-watch, so you waste zero screen time searching. Best Netflix TV shows: the top Netflix television series in Australia right now As tech enthusiasts, it's perhaps unsurprising that we're obsessed with science fiction here at TechRadar. From glorious space operas to mind-bending films that make you think, there's something for everyone on our list of the best sci-fi movies on Netflix Australia. Got a Stan account too? These are the best movies on Stan: a list of the top films streaming in Australia now Annihilation If you've seen writer-director Alex Garland's previous sci-fi masterpiece, Ex Machina, you'll know to expect a wild ride with his follow-up, Annihilation. Based on the highly regarded novel of the same name by Jeff VanderMeer, Annihilation follows a group of women who set off on an expedition into an environmental disaster zone where the laws of nature don't apply. Natalie Portman leads the pack as a biologist searching for her missing husband, and she's joined by Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez and more. Though the film has only just been released in theatres in the US, Australia is lucky enough to be one of the countries getting the film on Netflix right away. Equally brainy and terrifying, Annihilation has all the makings of a modern science fiction classic.IMDB Rating: 7.8, Rotten Tomatoes: 87% Rogue One: A Star Wars story As the first Star Wars anthology film, Rogue One had some pretty lofty expectations to live up to. Rather than try to replicate the formula that made The Force Awakens such a smashing success, director Gareth Edwards delivered a proper war film, one that had more in common with Saving Private Ryan than The Empire Strikes Back. Remember in A New Hope when the Rebellion got its hands on the Death Star plans that would lead to victory at the end of that film? Rogue One is about the group that stole those plans. Yes, it is a Star Wars prequel film, but don't worry – there's no Jar Jar Binks in sight. IMDB Rating: 7.9, Rotten Tomatoes: 85% Edge of Tomorrow A terrific science fiction war film starring Tom Cruise, Edge of Tomorrow plays like a cross between Halo and Groundhog Day, where the Cruiser is thrown directly into an alien war only to die almost immediately and then forced to repeat the day over and over, becoming a little more battle-hardened each time. Joining him is Emily Blunt, playing a tough-as-nails soldier who helps Cruise figure out a way to close this never-ending time loop and end the war for good. Backed by a terrific script and some fine chemistry between Cruise and Blunt, Edge of Tomorrow is a fantastic special effect extravaganza that should please both sci-fi and action fans.IMDB Rating: 7.9, Rotten Tomatoes: 91% District 9 The film that put both director Neill Blomkamp (Elysium) and star Sharlto Copley (Powers) on the international stage, District 9 is an ingenious science fiction Apartheid allegory that puts marooned aliens in South African concentration camps. An anti-alien pencil pusher (Copley) has his whole world turned upside down when he is sprayed with some kind of liquid that is slowly turning him into an alien, and now he has to team up with one of the "prawns" he so despises if he has any hope of turning back to normal. Hilarious, action-packed and filled with flinch-worthy body horror moments, District 9 is an instant classic that rightfully earned a best picture nomination at the Oscars.IMDB Rating: 8.0, Rotten Tomatoes: 90% Midnight Special The kind of smart science fiction film that Steven Spielberg used to make in his 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' heyday, Midnight Special continually offers a sense of wonder as its story unfolds. Without spoiling too much, the film centres on Roy (Michael Shannon), a father who must protect his special son Alton (Jaeden Lieberher) from both the US government and a cult after it's discovered that the boy has otherworldly powers. Along for the ride are Alton's mother Sarah (Kirsten Dunst) and Roy's close friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton). With surprises around every corner, you never really know where Midnight Special is going, though what you can expect are some truly terrific performances and a mind-blowing finale. Fans of Stranger Things should check this out. IMDB Rating: 6.7, Rotten Tomatoes: 83% Minority Report What if you could prevent murders before they've occurred? More importantly, what would you do if you were due to be sentenced over a murder you haven't committed yet? That is the premise of Steven Spielberg's spectacular sci-fi film, Minority Report. Loosely based on the Philip K. Dick story of the same name, the film sees Tom Cruise play the head of a futuristic 'Precrime' Division tasked with stopping murderers from carrying out their violent actions. They can do this thanks to the psychic abilities of three siblings known as 'Precogs'. But what happens when this trio of soothsayers predicts a murder carried about by Cruise himself? Spoiler alert, he runs! A visually stunning film that's filled with ingenious and forward-thinking technological ideas that will likely become a reality in years to come, Minority Report is intense and action-packed. IMDB Rating: 7.7, Rotten Tomatoes: 90% The Terminator While other films from the same time period have struggled to stay relevant, The Terminator remains as interesting and unique as it was 33 years ago. An undisputed classic of intense, unrelenting action, The Terminator kickstarted the career of uber-director James Cameron, who would go on to direct such classic blockbusters as Aliens, Titanic, Avatar and, of course, Terminator 2L Judgment Day. If you're looking for a retro masterpiece that holds up to modern-day cinema standards, you can stop searching – The Terminator is a must-see for any fan of science fiction, action and horror. IMDB Rating: 8.0, Rotten Tomatoes: 100% Star Wars: The Force Awakens A triumphant return to the screen for the Star Wars franchise, The Force Awakens sees the characters we love from the original trilogy, like Han Solo, Chewbacca and Leia, set off another adventure with a new generation of wonderful characters. Ironically, for a series set among the stars, Director J.J. Abrams brings the franchise back to Earth by dialling down the CGI that hobbled the prequel trilogy – this is a Star Wars movie that uses real locations and sets, as well as puppets and actors in costume, to recreate the spirit of Episodes IV through VI. Featuring thrilling action, incredible special effects and terrific performances, The Force Awakens is the best Star Wars film in over 30 years.IMDB Rating: 8.2, Rotten Tomatoes: 92% Gravity It took an agonising seven years for director Alfonso Cuarón to follow his masterful last film, Children of Men, but what an incredible follow-up! With Gravity, he sure did stick the landing (ahem) and hit this one right out of orbit (I'll let myself out). This nail-bitingly intense film, in which Sandra Bullock's character must use her wits to survive in space after a catastrophic shuttle accident, is a technical marvel – the kind of film that wows even the likes of James Cameron, who called Gravity "the best space film ever done." A perfect marriage of drama and special effects, Gravity is an absolute classic.IMDB Rating: 7.8, Rotten Tomatoes: 96% We all love a good scare (so long as we're safe and sound at the end of it), so with that in mind, we've taken the liberty of shining a spotlight on some of the best horror movies currently streaming on Netflix Australia. These freaky flicks are guaranteed to send shivers down your spine! It Get ready, fright fans — the highest-grossing horror movie of all time has made its way onto Netflix and is bound to make you terrified of clowns all over again. Based on Stephen King's classic novel of the same name, It follows a group of tightly-knit adolescent misfits known as The Losers Club as they investigate an evil force that's been stealing and murdering children in their small town for decades. With its late '80s setting and talented cast of young performers, It is bound to appeal to fans of Netflix's brilliant series Stranger Things (and not just because Finn Wolfhard stars in both). As far as Stephen King adaptations go, it's one of the very best, managing to strike the right balance between horror and heart. Simply put, It is the kind of crowd-pleasing scare film we'd like to see more of. We recommend watching It before the upcoming sequel, which takes place 27 years later and sees the kids all grown up and terrorised by Pennywise the Dancing Clown all over again. IMDB Rating: 7.4, Rotten Tomatoes: 85% Jaws The film that defined the term 'blockbuster', Steven Spielberg's classic fright film Jaws has swam its way onto the the service and is hungry for more viewers to chomp on. When an aggressive great white shark starts eating swimmers in the lead up to Fourth of July weekend, the mayor of a popular tourist destination sets a bounty for the shark's head. The town's sheriff (Roy Scheider), an oceanographer (Richard Dreyfuss) and a shark hunter with a grudge (Robert Shaw) set out on the seas to take it down for good. They're gonna need a bigger boat...IMDB Rating: 8.0, Rotten Tomatoes: 97% It Follows Considered a modern horror classic by many, It Follows sees a young girl (Maika Monroe) terrorised by a sexually-transmitted demon. This terrifying apparition looks different every time and will chase you relentlessly until you either pass it on by sleeping with someone else, or until it catches up to you and finishes you off for good. To make matters worse, if the person you pass it on to dies, it will turn its attention back to you again. Did we mention that it can only be seen by the people that have been 'infected', so your friends won't be able to help as much as they'd like to? Yeah, it kinda sucks. Stylish, atmospheric and with a terrific John Carpenter-inspired synth score, It Follows in an effective horror movie which may suffer a little from a few odd decisions by its characters, but is still well worth watching.IMDB Rating: 6.9, Rotten Tomatoes: 97% The Babysitter One for the horror comedy fans, the Netflix Original film The Babysitter, from director McG (Charlie's Angels), is an energetic and fun flick with some killer one-liners and a star-making performance from Aussie actress Samara Weaving (yes, she's related to Hugo), whom horror fans may remember from her role in the first season of Ash vs Evil Dead. The plot is simple: kid develops a crush on his incredibly cool babysitter, only to find out that she's sadistic, devil-worshipping killer with a group of equally psychotic friends, all of whom are planning to kill him. Though he's a total wimp, he must now fight back in order to survive. Gory and funny in equal measure, The Babysitter is a hell of a time.IMDB Rating: 6.4, Rotten Tomatoes: 71% Evil Dead One of the few horror remakes that fans of the original have embraced, The Evil Dead (2013) takes the outrageous series in an even gorier direction than ever before. Director Fede Alvarez (Don't Breathe) drops the slapstick comedy that was introduced in Evil Dead II, dialling up the gory grossness that made the original film an instant classic among horror fans. Sure, it lacks the winning charisma of Bruce Campbell, whose presence is definitely missed and cannot be replaced the mostly bland cast found here, but the film is still a slime-covered blast that puts its actors through hell regardless – just the way it should be. Groovy. IMDB Rating: 6.5, Rotten Tomatoes: 61% Documentaries offer unprecedented insight into the lives of real people and the extraordinary events that surround them. Fiction is great, but fact truly has the power to move and inspire people like nothing else. With that said, here are some of the best documentaries currently available to stream on Netflix Australia. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream An epic 4-hour documentary on the classic rock band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Peter Bogdanovich's all-encompassing opus follows Tom Petty and his band from childhood to 2007 and is packed with candid interviews with the band's members, as well as the people that helped them become who they are. Having tragically passed away at age 66, Tom Petty will forever be remembered as one of the best songwriters in rock and roll, and a pioneering artist for everyone who has come since. If you've only just become aware of Tom Petty following his untimely death and want to know more about his impact on rock music, Runnin' Down a Dream has you covered. IMDB Rating: 8.7, Rotten Tomatoes: 100% Amanda Knox Following the enormous success of its original docu-series Making a Murderer, Netflix has once again returned to the ever-popular 'true crime' well with Amanda Knox. The Netflix Original documentary tells the harrowing story of an American exchange student who spent four years in an Italian prison after being convicted for the murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher. Forced to endure the prosecution's various character assassination tactics, including public slut-shaming, Knox maintains her innocence at all times, with her appeals eventually reaching Italy's Supreme Court. Amanda Knox is an effective and truly eye-opening documentary that is not to be missed.IMDB Rating: 7.0, Rotten Tomatoes: 85% Rubble Kings Thought the classic '70s film The Warriors was pure make-believe? You'd be surprised how much truth was actually buried under all the crazy costumes. Throughout the decade, the New York City borough known as The Bronx was teeming with gang violence; each gang with its own uniform, its own war-chief and its own piece of turf to fiercely defend against rival gangs – sometimes to the death. Rubble Kings documents this fascinating era, interviewing many of the key players and giving insight into the series of events that would eventually bring peace to The Bronx at the tail end of the tumultuous decade. Fans of The Warriors, The Get Down and Hip-Hop Evolution will adore Rubble Kings. Okay, boppers. It's time to add Rubble Kings to your Netflix queue...IMDB Rating: 7.1, Rotten Tomatoes: 75% We love a good thriller, which is why we've narrowed down some of the best ones that are now available to watch on Netflix Australia. These films will have you on the edge of your seat in suspense, so sit back, try to relax, and enjoy. The Villainess Equal parts Oldboy and La Femme Nikita, The Villainess is a female-driven Korean revenge thriller with the most incredible and original action sequences this side of The Raid — seriously, the first-person knife fights and shootouts in this put Hollywood action movies to shame. Sook-hee (Ok-bin Kim) is apprehended after carrying out a killing spree that leaves dozens of gangsters dead. She's given a choice: train to become a ruthless assassin and receive freedom after ten years, or spend the rest of her life in jail. Obviously, she chooses the former, and before long it becomes clear to her that her rampage was spurned on under false pretences. Now, it's time to make everyone pay for what they did to her.IMDB Rating: 6.7, Rotten Tomatoes: 83% Gerald's Game 2017 has been a great year for Stephen King adaptations (ahem, The Dark Tower aside), and the new Netflix Original film Gerald's Game joins It and 1922 in the upper echelon. In an attempt to rekindle their marriage, Gerald (Bruce Greenwood) and Jessie (Carla Gugino) retreat to a remote lake house. When a sex game goes awry, Jessie is left alone and handcuffed to the bed and must overcome her mounting paranoia and deep, personal demons. Though the film mostly takes place within the one room, Gerald's Game remains thrilling from start to finish. It also features one of the best performances of Gugino's career. IMDB Rating: 6.8, Rotten Tomatoes: 90% Munich Though he's established a rabid fan base due to the success of blockbuster films like Jurassic Park, Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark, director Steven Spielberg is arguably in at his best when tackling more grown up fare – films like Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan can attest to that. However, there is one film in particular that is arguably the most complex and adult of his entire career, and that film is Munich. Based on the real-life tragedy that occurred during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, in which the entire Israeli team was taken hostage and then massacred by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September, the film sheds light on Israel's secret retaliation missions. Allegedly, these black ops saw undercover Mossad agents (played here by the likes of Eric Bana, Daniel Craig and Ciarán Hinds) track down and assassinate the men believed responsible in a rather public manner. Rather than take sides in the still ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, Spielberg questions the cost of vengeance on the conscience and soul of an entire country, asking whether it ultimately achieves anything other than more bloodshed. A riveting film that does not shy away from the story's more harrowing aspects. IMDB Rating: 7.6, Rotten Tomatoes: 77% Wake in Fright One of the most powerful and harrowing films in Australian cinema history, Wake in Fright forces audiences to take a good hard look at Australia's destructively macho drinking culture. Marooned in a small outback town while he waits for a train to Sydney, schoolteacher John Grant (Gary Bond) stops in at a local pub to pass the time. Sounds innocent enough, right? Unfortunately for John, a chance encounter with a pack of local louts sends him on an incredibly dark odyssey into the Australian heart of darkness. As shocking and menacing as any horror movie, Wake in Fright is an extremely confronting masterpiece that requires a strong stomach.IMDB Rating: 7.7, Rotten Tomatoes: 100% Drive Drive is the film that made it cool to love Ryan Gosling. Based on the novel of the same name by James Sallis, this pulpy thriller is one of the most stylish films of the last decade, having almost single-handedly revived the neon '80s synth-pop scene. Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn (Bronson, Only God Forgives), Drive sees Gosling play a nameless stunt driver who works as a shady wheelman by night. When a job goes horribly wrong, this 'driver' must dispense violent justice to make things right for those he cares for. The film's immense influence can be felt across all forms of media – the video game Hotline Miami, in particular, owes a large debt of gratitude to Drive. A loving ode to the early tough-guy crime movies of Michael Mann, Drive is essential viewing.IMDB Rating: 7.8, Rotten Tomatoes: 93% The Silence of the Lambs Simultaneously terrifying and mesmerising, The Silence of the Lambs is the film that catapulted the fictional character of Dr. Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter to mythic proportions. This brilliantly psychotic serial killer, played with great menace by Sir Anthony Hopkins in the role won him an Oscar, has since gone on be the subject of several films, books and even a fantastic television series. But while his impact on The Silence of the Lambs is huge, the story belongs to Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), an FBI trainee who is given the task of consulting with the infamous man-eater in an effort to track down a deranged killer that's skinning his victims. Foster's role is less showy but more impressive, played with equal parts determination and vulnerability. We fear for her because we see ourselves in her shoes, but also because we get a real sense of what drives her character, both emotionally and mentally. These characters may have appeared in many other films, but The Silence of the Lambs is still the best by a long stretch. A true masterpiece.IMDB Rating: 8.6, Rotten Tomatoes: 94% We're serious cinephiles here at at TechRadar. It's not all about Star Wars around here – we enjoy a good tear-jerker, too. There are many sensitive drama films streaming on Netflix Australia right, and these are some of the best ones. So grab a hanky and get ready for a heavy night in. Your Name A worldwide phenomenon, Your Name is the highest-grossing anime film of all time — that's right, bigger than any Studio Ghibli film or science fiction blockbuster. That a simple story about a young girl from a rural town switching bodies with a young man from bustling Tokyo hit such a cord with audiences is a testament to the heartfelt writing that helps bring these animated characters to life. Makoto Shinkai's film is the kind that will have you laughing one moment, then crying the next. A joyful and beautiful love story told in a unique and cerebral way, Your Name is one of the true anime masterpieces, sitting alongside the likes of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Grave of the Fireflies, Spirited Away and the legendary Akira.IMDB Rating: 8.4, Rotten Tomatoes: 97% Good Time Good Time stars Robert Pattinson in the type of performance that will make you forget all about his involvement in the Twilight saga. We're talking young De Niro good, here. When his mentally-challenged brother is snatched by the police after a bank robbery, Connie (Pattinson) sets out to do anything he can to free his brother before getting sent to the brutal Rikers Island jail complex. This sets off a night that spirals out of control extremely fast. There's pretty much no way of predicting what will happen next. Gritty and grimy, Good Time is an intense film with an incredible soundtrack and fantastic cinematography. One of the best films of 2017. IMDB Rating: 7.4, Rotten Tomatoes: 91% The Revenant The film that finally bagged Leonardo DiCaprio a much-deserved Academy Award, The Revenant is at once a stunning technical achievement and a gut-wrenching tale of survival in the harshest wilderness imaginable. Based on the true story of Hugh Glass (though fudged a little for the sake of added drama), a man who was left for dead by his fur-trapping party after a savage bear attack (amazingly realised here in one of the film's many single-take camera shots). Now, Glass must carry himself across 200 miles of snowy hell to track down down the man who killed his son (that part is made up) and left him to die alone, played here by a mumbly Tom Hardy. A powerful film with incredibly cinematography and exceptional performances, The Revenant is a must-see piece of cinema.MDB Rating: 8.0, Rotten Tomatoes: 80% Full Metal Jacket An astonishing work of immense power, Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece Full Metal Jacket examines man's innate desire to kill, memorably told against the backdrop of the controversial Vietnam War. The film is split in two halves – the first, which is set at boot camp, follows a young recruit who is pushed right over the edge by an abusive drill sergeant. The latter half focuses on a military journalist who watches in horror as Vietnamese people are killed indiscriminately by the soldiers he's following for reasons they don't even understand. Will they make a killing machine out of him, too? Essential viewing for war film aficionados. IMDB Rating: 8.3, Rotten Tomatoes: 95% Lawrence of Arabia (Restored Version) One of the greatest historical epics of all time, Lawrence of Arabia has arrived on Netflix in its recently restored form. Trust us when we say that the film, which won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, looks even more sublime now than ever before. Desert landscapes are vast and immaculate, skies (and Peter O'Toole's eyes) are the incredibly blue, and close-up detail is off the charts. Still, underneath all the eye candy on display, lies one of the most inspiring war stories of all time, all of which is based on true events in the life of British officer T.E Lawrence, who led the Arab tribes against the Turks in WWI. If you haven't seen Lawrence of Arabia before, we suggest you set aside a weekend (this movie is very, very long) and remedy that as soon as possible. IMDB Rating: 8.3, Rotten Tomatoes: 98% Beasts of No Nation As Netflix's first original movie, Beasts of No Nation had a lot to prove. The VOD scene had traditionally been associated with low budget indies and D-grade horror films, but with Beasts of No Nation, Netflix managed to convince people that high quality (dare I say, Oscar-calibre) films could be streamed at home and shown in theatres at the same time. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga (True Detective season 1), Beasts follows the loss of a child soldier's innocence as he's forced to do unspeakable things. The film hits like a sledgehammer, never shying away from the brutality and horror experienced by this young boy (played masterfully by newcomer Abraham Attah). Equally powerful is Idris Elba's portrayal as the boy's remorseless and despicable commander. Though not what you'd call a crowd-pleaser, we hope that Netflix continues to bring us brilliant films like this.IMDB Rating: 7.8, Rotten Tomatoes: 91% Blue is the Warmest Color As soulful as it is erotically-charged, it's not hard to see why Blue is the Warmest Color won the highest prize at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival – its portrayal of two women who fall in love and allow each other to discover their true selves is truly special. Though Emma (Léa Seydoux) is a blue-haired free spirit, Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) doesn't feel comfortable in her own skin. While Adèle's friends initially shun Emma due to her sexuality, she soon realises that Emma is the only person with whom she can express herself openly and bare her soul to. Together, the pair experience the ups and downs of a mature relationship, while also exploring social acceptance and their sexuality. A beautiful masterpiece that will take you on an emotional roller-coaster throughout its lengthy 3-hour running time, Blue is the Warmest Color is a film you won't soon forget. IMDB Rating: 7.8, Rotten Tomatoes: 91% Okja Korean director Bong Joon-ho (The Host, Snowpiercer) is an eclectic filmmaker, and his latest work, Okja, is in a genre all of its own. Is it an adventure film? Is it science fiction? Is it a drama? Is it a fairy tale? Is it satire? The answer is... all of the above. With a style that's somewhere between Spielberg and Miyazaki, the film follows a young Korean girl's quest to rescue her best friend Okja, a super-pig that was created by the multi-national conglomerate Mirando Corporation for the purposes of consumption. Flipping between heartbreaking and joyful at the drop of a hat, Okja is an emotional roller coaster of a film that may well have you reconsidering your dietary choices. IMDB Rating: 7.4, Rotten Tomatoes: 85% Schindler's List This is one of the most affecting movies that you will ever see. Based on the true story of Oskar Schindler, a factory owner who begins to help his Jewish workers during World War II after he sees them persecuted by the Nazi Germans, the movie is a study in brevity. Steven Spielberg manages to find the human stories in the atrocity of WWII without shying away from the true horror of what happened during the conflict. Winner of several Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, Schindler's List is a film you won't soon forget. IMDB Rating: 8.9, Rotten Tomatoes: 96% Selma A heartfelt and considered look at Martin Luther King Jr's struggle to gain equal voting rights, campaigning in racially-charged Alabama, Selma was one of the finest films of 2014 and was rightly nominated for a Best Picture Oscar as a result. It may have missed out on the top gong, or a Best Director nod for director Ava DuVernay, but David Oyelowo's performance as the civil rights leader is a powerful one, with a supporting cast recreating the inspiring story with great respect. With recent real-life events showing that racial tension is still as prevalent in 2017 as it was in the 1960s, Selma is more relevant than ever. Powerful and moving, Selma is a must see film about courage, determination and the fight for equality among all people, regardless of their colour. IMDB Rating: 7.5, Rotten Tomatoes: 99% Need a good laugh? Netflix Australia is home to some terrific comedies, with a number of hilarious movies ready to stream in an instant. Some are light-hearted, while others are pitch black. With that in mind, there's a comedy for everyone below. Swingers The indie film that made stars out Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau, Swingers is a hilariously hip film (well, in the '90s it was) about friendship and moving on from a devastating breakup. Stylish and energetic, the film also made Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow) one of the most sought-after directors in Hollywood. Worth watching for the hilariously-needy answering machine scene alone. Based on a winning script by Favreau (who would go on to huge success as a director with films like Iron Man and The Jungle Book), the movie is so, so money. IMDB Rating: 7.3, Rotten Tomatoes: 87% Coming to America Perhaps the most charming and endlessly entertaining comedy of Eddie Murphy's career, Coming to America takes the standard 'fish out of water' concept and weaves pure magic with it. Unhappy with the arranged marriage set up by royal parents, Prince Akeem of the wealthy (and fictitious) African nation of Zamunda sets off for America in search of love with help from his squire, Semmi (Arsenio Hall). Before long, Akeem falls for the smart and independent Lisa (Shari Headley), heir to the McDowell's fast food restaurant empire. Insistent that he win her affections with his personality and not his wealth, Akeem and Semmi pretend to be poor and acquire jobs at McDowell's. Now, the pair must contend with Lisa's over-protective father (John Amos) and her jerk boyfriend (Eriq La Salle). Full of heart and bloody hilarious, Coming to America is a comedy classic.IMDB Rating: 7.0, Rotten Tomatoes: 69% Fight Club You know what they say: black comedy is still comedy! While the first rule of Fight Club may be that you shouldn't talk about Fight Club, it's extremely hard to keep quiet about a film as provocative as this. Though its messages are based in extremely dark satire, David Fincher's film is as nihilistic and anarchistic as any major film studio has ever produced. Violent, gross and incendiary, Fight Club sees emasculated males bash each other's faces in to make themselves feel manly once more. While the film's themes are intended in jest (the film is basically Gen X's ultra-dark version of a Marx Brothers comedy), they certainly resonated strongly with certain fans, many of which would go on to start their own fight clubs. Despite being misunderstood by its biggest admirers, Fight Club is one of the must-see films of the late '90s.IMDB Rating: 8.9, Rotten Tomatoes: 79% Hot Fuzz Following the success of their classic rom-zom-com, Shaun of the Dead, director Edgar Wright, star and writer Simon Pegg and co-star Nick Frost teamed up once again to bring their hilarious sensibilities to the buddy-cop movie genre with Hot Fuzz. London super-cop Nicholas Angel (Pegg) is involuntarily transferred to a village in the English countryside for making his superiors look bad by comparison. There, he teams up with dim-witted (but well-meaning) cop Danny Butterman (Nick Frost) and together, the pair uncover a murder conspiracy. If films like Point Break and Bad Boys II are in constant rotation at your place, you absolutely owe it to yourself to grab a Cornetto and watch Hot Fuzz.IMDB Rating: 7.9, Rotten Tomatoes: 91% American Psycho It may look like a thriller, but Just like its main character, American Psycho is something entirely different under the surface. Quite frankly, most people don't expect this film to be as funny and endlessly quotable as it is. Director Mary Harron and co-screenwriter Guinevere Turner did the unthinkable when they took on the job of adapting Bret Easton-Ellis' hugely controversial and largely unfilmable book, American Psycho – they looked beyond the source material's horrendously graphic and seemingly never-ending violence to focus on the scathing satire of the greed-obsessed '80s buried underneath. Christian Bale solidified himself as one of the world's most exciting actors in the role of Patrick Bateman, the Wall Street yuppie with an insatiable lust for blood and dinner reservations. Both shocking and hilarious, American Psycho is a remarkably clever cult classic.IMDB Rating: 7.6, Rotten Tomatoes: 68% Though they live on the other side of the law, we as people tend to be fascinated by criminals. Whether it's the outlaw lifestyles they lead, or the fact that they live those lives on the edge and do things most of us wouldn't dream of, something about their stories makes them cinematic gold. Here are some of the best crime movies now streaming on Netflix Australia. The Wolf of Wall Street The characters in the fact-based film The Wolf of Wall Street may very be completely reprehensible with little-to-no redeeming qualities, but damn if they aren't freakin' hilarious. An adults-only tour through the real-life antics of white collar criminal Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio at his most unhinged), the film revels in the excess and debauchery of Wall Street in the 1980s, where thieving yuppies spent millions of dollars on drugs, hookers and extravagant lifestyles they did not earn. While the film's three hour runtime might scare off potential viewers, Martin Scorsese's energetic direction keeps the action moving at a lightning-fast pace. The film was also stars Margot Robbie's in her breakout role, playing Belfort's ever-suffering wife, Naomi. Jonah Hill is also incredibly funny as Belfort's partner in crime, Donnie. If you love Scorsese's classic film Goodfellas, chances are you'll enjoy this just as much. IMDB Rating: 8.2, Rotten Tomatoes: 78% Snatch A rollicking crime caper movie from Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels writer and director Guy Ritchie, Snatch takes everything great about that movie and dials it up to 11. Featuring a large cast of colourful cockney crooks, including Jason Statham, Stephen Graham, Dennis Farina, Benicio Del Toro, Vinnie Jones and Brad Pitt (particularly memorable as an unintelligible Gypsy boxer), Snatch flies thick and fast with hilarious quotable lines and energetic performances. Whether they're chasing after a diamond the size of a fist, or betting on illegal bare-knuckle brawls, you can expect these characters to end up getting into all kinds of mischief. IMDB Rating: 8.3, Rotten Tomatoes: 73% City of God If you've blasted your way through both seasons of Narcos and want another South American crime epic to get stuck into, consider City of God as your next destination. Based on true events that took place over three decades in the favelas (slums) of Rio de Janeiro, the film accurately recreates the lively and energetic vibe of Brazil, but also counters it some truly harrowing scenes of devastating violence. In the 'City of God', children brandish firearms and kill each other indiscriminately over petty drug deals. While that might sound like too much to bear, the terrific filmmaking on display from Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund will keep you on the edge of your seat, as will the film's authentic performers and compelling story. One of the greatest films of all time, City of God is like Goodfellas scored to a samba beat.IMDB Rating: 8.7, Rotten Tomatoes: 90% Pulp Fiction Perhaps the most influential movie of the 90s, Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, the big prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and the hearts and minds of an entire pop culture-obsessed generation. Presented as an ingenious crime anthology with three interlocking parts, Pulp Fiction follows two hitmen as they go on a job and experience what may or may not be an act of God, a dinner date with the crime boss' wife which (almost) spirals out of control, and a boxer who accepts money from the aforementioned boss to take a dive, but opts to skip town instead. Violent, audacious and with little concern to the rules of cinema, Pulp Fiction is the kind of whip-smart classic that can be watched at the drop of a hat. The film may have seen its fair share of imitators over the years, but none of that has diluted Pulp Fiction's immense power. IMDB Rating: 8.9, Rotten Tomatoes: 94% Buckle up for some heart-pounding entertainment with some of the most kick-ass action movies now streaming on Netflix Australia. Adrenaline junkies will get a kick out of every one of the brawny movies listed below. The Warriors Set in a heightened version of New York in the dirty 1970s, where the streets are ruled by violent gangs in crazy costumes, The Warriors follows one particular gang (we'll give you one guess as to what they're called) that's framed for the murder of a visionary gang leader during a city-wide midnight summit. Originally meant as a peaceful event, The Warriors must now make it back to their home turf at the other side of the city with every other gang in town out for their blood. Will they survive long enough to prove their innocence? And will the real culprits get what's coming to them? A fantastic piece of '70s pulp, The Warriors is a guaranteed great time. And while its vision of colourful gangs lording over the slums of NYC seems outlandish, it's a lot closer to the reality of the time than most people realise. To learn more about this bygone era, check out the documentary Rubble Kings, which is also streaming on Netflix (read more about it on Page 3). IMDB Rating: 7.7, Rotten Tomatoes: 89% Wonder Woman The DC Cinematic Universe has had a bit of a rough start in its attempts to catch up to competitor Marvel, with films like Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad unable to adequately please both fans and critics. That all changed with Wonder Woman, the first DCU movie to receive universal praise across the board. Perfectly cast as Wonder Woman a.k.a. Diana Prince, Gal Gadot breathes warmth and love into the world's most famous female superhero. Diana is swept into the wars of man when charming pilot Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) crash lands near the hidden island of Themyscira, home of the Amazons. Sensing that WWI is the doing of Ares, the God of War, Diana sets off with Steve into the world of man to end the war (and Ares) once and for all. One of the greatest superhero movies of all time, Wonder Woman is a triumph. Now let's hope we get more DC movies like this...IMDB Rating: 7.5, Rotten Tomatoes: 92% Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 The sequel to Marvel's 2014 phenomenon, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 finds the intergalactic heroes thrust into another adventure, one that could reveal the identity of Peter Quill's father. Even more spectacular than the first film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continually aims to surprise the audience, with simultaneously keeping its action and comedy levels high. IMDB Rating: 7.8, Rotten Tomatoes: 83% Mad Max: Fury Road The world has gone to hell following a cataclysmic event, plunging headfirst into madness and chaos. All that remains is a wasteland governed by tyrannical men, populated by downtrodden hordes, and hopefully, rescued by mythical heroes. Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne) rules with an iron fist, doling out meagre amounts of water to the masses, while keeping a stable of wives for himself to breed future warlords. His most trusted Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron) has betrayed him and freed these women from their lives of sexual slavery. Now, the chase is on, as Immortan Joe and his party of warboys set out to retrieve their "property". If Furiosa and co. are to succeed, they’ll need the help of Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), a wandering road warrior in search of a cause. Director George Miller has crafted the most dynamic, vibrant and sensational action blockbuster of the decade with Fury Road. it’s an inventive, high-octane kick in the guts to a film industry that has played it safe for far too long. The chases and stunts in this film are unparalleled. Best of all, the film's cut-to-the-chase plot manages to sneak in a powerful and extremely timely rebuttal to patriarchy.IMDB Rating: 8.1, Rotten Tomatoes: 97% Boyka: Undisputed Fight fans raised on the likes of Jean-Claude Van Damme and Donnie Yen are no doubt familiar with Scott Adkins, the British martial arts sensation that has made a name for himself as a heavy in big Hollywood blockbusters (Doctor Strange, The Expendables 2, The Bourne Ultimatum) and as a leading man with a number of franchises under his (black) belt (Ninja 1 & 2, Undisputed 2 & 3). Now, Adkins has returned to what is arguably his best character with Boyka: Undisputed, which has been made available to stream on Netflix for the first time. For those who haven't seen the previous two Adkins entries in the Undisputed series, Boyka is a Russian prison fighter who entered the series as a villain in the second instalment, only to become the hero in the third film. In Boyka: Undisputed, we follow the beastly fighter as he tries to find redemption by helping the wife of a man he accidentally killed in the ring. Come for the phenomenally-staged, CGI-free fight sequences, but stay for the sincere story. IMDB Rating: 7.2, Rotten Tomatoes: N/A Marvel's Doctor Strange Marvel's first cosmic adventure film, Doctor Strange sees the talented surgeon Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) turn to the mystical arts in search of a cure for his mangled hands. More arrogant than the usual Marvel superhero (yes, even more so than Tony Stark), Doctor Strange must learn to get over his own ego before he can rise up and be the hero he was born to be. With trippy visuals and mind-bending twists that make the film Inception look tame by comparison, Doctor Strange is both familiar and incredibly unique among the superhero blockbusters that have been released so far. IMDB Rating: 7.6, Rotten Tomatoes: 90% Rambo Living off the grid in Southeast Asia, John Rambo is dragged back on to the battlefield once more when a group of missionaries is taken hostage by despicable war criminals in war-torn Burma. To get them back, he's going to have to blast through an entire army. Kicking the level of gruesome violence up to the extreme, Rambo is not a film for the squeamish. However, if you love the character and enjoy seeing irredeemable baddies get torn apart by 50-caliber machine gun fire and makeshift machetes, this is the movie for you – just don't expect high art (check out the disparity between the IMDB user score and Rotten Tomatoes critic score below).IMDB Rating: 7.1, Rotten Tomatoes: 37% Con Air One of the most entertaining action movies of the '90s, the Nicolas Cage vehicle (in more ways than one) Con Air has been added to Netflix Australia. After spending seven years in jail for accidentally killing a man while protecting his wife, newly paroled ex-con (and former US Ranger) Cameron Poe (Cage) is on a prisoner transport plane heading home to meet his daughter for the first time. Unfortunately for him, this is going to be one bumpy ride, as a group of death row inmates who are also onboard decide to hijack the plane in a last ditch attempt at freedom. Packed with colourful characters and terrific one-liners, Con Air is the kind of brawny action movie they just don't make anymore.IMDB Rating: 6.8, Rotten Tomatoes: 56% Captain America: Civil War Though Marvel Studios films are known for being visually spectacular, action-packed and epic in scope, the real reason audiences around the world have embraced the Marvel Cinematic Universe is because of its characters. While we may have our favourites, we've spent enough time with the likes of Iron Man and Captain America to know what these beloved heroes stand for – they don't always agree with each other, but this dynamic of differing opinions is the key to The Avengers successful. That's all well and good when there's a clear enemy to face, but what happens when these super-powered individuals fall on opposing sides of an issue that strikes at very heart of the team? Answer: friends and teammates will go to war with each other. Easily the Marvel film with the highest emotional stakes to date, Captain America: Civil War is a phenomenal entry in the ongoing Marvel saga, one that provides no easy answers. Neither side is wrong about its stance, yet we know that there will ultimately be only one victor. IMDB Rating: 7.9, Rotten Tomatoes: 90% Django Unchained Quentin Tarantino is loved and revered for his work in American cinema, and lately his takes on classic '70s movies. Like his take on Inglourious Basterds before it, Django Unchained deals with role reversal in a historically controversial time. The story of revenge and justice, Django (played by Jamie Foxx) and Dr. King Schultz (played by Christoph Waltz) set off to hunt down a gang of felons before the ultimate promise of setting Django free. Like other Tarantino films, it doesn't shy away from the grotesque and gory or mind going against the grain, making it easy to recommend and easier to watch time and time again. And, Netflix also provides QT fans with the ability to stream his classic films Inglourious Basterds and Reservoir Dogs.IMDB Rating: 8.5, Rotten Tomatoes: 87% Need some kid-friendly entertainment that will make the whole family happy? We've selected some of the best family movies that Netflix Australia has to offer. Each one of these films is guaranteed to leave you feeling warm and fuzzy. Beauty and the Beast An utterly enchanting and completely magnificent live-action adaptation of one of Disney's most celebrated animated classics, Beauty and the Beast absolutely nails the source material — maybe even betters it in some regards. Much of the praise can be bestowed upon Emma Watson, who plays Belle with grace and warmth. The same can be said about Dan Stevens, who spends the film injecting life into the computer-generated Beast. Luke Evans comes close to stealing the show, though as the vicious and vain Gaston. We're also pleased to report that all of the original film's songs are present and accounted for, so gather the whole family and settle in for a wonderful night singing, laughing and crying. IMDB Rating: 7.3, Rotten Tomatoes: 71% The Lego Batman Movie If you loved Will Arnett's hilarious take on the Caped Crusader in The Lego Movie, you're going to be over the moon to see him take centre stage in his very own block-filled blockbuster! In The Lego Batman Movie, all of the Dark Knight's villains are teaming up to take over Gotham City, and it's up to Batman and his newly adopted sidekick Robin (Michael Cera) to stop them! With an incredible cast of comedic superstars in tow, including Zach Galifianakis as the Joker, Conan O'Brien as The Riddler and Riki Lindhome as Poison Ivy, The Lego Batman Movie keeps the laughs coming for its entire runtime. Quite frankly, it's the best Batman film since The Dark Knight.IMDB Rating: 7.3, Rotten Tomatoes: 91% Moana Having achieved monumental success with its film Frozen, Disney had a lot to live up to with its next major 'Disney Princess' movie, and it still managed to blow away expectations with Moana – a visually stunning tale of an independent free-spirit (played by newcomer Auli'i Cravalho) who sets off on a journey to save her island from a devastating curse indadvertedly set by the selfish demigod, Maui (Dwayne Johnson). Though it follows all the familiar Disney beats that we've come to expect over the years, Moana is well written, wonderfully animated and terrifically acted. You may also find its many catchy songs stuck in your head for days after watching it. IMDB Rating: 7.6, Rotten Tomatoes: 96% Fantastic Mr. Fox Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom) is a writer/director know for his whimsical and inimitable style, with characters who are fleshed out (regardless of whether they're actually people) and have warmth and heart to spare. With his first foray into family-fare, Fantastic Mr. Fox, the visionary filmmaker succeeded in creating his most accessible film to date. Based on the classic story by Roald Dahl, the film follows a wily fox (played with incredible charm and terrific comedic timing by George Clooney) who bandies together with his family (voiced by Meryl Streep and Jason Schwartzman) and friends (including voice work from regular Wes Anderson collaborator, Bill Murray) to fight off the mean farmers that plan to destroy their homes. Featuring wonderful stop-motion animation, Fantastic Mr. Fox is a heartfelt and hilarious film that's destined to become a family favourite. IMDB Rating: 7.8, Rotten Tomatoes: 93% The Iron Giant Criminally overlooked by audiences upon initial release, The Iron Giant is an animated film that has steadily grown in appreciation over the years, to the point where many traditional animation purists now consider it an undisputed classic. The feature-length debut of director Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol), and Set during the 1950s at the height of the 'Red Scare' period of America's history, The Iron Giant tells the story of a lonely boy named Hogarth (Eli Marienthal) who makes a new best friend in an enormous amnesiac robot (Vin Diesel). The robot eventually realises that he was actually built as a weapon, and before long, the authorities find out about him and set out on a quest to destroy the gentle giant. Now the boy and his metallic friend have to protect each other at all costs. A touching film in the tradition of E.T. the Extra-terrestrial, The Iron Giant deserves to be considered as not just a terrific animated film, but as one the greatest films of the '90s, period. IMDB Rating: 8.0, Rotten Tomatoes: 96% Back to the Future A time-travelling classic from director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) and producer Steven Spielberg (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Back to the Future sees 1980s teenager Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) race back to the 1950s to ensure that his parents meet during high school and fall in love – he better succeed, because if he fails, he'll be wiped from existence in his current timeline! To do this, he'll need help from Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) – an eccentric scientist who's built a working time machine in the form of a DeLorean sports car. A fantastic fish-out-of-water tale that leans heavily on 1950s nostalgia, great performances and terrific visual effects, Back to the Future can be considered a high-watermark from everyone involved.IMDB Rating: 8.5, Rotten Tomatoes: 96% Zootopia More than just a cute movie about talking animals, Disney's Zootopia cleverly sneaks messages about prejudice, tolerance, and even the war on drugs, into its animated take on cop movie procedurals. Though its characters may be bunnies, foxes and other wild animals, the idea of not judging someone by their race (or in this case, species) is more important than ever right now. Gorgeously animated with loveable characters and a hilarious script full of jokes that only adults will get (there's even a Breaking Bad reference at one point), Zootopia continues Disney's streak of incredible animated films. Now bring on Zootopia 2!IMDB Rating: 8.1, Rotten Tomatoes: 98% Source link

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