#in all seriousness though that was one of the most incredible movies I’ve seen in a hot minute

[azuree1733]

Cillian Murphy is so fine I was getting lost in those eyes 🥵

[russo-woso]

Scream Queen || Leah Williamson x actress!reader

Request | Masterlist | Prompt list

Summary You star as a scream queen in the latest horror film. Leah and the team watch it in support, but you did such a good job, it leaves them with nightmares for weeks.

A/N Happy Halloween 🎃 This is just a short Halloween based fic, I hope you enjoy. Oh and it’s also my 100th fic which is pretty big so just a quick thank you for always having my back and supporting me 🫶🏻🫶🏻

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Leah had always been proud of your career.

Whether you got a simple job in an advert or a big part in a blockbuster, she was always your biggest fan.

Your new movie though, she couldn’t be more proud.

You were staring in the latest horror film.

The film, 4:03 , was about a girl who had to endure the torture from these spirits who awake at 4:03 every morning.

It was expected to gross the most money this year, and you were the main protagonist.

It had been about three weeks since the film came out and after several interviews and events, you finally got a few days off.

Leah hadn’t watched the film yet, insisting that you were there with her.

When you suggested the idea that some of the arsenal girls come round to watch it too, Leah agreed straight away, wanting nothing more than to show your acting off.

So, here you were cuddled up in Leah’s side with a few of the girls dotted around the living room.

The film was about half way through and most of the girls had pillows to their faces, not wanting to look at the screen.

Your performance made it look so real. So real that most of them were petrified already.

Even Leah had jumped a lot.

The movie finished and Leah turned on the lights to be met with everyone still covering their faces with pillows.

“Has it finished? Please say it’s finished.” Kyra asked, taking her face away from a pillow.

“That was the scariest film I’ve ever watched.” Alessia said

“Y/N, you were incredible. That was seriously the best scream queen performance I’ve ever seen.” Steph told you as Leah wrapped an arm around your waist.

“Thanks, Steph.” You replied, brushing it to the side.

“Seriously, Y/N. Be prepared to go shopping to find an outfit for the Oscar’s.” Beth added

“My girls so good, isn’t she?” Leah asked, kissing your cheek gently.

“They’re talking about a sequel too, so you guys have got something to look forward too.” You told them all, their faces dropping at the mention of watching it again.

“I’m not watching a second part. I’m gonna have nightmares after this film.” Vic said

You all made small talk about the movie and anything really before one by one, everyone left.

You and Leah went upstairs, doing your usual routine before cuddling in bed.

“I’m so so proud of you. Your film was incredible.” Leah whispered as you closed your eyes.

“Thank you, Le.”

“I love you, my scream queen.”

—

It must have been about four o’clock in the morning when you were awoken to Leah quickly sitting up.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” You asked, still half asleep.

“Nightmare.” Leah briefly explained, catching her breath.

“About what?”

“Your film.”

“It was that good was it? My acting must be good.” You smirked, teasing her slightly.

“Shush.” Leah joked, watching you yawn. “Go back to sleep, love.”

Unbeknownst to you and Leah, most of the girls experienced the same thing.

Everyone who watched the film, ended up having a nightmare of the same thing, at the same time.

That time being 4:03.

[bibliophilesince2003]

Transformers One In-Depth Review

Transformers One is a must watch.

I’m tired of seeing a bad review go towards a movie that is actually extremely well done, especially if the reviewer hadn’t taken the time to watch it or considered the trailers enough content to draw a review from.

Seriously, it was so refreshing to see a new take on a franchise that has been around for years. In my personal opinion, it’s better than re-makes that offer even less room for creativity.

I am a huge Transformers fan. I grew up with Transformers Prime, and when I was older, I watched the movies. I’ve watched other shows here and there, and while I may not be a complete expert, I know the lore well enough to have been heavily, emotionally impacted by Transformers One.

I’ll start with the "non-spoiler take" followed by the "spoiler take” which will be “hidden” for those who do not want to be spoiled.

"Non-spoiler" take...

Peter Cullen’s voice is legendary. Chris Hemsworth himself acknowledged this in an interview, mentioning that the goal was to “re-create” and “do something new.” He intended to represent a “youthful, brash, and cocky version” of Orion Pax before he was known as Optimus Prime. This is a realistic representation. In Transformers Prime, Ratchet states that Optimus Prime was more like Jack in his youth. For those of you who don’t know, Jack is a strong-willed, selfless, but slightly impulsive teenager, as all teenagers should be. It is clear that Hemsworth has evaluated “hints” that other movies and shows have provided. Hemsworth wanted to “lean into” a more serious voice towards the end of Transformers One. He insisted “he wouldn’t dare mimic Peter Cullen.” I highly respect his choices, and he does not deserve the amount of hate thrown at him. Now, Orion Pax also comes across as a humble, soft-spoken character in other movies and shows. However, I can see why they would lean into his impulsiveness to better highlight and contrast the relationship between Orion Pax and D-16, especially as D-16’s true colors show. More about that in the “spoiler” section, though!

No, it would not have made sense for Orion Pax to have a deep, majestic voice. That comes with experience; that comes with hard decisions. Quite honestly, Hemsworth is pretty close to what I had imagined Orion Pax to sound like. It’s still slightly deep, and very soothing.

The character development in this movie? Oh. My. Word. Guys, as a writer, I can say that subtle character development – the best kind – is not easy to do. In Transformers One, it flowed naturally. It made me smile. It broke my heart. If you’ve seen other Transformers movies and shows, brace yourself. If you haven’t, still brace yourself. Again, more about that in the “spoiler” section.

The humor in the trailers has been re-posted so heavily I think it’s beginning to lose its effect and people, not knowing the context, are quick to judge. Yes, Bee is funny. It’s Bee. He’s supposed to be lovable, humorous, loyal, and powerful. I found no issue with most of the humor coming from him. There is more humor that is not mentioned in the trailers that is really worth chuckling over.

Finally, the fight scenes were clean, the animation was captivating, and the incredible Brian Tyler produced musical masterpieces for most every scene, some of it connecting to other movies and shows.

"Spoiler" take, now!

I expected to dislike Elita. Really, I did. I knew she was the “love interest” for Optimus Prime beforehand and expected big things from her, because Optimus Prime never struck me as having a “love interest” in the past. Not only that, but I expected her to be the female character I seem to find everywhere these days who strives to be better than everyone else without a lick of experience, complaining about the male figures in her life.

Elita, however, is ambitious. She leads. She doesn’t have to prove anything; she’s simply willing to work hard and do her job. Understandably, she gets upset with Orion Pax and the others when they interrupt her progress, though I can’t help but be amused by Orion Pax’s shy attempt to get her attention and adored his subtle acts of kindness. Sure, she’s a tad bit aggressive – she did punch Orion Pax, after all – but I really enjoyed seeing her adapt. When Orion Pax was feeling hopeless, she was there to encourage him. If she had stopped talking immediately after saying “I’m better” I would have been frustrated. Orion Pax and D-16 are the main characters in Transformers One, after all. She didn’t stop there, though. She highlighted the most important aspects of Orion Pax; his good heart, selflessness, and bravery. She told Shockwave and the others to shut up and listen to Orion Pax when they doubted his plan. She encouraged him to speak louder when others couldn’t hear him. She leaned towards the pit when Orion Pax fell.

Not only that, but Orion Pax was incredibly patient with her. He woke her up when she was unconscious and immediately took a punch to the face like a champ. He gently, subtlety smiled at her when they traveled to the surface and Elita announced "it's beautiful." He cried out her name and pushed her out of the way to save her during a battle. He listened to her. He told her to beat Arachnid “gently” when Elita managed to detain her, proving he fully understood Elita’s personality.

I’m sorry, but this kind of relationship takes the cake. If they’re meant to be a couple, I can see the signs. I love how well they work together and build each other up.

Bee is an icon. One of my favorite scenes is him eagerly saying to Orion Pax “I’m going to go cut these guys up, watch! C’MERE!” It’s like a proud kid trying to get their parent to watch. I love how loyal he is to Orion Pax right off the bat.

While they changed some lore in Transformers One, they included everything that was important. Orion Pax and D-16 are miners, but it seems Orion Pax may have been a clerk beforehand. When he broke into the archives, he seemed to know where he was going. When he ran, I can’t remember exactly, but I believe he was muttering numbers? I don’t mind the small twists and can see how they were necessary for the story; key details are kept.

Jazz and Ratchet mention! I was so excited to hear their names. Kind of wish they had shown Ratchet, maybe shouting “I needed that!” to a fumbling worker. Sorry, Transformers Prime reference.

Arachnid had an incredible design.

Sentinel is a well-written, hate-worthy villain. I… did not expect D-16 to rip him in half, though.

Also… can I just mention how epic that particular scene was? The switch from D-16 reaching his peak character development – showing no mercy – while Orion Pax reached his – making the ultimate sacrifice to preserve life and do things the right way; receiving the Matrix of Leadership. The music, the animation, the slow-motion… everything was incredibly cinematic.

Obviously, D-16 took things too far. I appreciated the fact that he didn’t just wake up one day and decide to be evil. It took time. It took motivation. Obviously, any sane person would stand with Optimus Prime, though he does make mistakes from time to time, but it was incredibly neat to actually appreciate D-16’s insight in the beginning, then notice the shift and feel every bit of emotion Orion Pax felt.

People say the ending is rushed, or that D-16’s change came too abruptly without any good motivation. Sure, the ending may be a little rushed, but movies are typically structured this way. Falling action does not have a set speed; it just needs to be well done. Bad things happen in a rush, and this leaves ample opportunity for the “good guys” to react a little too slowly. As for D-16’s motivation… even a person can take their worship of an item or figure too far. Megatronus was someone to look up to in D-16’s eyes. He agreed to Orion Pax’s plans, or at least tolerated them, but his admiration for Megatronus was his own interest. Orion Pax threatened that vision. D-16 wanted to kill Sentinel to satisfy his own needs and desires, not to liberate others. Sentinel deserved death after committing murder, yes. He didn’t, however, deserve a public execution, especially as he tried to get away and was relatively defenseless. Remember, Sentinel told D-16 and Bee that he would execute them in front of everyone. We can acknowledge his promise as brutal, so shouldn't D-16's actions be considered brutal, too? No "reason" could ever justify it.

When D-16 let Orion Pax drop, he proved he no longer cared about loyalty. The least he could do was hoist Orion Pax’s body up or break down after losing what he once called his best friend, but he didn’t.

It’s ironic… D-16 said “I’m done saving you” when in reality, Orion Pax was trying to save D-16 from doing something he knew D-16 should have regretted doing. Normally, yes, D-16 is the voice of reason, but not in this case. For once, this is where Orion Pax’s true personality shines through. His spark – the spark of a Prime – is in the right place. Orion Pax puts joking aside when serious matters arise. It seems D-16 didn’t really know his friend after all. The actions D-16 committed, my friends, are not actions you want to celebrate.

I really, really hope Transformers One gains more attention. We need the sequel! Transformers fans, tell your friends. Give an honest review, which are of more value than the reviews given by those who didn’t take the time to watch it. Hype it up and roll out!

[rewritingcanon]

i’ve seen relationship therapists and psychologists analyse hermione and ron’s relationship and conclude that they wouldn’t work out in the long run. they’ve argued for hermione to be with harry, krum, even DRACO (don’t understand how a counsellor can vow for canon dramione but alright) as an alternative partner for hermione since ron is “too insecure” to be with her and match her intelligent prowess or what have you.

i seriously don’t understand this sentiment. ron and hermione genuinely seem (almost) perfect to me, maybe not in the movies (a common denominator of people who don’t like romione is that they always cite evidence from the movies, since the films took a lot away from ron’s character and his growth), but definitely in the books.

looking at ron’s insecurities, a lot of people dredge his inferiority complex up to toxic masculinity primarily, when it was more explored how it was an effect of his home life (not gonna argue toxic masculinity wasn’t a factor, they’re teenagers in the 90s written by a pretty misogynistic woman so…). he was the youngest son out of how many children? all of his older brothers were brilliant in some way. bill was an extremely gifted spellcaster, charlie was gifted with magical beasts, percy’s academic score was unmatched, and fred and george (despite their trouble) were entrepreneurial inventor-geniuses. ron, on the other hand, was quite literally born a disappointment to his mother, who conceived him specifically because she wanted a daughter, whilst ginny was born her favourite (though, even then, ginny was gifted at quidditch). ron was mediocre in every sense of the word, and his two best friends were harry (one of the most famous wizards) and hermione (the smartest witch of her age yada yada). and i’ve seen people argue that harry was more welcomed by molly into the weasley household than ron ever was. this isn’t even mentioning the amount of bullshit he copped for being poor (people always downplay the blow to confidence being in poverty can have on a person who is constantly surrounded by people who not only have more, but look down on him for simply being unlucky as to not have what they do).

so yeah, ron was an envious kid, but he was that way not because he was an evil patriarchal conception but because he was lowkey neglected. and even then he was overall an extremely devoted and loyal friend to both harry and hermione, because he did genuinely love them.

there were many moments of ron standing up for hermione that was cut from the films, not as a guy who was romantically interested in her, but as a friend. ron arguing with snape for making hermione cry is one of my fav scenes in the books ru kidding me, and in the movies he AGREED with snape RU KIDDING ME. not to mention how ron was a sobbing violent mess when hermione was getting tortured in the last book, whereas he wasn’t nearly as bothered in the films. and the films cut out harry being a dick to ron about his familial concerns (in dh), so when ron left it seemed like a random dickish move over his jealousy towards harry and hermione’s relationship.

there’s also a million moments where they minimised ron’s usefulness in the books for comedic purposes (forbidden forest with aragog, troll scene, devils snare scene) so ron seems dumber than he is. like, he’s actually smart and a really good spellcaster…. in the books.

so simply by stating this most of the arguments against romione become void. “he’s too stupid/weak for her” simply not true. “he’s a terrible friend who doesn’t stand up for her” also not true. “he’s too insecure to have made a move on her,” yes, but given the context i don’t think people would freak on about ron’s upbringing, i think many would be more understanding, especially considering his growth. even if he wasn’t insecure, hermione is beyond incredible and is bound to make anyone nervous when pursuing her (not an excuse for ron to act like a dick, but it does explain a lot where the movies don’t). “they argue too much” they bump heads, none of the arguments they have are actually super damning, with the exception of ron leaving in deathly hallows.

maybe i’ve covered everything (excluding the abhorrent amount of classism that clouds people’s judgments around how they view ron when harping about how hermione deserves better? hopefully).

now, i know people won’t like me mentioning the cursed child, but i’m going to considering we actually get an insight of their life as a longterm married couple there. a lot of ron stans hated how ron was the only character that wasn’t doing something incredible. harry was head of the aurors, ginny was a famous quidditch player retired to a famous journalist, neville was a hogwarts professor, hermione was quite literally minister on magic. and ron…. ran the joke shop with george.

and i think this was almost the perfect route to go down for ron. because he was average, and was perfectly fine with just being average. hello?? that speaks leagues of growth for his character. he’s supportive of hermione’s work, he grounds her when she gets too caught up in being the literal president of wizarding society, and he still viciously defends her, minister or not. in fact, he’s proud to simply be known as hermione’s husband because he doesn’t feel the need to prove to anyone else his worth. the people he loves most know his worth, hermione never downplays or underestimates him, they are complete equals in the relationship in every single way that matters. they kept ron’s best qualities whilst making him seem more of a healed person. they work so well as a married couple without it seeming like mischaracterisation (not to mention the cursed child literally shows how those two are in love in every reality, so there quite literally can’t be a better partner for hermione or ron according to canon).

so i really don’t understand how professional relationship counsellors can go online and denounce it. probs because they only watched the movies, but it’s 2023 and ron stans should not STILL be fighting for their lives trying to defend him from people who simply don’t consume media with as much depth (which is fine, but one should clarify if they’re talking about the movies because i’ve seen people state they’re talking about the hp BOOKS when it’s simply just…. the films). anyways. romione on top, thanks to coming to my ted talk.

[darknebula85]

27/10/2024, log of DARKNEBULA85, 6:24 PM...

Transformers One and The wild robot...

Bro, seriously, I think I'm going through a transformation. I have two options: 1- I'm regaining the joy of living, 2- Lately, and by coincidence, I've come across too many high-quality things in a row. First, the last 3 epic episodes of One Piece, then John Silver: the movie, and now The Wild Robot and Transformers One. Let's go step by step.

The only Transformers I've seen are the live-action movies; I've never watched the series or read the comics, but I’ve seen ALL the movies, and I found them entertaining. But this time, they outdid themselves, they created the best movie in the franchise (although honestly, it’s been years since I watched the other movies; I need a marathon). The hero's journey of living long enough to become a villain, while the other becomes a symbol of freedom for his people, a broken friendship and a rivalry that will last until one’s death. It was very entertaining and has so much potential to become something bigger. Above all, it hurts to see two best friends’ relationship break apart. I've been through that, and in my opinion, it's one of the most painful things, and it’s reflected well in that shot where you can barely see Megatron’s tears. I really hope this movie does well at the box office, because if they start building a cinematic universe from this first movie, I’ll be one of the first in line to watch them in theaters.

Now, let’s talk about the other peak. The Wild Robot was beautifu. I didn’t have much faith in it and wasn’t really interested, but it ended up being one of my favorite movies overall; it’s absurdly good. I really appreciated that even though it’s a kids’ movie, it doesn’t hold back in showing the harshness of nature (a lot of animals die in this movie :v). I also loved how it portrays all the sacrifice and hard work a single mother has to endure, even just being a mother in general. The relationship between Roz and her son is incredibly realistic, from the sweet childhood years, through the complex adolescence, to his growth into someone mature and appreciative of his mom. It’s definitely the best movie I’ve seen this year, and it would hurt me so much if it ends up like Treasure Planet… WHICH IS WHY I’M GOING TO WATCH IT AGAIN IN THEATERS ALONG WITH TRANSFORMERS ONE!!! This time, I’ll go with friends; I watched them alone today.

.

[blu3haw4]

Hi, hello, remember when i posted a little fic two years ago called 'loved your parting gift (dead people are my favorite)' and then last year i talked about how that world lives in my mind rent free and how I've imagine that very cathartic scene of Lexa bleeding at Clarke's place and her calling Anya to watch Lexa while she feeds from countless people because the sent of Lexa's blood makes her incredibly thirsty? Do you remember?

Well i didn't write that scene (actually i did but it's not edited and I'm not sure i want it to be precisely like that so) instead I wrote a little night months after, a little look into their abettor-ship.

I feel like in the first installment it looks a little like these two are pretty serious, but in my head this fic is a little cracky. Like sure Lexa is Commander of the 12 clans full of werewolf packs (this isn't abo btw) sure she's the most powerful alpha of her people, sure she can control other alphas as though they were her beta's. But also she's just a girl. She's practically 21yo (210 in reality (215 actually, which makes Clarke want to celebrate her sweet (2)16's) but she's a wolf so its the same) and she just really likes this very pretty girl, mysterious and possibly incredibly dangerous but also just a girl who with all her power (and years on earth) is actually just chilling.

So here's that little night

For Clextober 2024, Idea 16 (already on ao3)

The Halloween Party

“A Halloween party? Seriously?” Lexa deadpanned.

“A custom party” Clarke clarified, covered excitement in her voice.

“Yeah, I got that part”

“Don’t sound so excited” She rolled her eyes.

“Of course I’m not excited Clarke, I’ve seen enough terrible representation of my kind? Don’t you hate those of yours?”

“Why would I?” Clarke laughed “few are exaggerated versions the fictional character created about us, and most are pretty simple and very accurate representation of how we really look like... humans with fangs and blood dripping down our mouths. And, by the way, I think the latest tv shows have done a pretty good job at representing your kind”

“When was the last time you saw a werewolf?” Lexa narrowed her eyes, she can’t remember the last time she saw a werewolf custom or tv show, but they were never flattering, and the few movies she knew about weren’t great either.

“I’m standing right in front of one!”

“Before that” Lexa rolled her eyes.

“Irrelevant, trirku, I’ve seen you fully and partially wolfed out as well as human size, you’ve got to admit they’re getting it right -finally”

“Trikru is not-“

“Your last name, I know, but you don’t have one, so suck it up” Clarke interrupts, with that sweet, little flirty tone she used to mock her -and to calm the bad guys she dried to feed- “You’re the one who rejected Woods”

“Because that’s just stupid-” before Clarke could jump with some retort again, she railed the conversation back “Why is it necessary? To go to this party?”

“Because!” Clarke rolled her eyes sighing, it had been an intense few months since they met, what started as just tense avoidance quickly turned into a series of unfortunate events that landed them on a weird abettor-ship. The vampire had to get used to sharing a city with a huge clan of werewolves’ packs, all the while making sure they weren’t sniffing around where they shouldn’t, whatever that’d be other super-natural creatures’ business or outright hunter houses. She hadn’t done the best job at it from afar, hence their fragile alliance.

“You said you wanted in on the majority of non-humans around here, this is your way of mingling”

“But why a Halloween party?”

“Because it’s fun! Because we hide every day, most have a lot more covering up to do than you and I. Halloween is the perfect opportunity to hide in plain sight, is the one occasion they get to be themselves around those they call friends without any judgment”

‘Do you have friends?’ Was the question in Lexa’s mind, but she kept it there, the line between professionalism and friendship or whatever with Clarke were blurry enough already. She’s made enough mistakes the past six months that led her down dangerous paths, she owed it to her clan to stay focused, to mend those mistakes, no matter how much she just wanted to get to know Clarke.

“You sure it’s a good idea?”

“Yes! For one you’ll get to do something fun, and two, how else will you know who’s pissed that you and your clan are here and who doesn’t give a shit?”

“Isn’t that the point of our agreement?”

“I agreed to help you, not do you binding” Clarke deadpanned “Look as far as I’m aware there hasn't been a pack around for about fifty years, most witches I know don’t care about you, but there’s plenty of vampires around who love to feed into our animosity. This party is your chance to check the field, some ghouls hide perfectly and won’t care that you pissed off hunters, there’s fairies though I’m sure would love to help them, there’s a variety of chimeras that-”

“Okay. I get it. Plenty of creature, perfect night, perfect chance”

“Exactly. Efficiency” Clarke winked at her.

With a sigh Lexa stood up “Fine, I’ll be here at seven”

“You better be in a nice custom!” Clarke called after her “You don’t want people to think you’re a boring ass human!” Lexa rolled her eyes yet started to plan her outfit for the following night.

She showed up at seven sharp, in simple black jeans and a white shirt, cut and styled to look worn, her hair braided and held by a bandanna at the top of her head, her make-up was exaggerated, all meat to portray a pirate. She thought she complied to Clarke’s petition, yet her hopes for a compliment fell when the Vampire opened the door.

“You didn’t come as a were?!”

“No! I am one!” She huffed.

“That’s the point!” Clarke chuckles turning around, in her plain fitting black dress, black high heels and… a cape. Because of course she was a vampire. “Such a wasted opportunity” she rolled her eyes, cheeky grin fangs out and all, clearly pleased with her own ‘custom’. Lexa felt a little silly, knowing she spent all day crafting hers.

“I mean don’t get me wrong-” Clarke cut her train of thought, looking her up and down, still grinning, licking her left fang -it was always the left one, same side where that beauty mark sat atop her lip- not that Lexa paid attention or anything. “This fit is… damn, hot as fuck, Trikru, you really leaned into it” And okay, Lexa wasn’t expecting that, so who could blame her if she blushed a little.

“Well, you… said to make it nice”

“It is nice… very nice” Clarke nodded, looking her up and down again as she kept licking that damn fang, how was Lexa supposed to focus on the mission. And okay, it wasn’t really a mission, but she was still supposed to focus on making connections not on… well. Clarke.

They left shortly after, and Lexa was informed on the way that this Halloween party was, actually, several parties. A few different parties they would go to through the night.

And so, they spend about an hour -and a half sometimes- at each party, Lexa meets all of Clarke’s contacts -all witches- and learns to recognize the faces of few vampires who don’t seem to like her. She asks how come they don’t approach them and seem to back away from Clarke, but she deflects, says she’s not sure and bets they’re just smart enough to not mess with Lexa. But she knows it can’t be just that, she doesn’t push it though, just hopes Clarke will trust her enough one day to tell her, after all their relationship at the moment pretty much consisted of exchanging information.

By midnight Lexa had a pretty clear idea of how most creatures felt about her and her clan, she met a few chimeras that lived with packs and seemed to hope that they’d protect them from the hunters, while lone ones kept their distance from her. Ghouls and fairies alike seem all over the place, some wanted to meet her, some seem scared of her, others just outright grossed by her presence. It gave her a good feeling of what she would be dealing with for the next few years of their stay.

So, with her mission accomplished, she finally listened to Clarke and agreed to have fun. With the elixirs provided by Clarke’s witches friends, the pair was able to enjoy the nice numbing of their drinks -not that Clarke wasn’t already a little drunk and high from the few humans she fed from.

Lexa learned over the course of the first two months after her arrival that Clarke had a method of feeding that didn’t involve drinking them dry, and didn’t even leave a mark. The watching had begun with Lexa following her after their first face-to-face encounter, feeling the need to check that Clarke’s victims were in fact the predators she claimed them to be.

That’s how she found her flirting with people at bars and promising a good time, offering them a vape and saying it had weed to cover up the later dizziness, taking them a out to a more private corner and making out with them, Clarke would kiss their necks, nibbling and licking to activate the sedative from her saliva and then biting them to drink from them, they would think she was leaving a hickey when in reality she was only drinking a little of their blood -the equivalent of two exam doses, she would later learn- before licking the wound to heal it close. She’d take them back inside and leave after a while.

Lexa had memorized the pattern, Clarke would drink from four different people per night, and she would skip three nights if she drank someone dry. She wasn’t sure if Clarke was aware of it, she had an idea that Clarke could scent her every time, but she had stopped following her after the first time they spoke. Falling to the conclusion -and promptly ignoring it- that her obsession with the habit had come from wanting to be a part of the rotation of… donors.

-It meant she didn’t realize when the pattern changed, after the night she bled at Clarke’s place, the vampire started to feed every night even if she dried someone, the number of doses per night increased and even some were taken during the day. Clarke didn’t tell her, afraid to accept the reason of her newfound insatiable thirst-

And so, she found herself at the last party mildly drunk, doing everything in her power to keep Clarke’s focus on her, because her inhibition was low and her instincts her directing her more than her conscious, and Clarke kept looking for humans to woo and drink from, not because she need it -or so Lexa thought- just because she wanted to, because she was having fun and she wasn’t -technically- hurting anybody. And Lexa didn’t really want to stop her, she just… wanted her to not kiss other people.

And Clarke kept telling her that she was no fun, that she should let loose and enjoy the night, and Lexa was really trying, but she didn’t know how to without completely exposing herself. Because even her wolf wanted Clarke to bite her, her big bad alpha soul wanted to be bitten, and how was Lexa really supposed to deny that.

So, she showed her she could be fun, she drank and danced with Clarke, and she did her best at flirting, and she noticed when Clarke noticed. She noticed when Clarke stopped looking around for humans, she noticed her flirting turning up from her natural, and she noticed how she danced differently with her. She noticed the way she wouldn’t stop licking her fangs and biting her lips.

She noticed she was breathing heavily “Why are you breathing?” Lexa asked.

Clarke giggled, tilting her head to rest their foreheads together “What?” she sighed with a drunken laugh.

“You don’t need to breath” Lexa hushed, giggling a little too as they stumbled more than danced “Why are you doing it?”

“Oh… well-” and again with the fang-licking, Lexa was sure that a few more time and she wouldn’t be able to hold back the need to capture that tongue “The feeding, y’know how I get drunk because they’re drunk?” she asks, motioning vaguely with her hands and chuckling when Lexa pulls her back to her after she stumbled back.

“It happens because… I kinda… absorb a little of their life. Not like… take from… their time, just-” She tasked, and Lexa couldn’t decide if she should fixate of her mouth or her eyes, bluer than she’d ever seen them “like the blood makes me… alive, for however long it takes my body to… fully…” another giggle, another misstep “absorb it”

“Oh yeah?” Lexa nodded, unable to contain the smile on her face, she bumped her nose with Clarke “Sounds fun” she hushes, because if they stop talking, she might end up kissing her.

And okay, it was what she wanted, but she knew it was a bad idea, and she didn’t want to initiate it anyways.

“It is” Clarke nods, grinning widely “It’s why my eyes are lighter… or bluer… I guess”

“Really?” Lexa leans back, wanting to get a better look, and Clarke unconsciously leans forward, almost chasing her.

“Yep” she sighs this time when their foreheads press together again, there a slumber looks in her eyes now “You know how they’re… black, before I feed?” Lexa only hums her agreement “That’s the… monster”

“Hey, no, don’t call it that. That’s the hunger” Lexa says, and she’s had both arms around Clarke’s waits this whole time, so she lifts one up to cares the side of her neck. “You’re not -We’re not monsters” Clarke eyes her, not buying it.

And Lexa knows, she knows that this is not a worry Clarke carries every day, she knows the vampire is self-aware and has probably lived longer than Lexa is capable of wrapping her head around. She knows these are drunk insecurities that won’t be there in the morning- or in a few hours- but she needs to calm them, because she also knows that is a worry that comes from deep, deep down in her core.

“You are cable of feeding without killing. And even if you had to kill to do it, you wouldn’t be different than an animal. You wouldn’t be different than a werewolf. We’re not that much different than humans”

Clarke’s hands have moved from Lexa’s shoulder to her arms, up her neck and into her hair in a sequence since they started dancing. In the breath after Lexa finishes speaking, one hand moves back into her hair and the other stays holding her arm, a subtle tilt of her head it’s all that’s needed for the lips to connect as she pulls Lexa closer in every way.

Lexa’s breath catches in her throat as her arms instinctively wrap around Clarke and she answers the kiss eagerly. It’s slow for a second, they adjust to the press of Clarke’s fangs in a tight press of lips. Then it intensifies, there’s a brief separation before they both lean in again, stronger, deeper. They pull each other close and sigh into each other’s mouth, Lexa gasps and Clarke smirks every time her fang nibs Lexa’s tongue or lips, and they absently move out of the makeshift dance floor.

They don’t bump into anyone, their super senses kick in and helping them navigate the crowded room without even looking. Clarke sucks on Lexa’s lower lip with a softness that makes Lexa forget there’s sharp fangs behind those lips. She licks into Clarke’s mouth anyways, learning each time where to go and how to enjoy it, Clarke’s tongue guides her too, she absolutely enjoys that part the most.

Lexa is leaned against the hallway wall, the window beside them is open and the breeze is a nice contrast to the warm of their bodies pressed against each other, hands pulling and wandering as they exchange heated kisses.

Lexa gaps and turns her head away from the kiss suddenly, her reflexes kick in when Clarke leans for -a kiss to- her neck and her arm goes up to grab Clarke by the throat. She pauses, confused, still holding Lexa close, and then she hears it too, the faith distinguished howl of a wolf; Clarke can tell is a werewolf, Lexa understands the entire message.

“I need to go” she says, still looking out, eyes red now, fangs out.

“Do you need help?” Clarke sobers up, she doesn’t move though, neither of them do.

“No. You shouldn’t come” and finally Lexa pulls away, Clarke takes a step back with her and their arms drop when Lexa moves to go back into the main room “Clarke. I mean it. Don’t follow” she says, and she tries to ignore the looks on her face, tries not to read too much into the flash of darkening eyes, and leaves without looking back.

[enemiestolovershoe]

Unspoken Feelings

Matt Sturniolo x bsf!reader

Summary: Y/N and Matt’s weekly movie night takes an unexpected turn when his brothers, Nick and Chris, join in. What starts as a chill evening with *The Shining* and some weed quickly turns intense as Matt’s jealousy flares up. A heated argument leads to an even hotter confession, changing their friendship forever. What happens when unspoken feelings finally come to light?

Word Count: 1500

Warnings: Drug use (weed), friends to lovers, argument, talk of horror movie, not proofread, use of y/n

A/n: Likes and rebloggs majorly appreciated :) 🫶🏻

Friday nights had always been sacred for you and Matt Sturniolo. For years, you’d curled up on his couch, surrounded by blankets and snacks, ready to dive into whatever movie you had chosen for that week. But tonight was a little different. For the first time, Matt’s brothers, Nick and Chris, were joining the party. The usual duo was now a quartet, and you couldn’t help but feel a mix of excitement and nervousness at the shift in your routine.

You arrived at the Sturniolo house right on time, a bag of popcorn in one hand and a pack of Matt’s favorite gummy worms in the other. Matt was waiting for you at the door, as usual, his dark hair slightly tousled and a grin already forming on his lips.

“Look who’s finally here,” Matt teased, stepping aside to let you in. “And armed with the essentials, I see.”

“I figured we’d need the reinforcements,” you joked back, holding up the snacks. “Especially since your brothers are crashing our movie night.”

“Yeah, well, they insisted,” Matt said with a mock sigh, though you could tell he didn’t really mind. “But I made sure we’re still watching something good.”

“What did you pick?” you asked as you followed him into the living room.

Nick and Chris were already sprawled out on the couch, looking entirely too comfortable. Chris perked up when he saw you.

“Y/N, finally! Now we can start this thing,” Chris said, grinning.

“Hey, Y/N!” Nick added with a wave, glancing at the stack of DVDs and Blu-rays on the coffee table. “Matt wouldn’t tell us what movie we’re watching. Says it’s a surprise.”

You raised an eyebrow at Matt. “You’ve been holding out on them?”

Matt just smirked and picked up one of the cases, holding it up for everyone to see. “I thought we could go for a classic tonight. *The Shining*.”

Chris let out a low whistle. “Nice choice. Creepy, but nice.”

Nick, who was usually a fan of horror, nodded approvingly. “I’m down. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it.”

You couldn’t help but smile at the selection. “It’s perfect. But only if we can all agree that I get first dibs on the blanket fort.”

Matt rolled his eyes playfully. “Of course. Anything for the queen of movie night.”

With the movie chosen, you all settled in, building the most elaborate blanket fort the living room had ever seen. You ended up sitting between Matt and Chris, the soft glow of the TV casting flickering shadows across everyone’s faces as the eerie opening music of *The Shining* began to play.

As the movie unfolded, you couldn’t help but feel a strange tension in the air. Matt was quieter than usual, his focus seemingly split between the screen and something else. Every so often, you caught him glancing your way, but whenever you turned to look at him, he’d quickly look back at the TV.

It wasn’t until the movie hit a particularly tense scene that Chris spoke up, breaking the silence.

“Man, I forgot how creepy this movie is,” Chris said, leaning back into the cushions. “But I gotta say, Jack Nicholson is amazing in this.”

“Yeah, he’s incredible,” you agreed, still feeling the lingering suspense of the scene. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie where someone can look that terrifying just by smiling.”

Matt, who had been quiet for most of the movie, finally chimed in. “That’s what makes it so good. The psychological horror gets under your skin because it feels so real.”

“Real, and seriously messed up,” Nick added, his eyes glued to the screen. “Like, who even comes up with this stuff?”

“You’d be surprised,” you said with a laugh. “There’s a reason it’s a classic though.”

Matt nodded, his gaze softening as he looked at you. “Yeah, definitely a good pick for tonight.”

As the movie progressed, the tension that had been building between you and Matt seemed to ease, replaced by the comfort of familiarity. But then, as the credits finally rolled and the room fell into a quiet lull, Chris shifted beside you, pulling something out of his hoodie pocket.

“Alright, movie’s over, but the night’s just getting started,” Chris said with a mischievous grin, holding up a small, neatly rolled joint. “Who’s up for spicing things up a bit?”

You glanced at Matt, who gave you that familiar shrug, the one that said, “Why not?” Nick quickly agreed, and before you knew it, the joint was being passed around.

The weed worked its way through your system, making everything feel softer, more vivid, and somehow more real. Conversations drifted from the movie to random topics, with Chris taking the lead, his lively energy filling the room.

“So, Y/N,” Chris began, his tone more serious than before, “What’s something you’ve always wanted to do but haven’t yet?”

You thought for a moment, the warm haze of the weed making you more candid than usual. “I’ve always wanted to travel the world. But I guess I’ve been waiting for the right moment… and the right company.”

Chris leaned in, his expression thoughtful. “That sounds amazing. Maybe we could—”

Before he could finish, Matt cut him off, his voice unexpectedly sharp. “Chris, don’t you think Y/N deserves more than just talking about dreams? Maybe she should be with someone who actually knows her.”

The room went quiet, the atmosphere suddenly tense. You turned to Matt, surprised by the edge in his voice.

“What’s your problem, Matt?” you asked, frowning.

Matt met your gaze, his eyes intense. “My problem? I’m just tired of watching you waste time on things that aren’t going to happen.”

Your frustration flared up. “And who are you to decide that?”

“Someone who cares about you,” Matt shot back, his voice low and serious.

You stood up, the tension between you and Matt almost tangible. “You’re acting like a jealous jerk, Matt.”

“Maybe I am,” Matt said, standing up as well, his voice dropping to a whisper, “But that’s because—”

Before he could finish, he suddenly stepped forward and kissed you, his lips capturing yours in a way that was both unexpected and electric. For a moment, you froze, but then you found yourself kissing him back, the unspoken feelings between you igniting like a spark in dry tinder.

You vaguely heard Chris mutter something to Nick, and then they quietly excused themselves from the room, leaving you and Matt alone.

When you finally pulled back, both of you were breathing heavily, your foreheads pressed together as you tried to process what just happened.

“Matt…” you started, your voice shaky, but he silenced you with another, softer kiss.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered against your lips, “I just… I couldn’t watch you with someone else. It was driving me crazy.”

You looked into his eyes, your heart pounding. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Matt shook his head, his expression vulnerable. “Because I didn’t want to ruin what we have. But I can’t pretend anymore, Y/N. I’m in love with you.”

The confession hung in the air, and for a moment, all you could do was stare at him, stunned. But then, a slow smile spread across your face, and you leaned in to kiss him again, your heart swelling with a mix of relief and joy.

“Maybe we should’ve spiced things up a long time ago,” you murmured against his lips, your arms wrapping around his neck.

Matt chuckled softly, pulling you closer. “Yeah… maybe we should have.”

As the two of you stood there, wrapped up in each other, you realized that everything had changed, but in the best possible way. The movie, the weed, even Chris and Nick—they all faded into the background, leaving just the two of you and the feelings that had finally been brought to the surface.

And as for Matt, well, your weekly movie nights had just taken on a whole new meaning.

[gabbytheplatypus]

Lucky One

Jake Seresin sighed, rubbing his temples as he glanced at the clock. "I know this isn't the most thrilling topic right now, but could you all try to focus for the last fifteen minutes? I promise next week we’ll dive into the exciting bits of World War I." Stella, a friendly and hard-working student in the front row, shot a stern look at her chatty classmates, and the room fell into an awkward silence. A few students offered Jake apologetic smiles. He understood. It was Friday, the final period of the day, and everyone was itching to go home. Honestly, he was just as eager to head home, grab some snacks, and lose himself in an action movie.

Jake usually loved teaching, especially when his students asked clever questions or showed genuine curiosity. He thrived on finding creative ways to make history come alive for them. He once divided his students into two groups and each group had to think of a strategy on how they could defeat the other group if they were in command of their own military. It wasn’t exactly on the syllabus, but the result? His students were hooked, and their projects on World War I society had blown him away. He was incredibly proud of them, but unfortunately he no longer taught that specific class. He’d sometimes see his former students around town, always greeted with a smile and a "Hey, Mr. Seresin!"

He stood up and handed out papers. It was a dull topic, even by his standards, but it was part of the curriculum. He made a mental note to keep it as brief as possible. After five minutes of focused silence, the chatter started up again. Jake cleared his throat loudly. "You know, if what you're talking about is so interesting, maybe you’d like to share it with the whole class?" He grinned, aiming for playful rather than strict. His students at least had the decency to look sheepish before quieting down again. It was quiet for the remaining minutes of the lesson.

As the final bell rang and the students gathered their things and went to leave. Kate, Tyler, Javi and Lilly immediately started talking rather loudly again. Jake overheard a comment that made him pause. "I wish I had Mr. Machado instead of Mr. Bradshaw," Javi grumbled. "Scott’s so damn lucky to have him."

When they were halfway out the door, Jake couldn’t help but call after them, "Oh? What terrible crime has Mr. Bradshaw committed now?" He leaned back against his desk, arms crossed, an amused look on his face.

The group froze, turning to see if Jake was serious or just messing with them. His smirk gave it away, and Lilly groaned dramatically. "Isn’t it obvious? Mr. Bradshaw’s out to get us! The amount of homework he gives—it’s practically a declaration of war."

Jake let out a snort of laughter, his eyes gleaming with a mix of amusement and something else, something softer. "Well, he does take his subject very seriously."

"It's English. We speak English. Why isn't that enough?" Javi scoffed.

Kate gave Javi a light smack on the back of his head. "You’re just lazy," she muttered, though Jake caught the words and chuckled.

"Is he really that bad?" Jake asked, packing up his things but still focused on his students. Javi and Lilly nodded enthusiastically, while Tyler seemed distracted, sneaking glances at Kate. Jake made a mental note to pair those two up for the next group project, already excited for excellent results.

Kate frowned thoughtfully. "I wouldn’t say he’s bad. Just… exhausting."

Jake chuckled, leaning in slightly as if sharing a secret. "Well, from what I’ve seen, he’s pretty normal. Maybe you’re all just a little… sensitive?"

"You don’t know him like we do!" Javi insisted, throwing in his best puppy dog eyes, which Lilly mimicked with dramatic flair. Jake laughed, raising a skeptical eyebrow. Was Bradley really that intense? Sure, he knew Bradley could be demanding, but that was one of the things he admired most about him. The guy had passion—perhaps a little too much sometimes, but it was all with good intentions. He just wanted to prepare his students for the future and maybe he was a little overzealous, but in the end he definitely had a good heart and just wanted everyone to do their best.

"Oh yes? How is Mr. Bradshaw different with you than when I see him in the hallways?"

Javi huffed. "You’ve never had to sit through one of his 40-minute rants about some ancient book nobody cares about. And trust me, it wasn’t even a good one!"

Jake shook his head in mock shock. "The horror! And here I thought English class was supposed to be relaxing. What did he do to you this time to earn your complaints today?"

"We have to write an eight-page essay," Tyler finally chimed in, his voice heavy with resignation.

"On what?" Jake asked curiously and tilted his head.

"If only I knew," Javi exclaimed dramatically, throwing his arms into the air before letting them drop in defeat.

Jake bit back a laugh. "Should I have a word with Mr. Bradshaw? Maybe scold him for his rude behavior and tell him to ease up on our poor, overworked students?"

The four of them grinned, and Lilly nodded enthusiastically. "You’d be our hero, Mr. Seresin! You’re the best!"

Jake chuckled, waving them off. "Enjoy your weekend, guys. Try not to let all that homework ruin it."

As they left, Jake allowed himself a smirk. He was definitely going to tease Bradley about this later. For now, though, he had snacks to buy and a movie to enjoy.

---------------------------

"Tyler, let’s go to the mall!" Lilly suggested, linking arms with Javi as they walked out of school.

"I’m in," Javi agreed quickly.

Tyler shrugged, "Why not?"

"Kate, you coming?" Javi asked, and after some light convincing, Kate agreed to join them.

"Tyler’s buying ice cream for everyone," Kate teased, nudging him with her elbow. Tyler rolled his eyes but raised his hands in mock surrender, earning high-fives from Lilly and Javi

Kate and Tyler smiled briefly at each other and the group of friends set off. They strolled through the mall, chatting and laughing, when Kate suddenly stopped in her tracks, pointing ahead. "Hey, isn’t that Mr. Seresin?"

"Yeah, it is," Lilly said, grinning. "Let’s go say hi."

But as they got closer, Lilly’s greeting died in her throat. Mr. Seresin was leaning in, kissing the man whose hand he was holding.

"No way," Kate whispered, her eyes wide in shock as she recognized the other man. Javi’s jaw practically hit the floor. The man Jake was kissing wore a familiar ring—one they’d all seen a thousand times on Mr. Seresin’s hand in class. Could it be…?

"Is that… Mr. Bradshaw?!"

𝐷𝐸𝐷𝐼𝐶𝐴𝑇𝐸𝐷 𝑇𝑂 𝐷𝐼𝐴𝑁𝐴, 𝑀𝑌 𝐹𝐴𝑉𝑂𝑅𝐼𝑇𝐸 𝑇𝐸𝐴𝐶𝐻𝐸𝑅 𝑇𝑂 𝐺𝑂𝑆𝑆𝐼𝑃 𝑊𝐼𝑇𝐻 <3

[bestanimatedmovie]

Choose your favorite!

Vote in the other polls!

What fans say:

Atlantis: The Lost Empire:

The whole movie is just top tier good shit. One of the top best underrated Disney movies with a great twist on who is bad. Ahead of its time. Plus Leonard Nimoy as the king???

I love the music, I love the adventure, and Helga Sinclair is an excellent villain. Not to mention such a strong cast.

Legitimately one of the most fascinatingly original animated films ever made, with not only a unique art style, but a cast of incredible and diverse characters all written with genuine heart and personality. I personally memorized what I call "Milo's Rant" for a drama monologue project in high school, and it still stands as one of my favorite scenes in ANY movie to this day.

The art style is amazing and it is one of my favorite stories. It was one of my favorite childhood movies and still is my favorite now. My favorite scene has to be the end fight scene in the volcano, though the "ENGLAND MUST NEVER MIX WITH FRANCE" line from Mole still makes me chuckle.

Megamind:

The memes on that guy! Also very likely one of Tumblr's most iconic movies. There's just great stuff in there and I want to rewatch the damn thing now.

The animation is great, the dialogue is INCREDIBLE, its an utterly fantastic deconstruction of the superhero genre, it is CRIMINALLY underrated, and i love it with every facet of my being (: Also my favorite scene is probably "PRESENTATION!!!" Seriously, i CANNOT overstate how awesome this scene is. Its perfect in SOOOOOO many ways!!!

PRESENTATION!!!!!!!!

An absolute delight of a film, Megamind is funny, subversive and incredibly emotionally resonant. Megamind is a very relatable protagonist and it might be one of the funniest movies I've ever watched. If you haven't seen it, you should.

Every scene is my favourite, it’s a masterpiece of humour and subversion and plot twists, 10-11 year old me didn’t watch it over 20 times in a row for nothing. I’ve had the opening quote written on my mirror since 2013.

PRESENTATION. it has a really good story, plot, characters, themes, and its really funny and i like it very much.

[shadamyheadcanons]

Been thinking a lot about this and wanted your thoughts. Isn't it strange the only character shown to not be openly afraid or judgemental of Shadow is Amy? I think the only one that comes close to that is Rouge but even then

A lot of characters are easily intimidated, scared of, not trustful or even judgey of Shadow a lot of the time. Which given some past actions and his general vibe is understandable but it never seems to apply to Amy

Even when she mistook him for Sonic she wasn't immediately scared afterwards just confused and later encourages him to save the world because she believes that he is a good person deep down. It's especially prominent in the Sonic takeover video, like when it's revealed that both Shadow and Amy enjoy Taylor Swift?

Sonic is surprised that Shadow the Edgy boy likes a pop artist and treats is a semi big deal. Amy meanwhile is just happy they have something in common, not even a 'oh that's surprising coming from you', just general happy they share similar music tastes

I might be thinking too deeply into it but it occurred to me that Amy never treats Shadow as someone to be scared of and treats him as no different from anyone else right from the start.

Tbh, I don’t think it’s strange at all. It’s standard Amy behavior. Metal Sonic is a scary robot who kidnapped her as a kid, but she still helped him without hesitation in that Sonic Mania short, even after he startled her. Gamma was an armed robot who was keeping her in a cell, but she didn’t show any fear toward him; she stood up to him to protect a Flicky, then befriended him immediately. She saw Silver nearly murder Sonic with incredible powers she’d never encountered before, and she still jumped in front of him to protect Sonic anyway. The werehog was big and scary, but not only did she accept Sonic in that form, she hugged the werehog the first time she saw him and showed no discomfort about it, merely expressing confusion at having hugged the wrong person even though she actually got it right that time.

She just doesn’t see anyone as a monster. And while that’s wonderful and wholesome, it’s a little worrisome, too. Rouge likes and trusts Shadow, but I don’t think she’s unaware of the extensive damage he could do. Omega probably feels the same way. That’s the wise way of looking at it.

But Amy? It’s not just her faith in the goodness of others, it’s straight-up naiveté. Her upbringing was rife with violence, kidnapping, danger, and death, and now she doesn’t know what’s normal. This is the same girl who somehow waltzed onto Prison Island with the intention of casually rescuing Sonic from a high-security prison by herself. If Tails hadn’t shown up, she easily could’ve died! She’s honestly lucky she’s gotten this far without being seriously injured or worse.

I’m sure Shadow loves that she doesn’t fear him and truly values her for that, even if he doesn’t say so, but he’d worry about her, too. I can picture him thinking, “She clearly has no sense of self-preservation. I’ll have to look after her to make sure nothing happens.” Maybe he already does. It could figure into their interactions at Cryptic Castle in ShTH. This sweet girl takes one look at him, of all people, as terrifying as he knows he is--on the darkest story routes you can take, no less--and she says, “Friend? :D” before running off alone into a dangerous, haunted castle to save a child and a Chao. So he follows her. Because she clearly doesn’t know how to stay safe. And she’d be safer by his side than pretty much anyone else’s not only because he’s as strong as you can get in this universe, but because he’ll go farther than anyone else to protect the ones he loves. He knows how it feels to lose someone important, and he won’t let it happen again. It’s time someone put Amy first!

Still can’t figure out how Sega made these two characters so perfect for each other *by accident.* Most movies I’ve seen can’t craft things so well even on purpose.

[sarcasticsra]

I cannot stress enough how much everyone should watch Starkid’s A VHS Christmas Carol if you haven’t seen it yet. It’s pretty short, only about 45 minutes, and it’s truly one of the best adaptations of A Christmas Carol that I’ve ever seen.

No, seriously. I think it has even surpassed The Muppets Christmas Carol for me. That has been my favorite Christmas movie since I was a child. My mom and sister and I used to watch it every Christmas Eve. I still love it dearly and it is an amazing adaptation that I’ll defend to my death, but you guys. You guys. A VHS Christmas Carol is just THAT GOOD.

It’s done in the style of 80s music/videos, which is delightful. It’s an opera, so it’s all sung through, which I love. And it’s so good!

Let me enumerate the ways. Spoilers to follow. (Can you spoil A Christmas Carol? Once a story becomes public domain does that exempt it from spoiling? Idk, lol. Spoilers for the show, anyway. Also for Avatar: The Last Airbender. …I promise there’s a path.)

1) Bah Humbug! - Song number one and it goes hard right from the start. It is everything an opening number should be. Dynamic, sets the tone, and an incredible fucking bop. The interactions between Scrooge and Fred and Scrooge and Bob are done so well, too. You so quickly get a sense of their characters. Obviously we know their characters because this is a story that has been told many a time before, but it does it so well that you would immediately get them even if you were an alien who had never in your existence been exposed to A Christmas Carol in any capacity. That’s impressive to me. It’s not relying on the familiarity of the story to do its character work.

2) 3 Spirits - I love the tone of this song. This is a Marley with true regret and pain who is absolutely pleading with Scrooge to take the chance he’s being given. It’s less “scared straight” and more, “I need you to understand this like you’ve never understood anything before.” Marley becomes a character in his own right as opposed to merely a backdrop for Scrooge to react to. That’s a theme with this adaptation. Characters who are pretty flat in a lot of adaptations seem so much more like real people in this one. Also, whoever decided to cast Meredith as Marley here is a fucking genius. She’s so goddamn talented and she really shines here. The emotion, the weight. Gah. Beautiful. The interplay between Marley and Scrooge is incredible as well; these are two insanely talented performers breathing a new life into tried and true characters, and you really feel the relationship between them.

3) I’m The Ghost - Christmas Past is so pointed and snarky and incredible, making Scrooge come to certain realizations. “Huh, little boy left all alone. Oh, your sister died so young. Didn’t she have a son though? Why are the employees so happy, this party didn’t cost much? Thinking of something? Okay, last stop, buckle up, it’s all your own doing.” I love it so much.

4) That Scrooge - You guys. You guys. They’ve done what I assumed was impossible. They’ve done what even the Muppets couldn’t. It’s a Scrooge-Belle breakup song that isn’t the most unbelievably boring and bland thing you’ve ever heard in your life. Belle is a fucking person! She has a personality! She’s very clearly stating her case, that he’s changed and she doesn’t like it and does he have anything to say? No? Okay, bye! THE EMOTION IN THIS SONG. Scrooge starts singing not just with her but to her! All the things he didn’t say before! And then he starts singing angrily about/at his past!self for being an idiot! You actually FEEL THINGS about this relationship. It was a deep love and losing it super fucked him up! I have never before seen Belle/Scrooge done as well as this one (1) song handles it.

5) Christmas Electricity - Get ready to have this song stuck in your head for ten thousand years. This song is, I believe, the standard classical definition of “a fuckin’ bop.” It’s so high energy and exciting, you really can understand how Scrooge gets so caught up in it himself. You also see more of Fred in this song and, again, he’s a person! He has specific motivations for why he keeps reaching out to Scrooge. Corey’s Fred is hands down one of the best performances of this character full stop. He took what is usually a bit, side character and made him a full human with understandable thoughts and feelings. They gave the Fred-Scrooge relationship such incredible emotional weight because of it. I think that’s one of my favorite aspects of this adaptation.

6) Priceless - Here we see the Cratchits enjoying their Christmas with an incredibly sweet song about having little but feeling like they have a lot. I really like the way this song feels a bit cheesy (goes with the whole 80s vibe) but they also feel like a real family with some silliness and some sweetness and Bob’s wife having very strong opinions about Scrooge that he’s too polite for. Also “listen to this key change out of the bridge” goddamn just show off constantly how freaking talented this entire cast is, why don’t you.

7) The Final Ghost - I probably have too much to say about this song. It’s my favorite, which considering this entire show is pitch fucking perfect, is really saying a lot. Dylan Saunders is truly one of the most talented performers I’ve ever seen, and his Scrooge is so, so good. It really shines through here. His interactions with Christmas Future show him mirroring Bob from earlier (he has a line that’s almost an exact quote of a line from Bob in Bah Humbug!), correcting himself, and trying to be respectful/humble. Subtle displays of emotional growth even before he gets to the truly scary parts. The song is of course a darker tone, as is correct for this part of the narrative, perfectly setting up the finale song. We get Scrooge overhearing about a funeral no one cares about, the same man being robbed after death, and this death bringing actual happiness to people. Throughout it all so far Christmas Future only speaks in a wordless melody, as is apt. Scrooge asks for tenderness connected to death and is shown the Cratchits mourning Tiny Tim, which breaks him, and he asks who the dead man was from earlier. Still wordless, Christmas Future leads him to a cemetery, and that wordless melody perfectly transforms into an eerie, ethereal, “Ebenezer Scrooge.” The fucking amount of sheer EMOTION Dylan packs into Scrooge pleading for his soul, that he is changed, and the final bit of narration… fuck, you guys, it’s so good. I love all of the “scene” parts of this song so much. It all builds so perfectly.

7a) The narrator. - This isn’t a specific song, I just want to call out how excellent the narrator is through the whole show and how perfectly the narration ties the whole show together. It’s one of those things where it goes unnoticed because it’s so perfect, but if it were bad you would definitely notice. You need it to be there and understated or a lot a falls apart, but it can be such hard balance to strike. This show nails it.

8) Christmas Day - The finale! And what a finale it is! The energy is a perfect contrast to the song before it as Scrooge delights in being alive and having time to make things right. His joy is palpable as he goes about his day, buying Bob a huge turkey, making an incredible donation to the charity he blew off the day before, and showing up at Fred’s. Guys. This scene. Especially when I watch the live, but even sometimes just via the soundtrack, this scene just fucking perfectly, beautifully guts me. You know how in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Zuko has to go on his whole narrative arc to eventually join the right side, and along the way sort of betrays his Uncle Iroh, aka the only good father figure he’s ever had, because he’s a traumatized teenager, and eventually he meets back up with him and starts stumbling out an apology and Iroh just sweeps him up in a hug without a word, and you sob because it’s perfect? That is the energy present in this, what, 15-second scene, just this incredible emotional buildup and payoff accomplished in a scant 45-minute runtime. It’s truly wondrous. The finale, as all true finales should, calls back musically to previous character beats, and ends on the perfect bookend to the opening number. It’s just so, so immensely satisfying.

Tl;dr - this musical has made me feel more Christmas-y than I have in a long, long time, and I have listened to little else in terms of music since I watched it two weeks ago. (It was literally the only music I had listened to since then until right now, and that’s only because I’m in a van on a road trip to my sister-in-law’s for Christmas. While I would have been perfectly content to listen to this soundtrack on repeat for the entire 8-hour drive, I also recognize that the four other people in this van do not have my particular flavor of hyperfixated ADHD brain and probably would not appreciate that, heh. Thus I played it once and then other music. Compromise!)

But yes. Seriously. It’s so good. Gah. Go watch it!

[moonlitempty]

Shaun of the Dead (2004), Dir. Edgar Wright, Starring Simon Pegg, and Nick Frost.

A romantic comedy, with zombies.

For a while now, I have kept movie entries in my personal journal, it feels like a tangible way to commemorate and preserve a movie I feel deserves such attention, and even before I started that habit, I was intimidated by the entries for The Cornetto Trilogy.

All three movies were just so special and influential to me, and physical writing has a tendency to, y’know, get fucked up, so it was a struggle figuring out a way to both preserve my love for these films on my journal, and make it look mildly cute. Safe to say, I think I’ve achieved said balance.

This is the entry for Shaun! I tried to feature a lot of blood splatter/bloodstain motifs, in accordance to the movie obviously, and you might think the b&w colour scheme of the printed images was intentional, but the sad and almost hilarious truth is that it was a limitation! My printer is a laser printer, and those can’t do colours. So I tried to reach a monochromatic style with these entries, where I highlight one single colour that I think is reminiscent of the movie. For Shaun, it was obviously red.

I am not a movie critic (even if I like to think I am), so the personal thoughts section of the entry may come off as shallow or void of detail, I’m sorry about that! But if we’re honest, at this point in time, my love for these films should not be a point of doubt, even if my written thoughts are lax at best.

I remember the first time I actually *heard* of Shaun of the Dead, it was via a kill count video on youtube, and even then I was intrigued by it, all the love and praise I had heard directed towards it was something that drew me in, I didn’t actively search out the movie just yet, I just kept it as a mental memo that I’d get to later.

Then, on one magical night, and by pure fate, I stumbled upon the film on cable TV, I was channel hopping and seeing the title on the screen made my eyes light up, this was my chance to see what all the *fuzz* was about. So I didn’t hesitate and I changed the channel from VH1, to experience the Shauning. My life changed at that instant.

Shaun of the Dead was the most charming and charismatic film I had seen up until that point, I had heard about how flawlessly it was edited and how well every single joke landed, but experiencing said praises in the flesh was phenomenal, and Simon’s role as Shaun was instantly memorable and you could say he was the thing that hooked me in. He was so cynical and snarky, yet caring and loving of the band of misfits he was surrounded by. Though Nick as Ed was also an incredibly charming experience.

I remember just being completely entranced by everything surrounding the film, the movie kept going on and on and I kept finding stuff to love about it. The fact that it was clearly a movie that didn’t take itself too seriously as to be a de facto horror movie, yet it still conveyed emotions in a serious and profound way just really stuck a chord with me, and I’m sure everyone already praises this particular quality, but the quick, snappy and dynamic directing and editing choices characteristic of Edgar Wright are just lovely.

They manage to make the movie feel novel and it hooks you in, without risking making it feel overwhelming and too distracting. And I haven’t even mentioned the score and songs featured in the movie! While the film is perfect on a purely visual standpoint, the accompanying music on every scene elevates the overall feel of the scene you happen to be watching. Whether it be the mundane feeling of Shaun’s daily life, or the dread of the slow realisation that something ain’t quite right in London, or the inspiration and undying will to keep surviving and overcoming.

Frankly, I could go on and on and on about how much I adore this film, about how much it helped me deepen the love I have for filmmaking, and how much it even inspired to purchase filmmaking. But let’s be blunt, you guys probably don’t want to read my ramblings any longer, (but if you do for any reason, do let me know! I love feeling like my opinion matters in any way).

So, Shaun of the Dead! If I could, I’d screen you to any person who even breathes in my direction, I love you so much and I’m sure I’ll rewatch you as soon as I get the TV to myself.

10/10.

[cassipedia]

Review of Migration (2023)

Hey, Cassipedia, what’re you watching?

Over the weekend, I watched the film Migration. It is an original animated film directed by Benjamin Renner and co-directed by Guylo Homsy and produced by Illumination. When I say original, I do mean it, as it is the first movie I’ve seen in a while that is not an adaption nor based on a pre-existing property.

Do you recommend watching it?

Yes, very much so! This was a surprising experience that I would hate for others to miss out on. The commercials had piqued my interest with the beautiful animation of the flying scenes and the jokes seemed harmless enough. Sometimes I am wary of Illumination films as they can be sometimes a bit too noisy or chaotic, but I’m very glad I saw the movie anyways, as it was surprisingly heartwarming, very cute and stunningly gorgeous (and, contrary to my concerns, it actually uses quiet moments better than most animated films I’ve seen recently!)

What's the story like?

This is a story about the Mallard family, ducks that live a peaceful and simple life in their pond, until a flock of migrating ducks stirs an adventurous itch in everyone except the nervous father, Mack. However, he soon comes around to the idea as he realizes how much an adventure would mean to his family and especially his wife Pam. So they start flying to Jamaica for a vacation. The trailers for the movie spoils the fact that the ducks take a wrong turn and end up in New York City, but the story is less focused on ‘duck shenanigans in an unfamiliar place’ and it instead is more of a road trip with a seamlessly integrated villain. This road trip allows the Mallard family to see different locations and meet different birds, all the while the family grows closer, trusting each other and growing braver in their own ways. There are delightful moments of silliness that are reminiscent of Looney Toons, but the movie takes seriously how much the family loves each other, giving them a reason to grow together as strong and beautifully as the trees they fly over.

What does the movie look like?

Think of how beautiful the sky is. Have you ever been on a plane and looked out at the sloping mountains and pillars of white clouds? Or perhaps, as the sun sets, you look up see how the red sun fades into golden orange blanketed by increasingly purple clouds and the approach of blue night? This movie understands how beautiful the sky is and elevates that feeling, as our bird characters soar and fly through vibrant forests, to a claustrophobic but intriguing water-logged shed, to the shiny and colossal skyscrapers of New York. The settings are gorgeous and the characters themselves are animated masterfully, so each character is incredibly expressive, with the beauty and grace of real-life birds mixed with Muppets-style comedic timing and cartoon stretchiness anchored by being able to carry heavy emotions. This all goes hand-in-hand whenever the birds take flight, as the camera seamlessly follows the birds from take-off to being air born, giving the thrill of a flying rollercoaster. There is such a sense of scale and height, and the world is from the birds’ perspective, with little details that brought me back to the creativity of early Pixar, such as having the father duck blow away a lightning bug nightlight like blowing out a candle, or how the birds will seamlessly alternate between their wings or their feet to gesture. With the movie being from the perspective of the birds, that means none of the human characters talk, being more like creatures existing alongside the bird characters, and this results in a very entertaining and interesting villain in the form of a duck chef with a Yakuza, gang member level of intimidation, whom never utters a word beyond grunts and yells paired with very well-made expressions. To give an idea of how good the animation is, even though the chef has no lines, from simply how he moves, sharpens his knives and looks at the ducks, one can see how, he’s a chef that takes his cooking very seriously, demanding high quality, but, when the ducks start interfering with his business, then he’s all too happy to start seeking revenge. And he is technically only a fun obstacle as the core of the story that this beautiful movie conveys is not about them versus a villain, but instead focused on a family.

How are the actors and actresses?

Every voice perfectly fit their characters, and the animations did excellent in having it where I could feel the characters talking, watching how their beaks formed the words with little flashes of their pointed, bird tongues. The father Mack Mallard was voiced by Kumail Nanjiani and did excellent as an anxious father who could get silly and serious, (and whose manner of speaking fittingly reminded me of a more grounded Daffy Duck). Elizabeth Banks voiced Pam Mallard and delivered as a mother with energy and eagerness paired by a snappy quick wit and a genuineness in each word. One of the cores of this movie is seeing and hearing how Mack and Pam fall back in love with each other over the course of the film, and I believe these voice actors delivered. The rest of the family cannot be overlooked, as Caspar Jennings as Dax Mallard provides a great performance as a courageous young boy who is itching for adventure. Dax is full of bravery but lacks the knowhow on how to protect himself along with others, whereas his father Mack is an excellent survivor but needs to be urged out of his comfort zone to truly become brave. The lesson between them is not simply one is right and the other is wrong, but it is a sharing of perspectives, in which the boy’s bravery inspires the father, and the father’s wisdom equips the boy against their obstacles. I was most concerned of the family member Uncle Dan, voiced by Danny DeVito, as to if he would be an unpleasant tagalong as sometimes happens in these movies, but he quickly established himself as someone who, though he makes quips and seems to lean on his self-interest, he never, ever hesitates to dote on and play with his darling niece, the youngest Mallard, Gwen, who is voiced adorably by Tresi Gazal. Notably, the film makes a point to show that the family already loves one another at the start, but their trip lets them appreciate each other and push their boundaries and discover more of themselves. The other voice talent are more than just recognizable celebrity names and each fit their characters, providing a distinct and colorful cast as one would hope from a road trip type movie. The Herons were my favorites in setting the tone of characters not always being what they seemed in an intriguing way, but each played a role in furthering the family’s journey and usually closed their loop on their own personal journey. The only group of these characters that may feel underexplored are the migrating ducks that inspire the Mallards on their journey in the first place, but I think it is due to the other characters simply having more screentime, as I’ve no doubt these characters would have been just as entertaining as the rest of the cast if they had been given more time.

Is the music worth talking about?

This is not a musical, but the score is absolutely a big part in why the scenery and so many of the moments in this movie sticks out in my mind so vividly. If you listen carefully, you will hear how the music changes depending on the setting. While the Mallards are in the forest, there is an emphasis on using a whimsical choir, adding to the lighthearted feeling, and as they enter the city, unsure of what it even is at first, the music takes on an ethereal, almost dream-like quality that one isn’t quite sure what to make of, until the ducks pass through the smog and nearly run into a steel beam and suddenly you got energetic and chaotic brass instruments banging in as the Mallards are caught in a whirlwind of New York City hustle and bustle. My words really can’t do it justice. And it is worth noting, there is only one distinct instance of a pop song being used in the movie and it is incorporated quite well as a band in a scene plays that song, resulting in a surprisingly beautiful display of ducks engaged in a Salsa dance. The movie is very smart with its music, as it furthers the immersion of seeing this colorful world through these cartoon ducks’ eyes. There are also great moments of quiet and silence, as the movie will also let the atmosphere talk for itself, really letting you sink into it (though it is worth noting that, for the opening of the Universal and Illumination logos, these are the complete opposite and are the noisiest parts of the entire film as the Minion characters from Despicable Me introduce the logos with kazoos. And if you are watching the film in theaters, you may find yourself sitting a surprisingly long time watching a short film based in the Despicable Me universe called ‘Mooned’ but rest assured, you did not walk in on the wrong movie and I very much encourage you not to leave your seat as I overheard many others in the theater seats next to me nearly did.)

Who would like this movie most?

If you are someone that likes birds or the sensation of being high up in the air or on a rollercoaster, I very much urge you to check out this movie. It is also a film that I think would be very enjoyed by those whom are interested in animation and illustration, to see an excellent example of how colors and movement can truly be blended to dazzle in a movie format. The story and characters are well-written and compelling for any age, though I think this movie would be well-received by families, especially as this film strives to show how a family grows closer together. There is a clever, timelessness to the jokes that focus more on the situation on hand and when you have animal characters reflecting on human habits, such as when one of the birds refers to a chef as ‘a predator that hunts prey and serves it to much lazier predators.’ During one of my viewings of the film, I had the pleasure of a family of a broad range from the parents, to their parents to young boys all sitting near me, and it caught my ear that each generation consistently laughed throughout the course of the film.

Where can I watch it?

This film is available in theaters for only a little bit longer at the time of writing this, but I heavily recommend seeing it in theaters at least once. Not only so you can really soak in the colors and the scope of the heights as the birds fly, but also so you can better feel the thrusting of wings as the birds take to the sky and the wind rushes through their feathers. It is an incredible experience. Considering it is an animated movie, it is possible it may re-appear in theaters for kids movie special offers as theaters like the Marcus Theaters sometimes provide. Otherwise, if this review reaches you too late, the film is available for streaming on Peacock for the first four months of being released, then will move to Netflix for the next ten, and then will return to Peacock for the remaining four, so I recommend checking between those streaming services of Peacock and Netflix. Otherwise, it doesn’t hurt to keep an eye out for a physical copy.

Final thoughts?

Migration is a beautiful film that I think can very easily fit in as a classic film, one that focuses on bringing a family together through a fun and colorful adventure. At the very least, it was a pleasure to watch in theaters as a visual rollercoaster, especially for the bird lover in me, and I hope, after its theatrical release that it will make its way into homes as it made its way into my heart. If you’re up for an adventure, then I completely encourage taking the dive.

[vintagepresley]

I’ve only seen a few Elvis movies so far, but I was curious how you would rank them? From best to worst. :)

Oooh.. Which ones have you seen? Also, I'd love to rank his movies! This will be fun. 😂

These are how I rank them personally. But I'd love to hear everyone else's rankings! I will be ranking the movies from the 50's first and then do the 60's, because his movies in the 50's are honestly my favorite because the stories actually made sense and weren't rushed and you can tell he actually cared.

The 50's - From best to worst

King Creole (Baby acted his ass off in this and the story was great!)

Jailhouse Rock (I really loved this because I could hope that he would've taken charge of his career the way Vince did without the asshole part. Another where the story was great.)

Loving you (He was just too darn cute in this movie with his little stuttering and I love that his parents were in it. Deke has my heart.)

Love Me Tender (Spoiler: this gets worst because he dies 😭)

The 60's - From best to worst

1. Follow That Dream (Does this even need an explanation? You guys know how much I love this movie and not even for the story. It's my comfort movie)

2. Girls! Girls! Girls! (This was the very first Elvis movie I saw and I hold it dear to my heart. I would play Return to Sender on repeat, lol)

3. Wild in the Country (I know this is like 50/50 for people but I really loved this movie. The story was great and his acting was amazing.)

4. G.I Blues (God.. This movie.. He.. Yeah, he looked fine as hell. Story was okay. The songs are my fave.)

5. Live a Little, Love a Little (This was the second Elvis movie I saw and honestly is a favorite!! Bernice is insane BUT I STAN. Greg Nolan is my baby.)

6. It Happened at the World's Fair (This movie was so cute and funny. I always love him in movies with kids! 😭)

7. The Trouble with Girls (DO I EVEN NEED TO EXPLAIN?!!? HIS EYES WERE SPARKLING. THE SUITS)

8. Change of Habit (Okay, I feel like this movie is incredibly underrated and AE made it seem like it was so terrible. But I personally loved this movie because of its serious story and plot. It was also a different character we've seen Elvis play. I think had there been no songs at all, this would've been taken more seriously. He also looked good af.)

9. Flaming Star (Despite the stereotypes and well everything else that would get this movie canceled.. I actually enjoyed it a lot. It was certainly different for Elvis. If I remember correctly, Tarantino said this was his favorite Elvis western because it was the most violent.)

10. Kid Galahad (This movie was good and another different character for him. But I'm not into boxing so it was kind of boring to me)

11. Blue Hawaii (I really enjoyed this movie, but I don't love it as much as everyone does. I don't get the hype and I also think Can't Help Falling In Love is overplayed and overrated. He's got so many better love songs. But that's just my opinion! This movie still gets a good ranking though.)

12. Viva Las Vegas (I enjoyed this movie! But much like Blue Hawaii I don't get the hype. It's not my favorite but definitely not the worst)

Now let's get into the movies that in my personal opinion were the worst. Now that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy them. Even with the stories not being great; some of them were funny!

13. Fun in Acapulco (This movie was enjoyable but the story could've been better and I didn't really like a lot of the songs.)

14. Roustabout (I just found this movie so boring and I'm not surprised the colonel loved it. But Elvis looked HOT.)

15. Girl Happy (I really enjoyed this but again the story wasn't great and his character wasn't anything special. But if you want a few laughs this is a good one. ALSO ELVIS IN A DRESS!!!) 16. Tickle Me (this movie was so funny and Elvis always has perfect comedic timing. It reminded me of Scooby Doo. But unfortunately the story was meh they also used songs from one of his old albums because they had nothing written for the film)

17. Spinout (This movie was okay, a few laughs. But nothing too special besides him threatening to spank someone, lol. Basic Elvis character.)

18. Speedway (A few good songs, but kinda boring to me)

19. Frankie and Johnny (I really liked the aesthetic of this film and some of the songs, but it certainly wasn't the best. He looked horrid in that yellow sweater lmfao)

20. Paradise, Hawaiian Style (I enjoyed the songs and his interaction with the little girl. It was too cute! A few good laughs, but nothing to rave about)

21. Stay Away, Joe (This movie was so ridiculous and stupid, but also funny as hell to me because of how ridiculous it was. Another one that would be cancelled. But Elvis looked so good lol)

22. Clambake (SNOOZE FEST. Stupid story also Elvis tried to get out of making this movie. So much drama behind the scenes of this, lol. He was fat shamed. His character.. I don't even know.)

23. Charro! (This movie could've been great since they weren't really any songs, Elvis' acting was great and he looked good with a beard. But the story was just so boring.)

24. Double Trouble (This movie was funny but that's about it. Story was eh)

25. Kissin' Cousins (Jesus Christ.. Where do I even begin with this movie? We should not be hooking up with our cousins first off, LMFAO. The only good thing was Jodie. 😂)

26. Harum Scrum (I DONT EVEN NEED TO EXPLAIN THIS DUMPSTER FIRE. I hate this movie, lol. 2.99 WASTED. Like wtf was this?? It was so bad Elvis gave up acting in the middle of it lol.)

Now let's rank the concert docs for funsies!

Elvis on Tour (THIS IS MY BABY. The amount of times I watch this is unhealthy. He's so fucking sexy in it and just watching him at all these shows doing what he loves. Ugh. The shot of him staring out the window and kind of just lost in thought.. It just makes me want to hold him.)

That's The Way It Is (The first concert doc I watched. This is just amazing. The album alone is my favorite. But seeing him up on that stage giving it his all and having so much fun doing it warms my heart.)

Aloha From Hawaii via Satellite (I know this technically isn't a concert doc but it belongs on this list. Do I even need to say how amazing this was??? How good he looked?? This certainly is underrated.)

Honorable mention

Elvis In Concert - (I wish they would release this because it only aired once I believe on October 3rd, 1977. But that was it. You can watch it on YouTube because someone remastered it and fixed the audio as best as they could. But It'd be nice if EPE would just release the actual footage and have CBS or RCA remaster it. Despite how ill he was he still put on a performance no matter what. He still wanted to make the fans happy. But I understand why they don't really want it out there.)

Sorry this was so long and I don't know if you wanted my actual opinions on them. But I felt I might as well give them, lol. Thanks for the question, bestie!

[tmnt-tychou]

Hi again!!! 😄 congrats on reaching your milestone!! That’s so cool!

This has been a question I’ve been wanting to ask, mostly cuz I’m curious! If you had to rank your personal favorite iterations of the TMNT based on characters and story, which would rank higher in your opinion? Bayverse turtles can also count!! 😁

Thanks again, and congrats!!! 🎉

I had to marinate on this. It's very hard to pick favorites when there's so many good versions to choose from. And these are just personal favorites, not a hard line on which show/movie is the best ever. No need to tell me what's what if anyone sees this list and disagrees. This is just my personal list.

I think my absolute top tier is still the 2003 version. This is largely due to the fact that this series was allowed to cover all the story lines that it wanted. Granted, not every episode is gold, but it really took advantage of all the things you can do in a TMNT universe and very much set a precedent of other versions to follow. (I do not count Fast Forward and Back to the Sewers in this.)

Rise of the TMNT is second. I think it had the capacity to surpass 2003, but it wasn't afforded the opportunity. With how much world-building and new ground it covered with only a season and a half, I can't even imagine what we would have had with a full five seasons or so if it had been allowed to continue.

Bayverse is my third favorite. Not necessarily because I think it's the "best", but because it's a lot of fun to play in. Some fans take Bayverse very seriously. I just can't. It's my anything-goes universe. I reserve a bit of respect for the other universes, but with Bayverse, I can do whatever dumb shit I want. I can make the dialog as crass as I want, I can explore more mature themes that I otherwise wouldn't put in a TMNT universe. I dunno, it's just stupid and fun. Also, very big turtles. I can't get enough.

Next is the 90's movies trilogy. The 2nd and 3rd are just stupid fun and very enjoyable. The first one, I think is still the best movie script to date and it too set a precedent for future TMNT iterations, including 2003.

I'll sneak in some comics here. "The Last Ronin" is a great read, if sad. Though not as rough of a read as I anticipated. And I really adored the TMNT/Power Rangers second crossover. (I have not read the first.) Of course, the art is AMAZING, but the script was great, too. I don't know a lot about PRs, but I could mostly follow along. And the Raphael/Casey bromance in this was SO GOOD.

Next, I would put the first 5 episodes of the 80's cartoon here. Yes, the show got dumb. They were on for like 10 seasons. But the first five episodes are pretty solid and a really good story. If you haven't seen the 80's cartoon and are overwhelmed with the sheer amount of episodes there are, just watch the first five. That's all you need.

I guess 2012 will go here. It's not my favorite series, though I know it's some fans' absolute true love TMNT iteration. I thought the first season was (mostly) pretty solid and I was really into it when it first came out, but by the end it was just the hottest of messes. Are there some fantastic episodes? Yes. Is this one of the best Splinters we've ever had? Also yes. Are the turtles' designs absolutely freaking adorable? Of course. Is that enough to carry this series for me? Unfortunately, no. This show is one big garbage fire and I didn't even watch most of the last season. Though I did catch that incredibly off-putting last episode.

Turtles Forever goes here. It was a great idea for a movie and I would have put it higher up, but I just watched it recently. It's actually kind of mean-spirited to other iterations, specifically the 80's version. So it goes lower on the scale for me.

The 2007 movie is next. Terrible script. So-so character designs. Some fantastic scenes. Probably one of the best Raphaels we've had.

Bottom tier stuff: Fast Forward, Back to the Sewers, a lot of the 80's show. The Next Mutation.

[sleepymarmot]

Rope (1948)

[Watched on October 29th]

As with my previous Hitchcock – first, the liveblog.

Yes, yes, I’ve been watching the shortest films in my watchlist recently. Still, when I saw 1:20 in my video player, I had to pause and google for confirmation.

Oh look, James Stewart again!

I love it when a film is just a stage play on screen. They’ve got such a distinctive style of writing and delivery!

Added ten seconds later: fucking incredible amounts of “as you know” exposition in this dialogue lmfao

Me knowingly watching a gay subtext classic: I know it’s from the 40s but it really feels like they’re about to kiss

Phillip looks like a destiel lovechild btw

Approximately 1/4 of dialogue at the party so far is murder innuendos

Love the women’s chat about hot actors… some things never change

This old guy has an Ivan Karamazov vibe. I bet within the hour he’s going to regret his rhetoric!

Why is Brandon straight up confessing…

The most obvious murderers since Raskolnikov I swear to god

They’re yelling so loudly that Rupert would hear them over the phone in the next room

In the last 10-15 minutes I seriously considered that Rupert would side with them after all. I genuinely had no idea whether the movie would take the natural route (it did) or have a big plot twist. [Film name redacted for spoilers] did manage to ruin itself at the very last minute, after all!

---

Rope has been on my watchlist forever, but the other day I looked up Leopold and Loeb on Wikipedia, and the mention of the film at the end of the article finally inspired me to watch it.

Once again, I don’t really have anything special to say about a Hitchcock film. This one didn’t shoot itself in the foot, thankfully! It was pretty much what I expected.

Surprise: a Hitchcock film is suspenseful! I was genuinely nervous despite not sympathizing with the murderers. Especially during that shot of the food being cleared off of the chest…

It took me some time to catch on that the weird blackouts on characters’ backs were the means to disguise the cuts, and the takes were extremely long. Really enhances the theatrical feel! Nice darkening evening sky effect in the background, too, though the clouds looked distractingly fake. The lack of cuts and the visibly fading daylight were quite successful at creating the feeling that we’re watching the events in real time.

I like how much of the dialogue references the murder, and only half of the participants understand it. “These hands will bring you great fame”!

What I didn’t expect was the Dostoyevsky of it all. Inappropriate rants in a crowd of colorful individuals? Discussions of the right to kill and to dismiss the ethical norms? A guy on the verge of a nervous breakdown, screaming crying throwing up throughout the whole thing? Sexual transgression that the characters try not to talk about directly? I’ve seen this somewhere before!

Obligatory review section: “accidental marathon, i.e. similarities with the last movie I watched before this one” (or, in this case, the last one I watched and liked). This time it’s unconventional toxic couple having arguments in a room for an hour and a half. Oh wait a second, I didn’t even realize! The actual last movie I watched starred Cary Grant, who was mentioned in this one and was, according to the internet, offered the role of Rupert.

Rating: something between 9 and 10 out of 10.