#its just rated R ferris buellers day off

[stfrancisprayer]

DEXTER FLETCHER as CHARLES HIGHWAY THE RACHEL PAPERS (1989) - dir. DAMIAN HARRIS

[angelsaves]

yuletide recs 2020

hello friends! it has been an absolute fuck of a year, but i read some great fanfictions and i would like to share them with you. they are sorted by fandom and roughly the order i read them in; i separated out the two that mentioned COVID for the end, just in case you're not feeling it. The Book of Margery Kempe, 15th-Century CE RPF: - Sicut Lilium Inter Spinas by reine_des_corbeaux, 1683 words, rated E - in which margery kempe and julian of norwich experience divine love through, shall we say, more earthly love (Margery/Julian) The Baby-Sitters Club (TV 2020): - Kristy's Big Crush by Sonni89, 7215 words, rated G - in which a magazine quiz about crushes turns out to be more revelatory than expected (Kristy/Mary Anne) - Watson Brewer’s Ten-Point Plan for Being an Awesome (Future) Stepdad by laulan, 4221 words, rated G - in which watson is doing his very best, and it's charming (Watson/Liz) Calvin & Hobbes: - the stuff dreams are made of (are someone else's nightmares) by Elemental, 9524 words, rated G - in which someone has to figure out what happened to calvin, and it looks like someone is going to be susie Discworld, Monstrous Regiment: - The Yunk and the Restless by Nomad (nomadicwriter), 3414 words, rated T - in which diplomatic relations send polly and mal to a very traditional sort of vampire castle (Polly/Mal) Enola Holmes: - The Certain Knot of Peace by blithers, 7206 words, rated G - in which ONLY ONE BED and HELP ME UNDRESS and SNUGGLES (Enola/Tewky) - every vine climbing and blossoming by betony, 1298 words, rated T - in which a madwoman breaks into tewksy's bedchamber (Enola/Tewky) - A Study in Powerlessness by celli, 1526 words, rated E - in which edith teaches sherlock a few things (sexily speaking) (Edith/Sherlock) FAQ: The "Snake Fight" Portion Of Your Thesis Defense (McSweeney's Post): - The Final Tribulation by ExtraPenguin, 1290 words, rated G - in which Ksora Azmidi receives a sword - From the Outbox of T. R. Matthews, Ph.D. by Miss_M, 2096 words, rated T - in which an english professor, as the kids say, goes through it - RE: Thesis defense issue by kalirush, 2954 words, not rated - in which everything always happens on a holiday - Re: Question about snake fight by goseaward, 1309 words, rated G - in which julie walker seems like an excellent advisor, tbh - Snakes and Snakes by RobberBaroness, 1154 words, rated G - in which natalie starts an awesome campus job - By Live Voice by vass, 1146 words, rated G - in which we get a look at the other side of snake academia (snacademia) Ferris Bueller's Day Off: - I'm the howling wind (let me be your friend) by moemachina, 6489 words, rated T - in which ferris goes to europe for the summer, and cameron and jeanie get to know each other (Cameron/Jeanie) Lemmings (video game): - If At First You Don't Succeed... by lah_mrh, 1040 words, rated G - in which lemmings... lem? Puppet History (web series): - Clench Fist, Grit Jaw, Can’t Lose by mm_coconut, 2609 words, rated G - in which the professor files an HR complaint against ryan Succession (2019): - paint the blood and hang the palms on the door by ohtempora, 3164 words, rated M - in which stewy is a literal demon who wants kendall's soul, or other things - AITA for accusing my father of multiple crimes on his own news station? by amleth, 2845 words, rated T - in which reddit, as is its wont, has many opinions about kendall Taskmaster (UK TV) RPF: - Well Trained by peevee, 1603 words, rated E - in which a bluff is, perhaps, called (Greg/Alex) Ghosts (TV 2019): - lost and found by attheborder, 3107 words, rated G - in which kitty has an adventure

the ones that take COVID into account! Hilda the Plus-Size Pin-up: - Hilda Shelters in Place by ellen_fremedon, 2947 words, not rated - in which hilda is a socially-distanced vlogger doing her best Poirot, Among Us (video game): - The Murderer is Among Us Now by Emmy, 1473 words, rated G - in which poirot and his compatriots enjoy an exciting computer game while socially distanced

[gravecinema]

Why Heathers is the Best High School Movie of the 80's - 06/03/2020

The 1980’s brought forth many a high school movie. The most famous movies were the John Hughes movies such as Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. These are all great movies in their own right, but it was a movie by director Michael Lehmann and writer Daniel Waters in 1989 that would prove to be the defining high school movie of that decade. That movie was Heathers.

Heathers is anchored by a career performance from Winona Ryder. Winona Ryder has said she was motivated to make this movie because of her strong feelings about girl cliques, the pervasive bullying that goes on in high schools and the "hellishness" of the high school experience. With a character name of Veronica, she is the black sheep in the group of four popular girls at school, with the other three girls are all named Heather, which is where the title of the film comes from. Unlike the more teen-friendly John Hughes movies, Heathers is an R-rated dark comedy covering the themes of body image, depressive isolation, date rape, murder, suicide, and toxic relationships. Veronica is just trying to be like one of the other Heathers at the start of the movie, even though she hates the peer pressure of doing things she’s morally against. All that is about to change though, when she starts a relationship with the new bad-boy student at school named JD, played by a young Christian Slater.

Christian Slater has a star-making performance in the movie, and his character of JD is the main driver of the plot. JD uses his influence on Veronica after hooking up with her to push her towards killing everyone whom he considers to be a bad element in the school, while having the idea of making them all look like suicides. Even though when they kill the first Heather it can be considered somewhat of an unintended accident, JD starts to like the idea of killing everyone that he feels deserves it. JD is an immensely tragic character, which is part of what makes him such a great antagonist. After witnessing the suicide of his mother when he was a kid, JD carries that trauma along with being an outcast wherever the next place his dad moves him to. He is also the only character in the movie to successfully commit suicide at the climax of the film. He’s a character that especially has a much deeper meaning today after school and mass shooting events such as Columbine in 1999.

One great strength of Heathers that always stands out to me is the memorable lines from the fantastic script by Daniel Waters. It contains great quotable lines such as “Fuck me gently with a chainsaw,” “Dear Diary, my teen-angst bullshit now has a body count,” and “Whether to kill yourself or not is one of the most important decisions a teenager can make.” The best and most memorable line of all though has to be when the father of one two football players who they believe were killed in an apparent gay suicide pact is giving a eulogy. “My son’s a homosexual, and I love him. I love my dead gay son.” You’ll be quoting Heathers for a while with friends long after you’ve seen it.

Heathers also has a memorable and distinct soundtrack with a score by David Newman. An opening and closing song of “Que Sera, Sera” also provides a nice theme for the movie. It bookends the start and ending of the film and gives the story a nice whimsical feel to it. The only other featured song used in the film provides the main message of the whole movie. The name of the song: “Teenage Suicide (Don’t Do It).” Fairly on the nose if you ask me.

One thing that always stands out to me when I watch this movie is the wonderful display of 80’s fashion. The blazers, designs, and hairstyles could only have come from the 80’s. The character of JD is the only one who looks the most timeless out of the bunch, since a dark trench coat never goes out of style. The most interesting costume choice though is whatever the hell the spirit of Heather Chandler was wearing in a dream sequence. I guess that’s the beauty of dream sequences. You can do weird stuff in them.

The best thing about the costume design in Heathers aside from its 80’s-ness has to be the use of colors. The five major characters each have a prominent color and by extension a certain emotion attached to them. Veronica is dressed in pure blue, the alpha Heather Chandler is dressed in power red, Heather McNamara in innocent yellow, Heather Duke in secondary green, and JD in evil black. One thing I love about this is that it shows character transitions at certain points in the film. After Heather Chandler is killed and taken out of the top of the high school hierarchy, Heather Duke stops wearing green and adopts the color of red in her wardrobe to signify her stepping into the role of the new Queen of the colony. The red hairband that she takes after Heather Chandler’s demise also represents a sort of crown for this role. This symbolism is further cemented when at the end of the film Veronica takes the hairband off Heather Duke and puts it on herself proclaiming that there’s a new sheriff in town.

The real staying-power of Heathers rests in the major themes that it tackles. Even though the script plays the movie up as more of a satire with how the high school faculty is represented in their reactions to the suicides, the major commentary on teenage suicide and toxic relationships carry heavy weight. It shows how peer pressure can carry a heavy influence on the major social groups in school, and how being an outcast from that group can cause major depression and lead to suicidal thoughts. The scene where Veronica stops Heather McNamara from committing suicide in the bathroom is the main showcase of this. It tackles the questions of why a teenager would feel that they have no choice but to commit suicide, and also why doing so would be stupid. We also see the outcasted Martha attempt to commit suicide, only to later reveal that she was unsuccessful in her attempt, which prompts Heather Duke to mock her even more for being a failure at that.

The relationship that starts between Veronica and JD is a textbook example of how one partner can have a toxic effect on the other, leading them both down a path of self-destruction. They practically beat you on the head with it as JD literally self-destructs at the end of the film. Veronica is ultimately saved by her rejection of JD and his codependent bullshit. She sees the futility of the path JD is taking and is doing her best to get away from it. JD lost the love of his mother when was young and shows his disconnect with his dad. He then shows a need for the love of Veronica and her acceptance of him with his views and choices. When she stops giving him both, that’s the trigger that leads him down his final path of self-destruction. It was only through the direct actions of Veronica that he is prevented from taking the rest of the school and the people that he hates with him.

There were originally several alternate endings for the film than the one they ultimately decided on. The original ending from scriptwriter David Waters had JD being successful in blowing up the entire school, and then ending the movie with everyone getting together in a sort of prom in heaven where everyone got along and accepted one another just as JD proclaimed while trying to blow up the school. When that was rejected for being too dark since they all died, the writer then had Martha stab Veronica when she was trying to make peace with her at the end, claiming that she is a Heather while Veronica is denying it. In the end, we ultimately got the ending that was used in the film when Martha accepted the peace offering, and the movie ends on a more upbeat and hopeful note.

The more upbeat ending was a good choice, since the cult following that would grow with the movie over time would eventually lead a successful stage musical adaptation in 2014. The musical is great at expanding on the themes from the movie, using the power of musical numbers to help highlight them. The great and iconic line of “I love my dead gay son” even gets its very own song. I recommend listening to the West End version of the show, since that version replaces one song with a better one and adds two of the best songs in the whole show. Musicals always have songs containing certain emotional themes and the “Fuck you” song is always my favorite song in any musical, and “I Say No” is the best “Fuck you” song from a musical that I’ve heard in a long while.

Heathers will always be a great movie and one of my favorites to rewatch. The themes contained within will continue to resonate with high schoolers today. While there are other high school movies made during the 80’s that teens can also identify with, none of them quite have the biting satire and dark themes that Heathers provides. For me, Heathers will always be the best high school movie of the 80’s.  

[downinfront]

“Logan” and the long goodbye

When we first meet the title character of Logan, he’s passed out in the seat of a limo he’s leasing out for his job as a chauffeur until a bunch of car thieves show up to jack his ride while he’s still in it. 17 years of X-Men movies have taught us to reflexively expect what comes next: A word of warning, a couple one liners, claws, a quick, hilariously outmatched and improbably bloodless fight, and our man goes off into the distance with nary a scratch on his ride.

Except this time, Logan (Hugh Jackman) isn’t quite the badass the audience remembers. He’s drunk -- no news there, but debilitatingly so. The formerly indestructible mutant can barely stand, and in fact he walks with a limp. He really, really doesn’t want to fight. He’s slow with the one liners and ends up on his ass almost instantly. When he pops his claws, one gets stuck. And when he finally musters up the rage to slice and dice his aggressors with R-rated abandon, the effort of killing them seems to take almost as much out of him as it does them. Wolverine’s violence has always veered towards the realm of noble, if not overtly righteous, but the most striking thing about this massacre is its pointlessness; nobody involved seems to think it’s remotely worth it in the end. Logan himself isn’t even afforded a dignified victory: His whip gets shot up in the scuffle, and he’s forced to retreat to a dingy bathroom so he can ditch his cheap, blood-soaked suit and slowly, agonizingly push the bullets out of his biceps. Suffice it to say, we ain’t in Kansas anymore, bub.

In fact, while the setting is ostensibly El Paso (warning for the MAGA crowd: immigration allegories lay ahead), thematically we’re somewhere closer to Wyoming. Director James Mangold has teed up less of a superhero romp for his and Jackman’s final Wolverine go-round than a latter-period Eastwood odyssey in the vein of Unforgiven. If Logan doesn’t quite reach the operatic heights of those Western classics (though it certainly tries), it is one of the few comic book movies that attempts to infuse its story, and its character, with deliberately “low” stakes in order to create a singular experience that separates it from the rest of its epic brethren.

That sort of mild formula-tampering is rampant throughout the blockbuster realm these days  -- see Star Wars as Apocalypse Now and Ferris Bueller: The Superhero Movie -- but ultimately, Logan doesn’t quite stray that far from the pack, or at least not as far enough as it wants to. But about 90% of this grim, bitter movie is, it turns out, a welcome diversion from the usual pop pyro of modern superhero movies. Instead of pitting Wolverine against some world-conquering menace, Logan brings him down to the dirt, spinning a riff on the broken-down cowboy trying to bide out his time in as much peace as he can afford. (In one of its more overt allusions, the characters partake of the gunfighter classic Shane during a brief respite on the run.)

The movie benefits from Logan’s solitude in a way Mangold’s previous go-round, 2013′s The Wolverine, couldn’t quite muster: The X-Men themselves are long gone here; only a sickly Professor Xaver (Patrick Stewart, outstanding) remains, his omnipotent mind turned into a ticking time bomb so powerful he’s classified as a weapon of mass destruction. The albino tracker Caliban (Stephen Merchant, delightfully smarmy) helps out in caring for the old man, but knows he’s not a long-term fixture in Logan’s plans. Most crucially, in another plot point repeated from The Wolverine, Logan himself isn’t healing like he used to, only this time it’s not getting better. He’s drinking hard and trying to scrounge up enough dough to buy a boat. And should that fail, keeps an indestructible bullet in his pocket at all times -- you know, just in case. Most modern superhero movies are a soft reset of the board that came before them, but Logan the first superhero movie I can think of in a long time that actually begins with the stakes having taken their toll. The movie isn't so much a quest for redemption as a painstaking effort by Logan’s few remaining allies to claw him out of the ditch.

Logan might not take many plot points from the trippy, post-apocalyptic X-Men book that inspired it, but there’s one thing it indisputably does -- Jackman’s appearance as a hobbling, wobbly graybeard. The transformation is striking, and the performance backs up the appearance of a man who has, finally decided he may have live too long, but can’t quite bring himself to die just yet. Of course, Logan’s death wish has always been implicit, but as Logan’s script takes it into the realm of the overt, Jackman unveils a new kind of confusion bordering on wonder for the character as he finds himself faced for the first time with the idea that this might actually be it.

It takes a long time for the movie to reveal exactly why Logan is in this deteriorated state, but by the time it does it’s almost beside the point. The arrival of a charismatic mutant hunter (Boyd Holbrook, tremendously entertaining) and his quarry, a mute girl named Laura (Dafne Keen, who should one thousand percent get her own movie) with powers almost identical to Logan’s, quickly pushes the movie back into semi-familiar territory. Unfortunately, Logan’s shoot-em-up climax does somewhat dilute the character work that’s come before it, but Jackman brings it all home in the genuinely affecting final minutes.

That part, at least, is old hat: Even when the X-Men movies ran out of cards to play (both times), Jackman was always their ace in the hole. The Australian actor didn’t just infuse Logan with raw power and tragic pathos that oftentimes outkicked the material he was given, his commitment to the role was almost unparalleled for a modern movie star. It didn’t matter if his appearance amounted to a two-second cameo, Jackman always suited up when called, providing an anchor for 17 years to the franchise that made him a star. If nothing else, he’s earned the benefit of a fitting swan song, and while Logan ends on a bittersweet note that does leave hope for the franchise to follow, there’s no doubt that the X-Men movies, and the movies in general, will have to continue without the man himself. They’re both all the lesser for it.