#like Liam was surprised to find out sherlock felt the same as if he had erased the possibility from his mind

[soulmatesyuumori]

Something that I love about sherliam is that they’re not your conventional ship that you can easily put in situations with out-of-nowhere cheap drama. 

They won’t let you, they are too smart and connected for that, and if you dare to do it, they wouldn’t be the same characters.

Like, Person B sees Person A too close to a girl and misunderstands and gets angry/runs away in tears? Not sherliam. They would know what’s up, the only upsetting thing about it would be that random girl bothering their babe.

Person A lies to Person B saying they don’t love them in order to “protect them”? Not sherliam. They would know the other is lying and any of them wouldn’t even try to do something that dumb in the first place.

Person A feels they don’t deserve Person B and leaves them for Person B to find someone better? Not sherliam. They know they mean each other’s happiness, why would they cause the other such despair?

Person A is too proud and can’t stand recieving things from Person B? Not sherliam.They’re reasonable, they take in consideration the other’s feelings, they would understand and appreciate the other’s efforts, and they’d be happy to recieve any kind of love and worry the other offers. 

[pug-bitch]

That’s not why I’m going (6)

5 o’clock somewhere

Book: The Royal Romance

Pairing: Drake Walker x Amara Suarez

Rating: some foul language, some suggestive, otherwise PG!

Word count: 2,490

Notes: This starts with Drake’s POV, the morning after the derby. I’m starting to drop huge hints about Amara’s backstory, because I can’t help myself...

*****

Drake had set his alarm for 6 am, just in case. He gently pushes Amara’s head back onto the pillow, looks at her as she winces a bit.

‘Go back to sleep, Suarez,’ he whispers, planting a small kiss on her forehead. He couldn’t help but smile.

Before heading out, he finds a little piece of paper on her desk and quickly scribbles his number. Underneath, he writes: ‘Text whenever. Good luck today.’

Back in his room, he starts getting ready, a smile still plastered on his face. He’d have to knock it off real quick, at least before his breakfast with Liam. He’d have to take a shower, too. He still smelled like her, after a whole night of holding her in his arms.

Damn, he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

*****

‘Good morning, Lady Amara.’

She was already awake, and thank God, because she was able to find Drake’s note with his phone number before anyone else could.

Especially since it was Bertrand waking her up for once.

‘Good morning, Duke Ramsford.’

She found it ridiculous that he insisted on her using the proper title whenever possible, but she complied. She was familiar with authority and hierarchies. She didn’t love it, but she saw its value. She always had, especially because of her old job. Plus, it made Bertrand happy, and when he was happy, he stayed off her case.

‘Good, you’re awake,’ he says. ‘You need to get ready. You have a tea party with the other suitors, and later, you will all be taken to the croquet game with the Queen. Any questions?’

‘No, Your Grace.’

Bertrand flashes an excited smile. ‘Great. Now hurry. You need to swing by the boutique before brunch.’

He leaves promptly. Amara rolls her eyes. What a weird guy, she thought. She couldn’t believe that he and Max were brothers. They didn’t seem to have anything in common, which had never been her experience with siblings.

She steps out of bed, thinks for a second, and grabs her phone. Too eager? No. It would just be so he had her number, too. She sends her message and starts getting ready.

*****

Drake puts his phone back in his pocket, still smiling. He’d reply later, he didn’t want to appear too eager. Liam waves at him from the balcony. Drake shouts ‘Sorry, I’m late! I’ll be right up.’

He climbs up the stairs faster than ever. It was obvious that he had a spring in his step.

‘Drake, come take a seat!’ Liam says. ‘I’m surprised to see you in such a good mood, you sounded quite drunk on the phone last night. Did you get a good night’s sleep?’

Drake realizes he should be a slightly better actor and says ‘Oh, I slept pretty well I guess. I wasn’t drunk last night, just...tired.’

Liam nods, but Drake can tell he doesn’t quite believe him. After a long pause, Liam asks him the question that he was dreading: ‘Did you happen to see Amara last night? I never heard back from you.’

‘Yeah,’ Drake says, trying to sound as cool as possible. ‘I went over to check on her, she was fine. She had just finished skyping with her roommate. See, she didn’t lie to you.’

‘I’m glad,’ Liam continues, without breaking eye contact. ‘Still, there was something weird about her demeanor last night. I thought about it, and it really seemed as if she didn’t expect me to be there. I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I see only one reason.’

Drake audibly gulps. So that’s it, huh. He’s busted.

‘She must have thought someone else wrote her the note,’ Liam adds. ‘One of the other suitors, to mess with her.’

Drake had to fight his urge to roll his eyes. What? Was Liam that self-absorbed that THIS was the only reason he could see to Amara not expecting him? Damn. He had never noticed how cocky Liam was. He chooses to nod silently.

‘See,’ Liam pursues, ‘I knew Olivia could be tough, so can Kiara, and I should have been more careful about Amara being left by herself among these ladies who are pissed about a commoner entering the competition.’

‘Honestly, Liam, I think you’re reading too much into this. I saw Amara and Olivia interact the other day and they seem to get along just fine. I’m sure Amara was just tired and she was surprised that you summoned her.’

‘Summoned? Come on, it wasn’t like that. I asked her out! And she came, but stayed like five minutes.’

‘Asked? I don’t recall seeing any questions on that note.’ He stops in his tracks. Fuck. He wasn’t supposed to read the note. Liam raises his eyebrows, visibly shocked.

‘Oh, you read it?’

‘I mean, I placed it on her desk, so I glanced at it.’

Liam takes a sip of his coffee, without a word.

‘You give me a menial task and then you complain when I’m not a perfect little servant?’ Drake can feel himself getting angry. He needs to calm down. It wasn’t Liam’s fault that he was conflicted. But still, he feels like a lackey, when he’s supposed to feel like a friend.

‘It’s ok, Drake,’ Liam says softly. ‘I can admit that my note was a tad direct, and that I wasn’t really asking. But she was free not to show up.’

Thank God, Drake thought. ‘Yeah. Well, maybe she felt like it was a bit intrusive of you to send someone to her bedroom to drop off a note. But then again, we could sit here all day speculating about how she felt. I can tell you that I saw her last night and--’ ...and she’s a really good kisser. ‘And she was fine.’

‘Ok. Thank you. Did she mention anything about our rendezvous?’

Drake couldn’t believe what his friend was asking. What was he, fifteen? ‘No. Sorry, Li. She didn’t. But to be fair, I didn’t stay long. I checked on her and left her be.’

‘Alright. Thank you. And I’m sorry you felt like I was giving you a menial task.’ Oh. What a heartfelt apology. ‘You’re the only one I can trust and I really like this woman. I’m just eager to see her, that’s all.’

Eager, or pushy? Drake smiles, hoping Liam changes the subject.

‘So Drake, anything new in your love life?’

Oh fuck. Here we go. ‘Nah. I’m not looking for anything right now anyway.’

*****

‘What did you say your last name was, Lady Amara?’

They had just finished playing croquet and had started the picnic with the Queen, along with the new, surprise suitor, an icy blonde named Madeleine. Some of the other women seemed to know her, and Amara would have to ask Maxwell or Olivia about her later. Why did the bitch need to know her last name?

‘Suarez.’

‘Oh, how exotic,’ Madeleine replies, still squinting at her, sipping her tea.

Exotic? What the fuck did that mean? Amara shared a knowing look with Hana, whom she was half-expecting Madeleine to call ‘Oriental’, next. What was up with this colonialist shit?

But Amara merely smiled, not wanting to lose her composure. She was doing so well with Queen Regina, she didn’t want to screw up, especially for Maxwell and Bertrand’s sake. It sounded silly, but she really didn’t want them to regret choosing her to represent House Beaumont, even though she had no interest in Liam at all.

‘So, Lady Amara,’ Madeleine continues, ‘where did you go to school?’

‘I went to NYU, Lady Madeleine.’

‘Oh, how American.’ Amara almost laughed at this one. Yeah, NYU is American, because it’s in America. No shit, Sherlock. Madeleine continues: ‘And what did you study?’

Amara hesitated. With her last name, her alma mater and her major, Madeleine could find out a little too much, but she also didn’t want to lie and claim a major that she did not have. So, she told the truth.

‘Criminal Justice.’

Everyone went silent, but Amara noticed Olivia’s smirk. Of course she would enjoy that.

Thankfully, they changed the subject and started talking about politics, Queen Regina obviously testing the ladies. Amara felt like she was doing well, and Hana’s approving, proud looks reassured her. She really lucked out when she met her, she thought.

After the event, Amara spotted Maxwell waiting for her. She was happy, but at the same time, it strangely felt like her dad was picking her up from preschool, and that was a tad infantilizing. But it was always good to see Maxwell, and it always brought a smile to her lips.

‘Amara! How about some coffee? You too, Hana, if you wish.’

Olivia passes by and, without making eye contact with anybody, just says: ‘Coffee is for weaklings. Let’s get drunk.’ She grabs Amara by the elbow and guides her.

‘It’s 2pm!’ Hana protests.

‘It’s 5 o’clock somewhere!’ Maxwell says, excitedly.

*****

‘Another, Suarez?’

Amara nods, and Olivia heads to the bar to order another round. Hana, a true lightweight, is already giggling, while Maxwell is about to hop on the table.

‘Amara,’ whispers Maxwell, ‘since when are you BFFs with Olivia? I hate to say this, but I feel really cool.’

‘I wouldn’t say we’re BFFs, but we had a couple of moments, y’know. She’s not that bad.’

‘Growing up, she scared me a little, but now, I have to say, she scares me a lot. I’m glad you managed to tame her a bit. But I’m just wondering, why didn’t she offer ME another round?’

‘She didn’t offer me one either,’Hana squeals, thus proving that she really doesn’t need another at all.

‘Hana, honey,’ Amara says, squeezing her friend’s arm, ‘how about some water, huh?’

Olivia comes back with the drinks and looks at Maxwell. He seems to shudder. ‘So, Beaumont, did you know about Madeleine?’

‘What about her?’

‘She joined the competition today. She was at the croquet game bullshit, with Queen Regina, who obviously favors her. Isn’t that fucked up?’

Maxwell’s jaw drops. ‘Seriously? Is that even allowed?’

‘Who cares? Whatever Queen Regina wants, Queen Regina gets. Same goes for fucking Madeleine.’

‘Um, are you guys gonna tell us who Madeleine is? I can’t take the suspense anymore,’ Amara interrupts.

Olivia takes a sip from her cocktail and starts talking. ‘Madeleine was in the previous competition. She was engaged to Liam’s brother, Leo. But he didn’t want to be with her, or to be King, apparently, so he abdicated, broke the engagement, and ran away with some bitch on a cruise ship. That’s why Liam, who’s not the first child, is set to be King after Constantine. Madeleine comes from a powerful family, she is Countess of Fydelia, and also Queen Regina’s niece.’

Hana makes a horrified face. Olivia quickly adds: ‘It’s not a Game of Thrones situation. Regina is not Leo and Liam’s biological mother.’

‘Right, I knew that,’ Hana says hastily. ‘I just forgot for a second and it really...grossed me out.’

‘Well,’ Olivia continues, ‘it’s not unheard of in Cordonia, or in Europe for that matter. That’s kinda how monarchy works. In any case, now you know. She was pissed when the engagement broke, not so much because she wanted Leo, but more so because she really wants the crown.’ She downs the rest of her cocktail and, in the same movement, gets back up to get another.

‘Jeez, this woman is a machine,’ Maxwell whispers.

Hana nods furiously.

‘I’ll be right back, guys,’ Amara says.

She joins Olivia at the bar, sits next to her, and asks ‘Are you ok?’

‘Yep.’

‘Come on, Olivia. I know it’s not a coincidence that you took everyone here for drinks on the very day Madeleine makes her debut.’

Olivia sighs. ‘Fine. It pisses me off. She just waltzes in and everyone is ok with it.’

‘Not everyone. I didn’t care for her little pointed comments, and I know Hana didn’t either.’

Olivia scoffs. ‘I didn’t mean you. I meant the Royal family. It’s totally rigged, now it’s obvious Liam is gonna choose her.’

‘No! I can’t see Liam liking someone like that.’

‘Sweet summer child. You think it’s up to Liam now? Before the bitch showed up, I would have agreed with you. The very fact that you’re here proves that Liam had some sort of agency. But the Queen brought her niece back to the competition, and that means she’s about to take control. Game over.’ She gives Amara a long, pointed look. ‘Not that you care.’

Amara raises her eyebrows. ‘What makes you say that?’

‘For starters, your Walker boner is showing.’

Amara chuckles. There’s nothing she can say to that.

‘Alright, let’s go back to your two kids over there. Lee is about to pass out.’ Olivia shakes her head. ‘After two measly cocktails. Shame.’

*****

Amara plops onto her bed, her head slightly spinning. She’s getting really concerned that she might end up with an alcohol problem.

She looks inside the bag of groceries she just bought. Thank God for Maxwell who was still sober enough to take her to the store. She needed normal and comfort food, not just courtly finger sandwiches. She realizes she’s actually complaining about free food, but oh well.

A few bags of candy, some instant mac and cheese, granola bars, grapes, apples, potato chips. Perfect for a depressed teen, with a hint of fruit.

She looks further into the bag, to the item she carefully hid from Maxwell at checkout. She hadn’t felt ashamed of buying condoms since she was, what, seventeen? She quickly puts the box in her nightstand. There, she thinks, now she can relax and she won’t have to think about it until she...does.

Alright. She sits back in her bed, and fires up her computer to look for some music to play. For the first time today, she feels truly relaxed. Madeleine’s presence was irritating, sure, but at least it would help keep Liam at arm’s length, since his stepmother would make him give Madeleine some attention.

She grabs her phone, looks at her missed calls, but she won’t call back, not tonight. No, that’s not what she’s looking for in her phone.

The text from Drake, the one he sent her while she was at the bar, is what she goes back to.

Hope croquet wasn’t too tedious. Let me know if you get bored.

She smiles. When was the last time she re-read a text ten times? She would feel pathetic, except that she felt so fucking light.

*****

Drake is in his bed, reading Annie Proulx’s Accordion Crimes for the millionth time. If anybody asks, he’ll say it’s a coincidence.

His phone buzzes. Funny how his phone now mattered to him, when he didn’t give a shit about it, just yesterday.

He grabs it a little too fast, a little too eagerly. His heart beats faster upon reading the message, and a giant smile appears on his face.

Wanna come over?

*****

Taglist:

@andy-loves-corgis , @drakewalkerwhipped , @drakxwalker , @drakewalkerrosenberg , @drakeswalkers , @drakelover78 , @silviasutton1989 , @jovialyouthmusic , @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria , @mariahschoices , @drakesensworld , @thequeenofcronuts , @notoriouscs , @drakewalkerisreal

Thank you for your encouragements, everyone! Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist :)

[choicesfanatic86]

TTS: In Liam’s Eyes - Cordonia - Part 2/2

DISCLAIMER:  All characters belong to Pixelberry Studios, except characters unique to my story.  Those belong to me. ;)

PAIRINGS:  Riley (MC) x OC, Riley (MC) x Liam, Liam x Riley (MC) x OC, Olivia x Drake, Bertrand x Savannah, Maxwell x OC

SUMMARY: Liam returns to Cordonia and prepares for Riley’s arrival and enacts a plan to win her back.

If you are new to the series and would like to catch up by reading previous parts, please check out my master fan fiction listing.  CATCH UP HERE

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6/27/18 - Part 2 guys! I’m still on my break, these are all scheduled posts.  I will catch up on comments/questions/messages as soon as I come back. :)

As always, just shoot me a message or comment with requests to be added to the permanent tag or story tag. :)

In Liam’s Eyes - Cordonia - Part 2 of 2

Liam’s discussion with Regina had been a disaster.  He had expected as much, but it didn’t stop it from hurting any less.  He hadn’t expected her to suggest terminating the pregnancy, and out of everything that was what struck him the most.  He knew that she was probably speaking out of shock and desperation – her mind was ever-focused on what it would mean for Cordonia.  He tried to be mindful that he had also been blindsided by the unexpected news and didn’t handle things how he should have.  He had said some very hurtful things in the heat of the moment that he had wished to take back, but alas, once the words were said the damage had already been done.  Perhaps Regina was going through the same moment of shock and would come around to the idea eventually.

Despite her overall cold demeanor, there were moments when he was growing up that Regina showed a different side to her, a side that was almost maternal.  Having to deal with the loss of his own mother at an early age, he craved someone to fill the void of the mother figure he was missing.  When his father had married Regina, he had hoped that she would be that missing piece of the puzzle he had longed to find.  In her own way, Regina helped mold him into the man he was today, and in her mind, helped form him into the monarch he was as well.

After his father died and after Leo had gone back to the States with his family, Liam had felt so utterly empty and alone.  It was as if the life he had known for all those years had suddenly disappeared, and he was left trying to recreate a new life alone.  The only connection he had to that previous life that was still residing in the country was Regina.  She had been rather comforting initially – ensuring that he had the proper time to grieve and accept their new reality.  She also served as a wonderful confidante in those first few days after his father’s death so that he could express his fears and frustrations and what it would mean for their country.  She stood by and helped him stay strong for the country and his people.  That was why, he supposed, he had expected a bit more than a cold-hearted reception to the news about the pregnancy.  He had expected her to at least be supportive if nothing else.  Unfortunately, that had not been the case, and it as then that he decided that he wasn’t going to let Regina’s reaction distract him for the true purpose of what he was trying to accomplish – winning Riley back.

It was the day of Riley’s return, and he was nervous.  Nervous because he didn’t know what the future held for their relationship and their unborn child.  He knew what he wanted their future to be, but his conundrum was convincing her that the future he envisioned was possible for them.  In the two weeks since he had been back, he had accomplished nearly everything on the list he had first created back in New York – nearly everything because the nursery was far from done and he was nowhere near being able to get Riley to agree to marry him.  It didn’t matter though, because those last two items were a part of a much bigger plan he had formulated beyond the initial list he had created – a plan that couldn’t happen until she was back in Cordonia.  

Drake and Liam had been hard at work early that morning, getting some of the more complicated aspects of the nursery completed.  The last of the furniture had arrived and the men had spent the last couple of hours trying to piece the madness together.  

“How did you manage to get all of this in to the palace without anyone from the press catching wind that these were baby items?” Drake asked, looking around at the mess of furniture that was surrounding them.  

“Trust me, it wasn’t easy,” Liam said as he examined what appeared to be the leg from the crib.  “Bastien had the company use unmarked boxes and had them delivered in an unmarked delivery van,” he explained.

“So uh . . . you told Bastien, huh?” Drake asked, arching his eyebrows.

“I really had no other choice,” Liam frowned.  “He had suspected that there was more to Riley’s return than just another visit with the Beaumonts . . . he implied as much on several occasions, so I felt compelled to just tell him . . . he’s been quite helpful with adjusting my schedule and ensuring that everything remains confidential,” he explained.  “A few of the other staff members know as well.  It’s a rather difficult subject to avoid considering we’ve added a private obstetrician onto the staff,” he reasoned.  “Besides, Mrs. Scott caught me doing some research on Riley’s condition,” he closed his eyes as he began to remember the awkward exchange.  “She told me that her daughter had gone through the same thing and suggested she try drinking ginger tea. She was polite enough to not ask any questions, but I may not have been as lucky if it were any other staff member.  So we made arrangements to have the staff sign a non-disclosure agreement then told only a handful of the staff members who would be in direct involvement with the pregnancy or Riley when she was at the palace,” he explained further.

“Huh,” Drake said in surprise.  “It’s amazing how much you’ve considered in such a short amount of time,” he said thoughtfully.  “Impending fatherhood suits you, Liam,” he mused.

Liam felt his cheeks flush a little at the compliment.  “I hardly call what I’m doing fatherhood,” he shrugged, dismissing the compliment.  “I only wish to make things a bit easier for Riley when she comes back,” he explained.  

“Yeah, well, I can guarantee what you’re doing is a lot more than some dads nowadays would even do,” he countered.  “So don’t sell yourself short.  You’re doing pretty good,” he said encouragingly.

Drakes’ attention shifted back to the project in front of him as he tried to make sense of the mismatched pieces of wood that lay at his feet.  They had been working tirelessly on the nursery for the last week in between Liam’s numerous meetings, which meant that Drake was let with a bulk of the heavy duty labor.  The renovations to the room that Liam had first shown Drake when he had gotten back from New York had been completed, but the finer details still needed to be worked out.  They were currently struggling to put the pieces of the crib together.  Both men were getting extremely frustrated.  They had been at it for nearly an hour, and it didn’t remotely look like any sort of crib that Liam had seen before.

“I think we’re doing it wrong,” Liam said, throwing down a piece of wood.

“No shit, Sherlock,” Drake fumed in frustration, as he tried to read through the instructions. “That’s very perceptive of you.”

Liam sighed with a mix of frustration and worry.  “I had hoped all of this would be done before Riley flew in,” he said in disappointment.

“Well, Liam, I’m not a magician,” Drake countered, narrowing his eyes at his friend.  The earlier pleasantness flew out the window.  “You’re lucky we were even able to get as much done as we have,” he said looking around.  “How did you really expect us to get everything completed in just under a week and a half?  Besides . . . it’s taking twice as long because I spend half the time having to look over your work and fix things,” he said in irritation.

Liam frowned, feeling a bit slighted by Drake’s comment, even if he was right.  Liam had been useless.  Despite all his training in etiquette, public relations, hand to hand combat and foreign politics, he didn’t know anything about carpentry or home design.  It had never seemed important before.  Turns out, it’s actually a fairly important skill to have.  “You know better than anyone that I’m not handy at all,” he said.  “That’s why I needed your assistance in the first place,” he reasoned.  

“I still don’t get why we’re going through all this trouble,” Drake motioned around him.  “Riley isn’t even staying at the palace,” Drake sighed.  “And not to rub salt in the wound, but she doesn’t plan on sticking around long after she gives birth.”

Liam tried his best not to take Drake’s comment to heart.  He knew that the man was speaking out of tiredness and frustration.  He couldn’t blame him.  With Riley’s flight coming in today, he didn’t know when he’d have the time to contribute to get things done.  Every passing hour had him increasingly on edge.  Throughout the two weeks, anticipation and worry had been building.  He’d been short with many of his staff members which was extremely unlike him.  He even bit Drake’s head off a few times.  Liam could have sworn at one point that Drake seemed to be seriously considering throwing a hammer at him.  He had everyone around him stepping on eggshells, and he truly hadn’t meant to.  He just needed everything to be perfect.

“She’s going to change her mind,” he said confidently.  “This is just a small part of the bigger plan,” he explained.

“I keep hearing about this plan,” Drake said, as he pulled out his drill to fit two of the crib pieces together.  “But you haven’t exactly said what it entails,” he pointed out

“I want it to be a surprise . . . but I will say this . . . if it seems that our relationship has grown and strengthened to the point where I’m confident she’d be willing to make a commitment to one another, then my plan is to finally slide the ring that I’ve had for months onto her finger,” he grinned broadly.

Drake whistled lowly.  “You talk awfully big for a man that hasn’t sealed the deal yet,” he said skeptically.  “You don’t exactly have the best track record with attempting a proposal,” Drake shook his head.

“Yes, well.  She’s been rather reluctant to the idea of any sort of relationship with me apart from friendship,” he sighed.  “Even our text messages are so  . . . platonic,” he frowned.  “Not that I don’t imagine our short chats . . . because they mean the world to me.  I suppose I was just hoping for a bit more,” he frowned.  “She wants to be friends, and I was more than willing to jump at that opportunity,” he frowned.  “It’s better than no relationship at all I suppose.”

“Man, you two are making my head spin,” Drake said in exasperation.

“No more than you and Olivia make my head spin,” he chuckled, piecing some of the parts of the crib together.  “Is she speaking to you again?”

“Not quite,” Drake shrugged.  “I’m just going to let her go through her tantrum and let her get over whatever the hell she’s mad at me about now,” he said.  “At least the silence is better than her constant pestering about what happened in New York,” he reasoned.

“What does she want to know?” Liam asked.

“Oh you know . . . everything,” he rolled his eyes.  “It’s Olivia,” he said as if that explained it all.  “You’ve had to worry about your staff’s suspicions . . .  I’ve had to worry about Olivia’s suspicions.  She thinks there’s something going on between you two . . . which there is . . . but I haven’t confirmed or denied anything.  Told her that I don’t know what the hell is going on half the time, so she’d be better off asking you directly.”

“Which she’d never do,” Liam smirked.

“Exactly ,” Drake shrugged.  “She suspects something though . . . and I’m not too sure how much longer I’ll be able to fight her off,” Drake said honestly.  “You know better than anyone about how persistent she can be.”

“Should I talk to her?” Liam asked.  The last thing he wanted when Riley returned was Olivia hassling her about her relationship with Liam.  She had done so previously, and it had always managed to upset Riley.  With Riley pregnant, he didn’t want any sort of unnecessary agitation or stress adding to her already complicated pregnancy.  Olivia’s pestering could very well make things even more difficult than they already were.

“And say what?  That you got Riley pregnant and you’re trying to win her back and why yes we’ve been keeping this a secret from you,” Drake said sarcastically.  “Yeah, that will go over well,” he shook his head.  “This is Olivia we’re talking about.  She’ll go apeshit.  Remember what happened when I came back from New York?  It took all of two seconds after she found out Riley was okay before she started to chew my head off about me going after her.  She’s freaking crazy, man.  I don’t know why I stick around,” he sighed.  

“Because you love her,” Liam smiled.

Drake tried to stifle his own smile behind his typical brooding look.  “Yeah, I guess that’s it.  I guess that’s why you’re doing all of this huh?  Despite all the crap you’ve put one another through, you still love Lawson,” Drake elbowed him.

“Oh, most definitely. More than anything,” Liam didn’t even try to hide the broad grin that spread across his face.  “Don’t hate me, but I need to leave you again,” he sighed.  “I need to talk to Maxwell before Riley’s flight gets in . . . I’d like to surprise her at the airport and spend some time with her,” he explained.

“Is that such a good idea?” Drake asked carefully.

“I considered her being a bit uncomfortable with the idea, but we had a fairly wonderful conversation last night, and I imagine that we’re heading in the right direction.  Besides, friends can pick up friends from the airport,” he reasoned, the distaste of the word friends still lingering on his lips.

“Yeah.   Right,” he snorted.  “This another part of the plan?”

“This is only the beginning,” he murmured, shooting Drake a crooked smile before leaving.

Maxwell had been going on and on for days about how he was so excited to be reunited with his Tiger Lily and how happy he was to have his Little Blossom returning back to the manor.  He had casually mentioned that he had reserved a car service to pick them up from the airport and he had wanted to surprise both of them with a small bouquet of flowers.  His reasoning was that both girls had gone through quite a bit over the last few weeks, and he wanted them to start off their return to Cordonia on the right foot.  It was such a brilliant idea; Liam was envious that he hadn’t thought of it himself.  

Initially, Liam had suggested that Bastien pick the women up from the airport and escort them to the Beaumont Estate.  However, Bertrand raised the excellent point that Riley may not have been quite fond of the idea of seeing Bastien again, especially since she was still holding onto some animosity toward Bastien for the role that he had played in their break up before she had left Cordonia.  So, Liam promptly nixed the idea, and had reluctantly bowed out of coordinating the airport pick up and allowed Maxwell to make the arrangements.

But, now that her arrival day was upon them, Liam was having second thoughts.  He wanted to be there when she arrived.  He wanted to greet her and welcome her back.  He felt that he needed to show Riley that he was a man of his word – that he’d be there for her every step of the way.  It was then, that he decided he would court her and give her the traditional relationship that she had so desperately wanted to have when they first met all those years ago.  In order to make that happen, he’d need Maxwell’s assistance.

When he got to the Beaumont Estate, it was Bertrand who greeted him at the door.

“Your Majesty,” Bertrand inclined his head in greeting.  “You’re a bit early . . . Lady Riley’s flight hasn’t even been in the air for more than a couple of hours,” he noted in confusion.

“Yes, well, I was hoping to talk to Maxwell about that,” he began.  “Is he home?”

Bertrand nodded.  “He was looking over Riley’s office.  He and Savannah were adding a few last minute touches to make it a bit more personal,” he grinned.  “Excellent idea, Your Majesty.  I’ll admit, I was a bit taken aback by your request, but now that it has been completed, I’m certain that Lady Riley will be quite pleased,” he said proudly.

“Wonderful, Bertrand . . . I’m happy that they’ve been so helpful in making her space a little bit more like her own,” he smiled.

Just as he was about to take a peak in the room, Maxwell came bounding out.  

“Liam,” Maxwell greeted.  “I thought I heard your voice.  The girls’ flight isn’t due to come in for nearly six more hours,” he laughed.  “Did you get your times mixed up?” He asked.  Bertrand took that as his opportunity to bow out from the conversation and head off into his own study giving the men an opportunity to speak in private.

Liam shook his head.  “Not at all . . . I came to speak to you.  I was actually hoping to alter your little arrangement when you pick them up this afternoon,” he said.

“Alter it how?” Maxwell frowned.

“I’d like to pick up Riley from the airport,” he explained.  “I’ve missed her very much over the last couple of weeks, and I wanted to take a moment to discuss something with her . . . an idea I’ve been working on over the last couple of weeks,” he said further.

“What sort of an idea?” Maxwell asked curiously.

“Well, it’s actually more of a plan . . . to woo her,” he blushed.

Maxwell’s eyes lit up.  “Woo her?  That’s so romantic!” He exclaimed.

“Yes, well, this plan will take her full participation in order to work, so I’m hoping that by showing her that I’ll be there for her throughout the pregnancy and support her with whatever she needs, she’ll give me a chance to win her heart back,” he said his voice filling with emotion.  “Step one would be meeting her at the airport when she gets in,” he explained.

“Say no more, Liam.  I am happy to help,” he said eagerly.

“Thank you, Maxwell.  I appreciate your help with all of this,” Liam said genuinely.  “I’d also appreciate it if you didn’t mention everything I’ve been working on with the list . . . and trying to court her again to Andy.  I know that puts you in a difficult spot, but I don’t want Riley to know what I’m working on,” he explained.

“Are we talking like secret spy stuff?” Maxwell’s eyes became much brighter and if possible, his smile got even wider, too.  “Because if you are, I’m one hundred percent totally in,” he exclaimed.

“I wouldn’t go that far, Maxwell,” Liam tried to stifle a chuckle.

“Oooh, we need to come up with secret code names . . . like maybe you can be Black Hawk and I can be Eagle Eye . . . oh and Little Blossom could be Mama Bird unless you think that would be too obvious and alert people to her condition . . .” he rambled on, making Liam’s head spin.

“Maxwell, it really doesn’t have to be that complicated or elaborate,” he tried to reason with him.

“We can call it Operation Win Riley Back,” he said gleefully.  “Yes, that’s perfect.  Operation WRB to protect the true purpose of the mission,” he said excitedly.

Liam couldn’t help but chuckle at Maxwell’s eagerness.  “Maxwell, I hardly think that secret codenames and mission names are necessary,” he mused.

“Oh, but it makes it that much more exciting, Liam.  Trust me.”

And with that, Maxwell spent the rest of the afternoon chattering Liam’s ear off about their secret mission and how Mama Bird was going to be pleasantly surprised with Black Hawks’ plan.  Maxwell had insisted that they formulate a ruse to get Riley alone at the airport, so that he could meet Andy while Liam took the opportunity to swoop in once Andy was gone.  Liam hadn’t meant for things to be so complicated.  He only intended to be waiting with a car at the airport, although he had to admit, he liked Maxwell’s idea a whole lot better.  It definitely added a little more surprise to the mix.

Hours later, Liam sat inside the small SUV parked in front of the terminal that Riley was scheduled to come out of.  Maxwell had his driver park at the back portion of the terminal and he waited in the backseat.  He had texted Andy explaining what Liam wanted to surprise Riley at the airport and gave her prompt instructions on what to do and say when they came out of the terminal.  Liam had hoped that al would go according to plan.  The success counted on Andy checking her cell phone as soon as the plane landed, otherwise, they’d just have two angry women waiting for their rides as the airport without any sort of direction.

Liam’s leg bounced nervously as he waited in anticipation.  He wondered briefly if she’d be upset at his sudden appearance, but pushed the thought from his mind.  He wasn’t going to worry about the what ifs anymore . . . that’s what had gotten him in trouble before.  He was going to live in the moment and make sure that Riley knew exactly how he felt about her.

It felt like hours later, but in reality it was only a few minutes later when he saw her.   All the love and emotions came flowing right through him.  Her coloring had improved substantially since he had last seen her.  She still looked a bit too frail for his liking, but he knew that the morning sickness has a lot to do with that.  He was just so thankful that she was starting to look a bit more like the Riley he had fallen in love with.  Her smile was brighter than when he last saw her as she wandered outside with Andy.  He watched on as Andy perused her cell phone.  He had hoped that everything was going according to plan.  Sure enough, he saw her start to wander off toward the opposite side of the terminal, her luggage in hand.  It had worked.  Andy was on her way to meet Maxwell, and all Liam needed to do was convince Riley to take a ride with him, and then, his plan could begin.

“Riley,” he called out to her.

He watched as she looked around her a bit confused, until their eyes met.  A small smile played on her lips when she saw him . . . at least he had hoped it was a smile.  

“Liam,” she gasped.  He went to grab her carryon bag that she had tucked beside her.  He saw her eyes widen in surprise.  “What are you doing here?” She asked.

“I wanted to make sure you got in safely,” he explained.  He noticed the larger suitcase that was parked behind her, and started to grab at the handle of that one as well.  “After our talk yesterday, I wanted to make sure you were alright,” he said quietly.  “You seemed quite upset . . . and . . . well . . . it just didn’t sit right with me.  I was hoping that I could take you back to the estate myself . . . I know Maxwell arranged a driver, but I was hoping that maybe we could talk on the way over . . . what do you say?” he asked hopefully.

His heart thumped wildly in his chest, waiting for her to respond.  He saw the hesitation in her eyes as she looked around a bit worriedly.  “Liam . . .” she smiled.  “I’d like to, but what about Andy?” She asked.

Liam’s worried expression transformed into a large grin.  “Let’s just say there were other arrangements made for her travel,” he smiled, as he began to pull Riley’s luggage toward his waiting SUV.

[weekendwarriorblog]

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND November 16, 2018  - Fantastic Beasts, Widows, Instant Family, Green Book

I didn’t do too bad last week, although other than Universal’s The Grinch, the new wide releases got spanked by either bad reviews, bad marketing or general moviegoer ennui. That should change this weekend with the next movie in one of Warner Bros’ more successful franchises.

But before we get to that big release for the weekend, I want to give a little extra attention to the movie which is currently my #1 movie of the year, and that is Peter Farrelly’s GREEN BOOK (Universal).

Yes, you read that right, that’s Peter Farrelly of the Farrelly Brothers, famed for their low-brow comedies that began with Kingpin and There’s Something About Mary, and then petered out as the ‘00s turned into the PC word that it is today. Needless to say (but I’m gonna say it anyway), Green Book is a completely different beast – it’s a buddy road comedy set in 1962, as Viggo Mortensen’s Italian bouncer Tony Vallelonga (or “Tonylip”) takes on the role of driver and bodyguard for a black piano prodigy, played by Mahershala Ali, as he tours the racist Deep South.

I had already been hearing raves out of the Toronto International Film Festival (where it won the coveted People’s Choice award), but I wasn’t convinced until I saw the movie myself for the first time. I’m a little hesitant to say too much about the film, because part of the joy is just watching these two fantastic actors commit to each of their equally-compelling characters. Tony is a loud-mouth take-no-crap Bronx native who is just looking for a job to take on while the Copacabana club where he works is renovated. Dr. Don Shirley (Ali) is an educated, eloquent and well-mannered classical musician who can’t be more different from Tony.

As they travel down to the Deep South, Tony starts to see the racism that Shirley has faced his entire life—being invited to play at fancy restaurants and club where he’s not even allowed to use the same facilities as the wealthy and snobbish clientele. What’s amazing about their story (which is based on actual people) is that as you watch them arguing and eventually bonding (as happens in the best of buddy comedies), you find yourself relating to both of them, even if you have no direct connections to either.

Mortensen is such a charming and entertaining character that it’s hard not to love him, but the way that Ali makes you feel for the way his character is a lonely outcast, whether it’s around white or other black people, just makes this film such a unique experience.

I’m honestly shocked by what a great film Farrelly has made here, a joyfully entertaining piece of fictionalized history that does a better job exploring racism and the relationship between races. I thought Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman and Barry Jenkins’ if Beale Street Could Talk, but they also were needlessly preachy, whereas films like Green Book and The Hate U Give force you to think about these things without necessarily hitting you over the head. Frankly, I feel that we’ve gone backwards from all of the great inroads made in race relations in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, but it’s good to have reminders like this that there was a time when things were much worse.

So far this year, no other movie has had quite the effect on me in terms of entertaining and moving me. Green Book is not only the best movie I’ve seen this year, but also my favorite. Definitely go see this!

Rating: 10 out of 10

I’ll get to the rest of this week’s movies after the jump…

FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD (Warner Bros.)

As mentioned above, the big movie of the weekend is the next movie in the “Wizarding World” franchise that began with the eight movies based on JK Rowling’s popular book about boy wizard Harry Potter (as played by Daniel Radcliffe). This is also the first sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which Rowling wrote for the screen based on the Newt Scamander wizard character (played by Eddie Redmayne). The original Fantastic Beasts opened on this same weekend in 2016 to $74.4 million and grossed a more-than-respectable $234 million domestically, plus double that amount overseas, so it made perfect sense for Warner Bros. to want to continue the series, and it’s already been noted that they want to make five movies total.

The Crimes of Grindelwald is a straight-up sequel with Scamander travelling to Paris with his magical colleagues, played by Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler and Alison Sudol, to fight the evil wizardy of Grindelwald, as played by Johnny Depp. Characters played by Zoe Kravitz and Carmen Ejogo are also featured more fully, but the real draw might be that the movie introduces the younger version of Professor Dumbledore, as portrayed by Jude Law. This is probably Law’s most prominent roles in a while with last year’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword from Guy Ritchie being a box office dud, and it’s been seven years since Law made the sequel to Sherlock Holmes, also with Ritchie and with Robert Downey Jr.

Reviews for the Fantastic Beasts sequel have been mixed (at best), some of that due to the Johnny Depp factor, because Warner Bros. – who yanked Brett Ratner’s credit off their movies as soon as the #MeToo movement broke out – failed to read the room after the accusations against Depp from his former wife Amber Heard (who stars in the upcoming Warners movie Aquaman.) Even before that ugly affair, Depp’s star had begun to falter, although you probably couldn’t tell by last year’s movies with the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean grossing $172.5 million domestically and another $622 million overseas. Depp also appeared in Murder on the Orient Express, which also did well, maybe because his character was murdered pretty quickly in the film. Depp’s recent film with Heard, the long-delayed London Fields, was a big-time bomb last month, and it doesn’t seem like audiences are as interested in seeing him in movies. (Even Disney has decided to reboot Pirates without Depp.)

Still, there’s that rabid JK Rowling fanbase that has been kept fed with steady visits to the Wizarding World at Universal Studios, not to mention the Cursed Child stageplay which arrived on Broadway earlier in the year. The success of both ventures has shown that the Harry Potter craze has not died down without new books or movies based on them. (It’s also good to note that exactly half the original Harry Potter movies opened this exact weekend in November with openings ranging between $88.4 million and $125 million, and the latter was eight years ago when ticket prices were significantly cheaper.)

What else can I say? Well, there’s the IMAX factor which helps up the average ticket price for those going to see the movie. There’s the usual caveat about their being too many family films already in theaters with another one opening next Wednesday.

Essentially, there are a lot of factors that need to be applied to The Crimes of Grindelwald, but the fanaticism of the Harry Potter fanbase should endure over any negatives, including the reviews. With previews on Tuesday night (which will be rolled into Friday), this should still open slightly bigger than the first movie, maybe closer to $80 million than $70 million. Even so, it’s going to have a tougher road to $200 million with Disney’s Ralph Wrecks the Internet opening next Wednesday. (The original Fantastic Beasts dropped 39% in its second weekend against Disney’s Moana, and that wasn’t a sequel to a $189 million blockbuster hit.)

ED’s Review of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

WIDOWS (20thCentury Fox)

Offering the first bit of counter-programming against the Wizarding World juggernaut is the new movie from British filmmaker Steve McQueen, whose previous film 12 Years a Slavewon Best Picture about five years back. It grossed $56.7 million domestically with a strong expansion plan from Fox Searchlight that more than made back the movie’s $20 million budget, greatly helped by the $131 million overseas.

For his fourth film, an adaptation of Lynda La Plante’s recently-released novel, McQueen went over to the parent Fox, presumably to have an even bigger budget for his first heist film, which is just as star-studded as 12 Years a Slave. He also had help with the adaptation from author Gillian Flynn, whose own bestselling novel Gone Girlwas turned into a hit thriller by no less than David Fincher. The basic premise is that a group of thieves end up being killed in a heist-gone-wrong by the police after stealing $2 million from a local thug who comes to the wife of the gangleader to get the money back… or else!

McQueen’s latest has a lot going for it, not just the fact that it’s a crime action-thriller as opposed to a weepy historical drama about slavery – frankly, I’m surprised 12 Years a Slave did that well, but that’s a testament to the power of Searchlight.

Really, the biggest factor that will help Widows is its cast, which includes a number of Oscar winners, most importantly the amazing Viola Davis, whose amazing supporting role in Denzel Washington’s Fences finally won her that Oscar. That also grossed $57 million after a late December platform release, and if you put that next to the grosses of McQueen’s last film, that’s a pretty good barometer for Widows. (The biggest difference is that this is opening nationwide in 3,000 theaters rather than trying to build word-of-mouth.)

Davis’ husband is played by Liam Neeson, who has done his fair share of action-thrillers, and though he has a smaller role in this, his presence is still felt. After Davis, a lot of people will be talking about the performances by Brian Tyree Henry (star of the hit FX series Atlanta) and Daniel Kaluuya, the Oscar-nominated star of Jordan Peele’s Get Out last year and Marvel’s Black Panther. If Davis isn’t able to get African-American males into theaters, than these two guys should help.  There’s also Colin Farrell, the Irish actor who seems to be having a bit of a resurgence in recent years with roles in last year’s The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Roman J. Israel, Esq., neither huge moneymakers but Farrell received many accolades. (And of course, he starred in the original Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Davis’ partners in crime are played by Michelle Rodriguez from the Fast and Furious movies; Australian actor Elizabeth Debicki, who appeared in films like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and others but who really gives a breakout performance here; and the Tony-winning actor Cynthia Erivo, who just blew me away in Bad Times at the El Royale. Then there’s the parental units (of Farrell and Dubecki’s characters respectively) played by Robert Duvall and Jacki Weaver.

Just from that cast alone, it’s obvious why Fox is hoping this will be a good play for Oscar night, especially with the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody receiving mixed reviews and possibly only getting Rami Malek a nomination.

Widows should be a good counter-point to Fantastic Beasts and with few other movies (including Tyler Perry’s Nobody’s Fool) popping with African-American moviegoers, especially not males, I can see Widows bringing out a solid audience of those not interested in other films. I’m not sure it will quite make $20 million this weekend, but it should make a play for third place against Bohemian with $15 to 17 million. Its biggest hurdle is MGM’s sequel Creed II opening on Wednesday which may steal away some of its business, but word-of-mouth could make it a good alternative over Thanksgiving and in the slower weeks to come.

Mini-Review: I’m not sure I’ve ever been as surprised by the evolution of a director as I am with Steve McQueen going from his Oscar-winning work on 12 Years a Slave to Widows. Mind you, I was already a fan of McQueen from his first film Hunger, but I never expected he’d be able to do something like this.

Widows begins with a heist as Liam Neeson’s Harry Rawlings and his colleagues are in a van after a robbery, which cuts back to a quieter time between Harry and his wife Veronica (Viola Davis). It’s a fairly jarring introduction to the characters, especially the way McQueen films the demise of Rawlings and his gang.  The Chicago’s 18thward is in the midst of a heated political race between Colin Farrell’s Jack Mulligan, a second-gen politician, and Brian Tyree Henry’s Jamal Manning, who happens to be involved in the city’s crime sector along with his sadistic brother Jatemme (Daniel Kaluuya). Turns out that the money Rawlings stole belonged to the Mannings, and Jamal threatens Veronica that she needs to repay his $2 million in a week or face the consequences.  Veronica turns to the wives of the other dead thieves (played by Michelle Rodriguez and Elizabeth Dubecki) to enact a plan for Harry’s next big job, which is to rob Mulligan.

Needless to say, with a cast this good, you’re going to end up with a number of brilliant performances. While Davis is a clear stand-out, Dubecki is also impressive as a woman used to being pampered who has to start earning her own living as an escort. Kaluuya is also quite a scene-stealer as the homicidal Manning enforcer, and I wish there was more of him in the movie. Brian Tiree Henry is equally good, and Colin Farrell continues to impress me, and the fact that Davis can be so memorable against so many other great performances (including her scene-stealing dog) shows her to still be at the top of her game. Robert Duvall and Jacki Weaver are also quite great without even having to try very hard.

On paper, this could have been a standard heist film, but McQueen thrives on the complexities of the story’s intricate plot to keep the viewer invested as we follow a number of stories at the same time. Where McQueen really thrives is at creating tension, from the opening set piece which leads to a slow-building thriller to the  point where the actual robbery is just as nail-biting as anything I’ve seen on screen this year.

From the very beginning, McQueen has DP Sean Bobbit shoot the film in such an unconventional way. For example, when Jack Mulligan is having an argument inside his limo with his wife, the camera remains outside the car as it drives, something that gets more uneasy as you realize that the camera is just going to stay there for a very, long time.

If you’re a fan of the heist genre, Widows delivers on everything promised by Ocean’s 8 earlier this year, a strong female-centric crime film that’s up there with what’s been done by men in the genre. In this case, McQueen may have clinched himself a second Oscar nomination with his brilliant work at pulling this amazing cast together into such a compelling story. Rating: 8.5/10

INSTANT FAMILY (Paramount)

If Green Book wasn’t opening this weekend, I would probably give this new dramedy from Paramount a bit of extra lip-service, because it’s also quite a wonderful movie. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have quite the buzz that the Peter Farrelly period comedy does (for reasons mentioned above).

This is the new movie co-written and directed by Daddy’s Home  director Sean Anders, and it once again teams him with Mark Wahlberg, the star of those two comedy hits. The big difference with Instant Family is that it’s based on Anders actual experiences adopting three kids, and it’s not a silly Will Ferrell comedy like the Daddy’s Home movies. That may or may not be a good thing when you realize that the first one of those movies made $150 million while the second made over $100 million, and that was just domestically. The sequel opened a little earlier in November to $29.6 million, and those kinds of returns guaranteed Paramount wanted to stay in bed with Anders, especially with Wahlberg as lead.

Wahlberg has built quite a side career for himself as an actor in comedies with hits like the two Daddy’s Home movies, and at least the first Ted comedy, which had him playing the straight man to a Seth MacFarlane-voiced stuffed bear. The original movie in 2012 did substantially better than its sequel three years later, but Ted 2still made $81 million domestically. Wahlberg’s real break into comedies probably began with his earlier teaming with Will Ferrell for Adam McKay’s The Other Guys, which also broke $100 million domestically.

Playing Wahlberg’s wife is Rose Byrne, the talented actor who broke out with comedies like Paul Feig’s Bridesmaids and Spy, and she recently starred in the Nick Hornby adaptation of Juliet, Naked (which you may recall is another one of my favorite movies of the year). The other part of the equation is popular actor Octavia Spencer, who has received three Oscar nominations, winning for The Help in 2012, a movie that co-starred Widows’ Viola Davis. She teams with popular comic Tig Notaro as adoption agency counselors, and the film also stars breakout star Isabela Moner, who co-starred with Wahlberg in the last Transformers movie, also for Paramount. So basically Instant Familyis keeping it all in the family.

I’m probably not going to review Instant Family since it’s been quite a few weeks since I saw it, but it’s a wonderful movie, a real crowd-pleaser – warm, sweet and funny with Rose Byrne being her usual wonderful self. The fact that it’s loosely-based on Anders’ own story makes it even more compelling, and I hope that people seek it out (not hard since it will be in 3,000 theaters across the country). This might be more of a sleeper that does better as people get into the holiday spirit, as it has a little bit of that in the story.

That said, I’m worried this will be hurt more by Fantastic Beasts than vice versa, and that might mean that it will have to rely on word-of-mouth to get it through the rest of the month. If no one goes to see the movie this weekend, then that’s going to be hard. Because of this (and how crowded the marketplace is), I could see this making between $13 and 15 million this weekend but maybe it’ll make its way to $50 or 60 million if it can get past the slew of Thanksgiving releases.

Also expanding nationwide into about 800 theaters is Matthew Heineman’s A Private War, starring Rosamund Pike as war journalist Marie Colvin, which I personally feel deserves at least another Oscar nomination for the Gone Girlstar. We’ll see if it expands wide enough and gets enough attention to get into the top 10, but I think it will end up somewhere in the $1 to $1.5 million range, not enough to get into it. There’s a chance Joel Edgerton’s Boy Erased may expand further this weekend, as well.

This week’s Top 10 should look something like this… UPDATE: Changing some of the numbers below, since actual theater counts have been released and many of the returning films (including A Star is Born) have lost way more theaters than I expected. Basically, theaters are dumping movies to open up screens for this week’s offerings as well as the new Thanksgiving movies on Wednesday. (Also, Widows is opening in fewer theaters than originally estimated.)

1. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald  (Warner Bros.) - $77.8 million N/A 2. The Grinch  (Universal) - $38.4 million -43% 3. Bohemian Rhapsody  (20thCentury Fox) - $18 million -45% 4. Widows  (20thCentury Fox) – $15.5 million N/A 5. Instant Family (Paramount) - $14.4 million N/A 6. A Star is Born  (Warner Bros.) - $5.3 million -35% 7. Overlord  (Paramount) - $5.3 million -48% 8. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (Disney) - $4.7 million -53% 9. The Girl in the Spider’s Web  (Sony) - $3.7 million -53% 10. Nobody’s Fool (Paramount) - $2.8 million -58%

LIMITED RELEASES

We’re just one week away from Thanksgiving, which means we’re getting down to the nitty-gritty in terms of the first group of awards and nominations, which will take place in the weeks following Thanksgiving.

Apparently, the Coen Brothers’ Western anthology THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS (Netflix)opened a week earlier than planned in three theaters in New York, L.A. and San Francisco. It would have been nice if someone from Netflix bothered to tell me, so I could have included it in last week’s column. Anyway, it will open in more theaters and be streaming this Friday, so I might as well write more about it, since I never got around to writing about it at the New York Film Festival. The title character is played by Tim Blake Nelson, but don’t get used to him, as he’s only the star of the first segment, which is also the best. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is very much an anthology film that allows the Coens to explore that genre further than they have in the past with a varied mix of stories of different lengths featuring a cast that includes James Franco, Liam Neeson, Brendan Gleeson, Stephen Root, Tyne Daley and Zoe Kazan. The segment with the latter is the longest, and it takes a while to get going, but I especially liked the segment which starred Tom Waits, mostly by himself as a gold prospector. The movie will be streaming on Netflix on Friday, but I do recommend seeking it out in theaters, and in New York, at least, it will be playing at the IFC Center and the Landmark on 57thStreet.

Another New York Film Festival (and Venice) premiere is Julian Schnabel’s latest film AT ETERNITY’S GATE (CBS Films), which stars Willem Dafoe as painter Vincent Van Gogh and Oscar Isaac as Paul Gauguin, who become friends during Van Gogh’s days in the south of France. Rupert Friend plays Vincent’s brother Theo Van Gogh, and the film also stars Mathieu Amalric (from Schnabel’s earlier film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), Emmanuelle Seigner and Niels Arestrup. Honestly, I wasn’t a particularly big fan of the film, which involved a lot of noodley shots of Van Gogh walking through fields ala Terrence Malick, but it does have some good moments and my favorite involved Dafoe’s Van Gogh having a philosophical debate with a priest played by Mads Mikkelsen.  Regardless, it opens in New York and L.A. (and possibly other cities) on Friday.

From this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Bill Oliver’s Jonathan (Well GO USA) stars Angel Elgort in a dual role as two brothers living separate lives inside the same body, taking shifts in who has control, something that becomes a problem when they both fall for the same woman, played by Suki Waterhouse.

Just when I thought I’ve seen everything, there’s also a documentary about Marie Colvin (the subject of A Private War) opening in New York and L.A. this Friday as Chris Martin’s Under the Wire (Abramorama) features actual footage of Colvin and photographer Paul Conroy sneaking into Syria in Feb. of 2012.

From Sundance comes Oscar-winning filmmaker Michael Dweck’s doc The Last Race(Magnolia) that follows a Long Island stock car racetrack that’s being threatened by redevelopment.  It will open at the IFC Center in New York, the Monica Film Center in Santa Monica and in Seattle, but it will also have special screenings on Weds night in select cities – you can find out more about those special screenings on the Official Site.

After premiering at Doc-NYC, Ofir Trainin’s Family in Transition (Abramorama) will open in L.A. this Friday and in New York on Nov. 23. It shares the story of a family in Nahariya, Israel whose lives change after the father announces his decision to transition into a woman. This remarkably timely film definitely will make people change their minds about transgender people and what they (and their loved ones) go through after making that decision.

Opening on Weds at New York’s Quad Cinema is legendary documentarian Claude Lanzmann’s final film Shoah: Four Sisters (Cohen Media), which continues his series of interviews conducted in the ‘70s with four women from Eastern Europe who detail their experiences at the end of WWII.  The four segments – The Hippocratic Oath, The Merry Flea, Noah’s Ark, and Baluty-- It’s shown in two parts with each 2+-hour part featuring two of the sisters. The film should roll out to other areas over the next few weeks, as well.

At the Museum of the Moving Image, Syrian documentarian Talal Derki’s Of Fathers and Sons (Kino Lorber) will screen through December with Derki appearing on Friday night. For this one, he spent two years with a radical Islamist family made-up of a father and his two sons. It won the World Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance this year.

As far as this weekend’s genre films, you’ll be able to see Daniel Goldhaber’s thriller Cam in select Alamo theaters (as well as on Netflix—see below), but IFC Midnight’s offering this weekend is Duncan Skiles’ The Clovehitch Killer, which will play midnight screenings at New York’s IFC Centerand in L.A., as well as be available On Demand. It stars Charlie Plummer (All the Money in the World) as Tyler Burnside, a Boy Scout and church volunteer whose father (Dylan McDermott) is a community leader in their quiet Kentucky town, where ten women have been tortured and murdered by a psychopath known as Clovehitch ten years earlier. Tyler suspects his father might be that killer.

Other films out this weekend include David Levinson’s Welcome Home (Vertical/DirecTV), starring Aaron Paul and Emily Ratajkowski as a couple who end up in a love triangle with a handsome Italian who vies for her attention. John Travolta stars in the action thriller Speed Kills (Saban Films), directed by Jodi Scurfield, in which he plays a millionaire speedboat champ who also happens to be a drug trafficker. It co-stars Kellan Lutz, Matthew Modine and Jennifer Esposito and is in select theaters and On Demand Friday. Lastly, there’s Nijla Mu’min’s drama Jinn (Orion Classics) about a teen girl whose mother converts to Islam. It opens in theaters Thursday, but is On Demand on Friday.

Also if you’re an Atlanta-based genre fan, you might want to check out the Buried Alive Film Festival, which runs from Nov. 14 through 17, which opens with Joe Badon’s The God Inside My Ear and includes other features and shorts that haven’t played at many other festivals.

STREAMING

Besides the Coen Brothers’ THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS (mentioned above), one of Netflix’s big streaming premieres this weekend is Daniel Goldhaber’s horror-thriller CAM (also playing at select Alamo theaters), co-written by Isa Mazzei, who used her own experiences as a “camgirl.” If you don’t know what that is, then good for you, you don’t regularly watch porn, but essentially, a camgirl is a sex worker who does things on camera for money. In this case, it stars Madeline Brewer (from Orange is the New Black) as a camgirl who wakes up one day to find out that someone who looks exactly like her has taken over her channel. I haven’t seen it yet (despite it playing many festivals), but it’s definitely on my list to see when it streams on Netflix Friday. As an animal lover, I’m also looking forward to the upcoming docuseries DOGS(Netflix), exec. produced by Amy Berg, director of great docs like Deliver Us from Evil, West of Memphis and An Open Secret. Also, if you’re a fan of the series Narcos, it’s back this Friday with Narcos Mexico, which takes place, you guessed it, in Mexico.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

This is a big weekend for the Metrograph, as they’re kicking off a number of retrospectives, probably in hopes those who have time off over Thanksgiving will venture down to the Lower East Side for a few of them.

First up on Friday is a screening of Joseph Mankiewicz’s The Barefoot Contessa, starring Ava Gardner and Humphrey Bogart, on a 35mm print, as part of the Academy at Metrograph series. This one is hosted by Karina Longworth, creator and host of the You Must Remember This podcast, signing copies of her book Seduction: Sex, Lies and Stardom In Howard Hughes’s Hollywood. There are two screenings of this on Friday night but 7pm screening is already sold out.

Also beginning Friday is a rare series dedicated to actor and filmmaker Bill Duke with films that range from his 1991 film A Rage in Harlem and 1992’s Deep Coverto films in which he appeared like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Commando (1985) and Predator (1987)to more recent films like Panos Costamos’ recent Nicolas Cage thriller Mandy. (Unfortunately, Duke himself will not be appearing in person as previously planned.)

On Saturday, the Metrograph kicks off a retrospective of Chinese filmmaker Wang Bingwhich just happens to coincide with Lincoln Center’s own Wang-Bing: The Weight of Experience (see below), both sponsored by the Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation. The Metrograph’s series will include Fengming (2007)Three Sisters (2012), Til Madness Do Us Part (2013), Ta’ang  and Bitter Money (both from 2016). Warning: Most of his films run from 2 ½ hours to almost four hours.

On Monday, the Metrograph begins a series dedicated to the work of cinematographer Darius Khondji, a series that will include screenings of David Fincher’s Se7en (1995), Danny Boyle’s The Beach (2000), James Gray’s The Immigrant (2013) and The Lost City of Z (2016) and even Bong Joon-ho’s Okja (2017).  The series also includes three of Jean-Piere Jeunet’s films including his debut with Marc Caro, Delicatessen (1991), one of my all-time faves The City of Lost Children (1995) and of course, Alien: Resurrection (1997). This runs through Thanksgiving weekend, and it’s a great chance to see some of these films on the big screen.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

The recently-renovated downtown theater continues its Ida Lupino 100 series through Thanksgiving, and those lucky kids who attend Film Forum Jr. can see Don Chaffey’s Jason and the Argonauts (1963).

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Friday there’s a Bruno Mattei double feature of Shocking Dark (1989)and Robowar (1988), while on Sunday, it screens the new 4k restoration of Wim Wender’s Wings of Desire (1987 – Janus Films).

AERO  (LA):

American Cinemateque’s other theater is in the midst of its Cinema Italian Style 2018 program featuring many recent Italian films making their North American premieres… but not repertory, so… next!

QUAD CINEaMA (NYC):

Claude Lanzmann’s Cinema of Remembrance continues to coincide with the release of Lanzmann’s final film Shoah: Four Sisters (see above).

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Doc-NYC is over, so it’s back to Late Night Favorites, this weekend showing Ridley Scott’s Alien(1979). Weekend Classicsis still taking the weekend off, but the Shaw Brothers Spectacularsthis weekend will be 1973’s The Blood Brothers. There’s two reasons right there to be in the West Village late at night this weekend.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

At midnight on Friday, you can see the late Wes Craven’s 1994 film Wes Craven’s New Nightmare.

FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER(NYC):

If you can’t get enough Wang Bing from the Metrograph’s retrospective, the Film Society is also commemorating the Chinese documentarian with The Weight of Experience, which will include his newest film, the eight-part Dead Souls, his debut West of Tracks (2002), as well as his single-shot film 15 Hours (2017). Wang Bing will be on-hand to discuss his films here, too, so I wish his handlers luck in getting him from the Lower East Side to the Upper West Side multiple times in the same weekend. (I do it a lot and it’s a pain in the tuchus.)

Also, to coincide with the master Japanese filmmaker Kore-Eda’s Shoplifters next week, the Film Society will be showing Six by Kore-Eda, including Maborosi(1995), After Life (1998), Nobody Knows (2004), Still Walking (2008), I Wish (2011) and Like Father, Like Son(2013). It’s a great Lway to catch-up before his Cannes-winning new film.

BAM CINEMATEK(NYC):

Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, they’ll be showing Janus Films’ 40thanniversary restoration of Chantal Akerman’s 1978 film Les Rendez-vous d’Anna.

MOMA (NYC):

The midtown museum continues its Modern Matinees: Douglas Fairbanks Jr. with The Exile (1947) on Thursday and Joy of Living (1938) on Friday. This series continues through December with weekday screenings at 1:30 PM.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

The Coen Brothers Go West continues through the weekend with screenings of Raising Arizona,True Grit and Blood Simple. Also, I just want to give a shout-out to MOMI’s long-time creative director David Schwartz, who is moving on at the end of the month after an astounding 33 years (!), to be replaced by the equally qualified Eric Hynes. Maybe I should get out to Astoria before month’s end, huh?

That’s it for this week. Next week… Thanksgiving! It will be celebrated with the release of two anticipated sequels, Disney’s Ralph Wrecks the Internet and MGM’s Creed II, plus a new Robin Hood and other films expanding wide. Since most of them will be out on Wednesday, I’m gonna have to get crackin’ on next week’s column right away.