#like this sunday trailer is peak cinema

[dearansur]

hoyoverse is really great at creating Concepts and Ideas for characters and stories and then just. not committing to them or make them happen off screen. so all the ingredients are there, the possibilities are endless etc, but at best you get a lukewarm resolution with beautiful art direction to make it feel less ass.

[neurogreys]

Xfile reboot trailer

XFILE REBOOT TRAILER TV

(Despite the fact that she’s currently starring in The Fall.) Anderson and hosts Chris Hardwick and Matt Mira encouraged listeners to tweet the hashtag #XFiles2015 and the response was overwhelming. ABC on Tuesday released the first teaser for the series, showing Williams in character as 12-year-old Dean Williams, who comes of age in Montgomery, Alabama, in the late 1960s.

XFILE REBOOT TRAILER TV

Earlier this month on The Nerdist podcast, Anderson said she would be “f-ing overjoyed” to make more episodes of the show that jumpstarted her career. Williams is up at bat in early footage of the highly anticipated Wonder Years reboot, announced last year. THE X-FILES Season 11 New Trailer (2018) Mulder & Scully, TV Show HD 2017 - FoxComedy, Kids, Family and Animated Film, Blockbuster, Action Cinema, Blockbus. The X-Files - The Investigation Continues official trailer (2016) 94,287 views 667 Dislike Share Save moviemaniacsDE 1.84M subscribers official trailer for The X-Files The X-Files. It came from Scully herself, Gillian Anderson. That is to say, they were checking to make sure they could get all the original players back and available at the same time because, Fox promised, they’re not doing The X-Files without Mulder and Scully.īut the big push to revive The X-Files didn’t come from Fox or even from the show’s creator, Chris Carter. The role of his partner, Agent Dana Scully, was played by Gillian Anderson. The actor played the role of a conspiratorial-minded FBI agent named Agent Fox Spooky Mulder. David Duchovny explains why he wont be writing for The X-Files season 11. Fox is set to debut the all-new X-Files revival for fans at New York Comic Con on October 10. See the trailer for The X-Files: Earth Children Are Weird. The return of Fox’s X-Files, which gives us six more episodes of spooky, conspiracy-driven bliss starting next January 24, is much like the show itself: hinged on a tenuous faith in the unknown. Over the weekend, Fox confirmed that they were in the logistical phase of rebooting the series. David Duchovny would return for another installment of the sci-fi series, X-Files. Watch the First Official Trailer for The X-Files Reboot. The actors are much older and they have already seen so much.how can Scully continue with her cynical skeptic shtick And Mulder knows better than to just hook up with only Scully. Sure, what’s next, Firefly? But we’re living in a post- Arrested Development/24/Veronica Mars/Twin Peaks reboot world and, if Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny, Chris Carter, and Fox are all game, then I want to believe. From the trailer, it looks like they are going to give us original X-Files style, but it is neither original or fresh anymore. A few short years ago, the rumors that Fox might be rebooting the The X-Files might have been dismissed as fanboy wishes. The next mind-bending chapter of THE X-FILES debuts with a special two-night event beginning Sunday, January 24th and continuing with its time period premier.

[emilbasser91-blog]

Home Cinema Lighting.

A new flat display TV may certainly boost your property cinema experience, however there are actually a lot of aspects that you must remember to ensure that you obtain the maximum away from your brand-new purchase. As a motion picture, Sophie Scholl provides a long-term tribute as well as makes a statement relevant to today's culture, as folks all over the planet have much greater freedom of expression, our company must always remember the explanations our team are in that position. . I don't find out about calling, as occasionally it often tends to reduce extra from a film than it carries out contribute to it. This is actually why I assume captions work a helluva a great deal far better, as it makes it possible for visitors to observe the film as they were originally meant. Our Easter Saturday Rail Rambler strolls remain in the Truly worth Valley - an outstanding strolling region covering the Bronte Moors as well as the Really Worth Lowland Train Line. If you're a movie and music enthusiast, you can easily rest assured the HD Theater FIVE HUNDRED will easily manage each. We heard extremely loud popular music coming so I strolled upstairs and banged on the door," Kaitlyn Fonzi, a 20-year old the field of biology student at the College of Colorado at Denver, said on Friday. It is actually merely small and also cosy, and the only time I will certainly not choose to visit the following post this cinema is actually if the Nan Shan Cinema has the movie on their big screen. My final movie completed at 10 moments just before midnight, as well as after partaking the vehicle for a handful of minutes, making a note of some details for my assessments, I left on Speedway, combined onto the construction-free I-10, and headed for home, which I reached around 2:30 am. After 291 kilometers traveled, four flicks, four cinemas, 14 preview trailers, pair of bags of popcorn, pair of scrolls of Dessert Tarts, one bag of M&M s, pair of fish tacos, and also about 8 hrs of listening closely to 92.9 FM, The Mountain, I was actually definitely prepared for some sleep. If you can not join our team on Wednesday why certainly not gone along this Sunday( 4th) for our Rail Rambler to the Peak Area along with two strolls - the longer one starting from Hathersage and also the briefer one starting from Grindleford. Establish around 1900, Apenstreken (Ape Service) tells the story of orphan Wim, who terribly would like to most likely to college, rather than spending his time carrying out compelled labor in the metropolitan area's manufacturing facility. In today's world funds in costly tools is actually the interest even more delightful as well as high-end sound devices are actually the absolute most zealous people to buy specialist Fan. All the early specs possess made it through, featuring the 3.5-inch AMOLED screen, however the vital concern today, as it was at the beginning, relates to that all-new software program within: does Symbian ^ 3 be successful in raising Nokia's touchscreen knowledge or does it debase an or else outstanding combo of high-end parts? Who hasn't caught on their own sounding some Disney song at work, or even located on their own vocal along out loud a traditional Disney tune while viewing some of the various movies that have stemmed from the Mouse House? For me, a soundtrack is as important to the rate of a movie as the plot and characters. Bruce Lee is my all time favored martial musician, I enjoyed all his movies growing up. I was a fighter and fought in the Golden Glove welter body weight department back in the 60's (dating myself) he he. I got knocked out in the 2nd round.

[accountingfortaste]

Favorite Films of 2017

by Clay Keller

I’m finding it difficult to write something coherent about Olivier Assayas’ Personal Shopper, partially because the more I watch it, the more I’m convinced that I’m not meant to try; that its power lies in its complete lack of interest in being “coherent.” Just as a life, especially one thrown into grief-stricken chaos, only has the coherence that we arbitrarily apply to it, Personal Shopper is a series of strange and beguiling instances, full of un-explained oddities, horrors, and loose-ends. Instances that capture, better than any movie I’ve seen, that ephemeral feeling of existential entrapment; of being not stuck in place, but captive somehow. It’s a maddening, inexplicable, feeling, and that a film could dramatize it so well is deeply impressive.  

Speaking of captivity, Kristen Stewart delivers a performance in Personal Shopper that is so unvarnished, so unencumbered, that one has a difficult time conceiving that it was delivered at all, and not just simply lived. Each time I revisit this film I find it more difficult to turn away. It’s only a matter of time before Americans accept what the French celebrated a few years back: the fact that Kristen Stewart is fucking terrific. 

Anyway, I don’t know. Maybe everything I wrote above is rambling pablum. A bunch of nonsense my mind concocted by way of trying to intellectualize (or excuse) an instinctual love of a weirdo movie in which Kristen Stewart has a dramatic imessage conversation for twenty minutes and gets attacked by a Victorian ghost, which is just audacious and great. Is Personal Shopper a brilliant work by a genius and his genius muse? Is Personal Shopper bullshit? 

Or is it just me?

HONORABLE MENTION

(In Alphabetical Order)

Baby Driver (Edgar Wright)

The Big Sick (Michael Showalter)

Get Out (Jordan Peele)

A Ghost Story (David Lowery)

Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)

Lady Macbeth (William Oldroyd)

Molly’s Game (Aaron Sorkin)

Thor: Ragnarok (Taika Waititi)

Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri (Martin McDonagh)

Win It All (Joe Swanberg)

Anticipated 2017 Films Not Yet Seen: The Post (Update: I loved it!), Phantom Thread (Update: Favorite PTA since TWBB), The Florida Project, mother!, Good Time

MOST ANTICIPATED IN 2018

Annihilation (Alex Garland)

- Behind the camera: our premier sci-fi screenwriter. In front of the camera: Portman, Thompson, and Isaac. In the audience: me. 

The Happytime Murders (Brian Henson)

- The director of two of the best Muppet movies making his first feature in 20 years is definitely something to be excited about. 

E-Book (Olivier Assayas)

- Assayas has been so contemplative lately that we’ve forgotten that he’s also a total goddamn genre-mixing weirdo (see: Demonlover, Boarding Gate). Now he’s making a “full-blown comedy” with Juliette Binoche, one of his oldest collaborators, and I am here for it. 

Underwater (William Eubank)

- My favorite subgenre + my favorite Kristen Stewart = a movie I will probably love regardless of objective quality. 

You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsey)

- If this trailer doesn’t ignite all of your senses, you are dead to the magic of cinema: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMqsd7Umxy8

FAVORITE CLASSICS FIRST SEEN IN 2017

How on earth did I not see Do the Right Thing until I was nearly 30? It’s almost unfathomable how colorful, funny, and heartbreaking Spike Lee’s 3rd film is. It has myriad memorable scenes and characters. It creates a sense of place in a way that is almost unparalleled in film history. It’s entertaining as hell. It also has a pulsating heart of essential humanity and righteous anger that vibrates at such an honest frequency as to make you feel literally connected to the screen as the narrative unfolds. Do the Right Thing shook me, and is one of those “as good or better than its out-sized reputation” films, alongside The Godfather and Casablanca. 

FAVORITE TELEVISION

Me, at the beginning of 2017: “I’ve never seen Twin Peaks, mostly because I’m worried I’ll hate it, I’m not really a David Lynch fan.” Me, in August of 2017: “HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT THE ZIG-ZAG FLOORS IN THE BLACK LODGE ARE THE SAME AS THE ZIG-ZAG FLOORS IN THE LOBBY OF ERASERHEAD’S APARTMENT BUILDING?! AND THERE’S A PHOTO OF A MUSHROOM CLOUD ON THE WALL?! IS IT ALL CONNECTED?!” 

If I could retroactively make one of my 2017 resolutions be “do a total 180 on David Lynch and get super into Twin Peaks” then I would have accomplished something in this God-foresaken shit-ass year. I don’t know if it was age, or context, or what, but this year found my eyes suddenly opened to the genius of well-known genius David Lynch. I went from avoiding Twin Peaks for years to devouring and loving both of the original seasons. From “Mulholland Drive is weird and boring” to “Mulholland Drive is weird and a stone-cold modern masterpiece.” My former podcast co-host Darren Franich maintains that one needs to learn how to watch David Lynch, by watching David Lynch, and I couldn’t agree more. Watch just one of the elliptical missives that Lynch has released into our miasma and you will be left befuddled and possibly angry. Watch five and you’ll unlock the mysteries of the universe. 

Hyperbole? Perhaps. Then again, did you see episode 8 of Twin Peaks: The Return? 

It would have been so easy for Lynch and Frost to thrill Twin Peaks fans with The Return. After all, these are people (myself now included) who get goosebumps every time Kyle MacLachlan is so much as in the same room as a cup of coffee. Put a cherry pie on front of him and they (again, me now included) need to change their shorts. Instead, and, in retrospect, predictably, Lynch and Frost decided to use the eighteen hours Showtime gave them to thrill their audience in a different way: by creating an audio/visual experience the likes none of them had ever seen. Was it frustrating to wait nearly the entire season for our beloved Agent Cooper to return (if he does at all)? Yes. Were there storylines and characters that seemed meandering and pointless? Yes. Who the fuck is Freddie and why does he have a green glove hand? Yes. But none of that matters, because, for an entire summer, I rushed home on Sunday nights, needing to immerse myself in the wild juxtapositions of image and sound and performance that Lynch plucked out of the cosmos and so graciously delivered to us mere mortals, as soon as I possibly could.  

When Cooper finally did come back, well, Lynch nailed that moment too (goosebumps! shorts-changing!), of course, because he’s just as good at giving you what you want as he is at giving you what you need. And nostalgia goosebumps are lovely and all, but it’s a testament to the success of Twin Peaks: The Return that the nostalgia goosebumps are not what I’ll remember. What I’ll remember is when Cooper (?) asks what year it is, Laura Palmer (?) screams, and the lights go out in Twin Peaks (?), and my skin basically tore apart at the seams.  

[lynchgirl90]

@RollingStone David Lynch on #TwinPeaks and why 'Mulholland Dr.' is definitely not a horror movie

David Lynch on Twin Peaks Revival: 'The Woods Are Full of Mystery'

More than 25 years after original series ended, the filmmaker explains why revisiting Laura Palmer's mystery was easy as pie.

The season premiere of Twin Peaks is days away, and there is hardly any information about its episodes available. The synopsis for the first two episodes quizzically reads, "The stars turn and a time presents itself." Naturally, this is exactly what filmmaker David Lynch wants. 

"These days, movie trailers practically tell the whole story," he says in his nasal, matter-of-fact, plainspoken manner. "I think it's really harmful. For me, personally, I don't want to know anything when I go into a theater. I like to discover it, get into that world, try to get as good of picture and sound as possible, no interruptions – so you can have an experience. And anything that putrefies that is not good."

This outlook also explains Lynch's general attitude toward mystery, the driving force behind Twin Peaks since its pilot. The original series focused on the investigation into the murder of homecoming queen Laura Palmer, the secrets that possess the denizens of her Pacific Northwestern hometown and a shadow world where supernatural spirits cross over into reality. Every episode seemed to end with a question mark. And as it went on, the show's storyline became more and more complex ("Life is very, very complicated, and so films should be allowed to be, too," Lynch once said) but the increasingly confusing plot drove away viewers. When the show was canceled after its second season, it ended on a cliffhanger.

One scene in the final episode showed murder victim Palmer in the show's Black Lodge netherworld, snapping her fingers and telling Kyle MacLachlan's FBI agent character, "I'll see you again in 25 years." It was this sentence, and the occasion of the episode's silver anniversary, that prompted Lynch to team again with co-creator Mark Frost to write 18 new episodes of the series that pick up a quarter of a century after the events of the first two seasons.

All that Lynch & Co. have revealed about the Twin Peaks revival, which premieres Sunday on Showtime, are a few details about the cast and the fact that the filmmaker directed every episode. MacLachlan will reprise his role as Agent Dale Cooper; Sherilyn Fenn, Sheryl Lee and even Lynch (who played the hearing-impaired FBI agent Gordon Cole) are back as well. Additionally, Laura Dern, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Trent Reznor and Eddie Vedder, among others, are joining the cast. Other than a few purposely mysterious teasers, the full scope of Lynch and Frost's mystery remains intact for now.

In a brief yet wide-ranging chat with Rolling Stone, Lynch recently explained why he brought back the series while simultaneously keeping its secrets.

What should viewers know going into the new season? Absolutely nothing.

You told Variety that the film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Mewas very important to understanding the new run. I said it's important. But even so, I think that someone who's never seen Twin Peaks would be able to go along.

So it's a whole new thing? I didn't say that. I said they'd be able to go along.

How did you get back into the Twin Peaks mindset? [Co-creator Mark Frost and I] both know the world, so it's sort of like going back to a place where you grew up. You know your way around even though things are a little different. Memories come back and ideas come like that.

Did you watch the original seasons again? No.

Why not? This is ... You know, I can't answer that. Sorry [laughs].

What did you go off of then if you didn't watch those again? Well, for me anyways, the pilot was the most Twin Peaks, and then other things came along that became Twin Peaks as well. It's a particular ... We all see it from our own point of view.

How did you know you had an idea strong enough to bring back to TV? I didn't really know. I just had fragments and we got together and more and more ideas started coming. One day, there it was.

How was it working with everyone again? So beautiful. It was like a family reunion every day.

Did it click right away with the cast? It was kind of remarkable. The people that had been in the original knew their characters. They loved the world and got right back on the bike and went. And the new people ... everybody was super. It was a great ride.

Actor Frank Silva, who played the pivotal role of Bob in the original Twin Peaks and was in the final shot of the last episode, died in 1995. Will he have a presence in the new series in some way? I'm not allowed to say that.

OK, similarly, in that same final episode, the Man From Another Place – actor Michael J. Anderson – says, "When you see me again, it won't be me." What can you say about that? That it's more true than you think [laughs].

Your new cast members include Trent Reznor and Eddie Vedder. What appealed to you about them to make you want to cast them? Well, I'm probably not allowed to talk about that either. I'm just fans of both of them. And I'd worked with Trent on Lost Highway.

The Twin Peaks setting itself could be considered a returning character. What do you feel when you go out shooting the show in the woods at night? Oh, the woods are full of mystery. It's really great. Daytime woods are really beautiful, but at night, the mystery quotient goes way up and it's a real beautiful experience. The woods in the Northwest, they're friendly woods. I guess you could come across a bear, though by and large they're very friendly. But they still hold a mystery. They're kind of overwhelming when you're in them and it's night.

Those shots have always fascinated me because they say so much about nature, the environment and the spirituality of all of that. Beautiful.

"Feature films are not having a great time right now – at least the kind of feature films that I would want to see or make. The new art house is cable television."

You wrote every episode with Mark Frost. What is it about the two of you that works so well? I'm not sure. We just have fun writing together.

How do you go about it? Intuition is the Number One tool.

You directed every episode. How was it directing 18 hours of TV? I see it as a film – so it's an 18-hour film. It's like directing anything in cinema. It's exactly like working on a film.

But since it's television and released in hour-long increments, don't you have to think about the end of each hour? No, you don't really. You divide it up.

You recently said you weren't doing movies ever again – [Interrupts] I didn't say that. That was a misquote. I just said that feature films are not having a great time right now – at least the kind of feature films that I would want to see or make. Theaters want money, so they put in films that are going to generate a big audience. But the art houses are mostly gone. I say the new art house is cable television.

Do you see yourself making features for television now? No. I don't know what will happen next, but this is an 18-hour film in my mind. And I love the idea of a continuing story. A feature is over in two-and-a-half, three hours. The stories that you tell on cable can go on and on and on. It's really beautiful.

Will there be more Twin Peaks after this? I have no idea. It depends on how it goes over. You're going to have to wait and see.

Have you thought about what's next for you? No. I just finished working on this finally, and it's coming out this week.

It sounds like a fly-by-the-sea-of-your-pants experience. It's just a long haul to get it all done.

So much has changed since Twin Peaks first aired. Do you feel a competition in the TV environment? No, no, no. This whole thing of competition is a bit ridiculous. You just do your work as good as you can, and try to enjoy the doing. Then when you put it out in the world, it's out of your control. You just hope for the best.

What television do you like then? I really liked Mad Men, and I liked Breaking Bad. I also like [the TV network] Velocity. It's about customizing and restoring cars, and it's really fascinating to me. There are real artists out there with automobiles doing incredible, incredible work. Sculpture. It's beautiful.

What films have you liked recently? I haven't seen anything for at least five years.

Is that just because you've been busy? Yeah.

You have a lot of catching up to do then. I don't really ... I'm not really a film buff. I like to work on my own things.

Lastly, there's been some debate online in recent years about whether your film, Mulholland Drive, is a horror film or not. What do you make of that? No, it's not a horror movie. Let's put it this way: I like a film that holds different genres. Just like life. One day you can have a horror film, a comedy, a romantic thing. It's crazy to put a genre on a film, really, unless it just wants to be that. So it's not a horror film, no. I don't know who started that, but it's kind of way off base.

link (TP)

[savetopnow]

2018-03-31 13 MOVIE now

MOVIE

Birth. Movies. Death.

SXSW 2018 Review: TAKE YOUR PILLS Shines A Light On An Alarming Problem

Is Denis Villeneuve Still Making a DUNE Movie? Nope! Now He’s Making TWO Of Them

FIRST MATCH Trailer Takes A Girl’s Troubles To The Mat

Wes Anderson And Bill Murray: A Cinematic Rapport

Book Review: S. Craig Zahler’s HUG CHICKENPENNY Is A Touching Gothic Parable

CineVue

DVD Review: Score: A Film Music Documentary

Film Review: The Island and the Whales

Film Review: Midnight Sun

Film Review: Journeyman

Criterion Review: Yi Yi

Cinema Blend

How Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. May Have Just Hinted At Major Character Deaths

Somebody Has Already Become Sea Of Thieves' First Legendary Pirate

Why Bill And Ted 3 Will Be Like A Christmas Carol, According To The Writer

Twitch Prime Is Giving Away More Fortnite Loot

Venom Just Landed An Important Black Panther Contributor

Cinema Scope

Cinema Scope 74 Contents

The Work (Jairus McLeary & Gethin Aldous, US)

Global Discoveries on DVD: A Few Peripheral Matters

Canadiana | Hometown Horror: Robin Aubert’s Les affamés

Exploded View: Bruce Conner’s Crossroads

Comicboook.com

'Batman v Superman': Zack Snyder Explains The "Beautiful Lie" Scene

Wonder Woman 2 Director Patty Jenkins Welcomes Pedro Pascal to Film

'Star Wars: Episode IX' And The Loss of Carrie Fisher

Matt Damon Reportedly Passes on 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Sequel's Villain Role

'Batman V Superman': Zack Snyder Confirms Icarus Double Meaning

Film Comment Magazine

Interview: Ishmael Reed

Film of the Week: Ready Player One

ND/NF Interview: Stephen Loveridge

Deep Focus: Gemini

Feeling at Home: Our House, Drift, and Western

Film Inquiry

ALL I WISH: A Strong Stone Can’t Save This Film From Mediocrity

Escape To New York: Interview With Ana Asensio, Director, Writer & Star Of MOST BEAUTIFUL ISLAND

FATHER FIGURES: Drags On Despite An All-Star Cast

Interview With CALIFORNIA DREAMS Director Mike Ott: “It Was My Own Kind Of Dream Come True”

BEYOND SKYLINE: When A Guilty Pleasure Isn’t That Fun

Film School Rejects

‘Ready Player One’ Review: Come Watch Steven Spielberg Jiggle His Member Berries

The Best Movies of 2018 So Far

The Tao of Nicolas Cage: The Only March Madness Bracket that Matters

James Wan to Reimagine ‘The Tommyknockers’ in the Wake of Stephen King’s ‘IT’

‘Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero’ Review: Great Dog, Mediocre Movie

Reddit Movies

Netflix now hiring people to binge-watch TV shows, movies

Announcing AMApril, our biggest month of AMAs ever! To kick it off we have a ton of huge AMAs lined up for Sunday, see who's gonna be stopping by!

New ‘Bill & Ted 3’ Details Revealed; Writer Ed Solomon Likens It to ‘A Christmas Carol’

How 'Ready Player One' became the rare Steven Spielberg movie not scored by John Williams

30 Years Later, ‘Beetlejuice’ Remains Peak Michael Keaton

Roger Ebert

Thumbnails Special Edition: Women Writers Week 2018

Ready Player One

Acrimony

God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness

Love After Love

Screen Rant

Agents of SHIELD’s Destroyer of Worlds Isn’t Who You Think

20 Celeb Frenemies Who Used To Be BFFs

Solo: Ron Howard Says The ‘Edit Is Locked’

A Series of Unfortunate Events: VFD & The Sugar Bowl Explained

Agents of SHIELD Reveals How Hydra Fits Into the MCU Timeline

Slash Film

Superhero Bits: Ant-Man and the Wasp Reshoots, Matt Damon Turns Down Spider-Man Villain Role & More

Daily Podcast: Jurassic World 3, Adam Sandler, Bill & Ted 3, Netflix Maybe Buying EuropaCorp, The Tommyknockers, Kate McKinnon

‘Beetlejuice’ Originally Had a Much Darker Ending

Netflix Might Buy Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp, the Company Behind ‘Taken’ and ‘Valerian’

‘Venom’ Movie Recruits ‘Black Panther’s Ludwig Goransson as Composer

[hermanwatts]

Sensor Sweep: Crusher Joe, Diana Rigg, Black Ops Cold War, Ambrose Bierce

Forthcoming (Cirsova): We’ve just received Schuyler Hernstrom’s foreword for Endless Summer, and we thought it was too good not to share:   Discussing stories is a complicated business.  Buried somewhere underneath layers of criticism, commerce, and identity you might find some deep understanding of Misha’s work. But I worry that careless digging will disturb the landscape. I challenge myself to think about his work with the care and sensitivity that he puts into it.

Memorial (The Silver Key): Word spread on Facebook last night that Charles Saunders, author of Imaro, has passed away. It is being reported he died in May. Odd that an obituary search turns up empty.  Let’s hope it may be a rumor, but it does not appear that way. Author Milton Davis, who continued in Saunders’ “Sword-and-Soul” tradition, broke the news, and many authors, friends, and peers have chimed in since.

Cinema (Wert Zone): Born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire in 1938, Rigg was raised by her parents in Bikaner, India. Returning to the UK, she trained as an actress and made her stage debut in 1957 and her TV debut two years later. In 1965 she was cast in the first of her three major screen roles on the fourth season of British spy series The Avengers, playing Emma Peel. Peel was an action heroine with a line in witticisms, engaged in a constant battle of comebacks and ambiguous tension with her co-star Patrick Macnee (playing John Steed).

Cinema (Wasteland & Sky): The 1970s are still looked on by movie snobs as the peak of cinema, destroyed by the aforementioned filthy space movie that opened the theaters of the 1980s to juvenile pap. This is of course ignoring that the 1970s were dead, spiritually, and morally, which makes many of those 1970s “classics” more worthless than the juvenile goofy space movie. It actually has a moral point, regardless of what you think of it. 1970s cinema, as a whole, did not.

Games (Bleeding Fool):  The new game Black Ops Cold War takes place during Reagan’s presidency during the height of the cold war with communist Russia. The initial trailer features KGB defector Yuri Bezmenov speaking about the communist’s plan to bring down America from within. If you pay attention, you may recognize some of the moves being used by the left today. The trailer urges you to “know your history or be doomed to repeat it” as it flashes images from the cold war across the screen.

History (DMR Books): This past Friday marked the four hundred and fifty-fifth anniversary of the definitive end to the Great Siege of Malta. On September 11, 1565, the tattered and battered fleet of Suleiman the Magnificent sailed away from the tiny island of Malta, utterly humiliated. The Ottoman Turks had disembarked amid imperial splendor nearly four months earlier. Their soldiers were reckoned in the tens of thousands, outnumbering by a factor of four to one–at minimum–the Knights Hospitaller and the Maltese who fought alongside them.

Fiction (Galactic Journey): The book is titled The Wizard of Lemuria but we don’t meet the wizard until Chapter 4. There are 12 chapters. The first quarter of the novella-length book is spent introducing our hero, Thongor of Valkarth. He is, although a lowly barbarian mercenary, both mighty and honorable. The book opens on the aftermath of a wager on a zamph race. Jeled Malkh—an officer and swordmaster—lost the wager, and attacked Thongor rather than pay up. Thongor quickly overcame him, shrugged off the bet, and offered to drink away their differences.

War Gaming (Jon Mollison): Miniature wargames in general, and historical wargaming in particular, are headed down the same road as every other hobby out there. You’d think those with an interest in history would be better prepared to learn from the history of other hobbies, but it doesn’t look that way. A lot of ink is being spilled and chit is being chattered about how to save the hobby from… well, from something that can’t really be shown or identified.

Comic Books (Screen Rant): Heads are gonna roll – as well as fly, disintegrate, and cave in upon themselves, along with pretty much any other violent act that can be inflicted upon a head – in the latest adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian. Originally published in Weird Tales and later adapted by Dark Horse Comics, the story of the legendary Destroyer is now published by Ablaze, a publication that has given Conan a sword more caked with blood than ever before thanks in part to their decision to create a truly uncensored version of his exploits.

D&D (Grognardia): I’ve never been much of a fan of Deities & Demigods, though I owned it, of course. Why wouldn’t I? I have always had decidedly completionist tendencies and being an unabashed TSR fanboy, there was no chance I wouldn’t purchase this book as soon as I was able to do so. It’s true I didn’t get much use out of it, but I still proudly displayed it on my bookshelf, right next to the Monster Manual.

Guns (Frontier Partisans): As will most when forced to fight for their way of life, the Apaches of The War Chief utilized any weapon to which they might lay hand. Some of these they fabricated, with especially skilled artisans becoming highly revered by the tribe. The Apaches ranged a broad swathe of the American West and portions of Mexico, and so various materials fell into their hands — materials they converted into bows, arrows, and war clubs, including the famous jawbone club. These weapons and tools, for centuries, they fabricated themselves from indigenous materials.

Edgar Rice Burroughs (Pulpfest): The 2020 Edgar Rice Burroughs Chain of Friendship (ECOF) Gathering will be held Sunday, October 11 through Tuesday, October 13 in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. Guest of Honor is acclaimed comic book artist and Hollywood illustrator Daniel Parsons. COVID-19 restrictions dictate this will be a small gathering in two large meeting rooms at the Country Inn & Suites located at 1650 Doris Drive. Fort Atkinson is located just 35 miles from Madison or 65 miles from Milwaukee. It’s 100 miles from Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

Fiction (Old Style Tales): “Some Haunted Houses” is easily one of Bierce’s most entertaining series of tales. I recommend it as the ideal Hallowe’en reading choice – a collection of pithy short stories that exude the gloomy atmosphere and chilling mood that make stories like Jacobs’ “The Monkey’s Paw” or Poe’s “House of Usher” horror classics. Reading one after another, a strange feeling of uneasiness creeps into your imagination as Bierce’s reporterly prose calmly details what sound like the verifiable details of veridical hauntings.

Cinema (Swords & Stitchery): There is a space opera out there that came out back in the day that most of you had never heard of… A bit of background, on the weekends back in the 90s I would get into my car & go down to Wallingford,Ct for a weekend of Anime at a local comic shop. I would spend the weekend with friends & one of the things we saw was this. Crusher Joe was made into an animated film in 1983, and a pair of for-video animated episodes in 1989. The film version won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize in 1983.

Gaming (Future War Stories): There are time when we must ask ourselves when we witness what could have been: how can this not exist? That is how I and many other gamers felt during the recent leak of a Xbox development kit for the Blizzard cancelled StarCraft: GHOST 3rd person action/stealth game for the 6th generation. For many of us, GHOST was going to be first day buy for our OG Xbox consoles…and then there were delay after delay until GHOST was placed on DNR status in 2006 by Blizzard after nearly six years of development that span two studios.

Tolkien (Notion Club Papers): John Garth. The Worlds of JRR Tolkien: the places that inspired Middle-Earth. Frances Lincoln, London: UK, 2020. pp 208. John Garth is one of the best and most important writers on JRR Tolkien. This is his first full-length book since the landmark volume Tolkien and the Great War of 2003; so I knew I would enjoy it. From the title, and the fact that it is a large format, really beautifully-produced, hardback volume; I supposed The Worlds of JRR Tolkien might be dominated by the pictures, maybe even be something like a superior ‘coffee table’ book?

Fiction (Library Blog): This week marks the bicentenary of Sir Walter Scott’s twelfth novel The Abbot, published in Edinburgh on 2 September 1820 and in London two days later. Alone among the Waverley Novels, it was presented not as a stand-alone narrative but as the sequel to an earlier volume, The Monastery, which had appeared just six months earlier. Set in the early years of the Scottish Reformation, The Monastery had sold well but had disappointed many readers and reviewers. Criticism was directed, in particular, at the pivotal role played by the ghostly White Lady,

Cinema (Hollywoodintoto): Reporters have spent days detailing why “Terminator: Dark Fate” became the year’s most embarrassing flop. The movie made just $29 million stateside, and its foreign box office totals are equally weak ($94 million and counting). That’s no way for a franchise reboot to perform. Most observers are writing the saga’s obituary. Those reporters nailed some of the core reasons for its box office woes, from franchise fatigue to recycled story beats. Most missed another crucial factor. The sad decline of Arnold Schwarzenegger, A-list movie star.

Fiction (Adventures Fantastic): So yesterday’s post on Edgar Rice Burroughs and Harold Lamb and the recent post on the canon, coupled with today is the anniversary of the passing of J. R. R. Tolkien and the seventh anniversary of the death of Frederik Pohl, got me to thinking. I referred to Burroughs and Lamb as giants. In the canon post I quoted Newton talking about his achievements being due to his standing on the shoulders of giants. So who exactly are the giants in the field?

Fiction (Tentaculii): There’s a new bibliographic website for prolific British writer Michael Moorcock. The Works Of Michael Moorcock is obviously still a work-in-progress, but the pages for books and shorter fiction appear fairly complete. Moorcock tried his hand with at least one Sherlock Holmes pastiche, but has no overtly Lovecraftian pastiches that I’m aware of. His leftist attacks on many other writers, often described in words such as ‘brusque’ or ‘pungent’, turned out no differently in Lovecraft’s case and with the usual knocks being offered (“astonishingly awful prose” etc).

Fiction (George Kelley): I’ve been a big fan of Hank Davis’s Science Fiction anthologies over the years. Just in time for the Holiday Season, BAEN Books released Space Pioneers, an anthology with just about something for every readers’ taste. In typical Hank Davis fashion, the mix of stories blends Oldies with some newer stories like David Drake’s “Superweapon” (2018). I especially enjoyed Ross Rocklynne’s “Quietus” and Manly Wade Wellman’s “Men Against the Stars.” If you’re in the mood for an entertaining theme anthology, I recommend Space Pioneers. GRADE: A

Fiction (Paperback Warrior): In 2019, Stark House Press generated a commercial and critical hit with the release of The Best of Manhunt, an anthology of stories from the legendary 1950s crime fiction digest. Knowing a good thing when they see it, the reprint publisher has compiled a second volume of blood-on-the-knuckles tales from the popular magazine’s heyday for an August 2020 release.

Writing (Rawle Nyanzi): Recently, I came across an article (archive here) about the evolution of the horror genre in film. While the article is from 2000, and I’m not a horror fan myself, one point stuck with me: how scientific materialism, rather than an understanding of good and evil, became dominant in horror filmmaking, starting with George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. In the materialist worldview, the universe came into being by random chance, and so did the Earth and humanity.

Writing (Kairos): World building is the one element that sets speculative fiction apart from every other category of writing. When designing a secondary world, it’s crucial to establish a foundation of internally consistent principles to help readers suspend their disbelief. Religion in general has been a constant of human existence. Writing a secondary world where there are no and never have been any religions will automatically cause tension between the setting and known history, straining credibility (though it could make for an interesting story hook if handled properly).

Tolkien (Jon Mollison): Listening to the Silmarillion on audiobook, and something occurred to me. The three themes of the Ainur presage the three ages of Middle-Earth.  From the Tolkien Gateway: The Ainur’s flawless Music satisfied even Ilúvatar during this early stage. The Second Theme was “like and yet unlike” the First; it gathered new power and beauty. Soon, however, Melkor’s discord rose up against it, and there was a “war of sound more violent than before”. This time, Melkor’s Theme triumphed over that of the others; many of the Ainur stopped singing entirely out of dismay.

Sensor Sweep: Crusher Joe, Diana Rigg, Black Ops Cold War, Ambrose Bierce published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[todaybharatnews]

via Today Bharat nbsp; Trisha in lsquo;Raangirsquo;, Nayanthara in lsquo;Mookuthi Ammanrsquo; and Kangana Ranaut in lsquo;Thalaivirsquo; This International Womenrsquo;s Day on Sunday, we arc the spotlight on what promises to be an interesting year for Kollywood, as a slew of films headlined by women get ready for release. Small victories, but wersquo;ll take themThalaivi lsquo;Thalaivirsquo;, lsquo;Mookuthi Ammanrsquo;, lsquo;Raangirsquo;: 10 women-centric Tamil films to root for this Women's Day 2020 Kangana Ranautrsquo;s long-awaited return to Tamil cinema comes with the Jayalalithaa biopic, that is directed by Vijay and armed with an army of A-listers as cast and crew. While the first looks and trailers have created polarizing opinions, with a subject as heavy-duty as the former actor-politicianrsquo;s life and a performer at the peak of her powers like Kangana, this should be the mother.... erm, amma of all biopics. Soorpanagai lsquo;Thalaivirsquo;, lsquo;Mookuthi Ammanrsquo;, lsquo;Raangirsquo;: 10 women-centric Tamil films to root for this Women's Day 2020The first look of this film, starring Regina Cassandra, was just released and received some positive comments from the film fraternity. The buzz is that Regina has a strong women-centric role in this mystery drama thatrsquo;s a Tamil-Telugu bilingual and directed by Caarthick Raju. Set against a period backdrop, this team is reportedly shooting in some never-before-seen lush locales in Tamil Nadu. Ponmagal Vandhal lsquo;Thalaivirsquo;, lsquo;Mookuthi Ammanrsquo;, lsquo;Raangirsquo;: 10 women-centric Tamil films to root for this Women's Day 2020Jyotika has been doing some interesting roles in her second innings. And 2020 will see her play a laywer in Ponmagal Vandhal. Directed by Frederick and supposed to be a thriller, PV, which is slated to hit screens soon, has been produced by Suriyarsquo;s 2D Entertainment. Mookuthi Amman lsquo;Thalaivirsquo;, lsquo;Mookuthi Ammanrsquo;, lsquo;Raangirsquo;: 10 women-centric Tamil films to root for this Women's Day 2020Christened the lsquo;Lady Superstarrsquo; of Tamil cinema, Nayanthara plays an lsquo;Ammanrsquo; in this upcoming film that has been directed by RJ Balaji and NJ Saravanan. The film marks RJ Balajirsquo;s debut as a director and is slated to be a lsquo;devotional film with a twistrsquo;. Wersquo;re waiting. Are you? Nishabdam (Silence) lsquo;Thalaivirsquo;, lsquo;Mookuthi Ammanrsquo;, lsquo;Raangirsquo;: 10 women-centric Tamil films to root for this Women's Day 2020If not for anything, fans of Anushka Shetty will just be happy to see her on screen again after a gap of over two years. That the talented actress can carry off any role isnrsquo;t a debate any more: her repertoire of diverse work speaks for itself. But it does remain a mystery why she doesnrsquo;t take on more projects. With Silence, a horror-mystery, where she plays a speech and hearing-impaired character, the Baahubali star will showcase a wide range of her potent acting skills mdash; and we couldnrsquo;t be more thrilled for her. Raangi lsquo;Thalaivirsquo;, lsquo;Mookuthi Ammanrsquo;, lsquo;Raangirsquo;: 10 women-centric Tamil films to root for this Women's Day 2020Trisharsquo;s had middling success with female-centric movies in her career, with the likes of her Jessies and Jaanus in dramas faring much better. However, the actorrsquo;s 2020 looks primed to kill: first up is Raangi in which she plays a modern-day journalist, on a mission to take down a nefarious operation. She also has the Tamil remake of NH10 in Garjanai, and an untitled venture she headlines with Petta co-star Simran! Whatrsquo;s not to love? Penguin lsquo;Thalaivirsquo;, lsquo;Mookuthi Ammanrsquo;, lsquo;Raangirsquo;: 10 women-centric Tamil films to root for this Women's Day 2020Ever since Mahanati, Keerthy Sureshrsquo;s career graph has climbed higher and higher. Her deserved National Award for the movie only cemented her place as one of south Indiarsquo;s best performers, capable of headlining a movie on her own, and set the box-office ringing. Penguin, produced by Karthik Subbaraj, looks to further that trend; very little is known about the Eashvar Kartic directorial, except that the poster shows Keerthy as a pregnant woman. Murder-mystery? Horror-thriller? A romantic vacation in the woods gone wrong? Only time will tell. Paris Paris lsquo;Thalaivirsquo;, lsquo;Mookuthi Ammanrsquo;, lsquo;Raangirsquo;: 10 women-centric Tamil films to root for this Women's Day 2020Part of the long-mooted four southern remakes of Queen, the Tamil version sees the formidable Kajal Aggarwal step into the shoes of Kanganarsquo;s now iconic character of Rani Mehra from the original. A tried-and-tested storyline, an experienced director in Ramesh Aravind, and in Kajal, a bonafide star who finally wants to prove that she can make a film work without a leading man alongside her: Expectations are high. Adho Andha Paravai Pola lsquo;Thalaivirsquo;, lsquo;Mookuthi Ammanrsquo;, lsquo;Raangirsquo;: 10 women-centric Tamil films to root for this Women's Day 2020Post Aadai, Amala Paul is a force to reckon with. In this film, directed by Vinoth KR, Amala gets all adventurous and explores a forest where mystery awaits her. There have been certain delays in its release, and wersquo;re hoping they get cleared soon. Velvet Nagaram lsquo;Thalaivirsquo;, lsquo;Mookuthi Ammanrsquo;, lsquo;Raangirsquo;: 10 women-centric Tamil films to root for this Women's Day 2020Her Velvet Nagaram has just hit screens, and Varalaxmi already has a couple of films, including Krack, that she has a prominent role in. Slowly moving away from heroine and character to roles to playing the lead, this sassy actor is sure looking at a busy 2020 up ahead.

[njawaidofficial]

A Netflix Movie Doesn’t Need To Be Good — It Just Needs To Be There

https://styleveryday.com/2018/02/08/a-netflix-movie-doesnt-need-to-be-good-it-just-needs-to-be-there/

A Netflix Movie Doesn’t Need To Be Good — It Just Needs To Be There

John Ortiz, David Oyelowo, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw in The Cloverfield Paradox.

Scott Garfield / Netflix

The trouble with saying that Netflix “pulled a Lemonade” when it announced the unexpected premiere of The Cloverfield Paradox after the Super Bowl this past weekend is that The Cloverfield Paradox is nothing at all like Lemonade. Invoking Beyoncé — she who has made the no-advance-notice album drop such a part of her brand over the last few years — has become a useful shorthand for describing any sort of major release, music or otherwise, that skips the standard marketing ramp-up in favor of a digital-age offering directly to consumers (and I’ve been as guilty of this as anyone).

But in the case of the third Cloverfield movie, making this comparison feels like it’s letting Netflix get away with what was really a masterful act of turd polishing. Fans turn out for Beyoncé’s albums without early promo because they expect them to be that good; they mobilize because of how invested they are in her an artist. On Super Bowl Sunday, Netflix was doing the opposite of mobilizing — it was counting on inertia, on being able to persuade subscribers who were already on the couch in front of the television that they might as well stay there for another 100 minutes or so.

To put it another way: Lemonade would be a great parallel to The Cloverfield Paradox if, after the recording of Lemonade, Columbia Records had been so dismayed by the results that it deemed the album unreleasable, and then Spotify came around and offered to take it off its hands for more than it cost to make — enough for the record company to walk away having made some kind of profit. That’s pretty much what happened to the third installment of the J.J. Abrams–produced, loosely linked Cloverfield series. The movie was slated for a theatrical release from Paramount in April, until execs decided it wasn’t worth sinking more money into marketing the troubled production, when it probably wasn’t going to make any back in ticket sales.

Netflix was just advertising that it had the movie, period. Whether it was good or bad was incidental — what mattered was that it was there.

Traditionally, studios dump movies like these, giving them their contractually obligated run in theaters while trying to minimize the attention paid to and the advertising dollars spent on them. But instead of just taking the L, Paramount was able to offload it to Netflix, which is still working on making a name for itself as a platform for original movies, and ready to spend for a name-brand movie, dud or not. The streaming service bought the movie only to turn around almost immediately after and offer it to audiences with its Super Bowl stunt. What Netflix was touting with the 30-second spot that played during the game wasn’t that it had this movie and it was good — half the footage was from the original Cloverfield. Netflix was just advertising that it had the movie, period. Whether it was good or bad was incidental — what mattered was that it was there.

Netflix didn’t produce The Cloverfield Paradox, which is set on a space station where an international crew experiments with a particle accelerator in an attempt to solve a global energy crisis. But in some ways the movie — a sci-fi flick with a terrific cast, a terrible script that’s cobbled together from borrowed fragments of better films, and some clumsily shoehorned-in connections to existing intellectual property — couldn’t have been a more natural fit for the company’s oeuvre.

It’s comprised of enough elements that seem worth your time (promising franchise, popular genre, a POC-heavy ensemble filled with rising stars like Gugu Mbatha-Raw) that the fact that the film itself is not actually worth your time doesn’t seem to matter. At least not to Netflix, which touted this new movie as an answer-filled prequel to the first Cloverfield in a way that made you wonder how closely anyone there had watched it. Negative word of mouth might have tanked The Cloverfield Paradox in theaters over its opening weekend, but in the frictionless world of streaming, the fact that you would have felt cheated if you’d paid money to see it no longer applies. You’ve already paid for it, with your subscription fee. You might as well watch.

The film industry has been fretting for over a decade now about how digital availability is going to change everything — how people no longer want to bother with going out to theaters when there’s so much to stream, how TV is eclipsing movies, how the general wealth of entertainment options at home has eroded the big-screen audience. And while that’s all true, to some extent, we’ve talked much less about the way that shift — from actively choosing something to go out to see to making do with what’s available — will affect what gets produced, and how.

The Cloverfield Paradox

Netflix

Having to buy a ticket puts pressure on an individual movie to make all that effort and expenditure worth the while (well, unless you have a MoviePass, but let’s see how sustainable that proves to be). Picking something to stream requires none of the same exertion or commitment — and you can stop halfway through, jump to something else, toodle around on your phone during the slower bits. For most people who pony up each month, a subscription fee isn’t paying for access to any particular title, but to the idea of a library. It’s all just convenient content.

There’s been a gradual rise of “Netflix” as a verb, rather than a proper noun — synonymous with “curling up in front of a screen to watch something.” Which is a testament to the brand’s dominance (in 2015, it was reported that the company was responsible for over a third of peak-hour internet bandwidth usage) but also to how people have started to treat whatever is on the service as what’s available to watch. There are still sporadic bursts of stories about purges on the service as deals expire and licensing lapses and titles come and go, though media outlets don’t follow those updates as breathlessly as they used to (maybe because it’s harder to tell what’s leaving).

Netflix represents, for a lot of people, the practical limit of what there is to watch at any particular moment.

Those titles don’t blink out of existence — they go to other streaming sites, or cable channels, or are available to rent, or are out there on DVD (remember DVDs?). That they’re mourned as if they’ve been lost to humanity speaks to how much what’s on Netflix represents, for a lot of people, the practical limit of what there is to watch at any particular moment.

The spread of streaming has led to this fascinating tendency to treat Netflix as a populist hero. Filmmaker Ava DuVernay, while making it clear she hadn’t seen The Cloverfield Paradox yet, threw her support behind the friends and fellow filmmakers of color involved in making it in a tweet on Sunday, in which she noted, “No advance press, ads, trailer. Straight to the people. Gamechanger.”

At the Cannes Film Festival last year, jury members Pedro Almodóvar and Will Smith battled each other over streaming versus theatrical. The Spanish director spoke of his aversion to giving one of cinema’s most respected prizes to a movie, like Netflix entries The Meyerowitz Stories and Okja, that wasn’t destined to be seen by most audiences on the big screen. Smith, who was starring in a Netflix project, Bright, lined up for later that year, argued on behalf of streaming; he insisted his children still also go to the theater, and that they “watch films they otherwise wouldn’t have seen. It has broadened my children’s global cinematic comprehension.”

Will Smith, Agnes Jaoui, and Pedro Almodóvar at Cannes in May 2017.

Getty Images

Cinema-going for the artistic elite vs. streaming for the regular folks isn’t a binary that matches reality — all those snobs out there, making Marvel movies into global hits! — but it speaks to changes in viewing habits that film industries the world over continue to resist. The traditional structures are crumbling, new ones have to be figured out, and couples and friends all over the world are asking each other, “What do you want to Netflix tonight?”

Netflix has, so far, had a much better handle on making original series than making original films, because shows make sense with a subscription mindset — they’re things you should want to binge, and that should make you want to stick around for new seasons. But who knows exactly what subscription-worthy movies should be like? Not Netflix, whose feature ventures have ranged all over the place, from purchasing the Oscar-nominated Mudbound at Sundance to signing an eight-picture deal with Adam Sandler, from sinking $125 million into Martin Scorsese’s upcoming The Irishman to spending $90 million on Bright, its heavily-promoted attempt at the streaming equivalent of a blockbuster.

Obvious attempts to win awards aside, the service seems to be moving toward the strategy that led to the latter film. Bright is an algorithm-friendly concoction poised to catch viewers, in much the same way as The Cloverfield Paradox, who might stumble upon it from various directions. Directed by Suicide Squad‘s David Ayer, the movie straddles two popular genres, buddy cop and fantasy; it features an A-list star; it’s the start of a franchise; and it has a terrible script that makes gestures toward edgy relevance (“Fairy lives don’t matter today!”) without actually having anything to say.

Will Smith and Joel Edgerton in Bright

Matt Kennedy / Netflix

“The critics are pretty disconnected from the mass appeal,” Netflix CEO Reed Hasting said on an investor call when talking about the gap between the critical drubbing the movie received and the huge success the company claimed it had with viewers. What that success entails is unclear, since Netflix doesn’t make its data public, and so, unlike studios, doesn’t have the world totaling up its box office wins and losses. But it’s also hard to imagine Bright would have made any major headway in theaters, that it would have had much luck prying people out of the grooves in their sofa cushions.

It didn’t need to. The bar is so much lower with Netflix, the ease so much greater, when something is already there and all you have to do is hit play. With the company slated to release around 80 original movies this year, it’s staking out its own good-enough alternate movie universe, where a title that would probably have been a flop in theaters can be turned around and repositioned as a win for streaming. Who knows if it really was a win, or what that even means for Netflix, but it definitely got the company attention. It united large swaths of the country in watching one mess of a movie, for a mere $50 million. And while this latest addition to Netflix’s firehose of content won’t necessarily speed up the demise of theatrical releases, it’s a reminder of just how powerful a force convenience is. In this brave new world, a film that wouldn’t have been good enough to put on pants and venture outside for might be the perfect thing for a lazy Sunday night. ●

[foamingkitty]

Weekend Getaway: Cape Town, South Africa

I have never been to South Africa, but it’s most definitely high on our list of places to visit. Especially now that I’ve read this beautiful, extensive guide from local mama Sophie Pirlot de Corbion.  Sophie is originally Belgian, is a mum of three girls, and has been living in South Africa for four years now — she moved when her youngest was just two months old. She and her family are keen travellers — she told me they have slept in the middle of the Kruger Park looking for the Big Five, camped on Mozambique’s deserted islands, seen the Okavango Delta in Botswana, visited the Zululand, gone on horse riding safaris, and have flown above the majestic Victoria Falls (to name just a few of their adventures!). She is a travel writer for various travel sites and has just started her own travel blog Poesy by Sophie. She has very kindly offered to write a guide for us on beautiful Cape Town, and no doubt it will inspire some travel inspiration for you as well…

On the Southern tip of Africa, perched between two oceans and the mountains, Cape Town sits in one of the world’s most spectacular settings. It’s a place of iconic beauty, diversity and vitality offering the perfect mix of nature and culture. Cape Town is also an amazing family destination with kid-friendly accommodations and restaurants and so many things to do either inside the city or within a short drive.

DO

Enjoy Cape Town beaches! The Ocean is freezing cold but kids won’t care and will have hours of fun! Our favourite family beaches are Camps bay, Clifton 4 and Llandudno. Outside of the city, Kommetje has a long white and secluded beach. On the Indian ocean side (with few more degrees in the water), Muizenberg, with its colourful beach houses is a surfers’ paradise and at Boulders’ Beach, you can swim surrounded by penguins! Cape Town is also great for all the water sports and you can book for the kids a surf lesson, a stand up paddle session or even take part on an adventure tour on sea kayak.

We love to rent Up Cycles bikes at the Sea Point Swimming pool and enjoy a nice family ride along the Promenade. They have kids bikes, child seats and child trailers. Sea Point promenade is an easy ride along the ccean with numerous playgrounds to stop. You can also go inside the Green Point Urban Park, have a coffee at the Tea in the Park and finish your ride at the V&A Waterfront where there is another Up Cycles station.

The Two Oceans Aquarium, situated on the V&A Waterfront, is an absolute family must-do and also a very good option when it’s raining. There are many different exhibits, touch pools and microscope experiments. For children over eight, you could even book a private penguin’s encounter. The V&A Waterfront is home of many other indoor or outdoor kids activities like the Cape Wheel, a pirate boat cruise, Scratch Patch or Art Jamming.

If you are in Cape Town on the first Thursday of the month, take the kids to a nice cultural walk in the central district and explore freely exhibitions, art galleries and shops which stay open late.

We often take a short drive from Cape Town to spend the afternoon at the Imhoff Farm  in Kommetje or at the Noordhoek Farm Village. They are both charming with a relaxed and family friendly atmosphere and so many things to do for the little ones! Petting farm, pony rides, snake park, camel rides (!) and huge playgrounds. Take a seat at the Blue Water Cafe or at Cafe Roux and enjoy a perfect lunch when the kids have fun.

SEE

We love to take a walk from the famous colourful streets of Bo-Kaap to the vibrant Waterkant. Formerly known as the Malay Quarter, Bo Kaap is a real sensorial feast: you will be enchanted by the bright colourful houses, the fragrant spice shops and the sounds resonating from the local mosques or from children playing in the streets. Few streets away, the Waterkant is a small and laid-back village with charming streets, art galleries, creative shops and design cafés. Finish your walk with a savoury lunch on the shady square of the Cape Quarter Lifestyle village, home of very nice shops.

Kirstenbosh, classified as one of the “Seven Magnificent Botanical Gardens of the World”, is a great family getaway! Enjoy the numerous pathways and trails, the impressive tree canopy walkway (known as “the Boomslang”), chose the perfect spot on the lawn for a lazy picnic or take a lunch at Moyo, a kid-friendly African themed restaurant. During summer, don’t miss the Sunset Concerts on Sunday and the open air cinema nights!

Table Mountain is perhaps the greatest landmark of Cape Town. Kids love the cable car ride (with rotating floors and huge windows) and the view from the top is the most extraordinary in all of Cape Town. You can enjoy an easy walk and finish with a lunch or a coffee at the panoramic Table Mountain Coffee. For the most adventurous, book a Scootours ride!

Take at least a full day to visit the Peninsula of Cape Town. The roads are scenic and there are plenty of nice stops that the kids will love. Start with the breathtaking Chapman’s peak drive and continue all the way down to the Cape Point Nature Reserve, a fauna & flora paradise. Spot the baboons, zebras and ostriches (you can even visit The Cape Point Ostrich Farm), take the Flying Dutchman Funicular to the old lighthouse and maybe a lunch in the panoramic Two Oceans Restaurant. Continue your day to the Indian Ocean side of the Peninsula with a visit to the Boulders Penguin colony, the old naval base of Simon’s Town and the picturesque fishing village of Kalk Bay (we love the Live Bait restaurant!).

The Cape Winelands are world-famous and also very kid friendly. Visit century old architecture estates surrounded by mountains and lush valleys. Most of them organise wine testing (and grape juice testing for kids), scrumptious picnic or offer the best tables of the country. Our absolute favourite is Babylonstoren, an incredible vegetable garden and working farm and we also love the picnics of Boschendal. At La Motte, you can enjoy a gastronomic lunch while the kids are painting under the shade of old trees.

Closer to Cape Town, you can also visit the wines estates of Constantia, have a lunch at Simon’s or a savoury picnic at Eagles’ Nest.

EAT

Company’s Garden restaurant is one of our favourites! The park, right in the heart of the city, is beautiful and offers a real feeling of peace within a buzzing urban metropolis. The surroundings of the restaurant are an unlimited playground for the kids with giant chessboard, a series of whimsical oversized weaver nest-style structures that hang from the trees, swings and plenty of open green spaces for running and relaxing on. After a nice lunch, you can bring the kids to the South African Museum, which is also in the park.

Located just off Sea Point’s promenade, Strolla (pictured above) offers a relaxing all-day long place for friends and family. The place is fresh and funky, with a nice terrace, kiddies menu, the opportunity for the kids to make their own pizza and an amazing playroom (with toys, colouring, Xbox…) supervised by child-minders!

Situated just adjacent to the V&A Waterfront, on a private beach, Grand Africa Café & Beach  is perfect to take a lunch or a drink facing the Ocean wiggling your toes in the white sand while kids have fun on the beach. If you are there on a Saturday, make a tour in the charming Oranjezicht City Farm Market just next door.

Rumbullion @ Roundhouse has stunning views, nice food and a very laid-back atmosphere. Kids can run around on the lawns while you enjoy a relaxed picnic-style cuisine or a sunset drink.

Situated on Hout Bay Beach, with a nice sandy playground, Dunes is one of the most popular kid-friendly restaurants in Cape Town. From there, you could visit the nice Bay Harbor market open on the weekends.

Cape Point Vineyard is always a good idea. It offers breathtaking views between the mountains and the ocean. You can choose between the fancy restaurant, the delicious deli or book a picnic basket and enjoy a relaxing afternoon on the wine farm. There is plenty of open space to walk, run and have fun for hours! On Thursday Afternoon, they also organise a very popular market which is the perfect place to meet friends and enjoy sunset drinks and nice food.

SHOP

Woodstock is one of the oldest suburbs in Cape Town and it is also one of the trendiest. An incredible mix of diversity and cultures combine to make the neighbourhood a vibrant, bustling blend of food, fashion, arts and design. Take a walk from the Woodstock Exchange – a collection of workshops, boutiques, cafés and galleries – to the Old Biscuit Mill, an ancient factory converted in a design village, home of nice shops and restaurants. Every Saturday morning, the Old Biscuit Mill hosts the Neighbourgoods Market, one of the hippest markets in Cape Town.

Kloof Street is the perfect place if you like to discover small trendy fashion and designers shops. For women, I especially like Mr&Mrs, a nice jewellery and clothing boutique. Ashanti is a fun and colourful shop adapting local traditions to contemporary tastes. Their handcrafted striped cushions and bean bags are a must have in any kids room! You’ll also find nice independent shops in and around the Lifestyle on Kloof complex. And for a sweet treats, stop at Myog frozen yougurt or Unframed Ice cream.

Situated on the V&A Waterfront, The Watershed is a unique hub where you will find the best of local design and quality craft. It’s nice to walk and discover all the little boutiques and stalls full of beautiful jewellery, home décor, toys, clothes….

For my three girls, I love the two famous Australian brands Country Road and Cotton On kids. It’s fun, colourful, affordable and kids love it as much as their parents.

STAY

La Grenadine is a really charming guesthouse situated in the heart of busy Cape Town. We love the peaceful garden, the eclectic interior full of French antiques and local design and the relaxed atmosphere. They offer perfect options for families like a two-bedroom cottage or a three-bedroom private house.

The Belmond Mount Nelson is one of the most iconic hotels of Cape Town which combines timeless luxury, refinement and a real care for the happiness of families. Located just in front of Company’s Garden, it’s really easy to explore the city by foot. Kids can play and run in the magnificent gardens, play tennis, swim or spend hours in their amazing fully supervised playrooms!

The Grand Daddy is certainly Cape Town’s most original place to stay. Above their classic suites, they created a rooftop Airstream Trailer Park. All the trailers have their own individual decor theme and you can choose to sleep in the Safari trailer, the Beach trailer, the Winelands trailer (the biggest one)…. Children love it! Even if you don’t sleep there, take the kids to their Pink Flamingo Rooftop Cinema located in the middle of the Airstream trailer Park.

Camps Bay Retreat is a peaceful paradise with amazing views across the Ocean. With its magnificent rolling gardens, swimming pools, the tennis court and the hanging bridge, the property lends itself for ample exploration and outdoor family fun.

More Quarters is situated in one of our favourite area of the city. The concept is perfect for family: You will enjoy the total privacy of your own fully equipped apartment coupled with the convenience of a luxury hotel’s services. They really love kids and your apartment will be filled full of toys, magnets, colouring books & bath toys…

Renting a beach villa is certainly a great family accommodation! Airbnb is full of beautiful options and for something more selective, I always recommend Perfect Hideaways and Cape Villa Collection.

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