#like. the cast is so iconic the music the DANCE SCENES as you know i adore

[clueless1995]

feel like i got lost in the weeds in that tag but like. i understand in kids shows they don’t swear. and that’s fine because usually they aren’t in situations where it would be natural to swear. but in media where they have teenagers/adults in Situations and they aren’t swearing i’m like. girl he just murdered your best friend what is this heck business. call him a cunt and start swinging

or even just like my example of she’s all that. laney finds out that freddie prinze jr had a bet to make her prom queen. and this is a situation where they could’ve not had swearing easily, like. she just gets angry and shouts at him and storms off, but they let her use one (1) fuck and it makes the scene so much more impactful (at least to me). but also rachael leigh cook’s delivery is iconic

the relevant bit starts at 1:45 but im on my phone so i couldn’t just link directly to there but watch this

like. of course she’s going to swear she thought she had a friend/romantic interest and finds out it was all because of a bet, her world is falling apart because she feels like it’s all been a lie, and it’s all this guy’s fault. OF COURSE SHE’S GONNA SAY FUCK. and it wouldn’t have had the same impact on the audience if she hadn’t (i think especially since it’s the only fuck in the movie so it probably comes as unexpected, like i always forget it happens until this scene, but i’m always like. Yeah. she should get to say that)

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Lena Horne (Cabin in the Sky, Stormy Weather)— Incredibly talented biracial actress, singer, dancer, and activist (she did so much work towards integrating audiences). Because of the racism of the era, she rarely got to be the lead actress but filmmakers loved her so much that they would often create stand alone segments within a film to highlight her beautiful singing, knowing that these segments would ultimately be cut from the film by censors in areas that forbid films with Black performers. Also, she's just so wonderful in Cabin in the Sky as a gold-digger villain who is not the least bit subtle about her intentions. I would highly recommend checking out her work.

Ginger Rogers (Swing Time, Top Hat)—Look I’ll level with you, I’ve never seen her in a musical and I know that she’s an amazing dancer and she’ll be even hotter when I finally watch Top Hat but I’m not submitting her as a dancer I’m submitting her as an ACTRESS. Her comic timing is impeccable!!!!! She’s full to bursting with life and in every role she seems to be having FUN, you can practically feel the twinkle in her eye. With her natural warmth it’s like she’s letting you in on the joke, y’all get to have this fun together! Making me laugh is hot!!! [If you'd like to see Ginger dance, videos below the cut]

This is round 3 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Lena Horne:

64.media.tumblr.com

Black American powerhouse singer and actor who faced all the usual bullshit that any BIPOC faced in vintage Hollywood and achieved legendary status anyway. Also a Civil Rights movement icon.

She was a gem

She was so beautiful and those dimples are amazing! Truly depressing how badly Hollywood treated her because she was black. I would love to have seen what she really could have been if they didn’t cast her in so many yikes roles. She’s got gorgeous eyes and that body! Her joyful smile makes happiness sexy!

Civil rights actress, singer, dancer, actress, she's got the whole package

Lena Horne was a wonderful singer and actress who largely starred in black cast musicals. While she had a lot of main stream success, she ultimately lost the lead role in showboat (a role she had played on the stage) to a white actress due to hollywood's prejudices. She was also blacklisted during the HUAC hearings, but she still managed to be hot be hot as fuck and have a career spanning decades, working with more well-known stars like Judy Garland in musicals, and working on stage and releasing albums when her hollywood career began to suffer.

Miss Horne became famous during a period of time when Hollywood had very few meaningful roles for people of color. Although she is more so known as a performer, she starred in two successful all black productions (Cabin in the Sky & Stormy Weather). If that wasn't enough, she also guest starred on the Muppets (Season 1, Episode 11)

Ginger Rogers propaganda:

She needs no introduction! An undeniable powerhouse on the dancefloor, and no less talented an actress. I once watched a compilation of cinema's greatest dance scenes and one of her and Fred Astaire's dances was featured, and one of the talking heads said he pitied her for 'having to keep up with him' - or something to that effect. Bullshit, I cry. Ginger Rogers was his absolute equal, and underplaying her incredible skill is downright criminal. I want the 'Cheek to Cheek' sequence from Top Hat to be permanently burned into my memory.

"Backwards in high heels", as the saying goes (though the pedant in me must point out that she in fact spent her fair share of time leading or dancing side-by-side). One of the earliest twinkle-toed ladies of the silver screen, and in terms of acting/persona, her balance of wide-eyed cuteness and movie-star glamour has never quite been replicated.

we all know her beloved string of musicals with fred but ginger also has an extensive and varied non-fred filmography that she's great in! a few ginger moments that are important 2 me personally ginger singing “we’re in the money” in gold diggers of 1933, complete with a verse in pig latin bc this whole movie is kinda mocking the concept of anyone actually being in the money in 1933; ginger and una merkel singing a verse of “shuffle off to buffalo” in 42nd street, providing some statler & waldorf-esque commentary on newlyweds from the upper berth of a railway car (interesting that belly was apparently a risque word in 1933 - maybe its bc the lyric is innuendo-ing about out of wedlock pregnancies - and that panties was a term for men’s underthings!); a favorite fred & ginger number

Ginger Rogers could do everything! She could sing, dance and act. She was hilarious in comedies, moving in dramatic roles (she won an Oscar for Kitty Foyle in 1940) and absolutely gorgeous!

Listen, no shade to Fred Astaire at all, but she both kept up with him step for step and then later went on to WIN AN OSCAR FOR ACTING. (which he did not.) truly a double threat!!!

One of the best dancers in Hollywood! Her work with Fred Astaire is just incredible.

ONE LINE: "Everything Fred did, Ginger did backwards and in heels" AND THEYRE RIGHT! Rogers was a total dance badass, and a lot of movie buffs know the story, but the Never Gonna Dance number from Swing Time took almost 50 takes, and allegedly by the end of filming it her white shoes had been stained pink because her feet were bleeding. As a note, she looks crazy gorgeous in this number. Watching these two dance is insane. They match up to each other in a way my mom describes as "divine" and she's right. DANCE NUMBERS!

Let's Call The Whole Thing Off (Shall We Dance, 1937, dancing starts at 3:14, they're in ROLLERSKATES)

(Ginger Rogers is the hottest woman ever to live in this number. seeing this as a teenager altered my brain chemistry)

(also watch her feet and how she moves opposite Astaire in this one. We all know our boy Freddie had that precision demon but jesus christ Miss Rogers, let a girl live!)

Pick Yourself Up, Swing Time 1936 (Everyone's seen this one but by god you are going to see it AGAIN!)

Shall We Dance, 1937 (duet begins at 2:34)

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, Roberta 1935 (There's just something about Ginger Rogers in a slick black dress man)

The Continental, The Gay Divorcee 1934

God she's MAGIC in this one.

Gay Divorcee's Ending Montage 1934

The infamous table and chairs spin happens at about 0:49. Pay CLOSE attention to her in this bc it looks like witchcraft and I feel lightheaded whenever I watch this movie bc shes THAT awesome.

She is a miracle to watch. Sorry for the sheer amount of clips. My entire family is like madly in love with Ginger Rogers.

[a-queer-query]

@aixabi my butterfingers accidentally deleted your ask MB BUT HERES YOUR ANSWERS

📌 how did you find your hyperfixation?

Genshin Impact - pre-release fanart on instagram lol, it took me a week or two before I decided to play it after its release but it's become a reoccurring hyperfixation. Hate it sm (I love it)

The Magnus Archives - I actually don't remember but probably from tumblr fanart.

🎥 do you have any favorite scenes from your hyperfixation?

Genshin - During the Fontaine archon quest, when Focalors/Furina have their final dance? I CRIED. It was amazing. Also when Wriothesley did that slide while running away from the primordial seawater. I really liked Fontaine.

TMA - MAG 160 - when The Eye opens. Just the whole episode.

🎶 if your hyperfixation has songs/an ost, what is your favorite song from it?

Genshin - the Natlan battle theme goes SO hard. But a classic for me is Thunderings of the Merciless.

TMA - the calliope music from that episode where the cheating ex gets turned into a doll. I love it sm.

I'll try to find links for both of these and reblog em.

💕 tell us about one of your favorite characters and why you like them!

Genshin - Kaedehara Kazuha. I saw his trailer on YouTube and it actually got me back into the game, after a couple months of not playing it. Honestly I don't know why I like him sm, but his design is great, I love his personality, and his playstyle/kit is so damn good. He's my only limited 5 star I've gone for constellations on (as a f2p player) and I have him c2. Also got his signature weapon on his last banner.

TMA - I just answered this for the icon of a man, Joshua Gellespie. I would not have been that calm if I had a coffin crying in my living room.

🏳‍🌈 do you have any headcanons (lgbt, race, neuro, etc) that are important to you?

Genshin - you can pry haikaveh from my cold, dead hands, actually. They're both bisexual trust. Neuvillette is so aroace coded to me (projection 101), and him and Wriothesley are in a qpr. Definitely. In other headcanons, Xingqiu has dyslexia and half the cast has ADHD. No reason (projection 101 x2)

TMA - Elias is divorced. Doesn't matter from who. He just is. Also jonmartin is a t4t relationship.

🍀 do you have any kins or comfort characters from your hyperfixation?

Genshin - I'm a Layla kin through and through! My comfort character is Kazuha.

TMA - I don't think I have any kins or comfort characters from tma. I just like seeing them put Through The Horrors (tm)

💎 are there any fun facts or trivia that you would like to share?

Not that I can think of atm for either.

[nitrateglow]

Scattered thoughts on the West Side Story remake

In general, I really enjoyed the film, largely on the strength of the performances. Everyone ranged from pretty good to amazing, with Rachel Ziegler and Ariana DeBose being the standouts. And Rita Moreno's supporting part was brilliant-- I like how she was given a substantial role and not just a lame ass cameo.

The music and dancing were great too. Ziegler's voice is just gorgeous. One trend I don't like in some modern musicals is casting famous people who cannot sing (Russell Crowe in Les Mis and Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia still haunt my nightmares). While not everyone here is a 100% unknown, I like that everyone seems to have been hired because they can actually hit the notes.

I thought the beefed up backstories for some of the characters were really interesting. (Chino's buffed up personality and background were my favorite of these new touches. He goes from being a breathing plot device to a truly tragic figure in this version.) I know some people don't like how Tony was made into an ex-con, but I appreciate that this time around they wanted to make him feel more like a credible ex-gang member. That's something I never bought in the 1961 film.

Speaking of the 1961 version, I haven't seen it in a few years, so I can't compare the two in more detail, though I do remember enough to where I can say I preferred the staging and direction in certain scenes in the older film. A lot of it has to do with my personal aesthetic preferences though.

Like, I'm not as crazy about Spielberg's staging of Tony and Maria's first encounter at the dance. The dancing between the rival groups is spectacular, but there's so much going on that the lovers get overwhelmed by it. The blocking of the scene has them retreat behind the bleachers to have their first dance (a parallel to showing Romeo and Juliet's instant chemistry through a conversation in sonnet form). However, I much prefer the 1961 film's dreamy approach, where time slows and only the lovers remain in focus. I get not wanting to repeat such an iconic moment or it coming off as corny in the 2020s, but I don't think it was replaced by anything of equal inspiration.

Actually, this brings me to a general issue I had with the remake's more pronounced "gritty and realistic" approach. One on hand, it makes sense-- the original show and 1961 film were noted for their realism, or at least, their very expressionist-tinged realism. It's meant to contrast with the romanticism of the lovers, who like Romeo and Juliet, want to go "Somewhere" their love won't be poisoned by divided loyalties and violence.

However, the more pronounced sense of unvarnished reality has two drawbacks in Spielberg's version. One, it makes the "falling in honestly and truly love in less than 48 hours" thing a bit harder to swallow. I can buy love at first sight in heightened, operatic reality-- less so in a setting that wants to resemble everyday reality.

Second, there are a hell of a lot of moments where characters break into song and the extras around them give them "wtf" looks. It's like the gag in Enchanted where Giselle starts singing in the park and Robert's like, "what now," only that movie's a meta-parody of animated musicals and WSS wants me to invest in this world and these characters. Having other people go "0_0" when someone sings takes me out the movie. You can't have your old-fashioned musical and your 21st century "lol irony take nothing seriously" schtick in the same film.

But overall, I really enjoyed this one. It's a remake that isn't just a rehash of a beloved film and it makes decisions that distinguish it completely. I plan on rewatching the 60s version, actually, just to reintroduce myself to it, since it has been over half a decade now.

[curedigiqueen]

Ah, Precure dance endings. A series staple. Whether you consider the First dance ED to be "You make me happy" or "Ganbalance de dance" or even the very first "Get You! Love Love?!" the point is they've been around for a while. Generally speaking nothing but a simple fun time, but rarely has had anything to do with the show proper. Nothing wrong with that of course, but the very first Precure ED was a bit more than that.

Futari wa, as opposed to every other season, only has the 1 ending. Sure, it changes visually halfway through to accommodate Pollun and the new villain team, but that's it. (Which is more than the OP which doesn't change at all, which is also unusual). But I think people often miss the relevance of the song in between all the less relevant eds, and the iconicness that is the OP.

But the ED is also iconic and a crucial piece of the Futari wa Purikyua experience.

Episode 45, the last episode before shit hits the fan, features this song heavily. This song isn't really my favorite ed, and the episode isn't a particular favorite of mine (Futari wa has so many good episodes), but it utilizes the ed effectively, and the song that you've been listening to all this time hits harder.

Nagisa immediately falls in love with the song. The song speaks to her looking at the lyrics of course its no surprise. But it's not just "song that Nagisa would like". Though I would be remiss if I did not mention the inclusion of sweets in the lyrics. Nagisa loves chocolate. It's the go to simple important part of life for her.

They have the girls sing it. Sung by a chorus, not just Nagisa and Honoka (but they do get solos), but the whole class, many of whom appear in the ED. Because of Futari wa's small main cast the side characters hold a more important role than they do in many future series, so these are characters we know, even if just from an episode. There's a weight to the music being diegetic.

Of course the episode ends sweetly, with Nagisa, Honoka, and the fairies, singing their heart out with the rest of their class. But for a moment that wasn't a guarantee. Nagisa and Honoka being unable to sing with their class highlights the toll that this fight has taken on their normal school lives. They have to fight against someone who fully intends to kill them, and then destroy their loved ones, alone while every one else is.

Made all the more poignant by the subject matter of the song.

First of all, the title "Get you! Love Love!" is in English, and a bit nonsensical in English. But "Love Love" in Japanese, means more "lovely-dovey". It's VERY much so in your face romantic. A word used to describe Mepple and Mipple. The song is about the joy of teenage romance. While I don't really want to call it frivolous, next to world saving it doesn't hold the same weight.

Now, I recognize that may seem counter to my point that the song is important to Futari wa. I mean there's no canon romantic relationship. Closest is Nagisa's crush that she never actually confesses to. But putting aside all of Futari wa's romance elements (which is an entirely different discussion), the lyrics are still very relevant to Futari wa.

The Opening holds the iconic line "even wearing school uniforms we're unbelievably tough" and features scenes of them fighting evil in their school uniforms. The opening is an ode to how badass they are in all aspects of their life.

But the ending is the other side of the coin. It tells us how frustrated they are with the villains encroaching on their everyday life. While I don't speak Japanese, and have seen it translated a couple of ways, the reoccurring "datte yatte ran'nai jan", is either "because you can't make me do this", or "because I can't do this". IDK which is right, but either way, this is in regards to fighting, stress, and trouble, which stands in stark contrast to the opening which is very much so about how much they can and do fight. "For the sake of the earth, for the sake of everyone That's fine but isn't there something that you're forgetting?! Now!" They aren't even being subtle about the Pretty Cure part about the girls lives in the song. How much that they don't want to do it. "My heart is pounding and throbbing like a dreaming teenager An original daily life is something I won't get rid of" The lines of Nagisa and Honoka's solo. The most thematically important lines in the whole song imo. While the importance of the everyday is important in most Precure seasons, it is especially emphasized with Futari wa. The main theme of the story is about how precious day to day things are, and how unfair it is for the girls to have to fight for that.

Because ultimately that is what Futari wa Pretty Cure is about more than anything. I think it's important to view Futari wa Pretty Cure through the lens of a slice of life first. It's tone a lot of the time, focusing on poor grades and unfinished homework, lacrosse, errands, sleepovers and family. A relatively grounded slice of life from the perspective of magical girls. The value of the normal events highlighted by the desperation Nagisa and Honoka have fighting to defend them. The ED highlights it by focusing on the more "frivolous" aspects of the girls lives.

The visuals of the ED are pretty simple, but effective. They showcase the different circles the girls interact with. Their families, their classmates, their clubs and of course the villains. Because of Futari wa's focus on their community, the presence of these characters in the ED is deserved. A fun lighthearted focus on their day to day lives to contrast the OP.

Also, I'd like to point out the ED visuals humanizing the villains. While Futari wa's villains are easily among some of the franchises worst, having the unforgivable flaw of being forgettable, the show doesn't do a completely terrible job of humanizing them. And the ED contributes to that. The dancing of the villains, just being the goofy people that some of them are when not, trying to destroy the world. While I wouldn't call the behavior canonical, it really isn't off base for characters like Gekidrago and Regine. The villains, for all that they are generic, are primarily motivated by their desire to continue existing: the same motivation that drives the Cures. (Gotta love their goofy dance).

Also a guy screams at the end of it. If I have to hear it now so do you.

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay Visuals - Jingle Bell Rock

Voiceplay weren't originally planning to release any proper full-length video for December last year (2023), just a Mini or two, as they were busy in November due to a special performance with the band Chicago. They asked their Patrons for song suggestions for Minis, and then put the three most popular suggestions into a poll for people to vote on. Jingle Bell Rock won out with 55% of the votes, but then a Patron provided a suggestion of doing it "Mean Girls style". Initially the guys were confused, (as was I when I first read the video title when the Premiere appeared) - was there some different musical styling that they weren't aware of? But they soon realised that "Mean Girls style" was referring to the iconic dance scene from the 2004 movie. And so, on the 16th of December, 2023, we got a proper video, not just a Mini, with plenty of absurdity and "Voiceplay brand of dumb", courtesy of Layne! (Layne was in charge of both the arrangement and the video, and is also co-credited for creative direction along with Tony).

Now please don't kill me, but I've never actually watched Mean Girls (*GASP*). However, I know a fair bit about it just from it being popular on Tumblr and the internet in general, and I know this specific scene in the movie quite well, as my dad and I would watch the clip of it every year in December. I have also rewatched the original scene before starting this post, because I'm gonna be doing screenshot comparisons! For one thing, this isn't a super long video, so I'm not worried about image limit, and for another, VoicePlay put a lot of effort into recreating this scene as closely as possible (albeit with some, er, aesthetic alterations 😜), so I wanna prove it, because why not!

Anyway, that's a fair bit of introductory stuff already, so I'll leave my other notes/commentary/thoughts for during the actual video talk bit. Let's get into this!

Making a shot from this little opening bit as the thumbnail was one heck of a choice ngl. Maybe they couldn't be bothered finding a better shot from the video, or maybe they just wanted to keep most of the video as a surprise for viewers, idk, but I was so confused from the thumbnail-title combo when the premiere appeared!😂

Also if you don't already know from the video description, this was all filmed on Tony's iPhone! (Doesn't mean it was all handheld though - tripods/stands for phones exist!). It was because VoicePlay were without a cameraguy for like 2-3 months, because their old one moved states.

So instead of doing any sort of "sexy santa/santa's helper" costumes like in the original, Layne decided that he and the others would be dressing up as characters from Christmas movies! Cesar as Buddy The Elf (perfect casting and also gets off easiest in the outfit department, lol), Layne as The Grinch, Geoff as Oogie Boogie (duh), and Eli as Santa/Sandy

(Also fun fact: the Oogie Boogie costume is the same one that Tony wore for his very brief appearance in VoicePlay's Kidnap The Sandy Claws video! (Also it's pretty hot to wear apparently, and Geoff had to tie his hair back to get the head/hood fitted properly, before he ended up asking for a wig cap, rip))

Also if you don't know the original scene, the original line after "but I'm always on your left!" is "that was when there were three of us, and now the tallest go in the middle", but here, the tallest (Layne/Grinchy and Geoff/Oogie Boogie) already are in the middle, so it's switched out for "now the fat one goes in the middle" (also watch for Eli's/Santa's quick surprised reaction to that line, lol)

(Also not a visual thing, but if you haven't picked up on it already, the announcer doing the "please welcome to the stage" bit is also Layne)

I know I didn't mention it in all my rambling at the start, but yes, shoutout to Adriana Arellano who is also in this video! (And blonde now!). This is her fifth full-length collaboration with the group, and second for a Christmas video! (Third if you count the Frozen 2 Medley).

Also do you recognise the set? Again? I'll say more later, but those curtains were almost definitely added in post-production I'll tell ya that!

Can't recreate the OG scene without an audience, and so we haveone! That just happens to also include the VoicePlay guys themselves! (Geoff must've been sharing his cloning machine around! 😜😆

Huldra has a video on her channel I believe saying who's who in the audience here, but they're also all credited in the description, so I'll list them here for you!

Standing up at the back: Michelle Arellano (Adriana's mum)

Back row: Eli, Ashley Jacobson (Eli's wife), Asher Jacobson (the baby that Ashley is holding; Eli's new son who was born in November last year!), Eileen McCarthy (don't know who she is), and Gayle Stein (Layne's mum).

Middle row: Franchezca Buiser (in shadow behind Cesar) (production assistant for Kathy/VoicePlay), Cyndi Stein (the blonde one behind Layne) (Layne's wife), Christina Arellano (Adriana's sister), and Adriana

And of course in the front row: Cesar, Layne, Kathy, and Geoff!

(Oh and "The Grinch" waving to Layne and him waving back (in the O.G. scene it's Gretchen waving to Jason) was definitely a cute touch)

Cyndi absolutely killed it playing Amy Poehler's part in the scene here, but wow already the similarities are stronger than I realized!

Totally the same picture! 🤣

So long as everyone had a good time, amirite? 😁

Pfft, Geoff acting shocked/scandalised, as if he hasn't done more than that in his Way Down video! 😆

Cesar is having the best time, and we love that for him honestly <3

Cyndi also really got into it! Stan! (She and Layne really are perfect for each other huh - same energies!)

Not a recreation of any bit in the original, but I love the little moment of Eileen and Gayle looking at each other in what can at best be called "great shock/surprise" 😂

Firstly, I love how they managed to include Ariana as a lead singer while still keeping with the original "plotline", by having a 'reveal' that Adriana was just lip-syncing to the boombox track, (still her vocals of course), which is revealed when it gets kicked and starts glitching.

Second of all, I love Cesar's attitude of "when in doubt, Remain Cute". Iconic 😂👌

Lol rip, had to happen! (And in the BTS video, they actually kinda show how this bit was done!)

Somehow I feel like Cyndi had the most fun out of anyone in this video shoot 😝

At this point I might as well make note of something you'd be forgiven for not immediately realizing - or perhaps not at all! And that is the fact that they're not actually on a stage! They made it look like one with the use of clever directions and camera anglings for the audience shots, but yeah no that's the same set VoicePlay used in 2022 for Christmas Don't Be Late, and the same set Geoff used that same year for Way Down, and it's totally flat! No stage!

And that's about all I have to say for Jingle Bell Rock actually! (No I'm not including the end bit - I do have some standards! 😂). That brings us up to date with VoicePlay's Christmas videos, but we're not even halfway into my 12 Days of Christmas In July miniseries! Next up, a couple of bonus VoicePlay Visuals posts, and then we'll be jumping over to Geoff's solo stuff! See you again soon!

[an-honest-puck]

I have watched Pray Don't Be Fickle far too many times than is normal (thanks @personinthepalace for sharing the whole scene lol) and I simply cannot get over how incredible Jonathan's voice is- like, the tone of his voice?? so crisp and clear it's amazing

(also, I love rewatching it and watching everyone reacting to him lol)

the fact that it's Harry who first summons him and names him Reverend Jon

Nancy suggesting a silly summoning spell to give Jonathan time to get on stage

the musicians in the background looking at Jon, waiting for him to cue them

Nancy double checking that he's coming and Harry trying not to break as he watches Jon walk on

ok no but hold on, the pure delight on Nancy's face when she realises that Jon's actually going to get on there and sing is so wonderful and lowkey kinda heartwarming?? idk, she's just so hyped for this moment y'all, it's hard not to get swept up in the excitement ya dig?? lol

not Jon Oscar starting his cameo with a pun XDD

"I sense someone has become something jarred!" - Oscar

Charlie: Our headmistress has been turned into a pickle! We need you to reverse that. Oscar: Of course. Well, my children, there's only one way to do that of course. Charlie: Of course- Oscar, breaking half way through this sentence: Which I fear is through song.

Nancy absolutely setting Jon up for a big dramatic song and of course the kicker: "Why don't you take... centre stage?"

listen, I know Nancy literally gestured for him to be centre stage, but that still doesn't explain why he starts this song kneeling pfffff- fr who knows, but it's a bloody power move if I ever did see one

speaking of brilliant moves, shoutout to Charlie for inviting everyone in the cast on the stage to be a part of this iconic moment 😌

Oscar: Uhh. My children, I must say, I'm disappointed that tonight is the only show my parents are watching.

Almost everyone else in the cast: *breaking*

Oscar: But here we go.

the band and Jonathan being perfectly timed on that opening chord and note??? wtf is this improv magic????? /amazed

I'm sorry but even from that very first line "When you've been turned" his tone is so crisp and so strong my god

also, I can't tell if rhyming 'jarred' with an alternate pronunciation of 'prepared' (i.e. 'preparred') is lazy or lazy enough to be genius XD

I adore Lauren and Nancy's all the little interjections in the first few lines and Jon including them in the song XD

Jon: When you've been turned into something jarred Lauren: Sing it, Reverend! Jon: You must be prepared, be preparred Nancy: It's just you! Jon: It's just me it's a solo, that's unfortunate Nancy (literally just as Jonathan has goe up to the two Henrys and Shields looks like he's about to help him lol): Don't try and pass it, Jon! Jon: But do not worry, things are gonna turn out great!

the knowing laugh of the audience when Jonathan sings "Pray, don't be fickle..." (because how else are you gonna rhyme 'pickle' ya dig?? XD)

but fr tho, Jono vocally popped off on the chorus!!!!!!!

also can we spare a moment to appreciate the way he physically embraces this song?? he's not dancing, but he absolutely nails the 'possessed by the music' acting direction of the scene and I friggin love it!!!!!

(the man is surprisingly light on his feet I would love to see him tap - Charlie says he was a great tap dancer back in their LAMDA days lol)

gotta love the musicians changing the rhythm of the song on him - to be fair, they are keeping in the gospel style of shifting the rhythm lol

and in true improv style, Jono incorporating that into the song XD

"A different kind of rhythm has started / And I know that we're all gonna see the change!" - Oscar

(yo how did he hit that note on 'change'?!!?!?)

and then of course he pops off lyrically and vocally

yo I legit have to record it here because this bit of lyrical improv is Showstopper level!!!!

A different kind of rhythm has started And I know that we're all gonna see the change! Magic's here and the lord is upon us So don't be fearful, now don't be enraged!

his vocal interjections in the second chorus!!!!! the way he becomes a choir director and gets everyone to do the chorus again because no one actually knew how the chorus went, least of all him!!! XD

and then he gets back on his knees and it's all over for us bitches /affectionate because it's me, I'm bitches XD

the way he signals for the music to stop is so fckn cool omg

THE RUN HE HITS ON 'PRAY' ADFSAKHDJFKSLAHLDJSK 😩😩😩😩😩😩😩

(Nancy in the background looking so proud!!!!!!!!!!!!)

THE TIMING OF THE BAND TO COME BACK IN WITH THE MUSIC ASDFHADSFJLKAFHLJK 😩😩😩😩😩😩😩

again with the badass stop-the-music signal?!?!?! we get it you're a fkcn bombass vocalist AND you're musically trained goddang- /jk

and to top it all off: a pitch perfect exit featuring a Shields flourish to end

in conclusion: Mischief, give the people what they want and let Jonathan Sayer sing more in your future productions!!!!!!!

[destinyc1020]

My Movie Review: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody"

I'm FINALLY getting around to writing this movie review after all of the unfortunate craziness that's been going on in my life for the past two months.....🤪🤦🏾‍♀️

Anyway, I saw “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” at theaters over a month ago lol!  😅 I just wanted to share my own personal Movie Review, and see what you all maybe thought about the film as well.  

**NOTE:  I will first start off by giving a very general overview/review of the movie overall, and then further down below, I will discuss the pros and cons from the movie, and will go more in-depth and be more candid with how I felt about the movie. 😊

With that said….

OVERALL:

Overall, I felt like this movie was the type of film that someone who is a fan of Whitney's music might want to check out just for the sheer enjoyment of her music alone.

I had forgotten how many great hits Whitney had over the years, and how many of her songs have been iconic to me growing up. I've always been a huge fan, and so this movie was a nice tribute to her music. I got chills down my spine during some of her performance scenes. 😊 I was even singing and dancing along to most of her music lol. 😂 There were quite a few things that I didn't know about Whitney's personal life (especially her younger life) that this movie seemed to touch on a little bit, so that was interesting. Personally? I felt like the acting of Naomi, Ashton, Nafessa, and Tamara Tunie especially, really stood out in this film imo.

PROS:

The music was great!

The acting was decent

I liked the "back-in-time" 80s and 90s wardrobe/fashions lol

They tried their best to make the cast look like the real Whitney/Bobby/Clive/Cissy/Bobbi Christina, etc.

I feel like I learned a lot more about Whitney's younger life, and her relationship with Robyn than I knew about.

I actually felt like Nafessa kind of stole the show in her scenes with Naomi. 👀

CONS:

I hate to say it.... But the main thing that took me out of this movie each and every time was the fact that Naomi looked NOTHING AT ALL like Whitney HOUSTON!!!! 😤😡 Usually I'm not that picky and I don't really care as much and I can suspend my disbelief even if the actor doesn't look exactly like the real person in history because their acting is so good, but for some reason, with this movie, I just couldn't do it.....I'm sorry! I would hear Whitney's VOICE singing, but then when I would LOOK at the actress, it just took me out of the whole entire scene. :(

I almost felt like it was someone cosplaying as Whitney Houston. To her credit, Naomi is a great actress... But I just kept asking myself throughout the whole entire movie: "You mean to tell me there were NO African-American actresses who looked a LITTLE like Whitney that they could have chosen for this role??"

Whoever wrote this film certainly gave Bobby Brown the "Good Edit", cuz ummmm..... 👀 In this movie they almost made it seem like Bobby and Whitney just had regular normal spats like most couples, and we all know THAT is a lie. 😒🙄 I'm shocked they didn't show her with not one black eye in the film, nor did they even allude to him hitting her. But oh well....

My other gripe with this movie was the fact that I didn't feel like enough money was put into it. I feel like this movie should have been BIGGER. I have seen at least two Whitney biopics now (a made-for-TV one, and this movie), and EACH and every single time, I feel like they just don't do Whitney's life story justice. I feel like it's always some low-budget type deal. 🥴 I'm sorry, but after seeing awesome biopics like "Ray", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Elvis", "JFK", "Malcolm X", etc. , I just can't with this biopic. It's just NOT on the same level as those others at all. It makes me sad that it almost felt like they didn't even TRY with this biopic. 😔

MY OVERALL SCORE:  6/10  - Overall, if you love Whitney's iconic music, and just want to have a great time dancing and enjoying a light-hearted film, then check it out! But if you're expecting this film to be on any sort of level as other biopics done.... Then, you're going to be sorely disappointed. 😔 They just didn't put as much MONEY into this film as I would have hoped. I just hope that Michael's biopic has some BIG money behind it. I just feel like Whitney's biopic deserved better...and I would have started by casting someone else as the lead. 👀

I gave this movie a chance even despite my overwhelming feeling that the actress looked NOTHING like Whitney. I tried...But it did make a difference in some of my enjoyment of the film. (no offense) Maybe it's because I actually remember when Whitney was alive lol. Anyway.... Overall, it's a fun movie to watch at least once, and I encourage anyone who is just a fan of her music to check it out. I would say that it's streamable.... It's not one you have to watch on the big screen in other words. It was good fun though! So, definitely one worth checking out if you're a fan of Whitney's music. 😊👍

[lorbanery]

You know, it also has to be said: The movie adaptations are often lacking.

Like, we all know what a disaster Cats was (which don't get me started on the damage that did to the musical's already shaky reputation just because of the concept, there are so many people who are never going to even give the actual musical a try just because even the music and dancing in the movie mostly ranged from bafflingly mediocre to infuriatingly bad, with very few standouts).

And folks have talked a lot about Les Mis and the miscasting of Russell Crowe.

But fewer people talk about the miscasting in Phantom of the Opera of pretty much everyone but Roaul. Or how the opening sequence of the theater restoring itself doesn't really get across the magic of that same sequence in the actual theater that a proshot would at least be better at.

Fewer people talk about the poor direction of Sweeney Todd, how Burton sucked out all of the humor that's written into the script.

How Into the Woods cut for time an entire musical scene that was a major character growth moment for the Baker, and, bafflingly, an actually really short song that existed purely to make a dick joke and a bean pun (and also to get a little levity after Jack had to sell Milky White).

How West Side Story made the bizarre decision to have Anita's moment in Tonight where she's fantasizing about all the hot nasty sex she's gonna have with Bernard when he comes home after the rumble ... take place in a church??? And the fact that the people around her were shushing her making it clear that she was doing so out loud????? Or moving I Feel Pretty from the first act when Tony and Maria are in their twittery honeymoon phase where they don't truly believe anything bad can happen just because a white guy and a Puerto Rican woman want to date in 1960's NYC, to ... right after Tony shoots Bernard?????? It didn't make it tragically ironic, which is what I assume Spielberg was going for, it just made for a wild, unexplained, and unnecessary tone shift. Or the very very very weird decision to take Somewhere away from Tony and Maria and turn it into a solo for Doc Valentina, just because she was being played by Rita Moreno, the first movie's Anita. Like, by all means! Give her a song or part of a song! Write her a verse in Tonight! Give her a reprise of When You're A Jet with the lyrics rewritten to be accusatory and calling them out for their shit while they're all hiding out in her shop! Just maybe not ... the most iconic song that the two leads sing as a hope for the future and plea to the audience to stop being so fucking racist, made all the more tragic by the fact that Tony dies in the end??????? Also inserting her unnecessarily into the final scene, completely distracting from the tableau of the funeral march with the surviving gang members coming together to carry Tony's dead body away with Maria mourning behind them ... by having Grandma Valentina in her robe and house slippers following along behind them to hand Chino over to the cops, like?????????? If you wanted to give her more screen-time you could've just had an extended sequence under the credits where they carry Tony's body down the street and show the devastated and ashamed reactions of the characters who weren't at that final confrontation aND WHY DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN THIS TO A MAN WITH SIXTY YEARS OF DIRECTING EXPERIENCE???????

We don't talk about how Rent turned so many musical moments into dialogue for no apparent reason (but it was probably because they were COWARDS), making all of those scenes SO uncomfortable to watch because you could HEAR the actors ACTIVELY TRYING REALLY HARD to not sing them. Or how heavily auto-tuned Rosario Dawson was. Which isn't! Generally! Something!! You have to worry about! With professional! Stage productions! Because those casting teams actually care about their actors being able to, y'know, sing the songs for the role they're being cast in!

And none of that is even getting into the new songs that are often shoe-horned into the movie adaptations for the sole purpose of making the movie eligible for at least ONE of the music Oscars, because the only two options are either "ORIGINAL score" or "ORIGINAL song", both of which disqualify an adaptation using the music composed for the original theatrical production and the Oscars don't give enough of a shit about musicals to even PRETEND to consider thinking about discussing possibly deliberating a theoretical rule change.

Infuriatingly, Phantom was one of the few who actually took the sensible route and MADE THE NEW SONG THEIR CLOSING CREDITS SONG.

Anyway yes, pro-shots make sense in every way imaginable!

Including keeping Tom "I hate musicals but keep directing them for some reason and also don't understand how music in general works" Hooper away from directing another adaptation, just in case someone was thinking about giving him another chance after Cats.

People who honestly think there shouldn’t be a proshot release of theater shows because then people wouldn’t go to the theater anymore are so fucking dumb holy shit how dumb do you have to be did people stop watching footbal games because it also airs on tv? did people stop going to concers because you could get the dvd? holy shit just let poor people have a taste of the thing too god damn it

[meiishu]

hsmtmts season 4 episode 2 thoughts under the cut

- “and also extremely former tv stars” im here for ricky and mack having some beef tbh just wish it wasnt love traingle-y

- “featured background, youre late why didnt you knock” LMAO i love them all dealing with the filming i think its funny to watch

- ricky youre the mvp trying to look out for miss jenn and your musical. i watch this show exclusively for richard bowen

- i miss ej thou

- i love how the hsmtmts gang just kicked dance ass and the instructor was impressed you guys SLAY

- ricky and mack’s enemies dynamic is more interesting than the forced romantic drama between mack and gina

- miss quinn is hilarious ngl

- emmy is also amazing. need more of her 100/100

- “your home is being rented for a weirdly large amount of money” miss jenns FERAL SCREAM iconic

- not ricky watching all of season 1 of mack and dog or whatever LOL

- MISS JENN PRETENDING TO BE AN EXTRA LMFAOOOOO

- ashlyn “i didn’t know but i do now” LOOOOL

- ashlyn and maddox r so real. but BIG RED 😭😭😭

- i loooove ashlyns headband so much

- joshua bassett singing now or never iconic if i dont get him singing scream in this season I’M GONNA SCREAM

- “ricky right? who’s that girl dancing with my boyfriend” i wanted ricky to say “my girlfriend “ so badly

- ginas face after dani glared at her she looked around like that meme “who are you talking to right now”

- gina and ricky are CUTE….. so mad they were robbed of growing as a couple this season and forced into a love triangle 😭😭

- “i saw a brilliant dancer… and a has-been sitcom actor” LMFAOOO THE SHADE AT MACK

- where r maddox and jet i dont want all these scenes with the new characters 😭

- dani cant fucking act LOL thats pretty funny but i saw it coming

- “interesting choices” quinn is so funny LMFAO i’ll take more of her over dani and mack

- PUPPY DATE 🥺 richard bowen pls.

- i also love ricky admitting his jealousy for mack to gina and apologizing for being judgy over her love of mark and spark, AND performing a cover of the theme song for her because he knows the show means so much to her. ricky and gina are CUTE. sofia and josh just have great chemistry together in the show too

- everyone just showing up at ginas house LOL

- seb i miss u 😭😭 come back

- awww ashlyn not being out to big red yet … i hope that doesnt come out to bite her in the butt like big red catches something hes not supposed to

- miss jenn and quinn…. enemies to lovers 👀

- (still want mr mazarra WHERE IS HE)

- AM I TOO LATE? “for ricky youre right on time”

- i love the cast list sm its perfect

- PLEASE NOT THE POSTER OF MACK IN THE BACK ricky sitting there like 🧍‍♂️

- LMFAO KENNEDY TOTALLY PASSING UP RICKYS HIGH FIVE

- aaaaand GINA WILL TAKE DANIS SPOT IN THE SHOW interesting… love that for her. though that means i have to watch more mack 😒

overall thoughts: interesting, i want maddox and jet back, WHERE IS MR MAZARRA????? rina is cute, i want to see more of the og hsm cast

[ziseviolet]

Hiya! I’ve been extremely interested in Cdrama’s as of late and the costumes! Now in some of these dramas there are dancing scenes. But I saw that not all the dancing scenes are done in chinese clothes. I saw one scene where they wore a ‘bedlah’. Can I get your input wether this is just modern aesethic or not. Thank you for your time in answering our asks!

Hi, thanks for the question!

I know what you’re referring to - in Chinese historical costume (guzhuang) dramas, you can occasionally see characters wearing bedlahs or bedlah-like outfits for dance scenes. Example below - a character wearing bedlah for a dance scene in historical Cdrama Myth of Sword (x):

Bedlahs typically show up as dance costumes in historical Cdramas for the following reasons:

To give the dance a seductive/sensual air (of course this can be achieved with Chinese clothing, but bedlahs add an additional element of mystery and/or “exoticness”) 

To suggest/signify Xiyu influence. Xiyu (西域), lit. “Western Regions”, was a historical name specified in the Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of Yumen Pass, most often Central Asia or sometimes more specifically the easternmost portion of it (e.g. Altishahr or the Tarim Basin in southern Xinjiang), though it was sometimes used more generally to refer to other regions to the west of China as well, such as the Indian subcontinent (as in the novel Journey to the West)

For example, Tang dynasty-set Cdrama Beauties in the Closet features a bedlah dance scene, in which animal spirits disguised as women perform a dance to seduce the emperor (x). The Tang dynasty is famous for its Silk Road trade route that enabled strong relations with the empires to its west (ex: Byzantine, Persian, Arabian). The Tang capital Chang'an became an international metropolis, and foreign clothing & hairstyles became trendy. In Chang’an and Luoyang, Turkish and Persian fashions were highly sought after (x). Thus, the bedlahs in this scene serve to emphasize the seductiveness of the dance, as well as make a nod to the multicultural nature of Tang society:

Another example comes from the historical Cdrama The Great Dunhuang, which is based on the history of the oasis city of Dunhuang, which lies on the ancient Silk Road. In this scene, Meiduo, a princess from the ancient Kingdom of Khotan, dances a feitian (apsara) dance in feitian costume (x). Feitian costumes as depicted in Chinese media have similarities with bedlah, as can be seen below:

With all that said, though, the use of bedlahs in historical Cdrama costuming is still a modern aesthetic, due to the simple fact that the bedlah as we know it today is a modern 20th-century Egyptian belly dance costume influenced by European theatrical attire (1/2):

“The bedlah is essentially a Westernized creation, though not a wholly Western creation. What really cinched its iconic popularity in dance was the golden age of Egyptian Cinema in the 50s-70s, when Egyptian movies still largely cast professional dancers for dance roles. These Egyptian dancers, directors, and costumers sought inspiration from Hollywood and American culture - the bedlah is basically an Egyptianized iteration of the types of costuming that American dancers and showgirls were wearing. (Think Vegas, burlesque, cabaret, lounge and nightclub culture, in addition to movies/popular music culture.)” (Source)

Needless to say, this particular type of outfit did not even exist prior to the 1900s, much less during the Tang dynasty.

So why do they show up in historical Cdramas? As I’ve mentioned many times before (1/2/3), historical Chinese dramas tend to take a lot of liberties in their costume design. And indeed, this is one of those cases. I chalk it up to a combination of trying to appeal to modern audience’s aesthetics/expectations & lack of resources/attention. Researching & creating historically accurate outfits is a lot more difficult than slapping on a bedlah and calling it a day. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

To be fair, this misunderstanding is a worldwide phenomenon, not just a Chinese one. For example, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that Disney’s depiction of Princess Jasmine in a bedlah in Aladdin played a huge role in propagating the perception that the bedlah was an actual “ancient” historic outfit. This influence is especially noticeable in the recent Chinese “Xiyu aesthetic” fashion trend. Below are two Xiyu-style outfits with the theme “Loulan Princess” (the Loulan Kingdom was an ancient kingdom based around an important oasis city along the Silk Road) (x):

The “Princess Jasmine effect” is quite strong, wouldn’t you say? :P

For culturally/historically accurate Chinese dance clothes, please see my dance & dance hanfu tags.

If anyone wants to share more information, please do. Hope this helps!

[charlie-rulerofhell]

An interview with Måneskin: “It's not about out bodies, it's about our music”

Heyo, I'm back with another translation. This time the article is from the German Rolling Stone website who met with Måneskin after their TikTok performance at the Schwuz, Berlin, and posted the interview yesterday. Again there were some interesting questions asked (and the pictures they added to the article are quite nice, though severely lacking some Ethan content, but check it out!).

Again, I hope that no one has already gone through the effort and translated it or is currently working on a translation. Also this is an official invitation, if you stumble across any articles or video interviews in German that you would like to have translated just message me and I'll get to it! (or if you just wanna chat about Måneskin, my inbox is always open :))

Have a great day everyone!

Full article under the cut.

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

An interview with Måneskin: “It's not about out bodies, it's about our music”

Jose-Luis Amsler

July 6, 2021

Måneskin are just what this generation has been missing. Passionate, corny, and full-on honest. In an interview with Rolling Stones, the ESC winners explain to us why they would never work in a normal job and why the hype for their appearance is sometimes going too far.

Damiano, Victoria, Thomas and Ethan are entering the nearly deserted dance hall, before they wait on stage in a red-blue spotlight. They are wearing glittering fish net tops, black tape across their nipples, leather pants, heels and make up. The camera men who are filming in portrait format (9:16) suitable for TikTok are whirling up the haze of the fog machine.

Måneskin are [in] Berlin to give a TikTok concert. A TikTok livestream of this scale has not been done often – tension is in the air. The four Italians don't know at this point that due to the stream the few people present are not allowed to clap or cheer. In complete silence and with slight uncertainty the four are crossing Neukölln's club Schwuz. A few puzzled glances are exchanged. Finally,  Måneskin are striking the first chord.

Then the rich sound of Ethan's bass drum is tearing through the silence. It's almost as if someone has flicked a switch somewhere. There it is, the rock star presence that is hovering over everything they do, with an ounce of arrogance (in the best sense of the word). Singer Damiano is dancing lasciviously on his heels, and during an especially ecstatic solo guitarist Thomas is throwing himself down on the floor in a way it can only be done by a passionate 20-year-old musician who had never had to worry about the looming doom of an artificial knee joint [for 'passionate' the interview is using the term 'besessen' which means 'possessed', and although I think it's rather supposed to describe the way Thomas is 'possessed / obsessed' with the music, thus passionate for the music, you never know if they didn't mean to say that the way he dances looks 'possessed' … I mean, they might be on to something here ;)]. Around half an hour and about 120 decibel later, Damiano says their goodbyes with an almost shy-sounding “Okay, bye.” After the performance, we do our interview in the Schwuz.

Rolling Stone: It was a little bit weird, right, when you went on stage today?

Damiano: Yeah, that was really strange (laughs). They only told us after the performance that the audience was instructed to stay silent for the stream.

Vic: But at least they weren't silent because we were shit (all laughing). We are slowly getting used to playing without a live audience. I mean we are doing this now for more than a year.

RS: What do you think about these new kinds of concerts such as the TikTok livestream today?

Damiano: Well, at the moment it is the only option to perform anyway, so it's alright. But of course you cannot compare this to a proper concert.

Thomas: But it's pretty cool that so many people can experience our concert live.

Vic: Also we're gonna start touring again soon. Right now we are arranging some festival and gigs. In December we will be touring Italy and afterwards we are planning to go on tour through Europe. But we don't have anything fixed yet, there is just a lot going on at the moment.

“A lot going on”. Quite an understatement considering the recent journey Måneskin has made through the past weeks after their ESC win. Their singles “Beggin'” and “I Wanna Be Your Slave” went through the roof (also thanks to Social Media) and are currently dominating the international charts – lately they were also number one in Germany. There is barely a radio station that isn't playing the band on heavy rotation [would love to know what stations they listen to, have never heard Måneskin played in German radio tbh :( ], and everyone opening Instagram or TikTok these days is flooded by Måneskin content. Every second a new fanpage with the name of 'maneskin_obsession' or 'damianos_slut' is springing up like a (virtual) mushroom. It sounds like a cliche, but Damiano, Vic, Thomas and Ethan became international stars over night.

“Of course it's nice to get compliments. But sometimes they definitely cross a line.” – Damiano David

RS: How has your life as a band changed since your win at the ESC in Rotterdam?

Vic: I think we don't even notice a lot of what's happening. Right after the ESC we went to a studio in the countryside where we made music the whole day long. So at first we didn't realise that so many things were happening all around us – and that we had so many new fans. We're just now beginning to learn what's going on. We were at Sony yesterday, there were so many fans waiting for us. That was crazy.

RS: A large part of the attention you are getting now is about your outer appearance, your style, your attractiveness. Is that getting a little too much sometimes?

Damiano: Of course it's nice to get compliments (laughs). But sometimes they definitely cross a line. Especially when we just talk about our music or about a social or political topic that we care about. In those moments it's just completely inappropriate to reduce us to our appearance. Sure – when I'm posting a half-naked picture of myself on Instagram I know that I will get these kind of comments. And then it's totally fine, I mean in the end I'm posting the picture to show myself. But sometimes it's not the right place for it.

RS: And also you should be allowed to wear what you want without being sexualised, right?

Vic: Yes, absolutely. We are wearing these outfits because we feel good in them, not to put the focus on our bodies. And in general it shouldn't always only be about how you dress. We are musicians – so first and foremost it should be about our music. But I think it will still be a long way until we will reach that point.

“That the boys are wearing make up does not tell you what gender they are attracted to. Those things should never be equated with each other.” – Victoria De Angelis

RS: But still you are sending a message with your style against stereotypical gender roles. I guess it's also not only coincidence that we are in the Schwuz today, which is normally a party location and safe space for the LGBTQ community.

Vic: Yes, that is all part of the positive message that we try to send. We want to give our audience the feeling that they are free. Free to wear whatever they want to wear, be how they want to be and love whom they want to love. It's unbelievable that there is still so much intolerance in our times. That has always been really important to us so we try to talk about these topics. We also believe that the narrow-mindedness of society is an educational problem. When you grow up with people all around you telling you how you should be, you will never feel completely free. The more people are talking about it, the sooner things will change.

RS: Some artists who are advocating for these topics are accused of 'queerbaiting', that they are only pretending to be a certain way to gain more support from the queer community. Have you also been faced with those allegations?

Vic: Yes, a few times. But of course we never pretended to be anything. Some people accuse of us queerbaiting because we look and act the way we do. But that's flawed thinking. We don't believe that clothes are connected to a person's sexuality. That the boys are wearing make up does not tell you what gender they are attracted to. Those two things should never be equated with each other.

RS: This courage for free self expression that you are conveying is mainly lived by our (young) generation through Instagram and the like. What is your relationship to social media?

Damiano: For me it was almost scary at first. The more we grew, the more people were trying to twist all of my words. But over time you start to understand that with more fame you also get more criticism. The happier you look the more hate you will get. It's not only like that for celebrities. If you are brave enough to show the things that make you happy there will always be people that support you, but they are also those that envy you. Of course, this should never lead anyone to not express themselves openly but that's easier said than done.

Vic: We are also trying not to spend too much time on social media. In the end we just try to be honest with our fans and to avoid negativity.

[caption under the picture of Damiano: 'Is already being compared to icons such as David Bowie']

It's actually surprising how little power a win at the ESC holds in most cases. Almost 200 million people are watching this shining spectacle every year – and still, a few months afterwards it is hard to remember who those people were that got covered in confetti during the award ceremony. It's the well-known curse of a casting show that rests on the winning bands. When just next year a new sensation will come to marvel at, how much impact does a win have then? There are exceptions of course, like Lena who is until this day, 10 years after her win in Oslo, a part of the more famous music scene of German pop music. With their charisma, their unusual sound at least for our modern standards, and their contemporary message Måneskin could become such an exception, too.

It's likely also helpful that the band already had a standing in the Italian music scene prior to their ESC participation. Their first album 'Il ballo della vita' already achieved platinum in 2018, three years prior to Sanremo and the ESC. And then there is also the long way that led the four schoolmates to this point that helped them gain the necessary persistence. Because contrary to what some people might want to believe Måneskin are not a phenomenon that has just been deliberately bred to be this way by the entertainment industry for Eurovision.

“I have worked [in a 'normal' job] for a whole month in my entire life – it didn't really end well.” – Damiano David

RS: You were all raised in Rome, the capital of the catholic church. What was it like to start as a young progressive band in such a conservative environment?

Damiano: In the beginning, when we started as buskers, no one gave a damn about us anyways (all laughing). But of course … Once we got a bit bigger there were a few people who had a problem with us. For example when we went to Sanremo, there were quite many people who thought that the way we looked and acted we shouldn't be allowed to represent Italy. They didn't even want to listen to our music first.

Vic: Especially when it comes to appearance and sexuality, Italy is a little more backward than other countries. The church probably also has an influence there. They are often quite conservative of course, so many people grew up with such a [conservative] mindset.

RS: You once said that the song 'In Nome Del Padre' is an answer to exactly those people. What does the song mean to you?

Damiano: Back in the beginning [of our career] we had to deal with a lot of problems. They didn't want to let us play in clubs because we would take too much space as a band or because they didn't like our (fashion) style or because they didn't want to pay us. Italy isn't a good place for bands. Our musical style was also criticised a lot. Many people were telling us: Don't do that [rock music], you won't get popular with that in Italy, you will never achieve anything with it. Of course those comments were hurtful but they were also a good reason for us to continue with what we did. And we turned our sadness into anger. With that song we wanted to tell those people from back then: Fuck off and look at us, we did it!

RS: Did you ever consider working in a nine-to-five job and live a 'normal' life?

Damiano: Nah, not really. For one month in my life I worked [in a 'normal' job] – it didn't end well (all laughing).

Vic: We all made music since we were kids. It's a huge part of us, that we couldn't just ignore. And the most important thing is that you do something that makes you happy. At least that's what we believe. So we started from a young age to put all our time and energy into music.

Thomas: Yeah, exactly. Ever since we were in school together we always made music. That has always been our main focus and it is until today. We play and play and play because it is the only thing that …  

Ethan: … we live for.

Damiano: Music has also something very therapeutic for us. Even when we are in a bad mood or fight with each other – yeah, that happens, too – then all of that is gone the moment we enter the stage. Maybe that's the beautiful thing about music – that it allows you to forget everything else. You're just standing on stage, having fun with your friends.

From most bands you wouldn't buy such a corny love letter to music. Mostly it just sounds like an empty phrase, a well-practiced quotable line. But when there is something that defines Måneskin and that becomes more and more evident during our conversation it's their uncompromising honesty. The four of them are definitely not lacking a sense of humour but they take their music very seriously. Which should not be taken for granted in a generation that has mainly produced sarcastic cloud rappers and has made cynical twitter comedy a national sport. And maybe Måneskin are exactly what this generation was lacking all along.

Still, the four musicians, all in the age of 20 to 22, are also prone to the constant need for self-expression, that has become an intrinsic part of today's life. This does not only reflect in the outfits of the band (always 'on fleek') and their Instagram profiles, but also in their lyrics. Their latest record 'Teatra D'Ira – Vol. 1' shows a clear theme: The album is an ode to individuality, accentuated by fast and hard sounds.

Sometimes this message fitting for a Disney movie [really? guess I have been watching the wrong Disney movies my whole life …] is wrapped in a contrasting loud and forceful packaging, but never so much that it becomes inauthentic or self-caricaturing [note: I'm honestly not entirely sure what they wanted to say with this sentence since it uses a lot of rhetorical devices that could be interpreted in different ways, but I'd say this sounds the most plausible]. And in the end, the thing that makes Måneskin so interesting is their unification of the spirit of this time – between TikTok hedonism and an omnipresent political statement – with the music of past generations.

“When you are twenty, you start to think about what the future will hold.” – Damiano David

RS: Your musical style is often described as classical 70s rock, but in fact there are many different influences in your music. Sometimes you groove almost into funk, sometimes it's more rapping than singing. How did this mixture come to be?

Thomas: It's just that we all have our own individual influences and then we meet somewhere in the middle. And we always try to stay open for experiments.

Ethan: Yes, we are very experimental in our song writing process.

Vic: We also don't want to limit ourselves to what is regarded as typical rock music. If rap fits better at some point then we just add that in. It just happens naturally without us thinking too much about it.

RS: So why was it still rock music in the end?

Vic: Because it's the style that we feel most represented by. But actually we just play the music that we enjoy playing. That's really important to us so that we can show something real on stage. We don't want to pretend to be something that we aren't or mock those people that really enjoy our music. You should always be proud of what you're doing and never fake anything just to sell more records.

RS: Is there something like an Italian rock music scene?

Vic: There are quite a lot of bands – but the most of them are much older than us or they are more going in the direction Indie rock. There isn't really a young rock scene, which we think is a pity. But ever since we got more famous people are telling us that they started listening to rock music because of us or that they bought their first guitar and such. That's incredibly nice!

RS: So you're saying that you also want to show this style of music to a younger generation. And you capture this contrast quite well in the song 'Vent'anni', which is a typical rock ballad but lyrically portrays the thoughts of today's youth. Where did the motivation come from to write that song?

Damiano: With the song I wanted to show that I'm just a normal guy, a really typical 20-year-old. I experience the same things that other people in my age are experiencing, I'm just doing another job than them. Also I wanted to describe this age as a whole because I think it's a really special age. At 20 you start to think about what the future will hold. I think it's one of the most important stages of your life. Since we (the four of us) are all in the same age, I then started to mix our experiences together. In the end the song shows what it means to us to be 20. There is a lot of good things – you are quite carefree and are looking at life enthusiastically. But on the other hand you're too young to do certain things and too old to do others. Some people are treating you like a full-grown adult, but …

Vic: … not entirely.

Damiano: Exactly. It can get pretty frustrating at times. We wanted to show our audience: Hey, we're also just 20 years old, and we're going through the same things as you. We understand you.

RS: Except that you are the ones who are becoming a world-wide phenomenon right now. How do you want to maintain this honesty?

Damiano: I think that we could just reach this point because we have always been authentic – for better or for worse. Also we are just trying to have fun with what we're doing together. That's something special that we don't want to lose. In the end we're just four friends who started to live their dream. It's actually pretty simple. Of course – we go on stage, we get a lot of attention, we give interviews – but when we come back home we're just four friends.

[mydancinglady]

My Top 10 Joan Crawford Movies

In my opinion, these are her best movies. Enjoy.

10- Dancing Lady (1933)

“An attractive dancer is rescued from jail by a rich man, who helps her to have her first big opportunity at a musical play on Broadway.” Joan steals the spotlight the entire film, her charisma is undeniable as you see her dance with a million-dollar smile. Her chemistry with Clark Gable is perfect. Great cast, and so fun to watch.

9- Autumn Leaves (1956)

“Millicent Wetherby is a middle-aged woman whose life is devoid of love and affection. Millicent's solitary existence changes when she encounters Burt Hansen a charismatic younger man” Oh but this is not your regular love story. This turns very dark as the movie progresses, with an excellent performance of Joan, as well as her co-star Cliff Robertson. The filmmaking of this one is superb. Aldrich really put his stamp on this one.

8- Strange Cargo (1940)

“Convicts escaping from Devil's Island come under the influence of a strange Christ-like figure.” One of her best performances ever, away from her usual glamor-like characters that she had showed until then. It’s her best movie with Gable, and the last one.

7- The Damned Don’t Cry (1950)

“A New York socialite climbs the ladder of success man by man until a life among rich gangsters gives her what she thought she always wanted.” God, she’s the epitome of sensuality in this one. She plays an audacious, intelligent and ambitious woman who would do anything to get where she wants to.

6- Mildred Pierce (1945)

“A hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.” One of the best Noir movies of all time. She won her only Oscar for this one, although I think it’s not her best performance. She made a comeback with this movie, reviving her career and showing what she was made of!

5- A Woman’s Face (1941)

“A female blackmailer with a disfiguring facial scar meets a plastic surgeon who offers her the possibility of looking like a normal woman.” What an espectacular movie. Excellent from beginning to end. Cuckor, the director, is a genius. Joan makes her biggest change for her character, once again demonstrating what she’s capable of. I don’t know why she wasn’t nominated for an Oscar. I can’t recommend it enough!

4- Sudden Fear (1952)

“After an ambitious actor insinuates himself into the life of a wealthy middle-aged playwright and marries her, he plots with his mistress to murder her.” THIS PLOT. THIS MOVIE. EVERYTHING ABOUT IT IS PERFECTION. The entire cast gives a perfect performance. The ending is unexpected, since the movie never goes to where you initially thought it would. The scene where Joan listens to that recording is... Simply genius, can’t get any better, honestly.

3- Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962)

“A former child star torments her paraplegic sister in their decaying Hollywood mansion.” Well, we all know Bette Davis gives the performance of her lifetime here. But I think without Joan, this film couldn't have been this iconic. I think she balances Bette perfectly, playing her character so loyal to the original one (from the book).

2- Humoresque (1946)

“A classical musician from the slums is sidetracked by his love for a wealthy, neurotic socialite.” This movie is so hauntingly beautiful. The shots, the acting, from Joan to John… It’s wonderful! I would also say the entire film is like a poem, especially the ending. Reminding me of Alfonsina Storni’s (famous poetess) end.

1- Possessed (1947)

“After being found wandering the streets of Los Angeles, a severely catatonic woman tells a doctor the complex story of how she wound up there.” In my opinion this is her best performance in her career. I think this was the hardest role she had taken as well. The way that they depicted mental illness, for the time, it’s pretty well done. I was surprised. It has a slow beginning, until it hits you and you can’t stop watching. Joan gives her all, in a way that had me pleasantly surprised as the minutes passed by. She was a superb actress, although she was continuously underestimated. She had to prove herself through her entire career. Just a fascinating woman.

The Ultimate Movie Star

[celebrationcyanide]

My BLACK PARADE LIVE RE-REACTION

'Cause I wasn't joking, lol (ALSO: WARNING, it's really fucking long!, I'd like to apologize at the start if it's all totally shit, I took notes while I was blasting it out at like 1:AM instead of sleeping and got weirdly philosophical or nerdy or whatever)

THE END

Honestly, how You start a album MCR aside, it sucks You in as Gee & the rest of My Chem lure You into there sick little, twisted badass spell there about to cast on all us listeners & has a weirdly mezmerising quality to it- what with all the humming and whimsical chords!?!? And of course sets a true set-up for the search absolute SCOPE of this album with it's explosive (and iconic) "I encourage your smiles, I expect You all CRY!" + "When I grow up, I want to be NOTHING AT ALL!"

DEAD!

Now with the stage set, My Chem gets to go wild and Holy shit, they do just that, with swaggering guitar work by Ray Toro & Frank Iero, bouncy, hauntingly funky bass by Mikey Way & ethereal vocals by Gerard Way, it almost makes You forget it's a brutal Pop-Punk song all about telling You about how DEAD! You are!

THIS IS HOW I DISSAPEAR

A scene from a Gothic Horror story ripped out of a page & recorded by My Chemical Romance, it has a incredibly heavy & ear-awakening riff compared to MCR's (un)usual, putting You in a fancy, front-row seat to this wild Piss-Kink having, gender & sexuality ambiguous New Jersey flavoured rat show, honestly it's really hard to describe lol, but is has that 'aesthetic' that I just love in some songs, kinda thing You blast at max in your headphones to feel badass a couple of times, AKA lowkey a bad (goth) bitch anthem I'm just sayinggg

THE SHARPEST LIVES

The like, all-time deepest song to My 8th grade-self (I am officially a year older than him! GET OWNED!) it starts with a really rad bassline & creepy cool whispers by Gee & Frank speaking like a serial killer in a fucked (and totally epic) gory horror movie, an the speak about burning lights so bright that the sun is ashamed to rise and be. It's pretty much pure badass, a great song to listen to late at night instead of sleeping, imo

WELCOME TO THE BLACK PARADE

The International Anthem. The life savior. The masterpiece. The center of the show. The alpha wolf. The apex predator. The savior of the broken, the beaten & the dammed. This song has saved My life multiple times, I'm willing to bet it has done the same to countless and I KNOW that it will for years later on. It's by far the most amazing piece of music My ears have blessed by, since the very beginning. It's honestly incredible how much a song can mean to so much people- words can barely contain it- and the anthem won't explain it.

Paint it black, take it back, shout it loud and clear and We'll carry on.

I DON'T LOVE YOU

This song, it grabs your heart and tears it apart. It creates a moody, poetic, yet oddly beatiful atmosphere, a true story of woe & loss, perhaps the musical equivalent of any good 'aesthetic' movie. It creates it's own world and sticks You in, just for a couple of minutes. It's a great comforter to, for both true heartache & pure teenage lonliness. (Gessus that sounded cringe lol)

HOUSE OF WOLVES

It breaks the little spell & pity bubble that I Don't Love You makes and shatters it into Punk Rock pieces, serving as the patient's 1st true glance at hell, it welcomes You with knives hanging behind it's back.

In this chapter of the story, our mc, the patient discovers the pits he's been dammed to & relishes in & against his sins from the living the world.

Musically the song makes You wanna get up, scream, start a riot, summon the devil, sacrifice your BFF under the Norwegian blood Moon, jump on top of a bar and start dancing, become a teenage edgelord OC, all of that shit in one.

CANCER

The pity bubble strikes back with more raw honesty, emotion & sincerity then either of it's 2 predecessors, set--out to make the "Most emotional song ever" by Gerard & in My eyes he damm delivers.

I remember playing this a lot as a kid, when I was going through a lot of thought stuff, I would sit in My room & cry to this lol. It was beatiful as a 8th grader, and it's more beatiful now.

MAMA

The trans youth anthem & war agenda all poured into one HELL-ish delite! The guitars are heavier than the 9 circles themselves and You can't but help to picture our protagonist for this song, a War veteran dying in a battle he never asked for, stationed in his place of death. He writes notes to his mother, begging for forgiveness, begging for a apology, begging for any kind of sweet repent. But it's far to late.

Mother War listens to nobody and cares for no-one.

AND OH MY GOD THE ENDING HOLY SHIT THEY WENT SO HARD ON THIS SONG FOR LIKE NO REASON OMFGGG LMFAOOO---

SLEEP

THE true most underrated song on this entire album imo, it paints a not-so pretty portrait of madness caused by rejection, misunderstanding, isolation and a sheer lack if cares, the results of years of suffering and the psychological effects if being sent to the afterlife ain't practically nice for our cancer patient protagonist.

The song is loud, booming, atmospheric & dramatic enough for Broadway.

If re-worked, it could make a amazing villian song but as it is, it remains a strong personal, powerful emotional atomic bomb of fucking song.

Oh and the screams. The fucking SCREAMS at the end are so good I give You no shit.

TEENAGERS

What may seem like a southern-style catchy hard rock throwdown tells a brutal story about the truth of High School, it tells us about the outcast, the freaks, the kids everyone hates who wear to much black, does to much weird things, rebels to much & is just to EdGy for most people.

At least at first glance- this sing is more than just a Edgy teenager song- it's a SUICIDE song.

"It was always about these kids in the parade who had killed themselves and regretted it" in Gerard's own words, this is what happens when people don't care, when they don't reach out, and when nobody chooses love.

(ALSO sorry if that got weirdly dark lol, I wrote all this shit late at night and just going off what Gee said XD)

DISENCHANTED

Taking a tender-yet strong tug at everyone's heart strings comes Disenchanted.. around the 3rd but still just as, if not more as effective emotional centerpiece of the album, it tells a tale of nostalgia & regret. Our MC, the patient, reflect on his previous (all to short) life and sees that none of it was really spent worthwhile, he breaks down, regretting everything he has done and chose, wishing to have more, wishing to have anything, wishing to live.

Also that sweet guitar solo & Ray's harmonies in this song with Gee's sweet song... oh my fucking god..... this is a musical experience, I love this song SM like deadass fuck it LIVEASS

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

The true ending and the final battle, after our MC has suffered, suffered & suffered through the afterlife he has finally decided to cling on his last hope, he fights back against the world, he lashes out against defeat- he makes a stand even if it kills him in the inside.

This song means a lot, to a lot of people, not to be a broken (favorite?) Record lol but this song helps Me a lot to this day, it's about never giving up, it's about choosing love over hate, life over death, hope over misery. Hope is not perfect, plastic or overtly preppy, Hope has blood on her hands and revenge in her heart. She carries on living no matter what for herself and what she wants in her life and can not be stopped, and will not stop. (Sorry if that was cheesy asf btw- but also this is MCR I'm writing about, wtf did You expect lol?!?!)

The guitarline is rad, the song is amazingly cathartic, the harmonies are healing, it's all magical!

BLOOD

A bizarrely entertaining ending to a musical masterpiece of a album & a story, it leads a nice fancy old timey style & a ominous ending to our tale.

ALSO IT JUST JUMPSCARED ME AT MAX VOLUME IN MY HEADPHONES LMFAO-

Anyway, Stay Alive, Never let them take the light behind your eyes & sharpen your knives

Kiljoys, makes some noise

- XOXO P4rty V4mpyre

[queer-and-dear-books]

Title: Happily Ever Island

Author: Crystal Cestari

Genre: New Adult Fiction | Drama | Romance | Friendship | LGBTQ+

Content Warnings: N/A

Overall Rating: 9.8/10

Personal Opinion: If you’re a Disney fanatic, you’d probably love this book and its concept. An island where you can embody (almost) any iconic character from the grand house of mouse. But even a casual enjoyer such as myself can fall in love with the adventures Madison and Lanie embark on on this island. It’s full of magic and wonder and romance. It’s tough to find a more enchanting book than this.

Do I Own This Book? Nope.

Spoilers Below For My Likes & Dislikes:

Likes:

- I’m not a Disney fanatic. I’m more of a casual enjoyer. But as a casual enjoyer, I really love the references and the magic in this book. Everything from the way the island was built to the concept of “hero moments” were just lovely. I wish I could’ve read about every hero moment from the intimate point of view of the characters involved. But the backstage perspective on “Let It Go” and the romantic scene of Madison and Val watching the floating lanterns was more than enough for me.

- I also love that all the titles are Disney songs. It didn’t hit me until “Be Prepared” (the second chapter) and even then I thought it was a coincidence. I think it’s so clever and I love the way Cestari incorporated them into the chapters.

- Madison and Lanie have a wonderful friendship. Proof of that is that when they had a fight, Lanie was trying to think of ways to repair it while Madison was already barreling toward her ready to fix it. The fact that not even 24 hours later and Madison was willing to go to great lengths to say sorry shows what a great person she is.

- Speaking more on Madison, I love that we saw her creative mind at work from the start. Way before she even made it to the island. She’s a full-on romantic with a head full of grand gestures. It’s no wonder that she’s such a natural fit as a Disney cast member. That’s foreshadowing done correctly.

- Lanie’s anxiety is represented so accurately. To me. For a hot second, I was on Madison’s side until Lanie said she “didn’t want to bother Madison.” And then I was like, “ohhhh, that’s me.” I hesitate to rely on my own friends too because they have so much on their plate and I don’t want to dump anything more on it. So I get Lanie and I love that Madison is always there for her to be a shoulder to cry on or lean on. I love that Ethan didn’t question anything when she was crying and just held her. I love that she got that support because she deserves it.

- Sal and Dorothy are so cute. I especially love the imagery of this middle-aged man reciting lines from a Disney film to himself on a plane. He is adorable. I love them and I wish them nothing but the best.

- Madison’s “stepsisters” are great too. They’re genuinely nice people and honestly, I just think that’s pretty cool.

- Something else that’s cool are the activities. A canoe trip around the riverbend? Going snorkeling in King Triton’s sea? Those sound like so much fun. And I just could not stop myself from laughing out loud when the canoe intruded on the “Kiss The Girl” hero moment. Like that was genuinely so funny. Can you imagine watching “The Little Mermaid” and then a boat containing Prince Charming and Merida bursts onto the scene? And the way the musical score kept going just cracked me up.

Dislikes:

- I have my issues with Disney. But I would love to do this. But sadly, I don’t think I’d get the role I want. Would Disney allow a man to play Belle? Because I want to be surrounded by books and to slow dance with the Beast.

- You know a role I do not want? Cinderella. I cannot believe that Madison willingly put herself in a situation where she would be surrounded by an “evil” step-family. Especially with a Lady Tremaine that horrible. Granted it just so happens to be this specific Tremaine. If it was a woman who was less intense about live-action roleplay then maybe it’d be more fun. But yeah anyway, fuck that Lady Tremaine.

- Does Lanie’s mother actually say “disappointment” in that one scene before they head off for vacation? Because if so, fuck that. Bruh, Lanie was right to hang up on her. I want nothing to do with a parent like that.

[xxgothchatonxx]

Okay darlings, I saw the new West Side Story film today and I have Things (they’re all good) to say. So, I’m a massive musical theatre nerd, I was basically raised on them, and I did see WSS once on stage when I was a kid and I’ve seen the movie a few times. While it’s not really one that I’ve seen over and over again, I do really appreciate it, I adore the music, the dancing is awesome- so I was really excited to see this remake. 

After seeing the absolute trainwrecks that were Les Miserables and Cats (the latter being a much bigger trainwreck, obviously) I can safely say... thank god, this movie didn’t suck. 

Ok, so here’s the things I loved:

The music! Oh my god, the music sounded AMAZING!

The dancing was so tight- ok, it’s not like the original choreography, but I think that’s good. Not dissing the original choreography - it’s iconic for a reason - but this new choreography was so great and really set this apart from the original film. 

They. Didn’t. Cast. A-list. Actors. With. Little. To. No. Musical. Experience. For. Marketing. Purposes... they cast actors who knew what the fuck they were doing... they cast musical theatre actors for a musical movie. THANK GOD! And I would love to see these actors in other films, not just musical films. Mike Faist was so good at making me love-and-hate Riff, Ariana DeBose... *throws the Oscar at her*, and I’m sorry that was Rachel Zegler’s FILM DEBUT?! WOW! Also those guys in Gee, Officer Krupke were so good! And Anybodys?! Holy shit?! Talk about a scene-stealer! 

Cool. So, Cool is my favourite WSS musical number. I love that song so damn much. So, you can imagine my surprise when it didn’t happen after the rumble, but before the rumble... but I didn’t care, that was a very creative switch-up. Because now you’ve got Tony saying “just play it cool” and then ten minutes later THAT happens, so nice bit of foreshadowing there. Also holy shit, Ansel can dance! Look I’m not that oblivious, I know about the allegations but from what I heard from people on the ‘net I was pleasantly surprised at how good he was. 

That scene with Anita and the Jets is still horrific to watch but I’m relieved that they changed it so the Jet girls weren’t just sitting back and cheering them on! Seriously, that always bothered me! So to see them actively try to stop those creeps was a very welcome change. 

This film looks gorgeous. See, this is a gritty and realistic musical movie done right *glares at Tom Hooper* because it looks like a real place but it’s still got that epic scale to it. The lightning was beautiful, the shots were so damn good, and you really felt like you were in this world. 

Rita. Moreno. Need I say more? 

My problems:

It dragged a bit... yeah I know it’s WSS and it’s a long show but yeah. 

...yeah that’s my only problem! The film made me remember why I love musicals so much, and why I loved watching musical movies as a kid. I’m so glad I finally got to see it. 

I give it 9/10 (taking a point off for the dragging but that’s a very minor issue I have)