#movie was really well done cinematography was super interesting

[vulpinesaint]

hey man. you know what. school finally did it. made me watch a movie that i liked. enjoyed even. would 100% watch again. all it took was a two and a half hour surrealist adaptation of titus andronicus

[ryansjane]

Women in general don’t get enough love and respect. Can you please list your favorite female-driven shows or name some of your favorite actresses so I can look them up and watch some of their shows or movies? Thank you <3

yes yes YES I absolutely can!!!

FEMALE-DRIVEN SHOWS:

p.s. I hate you: so this show hasn’t ended yet but I absolutely love it. not only is the writing, acting & cinematography on point, but it’s an amazing female-led show. in fact it might be my favorite female-led show ever?? it allows its female characters to all be messy & deeply flawed, yet the audience still roots for them bc they’re all humanized as well. their interpersonal relationships are also super well developed & this show is just a pleasure to watch, especially since it’s very much pro-women and deals with topics like sa & mental health extremely well compared to other shows. couldn’t recommend it more!

wake up chanee: more focused on comedy, wake up chanee is a great show to portray female friendship. it’s one of the funniest thai comedies & has very interesting and fully fleshed out characters. it’s not the best show ever but it will always stay to me one of the most iconic earlier thai dramas & I love it very much :) (do not watch the sequel though!)

sleepless society insomnia: despite having multiple characters it focuses on, this is definitely a female-led show since its main character is a woman & the other female main characters are imo much more explored & complex than the male characters. this is also one of my favorite underrated thai dramas & I couldn’t recommend it more in general!

the debut: so the debut is one of the most underrated thai dramas out there despite being one of my absolute favorites. with a mostly female cast, it’s an investigation into a t-pop girl group with lots of plot twists & gritty stuff. it’s a really, really well done show, and what’s interesting is that you don’t even really root for the main character by the end of the show. it’s just one of the most innovative thai dramas out there imo & everyone should watch it!

who are you: even though this is a kdrama remake so technically it’s not really a thai story, this show is a really good female-led story. there are male characters in the show but they definitely take a backseat for the female characters to shine, particularly those played by namtan & jan. also most people who have seen the original kdrama prefer the thai version so like... I’d definitely recommend!

girl next room: a romantic series centering female characters. it’s super cute, really light & the romances work really well, while also dealing with different deeper topics like depression, anxiety, inferiority complex & oversexualization.

daughters: this show sadly disappointed me with its few last episodes, but it’s still definitely one of the best female-led shows. it deals with many incredibly interesting topics around young women like oversexualization, and has very well written characters. it could’ve been one of my all time favorite shows if it didn’t fumble the bag with the ending, but it’s still a good show and extremely well excuted otherwise.

the comments: mini-series that mostly focuses around female characters who are multi-dimensional and very well acted. it’s not the most revolutionary series out there but it’s still really good imo!

46 days: while 46 days is a romance, for me the show mostly focuses on the two main characters, yingying & noina, and their friendship as well as their quest for love. it’s a really good example of female bond & friendship in a romcom and this show is in general very good :)

the underclass: this show is 99% women so it really fits the definition of female-led haha. it’s the female equivalent of blacklist, but definitely better. I especially loved the friendships in it, and while it is a pretty childish show at times & far from one of my favorites, it’s still very enjoyable.

secret seven: a woman with 7 suitors, so in terms of ratio there is definitely more male characters than female in this show, yet the female characters are definitely more developed and focused on, and there’s also a focus on friendship as well. it’s a really cute show despite me not liking who she ends up with lol!

the judgement: this isn’t really a show I would recommend bc it’s pretty fucked up & not necessarily greatly executed, but this is definitely a show that focuses on its 2 out of 3 main female characters a lot, and it also deals with a topic that women especially have learned to fear since basically birth. so if you can stomach it, give it a try. but I wouldn’t really recommend it, though I still wanted to include it in this list.

girl from nowhere: while nanno is more of a supernatural entity than a human girl, this show is still deeply feminine in both the issues it tackles and its focus on female characters. it’s also a must watch if you’re a thai drama fan in general!

shows with non female characters that still center women: 3 will be free, angel beside me, bad genius (both the movie & series), I hate you I love you, friend zone, mama gogo, remember 15

MY FAVORITE THAI ACTRESSES:

mild lapassalan: not only is she definitely one of the best actresses out there & insanely pretty, but I love how she chooses a variety of different roles, from a sex worker on the run in 3 will be free, an sa victim in the judgement, a literal fucking ghost in happy birthday to crazy fun romantic girls in girl next room & 46 days. she has the best range imo <3

pat chayanit: so I'm a simp for pat bc not only is she absolutely gorgeous on top of being a great actress, but she's been in my favorite show of all time, project s: sos, that has literally changed my entire life. I also think her acting style is quite different from pretty much everyone else & feels very natural, and I LOVE her ig page where she creates memes out of her every day life.

namtan tipnaree: once again, she’s beautiful & an incredible actress, but also I love her personality! she just seems so down to earth & sassy and I just feel like she’d be the best friend ever :)

jan ployshompoo: I’ve loved jan for a long, long while. like all of the other girlies in this list, she is gorgeous & has great acting skills, but she’s also literally the thai actress I’ve seen in the most shows. hell, she was in sotus, my first thai show ever, playing a lesbian icon! so yeah, not only does she often take on queer roles which I love, this woman is just good vibes, she’s so down to earth, so fun & so lovely, and seeing her literally always puts a smile on my face :)

jennie panhan: though jennie hasn’t had many opportunities to show off her acting, her role in 3 will be free was absolutely great & I still hope we can get more roles in this vein from her! she’s also ALWAYS slaying like... the outfits, makeup & hair are always on point <3 and she’s just so lovely & funny, idk how you couldn’t love jennie!!!

aye sarunchana: I LOVE aye so much!!! not only is she a great actress & an amazing singer, she seems like just SUCH a sweet person <3 I love her lives on ig too, and I hope she gets more famous soon bc she truly deserves it!

ciize apichaya: ciize is SUCH a cutie!!! not only do I love her style & outfits and find her super beautiful, but I honestly think she’s great actress who hasn’t gotten enough opportunities to show off her acting yet. I want to see more from her bc I just KNOW the material is there!!!

gigie sarocha: ugh, gigie is just my crush, I’m sorry. this woman is so beautiful & random af but I love how she speaks thai as a non thai-woman, I find her cadence when speaking thai so cute!!! I also think she’s a good actress but I wanna see her in more serious roles & would love to see her in a very intense, emotional scene soon!

film rachanun: film has captured my attention since her role in the debut. she clearly is a great actress & has been since she entered the industry, but I also love that she chooses very challenging & different roles every time. she has clearly wanted to push her acting further since the very beginning and I love that for her. from all the newbies I’ve seen, she’s honestly the actress I have the most expectations for :)

other actresses I love: ployphat phatchatorn, lookjun bhasidi, preen ravisrarat, mook worranit, jane ramida, kapook phatchara, neen suwanamas, puimek napasorn

xxx

[ginjasnappp]

Alien Romulus: my opinions/review!!

I'm so sorry to everyone who sees this and therefore is subjected to it but my thoughts must exist somewhere

Spoiler free review is overall I'd recommend it! I think it did a lot of things right by the franchise and is a solid addition - but nothing beats the original imo.

Also I've only seen the first 2 movies before this so call me a fake fan if u want but the og is all I need

Spoilers for the whole movie below the cut!

Also warning it's absurdly long

THINGS I LIKED:

▫️ I really enjoyed all the characters! I thought they were faithfully written as a bunch of rebellious, rambunctious young adults trying their best in a shitty world. I thought their dialogue was fun and realistic and their age made me hold more space for the fact that they made reckless choices lol. I also thought their acting was spectacular. I wish we got a little more time with them before they got killed off to make way for Raine.

▫️The scoring and cinematography were great. it veered in and out of familiar territory, but there were several moments where the music and camerawork really evoked the first film, and even when it didn't to me, it was still effective.

▫️PRACTICAL EFFECCCCTTSSS how I have missed them. There was a mix of practical effects and CGI but even most of the cgi was done really well except for one part (lookin at you, Ash deepfake). All the practical creatures and general ooze and viscera were great.

▫️ The human hybrid?? Creepy as FUCK. It easily couldve been goofy lookin but it was genuinely super unsettling and expertly done imo!

NEUTRAL OBSERVATIONS:

▫️ This movie rang closer to Aliens than Alien to me, which was a little bit disappointing but entirely down to personal preference. Part of my love for Alien comes from the claustrophobia and creeping sense of dread - 'where is it', 'there's nothing I can do but hide', etc, and while there was some of that, this and Aliens are more action-packed with loud conflict and guns. Still a lot of fun though!

▫️I found it interesting and a little unfaithful that the only characters to get facehugged/otherwise impregnated (at least onscreen) were female characters. A big part of why a male character was the facehugger victim in Alien is because Ridley Scott noticed that in horror, the female characters are usually the ones to be physically violated in such a way and wanted to flip that around and make male audiences uncomfortable by depicting a male 'birth scene' (from what I read years ago, anyway). Seeing as Scott worked on this movie as well, I'm interested in why this choice was made, if it was even a conscious choice.

▫️The 'artificial person' Andy is a whole can of worms for me. When he was first introduced, before he's revealed to be an AP, my (and my parent who I saw it with's) very first thought was 'oh god, he's the autistic character that's gonna get killed off'. He is an example of how stereotypical autistic traits and scifi android traits (not understanding social cues, taking things literally, being outwardly unemotional and practical) can overlap, and there's a very fine line between drawing interesting but not direct parallels and coding the character outright, often negatively or to characters' detriment. He's definitely a character I'd be interested in hearing other people's thoughts on!

THINGS I DISLIKED/DIDNT MAKE SENSE/THOUGHT WERE MEH

▫️We all know you can't breathe in the vaccuum of space - so why, after being warned of the danger of letting the xeno blood go through the floor, did it actually happen and then everything was fine? Sure, things were sucked out into space, but Raine was fine and could breathe, which is impossible - her head would have imploded seconds after she was exposed to the vacuum. Also she would have frozen to death.

▫️The deepfake face. Just why?? I think it could have been way cooler if his face was entirely practical and maybe worn beyond recognition, and then a namedrop or similar reveal could be really effective.

▫️Dare I say it - too many aliens. Like the difference between Alien and Aliens, I find one unfaceable threat in an enclosed space is more effective than a whole shootable swarm in a large space. I enjoyed the shots of facehuggers skittering everywhere tho.

▫️This is PURELY my own unreasonable hopes being dashed but I was hoping and praying for a Sigourney Weaver/Ripley cameo. I understand wanting to leave her to her era and not drag her into a new one (and also that apparently she died like 4 movies ago) but I MISS MY QUEEEEEN

▫️I wish we got a liiittle more worldbuilding - though I understand the sentiment of 'we know what you're here for so we'll get right to it' lol.

That's it! Wow ty for reading if you got this far

Hand over your opinions >:3

[heretherebedork]

I totally get your point on realistic queer media vs BL and I'm also super interested to see which way the eight sense leans. I agree it'll probably go more on the side of realistic queer media (whereas I think unintentional love story will fall more on the BL side). I will say that having watched just about every gay korean film and short film I could find over the span of a two week period when I had covid, they do seem to like angst but with happy endings. I can only think of a few that ended sadly. But unfortunately the ones that ended sadly ended VERY sadly. I guess we'll see! I also want to say I'm impressed with the acting and how full the scenes feel so far, like with background characters and stuff. This doesn't seem like there's a huge production budget but it seems bigger than a lot of KBLs and its used very well so far, it really feels like a kdrama and the cinematography is fantastic.

The framing of scenes and such is also clearly done really thoughtfully and has emphasized the actors' chemistry (which is so good). While some things might be a little obvious, it's also well done so far; like I love the shot of their legs walking on the beach where Ji Hyun stutters his steps to get back in perfect sync with Jae Won and the close up of their hands touching when he gives Jae Won the lighter. I like shows that have more small touches and details like that! Reminds me of Mr. Darcy's hand flex after helping Elizabeth into the carriage in pride and prejudice if you've ever seen the 2005 movie of that lol.

I do hope they end it well. I haven't seen a lot of sad endings out of Korea but as they branch out and experiment with BL and queer stories... you never know what they're gonna do. We saw a lot more of that in some early Thai BL and it's coming back in their more experimental stuff and we know Taiwan and Japan are both just kind of... generally dangerous in those terms.

Honestly, for all that I can see the danger in The Eighth Sense, I think we'll get a happy ending. I think it's going to be painful and I wouldn't be surprised at a time jump... but I think the ending itself will give us something but I am also very open that I could be proven wrong.

I love the dynamics and the characters and the careful closeups and the reactions that feel natural and very queer. Oh, the queer waves coming off these boys and the way JaeWon and JiHyun just... pause around each other. There's a palpable change in their energy once they're together and when JaeWon insists his friends go back to the place he knew JiHyun worked? Yeah, that energy was gorgeous.

I am looking forward to this show with only the small hesitation of how much pain is coming out way for these boys, the popular boy in the closet and the loner who seems to basically be a closet, lonely and soft and unsure... oh, this is gonna ache.

[corvuserpens]

So yeah, yesterday I decided to FINALLY watched The Meg bc everyone kept saying it was a silly fun shark movie... AND THEY WERE RIGHT. It was AWESOME.

I went in expecting practically nothing, and it blew me away. The story premise is ridiculous and it totally feels like the director, actors and crew 100% knew that and embraced it! The movie never takes itself too seriously, it practically tells you to just kick back and enjoy it for what it is, which is exactly what makes it so much fun. It's an exciting comedy horror about a giant prehistoric shark in present day Earth, the CGI is dubious but the cinematography makes up for it with some great, well composed shots. For example, when Suyin is in the trench and is being attacked by a giant squid? That in itself is pretty cool imagery, but then you see the Megalodon swimming over her sub with the squid in its mouth in the gloom, illuminated from below?? WOW????

Then the characters are like, surprisingly deep? They have interesting backstories that inform us on who they are and while Jonas is the only one who gets some screen time for his Big Trauma, we later learn that Lori might have blown up a whaler ship for an environment organization and that's how she learned to pilot? And that Suyin had a tough relationship with her dad but they love each other so much that with his dying breath he tells her how proud he is, that she already surpassed him as a scientist and he hopes Meying will grow up to be just like her? And we get all of that with some very organic, short dialog or like 3-4 minute scenes, which is rare these days. Legit good writing where it is most needed, all the more sober scenes are well-acted and so immersive, the characters are so likable I ended up rooting for all of them to survive (except that billionaire whose name I didn't bother to learn, everyone else I remember except him, FUCK that guy). Even the side characters, though flat, were interesting because the actors gave them so much personality!

And, WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE'S A WHOLESOME CISHET SHIP WITH JASON STATHAM WITH VERY LITTLE SEXUAL TENSION BUT A LOT OF ROMANTIC TENSION?? WHAT IS THIS WITCHCRAFT??? Seriously, I was shipping Jonas and Suyin so hard, their interactions were adorable. How he goes from being the typical Tough Manly Man Who Is Super Competent And Punches All The Bad Guys While Wearing The Same Tough Guy Face All Movie to genuinely caring for the whole Mana One crew and respecting Suyin as an accomplished female scientist in her own right who knows what she's doing and is also brave and headstrong herself... Much 'aww'ing' was done.

Not to make this too long a rant, I love talking about movies I enjoyed, sorry, but a few other small things I liked about it: that Lori and Jonas remained good friends who care and support each other, and want the other's happiness even being divorced, we need more of that! And Dr. Heller apologizing to Jonas and meaning it for saying he was crazy and basically ruining his life (plus Jonas forgiving him in the end), definitely wanna see more of that! Jonas' friendship with Meying, THAT WAS SO CUTE, I COULDN'T GET ENOUGH OF THEM!! The gags were all genuinely funny, I was laughing through most of the movie, and the jump scares got me more than a couple of times (though that might be a fault on my part, I'm a big wussy and I am not afraid to admit it). The action is so. DUMB. But it's the kind that it's so dumb it's good, y'know?

Final note, I gotta say, let Jason actually act more because he's really good and directors keep hiring him to play a stoic emotionless hero when he can do so much more? He has impeccable comedic timing, his line delivery no matter how bonkers, always lands, he's REALLY CHARMING and y'all are wasting his potential imo. Given, I haven't really watched many of his movies after the Transporter franchise, but for example, I loved him in The Italian Job and a couple of weeks ago I started watching Homefront and I was enjoying it because he gets to play a widower with a young daughter in a new town, and now I definitely need to finish it bc I'm a sucker for father/daughter dynamics.

Anyway, yeah, if you like sharks, B-movies or just something fun to watch that will make you laugh, go watch The Meg. It's good enough to convince me to go watch the sequel next August. Can't wait!

[buckevantommy]

totally completely fine

ok. i'm not a fan of australian tv or movies bc they're always overdramatised or too darkly themed or comedic in a way i don't gel with bc i'd rather watch american comedies (not sitcoms, they need to die a firey death). plus i've never really liked the aussie accent, i've found it weirdly unsettling hearing characters speak with aussie voices and maybe that's bc being an aussie myself and wanting to use tv and movies as an escape so having that stark reminder of my own reality means it's harder to suspend and enjoy a different one for a spell. or maybe it's the fact that i, like a great deal of non-americans, have grown up watching american tv so now any non-american accent just sits weird in my brain. 

but that's why i need to express my love for this show. 

everything from the casting (diverse faces and bodies) and the actors chemistry to the setting and set design, cinematography and soundtrack, and of course the plot and characters themselves. It's so well done. It's a heartfelt dramedy that makes you care keeps you interested in wanting to know how things progress and ultimately turn out. the various relationship dynamics are full of ups and downs and it feels real in that messy way life is. 

the premise: vivian is a young mess of an adult who lost her parents in a car crash that she was also in when she was a kid. she's the youngest of 3 siblings who were raised by their grandfather who dies and leaves viv his cliffside beach house. the twist: the house backs onto a picturesque ocean cliff where people go to commit suicide. the grandfather used to try and stop them, and now it's up to viv to try and do the same. 

intense stuff so far. but this show is hopeful, it's not super dark even though it does deal with strained relationships and mental health and suicide attempts/ideation. the characters are distinct and the way their lives entwine don't distract from their individual journeys; viv is the main character but enough screentime is given to every supporting character that they all feel like main characters in their own right which is how it should be because that's how life is. 

more good news is it's short: only 6 episodes at just under an hour each (it doesn't mince screentime) so i binged it all yesterday when i wasn't feeling great and just. wow. i haven't found anything mentioning a second season but if they did more i'd watch it - but the thing is it ends with both closure and the potential for more exploration of the characters, so it feels like a realistic open ending and works as a single season story. 

i don't know if it's available overseas because it was created by and aired here by Stan (which is like our homemade Netflix) but i hope if you guys are interested you'll find a way to watch. 

bonus thing for me: seeing this story play out in my home (settings and details) was actually grounding in a way i didn't expect. like i mentioned above, most of us grow up on american tv and maybe some uk stuff and while that's good for an escape it can actually be jarring to get back into our real world. but (with good quality programming like this show) i realise aussie productions can make it a lot easier to connect with the physical world around me (not the digital world), to not feel so alone, and to know that it's worth finding productions from your homeland and they don't hinder the escape of fiction in fact they can aid in grounding it in a believable way. 

anyway. just one aussie who doesn't really like aussie-made stuff telling folks to give this show a go because i was pleasantly surprised. 

undefined

(note: if anyone has any questions or concerns about triggering content please message me or reply to this post and i'll fill you in on stuff it does or doesn't feature)

[quiteriana]

Hiii~ 💖

This is probably super weird but if you’ve seen Wedding in White, do you know how explicit/triggering the rape stuff is? I’ve been interested in watching it but the plot makes me think it might be too much haha sorry for randomly asking you 🙈💖💖

Hi Lolly!! No need to apologize and it’s not weird at all! Honestly, i just reblogged that gifset because i thought the girls were pretty :’) it did make me interested in the movie though, and i found it on dailymotion. I watched just a little bit of it last night, the rape scene happens about 30-45 minutes into the movie.

I honestly wouldn’t consider it to be very triggering. It isn’t very explicit and it doesn’t last very long it all; it’s only about a couple of minutes. The actors are very obviously fully clothed as well, and the scene really only shows their faces. There’s a bit of verbal violence; the man calls the girl a bitch when she tries to protest and i think he holds her arms down. In my opinion, it’s decently tame and it really isn’t very explicit. But of course, every person has different things that trigger them so still of course be wary.

And actually, i thought that the cinematography of the rape scene was really well done. It’s very ominous. At the beginning, the man’s shadow looms over her as he stands in the doorway, and as he moves closer, his shadow completely covers her. And while the rape is happening, the scene is pretty much shrouded in darkness, and when he leaves, the girl curls herself up beneath the blanket. It’s a really well done scene, and i was able to appreciate it at least for that

[skitskatdacat63]

hi catie u can write as many paragraphs on any film that u watch!!! i think that would be neat :)

also DISCLAIMER i havent watched killers of the flower moon, nor have i fully researched the real life event, but i feel like one of the reasons that people think it’s peak cinema is that it’s really really long and (i am assuming) that it has some interesting cinematography?

idk it reminds me of oppenheimer (film i actually watched). like its good-ish, super lengthy, and portray historical events. the visuals were fantastic but i don’t think it was absolutely perfect and the best film of the century, etc etc…

i honestly dont know where i was going with this so sorry for the super lengthy ask 😭

OKAY THEO THANK YOU FOR FREEING ME FROM THE SHACKLES OF MY INSECURITY

Okay as a preface. Watched this with my mom who read the book it's based off of, so that's an additional perspective I'm gonna touch on, and also was very glad to have. And also YES I HAVE SEEN OPPENHEIMER!!!! Seriously my ultimate film of 2023, probably one of my favorite movies I've ever watched. And I guess I thought that, because I enjoyed that, I would enjoy Killers of the Flower Moon(KotFM from now on), for the exact reasons you stated! Also I'm trying to watch all the oscar nominated best pictures before the event lol!

I will rant now, thank you :)

I'm sorry but like I genuinely don't understand how it's so highly acclaimed???? Like how are all the popular/majority of reviews positive?? Did we watch the same film????? Have I somehow lost my taste for cinema???? It's just like, any argument I've seen about why it's actually amazing is so easy to dispute??

"It's about how evil can be done by normal people and that's why it's from the perspective of the perpetrators blah blah" Well, I just watched The Zone of Interest, and I think it portrayed that concept wayyyyy better. Everything was so off-putting and disturbing, and it was from the perspective of the perpetrators, just like KotFM! And you literally never see those getting murdered, because it's all off screen and yet you still feel disgusted and feel terrible about what's happening, even though you didn't techinally see anything that happened. Meanwhile in KOTFM, the Osage are there on screen, actively being exploited and murdered, and I just don't feel attached to any of it, because it wasn't fleshed out well. And to add on, my mom said so much of the stuff involving Leo's character, yknow the character they picked as the main character instead of the actual Native Americans, was just completely made-up! Wasn't in the book at all!!! Martin Scorcese said that he read the book, and immediately thought that it was a book that needed to be adapted to film. And then just fucking makes up shit???? Yes certainly you have to add narrative stuff into a movie when adapting from a book, but to just make so much shit up just so you can portray it from a different angle is so bullshit to me.

"Every minute in the almost 3½ hour runtime is justified" I am convinced people are straight up lying, I'm sorry. It's not like I don't enjoy long movies! Loved Lawrence of Arabia, that's literally almost 4 hours long. Loved Oppenheimer, that's 3 hours long. I like long movies but oh my god, this was just a complete slog. And I kept seeing people say that the last hour was the best, well I'm sorry but after having to sit through 2½ torturous hours, I just have no mental energy left for what's apparently called the best part. I hate that people always start calling movies with long runtime cinema. Yes there are movies I definitely think are worth the long runtime; this one was not one of them.

"The main heart of the movie is the romance" Oh my god, this bugs me so much. I was so happy about Lily Gladstone winning and being in teh running for awards....until I watched the actual movie. Her romance with Leo's character literally makes no sense, and I felt just so ???? about it. The movie wants you to think they're so compelling and that it's so unfortunate that Leo's character is doing these terrible things to this woman he loves and her family, but they literally spent zero time fleshing the relationship out???? It was literally like, oh hey they're in a relationship now, don't really get why, but okay. There's actual reasons about why she would marry him(she literally needs a white man's permission to get access to her own money), but no nooooo they're so in love. There is zero build up. She knows he wants her money, he has literally zero charm, and yet she marries him and says "yeah I know he wants my money, but he's handsome!!" In what world!?!?!?? And a lot of the last section is like, awww they're hugging...even tho he murdered her whole family. And its just you get zero sense of any love between them, because they failed to build it in the first place, and certainly you could make this plot compelling but it's just not!!! It's not!!!!!

Another thing is that for basically all of the movie, I really couldn't get a grasp of anything that was going on. It didn't feel like a connected narrative for me, it felt like vignettes. Like, oh hey we're in this scene now I guess, I don't really know how this connects, or whats going on, or where we are in the story! It just felt very discombobulating for me, maybe I'm stupid, but I couldn't get a grasp on it. And I basically knew the plot, and so did my mom of course, but neither of us could really follow it so, maybe that's not a me problem, but a problem with the film! And I think vignettes can be used well, I thought The Zone of Interest did it really well, where you're just voyeuristiclly watching the family, and there's really no narrative, bur it was really effective. KofFM was more like, oh they're trying to tell a story here, but just not ...well. it's even worse when it's so long, because you're just feeling constantly unconnected from the story and its a slog and it's terrible, etc etc. You're just watching the characters fucking meander around, and you're like, man, would love it if it felt like the plot was actually progressing. And so much of it felt like the big events happened off screen, and you're kinda just told that they happened.

Also okay so the book itself is framed somewhat as a murder mystery. It's very well researched, and it slowly gives you the truth, as if you're learning it alongside the actual people involved. In the film, it's literally so obvious within the first 15 mins who the bad guys are. So you're just spending the whole film, watching all these characters(who you really have no reason to care about imo) die, and they all come off as so naive, and you're just furiously gesturing like "does no one notice these cartoonishly bad guys!?!?!?!?!" Yes, you can do a film where you know the truth from the beginning and watch the cast find out, that's a great concept! But this just made the native American characters come off as stupid and naive, and you're supposed to feel bad for them, and I do, but because I know the actial history, not because anything the film is showing me. Again, they don't flesh out the characters well at all imo, so you watch then die, and you're like, okay this person died, this is a depressing situation, but god, can they figure it out already. Again, the narrative with Lily Gladstone's character is that she loves her husband, so she can't really see what's going on. But. That love is not believable. And before they're in love, she's very suspicious of him, and yet now somehow when he's killing off her whole family, it's fine?????

Ugh okay yeah I don't know what else to say, except thst I just feel like I wasted so much of my time, and it really sucked out my energy. I'd like to be more concise, and I probably have more complaints but again, it really just killed my brain. And also that's its very frustrating and isolating when you hated a film, and then all the reviews are extremely positive and you can't see where any of them are coming from. The funniest part is that my mom and I are like wow this movie feels like it's been going on a while, let's check how much is left! Literally only halfway through. I really could not fully focus after that because I was like, I cannot do almost 2 more hours of this shit. I wanted to finish it because i was really hoping it would pick up, and I would realize why everyone likes it so much, but that never happened, I just felt increasingly bored and done with it. I think with Oppenheimer, a film I love, I was originally kinda unsure but as it kept going, I fell in love with it and didn't want it to end; so I guess I was hoping that would happen with this and it never did. It just got increasingly more boring for me, and I just got more aggravated about it. Also cannot believe I saw reviews saying of Scorcese's films, this one was better than The Departed. Absolutely no way.

Anyways this was extremely salty, oops. Wish I could get those 3 hours back, and watch some other movie instead. I wanted to watch Dallas Buyers Club or Tár, but I just feel like I've wasted enough mental energy tonight. Also lol, kept meaning to post this but it's deranged, but I'm talking about movies already and my brain is all over the place so might as well! I really want to rewatch Interstellar, but I feel like it'll completely emotionally destroy me again so I can't. Y'know when you just like a movie so much and ir means so much to you that it's just way too emotionally investing to rewatch!?!??! But I keep thinking about it, bcs im super into matthew mcconaughey rn, but god I really can't or I'll just be sobbing and hurting.

* oh also. My original complaint abt this was that they used a historically inaccurate word. They used the word "genocide" which certainly describes the situation they're in, BUT THAT WORD WAS NOT INVENTED YET!!!!! It's so easy to check that??? Like we know when and who coined it???? Little things like that really bug me, sorry LOL. Its like man, you can't check that one little thing??

[fatherforgivethem]

what are your thoughts one the hotd s2 trailer? Really intrigued to know and love your blog

Hi and thank you so much that’s so sweet!!!💓💓💓 ok sooooo…. I actually haven’t watched it *crickets* *crickets*

Not because I’m not interested! But because I’m the kind of person where I want to know absolutely nothing about what’s coming next. Unless I’m forced to watch a trailer in the movie theater, then I’ll wait until it comes out to see anything about it lol. Like I LOVEEEEE Hunger Games TBOTSBAS but i didn’t watch any of the trailers cause I just didn’t want to see anything about it before I saw it if that makes sense.

HOWEVER! I am extremely excited to watch season 2 when it comes out because from the very small snippets I saw on ticktock that I scrolled past, it looks extremely well done and beautiful. They’ve always had great cinematography in the show, but from what I’ve seen, this looks amazing! I’m both scared and excited to see what happens with the greens, Helaena and Aegon, Nyra and Alicent, and Criston, and Aemond, and even Jace

I’m also excited for the north making their move into the show. The Starks, and then north in general, have always been my favorite thing about GOT and HOTD and I really hope they do them justice in this upcoming season! The costumes look fab and I’m so excited to see all of them!!

Sorry for the super long response lol! But I hope this answers your question lol!

[whosafraidofvirginiawoolf]

Hi! Ok, so I've watched Tea and Simpathy last night and now I AM OBSESSED. Which Deborah Kerr movie should I watch next? Thanks🌻

ahhhh!!!! I'm so happy you liked tea and sympathy!!!!!!!! here's some more deborah kerr movies I love!!!!!

the innocents (1961) dir. jack clayton : adaptation of henry james' turn of the screw, kerr plays the governess and her acting + the cinematography is insane, one of my favorite movies in general (not just deborah kerr ones lol)

the life and death of colonel blimp (1943) dir. pressburger & powell : kerr plays not one, not two, but THREE characters and looks so good in technicolor you could die !!!!! (the rest of the movie is also really really good and moving)

the night of the iguana (1964) dir. john huston : tennessee williams adaptation so be warns the dramatic parts are DRAMATIC, this is one of my fav plays of his!!! in typical kerr fashion her character is incredibly moving, slightly (or more than slightly) crazy, and just makes you THINK!

the grass is greener (1960) dir. stanely donen : romantic comedy, and kerr is hilarious and so so good, robert mitchum and cary grant are so funny in this too, all around a very fun hilarious movie I've already seen twice i liked it so much

an affair to remember (1957) dir. mccarey : just a classic, cary grant and kerr are so good together and the story is kind of silly in typical old hollywood romatic drama style, but its not too silly that it doesn't WORK with kerr and crant carrying the film through!!!

vacation from marriage (1945) dir. alexander korda : first of all deborah kerr has a girlfriend in this movie who is none other than glynis johns! also its super funny, its about a husband and a wife reuniting after they both had gone off to war and how different they've become and how they've both been able to be more themselves once they had a chance to not be so strictly a Couple and how that plays out

the chalk garden (1964) dir. ronald neame : okay hear me out, the plot is kind of dramatic and could be dismissed as slightly silly and while it could have been done better, I think its good lol kerr is a governess here again! we love to see it <3 (also hayley and john mills are in this)

the naked edge (1961) dir. michael anderson : there's nothing like out of the box special about this movie, the plot isn't going to shock you, but i think it's done very well and the cinematography snaps and kerr is really good!!!! also i love a dark sinister gloomy atmosphere and its done very well here!

bonjour tristesse (1958) dir. otto preminger + 10. from here to eternity (1953) dir. fred zinnemann : these are both great movies, well made, interesting compelling plots, kerr is obvs amazing in both, don't really have anything else to say (put them together bc this list is getting long he he)

beloved infidel (1959)dir. henry king : insanely bad, melodramatic done so poorly that you laugh out loud when someone dies.........including it on the list bc you'd probs have a lot of fun watching this if you're in the mood to make fun of a dumb movie lol

[digestionsack]

Narrative Choices I Would Have Made With Byler/Milkdud if I Intended Byler to Be Unrequited and Milkdud to be Endgame

Along with all the other reasons why I wouldn’t want a rejection in S5, the pacing would just…not be it. I am in no way a screenwriter or an expert in cinematography, but this is just how I would write unrequited Byler and endgame Mileven (if that were the case):

Endgame Milkdud:

First of all, I would not have had Mike and El have any sort of romantic relationship in the first seasons—I would have made them strictly platonic and built up their friendship. I would have given them common interests and made their chemistry undeniable—that’s including platonic chemistry. I would have included Mike showing El new movies, videogames, and comic books even if she could not go outside of her house because the government was looking for her. I would have included her in as many Party hangouts as possible to show that Mike and El together would not create any sort of rifts in the group’s dynamic (the Party hanging out at Hop’s cabin with El even when she couldn’t go outside would have been super cute).

At the end of S3, that’s when I would have dropped the hint that there are romantic feelings—right before the Byers and El move to Cali. I would have Mike and El have a really cute goodbye moment—maybe a hug that lasts a bit too long—and then as El leaves, Mike looks after her with this sort of lingering, tender smile, and then a realization “oh shit” face.

From there I would have dialled up the romance. I would not include an “I love you,” since none of the canon couples that end up working out have ever said “I love you” to each other. We see their love. At the end of S4, I would have dropped in a hint that El also has romantic feelings for Mike, but make it kind of ambiguous—keeping the audience on their toes. And then, at the very end of S5, I would have a confession and a kiss.

Platonic Byler:

Let me just be clear on this one fact: I do not like the “gay guy has a crush on his straight best friend and has to get over his feelings.” Hate that trope. Should not exist. Kill it with fire. However…if the writers had to go with that trope, I definitely would have done the pacing a bit differently…

I would have made the audience aware of Will’s sexuality during S2, in which we would also get pretty clear hints that he has feelings for Mike (maybe like S4 levels of pining). This would make sense to the general audience, since Mike is his childhood best friend who has been taking really good care of Will ever since he got back from the UD. Well, the (non-homophobic) ga would figure, if we already know that Will is gay and his childhood best friend is being so affectionate with him, romantic feelings are inevitable. Of course, S2 Mike would be completely oblivious to Will’s feelings.

Come S3 (themes of puberty, “summer of love”), Mike would finally understand Will’s feelings for him. Maybe Will confesses, maybe Mike figures it out, but either way, Mike is now aware of Will’s feelings. If they had to do a rejection, I would do it here—an amicable rejection with a bit of awkwardness that is not resolved at the end of the season. Of course, the ga would reason, there would be some awkwardness, as is usually the case when someone has unrequited feelings for someone else.

I’m S4, I would give Will a new love interest from Cali. The move would be the perfect time to introduce this new character (fresh move, fresh start)—after all, ‘80s Cali was much more open-minded than small town Indiana. They wouldn’t even have to make it romantic from the get-go—maybe this person was kind to El and Will while everyone else was being cruel, kind of like Argyle. Again like Argyle, this new guy would end up getting mixed up with the government shenanigans and UD stuff and end up coming along on the road trip with Will, Jon, Mike, and Argyle. As Will and this new guy spend some time together on the road trip, feelings emerge. Mike, in true (platonic) best friend fashion, would affectionately tease Will about his obvious crush and encourage him (like Steve encouraging Robin). Through this affection, the awkwardness from the unrequited feelings would dissipate, Will has moved on romantically from Mike, and the two are closer than ever. Then, of course, we get Will’s crush on this new guy being requited, which we find out at the end of S5, and the two are endgame. At the end of the show, Will has completed his coming-of-age, self-acceptance arc. He has a strong friendship with Mike, and has learned that he deserves to receive the same love that he gives.

The end!

Ugh, I did not like writing unrequited Byler—even if I don’t actually believe it. But what I’m saying is…

I would have totally eaten up Milkdud if it were a slowburn romance. I love that shit. I would have been enthusiastic, rooting for them, and totally convinced that they would be endgame. I would have loved Milkdud if the writers had done that. BUT THEY DIDN’T.

Although I wouldn’t want there to be any sort of rejection for Will, I would have been less angry about it if Will eventually did get a requited love interest that makes him feel like he’s not a mistake and that makes him realize that he deserves happiness. If the writers had done the pacing like that, I would have been totally invested in Will’s new romance and loving the reparation of his relationship with Mike. BUT THIS DIDN’T HAPPEN.

What I’m saying is that a S5 rejection would just fall flat. It wouldn’t give us any time to explore a new love interest for Will or the dynamic between Mike and Will post-rejection and how they would build back up their relationship. And this would make the “gay guy gets rejected by his straight best friend” trope so much worse than if they had just addressed it in previous seasons when there was time to explore the fallout.

[thescrapbookingscientist]

Biweekly Media Roundup

- The Sandman (TV) - I suppose Sandman was a bit of a grower for me, as while I did enjoy my first watch quite a bit, it was only a few weeks later after engaging in some fan content and revisiting it that I really appreciated it. I standby that it’s not flawless but I was less bothered by expectations the second time around and was able to appreciate the cinematography and overall themes a lot more. Dream is a great character in both concept and portrayal, so easy to root for and simultaneously so fun to bully. I do really hope Netflix doesn’t screw it over and actually greenlights a season 2 soon, I’m really interested in seeing how the rest of the Endless are portrayed given how interesting the ones we got were. Anyway Episode 6 deserves all the awards, we love Death and Hob here.

- Do Revenge (Movie) - Honestly, I’m a bit disappointed with this one - I heard quite a bit of people hyping it up as a fun callback to 90′s and 00′s teen comedies, but I can’t say I found it particularly interesting or funny.  I wanted to like it- I was getting Jennifer’s Body vibes at first - but there were just too many extraneous characters, not enough comedy, and too little impactful or memorable moments overall. I don’t know, I don’t want to be too mean as I don’t think it was completely inept, there were some interesting costume designs and plot twists, but I can’t say I got much out of watching it or would ever be interested in seeing it again.

- Holes (Movie) - Yearly rewatch of Holes with my sister, man is this movie so good, just textbook clever writing in how well it ties everything together and makes every little detail meaningful. Also, what a unique concept and setting.

- Shadow’s House (Anime) - So we come to a close on Shadow’s House season 2 and man, do I hope the Japanese viewership was high enough to warrant a season 3 because this show is so underrated and underappreciated here in the west. I do kind of get why - the genre mixing of an engaging horror mystery and slower paced slice-of-life esque shenanigans make it hard to recommend to fans of one or the other, as the horror fans will likely find the occasional slow of pacing for interpersonal stuff annoying to the pace of the mystery while cutesy fans could definitely be turned off by some of the more horrific imagery and concepts. I don’t mind as much personally as I find both the characters and their relationships charming as well as the mystery and horror elements super well done, but even I felt the pacing drag a bit between each major revelation. It reminds me a lot of Princess Tutu - a genuinely great anime full of both whimsy and dark elements that is super creative in concept but quite hard to sell people on thanks to it’s child friendly slow buildup. I might wait a bit to see if a season 3 will be announced before reading the manga, but I absolutely will be returning to the series at some point, as I cannot stress enough how impressed I am with the concept and execution of the mystery and the slow reveal of the Shadow Family.

- Mob Psycho 100 (Anime) - Yup yup. Congrats to Reigen for sweeping all those twitter polls btw. The Tumblr Sexyman Poll will go down in history forever.

- Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (Anime) - They Yassified Dio. Also I know all Jojo outfits are ridiculous but seriously, wtf is pink boy wearing. 

- Star Trek: Lower Decks (TV) - Hey Lower Decks is back sweet! Still love the whole cast as well as just the concept of a show about the lives of the one-off/lower ranking background crew members rather than the higher ranking officers. The show can get pretty creative with it’s episode ideas and settings which I definitely appreciate, but to be honest I’ll never get tired of seeing the cast watch some crazy alien shit go down only to casually respond with “ugg not this shit again” and then cutting to them having to deal with the collateral after someone else fixed the issue. Not that the cast doesn’t get plenty of heroic  moments to shine, there’s just a great comedy in seeing them treat cursed mind controlling death masks and killer robot outbreaks with the same level of concern as a typical tax accountant filing a report. 

- Made in Abyss (Anime) - Okay we are 6 episodes into the 3rd season and it’s gotten a little better, more focus on lore and plot rather than. the other stuff it was doing. Hope it can stick to that so I don’t feel weird about watching it. 

- Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint (Webnovel) - Rather than binging this I’m slowly making my way through the audiobook. Honestly my attention kinda waned during a fairly early arc due to it’s reliance on the audience being familiar with korean history but now that that’s through it’s starting to get pretty engaging again. It will probably be awhile before I’m finished but I’m glad to have it.

Listening to: Right Where You Left Me by Taylor Swift, House of Memories by Panic! At The Disco, Know Your Name by Mary Lambert, Cut To The Feeling by Carly Rae Jepsen, Reprobate Romance by Blacklisted Me, The Bones by Maren Morris and Hozier, When He Sees Me by Kimiko Glenn, Unholy by Sam Smith, People Watching by Conan Gray, Meet Me In The Woods by Lord Huron

[schmergo]

The new West Side Story movie is now on Disney+ and I finally got to watch it tonight. I really enjoyed it and all the dancing and singing (so thrilling to actually hear a soprano role sung by a soprano), I definitely cried in a few spots, and I did like the updated screenplay by Tony Kushner.

 But I just gotta say something. This is not just because of my personal dislike for Ansel Elgort, though it certainly didn't help: I feel like the script could have done something, anything, ANYTHING at all to make Tony come across as even remotely appealing in his interactions with Maria. They fell so, so flat for me, which is a shame because I did feel like there was so much to like in the new script.

Now, this could be totally intentional. Almost every single thing Tony says or does is a massive red flag, and maybe that's this screenplay's way of warning us from the start, "You should be worried about Maria! She is ignoring red flags left and right! This will not end well!" But the movie also seemed to want us to see this version of Maria as smart and fun and assertive and capable, not a completely naive ingenue who could be easily deceived by a scuzzy guy. And if that's how they want to portray Tony and Maria's relationship, it makes us as an audience not care as much about the story at all. I feel like a script (and an actor and a director) has to do a LOT of heavy lifting to make a character at all sympathetic who just killed his love interest's brother. Heck, when Tony climbed up to Maria's window after killing Bernardo, my instinctive thought was, "Push him out of it!"

  I like the idea of what they did with Tony. His backstory of having hurt a guy in a fight, going to prison for a year, having some time to think about things, and resolving to start a new leaf was intriguing. His relationship with Riff was VERY compelling. But gosh, the 'love interest' side of things left me cold. Anita and Bernardo had fantastic chemistry even though their relationship clearly had major problems, but I just did not like how the love scenes between Tony and Maria were written. Let me break it down:

* Okay, that first interaction with Maria was fine, a little awkward but relatively cute. It was sweet how Maria kissed first. Off to a pretty good start.

* Then all of a sudden he shows up at her building by happenstance, which also starts off kinda cute, but quickly goes off the rails.

* He keeps yelling and moving closer and climbing up toward her while she keeps telling him to go home. She's not laughing and smiling, she's worried about Bernardo or whatever. Tony keeps ignoring her and moving closer.

* Dialogue from the scene:

Maria: ¡Tú no puedes estar aquí!

Tony: What's that mean?

Maria: It means go away!

Tony: Can I come up?

Maria: No!

Tony: But I found you!

Maria: Please. My brother's so angry now, he might--

Tony: I'll make him like me. Everybody does.

Maria: There's nobody who everybody likes.

Tony: Yeah, but so long as you like me, I'm okay with that.

Maria: ¡Shh! ¡No hables! Tienes que... Please, you have to go.

(Tony climbs up toward her instead)

Maria: ¡Ay Dios mío! ¡No, no, no, no...!

* So, here's the deal. I'm not exaggerating when I say that during that exchange, the hairs started standing up on the back of my neck and I could feel my heat pounding a little. I know Tony's the romantic lead, but watching him keep climbing up the fire escape toward her while she keeps telling him to leave started freaking me out on a visceral, physical level. It was the same bad vibe I got when Anita walked into Doc's and all of these Jet dudes were staring at her. This is yet another place where the allegations against Ansel Elgort didn't help things. 

  * Also, it's not Ansel Elgort's fault that he's super tall, but some of the cinematography didn't really help, either. I felt like the camera kept emphasizing their height difference and kinda showing him looming over her and casting shadows in the dim light in a way that almost felt... claustrophobia-inducing? Tall guy and short girl can make an ADORABLE screen pair, but not really in this case. Again, maybe it was deliberately trying to show us that he's physically formidable and would be dangerous in a fight, using Maria as a stand-in for her brother. But I don't think I need to tell you why that didn't rub me the right way on screen.

* Then he asks her to run away with him. She kinda coyly says 'maybe I'll run away with you tomorrow,' like, not making any definite promise. Then he starts pushing her to promise. Then when she says she will meet him tomorrow, he says, "You gotta see me tomorrow. Nobody else. Only me." Which is already yet another red flag.

  * THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN MARIA STARTS SINGING "TONIGHT," one of the most thrillingly romantic songs ever written and it took me by such surprise because it seemed like a very big jump from an interaction in which Tony said and did literally NOTHING charming or appealing. I really thought he'd have to say or do more to woo her! I felt like that interaction got off to a terrible start! The rest of the scene is cute, though.

  * Also, this isn't a scene with Maria, but in the scene where he's trying to learn Spanish from Valentina (which is probably the dreamiest thing he does in the whole movie, try to learn some of Maria's language), he does jump straight to "I want to be with you forever," which is very thematically appropriate for both his character, this story, and the Romeo & Juliet root story, but I just want to say that this is yet another red flag if he were a guy in real life. You've gotta have these built-in red flags for an infatuation that develops THAT fast, so I feel like if he's going to say and do stuff like that, you have to offset that by making him REALLY likeable in his other scenes with his love interest for him to still seem appealing, which.... we'll see in a minute doesn't really seem to happen for me.

* He has a plan to take Maria for a cute surprise date at the Cloisters, which, again, good start, but he blows it. She's anxious about her brother and the fight, and Tony keeps dismissing her concerns. He then keeps interrupting her and talking about how actually Riff is the real victim and implying that she and Bernardo are more privileged than Riff, so great, their second (or third, depending on how you count it) date starts off with an argument. Maria basically says something like, "Us liking each other can cause trouble" and, once again, Tony pushes the boundary by saying, "I don't just LIKE you" and concludes the conversation by saying he won't be able to stop the fight.

  * Then they get to their cute date and as soon as they get there, Tony immediately makes himself not-cute by being like, "THIS PLACE REMINDS ME OF WHEN I SAW IT FROM THE WINDOW OF A BUS ON THE WAY TO PRISON! I WAS IN PRISON FOR A YEAR!" And he explains what happened and does a big monologue, but jeez, he's really not making himself seem very attractive at ALL on this date.

* And of course we all know everything that happens after that.

My dream job would probably be one where dudes writing plays or screenplays sent me their scripts and said, "Tell me if this guy comes across as too douchey. Just, like, give me one easy tip to make him a little dreamier!"

Here's a few possible things I'd suggest:

* Make Tony ask more questions about Maria and show more interest in learning about her. Have him compliment her in some way, have him say SOMETHING that he likes about her.

* Have him and Maria express some kind of dreams or hopes for the future. Have them realize those dreams or hopes are compatible. Make us almost believe they could have whatever that life is before snatching it away. Maria mentioned earlier that she'd be interested in going to college. What if Tony encouraged her to do that? What would she study there? What does Tony want? Where could they build a comfortable life?

* Instead of have him step over her boundaries or dismiss her worries, show how decent he can be by having him actually start to go away if she tells him to go away, meaning SHE has to capitulate and be like, "Wait... wait, come back!" Have him maybe consider she could be right about her concerns with the rumble, that Bernardo's jealousy could make this more dangerous. Maybe have him express sorrow that love could make someone so angry instead of just talking about DANG RIFF!

* I think Tony can be more sympathetic if it's clear that he's really naive and young. A younger actor who gives off more of a 'himbo' energy, like he's just a big stupid puppy who got caught up in the wrong crowd, maybe? I felt like he had kind of a... mansplainy vibe here?

* Here's a real dreamy one: what if he, like, did the dishes or something after he sneaks into her apartment? Just spitballing.

* Give him, like, one actually funny joke

* Have him pull up his dang pants!!!!! What was up with him dressing like it's 2011 and everyone else looking like it's 1957?

[anonil88]

Malcolm and Marie live blog

I don't usually do liveblogs for movies but yea.

Spoilers ahead!!

I love that its modern timed but very 70s stylized.

A tune indeed.

When you are high and drunk on success and

How the white critic reacts is why I feel like gatekeeping my scripts. At the same time some things I do make are about race or involve.

Marie sitting on the patio smoking is a mood whenever men are talking.

So he's pretentious and unaware.

Whoever chose the music for this, I feel like we would be Spotify mutuals.

Can this nigga stop pacing.

Also can he stop talking;

Marie is so tired and unimpressed.

Also little booties matter and are to be bitten.

Oooo the tension and the jazz.

Title Card over mac and cheese.

Shitty boxes mac and cheese but still mac and cheese.

Tbh i always wonder if spouses/significant others get upset when their spouses don't acknowledge them during speeches.

John sounds so much like his dad but I really hope his acting style differs from his dad a lot.

Guilty confession?

He did not profit off of his partners backstory and then not even acknowledge her.....I.....

If that ever happened to me catch me cussing my partner out during the beginning credits, the end credits, in the car, and at home.

GASLIGHTER!

The way I'm excited for Zendaya to give me some, oooo can she work with Regina King. Please on my knees I pray.

Um no that's not your job to coddle your lead.

He's a dick and the type of dick who makes himself look like a good person around other people.

If Sam Levinson is trying to make his viewers more of misandrist, it's working.

I feel like Marie has her flaws probably a lot of them and we will surely see as this continues, but Malcolm needs to learn how to apologize sincerely.

70s vibes! 70s vibes!

Them kissing and talking about criticism and dreams makes me miss a partner. A partner that I've had and haven't had.

Women really are behind every great man.

Yea sir you fucked a happy moment.

Oh visual allegories for looking in from the outside and cat and mouse chasing and looking from the outside in.

She's saying she doesn't feel noticed by you.

Gas lighter :0 he called her an emotional support dog, bruh.

I would LOVE to co-write or take a writing class held by Sam Levinson. The fights i write are very much in this same realm of reflection and anger and monologue.

Sam.....sam.....are all the sides inside of you doing okay sir?

The ugly side of dating and being in a relationship with someone who struggles with their own demons.

Honestly I could close my eyes and listen to this script being read without seeing these characters visually. Just close my eyes and get a sense of these characters like it was a radio story.

Oh. Oh this is a new wheelhouse of Zendaya acting; a different voice is like breaking through here and her expressions aren't the same we are used to. You can literally hear another character in there....hmm.

Mans is outside really fighting with his invisible demons lmfao.

Selfish ass, how after everything she said you came out of it thinking about your own craft and self instead of how you hurt her.

So she's conditional.

Me: did sam (a white man) say nigga this many times in his script or are the actors adding their own inflections. Not just the lingo used but the topic of race and directing etc. being written by a white writer about black characters is always gonna be a critique when you're writer is a white person.

Alexa play Broken Girls by Saba

He is so hurtful.

A clown nigga a clown look in the fucking mirror you bozo head ass looking like you need some Mehron clown white and a size 16 in clown shoes.

John is doing a really swell performance and reading of these lines.

He is reading her for her insecurities by bringing up his experiences with other women and that.....is yikes.

Arguments can get messy like this in real life but it takes a lot of maturity and control to either not let it get to this point or have a healthy conversation afterwards.

This film is really shot on some very crisp lenses.

They sitting there like 🚬🧍‍♀️🧍‍♂️.

Leftover Mac and Cheese and unfinished cigarettes.

The nyt etc. pay walls are so annoying, but there is a work around look at the articles on incognito or add a period at the end of the url.

He sounds like his daddy so much here, weird, this is the only part I'm eh on the dialogue it feels real but a bit out of pace in how they are bouncing off one another.

Nail scissors? So the end is not the only part he based off of Marie. 🙄

ITS A GOOD REVIEW YOU DINGUS but also its a full review they are going to critique things. She isn't wrong though he did profit off of a woman's story that was not his own to profit from.

Yes Malcolm because unfortunately all marginalized people look through a lens of life that is inherently political because of the world they live in.

He is so mad and upset and had a lot on his chest. But I think he Malcolm and Sam are talking about something thats an issue and a non issue. Being critiqued for you art is hard but also Malcolm is not super self aware. He's like a stand in figure of for example rich depop sellers who wanna be oppressed so badly they yell at others instead of examining their own personal behaviors and ethics.

Oh Marie, when you know the spark is gone and you pick fights because.

He ain't even ask her to read?

One critic I have for most of hollywood actors is they learn their cry and that is it. A change from this is Margot Robbie, I adore her fluctuations of crying being similar but the crying is carried differently for each character. If I had to say any actor that does a cry scene amazing its this woman right here (Amy Adams)

You stole her story from her and gave it away, she has a right to be upset and angry and a rubber band ball of emotions.

Citizen Kane, not the cinematography, but the story is it even that good? (Unpopular opinion but meh, maybe in my rewatch it will be better.)

But that is what people want authenticity and whatever authenticity means to them. What is real for one is false for another.

To be honest look at the criticism of Euphoria, well earned, but a lot of people were like this isn't real even though he literally wrote about his own life. People said it was inauthentic like....wtf.

Ahh the smoking is just a habit, he quit and she didn't.

CAST ZENDAYA IN A HORROR MOVIE PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING. Get Lupita and Zendaya and some more black actors preferably less known ones in a horror movie. One with a interesting script and story, directed by Regina King. Please and thankyou.

I love Marie yep that was amazing.

Behind every great man is a greater woman, one that deserves her credit for how she has stood behind. I wonder the stories of those women, what they have sacrificed or not sacrificed. Their thoughts and feelings when the world is surrounding their partner and views them as a plus one. (I'd write a short script about this but I think do I have the time, can I, or am I equipped ?)

He is a shitty person for bringing up his exes, like she even said I don't wanna know any of that.

Imagine being on anti depressents and rarely having a sex drive and then when you do your partner starts talking about their exes and tearing you apart for all your faults.

I love when you see peaks of Zendaya's cadence in roles.

Tension, what if's and he didn't even bring her up in his speech.

Marie to herself and the audience:

He is not afraid that he will loose her but as my character says in my unreleased story, "i can't wait til you give me a fucking reason to leave your ass." Malcolm expects everything in order for not even doing the bare minimum and she is only asking him for something as simple as consideration. She just wants him to be considerate. He wants to get married and considers their relationship like rolling down a hill at full speed and he cannot apologize, he cannot be considerate, and he cannot admit his wrongs. He can only offer her I love yous that he probably does mean but he does not back up outside of what he's done for her in the past. The past which was more of her experience than his and he sees his part in it as a burden. He doesn't use his own vantage point of the past to further his career he uses her. He does all of these things without a real apology or thankyou because he is not afraid to loose her.

The restrictions of quarantine and the panorama have made Sam's writing very no frills. I wonder how other films from other directors and writers that are filmed in small contained crews like this will be structured. But this was a very good movie gonna add to my letter box 3.3-3.5

Oh shit this is my song,

Ratings/overall thoughts:

Script is like a C+, B- : I could go into my heavier big brain thoughts on the script but I don't feel like it. You catch hints of it above it centers conversation on race and privilege, mainly the writers and questions i have that won't be answered but Sam did make me grow disdain for Malcolm over a short time. Which is sometimes hard to do because im one sympathetic person but the sympathy i have for Malcolm is at 0. Maybe a 2 at some scenes but then it quickly goes back to 0. Some parts of the dialogue miss the mark or hit the are off balanced. While some of it like Malcolm's bathroom speech albeit mean is really strong or their conversation when he comes back from peeing really shines for me.

Performances: B+ to A- because they carried the script further than it could of gone with less talented actors. The monologues do well to showcase their current skill levels which are already high af and leave room for anticipation in where these actors go next.

Zendaya holding a knife: A+ with a gold star. That switch on and off and on is delectable.

John being a shitty boyfriend but following Marie like a lost puppy: B+ with a good job written at the bottom of the paper, Malcolm being nervous a frantic dialed up with more realistic nervousness would have sold me completely on Malcolm's anxious waiting.

Cinematography: A and a participation award.

The mac and cheese: A+ for the easy mac. Wish it was like Annie's or Velveeta.

Cigarettes: Participation award and their picture hung up for student of the month. Why the grill lighter? Everytime Malcolm opened up his mouth Marie was like sparks fly.

The music: A++ with a prize. Whoever picked the music probably makes good Spotify playlists.

[project-paranoia]

Let’s Watch: Yin Yang Master: Dream of Eternity

I have watched this movie 85 Whole Entire Times and I do not regret.  The only thing wrong with this movie is that it wasn't a fifty episode series.  I cried, I laughed, I fell in love.  The cinematography is on point, the acting is amazing, the crew member who put snow on people's eyebrows did an amazing job, and the acting!  The subtlety, the gentleness, the love and affection, the discussion of race is one of the best I've ever seen.

As people have pointed out before in series like X-Men that fear of mutant's is practically if not thematically justified due to the laser eyes in a way that fear of ethnic minorities just isn't in real life.  In Dream of Eternity however humans are equally if not sometimes more super powered than the yao they hunt.  Demons - very much not in the Christian sense - are a mixture of spirits, resentful souls, and animals and plants who cultivated to human form.  They often appear human at first glance and in some cases the extent of their power seems to be the limited to turning into a smaller more vulnerable animal.  Qingming's deliberate care and gentleness not only reflects his upbringing as a Yin Yang Master, but parallels the experience of racial minorities labelled as aggressive.

The movie takes particular care as well in the way it looks at trauma, grief, and love.  The three of which haunt the main characters and send out ripple effects into the world around them.  In the world of Dream of Eternity no loss is purely private, it spools out into the world around the person effected until they make an effect to acknowledge and deal with their experiences.  Qingming's warmth and gentleness isn't just marked by his behaviour but by the orange light he's lit by and his variety of shishen - but he is also separate, standing alone in frame and facing away from the people around him.  Boya's loss has made him unforgiving and as cold as the blue light he's lit in, and yet he is open and instinctive, talking and acting as soon as the thought enters his head.  The Empress is lost and drifting, trapped and grief stricken, vulnerable to those who profess to love her.  The film is simple, it says and shows what it means when it means it - but it is also as complex as the very human characters it depicts.  

The movie is made even more complex by its pull from theaters.  Claims of plagiarism drench the edges of the movie, which as true as the assertion that Fan BingBing went on a spa vacation in 2018.  Although this blog is about Chinese censorship dealing specifically with BL content, Chinese censorship also effects those who criticize governmental policy.  I hope that supporters of this blog will also support Chinese media threatened by censorship for many reasons so that artists and others involved in film making can continue to make meaningful content.

Doing a watchthrough of a movie is not feasible, but please enjoy a few thousand words - with spoilers on Yin Yang Master included:

* That gentle chiming and rain soundscaping is so soothing, what a great way to calm and lull the audience before the movie even starts * Qingming is so small and isolated in the frame - cinema! * The lighting and cinematography is just so good * Shifu, soft gentle teacher * So much love stored in the Shifu * Instant grow * This boy is Sassy * This theme of deflection in Qingming's character is established early * Deflection with a teleportation portal and then immediately deflection verbally * Shifu is certainly an attractive man aged up, but his face is also soft and gentle, something to note when his double pops up later * Also the awkward question of don't you have someone you want to protect, maybe part of the problem is that shifu is just really bad at wording things * The answer that yes he does has several meanings, one of which is immediately apparent when Shifu acts out one of those Father Saves Child By Yeeting them youtube videos * ACtion MuSIC * I love them your honour * The spirit guardian's design is so specific and elegant, absolutely superb you funky little shishen * I wonder if Qingming ever thinks about that if he didn't come back with all his fellow disciples that Shifu would have been fine * Maybe it's not that he doesn't have someone he wants to protect and more that he believes that he's not capable of protecting those he wants to * subtle indication Shifu's qi is corrupted * Precious Magic Childe ;-; * The framing, I'm living for it * The Serpent graphic is lovely * Also the way they set things up * Qingming cares so much about his shifu * Mark Chao just has the ability to crumple his face like paper * Sad Time exposition involving the corrupting influence of desires * "When you're gone I'll be all alone" in just about all you need to know about Qingming at this point in the story * Also like, sympathy for Shifu in raising this lonely child.  By all accounts he was an absolutely superb father figure, and Qingming I'm sure was not an easy child to raise.  He's the sort of kid that would take a lot of calm and patience. * Slumber party! * It's kind of interesting that this is an activity Fangyue and He Shouyue are doing together.  He's definitely obsessed and in love with her and she's just doing friends and family activities with him * Also yellow/gold lighting is kind of their thing * It's interesting how they do the make up for He Shouyue.  The actor is very attractive, but they make him up to look doll like, a little too pretty, a little too shiny.  Like a porcelain doll. * Cool lit Boya and warm lit Qingming appear! * Camels! * The framing is so good, they're careful to be sure he's shown as obviously isolated as much as possible * And it should go without saying that I adore the City * The matte painting is outstanding * But there's also the lighting, the vignettes, the clusters, the foliage * It is a supremely beautiful set * The irony that Killing Stone is playing along with Boya's music and then it's Boya who kicks him around * A small note, but one I appreciate - even when Boya has warm highlight's they're red instead of orange * "It's Jason Bourne!" * I hope Qingming paid for that water taxi * It's interesting how Killing Stone goes from the safety of Qingming's orange light to the danger of Qingming's blue * Colour related foreshadowing! * Look at this poor sweet man, how could anyone suspect him of anything.  He's just a sad man who loves his dead wife * Qingming's use of a fan is interesting - battle fans show up all over wuxia and xianxia, but it feels like it also ties into the way he's so very careful in how he presents himself.  There's that quote that a sword can only be a sword but other weapons are also able to serve other purposes - not a perfect quote but the point is got across. * The way Qingming just knocks Boya back, like get An Clue, my dude * The way that Killing Stone curls around the pipa ;-; * So the movie is based on the book series 'Onmyoji' by Yumemakura Baku.  The books start with Seimei (Qingming) and Hiromasa (Boya) already in a relationship talking about various cases Seimei has recently experienced.  Plotwise, obviously the stories are different, however thematically Seimei and Hiromasa discuss why some yao stick around and solutions to the difficulties and dangers they might cause - which is generally from Seimei's very successful perspective to listen and treat them like humans.  So in that way the plots of the books and the movie are quite different, but the themes are just about identical. * Boya says Don't Talk Me I Angy and also that demons don't have feelings and Qingming's face takes out a billboard that's just like Ah, Another Fantasy Racist, Excellent * Qingming also does what should be done in this situation, taking care of the victim not the racist * Fight scene!  Fight scene! * Qingming's first few moves aren't to attack, they're to distract and just hold his fan up to block Boya's way and his view - it's only when Boya persists in attacking that Qingming fights back * Qingming's sassy smile, he is very much deliberately irritating Boya as much as he's refocusing his attention and distracting him * "nICE sWORD" * I've sighed that sigh before * This boy is taking great pleasure from teasing Boya, but also he makes a really good point * I understand and relate to what Qingming did, but also I can understand why Boya was ready to throw rocks at Qingming when he saw him again * Killing Stone lit in Qingming's orange light again * Killing Stone, my beloved * A good gauge to the state of the world for yao is no one has told this sweet boy before that demons have feelings too * There are several lines like this in the movie that just drop kick you with Implications * The same way Qingming clung to Zhongxing, Killing Stone wants to join up with Qingming to have some compassion in his life * The way he asks to be a spirit guardian is so formal too, and Qingming is so gentle with him, I cry ;-; * The warm orange light of Qingming's love ;-; * He heals the wounds * It took me an embarrassing amount of time to realise it's the actual imperial degree speaking and not one the of Jingyun Temple Masters * The mutual this guy again is delicious * "Is it because of your pretty face" * Boya draws his sword so fast and Qingming is so amused by it * Longye!  Queen!  I love her! * The two of them seem to understand each other instantly * Those sassy little smiles * He Shouyue looks even more like a doll than before * Longye has her head on a swivel from second one, she plays the Maiden so well like she's not a skilled master * And her customer service smile * Qingming is shooketh

* What happens next?  You'll have to watch and find out!

[sugarmaplewings-fics]

Horror Movie Headcanons

Pairing: BNHA boys x reader

Warnings: None

Characters: Midoriya, Bakugou, Todoroki, Kirishima, Kaminari, Shinsou, Amajiki

Author’s Note: Hey everyone! Welcome to my fall special!!

This is the first of five works that I will be posting throughout the month of October to get into that fall/Halloween mood! I’ve been meaning to do this concept for a minute now, so I thought, what better time than during spooky month itself?

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

-Sugar

.🍂🎃🍂.

Midoriya:

● Surprisingly, Izuku is pretty okay with horror

● It's not his favorite genre, but he's seen the classics

● Is totally down to watch them with you and listen to what you have to say about the movie

● You've gotten into some pretty in-depth and interesting conversations both during and after the movie, discussing things like plot and characters and cinematography

● He loves having little horror movie marathons with you, turning out all the lights and snuggling together under a blanket with some snacks

● He doesn't get scared too easily, but he still is super appreciative to have you right next to him during the movie

● I'd say Izuku probably prefers the older horror movies. He thinks the stories tend to be better and likes the general vibe they give him, if that makes sense

● All in all, scary movie nights make a wonderful date!

____________

Bakugou:

● He likes horror movies well enough

● They're not his absolute favorite, but the occasional adrenaline rushes he can get from them are good

● Only wants to watch horror movies that are actually scary. If he finds the movie to be bad, he'll turn it off

● If you do force him to watch a bad horror movie with you, he'll yell at the TV or laptop the entire time. Sometimes what he says is actually pretty funny

● He laughs at you if you scream or startle at something, and if it's particularly stupid he'll tease you about it for the rest of the week

● Katsuki isn't generally huge on cuddling, but sometimes he can get himself in the mood if you're alone together in the dark on your couch. Then you might find yourself warmly tucked under his arm for the remainder of the movie

● I see Bakugou as being into slasher films. I have nO iDeA wHy *king explosion murder*

● Altogether a good scary movie buddy. He's got some good picks under his belt to choose from (though it's rare that he rewatches anything)

____________

Todoroki:

● Shouto's pretty neutral when it comes to scary movies

● He doesn't hate them, but he's not super into them like you are

● They don't really scare him, since he just sees them as non-real movies

● He can appreciate gore, though, especially if you're one to point out the makeup effects done on the actors

● He's a good person to watch horror with, 8/10. No, he won't have very animated reactions at certain scenes, but it feels good to clutch onto his side if you were to ever get scared. Shouto really likes it when you do this, actually

● He doesn't really have a preference when it comes to what sort of horror movie he likes. As long as it's what you want to watch, he'll be happy to watch it with you

____________

Kirishima:

● Isn't a huge fan of horror movies, but doesn't hate them

● He'll be happy to watch them with you, but is more interested in action stuff as a movie preference

● I feel like he'd be more into monster or supernatural horror movies, although he's down for pretty much anything if it would mean spending time with you

● The clincher for watching scary movies with you is the snuggle opportunity. He gets an extra manly-ego boost if you get scared and clutch onto his hand or his side

● That isn't to say that he's immune to getting scared himself. You may end up holding each other at certain parts

● Eijirou is more into the experience than the movie itself

● Yells at characters for not being manly

● I think he prefers bad horror movies since they're pretty chill and sometimes funny, but certainly doesn't want to watch anything boring

● 6/10, please let this boy feel like he's protecting you

____________

Kaminari:

● Denki loves horror movies

● He strikes me as someone who is easily frightened by them, but that's what he likes

● Lives for hiding his face as he cuddles with you under a blanket, whether it be by hugging himself into the crook of your neck or even simply putting his hands over his eyes

● You've accidentally gotten shocked by him a couple of times from jump scares, but it's never enough to actually hurt and he feels pretty bad afterward

● He loves all kinds of scary movies, from old to new, good to bad, of any rating and any genre

● He has a special place in his heart for bad horror movies. These are the ones that don't really scare him, but it's making fun of them that is really entertaining to him

● He likes to make jokes about acting or effects if there are some glaring issues, and he's really good at lightening a mood if you're feeling nervous

● On the rare occasion that you're scared and he isn't, he loves having you curl up into him

● Literally he can't focus on the movie for a quick minute because oh my god, you're so cute and so close and eeeeee

● Is a messy snacker. Literally somehow popcorn gets everywhere all over the floor by the end. Neither of you know how this happens (he blames you sometimes)

● Watching horror movies with him is such a blast, it's literally one of your favorite dates to do together

● 11/10, you picked a good one

____________

Shinsou:

● He likes them well enough

● Like Bakugou, they're not his number one, but maybe a close second

● I'll peg him as enjoying supernatural stories, with ghosts and poltergeists and stuff

● He LIVES for when you snuggle into him when you get to a suspenseful part

● He likes to have little movie marathons late into the night with you, sometimes getting to the point where you fall asleep on his shoulder

● He's pretty good to watch horror with. He doesn't necessarily get scared by much of anything, but he's good at picking films to watch

● Prefers good scary movies to bad ones

____________

Amajiki:

● #not a stan

● Literally the only reason he'd watch a scary movie with you is if you begged him

● And then promised him plenty of cuddles afterward

● He doesn't like the extra anxiety they give him and just in general doesn't see the appeal

● It would be best to go easy on him, maybe start with some of the older, worse ones that aren't all that scary

● He still gets a little freaked out by them, but if/when you start making jokes about plot holes in the story or poor acting and directing choices, you might find him start to lower his hands from his face

● He'll never be too into the horror genre, but it's a small price to pay if it means curling up into your side for an hour and a half

● You may still need to watch some cartoons afterward to help get his mind off it; something good like Adventure Time or Steven Universe

.🍂🎃🍂.

Taglist: @aahilovetheatre @heartpaw12 @todoroki-waifu @basicaegyo @iiminibattlehero @katsugay @nabo39 @pyrofanatic @sendhelpimstupid​ @sokkasangel @xoxopam4