#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

[birdsandbeetlesandmoths]

So. Sonic 3. That was. certainly. hoo boy *collapses to the sound of a metal pipe falling*

Spoilers and thoughts under cut (LONG POST)

Well, my pre-movie post was SO WRONG. I think most stobotnik fans were, thinking that Stone would be the one dying. I- truly wasn’t expecting it.

I’ll get back to that in a second, let me get all of my silly things out of the way/the things i was hype about/had to crush my partner and friend’s hands about while witnessing.

The antics between Gerald and Ivo were expected but oh my GOD JIM CARREY. you are a national treasure, have fun in retirement. we will miss you greatly, but this being your final movie (probably) is a great thing to culminate your absolutely stunning career.

Anyway, their dance sequence was fucking insane, and as much as I was cringing, I was grinning through it too. The fight on the Eclipse cannon was also questionable BUT HOLY FUCK NOW I GET THE PRAYING MANTIS/FLY REFERENCE. (Thank god it wasn’t directly about stone and robotnik but i’m already cooking how i can connect them). Spanking? Also in my Sonic movie. But yeah.

Gerald and Ivo could never be more alike in intellect, but different in morals. Evident through Gerald’s fixation on avenging his daughter with no remorse or thought for whoever will get in the way, throwing away Ivo and the whole of the world as a result). He’s willing to kill himself, but as Shadow says and believes, that isn’t what Maria would have wanted.

I used to not like the Wachowskis. I was already a little unsettled when the first movie released by the fact that characters unrelated to previous Sonic media were being utilized as major plot elements, but during the second and third movies, I began to absolutely love them.

This third movie cemented that love. The father-son relationship between Tom and Sonic specifically. My heart was aching in the first scene at their little campsite, Happy BEarthday, and their heart-to-heart in Sonic’s old cave, talking about Choice (an analysis incoming) and that you always have a choice, and that your lungs (heart) will help you find the right one.

I think this movie might’ve done. One of the best jobs of displaying found family. The sibling relationship between Tails, Knuckles, and Sonic was the most heartrendingly beautiful and achingly real thing I’ve seen in a while. And it really hits you, the fact that they’re kids.

And the amount of silly little jokes, Tails having his gadgetry and Knuckles with his blunt personality, Sonic tying them all together with his wit and charm, it all became slightly surreal to see. To see something so happy, so delicately real.

Oh my god, on the trio, Knuckles saving both Sonic and Tails from falling to Earth. I was gasping that whole time, truly being sent into the moment. Movies and media rarely do that to me in the emotional sense.

AND AS FOR SHADOW AND MARIA

Holy fuck at least I was right about that part in my pre-movie wishes. I thought it was interesting how they adapted it, and it definitely made for it to be slightly more believable and less complicated.

But oh my gosh them. Skating around the lab, messing around together, introducing Shadow to that great 70s music and dancing, watching movies together and just being kids!! And don’t even get me started on the rooftop scene. Shadow was so vulnerable and self-conscious, and Maria comforted him in a way that touched me. Understands him in a way that no one else ever has, as everyone else only saw him as the experiment and the subject, while she saw him as his own person, with thoughts and emotions and curiosities.

It paralleled Sonic and Tom in the cinematography too, and the sentiment was all the same. That Shadow can choose who he wants to be. (I Am All I Am and Choice. Trust, it’s coming soon)

Maria and Shadow made me unbearably happy. It was all I could’ve ever asked for and more.

Shadow and Sonic were an absolutely crazy duo this show. Dude, in their fight versus each other? Both going Super and absolutely going at it, and Shadow having the absolute gall to accuse Sonic of not caring about his friends, that he was clearly here alone because he abandoned them, and mention Tom, which caused Sonic to go completely over the edge, and actually punch him straight into space and lose his Super.

Sonic and Shadow reconciling over their shared feeling of grief, Sonic sharing his pain, emphasizing the love that will be able to help them heal, Shadow reciprocating, and then Shadow remembering Maria after looking up at the stars, realizing, from Sonic’s words, that this truly wasn’t what Maria wanted, just that whole moon scene between them is living in my head rent free and I need to see it over and over again.

HOLYYY SHIT THEY PLAYED LIVE AND LEARN WHEN SUPER SONIC AND SUPER SHADOW TEAMED UP AND BEAT THE EVER LIVING FUCK OUT OF THOSE ROBOTS. Me and my friends were going so fucking insane in that theater.

Shadow remembering Maria (possibly for the last time) as he sacrifices himself to push the Eclipse cannon away from the place that Maria loved. Remembering all of the good moments, the love between them, that is all he wanted if he was going to leave the world for good. (Well, I mean, he’s still alive, but the amnesia route is still optional)

Sonic actually going slightly insane this movie was also very interesting to watch. His absolute- like, his vision went RED when Shadow mentioned Tom. That was what set him OFFFF. His abuse of the Master Emerald and even threatening his own best friends/siblings over this— god the emphasis of choice in this film I want to sob.

Also, yall already KNOW I WAS BALLING ABOUT THE AKIRA SLIDE, SNAPCUBE REFERENCES, AND EVERY TIME SHADOW BREATHED OR MOVED. Literally could not contain myself from absolutely sob-cry-screaming at Shadow and (Keanu did a great job btw) his entire story, his joy with Maria and his pain all after. (His Super form looked fuck beautiful, a new colorful hue every time I saw it)

All in all, Robotniks were hilarious, Maria and Shadow were beautifully tragic and just generally so so SO adorable and loving. I’m so glad that Tails and Knuckles got more serious appreciation and screen time this movie as well, because as much as Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were sidelined in this movie (to put forth Robotniks and Shadow, understandably so), it still felt more fulfilling and real than in the second movie. Super forms continue to be beautiful onscreen, I would like to collapse and die from hearing ONE OK ROCK and Live and Learn.

AHEM. Now, clearly, I will be making a separate post solely about Stobotnik. Along with the multiple Stone-centric fics burning a hole in my brain and the choice and grief analyses awaiting my attention. Bear with me as I have SO MANY THOUGHTS.

We won. . . but at what cost.

My friends, my partner, you already know. We died and were promptly revived together in that theater.

[quinnfebrey]

WICKED PT. 1 REVIEW

(spoiler free*)

*spoiler free is used generously, there are no major or intentional spoilers but i make no promises for smaller things.

casting:

going into it thought the casting would be the weakest point, but i was pleasantly surprised. that said, i think jon chu’s reasoning for not casting unknowns was total bs and he just wanted a star-studded cast. i also wish they were younger. it was kind of giving movie ben platt terrorizing the teenagers of dear evan hansen. it works for the stage, but my belief was not suspended on the big screen. so while i don’t necessarily agree with how we got here, objectively they were great.

production:

honestly it looked amazing, i wish some parts were graded with a little more contrast, but the colors weren’t muted at all and i thought the cinematography was the perfect level of dramatic and interesting. the highlight was the emerald city. nothing else really stuck out to me in particular but the first 30 seconds or so of one short day looked AMAZING.

the singing:

sounded phenomenal, and this is coming from someone who heard the trailers and panicked. i don’t know what they did in post to make them sound so awful and processed in the trailers, but the movie itself sounded great.

the acting:

i wanted… more. jonathan has such an overly expressive face that worked so well, but cynthia was just the smirk emoji for 2.5 hours and ariana looked like this 🙂 the entire time. they had their moments, of course, but with all the added dialogue (and no song to carry the emotion) i wanted more of a performance.

why the fuck was it 2.5 hours?

i don’t know man. i understood (and enjoyed) some of the additions, but there were an equal number that didn’t add anything, and there were so many scenes where i was like whyyyy is this taking so long. it felt like they were trying to (unsuccessfully) justify the runtime instead of it being a natural result.

2-part split:

this is by far my biggest criticism of the movie. the ending was done BEAUTIFULLY, but the year gap will kill the momentum. i 100% believe that splitting it into two parts will take away from the viewing experience. i actually didn’t have a problem with the splitting when it was first announced, but now that i’ve seen part 1 it feels like a forced cash grab.

rewatchability:

even though i actually really liked it, i don’t think i’d ever electively put it on instead of a stage recording.

SONG BREAKDOWNS:

no one mourns the wicked

a fantastic opening. i went into the movie very skeptical, but it managed to win me over on all accounts. it had the richness and fullness you’d expect + beautiful visuals and ariana proves her doubters (me) wrong immediately.

dear old shiz

the song is nearly identical to the musical, but the changed staging was odd (but also insignificant in a way that made it even more odd).

the wizard and i

i blame the directing for why this song fell flat for me. they toned down the physical animation of elphaba but didn’t add anything else so it was sort of just her walking around and singing at us. also didn’t super love cynthia’s take on it until the last verse, which was phenomenal, probably because the directing didn’t let her do anything with it.

what is this feeling?

SOOOO GOOD!! it sounded amazing, looked amazing, the ensemble was amazing. THIS is what a movie musical is supposed to do: take what was great on stage and expand in a way that is only possible on film. it was fun and inviting and probably one of the strongest numbers in the entire movie.

something bad

i liked what they did with this in terms of the pacing, and i also like that it helped bolster the animal side plot instead of it getting swept into the songs on either side. the singing was unmemorable but the scene was very effective.

dancing through life

i have SUCH mixed feelings on this. i absolutely loved it up until the break when glinda gives elphaba the hat. jonathan sounded amazing, the dancing and cinematography was perfect, but the pacing and flow was totally ruined after what should’ve been a brief interlude for plot. the moment between elphaba and glinda is very strong and still made me cry, but the middle section was just so off-putting.

popular

sooooo good. ariana sounded amazing, and the directing was perfectly energetic. it felt like a music video in the best way. the colors, cinematography, and storytelling was great. they did manage to strip all of the homoeroticism out of it, and ariana’s yuh made a few valiant attempts to escape, but neither detracted from the final product.

i’m not that girl

same issue as wizard and i, i didn’t want just another three minutes of elphaba standing around singing to the camera. the last verse was the best because there was actually something happening visually, which i think also made cynthia sound better. the monologue style number works on stage for a variety of reasons, but felt like a waste of screen time in the movie.

one short day

first 30-60 seconds are AMAZING. took the energy of the stage and shot it to the moon. it actually made me tear up and i have no complaints. the added interlude was a little long, but i’m a sucker for nostalgia bait so i’ll allow it.

a sentimental man

ummm i hated it lol. it felt SO out of place due to some poor (in my opinion) script additions, and the singing wasn’t anything special. the jeff goldblum cameo made them give the wizard way too much emphasis at that point and it completely disrupted the flow of the movie

defying gravity

except for (another) unnecessarily long interlude, this was everything i was waiting for and more. ariana and cynthia sounded amazing together and cynthia sounded PHENOMENAL. ariana delivered the “well, where are your wings?” line perfectly, which is usually for me a weak point with a lot of glindas; and the “i hope you’re happy now that you’re choosing this” verse was perfection both visually and vocally. overall, it did what it was supposed to do: it wrapped up the first act beautifully and showcased cynthia’s voice.

[technicolorfamiliar]

Contraband (Blackout) Dir. Michael Powell 1940

This one has been on my rewatch list since I first saw it last year. It was one of the few films in the epic Connie watch-a-thon that felt like it had some kind of curative powers, in the surprising way some movies do. I never expected it to lift my spirits and lighten my heart the way it did.

10/10 no notes. I absolutely love everything about this movie. Except the randomly shoehorned "White Negro" scene. It's so out of place in an otherwise pretty progressive film. That cabaret act literally could have been anything, why choose that?? (I couldn't find a lot of info about the choreographer, but it sounds like he was into romanticizing and exoticizing African and Caribbean people in his work… which is not great, but pretty typical of that time I guess. Ugh.)

But otherwise delightful, a romp from start to finish. Apparently someone on IMDB slammed Contraband for being "camp expressionism", but honestly? Hell yeah. I'm 100% here for it. In fact, "camp expressionism" my new favorite genre if it means cute, quirky, risqué, well-directed, well-shot, romantic spy comedy with a tight script and excellent performances.

I've also seen people comparing it to American screwball comedies of the era, but that doesn't seem quite right or even fair. Contraband, thanks to Powell, Pressburger, the editor, and the cast, has a very light touch compared to the comedies coming out of Hollywood in the '30s and '40s. It's not as heavy-handed, it doesn't beat its message to death with over-done gags or affected performances. Michael Powell even said the movie was "all pure corn, but corn served up by professionals." And that's the Powell and Pressburger difference, baby.

The comedy in the script is executed with relative subtlety. The movie isn't telling you HERE’S THE FUNNY BIT, LAUGH NOW the way screwball, slapstick Hollywood would. You almost have to be looking for the humor here to catch it, and it pays off. It's a cheekier type of comedy, not really driven by jokes and punchlines. And as someone who never really liked American comedies of that era, I really appreciate this kind of film. It's silly, even outright stupid in some scenes, but it's not playing down to it's audience. I mean, the whole brawl in the night club is almost like the big fight at the end of Blazing Saddles where more and more people keep joining in, but the action stops for half a second while someone delivers a line. It's stupid. And I love it.

The espionage stuff in is a little convoluted and kind of treated as a throw-away. But really, if you're not paying super close attention to that part of the story, you're not missing much. The spy plot between the British and the Nazis is really just there to give the lead characters something fun to do, and you know what… that's ok with me.

The cinematography also helps elevate Contraband above just being a regular old comedy. Featuring the London blackout is actually really clever. It forces a number of scenes into almost total darkness, which was a risky move and could have been a huge mistake, but it adds yet another interesting layer to the film, visually and in terms of story. There's an unusual POV (possibly handheld?) tracking shot, when Andersen and Mrs. Sorensen are walking up to her house in town, that's just lit by their flashlight. We don't see either of them, except for her hand briefly putting the key in the lock, until after they enter and the camera pans around the hall. And there's a moment a while later when they're in the basement after being tied up where Connie's face is entirely in shadow -- we know he's looking at her, but his expression is completely hidden in darkness. On paper, it sounds like a bad shot, a mistake, but this "expressionistic" lighting and camera work adds a little extra special sauce that I for one greatly appreciate.

The supporting cast is all generally pretty good. Hay Petrie is fun in a double roll. There's the scene in the rowboat where he looks like he's going to get sea sick… despite being the first mate who practically lives on a ship. Little character touches like that throughout the movie make it delightful: The girl in short shorts doing exercises in her room when Connie bursts in on her, the line delivery of the woman who works in the kitchen with Uncle Erik, the guy outside lighting his pipe during the blackout letting those two cops HAVE it. I love a character actor driven movie, all these people in bit parts adding so much color to the story. Brilliant.

Valerie Hobson is so good in this. First of all, she's a boss bitch with an incredible wardrobe. Every look she's serving is iconic. The tweed jacket and headscarf that matches her blouse? The dress with the crazy angular shoulder pads? The big, wide-brimmed hat? Slay. She's authoritative without being shrill, she's got a confident swagger you don't see a lot of actresses getting to showcase at that time. Still, she's not really a femme fatale either. Mrs. Sorensen is independent, intelligent, stunning, and into dangerous spy shit because she enjoys it. She's someone I'd want to hang out with, but would be too scared to talk to because she's so cool. I mean, she almost missed the train at the end because she went back to get Andersen's watch! I have two words for you: Wife Goals.

Sadly, it sounds like Val didn't really get to do a lot of other fun roles outside of the two films she made with Connie. Which is a real shame. Someone on Letterboxd said they're better together than Tracy and Hepburn, and I fully agree. Val and Connie have a natural chemistry that neither feels feel too personal or too studied. Their on screen work together feels easy, without all the baggage and volatility of IRL romance.

The first time I saw Contraband, I think I was simply charmed by Connie as Andersen. Getting to see him as a fun, heroic, romantic lead is incredibly satisfying. But this time around I realized how funny he actually is. He's is so cranky, he starts the movie already at like an 8.5, he's so fucking over it. It's one thing after another -- Mrs. Sorensen won't wear her life jacket, British contraband control wants to hold up them up, someone stole the landing papers, and of course it was Mrs. Sorensen AND Mr. Pigeon. He's so grumpy from the get. (My theory is that he's hangry. He's temperamental and irritable up until he gets a decent meal at The Three Vikings. So relatable.)

It was fun to rewatch this one to catch all the comedic beats Connie is doing with his gestures and facial expressions. They're choreographed, but not affected or over done. His timing and delivery is subtle and finely tuned, which is always funnier than an actor who deliberately plays up the laughs. For example, the long pause after Mrs. Sorensen corrects his pronunciation of the name of the restaurant, he furrows his brow and looks around and finally mutters, "…VI-kings." His comedy is so understated, which keeps the rapid-fire pacing of the bits from being obnoxious.

Andersen is an interesting guy, too. I feel like his macho vibe is just a mask he wears as captain of his ship. He's so used to being That Guy, but, based on Connie's performance, I get the impression that deep down Andersen doesn’t really subscribe to all that traditional masculinity. Later in the film it's easy-ish for him to eventually drop the façade, adjust his expectations, becoming more flexible, malleable in his ideas about sex and gender. This of course is because Conrad Veidt was in reality a proto-feminist wife guy. Andersen isn't played like your standard manly man movie heroes of the time, because that's not who Connie was, that's not an image he wanted to project or support (and I feel one reason why Hollywood couldn't figure out what to do with him in the '40s, but that rant is for another post).

Andersen and Mrs. Sorensen are pretty evenly matched. In fact she has the upper hand and more progressive, dominant role especially once they arrive in London. On his ship, he's the boss, but on shore he's met with one disadvantage after another. Mrs. Sorensen has to be the one to pay for his bus and cab fare, confidently navigating her way through the blackout like a pro. Meanwhile, Andersen is pretty much a bumbling fool, a sidekick to Sorensen's spy adventure. But he's not totally incompetent either (I MEAN IT LOOKS LIKE HE KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING WITH THOSE ROPES, HE IS A SAILOR AFTER ALL *eyes emoji* *sweating emoji*), he's the one who comes up with the plan to rescue Sorensen from her Nazi captors (although I get the impression she probably would have found her own way out without his help). But what's great is that he doesn't do it alone, he goes back to The Three Vikings to round up a small army of Danish essential workers to back him up. And I love how Connie plays the whole last act of the film like he's actually on an adventure; you can see Connie the actor having the most fun ever getting to be the big movie star hero, tussling with cops and Nazis, solving puzzles with glee, getting the girl -- who is just as much of a badass as he is -- in the end. It's so good. And it's so much fun to watch.

There are so, so many wonderful little touches in this movie, many of which I only caught during this second watch. I have a page of scribbled notes I wrote while I was watching that ends with, "The cutest shit I have ever seen!" From the performances to the writing to the technical details, it's hard not to fall in love with this one. Contraband is easily one of those films I could rewatch over and over again and never get sick of it.

OH I can't believe forgot about The Boys:

The goodest boys.

[dovoodles]

Vivit Characters if they had Letterboxd

by suggestion of a friend, because I put too much effort and wanted to post this

ASH: Super fucking dumb reviews. Makes hyperspecific lists (i.e. the shrek and get out one) and reviews based on how funny it'd be. Sometimes shes seen it. Sometimes she hasn't.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆: Justice for the grinch, to be honest. He's literally just an anticapitalist victim of racism raised by two lesbian moms. He did nothing wrong.

☆: The only part I liked was when Morbius said its morbin time and morbed all over the place

MACK: RELIGIOUSLY leaves reviews for everything he's seen. He's super positive about every film, always seeing the strengths even when he doesn't like it. They're always super detailed too, usually a paragraph or two in length. All his reviews scale from 3 stars to 5. Only one movie has ever been given a one star review.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆: I think this is my favorite film of the year :D To start off with the positives, the choreography for the dance scenes was very fun to watch and ... [read more]

☆: I can tell the writers tried to make this really informative! I'm not sure what their sources were, as everything is categorically wrong, but they tried! Here are links to every article that debunks this :o) ... [read more]

NERVA: Only leaves reviews for her hallmark binges. Her litmus scale is based on quality in relation to other hallmark films, and puts a note before every review that in relation to any other film, they would garner two stars at most, zero if it were possible.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆: Surprised me. A hallmark movie has not done that since 2063. It was interesting she stayed with her New York City Boyfriend. Unexpected.

☆: Another copy-and-paste plot. The third act misunderstanding occurs at one hour and thirty-five minutes, as it does with every movie. The kiss happens twenty-six minutes later: A minute more than usual. This means I had to sit through an extra minute of this movie. Oh well.

SAMUEL: Only really updates it to say he has a letterboxd. Posts a review every so often when watching a film he enjoys, spending most of it rambling about his personal analysis than anything else. Oftentimes surprisingly good though.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆: Another masterpiece from this director as always. No surprise there; with his nihilistic worldview, the character study of ... [read more]

☆: I came with an open mind. Regrettably, I'm disappointed. My child encouraged me to watch this, and though the low age demographic was a warning sign in itself, this truly exceeded my expectations in the worst way possible. To present this sorry excuse for a "story" to young impressionable minds ... [read more]

VIDA: Posts a review for every single movie they watch, and there's a lot. Like, one a week, at least. They post full essay length reviews, broken down into sections. They've got it down by a science. They also regularly make organizational lists based on tone or situational enjoyment. They have more 1 and 2 star reviews than not. They've unknowingly posted Mack's reviews off site to bully the shit out of them. Their meanest reviews are towards cliché "classical" movies, because that's what Samuel made them watch.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆: Alright, let's not beat around the bush: This thing is great. I know everyone's like, "blah blah blah, this was going to be terrible" — but they were wrong, so eat shit. As always, we're dividing this between cinematography, writing, acting ... [read more]

☆: That's it. No fancy formatting because what the hell is this. I genuinely think the person who told me to watch this hates me, because if you enjoy THIS, you're braindead. Objectively braindead. Anyways, I want to meet who worked on the color grading for this so badly, because I am convinced they're COLOR-BLIND. Actually, is that offensive? Because color-blind people can still see values, right? And god, there is NO contrast in this garbage ... [read more]

AMATUS: Only gets into it because Vida suggested it. He has a lot of thoughts on films, but he prefers verbalizing them anyways. He doesn't care to influence peoples opinions much on this front, so he really just leaves objective reviews that are fairly short. Sometimes he does leave monster reviews if no one will entertain his thoughts, but thats few and far between (because Vida keeps goading him into rants always). Loves reviewing indie, arthouse films the most.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆: This was enjoyable for both me and the group I watched this with :) If you're looking for a lighthearted comedy, I would highly reccomend.

☆: I think I was the wrong audience for this. I'm not sure who this movie is for, in that case, but maybe it's someone... Probably not.

[elegantagent]

getting into reiwa

So, I'm a big fan of heisei Era tokusatsu, kamen rider W, being my all time favorite. Kamen rider Gavv recently began and I really enjoyed it, and it made me want to try watching more reiwa. And so, I watched the first few episodes of the following.

Avatoro Sentai Donbrothers

Kamen Rider Geats

Kamen Rider Zero-One

Ultraman Taiga

Ultraman Rising

Avatoro Sentai Donbrothers is a very strange show. I have never been a huge super sentai fan, it's obviously for a younger audience than the typical Kamen rider or ultraman viewer, but it's still got plenty to appreciate. The absurdist humor and spectacle that is consistently keeping my eyes on the screen as to not miss out on any kooky action is great entertainment. The characters are a bit strange, but so far their chemistry is a blast to watch.

Kamen Rider Geats is an amazing show. It has a decent chance at topping W as my favorite tokusatsu series. Geats has a great premise that let's it's characters really flesh out the themes of desire through conflict and setting. Every single character in this show is charming and lovable, and it's great to see them bicker and team up. It's got an amazing fake out that I will not spoil because I never saw it coming, and it was a beautiful moment to behold.

Kamen Rider Zero-One. There's not a whole lot I can say about this show. A big part of zero-one is that the protagonist is a comedian who constantly makes puns, but the puns are in Japanese and lost on me, and I feel that kind of ruined my experience. Another issue with the show is that I feel the main character doesn't really fit in to the rest of the ideas or the message of the show. Is the show about capitalism? Authoritarianism? Transhumanjsm? The value of joy?? I really don't get it. Even if the writing isn't great, the cinematography and production is stunning. There are interesting camera angles, the shooting during action sequences Is done well so you can not only understand the action, but also understand how the characters feel during combat, the cg is actually visually appealing.

Ultraman Taiga isn't exactly my type of thing. I wasn't super invested in the characters or their motivations, because I was always waiting for the kaiju to appear and for ultraman to wrestle it, and god is it great to watch. Everytime there is a kaiju appearance, it's always from the perspective of a person on the ground or from afar, it really helps you get a sense of scale and urgency that this huge monster is rampaging or more sympathetically lost and afraid, causing casualties in an unfamiliar place. And Taiga is unique from most reiwa tokusatsu productions in that it doesn't rely as heavily on cgi, opting for more traditional production techniques. With scale model buildings that crumble when hiroyuki is toppled over, pretty decent stunt choreography, actors performing in kaiju suits, and onset pyrotechnics. Its great to know that more traditional productions are still being made in the reiwa Era.

Ultraman Rising is beautiful. Everything about it. The designs, the characters, the colors, the themes and story, everything. I'm surprised at how much time is taken to adress personal conflict in this movie, I was expecting a whole lot of action, but I love that it is this way. A story about a man who can turn big, but feels deeply that he is small and helpless, learning to overcome that through parenthood and comraderie, and learning to protect his ideals and his family.

GO WATCH IT.

[argentnoelle]

Joker 2 was really well done (kind of reminded me of bicycle thieves) and I liked it without liking it? if that makes sense? It was really glum the whole way through & I thought the songs—except for the last song—could be better. (the last song, where he sang to Harley through the phone, but she didn't pick up, absolutely awesome). I did hope there would be more dancing than there was and am not a huge courtroom drama fan. But it was a really tightly-written movie that knew exactly what it was doing the whole time & did it well, + continued his character arc in a way that made sense, + he finally got to "speak for himself" at the end after spending the entire first part of the movie caught between people who are insisting either that he wasn't responsible for his own actions/completely making up issues he doesn't have or trying to paint him as "Joker (the concept)" which is actually not something a real person can be, because it was a collective fantasy made up by the public after they saw what he did on the Murray show.

Ironically enough not only a good take on Arthur Fleck, but a good, nuanced take on Joker (the comic book character) that gets into his relationship with his stage persona + sense of guilt (reminds me of the comic where, after killing Robin, Joker spends an unspecified amount of time holed up in a dingy apartment having nightmares and only decides to "play" Joker again when he sees another guy being a copycat and "stealing his act"). (other notable Joker comics it brings to mind: Going Sane; also, It's Joker Time! [premise of It's Joker Time is Joker horrifically treated in Arkham, ends up getting kidnapped to a reality TV show, gives clues so Batman can save him, and Batman finds the clues/saves him while *still not realizing* that Joker isn't there of his free will/isn't plotting/isn't in control.) that's the entire thing with Joker! Even for comic book Joker, he has a stage persona! He constantly tries to convince everyone else that he's far more one-note/cohesive/pure ideology than he actually is! He'd rather be a story full of fear, a monster, than face up to his own humanity. So yeah, once Arthur faces up to himself, he *can't be* Joker anymore. By definition. Even for (comic book) Joker, The Joker is a coping mechanism & an act he's selling. So yeah, while Joker 1 didn't have much "Joker" in it, I felt like Joker 2 actually had *so much* Joker in it.

Also really respect the portrayal of Harley! It called back to her original BTAS origin and took a distinct look at how she relates to him/why she fell love with him (there's literally a comic where Joker is "cured" and Harley hates the un-Joker him so much she comes up with supervillain plans to trick him into becoming Joker again.)

The saddest part is that [spoiler] since Arthur is now dead I can't see what kind of Batman & Joker movie the director would've made. I mean, it wouldn't have worked anyway with the realist direction of this universe, no "Batman"/Batman comics-verse so you don't get the cyclical nature that underpins Batman & Joker. But. If somehow there *could've* been a Batman & Joker movie in this 'verse, I am super interested to know what it would've been like. Because I came away from the movie thinking that it actually spent a lot of time looking at the comics, at the nature of the characters and their relationships to each other, and boiling that down... it knew what it was doing! it didn't just "use the names" (which was the impression I had a bit after watching Joker 1) but actually dug into the medium, the conceit, and the idea of the characters and how we as readers/watchers relate to them. + the animated sequences! the BTAS skyline!

So I don't think I'd watch it again but I'm glad I watched it. Beautiful acting as usual, beautiful cinematography and it's always a pleasure to watch a well-made film even if it made me feel bad, you know?

[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.

[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. 

(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

[secretmellowblog]

As someone who has seen 500000000 Les mis adaptations: It depends on what your friend is into, and what kind of media they generally like!

It also depends on your focus: are you looking to introduce your friend primarily to Les Amis, to Jean Valjean and Javert, or to Les Mis as a whole? (Also: consider how you got into Les Mis, and what your first adaptation was!)

my recs:

1. The 2012 film is the easiest and most accessible adaptation for a general audience, in my opinion, even for someone who isn’t a huge musical fan. (In fact, the movie kinda suffers as an adaptation for trying so hard to appeal to people don’t like musicals haha XD.)

Having tried to introduce people with other adaptations, I’ve found 2012 is the one that always grabs the people who aren’t already fans, even if they’re not super into musicals XD. The stage musical recordings are confusing to people who don’t already know the plot, even though the music is handled better. Other nonmusical adaptations are either Terrible, like the 2018 miniseries …..or they’re sadly often kind of boring to people who aren’t already huge fans of the story. Saying “72 is interesting for focusing on Marius” or “82 is interesting for featuring more of Les Amis” doesn’t interest the kind of person who doesn’t know who Marius or Les Amis are. I’ve noticed that while I can say things like “the 8 hour long 1925 silent film is the superior adaptation that captures the novel better” it’s only because I’m already emotionally invested in the story.

2012 isn’t the best adaptation but it is one of the most accessible to new viewers imho. It’s short short and conveys the emotional beats the most clearly for someone who has no pre existing familiarity with the plot of the novel. The settings are clear, the characters are clear, the general emotional thrust of the plot is clear— and there are enough fun weird choices (some good some hilariously bad) to keep people entertained even if they’re not familiar with Les Mis at all. The problem is that uhhhhh it has a lot of serious goofy flaws, mainly the director’s inability to understand how music works and the baffling cinematography choices. However the flaws are funny and it fun to talk about them during a watch party.

You say your friend doesn’t like musicals, which is fair— but If she’s willing to try 2012, try going with the “this is a very awkward goofy flawed imperfect adaptation, but it kickstarted a lot of fandom stuff and can give you a general idea of what the emotional thrust of the story is like.”

I also think 2012 is unique becayse most Les mis adaptations start out with a decent first half then fall apart after the convent time-skip, but 2012 starts out pretty meh and then gets really energized after the time-skip when the story moves to Paris.

The stage musical and recordings are what I recommend for “musical theater snobs” (affectionate) who care a lot about music being done well in a way that it isn’t in the 2012 film, and are willing to use Wikipedia or something to help themselves follow the plot. It doesn’t sound like your friend is super into musicals tho XD.

The Takahiro Arai Manga is an excellent excellent manga adaptation that everybody should read, a great loving thoughtful take on the story that deeply understands its messages and characters, and is a passion project of its writer. While it can be very over-the-top sometimes, and makes some of its own dubious changes, its probably the next best thing to reading the brick! Its really good!!! It’s split into four volumes though and will take longer to read.

(Just make sure you’re getting the Takahiro Arai manga specifically, not the other American “classics for Kidz” manga that are much poorer in quality. XD)

I think you should also show your friend 82 and watch it while explaining why you’re passionate about it— even if it’s not the first adaptation you guys check out together.

Anyway, these are my hot takes! Also if your friend is interested in trying to tackle the novel in bite-sized pieces, the @lesmisletters readalong of Les Mis is happening again next year! ^_^

What is the best adaptation to introduce my friend to Les mis?

So like the title said I want to introduce one of my friends to Les mis bc I know she will really like it and loves the themes of the story, she agreed to let me show her an adaptation to get her into it, but idk with which adaptation I should choose to get her into it

I've heard the shoujo cousette is good and complete (I've only watched the first episode for now) but I worry it might be too long for someone completely new to Les mis? Ik the musical is probably also a solid entry point but my friend also isn't really into Musicals so I'm not sure it's the best to get her into it but I could convince her to watch it she's not that much against them, but if there's a better entry point I'll take it

My favorite adaptation is the 1982 one but it's also very strange and I'm not sure how book accurate it is compared to other adaptations so idk if it'd be a good adaptation

So I'm not sure what adaptation to show her first and would appreciate any input to with what adaptation to introduce her to Les mis!

[namtanlovesfilm]

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