#so now everybody is asian again. well except for the main girl. who's an half elf (yeah i still brought in elves dont @ me)

[elvesofnoldor]

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[black-roses-are-gorgeous]

Broken Dreams

Title: Broken Dreams

Pairing: Kazuki (ex.SCREW) x OC (hinted)

Warnings: wrong spelling and grammar certainly happened

Rating: T

Synopsis: Shattered dreams don't mean the end

Author’s note: Like 'Essence of colors' this story was written with another character. I had to change it a little to fit Kazuki but I think it isn't that bad. And of course I don't think that disabled people are cripples. Ah, and I'm sorry if Kazuki seems a little bit off. Some of my changed stories fit him better.

Some people called me bitter and yes, I was convinced of that too. I was bitter.

Early on, I decided to devote my life to art—the art of ballet. Ballet was graceful, elegant and one of the most difficult sports in the world. This dance demanded so much. Both physically and mentally. I had soon come to terms with the fact that my childhood and youth were almost completely forfeited. Becoming a ballerina has been my dream, so I trained from the time I was old enough.

My first ballet lesson began when I was at the age of four, once a week until it increased to five times a week. My extra training on the weekend not included. I was determined, so I did everything to make my dream come true. I only had this dream in mind. I didnʼt care that by the end of 30—at the latest—everything was over and I had to reorient myself. That was worth it to me; I wanted to prove myself that I could make it to the top.

I attended a state ballet school from fifth grade on and graduated from there. An advantage of this school was the advanced course for dance in the last three years. Even if outsiders thought that everything was going easily for me, it wasnʼt. My day had been filled with school, dance and homework. Physical health and good grades were requirements for the dance performance course. Not to mention the social behavior.

No, it wasnʼt easy; I worked hard for my dream.

And my efforts paid off. Even in school at the school performances I gradually got better, more important roles. When I was in the eleventh grade, the play for the school performance was Giselle. Only the high school girls were allowed to apply for the Giselle, but most of the time it was one from last year. The one to whom a great future has already been predicted.

But it came differently—completely different. I had practiced and practiced until I had almost fallen into bed in the evening and never wanted to get up again, so exhausting was my extra training. But as I said, my efforts paid off—at the announcement of the roles my name was mentioned in connection with Giselle. An 11th grader as Giselle—a novelty. Everybody knew me from there on and now I was the one with a great future. Silent voices predicted a future for me as a Prima Ballerina.

But that never happened.

Giselle was a success. As every year, renowned dancers, trainers and conductors of various ensembles were represented in the audience. Everyone knew that an unknown 11th-grade girl was dancing the lead role. I was proud. Not on me, but on my achievements. Every drop of sweat and every burst open, bloody blister had been worth it. I had been working for this since my childhood.

Classical ballet was no longer the only form of ballet. For some time now there have been modern productions that were nevertheless adorned with classical ballet elements. After further successful performances, I was asked if I would be interested in dancing the lead role in such a production. The creator of this piece wanted an Asian touch. I could fulfill that.

Even the stage wasnʼt classical. It was placed in the middle of the auditorium and completely round. The main feature of the play was the steady turn of the dance. It was about inspiring the audience from all sides. A fantastic idea, I assumed. I trained for the first time with new, unfamiliar people, usually already older than me. There was envy everywhere, I could live with that.

The highlight of the production was the sliding down from the sky. It almost reminded me of a circus. It was so exciting and how many chances did I have to slide down from above? Not many, probably.

The rehearsals went well. What worried me was the final rehearsal. Most of the time it went wrong, so one day one began to say, if the final rehearsal went wrong, then the performance became a success. What did it mean if the final rehearsal was brilliant? Yes, I had been superstitious. I was so scared that something about this beautiful piece would go wrong.

And it did.

One of my fixings ripped and the other one alone couldnʼt hold me anymore. I didnʼt slide down from the sky, I fell from the heaven. All the pain I had suffered up to that point was nothing in comparison with the pain when I hit the stage hard. I was glad that I was still alive, but my career, my dream, was suddenly over. Just like that.

I had come away with a severe concussion, several abrasions, a bruised arm and two completely broken legs. It took weeks for me to get up and being able to walk again, and yet I would never be able to use my legs the way I used to. To say the least, my legs were in the ass. I was a cripple.

In my apartment, I mostly moved with a wheelchair. I could still walk, but it looked very strange and I couldnʼt move on my legs particularly fast either. When I went to town without a wheelchair, I wore floor-length dresses and took my crutches with me. Although I was still slow and tied on crutches, but at least you couldn't see my strange walking.

Sometimes I wished I hadn't survived the fall. My efforts were completely lost.

It was again one of those days when I had to go to town. There was a gaping emptiness in my fridge. There was always a lot happening in the city, but today it was really crowded—and loud. I heard music. Japanese rock music. Slowly I approached the crowd and struggled cautiously to the front.

The five young men turned the cobblestones into their stage. They came loose in their music. Their songs included both ballad-like and rock-like elements I had never heard before. Everyone had their own style of playing the music and one stood out for me the most. He reminded me of myself, to be honest. He played his guitar with as much grace and precision as I was used to dance.

His play was perfected down to the smallest detail. Even how he moved his fingers was more graceful than that of many ballet dancers I had met. And we talked about something completely different here. He was surrounded by a lightness for which I had trained hard for.

But deep inside, at first just a little bit, I felt the jealousy gurgling in my stomach. Of course, I didnʼt know him and I didnʼt know how long he had worked for this grace. But I couldnʼt shake off the thought that he could do what I was denied forever—accomplishing his dream freely and carefree.

After a while, the group ended their performance and so the crowd dissolved. I stopped. I was paralyzed. I just couldnʼt leave. This vile cobblestones should also be my stage. I was so entangled with my own thoughts that I didnʼt notice anything.

»Hey, are you okay?—Um, hello? Are you okay?« One of the musicians waved his hand in front of my face. I was back in the here and now. I stared at him, perplexed. Where did he come from so suddenly? »Are you all right? Youʼre crying,« he inquired again in very good English.

I did what? Carefully, so that my crutch wouldnʼt fall to the ground, my hand moved to my face. Everything was wet. Oh god, since when did I cry? »I-donʼt know ... Itʼs just—Who is he?« I pointed to the graceful guitarist who was about to empty a whole bottle of water at once.

The young man followed my shaky hand movement. »You mean Kazuki? He looks good, right? But you should not cry about something like that; you look good too. By the way, Iʼm Rui.« Kazuki? Sounded familiar.

»I donʼt mean that. He's such a graceful player,« I said, watching this Kazuki. Even when drinking water, elegance surrounded him. »And thanks, but Iʼm just a cripple with broken dreams.«

»Cripple?« Shocked, he looked at me—his eyes fell on my crutches. »Come, Iʼll introduce him to you. Kazuki is happy to hear that you are moved this much by his playing.« Without realizing it, we began to move slowly. »He moved from Tottori to Osaka all by himself when he was fifteen to become a musician. Imagine that—as a half child to move into a foreign city where you know nobody.«

The other young men had now realized that Rui was now in tow with me. Curious, they looked at me. What else? My only consolation was that I hadnʼt lost my good posture.

»Guys, thatʼs- Whatʼs your name again?«

»Kazuko.«

»Okay, thatʼs Kazuko—is that a coincidence? Kazuki, she cried because of your graceful playing.« Thank you for saying that so openly. »Kazuko, meet also Byou, Manabu and Jin.« He pointed at the person by name.

Kazuki came up to me. His eyes were narrowed as he looked at me with concentration. »I know you. You were this exceptional dancer, Amamiya Kazuko. My sister-in-law has a big poster of you hanging on her wall. Iʼm sorry about what happened to you.« There was a deep regret in his voice.

»Exceptional dancer?« Rui stared at me questioningly.

I took a deep breath and I already felt the next tears, which made their way up. »I-I-was a ballet dancer and- and had an accident last year. And—oh god!« I cried my eyes out and if my legs wouldʼve let me, I would just have broken down. All my grief and disappointment came to light again. My whole life was simply forfeited.

Rui laid a reassuring hand on my shoulder. »Easy, everything is alright,« he tried to soothe me, but that backfired.

»Nothingʼs alright,« I sobbed, »I worked all my life for it, and before my career even started, itʼs already over. My dream just blew up.« My crutches clattered to the floor, and before I could sink away, Kazuki grabbed my hands. He held me in place without problems.

Calmingly, he let his coarse thumb circling over the back of my hand. »I cannot imagine how hard that must be for you. I wouldnʼt know what I would do if I suddenly couldnʼt play anymore. Since I fell in love with music I trained hard to be here now,« he said calmly. »But Iʼm sure I would find something else that makes me happy. And I want you to do that too.« He looked at me insistently.

»I have no other dreams,« I said in a shaky voice. »There's nothing.«

He squeezed my hands slightly and gave me a smile. »Of course thereʼs something and weʼll find it together, okay?«

I looked at him and returned his smile, though in a milder and sader form. »Okay.«

[lonespektr]

Starting back Vikings again randomly........

blue eyes still hasn't fucked that priest

When's he gonna bang the priest, he doesn't like his new wife 🤷🏾‍♀️

Rollo needs a win/ cmon lady archers

Stop listening to random men, every main character gets bad advice from randos

Very deliberate word choice

Blue eyes is do butthurt his boyfriend is not coming with him priest is literally staying for you, you blockhead

Men are idiots

Tomgirls trying to sit still and look pretty when they clearly want to punch people

They keep using attempted rape for her power ups and they could do literally anything else

Glad the mrs is back

She's worried about jr but it looks like he can fight brother still absolutely in love with the mom cause she's a bad bitch

But he would have cheated too soo 🤷🏾‍♀️

He's big but it doesn't look like he hits hard, he's moving frantically, he doesn't lean into his hits??

The bows are used in short range i feel like it's that accurate??!!

Nobody is hyped the mrs is home and i feel like that was a wasted opportunity

Priest is attracted to bad people

Everybody got a shower

Who ever is subing the sound effects is a fucking poet Every grunt has a adjective

Always gotta upstage your brother just fukkkin relax

He's rejected the sacrament dunt dun dun!!!

Cheese and crackers woman how many boys you churnin out

What's the science? Boys are faster swimmers so short vagina?? I forget

She's gloating

Yea no shit. He don't even like that other future telling bitch

Rollo just stick with old girl u are bad at politics

This is a very sexual prayer priest

You tryina get what by the holy spirit??!! Save that for blue eyes

Thorvard big as fuck

That boy ain't got no right being that big his parents is normal sized

If i wanted to say it in private i wouldn't fucckkin come down to long house

Who's fuckkin army is that , just her homies?? She got warrior homies?

Ah she just wanted to threaten the general community that if anything happen to hey son it's they ass

Yea those'r just her homies

Another sexual assault threat but in an unexpected turn is events his kinsman ain't down with that shit and backed her

Infamous wings pf the vikings

More sexual assault threats

Whoever is writing these subtitles is a fucking legend

Priest new boyfriend is in wooing his old boyfriend's ex wife and he has to be an awkward translator

Wack what a serious waste of ambition

Them two rando little boys already died they really gotta take the one bitch was leadership vibes

She threw away throne thrown for dinner snot nose kids

He play too much, but they are great together

Preist done diddled that brown hair plain and not blue eyes

Vikings does appear to have a strict all rapists must die policy (marital rape excluded- even that's appears to have consequences)

Surprised they let siggs go but i think she landed a better role, shes a bigger actor then all em

I still don't know which god he was supposed to be. Guess i gotta brush up on my norse history

What's rollo gonna go without his political advisor

That guy coulda had a bigger role but this was 6+years ago and he was not as big then so..makes sense

Preist talking shit about women knowin damn well he just left a perfectly boring one to be with sky eyes

Hypocrisy , ungrateful ass volunteer to help the mother of your child

Screw everybody and they mama, leave yo wife month at a time with no backup booty

Why you only slept with yo wife once? 🤨

Seer tied of yo ass

Sky eyes just move to Paris with the preist

They are doing a sharp turn with him that is uncharacteristic, they haven't done a power corruption thing or anything to transition him from opportunist to greed

Also wtf boo /This is your earldom ??? You just gon stand there?

Still holding with the rapist get stitches law

Burning cross bit heavy handed

Bjorn tell your wack ass absentee father to back your mom

Yea we have been here before, cause your dad keeps fucckin up, you forget last time you left with her cause you knew he was wrong

Blue eyes has become a kind of apathetic shell without preist and wifee no1

Um wtf was that with the 👀

Just fuck already

Can the women have a story not around babies

Where rollo headed?

This is evidence of a turning point we should have gotten a half step before this

Except she was taking care of the one kid you ignore and you know damn well that priss don't do no work and her servants watch her kids anyway

Lol whut person or persons unknown, but you have evidence?

King got plans on plans on plans

Do they just not know what to do with the preist anymore??

Hey least he said it

That was the least intimate interaction he's had with anyone

Disrespect on disrespect

I think they are going to do something stupid with her 🙄 looking forward to that

Woah full stop yikes 😬

Another unforced error. I knew they were gon do some dumb shit with her, no he actin stupid too

This really there seasons about an unrequited love story

It gets boring when the main character is white male tyrannical and off his rocker - when he's not a zealot

Mentally ill opportunist are not very complelling

I'm annoyed blondie is really confessing to a man who has been treating her like shit for the past decade because a first good decade

Unforced errors and making her stupid is something shows love to do with women

But they gave her so much pride it doesn't make sense

I thought maybe they all knew, but it's just bjorn

Blue eyes was hoping for a confession

Why do you tear me away from myself

Trojan horse is the only thing that ever made sense with impregnable walls even with that hint he still couldn't figure it out, he had to almost die

Rollo is out here now? Why doing what?

I mean tbh is a really good idea to get away from your brother

Oh so the King isn't a complete idiot, just a coward

Another betray your brother situation 🙄

Just let rollo needs live

All our protagonists are isolated

He still didn't get that confession

Oh he just said it

What was the point of that Christian coming to visit?

Lit of obsessive unhealthy male relationships

Floki/Ragnar

Althestan/Ragnar

Ragnar/ rollo

How would rollo even convince the remaining vikings to go against their own

Now we must be subjected to this embarrassment

Co Earls, this guy is a not confused about his endgame

He should have just married her when she asked

There is one asian

If this the season where the non whites enter? They should have done that in Paris

He's an absentee father but he's annoyed his kids are stupid

Floki bb hella cute

It's odd the show has isolated everyone

He's such as gaslighter

The only stable relationship is the ones between the mentally unstable people

The two best pairings were both uneccesairly antagonistic towards each other

What's rollo doing

Le sigh she's smiling because she thinks he backed her , finally someone did she deserves to be supported

But he only backs himself

Time inside learning could be useful for him

Even rollo is not this stupid soooo 🤷🏾‍♀️

Blue eyes mad that his wife doesn't give a shit about him, knowing damn well he don't give a shit about her

Rollo 👏🏾 isn't 👏🏾 stupid👏🏾

He also wouldn't ally himself with strangers 🤷🏾‍♀️ it's a repeat pattern of making the wrong allies but this don't make sense

Hopefully bjorn gets more interesting

Or another woman character not attached to a damn man comes in

1 poc is already gettin eyeballed by ol blue eyes

What old lady would be concerned with getting revenge on is wessex king who raised her new settlement to the ground

There's that projection again blue eyes

The rollo situation is getting close to puppy punching

He looses his accent a lot

Blue eyes has odd codependencies

Man has no loyalists but strong affections that look like loyalty from afar

Why are they all obsessed with this fucking guy

Predatory men who pretend to be small and unassuming to trick women

She choked those words out, I wonder how many takes they made her do before they went with that one

This descent into madness isn't nearly as entertaining as they think

That's the first time he's called her by her first name

Curious move bjorn /curious situation they pulled moms into

They make women look stupid by having them smiling the whole time while men who are being equally deceived look suspiciously but they are tricked just the same

Once again he just identifies foreigners as roadmaps to conquer new lands

Gaslighter all these men are gaslighters

All these braids and this is the first time i've seen one of the man brushing they hair

It's going to be four full seasons of wounded mentally ill drug addicted blue eyes??

there it is, that was his dream, not the crazed ambitions of winning for winnings sake

Opportunistic and talented or rather lucky is different than tyrannical and that's what they are playing him as with no foundation

I know she tired of these dirty whites raggety ass wash rags she want a real bath with soap

Random edge play over the top hair cutting symbolism

That bb old enough too...ok

The girls were ready. And he even ain't mad because she told him straight up she was going to kill him

She doesn't want to remarry, she's better boss ass bitch but it's fucked up she can't just have a decent man partner and equal but these men are trifling they may as well get her a girlfriend

Is the seer dead?

It's 13 right?

Heavy handed women freedom theme happening

[tocinephile]

Ada’s Top 10 Films of 2018

In tandem with this post, I’ve also recreated this list in Letterboxd.com, you can find it at: https://letterboxd.com/palindr0me/list/adas-top-10-films-of-2018/

Between Christmas shopping, baking a couple hundred cookies, and rewatching Bad Santa every December, I try to take a peek at critics’ lists of the top films of the year (even if I myself manage to procrastinate well into February to compile my own list each year). On December 31st a good friend and fellow writer published his list, the opening sentence of his blog proclaimed 2018 was the best year for film this century and that’s when I began to panic. 

Though I was far from finalizing my list, I had thought 2018 to be one of the worst years for film in recent history! I immediately starting chasing all the award season favourites plus other talked about films at TIFF 2018, and spent as much of January in front of a screen as possible. I hoped against hope that I somehow missed all the good films of 2018. 

A month later I will say this: 2018, it wasn’t as bad as I thought! However, after much brainstorming and revisions to the order of my list, I will say that not a single film stood out for me as the year's best, which is very rare. So here are 10 films (and then some) in not much of a particular order that I think should be talked about for 2018. 

Qualifying films for Ada’s Top 10 Films:

• any film that screened at a festival that I attended in 2018  • any film with a Canadian theatrical release dated in 2018   • is listed on www.imdb.com as released in 2018 

1. Widows 2. Hotel Mumbai 3. Destroyer 4. Capernum 5. The Hate U Give 6. Love, Simon 7. Isle of Dogs 8. Pick of the Litter 9. Shadow 10. Transit 

Honourable Mentions: 

 • Shoplifters   • Free Solo   • BlacKkKlansman   • A Star is Born   • Vox Lux   • Everybody Knows   • The Other Story

1. Widows 

I firmly believe Widows film came in under the radar considering all that it embodied. In a year of diversity in film, Widows is made by a man of Caribbean descent (Steve McQueen), written by a woman (Gillian Flynn), starting FOUR women - 3 of which are of a visible minority (Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Cynthia Enviro, and Elizabeth Debicki), and Daniel Kaluuya portrays one cold-blooded villain. And on top of that, Widows is good entertainment! I may have a soft spot for heists and ass-kicking women, but I’d like to think I know a good thriller when I see one. I feel that Widows didn’t get the love it deserved and so I'm mentioning it first. 

2. Hotel Mumbai 

I saw Hotel Mumbai last year and it is dated 2018 across the web, but it is coming to theatres soon and I assure you it’s good entertainment for your buck. I saw it in the midst of back to back films and long work days during TIFF 2018, worried that I’d accidentally nod off. Instead, I couldn’t close my eyes if I tried. Again this ensemble cast film is more about entertainment value that cinematic artistry, and I never compared the story on screen to historical facts, but what I took in was enough to stay with me and rank it amongst one of the best times I had in a movie theatre in 2018. 

3. Destroyer 

Destroyer is fresh in my mind having only seen it a few weeks ago. Due to the nature of my volunteer work with TIFF, it was one of the films this year that I kept walking into mid-movie (much to my dismay). I purposely avoided the ending of the film and then had no opportunity to see it again until recently, giving me lots of time to forget anything I might have accidentally absorbed. Fully aware that it was going to be a dark, depressing watch, I quickly found myself engrossed in the story reminiscent of the HK police dramas that I grew up with about divided loyalties and double agents. Director Karen Kusama pushes Kidman's character well past the point of likability but the story keeps you invested in the events as they unfold. That's when you know you've got a good story. 

4. Capernaum 

Also fresh in my mind is Capernaum, a Foreign Film nominee in this year's awards season. This film that looks at extreme child poverty from Lebanon is at once heartbreaking and endearing. The film follows young Zain but is supported by a host of complex characters, ch with a detailed back story of struggle and survival. Together they give the film a fullness and weaves a world where although individuals' actions fall into a decidedly grey area, no explanation is required to justify them. It is a world unknown to the majority of people who will see this film, but it is utterly engrossing. 

5. The Hate U Give 

This was a last film on my list of 2018 movies to watch before compiling this list and I'm really thankful I didn't get lazy and skip it. While there's no single aspect to make it truly stand out in awards season, it's a shame that The Hate U Give isn't getting quite as much love as Green Book nor BlacKkKlansman because it delivers a similar powerful message, from a different angle that actually made it the differentiator for me. The story comes from the eyes of young black teenager girl named Starr, wonderfully portrayed by Amandla Stenberg, and addresses an aspect of being a visible minority that speaks volumes to me: assimilation. Compared to other common themes (oppression, profiling, etc) 

6. Love, Simon 

When I think of light hearted, entertaining but impactful teen-targeted, coming of age tales, I like to compartmentalize them by the decade. Now maybe I'm getting too old, or maybe it's become so ok to be and do whatever you want that no individual story can resonate anymore, that I don't have too many examples from the 10's, but Love, Simon is definitely one of them. It's not heavy nor gritty, rather glossed over in fact (the main character even admits it), but the message shines through and it's a really fun film that I think will remain a crowd pleaser for years to come. There is a place in our hearts for movies like this one, it's easy to go over the top or fall flat in this territory but I think Love, Simon really hit the nail on the head. 

7. Isle of Dogs 

Wes Anderson + endearing tale about dogs, I mean, come on! None of my defenses would be strong enough to dislike this film! I wish I'd had a chance to rewatch it so that I offer you more than just a rehashing of all the things I love about Wes Anderson's style and trademarks. 

8. Pick of the Litter 

Perhaps 2018 was truly the year of the dog, not just in the Chinese Zodiac but in film as well. Pick of the Litter was my most memorable documentary of the year, I did not make it through the intro without tearing up (it was really embarrassing and thank god the friend I went to see it with was sniffling harder than me) It was truly a journey, and insightful too, it goes way beyond humour and cuteness, and believe me there was a lot of cuteness. The thing that hit home most about Pick of the Litter for me besides the idea of guide dog named Phil (and we still always wonder how Phil and his human are doing!) as how invested I became in the litter's story through the course of the film. 

9. Shadow 

Ok, here's my Chinese film of the year. Joke aside, Zhang Yimou's Shadow is not on this list merely because I need an Asian film to fill a quota. With the possible exception of Isle of Dogs, the films on my list this year were selected largely based on story over style... Except this one. This is all style, it's a visual stunner that really puts the director back at the top of his game. He devotes the film to a steely palette that's at once cold but exciting. Come to the think of it, the story wasn't bad either. 

10. Transit 

If you haven’t seen Transit, I have some advice for you. This is not a spoiler so please take it into consideration. Transit is adapted from the 1942 novel by Anna Seghers with a few modernizations that calls for a leap of faith. As an audience member, be prepared to suspend believe and it will make all the difference in your enjoyment of the film. I wish someone had told me this beforehand so that I didn’t spend half the movie trying to make sense of details that had little bearing on the plot. I spent days after the fact trying to decide whether I loved the film or it didn’t make any sense. Thankfully the conclusion I came to was that Transit is a lucid tale of love, loss, longing, and humanity. Characters and story mirror each other in early meanderings that creates an almost surreal existence contrasting against the harsh realities of events taking place around them. There is profound sadness, but there is also beauty. 

Honourable Mentions: 

You'll note from above my list of honourable mentions is getting to be almost as long as the top 10 itself (in fact it was probably just as long until I trimmed a few films off... You don't need me to tell you about Avengers: Infinity War and Black Panther) 

I saw Destroyer, Capernaum, and The Hate U Give quite recently, but until I had, Shoplifters and Free Solo had firmly been in my top 10. 

 I'm typically not a fan of Japanese cinema, but there are always exceptions and Shoplifters was definitely one that defied the odds. It broke from the often tiresome mold (to me) of demure characters, restraint, and complicity that's often portrayed in that country's cinema. The message of making your own happiness and family being those that loved you most regardless of genetic ties was heartwarming and resonating. 

Free Solo ranked amongst the fictional narratives on my list for thrilling and edge of your seat viewing. It takes a lot to keep me wide-eyed griping the arm of my chair in the theatre in anticipation and fear for an hour and a half. I love heights and I was scared witless. 

BlacKkKlansman and A Star is Born are seemingly award show favourites, though not winning as many awards as they might have hoped, both have strong scripts, powerhouse talent, skillful direction for the former, and one of my favourite songs of the year from the latter. They truly are amongst some of the best films made in 2018. 

Vox Lux is one of those films that warrants a discussion after viewing, at least for me. Though it feels like the film scored points neither with critics nor audiences, there’s a part of me that’s drawn to intricate explorations of the selfish and narcissistic. Natalie Portman was great in the role in my opinion. To make an unlikable character worth watching is not an easy feat, especially when the possibility of redemption isn’t really on the table. Like Destroyer, it takes one hell of an acting performance and skilled direction to pull this off. I guess this is where some thought Destroyer nailed it, and pretty much no one thought Vox Lux did.

Everybody Knows (Spain, thought director Asghar Farhadi is Iranian) and The Other Story (Israel) were also amongst the most enjoyable foreign films I watched in 2018. I'm not sure if The Other Story got Canadian distribution but Everybody Knows is playing at TIFF Bell Lightbox right now for those who want to see it. Both are dramas centred around families. 

We're well into 2019 films now and I'm really hoping for some standouts this year, at least in my eyes. I mean, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood does have a July release date after all! As well, we're about to wrap another decade in film so even more lists charting the best of the last 10 years. But first, we got some more movies to watch!