#the change in camera and filming style to fit tone was amazing in ways I don’t have the film vocab to fully compliment

[meticulousfragments]

I don’t know if anyone else who follows me has both read the book and seen the movie Poor Things

But I read it this week and watched the movie last night and I feel like I need to talk about it with someone because it’s still rattling around in my head

[alexskarsgardnet]

New Interview & Photo Shoot!  Alex photographed by Johan Sandberg and interviewed by Timothy Small for L’Uomo Vogue (October 2020)!

Alexander Skarsgård: the photo shoot and interview for L'Uomo

BY TIMOTHY SMALL, JOHAN SANDBERG 25 SEPTEMBER 2020

Alexander Skarsgård is a really, really nice man. A Swede through and through, Alexander, or Alex, is a very down-to-earth gentleman who could definitely act as more of a big shot, considering he is also one of the most interesting actors in Hollywood right now, a town that, in true Swedish style, he once defined as “kind of silly”. After getting his first big break as the lead in David Simon's excellent Iraq War mini-series for HBO, Generation Kill, Skarsgård exploded in our collective imaginations as Eric Northman in True Blood, while also acting for Lars von Trier in the wonderful Melancholia. 

Since then, he has been a very buff Tarzan in The Legend of Tarzan, a mute bartender in future Berlin in Mute, a very dark killer in Hold the Dark, and a hilarious Canadian Prime Minister in Long Shot, as well as giving an Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning turn in HBO's Big Little Lies. The self-defined “restless” 43-year-old is set to star in The Northman, Robert Eggers's highly anticipated third film, a “Viking revenge story” that Skarsgård himself was crucial in bringing to production – and, by all accounts, it seems like it could have all the right pieces to become a future cult classic. It certainly has that kind of hype.

L'Uomo Vogue:  The Northman is such an interesting project. I know it's important to you. It's also part of a growing resurgence of interest in the Viking era and Norse mythology and that sort of epic Scandinavian adventure. How did it all begin?

Alex:  It all started seven or eight years ago. As a Swede living in America, I realised there was a certain level of fascination with the Viking era and Viking culture – and this was before any of the Viking shows that have since happened. It made me realise that there basically had never been a real great epic Viking movie made, and I thought that that's what I wanted to do.

LV:  So how did the project kick off?

Alex:  I started having conversations with a studio back then, trying to crack the best story. All I knew at the time is that I wanted to make a big Viking movie. We had a couple of potential different starting points: we had a story about two brothers, and then one about the Viking travels down to Constantinople with the Viking siege of the city. We were looking for the right story, but I never really felt we were there. I knew the scope I wanted it to exist in. But what was the story?

LV:  And that's when you met Robert Eggers.

Alex:  Yes, like three or four years ago. We met about something else. I can't remember how, but we started talking about Vikings. And he was, like me, a huge fan of Viking culture and of that historical era, and I immediately felt he would be the perfect guy to direct this movie. And then we found an author and poet in Iceland, Sjón, who came onboard to write the screenplay – and they did a fantastic job, just cracking the story and the essence of it.

LV:  Sounds great.

Alex:  It's a real adventure movie, but it's much more. It taps into the culture, and the mysticism of the Vikings, it becomes more intimate and more personal. I didn't want it to be a generic “swords-and-sandals” movie. Robert is one of the best filmmakers out there. And the whole process is so much more gratifying than when you're quote-unquote “just an actor”. It's been truly extraordinary.

LV:  But then you had to halt production.

Alex:  Yeah. I was in Belfast, Northern Ireland, three months into prep on The Northman about seven days away from principal photography. Just gearing up, you know, getting ready to start a very long, very intense shoot -- a shoot that we were scheduled to wrap in July – and that's when the virus hit.

LV:  What did you do then?

Alex:  I normally live in New York, while my family lives in Stockholm. When the first wave came, I was on the fence: nobody really knew how long it would be, or what precisely was going on. So we shut down production for six weeks. The idea was to then see what would happen. I basically moved to Stockholm for four months.

LV:  How do you feel about this forced break from work?

Alex:  I had not been home for this long in... more than 20 years. It was strange. We were in a bubble; we were all healthy and safe. In a lot of ways, I had moments when I felt being surrounded by my loving family, feeling safe and loved, and taking a break from work, but then also feeling very guilty because I was, for the lack of a better term, being spared.

LV:  In the past, you've described yourself as being a nomad. Did you miss Sweden and the North?

Alex:  I realised how much I have been missing it. I go to Sweden regularly, but usually only for three or four days, maybe a week, tops. My father and two of my brothers are actors, so we're used to never being in the same city. We all travel all over the world. Maybe we'd get back together for Christmas. And I can really say that I had missed spring in Sweden.

LV:  Do you think we will change the way movies are produced?

Alex:  We're going to have to figure out how to shoot movies with dozens of crew members and hundreds of extras while still respecting social distancing rules. It's an unprecedented situation and everyone is scrambling to figure out the best approach. My brother was one of the first people who worked in our industry during the pandemic. He shot a movie in Iceland in the middle of the lockdown. The way they solved it is they split the crew into colour sections. So, hair and make-up had yellow armbands and the camera department had blue, and they had a “Corona appointee” on set who would call out, “Now blue go in!” and then “Blue, out! And yellow, in!” And then they would all do their job in turns. It was very military-like. Productions are already complicated, so we'll just have to add another layer.

LV:  How did you become an ambassador to the Clarks brand?

Alex:  To me, authenticity is very important. I don't want to endorse products I don't genuinely like. That's why I was excited when Clarks reached out. I've been wearing Desert Boots for 25 years. Also, I like to travel a lot. I like to explore new cities by foot. I want to be able to walk around comfortably in a classic, iconic shoe. I travel from movie set to movie set, and I often live out of a suitcase. And this teaches you to be frugal. Whatever fits in that suitcase, that's all I can bring.

LV:  Is that the Swede in you?

Alex:  Maybe. But we consume way too many things in this society. Also, you give things more meaning when you live with them, and when you go on adventures with them. Like, these are my boots. I've been places with them. And when they fall apart, I'll buy a new pair. If you have the right stuff to begin with, you don't need more.

LV:  Going back to The Northman, that really sounds like a dream project.

Alex:  It is. It will be a rollercoaster ride. I can't wait to get back to Northern Ireland and get back to the production. It's also a very physically demanding project, so I have been training for, well, since a few months before production stopped.

LV: In a way, getting into a role, getting on a movie set, acting through it, the whole process of making a movie is a bit like a little adventure. You have to prep, you have to travel, often with people you don't know, and you have to push boundaries.

Alex:  Absolutely! A huge part of the appeal of this profession is you get to travel, and you meet amazing, interesting people from all over. And the uncertainty, you know? What was it, 12 years ago, I was in New York, and I'd never heard of Generation Kill. And then two days later I was on a plane to the Kalahari Desert to be out there for seven months to shoot the series. And I'll never forget the feeling, sitting on that plane, thinking, “Two days ago I didn't even know about this project, and here I am on my way to Southern Africa to spend seven months in the desert with 200 strangers.” It's very exciting.

LV:  What a feeling that must be!

Alex:  And every single job is like that. Every movie is different. Your part, the tone, the energy, the people – it's always different. And for someone like myself, who has that kind of wanderlust, who's always looking on the horizon, it's very attractive to never know just what the next adventure might be.

October 14, 2020:  Updated with the full interview courtesy of our friends at the ASkarsLibrary (x).

Fashion credits:

Photographs by Johan Sandberg Styling by Martin Persson Grooming Karin Westerlund @ Lundlund Hair Amanda Lund @ Lundlund Stylist’s assistant Isabelle Larsson Digital Daniel Lindgren Production Madeleine Mårtensson and Olle Öman @ Lundlund

Read the full interview by Timothy Small and see the photo shoot by Johan Sandberg in the October issue of L'Uomo, on newsstands from September 22nd.

Sources/Thanks:  Interview:  Timothy Small for L’Uomo Vogue (x), Photos:  Johan Sandberg for L’Uomo Vogue (x), artlistparis.com (x) via artlistparisnewyork instagram (x),  luomovogue instagram (x) &  atomomanagement.com (x) via atomomanagement instagram (x), our caps from artlistparisnewyork’s September 23, 2020 insta story (x, x)

[shyvioletcat]

Continued kiss, even after the director yells "cut!" 😄 for Rowaelin please

This spoke to me and I couldn’t ignore it...

~~~~~

Rowan looked down at the devastatingly beautiful woman beneath him.

Her golden hair had been artfully arrayed around her on the pillow, make-up styled in a fresh ‘I just woke up but haven’t smudged a thing’ kind of way, her eyes glowing and lips tilted in a charming smirk. He was propped up above her on his elbows, beige bed sheet draped over his hips. It was all for the cameras, the three of them that were pointed at them from different angles. But Rowan had seen her like this so many times before in their own bed, except without the modest bra but they were filming a PG movie after all, that he couldn’t help the way his heart fluttered at the sight. Aelin seemed to notice too because that smile on her face turned into something knowing.

His cue came from the director and Rowan delivered his line.

“I love you more than anything, Winnie. I never want you to leave me.”

Aelin’s hand ran up over his shoulders, up to his neck in a way that she knew drove him insane and he had to suppress a shudder.

“Just kiss me, you idiot,” she said lightly.

Rowan didn’t need to be told twice. His lips descended on hers and he tried to remind himself to keep it tame, not to lose control in front of the cameras and make the kiss something that fit within the rating. But it seemed Aelin was in a mood to test his restraint as her tongue sneakily slipped into his mouth, brushing against his. He had no control over the groan that had her sighing into him, matters were only made worse by the way her hand drifted dangerously low, hidden beneath the cover of the bed sheet.

“I said cut you two!” The director's voice boomed over the set and Rowan and Aelin finally broke apart. He had no idea how many times he had called cut before they had heard him, but Rowan sent over an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, Rhys,” Aelin chimed from beneath him

Rhysand was one of the brightest creative stars to come out of Velaris, and he was definitely making his mark on the Terrasen film industry as well. Everyone was fawning over him, the fact that he was one of the most beautiful human beings Rowan had ever laid eyes on didn’t do any harm either.

“You two are disgustingly in love and I hate it,” Rhys said in reply. “You’re just lucky the chemistry works amazingly on camera.”

“I thought you would have learned by now that everything I do is amazing,” Aelin said with a stunning smile.

Rhys just laughed and shook his head as someone called him over to a screen.

Rowan was still braced over Aelin when she slooked back at him and gave him a wink before stretching out in an almost sinful way.

“Aelin,” Rowan growled in warning.

“What?” Aelin said innocently. “I can’t help it. It’s the hormones.”

Rowan’s hand drifted to her stomach, out of sight of the crew that was lingering around. Her stomach was still flat but he could feel the change of it and how it started to firm.

“We’ll have to tell soon, you know,” Rowan whispered as he pressed a sweet kiss to her cheek.

Aelin let out a heavy sigh. “I know. I just like having something for us that no one else knows about.”

With both of them in the public eye it was hard to have any semblance of privacy. Aelin had been batting away pregnancy rumours for years, the media was going to have a field day when all their speculations held some truth.

“I know.” That was all Rowan could offer, that and him being there for her.

“Well,” Aelin said, a tone of resolution in her voice. “I’ll probably be showing by the wrap party, why don’t we wait until then?”

Rowan smiled, knowing Aelin loved to make a scene.

“Alright, lovebirds!” Rhys called out. “Clothes on, we’ve got some kissing to do outside. Let’s not get carried away this time.”

When Rowan looked down at Aelin her smile told him it didn’t matter where they were or how many clothes they had on, she fully intended to get carried away. Rowan wondered how many times Rhys would have to call cut this time.

~~~~~

Tags:

@fucking-winchester-trash // @literary-licorice // @galyxsy // @tangledraysofsunshine // @highqueenofelfhame // @3am-reading // @soup-that-is-too-hawt // @aelinfire-bringer // @nalgenewhore // @highladyofthesith // @http-itsrebecca // @sleep-and-books // @alifletcher2012 // @westofmoon // @sleeping-and-books // @ttakeitbacknoww // @armixers-unite // @mariamuses // @chocolate-eating-bitch-queen // @velarian-trash // @queenofxhearts // @heroesofterrasen // @highladyofstoriesandmusic // @empire-of-wildfire // @camerooonchiu // @crackedship // @lowhangingtreebranches // @over300books // @yourwhisperingshadows // @thesirenwashere // @tswaney17 // @impossiblescissorspeachpaper // @cat5313 // @judelovescardan // @flowerspringsea // @chaoticskyy // @the-regal-warrior // @fanfictrash3000 // @blueeyes425 // @starseternalnighttriumphant // @bamchickawowow // @thehuntressofmoon // @giorgia-the-trashpanda // @flora-and-fae // @thereaderandfangirl // @illyrian-bookworm // @chemicha // @meltalgel-ig // @gay-book-nerd // @that-odd-puzzle-piece // @i-love-all-books // @in-love-with-caramel-macchiato // @girl-who-reads-the-books // @hizqueen4life // @the-third-me // @queen-of-glass // @bestmelle // @cursebreaker29 // @b00kworm // @superspiritfestival // @aesthetics-11 // @maastrash // @mynewdreamwasyou // @the-last-apprentice // @charincharge // @aelinfeyreeleven945tbln // @scarznstars // @absolute-dissapointment // @thesurielships // @df3ndyr // @trinitybailey2003 // @ladywitchling // @booknerdproblems // @rowaelin-cressworth // @acourtofbookworms // @rolltide7 // @scandinavianromantic // @tillyrubes10 // @starwarsslytherin // @minaidss // @paytin77 // @alyx801 // @jesstargaryenqueen // @anntheintrovert // @littleboxofthunder // @empress-ofbloodshed // @aelin-queen-of-terrasen // // @amandaswallowtail // @louiseleblancdiggory // @abookishfreak

[mr-styles]

Prettybird directors Bradley & Pablo tell Addison Capper about an epic harvest of watermelons on Harry’s farm, inspiration from old pictures of Jack Nicholson and Paul McCartney, and racing against the setting of the sun

LBB> When you first heard Watermelon Sugar, what was your definition of a “watermelon sugar high”?

Bradley & Pablo> Honestly not sure we had one… maybe because we’re too naive. It just sounded nice. Luckily Molly [Hawkins, creative director], Bryan [Younce, commissioner] and Harry opened our eyes.

LBB> When did you first begin working on this promo? And what were your initial thoughts and plans when it came in?

Bradley & Pablo> We first started working on this song about a week before we shot it! We’d been trying to work with Harry on the album for a while - we had written two or three other ideas for other songs last summer by the time Watermelon Sugar came around.

In the end the timing felt kind of poetic. It was the last project we shot before the lockdown and it really was the complete antithesis to the situation we find ourselves in now. It feels super meaningful now that this has been released during the pandemic because It speaks to what everybody is missing right now - physical human touch and connection.  

LBB> It’s a joyful bit of film anyway but even more so because it’s full of all the things that everyone wants at the moment. Did you ever debate changing it? Or did it all suddenly seem even more perfect?

Bradley & Pablo> We never debated changing it but we did start to get concerned that the record label wouldn’t release the video because they felt it was insensitive or tone deaf or something, but when we started talking about releasing it again, we had the idea of adding a tagline to the front of it like ‘in loving memory of touch’ or ‘dedicated to touching’ and it re-contextualises it in a way that feels perfect for the time.

LBB> Aside from the dedication to touching, did the film change at all due to the pandemic?

Bradley & Pablo> No it didn’t! It just came out a little later.

LBB> I get vibes of like old school hip hop videos but with a Harry Styles vibe. I like it. Were they an inspiration at all? Where else did you look for inspiration?

Bradley & Pablo> That wasn’t a conscious inspiration for us but that’s definitely a cool one to think about. We knew from talking to Harry and his creative director that they wanted to basically dedicate this song to girls and boys and sexual pleasure, it was about creating an atmosphere. We loved the idea and the spirit of it and we felt one of our main jobs was to portray this idea in a tasteful way.

There were two key references at the beginning of the project which Harry and Molly gave us. One was an old picture of Jack Nicholson eating a watermelon with this amazingly mischievous grin and the other was an image of Paul McCartney at a beach party in the ‘60s where he looks like he’s tripping on acid in the best way. Both of these really informed and encapsulated the spirit that we wanted to bring to this whole thing.

We also looked at photographers like Stephen Meisel to inspire some of the more composed setups and Guy Bourdin playing with the playful, sexy innuendos that you find in some of his work.

Other than that one of the biggest inspirations was actually just Harry’s own image that he and his creative director Molly have created around this album campaign. We love his progressive fashion sensibilities and Gucci campaigns and so we just wanted to make something that would fit into his world. He also has this effortlessness, he’s so magnetic and cool without trying so we wanted to make sure we created a scene where he could champion that.

LBB> Harry does some pretty pristine watermelon biting. How did you coax those out of him?

Bradley & Pablo> Sadly we can take no credit for that… Guess he just really knows how to eat watermelon.

LBB> What was the production process like? Where did you shoot? Where in the world has such an abundance of perfect watermelons? And what was the mood like on set?

Bradley & Pablo> The production process was fast! We shot in a location in Malibu. It was a private beach at this amazing house. Harry actually owns a watermelon farm in a secret location that we can’t disclose. So the day before the shoot we went with our whole crew, make-up artists, set decorators, focus pullers you name it! We all rolled up our sleeves, got stuck in and did the biggest harvest anyone in the USA has ever seen!

The mood on set was really good. Credit goes to the whole cast and Harry himself, who were all amazing to work with, they all had such amazing genuine warm energy and a big part of the success of this video is owed to them for being so much fun. We think you can really see that reflected in the video.

Meanwhile we were actually inwardly freaking out a little because we only had one day, we had to shoot from sunrise to sunset (which is a very small window in January) and there is an even smaller window within that where the light is actually good enough to get that punchy graphic blue sky and beautiful looking skin, and shooting on a beach is HARD! The shoot was also quite a new, different kind of challenge for us because it was loosely structured - we were flexible with what we were shooting - there was no real story it was more about just creating an atmosphere. We also tend to usually shoot with lots of lighting and art direction but we didn’t really have much of anything so it was a different kind of test in directing for us.

LBB> From an aesthetic point of view, what were your main aims and inspirations with the grade, art direction and costume?

Bradley & Pablo> We were definitely very influenced by the rich Gucci styling and the ‘60s era of the Paul McCartney image. The art direction and pallet started with the styling and grew out from there. We wanted to mix busy patterns/textiles with block colours like warm oranges, browns and the graphic blue skies to create this warm, hazy nostalgic aesthetic but with a modern contemporary edge that also came in part from the casting and some detailing in the wardrobe.

LBB> How did you capture the vintage looking shots?

Bradley & Pablo> We shot on 35 and 16 mm on an Arri SR3. That was really a core component that we would not compromise on. It was also just about keeping that side of things simple, hats off to Frank Mobilio [DOP] who, with a 16mm camera, a mirror and a reflector, managed to make such beautiful images. We also worked with our regular colourist Dave Hussey who always elevates things in his particular way.

LBB> What were the trickiest components and how did you overcome them?

Bradley & Pablo> TIME! As we said we were working against the sun. As we often do now on shoots, we split up and direct two separate units simultaneously. It’s nice to be able to do everything together but we are in a place now where we can trust the other as they go off more autonomously which massively helps us to be more ambitious with a shot list.

Also, learning how to keep those slices of watermelon looking fresh. The best solution seems to be to eat it and cut more slices.

LBB> Any parting thoughts?

Bradley & Pablo> Bring back seeded watermelons!

[stylesnews]

Bradley & Pablo told LBB's Addison Capper about how they brought this film to life via an epic harvest of watermelons and one-day against-the-clock shoot. 

LBB> When you first heard Watermelon Sugar, what was your definition of a "watermelon sugar high"?

Bradley & Pablo> Honestly not sure we had one... maybe because we’re too naive. It just sounded nice. Luckily Molly [Hawkins, creative director], Bryan [Younce, commissioner] and Harry opened our eyes.

LBB> When did you first begin working on this promo? And what were your initial thoughts and plans when it came in?

Bradley & Pablo> We first started working on this song about a week before we shot it! We’d been trying to work with Harry on the album for a while - we had written two or three other ideas for other songs last summer by the time Watermelon Sugar came around. In the end the timing felt kind of poetic. It was the last project we shot before the lockdown and it really was the complete antithesis to the situation we find ourselves in now. It feels super meaningful now that this has been released during the pandemic because It speaks to what everybody is missing right now - physical human touch and connection.  

LBB> It’s a joyful bit of film anyway but even more so because it’s full of all the things that everyone wants at the moment. Did you ever debate changing it? Or did it all suddenly seem even more perfect?

Bradley & Pablo> We never debated changing it but we did start to get concerned that the record label wouldn’t release the video because they felt it was insensitive or tone deaf or something, but when we started talking about releasing it again, we had the idea of adding a tagline to the front of it like ‘in loving memory of touch’ or ‘dedicated to touching’ and it re-contextualises it in a way that feels perfect for the time.

LBB> Aside from the dedication to touching, did the film change at all due to the pandemic?

Bradley & Pablo> No it didn’t! It just came out a little later.

LBB> I get vibes of like old school hip hop videos but with a Harry Styles vibe. I like it. Were they an inspiration at all? Where else did you look for inspiration?

Bradley & Pablo> That wasn’t a conscious inspiration for us but that’s definitely a cool one to think about. We knew from talking to Harry and his creative director that they wanted to basically dedicate this song to girls and boys and sexual pleasure, it was about creating an atmosphere. We loved the idea and the spirit of it and we felt one of our main jobs was to portray this idea in a tasteful way.  There were two key references at the beginning of the project which Harry and Molly gave us. One was an old picture of Jack Nicholson eating a watermelon with this amazingly mischievous grin and the other was an image of Paul McCartney at a beach party in the ‘60s where he looks like he’s tripping on acid in the best way. Both of these really informed and encapsulated the spirit that we wanted to bring to this whole thing.

We also looked at photographers like Stephen Meisel to inspire some of the more composed setups and Guy Bourdin playing with the playful, sexy innuendos that you find in some of his work. Other than that one of the biggest inspirations was actually just Harry’s own image that he and his creative director Molly have created around this album campaign. We love his progressive fashion sensibilities and Gucci campaigns and so we just wanted to make something that would fit into his world. He also has this effortlessness, he’s so magnetic and cool without trying so we wanted to make sure we created a scene where he could champion that.

LBB> Harry does some pretty pristine watermelon biting. How did you coax those out of him?

Bradley & Pablo> Sadly we can take no credit for that... Guess he just really knows how to eat watermelon.

LBB> What was the production process like? Where did you shoot? Where in the world has such an abundance of perfect watermelons? And what was the mood like on set?

Bradley & Pablo> The production process was fast! We shot in a location in Malibu. It was a private beach at this amazing house. Harry actually owns a watermelon farm in a secret location that we can’t disclose. So the day before the shoot we went with our whole crew, make-up artists, set decorators, focus pullers you name it! We all rolled up our sleeves, got stuck in and did the biggest harvest anyone in the USA has ever seen!  The mood on set was really good. Credit goes to the whole cast and Harry himself, who were all amazing to work with, they all had such amazing genuine warm energy and a big part of the success of this video is owed to them for being so much fun. We think you can really see that reflected in the video. Meanwhile we were actually inwardly freaking out a little because we only had one day, we had to shoot from sunrise to sunset (which is a very small window in January) and there is an even smaller window within that where the light is actually good enough to get that punchy graphic blue sky and beautiful looking skin, and shooting on a beach is HARD! The shoot was also quite a new, different kind of challenge for us because it was loosely structured - we were flexible with what we were shooting - there was no real story it was more about just creating an atmosphere. We also tend to usually shoot with lots of lighting and art direction but we didn’t really have much of anything so it was a different kind of test in directing for us.   

LBB> From an aesthetic point of view, what were your main aims and inspirations with the grade, art direction and costume?

Bradley & Pablo> We were definitely very influenced by the rich Gucci styling and the ‘60s era of the Paul McCartney image. The art direction and pallet started with the styling and grew out from there. We wanted to mix busy patterns/textiles with block colours like warm oranges, browns and the graphic blue skies to create this warm, hazy nostalgic aesthetic but with a modern contemporary edge that also came in part from the casting and some detailing in the wardrobe

LBB> How did you capture the vintage looking shots?

Bradley & Pablo> We shot on 35 and 16 mm on an Arri SR3. That was really a core component that we would not compromise on. It was also just about keeping that side of things simple, hats off to Frank Mobilio [DOP] who, with a 16mm camera, a mirror and a reflector, managed to make such beautiful images. We also worked with our regular colourist Dave Hussey who always elevates things in his particular way.

LBB> What were the trickiest components and how did you overcome them?

Bradley & Pablo> TIME! As we said we were working against the sun. As we often do now on shoots, we split up and direct two separate units simultaneously. It's nice to be able to do everything together but we are in a place now where we can trust the other as they go off more autonomously which massively helps us to be more ambitious with a shot list. Also, learning how to keep those slices of watermelon looking fresh. The best solution seems to be to eat it and cut more slices.

LBB> Any parting thoughts?  

Bradley & Pablo> Bring back seeded watermelons! 

[thestylesindependent]

You could take Harry Styles' new promo for track Watermelon Sugar one of two ways. You could look at it and feel a little aggrieved at his shameless cavorting in the outside world, all touchy feely with a gang of beautiful people on a white sand beach. Then again, you could stop being such a grouch and take pleasure and immerse yourself in the vicarious joy of watching people doing pretty much everything that you would like to be doing right now but can't.

At least, that's what I took from the film, which was directed by Prettybird duo Bradley & Pablo. Dedicated to 'touching', Watermelon Sugar is an ode to the summer that we all deserved and crave. It's packed full of sun, sea and some of the most impeccable eating of watermelons you could possibly witness, which it turns out were all grown and harvested from Harry's own watermelon farm. Bradley & Pablo told LBB's Addison Capper about how they brought this film to life via an epic harvest of watermelons and one-day against-the-clock shoot.

LBB> When you first heard Watermelon Sugar, what was your definition of a "watermelon sugar high"? Bradley & Pablo> Honestly not sure we had one... maybe because we’re too naive. It just sounded nice. Luckily Molly [Hawkins, creative director], Bryan [Younce, commissioner] and Harry opened our eyes. 

LBB> When did you first begin working on this promo? And what were your initial thoughts and plans when it came in? Bradley & Pablo> We first started working on this song about a week before we shot it! We’d been trying to work with Harry on the album for a while - we had written two or three other ideas for other songs last summer by the time Watermelon Sugar came around. In the end the timing felt kind of poetic. It was the last project we shot before the lockdown and it really was the complete antithesis to the situation we find ourselves in now. It feels super meaningful now that this has been released during the pandemic because It speaks to what everybody is missing right now - physical human touch and connection.   LBB> It’s a joyful bit of film anyway but even more so because it’s full of all the things that everyone wants at the moment. Did you ever debate changing it? Or did it all suddenly seem even more perfect? Bradley & Pablo> We never debated changing it but we did start to get concerned that the record label wouldn’t release the video because they felt it was insensitive or tone deaf or something, but when we started talking about releasing it again, we had the idea of adding a tagline to the front of it like ‘in loving memory of touch’ or ‘dedicated to touching’ and it re-contextualises it in a way that feels perfect for the time. LBB> Aside from the dedication to touching, did the film change at all due to the pandemic? Bradley & Pablo> No it didn’t! It just came out a little later. LBB> I get vibes of like old school hip hop videos but with a Harry Styles vibe. I like it. Were they an inspiration at all? Where else did you look for inspiration? Bradley & Pablo> That wasn’t a conscious inspiration for us but that’s definitely a cool one to think about. We knew from talking to Harry and his creative director that they wanted to basically dedicate this song to girls and boys and sexual pleasure, it was about creating an atmosphere. We loved the idea and the spirit of it and we felt one of our main jobs was to portray this idea in a tasteful way.  There were two key references at the beginning of the project which Harry and Molly gave us. One was an old picture of Jack Nicholson eating a watermelon with this amazingly mischievous grin and the other was an image of Paul McCartney at a beach party in the ‘60s where he looks like he’s tripping on acid in the best way. Both of these really informed and encapsulated the spirit that we wanted to bring to this whole thing. We also looked at photographers like Stephen Meisel to inspire some of the more composed setups and Guy Bourdin playing with the playful, sexy innuendos that you find in some of his work. Other than that one of the biggest inspirations was actually just Harry’s own image that he and his creative director Molly have created around this album campaign. We love his progressive fashion sensibilities and Gucci campaigns and so we just wanted to make something that would fit into his world. He also has this effortlessness, he’s so magnetic and cool without trying so we wanted to make sure we created a scene where he could champion that. LBB> Harry does some pretty pristine watermelon biting. How did you coax those out of him? Bradley & Pablo> Sadly we can take no credit for that... Guess he just really knows how to eat watermelon. LBB> What was the production process like? Where did you shoot? Where in the world has such an abundance of perfect watermelons? And what was the mood like on set? Bradley & Pablo> The production process was fast! We shot in a location in Malibu. It was a private beach at this amazing house. Harry actually owns a watermelon farm in a secret location that we can’t disclose. So the day before the shoot we went with our whole crew, make-up artists, set decorators, focus pullers you name it! We all rolled up our sleeves, got stuck in and did the biggest harvest anyone in the USA has ever seen!  The mood on set was really good. Credit goes to the whole cast and Harry himself, who were all amazing to work with, they all had such amazing genuine warm energy and a big part of the success of this video is owed to them for being so much fun. We think you can really see that reflected in the video. Meanwhile we were actually inwardly freaking out a little because we only had one day, we had to shoot from sunrise to sunset (which is a very small window in January) and there is an even smaller window within that where the light is actually good enough to get that punchy graphic blue sky and beautiful looking skin, and shooting on a beach is HARD! The shoot was also quite a new, different kind of challenge for us because it was loosely structured - we were flexible with what we were shooting - there was no real story it was more about just creating an atmosphere. We also tend to usually shoot with lots of lighting and art direction but we didn’t really have much of anything so it was a different kind of test in directing for us.   LBB> From an aesthetic point of view, what were your main aims and inspirations with the grade, art direction and costume? Bradley & Pablo> We were definitely very influenced by the rich Gucci styling and the ‘60s era of the Paul McCartney image. The art direction and pallet started with the styling and grew out from there. We wanted to mix busy patterns/textiles with block colours like warm oranges, browns and the graphic blue skies to create this warm, hazy nostalgic aesthetic but with a modern contemporary edge that also came in part from the casting and some detailing in the wardrobe. LBB> How did you capture the vintage looking shots? Bradley & Pablo> We shot on 35 and 16 mm on an Arri SR3. That was really a core component that we would not compromise on. It was also just about keeping that side of things simple, hats off to Frank Mobilio [DOP] who, with a 16mm camera, a mirror and a reflector, managed to make such beautiful images. We also worked with our regular colourist Dave Hussey who always elevates things in his particular way. LBB> What were the trickiest components and how did you overcome them? Bradley & Pablo> TIME! As we said we were working against the sun. As we often do now on shoots, we split up and direct two separate units simultaneously. It's nice to be able to do everything together but we are in a place now where we can trust the other as they go off more autonomously which massively helps us to be more ambitious with a shot list. Also, learning how to keep those slices of watermelon looking fresh. The best solution seems to be to eat it and cut more slices.    LBB> Any parting thoughts?  Bradley & Pablo> Bring back seeded watermelons! 

[th3okamid3monart]

Ya no estoy aquí, another take on immigrant stories.

(This will have SPOILERS for Ya no estoy aqui, I recommend watching it first. It is very touching and heavy tale of belonging and loneliness) 

Sinopsis:

Ulises takes is the leader of the cumbia loving group Terkos in Monterrey, Mexico. But when he gets involve on a gang related accident he has to leave his home so his family and him can be safe, taking up a new home in the distant city of New York.  

Writing-Directing-Acting

This piece of media was one of the best made in Mexico so far. Mexico has been growing in the production and creation of different movies which resonate with a diverse of groups. This time it was the turn of one of the most negated states and music genre ever.

Ya no estoy aqui has a well done balance in the writing, expressing and pointing out different subjects that plague the world; from immigration to corruption, from cultural sub groups to violent gangs and, in the background, the injustices a society faces when they are being neglected by the government or the violence has grown into an out of control normality.

The point of view we follow is from Ulises how he works around and moves to survive, but we can also see how the people around him reacts like the ones he left behind in Monterrey, how their lives have changed so much due to him being away and how the situation in his city is changing.

We can also see the point of view of other people who are in the same situation as Ulises, although they’re not face with as much difficulty as him due to knowing the language.

It explores how the mindset changes, how the characters experience life in the new places and how those places change them. It brings up the hardships of being an immigrant and how awfully homesick they feel, and yet we can also see how those people can act so harshly between each other, respectively how 3 of the tertiary characters treated Ulises just for the way he looked. It’s very clear they are from Mexico as well, it shows how people in general can treat each other as bad if not worse than people from a different country.

Ulises is a very well made character, it shows he is a whole person with feelings, hardships and desires. The actor, Juan Daniel García Treviño, makes a great job by showing the difference between him living in his home, being happy, bright and engaging, and living in big city, where he begins to act isolated, serious and having little to nothing of humor. The change of tendencies and attitudes can be quite hard, since you’re told you need to practically change the character. You need to change who you are. That’s exactly what happens to the character and Juan Daniel does is amazingly.

The idea of being ripped away from your home, your family, your culture and being thrown into the shark tank that is, not only other country, but the most violent and cynical city in the whole country (fighting for the 1st place is Los Angeles and Texas in my inexpert opinion).

There were some odd acting moments, mostly during the group parts where Ulises is with the Terkos. And curiously, it’s not the dancing parts. It’s their interactions at times, they are a bit stiff and awkward. There are other shots where they are seen laughing and playing, and those look very natural. Maybe those shots were the first one they were doing.

The director Fernando Frias understands the importance of belonging somewhere. The whole film is about that and you can perceive it everywhere the character goes. The concept is a very important and powerful one among the sentiments of loneliness and sadness which are used as well.

Seeing the character struggle in a world that he doesn’t fit in, that he doesn’t feel its home is the main and most important thing everyone can relate to. Even if you aren’t an immigrant, you can understand how awful feeling alone and feeling an absence or emptiness in your being can feel. We can sympathize with that and maybe get a more understanding view of the people surrounding us. We only want to be understood, we only want to be seen as part of something or somewhere where one can be themselves without being a mocking or something.  

Photography

Amazing shots by Damian Garcia. Another work I’ve seen from his is La vida Precoz y Breve de Sabina Rivas. Between this two you can see he tends to work with darkness, not all the time just very commonly. And he does it VERY well. People have a bad habit of underexposing their scenes, to the point of ABSOLUTE DARKNESS (I’m looking at you, fucking USA horror movies that only woRK ON FUCKING BLUES AND GRAY TONES AS WELL MY GO-). Mr. Garcia does it perfectly and balanced, you can see the silouttes in the dark, you can see the movement.

The shots are very active, by this I mean they are sequence shots. Sequence shots follow the character around, there are also zoom outs and zoom ins mostly used in the flashbacks, which makes it have a more nostalgic feeling. There’s a specific shot where Ulises is dancing with los Terkos and the camera zooms out to make the shot a perfect square, showing them in the center while the rest of the screen is in almost pitch black. That scene is perfect, it doesn’t need a slow mo, it doesn’t need music, and it only needs the energy, the laughs, and the music coming from the radio to give us what Ulises want.

The colors are balanced, not oversaturated but still bright enough. When it comes to viewing cities and towns, photographers tend to use a very cliché color scheme. For a city like New York it’s always kind of red, grey and blue tones that can also look very opaque, meanwhile for Mexican towns, they always use the yellowish, orange tones. One can get very tired of those you know? Which is why I’m very happy to observe this photography specially coming from a Mexican. There are very amazing photographers and Mr. Garcia will go even bigger soon with his amazing work.

Sound

Awesome work, capturing the essence of what the parties and dance spots sound and feel like is a complex thing to do. Not many manage to capture something that isn’t describe as only noise. It is an experience, it’s something you feel not only hear. The music is a very important part in this movie so the way it is listened from radios, the transition from being in the plane of the character and then to a type of score, while also giving us the personal taste of Ulises is a well done edited piece.

Yuri Laguna has done a lot of works, I don’t personally know many but I did get a very good experience with this movies sound, music and effects. The sound effects sounded like something for the movie and not taken from somewhere else and sounded exactly where they are intended to do so. From the foot-steps to the mumbles between characters when they are inside a store.

I really like the scene where Ulises is at a store and he is about to buy a speaker that reminds him of his home. You can hear the boss and Ulises talking and making hand signs but you can’t understand what they are saying. It’s a little detail I really enjoy. I will have to keep an open ear for any other work of Mr. Laguna

Make up, Art and Costume design 

I don’t even know where to start. I’m very sure most of the places they went to are the real ones, so scouting was done very, very well and amazing to get those lovely and breathtaking shots from a high place. But the makeup?? The clothes? THE SPACES? They entire art department did so well! There are so many details that can tell you about the characters. This is what is called subtle storytelling. The scenes that stick a lot to me were the ones that took place in the home of one of Ulises friends. The whole room is dark, and her and her family are watching TV. They have anguish in their faces, and when the shot is flipped to see their backs, you can see 2 things: her phone ringing, because Ulises is trying to contact her, and the TV. Now the one thing that could caught your eye would be the phone BUT the TV has more information for you, which is how Monterrey is having not only an increase of gangs but also an increase of poverty and police violence.

The clothes are very distinguish, I don’t know much about many sub-groups. I didn’t heard of Kolombia before this movie so this is a nice look into the culture that has been popular over there. The main actor is actually from the state so maybe the costume design team got a little info from him and obviously do their own investigation. The clothing’s pop a lot, mostly due to the style (very big and long shirts and pant, and the signature white shoes of los Terkos). The hairstyle is what you would get at first sight though, it being so obviously made by the own character.

In our own modism: Se la rifaron.

I have seen very detailed works, and this one didn’t go underappreciated since the people who work in it got a nomination for an Ariel (the most prestigious Mexican film prize).

Custom design: Magdalena de la Riva y Gabriela Fernández

Make up: María Elena López y Itzel Peña García

Art design: Taísa Malouf Rodrigues y Gino Fortebuono

I didn’t found more info about this people but I’m sure they will go far if they keep up their amazing work.

Editing

I’m pretty sure the final product is what the director intended. It has clean transitions and well done jump cuts, although I think they used a lot of black ins I think the rest is fine. You don’t need to do super specific or out of the box editing when it comes to a solid story that is intended to be realistic. The pace is good and going back and forward between the flashbacks and the present gives you a more dynamic story. There are some confusing points when it comes to the dream sequences, but I think that’s mostly the point of those. The character would get into points he can’t differentiate what’s real and what’s fake. His desires are interfering with his present to the point of confusion.

Editor: Yibrán Asaud and Fernando Frias.

Conclusion

Immigration is an overused theme, a very well-known subject and a problem that has been happening for years. Problem that hasn’t been fix, if countries were at least trying to fix the problems there wouldn’t have to be so many people putting their lives in danger to travel to a safer place. Then again, people have the power and sometimes power corrupts the person (which is why I think a lot of gangs exist too). Even though it is an overused them, many writers and directors have tried to make compelling stories and characters so the subject is not only forgotten but also inspiring for the people to help others, to sympathize and to understand this people.

Ulises is not a 100% good person, nor a bad person, he is a kid who just wants to spend time with his friends and have fun while doing listening to something he loves and feels a connection with.

Another story of immigration that I really enjoy is Guten Tag, Ramon but that story is way to idealistic, while Ya no estoy aqui is more realistic. There’s also La jaula de Oro but that has a very, very dark ending, realistic non the less but still with a more pessimistic and hopeless ending. This movie kind of stands in a middle ground, where the character just comes back to a changed home.

I’ve read some people saying this movie doesn’t have a resolution, but I think that’s the point. The resolution is that life doesn’t stop. A movie with an anticlimactic ending is not a bad movie (at least not all the time), it just makes you think.

Ulises returns to his home which has changed. He didn’t had the opportunity to see it change and change with it. He will have to start from 0, it’s like going to New York all over again. Life is about change and sometimes that change can come from us or others. Things will impact you one way or another, and sometimes life goes on without you.

You have to decide what to do when you are faced with harshness. Although this movie is mostly about belonging somewhere, the ending teaches you about decisions and choosing.

Ulises chooses to return home, he chooses home even when his friends have move on from him, even if his family has turned their back on him, he chooses to come back because he missed it there and not all is bad. There’s a lot of bad going, but at least he is home now. At least he is here. (Al menos el está aquí)

Sincerely moved, TOD.

[strangenewfriends]

LBB> When you first heard Watermelon Sugar, what was your definition of a "watermelon sugar high"?

Bradley & Pablo> Honestly not sure we had one... maybe because we’re too naive. It just sounded nice. Luckily Molly [Hawkins, creative director], Bryan [Younce, commissioner] and Harry opened our eyes.

LBB> When did you first begin working on this promo? And what were your initial thoughts and plans when it came in?

Bradley & Pablo> We first started working on this song about a week before we shot it! We’d been trying to work with Harry on the album for a while - we had written two or three other ideas for other songs last summer by the time Watermelon Sugar came around.

In the end the timing felt kind of poetic. It was the last project we shot before the lockdown and it really was the complete antithesis to the situation we find ourselves in now. It feels super meaningful now that this has been released during the pandemic because It speaks to what everybody is missing right now - physical human touch and connection.  

LBB> It’s a joyful bit of film anyway but even more so because it’s full of all the things that everyone wants at the moment. Did you ever debate changing it? Or did it all suddenly seem even more perfect?

Bradley & Pablo> We never debated changing it but we did start to get concerned that the record label wouldn’t release the video because they felt it was insensitive or tone deaf or something, but when we started talking about releasing it again, we had the idea of adding a tagline to the front of it like ‘in loving memory of touch’ or ‘dedicated to touching’ and it re-contextualises it in a way that feels perfect for the time.

LBB> Aside from the dedication to touching, did the film change at all due to the pandemic?

Bradley & Pablo> No it didn’t! It just came out a little later.

LBB> I get vibes of like old school hip hop videos but with a Harry Styles vibe. I like it. Were they an inspiration at all? Where else did you look for inspiration?

Bradley & Pablo> That wasn’t a conscious inspiration for us but that’s definitely a cool one to think about. We knew from talking to Harry and his creative director that they wanted to basically dedicate this song to girls and boys and sexual pleasure, it was about creating an atmosphere. We loved the idea and the spirit of it and we felt one of our main jobs was to portray this idea in a tasteful way.

There were two key references at the beginning of the project which Harry and Molly gave us. One was an old picture of Jack Nicholson eating a watermelon with this amazingly mischievous grin and the other was an image of Paul McCartney at a beach party in the ‘60s where he looks like he’s tripping on acid in the best way. Both of these really informed and encapsulated the spirit that we wanted to bring to this whole thing.

We also looked at photographers like Stephen Meisel to inspire some of the more composed setups and Guy Bourdin playing with the playful, sexy innuendos that you find in some of his work.

Other than that one of the biggest inspirations was actually just Harry’s own image that he and his creative director Molly have created around this album campaign. We love his progressive fashion sensibilities and Gucci campaigns and so we just wanted to make something that would fit into his world. He also has this effortlessness, he’s so magnetic and cool without trying so we wanted to make sure we created a scene where he could champion that.

LBB> Harry does some pretty pristine watermelon biting. How did you coax those out of him?

Bradley & Pablo> Sadly we can take no credit for that... Guess he just really knows how to eat watermelon.

LBB> What was the production process like? Where did you shoot? Where in the world has such an abundance of perfect watermelons? And what was the mood like on set?

Bradley & Pablo> The production process was fast! We shot in a location in Malibu. It was a private beach at this amazing house. Harry actually owns a watermelon farm in a secret location that we can’t disclose. So the day before the shoot we went with our whole crew, make-up artists, set decorators, focus pullers you name it! We all rolled up our sleeves, got stuck in and did the biggest harvest anyone in the USA has ever seen!

The mood on set was really good. Credit goes to the whole cast and Harry himself, who were all amazing to work with, they all had such amazing genuine warm energy and a big part of the success of this video is owed to them for being so much fun. We think you can really see that reflected in the video.

Meanwhile we were actually inwardly freaking out a little because we only had one day, we had to shoot from sunrise to sunset (which is a very small window in January) and there is an even smaller window within that where the light is actually good enough to get that punchy graphic blue sky and beautiful looking skin, and shooting on a beach is HARD! The shoot was also quite a new, different kind of challenge for us because it was loosely structured - we were flexible with what we were shooting - there was no real story it was more about just creating an atmosphere. We also tend to usually shoot with lots of lighting and art direction but we didn’t really have much of anything so it was a different kind of test in directing for us.

LBB> From an aesthetic point of view, what were your main aims and inspirations with the grade, art direction and costume?

Bradley & Pablo> We were definitely very influenced by the rich Gucci styling and the ‘60s era of the Paul McCartney image. The art direction and pallet started with the styling and grew out from there. We wanted to mix busy patterns/textiles with block colours like warm oranges, browns and the graphic blue skies to create this warm, hazy nostalgic aesthetic but with a modern contemporary edge that also came in part from the casting and some detailing in the wardrobe.

LBB> How did you capture the vintage looking shots?

Bradley & Pablo> We shot on 35 and 16 mm on an Arri SR3. That was really a core component that we would not compromise on. It was also just about keeping that side of things simple, hats off to Frank Mobilio [DOP] who, with a 16mm camera, a mirror and a reflector, managed to make such beautiful images. We also worked with our regular colourist Dave Hussey who always elevates things in his particular way.

LBB> What were the trickiest components and how did you overcome them?

Bradley & Pablo> TIME! As we said we were working against the sun. As we often do now on shoots, we split up and direct two separate units simultaneously. It's nice to be able to do everything together but we are in a place now where we can trust the other as they go off more autonomously which massively helps us to be more ambitious with a shot list.

Also, learning how to keep those slices of watermelon looking fresh. The best solution seems to be to eat it and cut more slices.

LBB> Any parting thoughts?

Bradley & Pablo> Bring back seeded watermelons!

[sweetness47]

It’s a Parent Thing

 Pairing Sam x Reader

Other characters include Dean, Cassie (OFC), Jackie (OFC), Castiel, Jack, Mary, Donna, Jody, Claire

@teamfreewillbingo​ – Sam wears makeup

@as-the-saying-goes-bingo​ – laughter is the best medicine

Warnings: PG audience mostly. Maybe some fluff, hints of future smut, light language moments, the joys of being a parent

Final word count: 1546

“Mommmmmmy!” The 5-year-old girl to whom the voice belongs comes running around the corner into the kitchen. “Where’s dad?”

I shrug. “I don’t know, but he can’t be far. Did you check the library?”

Cassie shakes her head. “Not yet. Do you think Uncle Dean is in there too?”

A giggle escapes my lips. “It’s Uncle Dean. He’s more likely to be in the garage.”

“Thanks!” she shouts and runs off, leaving me wondering what she’s up to. No sooner do I go back to preparing dinner when Jackie comes running in. He looks up at me, then looks around the kitchen, and I know he’s looking for Cassie. I point toward the library and he hurries after her.

Now I’m really wondering. Those two can get into some pretty interesting crafts when they’re bored. Being cooped up with this pandemic has got them so wired, it’s a wonder I’m still sane. Mind you, Jody, Donna, and even Claire help a lot, plus of course, Grandma. Mary loves the kids, and spoils them rotten every chance she gets.

Oh yeah, the kids…well, better go check what’s up. Dinner isn’t going to be ready for a while, so there’s plenty of time to investigate. I make it to the library just as Cassie is talking…no more like pleading with Sam to do something.

“Pleeeaaasseeee??? C’mon Dad, you gotta. It’s not going to work with only one person. You and Uncle Dean have to help.”

I almost die laughing when he responds, “I’d love to help Cassie, honest. But guys don’t typically wear makeup.” Then he looks toward the door. “Did you ask Auntie Donna or Aunt Jody? Or how about Claire? She would love to be in the beauty pageant.”

Oh God, I’m pissing myself now. Cassie is persistent though. “Claire’s already in it, and Auntie Donna and Aunt Jody are the judges. So that leaves you, Uncle Dean, Uncle Cas, and Jack.”

I choose this moment to pop in. “She’s bored Sam. She’s looking for something to do. And she wants her dad to help. I think you’d be perfect.”

He gives me a ‘just wait till we’re alone’ look before smiling at his daughter. “Ok. I’ll come help, and I’ll even convince Uncle Dean to help. How’s that sound?”

Squeals of delight followed Cassie as she skipped cheerfully out and down the hall, Jackie close behind. Sam glared in my direction. “You owe me big time for this.” Then he kissed me and followed the two youngsters.

After having a huge fit of laughter, I sought out Jack and Cas, telling them to prepare for something fun, then went looking for Mary. She’d be thoroughly dismayed if she missed this.

I find Mary in the weapons room, cleaning guns. I sit beside her and pick up a cloth and a barrel from the glock she’s currently working on. “Hey Mom. S’up?”

She smiles at my greeting. My own mother passed away years ago, and Mary has been nothing but amazing to me since. “Not much. I heard the kids are up to something.”

I giggled. “That’s an understatement.” I tell her what I heard and what Cassie was asking Sam. “Want to see this?”

She puts the chamber down. “Definitely. And I’m bringing the camera.”

“Me too.” I say as we head out to the family room.

According to Donna, the ‘show’ starts in about 20 minutes. The ‘contestants’ are still getting ready. I’m literally dying inside. Of all the things for the kids to come up with, a beauty pageant. I’m not just going to take pictures, I’m filming the whole damn thing.

Jack agreed to be a contestant as well, saying he felt sorry for Sam and Dean. I smile. Jack is great with the kids as well. He seems fascinated by the simplicity of playing pretend, and imagining things.

Jackie comes out a few minutes after we all get seated. “Nuncing our beuty pajent.” We all giggle. Jackie is three, still struggling with pronunciation, so conversations with him are never dull.

Cassie comes out first and pretends to hold a microphone. “First contestant, Miss Claire.”

Claire comes out strutting to her own beat, hand on hip as she twirls around to show off her outfit and makeup. Her hair (I’d say done by Jackie) has a hap-hazard ponytail sticking out the top of her head, and numerous fake flowers. Claire’s outfit was a 40’s style dress, no doubt taken from a huge prop room the former MoL occupants had stashed. It was quite flattering on her actually, the rich burgundy velvet was a beautiful contrast to her fair skin.

Jack came out next, and we had to hold in our laughter. Jack was wearing a gold color suit, like very shiny glittery gold, and had little barrettes in his hair. He had lipstick and some eye shadow, both various shades of red. His shoes were actually pink flats, also very shiny, and very neon. We clapped and cheered for the way Jack managed a graceful walk down the runway, then waited for the next round.

“Our third contestant, Uncle Dean!”

Dean came out in a whirlwind of color and lace. He lightly skipped down the runway, hand on hip, while making kissy faces to everyone. Even Castiel was doubled over with laughter. I had tears running down my face now. His hair had been covered in a flowery hat, bright orange, and was wearing a really eye-catching shade of purple on his lips.

“And, our star contestant, Dad!”

I nearly fell off the couch as I doubled over with laughter. Tears rolled freely now, my sides hurt, but I couldn’t help it. Sam was in a frilly pink cocktail dress, satin with tulle gathered around the bottom, mermaid style. His legs were encased in shiny tights, and he wore matching pink sandals. His makeup was the best, I’m guessing Claire had some input on this one. Sam had glitter over the bottom of his eyelids, shadowed by a light pink and a touch of silver. His cheeks were toned in a pale coral, and his lips wore a lip gloss of the palest pink. I say Claire had some input because he had fake lashes glued to his eyelids. They were silver and pink tinted long lashes. His outfit was completed with silver barrettes and a pink flower in his hair, and white lace gloves.

I was so glad I was filming the entire thing. Sam made his way down the aisle with as much grace and dignity as he could muster, giving the audience smiles, winks and blowing kisses to all. He looked so adorable, although I was pretty sure he was going to kill me later, still I was glad I’d convinced him to participate.

The contestants came back on stage, waiting for the judges to finish their scoring. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the judges stood.

“In third place, we have Uncle Dean!”

Dean, bless him, smiled and waved to everyone as he walked over to receive his ‘medal’ and bouquet. He really did love the kids, there’s no way he’d have done this otherwise.

“In second place, we have a tie! Jack and Claire!”

The two second place contestants walked over to the judges and were awarded their medals and bouquets. There was only one left.

“And, in first place, Dad!”

We stood and cheered as Sam smiled and blew kisses to everyone, walking over to the judges’ desk and receiving his awards. He bowed and curtseyed. It was a beautiful sight. My husband…or was it wife now…I’d be teasing him about that later, if I lived that long. Cassie gave him a huge hug, and also gave hugs and thanks to the other contestants as well. Dean smiled and genuinely hugged them back. So did Sam, and Jack and Claire.

While the contestants got cleaned up and changed, and the living room area got fixed up, I set about finishing dinner and dessert. The house was greeted at the dining table with fried chicken, baked potatoes, all the fixings, and cherry pie. Salad and dressings were also available. There was one personal cherry pie for each of the ‘contestants’, and two more big ones for everyone to share.

Dean gave me a kiss on the cheek later, thanking me for the dessert. I thanked him for helping the kids out, and he smiled. I retired to my room, finding Sam already there, a dark glint in his eyes as he ran his gaze over my body, then bringing his eyes to meet mine. Fuck.

“So, about that payment I mentioned…”

I giggled as he scooped me into his arms, kicking the door closed behind him. “You looked so cute today though.”

He growled as we fell on the bed together. He made sure I spent the entire night paying for his beauty makeover. Numerous times.

@legion1993​

[grand-est-alsace]

18 Tips on How to Choose a Wedding Photographer

Instructions to pick a wedding picture taker

With so many wedding picture takers, endless costs, and styles picking the correct wedding photographic artist can turn out to be a significant enormous and cumbersome errand for the advanced couple

In any case, the web makes things simpler, on the grounds that you can see bunches of work one next to the other, yet this doesn't promptly tell you the most significant pieces of data, which will in the end decide the most ideal decision for you

20 top tips for picking a picture taker

#1 Who ever you pick, you should click with them

A site will just go almost of getting some answers concerning mentality and the individual.

You will be with your wedding picture taker, on your uncommon day from day break to nightfall at times, welcoming them into your changing area, while you are preparing. The picture taker will at that point work with you and your family as the day progressed. You have to discover somebody you trust, and continue ahead with

#2 Who ever you pick, you should click with them

Indeed that is point one! In any case, it is point 2 too. Anybody shooting your wedding needs to get the best out of you, and this at last is a blend of correspondence, and camera create. You should be sure your wedding picture taker can control and train you and your family during the postures and gathering shots. On the off chance that they make you grin, put you at your facilitate, the employment is half done

#3 Know that wedding photography is both a business and a job

Wedding photography is a business, and expert wedding photography is one of the hardest and unpleasant orders in the photography game. You have to pick a picture taker, who is a decent in business and photography. I am not discussing benefits here; I am discussing the manner in which they maintain the business. You have to take a gander at the business and think - will they be here in 5 - 10 years time, when I have lost my circle, and I need a re-print.

#4 Can you speak with them without any problem

Like all wedding providers, you have to know - would you be able to speak with them without any problem. A hotmail account and a cell phone number are a giveaway. Search for a landline number, open in available time. Ask yourself - how rapidly do they answer to messages, and at what time. Nonetheless, recollect that we don't work 7 days every week, and we don't pick up the telephone on the off chance that we are shooting a wedding. It isn't unprecedented for caught up with wedding picture takers to remove a day in the week

With a wedding picture taker, you should be sure about this issue, in light of the fact that dissimilar to virtually the entirety of different merchants, you will discuss a great deal with the picture taker quite a while after the wedding

#5 Choose what style you like

There are various styles of wedding photography going among firm and formal, through to absolutely narrative (nothing at all set up). There are additionally picture takers that pull in parts of other photographic teaches, for example, design, compelling artwork, cutting edge and so forth On head of that, there are various ways the photos are prepared, going from standard tone, highly contrasting to absolutely gimmicky handling.

Before you truly take a gander at picking a picture taker, pick the style you need first

#6 Matching a picture taker to the style you need

This is self-evident, yet as a rule, the picture taker is picked for another explanation, and their style is foisted on the couple. You have to realize that great expert picture takers can change the style they shoot a little from shoot to shoot. Anyway you would prefer not to pick a proper picture taker to shoot a reportage style and so forth The greater part of us are in the center, and lean one way or the other.

Take a gander at the picture takers work, attempt and take a gander at entire weddings in the event that they are accessible, and if numerous weddings are accessible to see, hope to see that the picture taker shoots in the manner you need.

#7 Portfolio shots are distinctive to general wedding photos

Picture takers pick pictures for their portfolios since they are either the most elite, or they fit a specific organization, or both. They will in general be emotional, show halting pictures. The 99.9% of the pictures the wedding photographic artist shoots are the ones you should be keen on..

#8 Recommendations

Nothing is superior to a proposal, however nothing is more terrible than an unfit suggestion. In the event that somebody suggests any wedding provider or wedding picture taker to you, at that point you have to know: have they really shot the wedding yet? What is the connection between the picture taker and the individual doing the suggesting? I am regularly drawn closer by scenes, needing a 10% cut, with the goal that they can suggest me. I generally state no. This goes on a great deal

In the event that you get a proposal from a glad couple, who have had the collection, and delighted in the administration gave beginning to end, at that point go with it, yet at the same time guarantee you like the individual and style.

#9 Deliverables

Getting the wedding photos shot is the most significant thing. In the event that you have minimal expenditure, put resources into getting the day shrouded before putting resources into items.

Every other item - collections, canvases, prints - should be considered independently. What is the picture taker's mentality to life span, and quality in the items? Your wedding collection should last ages on the off chance that it is made appropriately, and will last a couple of years if low quality materials are utilized. Believe this to be a speculation.

Do a little research first - get some answers concerning corrosive free materials and colors, and why utilizing them is significant.

Regarding the matter of expectations, discover how reprints, collections and items are conveyed, and if online displays are given, and if reprints can be bought on the web.

#10 Get a short rundown and have a gathering

In the event that you can get an extremely short rundown of picture takers, and proceed to meet them at their studio. At the gathering you have to cover a couple of key things. Take a gander at complete wedding collections. Are there any amazements, or irregularities? Take a gander at the nature of the work, does it coordinate the site? Do you click with the picture taker? Does the studio and business look productive and sorted out?

In the event that the picture taker is coming to you, request that they bring a couple of complete collections, yet recall that they occupy a great deal of room and are massive.

With test collections, hope to see fingerprints, dings and such, they will in general get trucked from column to post, and heaps of individuals browse them.

#11 Make sure the picture taker shooting your wedding is the photographic artist you are reserving

There are various industry rehearses you should know about: Firstly there are organizations of picture takers, run from an administrative center. You may take a gander at the site and see shocking pictures, yet that doesn't mean the neighborhood chap they send is any acceptable.

Besides, few corrupt picture takers really utilize stock pictures or duplicate pictures from different photographic artists locales. This is done to vanquish the chicken and egg issue that picture takers have when they are beginning and have no portfolio.

Thirdly, some of the better picture takers really maintain their organizations like beauty parlors - for example the name on the entryway is the honor winning beautician, you can pay such a great amount for the lesser, and somewhat more for the chief, and the full rate for the proprietor - anyway the style book contains simply the best work from whoever.

#12 Award winning picture takers

There are 1000's of grants, and these days all picture takers appear to be grant winning. On the off chance that they are stating this - discover what grant, what photo, and when. Try not to be too influenced by grants, take a gander at results - genuine wedding photos in collections, and utilize your own eyes and judgment.

#13 Professional capabilities/letters after names

Be extremely obvious to discover precisely what the letters mean. In many occasions, the picture taker sends in 12 unremarkable pictures with a "joining" expense, and out of nowhere they have showy letters after the name. In the event that you see this, go to the site, and discover how the picture taker joins, and see whether it is only a business association that advances photographic artists, or a truly educative association advancing brilliant photography.

#14 Contracts, stores, copyright, estimating

Great expert picture takers have this arranged, and have a prompt view. No agreement - alerts. Talk about delivering the wedding photos on circle, and what the copyright issues are. Talk about the evaluating, and valuing for things that are sold subsequently like re-prints, and duplicates of circles.

#15 Attitudes to reinforcements

Film used to keep going for a long time, many years. Computerized has issues, plates degenerate, hard drives crash. A picture taker's mentality to reinforcement is imperatively significant. As a base, the pictures took shots at the wedding, and the photos created subsequent to altering should be appropriately sponsored up, here and there site. On the off chance that the wedding picture taker can't promptly disclose to you their cycle for support up then an alert ought to ring.

#16 Do not be influenced by the present designs

Do take a gander at your mums wedding photos - a few things done 20-30 years back, look messy now - faces in champagne glasses, spot shading and so on We would all be able to do these stunts, however don't let the bubble and clean influence you between one picture taker and another. The most significant thing they can do is shoot the wedding photos appropriately in any case.

#17 You do need to pay for quality

In the event that the cost is idiotically lower than al of the others, corners will be cut. This will be in gear, handling time, nature of materials. Frequently individuals who have all day occupations accomplishing something different, see shooting weddings not as an all day work, but rather a s a method of acquiring money toward the end of the week, so the cost is set low to pull in any individual who needs to pay. While this works for a couple of weddings a year, you need more duty than this, on the grounds that as they get busier, something needs to give, and it isn't typically the normal everyday employment.

#18 Ask what reinforcement pack/emergency courses of action they have

Any expert wedding picture taker worth employing will have the option to promptly.

[inkdrinkershadowsinger]

Thoughts/Background on Chamber of Secrets

There simply cannot be neighborhoods like this, where there are miles upon miles of cookie cutter homes that stretch out into the horizon. Does anyone know if this is a real shot? Or did they multiply the houses like they do to extras in a battle scene?

I never noticed that this photo album is this detailed. There is a little J and L on either side of James and Lily’s photo here. Hagrid is an artist.

It’s on every page? Was this supposed to be something that Hagrid found from Godric’s Hollow? How did he get something so specific? Or is that rumor true that Hagrid owled Lily and James friend’s and Remus, who had been left things like this when there was no one else left to claim them, got it off his bookshelf and sent it to his best friends’ son?

I like how Harry’s room progressively becomes more his own. Look at it in this movie, the walls are bare, everything is relatively tame and plain verses in Order of The Phoenix, when Harry’s room has distinctly more decoration.

Those pink candlesticks are ghastly.

Harry, my darling, you have been getting letters it is merely a well meaning house elf who has stopped them. I wonder what everyone else thought about Harry’s silence? Especially Hermione. Did she think for even a moment that Harry and Ron had decided that they didn’t want to be her friend at all? Ron isn’t much of a writer, and Harry wasn’t responding. I don’t want to know what kind of a mind fuck that must have been to 12 year old Hermione who had just got home from “magic school”, and none of her new “friends” were responding to her letters.

We have heard that theory that James is Harry and Sirius is Ron, etc. But Dudley is Petunia. Dudley and Harry were raised in the same house, closer than cousins because of location alone. But whereas Petunia never got over the resentment that she felt towards Harry in book seven Dudley was more concerned for Harry’s well-being when they were leaving for the safe house then I think Petunia ever was if Lily ever mentioned how hard and dangerous things were getting during the First Wizarding World. Dudley received some characterization and growth where Petunia never bothered.

Harry sounds so sarcastic when he says that.

Dang! Every time Harry leaves his room he has to see a pencil drawing of Dudley’s face? The Dursley’s cruelty knows no bounds.

All of this decoration, and the shelf are missing from the first scene with Harry in this movie.

Harry is just like, “Fuck it all.”

But he’s got manners galore.

At this point, Harry has never seen a house elf. He has no idea what a house elf does. He has no idea why one would be in his bedroom. He has no idea that this even is a house elf? Why is he so calm? This could be a blood thirsty toga wearing creature that they only study in seventh year, and yet, Harry is all but like, “Can I take your coat, sir?”

And now he’s crying, (those could have been lethal gas releasing nerve agents), and now he’s hitting himself (gearing up for attack.) Oh, Harry, number one at defense my arse.

And their champagne flutes are pink? You can’t buy taste.

Those people look so offended like, “You have a cat? How common.”

I know that the fanon is that wizarding children all heard bedtime stories about Harry Potter, but Dobby is proof that other beings also heard about Harry’s triumph over the Dark Lord.

Who painted that picture on Harry’s wardrobe? Dean Thomas, fanon artist. Or does Harry Potter have latent creative talent? Or can you buy these out of the Hogwart’s catalog? Lol

Dobby is like, “Oh, shit, I should not have said that.”

This is where Harry’s Gryffindor really shows because he could just lie to Dobby, but he doesn’t. It’s that Gryffindor honesty.

The man is just like, “Oh, look, cake. Neither of them even looks angry.

Vernon bowered Niall Horan’s hat for this scene.

Harry sleeps with the scrapbook right by his bed. Someone shoot me.

I love that to Ron, Fred, and George that this is a completely normal thing for them to be doing. None of them look nervous about flying a car in a Muggle neighborhood. Destruction of property? Who gives a fuck? They are just like, we have to do what we have to do for our bud. Just a regular drive around.

Hedwig is very annoyed at being called a pigeon.

Ron knows to appreciate the simple things. Tell you mate Happy Birthday, no werid shows of masculinity here.

I love the Burrow. I love the position of the Burrow. I love that they are surrounded by land and a little pond. I love that it is secluded, and that it looks pieced together.

The inside of the Burrow is stunning. You have the Farm House sink. The detailed windows. The hardwood surfaces. The eclectic but perfectly fitting furniture. It would be considered chic to many a Muggle. And that DOOR, that opens up, and then also opens out. The extra space above that little cubbie. Fireplace. Hand, or magic, knitted blankets.

There is a wooden orange cat, a la, Crookshanks on the fireplace there.

Ginny is me.

He says, “Morning Weasleys.” Like they are a clan. He could totally use that tone and call them all to action.

I feel like Mrs. Weasley could sound more disappointed here. I feel like she is kind of annoyed, but also kind of interested in their little stunts as well.

The stainglass windows, the open placement for the dishes, like this house is amazing!

“Dumbledore must know that you’re here.” So, the headmaster is the one who can keep track of the placement of certain students and their whereabouts, or is this simply a case where Mrs. Figg informed Dumbledore that Harry had taken off. Can you imagine that letter? Like, “Super sorry, Professor Dumbledore, but it seems as if Number Four Pivet Drive has been attacked by three red haired boys in a flying car. The red haired youngsters seemed to be on quite friendly terms with Mr. Potter however, as they helped them into the flying vehicle. Just thought that I should mention it.

Sincerely,

               Arabella Figg

 So, does Appartition take a lot out of a witch or wizard? Why don’t Mr. and Mrs. Weasley just apparate all the kids to the Diagon Alley? Is there such a thing as flooing by twos or threes? Because that would also be useful. Are there many fireplaces lining Diagon Alley like the tones that are shown in seven part one in the Ministry? Where to they floo into? Just one of the thousands of questions that need answers, Mrs. Rowling.

There is a gilded head of an elephant behind Harry’s head before Harry examines closely a cabinet that seems to follow a very tight skull aesthetic for maximum creep.

On the top shelf, there seems to be a lamp? A magical one?

More skulls. The hand of glory, that is mentioned in the books. And then a vase full of eye balls. This place is a health hazard. I know the wizarding world lacks mental health professionals, but you’re telling me they don’t have health inspectors?

Harry looks like he has been covered in spiderwebs. When was the last time that Floo was used?

Who are these random people just immediately accosting a twelve year old boy?

They pass a book seller. Knowledge is the root of all power.

The sign in front says from top to bottom: Quality. Value. Ease. Style. Then I think, Variety.

Hermione is internally shrugging because of course her ride or die new friend is covered in ash and has broken glasses. Of course, he is.

The girl behind them as they walk away looks back at them like, “Oh, Harry Potter.”

The fashion and lighting in this movie went from drab and seventeen hundreds to really flamboyant and really stylish with bright colors. I love that the dashes of color really followed them into the other films. Even Prisoner of Azkaban with its more muted color scheme is still vibrant.

The front page that reads: Gilderoy Lockhart gives Wizarding Wolrd Hero Hygiene Tips. Ash free for the cameras, always.

They are literally crammed into the bottom floor of this shop, and Draco Malfoy has an excellent view from above?

Ginny’s got some balls. Love her. All the boys are silent, and she just ain’t taking no shit.

Like Lucius, it is not okay to fondle people’s foreheads, you creepy mother f-er.

Hermione is a bad bitch. Like she knows how dangerous magic can be know, and yet, she doesn’t back down from this grown wizard.

They are all dirty. What happened to scourgify? Or were they scouring grate after grate trying to find Harry, and just didn’t have time after the relief of finding him? Literally, no one else is dirty.

Ginny’s trunk has a Hogwart’s emblem. And we all know the Weasley’s use hand me down items. Whose trunk does she have?

Like Ronald, this is not logical. Dang! I know y’all aint in Ravenclaw, but you are twelve years old. This is basic.

“Your hands all sweaty.” This is no time to be a snob, Harry.

So, did the car fail because they hit Hogwart’s wards? That would seem logical for its sudden failure.

It could also be why the Womping Willow attacked the car so viscously. It may have sensed that this car doesn’t belong to the grounds, and thus, could potentially be a threat. So, it tried to dislodge and pulverize the threat.

Pete, you rat bastard.

This car knows its way around Hogwarts? Or did some of the sentient magic that is in Hogwarts take over the car, and that is why it saved Harry and Ron when they were in the forest with the acromantulas.

To make things more environmentally friendly. The Daily Prophet should have a self updating paper, that changes with each news day. People can still buy the others, if they want to keep them for posterity, but I mean, come on, save the planet.

I feel like this is just a flashback for Snape. James getting away with everything and now Harry.

And Ron, is just so used to getting caught out by Mrs. Weasley, that he just instantly thinks that he is going home.

The look on Snape’s face is so sad here. Will no one ever take this man’s side?

I like this overhead view of the greenhouses. I like the idea too, that there are several levels of greenhouses. The ones that we see in this movie are close to the castle and are set for first and second years, but then the Greenhouses that we see in Half Blood Prince are set away a bit from the castle for the upper years. And some are just for Professor Sprout.

There are little dragon statues on top of the greenhouses. That’s a bit ironic.

Do you think that those large pot like things hanging from the ceiling are

Like, how common is getting petrified, that this would be in second year school book. Also, why were they being grown in the first place if there uses were so rare.

Headcanon that Neville truly developed an interest in Herbology when he fainted that year. He went back to see what work he missed, and Professor Sprout was just straight battling some giant carnivorous plant, and just kicking the fertilizer out of it, and Neville helps her. Then she shows him something else, and something else, and talks about all the things that plants can do, and what they are capable of achieving. “But that’s normally a lesson I reserve for the older years.” But Neville doesn’t want to wait, he wants to do it now. He goes back to the common room with several borrowed books from Professor Sprout, and he is never the same again.

We are legit just going to leave a student lying on the ground. Are we? The wizarding world is really survival of the fittest.

There is a studious Ravenclaw behind them there, reading away.

Neville still has flashbacks to be honest.

When the wizarding world doesn’t have cell phones to yell at or embarrass your children with, you hit them with a howler. Respect.

This DADA room is surrounded with pictures of Lockhart. All the frames along the side of the room are pictures of Lockhart. Bless this man.

This painting of Lockhart is painting a picture of Lockhart.

He bought those Cornish Pixies on the Wizarding Web.

Is that a skeleton of a hippogriff handing above them there?

Even the pixies have had it with Lockhart’s shit books.

The painting Lockhart runs out of the way as well.

Hermione is a baddie.

Hogwarts is so beautiful.

Flint, Wood is tired of your shit.

Hermione and Ron smell trouble, and are like, “I’m going to get me some of that.” Because Gryffindors.

Clap back Hermione.

I love that in the book everyone reacts to what Draco calls Hermione. I wish they would have included that a bit more in the movie.

Ron must have learned that from somewhere, but instead of someone helping him, they just laugh.

This interaction here with Hagrid and Hermione always melts my heart. I like to think that Hagrid is one of the reasons that Hermione worked so hard later in life for the protection and promotion of creature rights. Hagrid being a half giant.

Hagrid is number one. Let’s be real.

Where can I get this level of staged photograph when I go to the Wizarding World in May?

Lockhart is like, “Dang, the fame is already getting to this one. What a shame.”

Harry hears someone threatening to murder people, and of course, he runs right to them.

If Tom Riddle had a giant, most likely extremely hard to kill snake, why didn’t he just try to ride it on out of Hogwarts, take over Diagon and flatten everything? Why didn’t he come back for it during the first wizarding world?

Ron is not down with spiders, and neither am I.

Look, this may be a controversial opinion, but I love Mrs. Norris, and I think that her and Filch are cute and are not to be messed with.

Let’s be real, Filch has been hearing for a solid year from Snape about how Harry Potter is such a little shit. That rage has got to come from somewhere.

Ron, Hermione, and Harry thinking that they were just about to sneak off. Dumbledore is like, “Bitch, please.”

Hermione, Harry, and Ron: “Is Snape taking up for us….actu….oh, wait, of course not.”

I feel so bad for Filch here. That cat is probably the only thing in the whole world that he actually loves.

McGonagall has a large number of zoo like cages in her classroom as well. Her classroom is also very symmetrical, from the two blackboards, to the candles in the front of the room.

Draco and Goyle are reluctantly impressed.

That is the beautiful thing about libraries. There is an unlimited amount of information available at any point in time.

I’m glad that there is at least one adult in the common space for the students. Is that supposed to be Madam Pince? Or a helpful teaching assistant? We all know that the teachers at Hogwarts have an intense work load.

Why is there a spider depicted on the woman’s head in this book?

I just imagine that every time that Harry is in the air that Ron and Hermione experience quite a lot of anxiety.

I can just hear Lucius in the stands saying, “We do not show off for such people.” When the snitch is right beside Draco’s head.

I feel that Lucius grew into being a good father when the threat of his family became a reality. I think before he judged Draco by too harsh means because things were always rather simple in his mind. He thought he was the best, and Draco should be too. But he was humbled, and became a better father because of it.

Dobby strictly uses the word, “Enslavement” here. That word makes what Hermione does with Spew seem less radical.

The table is decorated with the phases of the moon.

Snape rises from the crowd like a ghost.

How on Earth did Lockhart get Snape to agree to do this? He had to have accosted him in the staffroom or during a meeting when Snape couldn’t get away.

“Severus, I really think it would be a great idea. We could really give the kids something exciting, riveting, and imaginative.”  It is only when McGonagall tells him that he could probably get Lockhart on his perfectly pictured arse a few times that Snape considers it, and eventually concedes.

The most iconic Drarry line ever. “Scared, Potter?” “You wish.”

Can conjured things kill people? Or are they just charms? Is the pain temporary, or a real solid thing that can seriously damage?

Is this study hall?

Harry Potter has the crappiest luck ever.

Some of the headmasters and headmistresses seem to be still. I like the idea that all of the professors that get promoted to that level get to be immortalized whether they would like to put apart of them inside of a portrait or not.

I really like the idea of Dumbledore as a scholar and an academic, so I really like that they show all of his scrolls and books.

I feel like Fawkes dying and then being rebirthed among the flames is a really poignant thing for Harry to experience at this stage in his life. This image of the phoenix dying, but still having life probably stuck with Harry and it might have been something that he thought about when he was preparing to walk into the forest in book seven.

Hagrid has got Harry’s back, and I love it. He is a really good friend.

This image of the Black Lake frozen over, and the students being pulled across it’s icy surface is stunning.

Hermione was training to join MI6 before she got her Hogwarts letter, and no one can tell me differently.

Are flying treats that common that Crabbe and Goyle are just like, “Dead on.” It must have been a cute thing that there house elves did for them when they were children, levitating treats or toys in the air for them to grab. Or their parents showing them magic and giving them treats at the same time. Otherwise, how would they have ever thought, “You know what? Excellent and safe idea to eat these random treats.”

Harry literally doesn’t know here which one is Crabbe and which one is Goyle.

The Slytherin common room looks way more lush then the Gryffindor common room. I feel like you can see really clearly into the Black Lake there, and since it is frozen over, the light that you see is light blue instead of green. I mean, look at how big there common room is. It looks like they have a designated study area and everything.

Draco, don’t be the stereotype of rich boys who steal. Just don’t.

Myrtle is not to be fucked with, bro.

A young Tom Riddle for sure got this one year for Christmas at Wool’s orphanage before the war started, and things got so tight that they couldn’t even afford three meals a day. Then, like everything in his past, he transferred these basic Muggles things to something more extraordinary, like him.

Tom Riddle in this movie is a hottie. Like, y’all can’t even fight me because there is no denying his killer beauty….get it?

Okay, so are we thinking that during this flashback that Tom’s soul piece is not only aware that Harry is watching a scene from his life, but is also, acting out the part of himself? He is the director and the lead, so to say.

I like this sequence because it shows more insight into who Tom Riddle is, and where the fear of death started to come from. I wish that Rowling would have made this connection more thoroughly for the viewers of the movies. A single mention of there being too many bombs, or a lot of fighting by Tom here when he is talking with Dumbledore would have provided some more insight into this character.

Ginny knows how to do some damage. I think it would have been easier for them to figure out. Girls can get up boy’s dorms, but boys cannot get up to girl’s dorms. It would have had to have been a Gyrffindor. The common room couldn’t have been completely empty. Hermioen could have fact checked this, and figured out who had wrecked their dorm.

Look at those game plans back there. I just envision, Oliver Wood drawing frantically on the blackboard wild circles that simulate flying motions, but he goes too quickly for everyone else to understand what he’s saying, and thus, the only one who knows the plan is Wood, himself.

Did they show Colin’s friends his frozen body? Or Penelope and Justin’s? Not one person in this school thinks of the potentially traumatizing circumstances that they are putting these kids through.

It is popular fanon that McGonagall and Riddle went to school together. From this perspective, it would be doubly as traumatizing for her to hear that the school could be closing again.

Ron is me. I ain’t messing with no mother flipping spiders.

Ron is no help in this scenario. Absolutley none.

Harry replacing Hermoine’s flowers, and thus subtly telling the viewers how much time has elapsed.

Harry is wickedly smart. He is also very logical which I think attributes a lot to that sarcastic personality that he has.

McGonagall has some Slytherin in her for sure. She went from worried to blasting Lockhart in 2.5.

Lockhart packed up really quickly. It was almost like he….. had….experience…leaving…quickly.

I wonder if Lockhart’s victims ever got any retribution after he wound up in St. Mungos. It’s almost certain that his sales went up when he got admitted to the hospital just because of the public’s sheer curiosity and gossip mongering.

Salazar Slytherin was one slick mother f-er. “I’m going to hide my chamber in the bathroom.”

I can just imagine Riddle not having a lot of time in between OWLS and what not, and taking the easy way out and opening the Chamber whenever he could just to chuck down dead rabbits and chickens. Forays into the Forbidden Forest were many for Tom’s minions back then.

Honestly, Lockhart, Harry probably wouldn’t mind if you took a few of his less than pleasurable memories.

Tom Riddle also has that innate need to be polite even though he’s about to stab someone just like Harry does. Or is this a British thing?

I love how the villains in these movies say, “Potter.”

That does not look like the hole that they came down? It looks like Fawkes took them up another exit.

Why is Dumbledore trusting Hagrid’s release papers from the wizarding world’s worst prisons to a twelve year old? To a twelve year old Ron Weasley at that.

It looks like Dumbledore has a crystal ball by his desk. Trying his hand at divination? Or is that how he keeps track of all the students? I need to know what headmaster powers enable him to do all of these things.

Jason Isaacs is super fine. I can even deal with the wig. In fact, the wig makes it better.

It looks like Dumbledore’s office is located outside of the courtyard which makes the scene in Order of the Phoenix when Fred and George are comforting that boy all the more poignant.

[lonelypond]

Jingle Bell Jazz, Ch. 15

Love Live, NicoMaki, 3.5K, 15/?

Summary: A small army invades the Nishikino mansion and an unexpected gauntlet is thrown down.

Chapter 15

Maki had said Nico was planning to conquer Europe. As Mrs. Nishikino opened the front door of her home, she wondered if this was a preview of the diminutive singer’s army. Nico, tiny, a tall blonde behind her, arm in arm with a smiling dark haired woman, and then two others, one with fawn hair and an exquisite coat, probably couture, light with a tiny pattern of green picked out along its curves, as if Spring were sweeping in. Behind them all, was a solid, dark haired woman, with features classic enough to be seen in an Imperial samurai portrait and golden eyes that were busy sweeping everything in view to assess the situation.

“Good morning, Mrs. Nishikino. Is Maki up yet?” Nico chirped brightly.

“Yes, she’s just getting dressed. She’ll be right down.”

“Where’s her room? Kotori will need to go up anyway.”

Mrs. Nishikino met Nico’s glance, debated an interrogation, but if Maki couldn’t manage to get dressed in time to greet her guests, she probably deserved a room invasion. So Mrs. Nishikino shrugged and pointed to the staircase, “Second floor, turn right to the family wing, third door.”

“Thank you.” Nico grunted over her shoulder, “Come on, Kotori.”

The fawn haired girl bowed as she swept by, followed by the warrior of the court who stopped and spoke in a smooth, cultured tone that matched her elegance, “Thank you, Mrs Nishikino, for welcoming us into your home. My name is Umi Sonoda. I am a classmate of your daughter's. I apologize for Nico not introducing us properly.”

“Welcome to our home, Miss Sonoda.”

Umi nodded and pointed to the other two women left in the entry, “This is Eli Ayase, who is also a member of Bibi along with Maki, and Nozomi Tojo.”

“Miss Ayase, Miss Tojo. If you want to head into the kitchen, there’s coffee and pastries. Or I can show you where the music room is.”

Nozomi bumped past Umi with a wink, pulling Eli along, “We’ll take you up on your coffee. It’s cold out here and who knows how long Nico and Kotori will be in Maki’s closet.”

Mrs. Nishikino figured she might as well ask, as her own daughter was the least communicative person on the premises, as far as she could tell. “Are they packing for something?”

The blonde spoke, amused. “Sorry. Nico should have explained, I suppose. Kotori’s our stylist. She’s deciding on outfits for the New Year’s Eve gig. Nico’s not sure what Maki has.”

So the invasion would be properly uniformed. Mrs. Nishikino shook her head and led the remnants of the battalion toward the kitchen.

###

“Maki?” Nico’s voice and then a quick rap on the door. Maki panicked, pulling her pajama shirt back on and missing a button or two. Nico, hair in a ponytail, walked in, sharp as ever, in an outfit close to the first one she’d been wearing when Maki met her, pink cardigan over gray oxford shirt, tucked into black capri pants. Kotori was behind her, in a floral dress with a skirt that floated like froth where it fell from the belt at her waist. Maki had managed to get into a skirt, but her misbuttoned black with white polka dot pajama shirt made the look ludicrous.

“Nico? What are you doing here.”

Nico spared a cursory glance around Maki’s bedroom, the bed unmade, shelves full of books fairly neat, Nico took a minute to take in the framed black and white photos on the wall opposite Maki’s bed...Maki was proud of them, she’d taken them in Chicago, New Orleans, London, Buenos Aries, Tokyo...getting a chance to capture the mood of each city on film was one of her favorite things about the trips her parents would take her on. She loved wandering parks and lesser known architecture with her camera.

“Nozomi would love these.” Nico pointed to one of Maki’s favorites, a shot of a tuba player taken on the St. Charles streetcar.

Maki shrugged, not planning to invite Nozomi into her bedroom, not that she’d planned to invite Nico.

Nico continued, “Kotori needs to see what you have in your closet. We need a tighter look for New Year’s Eve. If we can find things for you, me, and Eli, Kotori only needs to alter that’ll make everything easier.” Nico took a good look at Maki finally, “Pajamas might give the sleepover vibe, but Nico bets we can do better.”

Kotori...tittered, it was the only word for the silly, high pitched reaction, Maki thought. Then she realized Nico was waiting for a response. “You said an hour. I was almost ready.”

Nico decided to just guess the door closest to her was the closet. Nope, large bathroom, huge tub, fluffier bathrobe than she’d seen on Maki yet...Nico sighed, couldn’t anything just be simple and professional, should have rehearsed at Otonokizaka, but Nico didn’t feel like dealing with staff or random wandering students. And now she had a quick flash of Maki, bathrobe, bathtub...Nico shook herself. That sort of distraction would get all of them nowhere and Nico had very specific destinations in mind today.

“That’s not the closet.” Maki was in the doorway.

“Nico figured that out.” Nico grumbled, pushing past Maki.

“Nico, if you want to go rehearse, I can just go through what Maki has and bring pieces that might work downstairs.” Kotori’s voice drifted out of Maki’s closet, “Send Umi up to help me carry things.”

“Will do. I just have to get Maki into something that doesn’t scream tuck me into bed.” Once again, Nico stopped as words hung in the air. But Maki was just staring grumpily at her opened closet door and oblivious to any unintended nuance.

“Maki.” Nico snapped, grateful for the redhead’s naivete.

“What?”

“Put on a shirt and come downstairs.”

Maki crossed her arms, “I was doing that when…”

Nico was already halfway to the hallway. “I’ll send Umi up, Kotori.”

“Thanks, Nico.”

Maki took her blouse into the bathroom, locked the door, changed into it, and fled downstairs without saying anything to Kotori.

###

Maki walked into the music room, to be faced with Nico and Umi sorting through sheets of music scattered over HER piano, while Eli tried a few bars of something Maki couldn’t recognize. Nozomi, in the corner wingback chair Maki never used, had the morning paper open but her attention was on Eli.

“What are you doing?” The door slipped out of Maki’s hand and slammed.

Nico smiled. “Umi has a few ideas about how we can make ‘Sugar Rum Cherry’ work with you and Eli.”

Maki grabbed the sheets Nico was holding, “Step away from my piano. I can do this myself.” She frowned, “And isn’t Umi supposed to be upstairs helping Kotori?”

Nico chuckled, “Kotori won’t be done with your closet for at least another forty minutes.”

Umi nodded, amber eyes fond, “She’s very thorough.”

Nozomi snorted and crackled the paper, Eli played a chord that slid into a warning, Umi continued to sort through music.

“Nico picked up the album too so we can listen to it.” Nico slid the record out, putting it on the turntable. “Nico remembered you seem to figure things out by ear pretty well…”

“Stop.” Maki shouted, throwing her hands out, and repeated her initial question, staring at Nico, wild eyed, “What are you doing?’

Nico spoke slowly, “Nico stopped on the way here and picked up some sheet music and a few records so we can decide on a set list.”

“Okay. That’s fine. But what is Umi doing?” On my piano, Maki’s inner voice snarled.

Nico’s voice was bracingly practical, as if this were an obvious solution to thing nobody but Maki considered a problem. “Working on an arrangement of Ellington’s 'Sugar Rum Cherry'.”

Maki crossed her arms, lip in a sneer, “I can do that myself.”

Nico sounded like she was trying not to sound uneasy, “Maki, you have zero jazz experience and have to learn at more than a dozen songs in two and a half days if you don’t want to sight read.”

Umi went for apologetic. “I was just planning to do a quick skeleton that you can embellish as you get more familiar with the music.”

Nico put the album cover down, but didn’t lift the tone arm, instead returning to the conversation, her expression earnest. “After hearing you play yesterday, Nico wants everyone else to know how good you are. And Ellington’s a great choice for your skills. Nico picked up a book.” Nico pointed to the music stand where The Songs Of Duke Ellington now rested. “We’ll do some seasonal things, but we can mix it up. Nico was thinking maybe ‘In A Sentimental Mood’ and ‘I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good’.”

Maki sat at the piano and started flipping through the pages. “This doesn’t have the...sugar rum sherry?”

“Cherry.” Umi corrected, “No, that’s a recent release. Brilliant mix of jazz and the classical. I believe you’ll love it, Maki, if you give it a listen. And the piano and sax combo will retain some of the intended flavor.” Umi went back to the music with her pencil, “I’m going to suggest it to Honoka as well.”

Nico dropped the tone arm, “This is the track we’re talking about.”

Forcing back exasperation, Maki closed her eyes to listen.

###

After what seemed like hours but before Maki could really get into any kind of a flow, Kotori and Umi were back with an armful of clothing. Nico slashed the air with a ‘cut’ gesture and Eli put her sax down next to her on the padded bench, Nozomi stopped working on the crossword puzzle, and Maki let her fingers rest on the keys for a moment.

“The textures and fabric are AMAZING. And the designers....” Kotori sounded even more breathless than usual as she gushed at Nico, “but the styles aren’t a great fit for your silver dress and the frost blue one Eli picked out.”

“Nico was afraid of that…”

“You could switch to that dress you wore in the Life photoshoot.” Kotori winked at Maki, “That’s memorable.”

Maki ducked her head, turning pages in the Ellington, refusing to acknowledge anyone else in the room.

Nico pulled her cardigan around her, “That’s not a winter style, freezing is not a sexy look for Nico.”

“I might be able to make this dress work with some alterations, maybe add a silver feature...I can match the fabric pretty well.” Kotori held up a dress Maki had buried in the back of her closet as it seemed more nightgown than ballgown, black with a large white bow, two fabric ribbons flapping down the front.

“The drape on that over Maki’s…” Nico whistled instead of finishing that sentence, but she flipped the ends of the ribbons that fell two thirds down the dress, “this’ll be more distracting than not.”

“And no one will see it behind the piano.” Nozomi chewed on her eraser.

“Exactly.” Nico tapped her nose and flashed her index finger at Nozomi.

Kotori hummed. “I was thinking of replacing it with a silver band around the top.”

“Ooohh, nice touch." A cheerful note from Nico.

“What about my…” Kotori and Nico spun instantly and Maki had a coughing fit at the scrutiny, “Cold...I’ll be cold too.”

Nozomi started laughing, Nico slammed her forehead into her hand as she leaned against the piano, and Kotori tilted her head, “We could add a shawl.”

“Maki might prefer the touch of discretion of a good shawl provides, as well as the additional warmth.” Umi began collecting the discarded options.

“I’m not sure I’ll be comfortable…” Maki muttered.

“You had bare shoulders yesterday…” Nico had her eyes closed and her other hand stretched out across the piano, fingers tapping.

“There was more to that dress.”

“Do you want to wear that one?” Nico raised her head.

Maki shrugged, playing scales to soothe her nervousness.

“Let me work on this one, Maki. And if you don’t like it, we’ll find something else.” Kotori’s voice was gently persuasive.

Nico was watching Maki intently, and Maki had no idea what thoughts were roiling behind those eyes. “Nico?”

Nico stood, her shrug an echo of Maki, “You’d look good in a sheet. Sounding good is what matters.”

Did Nico picture her in a sheet? When they were in her bedroom, had Nico imagined Maki there...Maki could feel the flames on her cheek...focus on the book in front of her, what song was it, “Day Dream…Funny the way I feel now/Can't keep my feet on the ground/Ev'rything seems unreal now...” Unreal, exactly that, Maki thought as her fingers drifted through the gentle beginning.

“What’s that?” Nico was suddenly behind her, hand soft on Maki’s shoulder and once again, the air around Maki was full of sweet musk, but she kept playing this time, no stumble.

“That’s amazing, but a little sleepy for a New Year’s Eve party.” Nico reached out, flipping through pages, her sweater arm rubbing Maki’s ear as the pianist tried not to shiver, “This’d be better. You can start off with a solo and then...”

Nico started to sing, “"It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing (doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah) It don't mean a thing all you got to do is sing (doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah, doo-ah) It makes no difference If it's sweet or hot Just give that rhythm Everything you've got”

Now both of Nico’s hands were on Maki’s shoulders and Eli had swung in, “Take it, genius.” Nico whispered in Maki’s ear and Maki’s fingers started to fly over the keys at a speed to match her heart rate.

“YES!” Nico wrapped her arms around the pianist’s shoulders as Maki and Eli finished their improvised duet. “The audience’ll love it, Ellington would love it, Nico loves it…”

Eli gleamed, taking a handkerchief from Nozomi to wipe the sweat from her face, “You’re a really fast study, Maki. I’m impressed.” She hugged her sax, “We’re going to sound so hot, Nico.”

Kotori was clapping around the dresses in her arms. “The audience’ll be kicked sideways.”

Nico had let go of Maki, but sat down next to her. Maki could feel the singer’s warmth and resisted the urge to scoot either closer or away. Why were those both choices, Maki wondered as Nico answered Eli. “Yeah, we’re going to be legends.”

“Too bad the next thing that happens is you break up the band.” Nozomi had put her pencil and the puzzle aside to search for something in her purse, making her comment seem more offhand than Nico might have suspected. The sense of camaraderie was shattered before it even had a chance to root. Maki shifted down the bench, Nico bent over, shaking her head, feeling the sweat dripping down her face. Umi sighed.

Eli, with a solemn expression, put her sax down. “Jeez, Nozomi, can’t you even let Nico have a minute.”

“Decisions have consequences.” Nozomi intoned. Kotori and Umi exchanged a look, uncomfortable on the edge of the room.

Nico sat up, Maki could see how tightly clenched the singer’s jaw was as she rubbed her hands over her cheeks, “What Nico decides is actually none of your business, Nozomi.”

“If it affects Eli, it affects me, Nico-chi.”

“Nico is not having this conversation now.” Maki was surprised to feel Nico squeeze her hand quickly but then the singer was on her feet, black ponytail bobbing as she threw herself in front of Nozomi, “Don’t cause trouble for Nico just because you get off on some fantasy you have of how things should happ...”

Nozomi leaned back, eyebrow arched, “Since you mentioned fantasies, ask Maki about them...Kotori says before she met you she couldn’t call you anything but ‘the pinup girl'.”

Kotori squeaked. Maki shoved the bench back, on her feet, open mouthed, not sure of what to say.

“Just leave it alone, Maki.” Nico hissed, “Nozomi’s just looking for ways to rile us. It amuses her.”

"This isn't for my amusement." Nozomi snapped her purse shut, chin up as Nico confronted her. “Eli just stopped crying herself to sleep; I don’t want her to get attached to the idea of the being a band with you again.”

‘Nozomi…” Eli murmured, cheeks flushed.

There was silence. Nico’s shoulders kept flexing as her hands clenched and unclenched. Eli was pulling through her hair. Maki had no idea how to divert the conversation, and then Umi spoke, “Kotori and I should start on the alterations. We’ll see you tomorrow, Nico.”

Nozomi stood before Nico could respond to Umi, “I’ll be having coffee in the kitchen until you’re done playing with their hearts, Nico~chi. Eli, find me when you’re ready to leave.”

Alone, the three members of Bibi stared at each other. Then Nico glanced down at her watch.

“Damn. It’s later than I thought.” Nico pushed up the cuff of her cardigan, giving off a nervous air Maki couldn’t quite match with the picture of Nico she was building. “Nico knows we have to talk about this, but I really have to get to work. You two should keep rehearsing.”

A suddenly shy Eli also wasn’t part of the mental picture Maki had been building of her bandmates. “You really can’t just walk out now, Nico. I know Nozomi went too far, but she’s not wrong. We need to talk about things, deal with this.” Eli’s voice caught and Maki would have bet on tears, “Don’t be Coco.”

Nico's fingertips stroked Eli’s cheek briefly, and the blonde’s head drooped as Maki stared, her own hands getting sweaty. “Eli, I know this has been rough, but have some faith in Nico. It’s going to be fine.”

“How?” Definitely tears. Maki couldn’t move.

“Nico can’t explain right now...but we just have to get through this concert without letting things throw us and then I swear, it’ll be okay.”

Eli shook her head, “I don’t know if I…”

“You can Eli. You and me and Maki, we work together and nothing’s going to stop that.” Nico was bouncing, “But I really have to run. I’ll see you tonight, at home.”

Eli moved away, to the window, and Nico was in front of Maki, speaking softly, “Nico is sorry about that. Nozomi likes emotional shrapnel. She believes it breaks up problems so they can be fixed.” Nico’s hands flung off that idea, and then she had Maki’s in hers again, “You’re doing amazing. Nico could listen to you all night.”

Maki decided emotional neutrality was a good shield against the confusing clash of emotions that had invaded her music room so she waited for Nico’s next statement.

“But not tonight. Can Nico have a raincheck?” The mildness, the hope in Nico’s ask floored Maki.

“Okay.” Christmas lights twinkled with cheer in Nico’s eyes and Maki listened to herself agree before she’d fully heard the question. Nico grinned, “All right, ladies. Don’t have too much fun without Nico.” And she was out the door.

Eli groaned and collapsed in the wingback chair, rubbing her eyes.

“Sorry, I don’t have a handkerchief.” Maki crossed to the other side of the window, wondering if Nico was going to grab a bus or call a cab. Surely her mother would offer Nico the car. Maybe she should go check...Eli took a rackety breath and Maki realized she couldn’t leave the saxophonist alone. “Do you need me to go get Nozomi?”

Eli shook her head, surprising Maki again by seeming more exasperated than upset. “No. I need a few minutes of not being caught between those two. They don’t war often but when they do…” Eli had her legs pulled up in front of her.

“Nozomi seems to be acting out of concern, though.” Maki wondered what spending so much time together did to people. And that apartment was so small for the three of them. She shuddered.

Eli’s eyes were shrewd. She’d caught Maki’s reaction, “It’s a lot sometimes, but I wouldn’t trade either of them...Nico’s…” Eli rubbed the back of her neck, “Nico’s never dull...and Nozomi’s...well, Nozomi’s…everything.”

Certain she had no response to that, Maki returned to the piano, sat and searched through pages again. “Do you know Satin Doll?”

Eli leaned forward, intrigued, “Oh, Nico will like that one.”

A/N: Howdy.

[wahbegan]

Okay Non-Spoiler Review

So I am gonna put this under a cut because it might get a bit long but yeah i’ll keep it spoiler-free and if you’ve been following my liveblogging of it i am gonna just re-iterate bits of old text posts during this so ye

So The Haunting of Hill House was fucking amazing. Let’s get this out of the way first though: If you come in looking for an adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s novel or the ‘63 film, you’re going to be disappointed. Or the ‘99 film, but if you want an adaptation of that, you’re a monster and may God have mercy on your soul.

Characters share names, very famous scenes are referenced, the opening line of the book is quoted almost verbatim and re-visited at the end with a twist like the film (although not the same twist but i shan’t spoil), and it involves psychic characters in a haunted house. That’s about it, though.

This story focuses on the Crain family, who were the spooky background story family in the OG, and completely changes their mythos as well. So the characters are all related, they live there as kids and don’t actually go back as adults until just about the end, and it’s dealing with their grief and trauma and dysfunction that drives them, not any kind of experiment in the supernatural.

No, what this show has much more in common with is Oculus. I know I’ve said this repeatedly but I can’t stress it enough. The Haunting of Hill House literally has more in common with Oculus than it does with the novel it takes inspiration from. Similar cinematography, similar style ghosts, same flipping between past and present, similar eldritch abomination disguised as inanimate thing villain fucking with perceptions of time and reality...The Haunting of Hill House really is more a re-imagining of Oculus than a re-imagining of The Haunting of Hill House.

Now that’s all just to address people’s expectations, though. Once again, if I had expected a re-imagining of Oculus, I wouldn’t have said no, because Oculus was the big dog’s biscuit. For those not in the know, it’s about a brother and sister whose parents went crazy when they were kids, their dad killed their mom, and then the little brother had to kill the dad in self-defense. He’s spent years in a mental hospital and chalked everything up to mental illness and an evil father, while his older sister is convinced the mirror they had just purchased was evil and drove their parents to do what they did. Zombie ghosts with glowing white eyes and mind-fuckery ensue. If you’re reading this after starting or even finishing THOHH, you may perhaps notice that sounds awfully familiar. 

Oculus was actually an expansion of/improvement on a short film Mike Flanagan made, which you can find on youtube. I’d argue THOHH is an analogous expansion of/improvement on Oculus.

The thing with Oculus is it had problems. Because of the power of the mirror, basically from the moment they enter their old house until the end of the movie, the thing’s illusions are so strong that there is no way of knowing what’s really happening. Audiences complained that it’s hard to get invested in a plot when you’re not sure how much of the plot is actually happening or when it’s happening, in the past or present. Flashbacks and the present narrative blended together in very artistic and jarring ways, but some people found it too jarring, hard to keep track of, nonsensical. Additionally, things were a bit rushed, and there wasn’t enough room for Flanagan to really let some of his more complex concepts for the plot and the scares breathe. 

Thankfully, in THOHH, Flanagan seems to have really actually taken those critiques to heart. There are characters largely unaffected by what’s going on, and the sequence of events never truly gets cluster-fucked. It’s a much more coherent narrative. In Oculus, a big complaint was things were too muddled to tell if the rug was actually being pulled out from under you and where the rug was to begin with and whether there was a rug in the first place. There is no fucking question in Hill House. 

Additionally, the 10-episode set-up means that he can go absolutely wild with everything he wants to do, and it fucking shows.

In Oculus, one of the most disturbing scares was a brief flicker on the TV. A split instant that showed the adult sister, mouth open and dripping blood, dead and vacant stare in her eyes, for less than a second. On the TV the younger brother was watching as a child in the past. It was truly unnerving. Something similar happens when they pass the cameras at one point that they’re using to record the mirror, just showing creepy pictures of her face. But those are the only two really good easter egg background scares that could fit in that movie. There was much more right up in your face.

Not so in Hill House. Hidden ghosts and unsettling details are EVERYWHERE. Not even just the now-famous easter egg ghosts. There are also obvious ghosts in the background that seem like jump scares waiting to happen....that don’t. There are small details that change, people walking past in the background of a hallway silently, statues that turn their heads to face a character without anyone noticing it in-show. The tension is masterfully built. There are scenes that you don’t even fucking realize are scary until you see something later that completely re-contextualizes it.

It also expands on the driving concept behind Oculus, family trauma and the repeating cycle of mental illness, which wasn’t as well explored there as Flanagan clearly wanted to. But here? In all its 10 episode glory, with each child’s trauma and resulting psychological issues getting full spotlight for an hour? 

It hits you hard. Flanagan’s concepts are fully realized. You get to intimately see what their childhoods have done to these characters, how history repeats itself (sometimes literally), how the ghosts-if you’ll pardon the pun-of the past drag the living of the present down. Not only that, he expands the themes he worked with in Oculus to include some downright Pet Sematary-style shit about loss, grief, and what meaning can be gleaned from death. It’s oppressively heavy, and the scares and the sadness interweave in beautiful ways. The end of one episode, which sees a maimed, anguished, silently screaming ghost standing by her own corpse, completely invisible to the assembled mourners, is both an absolutely haunting visual and an existential punch to the gut. A lot of the show is like that.

Of course this wouldn’t work if you weren’t invested in the people, but they managed to hit another home run on the characterization front. Every single character of any importance in this show is sympathetic to some degree, and even if you don’t like them, you understand why they are the way that they are. The actors are mainly relative unknowns, but i’ll be god damned if they don’t breathe life into these people. There’s also Carla Gugino who....you know. Is Carla fucking Gugino.

You can tell love and care has been put into this show. Small details almost always become important, I’m sure if I went back through with a fine-toothed comb for a second viewing, I would find a downright Edgar Wright level of foreshadowing in the earlier episodes. 

There were some questions I think I still have, maybe they’d be cleared up with a second viewing, and I do want to watch this show again. I had some issues with the ending which I won’t get into here, and the show absolutely isn’t above a jump scare or six. They’re never cheap though, either coming at the end of a truly tense scene or so insanely unconventional and out-of-left-field (Anyone who’s seen Episode 8 knows what i’m talking about) that it’s noteworthy in and of itself.

Overall, it plays out like a very intense and emotionally effective family drama about trauma, grief, sickness, death, dysfunction, and love with heavy horror elements. You’ll go half an episode without any horror sometimes, making it all the more jarring when it does rear its zombified, dead-white eyed head again. This isn’t to say that the tone isn’t cohesive, like i said before, it absolutely makes it mesh together. 

And yes, I did say love up there. I want to pause for a moment to tell you that all hope is not lost in this show. There are genuine moments of humor, heartwarming, and love. Yes, most of them are at best bittersweet and at worst setting you up for a cold, black sucker-punch to the heart, but it’s not all darkness and fear and death. This show has heart.

I honestly can’t say enough good things about The Haunting of Hill House. The family dynamic was realistic as hell, the characters were complex, the scares and tension were masterfully executed, the themes were intelligent, the cinematography beautiful, I cannot recommend this show enough to anyone with even a passing interest in horror.

[konrukseries1156me]

The 20 Best Character Introductions In Movie History..

Heath Ledger as the Joker in the initial scene of The Dark Knight..  Learn more here หนังซีรีย์มาใหม่

Much the same as, all things considered, early introductions in a film can represent the moment of truth a character for the crowd. We start causing decisions on characters from the subsequent they to show up on the screen, so all through film history, producers have tried to discover new and intriguing approaches to acquaint their characters with a clueless crowd. Would you be able to envision meeting Indiana Jones in some other setting than him swiping that antiquated symbol from the platform? Or on the other hand Quint being presented without that ear-parting scratch along the writing slate? The initial introduction of the character advises our sentiments about them immediately. Presentations are everything. Learn more here หนังซีรีย์มาใหม่

These are irrefutably the most elite artistic meet and welcomes you'll actually observe. Don't hesitate to appreciate this rundown with our it's friend piece, The 40 Greatest Opening Scenes of All Time. Right away, here are the 20 Best Movie Character Introductions Of All Time.

20

Trunchbull (Matilda)

The character that cooled each kid's heart when Matilda was first delivered is presented in tremendously scaring style. Miss Trunchbull (Pam Ferris) is first uncovered displaying a riding crop and flexing her elastic gloves. While never demonstrating her face, the camera follows her as she walks through the bustling play area, woofing orders and reprimanding kids ("You're excessively little. Grow up quicker!")

Chief Danny DeVito utilizes some exemplary realistic stunts to present one of Roald Dahl's most alarming reprobates. Matilda, and the crowd, learn dispersed clues about Trunchbull's evilness as the film starts. The riddle encompassing this unfeeling drill sergeant fabricates and works until Matilda's first day at school. Upon her presentation, DeVito retains indicating Trunchbull's face until the last conceivable second, letting the characters meekly murmur dreadful legends about the head as she meanders through the horde of youngsters. We see her boots, the rear of her head, and that agonizing looking riding crop. She gets more frightening in our psyches the more we abandon seeing her, Jaws-style. These realistic methods set up for one of the most terrifying huge bads in kids' film history.

19

Jesus (The Big Lebowski)

One of the numerous delights of the Coen Brother's filmography is their capacity to change from dangerous genuine to shamelessly senseless on the turn of a dime. Think about the distinction between Anton Chigurh's presentation in No Country for Old Men (another fantastic true to life presentation that lamentably missed the cut on this rundown) and afterward balance it with the presentation of Jesus (John Turturro) in The Big Lebowski. It's difficult to accept these two scenes were created by similar producers.

As the Gipsy Kings pluck a Spanish front of "Lodging California", we watch Jesus fix the strings on his bowling shoes and easily pull his glossy silk, knee length socks up his leg. With a practically strict formality, he gets the ball. He wears a device that ensures the pointer finger on his bowling hand. He erotically licks the ball. The name on his purple jumpsuit peruses "Jesus". Jesus sends the ball down the path for a simple strike. The Dude, Donny, and Walter look on in scorn. The whole scene is proudly silly and a flat out pleasure. Learn more here หนังซีรีย์มาใหม่

18

Tyler Durden (Fight Club)

We meet Tyler Durden a few times before we meet Tyler Durden in Fight Club. We're first mindful of the character as he holds a weapon in the mouth of The Narrator (Edward Norton). We at that point see brief, subconscious appearances of the strange man as The Narrator slips all through light sleeper states. However, we don't generally meet Tyler Durden until he imparts a passageway to The Narrator on a plane.

Tyler Durden illuminates The Narrator with paranoid notions and stories with respect to flight, cleanser making, everything. He's easily cool. The Narrator is in evident stunningness, having met the man that is everything The Narrator needs to be. He attempts to intrigue Tyler with his smart little perception, depicting Durden as the most fascinating "single-serving companion" he's ever met on a plane. Tyler's reaction? "How's being astute turning out for you? Great? Keep it up at that point." Then Tyler makes for the rear of the plane, however not prior to sharing a perception, that is difficult to not consider as you leave a walkway of seats. "As I leave, the undying inquiry. Do I give you the ass or the groin?" Tyler Durden enters the scene and the world pays heed.

17

Elle Driver (Kill Bill)

Subsequent to being left for dead by Bill (David Carradine), The Bride (Uma Thurman) lies senseless in an emergency clinic bed. Machines signal and hum as she lies, totally still, eyelids shut. From down the medical clinic lobby comes a whistled tune. The whistle is energetic and light, differentiating the dim, unpropitious medical clinic corridors. The tune is being whistled by Elle Driver, codename: California Mountain Snake. She's drawing nearer and closer to The Bride with a needle loaded with toxic substance to complete the undertaking that Bill began.

The mounting pressure in this scene is practically choking. In a split screen, we see the eyepatch-wearing Elle come consistently nearer to The Bride's emergency clinic room while our legend dozes. We continue trusting her eyelids will ripple and she'll awaken as expected, yet she just lies there, totally powerless against the professional killer advancing down that clinic foyer. Fortunately, a call from Bill occupies Elle from her main goal, and The Bride lives to render her retribution. Learn more here หนังซีรีย์มาใหม่

16

Harry Lime (The Third Man)

Cautioning, spoilers for a seventy year old film are to follow.

Orson Welles sure realizes how to make a passage. As we'll get to later, he acquaints us with one of the most renowned film characters ever, in one of the most artistically flawless arrangements ever, in the 1941 work of art, Citizen Kane. In 1949, eight years after his showstopper, Welles showed up in Carol Reed's noir spine chiller, The Third Man. In it, he makes another astonishing, noteworthy prologue to the crowd. The second is especially amazing on the grounds that, until the second he shows up on the screen, we had thought he was dead.

The Third Man discovers mash author Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) showing up in post-war Vienna in line with his companion, Harry Lime. Upon his appearance however, he discovers that Harry Lime has as of late passed on in a baffling car crash. Riddles lead to more puzzles, and soon Martins doesn't have a clue who to trust. At that point, partially through the film, the greatest stun of everything is uncovered. Harry Lime is perfectly healthy, and has data for Martins.

15

Hit Girl And Big Daddy (Kick-Ass)

The first occasion when we meet Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) he's planning to shoot his little girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) in the chest. In an evaporated waterway pipe, they're somewhere down amidst another superhuman exercise when we first drop in on them. Hit Girl discloses to her dad she's terrified, which is a justifiable response when your dad is preparing a six millimeter handgun on you. The brightness of the scene is the ordinariness with which the two characters talk about the preparation. Hit Girl and Big Daddy arrange being shot in the chest similar way most kids would arrange eating their vegetables.

At the point when the second at last comes, the effect of the slug thumps Hit Girl off her feet. The impenetrable vest under Hit Girl's pink coat halted the shot. Huge Daddy causes her up, and consents to take her out for bowling and frozen yogurt on the off chance that she will take two additional projectiles with no recoiling or whimpering. The part of Hit Girl was a breakout one for Chloe Grace Moretz, and Nicolas Cage's exhibition as Big Daddy was a re-visitation of structure for the entertainer. Their crazy science is in plain view from their absolute first scene together.

14

Daniel Craig's James Bond (Casino Royale)

Less of a presentation, and all the more a re-presentation, the launch of Casino Royale is a smaller than expected masterclass in true to life narrating. The launch of this film needed to achieve many things in a short measure of time. For one, it needed to guarantee crowds that Daniel Craig would make an acceptable 007. There had been debate encompassing his projecting, with fans guaranteeing the British entertainer didn't fit the job. For another, the film needed to show it's especially unexpected tone in comparison to the first Pierce Brosnan Bonds. This Bond was grittier, hazier, and more reasonable. Lastly, the opening must be an energizing and thrilling reemergence into the famous universe of James Bond. Gambling club Royale's opening figures out how to do the entirety of that, to say the least.

The film begins clearly, with MI6 segment boss, Dryden, discovering Bond in his office late around evening time. The two talk about Bond's not-exactly 00 status, and we discover that it takes two affirmed slaughters before a specialist can be viewed as a 00. Intercut with the exchange is an instinctive battle scene among Bond and Dryden's surveillance contact. The whole arrangement plays like some sort of arthouse activity scene, and it fills in as an exciting prologue to one of the best Bond entertainers ever. Learn more here หนังซีรีย์มาใหม่

13

Jack Sparrow (Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl)

Could there be a more ideal prologue to the personality of Jack Sparrow than him cruising into port on a sinking transport? After a chilling opening scene highlighting a youthful Elizabeth Swan experiencing privateers on the cloudy sea, we streak forward twenty years into the future to discover Jack Sparrow peering toward the coastline from his crow's home. He should swing down to rescue a couple of bucketfuls of water, as his boat is sinking rapidly. The tanned and beaded privateer pauses for a minute to salute his fallen brethren, hanging in notice outside the city's dividers, before his boat coasts into port. Sparrow steps legitimately off his completely lowered boat onto the harbor and walks around the city, consummately exhibiting the Bugs Bunny-esque material science that will come  Learn more here หนังซีรีย์มาใหม่

[thorne93]

First Impressions (Part 1)

Prompt: Imagine your friend, Anthony Mackie, brings you with him to an event and introduces you to his friend, Sebastian, who’s blown away by you. He immediately starts flirting and acting silly because you make him nervous and he just wants to impress you

Warnings: flirting (adult style), language (always, with me, come on), and drama (later on in the fic)

Notes: If anyone has kids or wives out of the celebrities mentioned, in this universe, they sort of don’t exist….Just for the sake of keeping it concise. Beta’d by @like-a-bag-of-potatoes (because shes perfectly amazing) and I could NOT, not, just not have done any of this at all without my amazing girl, @amarvelouswritings

Forever Tags: @amarvelouswritings @cocosierra94 @essie1876 @magpiegirl80 @letsgetfuckingsuperwholocked @harleyquinnandscarletwitch @iamwarrenspeace @marvel-imagines-yes-please @superwholocked527 @myparadise19982sand @missinstantgratification @thejulesworld @rda1989 @marvelloushamilton @munlis

Sebastian Stan Tag: @nedthegay @lostinspace33 @alwayshave-faith @elleatrixlestrange @buenostardissherlock

Chris Evans Tag (Normally wouldn’t, but he’s featured a lot): @nedthegay @camigt1999  @lostinspace33 @alwayshave-faith @elleatrixlestrange

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Thank you for inviting me,” you said to Anthony as you rode with him in the back of a luxury sedan.

“My pleasure. I know how big of a Marvel fan you are, it’s time I invited you to one of these things.”

“Yes, this is long overdue.”

“You look great tonight. New dress?” he asked.

“Yes, my stylist insisted. I can’t blame her. If I could wear dresses all the time, I would,” you said, laughing lightly.

“Well it looks amazing,” he said, gesturing to your long sleeve, plunging cleavage, cherry red, satin dress.

“Thank you. I hope to turn a few heads,” you noted.

He murmured, “I think necks will snap.”

“You’re too kind,” you said sweetly.

You and Anthony were at the private screening of Thor: Ragnarok. You had met Tom and Chris, and a handful of other Marvel stars, but you weren’t here for networking. You were here because you were the biggest Marvel nerd on the planet and you luckily had access to early screenings of the movies. You rolled up to the red carpet, Anthony got out then helped you out of the car, where you gracefully stepped out. You had mastered walking, running, strutting in heels at all sorts of environments. Plus, being the highest paid actress in Hollywood, you definitely knew how to work a red carpet.

Flashes were going off, people were calling your name and Anthony’s, people were asking if you were dating. You did your best to answer questions, sign autographs, pose for cameras, pause for small interviews, and you did it all like the best of the best. This never overwhelmed you and you had nerves of steel. You had to in this industry. Any weakness was sniffed out and exploited faster than you could blink.

Halfway down the carpet, you spotted a familiar face. Well, familiar because you’d seen it on screen. Anthony raised his hand and waved at Sebastian.

“Oh! Hey!” he said, looking up and looking at you two. The moment his eyes landed on you his face drained of color. “If looks could kill,” he thought as he stared at your impressive form. You and Anthony walked up to meet him.

“Hey, dude, this is my friend, Y/F/N,” Anthony introduced. “Y/N, this is Sebastian Stan,” he said.

“Pleasure to meet you,” you said in a sultry voice as you shook his hand.

“I, uh, you too,” he said stumbling over his words.

“Oh, this will be fun,“ you thought to yourself.

“You a big Marvel fan?” Sebastian asked, a giant grin on his face.

“As a matter of fact, I am.”

“That’s uh...Wow that’s cool. How big of a fan? Like a super huge fan or like you watch it here and there or…?” Sebastian wondered, clearly nervous about your presence.

“Dude, are you stroking out? Come on, let’s get going, we’re holding up the walk,” Anthony said, throwing his thumb over his shoulder.

“Right, uh, where are you sitting, Y/N?”

“Well, my ticket says next to Anthony, but maybe your lap is available,” you said easily, your eyebrow shooting up, daring him.

“Oh, uh, I uh…” He started laughing a lot, like...insane giggling. “Wow. Uh. That’s a good one.”

The tiniest of smirk graced your features before you smiled at him. Truth be told, you were insanely attracted to Sebastian and had always wanted to meet him, but the instant he became flustered, you knew you had to make him squirm, just a little.

“Come,” you offered, linking your arm through Anthony’s and Sebastian’s.

“Oh, uh, okay,” Seb said, laughing a high pitched laugh.

You led the two of them to your seats in the theater and once you were settled, Sebastian turned to you and cleared his throat. “So uh, you, uh...Your dress...it’s...It’s...nice.”

“You like it? Me too.” You leaned over and put your lips on his ear and quietly said, “I love how you can see almost everything in it.”

He leaned back, gave you half smile, then erupted into another fit of giggles. The gesture made you adore him, but it was amazing to fluster him. “Yeah that...Uh...That...Um. So. Why haven’t I ever met you before?” he asked, changing topics.

“Oh, I’m not sure,” you said, instantly changing back to professionalism. “Mack Attack and I met two or three years ago and I just don’t think between my projects and his it’s lined up for me to come to one of these.”

“Well I’m glad you’re here now,” he said, smiling. His grin gave you butterflies and made your heart race while you swam in his captivating blue eyes...but you wouldn’t let him know that. You wanted his hair in your fists. You wanted his mouth on your body. You wanted those perfect white teeth of his to bite places on you that would undoubtedly make your back arch.  “What’s your latest project?”

“Oh, well I’m currently directing a new film.”

“Oh, I had no idea you directed.”

“Yes, I have a few under my belt. I finally have a really good budget to do something with it. Plus, I wrote the screenplay.”

“What’s the movie about?”

“About a man who loses his wife, but he keeps seeing her.”

“Romantic.”

“Sad,” you corrected. “It’s sad. It will focus on the grief and loss.”

“Oh, well, clearly I don’t know anything about directing,” he said, laughing a bit at himself.

“It’s quite alright,” you assured in an easy, calm, confident voice. Right now, you two looked like complete opposites: he was a smiling, grinning, laughing mess, while you had the softest, barely there smile and were barely moving. He was looking at you for a lingered moment, then his eyes dropped down as he started to play with his tie. Your delicate hand reached over, careful to grab his tie and run your hand down it.

“What a lovely tie,” you commented in a low voice, your eyes flickering up to him from under your lashes.

“Thank you,” he noted in a lofty breath. You let it go and leaned back, eyeing him. He stroked his hands through his hair a few times and looked at the screen. “I think the movie’s about to start,” he noted before swallowing a few times, his mouth going dry.

“I think you’re right,” you agreed in a seductive voice.

The movie started and at the end of it you felt like you needed someone to revive you. You felt so complete and ready for the gods above to take you. The lights came up and everyone was readying themselves to go to the after party.

“Shall we?” Anthony offered as he stood and held out his hand.

“Yes, let’s!” You stood, taking the hand. “Are you coming, Sebastian?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes, I uh..Yes.” He stood up and started to walk backwards while looking at you and he tripped over the rug, not seeing where he was going, making him twist and try to catch himself on the chair. He was half successful but you were able to grab the sleeve of his suit and steady him.

“Woah, you okay there? Drinks are for the after party,” you said in a teasing tone.  

“Right, I’ll uh, try to remember that,” he said, a blush creeping onto his face as he straightened his jacket.

You all made your way to the party hall where you ran into the stars themselves for about half a second.

“Tom!” you greeted as you hugged him and he gave you that star-studded smile.

“Y/N, so good to see you.”

“The movie was phenomenal. Amazing acting, as always,” you boasted.

“Oh, you’re too kind,” he said sweetly.

“I just wanted to stop by and say hello,” you said and he nodded, thanked you and you all moved on to Chris Hemsworth, congratulating and complimenting him and saying hello to his girlfriend Ida. Eventually, another household Marvel named actor was in the vicinity.

“Chris! Hey, man!” Anthony greeted as Chris Evans and a woman walked up.

“Hey, what's up?” he said.

“Chris, I’d like you to meet my friend, Y/N.”

Chris extended the hand that wasn’t wrapped around the bombshell beside him.

“I think we met once, didn’t we?” Chris said, one of his eyes narrowing on you, trying to recall the memory.

“We did, San Diego Comic Con, two years ago. I was there for some work I’d done on Supernatural,” you noted.

“Ah, right, right! I don’t think you met my wife, this is Brittney.”

“Oh, how nice to meet you,” you said, noticing her killer black sparkling dress. “Yook look amazing.”

“You as well, I’ve seen some of your work and I love all of it,” she said with a friendly smile. You knew instantly you liked this woman. “By the way, my friends call me Bee.”

“Well thank you, Bee. I’ve seen you in a few films too, right?”

“Mhm. I just got my first big role,” she affirmed, nodding with a sweet smile.

“That’s right, you started directing a little bit ago, right?” Chris asked.

“Yes, I did.”

“Anything we should keep our eyes out for?”

“Y/N has a sad romance movie coming out,” Sebastian blurted out, nodding, his eyes wide with amazement.

You laughed lightly at his demeanor.

“How about I get everyone some drinks and we’ll sit down?” Anthony offered.

Everyone said a form of yes in response as you all sat down at an empty round table.

“So tell me, how did you two meet? Last time I met you, Chris you were single. So…” you urged, genuinely curious. You had a soft spot for love stories.

“Well...uh...” Chris started. “How about you tell it, honey?”

Bee laughed. “Okay, well, I used to be a makeup artist and I worked with Chris. We sort of fell in love through a mutual friend,” she informed eyeing Chris as if he was her entire world.  Meanwhile, Anthony sat down with the drinks.

“You two make a cute couple. How did he propose?”

“Oh, on a row boat on a lake. It was so breathtaking. There were flowers, and lanterns, and--” She couldn’t finish it so she just gave a soft sigh.

“That sounds lovely.”

“If you like romantic, I can do romantic,” Sebastian said. “Watch this,” he said, leaning forward and pulling out a lighter to light the candles at the table. “Ta-da!” He gestured to the candles then pulled a rose from the centerpiece and handed it to you. “For you, m’lady.”

“Well thank you,” you said, a small laugh escaping your lips. “Quite the lady charmer, aren’t you?”

“You have no idea,” Chris said under his breath before Bee elbowed him in the ribs.

“So, Y/N, anyone special in your life?” Bee asked.

“Me? No, not right now. I’ve been focused on this new project.”

“Must be lonely. I’m surprised you haven’t snatched someone up,” Sebastian flirted.

“I’m single by choice, Sebastian, not by lack of suitors,” you said, your eyes going to his.

“Well then,” he said holding his hands up. “I do apologize.”

“Thank you. Should you feel the need to fill that void in my life, I am free any time though,” you offered with a coy smile.

He laughed, let out a huff of hair, then smile. “You uh...you’re very direct,” he noted.

“I didn’t get where I am by hope and prayers, Sebastian,” you stated. “If I want something, I take it,” you said, grabbing his knee and squeezing.

“Ah, ahah,” he said, laughing, making his eyes crinkle at the corners and your stomach do a flip. He was quite handsome and you did want him. Usually, you weren’t quite this bold, but tonight, with the way his eyes lit up on you, you’d seen that look before. He was highly attracted to you, and you him. And if you could make Sebastian Stan blush on purpose, that was going to be your mission.

The rest of the night, you toned down the flirting a bit but continued to touch him a little lightly, gaze at him, and gave him a wink or two. By the time you left, you had gotten everyone’s phone number.

[filmfiction-olliewood]

Horror Genre

**SPOILERS**

So the horror genre, the genre for those who like a good scare or just feel a little bit spooky on this lead up to Halloween.

The main stereotypes of a horror film include blood and gore, isolated settings, demons and monsters rising up and causing chaos for people. In this horror genre section I am going to give you a critical analyse of Happy Death Day and Don’t Knock Twice- two very different horror films.

Happy Death Day is a feature length film that was released back in 2017 and was directed by Christopher Landon. The film itself is a mystery, thriller and comedy horror and it is about a college student who must relive the day of her murder over and over in a loop that will end once she identify’s her killer. The film was made for cinema and was made to entertain.

 In terms of the narrative structure, Happy Death Day has a closed, non-linear structure that is realistic. The reason why the film has a non-linear structure is due to the constant loop of the main protagonist (Tree) waking up and then being killed again. for the first few times this happens it shows her confusion as a character almost like deja vu. However, as the film begins to progress she begins to realise the realness of her death starts to devise a plan to try and attempt to find her killer. The film has a closed narrative as it has a clear start and end and it is also realist setting due it being set in an American college however, the reoccurring day does have signs of anti-realist settings.

For happy death day, the order of story telling is a little odd because it uses the same scene multiple times as the character wakes up after being murdered by her killer. 

Because of this constant cycle of the main protagonist (tree) dying we begin to see a change in character of her. As at the start she seems to be very mean and that typical popular girl in school to her contrast of becoming a much nicer and caring person towards Carter and some of the other girls in her sorority. However Carter the main boy character in the film he stays the same throughout. he doesn't really stray from his nice and kind personality. At one point within the film he decides to help tree try and find her killer once he finds out what is happening. 

The narrative of the film is closed due to its clear start and end but the way the story flows is non-linear due to how I previously mentioned how the film goes in a loop of death and waking up for tree. The disruption in the narrative would be tree being constantly murdered and then waking up dazed and confused from reliving her ground hog day, the struggle would then be her realising what is happening and then using her various methods to figure out who the killer is and then finally the resolution to the film would be Tree finally finding out her killer to be her roommate who is secretly trying to poison her. When we find out about her roommate trying to kill her this is a plot twist as originally we thought she was just being friendly towards Tree however, I was very wrong. Tree was horrible to her roommate and treated her badly which was the motivation of the killer. The red herring to this plot twist was the killer who was in the hospital on the Campus. the roommate used the killer to try and hide her identity and motivation to kill Tree.

In the film Barthes Hermeneutic code is used, this is where the story doesn’t give us the whole truth straight away. It drops facts throughout in order to help create mystery. This is done well in this film because as the film go on, we start to notice small differences that help to bring us to a conclusion of who the killer is and what the motivation for the murder was. The enigma code is also used along side the Hermeneutic code.

The visual storytelling comes in with the lighting all the dark and murderous actions take place at night in remote locations where it cant be seen but then all the planning and prep take place during the day, The contrast of this could be described as the light symbolising the realisation and the the dark to symbolise death.

Moving onto Don’t Knock Twice, this film has a completely different style of horror, it is supposed to be more of a scary film instead of comedic. it is a feature length film that was showcased at Raindance Film Festival in 2016. It is about a mother desperate to reconnect with her troubled daughter becomes embroiled in the urban legend of a demonic witch. it stars Katee Sackhoff, Lucy Boynton and Richard Mylan. 

The film is filled with iconography throughout- from religion to skulls and blood. This use of clear iconography helps for proof of horror genre as the religious themes can add more fear as it could connote that the monster is very powerful like the power of religion and how it is always in the background of the film no matter what is happening. linking in with this the lighting of the film is very shadowed and dark throughout. The use of the shadowed lighting helps to further add to the idea that the demon is present throughout especially when Chloe is present as she is marked by the demon supposedly and whenever she is present on screen the lighting is usually toned down by darkness and or shadows.

The film is a closed, linear narrative with a realist feel however there are themes of non-realist such as ghosts and demons etc. (however that depends on your viewpoint.) The narrative starts by Chloe meeting her mum for the first time in 9 years, this is where the equilibrium is seen, Chloe is in a hoe and doesn't live with her parents. moving on the problem begins when Chloe and Danny both knock on twice at the door of where the old woman died. Linking to the knocking throughout the film anyone who knocks on any door/ surface always knocks twice, this helps to keep on trend to the film. As the problem starts a series of events unfold such as Danny going missing, Chloe moves in with her mum. Once Chloe moves in with her mum things begin to get even worse with lots of paranormal activity and visions. Along with the event one thing that is apparent especially in the beginning is anything that take takes place involving paranormal activity, people always leave for example when Danny goes missing, it happens when he is skyping Chloe and she leaves for 2 minutes and within that time he is taken by the demon. The use of this by the director could be a different take on the horror genres usual remote location is where all bad things take place. 

The film uses Barthes’ cultural code as the film does include some theory and reference to demonology due to the fact the main villain is a demon. By using this it can act as a way to make the audience who know about these things more involved and maybe question a little deeper to what is going on and how this has happened. The symbolic code goes hand in hand in this film as one of the main semantic fields used in the visual side is religion and this constantly pops up throughout the film.

The main character Chloe is presented as angry and has a lot of hatred towards her mother this is because we are told that she was given up when she was young due to her mother struggling with drug addiction. this is brought up various times between the two characters. However, towards the end of the film the dynamic between the two characters shifts and they start to become a lot closer as they solve the murder mystery of what happened to the original boy who went missing and also as they begin to battle the demon themselves as no-one else will help them.

When considering interesting camera techniques one part that sticks out vividly is the scene in which the camera spirals down a hallway and as it passes lights, they shut off dramatically creating suspense for the viewer. This is again another aspect that gives this film the sense of a typical horror film. linking with this the sound throughout the film does an amazing job to keep suspense for the viewer as they await the next jump scare. The non-diegetic sound such as the music really gives the film an eerie vibe. 

Overall, when comparing the two films together, they are two completely different types of horror films. Happy death day subverts its genre with its comedy aspect but still fits into the lines of a horror film crossed with thriller. In comparison Don’t Knock Twice is a fitting horror film that doesn't really subvert its genre at any point. The film itself wouldn't go against any horror fans expectations and wouldn't blow them out of the water either.

Happy death day, in my opinion isn’t something that I would recommend to a horror fan purely due to the fact that it subverts from the horror genre so much that it is borderline a comedy horror that a fan of horror probably wouldn't enjoy. On the other hand Don’t Knock Twice is a basic horror film with demons and the typical conventions and expectations you would have for a modern horror film. I would recommend that you give the film a watch as it is worth a watch even if you don’t enjoy the typical horror film.