#the cinematography and camera work is crazy

[plausible-possible-perhaps]

Zoë, I was familiar with your game, but holy shit. Holy fuck. Do more.

[conqu3er]

the rhythm and the energy of the ending sequence is crazy, i came out the theater hyped

[jennifer-jeong]

Smut | AFAB!Reader Cinematography

SUMMARY Men who’d take videos of your cum covered body or face to save for later.

CONTENT NSFW, 18+, smut, assigned female at birth (AFAB) reader, implied feminine reader (he calls you a "good girl" etc.), exhibitionism if you squint, praise, filming sex, making porn basically, vaginal penetration, implied blowjob/face fucking, alludes to cunnilingus, cum on body, swallowing cum, facial, ALL CHARACTERS ARE 18+

WORD COUNT: 627

Ones you probably expected FUSHIGURO TOJI, RYOMEN SUKUNA, GOJO SATORU, CHILDE, KAEYA, UZUI TENGEN, MIGUEL O’HARA, MARIUS VON HAGEN

Ones that you might not have expected but they do it possessively KAMO CHOSO, NANAMI KENTO, FUSHIGURO MEGUMI, ALHAITHAM, HEIZOU

There’s something about filming fucking you from behind with the flash on that turns him on like crazy. The way your ass bounces and the plush flesh recoils makes him lightheaded. The sounds that fill the room turn you both on, making you extra sensitive. The light slapping of skin, the wet “plap” noises, the sound of his veiny cock dragging on your slick walls, hitting the deep bundle of nerves in you with every thrust. There’s a visible ring of cream around the base of his cock and there’s a clear shine because the flash reflects off how wet you are and how much you’ve coated his dick. You can’t explain why, but it has you reaching your high faster than you expected.

Maybe it’s the way that he eggs you on more, saying things like “behave for the camera, darling,” or when he talks to the phone like “look at you, taking it so well… Such a good fucking girl.” Maybe you secretly liked being filmed, even though you knew no one would ever see it but you and him. Maybe you liked the nasty idea of being watched, even if only by your boyfriend when he opens the video in the future to pleasure himself to.

You don’t dwell on the thoughts for long though, your impending orgasm pulling you out of your pondering. You give him a short and strained sob of a warning before you clamp down on him. You moan into the pillow you shoved your face into to contain your uncontrollable voice. Waves of pleasure crash through your body as you visibly shake for the camera. The scene in front of him plus the tightening of your pussy around him has his eyes rolling back and has him cumming in a few strokes. He shoots his load all over your ass and back, a few ropes of cum reaching your upper back. He kneads your ass as he enjoys his afterglow and ends the recording after properly capturing your cum covered body. But he’ll still stay there, cooing praises and telling you how well you did. He’ll sit there, admiring his work. Seeing his cum drip down your ass is such a filthy and sinful view, he just can’t help how satisfied it makes him feel.

Other times he’ll have your pretty self on your knees, filming you with your tongue out, doe eyes looking up at him as he pumps his cock with his hand. You’ve just sucked the soul out of him, deepthroating him and letting him face fuck you. He’s already so close and you’re basically asking him to paint your face with how you’re looking at him. The whole situation makes your needy cunt clench around nothing. He knows that you deserve a reward and he’ll either fuck it into you or eat you out to give it to you after this. So, he finishes quickly so he can take care of you fast. He groans out to let you know he’s about to cum. He aims for your mouth but towards the end, he covers your face with his release. It forces you to close an eye shut to avoid any unwanted inconvenience.

He records the whole thing using the room’s ambient lighting instead of flash, the flash sometimes doesn’t capture your cute face properly since the camera is a bit far away, so he chooses this. For him, the whole point of filming is to capture your lovely expressions, especially when, after he finishes, you swallow and open your mouth to show him you didn’t waste a drop. He praises you a bit before ending the recording and giving you the reward you deserve for being his pretty and good girl.

|| MASTERLIST ♡ || Thank you for reading! ||

[wol-fica]

[ℝ𝔼ℂℍ𝔸ℤ𝔸𝕄𝔼]-ℙ𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘-

parings - jennaortega x fem!reader

summary - jenna loves to praise you, and you love to do anything she asks. unfortunately, a guy tried to get in between that…

warnings - m e n, oral sex, fingering, anal sex, sixty-nine, praising, r being a downright simp

an - hey guys !

—————

Do you ever dream up such a surreal thing that could never happen, but it surprisingly does?

Some people beg for unrealistic expectations, like a fancy new car, or a shiny rollex with your initials engraved in gold. Sometimes you get those things, most times you don’t; it’s a heavy ‘what if’.

You were one of those people, dreaming of the impossible and wishing for the utmost crazy things. But unlike others, you didn’t crave a new car or a fancy wrist watch; no, you wanted someone. 

See, you loved to be involved with movies and celebrities, tracking down what films they work on and all that jazz. You ranged from smaller, upcoming actors  like Tom Blythe, to bigger faces like Millie Bobby Brown. It was so fascinating to you, being that you valued cinematography and everything that comes with it, so your appreciation for the faces behind the wonderful characters that you love so much need the same attention. 

Naturally, crushes did form on certain actresses; how could you not fall for such an attractive person? You had such a heavy crush on Jenna Ortega, forming from her performance in The Fallout; she was just so beautiful to you. You would have little fantasies, picturing yourself dating her and just having a blast, it was perfect.

Now somehow, you actually met Jenna. It was completely an accident; you were working your normal shift at the library and she happened to stop by looking for some books. To say that you were awestruck was an understatement, but you didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable in any way so you opted to control your fangirling and stay cool when she came up to purchase the novels she chose.

To your complete and utter surprise, Jenna asked for your socials. She claimed you were ‘good looking and charming’ and she wanted to become friends of the sort. The two of you chatted in instagram dm’s constantly, until you sent your number one day and then Jenna asked you out about a month later. 

Fast forward to now, two and a half years later on the set of a movie that Jenna was acting in. She had (informally) posted you as her personal assistant, meaning you had to listen to whatever she said and asked for with no complaints, not like you would anyways.

“Excuse me! Coming through!” You shouted, running past some crew workers while holding a cup of coffee and a pastry. 

Jenna had asked you to get her some food, claiming that she was a bit peckish, and if you were quick she might share some with you. To say that you sprinted was true, harnessing your inner highschool track legs to be as fast as possible so you could deliver what she wanted.

With a shove and a slight “omph” from shouldering a door open, you hurried into the big production room. Cameras were everywhere, with large lights and wires connecting all around the large set piece. People were hurrying about, actors and their makeup teams rushing to add some last touches before they started rolling.

Jenna was sitting in her chair, a script in her hands while she lazily flipped through to review some lines. As you neared her, she looked up to meet your eyes, a smile crossing her face at the sight of you.

“I got the goods!” You said breathlessly, holding up the items.

“Did you get what I asked for?” Jenna asked, taking the pastry bag to look inside.

“Yep! A white mocha iced latte with one pump raspberry and some strawberry purée cold foam, and a unicorn cake pop!” You said enthusiastically, proud that you remembered her favorite order.

“Good girl.” Jenna praised, pulling you down by your collar so she could kiss your cheek, “I’ll let you have some when we finish this scene.”

You nodded, a blush covering your face at the subtle comment she slid in. Jenna would do that often; whenever you did something good or did what she asked, she would either say “Good girl” or “That’s my girl, just what I asked for”. It gets your brain to short circuit and your stomach to churn pleasantly everytime.

“You can sit in my chair while I work, I don’t think anyone will mind.” She said, sipping her drink with a satisfied hum as she stood up, “Tastes perfect darling.”

You smiled, doing a little fist pump for being so damn good at pleasing your girlfriend. After settling into her chair, you took out your phone to scroll through instagram. Beside you, Jenna was chatting to the director about little things they could do to make the scene better. You heard something about a line delivery, but a funny reel caught your attention and you zoned out for the rest of her conversation. 

“Baby.” Jenna’s voice called to you after a while, causing you to quickly look up.

“Yeah?” You said, eyes on her as you gave her your full attention, “Do you need something?”

Her eyes softened, her hand coming up to cup your face. The pad of her thumb brushed across your skin, rubbing gentle circles on your cheek bone.

“No, I just wanted to let you know we are on a three hour break.” 

You smiled, nodding happily, “Do you want to go to your trailer? Or for a walk? I can grab your hiking shoes!”

“No need for that, we’ll hang out in the break room.” She said, tapping your leg as a silent command to follow her, “There is lunch in there as well.”

You stood up, stretching and cracking your back with a sigh. Jenna’s hand patted your stomach, her nails scratching your skin through your hoodie before she walked away with you hot on her tail. You both made your way into the room, Jenna heading to set her stuff down while you went straight for the donuts.

“Hungry much?” She asked with a laugh, watching as you stuffed a maple glazed donut into your mouth.

“Mphmmmm.” You moaned softly, relishing the taste of the sweet treat. 

“Chew with your mouth closed, don’t you have manners?” Jenna said, coming over to you with a napkin. 

“Omf curse I do.” You said, your words muffled by the donut in your mouth.

She raised her eyebrows, pulling back from wiping your mouth to give you a look that said ‘for real?’. She shook her head when you shrugged your shoulders, reaching up to finish wiping your mouth off. 

“Always so messy.” She noted after throwing the napkin away, “You need a portable pack of Kleenex or something.”

“I usually have one in my backpack.” 

Jenna hummed and nodded, picking up a plate to put some salad on. While she added her toppings, the sound of a door opening caught your attention. Turning your body towards the door, your eyes widened at the sight of who was walking in.

It was Mason, one of Jenna’s co-actors. He was around her age, maybe a little older, with a sturdy build and charming face. Almost everyone loved him, since he was claimed to be so charming and handsome, and loads of girls have unbreakable crushes on him. You used to think he was a great guy, until he started flirting with Jenna and giving you dirty looks every time he saw you. 

Soon you picked up on the fact that he had a thing for your girlfriend, and clearly disliked you for getting to her before he did. He always shot flirtatious comments towards her and constantly made sure he was around her at work so he could talk to her, and that unfortunately made you super uncomfortable and upset about the situation.

You have never been a confrontational person, and when anyone ever disliked you or was angry, you would just duck your head and nod in submission. Jenna usually defended you, knowing that you had a tendency to just take the blunt of the aggression, but for some odd reason she never noticed how Mason treated you. 

“Jeeeenna!” Mason dragged out, a charming smile on his face as he heard towards her, “What’s up?”

“Nothing much, how are you?” She said, setting her salad down to give him her attention.

He held his arms out, signaling he wanted a hug, and leaned in to wrap his arms around her waist. His hand went a little too low for your liking, his fingertips brushing way too close to her bottom, but Jenna pulled back before he could go any farther. Your eyes narrowed in jealousy, but not a word was uttered from your lips.

“I’m great.” He said, his hands still on her arms, “Care if I join you for lunch?” 

Jenna shrugged and nodded, gesturing to the seat next to her. You watched as they both sat down, letting out an irritated puff of air when Mason sneakily scooted his chair closer. Their conversation blurred while you stared, unease bubbling up in your stomach. The way he would so subtly touch her, whether brushing his hand on hers or rubbing their knees together; it made you mad. Your emotions were begging to be let out, scratching at your throat to just go off on him, but your anxiety held you back; yet again, you were afraid. 

The thing that was irking you the most was how Jenna responded to him. Her body language was open towards him, her focus and attention almost fully on him. She was smiling, nodding and laughing at mostly everything he said. It was like she completely forgot of your existence and that made your heart ache. With a sigh, you grabbed your phone and moved to leave the room. 

“Y/N?” Jenna called to you, making you turn to meet her confused gaze, “Where are you going?”

“Gonna get some air.” You said, eyes cast down away from Mason’s condescending smirk, “Just text me if you need something.” 

With that, you exited, and Jenna didn't miss the sense of urgency in your step. A pang of hurt came from her heart, a small frown of sadness coming to her face. 

“Anyways…” Mason said, gaining her attention back, “I’ve been meaning to ask you a question.”

“What is it?” Jenna asked, her eyes locked on the door in case you came back in.

“I was wondering if you wanted to grab dinner?” He asked in a hopeful tone, “A date at Providence?”

She finally turned to him, disbelief all over her face. As she stared at him, it suddenly clicked in her mind why you so abruptly left. You were insecure and upset, over the fact that Mason was flirting with her and she was doing nothing to stop it.

“No thanks. I have a girlfriend.” Jenna said, standing up to toss the rest of her salad and pursue you.

“But-.”

“Don’t, I’m not interested.” She interrupted, grabbing her bag and hurrying out of the room. 

She speed-walked down the hallway, eyes peering into every open door in search of you. Each time she looked for you, but didn’t see you, the feeling of dread filled up more and more. She almost gave up after about ten minutes, that was until she found you sitting outside.

You were curled up against the wall, your knees tucked into your chest while your chin rested on your arms. Jenna approached slowly, sliding down beside the wall to sit beside you. She stayed silent for a moment, staring up into the sky while listening to you breathe.

“I’m sorry.” Jenna said after a while, turning her face to you, “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s fine.” You mumbled, your hair blowing in the wind while you spoke.

She pursed her lips, feeling like your response was not how you actually felt. She tracked your features, searching your eyes and finding a trace of unease inside your irises. 

“Pretty girl,” Jenna tried again, bumping her foot against yours, “Can you look at me?”

You turned your head, meeting the brown eyes that you fell so hard for. She smiled at you, her hand reaching out to interlace her fingers with your own. Her thumb rubbed your skin, warmth cascading throughout your body from the gentle gesture. 

“I want you to know,” She said, her voice full of confidence, “That no one will ever deter my love from you.” 

You couldn’t help but crack a smile, a small blush coating your cheeks at her words. Jenna giggled softly at your reaction, pulling her hand from yours to cup your cheek.

“I adore you; some stupid guy will never change that.” She murmured softly, her eyes flickering to your lips; a request.

You made the first move, unraveling your knees from your chest to push yourself towards her. She met you halfway, sighing through her nose when her lips pressed into yours. She tasted like vanilla cookies, her scent overwhelming you while you kissed her. 

Your hands went up and around her neck, hers sliding down to your waist to pull herself into your lap. She leaned into you, breaking the kiss for a breath before diving right back in. Her lips slotted into yours, her body weight pushing you against the wall while you both made out. 

“You’re beautiful.” She said between kisses, “My perfect girl.”

“Jenna-.” You started but she cut you off with a kiss.

“My good girl.” She purred, sliding her hands under your shirt to feel your skin, “My trailer is about five minutes away.” 

You nodded furiously, following her closely when she stood up. Her hand grasped yours, fingers intertwined as she pulled you along the gravel path towards the trailers. The walk took less than five minutes, equaling to three since Jenna decided to do a bit of a jog.

Once she unlocked the door and pulled you inside, she pushed you up against the wall, kicking the door shut. Her lips found yours again, her hands pulling your face down to hers to be as close as possible. The feeling of her tongue prodding at your lips set you ablaze, a moan slipping from your mouth while her warm muscle explored you. 

“Bedroom. Now.” Jenna said breathlessly, trying to tug you in the direction of her bed.

You complied, falling onto the mattress. Your clothes were practically ripped off of you, with Jenna somehow undressing herself before you even laid down on your back. She straddled your lap, her hands running along your naked body.

“I think we should try something different.” She mumbled to herself, turning around in your lap.

You opened your mouth to ask what she was up to, but was immediately shut down when she slid down so her mouth was directly above your heat. Her legs went back, knees on either side of your face; sixty-nine position, one she has been talking about doing for months on end. 

A puff of air hitting your clit made you shiver, your eyes falling shut when you felt her fingers drag through your already drenched folds. After a bit of rubbing and messing around, Jenna pushed her fingers in about an inch; a test to see if you were okay to keep going. You whimpered, your legs automatically opening wider for her to easily penetrate you. 

“I’m expecting you to do something back there.” She said sternly, still slowly pushing her fingers into you, “I don’t want to wait.”

Your eyes snapped open, immediately directing your attention to the task at hand. You gently pushed her thighs farther apart, your thumbs coming up to spread her folds open. Carefully, you pulled her onto your mouth, your tongue licking and prodding her entrance as you tasted her wetness. She moaned softly, her movements unwavering while she still fingered you. 

You whined in pleasure when she wrapped her lips around your clit, arousal flowing through your veins. Between the two of you, Jenna was definitely more experienced with sex. You loved to be of assistance to her however you could, being labeled as a “service top”, what your friend called it. 

You pushed your tongue inside of her hole, relishing in the way she moaned around your clit. You thrusted back and forth, filling her up with each push inside of her. The feeling of something spongy on your tongue made you giddy, focusing your assault on massaging that sensitive spot. 

Jenna pulled back from you to give a guttural moan, her fingers finding a faster pace to match your tongue. You could feel your orgasm rising quite quickly, and you knew Jenna’s was close behind from her velvety walls tightening on you.

You came first, your body seizing and mind going blank for a moment. Jenna stroked you through it, her other hand rubbing your thigh while you calmed down. Soon though, she followed you suit, her thighs squeezing your head as she released on your tongue. A cute little noise exited her throat, sort of a moan and an exhale; either way it was adorable. 

“Oh…” Jenna sighed, her fingers twitching inside of you.

“You good?” You asked, knowing she could either want more or be completely burnt out, “Need anything?”

She pulled her hand away from your legs, rolling over and moving until she was sat up beside you. Her eyes met yours, brown irises burrowing into your soul as she analyzed you. Her shoulders slumped slightly as she stared at you, desire pooling in her pupils.

“God…” She said, her hand reaching out to affectionately stroke your thigh, “I want you to sit on my face.”

“J-Jenna!” You stuttered, your face going red in shock.

“Please?” She asked, leaning over so she could peck your lips, “I wanna make you scream my name.”

You’re not sure when you said yes, or when Jenna flipped you both over, or when she got you sat up and over her mouth, but either way she had you where she wanted you. 

Your hands gripped the headboard, trying to not lean all of your weight onto her head in fear of hurting her, but one pull from Jenna and you were done for. She guided your hips down, her tongue licking lazily between your folds. 

A whimper exited your mouth, which turned into a satisfied moan when she finally pushed herself inside of you. The stretch felt nice, and the sensual rubbing she was doing to your thighs was pleasing to you. 

“Oh Jenna!” You moaned out, throwing your head back at the feeling of her tongue finding your sweet spot. 

One of your hands went down to wind into her hair, while her hand slid up to your chest to pinch your nipples. She groped and pulled at you, pumping her tongue in and out of you at a fast pace. Your hips started to rock back and forth, small whines slipping out everytime her teeth caught your clit. 

“Fuck…” You whispered, your eyes rolling from the pleasure between your thighs, “I…I’m close…”

Jenna hummed beneath you, causing you to cry out, and proceeded to pull your thighs farther apart and press her fingers against your other hole. She rubbed for a moment, before gently pushing two inside of you. 

The attention was too much, being that her tongue was inside of you, her fingers were inside of you, and your breasts were being squeezed so pleasantly that you practically broke down on top of her. A guttural moan erupted from your throat, your orgasm crashing down hard. Jenna helped you through it, licking and pumping until you had to push yourself off of her due to overstimulation. 

“You okay?” She asked after you settled yourself into her side, your arm lazily slinging over her waist.

“Mhm.” You nodded, burying your face into her neck for comfort. 

“You did good, pretty girl.” She praised, kissing your temple before grabbing a towel off of the side table to wipe her face with, “I’m impressed with how you ate me out earlier.”

“Don’t underestimate me, idiot.” You joked, patting her stomach, “I’m not that vanilla anymore.”

Jenna laughed, pulling you closer to her chest. She threw her blanket over the two of you, snuggling into you and intertwining her legs with yours. 

“Don’t we have to be back soon?” You asked sleepily, fighting to keep your eyes open, “They need you.”

“We have two and a half hours.” Jenna murmured, tucking her head under your chin, “And I need you right now.”

“But-.”

“Shhh.” She whispered, kissing your neck, “Just hold me.”

And hold her you did.

————————

taglist: @crystal-lily-101 @tundra1029 @rainbow-love4ever  @imhungry-andtired @theafterofnevermore @k1mba @simp4thena @thenextdawn @alexkolax @annalestern @efectoangel @fall-08 @andsoigotabutterfly @littlegaybutterflysblog @sayaisrotten @deep-fried-egg @frasersgf @thispussyshouldcomew

[alchemicaladarna]

I want to talk about the camera work and cinematography during today's stream, and give that some appreciation because the deliberate shots we get of Dapper, Pomme, and the landscapes too, were just CINEMA.

We know BBH is very intentional with his camera povs, like the F5's and such, but in this stream, he not only showed us Pomme and Dapper as the main characters and managed to capture their own experiences, but also roleplayed the Ghosties' reactions, as if we the audience, are actually characters in this universe, leading to some very much needed lighthearted moments of Bad nodding or shaking the camera at certain comments and conversations, like how the audience would react. Or some of the more heavier moments, such as Dapper and Pomme suggesting working with the soul vultures again and the ghosties shaking their heads rapidly while the chat says "NOOOOO" because that's how the camera would convey the dread the audience felt at the implications of the conversation.

...And then, conveying the sadder parts of Bad rping as his own ghost, watching Dapper and Pomme, yet unable to comfort or hold them because he physically can't. Just shatters my heart.

Of course, there were times when he goofs, like I'm not saying this whole stream and every shot was perfect, because that'd be ridiculous. And also, there's so much you can do when you're only spectating as a player, and not really given the CREATIVE MODE FLIGHTY POWERS to get a clear view of everything, but with what he had to work with, I'd say BBH did a pretty phenomenal job today!

At this point, I barely even know what I'm saying, but it makes me go crazy when players get creative with camera angles and play around with the cinematography of their streams just to give the audiences the best cinematic and immersive experience, and just finding new ways to rp in block game, which is already pretty difficult to begin with.

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Phyllis Chesler

Finally, Pierre Rehov’s Pogrom(s): Could America Be Next? will appear on Oct. 7, on major platforms such as Apple TV, Google Plus, Amazon Prime and Tubi TV. 

Rehov’s Pogrom(s), is something of a masterpiece. The footage is extraordinary, as is the music and cinematography. The interviews are poignant, such as the one with Yossi Landau of Zaka, with expert insights from people like Mordechai Kedar (an expert on Islamist groups), Nitsana Darshan Leitner (president of Sherut HaDin), Michael Milstein (head of the Palestinian Studies Forum at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University) and others.

Rehov also includes an on-camera interview with Yuval Bitton, the former head of intelligence for the Israeli Prison Service. Bitton got to know Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar very well when he was incarcerated and helped save Sinwar’s life. To our credit but also our detriment, this is what Jews do. We save lives.

Rehov’s footage confirms how well Palestinian terrorists, even those with blood on their hands, are treated in Israeli jails. They are well-fed, decently housed, allowed to join each other for prayer five times a day, allowed to have visitors and mail, and are given medical and dental care. This footage makes me a little crazy as I think about how Hamas treats its prisoners, aka our precious hostages.

Pogrom(s) captures the historical hatred and violence against Jews by pagans, Christians and Muslims, which places Oct. 7 in “context.” He reminds us that Muslims were the first to order Jews to wear a yellow patch, and many centuries later, the Nazis followed suit. In the film’s vast sweep of history, Rehov also includes the Turkish Muslim genocide of the Armenians (something that the Turks still refuse to acknowledge); the collaboration of Arabs with Nazis during the Shoah; and the well-funded disinformation campaign about this very history in secular Western universities and in mosques, churches and even in certain synagogues and Jewish organizations for Palestine.  

Rehov’s family had lived in Algeria for 500 years. Still, he heard about, witnessed and endured Muslim terrorist attacks, farhuds against native Algerians, French-born Algerians and Algerian Jews. He lost many relatives in one such Muslim pogrom and, in 1961, together with 250,000 other Jews, Rehov was exiled from his birthplace. He fled to France, where he was met with anti-Algerian and anti-Jewish hatred and was cursed as a “dirty Jew.” Rehov eventually left France, came to the United States and then moved to Israel.

[shehungthemoon]

Just dumping my Ina Paha thoughts here. 🙃

First of all I did NOT know it was the 100th episode going into this, so i was very confused watching the montage at the end lol

I also had to click out and make sure I didn't click the wrong episode when the Pilot started playing at the beginning. When I heard Danny's voice on the phone instead of Hesse's I swear I got whiplash

It's filmed so well (bar where they reshot the pilot where Steve gets Danny on the phone instead of a dead dad, in which they literally forgot to put the same filter over the scene to make the stitching coherent) and I absolutely love the camera work they did with the white-room and the video projections. It felt very much a level above normal network television cinematography, especially the parts where Steve's going in and out of the hallucinations.

Steve finally FINALLY killing Wo-Fat was so cathartic, it should have happened ages ago but I'm willing to look past all the dumb ways he survived just to allow this incredible ending to his story.

Ina Paha gave me Kono doing... this. I owe Grace Park my whole life. Pls costuming department put her in hot pink again 💗

yes, it was a Steve episode. but Danny REALLY shone, first as the only resident Actual Detective figuring out what happened to Steve by the tire-tracks, rampaging through the compound steadily and efficiently and knocking people off without a pause, and then in Steve's mind shooting Hesse's kneecaps off?!?!?! That was CRAZY and probably not suppose to be as hot as it was and definitely made me want an ex-mobster AU immediately. Basically I have a competency kink and really like badass!danny shit 😊

Seeing Chin's long hair again made me swoon

My jaw dropped when I saw Jenna! I think it's really interesting that Steve still thinks of her so much, and I was surprised that she showed up in both the actual dreams and the montage. I definitely underestimated how much she impacted Steve's life, it seems, and I hate that we'll never hear him address that and we'll only know about it inadvertently like this.

(hand over the heart for how lori got like. one team shot. poor girlie.)

⭐I took the montage at the end as being flashbacks and memories that Steve was having as he left the compound. Looking at it through that lens certainly makes one unwell.

Obligatory squeal for Adam appearing just to save the day :))) look below to see the love of my life! :)))))) ⬇⬇⬇

Of course, the obligatory mcdanno bullet(s). It writes itself! The way Danny said Steve's name so small and broken when he found him. The way they look at each other on the ground, the pain their faces. I need an official apology statement from Scott and Alex for it. Can we talk about what flashes by during the montage at the end? (IMO it being Steve's memories.) So much Danny.

The first thing is Danny and Steve's first meeting. Jfc. The showrunners milk it SO MUCH and who's complaining

The big, rocking hug. The hands clasping underground. Gracie of course. And then Danny collapsing from the bioweapon, which to be honest I was NOT expecting to see at all--it felt like a genuinely strange choice to include in there and it really ONLY makes sense if you go along with all that being what Steve's remembering. Even then, I was surprised to see it, so basically this is Hawaii Five-Oh making mcdanno gayer than even I was wanting them to be. Steve still thinks about that? From so long ago? Even with so many other close calls in between then and now? Good fucking lord ok then loverboy that's WILD. Canon accepted ig this show is just pure whump.

Danny goes through all of this just days after losing his brother and killing Reyes. JFC can we please address that. I need a 30k introspection fic to let me into this man's mind rn.

The Wo Fat v.s. Steve fight at the end was INCREDIBLE. I would love to give the choreographer's hand a shake, it's some of the best work I've seen on television in a long time. It was impressive for a procedural like this. It was long and physical and you truly didn't know what the outcome was going to be; it everything that their built-up relationship deserved for a conclusion. It also happening with a Steve coming off of hours of torture and drugging was crazy (guess we finally know who would win a PVP if they were both at full strength!). That being said I was really impressed with Wo Fat's capabilities and physical prowess, I was not expecting it to be so even and close to the line. I actually jumped when Steve LIFTED him up into the lighting fixture. We do not talk about Steve's (Alex's???) raw upper-body strength enough.

Anyway. Electricity in the water play. The physicality hell that this gif below is ⬇. Fire extinguishers and loaded needles. Crazy martial arts. Chair and buckets (holy shit did y'all see the force with which Wo Fat SHOT that bucket?????) flying. All's fair. I loved it.

The shot going right through the forehead, clean. I don't know how to put into words why that's so monumental to me but it is.

The mystery bad lady was SO intriguing, I wish we got more from her... How does she know Wo Fat? Why was she entrusted with all that information on him and Steve and especially Doris? Absolutely where did she come from, what was her name? Why did I have a huge huge hot crush on her? All important questions. (Goes to show that h50 CAN give us some more genuine badass, not just there to date someone women characters, just explicitly choose not to. I'm holding out for Ellie to remain platonic so hard right now.)

Almost forgot Danny in that black Hawaiian shirt. Will be whimpering over that image forever. The whole episode I was trying to focus on the underlining betrayal mystery they were laying out but every time my brain started working too hard Scott with his stupid waist and those flower patterns just started flashing into my head

Again, are you seeing this:

I'm unwell and so so happy.

H50 you're a gem when you want to be.

[gatalentan]

i'll say one thing the very format of abbott elementary excels at is those emotional gut punch scenes because the cinematography really highlights how invasive we are being on these peoples' lives and does such a good job at making you feel like you really should not be seeing this and are intruding, which only amplifies the emotions of everything.

like one of the shots of the janine/ayesha fight we can see they're literally filming from inside a car like a fucking stalker - you can see the window frame. or when melissa calls joe and we can see they're literally filming from a distance through a crack in the door. the handheld cams shake like crazy cause they're peeping on this private moment from so far away on a really long zoom. it's weird and claustrophobic and uncomfortable and we Should Not Be Here.

its so simple but it works so well because it's in such stark contrast to something like the confessionals which are so fixed and perfectly framed and lit and Telling You A Thing and the teachers can control their image. The private scenes hit like a goddamn truck because we're getting the characters totally unfiltered from being aware of the cameras, with no persona at all. It's the only time we get to see them being Off instead of On. it's like taking a pic of yourself vs being in the background of a stranger's photo, just quietly living your life with no mask. and i love it tbh

[burninglesbian]

I've written this review on letterboxd for the John Dies At The End movie (didn't really like it). I thought I would post it here as well in case people wanna add or disagree with something :)

It's not the worst movie-adaption, yet it's far from good. It's not really a John Dies At The End and more of a Jeff Passes Away After The Third Act.

The acting is fine. The two mains that play John and Dave have good chemistry and play their dynamic well.

The cinematography is decent on the surface-level but for a book as crazy and trippy as this one, it’s too simple. Even the scenes where Dave is high on the soy sauce it just looks a bit too regular and average. When the sauce material has monsters, alternate universes and sentient drugs that bend time and space you have the opportunities to be creative with the camera work. Sadly that opportunity wasn’t used.

The writing: I can’t give the movie much credit because pretty much all of the scenes are word-for-word copies of scenes in the book.

Practical and visual effects: While the third act looks truly cheap and cheesy, everything that comes before that is quite good for a low budget film. While not all the creatures look like the way they were described in the book, they seemingly use practical effects for the monsters for the most part, which I adore.

Comparing it to the book, however, truly highlights all its flaws. I was expecting some of the book stuff to be cut because a 500 pages long book doesn’t fit into 90 minutes. But I was negatively surprised to find out that two thirds of the book has been cut. Two of the best thirds, to be exact. And the things we did get were focused on the wrong things. While the book is hilarious, what makes it stand out so much was the perfect balance of horror and comedy. At times you feel like crying from laughter, and then you need to take a moment to breathe after the tension. Sometimes even at the same time. The movie was pure comedy and didn’t once try to be a genuine horror story, unlike its bookish counterpart. They have cut every scene that caused genuine tension and terror.

On top of that it feels like the movie didn’t understand that the story also explores deeper themes and can get dark and serious at times. The prologue scene is the perfect example of that missing understanding. The prologue, the funny take on the ship of Theseus philosophy, is a funny way to start the book and introduce us to the writing and the humour but overall doesn’t have anything to do with the rest of the story. Except that it does, because it’s direct foreshadowing to the terrifying final plot twist. Well, the movie started the same way, with the direct adaption of the funny ship of Theseus philosophy, only that the ending doesn’t include the gut wrenching plot twist. Why? Because apparently, the book lost the film makers whenever it got slightly beyond “funny monster shenanigans”.

The dry two-dimensional characters from the movie are also very frustrating. John is the funny frat-boy and Dave is the straight guy, that much they got right. The fact that they are so much more than that, and that John has a genuinely good heart while Dave has a very dark and twisted side to him, is nowhere to be found. And how come they merge the two female main characters into one (another questionable choice), and she still doesn’t have any personality? They managed to copy every scene directly from the book and still make it a badly written story just by the choice of what to keep and what not to keep. Which is a talent in itself, considering the book got away with so much bullshit.

Overall the movie is a very cheesy b-movie with questionable pacing and unexplained lore. It’s fine if you like that kind of stuff and is definitely not the worst thing I have watched. But if you’re looking for a good adaption for the book John Dies At The End this is not it.

Would I recommend the book to someone? 100%. Would I recommend the film to someone? Only if they really like cheesy b-movies. Would I recommend the book to someone and then the movie afterwards? No.

[4me4you]

Beyond Photography

Elgort's contributions extend beyond the world of fashion. He has published several books, including Personal Fashion Picture (1983), Arthur Elgort’s Models Manual (1993), and Camera Crazy (2004), all of which offer insight into his creative process. His versatility also led him to film, with his documentary Colorado Cowboy: The Bruce Ford Story winning Best Cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival in 1994.

A Lasting Legacy

Arthur Elgort’s influence on fashion photography is immense, with his spontaneous, candid approach continuing to inspire future generations of photographers. His work is featured in permanent collections such as New York’s International Centre of Photography and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. His legacy, both in fashion and fine art, remains vibrant, capturing the elegance and energy of his subjects with a timeless charm.

Arthur Elgort’s images document not only the evolution of fashion but also the beauty of life in motion, making his work essential to the visual culture of our time.

[the-queerview]

The Substance

2024

by Coralie Fargeat

My dear readers, it's been a while since I decided to post. It was a long summer, ending with me visiting North Korea, just kidding, i just saw North Korea, which is already pretty amazing and frightening. Unfortunately my experience was disrupted, since a few week before my arrival some American tourist ran into North Korea and got shot, rest in peace idiot. They say never judge a deceased and in retrospective, i can't since those tours are literally disneyland trader joes tourist traps kind of, but lets not roast on peoples buisnisess here, lets roast the films, that take us on rides in our grey existence.

I would like to start by saying, that it's a pretty good year for babes and a pretty good year for horror film. We had Brat summer and soon there will be Nosferatu Autumn, with Lily Rose Depp starring in Nosferatu (102 years after its first release). We have Hunter Schaefers first cinema film, where she is not there for like 5 minutes like in Hunger games or entirely Naked for a few minutes like in Lanthimos kinds of kindness. Not to hate on nudity here, but we have a quite problematic history with women* and nudity. I highly recommend here Linda Nochlins representing women, on womens representation within western art history paintings, which is till todays core a major influence on cinematography. Which brings me to start today with a Portrait by Gericault, titled : Monomaniac of Envy (Monomane de l’envie) from 1822.

The Substance is a film following Elisabeth Sparkle ( Demi Moore), a former Oscar winner now aging TV -Starr with an aerobic ( I assume) show. (We might be remembered here of Jane Fonda, who indeed was an actress and the figure for aerobic in the 80s, when american propaganda preached they can't control the world in post vietnam war america and they only thing they can control is the BODY.) Elisabeths nasty boss is firing here for being to old, sad and isolated as she is, we don't learn so much, about her inner world. They cinematograpghy is resembling a distant, almost, stretched, lets say overdrawn perspective, probably similar to the characters inner world. Everything is clean, but not personal. Theres a giant photograph of Elisabeth in her almost comic looking loft. It reminds me somehow of older sowiet films, where a picture of Lenin would hang on the walls or some shit, so I thought, damn, the main dictator in Elisabeths Life is probably herself. And turns out right. Long story short, I try not to spoiler the grande scenes here, but one word, the billboard scene.. Elisabeth gets in contact to an anonymous note by an anonymous person, after some tragedy, and orders the SUBSTANCE. She will pick it up, inject it, and after some alien shit, which you see in the first picture, a second version of herself, that is herself will crawl literally out of her back. This version is young, hot, and will fuck Elisabeth up. Her name is Sue ( Margaret Qualley) and the rule is, that Sue got 7 days, and Elisabeth got 7. If one breaks the rule, they basically both fucked.

So the movie itself, is literally like, when popstars get the chance, like i dont know, rihanna doing superbowl singing all her bangers. kind of this vibe, So for horror film nerds, and i m sure i didnt guessed all but we have of course, david lynchs twin peaks and pretty sure wild at heart. we have suspiria by dario argento, especially the soundtrakc and BLOOD, we have some cronenberg body horror, and crazy camera like in gaspard noes enter the void, but all in all, i guess, what i was missing in the film, is that the first half was literally fucking amazing. it had it's own signature, it didn't need the references from my part, like yeah those dude directors did important work, i wish Fargeat would trust herself maybe more, that what shes doing is the right thing to go for. Also I literally loved ALL THE DETAILS. Like i could start analyzing so many bits of it.

I loved, that it was dealing with Envy, fear or aging, MISOGYNY, and comparison in such a smart way. The first half of the film, felt like an entire advertisment, which is the core to all evil, as we know. We literally spent actually years of our lifes watching advertisments.

The second half of it, reminded me to much of 80s body horror, it had its campy moment. And here I m being unfair probably. I did my research and Coralie Fargeat is born 1976. She was a a child in the 80s, and this was a time, that formed her culturally and therefor aesthetaically to a certain degree... or did you never noticed that fashion designers usually end up designing clothes, that they loved to wear as kids/teens? I feel like, if Coralie Fargeat felt like working in this 80s rubber stuff was important for, fuck , let her do it. Also in the 80s there weren't many female filmmakers around, especially not in the dudy dude horror scene. So whatever.

Also I was tbh in shock about the violence. Like many times, my partner had to close my eyes in the cinema, cuz i was hella scared of the intense violence. Maybe Kira Muratova ( an amazing ukranian filmmaker, that I truly adore for insane films) was right, when she said, women make harder films. I wonder if it has something to do with being in pain every month, of the injustice of the binary patriarchal world, or the violence transwomen experience?

There was for sure a very insanity level of violence, but at the same time, the most stunning portrayal of envy against a version of yourself, that you might never see. I loved that it also reflected so much the world in a sense, the decadence of the west, hollywood, glamour, age, ozempic, comparison, starving for youth vs the isolation of those from the current wars in the middle east, the starvation in Sudan. The proatogists were isolated in every scene almost. The Bathroom was the scenery of the crime, similar to the way we use this room to get ready for the outer world. The only real personal details in the film I experienced in the notes, those handwritten notes, that would always appear. I kept thinking about them for days. They became almost a metaphor for me, that different then then all the advertisments, the substance delivery typography, all those for Elisabeth Sparcle seemingly important objects, where not personal, thou its about her,about her body. while those handwritten notes by the strangers, seemed more personal, then the things that surround her, since trough the handwriting they are proof of a human life. Turns out, they were a signifer of what is missing in her world, the way she experience having the body, its no intimate, not adressed.

Also Demi and Margaret were so fucking amazing, i 'm literally blown away. Like i WISH i could like scream and hug them and be like. WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT. I bet all their friends and family are proud like crazy. This shit was insane, playing that? Insane. They did so good, like not many ppl can read a script like that and be like...mhhh yup. So GRANDEUR APPLAUSE !!!!!!!

All in all I highly recommend checking out the Substance, I m sorry if I spoilered to much. Big trigger warning for violence, also some scenes are literally gross, depending on you, bring a friend or a lover, and watch it in the cinema, if your socio cultural situation allows you to, i can imagine this film being censored, otherwise just be illegal literally. Like we live in hell.

but dont watch it alone, only if you are freaky deaky i guess.

love to my readers.

the queerview

ps: Also I did watch blink twice by Zoë Kravitz. a queerview will follow, but its so hardcore to watch blink twice and p.diddies freak party assault stuff. mentally i cant go down that road, but Kravitz did literally on time...

[asherlockstudy]

I might be going crazyy but I can't help but see a pattern in ALL of their skits and the fact that it's proving one of your theories right is WILD!! (this is also referencing their latest r&l video btw)

Hey. Sorry for the late reply, it's been crazy lately.

👀 But it does, doesn’t it? Glad you see it too.

For context: the theory Anon refers to is “It Has Always Been One Story”.

Like every other time so far, the latest video was symbolic. I was very busy these days so I didn’t have the clarity and time to get all the symbolisms as well as in previous videos, however I adamantly agree with you that it was again an allegory and of course once again it was part of the same one story. This video had many similarities with a lot of their scripted work, most notably Hazel, We Dug A Medium Sized Hole, The Quest for the Brown Diamond and The Puzzle, which are IMO among their symbolically most significant works.

Before continuing with the analysis, I would like to comment on the technical aspect: I loved this video. I see growth in their cinematography, in their direction and the stylisation of the video. Nice work in the spooky moments. It became an instant favourite for me, although it still doesn’t top my all time fave Hazel, which was very inventive both as a concept and an execution, let alone the wonderful haunting song it had.

Anyway, let’s go:

Rhett and Link decide to spend a night in an unhaunted house. There is resolutely no mention of the intent behind it other than the requirement for it to be unhaunted, although their own houses are also - hopefully! - unhaunted. Of course, the cynical part of the explanation is that this is relevant to Halloween approaching. However, it still doesn’t explain why there isn’t a plot mention of the need behind going together to a house and why it is supposedly so hard to find an unhaunted one. The key question is: apart from the marketing connection to the upcoming Halloween, what does an “unhaunted house” mean in Rhett and Link!verse? Let’s remember that technically according to Hazel, the Creative House is haunted too after all.

As usual, and in complete agreement with both their recent scripted and their real life behaviours, Rhett is semi-anxiously leading the search for a 100% ghost-free house. Link is relaxed, not taking this as seriously, searching instead for luxe houses with special amenities such as spas and fire pits. So we see that not only the true intent is not explained but in fact there are discrepancies between the intents of the two of them, which is something we also see in We Dug A Medium-sized Hole. So, Rhett is focused on finding a ghostless, unhaunted house to go with Link and little else matters to him, whereas Link apparently wants to spend the night with Rhett having spa and sitting by a fire pit and well 👀

Link rejects Rhett’s first house suggestion with the reasoning that a house with very large windows can very likely be haunted as ghosts can push you out the window. This hint made it easier to get what "unhaunted" means in their context. A house without “ghosts” watching you. In short, a house with very good privacy, far from eyes and unwanted witnesses, nosy neighbours, even cameras and monitors nearby in the street 👀That’s what Rhett was anxious to find. Privacy. Link, far less stressed about it, opts for very specific amenities that can heighten his experience while spending there the night with Rhett 👀

If you watch the House Tour vlog of the Creative House, you'll notice that it is a private residence. It seems to have another building (garage? store room? something else?) in front of the fascade of the house and all windows at the front and at the sides are small and frosted, apart from the kitchen's. The only large windows are the ones which look to the back of the house, the yard with the pool, where it seems there is no visibility from the surrounding houses. Yet again, I am not sure it is 100% an allegory of the Creative House, although that's where I lean. It could also be their prerequisites when renting Airbnbs.

There is the title of an article in the house pinboard, reading "Death Valley's Crying House shows no signs of leaks or water presence". I didn't manage to find a meaning behind it however I googled it and I did not find anything about a crying house in Death Valley so it seems oddly specific if they made it up. If anybody knows that this is a real thing please tell me about it. Just as a sidenote.

When I heard that one of Link's suggestions had spa and a fire pit, I knew this one would end up being the one they would go to. Not only because obviously Link would get his way with his wants as usual but because in real life the Creative House has similar amenities: a pool and a fireplace, both luxe amenities, especially the fireplace in LA and especially either one when a house is supposedly needed only as a space for isolation to “work”.

"Two options for us to hang. We're going to get in a hot tub, we're going to get by the fire and then we're going to get in a bed. "

Do I really have to comment anything here? I will only remind everyone that this is scripted, so Link is scripted to misphrase like this and then Rhett of course is scripted to correct him. Is this a scripted gay joke then? Rhett saying they don't queerbait flashing before my eyes Not really. It is what it's been in all those videos so far - conditioning. Not coming out and taking the world by storm but planting progressively the idea and the image to the viewers again and again until they get used and more open to it.

..... By the way, Jane Phillips is real. So is her business Geyser Energy Clearing Services. I kinda hoped it was an actress but... Of course she was told to suggest the ranch house. I love that on facebook (yeah I searched it, not proud) she says her services are cheap and then she charged them 997$ to do nothing XD Of course, I assume this price includes having her on camera, the implication that her presence would be used in a comedic manner and that she was told to suggest the ranch house no matter what. But still. And why is this price so particular, like, why 997 lol It's interesting though that this psychic claims to summon Jesus, Mary and the Angels (!!!! is she for real, honestly, wtf) so technically Rhett and Link go there supposedly with the conviction that Christianity protects them. But as we will see soon, Christianity did not protect them after all.

Rhett being super equipped for ghost detection reminds me of Horst in the Brown Diamond being super equipped with healthy snacks for the quest. Not a very particular symbolism, but just the pattern of Rhett being the anxious one and the one who prepares for everything that may go sideways during what they do.

So Rhett buys equipment for the detection of paranormal activity. He checks the EMF on the fridge, dead. He checks it on Link's torch, dead. He checks it on his phone and whooosh

EMF detects the radiation from the phone, which is normal, except the phone wakes, we see the well known wallpaper of Jessie and we are hit with a spooky note of the score. Why? If EMF is just checked for detecting radiation in a clearly radiating device, then why is this treated as a scary moment? And why doesn't EMF respond on the fridge? So it can not be just that. Perhaps I am stretching this but it's interesting that the hour is 3:36. We just saw when they entered that it was a bright day so I am assuming he uses a 12 hour format, but the point is he makes it look like it's 3:36 AM, I mean, this is the instictual thought before you realise that "oh it's afternoon so it's 15:36 in a 12 hour format". If we combine an hour that looks like 3:36 AM with the scary score note and the fear of detecting ghosts, we get this implication:

Is Jessie or the mobile phone the type of ghost Rhett's fearing?

Anyway, a little later, after they are finally convinced the house is unhaunted, they go to the spa and apparently Link went in with his underpants because he forgot his swim trunks. I kinda think this might be real Link forgetting about it as he was going to the set!

About this scene, it didn't have something to analyze except that Link seemed to be all about Rhett's business, first with the placement of the legs and then when he get unnecessarily close to leave the voice message. Another thing I would like to comment on is that there seems to be steadily a female presence in their scripted works, whose role is ambiguous, and sometimes even treacherous, i.e Jane, Hazel, Brandy.

Anyway then they go to the firepit when they have this somewhat charged moment as they try to find how exactly to spend the rest of the night.

They decide to play a board game, which definitely gives The Puzzle vibes, and let's remember the Puzzle is a 2015 video... Anyway, they find a game in the drawer which is actually not a board game but rather a roleplay game. The game alludes to the well known phrase "When the cat's away the mice will play".

They decide Link to be the cat and Rhett to be the mouse (once again it can allude to the fact that Link was the initiator of this relationship or this arrangement, as hinted in most of their relevant skits) but it soon becomes evident that they are just the mice and someone else is the cat.

While we initially see Link trying to protect Rhett from the extermeowinator, which is a deviation from their usual script patterns, it actually isn't. Yes, Link rushes to defend Rhett, however in his effort, the extermeowinator actually injures HIM with the knife. So then we have a return to their typical pattern, which is that Link is in need and Rhett tries to get him out and save him. That's what always happens - Rhett tries to get Link out of Hazel's forest in the middle room, Rhett tries to get Link out of his head while losing control during the digging, Rex is [SPOILERS] saving Leif who's trapped deep in the monster's lake in TLCOBC. We still have the pattern of Rhett trying to get Link out of something and save him.

Link is hurt close to the heart. Rhett manages to get him out of the house and yet, ridiculously enough, Link reminds Rhett the owner charges a fine for not putting the dishes in the dishwasher and the sheets in the washing machine (did they use the sheets though...?). Outrageously, Rhett agrees to go back inside and do that stuff before leaving, which leads to their ultimate demise.

Two last notes here: One, of course we have the recurring theme of Rhett saving Link only for them to then fall even harder in the shitty situation, Rhett takes the final decision for them to go back in the house, Link was just reminding him about it but it was Rhett who made the decision. Rhett after stopping Link from digging, then is of the opinion to make a larger hole than the one Link suggests. Rhett is the one to be taken and then draw Link with him the second time Hazel attacks. Horst first persuades Sandy to let go of the Brown Diamond, only to immediately beg him to get his hand back there in order to retreive his phobias bracelet, which leads to their ultimate demise there too. We have the same pattern again.

Two, "death" seems to mean something very particular and significant between Rhett and Link. I started having thoughts about it in the "Valentine Compliments" GMMore a couple of years ago, the notorious episode where Rhett lost it at some point and blamed shippers for having too many expectations. And yet in that very episode, Link made the compliment "I love to remember when we died. This is heaven" to Rhett. Rhett does not treat this as gibberish but they keep discussing it in a coded language, according to which they both killed each other at some point simultaneously (with prods of some sort). They also tied it to their spiritual deconstruction, arguing humorously that it all happened at the same time so hopefully God lost track of whether or who was supposed to go to heaven or hell. Anyway, after this, I have indications (too many and too small to name and number) that they sometimes use death to symbolise a spiritual / religious death caused by a mutual act between them rather than their alleged mature decision to leave church. So, "stay in the house where Rhett and Link died", has three meanings; a) actual death in the context of the video, b) allegory of a spiritual death and c) symbolism of the act that caused the spiritual death. I have talked about this in my analysis of the aforementioned GMMore, it is IMO 99% a reference to both Le Petit Mort and spiritual death caused by sin.

What I can not figure out is what exactly extermeowinator is supposed to signify. Is he a plain killer looming in the house and there meaning behind him profiting from their death (as suggested by @mpay22 )? Is he a ghost from the ones they were trying to avoid? Does he symbolise an actual person or group of people they hide from or who have trapped them? Does he symbolise the unrelenting nature of love? Is he the personification of guilt? Is he God's judgement? Or as a demon (unbeaten by Jesus and Mary as we saw) he is the sin itself? It seems like extermeowinator has the most similarities with Hazel, but then again Hazel is portrayed somewhat more sympathetically than him.

In any case, the end is the same. Rhett and Link are killed by extermeowinator and never leave the house. Hazel drags them in her forest and they never leave the middle room. Horst and Sandy die trapped in the Bahau Moon.

[fagenthusiast]

Romulus: Minute by Minute

Today I watched Aliens: Romulus, and recorded what I thought about the film when I felt something cool happened. I arrived at the theatre at 8:00PM, all of these notes are unedited and were recorded as the film happened

Start: 8:00 PM Oh nice! Neurodivergency rep! So far the sound effects are the high point for me.

8:02 Oh.

8:04 Tyler? They named this bitCh Tyler? Good to know the upper middle class survived to the future Not a big fan of drawing a comparison between autistic ppl and synths. Like, just make him a guy, and someone else the robot. Or, better yet, don’t insert harmful metaphors into your work.

8:11 I hate Tyler and his bitch brother. They’re the sort of people who are „progressive „ but just don’t want ppl to know what they are. This fucking guy Is talking death threats to the synth, and the other is baby talking him. And then they said the synth doesn’t actually feel anything, and the girl is portrayed as wrong and guilty for taking care of him.

8:21: bitch

8:39: If there’s anything I can compliment this film on, it’s lighting. The sickening yellows and clinical whites add a lot of character to each scene. Also, the lcd panels are hidden really poorly as crts, just some glass and an overlay. They aren’t even 4:3!

8:43: The use of practical effects where CGI would be more convenient warms my heart. It’s done so well too! That just makes me wonder about this abomination:

Just make his face really burned or something, plus, why is he on the Romulus? Callback points?

8:46 Some of this mild horror during scenes where the characters need to be quiet is stellar. This movie handles it’s jumpscares fantastically. Still don’t like that that guy is alive. (The British man)

8:49 I’m glad they didn’t keep the autism thing, this new use of Andy as a direct arm of corporate shittery is much more effective. He legit doesn’t care. I don’t like that British guy lived and the pilot didn’t. I hate British guy.

8:54 Callback!!! Why does Brit have to teach her tho? I get that it’s for the sake of callback, but it would be both more creepy and cooler if Andy said all of that instead, having a machine explain to you how something it’s never seen in fine detail!

8:57 Again, why must he be gun man? Is it to give his character an excuse to exist? I’m neutral about the gun redesign

8:59 I love Andy’s permanent slight concern face, even in death he keeps it up. Must’ve been hard for the actor, I cramp after minutes of that face

9:00 Yes!! The Brit died! Huzzah! Huzzah!

9:05 I think in a way, they handled Andy’s death well. She removes the chip because the OG Andy is the real one. He’s not defective, he’s just Andy.

9:07 By god. That pulse rifle sound fx is holy. I would pray to it. Maybe it’s the theatre speakers but Jesus Christ.

9:08: I think somewhere along the line Ridley realized how shit the og depictipn of Andy was, and this is an apology.

9:10 You just KNOW this pulse rifle sound is gonna be used in one of Those arcade on rails shootemups with the crazy recoil

9:11: boy howdy do these guys not know what a planets rings look like

9:13: these practical effects, omg! That right there is the face of death. ( the alien ofc)

9:20 I. Hate. Shock. Horror. It’s pointless and cheap and dulls the experience for ppl like me, with birth and pregnancy shit being a specific trigger.

9:22 The cinematography and tight camera angles is really well done. Alien man!!

9:26 Dude this movie is callback central! I don’t hate it at all, and it relieves tension where it matters, but in tense scenes I’d rather be immersed in the scene plus, ANDY DIED what the fuck this is so tragic

9:30 Hoopla shit she lives!!! Ohh my god holy shit THANK THE PULSE RIFLE SFX!

SUMMARY

7.5/10

The autism/robot parralel is unneeded and tacky. it bogs down the film and alienates people like me. other than that, this film maintains the alien vibe, and is a breath of fresh air when it comes to the slew of shite alien films. the human/human/alien hybrid at the end is pointless and confusing, and acts as an excuse to have a gross birth scene thats a little too much for me personally. its flawed, not as good as aliens, better than 3.

[animehouse-moe]

Trigun Stampede Episode 3: Bright Light, Shine Through The Darkness

I'll keep this one brief. This is, start to finish, a project only Orange could undertake. Not just because it's CGI, not just because of specific pieces, but because it was made with their ability in mind. The story plays to their strengths, the direction favors their style of work, the world, the world the style... all of it is Orange.

The scale of events are things you can only reasonably pull off with 3D work, the crazy movement and ideas impossible to otherwise be realized. It's just something that couldn't be as amazing as it is without Orange behind the wheel, and that's a ridiculously impressive feat.

Moving on though, the direction continues to really be incredible. The cinematography has been incredible, continuing to play to the strengths of 3D work, but also integrating incredibly well with stuff like the traditional horror pieces. 3D looks best when in motion, whether that's the elements themselves or the camera making up for it. However, with the darker aspects, the camera remains static. They don't skew perspective and they don't even have aggressive angles. It's focused, trained on a single piece to sell each and every little movement. Like Vash's eyebrow twitching or Rosa and the other girl's fear in the face of an unstoppable enemy. It's really such outstanding work, just look at this piece from the end of the episode.

⚠️Warning: Spoilers⚠️

Trigun Stampede really came into this season like a bat outta hell. Like it had something to prove, a reason that it needed to stand so tall. And whether that's to prove itself as an original anime, or as a 3D one, a mix of both, or neither, it hardly matters. Orange is delivering an incredible series, arguably one of the best of the season, and it deserves credit for it.

[flurrin]

RE6 Deep Lore Analysis: Prologue

Welcome to my series where I pick apart a 10+ years old game frame by frame to analyze the storytelling, cinematography, characters and of course additional Lore to fill in the gaps that either don't exist or are poorly conveyed. I'm doing this because the game is often dismissed for being convoluted and too far removed from the Resident Evil series in terms of mechanics. These things are true and it's very much an imperfect game! But the story has a lot of brilliance that goes unrecognized and I want to dive in how the whole thing works, both to new players and to those already enmeshed in the universe. To read the series in order, go here!

Great shot to open the story on, a regular chrysalis thriving in an abandoned car, transforming into something new. We don't get to see anything beautiful like a moth or butterfly unfurling its wings for the first time, we see the insect, and then we cut away as disaster strikes. This obviously foreshadows the use of cocoons as enemy mechanics, and for Leon's campaign in particular, the lack of signs of surviving human life (including over the preceding establishing shots of a fiery city block filmed through the windows of the car) really set the mood.

I don't know if this was the shot that spawned RE's love of 1st person intros later seen in RE3R (not counting 7 because the entire game is 1st person) but it's an impressive bit of camera work, paring down the controls of the game so the player doesn't even have a body per se to control yet, just eyes and interaction commands (the interaction commands + QTEs themselves are...a little bit of a mess gameplay-wise for sure). We don't know this is Ada or that she's actually shooting at the zombies around Leon and not at him and Helena, so there's an active threat without having to push the player into combat right away.

RE6 is excellent at transition shots, here the gun is highlighted by the helicopter and thrown into the foreground of the next shot so your brain has realigned to recognize this is the POV character seamlessly. This is like a really basic shot, I'm going to show you some CRAZY animated camera tricks later, but it's good to keep in mind that the director knows what he's doing and is doing it well. This shot, this sequence, is also a perfect encapsulation of Leon's character as described in the very first game file. Leon protects the innocent, no matter the risk. He frames Helena, big and square and determined.

Helena being injured in this sequence also aids the tutorial's method of paring down the controls into something simpler, carrying her encumbers Leon, multiplayer doesn't exist yet. It also gives the player immediate stakes to worry about--someone is relying on Leon, and he cares, so the player cares too. We also first learn Helena is self-sacrificial through these extra interactions that don't get a chance to show up in the final game.

The purpose of this kind of hair in character design is to make a character's eyes, and therefore emotions, harder to read (this will be significant again when we talk about Jake later btw). Leon has a lot of baggage from RC and he feels it a lot, but he plays things close to the chest and hides behind his hair. In this way, even though he's a familiar protagonist, he feels almost as mysterious as Helena at the start, giving them an instant reason to connect.

RE6's answer to fixed camera angles is to still frame things cinematically rather than just for the benefit of the player. It's not a great approach to gameplay but thankfully in this one, Leon course corrects on his own and you just have to hold the buttons.

The camera is alive and active through these shots as they fall onto the glass, Leon's body framing the zombies below until they're clear to see beyond the edge of the cracks, a moment of peace before they look up, and the eye follows the path that the ornate light fixture is about to follow and crush them. They're trapped in by the circle of glass and the edges of the lantern.

I will say I hate the last shot of this prologue because the one that opens the game proper is essentially the same exact shot and it always throws me off, the first time I played I was like "Wait, what happened to the giant spire thing we were just standing next to, how are we in a college now". But it was an intentional choice at least to make the transition into the first chapter a lot smoother, I get that.

That's all for the prologue, I didn't want to cover this entire post in "the cinematography is so good here", but as we go through the cutscenes, be sure to keep your eyes on how the lines of the scene (such as Leon's gun and the tiles in the background of that last screencap) line up with the character's eyes to bring your attention there. Everything in the prologue is meant to build up intrigue so there's very little story and I'll talk less about cinematography going forward, but if you want a really good breakdown on what makes a good shot, I can't recommend this case study on Brad Bird's Incredibles enough. See you next time!

[agentnico]

The Fall Guy (2024) review

Reynolds is Free Guy. Gosling is Fall Guy. These Ryans are just such guys!!

Plot: After leaving the business one year earlier, battle-scarred stuntman Colt Seavers springs back into action when the star of a big studio movie suddenly disappears. As the mystery surrounding the missing actor deepens, Colt soon finds himself ensnared in a sinister plot that pushes him to the edge of a fall more dangerous than any stunt.

Ryan Gosling needs to do more comedies. Whether he’s the charming womaniser in Crazy, Stupid, Love, a bumbling private eye in The Nice Guys, a Wall Street snob in The Big Short or finding his inner Kenergy in Barbie, the dude’s got jokes. Not taking away anything from his stoic tortured turns in Drive and Blade Runner 2049, but I’m really enjoying this current Gosling trend of embracing the funny guy persona, as he’s easily a bonafide comedic star. His new studio vehicle The Fall Guy is yet another breezy, light-hearted entertainment given life by Gosling and co-star’s Emily Blunt’s wry comic timing.

Coming to us from director David Leitch, who’s had great success with action films the likes of John Wick and Bullet Train, he delivers here a true love-letter to the craft of stuntmen, with the crazy risks they take and how much work goes behind creating that spectacular action shot that is then seemlessly enjoyed by audiences on the big screen. And there are truly some incredible stunts showcased throughout this movie, and most of it being fully practical with only the smallest amount of CGI used. Its top notch action, with flawless camera work and some great cinematography that pays respect and also pokes fun at certain filmmaking techniques and cliches with a certain memorable sequence involving a very well choreographed split-screen scene. This boosted by a great soundtrack that includes a solid dose of Taylor Swift, I mean it’s perfect early summer blockbuster fun.

The plot is suitably nonsense (as fitting given its 1980s TV origins). Don't think too hard about it. If you ponder questions such as: what about the other witnesses? Can you recover from a broken back to that extent in 18 months? Would he have reported a crime that he was being framed for? When he goes through real windscreens, falls long distances onto hard surfaces, etc., how does he not break any bones? And so on.... well, it will spoil your fun. You can really easily knit-pick the hell out of this movie, but I’m sorry, I’m too busy listening to Ryan Gosling throwing one liners like “I’m gonna beat the shit out of him” multiple times to care for any logic or narrative prowess.

Speaking of Gosling, him and Blunt are the primary reason to see The Fall Guy. These two are both hilarious with their timing and delivery, however more-so they share this incredible chemistry that reminded me a lot of romantic comedies of the early 2000s, and it was truly delightful seeing a real rom-com that’s actually good in 2024! Honestly, even in moments of no dialogue, just when they're looking at each other, you'll know well enough they’re holding back so hard to not just snog the living skin off one another. Like these two want to bang. People were freaking over Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney last year, well they can move over as Gosling and Blunt are now the new power couple! My apologies to their real life partners John Krasinski and Eva Mendes.

Look, The Fall Guy is in no way a masterpiece, but it’s super enjoyable and such a delightful watch where everyone is having a fantastic time. Shout out to other cast members Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hannah Waddingham and Winston Duke all on top form. If you want an easy watch and a perfect date movie - you know what to do. As for me, I just really need Ryan Gosling to play a cool, down-bad simp every year in order to live.

Overall score: 7/10