#tintin is a really fascinating character
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weedle-testaburger · 2 months ago
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one topic I find weirdly charming is stuff for kids that's basically specific to one place. when there's some obscure thing that pretty much everyone outside your country goes 'what?' and everyone in your country goes 'OH MY GOD THAT' when you mention it, that's the shit
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thejournalisttintin · 5 months ago
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I’m also working on a series of timeline age-ups for the Tintin characters, both canon and fanmade. Because these will be the perfect opportunity for me to brainstorm headcanons, as well as accept any suggestions from you all as well.
Now I’m starting off with my favorite ginger dork, Tintin!
Keep in mind, this is my personal interpretation of Tintin’s background, but everyone is free to interpret his history how they like it.
My headcanons for Tintin underneath:
Kid: Both Tintin and his twin brother Martin were left in the same orphanage as infants due to the First World War. Growing up in the orphanage, they never really had anyone to be friends with besides each other. However, they were often picked on simply because they were ginger.
As a kid, Tintin loved doing things that weren’t really considered normal for little boys his age. He was wildly imaginative, pretending sticks were swords, trees and large boulders were castles, and leaf wreaths that he made himself were crowns. He also had this phase where he loved collecting abandoned bird nests, mainly because he found them fascinating.
Preteen: This was known as Tintin’s “problematic” phase. Both Tintin and Martin were taken in by different guardians. Tintin was adopted by the manager of a local newspaper in Brussels, where he would eventually work. Meanwhile, Martin found a family in a wealthy but infertile couple. Yet they attended the same school together, which was a bit of a win.
However, Tintin was known for getting in trouble a lot at school, mainly because he kept getting into fights with the other boys. But the reason he got into fights was mainly out of protecting Martin, who was bullied relentlessly for his peanut allergy and nerdy attitude. This also occurred outside of school, when Tintin picked up a side job as a paperboy.
Teen: During the early canon of the comics. Tintin had decided to work at the local newspaper, which was taken over by a new publisher after the previous one, his adoptive guardian, had passed away. However, the new manager turned Tintin down due to his age, since he was still attending school.
So Tintin came up with the idea of lying about his age to get in. Which unfortunately meant he had to drop out of school, since he’d be working full time.
Martin, meanwhile, worked for a newspaper company on the other side of Brussels, in Antwerp. But Tintin and Martin still remained in contact and wrote to each other, despite them both working for different newspaper companies.
Current: Tintin as we all know him now!
With his dog Snowy, he has since moved into Marlinspike with Captain Haddock. They have also gone on various adventures together, having made friends (and enemies!) along the way. At some point during the post-canon timeline, Tintin starts to grapple with long-kept secrets about his past, some good and some bad, as well as his relationships toward his friends.
So here’s Tintin’s timeline age-up!
Enjoy!
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dimdiamond · 7 months ago
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❤️ for tintin if you're still doing the unpopular opinions ask game
OH RIGHT THIS GAME! OF COURSE! THANK YOU 💕
❤: Which character do you think is the most egregiously mischaracterized by the fandom?
*deep sigh* The most huh? What if I said Tintin himself? Look, I'm not against fanon interpretations and just going against canon because that's what you like and want to do. However, it gets really annoying when people take some interpretations as canon when it's actually not canon or, even if it is, not in the entirety of canon. And I think a big reason this happens with Tintin is because of the animated series, you know the classic one. Let me elaborate.
For many fans the cartoon series was their first approach to The Adventures of Tintin and for many of them it was a childhood favorite. This alone creates a bias, realizing it or not, especially if you haven't read the comics, the original material. Don't get me wrong, I love the cartoon and it's the most faithful adaptation we have of the comics but that doesn't mean it is faithful. Many scenes were cut, violence and alcoholism were limited to the point of changing scenes entirely (I'm looking at you Crab with the golden claws), heck even the official order of the episodes doesn't match the original publication order. There are many reasons for these decisions to have been made and it doesn't mean they're wrong, they just worked for this kind of media and for their target audience at that time (90s cartoons had many limitations regarding what it could be shown, including violence, but that's how we got artists getting creative with how to depict violent themes in a nonviolent way). Yet I have seen fans taking the ideas of this cartoon as if they are the original ones.
Tintin isn't a goody shoes. Tintin is very kind and caring but also chaotic and with his own values and ethics. He doesn't curse out loud and he represses many of his feelings and anger but he is also very patient and understanding. And most of all HE HAS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! Tintin from the first albums and Tintin in the last ones isn't the same guy! I understand people liking his character more in the first adventures but you can't characterize him the same in the later albums. And it's not only because decades passed during the serialization and Herge as an artist and writer changed. It's also showcased in the story, Tintin slowly gets stable companions, friends he shares his adventures and even his life and slowly he becomes mellower and yet more open and honest, he likes his peaceful life and doesn't chase adventure unless it comes to him. How can you have Tintin after Picaros behaving like prior meeting Haddock? As if his previous adventures didn't happen and affect him?
And what the cartoon depiction of Tintin does is to take his softer and calmer traits of his character and show them during all his adventures, regardless of how he acted at each adventure. This works for making an iconic and stable hero of a cartoon but it's not like that in the comics. The movie does the opposite but I see more fans accusing it of mischaracterization although this wilder side is also part of Tintin.
So in summary, my annoyance comes when I see Tintin characterized the same throughout all his adventures although this isn't how he is in the comics and I think this is because of the effect the cartoon had on the fans. In my opinion, Tintin's character is hard to grasp and get because he's the two ends of a spectrum at the same time, calm but violent, patient but impatient (his limits are known to himself only, you can try to kill him and not yell at you but you try to kill yourself and he'll make you regret it), selfless to the point of not caring about himself but selfish enough to do what he wants and believes is right etc.
He's such a fascinating character with many layers and it makes me sad when I see people read him as one dimensional character with no space for changes and development. However every person can have their own interpretation and such and I'm not the fandom police here so go have your fun!
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spiltcandycoatedpunkblood · 4 years ago
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dear peter jackson and steven spielberg: it is illegal for you to make tintin this pretty
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homosexual-fast-dancer · 3 years ago
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Tintin x opera singer! Reader perhaps? Been deprived of Tintin x readers lately aaa
Of course! Thank you for requesting! I have decided to make the reader British for this, hope you don't mind :)
Tintin with Opera Singer S/O
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Tintin was never big on the opera scene, god knows how he hated listening to Bianca screeches it’s just that he was less forthcoming with his feelings on the matter than a certain sailor he knows
So when he was invited by a member of nobility in congratulations of helping them track down the queens missing silver necklace he was rather hesitant to accept, but after much deliberation he decided it would be rude to refuse and accepted the proposal
Haddock complained throughout the show, of course he did, but Tintin didn’t lend him an ear or rather couldn’t as he was far too transfixed on the beautiful opera singer performing on stage, her voice soft and sweet in its way, greatly complimenting her looks
“Say, would you happen to know the name of the mademoiselle performing tonight?” He asked with the slightest amount of hesitance, now that the show was over he had a strong want, no a strong need to talk to her, to know if her personality was just as fascinating and amazing as her looks and singing capabilities
“Well, her name is-” the nobleman began but was interrupted by a softer voice talking over his, “Good sir, my name is (Y/n).”
This startled Tintin and so he turned around to look at the woman that only moments ago seemed so far away but now so close, maybe a little too close as if you were any closer your noses would have been touching and maybe even something directly under your noses
The proximity of your faces made Tintin step back while also trying to calm himself down enough so that he face wouldn’t resemble the far right side of his country's own flag
“Ah, well Miss (Y/n) I just want to compliment you on a truly terrific show, my name is Tintin but the way, you made have heard of me” he said starting to get cocky to which you smirked and raised an eyebrow at him, “if not that’s fine of course, actually you probably haven’t I doubt Belgium newspapers really circulate around here and I’m sure even if they did that you would be far too busy with your work to read them and- I am rambling, aren’t I? Gosh, this is a bad first impression and not to mention how out of character this is for me.”
Yet much to his confusion and somewhat delight you were lightly laughing to yourself charmed by his adorable demeanour, you figured that he did not interact much with woman but even you were having a hard time not fawning over him, “Well, Tintin sir, I must admit I have been a fan of your work for a while, the way you write it always grips my imagination and never lets go.”
Ever since your first interaction and Tintin had to return to Belgium you and he had been writing letters to each other, and every time he was called back to England he always made time to spend with you, of course Haddock also questioned this and in some ways he must have realised Tintin's feelings for you before even Tintin himself did
Yet, over that time he himself had also learnt that he loved not only your singing and appearance but also your wit, grace, and humour, your personality was truly fascinating to him both parts masculine and feminine truly like no other girl he had ever met before
And with one of these visits back he decided to finally be bold about his feelings and finally confess to you how he truly saw you, yet Tintin was also deeply nervous about confronting you with his feelings and so he raised his fist to your door before immediately pulling it back
He repeated this a few times before Snowy had had enough of waiting for his master to tell her and wandered away before wandering back with a rose in his mouth he then pawed Tintin's leg and dropped the rose at his feet.
“I guess I’m really doing this then, huh, boy?” He sighed, took a deep breath, and then banged on the door three times.
You opened the door and saw Tintin standing there eyes closed tightly clutching a rose yet somehow completely missing all of the thorns “(Y/n), I know we’ve been friends for a long time, but I must admit over that time I’ve been starting to having different feelings for you that went past friendly and I mean of course if you want to stay friends that’s completely fine but I must know, how do you feel about… me?” When he said his last word he opened one of his eyes to see you smirking at him, he sighed and grinned sheepishly before starting to go away, “I’ll give you time to think this over, I’m sorry for springing this on you now.”
“I don’t need to think this over, Tintin I must admit I also have been thinking slightly beyond platonic thoughts of you and well what are actions compared to words hmm?” and with that you pulled him into a kiss which he melted into
Fin
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canmom · 3 years ago
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of last night: Spirits Within is truly the epitome of 2000score, managing to perfectly elicit the feeling of a videogame cutscene compilation on youtube. sometimes that game is an fps on the xbox and sometimes it's the longest journey. there's a point where the black marine, woman marine and steve buscemi marine all die in quick succession.
it was interesting watching it back to back with Final Flight of the Osiris just how far their ability to render skin and cloth, not to mention skill at film direction, improved in the space of a couple of years. it would have been fascinating to see where square pictures would have gone; they live on in squeenix's pre rendered promo video/movie tie-in department, but it would be cool to see those guys get to make a non tie in movie after that experience. I'm sure it would be ridiculous and stilted in all the ways spirits within was, but that's quite endearing.
i went in to the polar express with my expectations on the floor. the opening part, when the train seems relatively menacing and various guises of tom hanks manifest to torment the children, including an elaborate dance about hot chocolate, had at least some fascination thanks to the various bizarre creative decisions to attempt to drag a very short children's book out into a full length movie. once it gets to the north pole it just gets painfully tedious at best. had it been a horror movie, with a sense of reserve about using the usual horror movie markers, and just committed to the hints of elftown as some sort of lurid fascist enclave, it might have been something. idk. pretty much what i expected but it did scratch the historical interest angle i guess. i really do hate christmas movies.
tintin was sort of interesting as an illustration of how much all the rules about making technically 'good' art are irrelevant to making something effective. by this point all the kinks in the cg process had been ironed out. the characters, despite the bizarre stylisation, can act convincingly, they're well lit (the lighting is carefully designed to draw focus and layer scenes.), etc. the setpieces are narratively clear and space out their jokes by the book. there are occasional filmmaking flexes like an intricate action sequence that spans one very long take (animation cut), or flashy effects driven transitions where scenes morph from one to another (a desert into an ocean, a character's face and thumb into rocks on a ridge, a character's glasses reflecting a scene into which the camera pulls back) which take care to remind you that spielberg is a big name movie director. the story faithfully ticks off the beats of a tintin comic: head injuries, bumbling thom(p)son antics, chloroform, seaplanes, open topped cars, franco-belgian colonial nostalgia, awkward orientalism (likely less so than hergé's original but still very present in the story structure). the only deviation from tone is tintin having a brief crisis of confidence which haddock talks him out of with a motivational speech, which I'm sure you could find suggested in some kind of screenwriting manual.
and yet the overall effect of it is just... nothing. i do not think I'll remember much of this movie in a week. despite the vast effort and expense, it evinced little more emotion than the same 'huh' when i first heard about it.
something about the film industry produces these director guys with plentiful technical skills and enough name familiarity to get bums in seats, as well as a lot of 'auteur' freedom, but they've run out of interesting things to say with their movies many years ago, and yet because of their reputation they get to do whatever they want pretty much unconstrained. so you get these lavish but weirdly empty, kind of mechanical productions: more elaborate than the movies that made their names but far less impactful. i feel like ridley scott is another example, or indeed the wachowskis (even before reports of the new matrix movie). it's not just the west though - you could say much the same of hayao miyazaki. i don't have much attachment to earlier spielberg honestly, but it definitely feels like whatever people liked about him, it doesn't pertain anymore. who now talks of tintin? i don't know what to take from that - you could say something about bourgeois art (as these guys get rich they get insulated from anything worth expressing in art), or the importance of constraints to creativity, but that's all kind of pat. perhaps instead it's something about the infrastructure of movies on this scale, the very strict design iteration process of vfx houses tending to purse their lips over any interesting individual contribution that takes any sort of risk, and pulling it back to the boring standards of the industry. whatever it is, it's sad to see that 'spark' of personal interest or passion die. I'm dreading when it catches yoko taro lol. perhaps it has already.
i definitely intend to schedule some more compelling stuff for next week to mark the end of the year. possibly some of the super depressing end of my own country's animation - i have had my eye on Plague Dogs for a while, and it might make a 'fun' companion to Pink Flloyd's The Wall. anyway, we'll see. seeing more American animation definitely underlines that concept in sakuga fandom about anime's production process tending to give more room to individual key animators to leave a mark on the final product...
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incomingalbatross · 4 years ago
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All right, here’s my personal timeline of Tintin Development, largely organized by volume.
Volume 1: Boy Reporter Travels World With Dog! No visible home or mention of home, serial adventures that result in no permanent change to his life.
Volume 2: Boy Reporter & Dog Have More Adventures! This time they always start from and end at home base (Labrador Road, Brussels), and though we’re not given much reason to become attached it does make Tintin a little more grounded. Similarly, we now have continuing bit characters--they’re more colleagues than friends (and more comedy than either), but they are a visibly recurring presence in Tintin’s life.
Volume 3: The Boy Reporter Gets a Friend?? The first two books look a lot like Volume 2, but Captain Haddock is here and preparing to break the “friendship of circumstance” mold--as seen in the third book, where the adventure is started by their friendship instead of the other way around. Tintin is going out of his way to socialize with someone?? Tintin and Captain Haddock apparently REGULARLY HANG OUT?? UNPRECEDENTED.
Volume 4: Boy Reporter’s Friend Acquires More Friends--look, Captain Haddock has the Adopting Instinct. That’s just a fact. Admitting that Professor Calculus gets some of the credit for buying Marlinspike, the fact remains that the Captain ended up permanently adding to his surrogate family a man he’d only met earlier that book. (And who he frequently couldn’t stand.) The only reason Calculus is a bigger presence in Tintin’s life than, say, Alembick is because Captain Haddock made them both His People. The three of them spend this volume A) getting the Captain a home big enough to hold the whole cast and B) generally Being Important To Each Other.
Volume 5: Boy Reporter Functions Within A Community. Here the stories are a little less easy for me to lump together, but Land of Black Gold is BRIMMING with Tintin’s continuing connections--Captain Haddock having to call himself out of the story just emphasizes that A) they’re close enough that his first move on being drafted is to let Tintin know and B) that Herge had to ship him out in the first few pages to make Solo Tintin at all believable--and, of course, the premise of the Moon books is just “if one of us is leaving the planet I guess we’re all leaving the planet.” Beautiful.
Volume 6: Boy Reporter Now Officially Adopted. This one opens with Tintin living at Marlinspike, no explanation, and I love it. He’s part of a household now. Each story here opens with the Marlinspike Family being domestic, until Adventure shows up--and then Tintin and Captain Haddock go through it together.
Tintin in Tibet, though, really deserves its own point here. It has Tintin reconnecting with a Volume 1 friend, bringing the changes in his life into stark relief; it has him pulling Captain Haddock into danger more blatantly than any other story, also emphasizing the bonds he has now; and it’s one of the bleakest stories out there, with Tintin in a darker place and everyone almost dying repeatedly.
It’s ALSO the last time we see Tintin running into danger of his own initiative...
Volume 7: Boy Reporter Has A Home (And Would Like To Keep It, Thank You). While Tintin still copes well with whatever situation he finds himself in, of course, these stories are remarkable because he really does have to find himself in trouble--he’s not looking for it at all. Plots range from “Everybody Stays Home” to “It Was Supposed To Be A Normal Plane Flight” to “Tintin Would REALLY LIKE Everybody To Stay Home”. And I think looking at that in relation to Tintin in Tibet is FASCINATING. He’s had a priority shift...and it makes sense, honestly. It’s harder to run headlong into danger when you know what you’re risking, huh?
In summary: Boy Reporter Has Adventures, Forms Real Relationships, And Finds Himself Maturing In Ways He Didn’t Know He Needed To.
(Also I very much love Captain Haddock.)
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northernscruffycat · 3 years ago
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Tagged by @101flavoursofweird
I’ll tag @pandirpus @krokonoko @my-artblog-is-ssjumi @yallemagne @amberrgalaxy @swamp-y and anyone else who wants to do this. But this is a pretty long one, so don’t feel like you have to :3 (On that note, I’ll be putting most of this under a cut for exactly that reason)
How many works do you have on AO3?
131 at the moment. But some of those are different oneshots from FFN that I posted into one fic when porting over to AO3, so I’d be fascinated by what the actual amount of fanfics I’ve written is.
What’s your total AO3 word count?
1242922 words
How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?
Just counting what’s on AO3, so far I’ve written for 17 fandoms. They are: Free!, Professor Layton, Hades Game, Steven Universe, Pokemon, Ace Attorney, Yu-Gi-Oh DM, Yu-Gi-Oh GX, Yu-Gi-Oh 5d’s, Sonic the Hedgehog, Super Mario, Dr. Stone, Tintin, Night in the Woods, GetBackers, Good Omens and Cooking Mama What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
‘just wanted to write a fic where senku says ‘get excited’ during sex’ (My SenGen oneshot that gets a wave of attention whenever a new chapter or episode of Dr. Stone comes out)
‘laughable’ (An Ares/Hypnos oneshot I wrote purely as a sample for a zine app and underestimated how popular that ship is lol)
‘the prince with specific tastes; the king with specific regrets’ (THAT Theseus fic. My absolute fave thing I’ve ever written)
‘Shallow Grave, Shallow Bae’ (A Reigisa fic based on Octopimp’s 50% Off! abridged series of Free!; I honestly do think this fic slaps and I’m glad folks like it)
‘Barrel of Monkeys’ (The AsaIku & KisuHiyo collab fic I wrote with Amber that was a lotta fun and I’d love to do something like this with them again one day for a different fandom. Also, I feel like we captained the small KisuHiyo fandom with this fic back in the day)
Do you respond to comments, why or why not?
I generally respond to comments. Almost always, unless I really can’t think of anything to say in reply, which is pretty rare. Comments make me so happy and I just want to let people who do comment know that I appreciate them.
What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?
I think the angstiest fic I wrote was a Free! fic called ‘Moves Across the Land’ - the premise of which is that Makoto died as a young adult of an illness and each chapter is a different person in his life receiving a letter that he wrote for them before he died. But that one had an optimistic ending, with Haru and Kisumi unexpectedly finding a newly strengthened friendship in sharing the grief of Makoto’s death. So I guess technically the angstiest ending I wrote was a short Archie/Maxie oneshot where Maxie gets killed by Kyogre lol
Have you ever received hate on a fic?
Yes, but I ended up agreeing with it! Waaay back (probably more that 10 years ago at this point), I wrote a bunch of Layton/Rosetta oneshots that I now don’t stand by. One of them, in my naivety, I went too far with and breached uncomfortable territory. I got a couple of comments about how uncomfortable it was, so I ended up deleting that particular fic and felt better after it was gone.
Do you write smut? If so what kind?
I am a fledgling at writing smut, which is probably obvious to anyone who’s read my smut haha. When I do write it, I prefer to focus on the dialogue between the characters - I like a banterous smut scene. Also, they’re usually pretty tame. I like writing about handjobs, blowjobs and wanking the most when I do write smut.
Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not that I know of.
Have you ever had a fic translated?
Again, not that I know of, but that would be awesome! A few years ago, a kind person messaged me about potentially translating my Layton fic ‘Grasping Liquid’ into French, but I don’t think they went through with it in the end. Though honestly, the dialogue and slang in that fic is pretty much illegible in English, so I reckon it’d be a tough fic to translate.
Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Yes, the aforementioned ‘Barrel of Monkeys’ that I co-wrote with @amberrgalaxy It was a lot of fun and I love it :D
What’s your all time favorite ship?
Hmm... I don’t think I have a single all time favourite. I jump through a lot of OTPs and they always mean a lot to me, but it wouldn’t seem fair to pick out a single one that’s always shined brighter than the others, because that’s not really how my hyperfixations work. But my current favourite ships are Momus/Heracles (to be narcissistic) and TheseZag from Hades Game. While my oldest ship that I’m still invested in is Yami/Seto from Yu-Gi-Oh DM.
What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?
Shockingly, I don’t have any right now. A few years ago (I think 2018?), I made a point of going back and finishing ALL my old WIPs that I’d left hanging but intended to finish, even for fandoms I didn’t plan on going back to. So that freed my conscience of them and felt pretty good. At the moment, my only WIP is ‘if found please return to the underworld’ - an AU where Zagreus does make it to Olympus, so Hades sends Theseus, Asterius and Meg to try to get him back. But I’ve only just started writing that one, so I do hope to stick with it until it’s finished.
What are your writing strengths?
Dialogue. Definitely dialogue. I’m told that I capture the canon voices of characters pretty well and that’s always what I’m trying the hardest to get right, so it means a lot to me. I also feel like I’m good at keeping a fic flowing, without being bogged down by too much detail. But the downside of that is that I often sacrifice description, so I still hope to find the balance. Since Hades Game has more flowery prose than I’m used to, I think getting into that series actually helped me with this.
What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?
I do not think I am experienced enough to be able to pull this off well and would worry too much about making mistakes.
What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?
It was Pokemon, but those fics aren’t online anymore. The oldest fics you can still find buried somewhere with my name attached to them are Sonic fics.
What’s your favorite fic you’ve ever written?
‘the prince with specific tastes; the king with specific regrets’ - Sometimes I look back at that fic and wonder if I actually wrote it, since I avoided falling into all of my usual traps: I researched it properly and frequently, I kept the focus on the five main characters instead of getting distracted by introducing a million other character like I usually do, I plotted the fucker out from start to finish instead of winging it, and I worked the flashbacks into it in a way that balanced the present-day out instead of distracting from it. Also, I got the whole thing written in about two months, instead of staling for years. ...Whatever possessed me when I wrote that fic, please come back. (It was the first time I’d had two weeks off together in about three years, so I think that had a lot to do with it) OH YEAH and that same kinda villain OC who I recycle in every fandom I’m in actually landed this time. It brought me so much joy to see how much people loved to hate Momus. Those two months when I was posting that fic are easily a highlight of my life. :D
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sauceproxy · 3 years ago
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1, 2, 8, 19!
1. What period of history do you enjoy learning about?
the 1930s animation industry! i’m fascinated by the development of rubberhose cartoons characterised by studios such as fleischer; when i was younger i was a big fan of felix the cat shorts and the distinct style it had.
2. Who is your favourite fictional character and why?
that's a hard one! i've accumulated many favourite characters over the years! i think overall it'd have to be sammy lawrence from bendy and the ink machine, he was my first proper favourite. i dig his design and character backstory; the pipeline from music director to literal devil's advocate is really funny to me
8. What are your top three films? Books?
i am eagerly rubbing my metaphysical hands together
film-wise:
us
the adventures of tintin: secret of the unicorn
slow west
book-wise:
house of leaves (mark z. danielewski)
it devours! ( joseph fink & jeffrey cranor)
the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy (douglas adams)
19. Do you prefer forests, sea shores, or meadows?
i'd say sea shores, i've had plenty of pleasant memories spent down by the beach. i love long walks around isolated coves and collecting sea gems- i'm yet to find fossilied shark teeth, but i'm determined!
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loadthree979 · 3 years ago
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Daniel Craig Clue Movie
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List Of Daniel Craig Movies
Daniel Craig Film Clue
Knives Out—In theaters November 27, 2019. Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Toni Collette, Don Johnson, Michael Shannon, LaKeith Sta. This crossword clue Notting Hill Actor Who Plays Daniel Cleaver In The Romantic Comedy Movie Bridget Jones's Diary: 2 Wds. Was discovered last seen in the June 18 2020 at the Daily Themed Crossword. The crossword clue possible answer is available in 9 letters. This answers first letter of which starts with H and can be found at the end of T. Clue (1985) is one of my favorite comedies ever as it is a quick 96 minutes of non-stop hilarity. Director Jonathan Lynn makes long sweeping shots of the gorgeous mansion set look as lovely as his quick cuts to each character. His fast paced direction makes Clue a breeze to watch and revisit time and again. The reason you are here is because you are looking for the Fictional spy portrayed by Daniel Craig crossword clue answers and solutions which was last seen today August 21 2018, at the popular Daily Themed Crossword puzzle. Clue: Fictional spy portrayed by Daniel Craig Possible Solution: BOND Already found the solution for Fictional spy Read more →.
The reason you are here is because you are looking for the to Die upcoming spy film starring Daniel Craig which is the 25th installment in the James Bond series: 2 wds. Crossword clue answers and solutions which was last seen today January 2 2020, at the popular Daily Themed Crossword puzzle.
No Time to Die
2020
UK
2h 43min
Directed by: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Cast: Daniel Craig, Rami Malek, Lea Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Jeffrey Wright, Ana de Armas, Dali Benssalah, David Dencik, Lashana Lynch, Billy Magnussen
UK release: 2 April 2021
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The 25th James Bond film is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and sees Daniel Craig in the lead for one last time.
Knives Out
2019
US
2h 10min
12A
Directed by: Rian Johnson
Cast: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Christopher Plummer
UK release: 27 November 2019
When mystery writer Harlan Thrombey (Plummer) is found with his throat slit, puffed-up private detective Benoit Blanc (Craig) gets on the case. A wickedly knowing, flamboyantly bitchy take on the whodunnit, with a great cast, bags of style and a splendidly outrageous comic turn from Craig. Bloody good fun.
Logan Lucky
2017
US
1h 59min
12A
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Seth MacFarlane, Riley Keough, Katie Holmes, Daniel Craig
UK release: 25 August 2017
Jimmy (Tatum), his brother Clyde (Driver) and sister Mellie (Keough) enlist the help of redneck jailbird and explosives expert Joe Bang (Craig) to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Soderbergh’s latest comedy heist movie is perhaps his best, with a great cast, a satisfying plot and witty dialogue.
Kings
2017
UK
1h 26min
Directed by: Deniz Gamze Ergüven
Cast: Halle Berry, Daniel Craig, Lamar Johnson
Following the life of a foster family in LA amidst the riots that followed the Rodney King trial verdict.
Spectre
2015
UK
2h 28min
12A
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Cast: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Andrew Scott, Dave Bautista, Stephanie Sigman
UK release: 26 October 2015
James Bond (Craig) comes up against a global crime syndicate, while back at home, the 00 programme is under threat from reckless moderniser C (Scott). With its swagger, dry humour and frequent, well-executed action it's a solid crowdpleaser, but the story is predictable, the characterisation is thin and overall it lacks…
Skyfall
2012
UK
2h 25min
12A
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Written by: John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade
Cast: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, Naomie Harris, Bérénice Marlohe
UK release: 26 October 2012
When cyber-terrorists steal an MI6 hard drive, 007 is ordered to recover it. After the let-down of Quantum of Solace, the 23rd official Bond movie is a belter; the script is smart, Craig is better than ever, and Bardem is a thrilling villain. 50 years on from Dr No, it's a well-wrapped birthday present.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2011
US / Sweden / UK / Germany
2h 37min
18
Directed by: David Fincher
Cast: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright, Yorick van Wageningen, Joely Richardson
UK release: 26 December 2011
An investigative journalist (Craig) forms an uneasy alliance with a computer hacker (Mara) in an attempt to solve a disappearance. Th400 transbrake kit. Fincher amps up the dark poetry and Mara exudes a barely suppressed rage in every scene, elevating a populist novel into a compelling (if overlong) drama of bleakness and corruption.
Dream House
2011
US
1h 31min
15
Directed by: Jim Sheridan
Written by: David Loucka
Cast: Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Marton Csokas
UK release: 25 November 2011
Publisher Will (Craig) relocates to the suburbs with his wife (Weisz) and daughters, but when their house turns out to be the scene of a massacre, the domestic dream turns sour. Best remembered as the movie that saw Craig and Weisz get together, because their chemistry can't save the clunky script and inert direction.
The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn
2011
US / New Zealand
1h 47min
PG
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig
After buying a replica model ship at a flea market, Tintin (Bell) is embroiled in a world of subterfuge. Not since Indy's third outing has Spielberg felt so fresh and unshackled; it feels like a hark back to the heyday of 1980s adventure cinema.
Cowboys and Aliens
2011
US
12A
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Cast: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde
Drunk and trouble maker Jake (Craig) is broken out of jail and forced to help grumpy old Arizona lawman Percy (Ford) when aliens start to attack. Dull, humourless and over written sci fi western from Iron Man director Favreau.
One Life
2011
UK
U
Directed by: Michael Gunton, Martha Holmes
Written by: Michael Gunton, Martha Holmes
Cast: Daniel Craig (voice)
Documentary for kids featuring stunning footage of animals in the wild and narrated by Daniel Craig.
Defiance
2009
US
2h 16min
15
Directed by: Edward Zwick
Written by: Edward Zwick, Clayton Frohman
Cast: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, George MacKay
Remarkable true story of the Bielski brothers, three real-life heroes who, against all odds, preserve a community of Jews who escape Poland for the forests of Belarus during WWII. Allied with the Russian resistance, the community thrives unexpectedly, leaving leader Tuvia Bielski (Craig) with heavy responsibilities.
Flashbacks of a Fool
2008
UK
1h 53min
15
Directed by: Baillie Walsh
Written by: Baillie Walsh
Cast: Daniel Craig, Harry Eden, Claire Forlani, Felicity Jones, Eve, Emilia Fox, Jodhi May, Miriam Karlin
Set in present-day California and an English seaside resort circa 1972, Joe Scott (Craig between Bond outings), is a washed up Hollywood star who recalls a traumatic teenage experience that leads to professional success and personal self-destruction. Good supporting performances and rather pedestrian flashbacks make for…
Quantum of Solace
2008
UK / US
1h 45min
12A
Directed by: Marc Forster
Written by: Ian Fleming, Michael G Wilson
Cast: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Gemma Arterton, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini
'Quantum of Solace' starts with a trademark action sequence involving cars burning rubber around narrow roads and then proceeds to jump from one thrill to another, while moving through locations like pages in a travel brochure. A major plus is Amalric's turn as the villain Dominic Greene, head of an organisation which…
The Golden Compass
2007
US / UK
1h 45min
12A
Directed by: Chris Weitz
Cast: Dakota Blue Richards, Freddie Highmore, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, Jim Carter, Tom Courtenay, Ian McKellen, Ian McShane, Ben Walker
Based on the novel by Phillip Pullman, this fantasy adventure follows Lyra (Richards), who has been entrusted with the last remaining 'alethiometer', or golden compass, which she must keep from the power-crazed Magisterium. The world Weitz has created is beautifully designed and fascinating, but choppily structured and…
The Invasion
2007
US
1h 39min
15
Directed by: Oliver Hirschbiegel, James McTeigue
Written by: Dave Kajganich, Wachowski brothers
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jackson Bond, Jeffrey Wright, Veronica Cartwright
Another reworking of classic 1950s thriller 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'. A mysterious epidemic is sweeping the world, and when a DC psychiatrist (Kidman) discovers its extraterrestrial origin, she and her colleague (Craig) must work together to find a cure before they become its next victims. A waste of celluloid.
Infamous
2006
US
1h 58min
15
Directed by: Douglas McGrath
Written by: Douglas McGrath, Book:, George Plimpton
Cast: Toby Jones, Sandra Bullock, Lee Pace, Daniel Craig, Jeff Daniels, Peter Bogdanovich
A more flamboyant and light-hearted biopic of Truman Capote than Bennett Miller's 2005 film 'Capote'. Jones is great in the lead as the eccentric writer but a weak supporting cast renders this the lesser of the two.
Casino Royale
2006
US / UK / Czech Republic
2h 24min
12A
Directed by: Martin Campbell
Written by: Ian Fleming
Cast: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench
The prequel to the other Bond films time warps back to the enduring action hero becoming a 00 licensed to kill. The latest Bond (Craig) proves to be a strong leading man, but the film is let down by trying to do too much. With a weak villain and Bond girl to boot, it doesn't really feel like a Bond film at all.
Renaissance
2006
France / UK / Luxemburg
1h 45min
15
Directed by: Christian Volckman
Cast: Daniel Craig, Romola Garai, Jonathan Pryce
Impressive looking 3D futuristic thriller with a black and white render which never quite gets going. Paris 2054. Ilona Tassueiv (Garai), a young and brilliant researcher is violently kidnapped. Avalon, a giant multinational corporation and her employer, wants her found. Dellenbach (Pryce), Avalon's CEO, has requested…
Enduring Love
2004
UK
1h 40min
15
Directed by: Roger Michellv
Cast: Rhys Ifans, Daniel Craig, Samantha Morton
Based on Ian McEwan's bestseller, a man's worldview is bruised when his attempt to save a boy from a hot air balloon accident goes wrong.
Part 2: How to access iMessage on Chromebook 1. The app Chrome Remote Desktop must be downloaded from chrome web store on your Mac or Win computers. The downloading and installation will be quickly completed on the computers. Imessage on chromebook. Chrome Remote Desktop allows access to another computer's apps and files securely via the Chrome browser or Chrome book. So connect the two computers through the security code and enjoy the iMessage on your Windows PC. 2 Jailbreak your iPhone. There is one more method through which you can get iMessage for windows.
Layer Cake
2004
UK
1h 45min
15
Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
Cast: Daniel Craig, Sienna Miller, Michael Gambon
Daniel Craig Clue Movie Poster
A cocaine dealer works his way through two tough assignments from his boss on the day before his retirement.
The Mother
2003
1h 30min
Directed by: Roger Michell
Written by: Hanif Kureishi
Cast: Anne Reid, Daniel Craig, Cathryn Bradshaw
A recently widowed grandmother embarks on an affair with a man half her age, who is also sleeping with her daughter.
Sylvia
2003
UK
1h 40min
15
Directed by: Christine Jeffs
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Daniel Craig, Lucy Davenport
A biopic of the relationship and fatal attraction between poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes.
Road to Perdition
2002
US
1h 57min
15
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Cast: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Daniel Craig, Tyler Hoechlin
A Depression era gangster picture with solid American family values. It may also, like Mendes' absurdly overrated Oscar-winner 'American Beauty', fool cinema-goers into confusing its moody self-importance for profound insight. For here are Big Stars, Big Themes (Fathers and Sons, Loyalty and Betrayal, Sin and Salvation…
Filter by:
No Time to Die
2020
UK
2h 43min
Directed by: Cary Joji Fukunaga
Cast: Daniel Craig, Rami Malek, Lea Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Jeffrey Wright, Ana de Armas, Dali Benssalah, David Dencik, Lashana Lynch, Billy Magnussen
UK release: 2 April 2021
The 25th James Bond film is directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and sees Daniel Craig in the lead for one last time.
Knives Out
2019
US
2h 10min
12A
Directed by: Rian Johnson
Cast: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Christopher Plummer
UK release: 27 November 2019
When mystery writer Harlan Thrombey (Plummer) is found with his throat slit, puffed-up private detective Benoit Blanc (Craig) gets on the case. A wickedly knowing, flamboyantly bitchy take on the whodunnit, with a great cast, bags of style and a splendidly outrageous comic turn from Craig. Bloody good fun.
Logan Lucky
2017
US
1h 59min
12A
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Seth MacFarlane, Riley Keough, Katie Holmes, Daniel Craig
UK release: 25 August 2017
Jimmy (Tatum), his brother Clyde (Driver) and sister Mellie (Keough) enlist the help of redneck jailbird and explosives expert Joe Bang (Craig) to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Soderbergh’s latest comedy heist movie is perhaps his best, with a great cast, a satisfying plot and witty dialogue.
Kings
2017
UK
1h 26min
Directed by: Deniz Gamze Ergüven
Cast: Halle Berry, Daniel Craig, Lamar Johnson
Citrix workspace silent install. Following the life of a foster family in LA amidst the riots that followed the Rodney King trial verdict.
Spectre
2015
UK
2h 28min
12A
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Cast: Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Andrew Scott, Dave Bautista, Stephanie Sigman
UK release: 26 October 2015
List Of Daniel Craig Movies
James Bond (Craig) comes up against a global crime syndicate, while back at home, the 00 programme is under threat from reckless moderniser C (Scott). With its swagger, dry humour and frequent, well-executed action it's a solid crowdpleaser, but the story is predictable, the characterisation is thin and overall it lacks…
Skyfall
2012
UK
2h 25min
12A
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Written by: John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade
Cast: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, Naomie Harris, Bérénice Marlohe
UK release: 26 October 2012
When cyber-terrorists steal an MI6 hard drive, 007 is ordered to recover it. After the let-down of Quantum of Solace, the 23rd official Bond movie is a belter; the script is smart, Craig is better than ever, and Bardem is a thrilling villain. 50 years on from Dr No, it's a well-wrapped birthday present.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
2011
US / Sweden / UK / Germany
2h 37min
18
Directed by: David Fincher
Cast: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright, Yorick van Wageningen, Joely Richardson
UK release: 26 December 2011
An investigative journalist (Craig) forms an uneasy alliance with a computer hacker (Mara) in an attempt to solve a disappearance. Fincher amps up the dark poetry and Mara exudes a barely suppressed rage in every scene, elevating a populist novel into a compelling (if overlong) drama of bleakness and corruption.
Dream House
2011
US
1h 31min
15
Directed by: Jim Sheridan
Written by: David Loucka
Cast: Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, Marton Csokas
UK release: 25 November 2011
Publisher Will (Craig) relocates to the suburbs with his wife (Weisz) and daughters, but when their house turns out to be the scene of a massacre, the domestic dream turns sour. Best remembered as the movie that saw Craig and Weisz get together, because their chemistry can't save the clunky script and inert direction.
The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn
2011
US / New Zealand
1h 47min
PG
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig
After buying a replica model ship at a flea market, Tintin (Bell) is embroiled in a world of subterfuge. Not since Indy's third outing has Spielberg felt so fresh and unshackled; it feels like a hark back to the heyday of 1980s adventure cinema.
Cowboys and Aliens
2011
US
12A
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Cast: Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde
Drunk and trouble maker Jake (Craig) is broken out of jail and forced to help grumpy old Arizona lawman Percy (Ford) when aliens start to attack. Dull, humourless and over written sci fi western from Iron Man director Favreau.
One Life
2011
UK
U
Directed by: Michael Gunton, Martha Holmes
Written by: Michael Gunton, Martha Holmes
Cast: Daniel Craig (voice)
Documentary for kids featuring stunning footage of animals in the wild and narrated by Daniel Craig.
Defiance
2009
US
2h 16min
15
Directed by: Edward Zwick
Written by: Edward Zwick, Clayton Frohman
Cast: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, George MacKay
Remarkable true story of the Bielski brothers, three real-life heroes who, against all odds, preserve a community of Jews who escape Poland for the forests of Belarus during WWII. Allied with the Russian resistance, the community thrives unexpectedly, leaving leader Tuvia Bielski (Craig) with heavy responsibilities.
Flashbacks of a Fool
2008
UK
1h 53min
15
Directed by: Baillie Walsh
Written by: Baillie Walsh
Cast: Daniel Craig, Harry Eden, Claire Forlani, Felicity Jones, Eve, Emilia Fox, Jodhi May, Miriam Karlin
Set in present-day California and an English seaside resort circa 1972, Joe Scott (Craig between Bond outings), is a washed up Hollywood star who recalls a traumatic teenage experience that leads to professional success and personal self-destruction. Good supporting performances and rather pedestrian flashbacks make for…
Quantum of Solace
2008
UK / US
1h 45min
12A
Directed by: Marc Forster
Written by: Ian Fleming, Michael G Wilson
Cast: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Gemma Arterton, Judi Dench, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini
'Quantum of Solace' starts with a trademark action sequence involving cars burning rubber around narrow roads and then proceeds to jump from one thrill to another, while moving through locations like pages in a travel brochure. A major plus is Amalric's turn as the villain Dominic Greene, head of an organisation which…
The Golden Compass
2007
US / UK
1h 45min
12A
Directed by: Chris Weitz
Cast: Dakota Blue Richards, Freddie Highmore, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, Jim Carter, Tom Courtenay, Ian McKellen, Ian McShane, Ben Walker
Based on the novel by Phillip Pullman, this fantasy adventure follows Lyra (Richards), who has been entrusted with the last remaining 'alethiometer', or golden compass, which she must keep from the power-crazed Magisterium. The world Weitz has created is beautifully designed and fascinating, but choppily structured and…
The Invasion
2007
US
1h 39min
15
Directed by: Oliver Hirschbiegel, James McTeigue
Written by: Dave Kajganich, Wachowski brothers
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam, Jackson Bond, Jeffrey Wright, Veronica Cartwright
Another reworking of classic 1950s thriller 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers'. A mysterious epidemic is sweeping the world, and when a DC psychiatrist (Kidman) discovers its extraterrestrial origin, she and her colleague (Craig) must work together to find a cure before they become its next victims. A waste of celluloid.
Infamous
2006
US
1h 58min
15
Tumblr media
Directed by: Douglas McGrath
Written by: Douglas McGrath, Book:, George Plimpton
Cast: Toby Jones, Sandra Bullock, Lee Pace, Daniel Craig, Jeff Daniels, Peter Bogdanovich
A more flamboyant and light-hearted biopic of Truman Capote than Bennett Miller's 2005 film 'Capote'. Jones is great in the lead as the eccentric writer but a weak supporting cast renders this the lesser of the two.
Casino Royale
2006
US / UK / Czech Republic
2h 24min
12A
Directed by: Martin Campbell
Written by: Ian Fleming
Cast: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judi Dench
The prequel to the other Bond films time warps back to the enduring action hero becoming a 00 licensed to kill. The latest Bond (Craig) proves to be a strong leading man, but the film is let down by trying to do too much. With a weak villain and Bond girl to boot, it doesn't really feel like a Bond film at all.
Renaissance
2006
France / UK / Luxemburg
1h 45min
15
Directed by: Christian Volckman
Cast: Daniel Craig, Romola Garai, Jonathan Pryce
Impressive looking 3D futuristic thriller with a black and white render which never quite gets going. Paris 2054. Ilona Tassueiv (Garai), a young and brilliant researcher is violently kidnapped. Avalon, a giant multinational corporation and her employer, wants her found. Dellenbach (Pryce), Avalon's CEO, has requested…
Enduring Love
2004
UK
1h 40min
15
Directed by: Roger Michellv
Cast: Rhys Ifans, Daniel Craig, Samantha Morton
Based on Ian McEwan's bestseller, a man's worldview is bruised when his attempt to save a boy from a hot air balloon accident goes wrong.
Layer Cake
2004
UK
1h 45min
15
Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
Cast: Daniel Craig, Sienna Miller, Michael Gambon
A cocaine dealer works his way through two tough assignments from his boss on the day before his retirement.
The Mother
2003
1h 30min
Directed by: Roger Michell
Written by: Hanif Kureishi
Cast: Anne Reid, Daniel Craig, Cathryn Bradshaw
A recently widowed grandmother embarks on an affair with a man half her age, who is also sleeping with her daughter.
Sylvia
2003
UK
1h 40min
15
Directed by: Christine Jeffs
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Daniel Craig, Lucy Davenport
A biopic of the relationship and fatal attraction between poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes.
Road to Perdition
2002
US
1h 57min
15
Directed by: Sam Mendes
Cast: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Daniel Craig, Tyler Hoechlin
Daniel Craig Film Clue
A Depression era gangster picture with solid American family values. It may also, like Mendes' absurdly overrated Oscar-winner 'American Beauty', fool cinema-goers into confusing its moody self-importance for profound insight. For here are Big Stars, Big Themes (Fathers and Sons, Loyalty and Betrayal, Sin and Salvation…
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2 notes · View notes
merry-melody · 4 years ago
Text
umbrella academy s2 thoughts
Or you can read here if you prefer. Formatting’s probably easier there and this is like 4k, so be warned.
So, was not much of a fan. (Wasn't surprised to learn none of the S1 writers were retained into this season, either!)
I feel like it's a little early for this show to be separating the siblings into New Lives, considering how little they interacted throughout the first season.
I would have liked more childhood flashbacks, having an additional Reginald subplot in a show stuffed with seven (or six and a half) leads seems a choice when it didn't link into the siblings in any meaningful way. 
It also made all the siblings curiously less sympathetic, as Diego and Luther in particular, but also Vanya and Klaus to an extent, are berated for showing any kind of effect of their upbringing; but without much 'showing' of said upbringing (or emotional impact at all from the last season - Vanya's obviously out for that own with the hackneyed amnesia plot; Diego is completely over Patch's death - and Grace's, for that matter, although she does at least get acknowledged; and Klaus for some reason seems to have stopped seeing ghosts 99% of the time.) 
I'm very mistrustful, as I mentioned in my S1 notes, that the show will in any way support Reginald's abuse, whether it be the siblings furthering their patterns of copying him without learning to recognise and address this; or by some kind of time loop casuality bullshit.
This season didn't really allay that, just with the general tone - the line Vanya had about sarcastically saying he was loving, or Five calling him 'no boy scout' just seem tonally a very different vibe from S1, like there were already aspects of that where it felt like none of them except Klaus really acted like they'd been raised by a guy who outright harmed them so much as a tough Professor type; and here it seems to double down on that idea. 
Five in particular was almost his father's yes man to an extent, he had several lines about how right their father was; although it was intriguing to see Diego reference how Reginald may have become even worse after Five's disappearance with that 'golden years' remark.
I was intrigued by the lizard reveal, though.
So, Luther wise...hmmm.
Also, on shallow notes, the hair and fashion was really lacking from last season, like apart from Allison/Emmy who looked lovely in the 60s clothes (and Five, Ben and Vanya, who remained pretty much the same), everyone looked worse (even Luther had a little Tintin grown out hairdo going on!)
Didn't love the toilet humour, either, but again, YMMV.
He was a little more likeable than S1, I appreciated how he acknowledged his own failings (which iirc, no one else but Vanya really did all season, and since she didn't recall hers at the time, there wasn't as much emotional impact) - although the cocked gun lessened it a little, lol. And the return of that lovely musical score during, too, nice touch.
It was good to see at least two scenes with him and Vanya interacting, and for them to return to the Five/Luther duo.
It was also interesting to see how Luther, like all his siblings, projects his own feelings onto others, (like his first instinct being that Vanya's pulling some 'bullshit game' when obviously, Vanya was pretty upfront when she lost it; whereas it was Luther who was the one scamming her into the hug-n-choke.)
I liked them bonding over Five being an asshole, too.
(Although I think once again, the lack of trust between the siblings was almost contrived, like Luther in particular seems genuinely pissed off that Five didn't, what, let them all die in a fiery death? I get that they grew up in an environment that promoted mistrust and that they don't really seem to understand their own powers or each others, and Five never explains when he makes a mistake, anyway, but I'm just not sure what Luther's ideal outcome here was.)
I'm clearly an asshole also, because the 'Rooming House for Solitary Men' sign made me laugh every time they showed it.
I feel like some of his characterisation was unsubtly telegraphed (although that's a complaint over all, not just him specific) - like they decided 'sensitive' was their key word there, and just jam in everyone referring to him as that rather than showing it. (...Is Luther sensitive? Like, not dragging him, I'd just not pick that at all for him as a description.)
I also didn't much enjoy the pairing of him and Diego, like to be honest, it was never a pairing even from S1 that I was particularly fascinated by, it's such a well-worn dynamic; and while at least they weren't bickering over numbers, the dude bro banter ('women, amirite?!') and matching lack of IQ (I never thought I'd say Diego seemed dumber than cracking a raw egg to posture, and yet...) was just kind of lowhanging fruit.
I also feel like the goon for Jack Ruby stuff seemed inserted purely for plot contrivance to link to JFK.
(This is also a universal complaint, but I really felt for the actors doing promo, like they come up with all these well thought out explanations about why their characters are making these choices, but the work doesn't really show up in the writing or what was shown onscreen. IIRC, Tom Hopper was talking about Jack Ruby as a replacement father figure and how it's Luther's first stab at independence in terms of supporting himself; and there's this whole thing of Ruby saying he treated Luther like a son, when really, he's in like, two scenes and Luther is very clearly a paid goon. Which isn't to say that's not supporting yourself, a job's a job! I just felt like it didn't really go anywhere.)
I liked the idea that he's the only one who looked for their dad; I liked him still eating his feelings, funnily enough, it's just a good character note.
I don't particularly have investment in him and Allison one way or another yet - I don't care about the moral indignation; I just feel like when they're together, it seems one part them being smug about the others, one part yearning based on the same plot as S1 (she's moved on but seems to want to keep Luther as her back up guy.) Like, I'd love to see those two actually interact over something based on their disparate characters (what would Allison have said if she'd heard Luther's little defense of the Feds to Five?)
There's also a return to that odd juxtaposition from S1 of Klaus' drinking with Luther taking drugs cheerfully and to no effect. (I'm not expecting a DARE commercial, it's just all over the place in tone. That, and I thought Luther 'waSN't ReADy for THaT!')
(This isn't Diego specific, either, but they also do that thing I hate in TV, where they purposefully reference someone specifically in the episode before they rereturn, and Diego got the short straw on that one with the Pogo mention apropros of nothing, so we know we'll see Baby!Pogo shortly.)
Diego: Again, lots of telegraphing. (Do you think the writers want to get across Diego has a hero complex? I wasn't clear after he cat leaps through dimensions, stops a mugging, obsessively stalks JFK, and almost everyone he meets literally holds up placards mentioning 'DIEGO HAS A HERO COMPLEX'.)
Diego got a lot more time onscreen, which is a plus, but the haircut combined with his role as plot monkey made it a neutral point.
I also think Castaneda got the short straw on some of dialogue this year, oof, that Luke Skywalker 'it's a great reference' dialogue felt a bit try hard. 
(Sheehan also took a body blow later with the 'Sexy trash!' one, ouch, like that felt very Designed to Retweet/Gif. 
No one's topped S1 for blatant exposition yet, though: 'You haven't been sober since you were a teen! Not since you started taking drugs to block the ghosts out.')
Randomly, I liked the decent English accent he pulled out of nowhere. And again, David Castaneda I believe, mentioned Patch's death, so it's neat that he thought about the impact of her death on his character, even though it wasn't evident in the plot.
As I mentioned up top, I think Diego kind of suffered from the same thing Klaus did last year, where upon he seems to be the only one who recalls they were actually brought up in an abusive environment; and yet here the focus seems more generic to Diego's a baby (right down to constantly talking about 'bad guys' like a three year old) who has masculinity issues about his mean pop (who tbh, seems to be presented as entirely correct in labelling him a fuckwit, since he behaves like one pretty much all season: 'We chop off his trigger finger!')
(Also there's that contrived Batman style ethics that came up with Luther last year, where they're like 'We can quip over bodies and we grew up literally murdering people', but for some reason, Diego won't 'kill a man before he's committed a crime' (he can stalk one, and cut off his hand, though?)
Likewise, there wasn't a ton of interaction between him and Allison, like in S1, I enjoyed how they kind of overcame their initial mutual dislike with small moments of bonding; whereas here he has to be prompted to talk to her (and that was an adlib, which again, means the actors were considering something the writers overlooked.)
Last year I talked about how much I enjoyed Diego's character and how they walked a very fine line between him combining his desire to be the stereotypical macho figure with his innate sensitivity, so naturally this season we get him butchified to a factor of ten ('I'm the man, here!' 'You're a big pussy!') and almost zero interactions with Klaus, the person besides Grace who brought that out the most last year.
(What happened to those two, last time we saw them they were pretty much the closest in the family besides the Allison/Vanya link; here, Diego's almost contemptous. Has he levelled up in his mind now he's bffs with Luther?) I wanted to find the scene with him and Ben endearing, since we get so few interactions with Ben and any one besides Klaus, but it wasn't even that personally linked to them beyond 'Remember our one specific memory? Anyways, lolz, u should keep Klaus' body, idgaf.')
Allison Allison I think suffers from a lot of the same problems as she was introduced with - like Vanya, her powers are kind of linked to a lack of control in a way that the guys aren't; and a lot of her development is offscreen.
I actually really enjoyed the episode focusing on her, though, I thought it was one of the strongest of the season.
Her husband got a bit OTT with his catchphrase - where Diego's was 'JFK', Ray's was very clearly ' the movement!' and I found it odd how easily all the siblings but especially Allison gave up on returning to their own time and committed to another relationship built on lies (albeit this time of omission - baby steps!) but I kind of like that, like that's Allison, kind of co-dependent and self-deceiving.
Really, I feel like Allison's more interesting when they plunge into her darker side, I was riveted in the 'more!' scene, as well as the 'I heard a rumour you killed your brother'.
I think it's especially important as she's a WOC, which this season focused on more, like, it's very important not to fall into the common writing trap where the guys are allowed to be vindictive or needy or selfish and the women are there to be the moral guidance (for the same reason, I also loved the Five/Vanya stand-off); and that goes double for the model minority bit.
I was worried that they'd fall into the trap of Allison needing to be twice as good not just with how the sit-ins were portrayed but also generally (she speaks seven languages! She makes extensive notes on the state of race relations with specific regard to Dallas in the 1960s!) and once more, it seemed like Emmy Raver Lampman was trying to put across a more interesting read on Allison in terms of how isolated she was from any awareness of oppression in the outer world, first in the Academy and then through being a powerful celebrity and the contrast that creates for her in Dallas which didn't quite get met by the writing/direction.
It was great to see how she got to become part of a community in a way the others didn't, also, and particularly being protected by the beauty shop ladies when she arrived; like, the imbalance of genders as well as races in the Academy genuinely made it refreshing to see.
(The relapse is also very up and down in tone, like they make attempts at pathos, but it's also accompanied by the Styx soundtrack/60s light effects...)
Klaus and Ben - Probably my least favourite aspect of this season.
There was a bunch of telling not showing (Klaus' three year sobriety being expressed in Ben's expository sentence and that .5 second shot of him turning down a joint) and once you remove the biggest impacts on Klaus' character (the addiction and his power) without explanation, you're basically left with 'Klaus causes problems for himself for comedic value.' 
I don't really care about who fights well or which powers are developed (didn't read the comics, don't plan to) but it seems to be like the best portrayals of superheroes show the powers as metaphors for their lives - Vanya struggles to control her emotions, Ben feels powerless, etc. If you take away the powers, you take away the reasoning behind the character.
Why is Ben pretty much the only ghost (particularly when in S1, they seemed ever-present)? How or why did Klaus learn to summon them in the alt-apocalypse?
I liked the scene of Klaus interacting with Ray before they find out he's married to Allison, that was cute.
I also liked seeing him interact with Vanya and Allison (there was an interesting shot where Allison says she has a life she worked for, and Klaus smiles - is that because in contrast, he doesn't? I'd have liked them to acknowledge the link between cults and celebrity, tbh, those two have a lot in common. Or is it because she isn't using her power and neither is he?), and I thought it was cool to note how when the group are reunited, they fall into a power structure right away.
Like, right away, Klaus sells out Vanya and Allison to the guys ('It's usually Vanya!' or mentioning how Allison's being 'involved in community politics'.) Likewise, everyone kowtows to Five, then Luther, over the rest (like when Five says they won't go with Vanya to the farm) and no one speaks up for Diego in front of Reginald.
I want to give the others the benefit of the doubt and say they were kind of shitty to Klaus in particular in this season because they were in a group, because it's a huge downgrade in compassion (especially since Allison was like, covering him with a blanket when they're alone.) 
Like, I get sibling culture, I have 'em, but I feel like when you're bringing possible 'seizures' up, you're sort of skirting what's then played as comedic (Luther dragging him, the 'check please' line), especially Diego's: 'He's probably having an overdose.' (Kinda seeing why no one rushed to join Team Zero.)
Like, he and Klaus do just kind of seem contrivedly not communicating - I would think after the isolation, you'd crack through boredom if nothing else.
Ben's kind of an odd duck - I feel like with Steve Blackman's comments, he's supposed to be this philosophical voice of reason; but tbh, he seems as self-involved as Klaus, and if anything, they mirrored each other (that line in S1 about Klaus being cowardly plays a little differently after the revelation 'He was afraid to go into the light'...) rather than separating him into his own person.
I mean, I don't want Saint Ben (or St. anyone!), but Ben does kind of irritate, like it's not like he even particularly gets much wit or personality in his lines (and I doubt Justin Min would be short of inspiration there, so it does seem to be a writing choice) or they give him much warmth or concern (I still like that shot of him walking off in the sixth episode of S1, though - where is he off to?!) In S1, we do at least get to see him panicking and how helpless he must feel that he can't alert the others to danger etc. He doesn't really offer opinions that offer a personal philosophy beyond 'Stop being a junkie' (he was willing to shut off Grace - was that to tick off Klaus for taking the opposite opinion, or is he super pragmatic generally?) or 'Admit it, Klaus, Luther's Okay!' (Again, is this nostalgia for the other siblings, or what? It would have been nice to have Ben interact with all his siblings, considering they included the whole possession plot for less than necessary stuff like 'Ben kisses a girl!' and 'Vomit shenanigans!')
I just feel like his personality was kind of an afterthought still, and it made his sacrifice for Vanya, touching as it was, feel a little unearned.
Why doesn't Klaus tell Ben he wants to go back for Dallas for Dave? Why doesn't Ben tell Klaus he wants to go back to San Francisco for Jill? Was Ben in Vietnam? How come he's gone from using Dave as A Reason to Get Clean to a 'fling' - dark reading of Ben, tbh, like does he want Klaus clean purely for his own gain, and now he is, Dave's of no further value? What does Ben think Klaus is looking Dave up for - he says it's 'selfish', does he literally think Klaus is just there to hook up with Dave pre-death? It's hard to parse whether Ben has a low opinion of Klaus in particular or whether he, like the rest of them, has kind of adopted to a point Reginald's views - it was neat to see a comparison of the two there.
The possession stuff was a cool parallel, as well, if underused on the whole - Ben's happy to take advantage of Klaus' body despite his clear ambivalence and then outright refusal; Klaus is happy to take advantage and have sex with his own cult followers. 
The cult stuff was even less strong, imho - I said last year how I'd enjoy a darker reading of Klaus, as S1 I felt sometimes was unfair to the others in that we see them being impatient with him; but never how his addiction would have impacted upon them negatively; but here, there's no real exploration of Klaus' narcissism or manipulation (in fact the plot seems to play out exactly the same as Allison's in S1 - we start with all the action about why they pursued fame etc. dealt with offscreen, and begin when the lead has already tired of it all.)
I mean, Klaus is self-destructive, as we saw in S1, but here it's an odd combination, like he's at once both cowardly of physical harm (in a way he wasn't really in S1, even post-Dave, so it doesn't seem to be in reaction to his death) but also running a cult for the attention, but the attention is presented as negative almost exclusively throughout.
Like, I'd get it if it was an interest in money and the finer things in life, even, you could make an interesting point there (and iirc, Robert Sheehan and I think Emmy Raver Lampman have) about how while the Hargreeves were abused, they were also 'spoilt rich kids'; and reflect on that; but it's literally just there for gags.
There's no real explanation for the cult itself (they literally just regurgitate pop culture references) or an exploration of Klaus as a con artist (again - here's where you could show some kind of progression in character, whether it's forward or backwards, and use the powers; and have Klaus working as a shady medium, but nope, it's physical comedy only.)
You could delve into his refusing to even tell the others about Ben's presence, but that's handwaved as much as ever (Five didn't go 'Huh, well, Ben was there when the Soviets came...') not just from the other siblings, but also Ben and Klaus themselves.
‘Cause I could see how Klaus would feel guilty about saying that, regardless; but then Ben's all 'Well, I was chicken to go anyway' 
It might have been a little more affecting if Ben's motivation for possessing Klaus wasn't Jill, a character we know exactly zero about, but talking to his family; not to mention a lot more sympathetic towards Ben himself. As it is, it plays more like he's petty and jealous Klaus gets to be alive, rather than frustrated that Klaus is essentially silencing him.
And again, that's fine, maybe that is Ben, he stopped aging at 17, after all, but I'm not sure what the point is of a plot where we don't really get to see much exploration of either character.
Like, what did we learn about Klaus from this specific sub-plot? We knew in S1 he felt guilty that Ben died young, and that he was happy to allow his siblings to believe Ben is gone.
Likewise, Ben? We knew in S1 he was envious of Klaus being alive, and bitter that his position was so powerless.
It was nice to see the teenage actors (did they dub Teen!Klaus??? Odd.) post Ben's death, but it kind of didn't resolve much, really - it seemed like Klaus was supposed to be bullshitting about the 'golden light' and whether or not you can just...'go' whenever you please, but then it seemed like it turned out to be true?
(Might want to have mentioned that, then, like I get he's a Hargreeves and therefore a fail at interpersonal relationships, but you'd think it wouldn't take a smart guy to figure that if your brothers already toying with self-destruction in his teen years, it might not be the most genius move to additionally allow him to believe you're trapped in the 'real torture' of berating him endlessly solely due to his advice; if for no other reason than your one link to humanity is then going to keep up the booze and drugs that blocks you from his presence.)
I was inclined to like the Dave subplot a little more than I did last season, just because something was happening at all (and we got some tiny semblance of Dave's personality, even if it was basic as hell - he likes hamburgers!), but I feel like the Dave recasting thing really stretched credulity.
I would guess it was written backwards, in terms of if Dave was the clearly fully grown adult we saw in S1 a mere five years later, why wouldn't he just go 'Oh, thanks for the tip, dude, I'll avoid all that military jazz'? And why wouldn't Klaus just be like 'Fuck it, can we not just...date now?' Aha, we could make him a little younger, chuck in a Mean Uncle, throw in some manufactured conflict, and zow-pow!
It definitely wasn't the most contrived plot ever or anything (or even on this show), but I did feel like it's weird that again, via the cult, we're kind of asked to see Klaus as this expert manipulator of people, when he seemed almost purposefully stupid here (like, even compared with Luther and Diego.)
Why act as if the only chance you'll ever have to see the guy in the same timezone as you is right that second in front of his crazed uncle? Why say you've tried everything when you met the kid three times (once instigated by him, and I have to say, it's sort of odd, like Klaus is just drinking throughout, like you'd think this would be the one opportunity he'd take to truly and honestly engage without that) and basically just asked him twice, and in the least convincing way possible.
Shoot him in the foot! Burn down the recruitment office! Use your international platform and pull with local government to influence your huge movement towards stopping the war in Vietnam! 
Like, if what you're going for is that Klaus is defeatist and unimaginative, fine, but I'm not sure it's not just that they kind of didn't write beyond the circular 'telling him only made him sign up sooner' casuality because it's so Tragic. 
(Also, I feel like they're overplaying the iconography of those damn dogtags, like at this point, Klaus looking sadly at the dog tags has still probably had more screen time than Dave himself.)
I liked the scene with him and Vanya facing off? 
Five I think didn't really get much more development than S1, he drives the plot forward, but not much else. In fact, in S1, he probably was more interesting, in that he interacted with all of his siblings and showed moments of vulnerability and care (knowing Claire's name, telling Luther not to waste his life, asking Klaus if he was okay) and got to properly react to his siblings' deaths.
Um...it was cool to have two of him? 
It was nice and kind of ambigious where he lied to her about the cause of the apocalypse, like you could go by what he said about how he wanted to avert her anger, or you could wonder if it's a rare moment of kindness in his old age, lol.
I also loved it when he said to Luther about whether he could talk to her 'without squeezing her to death'.
I found Sissy probably the most interesting of the new characters (probably her and Lila more so than Lil!Dave and Ray, tbh.)
Vanya I probably have the least to say about. I was satisfied with how they portrayed the culpability of the others, particularly Luther, without erasing Vanya's part in the apocalypse. (I really, really hope this'll end the endless discourse on her emails book now, that got tired fast.
I could also do without the endless 'lolz, Ellen Page was so bad at playing straight they had to write Vanya as gay'. Ellen Page is pretty convincing as an actor - I bought her raping Rainn Wilson in 'Super', for god's sake, I doubt 'heterosexual' is a challenge.)
The amnesia plot was pretty cliched, and it did mean we didn't get so much actual interaction between the 'real' Vanya (so to speak) and her siblings but I really enjoyed the dream sequence of her in the academy.
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legobiwan · 5 years ago
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Gotta to ask, do have any TV show, book o fanfiction reviews (especially Losing So Much and Undead Chosen One AU, love those fics) for these pressing times?
So for fanfics, I made a rec post a few days ago that might be instructive. Also, if you search my blog for #fic rec or #fic recs, anything not in that post will show up. As I’ve said, I’ve been a little out of the fanfiction consumption side of things the past few months, which is why I have reached out for suggestions. 
TV! Okay, so a rundown of shows I have enjoyed that are non-Star Wars. 
Psych (hilarious and at times poignant. The whole cast is fantastic, but James Roday especially is a damn good actor and shines in the few-and-far-between serious moments on the show. Plus, I am a complete sap for stories focusing on the relationship between parents and their adult children.) 
Russian Doll (captivating story and an easy binge. Think Groundhog day, but with more drugs and cats and based in New York.)
Santa Clarita Diet (season 3 lags a little, but it’s a great twist on the whole zombie thing and Sheila and Joe’s relationship is actually really fun to watch. Lotta gore, though.)
Slings and Arrows (Canadian show featuring Paul Gross as an eccentric theater director in a faux-Stratford Shakespeare Festival organization. Each season features a different play as the backdrop of the show, and if you’ve ever worked for an arts non-profit as a performer or admin or both, you will definitely appreciate how they portray the ever-present war between both sides and the eternal struggles of art vs. business. Plus, it’s just damn funny and you know, Shakespeare.)
Due South (speaking of Paul Gross. This is an oldie, but a goodie, 1990s-style buddy-cop/fish-out-of-water show that is both funny and heartfelt. I grew up on it and it holds a special place in my heart.)
Bojack Horseman (holy shit, this show. What started out as a zany portrayal of entertainment life in LA turned into one of the most piercing social commentaries on gender issues, death, addiction, mental health, sexuality, and inherited trauma. It gets dark in the later seasons, and the next-to-last episode of the whole series is one of the most haunting existential things I have ever watched on television. But it is fucking brilliant and funny and really holds no punches. Plus, if you are familiar with LA at all, the little references are especially hilarious.)
Umbrella Academy (I’m probably preaching to the choir here, but this is a great show if you haven’t checked it out yet.)
Agents of SHIELD (If you’re not in the Marvel fandom, I don’t know how much you’ll dig this, but I personally enjoyed a lot of it, especially Phil Coulson. The first few seasons are a little campy, but it gets darker later on with the digital reality arc and I really found myself enjoying it. Also, this was the first show I treadmill-binged, so it has a place in my heart for helping me to totally reimagine my gym routine.)
Dead Like Me (so someone recommended Dead to Me, and because I’m Very Smart, I ended up starting the wrong show. But this has been an intriguing watch, a very different take on life-after-death which is quite raw at times, but always interesting, especially as it kills off the 18-year-old protagonist at the start. Season 2 isn’t quite matching up to Season 1, but I’ll finish it off sometime in the next week or so.)
Farscape (this is quality Scifi television. Weird, amazing characters, amazing arcs, amazing aliens - definitely an underrated show of its genre)
Daria (ah, this one. There are a lot of reasons this show is personally hilarious to me, but let’s just say that it’s a full-on 90s disaffection cartoon that is smart with a highly relatable protagonist.)
Metalocalypse (this show is 100% over-the-top weird and I am here for it. Plus, Mark Hammill is a VA in it!)
Broadchurch (David Tennant in his glorious natural accent in a British detective series. Season 1 is amazing, emotionally raw and captivating television. I had a hard time trying to get through Season 2 and actually haven’t finished. But the first season is definitely worth it.)
Frasier (ah, a classic. The later seasons after “the event” aren’t as good but Seasons 1-5 are excellent and the humor is out of this world. Great show and one that stands up to multiple viewings.)
There are other shows I enjoy, like Brooklyn99 and 30Rock that I assume are more well-known on this site, and thus I haven’t included them on this list. I’m also not including the shows I watched that were fine, but I didn’t feel enthusiastic about (Witcher, Jessica Jones are the first two that come to mind). I’m also sure I’m forgetting something or somethings. 
Books! I read too many books. I have no idea how to rec books except in terms of things I’ve read recently (at least, books that aren’t specialized music-academic offerings). Olga Tokarczuk’s writing is fabulous, I highly recommend any of her works. Going older, I read Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man a few months back and that was superb. Another book I read a while back that stuck with me was Tom Wolfe’s Bonfire of the Vanities. Olivia Laing’s The Lonely City also sticks out as a recent favorite. Neil Gaiman’s American Gods is also great, and to be honest (here comes some heresy), it’s a better book than Good Omens. Since I move a lot, I tend to read books and then give them away, but beyond my Shakespeare, Tintin, and Harry Potter collection, one of the few books that I always carry with me is David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas, which is a singularly haunting and fascinating novel and I am transfixed every time.
In terms of Star Wars books? That’s pretty easy. Kenobi, Dark Rendezvous, Plagueis, Master and Apprentice, and - pending the conclusion - Thrawn. Shatterpoint was also excellent. There are other SW books I’ve enjoyed, but these have been the easy standouts of the lot.
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dimdiamond · 2 years ago
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@saraaborhan
It may sound weird but in The adventures of Tintin the characters do have character development but it's subtle and goes through all the books. Tintin specifically has a very fascinating character development through all his adventures and I think it's interesting to look at it. Take into consideration I have watched the series, the movies and read 3 of the books (The crab with the golden claws, Mission to the moon and Tintin and the Picaros) which belong to the early, middle and last phase of Tintin's adventures so I'm sorry if something seems off or have missed something.
In the first books, until Haddock appears, Tintin travels alone with Milou. The other only stable character appearance are the Thom(p)sons whose role isn't always cooperating with the protagonist. Tintin goes for one adventure to the other, saying yes to new challenges and invitations. Even when he appears to be in vacation and content to have some peace this doesn't stay long and he just accepts one random archaeologist's invitation to accompany him to his research in an ancient Egyptian tomb. It's not only that adventure happens to follow Tintin but Tintin himself chases it. He doesn't seem to regard much of his safety and health and what's important is to live one thrill after the other. We barely see him in his flat or doing something domestic or you know "boring".
After Haddock's appearance this doesn't seem to change. Tintin still chases one adventure after the other, his curiosity leading him towards dangers. But as Haddock takes his estate back and tries to have a simple life in his home Tintin is affected by that subtly. Although some of the adventures are to help his new friends, Haddock and Calculus, Tintin goes again for an adventure of his own and when we think that we're back to his old says Haddock appears and since then they're not separated again. Together they go back to Marlinspike (at this point Tintin already visits them frequently) and Calculus invites them to where he is. A new adventure awaits but this time Haddock asks if they should go and Tintin responds yes but not in a confident way. Could be because he's suspicious if it's indeed Calculus inviting them? Could be because he's reluctant to leave when they just returned? Anyway I find this reaction really interesting and different from his previous ones.
And this is the point where the moon case happens aka the one where Tintin and Haddock are in a new adventure for Calculus and not for themselves. Tintin seems to be excited to go to the moon but it's also the first time he shows genuine fear for himself and his friends. He's even shocked with himself, he didn't even realize that it was fear until the last second. It's like it's the first time he fully realizes the danger he's in. And when Haddock puts himself and the rest in danger, Tintin of course doesn't abandon him but also shouts at him. In this case he has already showed a range of emotions that until now he didn't or at least not in that degree. Maybe it's because at this point he has fully realized that now he has people in his life to care for him and he in return. He has a family. He isn't just a nobody.
Since then we see Tintin living and choosing a more domestic lifestyle. His next adventure finds him in his vacation with Haddock but it's to save Chang, his old friend, not a mystery or criminal chase. Tintin shows the ultimate devotion to his friendships, risking his life for Chang but also determined to live or die together with Haddock. Again he shows all these intense emotions. Since the moon he doesn't hold himself back as he used to and lets himself be a person besides the hero upfront.
After Tibet and in the next stories it's even more clear the fact that Tintin does not chase adventures, they find him in his new home and in his trip back home. He no longer has the need to chase thrills and there's a stability in his life. His emotions are shown more clear than ever and he even jokes and laughs with Haddock's misfortune. There's no reason to hold himself back or be afraid he will lose his friends and he's just himself or to word it better his new self, he has let people not only enter his life but also change him.
When we finally reach the Picaros case all the character development is more evident than ever. Tintin has his "boring", domestic life and he's content with it. He even hugs the cat of Marlinspike, he is an irreplaceable resident of the mansion and member of this family. And even though it's clear that there's a scheme, his first thought isn't to go straight to danger and he doesn't even consider to do anything. And this time Haddock is ready to go but Tintin declares he won't go and Haddock accuses him of being a coward that won't let his comfortable home. This already is a huge difference from the beginning of their friendship even more huge from the period Tintin was by himself. Tintin then and Tintin now are not the same person or at least don't have the same priorities and wants. Of course later he finds Haddock and Calculus because they are his family and when the adventure reaches its end Haddock and Tintin express their relief to return finally home.
Although it's just not that detailed I think we can see that Tintin's character development is clear throughout all his adventures and, because it took time and Tintin himself isn't the most expressive character, subtle too. Tintin changes from a symbol to a person and his journey was long but worth it.
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teacupwriter · 7 years ago
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seven influences tag
OH my gosh, l love this tag. Thank you so much for tagging me @alittle-writer!!
Rules: Give a short summary of your WIP, name 7 books, TV shows, games, movies, comics, etc. that have influenced your story, and tag 7 people. Explaining why they were influential is optional.
The Lost Country
summary: A tiny forgotten country stuck in the mid-19th century, steeped in the myth and magic of the northern Iberian peninsula, becomes the stage for an adventure of covert missions and underground cults, where the secret lies in the power of the mind.
influences:
The Adventures of Tintin comic books - hands down the biggest influence on this story and quite possibly my entire life. Tintin creator Hergé invented several fictional countries in Europe, the Middle East and South America to serve as the setting of adventures, and he developed histories, traditions, internal conflicts and distinct forms of government for them. One of my characters, and the MC’s love interest, is also heavily inspired by the character of Tintin (though she is a woman.)
Solitude, novelette by Ursula K Le Guin - It’s hard to put into words how much this story impacted me. It is what sparked my idea for the societal structure of Amnexia (my fictional country) as well as the magic of the story.
The Time In Between by María Dueñas - This influenced how I included the Spanish Civil War and the presence of British spies in Spain when coming up with characters and plot.
Los Girasoles Ciegos by Alberto Méndez - Again, the Spanish Civil War but also certain plot elements that I can’t discuss without giving stuff away.
Sherlock Holmes (2009 film) and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) - Just, like, the aesthetic and action and intrigue.
The World at War documentary series - I watched this over and over with my dad growing up and I think it can be blamed for my abiding fascination with WWII and especially the time period leading up to it.
San Telmo Museum in San Sebastian, Basque Country, Spain - Yes, I’m listing a museum and no, I don’t care if it breaks the rules of the tag. This museum was flipping amazing and presented a complete history of the Basque people starting in prehistoric times, with dioramas and artifacts and examples of period dress!! Since Amnexia’s closest neighbor geographically and historically is the Basque country, their history, traditions, culture and language have 100% inspired me.
This was SO much fun and if you do this, please please tag me!! I really want to see everyone’s inspirations! I’m tagging @cabaretofwords, @eljardindenieve, @thewriterexfriends, @lady-redshield-writes, @missaddledmiss, @kittensartsbooks, and @spaceshipwriter ♥︎
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Right. So this is a response to @norbezdraws video, "Should We Fix Our Mad Geniuses?" 
Norbez, you asked me for my thoughts on Twitter, so I'm gonna go post a novel of an explanation here, so get comfy in a nice reading chair. :)
If there's anyone else reading this, go listen to the video first, it's really interesting and it poses a rather fascinating question.
Also, sorry for the long wait for my response. ^^;
Also note: Everything I write here is about and from a storytelling and media perspective. Not real life.
I’m gonna use bullet points for my thoughts.
- On a moral level, the character should want to change. This is why Rick's capture in Rick and Morty and the protagonist in A Clockwork Orange (I haven't seen this film) are considered tragic. Because even though their capture will save people from getting hurt, they don't want to be captured or changed.
- I feel like drugs and other forms of addiction should be separated from mental illness, and that abuse should also be separated in the character examples list of flaws, because audience members' views on those different subjects could be contradictory.
For example:
Drugs/addiction is self-harming (a character flaw), so viewers may likely say, "Yes, the character should be fixed and have this removed."
Abuse (emotional/physical--and quite honestly, I think these two type should also be sub-separated; they're so different) harms other people who are around that character. This can make characters who have this type of flaw more villainous (Gothel from Disney's Tangled has been cited as an emotional abuser to her daughter) because if they don't want to change, then we as the audience see that as bad and/or irredeemable because they’re hurting people they care about and/or are close to.
Mental illness affects the character's mind. The mind is linked with personality. Therefore, if you "fix" the character by removing their mental illness, do you make the character no longer "them"? Who do they become?
Additionally, many works (such as Hellblade--which I haven’t played) frame the main character’s mental illness as not something to be cured. Rather, the story frames it as a part of the character. The challenges in the story come more from the outside world not understanding the main character’s different perception of the world.
Particularly with mental illness, opinions will vary depending on the viewer (as well as the individual character), as to whether the character should be "fixed."
Also, some examples, like Sherlock, make the addiction a flaw rather than a trait that is required for them to still be themselves/a genius. Sherlock would still be a genius without drugs. The drugs are his flaw[1], not his strength (intelligence). Take away Sherlock’s addiction and he’s still Sherlock. He’s still a detective.
*Footnote: In the BBC series and in original novels' canon, Sherlock supposedly only uses drugs when he has no case to solve. So drugs actually equals "Sherlock is not acting like a genius." BBC Sherlock actually wrecked this idea with the plot holes in season 4, but I'm going off tangent at this point (and at this point, a lot of BBC Sherlock fans--myself included--are currently not considering season 4 to even be series canon, given the amount of plot holes, out-of-character moments, and retcon-ing it contained. Seriously, what was up with that last episode?! THAT GUN DIDN’T LOOK ANYTHING LIKE A TRANQUILLISER! ARE YOU KIDDING M--).
- When I read the title of the video, I at first thought you meant "eccentricity": Characters who act outside social norms and don't follow the status quo/expectations (in an unharmful manner). Quirky characters. Characters who walk to the beat of a different drum. I understand that's not what you meant, but I might as well say my opinion on eccentric characters: It takes all sorts to make a world. They do not need to be "fixed."
- I also think misanthropic characters don't need to be fixed. I have to be clear on this, because SO many writers get misanthropia wrong: It's disliking humanity. Not wanting harm towards humanity. They just don’t want to want to deal with humanity. It's like being a hardcore grump/hermit rather than a jerk/murderer/rude person. A misanthropic person can have strong bonds with other humans, they just don't like dealing with strangers (often because they have been "burnt" before in past experiences) and can be very caring, selfless individuals with healthy relationships. Misanthropes are often the way they are because they care a lot, rather than a little (the latter being the stereotype I see a lot in fiction). Often, you can’t even tell if someone’s a misanthrope just by looking for them. A misanthrope looks at a smoker and thinks, "Why do THEY get dibs on the clean air?", etc. There is a difference between a grump and a jerk.
- I think series like Rick and Morty and BBC Sherlock have mad geniuses that treat their partner badly/questionably, yet we still like them as characters is less because of their “gifts,” and more because we see that when push comes to shove, Rick/Sherlock will act selflessly to protect Morty/John.
That’s how I interpret it anyway.
Rick is showing signs of being more caring (and hopefully less abusive) towards Morty. As Mycroft predicted, Sherlock is showing his heart more by being with John.
Their characters arcs are actually “fixing” them.
Another example of this type of relationship (or a similar type of relationship) is Eddy and her daughter Saffy’s relationship in Absolutely Fabulous. There’s an episode where Eddy protects her daughter from a guy who keeps bothering her (Saffy). Even though Eddy and Saffy constantly insult each other, at the end of the day, Eddy cares about her daughter. We don’t necessarily see their relationship as good, but we understand why they stay together.
And Eddy doesn’t even have “mad genius” nor traditionally heroic qualities. She’s the epitome of a “UK Comedy Series’ Unsympathetic Protagonist.”
Okay, now some character examples:
I'll start off with examples of abuse/addiction that are either BAD, start off as bad/questionable, or in a grey area:
These examples don't inherently make the works bad. I like all of the works listed below. These are just examples of problematic portrayals that we should pause for thought and reflect on.
- Bullet in the Face (a Canadian-American series about a criminal mastermind helping cops track down a bigger criminal mastermind) has Gunter attacking other characters to help solve cases. Gunter is portrayed as a villain protagonist, and most if not all of the characters he attacks are villains as well, making the protagonist ironically less problematic than if the writers portrayed him as a heroic character. The series basically says, “He’s a villain. So he does villainous things.”
- Dirk Gently: (We're talking BBC-2010-TV-series!Dirk, not the original books/other adaptations, nor the 2016 series.) Dirk is a detective who can solve mysteries others can't because of his odd philosophies. He has a partner, named Richard, who he hypnotises into giving him money, uses as a guinea pig (he injects him with a computer chip without warning him), and steals money from him. Yet Richard still stays with him (which is considered to be one of the biggest plot holes the adaptation has).
- Rick and Morty: Rick still continues to be abusive towards Morty, his own grandson. Rick's selfless act at the end of season 2 hints that Rick may slowly be trying to change his ways. Unity's note to Rick when it dumps him also implies that the writers are self-aware that Rick's abusive traits are a flaw, not a "kooky trait," so Rick could be interpreted as a "good" example too, because the series shows the negative effects of his behaviour.
- BBC Sherlock: As I said above.
Okay, now some examples (you asked for) of GOOD examples of abuse/addiction being portrayed in a non-romantic/kooky/positive/problematic light: 
 - Captain Haddock: In The Adventures of Tintin: The Crab with the Golden Claws album, Tintin meets an alcoholic who is the captain of a ship. Together, they escape the ship's crew and solve a mystery together. Haddock wouldn't really be considered an archetypal "mad genius," but by being with Tintin, his alcoholism decreases (though never actually disappears completely--writer Hergé liked to portray things realistically). His alcoholism decreases because of Tintin's support and friendship, which is really heartwarming to me.
- Dirk Gently: Here, we're talking book!Dirk. Irony, eh? In the original novels, Dirk is still abusive to his crime-solving partners (he, again, hypnotises Richard into jumping into the River Thames--which is not a nice place to go swimming, unless you like plastic bags and abandoned shopping trolleys). What makes the books different than the BBC series however, are the endings: Every partner Dirk gets, in each book, dumps him by the end of each adventure/novel they have with him because of his abusive tendencies. They don't want to be with him. That paints Dirk’s abuse as a more negative thing, instead of a “quirky” thing.
- Croak: The main character or this novel, Lex, is introduced as a teenage girl who recently developed anger management issues. She lashes out at people, especially at her school. It’s portrayed in an untraditionally human way: She describes it as feelings she knows are harmful, and she doesn’t enjoy these feelings of charged anger. She struggles to stop herself from lashing out. She also takes great care in making sure she doesn’t hurt her sister. (I haven’t finished the first book yet, so I don’t know how her character arc ends.)
- The Jennifer Ann Group’s yearly game jam focuses on creating games that educate people on teen dating abuse. The game Grace’s Diary is a notable example.
I hope this answered your questions on what my thoughts were on this subject.
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bansheefunk · 6 years ago
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Just watched: A bunch of pirated DVDs I found around the house.
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8 nov '18, night I haven't watch a DVD in years but somehow this bulk found a way to my home, mostly from my sister, I think she saw these movies on her laptop but I didn't had a way to even play them. My sister ditched her old laptop, I took it, installed Windows 8.1 and I released that I can use it as a media player with ease, immediately these old DVDs came to my mind so I decided to actually watch them for the first time. Having physical media on my hands after so long feels super nostalgic. actually interacting with the movie as an object is an unique feeling we've lost, I've yearned for it and this has made me so happy.
The Baron of Arizona (1950) I have to admit I saw this movie last week but didn't feel like writing anything about it. My first thought was "This is the count of montecristo but backwards" because it's about a man who organizes a complex plot to better his life but as the movie goes on this persists showing that his well being is ruining the lives of other people. Is not a movie that challenges the viewer but it's a ruse so outlandish it makes for it.
The Steel Helmet (1951) I should point out these criterion movies I have are from a collection of the early films of Samuel Fuller, Who is Samuel Fuller? I don't know really. This movie was produced while the korea war was still gong on and you can tell they could not film on location. I'm very undecided if this movie is propaganda or not, it may even be sincere on it's language of support but if it's not then it fails terribly, it's too soft on its criticism and makes no attempt to show the worst parts of war or trying to humanize the enemy. This movie bothers me, I don't want to think it's sincere propaganda but offers really little out of it. After watching this movie I decided to write these impressions, it's trip worth going across.
15 nov 18, night I Shot Jesse James (1949) I didn't work!. my computer wasn't even able to read it! Cue Family Guy skit about the goodness of physical then it doesn't work.
Heat (1995) My first reaction was seeing this movie's play time and going all '3 fucking hours!' in disbelief. When I finally sat to watch it I was very surprised, all these big name actors, how come I never heard of this movie before? Possibly because it was never on TV because of '3 fucking hours!' Soon enough I was very charmed. this movie is well made and there is no other way to put it, everything from the photography to the performances everything deliverers the right point, like eating food at the exact temperature that you like adding more to the experience. When I first started watching I didn't release this movie was from 1995 and there is nothing in the movie that sets it on such year giving an authentic atemporal feeling. Still there is something grand about this movie, like if this was the top of what hollywood schlock could aspire to be, this is still a crime movie after all but a damn good one and I feel bad I never saw it before.
20 nov '18, night Skyfall (2012) I'm not the biggest James Bond fan, I've seen some of the movies when they're on TV, saw casino Royale on theaters and I'm familiar with the lore. I'm not a casual but I can't spout mindless trivia. The movie was quiet long, two and a half hours but it was so well photographed, why does this type of schlock always look so good? This entry tried to be a game changer for the franchise, we get new characters in the old roles, new offices for the M16 and they try to give Bond some character, it's all acknowledged and it's so strange because on the Bond films I've seen they don't pretend the new actors took over the previews one. Giving Bond some depth really disgusted me, Bond has mostly been like Tintin or Link, a blank slate for the viewer but now that Bond is a scotsman from a wealthy family and an orphan I don't like him so much but beside that I can't hate this movie, it's just schlock for those who like schlock and doesn't try to e anything but schlock and I respect that. I also want to complain that once I was done with this movie the plastic bag where it came from was nowhere to be found, I'm frustrated about having to look up a freaking plastic bag just for this.
26 nov '18, night Max Payne (2008) When I started to watch this movie I thought it was good, the right balance of style, action, drama and grit. When I sat to watch the second half the sound started to go off but I fixed it switching the language but this cycled continued and the audio laster shorter and shorter times until I hat to sit on front of the laptop and changing the language each minute, it was awful and by the end when I got a montage of what we saw 20 minutes ago but with different cuts  felt offended, I felt like if the movie wanted to waste my time and overall any joy or good opinions I had were extinguished, maybe some other time I could had enjoyed this better but not I only feel a Family Guy gag mocking me for trusting a DVD that had lived in a plastic bag for years.
30 nov '18, night Serpico (1973) My first reaction to this movie was "What a fucking boomer and his boomer booms" but our main character grew on me and I started to empathize with him, he's a pure soul, too pure for this world but strong who fought for what he believed and for a better world, it's really a touching drama and hard to hate. A thing that fascinated me was the mise en scene, everything looks old, like if it was already old when the movie was shot but I know all that stuff was new I'm just used to see every prop after years and years of use. And I loved the way everything in the city looked, it felt like it had a sad story to tell. This is a good move that won me over after having a bad first impression.
5 nov '18, night Blue (1993) I started seeing this the night I finished Serpico, I thought I could watch the first 10 minutes but the dvd died before that, I thought I was set for another bad disc but few days later I tried again, skipped around and managed to get the movie running tho there are like 6 minutes missing at the beginning, I didn't mind them but as the movie went on I released that I missed something important stuff, I didn't got what it was supposed to be but the negative space stays with me. This movie is a damn good movie and there is no other way to put it, everything is too well done and the only thing I feel is left behind is the soundtrack but that is just me being tires of all soundtracks sounding the same but it's used so well it charms for different reasons. This is a very slow and thick character drama and examination, is the kind of movie I wish I could make, the kind of story I wish I could tell.
10 dic '18, night Red (1994) Is hard to talk about this movie, so many things go on yet it doesn't feel rushed or cramped, it a human story realistic but yet has that edge that reminds you it's pure fiction. Its a roller coaster of emotions but feels so serene. All honest I feel Blue is above Red but I can't wait to see white.
14 dic '18, past midnight White (1994) I don't have much to say about this one, it took me by surprise that most of it was in polish, I didn't expect one of these movie to be set in poland like this but still has ties to france. all the movies in this trilogy tell a human story that also has something that bents it and requires some suspension of disbelief, they're not fantasy but they're like a urban legend or a very distorted real account. Right now I think in order of quality they're Blue > White > Red which is also the order that came out, maybe watching them out of order really affected how do I think about them.
21 dic '18, night Cry baby (1990) When I saw the cover I expected a drama, a greaser crying just summoned he image of a post war hollywood drama like Blackboard Jungle, Picnic, The Lost Weekend or the obvious choice rebel Without A Cause. I pop the movie in and I'm greeted a a dumb comedy wrapped in some many layers of irony the core is completely lost, I can tell is a comedy but only one joke made me laugh, none of the songs stuck with me and overall the only thing the movie leaves on me is a slight ironic 50's nostalgia. When I was done with the film I told my sister about it (She own the DVD after all) and she said this movie was too tame for a John Waters film, the guy who made Pink Flamingos also made this and that was so shocking. This movie is just strange on the inside and the outside.
29 dic '18, night The Breed (2006) This movie is so bad it only survived by sharing a case with a good movie, I found this crap in the same case for two Clint Eastwood movie, I never heard about it before and after finally watching I can see why. Supposedly this is a horror movie but everything it sets out to be fails on its task, the first thing I found jarring was the photography, is very warm and mellow, in no point does this look like a horror movie and always looks like a romance or an R&B video. The second big issue are the dogs, the dogs are the monster of the movie and they just don't rub me in a bad way, the movie fails to show dogs in a scary or aggressive manner and some scenes that are supposed to be scary are actually kind of cute, these dogs are adorable no matter how much they bark, as the movie went on I released the dogs didn't stand a chance, tons of dogs get hurt or killed while we only get two humans dead and a third from an accident were a dog also died. This movie is bad, a legitimate 4/10, goddammit.
7 ene '18, night Unforgiven (1992) I can't say much about this movie beside that it's damn good, I'm unsure why but I think it has the right balance between, character development, action and drama but I may be wrong. Also the photography is very crispy I can't believe this movie is from 1992, I thought it was from 2002 the first time I popped the DVD in.
10 ene '19, night The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) Another really good movie. I'm very charmed by the sense of adventure, things happen out of nothing and some of them go away just like that, there is a sense of restlessness across the movie and that drives it, we feel the character's pathos and march with them without feeling the same danger and it's that chaotic feeling what makes this movie feel so human, things happen up and down like in life and not like in movies where things happen to move the story, the characters were the ones moving and things happened to them. Also both of the Clint Eastwood movies had several things in common, both start with Eastwood's characters as simple men who have to take arms for money and war respectively, both feature a younger sidekick who gets tired with the violence and an overall feeling that the violence we're seeing is not the way things should be, I'm sure these movies were packed together because of that and I really like that message. These are all the DVDs that are around the house, I should catch up with some cartoons now, I want to take a picture of the DVDs but as the moment I'm writing this I don't have a camera, it'll be a while before I can publish this.
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