#why are shows with strong independant woman a nice soundtrack

[janedudleyy]

I wake up and read My Lady Jane is canceled? What kind of shit is this? I am so tired of this cancelation trend.

[darkqueenofshadows85]

Sonic Adventure 2 (2001) Story Review

Disclaimer: I will be judging this game by the plot and writing, not the gameplay.

Introduction

Greetings, mortals! For today's review, we'll be looking at one of the most widely acclaimed storylines in the entire franchise, Sonic Adventure 2.

This is a new series of mine, in which I’ll be going into slightly more detail about my thoughts on the main series Sonic game storylines, and why I think they're either well written and engaging, or an absolute trainwreck (or somewhere in-between). I’ll be giving my stance on the character portrayals, visuals, soundtracks, voice actors, and what themes/messages they had to offer. Keep in mind that these are just my own personal thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions!

Anyway, let us begin! ^^

Plot

Sonic is arrested after being falsely accused of crimes committed by another hedgehog named Shadow. Meanwhile, Eggman threatens the planet with a powerful weapon if they do not surrender to him.

Characters

Let's take a moment to appreciate how well everyone is written here. And I do mean EVERYONE. None of the characters are made to look bad, and that is so rare nowadays.

I think Sonic's personality was nailed down perfectly here. Yes, he's still the cocky, carefree hero who loves adventure, but he also shows a more human side to his character. For instance, when Shadow sacrifices himself at the end, Sonic, despite having clashed with him throughout the whole story, is the one who's the most upset out of all the characters mourning Shadow's loss. He also makes some genuinely funny quips from time to time, while still taking the situation at hand seriously. I personally consider this to be the third best portrayal of his character next to Unleashed and Black Knight.

I love how Tails is portrayed here. They took the character development that was given to him in SA1 and expanded on it. He was brave, independent, and he felt confident in himself. And when Sonic was presumed dead, he avenges him in one final battle with Eggman. Tails was truly at his best in the Adventure games. They made a believable growth in his character. It's a shame that his development started to regress in every game from Heroes onwards...

Like in the previous game, Knuckles is portrayed as the calm, mature, quiet and introverted hero and guardian of the Master Emerald. He works together with his friends more, and despite their rocky history, he begins to trust Sonic more. It’s really nice to see Knuckles' friendship with the other characters expand.

Shadow's character arc is amazing. He starts out seeking revenge on humanity for killing his only friend, Maria, but after being reminded of Maria's true wish, he teams up with Sonic and friends and was willing to sacrifice his own life to save humanity. You see, this is Shadow, not the brooding friendless edgelord that the Meta Era turned him into. Shadow was a tragic character who had a fantastic redemption arc who grew to respect Sonic.

Rouge is one of my favorite characters. She's strong, confident, a natural leader and, for all intents and purposes, her own woman. Rouge goes through a character arc where she goes from a selfish and apathetic character to one of the most mature, reasonable, and friendliest people in the Sonic franchise. Originally, she was motivated by jewels and riches, and her job as a spy was just a job she had. But by the end of the story, it sort of switches around, where jewels just become something she likes, but isn't solely her motivation anymore. I suppose she was inspired by everyone's efforts during the climax.

While Amy does have a smaller role in the story, she's still portrayed as a kind, caring, well-meaning person. Her absolute best moment in the story is when she convinces Shadow to help Sonic and friends save the world by reminding them of Maria's true wish: to protect humanity. As I've said before, Amy was truly at her best in the Adventure games.

And Eggman was actually quite formidable here. He threatened the people of Earth into submission by using the Eclipse Cannon to destroy half of the moon, and he even held Amy at gunpoint. Eggman in SA2 was played completely straight as an evil mastermind, and actually succeeds in being taken seriously, which is not something that happens often. *cough*Meta Era*cough*

Visuals

Like in SA1, the character models, while dated, do look good for their time, although I do wonder why Sonic and Amy's eyelids are peach rather than matching their fur color like in the previous and subsequent games.

Soundtrack

Like most Sonic games, SA2 has a great soundtrack. My absolute favorite vocal track in SA2 is Live and Learn.

Throw It All Away (Shadow's theme) is pretty good, though not as good as his themes in subsequent games, like All Hail Shadow and I Am... (All of Me).

The renditions of It Doesn't Matter and Believe In Myself were okay, but I kind of prefer the original versions of those two songs.

Some of the other vocal tracks I like include Escape From the City and Fly in the Freedom (Rouge's theme).

Voice Acting

Many of the voice actors from the previous game have improved significantly here, especially Ryan Drummond (Sonic), and Deem Bristow (Dr. Eggman), who sounds every bit as devious and cunning as he is portrayed here. Conner Bringas (the younger brother of Corey Bringas) did a great job voicing Tails. Scott Dreier (Knuckles) did an okay job. David Humphrey (Shadow) was good, and Lani Minella was great as Rouge. Jennifer Doulliard is still great as Amy, I love the way she says "have no fear, Amy Rose is here". It's cute ^^

Theme/Message

Like SA1 before it, SA2 has the theme of the past returning and you have to deal with it. The whole Shadow, Maria, and Professor Gerald drama actually makes sense when you think about it, and it's very deep, as it involves not only multiple, but also understandable perspectives. Gerald's outlook on life and his motivation and his goal, Shadow's inner struggles with why he was made (which is later revealed in Shadow's solo game) and Maria's dying wish alongside his own promise to her out of his anger, G.U.N.'s wariness of the "Ultimate Life Form", Project Shadow... it all makes sense as it comes together in the form of a terrible catastrophe.

Conclusion

This is the one of the best stories we have ever had in a Sonic game. It's engaging, exciting, very deep, very well written, there was great character development, not just in Shadow, but also in Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, and even Eggman. This game's story truly moved me.

My final score:

5.8/5 (Amazing)

[the-desolated-quill]

The Beast Below - Doctor Who blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

Remember those awful social satire episodes RTD used to write during his tenure? Episodes like The Long Game and Bad Wolf with social commentaries so obvious it feels like being hit on the head with a two ton anvil wearing concrete slippers and carrying an anchor? Thank God we don’t have to put up with those now Moffat is in charge, right?

...

Oh.

The Doctor and Amy arrive on Starship UK in the 29th century where solar flares have roasted the Earth and now the human race is searching the stars for a new place to live. But something is not quite right. How can Starship UK be flying without an engine? What monstrous creature dwells at the bottom of the ship? Who is the hooded woman in the mask? What’s the deal with those Smilers? What exactly happens inside the voting booths? And why the fuck should I give a shit about any of this?

In case you missed the oh so subtle political allegory that Moffat has cobbled together here, The Beast Below is supposed to be a satirical jab at the UK’s electoral system by way of The Matrix. No seriously. The whole Forget and Protest stuff is a direct ripoff of the red pill/blue pill scene from The Matrix (and it wasn’t very good then). The problem Moffat runs into is the same one RTD continuously ran into whenever he tried these types of episodes. Too much focus is given to the glaringly obvious satire and not enough goes toward actually developing the setting, giving us a reason to care about the characters within that setting, or explaining how the mechanics of this world actually works. If anyone who presses the Protest button just gets fed to ‘the Beast,’ why bother giving them a choice at all? Why not just erase their memories and let them live their lives in blissful ignorance? And why do the voting booths let you record messages to yourself? Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of forgetting?

Then there’s the Smilers. Immensely creepy at first, but... what’s the point? Things briefly get exciting when they suddenly get out of the booths, but they don’t actually do anything other than shamble very slowly toward the protagonists. What threat do they actually pose? What's their purpose in this society other than to admonish small children? Same goes for the guys in the hooded cloaks. The reveal that they’re in fact half Smiler, half human was nicely executed, but again... what’s the point?

But my biggest question mark is on Liz 10, aka Queen Elizabeth X. I loved Sophie Okonedo in the role. She possesses a lot of natural authority and charisma, and I really like that in the future we have a black, Cockney monarch.

Liz 10: “I’m the bloody Queen mate. Basically i rule.”

Unfortunately Okonedo is let down by Moffat’s writing. What do we actually learn about Liz 10? She cares about her country? Okay. Not exactly a startling revelation, is it? The problem is, as I’ve said numerous times in the past, Moffat can’t seem to write women. It’s as if the only way he knows how to write a ‘strong independent woman’ is to make her a sassy, gun toting badass. Not that there’s anything wrong with women being sassy, gun toting badasses of course, but it does get a bit boring after the 25th time you’ve seen it, plus there’s more to being a sassy, gun toting badass than just being sassy, gun toting and... badassy? (Is that a word?) How about an actual backstory? Some light and shade. Offer us something that’s more emotionally complex and thus more captivating to watch. As much as I enjoyed Okonedo’s performance, her character is incredibly one dimensional.

And I haven’t even mentioned how she factors into the plot. It’s revealed that she’s actually over 300 years old and that her body clock has been slowed down so that she looks nearer 40. Why? What’s the point? Why keep her alive for so long? She’s investigating the possibility that the government is conspiring against her, but the only reason she knows is because the government itself keeps dropping little hints every 10 years. What for? And then she’s given the choice to either Forget or Abdicate, which brings me to the same question I had with the voting booths. Why give her a choice in the first place? You’ve already got the Star Whale chained up and flying your ship. It’s a bit late to start having second thoughts.

Ah yes. The Star Whale.

Now I’m not going to comment on the idea of an alien whale living in the vacuum of space because it’s Doctor Who. If I were to comment on all the scientific inaccuracies in this show, we’d be here all day. I will however comment on the wasted potential here. There’s a tricky little moral dilemma taking place in this episode. The last Star Whale has been chained up and tortured for hundreds of years. That’s horrible obviously, but it’s either that or letting everyone in the UK die. Whose life is more important? The last Star Whale in existence or millions of humans? It’s a good ethical conundrum. Pity they don’t bother to explore it. Nope. The Doctor just marches in and says the humans are more important. Wait, hold on a minute! Let’s not be too hasty! Obviously nobody wants to kill millions of humans, but it’s not like Starship UK houses the only humans left in existence. There are other starships out there somewhere. There’s only one Star Whale left, but there’s still billions of us. Is it really worth making a species extinct to save one spaceship? RTD kept running into similar problems during his tenure too. There’s the potential to have an interesting moral debate, but it’s abruptly cut short because the Doctor is the so called ultimate authority and what he says goes.

And then of course Moffat proceeds to let all the air out of the debate entirely when it’s revealed that the Star Whale wasn’t captured against its will at all. It volunteered to help because it couldn’t stand to watch children crying (from space. It can see children crying from space). So it turns out the humans were the bad guys all along and it was never that morally complex to begin with. Thank God. For a moment there, I thought things were going to get interesting. (On a side note, I’m surprised the Star Whale is still willing to keep flying Starship UK after all the torture it endured for centuries. if it was me I’d have fucked off. Also is everyone just going to ignore the fact that the government has been feeding people to it? Under Liz 10′s orders I might add. Don’t forget this was all her idea before she pressed the Forget button).

Which brings me to the final climax. While it’s nice to see Amy put the pieces together by herself and work out what to do, couldn’t we have done it in a way that doesn’t involve reducing the Doctor to a complete blithering idiot? How come he didn’t notice? It’s not as if the children crying reveal was some obscure thing. That guy said to his face that the Star Whale doesn’t eat children. How come the Doctor didn’t put two and two together. And don’t get me started on his bloody solution. Having decided the humans are more important just because, he then decides the best course of action is to fry the poor whale’s brains out and make it a vegetable so that it won’t feel the pain of its torture. Well first of all, people in vegetative states can actually feel pain, and second of all, this sounds like quite possibly the most unDoctorly solution I’ve ever heard. Moffat, what were you thinking?

And then things just went from bad to worse when Amy starts making painfully obvious comparisons between the Doctor and the Star Whale. They’re both old and the last of their species. All that pain and misery and loneliness and it just made them kind. Add Murray Gold’s overly whimsical soundtrack over the top and I was practically on my knees begging them to stop.

Somewhere buried in this compost heap of pointless satire and underdeveloped concepts lies the seed of a good idea. Unfortunately Moffat just doesn’t have the skill to nurture and develop it. Outside of Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Sophie Okonedo’s performances, there’s not much to like about The Beast Below. 

I vote to Forget.

[mikeshanlon]

our love was made for movie screens;

pairing: riley matthews and lucas friar word count: 1.5k prompt: “day one: canon verse - something that takes place in the canon universe as we know it” written for: rucas fanfic week 2017 summary: lucas friar loves the movies, but he love seeing them with riley even more. a/n: so, this is my first rucas oneshot, and it’s probably not that great, have mercy. the fic is set in the summer between 7th and 8th grade. there’s been a lot of references to rucas movie dates in the show (gm texas pt. 3 and gm the new year) but we never saw any of it, so i imagined what one of them was like. the movies mentioned are avengers age of ultron (cursed) and inside out (which i haven’t seen dfgjdfg) and the title is from all i want by kodaline. 

There was something special about going to the movies. Maybe it was splurging on overpriced buttery popcorn and sugary sweet chocolate, or finding the perfect seat to settle into. Perhaps it was escaping screams and the crushing weight of expectations, the feeling of knuckles and the taste of blood-- the distraction of being transported into another world and focusing on someone else’s problems. But the best thing, to Lucas, was the company. He wasn’t always the best at talking to others, unsure of his words, but he didn’t have to talk when he was at the movies. Lucas was allowed to bask in presence of his friends, listen to their laughs and watch them cry, just be. The movies revealed the little things that made his newfound friends tick or burst out into grins. It helped him understand the crazy people who were Farkle, Maya, and Riley; while he seemed to fit in well with the three, he still had a lot to learn about the native New Yorkers.

Lucas Friar loved the movies, plain and simple.

Yes, he even enjoyed going with Farkle, who spoiled the whole thing twenty minutes in using his genius powers. Once he got over being annoyed, it was honestly sort of adorable how excited Farkle got when he figured everything out, although Farkle would probably resent that comment.

Maya always had snarky side comments about the movie that made Lucas chuckle, although when Riley was with them he’d have to hide his laughter from her judging stare. The two of them often saw horror movies together because Riley and Farkle were too scared to go. She’d laugh at the gore and torture, which was slightly worrisome to Lucas, but she’d just say it was ‘so obviously fake Huckleberry’ when they left the theater. Whenever the characters did something stupid she’d yell at the screen, clenching her fists in anger-- it was safe to say her constant talking had gotten them kicked out on more than one occasion.

His favorite person to go to the movies with by far though was Riley Matthews. Maybe that was due to his major crush for the brunette who loved purple cats and cotton candy, but she was the most fun to go with. She didn’t talk throughout the movie, being as enraptured as he was, but the two would passionately discuss every miniscule detail for hours over hot chocolate from Svorski's afterwards.

Lucas loved the way she’d laugh too loud at every single joke, and make sure nobody heard her with an embarrassed blush across her cheeks. To him, her laugh was more beautiful than all of the soundtracks combined.

Tonight, the two of them were seeing the newest superhero blockbuster together. Usually, the whole group saw those movies together, but Maya and Farkle had betrayed them and gone and seen it early.

Okay, maybe ‘betrayed’ was a little strong, but Lucas was very passionate about films and seeing Captain America kick some ass.

They stood in line for the tickets, just close enough for their hands to brush. Riley’s hair was in it’s usual waves, with some small braids making a crown around her head. She looked gorgeous against the summer sunset with hues of pink, purple, and orange. Part of him wished the jean jacket she had over her red dress with white flowers was his own, and he made a mental note to find the denim jacket in his closet when he got home. After he inevitably spent an hour thinking about the evening of course.

“I’m so excited,” Riley grinned, rocking back and forth on her heels, “Avoiding spoilers from Maya and Farkle was one of the hardest things of my life though.”

Lucas nodded in agreement, “At least Maya doesn’t do it intentionally like a certain friend of ours.”

“Mm, it’s sort of endearing though” Riley fiddled with her wallet.

Even though Lucas agreed he decided to tease her a little, “You think everything’s endearing when it comes to your friends.”

“True, but that’s because you guys are amazing,” Riley beamed, “Like, for instance, you are one of the strongest people I’ve ever met.”

Oh. This definitely backfired. Lucas looked away to hide the blush spreading across his tanned cheeks.

“Uh, thanks Riley.”

Riley nodded in satisfaction, a glimmer in her eye making him think she meant to get him all flustered.

The line inched forward and they bought their respective tickets. Even though he knew it wasn’t really a date he still hated seeing her pay for her own things, so, being the true southern gentleman he is, Lucas bought all the snacks.

“Lucas, I’m an independent woman who can pay with her own money” the brunette protested.

“I’m pretty sure you got that money from Topanga” Lucas countered.

Riley sheepishly admitted this was true, “But I’m going to set aside some gummy bears for you okay? What color do you like the best?”

Lucas shrugged as they picked up their food and located their theater, “I don’t really care, whichever ones you don’t want.”

“That won’t do,” Riley shook her head, “you aren’t getting my scraps. What about  blue?”

He looked at her quizzically, not understanding her reasoning.

“Isn’t that your favorite color?”

“Uh, y-yeah, it is. Thanks.”

God, he was a mess.

They found a nice spot in the middle towards the back to settle in and enjoy the action. There were only a few trailers left before the movie started, and one for the upcoming Disney movie appeared on the large screen. Riley began digging into her extra large popcorn that she always finished way too early and had to get more. He hated when she was gone for too long though, so he made sure to get more than he usually did so they could share later.

“I can’t wait to see that one,” Riley leaned into his side and whispered, “The main character has the same name as me-- isn’t that cool?”

Lucas chuckled, “Well, we’ll see it when it comes out then.”

Soon the movie started, and the audience were thrown in the middle of a chaotic fight scene, with loud explosions and guns. The music swelled up and matched the fast paced nature of the scene. Riley jumped beside him as a body fell to the floor, and reached out to grab his bicep for reassurance. Her hand stayed there until the action died down and she took a deep breath before digging into her food. The loss of warmth and touch disappointed Lucas, but it was adorable how she didn’t even realize what she did.

He glanced over, seeing her pick out a red gummy bear and savagely tear off it’s head, her chocolate eyes transfixed on the screen. Even though Lucas loved the movies, Riley was a much more beautiful sight.

However, Steve Rogers just showed up on screen, and Captain America was sort of his favorite superhero ever (although he’s been told he has more similarities to Hulk) so he focused on the movie instead.

The movie was about halfway over, and Lucas was pretty livid-- Natasha and Bruce?! Now he understood why Maya and Farkle had been yelling all week. He had expected more from the movie, so his interest plummeted, he honestly just wanted to leave and send a letter of complaint to Joss Whedon.

But he was with Riley, and any moment with her was one well spent, and he wanted to make the most of it; especially with the absence of Maya and Farkle.

Now, because of his love for the silver screen, Lucas considered himself a bit of a movie aficionado. And with that knowledge came and endless list of tropes and references from rom-coms, horror movies, and action films.

Just about everyone knew it. Person A pretends to yawn and puts an arm around Person B. Cliche as all hell, but Lucas was getting frustrated with the lack of progression of their relationship, and if it all went wrong, he could just move back to Texas and live in solitude until death. Completely rational.

Thankfully, the scene was pretty boring, so yawning wasn’t super unrealistic. Lucas shifted in his seat and feigned his best yawn (he nailed the lead role of Romeo for a reason) before stretching out and hooking his arm around the back of Riley’s seat.

Riley burst out into giggles and quickly covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle the laughter.

“Are you laughing at me?!” Lucas whispered in what was somehow both genuine and faux mortifying embarrassment and disbelief.

“No!” Riley squeaked, but the laughter continued to tumble out of her pink lips, “...Maybe.”

Lucas began to move his arm away but Riley scooted in closer, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Gummy bear?” she offered him some in her palm, and graciously took them.

A smile to bright it rivaled the sun spread across his face, and he munched on gummy bears and popcorn for the rest of the movie, rubbing small circles into Riley’s arm.

There was something special about going to the movies, but there was also something extremely special about Riley Matthews and feeling of comfort and joy she gave him.

Lucas Friar loved the movies, plain and simple. And it was too soon to call whatever the two of them shared ‘love’, but he was sure he could learn to feel the same way about her.

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #181 - Begin Again

Spoilers Below

Have I seen it before: Yes

Did I like it then: Yes.

Do I remember it: Yes.

Did I see it in theaters: Yes.

Was it a movie I saw since August 22nd, 2009: Yes. #302

Format: Blu-ray

1) Opening with “A Step You Can’t Take Back”

First of all, this is a strong introduction to what is an amazing soundtrack filled with original songs. But more than that it serves as a touchstone to return to throughout the first 40 minutes of the film. Begin Again does not have a linear narrative style, with two prologues seamlessly worked into the plot in a way which doesn’t slow anything down but instead supports it. And THIS is the moment when the real story kicks off. Not only that, but it is a good way to meet Keira Knightley’s Greta. But more on her later.

2) Mark Ruffalo as Dan.

The introduction of Mark Ruffalo’s character clearly establishes his internal conflict and interests. We understand his struggles, we understand what drives him, what pisses him off, it’s all great. Ruffalo portrays this conflict wonderfully, being disheveled but never painful to watch. He’s interesting, unique, and a good co-lead in the film.

3) Hailee Steinfeld.

I love Hailee Steinfeld in pretty much everything. True Grit, Pitch Perfect, I still have to see Edge of Seventeen, but I think she is a wonderful actress. Here is no different. She shines just as much in this film as any other, being able to do what she is a master at: fully embracing the character in a way which ditches any sense of ego and supports the film. She’s great.

4) Okay, I love this film. But I have one big problem with it. One pretty massive fucking problem, actually, and that is with how Mark Ruffalo’s character is written.

Violet [about her mom/Dan’s ex wife]: “She says you’re a pathetic loser.”

Miriam [Dan’s ex wife]: “30 seconds after you’re gone we’ll have totally forgotten you were ever here.”

Dan is established as the deadbeat dad. The hapless loser who can’t get his shit together even though his family needs him. A selfish, douche bag prick who needs to get his life together. Meanwhile his wife is portrayed as the hardworking woman who is the great parent who actually sticks around for their daughter.

Except the only reason ever given for Dan’s behavior is that his wife fucking cheated on him.

Dan [to Greta]: “I left that relationship because I was having a fucking nervous breakdown and she was out there fucking some other guy planning on how she’s going to start a whole new life for them while I was here taking care of my kid!”

This is fucked. This is eternally and exceptionally fucked up. John Carney rights it like this.: Miriam cheats on Dan while he’s taking care of their kid, Dan has a nervous breakdown, Dan leaves, Dan is the deadbeat loser. I fucking hate that. How is his “original sin” in this film that HIS WIFE CHEATED ON HIM!? And not only cheated on him, but told him that she was leaving him, packed her fucking bags, and waited for her boyfriend to do the same with his wife. Was totally ready to ditch him AND THEIR DAUGHTER yet DAN is portrayed as the fucking loser because he has a pretty normal fucking response to that shit.

It pisses me off, actually, and is an issue in John Carney’s followup film Sing Street. It speaks to a trouble he occasionally has with writing female characters between those two films (although he does MUCH better in this film than that one): they’re these things to be worshiped which can do no wrong. Even though he wrote Miriam as doing a pretty BIG wrong and yet somehow SHE’S portrayed as the good parent.

It’s fucked up and pisses me off and while I love the film I hate this part of it. With every fiber of my being. I hate that THAT’S the reason they give for Dan being a deadbeat dad, because his wife fucked him over and his life feel to pieces. I hate that THIS is the reason he’s a loser. And I HATE that they get back together at the end! WHAT THE FUCK!?

5) The second viewing of the song could easily have been boring, but it’s not. That’s because we get in Dan’s head. We learn more about him and how he hears music/his passion for life as we hear what he hears. And it shows just how fucking amazing this song can be.

Easily my favorite song in the film, “A Step You Can’t Take Back” at its fullest is totally amazing.

6) Keira Knightley as Greta.

Holy fucking shit, Keira Knightley as Greta. She is fucking great in this film. Like, dear god. She’s the stand out performer in a movie FILLED with standout performances. Everything she does feels so raw, so genuine, so fucking real! She has this conflict, this edge, this vulnerability, and this beating fucking heart which just breathes off SO MUCH LIFE from the character. My heart BLEEDS for Greta. I am one hundred percent and totally invested in the character and that is almost entirely because of Knightley’s performance. I observed in Sing Street that James Carney CAN have some troubles with writing women as full characters (I do love that film also though), but holy fucking shit if Greta is not the best damn character in this entire movie. I think Knightley is able to take Carney’s writing and work with it perfectly. She gives the best performance in the film, consistently. Everything about her is amazing.

6.1) Considering how incredible Knightley is in this film, Carney’s disrespectful attitude towards her two years after the movie’s wide release is incredibly disheartening. In a series of interviews promoting Sing Street, Carney repeatedly criticized Knightley’s performance in Begin Again. In an interview with The Independent Carney gave an unprompted quote saying Sing Street is, “a small personal movie with no Keira Knightleys in it. It's really rewarding.” He said he considered working with Mark Ruffalo and Adam Levine a joy but that he didn’t like Keira Knightley’s performance in the film. “It's not like I hate the Hollywood thing, but I like to work with curious, proper film actors as opposed to movie stars,” he said. Carney repeatedly referred to Knightley as a, “model,” in that same interview even though she’s been a professional actor since before she was eighteen, going on to say, “I’ll never make a film with supermodels again.” He critiqued her again while being interviewed for heyuguys.com: “I just think with Keira it was like asking her to do something that she could not do.” Then in an interview with Den of Geek, Carney said that he wanted to make Sing Street, from his, "experience of working, let's face it, with a model on my last film”. He would later apologize but I still find this attitude disheartening to say the least.

7) I dig this.

Dan: “Give me the name of one artist you think passes your authenticity test!”

Greta [after trying to say Bob Dylan]: “RANDY NEWMAN!”

Dan: “I fucking love Randy Newman!”

8) Lost Stars.

This is really the theme of the film, even garnering an Oscar Nomination. It signifies Greta’s skill but later - when Dave covers it - the deterioration of their relationship. The dissonance there. But on its own it is a very sweet, moving, compelling number that stands up with the rest of the film’s songs.

9) Adam Levine as Dave.

Dave is a typical Nice Guy™ who’s connection with Greta you can see and understand but also it is not that much of a leap for him to becoming a cheating pretentious douche bag like he does later in the film. Levine gives an honest performance, coming at it as an actor instead of a singer which is always a risk when hiring a musician to act in a film. It is easy to dislike him but it’s also kind of fun, and Devine’s performance is what leads to that.

10) James Corden plays Greta’s best friend Steve in this film and honestly he’s absolutely hysterical in the part. Corden is a bright spot in the film, with every frame he’s in radiating warmth and joy. His chemistry with Knightley is also great and I’m guessing a lot of his lines are improvised because they’re just so natural/fucking funny! I think Corden holds up with the rest of the great cast in this film.

11) The fact that Greta just instantly fucking KNOWS that Dave cheated on her by hearing a song he recorded is very telling of her character. She is very intuitive, ESPECIALLY when it comes to music. She understands music better than anything else.

12)

Dave [about the affair]: “It just happened.”

Bullshit it did. Affairs don’t just happen. It’s a series of steps which lead to you fucking someone when you’re dating someone else. It doesn’t JUST happen!

13) The fact that Steve just KNOWS something is really wrong with Greta when she walks up to him so much so he gives her a hug speaks to the strength of their relationship.

14) Everyone has great chemistry in this film, but perhaps no more so than Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley. The effect Greta has on Dan is instant, you can see that the pair are helping to pick each other help. They’re helping each other get through hard times, something which is shown more in the performances and chemistry of the actors than anything else.

15) I love this.

Dan: “Why do we even need to rent a fucking studio?”

I absolutely fucking LOVE this. The fact that they’re just able to get a bunch of passionate people together and say, “Fuck it, why can’t we do it this way!?” It speaks to the heart, the love, the commitment they have to this medium/art form they fucking love. Dear good, that passion and drive makes my heart bleed. And it SHOWS in both Ruffalo and Knightley’s performance, especially Ruffalo who’s Dan has not felt this way in a LONG time. It’s pure gold. Pure fucking gold. Sign me the fuck up.

16) Cee Lo Green’s role in the film is basically a gratuitous cameo but that doesn’t mean he’s bad in it. In fact, he performers with as much honesty as anyone else. He doesn’t gum up the film. You’re not like, “oh, here’s a musician who’s TRYING to act.” You just get invested in it and Green is pretty damn good in the role.

17) Coming Up Roses.

I wanted to include a video of this but I can only include so many videos in a Tumblr text post. You can find it on YouTube here though.

Knightley’s vocals are strong on all the tracks and this is the best showcase so far. It’s definitely the most confident of the songs we’ve heard so far, the one where she gets the closest to belting out a number. From a thematic standpoint, the song marks a turning point. Things are much more positive and feel good. Hell, you’ve literally got a bunch of wide eyed kids singing backup! It’s an excellent song.

18) Keira Knightley and Haillee Steinfeld do share some fun scenes together, but it’s too bad that the writers used it to slut shame Steinfeld’s character. It’s not AWFUL, like I’ve seen worse, but it’s definitely there and makes me uncomfortable.

19) Honestly, HOW is Miriam the “good” parent in this film? We learn she decided her daughter was depressed just because she was introverted and then we get this bit:

Miriam [after Dan asks if Violet can play guitar on a track]: “She’s terrible at guitar.”

Except, no she’s not! She’s really fucking not! She ends up being REALLY good on guitar! So what the FUCK are you talking about, Miriam!?

20) One of the best scenes in this film is when Greta and Dan just walk around New York City listening to music together. It is one of pure character and relationship which I am in love with. They connect, they become really great fucking friends, they trust each other, and it’s a PLATONIC relationship! There are not enough platonic relationships with men and women in film and television.

21)

Greta [after saying Dan will think her next song choice is cheesy]: “This is one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite films.”

I was so worried that this would be “My Heart Would Go On” from Titanic the first time I saw it. Not that I’d judge if it were, but I think the song is a little overrated at this point.

22) Like a Fool.

This is like the most extra way to tell someone to go fuck themselves and I am totally in love with it! I mean, you fucking set up a recording studio with the voice mail as a microphone and sang a song about how this guy fucked you over! That’s awesome! And the song is so fucking gorgeous and…gah! I love it!

23) Tell Me If You Wanna Go Home

This is the moment of greatest joy in the film, I think. It just infects everything about the song, ESPECIALLY when Violet starts to play guitar. Here we’ve got this introverted kid who comes out and absolutely fucking SHREDS it on guitar. You can HEAR the joy in her solo and it’s so fucking uplifting I love it. It is a close second after “A Step You Can’t Take Back” for my favorite song in the entire film.

24) You get him, Greta!

(GIFs source unknown [if these are your GIFs please let me know].)

25) FUCKING BURN THEM GRETA!!!

Greta [after the record label said they’ll release her album and take 90% of the profits even though she made the whole thing herself without their funding]: “So I think what I’m wondering is why are you getting nine out of ten of my dollars?”

26) The ending to this film is great.

There is very little dialogue in reality, with most of it being Adam Levine singing “Lost Stars”. Greta heard his version of it earlier and the meaning totally gets lost in the song; he doesn’t understand what it’s about and he asks her to come hear him perform that night. Greta says she will, but asks that he not perform “Lost Stars” in that stadium pop way. And when she shows up you have hope that Dave has pulled his head out of his ass. He shaved the shitty looking beard, he starts the song off the way SHE wants to hear it. But it devolves into exactly what he said what he wouldn’t do, showing that he has made his choice between Greta and this life. And Greta is initially just fucking heartbroken, leaving in tears and riding away into the city. And Knightley doesn’t say a fucking word but SHIT if we don’t understand where she is emotionally. We can see it play on her face, we see how hard it is for her to let go of that relationship and that part of her life. But in doing so we see her come to peace. She is fucking beaming as she rides off into the night and it’s fucking beautiful. Fuck yeah Keira Knightley. Fuck yeah!

27) Okay, there are really two endings to this film. The one I just discussed is the emotional ending, supported by Adam Levine’s performance of “Lost Stars”. The second plays out during the credits and is a plot ending. Wrapping up any remaining questions about the story, showing that Greta decides to fuck off the studio and that Dan is going home. Both of these are important, but I think the emotional ending is more important and having the other ending play during the credits is wildly smart.

Despite my one BIG problem with how Dan’s relationship with his wife is handled, I fucking love Begin Again. It is just am amazing film with an amazing heart supported by some fucking stellar performances (ESPECIALLY from Keira Knightley, who is at the top of her game) and a soundtrack which will make your heart melt. If you haven’t seen it go do so now. It’s so fucking good. It’s SO fucking good!

[moviemagistrate]

“Wonder Woman” review

I’m sure I wasn’t alone in being not-particularly-excited for “Wonder Woman”, the latest entry in the DC Extended Universe; after all, I did see the other films in the DCEU. There was the two-and-a-half-hour long trailer “Man of Steel”, the ambitious but notably flawed “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”, and “Suicide Squad”, a film that if I were forced to choose between seeing again and taking my own life, I would spend far too long considering. With skepticism in hand, I saw “Wonder Woman”, and I cannot remember the last time I was so happy to be so wrong about a film. This isn’t to say that the movie doesn’t have its own fair share of flaws (it does), but in at least one significant area, which is to inspire hope for the DCEU, it works wonders.

After a brief framing-device setup, the movie tells the origin story of Diana, princess of an isolated island of muscular, Amazonian warrior-babes. In a slow-but-alright prologue, she grows from an eager young girl who is sheltered from combat by her Queen mother to a formidable fighter when suddenly, dashing American soldier Steve Trevor crash lands in their waters. From him, she discovers the ongoing conflict of World War I and sets out alongside him to Europe to help save humanity from what she believes to be the machinations of Ares, the wrathful god of war. Writing it now, this sounds like silly, comic book-y stuff (and it is), but it works within the context of the movie, and the plot isn’t really the reason the movie works as well as it does, anyway.

Let’s talk about Gal Gadot. I was among those who were skeptical when Zack Snyder first cast her as Wonder Woman in BvS, despite his usual excellent penchant for casting his films. A model with acting experience that mainly consisted of “Fast & Furious” movies (not exactly acting showcases) being put in the shoes of the most famous female hero in comic book history has a lot to live up to, and while her limited role in BvS was decent, it didn’t exactly set the world on fire. Such is not the case here in her solo film. Finally given a character with outward personality and depth, she is absolutely phenomenal in what is legitimately one of the best portrayals of a comic book character in any movie. Diana is an idealist, a good-hearted and eager young woman (despite being centuries-old) with no small amount of naiveté and innocence but also someone who is also fiercely strong-willed and independent, and Gadot nails every aspect of her character and every bit of her development throughout the course of the movie, as well as being surprisingly funny. Sure, you could argue that there are probably some actresses out there who could offer some better line-deliveries, but in terms of sheer charisma and how she carries herself and how she makes you believe that she is Wonder Woman, I’d say that Snyder’s mostly-superlative casting record continues. By the end of the film you’ll be convinced that Gal Gadot is a fucking megastar.

The main reason the movie works so well for me is Diana’s relationship with Trevor, played by Chris Pine. A likable, cynical rogue who isn’t too much of a stretch for Pine considering he plays Kirk similarly in the new “Star Trek” films, but a character who is still given enough dimension and gravitas to make him memorable, which the naturally charismatic Pine plays to a tee. Their lack of familiarity with each other’s worlds and their clashes in communication leads to some nice fish-out-of-water humor (see Trevor’s bemusement at the glowing water on the island or Diana’s reaction to her first ice cream), but it’s their chemistry that is the beating heart of this film. The characters’ opposing worldviews supplies the needed character drama, but also helps creates a bond that feels as natural and fresh as any pairing in recent history. Just try watching the boat scene about 30 minutes into the movie without smiling, laughing, or feeling the fireworks these two create. This leads to a bond atypical of most movies, where their deepening relationship is based not on superiority of one over the other, but one of equality and respect, where you actually feel these two grow both individually and together. I might be harping too much on this matter, but this is easily the best romance in any comic book movie (yes, even better than Cap and Bucky). Other film couples have chemistry; these two are cooking Heisenberg-quality meth together and making it look effortless.

The rest of the cast is solid, as well. Of note are Steve’s three buddies who tag along with him and Diana on their mission. They initially seem like the typical diverse comic-relief sidekicks, but are surprisingly well-written and are even given their own moments that flesh out and humanize them more than you’d expect in this kind of film (and I’m always happy to see Scotsman Ewen Bremner onscreen). Connie Nielsen and Robin Wright are alright as Diana’s Amazon queen mother and warrior aunt, but they’re only in the opening third of the movie and spend much of it speaking in stilted “Game of Thrones” dialogue. While the actors who play the villains are good, their actual characters are one of the film’s main weaknesses, somewhat lacking in terms of depth and being interesting. We never really understand why Doctor Poison stoops to creating her devastating weapons of war, and [SPOILERS] the “surprise” late-reveal of Ares can be seen coming a mile away. [END SPOILERS] It’s somewhat ballsy to take a historical figure such as German general Erich Ludendorff and make him the cackling bad guy in your movie (with some unusually accurate attention to detail like his view of war and his pagan Norse worship), and while entertaining, he too suffers from a lack of depth and motivation beyond conquering the world (which again should be noted, is not entirely historically inaccurate).

Patty Jenkins is the first time a woman has directed a major superhero film (not counting Lexi Alexander’s low-budgeted but face-explodingly awesome “Punisher: War Zone”), and she brings a uniquely feminine perspective to Diana’s story, from her upbringing in an all-female society to her learning of the frustrating world of mankind to her loving and compassionate nature. Jenkins has only directed one movie 14 years ago and has only done a handful of TV stuff since then, so her ground as an action director is understandably a bit shaky. The action itself is pretty good, but between the slight over-reliance on Snyder-esque slo-mo and over-editing, you can kind of tell this is Jenkins’ first time doing this sort of thing (not helped by some shockingly crappy CGI). However, she makes up for this by spacing out the action well over the course of the movie, and giving each fight weight, story meaning, and character development for Diana. Along with Rupert Gregson-Williams’ pounding soundtrack, this comes together best in an outstanding mid-movie charge across no man’s land to liberate a Belgian village. 

Putting aside the action stuff, Jenkins’ strength lies in the character scenes. The boat scene and others like it feel so natural and well-done because Jenkins knows the importance of slowing a movie down to let us take in the characters and making us care for them. In these scenes, she shows moments of such humanity and personal growth that it really catches you off-guard how moving this film can be. Later in the film, there’s a scene where a character sacrifices themselves and the camera holds on their face for a while, and seeing this person come to terms with their death will both break your heart and take your breath away. Moments like this involve you in a story more than any giant CGI clusterfuck or ironic Marvelquip. Speaking of which, the film itself has a refreshingly good sense of humor, that in deference to modern superhero tradition never feels forced and feels like it’s coming naturally from the characters and their quirks instead of soulless hack writers making pop-culture references.

Despite all that the film does right, it’s not without its flaws. Along with the aforementioned dodgy special effects and the so-so villains, the film also tends to get bogged down in exposition. It has not only the early backstory narration (which at least has context since it’s a story being read to Diana by her mother) and the third-act “villain explains their motivations” monologue, but also fairly frequent occurrences of “newly-introduced character tells us who they are and what the situation is”. It’s still done relatively well, and I prefer it to a movie rushing through just to get to the next studio-mandated action beat, but they could have been more economic with these parts. Also, the third act is a bit of a letdown. Without spoiling much, it disappointingly becomes another huge CG-battle after the baddie monologue, the kind we’ve all seen dozens of times. Maybe some producer or studio exec is hoping that these types of climaxes will one day go full-circle and become exciting again. Finally, the very last shot of the movie is kind of silly; it has no real purpose and is only there because someone out there mistakenly thought it’d look cool.

Nevertheless, I’m writing this review a few days after seeing it, and I’m honestly still shocked at how much I was thrilled, entertained, and even moved by “Wonder Woman”. It’s just so rare for me to find a movie that actually clicks with me on an emotional level that I can easily recommend it despite its relatively-minor foibles. I’m not convinced the DCEU has its shit together as this film could just as likely be an anomaly, but “Wonder Woman” is miraculous solely by giving one the slightest bit of hope that “Justice League” will be good. As long as Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins make another one of these, I might just become optimistic about this franchise. You go, girls.

[oceansofparadise]

Amy Lee talks to TeamRock about new track Speak To Me, which she recorded for new gothic suspense flick Voice From The Stone

TeamRock had an interview with Amy

Evanescence’s Amy Lee is a busy woman. Not content with being the frontwoman for one of the biggest rock bands to come out of America this century, she’s also recently embarked on a solo career, as well as an increasingly prolific sideline in movie scores.

Her latest song, Speak To Me, was recorded for new movie Voice From The Stone, which is set for release on April 28th. The movie, which is billed as a “suspenseful romantic thriller”, is a dark tale of love and loss set in 1950s Tuscany and – one for the Khaleesi fans among us – stars Game Of Thrones’ Emilia Clarke.

We had a chat with Amy to find out more about the song, the movie and what she has planned next.

What first attracted you to get involved with Voice From The Stone?

“Well, the director reached out to me – it’s really cool when that happens. He just had a vision for the idea of me being the person to make the song. I’m never going to work on anything I don’t really believe in, and he wanted that too, so he showed me the film. They were still working on it at the time, it was a little over a year ago now, but he let me check it out and I just completely fell for it. It’s sogood! It’s so many things at once; it’s beautiful, it’s sad, it’s romantic, it’s a little scary, it’s got some supernatural elements. I’m a new mother, but I was a brand new mother at the time with a one-year-old, and it really, uh… I’m trying to think of another way to say this than it spoke to me [laughs]. I really saw myself inside it and felt very connected to the whole vibe that was going on, because there’s a lot in there about the separation of a mother and son and the power of their love being so strong that it conquers death. That was huge for me, so I was very, very inspired right off the bat, and really do love this film.”

You got involved with the project over a year ago – what has the process been like since then?

“We finished [the song] quite a while ago – the movie industry takes a long time. This song was one of those special experiences for me where it came out really quickly, I felt really inspired and had a vision for what I wanted right away. After watching [the movie] I spoke to the director [Eric D. Howell] and the score composer, Michael, and we all just really clicked. I love them, I hope we can work together again – they are very talented but also very real, humble people; like normal people that you could hang out with. That’s such a bonus, because we could all just get down to business and to the love of the creation of a piece of art, which is what happened.

Right after speaking to them I went straight to the piano and I had the initial idea for the song down within an hour or two. After I sent that to them – it was really rough in the beginning – they loved the initial idea and actually flew me out to where they were mastering the film, at Skywalker Ranch, which is incredible. I went out there the following weekend from that initial conversation and finished writing the song while I was there for just a couple of days, and we recorded it there at Skywalker. So we finished the song quite a while ago. I love it when that happens – it’s such an amazing thing when you’re like ‘Ooh, I know what I want – boom!’ and it flows out of you and feels like it came from somewhere else. I wish it could be like that all the time – more often than not I’m feeling like nothing’s ever good enough and I’m blocked.” 

How does the process differ when you’re writing specifically for a film, and someone else’s creative project?

“It’s kinda nice to have a little bit of a map for what you want. When I’m writing for myself or for Evanescence it’s always so open, it’s like ‘We can do anything, let’s do anything!’ – even more so with solo stuff than Evanescence, because I can do anything I want and anything is possible… Go! And it’s like ‘Well… Where do I begin?’ When you’re writing for something else, like a film, you actually have a specific emotion and specific story to write from and to draw inspiration from. Since I felt so connected to the feelings and characters, it was actually pretty easy for me to sink into that role and play.”

Are there any extra pressures when you’re making something for someone else’s project, when it has to live up to someone else’s expectations?

“Yeah… I don’t know if I want to call it extra pressure because I put so much on myself it’s almost worse, but you’re trying to get the part. So I’m basically auditioning my ideas for the director and he’s either going to like it or not. I’ve definitely been down that road before where the song hasn’t made it – several times. Sometimes it’s because the song can’t quite meet the director’s needs, and sometimes it’s because what the director really wants is something that you don’t want to do. So there’s definitely an extra dynamic there, but that’s why it was so cool doing this. I think the director really got me as an artist, and I really got the film as well, so we both wanted the same things.”

It’s an independent movie. Are independent movies something you’re interested in?

“I think anything that comes from the passion of somebody wanting to make something awesome is the best thing – coming from a pure place of someone really believing in something and doing whatever it takes to make it. Then they’re in that boat afterwards of like ‘Okay, how do we get this out there?’ I think that’s actually the way a lot of films happen; you make the movie first, get your investors, do what you need to do and then find a way to sell it somewhere. It’s really just a method to a thing. I’m not all the way inside it enough to know how it all works, but I think the other way is that you know from the beginning that you’re serving a studio and doing what they want, so it’s a little bit of a different machine.

I do like independent film, I think there’s probably a lot more… independence [laughs], and ability to be creative and do what you want to do there, because you’re not under a label yet, you’re still just working from the passion for the project.”

You’ve been involved in a movie soundtrack before [Evanescence’s breakout hit Bring Me To Life was used on the Daredevil soundtrack in 2003]. How did that experience differ from this time around?

“That was totally different. We didn’t write that song for the film – we had the song. We got this opportunity which was very exciting, because we were nobody at the time, we hadn’t even started recording our album if I’m remembering it right, and we got the opportunity to be part of some big, mainstream film that was going to come out in theatres. What that meant for us was that people were going to hear us. Back then it wasn’t as simple as just uploading your songs to YouTube or whatever, you needed some sort of vehicle to get out there. We were given this amazing vehicle, so that was extremely exciting and a big part of the start of our career.

This is different, because the fact that it was written for the film – that’s a really different thing. [If] you get blessed with being picked with being a part of something, [that] is definitely cool, [but this way] you get to actually get involved and be a part, it feels like, of the film. [The song] really is a big part of the film, even thematically, because I’m singing from the perspective of the boy’s deceased mother, kind of from beyond. She was a singer in her life, and you never hear her sing in the film – you just hear that she’s a singer and a classical musician. It’s a really cool thing that the one time you hear her voice, at the end of the film, it’s representing her character and her voice. It ties it to the whole project and it’s part of it. I think that’s really special.” 

Do you have any other cinematic projects lined up?

“Yeah, I did work on the score for a film called Blind, which stars Alec Baldwin and Demi Moore. It’s another independent film that’s coming out this year. This isn’t one where you’ll hear me do some big song – there’s a little bit of singing in the background in a couple of scenes, but mainly it’s a different thing writing a score than a soundtrack. It’s more about instrumental music and themes and stuff, which is really fun for me. It lets me exercise a less-exercised part of myself – people haven’t heard that part yet. I don’t know if you watch the movie if you’d be able to pick out ‘Ooh, that’s Amy’ or not, but I wrote a couple of the big themes, like the Love Theme of the movie, which was a really fun experience. It’s a cool movie, it’s a romantic comedy so it’s different for me too in its very attitude.”

Could this be something your career concentrates on more heavily in the future?

“Yeah – as much as any cool thing that I’m into that comes up, I’m in. I love writing for film – it was one of my dreams from the beginning. When we got signed as a band I was actually in school studying to do this. So, I’m getting to work on my Plan A and my Plan B.”

Voice From The Stone will be released on April 28th. Speak To Me is available now.

[source]

[lavanderjuicebox-blog]

Soundtrack

My soundtrack isn’t happy and full of life like I am now. There wasn’t sunshine and rainbows and happy clouds. No, it’s sad, depression and gut-wrenching growing up at home. But these songs represent everything I’ve gone through and how I come out on top. I’m a strong independent woman now because of my past. The past makes you who you are.  So sit back and relax as you listen to the songs that describe me as a child.

 “Fancy," Reba McEntire

She handed me a heart shaped locket that said, "To thine own self be true." And I shivered as I watched a roach crawl across The toe of my high heeled shoe It sounded like somebody else that was talkin' Askin', "Mama, what do I do?" She said, "Just be nice to the gentlemen, Fancy, And they'll be nice to you."

Age Eight;

Growing up in South Africa, everybody around us were poor. We were poor despite my father owning a successful hotel, we had more money than most but we were still poor. My father was a stubborn man, never giving mama money for anything. All the money she got was for food to feed her belly and my siblings and I stomach but it wasn’t enough for her. She wanted to be like the women who stayed at the hotel. She wanted to be fancy, have nice clothes, buy some make up. She wanted to be something she wasn’t. I was nine years old, she smoothed out my best dress, slipped on a pair of high heels on my blistered feet and kissed my forehead. “Make mama proud, Zola.” She said, placing a kiss on my head. “But how, mama?” I asked, looking around the hotel suite. Daddy forbid us to be in here, it was only for the rich customers. “Do what the men tell you.” She said, “Or I’ll tell daddy I found you in that dress and shoes and he’ll whip you till your bleeding.” She sneered, a hint of liquor on her breathe.

“Titanium,” by David Guetta

“Ricochet, you take your aim Fire away, fire away You shoot me down but I won’t fall I am titanium.”

  Age Ten;

The whip fell once again against my bruised and bloody body, this time another lash on my back. “You stupid stupid girl!” My father roared as he whipped me again. “Please daddy.” I begged but my pleas falling on deaf ears as my older brothers held my hands and feet down against the bed as my father stood above us, the whip dripping in my blood. I know it was stupid but I couldn’t help myself, I was supposed to be working but being a child, I was curious. I wanted to see what the big deal was, why all the workers were rush around the hotel, who the famous man that was coming. Staying at my daddy’s hotel that had him so stressed out. That’s when it happened, I was running through the lobby which wasn’t allowed when I bumped into a waiter carrying drinks for the famous man. When I bumped into him, he lost control of the platter and the drinks spilled all over the man’s wife white dress.

“Human,” by Christina Perri

“But I’m only human, And I bleed when I fall down. I’m only human. And I crash and I break down. Your words in my head, knives in my heart, You build me up and then I fall apart ‘Cause I’m only human.”

Age Fourteen;

There he was, staying with his group of friends but he always stood out. Kago, the boy I had been madly in love with since I could remember. He was tall and handsome, fuck he was handsome. He was sixteen, two years older than me. He was known as a man-whore to girls my age and his age but I didn’t care. He walked over to me, smelling of dagga(weed) and I gasped, it was forbidden to smoke. Just last week somebody was hung for being caught with it. “Kago.” I whispered, “You’re going to get hung.” My voice cracked as the thought of him dying tore me apart inside. “Don’t worry, Zola. Just come with me and let me show you something.” He said and took my hand and I followed him, like a puppy following it’s master. He leads me back to an empty shack, told me how beautiful I was and how much he wanted me. My clothes came off, his came off and he was inside me before I could even speak. That wasn’t the first or the last time, we had sex but it was the last time he told I was beautiful. After that day, it was nothing but rude and crude words, I’d rather not repeat.

“Survivor,” by Destiny’s Child

“Now that you're out of my life I'm so much better You thought that I'd be weak without you  But I'm stronger You thought that I'd be broke without you  But I'm richer You thought that I'd be sad without you I laugh harder You thought I wouldn't grow without you  Now I'm wiser Though that I'd be helpless without you  But I'm smarter You thought that I'd be stressed without you  But I'm chillin'”

  Age Seventeen;

Today was the day. The day I was sentenced to death. The day my life would officially be over if I didn’t do anything. Since my father was well-respected and ‘rich’, I was allowed to spend the night at home and say goodbye to my family instead of sitting in a jail cell. My father beat me so hard as my mother cried, my siblings cried as I just took the beating. I brought shame onto my family, shame to the hotel but I couldn’t help myself. My father refused to give me extra money so I found a way to make extra money myself and now it’s going to cost me my life. Mama dressed my wounds, made sure I was no longer bleeding and was dressed in my best clothes. But nobody knew what I was about to do, about the backpack I had hidden in bushes outside. “I love you, mama.” I whispered, hugging her tightly as I kissed her cheek. “I’m sorry.” I whispered as I hugged my little siblings, the ones I raised. The ones I resent but loved with all my heart. My older brothers hugged me and told me they loved me, and my father. He hugged me and I could see the tear fall from his eyes. As I walked by myself to the stage would I would be hanged, I grabbed my backpack and I ran. I ran as fast as I could to the car that was helping me escaped. Being dropped off at the airport, I boarded my plane and I never looked back.

[perpetually-jungshook]

How to Change a Fuqboi (Seokjin)

Word Count: 2,762

Loosely inspired by the song “Fuqboi” by Hey Violet and “I Found a Girl” by The Vamps

Rated M (language, references to homosexuality, and like REALLY REALLY suggestive sh!t yo)

How To Change A Fuqboi

Volume 1: Happenstance (Jungkook) Volume 2: For-Getting His Attention (Jimin) Volume 3: Bonding and Binding (Taehyung) Volume 4: One and Done (Yoongi) Volume 5: Unintentional Liar (Seokjin) Volume 6: To Be Loved (Namjoon) Volume 7: Checklist (Hoseok)

✩✩✩♔✩✩✩

Step 1) Be aware*

I think it’s high time we learn how to avoid fuckboys altogether. This highly advanced, ancient technique, practiced and perfected by the natives of that country we cannot or are too lazy to pronounce, will save you all of the hassle and effort needed in the last four volumes. Let’s begin.

First things first, try not to put yourself in situations in which guys who might not have your best interest at heart-

Okay I��m totally done being nice. We’ve been over this like four times now I think we’re good enough friends that I can just say:

First things first, DON’T BE AN IDIOT.

If there’s one thing you hate about moving, besides the bullshit sales agent commission, escrow costs, and paying movers when your “friends” are suddenly all suspiciously busy… the one thing you HATE about moving is the new neighbors.

Like, do you introduce yourself and pretend you’re a friendly person? Or do just go straight into being a work-from-home recluse who only goes out on weekends to crash the nearest bar?

Yup. Making those touch decisions since… well since whenever you were born. Anyway!

The stairwell smells of dust, floor polish, and sweat. Or maybe that last one’s just you.

As you drag the last box that would fit in your tiny car up the final flight that stands between you and your destination, panting, you can’t help but be mildly frustrated. You have been unpacking all day, carrying up only the essentials because the movers won’t be here for at least another “thirty two hours.” So with this box, you are equipped with a blow up mattress, some basic flatware, a few cooking utensils, blankets, toiletries, and about two days worth of clothes.

You heave yourself and the box full of textiles up to the landing, letting it fall on the doorstep so you can press your back against the wall and slowly sink down into a sitting position. You just need a few breaths to recover from four flights of stairs and a five minute break won’t kill you.

But maybe HE will.

The door opposite of yours opens to reveal the most beautiful human being you have ever laid eyes upon. Probably.

Plush lips, glossy raven black hair, broad shoulders, and doe eyes that seem perpetually perplexed, yet thoughtful…he looks almost angelic as he floats across the threshold-

Alright you get the idea. He’s pretty.

But oh-ho-ho this makes him one of the WORST kinds of fuckboys: gorgeous and he knows it. How can I tell? My, erm, calculations tell me so. What calculations you ask? THAT IS PRIVILEGED AND CLASSIFIED INFORM- fine. I’m just telling you ahead of time as a plot device, maybe so you’ll actually stop and think about your actions before we get into trouble this time. Call it “reverse dramatic irony.” But in case you’re not getting the point, I’ll just say it explicitly:

He only wants to get in your pants.

Period.

Do with that information what you will.

As he locks his door, the man does a double take, not too subtly watching you out of the corners of his eyes. You’re ready to ask him what his problem is, but then he turns around and cocks his head, speaking in a soft voice that feels like honey in your ears (metaphorically, because literally having it in your ear would be disgusting), “Do you need help with that?”

You don’t miss a beat before replying, “A pair of strong arms would be WONDERFUL.”

C’mon. Both you and I know you’re perfectly capable of moving it yourself.

You smile warmly, pushing your fingers through your hair. “As long as I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Oh I was only heading out to run some errands,” the man returns the expression, the corners of his lips pulling up, and one eyelid quickly dropping down in a wink, “Besides, anything to help such a pretty girl like yourself. I’m Seokjin, by the way.”

After he sets the box inside, obviously you can’t NOT offer him a cup of tea. It’s only the polite thing to do and it’s not like I’m NOT telling you to do it. Furthermore, of COURSE this cup of tea turns into a three hour long conversation, during which you find out he’s your only same-floor neighbor, he gets his good looks from his mom, and he has a massive soft spot for delicious food.

Cool air has begun to seep into the apartment complex, accompanied by the dying, golden light of sunset that peeks in through the shades. The two of you sit on the floor due to a lack of chairs and table, hunched over now lukewarm beverages, entrapped in one another’s presence.

“But the BEST thing on the tray was this fruit chicken. I’m not sure HOW they made it but- oh! Say,” he leans forward slightly, elbows resting on his knees, “I’m inviting some friends over this Saturday. We’ll be watching some movies, hanging out, eating food, nothing too big. Since you’re new here, would you like to meet some people? Come over for a little bit?”

Food might be safe, but movies? Seokjin didn’t look like the kind of person who would spend time with people who just wanted to “hang out.” Heck, you’re right, he seems like a decent guy on the outside. But this sounds more like an excuse to get drunk and get laid.

“No thank you,” you decline with a smile, setting down your mug on the tile floor, “I’m not very… social. And I’d like to at least PRETEND like I’m a cool person without explicitly confirming that I’m NOT.”

He laughs, watching you with curiosity, “You’re too cute.”

“Hopefully that’s a good thing,” you muse, biting gently on your index finger nail, basking in the attention.

“A very good thing,” he tilts his head slightly, “And y’know, if you change your mind… the invitation still stands.”

*Elaboration: awareness can come in many forms and in varying degrees. From actively assessing a situation and being mindful to simply listening to your instincts, being able to discern what types of interactions, people, and places should be abandoned or avoided is one of the easiest preventative measures to take.

Step 2) Avoid compromising** situations

Good in-the-moment decisions are difficult to make. So why not stay away from them altogether? If you know that you fall victim to temptation easily, remove yourself from things like parties, suggestive message threads, or other high-risk situations in which judgment inhibitors such as alcohol or drugs are involved.

I know what you’re thinking. “You’re WRONG,” you want to brag. Seokjin is a GREAT guy. He’s helped you unpack and move furniture, even brought you lunch at one point, which was (I’ll admit) a somewhat nice gesture. Especially in sight of your barren kitchen.

Who knew your university days would prepare you so well for adulthood? Your two day diet of cup noodles and apple juice has you feeling like shit, but that’s nothing new.

Thankfully, after the movers show up with your refrigerator, you’re finally able to go grocery shopping for decent food.

This puts you in the stairwell at eight thirty on Saturday night, apparently the prime time for people to start arriving for Seokjin’s “movie night.” So with about thirty pounds of groceries in your arms, you’re stuck behind the SLOWEST pair of girls you’ve ever had the displeasure of walking behind as you painstakingly make your way up the flights of stairs, forced to listen to them babble about hot guys and this “bitch” named Sooyoung.

Whoever she is, you sure feel sorry for her and the eight dicks she’s apparently sucked, but that’s beside the point.

As the two girls continue clopping up the stairs one by one, hyperbolically, metaphorically stopping to “smell the nonexistent roses” with every step, you can’t help but feel mildly irritated and VERY inconvenienced.

Still, in their short, tight dresses, at LEAST you have-

They peel off sharply to the right, heading toward Seokjin’s apartment. You pause momentarily, just long enough to see that the door is ajar and to hear the loud music emanating from inside. Oddly enough, it doesn’t sound like music people would want to DANCE to, more like a film soundtrack… so maybe they ARE just watching movies.

But what’s with the dresses then?

You fumble with your keys for a few seconds, contemplating on this topic, before dropping them.

A curse tumbles out of your mouth, as well as a sigh. With the quickness of an expert klutz, you shift the bags around until they’re all balancing in one arm and haphazardly start your second attempt at unlocking the door.

It doesn’t take long for him to interrupt, “Need a hand?”

“I’m good thanks,” you glance at Seokjin just long enough to drop your keys.

AGAIN.

He laughs, stooping to pick them up and unlock the door, “C’mon, I know you’re a strong independent woman and all, but sometimes help isn’t a bad thing.”

“Hey, I let you carry that box inside for me,” you tease, wrinkling your nose as he holds open the wooden barrier to let you into your apartment.

“Oh, you LET me,” he laughs, casually following you, “What a privilege!”

“It WAS,” you shoot him a playfully sultry look over the tops of the grocery bags as you set them down.

“For me? Or for you? I mean, it’s not every day you get to look at someone as…handsome as me,” Seokjin wiggles his eyebrows, walking over to lean his lower back against the countertop.

“For YOU, obviously. It’s not every day you get to look at someone as beautiful as ME,” you retort, flipping your hair over your shoulder in mock vanity. Kind of.

Because hey, let’s not confuse confidence with conceitedness.

“Really though, shouldn’t you be back at your place…? Entertaining your guests?”

Seokjin shrugs, not even trying to fight his smile, “If we’re being honest, I’d much rather be here with you. At least YOU’RE funny. And trust me, they’ll be fine. There’s enough alcohol back there to last them DAYS.”

So at least half of the “get drunk, get laid” theory is true. Let’s appreciate that and scoff- wait, you ARE scoffing, right?

“Alcohol, hmm?” you arch an eyebrow.

Now wait a hot second.

“Yup,” he pauses purposefully for a beat before pushing himself away from the counter, plump lips quirking in a smirk, “You said you didn’t want to come because you’re not a ‘social person.’ Well, you’ve been pretty social with me and if it’s just us, you don’t have to ‘pretend’ to be cool, babe. I already know you are. So, with no other objections left on the table, maybe… I could go grab a bottle or two and we can hang out here instead.”

“Mmm, I don’t know,” you play coy, tugging your bottom lip between your teeth.

He walks backwards toward the door, “C’mon, I’ll just be gone a minute. You like my company, don’t you? Besides, as neighbors, I think it’s our…RESPONSIBILITY to get to know one another more, yeah?”

“Responsibility,” you muse with a small “tsh” and continue unpacking the bags slowly, but maintain eye contact, almost purring, “I like that.”

**Definition: COMPROMISING (adjective), (as in of information or a situation) embarrassing or incriminating; slight sexual connotations.

Step 3) If pursued, disengage***

If, for WHATEVER reason, you find yourself in a compromising situation, there are only two obvious routes. One, you could let all this CRAP happen to you AGAIN. OR you could ACTUALLY take my advice and leave. I’m not going to sugar coat the shit. We’ve been through too much for that. Just RUN. Fly like the fool you are for getting yourself into that situation. No holds barred, hike up your shirt, and just RUN. If you want to be polite, or would rather not be rude, you could say some shit like “thanks for inviting me” coupled with a reason (or excuse if need be). Just…whatever you do, get OUT lest your heart be broken again.

Seokjin comes back with two bottles of fine wine, something both you and I know he wasn’t planning on serving at his party. You pass him two glasses, hands briefly ghosting his, tone suggestive, “So, what do you want to talk about?”

One empty bottle of wine later, both of you are lying on your bed, one of his legs wedged between yours, his broad chest pressing you into the mattress.

At this point, I’m just not going to waste my energy on a comment.

You feel like a goddess, his plush lips working against the soft skin under your jaw, a cold trail left in his wake as he begins tonguing his way down to the base of your neck.

Seokjin’s hand wanders from idly exploring your chest to work at the button of your jeans. He fumbles with it for a few seconds before you can feel the material slacken. His fingers then move to his own pants, but once again he apparently runs into some difficulties. Instead of being patient, he simply grunts and pushes the fabric down- yeah okay you get it. He’s STILL pretty and the situation is compromising. Basically, the exact thing I literally just told you to stay away from…but since when has my opinion mattered? I digress.

Sex, to you, has always seemed equivocal metaphorically to playing an instrument. For it to sound right, for it to resonate and please, the player or players must be in tune, skilled, and practiced.

The piano requires dexterity and nimbleness. The violin requires fluidity and grace. Both need copious amounts of hand-eye coordination and are in want of a certain degree of natural fluency.

Seokjin’s fingers are those of an expert pianist, playing you in ways that leave you quietly gasping, cords, trills, even changing octaves. Between his hands and lips, it’s a pleasure-symphony that finishes with one epic conclusion, one that you find difficult to reciprocate properly.

To compare you to a violinist would be…less than accurate, but introducing a woodwind instrument would be even further from the mark.

The strangest thing about this whole situation is this is supposed to be making your mind hazy, drowning your decision making skills in murky gutter water.

Yet…

You pull away suddenly, wiping your chin, voice hoarse, “I can’t do this.”

Panting, Seokjin’s eyebrows knit, collected composure and suave persona momentarily broken as he curtly shouts, “What? Why the hell not?”

You can barely contain your laughter as you sit up straight and reach behind his head, entwining your fingers in the soft hair at the back of his neck. You kiss him, very lightly- a tease of an interaction, before pulling away, a giggle breaking through your defenses, “Mmm, yeah no. This isn’t going to work. I’m sorry.”

His eyes widen in surprise, “Wait, what do you mean?”

***Clarification: I swear to GOD, if you don’t start listening to me I’m just going to STOP saying things. One last time: Just. Fucking. LEAVE. PLEASE. FOR MY SANITY.

Step 4) Give up… or maybe it’s time for some drastic measures****

You laugh again, feeling the pleasant warmth of the wine in your stomach, permeating through your bloodstream, “Look, babe, you’re a nice person. And like REALLY hot. But the thing is…I’m just not into guys.”

Not…?

Are you saying what I think you’re saying?!

“What?” he blanches.

“To put it bluntly, I like girls,” you shrug, amused as Seokjin visibly stiffens.

YOU’RE A LESBIAN? YOU COULD’VE MENTIONED THAT. At least to ME because fuck him- SHIT, no! Don’t fuck him!

“I think…I think I should leave,” he winces, expression a mix of distress and confusion.

All you can do as he, waddling due to anatomic “issues,” scrambles to retrieve his discarded shirt and flee the premises is laugh once more and say, “Thanks for the wine, babe.”

Especially since he leaves the unopened bottle behind.

See? At least HE has the decency to run from a compromising-

Wait! Did you… just say that to get him to leave you alone? Or- OR did you do it to get some free alcohol, hard labor, eye candy, and a “live performance” out of it? HAVE YOU BEEN PLANNING THIS THE WHOLE TIME?

Nope. Don’t answer that. Don’t answer ANY of those.

****Addendum: Just let me bask in your brilliance, you clever, CLEVER girl.

✩✩✩♔✩✩✩

A/N: So I know I kind of took a poll and Hobi won, but as I said in a previous announcement (here), I’m aiming for a more redeeming story for him- basically, I’m compromising and making his story, in my opinion, the most rewarding.

Send me your thoughts here. Or just come say hi ;) feedback is appreciated 

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Much love ~🐰 xx

[anja-mittags]

ALBUM RECS: NEW AND SHINY EDITION

Dua Lipa // Future Nostalgia

1. Banger. The back beat reminds me of something and I know the point is to homage that era of music but it’s so familiar it might be tricking my brain into thinking it’s another song. Center of attention you know you can get whatever you want from me. hawt. Am I falling in love with the one who can break my heart? Girl I don’t know but you do you and keep making fun records.

2. Who hasn’t heard this on repeat since it came out.The lyrics dont really stand out to me bc I have suffered thru this song way too many times to count. The title literally just made me laugh because Olivia Newton John? Then she came out with the workout video of this song and I was like hah! validation.

3. I feel like I should be more familiar with this since it’s one of the singles but I am not. It’s groovy. Very 70s in how it breaks down in the second half of the song.

4. Did she just say female alpha.....anyway! I can’t build you up if you aint tough enough. damn okay. this sounds a little like....hmm something janet jackson would produce meets like the 90s girl group independent women lyrics.

5. The drums in this is very 80s movie soundtrack plus the synth. This is definitely a pop song for the summer. You got me losing all my cool. Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised to see it in a movie/show soundtrack about teenagers falling in love. It’s nice, but repetitive.

6. Love the clapping in the background. Did she use sugarboo? in her lyrics. Props to her. I actually hear her british accent more in this than in future nostalgia.

7. Okay, this bass is attention grabbing already. Oh okay, it’s about sex. Could you help me slow it down? Put my mind at ease.  This gives me a like bruno mars vibe, like the way the tune is layered it feels like that sort of funky.

8. Fuck okay this really reminds me of. god I would say Kylie Minogue but it’s not exactly it but definitely 90s, just from the way she draws out hallucinate, it’s very much....Madonna meets Spice Girls beat. ohhh someone in the comments said Nelly Furtado and it’s very much that sort of pop era.

9. The disco influence is strong. OH the sample!!! Okay, just because of the Your Woman sample this is probably my favorite out of the non-released so far. Goddamn you got me in love again. and you certainly got my attention with this song. 

10. The intro is good. oh. i’m not a fan of the repeating words, even tho it is a stylistic retro choice. Like a lot of people have said, it’s very brit pop and lily allen definitely does come to mind. We don’t know how to talk but damn we know how to fuck. is basically the summation of this song.

11. it’s second nature to walk home before the sun goes down, and put your keys between your knuckles when there’s boys around!!! OH FUCK no the kids ain’t alright!!!! fuck everything else this should be the next single. This gives me early 00s vibes just from the lyrics alone. I mean Play and No Doubt come to mind. If you’re offended by this song, then you’re probably saying boys will be boys. Honestly why the fuck would you keep this as the last track. Okay sure piece de resistance but a lot of these songs are very much quintessential pop without much of a message but this!!! this is a statement.

6/10, I would stand to listen to maybe half of the album again and the rest is just okay. I like the sound and I applaud the effort but it’s also very much radio/ chart fodder and that’s okay!! I just wouldn’t want to listen to it all the time.

send me album recs