#forth mcshane

[bl-serotonin]

Boy Next World: A World Where We Don't Know Each Other | Special → Don't you know those two are together?

[keldjinfae]

I was tagged by the lovely @greyhavenisback, and I cannot for the life of me remember if I've already responded to this post or not, so...

In no particular order, my Top 10 Movies:

Inception - it has Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, and Ken Watanabe. That would be enough if it didn't also have one of the most goosebump-inducing soundtracks of all... Time. It also set sail one of my all-time favorite ships with the creation of Arthur and Eames.

The Dark Knight - while this list won't be entirely comprised of Nolan movies, I can't not put this one on this list, considering how many times I saw it in theaters. Both Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart were mesmerizing as the Joker and Two-Face, and again, that soundtrack is fire (I'm sorry).

Saw (the entire series) - I went to see all of these so many damn times in theaters that it's a good thing I got to see them for free. Every weekend, provided something new hadn't been released, my friend and I went to see whichever Saw movie was still showing. And again, isn't it iconic?

Tombstone - yes, obviously there's Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday, but there's also Kurt Russell, Sam Elliott, Bill Paxton, Powers Boothe, Michael Biehn, Stephen Lang, Billy Zane, Thomas Hayden Church, and nobody's leaving it up to one man to carry the movie. It's also one that I used to watch with my father at least once a year, usually around the anniversary of his separation from my mother, and we'd pass a bottle of bourbon back and forth and rant about how insane it is that Kilmer wasn't even nominated for an Oscar.

John Wick (the entire series) - it's a thing of beauty to me that what should just be a bunch of "shoot 'em up" movies have such an insane amount of worldbuilding to them (and if anyone bothering to read this post knows anything about my writing, it's how much I build a world before I start writing the story in the first place). The action is gorgeous, the actors themselves are gorgeous, the development and usage of things as simple as slang is gorgeous, the soundtrack is gorgeous. You can also never go wrong with Ian McShane.

The Warriors - this was legit one of our family movie night features while my sister and I were growing up. Yes, there were animated movies and whatnot, but our parents were very lax about rating restrictions. We still regularly quote "CAN YOU DIG IT?!" and "Warriooooooooors! Come out to plaaaaaaaay!" Also, James Remar as Ajax was 🔥.

Interview with the Vampire - Tom Cruise may be an... interesting individual in real life, but the effort he put into portraying Lestat was sheer perfection. I used to watch this one all the time with my dad and my sister, and again, killer soundtrack.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World - a movie that decided to bring together every single comedian of the time that they possibly could, as well as come up with relevant things for them to do. Sounds impossible "on paper," and yet this movie exists. I've been watching it since I was a child and I still laugh through the whole thing. Buddy Hackett is also basically my father in this movie, which makes Mickey Rooney both myself and my sister. "NO ONE'S FLYING THE PLANE!"

21 Jump Street and 22 Jump Street - I laughed so hard watching the first one that my vision literally whited out at one point. Everyone is fantastic in both movies, but 21JS is also the first time I got to see Channing Tatum's understated sense of humor.

Kill Bill (both volumes) - I could have just filled up most of these slots with Tarantino movies, honestly, because I do love just about all of them (and my dad had a particular fondness for Django Unchained), but my sister and I rewatch I and II at least once a year. They make up one masterpiece, and I may be in the minority but I hope III is never actually a serious prospect.

No pressure whatsoever tags: @dear-massacre @nerdherderette @vmures @renmackree @ephemeronidwrites

[headcanonsandmore]

'Prisoners Of The Snake'

Summary: Tegan Jovanka is attempting to assure herself that the dream the Mara sent her of Nyssa was entirely platonic and heterosexual. Luckily for her, Ace and Yaz aren't nearly as oblivious as Tegan herself is.

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Read on AO3.

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‘And then Nyssa was just standing there! Smiling at me! And -wait, did I mention she looked about my age? Well, she did. Anyway, then she hugged me and I honestly felt like I was gonna start crying. She was talking about how long it had been, and so was I and…’

Ace McShane watched as Tegan continued to babble -mostly to herself- whilst walking back and forth around the kitchen.

The Australian had texted Ace that morning, demanding that she come over to talk about something urgent. Since arriving at Tegan’s house -with a bewildered Yaz in tow- Ace hadn’t gotten a word in edgeways. Tegan had simply shoved a mug of coffee into both Ace’s and Yaz’s hands, directed them towards stools at the kitchen island, and began chuntering to herself.

That had been about ten minutes ago, and the Australian seemed to have half-forgotten that Ace and Yaz were even there. Tegan was animatedly throwing her hands around, as if reliving the entire dream to herself.

‘Did I mention the weird lights from the circus? I dunno what the Mara was doing, but both me and Nyssa were bathed in pink-and-purple lights. That was strange. And Nyssa had her arm around me, and I had mine around her, and we were talking about second chances and travelling again and…’

Ace took a sip of coffee, bemusedly watching her friend continue to rabbit on and on. On the seat next to her, Yaz was making a concerted effort not to raise her eyebrows too high.

‘Anyway, the Mara’s tried to do this sort of thing before. It’s just that this dream was especially vivid. I haven’t had a dream from the Mara this strong in decades. Not since I was on the TARDIS, really. But I did think it was weird that this would happen within a year of all that stuff happening with the Master. I mean, that could be the link. More time and space stuff may have caused the Mara to resurface in my mind, get through some sort of crack so they could create this dream…’

On the rare occasions that Tegan had mentioned Nyssa, Ace had always gotten the impression that the Australians feelings for the Trakenite she had shared a room with aboard the TARDIS were… well…

‘And then Nyssa’s voice was speaking in my head! She was saying that, in another universe, the two of us were together and that I should find her. Now, I always knew that was my deepest desire, but I didn’t think the Mara would be able to replicate Nyssa’s voice so well. I suppose seeing the TARDIS again last year brought back a lot of memories to the surface.’

Tegan finally turned to the two women in her kitchen, as if expecting them both to nod in understanding.

It was at that moment that Ace and Yaz exchanged a glance, and a look passed between them in mutual agreement of what needed to now happen. Ace nodded to the young Yorkshirewoman, who turned to face Tegan.

‘So… you love her, right?’

Tegan dropped her mug onto the kitchen island. The Australian’s mouth opened and closed several times, seemingly oblivious to the small pool of tea that was slowly dispersing out of her upturned mug.

‘I-what- you’re- what-’

Ace sighed, placing her own mug softly onto the island, and pulling the roll of kitchen roll towards her to clean up Tegan’s mess.

‘Tee,’ she said, as gently as she could. ‘Just to be clear; you had a dream where the Mara -some sort of eldritch supernatural being- gave you your deepest desire. Your desire was to be reunited and then together with your friend. A friend that you haven’t seen in forty years. During this dream, you and said-friend were bathed in sapphic lighting and had your arms around each other. Now -I’ve never been heterosexual so bare with me- but I’m pretty sure most heterosexual women don’t have that as their deepest desire.’

Tegan stared at her, blinking in confusion.

‘Tegan…’ -Ace reached forward and squeezed her friends hand- ‘It may just be possible that you were -and are- in love with Nyssa.’

Tegan Jovanka was unusually silent, as the realisation swept over her. Ace could practically hear Tegan’s brain connecting the dots of a lifetime spent unaware of her own feelings.

‘Tegan,’ Yaz said, softly. ‘I… I know what it’s like to have that feelin’ of loss for someone you loved. That you still love. It’s… well, I don’t think that’s the sort of platonic love that someone normally has for a friend. It’s… different.’

Ace removed her hand from Tegan’s. Slowly, the Australian put her face in her palms, letting out a long, deep sigh. It sounded not so much shocked as… relieved, as if several decades worth of confusion had finally been removed from her shoulders.

‘Tegan?’

Tegan slowly looked up. Ace and Yaz moved to sat on either side of her.  

‘We’re here for you, mate.’ Ace said, placing her hand on Tegan’s shoulder and giving a gentle squeeze. ‘You’re not alone.’

Yaz nodded, in agreement.

‘Definitely not the only queer women to ever be in the TARDIS, that’s for sure.’

Tegan chuckled.

‘I mean,’ Ace elaborated. ‘It definitely explains why you have two ex-husbands-’

‘Ace!’ Tegan laughed. ‘They weren’t that bad!’

‘I’m sure they weren’t. It’s just that they weren’t the right person for you. Given what you’ve said, it might well be that no man was the right person for you.’

‘So… I’m a lesbian?’

‘Whatever label you prefer,’ Ace said.

Tegan smiled.

*

It was a week later, and Nyssa of Traken was sat in Tegan’s kitchen.

The younger woman was perched on one of the stools surrounding the kitchen island, a mug of tea in her hand. Tegan was on the stool next to her, trying to hold in most of her shock so as not to alarm the Trakenite.

During the last meeting of the support group, Kate Stewart had turned up, saying that an old friend of the Doctors had teleported directly into Heathrow Airport. Nyssa had then walked into the room.

Her bushy hair was much the same as it had been all those years ago, although -much like Tegan- there was some greying of the hairs and a few wrinkles around the eyes and neck. She was, of course, even more beautiful than ever. Because that was what Tegan had always thought, only she hadn’t properly realised that at the time.

Now, though? It was a different story.

Tegan nodded, as Nyssa continued to talk about her time working on Terminus, and of her adoption of her two children. Tegan had been surprised that Nyssa’s son was called “Adric”, but she found it oddly fitting, even though she’d never met the young man who now bore the name of the boy Tegan and Nyssa had both known over four decades ago.

‘How are your family?’ Nyssa asked, before taking a quick sip from her mug and swallowing. ‘Any… partners?’

Tegan bit back a chuckle.

‘No, although I have two ex-husbands.’

Nyssa’s eyes widened.

‘I… I see.’

‘I don’t think you do,’ Tegan said, softly. She took a steadying breath. ‘Nys… you remember how we bumped into that ex-boyfriend of mine in Amsterdam?’

Nyssa’s face briefly took on a look of irritation, as if annoyed by the memory, before it returned to its normal calm state.

‘Vividly, yes.’

‘Well… you know how I said I felt I couldn’t ever really… “love” him?’

Nyssa nodded, slowly, as if unsure where Tegan was going with this.

‘Turns out I… I don’t like men. I’m… I’m a lesbian.’

Nyssa blinked.

‘Er… I’m not familiar with that term. What does it mean?’

‘It’s an earth phrase,’ Tegan explained. ‘Sorry; I should have remembered that it probably doesn’t translate. It mean… well, it means I like women. Romantically and… in other ways, too.’

‘O-oh.’

‘Yeah.’

Nyssa was silent for a moment and then, as if after thinking on it for a moment, spoke again.

‘So… did you realise this after your second ex-husband, then?’

Tegan chuckled once more.

‘No. Weirdly enough… you remember the Mara?’

Nyssa nodded, looking worried.

‘Of course,’ -she reached out and squeezed Tegan’s hand- ‘Tegan, did the Mara attack you again? Are you alright?’

‘I’m fine,’ Tegan said, squeezing the Trakenite’s hand in return. ‘The Mara created a dream for me, you see. And… well, I figured that most women who like men don’t have being together with another woman as their deepest desire.’

‘I… I see,’ Nyssa said. ‘Well, I’m happy for you, Tegan. It must be wonderful to finally discover that part of yourself.’

‘It’s… yeah, pretty wonderful,’ Tegan said, finding herself unable to let go of Nyssa’s hand.

The two women shared a shy smile. Nyssa’s cheeks had turned slightly pink, and Tegan was sure that her own heartbeat was increased. Their faces were barely a few inches apart now, and Tegan could practically hear Nyssa’s heartbeat through their linked fingers.

‘Tegan, I… I could be incorrect here, but did this dream… perhaps illuminate some other things for you? Just hypothetically speaking?’

Tegan swallowed, and then took a deep breath, trying to regulate her breathing. Was… was Nyssa guessing what Tegan thought she was guessing? Tegan had assumed that her obliviously one-sided feelings for Nyssa hadn’t been obvious, but… well, maybe she could have still been obvious despite not really recognising her own feelings at the time?

‘Nyssa…’ Tegan said, slowly. ‘I-’

Hssss…

Tegan and Nyssa startled, looking around them.

A shadow on the wall appeared. It twisted, into the form of a snake. A horrible, twisting snake. Eyes widening, Tegan watched in horror as the shadow moved away from the wall, growing closer.

Tegan Jovanka… I know your heart…

The two women both jumped to their feet.

‘The Mara!’ Nyssa gasped, horrified. ‘What are you doing here? How dare you continue to hurt Tegan like this?’

The shadow gave a deep and horrible laugh.

Oh but I do dare… the Mara rasped. I know your deepest desire, Tegan Jovanka… And now…

‘You didn’t cause this!’ Tegan spat.

The Mara opened its mouth and pounced.

‘No!’

Nyssa threw herself inbetween Tegan and the jumping shadow.

Ooh… the Trakenite… you always did like her, didn’t you, Tegan…

Nyssa began ingulfed in black shadow, her head barely sticking out of the top. The shadows were swirling, as if storm clouds, around the younger woman. Tegan looked on in horror, feeling her heart beat horribly against her chest. No, she was not going to lose Nyssa again after finally getting her back after so long!

‘Nyssa!’

The Trakenite’s head was already becoming covered by the shadow.

‘Tegan; run!’

‘I’m not leaving you!’

The Mara gave another horrible laugh, and Nyssa’s face became obscured by shadow.

‘Let her go!’ Tegan exclaimed, stepping forward. ‘You will not hurt Nyssa anymore!’

You cannot defeat me, Tegan Jovanka… the snake rasped. You never could…

‘Can and will!’

Tegan thrust forward her hand, straight into the smoky column surrounding Nyssa. The Mara seemed to recoil.

What? the snake exclaimed. How can this be?

‘You can’t hurt me anymore!’ Tegan exclaimed, grabbing hold of Nyssa’s arm as the snake recoiled away from her touch. ‘And I will not let you hurt Nyssa!’

Nyssa’s face appeared from behind the shadow, and Tegan saw the fear in the Trakenite’s eyes.

‘Tegan… help me…’

Tegan reached forward, and pulled Nyssa towards her. The younger woman slipped slightly out of the shadows, with the Mara barely managing to maintain its hold around her.

‘I… I love you, Nyssa,’ Tegan said. ‘I always have.’

‘I… I love you, too, Tegan.’

Tegan cupped her hands around Nyssa’s cheeks and pressed a kiss to her lips.

There was an explosion of noise around them. It was the Mara shrieking, as if being torn asunder. With a great roar, the snake’s shadow broke apart into a million fragmented pieces.

For a second, the two women did not move, their arms around each other.

‘I… Nys, are you okay?’

Nyssa smiled, before placing a gentle kiss to Tegan’s cheek.

‘I am now, my darling. Is… is the Mara gone?’

‘I think so,’ Tegan said. ‘I refuse to let it hurt me -hurt us- anymore.’

Nyssa smiled.

‘Speaking of us,’ she said, softly squeezing Tegan’s hand. ‘I… I think we have some things to discuss.’

Tegan smiled, and pressed her lips to those of the woman she loved. Finally -finally- they had the rest of the lives to enjoy.

Together.

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Thanks for reading, everyone! Hope you enjoyed this; I don't know about anyone else, but I can't think of ANY heterosexual explanation for that season 20 trailer featurette. Tegan has been in love with Nyssa since she first clapped eyes on her back on Logopolis, and I refuse to accept any other explanation.

[filmphilics]

Recommendation of the week: Sexy Beast (2000)

Dir.: Jonathan Glazer

Cast.: Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, Ian McShane, Amanda Redman, Cavan Kendall.

Genre: Thriller

Plot: Through a series of side-splitting negotiations and irrevocable acts, retired crook Gal is forced to shake off the rust and accept one last mission, put forth by the menacing Logan, his ex-mentor.

Filmphilics score: 7'5/10

[marlsbuck]

task 02 | buckley family tree.

paternal grandfather | ian mcshane - sean buckley. paternal grandmother | jessica lange - moira buckley. father | sean maguire - finnegan buckley. mother | madchen amick - shailene buckley. 

death mention tw

how did your family come to be?

oof, well. it started off normally enough? my grandparents are all still together and my parents were both raised in your typical, nuclear family type households. it wasn’t until my parents had me that things sorta went downhill a bit. short story is i didn’t quite fit into the perfect little box my mother tried to put me in and my father wasn’t around enough to care either way? so, when i started to kid things and rebelling - essentially being a giant pain in the ass - they sent me to live with my dad’s parents. mawmaw and pawpaw, as they are affectionately known. i wasn’t the easiest kid for them either way back then, but they stuck with me and basically showed me what genuine unconditional love is? so, after doin’ the back and forth thing for a couple of years i got myself emancipated and went to live with maw and paw permanently. and that’s the story of how my grandparents basically became my parents.

Is everyone treated equally in the family?

aHA! no. at least not when my parents were involved. they were both incredibly selfish people. my mother cared more about how we all made her look and my father only cared about work and money as far as i could ever tell. now, if we’re talkin’ maw and paw, then yes. they have this thing for takin’ in “strays” and showin’ ‘em what it’s like to have real family, even if you’re not related by blood, ya know? everybody works the ranch and everybody cleans out the stables all the same. we work as a team and pick each other up when we need to. they are 100% the reason i am the person i am today. i most certainly would not be here without them.

Was the dynamic always as it is now?

lord mercy, no. my poor grandparents truly are saints. i hadn’t had any real contact, outside a birthday card every year, with my grandparents because my father wasn’t close with them anymore. so, when i came to stay with them that first summer, i ran away a couple times, broke a couple plates. i even tried stealin’ one of the trucks but couldn’t figure out the stick shift. it’s a miracle they didn’t kick me to the curb that summer. they didn’t give up on me, though, and paw eventually taught me how to drive stick on that exact truck a couple of years later.

Your place in the family is unique, what is your relation to everyone?

i’m biologically related to everyone as far as i’m aware. if i’m not it’ll shock the pants off’a me. i’m maw and paw’s only biological grandkid, though. they probably have about six other “grandkids” that they’ve taken in over the years like they did me. 

What is your relationship like with your parents now?

well, my mother passed about five years ago and we never truly reconciled after i left to stay with maw and paw. my father and i’s relationship is nonexistent now, which i’ve made peace with. i think, anyway. it’s hard to make peace with the fact that your father blames you for your mother’s death despite not speaking more than twenty words to one another. his anger is misplaced, obviously, but i do carry around some guilt about not being able to say goodbye or to at least try and fix things with my mother before she passed.

What has all of this taught you?

love unconditionally. forgive whenever you can. be unfailingly kind to everyone you meet. my life was changed because two people actively made the choice to love and support me because they believed i was worthy. worthy of kindness and love and forgiveness. it sounds cheesy - i know, but y’all...it’s life changing. it’s taken me a couple rounds of bein’ kicked in the gut to figure all this out, but it’s incredibly freein’. i’m definitely not perfect at it by any stretch of the imagination, but i try. for now, that’s enough.

[gxdofbxxs]

(IAN MCSHANE, AGELESS, HE/THEM) WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR A WHILE, BUT MELIANOS BUBILAERIS WAS FINALLY SPOTTED IN THE VILLAGE TODAY. PEOPLE HEARD WHISPERS THAT THEY ARE A GREATER DEMON THAT IS HELLBENT IN STAYING OUT OF FIXING THE VEILS. WILL THEY SUCCEED? ONLY TIME CAN TELL. UNTIL THEN WE WILL KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON THEM AS THEY LISTEN TO SAIL ON MY HONEY BEE BY MUDDY WATERS ~ (LELE, HE/HERS/THEM, 19, CEST)

Born millennia ago back in the timeless pits of Edom, a region in the dimension otherwise and by other people known as Hell,  Bubilas is a quite powerful greater demon once worshipped by Lithuanians as the god of bees, alongside a goddess called Austéja. The reality was much darker, in which Bubilas was, in fact, demonic of origin, the father of Austéja, and above all, a chaotic entity of erratic intentions.

You see, when Earth was just created, this specific entity was created to seek a balance between the immobile botanical organisms, and the zoological organisms we call animals. Because plants and trees needed a way to fertilize their kin and to do so, they needed help. This is where the demonic lord Bubeilos, now Latinized as Bubilas, came to help.  For it was upon his word, the first honey bee, as they are called up to this day, was created. A significantly small insect with much more complex inner workings than expected from such an easily undervalued being. The hive mentality, pheromones, the orderly structure of their colonies. It’s been baffling entomologists and zoologists for centuries, but the truth behind it all would be easy if familiar with the supernatural. They’re unnatural, demonic and sempiternal of origins! Nothing simpler as this...They were the firstborns of Bubeilos, with Austéja, the original queen bee being the progenitor of them all!!

And with such a close tie to Earth, it was no surprise that Bubeilos his influence enabled him to freely travel back and forth with portals to Earth and back to Edom. He had his doorways through the honeycomb, after all.  It is said he can travel back and forth through any of the hexagonal chambers build by his minions inside their hives and end up back in Earth or back to Hell.

But this all changed when the Veil’s been lifted. It was a supposedly strange feeling that urged, almost commanded Bubilas to visit a town in England called Wildemount.  It was uneasy, a power of conscience that overpowered his very own. It must’ve been primordial, omnipotent in nature, way his department of powers, and once it lured him into this Town, he felt unable to get out. He was stuck. And after hearing rumors of the very veil that protected him and anyone else behind the balance of the veil’s extraordinary presence, and how it supposedly had been lifted by powers way beyond even the Seven Horsemen, let alone the Archangels control, he knew it almost directly..

Unless someone acts up, the end would, or even could, be very near.

And with bees and other pollinating bugs nearly dying out as well, he should’ve seen this one coming.

But let's do nothing about it, shall we?

You see.. After thousands to millennia of existence, even the proudest demons feel like it’s time for retirement. And so did he.. He choose not to enact upon any of the overarching business, and just live well and free, for however long this’ll last. He produces the best, most expensive, and above all, extraordinarily sweetest monofloral honeys at his very own Apiary in the downtown outskirts of  Wildemount during his freetime, but any time else he’s the cranky old man  managing that one liquor specialty corner store down the block and keeps suggesting everyone that one excellent honeywine from down the aisle.

[truthbeetoldmedia]

American Gods 2x01 “House on the Rock”

Season 2 of American Gods is here, everybody! Finally! Two years after the first season premiered, we’ve been graced with the second season. After a couple different showrunners, Neil Gaiman himself took the helm. I’ve got to say, if the rest of the season is anything like this episode, it’s going to be pretty amazing!

The season opener picks up right where we left off. Mr. World (Crispin Glover) and Technical Boy (Bruce Langley) are recuperating after the showdown between the old gods and new gods at Ostara’s house in the finale. While Mr. World gets himself together and tries to track down where Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane) is, he sends Technical Boy out to find Media, who had disappeared after the confrontation.  

Meanwhile, Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) and Mr. Wednesday are back on the road, and this time Mad Sweeney (Pablo Schreiber) and Dead Wife Laura Moon (Emily Browning) are along for the ride. The trip is several states in and the awkwardness in the car is stifling. Here’s a recap: Shadow Moon works for Wednesday, who is the All-Father, Odin. Mad Sweeney, a leprechaun, is one of Wednesday’s men, meaning he works for him occasionally. Laura is Shadow’s dead wife, who cheated on Shadow when HE went to jail for HER plan to rob a casino. Laura is only “alive” because Sweeney accidentally gave Shadow his lucky coin and, in turn, Shadow left the coin at Laura’s grave. The only reason Laura was actually in the grave to begin with was because Mr. Wednesday had her killed in order to get Shadow to eventually work for him. Sweeney, Wednesday, and Laura know this, but Shadow does not. So an “awkward car ride” is putting it lightly.  

Where are they heading? To the House on the Rock in Wisconsin. Mr. Wednesday has called a meeting of the old gods to prepare for the upcoming war. The Jinn (Mousa Kraish) and Bilquis (Yetide Badaki) have already made themselves comfortable while waiting for the rest to arrive. Mr. Nancy (Orlando Jones) arrives just as our protagonist(s) show up. Mr. Nancy stole the show this episode! He was absolutely hilarious! Sarcastic and flamboyant. The back-and-forth he had with Shadow made my night.  

The House on the Rock might as well be its own character. It presents some stunning visuals and made for a fantastic season opener! Nothing I love more than seeing a bunch of grown adults having the time of their lives on a carousel! It certainly led to one of my favorite scenes to envision from the book! Riding the carousel was the key to entering the meeting of the old gods in Mr. Wednesday’s mind. Czernobog (Peter Stormare) and Zorya Vechernyaya (Cloris Leachman) have returned and we’re introduced to Mama-ji (Sakina Jaffrey), who is an old Hindu goddess of war. Along with several other old gods, the conclusion of not wanting to fight the upcoming war is reached. Mr. Wednesday is trying to get them to rise up, but these old gods are cocky that these new gods will just disappear like a fading trend. Bilquis steps forward and informs them of how one of the new gods showed her their ways and her power is stronger than ever. You’ll remember Technical Boy threatening her into his service. He gave Bilquis her power back through technology. This has us wondering if Bilquis is actually recruiting for the new gods or if she’s just trying to convince the old gods to give in to them and accept change. In her own words, “Evolve or die.” Judging by the way Bilquis left the episode, I’m thinking that’s the case. I’m really excited to see Bilquis’ arc this season for that very reason.    

The episode ended with the old gods hanging out and drinking in a diner at Motel America. Laura reminded Shadow that Mr. Wednesday is dangerous. He doesn’t really seem to care because, for once, he’s actually believing in something for HIMSELF. He feels a part of something bigger than him. However, things don’t stay jovial for long. Mr. World has located this gathering (probably because of Bilquis, as she seemed to be doing something on her phone) and one of his lackeys starts shooting up the place. Shadow runs out to take the gunman out and gets abducted in the process. While there are a couple of casualties, the one that hits the hardest for our dear gods is that of Zorya Vechernyaya. She turns to Mr. Wednesday before she dies and says that he’s a bad good man and that she doesn’t want to say goodbye. I got emotional. Mr. Wednesday got emotional.  Czernobog got emotional...and vengeful. It would seem that now we have some old gods looking to go to that war now.

One thing I’m really sick of is Laura Moon and honestly? Kudos to Emily Browning. I hated Laura in the book and I just can’t stand her even more in the show. There’s a certain cockiness to her that I can’t stomach and it definitely helps that this beautiful young woman is decaying right before our eyes. Laura Moon didn’t have much of a presence in the book. That is certainly different in the series and the only good thing about her in the show is her antagonistic co-existence with Mad Sweeney. I know some people ship them and I know some people ship her with Shadow. I say just let her rot already. They both deserve better. Also? Stop calling Shadow your “puppy”. He’s not a dog. He’s a person. He’s a person who went to jail for YOU. He’s a person who you CHEATED ON with his BEST FRIEND while he went to jail for YOU. He’s also made it clear that he is no longer your puppy. I appreciate Laura saving his life, but she also wrecked it to begin with. I’m not bitter or anything. (I totally am.)  

Also, really not a fan of Laura being the first Moon to be kissed by Bilquis. I unabashedly ship Bilquis and Shadow because they’re beautiful and I adore Ricky and Yetide and their chemistry. Not really sure how that relationship would work, seeing as how Bilquis has a people-eating vagina, but I love it nonetheless and I’m feeling really disrespected that she kissed the rotting corpse of a dead wife before Shadow.  

While I’m still on the Laura train here, I am begging this show to give us more Sweeney without Laura. While I love their antagonistic relationship, because it’s honestly really fucking hilarious to see them go back and forth, he can have that kind of relationship with anybody. Pablo has chemistry with everyone in this cast. We got a glimpse of that in this episode with Mr. Nancy and we saw that last season with Mr. Wednesday, Shadow, and Salim. Laura ain’t special, yet the writers of this show seem to think she’s worth something. Can’t say I agree.  

All that saltiness aside, I’m actually really looking forward to this season! I can’t wait to meet Sam Black Crow (Devery Jacobs) and New Media (Kahyun Kim). Last season’s Media was played by Gillian Anderson and she was only signed on for one season. I think it makes complete sense to have the goddess of media be an ever-changing face. I am excited to see what Kim brings to the role and don’t even get me started on my little queer baby, Sam Black Crow! I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for her and we’re finally getting her! They couldn’t have picked a better actress! I’m eagerly anticipating both of their introductions to Shadow!    

American Gods airs Sundays at 8/7c on Starz.

Sarah’s episode rating: 🐝🐝🐝🐝

[jtpreview-review]

Hellboy (2019) Review

11-years have passed since we've seen the de-horned, satanic combatant Hellboy, and evidence shows that time can change both men and the devil's spawn alike. The cigar smoking has vanished in these health conscious times, his penchant for cats has been inherited by Sam Jackson's Nick Fury in Captain Marvel, and his sense of wit and the audience's empathy lands back on the surface world with a mild thud. 

The 2019 film is a reboot of the original Guillermo del Toro live-action films based on the Mike Mignola graphic novel character. David Harbour fills the shoes, and even bigger fist, of the tandoori-red creature born of a Nazi occult ceremony but converted to fighting the forces of demonic evil. His tongue-in-cheek humour and sardonic outlook, plus his brawn physicality makes him an admirable replacement for Ron Pearlman's iteration of the character. But at many times, he is actively fighting the forces of darkness and the overstuffed but vapid script. You can make up your own mind on which is the worse of two evils.  

It also feels like there is an R-Rated initiative, probably inspired from the budgetary successes of self-aware comic book characters like Deadpool. The configuration of Hellboy to be this cynical and foul-mouthed action-movie figure comes off with that hackneyed sense of doing things because someone higher-up told me to. British director Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers, The Descent) only brings forth a couple of well-done action scene manoeuvres that will be largely forgotten by the intensity and gristly nature of the blood and gore that goes with it. Nothing resembling the tautness he had with the Battle of the Blackwater episode in Game of Thrones.

There is a poorly knitted together plot starting from Arthurian Britain, where an evil sorcerer queen Nimue (Milla Jovovich) was dismembered and her various body parts buried in disparate areas of the realm. Jump ahead to modern day, where her reassembly needs to be cut short by Hellboy, alongside his associates Alice (Sacha Lane) and Major Ben Daimio (Daniel Dae Kim). Hellboy, under the direction of his handler-slash-father-figure, Professor Broom (Ian McShane) have clashes with one another regarding the need for the mindless slaughter of these devilish creatures, and the potential help they could bring to their cause. Even though these are ideas ripped from the previous films, any further exploration would have hopefully relieved us, intermittently, of the ensuing boredom and heinously we do get.

Hellboy is reborn, but as a soulless franchise centre-piece with little devilish excitement.

2/5

[vaultofmidnight]

Hellboy Day

March 23rd marks the 25th anniversary of legendary comic book creator Mike Mignola's most famous creation: thus shall we know this day, this Hellboy Day.

Stop by Vaults of Midnight Everywhere to pay your respects to the world's greatest paranormal investigator on Saturday, 3/23. In return, please enjoy a complimentary copy of an exclusive, special edition Hellboy comic book. Other swag shall pour forth from the mouth of hell itself including posters, buttons, bookmarks, and (temporary) tattoos, while supplies last.

For nearly 25 years, Mignola and a host of celebrated writers and artists have chronicled the adventures of Hellboy facing his supposed destiny as Beast of the Apocalypse, and explored the mysterious backstories of B.P.R.D. agents including Professor Trevor Bruttenholm and Abe Sapien. Hellboy's adventures have appeared in what are known as the Mignolaverse—the strange, shared universe of comic books and graphic novels, comprised of acclaimed titles including Hellboy & the B.P.R,D., Abe Sapien, B.P.R.D., Crimson Lotus, Frankenstein Underground, Lobster Johnson, The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed and Witchfinder.

Hellboy has appeared in graphic novels and comic books, prose novels and short story collections, two animated features, two live action films, toy lines and all manner of merchandise. Neil Marshall's forthcoming Hellboy film starring David Harbour, Sasha Lane, Ian McShane, Penelope Mitchell, and Milla Jovovich will be released by Lionsgate on April 12, 2019.

Whether you’re well-steeped in Mignolaverse lore or just dipping your toe in for the very first time, Hellboy Day is for you. Vault of Midnight Mignola-philes will be on hand to ferry you expertly across the river Styx into our well-stocked Hellboy section where your next reading adventure awaits.

[pigballoon]

John Wick: Chapter 2

(Chad Stahelski, 2017)

If the first John Wick seemed to be a tremendous recreation of the seemingly lost art of simple, no nonsense uber violence made iconic in the 80s American action cinema then this follow up reminded me at least of the John Woo driven Hong Kong action films that closely followed them. The originals very Western-like mysterious man of myth vibe replaced with more focus on codes of honour and duty, more Samurai-like if you will, more Eastern.

Indeed, Chad Stahelski’s follow up to his 2014 debut is an all together slicker, sicker affair, the visuals are glorious to behold, and the action scenes much more detailed in their choreography. Like its predecessor it’s one of those films that is unlikely to convert the uninitiated, but for anybody that is already into this kind of thing, it’s a tremendous exponent of its form.

Keanu Reeves’ quiet, movie star dignity, and this time around seemingly more brilliantly deadpan delivery of one liners are again major reason for that. So too the once again starry lineup supporting him, from the veterans bringing the touch of class from Ian McShane and Laurence Fishburne to the great Franco Nero, and Peter Stormare both sadly underused, to the returning Lance Reddick in continued fine form, newcomers Ruby Rose and the very un-Common Academy Award Winner Lonnie Lynn both put to strong use in their great back and forths with Reeve, and in maybe the movies most powerful and poignant moment a terrific small turn from Claudia Gerini. On villain duty Riccardo Scamarcio is delightfully devilish, from the look in his deep eyes to the timbre of his voice he’s just baiting you from the off to beg for his comeuppance.

They all help propel the movie along, and propel they do. Chapter 2 is a longer film than its streamlined, to the point original, clocking in at about 2 hours long it never for a second really feels that long, picking up in the almost immediate aftermath of the first film this second chapter is a non-stop, continent spanning roller coaster of a thrill ride that like most sequels builds on its predecessor, but does it without becoming overly garish, overstuffed, and generally unbearable. The strength of the cast has to take a lot of credit for that, as does the (it’ll either be corny or fascinating depending on your point of view) expansion of the world building in Derek Kolstad’s screenplay, delving further as it does into the shadowy world that these characters occupy, and allowing moments of thoughtful, mortal ponderance in amidst all of the madness, with greater focus on the strict adherence to an orders codes of duty, touched on in the first film here expanded on, with the bulk of the films plot built around it.

All in all I’m not sure I’d say that this film is quite as good as its economical elder brother, but that’s not saying much. It is a sequel that does what all good sequels should do, take you further down the rabbit hole that you’ll have glimpsed into the first time around, bringing a lot of the first efforts strengths, but tweaking things in a way that ensure the entire thing doesn’t feel like just a lazy repetition of the successful formula. Say what you like about the John Wick movies, but lazy and uninspired they ain’t.

[elizabethrobertajones]

The Gingerverse

(Author’s note: i am *extremely* feverish this week)

The TV in the newly decorated and recently vacated “Dean Cave” rumbled ominously, and with a great shudder spat out Sam, Dean and, finally with a heavy thump, Cas. He sat up in a pile of trenchcoat and grumpy eyebrows, to find Dean staring at him.

Dean’s eyes went from Cas’s face, to his hair, then back to his face, then, once more, inexorably back up to his hair.

Cas had never felt self-conscious in his life until that moment.

“We’re not cartoons anymore,” he said, carefully, wondering what would come of this strange expression that Dean was pointing at him.

“Thank god for that,” Sam said. “I was getting tired of running back and forth making zooming noises.” He waved his arm around experimentally, and with a final puff of purple magic, it made a wobbling noise that faded out like damp whine as the spell broke.

“Cas,” Dean said, slowly. He stopped, though his expression still waved uncertainly like he was on the verge of speaking.

“Yes?” Cas asked.

“Uh… I wasn’t gonna say anything. I thought it was… a… an animation error…”

Cas looked down at his tie, no longer striped, back to normal. “Yes, there were some odd inconsistencies, although your cheekbones were -” He stopped himself from talking.

“No, your hair.”

Sam, who was already heading out the door, no longer interested in their cursed television but in finding the books to research how to stop it ever doing that again with the clues they’d picked up in Scooby Doo, paused and looked back at Dean.

“Are you okay?” he asked. He glanced at Cas, who rolled his eyes in Dean’s general direction, indicating that Dean was being ridiculous. Sam shrugged, and left the room.

Dean finally managed to stop wordlessly dithering on the subject. “Have you always been ginger?”

Cas stared at Dean in disbelief.

“My vessel, Jimmy McShane, was ginger…”

“Wa-wait, what? McShane? No, you -”

“I what?”

“He wasn’t called McShane - I mean… Claire… You…”

“I assure you, both Claire and Jimmy have always been called McShane.” Cas opened his phone and scrolled to a picture of himself with his vessel’s daughter, a sulky ginger version of Claire, scowingly freckled-y at Dean from the phone with such a familiar expression despite the genetic differences.

“C-Claire Novak,” Dean said. “She’s blonde. Huge, poofy blonde...” He gestures a waterfall of hair, the same shape as the unruly curls on Cas’s phone screen, but oh so different in his mind’s eye.

“I’ve known her several years, and she has always been red-haired,” Cas said. “As have I.”

Dean ran a hand over his face. “Oh, no, this is too freaky. I can’t even look at you… God, I’m in the wrong universe somehow…”

Cas squinted at him, almost hilariously ready to believe Dean and take him at his word. “What do you think happened?” he asked earnestly.

“I don’t know! Maybe the TV spat me back out into the wrong universe? How does inter-TV-dimensional-cartoon travel happen?”

“Do you require a diagram? It would take some time to explain, but -”

“No, no… it’s, uh, good… Well you still act like my Cas, that’s reassuring.” Dean peered side-eyed at him, as he couldn’t quite bear to face Cas directly. He looked so much like Cas though - same face, same bulky coat and lopsided tie… Same expression directed at him. Carrot top.

Cas ran a hand through his hair, and it bounced back to its usual mussed up shape. Glancing in the dark screen of the now ominously silent television, his reflection looked the same as it always had to his own eyes, though he would give Dean credit for knowing something was wrong.

“Your Cas,” he said carefully. Wondering what this Dean from another dimension might feel for ‘his’ Cas.

“Yeah, the one with the, you know… normal hair.”

“Red hair is perfectly normal, especially for people of Irish heritage,” Cas replied, still baffled about why this was an issue.

“Buddy, I have no idea who ‘Jimmy McShane’ is. Trust me, there’s some real wires crossed, and I need to get back to the tall dark and handsome Cas I know.”

Dean blanched after saying that, seemingly horrified to have admitted this to another version of Cas, so Cas smiled nervously and hoped he was reassuring when he said, “Let’s go tell Sam and we’ll see about getting you home.”

Dean nodded, still gulping wordlessly, and Cas gestured the door.

On the way out, Dean looked once more around his seemingly normal room, just as he had left it - or maybe not. Almost all was as he had left it - Margiekugle sign on the wall, the same lights in his kegger chandeliers… But his lovingly placed wall art of Point of Know Return had become Acoustica by the Scorpions. He raised an eyebrow at gingerverse!Dean, and with an exaggerated shiver, followed who he was forcing himself to think of as Castiel McShane out of the room.

[coldalbion]

Tastes on Rain

Zorya Vechernaya:  “I can taste you on the rain. What else can I taste?” Mr Wednesday: “War.”

Now, I’m honestly not sure as I begin writing this, whether this is fandom Meta for the AMERICAN GODS tv show, intertextual analysis, or a post on Heathen mysticism. It’s probably all three, despite and because  of the fact that while fiction is not the same as religious experience to the experiencer, it can nonetheless reveal certain essentials from a new angle. The book by @neil-gaiman and the show are not religious texts, any more than the Eddas are. What they share is that they are stories, told by humans, about the nature of divine and semi-divine figures. Figures that, really, are beyond questions of existence vs non existence. They simply are, and that beingness makes them big enough that we’re still telling and relishing their stories even if we do, or don’t, believe in them - thousands of years later .

And that’s important, because it says something about being human. Spoilers for S1E03,and AG as a whole below the cut.

When two old gods reminisce, what happens? Oh, to be sure, some of it’s flattery - McShane’s Wednesday’s velvet tones weaving a spectacle of glamour and long lost glories, of heat and wetness in the face of chilled old bones. It’s a con-job and Leachman’s eldest of the three sisters knows it, and knows-Wednesday-knows-she knows. Zorya informs him it will rain now, and Wednesday the lech, the lover asks when she was ever  afraid of getting a little...wet.

For all that most human stories are about sex and death, and for all the show has not stinted on the sex-scenes, with all due respect to Bilquis, goddess of love, Queen of Sheba, this episode is perhaps the most sexual - if we understand sex as something more than coitus and a pleasurable exchange of fluids. If we see it as intercourse, what do we have?

intercourse (n.) mid-15c., "communication to and fro," ("In early use exclusively with reference to trade" [OED]), from Old French entrecors "exchange, commerce, communication" (12c., Modern French entrecours), from Late Latin intercursus "a running between, intervention," in Medieval Latin "intercommunication," from intercursus, past participle of intercurrere "to run between, intervene, mediate," from Latin inter "between" (see inter-) + currere "to run" (see current (adj.)). Sense of "frequent and habitual meeting and contact, social communication between persons" is from 1540s. Meaning "mental or spiritual exchange or intercommunication" is from 1560s. Meaning "sexual relations" (1798) probably is a shortening of euphemistic sexual intercourse (1771) with intercourse in its sense "social contact and relations."   

Wednesday as middle, as mediator, as trader. Wednesday as hump-day. The Roman writer Tacitus, claimed that the pre-eminent god the Germanic tribes sacrificed to, was Mercury, in a clear case of interpretatio Romana. Mercury, god of thieves, merchants and conmen, the tricky-bastard god of language, messenger of the gods, leader of the souls of the dead.  Mercredi, if you speak French.  Miércoles,  if you speak Spanish. Speak a Romance language, merc  or some variant will probably mark that day. The legacy of Rome runs far.

In German however, the mark is Mittwoch. Mid-week. In English, Wednesday. Wodensdaeg. Language leads the soul, pulls people together, breaks them apart, twists them into new shapes - leads you down the garden path.

In the first episode, we are introduced to the god who becomes Mr. Wednesday as a god of war. It is not the kind of war we think of nowadays perhaps, less total destruction of the enemy, and more two sides fighting against each other until one prevails, or neither can - a subtle and important difference. Wednesday alters the coinflip that makes Shadow his man. It is this two sided-ness, this two-facedness, we see in Odin in the Eddas, too. He claims both sides when he hurls his spear over the warring hosts. It matters not who wins, only that there is the violent deathly intercourse between the two.

It is that which brings the wind to the becalmed Vikings, allows them to live, and also to die. It is the breath of Odin which is breathed into the driftwood that become Aske and Embla, the first humans of the Edda. He gives them that which may be stirred, may be aroused to fury; the wind that may be knife, or cooling breeze, or roaring, storming. And he gives them inspiration.  The faculty to compose and remember poetry; to recall and to breathe life into past and future deeds and histories. He brings the gods and mortals the gift of magical language; charms to heal and harm, to win lovers, to turn away weapons and help when no others can. When the elder sister tells Wednesday she can taste him on the rain, she is speaking literally and figuratively, both as person, but also what he is.. Water is the universal solvent, the fluid we are composed of and need to survive. It dissolves things, and also binds and mixes them together in solution.

It is the medium which is also the message.

As an acknowledgement of his fluid nature, as the messenger of war to the old Gods, he is the Man Who Walks Between Raindrops (for his coat does not get wet, even before he unfurls the umbrella.)

“Kissing is disgusting...but -- but in a nice way, like bleu cheese or brandy.”

In the line above, we are presented with the absurdity of seeing sexuality as mere coitus. Flavour only exists when the food and the tastebuds meet. In that connection, consciousness, experience is altered. 

In some branches of tantra, the practitioner deliberately breaks social taboos in order to perceive the true non-dual nature of consciousness; consuming red meat, living on charnel grounds, drinking from a cup made out of a skull, and even consuming the flesh of a corpse.

‘Nice’ or ‘Nasty’? Do such things exist for divinities?

Now think - when was the last time you saw older people sharing a passionate kiss on television? It is usually the domain of the younger, hotter, more  supposedly  desirable cast. Equally, when was the last time you saw explicit gay sex between native Arabic speakers, except later in the episode? (Notice how they meet in the rain, too? How Salim speaks of his grandmother’s memory? How the Djinn’s fluids burn inside him, how the lovers set each other free?)

And just before the elder Zorya and Wednesday kiss, he asks her if she remembers when they were younger. The kiss is the reminder, an echo of that which Shadow and the youngest sister accomplish on the rooftop. As the elders kiss, Wednesday evokes the memory of youth, making them young again bringing the oncoming storm to bear. He has mirrored Shadow’s kiss, his gaining of the Moon as the silver dollar at the hands of the youngest virgin sister. In that moment, Wednesday and (Shadow-as-his-double), gain the sisters in their enterprise. 

As a magical act, its nondual deviousness is one of Wednesday’s best, and as a semiotic act, the showrunners seem to be making things clear: sexuality is more than heteronormative tits and ass.

But it’s not only the sisters that Wednesday gets, by the time the storm breaks, is it? The war that is tasted on the rain is also the ‘war’ between Czernobog and Shadow as they play checkers. In a sense, as  Shadow gains the “daughter not the father” - the moon-as-coin, he gains himself. Shadow Moon He is no longer resigned to death. It may still come, and probably will, but as with Wednesday, that’s for another day, and Wisconsin. In another, by gaining the coin he begins to receive his psychic, emotional faculties, brutalised out of him by prison. The mythical associations of the Moon trump in tarot-reading apply; intuition, dreams, the primordial waters of the womb, illusion and mystery. Shadow begins to take an active role in the realm of the gods - guided by Wednesday, he is led to make it snow.

And, of course Wednesday is not the only guide of souls we meet in this episode - the first scenes bring us Chris Obi as Anubis, aka Anpu, aka Mr. Jaquel, guiding the soul of one of the newly dead to the Duat. We begin to sense, as she puts it that “This isn’t Queens!” No, it isn’t. As Wednesday says to Shadow, later: “What a beautiful, beautiful thing to be able to dream, when you’re not asleep!” and, in the same scene, “The only thing that scares me, is being forgotten. I can survive most things but not that.” Might this not, in general, be AG’s version of the Old Norse poem where Odin speaks about his two ravens, Huginn and Muninn - who fly over the worlds and bring back news and secrets to the god who always wants more knowledge? Usually translated as Thought and Memory respectively, the Allfather fears the loss of Huginn, but fears the loss of Muninn, more. A poet-magician fears for the loss of memory, both of remembering and being remembered - makes sense, doesn’t it?

And old Odin gave up his eye for a drink from the well of Mimir, a name which has its cognates with memory, ripping it out, because as Wednesday says:

Oh, I want knowledge over comfort, over all things, always.

What is knowledge to a pre-literate culture, but that which is held by memory; brought forth, shared-between, and returned? Rain falls, returning to the rivers, seas, and streams from which it evaporated. It wells up from the deep places to be hoisted to the heavens, only to drain back down, drawn by gravity to the centre of all things.

Wednesday leads Shadow to make snow. Teaches him to crystalize water vapour, to crystalize the knowledge of it, by thinking of snow. Thought and memory combined - knowledge arranged in a particular way.

Arranged to make memory manifest, to change the world. To do the impossible

Or, to give it another name: magic.

[bankofmarquis]

Movie Review - JOHN WICK CHAPTER 3 - PARABELLUM

The latest installment  of the JOHN WICK story (titled CHAPTER 3 - PARABELLUM) is one long chase  scene.  It's 2 hours and 10 minutes of John Wick (Keanu Reeves) running  and fighting and chasing and fighting and running again and fighting again.    And...that's just fine with me.  For JOHN WICK 3 (JW3 as I'll call it  from now on) is one of the finest choreographed films (fight scene-wise) that  I have seen in quite a long time.    Picking up right after JOHN WICK CHAPTER 2 - JW3 follows John as he is  declared "Ex-Communicado" from the underground Assassins  organization that he has been a part of, then retired from, then pulled back  in with a $14 million bounty on his head.    This flick kicks right into action (literally) with John and a few  "red-shirt assassins" taking on each other in a hallway filled with  knives.  Will all these knives be used in the ensuing fight?  You  bet they will be - but it is how they are used - and how this scene (and all  the fight scenes) are set-up, choreographed, and shot that makes this movie a  strong cut above the standard fare in this sort of film.    That's because Director Chad Stahelski - a stunt man/fight coordinator  for over 70 films - wisely focuses his attention on the grace, athleticism  and strength of the stunts/fights and eschews the "quick-cut edit"  style of fight scenes that is so en vogue these days.  Stahelski keeps  his camera "in place" and lets us, the audience, watch what's going  on in (seemingly) long shots that are going to have you saying to yourself  "how did they do that".  Stahelski has helmed all 3 John Wick  films thus far and I hope he helms many, many more.    You'll also be asking yourself how did 53 year old Keanu Reeves do all that  fight work?  It is incredible, physical work for him - and he is up to  the task.  John Wick is a man of few words - and much, much action -  which suits the acting talents of this performer quite well.    Back for another go in the series - and having fun along the way - are Ian  McShane, Lawrence Fishburne and Lance Reddick - as colleagues, collaborators  and/or foes of John Wick in this underworld.  Capably joining in - with  just as much a twinkle in their eyes - are Angelica Huston, Hallee Berry (in  her best work in years) and Jerome Flynn (Bron from Game of Thrones).  A  new addition (at least to me) was the strong work brought forth by  Asia Kate Dillon (TV's ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK) as "the  Adjudicator" - who is monitoring the John Wick proceedings,   Special mention needs to be made of the work of Mark Dacascos (TV's Iron Chef  America!) as Wick's chief adversary - a strong effort (both acting-wise and  physically/fighting wise) that I just didn't know this performer had in him.    A quick side-note on some animal performances here.  There is a scene  where a bad guy "gets it" from a horse...and I thought...how are  they going to top that...and then immediately top it - GOOD FOR YOU,  HORSE!  And...a film has FINALLY figured out a way to use attack/guard  dogs in a way that had you rooting for these four-legged, furry friends over  the fiends they are attacking.    But...make no mistake about this...this film is about the fighting...and the  intriguing Assassin's world that was first presented in the original (and I  do mean ORIGINAL) John Wick film.  I said at the time that I hoped they  would expand this world, I wanted to see more of it.  And...expand it  they have...for the better.  The world has become more intriguing to me,  and I want EVEN MORE, PLEASE, of this world and of the uniquely original  fight choreography that comes along with it.    This film is not for everyone - it is bloody (but in a "cartoon  way"...I wouldn't say it is gory) and it is one long chase scene.   But, if this is "your thing", you'll enjoy it very much.    Letter Grade:  A-    8 stars out of 10 and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... American Gods (S01E08) Come To Jesus Airdate: June 18, 2017 Ratings: 0.774 Million :: 0.29 18-49 Demo Share Score: 9.5/10 **********SPOILERS BELOW********** If you weren't waiting in anticipation for Kristin Chenoweth to make her grand appearance, one that we literally had to wait all season for, then you must not be paying attention to her work. This woman is an American Treasure so it's only fitting she is one of the most powerful, misunderstood gods, surrounded by 14 different Jesus Christ's. Long gone are the days of GCB & Pushing Daisies, tho the former you can revisit on Hulu and both are on the Underground World of Streaming Art, ISIA. If you don't know, ask somebody. Bryan Fuller, Michael Green, Maria Melnik, along with with finale director Floria Sigismondi (who has proved she makes incredible art behind the lens as a director and framer of cinematography in music videos, film, and television) make us wait through a good portion of the episode before her eventual, well-timed reveal. By the time Shadow (Ricky Whittle) and Mr Wednesday/Odin (Ian McShane) arrived at Easter's Old Kentucky Home, I was basically shaking in suspense... Bring her on, already! Add expert manipulation of audience to this show's list of many great qualities. If we are going to talk anticipation, I guess I should reference the king of 'American Gods' storytellers, Mr Nancy (Orlando Jones). His absence has been missed, but there is just so much to explore in this world that you can't have every god in every episode, nor even the main protagonists. This is one of the few series that is able to use that distinct serial-chapterized storytelling to its advantage, a style series as wildly popular as 'The Walking Dead' have struggled with from time to time. Mr Nancy prepares sleek garments for Wednesday & Shadow, as you know, one must like their best for Easter Sunday. As much as these two need to be off to Kentucky to join Easter for her annual celebration, a garment is simply not a garment unless it's created under the dim lights, comfortable leather chairs, and eager ears of men drinking scotch waiting to be dressed hearing a spectacular story that will surely give life to the garments and the men that wear them. Mr Nancy bellows out the rise and fall and subsequent rise again of the Goddess known as Bilquis (Yetide Badaki). It's a harrowing tale of a Goddess who intimidated the men around her with her feminine grace, powerful sexuality and appetite for more and more... Her fall from grace is tremendous, and unlike any other God or goddess we've seen down on their luck, Bilquis is shown dirty, homeless, full of sores, and absolutely at the lowest of lows... She had been stripped of her powers, but not completely forgotten. It was Technical Boy (Bruce Langley) who first approached her in her disheveled state... And can you blame her? She needed the New Gods to restore her eminence, and so they did... The all-knowing Mr World (Crispin Glover) and the widespread Media (Gillian Anderson) took Biquos to new heights. This is an extremely important tale, and even tho Mr Nancy's guests were eager to be on their way, it was one they needed to hear. It's amazing how very little screen time some of these actors and actresses actually had during the 8-episode series, yet were able to make such incredibly monstrous impressions. My brain immediately zaps wires back and forth wondering just what awards are in store for this cast and crew and their finalized product. Everyone was simply divine, but my top runners would be 'Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series', 'Outstanding Drama Series', 'Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program', 'Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series', 'Outstanding Supporting Actress - Emily Browning', 'Outstanding Supporting Actor - Pablo Schreiber, 'Outstanding Main Title Design', 'Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series - Kristen Chenoweth', 'Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series - Orlando Jones', 'Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series', oh you get the picture... I'm already up to 10, and I would think Hairstyling and Gillian Anderson might be up for a go as well. So Emmy's, 'American Gods' has earned at least 12 here! Get to tallying! I've gone off on a tangent again... But 'American Gods' is just such a fresh and exciting series, I simply cannot help myself! Turns out Kentucky is more than just a place where they have Mad College Basketball fans that bleed blue in Lexington and Red in Louisville, great Bourbon 🥃 (if you can stomach that kind of thing), and thriving influential Hip Hop and Deep House legends, oh and of course Bluegrass... The music and that lush, green-green grass that you just want to roll around in like a dog on his back... Kentucky is the home of the Goddess of Easter... Or should I say one of the Great Old Gods, Ēostre or Ostara, a Germanic Goddess representing the pagan festival of Easter... Bringer of Spring! And trust me, you want Spring in Kentucky, talk about magic! Shadow & Wednesday show up at Easter's grand celebration at her humble abode, featuring a multitude of Jesus Christ's, right about the time that Media (Gillian Anderson), Technical Boy, Mr World (Crispin Glover), and their strange faceless cronies appear searching for them. Mad Sweeney & Laura Moon have also already arrived to request Laura be brought back to life, only Easter cannot help her because she's been killed by a God... This one, Laura will have to take up with Odin himself... And fast too, because pretty thang ain't looking so pretty, and the flies are becoming a problem. While Mad Sweeney tries to keep his crowned jewels intact, Easter tries to usher away Media and her technical thugs, but Wednesday and Shadow casually walk down the stairs to start the war that was outlined in destiny. Suddenly, Easter changes her tune after Odin reveals himself and offers a sacrifice to Easter... And nothing pleases a God more than a good old fashioned sacrifice! And now that you mention it, Easter is feeling rather 'misinterpreted by the media', a line I literally died for. 'Show 'em what you can do Easter!' Clearly they aren't messing around and Easter gladly summons up her powers, as if she's been waiting to use them for ages. Media and crew might have immortalized Easter, but not in the way she would have liked. The woman isn't a settler! She summons some dark forces with some beautiful, brightly colored petals and sunshine, literally stripping the entire land of life. 'What have you done?' Media Barks... Well, my dear, Media... She just started the war you were trying so hard to prevent. Oh and btw, someone is really going to have to give Laura Moon a once over in S2, because like it was foretold, she's ready to slide off the bone. Season 2 can't come fast enough. Everyone, please take a bow. You've secured your spot on our #BestOf2017 list and it's only June.

[calamity-bean]

American Gods 1.01

AT LONG LAST, after literally YEARS of waiting and waiting and clinging to the faintest of rumors, two of my favorite flavors of weirdness -- Neil Gaiman and Bryan Fuller -- collide on screen. The result is as bizarre as expected, in an extremely exciting way.

Not everything in the premiere worked for me. I reckon there will continue to be things that don’t work for me. But honestly, I’m just so dang HAPPY that one of my favorite books is in such capable adaptation hands, and I can’t wait to see how elements get translated to screen. Regarding the first episode, here’s my very personal & informal take on what was good, what was not so good, and what made me glance around nervously and giggle, “What the fuck? What the fuck???”

Spoilers for episode 1 and for a few comparisons to the novel, but only to book material that was covered in the ep.

The Good

The CASTING. Of everyone, so far. I actually wasn’t really familiar with Ricky Whittle before this, but dang — that man can carry so much emotion in just the twitching of his jaw and the trembling of his hands as Shadow spends a large part of the episode alternately numb and quaking with suppressed grief and rage. Ian McShane is not as rugged in appearance or wolfish in manner as I always imagined Wednesday, but he’s got this charm that is at once oily and debonair and very intriguing. I approve.

Pablo Schrieber, meanwhile, is just so fucking fun to watch as Mad Sweeney — always one of my faves. He’s got this infectious streak of madness and high-spirited but mostly good-natured bloodlust that you can truly see shining in his eyes even before he unleashes his fists. The coin tricks and the bar fight were both two of my favorite parts of the episode, and I also love his whole character design, particularly his hairstyle. Yetide Badaki, likewise, is enchanting to watch, absolutely radiating sensuality, mystery, and a hint of deep vulnerability -- a neediness that is partly a show but partly genuine. I’ve always had a soft spot for Bilquis, and her sex scene is honestly incredibly hot except for all the ways in which it’s not.

But my favorite so far may actually be Jonathan Tucker as Shadow’s cellmate. Like, his eccentric mannerisms, his bad teeth, his accent and rapid speech ... On one level, all of that so strongly telegraphs that this is some kind of backwoods petty criminal, one of those twitchy, kind of hillbilly guys. But it's all anchored by that perfect dagger-sharp, lopsided, mischievous smile. I really liked how Shadow “sees” him in the airport; I wonder if that’ll continue to be a thing?

On that note, I’m glad they managed to fit in the “don’t piss off those bitches in airports” anecdote. Giving it to Tucker’s character was a smart choice. A good lesson for us all, and again, I loved Tucker’s delivery of it.

Wednesday’s introduction was, I thought, an example way of showing things that the novel largely tells at first. The show gives his and Shadow’s initial meeting a lot more breathing room and space to play out in, and the sharp contrast between when we first see him -- disheveled and seemingly senile -- versus his smoothness on the plane serves both as a great establishing character moment for the audience and as an excuse for Wednesday and Shadow to connect over the fine art of the con.

Shout-out also to the poor beleaguered waitress at the Crocodile Bar. She expected better of you, Shadow. She expected better.

The cinematography. Visually, of course, the show is stunning. Gorey and gritty and high-contrast, like an extremely color-saturated noir. Unsurprisingly, it reminds me fondly of watching Hannibal, which is never a bad thing. The vikings’ battle in the prologue was a bloodbath of straight-up “Mizumono” proportions, and just as beautiful, in that very special way that bright, vivid splashes of slow-motion blood splatter are.

And the titular bone orchard! Eerily gorgeous and fascinating. I want to visit. Probably not the smartest travel decision I’ve ever made, but also probably not the worst.

The music. I had a notion that I’d probably be pretty damn into the music on this show; the first trailer set my expectations high by using Fantastic Negrito’s version of “Black Girl,” so I’d been hoping that the overall auditory landscape of the show would likewise be in keeping with my tastes. The verdict: heck YES it is. I need this soundtrack stat.

Oh, and did I mention Ricky Whittle is great? Cause he’s great. My mum and I have been fan-casting our perfect Shadow for years, but I don’t know if we ever hit on someone who does such a good job of combining Shadow’s imposing physicality with his soft-spoken and often gentle demeanor. And then to see his reserve shatter at Laura’s graveside, as he’s speaking to her and finally lets his heart pour out ... I loved that scene. Right up until the moment I didn’t.

Which brings us to...

The Not So Good

*sighs* Audrey.

Apparently, the only reason that scene didn’t actually progress to the proposed blowjob is that Neil Gaiman, bless his heart, threatened to throw himself in front of a bus if it took place. Thank you, Neil. In the original, fellatio-filled version, was Shadow supposed to be into it, I wonder? Or would it still have been sexual assault? Because that’s what we got on screen, at least: Audrey aggressively and physically assaulting him, though thankfully all she managed to do was shove him around.

I don’t entirely know what the point of that scene was meant to be, in terms of character or of narrative. Audrey, poor drunken Audrey, spends all of her appearances stumbling back and forth between sympathetic and repugnant — which is actually exactly how her character should be. But was it really necessary to do that by having her alternating between assaulting and hugging Shadow?

In the novel, Audrey’s shocking moment is at the funeral itself, when Shadow sees Audrey walk up to Laura’s open casket and spit on her corpse. I’ve always thought that moment extremely effective. It’s a much smaller gesture than trying to revenge-fuck Shadow, of course, but that’s kind of what I always liked about it. Not a grand, aggressive assault; instead, a small but stunning slap. And directed against Laura herself rather than at a proxy.

I don’t know. That whole scene just felt immensely uncomfortable, which I know was the point, but also unnecessary. Moving on, though—

I also did not particularly care for the Technical Boy’s goons. Their costuming / character design was weird and ineffective, imo, and doesn’t it rather undercut the entire nature of the Technical Boy — whose big threat is to delete Shadow, to literally overwrite him in the programming of reality, such that he never was — that he follows up that deletion threat by having his “children” just ... kick and lynch Shadow instead? That’s ... not really in keeping with his theme. Technology has advanced a lot since this novel was first published back in 2001, and although some aspects of the Technical Boy’s scene, such as the virtual-reality-limo interface thing, reflected that, the “children” and their methods felt incongruously low tech.

Overall, though, I didn’t really have many legit complaints with the episode. Just some things that made me cackle with incredulity, horror, and delight:

The WTF

An ARM flew through the SKY with a SWORD in its hand and STABBED A MAN in the THROAT.

It was VERY ELEGANT and AMAZING and I LAUGHED OUT LOUD.

Also laughed out loud at the viking who became a human quiver. I’m honestly so baffled by that. It’s a striking image, but it doesn’t make a lick of sense. That honestly seems like more arrows than any locals were likely to have on hand, and even if they did, why would they shoot them all into one person. For the sake of my sanity (and the show’s dignity), I have chosen to believe that things like this and the arm did not, in fact, happen; that they are merely embellishments on the part of Mr. Ibis, who has a lively and imaginative mind, after all, and who possibly has watched a few too many action movies.

And then there was That Scene. The one I had been eagerly awaiting above all others. The Bilquis Scene.

Bilquis’s first chapter is one of those moments in literature that fundamentally changed me as a person. I had a life before I first read the Bilquis scene, and I continued to have a life after, but it was not the same life as before. Ever since this series finally started moving forward, my number one question has been how the HECK they were going to execute it, and ... well. They executed it, by golly. They really really did. I think I’m pleased by how they executed it, but also deeply, viscerally disturbed, which is as it should be, I suppose.

Overall? A really interesting and promising start. Even though I’ve read the book many times, I still feel as though I don’t truly know how to expect, which ... is honestly a delightful feeling, considering how much faith I have in the creators. (It is not always a delightful feeling. Even before GoT surpassed ASoIaF, I increasingly found myself uncertain what to expect from it, too, but in a much more aggravating and disappointing way.)

Whatever happens, this is going to be a wild ride. The book is also kind of a wild ride, but the show is, I suspect, going to be even wilder. And I’m all for that. Now where is that soundtrack? I need it in my ears.

[mrlylerouse]

Second Trailer for HBO's 'Deadwood' Movie with McShane & Olyphant

"It'd be a pity not to recognize what's at stake." HBO has released a full official trailer for their upcoming Deadwood movie, which is using the title Deadwood: The Movie. Based on the hit western TV series that originally premiered in 2004, this Deadwood movie continues where that left off and follows many of the same characters from the gold-mining camp of Deadwood. Ian McShane stars as Al Swearengen, with Timothy Olyphant, and a cast featuring John Hawkes, Molly Parker, Brad Dourif, Kim Dickens, Sean Bridgers, Robin Weigert, Anna Gunn, Jeffrey Jones, Paula Malcomson, and Tony Curran. This looks pretty dang good, but also seem to be mostly for the fans than anyone else. This trailer goes back and forth between arguing and then shooting, lots & lots of shooting. Just like it was in the old west, right? ›››

Continue Reading Second Trailer for HBO's 'Deadwood' Movie with McShane & Olyphant

from FirstShowing.net http://bit.ly/2XIJdUv