#… also christopher mintz-plasse is here!

[businessmilk]

I always think of Greg as being kind of scrawny but I just saw this video of Nick floss dancing and his fucking arm muscles… 😳🫣

[twistsandtwizzles]

I Watched So You Don't Have To: Stars on Mars

You may have seen that Adam Rippon is one of the cast members on the new FOX reality show, Stars on Mars. I knew this information but had no plans to watch this show, until this week when I needed to turn something on tv that would take up 5% of my brain power or less. And this fit the brief exactly.

In case you are also mildly interested in what this weird show is about and what Adam is doing on it, but don't want to let it take up even 3% of your brain power, don't worry, I am here for you! Read on for a recap of Stars on Mars: Episode 1.

We open on William Shatner very dramatically telling us that twelve celebrities are going to participate in an “experiment” to find out if they can “survive life on Mars” (aka a month somewhere in Australia). The winner will earn the title of Brightest Star in the Galaxy and this made me laugh out loud because that’s it? They don’t even get any money? Just a title that is also found on a fourth grade science fair participation trophy?

Anyway, Shatner - who has very clearly not gone to Australia and is recording this somewhere in his house - tells us that this simulation will be 24 days long, and will show us which celebrities are the strongest, the brightest, the bravest, and who can handle the stress when the food runs out. We’re treated to a compilation of clips during this portion, then Shatner says, “This is: Starsssssss on Marssssssss” and the way I typed this quote does not do it justice.

We’re now introduced to the astronauts as they trudge across the surface of “Mars” into the “Hab” where they will be living. The first astronaut is Christopher Mintz-Plasse, aka McLovin’ from Superbad, and we cut to a talking head where Christopher says he’s been called McLovin for 16 years and is kind of tired of it; unfortunately for him it is what I will call him for the entirety of this recap.

We get a tour of the hab, which basically looks like every space movie you’ve ever seen, and we are introduced to the lady-voiced-AI thing that is going to be the main communication tool/voice-over element on this show. McLovin marvels that “a lot of money went into this” which, I’m not sure I agree, but okay.

Next in the hab: Ronda Rousey, “Champion Fighter” followed closely by Tom Schwartz from Vanderpump Rules who the VO tells us is “currently known for Scandavol.” Full disclosure that I have only ever seen five minutes of VPR so this man is a complete stranger to me - but I do live in the culture enough to know that his name is “Schwartz” and not “Tom.” Schwartz explains his show to McLovin, boiling it down to “people work in a bar and have sex with each other.” McLovin says, “Well, we’re not doing that here. I don’t think.”

Next up: Tallulah Willis, “Daughter of Bruce and Demi” and Adam Rippon, “Olympic Figure Skater” and the entire reason I’m even watching this show. Then Porsha Williams Guobadia, “Real Housewife” and another complete stranger to me (look, how can I find time for Bravo reality shows when I have to watch old figure skating programs on YouTube?); Tinashe, “R&B Recording Artist” who I know mostly as a regular Who? Weekly subject; Ariel Winter, “Award-Winning Actor from Modern Family” (she was the middle child); Marshawn Lynch & Richard Sherman, “Teammates and NFL Legends” who are introduced as a unit but it is unclear if they are playing as a team or not; and Lance Armstrong, “Cyclist” and look, I am not happy about his presence either.

Lance is greeted warmly by everyone in the room and Ariel gives a talking head geeking out about how Lance is a real astronaut. She makes the mistake of mentioning this to Porsha who does not appear to correct her. Unknown if Porsha was just trying not to embarrass Ariel, or if she has no idea who Lance Armstrong is either and thinks he could plausibly be an astronaut.

Shatner sends a message to the celebs explaining that every 48 hours a celebrity who is not “mission critical” will be “extracted” (he then helpfully clarifies that this just means “sent home”). He also explains that the “Base Commander” is the most powerful role in the hab as the commander is basically in charge of everything, and the commanders will be re-appointed every two days.

The celebs are instructed to select a Base Commander and we get our very first Adam Rippon Talking Head! Adam explains that everyone is figuring each other out and that no one wanted to be the first base commander. We cut to the celebs desperately pointing at each other and trying to peer pressure others into the role. Then they are informed that the Base Commander gets their own room, and Roger nominates Marshawn, who was worried about fitting into his bunk earlier. Marshawn accepts.

The first mission for the astronaut celebrities: to rescue their 12th crewmember who is trapped in a pod on the surface. Marshawn sends Lance and Ronda out for the rescue while the rest of the crew watches their progress via monitor. Adam excitedly says of the outdoor footage, “Oh my god, it looks like Mars,” and again, I’m not sure I agree, but I’m happy that he’s happy.

To no one’s surprise the rescue mission is successful and completely lacking in any kind of drama. Natasha Leggero, “Comedian,” is the final celebrity to join the hab.

Marshawn is instructed to divide the daily task list. He sends Porsha and Tallulah to sort the foods and rations (Lady Hab Voice pops up to note that there will be no resupply of the rations during their stay and I'm sure this will be a major issue later in the series).

After a few shots of people doing their assigned tasks we cut to Adam, finally, since he is the only part of the show I care about. He and Ariel are dusting “the patches” which are basically Mars-themed Scout badges. Adam Talking Heads that he assumes the patches are probably something they will earn on missions throughout the show. It is unclear if the show thinks this is some sort of amazingly smart deduction on Adam’s part or if it, like me, assumes that Adam has watched a reality competition show at least once in his life and simply took the very tiny step needed to reach this conclusion.

Adam tells Ariel that he actually loves cleaning and organizing, and she excitedly says she does too. Adam asks, with true joy in his eyes, if she likes folding things. She says laundry is her favorite. I do not understand these people.

We cut between some other small talk and talking heads. Marshawn and Lance argue about who is more of an athlete, and how Marshawn did not throw Lance’s doping in his face during this conversation I will truly never know.

Adam has clearly been tasked by production to explain the basics of this game in his talking heads, because he again tells us that they are “trying to figure each other out and learning to work together” since “that will be important the longer they stay in the game.”

A bunch of snippets of general “get to know you” convos: the group chats about how famous Tallulah’s parents are; Porsha and Natasha chat about their kids; Lance and Marshawn and Ronda chat about sports again; Lance feels weird about sharing a bathroom; Ariel admits to Porsha and Tinashe that she has confused Lance with Neil Armstrong. Then everyone goes to bed. Natasha says, “Goodnight honey,” to Adam and it makes sense those two would be fast friends.

An alarm goes off in the middle of the night and Shatner appears to tell them that “Martian Dust” is headed their way and has already knocked their comms satellite over. They need to go repair it, and if they do it they will earn a patch. Everyone seems totally wowed by this patch information so maybe we were supposed to think that Adam was a genius earlier.

Tallulah is chosen to be a mission specialist and is staying behind with Marshawn while everyone heads to the surface. “Let’s save this satellite!” Adam says. He looks great in this space suit.

Adam’s talking head is back with more general reality show basics, namely that even though they are stressed about this mission they have to focus and do a good job, because ultimately “the name of the game is that someone has to go home.”

The celebs walk out into a windstorm and Tallulah and Marshawn direct the crew in repairing the satellite. Adam says that “this is not what (he) signed up for” but Adam, I’m pretty sure it is. 

Once again this mission is successful and not all that dramatic, even as all the celebs tell us how stressed they all are and how hard this was. (Assembling an Ikea dresser looks far more difficult than this satellite repair job.) Natasha does say at one point that she was trying to stay out of the way in the “loser area” along with McLovin and Adam. 

McLovin says he thinks they all would have died if it was really Mars, and I suppose this statement is technically true but also it’s kind of like when I cut through an empty parking lot after my driver’s test and the examiner said, “if there were cars here you’d be running them over right now.” I would not have done that if there were cars there?? And these people would not be asked to repair a satellite on actual Mars. Anyway.

Marshawn and Tallulah are told to identify the three astronauts least critical to mission success. This is revealed by Marshawn calling the “Mission Critical” celebrities one-by-one back into the hab and handing them - hold onto your hats because none of us saw this prize coming - a patch.

The three least mission critical celebrities: Adam, McLovin, and Schwartz. McLovin says, “aw man, the three fragile white boys!” as they give each other a group hug. They are then each asked to explain to the Mission Critical celebs why they should stick around. 

McLovin says he didn’t participate in the mission because he was removing himself from the situation since there were too many people trying to do the job.

Adam says he’s mission critical because he’s one of the hottest people there and “I think that’s important for any kind of challenge that we do. I’m just being honest.” This earns a big laugh and applause from the already-safe crew, and someone says, “He’s right!” LOL.

Schwartz reminds them all that he was the one that actually made a major repair on the satellite and the group immediately says, “oh yeah” and lets him into the hab. He gives Adam a big hug and assures him, “You are very hot.”

So that leaves Adam and McLovin as our bottom two. The group decides that Adam is more mission critical than McLovin, which means our favorite Olympic-figure-skater-turned-astronaut gets let back into the hab, and that I have to watch this show for another week.

McLovin wanders to the extraction point and gives an exit interview from the suddenly calm Mars surface without his space helmet on, and it’s hilarious how soon after elimination the faux-Mars premise is dropped.

Tune in next week (or don’t) for some arguing and more “space” adventures that appear to include a fire in the hab and something to do with a bunch of water on the Mars surface that I have many questions about! The previews indicate that Adam will eventually get a headset to lead a mission at some point, so we'll how that goes. See you next time.

[adamwatchesmovies]

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

It’s been over 10 years since the release of How to Train Your Dragon. Unfortunately, this means you can’t catch it the way it was meant to be seen - on the big screen and in 3D - but it still dazzles. This animated film has it all. A great story of friendship, stunning visuals, memorable character designs, an instantly memorable score, terrific voice acting and a great message. It doesn’t matter how old you are, it becomes an instant favorite.

Much to his father’s disappointment, teenaged Viking Hiccup (perfectly voiced by Jay Baruchel) is hardly the dragon killer his village needs him to be. When Hiccup knocks down a Night Fury - the most elusive and deadly of all dragon species - he finds that he cannot kill it, and instead befriends "Toothless".

We've seen stories about sons rebelling against their parents because they would rather dance ballet, sing, or do anything other than do what they're expected to do before. How to Train Your Dragon differentiates itself first and foremost with its visuals. No dragon we've ever seen looks like the ones in this film. Taking inspiration from the book of the same name by Cressida Cowell, the animators went to town on the creature designs, which range from the two-headed Hideous Zippleback - one head spews flammable gas, the other, sparks - to the bumblebee-like Gronckle. All of them are memorable, as are Hiccups classmates. You’re like the overenthusiastic Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), excitedly looking at these beasts and trying to figure out what makes them tick. I predict in about five to ten years, we’ll be seeing highly detailed and articulated action figures of the creatures in this film sold to adults who grew up with this franchise. That’s how iconic they are.

As you can deduce from the title, Hiccup and Toothless eventually form a close bond and our hero becomes the first dragon rider. The first scene in which they take flight together is pure movie magic. The emotions bubble up inside as if it’s you soaring through the air for the first time. Even on a flat screen, the way they zip alongside cliffs, through rocky formations and above the water is so exciting - particularly with the score by John Powell - it threatens to bring tears to your eyes. You recognize the emotional weight of this moment and the visuals are incredible.

The emotional power of Hiccup and Toothless' flight comes from the character work. Directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois have made the genius choice to give a lot of cat-lie attributes to Toothless. He’s effortlessly loveable but also a little wild - if you’ve ever owned a cat, you know what I mean. You’ve seen how Hiccup and his father are. It’s not that Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler) is a bad father, it’s that they just have nothing in common, whereas Hiccup and Toothless? they get along but they do so well. It breaks your heart knowing they’re from two worlds and that there’s no way this is going to work out. Training with Toothless means Hiccup becomes more knowledgeable about dragons than any other Viking. At his school, he’s acing every course, which breaks down the barrier between him and his father. It raises your spirits but creates a dark cloud on the horizon.

In the end, the screenplay by the directors (who co-wrote with Will Davies) finds a surprisingly elegant way to give the audience the happy ending they want and deliver a big action scene that brings together everything we’ve learned about dragons. It’s revealed that every dragon has been stealing food for the biggest dragon of all, a Godzilla-sized mega beast that will eat anything. The genius of this revelation is that it recontextualizes every dragon attack. If only this big bully were gone, then everyone could live harmoniously. In Independence Day: Resurgence, The Great Wall and similar films, this “Queen” that can be defeated to save the day feels artificial. Not here. In hindsight, it all makes sense.

It's one of the best cast animated pictures in recent memory. Christopher Mintz-Plasse as the big, but squeaky-voiced dragon nerd Fishlegs, America Ferrera as Astrid, Hiccup’s rival and possible romantic interest and the other Vikings are terrific. Even these secondary characters are memorable, making you eager to see more. Then we get to the ending, which is mature and somber. How to Train Your Dragon is much more than the sum of its big, action-packed sequences of aerial pyrotechnics, dizzying flying scenes and narrow getaways. It's packed with emotion, action, and fun. I can’t recommend How to Train Your Dragon enough. (On Blu-ray, April 15, 2022)

[courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme]

Year One (2009, Harold Ramis)

21/11/2023

Year One is a 2009 comedy film written and directed by Harold Ramis, in his last cinematic experience.

Zed and Oh are two primitive and clumsy cavemen, a hunter and a gatherer respectively, who after being banished from their village begin a long biblical journey, encountering Cain as he kills Abel.

They are then enslaved by the guards of Sodom and meet Abraham just before he sacrifices his son Isaac, and Zed stops the ritual, saying that he is a messenger of God: they are thus invited to Abraham's house and, after having dinner, the young man Isaac safely takes Zed and Oh to Sodom, where Abraham plans to circumcise them.

Here they are captured again but, just before being sodomized by the soldiers, Cain, who has also become a soldier, comes to their aid, calling them "brothers" and managing to save them.

At the palace, Zed sees Maya and Eema, reduced to slaves, serving at the banquet, while Oh is forced to follow the High Priest for a "rite", that of sensually anointing his entire body behind a curtain; Zed later sees Inanna again, who takes him to the Holy of Holies and asks him to enter, believing him to be "the Chosen One". At first both are sentenced to death by stoning, but Zed fortunately manages to convince the authorities to have mercy and instead sentence them to hard labor until their deaths.

The following morning the king of Sodom declares that he will sacrifice his daughter and two virgins (Maya and Eema, according to Cain the "followers of the Chosen One") to the gods.

The protagonists Jack Black and Michael Cera are supported by a large cast: among others, Olivia Wilde plays the role of Princess Inanna, Christopher Mintz-Plasse plays Isaac while Hank Azaria plays the role of Abraham. The film's director Harold Ramis plays Adam while Rhoda Griffis is Eve, also Kyle Gass is Zaftig the Eunuch, Bill Hader plays a shaman and Vinnie Jones the chief of the guards of Sodom. Finally Paul Rudd plays Abel.

Filming of the film, which took place during January 2008, took place between Louisiana and New Mexico, considered "the end of the world" in the film.

[allthefilmsiveseenforfree]

Promising Young Woman

I read the synopsis of Promising Young Woman sometime in spring 2019, right around the time it premiered at Sundance to rave reviews. I confess at the time I read it, I was angry - really angry - because I’d seen the trailer and been expecting a slick revenge thriller/black comedy  and what I read about was a very, very different kind of film. It’s hard to shake a first impression like that, but I wanted to give the film a chance to change my mind. A couple weeks after seeing it, I’m still not sure that it did, but I do think it’s an incredibly well-put-together film and one that does exactly what it intends to do, for better or worse. 

The film centers around Cassie (Carey Mulligan), a disaffected barista living with her parents in her late 20s by day, and a honey trap for predatory “nice guys” she picks up at bars when they think she’s too wasted to say no to sex by night. In a way, she’s avenging the death of her best friend, Nina, who killed herself after a horrifying sexual assault. Cassie is fixated on Nina’s death mainly because no one else seems to be - even Nina’s mother (Molly Shannon) tells Cassie to move on and live her own life, that it’s not helping anyone for her to remain in this form of arrested development and grief. But Cassie is obsessed with making those responsible for Nina’s pain, for her pain, confront their own complicity in the violence of a world that chews women like Nina up and spits them out. 

My gripe with this movie is rooted in my own discomfort at its adherence to realism. I wanted a revenge thriller as sharp as Cassie’s stiletto fuck-me pumps, I wanted a sense of catharsis at making predators like the wolves in “nice guy” clothing pay in some way for their crimes. But Cassie doesn’t engage in acts of violence - she just gives these men a stern talking to. She plays by the rules, her behavior isn’t illegal, and her tools of revenge are wigs and makeup rather than knives or guns. I love watching Cassie (and Mulligan, whose performance should absolutely earn her Best Actress) work, but am left clenching my jaw at the cost of Cassie’s endeavors and all the clever tongue-in-cheek smiley faces at the end aren’t going to make that feel better. The punishments seem so brief, fleeting - a bad dream, half remembered upon waking. In fact, her revenge on the women involved in Nina’s ordeal is drawn out to the point of cruelty - in Madison’s (Alison Brie’s) case, for weeks. The message here seems to be that the crime of women’s complicity so much worse than the actual assault and violence men perpetuate, which leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I didn’t cry, but I did grimace nearly as often as I laughed out loud.

This is absolutely a film you should watch for yourself and form your own opinion on. I think I loved it in spite of how frustrated it made me, and that’s due to fantastic performances from Mulligan and every adorkable dudebro you had a crush on in 2010 cast here as the nice guys with sweet smiles hiding a mouth full of razor blades (Adam Brody, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bo Burnham, Max Greenfield, Christopher Lowell). The music is also full of pink glitter pop bangers coupled with slow-mo horror movie strings, and Emerald Fennell’s script and direction (still can’t believe I didn’t know she was Camilla on The Crown!) is clear and cutting, like the winged eyeliner of every woman I’ve ever wanted to be. She’s got a crystal clear vision and an aesthetic that is perfect for every girl who grew up on rainbows, early 90s neon, and Lisa Frank. It’s as if the color pink were sharpened into a scalpel. It’s difficult to maintain the tone of queasy horror, anger, and comedy that often showcases the absurdity of a woman’s world, and that may be part of why I’m conflicted about my feelings here. The price is so, so high for the smallest amount of justice. Maybe that’s the blackest part of this dark, dark comedy - the idea that at least in fiction, some kind of justice will actually be served.

If you liked this review, please consider reblogging or subscribing to my Patreon! For as low as $1, you can access bonus content and movie reviews, or even request that I review any movie of your choice.

[skinks]

how was the superbad livestream? i missed it bc i was in class :(

It was actually really fun!! I’m sorry you missed it but yeah, for me it was worth staying up til 3:30 in the morning. Surely not me getting butterflies about being in the same weird virtual space as Hader at the same time... surely not... 👀

So, Bill was either far away from his computer or didn’t have a good mic because he was way more quiet-spoken than everyone else. This might have just been because he’s a relatively subdued guy anyway, but when Apatow was making everyone’s introductions Bill just waved, and I think Seth Rogen was like “we’re gonna have to be more enthusiastic than this” and Bill said that he was doing the stream while sitting at a table with some people eating dinner lmfao. He was probably waiting to put his kids to bed or something 🥺

THRILLED TO BE HERE

You couldn’t really hear the movie but that was ok because it wasn’t the point, it was nice to just hear a group of friends reminisce about the movie-making process. Bill would occasionally try to interject something but there were so many people talking at once, and fucking Jonah Hill kept barging right over everybody so most of my time was spent wistfully gazing at Billiam’s little square and hoping he’d speak up. But he’s just... not a pushy dude, so he’d acquiesce.

HE DID LAUGH A LOT THOUGH!!! every time he’d lean back and start cackling and clapping an angel (aka my heart) got its wings (aka flew right out of my body via my coochie)

Look at him go :’) that top left one is when he snorted and tried to cover it up :’))) [wind beneath my wings plays faintly in the distance]

A few times he did manage to speak up though, and it was great. He talked a lot about how he and Rogen would just endlessly tease Christopher Mintz-Plasse, because he was 17 and it was his first film and he had to do schoolwork and have his mom on set etc. Like, they pranked him a lot on the promo circuit too, that was funny, they told him to ask some PR assistant lady for drugs while they were at an event, convinced him some movie I can’t remember was based on a real thing, told him to say random lines that wound up in the final cut, things like that.

He talked about how he couldn’t get through the scene where he and Rogen walk in on McLovin having sex without breaking, and kept laughing through telling it too fjkshfkdhf. ALSO that he’d never worked with someone who was so new but so confident, because he is INCAPABLE OF NOT PRAISING HIS COWORKERS AT ALL TIMES ugh... humble king... cock

OH he kept doing impressions too!! He’d tell stories and slip into a Rogen or Mintz-Plasse or Apatow impression like it was nothing, everyone would laugh, and every time people laughed he got this pleased little look 😔 never wanted to suck a dick so bad in my life never I swear et cetera et cetera

Anyway, Emma Stone was the real MVP bc she was always the one who was actually listening when Bill tried to say something, and Bill said that the first, last, and only time he’d actually seen Superbad is when he went to some opening night with Emma Stone and her mom??? So that was already adorable but he also kept on talking about the technical stuff, praising the editing etc. As if I wasn’t whining like a desperate dog enough he had to go and be a film nerd live through my headphones

ARM.......... SMILEY MAN.... DID HE EVEN BRUSH HIS HAIR FOR THIS??? I like him so much what the fuck

Finally, the thing that made me tenderest of all was when... ok they were talking about how there was a trailer with a kind of small home cinema set-up to screen the dailies? And someone, I think it was Seth Rogen, asked Judd Apatow AND BILL if that was common practice, like asking him showrunner/director-specific questions, and it really drove home the fact that this movie was 14 years ago and he’s managed to do so much since then. He’s become a director like he always wanted to, on Barry, got all these accolades for his work and yet he’s still just this quiet dude snort-laughing at his friends and clearly exhausted because it’s past his 9pm bedtime. Don’t look at me

So yeah, it was very chill and they barely bothered to read out any of the audience-submitted questions which was probably a good thing because any more exposure to his stupid 5 o’clock shadow and soft quarantine bod and I would have been sending propositions

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior Christmas - New Year’s Edition – WONDER WOMAN 1984, NEWS OF THE WORLD, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI..., PIECES OF A WOMAN, HERSELF, SYLVIE’S LOVE and More!

Welcome to the VERY LAST Weekend Warrior of the WORST YEAR EVER!!! But hopefully not the last column forever, even though I already plan on taking much of January off from writing 8 to 10 reviews each week. It just got to be too much for a while there.

Because it’s the last week of the year, there are a lot of really good movies, some in theaters but also quite a few on streaming services. In fact, there are a good number of movies that appeared in my Top 10 for the yearover at Below the Line, as well as my extended Top 25 that I’ll share on this blog sometime next week. I was half-hoping to maybe write something about the box office prospects of some of the new movies, but after the last couple weeks, it’s obvious that box office is not something that will be something worth writing about until sometime next spring or summer.

(This column is brought to you by Paul McCartney’s new album “McCartney III” which I’m listening to as I finish this up… and then other solo Beatles ditties picked for me randomly by Tidal.)

First up is easily one of the most anticipated movies of the year, or at least one that actually didn’t move to 2021, and that’s WONDER WOMAN 1984 (Warner Bros.), Patty Jenkins’ sequel to the 2017 hit, once again starring Gal Gadot as Diana Prince. I reviewed it here, but basically the sequel introduces Wonder Woman arch-nemeses Barbara Minerva aka Cheetah, as played by Kristen Wiig, and Pedro Pascal’s Max Lord and how an ancient artifact gives them both their powers, as well as helps to bring Diana’s true love Steve Trevor (Chris Pine) back despite him having disappeared presumed dead in WWI. As you can see by reading my review, I thought it was just fine, not great and certainly not something I’d make an attempt to see a second time in a 25% capacity movie theater. Fortunately, besides debuting in around 2,100 movie theaters across the nation, it will also be on HBO Max day and date, which has caused quite a stir. Being Christmas weekend with no work/school on Monday, I can see it still making somewhere between $10 and 12 million, but I can’t imagine it doing nearly what it might have done with most theaters only 25-30% full at the maximum and that theater count being roughly half the number it might have gotten during the “normal times.”

Paul Greengrass’ Western NEWS OF THE WORLD (Universal) reteams him with his Captain Phillips star Tom Hanks, this time playing Captain Jefferson Kidd, a Civil War soldier who travels from town to town in the Old West reading from newspapers to anyone who has a dime and time to listen. After one such reading, he discovers a young girl (Helena Zengel) on her own, having spent the last few years with a family of Native Americans who were killed by soldiers. Together, they travel across America as Kidd hopes to bring the girl to her last surviving family members.

I already reviewed Greengrass’ movie for Below the Line, and I also  spoke to Mr. Greengrass, an interview you can read that right here (once it goes live), but I make no bones that this was one of my favorite movies I’ve seen this year, and it’s not just due to the fine work by Greengrass and his team. No, it’s just as much about the emotion inherent in the story, and the relationship between the characters played by Hanks and Zengel.  

I’ve watched the movie three times now, and I’m still blown away by every frame and moment, the tension that’s created on this difficult journey but also where it leaves the viewers at the end that promises that there can be hope and joy even in the most difficult and turbulent times. It’s a wonderful message that’s truly needed right now.

Listen, I’m not gonna recommend going to a movie theater if you don’t feel it’s safe – I’ve already spoken my peace on this at a time when COVID numbers were much lower – but this is a movie that I personally can’t wait to see in a movie theater. I honestly can’t see the movie making more than $3 or 4 million in the open theaters considering how few people are willing to go to movie theaters. Obviously, this isn’t as big a draw as Wonder Woman, but it is a fantastic big screen movie regardless.

Also opening in theaters this Friday is Emerald Fennell’s directorial debut PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (Focus Features), starring the wonderful Oscar-nominated Carey Mulligan as Cassie Thomas, a woman who has revenge on her mind. Cassie spends her nights picking up guys in bars by pretending she’s so drunk she can barely walk, then humiliating them and presumably worse. When she encounters an acquaintance from med school in the form of Bo Burnham’s Ryan, the two begin dating, though he ends up awakening a darker side to Cassie that seeks revenge for something that happened back during their school days. (Honestly, if you’re already sold, just skip to the next movie. That’s all I want you to know before watching it.)

I was ready to love Fennell’s movie when it opened with a disgusting shot of gross stock market bros in loose-fitting suits gyrating in slow motion before one of them tries to pick up a totally soused Cassie at the club. It’s a scene that really plays itself out quite well, and then leads into Mulligan’s character allowing another clear scumbag (played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, maybe as a slight-older McLovin?) before turning the tables on him as well.

There’s going to be a lot of talk about this movie after people see it, since it’s one of those great films that begins a lot of conversations. I imagine most women of a certain age will love it, but some men might see themselves in some of the characters (even Burnham’s) and wonder whether Cassie just won’t take crap from any man or if she’s a full-on misandrist. One thing we do know a lot is that she does this sort of thing a lot, and there’s something from her past that has driven her involving something that happened to her female friend in med school. I’m going to stop talking about the plot here, because I definitely don’t want to spoil anything who hasn’t seen the movie, but the second half of the movie is as deeply satisfying as Tarantino’s Kill Bill in terms of the surprises.

You’ll realize while watching what a treat you’re in for when you first watch Mulligan’s amazing transformation from pretending to be drunk to being completely cognizant and just all the emotions we see her go through after that. Of course, we never really know what she’s actually doing to the guys she lets pick her up -- she keeps a notebook with guy’s names and a quizzical counting system, so we can only imagine.

Fennell’s screenplay is fantastic but her work as a first-time director in maintaining the the tone and pacing of the movie is really what will keep you captivated, whether it’s the amazing musical choices or how Cassie dresses up to lure men. There’s also a great cast around Mulligan whether it’s comic Burnham in a relatively more serious role, but one that also allows him a musical number. (No joke.) Fennel’s amazing casting doesn’t just stop there from, Jennifer Coolidge as Cassie’s mother to Laverne Cox as Gail, her workmate/boss at the coffee shop – both of them add to the film’s subtle humor elements. Alfred Molina shows up to give a show-stopping performance, and Alison Brie also plays a more dramatic role as another one of Cassie’s classmates. I can totally understand why the Golden Globes might have deemed the movie a “comedy/musical” (for about two days before going back) , but putting so many funny people in dramatic roles helps give Promising Young Woman its own darkly humorous feel. All that darkness is contrasted by this sweet romance between Cassie and Ryan that’s always in danger of imploding due to Cassie’s troubled nature.

The biggest shocking surprise is saved for the third act, and boy, it’s going to be one that people will be talking about for a VERY long time, because it’s just one gut punch after another. I loved this movie, as it’s just absolutely brilliant – go back and see where it landed in my Top 10. As one of the best thrillers from the past decade, people will be talking about this for a very long time 

Promising Young Woman hits theaters on Christmas Day, and presumably, it will be available on VOD sometime in January, but this is not one you want to wait on. If you do go see it in theaters, just be safe, please. No making out with random men or women, please.

Regina King’s narrative feature debut, ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI... (Amazon Studios), will ALSO be in theaters on Christmas Day, and though I’ve reviewed it over at Below the Line, but I’ll talk a little more about it here just for my loyal Weekend Warrior readers.

Yet another movie that made my Top 10, this one stars a brilliant quartet of actors --  Kingsley Ben-Adir, Leslie Odom Jr., Aldis Hodge and Eli Goree—as four legendary black icons: Malcolm X, Sam Cooke, Jim Brown and Cassius Clay, on the night after the last of them wins the World Boxing Championship against Sonny Liston in February 1964. The four men meet in Malcolm X’s hotel room to discuss what’s happening in their lives and the world in general, as well as Clay’s decision to join the Nation of Islam, just as Malcolm X is getting ready to leave the brotherhood due to philosophical differences with the group. In fact, all four men have philosophical differences that are discussed both in good humor and in deep conflict as they disagree on their place in a white-dominated world in a year before the Civil Rights Act would be signed.

First of all, there’s no way to talk about this movie without discussing the Kemp Powers play on which it’s based, and we can’t mention that without mentioning that Powers also co-wrote and co-directed Pixar’s Soul, which will be available on Disney+ this Friday. It’s a fantastic script and King put together a fantastic cast of actors who really give their all to every scene. In the case of Leslie Odom, Jr., you really can believe him as Cooke, especially in a number of fantastic performances pieces. Likewise, Goree looks a lot like Clay both in the ring and out, carrying all of the swagger for which he would become more famous as Ali.

I’ve seen the movie twice already and if you’ve looked at my Top 10, then you already know this is another one that made my cut, so I don’t think I need to give it a much harder sell. I’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot about this one on its journey to Oscar night when hopefully, King becomes the first woman of color to be nominated in the directing category. Or rather, she’ll probably tie for that honor with Nomadland director Chloé Zhao.

If you don’t feel like going to theaters for this one, you’ll be able to catch it on Amazon Prime Video on January 15, too… you’ll just have to wait a little longer.

Also, the new Pixar animation movie, SOUL, directed by Pete Docter (Up, Inside Out) and co-directed by Kemp Powers (remember him?), will hit Disney+ on Christmas Day, and I reviewed it here, so I probably don’t have  lot more to say about it, but it’s great, and if you have Disney+, I’m sure you’ll be watching it.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a screener for Matteo Garrone’s PINNOCHIO (Roadside Attractions), which also opens in about 700 theaters on Christmas Day. This adaptation stars Robert Benigni as Geppeto, who famously starred as Pinocchio in his own version of the classic fairy tale from 2002. That other movie was “Weinsteined” at a time when that just meant that a movie was ruined by Harvey Weinstein’s meddling, rather than anything involving sexual assault.

Another great movie hitting streaming this week is Eugene Ashe’s SYLVIE’S LOVE, which streams on Amazon Prime Video today. It stars Tessa Thompson as Sylvie and Nnamdi Asomugha (also a producer on the film) as Robert, who meet one summer in the late 50s while working at Sylvie’s father’s record store. He is a jazz musician who is on the rise, but their romance is cut short when he gets a gig in Paris but she refuses to go with him. Also, she’s pregnant with his child. Years later, they reconnect with her now being married with a young daughter (clearly Robert’s) and they realize that the love between them is still very real and true.

This is the first of three movies I watched this week where I went in with very little knowledge and absolute zero expectations. Like everyone else on earth, I am an avid fan of Ms. Thompson’s work both in movies like Thor: Ragnarok and smaller indies. She’s just a fantastic presence that lights up a screen. While I wasn’t as familiar with Asomugha’s acting work – he’s produced some great films and acted in a few I liked, included Crown Heights – there’s no denying the chemistry between the two.

What’s kind of interesting about the movie is that it combines a few elements from other great movies released this week, including Soul and A Night in Miami, but in my opinion, handles the music business aspect to the story better than the much-lauded Netflix movie, Ma Raimey’s Black Bottom. Frankly, I also think the performances by the two leads are as good as those by Boseman and Davis in that movie, but unfortunately, Amazon is submitting this to the Emmys as as “TV movie” rather than to the Oscars, so that’s kind of a shame.

This is a movie that’s a little hard to discuss why I enjoyed it so much without talking about certain scenes or moments, or just go through the entire story, but I think part of the joy of appreciating what Ashe has done in his second original feature film is to tell the story of these two characters over the course of a decade or so in a way that hasn’t been done before. That alone is quite an achievement, because we’ve seen many of those types of movies over the years (When Harry Met Sally, for instance).

What I really liked about Sylvie’s Love over some of the other “black movies” this year is that it literally creates its own world and just deals with the characters within it, rather than trying to make a big statement about the world at the time. Maybe you can say the same about Soul in that sense, but you would be absolutely amazed by how much bigger an audience you can get by telling a grounded story in a relatable world, and then throw in a bit of music, as both those movies do.

So that’s all I’ll say except that this will is now on Amazon Prime Video , so you have no excuse not to check it out while you wait for Regina King’s equally great One Night in Miami to join it in mid-January.

Hitting Netflix on Christmas day is Robert Rodriguez’s WE CAN BE HEROES, his sequel to his 2005 family film The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl – not his best moment -- which follows the kids of the Heroics, a Justice League-like super group. They’re all in a special school for kids with powers but they have to step up when the Heroics are captured by aliens. Want to know what will happen? Well, you’ll just have to wait for Christmas Day for when my review drops to find out whether I liked it more or less than Rodriguez’s earlier film which SPOILER!! I hated.)

The first thing you need to get past is that Shark Boy and Lava Girl are now man and wife, and just that fact might be tough for anyone who only discovered the movie sometime more recently. There are other familiar faces in the Heroics like Pedro Pascal, Sung Kang, Christian Slater, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and more, so clearly, Rodriguez is still able to pull together a cast.

The movie actually focuses on YaYa Goselin’s Missy Moreno, daughter of the Heroic’s leader (Pascal) who has also retired. Just as aliens are invading the earth, Missy is put into a school of kids with superpowers, all kids of various Heroic members. Sure, it’s derived directly from The X-Men and/or Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, so yeah… basically also the X-Men. We meet all of the kids in a great scene where we see them using their powers and learn their personalities, and honestly, they really are the best part of the movie.Probably the most adorable is Guppy, the very young daughter of Shark Boy and Lava Girl, played by Viven Blair. Oddly, Missy doesn’t have any powers so she feels a bit fish-out-of-water in the group even though, like her father, she proves to be a good leader.

As much as I really detested Rodriguez’s Shark Boy and Lava Girl movie, I feel like he does a lot better by having a variety of kids in this one, basically something for everyone, but also not a bad group of child actors. (There’s also a fun role for Adriana Barraza​.) There are definitely aspects that are silly, but Rodriguez never loses sight of his audience, and wisely, Netflix is offering this as a Christmas Day release which should be fun for families with younger kids who might see this as their first superhero movie.

More discerning viewers may not be particularly crazy about visual FX, all done as usual in Rodriguez’s own studio but some of them look particularly hoaky and cheap compared to others. (I mean, that’s probably the appeal for hiring Rodriguez because he’s able to do so much in-house. In this case, he got all four of his own kids involved in various capacities of making the film.)

We Can Be Heroes is clearly a movie made for kids, so anyone expecting anything on part with Amazon’s The Boys will be quite disappointed. It’s probably Rodriguez getting slightly closer to Spy Kids than he has with any of his other family-friendly movies, but one shouldn’t go in with the expectations that come with any of the much bigger blockbusters released these days. Personally, I enjoyed that fact, and I totally would watch another movie with this superteam.

Michel Stasko’s BOYS VS. GIRLS (Gravitas Ventures) is a fun retro-comedy that follows a war between the male and female counselors at Camp Kindlewood, which has just gone co-ed. At the center of it all is Dale (Eric Osborne) and Amber (Rachel Dagenais) as two teens who are in the middle of a meet-cute romance in the middle of a inter-gender competition called “Lumberman vs. Voyagers,” which I have no idea whether it’s a real thing or not.

I probably should have known I’d like this one from the catchy New Order-ish song in the opening credits, but listen, Wet Hot American Summer is one of my all-time favorite movies, and that was basically made to satirize ‘80s movies like Meatballs. This one falls more towards to the latter in terms of humor, but it also feels authentic to the ‘80s summer camp experience.

It helps that the grown-ups at the camp are played by the likes of Kevin McDonald from New Kids on the Block, Colin Mochrie from Whose Line is It Anyway and others, but it’s really about the younger cast playing teen boys and girls in the throes of puberty, something we all can in some way relate to. The young cast play a series of stereotypical young but there are a lot of funny tropes within them, as each of the cast is given a chance to deliver some of the funnier gags. This isn’t necessarily high-brow humor, mind you, but I love the fact that you can still make a movie about a time where you could still make fun of girl’s periods in school. (I’m kidding. I just put that in there cause I feel like I need to throw things like that into this column just to see if anyone is ACTUALLY reading it.)

The presumably Canadian Stasko is another great example of an independently-spirited filmmaker who has an idea for a fun movie and then just goes about making it, regardless of having big stars or anything to sell it besides many funny moments that can be featured a trailer, so that those who like this kind of movie will find it. Listen, Wet Hot American Summer wasn’t a huge hit when it was released. I still remember it having trouble getting a single screening at the multiplex in Times Square when it was released but over the years since it became sort of a cult hit (kind of due to Netflix having it to rent on DVD, I think).

Besides a fun script and cast, Stasko also find a way to include tunes that sound so much like real ‘80s songs we would have heard on the radio but aren’t quite the big hits that would have cost him thousands of dollars, but I really just enjoyed the heck out of the tone and overall fun attitude that went into making this movie.

Also on VOD now is Ian Cheney and Martha Shane’s fascinating and funny doc, THE EMOJI STORY (Utopia), which I saw at the Tribeca Film Festival when it was called “Picture Character.” (That’s what “emoji” in Japanese means, just FYI.) As you can guess it’s about the origins and rise of the emoji as a form of communication from its humble beginning in Japan to becoming one of the biggest trending crazes on the globe. I’m not that big an Emoji guy myself – I tend to use the thumbs up just for ease, but I do marvel at those who can put together full thoughts using a string of these symbols, and if you want to know more about them, this is the movie you should watch.

Now let’s cut ahead to some of the movies that will be opening and streaming NEXT week…

Hitting select theaters on Wednesday, December 30 and what really is my “FEATURED FLICK” for this column is Hungarian filmmaker Kornél (White God) Mundruczó’s PIECES OF A WOMAN (Netflix) before its streaming premiere on Netflix January 7.

Written by Kata Wéber, who also wrote Mundruczó’s earlier film, it stars Vanessa Kirby (The Crown) and Shia Labeouf as Martha and Sean Weiss, a Boston couple who lose their baby during a particularly difficult home birth and follows the next year in their lives and how that tragic loss affects their relationship with each other and those around them.

As you can imagine, Pieces of a Woman is a pretty heavy drama, one that reminded me of the films of Todd Field (Little Children, In the Bedroom) in terms of the intensity of the drama and the emotions on screen from the brilliant cast Mundruczó put together for his English language debut. I’m not sure I could use the general plot to sell anyone on seeing this because it is very likely the worst possible date movie of the year after Netflix’s 2019 release, Marriage Story, but it’s just as good in terms of the writing and performances.

At the center of it is Kirby – and yeah, I still haven’t watched The Crown, so shut up! I’ll get to it!!! – who most of us fell in love with for her role in Mission: Impossible - Fallout, but what we see her go through as an actress here really shows the degree of her abilities. But it also shows what Mundruczó can do with material that (like many movies) started out as a play. For instance, one of the first big jaw-dropping moments is the home birth scene that goes on for a long time, seemingly all in one shot, and Kirby is so believable in terms of a woman going through a difficult birth, you’d believe she has had children herself. (She hasn’t.)  I also don’t want to throw Shia Labeouf under the bus right now just because that seems like the trendy thing to do. (Without getting it, I believe FKA Twigs… but that doesn’t deny the fact that Labeouf is just the latest great actor that everyone wants to cancel.)

Anyway, to change the subject, we have to talk about Ellen Burstyn, who plays Martha’s meddling mother, who is quite clingy and overbearing, so when the couple lose their baby, she steps in to take to task the midwife she deems responsible (played by the highly-underrated Molly Parker). Or rather, she hires a family lawyer (Sarah Snook) to take her to court to get compensation for the loss of her daughter’s baby. The film’s last act culminates as their case goes to court.

Again, the film covers roughly a year after the tragedy and deals not only with how Martha and Sean’s relationship is affected and how it emotionally affects Martha in particular, but also how others around them start behaving towards them. It feels so authentic and real that you wonder where the screenwriter was drawing from, but Mundruczó has more than prove himself as as filmmaker by creating something that is visually compelling and even artsy while still doing everything to help promote the story and performances over his own abilities as a director. Doesn’t hurt that he has composer Howard Shore scoring the film in a way that’s subtle but effective.

Listen, if you’re looking for a comedy riot that will entertain you with funny one-liners and pratfalls than Pieces of a Woman is not for you. This is a devastating movie that really throws the viewer down a deep spiral along with its characters. The first time I watched it, I was left quite broken, and maybe even more so on second viewing.  (As we get closer to Oscar season… in four months … I hope this film will be recognized and not just thrown under the table due to Labeouf’s involvement. That would be as big a tragedy and misjustice as much of what happens in the movie.)

So yeah, in case you wondered why this also made it into my prestigious Top 10 for the year, that is why. :)

Also in theaters on Wednesday, December 30 is another terrific drama, the Phyllida Lloyd-directed HERSELF (Amazon Studios), co-written and starring Clare Dunne, as Sandra, a mother of two young girls, trying to get out of an abusive marriage, while making ends meet and providing shelter for her kids. One day, she learns about a way that she can build her own home, and one of the women she cares for offers a plot of land

Another movie that I really didn’t know much about going into, other than Phyllida Lloyd being a talented filmmaker whose movie The Iron Maiden, which won Meryl Streep her 500th Oscar, I enjoyed much more than the popular blockbuster hit musical, Mamma Mia! This is a far more personal story that reminded me of Ken Loach’s I, Daniel Blake, a smaller and more intimate character piece that shines a light on British actor Clare Dunne, who as with some of the best and most personal movie projects, co-wrote this screenplay for herself to act in.

There are aspects to the film that reminds me of many other quaint Britcoms in terms of creating a story where one person’s challenge is taken up by others who are willing to help, and in this case, it’s Sandra’s desire to build a house for her two quite adorable daughters while also trying to keep it secret from her abusive ex.

Dunne’s performance isn’t as showy as some of the other dramatic performances mentioned in this very column, but she and Lloyd do a fine job creating an authenticity that really makes you believe and push for her character, Sandra, surrounding her with characters who can help keep the movie on the lighter side despite very serious nature of spousal abuse (which also rears its ugly head in Pieces of a Woman). Oh, and don’t get too comfortable, because this, too, leads to an absolutely shocking and devastating climax you won’t see coming. (Well, now you will… but you’ll still be shocked. Trust me.)

Still, it’s a really nice movie with the house being built clearly a metaphor.  I know there’s a lot of truly fantastic movies discussed in this week’s column but don’t let this wonderful British drama pass you by, because you can tell it’s a labor of love for everyone who made it.

Herself will be in theaters for roughly a week starting December 30 before streaming on Prime Video on January 8.

In select theaters and on VOD on New Year’s Day is Roseanne Liang’s WWII thriller SHADOW IN THE CLOUD (Vertical/Redbox Entertainment), starring Chloë Grace Moretz as Flight Officer Maude Garrett, who is assigned to deliver a top-secret package on the B-17 bomber “The Fool’s Errand” with an all-male crew that throws her into a turret “for her own safety.” She ends up getting trapped down there as the plane is attacked by a creature that no one believes is out there, as they fight back against the unseen enemy, many secrets are revealed.

This is yet another movie I didn’t know that much about other than it has Moretz on an airplane, but there’s so much about the movie that both had me scratching my head but also has me quite deliriously amused that filmmakers could get away with some of the craziness that we witness. Maybe it’s not a surprise that the movie was co-written by Max Landis -- not exactly the most beloved screenwriter in Hollywood these days, and certainly not a critical favorite.

Again I really didn’t know what to expect so after Moretz’s character gets on the plane and is trapped in the turret under the plane, I thought that maybe I was seeing something similar to the one-location thriller 7500, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, which I wasn’t too big a fan of even though the actor was good. Moretz continues to be quite a phenomenal actor, but the mix of Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper’s music, which borrows as much from Soulwax (look ‘em up on Spotify) as John Carpenter, and the sexist attitude by the male crew towards Garrett made me unsure of what the movie was meant to say.

Much of the movie just has Moretz on her own with the men’s voices over the comms, which is not something that could possibly sustain a whole movie. Part of it is borrowed from a very well-known episode of “The Twilight Zone,” in fact.

but fortunately, it breaks from out of that deceit but then just starts getting crazier and crazier. I’m not even gonna tell you about what happens or what’s in the box Garrett is carrying or where things go, because honestly, I don’t think you would believe me.

I haven’t seen any of Ms. Liang’s previous films but when you realize how much crazy stuff she’s able to get way with, I’ll be really interested what she does next. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen any movie that’s quite as crazy as Shadow in the Cloud or one that makes me want to watch it again for that very reason.

Oscar-winning Icarus director Bryan Fogel’s doc THE DISSIDENT (Briarcliff), which opens in theaters Friday then will be On Demand January 8, follows the horrific assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey in September 2018, thought to be the work of the Saudi kingdom and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman aka MBS.

I’m really fascinated by movies like this one and Ryan White’s recent Assassins – both which could be in the Best Documentary race at the Oscars in April, by the detective and investigative work done by both filmmakers to get to the bottom of murders that shouldn’t be possible and find those that are responsible. I’ll admit that I didn’t really pay much attention to this story when it was happening a few years back, so I don’t know how much of the details are new and exclusive to Fogel’s doc. He does get access to Kashouggi’s fiancé Hatice who had gone with Jamal to the Saudi embassy in Turkey to get proof that he was single and could marry when he vanished for days and then turne up dead.

Fogel also meets with another Saudi dissident now living in Quebec who goes through the events that led up to Kashouggi’s murder that involved a social media campaign against the journalist within a country where 80% of the population is on Twitter (!).

This is another fascinating doc by Fogel that I’m sure some will be more interested in due to its subject, but when it comes to investigative pieces that really take a deep dive into news from the headlines, Fogel has created another unforgettable doc.  (Also, it was absolutely little surprise to me that Fogel’s film is co-written by Mark Monroe, who has been involved with some of the best docs I’ve seen over the past 15 years or so…  just look up his IMDB credits!)

Opening at the Film Forum Virtual Cinema in New York for a one-week qualifying run is Russia’s movie for Oscar consideration, Andrei Kochalovsky’s DEAR COMRADES! (NEON), a black and white dark dramedy set in 1960s Kruschchev-era Russia. It involves a strike by locomotive workers when the government raises food prices, leading to chaos and a massacre that leaves a Communist party loyalist,  Lyuda (played by Julia Vysotskaya) who the film then follows. Unfortunately, I had a choice of either writing this column or watching this two-hour movie. I opted for the former (obviously) but I do hope to get to this later in the week and should be adding more on this movie once I do.

Also streaming in Film Forum’s Virtual Cinema starting next Wednesday, December 30, is Mario Monicelli’s 1960 film, The Passionate Thief.

Unfortunately, I also wasn’t able to get to Two Ways Home (Gravitas Ventures), In Corpore or Fire Will Come, which will open in Metrograph’s digital ticketing system.

Metrograph will also continue showing Tsia Ming-Liang’s Goodbye, Dragon Inn, Fruit Chan’s Made in Hong Kong, and lots of great programming over the holidays. It would be a great time to get yourself or a loved one a digital membership for just $50! (James Gray is also programming some of his own films like Little Odesssa and other favorites, like Richard Quine’s Strangers When We Meet, over the holidays.)

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have bothered to read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or drop me a note or tweet on Twitter. I love hearing from readers … honest! 

[cinematicct]

Superbad (2007)

Produced by Judd Apatow and co-written by Seth Rogen (who also plays the irresponsible Officer Michaels opposite Bill Hader as the equally incompetent Officer Slater), this teen buddy comedy is about two high school seniors/best friends named Seth and Evan, played by Jonah Hill and Michael Cera, who plan to attend a pre-graduation party. While trying to buy alcohol, they plan to hook up with their respective crushes Becca, played by Martha MacIsaac and Jules, played by Emma Stone (in her film debut).

Jonah Hill and Michael Cera are pure comedic gold. Jonah Hill’s character is especially outspoken to the point where his crude remarks/insults are just a way of emphasizing clear truths. Michael Cera plays the straight man who’s not just willing to stand by Seth’s side, but whose humor stems from his awkward personality. Christopher Mintz-Plasse is the perfect embodiment of nervousness and confidence all in one. Bill Hader and Seth Rogen are an uproariously funny duo. Emma Stone (who also starred opposite Jonah Hill on Netflix’s psychological miniseries Maniac) even proves herself worthy of making a good first impression.

The story is partly based on the real-life teen experiences of Seth Rogen himself. For this particular film, the comedian combines high school shenanigans with authentically obscene adolescence in the screenwriting process. Add the ingenious production of Judd Apatow, we see a well-balanced take on raunchiness and honesty.

The comedy derives from the chaotic mishaps in an attempt to get the booze. For instance, Seth and Evan’s friend Fogell (played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse) tries to use his fake ID under the name “McLovin” for the alcohol. At the same time, Fogell gets entangled with the inept cops following a robbery despite forming a close bond with them after learning they like to have fun. Furthermore, Seth and Evan try to sneak out from a different party with as much booze as they can get their hands on, during which Seth tried to smuggle the liquor in laundry detergent containers. Last but not least, Seth, Evan and Fogell outrun Slater and Michaels in such hilarious fashion.

The movie reveals an inside look at a recurring conflict between the two BFFs: each will be going to different colleges, ultimately putting their loyalty to the test. As a result, the whole night becomes a night of arguments and name-calling.

Upon arrival at the party, Jules and Becca each provide a different problem for both Seth and Evan. One girl gets too drunk and sexually eager for one guy to deal with, whereas the other girl is not so keen on getting intoxicated along with the other.

The soundtrack contains a list of foot-tapping songs: “Too Hot to Stop” by the Bar-Kays, “Bustin’ Out” by Rick James, “Here I Come” by The Roots featuring Malik B. and Dice Raw and “Panama” by Van Halen to name a few. A scene even depicts Evan singing “These Eyes” by The Guess Who.

Finally, the whole point of the story is to stay true to your own status as a good person. What’s more, as long as true friendship is kept alive, that’s the one thing no one could ever lose. Anytime you’re in the mood for an outrageous cinematic experience that might have you in stitches, I recommend this insanely laughable coming-of-age 2000s classic.

[yeahwhatdidisay]

Time for...RANTS ABOUT NOTHING!!

Todays nothing...

So I really enjoyed this movie.  The visuals were great (I mean amazing!) The acting and singing was solid.  The comedy in the movie got me to literally laugh out loud at times.  It was all around a pretty good movie. The problem...the story itself.

This can get long...Spoilers ahead for those who would rather not.  So you’ve been warned.

Story:

The backstory starts out by introducing who the trolls are, and who the creatures known as the Bergens are.

Basically the trolls are little bundles of happy and joy who always have songs in their hearts. Bergens on the other hand do not.

They can’t sing, dance, or anything.  They pretty much can feel no happiness. Just be sad sacks.  

One day a Bergen ate a Troll and he felt the joy and happiness that all Trolls have within.

Thus ‘Trollstice’ was born.  A holiday where the Bergens gather and everyone eats Trolls to feel the joy that they just don’t feel.

Why would anyone want to stay around for that?  Thus Trolls finally decided to escape after the Bergen prince was scheduled to eat the Troll princess, Poppy.

So cute!

The main story revolves around the escaped Trolls living in the forest hiding from the Bergens, but especially the Bergen Chef who was exiled after all the Trolls escaped, ruining ‘Trollstice’ from then on.

The story itself is pretty solid.

Poppy (played by Anna Kendrik) grows up, gets careless, accidentally leads the Chef to their hiding place. She ends up having to save her friends with the help of the village grump named Branch, played by Justin Timberlake.

Even though I feel the majority of the movie is great and doesn’t need any changes or fixes. I do have some...thoughts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My Thoughts:

Even though I do really like the movie I think it loses it’s strength toward the end of the story.

Or basically with this character:

Bridget

Don’t get me wrong, I love me my Bridget!  She is a cute and great character, played wonderfully by Zooey Deschenel! 

Bridget has a crush on the Bergen King Gristle (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and she illustrates her love through a hilarious rendition of ‘Hello’ by Lionel Richie.

Now the only issue I have with the character is that she can sing...pretty well.

The problem: It’s stated pretty clearly that Bergens aren’t supposed to be able to sing.  No one acknowledges this, at all! Almost like this wasn’t a Bergen feature to begin with!  

The rest of the Bergen’s do sing but it’s not the greatest and their choice of song (one of my faves) ‘Clint Eastood’ by Gorillaz helps to illustrate their lack of happiness.

To me this oversight is the biggest most blaring problem with the story. The only explanation they have is a couple of throw-away lines from Poppy and Branch.

Poppy: Awe, she’s in love with the king. Branch: What are you talking about? Bergen’s don’t have feelings! Poppy: Well, maybe you don’t know everything about the Bergens!

And that’s it! Everything’s cleared up and now we move on.  Nuh-uh! 

It’s because of this blareing oversight that I feel the ending of the movie is it’s weakest point. Like the outcome was too convenient and sudden.  So much so that it doesn’t make complete sense.

But why bring it up?  Why complain?  Because...I think I have a fix...a fan-fix.

(Oh god...that’s dumb...but I’m sticking to it.)

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

My Fan-Fix

(Should I keep that title?  Is it worth keeping?  Yes for now!)

So how would I fix the problem with the story?

Simple.

Focus on the fact that Bridget can sing along with the main storyline of saving the other Trolls.

Here’s how I would have fixed it.

Keep everything that’s happened in the movie up to the part where Poppy and Branch let the others out of the cage.  Bridget discovers them free, she chases them and then have Poppy interrupt with not only the fact that she has a crush on the king but also with the fact that she can sing.

Add a bit where Bridget says she’s always been able to sing.  But whenever anyone heard and was about to find her singing she would run away.  Hide because she’s only a scullery maid and how would they treat her if they found out.   Maybe add a bit where she’s worried that others might think there was a Troll stuck in her throat and try and cut it out! (Morbid, yes, but world building!) For extra oomph add a line where Bridget exclaims now she only sings when she’s thinking about the king.

Now back on track with the movie as it is.

Branch reveals why he is the way he is. They help Bridget talk to the King. They all try to save Creek.  BETRAYAL! Everyone in Troll Village is captured.  Poppy loses hope and Branch helps her find it again.

Now onto my final change of the story.

Bridget helps all the Trolls escape when suddenly Chef appears!  She is able to get only a handful of the trolls back, consisting of mainly the core group and a few extra Trolls.

Have Bridget cry out for Chef to let them go, which results in a really harsh tongue lashing at Bridget’s expense.  Chef exclaims ‘you are a scullery maid! What are you going to do? You’re the lowest of the low!  You can’t do anything! You are worthless.  The Guards will have no trouble taking you away and no one will even care!,’ so on and so forth. Then leave a defeated Bridget to go and serve the king.

Now a mix of existing story and my added story.

Have Chef try and serve the king, he contests saying he wants to wait for Lady Glitter Sparkle.  Chef try’s to manipulate him into not waiting and is she really so special that she’s worth ruining Trollstice?  But now, King Gristle continues to contest, saying he doesn’t want to ruin Trollstice but Lady Glitter Sparkle is amazing and she’s wonderful and she makes him feel...happy?

GASP!

Chef notices everyone in the banquet hall whispering to each other.  ‘Wait!  He felt happiness...without eating a Troll?’ ‘Is that possible?’ ‘Can we do that?’

This is when Chef loses it.  She opens the pot (leaving it open), reaches in and pulls out Poppy, not Branch. She starts the yelling scene from the movie. (With a little edit)

She calls out,

“Don’t [be ridiculous] there’s only one way to be happy!  My way! With me in charge I’ll serve Troll every day of the year!  With me as Queen all of life will be a never ending piece of happiness! C’mon! Eat, eat, EAT!”

At this point Bridget interrupts...with a song!  She bursts into the hall and is singing her heart out about love. (Which song? Not sure? What do you think it should be? A ballad maybe? )

Everyone is frozen in shock.  This is where all the captured Trolls come out of the pot, singing backup.  The main group who helped Bridget earlier come out, go into the skate on the King’s table, launch themselves onto Bridget and reveal that she is Lady Glitter Sparkles.

King Gristle comes out from behind the table (such a great bit!) and here is where Poppy helps them realize that the happy feeling came from within, not from too much Pizza.  

Have the Bib Seller say his line then have Poppy reply by saying that lots of things can make you happy.  The Bergens start calling out things that come to mind. Like food? Some of the Bergens start to sing well.  Being outside? Inside? Others join in. They start calling out things and more and more of them are able to join in. End on friends and family, all the Bergen’s sing and that’s when Poppy starts singing ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’.

Insert the banquet hall scene with all the Bergen’s and Trolls singing and dancing and the Chef and Creek are pushed out of Bergen town!

The ending is the same and everyone is happy!

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

Why do I feel this is necessary?

This ending helps the movie make sense.  Not just the quick ‘It was in you all along’ ending we got but it helps to also explain why Bridget is also able to sing from the start.  Thinking of the King made her able to sing.

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

So that’s it!

That’s my opinion and feelings of the Trolls movie.

I’m looking forward to the sequel coming out and I’m excited to see where they take the story.

If you read this the whole way through...Thank! I Hope you enjoyed my review and fix.  Let me know if you like this and if you would want more.

(...They could also take out the cloud character...not my favorite but whatever)

[lucidnebulous-blog]

A Night at Will’s Pub

(June 18, 2018-11:27 am)

It’s the space between the words that matter. As a writer, I supply a few choice details and the reader must complete the picture and fill that empty space. In that way, every reader is unique and yet one text supplies the foundation for everything.

I have similar thoughts towards music. I don’t just love music, I absorb it like Spongebob Squarepants absorbs fun and laughter. During my brief stay in Orlando with family this summer, I made it over to Will’s Pub for a show.

The website, like the bar, has a good sense of humor. Their bio reads: “Sure, the thousands of children who’ve allegedly been conceived as a result of the joint’s carnal formula of loud-ass rock ‘n’ roll and free-flowing beer is a mildly interesting footnote…Will’s Pub is basically a neighborhood bar that was colonized by the music community as soon as it opened in 1995. And that now-institutionalized culture and ethos have turned it into one of the Sunshine State’s most established live music venues and an anchor of the city’s creative district.”

As I was walking in, some already drunk guy with a size-too-small Gatorade blue blazer asked the bouncer “there’s no re-entry rules right? I’m tryna find a bar.” The bouncer, with recently dyed snow white hair, chided “bar’s inside, where you should be, and where you should stay.” Hey, I’m just here for the music. Let that guy take care of the free-flowing beer.

My first impression of Will’s Pub was that it was an arcade. I tickled with the idea of becoming Orlando’s pinball wizard but I didn’t want to make any of the locals salty. Plus, I had some music and people watching to take in. In the background, I could hear some Matt & Kim playing and I felt like hitchhiking to Maine.

Being tall at concerts has its pros and cons. Pro #1: great view from anywhere. Con #1: every short person in the venue hates your guts because if you’re not standing in front of a wall, you’re blocking somebody’s view. It’s never personal but drunk people at concerts always think it is so I just mosey my way on to the back, where I can see, and where I don’t obstruct anybody’s view. I think venues should sell an obstructed view ticket for areas behind me. They could charge like half price for indoor shows or double price if it’s an outdoor concert and people want shade.

Anyway as I looked at the latest Urban Outfitters catalog, aka the crowd, I thought that I recognized the entire cast of Superbad. Jonah Hill was doing shots with Dave Franco as they debated on what was the craziest thing James Franco ever did. Jonah said “Michael Cera.”

I was feeling as random as Christopher Mintz-Plasse at this concert, waiting for the show to begin. I wasn’t drinking and I was alone so I started writing. I was at this show under professional journalistic responsibility. I wasn’t like the guy wearing hiking boots for all of the snowy mountains in Orlando. I also wasn’t about to do some magic like Draco Malfoy who I saw in the corner. I was there in pink shoes, gray pants, purple glasses, and a trippy George Harrison shirt that really made me look like I wanted to protest the Vietnam war. I wanted to protest how long they give people in between concert sets. Going to a concert, you can get tired of standing and it takes away from your experience. You gotta work out for shows. Leading up to this show, I would go to the grocery store and stand in front of the bread aisle for hours. An employee came up to me and asked if I needed help finding anything. I told her that I knew where to find the sourdough. I was just practicing for standing at a concert.

I was nailing a caricature of someone who looked like a burned-out Justin Bieber in a knit cap when I thought that maybe I was being too mean with my descriptions. First, I think it’s a compliment for this dude because he looks like every girl’s crush from the late 2000s and it could’ve been JB himself. I don’t know what the Biebs looks like today but if he were in Orlando, a knit cap would be a good disguise. And for the record, I was looking like an awkward giant who doesn’t drink or socialize at bars but rather just writes in a little pocket notebook. Yes, we’re all freaks.

Despite the delay, by the time the show started, I was tuned in and ready to groove. As Gayle (Gay-l-e) took the stage, I started wiggling my knees, then came my hips, wrists, and the most important part: the neck. For somebody just starting out, Gayle captured my critic’s heart. She has the potential for star power and really locked into a vibe. She was a one-woman show that used the power of her voice and acoustic guitar to sound like what I imagine an Alanis Morissette concert sounded like. She was like an amateur fusion of Janis Joplin and Tracy Chapman. Yeah, I know, big praise. But she may be on to something. Her songwriting was incredibly compelling and reminded me of Courtney Barnett. She incorporated a call and response element to a few of her songs. One shout went “You can take my money / Give me your CDs.” Pretty cute and catchy.

After Gayle’s set, I hit the bathroom where I saw a mini prayer alter dedicated to Pabst Blue Ribbon. A flag of blue majestically waved at my back as I did my business. When I went to wash my hands, I saw a graffiti tag name in the mirror that said “Earth B. Flat.”

I briefly fantasized about getting pizza and watching Nickelodeon with this guy who looked like the perfect combination of Drake and Josh when suddenly the next band materialized in the corner of the stage. A woman dressed in black emerged from a guitar amp, followed by a stripped-sweater wearing, long hair having man. The two hi-fived, jumped, and tapped their heels twice. Then two more people came out of the same amp and the music started to play.

Sugar Plum’s lead singer had a very delicate accent when she sang. While she was singing, it was as if she was on the brink of losing her accent but she always held on to it. At one point it started floating up but the drummer threw a drumstick (the ice cream cone version) at it and it came down before she finished the song. Sugar Plum was a fun opener but nothing too special. Just good songs, a fascinating singer, and a great drummer. He laid down a few solos and beat-breaks that had some heads turning from beers and significant others to look at the noise.

This whole time I’ve been writing this I haven’t even mentioned who the headliner was. How rude of me! The headliner was TV Girl, a little dream synth-pop outfit outta Cali. Their brief catalog is pretty fun. They describe their music as being “something you can along to, but wouldn’t sing around your parents.” Fair enough but the music is something that I think a lot of people could agree with. The choruses were agreeable in the way that New Yorker comics are. It takes a second to get it and then once you do, you’re happy, amused, and confused in a muted way. The best thing going for TV Girl was that they turned the crowd into a dancefloor. Their biggest setback was that they were not playing music. Fred and Carrie from Portlandia showed them how to “act-play.” They got up on the stage and stood in front of fancy DJ equipment with lots of lights, switches, and buttons. They were convincing and the did actually sing. I think my favorite part was when they said that they don’t know the term puppy love in France. One of their songs, “Seven Days Until Sunday,” has the same chorus as the title. Sounds like a worthy pop chorus, doesn’t it? They’re the type of band to feign irreverence and I’m the type of writer to feign seriousness.

Because my legs felt like angel hair pre-boiling water, I decided to leave. When I opened the door, a cat ran out of a crack in the sidewalk. A sunflower instantly grew right from the same crack. I looked at the door that said “if you are racist, sexist, homophobic, or an asshole… don’t come in” with approval, made my exit, and then made some pasta.  

[adamwatchesmovies]

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

How to Train Your Dragon is wonderful family entertainment that adults will enjoy just as much, if not more than children. The film is filled with imagination, inventive visuals, memorable characters and, as a cherry on top of the sundae, it has a nice message too.

Hiccup (perfectly voiced by Jay Baruchel), a young Viking, lives in a community that is constantly assailed by dragons. Much to his father’s disappointment, always seems more concerned with finding ways to cleverly ensnare than simply attack them head-on with a battle ax. When Hiccup knocks down a Night Fury, the most elusive and deadly of all dragon species, he finds that he cannot kill it, and instead befriends "Toothless".

The visuals here are strikingly beautiful. It's so good-looking you'll mourn having missed out on seeing in the film in theatres, and in 3D. The scenes of Hiccup and Toothless flying through the air, sweeping above the water and beneath rock formations or dashing through clouds are an incredible sight to behold, even on home video. The dragons are wonderful creatures, so inventively designed you’ll struggle to figure out which one is your favorite. The bee-like Gronkle? The two-headed Hideous Zippleback, whose first head spews out a poisonous, incendiary gas and second spits sparks? Maybe it’ll simply be Hiccup’s dragon Toothless. It could be any of them. The movie features about a half-dozen dragons and hints at far more, making you eager (like Hiccup) to learn about them.

While the imagery dazzles, you'll be impressed by the writing, which highlights intelligence and depth, not just the bare-bones characterization we find so often in children’s films. Firstly, there isn't really a villain (Well, maybe a bit at the end, but for the most part no). Hiccup and his father Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler) want to get along; they're just so different it’s hard for them to do understand each other. Stoick is the village's leader, a fierce warrior that has always, like most Vikings, used violence to solve his dragon-related problems. He is responsible for everyone's safety and when a threat comes, it’s his job to eliminate it as quickly as possible. His attitude of “hit first, and then there’s no need to ask questions” really helped him in raising Hiccup, who is small, not particularly brave or steady on his feet. He’s disappointed in his son, but also in himself. As for Hiccup, he yearns to find his place. An outcast his whole life, he hopes killing a dragon will help. He doesn’t resent his father because he knows he's atypical. When Hiccup meets Toothless, he finds in it a kindred spirit. He knows the shoe will eventually drop but is too enraptured in the wonder of flight to worry about that now.

It's one of the best cast animated pictures I can remember in a while. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, as the big, but squeaky voiced dragon nerd Fishlegs, America Ferrera as Astrid, Hiccup’s rival and possible romantic interest and the other Vikings are terrific in their roles. Even between these secondary characters you will find memorable moments and characteristics, making you eager to see more. Then we get to the ending, which is mature and somber. It's much more than the sum of it's big, action-packed sequences of aerial pyrotechnics, dizzying flying scenes and narrow misses. It's packed with emotion, action, and fun. You won't believe it lasts a mere 98 minutes.

I can’t recommend How to Train your Dragon enough. I wouldn’t be surprisesd if it becomes a new classic. (On Blu-ray, July 3, 2014)

[brigade-claire-opinions]

Day 15: Fright Night (2011)

We were originally going to watch the original 1985 Fright Night tonight and then this one tomorrow, but some plans changed and we have easier access to this one, so here we are.

Fright Night is directed by Craig Gillespie and stars the late great Anton Yelchin (May his memory be a blessing) as Charley Brewster, whose new next door neighbor Jerry turns out to be a vampire. After Charley's ex best friend Ed gets got by Jerry, Charley and his girlfriend Amy team up with Peter Vincent, an Actual™ vampire hunter who's seen his fair share.

I'll cut to the chase - this movie is fucking awesome. It wastes no time getting you into the thick of things.

Ed (played by McLovin himself, Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and Charley used to be best friends before Charley got in with the cool crowd. Adam, an old friend of theirs, has gone missing, and Ed enlists Charley's help by blackmailing him with embarrassing home videos from their nerdy days.

After a fight about how Charley's girlfriend Amy turned him into a douche, Charley abandons Ed, who then gets vamped himself in what may be my favorite bit of symbolism in the film. Jerry has Ed, who's holding a cross, cornered in a swimming pool. He then proceeds to Turn Ed underwater, as if he's baptizing Ed as a vampire. We even get a final shot of the cross slipping out of Ed's hand before we cut away.

The cast is easily my favorite part of this movie. Anton Yelchin absolutely slays his role. He sells the part of an awkward teen who doesn't quite know how to deal with his newfound popularity and struggles with maintaining an image he hasn't quite finished creating. He and Mintz-Plasse had such great chemistry as old friends with new differences and some fresh wounds; it's a massive shame that we won't get to see them collaborate again. Hell, Anton had great chemistry with EVERYONE in this film. We lost a giant in that freak accident - Anton's absence in the world of cinema is still glaring.

This Peter Vincent is played by none other than the Tenth Doctor himself, David Tennant. He's so fun to watch in this role, and it's pretty funny to hear the Doctor drop many fuck bombs throughout the film. He even uses his Doctor Who British accent instead of his native Scottish accent - I'm pretty sure he and Gillespie knew exactly which image they were evoking.

Colin Farrell's Jerry really steals the show. He's charming and witty, but still intimidating and relentless. The expectation subversion he gets in some scenes is brilliant. Can't get into the house? Well, let's get rid of the house, then. The victims aren't stopping the car? Well, what if I just tear into the car? He's one of the greatest on-screen vampires I've seen. I hope we see him play another sometime.

Unfortunately, I don't have a whole lot to say about Charley's girlfriend Amy. She's kinda just there to be an accessory for Charley. Sure, she's extremely supportive and understanding of Charley, but we don't really get a feel for her personality outside of "Charley's cool girlfriend." She does get some cool moments, but I wish she'd gotten a bit more of the spotlight.

The score in this film is really memorable - I'm still humming the theme as I type this review. The cinematography is tense and tightly-packed, and the frame composition knows when to keep something subtle and when to focus on it.

I really love that this movie knows that camera lenses are mirror-based, so vampires won't appear in them. It's a smart detail that not a lot of other modern takes think about. I also like that these vampires need permission to enter places and can't just burst into a house - except for vacant ones, we find out at the start. I prefer when vampires turn people by sharing their own blood instead of just through a bite, but that's a nitpick.

This movie is so rad. It's easily one of my favorite vampire movie and one of my favorite films of the 2010s. I need to visit the original at some point so I can see this movie's roots. It's gotta be just as great or better, right?

Tomorrow is my and Rikka's 8th anniversary. To celebrate, tomorrow's film will be something a little different than what we've looked at so far...

[chipmunkfanno1love]

Songs I Hope Will Be Sung in the"Trolls" franchise.

Here are some songs I would love for the characters of “Trolls” characters to sing in the 2020 sequel, the upcoming "Trolls: The Beat Goes On" TV series or possibly the holiday special coming out this year. I could consider these suggestions for other “Trolls” related projects as well. Here’s my list of songs, the characters I think would sound best singing it and possible situations the characters might be while singing it.

A/N: These are purely fan-made ideas and has nothing to do with what is actually going to happen in the franchise. I own nothing related to the “Trolls” franchise, nor do I own any of the songs I have suggested for future related work. Some of these songs have been previously used in other “Trolls” related fan works, so I’m sure I’m not the first person to think consider these songs for the “Trolls” franchise, but otherwise my ideas here are all original I take no credit for any other fan works in which these songs have been in previously. I confess I may have been loosely inspired by other movie soundtracks for my ideas, including “Strange Magic”, “Ella Enchanted”, "An Extremely Goofy Movie”, "The Book of Life" and the Australian film “The Sapphires”. I take no credit for whatsoever for the these soundtracks. I’ve provided video links as shortcuts so you guys can get a feel for the music and lyrics which could be used in the film, but I don’t own any of the videos themselves. Anyway, on to my ideas!

“Trolls 2” song ideas

“I Want to Know What Love Is” originally by Foreigner

Character/s singing: Branch and Poppy

Situation: Branch wants to move ahead in his relationship with Poppy and propose marriage to her, but feels apprehensive about the fact that if he does marry her it will mean that he will become king of the trolls (or prince regent possibly), which is something he doesn’t feel he’s prepared or right for. He also feels fearful of losing Poppy, just like he lost his grandma and doesn’t feel he can face that heartache again.

Poppy is also struggling with her own insecurities, though she’s trying her best to hide them through her usual positive attitude. She wants desperately to be Branch’s wife and for him to be her husband and king (or prince) consort, but she is secretly worried that Branch will break her heart like Creek did.

By the end of the song though, both feel confident that they are ready to take a step of faith in their relationship; truly ready to “…know what love is.”

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raNGeq3_DtM

“I Can’t Help Falling Love With You” originally by Elvis Presley

Character/s singing: Branch and Poppy

Situation: I thought this would be a beautiful song for Branch and Poppy to sing as a romantic duet by the campfire (maybe with use of Poppy’s ukulele). I know a lot of fans agree that this song suits the couple. I imagine it would be a good song for them to sing before Branch proposes to Poppy, or at least the first time he attempts to do so.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGJTaP6anOU

Andrea Bocelli and Katharine McPhee duet version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLS0kRAsSoo

“Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore” by REO Speedwagon

Character/s singing: King Gristle Jr. and Branch

Situation: I thought it would be cool if Branch gave King Gristle Jr. singing lessons (maybe Gristle could play the piano and/or guitar as well). For most of the lessons, Gristle performs incredibly poorly and starts to mope about how he's never going to be able sing. To encourage Gristle’s confidence, Branch suggests that the young king think of the main thing that inspires him and makes him the most happy. For him that's an easy answer: Bridget. Branch himself admits that Poppy inspires him in the same way Bridget does for Gristle, and is his source of happiness. Both men agree it’s their love for their girlfriends that inspires them and gives them confidence.

In his moment of confidence, Gristle finally feels inspired, and begins to sing about how he feels about Bridget. Branch joins in with Gristle, thinking about his feelings for Poppy. I could probably see some funny moments with Gristle doing some rock star moves, e.g. rocking out on a mop like a guitar, hanging his tongue out, etc. I could probably see him and Branch sliding across the floor (maybe Branch could do his tricks on Gristle’s shoulder) and (as the lyrics say) literally crashing through doors as they do it. I could see the song being both comedic and touching at the same time. Maybe Justin Timberlake could take his experiences from coaching Christopher Mintz-Plasse in singing, and play this a bit into his role of Branch coaching Gristle in singing.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpOULjyy-n8

“Open Your Heart” by Madonna

Characters singing: Poppy as a child, teenager and (of course) an adult.

Situation: I thought this would be good song to have in a flashback to Poppy and Branch’s childhood, teenage years and the year before they left for Bergen Town. During the flashbacks we see the day that Poppy and Branch first (officially) met (Branch probably knew Poppy as toddler, but she probably didn’t officially meet him until she got older) and their later years when Poppy tried to win over Branch’s friendship and teach him how to be happy, much to her lack of success. We could also see things from Branch’s point of view, as we see signs of his growing crush on Poppy and his struggles to hide these feelings for her. I could probably see the music sequence being somewhat similar in structure to Disney Frozen’s “Do You Wanna Build a Snowman” as each verse changes to a different stage of Poppy and Branch’s life and how their attitudes changed over time, e.g. with Poppy more determined to succeed but also more frustrated with Branch’s resistance, while Branch continues to act harsh and cold but secretly shows signs of love and attraction towards Poppy in private.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snsTmi9N9Gs

“Smile (Charlie Chaplin Song)

Character/s singing: Poppy and/or Bridget, and (maybe) Branch.

Situation: I thought Poppy or maybe Bridget (if Poppy isn’t around, e.g. if she was kidnapped, and Bridget, Branch and their friends are trying to find her) could sing this song to comfort Branch in a stressful and sad situation. He could sing along himself if he felt up to it.

Glee version video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bZxamUU0x4

“Firework” by Katy Perry and “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey (I thought they would make a good mash-up)

Character/s singing: Poppy, Branch, Bridget, King Gristle Jr. and the Snack Pack.

Situation: Two great songs that would make a good mash-up.

“Firework” video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BtI43kqkOI

“Don’t Stop Believin’” video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBEXSiFzOfU

“Strange Magic” by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)

Character singing: Biggie or Guy Diamond

Situation: I thought this might be a good song for either Biggie or Guy Diamond to sing. I personally would love for more members of the Snack Pack to have their own solos, but I thought this song might be good for either of these two. I imagine either of these two singing this in adoration towards a love-interest as they watch them from a distance. I have an OC in my mind who I thought could be a love-interest for either of them (I might share more information in another post), though I’m open for them being paired with another member of the Snack Pack (there are hints from a Troll-Love Box merchandise that Guy Diamond could be paired with DJ Suki, while Biggie could be paired with Smidge, but that’s not proved to be canon as of yet. I’m personally open-minded to the Guy Diamond/Satin ship).

I personally see either of them being paired with another character and singing this song (plus my next suggestion) in the upcoming TV series.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11A8JZ-RDDo

“Ella Enchanted version” link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WKB23DmFf0

“Strange Magic” movie version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dp97JMRCTY

Silvergolwolf’s Love-Box reference: https://silvergoldwolf.tumblr.com/tagged/love-book

“You Make Me Feel Like Dancing”  by Leo Sayer

Character singing: Biggie or Guy Diamond and (maybe) a new original character or a member of the Snack Pack.

Situation:  I imagine this as a beautiful duet between either Biggie or Guy Diamond, and a love interest of theirs. Ultimately it’s a declaration of love song as the couple dance together in the forest. I may write more information in another post.  

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDlvPD9qCao

“An Extremely Goofy Movie” duet version (my main inspiration for this song): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWykoj8glW8

“Ella Enchanted” remix: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfdc9FkhhJo

“I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) originally by Four Tops

Character singing: Bridget and King Gristle Jr., or Creek (if he’s still alive).

Situation: I thought this song would make a good romantic duet for Bridget and King Gristle Jr. (maybe some of the female trolls and/or Bergans could do back-up vocals). Though I also considered it a good song for Creek (if he’s possibly still alive) to sing to Poppy, as his rather pathetic and unsuccessful way of winning his way back into her affections.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z59EVHU8MjI

“Strange Magic” version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDQva2j-xTQ

“The Sapphires” version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-9clgjzrQc

“I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor

Character singing: Poppy

Situation: I thought this would be a good and fairly comical song for Poppy to sing if Creek ever returned and tried to weasel his way back into her affections without taking any real responsibility for his past actions. To me this song sounds so Poppy! It’s fun and has a lot attitude to it, plus it could give some hints to her relationship with Branch too. I reckon Anna Kendrick would do an awesome job on this song.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBR2G-iI3-I

“Creep” (Clean Version) by Radiohead

Character singing: Teenage Branch (sung in his mind)

Situation: I thought song would work well in a flashback of Branch in his teenage years. I think this song emphasises well of his feelings for Poppy while it also shows his insecurities about himself and his negative grey attitude. I could probably see Branch singing this song (inside his head of course, as he doesn’t allow himself to sing at this stage of his life) after watching one of Poppy’s parties from a distance and seeing her with Creek, which causes some jealousy. I reckon him admiring Poppy from a distance and hearing some of the negative comments Poppy’s friends (especially Creek) are saying about him, like “He’s a creep." and "He’s a weirdo.” (along the lines of the song), and how he isn’t a good influence for Poppy and she doesn’t need to worry about him. Deeply hurt and insecure, Branch continues on gathering sticks while his thoughts sadly sing about how he feels he’ll never be good enough for Poppy; unable to deny his feelings for her nonetheless. The songs lines like “…you’re skin makes me cry.” matches perfectly well to Branch’s insecurities about his grey appearance I think.  

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZiNtbgm9oM

"The Book of Life” version (the level of clean language I think they would need to take in the “Trolls 2” movie if they ever used this song): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzvkrIF95nE&t=5s

“How Will I Know" by Whitney Huston

Character singing: Poppy and (maybe) Bridget, perhaps DJ Suki, Satin, Chenille and perhaps some Bergen girls could do back-up vocals.

Situation: I thought this would be a good for Poppy as she explores her feelings for Branch and tries to figure out if he really is her true love, as she felt certain with Creek previously and turned out to be wrong. Maybe Bridget could sing this song as well as she also has some moments of insecurity in her relationship with King Gristle Jr. I could probably see these two singing this song as a duet, as both try to advise and reassure each other that they have both found the man of their dreams.

A/N: I’ll give credit to FoxesnBoxes Broppy fan video for inspiring me to add this song to this list.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3-hY-hlhBg

FoxenBoxes page link: https://foxesnboxes.tumblr.com/

“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John and Kiki Dee 

Character singing: Poppy, Branch and possibly other characters

Situation: I thought this would be a good song for the main characters to sing during the end credits.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0qW9P-uYfM

Ella Enchanted movie version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6941Mpf4fq0

"Heartbreak Hotel" by Elvis Presley

Character singing: Poppy or the card version of Branch

Situation: A good song for a flashback, to emphasis Branch’s loneliness back in his grey days. Maybe Branch could slam the card shut when it gets to the line ”…I’m feeling so lonely I could die.“ just when it gets to the word "die”.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9BLw4W5KU8

Justin Timberlake cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfDsCEM8kL4

“Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper

Character singing: Branch, maybe Poppy and their future child

Situation: I thought this would be a good song for Branch and Poppy to sing to their future child (I personally think they might have a daughter) as a way of letting her/him know that they will always be there for her/him. I could more imagine Branch and Poppy having a child in a third film if they plan on making one, but you never know what they could do in the sequel.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdQY7BusJNU

“The Girl is Mine” by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney

Character singing: Branch and Creek

Situation: I thought it might be interesting if Creek is still alive and makes a return in the sequel that he and Branch sing a competitive duet as they possibly fight over Poppy. I’m not so sure about my choice of song, but this is the only male duet that sounded best in this situation, plus the fact that one singer is American and the other is British is another bonus. Though the lyrics could be shortened, changed or swapped over to suit the characters better if necessary. I’m open to other suggestions for competitive male duets if anyone can point one out to me.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y96mdVTMByk

"Bye Bye Bye” by *NSYNC

Character singing: Branch, maybe Poppy

Situation: I thought Branch could sing the “…you may hate [it] but that ain’t no lie…bye bye bye.” to mock Creek as he and Poppy throw him out of Poppy’s pod, regarding Poppy rejecting Creek. Plus, maybe Poppy could throw in a “Bye bye!” in speech form as she locks Creek out of her pod. I thought the line could humorous, plus add a bit of nostalgia from Justin Timberlake’s old boy band days.  

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eo-KmOd3i7s

There are other songs I would love to hear being sung in the “Trolls” franchise, including a few solos for the Snack Pack, but I’m not sure what situation to put them in. I thought maybe they might do well in a short film, e.g. something like “Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party” or “Far Far Away Idol”. Even in small clips I reckon these songs could be used.

“Vogue” by Madonna

Character singing: Satin and Chenille

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuJQSAiODqI

“Wannabe” by The Spice Girls

Character singing: DJ Suki and Cooper (on the rap part)

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw-QRyQcFH8

“Jai Ho (You Are My Destiny)” - The PussycatDolls version with A.R Rahman

Character singing: Guy Diamond

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc5OyXmHD0w

Movie version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iYYn0eybkY

“My Funny Friend and Me” by Sting

Character singing: Biggie

Situation: Singing to Mr. Dinkles

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAUZtWQf9kQ

“Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen (only the chorus and bridge rather than the whole song)

Character singing: Bridget and King Gristle Jr.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XucmoWQmO5E

So what do you guys think of my ideas? I’d love to hear your opinions.

[justanothercinemaniac]

Epic Movie (Re)Watch #145 - ParaNorman

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. #176.

Format: Blu-ray

1) It is with this film that Laika proves they were more than just a one hit wonder, that they could make a great film more than just once with Coraline. I’m glad they did, because now we’ve got four great films from the studio.

2) Whereas Coraline was Stephen King-esque in being atmospheric and creepy (almost German Expressionist), ParaNorman establishes that this is a different kind of macabre film. More the fun horror that marked the zombie movies of the 70s than the atmospheric haunts of Coraline. That is not to knock the film or even say it is better than Coraline, but instead to observe that they are different. This is mostly clearly established by the film within the film which opens ParaNorman, definitely made in the style of those old crummy 70s horror films.

3) Norman.

Just like with Coraline, Laika is able to craft a child protagonist who is - above all else - an honest representation of what is’ like to be an eleven year old kid. Norman doesn’t make any effort to hide the fact that he sees dead people and he faces ridicule for that everyday. Except he’s eleven! Eleven year olds are taught to not lie to adults, so why would Norman lie?

But more than that, Norman is a great representation of the “weird” kid. The kid who likes horror and old monster movies, the kid who exists EVERYWHERE in the world but doesn’t often see themselves represented in media (something which feeds their status as “weird”). Like most of these kids, Norman is largely kind but tries to keep to himself. It’s easier that way. Less people to make him feel like a freak. He knows how hard it is that no one listens to him, which makes his superpower being able to communicate to those who are often not heard (aka: dead people). But more on that later.

Norman is just a wonderful character and Kodi Smit-Mcphee does an excellent job as Norman’s voice actor. Like the writing, he is able to portray Norman honestly. No Breakfast Club-y “oh woe is me” stuff, just a quiet frustration from not being listened, from being written off as a freak time and time again. Smit-Mcphee is great in the part and I think Norman is better off by having the actor’s voice.

4) Norman’s family life is INCREDIBLY frustrating to me, but that’s the entire point. Both his dad and his sister are kinda jerks just because Norman’s weird. What’s so wrong with being a little weird? As long as you’re not hurting people. But again, it is a source of great conflict for the film.

5) Norman’s walk through town is uniquely imaginative, showing these ghosts not in a frightening but instead a fun and unique way. They each have their own character we understand in just a few seconds after meeting them. A great way to introduce us to his world.

6) Alvin just makes me…sad.

The total loser asshole who thinks he’s hot shit when really he’s just a moronic bully with an inflated ego of himself. The very existence of bullies like this makes me feel sad about their existence. (I don’t like bullies, can you tell?). Also how much of a tough guy are you if you’re named Alvin? Not to diss anyone with the name Alvin, but it’s not your typical bully name. That may just be the point though, as Christopher Mintz-Plasse (best known as McLovin in Superbad) is not your typically bully voice. In most of his early films, he was the character getting bullied.

7) I always appreciate creative ways of introducing necessary backstory to a film. This movie using the crummy school play to explain the Blithe Hollow witch and her curse is a nice, seamless, and entertaining way of letting us know information which is going to become VERY relevant later on.

8) Ah, Neil.

(GIF originally posted by @kpfun)

Neil is great. Another honest representation of a kid. In this case a kid who isn’t really bothered but the jerks. He knows who he is, he’s fine with who he is, and he’s not going to let anyone feel bad about it. He’s also IMMEDIATELY nice to Norman and throughout the film he is consistently loyal to him, always listening to what his friend is saying. He also just accepts the fact that Norman can see ghosts, without question and without judgment. I really like Neil. I think we all need to be a bit more like Neil.

9) Uncle Prenderghast.

John Goodman has a brief but memorable role as Norman’s Uncle Prenderghast, who can also see ghosts. HE is able to play Prenderghast’s sense of crazy quite well, coming off as wonderfully unkempt AND giving us our best earliest flavor for the film’s sense of humor.

[Uncle Prenderghast dies, his spirit starts to leave his body, then the spirit comes back to his body and he sits up.]

Uncle Prenderghast [laughing with glee]: “No! Not yet! Not ye-”

[Uncle Prederghast dies and becomes a ghost.]

Uncle Prenderghast: “Oh nuts.”

10) THIS. FREAKING. SCENE.

Norman [after causing a scene at the school]: “I didn’t ask to be born this way.”

Perry [Norman’s Dad]: “Funny. Neither did we.”

Sandra [Norman’s Mom, to Norman]: “You know, sometimes people say things that seem mean but they do it because they’re afraid.”

Norman: “He’s my dad. He’s not supposed to be afraid of me.”

Sandra: “He’s not afraid of you. He’s afraid FOR you.”

I have so many emotions here. After Perry’s snide comment I’m truly angry, but then when Norman makes the observation about fear I get sad and then after Sandra’s line about why Perry is afraid I stay sad but like a different kind of sad if that makes sense. It’s just, I love everything about that exchange.

11) I will say, this film I think is funnier than Coraline.

Uncle Prenderghast’s Ghost [asking Norman to keep the witch’s curse at bay]: “SWEAR!”

Norman [after hesitation]: “You mean…like the f-word?”

12) This film gives us two great meta jokes back to back.

[Norman’s phone rings and it’s the Halloween theme]

Text Message: “Come to the window.”

[Norman goes to the window and jumps at what he sees.]

Neil: “You wanna play some hockey?”

It knows the genre it’s playing in and does it wonderfully.

13) This line sort of breaks my heart.

Norman [after telling Neil about the witch’s curse]: “Go home Neil. I’m better off on my own anyway.”

Norman is used to people not listening to him and holding him back because of it. He really doesn’t feel like he has anyone to count on, so he’s not used to Neil’s support and instinctively sends him away. That’s a really lonely life.

14) There are certain quotes in films we should all try to live our lives by. This is one of them:

Grandma: “There’s nothing wrong with being scared, Norman. So long as you don’t let it change who you are.”

The brief moments we see between Norman and his grandma provide a nice, interesting relationship. I sort of wish there were more of them but I also appreciate how the film flows as is, so I’m glad we got the peek we did.

15) This film does a good job at being scary when it wants to be. The scene when Norman is snooping around his dead uncle’s home looking for the book he was told about actually had me jumping a little bit. I love that.

16) I just want to take a minute to appreciate how this scene is visually.

The horror fantasy of this world just erupted in a no-holds-bar way and that is made very clear to us as the audience in an effective way.

17) I love Anna Kendrick in anything, even if it’s just her voice.

Norman’s sister Courtney is a wonderful kind of awful. She’s the bratty older sister who doesn’t really care about her brother at the start, he’s just an embarrassment. But as the film goes on you can see that the two are siblings and that they will stand by each other. But while Courtney is being more antagonistic we are given some strong comedy and character and Kendrick’s voice just works wonderfully in the part.

18) Neil’s brother, Mitch.

Mitch is a really fun character. He’s sort of your atypical dumb jock type but we get to see more of that. We get to see how he’s not the worst older brother, how he’s less of an outright jerk to Norman and more just an insensitive dunce, and he has some of the best comedy moments in the film. Mitch’s voice actor, Casey Affleck (who I will only be discussing in the context of this film, not the controversy which surrounds him because this really isn’t the best place for me to talk about that) uses his wispier voice to add a juxtaposition between Mitch’s body and his mind, being able to convey his warmth/humor/thickness in a unique and entertaining way.

19) Once the entire ensemble comes together, there is some wonderful comedy.

Alvin [after the zombies trap him and Norman]: “Are they going to eat our brains?”

Norman: “I think you’ll be safe.”

Just a heads up: out of the next seven notes, about six of them deal with how strong the comedy in this film is. You have been warned.

20) The zombies trapping Norman and Alvin in dead Uncle Prenderghast’s house actually creates some nice scary moments, while still keeping the humor and heart this film has established so far. Working well in the genre it has established to create tension and stakes while also providing us with some good laughs.

21) There is some really strong slapstick comedy with the zombies in this film, let me just say.

(GIFs originally posted by @the-light-of-animation)

22) I told you the next few notes are me going to be commenting on how strong the comedy in this film is.

Courtney [to/about Norman]: “I just knew something like this was gonna happen tonight?”

Mitch [sincerely]: “You did? Wow! Because that zombie bit really threw me.”

23) This is quite possibly my favorite joke in the whole film.

Neil [to Mitch]: “You’re the oldest.”

Mitch: “Not mentally!”

24) Okay, I swear the next note after this will be more than just a comment on how funny something in this film is. But come on, the vending machine scene…

25) The message of this film ends up being incredibly surprising and compelling. The fact that the zombies are NOT the monsters in this situation, but the people just start attacking the zombies because they’re different. That the people are the ones who’s arms break through the walls of city hall like it’s Night of the Living Dead. That the living human beings who act based on fear and bias are more dangerous than the living dead. I think that’s a really strong message that the film works quite well with, elevating it above just your standard genre film.

26) Okay, this is the last note on a joke for a while I swear. But, come on…

(GIFs originally posted by @the-light-of-animation)

27) This is one of a few scenes which breaks my heart:

Courtney: “I’m scared Norman and I can’t listen to this anymore.”

(GIF source unknown [if this is your GIF please let me know].)

The most frustrating part of the existence of the average kid is that no one listens to them. That they are written off or talked down to even when they’re right and/or dealing with some massive situation. “They’re just a kid,” is a common phrase to diminish the actions or feelings of a child. And that SUCKS. It sucks being consistently not being heard, being consistently written off. The reason so many kids feel like no one understands them is because so few people TRY to understand kids. We forget how hard it was being a kid because why would we want to remember that pain? That frustration? Being an adult is hard enough, it’s easier to think that being a kid was easy. But it’s not. And kids everywhere constantly wonder what they’re doing wrong that their life isn’t as easy as how adults remember being a child is. And it just sucks.

28) Honestly, this is the scariest part of the movie for me:

(GIF originally posted by @maggins)

The big bad witch, the one the entire town’s tourist industry is based on, the one who’s death has become pop culture for them inspiring casinos and school plays celebrating her death, that witch…was a seven year old girl who was executed because she was different. Because adults were afraid of her and acted badly out of it. And the scariest thing is: it’s not that far from the truth. Look at Salem. Look at somethings today. People hurting innocents just because they don’t understand them. Just because they’re different. History is marked by putting people - including children - to death because they were misunderstood. The scariest part, the most heartbreaking part, about the reveal that the witch is a seven year old girl is that it’s the least fictional part of this movie.

29) For how much of an awful sister Courtney can be in the first half of the film, remember this: she stands with Norman fist. It’s her brother standing in front of an angry mob defending a bunch of zombies and she doesn’t even really hesitate (only enough to process what’s going on) before she stands with her brother and shouts the adults down before anyone else. Before Neil, before Mitch, before Alvin. Courtney is there for her little brother. And because of her everyone else follows suit.

(GIFs originally posted by @the-light-of-animation)

And then she encourages Norman! She helps him! Albeit with a very Courtney speech, but still she supports him!

Courtney: “I have cheered the uncheerable Norman. I’m not letting you give up now.”

30) Okay, so I’m not done commenting on how funny some of the jokes are in this film.

[Norman, Courtney, and the zombie are in the backseat of their parents car]

Courtney: "Ugh, Norman! He’s on my side of the seat.”

Norman: “She wants you to move over.”

[Zombie groans at Courtney.]

Courtney: “Um, I heard that! Mom, stop the zombie to stop saying stuff about me!”

Norman: “Will you quite using the z-word?”

Courtney [mocking]: “Will you quite using the z-word?”

Perry: “So help me I will stop this car right now if all three of you don’t quite it this instant!”

31) Okay, the entire Norman/Agatha climactic scene.

(GIF originally posted by @ikejamese)

This line of, “I don’t want to go to sleep and you can’t make me,” as a whisper in Norman’s ear in nothing but silence is a great way of establishing how straight up scary Agatha can be.

I love this electric design of Agatha.

Agatha has always been stopped in the past by someone reading a bedtime story to here, and Norman KNOWS this isn’t changing anything it’s just delaying it. So he uses the format of a bedtime story “Once upon a time…” to relate to Agatha and what she’s been going through in a way which frightens her. Because that’s something she’s buried away. She doesn’t want to be afraid, she wants other people to fear her. And it really shows how Norman’s superpower is communicating because he is able to do what no one else has: he is able to actually talk to Agatha.

The visuals for this scene are just incredible. Not only with Agatha, but with the void and the fighting and…gah! It’s delightful eye candy.

And then when Agatha goes back to being Agatha, this scare little girl who was hurt worse than any seven year old ever should, my heart breaks.

(GIF originally posted by @laikaworld)

And in the continuing trend of this scene breaking my heart:

Aggie: “I just want my mommy.”

(GIF originally posted by @marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer)

32) I think it’s really powerful that, once the curse is lifted and the zombies just go back to being ghosts, they don’t smile. They’re not at peace. They still have to exist with that guilt and the fact they murdered an innocent girl because she was different than them. They don’t deserve a smile. I love that.

33) THIS! FREAKING! SCENE!!!!!!

(GIF source unknown [if this is your GIF please let me know].)

I believe Mitch is the first openly gay character in a mainstream animated film. In an interview with EUR Web, co-director Chris Bulter said:

It was part of the tolerance thing. It seemed important that we be brave about it. If we’re saying to anyone that watches this movie don’t judge other people, then we’ve got to have the strength of our convictions.

I love that.

34) With this film, Laika starts a tradition of including a fun “behind the scenes” post-credits clip showing how they make some of their film. It shows just how much they care about their work and I love that we got similar bits in The Boxtrolls and Kubo and the Two Strings. It’s basically the featurette below, just watch from nine seconds to a minute and nine seconds.

ParaNorman is a great film. It has an incredibly strong message of tolerance and making sure you don’t let your fear change you, the animation is exquisite, there is just so much humor and heart, there are some truly wonderfully frightening moments, the voice acting is incredible, and it is just an amazing ride through and through. Go see it if you haven’t watched it yet. Seriously.

[funnythingshere0-blog]

Zach Dunn Doesn't Want You to Think He's Weird

New Post has been published on https://funnythingshere.xyz/zach-dunn-doesnt-want-you-to-think-hes-weird/

Zach Dunn Doesn't Want You to Think He's Weird

Zach Dunn. Photo: Hannah Nayowith/Courtesy of Zach Dunn

Zach Dunn (@ZachBDunn) is a comedy writer in Los Angeles. He was a writer and co-producer for seasons two, three, and four of Mr. Student Body President on go90. He currently writes for the UCB Maude team Somebody’s Baby and is on the editorial team at Botnik Studios.

This week, Dunn talked with me about editing tweets, following other comedians, and avoiding certain topics.

Will be forever blown away by the comedic heavy lifting being done by the two commas in this song title pic.twitter.com/0LHNZ8wifx

— Zach Dunn (@ZachBDunn) May 28, 2018

My friend Jake was telling me about a podcast he listened to that went into great detail on these Burger King ALF novelty record giveaways and we ended up going down a rabbit hole and listening to all the songs (we are grown men). All credit should go to whatever ’80s copywriter came up with “Take Me ALF to the Ballgame,” which one could argue was, in many ways, the first-ever tweet.

How much do you edit your tweets? This may destroy my well-established bad boy persona, but I definitely think about phrasing and word choice a lot when I’m writing tweets. That being said, I think most of my good tweets come more organically while the ones I spend more time on can sometimes turn out … not as good.

My parents always ask the stupidest questions during movies, like “Why do you keep tweeting about everything we say?” and “Can’t we just enjoy our limited time together?”

— Zach Dunn (@ZachBDunn) December 28, 2017

A lot of my tweets come out of frustration I feel with certain joke formats and premises that I see over and over again. It was around the holidays and as everyone was posting their jokes about the crazy stuff their parents said I found myself imagining a very sad scene of these poor parents sitting patiently while their child crafted a tweet roasting the very idea of their existence.

What does your newsfeed look like? I seem to almost exclusively follow comedians and writers that feel the exact same way that I feel about everything. There are a lot of super funny people from New York and Chicago on my newsfeed that I’d be afraid to talk to if I ever met them in person. Also, largely because of Hayes Davenport and his podcast LA Podcast, I’ve recently started following a bunch of local journalists’ accounts that tweet exclusively about urban walkability and road diets and metro ridership, so hopefully that will make me a smart person at some point. But my favorite account will always belong to MLB slugger Jose Canseco. He doesn’t tweet as often these days … but when he does? That’s a damn home run.

Watching a movie. Don’t wanna say which, but……holy hell can this rat cook

— Zach Dunn (@ZachBDunn) November 14, 2016

With this one I specifically like that the guy in the tweet has decided, for whatever reason, that he does NOT want to reveal what movie he’s watching. I’m calling it right now: punchlines are yesterday’s news — it’s all about setups from here on out, folks!

What, in your mind, is the perfect tweet? I love this Joe Rumrill tweet.

[to tune of “yellow” by coldplay] 🎶 He’s Selma’s star / Lincoln, Jack Reacher too / What can’t this actor do? / He’s David Oyelowo 🎶

— Zach Dunn (@ZachBDunn) February 14, 2017

I’ve always liked writing song parodies and this is a personal favorite. For whatever reason they’re usually about very specific actors (David Oyelowo, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Paul Dano, The SMILF). I wrote a full-length version of this Oyelowo song that I’ve performed live one time, to rapturous polite laughter.

What topics, if any, feel off-limits? It’s less that I feel like certain topics are totally off-limits, and more that I know I’m almost always the wrong person to tackle them. There are so many hilarious people who are so much better equipped than I am to write jokes about race/sexuality/identity/etc. And in turn I have the equally important responsibility of writing jokes about funny signs I saw.

How has the way you’ve tweeted changed over time? Well for the first few years that I had Twitter I basically only tweeted to participate in podcast T-shirt giveaways. I wanted to post jokes and stuff, but I was in high school and was afraid people would see them and think I was weird (apparently I didn’t have this fear about the podcast T-shirt giveaway tweets).

I eventually got over that and starting posting actual jokes in college. In recent years I’ve started tweeting more often, and more for my own enjoyment. It’s all so pointless and dumb so I figure I might as well just use it as a place to practice joke-writing and have fun. Also I want to add that if any of my high school classmates are reading this, I still hope you don’t think I’m weird.

Karen Chee is a Brooklyn-based comedian who writes for The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, and Shondaland, among other cool websites.

Source: http://www.vulture.com/2018/08/zach-dunn-twitter-interview.html

[anerdsmovieblog]

Most Anticipated of 2019

This is a little late, because one of these films is already out. But it's a packed year with lots of exciting movies, so here are my top 20 most anticipated movies of 2019, with a few honorable mentions.

Honorable Mentions:

All You Need Is Love

Chaos Walking

Ford v. Ferrari

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Joker

Knives Out

20. Men in Black: International

Release Date: June 14

Directed by F. Gary Gray

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Emma Thompson, and Liam Neeson

19. The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part

Release Date: February 8

Directed by Mike Mitchell

Starring Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, and Tiffany Haddish

18. Artemis Fowl

Release Date: August 9

Directed by Kenneth Branagh

Starring Ferdia Shaw, Miranda Raison, Josh Gad, and Judi Dench

17. Hobbs & Shaw

Release Date: August 2

Directed by David Leitch

Starring Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, and Vanessa Kirby

16. X-Men: Dark Phoenix

Release Date: June 7

Directed by Simon Kinberg

Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, Sophie Turner, Nicholas Hoult, Tye Sheridan, Evan Peters, and Kodi Smit-McPhee

15. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Release Date: October 18

Directed by Marielle Heller

Starring Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Susan Kelechi Watson, and Chris Cooper

14. Frozen 2

Release Date: November 22

Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee

Starring Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, and Sterling K. Brown

13. Detective Pikachu

Release Date: May 10

Directed by Rob Letterman

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Karan Soni, Justice Smith, Ken Watanabe, Kathryn Newton, and Bill Nighy

12. Dumbo

Release Date: March 29

Directed by Tim Burton

Starring Colin Farrell, Eva Greene, Danny DeVito, Michael Keaton, Alan Arkin, and Nico Parker

11. Glass

Release Date: January 18

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Starring Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, James McAvoy, Spencer Treat Clark, and Sarah Paulson

10. Jumanji 3

Release Date: December 13

Directed by Jake Kasdan

Starring Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Danny Glover, Awkwafina, Danny DeVito, Alex Wolff, Madison Iseman, Morgan Turner, and Ser'Darius Blain

Welcome to the Jungle was a fun movie while also respecting the first film. Excited to see the third one!

9. How to Train Your Dragon 3: The Hidden World

Release Date: February 22

Directed by Dean DeBlois

Starring Jay Baruchel, America Ferrara, Gerard Butler, Cate Blanchett, Kristen Wiig, Kit Harington, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Craig Ferguson

This series is my favorite by DreamWorks Animation, and I have been waiting for this one since the second one ended.

8. Captain Marvel

Release Date: March 8

Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck

Starring Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Clark Gregg, Jude Law, Gemma Chan, Lee Pace, Ben Mendelsohn, Annette Bening, and Djimon Hounsou

Marvel's second Female-led film after Ant-Man and the Wasp, and the first solo female hero movie in the MCU. It's an important film to release and important to see. Plus we get some 90s vibes in the MCU.

7. Shazam!

Release Date: April 5

Directed by David F. Sandberg

Starring Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Djimon Hounsou, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Asher Angel

Being a lifelong lover of DC, I am excited with every new movie we get. Zachary Levi is one of my favorite actors and I can't wait to see him playing this hero.

6. Spider-Man: Far from Home

Release Date: July 5

Directed by Jon Watts

Starring Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal, Cobie Smulders, Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Jacob Batalon, and Michael Keaton

Another Spidey adventure, and Mysterio at last! Need I say more?

5. Toy Story 4

Release Date: June 21

Directed by Josh Cooley

Starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Jordan Peele, Keegan-Michael Key, Keanu Reeves, Patricia Arquette, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, Laurie Metcalf, Kristen Schaal, Bonnie Hunt, Timothy Dalton, John Ratzenberger, Jodi Benson, Tony Hale, Blake Clark, Estelle Harris, and Jeff Pidgeon

Another episode of toys making me cry.

4. The Lion King

Release Date: July 19

Directed by Jon Favreau

Starring Donald Glover, Beyoncé Knowles, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, John Oliver, John Kani, Keegan-Michael Key, Alfre Woodard, and James Earl Jones

A live action adaptation of my second favorite Disney movie. I am there.

3. Aladdin

Release Date: May 24

Directed by Guy Ritchie

Starring Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Will Smith, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, and Billy Magnusson

A live action adaptation of my favorite Disney movie. I am there.

2. Avengers: Endgame

Release Date: April 26

Directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Brie Larson, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, Paul Rudd, Don Cheadle, and Josh Brolin

The end result of 11 years of storytelling. This is beyond amazing that this series has made it to this level.

1. Star Wars: Episode IX

Release Date: December 20

Directed by JJ Abrams

Starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Kelly Marie Tran, Richard E. Grant, Keri Russell, Domhnall Gleeson, Lupita Nyong'o, Joonas Suotamo, Billie Lourd, Dominic Monaghan, Matt Smith, Greg Grunberg, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams

The end of the Skywalker Saga. The trilogy I've waited for since I was 16 is ending. And it will be incredible.