#Elliot Greenberg

[sesiondemadrugada]

Smile (Parker Finn, 2022).

[thebutcher-5]

Smile (film)

Benvenuti o bentornati sul nostro blog. Nello scorso articolo abbiamo messo in pausa il cinema e siamo tornati ancora una volta a parlare di fumetti, questa volta con il primo volume di una nuova serie fantasy nostrana che sembra avere un grande potenziale, Kalya. La storia ci narra di Kalya, una ragazza che insieme al suo amico goblin Tagh vive alla giornata per sopravvivere, fino a quando non…

[blowflyfag]

WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE :  NOVEMBER 2002

SOLITARY HELL 

By Keith Elliot Greenberg

Will Kane’s Fellow Freaks Still Be There For His Comeback?

The months had been long and cruel. Every morning, Kane reached for his injured bicep muscle, squeezing it, flexing it, wondering if it would feel the way it did when he’d been at the top of WWE. There were days when he was ready to quit, convinced that he’d never be the man who’d held the WWE Championship in 1998. Pain shot up and down his arm, from the wrist to the shoulder blade, and Kane would scream in agony, frustration and anger at his inability to get back in the ring and trample his foes. 

At night, he would sleep restlessly, sometimes imagining that he was back at full capacity, crooking his arm under an adversary’s chin and clamping on the pressure, wringing an opponent’s head until their mouth hung open and the blood vessels burst above their eyebrows.

Then, there were the other dreams, the ones in which Kane was ambushed by his enemies, his arm draped around the ring post or through the gap in the center of a folding chair. Always, his opponents would yank his arm, stretching the tendons until they tore. They would lay his elbow on the ground and come down on it with both boots, or lift the ring stairs aloft, plunging the steel steps onto the injured area. 

At times, the dream seemed like a movie, with Kane observing his own ruin as part of the audience. The clamor of the crowd would dissolve into numbed silence. THe only noise would come from the objects smashing against his body, the grunts and whoops of his attackers, and the primal cries emitted from his throat as Kane felt his career slip away from him. 

Kane would howl like an animal caught in a trap in the middle of a forest. The other Superstars would be in the back of the arena, watching from the other side of the curtain, and monitoring the carnage on the TV screens positioned in the dressing room. As Kane gritted his teeth and endured the thrashing, he’d look beseechingly down the aisle, waiting for rescue–from a former tag team partner, an athlete of lesser proportions, or any of his “fellow freaks,” who he had aided during a time of distress. But the aisle would remain empty, and Kane would have to suffer his fate the way he always had–alone. 

The bedroom would be dark when Kane sprang awake, the blankets on the floor, the sheets drenched in sweat, the pillow cases torn off. He’d leap from the bed, thrashing about, trying to grab the opponents from his nightmare and fight them off. Then, he would steady himself on a dresser or the edge of a chair, and understand what was happening.

All his life, he’d lived in fear, but always fought through it. Now, the pattern was recurring. While his fans awaited his return from injury, his foes–and even some men who publicly claimed to be his friends–were gleeful. At night, their dreams were the same as Kane’s, except when they arose each morning, they felt refreshed and overjoyed, believing that once the former WWECHampuion returned to action, one coordinated assault might eliminate him from the sport of kings forever. 

Bugt Kane knew that he could never be eliminated. There was too much fight in him for even an army of rivals to defeat. During his waking hours, he’d summon up the dread that invaded his nightmares and channel it in a way that strengthened him. He dutifully attended physical therapy, pushing himself even harder than he was advised, knowing that he would never rebound to his former status by simply going through the recommended motions. 

As his injury healed, he returned to the gym, testing the bicep muscle by pressing and curling astonishing amounts of weight. WHen that goal was met, he’d spread mats on the ground, and lock up with a number of sparring partners. Sometimes, they exchanged fundamental holds; other times, he encouraged them to gang up and jump him. 

Kane would fight back with the fervor of a man about to lose his life. He cracked one sparring partner’s knee, and broke another’s jaw. And still, he hired more to come after him, like hunters in the jungle. It was the only way he’d be prepared for the treachery that an athlete of his stature encounters after a long layoff in WWE.

When Kane fina;y returned to WWE, he was clearly a man transformed by his long exile from the ring. Immediately, both fans and fellow Superstars noted that he looked different. His body was stronger, and his mask had changed. Those brave enough to inquire about his new appearance were initially met with story silence. 

According to people in Kane’s camp, at least one of his advisors suggested that the gargantuan shed his camouflage completely, exposing countenance to the millions of followers who’ve always wondered about the true appearance of the man they’d come to romanticize. But Kane dismissed the idea immediately, refusing even to indulge the advisor in a conversation. 

Apparently, Kane needs his mask as a barrier from the rest of the world. To show his face would be to affirm that he was human–a declaration he is not ready to make. 

Close associates have explained that Kane realizes that he’s on his own more than ever before. Never one to mix easily with other Superstars, Kane has reverted further into himself. To this day, he is periodically haunted by the gruesome dreams that characterized his time away from the mat. And each nightmare has reaffirmed the suspicion that lay at its core. 

Privately, Kane has stated that he never intends to trust anyone or anything other than his own drive and ability. In times past, he cautiously opened himself up to the others: family members, tag team partners, women who claimed to see something special beyond his scarred facade. Rather than finding fulfillment in these relationships, Kane was punished for revealing what others interpreted as weakness. Later, when these confidants turned against him, his emotional vulnerability allowed them to wound him in ways that went far beyond the physical. 

Yet, anyone who has spent even a few fleeting moments with the Superstar understands that, his actions notwithstanding, he desperately covets the approval of the fans. When they’ve rejected him, their jeers formed deep abrasions in his spirit. And when they’ve accepted him, Kane has admitted to feeling an emotion that has evaded him for most of his life: Contentment. 

Even during his most grueling matches, Kane is known for looking out into the crowd and locking eyes with certain types of people: children from dysfunctional families who’ve never felt settled in one place; tall, powerful men branded “oafish” rather than mighty; overweight fans who have endured the teasing by their peers and yearned to achieve a measure of revenge.

Since his emergence in WWE in 1997, Kane ‘s followers have kept track of every development in his career: his World title reign, his acquisition of the Intercontinental and Hardcore Championships, his six WWE Tag Team crowns. Everytime he chokeslammed or piledrove an adversary, or put his life at risk in a ring surrounded by fire or a casket match, these enthusiasts were convinced that a small part of Kane was battling for them. 

During his last run in WWE, his fan approval rating soared to unprecedented levels. Grateful, Kane began referring to his supporters as “Kane-nites.” After a victory, he’d hearten them with a declaration of “Freaks rule!”

But during his sabbatical, Kane wondered whether the Kanenites would wait for him, or move on to performers like Rob Van Dam, John Cena, Rey Mysterio or other dynamic personalities who eclipsed him in his youth. No matter what Kane might say in public, there is no question that he wants Kanenites to remain behind him. Still, after a lifetime of misfortune and disillusionment, he understands that he can’t solely depend on them to sustain him.

Ultimately, Kane will have to–once again–make it on his own.

[controlthesleeve]

Ralph Macchio really turned down a part in The breakfast club lmao

From Ralph Macchio (1987) by Keith Elliot Greenberg

[greenbergsays]

Heeeey Greenberg, you know how you mentioned Elliot and an Inception cross over? That's a pretty cool plot bunny... just sayin

Listen, if I thought I could ever pull off a Leverage or Inception fic, you’d probably be able to talk me into it (if I ignored my To Write list)

But I’m not confident enough in either of worlds to ever attempt it 😂

It’s nice to think about tho!!!

[thetrialgroundshq]

mwm fcs and canons? <3

»» ⸻ ❝ characters: teen wolf: derek hale, stiles stilinski, vernon boyd, isaac lahey, jordan parrish, noah stilinski, chris argent, peter hale, jackson whittemore, alan deaton, danny mahealani, bobby CUPCAKE finstock, greenberg ; tvd: elijah mikaelson, stefan salvatore, damon salvatore, marcel gerard, kai parker, luke parker, alaric saltzman ; supernatural: sam winchester, crowley, ash, adam milligan, michael, raphael, gabriel, azazel, ramiel, asmodeus, dagon, alastair, horsemen of apocalypse ; »» ⸻ ❝ fcs: idris elba, keanu reeves, manny jacinto, isaiah mustafa, tom ellis, elliot fletcher, alexander & bill skarsgård, alberto rosende, avan jogia, aubrey joseph, mads mikkelson, sean teale, xiao zahan, woo do-hwan, raymond ablack, sen mitsuji, rahul kohli, eliot page, lee je hoon, andrew koji, taehyung, norman reedus, timothy olyphant, riz ahmed, michiel huisman, tom holland, cody christian, ahn jae-hyun, hiroyuki sanada, sam adegoke, kit young, édgar ramírez, ross butler, hayden christensen, mason gooding, ben barnes, aaron taylor johnson, george mackay, justin h. min, richard madden, theo james, luke pasqualino, chance perdomo, henry cavill, rege-jean page, peter gadiot, chace crawford, dj cotrona, john krasinski, manny montana, henry golding, penn badgley, michiel huisman, cillian murphy, woo dohwan, sebastian stan, lee do-hyun & ewan mcgregor !

[shadowwingtronix]

"Yesterday's" Comic> Total Recall movie adaptation

BW's "Yesterday's" Comic> Total Recall movie adaptation

Arnold is watching you sleep…and with whom. He’s jealous. Total Recall DC Comics (1990) SCREENPLAY: Ronald Shusett, Dan D’Bannon, & Gary Goldman, with John Povil helping on story ADAPTATION: Elliot S. Maggin ARTIST: Tom Lyle COLORIST: Lovern Kindzerski LETTERER: Bob Pinaha EDITOR: Robert Greenberger I also reviewed the novelization as my third Chapter By Chapter series. (more…) “”

[combatfaerie]

WWE's an ocean liner. When they have to make a move, it really takes a lot of time. We're a cigarette boat. We can swerve in. We can swerve out.

Joe Koff (from Too Sweet: Inside the Indie Wrestling Revolution by Keith Elliot Greenberg)

[spdk1]

REVIEW: Follow the Buzzards - Pro Wrestling in the Age of COVID-19 (2022)

REVIEW: Follow the Buzzards – Pro Wrestling in the Age of COVID-19 (2022)

A book by Keith Elliot Greenberg As a wrestling fan, 2020 started like just about any other year. I recall attending my very first All Elite Wrestling show in February, during the lead up to the AEW Revolution pay-per-view, and thinking that this was probably one of the best times to be wrestling fan in years. There was more than one BIG company out there, and largely everyone was doing well on…

[justtheendoftheday]

Crawl (2019)

“It’s flooded. There’s alligators everywhere. Please send help.”

—————————————

While going to assist her father evacuate during a massive category 5 hurricane a woman winds up trapped by not only the storm, but also by a very ornery alligator that found its way into the basement.

—————————————

Fright: 2 / 5  Dangers of Climate Change

It’s much more of an action-thriller styled horror movie than a particularly frightening one. So it tends to trade more in building and releasing tension/excitement than in generating fright. Lots of jump scares though.

While it might have you gripping the edge of your seat at times, it probably won’t keep you up at night.

Although often the fear in a movie comes from you imagining what it would be like if those things were to happen to you. But since I am a dweller of the Midwest of the USA, I can honestly say that hurricanes and coming across an alligator in my basement are two things that I’ve never had to worry about.

BUT if you live somewhere where either of those things IS a possible concern, feel free to adjust my score accordingly.

Gore: 2.8 / 5  Gator Bites

As one might expect from a movie about gator attacks, you can expect to see some gator bites and a few randos being torn asunder. But honestly if it wasn’t for a couple of gory scenes involving a broken bone, I’d have given it a much lower score.

With that notable exception, the film is actually surprisingly light on gore and any of the handful of scenes involving heavier caliber gore are usually over pretty quickly.

Jump Scares: Frequent

This is one of those movies where if you suspect a scene is gearing up for a jump scare...you’re probably right.

Once things get rolling I’d say you can expect a jump scare every 10-12 minutes until you hit the credits.

—————————————

Review:

Crawl is a fun gator-filled hurricane romp with a strong understanding of the fundamentals of the action-thriller horror movie style. However, it frequently interrupts the thrill ride with its many attempts to shoehorn in some cliched sports/family drama.

Thoughts:

Does anyone else get secretly excited when they hear about an animal-attack horror movie that isn’t about sharks?

I’m just so tired of sharks!

What do all these filmmakers have against sharks anyway? (get a better mayor already, Amity Island!)

But alligators getting into your basement during an epic storm? Color me intrigued.

But for as jazzed as I was to see this one, I have to admit I left the theater with some mixed feelings. And judging from its other reviews, it would seem that I wasn’t the only one.

For me it boils down to this: Crawl is a film that absolutely nails the fundamentals of an enjoyable animal-attack action-thriller movie, yet tends to whiff on its attempts at delivering any sort higher drama. So while it isn’t as good as it could have been, it’s still pretty fun to see someone craft such a solid horror base.

I mean, there’s a lot to like here. The set up for the family drama is actually really well done. I thought Kaya Scodelario did a fantastic job as the leading lady. There are some wonderfully memorable moments and iconic shots that I love. And I just can’t help but be endeared to those big scaly babies of order Crocodilia.

But there I’d be, enjoying some quality Monkey Brain vs. Reptile Brain action, when the movie would suddenly hit the brakes in order to return to its shallow sports drama cliches. And it just always felt so forced.

Drama of any sort is a tricky little beast. You can’t half-ass it. If you want get into tangled web of interpersonal drama you gotta commit the time and energy to it. Gotta set that shit up, develop it, and let it grow into the story naturally. You can’t just play the usual cliché classics set list and then expect the audience to automatically feel something.

And to be fair, Crawl is far from the first movie to try to shoehorn some underdeveloped drama into their story. But because it’s an action-thriller, every forced father-daughter moment or over-dramatic Gotta give 110%!-sports cliche just wound up killing all their built up momentum.

(Also, this is nether here nor there, but I was also hoping that they would make some comments about climate change...and they never touched the topic directly.)

You know what? I’m actually struggling to thing of much to talk about with this one. It’s a pretty basic movie. You'll have to dive into the gritty details of it if you want to find the depth.

Which sounds like I’m ragging on it, but really I have no problem with a movie that first-and-foremost wants to be fun.

Crawl is just the type of movie where your first thoughts immediately go to its failures and it’s only when you allow yourself to past those failures, that you can appreciate all the wonderful things it did right.

Jeeez, that motivational speech? It was straight out of some sports movie! So awkward, amiright?…

Okay, but...but that part where the alligator ******** and so she **************?...that was friggin’ awesome.

—————————————

—————————————

Content warnings: An animal is killed (a croc) [but the dog remains unharmed!], there’s a bit where a broken bone is set.

After-credits scene?: None

—————————————

Directed by: Alexandre Aja

[The Hills Have Eyes (2006), Piranha 3D (2010), Horns (2013)]

Written by: Michael Rasmussen & Shawn Rasmussen

[The Ward (2010)]

Edited by: Elliot Greenberg

[Quarantine (2008), As Above, So Below (2014), Fantastic Four (2015)]

Cinematography by: Maxime Alexandre

[The Crazies (2010), The Voices (2014), The Nun (2018), Shazam! (2019)]

Country of Origin: USA

[with help from Serbia and Canada]

Language: English

Setting: Coral Lake, Florida, USA

[pretty sure Coral Lake isn’t a real town in Florida?]

If you enjoyed this you might also like: Lake Placid (1999), The Shallows (2016), Piranha 3D (2010)

“Apex predator all day!”

[sesiondemadrugada]

To the Bone (Marti Noxon, 2017).

[blowflyfag]

WWE SMACKDOWN MAGAZINE: SEPTEMBER 2005

MNM

“WE’RE GOING TO BE BIGGER THAN ELVIS”

By Keith Elliot Greenberg

You might say that MNM is rewriting history one snapshots at a time. Each time one of the paparazzi snaps their picture, it helps their star shine just a little bit brighter. In fact, they enjoy having their picture taken so much that they named their fishing move the Snapshot. And similarly, every time they nail the move, it brings them one step closer to becoming one of the greatest tag teams of all time.

With each victory, the trio becomes more and more resentful of those who apparently dismissed MNM as a fad that would soon fade. In the August issue of Smackdown! Magazine, Nitro said, “We're going to be bigger than Elvis, bigger than the Beatles.”

When you make statements as pompous as that, it’s understood that many will root against you. But MNM expected contempt from opponents, as well as the fans they’d derided as “too weird, too fat, too stupid, too scared, or too damn normal.” Now the trio believes their harshest detractors are the same journalists and paparazzi profiting from covering the electrifying new tag team.

“I have plenty of admirers in high places who’ve told me what these weasel journalists utter behind our backs,” Melina says. “I heard that some even started a pool over whether we’d be on a losing streak by the time the August issue of SmackDown! On sale–and guess who’s on the cover?” 

To a degree, Melina’s self-righteousness is reasonable. After all, many observers initially tagged MNM as the team more famous for its look than anything else. Even before their first match on SmackDown!, MNM was trailed by photographers more intrigued by the threesomes' unique appearance than its achievements.

When Nitro & Mercury captured the WWE Tag Team Championship in their very first match, the popular consensus was that the gold would slip through their fingers right away. They were too arrogant, too shallow and too inexperienced to remain at the top of the tag team ranks. Somehow, MNM proved all their critics wrong. And, now, when the paparazzi appear, there’s a legitimate reason why the pictures are in such great demand. 

In April, the team came out of nowhere and captured the titles from Eddie Guerrero & Rey Mysterio–two proud Latino stars not accustomed to getting bested by untested talent. Although tensions had been simmering between Guerrero & Mysterio already, the loss sent their relationship into a tailspin. The two were soon bitter enemies, and when they reconciled for one night to challenge for MNM’s championship, the result was disastrous.

In the aftermath, Mysterio was plagued by troubling doubts, while Guerrero appeared to be possessed by demons. Meanwhile, MNM’s light only burned brighter. 

“That’s what we do,” Melina says, “We take the icons you people have chosen to worship, and we reduce them to nothing. We’re competitors, baby. And when you compete, some people lose and some people win.” “We happen to choose the latter.”

That was made abundantly clear when MNM tangled with Heidenreich and his new “friend,” Road Warrior Animal. The cocky young tag team held their ground against Animal–at one time one-half of perhaps the greatest tag team ever-refusing to be intimidated by his legendary status.

“The Road Warriors, The Midnight Express, The British Bulldogs, The Dudley Boyz, all those tag teams everyone talks about as being so great,” Melina says. “Yeah, they were probably all right in their day, but that’s the past. This is now. MNM is the tag team of the present, and of the future. Deal with it.” For Melina, that aggressive spirit extends outside the realm of tag team combat. Repelled by the notion that her fellow WWE Divas are paragons of beauty, Melina has used both violent language and sadistic behavior to diminish their status.

In one memorable confrontation with Michelle McCool, Melina actually asked her boys to remain backstage. Melina then tore into the athletic blonde with an aptitude that matched the newcomer’s managerial abilities. In the end, Melina survived a dropkick and a spear. But as her opponents straddled the ropes, punching downward, Melina shook off the bows, snatched Michelle, and defeated her with a powerbomb. 

Even among MNM’s enemies, there were immediate comparison to other females who established themselves in WWE as managers, but ultimately transcended the role.

Today, for instance, few recall that Trish Stratus actually entered WWE as the manager of T&A–the hulking duo of Albert (later A-Train) and Test. Like Melina, Trish drew fans with her good looks, but she had greater ambitions. After she struck out on her own, she dominated the Women’s Division.

Parallels have also been made to Sunny, the stunning cover girl who shepherded several teams to tag team gold in the mid-1990s. In the process, she gained a reputation as a woman who pretty much attained anything she desired. 

Others theorize that Melina’s career may most closely resemble that of Sensational Sherri. At different stages, Sherri managed Shawn Michaels, Randy Savage and Ric Flair, and also held the Women’s Championship.

Yet, those who focus on Melina fall into the trap MNM hopes to set–diverting opponents away from the strengths and weaknesses of Nitro & Mercury.

Mercury all but admitted this recently when he told a reporter, “While our opponents are busy thinking about Melina, talking about Melina, and, yes, fantasizing about Melina, Johnny and I can pretty much step into that ring and do whatever we want to them.”

Because of their early success, Nitro &N Mercury’s potential is sometimes compared with the records of other WWE newcomers who swiftly rocket to the top of their profession. But such comparisons mean little to them.

“We hear people comparing us to guys from back in the day like Kerry Von Erich, because he burst on the scene and won the Intercontinental title right away,” Mercury says. “But those people just don’t get it. Bon Erich already established himself years before when he beat Ric Flair for the NWA title. Unlike the ‘Texas Tornado,’ we walked into WWE cold. We came out of nowhere and shocked all the so-called experts.”

“I mean, sure there were Superstars like Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar who came here and won titles right off the bat, but even those guys didn’t do what we did,” Nitro says. “Angle was an Olympic gold medalist; Lesnar was an NCAA Champion. WWE fans had no idea who we were that first night, when we debuted in Madison Square Garden. But we changed all that by winning the WWE Tag team titles that same night. Now, everyone knows who we are.” Perhaps it’s more appropriate to measure MNM next to Carlito, who won the U.S. Championship in his first SmackDown! match, or Christian, who earned the Light Heavyweight title in his WWE debut. Both came out of nowhere and very quickly grabbed the spotlight. And in both their cases, they have remained among WWE’s elite ever since.

“To all those people who say we got lucky, I have news for you,” Nitro says. “We were lucky the day we were born. Not everyone is blessed with the attributes we were given. And that’s too bad. But nobody says that life is fair. It’s not really our fault if we’re perfect in an imperfect world.”

It’s an attitude MNM carries on the red carpet and , as the results have shown, into the ring as well.

[arutai]

Ellen Page by Jill Greenberg

[nuooage]

Paul rudd in living with yourself(2019)

[thetrialgroundshq]

mwm?

»» ⸻ ❝ characters: teen wolf: derek hale, vernon boyd, isaac lahey, jordan parrish, noah stilinski, chris argent, peter hale, scott mccall, jackson whittemore, alan deaton, danny mahealani, bobby CUPCAKE finstock, greenberg ; tvd: klaus mikaelson, elijah mikaelson, stefan salvatore, damon salvatore, marcel gerard, kai parker, luke parker, alaric saltzman ; supernatural: crowley, ash, adam milligan, michael, raphael, gabriel, azazel, ramiel, asmodeus, dagon, alastair, horsemen of apocalypse ; »» ⸻ ❝ fcs: idris elba, keanu reeves, manny jacinto, isaiah mustafa, tom ellis, elliot fletcher, alexander & bill skarsgård, alberto rosende, avan jogia, aubrey joseph, mads mikkelson, sean teale, xiao zahan, woo do-hwan, raymond ablack, sen mitsuji, rahul kohli, eliot page, lee je hoon, andrew koji, taehyung, norman reedus, timothy olyphant, riz ahmed, michiel huisman, tom holland, cody christian, ahn jae-hyun, hiroyuki sanada, sam adegoke, kit young, édgar ramírez, ross butler, hayden christensen, mason gooding, ben barnes, aaron taylor johnson, george mackay, justin h. min, richard madden, theo james, luke pasqualino, chance perdomo, henry cavill, rege-jean page, peter gadiot, chace crawford, dj cotrona, john krasinski, manny montana, henry golding, penn badgley, michiel huisman, cillian murphy, woo dohwan, sebastian stan, lee do-hyun & ewan mcgregor !