#aaron reads out loud for both of them because if alex does it he adds his own commentary

[ovrarches]

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!!

To @jittyjames who asked for “hamburr + just them being soft, romantic, and fluffy”. Here they are doing just that; sometimes all you need in life is a boyfriend, a cat, and five thousand books💕Hope you like it!!

Thanks so much to @hamevents2024 for putting this event together! Have a great heart day everyone :)

[searchin-for-an-urchin]

(Sleeping) Like A Rock Aaron Burr x Reader Chapter 4

Masterlist

T/W none!

W/C 1.8k

Chapter 1 Chapter 2  Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9  Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12

Masterlist

Chapter 4 (Sleeping) Like a Rock

The following week went by quick and before you know it, it was the second Friday after the project started, and you were sitting at the kitchen island drinking your glass of water and reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (again: you wanted to make sure it was something Charlotte could enjoy) while Charlotte was setting up the research station; a laptop, textbooks, highlighters, papers, and a file box full of what they’ve already learned. Today they’re trying to organize everything even more. It was already 4:30 when your phone begins to ring.

“Hello?” You answer without glancing at the caller ID.

“Laurens number 2!” A cheery voice calls out from the other side.

“Hamilton!” Charlotte perks up hearing that you’re talking to Alex, and rushes over to you. Before giving him a chance to explain why he’s calling you remark, “Hey, Alex, Charmander wants to talk to you,” and hand off the phone to your daughter, who prattled on bubbly while you continued reading. After a few minutes and a bad joke (from both your daughter and your friend) the phone is being placed in your hand again, and she is running off to play in her room with her music loud enough to reach out to the living room.

“Sorry about that, Charlie’s missed you and wanted to talk to you,” you confess. “What’s up, Hamilton?”

“It became apparent to me that you and Aaron had not exchanged phone numbers, so he called me to ask to tell you that he was stuck with a client until 5, but he and Theodosia will be there soon after that.”

“Oh!” You respond, “I must admit I had become slightly concerned. We’ll have to do that when they get here, I guess.”

“Hey Y/N?”

“Yeah, Alex?”

“I’m going to ask a question, but before I do I want to clarify that I am in my car at the moment by myself.”

“Uhm. Why does that matter?”

“Because I want to ask you how you feel about Aaron.” You don’t say anything, and close your book. At this moment, your breath hitches, and you can feel your face heating up. While you aren’t surprised that he would ask a question like that, you are surprised that he asked so eloquently and thoughtfully, instead of blurting it out like normal. You think about how to respond, when you think back to what your brother said to you, and figured now was better than never.

“I’ll answer that question after you answer this question: John told me to ask you about him, like it was a bad thing that I was flirting with him. What’s up with that, Alex?” You hear a groan on the other line, when he mumbles an insult about John under his breath.

“Of course he told you that. Professionally, I don’t like Burr- he just doesn’t let his beliefs be known or show any actual feelings about anything-”

“Or get riled up unnecessarily about everything, like you?”

“Hey, no need to get defensive. That’s just professionally. I don’t dislike him personally. I’m actually not sure what got John so riled up.”

“Really, that’s all? He’s just in control of his beliefs? Is that all you don’t like about him?” You pay especially close attention for any change in his voice, but are relieved when you don’t find anything as he answers,

“Really, Y/N. I don’t know what’s up with John, but Aaron’s a stand-up guy. I knew him when he was married to Theodosia Sr., and he was always there for her, and has always been there for his daughter. When his wife died, he was devastated, but he really stepped up in taking care of Theo, in all respects he’s really a good guy, I can give him that much.” Your breathing returned to normal and the weight on your shoulders is lifted off.

“Thanks for your honesty, Alex.” After another breath, and before he could even remind you of your end of the deal you explain, “I’m not sure what I feel for him at the moment. I mean, I enjoy his company and I don’t mind flirting with him at all, but in all actuality, I’m still trying to figure it out.”

“That’s fair. You haven’t really had a relationship in years, so I don’t blame you for being cautious.”

“I appreciate your understanding, Alex, because apparently John and Peggy don’t get it.” Alex chuckles,

“Not surprising. They don’t believe that starting relationships can take work from the beginning, but nonetheless, if it’s what you want I’m sure you’ll achieve it.”

You both said your goodbyes and notice that it wouldn’t be too much longer before Aaron and Theo would be arriving. After hanging up the phone, you were left with a sense of power and capability. The faith that Alex had in you, has always had in you, is astonishing. When you first found out you were pregnant with Charlotte, Alex was the first person who could tell you that you would be an amazing mother, and the first to not negatively react to the news. Whereas John, Peggy and your own parents stressed out over you being an unwed mother, especially not knowing the father of your child. You never even learned his name, that’s how unplanned the one night stand was.

You return back to the book and read more, smiling softly to yourself. Alexander’s support was important, and sort of a compass to see if you’re truly doing what you are wanting to do, or if it’s a genuinely stupid idea that you aren’t seeing. The friendship between the two of you is strong enough that it hasn’t been shaken over the years, and you definitely wouldn’t have it any other way. Reminiscing about the stupid things the lot of you (you, Peggy, Alex, and John) did in college put a bright smile on your face that remained as you opened the door about fifteen minutes later. Your smile deepened even more when you saw Aaron’s apologetic smile and Theo’s exasperated look. Theo starts to explain immediately,

“I’m so sorry, Ms. Y/N! Daddy had to work and he got sidetracked, and…” her breathing is erratic as if she ran here the whole way, and you start giggle.

“It’s okay, Theo. I totally understand how demanding jobs can be.” She nods enthusiastically as you smile at her.  “I think Charlie is still in her room, but she’s ready to work when you are!” Theo runs past you and into your daughter’s room, leaving you and Aaron smiling widely at each other.

The two of you sit at the island for an hour while the girls work hard on their projects, when you hear Charlotte talking about being hungry. After figuring out that no one had any other plans for dinner, you and Aaron decided to make dinner for the four of you. Aaron helped by chopping up the veggies and meat for the stir fry while you prepped the wok and the seasoning.

“Well isn’t that something,” you hear from Aaron after a few minutes as he hands you the food he’s done chopping.

“Hm?” you respond, not really paying attention. He nudges your attention towards the living room where the girls are giggling while cleaning up the project supplies.

“It looks like they’re actually getting along, Y/N. This project actually worked out well.” When you glance back at Aaron he isn’t looking towards the girls, but rather at you, with a gentle smile on his face. A blush covers your face and you grin back. When the food is almost done and you call the girls in to help set the table, Charlotte and Theo run up to you and Aaron to ask a question.

“We were wondering…” Charlotte started.

“If the two of us…” Theo adds, pointing between the two of them.

“Could have a sleepover tonight!” Charlotte finishes. “We have that extra trundle bed underneath my bed or we can sleep in the living room!” The girls surprised you both with the question, as you and Aaron are stunned in silence.

“How about the two of you go wash your hands in the bathroom while Y/N and I talk about it?” Charlotte and Theodosia both agree and run to the bathroom, while you marvel at the fact that the two of them have actually become friends.

“So?” Aaron asks you, with the same smile on his face.

“I honestly don’t mind- two kids are easier than one at this age, and we do have the room. I’m also really glad they’re getting along.” You hear him breathe in relief, and he agrees.

“Are you sure it’s okay if they stay here, though?”

“Oh, absolutely, we’ll have a fun time; we’ll do makeovers and play dress up and all the girly jazz. It’ll be a fun time. If I need you for anything, I’ll make sure to call or text.” He nods, and adds, pulling out his phone,

“Speaking of. We actually need to exchange numbers.” You pull out your own phone and input each other’s number. The girls are already sitting down at the table when you and Aaron finish and bring in the food. They were delighted to hear that the sleepover was approved, and the excitement was reflected in both you and Aaron’s faces when you made eye contact with each other.

After dinner Aaron and Theo run home to pack her some clothes while you and Charlotte grab some ice cream, popcorn, and a movie if Theo wasn’t into Sailor Moon. When you arrived back at home, the two of you planned out the rest of the evening. Aaron and Theo came back about an hour later, with a backpack full of sleepover supplies and Aaron carrying a basket of games and snacks.

“Theodosia here insists I stay and play for a while. Is that okay?” Aaron inquires with an uneasy smile. Charlotte interrupts and says yes fervorously, without giving you a chance to agree just as happily. After three hours of board games, ice cream sundaes, the four of you are settled around the television watching Sailor Moon. Each time Aaron tried to leave, Theo or Charlotte insisted he stayed for “one more round” or “one more episode”. Each time one of the girls said this, Aaron turned towards you, silently asking if you were okay with him staying, and each time you returned with a smile indicating that you were, indeed, okay with this.  

The next morning you wake up in the living room, with Charlotte curled up on the loveseat and Theo curled up in the armchair. You, were on the couch tucked up by Aaron, who had his head leaning on yours and his arm wrapped around you. Once your mind realized where you were, your face turned bright red. Well. You cuddle back up and think to yourself before falling asleep 

“This is definitely one way to flirt; sleeping like a rock.”

[gazzhowie]

My Top 25 Movies of 2020.

It is indeed time… or at least, as is tradition, it is indeed now overdue for me to dust off the cobwebs from my Tumblr account and post my Top 25 movies of the year. This time for 2020. That funny old year, huh? Where - if some are to be stupidly believed - “no films got released because of the pandemic”.

I thought I was done with this after 12 years and concluding with my Top 25 of the decade effort and yet here I am. Back rather egotistically because 2 people told me how much they look forward to reading this. Go figure! Years 2008 through to present are available in the archive. Frequent visitors know that I’ll throw out a few special mentions to all the films that I wish I could’ve included but couldn’t make them fit yet believe they deserve a shout out regardless and then I get stuck in to what I think are the 25 best films of the year.

As always, films listed are based on their UK release date whether that’s in the cinema or on DVD, VOD etc. Anyway, without further ado, here’s the ‘also-rans’ and ‘near-misses’ separated per genre that very nearly made the final list:

Setting my stall out straight away, Steve McQueen’s Small Axe was very much TV to me and won’t get ranked within my film listing. I loved two of the efforts a great deal (Education and Mangrove), liked two but found them lacking (Red, White & Blue and Alex Wheatle) and did not get what everyone else seems to from the other (Lover’s Rock).

In terms of documentaries this year, I thought Frank Marshall did a fabulous job with The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend A Broken Heart; a comprehensive study of the personal complexities and professional excellence of an incredibly underappreciated band. I found On The Record to be a difficult but inspiring watch and its background ‘politics’ exposed the hypocrisy of Ava DuVernay and Oprah Winfrey in a manner we’re not talking loud enough about. Hitsville: The Making of Motown was an extensive, lovely historical tribute to an era and a style of music, full of great tunes and equally great talking head anecdotes. And finally Belushi managed to find fresh angles and previously untold stories about one of the most mythologised comedy stars of all time, simply by pulling the man to the forefront ahead of his talents.

For dramas, I enjoyed Trial of the Chicago 7 a great deal and am an absolute sucker for the work of Aaron Sorkin but bad casting (Eddie Redmayne) and stunt casting (Sacha Baron Cohen) hurt this film. I’m a sucker for a disaster movie and Pål Øie made an incredibly entertaining one with the Norwegian high-melodrama, The Tunnel. Edward Norton’s long-gestating Motherless Brooklyn was a solid, old-fashioned PI yarn with some great casting to back it up. It’s the most alive Bruce Willis has been in years and it served to remind you that Alec Baldwin can be quite the terrific actor when he’s not being an utter joke of a human. I liked The Vast of Night a great deal when in the throes of watching it but liked it less in the aftermath. Cut Throat City was the underrated dramatic gem of the year in a lot of ways and showed that RZA has a great deal of skill as a legit filmmaker, when not being caught up in the ‘gimmicks’. O.G finally landed here via Sky Atlantic of all places, rather than any sort of VOD release, and it was an enthralling drama that served to remind us all how brilliant Jeffrey Wright can be when not overacting to the point of cringe or being stuck with really terrible writing (hello, TV’s Westworld!).

With the blockbuster season at the cinema all but dead from the outset, the joys of the action genre were to be found in the little b-movies tucked away on streaming platforms and VOD. Quick notable exceptions were The Outpost which was a reminder that Rod Lurie can deliver a hell of an action sequence, blighted by truly awful film-damaging casting and Extraction which was a well-directed derivative piece of hokum. Donnie Yen delivered an earnest, entertaining end to one of the surprise action franchises of the last decade with IP Man 4 that not even Scott Adkins could fuck up. Hack director Deon Taylor accidentally delivered Black and Blue; a pretty good ode to the ‘man on the run’ non-stop action thrillers of the 80s and 90s – with Naomi Harris killing it in the lead role. Netflix tucked away two of the greatest b-movie actioners of 2020 with The Decline (a ‘Doomsday Preppers’ training camp goes horribly wrong) and Earth & Blood (a sawmill owner uses his place of work as a battleground to take on the cartel). And, finally, the Ma Dong-seok (aka Don Lee) Taken rip-off Unstoppable arrived to streaming and turned out to be vastly superior to all of the films it was a knock-off of.

It was a great year for horror, especially if you were open to the sort of scares you were after. Sea Fever didn’t stick the landing but delivered an ace sense of foreboding and tension building for the most part. Harpoon was a sneakily nasty, surprisingly engrossing, violent little film. VFW was a lot of fun but nowhere near as good as its concept and cast suggested it was going to be. It’s also been subsequently marred by the stories coming out of its production and the revelations about Fred Williamson. I thought Come To Daddy was an absolute gift of a horror comedy that kept swerving whenever you thought you had a handle on where it was going. And Elijah Wood continues to show himself to be an American national treasure. After Midnight was an intriguing relationship drama with a horror bent and You Should Have Left, the Stir of Echoes reunion we’ve all long sought, would work as an off-kilter double-bill with it. Kevin Bacon is brilliant in it. Vampires Vs The Bronx is a totally disposable but immensely fun ode to The Lost Boys and The Monster Squad that’ll serve you well on a lazy Saturday night. Black Water: Abyss was a really good little creature feature with a ridiculous ending that infuriates. And Train To Busan: Pennisular was a pretty shit Train to Busan sequel but an immensely entertaining post-apocalyptic zombie action movie.

Onwards is worth mentioning for the fun and moving animated ride it initially presents as but, like too much Pixar nowadays, it does not hold up to repeat viewing.

Comedy-wise, I thoroughly enjoyed Bill & Ted Face The Music but thought its gag-rate was far too hit and miss for it to take a place on the top spot. Buffaloed was a kind of “M’eh” blue-collar Wolf of Wall Street with yet another fantastic ‘How the fuck isn’t she a huge star already’ turn from Zoey Deutch. Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made was a quirky out-of-leftfield oddity that me and my eldest son enjoyed a great deal. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga was not the travesty you would’ve thought it’d be, mainly because of Rachel McAdams, but if Will Ferrell had just leaned a little harder towards his more absurdist style of humour (the killer fairy shit for example?) this could have been so much more. Finally, the second Borat film had some utterly majestic moments of cringe-comedy that make it worthy of a mention but the mechanics of joke-execution and faked set-pieces were far more on show this time around.

And now, if you’re still hanging in there that is, here is my actual Top 25 films of 2020…

25. Skyfire

I don't know whether it's because I’ve been starved of my usual 'Summer Silly Season' this year but I absolutely fucking LOVED this. It's the stupidest, most ridiculous, relentlessly bonkers "Jurassic Park - but with volcanos" fare you could ask for. I have no idea what the fuck Jason Isaac is doing in this but I’m so glad he is because it just adds to the glorious WTF-ery of it all. It's 30 minutes of mechanical lay-up followed by 60 minutes of non-stop, audacious carnage. It's been a long time since me and my wife have had this much fun watching something.

24. Bad Education

Dropped exclusively to Sky Cinema here, this is a great little film that has a shocking true story at its centre. Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney are absolutely terrific. Both of them are the sort of talents who've been in bad movies but never ever given a bad performance regardless.

Here both Jackman and Janney are having a ball with the material and they elevate a very good film into something that demands to be seen.

23. Blood Quantum

This was definitely one of the first-class b-movie horrors of the year for me. It does wonders on screen with very little AND it gives a shot in the arm to the zombie subgenre. It leads you into thinking you're getting yet another zombie-breakout film before expertly wrongfooting you into growing into something else. It's a Native American NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD meets MAD MAX!

22. Bad Boys For Life

This was a first-rate blast, it really was. From the inexplicable reusing of the 'Simpson/Bruckheimer' production card to the reworking of Mark Mancina's original theme, it draws you straight back to that 1990s blockbuster vibe. It's not just very funny and stacked with some pretty decent action sequences but, rather bizarrely, it actually has something interesting to say about ageing and masculinity... because nowadays Joe Carnahan is killing it when it comes to introspective recalibrations on what it means to be a man. If you were to spoil this movie for someone and reveal what the "twist" is it would sound like the stupidest, hokiest shit ever. And yet inexplicably they make it work. And furthermore, Martin Lawrence goes from the tag-along in this franchise to the platinum level MVP here. The entire final third is held up higher by his insanely good line delivery ("Would you fuck a witch without a condom?") and it's most likely how he plays shit as to why that stupid, hokey plot twist works as well as it does.

Over the course of three separate decades each BAD BOYS entry has, in itself, served to be a somewhat accidentally perfect reflection of the very cinematic decade it landed in: The first is possibly one of the last to truly and wholeheartedly successfully land that perfect marriage between the 'MTV era' and the blockbusters; bringing about the boom of the "music video director as filmmaker" that the 1990s became well known for. The second was a pitch perfect reflection of the gratuitous, often empty-headed, completely excessive pop culture period we were birthing in the 2000s. And the third lands now, right in the very time period where masculinity is being put under a spotlight and men are being asked to be more self-reflective about themselves and their conduct.

With that said, the fourth will obviously therefore land sometime in 2029 and deal with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence wandering a pandemic-ravaged Miami wasteland.

21. Wolfwalkers

This is one of the most lovely, visually wondrous, sumptuous animated films you'll experience this year. Or in quite some time, actually. It’s not just a great adventure film but it’s also a really effective ‘message’ movie that manages to teach about tolerance and friendship along with the perils of fear-mongering, without ever being overly preachy.

20. An American Pickle

This was one of the surprises of the year for me; I THOUGHT I was getting a quirky Seth Rogen fish-out-of-water comedy and instead I got that... with a massive dollop of heart, humour and interesting things to say about legacy and 'cancel culture'. I liked it a lot. It's also further evidence of how intriguing a talent Seth Rogen is becoming; jumping between broad commercial fare and original off-kilter stuff like this, producing and developing fascinating projects for film and TV and working to pass the ladder back down to others too.

19. Get Duked

I say this with only a modicum of bias as I know someone who worked a little bit on this film but this was genuinely brilliant - the absolute laugh-out-loud delight we all need right now. At the time I watched this I don’t think I’d smiled in nearly a fortnight but this broke through with me. Its wrap-up is a little too silly for its own good but that aside, this thing is absolutely stuffed with some TRULY great gags! This is one of the best comedies of the year for me.

18. Host

I had been giving this the big ol' swerve because it sounded like unoriginal, overhyped pish frankly and... fuck it, if that hype isn't absolutely deserved: It's a lean, effective, scary incredibly enjoyable ride. Made all the more fascinating by the fact it was made remotely on a shoestring with the director apparently never being in the same room as his cast at any one time due to Covid restrictions.

NB: I could not find a GIF to represent Rob Savage’s Host sufficiently so here’s Jack Black doing a backyard pandemic dance instead... 

17. Sweetheart

What a crackin, lean, little horror thriller it is. It gets straight underway from its fade-up and never overcooks itself or leans hard on lazy exposition, silly character actions or bad deus ex machinas. Remember when Jonathan Mostow made BREAKDOWN and it felt like such a shot in the arm for the man-against-the-odds/standard thriller? This is like that - but for survival dramas and creature features! It commits fully to its high concept, helped along by a truly excellent performance by Kiersey Clemons and some really well-delivered set-pieces (that first flare scene is very well done!). If you watched Tom Hanks in CASTAWAY and thought to yourself "This film is great but what it really needs is a monster!" then this is definitely the film for you. And if you believe the rumours, it’s allegedly a sneaky Creature From The Black Lagoon redo for Blumhouse’s expanding ‘Monster Universe’ too.

16. Soul

I really connected with this. I like Inside Out a great deal but I’ve never understood why it's spoken of as a flawless masterpiece when it's overlong, tonally all over the place and has clunky as fuck casting. In the same breath, I don't understand why the reviews for this are so disparate. I thought it was a wonderful way to spend 100+ minutes. It was visually inventive, funny and inspiring. It doesn't quite seed its VERY deep otherworld-building foundations and Graham Norton doesn't really work in his role but overall I thought it was a delight. And, unlike Onwards, it really does lend itself to repeat visits.

15. Tenet

I had real trepidation about seeing this what with the reviews being all over the place but... well... Is it complete, barely comprehensible bunkum of the highest order? Yes. Could the film have benefited from Nolan letting his brother Jonathan have a pass at the script? Hell yes! Is it most definitely not the majestic masterpiece of masterpieces it thinks it is? Yup. Yet in spite of ALL that I had an absolute blast with it, I really did. If you give it a seconds thought it crumbles completely as the utter egotistical piffle it really is. But where it excels is in looking so gorgeous, being so kinetic and massive with its action and casting with actors who sell the shit out of a hokey script that you're so consumed with the spectacle you don't smell the bullshit until its over. Washington Jr has come out of nowhere these last few years to make me a big fan of his work - and Robert Pattinson has went from being an actor I couldn't fucking abide to being someone I now really rate and who I came away from watching this thinking "Yeah, that's your goddamn perfect James Bond right there!"

14. Da 5 Bloods

It works infinitely better as a 'men on a mission' action adventure shot through the off-kilter lens of a Spike Lee "joint" then it does as a searing commentary about race, war, etc. And that's probably why Spike's choice to include real war atrocity photos and documentary footage alongside the narrative doesn't land as successfully as he probably intended it to. But as an overall film, it's a genuinely great watch. Delroy Lindo has always been one of the greatest working actor. Here he perhaps delivers his ultimate masterclass. Regardless of whether awards season moves online or not, you cannot have any SERIOUS dialogue during it that doesn't have his performance heading the conversation. Ignore the dickheads online putting this in the same bubble as TROPIC THUNDER or DIE HARD (??). This is a wink and a nod to TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE and APOCALYPSE NOW, through and through. It's big, bombastic, broad and unafraid to swing out in every direction. It's not flawless but that doesn't mean it's not fuckin ~great~!

13. His House

This very much stands as both one of the most impressive debuts and modern horror movies I’ve seen in quite some time. It's an effective, lean, interesting film that buries under your skin and takes up residency there. Go into it knowing as little as you possibly can and then let it scare the shit out of you and, in its reveals, kick the shit back into you.

12. Tread

I really, REALLY liked this. It's my favourite documentary film of this year - made by that fella who did the bonkers-bad killer dog in the warehouse movie with Adrian Brody, no less! It's an absolutely fascinating true story I knew nothing about, brilliantly intermingling talking heads, archival news footage, dramatic reconstruction and audio recordings. It'll really drop your jaw - it's most definitely one of those 'needs to be seen to be believed' type deals because if you described this to someone as having happened they'd never believe you!

11. Bacarau

No plot description really does this film justice and the less you know going in the better an experience you’ll have. It’s an odd, deeply violent, unsettling, darkly funny, bizarro confection of The Most Dangerous Game meets Assault on Precinct 13 and… well… even that doesn’t really do the film any justice whatsoever. It’s a critique of dire political circumstance mixed with political satire mixed with the tropes of the Western, the siege movie and both horror and comedy. It’s very much its own thing. And that’s what makes it so wonderous.

... and it’s sort of both wondrous AND weird that when searching for Bacarau related GIFs, this was the Brazilian offering I was given! I apologise.

10. Alone

I found this came out of nowhere to be one of my favourite films of the year; a crazily efficient, brutal B-movie without an inch of fat on it that works its propulsive and well-structured screenplay hard to make you feel like you're seeing a new variant on the "stalked woman in peril" film. John Hyams - son of Peter and the man who reconfigured the UNIVERSAL SOLDIER franchise to superb effect - has made one hell of an effective movie that beautifully captures the vastness of the Pacific Northwest: this is one part DUEL, one part FIRST BLOOD, all parts odes to everything from THE GREY, I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE and the last third of THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. It's very easy to make films like this. But it's clearly hard to make them as great as Hyams has done here, otherwise everyone would be doing it. Maybe coz what those films don't have is lead performances as strong and brilliant as Jules Willcox and Marc Menchaca give here.

9. American Murder: The Family Next Door

This is an incredibly powerful true crime documentary on a horrific tragedy, in which Jenny Popplewell tightly and clinically weaves through police interviews, news coverage and Shanann Watts' phone, laptop and social media to weave a moving and ultimately devastating portrait of her and her children's death at the hands of one of the worst forms of evil I’ve ever been exposed to. This still haunts me to this day.

8. Greyhound

I was really impressed with this. A crisp, lean, tension-drenched watch with yet another rock solid Tom Hanks performance centring it. It strips back all the tropes of these war pictures - the character backstories about post-war hopes and dreams, the cutaways to the families back home, the subplots involving the villains - and keeps a propulsive commitment to just this situation, this boat and the people on it; who only talk to one another about the job they're doing. As a result, it's completely involving and committed with action set-pieces that are clean, tense and entertaining as hell. Genuinely had a great time watching this and highly recommend it.

7. #Alive

Whilst the TRAIN TO BUSAN sequel earned rightfully shakey reviews, think of this as an unofficial prequel / 'side-sequel'. It is a tight, disciplined thrill-ride that throws up some interesting spins on old zombie set-pieces (climbing zombie vs. toy drone, for example). It may well deflate as it heads to its denouement but all before it was strong and entertaining enough for it to stand as one of his favourite horrors from this year.

6. The Invisible Man

This started good... then got very good... then got quite frankly flat-out tremendous and then entered a final third flipping anyone the 'bird' who thought that the trailers gave too much away. There is some truly tremendous, inventive and not at all 'cheap' jump scares. In fact, the whole second act is nothing else BUT terrifically effective scare after scare. All bolstered by a REALLY committed lead performance by Elizabeth Moss. Between this and UPGRADE, Leigh Whannell has not only become seriously one to watch but he's possibly just outed himself as John Carpenter's one-true heir.

5. Lynn + Lucy

I was left completely broken by this - what a truly fantastic piece of British cinema; a dark, uncompromising morality play for the modern age with a truly jaw-dropping performance by Nicola Burley. And, Jesus Christ, what an unbelievable find Roxanne Scrimshaw is?? THIS is her acting debut? Holy SHITBALLS! It's harrowing stuff that'll really make you think.

4. Parasite

This really is absolutely ~everything~ people are claiming it to be and more too! It's an exquisite piece of work, in love with the art of spinning out a story, narrative layers, sociological parables and effortlessly terrific direction. It builds and builds in an utterly enthralling manner and then... the pressure valve pops, taking you down a whole other audacious avenue that'll have you giggling at the insanity but still completely hooked.

3. Uncut Gems

It’s alright been memed and GIF’d to death but that doesn’t change the fact that it really is an astounding film - it's completely exhausting and quite honestly one of the most anxiety-inducing films I’ve seen in a long, long time. Even on multiple go-arounds, I found myself screaming at the screen, begging Adam Sandler's character to just fucking STOP for five seconds and... and... it's inescapable as to the direction down in which it heads but it goes there at such a propulsive rate, it is actually scary. An absolutely astounding film - it's like a John Cassavetes film shot with the adrenaline drawn from a Michael Bay action movie... and believe every bit of the buzz: Adam Sandler is jaw-droppingly fucking excellent in this!

2. Wolf of Snow Hollow

I thought this was a complete delight. Once again Jim Cummings has taken a film 'type' you THINK you know and infused it with his own very specific sense of humour to give us something that's very much delightfully off-kilter. What's more, as a sophomore directing effort, Cummings deserves all the plaudits for the massive advancement: There's action scenes and scary set-pieces that are really first rate and are way more accomplished than what you'd expect from someone only on their second movie and have never worked in the horror genre before. Cummings is REALLY funny in the lead role too but it's Robert Forster's final performance that'll break your heart. He was a hard miss anyway but this very much drives home what a great guy we've lost.

1.     The Way Back

Gavin O'Connor has hit the trifecta with this, Miracle and Warrior on making a masterful sports drama and using it as a platform to 'say something' and draw a career best from a talented but under-appreciated actor (first Kurt Russell, then Nick Nolte and now Ben Affleck).

Affleck is astounding here. Fallible, real and pained. He's truly brilliant. There’s a realism to every movement he makes and every breath he exhales that only someone who has struggled with addiction will recognise. And around him is a deconstruction of the sporting underdog movie as we know it - it's only by the end that we truly realise that this has always been about the connections made through the game rather than the game itself.

Like with Warrior, you can go back and watch this umpteen times and find different strokes in the human and unspoken moments. If ever there was a secretly feel-good film for 2020 it is this – the movie that tells us that it doesn’t matter how hard or how far we fall, we are defined only by the moments in which we rise again.

And that’s that. See you all next year. Maybe ;) 

[fanciful-follies]

Hamburr ghost au. Aaron moves into a house and it isnt that great but it was cheap and close to where he works Everything is completelynormal for a month until he starts to notice that papers that he wrote for work are missing and he swears that somebodys moving in the corner of his eye More and more weird stuff start to happen Aaron is convinced that hes being haunted and after a while Alexander - the ghost pops up and Aaron tries to get rid of him until Alex starts crying and begging to stay

This took an unexpected sad twist at the end but Y E S (this gets long I apologize)

And Aaron is just staring at this crying ghost and wondering if he’s having a stroke or something because what the hell is happening. For some reason, he attempts to comfort the ghost, which ultimately goes very poorly, seeing as Aaron can’t even pat Alexander on the shoulder or anything. 

But Aaron soothingly tells Alexander that he won’t kick him out, and he finally manages to get Alexander to calm down a little so that they can talk about what is going on. 

Alexander explains that he’s tied to this house because it’s the place that he died, and he can’t go anywhere else unless he chooses to finally “move on” aka go to what ever after life exists. But that scares him so much and he doesn’t want to leave, and he loves the house and has so many good memories associated with it.

And during the explanation, Aaron is just nodding his head while silently thinking that of course this would happen to him. Of course he would move into a house haunted by an emotional and very talkative ghost. It’s his worst nightmare. He’s a twenty-three year old college graduate who had been lucky enough to nail a good job at a law firm, and he really thought that this house would be good for him.

Finally, Alexander falls silent, and Aaron asks why he’s been moving all of Aaron’s stuff and knocking stuff down, to which Alexander has the decency to look a little embarrassed before shrugging, saying that honestly it’s because he’s bored most of the time. The other reason is that he’s been trying to get Aaron’s attention, because he can’t always get himself to materialize when he wants to. 

So after thinking on it for a little bit, Aaron just sighs and says that he doesn’t mind if Alexander sticks around, as long as he stops moving all of Aaron’s stuff. And Alexander grins and seems to rise off of the ground a little more before agreeing. He even sticks a hand out as if to shake on it, and Aaron just stares at the extended hand, wondering if he’s going crazy, and then he reaches his own hand out, shocked by the warm feeling that spreads through him when his hand touches Alexander’s. He always thought ghosts were supposed to be cold. 

True to his word, Alexander stops moving and hiding Aaron’s things, and Aaron only hears him knock some things down a couple times over the next few weeks. And Alexander apologizes each time, saying that he honestly can’t control it sometimes, since he’s kind of new to the ghost thing. 

That makes Aaron curious, wondering how long it’s been since Alexander died. But he figures it would be rude to ask, so he doesn’t. The last thing he needs on his hands is an offended ghost. 

It’s strange, but Aaron starts to get used to living with a ghost. It’s actually kind of nice. His sister is in California, and his closest friend, Theodosia, is far away as well, causing Aaron to be more lonely than he’d like to admit.

But he’ll come home sometimes after a long day at the law office, and Alexander will have done the dishes for him, which Aaron has a bad habit of leaving out. And whenever Aaron is dealing with a particularly difficult case, he can talk to Alexander about all the details, since he’s a ghost and can’t exactly go and tell anyone else. He even adds his suggestions from time to time, which Aaron finds to be extremely helpful.

And even more strange, Aaron finds himself actually looking forward to seeing Alexander. It takes him awhile to admit to being friends with a ghost, and sure, there are times when he still wonders if what he’s seeing is actually real, but there’s no denying that Aaron and Alexander are friends.

So he feels more comfortable talking to Alexander about his life, starting off his questions small. He learns that Alexander came to America as a child, and then came to New York for college and graduated a year early, ready to start down a path of working in public policy. One night, when Alexander is more talkative than usual, he tells Aaron that he had died at age twenty-four, about two years ago. Aaron asks how, but Alexander falls silent, so Aaron doesn’t try to ask again.

But Aaron thinks he figures out a few weeks later when he falls ill. Alexander is constantly hovering by his side, reminding Aaron to drink water and take medicine, which Aaron does, even if he complains the whole time. He takes a few days off of work, in a daze as he attempts to sleep the illness off. But every time he wakes up, Alexander is there, looking worried, and Aaron starts to realize this is must be how Alexander died. 

He wakes up in the middle of the night some time later, a blanket pulled over him and a glass of water on his bedside table. Feeling a little better, Aaron sits up, and nearly yells when he sees Alexander sitting on the bed beside him. Alexander quickly apologizes, and once Aaron’s heart feels like it’s beating at a normal pace, he asks how Alexander can move stuff when he’s a ghost.

Alexander just shrugs, saying that it doesn’t always happen, and that most of the time he can’t actually feel or hold things, but it happens on rare occasions that he doesn’t understand. Then he tells Aaron to get more sleep, and Aaron does, and he feels Alexander’s warmth beside him the entire night. 

More and more time goes by, and it doesn’t take long for Aaron to get completely used to Alexander living in his home. they actually start hanging out, watching TV shows together that Alexander never got to finish when he was alive, and Aaron reads him books out loud and events from the newspaper to keep him up to date on everything happening. 

One night, Alexander is unusually quiet, and when Aaron asks him what’s wrong, it takes a long time for Alexander to respond. When he finally does, it surprises Aaron, because Alexander asks him for a favor; he wants him to type out some letters for him, and then deliver them to a couple of people.

Aaron is hesitant at first, but Alexander begs him with tears in his eyes, saying that he never got to say goodbye to his friends, that he never got a chance to say all the things he wanted to, and what kind of person would Aaron be if he said no? So he says yes.

He types out around eight letters for Alexander that night, and it takes hours since Alexander keeps changing his mind about what to say to each person. But eventually they finish, and Aaron promises to deliver them over the next week. 

He almost chickens out when he reaches the first home. But then he raises his hand and knocks, and within seconds he is looking into the eyes of a young woman with dark hair. He asks if her name is Eliza Schuyler, and she gives a slow nod, looking suspicious. Aaron takes a deep breath and explains that he lives in the house that Alexander Hamilton used to live in, and that he found some letters addressed to this home, to an Eliza, an Angelica, and a Peggy Schuyler. 

Somewhere in the middle of his explanation, Eliza starts to cry quietly, but eventually she nods again and asks Aaron if he’d like to come in. Aaron almost says no, but then he finds himself nodding and being led into a comfortable looking home and a small kitchen, where two other girls are sitting. Eliza explains who he is, and both girls sit there in shock for a moment before introducing themselves.

Aaron hands them a letter as well, and is about to leave, not wanting to intrude on them as they read the letters, but one of the girls, Peggy, asks Aaron to stay for lunch, so he does. 

They don’t talk about Alexander, not at first, at least. They just introduce themselves to Aaron again, asking him polite questions about himself and asking if he likes his job and his home. But then he asks about Alexander, and a silence falls before each of the girls start to tell stories about Alexander. They talk about how loud he was at college, how passionate he was about everything he did. Everyone gets a little teary at some point, and even Aaron finds himself wiping at the corners of his eyes, but when he leaves, Eliza, Angelica, and Peggy are all smiling fondly down at the letter in their hands.

When Aaron leaves, they invite him back for lunch next week.

The next place is an apartment, where a Hercules, Lafayette, and John are supposed to live. Aaron has to knock a few times before the door opens, and then a tall, broad man with a kind smile is looking at Aaron with interest. Aaron makes the same introduction, and then man’s smile drops a little before coming back, and once again, Aaron is being beckoned inside the home. 

He gives the man, Hercules, one of the letters, shifting on his feet and feeling a little uncomfortable as Hercules’s eyes roam over the address on the envelope, not opening yet. Then he asks Aaron if he wants any tea, and then is bustling over to the kitchen and calling out for the other two men, Lafayette and John.

The two people appear, one tall and the other shorter with freckles, and Aaron introduces himself with a small smile, holding out the two letters for them. The taller one, Lafayette, takes the letter and thanks Aaron, but the other man, John, is silent as he accepts his with shaking hands. 

They all drink tea silently, and Aaron is about to excuse himself when Lafayette starts to speak, talking about a time when Alexander had been at a movie with them, and had gotten upset at the plot line for one of the characters and had complained so loudly that they had gotten kicked out of the theater. Hercules takes over the story then, reminding them all how Alexander had then gone to the manager of the theater and argued until they had all been given free tickets for any movie of their choice.

Aaron is laughing along with them when a soft sob comes from John, who is reading his letter, his shoulders shaking slightly. Hercules immediately goes over to him, murmuring quietly to him before throwing Aaron an apologetic look as he helps John up and walks him down a hallway. Lafayette thanks Aaron for the letters, surprising him with a warm hug before pulling away and asking if Aaron would be interested in grabbing drinks with them some weekend, to which Aaron says yes.

Aaron’s next stop is a home belonging to someone named Jonathan Bellamy. This time, however, there’s no response when Aaron knocks. He waits a couple of minutes, and then scribbles a small note on the back of the envelope in order to explain who he is and how he got the letter. Then he slides it under the door.

The next home is large one, one that Aaron can only dream of owning. He knocks on the door, and waits a few moments. Then the door is being pulled open by a smartly dressed man with glasses and a smirk that Aaron immediately wants to roll his eyes at. Instead, he holds out the letter addressed to Thomas Jefferson and explains who he is for the fourth time that day. 

Thomas opens the letter in front of Aaron, looking like he almost doesn’t believe Aaron’s story. But then his expression turns to something softer. He mumbles out “that little shit” but then chuckles, moving his eyes back to Aaron’s. He says that he would invite him in, but his husband, James, is sick at the moment. Aaron pushes away the apology, and goes to leave when Thomas shouts out that they’ll stop by the house soon, telling Aaron that he and James had made a promise to keep the house in order for Alexander, and need to make sure Aaron is doing a good job with it.

Finally, Aaron gets to the last home, one belonging to a George Washington. The man is older than everyone else, and Aaron learns that he’d been one of Alexander’s professors at college, and his advisor. He has to get out his glasses to read the letter, and Aaron politely looks away when he hears the man sniff heavily. He thanks Aaron in a hoarse voice and then looks at him a little more closely.

He starts to ask Aaron about himself, and when Aaron says that he has a position at a law firm, the man perks up, looking at him with more interest than before. Washington tells Aaron that he taught law at Colombia, and then, as Aaron is leaving, Washington says that Aaron is welcome to stop by any time with questions.

Aaron finally gets home late that night, exhausted. But Alexander immediately floats over to him and asks if he got all the letters out, and Aaron says he did, and that only Jonathan Bellamy didn’t answer. Alexander looks pleased, and thanks Aaron a thousand times, which makes Aaron smile. He tells Alexander about all his friends and how they’re doing, feeling strange mix of happiness and sadness at whenever he looks at Alexander’s eager expression. Eventually Aaron falls asleep slumped on the kitchen table, and doesn’t even feel the blanket being pulled over him.

A few days later, there’s a knock at his door, and Aaron goes over to answer, shocked at the slightly frantic looking man on the other side, who is panting. He holds up a letter in one of his hands and waves it in the air, explaining that he’s Jonathan Bellamy and that he wanted to thank Aaron for delivering the letter.

Aaron lets Bellamy inside, even more shocked when the man hands him a container of food, which he made as a way to thank Aaron and welcome him to his new home. When Aaron is done putting the food in the fridge, he turns to see Bellamy looking around the house with a sad but fond expression. 

He tells Aaron that he’d been Alexander’s roommate at college, and that there had been so many nights where he hadn’t gotten any sleep because Alexander wanted to talk to him for hours. Aaron laughs, understanding that more than Bellamy knows. Then Aaron’s eyes move to the hallway, and he sees Alexander hovering there, but it doesn’t seem like Bellamy can see him, so Aaron looks away.

Bellamy stays and talks to Aaron for a while, and Aaron finds himself enjoying his company a lot. Before Bellamy leaves, Aaron asks if he would want to get dinner some time, and Bellamy grins at him, his eyes lighting up. He says yes.

Later that night, Aaron asks why Bellamy couldn’t see Alexander, and Alexander pauses before saying that he doesn’t think anyone who knew him in real life can see him as a ghost. He laughs and shrugs, saying it must be in the ghost rulebook, but Aaron can hear how sad he is. He asks why Alexander won’t just pass on, and Alexander shrugs again, telling Aaron that he doesn’t know what passing on includes, and he likes being able to stay in this house. He likes talking to Aaron. 

Aaron hesitates a moment before saying that he likes talking to Alexander, too.

Over the next couple of months, Aaron spends more and more time with Alexander’s friends. He goes over to the Schuyler’s for lunch every week, goes out with Hercules, Laf, and John, and Thomas and James come over a few times to see the house and make suggestions on ways to make it better, which Aaron finds greatly amusing because it makes Alexander scowl. 

Aaron’s favorite days, however, are the days that he sees Bellamy. 

Bellamy is kind, and funny, and the most caring person Aaron has ever met. He listens to Aaron, makes him laugh, connects with him on a level that Aaron has never felt before. It only takes until the fourth time they hang out for them to kiss.

Aaron gets home that night feeling on top of the world. When he walks inside, Alexander is waiting, and he snorts at the dreamy look on his face and starts to brag about how he knew Aaron and Bellamy would hit it off.

That statement pulls Aaron out of his thoughts, and he narrows his eyes at Alexander, asking if this had been some big plot. And Alexander just shrugs, saying that it was part of the reason why he asked Aaron to deliver the letters. He knew that Aaron was lonely, and not settling in.

Aaron is strangely touched by that, and he really wishes that he could hug Alexander in that moment. Instead he reaches out and puts his hand over Alexander’s, hoping the gesture conveys all that he’s feeling.

More and more time passes, years go by, and Aaron’s life has taken a twist he never expected. He’s doing well in his job, thanks to Washington’s help. His house is looking better thanks to Thomas and James. He suddenly finds himself the godfather to the baby girl Angelica and her wife, Maria, adopt. He has a group of close friends thanks to Hercules, John, and Lafayette. And he has a boyfriend, thanks to Jonathan Bellamy.

One night, with Bellamy sleeping soundly on the couch with his head in Aaron’s lap, Aaron looks up from the TV to see Alexander floating in front of him. He looks nervous, and Aaron lowers the volume. Then Alexander asks if Aaron wants him to leave.

Aaron is confused, and Alexander says softly that this is Aaron’s home now, he’s building a life and a family in it, and he doesn’t want to get in the way of that. 

Aaron just stares at him for a long time, at a loss of what to say. But then he looks at Alexander firmly and tells him that everything he has is thanks to Alexander. He tells him that this was his home first, and that it’s still his home now. He made a promise all those years ago that he would never kick Alexander out, and he intends to keep that promise. 

At this point, Alexander is smiling tearfully at him, and Aaron tells him that this is home belongs to both of them.

And it’s a good home.