#act: tahar rahim

[anotheruserwithnoname]

When I'm bored sometimes I amuse myself coming up with Whouffaldi mic drops. Here's one:

Once in a while I still see people trying to downplay Whouffaldi, that it doesn't exist or it's all viewed through "shipping glasses".

If so, then why did Steven Moffat & Co spend two years crafting episodes in which the writing, directing and - most importantly - the performances all suggest that this romance was real?

Some facts to support my argument:

Let us assume (and I have no reason for this not to be the case) that in real life Jenna Coleman and Peter Capaldi were not a couple, nor were they in love. There is no doubt of their friendship and if in some future memoir Jenna says she had a crush on Peter, I would not be surprised. But what we saw on screen was acting, of course. True, she and Tom Hughes were an item during Victoria so that was not all acting, but she wasn't in love with Rufus Sewell, nor was she in love with Tahar Rahim or Oliver Jackson-Cohen or the guy from Room at the Top. That was acting, and Jenna is damn good at making it look like her characters were madly in love with whomever (This list isn't complete of course - look at Sandman, etc). Likewise, Peter is a veteran actor who had been in the business more than 30 years when he took the role of the Doctor. He did do a movie with his wife (or future wife) years ago, but otherwise any romance on screen is acting, pure and simple. And Peter is a damn good actor.

What I'm getting at is if an on-screen romance between Twelve and Clara wasn't intended and it was all accidental that it came across that way and gave people the wrong impression, then that means Peter and Jenna actually failed at their jobs because just they are quite capable of convincingly playing romance, they are just as adept at not (either in the case of depicting simple friendship, or look at The Cry or Wilderness where Jenna's character becomes distant from her "lover"). Jenna and Peter could not have been that incompetent, nor could Steven Moffat (no stranger to writing romance and who had final say on every word we heard in S8 and 9), or the directors like Rachel Talalay. Everything we see on screen was planned out and intended (especially given Moffat played the "long game" with a lot of his storytelling - for example, Mummy on the Orient Express and Flatline set up plot points involving Clara that didn't fully pay off till Face the Raven and Hell Bent).

The people making Series 8 and 9 of Doctor Who were simply too good at their jobs for the whole Whouffaldi thing to have been an unintentional misread by the audience due to acting, writing and directing miscalculations. If you got the impression there was a romance, even if you didn't approve (for whatever reason), everything was intentional.

[onepiece-polls]

OPLA fan cast polls - Borsalino/Kizaru prelims B

The top 2 will advance.

Propaganda under the cut.

Jeff Goldblum: it’s jeff goldblum, c’mon. he’s super tall (6’4) and slim, he’s 70 years old, and if you’ve heard his voice and seen him act in any movie you know he’ll do a great Kizaru. he played the Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnarok if you don’t know him by name.

Tahar Rahim: Rocking those sunglasses here, he'd rock the coat too. Hair in the pic is long, but he's got them short and curly more often than not. Way too hot for the part, would fit right in with the rest of the cast. He's a fantastic actor what else can I say. Go watch The Mauritanian.

Ramzy Bedia: He looks a lot like Kizaru. Like, almost exactly. Although he is a French actor and Kizaru gives me Italian vibes, I believe he can do it. C’mon, just imagine him in the yellow suit.

[grigori77]

So I just went to see Madame Web and ...

Seriously, THAT was the toxic hellfire that's destined to sink Sony Films' ongoing attempts to ignite their live action Spider-Verse?

I mean, honstly, that wasn't really ANYTHING LIKE that bad, people. It is BY NO MEANS a great movie, it's definitely flawed and clunky, but it's also NOTHING LIKE the very worst of the Marvel movies I've seen in my time, especially in recent years ... it's DEFINITELY nowhere near as mbad as the GENUINELY abyssmal stinking stillborn mutation likes of Morbius or Elektra, nor is it EVEN quite as bad as those much more simplistic throwback Marvel movies from the pre-MCU days that have nonetheless still become beloved culty guilty pleasures for their kitchy campness, like Ghost Rider, Daredevil or the Thomas Jane Punisher movie.

In fact, once it gets going, it's ACTUALLY a pretty enjoyable movie, with quite a bit of charm. One of my strongest benchmarks for whether a movie is WORTHWHILE or not is if, by the time it counts, generally in the third act when the stakes are suitably raised, I have become sufficiently invested in the main characters for me to actually CARE about them making it through whatever terrors the big action climax has in store for them, and I DEFINITELY got that here. Dakota Johnson may not be the greatest actress out there, ESPECIALLY after the torturous (ahem) depths of the 30 Shades saga, but she's got a certain affable charm that won me over here, and Cassie Webb definitely has a scrappy, stubborn attitude that I really warmed to over the course of the story, while the trio of teenage girls she becomes reluctantly responsible for are likeable enough too that we can excuse their making some pretty dumb decisions at times - besides, they're TEENAGE GIRLS, why are we surprised that they don't always THINK before they act? And besides, getting to see my girl Araña brought to the screen PRETTY MUCH as I remember her from the comics was definitely worth my time.

Then there's Ezekiel Sims ... as screen villains go, the great Tahar Rahim has actually got something pretty strong to work with here, investing the character with impressive menace and a certain seductive charm despite having no real redeeming personality features at all. We could have done with at least A BIT more of an insight into his motivations, but he's a strong enough antagonist here all the same that he works gangbusters here, proving to be a genuinely palpable threat throughout the action.

And how could i POSSIBLY have been left cold by the way they handled the connective tissue to the larger Spider-verse so well? Adam Scott as a young Ben Parker? Genuinely CHEF'S KISS, I swear. Suddenly the way Peter's SO cut up about losing his uncle/father figure makes perfect sense ...

In the end the film definitely won me over by giving me plenty of what I LIKE in my storytelling. I love a strong found family dynamic, and capable, smart female lead protagonists who learn to stand on their own or together against potentially ovewhelming threats are TOTALLY my jam, man. So I can easily forgive all the hokum, shoddy superhero origin story character development gimmickry and varying levels of visual effects quality, as well as a criminally LOW LEVEL climactic showdown, because the film was MUCH stronger than I expected it to be where it counted FOR ME.

So was it a great movie worthy6 of comparison with the best that Marvel has to offer? NO. Not even close. But was it the massive steaming SHITSHOW most of the critics are making it out to be? DEFINITELY NOT.

Go check it out, give it a chance. Reckon you might be pleasantly surprised ...

[beautifulinternetwhispers]

stars : Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, Celeste O'Connor, Tahar Rahim, Kerry Bishé and Adam Scott

director : S.J. Clarkson

score : 3 out of 4 stars

Not sure why this movie gets so much hate it was actully a pretty fun movie. The only 2 things that really let it down were whoever thought it was a good idea to over dub the villians voice because everytime he spoke i wanted to cry and Dakota Johnson might actully be a worse actor then her dad (which is saying something).

The plot and special effects were cool and the acting from the rest of the cast more then made up for the above messes. All in all a decent enough movie

[haroldgross]

New Post has been published on Harold Gross: The 5a.m. Critic

New Post has been published on https://literaryends.com/hgblog/madame-web/

Madame Web

[2 stars]

Neither the direction by S.J. Clarkson, nor her co-written script with the Morbius crew (among others), helped this flick very much. In fact, it brought in less than Morbius making it the worse Marvel-property miss in a very long while. But the real root problem was the casting of the main characters.

The titular Madame, Dakota Johnson (Cha Cha Real Smooth), is admittedly rarely a favorite of mine, and her performance in this movie is emblematic of that standing. There is just no credibility to her. I think the main issue is vocal…her voice just has no depth, no power. And her counterpart in Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian) is just as bad in the other direction. He is so far over the top that it borders on absurd. And, on a pure story level, our only understanding of his action is his fear of death…but we only have guesses as to what he’s been doing in the 30 year interim between the opening and the main action, which makes him a stuffed animal of an enemy.

In both cases our main character have potentially interesting stories, but we don’t really get much from either of them. Johnson has moments, but they are few and far between. Rahim, frankly, has none. He chews scenery and growls a lot, but there is no real character there to latch onto either to love or hate (or love to hate). He’s clearly morally bankrupt, but it devolves into a story about self-defense (real or imagined) rather than a true big bad that needs eradicating.

The three young cast members as Johnson’s protege’s are actually not too bad. Again, the script did them no favors, but they latched on to what they could and tried to make it work. Sydney Sweeney (The Voyeurs), Isabela Merced (Sweet Girl), and Celeste O’Connor (Ghostbusters: Afterlife) also worked well together, slowly forging the team they are going to become. And, in a total throw-away role, Zosia Mamet (The Flight Attendant) was fun to see.

But the final word on this latest offering is that it just isn’t worth your time unless, for some reason, you feel compelled. It is a brutally bad script, weakly directed, and marginally acted. You can see the bones of what might have been…but it isn’t there.

Where to watch

[naughtygirl286]

So we went to see the somewhat beleaguered Madame Web. I'm very familiar with the character and she has been an important supporting character at times in the Spider-Man Mythos. Now I thought it was strange to be giving her a solo movie being I felt it would be like giving J. Jonah Jameson or Betty Brant a movie of their own. I do believe that a live action Madame Web would be interesting and should appear as a supporting character in a live action Spider-Man movie being we are now in the Multiverse Saga that would make more sense to me then her getting her own movie.

Now after watching it do I think it is as bad as people are saying it is? I didn't think it is. When we went to see it this week I was expecting to just see a handful of people there but the theater they were showing it in must have been about 45-50% full of people there to see this which I thought was great because I always say to go and see things for yourself and make up your own mind, don't listen to negative reviews or scores.

Now of course being that this is a movie her origin is changed to fit into this cinematic universe and that is what this movie is it is a somewhat origin story so gone is the familiar older woman in red and we have her at a much younger age I felt it was an interesting way to introduce this character, would it be the way I have done it? not it wouldn't have but like I said it was an interesting way to do it.

Now not only is this a origin story for the character of Madame Web but it also serves as a somewhat prequel to the Spider-Man story, where you meet a young Ben Parker (played by Adam Scott) who is a co-worker and friend of Dakota Johnson's Cassandra "Cass" Webb so that would tie her into the Spider-Man story in this universe.

another thing is I heard people say that the movie is "clunky" and disjointed I think that was due to how they displayed Dakota Johnson's character's powers its like this weird choppy/jerkily/Juddering type of visual effect which makes the scene look a bit disjointed when it happens I feel its a stylistic choice to show a displacement in time as she looks into the future

I did like seeing the Spider Women in their costumes you only get to see them in the costumes a few times in the movie and it is due to like quick glimpse of the future which kinda sucks because from what you see looks really cool I liked how they did Anya Corazon (played by Isabela Merced) aka Spider-Girl Mattie Franklin (played by Celeste O'Connor) Spider-Woman and especially the Julia Carpenter Spider-Woman (played by Sydney Sweeney) or Julia Cornwall as they refer to her in the movie which I thought was weird. One problem I did have was with the introduction of Ezekiel at first I thought it was going to be cool and it would kinda open up the doors to a larger thing that involved Silk, Morlun and The Inheritors but he is just straight up the movies main villain. I just feel that the character was a bit wasted in this even though I did like Tahar Rahim as the character I felt they could have had some other bad guy and could have saved Ezekiel for something bigger.

Now of course I did like all the references that came with this one and especially what I could only assume was the live action version of The Web of Life and Destiny which I thought was really cool and you get to see it a few times in the movie and you get to see her use it around the end of the movie which was cool as well.

I know people complained about the acting but I didn't feel that that acting was bad and there was some good action moments I didn't find it overly actiony like I don't think I would call it an action movie but when they did do some fights and stunts and stuff like that it was pretty good.

but in the end like I said I don't think it was as bad as people are saying it is like I also said it was in interesting way to introduce this character but I probably would have done it that way if I was going to introduce a character such as Madame Web. So I can't say it was great and I can't say it was bad. Now if you are curious about the movie I would say give it a watch and see what you think yourself if you don't want to watch it then don't, but I don't believe it is as bad as people are making it out to be.

[doamarierose-honoka]

Do you want to know if there's a post-credits scene in Madame Web? We'll tell you right here: There are no scenes after the credits.

Read on for full spoilers for the film!

You've seen the memes. You've — maybe — watched the trailers. You've likely heard the phrase "He was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died" (spoiler alert — that's not a real line in the movie). And now Madame Web (read our review) is out in the world. The supernatural thriller is unlike any superhero movie you've seen before, but definitely feels like a fun throwback to the '00s comic book films that many of us grew up on.

So if you're ready to dig into the depths of Madame Web lore with director S.J. Clarkson answering all your burning questions, then get ready web slingers because here we go!

Madame Web Ending Explained

After an action-packed journey that set Cassie Web (Dakota Johnson), Julia Cromwell (Sydney Sweeney), Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced), and Mattie Franklin (Celeste O'Conner) on their fateful path, the film comes to its climax when the crew battles Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) in an abandoned warehouse. In a twist of fate, it's revealed that while Ezekiel was drawn to the girls because he thought they would kill him, it is in fact Cassie who is fated to end his life.

Thanks to her newly discovered powers of weaving — which include astral projection — Cassie saves all three of her young charges but ends up almost drowning. Thanks to an earlier impromptu CPR lesson, her life is saved by her newfound family of future Spider-Women. After Ezekiel is killed by a falling giant Pepsi sign (yes, you heard that right) and successfully saving the day, the crew heads to the hospital where Cassie is revealed to have been rendered blind as a result of her near-drowning.

We also learn that Mary Parker (Emma Roberts) has safely given birth to her unnamed son. Mary is the sister-in-law of Adam Scott’s Ben Parker, who forevermore shall be known as… Uncle Ben.

We then get a skip forward that reveals Cassie and the girls now live together in a New York City Spider-lair where they bicker and banter as Cassie, now in a wheelchair, foresees their future as a team of super Spider-Women. It's here that we get to see the girls in their full Spider-suits along with Cassandra in hers, now acting as a spiritual guide to the superteam. But this scene also plays with our expectations, reminding us that "the future hasn't happened yet," implying this could all still change.

Does Madame Web Have a Post-Credits Scene?

Madame Web doesn't have any post-credits scenes, which makes sense not only due to the fact that the status of the Sony-verse is up in the air but also because the entire movie essentially acts as a lead-in to a potential Spider-Woman/Spider-Women movie featuring the three younger cast members. So if you want to stick around to pay homage to all the folks who worked on the movie or you're like me and always want to see which comic creators get thanked, then go for it! But you won't need to wait for any of the infamous superhero stingers this time around.

Is Uncle Ben in Madame Web?

As has long been rumored, everyone's favorite everyman — Adam Scott of Parks and Rec and Severance fame — does play Uncle Ben A.K.A. Ben Parker in Madame Web. He's Cassie's EMT partner and the one friend who keeps her grounded and connected to the rest of the world, despite her more introverted and often cranky tendencies.

Every Upcoming Spider-Man Movie Spin-Off in Development

Aside from the obvious connection to the wider world of Spider-Man, Ben Parker and his sister-in-law, Mary (more on her in a moment), were added to the film as a way to homage Madame Web's comic book origins and to build out her world. "Madame Web doesn't have her own comics yet," director S.J. Clarkson told IGN. "It would be wonderful if she did, but she doesn't. And I think because she comes from The Amazing Spider-Man, it was really nice to be able to give a nod to the world that she comes from. So it's really nice to have some of those characters in it."

Is Peter Parker in Madame Web?

As the film ends, we see that Mary Parker has safely delivered her baby with the now Uncle Ben by her side. Where was the kid's father? Richard Parker was away traveling, hinting that the film is taking from the comics canon where Richard and sometimes Mary were spies.

As for the infant's identity, Clarkson was quick to point out that "the baby's born, but we never actually name the baby." But the implication is obviously that it's Peter Parker. That holds especially true as in the comics that the film takes inspiration from, Mary's most famous child is obviously the guy who'd become Spider-Man, though she did secretly have a daughter who was revealed in 2014's Spider-Man: Family Business series. And we get even more of a hint at that when Cassie and the girls talk about Ben loving being an uncle because it's all the fun and none of the responsibility, to which Cassie replies "That's what he thinks" with a smile, nodding towards the future when Ben and May will take care of and raise Peter.

How Does Madame Web Connect to the Other Spider-Man Movies?

One of the biggest conversations around Madame Web has been whether the film would work as a prequel to any of the Spider-Man movies. When IGN asked whether the 2003 setting of Madame Web meant we were watching the origins of Tom Holland's Spider-Man universe, Clarkson revealed the choice was more about Cassandra's story than any connection to an existing Spider-Man.

"In terms of the year, that was the year that was in the script originally," she said, adding that it was meant to connect to Cassie’s mom and her adventures in the Amazon. "I think what it relates to is really back in the 1970s when her mom was around, and it goes back to her inception story. So this is very much her story."

It's a choice that gives Sony the freedom to choose what it wants to do with the film once it's out in the world and they've seen the reception. And either way, the film still exists as a standalone origin for Cassie and her young Spider-crew. So if they want to connect the baby that is born to the Tom Holland Spider-Man, they can. And if they decide not to, they have that option as well.

'The baby's born, but we never actually name the baby,' director S.J. Clarkson tells IGN.

As to whether the movie would ever end up connecting to other Spider-films, she worked in a nice Madame Web power pun: "I wish I had clairvoyance to see where it could or might connect to anything else, but I don't have the luxury of that, unfortunately."

How Could Madame Web Set Up Future Sony Spider-Films?

The film ends with what seems like a setup for future Spider-Women movies, especially as each of the young heroes have storied comic book histories to draw from. But some fans might be surprised that there isn't actually a lot of Spider-Women action in the film as the girls are only seen in their full suits during a couple of very quick flash-forward sequences. As Clarkson told us, that was so that the film could fully focus on Cassie and her story.

"There were definitely conversations," she shared. "But I think that for me it was always an origin story. And I think if you're going to do an origin story justice — unless it's going to be a three, four-hour epic — you concentrate on that character. And each of these other Spider-Women are such extraordinary characters in their own right that I think if you're going to start exploring origins of all of them, I think that's a lot to get into one movie.

"I don't think you can do it justice. We've already got Ezekiel and all these characters, so I think it's a lot to juggle for one picture and it's called Madame Web, so I think that was really front and center of everything. And hopefully, the others might get their own. That would be amazing."

And we agree. Whatever your feelings about Madame Web, the film did a great job casting Cassie and her Spider-Crew, and we'd love to see where those characters go next. Of course, if Sony gets its way and the film is a success, then there could even be movies for each of the Spider-Women before they team up for the future that Madame Web saw.

Of course, the biggest question remains: Could Madame Web and her Spider-Women connect to Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, and even the bigger MCU eventually? At this point, anything could happen, but it appears there are no definitive answers either.

This story was updated with full spoilers on Feb. 14, 2024. It was originally published without spoilers on Feb. 13.

[megaclaudiolis]

Good news?

[oswincoleman]

Jenna Coleman in The Serpent episode 1 (picture set 1/4)

Read below for my thoughts on this episode (contains spoilers)

The critics don’t seem to have liked it, for inexplicable reasons, that I strongly disagree with. I personally thought it was an absolutely amazing episode. This first episode set up the characters and motives for the rest of the series, and set the wheels in motion of all the drugging and murdering, and the investigation and the difficulties involved in solving the murders. 

The episode really pulls you in to the story, and even though you know what is going to happen, you often feel a sense of foreboding and anxiety for what’s to come for The Serpent’s victims which you have come to know and empathise with. 

It does a great job of showing who the victims were, and how they ended up being murdered through no fault of their own other than not playing along with Alain. How they were enthralled by the charm and style of Alain and Monique, how they deceived and manipulated people. 

Storywise it is very well done. It shows the villains as cold-blooded as they truly are, but also makes you appreciate how their facade allowed them to be so influential. 

In episode 1, the story shifts between two stories. The first story is that of the life of Alain and Monique, how they at first impress, support and help others, but then go on to manipulate, steal, lie, and kill. The second story describes Herman Knippenberg, and his attempts to solve the case of two missing Dutch tourists. Some people complained that the storytelling switched from one to the other a few times in this episode, but it’s actually really not hard to follow. You just have to pay attention. People complaining about this really rather simple structure obviously haven’t been paying enough attention, probably spending more time on their phones writing about it, than actually watching it. 

This is absolutely the right way to tell the story. It would be much more complicated, and much less interesting to tell it in a linear way, as then you would only see the investigation of murders from 4 episodes previously, and you would never be able to establish the sense of foreboding that you get when seeing hints of what happened to various people, and then see them alive and well, before they fell too deep into the Serpent’s lair. 

The acting is also really well done. Mainly English actors pull of a variety of different accents. Most notably, and the most difficult, is Jenna’s Quebecois French accent, and some scenes in which she speaks in French. She does this really well. If I didn’t know it was her, I would never have guessed that she is actually English. The accent is so very different from her own, or any of the accents she’s played before, but she really nailed it. 

Tahar Rahim very nicely plays the very confident, charming, but also ice-cold manipulator and murderer who has no empathy at all. 

Jenna Coleman wonderfully shows the numerous sides of Marie-Andrée; how she is very friendly and charming on the outside, amazing everyone with her beauty and style, but how she is also obsessed with Charles, turns a blind eye to his crimes, knows very well what is going on, but decides to walk away from the truth, and do her best to forget about it. 

Billy Howle also has an incredible performance as Herman Knippenberg, who tirelessly works to solve what happened to a Dutch couple who no one has heard of for 2 months, despite all his colleagues making fun of hippies, and telling him not to bother with such a hopeless case. 

Ellie Bamber has not played a big role yet, but she managed the German accent of her character really well. 

The other actors involved were also really great, especially those that played Wilhelm, Helena, and Teresa. You could really empathise with them, see their innocent and optimism, and how that was all crushed by the villainous plans of Charles. 

The costumes and set are incredible. It’s amazing how well they managed to recreate the 70s. There is an exceptional focus on tiny details, which really helps tie the whole story together, and set the mood in which the story plays. 

It is without a doubt a tough watch, with the murders being gruesome; it’s obviously not a feel good series. And I’m surprised that some people didn’t know what they were signing up for when watching this show. But it impressively manages to pull you into the narrative, and makes you keen to watch more, to see how this story is truly going to continue. 

Overall, I really enjoyed it, it’s an amazing first episode, and you can’t wait to see more. 

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The Mauritanian

Last night, I attended a (virtual) press-screening of @TheMauritanian, a film adaptation of Mohamedou Ould Salahi's 2015 memoir "Guantánamo Diary," the true story of Salahi's 14 years of Gitmo detention and torture.

https://www.themauritanian.movie/

It was a harrowing and moving experience. It wasn't just the big names (Jodie Foster, Benedict Cumberbatch): Tahar Rahim's performance as Salahi was stunning, especially combined with the direction and camerawork that brought the abuse and torture of Gitmo to vivid life.

Salahi was kidnapped from Mauritania at the order of Donald Rumsfeld, who was acting on coerced testimony that falsely identified him as the recruiter behind the 9/11 attacks. He was then repeatedly brutalized, sexually assaulted, tortured and nearly murdered by Gitmo guards.

Eventually, after the guards threatened to have his elderly mother brought to Gitmo for sexual torture by other prisoners, Salahi signed false confessions in which he admitted to all the crimes he'd been accused of.

Salahi's case was taken up by Nancy Hollander (played by Foster), a NM civil rights litigator at a white-shoe firm whose security clearance and outrage at the Bush administration's suspension of habeas corpus made her the right person to do the pro-bono work.

Hollander's opposite number was Lt Col V Stuart Couch (played by Cumberbatch), a Marine Corps lawyer and ex-airman who had been close friends with one of the 9/11 pilots and who approached the case as an opportunity to get justice and vengeance for his friend.

The movie brilliantly plays out both Hollander and Couch's discovery of the brutal conditions at Gitmo, culminating in Couch's refusal to try the case on the grounds that Salahi's torture meant that his confession could not be trusted.

The interplay of brutality and bureaucracy are at the core of the film, a banality of evil tale that contrasts the US establishment's stated commitment to law and order with the lawless, ruthless, incoherent violence of Gitmo and the rendition program.

This film's release comes at an important moment. First, because the Trump years were an opportunity for GW Bush to rehabilitate his image. Today, we're asked to cast GWB as a "normal" politician from the right - to forget his torture and murder program.

To forget the forever war he lied the world into, which still rages today, fought by the grown children of the soldiers he sent into battle 20 years ago, 18 years after he strapped on a codpiece and posed with a "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" banner.

GWB may be Ellen's cuddly pal, Michelle Obama's buddy with a cough drop, he may be a retired amateur portraitist, but he's also one of history's great monsters, a president who did worse things to the world than Trump ever did.

Not, of course, because Trump was a better man than GW - but because Trump was so chaotic and mercurial that none of the swamp creatures he surrounded himself with (and then purged) were able to execute on their plans the way Rumsfeld and Cheney did.

But this is also a timely movie for another reason: Hollander used Salahi's moving testimony of the torture he faced to secure his release in 2010. But he was held for another SIX years.

Because Obama's DoJ appealed the release.

Salahi was held for eight years because of GWB's monstrous decisions. He was held for six more because of Obama's monstrousness - a six years detention without charge or conviction that deprived Salahi of the chance to see his mother before she died.

The Mauritanian is a reminder of the great stain on America's soul that Gitmo and the War on Terror represents, and it's a reminder that the centrist wing of the Democrats - who confirmed Bush's chief torturer Gina Haspel to run the CIA - are all-in on the Bush Program.

We're told that Biden learned from Obama's drones, austerity, surveillance, war on whistleblowers, billions for Wall Street and abandonment of Main Street, that this time, the Democrats will use their power to make things better at home and abroad.

America still runs the offshore torture camp at Gitmo, and onshore torture sites in the form of mass incarceration, the charnel houses of the pandemic. Making America great - or merely good - demands a reckoning with the nation's sins.

It demands we judge our leaders on their policies - not their portraiture or rhetoric. Trump's open racism and disdain for democracy deserve our condemnation, but so must his predecessors' willingness to shovel Black and brown bodies into war and torture's meat grinders.

[regardezmoica]

GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL - from home - launches today !

We would have loved to go to Scotland for the first time and enjoy the Glasgow Film festival but this year is different and it will be a home online festival. From the 24th of February to the 7th of March, Glasgow is coming into our home with a vibrant and amazing line-up.

The GFF will host 7 World premieres, 2 European premieres, 50 UK premieres online. World premieres include Anthony Baxter’s Eye of the Storm and an exploration of the life of punk rock’s least conventional front person Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché. World premiere of Creation Stories written by Irvine Welsh and starring Ewen Bremner leads a programme filled with strong Scottish stories.

The festival will open on Wednesday 24 February with Lee Isaac Chung’s autobiographical drama following a Korean-American family Minari, starring The Walking Dead’s Steven Yeun, and close on Sunday 7 March with Suzanne Lindon’s debut feature Spring Blossom, a coming-of-age tale set against a dreamy Parisian backdrop.

Scottish highlights include:

Eye of the Storm - Scottish filmmaker Anthony Baxter (Flint, GFF 2020), which follows one of Scotland’s most gifted painters, James Morrison, through the last two years of his life. 

Creation Stories - Written by Irvine Welsh and starring GFF favourite Ewen Bremner, Creation Stories charts the rise of the infamous founder of Creation Records, Alan McGee. Directed by Nick Moran, the incredible cast includes Jason Isaacs, Suki Waterhouse and Rebecca Root. Creation Stories will be available on Sky Cinema from March 20. 

Limbo - critically adored British debut feature from Scottish director Ben Sharrock and the first feature film to ever shoot in Uist –  a deadpan comedy-drama following a Syrian refugee (Amir El-Masry) who finds himself in a refugee centre on a remote Scottish island

World and European Premieres including:

Poly Styrene: I Am A Cliché brings to screen the life of ‘one of the least conventional front-persons in rock history’: Poly Styrene, founder of acclaimed punk band X-Ray Spex, co-directed by her daughter, Celeste Bell, and Paul Sng. 

Handsome - Luke White’s documentary, Nicholas Bourne and his brother Alex set off on a journey to meet other siblings with Down’s Syndrome, as Nicholas prepares to become Alex’s full-time, dedicated carer. 

Sweetheart - Marley Morrison’s knockout debut feature charts the relationship between two young women during a summer holiday; 

A Brixton Tale - Darragh Carey and Bertrand Desrochers debut is a star-crossed romance confronting class, race and love in modern Britain

49 UK premieres including those titles:

The Mauritanian, directed by Kevin Macdonald and based on the best-selling memoir by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, which tells the story of Slahi (played by Tahar Rahim), who was held for years in Guantanamo Bay. Jodie Foster takes on Benedict Cumberbatch in this true-life courtroom drama. 

The Toll, welsh thriller starring Michael Smiley as a contented toll booth operator whose past shows up to haunt him. The cast also includes Annes Elwy and Iwan Rheon. 

Surge - Set over 24 hours in London, Aneil Karia’s stripped-back thriller sees Ben Wishaw give a standout performance that won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting at Sundance Film Festival. 

Black Bear - Lawrence Michael Levine’s psychosexual drama, a darkly comic tale starring Aubrey Plaza, Sarah Gadon and Christopher Abbott. 

Riders of Justice - from Anders Thomas Jensen starring Mads Mikkelsen as a military vet set on a path of revenge. 

Gagarine is a beguiling debut from directors Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh set in a Parisian housing estate earmarked for demolition. 

Rosa’s Wedding -  from Icíar Bollaín,  is the feel-good comedy about becoming the most important person in your own life, even if that means marrying yourself. 

Apples is the haunting debut feature from Greek director Christos Nikou, set during a mysterious pandemic which causes sudden amnesia. 

Cowboys - Anna Kerrigan’s debut feature which won Best Screenplay and Best Actor in US Narrative Feature at Tribeca Film Festival, stars Steve Zahn as a father on a camping trip with his transgender son Joe (Sasha Knight).

This year, The GFF turn their popular Country Focus to South Korea, with five incredible UK premieres, including:

Our Midnight, debut feature from director Jung-eun Lim. 

Voices of Silence -  from Eui-jeong Hong’s  is a bittersweet crime caper about good people who do bad things, with an award-winning performance from Burning’s Yoo Ah-In. 

The Swordsman, from director Jae-Hoon Choi, blends epic fight scenes and heartfelt drama in a tale of skilled swordsman brought out of a life of hiding and seclusion for one last battle. 

Da Capo - from Chan-yang Shim - a struggling musician returns to his hometown and rediscovers his passion for music while helping a former bandmate coach a rock band made up by her music school pupils. 

The Man Standing Next from director Min-ho Woo -  South Korea’s 2021 Oscar candidate - a tense conspiracy thriller set in the final days of President Park Chung-hee’s (Sung-min Lee) rule in 1979. Korean intelligence chief Kim Gyu-pyeong (Byung-hun Lee) has sworn to serve, but his loyalty is tested to the limit in a key moment for South Korea’s history.

There are still tickets available for all these titles. Feel free to have a look at the whole programme on their website and enjoy Scotland in your home. Next year, we’ll definitely go to Glasgow !

[anotheruserwithnoname]

NTA longlist vote includes Jenna, The Serpent

Longlist voting for the UK’s 2021 National Television Awards is now underway. Up until 11 pm UK time on June 4, you can cast your votes in assorted categories (I just voted successfully from Canada so you don’t need to be in Britain).

Jenna Coleman’s series, The Serpent, is on the longlist for New Drama and Jenna herself is up for Drama Performance. Unfortunately, due to the NTA’s decision to lump all acting performers together under one category this year, she’s up against her co-star, Tahar Rahim on the longlist, and there’s only one vote allowed. Sorry, Tahar!

After this round of voting, the final shortlist of nominees will be announced in August and a final vote will open ahead of the winners being announced on Sept. 9.

Head here to cast your vote: note you have to provide a name and email address for your vote to count, so they’re trying to make it a one-vote-per-user thing.

[kristenswig]

Best Picture

Nomadland

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Minari

Mank

Judas and the Black Messiah

Promising Young Woman

One Night in Miami

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

The Father If 10- Sound of Metal In Its Flop Era- News of the World How Far Are We Taking This Bit- The Mauritanian No- Da 5 Bloods Fell Off- Soul Get Out of My House- Borat

Best Director

Chloe Zhao - Nomadland

David Fincher - Mank

Lee Isaac Chung - Minari

Emerald Fennell - Promising Young Woman

Shaka King - Judas and the Black Messiah I Simply Do Not Accept It Into My Heart - Aaron Sorkin - The Trial of the Chicago 7 Let’s Ask Oscar Nominated Directors Ben Affleck, Denzel Washington, and Bradley Cooper How This Goes - Regina King - One Night in Miami I’m Not Seeing It But I Would Like To - Florian Zeller - The Father Still No - Spike Lee - Da 5 Bloods Whoever the Hell Directed This - “Paul Greengrass” - News of the World Wouldn’t Be That Surprising - Thomas Vinterberg - Another Round

Best Actress

Viola Davis - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Frances McDormand - Nomadland

Carey Mulligan - Promising Young Woman 

Vanessa Kirby - Pieces of a Woman

Andra Day - The United States vs. Billie Holiday Fad - Rosamund Pike - I Care a Lot Stop Trying to Make This Happen - Sophia Loren - The Life Ahead I Do Have to Be Impressed With Netflix’s Blatant Astroturfing of This Campaign/Movie - Zendaya - Malcolm & Marie shestrying.jpg - Amy Adams - Hillbilly Elegy

Best Actor

Chadwick Boseman - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Anthony Hopkins - The Father

Riz Ahmed - Sound of Metal

Steven Yeun - Minari

Gary Oldman - Mank Tempting- Tahar Rahim - The Mauritanian Most Acting- Delroy Lindo - Da 5 Bloods Sure!- Mads Mikkelsen - Another Round

Supporting Actress

Yuh-Jung Youn - Minari

Maria Bakalova - Borat

Olivia Colman - The Father

Amankda Seyfried - Mank

Dominique Fishback - Judas and the Black Messiah Do I Dare Predict This Snub - Glenn Close - Hillbilly Elegy Still Feels Like a Globes Thing - Jodie Foster - The Mauritanian Even I Didn’t Get Why This Was Supposed to Happen - Ellen Burstyn - Pieces of a Woman Shut It Down - Helena Zengel - News of the World

Supporting Actor

Daniel Kaluuya - Judas and the Black Messiah

Sacha Baron Cohen - Trial of the Chicago 7

Leslie Odom Jr. - One Night in Miami

Paul Raci - Sound of Metal

David Strathairn - Nomadland Nothing for This Movie - Chadwick Boseman - Da 5 Bloods Everything for This Movie? - Alan Kim - Minari Also a Fad - Jared Leto - The Little Things

Adapted Screenplay

Nomadland

The Father

One Night in Miami

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

B*rat Should’ve Just Sat There and Ate Your Tech Nominations - News of the World Ok - The Mauritanian When Did This Category Get So Many Contenders - The White Tiger BONNIE WAKE UP - I’m Thinking of Ending Things BONNIE STAY WITH ME I NEED YOU - First Cow

Original Screenplay

Trial of the Chicago 7

Mank

Promising Young Woman

Minari

Judas and the Black Messiah Probably Stupid Not to Predict This - Sound of Metal In Another Year - Soul They Probably Watched This - Palm Springs They Did Not Watch This - Never Rarely Sometimes Always

Cinematography

Nomadland

Mank

News of the World

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (???)

Judas and the Black Messiah Was Going to Predict This Until the ASC Happened - Minari Cherk? - Cherk The Worst Shot Movie of the Year - Da 5 Bloods His Movies Only End Up Here If It’s Also a Best Picture Nominee - Tenet Automatic B&W Possibilities - Malcolm & Marie, Dear Comrades, Gunda

Costume Design

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Mank

Emma

Personal History of David Copperfield

Jingle Jangle CHAOS NOMINEE They Didn’t Care for Aladdin?- Mulan Another Tempting Pick- Ammonite Feel Like It Should’ve Had a Guild Nomination- News of the World Aggressive- Promising Young Woman Recent- The United States vs. Billie Holiday

Film Editing

The Trial of the Chicago 7

Nomadland

Promising Young Woman

Sound of Metal

The Father (the gif is at the ready) I Had Mank in Too Many Categories So I Dropped It From Here - Mank Is In The BP Top 5 - Minari Already Predicting That This Movie Will Stomp So - Judas and the Black Messiah The Paul Greengrass Version of This Movie Would’ve Scored - News of the World Again Only When He’s In Best Picture - Tenet

Makeup and Hair

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Hillbilly Elegy

Birds of Prey

The Glorias

Jingle Jangle AGAIN Another Mank Prediction Drop - Mank Is It Flashy Enough?? - Emma Gaslighting is When I’m Told Another Pinocchio Movie Came Out - Pinocchio

Production Design

Mank

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

News of the World

The Midnight Sky

Tenet See Above Re: Aladdin - Mulan They Don’t Like Women’s Period Pieces Here - Emma Deserves Pt. 1 - The Father Enough - The Trial of the Chicago 7 Deserves Pt. 2 - Personal History of David Copperfield

Score

Soul

Mank

Minari

The Midnight Sky

Tenet Literally No Clue - News of the World Watch Another Movie - The Trial of the Chicago 7 Kristenswig Official FYC - The Invisible Man

how did we literally get rid of sound editing before this category

the one song about speaking

the one song about seeing

the one song about fighting

the one song about hearing

I had the word “Eurovision” blacklisted on this website and also Twitter so I didn’t even know this movie existed until like 4 months after it came out Stacey - Abrams Minari?? The Only Song I’ve Actually Heard and then Voluntarily Listened to Again - Green

Sound et al.

Sound of Metal

Mank

News of the World

Greyhound

Tenet (although I’m sensing a potential breakup between this branch and Christopher Nolan coming) There Was The....Music - Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom There Was Also Music - Soul Bucket Shitting - Nomadland Space! - The Midnight Sky

Visual Effects

Tenet

The Midnight Sky

Welcome to Chechnya

Mank

The ! One ! and ! Only ! Ivan ! Not Feeling Her - Mulan the what - Love and Monsters

Animated Feature

Soul

Wolfwalkers

Over the Moon

Onward (the sample size for two Pixars potentially being nominated at the same time is like...one non-pandemic year)

Shaun the Sheep ??? - The Croods Most Influential - Trolls World Tour Literally Nothing Would Surprise Me - Bombay Rose We Already Have Netflix Covered Twice Here - The Willoughbys When tf Did This Come Out - No. 7 Cherry Lane 

Doc Feature

Time (or is this the frontrunner that gets snubbed every year)

Collective

Welcome to Chechnya

Boys State

All In This Makes Sense! - MLK/FBI This Makes Sense! - Crip Camp This Makes Sense! - The Truffle Hunters This Makes Sense! - Dick Johnson Is Dead

The Artist Formerly and More Accurately Known as Best Foreign Language Film

Another Round

Quo Vadis Aida

Collective

Two of Us

The Man Who Sold His Skin There Are Like 500 Ways You Could Spin The Last 3 Spots In This Category and I Wouldn’t Be Shocked So In Descending Order of Likelihood? - Dear Comrades, La Llorona, I’m No Longer Here, Night of Kings

[letterboxd]

Life Detained.

The Mauritanian director Kevin Macdonald talks with Jack Moulton about researching Guantanamo Bay’s top secrets, Tahar Rahim’s method-acting techniques, the ingenuity of humanity during the pandemic, and his favorite Scottish films.

“You’ve got to understand that for a Muslim man like Tahar, this role has a much greater significance than it does for you or me.” —Kevin Macdonald

It’s not uncommon for a director to release two films in one year, but Academy-Award winning—for his 1999 documentary One Day in September—director Kevin Macdonald is guilty of this achievement multiple times. Ten years ago, he released his first crowd-sourced documentary Life in a Day and the period epic The Eagle within months of each other. A decade on, he’s done it again.

The Scottish director (and grandson of legendary filmmaker Emeric Pressburger) released both his Life in a Day follow-up and the legal drama The Mauritanian this month. The latter tells the story of Guantanamo Bay detainee Mohamedou Ould Slahi (sometimes written as Salahi), who was held and tortured in the notorious US detention center for fourteen years without a charge. The film, adapted from Slahi’s 2015 memoir Guantánamo Diary, features Jodie Foster and Shailene Woodley as his defense attorneys Nancy Hollander and Teri Duncan, with Benedict Cumberbatch, who also signed on as the film’s producer, playing prosecutor Lt. Stuart Couch.

Benedict Cumberbatch as prosecutor Lt. Stuart Couch in ‘The Mauritanian’.

The Mauritanian also introduces French star Tahar Rahim to a global audience, in the role of Slahi. “The ensemble is excellent across the board,” writes Zach Gilbert, “while Tahar Rahim is best in show overall, bringing honorable heart and humanity to his role [of] the titular mistreated prisoner.”

Much of the story is filmed as an office-based legal thriller involving thick files, intense conversations, and Jodie Foster’s very bright lipstick. Macdonald expertly employs aspect ratio to signify narrative shifts into scenes recreating Slahi’s vivid recollections of torture and his achingly brief conversations with unseen fellow detainees.

Qualifying for this year’s awards season due to extended deadlines, The Mauritanian has already earned Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress for Rahim and Foster respectively. Slahi remains unable to travel due to no-fly lists, but he was a valuable resource to the production, providing an accurate and rare depiction of a sympathetic Muslim character in an American film.

It was the eve of Life in a Day 2020’s Sundance Film Festival premiere when we Zoomed with Macdonald. Behind him, we spied a full set of the Italian posters for Michelangelo Antonioni’s classic Blow-Up. As it turns out, he’s not a fan of the film—only the posters—so we got him talking about his desert-island top ten after a few questions about his new film.

The attention to detail on Guantanamo Bay in The Mauritanian is impressive. There are procedures depicted that you rarely see on-screen. How did you conduct your research? Obviously Guantanamo Bay is a place which the American government spends a great deal of effort keeping secret. It was important to Mohamedou and me that we depicted the reality of the procedures as accurately as we possibly could. That research came primarily from Mohamedou who has an incredible memory. He drew sketches and made videos of himself lying down in spaces and showing how he could stretch half his arm out [in his cell]. There are a lot of photographs on the internet of Guantanamo Bay which are [fake] and others are from a later period because the place developed a lot over the years since it started in 2002 and Mohamedou was able to [identify] which photos were rooms, courtyards and medical centers he had been in.

Director Kevin Macdonald on set with Jodie Foster.

How did you approach creating an honest representation of the graphic torture scenes, without putting the audience through it as well? Whenever films about this period are [made] they’re always from the point of view of the Americans and this time we’re with Mohamedou. You can’t underestimate the fact that there have really been no mainstream American cinematic portrayals of Muslims at all, so in portraying a sympathetic Muslim character who’s also accused of terrorism, you’re pushing some hot buttons with people. It was important that those people who are uncomfortable with him understand why he confessed to what he confessed.

Everything you see in the film is what happened; the only difference is that they weren’t wearing masks of cats and Shrek-like creatures, they wore Star Wars masks of Yoda and Luke Skywalker in this very perverse fucked-up version of American pop culture. Obviously, we couldn’t get the rights to those. Actually, I don’t feel that it is graphic. There is more violence in your average Marvel movie. It’s psychologically disturbing because you’re experiencing this disorientating lighting, the [heavy-metal] music, and he’s being told his mother’s going to be raped and he’s flashing back to his childhood. To be empathizing with this character and then to see them to be so cruelly treated is so deeply disturbing.

How did you prepare Tahar Rahim for his convincing portrayal of such intense pain and suffering? Tahar went through a great deal of discomfort in order to achieve it. He felt that to give a performance that had any chance of being truthful, he needed to experience a little bit of what Mohamedou had suffered, so throughout the movie he would insist on wearing real shackles which made his leg bleed and give him blisters. I would plead with him to put on rubber ones and he would say “no, I have to do this so I’m not just play-acting”.

He starved himself for about three weeks leading up to a torture sequence—he had lost an awful amount of weight and he was really unsteady on his legs. I was very worried about it and I got him nutritionists and doctors but he was determined to stick with that. You’ve got to understand that for a Muslim man like Tahar, this role has a much greater significance than it does for you or me. He felt a great weight of responsibility to do this correctly, not just for Mohamedou, but he was speaking for the whole Muslim world in a way.

Jodie Foster and Shailene Woodley as defense attorneys in ‘The Mauritanian’.

What compels you to study this period in time? Mohamedou was released a couple of weeks before Trump came to power in 2016, so the story is still ongoing for him. He’s still being harassed by the American government and he’s not allowed to travel because he’s on these no-fly lists. I didn’t want to make a movie that was saying “George W. Bush is terrible”. We’ve been there, we’ve done that. This is looking back with a little bit of distance and saying “here’s the principles that we can learn from when you sidestep the rule of law”—what it takes to stand up like Lt. Stuart Couch did when everyone else around you is going along with something that’s really terrible.

You see that around Trump with the choices within the Republican Party to stand up and say they’re going to sacrifice their careers to do the right thing. It is a hard thing when there’s this mass hysteria in the air. The basic principles that the lawyer [characters] are representing is not about analyzing and replaying what happened after 9/11, they’re directly related in a bigger way to the world we all inhabit.

Did anything surprise you in how your subjects for Life in a Day 2020 addressed the pandemic? One of the most affecting characters in the film is an American who lost his home and business because of the pandemic, so he’s living in his car. He seems very depressed when you meet him for the first time, then later he’s telling us there’s something that’s giving him joy in his life. He brings out all these drones with these cameras on them and puts on this VR headset and loses himself by flying through the trees. I thought that was such a great metaphor for the way that human ingenuity has enabled us to survive and thrive during the pandemic.

I get the feeling of resilience from [the film]. This is a more thoughtful film than the original one. I see this as a movie of [us] being beware of our susceptibility to disease and ultimately to death and mortality, [and] how we’ve found these consolations as human beings. To me, it’s a really profound thing. It also speaks to the main theme of the film which is how we’re all so similar, same as The Mauritanian. It’s confronting you with all these people and saying we fundamentally all share the basic things that underpin our lives and the differences between us are much less important than the things we have in common.

Let’s go from Life in a Day to your life in film. What’s a Scottish film that you love but you feel is very overlooked or underrated? That’s really hard because there aren’t many Scottish films and there aren’t many good ones. Gregory’s Girl is the greatest Scottish film ever made—it’s the bible for life for me. That’s very well-known, so I would have to say Bill Forsyth’s previous film That Sinking Feeling, which was self-funded and made on 16mm black-and-white. It has some of the same actors and characters as Gregory’s Girl in it. Or my grandfather Emeric Pressberger’s film I Know Where I’m Going! which is a rare romantic comedy set in Scotland.

John Gordon Sinclair and Dee Hepburn in Bill Forsyth’s ‘Gregory’s Girl’ (1980).

Which film made you want to become a filmmaker? I think it was Errol Morris’s The Thin Blue Line, which is one of the top five documentaries ever made and in my top ten desert-island movies.

What else is in your desert-island top ten? Oh god, don’t! I knew you were going to ask me that. I’ll give a few. I would say there would have to be something by Preston Sturges—maybe The Lady Eve or The Palm Beach Story. There would have to be a film written by my grandfather, so probably The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, which is the best British film ever made. There would have to be Singin’ in the Rain, which is the most purely joyful film I’ve ever seen. There would probably be The Battle of Algiers, which I rewatched recently and was an inspiration on The Mauritanian. Citizen Kane I also rewatched in anticipation of watching Mank, of which I was very disappointed. I thought it completely missed the point and was kind of boring.

Which was the best film released in 2020 for you? I thought the Russian film Dear Comrades! was really stunning. It was made by a director [Andrei Konchalovsky] in his 80s who first worked with Andrei Tarkovsky back in the late 1950s. He co-scripted Ivan’s Childhood. I would love to make my masterpiece when I’m 86 too!

Related content

Films with Muslim characters

Movies that pass the Riz test

Scottish Cinema—a regularly updated list

Follow Jack on Letterboxd

‘The Mauritanian’ is in select US cinemas and virtual theaters now, and on SVOD from March 2. ‘Life in a Day 2020’ is available to stream free on YouTube, as is the original.

[witnesstorture]

WAT Fast during June Torture Awareness Week

  We invite you to join WAT’s Torture Awareness Week Fast (June 21-26).  We will be fasting in our homes in deference to the still unvanquished pandemic. Fast for a day or two or for all five days, and meet with us on Zoom for mutual support on Monday and Wednesday evenings and Saturday morning.  Our purpose is to use our own bodies to deepen our understanding of the U.S. use of torture, especially against the Muslim men locked in Guantanamo. Read our Thoughts on Fasting.

If you would like to join us, please send an email to witnesstorture@gmail.com with “RSVP for Fast” in the subject line: you’ll receive the Zoom link and tips on fasting safely.  Below are actions to take and other Torture Awareness Week events.

Press release: Torture Awareness Week — WAT June 2021 Press Release

Menu of Actions to Take During the Week

Choose the actions that are meaningful to you. Even if you decide not to fast, you can still join in taking concrete actions to oppose torture and support torture survivors. Keep checking back for details: list is in progress!

-Write to the men in Guantanamo: Names and instructions are here.

-Email/call Congresspersons:  This week, call or email your representative and Senators telling them you’re concerned about the men in Guantanamo, and why.  Urge them to press the administration to clear and release detainees and close Guantanamo. Find your members: House, Senate. 

-Email/call President Biden: Tell President Biden why you’re concerned about the men in Guantanamo and urge him to act more quickly to empty the prison and close it. Email: www.whitehouse.gov/contact/  Call: 202-456-1111

-Vigil in your home town:  Make a sign stating your own demand and stand on a busy street corner for an hour.  Ask your friends to join you, but even a one-person vigil can have an impact.  

-Write a letter to your home town paper: Use your own words or draw on some of the ideas in this Sample Letter to the Editor . Draw on the stark facts as reasons to close Guantanamo. Your viewpoint counts, especially in your own community!  

–Watch The Mauritanian, the film about former Guantanamo prisoner Mohamedou Ould Salahi, starring Jodie Foster and Tahar Rahim.  Now available online for only $5.99.  Watch it yourself, or organize a group of friends to view it together!  

Events

Keep checking back for what other groups are doing: the list is in progress! (And send us your local anti-torture and close Guantanamo actions and events to post.)

–WAT Fast

Monday, June 21 – WAT Fast Begins: Zoom circle at 8 pm ET (Send email to witnesstorture@gmail.com with “RSVP to fast” in subject line for Zoom link)

Wednesday, June 23 – WAT Fast Zoom circle at 8 pm ET

Saturday, June 26 – 11 am WAT Fast Zoom circle and breaking of fast

–TASSC online conference – The Asylum Crisis in the US

Wednesday, June 23 –  Info and Zoom sign-up here.

–Close Guantanamo Vigil Livestream 

Saturday, June 26, 2 pm – We will livestream a WAT Close Guantanamo Vigil in Lafayette Park, Washington DC. 

Torture Awareness Week is the lead-up to June 26, the International UN Day of Support for Victims of Torture — a day that WAT has traditionally observed in conjunction with TASSC: Torture Abolition and  Survivors Support Coalition.  TASSC was founded in 1998 by Sister Dianna Ortiz after she was captured and brutally tortured while teaching in the highlands of Guatemala.  Upon her return to the U.S. she fasted in front of the White House demanding information about U.S. involvement in her torture.  Tragically, this courageous woman, who not only survived kidnapping and torture but used the experience to become a voice for torture victims everywhere  died of cancer February 19 at the age  of 62.  We miss her greatly.  Dianna, Presente!

In the early years of WAT we gathered in June to vigil in solidarity with torture survivors at the TASSC vigil in Lafayette Square, donning orange jump suits and protesting nonviolently.

This year a small group of WAT and other local activists will hold a vigil in Lafayette Square at 2 pm Saturday June 26, to read the names of the 40 Muslim men in Guantanamo.  Watch it live-streamed at facebook.com/rehumanizeintl.

–Buffalo, NY Silent Vigil for UN “International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.”

Saturday, June 26, 2021 from 6 to 7 pm at University Presbyterian Church, at the intersection of Main Street and Niagara Falls Boulevard, Buffalo (across from UB Main Street Campus).

All are welcome to bear living witness to Micah 6:8 through peaceful action.

–Starvin’ for Justice Anti-death Penalty Events

June 29 – July 2, Supreme Court Washington, DC

Starvin’ for Justice Anti-death Penalty Fast and Vigil    Death penalty abolitionists from around the country will gather for the 28th year at the steps of the Supreme Court to call for an end to capital punishment in the United States.

Donate

–Online donations: Click here.

–By check:  Please make your check out to Witness Against Torture and send it to:

New York Catholic Worker Attn: Witness Against Torture 55 East Third Street New York, NY 10003

      WAT Fast during June Torture Awareness Week was originally published on Witness Against Torture

[theoffendingbobble]

Good movies

I have enjoyed so few movies this year. I have watched a lot of movies that I should have enjoyed but left me feeling very meh.

However, here are movies I watched this year that I actually enjoyed.

The White Tiger.

Everyone in this movie is awful. Also, read the book. There is literally one gif of this movie in existence, so you get this pretty poster instead.

The Courier.

Obviously. It's a fabulous - and true - Cold War thriller. People who didn't grow up during the Cold War should learn about the existential terror of never knowing when we were going to die in a literal nuclear holocaust.

Nobody.

Not a John Wick rip-off. People forget that Bob Odenkirk could act before he was Saul. And that he's quite hot. Anyway this is a lot of fun and I promise you, it is not a John Wick rip-off.

Promising Young Woman.

It was released here in 2021 so I get to claim it. I doubt there's anyone who hasn't heard about this movie. I kind of wish it was a book because it would be a fantastic book.

The Mauritanian.

Another Benedict Cumberbatch movie although he's only in a small role. The lead Tahar Rahim is fantastic. This is not a cheerful film, based on The Guantanamo Diaries, so pick your time to watch it.

I've just realised he's the lead in the TV show The Serpent. God I despised him in that show, what a wonderful actor.