#and barry is equally as much of a menace

[patheticrafeenjoyer]

real obx twitter interaction

[scotianostra]

The respected Scottish actor Roy Hanlon passed away on June 30th 2005.

Throughout his career Roy Hanlon was a much loved and respected character actor. He appeared often on television, with many theatre companies in Scotland and Ireland and graced many productions at the Edinburgh Festival. Indeed he had the distinction of appearing in three productions of the epic Thrie Estaites in the same role. His well-known face, however, was seen in important supporting roles in a host of Scottish drama series, including Dr Finlay’s Casebook, Sutherland’s Law and The Borderers.

Roy Hanlon trained with the Scottish Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1960. He joined the Glasgow Citizens’ Company and was a member of the company at that year’s Edinburgh Festival in Durenmatt’s seldom-performed Romullus the Great. He was back two years later in an equally rare play - The Doctor and the Devils - with a host of leading Scottish actors.

In 1964 Hanlon made the first of several appearances in Dr Finlay’s Casebook and appeared as a menacing doctor in Edward Bond’s acclaimed radio drama Castles in Spain. In 1967 he was in two films. The first (Robbery), starring Stanley Baker, was about a gang who robbed the overnight Glasgow to London train. He then appeared in an espionage thriller, The Naked Runner alongside Frank Sinatra and Edward Fox. Critics greeted neither movie with much enthusiasm. Two years later, Hanlon was cast in several leading television dramas of the period, notably the underground spy drama Jason King, which made a star of Peter Wyngarde.

Throughout the 1970s, Hanlon appeared in a host of roles. These included BBC Scotland’s popular 1972 drama Sutherland’s Law, about a procurator fiscal, starring Iain Sutherland, and The Saint - the award-winning series on ITV starring Roger Moore.

It was in 1984 that Hanlon first came to the Festival to play Spiritualitie in Tom Fleming’s dramatic production of the Thrie Estaites. The production starred such actors as Andrew Cruickshank, David Rintoul, Edith Macarthur and Alec Heggie and was repeated the following year. Hanlon also returned to the same role in the 1991 production of the play. In 1985 it was performed at the Assembly Hall in tandem with Sydney Goodsir Smith’s The Wallace, in which Hanlon played John Mentieth. The Wallace demanded much of the huge cast: the opening scene alone was given in old Scots and contemporary English.

In the early 1980s, Hanlon became a regular visitor to Ireland and worked often with the Abbey Theatre of Dublin (including a memorable Doctor’s Dilemma in 1982). Two years earlier he had made a notable impression in the world premiere of Brian Friel’s Translations, in which Hanlon delivered an engrossing account of Jimmy Jack alongside the young Liam Neeson and Stephen Rea.

Hanlon was with the Abbey in 1995 for Patrick Mason’s production of Sebastian Barry’s The Only True History of Lizzie Finn. In 1998 Hanlon was nominated for a Barclay’s Theatre Award for his appearance in Juno and the Paycock. Hanlon remained a fiercely proud Scot and was devoted to his profession and his family. He was still working up to 2014, when he was seen in BBC2’s Takin’ Over the Asylum.

[yesterdanereviews]

Men in Black 3 (2012)

Film review #535

Director: Barry Sonnenfeld

SYNOPSIS: Agents J and K are investigating an alien incident when they discover one of K’s old enemies, Boris, has escaped from his prison on the moon. J wakes up one morning to find out that K is gone, apparently having forty years ago. It seems Boris has travelled back in time and killed K, so J must also travel back in time to 1969 to prevent K’s death and stop Boris...

THOUGHTS/ANALYSIS: Men in Black 3 is a 2012 sci-fi film and the third in the Men in Black franchise, loosely based on the comics of the same name. The film opens up with a ruthless criminal, Boris (if that is his real name) escaping from his prison on the moon. He heads to earth to take his revenge on the agent who put him there: Agent K. To do so, he travels back in time to kill Agent K, so that his existence for the last 40 years is wiped out. Agent J must himself travel back to 1969 to stop Boris from accomplishing his plan, and save his partner. Bringing in time travel as the core mechanic, the plot has the potential to get very confusing very fast; but the film keeps it mostly simple, so everything stays together well: that’s not to say that there’s no questions surrounding some of the effects of time travel, because there is, but they don’t distract too much from the plot. The enemy this time is Boris, an alien who was imprisoned on the moon because he is such a menace. His whole plot again isn’t too important, and mostly serves as a catalyst to the main element of the film and the previous ones, which is the relationship between agents J and K. On this point, the film again gives us a solid and in-depth exploration of their characters and interactions, and while some of it is re-treading ground from the first two films, there is enough that is new and refreshing to make it worthwhile to sit through. The plot goes at a decent enough pace, and holds back enough mystery and suspense to make a decent payoff at the end, and enough energy along the way to sustain your attention until you get there. The film does gloss over many of the events of the first two films, and there’s some incongruities there, but on the other hand, it also makes this film easily a standalone feature, while still being an extension of what went before. Given the ten-year gap between this film and the previous one, it makes sense that the film can stand on it’s own, as some of it’s viewers will not have watched the first two, or simply forgot the particulars.

While the first film had a rather conventional relationship between J being the rookie, and K being the veteran agent; the second reversed this relationship by having J re-recruit K, which turned J into the veteran, but this reversal didn’t really work for a number of reasons (which I laid out in my review of the film). Men in Black 3 uses the time travel element to again reconfigure their relationship. J and K are essentially equals, but K still refuses to open up about his life. When J travels back in time to 1969, his relationship with young K is a bit more dynamic: J is the veteran, but he’s also a “fish out of water” in 1969, and K is the junior agent, but knows how everything works in that time, so neither of them are the rookie, but neither are they both the vets, so they’re on equal, but even footing, which gives their characters something new and interesting to explore throughout the film. Josh Brolin as young K does a really great job here: he captures Tommy Lee Jones’ K  very well, while also putting enough of a spin on it to make it his own. Will Smith is still able to do what he does best getting into slapstick and humourous antics, but his maturity also lets him have some emotional moments too. The supporting characters and villain fill their roles well enough, but they’re nothing too special, but again, the series has always hinged on J and K’s relationship first, and alien invasions and agency bureaucracy second.

The film does a good job brining the 60′s Men in Black to life, with plenty of fun weapon and vehicle designs, and some creative aliens too. While the pop culture references in Men in Black II aged the film and didn’t really work, the time travel element gives the film more free reign to bring 60′s culture to life without aging the film itself. The ending of the film, which isn’t too hard to work out what’s going to happen when it gets underway, is nevertheless emotional and gripping, and feels like a good pay-off. I felt like maybe the film ends a bit too abruptly after though, as it generates all of these emotions, and never works through them to any degree, and so just leaves them hanging in the mind of the viewer with no outlet for them, but I think that others could easily be more satisfied with the ending, and so that point is probably more a matter of opinion than a critique of the film. Overall, Men in Black 3 is definitely an improvement over it’s predecessor, although Men in Black II lowered the bar a fair amount. It’s not a perfect film and still struggles with story outside of it’s core characters, but the film offers a fresh angle on exploring the relationship between the two main characters, while also still being fun and entertaining. Predictable in some parts, but still offers up enough fun and heart to be worth a watch for fans of the franchise, and tight enough to watch as a standalone film if you’ve never seen any of the others.

[sleepyconfusedpotato]

Hi Sleepy! A fellow MW fan here 👉👈 and I've been a fan of yours for a while now.

Just wanna do a little game with you if that's alright?

Choose between :

OG!MW/Reboot!MW

OG!Price/Reboot!Price

OG!Soap/Reboot!Soap

OG!Ghost/Reboot!Ghost

OG!Gaz/Reboot!Gaz (Kyle Garrick)

Roach/Alex Echo 3-1

That's it! Love your work and don't forget to rest if needed! ✨

Hello Anon! (｡•́‿•̀｡)۶

HOO BOI OKAY DUDE So you're gonna make me choose between my favorite games???? C'mon now 😭😭 but okay here goes nothing--

✤ OG!MW / Reboot!MW (OG Modern Warfare got me into FPS games and one of my fav games and one of the best campaigns, and that Gen. Shepherd betrayal is probably one of the most iconic betrayal in game history. Now, Reboot!MW got me hooked again and revived my love for CoD after a long time of not following any games really. Great gameplay and THE GRAPHICSSSS!!!! MY GOD IT WAS AHEAD OF IT'S TIME (and as an artist MW19 cinematics are basically eyeporn) So I can't really choose on this one. Both have equally valuable memories for me) ✤ OG!Price / Reboot!Price

OKAY OKAY HEAR ME OUT-- I think both are equally iconic. OG Price is the founding father, the grand commander, a total badass, a fucking menace to society. HOWEVER ☝️☝️☝️.... (HEAR ME OUTTTT OKAYYYY) Reboot!Price is all of that.... and hotter :)

YEAH. YEAH. YOU HEARD ME. YEAH I AIN'T TAKING BACK MY WORD.

There's just-- something about his voice and they way he stands and the way he-- y--you know what I'm talking about... (bless Barry Sloane for this. He NAILED that Captain Price role)

✤ OG!Soap / Reboot!Soap

No debate on this one. Unless the Reboot!DishSoap pulled something hella bombastic I ain't changing my mind.

✤ OG!Ghost / Reboot!Ghost

I've already made a post on this exact topic (here it is). But if you're too lazy to read it here are my argumentation points :

He's hot

He's hot

He's hot

He's hot

He's hot

Thank you.

✤ OG!Gaz / Reboot!Gaz (Kyle Garrick)

I just like how Kyle got his character development on MW19 as one of the main characters. OG!Gaz is daddy but Reboot!Gaz is SO CUTE UGH (Elliot Knight is one HELLA FINE man)

✤ Roach / Alex Echo 3-1

I CANNOT CHOOSE. Roach is a REALLY memorable character in MW2 and also his death embedded itself inside my memory so hard. But Alex also has that same magic on me.

Also, bonus points of Alex with Farah? Homeboi Echo was down BAD with Farah when he called her "Commander". There aren't any romance plot there but I got the tension so why not ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

So there it goes Anon! Thank you so much for this little game o(>ω<)o Also thank you for the kind words and support! ٩(｡•́‿•̀｡)۶

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 30

Last time: May Chang ducked just in time, Doc lost patience with his patients, and Ed decided to go for a double-major. Onwards!

Roy? Faded-out colors? Wait, are we getting a flashback episode? Come on, we just started progressing the plot again, especially after Beard’s episode-long mental debate. Ok, fine. Some old guy in a sickbed is refusing to teach Roy “Flame Alchemy” (aka the one thing he’s known for so I can tell how this is going to go) because he’s joining the Military. Obviously Roy’s teacher, given the different hair color I’m guessing not related. Student!Roy keeps talking about how Amestris is under threat from all sides, that the military needs Alchemists to protect their homes, but Master refuses to hear it. Even an appeal to Military funds to deal with the rundown house doesn’t work, since Master doesn’t need a grant for “something I’ve already completed.” What was Master researching? Master muses about he’s created “the most powerful alchemy”, and he’s grown complacent since completing it. The guy is definitely a Ravenclaw, saying that Alchemists have to hunt for knowledge all their lives, that he’s “been dead for a long time.” Oooh, and now Master’s coughs are a bit more wet sounding, we know that Roy figures out Flame Alchemy later but it’s not going to be from this- [Student!Roy]: “Are you all right?! Master Hawkeye!” [Master Hawkeye]: “Look after… my daughter. She’s in possession of… my research…look after...” Whoa, Master is Riza’s father? Was Riza’s father? Ok scratch my earlier complaining, I am totally down for an episode on how Roy and Riza met! Episode 30 - “The Ishvalan War of Extermination “ ...of course. I get all excited about seeing how my #2 ship first met, and of course it takes place during a friggin genocide. Thank Leto, their first meeting wasn’t in the middle of the ‘Civil War’. I guess they met up when Roy studied under Master Hawkeye, they seem familiar enough as they stand in the graveyard at her father’s headstone. Uh, Roy? I may not have much experience flirting or dating, but I’m pretty sure giving a girl your number literally over her father’s dead body is a slight faux pas. Beyond that, we get Roy giving his idealistic “I wanna make a difference in this country” speech, Riza saying she thinks it’s good to care. And with that, she trusts him with her father’s research. Back to modern day it seems! Gratuitous shot of Riza in the shower good LETO what is that on your back? Ok hold up, Riza’s always been one of the few in their merry band who doesn’t use Alchemy, faces down foes who can generate and manipulate matter with only her pistols or maybe a rifle. But that giant tattoo on her back (scars aside) just screams Alchemy, with something like that I’d expect her to be throwing lightning around with the best of them. What’s the story here? Barking dog? Oh yeah, Riza was walking a dog back when Barry made the poor decision to attack her. And Ed continues his streak of losing horribly to canines, he’s stopped by to catch up with Riza after everything’s that happened. Oh, and to return the gun! Riza’s cleaning it as Ed says he never had to use it. Or rather, he could never use it. Face to faces with Envy, he- Never mind, he’s talking about the time he dropped the gun facing Scar, and then stopped Winry from shooting him. Yikes, keep talking down about Riza’s method of combat as “something evil”, I’m sure she’ll take that well. (And hoo boy, this is gonna be an interesting episode if we go into the ethics of firearms, isn’t it?) Riza says he’s just dwelling because he made it back alive, he just needs to focus on living, to help Winry. [Riza]: “How else can you protect her? I mean after all, you love her, don’t you?” [Ed]: *spit take on the dog, frantic denials* Ha! But back to serious business, Riza’s saying that she’s killed too many to feel sorry for herself, that she chose this path. Yikes. Need to remember that although I don’t think we’ve seen Riza kill anyone on screen so far, she was involved in Ishval like all the other State Alchemists. Just like in another reality, Hawkeye can be a good friend, but they’re still a trained killer. Speaking of Ishval, Scar’s questioning Doctor Marcoh about his involvement in the genocide! Then we’re back to Riza, talking about the Ishvalan homeland and people. A place of sand and rocks, with a resolute people. A faction protested their annexation by Amestris (so was there a war of conquest before this, or did Amestris just roll in one day and say “You lot pay us taxes now”?), a random soldier/Envy shot a kid, the torches and pitchforks were taken out, and civil war raged for seven years. Huh, that long? With how calm and peaceful the Ishvalans seemed in past flashbacks and the sudden shock of cannons firing on Scar’s town, I thought this was a much quicker affair. Then, the Fuhrer signed a little piece of paper called “Executive Order 3066”.

Obligatory comparison is obligatory. So the Ishvalan War of Extermination began, and we get the now-familiar clips of cannons firing and blue-eyed soldiers marching in, with flashes of State Alchemists doing their thing. And- oh, Leto. By this point Riza had joined the military. As a sniper. That’s… that scene of seeing the Ishvalan through the scope… her eyes... [Riza]: “Most combat is blind. A normal soldier might fire erratically without a clear target in mind. But it’s different for snipers. Someone is sure to die when we pull the trigger. Where other soldiers don’t always have a direct line of sight on the effects of their actions… snipers do.” And then we’re back to the State Alchemists, who share a sniper’s viewpoint. Some pompous guy who I dimly remember getting HoD’d by Scar. Roy snapping his fingers. A familiar metal glove slamming down and Earthbending up a wall to block fleeing Ishvalans. And young Armstrong kneeling behind that wall, trembling as he listens to the Ishvalans being gunned down on the other side. ...why did I agree to see this show? We’re in the Amestris camp now, a guy who I’m pretty sure is Mr. Monopoly is ranting about “the savages” taking his leg, when Hughes (guuuuuuuuuh) spots Roy walking through the white cloaks. He turns around to show the same eyes as Riza. And as Hughes chats with Roy cleaning up, the Flame Alchemist points out those same eyes behind those shiny glasses. A letter? Aw, Hughes got a letter from Gracia, after the initial glee attack he starts worrying that being all alone in Central some creep’s going to hit on her. Awwwww. Wait, no. No! [Roy]: “Hey, Hughes? I got a little advice for you. It happens in movies in novels all of the time; the soldiers who never shut up about their girls back home? *finger gun* They don’t make it.” HOW DARE As heartbreaking as future events will be, it is good to see Hughes happy, having something to look forward to tomorrow. And then the mood goes RIGHT BACK DOWN as Riza shuffles up and greets Major Mustang, asking if he remembers her. Leto, this is the first time they’ve met since her father’s grave?! “Damn this war” indeed! Two mid-ep pictures of gratuitous-Riza with her tattoo? Although in the first one there’s no scarring… The three are sitting in camp now, wondering why they’re being ordered to kill citizens rather than protect them. [?]: “Because that’s the job we State Alchemists have been given to do!” Wait. Wait wait wait. I don’t have subtitles anymore, but that face… Mister Smiley? Oh wow. Mister Smiley is an ass. Guy’s happily saying that their job seems to be causing tragedy, and then slams Riza by asking if she feels satisfaction and pride when she shoots an enemy. Yeah, Asshole. Get this guy in the show proper so I can see his ass getting kicked, writers. Roy confronts Kimblee, who insults him for putting on a uniform and then being “surprised’ when he has to kill and arguing that the only thing worse than killing is turning your eyes away blah blah blah just SHUT UP you ass. This whole situation is messed up beyond anything our characters know at this point, but by no means can you sit there and say that it’s right. But it’s time to get back to “work”. Kimblee saunters off with a smile, and Hughes has to go as well. While explaining to Roy that his reason to fight is simple; he doesn’t want to die. Back to Marcoh, overseeing some Ishvalans getting ritually sacrificed to make a Stone. And to be completely honest… I’m a bit underwhelmed at the size of the sacrifice. Maybe it’s just how Leto-damn dark this show is, but with all the talk about the Ishvalan War being a cover to make Philosopher’s Stones I was expecting to see a heck of a lot more people dying to make the MacGuffin of the series. Or maybe…? This Stone was given to Mister Smiley, who Scar recognizes as the one who killed his family. We see the Crimson Alchemist laughing madly as he turns the battle around with that single stone, ranting about the “beautiful sound” of destruction. Again, get this ass into the show proper so he can suffer. Teatime with Riza again, now talking about how the Ishvalan High Priest surrendered personally to the Fuhrer- who mocks him for his ‘arrogance’ at offering his life as an equal exchange for every other Ishvalan’s, and when the guy’s flunkies declare God will punish him Bradley taunts them about how God hasn’t struck him down yet, how if they want to see him struck down for all his atrocities (his word, not mine, the guy literally calls his own actions ‘atrocities’) that they should use their own hands. Easy for you to say, buddy. You’re not the one with their hands tied behind their back. So the war ends, Roy gives his “I’ll protect my loved ones so they can protect their loved ones” speech now set to much more menacing music than last time, and after he has a staredown with the Fuhrer he’s sitting in his office when Riza walks in. Wait, “decided to take this path after all”? I would have thought that her serving as a sniper meant she was already in the military, how does that work? Or maybe it’s that she’s still continuing in the military even after what she’s seen in Ishval. [Riza]: “If the world truly operates based on the principles of Equivalent Exchange-” EEC: 11 “-then we soldiers have plenty to give back.” And with that, Roy assigns Riza to be his assistant, to watch his back. Aww, the couple’s finally- [Roy]: “Although, I expect you understand what this means. You’ll be able to shoot me in the back as well. If I ever deviate from this path, then I want you to shoot me. And I’m trusting you to do so. Do you accept my offer?” [Riza]: “Of course I do, sir. I’ll follow you into hell if you ask me to.” ...well ok then. I guess that’s one way to ask someone on a date. Back to tea time, Ed’s asking how things can be fixed even if Roy becomes the Fuhrer. That’s right, he’s grown up in Bradley’s military state, hasn’t he? Riza talks about restoring democratic principles, bringing back Parliament, charging the ‘heroes’ of the Ishvalan War as war criminals- wait, what?! Wow. Ok then. So even if our good guys beat the Goths, uncover the corruption of the Military and restore power to the people, they set themselves up to take the fall. That’s… wow. Ed protests that it wasn’t their fault, that the Goths were pulling the strings, but Riza just says that regardless of who started it they still carried out the orders. No hiding behind the chain of command, here. Ouch, Riza. You’ve carried around Mister Smiley’s words all this time, about never forgetting those you kill? I mean it’s great that you turned around that monster’s meaning, but still. What a way to live. Al’s saying bye to the Doc when May stops him, to thank him for saving her and her panda. She’s surprised to learn he’s an Elric, gripes that he probably looks like his mean older brother- Al, no. Al, NO! YOU KNOW NOT WHAT YOU HAVE UNLEASHED! Well ok then. That was a Leto-depressing episode for the most part, we got introduced to a character that I can’t wait to meet a painful demise, there’s an intriguing mystery of Riza’s tattoos and scars, and then we ended on Al making the second-biggest mistake of his life. Can’t wait to see how that turns out. After credits scene: Envy’s knocking on a door, asks if the Doc’s decent. Notes that it’s dark and quiet when he brings in food- and yup, Scar got his Vengeance on the one who empowered his family’s murderer. One down...

[ljones41]

"MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL" (2019) Review

"MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL" (2019) Review Last year, Sony Pictures had announced its intentions to add a fourth entry to the MEN IN BLACK" movie franchise. I have to be honest. I did not receive the news with any real enthusiasm. And my feelings had failed to change when I learned the identities of the movie's two main stars.

"MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL" only shared a few similarities to the franchise's past three films. One of the co-stars proved to be Emma Thompson, who had returned for her second appearance in the franchise as Q, the MIB agency's director. The agency's Manhattan office also appeared in the film. And the MIB agents were up against another deadly alien trying to conquer Earth. Otherwise, there were major differences in this fourth film. Instead of Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, "MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL" starred Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, who had been co-stars in the 2017 Marvel film, "THOR: RAGNAROK". Most of the "MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL" locations were set outside of the U.S. in London, Marrakesh, Naples and Paris. The last difference featured the circumstances surrounding the recruitment of Tessa Thompson's character into the agency. Unlike Will Smith's Agent J, Thompson's character had become aware of the Men in Black agency years before she joined it. The biggest difference between this film and the previous three movies involved a potential threat within the internal affairs of the Men in Black. In 1996 Brooklyn, a young girl named Molly Wright witnesses her parents being neuralysed by Men in Black agents, while she helps an alien escape. Twenty years later, Agents H and High T of the MiB London office travel to Paris to stop an invasion of the Hive – a parasitic race who invade planets by merging with the DNA of the conquered species – at the Eiffel Tower using a wormhole included in the original migration to Earth. After being rejected from the F.B.I. and the C.I.A., due to her "delusions" regarding alien life, Molly tracks down an alien landing and follows MiB agents to their New York City headquarters. Caught entering the agency, Molly makes an impression on the agency's director, Agent O and becomes probationary agent status as "Agent M". She is eventually assigned to the London branch. Agent M's new supervisor is High T, who has become head of the London office. The latter assigns her to become Agent H's new partner, who has developed a God complex, unconcerned with his duties and only keeping his job due to High T covering for him. Both M and H are assigned to guard a royal alien named Vungus the Ugly, during the latter's visit to Earth. A pair of alien twins manage to fatally injure Vungus. The latter gives M a strange crystal before he dies. And the agents of the London office realizes that a MiB agent may have betrayed Vungus to the alien assassins. Due to his lackadaisical behavior, H has become the main suspect. However, this does not last long and M eventually becomes tagged as the agency's traitor. M and H take matters into their hands and decide to conduct their own investigation - an act that leads them to become fugitives from the Men in Black agency. Following the release of "MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL", many critics and fans of the franchise had rained criticism and scorn upon it. Needless to say, the movie proved to be a box office failure, despite making a small profit. It is considered to be the worst film in the franchise. While many blamed the movie's narrative; the majority of the film's negative press seemed to stem from the fact that the movie had not been directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, who was responsible for the franchise's first three films. And there were a handful of disgruntled fans who seemed to resent the presence of Tessa Thompson as one of the film's leads, due to her gender. How do I feel about all of this? I do have a few problems with "MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL". One, this movie is not funny. What I meant is . . . it lacked the twisted and sardonic humor of Barry Sonnenfeld. If I have to be more specific, the film's humor barely generated any real laughs from me. I merely found myself feeling amused by some of the more comic moments. My second problem with "MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL" was Agent H's fate near the end of the movie. I did not like it. Considering his age and recent mental condition, I thought he was unnecessarily rewarded for his actions in stopping the main villain. My final problem with the film is basically minor. "MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL" featured the character of Agent O from the 2012 film, "MEN IN BLACK 3". To me, this was an indication that "MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL" was a continuation of the previous three films. If so, I thought screenwriters Art Marcum and Matt Holloway could have hinted on the fates of Agents J and K from the first three movies. What happened to them? Despite my complaints about the film, I did not dislike "MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL". In fact, I enjoyed it very much. And this was due to certain aspects of the film. One, I found some of the movie's special effects rather impressive, thanks to the visual effects team, Stuart Dryburgh's cinematography and Thomas Brown's art direction team. I was especially impressed by those scenes featuring Vungus' death in London, H, M and Pawny's escape from Marrakesh and especially their final showdown against the Big Bad at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Another aspect of "MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL" that I enjoyed was its cast. Personally, I thought it was first-rate. The movie benefitted from a solid supporting cast that included Laurent and Larry Nicolas Bourgeois (aka Les Twins), who did an excellent job of conveying the silent, yet physical menace of the shape-shifting aliens known as "the Twins"; Tim Blaney, who returned to voice Frank the Pug; Kayvan Novak, who voiced the royal alien Vungus the Ugly; and Spencer Wilding. I found Rafe Spall's portrayal of Agent C of the UK branch rather sardonic, yet entertaining. Emma Thompson was excellent as usual as the Men in Black director, Agent O. Rebecca Ferguson gave an eccentric, yet funny performance as an alien intergalactic arms dealer and H's ex-girlfriend Riza Stavros. Liam Neeson's portrayal of High T, the head of the MIB UK branch, struck as equally off-beat and funny. And I felt that Kumail Nanjiani gave the best voice performance of all as Pawny, the small alien warrior that Agents M and H befriend. And of course, we have the movie's two leads - Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson. Many crtics had been impressed by their screen dynamic in the Marvel film, "THOR: RAGNAROK". This led the producers of this film to cast them together as Agents H and M. And they did not fail. Thompson did a wonderful job as the uber observant and clever Molly Wright, who becomes the agency's newest recruit, Agent M. Hemsworth did an equally fantastic job in portraying Agent H, one of the agency's best agents who seemed to be suffering from some kind of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), following his and Agent High T's defeat of the Hive, three years earlier. Not only did the two leads gave great performances, they also proved that their on-screen dynamic had not dimmed one bit. If I must be brutally honest, I was more impressed by their screen chemistry in this film than I was in "THOR: RAGNAROK". I realize that many people may not agree with me on this next topic. But if there is one thing that truly impressed me about "MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL", it was the screenplay written by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. I found it very original for a movie from the MEN IN BLACK movie franchise. The previous three movies usually introduced the Big Bad either in the opening scene or not long after the opening. I cannot say the same for this film. Both Marcum and Holloway had not only created a mystery surrounding the Big Bad, they also included a possible traitor or mole within the Men in Black agency that might be assisting the main villain. Now this might be normal in a MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE movie or some other spy thriller. But in a MEN IN BLACK film? For the first time, this franchise had created a combination of a science-fiction movie and an espionage flick. It is a pity that many critics and film goers could not appreciate this. Perhaps it would have been easier if the film had followed the franchise's usual formula. In the end, I realized that I would not waste my time lamenting on the box office failure of "MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL". It was not the first box office bomb that I ended up enjoying. And I doubt that it will be the last. Although I found the film's humor rather lukewarm - worthy more of a small chuckle instead of a belly laugh - I cannot deny that I truly enjoyed the film's narrative, along with the exciting action sequences and the talented cast led by Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, thanks to director F. Gary Gray. Many others may have been disappointed by this film. But I was not.

[closetofanxiety]

50 Wrestling Questions: Why Not

Remember this? It’s been a while. Let’s do this again. Let’s twist again like we did last summer. Or the summer of 2017 in this case.

1. What got you into wrestling?

People ask me this all the time, and I don’t really have a good answer. I’ve liked it on and off since I was very young, and who knows why you like the stuff you like when you’re a little kid? 

2. What is your favorite wrestling promotion?

Of all time: ECW, even though I would probably think of it very differently if it were happening today. Currently: Beyond Wrestling. 

3. Favorite male wrestler of all time?

Gorgeous George, but if we’re talking about people who were alive when I was alive, Dusty Rhodes. I want to say Bruiser Brody, but in my heart I would know I was just saying that to look cool. 

4. Favorite female wrestler of all time?

Gail Kim. For the longest time, she was the only woman in a major global wrestling company who got over based on her wrestling ability. She was doing stuff in TNA that was years ahead of its time, and could adapt her style to get great matches with a variety of opponents with very different backgrounds. And she can still go, as she showed in the match against Tessa Blanchard the other night. I know it would be cooler to say Bull Nakano or Chigusa Nagayo or something, but I don’t know enough of their stuff to make that claim credible. I am who I am, a person who goes to the mall to buy shoes. 

5. Favorite current male wrestler?

Nick Gage

6. Favorite current female wrestler?

Momo Watanabe 

7. Favorite theme song?

Joey Janela’s music captures his vibe perfectly, and sounds great being blasted out of PA speakers inside a small bar or VFW hall. Of all time, probably, I don’t know, Honky Tonk Man? In an ironic way that slowly becomes sincere?

8. Least favorite theme song?

Ricochet’s WWE theme music is pretty dreadful. 

9. Favorite gimmick?

Currently: Orange Cassidy. All time: Road Warriors maybe? They were almost 100 percent gimmick, and they were the biggest tag team in the world at a great time for tag team wrestling. 

10. Least favorite gimmick?

All the racist and gay-hating gimmicks that have been used throughout the years are more or less equally horrible. If we’re talking about a terrible gimmick that was non-malignant, I’d say it was taking giant indestructible ass-kicker Mike Awesome and making him “That 70s Guy.” 

11. Best entrance (either their usual entrance or a special one, like a Wrestlemania entrance)?

Gorgeous George had the best entrance of all time, and it’s been copied ever since (Ric Flair’s entrance is basically Gorgeous George’s, scored with a different piece of classical music). The Sandman also had a great entrance. He was kind of all-entrance, now that I think of it. I also love those old shows in Japan where Brody would come out to “Immigrant Song” running through the crowd, swinging a fucking chain over his head like a lunatic. An entrance that makes you fear for your life: mission accomplished. 

12. Best Undertaker Wrestlemania match?

I am not the right person to ask for Undertaker superlatives, but the Lesnar match had a legitimately shocking conclusion that I still appreciate 

13. Most overrated?

I’m tempted to incur the wrath of the online by making a contrarian hot take selection like Ken Omega, but in reality it’s probably the Undertaker. 

14. Most underrated?

There are a million choices from before the 1980s, the Before Time of contemporary pro wrestling. Edouard Carpentier, say; he was having matches in 1970 that would not look out of place in 2019. Since the 1980s, I’d say Jerry Lynn is a very strong contender for most underrated. The popular choice would be Sid or Lex Luger, but I think they’re pretty much rated exactly as they should be. 

15. Have you ever been to an event? If so, which one?

I certainly have been to many pro wrestling events. I go to one or two a month. Like a lot of things, wrestling is pretty much always fun in person. It helps that the Northeast has a ton of good companies within easy driving distance. My favorite show of all time might be Americanrana 2016. 

16. Who has the best merch?

We’re in a weird period where people on Instagram are making better shirt designs (in insanely limited editions) than the vast majority of wrestlers or wrestling companies. I will say that Kris Wolf has yet to make an ugly or boring piece of merchandise, which is a huge complication in this day and age. 

17. Do you own any merch?

Nope! Wait, I mean, “yes, entirely too much.” Shirts, 8 x 10s, DVDs, magazines, random pieces like fancy enamel badges and a stack of Okada bucks. The one thing I’ve never gotten into is action figures, and that’s probably good for the ol’ bank balance. 

18. Best nickname?

"The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes is an all-time classic. 

19. Worst nickname?

"The Game” is a dumb nickname. “The Cerebral Assassin” is also a dumb nickname. Are assassins supposed to be stupid? I bet they’re typically very smart, although of low moral character. “Triple H” is his only good nickname, and even that sounds like the nickname of a guy who owns a car dealership out by the highway.

20. Best mic skills?

Nobody was ever better than Bobby Heenan, who had incredible range and versatility. He could do comedy and he could do menace. He could do calm and he could do spitting rage. He had an uncanny sense of timing and was quicker on his feet than almost anyone. No one really comes close at matching his astonishing depth, but Dusty Rhodes was an all-time great promo. He really made you care about wrestling matches, which is not an easy thing to do.

21. Most annoying?

I mean, it has to be Vince McMahon. 

22. Most attractive male?

Is Tanahashi too obvious a choice? Best hair in wrestling. It’s incredible and luxurious, like an untamed mountain stream. Andrade “Cien” Almas or whatever they’ve shortened his name to (”And”) is a handsome man. Killer Kross: very handsome. We live in a golden age of attractive wrestlers. Just look back at the gassed-up Zubaz mastodons of the 1980s, or the territories-era guys who all looked like they were 48 years old and had pot bellies. You almost have to try to find unattractive wrestlers. Nick Gage, for instance. But I’m sure even he has his swooning admirers. 

23. Most attractive female?

Again, what a time for attractive wrestlers. It may be shallow, but wrestling is a business that’s at least partially cosmetic. Attractive people sell tickets. I would, and have, bought a ticket to see Hana Kimura. 

24. Favorite faction?

Of all time? Probably the Barry Windham-era Four Horsemen. More recently, Team Pazuzu. 

25. Worst faction?

BULLET CLUB. No, it’s not the Bullet Club, as exhausted as they’ve become. It’s probably the nWo after early 1998 or so, when they had like 60 members and dragged down every storyline. 

26. Best ring gear?

Su Yung and Pentagon Jr. 

27. Who do you think would be the nicest in real life?

I bet Jerry Lynn is a good guy to know. People in wrestling universally praise Little Guido, which is very rare. The Young Bucks seem like they might be decent dudes. Willow Nightingale told a story on a podcast about Nick Gage excitedly playing with Solo Darling’s dog backstage, so you never know. 

28. Who would be the rudest in real life?

On the indie level, it’s probably someone who doesn’t work very much. Above the indie level, I bet some of those British guys are secretly horrible, like Jimmy Havoc. 

29. Favorite heel?

Currently it’s a tie between MJF and Alisha Edwards, two of the only people who can regularly get indie crowds to boo them. Of all time, heel Flair was hard to beat. 

30. Most hardcore?

It’s definitely either a guy in Japan or a guy in Mexico, and he’s definitely been burned by explosive charges multiple times. Onita? It’s probably Onita. Or Jun Kasai? I think Onita has probably been exploded more times than Jun Kasai. 

31. A wrestler you could beat?

At wrestling? Not a single one of them. Nicholas, the small boy who won the WWE tag team championship with Braun Strowman, would wipe the floor with me. Even the most callow bodybuilder-turned-wrestler would not break a sweat beating me senseless. But writing talking points for senior administration officials in preparation for legislative testimony? Now you’re on my turf. Not so tough now, huh, Nicholas? 

32. Best story line?

Freebirds vs. Von Erichs or Stone Cold vs. Vince. My heart says the former, my head says the latter. 

33. Biggest missed opportunity for a story line?

The WWE blowing the invasion angle after purchasing WCW is the obvious one. More recently, they blew it by not turning Reigns heel. 

34. Worst story line?

Ha, so many of them. Impossible to choose just one. At least most of the dumb embarrassing Russo ones in WCW and TNA were basically harmless, like the time Samoa Joe got kidnapped by ninjas. The Chuck and Billy wedding thing was far worse. A low point even by Vince’s impressively cretinous standards.

35. Which wrestler should turn heel?

I’d like to see a Jordynne Grace heel run in Impact. Heel Finn Balor would also be good. 

36. Which wrestler should turn face?

Samoa Joe has a good fiery babyface, “I’m tired of doing your dirty work, McMahon!” run in him. 

37. Who would be the worst to room with?

Can you imagine sharing a living space with Enzo Amore? Or the thicket of twee Disney merchandise you’d have to negotiate every day if you lived with Johnny Gargano?

38. Who would be the best to room with?

I bet Eddie Edwards would be a surprisingly thoughtful roommate, like he’d always do the dishes “because I love doing them!,” that kind of thing. I have nothing to base this suspicion on, he just seems like my old roommate, Shane, who was like that. 

39. Who would be your best friend if you were a wrestler?

I’d like to say Jushin Thunder Liger, and posit that we would go on exciting adventures, but the answer is probably something like “Comp Time” Terry Dandridge, who wrestles monthly for 2Xtreme All-Pro Wrestling Alliance out of Euphoria, Kansas and has a 9 to 5 as a hardware store manager. 

40. What would your job be in a wrestling promotion?

I’d normally make a self-effacing joke here, but I do social media training at my real job, and so many wrestlers are badly in need of help in this area. 

41. Favorite wrestling podcast/Youtube channel?

I like AIW’s “The Card is Going to Change” podcast a lot, and there’s one by the owners of RevPro that’s pretty good. It’s hard to find a well-produced wrestling podcast that talks about independent wrestling. My favorite wrestling YouTube channel is OSW Review. 

42. Favorite finisher?

BURNING HAMMER

43. Least favorite finisher?

The Bayley-to-belly suplex. HOW IS THIS A FINISHING MOVE

44. Favorite match?

Kerry Von Erich vs. Jerry Lawler at Superclash III. It was a bloody, weird, engrossing spectacle, and it was the symbolic end of the territories era. 

45. Favorite PPV?

Royal Rumble is the last PPV my casual fan friends reliably want to see, and with good reason: it’s engrossing.

46. Guilty pleasure wrestler?

Big Banter Baron Corbin, but I feel no guilt here. He rules. 

47. Favorite submission?

THE KATA HA JIME, otherwise known as the Tazmission.

48. Most entertaining to watch?

All time? Randy Savage. Currently? Io Shirai. 

49. Best spot?

Anyone spitting mist into the unsuspecting eyes of their foes

50. Who do you most respect?

I respect you, booker man.

[thenoirblogger]

INDIE FILM REVIEW: TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS

July 11, 2019Jeremie Sabourin

In the 1940’s and 1950’s, film noir was king. During this classic period of the shadowy, monochrome crime drama, so many iconic films were released that have had lasting success even until today. Films like The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, and The Big Sleep have influenced countless filmmakers over the years as film noir made way for its modern equivalent, neo-noir. While neo-noir often bends classic noir tropes to its will and ups the sexuality and violence (i.e. Sin City), there are still plenty of titles that remain faithful to the classic period. It’s here that you’ll find Tom Konkle’s film noir love letter, Trouble is my Business.

The film stars Konkle as Roland Drake, your typical gumshoe with a troubled past and an equally questionable task ahead of him. Drake is approached by Katherine Montemar (Brittney Powell) to locate her missing father. She hears that Drake is the best missing persons detective in the city despite his last case not going well. The two spend the evening together and, upon waking, Drake realizes that Katherine is gone and only a pool of blood remains. Katherine’s sister, Jennifer (also played by Powell), tracks down Drake in an attempt to find her missing family members. In addition, Drake encounters numerous other characters including his former partner, Lew MacDonald (David Beeler), a brutally corrupt detective, Barry Tate (Vernon Wells), and the mysterious Gavron Grozney (Steve Tom) with the Montemars, a missing black book, and a priceless diamond at the forefront of their desires.

The plot of Trouble is my Business is obviously your typical film noir tale. A sympathetic, yet hard-boiled, detective teams up with a potentially dangerous femme fatale to battle corruption and solve a mystery. That’s pretty much all you need to do. When the film sticks to this formula, it’s actually very effective and intriguing. Sure, it may not break much new ground in terms of storytelling but it keeps your attention nonetheless. Though, the film does get a little messy around its halfway point as more characters with separate motivations are introduced. Sometimes the film can’t decide on which plot point is most important and it tends to meander because of it. The film is really at its best when it focuses on one thing. In this case, the mystery regarding the missing Montemars is the highlight.

Luckily, the film is bolstered by some pretty good acting across the board. As a writer/director/producer/editor/etc., Tom Konkle already had a full plate. Yet, he still puts in a very solid performance in the lead role as well. Konkle clearly understands the traditional noir detective and models Roland Drake after the Sam Spades and Philip Marlowes of the noir genre. That’s not to say that Konkle is on the level of Humphrey Bogart but, as a filmmaker and actor, he has done his homework. Brittney Powell is also very good as both Montemar sisters. As Jennifer especially, she displays a ton of manipulative charm mixed with suspicious intentions that will keep viewers as on the fence about her as Konkle’s Drake tends to be. She simply draws attention to every scene that she’s in. Vernon Wells also puts in a menacing performance as Barry Tate. However, his storyline is one that’s often put on the backburner so it’s hard to get fully invested into his character and relationship with Drake.

If you happen to be watching Trouble is my Business on Blu-ray, you’ll have a decision to make as there are two versions of the film: color or black and white. For this review, we watched the black and white version and, for the most part, it’s excellent. From the opening credits to the closing scenes, the film is every bit film noir and this color palette, or lack thereof, accentuates that. There are some scenes where you can tell that digital effects were used but the monochrome helps to mask that and even gives the film that pulpy, low budget feel that noir often has. Judging from screenshots of the color version, the film is very crisp but almost a little cartoony with some of its imagery. We can’t say that this is a bad thing but it seems like a distinct stylistic choice that may bother some viewers. Of course, though, this is mere speculation as the subject of this review is the black and white version. Regardless, a noir throwback film such as this should be in black and white. Needless to say, Trouble is my Business delivers the goods here.

While the sometimes messy plot is a detractor, the biggest problem of the film lies in its tonal shift. For most of the runtime, Konkle takes the story seriously but peppers the script with some dry humor from Drake. Most of Drake’s cocky one liners land pretty well but, later in the film, the script and character actions start to get almost hokey. In particular, there’s a sequence where Drake follows Jennifer in a cab and the cab driver (Paul Hungerford) becomes a large focal point of these scenes. The driver is played up for far too many laughs and none of the jokes really work. The actor isn’t necessarily bad but, due to the film’s mostly no-nonsense tone, the shift is quite abrupt. There are also some fight scenes that come off as intentionally comedic but they also aren’t received well.

Our Score

At the end of the day, Trouble is my Business isn’t a film that will wow anyone but it’s still an impressive throwback to the glorious noir films of the 40’s and 50’s. It seems to know what it wants to be and has fun doing it. At times, it even brings to mind acclaimed neo-noir films like Chinatown and L.A. Confidential. Hell, it even has a little splash of Who Framed Roger Rabbit in there once in a while. Fans of classic noir will certainly want to check out Tom Konkle’s Trouble is my Business as it’s a well acted, shot, and all around well made homage to a genre of the past.

*The black and white version of Trouble is my Business is available to watch with an Amazon Prime subscription. Otherwise, click here to rent, download, or purchase the film on DVD or Blu-ray. Check out the trailer for the film below.*

[aion-rsa]

Doctor Who’s Best Comfort-Viewing Episodes

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I mean, it’s not like absolutely everything is terrible right now, but certainly a lot of things are and we could all do with a break. As a result, here’s a list of Doctor Who stories – one chosen per Doctor – that I put on for comfort. Sometimes you need something familiar and well-worn to unwind with.

This list is very much subjective, some of it is down to which Doctor Who videos I could afford when I was 10. These stories work for me and it’s unlikely they will work completely for someone else. Also worth mentioning is that this list is incomplete; these are not the only stories I watch for comfort, and indeed sometimes that’s not the reason I watch these stories.

First Doctor: ‘The Aztecs’

‘The Aztecs’ is a great example of Doctor Who that can be both familiar, endearing and brutal. In this story Barbara is mistaken for the goddess Yetaxa, and attempts to use her influence to stop the practice of human sacrifice. The Doctor rails against changing history, the High Priest plots to reveal Barbara’s ploy. To escape, Ian has to fight to the death, Susan has to avoid an arranged marriage, and the Doctor has to pretend to romance an Aztec woman who might have the key to letting them reach the TARDIS again. It’s all very morally murky yet comes away feeling generous.

A lot of the characters are flawed and interesting. You understand their motives even if you don’t agree with them. The original TARDIS crew, who have hit their stride now, are included in this. The Aztecs are shown to both practice human sacrifice and meet writer John Lucarotti’s description of ‘a highly civilised and cultured race’.

It’s also a well-made show, and if anything the improved picture quality has been cruel to Barry Newberry’s backdrops – not for lack of detail, but for picking out the folds in the material. With the script doing the same for the characters, ‘The Aztecs’ shows us that comforting does not have to equal light.

Second Doctor: ‘The Macra Terror’

There’s something counterintuitive about choosing a Troughton story with almost no existing pictures because so much of his performance is visual. However, having first experienced a lot of Troughton stories as audio there’s still a lot to admire in his expressive vocal performance.

Also something potentially counterintuitive here is that I’m picking a story outside of the Base Under Siege format that dominated Season 5, which for many people is their platonic ideal of Doctor Who. However I feel that this does a great disservice to a subgenre I’m going to call ‘Weird Troughton’, defined by being an outlier from the series format or featuring Troughton still working out the role (so ‘The Highlanders’, despite being a historical with no science-fiction elements, counts because Troughton is still trying out strange and fun things with the character). ‘The Underwater Menace’ is ridiculous and I love it anyway, David Whittaker very much ploughs his own furrow, and ‘The Mind Robber’ raises the possibility that Doctor Who is a self-aware entity. ‘The Macra Terror’, now available as an animation, is for me one of the best pieces of drama produced from this group, managing to be sinister, fun and have giant crab monsters in it.

It’s an angry take on uniformity, jingoism and control and feels very current. The Second Doctor’s response to having his clothes cleaned and hair combed in accordance with colony beauty standards is great. Ben’s brainwashing gives Michael Craze a chance to show his range, and by choosing not to play it in a zombie or fugue state it’s all the more chilling. Plus, and I can’t stress this enough, giant crabs.

Third Doctor: ‘The Sea Devils’

‘The Sea Devils’ is a sequel to ‘The Silurians’, Malcolm Hulke’s story of prehistoric lizard people who were the dominant species on Earth before humanity. That story was a more considered, intense tale, whereas this is more of a romp with depth. With aquatic lizards instead of underground ones, it also features the Navy rather than UNIT, and the Navy is credited with assisting the production.

Possibly because of this collaboration Jon Pertwee (formerly of the Naval Intelligence Division during World War Two) is clearly having a great time. Otherwise the tropes of the era (the Master, the military, meddling civil servants, Jo Grant gets to be resourceful and plucky, six episodes that could have been done in four) are all present and correct and ready to be argued at. It’s extremely comfortable, and directed with pace and energy by Michael E. Briant (he also knows when to slow down: the submarine attack, for example, where the sailors arm themselves and get into position, watching in horror and confusion as the door melts in front of them).

Hulke injects just enough detail into the characters to bring them to life, with the cast rising to the challenge. Colonel Trenchard, for example, feels like someone you could hear at a golf club complaining about immigration. The final two episodes dispense with any notion of depth and instead we get a big ol’ fight scene where the Navy gets to show off its machinery and the stunt team gets to show off its flips and falls.

This story also features an experimental synth score and a swordfight between the Doctor and the Master where one of them stops for sandwiches. The Pertwee era is pitched incredibly astutely. Sure, it’s absolute nonsense, but it’s amiable nonsense with teeth.

Fourth Doctor: ‘The Ribos Operation’

‘The Ribos Operation’ (or, as it should be known ‘The Best Fourth Doctor Story’) kicks off The Key to Time arc by systematically undermining the entire concept. The Doctor is given a mission by the White Guardian (ostensibly nicer than the Black Guardian but with a hint of unease to him), to find six pieces of The Key to Time and restore balance to the universe. The Doctor is given a new companion, a recent Time Lord academy graduate with all the book knowledge but no experience of the universe.

Robert Holmes’ script is layered, funny, and treads a perfect balance between anger and (unexpectedly) kindness. It hides its subtleties with engaging dialogue and characters, all played with the right levels of bombast. And such characters! Garron and Unstoffe, one of several Doctor analogues (he’s a big, booming and charismatic conman, with Unstoffe as his game but questioning companion who brings compassion that Garron can’t) are rightly regarded as the standouts, but it’s also worth noting the Graff Vynda K: a villain of the piece, a prissy warlord full of self-importance but never heard of before or since, a backwater despot bullying his way across a tiny corner of the universe. The Doctor’s solution to a vainglorious, self-mythologising monster? To blow him up. An interesting response on a number of levels.

There’s nothing wrong with this story. It’s superbly constructed and well-made. It’s a perfect anti-epic, and the only story I’ve rewatched on DVD as often as I did VHS.

Fifth Doctor: ‘Enlightenment’

A wondrous peak in Eighties Doctor Who, starting as a cerebral science-fiction adventure before morphing into a cerebral science-fiction adventure that’s camp as tits.

You may recall Craig Ferguson’s description of Doctor Who as ‘the triumph of intellect and romance over brute force and cynicism’. ‘Enlightenment’ is a great example of this, with the romantic image of seafaring ships sailing through space corrupted by both the aloof officers and the Black Guardian’s influence. The Guardians here are ostensibly still representations of order and chaos, but mostly they’re ‘nice old man with bird on head’ and ‘ridiculous hyuk hyuking villain with bird on head’. The officer class are made up of Eternals – a race of godlike immortal beings who created this space race for entertainment – a great concept invented by writer Barbara Clegg after witnessing her rich relatives interact with her poorer ones at a family gathering.

The Doctor, through his intellect and faith in his companion, removes the corrupting forces. It’s not clear what happens to the surviving ships after the race is finished, but imagine finding one abandoned in space. It’s such a strong image in a story full of them. Clegg’s writing is full of great concepts and characterisation, including some excellent work with the regulars that makes them feel much more like real people than usual.

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Sixth Doctor: ‘The Mark of the Rani’

In which Time Lady the Rani experiments in a north-eastern mining town, causing violence to erupt.

First of all there’s the score, which is still of its time but feels distinctive due to its more tranquil ambient feel. It doesn’t sound dissimilar to The Microgram, someone who travels round the North East of England recording ambient noises and playing synths over them. There’s even one recorded at Beamish, which completes the loop here.

‘The Mark of the Rani’ is set in Killingworth, north of Newcastle, and technically so are the accents. They sound like someone went round RADA asking ‘Has anyone heard the song “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble” by PJ and *checks notes* Duncan?’

This slightly askew version of reality fits Pip and Jane Baker’s version of Doctor Who. Their debut script for the show establishes their style of endearingly serious batshit nonsense (landmines that turn people into plants, leading to the immortal line ‘The tree won’t harm you’). It’s like their stories are written by Wallace with minimal input from Gromit.  

As a result ‘Mark of the Rani’ stands out amidst the aggressive stories surrounding it. It can be taken as merely enjoyably daft, but it’s also got some substance to it. Pip and Jane clearly remember Doctor Who as being the kind of show where the Doctor and his companion got on, so Peri is subjected to less arguing and is even defended (admittedly in terms of utility) by the Doctor.

The Rani is actually a character here, as opposed to her other appearances where she is simply A Villain In Doctor Who, and her presence immediately reduces Anthony Ainley’s Master to a supporting comic relief character. This suits him. When you’re standing in a field caked in shit pretending to be a scarecrow and laughing at passers-by for not noticing you clearly we can’t take you seriously anymore, so at least this story doesn’t pretend he’s a credible threat.

So on the one hand it’s daft, silly fun, but on the other it’s a mid-Eighties story featuring a chemist torturing Northern miners for her own gain. Guess what degree Margaret Thatcher graduated from Oxford with?

Speaking of Thatcher:

Seventh Doctor: ‘The Happiness Patrol’

Within Doctor Who fandom, no one has ever said ‘Oh you don’t like the McCoy era? I’m sorry, you never mentioned it’, and ‘The Happiness Patrol’ revels in all the things its detractors hate about the era. It’s intentionally camp and uses symbolism rather than demanding to be taken literally, like a more confident version of Season 24. The Kandy Man is rightly noted as (visually) a Bertie Bassett parody, played as the ludicrous creature he undoubtedly is.

Knowing that it is restricted in what it can show in terms of violence, the show had now worked out how to be ostensibly child-friendly and incredibly morbid, hence the screeching sweetie-creature, the Day-Glo ray-guns, and the guy who gets drowned in a vat of jam. When you’re three and have never seen Doctor Who before the Kandy Man is downright terrifying, this bizarre monster who twists and turns and screams. This was my first experience of Doctor Who and, appropriately enough, it scared the hell out of me.

As an adult, I find it’s a pleasing return to the ‘Weird Troughton’ stories of the Sixties, the ones where the Doctor was an unassuming but powerful anarchic figure. Here we have a variation of this, where the Doctor has been trying to explore the universe but finds it full of monsters, and starts doing something about it.

Before Season 26 attempted something approaching realism, this story suits Ace and the Seventh Doctor who both feel like Children’s TV archetypes who have grown tired of their roles. Ace’s CBBC leanings (with crap swearing and Blue Peter badges) fits into this heightened reality better than she does a less tonally certain story (like ‘Battlefield’). ‘The Happiness Patrol’ feels like a combination of the different approaches of the McCoy era, a best of album with a life of its own.

Eighth Doctor: ‘Night of the Doctor’

This is specifically because of the circumstances of broadcast, although it’s also a melancholy meta-commentary on the show’s cancellation and wilderness years in which Paul McGann gets to demand ‘Bring me knitting’.

It’s not merely the return of McGann to the onscreen role of the Eighth Doctor after 17 years, it’s that this was kept a surprise until the mini-episode was released in the build-up to the 50th anniversary special. It was such a treat, and I still remember the email I sent to the site’s TV editor when I watched it for Den of Geek. It read ‘OH MY F***ING GOD’ and was sent while the episode was paused just after the word ‘expecting’.

And so I told my friends. I know people watched this in work meetings on their phones under the table. It’s associated with a lot of feelings, not least building excitement. This one is connected very clearly to a moment of shared joy.

Ninth Doctor: ‘The End of the World’

While ‘Rose’ is rightly adulated as bringing Doctor Who back to a large prime time audience, ‘The End of the World’ had a different job to do. Viewing figures went down for this episode after over 10 million people watched the series opener, but went up again after this, suggesting positive word of mouth from this episode, consolidating the success of ‘Rose’.

The production team were aiming to use this episode to show off how Doctor Who could look in 2005, with hundreds of CGI shots and dozens of aliens gathered together. It also showed the new Doctor’s emotional distance, in that his idea of showing off to his new companion is to take her to see her planet getting destroyed.

We also get, in a late addition to the script, Russell T. Davies’ knack for making the alien familiar with the character of Raffalo (‘You’re a plumber?’) who is almost immediately killed, further demonstrating RTD’s knack for knowing which character’s death will have the most impact (and if you’ve not read his novelisation of ‘Rose’ you really should if just for Clive’s death in prose form. Honestly it’s incredible).

‘The End of the World’ is a comforting reminder of the nascent excitement surrounding the 2005 series, that feeling of turbulence that eventually settled because of the strength of these early episodes.

 Tenth Doctor: ‘The Fires of Pompeii’

The episode itself has a soothsay-off between Metella and Lucius to set up a plot point and the series arc, and the first TARDIS trip for Donna as a full-time companion. You immediately get to see the strengths that Catherine Tate is going to bring to the series, not merely her comic and dramatic ability but the way Donna is able to stop the Tenth Doctor from his worst impulses, and by bluntly dismissing the notion of fixed points in history meaning just allowing bad things to happen. This is, for me, the best episode in the first half of Series 4 by a long way.

Sure, there’s a colossal death toll here which is far from comforting, but as ever nostalgia and context plays a huge part here. This was an episode broadcast on the night of our fan club’s night out, a phase of my fandom that turned me from someone who liked Doctor Who in primary school into an adult fan. This has, overall, been worth it. So what this story reminds me of is, following on from ‘The End of the World’s establishing the series, is the initial excitement and patterns of Russell T. Davies’ series where he set up some key words or phrases early on and fandom tried to work out their significance, resulting in the heady days of someone saying Norman Lovett was going to play Davros in ‘The Parting of the Ways’ on IMDb.

Eleventh Doctor: ‘A Christmas Carol’

Quite a few contenders here, but I’ve gone with my favourite Christmas Special because these episodes are often Doctor Who at its broadest, suitable for the half-cut who dwell in food-comas. This episode is one of the last of these stories, before the Christmas Specials became steeped in the main continuity of the series. It’s also a great example of the childlike impulsiveness of Matt Smith’s Doctor before he became more of a teenager in Series 6. It’s great fun and the riffing on Dickens lands really strongly for people like me, who often respond more to a strong realisation of an idea than they do pathos.

This story is designed to be comfortable and succeeds by establishing what a Steven Moffat Christmas Special will look like: lots of time-travel, obviously, but also a big budget version of ‘The Happiness Patrol’s daring the audience to find it too ridiculous. As a result we get a remix of A Christmas Carol featuring flying sharks pacified by a mezzo-soprano, with the joy of these disparate elements coming together through that most underrated of Moffat staples – a grumpy old man learning to let go while being dragged through the sky by animals who usually lack the power of flight.

Twelfth Doctor: ‘Mummy on the Orient Express’

With Capaldi realising his initially abrasive take on the character was too much, this story relieved the tension that had been building with the Doctor’s behaviour, allowing him to explain himself and setting up the arc that culminates in ‘Hell Bent’.

Once this was broadcast I breathed a sigh of relief. Despite wanting it not to be the case I’d had to reach for the positives in the Capaldi era thus far; with the exception of ‘Listen’ the stories had felt like treading water until ‘Kill the Moon’ split the room. Even if you don’t like it (and I mostly don’t) that was the first story that felt like it was trying something different and paved the way for the increased complexity of the Twelfth Doctor’s character. Ultimately what the show needed at this point was a run of good stories, and – appreciating some people don’t get on with ‘Forest of the Night’ (and I mostly do) – this was the start of a really strong run.

‘Mummy on the Orient Express’ is a mash up of concepts that Doctor Who excels at, with an enjoyably horrific Mummy and the actual countdown to its victims’ demises contributing to making each death count. This is harder than it looks, the balance between violence and pathos taking into account the family audience, but the combination of ideas really makes them land as brutal without gore. By putting the Doctor through this writer Jamie Mathieson manages to explain his apparent heartlessness as weariness at making tough choices, but being unable to resist getting into situations that require them. The path is now clear from here to the heights of ‘Hell Bent’ and ‘The Doctor Falls’.

Thirteenth Doctor: ‘It Takes You Away’

Obviously there are fewer Jodie Whittaker fewer stories to choose from, and for me it has to be one from Series 11 because that felt like a palette cleanser for an approach to Doctor Who that never manifested. For all its ups and downs, limiting continuity references and focus on new characters or threats felt like a good move. Certainly the guest writers all provided solid stories, and while the series didn’t soar for me it felt like a good platform to improve from, which is partly why Series 12 was so disappointing (it felt like it addressed problems that weren’t there, ignoring the ones that were).

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‘It Takes You Away’ is frequently surprising, offering a simple blunt horror of loss (the childlike refrain of the title, the fear of absence) combined with endearingly outlandish performances by the actor Kevin Eldon and a sentient universe manifesting as a talking frog. It allowed Jodie Whittaker a rare success in negotiating her way out of a situation, and progressed the character arc of the series with Ryan and Graham’s changing relationship. It’s obviously imperfect (ideally, Hanne’s Dad’s manipulative behaviour would be properly addressed) but it’s also imaginative, moving, and weird, and these are three things I really want Doctor Who to be.

Share your go-to Doctor Who comfort viewing episodes below.

The post Doctor Who’s Best Comfort-Viewing Episodes appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[scotianostra]

The respected Scottish actor Roy Hanlon passed away on June 30th 2005.

Throughout his career Roy Hanlon was a much loved and respected character actor. He appeared often on television, with many theatre companies in Scotland and Ireland and graced many productions at the Edinburgh Festival. Indeed he had the distinction of appearing in three productions of the epic Thrie Estaites in the same role. His well-known face, however, was seen in important supporting roles in a host of Scottish drama series, including Dr Finlay’s Casebook, Sutherland’s Law and The Borderers.

Roy Hanlon trained with the Scottish Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1960. He joined the Glasgow Citizens’ Company and was a member of the company at that year’s Edinburgh Festival in Durenmatt’s seldom-performed Romullus the Great. He was back two years later in an equally rare play - The Doctor and the Devils - with a host of leading Scottish actors.

In 1964 Hanlon made the first of several appearances in Dr Finlay’s Casebook and appeared as a menacing doctor in Edward Bond’s acclaimed radio drama Castles in Spain. In 1967 he was in two films. The first (Robbery), starring Stanley Baker, was about a gang who robbed the overnight Glasgow to London train. He then appeared in an espionage thriller, The Naked Runner alongside Frank Sinatra and Edward Fox. Critics greeted neither movie with much enthusiasm. Two years later, Hanlon was cast in several leading television dramas of the period, notably the underground spy drama Jason King, which made a star of Peter Wyngarde.

Throughout the 1970s, Hanlon appeared in a host of roles. These included BBC Scotland’s popular 1972 drama Sutherland’s Law, about a procurator fiscal, starring Iain Sutherland, and The Saint - the award-winning series on ITV starring Roger Moore.

It was in 1984 that Hanlon first came to the Festival to play Spiritualitie in Tom Fleming’s dramatic production of the Thrie Estaites. The production starred such actors as Andrew Cruickshank, David Rintoul, Edith Macarthur and Alec Heggie and was repeated the following year. Hanlon also returned to the same role in the 1991 production of the play. In 1985 it was performed at the Assembly Hall in tandem with Sydney Goodsir Smith’s The Wallace, in which Hanlon played John Mentieth. The Wallace demanded much of the huge cast: the opening scene alone was given in old Scots and contemporary English.

In the early 1980s, Hanlon became a regular visitor to Ireland and worked often with the Abbey Theatre of Dublin (including a memorable Doctor’s Dilemma in 1982). Two years earlier he had made a notable impression in the world premiere of Brian Friel’s Translations, in which Hanlon delivered an engrossing account of Jimmy Jack alongside the young Liam Neeson and Stephen Rea.

Hanlon was with the Abbey in 1995 for Patrick Mason’s production of Sebastian Barry’s The Only True History of Lizzie Finn. In 1998 Hanlon was nominated for a Barclay’s Theatre Award for his appearance in Juno and the Paycock. Hanlon remained a fiercely proud Scot and was devoted to his profession and his family. He was still working up to 2004, when he was seen in BBC2’s Takin’ Over the Asylum.

[letzoespoilyou]

Harrisco Fic!

Unexpected

 The kiss wasn’t unexpected Cisco would be lying if he said otherwise, no this kiss had been a long time coming with both dancing around the tension that was part of their back and forth. Maybe what was unexpected was that it was happening now, now with Barry in Jail and the team trying to fight new threats but also work out a game plan for Dafoe. Maybe it seemed like a bad time to suddenly be kissing instead of throwing themselves into work and trying to bury their frustration and disappointment for not having anything to help Barry. Then again maybe this was the perfect distraction from the pressure that was pilling up on them and they both needed the release. So yes it wasn’t unexpected but it wasn’t just a distraction, this was a kiss that had been long delayed. No, what was maybe the most unexpected thing was that Cisco had initiated it or to be more honest it was Cisco that had seen how much Harry had needed this kiss.

It was Cisco that couldn’t see the brilliant and handsome man suffer under his own self-hatred and frustration. This was the unexpected moment, that Harry Wells admitted he was angry at himself, guilty for not helping Barry and guilty about everything, as if this was all his fault. Harry was the one cursing his own lack of intelligence and while Cisco could say a lot about Harry there was no way he was going to let the older man call himself stupid. Cisco had enjoyed their back and forth, their banter and apparent teasing to the point it was almost mocking but somehow he recognised the flirting within. It was true that he could now say that he didn’t even need his powers to see things in Harry’s face and Cisco secretly loved the fact that he could read Harry so well and that the other man was relaxed enough around him to let Cisco decipher his thoughts.

Cisco had known their moment was coming, felt it building ever since Barry was sent to prison. He remembers Harry’s supportive hand on his back, no words just the silent gesture of comfort when he needed it the most. Yep Harry had known exactly what he wanted at that moment and had offered it without a word. Now it was Cisco’s turn to offer the same gesture back. Harry had been pacing and cursing himself again, letting his façade of arrogance and superiority slip to show the insecure soul he was underneath. Harry was brilliant but he wasn’t one to let people close and thus wasn’t great at dealing with his feelings. He thought himself a failure, a drain on the team and Cisco just couldn’t listen to the man he was pretty sure he had fallen hard for Harry and couldn’t stand to hear Harry berate himself like that.

“Harry! Stop it, just stop it! You’re not stupid, infuriating yes, lacking in social skills yes but you haven’t failed anyone and most certainly not this team” Cisco said voiced raised when he had had enough of listening to Harry torture himself.

“Oh Yeah Ramon, so I haven’t been outsmarted by Dafoe and offered no help to the team or to Barry” Harry barked back crossing his arms against his chest.

Cisco tried to not appreciate his handsome focused face with piercing eyes or how even holding himself in menace he only saw a tall predatory man. Even in anger Harry was attractive and Cisco had to not get distracted.

“We are all being outsmarted by Dafoe, we are all trying to save Barry and fail and as far as I’m aware you have been out there right beside me saving the city from Meta’s. In fact you’ve been out there with nothing but a gun and your wits so don’t tell me you’re a drain on the team” Cisco said holding himself firm and not letting Harry intimidate him.

“Any idiot can pick up a gun and run into a fight” Harry replied but he was searching Cisco’s face for something but as always refusing to admit what his feelings wanted. Cisco looked back with equal defiance and knew he had to be the one to say it.

“I wouldn’t trust just any idiot by my side, you Harry, only you would I want out there. So please stop feeling guilty, stop trying to knock yourself down and admit we are in this together and we will work it out. We always do you and me.” Cisco said his voice turning warm and his eyes meeting Harry’s full of meaning and emotion.

Cisco could see Harry thinking, trying to work out if he should berate Cisco, tease him or if he should let the emotion out he was holding or allow himself to understand the full context of those words. For a moment it looked like Harry was going to relax, going to allow Cisco’s words in and then he looked almost scared, then defensive and then defiant again. Cisco recognised the look, it was a look worn by someone that wanted to believe someone cared about them but was too insecure, to use to pain to let them in, that they’d rather hurt the other so they wouldn’t get hurt. Harry was gearing up to push Cisco away, to make sure his feelings weren’t rejected by rejecting Cisco first. Cisco had to make sure this didn’t happen, finally he had to admit that there was something between the two of them.

“Harry you are the one person that brings me the most comfort during this awful time. Everyone is great and I love them but you, well you know it’s different and I wouldn’t change that no matter how annoying you are. So don’t you dare deny it” Cisco said looking at Harry in earnest.

Harry just stared at the younger man making Cisco squirm a bit as Harry unconsciously licked his lip and regarded him. Cisco was definitely feeling like prey at the moment, but he knew the fight wasn’t over, Harry was going to push back make sure Cisco meant what he was saying. Harry started to walk forward and Cisco took a small step back noting that a table was right behind him and he had no chance of escaping this moment he had created. It seemed like such a good idea a moment ago, help heal Harry’s fragile ego, make the man feel relevant and wanted, make sure Harry knew how much Cisco respected him and yet now he felt he wasn’t ready for the full wait of his confession.

“Really Cisco, exactly what am I denying because you are looking a little scared and unsure now” Harry said and damn the man it came out low and possessive. Harry was looking at Cisco, a little hunger in his eye but also that intelligent and teasing glint. Cisco hated the man for being able to turn the situation so quickly and took in a breath as Harry stood right in front of him, body almost pressed against Cisco’s, so infuriatingly close. Harry put an arm on either side of Cisco and looked as if he was about to growl.

“Cisco, you don’t want this. This is too dangerous, this won’t bring you anything but misery so before you get hurt I am going to let you take it back and we can go back to pretending there is nothing between us” Harry’s voice was dark and Cisco could tell he was holding back his own desire and need.

Then Cisco saw it, the look in Harry’s eyes of regret and sadness but most of all the look of a man who honestly believed he wasn’t good enough for Cisco’s affection and wanted to keep the man from getting hurt. Well it was up to Cisco, it was his choice whether he thought someone was worth the risk and Harry was worth everything. Their dance had gone on long enough and just as Harry started to pull back Cisco grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled the man into a kiss.

Cisco didn’t care that Harry stood stock still, all Cisco wanted was to kiss the frustrating man, show him he was worth it and that he wouldn’t ever think of him as stupid. Harry was part of Cisco’s family and he wanted him. To his great relief he felt Harry return the kiss, gently at first and then with equal hunger. Harry pressed himself against Cisco and their mouths slide against each other as Cisco held firm to Harry’s shirt. Cisco could feel Harry’s hands in his hair and gave a mew of delight, he’d wanted to have that exact feeling so much, to have Harry pull at his hair. Then the moment was broken and Harry suddenly pulled back a look of shock on his face as if he couldn’t quite believe what had happened.

Cisco was a little out of breath but he had a dopey grin on his face.

“Don’t look so shocked, I know what a fine catch I am and that you wouldn’t be able to control yourself around me for much longer” Cisco grinned and was met with one of Harry’s smirks.

“Of course, this has nothing to do with you trying to seduce me, I know I’m very handsome Ramon but you should try and show some restraint” Harry said looking admonishingly at Cisco.

“Yeah that’s what we are doing, showing restraint. Oh no you don’t!” Cisco said quickly as he saw Harry start to pull back, start to feel guilt and try and cover it with dry wit and forced disinterest.

“Harry you an absolute pain in the ass but for some unknown reason I am very attracted to that plus I’ve seen passed that hard exterior to your soft insides so you can’t hide what you really feel from me” Cisco said with confidence tugging gently on Harry’s shirt.

“Firstly there is nothing soft about my insides and secondly…” There was a pause and then Harry stilled as if coming to a decision, “and yeah you’re a nuisance but somehow I find that attractive” Harry said the last bit coming out I a mumble.

“What’s that, you like what you see, you think this fine young thing in front of you is hot, oh you wanna take him to dinner, maybe a nice wine bar” Cisco said teasingly a little suggestive wiggle for emphasis added.

“Don’t push your luck” Harry said with warning in his voice but Cisco could see the older man’s resolve failing. Harry then sighed and put his head on Cisco’s shoulder and his hands on the younger man’s waist.

“I care about you Cisco, I don’t want you to get hurt and you know why, I’m not always the best person to be around and I haven’t always made the best choices.” Harry said his voice raw with honesty.

“Harry I already know all that remember and I am standing in front of you asking you if you want to try this for real, try us for real” Cisco his own arms resting around Harry and rubbing his back lightly.

“This could end in disaster” Harry said into Cisco’s shoulder.

“Or this could have been where we’ve always been heading and together we’d be stronger than anything we expected. Come on Harry you really going to say no to this” Cisco said adding the last part with a cheerful note in his voice. Harry looked up then at the younger man and rolled his eyes.

“You really think your something don’t you” Harry said matter of factly.

“Oh don’t you know it, I know you have this dark and brooding thing going and yes you’re the definition of tall, dark and handsome but you haven’t seen me naked yet” Cisco said and then suddenly turned bright red realising what he had just said.

“Cisco Ramon is that a proposition. So much for dinner first” Harry said with that infuriating superior look on his face.

“Shut up and just kiss me ok, before I start to think you really are an idiot” Cisco said blushing.

“If you insist” Harry replied as he brought his lips against Cisco’s for a deep kiss filled with a promise to not run from this.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………….

 Cecile and Joe had gone to get the missing members of the team. Caitlin had been talking a lot of science babble and even being able to read her thought’s Cecile had no idea what anything meant. Iris had made some decisions but they needed Cisco and Harry to confirm if their plan was going to work. She heard Joe admit he was confused about everything that had just been discussed and wanting nothing more than to find Cisco to get it explained in people words. For some reason though the two other scientists of the team hadn’t responded to their comms so Cecile and Joe had offered to go get them, mostly because they needed them but also to escape some of the indecipherable dialogue being passed about the Cortex.

They were a few paces from Cisco’s lab when Cecile ground to a halt and threw an arm in front of Joe.

“Um Joe I really thing we should go back to the Cortex, you do not want to be in their at the moment” Cecile said trying not to flush at the thoughts she’d just overheard.

“Don’t tell me they are fighting again!” Joe said shaking his head a little as if to say ‘those guys, really, bickering at a time like this’.

“Yeah Joe it’s something like that, they’ll calm down in a bit I’m sure but I think it’s best to leave them to sort it out for the moment” Cecile said with a smirk and then steered Joe back the way they came.

“Wow you must have overheard some argument, you sure they’re going to be ok” Joe asked a little concern for his friends creeping in.

“Yeah I think once they get this out ‘fight’ out of their system they will be better than ever. I am just glad you didn’t have to overhear what I did, there are some things I don’t think you need to ever hear” Cecile said looking at Joe and his innocent face. Yep her man would have to wash his mind out with soap and probably take a while before he could look Cisco or Harry in the eye. Cecile herself wasn’t sure what to think, she was happy for them but she supposed it was for her, unexpected.

[dailynewswebsite]

Trump’s ‘smoking gun’ tape is worse than Nixon’s, but congressional Republicans have less incentive to do anything about it

On Aug. 9, 1974, Nixon introduced his resignation from the presidency. 12/Common Photographs Group through Getty Photographs

At the least Donald Trump’s “smoking gun” tape is less complicated than Richard Nixon’s.

Schoolchildren can simply grasp Trump’s excessive crime, in distinction to the advanced, Machiavellian plot immortalized on the tape that led to Nixon’s downfall. Will probably be tougher to clarify to them why congressional Republicans determined to carry Nixon accountable, however not Trump.

It actually wasn’t for lack of proof. The tape is evident. Youngsters can determine the precept at stake. They perceive dishonest. They know that the loser of a race shouldn’t declare himself the winner. They realize it’s fallacious for the loser to attempt to change the outcomes of the race by threatening those that hold the rating and implement the foundations.

President Trump on the White Home on Dec. 31. Invoice O’Leary/The Washington Put up through Getty Photographs

Presidential coercion

That’s what Trump, the loser of the 2020 election, tried to do to the highest election official in Georgia, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in a cellphone name on Saturday.

“I simply wish to discover 11,780 votes,” Trump mentioned.

Trump misplaced Georgia by 11,779 votes. To strain this state official to do his bidding, Trump brandished the specter of legal prosecution. He claimed – falsely, baselessly and ridiculously – that Georgia’s ballots had been corrupt whilst he was attempting to deprave them himself:

“You’re going to discover that they’re – which is completely unlawful – it’s extra unlawful for you than it’s for them as a result of, you understand, what they did and also you’re not reporting it. That’s a legal, that’s a legal offense. And you may’t let that occur. That’s a giant threat to you and to Ryan [Germany], your lawyer.”

The character of this menace (good place you bought right here, hate to see something occur to it … or to you) gained’t be misplaced on anybody acquainted with mobster motion pictures. Trump’s tackle the tough-guy cliché wasn’t significantly coherent, but it surely met the trope’s two fundamental necessities. It was each clear sufficient to be unmistakable, and obscure sufficient to attenuate his personal publicity to legal prosecution.

[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.]

Congress then – and now

In distinction, Nixon’s “smoking gun” tape defies easy abstract, as I used to be reminded final 12 months whereas attempting to summarize it throughout an interview with French public tv on “le scandale du Watergate.” I get requested such questions because the creator of “Chasing Shadows: The Nixon Tapes, the Chennault Affair, and the Origins of Watergate.”

The Nixon tape captured only one small a part of the Watergate cover-up. However its launch led congressional Republicans to name on Nixon to resign or face elimination.

GOP members of Congress – Senate Minority Chief Hugh Scott, Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater and John Rhodes of Arizona, the Home minority chief – after visiting Nixon to tell him he didn’t have ample help to face up to impeachment and elimination. Nationwide Archives

Now, confronted with taped proof that the president is abusing the ability of his workplace to launch a direct assault on majority rule and the integrity of the vote, the foundations of American democracy, most congressional Republicans both do nothing or actively help Trump.

What modified? Lower than meets the attention.

The affect of Nixon’s “smoking gun” tape had much less to do with its contents – and the content material of the character of congressional Republicans – than with the timing.

As historian Mark Nevin notes, Nixon’s “smoking gun” tape went public on the proper time to make a distinction. It got here out in August 1974, when congressional Republicans had their primaries behind them and had been looking forward to the November congressional elections.

Till they gained their primaries, their essential fear had been dropping their base, which was strongly pro-Nixon, regardless of how a lot proof got here out that the president had damaged the regulation, abused the ability of his workplace and tried to cowl it up.

Going into the overall election, nevertheless, congressional Republicans needed to fear about dropping the center, the moderates, the swing voters who had been disgusted by the each day revelations of White Home wrongdoing.

Earlier than congressional Republicans gained their primaries, it was politically handy for them to stay with the president, in order that they did. After their primaries, and earlier than the overall election, it was politically handy for them to distance themselves from the president, in order that they did.

U.S. representatives Edward Boland of Massachusetts (entrance) and Jack Edwards (second from the entrance) hearken to the White Home tapes on Aug. 6, 1974, in Washington, D.C. Hulton Archive/Getty Photographs

How 2020 is and isn’t completely different from 1974

With the 2020 presidential election behind us, we’re now within the 2022 congressional major season and 2024 Republican presidential major season.

Because of this for many Republican officeholders and workplace seekers, the trail of least political resistance is to stay with Trump, even when that path leads away from democracy and equality beneath regulation and towards authoritarianism and a hollowed-out republic-in-name-only.

By placing constitutional precept over lockstep partisanship, Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger and numerous state and native Republican election officers, together with a small variety of congressional Republicans, have demonstrated their dedication to sincere elections. The power and political braveness they’ve proven, nevertheless spectacular and important within the current disaster, will not be sufficient to cease the nation’s slide from democracy.

Many congressional Republicans, as huge fish in pink states or hatchery fish within the protecting habitat of gerrymandered districts, have little incentive to serve nearly all of American voters. Till they should both symbolize the bulk or lose their positions of energy, they probably will do neither.

Ken Hughes is a researcher with the Presidential Recordings Program of the College of Virginia's Miller Middle. This system's work is funded partially by grants from the Nationwide Historic Publications and Data Fee.

from Growth News https://growthnews.in/trumps-smoking-gun-tape-is-worse-than-nixons-but-congressional-republicans-have-less-incentive-to-do-anything-about-it/ via https://growthnews.in

[flowerpot101]

The Truth Will Come

Clark Kent x Reader

Request: Reader is part of the Justice League, Reader and Clark have feelings for one another, everyone knows it but themselves. Something happens to Reader on a mission which causes her to tell Clark stuff in front of everyone. The next morning, Reader is in for a surprise.

Word Count: 2163

Y/N was running, the whole league was on a mission and it was going south pretty quickly. Somehow in the first ten minutes everyone had gotten split up, you were meant to stick together but fate had its own plan for everyone. At least everyone had their own comm. So if something really bad happened you had a way to contact one another. This mission was meant to be a quick get in, grab the Intel, and get out. That was changed the instant you were ambushed, which was the main reason why you all got split up. Clark was meant to be by your side but he wasn’t at the moment. It was Y/N’s job to get the Intel, everyone else were to be a distraction so that you could get in and grab it.

She was looking for the door that held the lab, where all of the information should be. You rounded a corner but stopped in your tracks when you came face to face with two very big guards that stood in front of a large rusting metal door. Once their eyes laid on you they went into high guarded stance, raising their rifles to point at you. Y/N took a step back trying to come up with a plan on how she could take care of this by herself; she really wished Superman was by her side right now. Before she could even react, something hard came down on the back of her head causing her to fall forward landing onto her hands, she let out a groan of pain feeling the slight burn in them.

Turning her body to face the man that just hit her but she didn’t come face to face with a man, it was a woman. The woman stood above her with the dirtiest possible look directed towards her. Y/N could see that the woman held something in her hand which looked to be some sort of syringe type thing. Y/N’s hair was pulled roughly, the woman’s face getting right into her’s, in the most menacing voice Y/N had ever heard, “You think you can come in here… And take my work?!”

Y/N slowly started to feel afraid, she had thought Diana was fearsome but this woman was much more fearsome then anyone she had ever meant. Before she could process anything else, she felt a pinch in her neck, feeling the cold needle go into her skin; she could even feel the cold liquid pulse through her veins. Then the woman yanked the syringe out rougher then she needed to, causing her skin to tear where the needle had went through. The woman let out a menacing laughter as she spoke, “My name is Veronica Cale and the Justice League will not win this time!”

Y/N tried to get up but was soon stop when she felt a burning sensation that started from her feet slowly inching up her body to finally settle in her head. The more she felt the burn, the worst it got and the hotter it became. It felt like she was being boiled alive, and her flesh felt hot to the touch. Slowly her vision started to darken in the corners, she could still hear the woman’s laughter but it sounded much more distance. She could hear voices but she could no longer register them. Then she was out like a light, her body consuming to the pain she felt. Even in the dark, Y/N could still feel the liquid pulse through her.

                                     An Hour Later.

 Slowly Y/N started to become conscious again, her head felt fuzzy and weird, she had this instinct to do something but couldn’t pinpoint what exactly. She could feel the cold concrete underneath her. Her vision was slowly coming back, it was blurry but slowly it started to become clearer, she was looking up at a grey tiled ceiling. Memories coming back in flashes, she soon realized that she was still in the warehouse that they invaded and she had no idea on how long she was out for. Gently as possibly, Y/N started to push herself up into a sitting position, she took a deep breath then slammed her hand onto the wall to push herself to stand. As she was doing this she could hear Batman calling her name, and the whooshing noise of Flash zooming around the building looking for you.

Y/N was breathing deeply, she still couldn’t understand why she felt the way she did. Then she remembered the reason why she was knocked out was because of whatever was held in the syringe that Veronica lady had given her. “Y/N?” She looked up, to see that the Flash had finally found her. She let out a relived sigh before taking a step forward but her legs gave out and Flash rushed to her so she wouldn’t drop to the floor.

“GUYS! I found her and it doesn’t look so great!” Flash was looking back over his shoulder as he yelled out but quickly turned back to you with a very worry expression.

She could hear heavy footsteps coming their way, and soon enough there stood Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg and Superman. They all rushed towards you and the Flash, with all of their own worried expressions, even Batman had one instead of his usual brooding dark expression like he always had. Quickly they all began to ask questions, asking if she was okay, what happened, and who did this. She couldn’t comprehend all the words coming out of their mouths but she could focus on Superman’s.

Instead of answering their questions, she said something that caught them all off guard, “Man you are one fine piece of a man, Superman. Did you know that? Did you know that you’re a fine looking man?” She was leaning towards him with her arm on her knee as her words came out slurred, sounding like someone had given her laughing gas.

“Y/N… Are you okay?” Y/N head shot towards Diana, her mouth was pouted like she was contemplating something, then nodded at her rapidly, “Of course I am! I’m on cloud nine! Whatever that Cale lady gave me, makes me feel all tingly inside.” Y/N let out a small giggle before continuing, “Plus! I get to look at the man I love! Isn’t that right Clark?” Her head was nodding towards him.

To anyone else, it looked like Y/N was drunk off her butt. Diana looked to Bruce, both realizing what had exactly happened. This woman, Cale, you spoke of was the one they came here for. Guessing by the way you were acting, they could guess that she found you first and had given you the thing they were after. Word had gotten out that Veronica was making a serum for people to confess the truth. And it looked she exceeded.

Quietly as they could, Bruce started to explain everything to the team, knowing exactly what had happened to you. Clark was looking at you as you kept talking to him about how attractive he was, how much you loved him, and how big his heart was. But he was still listening to the group talk. Then he wondered, if Veronica gave you the truth serum, does that mean it really worked and what you were saying to him now, was really the truth? Clark would have to wait and find out later when you weren’t all drugged up and sounded like you were off your rocker.

The team needed to get back to the bat cave now before something else happened. Clark lifted you up, “Oh, you’re a mighty strong man aren’t you?” Y/N giggled out but then she was out like a baby, falling into Clark’s arms.

Clark looked down at her, with her peaceful expression. Gently he lifted her up so that he could carry her to the jet. As he walked away, he could feel the team’s eyes on his back, soon they quickly followed. Everyone was giving each other a look that Clark couldn’t see.

                                     The Next Morning.

 Y/N slowly woke up, feeling softness underneath her instead of the cold concrete. She slowly started to sit up while rubbing the tiredness and fuzziness out of her eyes. She looked around to see that she was back at the mansion in her own room. She looked to her alarm clock to see that it read nine thirty am. She let out a groan, pulling the covers off her body; she went to the bathroom to get a quick shower. When she got out and dried herself, she walked out towards her closet. She grabbed a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and an oversized dark emerald sweater.

She then left her room, walking towards the kitchen to get some food. For some reason, she couldn’t remember anything from last night; she knew they had been on a mission but nothing else. Y/N finally walked into the kitchen, everyone looked at her when she walked in, and they could see her confused expression. All of them let out a deep sigh; secretly they all decided that Clark would explain everything to you, giving you two the chance to act upon your two shared feeling for one another.

Y/N watched confusingly as the team walked out of the kitchen, besides Clark who had an equal confused expression on his face. Diana and Barry walked by with a cheesy smile, while Arthur and Bruce walked away with their own devious smirks. Victor was the only one to stop beside her with a small smile, giving a small glance towards Clark, he said, “Clark will explain everything to you, Y/N.” Then he walked out but not before sending a wink your way and his smile becoming cheeky like Diana’s and Barry’s.

Y/N turned to look at Clark, “You wanna explain to me what happened last night? I know we were on a mission but I can’t remember anything else.”

Y/N walked towards Clark to stand in front of him with her arms crossed and brooding but confused expression looking up at him, “Well, like you said we were on a mission and well, uhm, the woman we were after got to you while you had went after to get the Intel,” Clark took a deep sigh looking down to the floor, “She injected you with a truth serum that knocked you out for about an hour before we found you.” Looking back up to see that your expression changed to shock, your mouth was slightly agape.

Looking at Clark, “Please… please tell me I didn’t say anything embarrassing?” With a hopeful expression, she really hoped that the serum didn’t work but deep down she knew she had said things that she would be to afraid to say right now.

Clark’s hand went up to scratch the back of his head, his lips falling into a thin line, “Welllll… Nothing embarrassing but you did tell me that I was a fine man, that I was strong, that I had a big hear and…” taking a deep breath, he looked to you as his hands fell back to his side, his fingers entangling together in front of him, “You did say you love me.”

Y/N was shocked, her head slightly moving back from what Clark just told her, “Oh my god,” she whispered out to herself. “Listen Clark, I am so sorry if I put you in a weird predicament, if you don’t want to be partners on missions anymore… I will totally understand,” let out an exasperated Y/N.

She looked scared but more worried than anything else, Y/N was freaking out in the inside, thinking she had just ruined her and Clark’s friendship, but how wrong she was.

“Don’t be sorry.” Clark looked down to her before finally confessing the thing he wanted to say for months, “I wouldn’t want to be partners with anyone else because… I love you too.”

Y/N’s hand fell from her forehead, turning to look at Clark with a shocked face, “Really?”

Clark smiled a wide grin towards her before stepping closer, nodding his head, “Really.”

Then he grabbed the sides of her face, pulling her into him, kissing her with deep passionate and love. Her arms came around his neck, pulling herself deeper into his arms. Pulling back, their foreheads pressed to one another, as they looked into one another’s eyes. Both were wearing happy expressions and smiles. But then they heard hooting and hollering following along with sounds of high fives in the hallway that was connected to the kitchen.

“FINALLY!”

“YEAH MAN!”

“WOOO!”

Clark and Y/N both falling into a deep bemused laughter, they thought they were alone but really they weren’t. The whole team stayed in the hallway, wanting to see if their plan would work and sure enough, it did. Clark and Y/N were not the only ones in the mansion to be happy that they were finally together.

[goldenbaylaurel]

Making a Deal with the Devil

This belongs to my ColdFlash-fanfiction Cold-Blooded on AO3. It was part of the original outline, but doesn’t fit in anymore now. (This still happened, though.) So, here it is anyway, because I felt this has to be posted somewhere.

Summary: After Nero Fitzgerald robbed the First National Bank, Len gets a visitor. And he is not happy about what this visitor has to say to him.

Words: 3014

Even before Barry had come by that day, heck, even before Leonard had turned on the TV to see it happen on the news, he’d had a bad feeling that something had happened. And he had been right, of course. All the news regarding Central City, even national news reported that Captain Cold had attacked again. He had supposedly robbed a bank, turning everything and everyone to ice that was in is way, even a tree. But he had failed as nothing was stolen from the bank, although the doors of the high-security vaults had been compromised.

What the news didn’t tell, probably because they hadn’t known nor cared, was that it hadn’t been Captain Cold, a.k.a. Leonard, robbing that bank. It had been Nero with Len’s gun, the gun he had stolen from him so many months ago, the gun with which he had nearly killed Len’s baby sister.

The news only reported that Captain Cold had managed to vanish from the crime scene, and the Flash had disappeared a full minute or so after him.

But as soon as Leonard had heard that, he knew that he was coming for him. He’d show up, tell him about his big evil plan, and what probably had happened to the Flash. Because the Flash disappearing so much time after one of his enemies was never a good sign. Especially not for the fastest man alive.

Len immediately went to the small bookshelf on the wall next to the TV. With nearly no effort, he pulled it away and freed the vision to a small safe embedded into the wall. That was the place where he hid all his plans, blueprints, some prey from some jewelry heists he had never managed to bring to a secure location, mainly because the things he stored in here weren’t as valuable as some others. And last but not least, he kept his weapons in here, maybe except for the gun in his nightstand and the dagger under the mattress.

Now, he took out two of his guns that were safely stored away, loaded them with bullets, and hid one of them in the waistband of his jeans. As a precaution, he took the second gun in his hand, just in case he had to act quickly. Len was sure Nero wouldn’t pull anything stupid on him; he was way too smart for that. But he had been crossed and double-crossed enough times in his life to never trust an enemy or even a new partner of his.

He went to the kitchen and brewed a fresh coffee. While the water was slowly heating up, and the beans rushed through his coffee grinder, he glanced at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall. Exactly five minutes and twenty-three seconds have passed since the escape of “Captain Cold” from the bank had been reported. Giving that the CCPN had needed around two minutes to report all this, nearly eight minutes had passed since.

If Nero would walk over to his apartment, he’d need more than forty minutes, which was way too long. Something had happened there in the bank, Leonard was sure. No, Nero would take another way, a quicker way to get here. A cab, if called immediately, needed exactly fifteen minutes and three seconds to get here, considering that all the traffic lights were set on green and that the driver stuck to the tempo limit.

Nine minutes and forty-five seconds. Around six minutes left if Nero was fast.

Len cast the hot water over the beans, pressed down the punch and poured himself a cup. Slowly, he sat down on his couch, laying back lazily. He popped one leg over the other and started to fix his apartment door with such a piercing glare as if he wanted to freeze it with his clear, blue eyes instead of his cold gun. His body went rigid and he sat still, like an animal right before its striking, killing jump.

Two minutes and sixteen seconds until Nero’s approximate arrival.

But what if Barry stopped by here first, a small, nagging voice in his mind questioned. Len tilted his head a little, less than an inch, the only movement he made except raising his cup of coffee to his lips from time to time. No, Barry wouldn’t come here. He had left the crime scene too late. Len knew the kid, knew his reactions, the way he thought, the way he acted out there on the battlefield. He could predict his movements and actions when they two were going at each other, teasing each other. Leonard knew where Barry would flash to when he was aiming at him and shooting blasts of cold after him. He knew where he had to aim if he really wanted to hurt him, and where to when he wanted to make sure that Barry would escape them just by an inch, but still so close that it was fun for Len to annoy the Flash like that.

No, if Barry had been okay after whatever had happened inside that bank, he’d had left immediately, chasing after Nero and trying to catch him. But the time between their leavings weren’t seconds, it had been a full whole minute. And that meant that something had gone terribly wrong inside that bank.

Remained to be seen how much damage was done, Leonard thought sarcastically. But if he was right and not mistaken in his evaluation of Nero’s shitty character – and Len was never mistaken when it came to reading people – then this ghost of Len’s past would stop by. Stop by to boast about his success, about how he had beaten the Flash, something Leonard could never accomplish himself.

And, if he admitted it, something he never wanted to accomplish. Sure, sometimes the kid was a pain in the ass when he ruined a particular juicy heist, but in the end, it wasn’t actually about the bid score. It was about the game itself, and Barry certainly did his job to entertain Len. Besides, this city needed a hero. They needed the Flash out there, protecting. And if Len was honest with himself, he needed the Flash too. He needed his hero, his little Scarlet Speedster, out there and on evenings like that when demons of his past caught up with him and he wasn’t really himself. He needed Barry to remind him who he was, who he wanted to be. Although he tried very hard not to think about it, the past evenings had been nice – even more than just nice. Leonard had grown used to Barry’s presence, his blushing, his rambling and his everlasting appetite. He had started to get used to having him around, and as he thought about it now, he wouldn’t want to miss those evenings by any chance.

But now, something happened, Len could feel it, like a sixth sense alerting him.

Twenty-five seconds left.

Len exhaled loudly and closed his eyes for the remaining time. In his head, he counted down to when Nero would arrive. As soon as he had reached the zero, he opened his eyes again and took the last sip from his coffee.

Ten seconds later, there was a single knock on his door, and without any hesitation or signs of waiting, the door was kicked open violently. Nero stepped in, his presence dominating. He radiated confidence as if he had accomplished something impossible, he held his head high up like a king that now had the displeasure of talking to the common folk.

Leonard cleared his throat audibly and remained seated on the couch, just staring at Nero.

“Don’t you think it’s rude to crash into someone’s home without being invited to?” he said in a long drawl, mocking the words Nero had said to him when Barry and Len had first broken into the Italian’s apartment.

“Why, Leo, I didn’t know you actually and definitely settled down. With your tawny little boyfriend even?” Nero walked into Leonard’s apartment, not bothering to close the door. With long, graceful strides he walked towards the kitchen. “Where do you store your cups?” he asked nonchalantly as if they were friends and not ex-lovers and now mortal enemies.

“Cupboard on the wall next to the exhaust duct, right-hand side,” Leonard said equally casual, drawling the words longer than necessary in his typical cold fashion. Slowly, he stood up and closed the door but never left the other man out of his sight.

“Thanks.” Nero pulled out a cup and purred himself a cup of the still hot coffee.

After a few sips, he finally raised his eyes and locked his gaze with Leonard’s. Chalk had appeared in them, mixed with amusement. They were so dark Len felt like he was looking at the night sky. Or like a bottomless pit, he thought, especially when they gleamed with menace like they did now.

“So, Leo,” Nero started again, putting an emphasize on the nickname, the nickname he hated so much but which he still had used when they had been together, “you didn’t tell me your little boyfriend from the last time when you robbed me is actually the Flash!”

There was a sudden silence in the room, so absolutely quiet you could hear a pin drop.

“What?” Len asked back, trying to make his voice sound as icy as possible.

“You know, that skinny boy with the fluffy brown hair and those doe eyes,” Nero explained slowly as if he was talking to a small child. “I expected the Flash to fall for my little … charade at the bank and to come speeding along. But I never expected to see what’s under that cowl!” He laughed a cruel, cold laugh.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He tried to keep his voice cool, to keep the little tremble out.

“Oh, come on, don’t play dumb with me.” Nero pouted which made him look almost comical. But only almost. With agonizing slow movements, he put the cup of coffee to his lips again and took a sip. Then, he put the cup down next to him on the counter before he faced Leonard again with a serious, business-like expression on his face.

Len tried to keep his distance from more than two meters. He had the urge to clench his fists, but resisted. That would only be a sign of weakness, and he couldn’t be weak, especially not around Nero.

“I’m here to offer you a deal.”

“Why should I make a deal with you?” Len sneered.

“Because,” Nero said matter-of-factly, “if you don’t, I’ll tell everyone who the man under that cute red leather costume is. I’ll make sure every single person on this goddamned planted knows his name. And I’ll make sure that everyone in the criminal underground knows that you, Captain Cold, are dating the Flash.” A slight gleam of madness has mixed with the evil expression in his eyes. “And as soon as I found out his name – and believe me, I will – I’ll hunt him down, kill all his friends and family, and then break every single bone in his body. And I’ll make sure you have to watch every last bit of it.”

Len’s stomach felt like somebody just dropped a bomb inside. He was going to explode, he was sure. Nero could never be serious about this, that Italian, silly boy hadn’t it in him. But as Leonard met the staring gaze, he knew Nero was more than serious. There was pure honesty in his eyes, and a sincerity and will to put his plan into action.

“Unless, of course,” he spoke up again with a satisfied smile on his face, “you’ll cooperate.”

Len clenched his teeth. “And what exactly does that mean?”

“It means, my dear old beau, that I want you to help me take him down. You keep playing your little charade, please him all you want, court him, whatever. Then, the next time you two try to, ah, ‘take me down’, you suddenly switch to my side. I’ll even give you your precious gun back.” He patted the side of his left leg where the cold gun was strapped to.

Len snorted. “Why should I care about the Flash? He’s not my boyfriend, we have nothing going on. And he means absolutely nothing to me, nor does the boy.”

Nero tsked and looked at him in pity. “Len, you should seriously learn to lie better. I mean, you used to be so good at it!” He let out a single laugh. “Truth is, we both know how much you truly care about him. You might put on that cold mask for everyone else and convince the public that you two are enemies, but not me. You cannot fool me, Leonard. I see it in your eyes. You love that kid, more than you ever loved me. He means everything to you, am I right?”

“No.”

“Tut, tut, still lying. The way you clench your fists, the way you hold your body, it’s giving you away.”

“What has he to do with all of this?” Len asked furiously.

“Everything. He is the key to my new plan. See, as soon as I realized the Flash is your boyfriend, I knew what to do. You love him, I know that. You looked at him the same way you once looked at me. So, let me just repeat my offer. You’ll help me, and I won’t harm him. Otherwise … I’ve already told you. Whatever you choose, I’ll take it from you. Because he is everything to you, right? I will destroy you, Leonard Snart. You can just decide if you can live with the fact that your mistakes also killed him.”

Leonard gulped, considering every option he had. He could just shoot Nero, right here on the spot. But he knew how disappointed Barry would be, and that Barry would send him straight to prison, especially because asking him to prevent Len from killing Nero was the initial reason why the speedster helped him anyway.

Len only needed to close his eyes to conjure his face, those disappointed, angry, and sad doe eyes. Those soft hazel eyes as soon as Barry would find out what Leonard did.

No, killing Nero was not an option. He couldn’t explain it to himself, but somehow he cared about what Barry thought of him. And what he felt towards him. He never wanted to see the soft expression in his eyes turned to hatred.

And having Barry dead wasn’t even an option. Len indeed had lied before. Barry meant a lot to him, more than he’d like to. Maybe it wasn’t just friendship or their companionship he enjoyed. Maybe it was more, a lot more, Nero’s poisonous words made him realize this. No, Barry had to live.

But he was off better without Leonard in his life. The boy didn’t need an old, broken man on his side, having scars not only on his skin from his childhood, from the abuse. He needed, he deserved someone better than Len. And he had to give Barry this possibility, the possibility to live a life without someone as bad and toxic as Len in it.

“Fine,” he answered after forever. “What do you want me to do?”

Nero’s grin widened. “I knew you’d come to your senses.”

“What do you want me to do?” he repeated, his words hard and cold this time.

“You and your boyfriend will go the museum on the 24th of January, visiting the exhibition of the ‘Gems of the World.’”

“You want the Rose.”

“Of course I want the Rose. And you will give it to me. I’ll be there, and the two of you will try to stop me. But then, you come to my side, and we will put the Flash on ice. Just temporarily,” he added quickly as he saw Leonard’s face. “I won’t hurt him as long as you play along.”

“And what next?”

“I’ll take the Rose, you may take back your cold gun, and I’ll leave town. Because then, I’ll have everything I want.”

“So that’s your big plan? Doesn’t sound so big to me.”

“Trust me, it’s a lot more than just that. This, my dear beau, will just be the cherry on top of the cream. Believe me, I’ll do a lot more to make you pay in the meantime. But this – this is my final strike. That one strike you’ll never recover from. The strike that’ll take everything from you, and to the same to you as you did to me when you killed my family in front of my eyes.”

Nero emptied his cup and closed his open jacket as if he was on the leave.

“Well, it’s been a pleasure making business with you.” He smiled his evil grin on last time at Len as he made his way towards the door. Len fixed him with his eyes, his expression so cold it could have made his gun concurrence. When Nero passed him, Len’s body stiffened, trying to keep enough distance. He didn’t want to accidently brush him as he walked past, didn’t want any kind of body contact.

“I’ll be in touch,” Nero said on his way out. Then, he closed the door and he was gone.

Len stood there in the middle of the room, motionless, for two hundred and seventeen more seconds, his mind racing. Only after then, he managed to put his mask of coolness back on. He had the feeling visiting time wasn’t over yet. Barry would stop by, probably, and he couldn’t tell him about that. Or could he? Maybe the young man would help Len, and together, they could double-cross Nero.

What if something goes wrong, the nagging voice in his mind asked. Then Barry would die, he would die and Leonard had lost everything. Maybe he could live with the boy hating him when he’d cross him, but Len certainly couldn’t live with the fact that maybe he was responsible for Barry’s death. No, he couldn’t do it. That might be a little selfish, admittedly yes, but Len had sacrificed enough in his life.

No, he couldn’t lose Barry, too. If Barry died because of him … he would never be able to deal with that. No, Len had to protect him, to make sure he would be okay, out of harm’s way, out of Len’s life, where he would get hurt eventually anyway. Len had to, even if that meant that he had to deceive his Scarlet.

[theampreviews]

Moonlight

Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight is a film that has stayed with me long after seeing it. A coming-of-age tale of a boy named Chiron struggling with the confusions and insecurities of his sexuality, it is formed of three defining chapters in his life; i) Little, ii) Chiron and iii) Black. Chiron grows up in a poor neighborhood with a crack-addict, single-parent mother, befriends the local drug dealer, gets kicked out of school and finds his way to becoming a drug dealer himself; all of which is underpinned by the anxiety of his own identity. 

Telling the story of a gay black man raised in housing projects certainly strikes as a bold move. Black males have more often than not been presented as hyper-masculine and aggressively homophobic in mainstream media. That being the construct of insidious racism or not is a huge debate, and not one for me to patronize here, but it does give Moonlight a sense of the taboo you might not expect from a depiction of homosexuality in 2017. It also sparks an unavoidable question about the institutionalized acceptance of the presentation of Black men in the films that reach suburban multiplexes. When young Chiron questions Mahershala Ali’s drug dealer Juan as to the meaning behind kids calling him “faggot”, his response blindsided me, and then had me kicking myself for ignorantly accepting these perpetual stereotypes. Juan’s occupation is byproduct of the vicious cycle that perpetually swallows black youth, it isn’t shorthand for the character of the man, Jenkins makes us confront that. 

Ali’s performance has rightfully been singled out, he leaves a lasting impression in a small amount of time, but he’s part of an immensely impressive cast. All three of the leads portraying Chiron deserve equal praise. Alex R, Hibbert, Ashton Sanders and Trevante Rhodes each get time with a particular stage in Chiron’s life; the near mute Little, the cripplingly awkward teen Chiron and the transformed but reclusive and broken Black. They’re all wonderful and make for a sound argument for a group award for the portrayal of a single character (though awards ceremonies are long enough as it is). 

The trio of performances of Chrion’s friend (betrayer and salvation) Kevin, by Jaden Piner, Jharrel Jerome and Andre Holland, are all stellar (particularly the latter) and as Mother and Surrogate, Naomie Harris and Janelle Monae both excel as desperate and caring respectively. 

As Moonlight has broken out of the Arthouse circuit and over to mainstream audiences, thanks to awards attention, I’ve no doubt Jenkins enjoys contradicting the expectations that an “Urban Film” brings with it. The film is shot with a dreamy elegance at odds with that hard cutting music-video aesthetic we often see. Violence is never front & center or glorified and the score and soundtrack aren’t relentlessly hip-hop orientated. It feels different to someone brought up on Boyz N The Hood, New Jack City and Menace to Society. With Cinematographer James Laxton and Editors Joi McMillon and Nat Sanders, Jenkins has constructed a film that at times looks like Michael Mann and sounds like Scorsese but feels very much his own creation. 

To say Moonlight not just a “Black” film or not just a “Gay” film would be to deprive it of the fact that it is very much both those things, and should be recognised and celebrated as such; more so in light of its widespread success. Moonlight is a film that, unlike its protagonist, doesn’t struggle with its own identity, so it’s best people don’t bury that fact whilst trying to talk about it in ways that make themselves feel included. Yes, Moonlight presents its audience with aspects of a universally shared experience, but it is also tremendously specific about the experience it presents. A young gay white child growing up in Kent will likely not share the same formative life experience that Chiron does even if they may both struggle with the similar insecurities and prejudices. This is Chiron’s story, let it be about him. This is Black, Gay film making, and it’s a modern masterpiece, celebrate that.   

[scotianostra]

The respected Scottish actor Roy Hanlon passed away on June 30th 2005.

Throughout his career Roy Hanlon was a much loved and respected character actor. He appeared often on television, with many theatre companies in Scotland and Ireland and graced many productions at the Edinburgh Festival. Indeed he had the distinction of appearing in three productions of the epic Thrie Estaites in the same role. His well-known face, however, was seen in important supporting roles in a host of Scottish drama series, including Dr Finlay’s Casebook, Sutherland’s Law and The Borderers.

Roy Hanlon trained with the Scottish Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1960. He joined the Glasgow Citizens' Company and was a member of the company at that year's Edinburgh Festival in Durenmatt’s seldom-performed Romullus the Great. He was back two years later in an equally rare play - The Doctor and the Devils - with a host of leading Scottish actors.

In 1964 Hanlon made the first of several appearances in Dr Finlay's Casebook and appeared as a menacing doctor in Edward Bond's acclaimed radio drama Castles in Spain. In 1967 he was in two films. The first (Robbery), starring Stanley Baker, was about a gang who robbed the overnight Glasgow to London train. He then appeared in an espionage thriller, The Naked Runner alongside Frank Sinatra and Edward Fox. Critics greeted neither movie with much enthusiasm. Two years later, Hanlon was cast in several leading television dramas of the period, notably the underground spy drama Jason King, which made a star of Peter Wyngarde.

Throughout the 1970s, Hanlon appeared in a host of roles. These included BBC Scotland's popular 1972 drama Sutherland's Law, about a procurator fiscal, starring Iain Sutherland, and The Saint - the award-winning series on ITV starring Roger Moore.

It was in 1984 that Hanlon first came to the Festival to play Spiritualitie in Tom Fleming's dramatic production of the Thrie Estaites. The production starred such actors as Andrew Cruickshank, David Rintoul, Edith Macarthur and Alec Heggie and was repeated the following year. Hanlon also returned to the same role in the 1991 production of the play. In 1985 it was performed at the Assembly Hall in tandem with Sydney Goodsir Smith's The Wallace, in which Hanlon played John Mentieth. The Wallace demanded much of the huge cast: the opening scene alone was given in old Scots and contemporary English.

In the early 1980s, Hanlon became a regular visitor to Ireland and worked often with the Abbey Theatre of Dublin (including a memorable Doctor's Dilemma in 1982). Two years earlier he had made a notable impression in the world premiere of Brian Friel's Translations, in which Hanlon delivered an engrossing account of Jimmy Jack alongside the young Liam Neeson and Stephen Rea.

Hanlon was with the Abbey in 1995 for Patrick Mason's production of Sebastian Barry's The Only True History of Lizzie Finn. In 1998 Hanlon was nominated for a Barclay's Theatre Award for his appearance in Juno and the Paycock. Hanlon remained a fiercely proud Scot and was devoted to his profession and his family. He was still working up to 2014, when he was seen in BBC2's Takin' Over the Asylum.