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Upcoming Must-See Movies in 2021

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It’s 2021. Finally. If you’re reading this, it means you’ve hopefully gotten through the wreckage of last year unscathed and are ready for a brighter future. And if you’re also a movie lover, this certainly includes a trip (or 20) back to the cinemas.

Sure, theaters were technically open in some places last fall, but the moviegoing season has largely remained dormant since March 2020. Yet given good news about vaccines starting to become available, and an absolutely stacked 2021 movie release calendar, we have reasons to be cautiously optimistic.

Indeed, 2021 promises many of the most anticipated films from last year, plus new surprises. From the superhero variety like Black Widow to the art house with Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, 2021 could be a much needed respite. So below is just a sampling of what to expect from the year to come…

The Little Things

January 29

One of the year’s earliest high profile releases is also the first of WB’s film slate on HBO Max. The Little Things is a serial killer thriller in the old school mold. It also boasts a brutally talented cast that includes Denzel Washington and Rami Malek as the detectives, and Jared Leto as the killer. As the latest movie from John Lee Hancock (The Founder, The Alamo), this looks like the type of star-led seediness that used to dominate the multiplex.

Maclolm and Marie

February 5

Assassination Nation writer-director Sam Levinson returns for a decidedly stripped down and intimate character study about two people on the threshold of their lives changing–and perhaps splitting apart. With Zendaya and John David Washington in roles unlike anything we’ve seen the pair in before, they play a couple returning home after the premiere of Malcolm’s (Washington) first movie. He’s on the cusp of life-changing success as a director, but when confronted by Marie about past secrets and hard truths… the night takes a turn.

Judas and the Black Messiah

February 12

It’s kind of hard to wrap one’s head around the annual “Oscar race” in a year when little trophies don’t seem so damn important, but Warner Bros. feels strongly enough about this movie that it’s getting it into theaters and on HBO Max right in the thick of the pandemic-delayed awards season. And judging by the marketing, it’s bringing heat with it.

Shaka King directs and co-writes the story of Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya), who became the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party in the late 1960s and was murdered in cold blood by police in 1969. LaKeith Stanfield plays William O’Neal, a petty criminal who agreed to help the FBI take Hampton down. This promises to be incendiary, relevant material — and it’s almost here.

Minari

February 12

Lee Isaac Chung directs Steven Yeun–now fully shaking off his years as Glenn on The Walking Dead–in this semi-autobiographical film about a South Korean family struggling to settle down in rural America in the 1980s. Premiering nearly a year ago at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won both the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award, Minari had a quick one-week virtual release in December, with a number of critics placing it on their Top 10 lists for 2020.

Its story of immigration and assimilation currently has a perfect 100 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics lauding its heart, grace, and sensitivity. A few of ours also considered it among 2020’s best.

Nomadland

February 19

Utilizing both actors and real people, director Chloé Zhao (The Rider, Marvel’s upcoming Eternals) chronicles the lives of America’s “forgotten people” as they travel the West searching for work, companionship and community. A brilliant Frances McDormand stars as Fern, a woman in her mid-60s who lost her husband, her house, and her entire previous existence when her town literally vanished following the closure of its sole factory.

Zhao’s film quietly flows from despair to optimism and back to despair again, the hardscrabble lives of its itinerant cast (many of them actual nomads) foregrounded against often stunning–if lonely–vistas of the vast, empty American countryside.

I Care a Lot

February 19

A solid cast, led by Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage, Chris Messina, and Dianne Wiest, star in this satirical crime drama from director J. Blakeson (The Disappearance of Alice Creed). Pike plays Marla, a con artist whose scam is getting herself named legal guardian of her elderly marks and then draining their assets while sticking them in nursing homes. She’s ruthless and efficient at it, until she meets a woman (Wiest) whose ties to a crime boss (Dinklage) may prove too much of a challenge for the wily Marla. It was one of our favorites out of Toronto last year.

The Father

February 26

Anthony Hopkins gives a mesmerizing, and deeply tragic, performance as Anthony, an elderly British man whose descent into dementia is reflected by the film itself, which plays with time, setting, and continuity until both Anthony and the viewer can no longer tell what is real and what is not. Olivia Colman is equally moving as his daughter, who wants to get on with her own life even as she watches her father’s disintegrate in front of her.

We saw The Father last year at the AFI Fest and it ended up being a favorite of 2020; Hopkins is unforgettable in this bracing, heartbreaking work, which is stunningly adapted by first-time director Florian Zeller from his own award-winning play.

Chaos Walking

March 5

This constantly postponed sci-fi project has become one of those “we’ll believe it when we see it” films until it actually comes out. Shot nearly three and a half years ago by director Doug Liman, Chaos Walking has undergone extensive reshoots and was at one point reportedly deemed unreleasable.

Based on the book The Knife of Letting Go, it places Tom Holland (Spider-Man: Far From Home) and Daisy Ridley (The Rise of Skywalker) on a distant planet where Ridley, the only woman, can hear the thoughts of all the men due to a mysterious force called the Noise.

Raya and the Last Dragon

March 5

Longtime Walt Disney Animation Studios head of story, Paul Briggs (Frozen), will make his directorial debut on this original Disney animated fantasy, which draws upon Eastern traditions to tell the tale of a young warrior who goes searching for the world’s last dragon in the mysterious land of Kumandra. Cassie Steele will voice Raya while Awkwafina (The Farewell) will portray Sisu the dragon.

Disney Animation has been nearly invincible in recent years with other hits like Moana and Zootopia, so watch for this one to be another major hit for the Mouse.

Coming 2 America

March 5

The notion of whether nostalgia-based properties are still viable has cropped up repeatedly in the last few years. However, streaming, which is where Coming 2 America finds itself headed post-COVID, makes golden oldies much safer. This sequel—based on a 32-year-old comedy that was one of Eddie Murphy’s most financially successful hits—sees Murphy back as Prince Akeem, of course, along with Arsenio Hall returning as his loyal friend Semmi.

The plot revolves around Akeem’s discovery, just as he is about to be crowned king, that he has a long-lost son living in the States (we’re not sure how that happened, but let’s just go with it). That, of course, necessitates another visit to our shores—that is, if Akeem and Semmi presumably don’t get stopped at the border. The film reunites Murphy with Dolemite is My Name director Craig Brewer, so perhaps they can make some cutting-edge social comedy out of this?

The King’s Man

March 12

This might be a weird thing to say: but has World War I ever seemed so stylish? It is with Matthew Vaughn at the helm.

An origin story of sorts for the organization that gave us Colin Firth and the umbrella, The King’s Man is a father and son yarn where Ralph Fiennes’ Duke of Oxford is reluctant about his son Conrad (Harris Dickinson) joining the war effort. But they’ll both be up to it as the Duke launches an intelligence gathering agency independent from any government. It also includes Gemma Arterton, Matthew Goode, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as charter members.

Oh, and did we mention they fight Rasputin?

Godzilla vs. Kong

March 26

Here we are, at last at the big punch up between Godzilla and King Kong. They both wear a crown, but in the film that Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have been building toward since 2014, only one can walk away with the title of the king of all the monsters.

Admittedly, not everyone loved the last American Godzilla movie, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, but we sure did. Still, Godzilla vs. Kong should be a different animal with Adam Wingard (You’re Next, The Guest) taking over directorial duties. It also has a stacked cast with some familiar faces (Kyle Chandler, Millie Bobby Brown, and Ziyi Zhang) and plenty of new ones (Alexander Skarsgård, Eiza González, Danai Gurira, Lance Reddick, and more).

It’ll probably be better than the original, right? And hey with its HBO Max rollout, questions of a poor box office run sure are conveniently mooted!

No Time to Die

April 2

Nothing lasts forever, and the Daniel Craig era of James Bond is coming to an end… hopefully in 2021. In fact, delays notwithstanding, it’s a bit of a surprise Craig is getting an official swan song with this movie after the star said he’d rather “slash his wrists” before doing another one. Well, we’re glad he didn’t, just as we’re hopeful for his final installment in the tuxedo.

Director Cary Joji Fukunaga is a newcomer to the franchise, but that might be a good thing after how tired Spectre felt, and Fukunaga has done sterling work in the past on True Detective and Maniac. He also looks to bring the curtain down on the whole Craig oeuvre by picking up on the last movie’s lingering threads, such as 007 driving off into the sunset with Léa Seydoux’s Madeleine Swann, while introducing new ones that include Rami Malek as Bond villain Safin and Ana de Armas as new Bond girl Paloma. Yay for the Knives Out reunion!

Mortal Kombat

April 16

Not to be deterred by the relative failure of Sony’s Monster Hunter in theaters at the tail end of 2020, Warner Bros. is giving this venerable video game franchise another shot at live-action cinematic glory after two previous tries in the 1990s. Director Simon McQuoid makes his feature debut while the script comes from Dave Callaham (Wonder Woman 1984, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) and the cast includes a number of actors you’ve seen in other films but can’t quite place.

The plot? Who knows! But we’re guessing it will feature gods, demons, and warriors battling for control of the 18 realms in various fighting tournaments. What else do you want?

A Quiet Place Part II

April 23

The sequel to one of 2018’s biggest surprises, A Quiet Place Part II comes with major expectations. And few may hold it to a higher standard than writer-director John Krasinski. Despite (spoiler) the death of his character in the first film, Krasinski returns behind the camera for the sequel after saying he wouldn’t. The story he came up with apparently was too good to pass up.

The film again stars Emily Blunt as the often silenced mother of a vulnerable family, which includes son Marcus (Noah Jupe) and deaf daughter Regan (Millicent Simmonds). However, now that they know how to kill the eagle-eared alien monsters who’ve taken over their planet, the cast has grown to include Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou. While the film has been delayed due to the coronavirus outbreak, trust us that it’ll be worth the wait. Is it finally time for… resistance?

Last Night in Soho

April 23

Fresh off the success of 2017’s Baby Driver (his biggest commercial hit to date), iconoclastic British director Edgar Wright returns with what is described as a psychological and possibly time-bending horror thriller set in London. Whether this features Wright’s trademark self-aware humor remains to be seen, but since the film is said to be inspired by dread-inducing genre classics like Repulsion and Don’t Look Now, he might be going for a different effect this time.

The cast, of course, is outstanding: upstarts Anya Taylor-Joy (Queen’s Gambit) and Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit) will face off with Matt Smith (Doctor Who), and British legends Diana Rigg and Terence Stamp. And the truth is we’re never going to miss one of Wright’s movies. Taylor-Joy talked to us here about finding her 1960s lounge singer voice for the film.

Black Widow

May 7

Some would charitably say it arrives a decade late, but Black Widow is finally getting her own movie. This is fairly remarkable considering she became street pizza in Avengers: Endgame, but this movie fits snugly between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. It also promises to be the most pared down Marvel Studios movie since 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and that’s a good thing.

In the film, Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff is on the run after burning her bridges with the U.S. government and UN. This brings her back to the spy games she thought she’d escaped from her youth, and back in the orbit of her “sister” Yelena (Florence Pugh). Old wounds are ripped open, old Soviet foes, including David Harbour as the Red Guardian and Rachel Weisz as Nat and Yelena’s girlhood instructor, are revealed, and many a fight sequence with minimal CGI will be executed.

How’s that for a real start to Phase 4? Of course that’s still assuming this comes out before The Eternals after it was delayed, again, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Spiral

May 21

Chris Rock has co-written the story for a new take on the Saw franchise. Never thought we’d write those words! The fact that it also stars Rock, as well as Samuel L. Jackson, is likewise head-turning. It looks like they’re going for legitimate horror with Darren Lynn Bousman attached to direct after helming three of the Saw sequels, and its grisly pre-COVID trailer from last year.

Hopefully this will be better than most of the franchise that came before, and given the heavily David Fincher-influenced tone of the first trailer, we’re willing to cross our fingers and play this game.

Free Guy

May 21

What would you do if you discovered that you were just a background character in an open world video game—and that the game was soon about to go offline? That’s the premise of this existential sci-fi comedy from director Shawn Levy, best known for the Night at the Museum series and as an executive producer and director on Stranger Things. Ryan Reynolds stars as Guy, a bank teller who discovers that his life is not what he thought it was, and in fact isn’t even real—or is it? We’ve seen a preview of footage, so we’d suggest you think Truman Show, if Truman was trapped in Grand Theft Auto.

May 28

Just when you thought this never-say-die franchise had shown us everything it could possibly dream up, it ups the stakes one more time: the ninth entry in the Fast and Furious saga (excluding 2019’s Hobbs and Shaw) will reportedly take Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his cohorts into space as they battle Dom’s long-lost brother Jakob (John Cena, making a long-overdue debut in this series). Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Helen Mirren, and Charlize Theron all also return, as does director Justin Lin, who took a two-film break from his signature series. Expect to see the required physics-defying stunts, logic-defying action and even more talk about “family” than usual.

Cruella

May 28

Since Disney has already made an animated 101 Dalmatians in 1961 and a live-action remake in 1996, it is apparently time to tell the story again Maleficent-style. Hence we now focus on the viewpoint of iconic villainess Cruella de Vil, played this time by Emma Stone. She’s joined in the movie by Emma Thompson, Paul Walter Hauser, and Mark Strong, with direction handled by Craig Gillespie (sort of a step down from 2017’s I, Tonya, if you ask us).

The story has been updated to the 1970s, but Cruella–now a fashion designer–still covets the fur of dogs for her creations. This is a Mouse House joint, so don’t expect it to get too dark, and don’t be completely surprised if it ends up as a premium on Disney+ in lieu of its already delayed theatrical release.

Infinite

May 28

This sci-fi yarn from director Antoine Fuqua (The Equalizer) stars Mark Wahlberg as a man experiencing what he thinks are hallucinations, but which turn out to be memories from past lives. He soon learns that there is a secret society of people just like him, except that they have total recall of their past identities and have acted to change the course of history throughout the centuries.

Based on the novel The Reincarnationist Papers by D. Eric Maikranz, this was originally a post-Marvel vehicle for Chris Evans. He dropped out, and the combination of Fuqua and Wahlberg hints at something more action-oriented than the rather cerebral premise suggests. The film also stars Sophie Cookson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Dylan O’Brien.

The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

June 4

James Wan is already directing a new horror film this year so he’s stepping away from the directorial duties on the third film based on the paranormal investigations of Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga). That task has fallen to Michael Chaves (The Curse of La Llorona), so expect plenty of the same Wan Universe touches: heavy atmosphere, superb use of sound, and shocking, eerie visuals.

Details are scarce, but the plot—like the other two Conjuring films—is taken from the true-life case of a man who went on trial for murder and said as his defense that he was possessed by a demon when he committed his crimes. That’s all we know for now, except that, intriguingly, Mitchell Hoog and Megan Ashley Brown have been cast as younger versions of the Warrens.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

June 11

With the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot criticized (fairly) for its lack of imagination and castigated (unfairly as hell) for its all-female ghost-hunting crew, director Jason Reitman–finally cashing in on the family name by returning to the brand his dad Ivan directed to glory in 1984–has crafted a direct sequel to the original films.

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Set 30 years later, Afterlife follows a family who move to a small town only to discover that they have a long-secret connection to the OG Ghostbusters. Carrie Coon (The Leftovers), Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) and Paul Rudd (Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) star alongside charter cast members Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, and, yes, Bill Murray.

In the Heights

June 18

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first Broadway hit musical gets the big screen treatment (by way of HBO Max) from director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians). Set in Washington Heights over the course of a three-day heat wave, the plot and ensemble cast carry echoes of both Rent and Do the Right Thing. While a success on the stage—if not quite the cultural phenomenon that Miranda’s next show, Hamilton—it remains to be seen whether In the Heights can strike a chord with streaming audiences.

Luca

June 18

Continuing its current run of all-new, non-sequel original films started in 2020 with Onward and Soul, Pixar will unveil Luca this summer. Directed by Enrico Casarosa–making his feature debut after 18 years with the animation powerhouse–the film tells the story of a friendship between a human being and a sea monster (disguised as another human child) on the Italian Riviera. That’s about all we have on it for now, except that the cast includes Drake Bell and John Ratzenberger.

Pixar’s recent track record has included masterpieces like Inside Out, solid sequels like Toy Story 4, and shakier propositions like The Incredibles 2, but we don’t have any indication yet of what to expect from Luca.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

June 25

Can anyone honestly say that 2018’s Venom was a “good” movie? A batshit insane movie, yes, and perhaps even an entertaining one in its own nutty way, but good or not, it made nearly a billion bucks at the box office so here we are.

Tom Hardy will return to peel more scenery down with his teeth as both Eddie Brock and his fanged, towering alien symbiote while Woody Harrelson will fulfill his destiny and play Cletus Kasady, aka Carnage, the perfected hybrid of psychopathic serial killer and red pile of vicious alien goo. Let the carnage begin!

Top Gun: Maverick

July 2

It’s been 34 years since Tom Cruise first soared through the skies as hotshot pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, and he’ll take to the air once more in a sequel that also features Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, and more. The flying and action sequences from director Joseph Kosinski (who worked with Cruise on Oblivion) will undoubtedly be first-rate, but the studio (Paramount) has to be nervous after seeing one nostalgia-based franchise after another (Blade Runner, Charlie’s Angels, Terminator, The Shining) crash and burn recently.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

July 10

With Shang-Chi, Marvel Studios hopes to do for Asian culture what the company did with the groundbreaking Black Panther nearly three years ago: create another superhero epic with a non-white lead and a mythology steeped in a non-Western culture. Simu Liu stars in the title role as the “master of kung fu,” who must do battle with the nefarious Ten Rings organization and its leader, the Mandarin (the “real” one, not the imposter from Iron Man 3, played here by the legendary Tony Leung). Director Destin Daniel Cretton (Just Mercy) will open up a whole new corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with this story and character, whose origins stretch back to 1973.

The Forever Purge

July 9

One day nearly eight years ago, you went to see a low-budget dystopian sci-fi/horror flick called The Purge, and the next thing you know, it’s 2021 and you’re getting ready to see the fifth and allegedly final entry in the series (which has also spawned a TV show). Written by creator James DeMonaco and directed by Everardo Gout, the film will once again focus on the title event, an annual 12-hour national bacchanal in which all crime, even murder, is legal. How this ends the story, and where and when it falls into the context of the rest of the films, remains a secret for now. Filming was completed back in February 2020, with the film’s release delayed from last summer by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Space Jam: A New Legacy

July 16

There are two types of folks when it comes to the original Space Jam of 1996: those who were between the ages of three and 11 when it came out, and everyone else. In one camp it is an unsightly relic of ‘90s cross-promotional cheese; in the other, it’s a sports movie classic. Luckily for kids today, NBA star LeBron James was 11 for most of ’96, and he’s bringing back the hoops and the Looney Tunes in Space Jam: A New Legacy.

The film will be among the many Warner Bros. pics premieres on HBO Max and in theaters this year, and it will see King James share above-the-title credits with Bugs Bunny. All is as it should be.

Uncharted

July 16

An Uncharted movie has been a long time coming. How long you might ask? Well, when the idea of an Uncharted movie first started getting bandied around Hollywood, the earliest game in the series just launched to rave reviews in the PlayStation 3’s first year. We’re now on PlayStation 5(!), and Mark Wahlberg has gone from angling to play young hero Nathan Drake to starring his wisecracking sidekick, Victor “Sully” Sullivan.

Still, we’re here with an Uncharted movie finally in the can. Directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, Venom), the video game movie stars everyone’s favorite web-head, Tom Holland, as Drake, a pseudo-modern day Indiana Jones. Whether it lives up to that older franchise’s storied legacy remains to be seen (especially given its gaming roots), but one thing’s for sure, Holland will get to show off more gymnast skill thanks to Uncharted’s famous parkour iconography.

The Tomorrow War

July 23

An original IP attempting to be a summer blockbuster? As we live and breathe. The Tomorrow War marks director Chris McKay’s first foray into live-action after helming The Lego Batman Movie. The film stars Chris Pratt as a soldier from the past who’s been “drafted by scientists” to the present in order to fight off an alien invasion overwhelming our future’s military. One might ask why said scientists didn’t use their fancy-schmancy time traveling shenanigans to warn about the impending aliens, but here we are.

Jungle Cruise

July 30

Disney dips into its theme park rides again as a source for a movie, hoping that the Pirates of the Caribbean lightning will strike once more. This time it’s the famous Adventureland riverboat ride, which is free enough of a real narrative that one has to wonder why some five screenwriters (at least) worked on the movie’s script.

Jaume Collet-Serra (The Shallows) directs stars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt down this particular river, as they battle wild animals and a competing expedition in their search for a tree with miraculous healing powers. The comic chemistry between Johnson and Blunt is key here, especially if they really can mimic Bogie and Hepburn in the similarly plotted The African Queen. If they can sell that, Disney might just have a new water-based franchise to replace their sinking Pirates ship.

The Green Knight

July 30

David Lowery, the singular director behind A Ghost Story and The Old Man & the Gun, helmed a fantasy adaptation of the Arthurian legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. And his take on the material was apparently strong enough to entice A24 to produce it. Not much else is yet known about the film other than its cast, which includes Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Ralph Ineson, and Kate Dickie–and that it’s another casualty of COVID, with its 2020 release date being delayed last year. So this is one we’re definitely going to keep an eye on.

The Suicide Squad

August 6

Arguably the most high-profile of the WB films being transitioned to HBO Max, The Suicide Squad is James Gunn’s soft-reboot of the previous one-film franchise. It’s kind of funny WB went in that direction when the first movie generated more than $740 million, but when the reviews and word of mouth were that toxic… well, you get the guy who did Guardians of the Galaxy to fix things.

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Elements from the original movie are still here, most notably Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller, but the film promises to be weirder, meaner, and also sillier. The first points are proven by its expected R-rating, and the latter is underscored by its giant talking Great White Shark. Okay, we’ll bite.

Deep Water

August 13

Seedy erotic thrillers and neo noirs bathed in shadows and sex are largely considered a thing of the past—specifically 1980s and ‘90s Hollywood cinema. Maybe that’s why Deep Water hooked Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal) to direct. The throwback is based on a 1957 novel by the legendary Patricia Highsmith (The Talented Mr. Ripley), and it pits a disenchanted married couple against each other, with the bored pair playing mind games that leave friends and acquaintances dead. That the couple in question is played by Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, who’ve since become a real life item, will probably get plenty of attention close to release.

Respect

August 13

Respect is the long-awaited biopic of the legendary Aretha Franklin, with the Queen of Soul herself involved in its development for years until her death in August 2018. Authorized biopics always make one wonder how accurate the film will be, but then again, Aretha had nothing to be ashamed of. Hers was a life well-lived, her voice almost beyond human comprehension, and the only thing now is to see whether star Jennifer Hudson (Franklin’s personal choice) and director Liesl Tommy (making her feature debut) can do the Queen justice.

Candyman

August 27

In some ways it’s surprising that it’s taken this long—28 years, notwithstanding a couple of sequels—to seriously revisit the original Candyman. Director Bernard Rose’s original adaptation of the Clive Baker story, “The Forbidden,” is still relevant and effective today. Back then, the film touched on urban legends, poverty, and segregation: themes that are still ripe for exploration through a genre touchstone today.

After her breathtaking feature directorial debut, Little Woods, Nia DaCosta helmed this bloody reboot while working from a screenplay co-written by Jordan Peele (Get Out). That’s a powerful combination, even before news came down DaCosta was helming Captain Marvel 2. And with an actor on-the-cusp of mega-stardom, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, picking up Tony Todd’s gnarly hook, this is one to watch out for.

The Beatles: Get Back

August 27

Peter Jackson seems to enjoy making films about what inspired him in his youth: The Lord of the Rings, King Kong, his grandfather’s World War I service informing They Shall Not Grow Old. So perhaps it was inevitable he’d make a film about the greatest youth icon of his generation, the Beatles. In truth, The Beatles: Get Back is a challenge to a previous documentary named Let It Be, and the general pop culture image it painted.

That 1970 doc by Michael Lindsay-Hogg zeroed in on the band’s final released album, Let It Be (although it was recorded before Abbey Road). Now, using previously unseen footage, Jackson seeks to challenge the narrative that the album was created entirely from a place of animosity among the bandmates, or that the Beatles had long lost their camaraderie by the end of road. Embracing the original title of the album, “Get Back,” Jackson wants to get back to where he thinks the band’s image once belonged.

Death on the Nile

September 17

Murder on the Orient Express (2017) became a surprise hit for director and star Kenneth Branagh. Who knew that audiences would still be interested in an 83-year-old mystery novel about an eccentric Belgian detective with one hell of a mustache? Luckily, Agatha Christie featured Poirot in some 32 other novels, of which Death on the Nile is one of the most famous, so here we are.

Branagh once again directs and stars as Poirot, this time investigating a murder aboard a steamer sailing down Egypt’s famous river. The cast includes Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Letitia Wright, Tom Bateman, Ali Fazal, Annette Bening, Rose Leslie, and Russell Brand. Expect more lavish locales, scandalous revelations, the firing of a pistol or two, and, yes, more shots of that stunning Poirot facial hair.

The Many Saints of Newark

September 24

The idea of a prequel to anything always fills us with trepidation, and re-opening a nearly perfect property like The Sopranos makes the prospect even less appetizing. But Sopranos creator David Chase has apparently wanted to explore the back history of his iconic crime family for some time, and there certainly seems to be a rich tapestry of characters and events that have only been hinted at in the series.

Directed by series veteran Alan Taylor (Thor: The Dark World), The Many Saints of Newark stars Alessandro Nivola as Dickie Moltisanti (Christopher’s father), along with Jon Bernthal, Vera Farmiga, Corey Stoll, Ray Liotta, and others. But the most fascinating casting is that of Michael Gandolfini—James’ son—as the younger version of the character with which his late dad made pop culture history. For that alone, we’ll be there on opening night… even if that just means HBO Max!

Dune

October 1

Could third time be the charm for Frank Herbert’s complex novel of the far future, long acknowledged as one of the greatest—if most difficult to read—milestones in all of science fiction? David Lynch’s 1984 version was, to be charitable, an honorable mess, while the 2000 Sci-Fi Channel miniseries was decent and faithful, but limited in scope. Now director Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049, Arrival) is pulling out all the stops��even breaking the story into two movies to give the proper space.

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On the surface, the plot is simple: as galactic powers vie for control of the only planet that produces a substance capable of allowing interstellar flight, a young messiah emerges to lead that planet’s people to freedom. But this tale is dense with multiple layers of politics, metaphysics, mysticism, and hard science.

Villeneuve has assembled a jaw-dropping cast, including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem, and if he pulls this off, just hand him every sci-fi novel ever written. Particularly, if relations between the director and WB remain strained…

Morbius

October 8

Following the monstrous (pun intended) success of Venom, Sony Pictures is making its second attempt to mine Spider-Man’s universe of villains with the dark tale of Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto), whose efforts to cure himself of a fatal blood disease turn him instead into a blood-drinking anti-hero. Morbius has been lurking around the Marvel Comics canon since 1971, often either sparring or teaming with Spidey, and it remains uncertain whether he’s got the cache to carry a movie on his own. In addition, can Leto wash away the bad taste left behind by his tattooed and grilled Joker in Suicide Squad?

Halloween Kills

October 15

2018’s outstanding reboot of the long-running horror franchise—which saw David Gordon Green (Stronger) direct Jamie Lee Curtis in a reprise of her most famous role—was a tremendous hit. So in classic Halloween fashion, two more sequels were put into production (the second, Halloween Ends, will be out in 2022… hopefully).

Movies

Halloween: A Legacy Unmasked

By David Crow

Movies

How Jason Blum Changed Horror Movies

By Rosie Fletcher

Curtis is back as Laurie Strode, along with Judy Greer as her daughter, Andi Matichak as her granddaughter, and Nick Castle sharing Michael Myers duties with James Jude Courtney. Kyle Richards and Charles Cyphers, meanwhile, will reprise their roles as Lindsey Wallace and former sheriff Leigh Brackett from the original 1978 Halloween (Anthony Michael Hall will play the adult version of Tommy Doyle). The plot remains a mystery, but we’re pretty sure it will involve yet another confrontation between Laurie and a rampaging Myers.

The Last Duel

October 15

What was once among the most anticipated films of 2020, The Last Duel is the historical epic prestige project marked by reunions: Ridley Scott returns to his passion for period drama and violence; Matt Damon and Ben Affleck work together for the first time in ages as both actors and writers; and the film also unites each with themes that were just as potent in the medieval world as today: One knight (Damon) in King Charles VI’s court accuses another who’s his best friend (Adam Driver) of raping his wife (Jodie Comer). Oh, and Affleck plays the King of France.

With obviously harrowing—and uncomfortable—themes that resonate today, The Last Duel is based on an actual trial by combat from the 14th century, and is a film Affleck and Damon co-wrote with Nicole Holofcener (Can You Ever Forgive Me?). It’s strong material, and could prove to be one of the year’s most riveting or misjudged films. Until then, it has our full attention.

Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins

October 22

While the idea of a Hasbro Movie Universe seems to be kind of idling at the moment, corners of that hypothetical cinematic empire remain active. One such brand is G.I. Joe, which will launch its first spin-off in this origin story of one of the team’s most popular characters. Much of his early background remains mysterious, so there’s room to create a fairly original story while incorporating lore and characters already established in the G.I. Joe mythos.

Neither of the previous G.I. Joe features (The Rise of Cobra and Retaliation) have been much good, so we can probably expect the same level of quality from this one. Director Robert Schwentke (the last two Divergent movies) doesn’t inspire much excitement either. On the other hand, Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians) will star in the title role, and having Iko Uwais (The Raid) and Samara Weaving (Ready or Not) on board isn’t too bad either.

Eternals

November 5

Based on a Marvel Comics series by the legendary Jack Kirby, the now long-forthcoming Eternals centers around an ancient race of powerful beings who must protect the Earth against their destructive counterparts (and genetic cousins), the Deviants. Director Chloe Zhao (fresh off the awards season buzzy Nomadland) takes her first swing at epic studio filmmaking, working with a cast that includes Angelina Jolie, Gemma Chan, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Brian Tyree Henry, and more.

Movies

Upcoming Marvel Movies Release Dates: MCU Phase 4 Schedule, Cast, and Story Details

By Mike Cecchini and 1 other

Movies

The Incredible Hulk’s Diminished Legacy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

By Gavin Jasper

In many ways, Eternals represents another huge creative risk for Marvel Studios: It’s a big, cosmic ensemble film introducing an ensemble that the vast majority of the public has never heard of. But then, it’s sort of in the same position as Guardians of the Galaxy from way back in 2014, and we all know what happened there.

Elvis

November 5

Obviously we’ve all seen musical biopics before—too many after Walk Hard broke the formula down—but Elvis promises to be something different. A new passion project from Baz Luhrmann, the filmmaker behind Moulin Rouge!, Romeo + Juliet, and The Great Gatsby, Elvis is expected to be a radically stylized account of Elvis Presley’s rise to all shook up fame. With an impressive cast that includes Tom Hanks as manager “Colonel” Tom Parker and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as B.B. King, and with up-and-comer Austin Butler as the King of Rock and Roll himself, it should be a hell of a show.

King Richard

November 19

Will Smith’s King Richard promises to be a different kind of biographical film coming down the pipe. Rather than being told from the vantage of professional tennis playing stars Venus and Serena Williams, King Richard centers on their father and coach, Richard Williams. It’s an interesting choice to focus on the male father instead of the game-changing Black daughters, but we’ll see if there’s a strong creative reason for the approach soon enough. The film is directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green (Monsters and Men, Joe Bell).

Mission: Impossible 7

November 19

Once upon a time, the appeal of the Mission: Impossible movies was to see different directors offer their own take on Tom Cruise running through death-defying stunts. But then Christopher McQuarrie had to come along and make the best one in franchise history (twice). First there was Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and then Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Now McQuarrie and company have set up their own separate quartet of films with recurring original characters like new franchise MVP Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) across four films.

Movies

Audio Surfaces of Tom Cruise Raging on the Set of Mission: Impossible 7

By Kirsten Howard

Movies

Mission: Impossible 7 – What’s Next for the Franchise?

By David Crow

Thus enters M:I7, the third McQuarrie joint in the series and first half of a pair of incoming sequels filmed together. The first-half of this two-parter sees the whole crew back together, including Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, Ilsa, Benji (Simon Pegg), Luther (Ving Rhames), and CIA Director Erika Sloane (Angela Bassett). They’re also being joined by Hayley Atwell and Pom Klementieff, but really we’re all just eager to see what kind of insane stunts they can do to top the HALO jump in the last one.

West Side Story

December 10

Steven Spielberg has just two remakes on his directorial resume: Always (1989) and War of the Worlds (2005). While the former is mostly forgotten and the latter was an adaptation of a story that has been filmed many times, his upcoming reimagining of West Side Story will undoubtedly be directly compared to Robert Wise’s iconic 1961 screen version of this classic musical.

A few numbers in previous films aside, Spielberg has never directed a full-blown musical before, let alone one associated with such powerhouse songs and dance numbers. His version, with a script by Tony Kushner, is said to stay closer to the original Broadway show than the 1961 film—but with its themes of love struggling to cross divides created by hate and bigotry, don’t be surprised if it’s just as hard-hitting in 2021. Certainly would’ve devastated last year….

Spider-Man 3

December 17

Sony has finally gotten to a “Spider-Man 3” again in their oft-rebooted franchise crown jewel (technically though this film is still untitled). That proved to be a stumbling block the first time it occurred with Tobey Maguire in the red and blues, but the company seems undaunted since Tom Holland’s third outing is expected to bring Maguire back—him and just about everyone else too.

Movies

Spider-Man 3: Charlie Cox Daredevil Return Would Redeem the Marvel Netflix Universe

By Joseph Baxter

Movies

Spider-Man 3 Adds Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange

By Joseph Baxter

With a multiverse plot ripped straight from the arguably best Spidey movie ever, 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse, Holland’s third outing is bringing back Maguire, Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man, Alfred Molina as Doc Ock, Jamie Foxx as Electro (eh), and probably more. It’s a Spidey crossover extravaganza that’s only missing a Spider-Ham. But just you wait…

The Matrix 4

December 22

Rebooting or continuing The Matrix series has always been a tough proposition. While the original Matrix film is one of the landmark achievements in science fiction and early digital effects filmmaking in the 1990s, its sequels were… less celebrated. In fact, directors Lily and Lana Wachowski were publicly wary about the idea of ever going back to the series. And yet, here we are with Lana (alone) helming a project that’s been a longtime priority for Warner Bros.

Movies

The Matrix 4: Laurence Fishburne “Wasn’t Invited” to Reprise Morpheus Role

By John Saavedra

Movies

The Matrix 4 Already Happened: Revisiting The Matrix Online

By John Saavedra

The Matrix 4 also brings back Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Jada Pinkett Smith. This is curious since Reeves and Moss’ characters died at the end of the Matrix trilogy—and also because Laurence Fishburne’s Morpheus did not, yet he wasn’t asked back. We cannot say we’re thrilled about the prospect of more adventures in Zion after the disappointment of the first two sequels, but we’d be lying if we didn’t admit we’re still curious to see the story that brought Lana back to this future.

The French Dispatch

TBA

Wes Anderson has a new film coming out. Better still, it is another live-action film. While Anderson’s use of animation is singular, it’s been seven years since The Grand Budapest Hotel, which we maintain is one of the best movies of the last decade. Anderson is working with Timothée Chalamet and Cristoph Waltz for the first time with this film, as well as several familiar faces including Saoirse Ronan, Willem Dafoe, Tilda Swinton, Léa Seydoux, Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, and, of course, Bill Murray.

The French Dispatch is set deep in the 20th century during the peak of modern journalism, it brings to life a series of fictional stories in a fictional magazine, published in a fictional French city. We suspect though, if Anderson’s last two live-action movies are any indication, it’ll have more than fiction on its mind–especially since it’s inspired by actual New Yorker stories, and the journalists who wrote them! We missed it in 2020, so here’s hoping it really does go to print in 2021!

Other interesting movies that may come out in 2021 but do not yet have release dates: Next Goal Wins, Don’t Worry Darling, Nightmare Alley, Antlers, Blonde, The Northman, Resident Evil, Red Notice, Those Who Wish Me Dead, Army of the Dead.

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deadcactuswalking · 4 years

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 17/10/2020 (Headie One, D-Block Europe)

You know, I kind of expected a bigger impact from D-Block Europe given that this is their debut studio album. I guess maybe people are as sick of these guys as I am; the mixtapes they released got tracks higher on the chart than this, and that was without some of the big name features they had. Regardless, we still have nine songs to cover here, so... this week’s #1 is still “Mood” by 24kGoldn and iann dior, and welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

Last week had two album bombs – or at least whatever you can call “album bombs” on a chart that tries its hardest to stop those from happening – so naturally there are quite a few drop-outs and returning entries from the UK Top 75. Two of each from 21 Savage with Metro Boomin and Bryson Tiller are gone from last week, with the only songs from both albums still on the chart being the ones with a “(feat. Drake)” in the title. Typical. None of the BLACKPINK songs from last week have stayed either. Other than those six, we also have a handful of notable drop-outs like “What’s Love Got to Do with It” by Kygo and Tina Turner, “Hallucinate” by Dua Lipa and “POPSTAR” by DJ Khaled and Drake, which probably just felt the impact of dumb UK chart rules about streaming. All of these are pretty decent songs – the first two could have peaked a lot higher – so what in the returning entries is coming to replace them? Well, we have “Wishing Well” by the late Juice WRLD back at #74 and a theme of long-running hip-hop tracks like “Dinner Guest” by AJ Tracey and MoStack back at #72 and “I Dunno” by Dutchavelli featuring Tion Wayne and Stormzy at #68, all of which peaked in the top 20. The biggest gain this week was for Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” which is in the top 40 this week and predicted to be even higher in the weeks to come, especially in the US. We usually send 40-year-old songs to #1 but the States seem to have caught up with that too. The biggest fall this week was for the debut last week, “Outta Time” by Bryson Tiller featuring Drake, plummeting from #24 to #58, which is understandable; I mean the only reason it got that high in the first place was because of Drake. Now, onto the new arrivals.

NEW ARRIVALS

#63 – “BLM” – OFB (Bandokay and Double Lz) featuring Abra Cadabra

Produced by N2theA

Like many people, fans and artists alike, due to the recent events in America and across the world, I’ve gained a renewed interest in protest music, particularly songs about systematic racism and police brutality. Many artists, including some of the biggest out right now like Lil Baby, have made songs about this recently but really this is not an isolated incident or chain of events. Rappers, musicians and activists have discussed these issues for years and the fact that the general public is finally latching onto some of it makes me hopeful. Seriously though, if you’re looking for a great song from a couple years back protesting against the same topic, “Don’t Don’t Do It!” by N.E.R.D. featuring Kendrick Lamar is right there. OFB is a drill collective from Tottenham, and the group actually contains some genuinely massive names, like Headie One and RV, but here, we just have Bandokay and Double Lz, as well as affiliate Abra Cadabra on the chorus. There’s also a sample of Coldplay here, which actually works as a melancholy piano component of this drill beat, even if it feels like a bizarre choice at first glance. I don’t really need to talk to you about the beat, right? In a song like this, content is what matters and, yeah, it makes a pretty solid case for itself sticking up to inhumane police officers, even if some of the lyrics do feel oddly surface level at times, particularly Abra Cadabra and Double Lz, even though he does have personal anecdotes to tell, but not as much as Bandokay on the first verse where he does get pretty damn in-depth.

There’s no evidence on S but 21 years got slapped to his chest / Yo, I just want P like Diddy, police on my back ‘cah I look like Pops

Bandokay is the son of the late Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old Black man who was unlawfully shot and killed by police in Tottenham in 2011, sparking protests and riots across Britain. This feels particularly profound but also unnerving from Bandokay because he sees himself as next in line for this treatment, talking about how it still haunts him and when he finds out about a friend of his getting life in prison, he’s stressed because he feels like it could very well be him locked up in there for reasons equally unjustified or clearly at the fault of minority disenfranchisement, particularly for young Black men who are driven to the streets because of it. Both Bandokay and Abra Cadabra discuss how gang culture is seen as an excuse for police officers to shoot, with the chorus digging into how because of the violence depicted in Black art due to segregation and societal issues still present in the modern world, that gives them the justification for assault and murder of innocent Black lives. Double Lz goes a bit off-topic here but I can’t say that recall of a phone conversation he had with his friend in jail doesn’t hit hard given the context, especially in a time where we feel more distant than ever with fellow humans. I don’t think it’s as good as “The Bigger Picture” but these guys definitely get my respect for this. Check it out.

#55 – “Proud” – D-Block Europe

Produced by Mind the Gap

And now for almost the exact opposite of social commentary, serious topics and melancholy production: D-Block Europe, although this isn’t actually D-Block Europe, it’s half of the band. Young Adz has three solo songs on this stupidly long album and Dirtbike LB has two, one of which has a feature so I’m pretty sure we all know who’s the Swae Lee in this British Rae Sremmurd... especially since Young Adz’s solo song debuted this high. The song is actually quite different from their standard fare at least in terms of lyrical content, with Adz going into the gang culture and its effect on his mental health, particularly his relationship and drug addiction. His off-beat nasal crooning here is actually kind of charming under these levels of Auto-Tune and a fast-paced trap beat that actually works a lot once it kicks in a minute and a half in. The second verse, particularly, is pretty excellent, where he dedicates the verse to his daughter, who he hopes will not follow in his footsteps of “lifestyles” but also promises her wealth and a continued faith in Islam. The way he talks about how he wants his daughter to succeed even if he dies and later on his companionship with Dirtbike LB is... kind of beautiful, honestly, and does make me look past the mixing issues and... interesting delivery from Young Adz. The uncredited whispery vocals from RAYE on the outro definitely add to the feel of the track and, yeah, I like this quite a lot more than I expected but it still doesn’t make me want to check out that album.

#53 – “I Miss U” – Jax Jones and Au/Ra

Produced by Jax Jones, Mark Ralph, Cass Lowe, Alex Tepper and Tom Demac

Hey, remember Au/Ra? Well, I didn’t either until I checked her Spotify page and saw she was behind that “Panic Room” song that I loved from last year, specifically the remix from CamelPhat – seriously, I’d like to see more on the charts from those guys too. I’m not sure Jax Jones will be able to live up to the brilliantly-constructed ominous future house of that song, but this is supposed to be a silly love or break-up song so I expect a cute, vaguely tropical radio-friendly dance-pop tune with some 90s deep house influence thrown in there, like most of Jax’s stuff ends up being. Anyone else kind of sick of this stuff? I know it gets plays in the clubs which are still in the UK and much of Europe, using this type of dance music, but this robotic draining of the emotion from generic break-up tunes sang by indie-adjacent women over a four-on-the-floor beat is something I’ve heard hundreds of times before. I know this has been a British staple for decades but the new-ish style of vocal drops and generally tired production is growing pretty stale for me at least. It can work when it does, and Au/Ra isn’t a bad fit for this slick, beeping production – this is a pretty okay song all things considered – but there’s not any warmth or quality in this type of stuff anymore, let alone variation. This song is fine but I do hope it kind of underperforms for Jax just to set a precedent that this is exhausting and honestly kind of a cheap ploy for plays at this point. Is that too harsh? Probably, but after two and a half years of seeing these types of songs every other week, it gets on your nerves.

#49 – “Not a Pop Song” – Little Mix

Produced by Robin Oliver Fred, Tayla Parx and MNEK, peaked at #37 in Ireland

Does that mean I don’t have to review it? I want to like this girl group, especially after they ditched the manufactured pop image from Syco and signed to another label that I assume does not treat him as horrifically, but I feel like the music hasn’t changed or gotten any more interesting at all. In fact, this song serves as kind of a diss track to Simon Cowell, and not in any way a subtle one at that. “I don’t do what Simon says”? I mean, don’t you guys also have a talent show you executive-produced, and is airing currently on the BBC? Sigh, well, is the song any good? Well, it tries a little bit more with that guitar loop but not with the clunky trap beat, the harmonised triplet flows in the pre-chorus that sound awkward, and most importantly, the lyrics, which are otherwise fine in how they represent the music industry, a corrupt and unfriendly business, but not in a way that feels like it’s revealing any secrets or anything that really hits. Especially the chorus, where that “I don’t give a what” chant just undermines the whole message. Shouldn’t the point be that now you CAN swear on your songs? I don’t know, this is just worthless but admittedly a lot more listenable than their last record so I’ll give it to them there, even if it is out of a clear effort to be as inoffensive as possible.

#46 – “Flowers” – Chip

Produced by Dready

So, in Chip’s pretty garbage verse on “Waze” earlier this year, he took some shots at an underground artist that many assumed were shots at Stormzy, who commented on this with some subliminals on “I Dunno”. Naturally, in response to this light-hearted beef from two former good friends all based on misinterpretation, Stormzy pulled up to the guy’s house, with only Chip’s brother and sister being home. His sister even felt the need to pull out a kitchen knife to defend herself, so, yeah, I have no sympathy for Stormzy here. Unless this is based on personal drama that we don’t know of, he really unnecessarily escalated this petty dispute. Hence, Chip has two diss tracks here, this is the first of them; the other didn’t chart. To quote Chip’s manager, Ashley Rae, who is also name-dropped in the song: Stormzy pulled up unannounced to Chip’s building with three other people. The building was secure with gates and an intercom system. He didn’t knock. He came in and was posted in the car park screaming for Chip to come outside. After being told to leave twice as Chip wasn’t home, he refused and made his way to Chip’s apartment on the top floor where family were inside and it got heated. He caused a commotion so the neighbours called the police. This diss track seems to share my view of the situation; Chip even briefly brings up the political climate as he talks about how Stormzy should have expected the police to be called – after all, when people in Essex see black men shouting outside a building, regardless of their innocence, the authorities seem to get involved. In this diss track, Chip calls back to other disses he’s made, notes his disappointment in Stormzy collaborating with Ed Sheeran when he’s the one who escalated to potential violence – you’d think he’d be smarter not to risk his image – and sending some personal shots at his break-up with Maya Jama, which actually made me chuckle, particularly when he says that a throwaway track on a collaborative album seems to have incited a bigger reaction than that long-term relationship coming to an end. He goes even deeper into how he thinks Stormzy’s activism is hypocritical if he wants to incite black-on-black violence by pulling up to Chip’s house, and references the late 2Pac and Pop Smoke and... okay, he just ravages Stormzy here, and it helps that this beat is menacing, even if I don’t like Chip’s delivery or voice, as I never have. “Killer MC”, the other diss track, is a lot vaguer and with a pretty chaotic beat which Chip can barely flow on, so yeah, I’m glad this one charted. Man, a lot of aggressive, lyrically-focused songs today, huh?

#34 – “Destiny” – D-Block Europe

Produced by Jony Beats

And just like that, they appear. This is our second and last song from that D-Block Europe album debuting this week, and it’s only high because of a video anyway – that and the fact it’s the first on the album. Otherwise, this is typical D-Block Europe fare, albeit this time with a hilarious but absolutely pointless 30-second acoustic guitar intro that just consists of the guys whispering “Destined” with as much reverb as possible. Dirtbike LB is actually on the hook this time, making it even more lethargic. Young Adz is filling in empty space with ad-libs again, including his signature “SKI!”, and in his first verse here, I genuinely laughed out loud after that booming “bow-bow-bow-bow” vocal interlude coming out of nowhere. It honestly caught me off-guard. I kinda like Young Adz’s pretty energetic flow here though, and he definitely plays with the boring trap beat in a way that is pretty funny. He feels the need to say “Happy G-day” to a person in the booth with him, which shows that he’s freestyling at least some of this stuff, which is kind of impressive. He “endorses” new straps, which is just funny wording to me, as is when he says 9 Goddy “had” Norwich, like he just owned the city – although, as a fellow East Midlander, I kind of appreciate the shout out. My favourite part in the verse is probably his attempt at 2012 hashtag-rap, where he says “half a mil’, mortgage”, but the beat cuts out when he mutters a wimpy “rurr” ad-lib, and that almost forgives his weedy delivery and gross Auto-Tune. I think “Rurr, mortgage” makes up for the chorus, “Break a brick like Tetris”. Honestly, I get why people prefer Adz’s energy and funny content because the only thing to laugh at with Dirtbike LB’s bleak, almost depressing lyrics about materialism, meaningless sex and drug addiction, is how he phrases everything in a manner that is uniquely middle-class and polite, especially in this verse, and how he just seems to be accepting the dark topics he talks about in his verse with a shrug of his shoulders. It’s kind of concerning, I mean, I don’t like the music but I hope he’s okay. In conclusion, the song’s fine and honestly I kind of love the first verse but that chorus is dull and really it’s a pretty poorly-mixed trap cut. To be honest, if there’s more of this energy from Adz on the album, I might just check it out. The guy’s growing on me recently.

#29 – “Cool with Me” – Dutchavelli and M1llionz

Produced by The Fanatix

Apparently this guy is Stefflon Don’s brother, and now that she has been pretty quiet recently, I guess it’s time for Dutchavelli to step into the limelight, and he’s bringing fellow Birmingham rapper M1llions with him for a song with not much of a chorus to speak of. Instead, Dutchavelli and M1llionz trade verses and bars for three minutes over a pretty banging drill beat, with an eerie choral sample throughout and honestly pretty great verses from the two of them here. Dutchavelli sounds really aggressive here and I love the yelling in the ad-libs, even if it adds to some questionable vocal mixing throughout. M1llionz’s casual, meandering flow and cadence works really well in contrast, even if really nothing is said here other than gunplay and flexing. The beat feels like it never properly drops at all, and it just slides out abruptly by the end, but if this is an intro track to an upcoming album with a following track that drops us straight into it, I could see this working. As is, well, I’ve not got much to say about it but this is decent.

Also, I’d like to point out Dutch’s Wikipedia page, particularly the “in popular culture” section.

Dutchavelli has gained a reputation for being a hard man. This paired with his large stature has lead to a proliferation of memes relating to this within popular culture such as 'When Dutchavelli goes to a club, he asks the bouncer for ID'.

God, I love Wikipedia.

#24 – “Parlez-Vouz Anglais” – Headie One featuring Aitch

Produced by Al Hug and Ambezza

Okay, so our last two songs are both from Headie One and his overly long, 20+ track album he released last week, Edna. Do you see a trend with these British rap artists and debut albums? To be fair, I am more interested in this album, and I’ll probably listen to it after writing this. The feature list looks pretty good – I mean, it’s got Drake, Kenny Beats, Skepta and ironically, Young Adz on a song that did NOT chart this week – and I really loved “Both” from last year, so it’s probably worth checking out at least some of the songs. This song, however, was not one of those I was interested in. Man, I’m so angry I come back to this show and get back-to-back weeks with high debuts from rappers featuring this pioneer of gentrified drill music. He’s already made a song romanticising French women and high fashion as well, so it’s not like this is new territory for the guy. Admittedly, I do enjoy this cute, lounge-y elevator music sample but it feels pretty drowned-out by both the bog-standard UK drill beat and awkward flows from both, who are doing a similar thing to Dutchavelli and M1llionz did in the last song we talked about, but with more repetition to fill up time and more trading bars between the two, as well as an actual chorus, which is about as dull as bricks. Both Aitch and Headie have uninteresting flows and use awkward ad-libs to disguise a clear lack of any attempts at good wordplay or content that goes any further than worryingly blatant misogyny from Aitch and constant flexing. It’s not interesting, and it’s not good either.

#11 – “Princess Cuts” – Headie One featuring Young T & Bugsey

Produced by iO and TobyShyBoy

I’m not surprised this was the track that debuted this high. Thanks to TikTok picking up “Don’t Rush”, which is a brilliant song by the way, this group isn’t just big in the UK like most of these rappers, they are genuinely global superstars for the British hip hop scene and I love that. They made Aitch’s debut onto the charts both listenable and promising on “Strike a Pose” (It’s really a feat) and are constantly bringing smooth flows and Bugsey’s really nice voice over good production. They are more than deserving of being how British hip hop is viewed worldwide, even as they got onto the Hot 100 with Headie One earlier this year. I was surprised too. So, yeah, I’m excited to hear this new collaboration between the two artists, and, surprise, surprise, it’s really good. I love the nostalgic early-mid-2000s R&B beat especially with that slick Latin guitar and pounding bass groove. I love Young T singing on the hook over really beautiful vocodered samples and funky keys in the instrumental. I love Headie’s pretty impressive and at times smooth flow in his two verses. I love how Young T & Bugsey share a sing-songy cadence in their verse. Man, I love everything about this song sonically, and content-wise, the lyrics don’t really leave that much to be desired either. Sure, it’s pretty much just towing the line between a hook-up jam and flexing, but there’s enough funny lines and convincing delivery to make this worth checking out. I also love how Headie starts the smooth, sexy hook-up jam with “My young boy got the stick like Moses with the Israelites” in his deep, gruff tone, which is just comedy gold. Headie also takes time to praise the Lord and show his limited knowledge of geography, which is either insensitive to Asians or satirical depending on how you look at it. Either way, it works and it’s funny. This is just an incredible song and I hope it sticks around. Check it out.

Conclusion

There’s actually not much here to complain about, even with D-Block Europe’s two songs here. Little Mix take the Dishonourable Mention for “Not a Pop Song” and Worst of the Week is going to Headie One for “Parlez-Vouz Anglais” featuring Aitch but I might as well balance that out by giving the guy Best of the Week for “Princess Cuts” with Young T & Bugsey. I don’t want Stormzy to pull up to my house next, so I’ll delay on giving Chip the Honourable Mention, but that is instead going to “BLM” by Bandokay, Double Lz and Abra Cadabra for simply being necessary, although I’m scared to admit Young Adz was pretty close here. I don’t know what’ll happen next week – hopefully not that new Kanye song – but here’s the top 10 for Friday’s chart:

You can follow me @cactusinthebank for occasional political Twittage and I’ll see you next week.

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margiehasson · 4 years

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Educating Ourselves – Commit to Reading Black (Muslim) Literature & Experience

The murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis following the deaths of Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery (three names in a long line line of people who have been wrongfully killed or subjected to police (or other) brutality) has brought the lived realities of African Americans and racism to an important critical mass.

A lot of us who are nonBlack and admittedly live within our own privilege of not recognizing what our own biases may be and all we just do not know are working to learn and understand better. Asking Black people (who we may know or reach out to) to educate us, as many have pointed out, only adds to their emotional and mental trauma and exhaustion.

Many nonBlack Muslims are getting more on board with the #BlackLivesMatter movement, but Black Muslim youth still feel that too many don't "get it" and behave in ways that disrespect and discriminate against black Muslims.

As iterated in this Bklyner article, protest organizer Esraa Elzin says, "I get it, you're not racist. But how do we get you to hate racism the way Black people hate racism? ... We've moved on from the idea that solidarity is someone who has Black Lives Matter in their bio, to what are you doing, where are you donating ... and more importantly, what are the discussions you're having in your home?"

One of the ways we can move beyond posting and performative acts to a deeper base of learning and understanding is to invest in self-education about Black history, literature and experience. With that in mind, here is a list of books to get us all started. My thanks to my friend and fellow HH blog writer Layla Abdullah-Poulos for editing this list and suggesting so many wonderful books. As always, please add your reading suggestions in the comments, so we can continue to educate ourselves.

Literature

1. Native Son by Richard Baldwin

2. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

3. Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

4. Not Without Laughter by Langston Hughes

5. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

6. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Urban Fiction

7. Black No More by George Schuyler

8. Tried and Tested by Umm Juwayriyah

9. If I Should Speak by Umm Zakiyyah

Historical Figures

10, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

11. The Autobiography of Malcolm X as told to Alex Haley

Life Experiences

12. We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates

13. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

14. Ain't I A Woman by Bell Hooks

Racism

15. The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin

16. The Eve of Destruction: How 1965 Transformed America by James T. Patterson

17. So You Want to Talk About Race? by Ieoma Oluo

18. Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

19. The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander

20. I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown

Black Muslim History and Experience

21. Women of the Nation: Between Black Protest and Sunni Islam by Dawn-Marie Gibson with Dr. Jamillah Karim as contributor

22. Muslim Cool by Su'ad Khabeer

23. Polygyny by Debra Majeed

24. Black Pilgrimage to Islam by Robert Dannin

25. Bismillah & Bean Pies: How Black Americans Crafted an Islamic Expression through Nationalism by Asad el Malik

26. A History of Islam in America: From the New World to the New World Order by Kambiz Ghaneabassiri

27. African American Islam by Aminah McCloud

28. Five Classic Muslim Slave Narratives by Muhammad A. Al-Ahari

29. Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas by Sylviane A. Diouf

30. Illuminating the Darkness: Blacks and North Africans in Islam by Habeeb Akande

31. Centering Black Narrative by Ahmad Mubarak and Dawud Walid

32. Black Seeds: The Poetry and Reflections of Tariq Toure

33. Black Muslim Reads edited and curated by Layla Abdulah-Poulos

Please add your reading suggestions in the comments below, so we can continue to educate ourselves.

Educating Ourselves – Commit to Reading Black (Muslim) Literature & Experience published first on https://lenacharms.tumblr.com/

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wonderfulworldofmichaelford · 7 years

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The Emoji Movie review

[NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS AN OVEREXAGGERATION. PLEASE DO NOT WORRY OR TAKE HOW I SAY THINGS 100% SERIOUSLY. THIS MOVIE HAS NOT ACTUALLY MADE ME SUICIDAL.]

This is it. The Emoji Movie. A film I and the rest of the world have been dreading. Today I have finally seen this film, and… it has drained me of all will to live. This is it; I can’t live in this world any longer after having seen this movie. This has to be my last review, because I can no longer live in a world where this movie exists.

Is it because it’s so abysmally bad as all the reviews said? Is it truly the worst animated film ever made, an utterly soulless cash grab of a movie? What could drive me to my death like this?

The fact that… I just… even after seeing it, I just can’t muster up the absolutely vitriolic hatred everyone else seems to have for it. It’s not even bad. It’s not even good. It’s just… meh. This movie is meh. And after getting so hyped up to see the worst animated film ever, this is… disappointing. Heart-breakingly, soul-crushingly disappointing.

So, what is the story here? Well, Ralph is a villain who feels out of pl- uh, sorry, Emmet is a LEGO man who wants to conform but ju- oh, um, pardon. Joy is an emotion who… okay, you get the idea. This film is nothing but a bald-faced, shameless ripoff of the plots of a dozen better films. The “Be yourself” message, the hero who wants to conform but learns to love being expressive, the journey to find oneself… it has been done to death, and done a billion times better. This movie is just every animated cliché ever. Fuck, the whole trailer revealed the entire plot and story arc in two minutes.

God… the worst thing, aside from the plot, is the main characters… But they aren’t even bad enough. They’re all so unbearably generic and trite. Gene is your average hero questioning his identity. He’s Ralph, he’s Emmet, he’s basically every goddamn animated protagonist for years and years, only with most of his personality excised and replaced with all the beats but none of the character. For an emoji with so many expressions beyond the one he’s supposed to have, he’s not very expressive. And even with all that, he’s just so inoffensively bland it’s hard to hate him. Hi-5 is an obnoxious comedy sidekick who contributes very little to the story and serves as a hindrance more often than not. But… he’s still got a few good jokes in him, and while he’s absolutely obnoxious and selfish, he’s still not as awful as he could be. Jailbreak is a ripoff of all the blue-haired action girls you can imagine, shamelessly cribbing Sombra, Chloe Price, Wyldstyle, and more, just subtracting anything that makes those characters interesting… and even then, she’s still not totally void of good moments. These three characters are who we spend time with so much, and they aren’t more than depressingly bland, generic archetypes. It hurts. Why couldn’t they just be absolutely, unlikably awful? Like, they all suck, but they just don’t suck enough!

And goddamn, is this plot filled with horrible, awful stupidity! We have Jailbreak spouting off terrible, hamfisted feminist messages by stating men take credit for things women say all the time, we have the human characters acting like words are uncool and emojis are the only worthwhile form of communication, we have the conceit that phones have firewalls and that internet trolls can just simply be deleted forever with the click of a button… oh, if only. There’s just so much that is unbelievably stupid and pathetic and poorly done, the whole story feels like nothing but a first draft that somehow got greenlit with no corrections done. And that’s not getting in to all of the blatant product placement, such as the cringeworthy portrayal of Dropbox as some sort of heavenly safehaven, Twitter ending up being a savior, outdated meme videos playing on YouTube, and the extended Candy Crush scene.

But I wouldn’t feel like dying if there wasn’t those few things of value, those things that keep me from letting loose pure unbridled hatred as so many others have, and saving myself. For instance, the animation… God, this film is an absolute treat for the eyes. The backgrounds, the visuals, the human characters, there is just so much visual stimulation in this film. It’s plain fun to look at, and it’s such a shame that so much talent and effort was used to make… this. It honestly hurts worse knowing that this gorgeous film is a subpar animated comedy.

Oh, but even more depressing is that the film has some genuinely good characters. The villain, Smiler, is so absolutely blatantly villainous due to how passive-agressively nice she constantly has to be she ends up being far more likable and entertaining than the so-called heroes. It helps too that she lives in what can only be described as a cosmic horror story, a Baby’s First Lovecraft if you will: she lives in a universe controlled by a fickle teenage boy whose first reaction to even the slightest malfunction is DELETE EVERYTHING. She has every right to be as concerned to the point of madness, as even the slightest fuckup would result in the utter annihilation of her entire universe; it’s to the point where she, despite the fact that in any other movie she would have crossed a million lines, comes across as one of the most reasonable characters in the film.

Then we have Poop, the character voiced by Patrick Stewart, and a shining example of how this film wastes brilliance. Poop has maybe ten lines in the movie and a few visual jokes, but everything he says tends to be rather funny, and he even manages to squeeze in a Star Trek joke. Why didn’t he get to go on the journey instead of Hi-5? If we’re going to listen to a bunch of jokes, even shit jokes, for 80 or so minutes, at least it’s Patrick Stewart telling them.

Next are Gene’s parents, Mary and Mel. These two are, without a doubt, the funniest characters in the entire movie, due to being in a constant state of “meh.” They react to even the most intense and stressful situations with just the most hilarious indifference, and even more baffling, they get a truly beautiful and emotional scene late in the film (!!!). Yes, you read that right: there is actually a beautiful and emotional scene in this movie. This only further compounds my sadness; why was the movie not about these two? They’re the best characters! Why is the spotlight on their boring son, instead of on these two hilariously indifferent emojis who can actually pull off a genuinely tender moment?

Finally, we have Akiko Glitter, a joyous, bouncy dancer who appears in the Just Dance app. She’s sweet, she’s fun, she’s cute, she plays Wham! She’s such a kind and bouncy character! …And at the end of her only scene she is coldly and brutally murdered by Smiler’s robots as her game is being deleted from the phone. Her death is bizarrely shocking and depressing for this film, and even worse… we see what happens to her after being deleted. She is trapped in the garbage, continuously dancing in agony as it is all she knows how to do, her eyes dead as she goes through the motions of a job that no longer exists. And despite her kindness to Gene and friends, Gene opts to leave her to die in the trash, not even bothering to save her when he comes to save Hi-5. And yes: she dies down there. This wonderful, fun-loving lady is left to die in a hellhole filled with garbage, trolls, and spam. Fucking Christ. If I was not depressed before, I am now.

So to sum things up, this movie has four redeeming features: evil brought on by existential dread, shit, unadulterated indifference, and the horrific death of beauty and joy. That sounds eerily like every review has painted this film, and yet… and yet… It really isn’t close to being that bad. Chicken Little was way worse. Doogal was way worse. There are so many movies that are absolutely, horrendously, abysmally awful, so many films unfathomably worse than this movie, that the hatred feels overblown to the point of being hollow. And I wanted so badly to hate this movie! I wanted to join in with the crowds, and cast this down as the worst animated film ever! But, I just can’t in good conscience do that, because it truly isn’t. The hatred for this movie is just a knee-jerk reaction to the soulless cash grab feel it has. And it is that, but it’s just not bad enough even with that glaringly obvious fact permeating it. I can’t even tell you if it’s so bad it’s good… it just kind of… exists. It has highs, it has lows, and I just can’t really sum up how I feel about it accurately…

Well… I guess I can… This movie is “meh.” I cannot bring myself to feel strongly about it one way or the other. And that’s why I can’t bear to live anymore; this movie let me down in the worst possible way. It just wasn’t bad enough to warrant my vitriol, or good enough to warrant my praise. This movie promised to give me at least one extreme, and I silently prayed for the other against all odds… and it delivered nothing. It delivered a depressingly middling experience.

So farewell. This is it. The big finish. There’s only one way I can truly end my life after seeing this, and that is by calling upon the one true awful emoji film…

I did it for the lulz.

#Review #Movie review #The Emoji Movie #Emoji #Emoji Movie #Sony #Sony Animation #Animated movie #Patrick Stewart

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hannahindie · 7 years

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Not What She Seems-Chapter 3: The One Where Sam Is Right

**Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters, although if I did, that would be pretty sweet. This is rated M for language, violence, and sexual situations, both consensual and not. The non-consensual will not be very graphic, but the rest will be eventual smut and I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. If any of that offends you, this might not be for you. I really have enjoyed creating Sebastian, and I hope that you guys enjoy it too…even if he is a grade A jerk. Hope you enjoy!

Chapter Description: Sam and Dean finally see what carnage is being left behind and Sam makes a realization that Dean is not happy about. Sebastian lets his temper show, and Ava finds out more about Ben.

Dean had been quiet the entire drive. They’d barely spoken while they packed the car, and when Sam noticed the smell of alcohol on him first thing in the morning, Dean was quick to tell him to sit and spin on it before Sam even said anything. So, they’d spent the three hour drive to Wichita in silence. Sam had spent the time combing through reports to see if there were any patterns he’d missed the night before. The car slowed to a stop and Sam looked up to see they had arrived at the coroner’s office. Sam dug around in the glove box, pulled out two sets of credentials, and tossed one to Dean.

“FBI?” Sam nodded.

“Yea, Agent Tyler, sure are.” He paused. “Are you okay?” Dean rolled his eyes and popped a couple of aspirin and chased them with a mint.

“I’m peachy keen, brother. Let’s get this over with.” He strode off towards the building and Sam had to jog to catch up.

“Fine…right,” Sam muttered and Dean stopped short.

“You got something to say, Dr. Phil?” he snapped.

“What is your problem? We have taken cases with way less information and you’ve been fine. Hell, you’re the one that usually insists on it. Why are you being such an ass about this?” The muscles in Dean’s jaw clenched as he tried to keep from tearing into Sam.

"Sam, I am tired. We have gone non-stop since the trials and the angels falling. Why does it always have to be us? Fun fact, it doesn't need to be. Yet here we are, chasing after some sick bastard that just kills for the hell of it. So can we just go in here, get this over with, and go home?" Sam looked like he wanted to argue but instead he shoved past Dean and into the building.

“You must be Agent Perry, ” the coroner said as he shook Sam’s hand and turned to Dean. “And Agent Tyler?” Dean nodded. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, boys. I’m Dr. Jim Meade. This one is a doozy. Could use all the help I can get.”

“Well, we sure hope we can help. We don’t want to step on any toes, but six bodies is a bit of a body count to ignore.” Dr. Meade nodded.

“We have a decent department here, agents. They’re good at what they do. But this…this has been hard for even the most tenured officers. It’s been…brutal.” Dean cleared his throat.

“Have you ever seen a murder like these before? Could they be related to anything, a cold case or something?” Meade shook his head.

“No, sir, nothing like this. We’ve had our fair share of violence, mostly gang related, but even the one-offs can’t compare to these last six. I’ve never seen anything like it.” His voice broke and Sam glanced at Dean. The coroner cleared his throat and walked over to one of the slabs. A sheet covered it, and Sam tensed, knowing that if the seasoned coroner had a hard time dealing with it, it wasn’t going to be pleasant. He swept the sheet back and Sam heard Dean groan. The brothers had seen a lot of violence, their own friends torn apart, blown up and tortured, not to mention what they’d been through and had to do. But nothing prepared them for what they saw. This wasn’t a monster randomly tearing into someone, or a ghost looking for revenge. The injuries to this man were deliberate. He had obviously been beaten; both eyes were swollen almost completely shut, his lips were both split, and the right side of his face was a rainbow of black, blue, and purple.

But it was more than that. The man had practically been filleted. And not just random strokes, but expertly made cuts that caused the most damage while drawing out the torture. Large strips of flesh were missing, exposing the muscle and nerves beneath. Deep cuts covered the flesh that hadn’t been removed and were deep enough to strike bone. He had been split open from sternum to belly button. Sam leaned forward to look at the wound.

“Was there anything missing?” Meade pulled the skin back further and Dean had to look away.

“Nothing is missing, but take a closer look. What do you see?” Sam stared for a moment, brows knitted in concentration. Meade gave Sam a grim smile when he looked back up at him, a mixture of confusion and horror on his face.

“Really? Did the killer do this?” The older man nodded. “Dean, you need to look at this.” Dean looked at Sam sharply at Sam’s casual use of his real first name.

“I don’t think I need to, it seems like you have it under control-” Sam nudged him forward, interrupting him.

“Look.” Dean sighed and looked down. He wasn’t well versed in anatomy, but he’d seen enough to be dangerous. Despite the roiling, uneasy feeling of his stomach threatening to rebel against him, he stared, trying to spot what was wrong with the gruesome scene in front of him.

“Isn’t the appendix supposed to be on the right side?”

“That’s not all. Every single organ is exactly where it is supposed to be, but on the opposite side. All the cuts were made with surgical precision and missed every major artery. Even the pieces that were flayed were down with an extremely sharp scalpel, and then were cauterized before he moved to the next section.” Dean looked up in surprise.

“You mean to tell me he was alive when this was happening? The entire time?”

“Yes, for a majority of it. I’m not sure how he managed to keep him alive while he switched the organs, but all signs point to him being so. Although it’s my professional opinion that he didn’t last long after that. The throat being slit seems to be an afterthought. I think Benjamin here eventually went into shock, and the suspect got bored.” Dean snorted.

“Oh, sure, get bored and slit someone’s throat. Jesus.” Sam gestured to a group of markings near his throat.

“Are those bite marks?” Meade sighed.

“Son, I honestly…I don’t know. I’m inclined to say yes, but I’ve never seen anything like it. That’s what is going on the report, it’s the only thing it could be.” Sam and Dean exchanged looks.

“What about the girls? Were they tortured like this guy?” He shook his head.

“Not quite. Don’t get me wrong, they went through it. They’d been beaten, cut up, bitten. Each one seemed to get worse. The flaying and the organ swap were missing on all the women, but the last two girls were sexually assaulted, probably multiple times. Mr. Taylor had been bound, but more like to a chair or something upright a majority of the time. There was some rope burn and bruising around his torso and wrists. All five girls appeared to have been shackled to something while lying down. Their wrists and ankles were deeply bruised, but I believe he is using something soft, like leather cuffs.” He threw the sheet back over the body. “Like I said, you have your work cut out for you.” Sam smiled gently and Dean had to hold back a grin. He could always tell when Sam was getting ready to turn on the charm, those patented puppy dog eyes that almost always got him what he wanted.

“Dr. Meade, we need to get all the files you have for these cases, is there any way you could help us with that right now? We have some other interviews to conduct.” He nodded.

“Sure thing, son. It’s going to take awhile, there’s a lot.” Sam smiled in earnest now.

“That’s not a problem, sir.” Meade left the brothers, and before the door could even fully close behind him, Sam had flipped the sheet back again and was looking closely at the bite marks on Ben’s neck. Dean made a face.

“Dude, how? How are you not ralphing all over him? That’s disgusting.” Sam rolled his eyes.

“Someone had to do it, and since you’re being such a bitch about it, I thought I might try,.” He covered the body back up. “Well, they look like vamp bites, but I don’t think they are. And you aren’t going to like what I think it is.”

“You’d better say human, Sammy.” Sam shook his head.

“I’d love to, but no.” Dean narrowed his eyes.

“I’m getting real sick of you making me guess. What the hell is it?”

“I think it might be a vetala.”

“Rise and shine, Ava! It’s time to get some food in you!” Ava had to practically force her eyelids open. They were gritty and dry from crying, and all she wanted was to go back to sleep. Sebastian had laid the tray across her lap. On it sat a glass of orange juice, a bowl of oatmeal, and a small vase with a single lily in it. He smiled. “It’s not much, but I thought we should take it slow. You haven’t eaten in days.” He helped her sit up and placed a pillow behind her. “I hope you like oatmeal. I added honey and cinnamon…one of my favorites.” He settled in next to her and picked up a spoon. “May I?” Ava nodded weakly, sickened by the thought of him feeding her but so hungry that she forced herself not to care. He carefully spooned oatmeal into her mouth. Ava had to admit that it was delicious. She closed her eyes and sighed. “Delicious, isn’t it? It’s been…passed down, you could say,. Simple, but very tasty. He held the orange juice to her mouth and she grimaced as the citrus hit her throat. "Whoa, slow down.” He sat the glass on the tray. “Maybe we should have stuck with water. He smiled and tucked a rogue strand of hair behind her ear.

"What happened to Ben?” Ava looked at Sebastian and he looked away, absently swirling the spoon in the oatmeal. “What happened? Sebastian sighed.

"You don’t really want to talk about that right now, do you? I thought we’d have a nice breakfast, talk a little bit before…” He trailed off.

“Before what? Why am I here and what did you do to Benjamin?” Sebastian looked at her for a moment, dark eyes narrowed. He slammed the spoon on the tray and shoved it off the bed and into the floor. Everything scattered as it hit the stone floor, glass shards and food going everywhere.

“You are determined to ruin this wonderful day I had planned, aren’t you?” he snapped. “Fine. If telling you will get it out of your system, then I guess we will just have to go out of order. But don’t blame me if you’re too upset to enjoy the rest of the day.” He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and to Ava’s surprise, it looked familiar.

“Is that-”

“Ben’s? Yes, I ran out of storage on mine. I’m a sucker for those Candy Crush games and selfies.” He unlocked it and began scrolling through pictures. “I adore this one.” He flipped the phone to face her and she bit back a sob. It was a picture of her and Ben on a recent hiking trip. Ben had taken it, his long arms the only way they’d both be in the picture. Ava was smiling at the camera, eyes squeezed shut as she laughed at something he said, her long blonde hair blown back by the wind. He wasn’t looking at the camera, but at Ava. His eyes shone as he watched her laugh, and Ava remembered never having felt so loved. “That’s happiness. I bet most people don’t appreciate that enough.” He turned the phone back and flipped through more pictures. “I wonder, did you appreciate it, Ava?” He smiled. “Here we go!” He turned the phone around and Ava immediately closed her eyes. Sebastian gripped her face tightly. “I will not ask more than once. Look.” Ava slowly opened her eyes, and the scene that greeted her was far worse than she could have anticipated. Ben was tied to a chair in their kitchen, just like in her dream, but was far more bloody and beaten. His head hung against his chest, and his arms, which had been tied when she had seen him, hung limply by his sides. They were covered in blood and she could tell that he’d been cut up badly. It was hard to tell if he was still alive in the photo, but for his sake, she hoped that he hadn’t been. She shook her head.

“But why? Why do that to him?” Sebastian began scrolling through pictures again.

“Well first, he hit me. Of course, he really didn’t do much damage, but it was annoying. And also it was just rude. Second, I wanted you. And boy, let me tell you, he did not like that. I even told him that we could share, but that didn’t seem to interest him either.” His face lit up. “I forgot about this one!” He turned it to her one last time. Ava felt as if she would be sick. Ben was laid out on a table, his midsection bare and bloody. Sebastian stood behind him, holding his head up by the hair, smiling his cold style, holding a scalpel and giving a thumbs up. He had taken a selfie with Ben as he laid there dead or dying. “Selfies, I told you! I can’t get enough of them. I guess technically it’s not, it was on a timer…you know what, that doesn’t really matter.” He shoved the phone back into his pocket.

“I think I’m going to be sick, ” Ava muttered. She leaned over the bed and retched, the meager breakfast she’d had leaving just as quickly as she’d eaten it. Her shoulder ached as she leaned as far as her binding would allow, nothing but bile left to ride herself of. Sebastian looked at her with a combination of confusion and disgust.

“See, I knew that could have waited. I forget your kind have that unfortunate…function.” He grimaced. “Very unpleasant.” Ava leaned back and fought to catch her breath. She glared at Sebastian,.

“What did you expect? You killed…no…tortured and killed the one person that meant anything to me, and then showed me-” Her head snapped to her right as he slapped her, hard. She looked at Sebastian with wide, wet eyes. He sighed.

“I’m sorry, Ava. It’s just…that’s negative talk. I supposed you don’t realize it yet, but I’ll mean something to you soon, too. More than you know. Maybe even more than Ben. I’ll explain soon, I promise.” He ran his fingers gently over the red mark his slap had left. “This will be worth it. You’ll see.” He leaned in and kissed her, much more gently than before, and sighed. “Now,” he said as he bent to pick up the discarded tray and pieces of glass, “I’m going to get you some supplies. Ava hated to ask, but he was looking at her expectantly and her face was still stinging from the last slap.

"What supplies?” He grinned.

“Drawing supplies, of course! I’d like for you to draw my portrait. If you’re very good and you do that, I may let you have a little more freedom. I’m sure that this room is getting a bit boring, isn’t it?” She nodded. “That settles it then. Behave yourself, and maybe we’ll have ourselves a little field trip.” She had already begun thinking of ways to use it to her advantage when he paused and looked back at her. “I’d be careful how much plotting you do while I’m gone. It’s going to be much easier to care for a child if you still have all of your limbs.” With that, he quietly left, and Ava stared after him with eyes wide, wondering what he meant.

@wheresthekillswitch @sassyspn67 @trexrambling

Chapter 4: The One Where Dean Is Taken By Surprise

#dean x ofc #sam x ofc #angst #supernatural #fanfiction #supernatural fanfiction #dean winchester #sam winchester #original character

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wherever-i-look-blog · 7 years

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The midseason finale deals with all the fallout for what has happened since the season began. Be it where Remy and Charley stand, with what happened to Micah, alongside Ralph Angel’s big reveal and how he handled it.

Just So Much on My Mind: Aunt Vi, Micah, Davis

Aunt Vi

With all that is going on, Aunt Vi is stressed out. Her family has split apart again and she is mentally going back and forth between letting them work it out and remembering how long it took her and Ernest to do so. Much less, what it took for them to do so. Something which seemingly stresses her out to the point of fainting.

Micah & Davis

Alongside Keke making a return, so does Tamar. Which is worth mentioning for Keke, Micah, and Keke’s friend see some Black men get arrested and decided to watch to make sure it goes right. Meanwhile, Davis has a marketing meeting, for his new team, turned date with Tamar [note]She seems to like him and talks about how she isn’t a saint and think they both deserve a second chance. [/note]. When Micah discovers this date, he blows up publicly and embarrasses the hell out of all parties.

Leading to Davis, naturally, addressing his son and trying to figure out what is the source of all this? His answer: Davis. Because Davis cheated on Charley they moved to Louisiana; because Davis cheated on Charley, he got the car that he was arrested in; and because Davis cheated on Charley, the cop who arrested him, who didn’t like that he was some fancy N***** decided to teach Micah a lesson. One in a dark alley with a gun in his mouth. A gun the cop pulled the trigger of.

Commentary

With Aunt Vi fainting, I worry health issues are about to become a serious part of her storyline. Because between a stroke and various other things, her fainting has me worried. Though her excuse was not eating enough. Which, like when someone gets a black eye and they said “I fell” seems like a terrible lie.

Switching to Micah, you have to give props to the actor. Hell, give props to the show. For more often than not, the kids of leads are more so liabilities than assets. Yet, with this show, between Blue and Micah, they are treated as their own people. Something beyond offspring. And listening to what Micah said happened to him brought me chills and just imagining it gets me teary eyed. If only because of how possible that can happen in my own life or anyone I know.

For while police brutality is often shown through murder, Queen Sugar reminds us of the mental anguish it can cause too. You are dealing with a person who, seemingly by right, if you resist arrest can use force against you. Just being arrested, not even charged with a crime yet, you have lost your autonomy. So what can a boy like Micah do when being called a N***** and with a gun in his mouth? Say, “I’m going to tell my daddy?” That would only make things worse. For then the cop would likely say, “I’ll give you something to tell your father” and probably beat the hell out of him.

It’s such a lose-lose situation but I’m glad Micah finally told someone. I thought it was going to be Keke, but Davis was the best one to hear that since it may help the two heal.

Forgive Me, Love Me: Charley, Remy, Nova, Dr. DuBois

Nova and Dr. DuBois

According to Aunt Vi, Nova has a habit of running away from her problems. Hence her running to Dr. DuBois’ side. However, with learning he used to run with racist Republicans, so comes her wanting to close that chapter of her life. But, just before the cover hits the page, he stops her.

For there is a reminder that for him, they can’t always be outsiders yelling as loud as possible hoping it penetrates the wall. They have to know the inner workings of the system so that they can change it. Which of course Nova doesn’t want to do his way because, you know going on CNN and things like that isn’t the way she does things. She doesn’t want to be a talking head but one of the people.

So, it seems Dr. DuBois may have found a way. It isn’t made clear for her gets romantic and starts kissing Nova, but it seems he may have found a way so that her fundraisers and his applying for grants don’t remain their sole source of funding. Making it seem they made the impression on the right person at Dr. DuBois’ friend’s dinner.

Charley and Remy

The article comes out and while Charley is proud, the farmers are worried how serious she is taking this venture. Much less, Remy sees the divorce isn’t mentioned and perhaps feels increasingly strung along. To solve this, Charley clarifies her feelings on both subjects. She noted how previously she has felt like a visitor in St. Jo but now it is home and the farmers are her community. A community she is sticking by and wishes to contribute to.

As for Remy? In some ways, she asks for more time and in other ways, she sort of pleads for it. She doesn’t want to lose him and knows, understands, he is tired of waiting. But there is unfortunately so much locked up in the divorce that she can’t pull the trigger yet.

Commentary

Nova seems to always run from her problems huh? I wonder if it is because, outside of with Aunt Vi, she doesn’t like taking ownership of her part in it? Maybe even, when she does take ownership and confronts whoever is making her feel a certain type of way, she doesn’t want to deal with how she expressed her emotions? I’m just throwing some ideas out there.

For it is quite clear that Nova and Charley are very proud women. Women who take the ability to control their narrative very seriously – with deadly precision. So perhaps when, like Charley, when that control is slipping, while Charley usually breaks down and cries, Nova instead runs. That way, no one can see her vulnerable after the anger subsides and she has to deal with the hurt.

Showing that maybe Nova needs as much counseling as Charley. For while breaking down when losing control isn’t that much better than running, at least it helps the other party to know the full effect of what they did or how you feel. Like for Remy. He has come to the point of seeing Charley as calculated and maybe feeling as used by her as she felt used by Ralph Angel. Yet, as the tears and whimpers come, that genuine person, the one behind the tied up hair and Vogue looks, is seen. The person who is messy, just trying to keep it together, and have purpose comes out. Seemingly reassuring Remy that he isn’t being played, it is just she doesn’t want to bring him into a situation which would make their beginning clouded by seeming like a rebound or her side piece.

Officially One Of The Family: Darla, Ralph Angel, Blue, Charley

With Darla around less, Blue begins to question whether he, Ralph Angel, and Darla are a family anymore. Also, he asks if it is something he did. Of which Ralph Angel says no and Darla tries to explain that, because of an argument, and her having a routine she needs to stick to in order to be well, that is why things have changed.

But, it seems all wounds, even Charley feeling betrayed by Darla’s silence, heal the night of her sobriety party. In that night, Charley shows up with flowers and congratulates Darla. Also, Ralph Angel, who has been calling Charley for quite some time, learns that despite all that was said and done, Charley isn’t going to screw the boy over. She knows he has to stay on the payroll or else his parole officer has to do his job. She also reminds him that, despite the issue at hand, she wouldn’t do something to jeopardize his freedom.

Leaving just one more thing to recap. As Ralph Angel returns home with Blue and Darla, he learns the lights were cut out. If not maybe he cut them off. As for why he would do that? Well, to create a reason for ambiance. For after all they’ve been through, and all he has done, he wants to fully commit to Darla. He wants to dispel that Nova slight of saying Darla isn’t family by making her family. That is, by proposing. Something Darla says yes to.

Commentary

So, with Darla’s parents being cast, there was always the question of: Why would they suddenly show up or she would reach out to them? Well, getting married is the best way. For while Darla may not have presented herself as traditional, who is to say she wouldn’t want to be walked down the aisle by her dad? To have someone on her side when the wedding happens? For while the relationship is owned and maintained by her and Ralph Angel, Ralph Angel’s family is heavily involved in his life. So she is essentially marrying them too. So to have her parents, alongside others in her family, commit to bringing what they can to the partnership would be pure bliss.

And I can already tell you, I’m probably going to cry when she asks Charley to be her maid of honor. Much less, despite what Nova has said, for her to be her bridesmaid. Not to forget, likely asking Aunt Vi to maybe do so as well. Which leads to a bit of a fear. Though Queen Sugar doesn’t make a habit of giving us something joyous and matching it with tragedy, it is only season 2. Much less, we are only half way through season 2. So there is a worry of maybe Aunt Vi not making it.

But, in the most optimistic of thoughts, what I hope to see is a double wedding. One in which Hollywood and Aunt Vi join Ralph Angel and Darla and the two couples join their significant other in holy matrimony. A guy could wish, right?

Collected Quote(s)

[…] when you find something good in this world, you’d best hold on. With love, not desperation.

One of the most important things a woman can control is her own story.

Other Noteworthy Moments

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#QueenSugar: Season 2/ Episode 8 "Freedom's Plow" [Mid-Season Finale] - Recap/ Review (with Spoilers) The midseason finale deals with all the fallout for what has happened since the season began. Be it where Remy and Charley stand, with what happened to Micah, alongside Ralph Angel’s big reveal and how he handled it.

#Aunt Vi #Blue #Charley #Darla #Davis #Dr. DuBois #Episode 8 #Micah #Mid-Season Finale #Nova #OWN #Queen Sugar: Season 2 #Ralph Angel #Remy

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theyearoftheking · 4 years

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Book Forty-Two: Bag of Bones

“The most brilliantly drawn character in a novel is but a bag of bones...”

Here’s a peek behind the curtain of my oh-so-glamorous blogging life. My eleven year old daughter insisted on calling this book, “Bag-o-Bones!” and every time she saw me reading it, she’d loudly ask, “Have they found the bag-o-bones yet??” Side note: I think she’d love this book, and am going to push her to try it once she’s done with Dorothy Must Die. And also? August 17th and the start of the (virtual) school year can’t come fast enough. Please and thank you.

Bag of Bones is the perfect book to recommend to readers who claim, “Not to like Stephen King.” It doesn’t have the absurd (murderous clowns); but it does have the spookiness and fine writing craftsmanship you’d expect from Steve. It’s a treat for new and Constant Readers alike. I had read this book when it first came out and really enjoyed it, but now as a Constant Reader, I’m tickled by the number of Easter eggs I found. In no particular order, you’ve got:

A partial setting in Derry, Maine

Thad Beaumont (The Dark Half)

The writer, Bill Denbrough (It)

Roland and Rolanda (Dark Tower)

Norris Ridgewick and Alan Pangborn (Dark Half, Needful Things, Gerald’s Game)

Shawshank Prison

Juniper Hill Asylum

And... my absolute favorite line.. our main character, Mike Noonan, is out for breakfast when none other than Ralph Roberts slides into the booth and asks him, “Everything going all right? I only ask because you look tired. If it’s insomnia, I can sympathize, believe me...” I loved that scene so much.

Bag of Bones starts with the unexpected death of Johanna (Jo) Noonan. Her husband Mike, a successful novelist, is plunged into deep despair after her loss, and has a bad case of writers block. In addition to being a spooky ghost story, Bag of Bones is also a tribute to modern fiction. The number of author and book references is dizzying.

After a trip to Key Largo, Mike decides he needs to leave Derry for a bit, and head out to his and Jo’s lake house: Sara Laughs in the tiny town of TR-90. He’s hoping it might clear his head, and maybe revive his writing.

Almost immediately upon returning to Sara Laughs, he makes the acquaintance of Mattie and Kyra Devore; a precocious mother/daughter pair. Kyra in particular catches Mike’s attention (not because she was wandering down the middle of the street unattended); but because he and Jo often talked about naming their unborn daughter Kia. Mike finds the coincidence uncanny. He’s drawn to Mattie (despite her young age); but she blows him off, and tells him it’s not a good time for her and Kyra to be making new friends.

Understatement of the century.

Mattie had been married to Lance Devore, who was estranged from his wealthy family, and wanted nothing to do with him once he got with Mattie. Lance died in a freak lightning storm, and since then, Max Devore, Lance’s father, had been fighting for custody of Kyra. Mike is warned off by basically everyone in town; they tell him to keep his nose out of Devore business if he knows what’s good for him.

Buuuut Mike can’t stop thinking about Mattie and Kyra. And it doesn’t help that strange stuff has been going on at Sara Laugh’s. We’re talking ringing bells, refrigerator magnets rearranging themselves into cryptic messages, strage dreams, and voices. And, he finds out Jo had been out to Sara Laugh’s several times without telling him. One time, she was spotted with a handsome fella at a baseball game.She had also quit all her volunteer activities, and had been asking a lot of questions about the history of TR-90 and Sara Tidwell (the namesake of Sara Laugh’s). Mike doesn’t know what to make of any of this, especially considering he found out Jo was pregnant when she died.

Against the advice of everyone in town, Mike starts spending time with Mattie and Kyra. He’s smitten with Mattie, and thinks Kyra is pretty much the cutest thing ever. Max Devore isn’t happy Mike is fraternizing with the girls, and in a strange sequence of events, uses his absurdly large motorized wheelchair to push Mike off a cliff into the water, and then his assistant, Rogette Whitmore (spoiler: his daughter) pelts Mike with rocks.

Mike is understandably pissed after the rock pelting episode, and gets in touch with the best child custody attorney he can find for Mattie. The lawyer discovers something is rotten in the state of TR-90. There seems to be an inherent bias towards Max Devore, right down to the guardian ad litem assigned to the case. Mattie’s new lawyer, John, sews up a pretty neat case for why Mattie should keep custody of Kyra; and everyone celebrates. Well, everyone except Max Devore, who puts a bag over his head and kills himself. The town is PISSED: Max Devore was a huge benefactor, and they see Mike as the outsider who stirred up trouble with the young townie whore. His maintenance man leaves him, his cleaning lady turns her back on him... Mike is shocked. He didn’t expect that type of reaction.

Meanwhile, his dreams are getting more vivid, and they involve Kyra. She is having the same dreams he is. A lot of these dreams center around Sara Tidwell; a blues signer and former resident of TR-90. Before her death, Jo had been doing some research about Sara, and the death of her son, Kito. It appears she had been uncovering some truths about the history of TR-90 that residents were none too happy about. It seems like Jo is trying to send Mike messages, but he’s not understanding them. And Mike is getting the impression Sara is not a helpful, benevolent spirit. She’s vengeful af. And he’s trying to figure out why.

Mike, Mattie, Kyra, John and a few more associated friends celebrate Mattie’s win, and impending fortune... because Rogette called to inform her Max left all his money to her and Kyra. And Mattie makes it clear she wants to hook up with Mike. Winning! But then some townies conduct a drive-by shooting, and kill Mattie. Losing!

Mike scoops up Kyra, and takes her back to Sara Laughs, where a massive storm breaks. Mike ends up cracking some of the puzzles Jo left for him, and discovers he needs to dig up the remains of Sara and Kito (the bag of their bones, if you will), and pour lye on their corpses to set them free. Come to find out, Sara had been brutally raped and murdered, and her son Kito had been drown by ancestors of several prominent TR-90 townsfolk, and they tried to cover it up. Why? Because they didn’t like a black woman living in their town. And she had the audacity to laugh at one of them. Yep... yet another book where art is imitating real life. The only thing Sara Tidwell was guilty of was forgetting that living while black is a crime in this country.

So, Mike kills the evil spirits, and finds Rogette kidnapped Kyra. He gets her back, takes out Rogette, and they all live happily ever after. Well, kind of. Kyra goes into foster care, and Mike works to become her legal guardian. He realizes Jo was the love of his life after all (the handsome dude she was spotted with was her brother), and Kyra was the daughter they never got to have together.

It’s a damn good story, with plenty of twists, and lots of Maine flavor. I loved it, and continue to recommend it to people looking for a spooky beach read.

There was the one Dark Tower reference; and a Dahmer reference! It’s the second one I’ve found since starting my Constant Reader journey. That’s always fun... it’s been a while since we had a Wisconsin reference.

Total Wisconsin Mentions: 28

Total Dark Tower References: 39

Book Grade: A-

Rebecca’s Definitive Ranking of Stephen King Books

The Talisman: A+

Wizard and Glass: A+

Needful Things: A+

The Green Mile: A+

Rose Madder: A+

Misery: A+

Different Seasons: A+

It: A+

Four Past Midnight: A+

The Shining: A-

The Stand: A-

Bag of Bones: A-

The Wastelands: A-

The Drawing of the Three: A-

Dolores Claiborne: A-

Nightmares in the Sky: B+

The Dark Half: B+

Skeleton Crew: B+

The Dead Zone: B+

Nightmares & Dreamscapes: B+

‘Salem’s Lot: B+

Carrie: B+

Creepshow: B+

Cycle of the Werewolf: B-

Danse Macabre: B-

The Running Man: C+

Thinner: C+

Dark Visions: C+

The Eyes of the Dragon: C+

The Long Walk: C+

The Gunslinger: C+

Pet Sematary: C+

Firestarter: C+

Rage: C

Desperation: C-

Insomnia: C-

Cujo: C-

Nightshift: C-

Gerald’s Game: D

Roadwork: D

Christine: D

The Tommyknockers: D-

Next up is Storm of the Century. I initially assumed it was something King had been contracted to write. Nope! He thought it might be fun to try his hand a screenplay, and find a buyer for it later. I’ve never read it, and I’ve never seen the television series, but it’s already got a sick Dolores Claiborne reference, so I’m here for it.

Until next time, Long Days & Pleasant Nights, Rebecca

#bag of bones #derry #it #insomnia #needful things #dark half #the dark tower #constant readers #stephen king

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thepoisonedmartini · 5 years

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Welcome to Part Four of 15 Years of Mysteries! The Mystery Book Club (at my local library) continued its tour of mystery fiction with several women authors.

Perhaps the biggest mystery of the year, however, was why there wasn’t a selection for May 2007. I’ve not been able to find a single document, file, listing, or source that suggests we read anything for May nor can I determine why we possibly didn’t meet that particular month. In any event, we ended up only reading 11 titles for this particular year.

January 2007 selection

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

Synopsis: 31-year-old Amelia Peabody inherited her father’s fortune and his strong will. Now she’s headed for Cairo, accompanied by a girl with a tarnished past, to indulge her passion for Egyptology. Little did she know that murder and a homicidal mummy lay in wait for her.

Thoughts: The idea was to read the first ever Amelia Peabody mystery and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

February 2007 selection

Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear

Synopsis: In her third case, Maisie Dobbs sets out to prove whether aviator Ralph Lawton is dead or alive. The investigation brings her to France and reunites Maisie with an old friend who may have a connection to the mystery.

Thoughts: A wonderful historical series set in the era between the two World Wars.

March 2007 selection

Death of Riley by Rhys Bowen

Synopsis: Molly Murphy embarks on a new life in America as a private investigator. She apprentices under Paddy Riley, who specializes in divorce work. But one case leads to murder and an unexpected turn in Molly’s budding career.

Thoughts: Another entry in the Molly Murphy mystery series and our group’s third time reading the adventures of Bowen’s spunky heroine. Somehow we ended up reading book two after having previously read the third book in 2006.

April 2007 selection

Cover Her Face by P.D. James

Synopsis: A young housemaid is found strangled in a locked room. Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard arrives to investigate a household of potential suspects.

Thoughts: A classically plotted, ingenious murder mystery.

June 2007 selection

The Old Wine Shades by Martha Grimes

Synopsis: A curious tale in which a man in a pub relates about a man whose wife, son and dog went missing. The dog came back, but how and why? And was there even a crime? Richard Jury, listening to this Schrödinger’s cat-esque story, investigates.

Thoughts: This 20th entry in the series reads like a philosophical debate which may not suit everyone’s taste. I found it strangely interesting.

July 2007 selection

Thyme of Death by Susan Wittig Albert

Synopsis: A lawyer turned herb shop proprietor is convinced that her friend did not commit suicide. As she begins to investigate, she finds a trail of clues that lead to a killer with more than one target in view. Nominated for an Agatha and an Anthony for Best First Mystery.

Thoughts: Albert took a conventional mystery troupe (it’s not suicide; it’s murder) and spun it into an entertaining story that introduces the fictitious Texas town of Pecan Springs and its quirky denizens in this series debut.

August 2007 selection

The Alpine Advocate by Mary Daheim

Synopsis: Newspaper publisher/editor Emma Lord gets a juicy story to cover when a handsome heir is murdered. Unfortunately for her, she becomes part of the story and the investigation as she pursues her scoop.

Thoughts: This series debut seemed promising, but it’s a slow start.

September 2007 selection

The Blackest Bird by Joel Rose

Synopsis: In the summer of 1841, a popular tobacco shop girl is found brutally murdered, the scion of a firearm fortune beats his publisher to death, and a young Irish gang leader is accused of killing his family. This mix of fact and fiction takes its inspiration from the true crime case of Mary Rogers and its connection to Edgar Allan Poe who fashioned it into the 1842 story, The Mystery of Marie Roget.

Thoughts: The story as a whole, while interesting comes across as pastiche. Poe’s portrayal seems at odds with the reality of what is known of his character.

October 2007 selection

Blackwater Spirits by Miriam Grace Monfredo

Synopsis: In the 3rd series book, a half-Iroquois deputy stands accused of murder, and Seneca Falls librarian Glynis Tryon steps in to clear his name. Meanwhile, a female physician, spiritualism, and the Temperance movement lend turbulence to the story.

Thoughts: Another tour-de-force historical mystery.

November 2007 selection

Thunderstruck by Eric Larson

Synopsis: Larson interweaves the true story of a murderous doctor and Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of the wireless telegraph, an invention that becomes instrumental in capturing a murderer.

Thoughts: Though I had long wanted to read The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America and heard several raves about it, Thuderstruck ended up being the first Eric Larson I read. And I loved it. Larson does an amazing job of breathing life into history, making it both intriguing and entertaining. This was our group’s first time reading a nonfiction title, but it wouldn’t be the last!

December 2007 selection

Highland Christmas by M.C. Beaton

Synopsis: Police Constable Hamish Macbeth investigates a string of unrelated petty crimes that strike during the Christmas season.

Thoughts: This was a very light read, which was very light on the mystery aspect. It really was more like a charming village tale with quirky characters. A breezy read for a cozy winter afternoon, but not one of the author’s best. While the focus of the book group’s discussion was on the monthly selection, we also discussed other Christmas mystery stories the group had read. My contribution – naturally – was recommending Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot’s Christmas.

***

And those were the selections for 2007. Yet again, there wasn’t any particular rhyme or reason for the choices other than trying to pick good reads. And of course there were a couple authors that the group revisited. I was beginning to notice, however, that several of the cozy mysteries weren’t necessary good fodder for discussion. Good reads, sure. But generating topics for discussion? Not always.

In 2004, I began a book discussion group focused on the mystery genre. In the 15 years since, the Mystery Book Club has read more than 150 mysteries, suspense thrillers, and a few true crime tales. Follow along as I take you through the years in a look back at “15 Years of Mysteries.” Stay tuned for part five.

15 Years of Mysteries: Part Four Welcome to Part Four of 15 Years of Mysteries! The Mystery Book Club (at my local library) continued its tour of mystery fiction with several women authors.

#Book Discussion #Books #Fiction

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ecotone99 · 5 years

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[SF] Turned inside out

“Yep, it’s definitely human remains.”; The Medical Examiner stated. His voice betrayed no sign of emotion.

“Are you sure Doc? What could have done THAT much damage to a human body? An eighteen wheeler or a freight train?" Industrial equipment? The nauseous deputy continued to speculate wildly. "Maybe this is from a large animal attack. I've seen grizzlies really maul their prey, but nothing to this level of carnage.”

Even fifteen years in the Sheriff’s Department hadn’t prepared him for the gruesome sight before them. "Honestly, it looks like this person has been through a wood chip..."

Ralph quickly cut him off before the deputy had a speculative meltdown. “I can’t determine ANY cause of death until we get ‘him’ to the morgue for examination.”

“So it’s definately a ‘him’, then?”

“Right now I can’t even be sure of that; but at least the corpse is fresh.”

“I’ll say.”; Agreed Phil. The deputy held his nose in disgust. His asinine criteria for ‘fresh’ was quite different.

The next afternoon, Ralph began the medical examination. Normally he was unaffected by the morbid nature of his profession. Being detached helped him to concentrate on the necessary task at hand. All his patients deserved for their final secrets to be told. If they died of natural causes then they could be buried or cremated with dignity. If their lives were cut short from fowl play, then they deserved justice so they could eventually be at rest.

When the medical examiner realized the surreal circumstances that ended the life of his mangled patient, he dropped his ham sandwich and dialed the Sheriff’s department with a rattled immediacy. “This is Ralph down at the Morgue, you’d better get the Sheriff over here as soon as possible!”

Meanwhile, the Sheriff’s office conducted an official investigation at the crime scene. The forensic crew swept the area and discovered some very disturbing facts. The first of which was a spiked level of radiation near the lake. The second was a trail of large, reptilian-like animal prints leading down to the water line. Lastly came an even more curious item of questionable value.

A perfectly-formed, oblong crystal was found among cattail reeds at the edge of the lowland swamp. Whether it had anything to do with their investigation was anyone’s guess but it obviously hadn’t grown on top of the weeds. In keeping with protocol, the team tagged and photographed it as potential evidence.

Sheriff John Wright was too level headed to believe a mutated alligator was on the loose but the collected 'evidence' did point to such a bizarre conclusion! The only thing on his mind however, was what to eat for lunch. When the sheriff heard the dispatcher calling him on the radio, he knew he was in for another missed meal. He responded to the Coroner’s request with all the usual police jargon and was on his way.

Sheriff Wright knew the importance of Forensic Science to his police department investigations. He just preferred to learn autopsy results from the comfort of his brown leather office chair. He knew that Ralph Gentry recognized his intense dislike of blood drains, phlebotomy tools, cadaver tables; and the cold lifeless occupants of them. Since he had been summoned anyway (despite their unspoken agreement of ‘live and let live’); the Sheriff knew it had to be important. “I came as soon as I could Ralph, what have you found out?”

“Prepare yourself John. I know you don't like coming down here but it was necessary. I had to show you this in person. If I had tried to explain it over the phone, you wouldn’t have believed me.”

He thought he could handle whatever nightmarish thing Ralph had to show him but he was wrong. With one swift jerk, Ralph removed the sheet and exposed the unrecognizable human remains on the table. It was the most brutally mutilated cadaver he had ever encountered. The sheriff felt a wave of dry heaves make his stomach contract involuntarily. Ralph spoke to distract his nausea. “Do you see anything unusual about this corpse besides its exceptional state of mutilation?”

“Jeez Ralph! Did you have to mangle the body so much?”

“Oh, I forgot. You haven’t seen the body, have you? I’ve yet to even stick my scalpel in ‘John Doe’. It was already this way when your men found it last night.” Before the Sheriff could interject; Ralph continued explaining. “See the esophagus, imploded pelvic region and abdomen?”

“Yes.” The Sheriff replied. He forced himself to look at the monstrosity on the table before them. He attempted to comprehend what the Coroner was trying to point out but the carnage was just too distracting. After a few moments, Ralph further explained.

“I don’t have any theories on how this could happen but the cause of death was sudden traumatic shock and tissue damage to the body." The sheriff glared in annoyance at the medical examiner for stating the obvious. Ralph held up his hand to belay the upcoming sarcasm and continue making his point.

"Despite its seeming impossibility; this man's body has been literally turned inside-out. The remains are just like an inverted piece of clothing; discarded on the floor.”

“How can that be... no human could do th...”

Ralph interrupted. “I don’t know HOW; that’s your job! I’m just trying to inform you of the facts. For lack of a better description; some 'thing' has reached down this man’s throat and gathered up his insides and midsection. Then they were pulled outward while reversing his flesh like a shirt.”

III

Sensing the Sheriff’s next question; Dr. Gentry answered; “Yes it was a man. That much I know. I found his genitals inside his body where his stomach should have been. Here is the stomach. It’s in almost perfect condition except for the fact that it is on the outside of his body.”

Ralph had known John’s logical mind for too long. He anticipated his next thoughts too. “No, I can’t identify him by his teeth. They were pulverized by whatever rammed its way down his throat. His fingertips are still intact so I made his prints for your men to run through the computer.”

John’s walkie talkie unit paged him. “Come in Sheriff Wright!” He reached down and unfastened it from his belt.

“This is the Sheriff. Come in.” He dreaded hearing more bad news but could tell it was coming.

“We’ve found more of ‘em.”; The deputy stated somberly.

“How many more?”; He reluctantly asked. There was no question over what they were discussing.

“Looks like two more severely mangled bodies so far, sir. Another probable body is missing but we have found a blood trail.”

“What’s the 10-20 this time?”; He requested.

“About a mile and a half North of the first crime scene, on Holcomb Bridge road.” The Sheriff pictured the area in his mind and informed the deputy that he would be there ‘right away’. Then he signaled ‘over and out’ and informed Ralph that more of his morgue drawers were about to be occupied.

Once again the crime scene showed traces of radioactivity and the bodies were mutilated beyond recognition. Several detectives were already on the scene when the Sheriff arrived. He was debriefed and led to the bodies.

“Looks like the same ‘m.o.’ as the first victim.”; He remarked to his chief investigator. The previous murder could no longer be treated as an isolated incident. The news media would have a field day with the story and put more even pressure on his department to catch the perpetrator. No one wanted the murderer arrested any more than him but the non-stop calls from the worried public would only hinder their progress.

“Has anyone ran the plates on that camper over there yet? I bet that would provide a strong lead to the identities of these bodies.”

“Yes sir. It belongs to an out-of-town family that were here camping last night at the lake. Mr. and Mrs. James; Frank: 51 and Sherry; age 49. Their 15 year old daughter Regina is still missing but presumed dead; based on signs of a mortal struggle and massive blood loss. We believe the attack started here and proceeded down to the lake.”

Both men stepped over the yellow police tape to follow the gruesome trail while the detective explained his running theory. “From this point; only the suspects strange, er... ‘footprints’ are continuously visible. An occasional set of heel marks show a heavy drag pattern. This would indicate that the victim was either unconscious or dead; and being carried. We have a search team combing the woods for her... ah... body.”

“Good work. Sounds like solid reasoning. Obviously we can't assume the victims are the missing campers without official determination from Dr. Gentry. If these victims are anything like the first one, there will not be any usable dental records to ID the bodies. We may have to request DNA from other family members. By the way, were there any crystals or other unusual objects found near the crime scene?” “Crystals, sir?

“Yes, like the one found at the other crime scene.”

“Do you really think that has anything to do with this, sir? I mean; it just doesn't make any sense."

“None of this makes any sense. It defies logic and sanity. Obviously we have a very violent, highly deranged individual or group on our hands. We can’t rule anything out until we know otherwise. After all, the crystal could be our only concrete lead. No matter how thin or unlikely it seems to us now. If we discover more crystals at this crime scene, then it would appear to be more than an odd coincidence. Oh, and Johnson..... Get a haircut! We’re trying to convey an image of honesty in this department. How can the town’s people trust you if they can’t even see your face?”

“Yes sir, as soon as I get off duty.”; Replied Johnson.

“Go now son. Your work is done here for today.”

45 minutes later, three more oblong crystals were found in the bushes by the shoreline. Immediately the Sheriff's 'crystal connection' went from a far-fetched theory; to a near probability. “What kind of maniac would senselessly mutilate innocent people and then leave mineral clusters as a bizarre ‘calling card?’”; The sheriff wondered. "Who or what would even have the superhuman strength necessary to commit such brutal crimes? None of it adds up." The spiked levels of radiation around the crime scenes was equally puzzling.

First he requested a roll call of all mental asylums within a two hundred mile radius. Then he organized a search team with bloodhounds to comb the countryside for signs of the suspect. Lastly, he instructed divers to drag the lake for bodies, first thing in the morning.

“If the press gets hold of these strange details then the headlines will be calling him: ‘The radioactive crystal killer’; or something ridiculous.”; He grimaced. His investigators needed to hold back unknown details in order to weed-out false confessions. Every leaked detail worked against them. The townsfolk depended on them for public safety; yet they was no closer to catching the murderer than they were from day one.

Soon public opinion would turn against his department. When that happened, State police would shut them out of the investigation and take over. Those depressing thoughts plagued him far into the night. It had been an extremely frustrating day. "Small towns are only supposed to only have small-town problems."; He lamented.

The next morning, relatives of Cindy Weeks filed a missing person’s report. The Sheriff investigated her case personally since she had last been seen on a nature trail about 3 miles from the crime scene. The young lady was 19 years old (and legally able to come and go as she pleased) but her parents were insistent that she was responsible. They insisted that she would have phoned if she had made plans to spend the night elsewhere.

Normally after hearing an ‘angelic’ description of a teenager from naive parents; he would have told them there wasn’t anything he could do until 48 hours had passed. However, under the dire circumstances, he had to investigate immediately. Time was of the essence in these matters. With any luck, she would simply turn up (safe and sound) after spending a clandestine night with her boyfriend. Sheriff Wright hoped that was the case. He and the rest of the search team combed the nature trail where she was last seen, as a precautionary measure.

It wasn't far into the search before signs of a struggle, a long blood trail, and another 'posed' crystal pointed to the worst for her. Fortunately, no body was discovered so there was still a (minor) chance of finding her alive. All they could hope for was that Miss Weeks had somehow escaped the ‘crystal maniac’ with survivable injuries.

Sheriff Wright’s next course of action was to check with Ralph about the two newest bodies. As expected, they had met with the same fate as the first unidentified victim. Ralph could offer no new information since he had so little to work with. In a rare moment of cooperation, the Sheriff encouraged Dr. Gentry to ‘keep at it’.

As if he didn’t have enough to worry about, a large mob of reporters surrounded his car. They were all shouting and trying to get an official statement. He gave the standard, “I can offer no information at this time until the investigation is complete”; brush off. Then he added; “My men are working around the clock to find the person, or persons responsible. Please remember that I am personally involved. I live here too. I promise to make an official statement as soon as I can.” With that public appeal for room to do his job, he made it to his car and roared off in a cloud of dust.

Later that night John was roused from his fitful sleep by the incessant ringing of the phone. His wife sat up in bed and turned on the lamp. “It’s 3:30 in the morning! Who would call at this hour?”

He answered the phone and after listening, said; “Yes Shelia; I know you wouldn’t bother me if it wasn’t important.... What is it?”

Mrs. Wright was exasperated. “For heaven’s sake! Don’t they know that you have to sleep some time?” He silently waved for her to be quiet.

“I’ll be right there.”

Marie interrupted; “Can’t this wait ‘til morning?”

John attempted to explain the importance of the situation. “Shelia said there have been strange lights reported at the lake tonight. It may have something to do with the murders. We can’t afford to overlook it.”

As the Sheriff drove down the lonely dirt road that led to the lake, he called for backup. The two deputies on night patrol answered his request for assistance. Deputy Phil Bates and Detective Johnson accompanied him as they circled the nature trail. After 20 minutes in the brisk night air with no sign of 'strange blue lights', they suspected the report was without merit.

The sheriff was about to go back home when all three men witnessed the etherial lights for themselves. They stood in absolute awe as an alien spaceship materialized at the edge of the lake! The side of the ship opened and four shrowded beings came out into the cool night air. The two in the middle removed their cloaks to reveal their hidden identities. To the Sheriff's genuine elation, they were the two missing young ladies. The other two individuals were definitely not human at all. The men were unable to move from the intense excitement of being face-to-face with creatures from another world. Oddly enough, they didn’t feel as if they were in any danger.

In an indeterminate amount of time, one of the aliens spoke. “Are you the one called Sheriff Wright?” The shock of the situation prevented him from responding. It wasn’t everyday that he was addressed by extra terrestrials. The same alien asked if the question had been improperly phrased. Finally the Sheriff managed to ‘choke out’ the correct response.

The other alien stepped forward to make an announcement to the men. “We regret to inform you that our immature offspring accidentally terminated three of your organisms. We are in the final stages of cloning the expired individuals from residual DNA samples that we extracted. Once the regeneration is complete, they will be reintroduced back into their native habitat without delay. We regret the inconvenience this has caused you Sheriff; and would like to explain.

On our planet; there is an extremely docile creature that roams the marshy wetlands. The offspring of our species enjoy keeping them as pets. This 'bashful' animal is very much like your terrestrial box turtle. It recedes inside its body as a defense mechanism when it is frightened. To coax them to come out; our 'children' often leave a feeding crystal near their nest (as a reward or incentive). If they retract back inside themselves to hide, our offspring reach into their shell and pull them ‘right side out’ again.

Sadly, this regrettable incident only happened because of an elemental misunderstanding. You see, the turtle-like animal on our planet closely resembles your human form. Our young incorrectly assumed that your species was also very shy; and thus required inversion coaxing. They were unaware of your somewhat delicate physiology.

VII

After the explanation was given about the purpose of the crystals, Sheriff Wright winked at Johnson. His suggestion that they might be relevant to the investigation had baffled the deputy earlier. Now they both knew that he was basically right; although neither of them could have guessed the crystals were for bait. By that time the Sheriff had gained enough confidence to inquire about the clones. "Will they be exactly the same as their original counterparts?"

“Technically yes. They will be identical; with one notable exception. They will not possess any memories which their original counterparts acquired during their lifetimes. This is because human DNA does not retain memories or any learned information. To compensate, we are programming them with the basic human knowledge needed to survive. Your experts will unfortunately have to teach them anything we overlooked.” In an emotionless tone, the second alien apologized for the inconvenience.

The sheriff pointed to the previously missing girls. “What about them? Are they... ah... clones too?”

“No. They are the originals. We found them before they expired and repaired the tissue damage. There was no permanent damage to them.”

At that time, the freshly cloned victims appeared alongside the aliens and the two girls. After a short pause the ‘talkative’ alien concluded; “Ours is a peaceful race. We has laws which forbid any interference with alien life forms. We must again express our sincere apologies for the inadvertent harm we have caused. We hope there will be no ill will between our two races.”

“Our 'vacation' is complete so we will be leaving your planet now.”; Added the other one.

“Will there be others from your planet spending their 'vacation' here on Earth?”; The Sheriff asked nervously.

“We will be back in about 273 Earth years.”; Replied the talkative one. "By that time, our young will be mature enough to avoid damaging any more of your species." That news greatly relieved the Sheriff. He didn’t think he could handle any more tragic cases of accidental alien mutilation! He was sure he would have his hands full trying to invent an explanation for the ones they already had.

Both aliens made an unfamiliar salutation and returned to their ship. An instant later it gently lifted three or four stories off the surface of the lake and was gone in a ‘blink of an eye’. Phil and Johnson snapped out of their trance-like state and expressed their amazement.

“Sir, what shall we do about this?”; Phil exclaimed.

“Well, they’re definitely out of our jurisdiction now. Besides, we would need something a hell of a lot faster than a patrol car to catch ‘em anyway!”

“Seriously though sir. I almost don’t believe what I just saw with my own eyes; and I know that no one will believe our reports!”; Added Johnson.

“I want everyone present to keep what we just witnessed to ourselves. Is that understood? If anyone breathes a word of this to the press or our neighbors, they will put us in an asylum! Just leave the reports and explanation to me! Oh, and Johnson.... Next time get a REAL haircut! I'm surprised you saw a damn thing.”

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rfhusnik · 7 years

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Questions, Ironies, and Fashions

�� Written By: Orlon Braem

Fashion, as a noun you speak to a phenomenon of ever changing trends. And thus, as a person, place, or thing, sometimes you lead mortals to large accumulations. But I’ve never been one who’s immediately levelled a charge of materialism against such accumulators. Even they know that all that’s of the earth passes away, or on to heirs eventually.

But fashion, it’s as a verb you’re more intriguing. And in that sense, I use you here. Yet, not only here today, but also so often every day as I attempt to fashion worthwhile and proper beliefs and actions upon a planet where so many would so easily ill-use the hard-working, the charitable, the caring, and those seeking order.

And if life is really a game, who have its winners and losers been up until this point? And of how much real value are temporal victories and accomplishments? Does their only worth lie in whatever aid they may render toward the conquest eternal? And when he writes a piece such as this one, does the writer ever stray from basic truth and enter a realm of hyperbole?

Of the four questions posed in the previous paragraph, most likely the first three can’t be answered unequivocally by anyone. But the fourth question, that one which asks if basic truth can sometimes be stretched to hyperbole, receives a “yes” answer. So, perhaps to ward off hyperbole early on here, here are five points which everyone should ponder: One – No matter if the “dreamers” are allowed to remain in the U.S. or not, will the U. S. finally crack down on illegal immigration and build a wall along its southern border? Two – Why is only the winning side of the 2016 U. S. presidential election being probed for possible Russian collusion, when there is widespread speculation that the losing side may have been involved in such activity? Three – Although sexual and workplace advancement abuse against women has clearly been, and continues to be a problem, are there a number of influential women who today are attempting to pursue anti-male objectives whenever and wherever they can? Four – How much concern should the U. S. have in regard to the South African government’s threats to confiscate the property of its white citizens? And Five – Is anyone actually taking the future population estimates of the U. S. seriously? Is anything being done to keep America at manageable birth and immigration levels in the years to come?

Recently the leader of the city in which I reside called for a town meeting of all city residents. Obviously not all attended, but as I expected, most who did were either from the wealthier north side of our city, or from the newly developing “north river shore area.” But a number of residents from the poorer south side were there as well. And, it was quite a successful undertaking – I think! And we spoke there of many topics of concern, all the way from regional to international. And after the meeting ended, our leader, Ralph Hawk, asked if I’d write about the four topics I’d especially addressed there that evening. He said I should begin my piece by expanding upon those matters, and then carry on to include all other information which I felt should be disclosed to the public at this time. Thus, the following: I’m going to speak now of four central topics, i.e. populism, illegal immigration, feminism, and gun control/violence.

At this time in their nation’s history, the majority of Americans have no alternative but to embrace populism. And this is because, regardless of their financial status, or political or religious affiliations, they’re being told that they must support all causes which can in any way be aligned with liberalism. And thus, they’re being told to favor both the concept of illegal immigration, as well as such people who, as illegals, are already living inside the U. S. And, they’re also being told to support all feminist concerns, whether societally justifiable or radically left-wing; as well as all such other women’s rights causes which may exist between those. And, in regard to domestic gun violence, while they’re told on one hand to seek the curtailment of gun ownership rights, they’re also simultaneously informed that they must continue to support movie, television, and game violence carried out by all types of conceivable weapons; and also that of course they must feel sorry for, and try to sympathize with the brutal mass murderers of the last few years. – But, people lend your imagination especially to this last request please. Try to imagine (and I’m not inferring that I have any concept of it myself) how the loved ones of people who’ve been killed violently for no apparent reason must feel in the wake of those deaths. And for those who’ve survived the attacks – imagine what impact having even been a part of those vile actions will have upon their lives in the future, and especially if they were wounded or left disabled by them.

But it’s through a basic application of rightness that I fashion my own existence. And I don’t need the media with its fake news, or the entertainment industry with its phony awards show broadcasts to determine my opinions. In fact, I don’t want liberal biases to influence my way of life. I believe in what seems truthful to me, yet, I also know that not everyone can share my apparentness of veracity.

And it’s because I live to further what I’ve just stated, that I understand that most likely the title of this piece could just as easily and rightfully have been “An Irony Of Fashions,” or “Media Fears,” or “Justifications,” or probably a few other phrases which may have fit its pronouncements almost as well as the one which was eventually chosen for it. But irony perhaps belongs in its namesake, for this discussion addresses certain phenomena which instead of being simply disclosed to the public, are instead having their basic facts commented upon, and then often distorted by biased, confused, and/or still-learning informers.

And given what this piece has declared thus far, here I believe are three relevant questions which will aid its continuance. One – “Who decided what the proper procedures for the disclosure of either regional, national, or international news bits should be?” Two – “Who decided what those news bits should be; i.e. should certain occurrences be hidden from the public, while only such developments which might be deemed as being useful to the advancement of one certain political ideology be reported upon?” And three – “Who can look inside the mind of any other human and decide whether what he or she has, or is now recognizing as truthful is indeed verifiable?”

And now, given those questions, lets imagine that it’s but another day in Medialand (formerly The United States Of America), and once again so-called journalists and news reporters, as well as various television and radio political gossip hosts, and of course all other fake news purveyors and loudmouths are again holding forth upon unsuspecting audiences of commoners who are only reading, listening and viewing the outputs of those charlatans in the hope of learning the truth concerning such matters as may be of concern to them. But, of course that’s apparently too much for those commoners to wish for. What they need instead, according to the various members of the biased media and their comrades the “swampers” who live off taxpayer dollars in Washington D.C., is simply more indoctrination. Thus, I guess what follows then on days such as this one are some examples of written, spoken, and performed garbage which might just as easily be received on any certain day by middle class innocents.

For crying out loud, why don’t the working classes in America want to fund our burgeoning “sanctuary cities”? Don’t they know that many living here in Medialand need sanctuary from work? And if those who are outside of America’s “in, but non-working crowd” only knew the fear you’ve known, they wouldn’t tell you all you need to fear is fear itself. And don’t you wish we could take all the people who have a little money with us just once when, figuratively of course, we find ourselves driving illegally late at night down a dark and ghastly highway? And many are the demons that haunt us then – there on that roadway where the pavement is hardly visible, and oncoming traffic is even less so.

And, besides physically trying to keep our vehicle on the pathway that’s been paved for us by convention, we’re struggling mentally with these questions and others: “Why am I here today, driving along life’s highway illegally?” “What would happen to me if I, through my illegal status, caused the death or deaths of other motorists; or even if I was apprehended by the police here tonight in the darkness?” Or, “What if my life somehow ended here tonight out on the highway?” “Would I wish to greet the Son of Man in this fashion?”

But that particular common man, whether legal or illegal, much to the relief of all other commoners, did safely reach his home that night. And as, with stumbling steps he made his way toward his entrance door, he heard a voice call to him through the darkness. “Next time, if you’re out really late again, who would you like to ride with you on the way home?”

“Send me those Sunday morning and late night weekday media talk gossipers” replied the common one. “According to themselves, they have all the answers to all America’s problems. So probably they’d be my best bet for aid on my perilous journeys.”

But as he entered his house, suddenly the commoner noticed that his fear abated somewhat. And it seemed he was then almost capable of clear imaginings. Nonetheless, the following are some of his random thoughts, conceived then by a mind coming down to clarity. Oh, but did he vow to stop displaying middle class arrogance then? Yes, he did, but… And here are some of his thoughts.

Often our brothers and sisters take huge steps to ensure that certain pieces of what continually become past inevitabilities, or in more commonplace parlance, verbally spoken of, mentally thought of, or physically performed mundane tasks of the everyday are relegated to either seen or unseen hiding spots at which they’ll not be discovered should anyone wish to seek them – out. But less often, our mortal siblings will acknowledge central influences, or divulge random observations which in fact may have been observed to a great extent because of those influences.

And here are some steps to climb or follow if you’ve fallen from liberal graces. Imagine those liberal concepts passing through your mind. And then, label them as they seem to you, be they dangerous, pedestrian, non-creative, or whatever. And then raise your nose high into the air and say “I’m glad I’m better than almost all other humans; and I know that what they really want the final outcome of all of this to be, is the elimination of the male sex from the face of the earth.”

And then, on the following day, if you feel graceless still, imagine two lovers of sameness who together are looking at the cover of a book which features a man with a black line across his eyes. “There’s always a way for the pen man to unpen his way out of tight spots” says the male.

“It seems so” replies the female.

And then the man says “I don’t believe people who tell me they can remember their births.” And the woman says “No, I don’t believe them either. But I think they do remember their baptisms. After all, since you and I both sinned in Eden, all people now need to secure their bodies and souls to their Lord, rather than to that damn snake we met there that day.”

“Yeah, and nowadays almost everyone, male and female, needs to work in order to keep society functioning well.”

“That’s right, but I don’t like job performance evaluations and justifications. I only like money procurement.”

“Last night on television I saw that some people called ‘dreamers’ want to stay in America. They want to stay here, but yet they don’t want the natives of America to be able to build a wall to protect themselves.”

“I’m very fearful of those dreamers, but I also fear the blamers. And do you know who those blamers are blaming? They’re blaming people such as you and I – the common working people of America. They’re as much as saying that you and I were actually the people who pulled all the triggers at all the recent massacres.”

“I think you’re right. It would be such a relief for me if only I could free myself from the guilt being thrown upon me because someone else felt he or she needed to kill helpless others whom he or she offered up as sheep to be slaughtered because he or she couldn’t adapt to modern life, or because he or she was bullied, or because he or she was lazy, or slow mentally, or because his or her representatives in government didn’t keep murderous weapons out of his or her hands, or because he or she couldn’t get a break, or – or”

“Or was it really perhaps because he or she had had no decent parents or teachers to inform or educate him or her many years ago when, as a child he or she should have learned the many facets of the concepts of right and wrong?”

“Yeah, that was surely part of it. But what about all the violence that’s being promoted on television, in movies, and in ‘action games’? Doesn’t all that stuff impact still developing minds? Don’t young people who still haven’t got life ‘figured out,’ most likely see all that violence and bloodshed on the screens and then think that it’s probably a normal part of life?”

“I’m thinking that happens in some cases. But only one incident of its occurrence is necessary for it to become a contributing factor in the massacres we’ve seen recently.”

“That’s very true. Yet, media types plod on with their own interpretations of violence. They’d have all of America believe that it was people such as you and I, commoners in a common republic, who were, figuratively the trigger pullers in those slayings. And what did we do that was wrong? We didn’t have enough compassion for America’s haters and lawbreakers.”

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theampreviews · 8 years

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Favorite Films of 2016

2016 will probably be remembered more for its big budget flops like Ghostbusters, Alice Through The Looking Glass, The Legend of Tarzan, The Huntsman than for any breakout hits, outside of the obvious annual clock-punchers from Marvel and Lucas Film. From a distance a brace of Summer duds can unfairly colour a year, and that’s certainly the case for me. Aside from (and sometimes including) these under-performing, perceived failures, there was some absolute gold among the silt.

Will Smith (and more to the point, his wife) throwing toys out the pram over the lack of an Academy Award nomination for Concussion [30] took away from what was an admirably thoughtful film about the heath issues plaguing the NFL. Sure, it was always Leo’s year, but he deserved to be in the conversation at the very least (although to be fair to the Academy, not making the final 5 doesn’t mean he wasn’t).

Paramount continue to deliver under appreciated brilliance with the 3rd in their rebooted franchise, Star Trek: Beyond [29] hit all the right notes for a summer sci-fi blockbuster; fast, fun and frivolous. People complained it felt like an extended episode, but that’s exactly why I liked it, I’ve had enough of world building, just show me a good time. They also had another zinger at the start of the year with Michael Bay’s underrated 13 Hours [28]. Chances are his name alone, attached to a military action/drama, was enough to put audiences off, but they missed a trick skipping this one. He may be off-puttingly jingoistic, but he even managed to temper that somewhat here, whilst delivering action set-pieces that put most others to shame.

Another notable failure of the year was Natalie Portman’s Jane Got A Gun [27]. It’s one of those “development hell” cautionary tales yet, it didn’t show its scars for me. I’m a big fan of Westerns and this one kept things intimate & lean, and all the better for it. The opposite of that, and another of the years casualties, was Duncan Jones’ Warcraft [26]. A (likely) failed franchise starter based on the oddly popular role play game, this was a hulking great bowl full of cinematic jelly & icecream that few bothered with. It certainly showed that The Hobbit likely killed off any notions of Fantasy’s great comeback. It’s a shame because amongst the ridiculousness, Jones managed to put some life behind the eyes of his CGI characters in a way that is desperately lacking in the craft (I’m staring you straight in your dead Peter Cushing eyes, Disney).

Far smaller in scale (and finding a far smaller audience) was Elvis & Nixon [25], the Michael Shannon/Kevin Spacey comedy about the meeting behind the most requested photo in the White House archives. Shannon seemed unlikely casting for The King in a visual sense, but he finds ways to convey the spirit of Elvis (from what we know of him) that allows for the lack of physical likeness. Spacey, a familiar face in that room thanks to House Of Cards, is a far cry from finding the depths of Nixon that Anthony Hopkins did, but he’s fun in the role and the two enjoy a great chemistry behind their masks.

Don’t call it a comeback (people will yell at you), but seeing Mel Gibson back on screen in 2016 was a heartwarming delight. Blood Father [24] was a nice beefed-up throwback to the sort of films he made back in the 80s and 90s with one eye on the Liam Neeson market. A story of a loathsome alcoholic putting himself in harms way for redemption may have been a little on the nose for those that have no time for him, but they likely didn’t see it anyway. Nor did many make the trip to see another star of the 20-30 years past take a stab at the aging action hero in Kevin Costner’s batty Criminal [23]. The preposterous story of murderous psychopath being the only viable candidate for a dead Ryan Reynolds memory transplant, Criminal was loopy enough to rise above its own absurdity. It was also filmed in Croydon, adding to the whole whatthefuckness of it all. I had a blast with this one.

A Bigger Splash [22] is one of those meandering films that does very little but won me over thanks to Ralph Fiennes being absolutely bloody marvelous. I’ve really taken to his latter day renaissance as a fine comedic actor. I’ve also taken greatly to Kiwi Comedy, and Hunt For The Wilderpeople [21] carries on their fine tradition of distinctly idiosyncratic humor that can be as heartfelt as it is hilarious, with a touching and delightful performance from newcomer Julian Dennison. Lenny Abrahamson also managed to balance both the traumatic and the sentimental perfectly, with a standout performance from the mini Jacob Tremblay, in Room [20]. As a huge fan of the …Top Model TV show (Australia, America, Britain in order of preference) I found Nicholas Winding Refn’s absurd psycho-horror The Neon Demon [19] a highly amusing satire on the fashion world. And there’s no denying he creates visually arresting films. I laughed my arse off at the ending, not sure if that was the desired reaction or not, but it worked for me. So to did Ben Wheatley’s immaculate construction of a simple metaphor, High-Rise [18], a tribute to decadence & squalor was one of those films that entertains as it confounds. Hiddleston, Miller and Evans were all superb.

Hollywood reconstructions of real-life tragedies can often feel clumsy and exploitative but credit where it’s due, Peter Berg kept the glorifying heroics to a minimum (mercifully devoid of slow-mo) with Deepwater Horizon [17] and worked on delivering an effective build up to a chaotic and intense finale. Speaks volumes that the tech-heavy opening half is as gripping as the explosive stuff, if not more so. For a subject that could feel a lot like homework, Adam McKay also made a bold and brash film out of The Big Short [16] that did a good job of explaining itself in entertaining ways and ended up being an incendiary and surprisingly emotional account of one of recent history’s most colossal financial tragedy. Bale’s Oscar nod was well deserved.

Deniz Gamze Erguven and his superb young cast tackled the depressing truths of life as a young girl in a strict Muslim country in Mustang [15] and breathed a commendable amount life and vitality into it. What could have been a grim tale of patriarchal oppression becomes a spirited bid for freedom. Wonderful film.

Amusing and emotional, the pairing of Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel looking back on lives lived and/or wasted worked wonders for me. A heady mix of regret and sensuality with segways into the sublime and the ridiculous, Youth [14] was a sensory cocktail. Rachel Weisz was the standout, one of my favourite performances of the year.

On paper, Captain Fantastic [13] looked like a Wes Anderson wannabe, touchy-feely cringe fest but, despite appearances, this was one of the most affecting films I saw all year. Put me in a brilliant mood, and that’s worth celebrating. As did The Jungle Book [12]. This was pure joy; an old fashioned story told with the very best technology the industry has to offer, without losing any of its heart or soul. Sets the standard for all future Disney live action adaptions. Bravo, Favs!

With Boyhood leaving me pretty cold, aside from an appreciation of the impressive production scale, I was glad to see Richard Linklater revisit Dazed and Confused (always my favourite of his films) by way of an anthology-style sequel in Everybody Wants Some!! [11]. Following a group of two-track minded Jocks (Baseball & Women) this became a casualty of the super-Woke climate of 2016, but I frigging loved it. Good to see more of the promising Wyatt Russell and a (should have been) star making turn from Glen Powell. One of the best feel-good Comedies I’ve seen in an age.

Hell Or High Water [10] was an incredibly simple story of Cops n Robbers incredibly well told. Sometimes, that’s all it takes. (It also featured the years most satisfying beatdowns)

Tobias Lindholm is one of my favourite filmmakers to emerge in recent years; writer of The Hunt and director of A Hijaking, two of my favourite films of 2012 (numbers 1 & 3 respectively). A War (Krigen) [09], staring A Hijacking’s brilliant Pilou Asbaek, is a taught drama covering the trial of a Danish Commander accused of an illegal killing (or, civil murder) in Afghanistan. Frustrating and engrossing in equal measure, this is the type of honest, contemplative war films rarely seen in Hollywood.

With all the dust settled on the DiCaprio Oscar Campaign, The Revenant [08] stands tall as a devilishly engrossing revenge thriller that’s as linear and explosive as any Hollywood Action Flick, despite its protestations to be something more cerebral/spiritual. And, for what it’s worth, Leo was fucking great. Films rarely look, sound or feel this good.

If Blue Ruin made me take notice of Jeremy Saulnier in 2013, this years Green Room [07] ensures I will be there day one for whatever he comes up with next. A brutal, claustrophobic rush of Horror-Realism, this was a huge “Fuck You!” to the bland and predictable schlock that spills out of studios all year. It’s also a punk-as-fuck farewell to the late Anton Yelchin, who’s premature death this year was the biggest gut punch.

For too long Hollywood has paraded The Great White Hope in boxing movies (and still does), so it was great to see the Daddy of them all address the balance by bringing Apollo Creed’s son front and center to carry on this beloved franchise in Ryan Coogler’s euphoric Creed [06]. Michael B Jordan is stellar in the lead role and Stallone gifted one of Cinema’s most enduring Icons a worthy and heartfelt send-off. For people of a certain age, this was their most emotional trip to the cinema in 2016.

Continuing my love affair with Danish cinema, Anders Thomas Jensen’s absurdly wicked comedy Maend & Hons (Men & Chicken) [05] playfully flirtswith horror and pathos in ways I’ve seldom seen. Finding a beauty in the grotesque, this was the most bizarrely fascinating and fulfilling film I saw all year, one that had me going over what I’d seen for hours after as it revealed ever more miniature complexities. It’s also great to see Mads Mikkelsen taking huge roles in two of the years biggest Disney behemoths but still have enough love in his native Cinema to fit something lie this in too. What a guy.

Shane Black’s sense of humor really clicks with me (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a Hall Of Famer for me) and The Nice Guys [04] had me rolling. Russell Crowe was game for playing the straight guy to a movie-stealing performance from Ryan Gosling, who, it turns out, is a Comedy Genius. The Year’s best Comedy, hands down, and a film that already appears to have endless rewatchability.

Another film that I’ve had no issues with watching several times last year, despite its hefty run-time (4 at last count) was Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight [03]. Outside of the exceptional run of his first three films, this is QT’s MASTERPIECE. His writing is as good as it has ever been but his growth as a Director is most evident in this film. I feel like I’m in that haberdashery with them every time I watch this; it’s some of the richest story telling I’ve ever seen with a brace of stellar performances.

Then we come to my most contentious pick in all of 2016; Batman v Superman [02]. I’ll never apologise for liking this movie as much as I do, but the amount of scorn thrown its way needs to be acknowledged. The disappointment most people felt with this film seems to boil down to one thing: Zack Snyder. People don’t like him or his style of film-making. I love him. As annoying as it has proved to be to express to people; for me Snyder has made the best Comic Book Movie yet. It’s an absolute tour de force of owning the world you’re creating, not apologizing for it or trying to excuse the inherent absurdities with knowing humor or smug cynicism. Sure, it aims for the Man-Child audience du jour, kids will be bored to death here (as many adults were, yes, yes, bravo) and that’s something I think is a fault with the Genre across the board, but Snyder sets his tone and rides it, hard. Going for broke with the grand mythologizing, Snyder has taken a huge leap with the DCU and, whilst for many he has landed flat on his face, I think he soars. Henry Cavill’s conflicted Superman is the most interesting take on the character I’ve seen yet. The distrust shown him by the people he’s promised to protect making him question his role on Earth gives what has been a rather bland Hero in the past an actual arc, and Cavill is just brilliant. So to is Ben Affleck as an aging and unforgiving Batman/Bruce Wayne. Even Jesse Eisenberg’s infinitely irritating Lex Luthor worked a treat for me. I’m not being contrarian when I champion this film, I went twice to see it at the cinema (regular and IMAX) and have subsequently watched the (superior) Ultimate Cut at home a further two times; my feelings towards it only grow with each viewing.

And that brings me to my number one, which will be a surprise to exactly no one who has had to endure my gushing over this film since the BFI London Film Festival Gala screening in October of 2015; Bone Tomahawk [01].

This isn’t just my favourite film of the year, it’s my favourite film in over a decade. A brutal Western with Horror trappings starring America’s Greatest Actor Kurt Russell, it felt like this film was made just for me. For all the gold standard performances (Russell is on career best form, Matthew Fox is a revelation and Richard Jenkins straight-up steals the movie) it’s S. Craig Zahler’s screenplay (married to his beyond-his-years debut direction) that sets Bone Tomahawk apart form the pack; it’s an exemplary piece of writing that should be praised until the end of time.

It’s easy to say “I love this movie”, but I legitimately *love* Bone Tomahawk.

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