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cinemavariety · 4 years

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Cinema Variety’s Top Favorite Films of 2019

To quote Principal Duvall from the 2004 teen comedy classic Mean Girls: “I just wanted to say that you’re all winners, and that I couldn’t be happier the year is ending” 2019 was both a super difficult year personally, but even more so, I feel as if it was one of the weakest years for cinema in recent memory. Thankfully the last few months of the year have made up for it with a surplus of absolutely incredible cinematic experiences, many of which are reflected in this year’s rankings. I present to you my favorite films of 2019. Check out my rankings from previous years by checking out the links below:

Top Picks of 2018 List Top Picks of 2017 List Top Picks of 2016 List Top Picks of 2015 List Top Picks of 2014 List Top Picks of 2013 List

Honorable Mentions: Midsommar Uncut Gems Parasite 3 From Hell The Death and Life of John F. Donavan **THIS LIST IS IN ORDER AND CONTAINS SOME MILD SPOILERS**

#16 - Ready or Not Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett

Ready or Not looked entertaining enough from the trailers, but it certainly wasn’t anything I was dying to go see. Especially in a movie theatre. However my brother convinced me to go with him and it ended up being one of the most consistently fun and entertaining theatrical experiences of 2019.

There were a lot of similar plot elements to the brilliant 2013 horror film - You’re Next (which by the way is one of my favorites). The plot is about a young girl, who grew up an orphan, marrying into an insanely wealthy family. The family has a tradition of playing a game on the wedding night, and she ends up choosing a game of hide and seek. Unbeknownst to the bride, the family is actually planning to hunt her down and murder her in order to perform some type of satanic ritual.

Horror comedies only work for me about half the time, but his film has enough graphic violence and intense situations to counterbalance all of the humor throughout. They complemented each other well and the result was a super funny and super bloody cat and mouse hunt of social classes.

#15 - Doctor Sleep Directed by Mike Flanagan

Helming the sequel to The Shining is no easy undertaking whatsoever. Kubrick’s arthouse horror masterpiece will forever remain not only one of my favorite of his films, but also as one of my favorite genre pieces in general. I was immediately relieved when I discovered that Mike Flanagan signed on to direct the adaptation of Stephen King’s sequel - Doctor Sleep.

I already knew beforehand that Doctor Sleep was more of a fantasy story than a direct horror, and also wasn’t one of the most popular of King’s works. The film ended up being a pretty epic fantasy thriller. Flanagan excels in creating his own universe while also honoring the source material, as well as paying homage to Kubrick’s film. However, it shines more when it does its own thing instead of trying to be nostalgia porn.

Most of the film worked for me, some of it didn’t. The recasting of Jack Torrance’s character left a slightly sour taste in my mouth. Ewan McGregor does a great job as the recovering Danny but it is really Rebecca Ferguson who steals the show with her villain character Rose the Hat.

Doctor Sleep proves that Flanagan has become one of the most consistent horror directors working in the industry. There’s always a pulse to be discovered in the foundations of his storytelling.

#14 - High Life Directed by Claire Denis

Claire Denis, one of the most polarizing French auteurs, debuted her first English language film in 2019 with High Life. I had the pleasure of seeing the film on a big screen, and even though I felt a little underwhelmed as an initial reaction to the finale, the film seemed to linger in my subconscious like a haunting unresolved dream. It held up even better on a re-watch, which you can view for free if you have Amazon Prime.

It’s definitely unlike any space film that I have ever seen. The premise surrounds a group of prisoners on death row who are sent to the farthest depths of space on a doomed voyage. All of the occupants are corralled by Juliette Binoche’s character, who plays some type of mad space scientist, is obsessed with collecting their semen in order to create new life in the abyss of the cosmos.

High Life is a slow burn, often minimalist film, which relies more heavily on atmosphere/score/visuals than it does on dialogue or forced plot elements. It’s bewilderingly nihilistic in how it depicts human behavior gone horribly awry. Robert Pattinson gives an understated performance and seems to provide the only glimmer of what seems to be hope by the end of the film.

#13 - Too Old to Die Young Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

Too Old To Die Young finds the celebrated auteur, Nicolas Winding Refn, sharing his view of humanity and society at its most despicable. Hate seems to seep out of the cracks of every neon-soaked frame in the limited series. Amazon gave Refn free reigns in creating his phantasmagoria.

All of his usual motifs and creative decisions are employed in full force with Too Old To Die Young, sometimes to an almost unbearable degree unless you are a truth Refn aficionado. His long takes, infinitesimal silences between lines, neon lighting, synth score and characters belonging to a criminal underworld are all utilized to great affect within the series.

I won’t lie, I found it to be some of Refn’s most challenging work to date. There are so many aspects to be found within this series that went over my head, it is art that demands a re-watch. And while I believe that Refn’s sensibilities are best conveyed through a film medium, the limited series allows Refn to explore what he wants to convey like an artist adding layer upon layer of colors onto a blank palette.

#12 - Age Out Directed by A.J. Edwards

A.J. Edwards returned in 2019 with his sophomore directorial effort - Age Out (originally titled Friday’s Child). Edwards has served as one of many creatives who worked on the editing team of Terrence Malick’s films in the last decade. Malick’s influence on the director is quite noticeable. Edwards directed his first film in 2014, The Better Angels, which was a decent debut. Whereas The Better Angels oftentimes felt too close of a mimicry of Malick’s style, Age Out utilizes certain aspects of the style while also allowing Edwards to have his own authorial voice.

The film centers around a young man named Richie as he is about to “age out” of the foster care facility in which he was raised - a frightening reality for countless youth in America and around the world. Richie is left to navigate the difficulties of the adult world at a mere eighteen years old, without any family or parental figures to help him along the way. He makes friends with a seedy townie who revels in delinquency and causing ruckus. Also, there is a romantic subplot between Richie and a girl named Joan, portrayed tenderly by Imogen Poots. This relationship seems to be the only saving grace in Richie’s life. However, a turn of events soon reveal that Richie’s traumatic past has gotten the better of him and threatens to doom his entire future.

Edwards shoots the film in a boxed style with a 1.33 : 1 aspect ratio. This aids with the sense of claustrophobia and paranoia that invades Richie’s life. As aforementioned, many of Malick’s motifs are used here: a floating steadicam guiding the audience along, hushed dialogue, montages with classical music, and even some voice overs. However, this aesthetic isn’t heavy handed in any way. In fact, it’s a joy to see directors whose work can almost go into the Malick canon as the auteur has had such an influence on a lot of young, upcoming directors. Age Out is both a coming of age story and a cry of warning for unhealed trauma.

#11 - An Elephant Sitting Still Directed by Hu Bo

An Elephant Sitting Still now holds the spot as the longest running film that I have ever seen. It sits in at just under four hours, and it completely delivers without ever feeling like it drags on unnecessarily. The film technically premiered in 2018 and is considered a 2018 film among critic circles. However, the epic didn’t get a widespread distribution in the U.S. until this year, so I am overlooking this discrepancy. The film was marked with somewhat of a controversy after the director Hu Bo took his own life right after post production was completed. Hu Bo is an author turned director and An Elephant Sitting Still marks his first foray into cinema. It’s one of the best directorial debuts I have ever seen.

The film centers around four different characters during the span of a single day. All of these characters are marked with some sort of tragedy, and many of their stories intertwine in a synchronistic fashion. It reminded me of other masterpieces such an Inarittu’s Amores Perros or Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia. The film takes place in the industrial regions of Northern China, and the barren landscapes reflect an inner emptiness that emanates from all the characters.

There is a hollowness to these people as they navigate through life. An Elephant Sitting Still is nothing short of nihilistic. It’s an angry, desperate and hauntingly beautiful cry of pain from a director who was most certainly haunted by his own inner demons. It manages to be both an odyssey of human cruelty and a swan song from a young man who didn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel.

#10 - Joker Directed by Todd Phillips

“It’s getting crazier out there, isn’t it?” These are some of the first lines to be uttered in Todd Philip’s pitch-black satire on society. These lines are what best exemplify the themes that Philip’s was pushing: our society is profoundly sick, everything seems to be getting worse, we have no saviors in sight and hope isn’t always on the horizon. Just from these first utterances, it is clear that Philips is taking all of the political and socioeconomic turmoil of the last four years and has created a problem child that is Joker.

Joaquin Phoenix turns in one of his most disturbed and flawless performances yet - which is no surprise. However, I have yet to see him embody a character so genuinely as he did in The Master. But this isn’t Paul Thomas Anderson, this is Todd Phillips. And the fact that the comedy director even created this piece of art is something that still has me scratching my head. Subtlety is never at play in the film, and there are quite a few plot points that are a little too on-the-nose, even for me. However, all of the other elements redeem it and make this one of the best films of the year. The cinematography is pleasing for the eyes, and the menacing cello scores echoes an existential loneliness that I felt permeate my very being.

The last thirty minutes are exactly what I was hoping from this film. It’s a breath of fresh air to see Hollywood actually stick to creating a nihilistic film that doesn’t once try to water itself down.

#9 - Luce Directed by Julius Onah

Director Julius Onah decided to really step up his game with his latest film Luce. After the dumpster fire that was The Cloverfield Paradox (seriously, thanks for completely ruining what was becoming a dope anthology franchise), Onah has proven that he can be a master of his craft with the proper source material. In regards to the story being told, every element of the film works to its advantage: editing, performances, direction, and most importantly - the screenplay. It’s one of most well written screenplays I have come across in 2019. I immediately could tell from the dialogue that this movie must have been adapted from a stage play, and sure enough upon searching, I found out it was. Not all stage adaptations work, in fact I’d say more than half don’t end up being too effective, but this one stuck its landing and then more.

The story revolves around an overly concerned teacher who contacts Luce’s parents after he writes a paper that comes off as threatening. The paper in question seemed to hold a sentiment in which violence was called for in order to overcome colonialism. It’s important to note that Luce was a child soldier in his native country before being adopted by his parents - played by Naomi Watts and Tim Roth who both gave stunning performances. The rest of the story is an investigation into who their son actually is, which eventually results in moral debates regarding race and identity.

Luce is also a film that effectively helps the audience empathize with the main character, while at the same time questioning whether his intentions are genuine, or a coy to hide something much darker. The truth isn’t always black and white, and this was my biggest takeaway from the movie.

#8 - Monos Directed by Alejandro Landes

Monos felt like a hybrid of elements inspired from great works such as Lord of the Flies, Aguirre: The Wrath of God and Apocalypse Now. This is only the third film to be directed by Alejandro Landes, however it looks and feels as if it was created by a seasoned veteran of the industry.

A group of children guerilla soldiers hold base on a mountaintop where they keep a hostage, watch over a prized cow, and act as a defensive force against an unbeknownst group of enemies. There is little to no exposition in the film. Landes drops the audience off right in the middle of the chaos.

We aren’t exactly sure what these children are risking their lives to fight for, or why they are doing it, but it goes to show the conditions in which they were raised for them to find normalcy in the violent lifestyle of a guerilla soldier. The landscapes are absolutely gorgeous, and there are even a few scenes where I questioned how they accomplished such shots/stunts with a low budget.

#7 - The Beach Bum Directed by Harmony Korine

The Beach Bum might not be the best film that Harmony Korine has directed (it’s certainly no Spring Breakers), but it is easily the most fun. It’s been almost seven long years since Korine’s last project, and I had been waiting in eager anticipation to see what he would do next. He was originally going to do a gangster crime drama called The Trap, which is what I was really hoping from Korine, but that fell through and he ended up making one of the best stoner comedies I have ever had the pleasure of watching.

The Beach Bum is probably Korine’s most accessible and audience-friendly film he’s ever done. I say that lightly though, because it still remains just as highly divisive as his other work. The plot is loose. It follows the misadventures and antics of Moondog, a washed up poet and complete burnout. He is soon sent to rehab for all of his illegal activities, in which he breaks out with the help of Zac Efron’s character, who might have just been my favorite character of the film. Korine seems to have a consistently solid knack to create dirty, seedy and absolutely enthralling characters.

I am really happy that he decided to keep a very similar visual aesthetic to his previous masterpiece, Spring Breakers. Benoit Debie, who is the king of neon lighting and discombobulating camerawork, does a masterful job at creating the textured and visual world of The Beach Bum. Hell, it’s probably one of the main reasons why I decided to see it twice on the big screen.

I’m not the biggest fan of comedies, mostly because I have a very bizarre sense of humor and find most of them to be completely hollow. But Korine’s darkly nihilistic sense of humor suits my sensibilities perfectly and I found myself laughing out loud at various points throughout The Beach Bum. It’s a fun, and even slightly endearing film at certain points thanks to the presence of Isla Fisher’s character as the wife. I look forward to whatever Korine decides to do next. At this point, who knows where he will decide to go with his career. I just hope I don’t have to wait another five plus years to see more of his work.

#6 - A Hidden Life Directed by Terrence Malick

Malick isn’t “back” - he never left. A Hidden Life isn’t a “return to form”. His form has always been there, it’s been evolving since The Tree of Life. In fact, the structure and flow of this film is extremely reminiscent of his past three films.

How far are you willing to walk the path of righteousness, even when the path is marred with pain and unanswered sufferings? How long are you able to cling to your faith when it feels like all hope is lost? How do you fight for what is good, when everyone around you is telling you to submit to forces of absolute evil? These are some of just many questions explored in Terrence Malick’s newest tour de force. As with many of Malick’s recent work, these aren’t questions that are necessarily outright answered during the film. They are instead questions of morality meant to be repeated throughout the story, almost like a mantra or an ode to pure faith.

A Hidden Life is Malick’s first return to chronological and narrative-driven filmmaking since The New World. It has garnered praise almost universally among critics, and is regarded as his best film in ten years since The Tree of Life. While I am in the few who don’t exactly agree that this is Malick’s best film in a decade, I might even dare say that it is among my least favorites of Malick’s recent output, I am still not denying the sublime mastery instilled in every single shot of this film.

A Hidden Life tells the noble true story of Franz Jagerstatter, an Austrian conscientious objector, who refuses to fight for the Nazis in World War II due to his religious beliefs and is eventually executed for it. He is decades later deemed a martyr by the Church - all the more telling as to why Malick decided to tackle this story. The heart of this story is told through letters that Franz and his wife Fani exchange throughout his period spent as a political prisoner. Fani seems to be one of the only people in Franz’s life who sticks by his side. No matter how soul crushing Franz’s decision is for Fani, she understands him well enough to know that death is a better option than spoiling your soul and humanity. “Better to suffer injustices than to do it,” as one character painfully states in the film. And while I wasn’t as emotionally wrecked as I thought I would be by this film, I instead feel inspired by Franz’s commitment to his innate goodness. The back and forth perspectives of Franz and Fani are well executed - we as an audience get reprieves from the dreary confines of a prison cell to the majestic grandeur of the Austrian mountainside. The mountains and surrounding nature are characters within themselves. Near the finale, as Franz is face to face with his mortality, his mind wanders back to riding his motorcycle through the village on a sunny day as the mountains loom in the background. These are the final desires of a doomed man, something as simple as having the freedom to go outside and feel the grass beneath his feet - to experience the wonders of nature that most people don’t think twice about.

As mentioned earlier, it is far from my favorite of Malick’s oeuvre, and is not without its slight misgivings. It was stated that this was Malick’s return to “narratively focused” filmmaking. But he still utilized his signature elliptical style, and for me these moods oftentimes clashed and kept me at a distance emotionally. I rarely say this with a Malick film, but more of a reliance on dialogue would have worked wonders for me. There are quite a few sequences in which Malick opted for montage instead of a more fleshed out scene, which I believe would have further added to the power of the story.

These are all slight issues, and I myself might be a harsher critic than most simply because I hold Malick to such a high standard. Once you can give yourself to the film, A Hidden Life becomes a true zen experience. It managed to instill a sense of serene presence within myself. I felt very grateful for the most basic and common details of my life and this world. Malick’s work can be such a sensorial rush, and making even mundane objects and rooms look absolutely gorgeous, that it’s as if “everything is shining” in my own life after seeing the film. I look forward to returning to The Church of Malick very soon.

#5 - Ad Astra Directed by James Gray

Ad Astra got a lot of unwarranted hate this year in my opinion. It truly is a shame because I believe that James Gray has struck gold once again. While I don’t adore it to the same degree as I did Gray’s previous feature, The Lost City of Z, Ad Astra succeeds in being one of the most understated space films made in the 21st century.

It’s not exactly a wholly original story, or a plot that is something that we haven’t seen before. It’s the way Gray goes about telling this story and exploring these themes that makes it so very special. It’s not forcing any overreaching philosophical or ethical message onto the viewer, it’s not overly complicated or overly long, and rather than trying to present completely senseless physical explanations to the audience, it just accepts the fiction aspect as “science fiction”.

Hoyte Van Hoytema is a brilliant Director of Photography and he crafts some of the most breathtaking space shots in recent memory. He really captures the breathtaking enormity of the cosmis abyss. The scenes that take place near Nepture during the finale are jaw dropping. We see two characters wrestling each other while suspended midair and the camera pulls out to reveal their absolutely terrifying ordeal while splashes of Neptune’s purple color emanates behind them. What I enjoyed most about the film is this sort of serene, zen atmosphere that Gray creates through the visuals, the score and Brad Pitt’s heartfelt but quietly somber voiceover.

Pitt portrays a lonely, broken and existentially conflicted astronaut. He finds the quiet infinitude of space to be a reprieve from the chaos of conflict happening down on Earth. He feels more at home among the stars than he does on the planet in which he was born. His perspective reminds me of the blue God from Watchmen, Doctor Manhattan, when he’s dwelling peacefully on Mars and laments his feelings toward Earth and all the people on it: “I am tired of Earth. These People. I am tired of being caught in the tangle of their lives.”

James Gray’s Ad Astra, much like his previous two films before this, detail the pains and tribulations of undaunted pioneers as they explore foreign territories. The final monologue of Pitt’s washed over me like a gentle breeze: “I will rely on those closest to me, and I will share their burders, as they share mine. I will live and love.”

#4 - Anima Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Interprative dance, experimental film, and visual albums are three of my absolutely favorite art forms. The real MVP of modern cinema, Paul Thomas Anderson, has collaborated with one of the real MVP’s of modern music, Thom Yorke, to create a fifteen minute long music video on the power of human connection.

Thom Yorke plays a sleepy commuter, a passive bystander, a human sheep, a functioning cog in some great machinery. He makes brief eye contact with a pretty woman on the train, and notices that she leaves behind a briefcase. The rest of the short details his efforts as he dodges through obstacle after obstacle trying to find the woman and return the briefcase to her. I couldn’t believe my eyes as Anderson concocts the innermost desires of being seen, understood, and loved. The results are strokes of flashing light projections on concrete walls, bodies undulating as they separate and conjoin simultaneously, giddy humans running through fog, and lovers meeting in the union of hearts.

The final section, Dawn Chorus, is one of the most gentle and blissful experiences I have ever witnessed, let alone one in a film distributed by Netflix. Paul Thomas Anderson and Thom Yorke’s project had me understanding why I fell in love with this medium in the first place.

#3 - 1917 Directed by Sam Mendes

1917 takes the spot as my favorite war film of the decade. Personally, I found it to be one of the best war films ever made in general. What director Sam Mendes and DOP Roger Deakins have created is nothing short of a miracle. It’s the first “single take” war film to ever be made, mainly because this is a feat that is far from easy to pull off. Mendes and Deakins shot the movie in extreme long takes, and spliced them all together to make the whole movie come off as a seamless single take. These tracking shots never leave the side of the characters, we are in their footsteps on the journey the entire time.

1917 has a pretty simple premise: two young British soldiers are given a near impossible mission to cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on over 1,500 soldiers - one of them being the brother of one of the two soldiers sent on the mission. The familial aspect contributes added emotional gravitas to the plot overall.

1917 is more of an experiential war film than it is a action or battle focused war film. It’s best to be seen in an IMAX because the sound design and the invasive tracking shots make you feel as if you are walking along these two soldiers as they face grave perils on their quest to deliver the message. I very much so enjoyed that they kept the plot small and intimate, without resorting to constant firepower to keep the audience engaged. That isn’t too say that the movie doesn’t have more than enough of its fair share of nail biting action sequences, and also plenty of gruesome shots depicting the carnage that World War I brought. These soldiers have to army crawl over rotting corpses, while rats and crows are seen pecking and chewing through the remains. The filmmaker doesn’t turn a blind eye to the horrors that war produced. To me, this is one of many reasons why I believe 1917 is superior to other popular recent war films such as Dunkirk. I don’t want my war films to be sanitized. War needs to be portrayed as it truly is - acts of complete inhumanity.

Dare I say that 1917 is Come and See for the 21st century. While Come and See is most definitely the superior film, there were echoes of the classic Soviet Union masterpiece that ring throughout 1917. Maybe it’s the expertly crafted tracking shots, maybe it’s the maddening use of sound design/editing, or maybe it’s the shell shocked expression that is engraved on one of the main characters faces near the finale.

1917 does an amazing job of being very loud, but also utilizing silence in certain scenes to great affect. The juxtaposition is most expertly crafted during one scene that involved flares popping off in the sky, lighting up the ruins of a city, as one the characters runs away from enemy fire. It’s an absolutely exhilarating scene. I ended up bawling by the end of the movie, mostly just because of all the pent up anxiety and distress I felt throughout. You don’t see many films that take place during World War I anymore. But 1917 shows it is not a time period to be forgotten about.

#2 - The Lighthouse Directed by Robert Eggers

I had been eagerly anticipating Robert Eggers’s follow-up film after he released The VVitch back in 2016. At first it was reported that he was going to be doing an adaptation of Nosferatu, which I still think would be a great story for Egger’s to adapt, especially after witnessing what he instead decided to make - The Lighthouse.

Shot gorgeously in black & white on gritty 16mm celluloid, the film looks like it comes from a completely different era (the dialogue as well). There were many shots that had a similar look to some of Bergman’s early work on the Faroe islands.

The Lighthouse has a fairly simple plot. Robert Pattinson plays Winslow who goes to work for a seasoned lighthouse keeper named Thomas who is played by Willem Dafoe. Winslow is new to being a wickie and Thomas takes him under his wing to show him the ropes. Thomas orders him about incessantly in a brute and abusive manner.

There is a minimalism to the plot, however all of the other elements are done so perfectly that the daily grueling routines of these wickies becomes nothing short of hypnotizing. The sound design and score ratchets up the harsh conditions of the island. Wind sounds like its constantly shrieking outside - a reminder of the unease that seems to be building to an overflow. The dialogue, diction, and accents are all completely authentic to the time period and setting that the story is taking place in. Eggers commitment is second to none when it come to detail and authenticity with aspects such as the character’s accents and inflections. A real case of cabin fever befalls the two men who both seem to become obsessed with the mystical light that emanates at the top of the light house.

While I really enjoyed The VVItch, I absolutely adored The Lighthouse and find it to be a much stronger work from Eggers. I think what I vibed with most about it is that the movie doesn’t feel the need to be confined to one particular genre. Whereas The VVitch was literally about a witch bringing misery to a Puritan family, it was constricted to be somewhat of a horror film. However, The Lighthouse manages to be many different tones: a fever dream surrealist film, an arthouse horror, a slapstick comedy, and a nautical retelling of many ancient sea myths. And all of these different tones worked together and bounced off each other in perfect harmony.

I found myself both laughing and completely repulsed by the images I was seeing - especially within the last act of the film which succeeded in shaking me up and making me feel both bewildered and slightly nauseated. It ends up being a gritty, dirty, and uncompromising journey into total psychosis. By the conclusion of the film, the audience comes to the same realization as the two characters - there really was enchantment in the light after all.

#1 - Waves Directed by Trey Edward Shults

Waves is an operatic cry for people to be better to one another. It is by far my favorite film of the year, and I truly believe it to be one of the finest films ever made. It earned itself a well deserved spot in my Top 25 Favorite Films of the Decade.

Trey Edward Shults started out his cinematic career on a strong note with Krisha. He delivered once again with his sophomore debut - It Comes at Night (even if I do find it to be easily the weakest of out the three he has directed). But for me, Waves is where Shults really experiments with his style to such a fine tuned degree that we find the director not calming down his vision or becoming more “grounded”, instead he expands upon his prowess with one of the most powerful family dramas I’ve ever seen.

Shults is another director who made my list this year who is somewhat of a protege of Terrence Malick. Shults worked as an intern for Malick on both The Tree of Life and Voyage of Time. It is quite clear the influence that Malick has on Shult’s vision. But Shults, even more-so than Edwards who also made my list this year, has taken Malick’s inspiration and created something wholly his own.

Shults has created an experiential rollercoaster of actions, consequences and the toxic fallout than can come from such actions. Waves is essentially two films in one. The first half is the energetic, chaotic and traumatic first half in its depiction of toxic masculinity taken too far, to the eventual accident that changes all of the characters lives. The camera is constantly floating in this portion, or shall I even say flying through the air and around the characters. The camera has no limits in what it can do and that along with the editing, and most noticeably the insanely perfect soundtrack/score, this portion ends up feeling like one prolonged anxiety attack.

The second half of the film switches character POVs masterfully. There’s a psychedelic shift of perspective from the brother’s eyes covered in flashing lights from the back of a police car to his little sister’s eyes in the back of their parent’s car (you have to have seen the film to completely understand what I am referring to of course). This second half of the film is where the camera slows down a little. This portion is more character focused and less interested in being flashy through its aesthetic. We get more dialogue, more character details, and a lot more tears in this half. It’s like a long cathartic release after experiencing an hour of trauma and abuse. It succeeds in tearing you apart, to only slowly piece you back together.

As mentioned previously, Shults’s soundtrack decisions were the cherry on top for me. Tame Impala, Animal Collective & Tyler the Creator are three of my favorite artists and their music is utilized perfectly within the story. What made this film so special to me, other than the fact it all takes place in the state in which I grew up in, was that no other film has better reminded me of my own humanity in years. This film makes me want to be a better brother, a better friend, a better son, and a better person in general. You never know when a single moment can shatter your entire world. In the end, it left me with a strong message that struck me to my core: appreciate what you have in life, and tread carefully.

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mythologyfolklore · 4 years

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Ares and Athena through the years - Ch. 13

Chapter Thirteen: The Odyssey, Pt. 01

Zeus was doing his correspondence.

He was also mentally cursing himself for allowing Ares to go on his world trip.

The war god, who was always written off as stupid and incompetent had been a big help with the mail, but now Zeus was submerging in a sea of prayers, letters from both his own pantheon and from abroad, and complaints. Complaints en masse.

“'You won't be needing me', he said, 'That stuff is really easy', he said!”, Zeus grumbled irritably.

Then there was a knock on the door.

“Enter!”

It was Athena, who came in.

Zeus stood up. “My little Owl-Eye! So good to see you!”

Athena looked around, assessed the situation in one glance and grinned: “Too much paper stuff?”

“Too much paper stuff”, he confirmed.

“If I help you with all of that, will you let Odysseus finally return home?”

Zeus laughed heartily: “I was going to do that anyway! But how could I possibly refuse that offer?”

Athena beamed at him.

Cute.

After doing the majority of her father's paper stuff and questioning how Ares with his lack of tact had done this all those millennia, Athena wasted no time in descending down to earth and onto Ithaka.

She had to take a look at the situation there – and to see, if the son of Odysseus was any good.

In the shape of an old friend of Odysseus' she went up to the palace.

Even from the outside, she could hear a lot of noise.

What the Tartaros is going on in there?

As she came into the yard, she saw strangers – probably the suitors of Penelope – playing boardgames to waste their time, sitting on the skins of bovines they had slaughtered and generally living the high life consuming the wealth of another, like parasites.

Soon she was noticed and approached by a young man with chestnut brown hair.

The sharp green eyes, so much like those of Odysseus, gave away who he was.

“Welcome, welcome!”, Telemakhos exclaimed, “Do come in, our respected guest! We shall give you the best we have to offer! And after you have eaten and refreshed yourself, tell us what brings you here.”

Athena could tell, that the young man was miserable at the situation, but he didn't show it.

He was nothing but polite and respectful towards his guest and readied her a place apart from all the insolent suitors.

“I don't assume you want to eat with this noisy crew”, he commented.

“No, I prefer to eat and drink in peace.”

Just a few moments later, the suitors came in, rude and hubristic as they apparently always were.

They were served and then forced a musician to sing for them. The man glared at them hatefully, but began to sing beautifully.

Telemakhos looked pained and murmured to the disguised Athena: “Would you lend me your ear?”

“Of course.”

“I hate this. I hate how these people consume the goods of another without care or compensation, while my mother and I mourn my dear father, who is most likely dead, even though some say that he'll come back one day. But our hope is dwindling from day to day. And we can't even give him an honourable burial, because his bones are probably lying on the bottom of the sea, where the salt water washes and bleaches them. But tell me, stranger, who are you, which family and what home do you come from?”

“My name is Mentor, son of Anchialos and Lord of Taphos. I'm a good friend of your father's and our fathers were friends before us (you can ask Laertes, I heard he lives away from here out of shame). I'm on my way to Temesa to trade precious metals and tissue. I wanted to pay you a visit, because I heard that your father was home. But apparently he's not. But I'm certain he's not dead either; perhaps some brutal and savage tribe is holding him captive and keeping him from coming home. Now I'm not a prophet, but I know for certain, that the Deathless Ones will grant him a safe homecoming soon. He won't stay away from home for much longer, I'm sure. But what about you? Are you really his son? You have his eyes, you do. I may not have seen him in over twenty years, but his face was hardly one I could forget!”

“He is my father”, Telemakhos sighed, “But I wish that rather instead of such an unfortunate man it was one, who could be here with his family, growing old in peace in his own land.”

Athena pitied the young man, but had to keep her act up.

“Now, now. Your family was made for glory and you're no different, I can tell. But tell me, what is this celebration here for? Those men there certainly don't obey the laws of hospitality, uncouth and shamefully as they're acting. Any sensible man would be ashamed.”

Telemakhos frowned – just the way his father always did.

“I'm not going to lie: there must have been a time, when this was an honest household, wealthy and abundant, while its master was still here. But just a few years ago, the entire noble population of this one and the surrounding islands have come to woo my mother and now they're feeding off our property. We can't get rid of them, they won't leave until my mother marries one of them. She loathes the idea, but she can't offend them by refusing outright, so she's putting them off for as long as she can. Meanwhile these parasites are eating my reserves and sooner or later they will surely kill me.”

“Mentor” was indignant. “By the gods, you really need Odysseus back home! Would he come through this door in full armour and make short work of them! Oh, for them to be taken by dark Soteira¹ and rot in the underworld!”

“I wish”, the young man muttered.

But the disguised goddess continued: “But it's all in the hand of the gods, whether he will come home and have bloody revenge. For now, this is my counsel, from an old friend to a young one: summon the council of the island, tell the suitors to leave and your mother, if she chooses to marry, to return to the home of her father, for a dower to be prepared. As for yourself, prepare a good ship with twenty rowers and travel abroad to inquire about the whereabouts of your glorious father. First travel to Pylos and ask Nestor and if he can't help you out, move on to Sparta, to the court of Menélaos – he came home last, as far as I know. Should they give you hope, that your father is still alive, hang in there for another year. Should you hear, that he's dead, make a burial mount for him, with many gifts, as is appropriate. Then eliminate all those insolent suitors. Haven't you heard of how Orestes gained glory by slaying the murderer of his father Agamemnon? You're no longer a child, you're a grown handsome man. Hesitate not. Defend your honour, so that future generations may speak well of you. But I must leave now – surely my crew is getting impatient down at the harbour!”

Telemakhos smiled warmly (that was his mother's smile): “Thank you for your advice, kind old man. But won't you stay just a little longer? You're my guest, how could I possibly let you go without a gift? A precious and pretty one-”

“I'm afraid I really have no time”, she chuckled, “But I will come back and till then chose a really beautiful guest gift! It will be returned with one of equal worth.”

Then she turned into a small owl and flew out of the window, leaving behind a stunned Telemakhos.

Meanwhile Hermes had made his way to Ogygia, the island of Kalypso.

The nymph welcomed him and served him nectar and ambrosia and wanted to know, what he was here for.

Hermes, now refreshed, briefed her on the situation: “The King of the Gods has sent me to let you know his will. We happen to know, that you're keeping a poor man, who has been away from home for twenty years. Ten years he spent in the land of the Trojans, three lost at sea and seven years he has been languishing here, pining for home. This is the will of His Majesty: for this mortal to finally get home to his family, to reclaim his home and embrace his wife and son again. That is his lot, not to vegetate here, far away from his loved ones.”

Kalypso blanched and her eyes filled with tears.

“This … this is not fair! Why won't the gods allow, that a goddess may be happy with a mortal? Êôs loved Orion, only for him to die by the hands of golden-throned Artemis! Demeter loved Iasion, only for him to be hit by the Thunderer's lightning bolts! I saved this man, hosted and fed him, offered him immortality, so he would never grow old and die-”

“Êôs and Demeter were loved back”, Hermes countered, “Odysseus isn't happy with you. We see this man weeping on the strand day after da. Not every mortal wants immortality, Kalypso. Immortality is no blessing for a mortal, even though a lot of people think that. Odysseus needs his family and they need him. Let him go. Don't risk the anger of the King of the Gods.”

The nymph choked back a sob, but nodded.

Poseidon was returning from a party in Ethiopia, when he spotted something he did not like: his nemesi- er, the mortal he hated, merrily rowing on the surface of his sea on a raft with provisions.

Within seconds he put two and two together: the other gods must have decided for Odysseus to be allowed to go home, while he had been away.

“Well, I'm not letting him off easy”, Poseidon grumbled and unleashed a mighty storm, house-high waves, deadly currents and all.

Odysseus clung to his raft, as it was thrown back and forth by the waves and realised, that he was likely going to drown.

“Aw, shit!”, he muttered and held on tighter, because there was no way he would accept a death as inglorious as drowning.

But as he was clinging to his wooden raft, he soon saw the foam on one of the waves shift into the shape of a woman.

That was Leukothea, formerly Ino, the daughter of Kadmos and Harmonia and aunt of Dionysos, who had been deified by Poseidon, many centuries ago.

She pitied the struggling mortal thrown around by the raging sea.

“Poor man” she spoke, “What have you done to provoke the merciless wrath of Poseidon, that he wants to drown you so badly? But fear not, I'm here to help you. Listen: take off your clothes and everything that drags you down, then tie my scarf around your chest – it will save you from drowning. Once you have reached dry land, give it back to me.”

She handed him a silken scarf and dived back into the waves.

Odysseus frowned. Why would I need this, when I have a raft?

Right in that moment, said raft was torn apart by a particularly huge wave.

Never mind.

He did as the marine goddess had told him and took to swimming.

In the meantime Poseidon retired to his crystal palace on the bottom of the sea.

Odysseus spent the next two days fighting against the raging sea, trying to finally reach the shore.

All the while, Athena was with him, never once taking her protection away.

She stilled the winds and gave him the strength to swim long enough to reach the shore of the land of the Phaiakoi.

The long-suffering hero finally found a piece of strand, crawled onto the shore and fainted.

When he came to himself, he took off the anti-drowning-scarf and threw it back into the sea, back to its owner.

Then he turned his back onto the water, stumbled further inland and crawled under a bush.

Exhausted, hurting everywhere and too tired to do anything, he fell into a healing, restful slumber.

Athena meanwhile entered the sleep of Nausikaa, the princess of this land, disguised as one of her friends. She inspired her to go out in the morning to do her laundry with her maids and maybe play at ball and Nausikaa woke up, resolved to do just that.

Odysseus woke up to women's screaming.

He crawled out from under this bush, covered his private parts with a leafy branch and went to investigate.

Soon he came across a group of ladies, apparently looking for something.

When they saw him, they screamed and fled, all except for one.

She didn't seem to be afraid at all.

And perhaps she could help him.

So the former hero cleared his throat and with many a flattery asked her for help.

The lady introduced herself as princess Nausikaa of the Phaiakoi and gave him some of her father's clothes she and her maids had been washing earlier.

Once washed and finally dressed, he could feel a divine presence cast a spell on him.

When he stepped back in front of Nausikaa, he guessed that Athena had made him look younger and more stately than he actually was, because the princess proclaimed her hope to have a bridegroom as regal and handsome as himself.

Then she pointed him a way to the city, while she left for some place else.

One of her maids guided him and instructed him on how he should come to the king and queen to plead for hospitality.

He did as told and they received him kindly.

Next morning, king Alkinoos called an assembly of the local nobility, introduced them to this stranger and informed him of his request.

They marvelled at the newcomer, whom Athena had given godlike beauty, so that he would find approval and be liked by the people here.

“This stranger – I don't know who he is – has been stranded here and beseeches me for help to return to his homeland”, Alkinoos explained. “No supplicant has ever asked us in vain for safe transport. So let's ready a ship and rowers and let him go where he wishes to, as soon as possible. But first we should host him according to the laws of hospitality. Let a great feast be prepared and summon our best musician.”

This was done and not much later, the entire nobility was gathered in his hall to feast.

Demodokon, the blind singer, entertained them with his beautiful music and sung of the glory of the Achaeans in the Trojan War.

The musical reminder of the events made Odysseus upset and he pulled the cloak he was wearing over his face, so no one saw him cry.

Next was a small tournament.

The young Phaiakoi competed in all kinds of sports.

Odysseus was feeling too gloomy to participate in discus throwing, but when one of the young men provoked him and questioned his masculinity, he got so angry that he grabbed the biggest, heaviest discus at hand and threw it much farther than all the others.

“As you can see”, he turned to the stunned Phaiakoi, “I'm more than adept in the art of war and battle. If any of you wants to challenge me in another discipline, I'm more than confident, that I can best them. Except when it comes to running, as my leg muscles are out of shape.”

Alkinoos quickly pacified his guest and called to music and dance.

Odysseus marvelled at the dancing skills of the Phaiakoi, at the gracefulness of their movements and how their feet practically flew across the dance floor.

The singer Demodokon sang about the love of Ares and Aphrodite and of how her then husband Hephaistos had caught them in his golden net.

A pair of dancers performed a rhythmic ball play and everyone clapped along to the beat.

Odysseus turned to Alkinoos: “You praised your people as the best of dancers and it's really true! The sight astonishes me.”

That pleased the king and he ordered for rich guest presents to be given to the flatterer.

The man, who had provoked Odysseus earlier, gave him a reconciliatory gift (an iron sword² with a silver handle and ivory sheath) and an apology, which the older man gladly accepted and wished him, that he would never regret having given his sword away.

Evening came and after a nice bath Odysseus went to join another banquet, which was about to take place.

On the way he met Nausikaa and they bid each other farewell, as only men were allowed at the Symposion.³

As all men sat down to eat, Odysseus cut off a good piece of his meat and offered it to the grateful singer as a token of appreciation.

Demodokon continued his earlier song about the heroic deeds of the Achaeans in the Trojan War. Odysseus requested: “You sing so beautifully and accurately of those events! But now sing of the wooden horse! Sing of the thing that Epeios built with Athena's aid and which was brought to Troy, filled by Odysseus with warriors to raze Troy to the ground! If you can do that, I would be forever grateful!”

The singer did so and everyone was captivated.

But the memory made the war veteran weep bitterly.

When Alkinoos saw this, he ordered Demodokon to stop and asked Odysseus what the matter was.

“Also”, he added, “I still don't know who you are. What's your name, your family and the name of your home? Were you there in Troas or did you lose someone dear to you in this terrible war? A family member, a comrade or a friend?”

The other man wiped his tears away and stood up.

“I am Odysseus, son of Laertes, who beguiles men with cunning and beautiful words, whose fame reaches to the skies. I come from the bountiful island of Ithaka and I couldn't possibly think of a sweeter sight than my own home.”

The whole room was silent, as everyone stared at him.

---

1) Soteira: "Saviour", an epithet to many goddesses. In this case a euphemistic epithet of Persephone. 2) The Trojan War is supposed to have taken place in about the 13th or 12th century BC, which was still in the bronze age. So an iron weapon was something special. Iron was hard to forge, because it requires a higher temperature than copper and tin (the components of bronze), but it's also tougher than bronze. Therefore it was in high demand and it would stay that way, during the iron age and beyond. But because it was harder to work with and for other reasons, it was a lot more expensive than bronze. 3) The Symposion (a banquet with music, dance and philosophical discussions) was for men only. Ancient Greek misogyny, everyone. -_-

#Greek Mythology #odyssey #zeus #athena #telemakhos #hermes #kalypso #poseidon #leukothea #odysseus #nausikaa #alkinoo

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irarelypostanything · 4 years

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“Parasite” - is it actually a middle class movie?

Full disclosure here...the title of this post is a bit of a stretch. But Wisecrack explored some of the history and theorized that the Kim family was once a middle class family. Their two business ventures were in line with what many middle class families chose to do - opening “Mom & Pop Shops” - after the economic downturn.

If that’s the case, I think it’s significant. I consider myself middle class, as I think the majority of people would, even as the definitions of each individual class begin to blur. Snowpiercer, in contrast to this, focused very heavily on the middle class. That, as Just Write put it, is where the true threat lay - the threat to oppose those rebelling against the system, and those who simultaneously had the power to destroy the entire system itself.

*Spoilers*

I, and a few other people, have written about this movie endlessly with regard to class struggle. Classes are represented metaphorically through levels. The working class, instead of unifying, is completely opposed to itself. The Park family is not depicted as evil, per se, but oblivious...yet it’s hard not to feel something for them, since they’re a family that’s clearly trying to do right for itself.

I’m writing this post in response to something Tweed wrote on my Facebook wall:

Just a slightly different take is that all levels of society behave parasitically. Upstairs the pampered youth, main floor the upper/middle class, the sub basement imprisoned survivors, and the Kims at a partially below ground or street level existence. All have their perspectives and different responses to their lots in life. The Landscape rock illustrated a sense of hope on one level but ended up being fatal to Ki-woo. Overall, I sensed a kind of nihilistic fatalism in the story. That the lots are set somehow, opportunities arise and people's parasitic natures take hold of the opportunities. But in the end... what is the solution?

Let me try to respond to all three points, in bold.

I don’t contest the first point. The wealthy are kind of like the parasites, as depicted in this movie, because they can’t do any “real work” themselves. Without assistance, they would apparently starve. And culture itself is almost like a bad joke in this movie. The Park father might be perfectly competent at his job, maybe even deserving of the wealth, but all we see is their complete ignorance. They don’t seem to understand art, psychology, history, culture...it’s almost as if to give a nod to the Kim feeling that they don’t deserve to be rich as much as they do. That’s the other side to parasite - the Park family itself is the host, the “secret basement family” is a kind of symbiosis, and the Kim family is a fatal parasite that seeks to take over its host.

I’m not sure I’d describe it as nihilistic fatalism, though. I think the hidden meaning is that they had so many opportunities to not go down that path. The two working class families could have unified, but instead there was a single moment in which the Kim son realized he might “fit into” the wealthy family...and it’s actually that moment that pushes him over the edge.

Still, I keep seeing this trend play out in class struggle movies. In Snowpiercer (spoiler), it is revealed that the entire low class rebellion is simply a part of the system - when the system is completely destroyed, instead, it looks completely hopeless. Then there’s The Matrix, in which the triumph of the first movie is questioned by the later realization that Neo was just a very expected part of the system. Fight Club, Dark Knight Rises...it would almost me a tired trope, only I like all those movies.

So what is the solution? I’m not sure. I guess as a last point, I asked myself: What if, instead of being well-written, this movie had a fan service ending written by...I don’t know...me?

Maybe we’d take one approach, and decide that the solution to this problem was free-market capitalism. The Parks, we’d realize, were very fortunate and decided to give back to the community. Clearly the Kim children have a lot of talent, and so they succeed on merit. They become rich, and everyone lives happily ever after.

Or maybe I’d take the opposite approach. Clearly, free market capitalism is evil if left unchecked. Clearly, also, the effects of climate change are disproportionately impacting poor people via natural disasters. So we confront the Parks, and everyone like them. The working class families unify to symbolize class unity, the tech company is broken up, and everyone (including the Parks, who realize it’s only fair) lives happily ever after.

I admit that the ending could have been happier, though. A very simple modification, but a deliberate one, was the “kill shot” of revealing that the son had never attained wealth and probably had no chance. So I understand your point, but when taking other films like Snowpiercer into account, I’m not sure if that’s what he’s going for.

As a final note, I was revisiting Pulp Fiction again. It *spoilers again* grappled with the question of coincidence vs. higher power. Significant acts like murder are trivialized; trivial things are given the limelight. But in the end, you can’t help but wonder...was avoiding the gunshot divine intervention? Was one enemy running into another, then deciding to save him just a coincidence? In all that chaos, one person still had the ability to take agency and spare a life after one was taken so recklessly.

It’s one of the few great movies I can think of that just says: You do have the power to choose, and it’s not fruitless.

#20-minute freewrite #parasite

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dak-legacy · 4 years

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Tyra’Xiachayl - The Cursed Red Dragon

Lady Tyra’Xiachayl. Child of Ashzu, Red Dragon, and Mistress of Flame.

This was once how Tyra would embellish herself. A proud and fierce creature, she invoked terror into the hearts of those who angered her, and commanded respect from those fearful of her.

History

Tyra, and her sister Maya, were born in the isolated Underdark city of Ashzu. Her family held sway in the court of the city’s ruler, The Greatwyrm Wymar, though not very much. They were a wealthy noble family of lesser birth. This didn’t stop Tyra from enjoying the privileges granted to her by her position. She was the very definition of a spoiled brat. The only thing bigger than Tyra’s ego was her fear of the surface, and the humanoids who inhabited it.

From an early age Tyra heard stories of the greed and evil that humanoids wrought upon dragon kind. Hunting them for their wealth, their skin, glory, any reason they could muster to hunt her kind. Tales of dragons who had left Ashzu often ended in insanity or death on the part of the wyrm, and Tyra bought every sentence of the stories with no questions. Her fear turned to hatred as she grew older, seeing humanoids as needing to be ruled and kept in line through fear.

Her only tempering came from her sister, Maya’Xiachayl.

Maya was Tyra’s best friend, and the only one to ever temper Tyra’s anger. Unlike her sister, Maya was calm and measured in her approach. She was wise and powerful. A measured ruler and the perfect inheritor of Tyra’s family line. Tyra even had hopes that one day Maya would be chosen to succeed Wymar as ruler of Ashzu, seeing Wymar’s own children as too weak to possibly follow such a powerful legacy.

During her formative years Tyra trained as a squire to another dragon, Lady Vashti. Vashti was another powerful dragon, much older than Tyra and fiercely strong. Even in her humanoid form Tyra aspired to be as great as Vashti.

As she grew Tyra became less interested in maintaining her humanoid form, choosing to remain draconic as often as she could. Her relationship with her family became strained with Tyra taking less interest in court but demanding to still be part of the ruling of the house. On top of this Maya became distant with her sister, leaving for long periods of time and rarely speaking to her.

One day, when Maya was due to return from a long trip away, Tyra had a rare moment of wisdom. She saw Maya slipping away from her, not wanting to lose her sister Tyra sought to make amends starting with a small gesture. She assumed her human form and went to buy a present for her sister upon her return. Unfortunately when Tyra came home she found that Maya had been murdered, her body had been bought home for the family to grieve over. Tyra was told that Maya had been murdered by a group of people who infiltrated Ashzu to steal its riches. With this story Tyra’s anger resurfaced with a vengeance.

Following Maya’s death, her family refused to seek a resurrection service. Tyra could not understand why, and for her sister she would do anything. Tyra stole 25,000 gold pieces worth of items from her personal treasure hoard and made her way to the surface, seeking a powerful cleric to perform the ritual of True Resurrection.

Tyra found someone very quickly. In the northern realms near the city of Winterholt she found the Bastion of Sages, home to the Sage of the North, Gilbert and his apprentice Elyse. Gilbert was indisposed at the time, but his apprentice was more than capable of performing the ritual. She refused, however.

Elyse attempted to explain that resurrection is not a simple spell. It requires divine intervention from the gods of the caster, as well as compliance on the part of the soul who may have found peace in the afterlife.

Tyra did not want to listen. Enraged at the defiance of this humanoid she attacked Elyse. The two fought for a long while, destroying part of the bastion in the process. Elyse pushed Tyra to her very limits, but eventually Tyra emerged victorious, burning the cleric with her dragon fire.

Injured and dejected Tyra returned home, only to find her family waiting for her.

Word of Tyra’s crime had spread quickly. The Sage, Gilbert, now hated all Red Dragons and Ashzu for her crime. Tyra was dragged before the court of Wymar and her sentence was clear. Exile.

Her draconic aspects were sealed deep in the depths of her soul by the court wizard and she was banished from her home. Unable to assume her true form and saddened at further loss Tyra wandered the world, with only her anger to warm her on the cold nights.

Involvement with the Saintess of Light & the Main Party.

Three years after her banishment Tyra heard rumor that the son of Wymar, Voss was in the desert city of Rhaz receiving tutelage from a humanoid Wymar was friendly with. Seeing potential in seeking and audience with Wymar she traveled to the city to confront him.

Tyra found herself met with his large retinue, headed by Vystra, brother of Vashti. She exchanged heated words with the young prince and his enforcer, receiving a slap to the face for her trouble. Angered by impertinence by someone who was far beneath her in her eyes she stormed off, cursing in draconic.

Voss warned his tutor, Horatio Atherton, of Tyra. Explaining that it was because of her that his mother, Wyla’s, resurrection could not be pursued as Gilbert had declared he would not provide such services to them. While Horatio knew that Wyla was not dead, he could not tell the young boy and took his warning graciously to be wary of Tyra and her hatred of humanoids.

Meanwhile Tyra wandered Rhaz, realizing quickly that her pockets were becoming empty. She sought employment and quickly found work for one such as her.

Tyra met with the Saintess of Light, Aelia Crassi, and her party, after reading a notice about needing help in an upcoming battle. They consisted of the young Wyther Marche, a gnome named Brooke, a northern dwarf named Fortinbras, and the wizard Horatio Atherton.

Horatio informed Aelia as to his distrust of Tyra, though they couldn’t be picky about the help that came before them. Tyra was given a place on their first job, retrieving a staff of power for one of the other Saints to use in a vital battle. Seeing this as a chance to test this party’s resolve she came along.

The party were teleported to the southern Dolman jungles with the task of retrieving a staff from a temple of Yuan Ti, snake people and worshipers of a demon god.

Tyra proved herself quickly in battle, assisting in the cutting down of many Yuan Ti, though the party remained distrustful of her, not knowing exactly what it was she had done.

After successfully retrieving the staff she attempted to recruit the party to help her return to Ashzu and plead her case to Wymar to remove the curse and give her back her power, as well as revive her sister. However the party shot down her request stating that the upcoming battle was far more important.

Unbeknownst to Tyra, Horatio had used his connections in Ashzu to already request Wymar’s help for this battle, a request which was granted.

Tyra followed, reluctantly, to the Golden Isles, a beautiful paradise of an archipelago, where she had been told a demonic incursion had occurred. She doubted the assessment of the situation until she saw the destruction wrought.

Through combined forces consisting of multiple powerful Saints, draconic forces from Ashzu, naval support from Rhaz and arcane artillery from the city of Geffen, the party were able to battle their way through the Isles and slay the mastermind behind it. The Monk of Pale Night, Dontae.

Upon her return to Rhaz, Tyra sought another resurrection for her sister from the Saintess of Rhaz, Nina. She was met with the same words Elyse had echoed to her years before. With her anger quieted and her ears open Tyra listened to them for the first time. Not only could this ritual possibly fail, but with her actions Tyra may have doomed any chance she had at returning home, and having her sister back. She realized too that the actions she had taken since Maya’s death would certainly have made her sister saddened and disappointed by them.

Distraught and alone Tyra pledged herself to Aelia, the Saintess of Light. She wished to find redemption in the eyes of her sister, and saw a possible way to do that by following someone who might embody Maya’s ideals better than she ever could.

Now Tyra finds herself in the North, fighting against the regime of blood and death in the form of the vampires who have terrorized these realms for generations. The Saintess traveled there to end the parasitic threat to the North’s people once and for all, and Tyra followed, still seeking actions that might redeem her in Maya’s eyes.

Mechanics & Stats

Tyra is functionally a human with limited Red Dragon features. Her class Warlock, with her patron and pact being Hexblade and Pact of the Blade.

Her patron takes the form of her draconic powers, sealed deep within her but still crying out to be tapped into. Tyra is able to manifest these powers as a magically bound weapon forged from her draconic essence. She is also able to muster limited uses of powerful spells and abilities such as Terrifying Presence, and Dragon’s Breath.

Str: 14

Dex: 14

Con: 20

Int: 10

Wis: 8

Cha: 20

Tyra is trained in the use of both martial and simple weapons, as well as how to effectively use shields in combat. Her preferred weapon is a segmented longsword, combining the effects of a whip and longsword into an elegant and powerful sword which she feels mimics her tail.

She is able to speak common and draconic, though her common is broken at times. She does not enjoy speaking it and much prefers to converse in her native language. Surprisingly she can also speak Ignan, the language of the fire elemental, which stems from her reverence of flame and that aspect of her.

#Tyra'Xiachayl #D&D #Character Bio

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mountphoenixrp · 5 years

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We have a new citizen in Mount Phoenix:

Raphael Lyon Terrell, who is known by no other name; a 25 year old son of Dagda He is a freelance artist and front-end clerk at Sombra Muerte.

FC NAME/GROUP: Jung Jaewon/ONE (Soloist) CHARACTER NAME: Raphael Lyon Terrell AGE/DATE OF BIRTH: 29th April 1994 (25 years old) PLACE OF BIRTH: Lyon, France OCCUPATION: front-end clerk at Sombra Muerte, freelance artist (painting mainly) HEIGHT: 176cm WEIGHT: n/a DEFINING FEATURES: Raphael has quite the collection of minimalist tattoos to express his love for art. He has two moons intersected on his nape, two triangles on his right wrist, a small wave on the inside of his left middle finger, a flower behind his right ear, two suns on his left ankle. He has other larger tattoos on his arms that he added quite recently. Besides these, he has multiple ear piercings, and a tongue piercing.

PERSONALITY: Indecipherable. Raphael’s personality can be all over the place, and quite hard to predict. He suffers of a—now—mild version of NPD, so he can be self-assured, egoistic and self-absorbed. He does not understand emotions well, and is used to get whatever he wants and needs. Raphael would probably observe a person before approaching them, trying to understand their body language. Despite this, he is very charming. He knows how to talk to people, he is witty and knowledgeable, probably the best conversation partner. But, he loves chaos. He cannot be close to people for too long, because he has a tendency to destroy them, or influence them. Because of this he never got the chance to explore love, or friendship beyond necessity. He would not know how to handle such emotions, and would probably not even recognise them. His world is dictated by his synaesthesia, he associates people with colours, hues and shades or an entire range of colours. As an artist, this helps him when painting. He regards this as a superpower, but there is nothing supernatural about it whatsoever. This mental association helps him describe the world in colours, making it seem more beautiful than it actually is. HISTORY: tw: mature language, violence, murder, mention of suicide

The coldness of winter covered the land with a heavy snow, and the poor woman barely found a roof to hide under. Sounds familiar? The name of a saint, the story of saint, a poor mother, and a cold winter. Wrong. Raphael Lyon Terrell is no saint. The issue at hand, his birth was miraculous, some might say god-blessed. The only ‘blessing’ was the penis that penetrated the poor woman. She loved the sex, but hated the aftermath. She was a Korean emigrant, better said criminal. She fled to France in order to escape a faith worse than death: prison. She was a devious woman, she liked giving her body for a penny. She adored inappropriate advances. No wonder a God had his way with her, who can blame him? But the seed left behind was merely a parasite in her eyes. She tried getting rid of it, but somehow she could not. She did not want to give him her name, so she never did. Her disassociation from the infant started at his conception. She gave birth in hospital, and willingly disappeared before she could see the baby. Naturally, he was sent to the orphanage. He did not have a name or identity for an entire year. They called him ‘Gaston’, because he was in every sense of the word a stranger. Luckily, a family took a liking in him. There was something about his eyes that they could not deny. So they took him, the brave family Terrell, and named him Raphael. Lyon, the lion, represents his strength. But he still believes it was a rather mundane association with the city he was born in.

Needless to say, he had a great life. The family was absurdly wealthy and well-connected. So wealthy that they considered an education in France to be inferior, and sent Raphael to—ironically—England where he studied at a private school. He lived in Newcastle upon Tyne for a large part of his life, so long in fact that he has lost the sweet sound of the English-French accent, replacing it with a strong British one. His French was still impeccable, according to his adoptive parents. Until he turned fourteen, his life has been perfectly peaceful. Painted in a sky blue, whirled around a cyan ribbon. He was an excellent student, predicted to have a bright future. He was talented in Arts, but Science came as a close second. But of course, the seed of evil still lived inside of him. Though as obvious as it was that Raphael was adopted—given his peculiar black eyes, black hair, and pale skin—he never asked about his real parents. He did not want to hear anything about them, nor connect in any way. On top of that, it was not like his adoptive parents knew them in any way, shape or form. But this changed.

Taking a life is an interesting experience, quite life-changing. Watching someone take their last breath, struggling to hang on just a little longer. Raphael remembers his first with glee and sometimes melancholy. It was this side of him that did not let him connect to people properly, despite having moments of euphoria. When he lost his innocence, he discovered his real power. Chaos. He was attracted to chaos, he would bathe in it, taking it in his veins, overdose. The colour of chaos was magnificent, a Prussian blue with hues of the once lost cyan, sometimes descending into navy. The first person he killed showed him how it feels like to have power. It was an accident, even if Raphael does not want to admit it. A bloke tried to grab him, and he tripped. Face met the ground, it broke like porcelain. And he died instantly. Raphael was never convicted, but his parents had to move him all the way to Dublin, where he started his third life.

Shortly after his first kill, Raphael was visited by an unexpected guest. It was not a physical meeting, but it surely felt like it. In his sleep, Dagda visited him for the first time. He presented himself as being his biological father, a being people do not call human—he is shit at explaining, Raphael thought. Nevertheless, Dagda expressed his disappointment. As a vessel to both life and death, powers such as Raphael’s should be used wisely, moreover they should be used only when necessary. And some other bullshit Raphael blocked out of his mind. He was not allowed to kill again. Psychological torment however was not part of the deal, so Raphael found his loophole. It was only later that he discovered just how easily it is to keep lives in a limbo.

The torment was euphoric, borderline orgasmic. The power, the thirst. The blues.

Destroying innocent souls was far more enjoyable. He watched them suffer, struggle to stay alive and eventually end their lives because of the pain. He calls it a win. Dublin was a blast. As Raphael grew up, he started enjoying the night life. His school records were off the charts, the boy had the looks and the brains. Not to mention the ladies and the men. He put himself through shit situations, and came out victorious. He touched a sword by accident, and saw how the life of the person who touched it next drained from them, hanging in the air like energy ready to be grabbed. Raphael, enthusiastic about this incredible discovery, cut the persons arm, watching how life came back to them, as though it has never left in the first place. The more he discovered about his power, the thirstier he became. He was bound to make a mistake. And so he did.

His father was most displeased to see his son spiral into madness. Raphael was diagnosed with NPD, or narcissistic personality disorder, at the fragile age of sixteen. In other words, he had all the makings of a serial killer, and was predisposed to end up like Narcissus. Therefore, Dagda had to set a trap for Raphael and let him get caught once. At seventeen, he was convicted to one year in prison for alleged drug possession, and some other shit he cannot remember. The torment he had to endure in prison was the solution. His adoptive parents were disappointed, and almost disowned him. But when Raphael turned eighteen and was freed, his entire personality changed. Or so they thought. He behaved like the old Raphael, a studious and elect student. He graduated Arts, and because of his love for the distorted beauty of art, he continued to pursue it. However, old habits die hard. The torment he inflicted on other people continued, but he no longer allowed them to die forever, like he would before. He kept his torture moderate, hidden, but still pleasurable.

When he turned twenty-four, his father thought it would be best for Raphael to live in a place where he can meet others with special abilities like his. Other people, who could potentially help him evolve, or at least entertain him. People, who can show him new colours, emotions and a more fulfilled life.

PANTHEON: Celtic CHILD OF: Dagda POWERS: Raphael can use any weapon as a taker and bringer of life, from smaller weapons like knives and darts, to larger ones like swords. He has a connection to the realm of spirits through magic, and can sometimes feel the energy of the weapons he chooses. He can sense if the weapon was used to take a life, or save a life. Occasionally, he would hear voices – though it is uncertain if it is due to his connection or mental state. Raphael is strong physically, and finds himself very hardly exhausted. Still, he is not invincible and given the right opponent he could lose or even die in battle. Given that his father is a patron of justice and fairness, there are certain protections he has casted upon his own son. However, his magic is not strong enough to subdue Raphael’s powers, and given the right person and circumstances Raphael can still do whatever he pleases.

STRENGTHS: the weapons he touches become his (they would not obey any other master, on the contrary, they would often turn against anyone else who tries to use them); he can sense energy from beyond through his weapons (more so if they have been used in violent deaths); he is knowledgeable in a lot of things including practical things, and is a quick learner; he knows how to talk to people, because he is a great observant and can guess (more often than not correctly) what it is that they desire to hear

WEAKNESSES: he is not allowed (and physically cannot) harm innocent people due to some magic Dagda uses on him; he is not immortal and given his particular taste for danger he could end his life accidentally pretty quickly; unlike his father he cannot do magic (although if taught, he could probably do some magic – though not to the extent Hecate’s children would for example); he is mentally fragile and disturbed (could potentially go insane)

#kpop rp #krp #jung jaewon #yg one #mp; welcome

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vanessakirbyfans · 6 years

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When I went to see Vanessa Kirby starring in Julie at the National Theatre, it turns out I picked “a really bad night. Oh God everything went wrong,” she says when we meet a few days later, in a café in Chelsea where she has just ordered scrambled eggs. In one climactic moment she has to kill a budgie on stage, but the blood capsule didn’t burst until well after she whizzed the fake bird up in the food processor. “That happened two nights in a row! But it was better than before, when we used to start the scene with a real budgie and then kill a fake one, because one night the real one started tweeting after the lights went down, when he was supposed to be dead. I was trying to shut him up. He was called Gordon. We had to get rid of Gordon. There have been letters to the theatre: ‘We need to know that Gordon has not been harmed.’”

Kirby is a 30-year-old actor from London, a galloping laugh a minute, and quite probably the future of British acting. You may know her as Princess Margaret from Netflix’s The Crown, a role she describes happily as “the gift that I was given”, and which turned what could have been a staid drama about duty and class into something much more delicious. She gave Margaret a youthful vulnerability – we saw the damns she had to give before she stopped giving any – and now, after two series and winning a Bafta, she is handing the role over to Helena Bonham Carter, who will play the older incarnation. And Kirby is gutted.

“The Crown was the best time of my life,” she says, in her quick voice. “Saying goodbye to it was awful, I really grieved it, actually.” Kirby kept a photo of Margaret on her bedroom wall and used to gaze at it, wondering What Would Margaret Do? “The easy route would have been for me to just play her as the version of her who comes later, the public persona of her that is so – I don’t know the right word – gauche?”

They could have sent you to Mustique!

“I know! Livid! But I wanted to try and find the person she was before she hardened, before she became bitter and self-loathing, which is what I sensed. I wanted to find the torment that’s underneath those things. That, for me, made a real woman, even though the circumstances were ridiculous.”

She played opposite Claire Foy as the Queen. Both of them have just been nominated for this year’s Emmy awards for The Crown. I ask what it’s like to be on the receiving end of the enigmatic, brooding looks that Foy’s Elizabeth so regularly deploys.

“Oh, she used to give me the look in our scenes together and I’d just be feeling, aaaargh – you’re so internal! You’re so good! You’re so subtle and I have to try so hard to rein it in! But Claire was much better about the show ending than I was. She said it was because I had such a personal synergy with Margaret, whereas the Queen remained a mystery to her.”

It transpires the real Queen is a fan, though. Kirby only knows this because a friend of hers was at a fancy party recently, “where he didn’t know a soul so when he heard some people discussing The Crown he was like: ‘Actually I know someone in that.’ They were like: ‘Cool.’ He goes: ‘No, but I really know someone in it,’ and, meanwhile, this girl says: ‘Well my granny likes it,’ and he suddenly realises her granny is the Queen. It was Princess Beatrice. Although, I told someone else recently it was Eugenie,” she laughs, “but I got that wrong.”

Kirby grew up in Wimbledon, south London, the middle child of three, and attended the private Lady Eleanor Holles School. Her mother, Jane, had been the editor of Country Living and her father, Roger, one of the country’s leading prostate surgeons, “always watched loads of films with me – totally inappropriate ones like Midnight Express when I was about six. He put all films on. I think my sister was five when he took us to the cinema to see A Perfect Murder.” They were also taken to a lot of plays, “and I got really bored until I was about 11 and then suddenly it clicked for me, like: oh, when theatre’s really good it can be transformative. More than anything, it made me understand people.”

At school, “It was always the drama side of things where I felt the most alive,” she says. “The most myself. I was quite badly bullied for a few years and I became self-conscious about everything I did in relation to the bullies. But drama was the place where I didn’t.”

Was it other girls?

“Yeah it was… systematic. Quite awful. A teacher said to my mum on my very last day of school: ‘She survived it. She’s done it,’ which means they knew it was happening.”

Strangely, Kirby doesn’t sound remotely bitter about it and mutters a half-finished thought about it perhaps being a useful experience now. She describes her childhood as very happy and she knows how socially and financially privileged she was, but she also suffered from giardia, an intestinal parasite, which went undiagnosed for a long time and made her feel permanently nauseous, as if she was about to vomit. “All these nightmare injections, pills up the bum, all of it. Prodded around from age nine to 11.”

At school there was a noticeboard with a picture of Ben Whishaw as Hamlet at the Old Vic on it. Kirby stole it for her bedroom wall, went to see the play three times and became obsessed with him, which was not helped by bumping into him on a London bus. She was in amateur local productions at the time, but after studying for an English degree at Exeter and then giving up a place at Lamda to go straight into work as an actor some years later, her first big chance was on The Hour – starring… Ben Whishaw.

The director was tough on her, which may have been because: “I wasn’t paying any attention to the scene. In my head it was just alarm bells going: ‘Oh my God that’s Ben Whishaw.’” Afterwards she had to tell him everything. “And it felt good to finally confess my infatuation. Of course, he was with his boyfriend.”

Hollywood came calling and she’s had to become better at dealing with famous men since being cast in the sixth instalment of the Mission: Impossible films, out this month and starring Tom Cruise. I ask what he was like. “Such a pro. Absolutely disciplined; super enthusiastic. Always wants everything executed at a super-high level, so you have to train really hard.”

With him?

“Oh God no, without him.” She laughs, groaning. “I think that would be… I did say to him at one point: ‘I am never getting on a running machine with you.’ But I learned a lot about work ethic from him. I never thought that stunts and action would be my genre, but I’m understanding now that you can transcend genre, as long as you try and find the real woman behind the part.”

It struck me, watching Julie – which is Polly Stenham’s rewrite of the Strindberg play Miss Julie, and set at 3am at a druggy party in a wealthy house in Hampstead – that Kirby could have played the heroine in a much sexier fashion. Instead, she chooses to drag her body around with her as if it brings her discomfort. The reviews have been kind to her, but not to the script or production, which tend to say it all lacks chemistry. Kirby diplomatically says the problem is: “It’s such a huge space, it’s not an intimate theatre and sometimes the space dictates the parameters.” I’m not convinced she’s enjoying it all that much.

Still, the current feminist awakening of Hollywood has had a real impact on Kirby, who has risen to fame at the perfect moment to seize it. She is working on her own ideas, too. The week after we meet she will fly off to work on an unnamed film project she’s developed with Adam Leon. “He’s the best New York film director, I think.” It’s inspired by an article in the New Yorker about a woman who entered a fugue state and went missing in the big city. They have cast a group of renegade, gender-fluid young Brooklynites to play her new friends, and Kirby scrolls through her phone to show me photos of these genderless kids she finds so mesmerisingly beautiful. She is also developing a film of her own with Ben Caron, who directed her in episodes of The Crown, and making “something about babies who are born addicted to drugs and how society treats those mothers”.

Partly this seems like an attempt to get away from the wealthy-woman-in-gilded-prison roles. “I feel like now, more than ever, it’s all of our responsibility to have other things represented on screen. There have been somany male stories on screen, or stories of women written by men, so she’s the wife of someone, the girlfriend of someone… It’s only now I realise that looking back, all the scripts I’ve read over time, unless they’re really small indie films, the women have always been fantasy figures, always viewed through the male lens, almost cartoony.”

Her boyfriend, Callum Turner, is also an actor, and recently they were on a plane together, both with a pile of about 10 scripts to read through. “In every single one he was the central protagonist and the women were helping the leads. Out of mine, about two of my parts were the leads – and then you knew that someone like Jennifer Lawrence would be doing it. So we women have got to be the generators of the material and, in order to do that, we have to understand the system we’re in, which I’m really trying to do.”

Kirby has a friend called Sarah, “who says it just pisses her off, all these Hollywood actresses getting on the red carpet and sounding off about #MeToo, etc. She says, what are they actually doing? I say I know, but these are the women who will be on the front pages of newspapers, for better or worse, and then it leads to real change in other industries, too. Media is the controller of everything.”

Another close friend is the writer Dolly Alderton. They even share the same therapist, which made Kirby very amused to read all about said therapist in Alderton’s recent bestselling memoir, Everything I Know About Love. Yet another friend is Anna, with whom Kirby and her sister share a flat in Tooting. “So we’re like three sisters. No idea why we live in Tooting, though. I think it was cheapest.” Their home has calmed down a lot since Kirby became so busy. “It used to be mad parties non-stop and the vibrations going through to the little old lady who lives next door – her house was constantly shaking at 4am.” I can’t imagine Kirby upsetting old ladies – she seems too sweet. Did the woman complain? “Sometimes, yes,” Kirby admits, with a shamefaced twinkle in her eye.

Still, she seems entirely unafraid to call the shots on the big guys now. “My only little area of change is to be in a big movie and say no, I’m not wearing a short skirt, I’m not showing any skin, I don’t want slapped-on make-up,” she says.

And if the action film wanted to give you robo-tits? “I would say absolutely not. I don’t care any more. I feel more able to say that now. I’m in a slightly luckier position, but also the times now support it. I don’t want an arse shot – well, not that they’d want one of my arse. But I don’t want to be shot through a lens of sexualisation. That’s not me. That’s the distorted feminine and the distorted masculine that is creating so much of the toxic energy in our society.”

It is unusual to hear an actor ask quite so many questions in an interview. As she says, she is fortunate to have risen to fame in a time that allows it, with other women having begun to push the boundaries. But Kirby is questioning everything. Still, you can only fight off so much of the culture. We say goodbye and she picks up her bag of M&S shopping and heads home to watch Love Island, during which, she says happily, she will “feel my brain turning into disgusting nothing”.

#Vanessa Kirby #The Crown #Mission Impossible Fallout #Articles

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bccollins-world · 6 years

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Thou Shall Not Fall

Prologue:

Trigger Warning: This is a One Direction/Vampire AU. There will be extreme violence and death in the majority of the chapters. If you are squeamish, I would not suggest reading.

Author’s Note: This is an edited version of a popular fan fiction I posted in 2012. It was originally posted on my personal blog mashedpotatoes-withhazzasgravy, the plot is still the same for those who have read it, but grammatical changes have been made. Please enjoy!

Church Hulme, 1912

I had just gotten off work, and I was on my way to Ms. Cromwell’s house. She was a lovely older woman in her late seventies who always came into the bakery I worked at for some bread. Her two sons Henry and Edward both died in the past year from consumption, we were having an outbreak of it in our small town. Almost thirty people had died of it that year, including my Father.

Ms. Cromwell didn’t have any help bringing bread home, and I had always felt guilty having her walk all that way from the bakery to her small cabin. So, I started bringing her some bread and sneaking out some pastries for her on Sundays after I got off work. Her and I bonded over it and she had become a great friend of mine.

Times had been extremely rough for me and my family. After my Father died, my Mum had to find work. That wasn’t exactly easy for a woman of her age. We had always been middle class and had been able to afford a comfortable living, but after my Father died we were getting zero income. Me and my Mother were forced to find work, and my sister, Katherine, had been trying her best to find herself a suitable husband. My Mother didn’t get much money cleaning houses, so it was pretty much my job to bring in the pay roll. I was fine with that, I loved taking care of my family, but my job didn’t make enough. I hadn’t been able to pay our maids in almost two months. They had all deserted us except for Charlotte.

Charlotte was the daughter of mine and Katherine’s nanny that had died the year before. She grew up with us and I didn’t think she would ever leave us. I gave her a small purse whenever I could, but I knew it wasn’t enough for her. I was just happy she understood our situation, and I was forever indebted to her.I had this strange feeling that our misfortune was going to change soon. I also had a feeling that Michael was the one that was going to change it all for us.

Michael was a gentleman that had been courting my sister. He was extremely wealthy. Not exactly royalty, but pretty close. He had already helped us a bit, he was actually the man that had gotten me the job at the bakery. He owned it. Every now and then he would give me and my Mum some spending money, it was very little, but considering he had only known my sister for a small amount of time it was very generous. He was very smitten with her. He bought her all kinds of lavish gifts. Jewels, dresses and other pretty things.

Since I was now the man in the house I had already had “The Talk” with the two of them. Call me old fashioned, but they were a bit too touchy for my taste. I was brought up in a very religious family and I believed in abstinence until marriage, even for men. It’s just respect, respect for your future spouse and for yourself.

I was almost out the bakery door when I decided to bring some short breads with me. I knew Ms. Cromwell liked them so I got a few and went to the register and put in a few pence. After I did that, I grabbed a few loafs of fresh bread from the scullery and was out the front door. I was always excited to see Ms. Cromwell. My visits always seemed to make her day, and to be honest they made mine too. I didn’t have a lot of friends, and she was kind of the closest thing I had to that. Plus, she knew how to make a good cup of tea.

I walked outside and to the alley where I had left my bike. I put the bread and pastries in the basket and then hopped on. We had lost too much money to afford our own cart, so I took up cycling whereas my mother and sister took the horse drawn tram whenever they came to the village. I liked cycling better than being in a tram though, I had more control over what I was doing, and I could enjoy my surroundings better. It was a nice way to clear my head.

After I got to Ms. Cromwell’s small cabin, I hopped off my bike and grabbed my basket. I walked to her door and tapped gently three times. It took a moment but soon enough the older woman opened the door with a familiar warm smile.

“Oh Henry! I can always count on you to bring me my bread! Come in.” She gushed. Her older son’s name was Henry, and she had always said I reminded her of him. So, whenever she called me Henry instead of my actual name, Harry, I just brushed it off. At that point I was used to it and considered it her nickname for me.

I smiled politely and stepped inside of the warm cabin. I looked around the comfy home before turning to Ms. Cromwell and giving her a peck on the cheek. I turned on my heel and walked towards the scullery. “So how has your night been miss?”

“Oh, just fine. Lonely as always but fine. You should come visit me more often Henry, I would love to have you and your sweet Mum over for dinner. You could even bring a lass if you wanted.” I blushed and put the bread on her scullery table.

I wasn’t about to discuss my love life with someone who was like a Mum to me. Especially since there was never really anything to discuss. I had never courted anyone before, I hadn’t even kissed a girl. It was kind of sad. I was eighteen. When my father was my age he already had a wife and two children, which was a great accomplishment in this life. I should’ve already been married and had sons, but I just hadn’t had the time. Besides, who was going to marry their daughter to me when I had nothing to offer them?

I decided to change the subject. “Where would you like me to put this miss?”

She pointed at something behind me, “In the safe away from the fire place please. Have time for some tea?”

I nodded and as I placed her goods in the chest. I walked to the kitchen table and pulled out a chair. She placed a cup of tea in my hands and sat in the chair across from me. “Henry! Have you heard about the murders?” She asked.

“Murders?”

She nodded violently and then lowered her voice as if we weren’t the only two in the home. “Yes, loads of people have gone missing. Oh! And Mr. Foyer, you probably heard about his disappearance it was in the paper, he was found this morning, and his throat was ripped out. The bobbies say it was something that an animal would do! Can you believe that?” Her eyes were wide, and the wrinkles on her forehead were beginning to stretch out.

“No Ma'am I can’t, who do you think would do such a thing?” My heart fluttered a bit. Mr. Foyer didn’t live too far from mine.

“I don’t know Henry, but his poor wife and children.” She frowned and her words sent chills up my spine. Just thinking of something happening to me, what would my Mum and Kat do?

I shuddered at the thought and stood up from the table.“Thank you for the tea miss, but I’ve got to be on my way now.” I turned and walked to the front door. I was just about to walk through the threshold when I felt something tug on my apron.

“Here you go doll.” She smiled. She opened my hand and put a small purse in it. A small purse that was extremely heavy.

“Miss I can’t take this.”

She cut me off.“Oh boy you shush. You work yourself too hard for very little. This is the least I can do. Now you take that and give your Mum and sister a good Christmas!”

I bit my lip as I looked at the velvet purse. I wanted so much to decline her generosity. I knew it would be wrong to take money from an old woman who couldn’t even afford to invest in electricity, but I needed the money. Greed took over, and I wanted so much to give my family a happy Christmas. So, I took the money out of her hand and put it in the pocket of my apron. “God bless you miss.” I smiled.

“You too boy. Now you be on your way. Have a Happy Christmas!”

“Yes Ma'am.” I gave her a peck on the cheek and then jogged to my bike, I gave her one final wave before kicking off.The streets were empty, and it was already so late that the lamp lighter had already came around the village and put out the street lamps. I felt very uneasy. I had this pit in my stomach telling me that something bad was about to happen. Something was telling me that I shouldn’t go home. I felt stupid for even thinking these things. My Mum and sister were waiting for me, they were probably worried sick. Our maid had probably already made supper. I should have just brought Ms. Cromwell’s bread to her in the morning. Then again, if I had she probably wouldn’t have given me such a big purse. I knew my Mum would forgive me for being late when I showed her what a great job I did. I thought she’d be really be proud of me.

I finally arrived at our house and sat my bike up against the old Victorian building. I knew my Mum was going to be upset with me for being late, so it was best I run up to my room, take my bath then run back downstairs and help them clean up. I might have been considered a man, but I was still eighteen, I was still aloud to get scolded by my mother.

I opened the front door slowly and stepped my way through the threshold. I shut the door and then bolted up the steps and into our bath. I shut the door behind me and began to undress. I took off my apron and cap. I shook out my long curly hair and brushed it to the side. My mother always pestered me to cut it, for fear of lice, but I liked my long hair, and those parasites had never been a problem for me. I unbuttoned my shirt and let it fall to the floor. I then took off my shoes and belt and sat them on the stool next to the bath.

“Maid.” I called.

I couldn’t very well fill up that whole thing by myself. Some of our neighbors in Church Hulme could afford plumbing at the time, but we couldn’t have plumbing and electricity. It was too pricey. We had to choose one or the other and when my Dad was alive he chose electricity. I should’ve been thankful we had that.

“Maid?” I repeated but she still didn’t respond.

I began to become impatient. “Girl? What is taking you?”I didn’t mean to sound rude, but my back was aching, and I needed my bath. I picked my shirt up off the floor and folded it on the wooden tub. I opened the door and walked down the hallway shirtless and my pants unbuttoned. When I poked my head in all the rooms, she wasn’t in any of them. I began to become concerned. Where was she? It was her shift after all.

“Charlotte?” I called.

Still nothing.

I began to think the worst. Charlotte had abandoned us like all the others. “Mum? Where’s Charlotte? Please don’t tell me she has quit too.”

Again, no one answered.

“Mum?”

I was beginning to panic. I ran down the steps and into our entertainment room. It was empty. I then ran into our scullery. Empty. Where was everyone? Where was my family? And at that hour? It was dark and cold outside and if what Ms. Cromwell said was true about the disappearances than women, or anybody for that matter, should’ve been indoors.

“Mum? Kat? Anybody?”

I ran to the coat racks by our front door and put on one of my father’s old wool coats. I put on a pair of snow boots before rushing out the front door. Something was wrong, and I could feel it. My Mum and sister wouldn’t just disappear without leaving a note, and they wouldn’t take our maid with them. I wasn’t just going to sit here and wait for them to come home though, I was the man of the house, and I was going to go out and look for my family.

When I ran outside the cold hit me like a ton of bricks, it was then that I realized I never put a shirt back on, nor did I button back up my pants. I had so much adrenaline rushing through my veins that I hadn’t even noticed. Between the time I entered my home and the time I came back outside a thick layer of snow had blanketed the ground. I ran to my bike and hopped on, I was about to speed off when I noticed something on the side of our house. I got off the bike slowly to investigate the small red print. When my suspicions proved to be true, I could feel my stomach twist and turn, and the hot bile build up in my throat. It was a small handprint pressed up against our house. A small bloody handprint.

I let out a small gasp and froze in my spot. I looked down at the ground and everything started to get much worse. Drops of red stood out on top of the white snow, it was almost pretty in a strange way. The perfect red droplets made a little path to our garden. I followed it slowly, praying that I wouldn’t find one of my loved ones there. My prayers were not heard.

The bile that threatened me before burned my throat and spilled out of my mouth. Tears stung my eyes as the vomit mixed with the snow. I gagged as I looked back up at the horrid sight. It was Charlotte. She was in pieces.

I only knew it was her because of the familiar attire that all of our maids wore. My stomach churned, and I felt like I was going to purge again. I chocked it down until I saw the next body.

My Mum.

I sprinted to where her stiff body was propped up against our house. She sat perfectly, her body straight, her dress neat, and her eyes open just slightly. She looked like a porcelain doll. As I looked over the scene once again I noticed even Charlotte’s remains were scattered almost artistically. It was like someone had staged the whole thing, like some sick son of a bitch was putting on a show. A show just for me to come home to.

I pulled my Mother’s body in my lap and shook her for any sign of life. There was nothing. Her skin was pale, blue, and she was cold. I could tell she had been gone for some time. I noticed a thick purple and yellow bruise around her neck where it had been snapped. I sobbed into her hair. I rocked her lifeless body back and forth as I screamed at the top of my lungs. “No! Please God no! Mum please come back to me!”

My head snapped up immediately when I heard an earsplitting scream coming from my house.“Help me! Somebody please help me!” It was my sister’s scream.

I bolted up. Leaving my Mother’s body lying in the snow. I ran to the front yard and towards the front door. My body was shaking, my vision was blurred as I ripped the door open. I ran inside and bolted up the steps as fast as I could.

“Kat!” I screamed.

“Harry, run!” She cried.

As soon as I reached the hallway I ran to her bed chambers. I ripped the door open and stood in shock as I looked in the room. What I was seeing couldn’t be real. I had to be dreaming. Monsters do not exist.The thing that stood in front of me was not human. Far from it. It was some kind of demon, something that came from the deepest parts of hell. It had my sister by the throat and was looking at me with a sadistic smile. It threw her on the bed and decided to pursue me instead. As it got closer I could make out some features even more, they were contorted like I had never seen before. Its nose was more of a snout and his eyes were black. Fangs protruded from its mouth and its veins stuck out in his face making its skin almost translucent.

I looked at my sister and looking at her state turned my fear into rage. Her dress was almost in shreds, and her hair was matted. There was so much panic in her eyes that she didn’t even look like my Kat anymore. Her body was covered in bruises, and something else that I couldn’t quite make out. I know now that they were bite marks.

This thing killed my friend, my Mum, and had tortured my sister. It was going to suffer. I barged at the demon and attempted to tackle it with all my force, but it was no use. The demon picked me up like a rag doll and threw me to the ground. I cried out in pain as my back hit the floor.

“Please stop! Leave Harry be, just take me!” Katherine screamed.

The demon looked at her and laughed. It walked towards me once again and when it was close enough I saw it as my chance. I sprang up as quick as I could and hit the demon in the jaw. Only it worked more in his advantage than it did in mine. When my fist collided with its jaw, it was like hitting steel, I felt every bone in my hand snap. The pain shot down my arm and I fell to my knees in agony. This only made the monster laugh harder.

It picked me up by the neck chocking me. It threw me with all its might up against the hard wall. It began walking towards Katherine, something dark and twisted in its eyes. Her loud scream made the adrenaline pump through my body and that was enough to bring me back to my feet. I ran to the demon and jumped on its back. Ignoring the pain in my arms as I hit it as hard as I could with both hands. The demon pulled me over its shoulder and slammed me to the floor effortlessly. I felt something in my back pop, and then everything from the waist down went numb. The demon smiled at me with its yellow fangs.

“You try to fight me when you’re nothing but a man. You are very brave for that. Do you want know what I have learned about brave men in the past five hundred years?” Its voice was deep and chilling. His breath smelled of rotten flesh.

It picked me up by the throat and held me in the air, my feet dangling off the ground. When it spoke, it was a loud roar, “Brave men are fools!” Its face was close to mine and then before I knew it there was an intense pain shooting through my abdomen. I looked down to see that he had ripped my stomach open, to leave my insides to fall out onto the floor.

“Another thing I learned is how to kill a man, just the right way, so he can live long enough to see someone he loves die.” It laughed sadistically.

It let me fall to the ground and I went face first. I laid on top of my own intestines and gurgled on my blood. I tried to move but my lower body was stiff, and I could feel myself quickly becoming cold. I could feel the warm blood coating the floor around me. The pain stopped very soon and then all I could here were my sister’s screams. All I could focus on were her cries and pleas. I tried my best to get up, to shove my insides back into the gaping hole in my stomach and save her from the beast that was ripping her apart limb from limb, but my body wouldn’t move. Then then before I knew it, it was over.

My sister’s body was scattered all throughout the room. Then the demon was gone. Just like that. My vision was fading, and my body started to get colder and colder. I knew that death was going to take me. I was okay with that. I accepted death. I was happy to be taken in the arms of God and his angels. I had no reason to go on in this life. My mother and sister were gone, and it was time for me to join them in heaven. It was God’s plan.

Before I left I knew I had one last thing to do. I had to give my one last prayer to God.“Hail Mary full of grace, the lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus, Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death…” My body lurched as I continued coughing up blood. The coldness started to become overwhelming. I knew this was it.

“Amen.”

I shut my eyes and then a crash erupted through the house. The door to my sister’s bed chambers was broken down. I felt something roll me over and as soon as they did I felt something thick and hot rise up in my throat. I vomited pure blood onto the floor and laid on my back as I tried to push my insides back in my body.

I looked up to see the man, or should I say, boy standing over me. He had a shaved head, and kind brown eyes. He smiled warmly at me, and the first thing I noticed were the birthmarks he had on his neck. He looked at me sadly and a red tear ran down his cheek. I remember thinking that it was peculiar that an angel would cry blood.

“You poor soul.” He frowned.

“Are you here to take me to heaven?” I whispered, I didn’t even know if he could hear me. I thought that he had to be an angel, what other business would he have in that place?

“Sorry brother. Afraid not. Please forgive me for what I’m about to do.” The boy’s eyes turned black. Purple veins erupted from his face, and fangs fell from his lips. I tried to scream but I couldn’t manage the sound. Blood was thick in my throat and I was going in and out of consciousness. The boy ripped the skin of his wrist open with his fangs and forced his blood into my mouth. I had no choice but to swallow it.

“Oh God I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He cried.

He put both hands on either side of my face and then snapped my neck. There was nothing left but darkness. No more pain or fear. Just darkness.

Just like that.

I died.

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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Behind Her Eyes: the Dubious Messages Behind its Finale Twist

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Warning: contains major spoilers for the Behind Her Eyes finale

Behind Her Eyes is the perfect duplicity-hinting title for a series that conceals what it is until the very end. The name works both for the psychological adultery thriller that this Netflix adaptation presents as, and for the supernatural story it’s really telling.

Because what’s behind her eyes, in this instance, is him. She is beautiful, wealthy Scottish heiress Adele, played by The Luminaries’ Eve Hewson. He is working class, Glaswegian heroin addict Rob, played by Game of Thrones’ Robert Aramayo. They meet as teenagers at rehab after the death of Adele’s parents, and realise that they share the ability for their souls to leave their bodies while they sleep and ‘travel’ to other places to spy on other people’s lives.

‘I love this place, I’d stay forever if I could’

Rob, who identifies as gay, isn’t content just to be a voyeur; he wants a permanent change. Obsessed with Adele for her looks, wealth and adoring fiancé David (Beecham House’s Tom Bateman), Rob manipulates her into using their power to swap bodies, then kills her and takes over her identity. He leaves his life behind to live hers, and is prepared to do anything to keep hold of it.

That includes pulling the same trick a decade later. David and Rob-as-Adele move to London for the latest in a string of fresh starts, and David starts an affair with his secretary Louise (Kiss Me First’s Simona Brown). David has been unhappy in the marriage for years, but won’t leave for fear of being implicated in the death of ‘Rob’, which he helped to cover up. Rob-as-Adele uses his astral projection power to spy on the affair from the start, and forms a plan.

As luck would have it, Louise also shares the rare soul-travelling power, which enables Rob to stage Adele’s suicide, swap bodies with Louise, and re-marry David posing as her newly stolen identity. Now in the body of another woman he’s tricked and killed, conscience-free Rob ends the series with everything he ever wanted: a new life, David, and through marriage, Adele’s money.

‘Nothing about that life I want back’

It’s a malevolent ending made all the more cruel by the existence of Louise’s seven-year-old son Adam, who knows instantly that there’s something very different about his mother after Rob takes over her body. The story ends with two women murdered, a man deceived for years about who he’s married to and having sex with, and a child’s mother replaced by the person who killed her – all so that one person can greedily live a life they coveted.

It’s a surprising ending, not just for its audacious supernatural twist, but also because of how unusually out of touch it feels with modern sensibilities. However inadvertent, the conclusions it seems to reach about gay male sexuality, trans identities and the working class threat to the wealthy all feel centuries out of date. Granted, Behind Her Eyes is a supernatural fantasy/pulp thriller, not a documentary or manifesto, but its story choices reinforce harmful myths with real-world consequences.

Netflix’s Behind Her Eyes Cast: Where Have You Seen Tom Bateman and Eve Hewson Before?

By Louisa Mellor

Netflix’s Behind Her Eyes Ending Explained

By Louisa Mellor

The idea, for instance, that gay men routinely sexually predate on heterosexual men and deceive them into sex is a corrosive one. The Gay Panic Defence has historically been used to exonerate perpetrators of violent, homophobic attacks, and the work of dismantling the myths that shore it up is ongoing. Even in a pulpy, fictional fantasy setting, showing a gay man tricking his duped heterosexual partner into sex feels… unhelpful.

Rob’s deception is made possible by a gender-transitioning body swap, a plot point impossible not to view in terms of trans identities in 2021 (or in 2017 when the book on which the show is based was published). At no point does Behind Her Eyes suggest that pre-swap Rob is a trans woman; he’s a gay man who coveted Adele’s life. Showing a character changing their birth gender for self-serving reasons of greed and personal gratification plays into the worst tabloid scaremongering. Rob’s villainy strengthens transphobic narratives about deception and misrepresentation.

‘What’s it like to be so fucking rich and so fucking pretty?’

One of the biggest surprises in this show’s sensational twist ending is its almost Victorian fear of the working class, largely represented by Rob. From Ebenezer Scrooge to Mr Burns, it’s practically a consensus in fiction that rich people are life’s baddies. Outside of 19th century pamphlets, villains tend to be taken from the one percent and heroes from the plucky underclass. At the very least, working class villains are granted a Joker-style revenge motive, a traumatic catalyst for why they want to eat the rich. Not here.

Rob (not just any member of the working class, but – as an impoverished heroin addict with a troubled background from a Glaswegian tenement – a full bingo card of poverty cliche) has no revenge to take against blameless Adele. She doesn’t patronise him or use her wealth to humiliate him. He simply sees what she has, wants it and takes it. It’s greed, and the body-theft a supernatural metaphor for the threat that the wealthy have historically perceived as coming from the ‘parasitic’ poor.

The same paranoia is seen in the show’s plot thread about farm boy David having been suspected of starting the fire that killed Adele’s parents. And again in the scene where Rob-as-Adele tries to buy heroin from an Islington estate and is immediately attacked by a gang. Even in working class Louise’s affair with her now-rich boss, it’s the same pattern: the poor take from the rich.

‘You kind of have this fairy tale life’

Rob’s obsession with wealth blinkers him to reality. He myopically sees Adele and David’s life only as a flawless fairy tale, callously dismissing Adele’s loneliness and the traumatic deaths of her parents. When Adele first teaches him the ability to quell his nightmares and control his dreams – a gift for which he is supremely ungrateful – Rob conjures up a manor house, a cravat and a butler. Upon his arrival at Adele’s estate, he immediately goes into an exaggerated role play as the lord of the manor. Wealth, status and being loved are his obsessions.

Later, in London, Rob-as-Adele’s fixation on beauty and appearances see him dressing almost entirely in white (the colour of the rehab uniform in which he first met, and idolised, Adele) and spending his life maintaining her athletic body and magazine-spread house.

Rob’s priorities are, to say the least, warped. He’s so desperate to escape his lonely working class roots that he does unthinkable things, behaving with brutal selfishness and a total lack of conscience. That all makes sense – he’s the villain.

And in a perfect and equal world, gay men, trans women and impoverished working class addicts have just as much right to be the messed-up, dangerous villain in stories as anyone from a less vulnerable social group. In a perfect and equal world, that kind of portrayal couldn’t harm anybody or affect their safety. But we don’t yet live in a perfect and equal world. By choosing this particular villain, and crafting this particular ending, Behind Her Eyes has either optimistically jumped several steps ahead in representation, or taken a lengthy stride backwards.

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All episodes of Behind Her Eyes are available to stream now on Netflix.

The post Behind Her Eyes: the Dubious Messages Behind its Finale Twist appeared first on Den of Geek.

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abitterlifethroughcinema · 4 years

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The Five (+1) Movies To Catch For the New Year

WOKE! 2020 Film Awards PReviews

by Lucas Avram Cavazos

It is a mighty and yet daunting task this ‘2020 thing’ that is upon us. I think inherently we all know that some things are going to shift, others will change, some will expand and a lot more are likely to im/explode. Despite the factuality of it all, one constant I will always turn to, and recommend to you my lovelies, is cinematherapy. It goes without saying that some upcoming movies, which are either now or soon to be at our local VOS movie theatres, are also about to sweep some awards and with Oscar nominations going live this second week of January, I believe the movies below will soon be water cooler twawk, so me here at A Bitter Life brings you a BCN in VOSE look at the five (PLUS ONE!) films to catch before awards season intensifies.

In fact, it was a rather decent year for some great fare and not such a hodgepodge of Marvel and Disney movies forced down our throats every other week. The film I must start off with on this 2020 Film Awards Preview would be the excellent South Korean film Parasite ####-1/2, unanimously chosen as the winner of this year’s Palme d’ Or at Cannes and easily gracing the top or near-top of most film critic’s lists this year, as well it should. Telling the story of a South Korean family, the Kims, who slowly become interlopers within the confines of the uber-wealthy Park family. Starting off with one of them acting as a tutor, they slowly find a way to fill a need for the Park family, all while acting as non-related good Samaritans…that is until a botched getaway vacation and an underground bunker with a tale to tell reveal themselves and send the two families into a quagmire that must be seen and lived to be believed. (Now playing all over BCN/CAT/ESP)

Next up would be my personal favourite this year, though very closely followed by the aforementioned film! Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ####-1/2 became, at least for myself, a redeeming factor in the oeuvre of Quentin Tarantino after the meh! feelings given off by his last big screen outing a couple of years ago. Taking the tragic, real-life story of the Manson Murders that ended the life of Roman Polanski’s then-wife Sharon Tate, director Tarantino buckles his audience into their seats and sends them into a time zone tunnel to 1969 Los Angeles. One of the things that has always revolved around a Tarantino movie is the element of revenge. Here, we have a different take on a true event, but the concept is widened by the director using actors Brad Pitt, Leonardo di Caprio and even Margot Robbie as conduits of a bygone era that give a peek into a mindset and time that usually must be lived to be remembered. The fact that we, the viewing audience, feel like we were actually there in ’69 and then also given the chance to make up our own mind as to a possible different ending to the Manson family murders is mere evidence of a great director/writer who seamlessly gives us a choose-your-own-adventure saga with superb cameos. Excellent cinema once again. (Soon on DVD/Blu-ray & VOD)

The next big film that has increased the star power and respectability factor of Happy Gilmore, uh I mean, Adam Sandler is the ever-loved and heralded film Uncut Gems ####. If we have to put some truth to power, it must be noted that part of the film’s appeal is that it is such a New York City film. When you then throw in the elements of a thriller mixed with the Diamond District of Manhattan AND a run-around plot that also includes ballers and entertainers like Kevin Garnett and The Weeknd playing themselves, what you get is a peek into what feels like a true-life crime show playing out in front of your eyes. Add in the ever-excellent Tilda Swinton and Natasha Lyonne, as well, and even despite the long 2-1/4 hour running time, what you get is Adam Sandler, under the direction of the Safdie brothers and along with the good graces of Netflix (who will also be distributing the film in Europe), becoming the new Comeback Kid. (To be released in BCN/CAT/ESP via Netflix on Jan.31)

While we’re on the subject…Netflix. Whatever your thoughts may be on the streaming site service (and others like it), it goes without saying that VOD services have become the wave of the future. Home cinema and entertainment centres/systems are what make for the latest in silver screen viewing. For the last three-plus years, the world cinema system (not to mention film academies and award outlets) have had to adapt to a new reality few probably ever even thought of before this new digital age. Just a few days ago, perhaps showing a bit of wane after receiving the most nominations, only two actress winners took home trophies, Olivia Colman as The Queen in The Crown and Laura Dern for A Marriage Story, reviewed below. With that said, famed director/ writer/ producer Marty Scorcese decided to go the Netflix route for his (likely) last mafia opus The Irishman ####, detailing the life story and inner workings of the Philly mob, while also detailing intricacies of the Teamster unions, Jimmy Hoffa, the Kennedys and the inner workings of the US mafia and its many minions. Financed by Mexican firm Fabrica de Cine (mad side-eye and furrowed brow) amongst Netflix and other studios for international rights, the production of the film apparently ballooned up to (and some reports even say, well beyond) $160 million. With just under 8€ million reaped at the worldwide box office (taquilla) coffers, it’s fair to say that this film in all its glory should have been edited to a slightly shorter length and intended for movie theatres. It has had a fairly great response by viewers on the streaming site du jour, but even Sandra Bullock garnered hella more viewers with her formulaic thriller Bird Box earlier in the year. As a student and tutor of history, the elements of the film that stood out to me went beyond the impeccable performances, specifically by Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa, but of course De Niro and Pesci as Frank Sheeran and Russell Bufalino, as well, but it was Scorcese’s capturing of that forgotten time around which we find so many Trump supporters harkening to, and it details the trials and tribulations of the working class then…and perhaps, even now. That aside, I abhorred the expensive de-ageing CGI process to make the Italian acting kings look younger…just vile. It was like they suddenly became animated secondary characters from a dropped scene in Spielberg’s Tin Tin film a few years ago…bloody odd for a live-action mafioso epic. Still…Scorcese is the only working director who can capture that essence of a time gone by and dress it in Hollywood’s finest if overly-priced storytelling. Which brings us to the other Netflix gem to catch…but only when emotionally prepared. (Now streaming on Netflix and select screens)

Marriage Story ####, a.k.a. that likely Oscar-nominated film that will require too many tissue moments, also makes its way to this list. Trust, I can get my heart strings pulled quite easily if the right sentiments abound, so I was non-plussed going into this because I had already heard from my film fest peops that it was a bit of a tearjerker. Undeniably, there is a brutally-displayed realness that envelops the main characters of this film, particularly actresses Scarlett Johansson and Laura Dern. Helmed by the wonderful Noah Baumbach, Johansson gives a near-best performance as former teen actress turned TV actress Nicole Barber, who separates from her NYC theatre-directing husband played by Kylo Ren himself, Adam Driver. When she takes a role and moves to LA, along with their child, things become even more real. There is a gutsy bravado that clearly makes itself beyond relevant, as the melancholy yet funny film continues, and I, for one, could hardly keep the sobs at bay with the ending of the film. This is the stuff that ‘rom-drams’ need last their heart, not that paltry shite fed to too many simpletons by Nicholas Sparks. (Now streaming on Netflix and select screens)

Aaaaaaaaand…lastly, Knives Out ####-1/2 rightly fixes itself into a final slot on this list because it is one of those long-lost wonders of vintage cinema…a star-studded quasi-whodunnit with wit and thrills and superb, serio-comedic acting by everyone involved. A mere smattering of those actors would be Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Jamie Lee Curtis, Spanish actress and Golden Globe nominee Ana de Armas, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette and even Don friggin’ Johnson! Following an investigation into the sudden death of famed mystery writer Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer), who had just invited main members of his family to his mansion for his birthday celebration, we see the touches of a perfectly poised ensemble film. Director/writer Rian Johnson has really stepped up to the plate with the best of the new directors and fresh off his box-office behemoth Star Wars: The Last Jedi from a couple of years back, his helming a film like Knives Out really plays his hand heavily in his diversity and directing tenacity. The fact that he also wrote this fine piece of script and dialogue makes him even more worthy of a possible director nod and it goes without saying that the cast is undoubtedly the finest ensemble piece made and released in the last year, and if you’ve been seeking a classic feel of a film with a smart, sharp modern twist, this film will satiate any of those olskie-olskie longings of a nostalgic murder mystery that makes you feel good after you leave the cinema. (Now playing in BCN/CAT/ESP)

#cinema #ABitterLifeThroughCinema

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jessicakehoe · 4 years

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12 Movies and TV Shows We’re Excited to Stream in May 2020

We’ve got a lot of time on our hands right now. Here are all the movies and television shows we can’t wait to stream in May 2020.

Netflix Canada

Hollywood This limited series from Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan follows a group of aspiring actors and filmmakers as they try to make it in post-World War II Hollywood, no matter the cost. Each character offers a peek behind the gilded curtain, spotlighting the unfair systems and racial, gender and sexuality biases of the film industry. The series stars Darren Criss, Laura Harrier, Dylan McDermott, Holland Taylor, Patti LuPone, Jim Parsons, Jeremy Pope and David Corenswet. Available May 1

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Becoming This documentary offers a rare and up-close look at Michelle Obama’s life, taking viewers behind the scenes of her 34-city book tour for her bestselling 2018 memoir Becoming. “Those months I spent traveling — meeting and connecting with people in cities across the globe — drove home the idea that what we share in common is deep and real and can’t be messed with,” said Obama in a statement. “I treasure the memories and that sense of connection now more than ever, as we struggle together to weather this pandemic, as we care for our loved ones, tend to our communities, and try to keep up with work and school while coping with huge amounts of loss, confusion, and uncertainty.” Available May 6

youtube

Dead to Me: Season 2 Season 1 of this dramedy starring Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini closed with a dramatic cliffhanger, and the new season picks up in the aftermath of those shocking moments. The show’s leads start to unravel with the stress of having to keep their deadly secret, which becomes increasingly difficult with a detective hot on their heels. Available May 8

youtube

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which ran for four seasons on Netflix and ended in January 2019, is back for a special interactive episode. Kimmy’s getting married but she has to figure out how to foil the Reverend’s evil plot before her wedding, with viewers getting to determine the outcome in this choose-your-own-adventure episode. Series stars Ellie Kemper, Tituss Burgess, Jane Krakowski, Carol Kane, and Jon Hamm reprise their roles, in addition to a guest appearance by Daniel Radcliffe. Available May 12

youtube

The Lovebirds Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae play a couple that accidentally gets caught up in a murder. In an effort to clear their names, they take off on a wild quest to find the killer before the police tracks them down. Over the course of one disastrous night, the pair end up in one bizarre, hilarious situation after another. Available May 22

youtube

Space Force From the creators of The Office, this comedy series follows Steve Carell, who plays a four-star general in the US military, as he begrudgingly teams up with an eccentric scientist to get the armed forces’ new division, Space Force, off the ground. The goal of the new branch is to “defend satellites from attack” and “perform other space-related tasks.” The series also stars John Malkovich, Lisa Kudrow, Jimmy O Yang, Noah Emmerich and Fred Willard. Available May 29

youtube

Crave

Betty This new HBO series is a spin-off of Skate Kitchen, a 2018 film about a group of female skateboarders in New York City. The story is inspired by a real-life group of teenage skaters, some of whom starred in both the film and the upcoming series. Focusing on the group’s efforts to stand out in New York’s predominantly male world of skateboarding, the series stars Dede Lovelace, Kabrina “Moonbear” Adams, Nina Moran, Ajani Russell and Rachelle Vinberg. Available May 1

youtube

Parasite This South Korean film swept up at the Oscars earlier this year, taking home four Academy Awards, including one for Best Picture, a first for a non-English language film. The masterpiece by director Bong Joon Ho is a tale of class discrimination and disparity, told through the experience of a poor family that cons its way into the home of a wealthy family. Available May 29

youtube

Ramy: Season 2 Created by and starring comedian Ramy Youssef, who won a Golden Globe for his performance earlier this year, the show about an Egyptian-American family in New Jersey returns for its second season. The series follows Ramy Hassan, played by Youssef, as he “delves further into his spiritual journey, finding a new Muslim community and embracing deeper commitment to his faith.” Two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali also joins the cast this season, playing Sheikh Ali, a mentor to Ramy. Available May 29

See the first look at Mahershala Ali in Ramy season 2 https://t.co/rn0xOvxD3B

— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) April 28, 2020

Amazon Prime Video

Hustlers “The game is rigged and it does not reward people who play by the rules,” says Jennifer Lopez’s character Ramona in this film about a group of strippers in New York who con wealthy stock traders and finance CEOs out of thousands of dollars. Based on a true story, Hustlers is adapted from a New York magazine article from 2015. In addition to Lopez, the film stars Constance Wu, Lili Reinhart, Keke Palmer and Julia Stiles, as well as Cardi B and Lizzo in cameo roles. Available May 1

youtube

The Great This satirical drama follows the rise of Catherine the Great from outsider to the longest reigning female ruler in Russia’s history. Elle Fanning plays the lead role, with Nicholas Hoult, Phoebe Fox, Gwilym Lee and Sebastian de Souza as co-stars. “Sort of” based on historical facts, according to the trailer, the series is written by Tony McNamara, who was nominated for a screenwriting Oscar for The Favourite at the 2019 Academy Awards. Available May 16

youtube

Homecoming: Season 2 The first season of this critically-acclaimed psychological thriller was adapted from a hit podcast, and featured Stephan James, Julia Roberts, Hong Chau and Bobby Canavale. The show returns for its second season with a new mystery revolving around veterans at the secretive Homecoming facility, and features James and Chau from the first season along with new stars Janelle Monáe, Joan Cusack and Chris Cooper. Available May 22

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lthasablog · 4 years

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The Pop Culture Essence of 2019 -- Part I: Movies

The mere existence of the year 2019 is a mystery to me. One need not do more than glance at Twitter, or just have a conversation with a friend, to notice that this year was unique in its ability to torture anyone who had the nerve to exist. Perhaps it was the horrors of the Trump presidency or the snuffing out of black lives like so many candles in the wind. Maybe it was the government-sanctioned camps cruelly detaining the most vulnerable or the existential threat of climate change bearing down on us all with intense inevitability. No matter the reason, I think we can all agree that 2019 has been the absolute worst and can die in a fire.

Now, It is no surprise that the artists who supply our pop culture took full advantage of the one thing 2019 supplied in spades: chaos. It has been one hell of a year and, most often, I chose to handle my feelings by escaping into movies, television, music and podcasts. To prove to myself that I didn’t waste an entire year of my life, I thought I would take this opportunity to distill the essence of 2019 into a list of the pop culture moments that most personify what 2019 meant to me. If you’re reading this, I hope that you learn a little something about me and how I see the world. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll have a little fun. After all, the real joys of 2019 are the distractions we found along the way.

Before we begin, a small preface — I really enjoy writing but I have never thought that I might have an audience for my work until just now. I’ve seen some of my peers publish their work online to great readership and personal success. I’m looking at you, Lincoln. Don’t worry, I’m not even going to attempt to write down my thoughts about debate, so your domain is safe. That said, if you all like this, then I’ll post more. If not, I will probably post more anyway.

Oh and also, I will only be writing about things I have seen and/or heard for myself. While I steep myself in all things pop culture like it’s my job, I do not feel it intellectually honest to analyze or critique a work with which I have no personal experience. Also, 2019 is, sadly, not over yet. There are many things that would likely be on this list that I just have not had the opportunity to see yet! Queen and Slim, Little Women, Cats (because, like, why and how?), Just Mercy, The Farewell, Uncut Gems and so many others come to mind. So if I leave out some of your favorites, or you just flat out disagree with what I have written here, great! I welcome the opportunity to discover new things and to have an open, civil discourse on mainstream culture.

Part I: The Movies That Defined 2019

Let’s begin with movies. As for every part of this essay, this list in no particular order. So, here are the movies I think most reflect the ouvre of 2019. Oh, and there are some mild spoilers ahead for many items in pop culture, so continue at your own risk.

Hustlers

Immediately after leaving the movie theater, I began telling everyone who would listen, and some who really did not want to, that we were now living in a post-Hustlers world. Perhaps it was the soundtrack. I mean, it is just full of songs which effortlessly evoke the energy of a post-2007/2008 financial crisis New York which reverberated throughout the rest of America in myriad ways. Casting Jennifer Lopez as a dancer in a popular New York strip club, and making her a supporting character in your movie is a major flex. Introducing Lopez’s character, Ramona, by showing her bring down the house to Fiona Apple’s iconic 1996 song, “Criminal” is a stroke of movie-making genius unparalleled by any I have seen in recent memory. Once you get over the majesty of that scene, Hustlers takes the viewer on a thrill ride that can only truly be understood by those who have spent their lives being underestimated by society and yearning to steal back just a fraction of what they are rightly owed. Watch out for your wallets in 2020; we’re living in a post-Hustlers world. Oh also, this movie could NEVER have worked if it were directed by a man. Hollywood, take note.

Jordan Peele’s follow-up to his brilliant debut film Get Out is a weird, winding and wonderful story from beginning to end. While the movie may not have fully fleshed out its mythology as did its predecessor, Get Out, I definitely left the theater with more questions than when I entered. One may find it impossible not to get lost in the metatext of Peele’s take on class divides in the United States and the nation’s many broken promises to black America. Also, Lupita Nyong’o’s dual performances as Adelaide and Red are worth the price of admission! She is truly one of the best actresses of our generation and you know that we are truly living in a bleak timeline when an Academy Award winning performer of her caliber can still be considered underrated by the media meritocracy.

Avengers: Endgame

And now for something completely different…Okay yeah, I know, it’s a comic book movie. However, I will not apologize for the fact that Avengers: Endgame was, by far, the best movie-going experience I had all year. The movie is a marvel, no pun intended, in storytelling, quality of performances and the never ending capitalist machine that is the Marvel and Disney partnership. When you think about it, it is truly awe-inspiring that the folks at Marvel sketched out a decade-long plan that actually worked. Endgame delivered near non-stop thrills and emotion, save perhaps the scene between Black Widow and Hawkeye on Vormir. I don’t think I need to say too much more about this one, especially given that the people have spoken with their dollars, as the movie has set a box office record, with grossed $2.797 billion worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. Also, isn’t it just beautiful when a plan comes together? Honorable mention goes to Captain Marvel, Marvel’s first lady-led feature. I do hope that the promise of Endgame’s seeming pivot to passing the torch to black, women and queer characters actually bears some fruit. A changing of the guard is definitely in order and I am eagerly awaiting Marvel’s next phase.

Midsommar

Warning: Do not break up with Ari Aster. If you do, he might write a film wherein the avatar for his ex will face some nightmarish comeuppance. All kidding aside, Midsommar is definitely not for everyone. The film is a portrait of grief, mental illness and isolation, all set against an idyllic Sweedish backdrop. It is a horror film, but it almost defies genre. While most horror films deal in hiding the monsters in dark corners and opt for jump scares, Astor chooses instead to bathe all of the wretchedness of his characters in sunlight, and many monsters lurk in plain sight. In Midsommar, you can see everything with a cold clarity, and that alone is disorienting. The most terrifying part of Midsommar is that you will walk away questioning the motives and sincerity of every person in your life, while also reevaluating your previous notions of community and what it means to be a part of something larger than yourself. If that is not the perfect allegory for 2019, I don’t know what is.

High Flying Bird

Tarell Alvin McCraney’s screenplay for High Flying Bird is deep, funny and thought-provoking. That said, it was greatly elevated by performances from the tragically underappreciated André Holland, and rising star Zazie Beetz. Set during an NBA lockout, Holland’s sports agent, Ray Burke, begins the film by discovering that all of his company credit cards have been frozen, and that his job hangs perilously in the balance due to a situation over which he seemingly has no control. Watching Holland navigate the NBA brass, his player clients and the media with a demure and suaveness typically only reserved for the DiCaprios or Pitts of the world is not only refreshing, but necessary. Beetz lends heart and charasma to the film, playing Burke’s assistant, Sam. Beetz’s character motivations are clear yet ever-evolving. She gets to be complex, smart and just cool. It is also really interesting to see a movie lend voice to the idea that if professional athletes ever just decided to unite and refuse to play by the rules of the NBA or the NFL, those in power who profit from their labor would become nearly powerless. It’s a pretty cool premise and frankly, you love to see it.

Parasite

I only recently saw Parasite, but I now understand what all the hype is about. It is difficult to know for sure what director Bong Joon-ho, and his writing partner Han Jin-won who helped Bong pen the screenplay, meant for the audience to take away from this film. Now, I do not want to spoil it for those who may not have seen it. In many ways, Parasite is the long lost sibling of Us. Both movies are tales of the upstairs/downstairs nature of class division. While Peele examines America, Bong gives American audiences a glimpse into the haves and have-nots of a Korean city, and its literal highs and lows. While the Parks are an affluent family who live in their own city which is at the top of an actual hill, the poverty-stricken Kims, meanwhile, live in a literal subterranean basement. This makes the Kims’ quest to improve their lot in life a true social climb. Also present in Parasite is the inescapable reality of climate change, along with the stark contrast on how its effects on the rich are inherently disparate to those on the poor.

Now for the movie grab bag…

These are films that I think capture something of the spirit of 2019, but in a manner explicable in a few sentences or less. They are:

-Glass: So much promise…so little pay off. I mean, apparently one of the heroes’ kryptonite is puddles…

-Ready or Not: Who among us would not hunt down wealthy, would-be murders in a wedding gown that is sleek, yet allows for a shocking amount of mobility?

-Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood and The Irishmen: I was surprised by how “whelmed” I was by these films. Perhaps they warrant a rewatch, because I truly love Tarantino’s work and I grew up idolizing Scorsese. To me, these are quintessential dad films. That’s not a knock on dads or dad films, it’s just not where I am right now…

-Marriage Story: Loved it. I’ll simply say this – For your consideration: Adam Driver and Laura Dern.

-Joker: This movie was a pastiche of 70s and 80s era Scorsese films, which took itself far too seriously for me to give it any serious consideration. Was this movie unflinchingly a product of 2019? Yes. It thrived on the buzz, provided by the dual weapons of entertainment writers and social media. The whole origin story of a white terrorist thing was cute. Was Joaquin Phoenix’s performance good? Sure, it really was. However, I liked the character better when he played it in The Master, or Her…I think you get what I’m going for here.

Next up, television! I think this might be my favorite category. Be on the lookout for part two. Check out LT Has a Blog. Yeah, I know, but I wanted the name to be a statement of fact. ‘Til next time!

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