#currently watching A Gentlemens Guide to Love and Murder and it’s so good

[starkidlabs]

Thinking about all the musicals that could be staged on the West End and how we’re getting Mean Girls the musical (and a dozen other musicals based on 90s/00s romcoms) instead

[gellavonhamster]

monthly media recap: september 2023

read:

Angélique, the Road of Hope and The Victory of Angélique by Anne Golon - can't believe I finished this, lol. It's a pity book 14 wasn't published, but book 13 provides a conclusion to many main plotlines, so it's still a decent ending. I will always wonder if another one of my brotps was supposed to reunite in the last book, though :D For all its faults, enjoyed this series tremendously; it's the people helping and supporting each other even in the bleakest circumstances for me

Ten Thousand Stitches by Olivia Atwater - Regency Faerie Tales part two, even cuter than part one. Seriously, these books are such a delight, I need to read part three ASAP

Spēlēju, dancoju / I Played, I Sang by Rainis - girl help, my Latvian vocabulary does not include that much archaic and/or poetic language, but I did understand enough to see how beautiful it is

Gaywick by Vincent Virga - I read that one liveblogging thread/channel, so I was familiar with the plot, but it was still so interesting to see it all happen. Incredible how a book can cover so many disturbing, truly Gothic themes and still be hopeful and sweet, loved it

Vadriel Vail by Vincent Virga - Gaywick Trilogy book 2, not nearly as good as the first one. Constant timeskips, important events only told in passing, one of the MCs is a boring Gary Stu and the other disgusting. Bearable thanks to the first one's wife and characters from book 1

The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton - it's not terrible and had some interesting stuff, but still felt sort of... superficial? Most of the characters felt underdeveloped, the story often felt like an outline. I bought it mostly because it was cheap and I'm glad it was.

+ currently reading Children of Paradise (Gaywick Trilogy #3)

watched:

Apteeker Melchior / Melchior the Apothecary (2023) - a murder mystery set in medieval Tallinn. Something bugged me about the dialogue, but I mostly enjoyed the plot and the familiar setting

The Skeleton Key (2005) - Southern Gothic, a grim old house, and Hoodoo magic. Enjoyed the final plot twists and how they recontextualize a lot of stuff earlier in the movie. Was rooting for the heroine but also had to hand it to the antagonists in the end, good for them

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) - so, so charming. Impossible not to hum and move along to the songs. Marilyn Monroe, of course, is a goddess, but Jane Russell tho... gentlemen might prefer blondes but I'm no gentleman

How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) - also charming and funny, though I found it a bit less interesting than the previous one; still good though

Constantine (2005) - I frequently felt like I was missing some context. Either I'm stupid or it's just because I haven't read the comics, but shouldn't a movie adaptation be understandable even for those unfamiliar with the source? Otherwise it was ok and had Rachel Weisz in it

Rebecca (1940) - not nearly as haunting as the novel, but a good film nevertheless. Mostly I just wanted to protect the narrator :( she's so cute

also, a bit unrelated, probably, but I saw two theatre performances last month - one was a live screening of Good by the National Theatre (powerful, amazingly done, probably wouldn't have decided to see it by myself, so thanks to the friend who suggested it) and the other The Three Musketeers neo-classical ballet at the Latvian National Opera and Ballet (really nice, cool stage design, I posted a trailer here)

[solohux]

We’re almost halfway through the year so I felt in the mood to make a rec list, and what better fics to rec than the ones which have possibly been overlooked in 2020!

Please remember that this is my own rec list and not being on here does not reflect skill, enjoyment or anything else. It’s just my opinion!

Enjoy! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

• Pretty Little Bunny by funnylookinfella (2.2k, E) Kylo makes the 'mistake' of telling Hux he thinks bunnies are cute. Just a silly little smut fic for springtime!

• Kitten by koi_boi (3k, M) Hux sleeps in an orange cat onesie (which happens to match Millicent). Kylo catches him snoozing in said onesie. They cuddle.

•  Paintball Warriors by @rudbeckiasun​ (2k, E) Supreme Leader Kylo Ren decrees that all officers must have shore leave. Then someone suggests teambuilding activities. Hux isn’t convinced, but paintballing turns out to be far more entertaining than he ever imagined.

• You're My Fucked Up Remedy by @nonsensicalsoliloquy​ (15.7k, E) For years now, Hux had plans. For so many long, arduous years he’d schemed in the shadows, waging a silent war with the men who’d taken his life and diligently strived to have it suit their every desire. He thought himself prepared for anything. However, what Hux hadn’t planned for, what took over his messed up existence like it suddenly had any other meaning beyond vengeance…was Ren.

• Revenge is Best Served with Hesitation by @heresetrash (4.6k, E) Hux had never been one to do his own dirty work. He preferred to send others to perform those tasks for him. Not because he couldn't do them himself - he was more than capable - but such work was time-consuming and messy, and he had better things to do. Kylo, however, was different. This was personal. Hux didn't just want to kill him himself, he needed to.

• Matters of Efficiency by mundanecactus (4.3k, T) A diplomatic mission goes awry, and General Hux is forced to admit that maybe he doesn't have a protocol for everything...

• Sick Day by newh0pe (2.3k, T) Kylo Ren has killed Supreme Leader Snoke and become one of the most powerful men in the galaxy... but his boyfriend still has to drag him out of bed when he isn't feeling well and baby him.

• We Remain by @drxcomxlfoys​ (1.1k, G) Kylo finds Hux in the holding cell after Pryde shot him. They both decide to leave the First Order.

• Smirks and Cigarettes by @ashenpages​ (1.8k, T) The first time Hux has Ren light his cigarette, it isn’t planned or discussed, or even a sensible time to be smoking.

•  ghosts from the past by morlawny (<1k, T) It was the same nightmare he had been having for the past few months, and it was haunting him. His father’s voice, the look he gave him… The way his hand touched his face... Kylo released a deep, heavy sigh, causing the body next to him to stir.

• Regeneration by DaisyChainz (3.8k, E) Hux discovers Kylo Ren out in the woods practicing a local ritual to welcome their current planet's Vernal Equinox. Somehow he gets drawn into the rites and finds that, while he objects to the mess, there might be something to the idea of 'renewal'.

• You're Making Fun of Me by DeviantDarkBelle (<1k, M) Kissing something that shouldn't be kissed.

• A Murder on Starscatter Isle by @theweddingofthefoxes​ (WIP, 8.2k, M) Detective Armitage Hux has volunteered for the case of a lifetime -- solving the murder of Snoke, the leader of a mysterious and isolated commune. If he succeeds, he's sure to get promoted. But if he fails, he could be in for more than he ever expected. Is the new leader, Kylo Ren, a friend, a foe, or something else entirely?

• By the Grace of the Fire and the Flames by Mothwing (11.1k, E) The sight of the pale, sunken chest lifting, pausing, falling again as the valve released. Air escaped the slack mouth with a little huff. Hux’s eyes were sunken and closed. He looked so much smaller than Ben remembered, vulnerable, almost soft around the edges, all his wiry strength gone. Ben had strangled him with both the force and his bare hands before, in anger and in a lust that felt very much like anger. And even though it could have never been easier to end his life, something stopped Ben just as it had always stopped Kylo. Something about the dry patches on his hands. Something about the blue shadows under his eyes. It felt odd to say this, but there was simply no honour in killing this man. Nothing good would come from ending this life, even though, and Ben knew that, they both deserved to die. A little balance. A little justice. And you could not tell a corpse that it’d lost. Ben dismissed the thought. No one was even keeping score any more.

• Whole Worlds Fade by boomsherlocka (34.5k, M) Their first meeting was not noteworthy. Hux was not yet General, and Ren was not yet what he would eventually become.

• Watch This by DaisyChainz (2k, E) Hux had never had a lover like Kylo before: someone that wants Hux, and not just a random warm body. So Hux Really wants to give Kylo what he's asking for, but he's just so damn exhausted. Luckily, Kylo has a stimulating solution.

• Aural by @kyluxtrashpit​ (2.7k, E) Hux fucks Kylo's ear.

• let go by DarthKyloRen (1.8k, G) “You’re in pain,” Ben’s small voice broke the silence. Kylo nodded in agreement. “I am.” “You don’t have to be.” “Yes I do.”

•  The Bidding by tsar_saltans_swan (3.4k, T) "Going once, going twice, won't these gentlemen suffice?" Armitage, a young lawyer, is suddenly thrown into an auction house to atone for the crime of not finding a wife by 25. It's a living hell... until he meets Ben.

• My Jolly Sailor Bold by @ellalba​ (<1k, G) A ship wonders into the Knight’s of Ren territory and get taken down by Kylo and his knights. Kylo has always been fascinated by humans but never really gotten the opportunity to actually interact with one in a way that doesn’t end with bloody murder. So he spots his opportunity to keep one when he sees a survivor getting away in a rowboat. A survivor with red hair.

• Take A Jump And Pray, May The Force Guide You by @ggerisminth​ (5.5k, M) The Resistance won, there is peace, well their version of peace. It isn't peace, it isn't even stability. It's just as worse as it was if not worse. But the far greater tragedy is the death of her family, and she will do everything in her power to get them back, even if that means using a technology created by the Sith to take her back in time. Even if it means that it might not work, or that she can never come back. She will never stop fighting to get them back, that is a promise. A promise to the Force, the Stars, and the Moon.

• Stay or Go? by Lokisbestgirl (5k, M) Hux enters into an arranged marriage with General Pryde for power and protection, but he's not getting any satisfaction in the bedroom. When Kylo comes around, they start sleeping together behind Enric's back and Hux finds out he is expecting. The trick is to get Pryde to sleep with Armitage again before suspicion arises. Will Pryde find out or will they get away with it all?            

• Fixed by Offing (<1k, T) There was a small bottle sitting on the side table. It was clear, filled with a yellow liquid, and labeled simply, “Happiness”. A hypodermic needle sat next to it.    

• I Really Wish I Hated You by inquisitor_tohru (1.5k, T) In another galaxy far, far away, Kylo Ren becomes aware that the voices he's hearing may not be aIl that they seem and comes to the unfortunate conclusion that Hux may be his only hope.              

• Caim by Eiramma (20k, T) Hux is stolen from his academy bunk late one night and is dumped on the frozen waste land that is Ilum along with a small handful of his other classmates. Despite never having dreamed a night of his life, on his first night on this frozen planet, Hux finds himself in the body of an angry padawan, Ben Solo. As his stay on Ilum continues, it becomes apparent that pair of them share some sort of deep connection forged through mysticism of the Force, that permits them spend their dreams in one another's waking lives, and Hux has no idea why. But with danger lurking around every snow covered tree, Hux begins to wonder if he will be able to live long enough to understand the mystery of their bond, never mind deal with the growing fondness for the other boy that has begun to bloom in his heart.

• A War of Wages by R_Quarion (2.9k, M) When Kylo Ren kills Palpatine and the power is passed onto him, the Rebellion becomes a story of the past. With the First and Final Order in control of the galaxy, Hux cannot believe that he doesn't even have control over his own paychecks. Phasma is stubborn.

• Wookie Wash by @bostarsky​ & @sunnywritesstuff​ (5.6k, E) There had been posters, propaganda on the minuscule level. Nobody had been bold enough to do anything directly, but Hux could tell the decision had not been taken well by his men. That was when he had prompted the head of morale on base to do something about the insurrection, and she had told him she would fix it. Hoping he had finally washed his hands of the matter, Hux had gone back about his day as normal. That had been three days ago, before all the racket. The issue with the campaign was that the model who had been shown in the ad was... Incredibly attractive, to say the least, and apparently the morale officer said that that man was none other than Kylo Ren. Now, nobody had ever seen his face before, but everyone always assumed he was ugly. Hux loathed drama and gossip of all kinds, it distracted his officers from their important duties... But even he couldn't get over the ridiculousness of the new advertisement. There was no way in the galaxy that such an attractive man could be under that mask, and Hux wanted to get to the bottom of it.

• To be Licked, Topped and Loved by hexgoldyloins (2.1k, E) Ren wants to be licked, topped and loved. Hux is willing to explore that.

• For This One Night by Lady_Faulkner (<1k, T) As Starkiller Base nears its completion, Supreme Leader Snoke orders General Hux to go on vacation. The general isn’t pleased. At least he has Kylo Ren in a speedo to look at.

• Halloween Candles by @paperprinc3​ (1.3k, M) Ben convinces his friend Hux to help him with a ritual so that Ben can try and talk to his dead grandfather Anakin. The ritual requires a virgin host to take the spirit however Hux didn't think that it was meant literally.

• Fate Is A Cruel Thing by shinogi (<1k, T) What would happen if Kylo was on the steadfast during the events that took place to Hux?    

• An Eros Festival Gift by Lady_Faulkner (<1k, T) Hux has been away for two weeks, but he’s due back on the start the Eros Festival, a galaxy wide festival of love, and Kylo has the perfect gift for him. That is, he hopes he does.

• An Earned Reward by PrincessDesire (5.2k, E) Hux rewards his sub Ren for a successful mission.

• Snow Powered by IsaiahVirus (<1k, G) Kylo finds comfort in the snow and in Hux.

• Calligraphy by @emperorsvornskr​ (1.1k, T) Kylo goes back to an old form of meditation assistance, and asks Hux to participate to give them both some stress relief.

• He's Got the Whole World in his Hands by undernightlight  (<1k, G)   Finally, he is the Supreme Leader. He has the power he’s always deserved, the power that was promised to him, so then, why does he still feel hollow?    

• Twin Crowns by kylux_nonsense (<1k, G) Twin thrones, one black marble on white floor, one white marble on black floor. Twin crowns, one rests amongst long, dark hair, one sits atop fiery red. There is but one galaxy, and in all its infinite variety every corner owes its allegiance to one or the other.

• Eh, it's love by @abboh​ (<1k, G) Hux was never one to show love of any degree but then there was Kylo, who showed his love in his own little ways.

• Castles in the Sand by orphan_account (2.4k, T)   A depressed General Hux and his secretive obsessive pining for Kylo Ren.      

• The Duel of the Fates by mheb (31.2k, E) Hux’s datapad chimed again, a call from Kuat this time, and he sighed aloud at it, exasperated. “What?” Hux leaned back in his chair, eyeing the holographic figure seated across from him, the shadowy form of their TIE cockpit barely visible around their body, the entire image emitted from the steel inlay in the far wall that Hux used to transmit his speeches. Hux carelessly knocked over a good half of the physical chess pieces in front of him, putting his bare feet up on his desk. His projected guest scowled at him. But Hux paled at the words that met his ears through his datapad. 'Jedi are with the rebel group that bombed the fueling station...the girl is here.' He ended the call without a goodbye, returning to the other conversation he’d been having, up until this point quite pleasant. “Ren.”

• And They Were Bottoms! (~oh my God, they were bottoms~) by   Ki_Ken_Tai_Ichi (<1k, T) Kylo and Hux both had very similar -and yet very different- plans for how their first night of intimacy was going to go.

• Tough Games by ouigeneral (4k, E) Kylo Ren and Armitage Hux have been participating in a secret relationship for a while. Both men love power play and experimenting with bondage. One night Hux organises a surprise for Kylo. Kylo certainly is surprised.  

• Hate until you love by SuperEllen (<1k, T) Can you hate someone so much that you actually love them?            

• Mark Me, Burn Me (the sun is nothing compared to you) by                 DiamondCrystalInk (1.7k, T) Enjoying a morning on Coruscant, Hux gives Ren a proposition. It's time Hux leaves his mark.

• Put Your Money on Me by Asrael_Valtiri (2.5k, E, WIP) He felt Ren press against his back, wrap his arms around his waist. He couldn’t help himself; he leaned back into Ren’s broad chest. Hux was glad their full-length mirror was behind them; he didn’t want Ren to see his face. So Hux closed his eyes a moment, let himself pretend he possessed all he’d ever wanted. Power, security, order, galactic peace--and above all, Ren.

• deep by g4t1t0 (2.9k, T) snoke dies and kylo ren is lost. hux hates to see him this way, but for a reason he cant name/hux prefers to see ren enraged, violent, hungry/he gets what he wants

• Heads Will Roll by @pizzzazlut​ (2.3k, M) Hux and Kylo decide to venture into the notoriously haunted Arkanis Asylum one night to try and see if they can get actual evidence in their ongoing investigation into the question, are ghosts real?

• Grandfather of the Century by ashangel101010 (<1k, T) The Emperor of the Seven Sith Hells does his best to protect his grandson.

• Love and Fear by @abboh​ (<1k, G) Sometimes it is better to be feared than loved by your people. But, gazing down from above, love can be found amdist all that fear.

• Take A Moment To Ask Yourself, Is This How We Fall Apart? by @bumblebae8​ (1k, T) Take a moment to ask yourself… if this is how we fall apart?

• You Ruined It by ravenlights (1.1k, T) Kylo Ren is serious about home-baked muffins, and Hux, well. Hux ruins it.          

• Crevices Of Sanity by WynneWritesHQ (<1k, T) How late the hour was, or how ramshackle the small room in which General Hux had decided he would spend the night, did not matter anymore. Not when everything he could think about was the man kissing his neck, carrying him aloft and onto some crates that, miraculously, withstood the general disorder better than the dusty residues beneath his always-well-polished boots.

• Pygmalion by orphan_account (17.4k, T) This is a story inspired by the theme of artificial intelligence and explores Armitage Hux's feelings of loneliness and isolation in the First Order. Unable or unwilling to seek out human connections and relationships, Hux turns to a company which provides custom built androids as personal companions to satisfy his need for intimacy.

Adjacent Ship Recs

• Home for Dinner by DaisyChainz (2.9k, E) Matt is always so sweet and attentive to Techie. When he's having a bad day, Techie tries to be brave enough to make things better for him.

 • Icing on the (Strawberry) Cake by Luxuria_Ira (3.6k, G) On a rainy night in June, Clyde takes Stensland up into the rolling hills of West Virginia and asks him a question that's been on the tip of his tongue since they met.

• Better, Ren? by DeviantDarkBelle (1.5k, E) Before Hux and Kylo have to return from leave, Hux hopes he can treat Kylo to something nice. Of course, Thomas and Charlie are more than willing to help out.

• Someone could see us by DeviantDarkBelle (<1k, E) Thomas McGregor is on vacation in NYC. He runs into Charlie Barber. Somewhere along the way, feelings are caught.     

• Horny Hearts by Rattlesnake (9.5k, E, WIP) Techie has a new flatmate called Matt and all he can really think about is doing it with him.

• Leaving It Up to You by undernightlight (8k, E) Henry Beard had been staring at him all day - Flip wasn't blind. Once it was just the two of them in the office, Flip decided to casually confront him about why. He had a mild suspicion, but he wanted to know for sure. He likes to be proven right.

• The Might and Measure of Love by @atlinmerrick (1.2k, E) A clearer invitation to go poking around inside Mr Cheung's house was never made, so a minute later and sure enough Clyde found Stens in the bathroom making weird little frantic noises. Clyde knew those noises. They were 'trying desperately to get off because of awkwardly-timed stiffy' noises.

[elizadoolittlethings]

Mark Gatiss: I learnt my entire moral code from Doctor Who - radiotimes

The writer of Who episode Sleep No More speaks passionately about how Third Doctor Jon Pertwee guided his childhood, and why shows like Sherlock and Doctor Who should be cherished for much more than just audience ratings

Mark Gatiss urgently wants to get something off his chest. He’s a polite, affable man, but there’s a furious fire burning in his breast – about ratings. “The ratings system is insane and iniquitous. I’ve seen grown men crying because their show got 6.3 million [viewers] instead of a hoped-for 6.5. They make a difference to a person’s career.”

His scorn has been stirred by the muffled bells ringing quite audibly during this current series of Doctor Who. (He’s written Saturday’s episode starring his old League of Gentlemen mate Reece Shearsmith.)

In September, mirrors were turned to walls and curtains were drawn as observers sorrowfully/gleefully announced that so-called “overnight” ratings saw Doctor Who slump to a “ten-year low” (against The X Factor and Rugby World Cup on ITV) with fewer than five million viewers.

But Gatiss, stage, film and TV actor, documentary-maker, author and co-creator with his great friend Steven Moffat of the stratospherically successful reimagined Sherlock, is having none of it.

“These overnight figures are based on a system of 5,000 set-top boxes, which is essentially a Gallup poll and we all know how accurate they are. If they provided a thumbnail sketch of what people are watching, fine, but people’s careers and projects rise and fall with them. This is nuts. Everybody watches television in a different way from the way they did four, five years ago. Yet the people who make a fuss about overnights are the same people who go home and watch TV in an entirely different way.

“That’s the modern world we live in and I’m not being defensive, but when you add everything together – timeshifting, plus iPlayer – [Doctor Who’s] ratings are the same as they ever were. But there is no capital in saying ‘Doctor Who’s ratings remain roughly the same’, so people make a story out of it.”

‘Bake Off will never be watched again – Doctor Who will be watched in 100 years’ time’

The Great British Bake Off final was recently handed the most-watched show of the year crown with more than 15m viewers, but Gatiss won’t roll over: “There’s a huge difference between the temporary popularity of a game show or factual entertainment show and something that has a proper legacy. Those episodes of Bake Off or The X Factor, and their virtues are manifest, will never be watched again. Yet Doctor Who will be watched in 50 years’ time, 100 years’ time. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. I love things to be popular, I want things to be watched, but this sort of scrutiny is deadly.”

Gatiss is so angry because he loves, and has always loved, television. Growing up happily in County Durham, he was obsessed by Doctor Who, horror films and horror stories. They provided a refuge from hated PE lessons. In his recent Who Do You Think You Are?, where he found he’s descended from Irish royalty, he held up his career as “a long revenge against PE… children who are not necessarily sporty should take a bit of heart.”

“Television was a huge friend to me. Anything supernatural I would just hunt out, and I loved all of those great big dramas like Poldark and The Duchess of Duke Street, and that Brian Clemens series Thriller. As a kid I really wanted to be in something like The Six Wives of Henry VIII [BBC’s 1970 historical blockbuster with Keith Michell as the axe-happy monarch].”

Though Gatiss satisfied that particular Tudor ambition when he appeared in Wolf Hall as master of the dark arts Stephen Gardiner.

Dodging the eye of their PE teacher, Gatiss and a friend would walk around the football pitch talking about horror. He even made “a small living from writing unbelievably gruesome stories about murdering all the teachers we hated”.

“I learnt my entire moral code from Jon Pertwee”

Bloody tales about javelins being inserted into brains were favourites. “I used to dream of not having to go outside in the cold to play football and instead sitting in the library. I think you can do that now, so maybe the pendulum has swung too far the other way.”

Of course, Doctor Who was little Mark Gatiss’s favourite TV show – and it should still be on at teatime, he insists, not nomadically some time after 8pm: “Put it on at a proper time, put it on where it should be, when Pointless Celebrities is on. That’s where it belongs, otherwise you are almost perversely cutting off your key audience, which is children.”

This is particularly important for Gatiss: “I learnt my entire moral code from Jon Pertwee [the Doctor, 1970–74], and also what TV still should be about, which is a very Reithian thing. I learnt so much from TV in the best kind of osmotic way. I absorbed morality, I absorbed a kind of scepticism and enjoyment of story, and oddness, and narrative. These days it’s so hard to get those things through; it’s almost become a dirty word to say ‘culture’. Education should be so much more than getting a good job.”

I first met Mark Gatiss in 2000 in a chilly disused hospital in Manchester when he and his friends Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton and Jeremy Dyson were filming series two of The League of Gentlemen, the one where an epidemic of nosebleeds strikes down the grotesque population of that weird northern town, Royston Vasey.

The four of them became friends and performers after meeting on a drama course at Bretton Hall, then a part of Leeds University. “We had a totally shared sensibility. Sometimes people talk about the League as if we spotted a gap in the market and filled it. But basically it was just what made us laugh, horror tinged with all of those things we loved, like Rising Damp, Porridge, Mike Leigh films and Alan Bennett, who is an absolute copper-bottomed god.

“After my Desert Island Discs I got a postcard from him. I was so touched. He said he was in a real hole and stuck on something and I’d said something about him on the show and he told me it completely bucked him up. I thought… if I’ve done that for Alan Bennett…” Of course, he doesn’t have to end that thought.

Sherlock Christmas special will be modern and period

Gatiss, who’s 49 and lives in north London with his husband, actor Ian Hallard, is currently writing scripts for the new series of Sherlock, in which he also stars as Sherlock’s ascetic brother Mycroft – but anticipation for the Christmas special, The Abominable Bride, is heady.

“It’s a Sherlock ghost story for Christmas, but that’s all I’m going to tell you.” Unless the trailers are particularly obtuse, it’s set in the Victorian era. Why take Sherlock back to his original chronological habitat? “Steven [Moffat] and I realised that now, and at no other time, we would have the chance to do what Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce did [in the Sherlock films, 1939–46], which was modern and period.”

Gatiss and Moffat’s shared love of Doyle’s books and the Rathbone/Bruce canon sparked many meandering “wouldn’t it be nice if” conversations between the two before the decision to go ahead with a modern Sherlock was made.

“We confessed that the modern-day-set Rathbones were our favourites of all, which was heretical. We talked and I said, ‘Isn’t it funny that in A Study in Scarlet Dr Watson is invalided home from war service in Afghanistan and we were going through another Afghan war. We looked at each other and the light bulb went on.”

Benedict Cumberbatch, whose star has rocketed to the highest reaches of the heavens, was their only choice. Casting Watson took a bit longer. “We saw about half a dozen people but as soon as Benedict and Martin [Freeman] were together, Steven leant over to me and said, ‘There’s the show.’ ”

[fataziraphale]

gentlemen's guide to love and murder for the musical meme!

absolutely!!

Favourite Character: I don’t talk about her enough on this blog, but Sibella Hallward is legitimately like… on my list of top 5 female characters of all time

Least Favourite Character: I just don’t find Miss Shingle that funny, I guess? I think it’s because “You’re a D’Ysquith” is the first song we hear the characters actually sing, and it always falls flat to me. Like that song specifically was why I didn’t think I would like this musical the first time I listened to it, because it’s just… exposition tbh. Not particularly funny or musically good. I do enjoy her role in the end of the show though.

Favourite OBC Cast Member: I love Lisa O’Hare so much, but I think I’m gonna have to give this one to Bryce Pinkham. His facial expressions, the stuff he does with his voice… he made the show. I feel like it’s important for Monty to have a very delicate balance between charming and likable and a little sinister, and he nailed it.

Favourite Current Cast Member (If Applicable): aaaa unfortunately the show is no more ;n; and I’m not very familiar with the touring cast (I saw the original cast on Broadway and I’m not that familiar with any cast after that, although I did see an understudy for Phoebe who I believe went on to be the main Phoebe?)

Favourite Song: “I’ve Decided to Marry You” is a cliché answer, but it really is my favorite. Second place would probably go to “The Last One You Expect.”

Least Favourite Song: like I said, “You’re a D’Ysquith.” I guess I answered that last question with this one oops

Favourite Act (If Applicable): probably act 1 because I really enjoy watching all those murders, but I quite enjoy act 2 as well

Favourite Ship: MONTY/SIBELLA/PHOEBE OT3!!!! if I have to pick just two of them, I’d say Monty/Sibella. one of my strongest interpretations of the show is that Lionel is abusive to Sibella, at least emotionally (he gets mad at her if she gains even an ounce?????? also in Kind Hearts and Coronets he’s very clearly physically abusive) so I feel really weird about headcanons that have Monty and Phoebe married while Sibella is just… stuck in a marriage that, if it’s not abusive, is at least very unhappy for her

Least Favourite Ship: again, Sibella/Lionel, lmao

If There is Something I Would Change about The Musical: I love the book of this show. I think it’s clever and original, has a wonderful plot, has very rich characters, and is very funny without relying on cheap or crude jokes. On the other hand, I think some of the music is a little lackluster. The lyrics are hilarious, but the melodies of the songs themselves are often not super musically interesting, so I guess I’d change that? Also, make it clearer at the end that Monty, Phoebe, and Sibs are doing some kind of threeway relationship thing, although it is, to be fair, pretty clear

Ratings: 8/10 (love the show on a personal level, dunno that I’d say it’s a true masterpiece on an artistic level)

[thezachrogers]

The top 50 films of 2016 cont...

(added 9 more films, top 59) - revised 4/3/2017 *chuckle* *chuckle*

Okay, Okay, I see what’s happening yeah, you’re face to face with greatness…

Ladies and gentlemen, the TOP 25 FILMS OF 2016 (from what I saw)

32. Florence Foster Jenkins 4 Stars (86% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7/10 on IMDB)

31. Paterson 4 Stars (95% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.6/10 on IMDB)

30. La La Land 4 Stars (93% on Rotten Tomatoes 8.9/10 on IMDB) Watch it on Redbox, not worth spending your hard earned money in the theater.

29. Kubo and the Two Strings 4.5 Stars (97% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8/10 on IMDB) This was one of the darkest animated theatrical films I have ever seen; more so than The Nightmare Before Christmas. The voice acting cast is definitely the most A List of the year with Matthew McConaughey, Charlize Theron, and Ralph Fiennes. The kids need to be a little older to watch this one. 

28. Disney’s Queen of Katwe *family film* 4 Stars (92% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.3/10 on IMDB) 

27. Fences 4.75 Stars (94% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8/10 on IMDB) 

I ranked this film so low because I did not necessarily like it. Denzel Washington and Viola Davis both gave outstanding performances and most likely one of them, if not both will win the Golden Globe and/or the Academy Award. The content of this film was super dark and there really wasn’t a story; just a whole lot of dialog. I imagine it would be a better Broadway play (as seen above) than a movie. It is rated PG-13 but families, if you want to see this film, it is not for the kids. There were two families in the theater I watched this in and the film has a constant use of the n word. Kids do not need to see this. Wait for rental for this one, not worth seeing in theaters.

26. Captain Fantastic 5 Stars (82% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.9/10 on IMDB)

Incredible movie about modern hippy living. I unfortunately know someone who lives like this with his family and it is so sad to watch these people’s lives unfold. The world is progressing, not regressing and this film reveals the harsh realities of what these families go through. These people are not happy, they are just running from what is in front of them, the kids get little glimpses of what REAL LIFE is like and they want more, and that is okay, yet the selfish parents don’t let these kids have the opportunity to have any sort of reality and attainable success. I hate knowing that people actually live like this. I love that this movie brings awareness to it. Keeping kids from medicine and starving them IS CHILD ABUSE. Period. There is no way around it. This movie is rated R for language.

25. Sing Street 4 Stars (95% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8/10 on IMDB) now on Netflix

24. Loving 4 Stars (89% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.1/10 on IMDB)

23. Eddie the Eagle 4 Stars *family film* (80% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.4/10 on IMDB) now on HBOGO

22. Blood Father 4 Stars (89% on Rotten Tomatoes, 6.5/10 on IMDB)

21. Hunt for the Wilderpeople 5 Stars (97% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.9/10 on IMDB) 

Feel good movie of the year. Was definitely a sleeper. Beautiful Cinematography of New Zealand and Sam Neil’s best performance to date. Watched this film on New Year’s Eve and I am glad I did! Now available on hulu and redbox!

20. The Edge of Seventeen 4 Stars (95% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.5/10 on IMDB)

19. Deadpool 4 Stars (84% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8.1/10 on IMDB) From 15 to 1, these are all the movies you should have seen in theaters or missed out on. If you can catch ANY of the below films in theaters, DO IT. #rantover. Anyways, this is an R Rated Comedy. Fortunately, I watched a limited censored version on FXX. But I'm telling you, go read the parents guide on IMDB. Again, parents this is an R-Rated comedy for graphic violence, language, and full on nudity, DO NOT LET YOUR KIDS TO SEE THIS!

18. Sully 5 Stars (86% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.6/10 on IMDB) Watched this on Redbox last week, one of the five films I wish I saw in theaters in 2016. Tom Hanks and Clint Eastwood definitely got snubbed of Golden Globe nominations. One of Hanks’s best performances. Shove it in there with Forrest Gump, Captain Phillips, Saving Private Ryan, Philadelphia, Bridge of Spies, Cast Away, Saving Mr. Banks, Catch Me If You Can, The Green Mile, Big, Apollo 13…never mind.

17. Deepwater Horizon 4 Stars (84% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.3/10 on IMDB) On DVD Jan. 10

16. Arrival 4.5 Stars (94% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8.3/10 on IMDB) Interstellar and Inception made love and conceived Arrival. What a freaking movie. Amy Adams is currently nominated for the Golden Globe, I don’t know why for a Sci-Fi film, but its probably because of Denis Villeneuve’s directing. This movie has me so amped up for Blade Runner 2049 and the second installment in the Sicaro franchise. See this movie while it is still in theaters and let your mind be blown!

15. Manchester by the Sea 5 Stars (96% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8/10 on IMDB)

Read review here.

14. Disney/Pixar’s Finding Dory 5 Stars *family film* (94% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.5 on IMDB) 

It’s the sequel to Finding Nemo, do I need to say anything else?

13. Marvel’s Doctor Strange *family film* 5 Stars (91% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.9/10 on IMDB) I have this filmed currently ranked #3 out of the 14 Marvel films. It is Benedict Cumberbatch at his best. Might be the most psychedelic movie I have ever watched. GO SEE IT IN THEATERS IN IMAX 3D NOW

12. Disney’s The Jungle Book *family film* 5 Stars (94% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.6/10 on IMDB) Jon Favreau is a freaking genius. A-List Ensemble voice cast is superb. You will fall in love with Neel Sethi (Mowgli) and be in awe of the beautiful imagery in this movie. One of the best movies I saw in theaters in 2016. Now available to watch on Netflix.

11. Hell or High Water 5 Stars (98% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.8/10 on IMDB) Hate that I missed this one in theaters. I like to call this one “The Finest Hours 2″ since Chris Pine and Ben Foster are a duo in this film as well. This is a thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire movie. Rent on Redbox immediately!

10. Everybody Wants Some!! 5 Stars (96% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.1/10 on IMDB) 

Another movie I missed in theaters. 2016 was such a great year for sleeper comedies. So many underrated comedies and too many overrated comedies came out in 2016. This is Richard Linklater’s 80s College follow-up to the 70s High School cult classic Dazed and Confused. Definitely a lot of great up and coming stars in this film. In about 15 years we will look back at some of these actors’ careers and this is the film that will be their launching pad, I guarantee it.

9. Lion 5 Stars (86% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8.1/10 on IMDB)

8. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 5 Stars *family film* (85% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8.1/10 on IMDB)

My favorite movie of 2016, obviously. This film is also my #2 favorite of the nine Star Wars theatrical films falling to The Empire Strikes Back. I was never old enough to experience the original trilogy in theaters and I think this was the closest I will ever get to that. It took me back to that world of the 1977 original film. Rogue One takes place just moments before the original 1977 film. Darth Vader and Grand Moff Tarkin (1977 original characters) play major roles in this film which is the biggest takeaway of this movie. Other cameos of older characters from both the original trilogy and the prequel trilogies will make all the fanboys go nuts. Go see this movie now before it leaves theaters. I know I will.

7. The Revenant 5 Stars (82% on Rotten Tomatoes and 8/10 on IMDB)

The most gruesome and realest film I have ever seen. This 3 time winning Oscar film is deserving for every award and nomination. The role of Leonardo DiCaprio’s career, he goes on a manhunt for the man who murdered his son, based on a true story during the post colonial times in America. This is a buyer for blu-ray.

6. Eye In the Sky 5 Stars (95% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.3/10 on IMDB)

Alan Rickman’s final film of his career (rest in peace). This realistic modern warfare drama is all about the hardships of drone warfare. It’s not as simple as pulling a trigger and flying a ship from a cubicle. Go rent this one on redbox now.

5. Captain America: Civil War 5 Stars *family film* (90% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8/10 on IMDB)

Clearly Marvel does not have enough good villains to spread across their cinematic universe, so they had to do a third Avengers film and title it as “Captain America”. This is the film we all wish Age of Ultron was. More Vision plus we got Ant-Man and our new Spider-Man! Great buyer for bluray. Hands down the best MCU film so far in the franchise.

4. Disney’s Moana 5 Stars *family film* (95% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8/10 on IMDB)

2016 was just Disney’s year. 16 films and they were all outstanding. Moana shines as one of Disney’s best animated films to date. Dwayne Johnson is now in the family as one of Disney’s best and most lovable characters. All brand new and original music from Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda. I cannot get this soundtrack off repeat since I saw it. Go see this film with the entire family now!

3. The Nice Guys 5 Stars (92% on Rotten Tomatoes, 7.4/10 on IMDB)

One of my top three all time favorite comedies. It is now up there with Wedding Crashers and Dumb and Dumber. Ryan Gosling and Russel Crowe together in a comedy!? I know, I know, but it works. Filmed in Atlanta, this buddy comedy takes place in the 70s during the rise of the porn industry about a murder of young porn actress. Co starring Kim Basinger and Matt Bomer. Rated R for Mild Nudity and Violence. That’s really it though, no sex scenes and not much graphic language, just a bunch of laugh out loud hilarious dialog between the two costars. ANOTHER ONE I MISSED IN THEATERS! Go rent on Redbox now!

2. Hacksaw Ridge 5 Stars (87% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8.2/10 on IMDB)

Read review here.

and the best film of 2016 is…

1. Disney’s Zootopia 5 Stars *family film* (98% on Rotten Tomatoes, 8.1/10 on IMDB) I have a new all time favorite animated movie. It’s called Zootopia. This really was just Disney’s year. This movie is filled with adult relatable humor with Breaking Bad and The Godfather references. Anybody will love this film. I bent over laughing, I cried, I sat on the edge of my seat, this was the movie Sing wishes it was, but it just wasn’t. Now available on Netflix, this movie will forever be on “My List” Well that’s it everybody, that’s my top 50 of 2016. Please don’t crucify me for not seeing Manchester by the Sea or Hacksaw Ridge, I know, I know, I will see them soon. Stay tuned for my 2016 worst 10 and the movies to keep away from that I know NOT TO WATCH from 2016. I hope y’all enjoyed!! Feel free to share!