#highly recommended!

[lady-ginnie]

I've played through Stray Gods twice now, and I gotta say that my favorite romance so far (out of the grand total of two I've done) is Pan's.

I enjoyed Freddie's romance a LOT, and she is best girl! But the character development Pan goes through is just so intriguing to me. Plus, I absolutely adore charming asshole characters in general. And Khary Payton is a beautiful man, why WOULDN'T I take the chance to romance a character he plays??

Up next, Apollo and Persephone!

[mygreatadventurehasbegun]

Late Night With the Devil

I was lucky enough to go see Late Night with the Devil in the theater last night...I didn't realize until the day I bought the ticket that this is a very limited release. I also didn't realize that it was made by Shudder...it will be streaming there next month, for anyone who missed the screenings.

Here are some scattered thoughts:

I would definitely recommend it to horror fans.

Do I think it's the greatest horror movie ever made?

No.

But I think my hype for this was so strong that it was impossible for the movie to live up to it. This movie is a much slower burn than I expected. Given the trailer, I thought this was going to be a white-knuckle thriller, where shit starts happening within the first couple minutes, and doesn't let go until the end. And while there are some intense moments (we'll get to that), it just takes a while to get to them. But the film does fill you with dread from the first few moments...you know something awful is going to happen, but you need to wait an hour until it does.

Basic Premise:

We open with a documentary-style montage telling us about the background of Jack Delroy (played by a fantastic David Dasmalchian), and his rise to fame as a late-night TV host. And then we are told that we are about to see the footage (both in front of and behind the camera) of his final, shocking episode.

I don't think I realized that this was actually going to be a found footage movie. But I really like the way it was used to tell the story. We watch the entire episode and see all the things that happen when the studio cameras are off in real-time, which makes for very effective story telling.

I also didn't realize that this was a low-budget film...not that that's a bad thing...some of the best horror movies were made on shoestring budgets. But because I didn't realize that (again, because the marketing made it look incredible, kudos), there were a couple moments that...surprised me, let's say...tough to go into it without spoiling....Let me put it this way...some of the makeup is fantastic...and some looks like they could have used a liiiitle bit more money. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a ding on the movie...some of the cheaper makeup effects still look good, but there's a part of me that wonders what it would have looked like with a higher budget. But at least they were real practical effects! I'll take a cheaper makeup effect than an overdone CG effect any day of the week. Speaking of CG, there were a couple of moments that used CGI that kind of took me out of the movie...especially given all the other makeup effects...I remember thinking that they could have done that practically.

*and everything else about this movie looks great, I just happened to notice the makeup more last night, I don't know why...but I really liked the overall aesthetic of the movie...they really nailed that late-70's feel*

Now, I know that this is all sounding like a negative review, and I promise it's not! These are just the little things that I noticed during the movie.

One makeup effect I loved?

Lily's makeup during the "contact" scene (the one shown in the trailer so it's not spoilers!). When she looked up at the doctor as the demon, hair covering half her face, I genuinely thought they had switched actors and that she was now being played by a man. The subtle change in eye color, a cheek prosthetic and the actress's wonderful physical acting really had me fooled. It wasn't until her hair was off her face that I realized it was all one person.

And going off of that...the scene where the doctor asks to speak to the demon (again, it's not a spoiler, this was heavily featured in the trailer) is hands-down the best scene in the movie. That was the moment I got tense, with my hands balled into fists. And the scene does something really smart, with the doctor telling the audience to stay quiet...it almost forces us to bottle in our reaction, which only increases our tension and dread.

I would really like to see this one again. I just read the NY Times review (glowing, BTW) that said it may actually be scarier at home than a theater....I mean, it is about a TV show...so to see the "Night Owls" episode on your TV with all the insanity unfolding may make it more terrifying.

All in all, I thought this was a damn good movie. Again, I think my expectations were a bit too high and so it took me a while to adjust and process.

All of the acting was fantastic. I'm so glad that David Dasmalchian is leading a movie...he's such a great actor. I thought the young actress who plays Lily (Ingrid Torelli) did a fantastic job...she made Lily so off-putting and strange, and it was clear that she was struggling with what (or who) ever is inside her.

In the trailer, Kevin Smith was quoted as calling this Rosemary's Baby meets Network...and I half agree with that statement. I'd consider it more Network meets Don't Look Now. You have the examination of the price of fame and the hunger for ratings, while all the while there is this creeping sense of dread and something happening just off camera that leads you to a shocking ending you don't expect. There's also a bit of Scanners thrown in there too (I've seen a lot of people comparing the poster to Scanners)...so if you're squeamish about really over-the-top gore, this is your warning, there are a couple of moments that took me by total surprise.

If I had to give it a letter grade, I'd probably give it an A-. Brought down only because I'm not the biggest fan of over-the-top gore, so that hypnosis scene wasn't too pleasant for me (If you've seen it, you know what I mean) and I wish that they hadn't needed to use CG for a couple effects. But all-in-all, a really solid horror film that I deserves to be seen!

Also, just as the studio logos started, our theater lights just...turned on...fortunately they were off by the time the movie started, but it was a weird little hiccup. I think a staff member was actually in the audience and was able to get it fixed asap.

[starlene]

I just want to say thank you to @bluepeets for posting about the Milky White BroadwayCon panel.

Because of that post, I've been binging Zach Barr's video essays on Youtube (And Now They Sing) the whole week, whenever I haven't been tackling the hopeless project that is reorganizing my bookshelf.

They've already become one of my favourite theatre-related video essayists and I can't wait to see whatever they'll upload next, so thank you for the tip!

[spooksier]

passages that make you whisper "oh my god"

[virtualplushy]

i’ve decided to carry some undying hope with me every day. as a treat

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

i'm begging you guys to start pirating shit from streaming platforms. there are so many websites where you can stream that shit for free, here's a quick HOW TO:

1) Search for: watch TITLE OF WORK free online

2) Scroll to the bottom of results. Click any of the "Complaint" links

3) You will be taken to a long list of links that were removed for copyright infringement. Use the 'find' function to search for the name of the show/movie you were originally searching for. You will get something like this (specifics removed because if you love an illegal streaming site you don't post its url on social media)

4) each of these links is to a website where you can stream shit for free. go to the individual websites and search for your show/movie. you might have to copy-paste a few before you find exactly what you're looking, but the whole process only takes a minute. the speed/quality is usually the same as on netflix/whatever, and they even have subtitles! (make sure to use an adblocker though, these sites are funded by annoying popups)

In conclusion, if you do this often enough you will start recognizing the most dependable websites, and you can just bookmark those instead. (note: this is completely separate from torrenting, which is also a beautiful thing but requires different software and a vpn)

you can also download the media in question (look for a "download" button built into the video window, or use a browser extension such as Video DownloadHelper.)

[silkysong]

[taffywabbit]

reminding myself there are no truly "bad days", because every single day, someone somewhere in the world has taken a photo of an extremely tiny animal and shown it to someone else, and that's very good actually

[brick-brooke]

so dropout's gamechanger has been going thru an ARG, where the prevailing theory is that sam reich was replaced after Escape the Greenroom with Samual Dalton (acclaimed magician/time traveler).

My addition is this: after Escape the Greenroom, Sam has been looking at his hands every time he says "I am your host, Sam Reich" with astonishment.

Like he's amazed that this is his body. He also annunciates the 'I' in 'I am your host' more noticeably, but it is not as consistent. I noticed it before, but figured it was just a new season refresh for intros.

He does not do this in any prior episode, like The Bachelor. The episodes right after Escape the Greenroom, the Battle Royale series, Sam does not do his normal intro after introducing the players.

Interestingly, in the Escape the Greenroom episode itself, he does not look at his hands but the screen glitches before he says "I've been here the whole time" (similar to the prominent glitching in Deja Vu).

this is what I've been munching on. sam you slimy dog.

[astriiformes]

I'm glad to see posts circulating listing some of the significant legislation Tim Walz has supported as governor of Minnesota, but there's one I haven't seen mentioned yet that I think is really important for young voters to know about--the North Star Promise program, aka the reason I can afford to finish my Bachelor's degree.

Some of you may remember me posting about my financial aid offer being a lot more generous this year. That because Minnesota just implemented a scholarship program that makes undergraduate college tuition free for students with family incomes of less than $80,000 attending state or tribal colleges. As in, if after other grants and scholarships have been applied, you still owe money for tuition, the state of Minnesota will pay the rest.

Obviously tuition isn't the only expense associated with being a college student--I still am taking out student loans to help cover things like rent and other cost of living expenses--but it is the biggest one. As a low-income, non-traditional student paying my own way through college (and with a disabled partner who cannot work), I was genuinely unsure if I was going to be able to finish my degree before the North Star Promise program was implemented, and it has freed me from so much stress and worry.

A lot of factors had to combine to make a program like this possible --activists had to push for it, Minnesota had to vote in a Democratic majority in the state legislature to pass it, and we had to have a governor willing to sign the program into law--but it is still significant it was something Walz was willing to put his name on. And I cannot fathom how many lives it would change if he was willing to push for something similar to this at the federal level. So, keeping in mind that we have to vote up and down the ballot as well as keep the pressure on our elected officials to support programs like this once folks are in office, let's make it happen.

[findingschmomo]

2 and half months ago i got back into cross stitching. Today i finished the project I started back then! And then turned it into a pillow :3

this pattern is from owlforest and it was a DELIGHT to stitch

[s-lycopersicum]

"#食べたりしない ⑤" by なを (@Naotin3333)

[perplexingly]

Text is from Grief Lessons: Four Plays by Eurypides

[thatcrazypercyjacksonfan]

Not Chalice of the Gods continuing the trend of Percy having no clue how his own sword works, six years and two wars into having owned it.

Iconic.

[st4ngray]

Let justice be done.

Also some sketches but I’m not particularly proud of them so hiding them in read more-

[questwithambition]

Something incredibly satisfying about knowing your craft and the confidence that goes with it. Just the casual “yeah I could make that”. Want a band tee? Yeah I can embroider my own with the lyrics I want. Bridesmaid dress too long? Yeah I can hem it. Need new slippers? Yeah I can crochet a pair (and give them bunny ears). And of course it’s not perfect but nothing beats that feeling of being able to craft your own solution with your own two hands