#its 2005 movie nostalgia time everyone

[dragon-snoots-a-boopin]

Ranking All The Star Wars Video Games I've Played!

I am going to do a quick ranking thing here where I rank all of the Star Wars videos games that I have played. I am going to be ranking from nine to one, nine being the least liked and one being the most liked.

#9: LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. This one isn't truly bad or terrible because none of the games on this fall into that. This one is just more of a neutral thing. It does a good job retelling some of the Clone Wars show. There were some levels I didn't care for but it's really not a bad game at all.

#8: Star Wars: The Old Republic. Yes, I have spent a lot of time on this particular one and yeah, that is why it's on the low end of the list. Again, not really a bad game here. However, there's just so much you can't do without being a subscriber to the game. Plus, I find that the combat is just really, really boring. It does have a lot of good though, mostly in the way of it's really good storytelling and unique stories for each class you can play. Not bad but could be better.

#7: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II. Force Unleashed II has a lot of good going for it. But, one major downfall is just how short the game is compared to the first one. Plus, the ending fight against Vader is really annoying. But, the rest of the game is really good and really fun in my opinion.

#6: LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The only Star Wars movie to get its own LEGO game for some reason...okay. There's a lot of good here honestly as a lot of the shooting combat was refined in this game which did get implemented into The Skywalker Saga so, there is that. However, the game overall is incredibly short, even with the extra levels and yeah. Not a bad game though.

#5: Star Wars: Battlefront II (2017). Now, look, I know that when it released there was a ton of issues and I know all the controversaries this game brought to the world of loot boxes in video games and all of that. However, I played this one far after launch and I honestly have had a good time. It's got a pretty decent single player campaign, it's got the arcade mode where you can play bot multiplayer matches and the actual multiplayer matches can be fun too if you don't get hackers in the lobby to ruin everyone's fun.

#4: Star Wars: Battlefront II (2005). Now, this is a really good game through and through. However, there's one mission in the campaign that I could never get through and I hate that. The thing for me is that it doesn't feel all that different from the first game, aside from the campaign actually telling a story this time around. Doesn't make it a bad game but it just kind of makes it more of the same to me.

#3: Star Wars: Battlefront (2004). I can't deny that this is indeed a good game. I do wish though that the so called campaign told an actual story rather than just basically being bot multiplayer matches but, I suppose it's alright. But, I honestly found a lot more fun playing this game over its sequel but that's just me.

#2: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Now, this one is a little bit nostalgic for me. It was the first video game that I ever pre-ordered and that was a PS2 copy of the game that also came with a four inch Clone Trooper Commander figure, which I still have and I have the Black Series Gaming Greats version of it too. The game is honestly so, so good and the story it tells is so good too. Just a really good and fun game.

#1: LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga. This one also has a bit of nostalgia for me. I don't the exact year but I remember it was Christmas and I opened my first ever Nintendo DS Lite and then I opened this very game. My brother got it too so we could play the game together. Of course, all these years later I own the PC version and it's still an amazing and super fun game to play. Pretty sure most people who game has played this game, it's that good.

[this-is-a-name-dont-worry]

nostalgia made me watch hoodwinked again and

god do i love this movie

kinda cheesy i think? but still so fucking good. like. i understand so much young me obsession with it and i wish it was more popular. i want memes and fanfics and fanarts and just. contents.

[silvermoon424]

I never got to watch Sailor Moon as a child, but I really want to get into it because it just seems like something I could get into. But I have no clue where to start. I know there’s the crystal version on Netflix that’s like a reboot, and that there is a manga, but it’s all quite overwhelming. I also feel like if you didn’t watch it as a kid it won’t be the same. Maybe I’m gatekeeping myself haha. Anyway, I just wanted to ask for some input or tips on getting into Sailor Moon!

You absolutely didn't need to get into Sailor Moon as a kid to enjoy it! I got into it as a teenager by watching the subbed original 90s anime online, and I love and enjoy Sailor Moon just as much as anyone who grew up watching it on tv after school. Maybe it won't be as nostalgic, but Sailor Moon is still a very timeless and enjoyable series that can stand on its own merits and doesn't need the nostalgia filter to be enjoyed.

Anyway, I feel like a breakdown of the franchise would be helpful to let you know about the various entries of the series:

The Manga: The originator of the series, running from 1991 to 1997. There are 60 chapters split into 5 story arcs (Dark Kingdom, Black Moon, Infinity, Dream, and Stars). The manga is the source material for the various adaptations that have been created over the years.

The 90s anime: What Sailor Moon is best known for, the original 90s anime ran from 1992 to 1997 and was an international smash hit. There are 200 episodes split into 5 seasons (a nameless season generally called Classic by fans, R, S, SuperS, and Stars; they correspond to each manga arc). There were also 3 movies. The plot of the anime is loosely based on that of the manga, having the same characters and general premise but rarely carrying over exact plots from the manga.

Sailor Moon Crystal: A second anime series that began airing in 2014. Unlike the 90s anime, Crystal is a direct and much more faithful adaptation of the manga (if you're familiar with Fullmetal Alchemist, think of it like Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood). The first three arcs of the manga were adapted into 2 seasons (the first two arcs shared a season). The fourth arc was adapted into Sailor Moon Eternal, a series of two anime films that were released in 2021. There hasn't been any news yet on plans to adapt Stars, the fifth and final arc of the manga.

Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, aka PGSM: A tokusatsu live action tv adaptation of Sailor Moon that ran from 2003 to 2004. There are 49 episodes and the series is exclusively focused on the first story arc. While originally a faithful retelling of the manga story, PGSM eventually splits off into its own direction and introduces many unique plots and character divergences.

Sera Myu: A series of stage musicals, 31 in total, based on Sailor Moon. The first set of musicals ran from 1993 to 2005. In honor of Sailor Moon's 20th anniversary, a new series of musicals began being produced in 2013; the most recent one came out in 2021. The plots of the various musicals vary widely, with some being faithful adaptations of the source material and others having completely unique plots.

As for which entry you should watch/read first... that's a matter of personal preference. The majority of Sailor Moon fans would say you should start with the 90s anime, and I'd probably agree with them. The 90s anime is what made most people fall in love with Sailor Moon, and there's just something special about it.

200 episodes is pretty daunting though; if you feel like that's too much, here's a guide that goes over which episodes are essential viewing (archive[.]ph/9WvI8; remove the brackets, I want this post to show up in the tags so I can't link directly). For what it's worth, I think even the filler episodes are charming and help build a sense of who the characters are (90s Sailor Moon is basically a slice of life anime half the time), but I also understand that not everyone feels that way about filler. You can also always go back and watch the episodes you skip, too.

After the 90s anime, I definitely would recommend reading the manga. It's fantastic and really engaging. Personally, I would recommend reading the manga before watching Crystal/Eternal because they're kind of flawed adaptations and don't always do the manga justice.

PGSM and Sera Myu are for when you're a hardcore fan and want all the Sailor Moon content you can get your hands on, lol. PGSM is goofy at first because of the cheap live action, but once you get used to it it's actually a really great retelling of the Dark Kingdom arc. The series is very character-driven, and by the time you watch PGSM you'll already love all of the characters so it's pretty great to see so much focus on their personalities.

I haven't actually sat down and watched one of the musicals fully, but I do listen to the music from them and I can confirm the songs are certified bangers.

Anyway, I hope this essay of a post helps, lol. Let me know if you have any other questions!

[silentfcknhill]

FAVORITE SHOWS IN POSTERS

Well, we’re back for another installment of this tagged meme, this time for TV shows! I also stole this from/was indirectly tagged by @jcmorrigan. My taste in shows also differs a bit from my taste in movies, as I tend to like a lot of comedy shows with not as many horror ones. I’m not into shows as much as movies overall, but there are some that I am very passionate about so I picked twenty again. So, here we go for part 2, in order:

1. Avatar: The Last Airbender/The Legend Of Korra (2005-2014)

I'm including these as one show since they take place in the same universe and tell a continuation of the same overall plot. Altogether this is probably the best piece of media to ever exist, including movies. It has so many great characters and villains especially and some of the most epic sequences, charming humor and heartwarming moments ever. I've never met a person who didn't like these shows, even people who normally don't like cartoons. My dad, who is biased against animation? He loved it. My mother? She loved it, watched it with her multiple times. My grandmother? Loved it. My ex-boyfriend? Loved it. My best friend? Loved it. I dare anyone not to, and I'm so glad it's making a resurgence since it's on Netflix for a new generation to enjoy.

2. Black Butler (2008-2014)

I never was big into anime growing up and only really started watching anime when I was like 16 and above, but this is one of the exceptions because holy shit is it ever dark and epic. I'm not sure I'd really recommend it for kids, it's more of a teens and young adults kind of anime and that's probably why it's so good, because it isn't afraid to explore dark and mature topics and do it with all of the intensity and gravitas required to do said topics justice. It has lots of great characters, and the story of demons who make deals with children who have a dark side is fun to watch play out.

3. Seinfeld (1989-1998)

My dad was a huge fan of this show so I watched it growing up since I was a toddler and it became a classic for me. I've watched thw hole show through at least 8 times, and I'll never stop because it never gets old or boring. It's also my only comfort show when I'm having a panic attack because of one time a few years ago when I was having a drug-induced psychosis episode and watching it calmed me down, so now it's like the opposite of a trigger and whenever I'm having an episode or something I watch it to bring me back to reality. For that reason it's more than a show to me, it's a medical treatment and I'm forever grateful to it.

4. The Good Place (2016-2020)

The big four shows made my Michael Schur all made it on this post (The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Office and Parks And Recreation), either in the main list of the honorable mentions, but this is my personal favorite of the four. It's so funny, quirky, relatable and basically tailor-made to suit my interests. Not only is it an entertaining and wholesome show, but I think watching it helped me come to terms with a lot of things like mortality, ethics, philosophy, religion and my relationships with other people. It gets  alot of different viewpoints across and if you're a very analytical and philosophical person like me you'll probably enjoy seeing it all play out. Not to mention, every single character is 'favorite character' material. It's rare you find a show with no filler characters in the main cast, but I genuinely can't choose who is best.

5. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-?)

Another of Michael Schur's shows, this one is just barely under The Good Place and to be honest it was tough to pick my favorite between the two because they're both equally funny. I know it's kind of controversial right now because of the whole law enforcement thing, but I actually think they do a good job of handling social issues in the show and remaining respectful of real-life systemic problems. As for the characters, this is another one of those shows where every single character is gold and I think that tends to be a trend among Schur's shows in general. He produces damn good comedy, and damn good characters. I can't wait to see what they bring next.

6. Rick And Morty (2013-?)

This is unfortunately one of those cases of 'great show, horrible fandom' and for that reason I don't get involved in the fandom even though I love the show. It's a shame because it really is a great show, so funny and, again, such good characters. I think it's a lot more accessible than the fandom likes to claim, so I'm hoping more people will give it a chance and not get put off by the intellectual elitism of the fandom because it does have some of the most entertaining and batshit crazy episodes ever, poking fun of some of the staples of science fiction in media while also poking fun of itself the whole time. Unlike the fandom, the show doesn't take itself seriously and that's enjoyable nowadays.

7. Orange Is The New Black (2013-2019)

While this show is a comedy, it is also a lot of other things and it's probably made me ugly-cry just as many times as it's made me laugh. Well, maybe not as often, but those few scenes (if you've watched the show then you know the ones I'm talking about) made me hysterically sob hard enough to be worth like fifty minor sads. But I didn't even mind because the show is just that good, and it makes you /feel/ something in a real way. Probably because of just how real it gets in terms of telling stories that happen all the time in the real world, sometimes with inevitably tragic endings. But these things do happen every day, and it's important to shine a light on that. It's not just representation for LGBTQ+ but also for POC, the neurodiverse, the poor, and many more. Give it a watch to broaden your perspective!

8. Big Mouth (2017-?)

This is probably the grossest show I've ever seen but by god is it ever funny. Maybe it's because I have an immature sense of humor or something, but I love this show. It definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea and I don't recommend you watch this show with anyone else around because it will get awkward. I think part of its appeal to me is that everyone I talk to who likes it considers it so relatable to their lives growing up but for someone like me who grew up on the autism and asexual spectrum and who was physically an early-bloomer by years, nothing about this show is relatable to me in any way so it makes it all the more crazy and bizarre watching how the people around me must have experienced things. Did y'all really have these experiences with puberty in middle school???

9. Dexter (2006-2013)

I recently heard that this show is coming back for a reboot soon and I'm so excited because this is my absolute favorite drama/thriller show, as evidenced by the fact that it's the highest one on the list so far that isn't a comedy. I love the idea of having a protagonist who is sort of a villain (or at least morally dubious), and the idea of a serial killer who only kills bad people is particularly satisfying for some reason. Maybe because he's the vigilante we all deserve and want in this unjust and evil world of modern times? Idk but the very premise of this show set it up for big things and aside from the ending I think it delivered consistently.

10. Once Upon A Time (2011-2018)

This show took us on some journeys, and you can't deny that. Sure, maybe it didn't always finish what it started and didn't always end in the most satisfying way, but part of its charm is that you didn't care because the experience was just so much fun. They took characters and stories that have been told to death and somehow managed to put a unique and unexpected twist on them, and that alone is admirable. Good twists, good villains, and pretty much every cliffhanger known to man will keep you hooked on binge-watching every episode.

11. RuPaul's Drag Race (2009-?)

A bit different than the other entries on my list in that it's not fiction but a reality competition show, but I couldn't leave Drag Race out because it's just so fucking iconic and perfect. Even when you disagree with the judges or can't stand a certain contestant you'll still be having a good time. It's got the personalities you love to love, the ones you love to hate, and the comedy that's completely meme-able. I mean just how much has this show contributed to pop culture and the internet? More than most of us, henny. I've watched every single season, even the international ones and all of the spinoffs. This show will probably be on for another thirty years when Ru is throwing shade from a hospital bed and I'll still be watching.

12. House (2004-2012)

Some people hate on this show, and I don't get it. I love House. Yes, he's an ass. That's the point. He's supposed to be unlikeable, and that's why I like him. Maybe because I always love the rude, sarcastic, misanthropic jerkass-genius characters for some reason. And I also love procedural shows, so it's a win-win. I also work in the healthcare field so it appeals to me for that reason too, because obviously the whole premise is outlandish which is what makes it funny. Of course it's not realistic for a hospital, so just enjoy the absurdity and don't get too hung up on the details of medical accuracy and professional ethics and you'll be fine.

13. The Office (2005-2013)

The third of Michael Schur's show and the last one that made the main list (sorry Parks And Rec, I love you too but there was just so many good shows to choose from and I saw you last so the nostalgia isn't as strong!) I don't think I need to hype this show up any, it's already a classic and you can't even turn around online without getting hit in the face by a dozen Office memes. You'll have to pry this show and it's relatable characters (especially Michael Scott) from my cold, dead hands.

14. All Hail King Julien/The Penguins Of Madagascar (2008-2017)

Like Avatar/Korra, I also consider this as one show for the sake of this list because it also takes place in the same universe (Madagascar, specifically) and I just couldn't choose one over the other because they're both so perfect. They're funny and I love all the characters (it cut out the weaker links of the Madagascar film series and just focuses on expanding the standout side-characters like King Julien and the penguins). It also delved into some lore, particularly the first show, and even though I didn't also agree with the directions it took (you may have seen me get salty about the ending because I cared too much), I can't deny how much I love it.

15. Bones (2005-2017)

One of the other scarce non-comedy shows on this list, it still has it's funny moments. It's also, like House, another procedural show that involves some medical stuff, but this time on a more scientific and forensic level which is even more interesting. It's nice to see a lead female with Asperger's, too. There's a lot of cop/law enforcement shows where they try to solve crimes, but this one is the best, and I'm saying that as a fan of CSI as well. Don't fight me on this, I'm right. Oh yes, it's corny, it's campy, it's cheesy, but I love every minute of it. Don't watch if you have a weak stomach though.

16. The Simpsons (1989-?)

We all grew up with this show, don't lie. It's been around longer than most people on tumblr have even been alive. Should it have ended seasons ago? Hell yes. But that doesn't take away what the first like 20 or so seasons gave us (there's a lot of argument about when the show jumped the shark, for me it wasn't until much later than the popular consensus). The characters are amazing, but the secret to the show's longevity is that they always return to status quo and there's comfort and nostalgia in that. Bart will still be in 4th grade when you're out there pushing 90. This show is persistent. This show is eternal. This show will outlive us all.

17. Ash Vs. Evil Dead (2015-2018)

Sorely underrated. This show is hilarious, gruesome and campy as hell and I love it. I don't think you necessarily have to watch the Evil Dead movies beforehand in order to get the plot of the show, although it would probably help. In my opinion this show ended way too soon and I'm hoping someday we'll get a comeback because Ash is the reluctant, self-absorbed hero we all need and it's 2020 so at this point there really might actually be a demon-zombie apocalypse and who's gonna save us then if not for the impulsive womanizer with a chainsaw for a hand?

18. Malcolm In The Middle (2000-2006)

Another show I grew up with, I don't think it gets as much credit as it deserves. It has some damn funny episodes and great characters, and it did a lot of the popular sitcom tropes before they were 'cool'. Some other great sitcoms, The Middle in particular, took a lot of influence from this show and it helped pave the way for the future of sitcoms at a time when they were about to make a comeback. If you want a good show about the real experiences of growing up, this is a much more accurate representation of the highs and lows of being an awkward tween from a dysfunctional home.

19. A Series Of Unfortunate Events (2017-2019)

Unlike most people I actually liked the movie version from the early 2000's, and I read the books growing up so I was excited when I saw there was a live action television adaptation of it on Netflix because I felt like they cancelled the movie franchise too soon. I was interested to see how new actors would handle the roles, and I was not disappointed. I wouldn't say I liked either portrayal of the characters better or worse, they both added their own twist to it and this show is a great and loyal adaptation to the books, probably because the author was so heavily involved. He knew just when to stick to the books and when to improve upon what he had done with the benefit of hindsight. This show is basically the books, but remastered.

20. Winx Club (2004-?)

Sort of an odd one out on this list, but I really love this show even as an adult and it may surprise you to learn it is still going on and the most recent season came out last year. They take big breaks sometimes in between seasons, but it's still going strong and in multiple countries. The only thing I don't like about watching this show is all the different and inconsistent dubs since the original show is Italian and each dub only goes for a couple seasons so by the time you get used to one set of voices/names for the characters oyu have to abruptly switch to another, but it's still worth it for the beautiful animation and cool characters (especially the villains!)

Honorable Mentions: 

13 Reasons Why, America's Next Top Model, American Horror Story, Arrested Development, Bates Motel, Battlestar Galactica, Black Mirror, Care Bears, Chernobyl, Courage The Cowardly Dog, Criminal, CSI, Duck Dodgers, Goosebumps, Kenny Vs. Spenny, Kim Possible, Kingdom Hospital, Lazytown, Lost, Making A Murderer, Mayday, Mindhunter, Modern Family, Monster High, Obsession: Dark Desires, Parks And Recreation, Prison Break, Project Runway, Queer As Folk, Queer Eye, Salem, Schitt's Creek, SCTV, Spongebob Squarepants, The Emperor's New School, The Good Doctor, The Haunting Of Hill House/Bly Manor, The Middle, The Pretender, The Walking Dead, The X-Files, Through The Wormhole, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Unsolved Mysteries, Yugioh

Tagging: @bullet-farmer​ and anyone else who wants to!

[ariel-seagull-wings]

TOP 12 SNOW WHITE PORTRAYALS

@princesssarisa​ @superkingofpriderock​ @sunlit-music​ @mademoiselle-princesse​ @amalthea9​ @theancientvaleofsoulmaking​ @astrangechoiceoffavourites​ 

Lips red as blood. Skin white as snow. Hair black as ebony. The fairest woman of all.

Snow White is one of the most iconic fairy tale characters ever created. And also  one of the hardest to portray. This happens because, the story is less about her as a person, and more about following her exploration of the world and how this world reacts to her. The tale calls her a princess, but really she is more meant to be a common everygirl for a variety of readers and audiences to see themselves in. So the greatest challenge to portray the character becomes how to make at the same time universally relatable, and an individual character, and today, i’d like to share my favorite portrayals, that camed closer in acomplishing this goal.

12º Laura Berlin in Sechs Auf Einen Streich (2009)

Berlin’s Snow White acts as an outgoing, playfull young lady who deep down is trying to deal with the longing for her dead mother. And then, her father marries a new, vain and cruel woman, and sayed woman orders that the portrait of the previous queen be trown out, wich obviously makes the princess verbally snap against her father weak-willed and her tyranical stepmother. And then her father has a stroke and her stepmother orders her death. Here is a young lady in an emotinal turmoil and distress, wich makes her very relatable to audiences.

11º Nicola Stapleton and Sarah Paterson in Canon Movie Tales: Snow White (1987)

One of the first times that we see the fair princess explicitly growing up from child to young adult. Nicola Stapleton is probably more charismatic as child! Snow White, having more time on scene where she gets to sing with her father, explore the room where her stepmother keeps the magic mirror, until finally having to run trough the woods and meeting the dwarfs, but Sarah Paterson also makes adult! Snow White likable, singing about her desire to someday leave the dwarfs house because she is growing and may need her own space, and showing the doubt between fear and curiosity in her interactions with her disguised stepmother. This highlights more the themes of coming of age and confronting ones fears from the tale.

10º Yuri Amano/Donatella Fanfani/Eileen Stevens in The Legend of Snow White (1994)

In this italian-japanese coproduced anime, the twelve year old Snow White is an inquisitive, merry and kind girl, that has to adapt to a more scary reality when she has to run away from the castle to not be killed. At the dwarfs house, where she is so hungry and tired she takes all bread from a basket and sleeps for hours, she decides to give her hazelnuts and try to do shores to compensate for entering the house and eating the bread. Unfortunally, being a princess who lived in comfort all her life, she fails hard when she tries to do domestic shores, burning bread and cutting lettuce that she tought were garden plagues. But she is so sweet and kind, that it doesn’t matter. Conquering the affection of people for who she is, and not for what she can do in exchange, is the greatest strenght of this encarnation.

09º Elizabeth McGovern in Faerie Tale Theatre (1984)

A lonely girl who just wants some atention and love. Those are the characteristics that McGovern’s Snow White extablishes for herself in her first appearance, trying to impress her stepmother with juggling tricks learned with the Court Jester. Later, in the forest, when she is about to be stabbed, she prays to God for the soul of the Huntsman who is about to kill her, and to her surprise this act of kindness is what changes the Huntsman’s heart and convinces him to spare her life. In the woods she finds the dwarfs cottage, and can finally have friends to talk about things like her nostalgia for swiming in the castle moat/pit. She won’t feel alone again. 

08º Kristin Kreuk in Snow White: The Fairest of them All (2001)

In this Hallmark TV Movie, Kreuk gives a 16 year old Snow White who searches friendship in garden gnomes. In a way, she expands the theme of loneliness explored by McGovern, and goes deeper about it, relating sayed loneliness with beauty: she is an awkward and melancholic person, who feels that people only care with her pretty appearance, but don’t actually come close to truly meet her as a person. In a lesser hand, this idea of a person who thinks being considered beautifull is hard could sound absurd and over dramatic, but the screenwriters and Kreuk’s sincere performance make it a compelling dilema.

07º Natalie Minko in Schneewitchen (1992)

An energetic fifteen year old, who likes to run around to play with the Court Jester, and mess up the kitchen while doing pancakes that glue in the ceiling. Minko’s Snow White is one of the few Snow White’s who is allowed to act as a normal teenager: she makes messes, she sometimes verbally fights with people, she constantly questions the adults around her, all the wille still being a genuinelly kind hearted person pursuing the path of truth.

06º Tamara Rojo in Emilio Aragon’s Blancanieves (2005)

I loved watching the DVD of this ballet production over and over as a kid. Trough dance movements, Tamara Rojo gives us a gracious and fun princess. Whetever she goes, a party will always start.

05º Adriana Caselotti in Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

My first portrayal of Snow White. The Disney version was raised working as a palace scullery maid, wich her stepmother hoped would make her ugly. But that didn’t work. She grows beautifull in body and soul: her singing voice is so sweet it is enough to make a dashing Prince fall in love with her, the animals are always engaged by her joyfull and sassy conversations, and she has a firm way of talking that assures a position of leadership among both the animals and the dwarfs who later befriend her. Really, she is awesome. What can i say about her that hasn’t been sayed already?

04º Marguerite Clark in Snow White (1916)

The version that inspired Walt Disney to make his version. Based on a 1912 stage play, this is the version that extablished being raised as a palace scullery maid as the reason Snow White is good with domestic tasks despite being a rich princess. Clark’s Snow White is also compassionate, sweet, romantic and dreamy, and she mix those qualities with some energy and spunkiness, being an almost wild girl.

03º Carol Heiss in Snow White and The Three Stooges (1961)

The sass, spunkiness and sweet romanticism are back, but with a new adition: an athletic hobby. Carol Heiss was originally a golden medal winner olimpic ice skater, and this movie was made to capitalize in her popularity at the time (along with reviving the Three Stooges popularity). So, we extablish in this version that the heroine who is linked to the snow loves the winter, and one of the most popular sports in this season. No other version before or after that did this, even tough its the most obvious and most awesome thing to do with the character. Ad to that the (uncredited) singing voice dubbed by Norma Zimmer, and you have one of the most complete portrayals of Snow White: she is beauty, she is grace, she can sing, she can cook and she can ice skate. She is the most interesting woman that ever lived.

02º Sakiko Tamagawa/Julie Maddalena in Grimm’s Fairy Tale Classics (1989)

Orphaned from her mother at birth and having a father who is always too busy rulling the kingdom to pay attention to her, this version of Snow White grows up raised by a nurse named Doris, and playing on the garden with a young boy named Klaus. Her favorite pass time is to climb trees to pick apples, her favorite fruit. But one day her stepmother, who for years has been ignoring her, calls the princess to her chamber, and asks if she thinks herself to be most beautifull than the Queen. Annoyed with the absurd of the question, Snow White calls her stepmother out in her vanity. What follows is her running away, having to survive as a fugitive. Getting lost from her Klaus and stumbling in a root, she crawls for her life, until being saved by the seven dwarfs and their wolf friends. Time passes, and she finds a bit of fullfilment while slowly learning to do domestic chores to help the dwarfs, and finding friendship in the wolfs and a giant black bear. But she still craves to reunite with her friend Klaus and to find some love, while the Queen’s menace lures in the air.

And now the moment everyone was expecting... My number one favorite portrayal of Snow White is:

01º Camryn Manhein in The 10th Kingdom (2000)

I know what are you thinking: “Wait, a two episode cameo in a tv minisseries, instead of a protagonist, this is your favorite”? Yes. Yes, she is. In the Hallmark minisseries The 10th Kingdom, a young lady from the real world comes to the magical world to help to disenchant a Prince that has been turned into a dog. This dog prince is Snow White’s grandson. And then the heroes arrive at the Dragon Mountain in the 09th Kingdom, and Virginia has a conversation with the spirit of the late Snow White for counsel. And Snow White counsels Virginia by simply telling her story of once being an afrayed, lonely lost girl in the woods, finding new friends in the dwarfs, suffering three murder attempts from her stepmother, being aesleep for years with the poisoned apple in her troat, until the Prince’s servants stumbled with her casket so she could trow away the apple piece, so she could finally live happily ever after. While she narrates the tale, she says that she knew the danger presented by the ribbons, the comb and the apple, but she also knew that she could hide in the dwarfs cottage, afrayed to be hurt, forever. And her husband was a good man, but she saved herself from death. With that dialogue, Manheim’s sensitive and wise Snow White ressignified the fairy tale for me, making me appreciate better the story and her character. And that is why she my number one portrayal of the fairest princess of all.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Elke Arendt in Schneewitchen (1955), Maresa Hörbiger in Schneewitchen (1971) and Elaine Bilstad as White Snow in Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (1995).

[garbogreenlemons]

Country, horror and ancient Egypt - films of the weekend!

This has been some film week! And I’m so glad. After a summer of binge-watching a variety of TV series, last weekend turned into a nostalgia-filled movie marathon. Not just because of the choice of movies, but because of the deeply reminiscing feeling I get when watching a movie in mid-day on a Saturday. It’s just something so 2002 about that for me.

So where did my eyes wander? Well, starting out with Walk the Line, the Johnny Cash-biopic from 2005 that made Joaquin Phoenix’s star shine brighter. Sure, he had a string of great roles behind him at that point, however as the Man in Black he really was able to shine. I saw this movie at the cinema and loved it instantly. It has since been coming along with me through its DVD and it is one of those movies that requires, no demands, several re-watches. But watching it now, I realize, maybe 16 years too late (but hey, I’m trying over here), that I shouldn’t just call it a Johnny Cash-biopic, when in fact it’s just as much a June Carter-biopic. With this role, Reese Witherspoon got her She’s-actually-a-fantastic-actor-and-should-not-get-stuck-in-comedies-role. With the risk of sounding condescending, I really mean what I’m saying here. As wonderful as she is in Legally Blonde, it’s the honesty, vulnerability and fierceness that she brings to June Carter’s story that makes this movie all the richer. The chemistry between Phoenix and Witherspoon makes this more than another music biopic or a story about famous musicians – it’s a love story, pure but not so simple as that.

The weekend continued with one of the most riveting and intriguing horror movies of the last decade – The Conjuring. With it’s well-written scares, real characters and… You know what, I can’t write much about this one, sorry. It’s just too scary to be sitting up late at night when my love has gone to sleep and I’m up on my own. What if by writing about it I actually do what the title suggests and…conjure something? Anyway, I power through just to mention the film’s interwoven old and new (well, 1970s) horrors and the on-screen movie couple I can’t get enough of – Ed and Lorraine Warren played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga with ever-present strength and tenderness. It’s a treat for any horror fan and thanks goes out to James Wan for creating a horror film one actually wants to watch again. Although sometimes I truly wish I didn’t…! :-O :-O

After such a horrific re-watch you must understand my need for running back to safety the next day by watching an animated story from past childhood weekends. Now it was time for The Prince of Egypt to part the horrors of my Saturday night, just like Moses parted the Red Sea (Spoiler alert!? Really?). And just like when I would watch it as a kid, I didn’t do much reflecting on its historical or religious (in)accuracy – sorry – and instead enjoyed the glorious animation and dramatic score. I was always fascinated with the hair of the ancient Egyptians, underscored by this movie’s animation and style. I used to be shocked when the movie showed everyone in the palace didn’t have the same large round set of pitch-black hair, which would always stay in place with no hairspray. No, it was all wigs! No matter what you think of the movie and it’s subject matter, we can all agree that there’s one thing this movie brought to the world for which I will always be eternally grateful. Truly, this movie was never really all about the stand-off between Moses and Rameses. It’s the coming-together of two of music’s giants, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey, in their duet ”When You Believe”. This has been my go-to-song when I’ve been in need of that perfect combination of movie soundtrack, a commercial hit and endless wailing and melisma. Thank you, Moses!

HT

[taglegend]

Tag Fact #3 -  I’ve come to realize I’ve always been a fan artist more than I thought. so here is a timeline of influences that shaped my childhood to now. from nostalgic times, to sad changes, to great loss, to strange rises to fame and phases, to stepping stones and finally a laughing place. all the things that make up your favorite fan artist Tag.

1. Rayman (bumped into this in the year of 1999) was actually the first fandom (with crossovers) I bumped into when I was 9. although the internet wasn’t available at the time it was still fun to dwell in home amusements. I remember the storylines and the OC’s I made but they’re kind of embarrassing and it’s probably a good thing there was no internet. I’ve done fanart and comic crossovers of Rayman with Calvin and Hobbs and Nights Into Dreams, spinoffs of Sonic the Hedgehog OC’s, Yoshi with Pikachu, and the Pokemon/Digimon craze with OC’s and other Nintendo comic shorts. but the drawings and comics are long gone and disappeared in the garage in a backpack due to suspecting my sister’s dad accidentally throwing them away. years later towards the year 2018 (now 28), we decided to move to North Carolina and it was my chance to find them again. unfortunately the backpack was gone just like I suspected (my main stuff), but for some reason I found my Pokemon/Digimon fanart, a good batch of Super Mario drawings (vaguely remember doing these), my sister’s drawings and some other neighborhood kids’ drawings in a dirty box. I was partially happy I found something at least but it was the backpack I wanted the most. sometimes I regret not looking for the backpack (’cause I was too busy being a kid) but it’s alright, noone needs to see that shit anyway, ha ha. anyways, I recall being a fan of Rayman from 1999 ‘til 2002.

2. Sonic Adventure 2 Battle (bumped into this in the year of 2003) my second fandom I bumped into when I was 12 going on 13. at the time, my sister and I both liked the Sonic The Hedgehog Franchise based on the Battle remake and ended up making our own secret fanart club that consisted of only us two members. she liked Sonic (and that was her boyfriend, ha ha) and I liked Knuckles (and he was my boyfriend, ha ha) and we were crazy in love about Shadow’s backstory. we listened to the game’s soundtracks as we drew fanart and comics after school and man, those were good times. however, as we grew older towards the year of 2005, we ended up having separate rooms and I believe it played a part in disconnecting on the same interest. then one day, I asked her why she wasn’t into Sonic anymore and she replied, “Because I grew up.” I was sad after that and slowly observed that she was influenced by the emo culture and the new friends she’s made. I was the only member of our little club for a little longer...but eventually I moved on too. I still have some surviving fanart we did together but it doesn’t mean shit anymore since she turned out to be an abusive mother from the last I’ve heard of her. 

3. Gorillaz (bumped into this in the year of 2006). as the Sonic years were at its end, I first heard the song “Feel Good Inc” on Music Choice and seeing the first image of them as displayed on this post (except the fan-made background doesn’t count since I can’t find the original artwork). this was my third fandom and later had proper access to the internet to the website I still currently use called DeviantArt. at first I liked 2D but eventually fell for Murdoc and developed a spiritual connection towards the character as obviously seen in my old fanart and rare photos of my devotion shrines on Valentine’s Day and his birthday every year. for the longest time since being a permanent fan from 2006-2017 (11 1/2 years) I had no knowledge that it was a political propaganda band and other realizations I don’t want to talk about. I only followed them because it was a cartoon and not the bullshit behind the musical project. the world I’ve built and support for them for all those 11 1/2 years shattered the fuck out of me and I just wanted to be left alone to find myself again, somehow. activity stopped on all my profiles, the flow of fanart stopped since I now cringe from the fan service and felt I was used for my talent. I didn’t want to be reminded of it all so I took down all my Gorillaz fanart and archived them for old followers’ nostalgia but also in the hopes they’ll be forgotten in my timeline. I ceased to exist in the fandom for huge personal reasons but it’s best to not say why. I know for sure that the fandom wonders what happened but it’s none of their business. THE END.

4. Waluigi (although I knew he’s been around since 2000 during childhood, I took deep interest once I revisited the character again in the year of December 2013). as silly as this sounds, when I revisited him again, the character was so bizarre that I ended up staying up 3 nights and 3 days in a row just looking all over the internet on everything about him and the questionable “hush-hush” absence of a backstory. despite there being no backstory he slowly gained a cult following and in many ways it’s a good thing. however, since the early 2010′s tension has been building up between Nintendo and its fans about him starring in a main game but everyone hasn’t fully gotten it in their heads that it’s not gonna happen. as long as Nintendo is in control of that, the fandom will not win, I’m sorry to say. on the other hand, if it’s going to be this way, then that’s what fanart and comic projects are for. as for me, I am doing my very best to get my comic project “Waluigi Land” going. again, I apologize if it’s taking very long to get Chapter 2 going if you’ve been keeping track but aha moments need to develop before I start permanent drawing (since concepts, character design and storyline needed improvement badly). as of right now I am still a Waluigi fan and I will not quit on him.

5. Turbo from Wreck-It-Ralph (although it debuted in 2012, I watched the movie two years later into the year 2014). for some bizarro reason, I had an unhealthy obsession with this character to the point where I dressed up as him for Halloween 2014. only 2 fanarts of him and the Turbo Twins exist on my profiles, mainly because my mind was more focused on just ‘thinking about him’ or ‘being him’ rather than drawing physical drawings. luckily, this supposed alleged fandom didn’t last long a little after Halloween so I chalk it up as a very short phase. to this day I don’t know what has gotten over me about him. the only thing I can think of now is that I think it’s because the character had yellow eyes and teeth but I don’t know. now that I think of it, that little fucker was ugly as hell and I STILL don’t know what had gotten over me. one day, my brother mentioned what that was about, and I said to him, “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

6. Undertale (although it debuted in 2015, I later took interest in it in 2016). It was all about Sans and Papyrus. I couldn’t get enough of the skeleton bros. eventually Toriel and Mettaton EX became my favorites but it took a long time to draw more of all 4 of them because I had other important things to do in my life plus I was still waiting for the next Gorillaz album to revive my imaginative juices (or so I thought). I really want to have this as one of my frequent fandoms but I just don’t have time for it anymore. it’s still in the back of my head to want to draw them but at this point I still have other better interests to be in. and besides, I’m lazy just like Sans.

7. Cuphead (June 28th, 2017 was the official day I called quits on the British-based band Gorillaz due to the bullshit behind it. since that date I was lost, had no inspiration to look forward to and no cartoon guy to make me smile...but lo and behold of the same year, I took an interest in playing the game Cuphead and man...that shit was a frightening exaggerated metaphor for being on that one drug (forgot the name though) and having sex at the same time but man that was the best fun I’ve had in years. I mean, it’s like, enemies are just so happy to murder you and that scared the shit outta me. and the facial exaggeration?....I think I should stop, ha ha. anyways, the Moldenhauers saved my ass from spiraling down, they have no clue. anyways, eventually I became a permanent fan of their work so to ease the hurt and erase my past from the G-fandom I had to re-wire my brain into a different cartoon category that’s a rather more American, so anything Toon related like Roger Rabbit, Felix the Cat or another favorite that’s a western-based cartoon makes me feel better, especially my new man .......King Dice <3 <3<3<3. however, there was something about this new fandom category I still didn’t quite understand until the date March 14th, 2020. I finally understood what it was but I feel I shouldn’t bring it up. anyways, Cuphead and anything western or rubber hose is my last stop in inspiration for the remaining years of my life. many say never say never but I believe I’ve found my laughing place and that’s all that matters.

[super-famicom-star-inactive]

Friday Special #9

January 30th, 2021

So I was digging through my bag of DS and GBA titles, and noted that one of them was a Game Boy Advance VIDEO cartridge that contained the first two episodes of Sonic X. Popped it into my DS to relive some nostalgia and it occurred to me that there isn’t anything like this anymore besides those PSP UMD VIDEO disks that had whole movies on them. 

So where did they come from and how did they come to be?

For this week’s Friday Special, we’re gonna find out. 

For a little backstory, the Game Boy Advance handheld console was released back in 2001 and it was marketed as the successor of the Game Boy Color. With its resolution of 240 x 160 pixels (which was a lot at the time), 15-bit RGB Color Support (it was capable of producing 512 colors in character mode and 32,768 simultaneous colors in bitmap mode), and Dual 8-bit DAC for stereo sound, it was a fascinating machine and a work of technical art. It was super successful world-wide and garnered millions in sales. 

So what exactly were the Game Boy Advance Video titles?

The Game Boy Advance Video cartridges were a special class of cartridges where based on the amount of memory, it featured one to four episodes of popular shows of the time like those from Cartoon Network and Nicktoons. 

Here is the complete list of games:

GBA Video Movie Pak vol. 1

Shrek

GBA Video Movie Pak vol. 2

Shrek 2

GBA Video Movie Pak vol. 3

Shark Tale

GBA Video Movie Pak 2-Movies-In-1!

Shrek

Shark Tale

GBA Video Movie Pak 2-Movies-In-1! Vol. 2

Shrek

Shrek 2

The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron vol. 1

"Brobot"

"The Big Pinch"

"Granny Baby"

"Time is Money"

All Grown Up! vol. 1

"Susie Sings the Blues"

"Coup de Ville"

Cartoon Network Collection vol. 1

Ed, Edd 'n Eddy: "Stop, Look and Ed"

Courage the Cowardly Dog: "Magic Tree of Nowhere"

Johnny Bravo: "The Perfect Gift"

The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy: "Crawling Niceness"

Cartoon Network Collection vol. 2

Codename: Kids Next Door: "Operation T.U.R.N.I.P."

Courage the Cowardly Dog: "Courage the Fly"

Johnny Bravo: "Balloon Platoon"

The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy: "Mandy the Merciless"

Cartoon Network Collection Limited Edition

Ed, Edd 'n Eddy: "Key to My Ed"

Courage the Cowardly Dog: "The Queen of the Black Puddle"

Codename: Kids Next Door: "Operation M.I.N.I.G.O.L.F."

Dexter's Laboratory: "Big Sister"

Cartoon Network Collection Platinum Edition

Codename: Kids Next Door: "Operation T.O.M.M.Y."

The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy: "A Grim Surprise"

Courage the Cowardly Dog: "Cowboy Courage"

Ed, Edd 'n Eddy: "The Luck of the Ed"

Cartoon Network Collection Premium Edition

Dexter's Laboratory: "Double Trouble"

Courage the Cowardly Dog: "The Shadow of Courage"

Johnny Bravo: "Cookie Crisis"

Ed, Edd 'n Eddy: "A Glass of Warm Ed"

Cartoon Network Collection Special Edition

Ed, Edd 'n Eddy: "Oath to an Ed"

Johnny Bravo: "Beach Blanket Bravo"

The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy: "Billy and the Bully"

Dexter's Laboratory: "Dexter's Rival"

Codename: Kids Next Door vol. 1

"Operation R.E.P.O.R.T."

"Operation N.O.-P.O.W.U.H."

"Operation B.R.I.E.F."

"Operation D.O.G.F.I.G.H.T."

Disney Channel Collection vol. 1

Lilo & Stitch: "Slushy"

Kim Possible: "Ron the Man"

Disney Channel Collection vol. 2

Lilo & Stitch: "Poxy"

Kim Possible: "Rufus in Show"

Brandy & Mr. Whiskers: "To The Moon Mr. Whiskers"

Dora the Explorer vol. 1

"3 Little Piggies"

"The Big River"

Dragon Ball GT vol. 1

"A Grand Problem"

"Pan's Gambit"

The Fairly OddParents vol. 1

"Foul Balled"

"The Boy Who Would Be Queen"

"The Information Stupor Highway"

The Fairly OddParents vol. 2

"Father Time"

"Apartnership"

"Ruled Out"

"That's Life"

Nicktoons Collection vol. 1

SpongeBob SquarePants: "Pizza Delivery"

The Fairly OddParents: "The Big Problem"

All Grown Up!: "Chuckie's In Love"

Nicktoons Collection vol. 2

SpongeBob SquarePants: "Nature Pants"

SpongeBob SquarePants: "Opposite Day"

Rocket Power: "The Big Air Dare"

The Fairly OddParents: "Odd Ball"

Nicktoons Collection vol. 3

SpongeBob SquarePants: "Squeaky Boots"

The Fairly OddParents: "Tim Visible"

Danny Phantom: "Attack of the Killer Garage Sale"

Pokémon vol. 1

"For Ho Oh The Bells Toll"

"A Hot Water Battle"

Pokémon vol. 2

"Playing with Fire"

"Johto Photo Finish"

Pokémon vol. 3

"Pokémon, I Choose You!"

"Here Comes the Squirtle Squad"

Pokémon vol. 4

"Beach Blank-Out Blastoise"

"Go West Young Meowth"

The Proud Family vol. 1

"Twins to Teens"

"Tween Town"

Sonic X vol. 1

"Chaos Control Freaks"

"Sonic to the Rescue"

SpongeBob SquarePants vol. 1

"Bubblestand"

"Ripped Pants"

"Jellyfishing"

"Plankton"

SpongeBob SquarePants vol. 2

"Mermaidman & Barnacleboy"

"Pickles"

"Hall Monitor"

"Jellyfish Jam"

SpongeBob SquarePants vol. 3

"Walking Small"

"Texas"

"Hooky"

"Mermaidman & Barnacleboy II"

Strawberry Shortcake vol. 1

"Meet Strawberry Shortcake"

"Spring for Strawberry Shortcake"

Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! vol. 1

"Depths of Fear"

"Planetoid Q"

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vol. 1

"Things Change"

"A Better Mousetrap"

Yu-Gi-Oh! vol. 1

"Friends Until the End Part 3"

"Friends Until the End Part 4"

Although the first of the GamePaks (the other name that they went by) started to appear in 2004, the original name was GBA-TV a year earlier. The first cartridges to be released in May of 2004 were when Majesco was able to acquire rights for 4Kids properties such as Sonic X and Yu-Gi-Oh! for the earliest released titles. Later in June, select shows from Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Nick Jr., and Funimation were added to the line-up when Majesco acquired the rights. The Disney Channel soon was added as well late in November of that year, creating even more cartridges for the roster. That next November in 2005 was the time for when Majesco was able to acquire the rights for Shrek, Shrek 2, and Shark Tale from Dreamworks, where for the first time, the Game Boy Advance Video series would now feature full-length movies, which was a marvel at the time due to the Game Boy Advance’s limited memory. 

In total, 36 cartridges were made in the entire line-up with more slated for released but were cancelled for various reasons, whether they be because of low sales of previous cartridges or copyright issues.

Here is the complete list of cancelled games:

Drake & Josh vol. 1

"Pilot"

"Dune Buggy"

Even Stevens vol. 1

"Swap.com"

"Stevens Genes"

Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

Ugly Betty vol. 1

"Pilot

"The Box and the Bunny

Sonic X vol. 2

"Missile Wrist Rampage"

"Chaos Emerald Chaos"

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vol. 2

Yu-Gi-Oh! vol. 2

Speaking of copyright, there is a reason that the GamePaks were only viewable on Game Boy Advance systems as well as the first two DS systems but not the GameCube's Game Boy Player accessory. It was because the owners asked Majesco to make it so that making the games incompatible with the GameCube’s GBA Player would protect their properties from getting ripped onto VHS tapes and DVDs, which was what the Player was capable of doing. It would not have mattered however, because the low quality would have shown on the TV, making the ripping process useless. 

The low quality of the cartridges were due to the heavy compression of files in order for them to fit on a GBA cartridge, causing noticeable artifacts on the screen, even more visibly on a later system like a DS console. The low quality was the biggest disadvantage for the Game Boy Video cartridges as they eventually became obsolete by the late 2000s/ early 2010s when the DSi was released with no backward capabilities.

Despite them being obsolete by today’s standards, they can still be found online on shopping sites like eBay and depending on the condition can go for a pretty penny. The rarest one in the entire roster is the cartridge for Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! vol. 1 as only a limited number of copies were made and are now so rare that they can fetch almost $200 on eBay, where that is the only shopping site to even have them for listings. 

It should be mentioned that around the same time, Sony was releasing PSP UMD (Universal Media Disc) Video disks for their PSP systems that were capable of playing whole movies, but that’s an article for another time. 

Thoughts From the Head

As stated above, I actually do have one of the Game Boy Advance Video cartridges in the form of Sonic X Vol. 1 that I had bought years ago at a local video game store. It still works, and although you can definitely see the age on a DS screen, it’s still super impressive how much they had to compress in order for the data to fit. 

It’s still a really neat piece of history and it’s something that would’ve never happened in today’s age of gaming with everyone being as tight-lipped about copyright to the point of it being detrimental to creativity. That being said, if you have a GBA, its succeeding systems or the first two DS systems, I’d say to track them down while you can, especially if your favorite show is on the list (unfortunately, I have no hope of getting the Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! vol. 1 cartridge as that is like trying to find an ant in a haystack but I have the Sonic X one and that’s good enough for me). 

Here’s some photos of mine!

So do y’all think about all of this? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Thank you for reading!

[skinks]

hi!!! what are your favourite movies? like actually good ones but also any trashy comfort movies? is IT (2017) one of them?

Hello!! IT (2017) IS ABSOLUTELY ONE OF THEM oh man, thank you for this, I love talking about movies!!!! This is possibly the most difficult question you could have asked me. Apologies for how absolutely off the rails this got, I just... love movies so much lmao

I’ve said this before, but opening night of IT ch1 was the best cinema experience I’ve ever had, I’m so glad I got to see it with a fully packed audience who were all laughing and screaming together the whole way through. I’m a huge fan of... everything ch1 was doing, the 80s nostalgia, the summer-coming-of-age themes, the solid ghost train funhouse JOY of the Pennywise performance and scares, the washed-out cinematography, the tiny background details to make everything that much more eerie, the kids’ ACTING?!

Like, a lot of the time I find child actors can be really awkward and stilted to watch, but I remember leaving the cinema really impressed by JDG and Sophia Lillis in particular. I liked that they were all allowed to be little shitheads with potty mouths, it felt like a callback to 80s movies like The Lost Boys or Stand By Me. The whole thing worked to make me really care about what happened to the kids (even if I do still have issues with how they handled Mike. I understand even ch1 had limitations with juggling so many characters, but still). I saw it another 2 times in the cinema and have rewatched it at least, I dunno, 7-10 more times since then?

Add to all of that the retroactive CANON R+E baby pining subplot? I just love it, as if that wasn’t obvious by now given my Whole Blog. It’s a really special movie to me!

Anyway!! Ok, the main handful of movies I rewatch all the fucking time are:

Back to the Future, The Lost Boys, Pride and Prejudice (2005), Jaws, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Ocean’s 11, POTC 1, The Dark Knight, Inception, Die Hard, LOTR trilogy, Snatch, The Nice Guys, Logan Lucky, Mad Max Fury Road, Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, Billy Elliot, Dirty Dancing, Tomb Raider (2018)...

Those are the easily consumable ones that I’ve seen so many times I don’t really have to concentrate or think about them, but I really love them and unfortunately often KEEP rewatching them instead of new stuff. It would take too long to go into why I love all these movies so much because I could write the same amount as I already did for ITCH1, and everyone already knows why those movies are good, so, lol.

I think I’m gonna have to subdivide and categorise this whole post because there are too many separate criteria for... goOD MOVIES, AUUHH 😩

Okay so first off, HORROR MOVIES? I’m especially in love with Re-Animator (1985) and its sequel Bride of Re-Animator, they’re such good examples of camp and batshit 80s practical effects, and also EXTREMELY funny. I’m actually just gonna post my list of my fave horror movies that I do actually keep on my phone at all times lmao. These are in no particular order:

Wholeheartedly recommend every one of these. I’ve never been so scared in my life as I was watching Hereditary in the cinema, hoo boy. Mother! by Aronofsky is one of the strangest experiences I’ve ever had (and I actually saw it on the same day I saw IT ch1 for the first time!! That was a fun day)

Psycho (1960) and The Fly from 1986 should also be on there but I couldn’t fit them in the screenshot.

I’m a HUGE fan of a ton of martial arts movies too, like Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer, Ip Man, The Raid movies, John Wick 3 is my fave of the trilogy, Drive from 1997 with Mark Dacascos is incredible, SPL 2, Ong-Bak, Operation Condor, Project A, Iron Monkey, and Zatoichi (2003) are some favourites.

My favourite Tarantino is Reservoir Dogs, fave Coen brothers are Raising Arizona, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and O Brother Where Art Thou. Love some old-timey colour correction and weird offbeat dialogue. I also love Goodfellas!!! And Donnie Brasco! And The Firm, I’m so easy for any good crime/law/gangster/heist procedural like that, especially if they’re from the 80s or 90s in a super dated way.

Fave Disney movie is Tarzan, favourite Ghibli movies are Spirited Away and Lupin III. I remember watching Spirited Away during a thunderstorm one time and it being.... god! Transcendent! Favourite Pixar movie is The Incredibles (the first one. ALSO the documentary “The Pixar Story” is great and well worth a watch, it’s very comforting for some reason) and my favourite Dreamworks movies are HTTYD1 and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron.

I tend to watch more anime movies than tv shows, so stuff like Akira, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Journey to Agartha, and my ultimate fave anime is Sword of the Stranger (2008). The climactic fight in that movie is fucking stunning and should be counted in “bests fights” lists right alongside anything live action

Also if we’re talking animated movies another hearty favourite is Rango, and a Belgian stop-motion (which at one time I considered my favourite movie ever) called Panique Au Village (2009) which is one of the funniest movies ever made imo.

As for TRASHY movies, I’m not sure if that’s the right word for how I feel about these ones but.. dumb/silly/slightly guilty pleasure movies? Ones that I feel need some kind of justification lmfao

Troy - something u must know about me is that I’m a giant slut for the Assassin’s Creed franchise, so if a movie smashes historical and mythological nonsense together with fun costumes and sword fights, I’m gonna enjoy myself. Even if they should have made Achilles and Patroclus gay. Other movies in this vein are King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and Immortals (2011)

Gods of Egypt - I know all the reasons this movie is whitewashed bullshit. But it was already bullshit with giant Anubis mecha and giant snakes and bad acting and ridiculous CGI and frankly I had a blast at the cinema (my friend who I forced to come with me did not have a blast. Sorry H***)

Avatar - yes, the one with the big blue people. This movie gets a lot of flack nowadays but I really do enjoy it just for the spectacle. The full CGI world technology was so new at the time and I love to wallow in the visuals and daydream about riding a cool dragon around in the jungle

George of the Jungle - I’ll defend this movie to the death ok this movie shaped me as a person, it is fucking hilarious and Brendan Fraser is the himbo to end all himbos. It’s perfect. The song Dela is perfect. I still want to write a reddie AU about it. It’s one of the best movies ever made and I’m not being ironic

Set It Up - I KNOW this is a dumb Netflix original romcom but consider this; it was funny and the leads had great chemistry. I got butterflies. I once watched it and then literally immediately set it back to the start so I could watch it again

The Brady Bunch Movie - when people talk about great satires or parodies you will see them bring up the same movies over and over again, Blazing Saddles, This Is Spinal Tap etc, but they never talk about The Brady Bunch Movie from 1995 for some reason, which they should. It is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen and every time i watch it somehow it gets funnier

Some more general favourites that I do still love but don’t rewatch as often, and don’t wanna go into more detail about are:

Moon (2009), Crna Mačka Beli Mačor, The Sixth Sense, Parasite, The Handmaiden, Tremors, Wet Hot American Summer, Tucker and Dale vs Evil, What We Do In The Shadows, Hunt For the Wilderpeople, The Secret of My Success (I love kitschy 80s movies, is that obvious by now), The Green Mile, When Harry Met Sally, Rear Window, The Odd Couple, Breaking Away, Pan’s Labyrinth, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Eagle, Gladiator, The Artist, The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec, Call Me By Your Name, Master and Commander, Pacific Rim, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Legend (1985), Emma. (2020), Flash Gordon, Trolljegeren, Hross í Oss, Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America, WarGames, District 9, Ajeossi (2010), Tracks (2013), Sightseers, Mud (2012), Pitch Black, Four Lions, Shaun of the Dead, Starship Troopers, The Truman Show, Withnail & I....... Jesus Christ ok I need to stop

NOTABLE EXTREME FAVOURITES that I didn’t include in the regular rewatch list because they’re too heavy/not as well known/require more attention.:

Thin Red Line (1998), Badlands (1973) both dir. Terrence Malick

Malick’s brand of dreamy impressionistic filmmaking is something I find really appealing, both of these movies are gorgeous and unusual and poignant and, in the case of Thin Red Line at least, have a lot of things to say about a lot of rough subjects. I don’t totally understand all those things sometimes, but a theme with a lot of my favourite movies is that I’ll be more likely to love something long-term if it raises unanswered questions, or is surreal/esoteric etc. Plus the cinematography is incredible, and I wish there was a way to get Jim Caviezel’s narration from The Thin Red Line as an audiobook because it’s very poetic and soothing.

Let the Bullets Fly (2010) dir. Jiang Wen

This movie is WILD, it’s so much fun. It’s sprawling and intricate and epic and smart and really fucking funny, it! Has! Everything! A gang of very tolerant outlaws!! Jiang Wen’s beautiful broad chest!!! Chow Yun Fat absolutely DECIMATING the scenery, and the two of them outsmarting each other in order to gain control of a small Chinese town!!! Plus it’s long, but it packs so much nonsense and intrigue that it goes by really fast. Wow what a flick

A Field in England (2013) dir. Ben Wheatley

I know I included this in my horror list but aaaaahhh ahhhh Wheatley is one of my favourite directors (he also made Sightseers, and is directing the Tomb Raider sequel which makes me absolutely rabid.) This is a surreal black-and-white psychological horror black comedy set in the English Civil War about some deserters who may or may not meet the Devil in a field. People eat mushrooms. It’s bonkers. I love being blasted in the face with imagery that I don’t understand

Mandy (2018) dir. Panos Cosmatos

Speaking of being blasted in the face!!!!! This movie... I saw it in the cinema and I can’t even begin to explain the experience, but I’ll try. My favourite review site described it like this:

“...somewhere between a prog album cover come to life and a metal album cover come to life, and subscribes to both genre's artistic tendency towards maximalism: what it ends up being is basically naught else but two glorious hours of being pounded by bold colors...”

So, prog and metal are my two favourite genres of music. This movie opens with the quote “When I die, bury me deep, lay two speakers at my feet, put some headphones on my head and rock and roll me when I'm dead.” and then a King Crimson song, it is SURREAL to the nth degree, it’s violent and bizarre and Nic Cage forges a giant silver axe to destroy demonic bikers and there is a CHAINSAW DUEL. A galaxy swirls above a quarry. Multiple animated horror nightmare sequences. At one point a man says “you exude a cosmic darkness” and releases a live tiger. At another point Cage says, in a digitally deepened voice, “The psychotic drowns where the mystic swims. You’re drowning. I’m swimming.” and I haven’t stopped thinking about it for two years

Paper Moon (1973) dir. Peter Bogdanovich

Really fantastic movie set in the Great Depression (and also in black & white) about a conman and a little kid who may or may not be his daughter, running cons across the Midwest. It’s beautifully shot, so sharp and sweet and the progression of their dynamic is really well done because they’re played by an IRL father and daughter. Tatum O’Neal was NINE YEARS OLD and she’s so amazing in this movie she’s actually the youngest person to win a competitive category Oscar. I keep trying to get people to watch this fbdjfjdbf it’s wonderful

Alpha (2018) dir. Albert Hughes

THIS MOVIE IS A VICTIM OF BAD MARKETING ok, the trailers made it look like some twee crappy sentimental Boy And His Dog Adventure, plus it had voiceovers in American-accented english? That’s a total disservice to one of the coolest things about this film; the fact that they got a linguist to construct an entirely original Neolithic language that all the characters speak for the entire runtime. And yes, it is eventually a Boy And His Wolf adventure, but it’s COOL and fairly brutal, and it has some really incredible cinematography. The landscapes are so strange and barren and alien, you really get the sense that this is an ancient world we no longer have any connection to. And it’s also about like, the birth of dog & human companionship sooo it’s perfect.

Free Solo (2018) dir. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin

The Free Climbing Documentary. I loved climbing as a kid, I love outdoor sports, and I love movies that elicit a physical reaction in me, whether that’s horny, scared, real laughter, overwhelming shivers, or in the case of Free Solo - HORRIBLE SWEATING TENSION. Like, I knew about Alex Honnold beforehand because of this adventure film festival I go to every year and I followed him on IG so obviously I knew he lived, but the actual climb itself was torture. My hands sweat every time I see it!! It’s incredible, such a cool look into generally what the human body can do, and more specifically, why Honnold’s psychology and life means he’s so well suited to free soloing. It’s such an exercise in getting to know an individual and get invested in them, before they attempt something very potentially fatal.

Brokeback Mountain (2005) dir. Ang Lee

I can’t even talk about this. When I was around 13 I snuck downstairs to watch this on TV at 11pm in secret, and my life was forever changed. I wouldn’t be who I am if I hadn’t seen Brokeback at the age I did. I seriously can’t talk about this or I’ll write an even longer essay than this already is

God’s Own Country (2017) dir. Francis Lee

The antidote to Brokeback Mountain, I’m so glad I managed to see this one in the cinema too. It makes me cry every time, as someone who’s spent years working on a cold British farm with sheep it was very realistic, which is expected since Lee grew up on a farm in Yorkshire. I love that this movie isn’t really about being closeted, but about being so emotionally repressed and self-loathing that the main character finds it so hard to accept love. Or that he deserves to be loved. The cinnamontographies.... lordt... but also the intimacy and sex scenes are fucking searing wow who hasn’t seen this movie by now. 10 stars. 20 stars!!!

Tomboy (2011) dir. Céline Sciamma

I saw this years ago but I’ve never forgotten it, it cut so deep. It’s from the director of Portrait of a Lady on Fire and it’s about a gnc kid struggling with gender and misogyny and homophobia in a really raw, scrappy way, it reminded me very much of my own... childhood... ahh the central performance is amazing for such a young age. I haven’t seen Portrait yet but I feel like if you went nuts for that, you should definitely check this out, it’s lovely.

Donnie Darko (2001) dir. Richard Kelly

EVERY TIME I WATCH THIS MOVIE I UNDERSTAND LESS AND LESS and that’s what I love so much about it. I love surreal movies, I love time-fuckery and stuff about altered perception etc etc and Donnie Darko scratches all my itches. I wish I could find a way to figure out an IT AU for it, because I know it would work! Somehow! Plus it’s got the subdued 80s nostalgia and I found it at an age when I was really starting to explore movies and music and the soundtrack FUCKS.

Offside (2006) dir. Jafar Panahi

I wish more people knew about this!!! It’s an Iranian film about a disparate group of women and girls who are football fans and want to watch Iran’s qualifying match for the World Cup, but women aren’t allowed into the stadium, so they all get thrown into the Stadium Jail together? They don’t know each other beforehand, but it’s about their changing relationships with each other and the guards and just, their defiance alongside hearing the match from the outside and WOW it’s so lively. Great dialogue and very funny, and such a different kind of story from anything you usually see from Hollywood.

The Fall (2006) dir. Tarsem Singh

This movie... I guess it’s the ideal. This is the platonic ideal of a film for me, it has fantasy, magical realism, glorious visuals, amazing score and costumes and production design and a really interesting, heartbreaking relationship at the core of it. I don’t know why so many of my favourite films feature incredibly raw performances by child actors but this is another one, Catinca Untaru barely knew any English and improvised so much because of that, and it’s fascinating to watch! Also the dynamic with Lee Pace is one of my favourites, where a kid forms a friendship with a guardian figure who isn’t their parent, but the guardian grows to really care for them by the end. It’s like Paper Moon in that sense. What is there to even say about this movie, it’s pure magic joy tempered and countered by genuine gutwrenching emotional conflict in the real world, it’s also ABOUT old moviemaking, in a way, and it’s stunning to look at!

Mad Max Fury Road (2015) dir. George Miller

I know I included this in my “most rewatched” section but it deserves its own thing. We all know why this movie is fucking incredible. I remember clutching my armrests in the cinema and feeling like my skeleton was being blasted back into the seat behind me and tbh that is the high I’m constantly chasing when I go to see any movie. What a fucking gift this film is

Théo et Hugo dans le Même Bateau (2016) dir. Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau

I only found this movie last year and it became an instant favourite. Initially I was just curious because I’d never seen a movie with unsimulated sex before, but it’s so much more than the 18 minute gay sex club orgy it opens with. No, not more than, AS WELL AS. The orgy is important because this movie is so candid and frank about sex and HIV treatment in the modern day, it was eye-opening. Another thing that really got me is that I’d never seen a real-time film before. It’s literally an hour and a half in the lives of these two men, their intense connection and conversation and conflict in the middle of the night in Paris, with some really nice night photography and just!!! Wow!!! AMAZING CHEMISTRY between the actors. This is such a gem if you’re comfortable with explicit sexual content.

Ok. This is already over 3k but film is obviously one of my ridiculous passions and I can and do talk about it for hours. I’ve been reading magazines about it for years, listening to podcasts and reading review blogs and recently, watching video essays on YouTube because the whole process is so interesting to me and I want to learn more!!

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of valuing form over narrative. The idea that story can often come second to the deeper physical experience and emotional reaction that’s created by using ALL the elements of filmmaking and not just The Story, y’know? Whether that’s editing, shot composition, colour, the sound mix, the actors, how it should all be used to heighten the emotional state the script wants you to feel. And so, I think for a few years now this approach has been influencing the types of films I really, really love.

I think I love surreality and mind-bending magical realism in films specifically because the filmmakers have to use all those different tools to convey things that can be way too metaphysical for just... a script? I’m always chasing that physical response; if a movie can make me stop thinking “I wonder what it was like to set up that shot” and instead overwhelm that suspension of disbelief, if I can be terrified or woozy or crying for whatever reason, that’s what I’m looking for. That’s why I watch so many fuckin movies, and why I’ll always remember nights like seeing IT (2017) for giving me another favourite.

Thank you again for this question, I didn’t mean to go so overboard. Also there’s no way to do a readmore on tumblr mobile so apologies to anyone’s dashboard 😬

[vvideonasties]

Top 5 pieces of media that marked u FOREVER!!! pd: hi <3

ooooh INTENSE!!!!

definitely pride (2014), it makes me cry every time and i visited gay’s the word in london a few years ago......just the 80s nostalgia and the working class solidarity really gets me. its also so incredibly british and gritty in a way that i can never find in modern queer media? there’s a plethora of representation out there right now obviously but the mainstream is very americanised for the most part. just shove a northern lesbian in a movie, make some commentary on classism and i’m all over it like a rash

dead poets society because i’m a pretentious gay bastard and the “i can take care of myself” scene with todd and neil lives in my mind rent free. i’m very much like knox and i have the strength to admit that now. it makes me wish i had an english teacher like keating to be honest!! todd’s poem in the classroom is a really wonderful scene too

doctor who (circa 2005 up to tennant’s departure) because its one of the positive memories i have bonding with my dad. he subscribed to the official magazine for me and we’d go to the corner shop and pick it up every weekend. i also bonded with my best friend over it when were seven and 15 years on i still love her very much

the nightingale is....A Movie. i’ve only seen it once and i don’t think i could bear to see it again because it hit me so hard. when i left the cinema and got on the tram to go home i broke down and cried a LOT. i wouldn’t say it was impactful in the sense that it mirrored my experiences, definitely not, but i dunno. it’s extremely hard to describe. i wouldn’t tell anyone to watch it, but also....everyone needs to watch it. i legitimately hated sam claflin for a while afterwards because his character was so abhorrent 

fleabag. fleabag fleabag FLEABAG, holy fucking shit phoebe waller bridge is a fucking genius. i don’t think i’ve ever felt so seen in a piece of media before. just...everything about it. is incredible. andrew scott is impeccable, his speech on love at the wedding is fantastic, the “kneel” scene never gets old. “i don’t know what to do with all the love i have for her. i don’t know where to put it now”, “i love you” “it’ll pass”, “i think you know how to love better than any of us, that’s why you find it all so painful”, “people are all we’ve got”, “the only person i’d run through an airport for is you”, i could go on forever. i think i might watch it tonight and cry actually 

ask me my top five anything

[tvmoviechristmas]

Hi Kacey! Love your blog. A top 10 blog if there ever was one, for sure. I was just wondering, if you could schedule a day's worth of made-for-TV Christmas movies, what would those movies be? xoxo, definitely not the Kacey who writes this blog

Hello there, Kacey (who is definitely not me). Great question. Did you know I have been thinking about this exact question a lot??? Because I have. There’s a lot to consider when you think it. Do you just schedule your twelve favorite Christmas movies? Do you put into consideration what time of day movies are airing? Do you go for variety or programing coherence? Do I lean heavily on the movies that got me into made-for-TV Christmas blogging or is that too old school?

After a fair amount of thought, here is what I came up with. I am starting the day at 6:00 PM because in my vision this is a Friday night o Saturday venture that starts when a person comes home from work. (Have I mentioned that I put too much thought into this?)

KACEY’S DAY OF MADE-FOR-TV CHRISTMAS MOVIES

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM EST - Debbie Macomber’s Mrs. Miracle (Hallmark, 2009) - Debbie Macomber’s Mrs. Miracle isn’t the movie that put Hallmark on the map (that was The Christmas Card). However, it is the movie that made me pay attention to what the channel was doing. A sweet little Mary Poppins tale about regret, loss, moving on and forgiveness. It’s been rare to see a movie in the years since that let its characters and relationships be as messy and flawed as they are allowed to be here. Even so, the movie loves them and wants the best for them and it’s genuinely affecting because of it.

8:00 PM - 10:00 PM - My Christmas Love (Hallmark, 2016) - In ten years I have run this blog, no new movie premiere surprised me quite like My Christmas Love did. The premise sounds goofy, but the execution is absolutely exquisite. In the ten years I have written for this blog, no movie has earned my love quite like this one. It is the fun, fluffy, slightly ridiculous romantic comedy that you come to this genre for. For my money not only is it the best made-for-TV Christmas movie of the 2010s, it deserves some consideration for being one of the best romantic comedies period. 

10:00 PM - 12:00 AM - Christmas Under Wraps (Hallmark, 2014) -  My opinion that Christmas Under Wraps is the best Candace Cameron Bure Christmas movie has come under fire before on this blog. But you know what? I stand by it. I rewatched it last month and had a delightful time. The movie has so much -- the first Schrodinger’s Santa, small town business practices that make no sense, a gruff male romantic lead who originally does not like the small town intruder, a character played by Candace Cameron Bure that you can assume actually had sex with her love interest (upon rewatch, I believe this to be true, they spend the night together) and so on and so forth. There is not a trope that Christmas Under Wraps skips during its runtime, and that is what makes it a delightful time. It is the ultimate Hallmark Christmas movie.

12:00 AM - 2:00 AM - Christmas in Boston (Freeform, 2005) - Put this one down as another seminal movie in the Kacey Christmas Canon. I owned this on DVD. I used to rewatch it every year (before life got too busy to really watch made-for-TV Christmas movies for fun). It’s cheesy. It’s implausible. It features so many people making their lives so hard for themselves, and I loved it dearly. Maybe I’m just a sucker for mystery pen pal romance set at Christmas. I do consider The Shop Around the Corner to be a top five romantic comedy after all.

2:00 AM - 4:00 AM - A Smoky Mountain Christmas (ABC, 1986) - You can’t program a day’s worth of Christmas movies without including Dolly Parton. The most fun of her movies is the 1980s-tacular A Smoky Mountain Christmas. It’s a Snow White tale filled with big hearted celebrities, orphans just wandering around town, evil witches, grumpy mountain men and a ton of absolutely charming chaos. It’s the most pure fun Dolly Parton has ever been, and even though it’s been years since we first saw it, my baby sister and I still make jokes about it to this day.

4:00 AM - 6:00 AM - Christmas Belle (ION, 2013) - I first watched Christmas Belle on the day of a final when I needed a break from studying. It was 4 AM, and I could hardly believe what I was seeing. It’s a movie so bonkers and so poorly made that it circles around to being captivating. The definition of so bad, it’s fun... there is nothing better to fill in the 4 AM slot.

6:00 AM - 8:00 AM - Christmas at Water’s Edge (Lifetime, 2004) - I have never felt more cockblocked by a movie’s ending in my life than I did after watching Christmas at Water’s Edge. It has been over eight years since I watched it, and the pain of that ending still stings. I have had trust issues about angel-human romance stories ever since. Still, every moment leading up to the bittersweet ending is tropey fun. And maybe, there is something to the saying, “Always leave them wanting more.” I figure this movie is perfect for the 6 AM slot because the sense of bittersweet despair you feel will wake you up better than any old cup of coffee could.

8:00 AM - 10:00 AM - To Grandmother’s House We Go (ABC, 1992) - We are now in the “programming for kids!!!” part of my scheduling block. If you want to get your kids into the made-for-TV Christmas genre, it’s hard to go wrong with an Olsen twins movie. It was certainly one of my gateway drugs for becoming a made-for-TV Christmas fan. Well, that and...

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM - Snow (Freeform, 2004) - My life would be different if it were not for Snow. I watched so many shitty Tom Cavanagh shows because 12-year old me had such a crush on him in Snow. I watched so many shitty made-for-TV Christmas movies trying to reach the warm, fuzzy feeling Snow gave me back in the day. Whenever I am trying to get a youth into the genre, Snow is usually my go-to pick of a movie, and you know what! It’s worked! Because that is the magic of Snow.

12:00 PM - 2:00 PM - Christmas with Holly (ABC, 2012) - There are many tragic haircuts in this movie, which is an absolute shame. But outside of that, Christmas with Holly is a great. It tackles serious subjects without being maudlin, and features a romance you can buy into. Though I may be a sucker for a movie that prominently features a child character who chooses not like to talk to people, because I was also that kid once upon a time. (*insert joke here about how now I don’t shut up now*)

2:00 PM - 4:00 PM - Marry Me for Christmas (UP, 2013) - I would not have guessed it at the time, but Marry Me for Christmas launched UP’s signature franchise about the yearly holiday shenanigans of the Chandler family. While the sequels have been more miss than hit, the original is so much fun that you can get why everyone wanted to return to the well here. It’s a fake dating story that is willing to mess around with the tropes to fun and delightful results.

4:00 PM - 6:00 PM - Window Wonderland (Hallmark, 2013) - Paul Campbell is my favorite Hallmark lead, and no movie has used him as well as Window Wonderland did. It is also one of the few movies that Hallmark has made that has done my favorite romantic comedy trope--rivals who fall in love!-- right. After a full day of Christmas fun, I think this is a good ending point of a marathon.

So there you have it. A full day’s worth of made-for-TV Christmas movie viewing. Though, honestly, I could probably program a week’s worth of movies... there is a lot to see. So as a bonus, here are ten more movies to watch, in alphabetical order:

Christmas Bow, The (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, 2020) - My favorite new movie of the year and the epitome of what an ideal Hallmark Movies & Mysteries movie should allegedly be.

Christmas Romance, A (CBS, 1994) - This blog would not exist if Olivia Netwon-John did not help a sheep give birth during a blizzard on Christmas Eve.

Dear Secret Santa (Lifetime, 2013) - It’s The Lake House. It takes place at Christmas. What more does anyone need to say?????

Matchmaker Santa (Hallmark, 2012) - If Christmas Under Wraps was Candace Cameron Bure’s best Christmas movie, than Matchmaker Santa is Lacey Chabert’s. I wish more movies had Santa magicking up bears to create romance.

Mrs. Santa Claus (CBS, 1996) - Angela Lansbury stars as Mrs. Claus in an absolute bonkers musical.

Picking Up & Dropping Off (Freeform, 2003) - It may not be all that Christmas-y, but the Liz Phair montage in this movie has stuck with me for decades. Also Scott Wolf stripping during a weather report as a culmination of a character arc. Back when it was ABC Family, Freeform was reliable in putting out quality made-for-TV movies and that is my nostalgia talking most likely!!!

Road to Christmas (Hallmark, 2018) - Chad Michael Murray is strangely great at pining. Also Hallmark’s first subtextual gay couple. (But the subtext is so heavy, you’d be surprised it wasn’t text.)

Snowed Inn Christmas (Lifetime, 2017) - Andrew Walker is wasted on the Hallmark Channel, but this Lifetime movie manages to make him charming (by making him an asshole) in this rivals to lovers romance.

12 Dates of Christmas (Freeform, 2011) - My favorite of Freeform’s Groundhog Day style Christmas movies that they would churn out once every five years or so.

12 Men of Christmas (Lifetime, 2009) - It’s not that Christmas-y. But it is the movie where you will see the most amount of shirtless men. The view is his penis.

[littlemusicreviews]

Robin Guthrie & Harold Budd – Mysterious Skin: Music From The Film

May 24, 2005 (Commotion)

Ambient music is a universal language. Whether you play it in the background while you work, study or fall asleep, or put on headphones and hone in on each intricate detail, it could be the one genre of music that speaks directly to the soul. It is music stripped to its bare elements, with arrangements that build upon the simple noises we hear in our day-to-day lives: rustling leaves, running water, buzzing machinery, and other sounds we often forget to appreciate. I believe that’s why ambient music has the ability to connect with everyone – listening to it is a spiritual experience that transcends any spoken language. It centres us, amplifying any underlying emotions that we are currently feeling, and bringing us closer to the physical world around us.

Mysterious Skin: Music From The Film succeeds at the above purpose more than any other piece of music I’ve heard before.

An amazing film score serves to amplify the film’s themes, plot and character development, but can also stand on its own two legs as a fantastic piece of music. I consider Mysterious Skin to be one of my favourite movies of all time, but I haven’t rewatched it in years because of how intense and graphic it is at times. I’ve listened to Guthrie and Budd’s score countless times since last viewing the film, but still to this day it evokes the same feelings that main characters Neil and Brian feel throughout their journey. The same alienation, the same despair, the same trauma and subsequent path to recovery.

To quote director Gregg Araki, “It was less important for the music to underline narrative action than it was for music to define and authenticate the film for the audience.”

To this day, the song “Snowfall” takes me back to the scene in the film where it is deployed: two teenage characters hanging out at night in an empty drive-in, reflecting on the decisions they’ve made so far in their lives and feeling all the anxieties surrounding their coming of age. The song’s two-minute build up mirrors the contemplation of the protagonists, and the listener experiences the same uneasiness and mystery through the guitar timbre and reverb, which are employed specifically to conjure these emotions. And then, out of nowhere, snow starts falling. It is a moment of catharsis in both the film and the song, with the build-up leading to a sequence of cascading guitar arpeggios that so perfectly put to music the image of snowflakes gently falling on a field. For the three blissful remaining minutes of “Snowfall”, you share the same sentiment as the characters in the film: Hope. Everything is going to be okay.

Even for someone coming across this score who has never watched Mysterious Skin, I believe it has the power to tap into your emotions and gift you a greater understanding of yourself. Harold Budd’s piano motifs on songs like “Brian’s Nightmare” and “The Discovery” place a feeling of dread deep inside the stomach of the listener, which strongly juxtaposes against the more restless and hopeful Robin Guthrie-led moments on “Goodbye To Wendy” and “Loitering”. This duality likely stems from Guthrie’s guitar and Budd’s piano each carrying such a distinct tone and mood, yet so rarely interacting directly with each other on individual tracks. The score is warm and inviting, and yet cold and distant at the same time – this feeling of being at odds with oneself is immediately relatable to anyone who has grown up in a small town, started a new job without knowing anyone else, or lived the queer coming of age experience.

Personally, the film score takes me to two places. The first is a liminal space: I’m walking by a lake and it’s a familiar setting, but I feel alone… nobody else that I know is there with me. Maybe these are actual latent feelings from my youth, or maybe the sonic nostalgia is so powerful that it’s creating memories that never existed. I’m not sure.

The second place is to my best friend’s house, lying on a bed together at 3am while the film score lulls us to sleep. I look around at the four walls surrounding me, at the night sky through the window, and at my friends who I love, and I’m grateful for the music opening my soul and letting me take it all in so richly. I feel closer than ever before.

Favourite track: “Snowfall”

Rating: 10 out of 10

[aetherschreiber]

The Cycle of Fandom

I am an early Millennial.  As a 1982 baby, I literally came of age in the year 2000.  A lot of hay has been made about how my generation does things differently from our parents.  And by now, plenty of it has been made about why, as well.  I won’t rehash the talking points, but it comes down to how much things changed in our formative years.  Our parents went from vinyl to 8-tracks.  We went from cassette tapes to CDs to MP3 players to streaming over our phones.  That’s a lot to have to adapt to and as a result adapting is just what we do.

But when it comes to fandom, the human condition really hasn’t changed that much.  People like things and when they like things they obsess, collect, analyze, and sadly they eventually eventually gate-keep.

Now, let me preface all of this by saying that I don’t really have any citations for any of this.  But, as someone who was thoroughly raised in fandom, I also have a tendency to get hooked on things a lot of my generation would scoff at for being old.  I love the original Lost in Space and Man from UNCLE, the very first Mobile Suit Gundam is my favorite, I’m fascinated by the puppetry in Thunderbirds, and I’m a complete sucker for just about anything with Cary Grant.  I will binge-watch classic Doctor Who as much as I will the new stuff and love every moment of each for what it is.

For most Millennials, this isn’t the case, for whatever reason.  It’s neither a good thing nor a bad thing.  It just is.  Most folks in my generation have heavy nostalgia for the 80s at the oldest and just don’t really concern themselves with very much from before that.  It’s not that they don’t have an appreciation, but they don’t have the resulting fangirl crush I have on David McCallum that I will commiserate with my mother about (Illya Kuryakin is an adorable badass and I will die on that hill).

I like to think that this has given me a bit of a unique view on fandom, in general.  I participate in some older fandoms, where things move a bit more slowly and where the average age is usually at least one generation removed from me and therefore a bit wiser in a lot of ways.  They’ve just sort of... already covered this ground, so to speak.

The difference is the pace at which they did it.  But the cycle is the same.

It’s never anything that starts maliciously.  No fan I know of has ever set out to point-blank keep someone else from liking the thing.  Rather it starts with a sense of seniority.  “You like this thing, now, too?  Great!  I was there for the beginning and let me tell you, back then...”  It’s always like a fandom big sibling who wants to show their younger counterpart the ropes; get them proper caught-up and versed in the lore so that they can better participate.

I love fandom when it’s at this stage and it’s the type of fan I strive to be at all times.  I don’t like setting conditions for fandom.  I think it’s partly because I am such a late-comer to so many.  The idea of being a fan of something that was made 30 years or more before you were born is a hell of a thing, but I’ve never let that stop me.  And for the most part, these fandoms that are much older than I am have reached the point where they are welcoming and just sort of stuck in the big sibling stage.  Sure, you have the occasional troll, the guy that scoffs that I can’t understand because I wasn’t there at the very beginning.  But they’re usually slapped to the ground pretty quickly by everyone else.

There is the occasional exception, of course.  But one of the things those such fandoms have in common is that there is still new content being made for it.  Doctor Who is a prime example, as is Star Trek, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings (yes, I do count the upcoming Amazon series and other non-book content as new content, deal with it).  There’s something about new content being made for a fandom that causes an odd anxiety that thing that the fandom loves is going to be somehow ruined.

I’m going to use Doctor Who as an example for a lot of this.  The show turned 56 years old this last November.  56 years!  And the fact that it had a couple of decade-long breaks in there, which were themselves only separated by a single two-hour movie, only serve to highlight the changes it went through.

My second-oldest memory is of Doctor Who.  I remember the regeneration from Tom Baker to Peter Davison.  Now, Whovian historians, before you freak out because that change-over happened in 1981, before I was even born, remember that back then the US got episodes around two and three years later than the BBC, in syndication on public television channels.  So for me, that change happened when I was two.  I remember there being some Big Thing (tm) that my dad was anticipating.  I remember the burgundy and red outfit that Tom Baker was wearing while laying stricken on the ground, surrounded by his companions.  And I remember him suddenly turning into a blond and sitting up, wide-eyed and mystified.  I didn’t understand any of it at the time, of course.  And so I also remember turning to my dad, who was watching with excitement, while the credits were rolling and asking why the man turned into another man.  Oddly, that’s where the memory ends.  I don’t remember the response.  In fact, it’s only having since seen that episode as an adult that I have been able to identify it for what it was.

After that, I don’t have much in the way of Doctor Who related memories until the Paul McGann movie in 1996.  I was 14 and not well-steeped in Whovian lore at the time and I thought it was great.  My dad was more luke-warm to it because it just wasn’t the same as what he grew up with.  It was a sentiment shared by many, unfortunately, which meant that Paul McGann’s wonderful take on the Doctor was relegated purely to audio adventures until the 50th anniversary in 2013.  Sadly, in the early days of the internet, those of us who liked it weren’t quite able to find each other yet.  In the days of Usenet and mailing lists, it was still only the most hardcore fans of a thing who got together to geek out.  Meaning that most of the conversation was “oh, that’s all wrong.”  Lurking in those conversations, I saw pretty much every tremulous young person who dared to say that they liked it get slapped to the ground and told they weren’t a fan of “the real thing.”

Gate-keeping.  It’s nothing new.  And in 1996 Doctor Who fandom ran smack into its pad-locked closed barrier.  Around that same time other old but still active fandoms were starting to manifest the same thing on the internet.  It was when Trekkies suddenly separated into Trekkies (who had seen the original as it aired) and Trekkers (who came long later), for reasons I have never understood.

No, that’s not true.  I understand it.  Us humans tend to get possessive about our stories.  We have a sort of emotional ownership to them, even if not a legal one.  And when you feel an ownership of something, there is an instinct to protect it, keep it pure.  And to do that, it’s natural to try to set oneself up as an authority on the subject.

It took another decade for Doctor Who to come off the shelf again, in 2005.  I was 24 by then, the age that marketers tend to target.  A friend got his hands on a digi-copy of Christopher Eccleston’s first episode, “Rose,” that had been leaked to the internet in its entirety about a week before it actually aired.  We watched it before our D&D group met and I was instantly hooked.  And the friend that was responsible for the new addiction was only too happy to have new fandom friends.

The pendulum had swung.  Gate-keeping was out and welcoming people to the fandom was the MO.  Of course, there were and still are to this day old school Whovians who deny that anything past Sylvester McCoy exists, calling the 1996 movie and the current series a different show entirely.  There will always be those people.  But for the most part, Whovians welcomed new fans with open arms throughout all of Eccleston’s and David Tennant’s runs.

Now, that one cycle, from welcoming to gate-keeping, and back to welcoming, took 42 years.  Most things don’t last anywhere close to that long.  A show might be on for five years or a movie and its sequels be around for ten and after that, for the most part, it’s done.  And in the pre-internet age of fandom, the pendulum swung slowly enough never to hit a repeat in the cycle.

The internet has sped up everything about fandom.  The airing of just about any show in any country might as well be a world-wide premiere these days because it all just travels that quickly.  It has to if it wants to maintain any sort of surprise in its story lines, otherwise internet chatter will spoil it.  These days, things move so fast that even the few hours between an episode of Doctor Who airing in the UK and in the US is enough that one can be subjected to spoilers.  And the swing of the fandom pendulum has sped up accordingly.

For Doctor Who, it started swinging back again when David Tennant left the show and Matt Smith took over.  Tennant’s Doctor had a lot of fans who desperately didn’t want “their Doctor” to leave, many of whom took to the internet, swearing off the show.  They said it would never be as good because David Tennant was just the best Doctor ever.  By then, there were a number of us Millennial Whovians who had dug into the lore and were comfortable with the concept of regeneration as a part of it.  After all, it had already happened nine times.  And there was a bit of a tendency to call those people who swore off Matt Smith’s episodes as being fans not of Doctor Who but of David Tennant.  Meanwhile, of course, old school Whovians were patting us all on the head going “aren’t you cute.  Now you understand why Tom Baker leaving was such a thing.”

And so, the pendulum started to swing back.  You started having people call other people “not really fans of Doctor Who.”  That only got worse when Peter Capaldi took over and there was a significant portion of the fandom upset that the Doctor was now an older guy instead of the 30-something Doctors we had grown accustomed to.

Gate-keeping reared its ugly head for most of Capaldi’s run and, sadly, I think that kept a lot of people from the fandom and from really appreciating the 12th Doctor.  That cycle has started to swing back with Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor, but the gate-keeping is in a stage where it is desperate to hold on to what Doctor Who was when they became fans and therefore is very toxic right now.  It’s not pretty.  But those asshats are starting to be slapped to the ground on social media thanks to a new influx of fans who are now once again more comfortable with the idea of regeneration and its possibilities.

Similar swings are happening with many other fandoms.  The Star Wars fandom is a really ugly place right now, quite frankly.  Star Trek seems to be on the welcoming end.  There are always the exceptions to every generalization, of course.  There will always be “that guy” in fandom.

This swing has always existed.  Millennials are just the first generation for whom it has swung multiple times in the life of the show.  The internet is probably the biggest contributing factor to that.  What that means is that we’re the first generation to really have the chance to see the pattern for what it is.  A few of us have even been able to extrapolate back and understand that, no, this is how it always has been, just slower.

The hopeful part of that is this; by virtue of being the first to recognize the pattern, we are the first ones with the opportunity to learn from that history.  And now we’re starting to see fandoms that actively abhor gate-keeping and just want more people to come in and play.  But those tend to be very young fandoms.

The one that comes to mind for me is Critical Role.  This is a fandom that was wholly born on the internet, as the series is streamed live on Twitch.  It’s really unlike anything that has ever had a fandom this size before.  It’s only been around for four years or so.  But the cast is on its second D&D campaign which means it’s already had the opportunity to have the elitism gate that could be closed.  But something different seems to have happened.  The very moment that people started saying “I’m a real fan because I watched the Vox Machina campaign, not just the Mighty Nein,” they were told to shut the hell up and let people like things.  A foot was stuck into the gate and wrenched it back open before it could close.  And you know what?  The fandom has absolutely exploded in the last two years.  And I have yet to run into a single instance of someone gate-keeping for it that didn’t get an overwhelming and harsh rebuttal from the folks who welcome people to the fandom.

Sadly, the Critical Role fandom is distinct from the Dungeons & Dragons fandom on this point.  But therein lies the difference.  D&D is over 45 years old, ten times and more the age of Critical Role.  And the “satanic panic” over it in the 80s made a lot of D&D players very protective of the hobby, only amplifying that.  The age of your average Critter is only mid-to-late 20s or so.  At 37, I’m a little bit of an outlier, I have found.  The Critter fandom is big on TikTok which I... don’t grock, frankly, because I’m turning into an old fart.  But I’ve never, ever, been made to feel unwelcome because of that difference.  It’s been a refreshing experience, frankly.

In contrast, I really feel like I’m only now starting to be considered a “true Whovian” by the old school Whovians.  It took me 15 years and required me getting hooked on the classic stuff (which I was all too happy to do).  People who have never seen any of the classic stuff and don’t care to are often still looked down upon.  That needs to change.

The Critical Role fandom is still young and all of this may prove to be overly-optimistic in the end.  But I think it has the opportunity to be the first big fandom not to go through the gate-keeping cycle.  I sincerely hope we can hold on to that.  The cast and crew are a big part of that, with how they always hammer on the idea of inclusivity and engage so directly with the fandom.  “Don’t forget to love each other” is Matt Mercer’s sign-off at the end of every episode and serves as a constant reminder.  And if more casts and crews of more fandoms do that sort of engaging in the future, it will help break the cycle of fandom gate-keeping all the more thoroughly.  This is a fact that production companies are starting to awaken to as Millennials, comfortable with social media, age into positions of authority.

So, welcome people in, gate-keep, almost cause the whole thing to collapse, repeat.  That’s the cycle that fandom has engaged in for three generations and more.  But I think we’re on the cusp of breaking that cycle, for the most part.  The idea that you can be a fan of something without knowing absolutely everything about it has been gaining very visible traction in the last five years or so and it is wonderful to see.

Now, please, people.  Don’t prove me wrong.

[swimmingplatypuses]

Sovietwave: The sound of Soviet nostalgia

Artwork by Randall Mackey (2017). The billboard translates to “Our Dream!”

How did we get here?

YouTube recommendations are weird. Somehow I went from listening to Fly Me to the Moon featuring Patrick Star riding a seahorse, to tumbling down the rabbit hole that is ‘Sovietwave’. You might have found Sovietwave in a similar way; it seems to be how most people find the peculiar genre. No one actually searches for it, but everyone stops and has a listen, to then find themselves enamored by this dreary and weirdly comforting style of synthpop. Some stay for the music, others admire the Soviet artworks present in the thumbnails. However, underlying all of this is a collective sense of Soviet romanticism and nostalgia for the future: wondering of what the Soviet Union could have been. It’s strange. Have a listen.

What is Sovietwave?

Sovietwave is a subgenre of ‘New Wave’, a musical style that originated from the 1970s, borne from the rise of synthesisers, punk rock, disco and electronic dance music. Sovietwave features elements of these, with more attention given to the sounds of post-punk from the 1980s. However, what defines Sovietwave the most is its distinct colourless sounds and Russian lyrics. According to most people’s reactions to the genre, this unique sound, accompanied by artworks of Soviet propaganda invoke feelings of “nostalgia for a future that never arrived.” 

Where did Soviet nostalgia come from?

This made me curious. Why would people be nostalgic for a totalitarian regime that resulted in the deaths of millions of people? After all, western education will tell you that the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 was the greatest thing to ever happen to the Russian people. It was the downfall of communism! Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first president, stated after a failed coup in August 1991 that “the Russian people had ‘thrown off the shackles of seventy years of slavery” and were on their way to a “parliamentary democracy” (Izvestiya, 23 August 1991, p. 1). Except, what followed wasn’t so good. When you read about the political, social and economic struggles of the three Slavic republics (Russia, Belarus and Ukraine) you begin to understand. 

In 1991, the new ruling group of the Russian Federation consisted heavily of elites that had previously held administrative positions in the Soviet Union. Soviet-era historian Tat’yana Zaslavskaya (2004) argues that this group had effectively completed an anti-bourgeois coup “begun by Stalin in the late 1920s but not taken to its logical conclusion.” Zaslavskaya (2002) continues by suggesting that the dissolution of the Soviet Union was more of an evolution than a revolution. There was no “people power” to stop the anti-bourgeois coup; everything that had happened was led by a dissatisfied intelligentsia that had no substantial power against the former ruling group. What followed was a reduction in the Russian welfare state; economic instability; and public criticism of democracy’s bureaucratic shortcomings. A 2005 study by the Levada Centre saw half of its participants claiming that “it would have been better if everything had stayed the way it was before 1985” because “we were a big, united country”; “there was order”; “there was certainty in the future”; and “prices were low and stable.” The collapse of the Soviet Union had brought economic insecurity and cultural disillusionment. Even now, Russia still faces political uncertainty and a less-than-favourable economy. Some people are now looking at Soviet Russia and are thinking: maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea? We could try it again, this time with “more democratic” elements and a different plan. As Anya Fedotova, a photo editor from Russia interested in Soviet nostalgia says: “People were in a difficult situation in Soviet Russia, but they believed in the bright future of the USSR.”

Soviet nostalgia is a result of the comparison between the Soviet Union’s strengths and the Russian Federation’s weaknesses. 

Soviet nostalgia in the age of the Internet

Okay, cool history lesson, but how does Sovietwave come into this? Sovietwave is a product of Soviet nostalgia. It’s a product of comparing the USSR’s strengths to the Russian Federation’s weaknesses. Nostalgia for the USSR gained popularity with the launch of the 2004 TV channel, Nostalgia TV, a channel dedicated to the music, movies and shows of the 70s and 80s. It’s also a product of this comparison. Since then, Nostalgia TV has now become a YouTube channel and online radio stream. It features a program called Before and After, which is all about people reminiscing on significant events that occurred in the Soviet Union. Sovietwave is no different. This new synthpop genre is all about reminiscing on the past, and thinking of what could have been if the Soviet Union wasn’t so corrupt and if it hadn't dissolved. If history had been different, the USSR’s future could have been very bright. “Our Dream”, was to become an advanced civilisation leading space exploration and colonisation. This is why so many people on the Internet are becoming obsessed with Soviet aesthetics: “nostalgia for a future that never arrived.”

This all started because I watched a video of Patrick Star riding a seahorse.

[maddie-grove]

The Top Twenty Books I Read in 2019

My main takeaways from the past year’s reading:

Sometimes you think something is happening because of magic, but then it turns out to have a non-magical explanation so weird that you find yourself saying, “You know what? I wish faeries or God were responsible for this. I’d honestly feel less disturbed.”

Stop bathing and changing your clothes and shaving for three years, three months, and three days. You’ll find out who your real friends are. I promise you that.

I want more books about bisexual ladies!!! Give them to me!!!

Anyway...

20. The Prodigal Duke by Theresa Romain (2017)

Childhood sweethearts Poppy Hayworth and Leo Billingsley were separated when his older brother, a duke, sent him away to make his fortune. Years later, the duke is dead, a financially successful Leo has come back to England to take his place, and Poppy has become a rope dancer at Vauxhall Gardens after a life-shattering event. New sparks are flying between them, but is love possible when so much else has changed? Leo and Poppy are believable and charming as old friends, Romain makes great use of obscure historical details from the oft-depicted Regency period, and I loved Leo’s difficult but caring elderly uncle.

19. Simple Jess by Pamela Morsi (1996)

Althea Winsloe, a young widow in 1900s Arkansas, has no interest in remarrying, but almost everyone in her small Ozarks community is pressuring her to remarry, and she still needs someone to help farm her land. Enter Jesse Best, a strong young man with cognitive disabilities who’s happy to take on the work. As he makes improvements to her farm and bonds with her three-year-old son, Althea gets to know him better and starts to see him in a new light. This earthy romance could’ve been a disaster, but instead it illustrates how people with disabilities are often...uh...simplified and de-sexualized in a way that denies them autonomy. Morsi has a similarly nuanced take on Althea and Jesse’s community, which is claustrophobic and supportive all at once.

18. Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli (2018)

Outspoken and insecure, bisexual high school senior Leah Burke is having a tough year. Her friend group is in turmoil, her single mom is seriously dating someone, and she’s caught between a sweet boy she’s not sure about and a pretty, perfect straight girl who couldn’t possibly be into her...right??? The sequel to the very cute Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Leah on the Offbeat pulls a The Godfather: Part II with its messy protagonist, sweetly surprising romance, and masterful comic set piece involving the Atlanta American Girl Doll restaurant.

17. Copper Sun by Sharon M. Draper (2006)

Kidnapped from her home in eighteenth-century Ghana, fifteen-year-old Amari is sold into slavery and winds up on a South Carolina plantation, where she faces terrible cruelty but finds friends in an enslaved cook, her little son, and eventually a sulky white indentured servant around her age. When their master escalates his already-atrocious behavior, the three young people flee south to the Spanish Fort Mose in search of freedom. Draper’s complicated characters, vivid descriptions, and deft handling of heavy subjects makes for top-notch historical YA fiction.

16. A Prince on Paper by Alyssa Cole (2019)

After her controlling politician father was jailed for poisoning a bunch of people in their small, prosperous African country, Nya Jerami gained unprecedented freedom but also became the subject of vicious gossip. Johan von Braustein, the hard-partying stepson of a European monarch, wants to help her, partly because he sympathizes and partly because he has a crush, but she thinks he’s too frivolous and horny (if wildly attractive). After an embarrassing misunderstanding compels them to enter a fake engagement, though, she begins to wonder if there’s more to him. I’m not a huge fan of contemporary romance, but this novel has the perfect combination of heartfelt emotion, delicious melodrama, and adorable fluff. 

15. One Perfect Rose by Mary Jo Putney (1997)

Stephen, the Duke of Ashburton, has always done the proper and responsible thing, but that all changes when he learns that he’s terminally ill. Wandering the countryside in the guise of an ordinary gentleman, he ends up joining an acting troupe and falling in love with Rosalind, the sensible adopted daughter of the two lead actors. Like another Regency romance on this list, this novel celebrates love in many forms: there’s the love story between Stephen and Rosalind, yes, but there’s also Rosalind’s loving relationship with her adopted family, the new bonds she forms with her long-lost blood relatives, the way her two families embrace the increasingly frightened Stephen, and the healing rifts between Stephen and his well-meaning but distant siblings. Stephen’s reconciliation with his mortality is also moving.

14. My One and Only Duke by Grace Burrowes (2018)

Facing a death sentence in Newgate, footman-turned-prosperous banker Quinton Wentworth decides to do one last good thing: marry Jane McGowan, a poor pregnant widow, so she and the baby will be financially set. Then he receives a pardon and a dukedom at the literal last minute, meaning that he and Jane have a more permanent arrangement than either intended. I fell in love with the kind-but-difficult protagonists almost at once, and with Burrowes’s gorgeous prose even faster. 

13. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (2013)

It’s 1986, and comics-loving, post-punk-listening, half-Korean Park and bright, weird, constantly bullied Eleanor are just trying to get through high school in their rough Omaha neighborhood. He’s only grudgingly willing to let her share his bus seat at first, but this barely civil acquaintance slowly thaws into friendship and blossoms into love. Far from being the whimsical eighties-nostalgia-fest I expected, this is a bittersweet love story about two isolated young people who find love, belonging, and a chance for self-expression with each other in an often-hostile environment (a small miracle pre-Internet).

12. Shrill by Lindy West (2016)

In this memoir, Lindy West talks about the difficulties of being a fat woman, the thankless task of being vocally less-than-enthused about rape jokes, the joys of moving past self-doubt, and the very real possibility that Little John from Disney’s Robin Hood was played by “bear actor” Baloo, among other subjects. I was having a hard time during my last semester of law school this past spring, and this book’s giddy humor and inspiring messages really helped me in my hour of need.

11. Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes's Hollywood by Karina Longworth (2018)

In 1925, very young businessman Howard Hughes breezed into Hollywood with nothing but tons of family wealth, a soon-to-be-divorced wife, and a simple dream: make movies about fast planes and big bosoms. He got increasingly weird and reactionary over the next thirty years, then retired from public life. More a history of 1920s-1950s Hollywood than a biography, this book has the same sharp writing and in-depth film analysis that makes me love Longworth’s podcast You Must Remember This.

10. The Beguiled by Thomas Cullinan (1966)

In Civil-War-era Virginia, iron-willed Martha Farnsworth and her nervous younger sister try to run their nearly empty girls’ boarding school within earshot of a battlefield. When one girl finds Union soldier John McBurney injured in the woods, she brings him back to the house, where he exploits every conflict and secret among the eight girls and women (five students, two sisters, and one enslaved cook). Charming and manipulative, he nevertheless finds himself in over his head. Cullinan makes great use of the eight POVs and the deliciously claustrophobic setting; it’s fascinating to watch the power dynamics and allegiances shift from scene to scene.

9. A Gentleman Never Keeps Score by Cat Sebastian (2018)

Reserved tavern keeper Sam Fox wants to help out his brother’s sweetheart by finding and destroying a nude portrait she once sat for; disgraced gentleman Hartley Sedgwick isn’t sure what he wants after having his life ruined twice over, but he happened to inherit his house from the man who commissioned the painting...plus he’s not exactly reluctant to assist kind, handsome Sam in his quest. I wrote about this heart-melting romance two times last year; suffice it to say that it’s not only one of the best Regencies I’ve ever read, but also possibly the best romance I’ve ever read about the creation of a found family.

8. Frog Music by Emma Donoghue (2014)

Blanche Beunon, a French-born burlesque dancer in 1876 San Francisco, has a lot going on: her mooching boyfriend has turned on her, her sick baby is missing, and her cross-dressing, frog-hunting friend Jenny Bonnet was just shot dead right next to her. In the middle of a heat wave, a smallpox epidemic, and a little bit of mob violence, she must locate her son and solve Jenny’s murder. This is a glorious work of historical fiction; you can see, hear, smell, and feel the chaotic world of 1870s San Francisco, plus Blanche’s character arc is amazing.

7. The Patrick Melrose novels (Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, Mother’s Milk, and At Last) by Edward St. Aubyn (1992, 1992, 1994, 2005, and 2012, respectively)

Born to an embittered English aristocrat and an idealistic American heiress, Patrick Melrose lives through his father’s sadistic abuse and his mother’s willful blindness (Never Mind),  does a truly staggering amount of drugs in early adulthood (Bad News), and makes a good-faith effort at leading a normal life (Some Hope). Years later, the life he’s built with his wife and two sons is threatened by his alcoholism and reemerging resentment of his mother (Mother’s Milk), but there may be a chance to salvage something (At Last). Despite the suffering and cruelty on display, these novels were the farthest thing from a dismaying experience, thanks to the sharp characterization, grim humor, and great sense of setting. Also, I love little Robert Melrose, an anxious eldest child after my own heart. 

6. The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope (1974)

In 1550s England, no-nonsense Kate Sutton is exiled to the Perilous Gard, a remote castle occupied by suspicious characters, including the lord’s guilt-ridden younger brother Christopher. Troubled by the holes she sees in the story of the tragedy that haunts him, she does some problem-solving and ends up in a world of weird shit. Cleverly plotted, deliciously spooky, and featuring an all-time-great heroine, this book was an absolute treat. The beautiful Richard Cuffari illustrations in my edition didn’t hurt, either.

5. An Unconditional Freedom by Alyssa Cole (2019)

Daniel Cumberland, a free black man from New England traumatized from being sold into slavery, and Janeta Sanchez, a mixed-race Cuban-Floridian lady from a white Confederate family, have been sent on a mission to the Deep South by the Loyal League, a pro-Union spy organization. Initially hostile to everyone (but particularly to somewhat naive Janeta), Daniel warms to his colleague, but will her secrets, his shattered faith in justice, and the various dangers they face prevent them from falling in love? Nah. Alyssa Cole’s historical romances deliver both on the history and the romance, and this is one of her strongest entries.

4. The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite (2019)

Heartbroken by the death of her father and the marriage of her ex-girlfriend, Lucy Muchelney decides she needs a change of scenery and takes a live-in position translating a French astronomy text for Catherine St. Day, the recently widowed Countess of Moth. Catherine, used to putting her interests on hold for an uncaring spouse, is intrigued by this awkward, independent lady. I’ve read f/f romances before, but this sparkling Regency was the first to really blow me away with its fun banter, neat historical details, and perfect sexual tension.

3. The Wager by Donna Jo Napoli (2010)

After losing his entire fortune to a tidal wave, Sicilian nineteen-year-old Don Giovanni de la Fortuna sinks into poverty and near-starvation. Then Devil makes him an offer: all the money he wants for as long as he lives if he doesn’t bathe, cut his hair, shave, or change his clothes for three years, three months, and three days. This fairy-tale retelling is an extraordinarily moving fable about someone who learns to acknowledge his own suffering, recognize it in others, and extend compassion to all. 

2. Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell (2013)

In this collection, Russell weaves strange tales of silkworm-women hybrids in Japan, seagulls who collect objects from the past and future, and, yes, vampires in the lemon grove. She also posits the very important question: “What if most (but not all) U.S. presidents were reincarnated as horses in the same stable and had a lot of drama going on?” My favorite stories were “Proving Up” (about a nineteenth-century Nebraska boy who encounters death and horror on the prairie), “The Graveless Doll of Eric Mutis” (about a disadvantaged high school student who discovers an effigy of the even more hapless boy he tormented), and “The Barn at the End of the Term” (the horse-president story). 

1. The Wonder by Emma Donoghue (2016)

Lib Wright, an Englishwoman who has floundered since her days working for Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War, is hired to observe Anna O’Donnell, an eleven-year-old Irish girl famous for not eating for four straight months. With a jaundiced attitude towards the Irish and Catholicism, Lib is confident that she’ll quickly expose Anna as a fraud, but she finds herself liking the girl and getting increasingly drawn into the disturbing mystery of her fast. Like The Perilous Gard, this novel masterfully plays with the possibility of the supernatural, then introduces a technically mundane explanation that’s somehow much more eerie. Donoghue balances the horror and waste that surrounds Anna, though, with the clear, bright prose and the moving relationship that develops between her and Lib, who grows beyond her narrow-mindedness and emotional numbness. I stayed up half the night to finish this novel, which cemented Emma Donoghue’s status as my new favorite author.

[nickjunesource]

Interview: Max Minghella, Who Plays Nick in The Handmaid’s Tale, is the Enigmatic Brit in LA About to Make His Directorial Debut

(link to article — PAYWALLED — full text below)

Astro is an obscure diner in Silver Lake, Los Angeles’s hipster area. When it comes to trendy nooks in Silver Lake, there are options beyond this, but Astro is one of Max Minghella’s haunts. He’s sipping on a cup of tea in a booth, blending into the background. He wears cord trousers and trainers. The cords are his version of dressing to impress. At 33, the actor and director is taking heed of friends’ advice that he needs to “grow up. I literally don’t have any trousers,” he says, chuckling. “I only had sweatpants until a week ago. My clothing looks like it was made for a 12-year-old. Too many people have said something to me.”

Minghella is dashing — the type of guy who could maybe get away with wearing a uniform of tracksuits and a flannel shirt for decades beyond his youth. He has a refined English accent but with a transatlantic twang. Born in Hampstead, north London, he moved to LA when he was 17, to act, and has lived between the two countries ever since. You may know him from The Social Network (2010) and The Ides of March (2011), but his star has risen recently due to his role as Nick Blaine in The Handmaid’s Tale, currently on its third series. He is also celebrating his directorial debut: Teen Spirit is a Cinderella story, starring Elle Fanning as Violet, a Polish immigrant girl-next-door living in a small British town and seeking to become a pop star. It has been a labour of love for Minghella, and it crept increasingly closer to his heart as the process unfolded. “I wrote the first draft 10 years ago,” he says.

At first, the script was an excuse to indulge Minghella’s guilty pleasures: Swedish pop star Robyn and sports shows and movies such as Friday Night Lights and The Karate Kid. “It was masturbatory,” he laughs. The inspiration came with Robyn’s album Body Talk and its lead anthem, Dancing on My Own. The first scene he wrote was Violet performing the hit song in a TV talent contest akin to The X Factor. “It was also originally a foreign-language film,” he says. “But I thought the combination of subtitles and expensive pop music made it a silly endeavour. The script was a shambles,” he adds. The actor Jamie Bell, Minghella’s best friend, helped to turn it into a real script. “We’re yin and yang,” says Minghella. “Everyone I work with is incredibly hard on me. I’m addicted to that. By the time we got to shooting, every comma had been argued over.”

Minghella is tricky company. He can be curt, offering vague answers, professing to being “very private”, or simply responding with a “sure” or a shrug. It doesn’t surprise me that the story of how he and Bell became friends begins with them as enemies. “We met really young and had a tempestuous initial meeting, where he’d heard that I’d been saying things about him behind his back, which was untrue,” he recalls. “I heard that he was saying things about me, so we were very wary of one another.” Years later, in 2005, Bell emailed Minghella and they went to dinner. “We fell in love instantly. Most of my closest friendships have been spawned in similar …” a pause. “I’m very wary of people,” he says finally.

Growing up, Minghella says he was obnoxious. “I loved school socially and still miss it,” he says. “But I was not an academic student. I did badly and was in a lot of trouble.” He recently bumped into an old history teacher on the Tube. “He said, ‘We just didn’t know what to do with you,’” Minghella laughs. His parents were both hard-working — his mother, Carolyn, came to England from Hong Kong when she was 18 to be a dancer, and his father, Anthony, the writer and Oscar-winning director of The English Patient, had an Italian immigrant father. Minghella’s older sister, Hannah, 40, is the head of TriStar Pictures.

Dropping out of school a year early, Minghella headed to LA with no A-levels, landed some roles, then, guiltily trying to appease his parents, applied to university. He was accepted to only one, Columbia, to study history — he “charmed his way in”.

Anthony died of a haemorrhage in 2008, when he was 54 and Minghella was 23, and he carries with him his dad’s life mantra. “My father would always say, ‘When nine Russians tell you that you’re drunk, you should lie down.’”

Teen Spirit is set — and was filmed — on the Isle of Wight, where Anthony was born and raised. Minghella gets defensive when I ask whether Anthony’s legacy intimidated him as a film-maker. “I don’t grapple with it,” he replies. “A lot of people in my family work in film — my sister runs a studio, my uncle [Dominic Minghella] is a successful producer. The reason for it taking so long is for no good reason except my twenties were very wasteful. I didn’t utilise them in the right way. I’ve made a lot of things I probably should have released in some shape or form, but I’ve always been a private person. The amount of hours I spend acting? Very few. Directing for me was a relief.”

That said, he loves working on The Handmaid’s Tale — and with its lead, Elisabeth Moss. “She’s just a joy,” he says. “A very easy, chill person. I feel privileged.” The show has been universally lauded, winning 11 Emmys and two Golden Globes. Nick is someone of initial suspicion, who winds up being a saviour and love interest to Moss’s June/Offred. Given the current threat against abortion rights in America, I wonder if Minghella is excited to be exploring that on camera. He shakes his head. “None of it was intentional,” he says. He does admit to relief that “it’s on the right side of the conversation”, but he feels “quite antithetical” about using his platform to talk social change. “Activism in film-making is not interesting to me. I don’t like to be told what to think. I like to interpret.”

Teen Spirit’s Violet was inspired by his mother. “She didn’t speak a word of English when she moved to Britain,” he says. “There’s a huge amount of her in Violet. There’s a lot of my sister in Violet.” Initially, Minghella was looking for a Polish actress, but rewrote the part when Fanning expressed interest in being in the film. “I was her biggest fan. And then we sat down, had lunch and [it] became clear that she was probably the only person who could play the part. A lot of her real life is absorbed into the character.” Like what? He squirms. “I don’t know if I want to talk about that. There’s something funny about film sets. The amount of confession that happens … It feels out of turn.”

Reportedly Minghella and Fanning, 21 — 12 years his junior — are in a relationship. They were spotted holding hands last July in Florence and attended this year’s Met Gala together. They gush over each other in interviews, but neither has confirmed a relationship in as many words. To confuse things further, Minghella used to date the actress Kate Mara, who is now married to his best mate, Bell. I ask him whether it was special to work with someone in a creative capacity that he was romantically involved in, referring to Fanning. He laughs. “I don’t wanna answer that question.”

We manage to find some common ground as Brits in LA with a shared nostalgia for the things we miss back home. When he feels homesick, he listens to BBC Radio 1 and he says that nothing makes him happier than a Branston pickle sandwich. He spent some time living in New York in the early 2000s, but wouldn’t move back there. “I love New York, but I don’t know anyone there, so I always end up feeling lonely and strange,” he admits. As our interview finishes, I wonder if Minghella considers himself more British or American, as clearly his connections to both are so strong. “I’m not sure I’d call LA home per se,” he says. “But it is comforting. When I drive by the 7-Eleven on Silver Lake Boulevard from the airport, it’s the one place in the world that feels settled.”