#joaquin actually deserves the place on this list too

[loveaetingkids]

“An antagonist with daddy issues who later on alignes with heroes” trope my beloved(ver 2)

[buckyismybicycle]

The 107th - (Fresh Plum Cake) [Bucky x Sam]

Title: The 107th - (Fresh Plum Cake) [AO3 Link] Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Sam Wilson Rating: Teen+ Tags/Warnings: FLUFFFFFF, it’s all fluff. Plum cakes, baking, slightly jealous Sam, idiots in love, offscreen minor character death Summary: For two amazing projects that I'm so lucky to be a part of!!

@buckybarnesweek2022​ (March 10th: Happy Birthday Bucky Barnes!) @justapinchzine​ (Team#2)​

S H A R O N

“Remember when you called me awful,” Sharon glared at him over her martini glass.

“You are,” Bucky fires back before sipping his whiskey. He looks more relaxed these days. Sam’s teeth don’t hurt just looking at Bucky’s permanently clenched jaw because Bucky actually smiles. From time to time. His hair’s getting longer and when Bucky doesn’t use any product to tame it, it gets a little wavy. Not that Sam pays attention to these things, of course.

“I’m only awful to you when you deserve it,” Sharon retorts. Bucky and Sharon have this easy back and forth - it’s kind of like what he and Bucky do, except less bitter. Bucky’s face is softer when she does it, less scowly.

“I guess I kind of deserve it all the time,” he says, trying to keep up the joke, but this time it falls flat because they all know how hard it’s been to convince Bucky that he deserves more than a lifetime of shame and regret.

“Hey, don’t do that,” Sharon is quick to respond and Sam watches how easily she places her hand on Bucky’s bicep - watches how he doesn’t flinch. Bucky tries for something like a smile and Sam tries not to think about Bucky’s biceps.

Bucky brings up how when she goes back to Europe, maybe he’d come just to see it again without a “to-do” list and she agrees so quickly that Sam doesn’t even have time to ask “you’re going to Europe?”

Then she brags about only booking in the finest hotels, penthouses all the way and Bucky laughs, like there’s already an unspoken agreement that he would be there too. Sam pictures the two of them trashing a hotel suite that has a jacuzzi built into it or something equally ridiculous.

“Sam, you’re more than welcome,” Sharon says between sips of her daiquiri.

“Right. Maybe. Thanks.” Sam downs his scotch and asks for another.

W A N D A

He’s not really sure when Bucky and Wanda would have had time to bond. He thinks about the airport, how Wanda had been with them, but he can’t recall when they were ever close enough to become friends like this. He has a special ringtone for her.

“I have a ringtone for everyone, so I know when to fucking ignore it,” he’d said, when Sam asked him about it. Asshole.

Bucky is chatting away with her, since Sam and Joaquin are hunched over Baby Redwing because Joaquin landed on his back, hard. The sparks that flew about were concerning, to say the least. Joaquin apologizes again, but Sam just waves him off because god knows he’s done worse. Bucky turns to walk away, but Sam’s entirely honed into the conversation, even if he doesn’t want to eavesdrop.

“I know what you mean,” Bucky sighs. Sam wonders if he actually does, because when he’s talking to Bucky it’s like the old man doesn’t know anything about what Sam’s saying. So what does he know, really.

“Uh-huh. Well, maybe I can make the trip to you instead.” There’s a pause and then Bucky scoffs at something.

“Yeah, ‘cause I’d turn down a chance to completely hide from the rest of the world,” he says sarcastically. “You, me, nothing but the woods for five days.”

Bucky laughs, and the sound makes Sam’s heart sing for a second before dropping again, as he reminds himself that it’s not him making Bucky laugh like that.

“Yeah, can’t wait.” And then it’s blissfully silent while Joaquin strips one of the replacement wires and Sam bits his tongue so he doesn’t say something stupid. Like:

How come you never say “can’t wait” when you’re coming to see me, huh?

Then he thinks about the way Bucky said “you, me, nothing but the woods for days” and he can’t help but wonder, even though he knows it is so, so wrong, if Bucky is Wanda’s rebound or something.

Shut your stupid brain, Wilson, he scolds himself. Wanda loved - loves - Vision.

Sex isn’t just for people in love, you should know that, his traitorous brain supplies. He almost breaks Joaquin’s wings again.

“You two birdbrains done yet?” Bucky calls from where he’s leaned back across the banister, arms on either side of him. His blue long sleeve shirt stretched dangerously thin across his pecs and his lazy head tilt makes him look like a stupid model. Sam resists the urge to throw a wrench at him, but flicks Bucky’s arm on the way out. It’s just as solid as the metal one.

T’ C H A L L A

Officially, Bucky doesn’t even work with him. Bucky has no ties to the government, to SHIELD, to Captain America, he’s just a guy that comes with Sam as a… friend. Backup. Nobody asks, so he doesn’t do anything about it.

Everything with Bucky is hard - it’s hard to understand Bucky, it’s hard for Bucky to understand him. Their conversations are stilted most days, but they both have such a short fuse all it takes is one misstep and the entire talk is over.

The only thing that Sam finds easy are his missions with Bucky. He doesn’t ask Bucky to come - just says he has to do something. The next thing he knows, Bucky is just nodding along and asking him when they leave. Sam never corrects him.

So when Bucky asks him for a favour, he is more than happy to indulge.

He shouldn’t be so surprised when it’s Wakanda they’re heading toward.

Sam watches as Bucky goes through a series of emotions as they fly there - mostly grief, like he’s already mourning T’Challa. The king hasn’t passed, yet, but it seems to be a sure thing and Sam can see why as they enter his room. The majestic monarch has lost weight, and though his face is a bit gaunt, it still holds his usual smile.

“White Wolf,” the name rolls off T’Challa’s tongue, and they clasp forearms in greeting. “Sam Wilson,” he nods at Sam.

“Your Majesty,” Sam responds.

“Thank you for coming,” the king says. “Though not necessary.”

“What can I do?” Bucky asks, his eyes softer than Sam has ever seen. He’s - there are tears in Bucky’s eyes. Sam does not know what to do with this information.

“You’ve come here already, haven’t you?” T’Challa tsks him. “There is nothing else that can be done.”

“Nothing?” Bucky’s voice is barely a whisper, and - yeah - the first tear falls.

“There is no need to waste your tears on me, my friend,” he tries to console the soldier. “Such is life. I am surrounded by my family, by my people, and by my friends. So many often do not get to say the same.”

“I owe you everything,” Bucky says openly. “You gave me everything, do you hear? I finally have a life, a free life, and I wouldn’t have it if not for you. I can’t just do nothing.” There’s a tone in his voice that makes Sam tear up too.

“Help Shuri,” T’Challa responds. “That is what you can do for me. She has trained well, the Dora Milaje have prepared her for the inevitable challenge for the throne, but I suspect you have a few tricks up your sleeve you can teach her.”

“Of course, anything,” Bucky agrees easily.

“Thank you, White Wolf. I will always be part of this nation, so do not think of me as gone.”

Bucky contemplates these words before he nods slowly.

“Wakanda forever,” he murmurs with understanding and a sad smile. T’Challa returns it.

“Wakanda forever.”

He passes the very next day, in the warm sun of the afternoon, and it’s not something they really do, but Sam opens his arms in invitation and Bucky doesn’t hesitate to step into them. Sam’s brain kind of flounders because Bucky is crying in his arms. The sheer gravity of the situation makes Sam tear up. T’Challa was a good man, despite them being on opposite sides back in Bucharest. After all, look at how close Bucky had gotten. Sam regrets that he didn’t have the chance to get to know T’Challa better.

He doesn’t know what fucking compels him to say it, but he just rubs his thumb against Bucky’s shuddering shoulderblades, his other arm around Bucky’s waist.

“I got you, Buck, I got you.”

When they pull apart, minutes or hours later, he can’t tell, neither of them say anything. Bucky doesn’t look him in the eyes, Sam pretends like his shirt isn’t soaked on one shoulder.

“I should - Shuri,” Bucky sniffles.

“I - I’ll be there in a few. Give you some time first,” Sam says. Bucky just nods, and Sam interprets it to mean that he’s grateful, but who knows. He changes his shirt.

S H U R I

Sam finds that Wakanda is both bright and somber, a place that is so overwhelming to a visitor’s eye but in mourning at the moment.

He offers condolences to the people he comes across, sees the reach of the king to his people and how much the nation will miss him.

The last thing he expects to hear is laughter, but as he rounds the corner, Shuri is smiling up at Bucky. She’s still wiping tears from her eyes, but Bucky is talking animatedly to her. Sam’s never seen Bucky say so many words in one go. He holds up an arm to her, and she instantly melts into his side, arms around his waist and head on his chest. He keeps talking to her, and she nods every few sentences.

He doesn’t want to interrupt. There’s a strange feeling in his chest seeing Bucky like this - putting up a front, strong and sturdy, like he hadn’t fallen apart a few moments ago in Sam’s arms. It makes Sam wonder how many smiles are fake, if Bucky lets anyone see him cry, and thinks about how much trust it would take for Bucky to show his vulnerability.

Before it feels like even more of an intrusion, he inches away, tears his eyes and ears away from the scene and doubles back to speak with the Princess later.

They do stay. Bucky says he doesn’t have to, he’s sure that Sam has other things to do, but that he needs to stay for Shuri.

“We’re staying,” Sam tells Bucky with some finality. “That’s what friends do. They stay.”

Bucky blinks, and then nods slowly.

“Thanks for understanding,” he says before he leaves Sam’s room. It takes a moment for Sam to realize that Bucky misinterpreted what he’d been trying to say.

That Sam was staying for him. Bucky probably thought Sam was referring to Bucky staying for Shuri.

Goddammit.

C L I N T

Sam has always known that Bucky and Clint were friends. Like, the weird kind of friends where they pop up randomly, about once every three moon cycles, and one of them always has a weapon.

It’s by far the most bizarre and comfortable relationship Bucky has and no, of course Sam isn’t jealous.

Except, when he gets grounded in New York, and Bucky says “come crash here”, it’s Clint that opens the door.

What?

“Um, hi?”

“Hey,” he says easily back, and steps aside to let Sam in.

“Barton, I swear to god if you - oh, hey Sam,” Bucky says as he comes out of the bathroom, hair still damp, in nothing but fitted grey joggers. Sam has to will himself to look at Bucky’s face, and not the water droplets that drip from his hair and onto his collarbones before running down his torso.

“Um, hi?” He says for the second time.

“Hi,” Bucky repeats, then turns to Clint with a glare and points his finger accusingly. “Stop fucking with my conditioner.”

He promptly turns back into the bathroom, but doesn’t bother closing the door and Sam can hear some very aggressive towel-drying.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” he says, realizing that he has no idea what this dynamic is.

“We’re on Fast & Furious 6,” Clint says, like it answers anything at all. He plops himself down on the couch, like it’s his home and turns a bag to Sam. “Doritos?”

The day goes by pretty smoothly, though bizarrely, and Sam actually really likes talking to Clint, especially now that they’re not locked up on the Raft, but even then, he’d been decent company. Bucky orders a stupid amount of pizza, and then they’re suddenly on Furious 7. He learns a lot about Bucky that night, mostly from Clint.

Clint tells his stories without restraint, he tells every detail regardless of how embarrassing it is for him, because he’s living life to the fullest. Sam thinks it’s because Nat gave up everything for him to do just that, so he’ll be damned if he doesn’t give it everything he’s got. Bucky likes visiting the farm, apparently, and he’s getting pretty good at archery under Clint’s supervision. Sam could swear he sees a faint blush on Bucky’s cheek at the high praise.

Bucky sits between them, and Sam is so very glad that Bucky has a big enough couch to seat all of them. Still, none of them are small by any means, and so his entire left side is plastered to Bucky’s right. He feels every tremor as Bucky laughs, every jolt when Bucky’s surprised. Sometimes, he reaches for the popcorn in Bucky’s lap, and his arm slides across Bucky’s, but Bucky doesn’t react.

“What is with this Charger,” Bucky shakes his head.

“That’s Toretto’s baby,” Clint answers easily. “I woulda thought you’d like it actually. Kinda suits you.”

Sam can totally picture it. Bucky’s vibranium arm glinting in the sunlight as it rests out the window, gold in a sea of black.

“He’s a hundred percent right,” Sam finds himself agreeing. Bucky’s face is scrunched up - not in a bad way, more like he’s thinking about it really hard.

“Really?” He tilts his head. It’s fucking adorable and Sam can’t stand it.

“Don’t get any ideas,” Clint reels Bucky back. “Can you even legally drive? Senior citizens have to get retested for their license every couple of years, you know.”

Sam barely manages to save the bowl of popcorn as Bucky turns and tries to smother Clint with his bare hands (playfully). To save himself, Clint tries to tickle Bucky’s armpits and suddenly there are two grown men laughing like children with their hair sticking up in every direction, and Sam can’t help but join in.

When it gets to be night, he wills his body to stand up and go home. He announces his departure, but Bucky turns to him confused.

“Thought you were staying the night?”

Sam blinks owlishly at him. How does one delicately bring up the fact that there’s one bed and one couch, but three people in this room?

“I got here first, bed’s mine,” Clint winks. Bucky rolls his eyes.

“The bed is big enough for you two to share,” he insists. “Are you really going to boot Captain America to the couch, Barton?”

“The couch is fine,” Sam steps in so Bucky can stop fighting for his honour, or whatever.

“Oh c’mon, I’m messin’ with ya,” Clint says fondly. “The bed is plenty big. Captain America can come spoon me if he wants.” He stretches when he gets off the couch and yawns, so they call it a night. Bucky goes into his bedroom closet and pulls out a bundle of pillows and blankets, hands them to Sam for the couch. Barton follows with another bundle, and Bucky takes it from him appreciatively before setting them on the ground.

“Night!” Clint hollers, and waits for the two of them to respond before closing the door.

Bucky is nestled onto the floor behind Sam’s head and he can’t help but feel a little bad.

“Still sleeping on the floor?”

“Mostly, yeah.”

“You seemed pretty alright on Sarah’s couch.”

“That’s ‘cause it was Sarah’s couch.” Sam is quiet, as he tries and fails not to think too much about what those words implies, how Bucky might think of the Wilsons as comfort- safe - home.

“Did I just steal your bed for the night?” Sam asks, because he feels a bit guilty. He would absolutely give up the couch for Bucky.

“No, I - I can sometimes fall asleep on the couch when I’m tired and watching something, but I just. I don’t know, this just feels more comfortable.” Sam doesn’t push, he knows how hard it can be.

“You doing better, though?”

“Yeah, I am.” And this time, Sam really believes him.

S A R A H & T H E B O Y S

It’s AJ’s birthday, which means Bucky is invited back to Delacroix for the umpteenth time because somewhere between Sam inviting him and Bucky really just inviting himself, Sarah had and the boys had gotten attached. He had watched Sarah and Bucky hug easily, how they smile and how the kids can run up to him and attack his legs with hugs. They are probably the only people who can run at Bucky without him flinching or preparing for a fight.

The party is small (by Wilson standards, anyway), but there’s a constant buzzing of conversation as people mill around. It’s hard not to notice Bucky slipping in and out of the crowd as he pleases - he chats politely, smiles, laughs, nods to excuse himself and pops back in the house only to reemerge a few minutes later and repeat the process. Sam wonders why he’s pushing himself so hard.

He watches as he plays with the kids, laying on the grass and lifting them up with his legs because that’s what they wanted. It’s a stupidly warm and sunny day out, which means Bucky’s glowing and for some reason, that’s annoying.

“They’ve been asking about him for weeks,” Sarah tells him, sipping her wine beside him.

“What? No love for their favourite uncle anymore?” Sam asks dryly.

“Oh hush, you know you’re their favourite,” Sarah swats at him. “But you know, they want the both of you around more.”

“I wish we could be,” Sam answers truthfully. Now, Bucky’s got them both sitting on each of his shoulders, his arms lifted to hold them as he walks around the yard. Sam looks at his beer bottle instead of the strip of skin that’s revealed as Bucky’s shirt hikes up. He already knows what he’ll see, knows that he’ll get distracted by Bucky’s dumb prominent hipbones.

“So, what’s got you looking like all this,” she waves at his face.

“Like what?”

“Grumpy,” she states, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. It is, to her, anyway.

“I’m not grumpy.”

“I am tired of you sulking due to broken white boys, you know that?” She rolls her eyes and finishes her wine before getting up. “At least do something about this one before he shrivels up like a raisin too.”

Sam is torn between asking her how and telling her to mind her own business but he sits, quietly, with his rapidly warming beer and his ‘broken white boy’ smiling easily like he doesn’t have a literal (and metaphorical) weight on his shoulders.

Sarah walks over to the disaster zone and says something to Bucky, making him laugh. When he shakes his head, Sarah cocks her to one side like a challenge. And then, she tickles him, in the way that only a sibling can, which is with vigor and relentlessness. Cass and AJ are hollering and Bucky tries to squirm away but he never once defends himself, his arms still wrapped protectively around the boys’ legs on his shoulders.

It doesn’t take that long after his conversation with Sarah, and what he suspects to be a conversation between Bucky and Sarah as well, for the two Avengers to invest in their own property nearby. There was something calm in the Delacroix air that Bucky absorbed, Sam can see it in the way his shoulders don’t bunch up so high, and the lines in his face smooth out.

Sarah hugs Bucky as many times as she hugs the boys in a day, and Bucky just keeps hugging back. There’s a strange feeling of jealousy, but he doesn’t know why.

S A M

Sam is all too aware that it’s not great to start off lies, so when they move into an apartment together, under the guise of “work efficiency” and “both need to get out of Sarah’s hair”, Sam does his best to soothe his conscience.

It is easier to get to missions together like this. It is better to keep an eye out for each other. That’s all. Just partners, co-workers, a couple of guys with a mutual friend that’s now gone – they’re something. They’re just two people that worked together to stop the Flag Smashers. Yeah. There we go.

It’s too domestic, too easy to be this domestic, this fast, but when Bucky pats his hip to squeeze by him for the salt, he can’t help but think how Bucky has a habit of doing that. He’d done it on the boat, he’d done it on the quinjet, Sam’s just never realized how okay he’s been with it all. More than okay.

“Hey, Buck?”

“Yeah?”

“Remember when I said I couldn’t call you that?” Bucky thinks for a moment before he huffs a laugh.

“Yeah,” he says again, softer this time. Everything about Bucky’s been softer, Sam notices. There’s no real follow up question, Sam’s just wondering where the hell the time went.

“You’re happier here,” he says to Bucky while he reads over an email and Bucky is looking entirely too cozy with his book under some ridiculous throw that Sarah had insisted would “bring the colours of the room together”. Sam thinks she’s full of shit, because all the blue-white afghan blanket does is make Bucky’s eyes look a thousand times brighter. Does Sam officially hate his sister? Maybe.

“I am,” the man confirms, a small smile for himself that Sam happens to catch out of the corner of his eye.

Sam wonders if Bucky will say something – anything – about what day is coming up, but he doesn’t. He’s not sure if Bucky just doesn’t care or if he’s tired of the old man jokes, but either way, Sam is determined to give Bucky a goddamn birthday to remember.

Neither of them are really bakers, Sarah was the baking Wilson and baking ingredients weren’t worth the money in the Depression, so the pantry isn’t booming with ingredients. He needs backup.

“Sarah.”

“Baby bro.”

“I need you to distract Bucky for a bit.”

“Excuse me? I ain’t –”

“It’s his birthday today. He hasn’t said anything, I think he doesn’t want to.”

There’s a pause before Sarah comes back, a smile in her voice. “Don’t mess it up.”

“I won’t,” he replied automatically, even though he has no idea what it is he’s not supposed to mess up. Hoping an idea strikes him, he searches “unique cake recipes”, because Bucky is, if nothing else, unique. Special.

He scrolls past dozens of recipes, but they all range from being too plain and overdone to too complex. What the hell is a baumkuchen?

His eyes land on Fresh Plum Cake and he lights up, brain firing off a conversation he’d forgotten until this moment.

“How does one dude eat this many plums?”

Bucky shrugged. “They’re good.”

“How are they even in season right now, it’s the dead of winter.”

Bucky had been a bit sheepish, and Sam couldn’t help but rib him a bit more for his borderline obsession.

“Look, you wanna know the truth?”

Something had shifted in that moment, the laughter dying down and Bucky looked at Sam with an uncharacteristically open expression, looking like he was on the edge of either telling a secret or fleeing the house entirely. Sam centred himself immediately, wanting to show Bucky that he can be serious about this, that whatever it is Bucky’s about to say, Sam will listen.

“I read that –” Bucky took a deep breath, looking away as if the eye contact was too much. “I read that plums are rich in antioxidants, that – they protect the brain.”

Sam stayed quiet, trying to understand what Bucky meant, but before he could get there, Bucky cleared his throat and continued, staring out the window.

“They neutralize cell-damaging… Just, never mind.”

Cell-damaging – brain – Oh. It clicked for Sam, all at once. “Your memories,” he guesses softly. “You read that plums help protect your memories.”

Bucky just nodded, quiet.

Sam hadn’t liked the way Bucky picked at the corner of the throw over the couch, like he felt stupid for even saying it.

“That’s why you force yourself to eat, like, a hundred a day?!” He nudged Bucky in the thigh with his toe. It did pull a laugh from the man, strained as it was.

“They are also tasty,” Bucky had retorted, flicking Sam’s foot. “The market in Bucharest always had fresh ones.”

Well. It’s been decided then. Sam thinks it should have gone more disastrously, but all things considered, the kitchen still looks like it’s in one piece.

Even if he nearly rips the oven door off a few times.

It’s all worth it, to see Bucky’s face at the end of dinner, when Sarah dims the lights and the boys pull up on either side of him.

“What’s going –”

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR BUUUUUCKY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUU!”

Bucky –

Sam forgets to breathe for a second, as Bucky smiles. The frown lines that give way to the crinkles by his eyes, the way he wraps his arms around both boys to hoist them into his lap for a hug, it’s all –

“We couldn’t fit all the candles on, so we did the best we could,” Cass tells him with a toothy grin, pointing at the “107”.

Bucky’s laughter has changed too - lighter, louder, like he’s not afraid to make a space for himself and his voice. He gets a wistful look, just for a second, before he plasters a smile back on and thanks them all.

“This cake looks… amazing,” Bucky says earnestly.

“Uncle Sam made it!” AJ has no idea what he’s just done, ratting Sam out like that. Sarah tries, and fails, to hide her smile while Sam keeps his face carefully straight.

“Did he?” Bucky asks in a tone that suggests he knows the answer, his eyes holding Sam’s for just that split second too long that makes Sam’s heart warm.

After dinner and saying goodnight, they dump what seems like every dish and pot they own in the sink, washing a few for tomorrow. They both stand in the kitchen, which feels entirely too small for the feelings Sam is having.

“Are you… Iunno, sad about turning 107?” Sam asks delicately.

“What?” The little groove between his eyebrows deepens, confused.

“You got a little down at the candles…”

“Oh.” Bucky turns the tap off and shakes his hands, reaching for a towel. “Nah, doesn’t really bug me anymore. Think you’ve run out of old man jokes, anyhow. S’just – the 107th, you know?”

Oh, crap. Sam had completely missed the connection between Bucky’s age and his regiment back in the war.

“God, Buck, I’m sor –”

“Don’t,” Bucky cuts him off. “It wasn’t – it’s fine. I just had a moment, thinking about the Commandos… and how different things are. But it’s okay, I’m… adapting. Besides, was still the nicest birthday I’ve had in a couple decades.” He tacks on a grin, small but genuine to put Sam at ease.

“Gonna be as old as Gandalf soon,” Sam says after a moment. Bucky lets out a bark of laughter, and things are back to normal.

“So, next mission?” Bucky asks casually as he dries off his hands, and Sam tells him it’s just a small one. He wants to take Torres out for a spring.

“Lucky kid,” Bucky smirks.

“Why? You jealous?” Sam retorts, waggling his eyebrows obnoxiously.

“Honestly?” Sam’s world stops for a moment so he can look at Bucky, who’s got his eyes trained on the label around his bottle that he’s starting picking at as he confesses. “Maybe I am.”

“Why?” Sam blurts out.

“You really don’t know?” Bucky turns to face him, his eyes are bright and full of life. Beautiful, like the rest of him.

The thing is, maybe Sam’s always known, deep down inside. That Bucky’s been building a life for himself, built friendships to last, become someone new. He’s not the Bucky Barnes from Steve Rogers’ childhood, he’s not the Soldier that crawled out of HYDRA’s grasp. He is simply James Buchanan Barnes, the man that Sam’s slowly fallen in love with, and maybe in that process, became blinded to the fact that Bucky had fallen in love with him too.

“Just to be sure,” Sam tests as before stepping close, flicking his tongue over his lips. “Because I really wanna make sure here —”

“Make sure of what, Sammy?” It’s the way Bucky teases, his smirk a little challenging yet his eyes still soft, it’s the way he takes a step closer too, close enough that Sam can see his eyes flick down, watching Sam’s tongue.

“Wanna make sure I got this right.” Sam leans in to close the last few inches, giving Bucky plenty of time to pull away. But he doesn’t.

Instead, he presses back into Sam, warm and grounding, hands cupping Sam’s face as if he were something precious. Goosebumps break out across Sam’s flesh at the cool, smooth vibranium contrasting the warm, calloused skin of Bucky’s hands as he pulls Bucky in tighter by the waist.

“Think you got it right, pal,” Bucky murmurs against the corner of Sam’s mouth when they part, and Sam’s soft laugh fans across Bucky’s jaw.

“Good,” he says, and brings Bucky back to him. Good.

💖 Thank you for reading! Hopefully you’ve enjoyed enough to check out my masterlist for other thingies.

Taglist: @anonnygon @granpafrisbee @jackiehollanderr @fanatic434 @vivian-barnes @goldylions @moonlightreader649 @buckybarnesau @moviequeen51 @goldylions @angryknightstatesmantrash @rookthorne​

[yakumtsaki]

I taste just like ice cream, bitch I am so icy, heart cold like an ice queen, that's why they don't like me 🎵

-What the hell was that.

Traditionally I start Union updates with semi-relevant song lyrics.

-Why did you start an update at all.

Because it’s time, Shajar! I took a holy oath in my 2020 simming goals post to update Unions once a month, and I’m already a month late.

-But nothing interesting is happening. 

That’s never stopped me before. Now listen to Rico Nasty, cry some more about Sophie blowing you off, and shut up.

-Ugh please, I couldn’t be more over Sonia if I tried. I hardly ever texted her links to wedding pinterest boards and quizzes to determine if our parenting styles are compatible. 

Did she ever reply? 

-She did once and said ‘who dis’. Of course the letters unscrambled spell out ‘do wish’, meaning she did wish me to keep messaging her. I just don’t know where it all went wrong. 

-Hey there, 17 year old girl, maybe you’ve had enough neat whiskey for the night? We’re actually running out of bottles. 

-Beat it, ponytail, I need to dull my pain. I’ve just been stabbed right in the gut by the love of my life. Just like my style idol and general role model, space opera fascist Kylo Ren.

Shaj I really hate seeing you like this, and not just because the red neon light is super unflattering on your complexion.

-You can fuck right off too, I was perfectly happy with my dads who hate me and my imbecile sister and my brother who might as well not exist, noogie-ing people all day AND night long, but you had to be all ‘OMG IT’S SOPHIE MIGUEL SHAJAR GO TALK TO HER’. Life-ruining-moron. 

But I was totally right about you two hitting it off, I mean look how sad you are now that she dumped- yea never mind, that’s not a good argument.

-Look what I can do even though I’ve had 46 whiskeys!! How you like me now, Sophie???

-You’re paying for all these broken glasses, I’m going to need your name and a credit card.

-Yes, fair enough, my name is Cyneswith Union-

-I LOOK GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT

Yea, you really should eat something to soak up all the alcohol. And not to kick you when you’re down, but you should also disregard all those cliches about ~a smile being the most beautiful thing you can wear~ because MAN. Watch out Joaquin, there’s a new Joker on the prowl. 

-So.. 20 lobsters thermidor and our most expensive appetizers?

-Aha.

-Would you mind settling your bill now?

-Of course not! My name is Cyneswith Union and this is the credit card my parents got me when I was 6 because we’re super duper best friends! I love my parents! They don’t care about their other daughter at all, even when their other daughter is going through a really hard time because she got the emotional equivalent of a lightsaber wound in the gut. You know what, let me also get 20 bottles of your most overpriced champagne to go with the lobsters.

Feeling better?

-Well it’s hard to feel bad when you’re spending your parents’ money recklessly and with malice aforethought.

It sure is. Alright well, the sun is coming up, maybe we should head home.

-What’s the rush? What is going to happen if I don’t go home, my parents will get worried? LOL

God your life sucks. Ok let’s hit a couple more places.

-Greetings. Welcome to our establishment. I am a human employee from this planet.

Great, nice to meet you.

-I just want there to be no doubt that I am indeed an earthling, born and raised under the earth’s exosphere and not above it.

Leave us alone.

-And I’m the resident community lot sim with that one face template you hate! There must be one of us on every lot you visit!

-And I am here in my revealing outfit to use the dance sphere and make everyone uncomfortable!

You’re actually pretty, I need to keep you in mind for after Don Oates takes a wrecking ball to our genetics, but yea, let’s bounce, Shajar.

Time to visit the happiest place on earth, Deh'Javu Modern Art Museum, home to my favorite piece of art in any medium, The Toilet of Fire. Shove that Fountain up your ass, Duchamp. How we feeling, Shaj?

-This trash can reminds of Sophie :( She used to go around town throwing money she stole from charities in trash cans and then send them riddles for where to find them :(

Enough with Sophie, we’ll find you someone better! Like..

..your aunt! Get the hell out of here Brit Brit, you’re taking up townie space. 

-I won’t be long, Gunther’s amazing close-up portrait of my hair was rejected by the museum so I’m here to set this shithole on fire. 

In other words Gunther just painted a canvas black and called it a day?

-His art doesn’t cater to plebs. Yes, offense.

Our old friend Ugly Teen Townie is here so finally we can have some fun. Shajar had gone almost 12 hours(!) without noogieing someone and I was starting to worry for her health.

-Yes, yes, I’m starting to feel like myself again..

Good for you, Shaj!

-Hope you’ve made peace with your God, Ugly Teen Townie, this water balloon is filled with horse feces! 

-WHERE DID YOU EVEN GET HORSE SHIT

-I ordered it from some guy named Leod McGreggor.

-How about a another joke, MuRRAY?

-What?!

-Now you say, ‘no, I think we’ve had enough of your jokes’. Say it!

-No, I think we’ve had enough of your jokes.

-What do you get when you cross a mentally-ill loner with a society that abandons him and treats him like trash? Now you say ‘call the police, Gene!’

-Call the police, Gene!

-I'll tell you what you get..

-YOU GET WHAT YOU FUCKING DESERVE. HAHA oh man! Good stuff. 

Alright I’m starting to feel bad for Ugly Teen Townie, first he had to come to all the toddler birthday parties during the Victoria/Komei era and now this, he has suffered enough at this family’s hands. Time to go home, Shaj.

-Not so fast!

Wow, the Countess and Mrs. Crumplebottom on the same lot, top 10 anime crossovers.

-I have been sent here by the Limp Dick Vamps United organization to recruit Shajar Union.

Ugh you people are still around? Haven’t heard of you losers since the Count wouldn’t let Victoria bang him, which I’m still annoyed about. 

-Indeed we are, and it’s clear Shajar is ready to join us, dedicating her life to evil deeds without romantic distractions. I have no idea what Crumplebottom is doing here.

-I’m here to recruit Shajar to my own organization, Bitter Sims Worldwide Alliance. We’re always on the lookout for new members who want to spread their misery to their fellow Sim. 

It sounds like it’d be more effective if you guys just merged your organizations.

-I will NEVER merge my organization with someone who displays her bosom like a common whore. 

-Eat a dick, Crumplebottom!

-MAKE ME, FANGTOOTH

-Alright here I am, what the fuck do you want?

-Shajar, it is a pleasure to meet you! Ardent admirer of your work.

-What work, freakshow?

-Torturing everyone around you, what else!

-What? I don’t torture people around me, if anything they torture me.

-Why don’t you talk to me about it?

-I’d rather not, you look like a bejeweled snowman.

-Look deep into my eyes, Shajar..

-And now look deep into my razor sharp teeth..

-Ugh fine, let’s talk. 

-Is that Victoria and Komei’s teen granddaughter hanging out with a vampire?

Yes it is Kennedy, keep it moving.

-God, wtf is wrong with this family. 

Nothing now that you’ve been removed from our social circle, go away! Just kidding, you’re an icon and I’m marrying you in at some point. 

-Hard pass. 

Your loss, hombre. 

-It definitely isn’t.

-If I had known your turn on was vampires I would had set you two up!

STOP SETTING UP TEENS WITH ADULTS, LAKSHMI. And Shajar’s turn ons isn’t vampires, it’s fitness/fatness. Body positive queen. 

-Well, Shajar, you alphabetically listing all the people who have wronged you while I was trying to kill Crumplebottom telepathically has made for a very productive conversation. We’ll be in touch. 

-Thanks, Countess, it’s been real.

Shajar!!! Who cares about Sophie when you might bag a hot, rich vamp??

-Meh.

I’m gonna need you to be more excited about this prospect because a vampire spouse might just be enough of a draw to beat the comedic factor of fucking Don Oates turning us into an unintentional uglacy and I’m doing whatever I can to avoid my fate.

Ugh.

UGH

UGHHHHHHH

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOO VICTORIA

-GET FUCKED, BROKEN FACED WEIRDO

God I miss you Vic 💔

-Donnie-bear, not to be not-nice, but mopping your pee off my front lawn is not exactly what I pictured doing during this date.

This guy won’t even mop up his own piss, what a catch.

Wow, manipulative much?? You are a piss piece of work, Donaldo.

-Don’t think we forgot about you, you 10-nice-point disgrace!

-VICTOR NO

-GET THAT MOP READY

-Finally, some peace and quiet.. Just me, alone with my broken heart, pondering my hopeless, loveless future..

-💗💗💗OMG SIS THERE YOU ARE. DONNIE AND I MADE OUT!!! 💗💗💗 But then grandma’s ghost scared him into soiling himself. 

-Good for grandma, hopefully next time she gives him a stroke. Now shut up and let’s eat in silence while I ponder my hopeless, loveless future.

-Okie dokie! 💗💗💗

-Um, I think mine has vomit in it.

-Yea I did that, but it’s just whiskey and lobster, if anything it increased in value. 

-Awww thanks sis! 💗💗💗

-Stop patronizing me, you little bitch. God I want to poke your eye out with this chopstick so badly.

-I love you too Shaj! 💗💗💗

And I hate both of you. Where’s your brother, I haven’t paid attention to him in 3 days. 

-He went upstairs, I think he’s pusshurt we forgot his birthday LOL

IT’S HIS BIRTHDAY????

-Don’t feel bad, I forgot it too! 💗💗💗

GODDAMMIT. WULF! WULF WHERE ARE YOU

-I’m here, I just grew up and dare I say it could not have gone better! 

Really?? Finally some good news! Let me look upon you-

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA

WULF WHAT THE FUCK

-I was Mozart musical genius boy but now I’m a sk8ter boi! Character development!

Ok this is the most iconic birthday look since Gunther grew up in the pirate costume, we’re obviously keeping it. 

-Great! And as if the fact I’m a Wyatt face template with 0 Jojo genes wasn’t enough to make me unelectable, I also rolled family! :D I’m doing everything I can to ensure I live that sweet motherlode spare life! 

Honestly you should had picked another outfit cause now that you’re dressed like this I unironically want you to win. Hoisted with your own petard.

[the-desolated-quill]

The Quill Seal Of Approval Awards - The Best Of 2019

Hey guys! I’m still alive!

Sorry for my two month absence. Things have been pretty difficult at home lately. I’ve been having a really hard time at university lately, my mental health has suffered as a result, and oh yeah, there’s a worldwide pandemic going on and we’re all probably going to die!

So thanks to this Coronavirus, my uni has been shut down, which means I now suddenly have a lot more free time. So I thought I’d take this opportunity to catch up on things I’ve missed. Yes it’s once again time to hand out the most coveted and prestigious of awards that every writer, producer and director so desperately craves (or at least they would if they actually knew this existed). The Quill Seal Of Approval Awards. Where I list the very best the creative industry had to offer over the course of 2019. (yes I know it’s now March 2020, but if Jon Campea can release a best of 2019 list in February, then I should be able to get away with it). For there is no greater honour on this planet than to have your work of creative artistry praised and acknowledged on an obscure blog by an anonymous snob. That’s the dream, isn’t it?

First a couple of parish notices. Obviously due to various other commitments, I haven’t had the chance to experience everything 2019 had to offer, so this list will be limited to the media and literature I personally got to experience. So sorry that HBO’s Watchmen TV series won’t be on this list. I know everyone loves it, but I’ve only seen one episode so far (and will be posting a review on that soon) as I’ve only just gotten around to watching it. Also bear in mind this is my subjective opinion. If you disagree with my choices, that’s fine. Go write your own list. I won’t be upset. You have every right to like what you like.

...

But if you disagree with me, then you’re a philistine and a poopyhead. That’s not my opinion. That’s a scientific fact that’s been proven in a lab by grown-ups. Sorry. The truth hurts, I know.

Shazam!

Do you remember the days when superhero films used to be fun? When they weren’t some heavily militarised, dark and angsty loners with all the charm and charisma of a pub toilet at closing time? If you do, then you’re going to love Shazam. A funny and moving film about a kid that can transform himself into a Godlike chosen one figure through space magic.

Joking aside, Shazam is an exceptionally good movie with a strong cast, great writing and a very personal and intimate story about self worth and finding your place in the world. For those who have grown sick of these soulless, big budget, CGI heavy superhero flicks with world ending conflicts that end up meaning nothing in the grand scheme of things, Shazam serves as the perfect antidote.

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum

I’m very much late to the party when it comes to John Wick. I’ve never exactly had the highest opinion of Keanu Reeves as a credible action star and I’ve always found the Matrix movies to be overrated trash with delusions of grandeur, but after constant nagging from my friend @dicapitoe​ I eventually gave in and watched the first one. I loved it so much, I watched the second one immediately afterwards, and then the following day I went to see Chapter 3 in the cinema. Now I think it’s safe to assume I’m a fan.

I actually don’t want to say too much because I want to do in-depth reviews of these films at some point, but needless to say, John Wick: Chapter 3 earns its place on this list. Hell, the whole franchise deserves a Quill Seal Of Approval Award. John Wick is a masterclass in visual storytelling and worldbuilding, and Chapter 3 continues this exciting and dramatic narrative with great confidence and skill. Oh and Keanu Reeves, I take back every snide comment I’ve ever said. You sir, are a national treasure. Can’t wait for more :D

Joker

No! No! Stop! You, yes, you, the one who’s about to comment saying how wrong I am and that Joker is a derivative, dangerous movie. May I remind you once again that this is my list. It’s fine if you don’t agree. In fact I can understand completely why some people really don’t like this film. That being said, I very much enjoyed it and I feel it represents a unique achievement for the comic book movie genre. As superhero movies from The Dark Knight to Captain America: The Winter Soldier to Black Panther have been slowly and steadily proving that these films can not only be socially relevant, but can also be considered high art, Joker represents the genre’s apotheosis. It’s a smart and sharply written film that doesn’t shy away from exploring its themes of mental health, social neglect and narcissism, and it demonstrates the reason why characters like Batman and the Joker have been a staple of popular culture for so long. Even after all this time, we’re still finding new ways of reinterpreting them and exploring them. Combined with Hildur Guonadottir’s amazing score and a career defining performance from Joaquin Phoenix, Joker is truly a force to be reckoned with, much like the title character himself.

Elementary - Season 7

CBS’ brilliant adaptation of Sherlock Holmes sadly came to an end in 2019, but not before one last excellent season.

Elementary has always stood head and shoulders above its BBC counterpart in terms of quality, but personally I always felt that the show never managed to live up to the heights of its very first season with Moriarty. While Moriarty ultimately doesn’t return sadly, we get a great substitute in the form of Odin Reichenbach, a tech mogul who uses social media for his own ends in his misguided pursuit of justice. He serves as a great source of moral conflict for Sherlock and Joan, who have been known to use morally questionable tactics themselves, and is a compelling antagonist. Under showrunner Rob Doherty’s expert direction, Elementary ends on a high as we see the stories of Holmes, Watson, Gregson and Bell conclude in an emotional and satisfying finale. It’s sad to see a great show like this end, but it felt like the right time to stop and I’m glad the Elementary team kept their high standards throughout and were allowed to finish the show properly on their own terms. You will be greatly missed.

The Outer Worlds

Have you heard the news? Single player video games are dead! Nobody wants RPGs anymore apparently! It’s all about ‘live services’ and multiplayer looter shooters. Nobody wants a story driven, single player RPG these days.

Wait! What’s this? A story driven, single player RPG?! And people actually like it?!?! OMG!

Yes, from the people that brought you Fallout: New Vegas comes a new IP that makes a mockery of the AAA industry and their greedy trend chasing. Introducing The Outer Worlds. Set in the Halcyon Colony in the far future where rampant capitalism has taken over and disrupted society, you play as a colonist that’s been recently released from cryogenic suspension and has been tasked with saving the colony from the Board who are hellbent on taking away humanity’s civil liberties and destroying lives all for the sake of profit. The lore and setting is beautifully realised and the writing contains the same wit and satirical charm as Fallout. It also boasts a wonderfully diverse cast of characters, including a very unorthodox vicar and an openly asexual companion. Add to that some super smooth first person shooter combat and a great amount of freedom in customisation and roleplaying, The Outer Worlds proves definitively that single player isn’t dead. Take note Bethesda.

And there we have it. 2019 is finally over and done with. Now we can finally look forward to 2020. Assuming we’re all still alive by the end of the year :S

[tocinephile]

The Morning After - The Year the Oscars Got it (mostly) Right Edition

The 92nd Academy Awards kicked off looking an awful lot like the Grammy’s with a splashy musical performance by Janelle Monae and Billy Porter, the first of a night’s performances/presenters/commentary designed to include all the groups it seemingly excluded in it’s nominees list. Meant to poke fun at themselves or a gesture delivered a little too overt and a little too late? Either way, I think in the end, the artistry of the South Korean-made foreign language film that swept the night’s awards won one back for every group that was overlooked.

Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite took home awards for Best Original Screenplay, Best International Feature, Best Director, and Best Picture, making it the first South Korean film to win in all these categories.  To do it all in a single evening is astounding.

Here’s a look at all the winners of the night:

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Best Picture:

“Ford v Ferrari” — Walt Disney “The Irishman” — Netflix “Jojo Rabbit” — Fox Searchlight “Joker” — Warner Bros. “Little Women” — Sony Pictures Releasing “Marriage Story” — Netflix “1917” — Universal/Amblin Partners “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” — Sony Pictures Releasing “Parasite” — Neon (WINNER)

Most deserving win of the night!!!  Of course many of us hoped Parasite could be the underdog to win it all, but a more realistic prediction to win would be 1917. Thrilled to be wrong on this one. 

Also, while I liked 1917 (more for its execution than story), even if Parasite had not been in the mix, I would have been rooting for The Irishman to win.

Lead Actress:

Cynthia Erivo, “Harriet” Scarlett Johansson, “Marriage Story”  Saoirse Ronan, “Little Women”  Charlize Theron, “Bombshell”  Renée Zellweger, “Judy” (WINNER)

I am also in full agreement with this category and with Renee sweeping this category this awards season as well.  

I have not seen Harriet, but if Renee hadn’t been in the race, Charlize would have been the best of the bunch.

Lead Actor:

Antonio Banderas, “Pain and Glory”  Leonardo DiCaprio, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”  Adam Driver, “Marriage Story”  Joaquin Phoenix, “Joker” — (WINNER) Jonathan Pryce, “The Two Popes”

Again, no question this was the right winner. If only every win didn’t mean we’d have to roll the dice to see what kind of acceptance speech we’d have to endure... While I didn’t appreciate being chastised for adding milk to my coffee, Joaquin closed out his remarks by quoting his late brother River and I thought that was beautiful.

Director:

Martin Scorsese, “The Irishman”  Todd Phillips, “Joker”  Sam Mendes, “1917”  Quentin Tarantino, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”  Bong Joon Ho, “Parasite” — (WINNER)

Another category that I thought the Academy would give to Sam Mendes, but nonetheless put my bets on Bong Joon-ho.  Some big competition in this category (except Phillips... sorry, I’m not saying he’s bad, but he has yet to prove to me he’s a contender).

Original Song:

“I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away,” “Toy Story 4”  “I’m Gonna Love Me Again,” “Rocketman” —  (WINNER) “I’m Standing With You,” “Breakthrough”  “Into the Unknown,” “Frozen 2”  “Stand Up,” “Harriet”

Talk about a year of forgettable film songs. I think I left the room for every one of these performances except Elton’s. Did I miss anything?

Original Score:

“Joker,” Hildur Guðnadóttir —  (WINNER) “Little Women,” Alexandre Desplat  “Marriage Story,” Randy Newman  “1917,” Thomas Newman  “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” John Williams 

As part of the montage for this category, the orchestra accompanies with each film’s original score. This segment, as they proudly pointed out, was being conducted a female for the first time in Oscar history (I’d like to shallowly add that she was also wearing the most amazing gold jacket to do it!). Now I don’t know if she also arranged it or whether she was just conducting, but I have to say, I don’t think the arrangement did the scores any justice whatsoever. 

Luckily they were not being judged on this particular performance, and Hildur Guonadottir once again took home the accolade for Joker. I agree with this win. Little Women and 1917 also had impressive scores.  Marriage Story didn’t particularly catch my attention, and while Star Wars’ themes will always be among my all time favourites, The Rise of Skywalker wasn’t particularly outstanding out of the saga.

Best International Feature Film:

“Corpus Christi,” Jan Komasa “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov  “Les Miserables,” Ladj Ly  “Pain and Glory,” Pedro Almodóvar  “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho — (WINNER)

If anyone else had won we would have rioted right?

Makeup and Hair:

“Bombshell” — (WINNER) “Joker” “Judy”  “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil”  “1917” 

Got this prediction correct, while not the most obvious frontrunner perhaps, a lot of subtle effort was put in to transform cast into their characters.

Visual Effects:

“Avengers: Endgame”  “The Irishman”  “The Lion King”  “1917” — (WINNER) “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” 

It’s naive of me, but seeing 1917 win for Visual Effects almost takes away from my appreciation of the film in some ways because in my head, I’d still like to think of all films outside of fantasy and sci-fi as largely real. I know it’s not the case and that even your average period drama is created largely with effects these days, it can’t help but ruin the magic a little.

Also I had guessed Avengers: Endgame would win.

And we all think that The Irishman is on this list for de-aging technologies alone right?

Film Editing:

“Ford v Ferrari,” Michael McCusker, Andrew Buckland — (WINNER) “The Irishman,” Thelma Schoonmaker  “Jojo Rabbit,” Tom Eagles  “Joker,” Jeff Groth  “Parasite,” Jinmo Yang 

This entire list is on par with each other I think, with Ford v Ferrari just edging out the rest. Also the editing is what made the film so dynamic, there was little room for a bad cut, whereas the others might have little bit more room to err.

Many might disagree but I think Little Women should have been considered in this category.  The film’s editing choices was one of its main criticisms, but I think it actually made the film much more dynamic and differentiated it from previous adaptations.  (If only they’d used a bit more of The Irishman’s aging/de-aging effects)

Cinematography:

“The Irishman,” Rodrigo Prieto “Joker,” Lawrence Sher “The Lighthouse,” Jarin Blaschke  “1917,” Roger Deakins — (WINNER) “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Robert Richardson

Agree! Cool camera work in 1917 for sure.

Sound Mixing:

“Ad Astra”  “Ford v Ferrari”  “Joker”  “1917” — (WINNER) “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Um ok, if you’re going to split the sound categories between two films.  I would’ve said Ford v Ferrari for both.

Sound Editing:

“Ford v Ferrari,” Don Sylvester — (WINNER) “Joker,” Alan Robert Murray  “1917,” Oliver Tarney, Rachel Tate  “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Wylie Stateman  “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” Matthew Wood, David Acord 

Agree. Hopefully everyone who wanted to see this film caught it in theatres, the sound was a huge contributing factor to the enjoyment of this film.

Supporting Actress:

Kathy Bates, “Richard Jewell”  Laura Dern, “Marriage Story” — (WINNER) Scarlett Johansson, “Jojo Rabbit”  Florence Pugh, “Little Women”  Margot Robbie, “Bombshell” 

Little surprise when Laura Dern swept this category, even though I maintain she wasn’t better than the rest. That said, I’m not sure who I would pick in her place, I say share the love between Laura Dern, Scarlett Johansson, and Florence Pugh (yes, I just said Amy March should get an oscar... I see the irony of this too)

Best Documentary Short Subject:

“In the Absence,” Yi Seung-Jun and Gary Byung-Seok Kam  “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone,” Carol Dysinger — (WINNER) “Life Overtakes Me,” Kristine Samuelson and John Haptas “St. Louis Superman,” Smriti Mundhra and Sami Khan  “Walk Run Cha-Cha,” Laura Nix 

I didn’t see any of the shorts this year, my bad.  The winner sounds hella interestering!

Best Documentary Feature:

“American Factory,” Julia Reichert, Steven Bognar — (WINNER) “The Cave,” Feras Fayyad  “The Edge of Democracy,” Petra Costa  “For Sama,” Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts  “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, Ljubo Stefanov 

I only saw American Factory and The Cave and I actually liked The Cave better.  That said I felt strongly that American Factory had the edge, for starters it was backed by the Obamas’ production company. I didn’t love American Factory but I do feel it’s a timely piece that shows two sides of the story, inevitable prejudices based on what we’ve become conditioned to physically, mentally, socially, and also how important it is that we try to overcome or build a bridge to find solutions for the greater good. 

Costume Design:

”The Irishman,” Sandy Powell, Christopher Peterson  “Jojo Rabbit,” Mayes C. Rubeo  “Joker,” Mark Bridges  “Little Women,” Jacqueline Durran — (WINNER) “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Arianne Phillips 

For a historical drama, I really didn’t find the costumes of Little Women to be that spectacular (I’m having visions of The Age of Innocence when you say Best Costume), though a part of me knows the period films win more often than not. While I think Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is strong contender, Jojo Rabbit should have won.

Production Design:

“The Irishman,” Bob Shaw and Regina Graves  “Jojo Rabbit,” Ra Vincent and Nora Sopkova  “1917,” Dennis Gassner and Lee Sandales  “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Barbara Ling & Nancy Haigh  (WINNER) “Parasite,” Lee Ha-Jun and Cho Won Woo, Han Ga Ram and Cho Hee

Yes! Once Upon a Time was a bit overrated (sorry Quentin) but this was one category where it really deserved to win, from the western sets, film studio lots, to the wardrobe and streets of the 60′s, lots of fun and spirit captured in the production design.

Best Live Action Short Film:

“Brotherhood,” Meryam Joobeur  “Nefta Football Club,” Yves Piat  “The Neighbors’ Window,” Marshall Curry — (WINNER) “Saria,” Bryan Buckley  “A Sister,” Delphine Girard 

Adapted Screenplay:

“The Irishman,” Steven Zaillian  “Jojo Rabbit,” Taika Waititi — (WINNER) “Joker,” Todd Phillips, Scott Silver  “Little Women,” Greta Gerwig  “The Two Popes,” Anthony McCarten 

I love that Taika Waititi is an Oscar winner. Also shouts to Greta Gerwig for making Little Women almost tolerable in her script! The Two Popes could not have been an easy adaptation either. Now can a comic book expert please tell me, how much of Joker is really from existing stories in comics, and how much was filled in by the writers? I understand why it was an adapted screenplay, but I feel like material like this almost completely open to interpretation and could easily be written anew as an original screenplay.

Original Screenplay:

“Knives Out,” Rian Johnson  “Marriage Story,” Noah Baumbach  “1917,” Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Quentin Tarantino  “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho, Jin Won Han —  (WINNER)

Just for fun, my ranking of the original screenplay nominees from best to alright:

1) Parasite, 2) Knives Out, 3) Marriage Story, 4) 1917, 5) Once Upon a Time

Animated Short:

“Dcera,” Daria Kashcheeva  “Hair Love,” Matthew A. Cherry — (WINNER) “Kitbull,” Rosana Sullivan  “Memorable,” Bruno Collet  “Sister,” Siqi Song 

I keep hearing great things about this short!

Animated Feature:

“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” Dean DeBlois  “I Lost My Body,” Jeremy Clapin  “Klaus,” Sergio Pablos  “Missing Link,” Chris Butler  “Toy Story 4,”  Josh Cooley — (WINNER)

I clearly didn’t watch any animated films this year because I didn’t even know there were new How to Train Your Dragon and Toy Story films released.

Supporting Actor:

Tom Hanks, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”  Anthony Hopkins, “The Two Popes”  Al Pacino, “The Irishman”  Joe Pesci, “The Irishman”  Brad Pitt, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” — (WINNER)

Overall, if Brad Pitt sweeping this category means I get to hear at least one great speech per awards, then I’m ok with this. My personal ranking:

1) Al Pacino, 2) Joe Pesci, 3) Tom Hanks, 4) Brad Pitt, 5) Anthony Hopkins.  I had to debate over Pacino and Pesci’s performances, I feel like this is one of the best problems in the world.

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Prior to the start of the show, I made a mess of notes about who I thought would win, who I thought should win, and shared my Oscar Pool Picks which were based on a mix of the two... My Oscar pool are an extremely knowledgeable bunch, and with 18/24, it only put me in a 3-way tie for third place (there were also three winners who split the winnings), I need to move back to the baby leagues!

If you were following my Twitter (or care to check in hindsight...@palindr0me) I also shared a little additional commentary and photos of some of my favourite dresses of the evening. 

My personal top 3 moments during the Awards Ceremony were:

1) Every time Parasite won an award - Give this man all the statues he wants! lol

2) Billie Eilish’s rendition of Yesterday (I wish this was an actual recorded track so I could play it over and over)

3) When Eminem took the stage at the end of a montage to perform “Lose Yourself” and my phone exploded with all these messages of “ Whaaat is happening???” LOL! Believe me friends, I was as confused as you were.

Aaand, that’s a wrap on awards season! Looking forward to a new year and new decade in film!

[theprocrastinatingalien]

Casting The Batman

Director Matt Reeves said in a Q&A that he expects THE BATMAN to start production at the end of this year.  Now that's still quite a way off, but for that to happen a few things need to happen... like casting.

It's be confirmed that Ben Affleck has stepped away from the Batcave, and we're now looking at a new actor putting on the cowl.

Firstly, we need to asses... is Reeves' Batflick part of the DCEU, or does it stand aside, like the upcoming JOKER movie starring Joaquin Phoenix, despite the fact Jared Leto is expected to carry on as the Clown Prince of Crime within the shared universe.

Why is this important?  Well, Whilst Affleck is going off, that doesn't mean the supporting characters have to change cast, especially if it's in the shared universe.   Particular roles are in place.  Jeremy Irons as played Alfred in two movies now, and JK Simmons popped up in the JUSTICE LEAGUE as Commissioner James Gordon.   Either of those actors could continue.  Even if this movie is in the past.  Sure a younger actor in either part may make sense, but CAPTAIN MARVEL just proved you can do a whole film with nifty de-aging effects (Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury).

Whilst I will, naturally, look towards who could be cast in supporting (and villainous) roles, right now we're going to focus on the big issue.  Who should play Batman?

Below are a list of different actors who I've seen suggested, or am suggesting myself, that could end up as the next Dark Knight. I've included a variety of ages too... just covering the bases.

KARL URBAN

This one was an obvious inclusion. Before Affleck was announced, Urban was my (and seemingly half the internet) top choice.  Probably best known currently as Dr McCoy in the new age STAR TREK movies, he also appeared as DREDD, and more recently played Skurge in THOR: RAGNAROK over in the MCU.  He's around the same age as Affleck (both born in 1972), so this would be more of a direct recast, but a popular one I believe.

ROBERT PATTINSON

Urg.  No.  This would annoy me... but a major rumour recently was that the TWILIGHT star was in talks for Bruce Wayne and his alter ego.  To be honest, it wouldn't be the WORST casting in the DCEU (Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, anyone?) and I would still give the guy a go.  It's just not a casting I'd be excited about. With Pattinson we'd have a Batman in his early 30s.

ARMIE HAMMER

The funny thing with this one... it was basically reported that Hammer had got the job.  The actor had to debunk the casting himself.  There's quite a fanbase for the actor to get this role, and to be fair, he had once been attached to a Batman role in the past, when he was cast as Bruce Wayne in a defunct JUSTICE LEAGUE movie.   Still, whilst the actor said nobody (in power) had talked to him, the media buzz may have brought him to the attention of Reeves... so I wouldn't rule out this casting entirely.   I'd certainly prefer it to Pattinson.  Both actors are the same actor as 32.

AIDAN TURNER

This Irish actor is very popular with the ladies (good for Bruce Wayne) and was a sheer highlight as vampire Mitchell in BEING HUMAN (the UK series)… He's currently the heartthrob lead in POLDARK, and was the heartthrob dwarf Kili in THE HOBBIT trilogy.   And whilst there probably has been a lot of onus on his looks, he just happens to be a really good actor, and in his mid 30s, I believe shouldn't be dismissed as a potential Batman (or Bond!).

TARON EGERTON

Now, this wouldn't be an ideal choice, but I'm throwing it in there.  Egerton's currently 29, so the youngest on my list at this point, and he's making quite a name for himself.  I think his best qualification for Batman is his role in the KINGSMAN franchise, but he also recently played ROBIN HOOD.  He's possibly a little on the short side for Batman, and whilst he has the physicality for the role, I don't think he's the best fit for Bruce Wayne.  However, I would definitely put him near the top of a NIGHTWING list.  As Dick Grayson does become Batman at some point, I thought it'd be fair to include him on here.

K J APA

Apa's the youngest person on this list at 21. If I'm honest, I'm not sure he quite has the charisma for Bruce Wayne, and he feels a little young for Bats, but that might be what Reeves is looking for.  Apa is Archie, the lead character in RIVERDALE, and he does get to play detective - which plays into comments Reeves has made.

KIT HARINGTON

Funnily enough, I was actually going to include Harington's onscreen brother Richard Madden, from GAME OF THRONES but I've switched it.  Harington certainly has the broody look down.  We all know how Batman likes to brood, and with GoT coming to an end, Kit's probably looking for a new high-profile acting gig.  THE BATMAN wouldn't be a bad way to go.  Not sure how people would take to this casting though, I'm not sure how the actor is perceived in the public eye. Agewise, he's inline with the likes of Pattinson and Hammer.

LIAM NEESON

I said, I'd be cover all the bases, and this one's going the other way, with an older actor. Liam Neeson is 66.   He's already been a part of the Batworld, featuring in THE DARK KNIGHT trilogy as villain R'as Al Ghul. But what if we turned that around and made him the big man himself.  Casting Zeus, Aslan and Qui-Gon Jinn as Batman works for me!

JEFFREY DEAN MORGAN

Okay, so this is not a clear-cut choice... but I'm throwing it out there anyway.  Morgan played Thomas Wayne in the opening scenes of BATMAN V SUPERMAN.   We know that there's an upcoming move (supposedly) based on FLASHPOINT, and in that, rather than Bruce becoming Batman, his father does instead.  What if the DCEU are clever and tie this alternative reality into the cast change... handing the cowl over to Morgan.  Personally I like it.  Recasting Batman without recasting Bruce Wayne.  Morgan is in his 50s, and currently plays the violent Negan in THE WALKING DEAD.

BRAD PITT

No, really.  Like Morgan, Pitt is in his 50's, but he's still got that good-looking, swagger (perfect for an aging Bruce), and he'd be a pretty commercial choice I think. Plus, Pitt is a pretty decent actor.  He'd be able to display a few different facets for the caped crusader, and might be able to channel that dark SEVEN vibe, tying in with Matt Reeves'  noir detective tale.

Now, I should probably start wrapping this list up.   I've already listed 10, but there's still two more I think deserve a mention.  One positive, one negative. 

JAKE GYLLENHAAL

Now, you're probably expecting Jake to be the positive, but no.  I do not like the idea of him playing Batman.  He's not right for the role.  So why am I including him now?   Gyllenhaal was a possible casting way back when Christian Bale was cast.  As were Joshua Jackson and Wes Bentley.   I'd actually rather Bentley get given the shot of any of them, but Jake gets the mention because apparently Matt Reeves may have his eye on him.   I'm not against JG as an actor, in fact I'm looking forward to his turn as Mysterio in SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME over at the MCU.  I just don't think he'd be *my* Batman if he were to be cast.

Which leaves us with...

OSCAR ISAAC

I saw Isaac's name pop up on another list, and you know what... I wouldn't mind it.  I wouldn't have thought of him myself,  He's half Guatemalan, half Cuban, which would add ethnicity to the character that had typically been played by straight up white American or Brits, with being as controversial as, say casting Idris Elba (who, incidentally has joined the DCEU as Deadshot, replacing Will Smith).  Isaac is suave enough to play Bruce, and intense enough to play Batman.  He's a good actor, and now has quite a following thanks to his part in the current STAR WARS trilogy.  Of the twelve candidates listed here, he's definitely up the top end for me.

It would have been quite easy to fall in with listing every dark-haired furrow-browed actor in Hollywood, but I tried to streamline the list a little.  Personally for me, my tick rests near Urban still, although I accept it's unlikely.   It's going to be interesting to see who they do go with in the end.  There was a lot of negativity against Affleck's casting, but I think most can agree he's been a highlight of the DCEU.

Whoever get's cast, will be filling the shoes of  Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale and Affleck.   Soon, I'll also be looking at the supporting cast - including an actor I almost included here as a potential Batman, but then realised I'd love to see him as a Riddler...

[staliasjeronica]

Riverdale 3.01 Thoughts *spoilers*

- the kids... are JUNIORS? Uh okay.

- VERONICA. MY LOVE. MY BABY. IN A POP’S OUTFIT!!!

- still iffy about Betty being in law... like where’d it come from? Her likeness of it? It’s probably just because of Archie’s trial and the fact that she constantly breaks the law, but still... it seemed to come out of nowhere

- In the narration he talked about Archie, Betty, and Veronica being the “best friends you’ll ever have” and I’m just stating that that means that Jeronica are officially best friends! Y E S BITCH!

- did this bitch seriously just call Nick St. Claire... INNOCENT? And brought up the fact that he pulled a gun on Sweet Pea? I’ve always wanted that confrontation but NOT LIKE THIS.

- MARY ANDREWS! A fucking legend! Her speech was incredible, too. Like, if I was a Riverdale resident and didn’t know Archie, I would definitely believe that he was innocent. But of course something stupid like Archie being a dumbass (love you though, Arch) is going to fuck everything up 🙄🙄🙄

- JOSIE AND KEVIN STANDING SIDE BY SIDE IS ALL I NEEDED!!! I can’t wait to see more of them as step siblings and shit. Maybe she can convince Kevin not to get with Moose lmao I hate him so fucking much

- HIRAM YOU DO NOT GET TO FUCKING TALK TO ARCHIE YOU LITTLE BITCH

- I’VE SEEN SPOILERS SO I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE FRED PUNCH A BITCH

- As amazing as that was though... THAT WOULDN’T HELP ARCHIE’S CASE IT WOULD MAKE IT WORSE!!!

- lmao Hiram gets angry and pushes the guy who kept him from getting back at Fred as if he didn’t start it what a bitch

- dilton and Ben... are really gonna die aren’t they. This is a Midge situation— bring them back to kill them wow... also why does Dilton look like he could be Sweet Pea’s younger brother...

- so both Veronica and Jughead got chocolate shakes. I’m not saying they’re soulmates... but they’re soulmates and I don’t care what Camila says about Jeronica... they’re meant to be together oops

- CHERYL MY BISEXUAL/LESBIAN QUEEN!!!! MAKING HER FUCKING ENTRANCE!

- but it’s so sad that she made the effort to invite all of them to her party but they couldn’t make an exception to couples weekend... like I know it helped Cheryl get with Toni but that’s just... sad.

- ALSO CHERY’S JACKET IM WHEEZING CALL AN AMBULANCE

- of course Choni had three months of development but we won’t see it 🙃🙃🙃

- can’t really hear what Alice and Polly are really saying... but I definitely heard Alice say “ritual” and you never hear that word unless you’re in a cult wake the fuck up alice you can’t be more fucked up than Betty and Polly you need to help save them

- Dr. Glass... therapist? Mmhm but wouldn’t they tell her that she’s too reliant and co-dependent on Jughead and hopefully break them up? I call bullshit on this therapist

- BARCHIE + FRED WORKING ON A CAR TOGEHER WOW WE LOVE A FUTURE ENDGAME BEING HOT ASS MECHANICS TOGETHER WITH HER FUTURE FAMILY

- “we did it dad” the way he said this... might have made me choke... it was so happy and excited, like a kid. I’m NOT CRYING OKAY

- “just in time” *Fred immediately avoids eye contact with Archie before stating he’s going back into the house* BITCH HE’S GOING IN THERE TO CRY HUH LIKE HE’S THINKING ABOUT HIS SON GOING TO JAIL THIS IS HORRIBLE.

- “the jury is still deliberating, you don’t need to put your house in order” Betty... it’s called JUST IN CASE. Plus it would ease his mind so... shut up lmao

- THE TEARS IN RONNIE’S EYES AS SHE’S CONFRONTING HER FATHER BBY NOOOO

- ALSO SHE HAS TO LIVE UNDER THE SAME ROOF AS HIM IM SO SORRY SWEETIE GO LIVE WITH JUG OR MOVE IN WITH FRED! She doesn’t deserve this you bitch ass Hiram

- also I’m sad that Hiram doesn’t have a bruise from Fred punching him

- I’ll say it until I die but I’m just gonna say it now: HIRAM IS A BITCH ASS HOE! He literally destroyed Archie’s life and devastated his daughter... all for a fucking P R I S O N

- SWEET PEA AND FANGS HAVE OFFICIALLY BLESSED MY SCREENS YAY. Also Fangs your bisexual ass is showing with that extremely open shirt... and Sweet Pea... you fucking too lmao I love Swangs (no hate but I’m also kinda here for Swosie even though it’s just a fling)

- it’s... so annoying... that Hiram is with the Ghoulies, yet makes out the Serpents to be the worst. Like Hiram your bought gang members are cannibals (apparently), and are the ACTUAL gang that sells and distributes Jingle Jangle soooo wtf

- Jug... you can’t send Fangs without backup. I REPEAT YOU CANNOT SEND FANGS WITHOUT SOME BACKUP! He got shot once and I swear if he’s hurt again I’m going to end you. I only care about certain people: Sweet Pea, Fangs, Cheryl, Toni, Veronica, and Archie... so if you get one of them hurt you’re dead to me

- we all been knew that Archie’s tattoo was fake but LOOK AT FP IN GLASSES I’M

- I love Betty with these outfits. They’re really nice tbh

- Alice... you can’t burn SOMEONE ELSE’S JOURNAL! Also yeah it’s filled with negative shit but that’s why it’s written in journals... to vent and get it over with.

- also if you have to reference someone (Edgar) every sentence you know you’re probably too reliant on them

- although what Alice says about sitting still and shit is kinda true I guess. Betty doesn’t need to be constantly figuring shit out but I’ll just pretend I never agreed with the woman in a fucking cult

- is Polly gonna tell her about her Betty’s “darkness” because PLEASE(or the webcamming). When Alice gets better she can call Betty out on her shit.

- Cheryl’s a queen, I love her place, but Moose is here so uhhhh ew.

- SWOSIE BITCHES!!!! I saw gifs of it and I love it

- “not even a tall, cool drink of sweet water like you...” as she STROKES HIS FUCKING CHEST I’M

- but he was so happy and cute “I can’t wait to see you in the hallways”

- BITCH SWEET PEA IS A ROMANTIC WHAT

- the way he leans back into the kiss is everything, and the way he watches her leave I’m star struck goodbye

- you give me Swosie just to immediately go to Mevin? You couldn’t have gone to another couple at least? Don’t ruin the moment ugh

- Kevin... is proposing... a sex pact? Wtf? But Moose looks so uncomfortable, which I find actually pretty sad. Kevin wants someone who’s out, who isn’t afraid to be with him in public and that person isn’t Moose. He was really happy with Joaquin and now that he knows why Joaquin was slightly distant there’ll be no secrets between them so... bring Joaquin back so Joavin can rise again you cowards! Moose needs to find himself, but he shouldn’t bring Kevin with him. He needs to go through this by himself.

- mmhm Reggie not giving a damn about Archie’s (fake) Serpent tattoo... I want to see Reggie apologize to the Serpents (and also find out that Sweet Pea is his brother oops)

- oh Bc Archie asks Reggie’s cool with the Serpents. I DEFINITELY need an apology right fucking now, Mantle.

- “whatcha thinking bout, babe?” BABE. B A B E. BABE BABE BABE BABE BABE BABE BABE

- I have subtitles on and it says “Tee-Tee” NO ITS T-T (or just TT)

- poor Cheryl 😭😭😭

- but also why the fuck is there a couch outside by the pool lmao

- Veronica is constantly about to cry and I’m... with her. I’m gonna cry too STAWP

- YAS JOSIE!!!!

- dilton... we were all excited to see you again but now you’re just being a creepy weirdo so...

- FANGS MY BBY

- UMMMMMM LEAVE HOTDOG ALONE

- lmao Betty seems so out of place at this little Serpent meeting... she really does not belong there

- “the Serpent Queen is a Warrior queen” the next fucking sentence better be Toni or Sweet Pea shutting her the fuck down. If she was a “Serpent Queen” she would ACTUALLY TRULY care about the Serpents instead of joining so she can stay closer to Jughead and shit

- Sweet Pea slightly shook his head in the background so I’m just gonna... pretend he told Betty to shut the fuck up

- Betty’s gonna fuck everything up and then blame it on someone else isn’t she

- Awww Archie overhearing his parents talking about Archie and the trial. “Even I couldn’t stop Hiram Lodge from getting his claws into our son” STAWP 😭😭😭

- Archie thinks that he deserves this? Bitch BETTY is the one who’s done actual (okay well the worst crimes of the group) crimes but her bitch ass isn’t going to jail! She never gets any repurcussions. If anyone deserves going to jail it’s Betty

- Sheriff Minetta... no one misses you

- Betty has her own Serpent jacket... I mean thanks I hate it but I also hate to admit that she looks actually good in it. Still doesn’t deserve to be a Serpent she’s done nothing for them except bone their “leader”

- lmao Cheryl is strong af pushing Betty back into the car.

- Jughead... do you seriously think they’re going to let you leave with Hot Dog? Lmao maybe you do deserve Betty you two are both idiots

- YASSS CHERYL FUCK MALACHAI UPPPPP

- this weird dream of Archie’s was pretty cool. I was confused for a second but still it was really awesome

- of course the one thing Betty ACTUALLY needs and she lies about it. Also, add forging prescriptions to her list of criminal offenses. Can you just once write Betty to be likable? When she comforted Veronica was great (although still need an apology from her) but that Serpent queen line... omfg no

- although they’re a part of a fucking cult Polly is making some great points.

- YOUNGBLOOD BY 5SOS!!

- So... despite being invited by Cheryl to her party they don’t invite her or anyone else to the fucking water hole place? Wtf

- “last one in gets a sticky maple!” That’s... kind of rude considering what Chuck did to Veronica. Speaking of where is Chuck? Did they start that redemption ark for NOTHING? Also the statement is worse when V is the last to jump in...

- wow look at Varchie being the hottest couple (there. The hottest couple is obviously Choni)

- Jughead you’re not supposed to burn the marshmallows

- JUGHEAD YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO TELL ARCHIE TO MAKE A RUN FOR IT YOU STUPID FUCK

- YES BETTY! GET SOME FUCKING HELP

- If Jughead supports this, they will finally being going in a good direction? For once? Like if you’re going to force this disgusting ship on us at least make them healthy and tolerable

- I hate them but the beanie scene was cute. Probably because Cole actually improvised that

- When Varchie’s scene was still much better, hotter, and aesthetic than Betty and Jughead’s lmao thank you Riverdale

- why do they make Varchie cuter when they’re going to end them? This is bullshit

- hey maybe if they make Betty and Jughead cuter (cause let’s be honest they’ve had like two cute scenes that I’ll admit to lol) they’ll end their relationship too

- VEGAS

- what the fuck dilton lol

- “we can talk about this when I get back” wow that’s a surefire way to make sure that Dilton dies

- like I said Archie does something stupid and ruins EVERYTHING.

- Archie... if you’re FIGHTING FOR YOUR LIFE no one FUCKING cares that they’d have to go through this shit again. I love you but you’re stupid as fuck

- Veronica 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

- ARCHIE’S LAST WORDS WILL BE “I love you, Veronica” IM SOBBING

- Veronica’s look to Hiram is lethal and I’m here for it.

- Honestly... if they somehow manage to make this about Betty I’ll scream because we all know Betty has to be interwoven into every plot

- DADS OF RIVERDALE FUCK YEAH

- ALL OF THEM WORKING TOGETHER? YES BITCH

- AND VERONICA STILL HAS TO GO HOME WITH HIRAM?

- honestly though why didn’t they make her testify awhile ago? They said it was too late but her statement would help? She LIVES with the man, she could easily tell them about how much of a master manipulator he is like... what the fuck

- literally Veronica just wear a wire around Hiram so you can implicate him. He legit just told you that he did all of this to get back at you for choosing him over blood (also wow so healthy)

- “you don’t have a daughter anymore” we love and stan Veronica

- so... Jug shouldn’t have gone alone but uhh Dilton is fucking dead

- um what the fuck is with the babies... and also why is Betty convulsing? Probably gonna be blamed on the supernatural instead of her Adderral. (Also I just reached the limit of this holy fuck lmao)

[vanillaflavour81]

I'm not sure if you're taking prompts other than the numbered quotes from the list, but could you please consider writing a prompt where Joaquin has to meet up with Kevin because FP's putting more pressure on Joaquin to get details on the case, but Joaquin's got a cold that day so Kevin ends up taking him somewhere to take care of him?

Joaquin was leaning against the wall next to the trash cans behind Pop’s, smoking a cigarette and waiting for Kevin Keller. He coughed and grimaced, throwing his almost unsmoked cigarette to the ground and stubbing it out. He had a cold. This morning he woke up coughing and shaking from cold. But he had work to do of course…and work meant in this case that he had to meet the sheriff’s son and try to get some information out of him concerning his dad’s work. FP had told him yesterday to text Kevin and ask him on a date so Joaquin could learn more details about the Blossom case.Joaquin sighed, he hated this so much and cursed himself every day for not being able to just shut up. FP would have never found out if Joaquin had only been a bit more careful! Joaquin had met this cute guy at the drive-in, had made out with him and really wanted to see him again. And even finding out that this boy was probably the last person Joaquin should date, namely the sheriff’s son, hadn’t been able to stop Joaquin from wanting him. He had gone home, smiling like an idiot and had texted Kevin the same night, telling him how much he had enjoyed their little make-out session and that he wanted to see him again. And Joaquin hadn’t been able to keep his mouth shut. He had talked about Kevin all the time, probably getting on Fangs’ nerves. And that was how FP had found out. He had been furious at first about finding out that Joaquin dated sheriff Kellers son. Joaquin had freaked out and in his shock told FP that there was nothing serious between Kevin and him, that Joaquin had only decided to agree to the dates because he thought they could use that inside line…FP had bought it and decided that it was actually something that could play in their favor and had told Joaquin to keep on meeting Kevin. The only problem was, that what Kevin and Joaquin had, was (despite what Joaquin had told FP) real. And now Joaquin felt terrible about having to do this, spying on Kevin’s dad and on his friends.

He sighed and looked down at his phone, where a text from Kevin appeared. “I’ll be there in 5 minutes, baby!” And a heart emoji…Joaquin smiled and typed a reply, “Can’t wait!” And of course, he added a heart too. He knew that he got it bad…

Joaquin pulled his leather jacket tighter around himself, shivering in the cold wind and sneezed. Great, this damn cold seemed to get worse. He looked up and saw Kevin almost running towards him, obviously very eager to meet Joaquin. Kevin’s gaze met his, and a sweet smile spread across his face. He seemed to be so happy to see Joaquin. Joaquin looked at Kevin: this tall, handsome boy, with his preppy hair and clothes, wearing one of his usual sweaters and expensive jeans and sneakers. He didn’t fit into Joaquin’s world, but somehow Kevin hadn’t gotten the memo and had decided to like Joaquin anyways and call him baby and kiss him all the time.

Joaquin’s heart was beating crazily in his chest, and there was a strange fluttering in his stomach as he looked at Kevin, and he suddenly realized what those symptoms meant..he was in love. He was in love with this cute, preppy boy in front of him, and it shouldn’t have happened, but it had, and now there was no way to undo it.Kevin reached him and pulled Joaquin into his arms, and Joaquin cuddled against him, grateful for the warmth Kevin’s embrace offered. “I missed you,” Kevin whispered into his ear, and Joaquin smiled a bit stupidly. It had been only two days since they had last met, but Kevin had already missed him! “I missed you too, Preppy. I am so glad you are here now.” Kevin smiled at him, this open, heartfelt smile combined with a slightly unbelievable look in his eyes as if he still couldn’t believe that he and Joaquin were boyfriends. And who could blame him? Joaquin also couldn’t believe it, but he knew that it was everything he wanted. He lifted his head a bit to kiss Kevin, but had to pull away again after only a short moment, because he had to sneeze once again. “Sorry.”Kevin chuckled and pulled Joaquin back into his arms. “Do you have a cold?”“Yeah.”“Then you shouldn’t be out here in the cold! Come on, we will go somewhere warm. My dad is at work. If you want you can come to my house. I will make you tea. You look like you are freezing!”Joaquin could only nod weakly. Kevin smiled and took Joaquin’s hand in his, lacing their fingers together and pulled Joaquin along. Joaquin looked down at their entwined hands. He had never held hands before, but it was something Kevin liked to do, and Joaquin liked it too now. It was such a simple gesture, but somehow it meant so much. It was so affectionate, so loving and sweet and it was kind of everything Kevin stood for. And so Joaquin happily held hands with Kevin, whenever he got the chance to.They arrived at the Keller’s house, and Kevin quickly led Joaquin to the couch in the living room and told him to lie down, piling up several fluffy pillows for Joaquin to lean against and collected a warm blanket from his room so Joaquin wouldn’t be cold. “I will make you tea and look if we have some medicine here.”Joaquin smiled at Kevin thankfully and lay down on the couch and sighed. His head was buzzing, and he suspected that he probably had a fever. But at least he was warm now, snuggled comfortably under the soft blanket Kevin had brought him. The blanket smelled faintly of Kevin’s cologne, and Joaquin felt even more comfortable because of that. Kevin returned after a short while, a cup of tea and a little flask with cough syrup in his hands. He set both down on the table and kneeled on the floor next to the couch, to kiss Joaquin’s cheek and place a hand on his forehead to check his temperature. “Hmm, you feel a bit hot. I think you really have a fever. Poor baby.”He gently stroked Joaquin’s hair and looked at him with such affection in his eyes, that it almost made Joaquin cry. Suddenly he was hit by a memory from his childhood: His mom looking after him when he was still a little child and was sick. She had always made a small pillow fort for him on the couch and brought him tea and cookies and read his favorite stories to him. It had been the last time he had felt truly loved and safe. Until now…and suddenly he really had to blink tears away.He looked at Kevin and couldn’t stop himself from saying: “Thank you so much, Preppy. You are so cute. I.. I..” he suddenly realized what he was about to say and panicked, and finished lamely, “…like you so much…”But Kevin smiled at him and leaned forward to kiss him quickly. “You’re welcome, I like taking care of you. Why don’t you rest a bit and I will go to the pharmacy quickly to get some aspirin for you.”Joaquin nodded. “Ok thank you.”Kevin grabbed his jacket and left the house, leaving Joaquin alone. It was the perfect opportunity. He was alone in the sheriff’s house. The door to sheriff Keller’s office was just a few feet away. And Kevin would be away at least twenty minutes. It was everything FP would want. Joaquin could easily go over to the office and look at all the notes…but he didn’t want to do it.He couldn’t bring himself to betray this sweet boy, who apparently liked him so much. He couldn’t rummage around in this house, into which Kevin had invited him so lovingly. He couldn’t do it, and he wouldn’t do it. And so Joaquin just stayed on the couch, under the blanket which smelled like his boyfriend and thought about Kevin’s cute smile and his green eyes and how his hand felt in Joaquin’s. And he hoped that they would somehow get through this and have a chance to stay together and that Joaquin could one day become something other than a small town criminal and give Kevin the life he deserved.He fell asleep before Kevin returned and when he woke up hours later, it was already dark outside, and Kevin had made pasta for them and more tea. He brought everything over to the couch so they could eat there. Later on, they cuddled on the couch, watching tv and when Joaquin had to leave because Kevin’s dad would soon come home, Kevin accompanied him to the door and kissed him and promised that he would check on Joaquin tomorrow.Joaquin walked home with a smile on his face, and when FP asked him if he had made any progress, he didn’t even get what his boss was talking about at first. Until he realized that his mission of the day had been to gain some more information from Kevin. He shook his head and told FP that Kevin knew nothing. And went back to his trailer to get ready for bed, but before he did so, he sent a text to Kevin: “Good night, Preppy. Thank you for taking care of me.” And of course, he added a heart emoji.

Thank you so much for this prompt! Of course you can send me prompts which aren’t on the list. This is great! I had so much fun writing this. I hope you like my little story! ❤

You can find my current Joavin prompt list here. Just send an ask with any combination of numbers. Or send other prompts :) 

tag-list: @inspiredbynewt  @love-joaquin-and-kevin @rik-raq-jo-gonzo1186 @mebeingateenager

I am really sorry, but I can’t put this under a cut, because Tumblr once again doesn’t work properly. Sorry for the huge post!

[wazafam]

Police Chief Wayne Unser was the kind of dirty cop whose righteous side often clashed with his immoral side. Though he worked together with the motorcycle club/gang SAMCRO, he never accepted money from them, insisting he wasn't in their pocket (even though he really was). He thus struggled a lot financially while still doing plenty of illegal things.

RELATED: Meet Mr. Mayhem: 10 Unique Sons Of Anarchy Terms & Their Meanings

At first, Unser believed that SAMCRO's presence in Charming helped prevent the influx of drugs and violence but this proved to be a misguided view because there was plenty of chaos during the 7 seasons. However, Unser continued to work with the motorcycle club while juggling between good deeds and bad ones.

*Content Warning: This list includes discussions of sexual assault.*

10 Good: Arresting Clay, Ernest Darby, And Marcus Alvarez

The gang violence in Charming threatened to get out of hand in Season 1 so Unser decided to arrest Nordics leader Darby, SAMCRO President Clay, and Mayans MC President Alvarez. Darby also got a much-deserved punch for making fun of Unser's Black wife, Della.

Unser organized a sitting between Clay and Alvarez inside a jail cell and made the two leaders agree on a truce. It was a more logical move than arresting all the gang members in Charming because there were simply too many. By doing this, Unser managed to bring peace to Charming once again, albeit temporarily.

9 Dirty: Helping Gemma Keep The Sexual Assault Incident A Secret

Early in Season 2, Gemma was sexually assaulted by three Aryan Brotherhood members who had been given orders by LOAN boss Ethan Zobelle. The men gave Gemma a message to give to Clay but she chose not to do that because she knew it would start a war and that's what LOAN wanted.

Unser found out what happened but chose to go with Gemma's plan not to do anything about it. This was shocking on his part considering that sexual assault is a serious offense. Instead, he helped Gemma crash her vehicle and make it look like she had sustained her injuries from an accident.

8 Good: Looking Out For Candy

When police showed up to stop a heroin deal between SAMCRO and the Aryan Brotherhood in Season 7, one of the officers named Candy Eglee got seriously injured during the shootout. She was thus admitted to the hospital.

RELATED: Sons Of Anarchy: 10 Hidden Details About The Characters' Wardrobe

Despite Candy no longer being part of Unser's team, he visited her daily at the hospital just to check up on her and protect her. This proved to be a wise decision because Aryan Brotherhood street boss Leland Guen showed up days later at the hospital to murder Candy in order to keep her quiet. Unser managed to kill Leland before he could cause any harm.

7 Dirty:  Covering Up Clay's Murder Of Piney

At times, it felt like Unser was obsessed with protecting Clay and not just the Sons. It wasn't long before he found out that Clay and Gemma had a part to play in John Teller's demise. He was angry but he still didn't take serious action. He then found out that Clay had killed Piney but chose to do nothing.

Instead, Unser agreed to go with Clay's fictional story that blamed the Lobos Sonora cartel for the crime. By doing this, he extended Clay's stay at the top of SAMCRO. Though he would later confess to Opie about what happened, a lot of damage had already been done.

6 Good: Going To Arrest Gemma

As soon as it emerged that Gemma was the one responsible for Tara's death and not the Lin Triad, Jax made it his mission to locate her and exact revenge. Unser knew that events would play out like this so he tried to locate Gemma too. His intention was to arrest her instead of letting street justice play out.

Unser's decision was partly motivated by his long-term crush on Gemma, not really the need to abide by the law. However, it was still what a good cop should do since the law calls for all suspects to be tried and sentenced before any justice can take place. Sadly, this decision cost Unser his life as Jax killed him for insisting on arresting Gemma.

5 Dirty: Covering Up The Gogo And Greg Killings

This was yet another incident of Unser sticking up for Clay. As soon as it was revealed that the former Nomads Greg, Gogo, and Frankie were responsible for the numerous break-ins in Charming, it was also revealed that Clay had been puppeteering them. During a chat between Clay and Unser, Gogo and Greg showed up.

RELATED: Sons Of Anarchy: 10 Storylines The Show Dropped

Clay fired at them to cover his tracks while Unser fired in self-defense. Given how the incident played out, Unser could have easily let Clay go down for the crime but he refused to cooperate with fellow officers who were investigating the incident.

4 Good: Letting Roosevelt Know About The Threat On Tara's Life

After the Charming Police Department was absorbed into the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department, Roosevelt took over as the new police boss. Shortly after that, Unser found out about JT's letters. Clay's discovery made him go out of control and he was willing to do anything to bury the secret. This meant killing Tara.

Unser thus let Roosevelt know about an anonymous threat to Tara's life. He also wrote a fake death threat and left it in Tara's car just so she'd be put under constant surveillance.

3 Dirty: Telling Gemma About Jax And Tara's Deal

In Season 7, Jax and Tara made a deal with DA Patterson. Jax would turn himself in and Tara would have full immunity hence she'll be free to leave Charming. Such deals are supposed to remain a secret until they are actualized. However, Unser rushed to tell Gemma that Tara had made a deal, even though Gemma didn't need to know.

This was yet another incident of Unser using his status irresponsibly. As a result of his actions, Gemma thought Tara was ratting on SAMCRO, hence she killed her.

2 Good: Sabotaging June Stahl

Law enforcement officers are supposed to work together but ATF agent June Stahl didn't care about Unser's work. She didn't care that Unser's efforts to keep the gangs on good terms were instrumental in bringing peace to Charming. Her only focus was on taking down SAMCRO, no matter who she hurt.

RELATED: Sons Of Anarchy: 10 Best Non-SAMCRO Bikers

Stahl thus framed Opie to look like an informant. In return, Unser made it his mission to sabotage Stahl. He tasked Hale with revealing that Opie was innocent. Sadly, the information came too late and people died as a result. He also let Jax break out Cherry, who Stahl was tried to use as an informant.

1 Dirty: Setting Up Stahl And Jimmy O'Phalen To Get Killed

It was understandable for Unser to hate Agent June Stahl but letting her get killed felt like something a gangster would do, not a police officer. In the Season 3 finale, Unser stopped Stahl's escort of True IRA street boss Jimmy O, lying that Jimmy's men were waiting down the road to free him.

Stahl's backup went to check out if Jimmy O's men were indeed down the road. This gave Chibs and Opie the chance to execute Stahl and Jimmy O.

NEXT: Sons of Anarchy: 10 Things The Characters Wanted In Season 1 That Came True By The Finale

Sons Of Anarchy: 5 Times Unser Was A Good Cop (& 5 Times He Was Dirty) from https://ift.tt/3ylnDIG

[weekendwarriorblog]

Welcome to Awards Season Part 3 – The Performances of 2019

Okay, things went a bit haywire with my scheduling on what I hoped to be an ongoing (and weekly) column/series, but to be perfectly honest, I need to focus on paid writing work. I actually had a whole second part of the movies piece that talked about the movies that premiered in the September festival season and in recent months, but it was going very, VERY long, and I just didn’t have time to finish it. It would have been great, as The Godfathers* once sang, “If I Only Had the Time.” (*Look ‘em up on Spotify.. this is a real band and they’re awesome!)

Instead, as you can determine by the title above, I want to talk about some of the actors in this year’s awards races, which has become quite a bit more competitive than it has in years past.

What’s interesting about the Oscar acting race is that there are some really strong precursors like the Golden Globes, Critics Choice and SAG, but they’re all different groups with only SAG having any membership overlap with the Academy. All three groups have announced their nominations with the actual awards being presented over the next few weeks. The first two winners will be announced before the Oscar nominations on Jan 13, and then SAG announces a week later.

Another thing to note is that everyone has a different opinion of what makes a great performance. Some like really emotive performances, others appreciate transformative roles where you no longer recognize the actors, and in some cases, a movie just has such a good script that an actor’s ability to deliver those lines is enough to honor their roles. We have some of all of those below, and this has been an amazing year where we have a number of tough acting categories to fill.  

Often, all the voting groups might agree on three or four nominees in each acting category and there’s one or two slots open for others but this year definitely seems to be a lot of  possibilities with some categories only have one or two sure-things, which can lead to a lot of surprises when Oscar nominations are announced on Monday morning, January 13.

THE ONE-OFFS

There are a couple movies that are getting a lot of attention for their lead performances, usually title roles, and that’s almost the only thing that’s getting any mention. Two or three of these days may get Oscar nominations, but it’s repeatedly been tough for actors to win in movies not nominated for Best Picture and only one of these three stands a chance in getting more than an acting award.

Joker

Todd Phillips’ take on a Batman villain origin story doesn’t have a ton of agreement on why it’s good or bad, but one thing everyone can agree on is Joaquin Phoenix’s harrowing portrayal of Arthur Fleck, which actually gives the late Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning portrayal of the character in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knighta run for its money. Even though none of the other performances in the movie are getting attention, I totally can see this getting other nominations for screenplay, technical categories and maybe even Best Picture which puts Phoenix in good place as a front runner for lead actor.

Judy

Another brilliant performance that no one can deny is Renee Zellweggerchanneling an older Judy Garland in this biopic that sees the aging singer/actor trying to mount a comeback at a series of London dates. It reminded me a lot of last year’s Stan and Olliebut Zellwegger has never been better in terms of what she puts into transforming into Garland when onstage performing but also creating an incredibly emotional

Rocketman

Another movie that I wish was getting more transaction is this Elton John musical that’s filled with his music but is equally brilliant for Taron Egerton’s performance for the veteran music man, a role that involves him singing all of his own vocals (unlike last year’s Oscar winner Rami Malik in Bohemian Rhapsody) and performing very emotional scenes. I love the movie, and I was glad to see Egerton get both

Dolemite is My Name

The last time Eddie Murphy was seriously a contender in the awards race was for his supporting role in 2006’s Dreamgirls, although he ended up losing the Oscar to Alan Arkin after winning SAG and the Golden Globe. Murphy is going all-out for his portrayal of Rudy Ray Moore in a movie that harks back to James Franco in The Disaster Artista few years back. Murphy already received a Golden Globe nomination in the Musical/Comedy category where his toughest competition may be Taron Egerton, but Murphy’s comeback trail might be paved with a second Golden Globe after six nominations.

Hustlers

The other actor getting almost all the attention for her movie is Jennifer Lopezin this crime-drama set in the world of strip clubs, and she already has enough support that she could be considered one of the frontrunners in the supporting actress category. Still, it’s going to be hard for Oscar voters to take her or the movie too seriously due to the subject matter, so like Murphy, she’s doing a lot of extra-curricular stuff to get her out there (like performing half-time at the Super Bowl), which should guarantee Lopez a well-deserved Oscar nomination.

Us

Jordan Peele’s follow-up to Get Outmay not have gotten as much awards traction, but considering that it came out in March, the support its getting for its star Lupita Nyong’oboth from critics and from early awards voters is refreshing for her performance in what is a straight-up genre film. She did not receive a Golden Globe nomination but her SAG nomination over other favorites (like Awkwafina) makes her a serious contender for a second Oscar nomination. (She won the Oscar for her first nomination in 12 Years a Slave.)

Uncut Gems

After a strong platform release, the Safdie Brothers’ new crime-comedy-thriller (?), starring Adam Sandler, has opened nationwide, and Sandler’s performance is getting a lot of the praise and accolades for the movie, although he wasn’t nominated for a Golden Globe (possibly cause of the film’s confusing genre classification, although Sandler was previously nominated for Punch Drunk Loveyears ago). It did get a Critics Choice nomination as well as an Independent Spirit nomination, but it seems like a tough battle to convert that into an Oscar nod.

Harriet

There’s something to be said about Cynthia Erivo’s performance as Harriet Tubman in an otherwise weak biopic (compared to some of the others this year), but she has already been nominated in all three previous precursors (SAG, Golden Globes, Critics Choice) which puts her in a good place to get one of five nominations. The question is whether she’ll get a nomination on the merits of the movie and her performance or if it’s a response to #OscarsSoWhite and the lack of women of color other than possibly Awkwafina, which would put her up against Lupita.

Just Mercy

Destin Daniel Cretton’s adaptation of this popular novel hasn’t been getting nearly as much critical or awards traction as other movies, but it’s best bet is Jamie Foxxas a prisoner on Death Row, which also got a surprising SAG nomination despite not receiving any other awards.  We’ll see if the movie gets any traction now that it’s in limited release. It will only hit theaters nationwide just as the Oscar nomination process is closing.

THE ENSEMBLES

A good problem for a movie to have is to have so many great performances by its cast that it’s hard to just single out one great performance. Sometimes, this means that it’s best best is in the SAG Ensemble category rather than in individual ones, but there are a few where there are clear standouts in an overall great cast.

Parasite

Bong Joon-ho’s class dramedy-thriller has gotten a lot of love and attention from critics over the past year since it debuted at Cannes, and a lot of that is due to its amazing cast. There are great performances by mostly unknown Korean actors, some of whom have been working for decades in Korea but you’d be hard-pressed to get anyone to remember any single name. The one exception may be Song Kang-ho, who is easily the Tom Hanks/Cruise of Korea, having worked with Director Bong since the beginning of his career. Lots of

The Irishman

Martin Scorsese’s latest crime-drama about the Jimmy Hoffa disappearance has an amazing ensemble cast, although like Marriage Storyand others above and below, it’s getting the most attention for three amazing performances. Probably the most attention is being paid to two performances: Joe Pesci in his return to the screen after many years, reuniting with Scorsese, and Al Pacino, who shockingly never worked with Scorsese before, instead being the lynchpin of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Godfather” movies.  The irony is that they’re both supporting roles to that of Robert De Niro, who not only plays the main character but also originally found the book and brought the project to Scorsese. De Niro is really good in the movie, better than he’s been in years, but it’s not the sort of transformative or emotional role that often gets attention. The fact that BOTH SAG and the Golden Globes left De Niro off their list might prove that there isn’t nearly as much support for this movie, although it’s likely to get two acting nominations in the supporting category.

Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood

In some ways, Quentin Tarantino’s ninth movie is in the exact same boat as Scorsese’s, because it’s a great ensemble but three performances in particular are getting all the attention.Obviously, Leonardo DiCapriois well liked and well-respected by the Academy to receive as many Oscar nominations as he has (before winning for The Revenant), and he’s doing something very different in Tarantino’s latest, definitely more comical. It’s an interesting counterpoint to the performance by Brad Pitt, who is just so dominant in the film in every scene that it’s hard not to think that putting him into the supporting category might help him win much like Christoph Waltz did for Django Unchainedand George Clooney in Syriana. (Oh, the joys of category fraud!) Margot Robbieis also pretty amazing in the film as Sharon Tate, but it’s not nearly as moving and memorable as her performance in…

Bombshell

The Jay Roach-directed Fox News sex scandal movie was released a few weeks back and has expanded nationwide with not much of a fanfare, but the biggest support it’s received is from SAG, who gave it four nominations including the coveted Ensemble Cast nomination against some of the stronger Best Picture contenders like Irishman, Parasiteand Once Upon a Time. Charlize Theron’s multiple nominations as Megyn Kelly by most of the groups, including Golden Globes, definitely gives her an edge to get into the Oscar nominations, and Robbie’s portrayal of a composite character is also quite compelling. Amazingly, Nicole Kidmanalso received a nomination for her turn as Gretchin Carlson, a much smaller role, but that was from SAG, who has more in common with the Academy than other groups.  I’m a little bummed that John Lithgowisn’t getting more attention for his performance as Roger Ailes or Kate McKinnonfor that matter.

Little Women

This might be better off in the one-off category, because so much attention is being foisted on Saoirse Ronan’s second performance in a Greta Gerwig movie that other great performances are mostly being ignored. That is, except for Florence Pugh, who is just as amazing playing Amy in two different periods, both younger and more mature. Frankly, I think Timothée Chalametis also terrific (as he is in The King), as is Chris Cooper and Laura Dern, but people have issues with some of the choices made and the movie might be more impressive for Gerwig’s adaptation than any single performance. The fact that this didn’t get a SAG ensemble nomination in a VERY crowded year is somewhat telling, but Ronan was also left off the list which might mean she may have to watch this year’s Oscars from Ireland.

Waves

I also want to mention Trey Edward Schutt’s latest movie, which has fantastic performances by Kelvin Harrison, Jr, newcomer Taylor Russell, Lucas Hedgesand Sterling K. Brown, the latter giving a fine supporting role. Unfortunately, despite the critical support, this one seems to be getting lost in the shuffle of a busier-than-usual fall awards season. The fact that Brown has yet to receive a nomination means this one is probably D.O.A., but still a fine dramatic film.

MULTIPLE PERFORMANCE FILMS OF NOTE

The next few movies also have great ensemble casts but their focus seems to be even more radar-focused on one or two performances, which may be why none of them received SAG Ensemble nominations.

Marriage Story

Noah Baumbach’s relationship drama might be the only movie this year that has a chance at the extremely elusive ability to be nominated in all four acting categories, something we’ve only seen recently with two of David O. Russell’s movies, Silver Linings Playbookand American Hustle. A lot of attention is being focused on the powerful, emotional performances by Adam Driverand Scarlett Johanssonand rightfully so, but Laura Dernis pretty amazing as the latter’s divorce lawyer, and it’s so wonderful to see Alan Aldaon screen as one of Driver’s kinder lawyers. This might be another case where the screenplay is so good that all the actors are doing their best work, although the lack of a SAG Ensemble nomination (despite those great performances) and Baumbach not receiving a Golden Globe nomination for directing also puts a slight damper. So far, the first three actors have received nominations from every precursor group and that should help get them Oscar nominations, although Dern has the best chances at converting her nomination to an actual Oscar since she doesn’t have as much definite competition.

The Farewell

We then get into the Sundance premieres that I spoke about last time, and Lulu Wang’s personal dramedy about going to China to visit her dying Nana, who was unaware of her condition. The movie has a beautiful performance by Awkwafina, one of last year’s breakout stars.  She has already received Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominations but was ignored by SAG in favor of others. That doesn’t mean that she’s completely out of the race and to the actor’s credit, she’s been doing the most in terms of getting out there and talking about the movie/role, which will keep her on people’s minds when filling out their awards ballot. It’s hard not to give equal credit to the Chinese actress, Zhao Shuzhen, for her performance as Nana, although she hasn’t received nearly as much early awards recognition, just a Critics Choice nomination. If you remember, Alfonso Cuaron’s Romagot a supporting actress nomination for a lesser-known Mexican actress, so maybe this film will get similar love.  As much as I love this movie, I feel that both actors are starting to become outliers within very crowded categories, but it’s hard to deny what they both bring to Wang’s film.

The Two Popes

One of four Netflix movies that the streaming service is pushing is this drama that features a fantastic script by Anthony McCarten (Darkest Hour) and two amazing performances by Jonathan Pryceand Anthony Hopkins, which certainly deserve accolades. The question is whether the Academy members give much support to the movie over others in a very crowded year. If this movie is able to get a Best Picture nomination or screenplay, one can probably assume that one or both actors will get nominated but it seems like Hopkins has a better chance, just cause Pryce is competing in a much tougher Lead Actor category. Both actors received Golden Globe nominations and Hopkins was nominated for a Critics Choice nod, but neither received SAG nominations, which isn’t great for their Oscar chances.

Clemency

A movie that just got released (today, in fact) after first premiering at Sundance all the way back in January might be in a place where it’s been forgotten by some and not seen by others, which is a shame, since the performances by Alfre Woodard and Aldis Hodgeare two of the year’s best even though the movie is definitely a tougher drama, maybe even than the somewhat similar Just Mercy. Unlike that one, this movie probably won’t even get a wide release, so it will probably get lost in the shuffle.

The Report

Another movie that got a ton of attention out of Sundance but has lost a lot traction since is Scott Z. Burns’ political thriller starring Adam Driverand Annette Bening, the latter as Senator Dianne Feinstein, who oddly is getting more attention than Driver. (It might since Driver is so much better in Marriage Storythat few are paying much heed to his equally great performance in this.) Bening did get a Golden Globe nomination but no SAG OR Critics Choice, so it feels like she may be an outlier in the supporting actress category.

Richard Jewell

An otherwise decent real-life drama that has been mired in politics and other stuff is Clint Eastwood’s new movie about the Atlanta Olympics bombing and the title security guard, as played by Paul Walter Hauser, who helped save lives but then was accused of planting the bomb. Hauser is quite fantastic, as is Kathy Batesas his mother, but only the latter has gotten any awards attention with her Golden Globe nomination.

DECENT PERFORMANCES IN OTHERWISE TOUGHER SELLS

The four movies below are likely to be remembered as the movies that people liked but didn’t get as much attention for their performances as for more technical aspects.

The Lighthouse

Another movie that got quite a bit of critical attention at Cannes ala Parasite but hasn’t been able to convert that into much attention beyond that is Robert Eggers’ second movie that relies so much on the two-hander performances by Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe. Dafoe seemed like a shoe-in to get a fifth Oscar nomination for his role – personally, I thought he was better in Edward Norton’s Motherless Brooklyn– but supporting actor has just become far too competitive in the later months of the year.

Jojo Rabbit

Taiki Waititi’s Nazi satire has many fans – I’m not one of them – but winning the Audience Award at the Toronto Film Festival is one of the precursors for the Academy’s Best Picture category that can’t be ignored. On top of that, Scarlett Johansson (already sitting pretty with her inevitable Marriage Storynomination) was nominated by SAG and the Critics Choice in the supporting category, which shows support for the movie, even though the Golden Globes only nominated her co-star Roman Griffin Davisas filler in the Actor, Musical/Comedy category. (He also could be a frontrunner for the Critics Choice Young Actor/Actress.) The thing is that they might have a tougher time at the Oscars, especially with so many other options in the supporting actress category.

Ford vs. Ferrari

I guess I’m a bigger fan of James Mangold’s racing drama than many of my fellow critics, and yet, many were surprised by the amount of support that Christian Balehas been getting in the earlier side of awards season, most notably with SAG and Golden Globe nominations, yet nada from the Critics Choice (my own group!). That’s really interesting, and it shows continued support and respect for the frequently-nominated Oscar winner, and we’ll have to see if that can translate to another Oscar nomination.

1917

Sam Mendes’ movie is fantastic and is likely to get a lot of Oscar nominations and George MacKay’s performance is one that really should be getting more attention, although it’s likely to get lost in the shuffle of the amazing visuals and action of this very personal war movie.

Honey Boy

Another movie that is definitely getting a little lost in the shuffle is Alma Har’el’s narrative feature debut based on Shia LaBeouf’s screenplay, in which LaBesouf stars as a version of his own abusive Hollywood father. It also has fantastic performances by young Noah Jupe, also great in Ford v Ferrariand Lucas Hedges, but it’s a tougher movie and like Waves, it’s hard to get people to see this when there are so many bigger and stronger movies.

I have more to write about the Oscar race and maybe next time I’ll make some actual predictions… again, time permitting.

[cleem123]

Could you maybe write a Kevin accidentally meeting Joaquin's closest friends/gang members oneshot? Like would it go well/friendly teasing or more threatening? Thank youuuu

This Is Not How I Imagined It

Or, Kevin meets Joaquin’s ‘family’

Word Count: 1.4k

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: mentions of gangs and mentions of violence

Read it on AO3

Note: all of the gang members and Joaquin’s brother are made up by me. These are my characters. All of Joaquin’s family life here is completely headcanon.

Kevin didn’t know when he had become the kind of kid who made out in the back of bars. He used to roll his eyes at the couples that would grope each other during school dances or behind the shelves of Riverdale’s library. Yet, here he was, in the back of a Southside bar, with his tongue down his boyfriend’s throat. Speaking of, Kevin swirled his tongue around Joaquin’s, mimicking something far dirtier and prompting the serpent to moan and press their hips together. Kevin smirked, his hands running all over Joaquin’s body before finally resting on his ass and gripping it firmly. Joaquin broke apart, tossing his head back with a moan that rushed straight to Kevin’s pants. Kevin attached his lips to the shorter boy’s neck, sucking and biting.

Suddenly, Kevin felt a short vibration. He ignored it in favor of continuing down Joaquin’s neck. Still, the vibrations persisted, coming from Joaquin’s back pocket, where Kevin’s hand was resting. He still ignored it, but Joaquin broke away, swatting Kevin’s hand and reaching into his pocket. Kevin didn’t get a glimpse at the caller ID before Joaquin hurriedly untangled himself and began to walk away.

“Don’t move a muscle, I will be right back.” He called over his shoulder before answering the call, moving away for some privacy.

Kevin slumped against the wall, annoyed that some stupid phone call was keeping his boyfriend from him. His super hot serpent boyfriend, who he had been very close to taking someplace more private. Kevin sighed, growing colder without the heat of Joaquin’s body shielding him from the draft. It was Kevin’s first time being in this particular bar, but it looked very similar to the other Southside bars Joaquin and he had attended. There were two pool tables down at the end farthest from where Kevin was standing, a rickety bar with even more rickety stools, and, right by the door, a snake slithering around in a large tank. Kevin shivered a little when he looked at the snake, not completely comfortable around the creatures yet.

Kevin was getting impatient. Joaquin had been gone for far too long, and he was slightly concerned about the four young serpents who had been staring at him ever since Joaquin had left. Kevin knew that he looked out of place in his charcoal sweater and blue button up, but he normally didn’t attract much attention from the other serpents. He kept his head down. But these four were staring and whispering and not even attempting to be discrete about it. Kevin swallowed nervously, but smiled at the group anyway, trying not to get beat up. Apparently, Kevin fucked that up because the group of serpents began to walk towards him.

“Hey there, preppy.” The tallest of them started. He was taller than Kevin, something that didn’t happen often, with white-blonde hair, and a scar running from his bottom lip to the edge of his chin. He was clearly the leader of the group. Kevin was immediately wary of the nickname, it was what Joaquin called him; how did this kid know that? Could it be a coincidence? It had to be.

“Um, hello?” Kevin questioned cautiously, “do I know you?” He shuffled back a few inches before his back touched the wall. This time, a small, yet still somehow intimidating, girl with jet black hair spoke.

“Nope.” She grinned. “But, damn. We sure know a lot about you, Kevin.”

Kevin gulped. This definitely was not going to end well. “Actually, I was just leaving. I’m sorry for bothering you.” Kevin made to leave, but was blocked by a short, chubby, ginger boy. In any other setting Kevin would have smiled at a boy who looked like him, winking and hoping to make him blush. But not in this bar. Not when the boy in question looked like he could easily kill Kevin, despite the red locks and rounded cheeks.

“You aren’t going anywhere. We need to talk to you.” He glared at Kevin, the taller boy and small girl following suit. It was only now that Kevin realized that the fourth member of the group hadn’t walked over to him. Behind the three serpents in front of him, a boy, with hair that matched Joaquin’s, but who was quite a bit older, leaned against the wall, talking in the phone in hushed tones. Kevin didn’t have time to give this anymore thought because the three serpents that were paying attention to him, closed in, forming a semicircle around their prey. Kevin stood tall, however, attempting to appear confident.

“Well if you know my name, it’s only fair I know yours.” He stated, and was surprised at how convincing he actually sounded.

“A joker, huh?” The blonde chuckled, but offered an answer. “Name’s Finch. This here is Winston, and the lovely lady is-” He was cut when the shirt girl elbowed him in the gut.

“Keep your comments to yourself Finch.” She spat back. “I’m Millie. Not that it means much to you.” She glared at Kevin, clearly not as impressed by his feigned confidence as Finch had been. Winston was the next to speak.

“Look. You are not part of this world. You aren’t a serpent. You couldn’t even pretend to be one of us.” He scoffed, reaching out and teasing the sleeve of Kevin’s sweater. Kevin resisted the urge to yank his arm away.

“So just keep that in mind.” Finch continued, “We know you think that you understand Joaquin, but you don’t. We are his family.” He paused and Millie picked up where he left off.

“And we are not the kind of family that quickly forgives. Hurt him, and your fate will be worse than that blossom boy’s.” She snarled. Kevin was sure she was going to hit him, or at least shove him a little, but at that moment, the kid from the wall hung up his phone and pushed through the circle, making him eye to eye with Kevin. He brought his hands down on Kevin’s shoulders menacingly.

“Here’s the bottom line, Keller, you hurt my little brother, I hurt you.” Kevin couldn’t stop the gasp that escaped him. This was not how he wanted his first impression with Joaquin’s brother to play out. He had been expecting dinner, maybe some light hearted chatter before explaining that he really did like Joaquin and wasn’t planning on screwing that up. Instead, here he was. In the back of some seedy bar, pressed against a wall, just hoping not to get the shit beat out of him.

“Damn it! Sebastian! What did I say about accosting my boyfriend?” Kevin smiled at the familiar voice as Joaquin rounded the corner. “Is this why you called me? To keep me occupied while Finch, Will, and Millie threatened Kev?” He questioned, pushing past the other serpents and grabbing Kevin’s chin, checking his face to make sure there were no bruises. “Are you okay, Kev?”

Kevin smiled and nodded, amused by his boyfriend’s worry. “I’m fine Joaquin. Just a little surprised, that’s all.” He lowered his voice, “This wasn’t really how I imagined meeting your family.”

“Wait. What?” Wilson interrupted, reminding Kevin that the gang members were still standing there.

“Uh, this isn’t how imagined meeting Joaquin’s family would be.” Kevin repeated.

“You imagined meeting his family?” Millie questioned further.

“Well yeah. I mean he’s met my dad. I assumed I’d be meeting his brother soon enough.” Kevin was confused by their reaction. Were they not threatening him a mere minute ago?

“So you guys are like serious?” Finch asked, backing away slightly to give Kevin and Joaquin some room.

“Of course we are, dumbass.” Joaquin interjected. “What? Did you think I was dating the sheriff’s son for shits and giggles?” This prompted laughter from the group, including Sebastian.

“Kevin?” Sebastian inquired.

“Um, yeah?”

“Take good care of my little brother, okay? He deserves to be happy.” As he said this, Sebastian reached over and mused Joaquin’s hair.

“He deserves everything.” Kevin muttered, looking at Joaquin as if he’d hung the moon. Sebastian chuckled, throwing his arm around Finch and leading the group away from the two boys. “You deserve everything.” Kevin repeated, taking Joaquin’s chin in his hands.

 “I have all I could ever want.” Joaquin responded, “I’ve got you.” Joaquin pressed their lips together gently, and Kevin couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face.

Please let me know what you thought! Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in any future Kevin/Joaquin fanfics that I write.

Tag List: @glitteryloser

[glenngaylord]

MY MOMENTS OUT OF TIME IN FILM 2018

Instead of a Top 10 List, every year I like to honor a long-discontinued but influential annual column from Film Comment magazine. I couldn’t wait for my father to come home from work with the “Moments Out Of Time” issue.  The writers would cite their favorite scenes, images, or lines of dialogue, even from films they may not have liked, because let’s face it, even bad films may have a great moment or two.  This was a great year in film, although I admit some of my favorite moments were films or series made for television.  Whether it’s Alex Borstein wielding her trusty plunger around the Catskills in THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL or Amy Adams waking up from a drunken stupor in the unforgettable SHARP OBJECTS, these shows had more indelible scenes than all of the Marvel and DC superhero movies combined.  

Still, I found myself lucky enough to see the staggeringly beautiful ROMA twice in a theater, because seeing it on Netflix doesn’t do it justice.  If that’s your only option, however, see it and see it with its glorious empathy oozing out of every frame.  EIGHTH GRADE took me by surprise with its unassuming, off-the-cuff filmmaking style.  Beneath that I found an aching, contemporary story of a young girl dying to connect with somebody, anybody…her cracked phone an apt metaphor for a world in which our societal sickness lies buried in an addiction to our screens.  PADDINGTON 2, even more so than its wonderful predecessor, gave us the immigrant experience from an accident-prone, marmalade-loving cuddly bear who just wants to unite everyone.  BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY, despite its Powerpoint presentation of a story, oozed with so much emotion, the joy of creating, the beauty of people seeing you, and the sheer nostalgia of it all, I found myself crying throughout.  A STAR IS BORN, while imperfect,  had moments of such gorgeousness, especially the undeniable chemistry of its leads, it’s my prediction to win the Best Picture Oscar.  VICE, another Oscar front runner, had fantastic performances and was nonstop fun, but, for me, didn’t quite lick the enigma of Dick Cheney and demonstrated some juvenile instincts of its writer/director.  

I saw a ton of films, but even I can’t see them all.  I missed SHOPLIFTERS, BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE, BEAUTIFUL BOY, and BURNING, among many others…but will catch up with them soon.  So having said that, here, in no particular order, are my Moments Out Of Time In Film for 2018:

Gabe invites Kayla over for a “first friend hangout” dinner of chicken nuggets and beautifully lived-in, awkward, nerdy charm, telling this lovely, insecure young girl, “You are awesome” - melting all of our hearts with that sweet, simple declaration. It’s one of the most beautiful scenes I’ve ever seen and a moment our Kayla richly deserved.- EIGHTH GRADE

A young, pregnant Mexican housekeeper tracks down the father of her child, finding him at some type of military training camp.  When she delivers the news to him, he screams at her to stay away from him and runs off to join his buddies.  We never see her reaction, instead experiencing the moment from a somewhat removed distance.  A lesser filmmaker would have cut to her startled, hurt face, but Alfonso Cuarón knew that we’d feel her isolation and devastation more strongly if we didn’t focus on her.  Only a master filmmaker would make such an indelible decision, along with a thousand other great ones. - ROMA

A Peruvian bear takes his Aunt on a fantastical, eye-exploding, stunning tour of London via a pop-up book come to life.  One of the most astounding animated sequences of all time. - PADDINGTON 2

A band looks out at the masses of people clapping along in sync to one of their songs, and in that moment, the connection feels palpable.  Everyone there, everyone who watched knew this was the moment when legends became immortal. - BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

Nicole Kidman completely transforms herself yet again as a hardened cop with a life full of traumas etched onto her tortured face.  Just watching her lurch towards a crime scene, ambling like Jack Skellington convinced me that to watch Kidman at her peak is to witness greatness. - DESTROYER

A woman in labor and with a horrifying nail injury to her foot, crawls into a bathtub to give birth to a child.  Unable to make a sound lest she capture the attention of a murderous alien slithering through her house, she agonizingly holds it all in until a competing noise allows her to let out a pained, visceral scream. - A QUIET PLACE

A young cater-waiter gets invited onstage to sing her song with a headlining rock star.  Surprised by her power, surprised by the surge and size of the crowd, her guileless reaction and blazing talent cut through, quickly proving the movie’s title. - A STAR IS BORN

Regina Hall sits on a rooftop with two of her female employees from a HOOTERS-like establishment.  They’re all in a transition period in their lives, unsure what the future brings.  They’ve all gone through an intense day and let it all out with extended screams, an unforgettable, undeniable female rage. This small, simple, subtle film is also one of the year’s best.  - SUPPORT THE GIRLS

More groundbreaking than I had ever thought, Fred Rogers soaks his feet in a little tub and invites his black, gay co-star to do the same, breaking taboos on a children’s show way ahead of its time. - WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

Charlize Theron shows us the real pain of motherhood, never once feeling like a glammed-up version of the harsh realities, and yet saves its most shocking sucker punch for its final moments, delivering a reveal as unexpected as the one I didn’t see coming in SHARP OBJECTS. - TULLY

Queen Anne (Olivia Colman), referring to Emma Stone’s Abigail, tells Lady Sarah( Rachel Weisz), “I like it when she puts her tongue inside me”…which is followed by Stone giving Weisz the year’s best side-eye. - THE FAVOURITE

In a film filled with shocking moments - the odd clucking sounds, the decapitated bird head, the unexpected death of a major character, the eerie, incongruous reflection of a teen’s face in a school window, the most jolting moment comes when Toni Collette stands over her offspring’s bed and says, “I never wanted to be your mother”.  Stunned, she seemingly scoops those words back down her throat in an attempt to make them go away.  For this moment alone, and she gives a tour de force performance here, Collette enters the pantheon of actors who made themselves immortal. - HEREDITARY

Modern day cowboys sit around a perfectly shot nighttime campfire as our hero questions his place as a man in this world.  Masculinity has rarely been shot through with such tenderness as in every moment of this quiet stunner. - THE RIDER

“Gucci!” - EIGHTH GRADE

A young daughter ever so patiently and lovingly tells her PTSD-afflicted father that their views on how to live their lives may not converge, reminding us that histrionics don’t necessarily make for great conflict.  You can find it even when people act like adults and show decency towards each other. - LEAVE NO TRACE

My heart broke when a young Lebanese boy tried every way possible to keep his sister from being sold off as a child bride.  The kinetic filmmaking of this sequence mined every second for peak emotions. - CAPERNAUM

A blisteringly romantic tale of star-crossed lovers in Post War Poland wins the swoon award every time Joanna Kulig (a dead ringer for Jennifer Lawrence) sings the refrain, “Oy yoy yoy” - COLD WAR

Jack Black, playing a hard-partying character whose accident leads to the lifelong paralysis of his new friend (Joaquin Phoenix), meets up with him many years later.  In a short but painful scene, we see the wreckage of a life and the profound sorrow written across Black’s face.  I never thought I’d type the words, “Jack Black’s acting made me sob”, but there you have it.  If Beatrice Straight can win an Oscar for a single scene, then Jack Black can too.  Of course, I’m not even getting into how great Jonah Hill was in this film, but I’d be here all day. - DON’T WORRY, HE WON’T GET FAR ON FOOT

The matriarch of a family takes their housekeeper to a baby store to buy a crib when the chaos of the Corpus Christi Massacre erupts in the streets below, turning a simple shot into something epic, grand and inconceivable. - ROMA

Let’s face it.  It had some of the best and bitchiest one liners of the year:  “I pity your wife if you think six minutes is forever” , “Roger, there's only room in this band for one hysterical queen”, "Tell him thanks for the birthday cake. And tell him you're an epic shag”, and the beautiful, un-ironic exchange, “FREDDIE: Let’s go and punch a hole in the roof of Wembley Stadium.  BRIAN: Actually, Wembley Stadium doesn’t have a roof.  FREDDIE: Then we’ll punch a hole in the sky,” - BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

Kristen Stewart recounts how Joan Jett gave her some advice on how to capture her essence when she played her in THE RUNAWAYS.  Jett told her to “pussy that wood” in reference to how to attack her guitar.  Advice only a take-no-prisoners, blazingly alive woman could give to another in this energizing look at a true legend. - BAD REPUTATION

All of the tired superhero tropes we’ve become used to in live action appear fresh and thrilling when animated.  Who knew I’d thrill to a whole slew of Peter Parkers swinging through New York on their webs?  Who knew Lily Tomlin would appear in this and absolutely kill as Aunt May?  Who knew Kathryn Hahn would even appear in a Marvel movie and skillfully weaponize a nerdy persona? - SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE

Sure, we all loved that moment when Lady Gaga sang “Shallow”, but let’s not forget another star was born when Henry Cavill got up off that tiled bathroom floor, doffed his suit jacket and reloaded his fists to jump back into one of the best fight sequences in film history. - MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: FALLOUT

Connecting the dots of the past with our present day mess of a country, Spike Lee ends his film on an unsubtle yet vital montage of pure rage. - BLACKKKLANSMAN

In a wonderful reversal to the original, the murderous Michael Myers looks out a backyard window to see Laurie Strode (a fierce Jamie Lee Curtis) standing amongst the hanging sheets. Who’s the monster now?!! - HALLOWEEN

A montage detailing the many prison escapes of our protagonist, an aging, lifelong bank robber (Robert Redford still displaying his undeniable charisma at 82), provides a wonderfully conflicted view of a man who must commit crimes in order to feel alive. - THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN

A bitter, outrageously dead-inside mother jogs on a treadmill, moving cynically forward in life despite having a missing child she barely noticed anyhow and a crumbling Russian society around her. - LOVELESS

“Did you just look at me?  Did you?  Look at me. LOOK AT ME!  HOW DARE YOU!  CLOSE YOUR EYES!” - THE FAVOURITE

Despite endlessly terrible scenes of tourists dancing and eating gelato, Clint Eastwood finds a magic power in having the real life heroes on that train play themselves as they thwart a terrorist attack. Although a failed experiment of a film, those 10 minutes felt real and raw and undeniable because of its stunt casting and astute directorial choices. - THE 15:17 TO PARIS

Smack dab in the middle of the movie, it ends.  Roll credits.  Oh wait.  Things didn’t go so swimmingly?  Let’s continue.  A hugely entertaining fake-out gives self-reflexive cinema a good name. - VICE

After a traumatic incident at a beach (a stunningly shot, hugely suspenseful scene with incredible sound design), a housekeeper looks out the window of a car with a sense of peace as the reflections from the window gorgeously whisk past her lovely face. - ROMA

In the male dominated world of gun-toting action films, it was refreshing to see a group of women, led by a soulful performance by Natalie Portman, lock and load and enter the Shimmer. - ANNIHILATION

A Russian Engineer named Andreyev (Paddy Considine) panics when ordered by Stalin to record a symphony which already occurred.  He quickly assembles a ragtag group of people to recreate the concert, telling this terrified assembly living under a murderous regime, “Don’t worry, nobody is going to get killed. I promise you. This is just a musical emergency.” Not a great film, but Armando Iannucci and company know their way around a scabrous line or two. - THE DEATH OF STALIN

Most people will cite the great single take outside a limo as its driven from a poor side of town to a wealthy side.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fantastic piece of cinema, but my mind gravitated towards another moment.  A grieving widow lets her dog run loose in another widow’s apartment.  The puppy stops at a closet door and reacts to what’s behind it.  We know what it is, and she knows what it is even before we’re given visual confirmation.  A fantastic storytelling moment. - WIDOWS

Evan Peters, sitting in a car at a gas station, is joined by the actual person he’s portraying, melding narrative with documentary in such an original way. - AMERICAN ANIMALS

Although chock full of special effects in a genre I tend to find forgettable, Michael B. Jordan commanded attention in a simple, quiet scene inside a museum, finding danger and intelligence in every line. He was the REAL special effect of this film. - BLACK PANTHER

Scotty Bowers may be a creepy hoarder, but when you’re 95 and have no f*cks left to give, you’re gonna spill some tea about Hollywood Stars and we will soak it all up in this one-of-a-kind documentary - SCOTTY AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD

The slowest moving conveyor belt of all time provides one of the most well-timed, hilarious payoffs of the year.  We need an award for Best Supporting Prop! - GAME NIGHT

Leslie Mann tries to quietly sneak out of her daughter’s Prom night hotel room but electrocutes herself behind the TV console in a delicious bit of physical comedy. - BLOCKERS

A mother desperate to track down her troubled young son gives drugs to an addict in return for more information, showing just how far she’s willing to go. - BEN IS BACK

A closeted up-and-coming movie star confesses to his “golly gee” midwestern wife that he’s not happy and can’t pretend anymore. We get a naked glimpse behind both of their veneers. It’s a stunning, hugely empathetic moment for characters we’ve respectively and heretofore dismissed as a sociopath and a rube. - THE HAPPYS

Alex Borstein’s lesbian character Susie Myerson from THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL has met her feature film match with Melissa McCarthy’s equally nihilistic performance as Lee Israel.  To see her jousting with Richard E. Grant in any random moment in this wonderful film is to experience acting heaven. I loved how their final moments together could have easily turned to mush, but by staying true to their salty characters, they ended things in a deliciously dark manner. - CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

A comedy duo enacts a favorite routine onstage at the risk of one of their’s health.  It’s scary, but the love and respect they have for each other shines through. - STAN & OLLIE

I’m sorry to say it gave me the “Made For TV” vibes, but it still found power when Nicole Kidman’s character busts her son out of an Ex-Gay Center, calling out its owner for his utter lack of qualifications. There’s nothing quite like a stifled, repressed woman finding her voice. - BOY ERASED

“I’m just like you” - says a privileged suburban teen as he bounds out of his McMansion and into a fancy SUV.  While I generally enjoyed the film, this tone deaf opening line had me futilely looking around for my big house and fancy car.  Sometimes a moment out of time is a wrongheaded one. - LOVE, SIMON

In a documentary full of insane twists and turns, the big moment for me came when we were treated to a clip from DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN. Madonna breezes past our smiling, tight jean-sporting identical triplets, the new “It Boys of New York”, the flush of newly-found fame written all over their faces long before their tragic fall. - THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS

Say what you will about the endless 80s references, I want to live inside the swirling sequence which serves as an homage to THE SHINING. - READY PLAYER ONE

A Japanese woman dons a strange blonde wig and practices English and high fives with another ESL student, over-exaggerating her rounded open mouth as she speaks. - OH LUCY!

Constance Yu playing mah jongg slyly shows her deep wells of strength and strategic genius, nicely setting up a character who will surprise and charm us in equal measures. - CRAZY RICH ASIANS

Yes, it’s a pretty terrible movie, but there’s no denying the thrill of a certain pop legend’s long-awaited entrance by helicopter.  It caused my friend Dennis to say out loud, “F*ck yeah, it’s Cher!” - MAMMA MIA!: HERE WE GO AGAIN

In an otherwise forgettable film, Jodie Foster’s memorable gait as the “Hotel” Nurse made me happily forget Kevin Spacey’s from THE USUAL SUSPECTS, and for that, I thank her! - HOTEL ARTEMIS

A young boy named Stevie tries to impress a bunch of older skateboarders with a stunt which sends him through a hole in a roof and crashing to the ground with a sickening thud. - MID90S

Renee: I thought you might want a sneak peek of what’s to come.
      Ethan: I don’t know if you know what sneak peek means. You’re completely naked. - I FEEL PRETTY

Despite the gimmick of the movie seen entirely through laptop and smartphone footage, there’s electricity in the moment John Cho’s father character discovers his missing daughter has had a secret life. - SEARCHING

A dancer tries out a solo for a very strange company, unaware that each leap, spin or kick sends a trapped woman a floor below her into bone-crunching contortions.  It’s a scene you can almost feel. There’s something rotten in East Berlin! - SUSPIRIA

Sure, Emma Stone worked out a great side-eye in THE FAVOURITE, but has there ever been an actor who seems born to them more than Emily Blunt?  Still, my biggest emotional connection to this film came when Ben Wishaw sang “A Conversation”.  A beautiful, sweet lament. - MARY POPPINS RETURNS

The site of Michelle Pfeiffer dressed as an elderly woman, cane in hand, hobbling through the streets of New York in a desperate attempt to cash her late mother’s government checks, the score a cacophony of horns and percussion, gave me DRESSED TO KILL shivers. - WHERE IS KYRA?

Think of it as SHARP OBJECT’s UK Cousin, as we watch Moll (a searing Jessie Buckley) tap into female rage in all its messy, bloody glory in this feature length primal scream. - BEAST

Packed with punch and urgency, the opening sequence made you believe you were actually experiencing a WWII aerial combat.  Oh, and then it became a fun zombie gore-fest. - OVERLORD

A group of kids escape a gay conversion camp and pile into the back of a pickup truck.  Did they make the right decision?  Where do they go from here?  A wordless homage to the final scene in THE GRADUATE packed a punch. - THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST

Blake Lively wearing clothes.  That is all. - A SIMPLE FAVOR

A meeting with the family of a man who got their daughter pregnant goes terribly wrong, resulting in a slew of insults and threats.  It’s a fully alive, oddly comical yet tragic sequence in a film which otherwise left me cold.  - IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK

Typically known for her impeccable image (before the reality show circus, of course), this pop icon lets down her guard and hilariously tears into Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul.  Had she been allowed to be more herself, her life might not have been as tragic. - WHITNEY

Glenn Close delivers the year’s best slow boil as the wife of a Nobel Prize winner who has secretly been his unheralded ghost writer all these years.  Until things grow shouty and overwritten in the third act, Close holds a master class in barely suppressed rage. - THE WIFE

Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, intense tennis rivals, meet up at the airport after their fateful match, the looks between them offering up a touching blend of competitiveness and respect and which will lead to their unexpected, lifelong friendship. - BORG VS. McENROE

In a moment of much-needed image rehabilitation, Anne Hathaway, as the GOOP-like actress perfectly named Daphne Kluger, wins her way back into our hearts just by the way she reacts to a priceless necklace being wrapped around her neck.  Every shiver and glance in the mirror makes you love her in all her campy glory. - OCEAN’S 8

A woman gets pushed off a cliff and finds herself impaled on a tree branch, yet not only does it not stop her, she’s just getting started in this literal bloodbath of a feminist fantasy. - REVENGE

A man meets tragedy and finds himself in a wheelchair only to gain powers he never had before after undergoing an experimental procedure.  In a fight scene involving an antagonist and a kitchen knife, Logan Marshall-Green surprises himself with each display of brute force coming out of him, making for one of the most brutal yet winningly entertaining melees I’ve seen on screen all year…and don’t forget that kitchen knife.  It’s just the right button on this bit of ultraviolet slapstick. - UPGRADE

A young husband meets with a conflicted priest, and in a searing monologue, tells the man of the cloth that the world is such a hellscape, he’d rather his pregnant wife abort their baby than bring it up in such a terrible environment.  It’s the first jolt of many in this nihilistic yet strangely hopeful film. - FIRST REFORMED

Presidential candidate Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman) confronts some press members who have staked out his home with the hope of catching him with a woman other than his wife.  He indignantly rails against them, claiming he had a right to privacy.  Oh, how times have changed. - THE FRONT RUNNER

Katja (Diane Kruger), a woman at the end of her rope, who has lost her family and confidence in the justice system, takes matters into her own hands in the literally explosive, inevitable, and crushing final scene. - IN THE FADE

Who knew that Hal Ashby had such a sincerely lovely relationship with his mentor, Norman Jewison?  It’s nice to know that sometimes successful people in the film business actually help out their younger charges. - HAL

I’m not sure I ever really wanted to know what it really felt like to sit in a fiery tin can on the way to the moon and back, but now I do.  It’s very well done, but I think I may need to puke.  - FIRST MAN

A young man with AIDS (Cory Michael Smith) sits with his mother (Virginia Madsen) in a car, unable to truly be honest with her.  The pain of it all comes across so clearly on their faces.  - 1985

An oversized candy cane weaponized to fight zombies at Christmas time in Scotland.  Oh, and it’s also a musical.  Just go! - ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE

I saw it twice to make sure I truly hated it, and yep, I still did…but the opening sequence in the school, the terrorist attack on the beach, and Natalie Portman banging on the table to protest a diner manager’s request for a picture will stick with me.  Hopefully I will forget the other 100 minutes of this painfully unfocused, unfocused, pretentious mess. - VOX LUX

[bentchcreates]

Promdi Heart by #romanceclass Goddesses (heehee)

This came in a wonderful time as I had been having bad bouts of homesickness and what better way to travel the Philippines on a budget than to read stories set in them!

While I consider all six authors to be #romanceclass superstars, two of them I’ve had the chance to read only for the first time in this anthology collection. Because the stories are short (I want them all to be longerrrr!), I’ll be reviewing the stories on their own first, and then the whole collection after. Here we go!

1.       Only the Beginning – C.P. Santi

I love the use of Visayan words in the narration and dialogue. (probably because this this the only Filipino dialect I can understand aside from the national language! XD)

As with other CPSanti books, the inclusion of architectural details/jargon is wonderfully done, it doesn’t take away from the romance.

Alon is my spirit animal! Especially that part where he tells Andi, “Dai, don’t you think it’s a sign?”

Scooter-riding MC + Dimpled LI = <3

Text/Chat parts (plus THAT joke! XD). I was a bit wary when a chapter started doing this because it’s too “youth-speak” for me (not that I’m that old!), and past experiences with this type of story-telling tended to get too corny and cringe-y for me. This, however, was okay for me, especially when Martin started the knock-knock joke (to which, I imagined Andi rolling her eyes as she replied) and ended with Andi’s own joke! It made both of them more endearing to me.

This quote: “Happiness is a choice. Happiness is something that doesn’t just happen. It’s something that you grab on to with both hands.” I forget this sometimes, and this is probably why I need to read romance often, so I’m reminded that I have a choice.

2.       Letters to a Boy – Ines Bautista-Yao

90’s old-school snail mail got me so bad! It inspired me to send mail to friends I still knew addresses of.

This story perfectly reflected how relationships could work despite the constraints of space and time. And I’m talking about both Tin-tin and Annette’s friendship and Tin-tin and Nicolas’ romance. ;)

Horseback riding is <3!

Parents! I will forever love characters that take care of their parents!

Biggest turn-on for me is this story’s depiction of MC’s affection’s unrequited beginnings but when the tide turns, Tin-tin doesn’t foolishly fall head-on to the man he’d been pining for. She makes him work for it, and work for it he does!

Tin-tin and Nicolas’ years-long slow-burn love story set the solid foundation for the HEA towards the end!

P.S. the mention of Carrie, the white girl, inadvertently reminded me of that totally unrelated other girl who burned her entire school gym and killed hundreds of people when she was bathed in pig’s blood. Ehe.

3.       Drummer Boy – Chris Mariano

Tall, muscly musicians are my weakness. Argh

The brother’s bestfriend trope is not that unfamiliar to me, but this took me on a wild ride especially at that part where the big brother actually landed a deserving punch to his best friend somewhere along the way.

I love that Reina is a woman of agency, not just in what she wants her guy to be/to do, but in all aspects of her life, as well. She acknowledges how uncomfortable her relationship with Ben might be for her Kuya, but she doesn’t let that get in the way of what her heart is telling her.

I live for the grand gesture in this one!

Chris’ descriptions of all the festivities cemented Ati-Atihan on my list of “Things to Experience Before I turn 40”!

4.       One Certain Day – Jay E. Tria

Very relatable and nostalgic for me because our family’s big on All Saints’/All Souls’ Day celebrations. It never turned as romantic as this, though. Sayang. Heehee.

I also relate to finding old classmates recently and noting how everyone looks different, yet not-so-different, at the same time.

I love that bit about naming children ‘as if with a purpose’

‘Kiligs’ everytime Son comes back to Hagonoy, especially that part where he hands Alice an unfinished song! Eeeeee!

I also love that Alice took charge of her destiny at some point. No more waiting for the guy who’s taking forever to make a move, my god.

There is heartbreak somewhere in here, but it’s done in a mature and realistic way, and it doesn’t ruin anything for me. It makes it even more special, tbh.

5.       Once Upon A Bully – Georgette S. Gonzales

Homecoming stories are near and dear my heart, especially since I’ve been away from home for too long!

Hunky-dunky LI! <3

The Vigan experience here is special because the characters reminisce the Vigan they grew up in and the Vigan now. It perfectly captured one’s love for home that many of us take for granted.

Bridgette’s “the more you hate…” trope is on point!

Bagnettttttttttt!!!!!

6.       Back to the Stars – Agay Llanera

Another homecoming story! YASS!

The scene where Wency’s mother mentions “biskwit” tugged several heartstrings for me. I always feel for remembering the places you grew up in, but I feel MOAR for the people you grew up with!

Wency is sweet AF! His full name is funny to me, but the meaning behind it, and his sisters’ names, makes it extra special.

Leah’s changed attitude after being a City Girl for so long is dealt with realistically. It’s not a bad thing for me, it’s normal. But a sort of redemption in the end made me super happt for her. :)

I ship Leah + Wency so harddd! I mean, Leah Gurl, andami mong choices! Haha!

So there, my review for the individual stories. Hehe. For the whole anthology, my only request is for the authors to expand these stories! I’m very invested in all the characters at this point and I don’t want to part with them just yet! Haha!

Congrats, ladies! And thank you for doing this. My love for the Philippines had been reinforced with these stories and I hope other readers would find our wonderful side of the world as romantic as it is. :)

5 of 5 Stars.

Blurb:

Take a quick tour of the Philippines with six hometown love stories. Visit Jimenez, Misamis Occidental where a priest might just set you up with a man whose dimples are to die for. Visit Silay, Negros Occidental and get on a horse alongside hunky, hazel-eyed Negrense royalty. Visit Kalibo, Aklan and find yourself in the arms of a cute drummer boy who just happens to be your kuya's BFF. Visit Hagonoy, Bulacan and spend All Saint's Day next to a distracting boy who promises to write you a song. Visit Vigan, Ilocos Sur and meet the hot man you used to bully when he was a shy, scrawny boy. Visit Pundaquit, Zambales and find love in a bronzed fisherman whose eyes hold depths you'll want to explore.

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Promdi-Heart-Hometown-Love-Stories-ebook/dp/B06XY73Q4T/

Print Book Order Form (PH Only): http://bit.ly/promdiheartbook

About the Authors:

C. P. Santi is a Filipina author based in Tokyo, Japan. She is a wife to an engineer / indie songwriter and a full-time mom to two energetic boys. She loves cooking and baking, and enjoys feeding people, gorging on chocolate, watching J-doramas, belting it out in the karaoke box, and running around the house playing tickle tag. She also loves dreaming up stories about the people she meets.

In another life, she is also an architect and academic.

Ines Bautista-Yao is the former editor-in-chief of Candy and K-Zone magazines and a former high school and college English and Literature teacher. She is also a wife and mom and blogs about the many challenges and joys of motherhood at theeverydayprojectblog.com. She also posts story spirals on her author blog: http://theeverydayprojectblog.com/inesbautistayao-author/ You can find her on Instagram and Twitter: @inesbyao, through email: writeme@inesbyao.com, her website: inesbautistayao.com, or Facebook: www.facebook.com/inesbautistayao

Cover (Story) Girl is Chris Mariano's first published romance work, but her speculative fiction and poetry have appeared in Fully Booked's Philippine Graphic/Fiction Awards Prose Anthology, Philippine Speculative Fiction Volume 7, TAYO Literary Magazine, and Ideomancer. When she's not writing, she supports Eskritoryo Pilipinas, an organization that encourages kids to appreciate Filipino literature and culture. She divides her time between Manila and Aklan.

Jay E. Tria is inspired by daydreams, celebrity crushes, a childhood fascination of Japanese drama and manga, and an incessant itch to travel. She writes contemporary young adult and new adult romance. Sometimes, paranormal fantasy too. Visit her website www.jayetria.com. Email: jayetria@gmail.com Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Wattpad: jayetria

Georgette S. Gonzales began writing novels as romance author Edith Joaquin of My Special Valentine Tagalog (Filipino) Romance pocketbooks, published by Bookware Publishing Corp. She started writing in English and self-pubbing works in the middle of 2015. Gette works best at night, is also an editor, a public/media relations consultant, loves to cook pasta dishes and to eat caramel cake.

Agay Llanera is a freelance writer for television and video, and a published writer of children's books based in Manila, Philippines. Get in touch with her through the following: http://agayisagirl.blogspot.com https://www.facebook.com/AgayLlanera https://twitter.com/agayskee

[jessicakehoe]

All the Women Who Weren’t Nominated For an Oscar This Year

The Oscar nominations are out, and there’s plenty that’s noteworthy about this year’s crop of nominees: Black Panther became the first superhero film to be nominated for Best Picture; astoundingly, this is Spike Lee’s first Oscar nomination for directing (for BlackKklansman); Lady Gaga became just the second person (after Mary J Blige) to be nominated in both acting and song categories in the same year; and Yalitza Aparicio, star of Roma, is the first indigenous Mexican actress nominee.

Also noteworthy: the absurd lack of women across most major categories, including directing, screenwriting and cinematography.

No woman nominated for Best Director. No woman nominated for Cinematography. No woman nominated for Editing. No woman nominated for Music. One woman nominated for Adapted Screenplay. One woman nominated for Original Screenplay.

My Academy fam, we must do better. #OscarNoms

— Amber Tamblyn (@ambertamblyn) January 22, 2019

Just as at the 2018 Golden Globes, where only male directors were up for the Best Director award—a fact scathingly called out by Natalie Portman—this year the Academy nominated five men: Yorgos Lanthimos, Spike Lee, Paweł Pawlikowski, Alfonso Cuarón and Adam McKay. Women were similarly shut out of many other key categories. Aside from Nicole Holofcener (who was nominated alongside Jeff Whitty for Can You Ever Forgive Me?) and Deborah Davis (nominated for co-writing The Favourite with Tony McNamara), they were absent from both screenplay categories, as well as from cinematography. Read on for all the incredibly deserving women the Academy overlooked this year.

Debra Granik, Leave No Trace You may know Debra Granik’s name from when she directed Jennifer Lawrence to an Oscar nomination for 2010’s Winter’s Bone, securing nods for Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay too. Her next feature—yes, eight years later–is Leave No Trace, a quiet and haunting film about a father and daughter living off the grid in a forest in Oregon, who are forced to reintegrate into urban life. The film holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and also made it to Barack Obama’s list of his favourite films of 2018.

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Rachel Morrison, Black Panther Rachel Morrison was the first (!) female cinematographer to be nominated for an Academy Award for the 2017 film Mudbound, directed by Dee Rees. She first collaborated with director Ryan Coogler on his debut feature Fruitvale Station back in 2013, and continued that partnership with last year’s Black Panther. How she was overlooked for her work on this ambitious film is mind-boggling, because she brought a fictional world to life with richness, texture and an exacting eye for detail. Oh, and she’s also the first female cinematographer the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever had.

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Josephine Decker, Madeline’s Madeline In what world does a film hailed by critics as “one of the freshest and most exciting films of the 21st century,” and “the most originally and boldly edited film… seen in a while” fail to generate Oscar buzz? In our world, that’s where. This film by Josephine Decker (with an all-female team, to boot) is about a young theatre artist whose personal and theatrical lives begin to careen dangerously towards each other. Starring Miranda July, Molly Parker and newcomer Helena Howard, whose work the New Yorker’s Richard Brody deemed “one of the great teen performances in film history,” the film is exhilarating, complex and wildly inventive.

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Marielle Heller, Can You Ever Forgive Me? Marielle Heller’s debut film The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015) was a refreshingly frank (and hilarious) coming-of-age story starring Bel Powley, Kristin Wiig and Alexander Skarsgard that premiered to critical acclaim at Sundance. Her latest film, based on a true story, stars Melissa McCarthy in a rare dramatic role as an acerbic, friendless, struggling writer who gets into forgery to earn a living in mid-90s New York and Richard E. Grant as her unscrupulous, game-for-anything partner in crime. The result is a deeply moving narrative motivated by morally-dubious impulses but with heart, humour and human complexity at its core.

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Gillian Flynn, Widows This film—starring Viola Davis alongside a crew of formidable women including Michelle Rodriguez and Elizabeth Debicki—may have crash-and-burned at the box office, but its intricate plot, full of twists and turns, was superbly adapted for the screen (from a novel) by Gillian Flynn and director Steve McQueen.

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Charlotte Bruus Christensen, A Quiet Place How does a movie without dialogue manage to create an atmospheric world for audiences to lose themselves in? Through visuals and sound effects, both of which are handled deftly and lovingly in John Krasinski’s cult hit. Rather than a bleak, dystopian vision, the film contains a richness and warmth, the better to convey the intimacy between the family at the centre of the narrative. Shot on 35mm film, we get both stress-inducing close-ups of the terrified family as well as wider shots of the lush countryside in which this nightmare is unfolding. (While we’re on the subject, it’s criminal that Emily Blunt didn’t score a nom for her wordless but heart-stopping performance.)

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Chloe Zhao, The Rider This under-the-radar film made the Top 10 lists of dozens of film critics in 2018, including those at Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, Vulture, the Atlantic and NPR (and also Barack Obama’s). Directed by Chinese filmmaker Chloe Zhao, the film tells the story of an injured rodeo cowboy in South Dakota’s Sioux community. Based on real-life events—specifically the lives of the Jandreau family living on the Pine Ridge Reservation—the film is a quasi-documentary, with the actual Jandreau family members playing fictionalized versions of themselves. “[Zhap] blends narrative with documentary seamlessly, giving the audience a glimpse into a way of life rarely seen on the big screen, without exaggerating its difficulties,” writes David Sims for the Atlantic.

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Lynne Ramsay, You Were Never Really Here This big-screen adaptation of Jonathan Ames’ novella received a seven-minute standing ovation at Cannes, earning its writer/director Lynne Ramsay a Best Screenplay award and its lead actor, Joaquin Phoenix, a Best Actor prize. Ramsay—whose last feature was the harrowing We Need To Talk About Kevin in 2011—has crafted a disqueting psychological thriller about a hitman who rescues girls from sex trafficking. “A stark, sinewy, slashed-to-the-bone hitman thriller,” concluded Guy Lodge for Variety; “brutal, brilliant,” proclaimed Peter Travers at Rolling Stone.

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All the Women Who Weren’t Nominated For an Oscar This Year published first on https://borboletabags.tumblr.com/

[lindyhunt]

All the Women Who Weren’t Nominated For an Oscar This Year

The Oscar nominations are out, and there’s plenty that’s noteworthy about this year’s crop of nominees: Black Panther became the first superhero film to be nominated for Best Picture; astoundingly, this is Spike Lee’s first Oscar nomination for directing (for BlackKklansman); Lady Gaga became just the second person (after Mary J Blige) to be nominated in both acting and song categories in the same year; and Yalitza Aparicio, star of Roma, is the first indigenous Mexican actress nominee.

Also noteworthy: the absurd lack of women across most major categories, including directing, screenwriting and cinematography.

No woman nominated for Best Director. No woman nominated for Cinematography. No woman nominated for Editing. No woman nominated for Music. One woman nominated for Adapted Screenplay. One woman nominated for Original Screenplay.

My Academy fam, we must do better. #OscarNoms

— Amber Tamblyn (@ambertamblyn) January 22, 2019

Just as at the 2018 Golden Globes, where only male directors were up for the Best Director award—a fact scathingly called out by Natalie Portman—this year the Academy nominated five men: Yorgos Lanthimos, Spike Lee, Paweł Pawlikowski, Alfonso Cuarón and Adam McKay. Women were similarly shut out of many other key categories. Aside from Nicole Holofcener (who was nominated alongside Jeff Whitty for Can You Ever Forgive Me?) and Deborah Davis (nominated for co-writing The Favourite with Tony McNamara), they were absent from both screenplay categories, as well as from cinematography. Read on for all the incredibly deserving women the Academy overlooked this year.

Debra Granik, Leave No Trace You may know Debra Granik’s name from when she directed Jennifer Lawrence to an Oscar nomination for 2010’s Winter’s Bone, securing nods for Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay too. Her next feature—yes, eight years later–is Leave No Trace, a quiet and haunting film about a father and daughter living off the grid in a forest in Oregon, who are forced to reintegrate into urban life. The film holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and also made it to Barack Obama’s list of his favourite films of 2018.

Rachel Morrison, Black Panther Rachel Morrison was the first (!) female cinematographer to be nominated for an Academy Award for the 2017 film Mudbound, directed by Dee Rees. She first collaborated with director Ryan Coogler on his debut feature Fruitvale Station back in 2013, and continued that partnership with last year’s Black Panther. How she was overlooked for her work on this ambitious film is mind-boggling, because she brought a fictional world to life with richness, texture and an exacting eye for detail. Oh, and she’s also the first female cinematographer the Marvel Cinematic Universe has ever had.

Josephine Decker, Madeline’s Madeline In what world does a film hailed by critics as “one of the freshest and most exciting films of the 21st century,” and “the most originally and boldly edited film… seen in a while” fail to generate Oscar buzz? In our world, that’s where. This film by Josephine Decker (with an all-female team, to boot) is about a young theatre artist whose personal and theatrical lives begin to careen dangerously towards each other. Starring Miranda July, Molly Parker and newcomer Helena Howard, whose work the New Yorker’s Richard Brody deemed “one of the great teen performances in film history,” the film is exhilarating, complex and wildly inventive.

Marielle Heller, Can You Ever Forgive Me? Marielle Heller’s debut film The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015) was a refreshingly frank (and hilarious) coming-of-age story starring Bel Powley, Kristin Wiig and Alexander Skarsgard that premiered to critical acclaim at Sundance. Her latest film, based on a true story, stars Melissa McCarthy in a rare dramatic role as an acerbic, friendless, struggling writer who gets into forgery to earn a living in mid-90s New York and Richard E. Grant as her unscrupulous, game-for-anything partner in crime. The result is a deeply moving narrative motivated by morally-dubious impulses but with heart, humour and human complexity at its core.

Gillian Flynn, Widows This film—starring Viola Davis alongside a crew of formidable women including Michelle Rodriguez and Elizabeth Debicki—may have crash-and-burned at the box office, but its intricate plot, full of twists and turns, was superbly adapted for the screen (from a novel) by Gillian Flynn and director Steve McQueen.

Charlotte Bruus Christensen, A Quiet Place How does a movie without dialogue manage to create an atmospheric world for audiences to lose themselves in? Through visuals and sound effects, both of which are handled deftly and lovingly in John Krasinski’s cult hit. Rather than a bleak, dystopian vision, the film contains a richness and warmth, the better to convey the intimacy between the family at the centre of the narrative. Shot on 35mm film, we get both stress-inducing close-ups of the terrified family as well as wider shots of the lush countryside in which this nightmare is unfolding. (While we’re on the subject, it’s criminal that Emily Blunt didn’t score a nom for her wordless but heart-stopping performance.)

Chloe Zhao, The Rider This under-the-radar film made the Top 10 lists of dozens of film critics in 2018, including those at Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, Vulture, the Atlantic and NPR (and also Barack Obama’s). Directed by Chinese filmmaker Chloe Zhao, the film tells the story of an injured rodeo cowboy in South Dakota’s Sioux community. Based on real-life events—specifically the lives of the Jandreau family living on the Pine Ridge Reservation—the film is a quasi-documentary, with the actual Jandreau family members playing fictionalized versions of themselves. “[Zhap] blends narrative with documentary seamlessly, giving the audience a glimpse into a way of life rarely seen on the big screen, without exaggerating its difficulties,” writes David Sims for the Atlantic.

Lynne Ramsay, You Were Never Really Here This big-screen adaptation of Jonathan Ames’ novella received a seven-minute standing ovation at Cannes, earning its writer/director Lynne Ramsay a Best Screenplay award and its lead actor, Joaquin Phoenix, a Best Actor prize. Ramsay—whose last feature was the harrowing We Need To Talk About Kevin in 2011—has crafted a disqueting psychological thriller about a hitman who rescues girls from sex trafficking. “A stark, sinewy, slashed-to-the-bone hitman thriller,” concluded Guy Lodge for Variety; “brutal, brilliant,” proclaimed Peter Travers at Rolling Stone.

[emulatingrizal-blog]

Nightmare

A short story by Arra Celina S. Paragas

In the hostile darkness, his eyes frolicked in panic. With shivering lips and a heaving chest, he ran towards the light, helplessly flickering in the seemingly endless street. Eventually, the unwelcome feeling of exasperation sporadically engulfed his whole soma, the beaded manifestations of sweat trickling from his forehead and dripping down to his toned chest. Stark confusion bled onto and stained the dilapidated pavement as he urged himself not to believe what was happening. Behind him were his perpetrators: two policemen with noxious bliss, pointing their guns directly at him. All he could do then was question this foolishness: why were the nation’s figures of servitude and security trying to hurt him?

Ignacio Sebastian Joaquin sprinted to the left.

To the right.

Straight forward.

BANG!

Ignacio started with a gasp, one eye squinted against the sun’s rays as they raked over his face. For the past few months, he had been experiencing similar dreams, said dreams having started when he accepted his childhood best friend’s—PNP Chief Director Maximiliano de la Cruz—offer. The Latin honor that came with his bachelor’s degree in criminology, as well as his towering moral standard, qualified Ignacio for the role of head of operations in the area of dealing with drug dealers and users. Although his savings from his work as a lieutenant general in the last 20 years were already enough to sustain him until his old age, he still accepted the offer for he had adopted a child: Basilio.

He reluctantly got up from bed and looked outside to see a child carrying a carton of milk and five eggs. The child closely resembled Basilio the first time Ignacio met him. The older man remembered the happenstance vividly as if it were only yesterday. However, at the time, instead of food, Basilio was carrying a bottle of gin and a pack of Marlboro lights for his former foster father, barangay captain Santiago de los Santos.

Kapitan Tiyago was well-loved by the residents of San Diego because he was hardworking and generous. But then, his only daughter, Maria Clara left him to settle her deep and personal issues in the convent. The kapitan then spiraled down into depression. After which, news of his daughter’s death quickly reduced him to seeking solace in the dreamy state drugs put him in.

The only reason why Kapitan Tiyago adopted Basilio was to hire the boy to be his house slave. Ignacio knew, ever since he saw him, that Basilio was meant for greater things. Ignacio kept his distance because he had no right to actually comment on how Basilio was being treated by the kapitan. In some twisted work of fate, Kapitan Tiyago died of a heart attack one night due to drug overdose. To curb his loneliness as well as to provide the boy with an education and a home he well-deserved, Ignacio then adopted Basilio.

“Pa, let’s go. I’ll be late for class. You know me, I am a rather studious person,” Basilio jokingly said as he entered the room, delivering Ignacio’s medicines in one hand and a glass of water in the other.

“Studious? How can a student be studious if he keeps on rallying?,” Ignacio replied.

“Pa, it’s early in the morning; it’s such a nice day. Aling Tes cooked a sumptuous breakfast for us, the dogs are relatively quiet, and I’ll be entering UPCM soon.  It’s not really time for your lectures about my rallying. I already told you countless times—“

“You know very well that I work for the government—the entity you wish to bring down. I’m working hard day by day just to see you be the doctor you are destined to be—not some person who keeps on criticizing everything he sees,” he lectured his son even as the boy rolled his eyes. “Every year, there are a lot of rallies happening. It seems like you iskos and iskas are never satisfied. You think you can rule the nation? You think you can make the Philippines progressive? Why don’t you do your responsibilities as students as I do mine? You are just wasting your time in these protests.”

“I am not doing this for myself.” Basilio hissed, “I am doing this for the nation. For the people who are oppressed by the current conditions. If I do not voice out, it is as if I am supporting the oppressors, which I am not. We all have brains Pa, and I’m choosing to put mine into use. You said so yourself, ‘Always strive to fight for what is right—‘“

“ENOUGH.” Ignacio bellowed, slamming his hands on the table.

“Pa, I’m sorry for coming in too strong but please just listen to me—“

“I said enough. I’ll see you in the car.”

The pair did not exchange glances as the father walked out of the door, leaving the son as he clutched his fists, watching his knuckles whiten to bone.

 The traffic was tolerable that day. Ignacio and Basilio’s trip to the University of the Philippines-Manila was unusually silent. As they arrived at their destination, Basilio opened and shut the door hastily. Ignacio was thinking about the conversation they had earlier, contemplating if the things he said were right. Clouded by his thoughts, his phone rang. RICARDO, the caller ID read. His subordinate.

“Sir, I’ve received intel on a group of students running drugs around warehouses in Manila City. The boss ordered immediate action be done on this.”

“Okay. Any progress on the issue?”

“None, sir. We await your command in headquarters before we start doing anything. We have a list of prospective areas.”

“Copy. Be there in ten.”

Casting a last glance at the University’s gates, he released the hand brake and drove off.

 After several hours of investigating, they still found nothing. This went on for several days, with their enthusiasm waning with every passing day. The intel was twisted and turned, every one of the words in the original statement analyzed, and then analyzed again. The locations where they thought they would find a lead had been visited at least four times each, every nook and cranny scrubbed for evidence. They had spent a fortune on lab analyses, which only came back how much filth there was in those places, with not even a trace of any illegal drugs in said locations.

After the 18th day of investigation, the frustration was finally evident on each of their faces, some of them leaning back on their chairs, their feet propped up on their desks while the others drowned their faces in their palms. Ignacio was leaning his head against the door to his office, his eyebrows knotted.

“Let’s call it a day,” Ignacio said.

“Boss, are you sure? This is the first time ever that we don’t have progress on a case.” Ricardo picked up a pencil, started spinning it around his fingers, and his other arm tucked behind his head.

The thing about a direct order from the Chief was that they were required to actually finish said order. A bad image on the department reflected on the Chief, and especially on the reputation of their entire branch. Producing results, whether correct or incorrect, as long as these had direct effects on the parties involved with the case were encouraged for it meant that they were trying.

In the eyes of the public, no results meant they were not trying; no results meant they were not working; no results meant they were ineffective; no results could possibly mean to a demotion—or worse, to expulsion from the department.

“I don’t want to be too forward, but what if we just find a group that fits the profile?” Ricardo replied.

Eduard, who was seated all across the room, piped up, “And, what? Arrest them instead?”

Ricardo shrugged. “Sure. At least then, Chief would stop breathing down our necks, demanding progress, leads, and whatever else we don’t yet have.”

The only female in the team, and their technical expert, Felisa, chuckled. “Accuse them of a crime, and what if they retort? They are entitled to state their side, you know.”

“What if,” Eduard began, making his way to the center of the room where they all were then situated. “What if we put the evidence in there?”

Ignacio distanced himself from the door, immediately assuming the stance he adopted from his years in the military. “Are you really a policeman? Unbelievable. Do not suggest that again or I’ll make sure that you’re stripped of your badge.”

His team was speechless. The older man towered over them menacingly, threatening each of them in turn as he glared into their eyes. The very suggestion had apparently struck a chord in him, and whether they had said it in jest or not, Ignacio was not to have any more of it.

 “You can do whatever the fuck you want if you are the head of the drug operations. But for as long as I am here, you have to listen and respect my commands.”

Ignacio turned his back at them and walked to his car, his brows furrowed in bewilderment as he punched his keys into the ignition. As evidenced by his team member, everything was going out of hand. He could no longer take the psychological burden that was consuming him. Before he knew it, he was driving towards the one place he knew he could find solace in: the church.

“Lord, I pray for enlightenment. Am I doing what is right?” he said out loud, being the only person in attendance. He balanced his elbows on the pew before him, his eyes turned up to the image of Christ on the cross. “I have pledged my life to the nation but is it right to consider myself also having pledged to do all the commands of the President’s and Maximiliano’s? I know that it is my sole responsibility to do what they expect from me, but I no longer could not think of more reasons to defend them nor my doings.

“Lord, give me the strength to fight for what is right and be a good example to my son. Everything I do is for him. I beg you to relieve me from this bad dream. I would rather rub salt on my wounds than to see other people lick theirs.”

He stood up and wiped the tears that were dribbling from his eyes. After which, he swiftly left the church. As he was opening the door of his car, he received a text message from Ricardo.

“Boss. We saw a warehouse filled with student protesters. The team has decided to interrogate them. If you do not want to take responsibility, then don’t. We have decided to put the matter into our own hands since we feel like you do not take your duties seriously. Rest assured, when we are finished with this, you will receive all the glory. See you tomorrow.”

 “Those sons of bitches,” Ignacio said through gritted teeth. He instantly entered his car and stepped on the gas. “This fucking nightmare ends now.”

 Ignacio drove for hours looking for where his team could have been, with no luck. The sun had already set but he refused to cease his search. He was stuck in traffic when his phone rang, the caller ID telling him that it was Basilio on the other end of the call.

“Hello, Basilio?”

“Pa,” Basilio whimpered, “Pa, are you there?”

“I’m here, son. What happened? Where are you?”

“Pa. My—my best friend…Au—Augusto. He—He’s dead.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that. Where are you? I’ll pick you up.”

“I’m here at the hospital. Is—is this an operation of yours? This—The warehouse—the students. Pa—why?”

The policeman’s heart sank. Augusto was one of the student protesters. And now, his son very well could have been too. “Son, listen to me. I tried my very best to stop everything. You were right. You’ve always been right. It took me some time to process everything and now, I can see everything in a bigger picture. I’m sorry for ever doubting you in the first place.”

“Pa—thank you. I—I want to tell you something.”

“Anything, my son.”

“You know Crispin? My long lost brother? The birthday and Christmas gift I’d been asking you for all these years?”

“Yes?”

“Pa, he—he is dead. Crispin… Crispin is Augusto.”

Ignacio had to pull over to keep from suddenly stomping on the brake. “How can that be?!”

“Simoun, the—Augusto’s father, he told me everything. I did not believe it at first, but—“ Ignacio heard the boy sniffle, and could see Basilio in his mind, wiping his nose on the back of his hand. “I saw Augusto’s birthmark, Pa. It was identical to Crispin’s. How—how could that be possible if he was not Crispin? I don’t know what to say anymore—“

“I’m so sorry,” Ignacio cried. “If I could turn back time, I would—I would have stopped everything when I had the chance—“

“Pa, it’s okay. Stop crying. I know you. I—I gotta go. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay. I’m so proud of you, anak. Always have, always will.”

“Thank you, Pa. I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

Overwhelmed, Ignacio motioned his car to the right. He headed towards an empty parking space, with tears already misting up his vision. He then parked and opened the windows of his car to alleviate his suffocating feelings. His eyes shuffled around, wanting to prevent the tears that were accumulating. However, he was too exhausted to resist, and was too feeble to fight his emotions.

 Ignacio was awoken by the sun’s harsh rays on his face. He did not realize that he fell asleep in his car. Even just having woken up, he still felt groggy and tired. Remembering Basilio and the day before, he quickly drove home.

“Basilio!,” he shouted as he entered the house.

“Son, where are you?”

Ignacio looked for Basilio everywhere. In the kitchen, dining area, living room, in the garden—he then decided to enter Basilio’s room.

 Basilio was there.

With a broken neck.

Hanging from a worn-out rope.

 Ignacio was at loss for words. He sprinted towards Basilio and dismantled the rope. He then hugged his son’s body, fiercely cupping his face.

“My son… I am so sorry. I… You are my everything... ”

Ignacio’s tears crashed like heinous waves in the ocean.

 A note was hanging from the chair adjacent to where Ignacio and the lifeless body of Basilio was. Ignacio, devoured with all the emotions in the world, attempted to read the note with all his might.

 “I will always be your son.

And, I will always fight for what is right, even if it takes my life.”