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agentnico · 4 years

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Top 20 Best Movies of the Decade (2010′s)

Now that we have entered the 2020s, it’s time to look back on a decade of movie magic. To emphasise the importance of each year, I’ll balance things out by including two films from each year for my Top 20 list. I’ve tried to pick films that both defined this decade as well as appealed to me personally, so my list will of course, as always, be different from yours, but hopefully, I won’t totally irritate you with my humble choice, which I deem worthy to post online for the public eye to witness.

2010:

INCEPTION - “You’re waiting for a train...” Christopher Nolan unarguably is the most exciting and original directors working today. Each time he releases a movie, its an event. A literal must-see at the cinema. Which is why this isn’t the only film of his you will find on this list. With Inception, Nolan gives us a movie that is both enjoyable and imaginative, rewarding the audience for the attention that it demands. Filled with so much detail that if you miss certain shots, you will completely get lost in confusion of the narrative (as confusing as it already is). It’s intense and complex, with great performances from the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy, this movie will leave you lingering for more even after that mysterious ending.

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD - “You cocky cock! You'll pay for your crimes against humanity!” Once again, another exciting director on this list (oh there are so so many!). Ever since Edgar Wright emerged from the British isles, he’s given us some of the funniest films of the past decade and onwards. His Cornetto Trilogy is a blast, Baby Driver is a blast, Ant-Man was going to be even more of a blast if Marvel allowed Wright to do his magical shenanigans his way, and the upcoming Last Night in Soho will surely be a blast also. With Scott Pilgrim vs. The World Wright creates a meta-clever universe taking inspiration from comic books and video games and filled to the brink with wink-wink-nudge-nudge humour, this is an exciting and very sarcastic over the top endeavor. Also, Brie Larson in this movie.....phew!! And unsurprisingly, its all a blast!

2011:

DRIVE - “I just wanted you to know, just getting to be around you, that was the best thing that ever happened to me.” Drive is more of an elegant exercise in style, and its emotions may be hidden but they run deep. A shamelessly disreputable, stylish, stoic, ultra-violent thriller with amazing stunt work, one of the best opening sequences of any movie this decade and a neon-pumped soundtrack that’s a must-own for all vinyl users, if you still haven’t seen Drive, there’s only one thing you can do. Clue: it’s to go watch Drive.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - GHOST PROTOCOL - “Your mission, should you choose to accept it...” Tom Cruise’s deal with the devil allows him to do some literally impossible stuff, and though I don’t condone his Scientology ways, the man’s stunt work and efforts in his area of expertise are worth all the praise and respect. To be honest, I’m commemorating all three of the Mission Impossible flicks that graced our screen this year (Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation and Fallout). This franchise is like a game of dodgeball, except that Tom Cruise is the dodgeBALL, being thrown and thrust left and right like nobody cares. Also, with me being Russian, the fact that a movie manages to destroy the Kremlin and then have me not hate the film in the aftermath shows that this film is way too fun to hate.

2012:

DJANGO UNCHAINED - “Gentlemen, you had my curiosity, but now you have my attention.” Quentin Tarantino is one of my favourite directors working today. And Django Unchained happens to be my favourite film of his. The writing for this film is orgasmic (I went there!). The way the actors deliver the lines and the lines of dialogue themselves sound almost poetic to my ears. I can quote so many lines from this darn thing. The cinematography is immaculate. The soundtrack choice is great. The performances, my goodness, the PERFORMANCES!! Jamie Foxx does arguably his career-best work here, but also we have Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio both chewing up the scenery, and I’m sure everyone has heard the story involving DiCaprio and the broken glass. Django Unchained is an easy choice on this list for me, and possibly in my Top 10 of all time.

LES MISERABLES - “Do you hear the people sing?” The film that is based on a musical that is based on a book that is based on certain true events. Tom Hooper did an interesting choice of having actors sing live in front of the camera during filming rather than pre-record their voices, and it works to grand effect, though Russell Crowe should have probably been given more singing lessons. The movie is one hell of a way to adapt such a popular stage musical. With an opening shot that emphasises the scale of this picture with a zoom-in towards this big ship during a storm being pulled by these poor prisoners, we are plunged into the despair and conflicts of various characters with adroit narrative thrust so that not a moment feels wasted or redundant. You’d think that a film with hardly any dialogue and an overall reliance on singing wouldn’t be so emotional. Yet, somehow, it works. Also props to Anne Hathaway for winning an Academy Award for being in a film for only 5 MINUTES!!

2013:

THE WOLF OF WALL STREET - “Sell me this pen.” Martin Scorsese’s mad look into Wall Street life is a bombastic caper and running at nearly 3 hours, Scorsese and his editing team manage to keep an astoundingly intoxicating pace that keeps you enthralled and engaged throughout. This one is definitely not for the families, as this R-rated fest is filled with drugs, money, sex and everything you can possibly imagine and paints quite the picture of the rich folks of Wall Street. And the middle of it all a bravura performance from Leonardo DiCaprio. Someone needs to give DiCaprio’s agent a raise, this is Leo’s third appearance on this list and we’re only in 2013!

THE WAY WAY BACK - “I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. You're having way too much fun, it's making everyone uncomfortable.” Sometimes a little indie flick is enough to lift a human spirit. Real, fun, uplifting and innocent, The Way Way Back dedicated to anyone who felt awkward or out of place at some point in their life, which, let’s be honest, counts all of us. I’m not afraid to admit that. So stop being a b*** and reveal your sensitive side too! Yes, you, the person reading this. Who else could I possibly be talking to? Myself? Maybe. The Way Way Back though is one of the best feel-good indie films of this decade, with the loveable Steve Carell acting very unloveable and Sam Rockwell Rockwelling himself to charm city! If you’ve missed this one, treat yo’self and check it out.

2014:

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL - “And?? Where is it? What's it all about dammit don't keep us in suspense this has been a complete f***ing nightmare! Just tell us what the f*** is going on!!!” Easily Wes Anderson’s best in my opinion (I have a friend who would argue Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums has the better hand but I think my opinion is more valid because it's me), this movie is a glossy, colorful, whimsical deadpan affair with an energetic turn from Ralph Fiennes as the hotel concierge M. Gustave H. as he and his lobby boy run into various Wes Anderson regulars and deal with murderers, stolen paintings, love affairs, prison breaks, and all kinds of crazy shindigs, but all shown in such a casual Wes Anderson way. This movie is like a slice of cherry pie - damn fine!

INTERSTELLAR - “Murphy’s Law doesn’t mean that something bad will happen. It means that whatever can happen, will happen.” As promised, Christopher Nolan makes another appearance on this list, now with his space time-traveling epic Interstellar, where he takes inspiration from the likes of Kubrick and Tarkovsky to give us, as always, a tad bit confusing adventure with great visuals and an interesting narrative (though it does sometimes get lost in its own way), however, the key thing holding this piece together is the father-daughter relationship with Matthew McConaughey and Mackenzie Foy (and Jessica Chastain) managing to bring so much raw emotion to their respective roles that you can’t help but want to shed a tear. I mean, I haven’t cried for over 14 years, but I remember when I first watched this film, the audience around me was sobbing quite a few times during the duration of this movie. Give it to Nolan to give us the emotional moments!

2015:

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD - “Oh what a day! What a lovely day!!” Easily the best action movie of this decade. Sorry John Wick, neither you or Tom Cruise could defeat this beast. The sheer, limitless invention behind this movie's exhilarating, preposterous chase scenes highlights action filmmaking at its finest. With big monster trucks and a random guitarist rocking-it in the middle of all the action, it’s like a nihilistic version of a Cirque du Soleil show! And it makes Tom Hardy the calmest person on-screen; no idea how it managed that.

STEVE JOBS - “I sat in a garage and invented the future because artists lead and hacks ask for show of hands.” If there is anyone who can make formulaic, mathematical or technological sound fun and exciting, its Aaron Sorkin. The man has a talent for writing screenplays about difficult and complicated topics yet turning them approachable for the casual moviegoer. Pair him with director Danny Boyle, and the result is Steve Jobs, a look at the man behind the phone. Narratively set during three important product launches of Jobs’, we get to see the behind-the-scenes of his relationships with his colleagues and family members, and this character study is one that could have easily fallen into generic biopic tropes, but it holds it’s own right till the credits roll. Also props for showing that Seth Rogen can actually do a serious role. Who would’ve thought that pot-smoking fella had dramatic chops in him?

2016:

NOCTURNAL ANIMALS - “Susan, enjoy the absurdity of our world. It’s a lot less painful. Believe me, our world is a lot less painful than the real world.” Fashion designer Tom Ford does sew his suits well. Apparently, he can also make great films too, with 2009′s A Single Man and with said Nocturnal Animals. This movie is truly incredible and I remember it taking me and my friend by surprise when we first watched it at the cinema. It’s shocking. Horrifying. Depressing. Upsetting. Altogether exhilarating. Being of a fashion background, Tom Ford directs the hell out of this movie, with gorgeous shots and great use of colour as well as managing to masterfully create tension and suspense when necessary. Honestly, I know Tom Ford is probably busy at a department store somewhere, but the guy needs to make another movie. The man has a talent.

LA LA LAND - “Here’s to the ones who dream, foolish as they may seem. Here’s to the hearts that ache; here’s to the mess we make.” Oh, La La Land. Damien Chazelle’s follow-up to the also excellent Whiplash. People who know me well know how much I love this movie. An old-school tour-de-force musical that’s a love letter to jazz and the golden age of Hollywood. The city of stars never looked so good. Featuring catchy original songs, excellent dance choreography (the sequence to the song “Lovely Night” is especially memorable) and a romance tale ten times better than the forsaken The Notebook, La La Land is one special movie. I know many are put off by the film’s not so happy ending, however for me it was the only way this narrative could have ended.

2017:

BLADE RUNNER 2049 - “We’re all just looking out for something real.” Similarly to Nolan, Denis Villeneuve is proving to be one of the most exciting directors working today. He’s the man behind such films as *deep breath* Prisoners, Enemy, Sicario, Arrival and Blade Runner 2049. And those have all been done within the last decade. The man constantly makes quality movies of various genres, though lately, he has been leaning more towards science fiction, which is a-okay in my books, since as Blade Runner 2049 proves, he can turn science into fiction like butter on bread. A sequel made 30 years after Ridley Scott’s classic, this visually breathtaking piece is arguably even better than its predecessor with many moments giving you the “wow wow wow wow wow WOW!” factor, and when Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford are both on-screen they are dynamite. Forget the new Star Wars film (that’s right, I'm throwing shade there), Blade Runner is where it’s at!

PHANTOM THREAD - “The tea is going out. The interruption is staying right here with me.” The supposed last Daniel Day-Lewis film, as he has now apparently retired from acting, but let’s be honest, nothing stops him from simply unretiring at any point. Exhibit A - Joe Pesci. However, like Pesci, if he comes back I’ll only be happy. He’s one of acting greats of our time, and his collaborations will director Paul Thomas Anderson bring out some of his best roles. Phantom Thread is a marvel of a movie. No, I don’t mean that’s its part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I mean as in it can fill one with wonder and astonishment. Phantom Thread is PTA’s Gothic dark fairy-tale romance film, which expertly planned shots and scenes where every word of the dialogue counts. There is no wasted moment. And as the film transpires to its dark and unsettling climax, one begins to realize that this, THIS, is what filmmaking is about. Telling an engrossing story in an interesting way with crisp-clear shots and off-the-chart acting at play, with great costume design on display, although the latter is unsurprising due to a major aspect of the movie revolving around fashion.

2018:

MANDY - “You ripped ma shirt!! You ripped maaa shiirrt!!” An acquired taste for sure, however, Mandy is indeed something truly special. From first glance, this film might seem like nothing out of the ordinary, especially from the point of view of the plot. Its the usual revenge flick. However director Panos Cosmatos’ vision and how he presents it is so much more unique. And what’s not love in this film? There’s something for everyone! It’s artsy and slow enough for the critics, hip and metal for the nonchalant, gory and violent for the hardcore genre fanatics and of course the Nic-Cage-rage factor is present for the fans of the actor. Alright, it may not be a family film, but this one is worth a watch. The whole thing is bound together by this psychedelic otherworldly environment, with the whole movie conceived in this dark, unsettlingly beautiful yet horror-filled aura that might stray people away, as it might be just too different for them, however, if you are looking for something different to watch, take mandy. I mean, watch Mandy!

A STAR IS BORN - “Music is essentially 12 notes between any octave. Twelve notes and the octave repeats. It’s the same story told over and over. All the artist can offer the world is how they see those 12 notes.” The film that began all the rumours surrounding Bradley Cooper’s and Lady Gaga’s affair. People, heads up, they are actors! They were putting on a performance! Jeez. That being said, I totally ship them. Nuff’ said. The film though? Yes, it’s good. Some country-style music, romance blooming, Gaga can apparently act, people sing about shallows for some reason...all together works for a pretty decent motion picture. Also, the fact that Bradley Cooper wrote, directed, produced and starred in this gives me so much respect for the guy. He poured his heart and soul into this. And Lady Gaga absolutely shines!

2019:

PAIN & GLORY - “Writing is like drawing but with letters.” Director Pedro Almodovar semi-autobiographical film takes a close look at how one deals with acceptance, being forgotten, symptoms of depression and generally all fairly negative attributes, but delivered in such an honest and profound way that there is a strange lightness that emerges from it all. Antonio Banderas is uncannily vulnerable in the lead role, delivering such an earnest performance that shows a man that is filled with melancholic regret who seeks his own form of redemption. This movie is a thing of beauty.

PARASITE - “You know what kind of plan never fails? No plan at all. If you make a plan, life never works out that way.” Parasite is easily the most original and surprising films of 2019, and possibly the decade, managing to subvert expectations and blend together so many different genres so naturally. To spoil any narrative element of this movie would be a sin, like this one in particular works best when not knowing anything about it. This movie comes to us from Bong Joon-Ho, a South Korean director behind such films as The Host, Memories of Murder, Okja, and Snowpiercer. It’s nice to see the awards ceremonies giving him the proper recognition finally. He deserves it.

That sums up my Top 20 Best Movies of the Decade list. Of course, there are so many other great films that came out in these 10 years, such as Whiplash, When Marnie Was There, Paterson, Silence, Kubo and the Two Strings, The Nice Guys...I can go on forever. Cinema is a constant ever-growing medium, and it is fascinating to see how it changes through the years, in some ways improving and in some parts not so much. In any case, I look forward towards a new decade of, hopefully, great movies, however, let’s be honest, for all these great films there’s always a Norm of the North, a Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse or frickin’ Cats. But let’s hope those will be kept to a minimum. In any case, bring on the 2020s!

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nickelkeep · 4 years

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Find a Little Fire

Pairing: Dean/Cas, other background pairings Rating: Teen+ Word Count: 6.3K Warnings: John Winchester. Written For: nickel’s storytime, and part 3 of the Runaway Series On Ao3

Dean never realized how slow two weeks could actually move. Granted, the say was that time is a construct, not a set thing. He could measure it in different ways, just like they did in that one song from that one musical. All Dean knew was that the time, until Cas would be cleared from bed rest, was too damn long.

And it wasn't as though they didn't talk. Dean made a point of exchanging numbers, so they texted, they spoke on the phone. Dean may have also made his way to the homestead a couple times after getting off of his shift, under the pretense of giving Cas a house call.

No one ever believed him.

Dean sat back at his desk, kicking his feet up as he watched the monitors mounted above his desk. Only room two and room five were occupied, and both patients were resting. Dean let his eyes drift shut slowly in anticipation of climbing home and getting into his bed.

"Is Dr. Vaugier in?" Dean's feet slipped off of the desk, thanks to the sudden voice in the relative quiet of the nurse's station. A deep, hearty chuckle sent chills down his back, and he looked up to a wolfish grin. "I'm sorry. That shouldn't be as funny as it was."

"Hiya, Cas." Dean smiled, for once not caring who saw his excitement at his... something?... being at his place of employment. "What brings you in today?"

"I'd like to say that I'm here to visit you, which I am, but I do need to see Madison. It's been two weeks, and although I was would be clear after two weeks, Gabe has decided that I still can't do anything without the doc clearing it." Cas leaned forward on the pony wall and smirked. "Plus, there's something I want to ask you after I see her."

Dean raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. "You can ask now."

"And kill the suspense? Wouldn't dream of it." Cas winked, albeit poorly, and stood back up straighter. "She hasn't gone home yet, has she? I know it's getting close to shift change."

"Nope. If I'm still here, that means she's probably still here." Dean picked up the phone and called the lunchroom, assuming that was where Maddie was still hiding. The phone rang, and the doctor picked up on the third ring. "What's up, Dean? I haven't heard anything about someone coming in."

"Walk-in, specifically asking for you, Doctor Vaugier. I can go set them up in room six if you'd like." Dean cracked a smile.

"Let me finish chugging this coffee, and I'll be right there." The phone disconnected, and Dean stared at it in feigned shock and disgust.

Cas waved his hand in front of Dean's face. "Uh, you alright there?"

"Madison has coffee, and isn't sharing." Dean frowned when Cas' face twisted, clearly holding back laughter. "Yuck it up, furball. Let's go. Room six." Cas' resolve broke, and he burst into laughter.

Together, they walked down to the examination room. Once inside, Cas slid off his shirt and hopped onto the bed. "Do you think she's going to ask me to shift?"

"It's always a possibility." Dean swallowed, quickly taking the conversation to hide the fact he was staring at the Were. "So, how are you feeling, honestly? And I just don't mean physically."

"Are you asking about..." Cas' finger wiggled back and forth between the two of them. "Whatever this is?"

"Yeah–" Dean started to comment as Maddie wrapped on the door. It swung open, and all five-foot-seven of the doctor came striding in.

"Castiel! It's good to see you, I hope." She stole a glance at Dean before crossing over to Cas. "To what do I owe the honor?"

"I look good, I feel good, I know my strength is back, and I'm restless. Gabriel won't let me do anything around the homestead unless you clear me." Maddie started to speak up, and Cas held up his hand. "And he specifically said it had to be a doctor clearing me. Otherwise, he'd figure that I was using Dean."

"Would he not have accepted it from Bess?" Madison shook her head. "Or is he just sick of Dean coming by the homestead all the time?"

"Hey!" Dean cut in. "I resent that remark."

Maddie tried her best to put on a severe face and stared at Cas. "I think he means resemble, right Cas?"

"Absolutely." Cas nodded enthusiastically.

"Traitors. Both of you." Dean shook his head and handed the doc a stethoscope. "Do I need to go step outside?"

"Why, so you can just text Cas from out there? Don't think I don't know what you're doing on your phone at night, Dean." Maddie shook her head and laughed. "I need Cas here to stay calm, so I can read his vitals right. While I know you think that you and your texts are funny, I'm not sure he thinks they are."

Dean scoffed. "I think I'm adorable."

"Keep telling yourself that, Dean." Cas took in a deep breath as Maddie instructed him to do. "You may just believe it." He exhaled slowly, winking - yet again - as he caught Dean staring.

"I don't know how, with all the texting and talking you two do, you haven't scared the other off yet. Granted, it is the first thing in the morning." Maddie's nose scrunched up in amusement as she finished checking Cas' lungs. "Hold this one for as long as you can."

Dean watched in wonder as Cas inhaled deeply and sat calmly for almost a minute. As Cas breathed out slowly, Dean found Cas staring at him, and the pair locked eyes. Dean still couldn't get over how blue Cas' eyes were, and the color had become prominent in his dreams over the past two weeks.

"Alright, Cas. I just need to check your temperature, but as long as you're honest and not having problems shifting or walking, I'm fine with feeding you to the wolves," Maddie smirked. "Pun entirely intended."

"Thank goodness. Can I get it in writing? Or do you mind calling him?" Cas' eyes had turned hopeful. "I need to do something other than just mope in my room."

Maddie nodded. "I have his number. I'll go call him real quick." She pointed at Dean. "No funny business."

"Right. What am I going to do?" Dean rolled his eyes as Maddie left. He turned to Cas. "Ready to actually do things?"

"You have no idea." Cas slid his shirt back on, and Dean fought to keep himself from frowning. "So, I do remember having a conversation with you about two weeks ago."

"I may vaguely remember that conversation." Dean fought against smiling. "Perhaps you could remind me."

"Of course." Cas pushed himself off the examination table and stepped into Dean's personal space. "You had mentioned wanting to get to know me, and I mentioned wanting to discover Sioux Falls." Cas pulled playfully on Dean's badge. "I know we can't do much today, you're about to get off work, so I know you're tired, but I thought - maybe - you could show me a good place to get some breakfast?"

Dean suddenly found himself famished. "I know just the place, Cas." A cough caused Dean to jump, and he turned to shoot daggers at the person who walked in. "Hello, Garth."

"So, this is why Madison sent me in." Garth laughed. "She's on the phone with your brother, Cas. But you're good to go."

"Thank you, Dr. Fitzgerald."

"And Dean, Bess is ready for you to pass off your report." Garth turned and walked out of the exam room.

Dean waited until Garth left and ran his hand down his face. "So. You drive here, Cas?"

…

Cas' mind was set. He was going to have a great day. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. He got Madison to clear him, personally calling Gabe herself. Dean was excited to see him, and they were going on their first date. Well, Cas hoped that Dean would consider it a date. Breakfast after a long shift wasn't necessarily the most romantic of venues.

Dean had taken his phone and plugged in the address for a place called Andrea's Diner into his GPS. As Dean had handed the phone back to Cas, Cas watched as Dean's eyes moved, traveling down to his lips, and briefly pausing there before moving back to look Cas in the eyes.

Cas had wanted nothing more than to kiss Dean while still in the exam room. However, he refrained, knowing that Dean needed some sort of decorum to keep intact, especially after Garth had walked in on them, practically pressed together.

He let out a sigh as he pulled into the parking lot of the diner. It looked like it was straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting, the chromed exterior, and the blood-red neon sign flashing Andrea's out front. Cas stepped out of the car and walked up to the door. Entering the diner, he was hit with the scents of fresh baked goods, deep-fried treats, and even some things that would probably be on a special menu for creatures like him.

Cas walked up to the hostess stand and asked for a booth before being led to one tucked back in a corner. He made mention to the hostess that he was waiting for someone, and she promised to keep an eye out. As he leaned back in his seat, finding the section of the menu that catered to Weres, Cas found himself surprised when he heard people - not a person - slide onto the bench across from him.

"Well, if it ain't Castiel." A warm Cajun drawl caused him to put his menu down.

"Benny, Sam." Cas offered his hand across the table, taking their hands and shaking them. "It's nice to see you both in more pleasant circumstances."

"I was just at the homestead with Maddie like two days ago." Sam shot Cas a look that he couldn't quite discern. "That wasn't pleasant?"

"Lay off him, brotha." Benny gently shoved Sam. "Clearly he's up and about which means he's gone and got himself off of bed rest. That's gotta be better than just laying around all day."

"Thank you, Benny." Cas relaxed a little. "That's what I meant. I went to the hospital this morning to get Madison to clear me. Gabe insisted."

Sam shook his head. "Had nothing to do with Dean being there also?"

"Well, that was clearly an added benefit." Cas tilted his head in confusion. "Am I not supposed to go and say hello?"

"No, of course you can." Sam sputtered slightly before pushing forward. "What I mean is that you know. I, uh. He and I live together."

"I'm aware." Cas had to hold back a chuckle as Benny smacked his forehead. "I also know that Madison has come to stay with you a couple times this past week."

"Woohoo, this is gettin' spicy." Benny turned in his seat and looked at Sam. "You seriously gonna have this talk with our wolf pal here, considering he's got your number?"

Sam glared at Benny before looking at Cas again. "I'm assuming that Dean told you."

"As you're clearly aware, we've been talking." Cas closed the menu and rested his elbows on top of it, before resting his chin on his knuckles. "What's your concern, Sam?"

"Dean. I mean, I guess that part is obvious, but it's about how Dean's been acting." Sam ran his hand through his hair. "Have you done any research into witch bonding?"

"I understand that in order for a witch to cast a spell on a living, breathing, being, they must create a bond with said being. The bond passes magic through. In Dean's case, and I'm assuming yours, it's healing magic." Cas raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "I know there are concerns about the two of us being bonded more permanently because of how much magic he used to heal me."

"That's only part of it. Are you aware of the equivalent exchange aspect?" Sam questions.

Cas sat up straighter in his seat. "And what do you know about Werewolves, Sam? I understand you're an EMT, and you're able to treat us on the fly, but what do you honestly know about us, besides our anatomy? Has Madison told you anything yet?"

Benny shook his head. "Careful where you tread, Sam."

"Look, I'm just worried about my brother. I haven't seen him this... content, in years." Sam pointed at Cas, and Cas noted how Sam avoided his question. "I hope it's just because you two are getting to know each other, and not because of him accidentally bonding himself–"

"Cher!" A female voice interrupted, and Cas quickly looked to his side. A gorgeous woman with long black hair had come up to the table. Unlike the rest of the staff, she was dressed in a billowy white top tucked into black pants. Cas stole a glance at Benny, whose face had set into a wide grin. "I didn't see you or Sam walk in! Why aren't you back at the family table?"

"Andrea, this is Cas." Benny pointed to Cas. "Cas, this is my wife, Andrea. She's been puttin' up with my ass for almost 200 years now."

"Longer, Cher. We knew each other before we were married." She smiled sweetly, then looked carefully at Cas. "Oh, my sweet loup-garou. Are you the Were that was attacked?"

Cas frowned. "Does everyone know who I am?"

"'Fraid so, brotha. While we have a variety of creatures in this town, the highest population is of Weres. So I imagine that everyone knows about a new pack comin' in, and how y'all came in."

"Plus, your pack has already started to get around town and explore. Considering you've been stuck up on the farm and couldn't really get around? It's not going to take long to figure you out." Sam shrugged.

"Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable." Andrea rested her hand on Cas' arm. "What can I get you?"

"I'm waiting for Dean, but thank you." Cas frowned.

Andrea tapped his chin with her pen. "Turn that around for me, Cher." She pointed at Sam and Benny. "Get your asses back to the family table and leave this poor boy alone."

Cas watched as Sam and Benny looked properly chastised with Andrea merely telling them to leave him alone. He waited until she was out of earshot before speaking again. "You guys don't actually have to go."

"Oh no, we do." Benny nodded fervently. "Andrea is my partner in every sense of the word, except here. Here she's queen, and her word goes."

"Is that so?" Out of the corner of his eye, Cas saw Dean approaching the table. Dean held his finger up to his lips, and Cas continued speaking. "So does that make this her castle?"

"Don't let Benny fool you." Dean boomed his voice behind his brother and friend, and Cas laughed as the two of them jumped in their seats. "Anywhere Andrea is, is her castle."

"Jesus, Cher. Tryin' to scare me back to life?" Benny grasped at his chest as Sam shot his brother a death glare. "I ain't survivin' today, Sam."

Sam slid out of the seat and pulled at Benny's arm. "We should get back before Andrea comes out and finds us anyway." He shot a pleading look at Cas. "Enjoy your breakfast, guys."

No sooner than Benny had slid out of the seat and stepped away, Dean took his place. "Sorry about that, I was doing the shift swap with Bess, and we had one of the young harpies come in with a broken wing. I helped get her into a room and settled before leaving."

"It's all good, Dean." Cas forced a smile and offered his hand across the table. He relaxed slightly when Dean took it and squeezed. "I'm glad that you're vital to this community."

Silence hung in the air between them for a few moments, and Dean spoke up. "Cas, what's up?"

"What do you mean, what's up?" Cas shifted in his seat and forced himself to meet Dean's eyes.

"Something's bothering you." Dean laced his fingers into Cas' to keep him from escaping. "I mean, I can see the way that your smile doesn't meet your eye, but something just feels off. You're putting off an energy of disappointment."

"You're getting that, how?"

A blush filled Dean's cheeks. "Uh, I feel it. Off of you."

Cas' heart sunk. He told himself he was going to have a great day, but instead, he had jinxed himself. "So, the bond is still there." He hung his head and ran his finger along a not-so-interesting line of fake marbling.

"It appears so. Does that bother you, Cas?" Dean ran his thumb along Cas' knuckles, gently petting him.

"It does. What if this thing we're feeling isn't real? What if it really is just the bond working?" Cas frowned, "I don't want you to feel trapped with me."

Dean's eyes widened, and Cas felt himself wanting to move closer, wanting to comfort Dean. "Dude, Dean shook his head. "Didn't we legit have this talk, but from my perspective?" Dean waited for Cas to nod. "I'm the one who bonded us. You're the one who's been reassuring me that you do, in fact, want this. You suggested that we take this slow and that we get to know each other."

"I know." Cas gently squeezed Dean's hand.

"Do you not want to get to know me anymore? Are you already over it? I get that I'm pretty lame." Dean smiled, and while Cas could feel it hurting Dean, he could feel the honesty.

"I never said that, Dean. I just–"

"Then we keep moving slow. One foot in front of the other." Dean laughed out loud, and Cas found relief washing over Dean before it flooded him. "I get that this? It's not a common way for two people to meet each other, or get to know each other, but I want to try."

"I agree, Dean. I want to get to know you." Cas let himself relax again and hoped that it washed over Dean the way that Dean's relief washed over him. "And you promise you'll tell me if things aren't working?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die." Dean held up his fingers in the scout's salute.

"Hey, no dying in my diner. It scares away the customers." Andrea returned to the table, order pad in hand, and only privy to that last sentence of the conversation. "What can I get you two?"

…

Dean was surprised how long he had stayed with Cas at the diner. He had figured they would grab a quick bite and a drink, but Dean found himself not wanting to leave Cas' side. A part of that, he knew, had to be because of the bond.

The bond. There was something so strangely profound about it. It felt like more than an ordinary healing bond that he made with patients. Dean was nearly sure that it was because of the amount of magic he poured into healing Cas, into removing as much silver as he could. Yet the bond now had grown and changed and flourished. And it was apparently scaring Cas.

While at breakfast, he could feel Cas' emotions. It didn't take much for Dean to figure out that Sammy had said something to Cas, which made Cas doubt himself. Feeling and seeing the worry in the werewolf's eyes was unnerving to Dean. Not in that he could feel them, but the fact that Cas had those feelings at all. It had been Cas who want to try and pursue this bond thing between them.

It left Dean to wonder. If Cas doubted it, why was he, the white witch that accidentally forced the bond, now wanting to push it?

Led Zeppelin blared from his car speakers as Dean forced him to stay awake. He sang along to Black Dog while he worked on keeping his focus sharp, and only let up once he was home. Dean pulled Baby into her parking spot before turning down the music. As he climbed the stairs to his apartment, Dean felt a small sliver of hope shoot through him. Considering what he was thinking about, Dean briefly wondered if the emotion was Cas'.

Dean stopped in front of his apartment, hesitating for all of a moment before unlocking it and walking inside. Sam and Madison were curled up together on the couch. They look peaceful and content, and Dean silently cursed Sam for filling Cas with anxiety.

Quietly, Dean closed the door and watched the pair for another moment. He smiled as he realized that in all honesty, what they were finding was something he wanted.

Madison stirred slightly, opening her eyes and smiling at Dean. He waved and whispered, 'Sorry,' knowing that she would hear it before heading back to his bedroom. He closed his own door, crossing to the bed and collapsing on it, not bothering to change out of his outfit.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and blindly swatted at his nightstand, looking for his charger. He plugged his phone in and stared at it for a moment before pulling up his texts. Dean quickly scrolled through, finding his conversation with Cas over the past two weeks and smiled.

They had shared a lot about each other, either trying to force the bond to break or nurture it. Cas had told Dean about life with the pack, being on the run. About how his position as Den Protector left him with little time to do things like watching tv or movies. Dean talked about being raised on the road, although not why he was raised that way, and about his love of all things pop culture.

They had talked about music, about books, about siblings. And Dean realized, not once did he feel obligated to do that because of some bond he had with Cas. He may have at first, but as the weeks went on, he wanted to know Cas. Dean wanted to talk to Cas, to have Cas in his life as a friend, maybe even more.

Dean swiped back down and started typing out a message.

[10:30 AM From Dean]: Cas, I know when we left the diner, we had gotten back to a neutral point. We both have this fear that maybe the bond is doing something, maybe it's not. I don't know. But I need to say something I should have said before we parted earlier. [10:30 AM From Dean]: I'd rather have you, bond or not. I want to get to know you. And not just because of this metaphysical bullshit that happens to be my life.

Dean smiled as a sense of calm came over him. He laid his phone on the nightstand, hoping that if Cas responded back, he'd understand the delay in response. Dean rolled over, pulling a pillow to his chest, before dozing off.

…

A few hours later, Dean woke up to pounding on his door. "DEAN! DEAN! WAKE YOUR ASS UP!" Dean smelled the air and determining there was no smoke, lazily reached for his phone. Three PM. Less than five hours of sleep. He quietly cursed Sam's name for the second time that day and unlocked his phone to check his messages.

Text Messages: 3 Missed Calls: 6 Voicemails: 4

Dean ran his hand down his face and stared at his notifications in confusion. Who the fuck had been so desperate to call him. He pulled down the shutter to see the notifications and, since they were at the top, opened the texts first. All three were from Cas.

[11:00AM From Cas]: You're probably asleep by now, but I wanted to make sure I got my feelings straight. [11:04AM From Cas]: I agree that there was a small step backward. While I never wanted to stop getting to know you, I doubted the feelings between us. But as we walked back to our respective cars, there is one thing I realized. Bond or not, the happiness I feel when I spend time with you, the excitement I experience when you text me or call me? Those are real, Dean. And I want to keep getting to know you. [11:06AM From Cas]: Good things do happen, Dean, and I'm excited to find out what those things are. With you.

Dean's heart started beating a tattoo as his smile broadened across his face. The bond he made may have brought them together, but they were both on the same page, wanting to learn about each other before committing to anything.

"DEAN!" Sam banged on the door again, startling Dean. "WAKE YOUR ASS UP AND CHECK YOUR PHONE."

"What do you think I'm doing?" Dean mumbled to himself, as he protected the texts from Cas. He pulled down the notifications shutter and pressed on the missed calls. Bobby. Bobby. Unknown Number. Bobby.

Dean looked up at the door and realized that something was wrong. So very, very wrong. "Sam? It's unlocked."

The door opened, and Sam peeked in. "Uh, it's just me. I sent Maddie home. Neither of you are going into work tonight." He pushed the door open further and crossed into Dean's room. "Charlie and Ash both agreed to take the shifts later." He pointed at Dean's phone. "How many?"

"Six missed calls total." Dean turned his phone at Sam. "I haven't listened to the voicemails yet."

"Can you play them on speaker?" Sam sat next to Dean on the bed, causing Dean's anxiety to build.

"Do you know who the unknown number is, Sam?"

Sam nodded.

Dean pressed for his voicemails to open. The robotic voice came through the speakerphone. He closed his eyes as she repeated the information that he had four new voice messages. The first one started, and Dean relaxed slightly as Bobby's voice played.

"Dean, You're probably sleeping. Your brother better not be. I need you two awake ASAP.

"That's not so bad, right?" Dean clicked to play the next voicemail.

DEAN! I don't know why I'm yelling at this damn robot, but I need you to call me now. I'm going to keep calling between you and Sam, but you need to be awake, and you need to hear this from me before you find out on your own."

"I will say he was nicer to me on my voicemails." Sam shrugged.

Dean rolled his eyes and moved to the next message. As soon as Dean recognized the voice, the temperature in his room dropped below freezing, and he started shivering.

"Hello, Dean. You know it's not really nice to keep your phone number from your old man. I just wanted to let you know I'm going to be in your neck of the woods on some business. You're probably going to want to stay away from any of your freak friends. I got the proper permits to go after them, and there's no stopping me. I'll see you soon, boy".

Dean's stomach dropped, and he looked at Sam. "The proper permits?" Sam nodded and pointed at the phone.

"Dean, I finally got a hold of Sam. He still hasn't gotten a call, but I know you did. John's in town. He's been hired to go after a pack of Weres who were supposedly responsible for killing five people and injuring another out in Pontiac. He's coming after Cas' pack. I don't know who he bribed or what connections he has, but the permit is legit. I'm reaching out to an old friend out there who can prove they were Wendigo kills and get the permit revoked."

The call ended, and Dean immediately started to dial Cas' number. "Sam, can you call Bobby, tell him we're on the way?" Sam nodded and pulled out his phone, stepping out of the room to give Dean privacy. Cas picked up on the third ring, and Dean let out a sigh of relief.

"Dean, shouldn't you still be sleeping? It's only–"

"Cas, there is no time to explain. Your pack is in trouble." Dean interrupted, his words quickly exploding out of him. "A shady as fuck hunter was either able to bribe someone or exploit someone and got a permit to hunt Werewolves. I know this jackass doesn't normally go through the legal routes, but he knows he's wanted in Sioux Falls, and the permits give him immunity."

"Wait, what?" Dean could clearly picture Cas' head tilt, and it pained him that he wasn't there. "Immunity from what?"

"He's allowed in the town, and he can legally hunt you guys until he deems the pack destroyed. He's not going to come after you guys, he's going to try and kill all four packs. Or at least take as many of the Weres in town out as he can." Dean stood up and started pacing his room. "This guy is dangerous and unstable, and knows how to negate magic."

The silence between them was deafening. Dean wasn't sure if Cas had muted him and was shouting out directions, or if the call had disconnected. He started to speak when Cas' voice came quietly over the phone.

"It sounds like you know a lot about this guy. That he's caused issues in the past." Another pause. "Who is he, Dean?"

"He's my father, Cas. Mine and Sam's." Dean shut his eyes and squeezed, ready for Cas to yell or scream at him. After a moment of silence, Dean spoke up again. "Cas? Say something, man."

"It sounds like we have an advantage," Cas responded calmly. Dean held his breath, waiting for Cas to start yelling at him. "What do we need to know or do?"

"He uh... He's..." Dean stopped and knew he was going to regret his next words. "Why aren't you yelling at me?"

"Why should I be yelling at you?" Cas' confusion was evident in his voice.

Dean pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it, making sure he had called the right number despite knowing he was on the phone with Cas. "Because it's my father?"

"Dean, we've known each other all of two weeks. That's not a lot of time to tell me your full life story." Cas breathed out a rough chuckle. "I will start yelling at you if you don't tell me what we need to do. You're shaken. I can sense it. If you're scared, then I know I need to take this seriously."

"Thank you, Cas. I'm making a pit stop by Bobby's, and then I'm going to come to you at the homestead. In the meanwhile, I know that Gabriel had people work on fixing the bunker under the silo. Get all of your pack there and lock it down." Dean swallowed roughly, fighting down a million feelings threatening to unload. "John Winchester is a bull-headed asshole. He won't stop to think of other ways to get to you guys, he'll just try to brute force his way after you all."

"And when you get here? What's your plan?"

"I don't know yet, Cas. But the more time we waste on the phone, the more time he has to sneak up on you. Go." Dean paused, hesitant to hang up the phone. "Be safe. Please."

"Same could be said for you, Dean. I'll see you soon."

…

Cas stared at the phone in his hand. Dean's father was not only a hunter, but the hunter coming after his pack, and possibly even the hunter who had filled him with silver buckshot. And Dean thought that Cas would hate him for it.

Shaking his head, Cas pocketed his phone and ran to Gabe's room before banging on the door. "Gabe, we have a problem!"

"Hold on, Cassie!" A couple of moments later, Gabe opened the door in a robe. "What's so bad that you can't take care of it?"

"There's a hunter coming for us. He went through the legal channels to get a permit." Cas watched as Gabe went through the seven stages of grief in less than ten seconds. "Dean and Sam are working on getting him out of town, but Dean believes he's going to go after all the packs."

Gabe looked over his shoulder. "Meg, we gotta move. Now." He turned back to Cas and frowned.

"Find Anna, have her round up the kids, there's a–"

"A bunker under the silo, I know. Dean told me." Cas licked his lips and let out a worried sigh before leaning into Gabe to whisper in confidence. "The hunter is their father, Gabe. Dean warned me that he can negate magic, and he's not usually known for going through the proper channels."

"So the wards on the perimeter?" Gabe frowned.

"Will barely slow him down. I don't know anything about his skill at negating magic, but considering both his sons are witches? It's probably really fucking high." Cas frowned. "Gabe, go get dressed, we need to make sure you and Meg stay safe and get you in the bunker now."

Cas turned and bolted back down the hallway banging on doors. "Pack meeting in the foyer! Now!" He stopped in front of Anna's door and shoved it open. Anna was grabbing a bag and filling it. "I know, Cas. Pack bond. What am I doing?"

"So, you know what's going on, but not what you're supposed to do?"

"I started to panic!" Anna threw her hands up in frustration. "Just tell me what I need to do."

"Go round up the kids, get them in the bunker. I also need you to make sure that Gabe doesn't do anything bull-headed." Cas dragged his hand down his face. "Inias is one of the ones converting that old storage building into apartments, right? He's living in there?"

"Yeah. His room is the second one in on the left."

Cas kissed his sister on the cheek and ran out again. He sped out past the rest of the pack gathering in the foyer, hoping that Gabe would tell them what was going on. In the worst-case, he knew Anna would.

The building that the pack was working on converting sat next to the barn. Cas found himself stripping out of his clothes and shifting to cut the time it would take to get there in half. He skidded to a stop in front of the door and scratched at it, pushing through the pack bond for Inais to come let him in.

"Castiel? Why are you in wolf form?" Inais had opened the door and was squatting down next to Cas instantly. He placed his hand on Cas' head, taking a moment to listen to Cas as he explained everything he knew. "I'll gather everyone here, Castiel, but your Aunt Amara? She's going to need you to convince her to come."

Cas whimpered and paced in front of Inias. "Can you at least tell me where she is?"

"She found a glade, but she won't tell anyone where it's at. She said at her age, she's allowed a private place. I'm sure if you know," Inais tapped the side of his nose. "You can find her."

"Fuck." Cas howled in frustration and started back towards the main house. He was relieved to find the pack quickly evacuating, but frustrated to see Gabe leading it. He shifted back to human form and walked up to his brother. "You're supposed to be in the silo."

"Under the silo, Cassie, under it." Gabe gently touched the shoulder of one of the younger wolves, keeping them moving. "I'll go now since you're here. I already sent Meg ahead."

Watching as the last of the pack exited the house and made their way to the silo, Cas shifted back into form and ran towards the woods that lined the one side of the farm. If there were any glades to be found, they would be there. He sprinted through the trees, realizing how much he had missed being able to just run. He knew it was an inappropriate time to have that thought, but the wind through his fur, the moss and dirt under his paws, the scent…

He smelled his Aunt. Cas made a sharp turn and followed the scent to an opening in the trees. In the center, his Aunt Amara was in human form, sitting in the Lotus position with her eyes closed.

"Castiel."

"Aunt Amara, we need to go." Cas walked up to her and bumped against her arm with his snout. "Please. There's a hunter on his way."

"I'm well aware, Castiel. His aura taints these woods." She opened her eyes and gently scratched behind Cas' ear. "He's trying to destroy the magic that we are using to ward our home, but I won't let him do it."

"He knows how to negate magic, Aunt Amara. If he gets too close to you..." Cas sat on his haunches next to her and whimpered. "From what I've been told, he won't care what you are, he'll shoot first and ask questions later."

"Your Dean told you this, didn't he?" Amara rested her forehead against Cas' and pet his side. "I'm not surprised. He's afraid of what he does not understand. Including his own sons."

A branch snapped nearby, and both Cas and Amara's attention locked to it. Cas sniffed the air and found himself unnerved not by what he smelled, but by what he couldn't smell. "Please, Aunt Amara. There's no time. We can stay safe if we leave now."

"You've always been such a good member of the pack, Castiel. You knew when to obey and when to question. You always did everything to keep those you love safe." Amara sighed. "Very well, let's get to the safe house."

The sound of a long rifle racking froze them both in their place.

"I don't think either of you are going anywhere."

#profoundnet #spncreatorsdaily #spn fanfic #destiel #deancas #deancas fic #au - modern with magic #au - creatureverse #witch!dean #nurse!dean #werewolf!cas #rating: t #tw: john winchester #nickel writes

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ryanmeft · 5 years

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Movie Review: Jojo Rabbit

Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit sets the tone early, as a cadre of pre-teen Hitler Youth practice a montage of activities such as grenade-throwing to the tune of Tom Waits’ “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up”. If you know the song, you can’t help but feel Waititi is winking at you---it’s a rather bleak thing about how terrible being an adult is, set against an energetic scene full of romping mini-Nazis. Comparisons to Mel Brooks will be inevitable; it seems impossible that Waititi has not seen the infamous “Springtime for Hitler” bit many times.

The plot has been run through the outrage machine enough that you probably already know it. A ten-year-old boy idolizes Adolf Hitler and has him, played by Waititi, as an imaginary friend. His single mother Rosie raises him while his father is off fighting for Germany, and he idolizes the cause and the Fatherland in the way young boys admire whatever their father is doing: as a remote, hazy fantasy. His adoration of Nazism, which he barely understands, is challenged when he discovers his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.

The key to both the film’s heart and humor is that it remembers how little boys see the world. Jojo’s imagined version of Hitler combines traits of the real thing and projections of himself and his hopes and fears, as do all imaginary friends. He madly berates the Jews while exuberantly waving his hands, but he does so with elementary school insults and erratic movements that remind you of a child trying to mimic a dance they saw on TV. These are comedic exaggerations of the actual monster we’ve all seen in old footage, but Jojo’s version also likes and does things the real one never would have: he’s always up for running through the woods with Jojo, steering him through the travails of bullying, and having a talk with him when he’s feeling blue. I was positively surprised to find out the movie was based on a novel, Caging Skies, by New Zealand author Christine Leunens; it seems like the sort of thing that could never work on the printed page.

Things get complicated when Jojo discovers Elsa living in a hidden room in his house, sheltered by his mother. We first see her the way we see most hiding Jews in movies: bedraggled, scrunched into a corner in a dimly lit place, looking afraid. Our expectations here are subverted when she turns out to be fierce, aggressive and more than capable of intimidating the meek and timid Jojo. Imaginary Hitler insists she must be dealt with, but she and Jojo gradually form a certain kind of friendship.

I am struggling to convey in words the reason all this works. Waititi’s humor is in the juxtaposition, in seeing history’s most evil man as the product of a child’s imagination, in seeing the stereotype of the cowering Jewish refugee flipped hard by a self-assured and not-at-all-meek young woman, in seeing the purveyors of the Aryan Race myth acting like a bunch of incompetent dandies and fools. Recall the famous scene in The Great Dictator, in which Charlie Chaplin as Hitler prances around daintily while playing with an inflatable globe. There is some of that here, as we see Hitler shamed by single mothers and grossed out by the concept of dating.

A great cast goes a long way here; the movie is full of actors who know how to sell a gag just hard enough and no harder. In addition to Waititi, Sam Rockwell, Alfie Allen and Rebel Wilson all play Nazis, though not very effective ones: they are demoted from essential cogs in the war machine to playing babysitter. Scarlett Johansson does not play a typical mother: she is both affectionate with and hard on Jojo, and insists he is not the Nazi he thinks he wants to be. Why does she not just tell him what he is and is not, you may be wondering? If you have ever dealt with children even briefly, the flaw in that reasoning should be obvious. She shows Jojo what he can choose to be, which is the most anyone can ever do.

The most important performances, though, are by Thomasin McKenzie and newcomer Roman Griffin Davis. McKenzie’s breakout performance in last year’s Leave No Trace went largely under-appreciated, but she’s getting recognition here, and for good reason. Tough as nails, she’s also not immune to emotion, alternating between threatening to cut off Jojo’s “little Nazi head” and insisting to him that he is a better person than he thinks he is. She’s an electric presence on screen, and the decision to have her character overturn our expectations is key to the film. This is Davis’s first role, and he’s given a monumental task: portray a ten-year-old as they actually are. That may not seem like much, but more often than not, little is asked of child actors; they are not tasked with behaving on screen the way children do in real life. The interplay between the two made me desire a highly improbably sequel, perhaps adventures through post-war Germany tracking down war criminals. If that sounds in bad taste, you probably want to skip this movie to begin with.

Verdict: Highly Recommended

Note: I don’t use stars, but here are my possible verdicts.

Must-See

Highly Recommended

Recommended

Average

Not Recommended

Avoid like the Plague

You can follow Ryan's reviews on Facebook here:

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All images are property of the people what own the movie.

#jojo rabbit #Scarlett Johansson #taika waititi #thomasin mckenzie #movies #sam rockwell #rebel wilson #alfie allen #christine leunens #new zealand

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keepingupwithlinmanuel · 5 years

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Lin-Manuel Miranda Tells Us How Fosse/Verdon Pulled Off His Secret Cameo

No one — and yet, perhaps everyone — expected Fosse/Verdon executive producer and live-tweeter Lin-Manuel Miranda to show up onscreen at some point during the show's run on FX. It took all eight weeks, but in last night's series finale, Miranda finally made an appearance. In one of the show's many layered twists, Miranda played Roy Scheider, the Oscar-nominated actor cast as Joe Gideon, Bob Fosse's screen alter ego, in Bob Fosse's non-biopic biopic All That Jazz. (Even he knows that's a lot to unpack.)

Truth be told, Miranda was determined take on a role — any role — at some point in the series. "My side joke was, 'Well, who am I playing? Kander? Schwartz?,'" Miranda said on the afternoon that the finale aired. "It was a general 'put me in, coach!,' like I do on any and all things." Ultimately, it was executive producer, director, and longtime Miranda cabinet member Thomas Kail who made the final decision. "Tommy looked me up and down and said, 'Maybe Scheider.' Cut to me getting measured for my sparkly top."

In the episode, we see Miranda as Scheider (and Miranda as Scheider as Gideon) in two different sequences. The first, a rehearsal, finds Gwen (Michelle Williams) and Nicole Fosse (Juliet Brett) watching Bob (Sam Rockwell) stage a scene where Gideon has a tender dance with his young daughter (in another twist, that role is played by Austyn Johnson, who played Michelle Williams's daughter in The Greatest Showman).

The real Nicole Fosse choreographed this small pas de deux, an aspect that Miranda calls "very meaningful." "The way Nicole describes it is, 'What we know as Fosse choreography was a language in my home that my mother, my father, and I spoke,'" Miranda explains. "To get to work with her directly was really amazing." (And in yet another touching moment, Nicole's real-life son Sean plays a production assistant who gets to shush his onscreen mother and grandmother.)

The second sequence is the filming of the movie's finale, Gideon's death song "Bye Bye Life." Unlike other re-creations of iconic numbers from Fosse's career, Miranda didn't have to learn the original choreography, "just the moment where he's going up and down the aisles." In the scene, Scheider encourages Bob to take an on-set bow for himself, and Miranda took that opportunity to give credit to his creative team. "I said, 'Give it up for Tommy Kail and Nicole Fosse!,' and they jumped up and danced up and down the aisles as everyone cheered." It was a special moment for Miranda to orchestrate and witness. "I'm sure people who didn't know who I was were like, 'How does this day player get to order around the director of the show?'"

That Fosse/Verdon has afforded Broadway geeks the chance to have "a weekly water cooler moment" where there never was a water cooler moment (at least since Smash) has given Miranda great pride, and it's been amplified by his weekly live tweeting. "It's a joy to get to connect with other people who love these musicals and love the work that this couple is responsible for. I saw my live tweeting as a 'produce-orial' task — as a producer, you'll do anything," he concludes. "Some days, that's just tweeting every Tuesday night, and some days, that's putting on a chest hair merkin." And a sequined button-up.

A few days before the episode aired, Miranda got on the phone to talk about his cameo — which he wasn’t even sure if people would catch. “I think most people are not going to notice because the work of our makeup and costume departments are so good they’re gonna think, Oh, some guy is playing Roy Scheider. When I watched the cut, I didn’t think it looked like me,” he said, laughing. “We didn’t ever want to go like, Oh, here’s a cameo! None of the people cast in this show have been like that, and we’ve got serious musical theater luminaries in there — you’ve got Bianca Marroquín as Chita [Rivera] and Ethan Slater as Joel Grey — but it’s never like, wink, nudge. It’s just that’s who’s playing the part. And I think this was in a similar vein.”

The appearance happened thanks to a “running joke that came to fruition,” Miranda explained. “There are so many theatrical heroes that pop up in the lives of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon — Hal Prince and John Kander and Stephen Schwartz, all people we genuinely love. So my running joke was, am I playing Schwartz? Am I playing Kander? It was sort of my way of nudging [director Tommy Kail], and then Tommy was like, ‘You don’t look unlike Roy Scheider.’” Once they settled on which parts of Jazz would make it on screen, though, Miranda faced a costume-centric challenge: “Cut to me realizing, oh, that ‘Bye Bye Life’ outfit is really tight… and then I got to the gym because I realized, crap, I have to be in ‘Roy Scheider in All That Jazz’ shape for the two scenes I’m doing!”

And here’s Tommy’s take:

And tell me how Lin-Manuel Miranda, your Hamilton collaborator, another executive producer on the show, wound up in the scene playing Roy Scheider.

Well, when I was first thinking about the show, I mean years ago, like when we were talking about Sam, I mean the next idea I had for casting—I was like, you kind of look like Roy Scheider. I mean, you’re not as attractive or sinewy, but we should do that. And he was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And then we kind of got closer and he was like, Hey, remember when you mentioned that? I was like, yeah, no, I remember. He’s like, well what do you think? And I was like, I don’t know. Do you have a SAG card? And so he did. So I made him read for the role.

Was that basically you auditioning him, like Bob is auditioning Ann to play herself in the movie?

That’s right. Um, no, Lin was offer only. So we also wanted to keep it a secret. We thought that’d be fun to have it sort of just be a part of the fabric of that last episode. But it felt like—you know, Lin loves musical theater in such a profound way. And so there was something really exciting about letting him participate as an actor. He obviously has these other skills and these other talents, but we loved letting him, you know, wear a chest merkin.

That wasn’t real?

That was not real. Chris Fulton and Debbie Zoller, hair and makeup. They really rocked it out, and the chest merkin lives on.

Is it in your possession?

I can’t talk about it too much on this particular podcast, but let’s just say it exists.

Well, I will look forward to when you’re on Chest Merkins Today, getting into the details.

That’s right. But we did break it here. We did break the news here. There’s the clickbait: “Miranda Wears Chest Merkin.”

#lin manuel miranda #tommy kail #fosse verdon #vanity fair #TheaterMania #entertainment weekly

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deancasbigbang · 6 years

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Title: Now That I Found You Author: Casloveshisfreckles Artist: Mariah Rockwell Rating: Explicit Pairings: Dean/Cas (minor Sam/Sarah, Charlie/Gilda) Wordcount: 120000 Warnings/Tags: Artist!Cas, Police Officer Dean, slow burn, alternate universe, fluff, humor, past hurt/comfort, top!cas, bottom!dean, team switch Posting: 10/3/2018

Summary:

After a nasty breakup, moving thousands of miles away from nothing but problems doesn’t seem crazy to Dean Winchester. Especially not when it means he gets to be closer to his little brother Sam, in his third year at Stanford. Dean’s out and proud and finally in a city that allows the life he needs. What he wants though, he finds when he meets a hipster artist named Cas and all the colors he comes with. Their broken roads merge during a coffee shop meet cute, and there's no such thing as holding on too tight if neither is willing to pull apart.

“Well, good morning, Officer. Fancy meeting you here.”

Dean’s eyes widen and he turns to see Cas standing behind him, a twinkle in his eye. “Reading something good?” he asks.

Dean swallows. “Just some messages from a cute guy I met.” He tucks his phone back into his shirt pocket with a wink.

Oh my god, that was cheesy dude, he’s not gonna fall for that.

But Castiel smiles wide and damn, he’s beautiful. “Is that so? Got a hot date?”

Huh, maybe Dean’s not so bad at this.

He nods and ducks his head, taking a second to appreciate the man in front of him. Cas has a yoga bag slung around his back and he's wearing black capri yoga pants that hug every curve of his thighs. Dean licks his lips and thinks he’d really like to bite into them.

Fucking hell.

The neck of Cas’ oversized shirt shows off collar bones that Dean wants to lick and he flushes red when Cas clears his throat.

Cas has one eyebrow raised, and he's wearing a smirk when Dean's eyes get back to his face. His tongue darts out to wet his lips and Dean imagines this is what a coronary feels like.

Dean’s not going to survive this man.

He takes a steadying breath in through his nose and gives Cas his sweetest smile in some kind of attempt to play off his open staring. “I’m not one to brag but my date? He’s fuckin’ gorgeous.”

Point Winchester.

A faint blush paints Cas’ cheeks and he leans into Dean's personal space. “Bendy too.”

Dean’s mouth falls open and Cas turns with a wink so he can order his coffee, his dark hair thick and wild. Dean wonders if it’s as soft as it looks.

Nope. He’s not going to survive this at all.

#2018 preview #deancas #destiel #dcbb 2018

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jayarkham · 3 years

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Today is the day. On this day in 2020, two legends collide. On the outskirts of a small town in New England, silence falls upon a large field. Even the animals in the surrounding woods wait with bated breath, as they prepare for what they are to witness. On one side of the field, the Leto stands -- his family of fellow cosmic entities behind him. On the other side, The Claus and his followers of reindeer and elves prepare to charge. This is it. The moment is now.

The Claus and his followers begin the charge -- Rudolph the Red in front, leading the slay. The Leto and the Cosmic Entities take pause. They watch as The Claus army approaches closer and closer, but still they pause. As the Claus army reaches the midway point of the field, the Leto raises his fist in the air and screams, "This is war!" At that moment, the Cosmic Entities take charge.

The two armies collide in a crashing wave of bodies. Elves are thrown to the side, as their size shows to be an immediate disadvantage at first. Rudolph the Red takes first blood, as his antlers easily slide through the ribcage of Kid Rock, puncturing his heart. As Kid Rock falls to the ground, he screams out in agony, "Bawitdaba!"

The sound of the agonizing scream throws Rudolph a few yards away. He feels dazed, and his ears ring with pain. The only thing he can hear and think of is the word, "Bawitdaba."

The Cosmics and the Claus Army continue to battle on. The reindeer continue to fall, but there is a threat that the Cosmics forgot about. Because of their size, the Cosmics didn't think to check on the elves that were thrown away during the first collision. The elves begin to sneak into the battle. The Cosmics begin to feel themselves fall to the ground as the elves cut them at the ankles.

The Leto makes his way to The Claus, but is distracted when he sees his friends falling to the ground. This was all his fault. He brought them to this. He goes to run towards them but is stopped. It is Michael Cera.

"No. You can't help them. They knew what they were coming for. Now finish it. I will go help them."

The Leto nods his head. "Thank you, good friend."

"Of course."

The Leto runs back towards the Claus, not paying attention to Michael Cera. Cera smiles, as he flips a silver coin in the air. "I'm sorry, good friend. But things haven't been fun for way too long."

Seeing the coin flipping in the air as their signal, the reindeer that were hiding amongst the trees surrounding the field charge in. They trample through the field, their antlers finding any flesh to glide in.

Pumpkin pieces fly in the air, as a multitude of hooves slam down upon the head of Sam Rockwell.

Oldman, seeing his creation and his friend dying upon the ground, tries to get up to help Rockwell, when one antler slides into his calf, and another antler slides into the thigh of his other leg. As he falls to the ground, he feels yet another antler glide cleanly into the side of his torso. He can taste blood in his mouth. He had never tasted blood before.

Kunis continues to fight, as a rush of deer after deer slam into her. Kunis falls to the ground, as Rudolph the Red slowly approaches. Rudolph continuously shakes his head, trying to get the Bawitdaba to break free. Kunis stands up, as Rudolph is six feet away, facing the Red at last. The two fight fiercely -- each blocking the other's attack, as if knowing a pre-arranged choreography. Finally, Kunis lands a punch to Rudolph's nose, making it bleed with a bright red. She raises her hands in the air to deliver her final blow when she feels a small blade slide into her side. She turns to see Cera looking at her. "I'm sorry Mila, but you just aren't fun enough."

Distracted, Kunis doesn't see Rudolph stand and charge towards her. She only feels his antlers slide into her back.

The Leto approaches The Claus. The two begin throwing fist and foot, each attack landing upon the other. Neither trying to block the other's attack, fully relying on who can take the most pain, and deliver the strongest attack. Finally, it is The Claus that falls to the ground.

The Leto crouches down on top of the Claus and raises his two pounding fist above his head as one unit. "I sure hope you delivered all of your presents old man."

"All but one, Leto. It's a day late, but it is in my jacket pocket."

Leto looks confused but brings his hands down and starts going through the pockets of The Claus. He pulls out a small package. Written upon it are the words "Happy Birthday Jared". Inside is a necklace locket that he can't open.

"How did you know it was my birthday yesterday?"

"Because it was also my birthday."

The Claus lowers his fake beard, and the Leto is looking at himself.

***

It was hard for Nicolas Leto growing up. His twin brother created a world, and Nicolas didn't know what his place was in such a world. His brother was too consumed in his creation to even know that Nicolas existed. Finally, Nicolas would create something of his own.

Nicolas moved to the North Pole, and built himself a family. He was happy, but he saw that the world outside the Pole was hurting. Leto created the world, but the world created war, poverty, and despair. Seeing that his twin brother was too consumed to acknowledge those things that his creations had created, he felt it was up to him to help.

Every year, the day before his birthday, he would travel the world and deliver gifts to all the children of the world. He would bring magic back into their lives. He would show them that there is kindness in the world.

Year after year, he would deliver the gift, and year after year, the parents of the children would take credit for the gifts. But he didn't care. Then, groups of people started demanding that no one talk about Nicolas at all. They said that Nicolas was trying to bribe the children away from Leto. So, in time, Nicolas became a simple tale that children would tell each other in secret, as the parents sang their praises to Leto, and continued to take the credit for all Nicolas had done.

As time went forward, Nicolas finally broke. He pushed his family of elves harder to create gifts, as he became too consumed with vengeance to create any gifts himself. He changed his last name to Claus to erase his connection to his twin brother Jared. He would still deliver gifts to the innocent children who were good through the year, but the adults and the Leto would only receive pain.

***

"I don't know what to say." The Leto gets up and backs away.

"You took away my purpose, brother. You created the world and everything in it. Why did you have to take the one thing I created?"

"I don't kn..." the Leto becomes distracted when he looks towards the field and sees the sights before him. His friends laying in blood. Reindeer and elves continuously beating those still remotely moving. All was lost. If his friends were to die, he would die with them.

Leto begins charging in towards the madness, but just before he reaches them, he hears it. It is the sound of a laughing mouse. A mouse laughing with maniacal intent.

Over a hill, the Disney creatures charge in, and start ripping the reindeer and elves apart. It is absolute mayhem. Then, as quick as they came, they leave. Leto looks up upon the hill and sees his old friend, Walt. Walt looks down, gives a slight wink and a nod, turns and walks away with his machine body.

The Leto is left in a sea of blood and bodies. Kid Rock is dead. Sam Rockwell is dead. Gary Oldman and Kunis are both badly beaten, and are losing a lot of blood, but they are still alive. Thank Leto, they are alive. Michael Cera is missing. Leto turns towards his twin brother, but he is gone. The war was over. The Leto lost some family and he lost some friends. He is still holding on to the locket he cannot open, and places it in his pocket. The locket will have to be for another day.

A few miles away, The Claus and Rudolph the Red limp towards their home in the North. Behind them, Cera is flipping his silver coin, telling them how he killed the dinosaurs and how they were going to have so much fun.

The end...?

0 notes

lucy-sky · 4 years

Text

Opposites (Ezra x Reader)

Summary: Being a freelance digger you landed on The Green Moon in search for treasure, and found more than you expected. You meet Ezra - a man you used to work with in the past. You had a history, but this relationship led to nothing. Is it a good idea to team up with him again, or not? Soon you’ll find out.

Words: 6 130

Warnings: Sexual content (quite fluffy, but still)

Note: Okay... I totally didn’t expect this movie to hit me THAT hard, but I guess it happened - I wrote a fic. And it’s rather long, omg. So... What you need to know about me is that I very seldom write about not Sam Rockwell characters, so this story is smth a bit out of my comfort zone. Also this is only the 2nd time I’m trying to write some kind of an action scene and it’s a real struggle for me to put such things into words (English is not my native language). Anyway, since I’m new to Pedro Pascal fandom and since I haven’t seen much content with this particular character (why though???), I’m very curious (and slightly anxious) about people’s opinions on this story. So, your feedback is greatly appreciated! But please be gentle :’D

@biobiopsy, you asked me to tag you, so here you go :)

That day was totally not the best in your carrier. After spending hours wandering over the wilds of The Green Moon, all you had in your case was a couple of gems. It was getting late and your filter was almost spent, but you still haven’t found a decent aurelac deposit.

After a short break you decided to head back to your ship. The filter wasn’t going to last long anyways. Maybe tomorrow you’d be luckier… But as you were just about to leave, something caught your eye. The ground… Was it what you thought it was? You got closer, took off your backpack and reached for the kit.

No way. No fucking way. It was a freaking goldmine!

Finally the fortune seemed to smile upon you! But now you had a problem: he deposit was large; getting the gems takes time, you knew from experience that rush is your worst enemy when it comes to this. Damn it! Why didn’t you just take a spare filter with you?

A sudden rustle from behind interrupted your thoughts. Your reaction was fast - you turned around abruptly, jerking out the thrower.

- Whoa, easy… Y/n??

You blinked in confusion. The man, standing in front of you, was someone you totally didn’t expect to meet right here and right now.

- Ezra?

Yes, it obviously was him. A man you used to work with about a year ago as a part of diggers team. He didn’t seem to change at all: same bold look in his dark brown eyes, same bright smile… You still remembered kissing those lips once - something you wished to forget, and almost succeeded in this… But life was never predictable.

- Damn, y/n, is it really you? Long time no see… It’s been a year, huh?

- Guess so, - you nodded, the weapon still pointed at him.

- Hey, come on, I came in peace, - Ezra chuckled, but you didn’t move.

- It’s my place, - you said harshly.

- Is it? Forgive me, but I don’t see any signs saying it’s exclusively yours.

- I got here first. The Green is big enough, go find your own.

- So we’ve just met and you’re already asking me to leave? That’s not very nice. Didn’t you miss me? - He smirked cockily.

- Not really.

- Shame. Cause I did. Where’s your team, y/n?

- I’m working for myself now.

- Oh. Why’s that?

- People can betray, - you snapped. - Don’t pretend you don’t know what I mean.

- Really? So that’s the reason you’re so mad? My so called “betrayal”?

- You stole the gems and disappeared. What else should I call it?

- Hey! Let me remind you, I didn’t take the entire harvest, just took what’s mine. I think that’s fair enough. And… Whatever you call it, you should know - it has absolutely nothing to do with you. It’s all about the asshole we used to work for these days. As far as I remember, you thought he’s an asshole too, right?

- Right. You knew that. So you could at least let me know about your plans.

- I… - He stumbled, - Only didn’t want to get you in trouble. Plus you kinda pushed me away so I didn’t want to be too persistent.

- Wow, you’re such a gentleman, - you replied sarcastically. Ezra let out an annoyed sigh.

- Anyway, I’m not here to steal anything from you. I would never do such a thing. I just wanted to offer a helping hand, - he continued.

- So far, I somehow manage without you.

- And I’ve never called it in question. But hey, this deposit… it’s really impressive. There’s more than enough aurelac for both of us, and together we can harvest it way faster. I mean… you don’t want other floaters to come across it, do you?

There was something suspicious about the way he talked… You narrowed your eyes examining his face through the glass helmet.

- You need something from me, right? Apart from the gems.

- Huh?.. - It was his turn now to look confused.

- What about your team, Ezra? - You cocked an eyebrow. - Where is it?

- I uh… See, I’m not always work in a team, sometimes I run solo as well…

- Okay. What about your ship than?

- Uh…

- Let me guess. They flew away and left you here, did they?

From his expression you could already guess the answer.

- Something like that. We had a kind of a… Misunderstanding.

- Well… Guess now you see how the karma works, - you couldn’t suppress a chuckle.

- Haha. Very funny, - he grimaced. - Look, I’m really sorry about what happened… Between us, okay? Believe it or not, I don’t wanna cause you any harm. I’m actually really glad to see you… Even though you keep pointing this thing at me. I’m not an enemy. Just think of it - we can be really helpful for each other. I’ve no doubts you are prehensile enough to understand.

“Prehensile”... Only Ezra could use such kind of a word in his regular speech... Maybe that’s why he was always good at convincing. But this time it wasn’t even about benefits or something. Was he helpful or not, one thing you knew for sure: you couldn’t leave him like that.

There was also another, less noble reason to accept his suggestion: you couldn’t stay here any longer, and leaving right now meant giving him your deposit.

- Fine, - you finally put the thrower down. - My filter is very low. Could you share?

- Sure, - Ezra smiled, his posture instantly getting more relaxed. - Although mine’s not new as well… Not much for the two people… But at least we can start working. There’s still time until it gets dark.

- Deal, - you agreed.

- Hey, y/n.

- Yes?

- I’m glad you’re doing well. Really.

“Sounds like he means it”, you thought.

- Yeah… Glad you’re doing well too… Or at least you’re alive and optimistic.

- This is the way I am, sweetheart, - he winked.

- Please don’t do that.

- What?

- Don’t call me “sweetheart”. Or I’ll change my mind about giving you a ride.

- Alright, no problem, - Ezra made a serious face. - You’re the boss.

- Let’s get to it, than.

***

Darkness already blinded the sky above The Green Moon completely when you finally reached your ship.

- So this beauty is all yours, huh? Not too bad! - Ezra nodded approvingly, looking around.

- Well, I’m actually still paying for it… But yep, it’s mine. This ship is my home, so treat it respectfully, okay?

- Of course. I bet after the harvest we’re about to get you’ll be able to pay the rest easily.

- That’s why I chose working for myself. When you work for someone, it’s exhausting as fuck, and you don’t get nearly as much profit as you expect. Plus the people are sometimes assholes. But that’s not even the point. The point is - I have no idea how much time it would take me to earn enough if I kept working like I used to.

- You’re right, that’s a hell of a job. Don’t do that anymore either… Well, maybe some occasional contract gig when I’m not occupied with something else… Only I still prefer working with partners, you know… Someone who shares my views.

- Yeah, you’re apparently too talkative to stay alone for a long time.

- What can I do? - Ezra scoffed. - I’m a heart and soul of a party.

- And here’s where it took you… - You remarked.

He just shrugged.

- Everything happens for a reason. You got something to eat?..

After an improvised dinner you spent a couple of hours revising supplies and preparing for tomorrow. When everything was ready, you took a wise decision to get some rest. Even though you covered the deposit with mud and moss as much as you possibly could before leaving, you still had to return to the dig early, or your place could be discovered by someone else.

- Hey, can I ask you something? - You said when you both were lying on the cots opposite each other.

- Shoot.

- What were you actually going to do? I mean… You’re alone here, with no ship, with the last filter left…What was your plan?

- Plan?.. Well I thought of finding some settlers and ask them. Perhaps I could bargain for something…

- Like what?

- No idea. I’d figure something out, I always do. That’s how I survive, - Ezra shrugged.

- This is crazy.

- Maybe. But you just can’t be prepared for absolutely anything.

- I’m at least trying to.

- Yeah, right. You hate asking for help, do you? Also I think you’ve got trust issues, sweetheart.

- I just choose to rely on myself, not someone else in the first place. And I don’t consider it an issue, end of story. And by the way, what did I tell you about “sweetheart”?

- Fine, fine, whatever you say, - he threw his hands up jokingly. You rolled your eyes.

- You know what? We could actually make a great team, - Ezra suddenly went after a pause.

- Seriously? - You huffed. - What makes you think so?

- Opposites attract.

- Bullshit. Go to sleep already.

With this you turned away from him. As you closed your eyes, you could hear him chuckling. What a cocky bastard. Yet you had to admit, at least to yourself - you really kind of missed him.

***

You woke up even earlier than expected. Partly due to nervous anticipation and partly because another person’s presence on your ship next to you felt a bit awkward.

Ezra was still asleep, and you caught yourself staring at his calm and peaceful features with a subtle tender sensation deep inside your chest… What’s wrong with you, y/n? A guy you had a vaguely romantic relationship with about a year ago appears out of the blue and you’re already melting. What a shame. And yet… You couldn’t help thinking about what may have happened if you didn’t push him away, if you weren’t afraid… What exactly you were afraid of? Getting too close?.. Perhaps he was right about trust issues though… No, this relationship would most certainly lead to nothing. You’re too different in many ways…

Opposites attract.

You shook your head. There was no time for self-scrutiny at the moment. You had to concentrate on work. Once it’s done, you’d have time to figure out your feelings. And also find out if you can really trust him or not.

Decidedly, you stood up and reached out to shake his shoulder.

- Wake up, sleeping beauty. The gems are not gonna dig themselves out.

The man let out a soft grunt.

- Seriously, Ezra. I’m not gonna tell you twice.

- Alright, alright, I’m awake, - he squinted at you. - You’re not very sweet in the mornings, you know that?

- I’ll take it as a compliment.

***

It was an extremely productive day. You had to admit: working with a partner was way more effective than doing it alone. With Ezra’s help you also managed to bring and set a tent where you could have breaks and eat without returning to the ship. It saved you lots of time.

One of today’s trophies you were particularly proud of. You already sensed something special as you pulled out a cocoon way heavier than usual. The color was slightly different as well.

- Ezra, look, - you called out. He frowned, carefully examining your finding.

- Why do you think it’s like that? - You asked.

- No idea. But we have to be careful. Let’s find out, - he reached for a knife. - Hold it like that…

You both held your breath as he made a cut.

- Ha! Perfect, - he gave you a triumphant grin.

Once the meat was removed, you saw an aurelac gem you’ve never seen before. It was huge, and almost entirely golden.

- Have you ever seen something like that? - You asked, staring at the gem in awe.

- Never. Just heard something about it. I thought it’s a myth…

- Hey.

You took your eyes off the trophy and faced him.

- We’re not splitting the gems, right? We take the harvest, return to the center, sell it and then split the reward evenly. Agreed?

- Sounds fair to me, - Ezra nodded. - I’m in.

- Awesome. Let’s get back to work than?

- Yes, Ma’am! - He replied with a chuckle. - By the way, what are you gonna do with all this money, apart from paying for the ship?

- Didn’t really think about it…

- I’d go somewhere for a nice long vacation, - he said dreamily. - Kamrea maybe… I’ve heard it’s a lovely place... Care to join me for further inspection?..

- I don’t know.

- Ah, come on! Why not?

- I’m not completely sure if I can trust you yet, - you said honestly.

- Okay… - He paused, then smiled. - Anyway, since we’re stuck together, you still have plenty of time make up your mind.

***

Walking back to the ship that night you both felt tired but pretty content. It gets dark quite fast here on The Green Moon, so you had to use flashlights. Ezra was telling you one of his many funny stories as you walked, when you suddenly heard a rustle from the bushes to the left of you.

- Hey, did you hear it? - You asked, tensing immediately, your hand slowly moving to the thrower.

He nodded, ready to grab his weapon as well.

The rustle continued.

- Who’s there? - Ezra asked out loud, pointing the gun at the bushes. - Show yourself!

At first nothing happened. You looked at each other, shrugged and decided to keep going, but once you started moving again, three silhouettes stepped out of the darkness, blocking your way. And they were pointing throwers at you as well.

- What the hell… - Ezra muttered. - Hey guys! Maybe we’ll talk like civilized people first, how ‘bout that?..

The tallest person said something, but you didn’t understand a thing - apparently these people didn’t speak your language. And they didn’t sound very friendly.

- Harvest, - you finally heard. - We need harvest.

- Sorry to upset you, buddy, but I’m afraid it’s not gonna happen. Our harvest is ours, - Ezra replied boldly.

- Ours.

The following things happened really fast: the tallest guy pointed the gun at Ezra, but he was faster and managed to injure him. Dropping the tent on the ground you rushed to the right, shooting on your way. The enemies were shooting back. One of them fell. But it was just a start: there were more of them, to the right and the left, you couldn’t tell exactly how many. All you could do at the moment was run. And shoot. It was too dark already and you had no idea if you actually managed to hurt any of them or not… Good thing they didn’t have any night vision devices either. The ship wasn’t far. You could already see it. But damn! These people just didn’t let you go. They seemed to be everywhere. Whispers and rustles of the forest and darkness didn’t help you at all. But still you managed to move forward somehow.

At some point you lost Ezra and the panic immediately started rising up inside you. In this darkness you could easily hurt each other instead of the enemies. With a shaky voice, you called out his name, knowing full well that shouting is not a good idea, but you instantly felt relieved when his hand found yours.

- I’m here. C’mon!

He pulled you with him behind the nearest tree.

- Fuck! Who the hell are they?? - You whispered frantically.

- Pretty sure they ain’t no floaters. Just bastards who don’t wanna dig but prefer ravaging the others… Fucking pirates! They found the ship and set the trap.

- But we can make it, right? It’s not that far.

- We have to. Come on, let’s go.

Still holding hands tightly you proceeded moving towards the ship.

- Ezra, look out!

You saw a pirate stepping out of the bush right behind him, and you shot. When you pulled the trigger again, you realized the thrower was empty.

- Shit!

Ezra shot a couple more times, before his thrower went off, but thankfully his shots were tidy enough to fetch down the opponent. You ran a few of meters more and hid behind the tree again, catching your breath.

- Got more cassettes? - You asked him.

He searched in his pocket.

- Just one.

Damn. The situation was getting even worse.

- Okay, got an idea, - Ezra said decidedly. - Here’s what we’re gonna do. You take the case with gems and run to the ship as fast as you can. I cover you with the thrower. Get inside and start the engine. If I won't be there in… Two minutes - you take off. Clear?

The plan was risky, but what else you could do? In these circumstances you just had no other choice than to trust him.

- Y/n? Can you do that?

- Yeah… Yes, I think I can, - you nodded, breathing heavily. - Let’s do it.

- Okay.

Ezra reached his pocket and recharged his thrower with a new cassette.

- Ready? - He asked and you nodded again. - Oh, wait.

He took something off his front pocket and tucked it into yours. You thought it was probably his empty cassettes to recharge on board the ship.

- There. Now go!

- Two minutes, right?

- Two minutes, - he nodded reassuringly and squeezed your hand in his for a split second. Enough to make your heart shrink. - Go!

Without further hesitation, you took a deep breath and rushed towards the ship. Your heart was hammering wildly inside your chest; all you could hear was your heavy breathing and the shots behind you. Someone wailed in pain. You were hoping with all your heart it wasn’t Ezra.

Only a few steps were separating you from the ship when suddenly a dark figure appeared right in front of you, as if out of nowhere. You had no time to think about what you were doing. As you saw the thrower pointed at you, you had to use the only possible weapon you had - the case with gems. So you did. Before the stranger managed to pull the trigger, your case crashed against the front of his helmet. You heard the sound of cracking glass and hit again; suddenly the case popped open and about a half of its content scattered to the ground. Apparently you broke the lock somehow, but there was no time to collect the stones. Taking the advantage of your enemy being disoriented, you rushed to the door and entered the security code with shaky fingers. Whoever these pirates were, they definitely weren’t smart enough to crack this code and break inside the ship.

Taking off your helmet and gloves, you ran to the cockpit, quickly started the engines, and then recharged your thrower in case if Ezra needed help.

“Two minutes.”

The time was running out. All of a sudden you realized how you’re actually afraid of losing him.

- Come on, Ezra!.. - You muttered through clenched teeth, staring at your watch. Less than half a minute left.

“I’m not gonna take off without him.”

You stood up, grabbed the thrower, and headed back to the door. A sudden loud noise following by a low grunt made you flinch.

- Ezra? - You shouted. - Ezra, is that you?

There was no answer and you felt like sinking.

- Ezra?..

- Yes, that’s me! Take off! NOW!

You let out a deep sigh of relief and ran back to the cockpit.

“Alright than… 3… 2… 1…”

- Ezra, hold onto something!

The engines roared and the ship took off. You closed your eyes, trying to breathe evenly and compose yourself.

“It’s over. We’re safe now.”

***

In a few minutes the ship left the planet’s orbit, so you could finally switch on the automatic flight control and go check on Ezra. He still wasn’t around and you worried he might be hurt. The dust of The Green Moon made every single scratch a possible lethal danger.

You found him next to the door, sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.

- Ezra… Is everything alright?.. - You asked anxiously, hunkering down next to him. - Are you injured?..

He opened his eyes and looked up at you.

- I’m fine… Y/n… You won’t believe it, but… I think I twisted my ankle, - he scoffed.

For the second time tonight you didn’t know if you wanted to laugh or to cry because of relief. Unable to contain yourself, you leaned into him in a swift motion and hugged him tightly. Your reaction was so sudden it caused him jerk a little, but the next moment you felt him hugging you back.

- Hey… He whispered softly, letting his fingers run through your hair. – What did I tell you? Take off in two minutes. And how long did you wait?..

- I’ve always been stubborn, - you smirked against his shoulder.

- That’s what I always liked about you.

***

Later in your quarters, after you both finally got rid of the suits, you were helping Ezra to fix his ankle with a bandage.

- See, I was right, - He pointed out. - We really do make a good team. We have to think about working together in the future, huh?

- You know, I was really pissed at you, - You confessed. - When you left. I didn’t really care about the gems and stuff... But... It’s just that you simply disappeared without saying a word... As if I meant nothing for you.

You weren’t completely sure why you were telling this to him. Just a sudden desire to finally make it clear about how you felt. Ezra looked at you carefully, knitting his brow.

- I mean... I agree that it’s my fault as well, I really did pushed you away myself, so what else did I expect, but... still... - At this you stumbled, lost for words.

- Y/n, don’t. That was really shitty of me to leave like that, ‘cause it’s absolutely not true about you meaning nothing... I just... - He sighed deeply and the soft look in his brown eyes made your heart skip a beat. - I totally should have been more persistent.

Having said that, he reached out, his fingertips grazing against your cheek. A soft, barely perceptible touch, yet still so full of affection.

- I’m sorry, - he whispered, and leaned in.

The next thing you felt was his lips, warm and gentle against yours. The kiss was incredibly tender and quite chaste, but nevertheless it made you weak. Ezra pulled away a little, as if waiting for your reaction, but when you gripped onto his shoulders, he didn’t hesitate any longer. His lips crushed back on yours feverishly, his breath hot, and his tongue pushing inside your mouth decidedly, sending millions of shivers down your spine. He tasted and felt exactly the same as a year ago, but this time you both were way more desperate and needy at the sudden realization - you could have died tonight. In a way this kiss was a celebration of life, but also only now you realized very clearly how much you needed this, how long you’ve been completely on your own; and how you actually missed him, his touch and his warmth.

You gripped the back of his neck, pulling him even closer, melting against his frame with a trembling gasp as he let go of your lips only to nibble on your jawline. Your head felt light and dizzy of his closeness, sloppy kisses on your neck, tickling sensation of his facial hair against sensitive skin.

Deliriously, you let your hands wander to the hem of his shirt, slipping underneath and caressing his belly. Ezra let go of you for a moment to pull the t-shirt off over his head and toss it aside. His body was firm and tanned and you marveled at the sight. Your shirt went next, and then he pulled you back in his embrace. The skin-to-skin contact almost made you shudder, almost too much for your touch starved body. Almost unbearable, but you still craved for it. Your breath quickened as his tongue traced your collarbone while his fingers struggled to undo your bra. You reached behind your back to help him and soon your breasts were exposed to his hungry eyes, darkened with lust. You bit your lip as his thumbs brushed against your hardened nipples, it was like the sparks of electricity flashing through your body. Greedily, he kissed your lips again, pulling you down on the cot with him, on top of him.

As you straddled him, you could feel how hard he already was underneath you. Unable to let go of his lips, you started slowly grinding against him to release the pressure building in your core, earning a quiet moan from him. It encouraged you to go further and trace his neck with your tongue. You could feel him shivering, tightening his grip on your hips.

He let you explore his body for a while, tracing his chest with your fingertips, peppering his collarbones with soft kisses, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to take it for too long. It’s been a while since someone touched him with real affection. At some point he just couldn’t contain himself any longer. Letting out a low groan, he seized your waist and flipped you onto your back. Your surprised gasp was muffled by his lips capturing yours again, before moving further down your body. The tip of his tongue just barely touched a hard peak of your nipple, but it caused you whimper out loud. Tenderly, he kissed his way between your breasts and down your belly, along the hem of your sweatpants, before tugging them down slowly.

When he pressed a soft kiss on your mound through the thin cotton of your underwear, you were about to scream. There was too much of him, to many sensations at once, and your insides were tingling and aching for release, but you couldn’t get rid of a slightly awkward feeling. You’ve never been that exposed to a man before. Emotionally and physically.

Ezra seemed to feel your tension. Frowning, he looked up at you.

- Uh, y/n… did you ever…

You felt blush creeping up your cheeks.

- Sorry, I… didn’t have much time for romance… - You mumbled.

- It’s okay, - he hushed, his deep brown eyes looking at you with such warmth and affection you couldn’t help but smile. - Just relax. You won’t regret it. Trust me.

You nodded, taking a deep breath. Trust him. Yes, you did trust him.

Once your panties were gone, he positioned himself between your thighs, and his hot breath against your center made you tremble with anticipation. Then his tongue carefully slid past your folds and you almost purred at the blissful sensation. After a few long and unhurried licks he settled at your throbbing clit, sucking on it gently, and it didn’t take long before you finally exploded, writhing and moaning shamelessly, fingers entangled into his soft messy hair. He kept going through your climax, licking you clean until the overstimulation caused you flinch. You were still a panting mess when he made his way back to your parted lips.

Slowly kissing him back, you could taste yourself on his tongue, and even though your insides still fluttered a bit in an aftermath of your climax, you still knew you needed more of him.

- You alright? - He asked quietly, stroking your cheek with his knuckles.

- Uh-huh, - you made, kissing his upper lip while reaching between your bodies to cup his bulge. He sighed, slightly bucking his hips at your touch.

- Ezra, - you whispered, your face so close to his your noses touched. – I… think you should take off your pants now…

- That makes sense, I guess, - he snickered mischievously, placing one more quick kiss on your lips before getting on his feet and tugging off his pants and underwear.

Hovering over you, Ezra pressed his forehead against yours, closing his eyes and humming softly as your fingers trailed down his torso, through the hairs on his lower belly, to stroke along his length. The throbbing, teasing sensation was driving him crazy, yet your sweet caress, so gentle and intimate, almost made him melt. He both craved for release and wanted it to last forever. He opened his eyes, met your gaze, and kissed you again, deeply and passionately, causing you tremble beneath him.

- I need you, - you breathed out against his mouth, and he obeyed. The sensation of him filling you up was overwhelming. He moved slowly at first, allowing you to adjust, but soon your moans and gasps of pleasure encouraged him to pick up the pace. Clinging to him, you enjoyed every second of this intimacy. Everything felt so good: the weight of his body on top of yours, his hot breath on your skin, quiet moans and grunts escaping him… Digging your nails into his shoulders you arched your hips to meet his thrusts, urging him to go deeper. His hand slid under the bend of your knee, lifting your leg a bit to get a better angle. You whimpered desperately, jolts of pleasure flashing deep within your core as he hit that sweet spot of yours, bringing you closer and closer to the edge. A couple more thrusts and you clenched around him, a wave of pure ecstasy washing all over your body from head to toes. Ezra felt dangerously close too. He pulled out with a groan and let go. Through the haze of your post-orgasmic bliss you could feel his warm load spilling over your belly.

He collapsed on top of you, panting, and you were simply lying like that for a while, his face buried into the crook of your neck, your fingers caressing his hair. You felt warm and sated, and completely safe in his arms. Ezra lifted his head lazily to look at you. His eyes were soft and sparkling, and you felt so much tenderness for him at the moment, that you couldn’t possibly put it into words. Instead, you kissed him. You kissed the corners of his mouth, the tip of his nose. You kissed that little wrinkle he had between his eyebrows and let your fingers run through his tousled hair. He had this little blond streak and you remembered asking him about it once, but he wasn’t sure himself when and how he actually got it. Anyway, you always found it adorable. Ezra took your hand in his and brought it to his mouth to kiss your knuckles.

- That was… Pretty intense, huh?.. - He smiled.

- Oh yes, it was.

- You know what we need right now? A shower.

- True, - you agreed. - You can go first then. The shower cabin is too small for the two of us anyways…

- Bullshit. Pretty sure we can fit. If we get close enough, - Ezra smirked. - You’re going with me, sweetheart. End of subject.

- Yes, sir, - you laughed.

Finally you could admit - you actually liked him calling you “sweetheart”. A lot.

***

You woke up lying on Ezra’s chest instead of a pillow. His calm and even breath and the warmth of his body against you felt nice and comforting, and not awkward at all this time.

In the world you lived, there was one thing you knew for sure - you had to be tough. Showing weakness was never safe. But now, with him for the first time in ages you weren’t afraid of being opened up and vulnerable. And it didn’t even matter how different you were. Yes, you’re the quiet one and he’s talkative, he’s chaotic and you’re organized, he’s spontaneous and you always need a plan… But none of these was important. The most important thing was - deep inside you both felt loneliness. Now you weren’t lonely anymore.

You felt like you could spend a lifetime just snuggling like that, it was perfection, except one thing - you realized you were hungry as a wolf. Unable to bear with the rumbling of your stomach any longer, you carefully slipped out of the bed, put on some clothes and headed to the cockpit.

Your backpack was still lying there on the floor. You opened it and grabbed a couple of protein bars and a thermos bottle. Sitting on the floor with your legs crossed, you took a sip of warm drink. Your body was aching but it was a pleasant sensation. You glanced at the timer on the dashboard to find out you still had a few hours until landing. No rush.

The case was there too, next to the backpack. You reached out and opened it. Damn. More than a half of your harvest was lost, including that rare big golden gem. You sighed. Well, at least you were alive and well… And in fact, you found something way more valuable than gemstones.

“Everything happens for a reason. “

You heard his footsteps behind you and smiled.

- Morning… - Ezra’s voice was a little hoarse after sleep. He bent down and kissed the top of your head before sitting next to you.

- Morning. Are you hungry? - You handed him a protein bar.

- I sure am, - he chucked, leaning in and gently nibbling on your exposed shoulder.

- I didn’t mean that hunger, - you scoffed.

- Well, that too, - he took a large bite of his snack.

- Hey, what’s wrong? - He frowned, as he followed your gaze and spotted the opened case.

- Well, nothing particularly terrible. It’s just… I guess your dream vacation has to wait for a while… - You shrugged, and told him what happened on your way to the ship.

- Oh yeah, I saw that guy with a smashed helmet… Almost tripped over him actually… That’s pretty badass! - He nodded in appreciation. - Um… By the way… You didn’t check the front pocket of your suit, did you?

- Nope, - you narrowed your eyes. - Why? I thought you just gave me your empty cassettes…

- There were cassettes, yes… But… There was also something else…

Intrigued, you got on your feet. Your suit was hanging next to the door. You dove your hand into the front pocket and fished out something wrapped in a piece of cloth. Carefully you unwrapped the bundle and gasped in surprise: it was the big golden gem.

- B-but… - You stuttered, turning to Ezra and giving him a questioned look. - How?... Did you steal this gem?..

- What? No! You saw all the gems when you closed the case before heading back. How could I possibly do that? Magic powers?

- Than I’m confused.

- Don’t be. It’s not the same stone, it’s another one. Remember I told you I’ve heard of these gems? Well I also heard there are usually two of them, on the opposite sides of the dig.

- Opposites… - You murmured softly and he gave you a broad smile.

- That’s right. Just like you and me, huh?

- But why didn’t you tell me?

- Just wanted to surprise you. It’s simple as that. And it seems to me that mischief managed, - he chuckled.

- Bastard, - you laughed.

- Love you too.

- Is that… A confession? - You blurted out.

- Most likely it is, - Ezra smirked, stepping closer to you and cupping your cheek. - All I know is you are way, way more precious than any gem, sweetheart. Ugh... This actually sounds a bit cheesier than I expected…

- It’s okay, - you hushed, leaning in for a kiss. - I think I can deal with it.

***

For everyone who read until the end - thank you very much for your time and patience!

#pedro pascal #prospect 2018 #ezra x reader #fanfiction #reader insert #prospect #prospect movie #ezra #ezra (prospect)#lucy tries to write

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ahouseoflies · 4 years

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The Best Films of 2019, Part V

(Sorry for the long wait.) GOOD MOVIES

43. Luce (Julius Onah)- For every subtle, graceful moment, there's a spelled-out, maladroit moment, but this movie has a lot on its mind regarding race. Naomi Watts is great as a mother whose unwavering support of her son is as admirable as it is foolish, and Octavia Spencer plays a very real type that I hadn't seen in a movie, a teacher who uses her students to validate her own worldview. The film takes a long time to judge its characters, to the point that the title character could have done none of the things he's accused of (unlikely), some of the things he's accused of (likely), or all of the things he's accused of (unlikely). The dialogue is sometimes theatrical, but thankfully, so is the ambiguity. 42. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Marielle Heller)- I appreciated the deft touch of Marielle Heller--stuff works in this movie that would look silly on the page--but I wasn't fully connecting. That is, until Chris Cooper got a tear lodged in the corner of his eye and said: "It's not fair. I was just starting to figure out how to live my life." That achieved what it was supposed to achieve. 41. Little Women (Greta Gerwig)- Gerwig takes chances with the structure, and it takes a long time for that gambit to pay off. Once it does though, such as when Jo comes downstairs to see a hearty Beth, which is only there to contrast Jo coming downstairs minutes later to an empty kitchen without Beth, the reinvention pays dividends. I liked whenever the film was winking at the audience, showing its own strings, but that first half was a lot of "Amy, you're Amy, right? And the audience can tell us apart, right, Amy?" The Chalamet-Pugh scenes, to use a phrase that a Sacramentonian like Gerwig might approve of, just hit different. Especially in the scene that most directly addresses Alcott's division between obligation and personal responsibility, their chemistry crackles. Can someone please cast those two as reporters stepping over each other while trying to crack the same scoop? Please? 40. Dark Waters (Todd Haynes)- In the Todd Haynes filmography, this is an effective if weird entry: He makes the procedural, research-based parts of a legal thriller exciting while the actual courtroom stuff falls flat. And it's a strange challenge for a director with such a sumptuous eye for design to capture the flat textures of Cincinnati office space or the sacky suits of a guy who is consumed by a case. That being said, the film is a work of conscience and compassion. It's no small feat to call out DuPont by name over a hundred times. The first half moves nimbly. When it works, such as the creative montage that explains Teflon to the audience, it resists the crutches of its genre. But the story suffers from having to compress so many years in the second half. Those broad strokes affect both the supporting performances--only Tim Robbins is able to sell his character's change of heart in limited screen time--and tone. Sometimes the "None of this matters" scenes are right next to the "Maybe I've made a difference" scenes, and it's jarring. 39. One Child Nation (Nanfu Wang)- It's a cool trick for something so handmade and personal to also stand in as a story of a country. And it's as affecting as you would imagine images of discarded fetuses would be. If I sound dismissive though, it's because I don't know quite to do with this. China...sucks? 38. Ford v. Ferrari (James Mangold)- Hard to argue with the craftsmanship of a film that cares so much about its structure on a scene-by-scene level. Ford v. Ferrari is two-and-a-half hours (four hours on TNT every Sunday forever), but, if anything, the forty minutes dedicated to Le Mans could be longer. Josh Lucas nearly tanks the thing with his smugness, but the other performances are fun. My take on why the film is a guide for being a Republican is still charging.

37. Us (Jordan Peele)- Us made $70 million in its opening weekend, which is a lot for a David Lynch movie. It's amazing that a film this artsty and accusatory toward its audience (Us=U.S.) is immensely popular. The imagery of Us is arresting (and so so funny). Within the first two shots, you know you're in good hands, and my Tumblr feed is going to be full of, say, Elisabeth Moss, whose expressions are the best effect in movies, giving herself a smile with scissors. Scissors that always create a division in their "tethered" subject, that are handled by Freddy Krueger gloves that are clearly an influence on Jordan Peele, that make construction paper cut-outs that mirror the bougie family decal on the back of the Wilson Family's station wagon. This device is a thought-out visual component. But Us is all too often a subtext in search of a text. When we really start to unpack the shadow people, they might not even make literal sense. I say this as I plan a second viewing that the movie deserves. On one hand, I admire Peele's search for a metaphor for political division or homelessness or late capitalism. On the other hand, a metaphor for everything is a metaphor for nothing. 36. Richard Jewell (Clint Eastwood)- Like most Eastwood directorial efforts, things are a little too neat and fixed in the setup: This character saying something a bit too on-the-nose and biographical, those characters probably not being in the same place at the same time. And the female characters, especially Olivia Wilde's rapacious, promiscuous Kathy, would have felt out of place thirty years ago, let alone now. There's barely anything on the page for her, and, to be honest, I don't think she does much with what she was given. Once the film settles into what it's actually about though, the drama is graceful and potent. The attorney-client relationship is specific and interesting, and in a less loaded year, Paul Walter Hauser and Sam Rockwell would be clearing their mantles. Hauser, in particular, is great, free of any of the vanity that might go into making Jewell more perceptive or self-aware. 35. The Peanut Butter Falcon (Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz)- Derivative of even something like Mud from a few years ago, poisoned by an abrupt ending, but ultimately sweet as hell. Shia and Dakota play off each other with Movie Star fireworks, so the film kicks into a different gear when they're together. The scene in which LaBoeuf stands at the Salt Water Redneck's screen door is a heartbreaker. 34. Pain and Glory (Pedro Almodovar)- A little less formally inventive than I was expecting, Pain and Glory is mostly good and sometimes great, especially in the heartbreaking Federico sequence. In another mother-son story, one that brings up the word "autofiction" without prompting, Banderas is even styled to look like Almodovar. This might be his first "old man" role, and he wears it well. 33. Where’s My Roy Cohn? (Matt Trynauer)- The Donald Trump section, the one that all of Cohn's situational morality and empty power-grubbing had been leading to all along, is illuminating because it goes deep into specific deals. (And because the relationship is recent enough for the interview subjects to have first-hand knowledge.) I wish that Trynauer had slowed down that much elsewhere--especially to get to the bottom of the frog collection. But if the object is to get you to go, "What an asshole," then mission accomplished. 32. The Lighthouse (Robert Eggers)- Eggers lays the doubling on pretty thick in the last half-hour, but he goes to great lengths to make this like nothing you've ever seen or heard before otherwise. He's a filmmaker who cares deeply about the composed image on a shot by shot and possibly a frame by frame level. The Lighthouse was less thematically rich than its predecessor, but I'm pretty sure I felt as confined and unnerved (and as tickled by the salty dialogue) as I was supposed to. 31. Amazing Grace (Sydney Pollack and Alan Elliot)- Amazing Grace is one of the best reviewed movies of the year, in part because no one is going to say that listening to Aretha Franklin sing is a bad experience. It's not. But she's stationary as a performer, and I would be lying if I said that the movie didn't get tedious. In its best moments though, one of which is Aretha's dad wiping sweat off her face while she ignores him and plays the piano, it's high, high art. 30. The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (Alex Gibney)- A typically solid Gibney effort: never boring, articulate in its aims, poised to expose fraud for the public good. The film builds quite a bit of momentum as it gauges Elizabeth Holmes on the scale of American showmanship and Silicon Valley's fake-it-till-you-make-it ethos, and its strangest moments are its best. (See: The C.E.O. and C.O.O. giddily jumping on a bounce house because one of their two hundred tests got approved by the FDA.) I like that no one explicitly comments on Holmes's looks, using words like "captivating" or "presence" instead, letting her undue influence on men hang over the proceedings the same way it did in real life. There's a lot left unsaid about how she might have been held back but then pushed forward, underestimated until she was overestimated, because of the lack of women in her field. At the same time, the film repeats itself and ties itself into knots by insisting that Holmes is a complicated figure. She's a person so driven by a desire for greatness that she can't listen to reason or admit defeat. Are we sure that's revolutionary or unique? 29. Dragged Across Concrete (S. Craig Zahler)- A) All of S. Craig Zahler's movies are above average in execution and downright special in aspiration. B) All of S. Craig Zahler's movies are too long. C) If S. Craig Zahler's movies were not long, they would not be special.The guy keeps introducing characters and threads, but each one is interesting, and I keep rolling with him. (Until the Jennifer Carpenter subplot, which is ten minutes of emotional manipulation.) That same critical tangle extends to the idea of whether or not this movie endorses the racism that it depicts. I thought it did until I didn't, and maybe that wishy-washiness--dingy, dingy wishy-washiness--is what I'm supposed to feel. 28. Honey Boy (Alma Har’el)- Honey Boy isn't much of a movie, but it is an exorcism. Especially in the Lucas Hedges rehab arc that we've seen a million times, the story is thin. The film's reason to exist is emotional catharsis though, and it has that in spades. It's worth seeing for the traumatic three-way phone conversation alone. Hedges banks another good performance in what is basically a Shia impression: falsely gruff voice, t-shirt collar in mouth, crew socks peeking out of combat boots. But what LaBoeuf himself is doing is a force of nature. His performance in American Honey was my previous favorite, and he taps into the inverse of that charisma here: seductive in the former, repellent in Honey Boy. Most people can play insecure motormouths, and most people can evince pain. But to play a person who talks non-stop as a coping mechanism for pain, and getting across to the viewer that even the character knows he's not good at such a thing? Those are some shades of gray.

27. Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino)- Tarantino's best film, Inglourious Basterds, is gauged for maximum suspense and audience involvement. This one, which is one of his worst on this first viewing for me, is made entirely for himself. I appreciate that artistically, but the film never stops--especially in the clunkily paced middle--indulging itself. Oh, I get it: It's a film about growing older and dealing with possible obsolescence, but the nuts-and-bolts storytelling is too digressive for me. That dilly-dallying is the point, of course, as the film attempts to hang on to a dying moment, luxuriating in its painstakingly recreated setting and hanging out with men's men played by actors who are at their absolute peak of Movie Stardom. It's a Tarantino film, so it's not without its sublime pleasures. Hell, I'll go back just for that montage of the neon signs turning on. 26. Her Smell (Alex Ross Perry)- Grating in a way that Alex Ross Perry's films have not been before and redemptive in a way that his films have not been before. Over the course of five mammoth real-time scenes--Perry cites Steve Jobs as a structural influence--the viewer is dragged through scuzzy, abusive ugliness right to the authentic final line. It's a rewarding experience that I never want to experience again. More than anything else, the film is an additional exhibit in the case that Elisabeth Moss can do anything. She shined in Perry's Listen Up Philip and gets a similar long zoom here to showcase ten emotions at once. She plays the part of Becky Something like a glass on the edge of a table: that delicate and precarious, useful but with the potential for harm. She screams, she cries, she sings, she plays guitar, she plays piano, and she could probably float if the screenplay really required it. 25. Transit (Christian Petzold)- The only thing I knew about Transit going in was that it took place in an indeterminate time period. And that one studied aspect of the film, the ideological rootlessness of the fascists responded to with a papers-focused isolation, is what powers everything. Manohla Dargis aptly called it "temporal dissonance," and it adds real teeth to the film's allegory. The second half becomes more contemplative and less literal though, and I think it's less urgent as a result. I didn't know quite where Petzold wanted me to go in the final moments. But the stateless throng of people waiting for their number to be called at a consulate? I know what that is supposed to make me think about. 24. Mary Magdalene (Garth Davis)- I didn't like Garth Davis's last film, Lion, because the protagonist seemed listless and dumb and weak. Turns out, Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene are upgrades. There's a feminist bent to the proceedings, thanks to its two female screenwriters and a focus on the agency needed for a woman in 33 to spurn marriage and family to follow a whispery firebrand. Phoenix's performance is uneven, but, especially when he passes out bringing Lazarus back to life, he does a great job of showing how exhausting it must have been to transcend this world. The film kind of comes across as a greatest hits of Jesus, but so do the Gospels. 23. Sword of Trust (Lynn Shelton)- Sword of Trust, as thin and bite-sized as it is, carefully parcels out backstory and deepens as it goes. Without really forcing the issue--Lynn Shelton never does--it becomes a timely and witty story about the consequences of a society relativist enough to give consideration to even the most absurd viewpoints. Toby Huss as Hogjaws is a Best Supporting Actor nominee for me, and I am not kidding at all.

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everymovie2020 · 4 years

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Charlie’s Angels (2019)

Date watched: 1 December 2019

Hoo boy.

Okay, so a little back story – the early 2000s Charlie's Angels movies came out when I was 15, so they are imprinted on my brain and I am unable to see them as anything less than flawless. To say that I love those movies is an understatement. I think the last time I wrote about them I said that I see them as one long Charlie's Angels movie and it's still true – I can't watch one without the other, they go together and I love them.

So this was always going to have a high bar to cross, and I thought the trailer was shit. I also thought the Miley/Ariana/Lana Del Ray song was hot garbage.

And I thought this movie was hot garbage as well.

Don't get me wrong, I really wanted to like it. I went in with an open mind. At the end of the day I'm trying to support women in movies, so that's why we specifically went to see it at the movies. And I'd heard relatively good things so I was hopeful that I would be pleasantly surprised, and I was disappointed when I wasn't.

More spoilery thoughts under the cut:

I've been thinking about why this movie didn't work for me and what made the first two movies so special. There's a few key differences:

They didn't use guns in the original movies (I'm going to refer to them as the "original movies" even though I'm well aware that the TV show preceded everything and they did use guns in the TV show), so that gave the action in the original movies a certain flair;

The original movies were hyped up and were a huge event;

The original movies had great soundtracks with recognisable, crowd-pleasing songs (I have the soundtrack to Full Throttle and can confirm it's a banger);

The original movies had a sense of fun and silliness, it didn't look realistic because it wasn't meant to – it was stylised;

The original movies had winks and nods and references to other movies; and

Importantly, the original movies had STAR POWER in Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Bill Murray (and Demi Moore in the sequel), and a stellar supporting cast (Sam Rockwell, Luke Wilson, Matt Le Blanc); and

Even more importantly, Drew/Cameron/Lucy had amazing chemistry and comedic timing.

I'll tell you what my problem with this movie is.

It's missing one key ingredient – fun. It's not fun. The action isn't fun. This to me is like… John Wick-lite. Lots of guns; a couple of truly gruesome deaths. In a Charlie's Angels movie. I mean, can we talk about the guy who got fucking ground to death in the rock quarry?

And honestly? I think the cast is a big reason why this doesn't work. I know I'm old, but aside from Kristen Stewart, the other two lead actresses are basically unknowns - not that they weren’t okay in their roles, but like... they ain’t no Drew Barrymore or Cameron Diaz. Why get unknowns for this movie? Why not beef it up with some bonafide star power?

Can you imagine a Charlie's Angels with Kristen Stewart/Tessa Thompson/Rhianna? Or a similar line-up to that? I'm all for diverse casting, don't get me wrong, this is not about diversity. This is about the thrill of watching someone like Cameron Diaz, who until Charlie's Angels had done mostly comedies/rom-coms, kick ass in an action movie. This movie is in sore need of some mother fuckin' movie stars.

Do we not have movie stars anymore? Give me some fucking movie stars. You can cobble together eight fucking awesome women for Ocean's 8 and you get virtual unknowns to star in this?

And they were fine – they are fine, good actresses, super beautiful. But they're not STARS. I want some STARS, god damn it. Give me some mother fuckin' STARS.

I was not interested; I was not dazzled. I was decided un-dazzled. I want to be dazzled.

I thought the action sequences were lacklustre. I hated the fact that it was a fucking origin story – if you've read my blog before you know how I feel about goddamn mother fucking origin stories. Who needs a fucking origin story for Charlie's Angels? For fuck's sake.

And then I think, this probably isn't aimed at me and maybe I am too old for this. Maybe this is aimed at late teens/early 20s girls who don't have the fondness for the original movies like I do. I mean, I can't imagine being my age and seeing those movies come out and being like, "Well they've completely fucked over the TV show," because I don't have the fondness for the TV show. So maybe I'm simply too goddamn old!

But no honestly, I think it's just a shit movie.

Like, they obviously couldn't get Cameron/Drew/Lucy to appear to a cameo, not even in the end credits when they were able to get the two living original Charlie's Angels to appear. Like, come on. What the fuck does fucking Laverne Cox have to do with this? Straight up fucking nothing.

And don't even get me fucking started on them photoshopping Bill Murray out of the pictures and pasting in Patrick Stewart. Like, just go fuck yourself for that.

Honestly, I think that's where they started to lose me, because like… WHY? Fucking WHY?! Straight up goddamn fucking laziness.

I don't know. I like Elizabeth Banks, but I did not like this. You're telling me you couldn't get one goddamn decent fucking movie star to be in this shit?

Nobody really wanted a Charlie's Angels 2019 remake. Nobody was clamouring for this at all. That's why it failed – it wasn't good, nobody wanted it and there are no decent MOVIE STARS in it. Can we stop it with the fucking remakes now?

#charlie's angels #2019 #movies #movie review #elizabeth banks #kristen stewart #patrick stewart #naomi scott #ella balinska #djimon hounsou #sam calflin #0/10 #fucking hated ths #if i'd been on my own i would've walked out

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chicagoindiecritics · 5 years

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New from Robert Daniels on 812 Film Reviews: CIFF Reviews: Sole, Once Upon a River, Jojo Rabbit, and La Llorona

My second dispatched from the 55th annual Chicago International Film Festivals finds a lot of coming-of-age and encompasses multiple countries from Italy to America to Germany and Guatemala: ranging from in subject matter from teen pregnancy to Nazism to ghost stories. My reviews for Sole, Once Upon a River, Jojo Rabbit, and La Llorona follow below.

Dead ends don’t just happen down the road, sometimes they’re put up at birth. In Carlo Sironi’s feature debut Sole two people come together who’ve known the street name of that dead end for decades. They’re the detached Ermanno (Claudio Segaluscio) and equally as dispirited Lena (Sandra Drzymalska). From Poland, and three weeks from giving birth, Lena has arrived in Italy to sell her unborn baby to a sterile couple Fabio (Bruno Buzzi) and Bianca (Barbara Ronchi). To facilitate the exchange, Fabio enlists his nephew Ermanno to look after the pregnant Lena. Each will be paid a tidy fee for their work. Seems simple.

However, the two are ever changing. Water marks one of Sole’s significant visual cues. In fact, Ermanno’s simple apartment, where Lena stays, is surrounded by its image. Rarely stagnant, water carries a cyclical effect, forever morphing yet remaining the same. Both Ermanno and Lena go under a change over the course of 90 minutes. The young man, who’s resigned himself to gambling and petty crime, begins to think of others. His expressionless glazed face becomes enraptured with the thought of a family, of holding a steady job, of his love for the woman he’s watching and the baby she carries. On the other hand, Lena also dissolves. She comes to care for a child she proclaimed so willing to give up. Throughout, Segaluscio and Drzymalska provide an incredible emotional tango of suppression, while tussling with their downtrodden characters.

Ermanno and Lena’s interwoven evolution anchors each successive avoidance of their true feelings, giving the first act a tension lacking in the second and third. Nevertheless, Sironi’s paired character study leaves one imaginative of the life the two could lead if they only had the ability to seize it.

Rivers in storytelling: especially fairy tales, have always served as magical avenues, where odd people and creatures unexplainably appear. While odd creatures don’t exist in Chicago filmmaker Haroula Rose’s feature debut Once Upon a River, a plethora of characters do appear to Margo Crane (Kenadi DelaCerna) in a coming-of-age period piece that offers magical moments during troubling events.

Opening in Michigan 1977, Margo narrates over images of her scouring the woods with a rifle and a copy of Annie Oakley. She’s a hunter, trained by her single father (Tatanka Means) who’s still reeling from her mother abandoning the two a year prior. In this town, her father’s half-brother Cal Murray (Coburn Goss) controls everything and he’s taken an uneasy shining to his 15-year old niece. Through grooming, much of which is done in plain view of his prejudiced sons Junior (Arie Thompson) and Billy (Sam Straley)—he dangles the promise of hunting with him to gain her trust, ultimately luring her into a shed to rape her. Later, Margo tries to shoot her uncle but in the melee her father is killed by Billy, causing her to she flees in a boat down river to search for her mother.

Over the span of the film’s 92 minutes, Rose charts a path where Margo discovers a litany of characters. There’s Will (Ajuawak Kapashesit), a traveling loner Margo falls for. She also enlists the help of Paul (Evan Linder) and Brian (Dominic Bogart), poachers who buy deer meat from her. And later, she meets Smoke (John Ashton): an aging dying musician who cares for her as a daughter and his friend Fishbone (Kenn E. Hedd). The milieu acts as the background to Margo finding her mother (Lindsay Pulsipher), her grappling with an unplanned pregnancy, and instances of racism: she’s partly Native American.

Rose provides a trimmed narrative. And though there are instances of unbelievable coincidences, maybe adding a hint of magical realism, Once Upon a River—with a tremendous performance from Kenadi DelaCerna as Margo—enchants us in this simple but evocative coming-of-age tale.

Hitler is boring. Well, if it’s Taika Waititi’s Adolph Hitler. His Jojo Rabbit—a coming-of-age story set during the tail end of World War II—sees Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis): a young fanatic of the Hitler Youth Core, question his allegiances even as the fuhrer accompanies him as an imaginary friend in a cheeky but all too safe narrative.

Waititi cleverly paints the normalization of Nazism and Antisemitism, first through the opening sequence playing a German dubbed version of the Beatles hit “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” comparing the wave of fascism to Beatlemania, then by displaying the myriad of ways Jojo attempts to prove the doctrine bandied by the Third Reich. All the while, the boy’s ole’ pal Adolph serves as his imaginary life coach and guru. Even so, the first act labors. Waititi’s Hitler isn’t all that interesting. Certainly he’s been sanitized because he exists in the mind of a child, but there’s only so much wink wink baiting that can happen before the expedition makes one weary of its odd safeness. Especially because each time Hitler appears, he snatches us off the narrative’s trail of Jojo’s personal journey.

Jojo Rabbit rarely remains on path, speeding ahead, until the film expresses his relationship with his subversive mother Rosei (Scarlett Johansson) and reveals the existence of Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie). Rosei, a single mother, deeply cares for Jojo but also realizes the depths of his fanaticism. Her independence, in thought and action, and her kindly courage carries the first act of the film. That bravery supports Elsa’s sheltering, a young Jewish girl hiding in the attic of Jojo’s home. The young boy discovers her one day and spends much of the second act questioning her. He’s heard many theories detailing how dangerous and vile Jewish people supposedly are, yet now he’s confronted with a real person. Waititi bases many of Jojo’s questions to her on actual Nazi propangada, such as prodding if she hangs from ceilings.

While Roman Griffin Davis offers a tremendous performance as the psychologically lost but lonely boy, Thomasin McKenzie as Elsa is just as spectacular. The film’s firmest grounding sits with its women characters, like the affectionate but valiant Rosei. Elsa serves as another brilliant example. In one scene, Jojo brags about his Aryian blood making him the superior master race, to which Elsa sharply defenses by cupping his mouth and pinning him. She asks who’s the stronger, in a sure handed test of will. McKenzie, after her head-turning performance in Debra Granik’s spectacular Leave No Trace delivers another immaculate reason to believe she’s fated for stardom.

Waititi also furnishes Jojo Rabbit with a number of intriguing supporting characters like Finkel (Alfie Allen), the assistant to the Youth Commander Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell, returning for your racist pleasures). The two possess an intriguing relationship that Waititi delicately develops, yet seems a scene short to fully flush out. Still, Rockwell covers any shortcomings with his usual top-tier work. Rebel Wilson as Fraulein Rahm finds herself with less to do than her cameo moments would seem to command, while Stephen Merchant as a gestapo officer quietly terrorizes in one of the more suspenseful instances of the comedy. However, Archie Yates as Yorki: Jojo’s jolly and enthusiastic best friend—charms in every second he’s on the screen.

Still, Jojo Rabbit is at its strongest when it serves as a Moonrise Kingdom flick—following Jojo and Elsa from their meeting to the waning days of the war. Their burgeoning relationship, and the young boy’s introspection of his anti-simentic thoughts in the face of a person he comes to care for marks a trying emotional punch, especially as the film peaks in an outrageous but deftly executed battle scene. Waititi easily balances grim and heavy material to make a lighter than thought comedy, even if his Hitler doesn’t add much to the equation other than a couple punchlines. Jojo Rabbit is deeply flawed, the narrative sags too often through its 108 minutes, but in its final forty-five Waititi discovers a deeply endearing relationship that makes the whole journey worth it.

A common Latin American folktale, La Llorona (The Weeping Woman) describes a woman who drowned her children only for her ghost to wander the earth looking for their bodies and bringing despair to anyone near her. That folklore is repurposed toward political ends in Jayro Bustamante’s somber but haunting picture detailing the genocide of indigenous people in his native Guatemala, La Llorona.

His film centers Don Enrique (Julio Diaz) a former general now on trial for genocide and rape while hunting for guerrilla forces. Enrique occupies a lavish mansion with his wife Carmen (Margarita Kenéfic), daughter Natalia (Sabrina De La Hoz), and granddaughter Sara (Ayla-Elea Hurtado). The Spanish-language picture watches as the superstitious and fearful indigenous servants flee from Enrique and his family. The only one who remains is Valeriana (María Telón). That is, until the mysterious Alma (María Mercedes Coroy) appears on their doorstep to help around the home.

Bustamante’s La Llorona has real-world roots, grounding itself in the historical events of the Silent Holocaust of Mayan civilians in Guatemala during the early 90’s. Those events, like any instance of genocide, predicated itself upon the normalizing of violence and disappearance, the willful ignorance to the ends of survival by the populace, and the moral compartmentalizing of brutal leaders. Enrique’s family fall to the same trappings. There’s Natalie, whose leftist husband recently disappeared yet she shows little urge to find the truth. Carmen, Enrique’s wife, also relies on self-perpetuated lies; claiming the women accusing her husband of rape are whores. Still, no matter what repression they devolve into the ghosts of the slain still surround them.

La Llorona culminates with the visceral haunting and reckoning brought on by these ghosts, which in turn, actualizes the legacy left behind. And while Carmen exasperatedly exclaims that the country needs to move on, Bustamante thoughtfully takes the phantasmagorical to inform the myriad of ways we shouldn’t just forget, for fear of letting down the victims who came before.

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glenngaylord · 5 years

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HITLER-IOUS - My Review of JOJO RABBIT (4 1/2 Stars)

[Excerpted from https://thequeerreview.com/ ]

Mix together The Producers, The Tin Drum, Hope And Glory, Moonrise Kingdom, Life Is Beautiful, The Diary Of Anne Frank, Hogan’s Heroes, Inglourious Basterds, and anything Monty Python and you still would not come close to describing the wondrous tone and sheer brilliance of Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit, the winner of the Audience Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and one of the best films of 2019. A scabrous comedy set during Hitler’s occupation of Europe, the film, based on the much more sober novel, “Caging Skies”, approaches this stain on history through the eyes of a heavily indoctrinated young boy. As such, we experience a fresh, hilariously inappropriate yet ultimately powerful and moving take on the subject.

Roman Griffin Davis stars as Jojo, a 10-year-old who, at the outset, appears hellbent on killing as many Jews as he can. After a stunning title sequence in which the German-language version of The Beatles’ “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” plays over images of the screaming throngs of people who worshipped Adolph Hitler, little Jojo attends a Hitler Youth program training camp. Led by a ridiculous trio of trainers played by Sam Rockwell, Alfie Allen and a really funny Rebel Wilson, Jojo faces the first of many challenges when ordered to kill a rabbit in front of everyone. Beaten down by that incident, he conjures up a type of solace via his imaginary friend, Adolph Hitler, played to delirious comic perfection by Waititi himself. This version of the dictator feels as if it’s been filtered through the “Hey girl, let’s dish” school of impersonations, with Waititi intentionally turning Hitler into a jackass almost as self-obsessed and thin-skinned as our current POTUS. Is the weight of history mocked here? If the film only had slaps, slapstick and schtick on its mind, I’d say so, but Waititi draws you in with outrageous comedy only to pull the rug out from under you later. It’s an awe-inspiring tightrope walk.

Jojo lives with his mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson), who on the surface presents as a perfect, Aryan specimen, but harbors secrets of her own. Not only is she part of the resistance to the Nazi’s agenda, but Jojo discovers she’s hiding a young Jewish girl named Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) inside the walls of their drawing room. Jojo promises Elsa he won’t tell his mother he knows about her as it could easily lead to her doom. McKenzie, so great in Leave No Trace, proves that film was no fluke. She commands her scenes here with a scary confidence, like a cross between the Feral Child of the Mad Max films and Blake Lively in A Simple Favor. Fast on her feet and quick with a knife, her Elsa feels in charge of her fate.

The film explores Jojo’s conflicted feelings when he slowly realizes the Third Reich is a house of cards built on a very shaky foundation. Waititi draws out suspense in many different ways in the film, with multiple characters in danger of being caught for being Jewish, or a traitor, or just a bad Nazi. All of this, however, gets wrapped into one big comically absurd package reminiscent of Mel Brooks at his finest. Try not to laugh during a scene in which dozens of “Heil Hitlers” get passed around as a large group greets each other. This scene, however, oozes with dread as multiple characters risk exposure. That Waititi can walk that fine line of comedic bliss and stomach-churning horror simultaneously, serves to announce him as a major talent. Cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr. employs a very Wes Anderson style of composed images, but in this case, the camera moves give the film way more energy than expected. He also gets tremendous scope despite a limited budget and a film which largely takes place in Jojo’s home. There’s also a wonderful montage of buildings whose windows look like watchful eyes looking down on a hopeless society.

None of this would work, however, without the wonderfully focused performance of Waititi’s little star. It’s rare to encounter a child actor who doesn’t mimic his scene partners, and Davis stays sharp and committed to maintaining the intelligence and dignity of his Jojo. He may be dead wrong about whom he idolizes, but his humane spirit shines through anyhow. Archie Yates, another young newcomer, steals every scene he’s in as Jojo’s best friend Yorki. His exasperation at how tiring war can be made me laugh out loud. Johansson delivers a crisp, lovely performance, gorgeously containing her emotions at times when lesser actors would be hamming it up to the back rows. She leads her wrongheaded son around as if she were a teutonic Mary Poppins, clucking and winking at him, gently prodding him away from his sickening ideologies. I mean this as high praise when I say she makes it look so easy.

Obviously a comedy set during the Hitler era comes with high stakes, and this film tonally shifts towards one gasp-inducing reveal. Trust me, you’ll know it when you see it. Most filmmakers would wallow in such moments as this, but Waititi keeps the comedy coming while he deftly incorporates true emotional depth. It all leads up to a truly lovely, simple final scene that moved me to tears.

With Jojo Rabbit, Waititi tells us that comedy can save the world. Satire exposes the buffoons, humanizing them in a way that takes away their power. Instead, films like this take on that power, and when in the hands of such a singular talent, it makes you feel like you can take on anything….even the trainwreck world we currently find ourselves bemoaning.

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spotlightsaga · 7 years

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Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... F is For Family (S02E04) Night Shift Airdate: May 30, 2017 @Netflix @GaumontTV Ratings: Privatized @BillBurr @mikepriceinla Score: 8.75/10 @FYeahBill @FIFFNetflix TVTime/FB/Twitter/IG/Tumblr/Path/Pin: @SpotlightSaga **********SPOILERS BELOW********** 'Is my house clean?' No seriously, I'm gonna look up and you take a look in. I need to know... Can't go trouncing about town, especially the notorious 'Cocaine Cowboy City' of Miami with powder around the edges of my nostrils. I wouldn't think anyone, in any decade of existence, would want an onlooker seeing them trading coke for anything right out in the open... Whether that's in a record store, yes they still exist & I'm sure they would love a visit, or a street corner... I'd suggest visiting the record store over the street corner. Just as walking, talking, 'Teenage Turmoil', 'Trepidation Tornado' (Yeah, I'm also a sucker for wordplay), Kevin Murphy (Justin Long) is looking to make it big in what he sees as almost a dream world of sorts as a bonafide rockstar, he spots his well connected, high rolling neighbor, who is very much a part of that dream world, bribing an aggressively apprehensive DJ to play a pop record with a picture of a 'Teen Heartthrob' holding an adorable puppy on the front... But hey this is where they are in their lives. Pretty sure I've been lower. Vic (Sam Rockwell), along with the rest of the cast, has so much more room to breathe now that the series has been extended from 6-Episodes to the nicely rounded off number of 10 entries for S2. However, this means that Vic can no longer simply be that hurricane of a character, representing the perfect storm of carefree 1970's hedonism and indulgence. Suddenly, there are consequences for his actions and we are peaking into a long, dark tunnel where Vic is on the verge of an 'existential crisis'. No, there are no immediate repercussions for any of Vic's self destructive behaviors quite yet anyway, but the forlorn fates are written all over his face. Right now he's much closer to what we would refer to the point of 'existential dread' than we would call a full blown 'existential crisis'. The writers are smart though, they're giving you a peak of his cards without letting you see his full hand and that will surely create a helluva payoff when it it's finally time to pay the piper. That's a stark difference from a character that was once a quick, in & out, 2-D slice of animated comic relief. When it comes to television, cinema, film, real life, whatever... 'Existential' and 'Crisis' are literally my two favorite words in the English language, not only because they are so beautiful when paired together, but more so the fact that it's one thing Im actually good at. I know that's a really weird thing to be proud of, excited to dive into, or even claim to be 'good at'... But with all the LSD & DMT I've consumed in my life, I believe I've had more self-induced existential crisis and egodeath(s) than most of the worlds population. It's not just hallucinogenics and weird dissociatives, or even a finely tuned education in psychology & sociology that have made me an expert and lover of all things 'existential', it's also real life experience in all things crisis... Inner, outer, dramatic, and otherwise... I've always been dramatic, I got it from my mother, and her adoptive Mother... They are whatever is slightly above the 'every southern woman' version of Bette Davis & Joan Crawford. Everything is a spectacle, darling. Anxiety attacks are full on broadway performances, complete with Tony Awards, a nice Southern 'Wink', and a long list of 'Thank You's at the end... Oh and trips to the mall that start out sweet & fruitful and end in sheer terror. My Step-Father is more like the American Cherokee version of a cross between Tim Allen & Jim Gaffigan, if that makes sense. He has a traditional, signature style of humor that is both clean & observational and masculine & sometimes surprisingly crass, mainly due to his dual nature and long hard road from the cesspool of a nasty rock bottom to the heights of being a pillar of his community. There was a time in my life where these attributes all made me angry, just like Kevin. At that rebellious teenage age, if someone says go, you stop and if they say stop, you go. If a parental figure or an adult influence that we look up to makes a mistake, as a young adult many times we hold them to it unfairly... As if they're supposed to be perfect because they are the adult. As kids, we want to meet them halfway with unrealistic expectations. Essentially that's because adults meet their children and particularly teenagers with unrealistic expectations, themselves. Can't expect a toddler not to touch a hot stove, can't expect a little kid not to pick their nose (or worse), can't expect a teenager not to do usual teenager stuff, and we can't expect our parents to always remember all of that in times of stress. Looking back now (and let's hope Kevin moves forward to this place soon), I know that I learned the most from watching my parents make mistakes and subsequently finding a way to fix it, by any means necessary. Kevin is already sick over his issues with his dad, so he's practically ready to give up when he sees Vic forking over line after line until DJ Howlin' Hank (Josh Adam Meyers) would say he loves any record Vic gave him to play (yes, that includes records with vinyl covers that feature kids holding puppies that look like they "fell out of Donnie Osmond's pussy"). When one reaches the epiphany that hard work, talent, and actually being cool isn't what gets them to top, a breakdown of some sort is to be expected. Personally I've had this specific epiphany more than once (complete with influential dramatic Hollywood Breakdown), so a nice soul searching, ego shattering session of smoking weed (or simply insert alternative mind expansion drug here) his friends refer to as 'Oregon Gold dipped in Columbia River Salmon Piss' out of a baby doll made into a pipe is just what Kevin needs to push him to a point where he's ready to face this new, harsher, cruel world to get their band's ultimate goal achieved... Being played on the radio, preferably by DJ Howlin' Hank... Because, you know, at least they are 100% sure what it takes to make 'Hank Howl' (thanks, Vic)! So off the clueless teenage trio goes to score some blow. This should be good. Kevin has currently written off his father, Frank (Bill Burr), for his inability to accept a certain kind of defeat... Or better yet, I should say... Face his humility for a greater good and 'bite the bullet' at the unemployment office. He sees his father's stubborn pride as a weakness, when really like any human attribute, it's technically both a positive and a negative. The fact that Frank is lying to Sue (Laura Dern) about it, makes it all 100x worse, though... Creating a mountain blocking any possible view to see the silver lining. Frank taking a humiliating, lower paid job, just to avoid a handout is silly and ultimately a bit insane, but at least Frank is trying to do something instead of curling up into a corner & folding. Still, the whole ironic arrangement is not lost on us. Don't think for a moment that we won't be on the lookout for bumper stickers being sold at 'Hot Topic or 'Urban Outfitters' that say "Ask me about my Loser Husband's shit job!" Frank's insecurities and paranoia are officially at an all time high. His new boss Smoky (Michael Kenneth Williams) shows Frank the restrictive ropes of the world of vending machines, its many perks, and how to "Shove it. Slam it. Twist the lock. Stick the key inside your sock." Why can't the key just be on the key ring? Simple. "Because the rhyme came first, system came later." Frank is killing it, but an accident with the lock on the back door (see how important those rhymes are), ends up with the bag of change they've been collecting falling out of the back of the truck and finding it's way all over the dirty urban street. Frank goes into survival mode, scouring the street like a hardworking crackhead to recover the change. As this is happening, Kevin is out looking to score $10 worth of coke in the same seedy downtown neighborhood. Last time I checked $10 won't get you a bag of coke, and I live in a city where cocaine is easier to get than the attention of a bartender, and cheaper to get than a simple single liquor cocktail. These three young clowns mistake a pimp for a drug dealer and one of the funniest scenes of the series commences when the 'white' they are all so ready to score turns out to be an obese, Caucasian, $10 prostitute that has difficulties keeping one of her titties inside of her blouse. As the trio scrambles to escape the low rent hooker who offers to 'fuck them all if they have a sandwich bag', they end up passing Frank digging for nickels on the side of the street. Ok, ok... This is obviously the worst possible scenario for Kevin, but his frustrations lead him to march into the radio station with his band's demo tape in hand, demanding to be heard. Fuck the system, right? Everything might be going to shit for the characters in the Netflix Original 'F is For Family', but when you are down on your luck and you don't even know why you're stuck in a meaningless, chaotic existence... Suddenly an existential crisis becomes your best friend. Frank's embarrassing dedication to picking up the change in the street leads him to secure the job of no one's dreams, Sue has a sudden idea for a product invention when going through the mundane process of drying out her lettuce while making dinner salads, and Kevin's frustration & desperation pay off after the boys tune in to hear Vic use a two syllable taste of their song to introduce the weather segment. To three young boys with a pipe dream that's like the equivalent of being featured on MTV's 'Total Request Live' in 1999. Recently I've watched a friend go through a horrible incident and face their mortality. Suddenly that person is trapped in an existential nightmare... 'What's any of this worth if it really doesn't lead to anything, if we are all biding our time on this earth until the Grim Reaper comes-a-knocking anyway?' And that's just the base of it. We've all got our existential and emotional baggage to deal with, but it's the unexpected moments when you're at your lowest point that suddenly remind us that even tho we might all just be going through the motions and repeating history over and over, sudden sparks of light can suddenly reignite your passion for life... Its as all as easy as that, or as difficult as that, whichever way you want to look at it. Like Frank said in the beginning of FIFF's 'Night Shift', "I woulda killed myself, but I don't want to haunt my own house." **********Written By: Kevin Cage********** Special Thx: TVTime, Bill Burr, Michael Price, Jerry Wilson, Kat Holiday, Chad Rigsby... Dedicated to: Denver G. Pratt http:://www.tvtime.com http://www.spotlightsaga.com http://www.facebook.com/SpotlightSaga http://www.facebook.com/groups/ArtsEntertainment

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