#mer!joon

[brookstonalmanac]

Holidays 4.23

Holidays

Alfred G. “Alferd” Packer Day (Colorado)

Aragon Day (Spain)

Army Reserves Day (US)

Asian Corpsetwt Day [Every 23rd]

Voice Day (South Korea)

Book Day (Canada)

Book Day and Lover's Day (Spain)

Bulldogs Are Beautiful Day

Canada Book Day (Canada)

Castile and León Day (Spain)

Children’s Day (Turkey)

Community Day (Spain)

Content Creator Day

Copyright Day

Day of Aragon (Spain)

Drive It Day (UK)

Electric Mixer Day

English Language Day (UN)

Festival of Saint Sarah the Egyptian (Sara Kali the Black Queen; Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, France) begins [until 25th]

Impossible Astronaut Day (Dr. Who)

International Choro Day

International Creator Day

International Day of the Book

International Fibrodyysolasia Ossificans Progressive Awareness Day

International Nose Picking Day

International Pallas Cat Day

International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day

International Share a Secret Day

International Sing Out Day

Jurgi Day (Ancient Latvia)

Khongjom Day (Manipur, India)

La Diada de Sant Jordi (Catalonia, Spain)

Linnaeus Day (Sweden)

London Marathon Day (UK)

Lover's Day

Movie Theater Day

National Bryan Day

National Grief-in-Public Day

National Lost Dog Awareness Day

National Lugaw Day (Philippines)

National Read Me Day

National Sovereignty and Children’s Day (Turkey, Northern Cyprus)

National Take a Hike with Nick Day

National Vagina Appreciation Day

Navy Day (China)

Penny Day

Pet Tech CPR Day

Public School Day

Record Store Day

Sigurd the Dragon Slayer's Day

Slay a Dragon Day

Spanish Language Day (UN)

Take a Chance Day

Talk Like Shakespeare Day

Teach Your Children To Save Day

Visalia Priora

World Book Day (UN; except Ireland, UK)

World Book Night (Ireland, Germany, UK, US)

World Laboratory Day

YouTube Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Allagash Saison Day

Bavarian Beer Day

Biertag (Germany)

Cherry Cheesecake Day

German Beer Day

International Cava Day

International Reinheitsgebot Day

National Asparagus Day

National English Muffin Day

National Licorice Day

National Picnic Day

National Taffy Day

New Coke Day

St. George's Day (traditional end of Bavarian lager brewing season)

4th Sunday in April

Dictionary Day [Sunday of Nat’l Library Week]

Drive It Day (UK) [4th Sunday]

National Library Week begins [Sunday in late April]

Independence Days

Australland (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized)

Conch Republic (Declared; 1982) [unrecognized)

Israel (a.k.a. Yom Ha’atzmaut; Declared; 1948)

Feast Days

Adalbert of Prague (Christian; Saint)

Antoine Vollon (Artology)

Cynical Bastards Day (Pastafarian)

Day of the Glorious Fuckup (Church of the SubGenius)

Feast of Hephaestus (Greek Blacksmith God & Brewer)

Felix, Fortunatus, and Achilleus (Christian; Saint)

George [England, traditional end of Bavarian lager brewing season] *

Gerard, Bishop of Toul (Christian; Saint)

Giles of Assisi (Christian; Saint)

Gerard of Toul (Christian; Saint)

Ibar (a.k.a. Ivor) of Beggerin (or Meath; Christian; Saint)

Ji-Young (Muppetism)

J.M.W. Turner (Artology)

Miltiades (Positivist; Saint)

Toyohiko Kagawa (Episcopal and Lutheran Church)

Vinalia Urbana (a.k.a. Vinalia Prima or Priora; Ancient Roman wine festival)

Vulcan's Day (Ancient Rome)

Walpurgisnacht, Day I (Pagan)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Prime Number Day: 113 [30 of 72]

Shakku (赤口 Japan) [Bad luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

Benny & Joon (Film; 1993)

Black and Blue, by The Rolling Stones (Album; 1976)

The Black Marble, by Joseph Wambaugh (Novel; 1978)

Cherrybomb (Film; 2009)

Dogville (Film; 2003)

Election (Film; 1999)

Fall Out - Fall In (Disney Cartoon; 1943)

Gregory’s Girl (Film; 1981)

Indian summer (Film; 1993)

Lemonade, by Beyoncé (Album; 2016)

Man on Fire (Film; 2004)

Merry Wives of Windsor, by William Shakespeare (Play; 1597)

The Penguin Parade (WB MM Cartoon; 1938)

Ramones, by Ramones (Album; 1976)

Shadow and Bone (TV Series; 2021)

Sita Sings the Blues (Animated Film; 2010)

Sticky Fingers, by The Rolling Stones (Album; 1971)

The Stories of John Cheever, by John Cheever (Short Story Collection; 1979)

Teen Titans Go! (Animated Film; 2013)

13 Going on 30 (Film; 2004)

Touch of Evil (Film; 1958)

Two for the Record (Disney Cartoon; 1954)

When I Was Cruel, by Elvis Costello (Album; 2002)

Who Scent You? (WB LT Cartoon; 1960)

Today’s Name Days

Adalbert, Georg, Jörg, Jürgen (Austria)

Toma, Tomislav, Tomislava (Bulgaria)

Adalbert, Đurđica, Đuro, Juraj (Croatia)

Vojtěch (Czech Republic)

Georgius (Denmark)

Georg, Jürgen, Jürgo, Jüri, Jürjo, Jürnas, Jüts, Ürjo (Estonia)

Jiri, Jori, Jyri, Jyrki, Yrjänä, Yrjö (Finland)

Georges (France)

Georg, Gerhard, Jörg, Jürgen (Germany)

Georgios, Giorgos, Thomas, Yorgos (Greece)

Béla (Hungary)

Giorgio (Italy)

Georgs, Jorens, Jurģis, Juris (Latvia)

Adalbertas, Daugaudas, Jurgis, Vygailė (Lithuania)

Georg, Jørgen, Jørn (Norway)

Adalbert, Gerard, Gerarda, Gerhard, Helena, Jerzy, Wojciech (Poland)

Gheorghe (Romania)

Vojtech (Slovakia)

Jorge (Spain)

Georg, Göran (Sweden)

George (Ukraine)

Brayan, Breana, Breanna, Breanne, Brian, Briana, Brianna, Brianne, Brielle, Brien, Briona, Bryan, Bryana, Bryanna, Bryant, Brynn, Bryon, Shirlee, Shirleen, Shirley (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 113 of 2024; 252 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 16 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Saille (Willow) [Day 8 of 28]

Chinese: Month 3 (Bing-Chen), Day 4 (Xin-Hai)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 2 Iyar 5783

Islamic: 2 Shawwal 1444

J Cal: 22 Aqua; Oneday [22 of 30]

Julian: 10 April 2023

Moon: 13%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 1 Caesar (5th Month) [Miltiades]

Runic Half Month: Man (Human Being) [Day 14 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 35 of 90)

Zodiac: Taurus (Day 4 of 30)

Calendar Changes

Caesar (Military Civilization) [Month 5 of 13; Positivist]

[brookston]

Holidays 4.23

Holidays

Alfred G. “Alferd” Packer Day (Colorado)

Aragon Day (Spain)

Army Reserves Day (US)

Asian Corpsetwt Day [Every 23rd]

Voice Day (South Korea)

Book Day (Canada)

Book Day and Lover's Day (Spain)

Bulldogs Are Beautiful Day

Canada Book Day (Canada)

Castile and León Day (Spain)

Children’s Day (Turkey)

Community Day (Spain)

Content Creator Day

Copyright Day

Day of Aragon (Spain)

Drive It Day (UK)

Electric Mixer Day

English Language Day (UN)

Festival of Saint Sarah the Egyptian (Sara Kali the Black Queen; Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, France) begins [until 25th]

Impossible Astronaut Day (Dr. Who)

International Choro Day

International Creator Day

International Day of the Book

International Fibrodyysolasia Ossificans Progressive Awareness Day

International Nose Picking Day

International Pallas Cat Day

International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day

International Share a Secret Day

International Sing Out Day

Jurgi Day (Ancient Latvia)

Khongjom Day (Manipur, India)

La Diada de Sant Jordi (Catalonia, Spain)

Linnaeus Day (Sweden)

London Marathon Day (UK)

Lover's Day

Movie Theater Day

National Bryan Day

National Grief-in-Public Day

National Lost Dog Awareness Day

National Lugaw Day (Philippines)

National Read Me Day

National Sovereignty and Children’s Day (Turkey, Northern Cyprus)

National Take a Hike with Nick Day

National Vagina Appreciation Day

Navy Day (China)

Penny Day

Pet Tech CPR Day

Public School Day

Record Store Day

Sigurd the Dragon Slayer's Day

Slay a Dragon Day

Spanish Language Day (UN)

Take a Chance Day

Talk Like Shakespeare Day

Teach Your Children To Save Day

Visalia Priora

World Book Day (UN; except Ireland, UK)

World Book Night (Ireland, Germany, UK, US)

World Laboratory Day

YouTube Day

Food & Drink Celebrations

Allagash Saison Day

Bavarian Beer Day

Biertag (Germany)

Cherry Cheesecake Day

German Beer Day

International Cava Day

International Reinheitsgebot Day

National Asparagus Day

National English Muffin Day

National Licorice Day

National Picnic Day

National Taffy Day

New Coke Day

St. George's Day (traditional end of Bavarian lager brewing season)

4th Sunday in April

Dictionary Day [Sunday of Nat’l Library Week]

Drive It Day (UK) [4th Sunday]

National Library Week begins [Sunday in late April]

Independence Days

Australland (Declared; 2021) [unrecognized)

Conch Republic (Declared; 1982) [unrecognized)

Israel (a.k.a. Yom Ha’atzmaut; Declared; 1948)

Feast Days

Adalbert of Prague (Christian; Saint)

Antoine Vollon (Artology)

Cynical Bastards Day (Pastafarian)

Day of the Glorious Fuckup (Church of the SubGenius)

Feast of Hephaestus (Greek Blacksmith God & Brewer)

Felix, Fortunatus, and Achilleus (Christian; Saint)

George [England, traditional end of Bavarian lager brewing season] *

Gerard, Bishop of Toul (Christian; Saint)

Giles of Assisi (Christian; Saint)

Gerard of Toul (Christian; Saint)

Ibar (a.k.a. Ivor) of Beggerin (or Meath; Christian; Saint)

Ji-Young (Muppetism)

J.M.W. Turner (Artology)

Miltiades (Positivist; Saint)

Toyohiko Kagawa (Episcopal and Lutheran Church)

Vinalia Urbana (a.k.a. Vinalia Prima or Priora; Ancient Roman wine festival)

Vulcan's Day (Ancient Rome)

Walpurgisnacht, Day I (Pagan)

Lucky & Unlucky Days

Prime Number Day: 113 [30 of 72]

Shakku (赤口 Japan) [Bad luck all day, except at noon.]

Premieres

Benny & Joon (Film; 1993)

Black and Blue, by The Rolling Stones (Album; 1976)

The Black Marble, by Joseph Wambaugh (Novel; 1978)

Cherrybomb (Film; 2009)

Dogville (Film; 2003)

Election (Film; 1999)

Fall Out - Fall In (Disney Cartoon; 1943)

Gregory’s Girl (Film; 1981)

Indian summer (Film; 1993)

Lemonade, by Beyoncé (Album; 2016)

Man on Fire (Film; 2004)

Merry Wives of Windsor, by William Shakespeare (Play; 1597)

The Penguin Parade (WB MM Cartoon; 1938)

Ramones, by Ramones (Album; 1976)

Shadow and Bone (TV Series; 2021)

Sita Sings the Blues (Animated Film; 2010)

Sticky Fingers, by The Rolling Stones (Album; 1971)

The Stories of John Cheever, by John Cheever (Short Story Collection; 1979)

Teen Titans Go! (Animated Film; 2013)

13 Going on 30 (Film; 2004)

Touch of Evil (Film; 1958)

Two for the Record (Disney Cartoon; 1954)

When I Was Cruel, by Elvis Costello (Album; 2002)

Who Scent You? (WB LT Cartoon; 1960)

Today’s Name Days

Adalbert, Georg, Jörg, Jürgen (Austria)

Toma, Tomislav, Tomislava (Bulgaria)

Adalbert, Đurđica, Đuro, Juraj (Croatia)

Vojtěch (Czech Republic)

Georgius (Denmark)

Georg, Jürgen, Jürgo, Jüri, Jürjo, Jürnas, Jüts, Ürjo (Estonia)

Jiri, Jori, Jyri, Jyrki, Yrjänä, Yrjö (Finland)

Georges (France)

Georg, Gerhard, Jörg, Jürgen (Germany)

Georgios, Giorgos, Thomas, Yorgos (Greece)

Béla (Hungary)

Giorgio (Italy)

Georgs, Jorens, Jurģis, Juris (Latvia)

Adalbertas, Daugaudas, Jurgis, Vygailė (Lithuania)

Georg, Jørgen, Jørn (Norway)

Adalbert, Gerard, Gerarda, Gerhard, Helena, Jerzy, Wojciech (Poland)

Gheorghe (Romania)

Vojtech (Slovakia)

Jorge (Spain)

Georg, Göran (Sweden)

George (Ukraine)

Brayan, Breana, Breanna, Breanne, Brian, Briana, Brianna, Brianne, Brielle, Brien, Briona, Bryan, Bryana, Bryanna, Bryant, Brynn, Bryon, Shirlee, Shirleen, Shirley (USA)

Today is Also…

Day of Year: Day 113 of 2024; 252 days remaining in the year

ISO: Day 7 of week 16 of 2023

Celtic Tree Calendar: Saille (Willow) [Day 8 of 28]

Chinese: Month 3 (Bing-Chen), Day 4 (Xin-Hai)

Chinese Year of the: Rabbit 4721 (until February 10, 2024)

Hebrew: 2 Iyar 5783

Islamic: 2 Shawwal 1444

J Cal: 22 Aqua; Oneday [22 of 30]

Julian: 10 April 2023

Moon: 13%: Waxing Crescent

Positivist: 1 Caesar (5th Month) [Miltiades]

Runic Half Month: Man (Human Being) [Day 14 of 15]

Season: Spring (Day 35 of 90)

Zodiac: Taurus (Day 4 of 30)

Calendar Changes

Caesar (Military Civilization) [Month 5 of 13; Positivist]

[filmskribent]

75 minirecensioner (tidigare publicerade på MovieZine)

De förbannade åren (2020) Självrannsakande och välspelat, om hur en dansk familj påverkas av naziockupationen under andra världskriget. Samarbeta, göra motstånd eller ingetdera i kampen för överlevnad? Svåra förhållanden skapar svåra frågor om moral och neutralitet.

10 Things We Should Do Before We Break Up (2020) Två New York-bor träffas av en slump och försöker sedan hitta anledningar att passa ihop. Den neurotiska dialogen fungerar mycket tack vare Christina Ricci och Hamish Linklaters samspel. Gullig indie-romcom som förtjänar sin plats i feelgood-hyllan.

Spaceship Earth (2020) 1991 stänger åtta “biosfärier” in sig i ett självförsörjande labb i Arizona, för att i två år förbereda kollektivboende i rymden. Vad kan möjligen gå fel? Mycket, när Noaks ark möter ett förtida Big Brother. Ett intressant tidsdokument av ett spretigt experiment.

We Need to Talk About A.I. (2020) Var går gränsen mellan snäv och generell artificiell intelligens? Vad är fördelarna och riskerna med framtidens AI? Viktiga frågor avhandlas i denna relevanta dokumentär, som även tar upp vad sci fi-genren har betytt för det pågående samtalet.

Child’s Play (2019) Det är mycket att leva upp till att omtolka Den onda dockan från 1988, om en leksak som börjar plåga sin unga, naiva ägare. Mark Hamill lyckas dock så bra med att ge liv till Chucky, att man inte behöver sakna Brad Dourifs illmariga röst.

The Tunnel (2019) Norsk katastroffilm, kan det vara något? Jadå, särskilt med tanke på dess förankring i verkligheten. En spännande kamp mot klockan, som inleds med fakta man inte ville veta: "Det finns över 1100 tunnlar i Norge. De flesta saknar nödutgång/nödrum."

Long Shot (2019) Journalist springer på barndomsförälskelse, som råkar vara presidentkandidat i behov av talskrivare. Seth Rogen och Charlize Theron har lika varm kemi som komisk tajming. Obegripligt att detta perfekt matchade långskott halvfloppade på bio.

Ready or Not (2019) Byggd på tristess och nihilism, har en stenrik familj en pennalistisk tradition för att hälsa ingifta välkomna till släkten. Deras dödliga lek ter sig som ett urspårat, socialt experiment, men som satir är det en underhållande kurragömma.

The Lighthouse (2019) Grubblande ”yngling” vaktar fyrtorn med ännu mer grubblande gubbe, filmat i svartvitt och bildformatet 1.19:1. Det blir inte festligare av att fyren hyser mardrömslika väsen. Otäcka scener när isolering och galenskap går hand i hand. Svarta hål-jägarna (2019) Käbblet på jorden bleknar om man zoomar ut en smula, eller hela 55 miljoner ljusår. Se hur det gick till när ett team av astronomer jobbade för att kunna ta första bilden av ett svart hål. Vägen dit är häpnadsväckande, på en resa som bara har börjat.

Parasit (2019) Social kommentar blir ren och skär skräck, när en familj som lever en till synes perfekt tillvaro utmanas av en mindre bemedlad familj. Bong Joon-ho och Han Jin-won har skapat en svidande allegori över roffarsamhället och en av 2010-talets allra bästa filmer. 

Deux moi (2019) Varför inte låta livet hända i Frankrikes hjärta? Två grannar som känner sig vilsna, går ständigt om varandra i ett Paris som visar sig från sin charmigaste sida. Romantiskt och roligt men inte konventionellt, får jakten på lycka ta sin lilla tid innan det blir rätt.

A Hidden Life (2019) 1940. Österrikaren Franz Jägerstätter tvångsrekryteras för att strida för Nazityskland, får nog och vägrar. Terrence Malicks poetiska bildspråk känns igen, men denna gång inte på bekostnad av berättandet. Långt men inte för långt, är det framför allt smärtsamt berörande.

Us (2019) En home-invasion, där en familj plågas av sina mystiska dubbelgångare, visar sig bottna i något mycket större och läskigare. Nervigt och kryper in under huden – Jordan Peele har gjort det igen. Lupita Nyong'o är lysande, liksom filmmusiken av Michael Abels.

Wrinkles the Clown (2019) Har föräldrar i Florida verkligen bussat en otäck clown på sina barn? Denna dokumentär undersöker en slags skräckversion av Supernanny, eller bisarrt konstprojekt om man så vill. Metanivåerna är många men ohyggligt fascinerande.

Free Solo (2018) Gör helst inte som Alex Honnold, som riskerade allt i jakten på den ultimata kicken: att utan livrem bestiga El Capitan i Yosemite. Allt dokumenterades, väl medvetet om hur illa det kunde sluta. En hisnande och fascinerande inblick i extremsportens drivkrafter.

Mellan raderna (2018) Man behöver inte läsa mellan raderna för att uppfatta det väldigt franska i att föra långa, intellektuella samtal om kultur, relationer och författarvåndor. Att det är exakt vad ett gäng medelålders vänner och kollegor gör här, är förstås alldeles ljuvligt.

Boy Erased (2018) Lucas Hedges blev Golden Globe-nominerad för sitt porträtt av verklighetens Garrard Conley, som blev utsatt för så kallad omvändelseterapi för hbtq-personer. Ett omskakande drama om religiös fundamentalism och frihetskampen att få vara den man är.

Three Identical Strangers (2018) Tre amerikanska tonåringar upptäcker att de är trillingar och blir rikskändisar på kuppen. Det är en entusiastiskt berättad dokumentär, trots att syskonen visar sig vara offer för ett oetiskt experiment. Hårresande insikter befäster att verkligheten ofta överträffar dikten.

Arrival (2016) Ingen lärobok i världen har facit när lingvistikern Louise Banks (Amy Adams) anlitas för att tyda utomjordingars skriftspråk. Denna sci-fi är lilla julafton för språkvetare, rymdnördar och alla andra som gäckas av universums oändliga mysterier.

Yarden (2016) Berättelsen om den sparkade journalisten som tar jobb som biltransportör, bygger på Kristian Lundbergs roman med samma namn. I denna inlaga om otrygga anställningsvillkor och obefintlig arbetsrätt, är Malmös sociala periferi lika snyggt fotad som deppigt skildrad.

Deadpool (2016) Inte en dag för tidigt. Efter en aldrig sinande ström av barntillåtna Marvel-filmer, fick antihjälten Deadpool äntligen sin egen solofilm. Ryan Reynolds fungerar väldigt bra i rollen, vars främsta behållning är när skurkar peppras med gliringar.

Ex Machina (2015) Skandal att denna täta sci fi-thriller inte gick upp på bio i Sverige. Var går gränsen i skapandet av intelligent liv? Är mänskliga känslor mindre värda för att de inte alstras av en människa? Via Alicia Vikanders android konfronteras vi med etiska dilemman som berör.

Tjuvheder (2015) Peter Grönlund har öga för socialrealism, så pass att han gärna använder sig av amatörskådespelare; ett riskabelt grepp som fungerar utmärkt i denna råa vardagsskildring. Malin Levanon fick en självklar Guldbagge för huvudrollen som langaren Maria.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013) Precis som komikerkollegorna Adam Sandler och Vince Vaughn, blickar Ben Stiller ibland åt dramahållet. Här är han en försynt Life Magazine-anställd, i en jakt på ett försvunnet fotonegativ som bland annat tar honom till Island. Vackert fotat och rakt igenom feelgood för själen.

Oldboy (2013) Spike Lees nyinspelning av Oldboy har fått oförtjänt mycket skit. Efter en mystisk kidnappning och 20 år i isolering, kan Josh Brolins slitna reklamare äntligen hämnas. Slafsigt värre blir det. Missa inte heller Park Chan-wooks manga-inspirerade original från 2003.

Her (2013) Folk kan träffas på olika vis. författaren Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) dejta sitt operativsystem (!) Samantha, vars röst görs av Scarlett Johansson. Nog för att deras relation blir lite meckig att utveckla, historia om att knyta an och att våga släppa taget.

Ruby Sparks (2012) “Quirky” indie-romcom har vissa konnotationer. Roligt, kvickt och knasigt ska det vara när tillvaron sorteras. Utan att bli kliché, uppfyller fantasifulla Ruby Sparks kriterierna. Kemin blir extra naturlig då Zoe Kazan (även manus) spelar mot äkta maken Paul Dano.

Jakten (2012) En man blir anklagad för ett ohyggligt brott och får livet förstört, då oskyldig i juridisk mening inte alltid gör skillnad. Skickligt hantverk om ett tidlöst tema. I regi av Thomas Vinterberg, gör Mads Mikkelsen en av karriärens starkaste roller. Melancholia (2011) Efter coronaåret 2020 och en minst sagt skakig start på 2021, känns jordens undergång närmare än vanligt. Ett sätt att bearbeta, är att ta sig an Lars von Triers profetiska sci fi-drama, som kretsar kring en obekväm bröllopsmottagning.

Contagion (2011) Social distansering har nog aldrig varit mer angeläget på film. Därför finns det en makaber ironi i att detta virusdrama fick nytt liv under coronapandemin. Att se den idag är en smärtsam påminnelse om hur skört samhället är när krisen kommer.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011) Det har gått ett helt decennium sedan David Fincher hakade på nordic noir-vågen. Känner du dig gammal än? Tillhör man de som hänförs när Hollywood bränner någon miljard på att filma i Sverige, blir man nog inte besviken på denna hårdkokta nyinspelning.

Moneyball (2011) Man måste inte vara sportfåne för att gilla sportfilm. Man måste inte ens uppskatta baseball för att gå igång på detta biografiska drama, om ett lag som tar sig ur underläge med hjälp av klarsynta analyser. Smart manus, som oftast när Aaron Sorkin är inblandad.

Bridesmaids (2011) Ibland stämmer allt bara. Manus, regi och val av skådisar, Bridesmaids prickar helt rätt. Annie Walker (Kristen Wiig) strular till det för kompisgänget när det vankas bröllop. Turerna fram till den stora dagen är många, knasiga och väldigt roliga.

Cyrus (2010) Jonah Hill, född att spela störig. I denna dramakomedi agerar han en överbeskyddande son, som inte vill släppa taget om sin mamma (Marisa Tomei) när hon träffar en ny karl (Jon C. Reilly). Pratigt och kul av mumblecore-bröderna Mark och Jay Duplass.

Crazy Heart (2009) Jeff Bridges är fantastisk som nerdekad singer/songwriter, i denna berörande historia. Han tackade först nästan nej till rollen men vändpunkten kom när tankarna kring musiken började sätta sig. Tur var väl det. Att Bridges sjunger själv i filmen gör halva grejen.

Zodiac (2007) Att utredningen av Zodiacmorden fortfarande är öppen, adderar ännu ett lager av spänning till David Finchers mästerverk, en uppvisning i metodisk perfektion. Jake Gyllenhaal är som klippt och skuren som den ihärdigt sanningssökande Robert Graysmith.

Djävulen bär Prada (2006) Mode- och journalistvärlden kan vara lika lockande som skoningslös. I alla fall enligt bilden som ges här, när Meryl Streep lyser som en Anna Wintour-esque chefredaktör för en prestigefull tidning. Anne Hathaway övertygar som hennes målmedvetna adept.

The Last King of Scotland (2006) Historiskt drama om Ugandas diktator under 1970-talet. Forest Whitaker gör ett magnifikt personporträtt av Idi Amin och har sagt att den Oscarsbelönade rollen var svår att skaka av sig. Förståeligt, med tanke på hans omvittnade dedikation för att fånga vansinnet.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Cate Winslets och Jim Carreys rollfigurer raderar sina minnen, för att ständigt hitta tillbaka till varandra. Regi av Michel Gondry och sedvanligt knasmanus av Charlie Kaufman, innebär en ljuvlig, ickelinjär historia som får en att fundera över ödets nycker. 

25th Hour (2002) Mästerligt av Spike Lee, om New York-bon Monty (Edward Norton) som spenderar ett sista omvälvande dygn i frihet inför ett längre fängelsestraff. Som första Hollywoodfilm att förhålla sig till 9/11 med anpassade manusförändringar, ges den en särskild nerv.

Adaptation (2002) I denna Charlie Kaufman-historia, spelas en fiktiv version av Kaufman (och han fiktiva tvillingbror) av Nicholas Cage, som efter succén med I huvudet på John Malkovich drabbas av svår skrivkramp. Att Spike Jonze har regisserat gör det inte mindre underbart skruvat.

High Fidelity (2000) Det är fullt upp för John Cusacks skivbutiksägare, när viktiga album ska rangordnas och känsloliv redas ut. Man behöver inte ha läst Nick Hornbys semibiografiska roman för att njuta av denna nostalgitripp. Se även den kortlivade serien med samma namn från 2020.

The Talented Mr Ripley (1999) Suverän filmatisering av Patricia Highsmiths roman. Matt Damon gör en läskigt trovärdig sociopat, som nästlar sig in i andras liv för att leva det goda livet i 1950-talets Italien. Castingen är klockren och Jude Law är tidernas stekigaste glidare.

Boys Don’t Cry (1999) Kimberly Peirces uppmärksammade indiefilm om mordet på Brandon Teena i 1990-talets Nebraska, är en påminnelse om de många hatbrott som fortfarande sker mot transpersoner. Fruktansvärt starkt, med Oscarsvinnande- och nominerade Hilary Swank och Chloë Sevigny.

Office Space (1999) Skojig igenkänningskomik för alla som vet vad det vill säga att stångas mot såväl kopieringsmaskiner som byråkrati. Tittare med erfarenhet av kontorslandskap eller annan pappersslukande verksamhet, har att se fram emot en förlösande “våldsscen”.

The Faculty (1998) I kölvattnet av Scream kom det många halvdana tonårsskräckisar, men denna high school-rysare har en härligt lökig sci fi-twist. En lyckad mix av humor, tonårsalienation, popkulturella referenser och “body invasion”, gör att den sticker ut från mängden.

Festen (1998) Det som inleds med ett praktfullt 60-årskalas, förvandlas till tragik efter ett fruktansvärt avslöjande. Om uttrycket “tryckt stämning” skulle gestaltas med ett enda exempel, är det av denna första danska dogmafilm som också är en av de allra bästa.

Den tunna röda linjen (1998) Hajpen var enorm när kufen Terrence Malick skulle släppa sin första långfilm på 20 år. Det kanske inte blev den krigsfilm folk hade tänkt sig, allra minst de medverkande skådisarna, varav flera blev bortklippta. Dock sevärd, i all sin konstnärligt reflekterande form.

Rushmore (1998) Svag för charm? Missa då inte denna tidiga Wes Anderson-rulle i privatskolemiljö, där handlingen följer en driven men strulig 15-årig student. Detta var Jason Schwartzmans filmdebut och kom precis som Bill Murray att medverka i flera av Andersons senare filmer.

Starship Troopers (1997) Ingen kan beskylla Paul Verhoeven för att vara fin i kanten. Mustig sci fi-action blir det när insektoid ondska ska bekämpas och mänsklighetens interstellära framtid tryggas. Genom åren har Starship Troopers växt i anseende bland kritiker, inte minst för dess politiska satir.

Con Air (1997) I Jerry Bruckheimers hårt producerade värld, är det ofta en fin gräns mellan störtlöjligt och tufft (nåja). Låt detta bli filmkvällens guilty pleasure, om livsfarliga brottslingar på rymmen, i ett flygplan, i en öken. Nicolas Cages hjälte chefar som bara han kan.

Kontakt (1997) Baserat på Carl Sagans sci fi-roman, finns det tungt material att jobba med för Jodi Fosters huvudroll som SETI-forskare. Sällan har väl jakten på utomjordiskt liv presenterats med en så vetenskaplig inramning, som i denna fiktiva och välgjorda storfilm.

Braveheart (1995) Vid det här laget har väl varenda (s)kotte sett Mel Gibsons mäktiga krigsepos om William Wallace, som i slutet av 1200-talet stred för Skottlands självständighet. Kanske kan en omtitt locka att se Robert the Bruce från 2019, där Angus Macfadyen repriserar sin kungaroll?

Quiz Show (1994) Baserat på de amerikanska frågesportskandalerna under 1950-talet, berättas historien om NBC:s dragplåster “Twenty-One” och spelet bakom kulisserna. Ralph Fiennes och John Turturro är utmärkta som rivaler i de riggade tävlingarna. Höga halter av cynism utlovas.

Speed (1994) Det finns vissa action man återvänder till. Speed är en sådan film, tokeffektiv i all enkelhet. En bombhotad buss skenar iväg och måste räddas av team Keanu Reeves och Sandra Bullock. Inga konstigheter. Är det för mycket begärt att hoppas på en återförening?

The Commitments (1991) Det har startats många band på fyllan och lika många har lagts ned. Några som tar det hela vägen, är det sköna gäng som bildar The Commitments. Med värme och hjärta levererar de Dublin-soul när man som bäst behöver den.

Maffiabröder (1990) Den som ännu inte har sett detta maffiaepos, har att vänta en storstilad studie i brott och drivkrafterna bakom. Få kan nämligen strukturera uppgång och fall-historier som Martin Scorsese, i hans kanske allra bästa film.

Den vilda jakten på lycka (1989) Intensiv, svart komedi i regi av Danny DeVito. Han spelar även advokaten som hamnar mitt i ett  äktenskapsbråk. Luften självantänder när Michael Douglas och Kathleen Turners bittra makar går lös på varandra – en fröjd att se denna tajta skådespelartrio i absolut högform.

Strul (1988) Barnvisan Gullefjun får en mycket kreativ tolkning i denna hysteriska actionkomedi. Björn Skifs i högform, spelar kemiläraren Conny som sätts dit för knarkbrott. Manuset skrevs av Skifs själv och Bengt Palmers, ett samarbete som fortsatte i Joker och Drömkåken.

Cocktail (1988) Är detta Tom Cruises livsroll? Nej. Är scenerna bland Manhattans yuppies Oscarsmaterial? Nej. Dock har det aldrig känts mer rätt att skåla till denna sena 1980-talsrulle, om en odräglig bartenderlärling från Queens som drar till Jamaica för att pröva lyckan.

Mississippi Burning (1988) I juni 1964 lynchades tre medborgarrättskämpar av Ku Klux Klan, varav en av klanledarna dömdes först 2005. En smärtsam del av historien skildras här genom ögonen på två FBI-agenter. Ursinnigt berättat och fortfarande brännande aktuellt.

Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) Krig och komedi är två genrer som är knepiga att förena, men Robin Williams om någon kunde ro iland det. Få var så bra på att sprida hopp och glädje i mörkret, som kungen av improvisation. Här briljerar han som radiopratare i Saigon under Vietnamkriget. 

The Color of Money (1986) Biljardspelaren "Fast Eddie" Parker ska ha inspirerat Paul Newmans fifflare i The Hustler (1961). 25 år senare är samma rollfigur mentor för Tom Cruises ivriga talang. Spelsuget smittar av sig och som vanligt tar Martin Scorseses regi fram det bästa ur alla.

Flugan (1986) Vad vore filmhistorien utan David Cronenbergs skruvade hjärna? Här han dessutom redan starkt material att jobba med, i en nyinspelning som står på egna muterade ben. Jeff Goldblum engagerar som forskaren som får betala ett högt pris för sina teleporteringsexperiment.

Mannen från Mallorca (1984) Filmatiseringen av Leif GW Perssons Grisfesten, delar flera skådespelare med en annan given klassiker i krimgenren, Mannen på taket. Sven Wollter och Tomas von Brömssen som härdade snutkollegor, har den rätta kemin som behövs för att hålla tempot uppe.

Den vilda jakten på stenen (1984) 1980-talet kokade nästan över av hurtiga skattletare. Från Indiana Jones och lökiga kopian Kung Solomos sk(r)att, till denna vilda jakt på en ädelsten. Trojkan Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner och Danny DeVito roar i ett tidstypiskt matinéäventyr.

Den enfaldige mördaren (1982) Oförglömligt drama som utspelar i 1930-talets Skåne. Den svidande samhällskritiken är central och Hans Alfredson är helt fenomenal som fabrikör Höglund. Kanske var det för hans stora hjärta, som han var så bra på att ringa in mänsklighetens brister.

Brisby och NIMHs hemlighet (1982) Önskas paus från Disneys gulligheter? Vad sägs om en ensamstående musmamma som kämpar för sin familj, i en fantasyvärld full av onda varelser? Välkommen till Robert C. O'Briens barnbok som tecknad film. Mörkt men inte lika traumatiserande som Den långa flykten.

9 to 5 (1980) 1973 grundades organisationen 9to5 för att förbättra arbetsvillkoren för kvinnor. Sju år senare kom den firade komedin på samma tema. Som hämndlystna sekreterare ser vi Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin och Dolly Parton, vars titellåt blev den omedelbara superhit vi alla känner igen.

Avlyssningen (1974) Tänk att det kan vara så spännande att följa hur en desillusionerad övervakningsexpert sitter och avlyssnar folk. Förutom träffsäkert tidsdokument (efter Watergate-skandalen), är temat lika relevant i dagens digitala exponeringskultur.

The French Connection (1971) Innan William Friedkin skrämde världen med Exorcisten, regisserade han Gene Hackman och Roy Scheider i denna 1970-talsklassiker. Inget span på knarksmugglare i New York utan en spektakulär biljakt, så bulla upp med donuts och kaffe. Ett måste för fans av snutfilm.

Jungfrukällan (1960) Tittar man närmare på Ingmar Bergmans hämndhistoria, om en flicka som mördas av tjuvar, är det inte svårt att förstå att Wes Craven inspirerades att göra The Last House on the Left, som i sin tur fick en nyinspelning. Starka berättelser drabbar, omtolkas och lever vidare.

Hets (1944) Alf Kjellin spelar studenten som får en dödsfiende i sin lektor “Caligula”, ikoniserad av Stig Järrel. Pedagogiken på läroverket är nämligen raka motsatsen till lågaffektivt bemötande. En maktkamp som bör vara obligatorisk på att se-listan.

Casablanca (1942) Ibland blickar vi tillbaka i filmhistorien för att beröras på nytt, som i denna odödliga inkörsport till Hollywoods guldålder. Romantisk filmmagi spirar när Ingrid Bergman och Humphrey Bogart byter fraser som “vi har alltid Paris”.

Bloggbonus – tidigare opublicerat:

Booksmart (2019) När sista skoldagen närmar sig, ställs två tajta vänner inför tonårslivets tuffa prövningar. Olivia Wildes regidebut är en skarp high school-komedi, med mer hjärta än buskishumor. Kaitlyn Dever och Beanie Feldstein regerar i huvudrollerna.

The Favourite (2018) Maktkamp på slottet kan vara dötrist, tråkigt och alldeles underbart. Det senare gäller detta kostymdrama av syrligaste klass, i regi av Yorgos Lanthimos. Ta på kråsskjortan, pudra ansiktet och förförs av ränksmideriet kring drottning Anne av England.

Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011) I Catskillbergen i Appalacherna huserar en sekt. Martha flyr och handlingen fokuserar på eftermälet: återhämtandet och den ständiga känslan av att aldrig riktigt bli fri. Elizabeth Olsen förmedlar obehaget med bravur i sin debut- och genombrottsroll.

There Will Be Blood (2007) Feel bad-auteuren Paul Thomas Andersons allra mörkaste uppgång och fall-drama. I Kalifornien runt sekelskiftet 1900, blir luften extra tung av girighet. Daniel Day-Lewis är fenomenal som hänsynslös oljebaron, i bitter fejd med Paul Danos predikant.

Arachnophobia (1990) En småstad i Kalifornien invaderas av en dödlig spindelart, varpå det ankommer på Jeff Daniels doktor att hantera situationen. Hade man inte spindelskräck innan, lär man få det av denna underhållande “creature flick”. Svenska filmtiteln är fyndigt nog “Imse vimse spindel”.

Miller’s Crossing (1990) När det pratas om gangsterfilm är Miller’s Crossing inte den första som brukar komma på tal. Inte heller är den särskilt typisk för bröderna Coens stil. Det gör den dock inte mindre sevärd. Suveränt, om irländska maffian under den amerikanska förbudstiden.

The Planet of the Apes (1968) Kultigt ursprung till en lång filmserie, där aporna dikterar villkoren och människan får kämpa för sin frihet. Slutscenen är en av de mest kittlande i filmhistorien och premissen, som väcker frågor om mänsklighetens vårdslöshet, är minst lika aktuell idag.

Cleopatra (1963) Dags för långsittning och ta del av Elizabeth Taylor som egyptisk drottning i fyra timmar. Nog för att mastodontfilmer är svindyra, men hög risk kan löna sig och Cleopatra blev en braksuccé. En av de klassiker man helt enkelt bör ha sett – episkt i ordets rätta bemärkelse.

[dracjoonie]

| ⋄ Moonchild ⋄ | Mer!Joon AU |Chap.2 Mudskipper|

⥼ Pairings : Mermaid!Namjoon x Human!Fem!Reader

⥼ Tags : Fluff, eventual smut, slow-ish burn, do Mermen count as hybrids?.. mer!joon x fem!reader

⥼ Summary : What happens when a son of the moon and sea discovers the surface for the first time. And as he stumbles through it; trying to adjust to these new things she called “feet” and “legs”, would it be the surface he fell for, or her?

Basically, Namjoon as the little mermaid~ Minus the whole plot.

⥼ Word Count : 4.5k

⥼ A/N : I know its been a long time since I updated, and I’m really sorry about that ^^” I had a lot of doubts around where I wanted the story to go, but I think I’m all sorted out now! Anyway, I hope this is well received <3 

You tasted salt again. Felt it burning in your eyes and deep in your sinuses. You wished your scream when the wave hit sounded less embarrassing, but you figured it didn’t matter. It wasn’t like you were the only one. Though he looked relieved when he saw the great big shadow of a wave looming above the both of you. 

And he was, but that feeling lasted about as quickly as it came.

The wave knocked you back like a steel wall, and then dragged you forward harshly against the rough sand. Not into the ocean, thankfully. It dragged you far enough for your skin to feel raw. But that had nothing to do with why his relief was so short lived. 

He thought the water would bring his tail back.

He was wrong. 

So what does a Moonchild do when faced with extra limbs, too many joints, and not enough coordination? Turns out they scream. A lot. You would think something that lived primarily underwater wouldn’t have a set of lungs like that, but you were wrong. Baby’s and sirens should have told you that. But the longer he went the more you wondered if he needed air to breath at all. 

“COULD YOU CALM DOWN ALREADY!?” 

“CALM DOWN!!?? YOU WANT ME TO CALM DOWN!?? WHY DO I HAVE LEGS!!?? WHAT ARE THOSE!!?? WHAT IS THIS!?? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CALM DOWN!?? I’M UGLY!!!” 

“Over dramatic much? jeez..” 

“WHAT!??” 

You began to try and pick yourself up out of the sand, wanting to avoid near drowning for what would become the third time that day. 

“You screaming. It’s dramatic.”

“How am I supposed to react!!?? -Wait, how did you do that!!?” You turned back to flash him a quizzical expression; forgetting for a moment that he had probably never seen someone “walk” before.  

You had only walked a couple of feet up the shore away from him, but for him that was way too far for comfort. Like you ditched him on a bike with no training wheels, except the pavement was slippery sand -if sand was outer space. He flipped himself onto his stomach and did what he could to drag himself after you. He learned fast though, switching to a military-esc crawl when he realized you can only pull yourself so far in a substance with little to no leverage. 

You watched him, still in disbelief that this whole situation was actually happening. 

Soon he made it to the end of his difficult journey, grabbing at your ankles with his dried out hands and huffing out in exasperation. 

“How did you travel like that!?” You snorted at his phrasing.

“I walked.” He tilted himself in the sand to glare up at you, his sharp eyes still too shiny and vibrant to be intimidated by. Especially in his position, with his half wet and half dried clumps of hair invading his face from all sides. You chuckled, squatting down so he wouldn’t have to strain so hard with his feeble glaring. You startled him again with your speed, but he only jolted a little and kept his grip around your ankles. 

“I’ll show you how.” His eyes got real big at that.

“To.. wal-k? -I can’t do that.” 

You had to smile half heatedly at his defeated expression and that sorry look in his eyes. “I just want to swim..” He continued, a sad note in his voice.  

“Well we can figure out your missing tail situation later, for now let me just get you walking so you don’t cook and die out here.” You realized how poor your choice of words were when he started scrambling around in fear. “THAT CAN HAPPEN!!?? WHY DO YOU LIVE UP HERE!!??” 

“Uhh forget I said that, I was exaggerating.. Mostly. Flip over for me, ok?” 

He stammered, but did as he was told. He flopped back on his back, looking up at you sternly. You were able to ignore how naked he was right up until then, you shifted your gaze to the skys trying to talk yourself back into ignoring it until you could get him off the beach and clothed. That wasn’t really a conversation you were willing to have right now, it was barely morning and the day already felt too long. You only hoped he wouldn’t ask you anything specific.. That didn’t have to do with his legs. 

You walked around his form, sitting yourself back in the sand beside his knees. You grabbed his hand that laid beside him, and he gripped yours tightly. 

“I’m gonna help you sit first -give me your other hand too." He strained to look at you from on his back while reaching out to you with his other hand. You held them both now, each of your hands holding one of his reassuringly. You pulled on his arms, not too hard or too fast, just enough to raise his torso slowly off the sand. His balance wavered and tilted once he was upright, but instead of falling back he spread his legs and landed with his palms in the sand between them. He looked stunned, and you stayed at bay waiting for his next reaction. He smiled, a touch of confidence reaching his full lips. 

"Did I do it?" You tried your best not to laugh at him too much at the excitement in his voice.

"Yeah, you've got step one down -now bend your knees."

"My what?"

“Your… leg elbows." He frowned as he looked down at his new appendages, trying to pin point what it was you were talking about. He made an audible "ah!" When he figured it out.  

You held your hands out again as a balancing option but he was doing just fine staying upright on his own now. He bent one leg up, looking shocked that only one of them moved when he coaxed it. He tucked his leg in close to his chest with his foot planted in the sand before he fought to do the same with the other leg.

"Like this?" You nodded as you stood back up and stepped directly in front of him. He gently placed a foot on each of his in preparation as he watched you curiously. 

"So these-" you tapped your feet over his to make a point. "Are your feet, to stand you have to balance all your weight on them. The sand’s gonna be moving under them so this isn’t gonna be ideal, but this is what we're working with." You bent down and urged him to give you his hands again, and he did.

"You ready?" He yelped a yes in reply and you took the que. You pulled on his hands, feeling him tensing the muscles in his legs to catch his own weight. 

"Push on your feet." He nodded, tensing his legs more and helping you raise him up fully. He shot up quickly once he figured out the trick to it, startling you this time. He stood taller than you, which was concerning when he started to tip over.

"PUT YOUR ARMS OUT FOR BALANCE!" You shrieked, moving your feet off of his and throwing your hands up to catch his shoulders if it came to that. Suddenly his head was suspended a foot under yours.

He had bent his knees. He was still wavering in the wind a little bit, but he was standing; mostly, all on his own. 

"Hey!! You've got step two down...kinda. Can you straighten up?" He glanced up at you, his eyebrows knitted in concentration but you could see that he was gonna try his best at whatever you asked him to do. He started to straighten his legs out, his arms still far from his sides. He raised up slowly watching your eyes the whole way until he was stood above you again. Something behind you caught his eye and he reeled, ducking back down and hiding his face in your shoulder as he gripped onto you for balance.

"The sun.."

You gripped his arms as you looked down at him questioningly.

"Yeah..? It's sunrise now." You glanced back behind you being sure not to budge him and looked back at all the reds and pinks of the morning sky, the sun peeking up over the water. You were thankful for it, that little bit of sunlight was the only thing keeping you warm in your drenched clothing. 

"I'm not supposed to be on the surface when the sun is rising -I'm not supposed to be up here at all -but especially not when she's chasing the moon away." 

You were dumbfounded.

"Um.. well. You might have to make an acception today-"

"Are you not scared of her?"

You realized that this must have been some deep rooted merpeople thing, maybe the reason no one had ever seen one before. But he was on the sand now with the sun peaking over the horizon, and he was doing just fine. Whatever impending doom he was sacred of couldn’t have been real.. Or true -you hoped.

"Uhh.. no?" You questioned, seeing if he would say more but all he did was keep his head tucked into your shoulder. You patted his arms timidly, trying to conjure him some comfort.

“Hey.. Whats your name anyway?” He peaked up at you, his eyes swirling and glimmering in the rising light.

“Its Namjoon, and you?” He said in a rush. 

“Y/n.. Listen -its ok if you’re scared of the sun, but its only gonna get higher in the sky the longer we stand here.” That didn’t help, and you knew that as soon as the words left your mouth and you saw him start to tremble. 

“..Namjoon, really.. It’s not gonna hurt you. Just focus on the ocean, isn’t it beautiful like this?” 

That time did something. He started to peak his head up again, his earrings dangling as he moved on wobbly legs. He rose up, still jumpy, but determined. He held onto you the whole way up with his eyes so full of wonder as he calmed himself enough to look at the scenery behind you. You turned your head to see what he was seeing. The stark red glow of the sun as it broke through the horizon, still just a crescent on the surface but its light reflected off the waves and made the clouds glow in pinks and oranges. He stood like that a while; bravely, long enough for you to turn back to him and see the ocean in his eyes.

“See?” He only nodded.

“But don’t stare too long, I’m not sure what it’ll do to your big fish eyes.” “-Hey!” He looked at you again, wobbling from how quick he turned to you with an offended look on his face. “..I’m not a fish.” He pouted as he spoke and you couldn’t help giggling at his expense.

“Yeah, yeah. Lets get you walking fish boy.” Despite his pout he still nodded and looked back down at his new feet. You stepped back from him with your hands still out to catch him if he fell.

“Ok -step three. You’ll need to lift up one foot at a time and put them down in front of each other one behind the other -like this.” You stopped to demonstrate under his incredulous glare. He huffed and lifted his first foot, he tipped over but lept that foot forward in the sand to catch himself in time. He flung his hands out in the air again for balance too, just like you taught him.

“Heyy! That’s one step, now do the other one.” He glared up at you again and you grinned. You never thought you would be teaching a grown man to walk, but there was something endearing about it all. He tried stepping with the other foot and balanced it better this time as he placed it in the sand just in front of his first one. He tried it a few more times, turning a corner and just trying to get a hang of it. He stood a little straighter the longer he kept trying.

You let him walk on his own until he was walking circles around you. Somewhere along the line he figured out how to hop and land on his toes, he was very fond of that. You were happy he was having such a good time after he had just been screaming his lungs out. But unfortunately there was another thing you needed to point out to him, preferable before other onlookers started to show up. 

“Hey Namjoon!?” You shouted to him, waving your arms to coax him over from the direction his skipped off to. Somehow he figured out how to do little spinning jumps when you weren’t watching. He landed on his tip toes but it didn’t look like he was expecting the wave of dizziness that hit him once he stopped spinning. You watched him giggle and tip sideways to one knee mid wave.

“Y/n!! Everything is spinning!! The surface is fun!!” You chuckled at him as you made it over to where he was. You watched him flop himself on his back and dance his fingers up towards the sky.  Now that the sun was up you could see the delicate pastels in his hair more clearly. Strands of lilac and mint and powdered blues evenly blended amongst soft silvers and cool whites. 

“Not to burst your bubble, but there’s something you should know.” His ears perked up as he fought to focus on your figure looming above him.

“You’re naked.” He frowned up at you, flopping his hand in your direction

“And you’re not.” You sighed. This really wasn’t something you were up for explaining more in depth. 

“Uh.. we don’t really do that up here.. Be naked! That is..In public.” He tilted his head in the sand as he continued to frown.

“Why?” You thought about it for a second. Of course you knew why. It was awkward, it was distracting. It wasn’t a common occurrence to see some adult man zipping around showing full frontal. Not to mention it wasn’t exactly kid friendly. But you weren’t sure how to explain all that to him, or where to start. You banked on a shorter answer.

“I don’t know, its inappropriate?” 

“Why?” He said again, unsatisfied. You pinched your brow as you thought again. 

“It’s distracting?” 

“Are you distracted?” He didn’t miss a beat when he questioned you back. And you really didn’t want to answer that. So you didn’t.

“... Anyway. I found this abandoned towel..  You should wrap it around your waist so we can go into town without you mooning anybody.” 

“Mooning?” He sat up as he questioned you, wresting his elbows on his fresh new knees. You already felt too mentally drained from his previous questions, you didn’t even think about touching that one.

“You’ll have to figure that one out on your own.” You tossed the towel into his lap as he rose a brow at you, but he ultimately obliged once he got himself upright again. 

~~

You hadn’t given much thought to your own situation until you were walking back into the town you thought you finally got away from. It turned out jumping ship wasn’t the most productive strategy for getting away. And you still weren’t sure what happened in between you watching the lights of your home town get farther and farther away --and the burn of salt water filling your lungs. Regardless, you were thankful Namjoon saved you. Even if among all the chaos he brought with him you hadn’t found the time to thank him yet. You would make sure to. Your personality may be flippant most of the time, but you really were thankful. This guy just left his whole world to save your life without even thinking, and because of that there was a small chance he couldn’t ever get back. 

You felt for him and would do everything you could to help him find his tail, but your first form of thank you would be to show him around your small town on the surface. Surfing the web for merman lore to help send him home could come later. For now, a good distraction from his current predicament was in order. And distractions were just about everything for him. 

He was first fascinated when you made your way off the beach and he came in contact with the side walk for the first time. And fencing..and how sharp gravel is. And the way his mouth dropped when he finally looked up and saw his first building was a sight to see. You wished the milestone would be something better than a public restroom, but he was happy enough. He really wanted to go inside, but you promised him you would take him somewhere better.. Somewhere cleaner. 

When he spotted his first tree was the same time he learned how to run. He ran right up to this great big palm tree and flung his arms around it, resting his ear against its trunk. 

“This is alive!!” He exclaimed, and all you could do was giggle as you watched him look up and sway in tandem with the fluttering of its leaves. "Its old.. it must have watched the moon and the sun chase each other so many times.. What do I call you?"

"That's a palm tree" He grinned. "A palm tree, amazing. I hope you don't mind if I rest my palms on you." 

"It's just a plant, they don't have feelings." Something in the air moved when you said that, something other than Namjoon's jaw dropping to the sand.. "Are all humans this rude.” You knew it was the tree he was asking, so you merely rolled your eyes and kept walking down the sunny side walk with a grin. 

Finding him clothes didn’t take much time at all, street vendors were practically throwing themselves at him when they were barely set up for the morning. He was eye catching, so you weren’t surprised. With his long and delicate silver hair, and his eyes you couldn’t always place a color on. Not to mention how decorated he was in perfect pearls and pearlized sea shells, all wrapped in what you guessed was a seaweed equivalent to twine. Not only was be beautiful, but he looked expensive. And his big curious puppy dog eyes made him look a touch gullible. You couldn’t blame anyone for wanting to sell him their goods until his pockets ran dry. Little did they know it was your pockets, it would be a while before they were dry, and the majority of your funds were still on the ship headed in the opposite direction. 

You were looking around at the third booth in a row that Namjoon was ushered into. The sales women had barely spared you a glance, something you didn’t mind at all. You looked around at the little shark tooth necklaces and snickered at the large assortment of mood rings. You checked the price on a few of them, four dollars a piece. You didn’t have much, but you would keep them in mind. They were definitely something you though Namjoon would appreciate. 

The sales woman was a lot older; very friendly, and didn’t have much care for personal space. But Namjoon didn’t seem to mind, even when the woman was forking through his hair without asking. Though you might not be able to know if he did have a problem, he could barely get a word in.

“Ohhh! Sweetheart! You’ll love this!” You heard the older woman exclaim, and it wasn’t the first time.

“I do!-”

“Great! I can wrap it for you! It’ll be $10! oHH, wait right there sweety I know something else you’ll just die for!” 

You snickered at the whole encounter, still wondering and touching things lightly. Part of you was evilly waiting to see what would happen when the woman found out he was broke. But --she did have shorts in her shop, and that was something he genuinely needed. You made your way around until you were met eye to eye with Namjoon again. You raised your brows at him in a silent question of “Are you ok?”  He nodded and blinked, averting his eyes to see where the woman had gone looking. He leaned into you to whisper in your ear shortly after.

“What is a dollar?” You grinned at the innocent question. 

“Its money. What do you all use for money down there anyway?” You whispered back. Not that some random old woman would know you were conversing with a merman about merman currency, but you felt weird speaking any louder.

“Oh, we barter. I think some other cultures of moonchildren use money though.”

“So there’s more of you than just where you’re from?” You asked genuinely curious, and he frowned at you like you had just asked the dumbest question in the world.

“Of course?” 

“Hey, I didn’t know any existed two hours ago. And you didn’t know about humans, so don’t even.” 

He paused.

“..That’s fair.” 

Just then the old women popped back up with what she had been rummaging for. 

“This here!” She held out an elaborate necklace in her hands. Most of it was made up of several cords with tiny pearlescent blue beads, both sides coming around to the center to hold a good sized oyster shell with moon phases carved into it. It was beautiful; and she was right, he loved it. He gasped when he saw it, holding out his palms for the women to place it in. 

“Oh! This is so beautiful! The carving here is so precise, this can’t have been done with a shell pick..” He spun the necklace around in his hands, feeling all the beads and even holding it up to see the moon phases against the sunlight. 

“But I don’t have any dollars..” The woman’s demeanor changed, just as you knew it would. She reached up for his hands with her short stature, securing the necklace away from him. 

“No money, no sale.” 

“How much is it?” You spoke watching the sad swirl in Namjoon’s eyes. The women almost looked shocked at you, as if she truly didn’t see you until you spoke to her. 

“$60.”

“$60? You’re kidding. Those beads are coated plastic, I can tell from here.” 

The old women scoffed.

“$40, take it or leave it.” You were about to say something when Namjoon intervened.

“What if we trade? I’ll give you a good pearl for it.” You cringed out of your skin when he said that. You knew how much pearls could be worth, and all of the pearls on his body looked worth well more that a $40 necklace. They could go for thousands. 

‘Wait!-” You Grabbed at Namjoons wrists before he could do anything foolish.

“Its ok y/n, I won’t miss it.” He untied what looked like a tiny pouch at his forearm. It was so heavily decorated you wouldn’t have ever known it had a function. You peaked over his shoulder to look inside, and your eyes went wide as you saw at least sixty or so perfect pearls. 

‘Wait, wait!” You held your hand out again between them both. 

“If you’re going to trade, a good pearl for that necklace, and pair of shorts and shoes for him. How does that sound?” You looked between them both as they both nodded. “And a mood ring” You added. “The nicest one you’ve got.”

“Yes, sure sure. But the pearl better be real.” Namjoon pulled out a little one. It was perfectly round, and the way it shinned almost made it look like it was glowing. The women's eyes went wide as he brought it closer to her, popping it right in her hands. She looked it over with a big grin on her face, and you wanted to scream about what a waste that was. But if Namjoon was happy, that’s what mattered. “The shorts?” You questioned to snap her out of her trance. “Oh yes! Ohh, and I have the perfect ones for you! Hold on just a minute!” The old women jumped up with glee, making her way over to the other side of her little booth. “Come ‘round this way dear! You’ll need to try these on!” Namjoon looked at you unsure, and you simply nodded and gestured for him to go where the women asked. She pulled out a pair of blue and purple tie dye shorts with a large lizard embroidered by the bottom left hem. He smiled as soon as she pulled them out, and you wondered if somehow within the past 15 minutes if she had really cracked the code to understanding his exact tastes, or if he would have smiled like that at anything. 

“You’ll love these!”

“I do!-”

“Go on, into the dressing room you go!” Your heart clenched a bit as she squished him into the tiny two foot dressing room. It was all made up of black curtains, and something you yourself would be horrified to get undressed in in such an open area. But seeing as how Namjoon was already naked.. It should be fine?..

He had never even seen shorts before until today, and putting them on might be more confusing for him than you would imagine. As the seconds went by you started to worry.

What if he tore them, or what if while trying to balance he fell right through the curtain and took the whole booth with him. What if he didn’t understand where his legs should go, or if he put them on backwards? As your heart was beginning to race Namjoon made his way out of the dressing room, his new perfectly fitted shorts worn correctly. 

“Oh they’re perfect on you! See look in the mirror! How are they? Do you love them!?” 

“I do!-” 

“Good good! Oh you deserve this too!” She pulled out a little white linen vest almost out of thin air and started to help him place his arms through its holes as Namjoon watched himself in the mirror. 

“Oh! its perfect! This one is on the house! You look like a handsome little merman!” You smirked at the accuracy the old woman was unaware of.

“Oh! Thank you!-” 

“Beautiful, beautiful! You and your girlfriend have to come back and visit sometime!” 

“Uh, we’re not-” You started, but no one heard you -and the suggestion seemed to go right over Namjoon’s head.

“Thank you ma’am! I feel brand new!” 

Namjoon bowed his head a little as he held the old woman's hands in thanks.

It didn’t take the women long to wrap up his new necklace in a cute little gift bag, or to let him pick some matching flip flops and a mood ring that peaked his interest. You made sure to grab one of the cards that tell you what all the colors mean, you were sure that could be fun to bring up later. And to maybe see if his ever changing eye color matched up. 

Namjoon was strange and other worldly to have around, but despite his circumstances you were excited to watch him see your world for the first time. Maybe he would help you see things in a new light too, maybe moonlight for a change.

[maddiesbookshelves]

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh (April 2022)

Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.

Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village — and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon — may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.

Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin — as well as a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits — Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.

But she doesn’t have much time: a human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking…

Would I recommend it to anyone? Yes, it's a good book with a little romance and a nice plot.

Level of (dis)satisfaction based on the summary and my expectations? It was actually a nice surprise because I was expecting a basic plot with a basic romance but it ended up being better than I thought.

My thoughts on it? I really liked Mina's character, she's brave and her storyteller side was super cool. The secondary characters were very interesting, I'd love to know more about them, especially since the author confirmed on instagram that they were queer (which was kind of implied in the book), same with the Spirit World. I know that Axie Oh is Korean-American so I'm guessing a lot of elements were inspired by Korean mythology, but since I unfortunately know nothing about it, I couldn't tell for sure.

Some elements of the plot were a bit confused, especially the explanation of the Sea God's curse, but I'm willing to let it slide because the "how" wasn't really the most important.

I was a bit scared because the soul mates trope isn't necessarily something I'm going to like, it has to be done a specific way for me to get invested, but this case was slightly different so it was fine.

The book as a whole gave off Spirited Away vibes, especially the beginning when Mina gets to the Spirit World, it was amazing.

Also, I don't know what's going on with the editors but they should keep it up because their covers for Asian books are beautiful, DAMN. Iron Widow? A Magic Steeped in Poison? June Hur's books? This one? Seriously.

French version under the cut

Depuis des générations, des tempêtes destructrices ravagent le pays de Mina. Les inondations emportent des villages entiers tandis que des guerres sanglantes sont menée pour les quelques ressources restantes. Son peuple croit que leur protecteur, le Dieu de la Mer (Sea God), les a désormais maudits, condamnés au désespoir et à la mort. Chaque année pour l'apaiser, une belle jeune fille est jetée à la mer en tant que promise du Dieu de la Mer, dans l'espoir qu'un jour sa "véritable promise" sera choisie et mettra un terme à leurs souffrances.

Nombreux sont ceux à croire que Shim Cheong, la plus belle fille du village — et la bien-aimée de Joon, le frère ainé de Mina — pourrait bien être la véritable promise des légendes. Cependant, la nuit où Shim Cheong doit être sacrifiée, Joon la suit en mer, conscient que toute intervention entraînerait sa mort. Pour sauver son frère, Mina se jette à l'eau à la place de Cheong. Emportée dans le Monde des Esprits (Spirit World), une citée magique remplie de dieux mineurs et de créatures mythiques, Mina se met à la recherche du Dieu de la Mer et le retrouve plongé dans un sommeil enchanté. Avec l'aide d'un mystérieux jeune homme nommé Shin, ainsi qu'une équipe hétéroclite composée de démons, de dieux et d'esprits, Mina décide de trouver un moyen de réveiller le Dieu de la Mer, mettant enfin un terme aux tempêtes meurtrières. Seulement, elle n'a pas beaucoup de temps : une humaine ne peut pas survivre longtemps dans le monde des esprits. Et il y a ceux qui feraient tout pour empêcher le Dieu de la Mer de se réveiller...

Est-ce que tu le conseillerais à quelqu’un ? Oui, c’est un bon bouquin avec une petite romance et une intrigue sympa.

Niveau de déception/satisfaction par rapport au résumé et tes attentes ? J’ai été assez agréablement surprise parce que je m’attendais à avoir une intrigue un peu bateau avec une romance bateau mais au final c’était mieux que ce que je pensais.

Avis sans spoiler ? J’ai beaucoup aimé Mina, elle est courageuse et son côté conteuse était super cool. Les personnages secondaires étaient vraiment intéressants, j’aimerais bien en savoir plus sur eux, surtout que l’autrice a confirmé sur insta que deux d’entre eux était queer (ce qui était légèrement sous-etendu dans le livre), pareil pour le Spirit World. Je sais que Axie Oh est américano-coréenne donc j’imagine que beaucoup de choses étaient tirées de la mythologie coréenne mais malheureusement comme je n’y connais rien je saurais pas dire.

Certains éléments de l’intrigue étaient un peu flous, notamment l’explication de la malédiction du Sea God, mais je suis prête à passer outre parce que le “comment” n'était pas forcément le plus important.

J’avais un peu peur parce que les âmes sœurs c’est pas forcément quelque chose que je vais apprécier, il faut que ça soit fait d’une certaine façon pour que je sois vraiment investie, mais là c’était légèrement différent donc ça allait.

Pendant tout le bouquin j’avais des vibes du Voyage de Chihiro, c’était trop bien, surtout au début quand elle arrive dans le Spirit World.

Aussi, je sais pas ce que les éditeurs prennent mais qu’ils continuent avec les couvertures des livres asiatiques parce que DAMN elles sont magnifiques. Iron Widow ? A Magic Steeped in Poison ? les 3 June Hur ? Celui-là ? Sérieux.

[thirdrowcentre]

I kept up last year’s resolution of watching as many films I’ve never seen before as possible - this time I managed 377. These are a few that stayed with me, in one way or another: 

JANUARY

Tales of Hoffman (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1951. Watched 04.01.2021)

Babyteeth (Shannon Murphy, 2019. Watched 11.01.2021)

Snowpiercer (Bong Joon-Ho, 2013. Watched 29.01.2021)

FEBRUARY

David Byrne’s American Utopia (Spike Lee, 2020. Watched 01.02.2021)

Hi Mom! (Brian de Palma, 1970. Watched 08.02.2021)

Dead Pigs (Cathy Yan, 2018. Watched 16.02.2021)

Yojimbo (Akira Kurosawa, 1961. Watched 21.02.2021)

Elvis: That’s the Way it Is (Denis Sanders, 1970. Watched 27.02.2021)

MARCH

Minding the Gap (Bing Liu, 2018. Watched 11.03.2021)

Tomboy (Céline Sciamma, 2011. Watched 25.03.2021)

La Terra Trema (Luchino Visconti, 1948. Watched 28.03.2021)

APRIL

Audition (Takashi Miike, 1999. Watched 08.04.2021)

Palm Springs (Max Barbakow, 2020. Watched 10.04.2021)

Songs My Brothers Taught Me (Chloé Zhao, 2015. Watched 12.04.2021)

Harlan County USA (Barbara Kopple, 1976. Watched 13.04.2021)

MAY

Cold War (Pawel Pawlikowski, 2018. Watched 11.05.2021)

Minari (Lee Isaac Chung, 2020. Watched at Prince Charles Cinema 22.05.2021)

Nomadland (Chloé Zhao, 2020. Watched at Prince Charles Cinema 22.05.2021)

Sound of Metal (Darius Marder, 2019. Watched at Prince Charles Cinema 23.05.2021)

First Cow (Kelly Reichardt, 2019. Watched at the BFI Southbank, 29.05.2021)

JUNE

Shiva Baby (Emma Seligman, 2020. Watched at Barbican, 09.06.2021)

John Wick Chapter 2 (Chad Stahelski, 2017. Watched 13.06.2021)

Time (Garrett Bradley, 2020. Watched 14.06.2021)

McCabe & Mrs Miller (Robert Altman, 1971. Watched at the BFI Southbank 20.06.2021)

JULY

Another Round (Thomas Vinterberg, 2020. Watched at Rich Mix, 04.07.2021, Barbican 08. 07.2021)

Shoah 1ère époque (Claude Lanzmann, 1985. Watched 20-22.07.2021)

Daisies (Vera Chytilová, 1966.Watched 22.07.2021)

AUGUST

High Life (Claire Denis, 2018. Watched 03.08.2021)

Shoah 2ème époque (Claude Lanzmann, 1985. Watched 04-06.08.2021)

Midnight Special (Jeff Nichols, 2016. Watched 28.08.2021)

SEPTEMBER

A Bagful of Fleas (Vera Chytilová, 1963. Watched 04.09.2021)

The Unbelievable Truth (Hal Hartley, 1989. Watched 21.09.2021)

Simple Men (Hal Hartley, 1992. Watched 24.09.2020)

Salut les Cubains (Agnès Varda, 1963. Watched 26.09.2021)

OCTOBER

Cow (Andrea Arnold, 2021. LFF screening, BFI Southbank, 09.10.2021)

C’mon C’mon (Mike Mills, 2021. LFF screening, Royal Festival Hall, 11.10.2021)

Petite Maman (Céline Sciamma, 2021. LFF screening, Prince Charles Cinema, 16.10.2021)

The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion, 2021. LFF screening, BFI Southbank, 17.10.2021)

The Green Knight (David Lowery, 2021. Watched at Rich Mix 18.10.2021)

L’amour à la mer (Guy Gilles, 1965. Watched 25.10.2021)

NOVEMBER

Hoop Dreams (Steve James, 1994. Watched 05.11.2021)

After Hours (Martin Scorsese, 1985. Watched 19.11.2021)

Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959. 35mm. Watched at Prince Charles Cinema 21.11.2021)

Crossfire (Edward Dmytryk, 1947. Watched 25.11.2021)

I Wanna Hold Your Hand (Robert Zemeckis, 1978. 35mm Watched at Prince Charles Cinema, 29.11.2021)

DECEMBER

Get Back (dir. Peter Jackson/Michael Lindsay Hogg, 2021/1969. Watched between 01.12 and 08.12.2021)

Ma vie de Courgette (Claude Barras, 2016. Watched 09.12.2021)

Sorry, Wrong Number (Anatole Litvak, 1948. 18.12.2021)

Fear (Roberto Rossellini, 1954. Watched 18.12.2021)

Shanghai Express (Josef von Sternberg, 1932. Watched 21.12.2021)

West Side Story (Steven Spielberg, 2021. Watched at Vue Islington, 30.12.2021)

Licorice Pizza (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2021. 70mm. Watched at Picturehouse Central, 31.12.2021)

[sugar-petals]

Can you do a reading on their psychic gifts and abilities?I feel like yoongi is highly intuitive

i chose my goddess oracle deck for that. time to reveal bts’ slumbering psychic powers lmao! the cards were hilarious 😄

jin: GODDESS SIGE 🎼

we have some clairaudience on our hands here! sige is the gnostic goddess of silence. jin might be able to transmute or even hex away sounds in some way oh my god imagine that. we’ve heard him on dionysus, he always surprises us with his vocal abilities so who knows what else he can do!

joon: GODDESS COVENTINA 🌊

i get why namjoon is drawn to crabs now: coventina is the celtic deity of water! wells and springs in particular. a lot of things make sense now. the ancient romans thought of coventina as a nymph so joon might have some hidden — and you can’t make this shit up — merman genes or forgotten mer-ancestors.

jimin: GODDESS SEKHMET 🦁

interesting egyptian goddess. extremely powerful. his undiscovered gift could be talking to wild animals, the card shows two lions next to sekhmet. her being the goddess of medicine and war, jimin might also be able to muster hidden abilities of healing and um... even superhuman strength like wow. 

taehyung: GODDESS BASTET 🐱

also ancient egypt, suspiciously similar oracle to jimin’s. could be communication with animals too, there are cats on the card. however, it might be more small-scale animals then, pets. bastet is connected to protection from evil spirits so tae might be a natural repellant to hauntings lol! that would be genius. 

yoongi: GODDESS BRIGIT 🔥

as a pisces he’s gotta be intuitive indeed, but check this out, it gets even better: the woman on the card holds a flame! who knows, yoongi could be on some xmen shit and bend the elements. pyromancy or pyrokinesis. yeah, wild! brigit is also associated with archangel michael, yoongi might have a connection to him.

hoseok: GODDESS OONAGH ☁️

the key word on the card says ‘lightness’, so, as weird as that sounds? if you read it at face value, he might be able to fucking levitate! the irish consider oonagh the goddess of fairies so i see why that aspect of ‘flying’ came to my mind. oh man jimin will be jelly, hoseok could be the actual fairy in bangtan.

jungkook: GODDESS MAEVE 🐦

another irish deity. could be clairsentinence. maeve is about cycles, rhythms of emotions. she manipulates water and earth so jk might have some hidden ice magic or dowsing talents going on. also, chatting with cute birbs, maeve is a bird goddess. the irish say she runs faster than horses so: jk, superhuman speed?

[angelicyoongie]

I can't wait to get the next urge to colorize the hybrid boys. Yoonkitty and Hamjin. Next maybe Fox-Tae, Minikitty and Bunny-koo.... i still need to rough sketch Hobi-Sunshine and Wolf-Joon. The urge should hit soon. I used warercolor markers, guache watercolor and pearl ink on the picture. I like that your characterization inspired me. I might eventually do a mer-koo... but bunny-koo is cuter.

Aww thank you so much!! 🤧💖 I’m happy my stories can serve as a little inspiration!!

[losingouredge]

Yaeji - What We Drew (우리가 그려왔던)

Om flera av houseproducenten Kathy Yaeji Lees tidigare beatballader haft ett mer direkt anslag med utsvävande omkrets - tänk hennes kulturella hype-landsman Bong Joon-ho minus det mest explicita - påminner hennes nya singel What We Drew snarare om Guldpalmsvinnaren från året innan, japanen Hirokazu Kore-eda.

Kore-eda har alltid gjort svinfina familjefilmer och när Yaeji går runt i bylsig jacka i dimman och håller sin farfar i handen kliver vi in i en hyllning till hennes Sydkorea - relationerna, områdena, beteendena. 

What We Drew låter som ett sms från din bästis och är koreanskans mest intima låt hittills, en popviskning som höjer sig över kategoriseringar och bara låter som hennes. Eller som ett fan skriver på Youtube: “this song will be what we sing when we rebuild the Earth.”

Öppna ordboken och leta upp en spade. Låten börjar 1:48 in, men gör dig själv en tjänst och se videon från start. Som ett välfrankerat paket med en uppvärmd vetekudde i.

Spellista #1.

[stainedglassgardens]

Watched in February

Sitting Next to Zoe Dark Places Nocturnal Animals The Limey Side Effects Good Sam Anima What Did Jack Do? Fleur de tonnerre Parasite The Field Guide to Evil Devil 37 Seconds The Falling Grave of the Fireflies (火垂るの墓, Hotaru no Haka) Elena (Елена) The Lighthouse Baskin In Fabric Leviathan (Левиафан) Suffragette

Did not finish

Lettre à ma mer (Mégane Murgia, 2016) Greener Grass (Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe, 2019)

Did not like

Nocturnal Animals (Tom Ford, 2016) Side Effects (Steven Soderbergh, 2013)

Okay I suppose

Dark Places (Gilles Paquet-Brenner, 2015) Good Sam (Kate Melville, 2019) Anima (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2019) What Did Jack Do? (David Lynch, 2017) Devil (John Eric Dowdle, 2010)

Films I enjoyed

Sitting Next to Zoe (Ivana Lalović, 2013): One of those rare stories about teenagers that I was able to truly enjoy. Maybe because it didn’t happen in a school setting?

The Limey (Steven Soderbergh, 1999): Been wanting to see this for a while. Technically perfect. One of those Man Films that transcend genre

Parasite (Bong Joon-ho, 2019): It was... good? I just didn’t get the hype

37 Seconds (Hikari, 2019): This film talks about disability and sexuality with a perfect mixture of tact and subversiveness, and should be required viewing for pretty much everyone

The Falling (Carol Morley, 2014): This felt like it could have been better thought out, and I still preferred Morley’s latest effort Out of Blue, but I did like it. Maisie Williams and Florence Pugh are both, of course, amazing. Also reminded me of Jordan Scott’s (very underrated) Cracks, for the setting and atmosphere

Grave of the Fireflies (火垂るの墓, Hotaru no Haka, Isao Takahata, 1988): Finally saw this! I didn’t even cry, which, according to one of my best friends, makes me a monster

Elena (Елена) and Leviathan (Левиафан) (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2011 and 2014): Zvyagintsev sure loves miserable women, and the deader the better. Yet I don’t know what it is about him. His bleak settings? His soundtracks? Or is it just the fact that I can use his films to get some Russian exposure?

The Lighthouse (Robert Eggers, 2019): Hmm... what the fuck?

In Fabric (Peter Strickland, 2018): This was a bit of a disappointment as I was such a huge fan of Strickland’s other films, The Duke of Burgundy in particular. Still a treat to watch, if only for the aesthetics Suffragette (Sarah Gavron, 2015): I had such low expectations for this one, I only ended up watching it because it was going to be taken off Netflix France at the end of February. But I was pleasantly surprised! A bit run-of-the-mill, but still a story that deserves to be told as often as possible. Especially to the younger feminists out there. Also to watch while reading Lara Williams’s Supper Club for a short introduction to feminist terrorism

Favourites of the month

Fleur de tonnerre (Stéphanie Pillonca, 2016): Wonderful scenery, very tolerable acting. Love my lady villains. Love Strong Female Characters that are not, you know -- good.

The Field Guide to Evil (Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala, Katrin Gebbe, Yannis Veslemes, Ashim Ahluwalia, Agnieszka Smoczyńska, Can Evrenol, Calvin Reeder, Peter Strickland, 2018): This is a surprisingly good-throughout anthology horror film, except for the American one, which I didn’t really see the point of. Favourites segments were by Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala, Can Evrenol, Yannis Veslemes,and Peter Strickland

Baskin (Can Evrenol, 2015): This month’s film-that-fucked-me-up! I looked it up after I saw Can Evrenol’s segment in The Field Guide to Evil. I was about to quit at some point in the second half due to gore literal overkill, but I’m glad I stuck through. The ending is great, and this is a great horror film that deserves to be better-known

*

In February I tried to consciously watch fewer films in order to focus on reading and other activities I enjoy. It wasn’t a great month for film-watching! I did finally finish Chernobyl, which is as good as everyone says it is. I also tried watching Mindhunter after a friend recommended it to me, but it was awful and I couldn’t even finish the first episode.

In March I’m going to keep trying to watch less stuff, and I hope I’ll have better luck with stumbling upon stuff I really enjoy.

[frenchlilcoconut]

Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite + Some Korean food

Hello everyone !

I went to the cinema yesterday with my best friend and her sister, to watch Bong Joon ho’s last movie Parasite (기생충). It received the Palme d’Or at Cannes earlier this year, and I was so happy and eager to see it !

We all really liked the movie, it left us quite shocked at the end, to be honest. I’m not going to spoil anything, but there were so many things going on...

Also, we got to watch it in Korean with French subtitles (I live in France), which I really enjoyed since it was also a good exercise for me. I couldn’t understand everything without reading the subtitles, as my oral comprehension level is still not good enough for that, but I sometimes caught words and sentences that I already knew, which is a good improvement for me.

After that, we went to one of the two Korean restaurants of my city, because I hadn’t tried this one yet. My friend ordered a tofu japchae (우엉두부 잡채), her sister a bibimbap (비빔밥) and I tried seafood japchae (해물 잡채). It was really delicious, I loved it.

It was definitely a nice evening, we talked a lot together, the movie was good, the food was great... It was a nice transition to my first day of work that’s coming soon.

To finish with this post, here are a few useful words about both movies and the food :

Korean // English // French

영화 // movie // film

영화 감독 // movie director // réalisateur

양념 // seasoning // assaisonement

해물 // seafood // fruit de mer

버섯 // mushroom // champignon

당근 // carrot // carrotte

맵다 // spicy // épicé

달콤하다 // sweet // sucré

I hope you are all having fun too, please stay well everyone !

[dracjoonie]

| ⋄ Moonchild ⋄ | Mer!Joon AU |Chap.1 Flounder|

⥼ Pairings : Mermaid!Namjoon x Human!Fem!Reader

⥼ Genre : Fluff, maybe smut down the line? (Undecided. If it happens it’ll be sweet and WHOLESOME). Do Mermen count as hybrids? 

⥼ Summary : What happens when a son of the moon and sea discovers the surface for the first time. And as he stumbles through it; trying to adjust to these new things she called “feet” and “legs”, would it be the surface he fell for, or her?

Basically, Namjoon as the little mermaid~ Minus the whole plot. 

⥼ Word Count :  3323

 The sea’s rippling arms stretched open; quietly, like a secret between her and the moon. Her arms grasped and kissed warmth against the skin of one of her many creatures. Pooling in rivers against his chest and back. He stretched up towards the moon, a son basking in the glow of his celestial father. And so the moon shone back, for him. His silver hair shining in the light, wispy strands clinging to soft cheeks. He swayed back, spinning his tail out from under him and letting his outstretched fins break the surface in a great whoosh. He relished in the way the air pricked his glittering scales. Never quite use to the chilling rush of adrenaline it gave him. But he would seek that thrill a million times over no matter how forbidden the surface may be. Up there he could feel and see everything. He was in love with the way the sea kissed the moonlight from the surface, her oceans ever reaching with her great tides. A force so powerful and beautiful it filled his heart with wonder. With longing. A feeling he could only grasp when he was in its clutches. Adrift between two worlds at their infinite collision. 

 Tonight was the night he planned to see it all. He schemed for months, but the weight of his duties below the surface left him all too preoccupied most nights. But he wouldn’t let them tonight, his dreams of watching the moon dip below the surface were too strong. He needed to see it for himself, the stories of its beauty weren’t enough to satisfy him anymore. He would let the waves take him on their journey, and he would watch the stars drift slowly across the sky, wondering how it was that they could stick up there when everything else seemed to always fall.   But he had never seen land before. Never imagined there could truthfully be a whole world outside of his own. Outside of the moon and sea’s warm embrace, the great blues that spanned forever and beyond. He didn’t know how close to land his home really was, just mere miles far enough to not see it,  just passed where the moon kisses the ocean, and gets lost between her waves.

  It was still hours before he would even drifted close, but they were hours he spent looking up and not around. All too mesmerized by the stars chasing each other across the night sky. It took the violent flutter of sails and a shout for him to finally be swayed from contemplation. He felt the splash in his fingertips. A weight in the ocean that wasn’t there before, a presence pushing in on him like shadows at his back. He shifted. And there it was. a great black shadow on the surface, stiff and artificial just like the stories he had been taught to fear. Stories of another world forbidden, surely those weren’t real? But here they were before him; this big black scourge against the water. Making sharp cuts in her waves.

Another shout and he was called into action. He was afraid, in awe, but that voice held fear, and his heart told him to lunge forward anyway...

..

 You weren’t sure how it all happened. It happened so fast, some violent force striking your back and BOOM. 

 Of course you could swim. But that didn’t mean anything when you were too dizzy to tell which way was up. When salt and water were all you could taste when you gasped for air.

 The waves were pulling you under so quickly. Shimmering black tendrils squeezing around your throat and filling your lungs with fire. They skirted inwards on the cusps of your vision, zeroing in until all you could see was darkness. Soon they pulled at your consciousness, fighting against you in one last flailing grasp at the surface. And then your world slipped away. Or at least the world you knew did.

But the world was much bigger than you could have ever imagined. 

 Something curious was near to you. Something mystic and ever wondering. Something you would have never believed was possible. But there it was, a shadow below the surface. Pushing in on you as it neared. He; the shadow your soul called friend, grasped at your sinking body. He pulled you towards him, relying only on instinct and the stories he could never bring himself to be afraid of. He pulled you towards the shallow waters, his fins brushing against the sand. He had never touched the sea floor and the surface at the same time before, he didn’t know it was possible. Even in all the stories he had ever heard he never knew his world could stretch out so thin.

..

 He didn’t even know how to swim in such shallow water, but he knew he had to learn now or never. Pulling you with him; desperately, to the summit of where his world ended and yours began.

 When he reached it he was reduced to dragging himself against the sandy floor, the last streams of the sea on his scales trying desperately to pull him back in. He obeyed, the fear of the unknown keeping him with his tail fins safely seated underneath her waves.He held you in his arms; this frail helpless thing, he didn’t know what you were. How were you so familiar, yet so foreign? Where was your tail? Why did the waters not kiss their breath into you like they did him? If the stories he knew were true, then you were nothing like him, and the water filling your lungs was more akin to poison. And if the stories were true.. he needed to act quickly. 

 He did whatever came to him first. He stretched back the column of your neck, brushing back the wet clumps of hair from your face. Fumbling, he pressed the heels of his hands at your chest, keeping as upright as he could with the little friction against the sand his tail lent him. His efforts did little to nothing and he only grew more desperate. Pounding helplessly at your chest, but hoping with all his heart he wasn’t hurting you. Despite his wishes you didn't budge, the water was just lodged too deep.

 He had one more idea. An idea that needed to work if he was going to save you. You, this ephemeral creature slipping away between his webbed fingers.If the water didn’t cling to you like it did him, maybe it would seek him out like it always had before. In one desperate swoop of instinct and hope, he pressed his gaping lips to your own. Willing the waters to leave you and follow him like they were meant to. And they did, brushing like the tides past your lips and spilling over into his own. He sucked up every last drop until he finally felt you coughing against him. He pulled away when he felt you surge, watching as you sputtered back to life. You gasped and shuddered and coughed beneath him, scared and confused as the spots of your vision slowly returned.

..

 You held to him like a life line; hands grasping at his wrists and arms. You were searching frantically as your vision returned, watching his glowing outline reveal itself against the moonlight. And it was as if moonlight was made for him. The glow dusting starlight against his tan skin. The water reflecting against him like shining glass mirrors that rippled as her waves splashed against the shore.  He was beautiful. His features sharp and soft and untouched. Like a dream against the horizon. He looked down at you with such curious eyes. They were big and dark; and deep, yet so gentle and full of so much light. You could feel the weight of him on your lower body, something cold and ruff scraping against the bare skin of your legs. He leaned in to look at you with an innocence that was so endearing. His head tilted to the side, locks of his long silver hair brushing past his shoulders and tickling your skin with icy water. You shuddered and he flinched back, his pupils dilating when he blinked back at you. When you stilled he leaned in so close you didn’t know whether to scream, or to blush. Was he.. Sniffing you? You shuddered again when the tips of his hair grazed your skin. This time he jumped back far, something heavy pulling at your legs when he moved. You didn't catch the subtle splashes he was making in the water, him too nervous to keep his tail fins still.

..

 He knew you weren’t like him, but did you know yet? He wasn’t sure.  You had two tails like long arms where they should have been joined and scaled. Distant fingers, and no gills. You were so different already. Did you even speak the same language? Should he even try to communicate? He composed himself after seeing the fear in your eyes.What was the harm in trying? He had already broken every rule in the book, what was one more?

He cleared his throat.

“Um.. What-what.. are you?” His head tilted again, the jewelry adorning his ears and neck jingling as he moved.

“E-excuse me?” His eyes widened at your reply. He understood you, and you him. And that was more shocking than anything to him thus far. Two creatures from entirely different worlds and yet you could understand each other. It shouldn’t have been possible. How could he know nothing of such a creature's true existence, and yet you both spoke the same tongue?. What long lost history was there that could tie you two together like this? 

He was amazed, and unwavering. But you were beginning to grow increasingly more uncomfortable underneath his weight, and the weight of his curious eyes lingering far too close and too long, no matter how beautiful those big curious eyes were. 

“Thank you for saving my life But-” You struggled to get your arms free out from under him. “Could you.. Get Off?” You popped a knee out from under his lower half, but the loss of stability sent him tumbling over on his side in the sand. He hissed when his shoulder thumped painfully against the ground. 

“Ouch! Hey!.. How do you live up here, I feel so heavy...” 

“Oh! Sorry!.. Wait, what..?” You pulled yourself up on your elbows and that's when you finally noticed the splashing. A.. tail? You shrieked, and he pushed himself back farther into the water to feel more secure. He wasn't sure what from, but your loud voice sent his instincts alight, and him stammering with more questions.

“Why are you screaming!?”

“YOU HAVE A TAIL!”He glowered at you before replying with only slightly less volume.

“And You have four arms! But I didn’t scream!?" You couldn't reply, too taken aback by the ridiculousness of the whole situation.

He paid your perplexed expression no mind, pushing up on his hands and walking backwards until he could bend his tail back enough to sit in the water. He had never sat before, never having been in shallow enough water to need to. But after maneuvering himself into position he found it leagues more comfortable than flailing on the ground helplessly. This way he could use his hands again too. You watched him pick his hands out of the sand one at a time to brush them off, doing the best he could to stay balanced on his tail. All you could do was watch him in awe as he messily flung his hair out of his way-too-shiny-for-this-world.. eyes. 

“Whatever you are, you sure like to stare, huh?” He gave you a one sided smirk as he glanced back at your awkwardly placed form. You shook your head before squinting at him and pushing up off the sand to sit on your knees. “Was he for real?” You thought.

“Well at least I don't sniff people.” 

He blinked at you.

“Well yeah, of course I did. That's just polite.” 

You frowned back at him. Or you tried to, but something about frowning at a shimmery merman felt off.

“Saved from drowning by a polite merman, wow what a day.”You watched as he finished fiddling with his hair, and he switched to fighting desperately to get the sand off his chest and shoulders. You were beginning to get all too distracted by the way his muscles rippled under his tan skin every time he swatted violently at himself. It was like watching a kid with peanut butter on his hands in a desperate battle to fling it off. A big ethereal kid… with a tail.

“Excuse me?" He snapped you out of your daze. "What did you call me?” 

You stammered“A-a.. merman..?”

“Is that what you call me? How come you have a name for me but I don’t have one for you..” his voice was so innocent, all of this was seeming more and more like a weird dream. Maybe something your brain cooked up just before drowning.

“Because you’re mythical, and I’m obviously hallucinating.. Or dead.. I’d never think up something as pretty as you on my own.” You really couldn’t help staring at him. Him still desperately trying to get the sand to stop sticking to his wet hands, and failing. He would rinse them off in the water, and then lose balance and catch himself in the sand again. Rinse, and repeat, with only mild frustration. 

“I’m mythical? I didn’t even know the water could get this shallow, but I’m the mythical one?”

“You’re the one with the tail.” 

“Yes, and you have whatever those are.” He pointed to your legs, one hand falling back to the sand as he lost his balance.. again. 

“Legs?”

He squinted.“Le-h-giz?” 

“Yeah.. legs.”

 “Like.. plural? Leg..s?” You hummed and nodded in reply. He went back to pull his hand out of the sand again with a look of defeat, and you just couldn’t watch the struggle anymore. You crawled up towards him on your knees, only taking him off guard a little. But a little was a lot for a guy with a tail who could stay balanced. He reeled back, his tail shifting around and splashing water up behind him as he started to topple over. Wiggling, but so determined to stay up this time.

“Hey, hey I just wanna help, here-” You reached your hands out to him, gesturing for him to place his own in yours. He looked into your eyes searching for something, any signs he should flee, but all he could see in your eyes was a kindness akin to his own.

He placed his right hand in yours first, and then slowly lifted his left to you, but his balance would be his demise. He fell forward, his hand catching between yours but you held him up by digging your knees deeper into the sand. 

“Oh! are you ok?” He hummed at you, but you could hear the twinge of fear in his voice. You checked his hands for any way you could have hurt their webbing from how you caught him. They seemed fine. Or you hoped they were fine, you weren’t really sure what unscathed webbed hands were supposed to look like. 

“Use me for balance, ok?” He only nodded in reply.

“How do you stay up.. without the water?” 

“Considering I just drown.. I’m not really sure how to answer that.. But.. if you let your hands dry off the sand won't stick so bad.” His eyes got so wide, like shinny glass fishbowls.

“Dry!? That sounds awful!”

“Have you ever even been dry?”

“No!?”

“Well.. Shit-” You held tightly to his hands as he shivered in the wind. You hadn't noticed it before, but it was growing increasingly windy.

“Well.. how about I help you dry one hand off, and if you hate it the waters right there.” You gestured behind him, and he hummed in discomfort.

“Will it hurt?”

“It..shouldn’t?” 

“Then..Okay. Why is your sand so sticky anyway...”

“Pretty sure its you that’s sticky..” “Huh?” He looked confused. Like he wasn’t sure if you had just insulted him or not. You just sighed and shook your head in dismissal. 

“Here-” You lifted his left hand to rest on your shoulder for balance, while you lifted his right so you could blow on it. 

“OH!” He exclaimed as soon as you started,  you merely chuckled.

“Did that hurt?” 

“No its just.. it tickles.” He said, his full lips forming a line in his uncertainty as he blinked at you again. You swore you could see the pigments in his eyes shift and change color.

“This is so weird..” You shook your head still in disbelief, continuing to blow on his hand and getting the webbing between his fingers.

“You never told me what it is that you are.”

“I’m just human.”

“Human..” He weighed the unfamiliar word on his tongue. Thinking it over, trying to see if it held any significance to him. It didn’t.

“Never heard of that. Sirens, sure. Humans? It sounds like you should be a lot more colorful than you are.”

You squeaked when you caught his connection.

“Hue! HA I get it.. “ He only squinted, his eyes changing colors again.

“Oh.. you were being serious..” 

You decided to change the subject.

“So.. what do you call what you are?”

“We’re Moonchildren.”

..

 You might have noticed the wind, but what he didn’t know was what the wind and waters do when they battle from up on the surface. Waves. He felt the little ones sliding up against his fins and keeping him warm before they would be pulled back to sea. The water always swayed back and forth, she was always moving. He knew that. But what he didn’t know was just how big those waves could get. But more importantly, how much the shore line would thin out in anticipation. 

 The water drew back behind him before he could even react, leaving him high and dry in the sand without her comfort keeping him feeling secure. He squealed a helpless sound as he toppled forward. To him losing contact with the water was like venturing up to a high ledge and losing balance. And when he fell forward he was only falling farther away, and taking you with him. 

 You tried to catch him. You really did, but he was much bigger than you. He knocked you back into the sand with a bang, his elbow somehow lodging into your diaphragm. 

You coughed, and he shuddered. Panting and shaking with fear, little whines leaving his lips the longer he was out of water. You didn’t mean to push him off so coldly, but you couldn’t breath. He landed on his shoulder and the side of his head with a thud and a yelp. You were too busy gasping for air again to see the look of utter betrayal he was giving you. And he was too busy being scared and offended to have noticed he was now flopping and drying out in the sand with two appendages instead of one. 

“I’m sorry!! I’m so-so-so sorry!!” You shouted as soon as you could, turning to try and help him back up.

“YOU PUSHED ME!” 

“I know, I didn’t mean to..” He grabbed at your shoulders despite his new found distrust, at least you weren’t sticky like the sand he could now feel grinding between his teeth. You pulled him up into a sitting position with what little strength you could muster, and that’s when he finally felt something was off. His tail felt.. funny. Like it was tickled in phantom sensations..and numb. Was that just what being dry felt like? 

He glanced down and screamed.

Neither of you remembered to look for the wave. 

⥼ Author’s note : I have a lot of sweet ideas for this one! so I hope some of you guys are still around ^^” Let me know what you guys think! Interaction would be much appreciated <3

[djepoirierworld]

2019 au cinéma

Voici avec un pas pire retard mes coups de coeurs cinématographiques de la dernière année! Le classement final est plutôt arbitraire puisque l’idée de comparer des oeuvres complètement différentes ensemble est presque injuste, même futile.  

Alors sans plus attendre:

#00 Oeuvre inclassable, difficile à recommander, mais qui me trotte encore dans la tête: Le Livre d’Image

Scénario (lol) et réalisation : Jean-Luc Godard

(Suisse, France, 1h24)

*Palme d’Or Spéciale - Cannes 2018*

Par où commencer...

Le Livre d’Image est celui du cinéma, d’Hitchcock, mais aussi de Balzac, de la caméra, du son, de la parole, d’Hollywood, des “remakes”, de la guerre, de la révolution, de l’amour, des cinq doigts de la main, de la vie, de la mort, mais surtout celui de Godard.

C’est une oeuvre singulière qui défie même le spectateur averti. Un collage volontairement imparfait, quasiment inachevé, repoussant où le son et l'image ne concordent pas et où des images de l'histoire du cinéma dialoguent entre elles et prennent de nouveaux sens. Ou les perdent à jamais.

Le dernier film (en est-ce vraiment un?) de Jean-Luc Godard est certainement difficile d’approche, parfois confus, souvent agaçant avec son traitement sonore discordant, son massacre visuel d’images altérées, saturées au maximum...

Mais le légendaire cinéaste prouve que même à 89 ans, il a toujours des choses à dire, à exprimer... même si je suis pas sûr de saisir tout ce qu’il dit. Difficile à recommander (je viens de dire que le film est “repoussant”) ni à lui donner une note précise, mais mon visionnement m’a beaucoup marqué.

#10 The Farewell (別告訴她)

Scénario et réalisation: Lulu Wang

(Chine, États-Unis, 1h40)

Un agréable mélange de drame et de comédie de moeurs qui m’a beaucoup touché. Un portrait original et pertinent du choc culturel observé lorsqu’une famille Sino-Américaine rend visite au reste de leur famille; habitant toujours la Chine. Un jeu d’acteur impeccable, des dialogues efficaces, une mise en scène sobre, mais hyper soignée et l’une des meilleurs prémisses des dernières années:

“La matriarche d'une famille chinoise est atteinte d'un cancer incurable. Elle n'a plus que quelques mois à vivre. Sauf que personne ne lui a dit. Sous le prétexte d'un mariage, ses proches habitant un peu partout sur la planète ont décidé de se réunir afin de passer des journées privilégiées avec elle, dans la joie et la bonne humeur.” (Cinoche)  

Un petit bijou!

4/5

#9 Il Pleuvait des Oiseaux

Scénario: Louise Archambault (adapté du roman de Jocelyne Saucier)

Réalisation: Louise Archambault

(Canada, 2h07)

Un film qui m’a profondémment touché. C’est beau, même bouleversant et ça fait tellement de bien. 

On y retrouve de grandes performances d’Andrée Lachapelle (R.I.P.), Gilbert Sicotte et Rémy Girard... C’est sobre, humain...

Voilà! 

4/5

#8 Toy Story 4

Scénario: Andrew Stanton, Stephany Folsom

Réalisation: Josh Cooley

(États-Unis, 1h40)

Le pari de faire une suite au parfait Toy Story 3 (sorti en 2010) était risqué, mais il a heureusement surpassé mes attentes! Un film qui plait autant aux enfants qu’aux adultes... Bref prépare-toi à en brailler une shot.

Pixar, je vous aime pas mal.

Et Forky aussi.  

4/5

#7 Atlantique

Scénario: Mati Diop, Olivier Demangel

Réalisation: Mati Diop

(Sénégal, France, 1h46)

*Grand Prix du Jury - Cannes 2019*

Une oeuvre singulière, mystérieuse et entrainante qui traite d’enjeux contemporains comme la migration économique et la place de la femme. Une disparition en mer met en branle un récit imprévisible de jeunesse, de deuil, de fantôme(s) et d’amour vu par les codes du thriller policier... Et ça marche! 

La direction photo est captivante, tout comme la trame sonore.

Il est sur Netflix, go!  

4/5

#6 Joker

Scénario: Todd Philips, Scott Silver

Réalisation: Todd Philips

(États-Unis, 2h02)

Un film déstabilisant, même choquant... On assiste ici à une critique de l’Amérique contemporaine et de la haine, la fameuse haine qui est malheureusement de plus en plus visible au grand jour. Le tout est placé dans un “origin story” qui manque parfois de subtilité, qui fait un peu trop de références à l’univers de Batman à mon goût, mais qui demeure en somme efficace et audacieux. C’est le personnage qui fait le film. 

Probablement le rôle le plus abouti de la carrière de Joaquin Phoenix (Très près de The Master et Her)

Aussi, mon gif préféré:  

4/5

#5 Hale County This Morning, This Evening

Réalisation: RaMell Ross

(États-Unis, 1h16)

Un documentaire avec une approche sensorielle et ethnographique extrèmement originale ( Le montage du film à lui-seul vaut le détour) qui nous plonge avec beaucoup d’amour et de respect dans le quotidien de résidents d’Hale County en Alabama.

Une exploratition cinématographique aux propos criants sur l’état des constructions sociales, de la discrimination raciale, du passage à la vie adulte et de l’Amérique contemporaine.

Un magnifique film. 

4/5

#4 Sorry We Missed You

Scénario: Paul Laverty

Réalisation: Ken Loach

(Royaume-Uni, 1h41)

Un film extrèmement humain, sobre, réaliste, mais qui évite heureusement les pièges du “trend des films chocs un peu sensationnalistes” (Allo En Guerre ou même Les Misérables cette année). Le résultat est une oeuvre bouleversante, troublante, mais qui possède sommes toutes, une belle légèreté. Les performances sont exceptionnelles et les dialogues le sont tout autant. Le scénario est impeccable jusqu’au petit détail près. 

Un film nécessaire, important qui fait mal, mais qui fait beaucoup de bien aussi.

4.5/5

#3 Dolor Y Gloria

Scénario et réalisation: Pedro Almodóvar

(Espagne, 1h53)

*Prix d’interprétation Masculine, Antonio Banderas - Cannes 2019*

Le nouveau bijou d’Almodóvar est funky, magique, sensuel, sexy, coloré, hilarant et bouleversant. Le cinéaste espagnol y signe ici son film le plus personnel; il parle à travers la fiction de ses blessures, de ses dépendances, de sa vie amoureuse, de son homosexualité, de sa relation avec sa mère, avec son propre cinéma...

Antonio Banderas joue ici avec subtilité et réserve ce cinéaste à la croisée des chemins. Toute la beauté de son jeu est à l’intérieur et dans ses yeux.  

4.5/5

#2 Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu

Scénario et réalisation: Céline Sciamma

(France, 2h01)

*Prix du Scénario - Cannes 2019*

Une oeuvre accomplie avec une mise en scène soignée, une photographie époustouflante et un scénario audacieux. Le jeu des actrices est phénoménal. Céline Sciamma nous emmène dans une histoire d'amour profondément bouleversante, tragique et nécessaire.

Un film qui dépeint des enjeux toujours actuels liés à la condition féminine en toute simplicité, en toute sincérité.

Un chef d'oeuvre. 

5/5

#1 Parasite (기생충)

Scénario: Bong Joon Ho, Jin Won Han

Réalisation: Bong Joon Ho

(Corée du Sud, 2h12)

*Palme d’Or - Cannes 2019*

Bon, je ne sais pas trop quoi ajouter qui n’a pas encore été dit sur Parasite.

C’est un film parfait, un chef d’oeuvre comme en voit pas souvent. Il tergiverse brillament entre la comédie, le drame, le suspense et même le film d’horreur...

Les performances d’actrices et acteurs, les personnages, l’intrigue, le scénario, les thèmes, la mise en scène soignée de Bong Joon Ho, le montage, le production design, la direction photo... TOUT EST LÀ.

Il n’y a pas une seconde de trop, pas un plan de trop... le crescendo est incroyable. Un classique instantané.

Le film de l’année, voilà!  

5/5

Finalement, j’ai aussi plané sur d’autres brillants films comme le gigantesque et cathartique Avengers: Endgame, l’hilarant dernier Tarantino: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, le troublant The Lighthouse avec Robert Pattinson et Willem Dafoe, ainsi que le pertinent et magnifiquement joué Honey Boy, et j’en passe.

GROS coup de coeur pour Uncut Gems avec Adam Sandler sur Netflix. C’est original, drôle, déjanté, coloré et stressant à souhait!

Voilà, c’est pas mal tout.

Merci d’avoir lu!

[johobi]

Man, I'm just reminiscing back when there were pictures of Orca dick and discussions on merman biology as well as the whole Centaur!Namjoon agenda being a thing... *sigh* it was good times for the monsterfuckers... Good times. (*whispers* Yes I would fuck a Centaur!Namjoon and No, I do not take constructive criticism)

ALKFJWLAAKJDLKWAJ LOL THAT WAS A CURSED TIME ANON!.. I caught so much heat for trying to explain mer!Tae’s anatomy. Also centaur!Joon flakjwlkj that is now a running joke in a gc of mine for simply positing the idea. I don’t think I’ll ever be quite brave enough to commit to it, but I do love the idea of Joon as a wise ol’ centaur. maybe a PG-13 romance if i ever did do it hah. 

but don’t worry monsterfucker friends, there are still plenty of tentacles on the agenda. and mer!tae has a delightfully ribbed dick that ejaculates silver spunk so ur covered 

[beatsupahero]

Films vus en salle

Woody Allen (19 + 1) :

Prends l'oseille et tire-toi

(Tombe les filles et tais-toi)

Tout ce que vous avez toujours voulu savoir sur le sexe sans oser le demander

Annie Hall

Manhattan

La Rose pourpre du Caire

Hannah et ses sœurs

September

Meurtre mystérieux à Manhattan

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Whatever Works

Vous allez rencontrer un bel et sombre inconnu

Minuit à Paris

To Rome with Love

Blue Jasmine

Magic in the Moonlight

L'Homme irrationnel

Café Society

Wonder Wheel

Un Jour de pluie à New York

Almodovar (17) :

Dans les ténèbres

Qu'est-ce que j'ai fait pour mériter ça ?

Matador

La Loi du désir

Femmes au bord de la crise de nerf

Attache-moi !

Talons aiguilles

La Fleur de mon secret

En chair et en os

Tout sur ma mère

La Mauvaise éducation

Volver

Étreintes brisées

(La Conseillère anthropophage (court-métrage))

La piel que habito

Les Amants passagers

Julieta

Douleur et gloire

Hitchcock (13) :

Lifeboat

La Maison du docteur Edwardes

Les Enchaînés

Le Procès Paradine

La Corde

L'Inconnu du Nord-Express

Fenêtre sur cour

La Main au collet

Sueurs froides

La Mort aux trousses

Psychose

Les Oiseaux

Frenzy

Joel & Ethan Coen (13) :

Blood Simple

Arizona Junior

Barton Fink

Le Grand saut

Fargo

The Big Lebowski

O' Brother where art thou?

No Countty for Old Men

Burn After Reading

A Serious Man

True Grit

Inside Llewyn Davis

Ave, César !

Johnnie To (9) :

The Mission

Election 1

Election 2

Triangle

Mad Detective

Sparrow

Vengeance

Life Without Principle

Office

Tarantino (8 + 1) :

Reservoir Dogs

(True Romance)

Pulp Fiction

Jackie Brown

Deathproof

Inglourious Basterds

Django Unchained

The Hateful Eight

One Upon A Time In Hollywood

Scorsese (6) :

Who's That Knocking at my Door

Mean Streets

Taxi Driver

Casino

Shine a Light

Shutter Island

David Fincher (6) :

Seven

Fight Club

Zodiac

L'Étrange histoire de Benjamin Button

The Social Network

Millenium : Les Hommes qui n'aimaient pas les femmes

James Bond (5) :

James Bond contre Docteur No

Casino Royale

Quantum of Solace

Skyfall

Spectre

Steven Spielberg (5) :

Duel

Les Dents de la mer

Les Aventuriers de l'arche perdue

Indiana Jones et le Royaume du crâne de cristal

Les Aventures de Tintin : Le Secret de la Licorne

Jacques Tati (5) :

Jour de fête

Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot

Mon Oncle

Playtime

Trafic

James Gray (5) :

Little Odessa

La Nuit nous appartient

Two Lovers

The Immigrant

The Lost City of Z

John Carpenter (5) :

Fog

New York 1997

The Thing

Christine

Prince des ténèbres

Robert Rodriguez (4) :

Une Nuit en enfer

Planète Terreur

Machete

Machete Kills Again

Jean-Pierre Mocky (4) :

La Cité de l'indicible peur

Les Insomniaques

Dors mon lapin

Le Renard jaune

Roman Polanski (4) :

Répulsion

Le Bal des vampires

Rosemary's Baby

The Ghost Writer

Stanley Kubrick (4) :

Fear and Desire

Orange mécanique

Shining

Eyes Wide Shut

Ridley Scott (4) :

Alien

Blade Runner

Thelma et Louise

Mensonges d'État

David Cronenberg (4) :

Scanners

Les Promesses de l'ombre

Cosmopolis

Maps to the Stars

Dario Argento (4) :

L'Oiseau au plumage de cristal

Le Chat à neuf queues

Suspiria

Opéra

Brian De Palma (3) :

Obsession

Blow Out

Scarface

Coppola (3) :

Le Parrain

Conversation secrète

Tetro

Fritz Lang (3) :

House by the River

Le Tigre du Bengale

Le Tombeau hindou

David Lynch (3) :

Sailor et Lula

Lost Highway

Mullholland Drive

Sidney Lumet (3) :

Le Gang Anderson

Serpico

À bout de course

Lucio Fulci (3) :

Perversion Story

Le Venin de la peur

L'Emmurée vivante

Hiroshi Inagaki (3) :

La Légende de Musashi

Duel à IchijojiLa Voie de la lumière

Kurosawa (2) :

La Forteresse cachée

Sanjuro

Satyajit Ray (2) :

Tonnerres lointains

Le Dieu éléphant

Mario Bava (2) :

Les Trois visages de la peur

Six femmes pour l'assassin

John Boorman (2) :

Le Point de non-retour

Zardoz

Alan J. Pakula (2) :

Klute

À cause d'un assassinat

Leos Carax (4) :

Les Amants du Pont Neuf

Tokyo

Holy Motors

Annette

Tsui Hark (3) :

Le Festin chinois

Triangle

Detective Dee - Le mystère des balles fantômes

Park Chan-wook (3) :

Old Boy

Thirst

Stoker

Kim Jee-won (3) :

A Bittersweet Life

Le Bon, la brute et le cinglé

J'ai rencontré le diable

Bong Joon-ho (2) :

Mother

Parasite

Na Hong-jin (2) :

The Chaser

The Murderer

Billy Wilder (2) :

Ariane

La Vie privée de Sherlock Holmes

Ozu (2) :

Fin d'automne

Le Goût du saké

Spike Lee (2) :

Do the Right Thing

BlacKkKlansman

Monty Python (1) :

La Première folie des Monty Python

Louis De Funès (1) :

Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob

Charlie Chaplin (1) :

Les Temps modernes

John Woo (1) :

Les Trois royaumes

[a-merman-not-a-guppy]

Family Ties One-Shot: Finn meets some important people

It was a regular Tuesday afternoon when Finn headed away from campus to go get some new paints. He’d nearly run out of his preferred blues, so he had to stock up as much as he could. He drove his little car to the Next Town Over, finding his favorite supply store.

But the thing was...just as he was heading toward the entrance, an unfamiliar voice called out to him. Only...they didn’t call him by the name his parents had given him. In fact, the name was that of his birth father, at least according to his aunt. “Myung-soo? No..no it can’t be. You...why it’s little Kyung-joon all grown up!” 

Finn turned toward the voice, eyes widening at the sight of an elderly man making his way over to him, a big smile lighting up his face. He noticed the smile first, though the next thing he recognized was the ring around the man’s eyes. Oh. He was like Finn. He was a mer.

Finn gaped, glancing between the old man and his art store before he stepped away from the entrance, tilting his head for the man to follow him. He made his way around a corner and away from the crowded space of the NTO mall before he stopped, turning to face the elderly gentleman.

“How...How d-d-do you know that na-na-name?” Finn asked bewilderedly, staring at the man who had spoken to him with such excitement. The old man blinked for a minute and then nodded. “Ah yes. You might not have heard much about me considering... I’m your harabeoji. I’ve been wanting to come see you for.... so many years. But the crossing was always too dangerous.”

His harabeoji. Finn had a grandfather. He had a grandfather who was alive and who wasn’t the parents of his adoptive parents. He was...this was someone who had known his birth parents? Finn’s breathing quickened, and he had to take a minute, leaning against the wall as he tried to process this information. 

Of course he’d known, sort of, that there was a family of merfolk out there somewhere that he was part of. His aunt was still part of that family after all. There were relatives out there. He had just...been sheltered from all of it. He’d never been allowed to grow with them. 

And now...here was this man. This merman. Who had a wealth of knowledge in there that he...well he wasn’t sure where he should begin. If he should. He loved his adoptive parents. Well...he loved his eomma especially at least. His father? Well...he cared about him a lot, even if he felt deeply misunderstood by him.

“I....I di-di-didn’t think I’d ever get to me-me-meet you,” Finn admitted softly, tentative as the older man stepped a little closer to him. He looked sad, the age appearing even more sharp on his face as Finn spoke. “Yes...I’m afraid your aunt was fiercely protective of you. After losing her sister...it’s no small wonder...I lost my son-in-law, my daughter and a grandchild in so short a time.” He reached out cautiously, and it took everything in Finn not to flinch away.

But the man did nothing to hurt him. He stroked his thumb over the boy’s cheek as if he couldn’t quite believe he was real. Standing there before him just like that. “Um...harabeoji....” Finn started hesitantly... “why are you here n-n-now? I me-me-mean it’s b-b-been so long! Not that I...I’m not un-un-ungrateful to me-me-me-meet you,” he sucked in a shaky breath as his stutter worsened the more nervous he got trying to explain himself. 

But the elderly gentleman waited him out, a soft smile still on his face. “Your aunt said she would not be able to return for some time...there is urgent business near Japan. She wanted you to still have some family around for you. To support you if you need it. You’re coming to that age where...well you could come back to us if you wished it.”

Finn’s eyes went even wider. Come back? To where his family was supposed to live? To the ocean? The thought was so tempting in that moment. It taunted him right there. He could be where he belonged. He could learn from his family...but then. He had a lot here. He had his friends. Nemo. Tae. Louie. They might not have been his family by blood, but they took care of each other like one.

 “I d-d-d-d-don’t know-” he started to say, worrying at his lip. “That’s not something you need to decide now my boy. We’ve just met after all...but maybe a visit at some point would be fine. I actually brought someone else along...a few closer to your age that you might find to be better company than this old man.” 

Finn didn’t even have much of a chance to argue that nothing about the conversation in the last ten minutes could have possibly been boring, as the old man was already leading them away from the store and toward a hotel in the town. They kept walking until his harabeoji unlocked a door and opened it, a smile lighting up his face again. “Kwan, Kyung-sook...look who I finally found!” Two dark haired heads lifted from where they’d been carefully studying a map. 

The boy jumped up first, rushing forward with a confident grin. “Hey. I’m Kwan...obviously. This is my twin Kyung-sook. It’s good to finally meet you cousin Kyung-joon.” Finn’s head was spinning. Or maybe the room was spinning. Honestly it was just overwhelming to go from knowing none of his family to being introduced to three almost at once. 

“Um...I-I-I-I...I go b-b-by F-Finn,” he said after an awkward pause, a shy smile spreading across his face as he held out his hand in offering. “B-B-But it’s nice to finally me-me-meet you too.”