#paul in this scene is absolutely fucking hilarious

[guardian-angle22]

911: Lone Star S4 E14 | The Case of the Stolen Pudding Cup -> The Crime Exposed

[thepunkmuppet]

just finally got to watch workin boys and OH MY GODDDDDDD I HAVE THOUGHTS

SPOILERS AHEAD

jeff as hidgens is so. he’s just so

chad’s name stayed the same even though it was changed to workin’ girls everyone clapped

🎶 JUST ME AND MY SIX BOYFRIENDS 🎶 WE WON WE WON WE WON

hidgens backstory oh my fucking god. what the hell this man has suffered more than jesus

the songs are amazing I wasn’t expecting to want to buy the album but now I actually need it their vocals are all SO GOOD mariah bryce and kim are absolutely incredible

bill and ted are on a date and you cannot convince me otherwise (I am delusional). also I love that ted loved it bc he was fucking INTO IT in tgwdlm

still need to know why hailey was dumping ass so much

EXCUSE ME WHO ARE YOU

I love the detail that paul didn’t want to go with bill lmfao

ted got brutally murdered again. I knew they would do it but it’s still hilarious

they really said ✨dutch angles ✨ huh

their real stage manager played the stage manager 😭 I love it he has a self insert hatchetfield oc

linda’s the only person who auditioned but didn’t get in lmfao hidgens really said #eat the rich

I love ruth SO MUCH rip queen (again). lauren managed to make her even more cute and pathetic than she is npmd, what a top notch blorbo 100/10

COURTNEY THRASH’S GIRLFRIEND AS A WORKIN’ GIRL SHE’S COME SO FAR

bailey wearing his uniform and taking his gun to a community theatre production why is he a himbo and why do I love him

I know I’ve already said this but sweet jesus mariah and kim’s voices are actually the best things ever they are so perfect in every way

grace just cannot do anything without discovering her passion for violent murder and lethal weapons and honestly girlboss

“our wet sinewy bodies” “I just came”

UP TO MY AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSS

hidgens’ death scene was absolutely stunning oh my god

the fact that richie and grace went together to support ruth?? so cute to me. this obviously isn’t in the npmd timeline so it’s just adorable to me that they actually became friends in this timeline, I’m obsessed.

also they had an opportunity for pete and steph and tom and becky to be there on dates but OH WELL

THE ZOMBIES WERE TERRIFYING. OH MY GOD I AM LOSING MY MIND OVER HOW AMAZING THAT SCENE WAS THE MAKEUP THE VOICE EFFECTS I JUST I C CN AHSNJDJSKUDEJ

ALSO THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE NO IDEA IF THEY REALLY ARE GHOSTS OR IF HIDGENS IS JUST CRAZY AND HALLUCINATING OR IF THEY’RE DEMONS IN DISGUISE AND “CHAD” IS A LORD IN BLACK OR A DIFFERENT BEING OR WHAT LIKE YOU HAVE NO IDEA. OPEN-TO-INTERPRETATION PLOT POINTS YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS

[gffa]

THIS SERIES HAS BEEN RATTLING AROUND IN MY BRAIN FOR LIKE A WEEK SINCE I READ IT and I'm going to write a post that's just for me, but y'all're welcome to read it, too, if you want, because I'm gonna spoil everything, since I feel like that's the only way to talk about why it's been whizzing around my head like a pinball game. So, the above is the true core narrative of Batman and Robin Eternal and ultimately why I really loved this whole story. It's not perfect, I would have shifted around a lot of emphasis and would have given stronger narrative presence to Jason and Tim (this story is really ultimately about Bruce, Dick, Cass, and Harper, even if the others get some hilarious banter moments), I would have focused more on showing rather than telling that Dick was choosing his own path, but at the end of the day, the pieces of this story came together for me. It's a little too long to summarize, but the basic structure of the story is that it goes back and forth between the Present and the Past. The Present has Dick, Jason, and Tim running around the world to find out who this mysterious "Mother" is and put a stop to her, a new face (Cassandra Cain) shows up to give Dick a flashdrive of information on and she's somehow tied into this, and meanwhile, Bruce is in his amnesiac era. In the past, Batman and Robin are hunting down Crane and whoever he's working with, and Bruce is keeping most of this case away from Dick, which the narrative treats it like we're supposed to believe that Bruce is falling for what Mother is doing--she's a human trafficker who is making "designer humans", because as someone who went through mind-breaking levels of trauma when she was a child, she believes that when you break a child's mind through the loss of their parents/their world around them, you can shape them into "perfect" people, unstoppable machines who can do anything. Because that's what happened to her and she knows that Bruce wants a "perfect" protege, one who doesn't make human mistakes or have human feelings, like Dick Grayson is having throughout the series. The story falls a little flat in these scenes, because the sheer idea that Bruce would be willing to let a child's parents be killed in front of them just so that he can have a perfect partner is the absolute opposite of what the character stands for, and it works as him attempting to trick Mother, but it doesn't work when attempting to trick the audience, because Bruce Wayne would fucking never. But he walks right up to the edge of it, so that he can get close to Mother and figure her operation out, and she knows what he's doing and says, well, what happens next is on you, because you thought you could play games with me, but as soon as you agreed, you know what you set in motion. Eventually, it's revealed that the child who would have their parents murdered in front of them to traumatize them to become Batman's perfect partner was Harper Row and she had sent David Cain's daughter Cassandra to do it. Cass can only kill Harper's mother before she breaks down and Harper's father manages to get away. Harper has no idea of any of this until it switches back to the present storyline and eventually Mother tells her the whole story.

Each of the kids that have joined Bruce in this fight are ones that have made their own choices, he doesn't define them, he doesn't actually make child soldiers, this entire series is a refuting of that idea. The children who are manipulated into this life either wind up as empty cannon fodder or have a high rate of walking away or falling away from the methods that trained them. Not a single one of them (Harper, Cass, Jean-Paul most centrally) is still standing with the same beliefs that were meant to shape them into "perfect" people, every one of them turned away from that manipulation. Because they weren't more valuable, they died in droves, not a single one was able or wanting to carry on the legacy--meanwhile, all four Robins are alive and kicking by the end, still standing strong. But it's not just about that, it's about Bruce's guilt, because he knows himself and his relationships, he knows his personality is an extremely heavy one, and he's not wrong to worry that he could shape these kids into something they wouldn't have been by themselves. He's not wrong that their desperate need to live up to his expectations can strike at the core of these kids--when Dick is dosed with fear toxin, that's his biggest fear, that he's not good enough for Batman. Bruce isn't wrong to worry about how that affects Dick and the others long term!

He has a room made up for a young Harper and Cullen who have just lost their mother, but eventually backs off because he can't face the idea that he might be forcing her into molding herself after him, because the force of his personality is just too strong. He worries about how he's done the same to Dick, given Dick's greatest fear under Crane's toxin is that he's not good enough for Batman--Bruce isn't just being paranoid about this, it is a legit concern from his point of view. But it drives him to keep secrets from Dick, who is shown to be incredibly intelligent (he gets that Crane seems to want them to find him, etc.) and also senses that Bruce is withholding things from him:

Which, once I reached the end and was secure in the knowledge that, no, this wasn't the most batshit comic I'd ever read where it expected me to buy the idea that Bruce would actually try to replace Dick with a "perfect" version from Mother, it recontextualized these scenes for me. Bruce has no intentions of replacing Dick but instead is worried that he's destroying this kid's life, because Dick is pushing himself so hard. To the point that he worries that Dick still has fear toxin running through his veins, because he's been over-training himself obsessively.

This isn't a story about Bruce thinking Dick isn't good enough, but instead a story about Bruce worrying that he overrode this kid's path in life, that maybe Dick wouldn't have wanted this. Which circles back to Harper again and I think that's kind of the point. She was a necessary addition to this particular story to show that, when Bruce backed off, she didn't pursue this life. We don't know the exact specific details of Dick becoming Robin in this story (though, if they used the one from the Secret Files for Nu52, this still holds true), but in pretty much every story of the last three decades of telling it, it is always Dick Grayson is mad as hell and nothing is going to stop him. Bruce didn't drag him into this life, he saw a kid willing to sneak out at night to go confront Tony Zucco to bring him to justice because there was a fire in that kid that wasn't going to be stopped. But Bruce himself loves that kid so much that he's not really objective about him, he's so afraid that he's messing this kid up--because he's still in denial that he's a father to this child, just as Dick's still lashing out that Bruce isn't his father, they're feeding into those words hurled at each other, meanwhile the narrative is setting Bruce up as a contrast against "Mother", to show, yes, he is acting as this kid's father. It's a central core of the story, that contrast, how Mother treats those who are loyal to her, who would do anything for her:

She slices David Cain open and kicks him down to his death. Her endless hoards of children are nothing more than cannon fodder. Jean-Paul is loyal to Mother because she shaped him as part of the Order of St. Dumas as well, but she discards him just as easily, and it takes a knock down drag out fight with Dick to break him out of that:

It's not just being on Mother's side or against her, it's about living by her rules and her philosophy and her worldview. Dick has to be the one to break Jean-Paul out of this because Dick is the one who did the same thing for himself when he was Batman's first protege--he chose for himself. Whether or not he ultimately agreed with Batman's philosophy, it wasn't because Bruce's force of personality was so great that he forced Dick into this, no, Dick Grayson was always going to be on this path, it was that Bruce made sure he didn't kill himself along the way--because he genuinely loved Dick and wanted him to live the life that satisfied him. And that applies to how each of the Robins is valued and wanted. This is how Bruce speaks of them:

Every single one of them is wanted. Every single one of them is valued. Every single one of them is loved by Bruce. He parallels Damian's attempts to learn to them, because that is the parallel--they're all Bruce Wayne's sons. The big emotional climax of the story is narratively set on this moment, that Dick and Jason and Tim and Damian are all different from each other, and that's why they're the ones still standing at the end. David Cain dies, Mother's children are all dead or set free from her influence, Jean-Paul Valley turns away from the path she set him on, Cassandra Cain chooses to no longer kill but instead chooses to be a hero, Harper Row chooses to walk away. And the Robins, especially Dick Grayson, the one who created the role of Robin and chose this path for himself, basically kick everyone's ass along the way. Dick defeats David Cain in combat, he defeats Jean-Paul in combat, he gathers together Tim and Jason and Harper with him to actually defeat Mother in a way Bruce couldn't. Bruce isn't always great at what he sets out to do. He's secretive and lies to Dick about what he's doing, he worries that he created Robin when Dick might have lived another life if Bruce hadn't interfered, but in the important ways, he is the inverse of Mother. Which is why Mother, as a character, worked so well for me. Her whole backstory is the inverse image of Bruce Wayne--when she was a child, her parents (and entire village) were killed in front of her and she was so destroyed by this trauma that she was entirely transformed by it and chose to wield her trauma as a weapon, she chose to transform others around her as well. In the most flattened out of terms, Bruce Wayne does the same thing. His parents are murdered in front of him and he is so destroyed by his trauma that he's entirely transformed by it and chose to wield that trauma as a weapon (Batman), he chose to help transform others around him as well. Seeing two "parental" figures be each others' foils in the narrative, how they're set up as parallels to each other, meanwhile are entirely perpendicular in what they're actually doing, the way it shows why the idea of "Batman is creating child soldiers" doesn't really hold up, because you're not looking at what these kids' circumstances actually are, why they were driven to this life. It's not a perfect story, I think the balance is off, I think trying to trick the audience weakened the story, when spending more time on the various Robins' reasons for becoming Robin and the determination in each of them, would have made this a knock-out story, nor am I beholden to this as the current backstory for the characters.

Instead, I chose to enjoy this as a version of how the characters might have come together and enjoyed that it showed these kids are indeed capable of walking away, because that's a pretty important point when it comes to comic book storytelling and Robins in particular. Not a version I'm married to, but one I can pluck a fascinating story about Bruce's role as a father to these Robins, even as he fights it and says otherwise, what the story shows is a much different story.

He cared so much about the children that came to him that he went whole-assedly over the line in the other direction, that he tried to push them away because he was so afraid of being the kind of person who supersedes others' wills. Because he does toe that line a lot of the time, he's not wrong to worry about it.

But if he truly had made Dick Grayson into his own image instead of what Dick wanted, Dick would never have been able to stand up and wipe the floor with Mothers' minions or crack open her hold over Jean-Paul. Yeah, Dick worried about not being good enough for Bruce and that probably drove a lot of him.

But he also mocked Bruce right to his face while they were fighting, that's not a "perfect" little soldier, that's a kid who regularly goes toe to toe with Batman and doesn't back down.

That's not a child soldier, that's a father's son who has the same sheer stubborn force of will that his dad did and a father who desperately wanted the best life he could give his son. And that's what this story really was about for me.

[kimberlyannharts]

LAST TIME ON MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS: THE RETURN: Depressed milf Kim just got finished traumadumping onto Trini's relative Selena about all the shit that happened on the Moon 22 years ago, just to find out that this wasn't Trini's relative at all, but some mysterious white-haired witch out for revenge???? I guess it makes sense it would never be the simpler option. MMPR: The Return #3!

= So here's the reveal of the dialogue that was blacked out in the previews! Selena Repulsa, the daughter of Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, is official! There's something very funny about the fact that she didn't even use a fake name for her Kwan family disguise. She heard Sylvia had an S name and was like sweet, I can just play the alliteration card

= I mentioned before in the first issue that this series was already discussing the topic of secret identities in a more nuanced way than the main series' "Zordon is a tyrant for having rules" strategy so I'm happy that's being continued here. YES public use of the powers can be used for good in society but ALSO it can make it really, really, REALLY easy for your enemies to pick you off the street

= also UNCLE HOWARD SPOTTED

= YEAH BABY

= Selena is hilarious btw. YOU BUILT A BOMB AND ARE SURPRISED IT KILLED PEOPLE?

= this is Dungeon Meshi

= I already made the Paul Dano does he know?.png joke but I can't help it. It's too perfect. Alternatively: Kimberly Hart Dreamworks Face

= Zedd is noticeably less involved in this story than Rita is (as per the usual with BOOM books, admittedly) but I do like how this plan still uses him in some way. Part of me is still curious as to what Dad Zedd would have been like, though

= she's meditating, guys she's died

= he was literally born to be a girl dad and the fact that his "main universe" child is a son makes me fucking sick

= also off-subject but I see the occasional comment about how the civilian forms for these flashbacks look too young and it's like.....guys. They're only 22. If anything, drawing them like how they looked on the show is ACCURATE to their age, considering how old the actors themselves were when they were on the show kjdkfjdkfjd and anyway Dino Thunder lied to you. Tommy would absolutely be wearing tank tops as an adult. Those long sleeves were the devil's work

= I still say I don't want to get attached to any theory about Tommy and whether or not he'll end up alive but Rita seeming to be aware that he saved her daughter and getting his attention before doing the spell...........that's probably going to be important

= You guys don't understand how much I need the scene where Tommy and Kim discovered she was pregnant and the conversations they had afterwards. Every "ranger kid" story has been so bad about "what does the parent think about their kids one day inheriting their ranger powers" and The Return is the one closest to understanding this is a very logical and rational conversation to have!!!!!!!

= also Olivia was 100% unplanned this i just the vibe i get. And props to my gender-inclusive king Tommy Oliver

= "no more Power Rangers.......except my daughter who's COOL as FUCK"

[sometimes-love-is-enough]

AAAAAAA ur reading house of leaves??? im buying that next week thats so cool! do u have any book recs? or recs in general shows movies etc

I AM!! I'm several chapters in and super enjoying it, although reading it alone in a tiny hotel room in the middle of nowhere was a Distinct Mistake.

As for recs! I'm going to specifically go for stuff that isn't super mainstream, in the hopes that I'll recommend you something you have never heard of before. Here's some stuff for you!

Podcasts

Dreamboy - one-season podcast from Night Vale Presents, definitely one of their less-known ones. Explicit in places, what I would describe as AO3 M-rated sex scenes. A worn-out musician ends up embroiled in inexplicable events in a small town, and also there's a murderous zebra and fossils that want to fuck. It's a musical cinematic podcast masterpiece, I'll always be sad there's only one season.

Apocrypals - nonfiction. Two non-believers read through the Bible and try not to be jerks about it. If you're interested in theology and apocryphal texts but have no idea where to start, this is such a good place. The hosts are delightful, and have a really nice way of taking you through all the various layers of Biblical scholarly nonsense. Considerable backlog of episodes, but worth listening through from the beginning. Weirdly, there's continuity.

Til Death Do Us Blart - five poor fools watch Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 every Thanksgiving from now until the end of eternity, and report back yearly on their mental state. You may think to yourself 'wow, that doesn't sound like a good time'. It isn't, to the hosts. To anyone listening along, it's fucking hilarious. Nine episodes so far, and it's a single episode per year, so plenty of time to catch up.

Web Series

The Monument Mythos - Several seasons. surreal analogue horror alternate history of America told through a series of videos of varying format. Brilliantly absurd, fucked up, and horrifying by turns (sometimes all at once).

No Evil - ongoing animated series, made mostly by a single person. Please don't immediately wave it off because of the colorful anthropormorphic animals. The mythology is amazing, the animation is sublime, and the music is haunting. The pacing is a bit strange at first, and you may be confused at the way the plot moves, but you have to understand that it's all part of its charm. I think about No Evil way too much.

Dances Moving - you may know Brian David Gilbert from his work at Polygon, and his more recent absurdist Youtube ventures. This is from way before that! It's a fun and gradually heartwrenching musical exploration of a local dance group and what it means to move away from home. Seven short episodes.

ENA - this one is a bit more mainstream, so you may know it already. Who knows what's going on in the world of ENA? Definitely not me. Absurdism at its finest. Bizarre architecture, strange characters, if it's a metaphor I don't know what it's about, but the vibes are immaculate. Three actual episodes of varying length, apparently there's a video game set to come out soon-ish?

An Unauthorized Fan Treatise - serialized story. If you're a fan of internet drama a la Msscribe, you're going to adore it. It's a fiction story about a fictional fandom, and one massively messed up person who decides that two of the lead actors in her favorite show are secretly dating and sets out to prove it with a cited multi-chapter essay. And then it gets wild.

Comics

The Property of Hate - a wonderfully dynamic and colorful webcomic about a young girl getting chosen to become a make-believe world's Hero. Puns and wordplay galore. Absolutely delightful characters and worldbuilding. Ongoing.

Eat the Rich - a young woman goes to meet her boyfriend's extremely rich family, and learns their horrifying secret. Warning: cannibalism. 5 issues, complete.

Beanworld - impossible to describe, but I'll try. An absurdist semiabstract musing on the nature of life and cycles and community, set in a world where the rules are weirdly two-dimensional and you as a reader get weirdly invested in the routines and cycles that the inhabitants follow. And all of the main characters are cute lil bean guys. If you read anything on this list, do this one. (Linked is the only online version I could find, and it's not up-to-date. I own all the omnibuses in print. If you liked what you read here, I recommend tracking them down too.)

Short Stories (in no particular order, and certainly not all my favorites - just the ones I had bookmarked and on hand)

Bride, Knife, Flaming Horse - a young Indian woman looks for marriage in the fantastical, and finds several suitors

Fish (in 13 sections) - an obsessive unpacks a bewildering insult. Just, really fun.

Fandom For Robots - a robot discovers anime, and definitely doesn't have big feelings about it

Informed Consent Logs From The Soul-Swap Clinic - two people decide to swap bodies, for somewhat murky reasons.

The Magician's Apprentice - a young girl learns magic from her mentor. This one's about grooming. But not like that. But also a lot like that. But also it's so much more fucked up than that. (This one is a MEGA favorite, it's by Tamsyn Muir. Who you may recognize as the author of the Locked Tomb series - I'd rec that too here, if it wasn't definitely too mainstream for what I'm going for. Read this. And also read the Locked Tomb.)

The Tale of the Foolish King Who Banished Music - it's a snippet of a longer Doctor Who audio drama, but stands so nicely on its own. Unnerving little fairy tale.

The Spider - 1908 horror story about a man trying to figure out why so many men have spontaneously committed suicide in a specific hotel room. It's basically a TMA statement, in more ways than one.

Video Games

What Did Veronica Dream Of? - strange little rpgmaker puzzle game. Obtuse and weird, and I adore it. I wish I could explain why.

Secret Little Haven - point-and-click about being a trans girl on the internet in 1999. Completely nails the tone it's going for. Period-typical homo- and transphobia.

Linelith - a short (1-hour) puzzle game with no plot and no characters, and yet it contains one of the greatest plot-twists of all time. I'm begging you to play it immediately.

Lingo - puzzle game about linguistics, words, non-Euclidean goemetry, and figuring out an endless series of rules in a constantly expanding world. RIDICULOUSLY clever and good, and I've been playing it almost continuously for the last few months. It's got so much content for such a reasonable price, and the community-made maps add even more content (and are also excellent). If English isn't your first language, you may struggle, but otherwise - grab a bunch of friends and stream it. It's better with friends helping you out, I can guarantee it.

For A Change - a 1999 interactive fiction game about raising the sun in a world where words do not mean what you think they mean. If you're familiar with old text-based games, go ahead and play it - otherwise, you may want to read this transcript of a group of people playing it together instead.

Other Things

Carmilla - the classic 1800s lesbian vampire novella. I read it very recently, and it's extremely good. Absolutely delivers on the lesbian vampire premise in full gory detail, although do be aware that it was written in the context of homophobic fear.

Alberio - very fun light musical about two siren brothers reconnecting under less-than-ideal circumstances.

Mosquitoes - stage play about life and families and physics (theoretical and practical both). Very heavy topics, pulls no punches. The Boson's final monologue always wrecks me.

Ghost Quartet - musical/song cycle/experience about love, death, alcohol, and (of course) ghosts. Lots of cyclical stories and time travel weirdness. All of the songs are incredible.

Yankee and the Foreigners - music group that performs delightful upbeat covers of songs in animal onesies. Their Bare Necessities cover is a favorite of mine.

I'm sure there's lots more things I could rec (not a lot of books or movies here, huh? sorry about that. I immediately forgot everything I've ever read and watched) but these were the things that came to mind when I sat down and wrote this list, so hopefully there's something new and good for you in here!

[filmcel]

donnie darko - the best movie i’ve ever seen. such an interesting depiction of mental health. it’s interesting fuck the director though he’s a dumbass.

prisoners - THE movie to recommend people. idk anyone who has watched it and hated it. it’s so fucking good . tbh jake is like the least interesting part of the movie he’s pretty ugly. paul dano is the goat. the best movie i’ve seen revolving around some mystery. always on my toes always scared. when u think you know u end up being wrong. it gets u.

zodiac - he’s so cute in this movie and that’s as good as it gets. it’s good for one viewing and that’s IT. it’s very interesting has good sequences. but it’s so damn long. i guess if u wanna argue that it wants u to FEEL how they felt waiting so long trying to catch the zodiac killer id say sure fine but also they never even catch him so what’s the point of the movie. idk.

brokeback mountain - no comment

nocturnal animals - this movie is absolutely insane in the worst way. the two main characters r fuxking deranged. jake’s character is deranged for being like that. his weird revenge thing is so strange and it’s uncomfortable. i didn’t get it i didn’t like it i wouldn’t watch again.

enemy - this fucking movie…. idk how i sat thru it all actually. i’m proud of myself but i didn’t need to put myself thru that. jake is so boring in this. the movie itself is so fucking boring. it’s so weird. it’s so ugly. it looks like shit and it’s shot like shit and i don’t get why bc it’s a denis movie. maybe i’m not smart enough to get it but it sucked dick AND balls.

the guilty - okay. i know this movie isn’t very good. but i watched it and was entertained. it rlly is something you’d catch on the tv while ur at the dentist and get rlly invested in the 30 minutes ur in the waiting room. its nothing life changing but i had a good time

ambulance - HWHSJFJJDJAJAJS. the worst shit i’ve ever fucking seeeeeen. it’s hilarious tho . watch it drunk otherwise u might be bored out of ur mind. this movie is so insanely shot. i remember the billion drone shots. i remember the spleen burst. i remember the goofy shots they did of jake. idk how it got made. idk how jake is in it.

brothers - this movie… isn’t BAD…. i think? it made me uncomfortable. which yeah. that’s the point. but like the scene of tobey like being captured whatever . idk enough about anything but was that offensive in some way? let me know… it felt strange . the movie tho is super hard to watch. it’s cringey and scary. i wanna rewatch to get my full thoughts on it because it was awhile ago . great acting tho.

end of watch - Stupid baka fucking movie. i made my mom rent this shit and im sorry i wasted 4 of ur hard earned dollars. this movie is worth nothing. it’s so racist to mexicans. it’s embarrassing. like the main guy is mexicans and it does all that cringe cholo shit it made me want to claw my eyes out and never watch another movie again.

the covenant - GEHHRDHHFHRHSJZJFJRJEJ the most boring movie of all these honestly. i think i almost fell asleep. jake is in too many military movies actually holy shit. don’t watch this one at all lmfao .

jarhead - this one is the most interesting military movie he’s in but it’s also graphically one of the worst so beware. it rlly doesn’t hold back with trying to be gross and bad. and i understand why. but it does make it hard to watch. it’s shot rlly well though. and the acting is great.

demolition - OH BROTHHERRRRR. i thought this movie would be worth something because it’s one of those u see a lot of clips of online. it’s genuinely so stupid tho. i can barely remember the plot but i just remember it made no sense. ppl keep getting jake for these insane characters except it’s just dumb as shit.

october sky - this is a cute fun movie you’d watch in middle school ^_^! cute little time!!! and it has laura dern so what’s not to like!! maybe a little boring to some tho.

[mitochondriaandbunnies]

Miami Vice S1E6: Calderone’s Return pt.2

Bahamanian and blessed by the directorial talent of one Paul Michael “Starsky” Glaser:

Bias alert: I adore the episodes of Vice directed by Starsky and/or Hutch. No one knows what makes a good, emotionally gutting, homoerotic buddy show like they do. NO ONE.

This stark, stark episode opening in the all white interrogation room is brutal. Vice is more than a little too forgiving on the concept of roughing up suspects early on (and then again in S3,) but this sequence is unsettling enough that I think we’re not supposed to condone how they’re treating the suspect.

A beautifully shot boating sequence follows, implying that Sonny and Rico go straight to the Bahamas in an open-air speedboat. Philip Michael Thomas frankly looks a little carsick (more than seasick, truly) as Don Johnson absolutely cranks it over the waves. Russ Ballard’s Voices plays over an exceptionally well-done series of clips from the prior episode and the pilot, both filling in any viewer who was just tuning in without any awkward exposition, while also being subtle and poignant enough that it wouldn’t feel repetitive to someone who did. ("Don't look back, look straight ahead / Don't look back, yesterday's gone" is a hell of a thing to play over Rico going to confront the man who killed his brother and started the whole show!)

While PMG is a stellar director, Joel Surnow wrote this one, and frankly? The writing’s not that great. It’s seriously elevated by artistic choices, but the plot definitely just kind of meanders around until shooting occurs.

The continued S1 implication that Tubbs is the high-strung one and Sonny is the cool, grounded one makes me feel like I’m eating tacks.

GOOD LORD. Sonny tells Tubbs to “give up his vigilante impulses,” and then in the next breath tells him to “give up his badge and get him on his own” if he needs to. Sonny. Sonny that is not giving up vigilante impulses. That’s directly encouraging Rico to do murder.

Thank you, Starsky, for the incredibly mitzvah of that fucking camera angle during the pushup scene. And then thank you once again for the needless shirtless discussion of Hemmingway, and the beautiful look these two idiots give each other.

 Sonny wears my very favorite Vice Hawaiian shirt in this episode; after this, it is worn exclusively by Zito. I realize this is purely a behind the scenes wardrobe choice, but I like to believe maybe in-universe something salacious happened instead.

Tubbs is a big time creep talking to Angelina, and she seems initially kind of skeeved out by him. Also the fact that he implies he’s interested in being the third member of the date she’s going on is hilarious both because he later tries to get Sonny to go on a three person date with him, and because Angelina is clearly going “EWWW THAT’S MY DAD YOU CREEP”

Sonny has some extremely mixed feelings about Tubbs going to see Angelina

Also maybe Angelina is as naive as a babe in arms but like. Tubbs. Tubbs it is 1984 and you are a fucking undercover operative. Surely you understand the concept of safe sex. Why would you not insist on using a condom. (And we know! We know you didn’t! Because next time we see Angelina she’s got a little you in tow!)

The final shootout/death scene has absolute abysmal foley (in contrast to the very well done final shootout in the previous episode) and it really dampens the impact.

Okay. Okay. During the denouement, “What’s Love Got to Do With It” plays. In time with this starting, Angelina says “something brought you to this island other than your job--” that something has always been Rafael, and now, because of what happened in the last episode, it’s also Sonny. What love has to do with all of this-- this whole episode-- is the love of his brother and of his partner that propels Tubbs to confront Calderone. Sonny clasps Rico around the shoulders as he walks away-- Sonny, who almost never initiates physical contact with Rico-- and tells him it’s time for the two of them to go home. No amount of cutting to clips of Angelina, who Tubbs knew for approximately seven minutes, will cover up the fact that if we’re asking about the impact of love, we’re not asking about her.

Also. Just. Yup. Thank you, Paul Michael Glaser.

[struggles-and-prose]

WTF is wrong with Hamish Linklater

Ok, so when I discover a new actor or actress that captivates me, I binge watch a bunch of things they've been in. Lately, it's been Hamish Linklater.

Although this 6'4" tall dude looks pretty sweet and innocent, do not let that fool you. Oh no, that was a HUGE mistake on my part ! Saw him in Midnight Mass 1st, and though he does do some pretty fucked up shit, he seems pretty oblivious to what he's actually doing to his community and what is actually happening around them all. So, in my opinion, that innocent looking face of his fits pretty well with the character, even adding a pinch of creepiness to Father Paul's persona. He thinks he's doing the right thing and is so passionate about it, but yet, too much of a blind fanatic to even notice the harm he's doing to others.

I mean come on ! Does he look like the type of dude that would even hurt a fly ? XD He's only trying to do good in his community, that's all ! x)

He welcomes them with open arms and says good morning, ...

he's a good listener,…

he preaches about love and loves to sing,...

he ask's if they need help and tells them when he's proud of them,...

he promises shit he can't but apologizes,...

he's up and about and wants to be left alone,...

he lies and apologizes again,...

and they all live happily ever after-ish. XD (Yeah, i had to put a crap tons of Gifs XD) You know, normal creepy pastor type of shit ! XD Doesn't change that he's trying to be a good man even if I found him to be a bit dumb on that part, but still. But not before being an absolute creep of a man. XD

Da fuck are you trying to do there buddy ?! :D Wtf is wrong with your dumbass ?! :D You disturbing fuck ! XD

All jokes aside, I absolutely loved him in Midnight Mass and I'll have to watch it again, because, that shit was amazing.

Though he was perfect for Father Paul's character, his innocent face does a better job in an innocent role like Andrew Keanelly in the mini series The Crazy Ones, playing along side this legend of a man, Robin Williams (miss that man honestly <3). Better job as in his innocence fits much more for this nerdy dude. Don't get me wrong, it added the perfect amount of creepiness to Midnight Mass.

Look how charming he is lol. I liked him in this role, since it's suits him so well. The perfect innocent nerd.

I mean come on, look how adorable he is lol. Who doesn't love a handsome nerd !

Another role that fitted him well was the one and only Jeb Magruder from the mini series Gaslit. His innocence, mixed with this long legged idiot is perfect lol.

Though is blue contact lenses did kinda give me the creeps. XD But hey, he does the role perfectly and I thought he was hilarious. I still can't get over his face when he tells those FBI agents that he's gonna "fuck them". XD Just look at this nervous fuck ! XD

But then, upon his numerous perfect performances, I stumbled onto this mini series called Tell Me Your Secrets. And holy mother of God was he ever so excellent there.

Look at this fucking creep spying on you through your window. And yeah, I hear you say "But Chloe, look how adorable he looks!" Yeah, no ! This twisted little fucker may look handsome when he's not a fucking psychopath, but this, this is a whole new level of fucked up. I just feel like punching him in the goddamn throat ffs ! XD

"But Chloe, he's so sexy !" Nay nay I say ! XD What the fuck kind crack are you on ? XD (Yeah, sorry, I'm getting a bit overwhelmed over here XD) Regardless of the fact that some women fantasize about this, Idk why, you do you, he creeps me the fuck out.

That fucker looks like an absolute psycho with that twisted smile and still, his damn so innocent looking face ! I literally can't get over this shit honestly. XD It just works so well with the character. A bit too well if you ask me !

Da fuck are you doing there man ?!? Why must you destroy your friendly innocent self like this ? Why you do this to me Hamish ?! XD Plus, that fucking spit scene made me fucking gag. XD I hate spit on a whole new level, or any bodily fluids for that matter, that it made me vomit a bit in my mouth. Yeah, that sounds lovely doesn't it ! :D XD

Anyways, I'm getting a bit carried away now lol. But needless to say that I've watched TMYS twice so far and will probably watch it again, because I thought this was his best role yet. Despite the fact that this fucker creeps me the fuck out, like dude gave me nightmares ffs. XD I just think he does it so well and that, again, repeating myself, his innocence and his friendly looking face adds a lot more creepiness to the character and that's just fucking amazing if you ask me. I think any role he does is perfectly made to be fair. In Dead For A Dollard for instance, with that sick look mustache lol. He wasn't there a lot, but he was awesome.

I rarely get obsessed like this over actor's performance. Yeah, I have actors that I love and admire and love what they bring to their characters. But nothing like what Mr. Linklater over here. The fact that he makes every role he does fit so well with him is just, wow ! He brings a whole new level of fucked up to fucked up in TMYS.

Look at this SOB. XD He's fucking creeping me out for the love of God ! XD Honestly scares the shit out of me. ! I think if I'd meet him irl, I'd freaking shit myself ! XD I've never been so creeped out by an actor like this before ! XD

Anyways, hope y'all enjoyed my massive review/rant on Hamish Linklater. Love the dude, he's amazing. Scares me, but still amazing lol.

[impercre]

Wait you like the 85 movie? Why?

Like if you want the long answer, the movie just includes more of what I like. Duke Leto is actively scheming to seize the throne for instance. And I think the old world flair with the costumes is absolutely perfect because Dune takes place after humanity has overthrown their robot overlords so of course it makes sense humanity would reach toward their pre-industrial past for inspiration. I also like that the stilsuits look good and were designed to be 'kinda sexy' because the idea is that people have to wear it all the time. I hate the stilsuit designs of the miniseries and new movies because who wants to wear that shit? People want to look good.

I also genuinely like Kyle's performance as Paul. David also includes Kaleff and Orlop. Now I grant you they end up as little more than extras in the final cut but I love that he thought to include them.

Also as someone who's very into filmmaking I feel David's film is the most literate in terms of the films he's referencing with his overall visual style. etc. Like it's hard to explain but Irulan's opening is a pretty direct reference to 1955's Night of the Hunter where a woman recites Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves Matthew 7:15.

He also clearly drew a lot of inspiration from 1965's The Greatest Story Ever Told to the point of casting two of the actors from that film- Max Von Sydow and Jose Ferrer. Ferrer is the most significant casting choice because his role of Shaddam is very similar to that of Herod in that film. The Greatest Story Ever Told also isn't like any other Biblical epic with it's sense of atmosphere and even genuine horror.

That all said David's film is in my mind incomplete or at the very least half-baked because David was vetoed repeatedly by his producers and studios. They even vetoed how he wanted to light and stage certain scenes. But based on what we do see, the deleted scenes that have surfaced and Frank's own praise of David Lynch's vision it still stands head and shoulders over the rest.

Also some of the behind the scenes stories and the product tie ins are just fucking hilarious.

[enigmatist17]

I am losing my gorram mind with Judd and the 126th crew :')

I am currently S2 Ep 10:

Mateo I just want to hug him so much, and babe I love the Cap America pj's :)

I am super super proud of how far he's come, and I'm so happy that Cap gave him a place to stay <:)

Judd, baby doll, darlin', sweet thing I love you so much. The more they show of him and his life, the more he's been hardwired as my absolute favorite, southern charm and all <3

Marjan I love you you badass, like seriously she's amazing and I like how she's been as much of a rock for the team as they have been for her when she's needed their support <3

Paul is hilarious, and I always live for all the scenes he's in that always get me giggling :)

I also really liked when his family came, I think they handled the sister really well <3

TK is second favorite, I really connected with him in the first season and I love how much stronger he's been growing as the seasons have progressed. I feel so sad for him with the whole mother coming back arc (which btw she's a piece of shit), getting and dashing his hopes with the whole baby thing, but he kept strong and I am so proud of him. Also he and Reyes are so fucking cute I cannot every time I see them <3 <3 <3

Speaking of Carlos, he's sweetened up so quick <3 <3 <3

He kind of had a weak start, but once he started getting his foothold in, I think he's quite adorable! He's not Athena, which in a small way is kind of a nice change, but when Reyes comes in he comes in swinging :)

Also he and TK are so fucking cute I legit cannot AAAAAA

Cap Strand, my darling <3

I love him, not as much as Capt Nash because Nash is literally my child in 9-1-1, but I really like how honest he is. The way he smiles and tries his hardest to make sure his family goes home (at expense to himself too many times to count like jfc my guy p l e a s e stop doing that), and the way he's always so humble really is just too sweet <3

While I wish the writing wasn't as cringe with him (because it is really cringe at times mostly in S1), I think Strand is one of my favorite captains in just about any of the shows I watch :)

[ramblingdisaster73]

Rambling thoughts on Episode 4x08 Control Freak

I knew the tux scene would be in the beginning – it was too perfect of an introduction to the full extent of Owen’s Dadzillaness – and Rob played it well (I feel sorry for his sons when they get married – I also love how they roast him all the time)

I love how Mateo has NEVER been afraid or shy of showing his emotions – going all the way back to when the 126 found out about Owen’s cancer in Season 1

So, if they are wearing the tuxes at Owen’s house – that means they already bought them – Dude – they aren’t cheap – let them wear the traditional stuff if that is what they picked out.

“I don’t have words” then continue to spew a lot of words.

I love the build up that we see in both TK and Carlos – How they are trying to humor Owen – even though it is making them both miserable.

The Grant guy kinda reminds me of Matthew Lillard from Scream.

That is some perfect lipstick on Marj.

Trying to figure out when the girl put the note on Marj’s bike

This was exactly what driving with my mother was like – I made it a whole entire block before refusing to drive with her in the car. This dad is so much like my mom.

When my mom was pregnant with me, my father drove up the guidewire of a power pole. He was 16 and dumb as fuck. He did it on purpose and didn’t make it that far up, but the whole car was on the wire. – Fortunately for my mom (and me) she refused to be in the car when he tried it. He is a fucking moron.

So much of this call is terrifying. The kid does an awesome job.

When do they have time to play operation? Do they have it in the firehouse game cabinet?

This reminds me of having to evacuate people from Roller Coasters on the lift hills when I worked at Cedar Point. It was kinda terrifying at times for the people (and depending on which coaster – for me too) and the security of it felt about the same as this rescue.

I am loving Paul – I love how he is so blunt when trying to rescue people – it can really help to get them out of their heads – this time he just needed an assist from the kid in the car. “Just shut up and let me help you.” Wesley.

I honestly thought we were going to get the first death of the season (outside of the nazi storyline) – I really liked the high risk of this rescue

TK is so used to control freaks that this dad doesn’t even faze him – just push the dad in the back of the rig and move on

Ahh the lunch scene is so cute

50% of wedding guests leave after the cake is served & toasts/first dances are done – this is my experience from the literal 100’s of weddings I have been a part of. If you have a cash bar – you lose another 20% with in an hour of the cake/dances.

I love the looks that each person gives Mateo when he corrects Carlos on the monk fruit.

Somebody has to stand up to him – so you call Mom.

I am on team Tarlos with not wanting their parents planning their wedding – sorry – but it is their day.

I find it absolutely fucking hilarious that Carlos “control freak & pushy bastard” Reyes called Owen a control freak. He wasn’t wrong – but it was a little bit funny.

I have had some pretty decent gluten & vegan free cakes.

Coach Beiste – I love seeing Dot-Marie Jones on anything – I love her

I love PI Marj

“Better you a kook then her dead.” That is actually a really powerful line. Doing/saying something in the face of domestic violence can be scary, but is so fucking necessary. I have no regrets for the times that I have stepped in, none. I can’t imagine the regrets I would have if I hadn’t done anything.

The centerpieces he was doing were no where near as dramatic as I had imagined. (the pic above was my idea of Owen’s wedding moodboard.) The ones in the floral shop looked vastly different & were much more dramatic.

Carlos’ “Really?” when Owen said that his feelings wouldn’t be hurt if Andrea picked the other cake makes me laugh – like he is so so very doubtful.

They are so cocky coming in – the grins, the smirks, the looks.

I love silent communication – my husband and I are very similar and it is so convenient.

They are so mad that they liked that cake – like regretting so many things right now.

Carlos is trying so fucking hard to remind his mom that she is on team Tarlos not team Dadzilla.

Orchids are fucking expensive & fragile as fuck

The dawning of the awareness that Andrea turned zilla was so well done. Ronen and Rafa always have such amazing facial expressions.

I had a feeling the girl wouldn’t leave in the semi – it seemed like it was too easy and clean of a conclusion to their story – curious on if she is in the next ep or if it is just him.

Those are insane for each table – totally overwhelming

Fuck the flower arches too

I do like that they are not just forgetting that Carlos was married – like that we aren’t expected to forget about it.

“There’s a flower arch now?” the rise in TK’s voice is the beginning of him getting ready to go off and I fucking loved it

I love him.

That scene was amazing and everything I needed from them – the wedding is about the couple and what they want/feel – I loved that TK was the one to snap

This dude is fucking nuts – maybe

I love the talk between Owen and Andrea – I love how she admits to him what her biggest regret was.

I love how she tricked Owen while eating cake.

“Their ideas were just dull” – “At least they were their dull ideas”

They were mostly coming from a good and/or understandable place – but, I am glad that they realized that TK and Carlos need to be the ones to make the decisions on their wedding.

I kinda thought Marjan was going to be in the motorhome – but tied up in the back (before it was revealed that she was riding behind them)

Nice use of the fire extinguisher Marj – I was wondering if that would come back into play when she told them to keep it

I am hoping that the woman stays away from the guy in the next ep – like I hope that she doesn’t go back to him when he gets out of jail – I didn’t see her in the promo, but they love to hide shit with editing on those.

“Slightly overboard?” – slight exaggeration.

I wonder when Owen’s mom passed (really I am assuming she did, but who knows) for him to think that TK wouldn’t still need his dad after he got married.

Like I have been married for over 10 years and I still need my mom.

I think TK will leave tea bags in all mugs forever around Owen now.

I was actually worried that I wouldn’t like the talk between TK & Owen – this show likes to make TK blame himself for things & I was worried that they were going to go in that direction – so I was so fucking happy with the talk that they had.

This was a talk that felt more like them, like father and son instead of coworkers & sarcastic quips at work.

Owen did something with TK that he has a VERY hard time doing – he showed his vulnerability to him, his fear of not being needed in TK’s life.

I am looking forward to next ep – how much shit does Marj go through? She looked really messed up & I wonder if Paul or Paul and Judd (from the stills we got before the season starts) find her when they all go out looking for her & happen to be the ones that save her from the abusive guy.

[guardian-angle22]

My favorite things from episode 4x07 …in no particular order:

Grace's facial expressions when she found out about Tommy's fling with Julius... amazing. hilarious. relatable.

Paul is so observant in his day-to-day life but when he's interested in someone romantically he has no chill and is completely unaware and it's adorable as fuck.

the firehouse scene when Asha showed up and then Nancy, Mateo, and TK teasing him after she's left? Peak 126 firefam feels

BASKETBALL. that's all I gotta say. the basketball scene was truly not long enough but I loved it all the same.

I've said it once, I'll say it again - Owen is at his best as a character when he's being a captain. His scenes this episode with Paul were exactly that and I enjoyed them. Also love the little hints of him becoming toooo involved in wedding planning already.

Judd immediately being on Tommy's side and ready to brand the pastor's kid as evil lmao.

Paul telling Asha about the kid from season one with the toy stuck up his nose! 🤣 I love the throwback.

The moment during the pacemaker call when Paul turns to Owen after they've found out it was cause of sex and kind of mouths "that can happen?" ~oh fuck better not happen to me~

Mateo's shitty latte art!! precious!! absolutely horrendous... but precious!

Tommy Vega is amazing. she can be ruthless as hell - slashing her mom's boyfriends tires?! damn, girl! - and I love her for it.

PAUL motherfucKING STRICKLAND. thats it. thats all. just every scene he was in. if I've left it off the list, this is my catch-all. it was a fave moment, I'm sure.

[apiratecalledav]

As requested, my Stranger Things season 4 thoughts. Spoilers, obviously.

Overall, I think it’s pretty awesome and the strongest season since the first, but there’s some worrying things plus a bit that I’m really peeved about.

The Good:

I’m digging the longer episodes. I normally hate over an hour (Thank you, ADHD) but I’ve been desperate for content for so long, that it’s just been glorious. The finale is supposed to be over two hours, though. That might be a bit rough.  

I was worried they were going to try to redeem Brenner or retcon that he’s always been disgusting but I think I like the direction it’s going. I do hope they reveal how he survived though.

Every time El called Hopper “my dad” added a year to my life. Millie continues to knock it out of the park.

El, Jonathan, and Will being sibs. My heart is full. I hereby dub the Hopper/Byers clan as The Hyers family.  

Dr. Owens is back! I adore Paul Reiser. I like that he’s a dash more morally gray than most of our protagonists but is ultimately still very decent. The way he tracked down El was straight up epic.  

Argyle is funny as fuck but also a pure soul. I was a little apprehensive about “Jonathan becomes a stoner” but I think they’re pulling it off well. I definitely get why he’s stressed and depressed. Not being able to count on Hopper to step it up while Jonathan went off to school is not something I considered. Also, super different for Charlie acting wise and he’s nailing it.  

I adored Chrissy! I love that she wasn’t some bitchy Barbie but super sweet and just a little bit goofy. The poor angel never had a chance.  

Gah, those absolute badass agents trying to protect El and the Byer Boys. 😭   

Suzie’s family being complete Cheaper by the Dozen chaos was unexpected yet so fitting. Plus comedy gold. “I will repent later.”  

So happy to see Powell and Callahan again.

Steve’s face is still intact. Please keep it that way. That shit is so, so old and tired.  

Everyone screaming “DRIVE” in unison gets me every time. Probably fav running gag.   

The satanic panic stuff is good. I like that Jason has a sympathetic streak and believes his intentions are good. It makes him more interesting and makes it easier to get why others join him.

In general, I liked seeing that the jocks weren’t all just brainless meatheads and/or bullies. Bonus points for them always wearing their monogrammed jackets so I can remember their names! 🤣    

I’ve been waiting a long time for all the parents to get together and realize their kids have been lying their asses off for years. I always imagined Joyce being there and awkwardly trying to explain while not actually explaining. But Erica was a good alternative.

And oh, Erica. Still hilarious, to no one’s surprise. I just love that she’s not the typical “precocious girl” archetype. She likes math, politics/current events, instead of being a bookworm or a techie and confident and outspoken and not a wallflower.

Her shutting down Jason and threatening Lucas with whatever is under his bed slayed me. “The whole couch is on fire” is my new way of saying “that’s bullshit.” 

Joyce and Murray. I’m enjoying their dynamic and their adventure. A good, blend of mystery, suspense, action, and some charming zaniness. Murray as Yuri.  My sides.  

Yes, some of “Hopper the zek” stuff was a bit slow but they payoffs with his first escape and fighting the demogorgon were incredible. Not even getting into to his reunion with Joyce. Just. So. Precious and perfect.

Also, love Tom Wlaschiha since his Jaqen days. How many languages does that dude speak?? I’ll be so sad if he doesn’t get back to his little boy! They already got Alexei! They can’t have Dmitri, too!  

Eddie was kinda cringe at first in the cafeteria scene and seemed like the new Billy but dang, did that turn around. I loved him in the woods with Chrissy and he’s only gotten better. I’m so here for the way he’s just an unapologetic weirdo instead of The Cool Guy or the Bastard.  

Robin in Nancy’s clothes. I feel so seen. My sister would put me through that crap all the time when I was little.

Also thought it was nice that the hospital director admired Robin’s passion.

I’m liking Robin and Nancy being friends. It felt a lil forced at first but their field trip was everything I never knew I needed. Also, it’s nice we’re getting to see different characters interacting more.  

The new cast/cameos/homages are delightful. ‘Specially Freddie Krueger as Victor Creel. Loved the initial Hannibal Lector vibe of the scene.  

I am cautiously putting Mike and El here because they are long overdue to have some issues. But I hope things resolve between them because their relationship is a central part of the series to me.  

Max writing a goodbye note for Steve. I don’t know why but I think that’s so adorable. I guess ‘cause it means he does hang out with the kids (besides Dustin) when the world isn’t in danger and he’s absolutely the big bro she deserves.  

I straight up lost it when Dustin told Steve he was missing his collarbones but not his eyes. 🤣. 

Hopper’s cabin getting a cameo.  

I’ve started  watching a second time (tagging along for my parents first viewing) and the foreshadowing is damn good.  

It is so poignant that Will’s project was on Alan Turing.  A gem of an Easter egg, for sure.    

I thought we’d get a quick visit from Billy/Dacre and it was well done.  I’m glad it wasn’t a flashback because there wouldn’t have been a good way to do it, imo. A happy memory would feel like romanticized bullshit and we didn’t need any more unhappy ones.

I saw some people complaining that Max mourned him at all but he was her brother. And despite being a colossal asshole, he did choose to die as a human being instead of “living” as a monster. There’s nothing wrong or unrealistic about how Max feels right now.

 I cackled like a freaking loon when Lucas said, “when did Steve get so hairy?” Because I said the exact same thing the other day when rewatching season 3. For the first time, I noticed quite a bit of hair trying escape that Scoops Ahoy uniform and was a little shocked. 😂

On a more serious note, I always feel better seeing actors allowed to have body hair. Waxing is, like, borderline inhumane and since I’m not from the Capitol in The Hunger Games, people suffering for others’ entertainment makes me super uncomfortable.  

The symmetry/parallels or whatever with Hopper and Brenner with El. 

The Creel house. The first proper journey to the Upside Down (get them hazmat suits stat!) and their escape. Creepy, trippy, weird, and fascinating.    

Max. Lucas. Need I say more? Prolly not, but I’m gonna: I think they’ve been the MVPs so far this season. Their separate storylines have been amazing but together? My heart!!! They might be promoted to OTP. What I initially liked about these two is they were so normal and lighthearted compared to Mike/El and Jonathan/Nancy. But this storyline has been so incredibly, believably, gorgeously told with stellar performances by Sadie and Caleb. The end of Dear Billy in particular is so, so beautiful. I hoped Running Up that Hill would feature this season and to actually have it be a plot point… 🥹 I listened to my favorite cover by First Aid Kit this morning and had a good cry.   

I want to be pissed about how retcony the other numbers feel— Kali/Eight in season 2 definitely implied Brenner collected the kids from all over the world/they all had very different powers. But it’s done so well, I’m giving it a pass. I kinda dig that El is a middle child. Makes it feel different from “aha, the chosen one at last!” trope.  

Vecna is a refreshing change of pace. I actually wish he was the Mind Flayer’s boss/the ultimate big bad. I think having him once be human makes him scarier and eviler. But I dunno, maybe they ARE all one thing he created? They’re building up to Dustin being wrong about something, I think. Which brings me to—

Holy shit, One. I don’t think I need to say more. I connected certain dots separately but not all of them together, if you get what I mean. Loved it. Plus, Jamie Campbell Bower is always good value.

The Bad

I’m disappointed with El thinking she’s a monster again. I think the bullying resurfacing some repressed memories was pretty good but... the storyline feels… kinda late? Especially since it’s a season long arc. I’d have liked it better if they told her straight off she wasn’t the one behind the attack. It’d be more interesting to me if her journey was about her learning to see past her mistakes and discovering why she’s heroic.  

My boy Doc Owens not warning El that she was about to be reunited with assface.  Dude, come on. Wtf.  Redeemed himself some by chewing him out.

Will’s technically catching a break so far this season, which actually highlights how hellish his life has been. Obviously he wasn’t as close to Hopper as El was, but Hopper was also his (step)dad— Owens even acted like Hopper and Joyce were both Will’s parents in ST2– then he got dragged away from his home/friends; helplessly watched his sister suffer; his brother is becoming unrecognizable; he has a thing for his BFF, which is already complicated and painful enough without the fact that said BFF is also his sister’s boyfriend.😭 But hey, seven episodes in a row without a monster trying to eat him!  

I totally get Robin changing a tad this season from being more comfortable/less guarded because of Steve. But here and there she seemed jarringly different (like how she’s suddenly no longer capable of “playing it cool”) and a few of her comic relief lines fell flat (the compass, earthquakes, attic.).  It’s obvious she’s only here because we like her. Which brings me to…

I am starting to get nervous about how far things are starting to tilt towards fan service. Elements of it have been present since season two but alarm bells are ringing for me. I’d hate for this show to go the Glee route— pandering to (usually toxic) shippers, not wanting to change “the winning formula” which lets characters/situations get stale, etc.  Sigh. At least we’re close to the end.  

I don’t mind Jonathan and Nancy having problems, in fact, I’d probably find it ridiculous if they didn’t. But why THIS way? I loved in season 3 that they had real discussions, even about the ugly stuff. They hashed things out, opened up each other’s minds. I went from “yeah, they’re pretty cute” to “Hell, yeah, I ship it!”

It sucked to see that all go out the window. Obviously, they’re still kids, so I wasn’t expecting anything super mature. But both of them avoiding/ignoring their problems felt lazy.  At the very least, why couldn’t they have been taking a break? Which brings me to—

The Ugly  

Steve and Nance having romantic tension again. Barf. 

 I was somewhat prepared— that weirdly intimate scene in the trailer combined with the complete lack of a potential love interest for Steve among all the new characters. But still. Just… why.

I see some bearable avenues they can take with this but I don’t think it’s necessary and it makes Nancy look awful: Like a serial cheater or that she only wants what she doesn’t have and like still doesn’t grasp how shitty Jonathan’s situation is. She grew up so much, especially last season, and they’re just… pissing all over it??

It’s a little easier to swallow on Steve’s end but I felt like he also really regressed in the early episodes— still so desperate for female attention and just doing the dating equivalent of “throwing it all at the wall and see what sticks.” If they had to have him make heart eyes at Nancy again, then he should’ve still had girls treating him like a townie loser who peaked in high school.

I thought Dustin cheerleading R/S when he barely knew Robin was juvenile writing but at least Dustin was young. Robin practically encouraging Nancy to cheat? Ew. Eddie, who’s probably 20 as a third time senior, declaring what is “true love” between two perfect strangers?

Holy fuck, if it’s not intentionally paralleling Dustin being “ wrong” about Steve and Robin then it is so painfully amateurish that I do not have words. Only Murray can get a pass on that kinda thing because he’s been established as borderline clairvoyant from early on.

Also, a couple of the effects aren’t on par with most of them. One’s transformation and the demobat battle were silly looking. Normally I’m very forgiving of tv show budgets but with how great everything else looked, it was a bit jarring.

TL;DR most of it is awesome, with Max, Lucas, and Lumax being the best. But I fear  they’re relying too heavily on fan service and I’m scared it could be the show’s downfall. Also, my tolerance for bullshit love triangles was obliterated about a decade ago.

[kevinsreviewcatalogue]

Review: After Hours (1985)

After Hours (1985)

Rated R

<Originally posted at https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2023/06/review-after-hours-1985.html>

Score: 4 out of 5

After Hours is not the movie I was expecting. Between its director, its cast, its '80s New York setting, and the fact that Popcorn Frights screened it a couple of weeks ago, I expected a dark, downbeat noir thriller with horror touches, and perhaps one of Martin Scorsese's lesser films given that it came from his period in the '80s when he'd lost the approval of critics and audiences. Instead, I was surprised at just how funny the film was, albeit going in a very different, darker, more Kafkaesque direction with its humor versus what we often associate with the R-rated '80s comedies that it only superficially resembles. It's a film born from a successful filmmaker who was at a low point in his life and career, and damn well knew it, channeling all of his frustration with his struggle to get The Last Temptation of Christ made into a story of a man having the worst night of his life as everything that can go wrong, does go wrong, often in such a manner where you can't help but laugh and cringe at the same time. It's one of the darkest versions of this kind of movie to exist, don't get me wrong, but that movie is a hilarious, surreal, gut-busting comedy that I absolutely enjoyed.

Our protagonist Paul Hackett is a yuppie in Manhattan who inputs data at a firm and longs for more out of life. One night, while at a diner, he meets Marcy Franklin, a beautiful woman who tells him that her roommate Kiki Bridges is a sculptor who makes plaster-of-Paris paperweights, and leaves him her number, ostensibly in case he wants to buy one but really because she's into him. Later that night, Paul obliges and heads down to Marcy and Kiki's apartment in Soho, in what turns out to be the beginning of a series of events involving a dead body, a pair of burglars who for once weren't carrying stolen merchandise, a bartender who's lost the key to his register, a punk nightclub, a vigilante mob, and a whole lot of really weird women.

It's the kind of night that feels absolutely cursed, an experience that most of us can probably relate to even if the threat of death never came up for us the way it has for Paul by the end of this movie, and Paul's actor Griffin Dunne does a great job of selling it. Dunne plays Paul as a man bored with life, the film opening with him doing perhaps the most soul-sucking office job you can imagine. You understand from the moment you see him why he might run off into Soho in the middle of the night, simply on the promise of meeting a beautiful woman. As the film goes on, he grows to regret his decision in increasingly bewildered and desperate fashion as the city tortures him with every indignity it can throw his way and uses him as its own personal chew toy, from little things like losing a $20 bill to some outright wacky stuff, slowly but surely sinking into madness as he goes. Each new scene makes you wonder how the city is going to fuck with him this time, like an old-school point-and-click adventure game that throws all manner of increasingly bizarre obstacles in the way of what should be a simple goal. "If I want the keys to my apartment back, I've gotta go to the bartender's apartment, but there are burglars on the loose and the other people there don't know me, so they think I'm a criminal..." Given the hell he was going through at the time, it was no wonder Scorsese saw something in Joseph Minion's screenplay.

And the movie wouldn't have worked as well as it did if not for how Scorsese once again made New York the other main character. In this case, it's not a bustling metropolis, but a place in the wee hours of the morning (after hours, if you will) where the streets are deserted and the people you do meet are more likely to be the freaks and the weirdos. I can easily picture the version that Tim Burton (the director originally attached to this) might've made, and it probably would've been an inventive film in its own right, but Scorsese fuses that style with his own background as the guy who defined the image of 1970s/'80s New York on the big screen, creating a slightly askew version of his usual "gritty realism" where it feels like anything bad can happen, and not just the things you hear about in the next morning's headlines. It feels like a place that hates Paul and wants to see him suffer for the sake of its own amusement, and Scorsese, filming a New York devoid of traffic, makes the place simply feel wrong, like a maze designed for his torment.

The supporting cast, too, nails it. Being among the few people in the neighborhood who live their lives at night, they're strange even for the standards of New Yorkers, from Linda Fiorentino's kinky artist Kiki to Catherine O'Hara's stuck-in-the-'60s ice cream truck driver Gail to Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong as the small-time crooks Neil and Pepe. Most importantly, however, as Paul interacts with all of them, we get perhaps the most uncanny element of this film's upside-down New York: a place where everybody seems to know each other, like a small town that just so happens to be nestled in the middle of Manhattan. People who don't treat each other as total strangers? Now that's how you know something's wrong in the Big Apple, especially if you're an outsider. It adds to the feeling that Paul's night has gone completely sideways, like something has not only gone totally wrong ever since he stepped out of his apartment into the wild world of New York's nightlife, but has been totally wrong since long before he entered the picture, like he wandered into something that by all logic shouldn't exist in the middle of the City that Never Sleeps but does so anyway. It builds to an ending that arrives suddenly, but feels like the perfect punchline for everything we just witnessed.

The Bottom Line

I was not expecting After Hours to be the movie it was, but I'm glad I got to see it. Martin Scorsese and the cast together do a great job lending a very off-kilter black comedy feel to his usual style, and I had a great time watching it.

[beomgyusmcnugget]

warning: an actually somewhat positive 2 cents about Halloween ends

I just came back from the theater and was suprised to come on here and see everyone absolutely demolishing this film (I mean it’s hilarious and y’all do have a point) when I actually enjoyed it!

My mom turned to me, disgruntled and mumbling as the end credits rolled, and a ginger guy and his s/o were talking to us after the movie and saying how much they thoroughly detested it. But I actually found it to be the best of the modern sequels

I think the reason I liked acts one and two so much honestly is due to my utter loathing of Halloween kills. That movie spit on me and threw me in a dumpster. Holy fuck I hated it so. So much. They made Michael into a god damned chainsaw, he wasn’t even Michael anymore he just cut down everyone in sight, and it was so stupid I literally yelled at the screen in the theater (luckily I wasn’t the only one). So I think seeing a Halloween film where the body count is back to the single digits soothed my soul from a few years ago. Also bringing the killers back down to a more human level, just with a knack of surviving the impossible, was cathartic and reminiscent of the first five (except three bc who actually watches that one) films, which imo the brother Michael to Jamie niece pipeline is superior (when Paul Rudd gets added to the mix is when I start hating it and switch over to H20).

I also love next gen nonsense, and I and aware I am hereby the scum of the earth, and that’s where this movie excels for me and also majorly disappoints. Because I thought we were getting the transfer of evil from Michael to Corey, but also a what if Laurie didn’t fight for good and instead submitted to the lure of evil and it’s ease? I thought the inclusion of Alyson in that was cool, however they totally fucked it up.

Because at first it’s like oh Alyson doesn’t want to fight it anymore, or maybe she was cristened in the evil because of how she grew up and wouldn’t that be the perfect way for Michael to win if not in flesh: Laurie’s own granddaughter committing to evil. However they just didn’t do that?

All of a sudden Alyson isn’t .. dark. She’s just done with her phase ????????? Like whyyyyy it could have been so perfect why must you do this to me?

Also in the vein of massive disappointment yet mid movie satisfaction is Corey’s whole character. Because I liked how he was a mild blend of young Laurie and Michael (smart baby sitter -> killer ig is the only link lmao) and some of the set up was clever if not slightly crude in execution; i.e, him sleeping and sort of hiding in the home of his first kill, much like Michael hid in his childhood home where he killed Judith. I loved that idea, and giving him his own mask, specially a creepy Halloween one reminiscent of Michaels clown mask which I thought was cool.

But THEY JUST KILL HIM ??

I waited for the end of the credits in hopes of a scene shot from the window of Jeremy Allen’s house, with nothing but breathing for audio, and a slow shot of someone picking up the scarecrow mask and looking out at haddon field from the window.

But, no. 🗿

However I still have hope for this, idk why I guess I’m just delusional. However considering Michael let himself die imo and allowed himself to be carried to the massive meat grinder, and that Corey sat up after being stabbed in the neck, I get the impression Corey could have sat up after his neck was snapped (considering he was shot multiple times and sustained two falls from fatal heights and a fucking neck wound but what ever) and if Michael wasn’t ready to go then he could just punched the window from the roof of the car, so I figured that scene when he was over Corey was a sort of eye signal thing to take over the mantle bc the whole movie he was turning to Michael for guidance but it was his time to fully grasp the role. Therefore Michael allowed them to kill him and destroy his body as Corey became the sole owner of the form, which would explain why both of them were in mid strength throughout the movie bc evil incarnate can only fulfill one form fully.

But. No.

And if not that, I figured Alyson would then be who the evil was transferred to. Idk I guess I supposed she was going to play an actual role in the film but … sigh.

So yes while I have many complaints about how they dropped the ball with the end, what this movie could have been, and what it delivers in the first and second act make this one of the more compelling sequels imo, and by FAR the best of the new three, in my opinion at least. The last two new ones were honestly disrespectful to the franchise imo and completely misunderstood the point of Michael: he’s not like a machine gun. He’s scary cause he’s evil and stalks his prey, not because you guys found some cool and gross cgi to attach to your film and decimate an entire town population. That’s an apocalypse atp, not a slasher or killer.

So this one definitely payed wonderful homage (ty for adding the picture of Annie and Linda 🥲, the knitting needles!! Someone stabbed on the wall, and Corey standing watching Laurie like Michael in the first film) and had a decent vibe that fit in with the original imo better than Halloween kills (my genuine arch nemesis). However the ending didn’t just fall flat, it fell from an eight story building.

HOWEVER. THEY ADDED DONT FEAR THE REAPER IN THE END CREDITS. And I feel that song should get more credit as the iconic Halloween song.

And though many are upset about Michaels lack of screen time, I was honestly so pissed that they made him a terminator in the last film, I was okay with it.

And Laurie, dear, pls step on me.

Jamie was 10379128/10 in this movie. *chefs kiss*

So sorry if you read this whole thing :/

[lonelier-version-of-you]

About to rewatch S20E10 “Square One”. If I recall correctly this ep is the first time John loses a trial patient, so that should be interesting.

Edit 1: Oh Zav I miss you.

Edit 2: John on his iconic dictaphone. Also watching these episodes knowing what the 8th Doctor’s TARDIS looks like, I’m convinced the whole luminous blue vibe of John’s lab was an intentional shoutout to it.

Edit 3: I love this little Donna and Serena scene.

Edit 4: I really do love me some good morally ambiguous John content. They should’ve kept him this way, it was a lot more interesting than the supervillain direction they took him in.

Also Jac high on pain meds and actually being happy and friendly for once is hilarious.

And, a line from Fletch: “Have I stepped into a parallel Darwin?” Nah, Fletch, the parallel Darwin came later, in 2021 when Sahira was suddenly Henrik’s childhood friend for some reason.

Edit 5: We went from a Zav scene to a Jason scene just now. What a downgrade.

Also, gah, Jason: “Prison should be for bad, dangerous people, not good people like Ric who are just doing their best!” WHY DOES HE TALK LIKE A 5 YEAR OLD IT’S SO ANNOYING. I know we autistics tend to have different speech patterns but the way to write that is not to write dialogue on literally the same level you’d write dialogue for a neurotypical child character.

Edit 6: I love Roxanna’s blouse in this ep.

Edit 7: Absolute legend Ken Davies is back! I’d forgotten he was in this ep!

Edit 8: Jac is so fucking beautiful. She literally looks like a goddess or something.

Edit 9: John was SO blatantly severely mentally ill the whole time why did no one intervene??

Also lol @ Ollie joking about his lack of motor skills to Lofty the dyspraxic man.

Edit 10: When Jac said “it’s miraculous what a full 5 hours’ kip can do for you” I felt that.

Edit 11: I actually agree with Serena on something for once - the ‘Ric in prison’ storyline WAS “utter madness”.

Edit 12: The Rox and John dynamic was really fascinating. Also, John’s body language is VERY Henrik-esque in this episode.

And why does John talk like me? “There’s been no improvement, alas!” 😂

Edit 13: This episode is Jason in his 5-year-old era and not in a realistic developmental delay way (look at someone like Chantelle, she was autistic coded and “childish” but wasn’t written like an actual child) but in a ableist writing way.

Edit 14: ZAV!! I love his outfit in this ep. Also, it’s truly amazing how much character development he had when he was only on the show for 2 years.

Edit 15: Interesting dialogue. Rox: “I would err on the side of caution.” John: “You always do.”

Edit 16: Love the Jac and Ken banter. “I did the best I could, but despite my efforts, you pulled through.”

Edit 17: Rosie Marcel is SO good.

Edit 18: Zav was such an asshole when he first started out.

Edit 19: John on the dictaphone again!

Edit 20: John’s despair about the trial failing reads differently looking back after the later reveal that it was all about trying to save Lana.

Also, him lying to Essie and saying the implant didn’t fail... oof.

Edit 21: Very visible anxious stimming from John when his patient goes into arrest.

Also fuck I basically stole this scene for my one unfinished fanfic without remembering. I hope everyone thinks it was a deliberate parallel lmao.

Edit 22: I think the patient’s mum is doing a guest-character-speaking-for-staff member moment when she’s talking about the trial to John: “I didn’t think of the risks.”

Edit 23: Paul McGann is an INCREDIBLE actor.

Edit 24: John not wanting to bother Henrik by calling him about the Medical Director job :’))

Also, funny thing is, when John said he just wants what’s best for his patients I do believe he genuinely thought that.

Edit 25: HENRIK

Edit 26: “Meetings, paperwork... hardly John’s field of expertise, is it?” Lmaooo

Edit 27: I love early John with the curly hair.

Edit 28: John is very very good at manipulating people, whether he’s using it for good (as he is in this case - seeking the Medical Director job and talking Serena into giving it to him so he can help Roxanna fight for the TMS for Ollie) or not. One has to think Henrik picked up some techniques from him. I mean, the Henrik we saw in the flashback episode couldn’t manipulate anyone if he tried, I don’t think.

Edit 29: Lofty saying he’s not like Isaac aged poorly :(

Edit 30: Zav showing a moment of tenderness towards Nicky.

Edit 31: John on Henrik: “He’s like the rest of us. Lost without a stethoscope.”

Edit 32: Serena saying she’d cheerfully hand Gaskell the CEO job. That’s so fucking funny in hindsight of how John turned out.