#rian you genius

[violeteyedhero]

Glass Onion and the Mona Lisa

(Major Glass Onion spoilers obviously)

I saw a post yesterday that showed the Mona Lisa next to the final shot of Helen sitting on the beach, posed the exact same way, with that same unreadable smile. I think in that moment everything kind of clicked for me, and I think I understand now how it was used as a motif. I poured things out on twitter and I'm gonna do it here too.

So the Mona Lisa is introduced about thirty minutes into the movie, before anything has technically happened. We are shown that Miles purchased it, had it put in his living room (full of volatile hydrogen gas), behind a glass door, and that he can override the glass just to see her face. He looks at it with some awe, but to do something so arrogant and dangerous is not something that you do when you just admire the art...it's a power move. It's a rich man flaunting a priceless artwork and saying, look at me, I don't give a flying fuck about the consequences.

Then, he talks about how he saw it when he was six, and how he longs to be immortalised like the painting. Smash cut to Andi.

Now, I have only a rough recollection of Da Vinci's story, but something that I do recall is this--we still don't know who was the true subject of the Mona Lisa. There were at least two women who it could have been (as well as Da Vinci's male student/lover and Da Vinci himself). There's even still a fair bit of debate as to whether he painted it at all. The truth has long been obfuscated. Only the physical painting by Da Vinci matters to people. The subject is irrelevant.

Not long after this scene, we discover that 'Andi' is not in fact Cassandra, but Helen, employing the rich bitch voice that the sisters created as kids. An elegant, unreadable woman with an ever-changing mood and smile, and an air of absolute mystery. Her character is framed, in the first half at least, as the real-life Mona Lisa.

As the story goes on, you can see how important this parallel becomes. Miles constantly reiterates how he wants to be mentioned in the same breath as the Mona Lisa. In the same way, he wants to be mentioned in the same breath as Andi Brand. He tries to be like her, cheat her, steal from her, surpass her, and take her life from her. He uses the image and money that he gets from being her partner, and uses it to steal her ideas and kill her. He obfuscates her role in the company's founding, takes it for himself.

Andi as a person is dead, but the world doesn't know that yet. For now, Miles gets to keep her image and everything she's built for himself. Not for admiration, but for power. The world just sees her as the subject of his work. Secondary, and irrelevant.

Enter Helen, who steps into her sister's role and uses her image to get to the truth. The others don't know who she is, but Miles should. It's glaringly obvious, but he never thinks to look beyond the glass between them and see who she truly is or why she's there. And he doesn't let go of his need to show off how powerful he is.

Because like the Mona Lisa, the envelope is in plain sight. The last piece of Andi's work is hidden within the Glass Onion, just behind his fake napkin--the one he took credit for.

Miles loses, in the end, because he's so deeply arrogant and idiotic. He plays dirty to get what he wants, and can't help but mount his prizes on the wall. But Helen understands that, at the end of the day, she is a third grade teacher from Alabama, and a black woman against an absurdly wealthy white man. He will not face consequences for this. He won't even be arrested for Andi's murder.

So what does she do? She literally destroys the glass. She annihilates the illusion of his brilliance. She destroys the layers of the onion, shows the rot in its core--his persona, his wonder fuel--and then, she destroys the Mona Lisa. Because it is a painting, something that he chose to put in danger. And the world will see if it is gone.

She brings down the glass barrier, but he destroyed the painting the moment he set foot in Andi's house. And maybe this way, even if he isn't remembered as the murderer of Andi Brand, he will always be remembered as the destroyer of the Mona Lisa. It's a small sort of justice, but it's the only thing that Miles will answer to.

The dust settles, Helen goes to the beach. She ends the story sitting as the Mona Lisa did, her arms crossed, expression unreadable. There's no illusion anymore, no glass between us and the subject. We can look into her eyes. It's a moment where the subject of the art reclaims the narrative, not unlike OJ's ending shot in Nope. The painting may now be gone, but the Brand sisters have been immortalised in a way. Andi is gone, but Helen is alive and true.

[mo0nchhild]

knives out films never miss yes there's only two of them as of now, but my point still stands

[antsypoindexter]

knives out series haters, the most oppressed class of people

[indigoire]

I'm just now realizing that both Knives Out and Glass Onion have two halves; at the halfway point the truth is revealed, the lie is pulled apart to reveal what really happened, and then deception takes place on the part of the wronged party. Benoit doesn't solve the cases in these movies, he doesn't even put the killer behind bars in Glass Onion, he is simply a vehicle for the plot. We the audience follow him, as the real protagonists of these movies, Marta and Helen, these smart, undervalued, wronged women, slip under the radar and do the real crime solving. It's genius. We're all so focused on the flashy white guy with the strong accent and the famous name, who can let himself into any environment and see through everyone's lies and motives, that we pay no attention to the real heroes of these movies until all is revealed. Around the halfway point the real protagonists step forward, and however much Blanc may guide them, they're the real investigators and they're the ones who come out triumphant.

Knives Out and Glass Onion are remarkably similar once you break them down like this, and as someone who basically just wanted the sequel to be more of the same, Rian Johnson delivered in spades.

Also both movies said "fuck rich people" with their whole chests and I fucking respect that.

[writergamermom]

Everyone is saying that Miles Bron is a parody of Elon Musk. I admit I thought the same thing when I saw it in theaters back in September. I mean Musk had engaged in the hostel take over of Twitter, then he backed out, and at the time he was weeks away from being forced to buy a thing he did not want a price it was not worth. So stupid right? That was also when I realized he didn’t found Tesla, he just bought it with daddy’s apartheid money. Oh this guy is a fake, and Miles is a fake. Such a great take down.

Except it wasn’t. Rian Johnson wrote Glass Onion in the spring of 2020, the same time the film is set. Ed Norton brought Miles to life in September of 2021, months prior to Musk starting to buy Twitter. Miles Bron goes beyond a prediction for Elon Musk. Look at the company, Alpha which owns Alpha Cosmos, Alpha Car, Alpha Shop, etc. Does that remind you of Alphabet - Google’s parent company, or Amazon with all the companies it owns, or maybe Apple. And that’s the point right? The magazine photo of Miles ‘finding’ the napkin is a parody of  Steve Jobs in his iconic black turtleneck. Many people think of Steve Jobs as a this tech genius, but the real genius at Apple was Steve Wozniak. Jobs was just good at making you think he was a genius.

TL:DR Miles Bron is not a parody of Musk. He is a parody of all of them, of Jobs, of Musk, of Bezos, of all the “tech geniuses” that under the hype are just so stupid.

[ant-man98]

Glass Onion is another masterpiece from Rian Johnson. That was the most outright fun I’ve had at the movies all year, and it’s just as good as Knives Out. I also can’t emphasize how funny this movie was, I was laughing pretty much the entire time. The cast is excellent as expected and the narrative is so twisty and clever. Even more than Knives Out, this movie will be great for a second viewing. I think Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc might be my favorite detective ever, because you can never tell if he’s a genius or a complete buffoon. I’m so happy that this is now an anthology series, and I will go and see all of them as long as Rian Johnson wants to make them. Please go support this movie in theaters if you can. It’s worth going out to see it with an audience.

[3y3-see-you]

Cassandra, the prophetess who foresaw doom but was cursed to not be believed. She wears the ouroboros, the symbol of self-consumption as a halo.

The ouroboros remains in frame as she finds the napkin that will lead to her demise, which she brings upon herself by sending that email to the disruptors.

And Helen walking away from the burning wreckage, from a war instigated by her presence there.

The ouroboros applies here too, as the ultimate tool for burning it all down was the Klear fuel Miles himself developed.

Rian Johnson you absolute genius.

[piglet26]

Reylo Scenes: TLJ

Rian Johnson gets loud vocal dislike for trying to make part 2 to JJ Adams film and his treatment of Luke Skywalker. Now I'm going to be honest..... Star Wars fans complain. That's part of the passion of it all. I guess. One area that he did succeed in was Reylo. He dealt with it with complete mastery. His invention of the forceskype or forcetime which allowed the protagonist and antagonist to actually talk was genius.

To add, I read the novelization which does expand on the story overall and it's great to read. There are comics as well. All which expand on the story.

Rian Johnson also is due a thank you for this moment.

We'll call this no-more-daddies-Ren. That face should not be covered up.

Romance has always been apart of Star Wars. Yet, in the sequel trilogy there was this hyper paranoia of anything feminine and so anyone who sensed a romance happening I guess was just an unhealthy fool.

From a pure storytelling stand point, the dynamic between the hero and the villain is genuinely interesting. The fact that they are Ying Yang, alike but different, bonded yet on opposing sides and they attracted to one another only adds to the drama. It's the richest dynamic of the sequel trilogy.

So to all the Reylo haters

In the first forcetime scene the rules of the forcetime get established. Rey can't hurt him physically (yet) and Ren can't jedi mind trick her.

The production team continued to show their balance yet opposition. When Rey wakes up the warm sunlight is on her face and her smooth cheek. In Ren's scene the light on his cheek is mechanical and the skin is scarred. Rey is surrounded by nature. Ren is surrounded by technology. They both have a childlike innocence to them. Something is happening to them that had never happened before. Something unique even amongst force users. Ren is curious. Rey is just pissed off.

Ren is a man who feels very let down/betrayed by everyone in his life so by the time we meet him in The Force Awakens he doesn't want or need anybody. Within his comic Ben Solo is described as someone that everyone, including his peers, watched for signs of darkness. He's a bitter, hurt and jaded young man.

Rey is the denial queen. She has a childlike way of thinking that is purely optimistic. She latches onto people very quickly Finn, Han Solo, Chewie, Leia, Luke on and on. She understand the stories of the resistance, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, but doesn't understand any of the complexities. She's a very 'this is the truth as I know it so it must be the truth' kind of person.

When we arrive at the second Forcetime.

Rey overlooking the ocean. Ren overlooking the first order. Ren begins hearing the ocean waves. Rey begins to hear the snap of electricity. Ren sensing her turns and Rey, sensing him, adjusts and there they are.

Rey, understand that she can't physically act out her anger against, verbalizes it. She's angry, but she wants the anger to be simple and it's not. He is tied to her in a way in some way.

What's interesting is Ren is very open to her in wondering why the force is connecting them. In the book Rey describes his eyes as hungry. Also, Ren wants to be understood by her. He uses this moment to reach her and get someone to understand a portion of how he became the man he is. The audience sees him approach her, get into her space, challenging her emotionally, physically and her ideas about him.

"ah, you do" if it's possible to verbally create a orgasm....Adam driver accomplished it for women. It doesn't hurt that these two seem to always be eye fucking each other. The intensity in which they lock onto each other and don't pay much around them any mind. The actors writers dream of.

The scenes serves a purpose though. Kylo is once again shift from simple bad guy to complicated bad guy/human being. She doesn't know everything. In the mix of all of this is her experience with Luke. She disillusioned and she's disappointed with Luke. Her experience is shifting her to understand Kylo's position more.

Which leads to their third forceskype aka shirtless Ben

Rey, girl, you're not asexual. It's the first where we see she does have a reaction to him physically. She opens herself to understanding. She wants to know if he had a good reason for killing his father. She also expresses her jealousy of him. He has a family, he had a father who loved him. She would give anything for that. Kylo is also expressing his pain and how relates to her. They both feel abandoned by their parents. Kylo wasn't abandoned in the way Rey was, but he feels abandoned. Kylo looks at Rey like 'hey you don't see the similarities between us?". You also being to understand Kylo Ren's need to embrace the dark side because everyone on the light side failed him.

Part of her journey in The Last Jedi is about embracing her womanhood. After the force bond with the shirtless Kylo Ren. She goes to the dark sided vagina cave. She jumps in and when she emerges her childhood hair buns are gone. Rey enters in this vision and looks for answers as to who/where her parents are. Nothing is revealed to her. She didn't find the answers she was looking for and the hope that she will find them goes out of her. In this moment she's desperately lonely. Here our hero spiritually seeks out through the force bond the one individual she feels will relate to her, our villain.

Why do people call this scene "The Finger Touch Love Scene"

Cause the level of intimacy these characters reach without many words and without being lewd. Rian Johnson, bravo!

The way Kylo Ren is just present, reassuring and nurturing as Rey relays her trip into the dark cave. This is a moment where he could stoke her negative emotions to the dark side. He doesn't though. He's completely emotionally present for her. Kylo Ren sits within his ship in a area that's lit with a soft blue light as he reaches towards her he's in the warm of the firelight. Now he is physically present for her.

Rey is completely raw. She's allowing herself to be seen emotionally naked. This is the first scene where she gives him something with free will. She gives him union.

She reaches out from underneath the blanket. He takes his glove off and they slowly, innocently, reach for each other. The eye contact they maintain as the force theme begins, we as the audience understand something profound is happening. Within them, in this moment, there is a balance in the force.

They both have a vision of one another. Ren sees her past. Rey sees a glimpse of his future. This is the moment for Reylo, they both said to themselves "we're never letting this go". Rian Johnson confirmed it's from this moment that Ren decides to kill Snoke because that's the only way to protect Rey from him. Rey shift her belief system to complete Team Ben. She doesn't have a plan when she goes to meet Ben within the First Order. She just has complete faith in him that when the moment matters he'll stand by her.

We arrive at the elevator scene and just prior when she arrive onboard the supreme in a coffin from the Falcon that has his calligraphy on it. It's their first interaction after that intense force bond.

She expresses her faith in him and the possibility of a future. This is the first scene where she walks up on him. She wants that closeness and connection now. He's closed off we come to understand later, he's become he's protecting his mind from Snoke understanding his true intentions. They both express what they saw in their vision and conviction that one will join the other. It's canon that in this moment Kylo Ren wanted to kiss Rey.

Snoke - It's not his story. Kylo Ren looked like a badass killing him. That's all we needed you for boo. However, I did enjoy the internal dialogue of Snoke that the novelization affords. Through the force Snoke can feel Kylo Ren's need for approval which is something that frustrates him. He can feel his conflicted nature for Rey and for the light. He can feel his pain and confusion when Snoke says he bridged their minds (he didn't). That was enlightening.

My favorite moment is right after Kylo kills Snoke and Rey and Kylo looks at each like

"You with me?"

"Yeah, I'm with you"

And they turn to face the pretorian guards. They are with each other, but they do have a misunderstanding on what that means.

The fight scene is great and beautiful. Kylo Ren is a supportive partner to her and she to him. Kylo support her body with his and he takes on the majority of the Pretorian guards. He has a moment when he checks in on her, she get's hurt, he's upset and scared but then centers himself. When he's in trouble she supports him. It's described in the novel that they can feel each other's emotions through the force.

(Couldn't find the gif of her getting cut)

[communistkenobi]

That original post you made about glass onion, the one where you said the end rung hollow, at the time I kinda disagreed with you because I viewed the end as an "LOL" moment rather than a morality moment but I did understand what you were saying and partially did agree with you. NOW I'm seeing like posts applauding glass onion as a genius endeavor of anti-capitalism and pro working class ideology and I'm like "well you all are just sucking Rian Johnsons millionaire dick what is going on." Like I'm seeing people take the movie as like... actual theory instead of just like a story to enjoy which is how I watched the movie?? Anyways the memeification of art contributes and also ruins so much of contemporary art. Still enjoyed glass onion tho, but the way people are talking about it makes me feel kinda annoyed

i know 😭 like I enjoy being pandered to as much as the next guy but that’s all it is. Which doesn’t mean it’s insincere, I’m not accusing rian johnson of tricking anyone, but like progressives are an economic block that you can make money off of! My clumsy definition of it as Rich People Being Horrible shows is more indicative of a broader turn towards more explicitly progressive politics in western (American specifically) media. My parents watch so many cop procedurals and every one of them now has a police brutality “plotline” or special episode. Banks have pride flags on them. etc. again I’m not saying don’t enjoy being pandered to, but don’t mistake it for anything other than the feeling of being a satisfied customer.

This is partially an outgrowth of the neoliberal idea that you can consume your way into a progressive state of affairs, that if you financially support the correct things and purchase the correct products you are “doing politics.” individually spending money, or organising boycotts online, seem to be the only real horizon of “direct action” for a lot of people. And I’m not saying that stuff is useless, but it is very much insufficient on its own. and so I think people making the claim that glass onion is radical are themselves publicly claiming to be doing good work by watching it. Again this is not nefariously done, I do not think people are being disingenuous, but they are taking their feelings of being pandered to as proof that their politics are correct in some broader way, and heralding the rising popularity of progressive values in bourgeois art as a sign that things are “getting better,” and all you have to do to make things get better is to watch this cool movie on netflix about rich people being horrible

[sweetdreamr]

I watch the Knives Out films and wonder if Rian Johnson is some kinda fucking genius

but then I watch The Last Jedi and I remember that him or someone on his team decided that a) this film needs less John Boyega in it and b) Kyle Ron deserves a redemption arc (I actually love redemption arcs but you gotta take your TIME with this stuff and write it rly well and they didn't).

Also, for the uninformed, less of John Boyega in a film is never a good creative decision.

[haley-alexandra]

Rian Johnson answering the question “would you ever do a musical?”

Interviewer: would you direct a musical?

Rian: I would direct a musical in a heartbeat.

Kate Hudson: Can Janelle and I be in it? Please.

Rian: Are you kidding me? I’m going to hell for not having you guys sing. In fact having you guys and Leslie in this one and there aren’t musical numbers. I’m going to musical… I’m going to movie hell. I mean I gotta atone: I would-I really want to do a musical at some point, I really would love to. I’ll probably yknow get the notion of doing a original one would be really fun. But I mean Sondheim.. I mean take your pick. At this point, there have been a lot of really good adaptions of his stuff but. God how interesting would it be for someone to adapt yknow, Assassins or adapt Company… or adapt Pacific Overtures. I know that some.. Merrily! There is a thread of Merrily We RollAlong throughout this one. I had… I was listening to it over and over when I was writing it. And loved the idea of a group… tracking a group of friend, when the friendship sours and so there’s actually a bunch of lyrics from Merrily woven through the script if you go back and look. Kathryn Hahn says ‘none of this is fair, congratulations. Now you know.’ And uh if you look when Hugh Grant.. “

Kate: you didn’t tell us this!

Interviewer: they don’t know this!

Rian: I told Kathryn this

Janelle Monáe: that’s the genius of Rian

Rian: and ya Old Friends, you’ll hear repeats of that. But when Hugh Grant opens the door you’ll see a Merrily poster on the wall back behind him. so un anyway, the answer is yes a musical.

[aggro-crap]

Every thought I’ve had while watching Glass Onion again

I have a million thoughts about Glass Onion and I need to get it off my chest!

First of all, I really need the people calling Blanc’s accent “bad” to just stop. He is from Louisiana...his name is fucking Benoit Blanc for fucks sake! That’s a Louisiana/Cajun accent. For those who don’t know, “southern” isn’t a singular accent the same way “european” doesn’t describe any specific accent. It’s a generalization. Every southern state has slightly different accents and cadences that define each region. 

SPOILERS PAST THIS POINT

So Miles Bron is obviously a clear depiction of Elon Musk, we see details hinting to other billionaires as well through wardrobe and props. The very first scene shows Claire getting her box from Miles delivered by an Alpha Courier van...Amazon Prime anyone? Even his clothes throughout remind me of billionaires like Musk and Steve Jobs. 

Duke’s mom calling him dookie cause he’s a piece of shit. And then casually solving the “genius” puzzles from across the room, she’s a treasure.

Yo-Yo Ma giving us a little lesson in classical music. This entire movie is a name drop.

Blanc in the bathtub on a zoom with Natasha Lyonne, Stephen Sondheim, Angela Lansbury, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. How the hell do they know each other? Did he solve cases for them? Does he know them through Phillip? And the hesitant denial when Phillip asks if he’s in the bath again is pure domestic excellence, that is his home now. 

As someone who worked retail throughout the pandemic, I had a visceral reaction to Birdie’s sparkly mesh “mask” (and then she has the audacity to say she can finally breathe again when she doesn’t have to wear it at the pool!?). With each mask and the way they’re wearing them (or not wearing them) we know exactly what kind of person each one of them is. Though I can’t quite figure out why Andi isn’t wearing one, either to facilitate the scene with that dramatic reveal or does Helen make the conscious decision to not wear it because Andi wouldn’t have worn it? Also high tech snap bracelets? Sure I guess. 

Approaching the island Lionel asks if the dock is a Bansky, and the captain says “piece of shit” and just lets him believe that’s the name of the island in greek. That shit is so funny. But also, wouldn’t having a glass dock be totally slippery and dangerous? Like I can just imagine his contractors telling him its dangerous and not advisable to have it set at low tide and him just being like I know more than you just do it my way!

The way Duke pimped out Whiskey to try to get Miles to do what he wants just kinda breaks my heart. It shows that he knows she’s smart and capable but the uncontrollable hurt on his face when he sees them hug is gut wrenching. I cannot believe I feel bad for this dude, Rian Johnson you are masterful.

The look on Miles’ face when he sees Andi arrive on the island and then when he sees her again after he shoots her is fucking priceless. It’s very ‘why won’t this bitch die?’ Either she chose not to tell him she had a twin sister or this is just another example of his stupidity. 

Derol. Just Derol. I saw someone else on here mention that he’s a personification of covid and it blew my mind. He’s always drinking Corona and saying ignore me I’m not here? Fucking genius. He almost accentuates the absurdity that is Miles Bron when he’s giving his little introduction speech and Derol walks through followed by the robot with everyone’s bags. I cackled!

Also I’ve never heard the term “flat tire” for an untied shoelace before and I will absolutely be using that from now on!

The hourly dong? Assigning rooms by chakra? His little bracelets and shit? Its screaming fake namaste bullshit.

Benoit is such a shady bitch for referring to the box as children’s puzzles having not really seen any of the puzzles because Helen smashed it. Easily one of my favorite moments in the whole movie. 

Jared Leto’s hard kombucha...

I’ve never met a person with a serious allergy, let alone deadly, that does not carry an epipen for emergencies, like wtf Duke? But that fancy lil gun you got there never leaves your side cause you never know what’s gonna happen right?

When Blanc tells Birdie “It’s a dangerous thing to mistake speaking without thought for speaking the truth” and her only takeaway is “Are you calling me dangerous?” Like girl if he is then he’s calling you dangerously stupid! Which is absolutely the truth.

Miles handing Peg a red solo cup is sending me through the roof. That motherfucker had to go out of his way to get that for her! There’s plenty of glassware in that room and he just had to give her a fucking plastic cup like she’s not worthy of anything more. I could’ve killed him right there for that tbh. 

The entire concept of Miles buying the Mona Lisa just because he can, and then installing his own override of the security built to preserve the most famous painting in the world which then becomes the reason it gets destroyed reminds me of Kim Kardashian ruining Marilyn Monroe’s dress for a fucking red carpet. She did it because she wanted to be associated with her, not out of love or respect for the actual piece of art. Don’t get me started about altering Michael Jackson’s clothes so her child can wear them. I’m not sure of the timeline but I think that was also something that happened after the movie was already done so I’m starting to wonder if Rian Johnson has some of that Simpsons prediction mojo.

I love how excited Blanc gets to reveal the mystery. Every time he is downright giddy, at least until he realizes how dumb Miles is which infuriates him because he hates dumb games.

Honestly building a literal glass onion on your own island because you miss you favorite bar where you met your friends and want to relive the glory days is one of the saddest and most pathetic billionaire antics I’ve ever seen. 

Why did Claire’s husband call her and she ignored it? Is that the moment he got the news about Andi’s death? But Duke doesn’t get the notification until after she leaves the room. 

I like how we’re constantly reminded of the Mona Lisa’s presence with the security door shutting in response to what’s happening in the room. It almost feels like an additional character. 

I just love how the second act starts at exactly the halfway point. It really satisfies my brain having so much time to go back and dig through all those glass layers.

Who’s out here thinking that Phillip is a professional baker with all that flour on his face?! That man is just doing his best in a pandemic with a partner that lives in a bathtub.

Janelle Monet is so fucking talented it hurts

I don’t like the way Birdie shouted at Andi on the boat that she shouldn’t be there. Like wtf. But I love when Birdie shows Peg the email and she immediately knows that Birdie didn’t actually mean any harm she is just so dumb she really thought sweatshops are just a place where they make sweatpants. Peg is a real one.

That little notebook stopped a whole bullet wtf?

Omg why can I feel that drop of hot sauce running down my face 

I really hope that after this at least some people start seeing through the lies and misdirection used by these billionaire con artists and politicians but I fear I may be asking too much of the general public. That’s why ben shapiro went on his little twitter tantrum about terrible writing or whatever. Like bro if you’re not smart enough to understand symbolism in cinema, especially when it’s literally spelled out for you step by step in this particular instance, then there’s this little thing called not saying anything at all. He just doesn’t want to be exposed for what he and others like him are actually doing. ~~misdirection~~

I’m sorry but if it were me I would’ve put that napkin in my pocket or something not just held it out for him.

Benoit Blanc really just gave Helen the tools to take that fucker down and just waited at the beach with Derol to watch it all burn. And finally smoke his cigar I’m so happy for him. 

If there’s one thing I respect about Birdie its the respect she has for these pieces of history being destroyed, even when Miles drops Paul Mccartney’s guitar on the beach she’s like so concerned and I feel that.

My take away from this is that I am already so excited for Knives Out 3, I could watch an infinite amount of these movies. 

[lume-nosity]

genshin characters as things i’ve said (pt. 3)

kaeya: zamn mamma you free this evening? *debby rian*

wanderer: ‘get away from me hoe’ as the hoe is defying the laws of gravity

childe: nah man fuck my boastfulness that completely drained my confidence

ganyu: i have risen from my nap, what is happening

chongyun: BUT WHAT IS THIS BREAK THE CHAIN ABOUT? “break the closet open” OR SOMETHING?

kaveh: we literally have fancy utensils, loud music that may kill my eardrums, waiters and waitresses, fancy food, and THEN WE HAVE A SMALL KID-SIZED CAKE?!

heizou: the bite of 87 is that kinlist

xiao: HIT ME, HIT ME MORTAL.

nahida: those who have many questions is actually called a child genius

diluc: spam the wonderhoy sticker again and i’ll end your bloodline

cyno: breaking the rules now are we.

yae miko: i’m about to write a fanfic in this bitch. rest in peace ig notes app

[ancelineonline]

Honestly one of the most exasperating things about being super out of practice with my writing is that like… I can’t make things work without the Flash Of Genius moment. Like I’m *really good* at taking a sudden inspiration and then banging out something quickly. I’ve always been good at that, it’s the baseline talent part that makes it easier to get into things.

However, I am *absolute trash* at anything vaguely resembling editing or reworking things. If something doesn’t appear, complete and fully formed, in my mind then it remains a vague and amorphous concept forever while I struggle miserably to get it into words.

And like… I’m creative and artistic in many areas. I’m deeply aware that any form of art is as much the moments when you’re plugging along, struggling to get the phrasing or the shading or the glazing or the stitch pattern right as it is the moments when it the perfect things just appear easily. Creative work is still *work* and it’s hard sometimes.

But I get so frustrated with myself because I used to be better at writing, back when I did it regularly. But like any skill, if you don’t use it, you get rusty. And I’m mad at myself because I want to not be rusty. And the only way to change that is to just … keep writing until I get used to it again.

Anyway this ramble brought to you by my annoyance because I cannot get my silly little fanfiction to do what I want it to. Please brain, I just want to make Rian and Atelut both miserable and happy and you’re Being Difficult about it. Rude.

[astrallouis]

Question for Miles is a moron, what do you think the throat spray actually was? Do you think he actually thought it was covid protection? Do you think he knew it was nothing and just used his image to lie to his friends to get what he wanted?

GREAT fuckin question. i havent thought on it too much since id mostly seen it from the filmmaking perspective of acknowledging covid in-universe without the everything that came with early covid and no vaccines yet but now u have me thinking.

(this got so long so im gonna put it under the cut oops)

first i wanna say im really mostly talking out of my ass since that scene was the last concrete point abt covid we really have outside of mentions like why miles has the mona lisa lmaooo anyway:

like i said miles really is a moron. everything he takes credit for he either hires someone for, steals their work, or lets them interpret his bullshit (like lionel w the faxes). so i think theres a couple possibilities.

he almost definitely went to someone to develop the throat spray, and its possible he actually asked or expected it to be Real and actually protective. but it being so early in the pandemic and over a year before the irl vaccine wld come out they probably told him its not possible. and theres the point where he could have done a couple things.

he could have 1) pushed whoever to just make it work like we see so many bosses and rich assholes like to do and it IS actually protective [very unlikely but we REALLY dont know much about what happens after the movie covid wise and how far rian johnson changes reality here]

b) done the above and whoever he hired lies to him and says it works when it doesnt, and he believes it works like you mentioned [more likely, but thats putting a moral decision on a person i made up two paragraphs ago lol]

iii) they told him it wasnt possible and he just told them to make a placebo instead and knows its fake like you said, using his image as a genius to manipulate his friends [most likely in my opinion, given everything else he does]

i really do think the last one is what happened. the efficient man doesnt answer blanc's question about what the spray is. all he does is say “youre good,” put the little slap bracelet on blanc, and move on. and we dont know much of miles' actual opinions on masks and covid iirc, besides being friends with both ppl like lionel who properly masks up and asks for elbows instead of a hug from birdie, and with duke who doesnt wear one at all and is. ukno. him. so theres that

all of this to say. miles bron really is just an entitled asshole who thinks he makes change when he doesnt and doesnt care abt consequences. i personally think he actively knows the spray didnt do shit but couldnt stand the idea of going a year without getting his ego stroked by those shitheads and would do anything he “could” to make it happen. this is also the same guy who just sent the 50 people it takes to run the island “home” in the middle of the pandemic which has implications about commuting and pods i dont even want to go NEAR since this is already too long.

tldr: hes a moron AND a manipulating and gaslighting bitch. the spray was probably just saline or whatever and he knew it. shithead

[laiqualaurelote]

Rules: Post 10 of your favourite movies and tag 10 people! Thanks @glamorouspixels for the tag. I’ve actually been thinking about this of late because I’ve listening to Brett Goldstein’s podcast Films To Be Buried With. These are in the order I watched them:

1. Lord of the Rings

My favourite films of all time, based on my favourite book of all time. Also I consider them to be one very long 11.5h movie (yes, I refer to the extended editions).

2. Chicago

One of the first movie musical adaptations I ever saw, which left an indelible impression on me. To this day I could probably describe the Cell Block Tango scene shot by shot. Catherine Zeta-Jones! 

3. Once Upon A Time In Mexico

This bonkers finale to Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi trilogy has everything. It has Antonio Banderas as a brooding guitar-playing hitman. It has peak Johnny Depp in the era when it was not weird to have a Johnny Depp phase. It has Salma Hayek looking absolutely smoking. It has Enrique Iglesias, whose guitar has a flamethrower. It has Danny Trejo! Willem Dafoe! Eva Mendes! Mickey Rourke! all playing these absolutely unhinged roles. I adore it. 

4. Sin City

So there are two Rodriguez films on this list, but I don’t think I could do without either. Sin City is perhaps one of the best graphic novel screen adaptations of all time. I was obsessed with this film from quite possibly too young an age, especially with Rosario Dawson as a dominatrix with a machine gun. It’s utter pulp and I’m not sorry.

5. Brick

I maintain this high-school neo-noir with baby Joseph Gordon-Levitt is still Rian Johnson’s best film, and this is despite the fact it was so low-budget they had to fake a transition by pulling a garbage bag over the camera and then playing it in reverse. It also contains a scene with a chicken jug that will live in my heart forever.

6. Singing’ in the Rain

Do they make them like this any more? They do not. I can’t begin to pick what I love most about this - the hysterically funny script, the OT3 vibes, the fact that nearly every musical number is a colossal achievement of its own (Donald O’Connor running up the walls in Make ‘Em Laugh! The tap-dancing in Moses Supposes! Cyd Charisse in that green dress in Broadway Melody!) or even just the comic genius of Jean Hagen, which could sustain an entire film on its own.

7. Inception

This film managed somehow to be both a cinematic masterpiece and fandom catnip, which is rare. As an architecture/urbanism geek who also loves heists and devastatingly competent men in suits, I feel like this film was made for me. Also, Arthur/Eames! One of my all-time ships. 

8. 28 Days Later

Best second-generation zombie film, for my money - both stunningly shot and horrifying. The way the final mansion massacre is filmed while John Murphy’s soundtrack builds on that eerie four-note crescendo - chills. Also, young Cillian Murphy and Naomie Harris! really the most beautiful zombie film ever. 

9. The Maltese Falcon

I dithered over whether to put this or The Big Sleep in the bracket of “classic book-to-film noir adaptation starring Humphrey Bogart” - I love them both equally - but went with this because it is, marginally, the better film (and the better book - Raymond Chandler could write the hell out of a novel but he could not tie up his plots). It also has the fantastic villain duo of Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet, as well as a young Elisha Cook Jr as the gunsel who gets played for a sap. That ending! “If they hang you, I’ll always remember you.” 

10. In the Mood for Love

This is, hands-down, the greatest film on this list. Definitely one of the greatest films ever made. Every single shot is a work of art. That iconic scene of Maggie Cheung buying noodles in a dark high-collared cheongsam, walking down a smoky alleyway swinging her tingkat to the strains of the plaintive violin of Shigeru Umebayashi’s theme, brushing past Tony Leung in his steam-rumpled suit - it gives me shivers. I’ll never be over the ending of this film. I’ll also never be normal about buying noodles.

So I’m not going to tag 10 people because I’m too tired but like talk about your favourite movies if you want to!