#the van scene is a heartbreakingly beautiful scene

[fruitbythefoot7]

will loves mike the way mike wants to be loved 

[finishinglinepress]

NEW FROM FINISHING LINE PRESS: Intrastate Lines by Alexandra “Zan” Delaine Hailey

On SALE now! Pre-order Price Guarantee: https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/intrastate-lines-by-alexandra-zan-delaine-hailey/

In a year of frequent intrastate travel, Alexandra “Zan” Delaine Hailey collected images of the #Virginia landscape, the arts, the music of rock and rave, fusing them together into a series of tightly crafted #poems. In Intrastate Lines, she takes readers on a meandering journey, capturing creatures, colors, tunes, and textures witnessed in #nature, on highways, backroads, and celestial pathways, each poem, celebrating a moment—treasured yet ordinary. Together, the poems form a meditation, a celebration of life—her life and ours.

Alexandra “Zan” Delaine Hailey (1992-2018)—writer, visual artist, dancer—served as an inaugural poet laureate in Prince William County, VA, 2014-2016. Her poet laureate project, “Ekphrasticize That!” focused on ekphrastic writing and art and inspiration from the letters of Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo. Hailey studied English and Creative Writing at Virginia Commonwealth University, where Gary Sange, Gregory Donovan, and David Wojahn helped her hone her poetry. Her writing has been published in The Northern Virginia Review, A Wreath of Golden Laurels: An Anthology of Poetry by 100 Poets Laureate, Written in Arlington, The Poetry Society of Virginia Centennial Anthology, New Departures: Write By The Rails Anthology, and Virginia Commonwealth University’s Focused Inquiry Textbook.

This book is funded in part by FLP’s One Last Word Program. ONE LAST WORD helps to bring the last works of gifted poets to the world.

PRAISE FOR Intrastate Lines by Alexandra “Zan” Delaine Hailey

Intrastate Lines is an open invitation to sink into the beautiful brevity and saturation of Alexandra “Zan” Hailey‘s work. Her voice floats like a ghost between the lines…speaking softly, but carrying great hope. Through the fragility of time and the impermanence of life, Zan unveils the quiet daily moments that are often overlooked but still yearn to be seen. Her poetry will let you taste summer clouds and leave you begging the bumble bee to show discernment, and kindness, when weighing down a petal. The world that she creates through her words is a revolving door that you want to step through again and again.

–Natalie Potell, Poet Laureate, Prince William County, VA, 2018-2220

Each of Zan Hailey‘s poems is a love letter to life: perceptive, spare, melodic. Like various parts of a musical score flirt with each other, some being repeated but in a different key or to a varied tempo, Zan’s poems speak to one another and to the reader. Whether she observes without judgment or describes beauty so it’s somehow even more heartbreakingly beautiful, each poem is both its own song as well as a chorus of travelers celebrating life.

–Kathy Smaltz, Poet Laureate, Prince William County, VA, 2016-2018

As I wander down the roads that lead me to when I was your teacher, Zan, I marvel at your window on our world of beauty. I look up at your blossoming sun, your bulbous clouds, and celebrate my days with you as you began writing your magical poems.

The readers of your lines here will find soothing pleasure in following you as you paint your scenes that are harnessed with rainbow language.

You are the teacher as we reach to find our own quiet scene and react to these lovely ekphrastic and nature poems.

–Alice K. Mergler, Prince William County Educator & Poet Laureate Circle Coordinator

Please share/repost #flpauthor #preorder #AwesomeCoverArt #read #poems #literature #poetry

[neurodivergentcosmos]

Opera Streams I’ve Seen So Far Ranking March 20-May 20

I’ve been spending the lockdown watching operas! I haven’t talked about my love for opera on Tumblr before and I’d really like to start doing that more! I’ve loved opera since I was 9 and I’ve been taking professional voice lessons to sing classical art song (since 14) & then also opera (since 17) (not pursuing music as a career though, more for personal joy). I’m a soprano but I also sing some mezzo material. So here’s a list of the 8.5 opera streams I’ve seen up to May 21! 1 (tie) Met La fille du regiment w/ Natalie Dessay & Juan Diego Florez: AH. AH. AH. My absolute favorite romance. The love between Marie (the canteen girl/mascot of a French regiment) & Tonio (young man from the other side) is so wholesome and good, and Natalie & Juan just have wonderful chemistry together. I was invested in their story from beginning to end. Definitely one of two of the most hilarious operas I’ve ever seen. I was practically dying of laughter from the interactions between Marie & her main father figure Sulpice to the music lesson scene. My heart broke when Marie was forced to leave the regiment BUT HAPPY ENDING DID HAPPEN YES YES YES. I loved how Natalie portrayed Marie as a “tomboy.” Natalie as Marie gives me a lot of gender euphoria feelings for my non-binary soul; her freedom in her army outfit & her discomfort in her dress really got me. Most importantly, this is the opera where I heard Juan for the first time. I’m in love w/ his voice. It was how he sang Tonio’s “Pour me rapprocher de Marie” aria where he pours out all his love for Marie  that did it for me. I was totally transported by his voice. When he hit the high C sharp at the end, I felt my breath leave my body for a moment and I was suspended in time for a brief moment & all there was in the world was the bliss of that note. & when the note ended, I came back to my body w/ a lasting sense of awe. It’s so hard to discover such a moment & I did.

1 (tie) Met Le Comte Ory w/ Florez, Diana Damrau, & Joyce DiDonato: The other most hilarious opera I’ve ever seen. OH MY FUCKING GOD I WAS ABSOLUTELY LOSING IT. By far the most wild experience watching opera I’ve had. I actually really liked that there wasn’t much plot b/c I could focus on the hilarity & music. Diana looked like a queen in all of her dresses & I may have loudly sighed “DIANA!” for the whole house to hear when she hit her first high E flat. My friends & I also screamed Joyce’s name a few times whenever she did an amazing run. God they’re the best trio. Juan playing Ory in disguise as a nun killed me. THE THREESOME SCENE MY GOD. My jaw was on the floor. I bet I could watch a million times & the joy of watching it would never get old. 2 Met La Cenerentola w/ DiDonato, Florez, Luca Pisaroni, Alessandro Corbelli, & Pietro Spagnoli: Officially my favorite version of the Cinderella story. I enjoyed the plot of Don Ramiro (the prince) & Dandini (the valet) switching identities & getting to be in on it. I wish there were way more women though. I could listen to Joyce do the coloratura runs in Angelina/Cenerentola’s final aria for days. Angelina just deserves the world & the portrayal of her as an abuse survivor felt very real to me. While scenes exploring that were at times difficult to watch, I appreciated seeing a production that to me actually addressed that part of the Cinderella story that I haven’t seen in other depictions of Cinderella so far. I’m intrigued by Angelina’s decision to forgive her abusive family b/c I’d struggle w/ that if I was in her position & I love that she makes her own choice. My fave aspect of La Cenerentola was that Ramiro was a fully fledged passionate character. I could write a whole post about him about the way he eschews social norms in some ways & how this makes him & Angelina’s love a more equal relationship. Ramiro throwing a chair at Angelina’s abusive family in rage over how they treated her made me feel a lot. Love this opera so much. 3 Met Un Ballo in Maschera w/ Marcelo Alvarez, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Sondra Radvanovsky, & Kathleen Kim: ALL THE MUSIC IN THIS JUST WOW. Dmitri & Sondra both took my breath away w/ their voices in their duet. I was in awe of Sondra’s sound during her big aria. W/ Dmitri especially I just adored his vocal color & the way he completely embodied Renato in such a heart shattering way that I felt so much for Renato even when I was angry at him. Kim as Oscar is officially my 2nd fave trouser role (next to Le Comte Ory’s Isolier); Oscar was so adorable. I enjoyed watching Alvarez’s infectious overconfident energy as Riccardo & then his character development in the final act. 4 Met Werther w/ Jonas Kaufmann, Sophie Koch, & Lisette Oropesa: Most visually stunning opera production I’ve seen so far. A review I read described this production as more Charlotte’s story than Werther’s story, & I really loved how that centered Charlotte’s perspective. I really like that the opera allows characters’ actions & intentions to be ambiguous & open to interpretation. However, I do feel that the production didn’t explore enough certain aspects of Werther’s character such as his yearning for family. Jonas & Sophie have incredible chemistry & I could feel the tension every moment of their scenes. I must give a special mention to Jonas being incredible at singing soft. YES. & he’s a wonderful actor.  5 Zurich Werther w/ Florez & Anna Stephany: Very different production & I’d say it emphasizes Werther’s story. My absolute favorite thing about this production was that it centered how Werther’s search for love w/ Charlotte is also very much a search for the family he may not had experienced before. In that way, Werther singing “O Nature” looking at Charlotte’s family instead of literal nature made so much sense to me. While I think that some of the production’s concepts could’ve been executed better, the production’s attention to family as a theme & Juan’s portrayal of Werther were wonderful. I won’t compare Juan & Jonas’ vocals to each other b/c their voices are completely different from each other in terms of tenor voice type & thus what they each bring to Werther vocally is so different. I love both of them as Werther very much. Juan brings a lot of fiery passion to Werther that is intense & amazing to experience. 6 Met L’Elisir D’Amore w/ Matthew Polenzani, Pretty Yende, Ildebrando D’Arcangelo, & Davide Luciano: While not my favorite opera comedy, there were many funny scenes. Ildebrando as Dulcamara & Pretty as Adina were my favorites vocally & dramatically. I was very gay for Adina in her dress & top hat combo. I especially love that she still wore the top hat while in her wedding dress! Matthew was a great fit for Nemorino & the way he sung on “Una furtiva lagrima” was beautiful. 7 Met Macbeth w/ Anna Netrebko, Zeljko Lucic, Rene Pape, & Joseph Calleja: This was very good, but I personally didn’t feel emotionally connected to the action & characters. I love how Lady Macbeth is centered & Anna is a good actor. Rene as Banquo was my absolute favorite in this. OH GOD I LOVE HIM. MY FAVORITE BASS. I am in love w/ his vocal color & that he can sing w/ great power but also heartbreakingly soft. AH RENE.   8 1st hour & a half Met Idomeneo w/ Polenzani, Alice Coote, Nadine Sierra, & Elza van den Heever: I really wanted to like this one, especially as I’ve sung Mozart before plus I’d heard that Matthew is great in Mozart. Matthew & Elza were my favorites and I could not take my eyes off of them when they were on stage. Matthew as Idomeneo is absolutely up there among the best acting I’ve seen in opera. Elza as Elettra was incredible vocally & dramatically & I loved her chaos. Personally, I could only get the 1st hour & a half b/c the plot for me needed more forward momentum & this is mainly a production staging & libretto issue. So that’s the operas I’ve watched so far! Thank you for reading & I look forward to watching more!

[allthingsfern]

The movies from the “I was tagged” post

I am gonna kinda do what Bud @bwwhitney​ did and share what movie each photo is from. Sorry that I added so much detail, but all y’all know I love this shit.

BTW, I tried to choose films (and/or GIFs/images) that were not my usual I have posted here before. I have many films I watch often. 

1. Mata Hari (That is Garbo in the GIF. One of her best films, though heavily melodramatic. Yet, as with most of her Hollywood films, her presence elevates it to art. And yes, I cry like a baby during the conclusion. However, the film that breaks me down from the moment it starts to the very end is her Camille. Really, I cannot even talk about it much because I start sobbing, even though it is a silly story about a prostitute and her obsessed young lover, but the way the film tells the story takes my breath away. Anyway, I saw this GIF and could not resist it, since it exemplifies Mata Hari’s hyperbolic ridiculousness of trying to make Garbo into a goddess, which she always was. MGM studio heads rarely realized all Garbo really ever had to do was just look at the camera and make millions of us swoon. She was a Goddess because she was so intelligent, so talented, that she knew how to discretely let her beauty reflect and magnify her gifts to us mere mortals.) 

2. Human Capital (I cannot say much about this since I only saw it once, but loved it. Fabrizio Gifuni, who is in this GIF, was also in The Best of Youth, a 6 hour mini-series I have seen 3 times. Great actor in this brutal depiction of how ravaging human greed and ruthless lust for power can be. Heartbreakingly insightful. This one is on my rewatch list.)

3. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (One of the few musicals I deeply love; one of my all time favorite films. That is Jane Russell in the GIF. I thought the guy was and Mariska Hargitay's dad, but no. FYI, in this movie, Jane Russell does a superb, funny impersonation of Monroe. It is a loving tribute to her costar.) 

4. The 10th Victim (From one of my all time favorite films, which I have posted about several times here, this is a rarely seen brunette Ursula Andress. She is only a brunette during the opening credits and then comes the big BANG BANG surprise, which, coincidentally, was spoofed in Austin Powers. BTW, I used this movie in my gender and media class a couple of times and the students loved it. This movie has kinda a cult following among young folks. Who knew?) 

5. Key Largo (Bacall & Edward G. Robinson, from one of the most upsetting scenes, EVER. He is a really nasty gangster in this movie, absolutely putrid. He leans over and whispers something in her ear, while he is holding a gun. Hot stuff for a film from the 40s. The GIF is her reaction.) 

6. Funny Face (Another one of the few musicals I adore and another one fo the movies I have written about here several times. I chose this one GIF because it is a short clip from the opening credits. I believe the woman on the swing may be the 40s/50s supermodel, Dovima, the woman in Avedon’s iconic elephant fashion photo. BTW, Dovima has a small role in the beginning of movie, playing a brainless model.)

7. Casino Royale-1967 (Another one of my all time favorites, it includes a scene with Ursula Andress and a Hasselblad. What more does a movie need to be great, I ask you? Okay, I know this movie has issues, but there is something alluring about it, something elegantly sensuous, beyond sexual about it--especially when Ursula Andress is on the screen--so I am not bothered by its flaws. And then there is “The Look of Love,” one of the most romantic songs, ever. OMG, indeed.) 

8. Bring It On (Another one of the movies I have posted about here a couple of times. One of the best films about class & race in the US, I also used this movie in my gender and media classes a couple of times.) 

And “jazz hands” for fellow Bring It On fan  @amymontico​:

9. McLintock! (One of two early 60s John Wayne films I still love. This one and North to Alaska are two of the films I first saw in Miami’s Tower Theater, which was in our neighborhood. This was during my first year living in Miami, before my parents came to the US. I also recall seeing Blue Hawaii and Midnight Lace there during that time. I AM old... OH! And that is, left to right, Yvonne de Carlo, John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara.) 

10. The Great Lie (Not sure why this movie is not better known, because it is a brilliantly passionate melodrama. Bette Davis and Mary Astor share a couple of months and their immense dislike for each other in a lonely cabin in the dessert. The details of why they hate each other and why they are in the dessert are juicy, so I am not going to spoil it.)  

11. What a Way to Go! (Shirley MacLaine gets to wear what seems like 5000 over the top Edith Head mid-60s costume designs. This is a solid romantic comedy, not great, but very good. Visually rich, sometimes ridiculously so, but that is the point of the film. Also, it has several stories and each one is done in a different cinematic style. Love this movie. Like Casino Royale, 1967, I understand this film is flawed, but I love rewatching it. The film also stars Dick Van Dyke, Dean Martin, Paul Newman, Robert Cummings, Robert Mitchum, Gene Kelly, and an older Margaret Dumont, who was the society matron in several classic Marx Brothers movies.)

[hoboonthetracks]

Introducing (the) Ben Reddell Band and their upcoming record, ¡LA Baby!

To be honest you may not need much of an introduction to Ben as he is the quintessential urban cowboy.  Born and raised in Texas, he now lives in the citified jungle of LA's Echo Park and both of these environments are reflected in his music.   LA Record's Chris Ziegler described the band like this, "If you saw the film Heartworn Highways, and if you laughed and then tried not to cry at all the appropriately hilarious and heartbreaking moments, you're primed for Ben Reddell's band. They'll ready the beer if you've got the tears."   Ben Reddell is a linchpin of the Los Angeles roots music scene. Along with leading the Ben Reddell Band, he hosts a weekly live show (before the pandemic) called The Grand Ole Echo,  and he is also known for playing bass in Leslie and the Badgers, Elijah Ocean’s band, with indie pop band, GospelbeacH AND on Rod Melacon’s Southern Gothic album. But this is his band and wow are they good.  This is Townes Van Zandt with a grin on his face, a youthful and exuberant Guy Clark with just that occasional hint of sorrow in his strong, clear baritone voice. But it isn't just the voice. The music is staring down on pretty much anything you'll hear this year saying: "Not bad but this is what really great music sounds like." All songs are written by Ben Reddell (Produced by Jon Neimann at Mono Deluxe Studios), arranged by the brilliant Elijah Ocean and Ben Reddell with Travis Popichak on drums, bass © Ocean and with the utterly incredible Joe Bourdet on guitar. And that is before you get to keyboardist Jon Neimann (GospelBeacH), pedal Steel from Matt Pynn (Billy Ray Cyrus, Jaime Wyatt, Ringo Starr) and a swinging accordion from Jeremy Long. This is one serious band and you can only imagine how good they would be in a live setting. From the first note of opening track My Baby to the final bonus single Hey this is one great raving party. Hooks a plenty - Cocaine is edgier but still a blast whilst the pedal steel on Tumbleweed is from the heavens. Twelve Bar Blues does and doesn't do what it says on the tin but whatever it is it is heartbreakingly beautiful while If You Love Her and You Need her will see you dancing around the house/bar/porch. LA Baby! was a long time coming and is a step forward for Reddell who said: “My last EP was released 2012 and back then I was trying to find ways to meld country, R&B, and indie rock into something that would work with the east LA indie scene. This record is more about where I am now.  It’s unapologetic in its country voice, but it’s me now living in LA after 18 years.  This city will eat you whole and spit you out, but if you’re lucky, it doesn’t. I feel like these tunes are a celebration of not letting the demons of this city get you down.”“This record is about joy and love and feeling free,” he muses. “I think the past year has been beyond hard on all of us.  And this record was started before all of that, when I was extremely happy and free. I think that breathes through these tunes, and I hope it brightens the day of whoever listens to it.” 

It will most certainly brighten your day - so get the beers in. The Ben Riddell Band are the Hobo's favourite outfit right now and this is exactly the music we need right now!   

BEN REDDELL ¡LA BABY!

A 6-Song Country Music EP Reflecting L.A.’s Urban Attitude is released on July 9, 2021. For all the info check out the band’s website here

[glenngaylord]

MY MOMENTS OUT OF TIME IN FILM 2019

Instead of a Top 10 List, every year I like to honor a long-discontinued but influential annual column from Film Comment magazine. I couldn’t wait for my father to come home from work with the “Moments Out Of Time” issue.  The writers would cite their favorite scenes, images, or lines of dialogue, even from films they may not have liked, because let’s face it, even bad films may have a great moment or two.

The year brought us so many wonderful films.  Parasite wowed me with its ability to surprise while telling an important story about class divisions.  I think Once Upon A Time In…Hollywood will stop me in my tracks over and over again with its immersive deep dive into late 1960s Los Angeles.  The female-on-female gaze gets a workout in the stunning Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, while Jojo Rabbit masterfully walks a tightrope between hilarious and moving.  Watching Eddie Murphy return firing on all cylinders in Dolemite Is My Name remains one of the most joyous movie experiences of the year. Yet, even I can’t see them all, but here, in no particular order, are my Moments Out Of Time in film for 2019:

A door opens, someone calls out “Honey?”, as the plot veers off in a jaw-droppingly unexpected, biggest WTF of the year direction, turning a light class comedy into something far, far, deeper- Parasite

Upon the assassination of JFK, his enemy, Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) orders the half mast flag in front of the Teamsters' Union to be raised back to its standard position.  As Hoffa looks up at the flag, this chilling, diabolical scene feels like the end of civil society as we know it - The Irishman

“Climb in my fur” - my favorite line of dialogue last year, cementing Jennifer Lopez’s Ramona as an iconic film character who can take sexual innuendo and turn it into an invitation for friendship - Hustlers

“That was the best acting I’ve ever seen in my whole life” - dialogue runner up as a young actress (Julia Butters) whispers into the insecure but committed actor Rick Dalton’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) ear, causing him to weep uncontrollably and giving him the recognition he’s always craved - Once Upon A Time In…Hollywood

A boy spies a flitting butterfly and stands up to get a better look, notices a pair of shoes next to him, and in an instant his entire life heartbreakingly changes - Jojo Rabbit

A vacationing family looks out their window to see…themselves…lined up and waiting to invade their home - Us

A gate which will no longer close on its own.  Two estranged parents and their child manually slide it shut with the barrier separating them from each other.  The battle lines have been drawn with deft precision - Marriage Story

A woman stares at another across a theater.  They have a history.  The symphony plays a striking, propulsive piece which both women know so well.  A searing two minute close-up of the women she sees betrays her anguish, the pain, the missed opportunities, and the suffering of a woman who society demanded could not be herself - Portrait Of A Lady On Fire

Best final scene of the year: Two best friends sit in a car curbside at an airport.  They awkwardly exchange awkward pleasantries even though we can tell they’re really going to miss each other.  A delicate cover of “Unchained Melody” plays over stellar performances of Kaitlyn Dever walking away and Beanie Feldstein looking forelorn, both conveying that painful moment when high school besties part.  Then, suddenly remembering it’s a hilarious comedy, Feldstein almost crashes into Dever, who gets back in the car and they decide they have enough time to get pancakes.  Feldstein yells, “F*ck yeah!” as we smash cut to black - Booksmart

While he’s wanted inside at his premiere, Rudy Ray Moore can’t walk away from the fans waiting outside the theatre, choosing instead to give himself over to them and melting everyone’s hearts, including mine, in the process - Dolemite Is My Name

Wait!  This guy is at your Passover Seder?  You’re related to him?  Now I’m scared - Uncut Gems

A milked cow.  A barn.  A dogfight up in the skies above.  A knife. Two soldiers foraging for food, safety, and a chance to survive the next minute.  Everything changes. - 1917

Matthew McConaughey as Baker Dill (!) spends most of his time howling to the heavens or completely naked, and for these reasons, I will never forget this terrible, amazing film experience - Serenity

When she forgets the words to her signature song, the audience sings them for her, making us all realize that even though she was close to death, the memory of her will never fade away - Judy

Normally, I’d be delighted to open my window and see Isabelle Huppert staring at me from across the street, but here, it’s a hauntingly nightmarish image - Greta

Julianne Moore sings along to an Air Supply song in her car and somehow manages to make her lapse in taste seem heartfelt - Gloria Bell

I love comedic moments built from repetition or missed connections.  When Jack (Himesh Patel) can’t get his parents to sit still for a moment so that he can convince them he wrote the song “Let It Be”, his incredulousness and frustration strikes comedy gold - Yesterday

A young writer negotiates her terms with a publisher, gloriously finding her voice and her power at a time where such bravery seemed impossible - Little Women

A drunk, lonely, middle-aged woman dances alone in a small town honky tonk to Leon Russell’s “Out Of The Woods”, giving us a glimpse into her less austere past - Diane

A dildo with a retractable switch blade - Knife + Heart

What do the sounds of Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s songs look like?  A man crashing out of a window and joining a dancing flash mob at a carnival to “Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting” felt alive and electric, Yet, even more so, in a moment achieving some level of transcendence, Elton (a fantastic Taron Egerton) falls sideways off of a diving board into a pool where his boyhood self plays the title song on a piano at the bottom.  That we somehow end up at Dodger Stadium where a sparkly Elton greets his fans and flies up into the stratosphere makes his classic soar - Rocketman

A grunge pop star/recovering addict (Elizabeth Moss), not too dissimilar to Courtney Love, sits at a piano and performs a sober rendition of Bryan Adams’ “Heaven”, stripping away the outrageous bravado to quietly break out hearts - Her Smell

“Agency” seems to be on everyone’s lips when describing dynamic, plot-driving lead characters, but Leo’s (star in the making Félix Maritaud) choices don’t fit into a standard box.  His decision, like it or not, is all his. - Sauvage/Wild

In a film filled to the brim with unforgettable, emotionally-laden images, its final shot of a man rowing a boat across turbulent waters moved me to tears - The Last Black Man In San Francisco

To learn from a documentary that the Ten Commandments monuments on display in front of many City Halls across the U.S. resulted from a Charlton Heston-led publicity tour for his 1956 movie epic is to realize, painfully so, that sometimes Hollywood and not the Churches, ruins everything! - Hail Satan?

Although, sooner or later, most of us will end up in a patch of dirt, some long for that moment more than others and find beauty in it - High Life

Watching Laura Dern pull off one of the most notorious literary scandals of modern times gives us one of the most original kicks of the year in a scene with an interviewer.  She hides in plain sight as a novelist pretending to be the terribly British Manager to Kristen Stewart’s fake face of the same novelist in order to build mystique and sell more books - J.T. LeRoy

Who knew that a CGI-animated film for the whole family would have the most bone-chilling sequence of the year?  But there it was in an antique store with Gabby Gabby and the creepy ventriloquist dummies - Toy Story 4

A woman enters her drab Chinese hotel room only to be asked if the U.S. is better by the anxious bellboy.  Afraid to offend him, she merely tells him it’s different.  The things we do to ease the pain of the less fortunate. - The Farewell

Three women.  An elevator on its way to the chairman’s office.  The sideways glances.  The knowledge they all have of what awaits them.  A silent sisterhood until Nicole Kidman’s Gretchen Carlson awkwardly comments, “Hot in here”.  The year’s best calibrated scene - Bombshell

An out gay actor, Mark Patton, confronts the writer of the film which ruined his career and gets an apology.  The years of pain written across his face don’t go away, but a little weight of the world gets lifted from his very relieved, very courageous shoulders - Scream Queen!  My Nightmare On Elm Street

While Tarantino played around with historical revisionist wish fulfillment, director Mary Herron and writer Guinevere Turner tapped into female rage in telling the story of the Manson murders.  When Hannah Murray as Leslie Van Houten carries out one of the murders, screaming as she plunges a knife into someone, we get a rare glimpse into finally understanding what brought her to that point - Charlie Says

After Lily Collins’s Liz demands, “ Release me…what happened to her head?” as a way for doomed serial killer Ted Bundy (a chilling Zac Efron) to admit his guilt, he finally writes with his finger on the glass prison visitor’s window which separates them, one frightening word, “Hacksaw” only to wipe it away immediately - Extremely Wicked Shockingly Evil And Vile

A gay white man and his straight, non-English speaking Latino handyman bond over Madonna’s “Borderline” in the back seat of an Uber.  Matt Bomer’s angsty character finally relaxes and connects with this adorable man (Alejandro Patiño) doing ridiculously cute seated dance moves - Papi Chulo

A young woman rushes to her apartment bathroom and in a seamless transition, she emerges down the aisle of a plane headed for Sweden - Midsommar

Sometimes one can derive great pleasure from a film by simply listening to how Adam Driver says the word “ghouls” - The Dead Don’t Die

An actress known primarily for her own murder gleefully watches herself on the big screen in a Westwood Village movie theater, and in that moment, we finally experience the gorgeous humanity and not the horrendous end of this lovely person - Once Upon A Time In…Hollywood

When you have an icy, almost robotic main character, you need Alfre Woodard to masterfully play drunk and show you all of her other shades - Clemency

I don’t care if the film felt like a xerox copy of the original or if the CGI ruined everything, because Billy Eichner’s Timon arrives at a now barren, picked apart Pride Rock and blurts out,  “Talk about a fixer-upper. I think you went heavy on the carcass.”  - The Lion King

When was the last time you saw a film where a character stops the action to demand of another, “I want you to know about me!”? - The Peanut Butter Falcon

A young Irish indentured servant in 1825 Tasmania watches helplessly as a soldier kills her baby just to stop its crying, and that’s only the beginning of a long line of justifications for her rage - The Nightingale

Nothing like a well-placed coffee mug to illustrate your main theme in the final image of your movie - Knives Out

Tracy Letts’ Henry Ford II feels the sheer power of one of his race cars and provides the most beautiful, unexpected crying scene of the year - Ford v. Ferrari

The funniest crossing a busy freeway scene since Eddie Murphy attempted it in 1999’s Bowfinger - Good Boys

A split second choice at what should have been a routine traffic stop changes the lives of our unlucky, racially profiled, sweet, smart but “not a match” Tinder date protagonists - Queen & Slim

A passport inspector asks, “Purpose of your visit?”  The young man replies, “I’m going to see Bruce Springsteen’s hometown.”  As he stamps his papers, the inspector responds, “I can’t think of a better reason to visit the United States than to see the home of The Boss” - Blinded By The Light

A horribly brutalized gay man wafts to shore only to see the haunting image of a scary clown reaching out to perhaps save him?  Nah, he’s a midnight snack - It Chapter 2

A young child, caught between his parents arguing over the phone, conveys painful messages to the supposed adults in the equation - Honey Boy

Sometimes an unreturned text can send you spiraling so far out of control that you ruin your life and everyone else’s around you - Waves

That last moment of bliss between a husband and wife right before their quiet mountaintop hamlet gets invaded by the sounds of planes overheard and the Nazis arriving to recruit them - A Hidden Life

You may have gotten in shape, but without true growth, the fat girl inside you won’t hesitate to shame another - Brittany Runs A Marathon

Gabriel Luna wins the award for sexiest performance in a terrible movie as a new killing machine decked out in tight pants and a killer stare - Terminator: Dark Fate

A mentally disturbed aspiring comic turned homicidal maniac disastrously makes his late night talk show debut, posing ominously backstage, skipping out with a bizarre tap twirl flourish, and then…well…like a true comic…he kills - Joker

Alec Baldwin, in a stunning monologue, basically shows us the early rise of people like Donald Trump, as all sense of hope gets sapped away - Motherless Brooklyn

An old sailor and his new charge stare down the camera right at us, somehow letting us know that we have no idea what bleak is, so hold on tight - The Lighthouse

A farmer (a never better Bill Camp) barges in on a corporate lawyer to get him to investigate the dying cattle in his hometown.  From such humble beginnings comes something which affects every single one of us - Dark Waters

An aspiring Scottish country singer sneaks away from her Grand Ole Opry tour group to sing alone on the main stage and perhaps get discovered. When she learns that everybody does that, she realizes she isn’t that special after all - Wild Rose

Biggest cinematic moment of dread: When a Chinese billionaire reopens a shuttered Ohio GM plant and hires back some of the workers at half their salaries and without benefits, you know you’ve just boarded a slow moving train to hell - American Factory

Did he do it?  Is he a terrorist?  Or is he a good guy?  How much of his tragic past is still present within him?  That final image will keep me guessing forever - Luce

A devoted Chinese Communist Party Member and abortion specialist knows she can never redeem herself from the part she played in ruining so many lives - One Child Nation

You may take issue with the implications that her real life character traded sex for intel and that she’s no longer alive to defend herself,  but Olivia Wilde gave one of the most vivid, exciting, ballsy performances of the year - Richard Jewell

An actual minute of silence in a film would normally be its death knell, but when Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers demands it, we rethink our own hurried, impulsive lives - A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

Sure she overdid it.  Yes she had an odd, hairy, uncanny face and strangely manicured nails for days.  Overwrought doesn’t even begin to describe it, but when she hits that big note and belts out, “Touch me / It’s so easy to leave me / All alone with the memory / Of my days in the sun”, damned if I didn’t snot cry right along with her - Cats