#why is Guillermo not mad? he's too shocked

[anney-baker]

[emotionsofthesoul]

Chapter 11 _ La Tormenta

“La tormenta dejara daños irreparables en el corazón…”  - La Tormenta by Aventura

-

It was the first of November. Neither girl could have seen the storm that was about to hit. They had spent the night at the Carvajal loft in midtown. Neither one thinking this would be the day everything would change. They had fallen asleep more in love than ever. They watched scary movies until they both fell asleep holding onto each other. Neither thinking the real nightmare on L St was about to begin.

When the girls awoke both of their phones had over 100 missed calls, voicemails, and texts from their families and people from the media.

Guille’s message to Valentina was brief but protective, “Vale I don’t know what you just got yourself into but please be careful. If you need me to go pick you up call me.”

Guadalupe's on the other hand just said, “Come home NOW. We need to talk.” She had weekends off so she was waiting for her daughter to come home.

“What happened, why is everyone freaking out?” Juliana said running a hand though her hair and looking to Valentina for answers.

“You were right… someone was following us last night… they snapped this picture of us kissing right after we left the restaurant…” Valentina said trying to seem calm for Juliana’s sake but doing a horrible job at it. They had just been outed to the world.

“What are we gonna do?” Juliana said as her eyes filled with tears and what was more than evident, fear.

“Juliana, I need you to breathe. We knew this could happen, I am a public figure. We’re going to be okay.” Valentina tried to reassure Juliana.

“WE did not know this. We… who is we… I had no idea this could even happen!” Juliana said in full panic mode.

“Baby. Juls. Please, calm down. We need to think our next moves through…” Valentina said.

“HOW ARE YOU SO CALM ABOUT THIS! WE JUST GOT OUTED TO THE ENTIRE PLANET! BEFORE THIS NO ONE EVEN KNEW WHO THE HELL I WAS!” Juliana yelled in frustration.

“Mira Juliana… calm down… it’s done, there is nothing we can do to reverse that now. I am willing to fight whoever I need to fight just to be with you. I agree, it’s not the right time and this is not how I wanted this to happen but it did and now we have to face this together. I need you need to hear me out, now. I love you Juliana Valdes. You are the woman that I love. I need you to breathe. Let me fix this. Please.” Valentina said softly.

“Val… what are my parents gonna say?” Juliana said allowing herself to cry into Valentina’s shoulder.

“It’s okay baby. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there okay. Right now I need to make a few phone calls to make sure we can leave safely. Okay. I need you to relax chiquita.” Valentina said rubbing Juliana’s back in circles and running her fingers through her girlfriend’s hair.

After a few phone calls Valentina made arrangements for Guillermo to come get them and take them to her father. Juliana had calmed down enough to get herself together. Valentina said she would later send for Juliana’s car.

“Chiquita, I’m sorry. How can I make this easier for you? How can I help?” Valentina said caressing Juliana’s cheek.

“I’ll be okay Val. Together, you and I are stronger together. We’ll get through this.” Juliana said allowing herself relax into Valentina’s arms trying to believe her own words.

“Esa es mi niña.” Valentina said as her phone began to ring indicating her brother was outside. “Ready? We have to go…”

“No… but I don’t really have an option do I?” Juliana said with a faint smile.

As soon as they stepped in the parking garage Guillermo was waiting for the girls right at the door. There were hundreds of reporters and paparazzi outside the garage ready to invade their personal space.

“Girls, duck down the flashes are about to get crazy. Be prepared.” Guille said looking at his little sister and Juliana through the rearview mirror.

“I’m not ashamed Guille, I’m not gonna duck, let them come at me.” Valentina said holding Juliana protectively.

“Okay but protect Juliana, she’s not ready for this lifestyle.” Guille said realizing this meant more to his sister than he imaged.

Once they reached the exit the lights and voices got more aggressive and loud. Valentina held her head high not backing down to the scandal. She held Juliana close to her covering her face. This was not how she wanted this to happen but she had to protect her girlfriend at all cost against whoever may come for them.

“How mad is he?” Valentina asked her brother referring to their father.

“You’d be surprised… he’s not mad at all. He actually came to your defense this morning in a press conference.” Guille said driving towards the offices.

“What? Dad? What did he say?” Valentina said in complete shock.

“Look for yourself.” Guillermo said handing her his phone.

Leon: Please understand this is a private matter.

Reporter 1: But who is that girl? Is she a gold digger trying to get the family money? Where did she come from?

Leon: How dare you. That girl is one of the most genuine human beings to come into this family. Get that reporter out. I will not allow any of you to attack my daughter or her partner.

Reporter 2: So they’re together?

Leon: That’s for them to figure out and decide. Who are we to choose for them? Who are you to tell them what is wrong and what is right? I find it disgraceful that someone dare follow my child and out her and her friend without their permission. You and I do not have the right to use our power to destroy others. I will stand by my daughter no matter what. She is the strongest young lady I know and she will come out of this stronger than ever before. You have no power over her. She is stronger than even she knows. She is wiser and she knows exactly what she is doing and what she is feeling.

Reporter 3: So you support gay marriage?

Leon: Yes, I do. I never thought my child would be in a same sex relationship but that is no reason to turn my back on her. I love her as she is and I trust her. She has taught me from a very young age that love is love and love conquers anything. No more questions.

When the video was over Valentina had tears streaming down her face. She silently handed the phone back to her brother and cuddled into Juliana who simply held her and allowed her to finally feel the extent of the emotions this situation truly caused.

They drove in silence for the next 5 minutes. Guille repeatedly looked back at the two girls in his backseat being there for each other and making one another calm. Once they arrived to the parking structure he opened the door for the girls. He hugged his baby sister as tight as he could whispering how proud he was of the woman she was becoming and telling her everything would be okay. Then he proceeded to hug Juliana and thank her for taking care of his sister and to not allow the world to come between them if this is something they truly want to fight for.

Once they reached the ground floor the girls headed to the main conference room to meet with Leon, Lucia, and Eva. Valentina held Juliana’s hand proudly all the way to her family. She held her head high and exuded complete confidence. Juliana simply allowed the other girl to lead the way.

“Hasta que llegaste hermanita.” Eva said in a sarcastic tone.

“I’m glad you guys are safe.” Lucia said walking over the girls and embracing the two of them. “Are you guys okay?”

“How are they going to be okay, look at them. They know exactly what they did. I want you out of here now! Get as far away from my sister or else I’ll do it myself!” Eva said trying to contain her anger but allowing the venom to leave her lips regardless.

“She’s not going anywhere and if you so as dare are touch her-” Valentina was saying getting tense and defensive.

Leon cut her off by saying, “Evangelina Carvajal, in this family we protect each other and now the girl holding your sister back is a part of it. So if you want to be cut off from the entire family, keep going, if not I recommend you stop spewing all that venom now. That’s enough!” He said slamming his hand on the table.

“Come here baby.” He said gently to Valentina who ran to him and began to sob.

“Shhh it’s okay. Everything is going to be okay. We’re going to get through this together like we always do.” He said as he rubbed her back.

“I saw what you said this morning. Thank you for not hating me.” Valentina said in a low timid voice.

“Hey, no, baby. I could never hate you for being who you are. I already knew about you two and that didn’t change how I feel about you. If anything it made me love you more. Your mother would be so proud. She always taught you to be you and not who anyone else told you to be. I’m proud of you.” Leon said which only made Valentina more emotional.

Juliana didn’t know what to do and felt completely uncomfortable there and out of place. She was relieved and happy that Valentina’s family took it so well but she was very concerned as to how her parents would react.

She was lost in thought when she finally heard Valentina calling her and now standing right in front of her. “Juls… my dad was asking if you’re okay but I mean clearly you’re not. Come here.” Valentina said pulling Juliana in for a hug.

“Juliana, I know this is all too much to take in right now and it’s definitely not going to get easier anytime soon. So I need to know, do you need me get you extra security? Is it safe to go home? How can I help you?” Leon asked the girl calmly.

“What is with you and this family? How is everyone so calm? I’m freaking out. My parents are going to kill me and disown me. I have to kiss my dreams of studying goodbye. I have to go pack up my things as soon I get home. They will never accept this. I don’t know what we were thinking Valentina… this is just too much…” Juliana said voicing her fear as her voice began to crack.

“Nos pueden dejar solas, please.” Valentina said firmly not looking anywhere but Juliana’s eyes.

Once everyone walked out she hugged her girlfriend. “Let it out Juls. Please, just allow yourself to feel. Allow yourself to cry. You need to get this out, don’t bottle it in. Don’t push me out. Please.” Valentina said also letting down her walls.

They simply held each other and cried for what felt like ages.

“I love you. You need to know that. I do love you. This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever felt in my entire life. I’m just not sure we’re ready for this. I don’t know if I’m ready for this.” Juliana said whispering the last sentence and breaking Valentina’s eye contact.

“Juliana, mirame.” Valentina said lifting Juliana’s chin gently. “This is the most genuine and real thing I’ve ever felt and I don’t want to let it go. I don’t want to let you go. I’m not willing to lose you. I will do whatever you ask me to. I love you and I’m not afraid to say it, to shout it from the rooftops. You told me once, ‘if you’re in, I’m in,’ now I’d like to make you the same offer.” Valentina said sticking out her pinking.

Juliana simply nodded and linked her pinky to Valentina’s.

“Pacto?” Valentina said looking Juliana in her big chocolatey eyes.

“Pacto.” Juliana said.

“Okay, then let’s face this together. All the way through. Together. I mean that, even with your parents.” Valentina said holding Juliana’s face.

“Okay.” Juliana whispered softly.

Valentina captured Juliana’s lips in hers as a way to comfort the girl. They called Leon and Lucia back into the conference room once they were able to compose themselves.

“Esto es lo que vamos hacer, I’m going with Juliana to face her parents. I’ll give them their space to talk after they hear us out and I’m bringing her back with me to the loft because she will be safer with us.” Valentina said thinking everything out.

“Wait, Val. I need to talk with my parents. I can’t just talk and then stay with you. They would never agree to that. They won’t even want you near me. I can’t let you just take me in.” Juliana said trying to get through to Valentina.

“It’s not taking advantage. I think it’s the best plan of action. You’ll be safer from the press with us than at home. I will go with the two of you to speak with your parents. It’s the least I could do.” Leon said agreeing with his daughter.

“I just… I don’t know-” Juliana said when Valentina cut her off.

“Juliana! Dejate querer! I honestly just need you to be safe, I don’t even need to stay there if you don’t want me there but I do need to know that you’re safe and the best place for you is with me and my family.” Valentina said frustrated.

“Well you two are going to have to explain that to my parents because you don’t know El Chino, you can’t tell him anything when he’s pissed.” Juliana responded knowing she couldn’t and honestly didn’t want to win this argument.

[aion-rsa]

Best Horror Movies Streaming on HBO Max

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Editor’s Note: This post is updated monthly. Bookmark this page and come back every month to see the new horror movies on HBO Max.

What ever would we do without horror?

So much of our day to day life is built around logic and known, verifiable facts, and for some, the rest of the time must be supplemented with comforting reassurances that everything is going to be alright. Well if the last year has taught us anything… that’s not the case. Perhaps this is why horror hounds know the best way to face abstract fears is to confront them head on… and preferably with a screen in the way.

So, with Halloween around the corner, we figured it’s time to get in touch with our illogical, terrified animal brain. That’s where horror and horror movies in particular come in. Gathered here are the best horror movies on HBO Max for your scaring needs.

Alien

“In space, no one can hear you scream,” the tagline for Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi/horror epic promised. Well maybe they should have screened this thing in space because I’m sure all that audiences in theaters did was scream.

Alien has since evolved into a heady, science fiction franchise that has stretched out for decades. The original film, however, is a small-scale, terrifyingly claustrophobic thriller.

Altered States

What if you could tap into the vast swaths of the brain you never use? What if you did and didn’t like what we found? And what if it was an absolute psychedelic rush of a cinematic experience?

All three questions are answered in their own way during Ken Russell’s Altered States, a wild sci-fi thriller. In the film, William Hurt stars as a psychologist who begins experimenting with taking hallucinatory drugs while in a sensory depravation tank.

Yes, he manages to expand his consciousness; he also begins to expand his physical body as it transforms beneath his skin. Or does it? Well that’s yet another good question…

An American Werewolf in London

Arguably the definitive werewolf movie, John Landis’ 1981 horror masterpiece has the single greatest on-screen lycanthropic transformation in movie history… and that’s only one of its appeals.

Peppered with loving references to the werewolf movies that came before it and a few legitimate laughs to go along with the scares, An American Werewolf in London is remarkably knowing and self-aware, without ever flirting with parody.

Not enough can be said about Rick Baker’s practical effects, which extend beyond the aforementioned on-screen transformation and into one of the most gruesome depictions of a werewolf attack aftermath you’re ever likely to see. A classic of the era, it still can get under the skin whenever Griffin Dunne’s mutilated corpse rises from the grave to warn his friend to “beware the moon.”

New Line Cinema

Blade II

Perhaps Guillermo del Toro‘s schlockiest movie, there’s still great fun to be had by all in Blade II. As a sequel to the 1998 vampire actioner that starred Wesley Snipes as the titular “daywalker,” Blade II builds on the lore of the first film and its secret underground society of bloodsuckers who Blade must do battle with.

However, del Toro heightens both the Gothic lunacy of it all, as well as the horror quotient. Truly there are few sights as gross in vampire lore as Luke Goss’ Nomak, a new type of monster whose face opens like a flower, revealing a gaping hole of fangs and tongue…

The Brood

I bet you never thought placenta could look so tasty, but when Samantha Eggar’s Nola Carveth licks her newborn clean you’ll be craving sloppy seconds within the hour. She brings feline intuition to female troubles. We get it. Having a new baby can be scary. Having a brood is terrifying. Feminine power is the most horrifying of all for male directors used to being in control.

David Cronenberg takes couples therapy one step too far in his 1979 psychological body-horror film, The Brood. When it came out critics called it reprehensible trash, but it is the writer-director’s most traditional horror story. Oliver Reed plays with mental illness like Bill Sikes played with the kids as Hal Raglan, the psychotherapist treating the ex-wife of Frank Carveth (Art Hindle). The film starts slow, unfolding its drama through cuts and bruises.

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Cronenberg unintentionally modifies the body of the Kramer vs. Kramer story in The Brood, but the murderous munchkins at the external womb of the film want a little more than undercooked French toast.

Carnival of Souls

Carnival of Souls may be the most unlikely of chillers to appear in the Criterion Collection. Hailing from the great state of Kansas and helmed by commercial director Herk Harvey, who was looking for his big break in features, there is something hand-crafted about the whole affair. There’s also something unmistakably eerie.

The story is fairly basic campfire boilerplate, following a woman (Candace Hilligoss) who survives a car crash but is then haunted by the sound of music and visions of the ghoulish dead–beckoning her toward a decrepit carnival abandoned some years earlier–and the acting can leave something to be desired. But the dreadful dreamlike atmosphere is irresistible.

With a strong sense of fatalism and inescapable doom, the film takes an almost melodic and disinterested gait as it stalks its heroine to her inevitable end, presenting images of the walking dead that linger in the mind long after the credits roll.

The Conjuring 2

Making an effective, truly spooky mainstream horror film is hard enough. But The Conjuring franchise really nailed things out of the gate with a sequel that is every bit as fun and terrifying as the original.

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Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring 2. This time the Warrens head to Great Britain to attend to the Hodgson family, dealing with some poltergeist problems in their Enfield home. The source of the Enfield haunting’s activity contains some of the most disturbing and terrifying visuals in the entire Conjuring franchise and helped to set up a (sadly pretty bad) spinoff sequel in The Nun.

Doctor Sleep

Let’s be up front about this: Doctor Sleep is not The Shining. For some that fact will make this sequel’s existence unforgivable. Yet there is a stoic beauty and creepy despair just waiting to be experienced by those willing to accept Doctor Sleep on its own terms.

Directed by one of the genre’s modern masters, Mike Flanagan, the movie had the unenviable task of combining one of King’s most disappointing texts with the opposing sensibilities of Stanley Kubrick’s singular The Shining adaptation.

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And yet, the result is an effective thriller about lifelong regrets and trauma personified by the ghostly specters of the Overlook Hotel. But they’re far from the only horrors here. Rebecca Ferguson is absolutely chilling as the smiling villain Rose the Hat, and the scene where she and other literal energy vampires descend upon young Jacob Tremblay is the stuff of nightmares. Genuinely, it’s a scene you won’t forget, for better or worse….

Eraserhead

“In Heaven, everything is fine,” sings the Lady in the Radiator in Eraserhead. “You’ve got your good things, and I’ve got mine.”

You may get something short of paradise, but the insular world David Lynch created for his 1977 experimental existential horror film is a land of mundane wonders, commonplace mysteries, and extremely awkward dinner conversations. Lynch’s first feature film is surrealistic, expressionistic, and musically comic. The minor key score and jarring black and white images bring half-lives to the industrial backdrop and exquisite squalor. At its heart though, Eraserhead is poignant, sad, and ultimately relatable on a universal level.

Jack Nance’s Henry Spencer is the spiky-haired everyman. He works hard at his job, cares deeply for his deformed, mutant child, and is desperate to please his extended family. Lynch lays a comedy of manners in a rude, crude city. The film is an assault on the senses, and it might take a little while for the viewer’s brains to adjust to the images on the screen; it is a different reality, and not an entirely inviting one, but stick with it. Once you’re in with the in-laws, you’re home free. When you make it to the end, you can tell your friends you watched all of Eraserhead. When they ask you what it’s about, you can tell them you saw it.

Eyes Without a Face

“I’ve done so much wrong to perform this miracle,” Doctor Génessier (Pierre Brasseur) confesses in the 1960 horror film Eyes Without a Face. But he says it in French, making it all so much more poignant, allowing it to underscore everything director and co-writer Georges Franju did right. We feel for the respectable plastic surgeon forced to do monstrous things. But the monster behind the title character is his young daughter Christiane (Édith Scob). She spends the majority of the film behind a mask, even more featureless than the unpainted plastic Captain Kirk kid’s costume Michael Myers wore in Halloween. The first time we see her face though, the shock wears off quickly and we are more moved than terrified. 

Like Val Lewton films, the horror comes from the desolate black-and-white atmosphere, shrouding the claustrophobic suspense in German Expressionism. Maurice Jarre’s score evokes a Gothic carnival as much as a mad scientist’s laboratory. After his daughter’s face is hideously disfigured in an accident, Dr. Génessier becomes obsessed with trying to restore it. We aren’t shown much, until we’re shown too much. We see his heterograft surgical procedure in real time. A woman’s face is slowly flayed from the muscle. The graphic scenes pack more of a visceral shock after all the encroaching dread.

From Dusk Till Dawn

Some movies have such a gonzo left turn between acts that audiences will either go with it or throw their popcorn at the screen in disgust. For most viewers, including us, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s From Dusk Till Dawn is happily the former. An absolutely wild mash-up of the gangster genre that both filmmakers were redefining in the 1990s and the type of schlocky grindhouse thrills they worshipped at 1970s drive-ins, From Dusk Till Dawn is one of the strangest and most satisfying vampire movies ever made.

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With a story that improbably pairs Tarantino and George Clooney as on screen brothers, the flick recounts how the duo’s notorious Gecko Brothers kidnap a nice Christian family ruled by a doubting pastor (Harvey Keitel) in order to sneak across the Mexican border. But once there, the strip club they choose to spend the night in has the unfortunate gimmick of being run by ancient vampires, including Salma Hayek as the Queen of the Undead. It’s batshit good fun, and a far better tribute to grindhouse cinema than the Grindhouse double-feature the same filmmakers would partner on a decade later.

Godzilla

As the original and by far still the best Godzilla movie ever produced, this 1954 classic (originally titled Gojira), is one of the many great Showa Era classics that the Criterion Collection and HBO Max are making readily available to American audiences. And if you want to watch one that is actually scary, look no further.

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In this original uncut Japanese form, the movie’s genuine dread of nuclear devastation, as well as nightly air raids, less than 10 years since World War II ended in several mushroom clouds, is overwhelming. Tapping into the real cultural anxiety of a nation left marred by the memory of its dead, as well as the recent incident of a fishing crew being contaminated by unannounced hydrogen bomb testing at Bikini Atoll, Godzilla encapsulates terror for the atomic age in a giant lizard. But unlike the sequels there is nothing cuddly or amusing about this original Kaiju with its scarred body and legion of tumors. This is the one Godzilla movie to play it straight, and it still plays today.

The Invisible Man

After years of false starts and failed attempts at resurrecting the classic Universal Monsters, Universal Pictures finally figured out how to make it work: They called Blumhouse Productions.

Yep, Jason Blum’s home for micro-budgeted modern horror worked wonders alongside writer-director Leigh Whannell in updating the classic 1933 James Whale movie, and the H.G. Wells novel on which it is based, for the 21st century.

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Turning the story of a man who masters invisibility into a horrific experience told from the vantage of the woman trying to escape his toxic violence, The Invisible Man becomes a disquieting allegory for the #MeToo era. It also is a devastating showcase for Elisabeth Moss who is compelling as Cecilia, the abused and gaslighted woman that barely found the will to escape, yet will now have to discover more strength since everyone around her shrugs off the idea of her dead ex coming back as an invisible man…

Lifeforce

Most assuredly a horror movie for a very acquired taste, there are few who would call Tobe Hooper’s career-destroying Lifeforce a good movie. There probably aren’t even many who would call it a fun movie.

But for those with a singular taste for batshit pulp run amok, Lifeforce needs to be seen to be believed: Naked French vampire girls from outer space! Hordes of extras as zombies marauding through downtown London! Lush Henry Mancini music over special effects way outside of Cannon Films’ budget!!! Patrick Stewart as an authority figure possessed by said naked French space vampire, trying to seduce an astronaut via makeout sessions?!

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… What is this movie? Why does it exist? We don’t know, but we’re probably more glad it does than the people who made it.

Magic

As much a psychological case study as as a traditional horror movie, for those who like their terror rooted in humanity, Magic may be the creepiest iteration of the “killer doll” subgenre since this is about the man who thinks his dummy is alive. Starring Anthony Hopkins before he was Hannibal, or had a “Sir” in front of his name, Magic is the brain child of William Goldman, who adapted his own novel into this movie before he’d go on to do the same for The Princess Bride (as well as adapt Stephen King’s Misery), but after he’d already written Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Marathon Man.

In the film, Hopkins stars as Corky, a down on his luck ventriloquist who tries to get his life together by tracking down his high school sweetheart (Ann-Margret). She’ll soon probably wish he didn’t bother once she realizes Corky believes his ventriloquist dummy Fats really is magic… and is determined to get him to act on the most heinous of impulses.

The Most Dangerous Game

Before King Kong, Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack released The Most Dangerous Game, one of the all-time great pulp movies, based on a short story by Richard Connell. This classic has influenced everything from Predator to The Running Man, The Hunger Games to Ready or Not.

It’s the story of a big game hunter who shipwrecks on a remote island with an eccentric Russian Count who escaped the Bolshevik Revolution (Leslie Banks). The wayward noble now drinks, studies, and charms his apparently frequent array of unannounced guests, including two other survivors from a previous (suspicious) wreck. The film quickly boils down to a mad rich man determined to hunt his guests as prey across the island for the ultimate thrill.

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Man hunting man, man lusting after woman in a queasy pre-Code fashion, this is a primal throwback to adventure yarns of the 19th century, which were still relatively recent in 1932. Shot simultaneously with King Kong, this is 63 brisk minutes of excitement, dread, and delicious overacting. Let the games begin.

Night of the Living Dead

“They’re coming to get you, Barbara!”

The zombie movie that more or less invented our modern understanding of what a zombie movie is, there is little new that can be said about George A. Romero’s original guts and brains classic, Night of the Living Dead. Shot in black and white and on almost no budget, the film reimagined zombies as a horde of ravenous flesh-eaters, as opposed to a lowly servant of the damned and enchanted.

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Still visually striking in black and white, perhaps the key reason to go back to the zombie movie that started it all is due to how tragically potent its central conflict from 1968 remains: When strangers are forced to join forces and barricade in a farmhouse to survive a zombie invasion, the wealthy white businessman is constantly at odds with the young Black man in the group, to the point of drawing weapons…

The Others

Alejandro Amenabar (Open Your Eyes) wrote and directed this elegant ghost story. Nicole Kidman is superb as Grace, who relocates herself and her two small children to a remote country estate in the aftermath of World War II. Their highly structured life — the children are sensitive to sunlight and must stay in darkened rooms — is shattered by mysterious presences in the house.

Amenabar relies on mood, atmosphere and a few well-placed scares to make this an excellent modern-day companion to classics like The Haunting and The Innocents.

Ready or Not

The surprise horror joy of 2019, Ready or Not was a wicked breath of fresh air from the creative team Radio Silence. With a star-making lead turn by Samara Weaving, the movie is essentially a reworking of The Most Dangerous Game where a bride is being hunted by her groom’s entire wedding party on the night of their nuptials.

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It’s a nutty premise that has a delicious (and broad) satirical subtext about the indulgences and eccentricities of the rich, as the would-be extended family of Grace (Weaving) is only pursuing her because they’re convinced a grandfather made a deal with the Devil for their wealth–and to keep it they must step on those beneath them every generation. Well step, shoot, stab, and ritualistically sacrifice in this cruelest game of hide and seek ever. Come for the gonzo high-concept and stay for the supremely satisfying ending.

Sisters

One of the scariest things about the 1972 psychological thriller Sisters is the subliminal sounds of bones creaking and muscles readjusting during the slasher scenes. Margot Kidder plays both title characters: conjoined twins, French Canadian model Danielle Breton and asylum-committed Dominique Blanchion, who had been surgically separated. Director Brian De Palma puts the movie together like a feature-long presentation of the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. The camera lingers over bodies, bloodied or pristine, mobile or prone, with fetishistic glee before instilling the crime scenes in the mind’s eye. He allows longtime Hitchcock composer Bernard Herrmann to assault the ear.

De Palma was inspired by a photograph of Masha and Dasha Krivoshlyapova, Russian conjoined twins with seemingly polarized temperaments. There may be no deeper bond than blood, which the film has plenty of, but the real alter ego comes from splitscreen compositions and an outside intruder. The voyeuristic delight culminates in a surgical dream sequence with freaks, geeks, a giant, and dwarves. Nothing is as it seems and an out-of-order telephone is a triggering reminder.

Vampyr

A nigh silent picture, Vampyr came at a point of transition for its director Carl Th. Dreyer. The Danish filmmaker, who often worked in Germany and France at this time, was making only his second “talkie” when he mounted this vampire opus. That might be why the movie is largely absent of dialogue. The plot, which focuses on a young man journeying to a village that is under the thrall of a vampire, owes much to Bram Stoker’s Dracula as well as F.W. Murnau’s Nosferatu from some years earlier.

Yet there horror fans should seek Vampyr out, if for no other reason than the stunning visuals and cinematography. Alternating between German Expressionist influences in its use to shadows to unsettling images crafted in naturalistic light, such as a boatman carrying an ominous scythe, this a a classic of mood and atmosphere. Better still is when they combine, such as when the scythe comes back to bedevil a woman sleeping, trapping us all in her nightmare. Even if its narrative has been told better, before and after, there’s a reason this movie’s iconography lingers nearly a century later.

Wes Craven’s New Nightmare

Some do not count Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, the seventh film in the Nightmare on Elm Street saga, as actually part of the series. As a gleefully meta exercise in self-awareness and self-critique, the film shirks off continuing the narrative from the last batch of Freddy Krueger movies, the last of which had the title Freddy’s Dead. Rather writer-director Wes Craven, returning to the series for the first time as director since the original, attempts to wrestle the horror icon back from pop culture. When Craven and actor Robert Englund created Freddy in 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, the fiend was a menacing, demonic child murderer. By 1994, he’d turn into a kid-friendly pop culture personality and huckster.

Read more

Movies

Best Modern Horror Movies

By Don Kaye

Movies

Nightmare on Elm Street: Is Dream Warriors the Best Freddy Krueger Movie?

By David Crow

With Englund on board, as well as the original film’s star in Heather Langenkamp, New Nightmare has the knotty concept of being about Langenkamp playing a version of herself: an actress who did a slasher movie 10 years ago and is still in some ways haunted by it. In real life she faced a stalker calling her at all hours of the night; in the movie, it’s Freddy. Or a Demon who’s taken the shape of Freddy… it’s complicated. The movie’s reach may exceed its grasp in terms of artistry, but at the very least Freddy was scary again for one last time. And the film’s ambition in crafting a waking nightmare of movies bleeding into our reality is still impressive.

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[romancevsreality-blog]

vanderpump rules, season six, episode five: oh, silk handerchief dresses, you died before you could really live.

This episode begins with syllabic noises being uttered over a musical beat, and we’re at Katie and Tom’s apartment, where Sandoval is briefing Jax on the shenanigans of the evening thus far. He’s drinking a Miller Lite, and Schwartz comes in, looking as disheveled as ever. Like, his boyish charm is wearing off quickly, and having a shirt unbuttoned one too many. As soon as Katie comes in, she dismisses the fuck out of Jax, who leaves on his motorized cooler.

I repeat: a motorized. Cooler.

THIS MAN IS 457 YEARS OLD, I’m shocked it took him this long to get on a motorized anything. Like, honestly, I’m not even going to make comment on it being a beer cooler on wheels because that’s far too obvious, but Jax could have spent this on his retirement money. Priorities, Jax. Priorities. Katie tells Tom he needs to cut the incessant drinking to the point of blacking out right then and there, and he’s like, “No, you can’t tell me shit.” She actually asked him to do something that would keep him from cheating on her and he said no. He acknowledged that his drinking caused him to do behaviors he never would sober, but he can’t bring himself to stop it, even if his relationship had to suffer because of it. Katie’s right to point out how fucked up that is and storms out of the room and I’m REALLY MAD because you all know how much I hate being on Katie’s side in anything, ever.

Oh, I guess we get the rest of that musical cue because it goes like I WON’T BACK DOWN, I’LL RISE TO THE TOP, RISE, RISE TO THE TOP. Good to get some kind of closure on that, I guess.

We’re at Sexy Unique Restaurant, where Brittany and Jax have arrived together, and Lala’s there for her first day back. Lisa enters the restuarant and immediately is like, “Lala, it’s your last chance,” because Lisa loves to make everything in this show about her.

Brittany goes to ask Jax for a Strawberrini, which sounds as awful as the hangover it likely induces, and Jax asks her if she still wants to have a housewarming party even though their relationship is on thin ice. Brittany doesn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable, but Jax mostly just wants to make sure he can control Brittany’s environments and who she spends time with in order to make sure she sticks around. He’s such a dick, I hate him so much. They’re going to try to have a fun time with their friends. Nothing else.

And that’s when I notice:

ARE THE SILK HANDKERCHIEF UNIFORM DRESSES GONE??????????????????????????

Has the torture finally ended? Katie and Brittany are both wearing black v-neck shirts with gold Sexy Unique Restaurant logos. I think it’s finally occurred. I’m hyperventilating. Katie takes the opportunity to remind us of how awful she is and goes to Lala to ask why she’s talking shit about Katie’s relationship with Tom. And Lala’s like, “Well, Scheana said you were talking shit about my relationship, so I got defensive.” And Classic Katie who loves to blame women for everything doesn’t hold herself accountable for what she said, but instead she gets mad at Scheana for repeat what she said to Lala… and then she apologizes to Lala for saying what she said. Lala tells Katie the entire story of what happened with Tom and her friend and Katie’s upset.

Lala’s the best. Honestly. She could have held this over Katie’s head but as soon as Katie apologized, Lala immediately wanted to tell Katie what she knew and see how Katie was feeling about it all. Some people have issue with Lala’s feminism, but at the end of the day, she really just cares a lot about people in general.

Lisa orders half a glass of rose from Jax at the bar, and Jax pours her an entire glass, because in his 240 years of existence, Jax never once learned what half is, or even how to pour a glass of wine, apparently. Katie sits down with Lisa to talk about what’s going on with Schwartz, and they’re both having second-thoughts. Lisa’s not going to put up with Schwartz’s immature behavior in her business, and she doesn’t think Katie should in her marriage.

The next day, Lisa is wearing her Business Glasses with her pink pussy bow top and Harrison under her arm. She got a ticket and couldn’t charm her way out of it1 and she’s there to compliment Stassi for her job on Guillermo’s party - but that doesn’t mean Stassi’s hit the big time enough to plan a party for Harrison, Lisa’s pomeranian. We wouldn’t want Stassi to get a big head or anything. Stassi tells Lisa about Jax and Brittany’s housewarming for some reason, and they’re both like, “... So are they back together, because they shouldn’t be.” I especially loved when Stassi was like, “I’m anxious and I don’t want to go,” and Lisa was like, “You don’t have to,” and Stassi was like, “Yes I do, I want to watch!” because I am always that girl.

If the likelihood drama is going to go down at your party is high, so is the likelihood I’ll attend. My presence is a present.

Schwartz, Sandoval, and Jax are going to a Paint-and-Sip painting class, and I think it’s funny because Jax used to drink with all the classic painters - Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Da Vinci2 - so this is just something he’s used to. The plan was to have a Hunter S. Thompson-esque day of male debauchery, but that’s turned into a paint and sip class on a Wednesday afternoon where they might do shots. Tom “isn’t drinking” because he doesn’t want to go back to Katie wasted, but that doesn’t stop him from doing a shot of absinthe with the rest of the group.

Okay, admittedly - every Friday for about a year I went to the bar around the corner from my apartment and drank either a beer or a glass of wine along with a shot of tequila. It was my go-to order, and it brought me peace of mind. I’m not completely against the entire concept of shots. But also, it is clearly light enough outside to know it’s the middle of the day and no resepectable adult is taking shots of absinthe at 3:30 in the afternoon, even if it is at a paiting class. Then again, these grown men are painting penises on their painting aprons, so my advice would go in one ear and out the other.

On top of it all, Kristen, Brittany, and Katie are out getting drinks, and they’rea also starting with shots in the middle of the afternoon. Hell, they’re doing what looks like whiskey or Fireball shots. Brittany’s still hopeful that Jax can change on his own despite what her brain is telling her. They go back and forth between Jax and the Toms and Brittany and the Ks’s talking about their respective issues. Jax thinks all Brittany needs is a good dicking down and he’s out of the dog house, Katie wants Tom to stop being Peter Pan, and Tom really thinks this all about what he did, and not the actions that led him to that point. Schwartz won’t admit to doing anytihng, but he can vehemently deny the idea of admitting to doing something because it would be a lie. It makes no sense.

Kristen is so drunk already and she really wants to make sure Katie is okay with Lala being at Brittany’s housewarming party - wait, doesn’t Jax fucking hate Lala? Katie’s okay with Lala being there because Lala isn’t her target anymore - she moved it onto Scheana. Because Katie’s mad that Scheana told Lala about the shit Katie was talking about Lala’s relationship and blurts out that she and Scheana might have more in common than Scheana thinks. Everyone apparently knows that Rob, Scheana’s boyfriend, is making out with other girls. One of the Sexy Unique Restaurant Servers saw Rob making out with another girl at another restaurant and also flat out denying that he even had a girlfriend in the first place.

Oh my god, Scheana’s butt is so flat. Like, I’ve never seen a butt that was both big and flat like hers, it’s so bizarre. Scheana’s in love, though, and she’s preparing for a dinner party with Rob, her dream man2~ Rob has an enormous house in Beverly Hills and Scheana’s having a private chef cook for the two of them and Tom and Ariana3. Tom, Ariana, and Scheana are all looking at Rob like #goals because he’s got this amazing house and a real job that doesn’t have them cleaning up someone’s blood at least 1x a week. Let’s just put it this way - it’s really obvious why Scheana’s interested in Rob. Rob gives a toast that’s going to be put on some fake distressed wood and sold to fifteen year old girls at HomeGoods.

All three of them are salivating over Rob, and Scheana’s letting her I Have A Rich Boyfriend Flag fly. Her thirst is palatable. She makes a dig at Shay and the life they used to have whenever possible and talks about how she and Rob can’t get married for a least a while because she’s still married to someone. She literally has a countdown to her official divorce date.

Considering these two broke up not even five minutes after this episode aired, nothing is surprising.

Back at Katie and Tom’s apartment, he’s brought his painting of Tom Sandoval and lies about drinking within two minutes. Katie tells him that Lisa is pissed at him and he can’t stop joking. He’s not taking any of it seriously, and he’s being a dick. My favorite part of all of is this clearly Tom is doing his self-deprecating under-the-breath thing, and Katie’s just... refusing to engage. She’s holding him accountable for the shit he did when he was drunk and not flying into a rage and thus he looks like an asshole. Which he is, but he’s used to having Bad Gal Katie4 to play off of and be the sympathetic one.

Ariana and Lala are at Sorella, and Ariana’s doing my favorite friend thing wherein which you pull out something tacky and your friend is like “I have that!” It’s happened to me plenty of times. I still laugh at it. Ariana wears a Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century outfit, and I really don’t even udnerstand the kind of aesthetic a person who shops at Sorella is. They talk about the constant cycle of Jax and Brittany - how Jax fucks up, Brittany gets mad, Jax puts on a puppy dog face and winds up rewarded for his bad behavior.

What follows is a great scene between Ariana and Lala, the only two girls I would ever want to mildly associate with on this show. Ariana’s talking about how she’s not interested in any type of sex whatsoever with Tom or anyone else, and a lot of that stems from insecurities from an ex-boyfriend who bodyshamed her5. Men are gross. Lala apparently looks herself in the mirror every single day and thanks each and every part of her body, flaws and all, because you should be thankful and appreciative of what you have. I mean, she’s thankful to her “kitty cat for taking the D like a champ.”

Lala might be this show’s saving grace. She’s so sweet to Ariana in a way that seems genuine.

Katie and Tom bring their dogs, Butter and Gordo6 to Vanderpump Dogs, where Lisa is pretending she works and just so happens to be there. As soon as Tom walks in, she has this face that says I Mean Business and Tom knows he’s in trouble. Basically it’s a chance for Lisa to get some screentime and tell Tom she thinks he’s irresponsible - if he’s getting blackout drunk and cheating on his wife, how is she supposed to trust him with a bar? It’s a reach, but she’s gotta show up one way or another. Tom goes downstairs and expects Katie to feel bad for him but if Lisa’s disappointed, Katie’s definitely disappointed. Tom apologies for upsetting Katie (wrong) and kisses her cheek.

GROW UP TOM. Stop eating Lean Cuisines.

Brittany, Scheana, and Kristen are preparing all kinds of drunken treats for the housewarming party - Jell-O shots, drunken gummy bears, the works. Kristen’s already drunk and sitting on top of the picnic table Brittany and Jax inexplicably decided was a good idea to have in their dining area. Immediately she’s telling Scheana about Rob making out with someone else. Scheana’s immediately skeptical based on the fact that it’s convenient all of this is coming out after two other guys had been accused of doing similar things. She doesn’t buy it because Rob doesn’t even kiss HER.

Oh, Scheana.

Scheana, Scheana, Scheana.

Your boyfriend’s not “not a kisser”, honey. He’s not into you. You’re not going to marry this dude as much as you want to.

The party begins, and James comes with the pair of fake eyelashes on a fuzzy sweater he calls a girlfriend, as well as a cake made up of toilet paper rolls. Lala, meanwhile has brought Patron and wants to celebrate Being Women, something I celebrate evert day. WOMEN ARE GREAT. Again, Lala’s the best.

I love the fact that Katie and Tom, who literally live down the hall, are the last to arrive. I went to a wedding where my date and I were the only people who lived in Brooklyn, where the wedding was, and we were the latest ones. Tom looks discheveled as ever despite pretending he’s an Adult Now, he’s wearing a Mikey Way from My Chemical Romance sweater7. Tom claims he’s done with shots for the time being, which is a lie. Tom’s about to do 100000 shots.

This party would be a disaster with anyone, but with the amount these people drink, they should not be playing Waterfall with shots. Schwartz struggles with not drinking to excess. Oh, hi Peter? We haven’t seen enough Peter this season. Scheana’s literally standing with her phone in front of her face texting Rob about him allegedly making out with another girl and Jax is annoyed by it.

Anyway, everyone is hammered. James and Tom are beatboxing. Jax admits to Carter that he cheated because he wanted the attention, and Jax is like, “I’m finally being HONEST and telling the TRUTH,” and Brittany’s like “why can’t you talk to me?” Lala and Kristen are eavesdropping and Lala wants to rip Jax’s larynx out. Lala is so disturbed by the fact that Jax is yelling at Brittany, and Lala knows that there’s a recording on James’s phone of Jax. Jax saying he’s not going to marry Brittany - ever - and just being a general skeeze.

Because Jax doesn’t deserve any woman, let alone Jax. I love the amount of millenial pink going on in this scene between Lala and Ariana.

Ariana’s wasted and tells Brittany how much she loves her in that really drunken way, but Lala needs Brittany to know what Jax said. Ariana’s so drunk she’s basically crying.

We don’t get to hear the recording, but what’s on it is enough to make Brittany cry... and then seethe. She calls Jax he deserves to rot in hell and it’s literally incredible. Jax thought he was safe.

Next Time: James is back at PUMP! Lisa wants Brittany fired. Tom is pissed at Ariana for taking sides and Ariana’s ready to break up because of it.

Random Assessments from the Desk of Amanda:

I love the horror movie lighting in Jax/Brittany/Katie/Tom’s apartment building. I thought hallways that creepy only existed on Search Party.

I’m so glad Lala got rid of the trashy nails.

I love that Rob Valletta is actually related to Amber Valletta.

There’s really not enough talk about how emotionally abusive Jax is to Brittany.

I don’t know if I’m buying Brand Spanking New Self Aware Katie.

I’m glad that we’re breaking through some of the Cool Girl Ariana facade and realizing she’s just as messy as all of us.

You know I love Lala when I can forgive her having a rat tail.

She did a running stop, something I also once got a ticket for. Lisa Vanderpump and I are the same. ↩︎

Remember when Scheana had sex with Brandi Glanville’s husband and then tried to both claim it was one time but also she and Brandi were in the same boat because they’d both been cheated on? ↩︎ ↩︎

Bless Tom’s heart for bringing over a bottle of champagne. Had he known what Rob’s lifestyle was, I doubt he would have brought over a gift that people are notoriously snobby about. ↩︎

Forgive me for this, Rihanna. ↩︎

I... do not understand the logic of a man who would be like “you have an ugly vagina”. Why do you care? It’s never going to be your problem. Like, do you really think dicks are the most attractive thing on earth? ↩︎

They don’t deserve dogs that cute. ↩︎

Mikey ain’t shit. ↩︎

[edmundminoredinfilm]

The Oscar Nominations I Want

Tomorrow the Academy’s nominations for the Oscars come out and I am excited, but I am also prepared for the inevitable punch to the stomach I will feel when I see what movies the Academy left out in their nominations and when I see what movies they thought were worthy, when I could not agree less. Here I am going to list the movies, performances, directors, scripts and more that I feel most passionately should be nominated. At the bottom I have listed out my rankings for what I think is worthy of Best Picture, Lead Actress, Lead Actor, Actress in a Supporting Role, Actor in a Supporting Role, Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Production Design and Cinematography. These are not predictions, just what I personally think and feel about these movies. I wish more people would write pieces about their opinions as opposed to predictions, because all those pieces become so similar to each other.

BABY DRIVER - Win for Director, Nominations for Best Picture, Supporting Actor+

Baby Driver will not be nominated for a lot of awards. I think that is unfair. Perhaps it will not win (or be nominated) for many awards because of the Academy’s war on fun movies. I say this jokingly, but it seems that movies that are fun have problems winning Oscars, especially Best Picture. La La Land was very fun last year and lost to Moonlight, a great movie but a heavy one. The year before Mad Max, an adrenaline-fueled and fun, technical masterpiece, was robbed by the good and important, Spotlight, which although good and important, was not very fun (sex abuse by religious figures – not fun). The years before that you have Birdman (suicide, drug abuse – not fun), 12 Years a Slave (slavery – not fun), Argo (Iranian hostage crisis – not fun). Baby Driver, perhaps to its own demise, is unapologetically fun. With great acting, editing and perfect sounds (effects and the soundtrack of the year), Baby Driver should be nominated for Best Picture.

Baby Driver features wonderful performances by its male lead (Ansel Elgort) and his lady friend (Lily James). It also has great supporting acting by Kevin Spacey (yuck), Jon Hamm and Jamie Foxx. The best acting of the movie, I believe, comes from CJ Jones, an actor, who happens to be deaf, who plays Baby’s foster father. Jones manages to be both laugh out loud funny and touch the viewer emotionally by perfectly portraying the concern and worry he has, not for his own life, but for Baby’s. On top of this, he manages to do it all without speaking a single word. Jones should receive a nomination for Supporting Actor.

The film’s stylized action, speed and over-the-top violence will remind viewers of Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz. The action being strung together by a wonderful playlist that accompanies the film will remind viewers of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (also directed by Edgar Wright); the title sequence of Scott Pilgrim may jump into viewer’s minds during the masterfully crafted “Harlem Shuffle” sequence during the beginning of Baby Driver – probably the best 3 minutes of movie from all of 2017. Wright, whose style is stamped all over this movie, should win for Director.

It should also at least receive nominations in film editing, sound editing and sound mixing. This gives Baby Driver 1 win and 6 nominations.

A GHOST STORY - Win for Cinematography, Nominations for Best Picture, Original Score 

Not only do I think that David Lowery’s movie, which was made on a $100,000 budget, should be nominated for Best Picture, I think it should be nominated for Best Picture even if we were doing the old school, pre-King’s Speech format where only five movies were nominated. It is a top 5 flick from this past year and a darn shame that it will likely not see a single nomination. It is doomed by many things: a low budget, Casey Affleck as the lead role and the backlash he has faced with #MeToo and the backlash the Academy faced giving him a major award last year (I think Casey Affleck is yucky, don’t get me wrong), a summer release date and the fact that no one saw it – it made just $1.9 million (good when considering its budget, but that is not a lot of people). The film’s score is just the right amount of melancholy for it, the camera work is stunning and Rooney Mara is haunting as a young widow. If Mara had just a few more minutes on screen OR if the lead actress field was not so strong this year, I would be petitioning for her to receive an acting nomination. This totals up to a movie that should receive a nomination for Best Picture.

For those unfamiliar, the film follows a dead man (Casey Affleck) in his afterlife. Affleck has a sheet draped over himself for almost the entirety of the movie, so an acting nomination seems out of the question for him. But his ghost, the way he moves and what he looks at, paints a vivid picture of the longing that he feels in this sort-of-purgatorial afterlife. The camera does the talking for the ghost, and it does so quite effectively. Simple shots, while no words are being spoken, bring an emotional response from the viewer. With minimalist dialogue, the film successfully explores themes of death, loss, the afterlife, purpose, love and determination. It does so through masterful cinematography and that is why Andrew Droz Palermo (the film’s cinematographer) should win the Oscar for Cinematography.

It should also be nominated for original score. This gives A Ghost Story 1 win and 3 nominations.

THE FLORIDA PROJECT - Win for Actress in a Lead Role+

The Florida Project is getting a lot of buzz. Willem Dafoe is getting talked about for Supporting Actor (I have him as one of my nominees); Sean Michael Baker is getting talked about for Director (he’s up there on my list, too). But, why is no one talking about Brooklynn Prince who plays six-year old Moonee? No actor has impressed me more this than this young actress. Moonee is a complex character that goes through so much in this movie; neglect, loss of friends, moving, no stable family life or income, and more that I will avoid saying so as I do not give away the plot. The fact that this young actress, or any actress of any age, can do this so well is a credit to her and director Sean Baker. Someone is going to need to make this girl a Wikipedia page because she deserves to win Best Actress in a Lead Role.

The Florida Project also deserves nominations for Best Picture, Actor in a Supporting Role (Willem Dafoe), and Director (Sean Baker). It should win 1 Oscar and receive 4 nominations.

MOLLY’S GAME - Win for Adapted Screenplay

I feel bad for Jessica Chastain. She absolutely kills it in this movie as an injured skier turned poker organizer. I feel so bad for her, because I cannot put her in my top 5 lead actresses for the year (I’m sure somehow Jessica Chastain will get over me not giving her my fictional tumblr vote). It is too strong a field. Her and Rooney Mara (A Ghost Story) would have both received votes from me if there movie came out in any one of the past handful of years, but not in 2017. I also feel bad for Molly’s Game because it just narrowly misses my Best Picture list (it comes in at #11, and you gotta make top 10). That said, the screenplay, based on Molly Bloom’s memoir is what I have winning Adapted Screenplay. Sharp dialogue is a standout component of this Aaron Sorkin screenplay that takes a look at our justice system and patriarchy. Sorkin cleverly ties poker into Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and shows that no matter if it is during the Salem Witch Trials, or in 1953 when Miller wrote the play, or in 21st century America, somethings seem to never change.

It should receive 1 win on 1 nomination.

PHANTOM THREAD - Win for Production Design & Costume Design, Nominations for Best Picture+

Phantom Thread should receive quite a few Oscar nominations tomorrow morning, including for Best Picture, Actor in a Lead Role (could win), Score, Production Design, Costume Design. It could also easily take in nominations for Director, Supporting Actress and Original Screenplay. 

When I saw Phantom Thread, I knew absolutely nothing going into it. It is darker than one might guess from its rather vague trailer. If you have seen the trailer you may have absolutely no idea what Phantom Thread is about, but you will surely see that it looks beautiful and that each scene is meticulously composed by artists and an obsessive director. No movie has the attention to deal that must have been required to create Phantom Thread, other than Phantom Thread, which is why it should win for Production Design and Costume Design.

Phantom Thread is deserving of 2 wins on at least 6 nominations.

THE SHAPE OF WATER - Win for Best Picture and Much More

While Baby Driver was my favorite movie of the year, it was not the best movie to hit the big screen this year. That title belongs to Guillermo del Toro’s masterpiece: The Shape of Water. The visual effects top any other movie this year. When you watch it and another movie with high budget effects, for example Wonder Woman, it is shocking how much more was spent on other movies than Shape of Water (for example, Wonder Woman’s budget exceeded Shape of Water’s by $130 million). The film blends the central plot, the romance between a mute janitor (Sally Hawkins) and an aquatic humanoid, with well executed subplots that make the movie more exciting (Russian spies!), more intense (Michael Shannon’s power), and more relatable (Richard Jenkins’ and Sally Hawkins’ characters striving for companionship). The themes brought to the forefront of discussion by del Toro include repressed sexuality and masculinity’s relationship with power.

Shape should win Best Picture, Supporting Actor (Michael Shannon), and Original Score. I would tack on nominations for Actress in a Lead Role (Sally Hawkins), Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer), Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Production Design and Visual Effects. Shape should win 3 Oscars and be nominated for at least 9 awards.

BEST PICTURE:

Winner: The Shape of Water

Nominees (in order of how I’d vote): Baby Driver, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, A Ghost Story, The Florida Project, Dunkirk, Call Me By Your Name, Phantom Thread, Lady Bird, Get Out

DIRECTOR

Winner: Edgar Wright (Baby Driver)

Nominees (in order of how I’d vote): Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water), Sean Baker (The Florida Project), Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk)

ACTRESS IN A LEAD ROLE

Winner: Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project)

Nominees (in order of how I’d vote): Frances McDormand (Three Billboards), Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water), Margot Robbie (I, Tonya), Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird)

ACTOR IN A LEAD ROLE

Winner: Timothee Chalamet (Call Me By Your Name)

Nominees (in order of how I’d vote): Daniel Day-Lewis (Phantom Thread), James Franco (The Disaster Artist), Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out), empty space here until I see The Darkest Hour

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Winner: Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread)

Nominees (in order of how I’d vote): Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird), Octavia Spencer (The Shape of Water), Allison Janney (I, Tonya), Holly Hunter (The Big Sick)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Winner: Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water)

Nominees (in order of how I’d vote): Sam Rockwell (Three Billboards), Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project), Woody Harrelson (Three Billboards), CJ Jones (Baby Driver)

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Winner: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Nominees (in order of how I’d vote): Get Out, The Shape of Water, Lady Bird, Phantom Thread

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Winner: Molly’s Game

Nominees (in order of how I’d vote): Call Me By Your Name, The Disaster Artist, Blade Runner: 2049, The Beguiled

ORIGINAL SCORE:

Winner: The Shape of Water

Nominees (in order of how I’d vote): A Ghost Story, Dunkirk, Call Me By Your Name, Phantom Thread

CINEMATOGRAPHY 

Winner: A Ghost Story 

Nominees (in order of how I’d vote): Blade Runner: 2049, The Shape of Water, Dunkirk, The Beguiled

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Winner: Phantom Thread

Nominees (in order of how I’d vote): The Shape of Water, Blade Runner: 2049, Dunkirk, Wonder Wheel

Thanks for reading, everyone!