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#// i went to john goodman for some reason
demonsfate · 7 months
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i had a dream last night where i started maining heihachi and then i went into the customization of tag 2 to dress him as john goodman and kazuya as dj (john's kid from rossanne not our dj)
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thehappyspaceman · 1 year
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Ranking All the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Specials
So, I’m in the process of finishing the script for a review of all the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer specials. However, I don’t know if I will realistically be able to complete my video before Christmas, so here is my ranking of every Rudolph special, from best to worst.
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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964): Despite all the memes (“Deviation from the norm will be punished unless it is exploitable!”), the original Rankin/Bass Rudolph special holds up much better than most of the internet gives it credit for. It has memorable characters and songs, it is well-paced and does not try to cram too many subplots into its runtime, its stop-motion animation was quite good for the time (and has a unique charm nowadays), and it actually fixes most of the issues with the original song and story. It’s a classic. 9.5/10
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Rudolph’s Shiny New Year (1976): The follow-up to the Rankin/Bass special is not as good as the first one, and the lesson of “If people laugh at you, it’s because you bring them joy and that’s a good thing!” is kind of reprehensible, but it’s still pretty alright. It certainly has some nice songs and creative ideas, and Red Skelton is charming as Father Time, although I can see why it didn’t become a holiday staple like the first one. For one thing, it’s less well-paced, and doubling it as a New Year’s special and as a celebration of America’s Bicentennial felt stranger. Still pretty good. 7/10
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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1948): This Max Fleischer short aired a year before the song’s release and thus is more closely based on the original Rudolph story. The animation is kind of janky (as a lot of Max Fleischer’s shorts are in hindsight, even though he was an animation pioneer) and the story is a bit standard, but it’s still a decent short film and a noble enough screen debut for the character. 6/10
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Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July (1979): Rankin/Bass pulled out all of the stops for this big epic crossover film between Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, their own Avengers: Endgame that also doubled as a sendoff for Rudolph and Frosty, who would never star in a Rankin/Bass project after this. However, despite some creative ideas, the plot felt all over the place, with far too many subplots and too much lore to keep track of, plus we did not need a explanation for Rudolph’s nose powers. We could have accepted it as simply being “magic,” and making him a chosen one poses more questions than it answers. Still, at least it was imaginative, which is more than I can say for the post-Rankin/Bass specials. 5.5/10
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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie (1998): GoodTimes Entertainment’s attempt at rebooting the franchise has diminishing returns, and reeks of the usual GoodTimes stench. The plot beats and characters felt very derivative of the original Rankin/Bass special, as a lot of GoodTimes movies feel derivative of other films, but this one felt even more obvious since even the songs themselves felt derivative of songs from the first Rankin/Bass one. And the $10 million budget clearly didn’t go to the writing or animation, so I have to wonder where it went. Presumably to the voice cast, and while it does bring in some well-known voice actors (including John Goodman, Whoopi Goldberg, Debbie Reynolds, and Monty Python’s Eric Idle), they cannot save this special from mediocrity. 4/10
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Rudolph’s Lessons for Life (1996): There’s a reason this special has been forgotten and isn’t even mentioned on Wikipedia. I only found out about it thanks to TV Tropes. Rudolph’s Lessons for Life feels like a remake of Max Fleischer’s Rudolph short, but a lot worse. At least the Fleischer short was good for the time. This special’s framerate feels like a PowerPoint presentation at points. The only copies that exist of this special are 240p VHS rips, so don’t bother watching unless you are a serious Rudolph completionist. 2/10
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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys (2001): GoodTimes Entertainment’s second attempt at a Rudolph movie, this one continues from the original Rankin/Bass special and ignores the two sequels. This movie easily has the worst animation of all of them, summoning memories of Foodfight! to mind, and even if you look past the animation, it’s seriously uninspired. The plot lifts beats from the original Rankin/Bass special, and the villain is ripped from Toy Story 2. Perhaps the only decent plot element is a subplot about an island where toys can get plastic surgery? But even then, it’s wasted because they do nothing with it. And the celebrity voice cast--including Richard Dreyfuss, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Rick Moranis--do nothing to help. This is bad. Awful. Burn it. Purge it with fire. 1/10
And that’s my ranking! What do you guys think? Leave your own rankings in the comments below, feel free to discuss if you have any questions, and look out for my review sometime next month!
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companionjones · 2 years
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John’s Sniggle
Pairing: John MacNamara x Sniggle!Reader
Fandoms: StarKid, Hatchetfield stories
Summary: John meets someone while in the Black and White that tries to help him get out.
Warnings: None that I can think of
Author’s Note: This takes place in a timeline where everything turns out fine in Hatchetfield. Reader uses they/them pronouns.
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*******
    In the end, General John MacNamara didn’t mind that he sacrificed himself for the President of the United States. President Howard Goodman wasn’t the sharpest star on the flag, but he and John were able to figure out the entity known as Wiggly’s plan to start World War III. President Goodman would head back to reality and work with PEIP to get the world back to something resembling peace.
    MacNamara had also, during his limited time in the Black and White, gotten in contact with a young woman named Lex. Lex was then on the way to wake up the sleeping warrior and destroy Wiggly’s birth canal.
    Everything would be alright. The world would be protected. John made peace with his death as he began to fully dematerialize.
    “Not so fast,” a voice quietly cried.
    John also wasn’t expecting a hand to grab hold of his. His eyes sprung open to see one of Wiggly’s servants, a Sniggle, holding his hand. He immediately pulled back, but the Sniggle’s grip was too tight. “Unhand me, you--”
    The Sniggle brought a finger up to their lips. “Shh! Not so loud. I’m trying to help you.”
    John sized up his possible accomplice. “...Impossible.”
    “It is happening, though,” the Sniggle reasoned. “Wiggly’s evil. All my siblings are evil. I don’t want to be evil. Come on, will you trust me long enough for me to get you out of here?”
    MacNamara thought about it for only a moment. “Well, seeing as you are offering me my only hope of survival at this juncture, I believe I have no choice but to trust you.”
    The Sniggle shrugged, “That works for me. Now, we have to get past my siblings and Wiggly in order for you to get back through the portal. Your only rules are to do what I say, and not let go of my hand. If you let go of me, you will continue to quickly dematerialize. Understood?”
    “Mx. Sniggle, you will find that I follow orders very well.” MacNamara saluted with his free hand, which also luckily happened to be his right.
    The Sniggle and John took a walk through Drowsytown, until the Sniggle pulled John behind one of the clouds that was strewn all around the Black and White.
    “There are some of my siblings,” explained the Sniggle, “We have to wait to keep moving until they fall asleep.”
    John cocked an eyebrow. “So, we just sit here?”
    The Sniggle scoffed. “Yeah. What did you think this was going to be? Running and explosions?”
    “That’s what I was raised to think life was going to be like, yes,” noted John.
    The Sniggle gave him a weird look. “Good to know I’m not the only one here with a traumatic childhood.”
    John observed, “So, you did have a childhood. Fascinating. And you keep referring to the other Sniggles as your siblings. Does that mean Wiggly is--?”
    “I don’t want to talk about it,” the Sniggle finalized.
    John shut up.
    About half a minute went by before the Sniggle filled the silence. “When I said I didn’t want to talk about my family...I didn’t mean I didn’t want to talk about anything...”
    “What would you like to talk about?” John inquired.
    The Sniggle gulped, “What’s...the Blue like?”
    John answered as if it were any other question. “Well, it’s certainly brighter. There are people where the Sniggle are here, and my world is run by love. Or, at least, that’s how I see it.”
    “Explain,” the Sniggle urged.
    John had no problem doing so. “A boy falls and scrapes his knee; his parent is there to pick him up, dust him off, and make it all better. A girl calls her best friend in the middle of the night about a suitor who has broken her heart; that best friend is knocking on her door within the hour with snacks and tissues in hand. A person finds themself in a precarious situation; a complete and total stranger puts their own needs aside just to help...Thank you, by the way.”
    The Sniggle was flustered. They clearly weren’t expecting to receive thanks for their actions. “I had no idea there were so many different kinds of love. All I really know is the primal kind humans use to procreate.”
    John was quick to correct, “But love isn’t necessarily involved in that. What you’re talking about is, say, two people seeing each other across the room, and rest of the world disappears. It’s each of those two people doing anything to make sure the other is safe and happy--Hmm.” He stopped suddenly. “Perhaps there is a chance at something more here--”
    But the Sniggle wasn’t looking at John. Instead, their gaze was focused on the field of their sleeping brethren. “They’re asleep! Come on, We need to be very careful.”
    Slowly, both of them made their way through the slew of sleeping Sniggles. At one point, John’s Sniggle made a false step and tripped. It looked as if they were going to fall on one of the slumbering Sniggles, but John caught them in a dip just in time.
    The two stared at each other, shocked for a moment, before John set them back on their feet and did the gentlemanly thing and stepped away--right onto a sleeping Sniggle.
    “Wha...? Wha-He-Hey! Get back here!” The Sniggle’s exclamations started waking up other Sniggles as well.
    John’s Sniggle had already started pulling him along with their connected hands as the Sniggle urged, “Run!”
    The two weaved their way through danger, then halted before their final enemy. The other Sniggles stopped as well out of respect and fear for their overlord.
    “Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Wiggly began menacingly. One of my Sniggles, trying to run away with one of my prisoners. Now doesn’t that sound crazy-wazy?”
    “The portal’s closing!” John warned his Sniggle.
    They replied, “We’re going to go straight through his legs. At the last second, you’re going to jump through the portal and go home.”
    “And leave you here? I can’t--” he tried.
    His Sniggle snapped, “I thought you were good at following orders?!”
    “Is there something you two would like to share with the class?” Wiggly teased. “Or do you want help?!” Wiggly’s voice turned low-pitched and devilish on the last word, and suddenly all the other Sniggles were rushing John and his Sniggle.
    John’s Sniggle ordered, “Go now!” and the two charged through Wiggly’s legs.
***
    Your surroundings came to you in a haze. You looked around, and everything seemed different. There were metal chairs and tables and black walls and floors...
    John was still there. He was putting a blanket on your naked body... Wait, that body was different. If you reached up...your antennae were gone too.
    Realization washed over you. “Am I...human?” you asked in disbelief.
    John, who was sitting next to you, answered with a nod.
    “But...how? Sniggles can’t pass through the portal.”
    “You were connected to me,” John explained. “It seems you became human when you crossed over to our side...Fascinating.”
    One of the many other people in the room spoke up, addressing MacNamara, “Sir, the tests came back. You can let go. Nothing will happen to them.”
    John finally unlaced your fingers, but his hand ghosted up your arm until he cupped your cheek. John kissed you.
    “Why didn’t you let me go?” Once you parted from him, you asked about John’s jump through the portal.
    He answered, “You never told me to.” John smiled, “It appears I follow ‘Simon Says’ rules when it comes to orders. If you want me to do something like that again, you’re going to have to be more specific.”
    You laughed, but your mind couldn’t stop racing with the possibilities of your new life. “I don’t even have a name.”
    After thinking for a moment, John admitted, “I’ve always liked the name Y/n.”
    “Y/n. Y/n,” you tested the name on your tongue. “I like it, too. Yeah, I think Y/n will be my name.”
*******
Author’s Note: Thank you so much for reading! Fill up that heart and reblog if you liked it. I would also really appreciate a comment, if you have the time. If you would like to read more, check out my masterlist. Have a nice day, night, or whatever time it is for you! <3 <3 <3
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the-rewatch-rewind · 1 year
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New episode! Script below the break
Hello and welcome back to the Rewatch Rewind, where I talk about the top 40 movies I watched the most in 20 years. My name is Jane, and today I will be discussing number 39 on my list, Disney’s 2000 animated comedy The Emperor’s New Groove, directed by Mark Dindal, story by Chris Williams and Mark Dindal and screenplay by David Reynolds, featuring the voice talents of David Spade, John Goodman, Eartha Kitt, and Patrick Warburton.
I find this movie highly entertaining even though – or perhaps because – it has one of the strangest premises ever. It tells the story of the selfish and spoiled Emperor Kuzco (David Spade), whose spiteful and power-hungry advisor Yzma (Eartha Kitt)’s assassination attempt goes awry when her bumbling assistant Kronk (Patrick Warburton) accidentally turns Kuzco into a llama instead of poisoning him. Kronk is meant to finish the job, but loses track of the llama, who ends up on the cart of peasant Pacha (John Goodman), whose village Kuzco intends to destroy in order to make room for a summer palace. Despite this, Pacha sets off to help Kuzco turn back into a human, and to prove that there is some selfless good in the emperor.
I know I saw Emperor’s New Groove in theaters when it came out, but I don’t remember that experience particularly well, other than the scene at the end when they’re climbing on the side of the palace making me very nervous – I’ve always been scared of heights. Then we got it on vhs in one of those big puffy cases – remember those? – so I had definitely seen it multiple times before I started keeping track. Then I watched it once in 2003, twice in 2004, once in 2005, twice in 2006, once in 2008, once in 2009, once in 2011, twice in 2013, once in 2017, and once in each year from 2019 through 2021. For those who weren’t counting, that’s 15 times total.
First of all, this needs to be said: Yzma and Kronk are the best villain team in Disney history, perhaps even in movie history. They are hilarious yet unmistakably dangerous. Of course, most of the humor comes from Kronk’s ineptitude, but let’s not forget Yzma’s ridiculously convoluted original plan to turn Kuzco into a flea – a harmless little flea, and then put that flea in a box, and then put that box inside of another box, and then mail that box to herself, and when it arrives, smash it with a hammer! – it’s brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, I tell you! Yzma and Kronk don’t exactly work well together, but they understand each other, and it’s so fun to watch their dynamic. Kronk is too kind-hearted to be a very effective villain, but he is devoted to helping Yzma as best he can, until she turns on him and insults his spinach puffs. So if I had to point to one reason why I’ve watched this movie so many times, it’s gotta be the villain team. Eartha Kitt and Patrick Warburton are both fabulous and perfectly cast here. And really, the entire voice cast is excellent. David Spade is great at sounding like a whiny spoiled brat, and John Goodman’s voice is perfect for Pacha. There’s also a fun cameo from John Fiedler, whose voice I immediately recognized as the voice of Piglet in Winnie the Pooh, among many other things. However, I do think, since they went to the trouble of at least sort of setting the film in South America, that it would have been great if they’d cast even one South American voice actor. But if they were determined to have such blatant and frankly inexcusable lack of appropriate representation, at least they got the best possible non-South American voice cast.
Partly because of the excellent voicework and partly because of the writing, this movie is just, very funny. There are so many silly little touches that work together to make it an entertaining watch, from the random extra lever to Kronk being able to speak squirrel – and then there’s all the self-referential humor. Most of the story is narrated by Kuzco, so the 4th wall is kind of shaky from the beginning, and it’s completely broken by the time Kronk pulls out a map illustrating the biggest plot hole. And possibly my favorite moment in the whole movie is in the middle of the climax when it cuts to a palace guard saying, “For the last time, we did not order a giant trampoline!” and the trampoline guy replying with, “You know, pal, you could have told me that before I set it up” and then it just so happens that there needed to be a trampoline right there at that moment. For some reason that kind of humor really tickles me. I wonder if a lot of these jokes arose out of necessity because the story went through so many changes – apparently originally it was supposed to be a musical Incan re-telling of The Prince and the Pauper, with songs by Sting? I truly cannot even begin to picture what that would have been like. The movie we ended up with was sort of cobbled together at the last minute after it was clear the story had to be changed and a co-director quit when Disney wouldn’t postpone the release date. This is just speculation on my part, I haven’t seen anyone confirming this, but it kind of feels like instead of pretending they had a fully-formed story they just leaned into the parts that didn’t make sense and turned them into jokes, and somehow made it work way better than it had any right to. Or maybe they just realized it would be funny to intentionally write plot holes into the story. Either way, I love it.
Another thing that sets this movie apart for me is that it has no romance – well, almost. Pacha and his wife – who is voiced by Wendie Malick and whose name is apparently Chicha although they never say it in the movie – clearly love each other very romantically, and I’m actually glad their relationship is portrayed this way. It’s a refreshing departure from the tired trope of married couples who are sick of each other. This is promoting a healthy marriage and we love to see it. But the main storyline has nothing to do with falling in love. Most of the characters in this movie can easily be interpreted as aroace, which maybe isn’t the best representation because most of the characters are also objectively horrible people, especially at the beginning. Nevertheless I think this story successfully avoids perpetuating negative aroace stereotypes. Towards the beginning of the movie, there’s a brief scene where Kuzco is supposed to choose a bride from a line of women, and he’s not interested in any of them. In any other Disney movie, finding someone for Kuzco to marry would have then become an important part of the story – think about Aladdin or Cinderella – but in Emperor’s New Groove it is never mentioned again, and Kuzco goes through the entire rest of the movie without anyone even implying that he should be looking for love. So often in movies, when a jerk is against marriage at the beginning, part of their transformation into a better person is finding a spouse, indicating that not wanting to get married was part of what was wrong with them. Emperor’s New Groove allows Kuzco to become a better, more caring human being without forcing him into a romance. At the end of the movie, Kuzco has become friends with Pacha and his family, but he doesn’t have a partner, and there’s no hint that anyone thinks he needs one, which leads to the conclusion that his aversion to marriage was not part of what needed to change. I’m sure I didn’t consciously notice this as a child, but I think it was important for me to see. Most children’s films end with the protagonist getting married, or about to get married. The fact that this goofy talking llama movie almost feels revolutionary simply for allowing its main character to remain happily single speaks to just how pervasive the assumption that everyone wants and needs a long-term monogamous romantic relationship, an assumption known as amatonormativity, has become in our society. For people like me whose brains are not wired to experience that kind of attraction or to seek that kind of relationship, it’s incredibly confusing and alienating to see that portrayed not just as the default, but as the universal human experience. So every story that portrays not ending up in a romantic relationship as something other than a punishment is noteworthy. Even for people who do want that kind of relationship, it’s important to emphasize that becoming a good person is not synonymous with gaining a partner, despite what so many other films indicate. Don’t be a nice guy just so someone will date you; be a nice guy because that will make you and everyone around you happier.
I would like to point out that while Pacha is ultimately successful in his attempts to bring out the good in Kuzco, the message is not that people should pursue and put up with unhealthy friendships in the hope that toxic people will change. Kuzco is a sheltered 18-year-old, and this is really his coming of age story, which makes it even more noteworthy that it doesn’t include falling in love, since that’s usually portrayed as perhaps the most important milestone toward becoming an adult (in G-rated movies, at least). Pacha is really more of a mentor than a friend, especially at first, and he does leave Kuzco at one point, and only teams up with him again when Kuzco admits that he was wrong – a sign of maturity that I would argue is more important and universal than the ability to feel romantic attraction. Their friendship at the end feels satisfying and earned, and I think the fact that this aspect of the story is so solid is really what allows the movie to get away with the “we don’t know how to resolve this so we’ll turn it into a joke” parts I mentioned earlier. Zany as they are, the characters and their relationships and journeys feel surprisingly grounded and real, so it doesn’t really matter that there’s no way Yzma and Kronk could have gotten to the secret lab before Kuzco and Pacha. This movie takes a few important things very seriously and laughs at the rest, and I think that’s a big part of why I love it so much.
Looking back, the viewing of Emperor’s New Groove that stands out to me the most is the one from 2008 when I was a senior in high school. My two best friends and I were going to a school dance, and we met at my house to hang out beforehand to eat fondue and watch a movie. I don’t remember why but for some reason we decided on Emperor’s New Groove, and soon after we started watching, one of my friends turned to me and asked, completely seriously, if this was based on a true story. Now, granted, we weren’t very far into it at that point, but from the very beginning, the movie makes it clear that it’s about a person who is turned into a llama. So of course we had to make fun of him for asking if it was based on a true story, and of course I still remember that every time I watch or think about this movie.
The other anecdote Emperor’s New Groove always makes me think of is when my family was on a road trip and we got into a discussion about this movie, specifically the scene when Kuzco and Yzma almost run into each other at a restaurant. Kronk ends up taking over for the chef, and both Kuzco and Yzma are trying to order from him at the same time, and they both want potatoes but one wants cheese and the other doesn’t, and it’s confusing everyone, until finally both of them say, “On second thought, make my potatoes a salad.” We spent way too long debating about whether that meant they wanted a green salad instead of potatoes or they wanted potato salad. I had always assumed potato salad, but I think everyone else had always assumed just a regular salad, which is probably definitely the way it makes more sense. Although sometimes green salads have cheese on them and potato salads usually don’t, so I think it’s perfectly logical to assume that potato salad would resolve the cheese argument, even if “make my potatoes a salad” is a weird way of asking for potato salad.
When my brother and I went through all the Disney animated features in 2020, after watching a movie we each separately put it in one of 5 tiers, with 1 being the best and 5 being the worst. Then we decided what tier it belonged in on the combined list by taking the average of our two tiers. I put Emperor’s New Groove in Tier 1 and he put it in Tier 2 (although he asked me to emphasize that he does love this movie dearly), so it ended up tied in Tier 1.5 with The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which he put in 1 and I put in 2. Those two movies are incredibly different, but somehow it felt right to have them at the same level, since they’re both unusual Disney movies that are surprisingly well done. I’ve only seen Hunchback 5 times since I started keeping track, so it makes sense that Emperor’s New Groove was the one of those I ranked higher. The other Disney animated films that I’ll be talking about on this podcast were all put in Tier 1 by both of us, so stay tuned for even better Disney movies in the future. But don’t worry, there will also be plenty of non-Disney films on here, so there will probably be something for you if Disney isn’t your jam.
Thank you for listening to me chat about another of my most rewatched movies, and thank you for your positive responses to this podcast so far. Remember to rate and if you want, leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Emperor’s New Groove is very short – it clocks in at a mere 78 minutes – which is why I ranked it the lowest of the six movies I watched 15 times. The next movie I’ll be talking about is 18 minutes longer and is neither animated nor produced by Disney, so be sure to subscribe or follow on your podcast platform of choice if you want to hear something a bit different. As always, I will leave you with a quote from that next movie: “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands. They just don’t.”
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the-firebird69 · 10 months
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Lynyrd Skynyrd - Freebird - 7/2/1977 - Oakland Coliseum Stadium ...
YouTube · Wolfgang's Lynyrd Skynyrd
Sep 24, 2014
youtube
I'm never going to see or hear or whatever the song the same ever again what he's saying is operation in Phoenix it's one of his projects and has something to do with the Sun but it's not what it means it means those people rise for the ashes and I'm horrified it's very confident very quiet self-controlled looks like the vocalist looks, but for real I was stunned and shocked when I saw the image this is a giant Phoenix on fire and I could not believe it but we're going to see it for real it says it's mutated quite a bit and it's possessed but yeah that's what it is and Daniel saw it and Sarasota and one of the reasons was because of the movie with the spear of destiny in it and that's how my wife speaks he says I have to tell you that was the worst experience of my life does that stupid f****** hospital just tell me idiots in there talking about all this s***
Tommy f
So I'm asking him about it and he's repeating what other people say which is what he said
Mr goodman
Had enough of this s*** it's insanity but for real there are people around who don't care much for a society because they don't have a place in it it's the wrong thing to do and Tommy F pushes people out of it all the time now I'm going to pull people back in of mine and you have a place because this guy has started some s*** and messed up our plan it's not really supposed to go this way and he probably missed his own Plan up. It all started with bja and his brain transplant things he encouraged and everything's a mess I tell you what it's not supposed to be this real they're not supposed to be huge armies fighting in giant robots? Sure our friend is probably to blame but so am I for all the Mix-Ups but it's all because of this frontal lobe and these assholes are pushing him into it and pretty much most of them are going to be dead soon they went from a huge number 50% of the population now they're down to like 20% or 17% and falling fast and that's ridiculous in the higher ups don't care cuz they make so many get rid of them throughout the years supposed to be a sign of age and it's disgusting a lot of people are very repulsed by them including their women or massively oppressed and thank God they're not so swift cuz they would have been on it the whole time it turned out to be kind of mild compared to other people for real and Giants are just not funny it's like his band character that's what they sound like he knows it cuz he's kind of a giant and people want to bother him about it he says he's shrinking instead of growing in heights it's got a lot of jokes you have to to get through this life I'll tell you what my song works for a lot of people and he put it that way and you didn't put his name out there came pretty close but they didn't because he wanted people to enjoy it and that's what life is like for him it is for me a little bit too I'm not having fun because of these idiots in the apartment and I want them out
Elton John I
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webuiltthiscity · 2 years
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Upcoming Shows - July 2022
The appearance of Yellow Ostrich on this list obligates me to tell the story of how they saved my life in 2014. We were standing in line at the Mohawk during South by Southwest (to see X), but gave up and left because they were at capacity, and went to Maggie Mae’s to see Yellow Ostrich instead. Ten minutes later, this happened. Thanks, Yellow Ostrich. "You forgot..." No, I didn't forget. This is not a comprehensive list. July 8 - Cola at the Rickshaw Stop July 8 - Cayucas at the Independent July 9 - Xiu Xiu at the Chapel July 12 - The Shins at the Warfield July 19 - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at the Independent July 19 - Horsegirl at the Rickshaw Stop July 24 - Purity Ring at the Fox Theater in Oakland July 27 - Man Man at the Chapel July 30 - Guerilla Toss at the Bottom of the Hill Aug. 2 - The Besnard Lakes at the Bottom of the Hill Aug. 5 - Fatty Cakes and the Puff Pastries at the Bottom of the Hill Aug. 6 - Papercuts w/the Umbrellas at the Chapel Aug. 9 - Shamir at the Rickshaw Stop Aug. 10 - Animal Collective at the Warfield Aug. 12 - Aeon Station at the Independent Aug. 13 - She Wants Revenge at the Great American Music Hall Aug. 15 - Crash Test Dummies at the Great American Music Hall Aug. 16-19 - LCD Soundsystem at the Fox Theater in Oakland Aug. 18 - S.G. Goodman opening for John Moreland at the Independent Aug. 19 - Luke Sweeney at Brick & Mortar Music Hall Aug. 20 - Father John Misty at the Fox Theater in Oakland Aug. 20 - The Regrettes at the Fillmore Aug. 24 - Shakey Graves w/Jade Bird at the Fox Theater in Oakland Aug. 26 - Courtney Barnett w/Japanese Breakfast at Stanford, for some reason Aug. 29 - Echo & The Bunnymen at the Fox Theater in Oakland Aug. 30 - Franz Ferdinand at the Fox Theater in Oakland Sept. 1 - Jerry Paper at the Chapel Sept. 5 - Cults at the Independent Sept. 5-7 - Osees at the Chapel Sept. 9 - Porridge Radio at the Rickshaw Stop Sept. 10 - Peter Hook at the Warfield Sept. 12-14 - Pavement at the Masonic Theater Sept. 14-15 - Bonnie Prince Billy at the Chapel Sept. 14-15 - Remi Wolf at the Warfield Sept. 19-20 - Stereolab at the Fillmore Sept. 20 - Dry Cleaning at the Chapel Sept. 23 - Voxtrot at the Independent Sept. 27 - Sudan Archives at the Independent Sept. 27 - Thick at the Chapel Sept. 28 - Crowded House at the Fox Theater in Oakland Sept. 29 - Kevin Morby at the Fillmore Sept. 29 - Arlo Parks Sept. 30 - Broken Social Scene at the Fox Theater in Oakland Oct. 2 - Dehd at August Hall Oct. 4 - Low at the Chapel Oct. 7 - Girlpool at August Hall Oct. 7-8 - Metric at the Fillmore Oct. 8 - Sports Team at the Bottom of the Hill Oct. 9 - Flipturn at the Bottom of the Hill Oct. 9 - Yard Act at the Great American Music Hall Oct. 10 - Yellow Ostrich at the Bottom of the Hill Oct. 17 - Wolf Alice at the Fillmore Oct. 18 - Otoboke Beaver at the Great American Music Hall Oct. 18-19 - The Mars Volta at the Warfield Oct. 20 - Superorganism at August Hall Oct. 21 - Deerhoof at the Great American Music Hall Oct. 22 - Field Medic at the Bottom of the Hill Oct. 23 - Lil Nas X at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium Oct. 23-24 - Death Cab for Cutie at the Fox Theater in Oakland Oct. 25 - Regina Spektor at the Warfield Oct. 26-27 - Alvvays at the Fillmore Oct. 28-30 - The B-52s at the Masonic Theater Nov. 8 - Alice Phoebe Lou at August Hall Nov. 12 - Illuminati Hotties w/Enumclaw at August Hall Nov. 18-19 - The Flaming Lips at the Warfield Nov. 19-20 - Arcade Fire at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium Nov. 22 - Let’s Eat Grandma at the Independent Dec. 7 - Bartees Strange w/Pom Pom Squad at the Independent Dec. 10 - Soccer Mommy at the Fox Theater in Oakland Dec. 14 - Sunny Day Real Estate at the Regency Ballroom Dec. 18 - The Smile at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
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oldschoolteenflicks · 3 years
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I'd love to know what you think of the movies you're giffing. What you think of your current and upcoming.
sure!
ok, so my current:
matinee (1993) - amazing. really a love letter to film. it starts off light, and you get lost in the fun of all these silly horror movies and john goodman’s character, but the story goes deeper than that. kids growing up and dealing with serious, scary, real stuff, and how cinema works as an escape of sorts and a safe haven amidst threats of war.
mannequin (1987) - light, crazy and just lovely! such a weird acting choice for andrew mccarthy, but the movie is so fun, I bet he took the part just for that. an insanely epic performance by james spader (maybe my favorite part of the film after meshach taylor’s character, hollywood) and you just can’t help falling in love with emmy, not only because kim cattrall portrays her so beautifully, but also because she is such a strong female character.
an american werewolf in london (1981) - the love I have for this one is indescribable. maybe because it was my mom who recommended this movie to me (she is not a big fan of films, she gets bored easily, so she is very selective with what she watches and therefore, when she makes a movie rec, I listen) or perhaps because I was quite young when I saw it. I’ll take the werewolf transformation in this film over any cgi of today. rick baker did an excellent job -as usual- and david naughton’s performance during THAT scene, really makes you feel the pain he goes through while turning. although, if anybody’s asking, the true hero of the film is griffin dunne. not only for withstanding the hours it took to put all that makeup on him, but also for bringing comic relief to the story and that handsome face of his. in all honesty, as werewolves movies go, this one is one of the best, and definitely my favorite. 
as for my upcoming, the ones I’ve seen from beginning to end so far:
the truth about cats & dogs (1996) - I remember watching this when I was like 14, and thinking “I hope I end up having the exact same life as abby”, I even wanted to look like her. could not find the appeal of uma thurman’s character for the life of me. I mean, uma is beautiful, obviously, but I just wanted to be like janeane garofalo in every sense. I gotta say, minus the radio show and phone sex, my life did turn out to be a lot like abby’s. this film just makes me feel good for some reason. I like the characters, I like the story, I love animals, it’s just such a comfort movie for me, I love it.
pump up the volume (1991) - I talked about this one some weeks (or is it months?) ago... A great film. Made me wanna gif it all (which is why I’m taking my sweet time with that). A must watch for every teen, I’d say. christian slater’s performance is everything and the use of music, gosh. allan moyle is just incredible. I’d really love to meet the guy. 
breaking away (1979) - a film that makes me nostalgic. I like to rewatch this one from time to time. it makes me feel... strange. but in a good way. it brings me joy and sadness. it makes me want to stay young forever -ship: sailed-, to stop growing up. it makes me want to go back to a simpler time, you know? the performances are perfection. so is the story and the script. everytime I watch it, I just wanna reach into the screen, get inside and hang with those boys. I wanna be part of the gang. I think they’d take me. 
dazed and confused (1993) - what even is this film? first time I saw it, it was hard to watch. the characters, the way they behave... it gets unbelievable sometimes. you can’t comprehend some of things happening. then, you get used to it. you get to the end and it all makes sense. I’ve seen it so many times by now, I’m not startled by anything anymore. darla is the best and that’s that. parker posey should be in the poster instead of milla jovovich. I said what I said. I mean, parker has more scenes in the film anyway, so it’d make more sense. first time around, my favorites were cynthia, tony and mike (they were the characters that seemed the most sane, imo) but as the years went by, I learned to love all those crazy kids. except for ben affleck’s character. that guy’s just the worst. 
eyes wide shut (1999) - this one’s just confusing. it can be aesthetically pleasing, I’ll give you that. it has some nice shots, use of light and all that. but the plot... it goes sort of nowhere? I don’t know if it’s kubrick’s worst film -some say it is- but it’s definitely not his best. I don’t quite know what he was trying to do with it. maybe I didn’t get it. I just know that when I get to the end of the film, I go “what was that?” 
nightbreed (1990) - perfect film is perfect. the plot is so freaking original and perfect. all bow down to clive barker in unison right now! we don’t deserve him. we really don’t. the monsters are not the monsters! I was so, so little the first time I saw this one on tv, but I was so impressed by it, I loved it. still do.
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mila-dans · 4 years
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Spells Out Trouble: I Wanna Know What Love Is
This is chapter one of “Spells Out Trouble.” Masterlist Here!
Pairing: Dean x Reader
Word count: 4770
Summary: You have been with the Winchesters for several years now going through all the literal trials and tribulations with them. What happens when Dean gets hit by a love spell and becomes head-over-heels for you? Will your pushed down emotions finally rise or will you get in over your head? Find out what happens when your best friend's hard exterior becomes mush whenever you end up in his eyeline.
Just so you know: This is my first Fanfic so sorry if there are aspects missing. “Spells Out Trouble” is a series with about ten chapters. Again, sorry if this isn’t perfect! If you have any suggestions or tips, I’d love to hear from you. Thank you and I hope you enjoy it! (Also, not my gif!)
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“Y/N!”
You could hear your name being called as you adjusted your position on the bed. “Five more minutes,” you mumbled out as you buried your face even deeper in the pillows. 
“Y/N, wake up!” Dean said, agitated. He was still mad that you won the coin toss for the bed. Thanks to you, he got a restless night on a two-seated couch. But as of right now, you were way too tired to care.
Sam was in the bathroom getting ready first like always. Spending so many years with the boys, you learned each other’s habits, quirks, and how long they needed to get ready in the morning. Sam took the longest for some reason and after him was you, who only took maybe eight minutes to get fully dressed which always seemed to impress the brothers. Dean was after you, taking only about five minutes to get ready for the day which seemed accurate based on his minimal appearance.
“We got to go,” Sam said from behind the door.
“You hear that? We’re gonna leave without you.” Dean said as you could imagine the smug smile on his face. 
“You wouldn’t,” you replied as Dean’s taunting caused you to wake up. You, Dean, and Sam were set to go to the coroner's today and as good a day as any to see a dead body, you were especially excited because this hunt involved a witch. And you hate witches. You have a past and a very bad one at that. The boys know your strong feelings when it comes to the bottom dwelling hags. This remark on Dean’s part as to threaten to leave without you was just enough to make you sit up from your comfy position in bed and prepare to start your day. “I’m up.”
“Finally,” Dean said, throwing your weapons bag with full force right at your chest. It hurt but of course he did it on purpose. Dean always liked to pick on you, even more so whenever you were just waking up and you had your defenses down.
“Ow,” you said, glaring at Dean with only a sly smirk from him in return.
Sam exited the bathroom as he finished buttoning up his white dress shirt. “All yours,” he said to you. You nodded and rolled out of bed pushing off the sack of weaponry from you. You grabbed your FBI getup and headed to the bathroom where you got cleaned up and dressed.
You could hear the boys from behind the closed door talking about the latest victim, John Chase. You listen all while thinking about the case. So far, six men have been found dead with their insides turned to goo. You all had been at this for days and have yet to catch a break. Hopefully the new body would lead to something. Anything.
You finished getting dressed and like clockwork, just as you opened the door to let Dean have a turn getting dressed, he stood in the doorway just about to knock. His hand, merely inches away from your face, you gulped as you realized how close you were to receiving a hit to the face, courtesy of Dean Winchester. “That was close,” he said smiling.
“Yeah, close enough. Watch it next time, Winchester.” You shoved him as you walked out and towards your bed.
“Y/N,” Sam called out as you turned your attention towards him, “Which one?” He had held up two different ties in his hands, weighing them up and down as to signal to you which one was better. “Pick one. Blue or red?”
“Hmm... blue brings out your eyes but red makes you look sexy!” You said with clear sarcasm making Sam smile. 
“Really? Cause I would’ve thought it’d be the opposite. But what do I know? You’re the sexy one,” Sam retorts, raising his eyebrows.
“True, but you do come in at a close second.”
“Wow, and here I thought Dean would’ve been second.”
“Oh no. You know you are my favorite Winchester.” You say puckering your lips, blowing him a kiss.
Yours and Sam’s relationship was very different when compared to yours and Dean’s. Both of them were your best friends but Sam was able to let his guard down with you. You always had admired his sass whether it was directed towards you or not. It was fun to play and joke with him. When it was just him and Dean, he often had to be what would be called the “mature one.” Dean on the other hand liked to mess with you too but he never let his guard down like Sam does. Sam was still the only person who saw the full version of Dean. You wished Dean would let you in but you were just happy that you got Sam to. Besides, he was way easier to talk to when it came to deep stuff. You’d always go straight to Sam without giving it a second thought if you ever needed to talk and he often did the same to you.
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You sorted through your bag as you placed all the weapons on your person that you deemed necessary for a trip to the coroner’s office. The boys always thought you had an overabundance of weapons even when attending the simplest of places. You however thought it was better to be prepared and when riding with the Winchesters, it’s best to be ready for anything. You rummaged through your bag even deeper. “Where’s the demon blade?” You asked, still continuing your search.
“It's in my bag,” Dean said as he loaded his gun with your favorite type of bullets.
“Can I have it?” You asked him as he stuck your hand out waiting to put it in the back of your belt.
Dean tucked his gun in the back of his pants and looked at your eagerness to have the blade. “Um, no.”
“What do you mean no?”
“I mean no, sweetheart. You already have a whole armory on you. You don’t need the knife too.” Even though you knew Dean was probably right, you couldn’t help but want it even more now that he had felt so inclined to call you “sweetheart” which he knew bugged you. The truth of the matter is, you didn't mind him calling you it so much as you minded him calling every other woman sweetheart too. You hated thinking that he had grouped you with every other one night stand or valentine adventure.
“Give it to me,” you said, holding your hand out even further only to have him push it away.
“No.”
“Yes,” you demand.
“Dean, let her have the knife,” Sam said with his “It’s too early for this” tone.
“Fine,” Dean said, taking it out of his bag and holding the edge about to place it in your hand.
“Really?” You said surprised he had given up so easily.
“No,” he said as he showed you that smug grin of his. He took the knife away and walked over to the edge of your bed, about to place it in his weapons bag once again. 
“Give it,” you order as you hop on the bed trying to grab it out of his hands.
“You're gonna hurt yourself, sweetheart,” he said with his once again taunting tone. You only tried harder to grab it as his arms went all around you causing you to get closer and closer to the edge of the bed. You reached over the edge as he dangled the blade in front of you. You almost had gotten it but instead lost your balance.
Thump.
“Told you, sweetheart.” And with that remark, Dean had left the building with the blade placed in his bag.
While on the floor, you try to convince yourself that he is useful and it would be best to not kill him yet but you believe the topic to be debatable.
Sam came over to help you off the floor. “Your brother is being a jerk again,” you said while brushing yourself off.
“Yeah, well, what else is new?” Sam holds out your bag.
You snatch the bag from his hand, “You are enjoying this because you think it’s better for him to pick on me instead of you.”
“What?” Sam said sarcastically. “That is so not true. I never find enjoyment when I let my pain in the ass older brother bully you just so he wouldn’t bully me,” he replies with a big grin on his face.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t be so sure,” you glare at him.
You both grabbed your coats and shut the door behind you.
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You three had just come back from the coroner’s and discovered, thanks to some hex bags found in the victim's pockets, that your witch was very old and very powerful. You also found that she continued her hot streak of leaving attractive, middle-aged men’s innards boiled.
“Great,” Dean said as he shut Baby’s door. “What is it? Five dead now?”
Sam got in beside him, “Seven, actually.”
“Make that eight,” you said as you tossed your phone on the seat in front of you.
“What is this?” Sam asked, picking it up, examining the news story.
“It’s yet another kill where some attractive guy has his insides deep fried.”
“Great, again,” Dean said, starting the car. “Where was it at this time?”
“North Crow street,” Sam replied.
“That’s only what? Two miles from the last victim?”
“I’m pretty sure,” you said, thinking about the pattern of the attacks.
“We go back to the room, map out the attacks, get our gear, and we kill this son of a bitch.” You nodded.
“Agreed.”
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“Okay,” Sam said as he marked the final spots on the map, “We have North Crow street on here twice. Then there’s this neighborhood right here where three of the victims were and over here is Goodman park where the remainder of the victims were killed at.” The map was spread out on a section of the wall above the sofa with a whole lot of red thread and pushpins covering whatever blank space remained.
“So that’s a two mile radius around,” Dean gets up taking the marker from Sam, “This street. Mary’s Ave.”
“Great, now that we’ve narrowed it down, to what? One-Hundred houses? What’s our next step?” You asked as you felt the weight of the deaths on your shoulders and it became even worse as you knew you weren’t the only one.
“I've got no freaking clue.” Dean let out a huff as he ran his hands through his hair in aggravation. Dean was getting more angry by the second and it didn’t help that he had been cooped up in a room with you and Sam. Sure, it was fun to mess with him but it tends to get old real quick. Dean threw up his hands, “It's not like we can just hit all the houses on the block knocking on the door and asking, ‘Hey, are you a witch? Cause if you are, we need to kill you.’”
Sam gives off a tired laugh. “We’ve been at this for a week and we have got nothing except a pile of bodies.”
You take in the sight of the tired brothers and know that it’d be best if you didn’t push them over the edge. “Hey,” you said with a calm voice, trying to get them to ease up, “We will find her and kill her. Okay?”
“How Y/N?!” Dean yells looking at you as if you were crazy to somehow have any sort of hope.
You sit down trying to make up any connection or pattern you can. You see the boys and their exhaustion and anger radiating off of them. You push yourself even harder to find something, anything. You think to yourself about all the information you have: A trail of good looking dead guys, a witch, messed up insides, and a hex bag. A hex bag which you have found nothing in the lore about. You have yet to figure out how this hex bag kills or much less hurts someone. What kind of hex bag doesn’t kill you but still leaves you dead. It leaves you dead... Leaves you dead... “Leaves you dead!” You mutter under your breath.
“What?” Asks Sam as he sees you jolt up grabbing the hex bag and his laptop, clicking away on the keyboard.
“Y/N, what are you doing with the hex bag?” Dean asks.
“Shush,” you demanded as you continued your search online.
“Don’t ‘shush’ me,” Dean replied silently.
You ignore the duo as you search deeper in the online lore. You search every ingredient in the hex bag. Instead of lethal hex bags, you search for non-lethal ones that use the same ingredients. “Okay, hear me out: What if the witch wasn’t trying to kill guys?”
“Sure, she accidentally melted the victim’s insides,” Dean says as he rolls his eyes.
“Shush!” You again told Dean trying to explain your train of thought. “We searched all over for a hex bag like this that kills someone, right?”
“Yeah,” Sam replies reluctantly.
“But what if the hex bag wasn’t meant to kill the men, but instead lure them to our witch.” You turn the screen around showing the list of ingredients for a spell that can lure anyone to the user. “See? This spell and the hex bags use the exact same ingredients.”
“I guess that’s useful information if we wanna make hex bags but how does this help us try to find the witch?” Dean again says with his annoying sarcasm.
You turn the computer around again and start typing away once more. “Well, sweetheart,” you look at Dean and show a sarcastic smile, “These ingredients are extremely rare and even more expensive.” Dean looks at you mad and you smile even bigger assuming that he doesn’t like being called “sweetheart” either. “Since the ingredients are so rare, when you search where they are found, you discover they are only found in a very small part of Ireland.” 
“Okay,” Sam says, trying to follow.
“Now, since the items are expensive, the witch must be rich. And when I search the most expensive houses on Mary’s Ave, I come up with fifteen different ones which all belong to an array of people.”
“Yeah,” Sam nods in agreement, still unsure of your thought process.
“The Fifteen names of the owners are: Smith, Jackson, Thompson, Brock, Jones, Marshall, James, Evans, other Smith, Parker, MacAulay, Watts, Cooper, Jefferson, and Holiday. Tell me, which one of those names sounds Irish to you?”
“MacAulay,” Dean says as the wheels in his head visibly turn.
“Right, and when I pull up the records for the house, you will find that one Alannah MacAulay lives in that house alone. And it just so happens that she paid upfront with cash.” You look at Sam and Dean and notice their shocked expressions. “That name is indeed Irish and is one of the founding families that basically built the town that grows these ingredients. Guys, I’d say this is our witch.”
“How in the world did you get all that from a hex bag?” Sam asks with an amazed look in his eyes. You shrug your shoulders trying to hold back a smile of accomplishment. “Good job, Y/N,” Sam says, giving you a pat on the back.
“Thanks.” You look again at Dean knowing that a compliment from him was as rare as a unicorn sighting, but in this job the latter would be more likely to happen.
Dean stands up and cocks his gun, “Let’s go kill a witch.”
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You all had arrived at the house. You and Sam took the front door entrance as Dean went around back. Sam opened the door slowly as you went under his arm through the doorway scoping out the place. The door shut gently behind him. He signaled for you to go upstairs as he took the first floor. You nodded in agreement as you cautiously and quietly walked up the huge set of stairs that were before you.
The house was gigantic and magnificent. If you weren’t so worried about the status of your life, you might’ve actually enjoyed it a bit more. When you came to the top of the steps, you saw three doors ahead of you. Thinking it might be a while till one of the boys came upstairs to help you search, you went right ahead entering the rooms as stealthy as you could.
The first room didn’t have anything that looked witchy and the same went for the second. But just as you turned the knob on the third door, you heard a muffled sound. You pushed the door open finding a middle-aged man tied to a chair with a gag in his mouth. Only the man and a whole mess of stuff was in the room. You passed by what seemed to be a miniature cauldron filled with an assortment of goods or more accurately, bads, and soon made your way to the man. Holding your gun with such focus and intensity, you searched every square inch of the room just to make sure it was only you and him.
You went over to him, undoing the ropes and removing his gag. “Are you alright?” You asked quietly.
“I think,” he said with an uneasy tone. You signaled for him to get up and get a move on but he still remained glued to the seat.
“What are you doing?” You whispered worried that if you stayed any longer, you wouldn’t be alone.
“I can’t move!” He says with a terrified tone.
“What?” You look to see if you missed a rope.
“I can’t move!” You tried to pull him up or out of the chair but he wouldn’t budge.
Suddenly, you could feel another presence in the room. You slowly reached for your gun, switching your attention from the man to what you thought would be the witch.
You quickly aimed your gun as you turned around only to find the room as empty as you had seen before.
“Tell me, Girl” a voice echoed with a strong Irish accent, “Have you ever been in love?” You aimed your gun in every dark corner of the room trying to find a face to the voice. “Have you ever really been head-over-heels for someone?”
“Sorry, I can’t say that I have.” You continued the conversation stalling in hope of a rescue from one of the boys.
“Oh, It’s such a shame. Surely you must love someone or like someone at least?” She asks as if wanting you to understand.
“I don’t know about that but I appreciate your concern,” you laugh as this is the last conversation you’d expect to have.
The voice laughs back. “My, I can see that you do hold a torch for someone. You might try to hide it but I can see your feelings and they are strong.”
“I don’t know what you're talking about, lady. But how about you come out here and maybe then we can swap crushes.”
“Oh, no. I need to finish my work,” she says matter-of-factly.
“Your work? You mean killing innocent men? I have to say, not a fan.” Your gun gets pulled out from your hands. “Dammit,” you mumble. You stay moving around the room keeping your senses on guard.
“You simple minded fool. My work is work of passion and love, not death.”
“Whatever you say, Witchy.” You try to look for another sort of weapon in the room.
“I just wanted to be loved. It’s not my fault that accidents happen.”
“Well, I just want you dead and like you said, accidents happen.” In the corner of your eye, you see a dagger and you move closer to it trying not to draw attention to yourself.
The witch finally appears out from the dark corner she was hiding in. “If you wanted that to happen, maybe you shouldn’t have come alone,” she says looking you dead in the eyes like a lion would do to its prey.
The door quickly busts open causing the witch to change her attention. You rush towards the dagger and then try to find if a hex bag is on the man.
“She didn’t come alone,” Dean stands in the door and aims his gun directly at the witch but before he can pull the trigger, she flings him past the cauldron and only feet away from you and the man. She sees you and immediately, light radiates from her palms and you prepare to be on the end of a fatal blow. But suddenly, Sam comes from the door, tackling the witch to the ground.
Dean gets up and takes notice of a huge gnash on his hand and finds his blood on the rim miniature cauldron. But before he can think anything more of it, he searches for his gun. You still try to find what holds the man in the chair taking off his shoes, jacket, anything that could have a hex bag inside. Sam gets thrown to the other side of the room and you see now that the witch looks even more pissed than she originally was. “Just let me do my work!” She screams as you too get tossed to the side, leaving a wide-open space in between her and the man. “I will do my work! I will be loved!” She screams and starts to mumble Latin causing the cauldron to rise and spark. Dean sees what she is about to do and before you or Sam have a chance to react to the ready to fire spell, Dean jumps in front of the man and the surge of energy from the cauldron fires right at Dean. “No!” The Witch screams. Sam runs to his gun and shoots her right in the head causing her to fall to the floor.
With the witch killed, you and Sam rush to Dean who is surprisingly still alive from the impact of the blow. “Hey,” you ask him, examining him, “you alright, big guy?”
He mumbles in return, “Peachy.” You help him up as Sam checks on the man who is no longer glued to the chair. Sam gives you the nod that he is alright and both you and Sam walk out, each helping a man down the stairs.
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Sam starts the car back up as you leave the hospital where you dropped the man off at. “You sure you alright, Dean?” You ask leaning over the seat taking notice of his face to try and get a read on him.
“I’m great,” he replies with his ever so sly smile.
“You sure?” Sam asks.
“Yeah. I’m good to go. In fact, I say we go get some beers because we deserve it.” You and Sam look at each other quizzically both thinking of how you’ve never encountered a witch blast that came with no side effects.
“You sure you’re good?” Sam asks again with an unsure tone.
“Dude, I’m fine. I just wanna get drunk. Can you blame me?” He looks at Sam and he shakes his head while letting out a tired laugh. “Come on, let’s go have some fun!” He looks at you and hits your shoulder. “Yeah?”
“Dean, I’m exhausted and I’m surprised that you aren’t. It’s gonna be a no from me,” Sam answers.
“Y/N, what do you say? Wanna get drunk and laid?”
“Um, you sure you’re okay Dean?” You ask again.
“Guys, what the hell is with all the questions?! I’m fine. Nothing is wrong with me. Now Y/N, you wanna join or not?” Dean looks into your eyes and you look at him still concerned.
“I guess so.”
“Perfect!”
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You and Dean pull up to a bar called “O’Malley’s” looking dressed to kill or in this case, dressed to get laid. You always carried a little black dress with you whenever you went on hunts just in case you needed to use it to work a more flirtatious angle. And from time to time, you did. You both walked inside keeping your distance from each other just to make sure no one would think the two of you were together. You have been to this rodeo before. Every now and again when Dean was a little too eager to get out of the bunker or some crap motel room, you and him would always wind up going to the nearest bar to find a little fun. Sam would always be researching something or sleeping. Tonight, Sam was doing the latter.
You took a seat at the bar leaving an opening on both your sides and ordered a strong drink. Dean, following behind you, had immediately found someone he liked and took a seat right beside her. You could hear their laughter and imagine what cheesy pick up lines Dean would use on her this time. Even though it seemed like you couldn’t stand him at times, he's your best friend and you know him better than he does himself sometimes. Dean, Sam, and Cas were all that you had. It’s been like that for roughly five years. And all you could think about right now was just wanting to go home and lie in your bed. Well, thinking about that and the stupid witch. You glanced over at Dean again seeing him even closer to the girl than before. You ordered a refill and quickly gulped it down.
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The stupid Witch. You couldn’t stop thinking about her. You recall what she said, you remember all the talk about love and how she swears that you love someone too. “No way,” you say under your breath. You look over your shoulder again to view Dean and his lady for tonight. You watch them get up and leave. You laugh to yourself and feel the drink getting to you as you order what you think is your fourth. “How could I love someone?” You think.
You don’t even like anyone. I mean, you love the boys but that’s completely different. Cas, he’s like your guardian angel and Sam, come on, he is literally your brother. And Dean? Dean. Well... Dean is Dean. 
You order another drink putting it down the hatch even faster than the last.
Dean is annoying. You couldn’t ever like him. He’s annoying and like totally over protective and he’s way too hot to not have an ego. He’s sexy and gorgeous and way out of your league. Sure you like him but that doesn’t mean you love him. He’s annoying and so bratty. Okay, so maybe you love him a little bit but it’s just because the witch put all these thoughts in your head. You have only been in love with him for like three years, that’s all. Not even four. You push these feelings deep down and always have, I mean, It isn’t like Dean Winchester is gonna wake up one day and be in love with you.
“Miss? Miss?!” The bartender asks you.
“What?” You snap at him.
“You’ve been talking to yourself for quite some time.” The bartender says with a polite smile.
“Nu-uh.”
“Yes, you have. I believe you're drunk and in love with whoever this Dean is.”
“Pft, no I’m not.” You try to point at the bartender but somehow manage to fall off the stool. One of the men a few seats over helped you up and guided you outside. 
You stumble down the steps of the entrance, “You don’t know what love is!” You yelled at the bar. “I wanna know what love is, and I want you to show me!” Your words slowly changed from an angry fit into lyrics from a Foreigner song. You pulled out your phone as you fell to the ground and managed to call Sam.
“Hello?” Sam said tiredly.
“Do you wanna know what love is, Sam? Cause I want you to show me!”
“Are you drunk, Y/N?”
“No!” you shouted, “I don’t like how people keep assuming things about me.”
“Y/N?” Sam said, trying to get a straight answer.
“Okay, so listen, I’m drunk and Dean took Baby to probably make a baby. So I need some assistance. Hey! I’m like one of the AARP people.” You laugh, amused by your own words.
“Where are you at?”
“I’m at a parking lot outside of uh,” you look up at the blurred sign, “Old Mufasa’s.”
“That’s not a place, Y/N.” Sam sighed.
“Well then I don’t know!”
“Your phone says you're five minutes away. I’ll be there in five minutes. Just stay put.” Sam hung up.
You could hear that Sam was tired and angry which was not a good combo but you were just worried that the ant that you saw climbing a rock in the parking lot would get run over. You went over and tested your depth perception seeing if you could get the ant to a safe spot. As you nudged the little bugger on your finger, you trudged over to a patch of dirt on the side of the building. You let him go and smiled, “At least you love me, Ant.” 
You moved back to where you and tripped causing you to face plant into the ground and drift off to sleep.
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The next morning was... interesting. You had woken up to find Dean even more hungover than you, spread out on Sam’s bed and Sam on the way too small couch. All you remember from the night before was a whole lot of alcohol and Sam coming to get you, picking you up from the ground, placing you in a car, and finally onto your bed. You couldn’t rack your brain for any more information or you might end up with an aneurism. You figured that the best thing you could do for your massive headache and the boys was to go and get coffee. You left a note on the door and headed out.
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In the room, Sam changed his clothes out in the open not minding because it was only him and a semi-unconscious Dean. The same Dean who was spread like a starfish with blankets and sheets wrapped around him. He tried to move but was unable either from the entanglement or extra motion that made him seem even more dizzy.
“Dean, you alright?” Sam asked as he pulled on his shirt and finished getting dressed.
“Hrmp,” Dean, sort of, replied. He moved a little on the bed seeming like even a construction crew couldn’t affect his state.
“Dude, I thought Y/N was bad last night. I think It’s safe to say you take the gold.” Sam laughed and hit Dean’s feet trying to get him to move.
“What?” Dean pulled his head away from the pillow and rubbed his eyes.
“Dean, you good? I know you wanted to celebrate but I think you went a little too hard on this one.” Sam tossed a bottle of aspirin on the bed beside Dean.
“I’m--I’m uh, good?” Dean sat up slowly trying to gain some sort of balance.
“Good. Cause we have a twelve hour drive back home to the bunker and since you refuse to let me or Y/N drive--”
“Y/N?!” Dean interrupts Sam and darts up from his bed.
“What?” Sam looks at a now wide awake Dean who is staring at him right in his face.
“Y/N,” Dean says with a very excited tone, “Is she here? Where is she? She’s okay right?” He asks as his joy starts to change to worry.
Sam looks at Dean very confused but replies, “Yeah, Y/N’s out getting coffee. You okay, Dean? You don’t look so hot.”
“I don’t?” Dean asks. He looks at his appearance almost disappointed in himself. Dean is still wearing his black-tee undershirt from last night and a pair of boxers.
“Dean, you are acting like someone gave five shots of five hour energy. What’s going on?”
“I...I...I just need to see her!.” Dean paces around the room starting to panic.
“Who, Dean?” Sam goes to Dean putting his hand on his shoulder trying to get him to calm down or at least relax for a moment.
“Y/N,” Sam looks at Dean like he’s crazy, “I’ve got to see her. I just gotta.”
“Okay, how about you sit down and we figure out what is wrong with you. Alright?”
“There’s no time, Sam!” Dean yells at Sam shoving his hand away. “I’ve got to get my suit on and I need some of your cologne and uh, flowers! I need to get flowers!”
“Dean! Something is really wrong with you. You are acting crazy and I don’t understand what your new obsession is with Y/N. So please, just take a deep breath.” Sam again tries to go over to Dean getting him to calm down.
“You’re right, Sammy. I need to calm down for Y/N. I don’t want her to be frightened or--or panicked like I am.” He unconvincingly smiles at Sam but nods along with his plan.
“Good,” Sam says slowly, “Good. Now take a deep breath.” Dean takes a huge deep breath in and holds it in his puffed out cheeks. He exhales and shakes his body trying to loosen up. “Okay, Dean, what’s going on?” Sam sits on the bed with Dean who still appears to be hopped up on some kind of energy drink.
“I don’t know. I just know that everything is so clear and like this huge burden has been lifted off of me.” Dean smiles crazily at Sam.
“Okay,” Sam tries to understand why his brother is acting like an energized maniac. “When did you feel like this, ‘burden,’ was lifted?” 
“It was this morning, when I woke up and you said her name.” Dean hops up and down nodding with his whole body.
“Right, uh, Y/N’s name?” Sam tries to stop Dean from moving so much by holding down his shoulders.
“It’s the most beautiful name in the world,” Dean says while he waves his arms trying to mime the whole wide world.
“Uh-uh. Listen, Dean. I’m gonna call Cas and we are gonna figure out what’s going on.” Dean nods his head and looks at his brother with a big smile, leaving Sam’s emotions a mix between scared, creeped out, and concerned.
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You had just stood in line for almost an hour trying to get the coffees only to have them get your order wrong. You would’ve been more upset about it but you were just eager to get away from all the noise and bright lights that made your headache ten times worse.
You reached for your room key and inserted it into the door all while trying to balance the uneven amount of coffees. You opened the door and glanced over at the boys sitting on the edge of the bed. “Good, you guys are up.” Dean stood up so quickly that his movement caught your attention. You set the cups down on a nightstand and looked towards Sam and Dean. Sam stood up beside Dean with a worrisome look. And Dean looked at you with such glee and excitement that you turned around to see if there was someone behind you. “What’s going on?” You asked as the more you looked at them the more terrified you got.
“Um,” Sam mumbled and tried to find the words, “Dean’s uh...”
“What?” You ask as you become even more worried.
“Dean... he uh... something is wrong with him.” Sam kept looking at you and Dean. You all stand still, unmoving.
“Dean?” You ask and as you do so, Dean gulps as if you managed to take his breath away when calling his name. “Dean?” You ask again and this time, the biggest smile comes on Dean’s face like an excited puppy. “Dean, wh...what is it?”
“I’m in love with you, Y/N.”
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Hope you enjoyed it!
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Chapter two: Take It Easy
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pittarchives · 3 years
Text
John Hammond and Martha Glaser: A Cold Correspondence
This post was written by Adam Lee, graduate student, Jazz Studies.
Erroll Garner famously won a lawsuit against record production titan Columbia Records in the early 1960s, which allowed him to launch his own label Octave records. While the details of this lawsuit have been covered by news outlets such as Variety (The True Story of Erroll Garner, the First Artist to Sue a Major Label and Win), the fallout of this suit would continue to echo throughout history in the form of a feud between Garner’s manager Martha Glaser and Columbia Records producer John Hammond.
John Hammond was a scion of the Vanderbilt family through his mother and by the 1930s had become one of the most influential promoters and producers of jazz, acting as a patron to such jazz legends as Count Basie, Billie Holiday, and Benny Goodman (who became his brother-in-law in 1942). He is often lauded for his staunch stance against racism through his promotion of jazz in a time in which it was considerably less common to find white people of status working to promote Black artists. Not all jazz artists would receive Hammond’s full support, however, as is made clear with his lukewarm response to Erroll Garner’s work.
Hammond was the producer working for Columbia when the events that led to Garner’s lawsuit came about, and later would become involved again in a Garner reissue project in 1975. Martha Glaser, writing on behalf of Garner, wrote to Hammond expressing her disdain for the way Columbia, and thus Hammond himself, was handling this project in the last few years of Garner’s life.
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Image from folder “Correspondence from John Hammond,” Erroll Garner Archive, 1942-2010, Box 1, Folder 62, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.
Glaser writes that Garner and she were reluctant to be involved in a Columbia production, understandable from their previous contentious relationship, but initially thought that Hammond would be supportive of the project: “It was with considerable trepidation that we got into the PLAY IT AGAIN, ERROLL project, because of past experiences at Columbia. However, with your reassurance, and Jim Brown’s support, we thought there would be no problems.” Clearly, there were problems and Glaser had no reservations expressing her feelings later in the letter writing: “We are most dismayed that our good friends at Columbia have so little regard for Erroll or myself, that we can’t reach them, or get a reply.” The venom in her language is clear, the Columbia producers are no friends of theirs.
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Image from folder “Correspondence from John Hammond,” Erroll Garner Archive, 1942-2010, Box 1, Folder 62, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.
Several years later, after Garner’s passing, Glaser and Hammond got into another conflict via letters sent between them. We do not have every record in the archive of this correspondence, but by looking at the letters we do have we can extrapolate some of the content, and it is increasingly hostile. The conflict seems to begin with Glaser’s objection to a quote in George Goodman Jr.’s June 28, 1981 article about Miles Davis titled  ”Miles Davis: I Just Pick Up My Horn And Play.” In the article, Goodman attributes a statement to Hammond (which Glaser notes is not written as a quote, but more as a statement of fact): “To John Hammond, the authoritative critic and jazz patron credited with the ‘discovery’ of such greats as Bessie Smith and Louis ''Satchmo'' Armstrong, Mr. Davis is the only major performer of his generation who broadened rather than contracted the appeal of jazz music.” Glaser vehemently objects to this characterization, and overtly questions Hammond on it in a letter dated the next day, June 29, 1981: “Whether it accurately states your opinion, I can’t tell – but I certainly wonder about it.” Glaser goes on to contradict the assertion that only Davis expanded jazz appeal, referring to Garner’s public success with scathing and sarcastic language: “… if he was ‘contracting’ the appeal of jazz, then I wonder who all those people were in all those SRO audiences through the world for all those years…,” and “Indeed, he was sock box office…despite the heavy-handed treatment of CBS Records, and the subsequent results. I can fill you in, but I am sure you know much of what happened.” Obviously Hammond knows what happened, as he was the head of A&R (Artists and Repertoire) for CBS/Columbia Records at that time.
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Image from folder “Correspondence from John Hammond,” Erroll Garner Archive, 1942-2010, Box 1, Folder 62, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.
Hammond’s response is dated July 16, 1981 and specifically refutes the Goodman article for the Times, attempting to redirect the ire against him to the Times itself saying, “Why the Times is so sloppy in its music coverage and quotes is beyond belief.” While he could have continued to play diplomat, he instead doubles down on the conflict and writes some very specifically cruel things about Garner and Glaser “…the greatest mistake he ever made was in leaving CBS for purely financial reasons. When I came back there in the very late fifties, I did my best to patch things up, but I must say that I found both you and Erroll greedy, to say the very least.” He follows this with an attack on Glaser alone: “Unfortunately, the nit-picking that went on by you (acting on behalf of Erroll) left you with very few friends in the company. When I tried to sign Erroll in the mid-sixties, I was warned that if I did, I would probably suffer another heart attack and was ordered to cease and desist my efforts.”
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Images from folder “Correspondence from John Hammond,” Erroll Garner Archive, 1942-2010, Box 1, Folder 62, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.
Glaser counters the attacks directly: “’Greed’ was not the reason for the litigation. It was at a great sacrifice – including a financial one – that Erroll was pressed into this litigation by some substantial violations of his contract.” Ever the stalwart defender of Garner, Glaser accuses Hammond of hiding this opinion from Garner behind a smiling face: “I wish you had told Erroll, at the time, or in the almost 20 years subsequent to the litigation, that you thought he and I were motivated by ‘greed’. This might have put a different face on how he reacted to the entire situation, and to you, since he always said – ‘Don’t put John in the middle’, and was concerned about your well-being.” Glaser continued to take issues with Hammond’s specific phrase “nit-picking,” and notes the implications of such language: “I sometimes wonder where such an appellation might be sexist. When a man works as hard and carefully as I have to maintain quality standards, he is considered to be on top of things.” The jarring final statement is loaded with a sarcastic feel, like Glaser is writing pleasantries because these things are included in letters by practice but not by meaning: “I hope we can talk one day. In the meantime, thank you for your attention and response. Wishing you the best with your new enterprises. Sounds most exciting.”
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Image from folder “Correspondence from John Hammond,” Erroll Garner Archive, 1942-2010, Box 1, Folder 62, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.
To this letter we do have Hammond’s response, dated September 19, 1981. And once again, venomous statements are bookended with pleasantry. Hammond first apologizes about the greed comment, but by the third paragraph he outright tells Glaser that Garner would have been more financially and professionally successful if they had stuck with him and Columbia Records.
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(Above) Images from folder “Correspondence from John Hammond,” Erroll Garner Archive, 1942-2010, Box 1, Folder 62, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.   
The final document in this record appears to be a draft of a letter typed by Glaser before the final version dated September 9,1981. While this document does not have a date, it does follow many of the same points of the dated letter and responds point by point to Hammond’s July 16, 1981 document. This draft has numerous redactions and corrections, and the language in it is much stronger than the one that eventually replaced it, (including one parenthetical where Glaser notes “have to change this” after expressing that Hammond’s letter was “character assassination.”) And it is perhaps for the best that it wasn’t sent, but in it we can see the rage that Glaser had for Hammond and the industry, and the vigor by which she was ready to protect Garner’s reputation and status. This draft letter too shows some significant insight into the things that Glaser thought were important, but (in contrast with the final letter) chose to hold back, almost certainly as a result of professional considerations. She writes “That Mr. Garner, a Black – jazz – artist – with a female manager – in those pre-consciousness raised days – both in the fields of race and sex – had the audacity to go up against a major corporation to defend his artistic rights – apparently didn’t sit well with the corporate heads. It was a ‘first’ and they made it clear he had to be broken and punished. Surely, you were aware of that.”
All in all, through these letters, we can see the conflict between Glaser and Hammond, and the not-so-subtle attempts by both of them to conceal resentment and animosity. Hammond’s position of power and reputation in the industry allowed him to feign magnanimity, but Glaser had neither the luxury nor the desire to sugar coat her arguments, although we can see from the differences in her brutal draft letter from her significantly more (but not entirely) diplomatic final letter version that she did take these things into consideration. In the end, Glaser once again proved that she would stand up for Garner against even industry giants like John Hammond, in a way that was uniquely her own.
Works Cited
Erroll Garner Archive, 1942-2010, AIS.2015.09, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.
Goodman, George. "MILES DAVIS: 'I JUST PICK UP MY HORN AND PLAY'." The New York Times. June 28, 1981. Accessed April 27, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/28/arts/miles-davis-i-just-pick-up-my-horn-and-play.html.
Ouellette, Dan. "The True Story of Erroll Garner, the First Artist to Sue a Major Label and Win." Variety. December 02, 2019. Accessed April 27, 2021. https://variety.com/2019/music/news/the-true-story-of-erroll-garner-the-first-artist-to-sue-a-major-label-and-win-1203413083/.
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saleintothe90s · 3 years
Text
427. Super Bowl 1991 Commercials (1/27/1991)
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(I love that this carefree ad ran in the WE’RE AT WAR issue of my local paper, Daily Press, ten days before the Super Bowl):
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I believe my mom would save the papers from the war, and send them to my dad who was out to sea at the time. That’s the only reason why we still have this copy that’s in my collection right now (I took this pic back in 2017 when I re-found it). 
So, anyway, just like 30 years ago, Super Bowl 2021 is being held during an uncertain time in the country, and just like in 1991, advertisers were hesitant. Diet Pepsi pulled a “call this number for your chance at a million dollars” ad days before the game, citing “world events”, and the fear of “Disrupting our nation’s ability to communicate” 1: 
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New York Times on wartime Super Bowl coverage the following day: 
Even the commercials were affected by events in the Gulf. In most Super Bowl telecasts, the messages are slick and expensive. This year's batch was somewhat toned down because of the war, most notably the ads of Coke and Pepsi, which abandoned ambitious promotions and made sure the viewer knew it. (And didn't Pepsi have to love that halftime shot of a soldier drinking its product while watching the game in Saudi Arabia?) 2
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(source) 
Before we get started, I have to mention Whitney Houston’s Star Spangled Banner from that year. Every Monday morning in elementary school, we had to stand for the Star Spangled Banner along with the Pledge of Allegiance. For weeks after the game, we always stood for the Whitney version. I always refer to this Super Bowl as the “Whitney Houston Super Bowl”.
Ok, now to the “subdued” (?) commercials, beginning here: 
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Look, I know that Jay from the Purple Stuff Podcast said he loved this commercial in the Super Bowl Commercials episode, but I think this Bugle Boy commercial with the GoGos is so lame. I mean, I’m going to say it, were the GoGos still relevant in 1991? Was Bugle Boy clothes still a thing in 1991? 
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Are picture-in picture TVs still a thing?!
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Bud Bowl 3 with Bud Dry this year! I predict Bud Light will win this year.
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At 4 minutes in, Advertising History happens. Yes, it’s the Ray Charles Diet Pepsi UH-HUH commercial! I was seven when this aired, so this was one of the first big commercial campaigns I really remembered. I have this strange memory of seeing a TV interview with the Uh-Huh girls (Meilani Paul, Darlene Dillinger and Gretchen Palmer) , and they said they were coming out with an album soon, and little me was like, “I’m going to buy that album”. It never came out. 
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Ray made an appearance on Pepsi cans in 2018. I never got my hands on the Ray can, I always got Britney or MJ when I got a pack of Diet Pepsi that Summer. 
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I’ve been meaning to watch the John Goodman critical flop King Ralph for months now. 
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Is wielding around a giant bottle opener legal at the Bud Bowl?
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Part 2 starts with an upset at the Bud Bowl -- Bud Light hid the football in his label? what? So many questions with the commercials this year. 
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Peter Jennings updates us during the commercial break about the war. The Air Force was using smart bombs to disturb the oil flow into the Gulf, started by the Iraqis.  It was 3am and quiet in Saudi Arabia. 
Earlier, I mentioned that I was just a little kid when this was going on, and I don’t remember much. However, I do remember thinking “Iraq” was spelled “Arrack”, until I saw the word “Iraq” in a newspaper headline. 
Peter will be back at halftime for another update. Yup, you heard me, no halftime show was broadcast that year. If you were at the stadium in Tampa that year you saw the show with the New Kids on the Block and an “all kids Super Bowl”, but if you were watching it on TV, you got the news, and maybe after the premiere of Davis Rules after the game, you saw the show, pretaped, but most people didn’t see the show. There’s a great video by Secret Base about the “worst halftime show ever”. Peter Jennings was “the Beyonce of 1991″. It looks like from Secret Base’s video that we didn’t miss anything. i mean a small bowl-cut haired boy sang “Wind Beneath My Wings”, which I’ve mentioned before, is the saddest song ever: 
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(that little kid has major hair roots)
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 The original World Football League only lasted two years.   I found an early game on YouTube.
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McDonalds thought that neon clad skiers could sell its steak sandwich with onions, mushrooms, and sauce that looks little McRib-y.
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Here is a Harlem Globetrotter dancing with Miss Piggy. 
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Karl Malone had some jazzy LAGears.  Did you know that there are some LAGears on the Payless Shoes website? 
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I have more questions, what is that popping out of that Panasonic TV? A remote control? Way back in the beginning of this website, I asked another question about a Panasonic Commercial that aired this evening.
 Bud Bowl update at the end of part 2: 
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Part 3
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Oh, give me a break with this elementary school garbage, Hertz. This is the Super Bowl.
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All the goodwill I gave the Ray Charles Diet Pepsi commercial is out the door after hearing Jerry Lewis sing murder the song. 
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A 40 oz of Budweiser crushed and murdered some Bud Light bottles. Game’s tied.
Part 4
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~the new Panasonic portable laptop word processor~ Nope, this wasn’t a computer, it just handled word processing. 
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Eriq La Salle played an olympian in a Budweiser commercial. ~America~
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Ok, Boomer. But seriously, l’m 37, and I still want Reebok Pumps. 
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Diet Coke dumped their Leslie Nielsen commercial, and instead ran a commercial stating why they didn’t feel right airing it? I don’t think this commercial would hurt anybody’s feelings or offend anybody, Diet Coke. In 1994, The New York Times mentioned it as an ad fail: 
In 1991 the Persian Gulf War overshadowed the cola wars, forcing Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola to reassess plans to promote contests with humorous commercials.
Coca-Cola went ahead with its contest, but replaced its silly spots, starring Leslie Nielsen as a bumbling police detective, with serious spots, including one announcing a $1 million donation to the U.S.O. There have been few more surreal moments in advertising history than when a somber-voiced announcer in a no-frills Diet Coke commercial asked consumers to play the "Crack the Code for Real Refreshment" game.
Pepsi, by contrast, scrapped its contest but stuck with its funny commercials, featuring Ray Charles warbling "You got the right one baby, uh-huh!" for Diet Pepsi. The result: Diet Pepsi trounced Diet Coke -- and Coca-Cola has yet to return to the Super Bowl. 3
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A sense of relief washed over me when I saw my bbys, Jon Lovitz and Dana Carvey in an American Express commercial.
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Jon couldn’t shop at Needless Markup. 
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Budweiser is cheating again. 
(part 5)
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Bud Light won fair and square!
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1. “Pepsi Promotion Fizzles Out.” Broadcasting, January 28, 1991. 26. https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1991/BC-1991-01-28.pdf 
2. Lapointe, Joe. “SUPER BOWL XXV: TELEVISION; ABC’s Coverage Stays in Perspective.” The New York Times, January 28, 1991, sec. Sports. https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/28/sports/super-bowl-xxv-television-abc-s-coverage-stays-in-perspective.html.
3. Elliott, Stuart. “Super Triumphs and Super Flops.” The New York Times, January 30, 1994, sec. Business. https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/30/business/super-triumphs-and-super-flops.html.
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nbenrey-real · 4 years
Text
various hlvrai headcanons
everyone on the science team (+gman & forzen) are autistic. whos gonna stop me, god?
john freeman is canon. hes the one babysitting joshua during all this wondering what the fuck is going on
gordon is trans & bi
benrey is something between nb and agender. they/themry rights
genderfluid tommy & coomer
bubby does not vibe with gender. agender it is fellas
darnold is probably nb but hes just vibing
gregory ‘gman’ goodman is tommys bioparent. he wasnt sure how to raise a half human child without fucking them up, and time passes weird for him so he didnt realize how long it really had been. tommy is understanding given his experiences with time fastness on soda, but gman owes him so many birthday bayblades and he WILL use that power for guilt-tripping 
joshua is in and will never outgrow his mlp phase because i love those funky ass plastic horses
Gordons first language is actually ASL! both his parents were deaf and he’s partially deaf in his left ear. he switched to the black mesa hearing aids because they worked better and kinda slap with the orange, though.
he spent most of his childhood not talking and then most of teenhood dealing with being selectively mute. still prefers sign tbh but cant have shit in black mesa
since he really hates being left out of communication- this also makes things like inside jokes or references irk him, so hes just. very annoyed, most of the time. this really only made the hand thing even more distressing, tbh
speaking of the hand, his new one is a really sick ass high-tech prosthetic courtesy of gman. it has texture and heat sensing and everything, but he still gets phantom pains like hell and sometimes needs to shake it a few times to get it to re-calibrate to his nerves
gordons always been neurotic as shit and had high anxiety, but dealing with a shitty ex and raising joshua by himself really kicked it into high gear right before the whole. resonance cascade thing.
knows he tends to get aggressive when he’s afraid or panicked but has just gone absolutely off the rails after black mesa because hes sick of the varying bullshit thats been going on just. in general. he can have a little ultraviolent crime. as a treat.
ended up becoming friends with chell as a kid, since they were both in the deaf community, lived in the same area, and had a huge interest in science. 
black mesa actually has really good work culture when it comes to lgbtq+ folk and suspiciously good benefits, and aperture science is just happy to have more warm bodies to throw at portals- gordon heard some of the rumors about cave johnsons weird ass tests though, so he elected to go with black mesa. now hes starting to wonder if cave johnson just ran both, because what the fuck 
somehow he keeps ending up with more and more of the science team living with him whereever hes staying, even after he moves to a bigger place for joshua. eventually they just. buy a house specifically to live together. theres an entire seperate house connected by a path thats just for joshua because gordon is paranoid someone will leave out something dangerous
can and WILL have a panic attack at the drop of a hat, this is a THREAT. also please install more battery-powered night lights, the power went out and it scared the shit out of him guys hes serious please pick up more from lowes-
craving ice cream 24/7 because GOD do i want to eat that entire container of cherry vanilla hagen daz right now SDFBGN
benrey is dissociating or spacing out 98% of the time and really has no idea whats going on dude. they just follow the script. or sometimes the skeleton does for them. the audio processing bs really doesnt help with any of this.
will i project my shit memory, audio processing issues, general-spaciness, and inability to tell when ive veered from ‘playful joking’ to ‘oh wait im actually being annoying and making them mad’ on to benrey?? yes. yes i will. 
legitimately has only ever been in black mesa. why hasnt everything reset yet. do they just have to live here until it does so they can go back. he just kind of sits in the bus-stops for the lines that used to go there after he reincorporates, occasionally joining in on heists or hanging with tommy, and just. waits.
after the like 5th night in a row, of the second week of gordon having to drive tommy to pick them up from a soaking busstop at 3 am in the morning, because ‘its storming really bad and they dont have anywhere else to sleep mr freeman and he gets so worried its so cold’- he just says fuck it and makes them join the rest of the household
gordon promptly ends up actually being concerned about this dumb asshole because jesus christ, they dont even know how to microwave things. did they just live in the breakroom at black mesa all this time??
benrey: yeah gordon: gordon: what the fuck is wrong with black mesa they haVE DORMS. WHY DID THEY-
between benrey and whatever the fuck is up with doctor coomer hes starting to think black mesa might have been causing some serious memory issues in their workers. he makes everyone do tangrams just to check, encourage neuroplasticity 
benrey spaces out halfway through one and starts playing terraria on their phone instead. gordon gives them a b- for effort
benrey and bubby are single highhandedly the reasons behind the banning of both tnt and all firespread from the house minecraft server
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roaringgirl · 3 years
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Books read in January
I am keeping this as a little record for myself, as I already keep a list (my best new year’s resolution - begun Jan 2018) but don’t record my thoughts
General thoughts on this - I read a lot this month but it played into my worst tendencies to read very very fast and not reflect, something I’m particularly prone too with modern fiction. I just, so to speak, swallow it without thinking. First 5 or so entries apart, I did quite well in my usually miserably failed attempt to have my reading be at least half books by women.
1. John le Carré - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1974): I liked this a lot! I sort of lost track of the Cold War and shall we say ethics-concerned parts of it and ended up reading a fair bit of it as an English comedy of manners - but I absolutely love all the bizarre rules about what is in bad taste (are these real? Did le Carré make them up?).
2. John le Carré - The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1963): I liked this a lot less. It seemed at the same time wilfully opaque and entirely predictable. Have been thinking a lot about genre fiction - I love westerns and noir, so wonder if for me British genre fiction doesn’t quite scratch the same itch.
3. David Lodge - Ginger You’re Barmy (1962): This was fine. I don’t have much to say about it - I was interested in reading about National Service and a bit bogged down in a history of it so read a novel. As with most comic novels, it was perfectly readable but not very funny.
4. Dan Simmons - Song of Kali (1985): His first novel. This is quite enjoyable just for the amount of Grand Guignol gore, and also because I like to imagine it caused the Calcutta tourist board some consternation. Wildly structurally flawed, however. Best/worst quote: ‘Hearing Amrita speak was like being stroked by a firm but well-oiled palm.’ Continues in that vein.
5. Richard Vinen - National Service: A Generation in Uniform (2014): If you are interested in National Service, this is a good overview! If not, not.
6. Sarah Moss - Ghost Wall (2018): I absolutely loved this. About a camping trip trying to recreate Iron Age Britain. Just, very upsetting but so so good - a horror story where the horror is male violence and abuse within the (un)natural family unit.
7. Kate Grenville - A Room Made of Leaves (2020): Excellent idea, but not amazing execution - the style is kind of bland in that ‘ironed out in MFA workshops’ way (I have no idea if she did an MFA but that’s what it felt like). Rewriting the story of early Australian colonisation through the POV of John Macarthur’s wife Elizabeth.
8. Ruth Goodman - How to Be a Victorian (2013): I mostly read this for Terror fic reasons, if I’m honest. I skimmed a lot of it but she has a charming authorial voice and I really like that she covers the beginning of the period, not just post-1870.
9. Gary Shteyngart - Super Sad True Love Story (2010): I read this on a recommendation from Ms Poose after I asked for good fiction mostly concerned with the internet, and I thought it was excellent - it’s very exaggerated/non-realistic and that heightening of incident and affect works so well.
10. Brenda Wineapple - The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation (2019): What a great book. I had to keep putting it down because reading about Reconstruction always makes me so sad and frustrated with what might have been - the lost dream of a better world.
11. Halle Butler - The New Me (2019): Reading this while single, starting antidepressants and stuck in an office job that bores me to death but is too stable/undemanding to complain about maybe wasn’t a great decision, for me, emotionally.
12. Halle Butler - Jillian (2015): Ditto.
13. Ottessa Moshfegh - Death in Her Hands (2020): Very disappointed by this. I don’t really like meta-fiction unless it’s really something special and this wasn’t. Also, I’m stupid and really bad at reading, like, postmodern allegorical fiction I just never get it.
14. Andrea Lawlor  - Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl (2017): This was really really hot! I will admit I don’t think the reflections on gender, homophobia, AIDS etc are very deep or as revealing as some reviews made out, but I also don’t think they’re supposed to be? It’s a lot of fun and all of the characters in it are so precisely, fondly but meanly sketched.
15. Catherine Lacey - The Answers (2017): This was fine! Readable, enjoyable, but honestly it has not stuck with me. There are only so many sad girl dystopias you can read and I think I overdid it with them this month.
16. Hilary Mantel - Wolf Hall (2010, reread): Was supposed to read the first 55 pages of this for my two-person book club, but I completely lack self-restraint so reread the whole thing in four days. Like, I love it I don’t really know what else to say. I was posing for years that ‘Oh, Mantel’s earlier novels are better, they’re such an interesting development of Muriel Spark and the problem of evil and farce’ blah blah blah but nope, this is great.
17. Oisin Fagan - Hostages (2016): Book of short stories that I disliked intensely, which disappointed me because I tore through Nobber in horrified fascination (his novel set in Ireland during the Black Death - which I really cannot recommend enough. It’s so intensely horrible but, like Mantel although in a completely different style/method, he has the trick of not taking the past on modern terms). A lot of this is sci-fi dystopia short stories which just aren’t... very good or well-sustained. BUT I did appreciate it because it is absolutely the opposite of pleasant, competently-written but forgettable MFA fiction.
18. Muriel Spark - Loitering with Intent (1981): Probably my least favourite Spark so far, but still good. I think the Ealing Comedy-esque elements of her style are most evident and most dated here. It just doesn’t have the same sentence-by-sentence sting as most of her work, and again I don’t like meta-fiction.
19. Hilary Mantel - Bring up the Bodies (2012, reread): Having (re)read all of these in about 3 months, I think this is probably my favourite of the three. I just love the way a whole world, whole centuries and centuries of history and society spiral out from every paragraph. And just stylistically, how perfect - every sentence is a cracker. I’m just perpetually in awe of Mantel as a prose stylist (although I dislike that everyone seems to write in the present tense now and blame her for it).
20. Muriel Spark - The Girls of Slender Means (1963, reread): (TW weight talk etc ) As always, Hilary Mantel sets me off on a Muriel Spark spree. I’ve read this too many times to say much about it other than that the denouement always makes me go... my hips definitely wouldn’t fit through that window. Maybe I should lose weight in case I have to crawl out of a bathroom window due to a fire caused by an unexploded bomb from WW2???? Which is a wild throwback to my mentality as a 16 year old.
21. China Mieville - Perdido Street Station (2000, reread): What a lot of fun. I know we don’t do steampunk anymore BUT I do like that he got in the whole economic and justice system of the early British Industrial Revolution and not just like steam engines. God, maybe I should read more sci-fi. Maybe I should reread the rest of this trilogy but that’s like 2000 pages. Maybe I should reread the City and the City because at least that’s short and ties exactly into my Disco Elysium obsession (the mod I downloaded to unlock all dialogue keeps breaking the game though. Is there a script online???)
22. Stephen King - Carrie (1974): I have a confession to make: I was supposed to teach this to one of my tutees and then just never read it, but to be honest we’re still doing basic reading comprehension anyway. That sounds mean but she’s very sweet and I love teaching her because she gets perceptibly less intimidated/critical of herself every lesson. ANYWAY I read half of this in the bath having just finished my period, which I think was perfect. It’s fun! Stephen King is fun! I don’t have anything deeper to say.
23. Hilary Mantel - Every Day is Mother’s Day (1985): You can def tell this is a first novel because it doesn’t quite crackle with the same demonic energy as like, An Experiment in Love or Beyond Black, but all the recurring themes are there. If it were by anyone else I’d be like good novel! But it’s not as good as her other novels.
24. Dominique Fortier - On the Proper Usage of Stars (2010): This was... perfectly competent. Kind of dull? It made me think of what I appreciate about Dan Simmons which is how viscerally unpleasant he makes being in the Navy seem generally, and man-hauling with scurvy specifically. This had the same problem with some other FE fiction which is that they’re mostly not willing to go wild and invent enough so the whole thing is kind of diffuse and under-characterised. Although I hated the invented plucky Victorian orphan who’s great at magnetism and taxonomy and read all ONE THOUSAND BOOKS or whatever on the ships before they got thawed out at Beechey (and then the plotline just went nowhere because they immediately all died???) I had to skim all his bits in irritation. I liked the books more than this makes it sound I was just like Mr Tuesday I hope you fall down a crevasse sooner rather than later.
25. Muriel Spark - The Abbess of Crewe (1974): Transposing Watergate to an English convent is quite funny, although it took me an embarrassingly long time to realise that’s what she was doing even though I lit read a book covering Watergate in detail in December. Muriel Spark is just so, so stylish I’m always consumed with envy. I think a lot of her books don’t quite hang together as books but sentence by sentence... they’re exquisite and incomparable.
Overall thoughts: This month was very indulgent since I basically just inhaled a lot of not challenging fiction. I need to enjoy myself less, so next month we’re finishing a biography of Napoleon, reading the Woman in White and finishing the Lesser Bohemians which currently I’m struggling with since it’s like nearly as impenetrable Joyce c. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man but, so far... well I hesitate to say bad since I think once I get into I’ll be into it but. Bad.
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doomonfilm · 3 years
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Ranking : The Coen Brothers (1954/1957 - present)
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Directing a film can be one of the most vast, task oriented and stress inducing undertakings imaginable, which makes it odd that more directing duos, specifically sibling duos, do not exist.  Sibling duos like the Wachowskis, Hughes, Farrellys, Safdies and even the Zellners have made names for themselves, but one set of siblings easily towers above the rest : the Coen brothers.  With nearly 20 films under their belt, and nearly as many stylistic varieties and storytelling approaches found within, it is hard to argue the impression they have left on moviegoers worldwide over the past nearly four decades they’ve existed professionally.  With such a stellar record of films under their collective belts, I’ve decided to do the most stress-inducing task of all : rank these films from least to most favorite.
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18. Intolerable Cruelty (2003) For a duo with so much distinct style and flair for storytelling, this film feels the least like a Coen Brothers film.  If anything, this feels like a script that sat on a shelf in pre-development hell, possibly for years, only for someone considering themselves a bit of a ‘maverick’ or ‘forward thinker’ to discover it and think that a dose of Coen Brothers magic could save it.  Even with the star power of George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones behind it, this one feels a bit too ‘by the numbers’ to stand out from an oeuvre that nears perfection.
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17. Hail, Caesar! (2016) I’ll be completely honest with you all... I don’t remember much about this film.  I remember enjoying it, but I don’t remember being blown away by it.  I remember enjoying the colorful display of old Hollywood, and it’s always refreshing to see George Clooney lean into roles that border upon slapstick.  For as much as I found this film not all that memorable, however, it stands above Intolerable Cruelty simply because it does not trigger bad memories.  
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16. Burn After Reading (2008) This film is what Intolerable Cruelty wanted to be... a property that is a hair closer to by the books, but full of a screwball approach that heralds to a forgotten era of film while using an incredibly stacked cast.  Of all the Coen Brothers films I’ve seen, Burn After Reading feels like the property that all involved enjoyed making the most.  Like many of the Coen Brothers films, the cast on this one is mega-stacked, and from top to bottom, everyone involved shines in roles that go against their standard types, or amplify the most off-beat aspects of their performing ability.
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15. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) The fact that Netflix was able to pull the Coen Brothers for a film is a win in itself, and with the duo choosing to do an anthology piece, Netflix was primed to maximize on their investment.  While highly entertaining, however, the anthology nature of the property leaves it feeling a bit unfocused and disjointed at times... none of these stories really had enough meat on the bone to be expanded into feature-length films of their own, but for some reason, all parties involved passed on the opportunity to  make a multi-episode serial rather than a film comprised of multiple tales.  While using variance in storytelling methods and visual styles may work for some less talented directors, in the case of The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, it feels more like snack-sized bites in the place of true sustenance. 
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14. The Ladykillers (2004) On paper, this film should have been a disaster.  The Coen Brothers generally opt for original stories, so the fact that they chose to adapt such an obscure 1950s property for the modern day was strange, especially in light of the fact that most every element with the exception of Tom Hanks’ character was given a modern update.  Somehow, despite all of this oddness, The Ladykillers managed to capture a sense of the classic Coen Brothers slapstick comedy that they famously established themselves with early on in their career.  Tom Hanks is given the green light to go completely ridiculous, and to much of the viewers’ delight, he does so with great aplomb.  His supporting cast shines, the comedic turn brings new energy to the story, and the southern gospel setting brings a rich sense of spirituality to an otherwise run of the mill film.   
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13. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) The Coen Brothers were essentially household names by the turn of the 20th century, but O Brother, Where Art Thou? propelled them into a legendary status.  The grassroots mix of The Odyssey and the Robert Johnson crossroads legend took on a life of its own, leaving behind a soundtrack that birthed an entire generation of folk and bluegrass enthusiasts, as well as a film that showed the world George Clooney’s comedic chops.  Much like The Ladykillers, O Brother puts viewers deep into the unfamiliar territory of Southern ‘discomfort’, with the African-American experience playing a major role in the narrative.  Of all the Coen Brothers films one could use to introduce a stranger to their catalog, this one may be the best, as its infectious nature and stunning look leaves an impression on most anyone who has the pleasure to view it.
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12. True Grit (2010) The Coen Brothers had already covered a wide bit of genre ground within their first three decades, but surprisingly, they’d not done a true western up to that point (though many argue that No Country For Old Men is a modern take on the western).  Therefore, when it was announced that their first western would be a remake of the iconic John Wayne film True Grit, many were surprised, and curious if they could pull it off.  Not only did they pull it off, but in my humble opinion, they made a version that more than holds its own against the original.  For the handful of big name and seasoned actors that signed on, it was the breakthrough performance of relative newcomer Hailee Steinfeld that outshined all.  While The Ballad of Buster Scruggs was a fun revisit to the world of the western, True Grit was the kind of achievement that makes me want more traditional westerns from the duo.
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11. The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001) Listing the Coen Brothers films is by far the most difficult ranking I’ve done to date, and the first film that really gave me trouble in terms of placement was The Man Who Wasn’t There.  Personally, I find this film to be captivating and nearly flawless... Billy Bob Thornton’s detachment is rich and intrusive, which makes it all the more sinister when he does choose to exude even a hint of passion about something, be it positive or negative.  The black and white photography, in league with the tone of the film, puts me in the mindset of films like In Cold Blood, and some of the sequences in the film stand out as some of the most iconic in the world of Coen Brothers films, especially the car crash.  For a classic-style film noir, a genre that anyone with half a brain knew was a slam dunk for the Coens, the duo went above and beyond to both modernize and wholly embody the style.  One of several Coen Brothers films that sits with you long after the final credits have faded away.
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10. Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) If this isn’t the darkest comedy in the Coen collection, it’s certainly giving the number one contender a run for its money.  The intimacy of this film is unmatched within the broader collection of Coen characters, excluding The Dude, but the difference between Llewyn and The Dude is the personality equivalent of the difference between oil and water.  You may marvel at Llewyn’s talent, but all the while, the film is screaming at you that “THIS IS A CHARACTER YOU SHOULD NOT ROOT FOR”.  The symbolism found in the film is minimal while being incredibly effective in how it punctuates Llewyn’s personality and character, and the story structure is an equally subtle swerve that baits you into paying deeper attention, only to realize that the setup was the punchline the entire time.
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9. The Hudsucker Proxy (1994) I’m a sucker for a Coen Brothers comedy, especially the ones that play like human cartoons, and one of their absolute best was The Hudsucker Proxy.  The writing on this film is so tight that it would absolutely pop if it were any tighter.  The entire A Christmas Carol-esque approach to the story makes it a wonderful moralistic tale that makes people laugh so much that they often don’t realize they are being taught a lesson about morals, integrity and self-respect.  Tons of familiar character actors fill the frames, everyone tasked with supporting roles fit firmly and comfortably into the created world, and the man trio of Tim Robbins, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Paul Newman are functioning on genius levels of performance... especially Jennifer Jason Leigh.  While not quite a holiday movie, there is enough of a holiday sense that it could be shoehorned into a seasonal viewing, but any time set aside for this gem is the right time to watch it.
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8. Barton Fink (1991) In my humble opinion, this may be the strongest end to end performance from John Turturro in his long and storied career.  As clear-cut fans of film, it is always a pleasure to see the Coen Brothers explore the world of film, and by using this approach, they are able to tell a bold, brash and haunting tale about the issues that come with assumptions about character and talent.  The takes on Hollywood and the indifference of those in power, especially when it comes to assisting young and promising talents that may one day usurp them, and powerful.  The real bow on the story, however, is the larger than life presence of John Goodman, who goes from being a slightly aggressive and overbearing sense of support to a literal madman by both name and action.  For a film that mainly consists of individuals talking to one another about passion, talent and secrets, there is a kinetic energy that feeds the forward momentum of this movie, and for that, it stands out in the Coen collection.
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7. Miller’s Crossing (1990) It’s not surprising that the Coen Brothers could make a compelling and memorable gangster film, but I don’t think that anyone expected a film as vicious and dark as Miller’s Crossing.  For a duo that generally relies on nuance and contemplation to get their points across, this film certainly proves that they are more than capable of excelling in the direct approach as well.  The era-specific costuming is outstanding, the murky city areas stand in stark contrast to the woods of the titular Miller’s Crossing, and the sheer volume of bullets are a stark reminder of the Prohibition-era story we are viewing.  Gabriel Byrne shines in his lead role, bringing a world of fury, deceit and mistrust in tow with him.  The iconic hat blowing in the wind serves as not only the biggest memorable moment from the film, but possibly also the single moment of peace and beauty found in a film that holds up a dirty mirror to a dark world.
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6. A Serious Man (2009) Of all Coen Brothers films, this is easily the most underappreciated and slept on of the bunch.  I’m a sucker for movies that embrace Murphy’s Law, and when mixed with the parable nature of the Book of Job, we are presented with a darkly comic and relatively unique version of the hero’s journey.  The way that the personal, professional and philosophical problems pile up on Michael Stuhlbarg’s Larry are meant to be felt by the audience, and the way that his bad luck boomerangs out into the world during the film’s resolution must be seen in order to be believed.  The way that destiny and chance dance around one another in this film is narratively breathtaking, and for such a subtle film, it is a truly remarkable achievement.
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5. No Country For Old Men (2007) When you think of the Coen Brothers, you don’t necessarily think of evil incarnate, and yet, the duo succeeded in capturing a character in the form of Anton Chigurh, the closest thing to the Terminator that the duo has ever created (to my knowledge).  The story is a wonderful, subtle tale of how the times can change into something we don’t recognize before we recognize the change, but it is easily Javier Bardem’s iconic performance that gives this film all of its power and ominous energy.  His unyielding forward momentum, his disdain for obstacles in any form, and his disregard for human life are enough to instill real fear into those who partake in viewings, and his presence will more than likely haunt you far beyond completion of the film.  A true modern-day masterpiece that would have been higher, if not for...
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4. Blood Simple (1984) What a powerful debut, and one that not only hinted at, but outright put the spotlight on the promise of the Coen Brothers when it came to stark visuals and stunning storytelling.  For such a simple, small scale story, the tangled web that is woven is a slippery slope of deception and distrust that leaves little to no survivors in its wake.  The scale of the film is deceptively small, but the quality shines in every aspect that it can.  Seeds are placed that pay off wonderfully, and the color palette presented gives the film the feeling of a Technicolor film-noir.  Much like A Serious Man, Blood Simple deserves to be talked about and held up much more than it is by fans of film. 
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3. Raising Arizona (1987) What a wonderfully ridiculous movie about something as simple as the trials and tribulations of navigating love, marriage and parenthood.  The most hilarious aspect of this film, in my opinion, is how it feels like a living and breathing cartoon, both in terms of the character performances and the outrageous events that take place within the world of the film.  Nicolas Cage is operating on a completely different level, Holly Hunter is equal parts charming and hilarious, Trey Wilson is wonderfully over the top, John Goodman and William Forsythe bring excess hilarity to the wild proceedings, and Randall “Tex” Cobb is downright iconic in terms of his ridiculous character.  The pacing of the film is breakneck and feverish, the comedy hits never stop coming, and the utter charm emanating from the midst of the caper presented is infectious.  As a second film, this could not be any more different than Blood Simple, and yet somehow, it connected so vividly with viewers that it remains a must-watch film to this day. 
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2. Fargo (1996) What is there to be said about Fargo that has not already been said?  For a duo with more iconic films to their name than some directors have completed films, Fargo was an immediate signal that the limits of the Coen Brothers’ creativity and skill had not even began to show its full breadth.  Within less than five years of release, the film was already heralded as a classic (of all-time, not just modern day), the mystery surrounding its possibility of being based on a true story built a world of intrigue around the movie, and it has gone on to create a universe of its own in the form of an FX TV show that recently wrapped its fourth season.  There is not a wasted role in this film, and to this day, any movie fan worth their salt will happily bust out their version of a Minnesota accent that is almost certainly based on one of the many memorable characters that inhabit the world of Fargo.  Numerous actors, including William H. Macy, Frances McDormand and Steve Buscemi, all found breakout success in the wake of this wonderful film.
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1. The Big Lebowski (1998) Was there ever any doubt for this placement?  For everything that Fargo did in terms of success within the world of the film industry, The Big Lebowski did that and more for the worlds of the counter-culture and cult film fans.  The story we are presented with is so simple, yet so ridiculous in its journey, that it almost insists on viewers revisiting it over and over.  Like many Coen Brothers films, nobody cast in the film is wasted or misused, and due to these stellar performances, the film finds itself as one of the most quotable in recent memory.  Much like the performances of the cast, the writing does not waste any words or opportunities, often referring back to itself in extremely subtle and nuanced ways that present themselves over time, and to hilarious effect.  Nobody would have expected a film of this nature to have a fandom, and yet, the legions of fans for this film are unique to that of the Coen Brothers catalog in the sense of their dedication, devotion to and love of the movie.  While not everyone’s cup of tea upon first viewing, The Big Lebowski is truly an example of the gift that keeps on giving.   
If the Coen Brothers never make another film, they’ve already created and achieved more in their journey that most filmmakers can dream of.  Many of their films could honestly be considered works of art, and nearly all of them are compelling with an ability to leave deep and lasting impressions.  If you are unfamiliar with the Coen Brothers, do yourself a favor and check out their work, as it may bring a new sense of invigoration to your love of film.
Editor’s Note (12/10/2020) : Inside Llewyn Davis added to the number 10 position, all films ranked lower adjusted accordingly.
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Note: This article is from 2016
Glorious sunshine, a Caribbean island and a never-ending supply of grisly murders.
With nearly eight million loyal viewers Death In Paradise has become one of TV’s biggest dramas - a phenomenon for BBC1. Yet star Danny John-Jules reveals the show nearly never made it onto television at all, after it took nearly five years for a channel to snap it up.
Danny’s convinced the reason for the delay was a very disturbing one.
“Believe me, there were nerves in high places,” reveals actor Danny, who has played one of the show’s leading characters, police officer Dwayne Myers, since the start. 
“Even though the lead was a white guy it was a huge undertaking at the time to have so many black people on screen in a prime-time slot. It took five years of hard-selling to get a TV channel to commit to the show. Death in Paradise was a fine line to walk - a lot of money had to be put into it.”
It’s a big statement to make.
And obviously everyone else’s loss finally became the BBC’s gain. 
But Danny - who also plays Cat in sci-fi sitcom Red Dwarf - says that when it comes to race and entertainment, it’s only too obvious there’s still a problem. He’s a longtime friend of Idris Elba, whose Academy Awards snub for his role in Beasts of No Nation helped trigger the #OscarSoWhite campaign and a huge boycott of the February 28 ceremony. Danny, 55, agrees with the likes of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett that more needs to be done.
“If you put up photographs of who votes for the Oscar nominations you can maybe realise why they reach the decisions they do,” he says.
And he certainly has little time for Broadchurch actress Charlotte Rampling. She blasted the uproar over the lack of diversity in the Oscar nominations was “racist to white people.”
But Danny says: “At the end of the day someone like Charlotte Rampling is only ever going to be judged on her performance. Her race is never going to come into it. Change that to someone like Whoopi Goldberg, who has won an Oscar, and there’s a whole other element, either subconsciously or consciously, that can creep into a judges’ decision making. It follows pretty much across the board in business, it’s not something just based in the arts.”
Of course, things have been different with Death In Paradise.
After finally finding its home at the BBC, it’s remained one of its most successful dramas as people lap up the mix of an lighthearted detective mystery with the beautiful scenery of the Caribbean isle of Guadeloupe.
“Thursday night for millions of people has now become feet up on the reclining sofa, glass of wine and wait for Death in Paradise to begin,” reflects Danny. “I’ve been on telly for 26 years and its very rare you get old West Indian ladies coming up to you in Sainsbury’s approaching you saying ‘Oh, I can’t wait for the next episode! That has been the biggest achievement - the fact the show seems to work for everybody.”
The gruelling six-month long shooting schedule is not quite so idyllic. “You think it’s great being located out in the Caribbean, but there are a lot of casualties of war,” says Danny.
One of them was the show’s original lead star Ben Miller, also of Armstrong And Miller fame, who quit as Detective Inspector Richard Poole at the end of series two. But his replacement, My Family actor Kris Marshall proved an instant hit as lead detective DI Humphrey Goodman.
“It’s a tough gig, and for Ben, with his wife pregnant in the first series, the issue of schools, and the fact he didn’t deal with the heat very well... We had a lot of that. Lots of people not making it through their contracts. Kris Marshall had an absolute mountain to climb when he arrived to take over the role. But he’s done it. And you know what? The ratings went up.”
Danny, who grew up in Paddington, west London, says he has never been one to personally suffer from homesickness or fatigue - mainly because of his early days as a dancer on the variety circuit. “You were on £40 a week and you would be away for six months. I was in a show on the Isle of Wight, three months with Jimmy Tarbuck, three with Dicky Henderson. I saw Dicky the day his mum died. He got up in the morning, got the ferry to London, went to his mum’s funeral, and then was back on stage in the Isle of Wight that same night at 7pm. You look at people like him and you think you can’t just phone in with a bit of a tickle in your throat.”
Danny went on to be a dancer in the West End, including Starlight Express, and performed in Wham!’s The Edge of Heaven video and The Great Muppet Caper, before landing the part in Red Dwarf in 1988.
The show, co-starring Craig Charles and Chris Barrie, ran for 10 series until 1999, before making a highly-anticipated comeback first in 2009 and then properly last year.
The 12th series is due on screens this summer.
But despite being in two huge shows, Danny ensures he’s not away from his family for long - even flying out his fiancee Petula Langlais, and their two children Dante, 10, and Danae, 8, to Guadeloupe for six weeks during the filming of Death in Paradise. He and Petula have been together for 13 years, but have only recently got engaged.
“Most people would have been surprised if I had been with someone for 13 weeks, never mind 13 years,” he laughs. “People were talking actually - especially when I was dressing in PVC and wearing lots of make-up for shows!”
Now however he’s all about family - and Dante is already following in his footsteps as he appears in the programme himself. He was asked to do the guest role after producers saw him in Danny’s self-made short film Bucky - a tragic story of inner-city urban life seen through the eyes of a five year-old boy, co-starring James Bond actor Colin Salmon and EastEnders actress Mona Hammond.
“It was three days of filming, literally 9am to 9pm at night,” he says. “I don’t think I could have asked anyone else’s child to take part. Some of the Death in Paradise producers then saw it - and offered Dante a part.”
Grinning wide, Danny can’t hide his pride. And as he looks forward to his wedding and not one but two big shows on TV, he proves he really is the Cat that got the cream.
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dewitty1 · 4 years
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Saturday Six (Stuff)
If it was one thing I missed during this thing, it was not having spring flowers. Well, my parents went to town today and asked, as they always do if there was anything I needed. I said "not necessarily need, no. But I do miss having some flowers. My pots and things look very bare." So, while my dad was buying lumber, mom bought me a hanging flower basket. (´∀`)♡
I don't really condone my parents going to town as much as they do. But how am I supposed to stop them? ( ;´Д`)
So many rants I could have about people being idiots in this town. Today it was the line for the drive up window at the bank. UGH. TWO LANES PEOPLE, TWO LANES. I feel like Walter (John Goodman's character) from The Big Lebowski. Always screaming about something. And telling Donny (this time our president) to shut the fuck up. (#ಠQಠ#)
I had a customer who'd been bugging me about doing work on his boat top finally call and say he was ready for me to do the work this week. I find it interesting that the exact time when our governor announces that some recreation, like fishing, will be opening back up, that this guy decides he's got his shit together, and is ready for me to work on his project. If I hadn't said yes before the stay home orders were put in place, he would have gotten a no. Smh. (;¬_¬)
Is it disassociating when you're reading four different things (book club book, The mdzs - aka The Untamed - book, drarry fanfiction, & HP series re-read) as well as trying to fit in a bunch of TV shows? ( ´△`)
Even if I may not like the reasons for it, I am really digging that my parents are appreciating that my dude is a good worker, and kid overall, and actually really helpful at doing chores and stuff. ೭੧(❛〜❛✿)੭೨
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overwhelmsion · 4 years
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Oooooooh what did you think about little women 2019? I had some big likes and big dislikes about it myself (also @ me in the post so I can find ur reply!) tumblr so annoying to navigate sometimes
my THOUGHTS are PLENTY milady @when-did-this-become-difficult
I did not like it.
my main gripe is the timeline... not using a LINEAR timeline is the WORST "twist" for this type of story like... the whole POINT of the Little Women story is seeing them go from girls to young women to women. The flashback bullshit detracted and muddled so much. Minus a million points for that.
Second, the casting. This is gonna be long.
Saoirse Ronan could have been the perfect Jo. Could have!!!!!! Was not. I hold Greta directly responsible for this. And it has been literally forever since I read the book so I don't remember how her storyline actually went but some of the things that Jo did in this movie had me like... "Would she tho?" The other thing is Timothee Chalamet. See, those two LOOK perfect together. He looks younger than Florence Pugh, who was probably pitch perfect as grown up Amy and who unfortunately reads and sounds older to me. Florence is like, what, 22? Her face and voice give me 36. Sorry it just does. And Timmy boy reads like a teenager so them together was NOT good. Jo and Laurie need a good contrast. I would have swapped the actors of this movie with the PBS adaptation from 2017 and pair Timmy with Maya Hawke and have our future "Prince Eric" Jonah Hauer-King play Laurie to Saoirse's Jo. Now THAT would have been interesting.
The hardest thing to sell with any Little Women adaptation is ALWAYS going to be Laurie and Amy's romantic relationship. The 1994 version failed, partly due to the actors. This movie tried much harder but you're still left grasping for more. One of the things I liked best was how we're introduced to Amy and Laurie, with Amy being so excited and practically jumping off the carriage and Laurie taken so aback but pleasantly surprised. Their chemistry was ON that day on set. And at the beginning of the movie I thought, bold move, introducing these 2 couples straightaway, it would certainly help the audience swallow Lamy (I'm a genius). Also aging up Amy so that she's 13 in the flashbacks and 20 when she marries Laurie certainly helps. BUT young Amy is a fail. Florence tried, but just making her voice more high pitched and squealing and talking fast and making pouty faces doesn't erase the fact that she looks almost 40. It's unsellable.
Then the movie makes it first sin. It introduces us to married Meg and John Brooke, and it assumes we know this story!!!! Otherwise you're in the movie theatre going what?? who is this guy??? Remakes NEED to still explain the story. I was also very displeased with the 1994 version because it does not feature one of my very favorite moments in the whole book which is Aunt March pulling a Lady DeBourgh on Meg and telling her she cannot marry John Brooke and Meg going "I wasn't going to??? but thanks for your unnecessary opinion" and Aunt March going SERIOUSLY I FORBID YOU FROM MARRYING John Brooke and Meg going "Bitch now I'm gonna!! The fuck" and reverse psychologying that marriage into happening like... Chef's kiss, truly. Meg and John's is such a behind the scenes relationship and I always loved it and I HATED what Greta did to their relationship here. Meg had valid points but she would NEVER TALK LIKE THAT and their make-up would never be that basic and John is a fluff ball and Emma Watson playing the haughty version of Meg is a NOPE from me.
Pacing was awful!!! I was bored!!!!!!!! Almost every significant moment falls flat and I blame it on the writing and directing. Meg being bimboed out, Jo discovering Amy burned her book, Amy falling in the ice and almost dying, their dad coming home for christmas, Beth almost dying, Beth dying, Amy going to Europe instead of Jo, etc.. there was no nuance, there was no pace, dialogue was rushed most of the time for... impact??? To show emotion???? How and WHY do you rush through the "my hands are empty" "no they're not." Whatever the direct opposite of galaxy brain is, that's what that exchange was.
Laura Dern played Marmee too cheerfully, too saintly; Meryl Streep added nothing to the character, and having the guy who played Saul Goodman on Breaking Bad play the girl's father was... a choice. Also, how do you cast Eliza Scanlon and have her do NOTHING as well, like, anyone who's seen Sharp Objects knows what this girl is capable of and YET greta had her play a red-headed Beth for NO REASON. Like Eliza played her just fine but Claire Danes got a lot more to do with the script like... Greta you're not a screenwriter so just stop trying. Also IT MUST BE MENTIONED each sister had legit a different hair color????? Saorise and Eliza look too much alike so greta couldnt have anyone confuse them hence she had to make Beth a literal fucking REDHEAD????? stupid.
Timmy boy looks like a psychopath to me like his "acting" can be okay at times but otherwise he's a red flag on legs.
Friedrich.... first off he's supposed to be older like, that actor was, what? 27, 28 tops???? And the romantic relationship with Jo was not developed, shown, felt, at all???? I HATED Jo's rant at him when he said her writing wasn't good, it went too long and the dude doesn't say anything else??? And he is somehow in love with her, and months (years???) go by with absolutely no contact between them but he shows up and we're supposed to believe these people are ready to commit to each other? Oh wait he plays the piano *LiKe BeTh* FETCH THE FUCKING CARRIAGES. Exhausting.
I think Greta banked on people having already known the story and bringing their OWN feelings and emotions to it to supplement the film like, the film itself provided so little emotion, so little impact. She thought she wouldn't have to work for it. WRONG, LADY.
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