#I’ve never seen the second movie but I love me some good vfx | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

glytchfic · 3 years

Text

We started as a spark. PART 1.

David Dastmalchian x Fem!Reader

Hellooo guys! So i’m back for the official Part 1. I’m glad so many of you enjoyed the Prologue, it’s really appreciated. I don’t know at what frequency exactly i’ll be able to upload because i’m in college - you know the drill with college lol fml - and i’ll probably get busier and busier as the week goes by, but i’ll keep you posted as much as i can! As usual, if you have any criticism or anything, just let me know.

Enjoy!

Rating: 18+

Warnings, i’ll probably add more as i go: slow burn, foul language.

Inspired by the song False Alarm by Matoma & Becky Hills.

___________________________________________________________

I hear a knock on the door and I open my eyes a little bit. I turn around, hide under my blanket and close my eyes again. I can feel myself dozing off again and I hear another knock, louder this time. After a sign of despair, I get up and stumble to my front door, not entirely awake yet. I open it and see a red-haired man walking right through it. I groan. Here comes the legendary Steve Agee with his early morning attitude.

‘I’ve been waiting for 15 minutes downstairs.’

‘How come Richard let you through?’

‘The man at the lobby? I told him your darkest deepest secret to prove I knew you and he let me through. Now get dressed, we’re gonna be late.’ Steve commands.

‘Late for what?’ I ask, apparently confused.

He frowns at me and tilts his head a bit. After a couple of seconds, it hit me.

‘Aw fuck the table read!’ I scream as I run to my room.

‘Nice PJ by the way.’

I mutter a ‘Fuck you’ under my breath as I search for something decent to wear to our first table read. I put on something quite simple – black leggings and a white T-shirt – and grab my phone on my bedside table. One text from my mom, eight missed calls from Steve and one text from – oh my god – David.

‘I reserved a seat for you and Steve right next to me. You’re welcome.’

I can’t help but smile. I first met David a month ago when James – James Gunn – decided to organize something at his place so the crew could get to know each other. To my biggest surprise, David and I hit it off immediately. But if I’m being honest with myself, it does not help the huge attraction I have for him.

‘Are you coming or not?’ Steve yells while jingling his car keys.

‘Oh my god, I hope you got us coffee before you got here because you’re insufferable right now!’ I yell back.

I take a sip of my coffee as I look out through the window.

‘Sorry for making us late.’ I say calmer than earlier.

‘Don’t you have an assistant to help you keep track of all that?’ Steve points out.

‘Yep. Might fire him.’

Steve parks the car and I get out of it, coffee in hand. I gaze at the building, and I see the Warner Bros logo at the top of it. I look at my phone and see we’re only ten minutes late, which is not so bad. Chances are we’re not gonna be the only ones late. We enter the building and I follow Steve, who knows this place much better than I do. We arrive in front of door 171 and he opens it for me like the gentlemen that he is. With a loud bang, the door closes behind us and everybody turns around to stare at us.

‘Hey.’ I say with an apologetic tone.

‘Have you, at least, brought coffee for everyone?’ James chuckles.

I mouth a sincere ‘Sorry’ as I look around for my place. I see David in the corner waving at me and Steve. He smiles at me as I sit next to him, and I can feel my face getting a little bit hotter. I really need to calm down. I can’t let him have this much effect on me.

‘Did you get lost?’ he whispers to me.

‘Worse than that. I forgot.’ I whisper back and he chuckles a bit.

He hands me a copy of the script and we finally begin our first table read for The Suicide Squad. James shares with us his thoughts about most parts of the movie, some information we need to know about the underlying messages and all the important dates we need to know about the productions. After a few hours of reading and re-reading some parts, we leave the room and the first I do is lean against the wall in the corridor, holding my rumbling stomach.

‘Are you pregnant or something?’ Steve said in his mocking tone.

‘Fuck off, Steve.’

He laughs. Being very vocal about not wanting kids, he knows it annoys the shit out of me when he makes those kinds of comments. But since I’ve known him for years and we became good friends, it just became – in a way – a running gag between us. And maybe because most of my attempts at the relationship thing failed because of the baby thing and he knows all about it. He’s an asshole and I love him for that.

‘All jokes aside, wanna grab a bite? You look like shit.’

‘You look like shit.’ I smile at him, and he smiles back, ‘but yeah, we should. Coffee only diet is not good.’

‘Wait here. I’ll ask David if he wants to come with us.’

Hearing his name makes me a bit weak. I see Steve walking away from me to join another group of the crew a bit farther in the corridor. I lean my head against the wall, and I close my eyes. I’ve only seen David face to face a few times this last month – and never completely alone – so I’m not really used to having him around me yet. Our brand-new friendship mainly developed from the fact that we realized from the get-go we had a lot of things in common and we shared those interests via text messages. You know, Youtube videos and memes as any friends would do. Let’s put the emphasis on the word friends here since, you know, we’re gonna be weeks long together filming and stuff.

‘Well, hello Clarice.’

I smirk at the nickname and open my eyes to see David looking at me with a grin. Since he’s learned that I’m a huge fan of The Silence of the Lambs - and of horror movies in general – he's been calling me Clarice or Miss Sterling from time to time.

‘Doctor Lecter.’ I say as professionally as possible which makes both of us laugh.

‘Stop playing around kids, I’m hungry let’s go!’ Steve exclaims.

‘Uh-huh, I can’t agree with that, I’m sorry but -’ I say while chewing on my burger.

‘Oh my god, really?’ David replies, interrupting me.

‘Let me explain,’’ I swallow my bite and wave at them to calm down before I continue, ‘look, I do think George Lucas was right to change a few things about his original Star Wars movies since we do have��better VFX and CGI for it now. It doesn’t change anything story wise so who cares?’

‘Unbelievable.’ David simply said under his breath.

‘Okay, that’s enough. I don’t care, I’m gonna say it: I’m ashamed to be your friend.’ Steve dead-pan comments.

‘I have every right to say it and I’m gonna say it goddamn it! George was right!’ I exclaim.

Both take their faces in their own hands, and I can’t help but chuckle as a sip my milkshake. There’s nothing like creating pure chaos with Star Wars fans. I let them try to explain to me how wrong I was, and I continue eating, amuse. As I am looking at Steve explaining a deep theory about the Star Wars universe, I see from the corner of my eyes that David is glancing at me. I subtly look in his direction and he immediately turn his stare away when our eyes connect. I smirk and turn my attention back to Steve.

‘So, anyway, that’s why you’re wrong.’ Steve says as a matter of fact.

‘Sure buddy.’ I laugh.

Steve rolls his eyes and looks at his phone. He sighs, gets up and puts some cash money on the table.

‘Gotta go. I have a meeting with some friends for a photography session. You guys have fun.’

We wave him goodbye and in just a few seconds, he was gone. I turn my attention to David, and it hit me. It’s officially the first time we’re completely alone. Completely, not really, we’re still in a public place but there’s no Steve or no James to keep the conversation going. I’ve never struggled with small talk or any talking really, but somehow, it’s the first time in my entire life where I’m legitimately concerned about me not knowing what to say or what to do.

‘I didn’t know you were such a drama queen about Star Wars’ I say to David, trying to mock him a bit.

‘I thought they were called public nuisance now?’

I let out a sincere laugh, ‘In no way whatsoever you could be a public nuisance.’

‘I will take that as a compliment’ he says with a lovely smile.

Fuck, this friendship is gonna be hard to deal with.

#we started as a spark #part 1 #david dastmalchian #david dastmalchian x reader #abner krill x reader #polka dot man x reader #fanfiction #x reader

45 notes · View notes

lliaq · 4 years

Text

okay, now that I’ve slept on it I’m actually gonna try to put down my thoughts on the season, so obvious TUA season 2 spoilers below and it’s probably going to get really long

Just to preface this, I haven’t read any of the comics, so I can’t speak to how the show compares to them.

Guess I’m gonna start with the positives, and I think what I enjoyed most about the season where just little moments between the siblings. Obvious standouts being Ben getting to talk to Vanya and Diego. I think those were the only two scenes that acutally made me tear up a bit. It was just really nice seeing him get that opportunity, and something that I’ve wanted to see since S1. It would have been even nicer if he got a moment with all his siblings, but hey, I’ll take what I can get. Another one was at the very end with Vanya and Diego just sitting on the stairs together. Just a nice little moment, even if it was short.

Luther apologizing to Vanya was a pleasant surprise and showed that he actually used his time alone to reflect and have a bit of character growth, so that was another plus.

I overall liked Allison and Ray’s relationship, and I was okay with the way it ended. It was kind of bittersweet, but it made sense and felt in character.

On that note, I also liked that Allison learned to achieve things without her powers, because never having to do that was kind of a big note of her character in S1. Not necessarily sure it had to be done by taking her voice away, I think if anything it would have been even better if she did it by choice, but I’ll get back to that.

I enjoyed the whole old Five vs “young” Five thing. Not much more to add to that, really.

And lastly, I enjoyed Reginal a lot more than I thought I would. It was interesting to see a bit of a different side of him when he was with Grace, felt like it gave his character a bit more depth, and I mean the actor is just fantastic. Like, I fucking despise Reginald, but it’s a joy to watch his performance. The way he went in on Diego at the dinner was fucking brutal, man. That was heartbreaking to watch, and the fact that none of the others stood up for him sucked, but honestly I think it just shows that despite them bonding a little, they still have a ways to go in terms of being a functional family. S1 didn’t span all that much time, and they were separated for most of their time in the 60s, so it makes sense that they’re still learning in that department. Them getting into the car with Vanya showed that they’re getting there though. Also, to get back to Reginald, I think they’ve made it pretty clear now that he’s an alien, so there’s that too. No more confusion about that.

Now on to the so-so stuff. Things that were neither all good nor all bad.

Vanya & Sissy - oh boy man. I mean first of all: give me that lesbian farm life, hell yes. I was rooting for them from the start, and I just really loved all their interactions. Also, idk if that was intentional on Ellen’s part or not, but her chemistry with Sissy was leagues above whatever the fuck was going on with Leonard. That being said- I’m personally not a fan of cheating storylines, just in general. I get why, in this case, but yeah. And unlike with Ray, I really wish they would have taken Sissy and Harlan with them to 2019. Because, for one: can we at least have one happy gay couple on this show? And second: They both deserved to have a life where they’re not constantly judged for who they are. From a character standpoint I get that going to the future would be really scary and shit, but just imagine man. Vanya and Sissy could have been together without having to hide, and Harlan could have vastly benefited from the better understanding of autism we have now. Not that either of those aspects are perfect in 2019, but they’re a long way from the 60s.

Diego and Lila’s relationship I honestly didn’t care much about. It felt like they just completely dismissed Patch and the impact her death had, by not even so much as giving her a mention. And I also just didn’t really feel it man. I mean they spent some time together in the asylum, but it seemed like they weren’t even friends really - and then by the end of the season they love each other, like girl, it’s been less than a week. Relax.

Lila on her own, I did kind of like, but I feel like she could have used a bit more development, and a little less ‘I had sex with this guy once like five days ago and now I love him more than anything’

Ben. Ben Ben Ben. I was kind of up and down on his arc. I actually liked that he was just so done with Klaus’ shit, even if calling Dave a fling might have crossed the line a bit for me. Some of the posession stuff was weird (though I’m glad they at least had the ground rules talk), but at the same time getting to see him experience the most basic sensations like air on his face and dirt under his feet was nice. He did also save the world through the power of communication and love, so you know- good job, Ben. And then they killed him (again). Ngl, I was pissed at that- but I figured they would probably find a way to bring him back somehow, so I held off judgement on that until the end, and I was right. Still not entirely happy, and whether or not that’s going to change will likely depend on what happens with S3.

Klaus’ cult story line was kind of eh. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t really like it either. His attempts to save Dave were more interesting, even if they ultimately didn’t work. Other than that, he didn’t really go through any growth this season. It did piss me off that Allison enabled his drinking after he relapsed. Fuck that.

I’m glad we got to see a little bit of how Allison losing her voice affected her, but I think they could have done more there. Idk, it just felt a bit lackluster for something so huge. Like I mentioned earlier, her living a life of never actually having to work for anything was something that shaped her character and personality in S1, and I‘m glad she’s had that realization. That being said, I think it would have been even more impactful if she worked for what she wanted w/o using her powers by choice, showing that she was was willing to put in the effort to grow and change, rather than being forced into it by circumstance. But you know, sometimes life works like that, and people don’t change unless they’re forced into a situation where they have no other option.

And, somewhat related, I think the last point for this section is Allison and Vanyas relationship. While I’m glad that they’re closer now, I wish they would have at least adressed Vanya slitting her throat. I understand that Allison doesn’t blame her, we already saw that at the end of S1, but c’mon. At least have a short conversation about it, because that was a big thing. It feels like they just used that to fuel the ‘Allison needs to learn how to do things without her powers’ storyline, and then it just got dropped, never to be mentioned again. The show tends to do that a lot, and it completely diminishes the impact of these big moments.

Okay, now to the purely negatives, here we go.

Luther moping over Allison. For the love of god. Listen, Luther did grow on me this season, compared to S1 - but I was so fed up with his moping around. Can we just not do the incest thing anymore, please. I already went through that shit with Shadowhunters (except there it at least wasn’t actually incest), I don’t wanna do it again.

Harlan. I honestly did not care for him at all. That being said, I usually don’t care about child characters, so that’s not a big surprise and not necessarily the show’s fault. But also, the fuck even was that storyline. I’m sorry, but it just made no sense. Which actually leads me right to the next point

Inconsistently written powers. Diego doing the thingy with the bullets like since when tf can he do that? I understand that the show already changed his powers from the comics, but up until that point it was strictly about knives. We never see him curve or manipulate (or whatever it is he actually does) any other objects, so this just felt so random and out of nowhere, and like they just wanted to give him a ‘badass powers moment’. If they wanted to indicate that his powers were more than what we’ve seen in S1, literally all they had to do was have him use them on something that’s not a knife at any point in the season. A 2 second shot, done. And then you don’t get to the finale and are suddenly like “the fuck”. But, boy, Vanya was even worse. Sounds. That’s what we learn her powers are in S1. Sounds, she manipulates sounds and sound waves. So how in the everliving fuck does she a) bring someone back to life, b) tranfser part of her powers to that person and create a magical connection, and c) take that part of her powers back? None of that makes any sense whatsover. The stuff in S1 where she’s sucking the life out of her siblings was already a stretch, but they’ve just made it worse this season. And this is just a minor gripe with the VFX, but her floating out of the barn looked so bad. I know it’s hard to make floating/flying people look good and natural, but other shows and movies have done it, so it’s not like it’s impossible.

And lastly: The villains. They were terrible, period.

I don’t like the Handler that much, she’s just so...plain and boring and really the only thing she has going for her are the outfits. Nice outfits don’t make a good story though. But the Swedes were even worse. Just every scene they were in felt like it dragged and I just wanted to skip past it. And then they have the fucking funeral scene with swedish Adele like are you kidding me? Am I supposed to feel bad for these pieces of white toast with zero personality or development? ??? Honestly, they could have cut them out completely and replaced them with more development for Lila and I would have been perfectly happy with that. Or replaced them with literally anything else. I don’t think I would have felt like I was missing anything important. Also, AJ? What was up with that? Again, haven’t read the comics so idk if he’s a big deal or not in them, but I really thought he would play a bigger role. That felt like such a waste of a character and like what even was the point?

I really feel like AoS (esp. S1-4) raised my bar for well written and developed villains. Admittedly, a 22 episode season allows for a lot more time to actually do that than a 10 episode season, but still. If you have less time to develop characters, then you need tighter writing and TUA completely dropped the ball on that one.

Okay. I think that’s it. I mean, I probably forgot a bunch of stuff, but these were the things most prominently on my mind after letting everything sink in for a bit. Overall I’m pretty meh about the season as a whole. I’ll probably watch S3 (if they renew it, that is), but I’m not super hyped about it or anything. The only thing keeping me interested are sibling interactions and the Ben reveal (even though his emo hair is an atrocity. I’m sorry Ben, I love you, but no.)

#tua #tua spoilers #boy this got longer than I thought it would

5 notes · View notes

theabominableblogger · 4 years

Text

Rewatching “Crimson Peak”

Discussing this movie on the Gotham group chat with @ckatattack and decided “Eff it, Imma watch it again.”

Lez go!

“Rent movie for $3.99″ absolutely

Holy crap, I forgot about this opening lullaby during the logo. Holy shit.

For some reason, the bloody Edith in the opening shot really looks like something the girl behind MadeYewLook should do. Other Alexis, hear me out!

These colors (in young Edith’s bedroom)!

*flinches when the first ghost puts her hand on Young Edith’s shoulder*

You ever had someone put their hand on your shoulder when you’re like seconds away from falling asleep? Scariest shit ever.

*silently jams out to the music when Edith is traveling to the publisher*

I freaking LOVE Edith’s yellow dress in this movie. The puffy shoulders, the black under dress, the straw hat, love it.

“Actually, Mrs. McMichael, I would prefer Mary Shelley. She died a widow.” *z snaps*

“The ghost is just a metaphor. For the past.” Boom there’s the whole movie.

“He told me it needed a love story. Can you believe that?” AGAIN-

Also holy shit, Bobby from Supernatural is Edith’s dad!

For a second, I thought this typing house looked like a science fair.

AND THERE HE [Tom HIddleston] ISSSS!!

I’m sorry, I’m just smiling... so hard at this [Edith and Thomas’s first scene together]

Listen, if we get a scene in the Loki TV show where we see him in an outfit very close to the one he wears in this movie, I will... die. That’s it. I’ll just die.

The aesthetics for most of Guillermo del Toro’s movies are wonderful. The like 95% period accurate clothing, the yellow lighting, the red and green wallpapers OH MY GOD I JUST NOTICED THE RED AND GREEN

*The door knob starts creaking* Oh boy

That shot of Edith’s face in half shadow when she’s about ready to close the door but she sees the ghost of her mother? Good stuff.

*Thomas waits near the staircase* OH SNAP HE LOOK GOOD

OHHHHHHH THAT TRANSITIONNNNN [from the staircase to the ballroom]!!

I also love the detail that Lucille’s dress is ten years too old for her because she is still stuck in the past when it comes to life.

*grins like an idiot when Thomas offers the candle to Edith*

There are so many people gasping in this scene

I wonder if they actually did try to do the waltz with the actual candle lit for filming or did they do some VFX to make it look like it was lit the whole time? Part of me thinks that that flame’s real but I don’t know.

Where have I seen the guy who plays the investigator before?

“The man that just left, among other ailments, is colorblind....only the majority around him does. Now that man will never perceive the colors red or green. He only accepts their existence because the majority around him does.” “Perhaps we only notice things when the time comes for us to see them.” OH MY GOD ALL THE RED AND GREEN IN EDITH’S HOME

Charlie Hunnam’s Britsh accent slipped in when he said “understand”

Also I want this man to play Green Arrow in the DCEU

Did she [Lucille] just rub the dead butterfly on her face?

*Close of ants feeding on dead butterfly* Thanks, that was needed.

*Thomas reveals the ring he was going to give Edith* BOY YOU KNEW HER FOR LIKE A THREE DAYS AND A NIGHT

Were those all the previous marriage certificates?

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have an unexpected announcement. Sir Thomas?” *sinks down in seat and hisses nervously*

*is extremely uncomfortable when Thomas has to insult Edith’s novel in front of her*

*Edith slaps Thomas* Well he took that pretty well.

*Lucille in the doorway of the dining room* You know what, eff you.

*jaw drops in horror when someone smashes Mr. Cushing’s face in the sink repeatedly, killing him*

I love that Edith is still in her nightgown and she still has bed head (of a sorts) and yet she ran to the hotel, just throwing on a coat and leaving her reading glasses on.

*slams hands on laptop* THESE. TRANSITIONS.

I FORGOT ABOUT THE PUPPER!

BACK AT IT AGAIN WITH THE GREEN WALLPAPER, SET DESIGNERS!

I’m sorry, was that a slight kiss mark on Edith’s chin? Did I see that right?

Boy, you be hugging your sister for way too long...

*Lucille refuses to give Edith a copy of the keys* Electric chair.

“You chose her. Why?” BECAUSE HE LOVES HER YOU BITCH

*One of the ghosts sneaks up on Edith in the bathroom* We see you, @actordougjones!! I see you!!

*Thomas loudly stirs Edith’s tea for her* I’m suddenly flashing back to the tea cup from “Get Out”

So would the Sunken Place for this scenario just be completely red from the red clay? Thoughts to think about.

Wait, how long is Mia Wasikowska’s hair? Is that all real? Jeez! The last time I had hair down to my butt was in elementary school.

“Mother.” Oo woo oo...

Look, I’ve already seen this movie, but I already want Lucille to shut the hell up.

I’m sorry, was that a porn book Lucille just showed Edith?

Well damn they replaced that sink real quick!

*Thomas watches Edith as she watches one of his contraptions* S T O P

Mr. del Toro, you have been reading my list of favorite romantic tropes. Sir please-

*Edith and Thomas kiss passionately* OH... OHH...

*gestures in the air with frustration when Lucille enters the room*

GO AWAY

Can we start taking shots every time Edith starts wandering around the halls in her nightgown holding a candelabra in this movie?

GREEEEEENNNNNN...

*One of the ghosts starts crawling on the floor, moaning and wailing* Haha me

*to the tune of “Sugar We’re Going Down”* WE’RE GOING DOWN DOWN INTO THE RED CLAY BASEMENT! EDITH WE’RE GOING DOWN-

“My hands are getting rough. Your father would approve.” Why would I just realize that? Man, I’m getting slow.

The last time I watched this movie was in 2016. I watched the trailer back when I was a senior in high school. And I watched that trailer multiple times.

I love the ghost as the scarecrow

Girl, you are coughing up blood. You have been poisoned.

Edith back at it again wandering around at night! Take a shot!

This was a terrible decision for me to watch this at like midnight. Why did I do this?

OK, so which one of these ghosts is Javier Botet?

Oh my gosh, the chair Edith is in is bigger than last time because she’s being swallowed by the house.

AND ANOTHER TRANSITION!

“Sir Thomas is already married.” BUM BUM BUMMM!!

*has to look away as Thomas and Edith get it on*

Aaand there’s the English countryside right there. I’m gonna look back away now.

“Lucille, we’re back!” Lucille, you son of a bitch.

“You slept there? You two... alone...” Yeah, that’s what husband and wife do. They get together, sleep together, do a lot of things together. Jesus.

“I was so alone. I can’t be alone.” Lady, I just want you to shut the hell up.

OK, so now I forget what’s in the ES suitcase? Enola’s body? What’s up?

Oh, it’s just a suitcase full of other stuff. Never mind. I thought it was gonna be her body.

Lemme guess the ghost is gonna rise out of the red goo? Yep!

I’m getting a lot of callbacks to “The Shining” like with all the red and then the ghost with the ax in her head climbing out of the tub

Jessica Chastain’s accent keeps slipping. Am I the only one who’s noticed?

*laughing* Oh my God, again! Take a shot!

Oh my God they freaking swindled a lady in a wheelchair. Ohhhh my God...

WAIT I FORGOT THAT WAS ENOLA’S DOG!

“The poison... is in the tea!” Funnnnnnnnn....

Oh but of course she got snowed in.

“I [Lucille] tended Mother in this bed.” *so done*

STOP EFFING... SCRAPING THE TEA CUP GODDAMN

STOP IT

So is Lucille the older sibling? Oh yeah she is because she said she tended to their mom

*completely done with Lucille’s BS*

Whoever did the set design for Allerdale Hall, I want to send them flowers and my love

OK I know for a fact that that’s Doug Jones as the ghost of Enola

WAIT I FORGOT ABOUT THIS SHIT

*quickly rips out earphones*

*cue a very long string of expletives and looking up and away from the screen*

EXCUSE ME HER [expletive] BACK IS BROKEN! SHE HAS LOST THE WILL TO WALK!

*singing* ALAAANNNN THE UNSUNG HE-ROOOOOO!!!

LUCILLE I WANT YOU *laughing* TO SHUT THE HELL UP

*gasps* WAIT SHE TOOK THE RING BACK FROM EDITH!

“I’m [Alan] here to take you [Edith] away.” *singing* They’re going to take me away, a ha, they’re going to take me away!

Wait he’s a doctor and he just yanks that sucker out of his arm pit? You’d think he’d be smarter than that.

OH MY GOD THEY KILLED THE DOG

*shakes head at the whole fiasco*

*ends up glaring at Lucille as she tosses Edith’s manuscript in the fire*

Edith, while she’s looking away, just freaking tear that... *mimes tearing motion*

Oh my God of course she [Lucille] has a drawer full of the victim’s hairs

“You told me you loved me!” “I do!” AGH

*Thomas throws the law papers in the fire* YAASSSS!!

*gasps when Lucille stabs Thomas*

*jaw drops in horror when Thomas just shanked IN THE FACE*

GOD AND YOU CAN HEAR THE BONE-

*Thomas dies* Jeeesus... that was a good death scene.

God the shot of Lucille running down the stairs from behind? Ugh! And with the flowing fabric behind her! Freaking gorgeous

*Edith goes down in the elevator* Bye bish

That is a huge freaking meat cleaver

Seeing Edith with her steak knife going up against Lucille reminds me of that freaking chainsaw fight from “Mandy” with Nicholas Cage

This final set piece!

*Edith goes up against Lucille with a shovel* MY NAME IS INIGO MONTOYA! YOU KILLED MY FATHER! PREPARE TO DIE!

*Ghost Thomas* Those prosthetics look amazing

*Ghost Thomas nuzzles against Edith’s hand before disappearing* God it’s the little movements. del Toro freaking GETS it

*nods when the end credits start*

#crimson peake #the blogger reacts #Guillermo Del Toro #jessica chastain #tom hiddleston #mia wasikowska #charlie hunnam #edith cushing #thomas sharpe #lucille sharpe #ckattack #doug jones

8 notes · View notes

greencrusader13 · 4 years

Text

My impressions on The Rise of Skywalker (Spoilers below the cut)

So I just got back from seeing The Rise of Skywalker, and I thought I’d share some of my initial impressions on it. Still need some time to digest a lot of it, so my overall opinion is probably still quite malleable.

The Good

The cinematography - as it has been for the entire sequel trilogy - was great. There are so many shots that look so cool and are a delight to see.

Rey and Ben continue to be very interesting characters, and their Force bond was without a doubt one of my favorite parts. The way their realities blend and mix despite being in different locations is done very well, and used with some sincerely interesting consequences. Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley give solid, believable performances.

I can’t quite think of another movie in the post-Disney era that references the EU quite to the extent of this one. If you’re familiar with it, you’ll probably catch several little easter eggs here and there.

The story left few unanswered questions. Whether or not you like the answers is another thing altogether, but we did get answers.

The Less-Than-Good

Movie had a slightly rushed beginning. Similar to Rogue One, the second and third acts are much stronger than the first.

Story decisions I didn’t quite care for, which will be elaborated on below the cut.

Similar to The Force Awakens, too much of the movie felt like it was trying to stand on the shoulders of the movies that came before it. Criticize the prequels and The Last Jedi all you’d like, but damn if they didn’t try to have their own identity. Lando could’ve been easily swapped with someone else and little would’ve changed. It felt more like they were just going “oh hey that’s Lando. Remember him?”

Rose got frickin’ sidelined. Her actress deserved better than that.

My biggest problem with the sequels hasn’t changed: it still feels like these movies are products rather than something that has a reason to exist. There’s an egregious lack of macro story, and I really shouldn’t be lost when I ask what it’s trying to say. The movies never really justify their own existence.

From here on out I’ll be discussing SPOILERS, so proceed with caution.

The Good - Spoilers

Leia’s death was perfect. It was done in a respectful manner that served the story and matched her characterization. It was kinda touching, actually.

YELLOW FRICKIN’ LIGHTSABERS ARE NOW PART OF THE FILM CANON

Rey hearing all the voices of the Jedi that came before her was really nice. I’m not one who’s seen The Clone Wars or Rebels or anything, but from what I understand characters from that could be heard among the voices. I particularly liked hearing Qui-Gon again; he was my favorite part of The Phantom Menace.

Little detail, but I thought they did a good job with the VFX for de-aging Luke and Leia during that one flashback. Granted, the lighting was dark so there wasn’t much detail to be seen, but from what we did see it looked pretty good. Nothing in the uncanny valley.

Poor Hux, but I laughed when the typical “wound me so they don’t buy my betrayal” trope backfired horribly on him. Also loved that his entire motivation for assisting the Resistance was “f*** Kylo Ren.”

Ben Solo doffing his Kylo Ren look in favor of something simpler really added to his redeemed appearance. Also loved seeing a more Jedi side of him.

The Neutral

This topic is divisive from what I’ve seen, but I’m chill with them introducing Force Healing into the canon as something Jedi can just do. It’s been present in games as a mechanic all the time and I believe some other sources as well, so it doesn’t contradict anything. And what I believe Anakin sought was the ability to spare someone from death outright with no cost to the self. I dunno. I think it does raise some issues, but nothing that can’t be explained. Besides, I already used it in my SWTOR fic, so I’d be a bit of a hypocrite to take issue with it.

The Less-Than-Good - Spoilers

Okay, let’s get it out of the way: I hated that they killed off Ben Solo at the end. Poor guy deserved his redemption at the end. I know some people don’t regard him very highly, and that some people have a more punitive approach to wrongdoings, but I’m not about that. If we’re talking TvTropes, this should’ve been a Redemption Earns Life moment, not a Redemption Equals Death one. Plus the Skywalker bloodline has officially died out now, which really sucks IMO. I’d seriously be okay with them retconning his death somehow and bringing him back. Hell, let’s pull a Star Trek and make Episode X: The Search for Ben Solo.

Rey being a Palpatine felt so tacked on it wasn’t even funny. It felt more like they rushed into trying to find someone important to relate her to so they could address that looming question about her parentage, but even then I liked what they were going for in The Last Jedi where she was no one important, and that destiny doesn’t require you be tied to someone already prestigious.

Enough celebration endings. It’s been present in four of the nine main series movies. Feels too repetitive at this point.

Minor gripe, but when Anakin spent his childhood enslaved on Tatooine, and Luke grew up wanting to leave the desert planet behind, it feels wrong leaving the last living memory of the Skywalker family buried there. You’re just ditching them on a place they never wanted to be.

Overall, I’d rate the movie a 7/10. I had fun seeing it, but I doubt it will leave any lasting impressions besides just being another entry in this saga. Go see it if you like Star Wars, but once should be enough.

#star wars #star wars: the rise of skywalker #the rise of skywalker #rey #kylo ren #ben #ben solo #episode ix #episode 9 #movies #jj abrams #daisy ridley #adam driver #the emperor #palpatine

7 notes · View notes

aion-rsa · 3 years

Text

How Wonder Woman 1984’s Practical Effects Set it Apart

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Going back to Themyscira is one of the most anticipated aspects of Wonder Woman 1984. For many fans, the Amazons were the highlight of the original film and an all-Amazon movie can’t come soon enough. The physical prowess and the pure joy of seeing so many women not only in combat, but engaging in fight choreography that’s developed around their physical attributes/gifts/features, is a rare and wonderful thing. The resulting actions sequences were unlike anything on screen before: highly stylized yet clearly effective.

Heading into WW84, director Patty Jenkins and her team (which now includes Gal Gadot as a producer) had a reputation to uphold, and then some.

“There was just no way we’re going to take any shortcuts,” Gadot said during a WW1984 press conference. “And we’re just going to raise the bar and give everything we have because we knew people were so invested with the character and cared so much about her.”

One of the biggest opportunities for action on an epic scale is the so-called Amazon Olympics, an extended opening sequence from Diana’s childhood, where she competed against some of Themyscira’s best in a triathlon of sorts involving an obstacle course high in the air, swimming, and archery on horseback. Lilly Aspell returns to play young Diana who’s now 10 years old. She did at least five months of training to run the obstacle course, which she actually runs through herself. Some of the more fantastical elements are enhanced with green screen and CGI for her safety, but all of the running, jumping, climbing, and swimming is Lilly herself.

If the Amazons were the high point of the first movie, the unequivocal low point was the final fight in the third act, a messy overlong CGI spectacle that felt out of step with the spirit of the warm, character-driven movie audiences had fallen in love with up until that point. While no one mentioned it by name in interviews, it’s not hard to imagine that’s what Jenkins is keen to avoid when she talks about avoiding CGI action – or when Chris Pine refers to “cataclysmic computer graphics explosion nonsense.”

As star Gal Gadot put it: “Patty really made a point about wanting to have a minimum amount of CGI in our movies. So most of the stuff that you’re going to see is real people doing the real thing. Whether it’s us or the stunt people, it’s real people. So it took much longer. You have to prep and to rehearse much longer.”

Gadot calls WW84 “the hardest movie I ever got to shoot by far” but also says it was worth it.

“[The first movie] was received in such an amazing way that there was just no way we’re going to take any shortcuts. And we’re just going to raise the bar and give everything we have because we knew people were so invested with the character and cared so much about her,” said Gadot. “When you see it in the movie … you can just tell that it’s the real deal. You can see by the face expressions that it’s real. You can see the weight and the movement and the speed.”

Practical effects have major advantages, and directors like George Miller and David Leitch, who directed female starring action movies Mad Max: Fury Road and Atomic Blonde, respectively, are big fans. But there are disadvantages as well.

“The hardest parts were just how demanding the shoots were and how physical it was, because it was very important for Patty that we do minimum amount of CGI,” Gadot told Den of Geek and other outlets during a recent press event “So most of the stuff that you see—the running on Penn Avenue, the Amazon sequence, the fight with Cheetah—most of it, it’s real people doing it for real. And for the obvious reasons, it took longer to shoot and it’s very tiring on your body. But then you see the result and I was so satisfied with it cause I was like, ‘Oh my God, you can see the difference. You can tell the difference between real action to CGI action. You can see it in the way that we move, that we hold, our faces, our bodies.’ So that was the hardest part. The rest of it, honestly, Wonder Woman feels like a second home for me.”

There’s a decent amount of wire work in the film which, as Gadot pointed out, isn’t exactly new so much as something that’s fallen a bit out of favor with the rise of CGI.

As fans of the comics know, and the trailer has alluded to, Diana and Barbara have a relationship of sorts before Cheetah enters the picture. Gadot, Jenkins, and Wiig discussed the unique nature of their climactic altercation at a press conference for WW84.

“And I think Gal and I talking about this from the very start,” recalls Jenkins, “saying, ‘However they would fight, it would be completely different. And they’re friends.’ Right? Or at least they have this friendship in the past. It’s not about punching in the face … They’re both trying to literally get the other one under control. … So, narratively, it was fascinating, and then how it would work spatially was fascinating, and then executing it was long and laborious and wild.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this before,” Gadot says. “It’s not like when you see women try to fight like men. No, we’re females, our bodies are different, the way we move is different and this is how we do it. And just to see it, it was so great.”

Each part of the set was carefully designed around the needs of the fight choreography. Eagle-eyed viewers might pick up on a railing or two that play key roles in how the performers bring the action to life.

“We designed what we wanted something to feel like and look like and what the moves were. And then we had to build. There was no stage big enough in the world so we had to build the stage,” Jenkins says. “And then we had to build all those things. And then we have Cirque du Soleil performers practicing them and showing us what things are going to look like. And then these guys have to end up doing it. And so it was incredible, but it was fun to really aspire.”

Of course many fans are simply worried how Cheetah herself will look. As Cinema Blend helpfully points out, while Cats and WW84 were made around the same time (and filmed in adjoining studios) Kristen Wiig looks significantly better than the cast of that delightful little monstrosity.

“Finding the right blend of prosthetics and CG to make that transformation was… it took a ton of (research and development),” Jenkins told Cinema Blend. “It started from the day I started it, and we didn’t complete it until the day we finished. It was so complex trying to figure how to pull off that character. I would lose so much sleep over it. Honestly. Because I was like, it could go so wrong. The first thing I did when I got on to the movie was that they said, ‘We can do this all CG. We can put hair on people.’ And I was like, ‘Show me the best example of that.’ And I saw it, and I said, ‘That’s not good enough. If that’s where our technology is, that is not good enough.’ … Cats was shooting on the stage next to us, and I knew that they were going through the same thing. And then I heard that they were just going to do it in CG. And I was like, ‘I hope it works out for you!’ But I’ve never been so thankful for the process I went through.”

It’s worth noting that while they were filmed at the same time, WW84 is coming out a full year after Cats. The VFX artists who worked on Cats were famously mistreated, rushed to put out an inferior product in order to make financial and awards show deadlines (the latter of which they missed) and then many were laid off and their work publicly derided, an all-too-common occurrence in the industry. Nevertheless, Jenkins once more opted for practical effects as much as possible, and held off on incorporating CGI until absolutely necessary.

“I didn’t want Kristen’s face to become some animated bizarreness. So then we ended up doing tons of prosthetics. Real work. And we only took over certain parts of her body. The rest of it is prosthetics.”

Perhaps most importantly, the action in WW84 is an extension of characterization and moves the plot forward—one of the biggest advantages of using practical effects and a reason actors often cite when they insist on doing as many of their own stunts as possible. The opening sequence in Themyscira illustrates a lesson that shaped who Diana is as a person. Her relationship with Barbara informs her tactics in battle. Her stance on violence and war in the first film—a tricky but welcome one for the genre—is refined here, and directly impacts how she fights.

Wonder Woman isn’t just a demi-goddess who punches her way to victory—how, who, and when she fights matters, both behind the scenes and within the story.

The post How Wonder Woman 1984’s Practical Effects Set it Apart appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3puwylZ

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

0 notes

fun-family · 5 years

Text

Predictions for 2019 Oscars

Every year I read through predictions, critics picks, and anonymous voter ballots on various websites and from that I make my own predictions. I feel less emotionally involved this year as I have in prior years (i.e. “The Shape of Water” and “Moonlight”), likely because many of my favorites from 2018 were left out. I don’t have a personal Best Picture front runner, it doesn’t seem like anyone does. Critics and voters seem torn on more categories this year than in year’s before - so in some ways this Oscars may be one of the most interesting yet (without a host, even!).

That said, here are my Will Wins, Should Wins, and Biggest Snubs for tonight’s ceremony:

Best Picture Will win: BlacKkKlansman Should win: Roma Biggest snub: Leave No Trace

It seems very likely that “Roma” will win Best Foreign Language Film and I think that expectation could have hurt it’s chances of getting votes for Best Picture. Also, from what I’ve been reading “Roma” isn’t as easy to digest for voters as “BlacKkKlansman.” “Leave No Trace” was on almost every top 10 list I read in 2018, why it wasn’t nominated is beyond me.

Lead Actor Will win: Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) Should win: Christian Bale (Vice) Biggest snub: Lucas Hedges (Boy Erased)

It’s really surprising to me that Willem Dafoe was nominated over Ethan Hawke, as much as I love Willem in general. Nearly every article I’ve read has complained about Ethan Hawke being snubbed. I watched “First Reformed” specifically because I thought he was the frontrunner for Lead Actor this year. Anyway, from what I’ve read Rami has been campaigning hard and he’s a likable guy, so he’ll probably win. Christian Bale was in a better movie but he’s less of a likable guy. Lucas Hedges had his career-best performance in “Boy Erased”, so it’s a shame he wasn’t recognized.

Lead Actress Will win: Glenn Close (The Wife) Should win: Olivia Colman (The Favourite) Biggest snub: Toni Collette (Hereditary)

I fully believe that Toni Collette should have not only been nominated, but that she should have won. Hands down. I truly don’t believe anyone could have pulled off her role in “Hereditary” to the same caliber. I know the oscars rarely bring in horror films these days, but I thought “Get Out” may have paved the way for these underrated performances. She is the winner in my heart. BUT Glenn Close will win because everyone says she is due (and I don’t think they’re wrong). Olivia Colman won’t win because too many voters think she should have been in the Supporting Actress category. Olivia was amazing though and based on performance, would deserve to win.

Supporting Actor Will win: Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) Should win: Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) Biggest snub: Alex Wolff (Hereditary)

I was all in for Mahershala before seeing “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” He’s such a wonderful actor and it didn’t really bother me that he was more of a lead in “Green Book.” But Richard E. Grant was just a true supporting actor. He and Melissa portrayed such a strong and honest kinship. It seems voters have recognized this as well. I would be happy with either Richard or Mahershala winning, though. Alex Wolff should have undoubtably been nominated in place of Sam Rockwell. I love Sam, but he played such a small part in “Vice” and didn’t have to give himself to the role in the same way as Alex Wolff in “Hereditary.”

Supporting Actress Will win: Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk) Should win: Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk) Biggest snub: Carey Mulligan (Wildlife)

One anonymous ballot I read complained that there was only one scene in “If Beale Street Could Talk” that really showed Regina’s acting chops. It’s weird to me that that’s a criticism because that scene was so powerful. She held that scene on her own. I could go on a tangent about how that was certainly not the only scene, that her poise, compassion, and love were subtle but a strong presence throughout the entirety of the film. But I think few people need convincing that Regina King should win. Carey Mulligan was especially good in “Wildlife” and it’s a shame that movie wasn’t on enough radars.

Director Will win: Alfonso Cuarón (Roma) Should win: Alfonso Cuarón (Roma) Biggest snub: Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here)

There were three films in 2018 with a particular intimacy, when you watched them it was like you were looking behind a curtain. It felt like a culmination of an artists memories and dreams, they felt personal. Those films were “Roma”, “If Beale Street Could Talk,” and “You Were Never Really Here.” I hope Alfonso wins. I’m sorry that Lynne Ramsay was left out.

Animated Feature Will win: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

I haven’t seen this yet! I’m almost embarrassed to admit that. It’s definitely going to win, there hasn’t been a prediction to the contrary.

Animated Short Will win: Bao

I know it’s hard for other short film makers when big companies like Pixar enter the ring, but I did love “Bao”. It made me cry. That said, I didn’t see the other nominees yet.

Adapted Screenplay Will win: BlacKkKlansman Should win: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Biggest snub: Leave No Trace

I loved “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.” I think to create so many interesting stories in one film in the same universe is such a huge feat. That said, it seems likely that “BlackkKlansman” will take it because of Spike Lee. I keep seeing “he’s due for a win”. While I don’t necessarily agree with the win for this particular film, I won’t knock it. “Leave No Trace” was a great story. It takes a melancholy subject and makes it unexpectedly uplifting.

Original Screenplay Will win: The Favourite Should win: The Favourite Biggest snub: Tully

This will be the category I’m most excited for if “The Favourite” does win. I just think it so deserves the recognition. I think Tully deserved a nomination too, but I understand the early 2018 release made it difficult to stand out so many months later.

Best Cinematography Will win: Roma Should win: Roma Biggest snub: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The only argument I’ve read against Roma winning for Cinematography was that “directors shouldn’t be cinematographers for their own movies”, however others applauded Alfonso for taking the position. Personally, I think Roma had beautiful cinematography and he deserves the win. I didn’t particularly like the cinematography in A Star is Born and thought The Ballad of Buster Scruggs was far more deserving.

Best Editing Will win: Bohemian Rhapsody Should win: Vice Biggest snub: You Were Never Really Here

The talk seems to be that Bohemian Rhapsody is banking on a tale of woe about being edited without a director. I certainly don’t know the truth behind it all, but I found Vice to be a (far) better edited film. That said, neither is as good as “You Were Never Really Here.”

Original Score Will win: If Beale Street Could Talk Should win: If Beale Street Could Talk Biggest snub: You Were Never Really Here

I’ll be so glad for “If Beale Street Could Talk” if it does win. The score to that film was wonderful and such an integral part of the storytelling. I would also say that about “You Were Never Really Here” had it been nominated.

Makeup and Hair Will win: Vice Should win: Vice

I don’t think there’s any doubt here on who will win.

Costume Design Will win: Black Panther Should win: Black Panther

One of the first things I said after I saw “Black Panther” was “wow those costumes were amazing.” I just think the costume design in that film was too special not to win.

Production Design Will win: The Favourite Should win: The Favourite Biggest snub: Hereditary

“Black Panther” could certainly win this as well, but I couldn’t always tell what was CGI so for that reason I am leaning toward “The Favourite.” I wish “Hereditary” had been given a nomination for the essentially life-size doll house they created, but alas they were not.

Best Foreign Language Film Will win: Roma Should win: Shoplifters

I loved “Shoplifters,” and that’s not to say I didn’t like “Roma.” I just felt more personally impacted by “Shoplifters.”

Visual Effects Will win: Avengers: Infinity War Biggest snub: Annihilation

I find it really sad that “Annihilation” wasn’t nominated here. I loved the effects in that film and they didn’t take me out of it in the way that VFX sometimes can. Even though I wasn’t a fan of Infinity War, I don’t have any adverse feelings about it winning this award.

Sound Editing & Sound Mixing Will win: Bohemian Rhapsody Biggest snub: Annihilation

I paired these two categories because I think “Bohemian Rhapsody” will win both and I think “Annihilation” should have won for both (if it had been nominated). One problem with these categories is that too many people don’t know the difference. I wonder if there would have been such outrage about categories being read during commercial breaks if these had been the categories. I digress. It’s a shame that “Annihilation” wasn’t nominated. Anyone who has seen the movie and experienced the chilling bear scene would agree.

Best Documentary Feature Will win: Free Solo

I haven’t seen any of these nominees, but I would have loved to see “Three Identical Strangers” nominated. From what I’ve read it seems like “Free Solo” is the likely winner, with “RGB” being a close second.

Original Song Will win: “Shallow” from A Star is Born

This is definitely going to win and honestly after hearing it so many times the song unexpectedly grew on me.

Best Documentary Short Subject Will win: End Game

I sadly didn’t see any of these, “End Game” just seems to have a popular consensus. The other possible winner seems to be “Lifeboat.”

Best Live Action Short Film Will win: Marguerite

Again, I regrettably didn’t see any of these. From what I read “Marguerite” was the easiest for people to swallow. However, there’s a good chance “Skin” could get it.

#oscar ballot

0 notes

hsews · 6 years

Link

You have most likely already seen that Phil Mickelson advert the place he does “The Worm” and dodges golf balls, which is fairly exceptional contemplating it got here out on Thursday morning. It traveled rapidly. One instance amongst many: I put out the advert on my Twitter feed shortly after 9 a.m. ET on Thursday and in 24 hours it was as much as 422,000 views.

The advert, by efficiency costume shirt model Mizzen+Principal, who made Mickelson a part-owner, was so outrageous that we determined we wanted to listen to the story behind the making of it.

Mizzen+Principal CEO Kevin Lavelle: After signing Phil, my artistic director stated we must always do an advert exhibiting how our shirts stretch and carry out by having Phil dodge golf balls being hit at him. As an alternative of simply dodging balls, he needs to be dancing to … Ghostland Observatory’s “Vibrate.” I used to be not terribly enthusiastic about pitching this idea to one of many high athletes on the earth mere weeks after he agreed to associate with us, already catapulting us into a brand new stage of nationwide dialog. Certainly, he would doubt my sanity.

Shortly thereafter, we had been assembly with him to go over a couple of issues and Amy (Mickelson’s spouse) was with us. I slowly eased my approach into this pitch, then went for it and performed the tune on my iPhone. Amy instantly began laughing whereas Phil broke out into a giant smile. Amy checked out him and stated, “Ought to I inform him or do you have to?” to which Phil replied “Go for it.” Amy’s was overjoyed to share: “Phil can do The Worm!” At this second I knew we might make this occur. I then bought to see some dwelling movies of Phil’s extraordinary dancing abilities, together with The Worm and the excessive kick.

Phil: I do not take myself too severely. After I realized that I might be dancing to Ghostland Observatory, which I needed to Google, Amy could not assist cracking up as a result of, properly, she’s been subjected to my dancing for years. It took me awhile to get snug with the concept of dancing on what could be on nationwide tv, however as soon as I did, it was a lot enjoyable to shoot.

Amy Mickelson: Phil likes to have enjoyable, and never many individuals have gotten to see the true extent of his dance strikes. I could not assist however chortle after I heard the idea, as a result of I knew he would completely nail it in a wonderfully Phil approach.

Lavelle: So from there, we began the fast flip of planning, together with the warehouse, shopping for 2,000 sq. toes of golf grass to shoot on, and hiring our lighting, digicam, and VFX crews.

Phil Mickelson confirmed off his dance strikes, together with doing the Worm, within the industrial. Mizzen+Principal

Richard Ross, Director: We confirmed Phil the dance and he understandably was a little bit hesitant at first, however he was actually gracious and gave it a go. We began breaking the routine down step-by-step, and he picked it up simply and nailed it. The Worm was clearly a spotlight. My spouse, Layne, choreographed it and did nice instructing it to him. An enormous staff effort.

Lavelle: The advert took about 90 minutes to shoot. We’re a nimble crew, and Phil was a champ.

Ross: I’ve seen this video 100 instances and I am nonetheless blown away by his efficiency. We had been amazed once we first noticed it. Even playback on set, the entire crew cheered him on.

Lavelle: We wished to do one thing that highlighted what our product is able to on one of the well-known athletes of all time with this spot. After all we wished vital protection, website site visitors, gross sales, and many others. Everybody all the time desires that. This advert was absolutely the excellent mixture of each of these primary objectives: demonstration of product and virality. It is a lot greater than I believed it could possibly be. I’m completely thrilled, and I do know Phil is simply too. He loves it.

What the corporate positively nailed was eyeballs. Whether or not Mickelson was good or dangerous at dancing — that is as much as the viewers — one factor’s clear: it was so excessive that it is not possible to not see — or unsee — what Phil was doing on Thursday.

“I will do non-public (classes) for the suitable worth,” Mickelson instructed the AP after his spherical on the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational Thursday.

Supply hyperlink

The post Golf — The story behind the Phil Mickelson advert you’ll be able to’t cease watching appeared first on HS NEWS.

#Breaking News

0 notes

rubytslacker · 6 years

Text

Greatest Showman? More Like Greatest Blue Balls.

Hey It’s me and it’s you and it’s probably been forever since I’ve written on here again, but I’ve finally found my peace with that.

Last night I saw The Greatest Showman - an ultra star-filled movie with Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, and Zendaya. This movie is one fat case of blue balls because I LOVE musicals that are inspiring and about old school Hollywood / circus things (example, I love “Water for Elephants” even though it’s not a musical and “Ziegfeld Follies”) but this film ignores the nuances of human life JUST ENOUGH to make you wish you hadn’t rubbed one out in the first place. Every moment is filmed / directed / shot like it’s inspirational, beautiful, and monumental. What is this? Sesame Street? NO BECAUSE SESAME STREET IS MORE EMOTIONALLY DYNAMIC THAN THIS MOVIE. This script is like some alien watched a bunch of Kelly Clarkson music videos and made a musical. UGH.

When the movie started, I definitely teared up because holy heck, I love a good dance / music number that is filmed beautifully to the music. It was moving! OK! Then, Michelle Williams’ and Hugh Jackman’s love story takes flight and a montage lasting like one minute sums up their relationship form childhood to adulthood real fast. I feel SO BAD for Michelle Williams because she’s brilliant in this! She’s a fantastic dancer, a dynamic performer, and just a gorgeous being and she gets BLUE BALLED by this fucking movie. Hugh Jackman is fine, whatever, he smiles a lot and sings, but that's about it.

Anyway, a bunch of crap happens to move the plot forward, then the amazing Zendaya is on screen and I’m SO EXCITED FOR HER because I’ve never seen her in a movie theater and she is incredibly dynamic (like Williams) and just so self aware on screen. She does some great micro acting that is underrated and I love her for it. So the script forces her to fall in love with Zac Efron by a “love at first sight” shot that lasts 5 seconds - just long enough to be like “is Zac Efron crushing? Or is he just shocked that a black person is in the show? Because it’s like 1900 and slavery was just a thing in America.”

Their relationship is TRASH except for when she cries when he wakes up in the hospital after trying to save her from the fire but she was actually okay. WAIT I FORGOT TO EXPLAIN THIS BECAUSE I DIED LAUGHING LAST NIGHT OVER IT! So basically, SPOILER, the place that the circus was happening, some building in the middle of town, burns down. Hugh Jackman arrives just in time to see the flames and all his show “freaks” are safe and out of the building UNTIL Zac Efron notices that Zendaya isn’t there - she’s still in the burning building, uh oh! So Zac runs inside the burning building and all his friends are like “NO ZAC DON’T DO IT” but he does anyways of course. The best part - as soon as he runs in, ZENDAYA FUCKING COMES OUT THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BUILDING! The way it went down seems like Zac’s friends were trying to say “stop! Don’t go in the building! She’s right here, dumbass!” but like, he thought he was being brave, but he could have waited FIVE SECONDS and he would have been fine. Love that part! It’s hilarious. Also Zac almost dies. But it’s okay because his super-glued mutton chops will save him.

If they had more money and time spent on writing this, and if they hadn’t gotten a trash director - who is just Hugh Jackman’s buddy who does VFX in Australia - then MAYBE this could have been good. It had so much potential. The musical scenes were not even filmed MUSICALLY!!! What the hell.

The worst part is that this TRAAASSSHHHHH director is getting another job in Hollywood on a big budget studio film. It’s this toxic white male privilege that is choking the film industry to death. Can we make blockbusters good? PLEASE?!? I don't want this garbage anymore! SOS!

0 notes

rkbahuja · 7 years

Text

Los Angeles-based internationally acclaimed Cinematographer Martin Preiss is a product of Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU) in Prague. Preiss recently made his Bollywood debut with Raabta. While talking to Pandolin, Preiss shares how shooting this foreign language film in a new country has taught him a lot about life, filmmaking and creativity. Here are excerpts from the conversation in which Preiss reveals how he used the most expensive lenses ever in a Bollywood movie.

Martin Preiss – A Selfie with the crowd on set

You are a Czech cinematographer, writer and director. How did a Bollywood film like Raabta happen?

Well, it’s a story. One day, I woke up at 3 a.m. in my Los Angeles apartment because my European phone was ringing. I picked it up and somebody from Prague asked me if I was interested in doing a movie in Hungary. I said I was, but I told them I was in California and it was the middle of the night and if they could call later. When I woke up, I had zillion missed calls from India. So I called back, and was put in touch with Dino (Dinesh Vijan, Director). We set up a Skype call and immediately clicked together. After reading the script, which I personally really liked, I sent him some visual references. After the presentation, I talked to my agent Ann Murtha and a week later was on my way to Hungary to my first location scout. So it happened really fast. There were other really good DPs that Dino was considering, so I must have caught his eye with something. I think the collaboration worked.

How different was it to shoot a Bollywood film as compared to your previous projects?

Not much, telling the story is the same almost everywhere. You need to prepare it as much as you can and be ready to improvise. It took me some time to adjust to the Indian crew style, which is completely different from what I’m used to in US or Europe. But I had a great 1st AC, Bobby Sanivarapu. He’s an excellent professional who helped me a lot in navigating through renting and on set time. Later, in the Indian portion, we had Syed Mohammed Husain and he organized the crew excellently as well. And I would like to mention the Hungarian/Czech crew as well, which basically made it feel as any other European or American production. So there was not much difference. The Flat Packs film production company in Hungary really had top of the game Line Producers, and they all provided excellent service.

Tell me more about the visual treatment of the film, since there are two parts to the story – one set in a period era and the other in contemporary times. Also what color palettes did you choose for the parts?

For me, there are three parts of the story: the Romantic Comedy, the Drama in the past and the Thriller at the end. So I was trying to subtly make progress in order to create more of a dramatic look and keep some colors and artifacts peering through time from the past to present. I call it layering and I believe that the audience can feel these layers unconsciously. The more layers you can fit, the better. We talk here about visual storytelling, which I’m always trying to put into my movies. The visual rhythm, contrast, colors, lines and shapes. I made a graph and a visual treatment of these changes and wrote to Dino saying, “There are some locations, some lighting and some color that will be inspirational, but this will never show how the film will look. I don’t copy – I create truth through my vision, inspiration, and through my whole experience here on earth. I create the picture for the film. It will bubble to the surface through the preparation process from my inside.”

And that’s basically what happened. There is some link when I see some prep pictures and the final frames in the movie. But it always bubbles on set, on location with actors, and with available time and money. Some parts were superbly prepared and the shots are almost the same as on the storyboard. Sometimes we improvised.

During the shoot of Raabta

Bollywood films are a lot about song and dance, which must be a completely different concept for you. What approach did you follow?

That was the difficult part as I don’t do music videos much. But Dino and Homi (Adajania, Co-Producer) were a great help in this as they made the songs into integral parts of the story, so I could relate to them. It was different from what I’ve seen in Bollywood movies, when suddenly the main character travels in one frame from India to Iceland and you don’t understand why they are there, as it doesn’t have any connection with the story. So, songs that illustrate what is happening in a movie is something I could work with. When we shot ‘Sadda Move’ in Amritsar, I must say that Ahmed Khan (Choreographer) saved me. That part of the shoot was really crazy for me, and basically all the credit for what you see goes to him. I merely supervised it. Ahmed Khan is such a great Cinematographer so I didn’t change much, as it was already great.

Which camera and lens kit did you use and why? Which other key equipment has been used in the film?

We used mainly two Alexas XTs with Hawk V-Lite Anamorphic lenses from Vantage Prague. I must say a big thanks to the producers of Raabta who believed me when I said that we would need those lenses to tell the story correctly and to get this equipment from Europe, as apparently they were the most expensive lenses ever used in a Bollywood movie. We had the full package, not just a few lenses. I chose those great lenses as we agreed to shoot in a classical anamorphic 1:2.35 ratio. The lenses have great color and feel. I tested almost seven sets of different lenses thanks to Vantage’s manager Jindrich Cipera, who provided this ability to choose the right lens for this project.

As it was mainly a romantic story, I wanted smooth skin tones, warmer feel and almost dreamy edges. Anamorphic gives you specific bokeh and beautiful flares. And all these “flaws” make the picture stand out. I’m not a big fan of a “clean” picture. I’m always trying to bend it somehow for the purpose of the story. For the underwater sequences, we used Mini with Zeiss Primes, as that was the only combo we could fit to the housing. Well actually we had two housings, so some shots are made underwater on Hawks as well.

I learned a lot on this shoot. I’m a dive-master and I shot underwater, but this experience pushed the envelope much further for me. It was a challenging four days and I admire the actors, who went from never diving before to doing it so amazingly. We used RED Epic as well for some “C” camera shots and various Drones. We went from big heavy ones to DJI Inspire to my personal DJI Mavic.

How much of VFX assistance was employed in the film? Which parts has VFX largely been used for?

That’s probably a question for my good friend Jaykar Arudra, who is the VFX supervisor. There are a lot blue screen shots, even when we went to shoot the period part in Mauritius. There’s always something you need to avoid. So the use of VFX is necessary. Basically we mostly used it for background swap. We needed big waterfalls, which we couldn’t get to in Mauritius, so that’s one swap. Then an edge of a high cliff forest etc. So the crew built some enormous blue screens (so far the biggest I’ve worked with). But I had a good experience with VFX work so I hope it was easy for Jaykar as well.

#gallery-0-4 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-4 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-4 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-4 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

And what kind of an experience was it to work with Dinesh Vijan as he is a debutant director?

We say we are like brothers. We have similar taste and similar history. It was a great collaboration. He has thousands of ideas and is a very good producer. To be a director and a producer on set is very difficult, as sometimes what you need to do goes against the other’s goals. He was very generous and we had lots of fun on set.

Did you watch any Bollywood films before shooting Raabta. Any movies you saw for reference?

No, I didn’t want to be influenced with the standard style of Bollywood. Basically I want to find my own style after I read a script. I watch so many films in a year— almost one each day so I have a lot of references in my head. I’ve seen all of the 250 top films on IMDB and many more and I recommend every filmmaking student to do that. But as I said above, I don’t copy, at least consciously.

How would you sum up your experience of shooting in India?

It was a growing experience. India is an amazing country with wonderful people and I learned a lot about life, filmmaking, creativity and more. I would not change this experience for anything else. It was a blast. And I became a bit more humble I hope. I also learned to live more in the present day. We Westerners tend to worry about the future and past. I think you (Indians) cope much better with it than we do, so that was excellent. I also found new friends, Homi Adajania is my cup of tea and I enjoyed every second with him on and off set. I would love to do a film with him. I became friends with many great co-workers like our first AD Siddharta Luther, my AC Bobby and the DIT guys Viki Vivek and Tanmay Kant.

With Director Dinesh Vijan

While working on the film, which areas did you feel that Indian films need to focus more on?

There would be plenty. But that is everywhere. It always seems to me, from the little I have seen in Bollywood cinema, that the woman characters and overall story is bit mono-thematic. An orphaned girl, a boy that loves her and a villain with lots of songs. The woman characters look like they are in control of the story, but they are not at all. The man rules. Not many Indian films would pass the Bechdel test. But as I said, I might have seen the 250 top IMDB films, but I’m a complete novice to Indian cinema. I’ve seen some, but not enough to really make an argument point. On the other hand, some business ethics could be straightened and made more transparent and trustworthy

You have received various awards at international film festivals. Raabta happens to be a commercial film but would you also like to explore non-commercial Indian Indie films?

I would love to. I’ve seen some interesting independent films from India. The official Oscar nomination for 2016 Visaranai was a film I saw here in Los Angeles and I liked it a lot. It was well-built and the characters were interesting. I would be interested in a strong drama script.

Telling the story is same almost everywhere - Martin Preiss Los Angeles-based internationally acclaimed Cinematographer Martin Preiss is a product of Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU) in Prague.

0 notes