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#absolutely love the resurgence this movie is having lately… truly one of my favorites it’s such a classic
ylissebian · 1 year
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absolutely had to do a goncharov (1973) leyendecker study
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maandarinee · 3 years
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what are all the podcasts you listen to?
anon I'm so glad you asked
Since it is a pretty long list including synopses (stolen from the podcast feed or website because I'm Bad at summaries and in some cases it's been a while since I listened) I'm going to put it under a cut.
I've separated the list into "Complete" (either finished or cancelled) and "Ongoing" podcasts. Some have additional comments by me. Current favorites are marked orange. My eternal beloved are Our Fair City and Wolf 359.
Complete
ars PARADOXICA: "When an experiment in a time much like our own goes horribly awry, Dr. Sally Grissom finds herself stranded in the past and entrenched in the activities of a clandestine branch of the US government. Grissom and her team quickly learn that there's no safety net when toying with the fundamental logic of the universe."
Blackwood: "Five years ago, Molly Weaver, Bryan Anderson, and Nathan Howell started a podcast focused on the local legend of a monster called The Blackwood Bugman. Quickly, the investigation grew out of their control, as they discovered that, not only are the legends seemingly true, many people in Blackwood have turned up dead or disappeared without a trace." --> [this feels like the Blair With Project, but as a podcast. Didn't get a second season due to no funding, but it works as a standalone]
Dreamboy: "Dane, a spun-out musician spending the winter in Cleveland, Ohio, has two main goals: keeping his job at the Pepper Heights Zoo and trying not to waste all his time on Grindr. What he doesn’t expect is to get swept into a story about dreams, about forevers, about flickering lights, about unexplained deaths, about relentless change, and about the parts of ourselves that we wish other people knew to look for. Oh, and also a murderous zebra." --> [very NSFW; does cool things with music! Didn't get a second season due to no funding, but it works as a standalone]
King Fall AM: "...centers on a lonely little mountain town's late-night AM talk radio show and its paranormal, peculiar happenings and inhabitants." --> [cancelled after 100 episodes, ends on a huge cliffhanger]
Our Fair City: "A campy, post-apocalyptic audio drama." --> [I know the description sounds like nothing but just trust me, I love it so much]
Steal the Stars: "...is a gripping noir science fiction thriller in 14 episodes: Forbidden love, a crashed UFO, an alien body, and an impossible heist unlike any ever attempted."
Stellar Firma: "...a weekly Science Fiction, Comedy podcast following the misadventures of Stellar Firma Ltd.'s highest born but lowest achieving planetary designer Trexel Geistman and his bewildered clone assistant David 7. Join them each episode as they attempt to take listener submissions and craft them into the galaxy's most luxurious, most expensive and most questionably designed bespoke planets. However, with Trexel's corporate shark of a line manager Hartro Piltz breathing down their necks and I.M.O.G.E.N., the station's omnipresent and omniinvasive stationwide A.I. monitoring those necks to within 3 decimal places, they'll be lucky to make it a week before being slurried and recycled into raw human resources." --> [semi-improvised, I thought I'd have a problem with the improv bit because that's not usually my thing, but no, I absolutely devoured this]
TANIS: "...is a serialized docudrama about a fascinating and surprising mystery: the myth of Tanis. Tanis is an exploration of the nature of truth, conspiracy, and information. Tanis is what happens when the lines of science and fiction start to blur." [+ spinoff The Last Movie] --> [I have no clue what the hell is going on here]
The Black Tapes: "...is a serialized docudrama about one journalist's searc for truth, her enigmatic subject's mysterious past, and the literal and figurative ghosts that haunt them both."
The Magnus Archives: "...is a weekly horror fiction anthology podcast examining what lurks in the archives of the Magnus Institute, an organisation dedicated to researching the esoteric and the weird. Join new head archivist Jonathan Sims as he attempts to bring a seemingly neglected collection of supernatural statements up to date, converting them to audio and supplementing them with follow-up work from his small but dedicated team. Individually, they are unsettling. Together they begin to form a picture that is truly horrifying because as they look into the depths of the archives, something starts to look back…"
Time:Bombs: "...a new audio drama podcast about the hilarious world of bomb disposal. Ride along with EOD technician Simon Teller on the busiest night of the year for him and his team - when business is, quite literally, booming."
Wolf 359: "Life's not easy for Doug Eiffel, the communications officer for the U.S.S. Hephaestus Research Station, currently on Day 448 of its orbit around red dwarf star Wolf 359. He's stuck on a scientific survey mission of indeterminate length, 7.8 light years from Earth. His only company on board the station are stern mission chief Minkowski, insane science officer Hilbert, and Hephaestus Station's sentient, often malfunctioning operating system Hera. He doesn't have much to do for his job other than monitoring static and intercepting the occasional decades-old radio broadcast from Earth, so he spends most of his time creating extensive audio logs about the ordinary, day-to-day happenings within the station. But the Hephaestus is an odd place, and life in extremely isolated, zero gravity conditions has a way of doing funny things to people's minds. Even the simplest of tasks can turn into a gargantuan struggle, and the most ordinary-seeming things have a way of turning into anything but that." --> [starts funny, turns very intense]
Ongoing
Alba Salix, Roya Physician (+ The Axe & Crown): "A witch, her apprentice, and her fairy herbalist treat the ills of a fairy-tale kingdom." + "Gubbin the troll tavernkeeper deals with his clueless new landlord, his shady niece, and some new competition."
Archive 81: "A found footage horror podcast about ritual, stories, and sound."
Arden: "A (fictional) true crime podcast about cold cases and the reporter and detective who try to solve them."
Brimstone Valley Mall: "The year is 1999. Lurking somewhere between Hot Topic and the food court, five misfit demons from Hell kill time inciting sin in a suburban shopping mall. When the lead singer of their band goes mysteriously missing, the demons only have two weeks to find him before they play the biggest gig of the millennium - or face the wrath of Satan herself."
CARAVAN: "First rule of Wound Canyon: No one who gets in, ever gets out. So when a brilliant, ghostly specter flies through the sky amid the rain and lightning, Samir stumbles off a steep cliff and into a hidden world, one in which demons, vampires, and all other manner of paranormal creatures take sanctuary." --> [also pretty NSFW and horny in general]
Death by Dying: "The Obituary Writer of Crestfall, Idaho finds himself deeply in over his head as he investigates a series of strange and mysterious deaths… when he is supposed to simply be writing obituaries. Along the way he encounters murderous farmers, man-eating cats, haunted bicycles, and a healthy dose of ominous shadows." --> [I had to stop listening to this in public because it kept making me undignified laugh and snort noises]
Desperado: "Blood magic, Voodoo magic, old gods, new gods: We've got it all! Follow the story of misfits from all over the world, as they try to survive and protect their heritage from modern-day crusaders."
EOS 10: "Doctors in space, a deposed alien prince, a super gay space pirate and a fiery nurse who'll help you win your bar fight."
Girl In Space: "Abandoned on a dying ship in the farthest reaches of known space, a young scientist fights for survival (and patience with the on-board A.I.). Who is she? No one knows. But a lot of dangerous entities really want to find out. Listen as the story unfolds for science, guns, trust, anti-matter, truth, beauty, inner turmoil, and delicious cheeses. It’s all here. In space."
Janus Descending: "...follows the arrival of two xenoarcheologists on a small world orbiting a binary star. But what starts off as an expedition to survey the planet and the remains of a lost alien civilization, turns into a monstrous game of cat and mouse, as the two scientists are left to face the creatures that killed the planet in the first place. Told from two alternating perspectives, Janus Descending is an experience of crossing timelines, as one character describes the nightmare from end to beginning, and the other, from beginning to the end." --> [absolutely harrowing horror]
Love and Luck: "...is a fictional radio play podcast, told via voicemails and set in present day Melbourne, Australia. A slice of life queer romance story with a touch of magic, it follows the relationship between two men, Jason and Kane, as their love grows both for each other and their community." --> [soft and gay, feels like a warm hug]
Potterless: "Join Mike Schubert, a grown man reading the Harry Potter series for the first time, as he sits down with HP fanatics to poke fun at plot holes, make painfully incorrect predictions, and bask in the sassiness of the characters." --> [the only non-fiction podcast on the list]
Primordial Deep: "When a long extinct sea creature washes up on the shores of Coney Island, marine biologist Dr. Marella Morgan is contacted by a secret organization to investigate the origins of the creature’s sudden and unnatural resurgence. Soon, she and a team of experts find themselves living on the research station The Tiamat, traveling along the abyssal plains as they search for answers far below the waves. But there are dangers in these ancient waters. Reawakened, prehistoric monsters are rising from the deep -- jaws wide and waiting, and in the darkness, something is stirring."
Red Valley: "No one at Overhead Industries wants to talk about defunct research station Red Valley, and account man Warren Godby is out of his depth. When he meets Gordon Porlock, a disgruntled archivist with a bag of tapes from the station’s last known occupant, they will begin a journey to the limits of experimental science, confront horror and trauma from the past, present and future, and try to remember the cheat codes from Sonic the Hedgehog 2."
Rusty Quill Gaming: "An actual play podcast following a mixed ability group of comedians, improvisers, gamers, and writers as they play through the extended, tabletop roleplaying campaign Erasing the Line, an original game world of the GM’s crafting." --> [took me a while to get into because I have trouble focusing on non-scripted things, but eventually I got really hooked on the plot and attached to the characters. This podcast is really fucked up at times if you think about it]
SAYER: "A narrative fiction podcast set on Earth’s man-made second moon, Typhon. The eponymous SAYER is a highly advanced, self-aware AI created to help acclimate new residents to their new lives, and their new employment with Ærolith Dynamics." --> [feels like Welcome to Night Vale but narrated by GLaDOS from Portal]
StarTripper!!: "Join Feston Pyxis on a road-trip through the cosmos, as he leaves behind his old life in search of the best and wildest experiences the galaxy has to offer!"
The Amelia Project: "...is a secret agency that fakes its clients' deaths, then lets them reappear with a brand new identity! A black comedy full of secrets, twists... and cocoa."
The Big Loop: "...a biweekly anthology series. Each episode is a self-contained narrative exploring the strange, the wonderful, the terrifying, and the heartbreaking. Stories of finite beings in an infinite universe." --> [I don't like anthologies, except this one]
The Bright Sessions: "Dr. Bright provides therapy for the strange and unusual; their sessions have been recorded for research purposes." --> [think X-Men, but with therapy instead of a school]
The Deca Tapes: "Recordings have surfaced of ten people that are locked into the same space together. We don’t know where they are, or if they'll get out. But the answers must be somewhere on these tapes."
The Silt Verses: "Carpenter and Faulkner, two worshippers of an outlawed god, travel up the length of their deity’s great black river, searching for holy revelations. As their pilgrimage lengthens and the river’s mysteries deepen, the two acolytes find themselves under threat from a police manhunt, but also come into conflict with the weirder gods that have flourished in these forgotten rural territories."
The White Vault: "Follow the collected records of a repair team sent to Outpost Fristed in the vast white wastes of Svalbard and unravel what lies waiting in the ice below."
Tides: "...is the story of Dr. Winifred Eurus, a xenobiologist trapped on an unfamiliar planet with hostile tidal forces. She must use her wits, sarcasm and intellectual curiosity to survive long enough to be rescued. But there might be more to life on this planet than she expected." --> [think The Martian, but on a water planet]
Unwell, a Midwestern Gothic Mystery: "Lillian Harper moves to the small town of Mt. Absalom, Ohio, to care for her estranged mother Dorothy after an injury. Living in the town's boarding house which has been run by her family for generations, she discovers conspiracies, ghosts, and a new family in the house's strange assortment of residents."
VAST Horizon: "Nolira is an agronomist tasked with establishing agriculture in a new solar system, but when she wakes up on a now- empty colony ship, the whole of her plan disappears. The ship has been set adrift, with numerous mission-critical problems requiring immediate attendance outside of her area of expertise. Nolira is aided by the ship’s malfunctioning AI, which acts as her confidant and companion during the fight for survival."
Victoriocity: "Even Greater London, 1887. In this vast metropolis, Inspector Archibald Fleet and journalist Clara Entwhistle investigate a murder, only to find themselves at the centre of a conspiracy of impossible proportions."
We Fix Space Junk: "...follows seasoned smuggler Kilner and reluctant fugitive Samantha as they travel the galaxy, dodging bullets and meeting strange and wonderful beings as they carry out odd jobs on the fringes of the law."
Welcome to Night Vale: "Twice-monthly community updates for the small desert town of Night Vale, where every conspiracy theory is true. Turn on your radio and hide."
Within the Wires: "Stories told through found audio from an alternate universe."
Wooden Overcoats: "Rudyard Funn and his equally miserable sister Antigone run their family's failing funeral parlour, where they get the body in the coffin in the ground on time. But one day they find everyone enjoying themselves at the funerals of a new competitor - the impossibly perfect Eric Chapman! With their dogsbody Georgie, and a mouse called Madeleine, the Funns are taking drastic steps to stay in the business…" --> [one of THE funniest podcasts I have ever listened to]
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smokeybrandreviews · 3 years
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Smokey brand Retrospective: The Gift and the Curse
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Brendan Fraser has seen a resurgence lately and i love every bit of that. Dude has been one of my favorite actors for decades. I’m an Eighties kid who grew up during the Nineties so i was right there when he came onto the scene. I was a massive fan f all of his early work; Bedazzled, George of the Jungle, Encino Man, Airheads, Blast from the Past, and even Monkeybone. Dude hit his stride right around the Aughts and then completely disappeared. We found out later it was because of some really f*cked up sh*t but he made it through and proved he still had with Robot Man on Doom Patrol. I’m so glad this guy got another shot at this movie star sh*t but i wanted to revisit the franchise that put him on the map: The Mummy.
The Mummy
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I love this campy ass flick, man. I saw this one in the theaters because, at the time, i was super into CG. It had only been a few years since Jurassic Park blew that sh*t out the water and only a few months after The Matrix made everyone sh*t the bed. The Mummy just missed that window but it was still incredibly enjoyable. This was my Indiana Jones because i didn’t care about Indy for a long time. It’s not that they were bad movies, i was just too young to appreciate them. The Mummy came out right at the time i started to really understand why i liked cinema, what a good permanence truly was, and how beautiful a film could be. The Mummy covered almost all of those bases. Fraser did an excellent job as Rick O’Connor and Rachel Weisz stunned as Evelyn Carnahan. F*cking Evie, man. I was already a fan of Fraser but this movie made me really pay attention to Weisz and she became one of my favorite actresses. It helps tremendously that she is f*cking gorgeous! Rounding out the cast is John Hannah as Evie’s brother, Johnathan and Arnold Vosloo as the titular mummy, Imhotep. Also, i can’t not mention the scummiest of scumbags, Benny, portrayed so effortlessly by Kevin J. O'Connor.
I absolutely adore this film. It’s a not the best example of Nineties cinema, how can it be, and it’s a terrible remake of the original Universal Mummy but it does what it wants to do very well. I love the ideas and the world they built with this campy clusterf*ck. It shouldn’t work, it should be terrible, but it’s one of the funnest films i have ever seen. It has it’s issues, absolutely, but they are minor compared the non-stop action, the incredible cinematography, the dated but ambitious CG effects ,and solid performances from every principal actor. They really let Fraser do his thing and that energy carried over to the rest of the cast. Evie is every bit the bad ass as Sarah Connor or Ellen Ripley but is still a very girly-girl; Something that seems to be frowned upon nowadays. Imhotep id an unrelenting, vicious antagonist who controls powers from long ago, literally willing the seven plagues of Egypt into modern times. This movie is all over the f*cking place but it worse so well and every time i see it, i have as much fun as i did way back when i was a ripened fourteen years old.
The Mummy Returns
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Boy, this one suffers terrible from Sequelitis. It does nothing new and is an almost exact retread of the first film but we have new characters and a new villain in the guise of... The Scorpion King! Yes, this is the first film that titular Arachno-Monarch makes his first appearance portrayed by a very young, very beefy, and later, very poorly rendered, Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson! That’s right, long before he was Franchise Viagra, way before he was punching out Dom into a stalemate in them god awful Fast flicks, The Rock got his start here, in the sequel to The Mummy and he’s f*cking terrible! Oh my god, is he bad but it works. His awful, awful, performance fits right in with the utter camp of this ridiculous franchise ans, to no one’s surprise, i loved every second of it. Now, as much as i love The Rock in this thing, i have to absolutely give it to Patricia Velasquez as Meela Nais, the physical reincarnation of Imhotep’s regicide partner and f*ck-buddy, Anck-Su-Namun. I didn’t talk about her much in the entry about The Mummy but that as mostly because she was more a plot device rather than a character. She isn’t much else in this one either but at least we got to actually see her for more than ten minutes. Plus, that fight between her and Nefertiri was f*cking glorious. Sixteen year old Smokey appreciated the f*ck out of that.
The returning cast hits their points perfectly. That chemistry never falters. Fraser, Weisz, and Hannah are exceptional together and Vosloo is, somehow, both far more menacing and hilarious at the same time. There’s this scene toward the end where he is utterly defeated and it’s the funniest sh*t i have ever seen. I also really enjoy both Oded Fehr as Ardeth Bay far more in this one than the last because he gets to do sh*t finally. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was also a welcome surprise as  the muscle, Lock-Nah. Dude just kinds of stands around and i think he gets into a fight with Fehr that was pretty cool but a little trite. Obviously, as a film from the early Aughts, it has it;s problems. There’s a ton of culturally insensitive sh*t that Zoomers would probably be upset about but, you know, f*ck em. It’s like a sense f humor is illegal nowadays. That said, having Rachel Weisz, as gorgeous and half-naked as she is and was, portray an Egyptian is a little much nowadays. At least Patricia Velasquez is a type of Brown? An attempt was made. This thing is a mess and i enjoy every second of it. The Mummy Returns is substantially worse that the first but, at the same time, just so batsh*t that it is equally as entertaining. But f*ck that kid, though. Every time he’s onscreen all of the good times are thrown right out the goddamn window!
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
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I gave this one the hard pass for years. It looked like trash. Like straight up dog sh*t. This thing came out seven years after Returns and i just didn’t care. I was one hundred percent in my hipster film snob era and couldn’t be bothered. For a full f*cking decade and some change. Seriously, i just watched this thing the day before yesterday. For the first time. It was the inspiration for this retrospective because, after seeing this train wreck, i went back to check out the first two just to get the taste of dogsh*t out of my mouth. There are several changes made to the formula that immediately take me out of this film. First, and most egregiously, no more Rachel Weisz! She didn’t come back for the third. The reason behind her absence has run the gambit from vanity, to scheduling conflicts, to literally never getting a script. I don;t really care why, all i know is that her absence was felt. Maria Bello did her best but she isn’t MY Evie. Another “choice” was to age up that awful f*cking kid into an awful f*cking adult. That’s right, this is a “passing of the torch flick” and Luke Ford’s Alex O'Connell was supposed to take over the franchise going forward. That didn’t happen because this is Rick’s franchise. The Mummy would be nothing without Fraser and the at was proven when this thing tanked. It wasn’t all bad though. I really liked the new mummy, Han. They did some really fin things with his abilities and Jet Li never once phoned in an action scene. Unfortunately, even with the strength of the brand and outstanding lead performances, this thing still sucks.
I had a time with Tomb but it wasn’t like the time i had with it’s predecessors. I don’t know if it’s because I'm so much older and hardened by life but all i see is the flaws in this one. It doesn’t have the nostalgia goggles like the first two so i can’t enjoy it like i enjoy those. I just see plot holes instead of camp. Bad CG instead of rustic attempt. Poor set pieces instead of Nineties jank. Bad character writing instead of unfortunately hilarious dialogue. Tomb isn’t terrible but it ain’t good wither. It;s mediocre and i know the first two aren’t great but they’re better than whatever this wanted to be. It’s weird to see because there are a lot of great ideas here. I can see the vision that lays outside the margins and it’s frustrating. Fraser does is in his element as Rick and Li’s Han is a physical powerhouse but that’s not enough. As awesome as this movie gets when those two are on screen, literally everything around them is dismissible and i don’t understand how or why. I think a lot of the chemistry was lost when the focus was shifted to Alex from Rick and the recasting of Eve really didn’t do this film any favors. However, even with all of my frustrations, i can’t say i had a terrible time with this thing. It was entertaining, if a little bogus.
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curiousartemis · 5 years
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Shipathon Meme!
Doing this at 1am... busy ass day doing family stuff and just got home, so am fiercely tired, have an awful headache, but just try and stop me from talking about ships eh :)
Tagged by... I think I saw @spinningphoenix73 and @diamond-auri-el?? Some of y’all or one of y’all or whomever ;D
I tag... anyone who wasn’t tagged. This is fun, do this. If you want to.
1.) First Ship you Ever Wrote Fic For? Gwendal x Gunther from Kyou Kara Maou! It wasn’t a proper fic; it was a series of one sentence lines detailing their relationship. I suppose my first proper fic was Renji x Byakuya from Bleach. 2.) Ship you Write Most Now? Ulfrien... I only write one story at a time. I can’t focus on multiple stories all at the same time.
3.)Ship you Read the Most Now? Bagginshield; I was majorly obsessed when the movies came out, and I’ve had a resurgence these past few years. I love them with every single piece of my heart. And sadly I think at this point I’ve read all the truly great Bagginshield epics out there. 
4.) Newest Ship? Is this the newest of mine? That would be Vilkas x Linas. I’m really, really eager to write them; it’ll be a challenge, and I’m not sure yet how I want to even present the story. I’m seriously thinking of telling it from Vilkas’ point of view.
Newest ship that I ship... I’m struggling to answer this, probably because it’s so late. I don’t think I have any super new ships.  5.) Rare Ship you Wanna Read More of? Ardwen x Lucien, even though I don’t really know who Lucien is. But Ardwen is so interesting. Also Kai x Ailin; they seem really cute, and I like the idea of best friends also being romantic partners. It makes me wonder where the angst will come from. 
Back to the Hobbit/LOTR ships, I wish I saw more people shipping Legolas with anyone other than Gimli (see below); I would love to see Legolas shipped with Fili or Eomer, dunno why I’m so into either of those. 
I would also love to see more Gendrya content; It’s probably like my only ship on the entire show, and I fucking lose it every time they so much as look at each other. Where are all the other Gendrya fans???
6.) Your Taboo Ship? I have a lot of NOTPs... like, a lot 😅 
Adoribull is one of my absolute least favorite ships; I have it blocked and just... no, no thank you. Legolas x Gimli I already mentioned. Jonerys is another no-no. Obikin (Star Wars) I just... [shudders] Ulfric x Galmar is really weird to me and I nope out of that one pretty quick, too. Some ships I’m just super tired of, like f!Solavellan, and yeah sure, there’s residual bitterness there ^^
But I don’t hate anyone who ships these, and they’re all perfectly lovely ships. Well, I didn’t mention Durincest (Fili x Kili), which is big big NOPE. I still won’t hate you if you ship it but it’s unlikely we’ll have anything in common because that’s too weird and wrong for me.
But yeah, I have a LOT of NOTPs. 7.) They never met in Canon Ship? I can’t think of any. Characters have to interact and have personal connections for me to ship them.  8.) Your unexpected Ship? Maybe Kiliel? I thought it was so lame in the movies, but I love it in fics. It deserves to be properly developed.  9.) The Ship you Always Forget to give Love to? Huh, well, I have a TON of ships, so there are always some that I’m kind of more into than others at any given moment.  10.) Ship your OC with a canon character? I have four “active” OCs at present: Casien, Cal, Linas, and Auren, and they are paired with Ulfric, Brynjolf, Vilkas, and Blackwall respectively.  11.) Ship you’re embarrassed to Ship? I don’t know. I think I’m too old to be embarrassed. 12.) Your most Romantic Ship? Among my own characters, Ulfrien. They are so deeply in love, and the little romantic gestures they make towards one another are so sweet. Their love is constant, and only grows stronger as the years pass. They remind me of the Otis Redding lyrics: “My love is growing stronger as our affair grows old / I’ve been loving you a little too long to stop now.” And they never will stop, not ever.
And well, I think Bagginshield is very romantic, at least in fics I read and fan arts I see, one or both of them is always doing something romantic, like giving a gift, dancing, proposing marriage... it’s a very romantic ship ♡ 13.) Your Sexiest Ship? ”Sexy” isn’t a word I use or think about too often so that’s hard to say. Of my own... I really don’t know. You guys would have to tell me if any of my ships are sexy. I think of my characters, Auren is the sexiest, followed by Cal. 
Of the ships I love/read... again, not sure. I’m sure some people think Stucky is very sexy. 14.) Your most Tragic Ship? For my own pairings, Alin x Solas. Because Solas left him, and I don’t know if Alin ever fully recovered. I fucking hate that. I hate it so much I can’t write him anymore and in a sense shelved him. Which breaks my heart, but it’s too painful to think about.
Guess Bagginshield would be considered a tragic ship since, you know, THORIN DIES, but like literally none of us acknowledge that? 😅   15.) A Ship You want more Content For? Bagginshield because I feel like I’ve read all the good stuff! I also always want more Fanrio. Kailin. As mentioned earlier, Gendrya. Blackwall x male OC. Ifan ben Mezd x male elf. Ifan ben Mezd, period, sigh. How are people sleeping on this amazing character??
And it’s now nearly 2am so I should stop here :)
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smokeybrand · 3 years
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The Gift and the Curse
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Brendan Fraser has seen a resurgence lately and i love every bit of that. Dude has been one of my favorite actors for decades. I’m an Eighties kid who grew up during the Nineties so i was right there when he came onto the scene. I was a massive fan f all of his early work; Bedazzled, George of the Jungle, Encino Man, Airheads, Blast from the Past, and even Monkeybone. Dude hit his stride right around the Aughts and then completely disappeared. We found out later it was because of some really f*cked up sh*t but he made it through and proved he still had with Robot Man on Doom Patrol. I’m so glad this guy got another shot at this movie star sh*t but i wanted to revisit the franchise that put him on the map: The Mummy.
The Mummy
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I love this campy ass flick, man. I saw this one in the theaters because, at the time, i was super into CG. It had only been a few years since Jurassic Park blew that sh*t out the water and only a few months after The Matrix made everyone sh*t the bed. The Mummy just missed that window but it was still incredibly enjoyable. This was my Indiana Jones because i didn’t care about Indy for a long time. It’s not that they were bad movies, i was just too young to appreciate them. The Mummy came out right at the time i started to really understand why i liked cinema, what a good permanence truly was, and how beautiful a film could be. The Mummy covered almost all of those bases. Fraser did an excellent job as Rick O’Connor and Rachel Weisz stunned as Evelyn Carnahan. F*cking Evie, man. I was already a fan of Fraser but this movie made me really pay attention to Weisz and she became one of my favorite actresses. It helps tremendously that she is f*cking gorgeous! Rounding out the cast is John Hannah as Evie’s brother, Johnathan and Arnold Vosloo as the titular mummy, Imhotep. Also, i can’t not mention the scummiest of scumbags, Benny, portrayed so effortlessly by Kevin J. O'Connor.
I absolutely adore this film. It’s a not the best example of Nineties cinema, how can it be, and it’s a terrible remake of the original Universal Mummy but it does what it wants to do very well. I love the ideas and the world they built with this campy clusterf*ck. It shouldn’t work, it should be terrible, but it’s one of the funnest films i have ever seen. It has it’s issues, absolutely, but they are minor compared the non-stop action, the incredible cinematography, the dated but ambitious CG effects ,and solid performances from every principal actor. They really let Fraser do his thing and that energy carried over to the rest of the cast. Evie is every bit the bad ass as Sarah Connor or Ellen Ripley but is still a very girly-girl; Something that seems to be frowned upon nowadays. Imhotep id an unrelenting, vicious antagonist who controls powers from long ago, literally willing the seven plagues of Egypt into modern times. This movie is all over the f*cking place but it worse so well and every time i see it, i have as much fun as i did way back when i was a ripened fourteen years old.
The Mummy Returns
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Boy, this one suffers terrible from Sequelitis. It does nothing new and is an almost exact retread of the first film but we have new characters and a new villain in the guise of... The Scorpion King! Yes, this is the first film that titular Arachno-Monarch makes his first appearance portrayed by a very young, very beefy, and later, very poorly rendered, Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson! That’s right, long before he was Franchise Viagra, way before he was punching out Dom into a stalemate in them god awful Fast flicks, The Rock got his start here, in the sequel to The Mummy and he’s f*cking terrible! Oh my god, is he bad but it works. His awful, awful, performance fits right in with the utter camp of this ridiculous franchise ans, to no one’s surprise, i loved every second of it. Now, as much as i love The Rock in this thing, i have to absolutely give it to Patricia Velasquez as Meela Nais, the physical reincarnation of Imhotep’s regicide partner and f*ck-buddy, Anck-Su-Namun. I didn’t talk about her much in the entry about The Mummy but that as mostly because she was more a plot device rather than a character. She isn’t much else in this one either but at least we got to actually see her for more than ten minutes. Plus, that fight between her and Nefertiri was f*cking glorious. Sixteen year old Smokey appreciated the f*ck out of that.
The returning cast hits their points perfectly. That chemistry never falters. Fraser, Weisz, and Hannah are exceptional together and Vosloo is, somehow, both far more menacing and hilarious at the same time. There’s this scene toward the end where he is utterly defeated and it’s the funniest sh*t i have ever seen. I also really enjoy both Oded Fehr as Ardeth Bay far more in this one than the last because he gets to do sh*t finally. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje was also a welcome surprise as  the muscle, Lock-Nah. Dude just kinds of stands around and i think he gets into a fight with Fehr that was pretty cool but a little trite. Obviously, as a film from the early Aughts, it has it;s problems. There’s a ton of culturally insensitive sh*t that Zoomers would probably be upset about but, you know, f*ck em. It’s like a sense f humor is illegal nowadays. That said, having Rachel Weisz, as gorgeous and half-naked as she is and was, portray an Egyptian is a little much nowadays. At least Patricia Velasquez is a type of Brown? An attempt was made. This thing is a mess and i enjoy every second of it. The Mummy Returns is substantially worse that the first but, at the same time, just so batsh*t that it is equally as entertaining. But f*ck that kid, though. Every time he’s onscreen all of the good times are thrown right out the goddamn window!
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
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I gave this one the hard pass for years. It looked like trash. Like straight up dog sh*t. This thing came out seven years after Returns and i just didn’t care. I was one hundred percent in my hipster film snob era and couldn’t be bothered. For a full f*cking decade and some change. Seriously, i just watched this thing the day before yesterday. For the first time. It was the inspiration for this retrospective because, after seeing this train wreck, i went back to check out the first two just to get the taste of dogsh*t out of my mouth. There are several changes made to the formula that immediately take me out of this film. First, and most egregiously, no more Rachel Weisz! She didn’t come back for the third. The reason behind her absence has run the gambit from vanity, to scheduling conflicts, to literally never getting a script. I don;t really care why, all i know is that her absence was felt. Maria Bello did her best but she isn’t MY Evie. Another “choice” was to age up that awful f*cking kid into an awful f*cking adult. That’s right, this is a “passing of the torch flick” and Luke Ford’s Alex O'Connell was supposed to take over the franchise going forward. That didn’t happen because this is Rick’s franchise. The Mummy would be nothing without Fraser and the at was proven when this thing tanked. It wasn’t all bad though. I really liked the new mummy, Han. They did some really fin things with his abilities and Jet Li never once phoned in an action scene. Unfortunately, even with the strength of the brand and outstanding lead performances, this thing still sucks.
I had a time with Tomb but it wasn’t like the time i had with it’s predecessors. I don’t know if it’s because I'm so much older and hardened by life but all i see is the flaws in this one. It doesn’t have the nostalgia goggles like the first two so i can’t enjoy it like i enjoy those. I just see plot holes instead of camp. Bad CG instead of rustic attempt. Poor set pieces instead of Nineties jank. Bad character writing instead of unfortunately hilarious dialogue. Tomb isn’t terrible but it ain’t good wither. It;s mediocre and i know the first two aren’t great but they’re better than whatever this wanted to be. It’s weird to see because there are a lot of great ideas here. I can see the vision that lays outside the margins and it’s frustrating. Fraser does is in his element as Rick and Li’s Han is a physical powerhouse but that’s not enough. As awesome as this movie gets when those two are on screen, literally everything around them is dismissible and i don’t understand how or why. I think a lot of the chemistry was lost when the focus was shifted to Alex from Rick and the recasting of Eve really didn’t do this film any favors. However, even with all of my frustrations, i can't say i had a terrible time with this thing. It was entertaining, if a little bogus.
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girlsgerms · 4 years
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Picks of December 2019
Hello! Here are some of my music, movie, and other art picks of the final month of the decade! This year I’ve really been getting into 90s rock, permanent wave, slowcore, and punk rock. This month especially I’ve been interested in the music of the 70s and 90s acoustic songs. It’s been really cool seeing my taste in things progress to where they are now and I’m excited to see what else I find in the new year! Without further or do, here’s what I’ve been vibing with this month. :)
Music:
1. Gut Feeling/(Slap Your Mammy) - DEVO
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After rewatching the movie 20th Century Women for the first time in many months, I had a resurgence of my love for the Talking Heads, Black Flag, and the Buzzcocks, and a newfound love for DEVO. My dad when I first got into the Talking Heads at the tender age of about 12 or 13 told me about this band called DEVO. He saw them live for the first time when he was about 17 or 18. Anyways, I’ve grown up with them in a sense but never really paid attention to the work they did. I’m glad I finally decided to give a listen to their debut album “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are DEVO!” It’s led me down a rabbit hole of discovering new music and the culture of the 70s (which I’ve come to hold close to my heart). This song has become a sort of anthem for me. I’ve spent countless hours listening to it on loop and having dance parties with myself. The intro comes in subtly leaving you excited for what is to come. After an astounding 2 minutes of heavy drums, keys and a guitar riff that will remain in your head for days, the lyrics come in heavy “Something about the way you taste, makes me want to clear my throat” making it impossible to resist the urge to jump up and down shouting along with the band. Truly a great song would definitely recommend.
Other DEVO songs I recommend: Uncontrollable Urge and Jurisdiction of Love
2. St. Ides Heaven - Elliott Smith
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There really isn’t much to say that hasn’t already been said about Elliott Smith. In my opinion, he is one of the greatest songwriters of all time. His haunting lyrics on this song, in particular, have stuck with me this month and this is yet another song I’ve had playing on repeat lately. It is simple in production and instrumentation but I think that’s what makes it beautiful.
Other Elliott Smith Songs I recommend: Whatever (Folk song in C), Miss Misery, Happiness/The Gondola Man, I Don’t Think I’m Ever Gonna Figure it Out, and Condor Ave
3. Halah - Mazzy Star
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The music of Mazzy Star/ Hope Sandoval has really been there for me this year. There’s not much to say other than this song is beautiful beyond compare. It is the first track off of my favorite Mazzy Star project, She Hangs Brightly. I would definitely recommend this song and band to everyone.
Other Mazzy Star songs I recommend: Blue Flower, Fade Into You, and Rose Blood
4. Pop Queen - Noise Addict
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This is an acoustic ballad by 90′s Australian indie rock band, Noise Addict. I haven’t done too much research on the band but from what I know, they were a group of thirteen-year-olds led by lead singer/songwriter Ben Lee. This song, in particular, Pop Queen, is a cute, very raw and very unproduced single with simple yet enticing and creative lyrics. It was the lyrics of their songs that really got me attached to the band. There are many references to other bands I enjoy like the pixies and pavement in their songs as well as what it feels like to be a teenager, something I can relate to as of this moment in time. (I’ve only listened to this ep, Young & Jaded, but I expect to like most of their other songs as well.)
Other Noise Addict songs I recommend: Wish I was Him
5. Beechwood Park - The Zombies
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The Zombies are yet another band my dad loves. I remember him buying Zombies CDs when I was younger so back in September I decided to check them out. I fell instantly in love with their album, Begin Here. This month I decided to make playlists dedicated to my favorite songs from the decades 1960s-1990s. While searching through my library of saved songs I came across this beauty. I hadn’t listened to this song in probably about a year so I decided to listen to it again and it was probably one of the best decisions I’ve made this month. The zombies make these incredible psychedelic songs and I think Beechwood park is now my new favorite. I definitely recommend this song to everyone. (Especially when you’re driving late at night, this song feels extra special)
Other Zombies songs I recommend: She’s Not There, The Way I Feel Inside, and Going Out of My Head
6. Like Dylan in the Movies - Belle & Sebastian
https://youtu.be/3Sf4B8aercg
A friend of mine back in September introduced me to the band, Belle & Sebastian. This month, I was lucky enough to get two of their albums, The Boy With the Arab Strap and If You’re Feeling Sinister, on vinyl. I quickly fell back in love with Like Dylan in the Movies and it’s become a new favorite. 
Other Belle & Sebastian songs I recommend: She’s Losing it, Is it Wicked Not to Care, Get Me Away from Here, I’m Dying, and The Boy Done Wrong Again
7. Androgynous Mind - Sonic Youth
https://youtu.be/FvpbB8g0e64
Now, I’m not about to sit here and tell you that this song is any good. In fact, it’s really just Thurston Moore screaming “hey hey it’s okay” over and over again, but I’ve come to really enjoy listening to it. I truly believe Sonic Youth is a band for everybody. Their entire body of work is extremely diverse, experimental, and different. If you don’t like one song keep exploring their discography and you’ll probably find something you’ll enjoy eventually. For me personally, I love their albums EVOL, Daydream Nation, and Sister the most. Back to Androgynous Mind, however, this is a punchy punk tune that really gets you in the mood to bang your head. If you’re into noise rock/punk and just like music that makes you want to move, this song is for you. However, if you’re more into pop-y music, maybe skip this song.
Other Sonic Youth songs I recommend: Schizophrenia, Shadow of a Doubt, Teen Age Riot, The Diamond Sea - Radio Edit, and Incinerate
Movies & TV:
This month I was lucky enough to see quite a few movies that stuck with me.
1. Honey Boy (2019)
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Let me tell you, I was really, really looking forward to this movie. Over the summer I watched every Shia LaBeouf movie I could get my hands on. He became one of my favorite actors and I loved learning more about his story. Noah Jupe portrayed a young version of Shia under the name “Otis.” He stole the show. His acting in this movie was absolutely incredible and I’m now a huge fan. Overall this movie was shot beautifully and extremely well written. A new favorite
Other Shia LaBeouf movies I recommend: American Honey and Holes 
2. 20th Century Women (2016)
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I watched this movie for the first time around the time it was initially released. This is the movie that introduced me to the work of Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwing and Annette Benning. Three incredible women whose work I admire very much. The story is about a young boy named Jamie growing up in the year 1970s. We see him go through the struggles of growing up without a father, falling in love, and just, in general, being a teenager. It is a very powerful movie that I connected to instantly upon watching it for the first time. It was recently added to Netflix so I decided to watch it again and once more I’ve become obsessed. 10/10 would recommend.
3. Bojack Horseman (2014-present)
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To be completely honest, I wasn’t expecting to like this show, let alone binge all 6 seasons in a span of 2 weeks. Another good friend of mine recommended it to me and I’m very glad I trusted her judgment. This show was unexpectedly deep and tackled subjects I didn’t think any tv show would ever cover. As someone who struggles with anxiety and depression, I found comfort in Bojack’s character and his struggles with mental health and life problems. This is show is very important and I’m very excited for the series finale to be released.
Alright! That’s it for this month, this year, and this decade! I’ll be sure to write up some more things in January. I think I’m planning on making two posts a month of what I’m listening to and watching. This was fun.
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