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sowhatisthisfor · 5 years

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Movies 2019

List of films I watched in 2019 from best to worst.

Updated soon after I’ve seen them.

A Ghost Story [David Lowery, 2017, United States] No film has made me feel this melancholic ever. This is a film so profound, it examines existence in the simplest yet most esoteric way possible. It surely goes straight to the top of my all-time favourite list. 10/10

Portrait of a Lady on Fire [Celine Sciamma, 2019, France] a film of magnificent visuals, intoxicating sound design, and a screenplay of jawdropping surprises -- definitely on top of my 2019 movie list. 10/10

The Heiresses [Marcelo Martinessi, 2019, Paraguay] compellingly melancholic in its silence and uncertainty. It's a blossoming, a self-discovery, a thorny journey towards maturity. 10/10

Parasite [Bong Joon-ho, 2019, South Korea] You can watch it in many different ways, perspective, and angle, and everything is just as clever. 10/10

Kanarie [Christiaan Olwagen, 2018, South Africa] Has one of the most poignant and critically-observed approach to self-awareness and acceptance. 10/10

Shéhérazade [Jean-Bernard Marlin, 2018, France] a gritty narrative of an unusual young love with such depressing yet charming emotional pull. 10/10

Capernaum [Nadine Labaki, 2018, Lebanon] it’s not just about a boy in an unjust world, it is more about an implausibly unjust world where everyone is a victim and no one is an actual villain. 10/10

John Denver Trending [Arden Rod Condez, 2019, Philippines] Aside from its central theme of mental health awareness, it also has an excellent juxtaposition of the culture of bullying and cyberbullying and its correlation with how the nature of superstitions and religions shapes a country’s humanity. 10/10

The Third Wife [Ash Mayfair, 2019, Vietnam] possibly has one of the best visual stories this year with a contrast of hauntingly sensual tension and dreamlike composition, it’s strangely beautiful. 10/10

Atlantique [Mati Diop, 2019, Senegal] Such a bewitching tale of love, lost, and longing. A film told with such raw elegance, it’s enchanting. 10/10

Metamorphosis [JE Tiglao, 2019, Philippines] Not your ordinary coming-of-age movie. This one comes with such importance and inclusivity, everyone needs to see. 10/10

The Favourite [Yorgos Lanthimos, 2019, Greece, Ireland, United Kingdom, United States] a dark period comedy oddly fused with sophisticated costume and production design for a strange yet striking visual treat. 10/10

Edward [Thop Nazareno, 2019, Philippines] I am so amazed at how this film shows struggles after struggles after struggles without spoonfeeding emotions. It’s a movie so simple yet so despairing. Everything of it is in the right place, it’s sublime. 10/10

I Lost My Body [Jeremy Clapin, 2019, France] gives an absolute strange reason to cry, it's extraordinarily cathartic. 10/10

Marriage Story [Noah Baumbach, 2019, United States] My favourite performance of the year belong to these two leads whose portrayal of lovers going through divorce is rock solid heartbreaking. 10/10

Ulan [Irene Villamor, 2019, Philippines] Is a fuck you to societal norms, so profound, it is a love story that involves only one. 10/10

Avengers: Endgame [Russo brothers, 2019, United States] Raises the bar so high, is probably the most entertaining superhero movie to date. 10/10

The Wife [Bjorn Runge, 2018, Belgium] Glenn Close is mesmerizing. There is no need to say more. 10/10

Heneral Luna [Jerrold Tarog, 2015, Philippines] Jerrold Tarog is as brave as General Luna. He clearly is the Luna of film making. 9.5/10

Infinity War

Incendies [Dennis Villanueve, 2011, Canada] With such expert direction, it's elementally strong in more aspect than one. 9.5/10

Us [Jordan Peele, 2019, United States] It is as if every element in this film is smartly placed there to serve a deeper purpose, it's a movie in search of greater meaning. 9.5/10

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

BuyBust [Erik Matti, 2018, Philippines] a spectacular display of astounding filmmaking where every element is designed and choreographed fittingly well. Entertaining yet harrowing from start to finish, it’s the kind of film that stays. It gets better on second watch. 9.5/10

The White Helmets [Orlando Von Eisiedel, 2016, United Kingdom, Syria] A heartrending glimpse at the life of true heroes in violence-stricken Syria. 9/10

PK [Rajkumar Hirani, 2014, India] a courageous film that wittingly pokes fun of religious beliefs. 9/10

Mamu and a Mother Too [Rod Singh, 2018, Philippines] Why it scared me, I don’t know. It could be because it’s unpredictable, it’s non-cliche, and it’s gentle in ways you don’t expect. I love it. 9/10

Liway [Kip Oebanda, 2018, Philippines] Is at most powerful when it exposes the correlation of facts and fiction. Doesn’t hit you right away but when it does, it hits hard. It hits still. 9/10

Paris is Burning [Jennie Livingston, 1991, United States] is a little documentary that stays. 9/10

Paglisan [Carl Papa, 2018, Philippines] Heartbreaking. It is a test of sympathy. 9/10

Widows [Steve McQueen, 2018, United States] How can something so traditionally formal feel so modern at the same time? Steve McQueen knows. 9/10

Eerie [Mikhail Red, 2018, Philippines] More than its excellent scare tactics, what I love about it most is its clever storytelling and use of metaphors. 9/10

La Luciernaga (The Firefly) [Ana Maria Hermida, 2015, Colombia] is about finding love in grief, beauty in ugly. And though there are some directorial decisions I don’t necessarily agree with, the chemistry its leads bring onscreen is too tangible for me to care about its flaws. 9/10

First Reformed [Paul Schrader, 2019, United States] an astounding character study that questions the politics of religion. 9/10

Bad Bananas sa Puting Tabing

Fuccbois [Eduardo Roy Jr, 2019, Philippines] Amazing storytelling and editing of a narrative so strange yet so eclectic. 8.5/10

Margarita with a Straw [Nilesh Maniyar, Shonali Bose, India, 2016] An unusual take on sexual exploration and self discovery. It somehow lost its focus towards the end but still a delightful watch overall. 8.5/10

Berlin Calling [Hannes Stohr, 2008, Germany] a movie that lives in the present paced in such rhythmic beat, it is dazzling from start to end. 8.5/10

Kuwaresma [Erik Matti, 2019, Philippines] Is a multilayer of social commentaries which were good before they too contradict themselves. 8.5/10

Brother of the Year [Witthaya Thongyooyong, 2018, Thailand] For all its simplicity and bleak storyline, it still offers an abundance of emotion and a sense of realism. 8/10

Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga [Shelly Dhar, 2019, India] Not a first in world cinema, but is still a groundbreaking moviemaking in the context of India. 8/10

If Beale Street Could Talk [Barry Jenkins, 2019, United States] The kind that even though you are hopeful, you know from the start that it's going to be tough. 8/10

Sovdargari (The Trader) [Tamta Gabrichidze, 2018, Georgia] Emotionally intense depiction of rural poverty. 7.5/10

The Two Popes [Fernando Mereilles, 2019, UK, US, Italy, Argentina] Features two outstanding performances that redeemed it from all its dragging moments. 7.5/10

Black Panther [Ryan Coogler, 2018, United States] Oozing with unusual but likable characters. 7.5/10

A Land Imagined [Chris Yeo, 2018, Singapore, France, Netherlands] An unsettling noir mystery that questions people's notion of truth.

My Days of Mercy [Tali Shalom Ezer, 2019, United States] There is a bewitching chemistry between the two leads despite the coldness of it all. 7.5/10

Contratiempo (The Invisible Guest) [Oriol Paulo, 2017, Spain] offers an outstanding and enjoyable thrilling ride. 7.5/10

Giant Little Ones [Keith Berhman, 2019, United States] An honest road to knowing your own self in the eyes of a boy transitioning to adolescence. 7.5/10

Never Not Love You [Antoinette Jadaone, 2018, Philippines] Beautifully and realistically written. It’s just really hard for me to like Reid’s character. 7.5/10

Kaptn Oskar [Tom Lass, 2013, Germany] Only basic virtue - it is a beautiful film. Not only for its comfort. But for the old poetry of dust emotions. 7.5/10

Furie [Le Van Kiet, 2019, Vietnam] With great performance and thrilling choreography, Furie is one of the best action films of 2019. 7.5/10

The Awakening of Motti Wolkenbrunch [Michael Steiner, 2019, Switzerland, Germany] A funny glimpse at a life of an Orthodox Jewish man with a chemistry that gives you a hopeful ending. 7.5/10

Gerald's Game [Mike Flanagan, 2017, United States] Meticulously-directed, it is an outstanding adaptation of Stephen King's novel. 7.5/10

UnTrue [Sigrid Andrea Bernardo, 2019, Philippines] to put it simply, UnTrue is a thrilling rollercoaster ride. 7/10

Pailalim [Daniel Palacio, 2017, Philippines]

Dear Ex [Chih-Yen Hsu, 2018, Taiwan] Features odd but genuine kind of love. It is funny, heartfelt, and charming all at the same time. 7/10

First They Killed my Father [Angelina Jolie, 2017, United States, Cambodia] sincerely and sensitively paints a portrait of a country's tragic history. 7/10

4 Latas [Gerardo Olivares, 2019, Spain] For all its nonsense, I enjoyed it. 7/10

Green Book [Peter Farrelly, 2018, United States] Flawed yet entertaining -- not sure if it's good or bad though. 6.5/10

Pihu [Kapri Vinod, 2018, India] Heartbreaking torture. Although I feel like it could have ended better. 6.5/10

Lionheart [Genevieve Nnaji, 2018, Nigeria] Although everything here felt familiar, there's charm that makes this film an enjoyable one. 6.5/10

Unbreakable

Triple Frontier [JC Chandor, 2019, United States] I have a problem with its exploitation of violence. I have a bigger problem for liking it. 6.5/10

28 Weeks Later

Iska [Theodore Boborol, 2019, Philippines] I find a lot of things problematic and some choices uncharacteristic but it is worth a watch. 7/10

Searching

Period. End of Sentence

Battle

Oversized Cops

Floating [Julia Kaiser, 2015, Germany]

The Bar

Ang Babae sa Septic Tank 3

Mga Mister ni Rosario [Alpha Habon, 2018, Philippines]

Misteryo dela Noche

Of Love and Other Demons

Tanabata’s Wife

26 Years [Geun Hyeon-Jo, 2012, South Korea] Yet another thrilling revenge story from the country who does it best. 7/10

Mga Batang Poz

Aurora

Becks

Mowgli: Legends of the Jungle

Cargo

Neomanila

47 Metres Down

The Feels

Dead Kids [Mikhail Red, 2019, Philippines] Is probably my least favourite Mikhail Red movie. Overrated in every sense. 7/10

Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened

Svaha: The Sixth Finger

Flavors of Youth

Miss Granny

Unicorn Store

Captain Marvel

Polar

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch [David Slade, 2018, Untied States] Liking a film is always about the experience and while Bandersnatch offers another take on the medium, it is somewhat a less impactful experience as expected. 7/10

Open [Andoy Ranay, 2019, Philippines]

Psychokinesis [Yeon Sang-ho, 2018, South Korea] Nothing much to offer but a good Sunday watch with the family. 6.5/10

Elise [John Ferrer, 2019, Philippines] I’m sorry, I don’t understand the hype. 6/10 fpihu

Novitiate

A Tiger in Winter

Suddenly 20

Eli [Ciaran Foy, 2019, United States]

Remastered: Devil at the Crossroads’

Alipato: Ka Luis Taruc Story

The Tenants Downstairs

Hotel Mumbai

Muerte en Buenos Aires

How to Get Over a Break Up

Buried

Never Tear Us Apart

A Simple Favor

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before

Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral

Rainbow’s Sunset

Malamaya

Boy Erased

Still Human

Coach Carter

The Perfect Date

In the Tall Grass [Vincenzo Natali, 2019, United States] Fun at first until it gets dragging. Really dragging. 5/10

Bohemian Rhapsody

Metro Manila [Sean Ellis, 2014, United Kingdom] I know it's not right to say I've seen better, but yes, I've seen better. 6.5/10

Mr and Mrs Cruz

Pet Semetary

When Angels Sleep

Belle Douleur

Children of the River

Maria

The First Purge

Liberated: New Sexual Revolution

Toc Toc

Four Minutes

Mama

7 [Nizar Shafi, 2019, India]

Vine Country

Isn't it Romantic?

The Nun

Pandanggo sa Hukay

The Silence

KL Zombi [MJ Woo, 2013, Malaysia] A "horror" for a good laugh.

An1 (The Harvest)

Girls With Balls [Olivier Afonso, 2019, France] I don't have the balls to sit through this movie. 2/10

The Roommate [Christian Christeansen, 2011, United States] BLAH 1/10

Tabon [Xian Lim, 2019, Philippines] is one of the worst movies of the year. Nuf said. 0/10

#movies #cinema #film #films

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julyshewrites · 5 years

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What makes a love story really great? Here’s what I’ve learned so far...

It’s all in the Proof of Love!

I’ve been really diving more into studying the structure of stories, especially love stories. It’s my favorite genre – not just as a stand alone, but because you see it paired with other genres all the time. My favorite story guru, Steven Pressfield’s editor Shawn Coyne (author of The Story Grid), says that if you had to pick one genre to learn how to write, choose Romance, for this exact reason. Romance is not limited to the women’s section in the bookstore. Romance is EVERYWHERE.

So… what makes a love story so good that it fills your daydreams, puts your heart to flutter, or as we call it, gives us “the feels”?

Well, to start, a love story typically has 3 pillars:

1- The Lovers Meet (Inciting Incident of your plot) 2- The Lovers Breakup (Midpoint) 3- The Lovers Reunite (Resolution)

Sounds simple, but I’ve read (and written) plenty of romances that follow these pillars, yet still fall short of being anything close to a good love story. They feel cliche and melodramatic.

Love stories like these fall flat because they lack a crucial element in between the the breakup and the ending that if nailed right, drives that cupid’s arrow right in our heart and gives us the satisfaction we crave.

This crucial element is called the Proof of Love scene.

Really then, when writing your story, you should have 4 elements:

1- The Lovers Meet (Inciting Incident) 2- The Lovers Breakup (Midpoint) 3- Proof of Love (Climax) 4- The Lovers Reunite (Resolution)

What then is a “Proof of Love” scene?

Well, it is simply what it says – it’s when one of the lovers proves their love to the other. When we think of typical romances, it’s the “run through the airport to profess your love” scene. But those can be cliche, right?

The romances that really get us are the ones that have a proof of love that is so powerful, we know that the couple is truly, deeply in love and committed.

I think of two examples. First, the classic Pride and Prejudice. The ultimate proof of love is when Elizabeth finds out that Mr. Darcy orchestrated her sister’s marriage to his enemy, and by doing so rescues Elizabeth (and her family) from being tainted by the scandal her sister created by running away with a rogue. There were other things Mr. Darcy did along the way that started to soften Elizabeth towards him (which I’ll discuss here later), but that event was the clincher – where she realizes that Mr. Darcy absolutely loves her, and she loves him just as much.

Another example is from The Notebook. It’s at the end, where we see that Noah tells Allie their love story day after day, year after year, only to gain a few seconds of her remembering him. Even when she forgets again and pushes him away, he is there by her side. We understand that no matter how many times Allie forgets Noah, he will never forget, and will return the next day and tell her the story again, even till the very end of their lives. Sniff

Why are these proof of loves scenes so powerful? How can we emulate them?

In order to have a powerful proof of love scene there are a couple ingredients you need:

1- A breakup scene where it’s almost impossible for the lovers to reunite 2- A sacrifice made without any expectation of return of affection

Let’s talk about the second ingredient first – SACRIFICE.

Loving someone without any expectation is Unconditional Love.

This is someone loving us because they love us, without any selfish motives. It is what we all truly crave in life, and why love stories are so powerful. Don’t we all just wish that someone would see us and love us for who we are? That we don’t have to do anything to be worthy of that love other than being our true selves, flaws and all?

This is what Darcy does for Elizabeth. He really doesn’t think that Elizabeth will ever talk to him again, much less like him, but he goes out of his way to help her. He does it at the cost of his dignity, having to work with his enemy Mr. Wickham, whom he hoped to never have to deal with in his life ever again. He bends over backwards to fix the situation. And, he does all of it as anonymously as he can, making Elizabeth’s uncle take the credit, and asking that her aunt and uncle keep his role from Elizabeth. Now, that is proof of love!

Noah’s proof of love to Allie, although different in its expression, still has that same ingredient of sacrifice without expectation. He has gone to live with her in the nursing home, even though he is perfectly able to take care of himself. He doesn’t know when, or if, Allie will ever remember him. Now, he has hope, but that is different from expectation. Hope is still unsure. Expectation is demanding. But for Noah, no matter if Allie remembers him or not, he shows his children (and us), that that doesn’t matter. He will be by her side regardless. He loves her so much, and she doesn’t even remember him. What a powerful statement about unconditional love!

Now, let’s go back to the first ingredient – the BREAKUP!

No proof of love scene can work without first having a gut-wrenching, how-will-they-ever-get-back-together breakup scene.

The lovers must breakup, and not just temporarily. They must be so broken up that we can’t see how they could possibly repair their relationship and reunite.

This is a hard one, and also something that we as writers often don’t push far enough (myself included!). Here are some ways the breakup scene falls flat:

– The lovers breakup, but only for a short time (I’m looking at you 50 Shades of Gray/50 Shades Darker – 3 days?? Really??). – Or they break up, but it’s all just a simple misunderstanding, that can be solved with a conversation. This one can work when that misunderstanding is done like in Pride and Prejudice (I’ll talk more on that in a second), but often its done where the misunderstanding is pretty simple. – Or, they break up because of circumstances, but those circumstances are easily overcome.

These are just a few examples, but you have probably seen more yourself. There’s just that meh feeling when it comes to the breakup.

In other words, you really can’t go half-ass on your breakup.

Let’s talk about the Pride and Prejudice breakup. Their’s is a doozy. Their’s is based on misunderstanding, but oh what misunderstandings abound! Their misunderstandings stem from deep personal flaws, rooted also in their positions in society. Their misunderstandings comes from being on two complete sides of the spectrum. Plus, their personal flaws prevent them from even wanting to understand the other side and thinking they each are 100% right in their own views. We can almost see this clash coming, because we know they have been building their own views all along, so that argument they have is the culmination for all that. It’s not just that they’ve gotten along the whole time, and one simple situation created a misunderstanding that can easily be cleared up with a conversation. No, this misunderstanding is rooted deep in their souls.

And when they have their blow-up argument, Darcy has a lot to account for – treating Elizabeth and all her friends and family like dirt and even preventing her sister from marrying someone she loves because he feels it’s beneath his friend. What a jerk! I wouldn’t want to marry him either. Of course, Elizabeth is no angel herself. Although her family’s poor, it’s not that so much that as their terrible behavior in public, and Elizabeth’s fairly blind eye to admitting it. It’s her own haughtiness at thinking that she’s better than those snobby rich people, and her tendency to also judge people right away. With all that between them, and now their real feelings out in the open to each other, how on earth will they overcome that?

Well, they do, slowly but surely, but it takes some real work. Darcy’s proof of love culminates in the service he does to help Elizabeth’s sister marry Wickham, but it begins to build by the other changes he makes. Darcy tries to show he’s really a nice guy. Not just fake show it, but really be it. He even helps Jane get back with Bingley, and admits he was wrong. The proof of his love is in the pudding of action (and remember actions develop character).

The Notebook is a little trickier. We have a really good breakup scene in the middle of the movie (can you figure out why it’s a powerful breakup?). But, we also have that true, how-will-they-ever-get-back-together scene coupled with the proof of love. It’s because Allie has Alzheimers. How do you overcome that? You can’t, really. The only way Noah can try is to be a consistent presence in Allie’s life, and the last comfort of being in each other’s arms as they die. Okay, here’s my heart now. <X3 ;;o;;

So, to make your love story really great, let’s focus on these 3 pillars instead:

1- The Lovers Meet 2- The Lovers Breakup (and make it a good one!) 3- The Proof of Love (knowing the Lovers Reunite will fall naturally out of that)

If you can nail those you’ll be giving your readers “the feels” right and left! It’s something I’m slowly but surely working on myself.

Whew! So that’s a lot to cover I know, but my hope is that by diving deep into these concepts our stories will be better for it. Romance it up!

#love story #romance story #romance writing #writing tips #story grid #story conventions #how to write #writing process #what i've learned

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weekendwarriorblog · 4 years

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The Weekend Warrior October 2, 2020 – ON THE ROCKS, MANGROVE, SCARE ME, POSSESOR, BOYS IN THE BAND, THE GLORIAS, SAVE YOURSELVES! and More

It’s October, which means we’re finally getting Patty Jenkins’ long-awaited Wonder Woman 1984 after a number of delays from its original June release. Now that it’s finally coming out, maybe we can finally see movie theaters rebound with such an anticipated superhero blockbuster ready to fill those theaters right back up to 100% capacity. What’s that? It’s been moved to Christmas Day? Movie theaters in New York and L.A. are still closed and other movie theaters are only at 25-40% capacity? So we’re not getting Wonder Woman 1984 this week? So what are we working with here… Something like 30 other movies that few people have been chomping on the bit to see? Great… well, then never mind. We’ll see how far I get through the insane amount of movies being released this week, but I can tell you right now, that it might not be very far.

Possibly the highest profile release this week is the new film from Sofia Coppola, ON THE ROCKS, which is being released theatrically by A24 (where movie theaters are open) before its inevitable Apple TV+ streaming premiere on October 23. I had the opportunity of seeing Coppola’s film as part of my New York Film Festival coverage, where it got a sneak preview last week.

It’s a fantastic film starring Rashida Jones as Laura, a woman who has been married to her husband Dean (Marlon Wayans) for long enough that they have two young daughters, although she’s started to suspect that he’s losing interest in her and maybe sleeping with his assistant. As she gets more paranoid, her lethario art-dealing father (Bill Murray) shows up and tries to help Laura find out the truth about her husband’s fidelity.

Like many, I was a huge fan of Coppola’s earlier films, The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation – in fact, interviewing Coppola for the latter was one of my first roundtable experiences ever – and though I liked Marie Antoinette just fine, some of Coppola’s other films in recent years just haven’t connected with me. Maybe it took for her to do a full-on New York City film, as On the Rocks is, for me to return to the film but there’s so much other stuff to like about it.

First of all, it seems like a much more personal film than something like The Beguiling but she also has a fantastically vibrant lead in Jones, who doesn’t often get roles that really shows off her abilities. It’s hard not to think about some of Noah Baumbach’s movies, particularly last year’s Marriage Story, while watching On the Rocks because Coppola uses a similar segmental storytelling format. What sets it apart from just about every other film is Coppola’s ability to acknowledge that the best way to use Bill Murray in your movie is to just let him be Bill Murray and do what he’s going to do. That immediately lends itself to some great moments where father and daughter can go out on the town (and eventually to Mexico!) where Jones essentially acts as the audience for her father’s shenanigans.

But this is very much Jones’ movie even as she’s surrounded by the likes of Jenny Slate as a single mother kvetching about her dating life and Wayans, possibly playing his most serious and dramatic role since Requiem for a Dream.

I really enjoyed On the Rocks more than any of Coppola’s movies maybe going back to Lost in Translation. I think that she does have something to say as a filmmaker in terms of something as personal as this vs. a genre film like The Beguiled, and she does a particularly good job capturing New York City in a way that I really miss right now.

You can also read my more technically-minded review of Coppola’s latest over at Below the Line.

While I haven’t had the time to see as much of the 58th New York Film Festival as I like, I did get to see MANGROVE, the next chapter of Steve McQueen’s “Small Axe Anthology” which also played at the NYFF this past week. In fact, it’s the first chapter of the group of five movies about England’s West Indian community, both chronologically and when it will air on Amazon (November 20).

This one takes place in 1970, focusing on the Mangrove, a Notting Hill restaurant where the West Indian and black communities regularly congregate, but also, a target for the racist local police who are constantly raiding it and causing misery both for the customers and for the shop owner Frank Crichlow, played by Shaun Parkes. Some of the people who frequent the tiny shop are Black Panther’s Laetitia Wright as (what else?) Black Panther activist Althea Jones, but after a number of police disruptions, the people have had enough and decide to march to protest, which inevitably leads to a conflict with the same police.

Unlike Lovers Rock, which is just over an hour long, Mangrove feels like a real movie with a beginning, middle and end i.e. a simpler three-act structure, but it also runs for over two hours. Honestly, this could have been shown in theaters on its own, and I would have been satisfied, although I’m more than curious how that ties into the other movies.

The first act of the movie is similar to Lovers Rock as you’re allowed to look into this community and how they try to enjoy their lives together but having difficulty doing so due to the violent police raids, much of this part focusing more on Crichlow than the others. The actual protest march is the film’s biggest set piece where a lot of the players come together including the PC Frank Pulley, as played by Sam Spruell. This leads to the third act, which is basically a court trial of about a dozen of the people who frequent the Mangrove, including Crichlow, many of them defending themselves. If there was racism in the way the black people of London are treated by the police, it’s exacerbated when they’re put to trial in a courtroom where the jury only has 2 black members. The judge is so clearly on the side of alleviating the police of any responsibility for what happened that you just get madder and madder as it goes along.

As much as the film is very much Parkes as the lead, the strong support from Wright and the likes of Malachi Kirby as Darcus Howe, who has some amazing courtroom scenes, and Jack Lowden as Ian MacDonald, another one of the barristers. Almost every scene gives McQueen and his crew a chance to show off how well they were able to recreate every aspect of the times, whether it’s the neighborhood or recreating the Old Bailey where the trial takes place. I was just really impressed with everything about the movie from the screenplay, cowritten by McQueen with Alastair Siddons, to the cast and every single performance. All of it comes together so well while telling the very true story of the Mangrove 9 in a way that feels like McQueen doesn’t need to exaggerate anything for the viewer to really feel the injustices in play during that era.

This is an epic film that reminds me a bit of Mike Leigh’s underrated Peterloo last year. Not only did I think Mangrove was better than Lovers Rock, but I also think it’s better than McQueen’s Oscar-winning Best Picture, 12 Years a Slave, so it’s kind of odd that this wasn’t chosen to open the NYFF vs. the far shorter film.

Since it’s October, we might as well start with some scary or semi-scary genre movies, three of which premiered at Sundance earlier this year, at least two in the Midnight Section.

I’ve said before how impressed by the movies that horror streamer Shudder was sharing with its audience and Josh Ruben’s SCARE ME (Shudder), which debuts on Thursday, is no exception. I generally love horror comedies, but this one is more of a comedy horror, mainly being a two-hander as two horror writers hang out in a remote cabin in the middle of winter, trying to scare each other by telling stories. Ruben himself plays Fred Banks, a typical writer/actor/director from Hollywood who really hasn’t written or directed much, but when he meets extremely cynical bestselling horror writer Fanny Addie, as played by Aya Cash (from The Boys), there’s a certain amount of competitive flirtation that you know will lead to a fun movie.

So yeah, I’m not going to say too much about the stories they tell each other or what makes them so riveting and hilarious, but Ruben is not afraid to make things very heightened, whether it’s the performances by the two actors or the use of music or sound FX to really emphasize the horror aspect of the film. It’s hard not to think of something like The Shining or Misery due to the house out in the middle of nowhere, but Ruben also tends to show his horror influences in his script. The movie is working so well as a two-hander before Chris Redd from SNL shows up as the pizza delivery guy Carlo, drugs come out and things start to get even more outrageous and hilarious.

I have to say that I haven’t seen a horror movie this year that I enjoyed quite as much as Scare Me, since it’s so fun even when it starts to get exceedingly more dark in the last act. This is a great deconstruction of the horror genre that manages to create a truly original premise out of a mash-up of horror tropes.

In theaters and drive-ins this Friday and then available digitally next Tuesday, October 6, is Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson’s SAVE YOURSELVES! (Bleecker Street), a genre comedy starring John Reynolds and Sunita Mani (GLOW) as a squabbling couple who decided to take a retreat to a cabin in upstate New York to work on their relationship sans any electronics… only to miss the alien invasion that is progressively destroying the rest of the country.

It’s kind of funny seeing this back-to-back with the above Scare Me, because they’re both very funny two-handers, although this one was not quite as funny as I was hoping for, maybe because the main couple are cute, but they’re also quite deliberately clueless. They seem very much like a lot of younger people these days who want to try to better themselves but they’re so addicted to their smartphones, they don’t always realize how bad their behavior looks.

I did like what the filmmakers managed to do with mostly just the two actors and the semi-adorable gas-guzzling furball aliens who show up and terrorize the duo for the second half of the movie. Like with Scare Me, I don’t want to say too much about what happens to them, because that’s more than half the fun of watching the ordeal they end up going through, but it’s a different directorial debut and a great showcase for the talents of Mani (who I’ve seen a few things) and Reynolds (whose work I really didn’t know at all.

Basically, the four of them take a fun concept and do a lot with what is also essentially a two-hander that gets stranger and stranger but never is as outright funny as I was hoping it might be with such a great premise.

Brandon Cronenberg (yes, that Cronenberg) drops his second movie, POSSESSOR UNCUT (NEON), which debuted in the midnight section of Sundance earlier this year. Unfortunately, like the two movies above, it is one where knowing too much might detract from actually enjoying what happens. Essentially, Andrea Riseborough plays Tasya, an assassin who is transplanted into another body via her handler (Jennifer Jason Leigh) but one particular hit, which puts her into the body of Christopher Abbott’s Colin Tate goes horribly wrong.

I think that’s enough of a set-up for a movie that you will probably know immediately whether it will be for you as you watch, particularly after an intensely gory murder which you’ll watch with very little context of what is happening. In fact, you might spend quite a bit of Possessor Uncut unsure of what is going on, and that’s both a plus and a minus towards my overall enjoyment of the movie. Again, I don’t want to give too much away but much of the movie deals with what happens when Tasya is transplanted into the body of a man dealing with his own inner demons (Abbott), leading up to her having to conduct the hit on her target, Tate’s future father-in-law, as played by Sean Bean.

There’s something quite futuristic and other-worldly about all aspects of Possessor Uncut, but Cronenberg handles all the sci-fi elements in the film in such a matter-of-fact way that we never assume this is too far into the future but just watching another version of our own reality. I love Riseborough so much, as she’s easily one of my favorite actors, although I’m a little mixed on Abbott, so mainly seeing him acting like what she might be like controlling his body, it’s a little off-putting to be honest.

What really helps Cronenberg’s bizarre vision more than anything is his second collaboration with his DP Karim Hussain who has grown so much as a cinematographer in the 8 years since Antiviral. Every aspect of the movie’s otherworldliness is enhanced by Hussain’s use of colored filters to keep the viewer off-balance and unsure of what exactly one is watching. But those who are onboard for the type of violence and gore we get early on might be disappointed in how long we have before we get to more of it. In that way, Possessorreminds me of the recent

There’s no denying that Brandon is his father’s son with the type of storytelling he wants to explore, and he brings the same type of auteurish angle to his gore-filled genre filmmaking that is likely to be similarly divisive on who loves and appreciates it vs. those who just won’t get it at all. Either way, Possessor is as daring as it is weird and freaky and your mileage will vary depending on what you’re expecting.

I had never heard of Aaron Starmer’s book SPONTANEOUS (Paramount Pictures), but Brian Duffield, writer of “The Babysitter” movies on Netflix, makes his directorial debut with quite a dark romantic comedy that seems like a great companion to Words on Bathroom Walls from earlier in the year. Katherine Langford from Cursed and Knives Out plays Mara Carlyle, a senior at Covington High School, who is sitting in class one day when one of her classmates explodes, and as others also start exploding, she ends up bonding with Charlie Plummer’s Dylan, as the two young lovers stand together to try to survive.

I generally like coming-of-age and high school movies and I definitely have some favorites, both classics and more recent ones. Let me say right now that this one is VERY dark but also very funny and enjoyable, so it immediately reminds me more of something like Heathers in the fact you’ll just be enjoying some part of the story and then some kid explodes in fully gory glory. Yeah, it’s something that might be tough for some, because it doesn’t take the typical boy meets girl, lovey-dovey kissy-face movie, although the relationship between Mara and Dylan plays a large part in the movie.

I’ve already been a fan of Plummer’s from some of his previous work, but Langford is really fantastic in this, and this allowed me to see her in a whole new light as much as I thought she played a fine part in Knives Out. It was also great to see unlikely candidates like Rob Huebel and Piper Perabo playing her parents, and I also dug Haley Law as Mara’s best friend Tess.

The movie starts out as one thing but by the second half, it’s turning into something more akin to George Romero’s 1973 The Crazies where all of Covington’s seniors are locked up in a facility being tested with drugs that hopefully will keep them from exploding. The only real problem is that it does get very dark including one plot point that might lose a lot of those that have enjoyed watching the Senior Class of Whenever spontaneously exploding.

In a week where we have a truly dreadful high school movie about heroin addiction (see below), who would have imagined that a far better movie would be the one where high school kids are randomly blowing up as they frequently do in Spontaneous? This is a pretty fantastic directorial debut by Duffield, a devilishly funny take on an overused genre but one that also stands up with the best of them. Here’s hoping Duffield gets to direct another movie because from this and “The Babysitter” movies, it’s clear he has very distinct voice and style ala Election-era Alexander Payne that would could lead to some great stuff in the future.

Next up, we have one for the boys and one for the girls…sorry. Ladies.

The Ryan Murphy-produced based on Matt Crowley’s 1968 stageplay THE BOYS IN THE BAND hits Netflix on Wednesday. Directed by Joe Mantello, who also directed the recent Broadway revival, it’s an ensemble piece featuring Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto and Matt Bomer as three of seven gay friends who congregate the Upper East Side apartment of Michael (Parsons) to celebrate the birthday of Harold (Quinto), his birthday party including a number of surprise guests including Michael’s married college friend Alan (Brian Hutchison) and a stripper known as “Cowboy.”

I’ve never seen the stageplay on which this is based, although I know a lot about it, including the fact that it takes place on a single night all on one set. Mantello’s movie includes the entire cast from the recent 2018 Broadway revival which he also directed, so you just know everyone will be bringing their A-game. While there are some big names from the screen in the cast, there are just as many amazing moments from some of the other characters, including Robin De Jesus’ Emory, Larry (Andrew Rannels), Bernard (Michael Benjamin Washington), Hank (Tuc Watkins), as well as Bomer playing Michael’s good-looking boyfriend Donald.

That obviously well-rehearsed cast brought a lot to my first experience with Crowley’s beloved play, their hilarious patter and interaction making the first part of the movie so light and entertaining, particularly a campy dance number to the song “Heawave.” But the film also gets quite serious by the second half, and that’s despite taking place over a decade before AIDS reared its ugly head.

Much of that drama arrives at the same time as Michael’s homophobic college friend Alan shows up without ever saying why he needed to talk to Michael so urgently – we definitely can put two and two together but it’s never confirmed out loud. When Harold finally shows up, he acts like a complete asshole to everyone, but it’s quite an amazing and standout performance by Quinto, although he becomes more of a spectator as the night goes on.

But the entire cast is amazing and they’re all given moments to shine. Parsons really blew me away with his performance, and De Jesus is absolutely at first but handles the drama just as well, and I can go on and on about what a tight ensemble producer Murphy brought from stage to screen.

Boys in the Band doesn’t just deal with homophobia in the late ’60s, as it also allows these very different gay men to come to terms with their sexuality, talking about how they first realized they were gay, as well as talking about monogamy and fidelity. It would certainly be interesting to see an updated version of this set in present day, but the 1968 text and context still works just fine.

If you’ve never seen any other iteration of this play, Mantello and his cast have done a pretty fantastic job turning a one-location play into something that’s far more cinematic. I think we can expect Boys in the Band to be included in a number of Emmy categories next year.

If Boys in the Band is too much of a sausage factory for you, then there’s THE GLORIAS (LD Entertainment, Roadside Attractions), hitting digital and Amazon Prime on Wednesday i.e. today. I can’t think of any filmmaker better than Julie Taymor to tell the story of Gloria Steinem, because this is in fact a biopic about the feminist activist, as played by Julianne Moore, Alicia Vikander and two talented young actresses during the earlier scenes.

I have to be honest that I never really knew much about Steinem except for her role in the Women’s Movement and trying to get the Equal Rights Act passed in the ‘70s and her involvement in so many important women’s movements in recent years, including #MeToo. As with much of her work, Taymor takes a very different approach to the classic biopic, switching between as a little girl in the past, her time spent in India seeing women there struggling with equality, to her fierce fight for women’s rights to have autonomy over their own bodies, which includes getting abortions.

I feel like I need to go back to her childhood where her eccentric father Leo (played by a barely recognizable Timothy Hutton) is always taking her family from one place to another to Steinem as a young woman (as played by Vikander) in India. There’s no question that when Moore enters the picture of the older Steinem where it starts to get interesting. She’s also far better than the generally good Vikander, whose accent doesn’t match up with any of the other actors playing Steinem.

I was a little disappointed that we really didn’t get to see very much of Steinem’s relationship with Dorothy Pitman Hughes, as played by Janelle Monae, who basically appears for two scenes and is gone. Fortunately, it gets more into her affinity for Native Americans, particularly Kimberly Guerrero’s Wilma Mankiller. Other supporting roles of note include Bette Midler as Bella Abzug and Lorraine Toussaint as Flo Kennedy.

It takes a little time to adjust to the jumps in time and not everyone is going to like the rather pretentious decision to have Steinems from different time periods having conversations on a bus together. On the other hand, Taymor’s recreation of the 1977 Womens Conference is quite impressive, and the movie includes a fun fantasy sequence. The movie essentially does what it’s meant to do, which is to instruct and educate about why Steinem’s place in history is so important, and Taymor does a good job shaking off most of the usual biopic tropes, sometimes to success and other times not so much.

Darren Lynn Bousman, director of a bunch of the “Saw” movies including next year’s Spiral, helms DEATH OF ME (Saban Films), a psychological thriller starring Maggie Q and Luke Hemsworth as married couple, Christine and Neil Oliver, who find themselves stranded on a remote island near Thailand where the couple are trapped when a typhoon hits. The couple wake up confused about what happened over the previous 12 hours until they find a video of Neil killing and burying Christine. Hilarity ensues. (No, not really. This is in fact a deadly serious psychological thriller.)

Listen, I love Maggie Q, and I’m so happy to see her in a third movie this year, even if it’s a little strange that this one is set in a similar island paradise as the generally superior Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island from earlier in the year. This one is also similarly high concept, even borrowing a bit from The Hangover (still, not a comedy), except that the premise gets so diluted by vague and esoteric nightmarish scenes used to keep Christine (and the viewer) in a constant state of confusion.

This feels like such a different type of movie for Bousman, maybe because of the environment or the lush look created by that location which informs the film. In some ways, it reminded me of Wes Craven’s The Serpent and the Rainbow, and I usually like this type of mind-fuck type movie, but Death of Me just goes too far down that rabbit hole, and the only answer it gives in terms of what is happening is a fairly lame twist near the end. There’s no question this might have been worse in the hands of a less adept filmmaker, because the movie does look good, but I had a hard time connecting with any of it. You’ll notice that I didn’t have much to say about Luke Hemsworth’s character and that’s because he has so little personality when he mysteriously vanishes midway through the movie, you just don’t miss him at all.

At times, Death of Me comes across like a Southeast Asian Midsommar, and Maggie Q generally gives a terrific performance to help sell the terror her character must endure. Unfortunately, that effort and her talent is wasted, because the movie frequently goes so far overboard it’s impossible to get back once it begins to go too far off the rails.

Going from psychological thriller right into futuristic sci-fi with Seth Lamey’s 2067 (RLJEFilms), starring Kodi Smith-McPhee as Ethan Whyte, a young man living during a time when the earth has been disabled by the lack of oxygen. Ethan works in the mines with his older brother (Ryan Kwanten) but he’s suddenly called upon as the potential savior of earth, as he’s sent 400 years into the future to bring back a cure for earth’s woes.

Where do I even begin with a movie that generally should be something I like, but it takes so long to get even remotely interesting? This one had me vacillating between enjoying what was going on and generally being annoyed by everything. I’m not even sure where to begin except for the central premise of all plant life being dead meaning there’s no oxygen for humans. It’s a decent idea for sure but one that’s quickly lost when you realize that this is going to be another well-intentioned movie that isn’t executed very well.

The entire set-up for the movie doesn’t particularly work, but when Ethan is shot 400 years into the future via something called “The Chronicle,” he’s suddenly on an earth full of lush vegetation and no way of getting back. The movie does get slightly better at that point, because it doesn’t rely on people walking around in gas masks – cause there’s no oxygen, get it? – but Smit-McPhee really struggles to carry this section, frequently leaning on Kwanten once Ethan’s older brother shows up. I just don’t think Smit-McPhee has aged well nor has he improved much as an actor, so making him the lead is already questionable, especially when you put Kwanten into more of a supporting role, and that’s really just the tip of the iceberg for the movie’s problems.

Unfortunately, 2067 is harder to follow than most time travel movies but mainly because it chooses to jump back and forth in time, frequently stealing liberally from Blade Runner’s futuristic noir and other movies. The writing is pretty bad, and the weak cast does little to elevate it with way too much over-emoting in almost every scene.

Even the score, which would have been great if used to embellish a better movie, tends to overpower everything, essentially used as a crutch to instill emotion for characters that are hard to care about. On top of that, the storytelling is all over the place to the point where few will be focused enough to care.

Sure, there’s some nice production design at work despite substandard VFX, and otherwise, 2067 is mostly bland and highly derivative sci-fi that comes off like a bad low-budget episode of Doctor Who with little of that show’s entertainment value.

Where do I even begin with SNO BABIES (Better Noise Films), a heavy-handed PSA about drug addiction written by Michael Walsh and directed by Bridget Smith that’s available via VOD right now. It stars Katie Kelly as Kristen McCusker, a Princeton-bound high school senior who has turned her first taste of oxy into a full-blown heroin addiction as we see her dragged down a rabbit hole of absolutely every possibly awful thing that could happen to her over the course of two hours, just so that… well, I won’t spoil what happens.

There are times while watching a movie when you’re not too far into it, and you quickly realize that you’re watching a very bad movie. I certainly didn’t have to go that far into Sno Babies before seeing Kelly’s character being put through so much awfulness that it made my skin crawl more than any sort of torture porn. Whether it’s watching her or her awful friend Hannah (Paula Andino) sticking a hypodermic full of heroin into her tongue or seeing her getting raped at a party because she’s in a heroin-fueled stupor. And that’s just the first 15 minutes of the movie!

Instead of staying focused on Kristen’s journey, which is like a cross between Mean Girls and Requiem for a dream, the filmmakers also introduce a young couple, Matt and Anna (Michael Lombardi, Jane Stiles), who are trying to have a baby, Matt’s sister Mary, Kristen’s mother Clare and her real estate business, as well as a problematic coyote that takes up much of Matt’s time. Yes, this coyote ends up playing as larger and larger role in the plot and how it comes together that even if you think you know where things are going (and are probably partially right), you will be left incredulous by everything that happens over the course of the movie until it’s absolutely ludicrous last act.

So yeah, the writing is not good, the actors are very bad and every aspect of the film is so poorly made and directed, it’s impossible to even appreciate it as what it’s intended – to make a PSA for teenagers to try to keep them off of … heroin. (Yes, there are lots of other drugs that are far easier to get in the suburbs, but for whatever reason, they decided to go with heroin.) Except that the movie is so bad few teenagers will be able to get past the first 15 minutes, which means it’s a failed effort from jump.

Kelly is certainly put through a lot, including a lot of bad FX make-up, but in many ways, Andino plays a far more interesting character with a better arc, but there’s no way of realizing that until the very end, which just makes the whole thing even more bonkers.

The filmmakers behind Sno Babies must have some sort of sadistic streak to make viewers endure everything various characters are put through, but especially Kristen and Hannah. Listen, I’m never been one to get so mad at a movie that I ever actually yelled at my laptop… until Sno Babies. Let me just say that it’s a good thing I don’t have direct neighbors because they would start thinking they live next door to a psycho who keeps yelling odd things out of the blue.

Sno Babies is like an Afterschool Special on heroin, in other words, it’s unwatchable trash. Your brain would have to be on drugs to stick with it through the end. As the worst movie I’ve seen this year, it would be an understatement if I were to say that the people who made this movie should never be allowed to make another movie again.

And then we get to all the movies I wish I could get to but just didn’t have time due to my insanely busy schedule right now. I hope to get to watch some of them later but didn’t want to hold up this week’s column too much.

Lydia Dean Pilcher’s A CALL TO SPY (IFC Films) seems like my kind of movie I might like, a WWII drama about how Churchill started recruiting and training women as spies for his Special Operations Executive (SOE) in order to conduct sabotage and rebuild the resistance. Stana Katic plays Vera Atkins, who recruits two such candidates, Sarah Megan Thomas’ Virginia Hall, an American with a wooden leg, and Radhika Atpe’s Noor Inayat Khan, a Muslim pacifist, as the three women infiltrate Nazi-occupied France. The film is based on true stories, and hopefully I’ll get a chance to see it.

Streaming on Netflix this Friday is Kristen (Cameraperson) Johnson’s new doc DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD, which won a Special Jury Award at Sundance earlier this year. This one is about her 86-year-old stuntman father and how she deals with the fact that he’s eventually going to die, but literally staging all sorts of cinematic ways of killing him. This one I actually did get a chance to watch before finishing the column, and it was pretty tough to watch, mainly since I’m dealing with my own coming to terms that my slightly older mother may not be around for much longer. This is such a strange and only mildly entertaining movie, because it is so personal for Johnson, but I’m kind of shocked by how many people in her life would go along with making such a morbid and macabre film. This definitely won’t be for everyone, and I’m not quite sure how I’d feel about it if my mother died – my father’s been dead for 11 years, incidentally – but I’m not quite sure to whom this movie would appeal. Either way, it’s on Netflix so you can throw it on if you have nothing else to watch.

Other stuff streaming on Netflix this week includes the kid-friendly horror film Vampires vs the Bronx and the streamer’s latest true crime docuseries American Murder: The Family Next Door.

Another music doc that I’ll have to check out is Herb Alpert Is… (Abramorama), the latest from John Scheinfeld (Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary), and it will get a live world premiere on Thursday night at 5PM PST/8PM PST featuring a Q&A with Alpert himself via Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter and www.herbalpertis.com. On Friday, it will be available via Amazon, iTunes and other platforms as well as via DVD… and lots of other formats, including “LP format featuring a coffee table book and a five-piece 180 gram vinyl set.” Wow. I’ve always been interested in Alpert from his amazing career as a musician to his equally fantastic career running A&M Records, which discovered some of the biggest artists over the decades that followed. I can guarantee that I’ll be watching this movie very soon.

Also, Daniel Traub’s Ursula Von Ryingvard: Into her Own from Icarus Films, an innocuous title about a woman of whom I’ve never heard, will open via Virtual Cinema. Apparently, she’s a sculptor, and that doesn’t do much to pique my interest, although the fact it’s only an hour long might mean I watch it soon, as well.

Also wasn’t able to get to Marcus H. Rosenmüller’s The Keeper (Menemsha Films), which will stream on Kino Lorber’s Virtual Cinema.It’s a biopic about Bert Traumann, as played by David Kross, about a German soldier and prisoner of war who becomes Manchester City’s goalkeeper, much to the consternation of the soccer team’s thousands of Jewish fans. It leads up to the team’s victory at the 1956 FA Cup Final that finally gets him fans. I’m also kind of interested in the historic epic The Legend of Tomiris (Well GO USA), which seems to be getting a digital only release, but I honestly haven’t heard peep about the movie’s release other than the fact it’s opening. That’s not good.

Another movie I was hoping to catch but there were JUST TOO MANY DAMN MOVIES! was Brea Grant’s 12 Hour Shift (Magnet Releasing), which stars Angela Bettis, and it’s a 1998 thriller set in an Arkansas hospital where a junkie nurse, her scheming cousin and a group of black market organ-trading criminals get caught up in heist that goes wrong.

To be honest, I really just didn’t have much interest in Adriana Trigiani’s Then Came You (Vertical), which actually received Fathom Events screenings before it’s On Demand/Digital release on Friday. It stars daytime talk show host Kathie Lee Gifford (who wrote the screenplay!) with Craig Ferguson, Gifford playing a widow who is travelling the world with her husband’s ashes before meeting Ferguson’s innkeeper. Gee, why on earth would Ed be dubious of a movie starring a daytime talk show host and a former late night television host? Gee, I wonder. I didn’t see it. Maybe it’s great, but nothing less than being paid to watch this movie would get me to watch it, so there we are.

Other movies out this week in some form or another include Rising Hawk (Shout! Studios), The Antenna (Dark Star Pictures), Eternal Beauty (Samuel Goldwyn Films), Tar (1091), Do Not Reply (Gravitas Ventures), The Great American Lie (Vertical), Honey Lauren’s Wives of the Skies (Hewes Pictures) on Amazon Prime on Tuesday, The Call (Cinedigm), Chasing the Present (1091), Haroula Rose’s adaptation of Bonnie Jo Campbell’s Once Upon a River, The Devil to Pay (Dark Star Pictures/Uncork’D Entertainment), and something called Alien Addiction (Gravitas Ventures). I’m sure there’s some good stuff in there, and congrats to the filmmaker for finishing a movie and getting it released but… and you may have heard this before… THERE ARE TOO MANY FUCKING MOVIES!!!!

A couple festivals starting this week includes the 43rd Asian American International Film Festival, which runs from October 1 through 11, and it seems to include a pretty impressive line-up of features and shorts, and though I haven’t seen many, the one I’m highly recommending again (as I have when it played other festivals) is the doc Far East Deep South.

Also, American Cinematique’s Beyond Fest starts this Friday at the Mission Tiki Drive-In in Montclair, California, running from October 2 though October 8. It begins with a double feature of the upcoming The Wolf of Snow Hollow (out next week!) paired with The ‘Burbs, then goes into a David Lynch triple feature of Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway on Saturday and Saint Maud (a chronically delayed theatrical release) with the classic Misery on Sunday. Monday gets a double feature of new movies in Synchronic and Bad Hair.

Also, the Woodstock Film Festival begins this week, running from Weds. through Sunday, with screenings at the Greenville Drive-In, Overlook Drive-In and Woodstock Drive-In as well as an online component. Highlights include The Father (Opening Night on Thursday, October 1) and the Closing Night film is Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland, starring Frances McDormand on Sunday night. You can get tickets and more information on Eventive.

What it comes down to is that there are just too many fucking movies. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. This shit has gotta stop, because there’s no way any single movie can get any attention when so many are being dumped to digital/streaming/VOD/virtual cinema each week.

Next week, more movies not in New York City theaters, which will probably never reopen the way things are going.

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have bothered to read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or drop me a note or tweet on Twitter. I love hearing from readers … honest!

#TheWeekendWarrior #Movies #Reviews #VOD #Digital #Streaming #OnTheRocks #SofiaCoppola #SaveYourselves #BoysInTheBand #Spontaneous #TheGlorias #SnoBabies #2067

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The 10th Annual L.A.O.K. Awards

Wow. Ten years of the Layokies. What a trip. I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to all five of my faithful fans for your readership over the years. In my first ever Layokies post, I named it the “1st (Possibly) Annual L.A.O.K. Awards.” I had no idea how long I’d be working at the Academy, let alone living in LA, but here we are. I bragged about seeing 180 movies that year. I just checked my Letterboxd stats for this year and it turns out I watched...180 movies. However, this year I hit a new personal best for new releases: 125. While this is about half as many as some people I know, some of the first Layokies were based on a field of 60 or 70 movies, so I’ve doubled up on my old self. Funny thing is, I can still look on other year-end lists and find many films I haven’t seen, and even some I haven’t heard of, so the field of films I’ve added are probably in the middle to bottom range of the pack. But someone out there has to watch Tolkien, Gemini Man, The Goldfinch, and Where’d You Go, Bernadette?, so it might as well be me.

In all honesty, my absolute favorite thing about living in Los Angeles and working at the Academy is access to watching movies and being around the general cinephile community, and even a bad couple of hours in a movie theater beats a lot else. Over Christmas break I saw Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in Shawnee, OK’s own Cinema Center 8.

It was quite a trip going back to this theater after so many years and to think of the love of film that was fostered there. Alas, the picture was pretty muddy, and I’m almost positive they showed it in 2k. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Now, in penance for naming The King’s Speech Best Picture in my first year (lol), I give you five real good’uns for 2019:

Best Film The Farewell The King Little Women Parasite Uncut Gems

Sometimes I touch on a year being good or bad for film in general. Not sure about the whole, but I’ll call 2019 a real SEC year (aka stacked at the top and mediocre to poor the rest of the way down). While I would probably only give one title on this list must-see status (Parasite), these are all definite should-sees. The Farewell made me laugh and cry and cringe. One might even go so far as to say it “gave me all the feels.” The King gave me actual siege warfare and period-accurate haircuts. Little Women hit me with that structure, and at first I was all “hol up,” but then I was all “OK I see you.” Little Women also made me cry because I cry in movies now. (A quick aside, because while I absolutely loved Little Women, it’s not really going to come up again. If you liked the movie and haven’t read the book, please do yourself a favor and make it the next one on your list. You can’t know how great this movie is unless you know how good Beth is. Beth kind of got lost in this one, and you need to know Beth.) Parasite blew me away through its normality (who, having seen The Host, Snowpiercer, and Okja could have guessed that it wasn’t about some actual alien parasite??). And Uncut Gems was exactly as perfect as I expected it to be. And the Layokie goes to... The King

Faithful readers will know that one of my absolute favorite genres is ‘discreet conversation behind castle walls,’ and The King absolutely nailed it. It has everything: leadership position foisted on a worthy but flawed character who doesn’t want it, conversations in tents about battle tactics, love built on almost nothing but mutual respect, and most of all, Robert Pattinson doing a funny accent (it’s just a French accent, but he makes it quite funny). I would have already watched this again five times on Netflix, but I’m hoping and praying for an Oscar nomination that will never ever in a million years come in hopes that I can see it again in the theater during nominations screenings.

The Next Five Six 1917 Honey Boy The Laundromat The Lighthouse Marriage Story Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Best Actor Timothée Chalamet - The King Adam Driver - Marriage Story Paul Walter Hauser - Richard Jewell Joaquin Phoenix - Joker Adam Sandler - Uncut Gems

Another super stacked category this year. You might even say they’re *puts on sunglasses*...Stacked Actors. (<-- This is a really good joke for anyone whose favorite band from 7th-8th grade was The Foo Fighters.) These are all kind of obvious, so I’ll take a second to comment on Paul Walter Hauser and the fact that I gave out a very specific award last year titled “Refuse to Watch - Any More Clint Eastwood Movies” after trying and failing to watch The 15:17 to Paris on a plane (one of the worst pieces of filmmaking I’ve ever witnessed). Then this year Richard Jewell was getting such good buzz, and it seemed like such a good cast, and it was such a low-risk watch (on my second screen at work while doing spreadsheets), that I decided to shamefully renege on my earlier pronouncement and give it a shot. And...it was great pretty good! What is the deeal with Clint Eastwood?? He’s made some of my least favorite movies of the decade (Gran Torino, Invictus, Hereafter was a particularly awful stretch, Sully was pointless, and even parts of American Sniper, which was otherwise tolerable, were absolute cringefests). Anywho, I was very impressed by Paul Walter Hauser’s understated but perfect performance, in which he gets one good chance to blow up and yell at people--which you know I love. I hope he gets nominated, because it would be a great Oscar clip. (My ultimate dream job would be to pick the acting Oscars clips and I would be very very good at it.)

And the Layokie goes to... The Sandman (love that everyone is calling him the Sandman again)

I touched on Adam Sandler “A” in the Best Supporting Actor section of my 2018 Layokies post regarding his performance in The Meyerowitz Stories, lamenting that he hadn’t taken more dramatic roles after Punch-Drunk Love and hoping that good writer/directors would keep casting him. One more wish granted by the Safdie brothers. Adam Sandler’s talent is undeniable. He is truly one of the Great Actors of his generation. I really hope this is a respected-actor-making turn for him, but the upcoming roles on his IMDd--Hubie Halloween and Hotel Transylvania 4--don’t give much hope for the immediate future.

Honorable Mentions Taron Egerton - Rocketman (but only for the phone booth scene) Shia LaBeouf - The Peanut Butter Falcon Noah Jupe - Honey Boy Robert Pattinson - The Lighthouse Jonathan Pryce - The Two Popes

Best Actress Ana de Armas - Knives Out Scarlett Johansson - Marriage Story Elisabeth Moss - Her Smell Florence Pugh - Midsommar Saoirse Ronan - Little Women

Found out last night from my resident celebrity expert Bridgette Smith that Florence Pugh is dating Zach Braff and it absolutely crushed me.

And the Layokie goes to... Elisabeth Moss - Her Smell

Her Smell was the last 2019 film I watched before writing this post, and I was really just looking for something to pass the time. I had been wanting to see it for a long time and noticed it was on HBO, so I pressed play and planned to work on this post while I watched. I couldn’t. I was riveted. The writing, score, and sound design are incredible, but it’s all tied together by Elisabeth Moss’s performance. She’s excellent at being revolting but still has all of those qualities that made her Peggy. You can’t not like her, even though you fairly hate her.

Honorable Mentions Awkwafina - The Farewell Cynthia Erivo - Harriet Lupita Nyong’o - Us (You know I love weird voices, you know I love actors doing weird voices and faces, but this was a bit much even for me. Reflective of Us on the whole, which I thought was interesting but really missed the mark.) Charlize Theron - Bombshell

Best Director Ari Aster - Midsommar Bong Joon Ho - Parasite David Michôd - The King Benny and Josh Safdie - Uncut Gems Céline Sciamma - Portrait of a Lady on Fire

And the Layokie goes to... Benny and Josh Safdie - Uncut Gems

Wired: New directors Tired: Old directors

Boy do I not understand the love for The Irishman and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. I’m not totally against boring movies if there’s a good reason for it (Midsommar was actually quite boring), but these were some of the least compelling films I watched all year. On the other hand, you have these young directors coming out of prestige horror, Ari Aster, Robert Eggers, and to a lesser extent David Robert Mitchell and Trey Edwards Shults, making some of the most dynamic films out there. Reminds me of Roger Ebert talking about early Scorsese in Life Itself (which I can’t find a clip of). Then you have Benny and Josh Safdie doing Scorsese better than Scorsese with literally breathtaking shots like the one below. How they construct such amazing edits out of such disparate takes as the one in the still above is a wonder. They’ll go from five extreme close-ups in a row to a jaw-dropping shot of the inside of a jewelry store zoomed in from across the street. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg on what makes them the best filmmakers working right now.

Honorable Mentions Noah Baumbach - Marriage Story Robert Eggers - The Lighthouse Claire Denis - High Life Greta Gerwig - Little Women Alejandro Landes - Monos Sam Mendes - 1917 Alex Ross Perry - Her Smell Joe Talbot - The Last Black Man in San Francisco Lulu Wang - The Farewell

Best Supporting Actress Laura Dern - Marriage Story Lena Headey - Fighting with My Family Lee Jung Eun - Parasite (The housekeeper) Meryl Streep - The Laundromat Shuzhen Zhao - The Farewell (Nai Nai)

And the Layokie goes to... Laura Dern - Marriage Story

Here’s one for the Laura Dern stan accounts: There’s no question that Noah Baumbach is a talented director of actors, but Laura Dern makes so much out of seemingly not a lot in this role. She truly embodies a wholly unique and three-dimensional character that could have extremely easily been one-note.

Honorable Mentions Lily-Rose Depp - The King Florence Pugh - Little Women Margot Robbie - Bombshell

Best Supporting Actor Timothée Chalamet - Little Women Willem Dafoe - The Lighthouse Shia LaBeouf - Honey Boy Al Pacino - The Irishman Robert Pattinson - The King

And the Layokie goes to... Willem Dafoe - The Lighthouse

For being all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT7uR4wNMJs

Honorable Mentions Bill Hader - It Chapter Two Tim Heidecker - Us Sam Rockwell - Richard Jewell Song Kang Ho - Parasite (the dad) Lakeith Stanfield - Uncut Gems

Best Original Screenplay The Farewell - Lulu Wang Her Smell - Alex Ross Perry Marriage Story - Noah Baumbach Parasite - Bong Joon Ho Uncut Gems - Benny and Josh Safdie

And the Layokie goes to... Parasite - Bong Joon Ho

Another genre we don’t get nearly enough of: comedies of errors. A script like this is as sophisticated as any mystery, political thriller, or...some other sophisticated type of script, like uh, I don’t know, they usually just say Chinatown or Witness. I did think it lagged a bit in the third act, but everything that came before it was so tight. Twist after turn after twist, so funny, so shocking. This is such a rare prestige crowd-pleaser that it really does harken back to Hitchcock; if a wide audience can get over watching subtitles, this has to have one of the lowest barriers for entry of any foreign film in a long time. Here’s hoping for a Best Picture Oscar nomination and a wide release. Uncut Gems played at Shawnee’s other theater (titled simply Movies 6), so it’s not that far out of the realm of possibility. But I know people in LA, even that work at the Academy, who won’t watch subtitled films, so getting people to actually go see it is another question.

Honorable Mentions Peterloo - Mike Leigh

Best Adapted Screenplay Jojo Rabbit - Taika Waititi Joker - Todd Philips & Scott Silver The King - David Michôd The Laundromat - Scott Z. Burns The Two Popes - Anthony McCarten

And the Layokie goes to... The King - Joel Edgerton and David Michôd

It wouldn’t be the Layokies without me championing one film that no one else cares about. I just really really liked The King. Timothée Chalamet is so hot right now! How did this get so overlooked?? 😭

Best Documentary Apollo 11 Honeyland It’s a Hard Truth Ain’t It Maiden Mike Wallace is Here

And the Layokie goes to... Maiden

As I’m in the process of producing a documentary right now, it pains me a bit that my top two picks in this category are almost entirely archival. I thought Mike Wallace is Here was so well done, and the director did some amazing things playing with aspect ratio. But Maiden came into port first. What is wrong with people who don’t appreciate sports? This xkcd comic (who I usually appreciate) makes me so angry. Tell the women who worked their asses off for years to claw their way into this male-dominated space and literally made the world a better place that their efforts were no more than a weighted random number generator on which to build narratives! Clearly the narratives are there, but it rarely has as much to do with the result of the competition as it does the effort that it took individual human beings to get there. See also: Undefeated (currently streaming on Netflix).

Honorable Mentions Fyre They Shall Not Grow Old Satan & Adam

Best Foreign Language Film Duh Parasite

Biggest Missed Opportunity Pokemon: Detective Pikachu (How the first live action Pokemon movie should have happened)

Not Even Close to Enough Monsters Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Most Unbelievable Cosplay Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers

Absolutely Crushing the Sensitive Dad Roles Billy Crudup in After the Wedding and Where’d You Go, Bernadette?

Good in Everything Too obvious, but Florence Pugh - Fighting with My Family, Midsommar, Little Women Robert Pattinson - High Life, The Lighthouse, The King Adam Driver - The Dead Don’t Die, Marriage Story, The Report, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Destigmatizing Fatness Award Dolemite is My Name The Laundromat Skin Almost Hustlers but then not (Lizzo got what, 30 seconds of screentime??)

#WasteYourAudience’sTime2019 The Souvenir The Proposal

Didn’t Actually Deserve to be Driven into the Ground Dark Phoenix The Kitchen

Just Plain Liked It Triple Frontier

Most Forgettable Tie: Tolkien and High Life (not for me, but it took me a full 10 minutes to convince Becca that she watched this, and I had to describe the masturbation chamber aka fuck box in a lot of detail before she got it, and I’m still not totally convinced she remembers it)

The Something Award Motherless Brooklyn

The Nothing Award Judy

Worst Movies 1. Rambo: Last Blood 2. Between Two Ferns: The Movie 3. Abominable 4. The Lion King 5. Godzilla: King of the Monsters 6. Wine Country 7. Jumanji: The Next Level 8. Frozen II 9. The Goldfinch 10. Pet Semetary

Best Scenes

Avengers: Endgame - The hammer, the portals, all the nerdy/normie BS, what can I say call me a basic bitch but there were some genuine holy schmoly moments in this that made it a really fun movie to experience in the theater

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood - When Mr. Rogers uses the puppets on Lloyd

Captain Marvel - When she went full shit on ‘em

Climax - The opening dance sequence (the only thing that made this movie worth watching)

The Farewell - Too many to choose from, but I think my favorite moment in this movie was when they were taking photos of the fiances and another couple stumbled in on them, claiming they were lost. That couple leaves and we never see them again. These are the kinds of details that make movies come alive. Absolutely brilliant.

Gemini Man - The motorcycle chase (a rare scene actually made better by the high frame rate)

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum - The knife fight in the knife store

The King - The conversation between Hal and Catherine

Knock Down the House - When A.O.C. debated the incompetent proxy

The Last Black Man in San Francisco - Skateboarding into town

Little Women - The “break-up” scene between Jo and Laurie (not a spoiler)

Midsommar - The drug trip scene (not that I’ve ever done drugs but this was the most accurate drug trip scene of all time) and the Ättestupa ceremony. Also found out in the video linked above that Ari Aster pronounces it Mid-SO-mar?? I thought that was the dumb way to pronounce it but apparently I’m the dumb one. Also also, another amazing detail worth mentioning: I absolutely loved that every time they were in their community sleeping barn, there was a baby crying somewhere on the second floor that we never see. Such a perfect way to put the characters and the audience on edge and indicate that there’s something wrong here.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - While I didn’t care for this movie, the scene where Brad Pitt went to the movie ranch and when he fantasized about going to the film set were absolutely dripping with tension, which made them as just as riveting as the rest of the movie wasn’t

Parasite - When the other family comes home early

The Peanut Butter Falcon - The scene after they come out of the corn field and share one of their first genuine moments

Uncut Gems - *Sarah Palin voice* All of ‘em, any of ‘em. But seriously the finale with the Celtics game

Us - The initial home invasion and the visit to the Tylers’ home (Tim Heidecker and Elisabeth Moss)

The A.V. Club also does a best scenes list at the end of the year, and I love writing mine first and then seeing what they came up with. I’m always surprised at how many we match on. Just goes to show that a good scene is universal. I also enjoyed some of theirs that I overlooked here, including from Her Smell, Bombshell, Ad Astra (I almost included the moon chase myself and thought the baboon scene was equally compelling), and Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

Stupidest Scenes Every other John Wick 3 scene

Deserves Discussion The Dead Don’t Die

This movie was a lot of fun. But then it also completely sucked? Not really a Jim Jarmusch fan in the first place, but this had so many awesome elements to it: a great cast, great soundtrack, really fun and unexpected ways of breaking the 4th wall, but then it was also pointless and boring. I would love for someone to tell me why this is a good movie after all, but judging by its complete absence from the end-of-the-year discussion (or any discussion), I’m guessing no one cares enough to mount that challenge.

Best Visuals Alita: Battle Angel Aquarella A Hidden Life Honeyland Midsommar Monos

Many LOLs It Chapter Two Jojo Rabbit Parasite

Best Song Ready or Not - The Hide and Seek Song (why was this not submitted?)

youtube

Best Soundtrack Waves - Never have I already known so many songs on a film’s soundtrack; it’s almost as if Trey Edwards Shults is another white guy around my age with the same interests as me...

Worst Accents Midway

Started But Never Finished Cats Cold Case Hammarskjold Genndy Tartakovsky’s ‘Primal’ - Tales of Savagery The Highway Men High Flying Bird Queen and Slim Spies in Disguise

Didn’t See Ash is Purest White Atlantics The Beach Bum The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open (still really want to see this one) Clemency Diane Invisible Life Luce Shadow Synonyms Transit Woman at War

Absent on Purpose Pain & Glory Ford v Ferrari I think these are the only two contenders that I’ve seen and haven’t mentioned. I actually liked both of these movies quite a bit. Just didn’t stand out for me in any one category I suppose. But then also: Booksmart Brittany Runs a Marathon Just Mercy The Mustang

Hah!

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42inchtv · 4 years

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Some Thoughts On The Best Movies Of 2019

Honorable Mentions: “Always Be My Maybe” (dir. Nahnatchka Khan), “Avengers: Endgame” (dirs. Joe and Anthony Russo), “Her Smell” (dir. Alex Ross Perry), “The Highwaymen” (dir. John Lee Hancock), “Joker” (dir. Todd Phillips), “Knives Out” (dir. Rian Johnson), “The Laundromat” (dir. Steven Soderbergh), “Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story By Martin Scorsese” (dir. Martin Scorsese), “Spider-Man: Far From Home” (dir. Jon Watts), “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (dir. J.J. Abrams), “Toy Story 4″ (dir. Josh Cooley), “Triple Frontier” (dir. J.C. Chandor), “Under the Silver Lake” (dir. David Robert Mitchell), “Waves” (dir. Trey Edward Shults), “Yesterday” (dir. Danny Boyle)

10. “High Flying Bird” (dir. Steven Soderbergh) Steven Soderbergh loves process movies, films where collaboration has to take place in order to achieve a set goal. So, heists. Almost all of Soderbergh's movies have a heist element in the text -- often literally, as with the "Ocean's" franchise or "Logan Lucky"; sometimes deeper, as with "Magic Mike" or "High Flying Bird." This new Soderbergh joint is a fucking blast -- and right from the start, with Andre Holland rat-tat-tatting his way through a fancy lunch with an NBA rookie who's still wet behind the ears (Melvin Gregg, good stuff). On the face of it, "High Flying Bird" is a heist movie, one where we watch Holland's Ray and his dogged former assistant (Zazie Beetz) use shoe-leather to stop an NBA lockout and make themselves a lot of money in the process. But its deeper reading is about a disrupter trying to disrupt again without falling behind the curve (it might as well be about Soderbergh himself). The ideas presented in "High Flying Bird" are so modern its almost as if Soderbergh has seen the future, one where athletes democratize sports in the way so many other fields have been democratized by social media. The production and release of "High Flying Bird" -- it was shot on an iPhone and dropped on Netflix -- are timely too. Soderbergh continues to get over on all these guys, doing it better and faster than most people half his age. Maybe he loves heists so much because he's made a career out of pulling jobs on the unsuspecting for 30 years.

9. “Booksmart” (dir. Olivia Wilde) A classic right out of the box, even in spite of the ponderous discourse surrounding its release. “Booksmart” takes the one-crazy-night structure and core relationship of "Superbad" and mixes it with the heart and sincerity of "Lady Bird" to create a coming-of-age movie that transcends gender and time and finds room to turn Beanie Feldstein into a giant star. This is a god-level performance, paying off what everyone hoped would happen after she played the beta in "Lady Bird." She's the alpha here and tears the movie to shreds. Give her a goddamn Oscar.

8. “Parasite” (dir. Bong Joon Ho) There is always another bottom. “Parasite” starts as one kind of movie and becomes another and the deftness with which it transitions is but one of the many delights buried within what has become a landmark release. Two things to note, before hitting the next blurb: first, the ending montage is unforgettable, quite literally as I’ve often replayed it in my head during quieter moments; and second, the score is the best of the year.

7. “Little Women” (dir. Greta Gerwig) Bigger in scope and bolder in construction than “Lady Bird,” Gerwig’s adaptation of “Little Women” stamps her as one of the best filmmakers working today. No one is able to be as honest in depicting complicated human feelings and as unafraid to portray outright empathy amid conflict. The only downside to Gerwig hitting the rarefied air of an auteur is that she doesn’t seem to want to act anymore. But we’ll take the role switch if there are more movies like “Little Women” on the horizon.

6. “Marriage Story” (dir. Noah Baumbach) Noah Baumbach is never really mentioned when conversations turn to best directors; he’s always felt a tier behind the Tarantinos and Scorseses of the world. But given a second thought, it’s hard to imagine why. Baumbach has been knocking out four-star movies since the ‘90s and “Marriage Story” might be his best. (Thanks to Netflix, it’s also by far his most widely seen; my parents even watched this one.) The divorce drama turned meme generator is typical Baumbach: smart people arguing about life with a bite that doesn’t shy away from showing the underside of humanity. But it feels like his most complete film, a perfect marriage of his earlier cynical work and his buoyant Gerwig period. It goes without saying but let’s say it anyway: Adam Driver is remarkable in this one, giving the best performance of the year. But Scarlett Johansson matches him scene for scene, a reminder of the raw talent she displayed during the “Lost in Translation” years when she was basically Andruw Jones for actors.

5. “Hustlers” (dir. Lorene Scafaria) From the opening tracking shot -- an unbroken take that follows newbie Destiny (Constance Wu in her best performance yet) as she tries to scratch together some cash during her first night at the klerb -- Lorene Scafaria makes her case for a Scorseseian tribute previously done best by Paul Thomas Anderson. But “Hustlers” isn’t a mere riff on “Goodfellas” or “Boogie Nights,” it’s a Trojan horse packed tight with big statements on the long-lasting ramifications of the 2008 financial crisis, the bonds of true friendship, and the way parenthood literally changes the mind of a parent (”motherhood is a mental illness,” Jennifer Lopez’s Ramona says twice during the film, first with a laugh and then later with a tear). It all culminates with a finale that doubles as a punch in the gut, with a monologue delivered by Lopez that should replace Ben Affleck’s juicy dialogue from “The Town” for aspiring actors on YouTube. Through it all, Scafaria controls every frame and sequence with confidence and ease not portended even by her previous solid work. It’s some masterful stuff, as is the way she’s able to tease out powerful performances from her motley crew of actors: Cardi B (lol sure), Lizzo, Lili Reinhart, Keke Palmer, Wu, and, of course, J.Lo, who does Robert De Niro in “Goodfellas” better than anyone else who has tried since 1990.

4. “Us” (dir. Jordan Peele) Oh, hey, “Us” is awesome. A “Twilight Zone” riff mixed with a greatest hits of references (including but not limited to “Scream,” “Jaws,” “The Shining,” “Signs,” “Funny Games,” “The Cabin in the Woods,” and “C.H.U.D.”) that throws a bunch of big, lofty ideas into the batter. Chief among them: How the ruling class must be taken out by the disenfranchised and how the disenfranchised, after wresting power from that class, will not go quietly into the night. (Alternate take: Bury the unwoke person you were as a youth before they can come back and ruin your life.) It all works so well — thrilling and hilarious, often at the same time. Lupita Nyong’o is otherworldly here (best actress 2020) and Winston Duke does an outrageous Jordan Peele impression that should please dads everywhere. Highest praise: During a year when we celebrated the greatness of 1999 movies, “Us” would rank up there with the best of the lot.

3. “The Irishman” (dir. Martin Scorsese) I've never thought to cry while watching a Martin Scorsese movie. That's not the kind of filmmaker he has been previously -- and even the movies he's made that pack an emotional wallop do so with almost surgical precision. Perhaps he's getting softer in his old age, or maybe I am: on my third viewing of "The Irishman" (but really, let's call it what it is: "I Heard You Paint Houses"), I teared up on more than one occasion. The elephant in the room after its release became Peggy and the wrongly perceived lack of agency given to her character. But watching how her relationship with Frank unfolds from birth to death with so few words is the movie's greatest trick. The first time we see Peggy, as an infant, she casts her big eyes on dad; those same glances -- angry, heartbroken, disgusted, pitiful stares -- make up their entire relationship. Only once does Frank experience something similar: after he kills Hoffa (a 20-minute sequence that features little dialogue and no music; we stan), Frank is next shown watching from a church pew as Bill Bufalino gives away his daughter at the altar on her wedding day; it's an act of fatherly love and joy that he'll never experience, not after what he's done hours before. Frank knows it too; just look at his face. A fucking masterpiece from our greatest filmmaker.

2. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (dir. Quentin Tarantino) Speaking of masterpieces: “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is Quentin Tarantino’s best movie in 20 years and his most introspective ever; cinema’s former enfant terrible has finally grown up. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” grapples with what happens when masculinity runs its course and when one generation loses prominence to the next. But it’s also just super hilarious — filled with moments that are best described as lol. This is the best performance Leonardo DiCaprio has ever given. It’s a remarkable tight-rope walk: he's an actor playing a slightly worse actor who himself is giving a performance and then having to also give another performance as the actor he's playing? As his sidekick-slash-lifemate, Brad Pitt is so effortless that it's almost redundant to praise him. And while there are other delights to enjoy among the cast (Margaret Qualley, Julia “tha God” Butters), let’s highlight Margot Robbie: She finds such warmth and grace within Sharon Tate that it's hard not to leave the film feeling a tremendous amount of sadness and regret. "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" might rewrite her history, but the real world did not. Unfortunately, this legend was never printed. But at least it exists in the movies.

1. “Uncut Gems” (dirs. Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie) What if the last 30 minutes of "Goodfellas" was actually 120 minutes and starred an all-time Adam Sandler, Mike Francesa, and Kevin Garnett, and prominently featured Billy Joel's "The Stranger"? The Safdie Brothers wrote and directed my fever dreams and it resulted in the best movie of 2019, 2018, 2017. This is a landmark; why bother writing anything else?

#some thoughts

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paladinofklance · 7 years

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And I find myself at home. | Klance fic

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This is done by me;

Tumblr: paladinofklance

AO3: moonandstarlight

Summary: Lace goes home, and this time around he has a special someone he wants to introduce. A 'going home' fic, for Lance's birthday.

One thing that is harder than being away from your family for long periods of time, is probably telling your family the reason you won’t be available and home for so long is because you’re flying around in a big metallic lion in space. It’s three and a half year ago, that he had to sit down and explain them this, after being away for over two years. Something that is harder than telling your family you’re in space is coming home and them thinking you’re dead.

It haunts him, the day he came home for the first time after so long. They thought he was lying, they were crying and cursing him telling him that they didn’t believe this was their son, it haunts him. Even after all the yelling and the crying, for his mom to properly look at him. Tears streaming down her face, as she held him close, finally being surrounded in the known warmth of his mom. He’d cried a lot, his family had cried a lot, and the worst part; telling that he was going to go back, and there’d be a long period of time, where they wouldn’t see each other. He doesn’t think of the broken faces that stared back at him.

There have been times, where they have been able to send small messages -courtesy of Pidge- but what do you even ask or say? Lance has no idea.

But as soon as he sees earth’s beautiful and well-known surface pipe forth, their pod descending out of the clouds, every question and every word he has thought of these last couple of years, they pour into his brain, ready to be told to every member of his family.

He’ll tell his younger sibling, cousins, nephews, and nieces of the wonderful animals and creatures they’ve endured. He’ll tell his older siblings and cousins about all these dangerous missions they’ve tackled along their way. He’ll tell his parents, grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles about the bonds you make when you’re in space, how he has been lucky enough to form bonds that he won’t ever forget, of his other family that keeps him safe out there. He’ll tell his whole family of how he found the love of his life in space.

It has been hard always being far away from everything and everyone, but somewhere along he was lucky enough to find peace with it. “-You’re looking wistful.” There is a giggle beside him and he quickly glances towards the man who is sat in the seat beside him.

Keith.

What a journey they’ve been through just to get here. It’s Lance's favorite thing about space; Keith. There has always been tension between them, and really Lance couldn’t really ever put a name on it until one mission. They were simply turning a corner and Keith’s unbelievably long and wild hair flew into his face. Keith made a ridiculous face, but it made it dawn on Lance. He was so in love with that idiot.

He feels a pinch on his arm, “you’re flying, stay focused,” Keith states, and Lance gives him a long glare. “I hope you’re ready to meet my family. I’ll just say it again, they’re one big mouthful.” Lance has first experience here, and honestly, he believes he’ll have a hard time adjusting. He had always been used to having at least ten people talking over each other, that isn’t exactly going to happen when you’re only seven people on a ship. “Lance, I think I’ll handle. They sound amazing, so I can’t wait,” Keith says, and Lance can feel a smile split onto his face.

“Though, I have one request.”

“Come with it.”

Lance gives Keith another glance, his brain short circuiting at the sight. Keith has always been a catch, which Lance applauds himself for a lot. But with the sun coming in through the window, shining onto his features and sharpening them, he looks angelic. His hair is tied away into a bun, and his clothes are a little messy after sleeping, but somehow he manages to make Lance’s heart fly into his throat. His mom, aunts, and sister will find him pretty, he is sure. “You’ll wait with introducing me, they’ve been waiting over three years to see you, please let them hug you. Afterward, I’ll say hi.” Keith gives a genuine smile, his voice firm. Lance simply agrees.

Lance can feel his joints getting anxious as they near Cuba, the sun sparkling and making the water look magnificent. He takes the right turns, scouting over the coast. They near themselves fields that separate houses, and then he is sliding forwards, eyes caught onto the big old house, his home. “Keith, I welcome you.” He lands skillfully on a bare patch of land, removing the invisibility cloak. He adjusts to the sun shining into his face, and there they are, familiar faces watching with amazed and surprised faces.

Lance admits, he falls out of the pod, but it doesn’t matter because soon he is sweeping up children and running into the mass of people. There are words blurred over each other, Spanish and English thrown together, and Lance didn’t know you could miss a blur like this so much. He is hugging more people than he can remember ever hugging, his cousins, nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts, siblings, grandparents, great grandparents and they’re all smiling. There are new faces, but he hugs them too, they’re his family just as much as the next.

Then he turns, and there are his mom and dad, smiling and crying and he dives forward so fast that he feels his dad grip them tight to steady them. “My baby, I’ve missed you so much.” He feels his shirt go wet, and his cheeks grow damp against the fabric of his dad’s shirt, but he doesn’t care, because he’s missed them so much too.

There go several minutes, before his mom pulls away, his dad holds on a few extra seconds, before he is pulling away from him, a smile on his face, that almost seems amused, and then his eyes turn to his mom and Lance understands. “Now, Lance McClain, how dramatic do you need to be? ‘I’ll be home in two days. Bringing someone I would love you to meet.’? Do you know what a situation you put me in, big house cleaning and invitations sent out to everybody... Now, where is the pretty face I need to see?” A smile lights up his mom's face, and Lance skips out from the mass of people, to see Keith chatting with one of his younger cousins. It makes his heart swell.

“Love, this is my family, and everybody, this is Keith,” Lance says with a smile and Keith gives a small smile, “hi.” It’s new to see Keith grow this shy, and Lance can’t help but love the soft look that crosses his boyfriends face. He turns just to see his mom emerge from the group of people, stepping down to inspect the both of them. “Oh, he is lovely." She smirks, and Lance grins triumphantly, while Keith’s cheeks grow pink. “Name’s Jimena, and this is Lance’s dad, Xavier." Lance has always loved his mom, a fierce woman with sarcasm on point, her and Keith would probably get along well. His dad is more laid back, loves doing a lot of activities, which means his whole family always have some family activity. What he adores the most though, is the amazing dynamic between his parents. Also, their cooking is amazing, and it’s delightful to still see them cook together after 30 years of marriage.

Lance’s mom takes a long look at both of them again, “let’s get you introduced to everybody, and then I believe you’ll have some fascinating stories to tell, while we prepare dinner.”

. . .

After several stories, told by mostly Lance with his overly dramatic hand gestures and in hushed voices, going to loud boom’s of surprises, his mom announces that everybody needs to take a seat at the table. It’s a hustle, and exactly like Lance remembers it. It was fun getting to tell the tales of what he, Keith and the rest of the crew have been up to, to people who don't consider that their normal everyday life. He liked their surprised faces, the unbelievable look in their eyes when he told them things that really shouldn’t exist and happen.

The whole house is engaged in a spicy scent, the essence of his families cooking. The table is filled with plates and stools sat closely together to fit everyone. His siblings are carrying food inside, looking as colorful and amazing as he remembers; it makes his mouth water.

Lance place a hand on the small of Keith’s back as they walk towards the table, he pulls out Keith's chair, before he is sitting down himself. His eyes are running along with every movement, watch as the kids fight over who gets which stool, and as adults try to separate the kids. “Your family is enchanting, Lance,” Keith murmurs against his shoulder and Lance takes a glance towards him, his whole face breaking into a giant smile.

They end up sitting with his mom, sister and younger brother -poor Noah- along with nieces, cousins, grandmothers, and aunts, which really sets Lance's nerves off. The women in his family can be loud and wild. They’re all looking towards them, and Lance has been a victim of those eyes enough times to know when an attack is loading. Fighting in space will never compare to what these women can do as a whole. Lance is glad Keith is a steady guy.

“Since the guys got their action stories for the day, what about you two tell us about your first date, your first anniversary and such." His mom smiles kindly, taking some meat for herself. Keith still looks calm, he even still has a smile on his face. “Background information first; we’ve been together for two and a half year now, Keith pined for years and I love him,” Lance says, smirking at the light slap he gets on his arm, he guess he deserved that.

Keith is blushing when Lance turns to look at him, it looks beautiful. “Corazon, will you tell about your first date? Because I hope Lance took you out for a first date, or we will be having a long talk, mister.” Keith brightens up, and Lance perks in interest, completely ignoring his mom’s comment as Keith place his fork. They have talked about their feelings, and of their first date afterward, but never has he heard Keith’s version of their day.

Keith gives a small smile, “he did take me out. We were in in a new solar system to rescue a planet called Anurita. It’s a planet known throughout the universe as a culinary planet, because of the wide selection of food they serve. It wasn’t a particularly wild mission, and since Hunk was really interested in the food, we decided to stay a couple of days afterward.” Keith is bright as he begins the story.

“We had taken a couple of walks to greet the inhabitants of the planet, some eight feet creatures with four big eyes, but very kind and helpful.” Keith smiles, and Lance remembers them. They were various shades of pastel colors, shooting towards the skies, while their four eyes -two eyes on each side- rested four different places. They were a kind race, with big knowledge on manners and food, so it was a success for Hunk. “We returned to the castle, and when we were sitting alone in the common area, Lance asked me nervously; perhaps I would like to go to a cafe he had spotted earlier. I think that might have been the first time I’ve ever seen him that afraid, and that is amazing, considering we meet all kinds of things in space.”

Lance let a hand settle onto Keith’s thigh, squeezing softly and receiving a smile in return. “I, of course, said ‘yes’ and later on, after hours of figuring out what I wanted to wear, Lance came knocking on my door, holding a single flower, which to be honest was quite ugly, but the thought was really nice,” Keith says, “they have ugly flowers,” Lance states, giving a bright grin. It’s mesmerizing to hear their first date from Keith’s point of view.

“The date was at the cutest little cafe, they served some delicious pasta like food and the tastiest desserts. It was a little awkward on the way there, but after time it was like back to normal. We talked, bickered and laughed, and honestly, it is one of my favorite memories. I’m glad Lance initiated to go to the take the next step, because he is great, even when he lies and tell I was the one pining. It was us both,” Keith states, and his mom breaks out in a loud content sound. Then, Lance starts recognizing the women in his family again, as they loudly start gushing and asking, anything between heaven and earth.

. . .

Keith fits into his family. He can keep up with the constant movement, and the loudness and God Lance couldn’t ask for more. He doesn’t wander around with Keith, instead, Keith leaves him hanging to go talk to someone, or to play some catch. Therefore, it isn’t a surprise that it takes Lance a good couple of minutes to actually locate the man. “So, I’ve talked to mom. My room is rented out to all the kids, so we can either sleep in the living room or set up a tent.” Keith turns towards him, quickly giving a glance at the living room, and then returning his orbs onto Lance. “I vote for the tent.” Lance knows a smirk is evident on his lips, shame him all you want, Keith is one hot piece and really he wouldn’t be able to even kiss him goodnight if they were in the living room. He knows his family.

No wonder though, Keith raised his eyebrows at him, “Lance, I am not going to have, you know, when your family is around,” Keith murmurs, casting his eyes around. “So, you want to sleep in the living room?” Lance prods softly, stepping a little closer, “no, we are definitely taking the tent,” Keith says, Lance smirks at that, leaning down and placing a kiss into Keith’s hair.

It takes some time to get the tent out, but soon enough they are walking towards the garden, a trail of kids following them, claiming they want to help. Keith is enjoyable to watch when he interacts with kids, they seem to surround him and constantly try to get his attention, which Keith seems to give them since they stay interested. He is laughing, playing small jokes on them and talking vividly about everything they end up discussing. “Let’s put it over there, there are shadows from the trees, so hopefully it won’t get too warm." Lance points towards the end of the garden, before directing his eyes back onto the small crowd around their feet. Keith carries the things over there along with Lance, his eyes straying to the place and then back towards the house, that is in a good distance between each other.

“You're a piece of goo, Lance McClain,” Keith says, crossing his arms, a classic move. Lance throws Keith a smirk, before pulling out the manual to the tent, “let’s wait for tonight, to see what you really have to say." He easily dodges the deathly glare Keith gives him, by leaning over and pressing a quick peck to his cheek.

. . .

When Lance finally emerges from the tent the next day, the sun is stood high on the sky and shining down on him, filling him up with energy. He suspects he’s been asleep for a long time because when he woke Keith was nowhere to be seen and the tent was starting to feel like a sauna, even though it isn’t under direct sunlight. “Lance is awake!” There is a yell and then all the kids' cheer, watching him as he makes his way to the door leading into the kitchen.

All the kids are dressed in hats and caps, blocking the sun. They’re wearing dresses or bathing shorts, and he has already suspected what they’re going to spend their day doing, but it’s stepping into the kitchen that settles it. His mom and aunts are stood packing everything in bags, making sandwiches and packing fluids. Lance looks another time, and there is Keith helping along with the sandwiches while keeping a heated conversation with his mom. “Lance, you are alive,” Keith speaks with a smile, tilting his head to the side slightly to allow Lance to place a kiss on the plush skin of his neck. “Let you sleep in today, luckily you didn’t fry out there,” his mom says, folding another sandwich in, that is passed from Keith.

“I would sleep through frying, it’s a luxury sleeping in,” he says to his mom, stealing a piece of salad from Keith’s hands. “Glad to hear you enjoyed your slumber, instead I found some help from Keith.” Lance watch as his mom place a hand on Keith’s arm, “don’t you think we have enough?” She asks, and Keith nods, laying the knife down, “it'll have to be now.” Keith and his mom share a smug smile, which makes Lance question what exactly they have just discussed.

Lance decides to leave it, instead of turning to face the man in his arms. “Slept well?” Lance questions, grinning when Keith’s hands catch onto his shirt, “slept amazingly well,” Keith answers, meeting Lance’s lips contently, pressing softly for a few ticks, before breaking away and giving a smile. “Let’s go get some swim shorts on.” Keith pulls Lance after him.

. . .

Varadero beach is just as Lance remembers it; a crowd of people, sand castles, pizza shack and hot sand blending out into soft blues. His hand tightens around Keith’s as their gathering of people start heading to an empty spot. Kids are already running towards the ocean, having been told the whole shebang of how to handle the ocean.

They settle in an open spot, spreading out blankets and pulling out towels. Some of his cousins and siblings lay themselves down to sunbathe, and the women pull out magazines and sunglasses. The younger cousins and Noah pull their shirts off, before racing towards the ocean after the small kids, already shoving each other. The men pull their shirts of slower, some laying down to tan as well.

“Wanna go check the water?”

“Heck yes,” Keith answers, giving a smile, a little shaded by the worn out ’Space Cadet’ cap he is wearing. “Let’s go play some frisbee.” Lance’s older brother, Nathan, smirks along with his older cousins.

Keith slowly pulls his shirt off, revealing the toned abs he has gained over years. They’re firm and very eye pulling, making every guy and girl somehow direct their eyes to his stomach. Lance follows suit behind, along with his cousins and brother, grinning as the warm sun hits his skin.

“Damn, you get ripped in space,” his sister, Anna, says, holding a hand over her eyes to block out the sun. Not long after her comment, most of the people around them have turned to inspect their bodies. "We don't just lounge around," Lance states, rolling his eyes, but with a playful smirk playing on his lips. Honestly even he is amazed over how they stay so well in shape, they look great.

Lance wince as he feels a poke in his side, turning to Nathan who is grinning satisfied. "Kind of a bummer that my little brother looks better than me," he says, eyes mirroring Lance's blue ones. Before Lance can react in any way, there is a shriek behind him, which makes his instinct kick in, just for him to make the same sound seconds later when he is thrown over a shoulder. He bops around surprised on his brother's shoulder as he looks down to see feet flying over the sand and running straight for the ocean.

He hears another shriek, and then a splash. "Nathan, know that I fucking despise you." Lance groans as he feels Nathan get to a stop, and then he is getting thrown towards the water.

. . .

Lance tips into the tent, a smirk already on his lips and a dirty comment on his tongue; the sentence is already starting, when the words die on his lips. A soft smile replace the smirk, and he lets out a quick greeting to let the three people already in the tent -who are very occupied at the moment- know he is there.

"Lance! Keith let us braid his hair, and then he would braid ours," Tiana says as she takes a pause from the thick locks of hair in her palms. "Tiffany already did her side, so she is getting her hair braided," Tiana continues, casting her eyes back onto Keith's hair, going back to slowly braiding it. "Keith is quick and good at braiding!" Tiffany laughs and Lance lets his eyes wander over the scenario, to fully let it in; Keith is sat in between the two sisters -Lance's nieces from Anna, he'd only gotten about a year with Tiana before he left for space- who both look equally excited and awed. Keith's hair is parted in two braids, one already made clumsily, but fairly well for a three-year-old. The other side is looking a bit better -Tiana is seven years after all- but it does not beat the braids Keith is producing. Tiana has her hair tied into an amazing French braid, while Tiffany is getting the same cornrows as Keith. "I have a lot of hair, so I had to learn," Keith says after some time, making them both nod.

Keith finishes one side, shifting to the next. "What then happened in Texas?" Keith asks, Lance laying down slowly beside the three who turn back into their own little world. "Yes, then we are stood looking at this weird piece of art, on a hill. Mommy holding Tiffany and me beside the art, and daddy trying to take a picture of me." Tiana giggles and Keith smiles, a genuine and warm smile that warms Lance's whole body. "Then, suddenly I see the car roll and daddy is still taking pictures, and suddenly mommy and Tiff is running after the car, while it drives down the hill!" Tiffany and Tiana giggle, while Keith gives a chuckle, finishing the last braid for Tiffany.

Lance can feel himself chuckle along, leaning his head into his palm and letting his eyes switch between the three people. Tiffany lights up as Keith mutters he is done, springing around and leaning over and latching onto him. It's a sight too cute to bear.

"Done!"

Tiana scrambles around to face Keith and Tiffany, smiling brightly. "Thank you, then I didn't have to do this all by myself." Keith sighs, faking a heave after a breath. "More hair?" Tiffany looks up, but Keith smiles sadly, brushing some of the fairy hair away from her forehead.

Lance is a weak, weak man. He can feel his whole body getting warm over watching these scenes unfold themselves.

"You both better get inside, it's getting late." Keith crawls towards the tent entrance, both girls following after him. "Night uncle Lance," Tiana says, before crawling out, "night!" Tiffany giggles, before raising her arms up, and not seconds later Keith is picking her up and taking her along.

God, Lance loves this man too much.

. . .

Lance pass the ball to Keith, letting it roll slowly, so his cousin, Simon, is able to take the ball before Keith is able to. They're playing soccer with a few of his younger family members, all of them convinced Keith and Lance must suck since they have lived in space for so long, that they probably haven't played soccer for a long time.

Now, Keith and he may be two of the most competitive people in this whole known universe, but the small people running between their legs are so into this, that how could they not let them win and believe?

Keith jump to the wrong side, letting the fifth goal for the young ones go in, making a hysteria of screams erupt. They'd decided to say; the ones who reach five first, they win and are the ultimate winners. The mass leaves behind Keith and Lance as Lance see his mom wave them in for ice, apparently to celebrate their big win. He damn well hopes him and Keith will get some ice cream too, it's too hot to function.

"And we are supposed to believe you two train daily up there?" Nathan asks with a grin, making Lance roll his eyes. He and Nathan are too alike sometimes for things to be fun, he knows it makes sense since Nathan is his big brother and he's always thought he was the coolest person to ever come across -just after his dad and mom, of course- and so he adapted traits from him. Later on, Nathan then adapted some from him. "Let's play," Lance's oldest cousin, Sarah, states. Lance shares a look with Keith, whose eyes are already shining with the urge to win, and honestly, that still turns Lance on so quick.

"Shall we say, two against two?"

"Nah, everyone who wants to join your team can be on it, we'll try holding our ground."

They end up playing two against five, and Lance is all aboard showing their future loss in their opponents face. Most of his family is watching, so finally he doesn't have to be the one losing.

He definitely has some advances now, he trains daily at least two times, in all kinds of environments and with every kind of drill and exercise known. To add on, he has a teammate who does all those things too, so they have some advances. The kids were right, they haven't played for years, but at least Lance still remembers the game, this will be fun.

They let the other team start, and soon Nathan is calling to Noah to pass the ball, but let Lance tell you one thing about Keith; he is quick on his feet. Before Nathan's eyes, Keith sweeps in to take the ball, while Lance makes his way up towards the goal. Keith and he can work side by side without a single word shared, countless mind melds with his team does that. They can fight as one while being five, all knowing their place and their strengths.

Lance see his dad running after Keith, who gives one glance back before returning his eyes to the ball and then onto Lance, soon after a kick follows. Lance gets the ball and with a quick kick, he sends the ball flying into the goal.

. . .

Safe to say they won that game, but it was a lot of fun, so really winning doesn't matter most.

After the game, they all got an ice cream, while they talked over their different tactics in the game, and just like always his dad had a whole speech about how he'd thought under the game. Keith sat listening to it all intently, while drinking his water, and no wonder to Lance Keith would also get along great with his dad.

. . .

"Let's see how boyish your room is," Keith states, trailing up the stairs after Lance. His mom had asked him if he had shown Keith his room yet, and to be honest he'd totally sweated it out, even when he'd been excited about showing his copy of space. "How do you imagine it?" Lance asks, eyebrows raising slightly, "at least some secret nude photos and like Batman covers, something like that." Keith shrugs, "I'll show you my secret stash of photos, but first my cool room. Now, look past all the sleeping bags." Lance stops up outside his door, an 'L' half heartedly hanging on the door.

Lance opens the door, and it is like walking into a time capsule, there are Star Wars posters hung up on the blue walls, a bookshelf full of fantasy books and glow in the dark stars plastered just about everywhere. "Cuter than I ever imagined it," Keith says, stepping inside.

Even when there are just about eight sleeping bags in the room, it doesn't ruin the cute childhood vibes that Lance is receiving by standing in this room. Memories from all through his childhood running through his brain as he watches the different things that make up his room.

He loved everything about space when he was a kid, therefore the theme. Even when he got older, he still left his glow stars hanging on the wall, they simply hold too many memories to just peel off.

“Want to know about a thing I once read?”

“Come with it.”

Lance looks Keith up and down, a smirk spreading on his lips. “You are supposed to have sex in your childhood bedroom,” Lance says after some time, surging forward and entangling Keith in his arms. Keith’s loud laugh is muffled into Lance’s shirt, and with his foot, Lance closes the door.

Hands go down to grab sweet cheeks, and to Lance’s surprise Keith seeks out his lips. “I’ll let you have one thing, then.”

. . .

Keith walks into the tent five minutes after Lance, a smile on his face and two freshly made braids, reaching just a little under his shoulders. "Pretty boy," Lance smirks, turning off his phone to watch Keith close the tent and strip off his shorts. Keith makes a content sound as he stretches his arms up, reminding Lance how much he appreciates Keith's body. When the shirt rides up, it shows just a piece of the toned abs on Keith's stomach, which are only one part of his body that is toned. His calves, arms, and thighs -Lance swear, Keith could probably strangle Lance with his thighs if he wanted- are equally toned.

But beside this, Keith also has the softest curves.

He has a sharp dip by his waist where his hips broad out to follow down to magnificent thighs. Lance can't become luckier than he is.

"Tell me stories." Keith brings Lance's eyes away from the spot that was slowly making him fall into his own space. He gives his boyfriend a smile when their eyes meet. "I believe there must be some good ones," Keith continues, leaning closer and placing a kiss onto his jaw.

Lance falls back onto the blow-up mattress they're lying on, opening up his arms, to which Keith dives in with a chuckle. "Well, don't know if you'd figured yet, but I was a space kid by heart," Lance starts, "my biggest dream has always been seeing space, and I would tell all these visions to my family, how I would collect star dust and visit a planet such as Neptune." Lance grins at the memories, "My family always supported those dreams, so they'd do all these things to make me happy."

Lance tightens the hand on Keith's waist, "for example Anna would make homemade glow in the dark stars with me. Nathan would wait all night until the stars were the clearest, to look after shooting stars and constellations, and my mom and dad would always buy me tickets to my favorite movies about space and such," Lance states, laughing at those times. He remembers most of them clearly, he would buy watches just so he could set an alarm for the times there would be meteor showers or something, so he and Nathan could watch them. He and Anna who also had glow in the dark paint everywhere in weeks, making them look like fireflies when they were outside. No surprise, they went around singing 'Fireflies' all those weeks.

"Sounds amazing," Keith says, "it is, was. I sometimes hate that I wasn't home for most of Noah's younger years, I would have loved to do so many things with him, do what Nathan and Anna did with me." He can feel his eyes drop closed, a sigh escaping past his lips, don't get him wrong; he loves his life, he is where he is supposed to be and he knows that, but he misses his family, has since the first day they left for space. He has always been all in for his family, so it hurts him to see them grow up and pass on without him here to witness any of it. He didn't even get to see his own little brothers first day of school, and he has always loved Noah to pieces because suddenly he was a big brother.

"You know what? I and dad used to camp every summer, just us two somewhere in one of his favorite nature locations. Dad has always been such an outdoor man, and because I loved watching the stars, it was the perfect mix." Lance leans his head over onto Keith's, instantly calming him down for now. "We once accidentally placed our tent on some ants, it was not a pleasant time to be alive, God they can bite those small creatures!"

. . .

He can hear his uncle's loud voice announce he is still in the tent, and suddenly Lance has to square himself together to find out how to greet the family member who is about to pass through the tent doors.

Lance hates feeling like this. Years in space fighting all these kind of things, fights that leave behind scars physically and mentally, it tears on you. Lance has days. Days where things just don't hang well together, days where some things simply just don't make him feel well.

He despises himself for this because finally, he is at home with all his family, the family he has wished to see for over three and a half year, but he is now laying in this way too hot tent, feeling uncomfortable just at the thought of getting up. He's tired, he is drained and most of all, he is feeling empty.

The strength that he has gained over years, that doesn't help mentally. He knows he can handle these days, but usually, he has about six other people in the castle, not a whole family around him. Don't get him wrong, because God he could use a group hug, but loud noises freak him out, remind him of those times when fights don't go as planned and when they don't end happily ever after.

Curious eyes peek inside, and a heavy weight is lifted from Lance's chest when Keith's eyes meet his. This is a person who gets him, who he doesn't have to explain anything to because just like him, he has experienced these things too.

Keith doesn't say anything except stepping inside and slowly laying down beside Lance. He isn't touching and he is not trying to initiate it, Lance appreciates that he gives Lance the choice.

He turns onto his side, and moves close, closing his arms around Keith's middle and then letting his head fall into the crook by his neck. Keith responds calmly, turning around slightly and moving up his arms to cradle him closer, fingers running through his hair.

It's calm, it's familiar and it is Keith. It all together keeps Lance grounded.

"I'm hungry," Lance mumbles into soft skin, a chuckle meeting his statement. "Let's get some food then, there are bagels." Keith hugs him tighter, "okay." Lance untangles himself, trailing after Keith when they make their way out. His grip on Keith's hand is deadly, but he hopes it isn't too bad. "Morning sweetheart, finally able to get your legs moving?" His mom looks towards Lance, and the two make eye contact for a long time, his mom's eyes shifting with emotions. Her eyes go from his to Keith's and they stay there for some time, before she slowly returns her eyes to his, a soft smile on her face, but saddened at the edges.

"Bagel and orange juice?" Keith asks and Lance nods. It's quiet, even the younger ones in the kitchen seem to understand as they silently put Nutella on their bagel. His mom and Keith help each other make his food, working smoothly together just like were they one.

The eating part is also mostly silent, just except his dad turning on the radio once he steps inside, eyeing the silent crowd. Lance sees his mom send him glares, but he doesn't mind the music, it's silent and familiar.

He feels like everyone and everything is watching him, trying to understand and trying to not interfere. They look surprised and saddened like they can't really understand what is happening. Lance doesn't blame them, it's unlike his normal personality.

Keith cleans up afterward, placing it all away, before turning to him and taking his hand, "I need to activate myself," Lance states, tapping his finger on his thigh. The stares and the feelings all bolting up, he needs to move.

. . .

After two hours of running and a shower, both with Keith, Lance feels better, for a word of saying. He talked with his mom and dad about this, just to let them better understand. After that, he decided to go watch Noah and a few of his cousins play some new game, mostly looking and coming with small comments.

Mostly it saddens him that he has to feel like this when he is finally home, but for his family to understand how space is, they'll have to know this side too. Life works this way.

He follows after his cousins, who are all running down the stairs after having played the game enough, which means they got extremely bored when he stumbles into Louis -his young nephew from Nathan- and Tiana who are running around after each other. It's no surprise really, with so many kids running around this house, there is bound to be some grating on each other's nerves.

"Hey, you two," Lance bows down and with a small smile he picks the toy out of Tiana's hands, holding it out of reach for both. "We don't do these things, we share and play together." Both kids look at him with small scowls, but he brushes them off, instead leaning down and placing a kiss on each cheek on them both. It's not uncommon that they kiss each other's cheeks, Lance has actually missed the gesture.

They both groan, looking at Lance with the same scowl before their eyes catch something behind him. "Keith!" Tiana is loud, and Lance winces slightly. "Lance just made my cheek all wet by kissing it, tell him to stop almost licking me." Tiana crosses her arms, wiping her cheek. It makes Lance smile wider.

"Do you kiss Lance?"

"Time to time, I might," Keith says with a smirk. "Does he kiss your cheek too?" Tiana asks further on, "yes, all the time." Keith nods along. "Wet cheeks?" Louis latches onto Keith's leg, "yeah, he just licks it. Guess I have to really scold him, going around licking all our cheeks." Keith smirks again, but his eyes go soft when he looks at Lance and then the kids surrounding him.

Lance can feel his smile getting wider.

. . .

The next morning, Lance wakes up before Keith. He feels fresh, ready and good, so he gives Keith a peck into his hair, before emerging from the tent. The sun is up, but the grass is wet and the air still a little colder, so he will shoot at the time being around seven.

The kitchen door is stood open, and Lance skips inside to meet only his mom and oldest aunt, both mixing batters of some kind. "You're up early," his aunt says, dusting off her hands. "Just felt like waking up. Now, is there anything I can help with?" They both chuckle as they nod, "of course, you can start on the pancakes. Your dad is supposed to bring the melons in any minute, so I think I'll start on those," his mom answers happily, pushing her bowl of batter closer to him.

He grips the bowl and brings it with him towards the stove, where two pans are already put out, butter placed beside them on the counter.

Not long after he is starting on the first couple of pancakes, his dad sweeps into the kitchen holding one watermelon and two honing melons, both looking delicious. "You're up early," his dad states, "so you all keep saying, but what if perhaps you're all just up late." Lance receives three identical looks of humor, that makes him laugh out loud.

He works with the three of them smoothly, all of them talking excitedly along to all kinds of things. It goes from food to socks, and then from socks further on to wormholes. It's interesting, just like his family always is.

"Now tell me, son, what about Keith?" Lance looks towards his dad, who is preparing eggs, some to be boiled and others to be scrambled. "What about what?" Lance asks, this making his mom and aunt look up from their task of making buns. "You know what we mean, where do you stand?" His mom grins, "we stand strongly?" Lance asks, watching as they all roll their eyes and then send him raised eyebrows to continue.

"We're in a really good place, I mean we know how to handle our differences and to communicate, because of how we got along before we got together. I love him so much, and really I could probably go all bases, but we are good right now and we are taking it in our own tempo." Lance looks down at the pancakes, a smile forming on his face just at the thought of Keith.

His mom chuckles, "you're both so smitten."

. . .

It's later on, just around six and the fire is crackling outside. It's their last day here, and to be honest, Lance would love to stay here for at least a month, but five days is about what you can take out from your calendar when you have to defend the universe.

There is loud laughter from outside, and he can hear people screaming after marshmallows, chocolate and crackers, all getting comfortable around the big bonfire. He's inside, for now, trying to locate his old ukulele, so they could have some songs around the fire, just to bring it to the ultimate level.

He finds it after a good five minutes -his family has a lot of crap-, but afterward, he sprints downstairs, and out the door. Keith is sat beside Anna, them both wearing a sweatshirt, even when the weather is at a stable temperature. "Party is here, ready to get this signing going?" He raises up the instrument as he sits down beside Keith, who looks at it with intrigued eyes.

His dad is the first to suggest a song, a known classic by The Beatles; Let It Be.

His family sings along loudly as he plays the chords, watching everyone's reactions and eyes. Their emotions showing through both their eyes and their body language. Lastly, his eyes land on Keith, who is sat swaying along, while switching his eyes between the ukulele and everyone singing along, a wide grin on his lips.

The song is nearing its end, and to be completely honest Lance's eyes haven't moved from Keith for a long time. Keith raises his eyes up, and there they are, the single most beautiful eyes, containing colors from all over the universe. Lance can't help but lean in and meet Keith's lips, song stopping and Keith giving a surprised sound.

"Lance got distracted, good going Keith!"

Lance flicks off Nathan.

. . .

One thing that is truly the hardest, is saying goodbye to your family, never really knowing how it will look when you get back.

He got his goals achieved, he told his family every shenanigan he has so far had up in space and he told them about the love of his life. In return, they told him everything he didn't get to experience while he was out there.

He knows, his family probably won't ever really understand what he is doing, and to be honest he probably won't ever too. But what helps, is that they still support him and that he gets to see their smiles once in a while and that they get to see he is okay too, that they don't have to worry every day how he is, because he is just fine. He's told them where he is, where he'll be for some time, and yeah it was hard, but they know.

He cries for a long time when he says goodbye, he hugs people for minutes, the dark night getting darker and darker. Keith even cries some, when he says bye to his mom and dad -Lance knew he would get along amazingly well with them- and when he says goodbye to the young kids he has been running around playing tag with this whole visit, he gets tackled and kissed on the cheek along with Lance.

He might leave for years, but he knows that when he returns he'll have the same loving family on earth.

They promise after hours of goodbyes, to let them see the ship fly towards the sky, the last joke from Nathan -who says maybe it's just fake- and maybe because they all somehow also need some proof to keep on believing.

Lance helps Keith in, before placing himself in the passenger seat of the pod. Keith takes the steering wheels, and they let the engine start before they're descending high into the sky.

He's missed his other family just as much.

#klance fic #keith x lance #lance (voltron)#keith (voltron)#space gays #lance's family #lance's birthday #my scribbling

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chicagoindiecritics · 4 years

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New from Kevin Wozniak on Kevflix: Best Movies of 2019 – Best Movie Moments

Every year when I begin to look back at the movies of 2019 and begin to make my lists, this is always my favorite list to make. It is a tough list to make, but always an exciting and interesting list to make. I get to look back and look at my favorite moments of the year in movies. Whether it was a scene or a moment that scared me, thrilled me, caused an emotional reaction, or one of just pure entertainment, these are the ones that knocked me out in 2019. Here are my picks for the best movie moments of 2019.

SPOILERS AHEAD

You’ve been warned.

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10. LANDING ON NEPTUNE – AD ASTRA

The third act of James Gray’s brilliant sci-fi film is one of great filmmaking and visual effects. Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) is on the tail end of his mission and goes to Neptune to find his father and this scene literally took my breath away. Just the sheer idea of traveling that far into space is unbelievable, but this also sets the movie up for its big emotional climax. It’s a gorgeous scene and the best part of James Gray’s stunning achievement.

9. SOCCER BALL PREGNANCY – GREENER GRASS

Greener Grass was one of the weirdest movies I saw in 2019, yet one that I grew to love the more I thought about it and the more I saw it. This is a twisted, hilarious, dark comedy that is full of bits and scenes of bizarre behavior. My favorite bit, and one that is making me laugh as I type this out, is a simple one and one you have to see to understand, as explaining it doesn’t do it justice. During a neighborhood soccer game, Lisa (pictured above, played by Dawn Luebbe) takes the soccer ball as it was kicked out of bounds, sticks under her dress, and from that point on is pregnant. This is a recurring bit throughout the movie, which included a baby shower, the child being born, and family pictures. Again, it’s strange stuff, but it is also the funniest running joke of 2019.

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8. OPENING SHOT – CLIMAX

Gaspar Noé films are films that stick with you. He completely immerses you into them and makes you feel some kind of way when watching them, usually a feeling of discomfort or horror. The opening to his latest film, Climax, is no different. This five-minute, uncut introduction features over a dozen actors dancing their hearts out to techno music. It is an exhausting, hypnotic shot, filled with slick camera moves, stunning colors, and crazy dance movements that sets us up for what is to come in this horrifying, claustrophobic trip.

7. FINAL SHOT – PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE

Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of Lady on Fire is a movie that has stuck with me since I saw it back in October. It is a beautiful love story about two women who’s love grows stronger and deeper the more they observe each other, yet they know their relationship cannot last. The final shot of the film a master stroke from Sciamma and powerhouse acting from Adèle Haenel. Marianne (Noémie Merlant) and Héloïse’s (Haenel) relationship has ended when Héloïse was forced to get married. Having not seen each other since, Marianne sees Héloïse at a concert on the other side of theater. Vivaldi’s “Concerto No. 2”, a callback to an earlier scene, begins to play and we watch Héloïse go through a whirlwind of emotions. We watch as she remembers everything about her time with Marainne, the good times, the bad times, the times that they laughed, and the times they cried. Sciamma doesn’t cut from Haenel and we watch for a solid two minutes as the emotions rush through her. It’s a beautiful final shot in one of the most beautiful movies of the year.

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6. “I AM IRON MAN” – AVENGERS: ENDGAME

“I am Iron Man.” These words shook the comic book movie landscape forever and kicked off one of the biggest franchises in cinematic history. Eleven years later, these words are more powerful than ever. When it seemed like Thanos had gotten the best of the Avengers once again, capturing all the infinity stones on the infinity gauntlet, he tries to snap everything in existence away, only to realize Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) has taken the stones and made his own gauntlet on his suit. Iron Man then utters the words, “I…am…Iron Man.”, then snaps Thanos and everything he brought away, saving the galaxy. These would be last words Tony Stark would ever say and it was the perfect end to a character arc, coming full circle from the time he said them at that press conference back in 2008 to his dying words in 2019.

5. “IT’S GONNA HAPPEN” – THE IRISHMAN

There were a number of scenes from Martin Scorsese’s three-and-a-half-hour gangster masterpiece that I could have chosen here. But this small scene really hit me hard. In a quiet dinning room on their way to a wedding, Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) informs Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) that he will be traveling to Detroit to kill his friend Jimmy Hoffa, all while eating cereal and drinking coffee. This is Pesci’s Oscar scene, as his calm, yet terrifying demeanor really puts Frank in a bind. De Niro doesn’t say much, but his eyes say everything. He is now torn between the man who brought him into this life and his friend. It’s a powerful scene and a sucker punch to the gut.

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4. MEETING MR. ROGERS – A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

The opening of Marielle Heller’s wonderful film starts exactly how every Mr. Rogers episode started, with Mr. Rogers (Tom Hanks) walking into his home singing “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”. This is our first glimpse of Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers and it is the moment we fall in love with him. There was a lot of speculation around Hanks as Rogers, as he doesn’t look and sound anything like Rogers. But with the help of brilliant costume design, some small make-up, and Hanks hitting all the vocal notes, you immediately believe Hanks is Rogers. Heller brilliantly shot the opening like the T.V. show and set the stage for one the most heart-warming movies of 2019.

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3. “GO TO WAR” – FORD V. FERRARI

Ford v Ferrari is a great American sports movie. A movie about the underdog overcoming all obstacles to to rise to the top. One of the key aspects of a great sports movie is a great, inspirational speech, a la Miracle or Friday Night Lights. Ford v Ferrari has one and it is said by the wonderful Tracy Letts as Henry Ford II. Ford is giving a speech to Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) about the history of Ford Motors during time of war and how the company persevered through tough times, symbolic of how everything is going for Shelby in trying make a car that is capable of winning the 24 hour at Le Mans. Ford ends his speech by telling Shelby, “go to war” and it is a moment that might as well have come with a bald eagle screeching in background. A speech that represents everything red, white, and blue and makes you want to stand up and yell, “AMERICA!” while pumping your fist in the air.

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2. THE FIGHT – MARRIAGE STORY

Two of the best performances of 2019 come from Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson in Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story. The two actors give arguably the best performances of their respective careers and commit to being a couple attempting to go through a divorce with as little stress as possible and as cordial as possible. However, that doesn’t happen and the two end up at each other’s throats, in an explosive scene of emotion and acting mastery. The entire film was building to this moment and it is as an absolute explosion of a scene. Johansson and Driver is incredible and Baumbach’s writing is top-tier. You feel everything they are saying. You feel the pain, the anger, and the sadness that comes with every word. It’s acting at its finest and if these two end up winning Oscars for their performances, this is the scene that got them those statues.

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1. “AVENGERS! ASSEMBLE!” – AVENGERS: ENDGAME

As soon as I saw this scene, I knew it would be number one on this list and it wouldn’t be close. This scene is not only the definition of awesome, but it is epic on every scale. When all hope seems lost for Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and the remaining Avengers and it looks like Thanos’ army will take over the planet, we hear the static of Falcon’s (Anthony Mackie) voice in Captain America’s ear, followed by the appearance of T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) coming from a Doctor Strange portal. It is then an onslaught of everyone from the MCU appearing on screen, both those who disappeared in the snap and those who survived, all culminating in an attack on Thanos and his army with Captain America commanding, “AVENGERS! ASSEMBLE!”. Alan Silvestri’s epic score takes over and we watch as eleven years and over twenty movies come together on the screen at the same time. You can’t help but get emotional watching this. We have grown with the MCU and The Avengers and all of these characters and seeing them all on screen at the same time fighting for their lives and the galaxy is something we had been waiting for for over a decade. This is not only the best scene of 2019, but possibly the best scene of the decade, symbolizing so much of what cinema has become while also being the as big as anything that has ever been on the big screen.

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briangroth27 · 7 years

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Arrow Season 6 Wish List

Full Spoilers…

I loved Season 5 and thought it completed Season 4’s return to Arrow’s Season 2 high point. I can’t wait to see where the show will go next, but here are some things I’d love to see in Season 6!

Oliver Queen/Green Arrow I love that Ollie fought through the darkness of the “monster” inside him and it seems like we’re headed for a more hopeful hero. Ollie doesn’t need to be as sunny as Flash or Supergirl, but an arc arguing that you can always come back from your sins (no matter how awful) is a great tack to take with a character so steeped in personal improvement as Green Arrow. There’s a valid story in becoming a beacon of hope after overcoming your mistakes, and watching Oliver and the rest of Team Arrow lift each other up and stay in the light despite the darkness of their pasts will be great to watch. Despite being a show about redemption, it doesn’t have to become any less gritty: Ollie can be the light and center of hope in a dark world. I do want them to define the “pleasure” Ollie took when he liked killing criminals. My feeling is his “monster” was the awareness that killing was never off the table for him and the fact that he would gladly do whatever it took to save others (connecting to his role as Star City’s sin-eater), coupled perhaps with a bit of happiness knowing he’d permanently made the world a little safer by eliminating a criminal (that was never implied and I can’t believe we were supposed to infer Ollie is a serial killer who became a vigilante to scratch his murderous itch). Assuming everyone he loves isn’t dead, I can’t wait to see a happier, free-from-his-past Oliver!

I’m also very interested to see how Ollie develops now that William is back in his life. I felt Season 4 missed an opportunity to play with that entirely fresh relationship, so hopefully William will stick around for a long time and we’ll see Ollie grow into a father. The scene or two we got of him bonding with William last year was sweet, but with what seems like Samantha’s death, I’m sure Ollie and William’s relationship will take a dark turn this year. I hope they can work through it.

What I still want to see most—and what I think Amell’s version needs to fully be Green Arrow—is his left-wing politics. Comics Ollie stands apart from other heroes for railing against the system that creates criminals and societal problems in addition to fighting supervillains, so that should translate here. Oliver’s mayoral arc in Season 5 saw him making several baby steps and at least one major leap toward this iconic status, so I hope that continues. Executive Producer Marc Guggenheim told me in a Tumblr ask long ago that it’s difficult to get too far into the political aspect, so I appreciate any strides they can make. I’d settle for Ollie becoming the voice of the common man—something similar to Chris Evans’ Captain America, perhaps—if they can’t go full-on liberal with him. They could incorporate Ollie’s time as a Bratva captain to utilize his first-hand experience with the criminal perspective; if he understands what motivates criminals, not only can he fight them better, but he can work to ease the systemic issues that create crime. Ollie can also use the darkness of his past to better understand and connect with the criminals he faces, both as Green Arrow and as mayor, to hopefully lead them down a better path. Whether those factors come into play or not, Ollie trying to run a broken government and realizing it needs to change to truly save everyone would be a great step forward. If the theme of Season 6 is family, perhaps it’s time Ollie took an even bigger interest in the larger “family” of Star City’s residents.

While I’m glad there will be danger in the form of the Feds looking into Ollie’s Green Arrow connections—a good outgrowth from being investigated by Susan and a perfect result of making GA a target—I hope they don’t derail his mayoral administration. There’s so much more drama they can mine from that setup. They can frustrate him with companies who don’t want to pay to help people who “don’t help themselves” and the limits of his mayoral position that don’t allow him to make the changes that will really help save the city. Ollie navigating how to convince people to care could be his hardest fight—and an especially relevant one—yet. Give Ollie as many obstacles he can’t just shoot as possible!

Allies -Thea Queen/Speedy: Thea’s fear that her darkness is leading her to become like Moira is a brilliant idea, and while she went away to deal with it in Season 5, I think we definitely need to see that battle onscreen in Season 6. Malcolm’s death will surely complicate things and I can’t wait to see where Thea goes from here because of her complex feelings towards him. Were she to truly embrace her inner Moira, I wouldn’t be opposed to Thea becoming a villain for a bit.

-John Diggle/Spartan: I’d like to see more conflicts about the legality and limits of superheroes vs. the government overstepping its bounds with Lyla. I’d also love for these two to meet Connor Hawke/John Jr., particularly now that he’s been rewritten into the timeline via Flashpoint. If there’s more for John to deal with in terms of his guilt over killing Andy, then let’s see that too!

-Felicity Smoak/Overwatch: While I’m all for most of the characters fighting past their darkness, Felicity indulging in hers is kinda fun. I liked her subplot with Helix in Season 5 and I absolutely think they need to deal more with her choosing to destroy Havenrock than they have. I wouldn’t mind Felicity’s spinal tech being damaged in the destruction of Lian Yu to the extent where she has to deal with her paralysis far more than we saw in Season 4. That was a rushed arc in Season 4 that could’ve yielded much more drama and growth to her character, in addition to being a realistic and relatable chance for greater representation on the show. I’d love Donna Smoak to return too, which could be especially interesting given the darkness Felicity has experienced since we saw her last. I’d also love to see more of her relationships with her father and Ollie; Noah leaving is full of possibilities and I really like how Felicity fits into Ollie’s arc of becoming a better man (even if conversely, I like Felicity going darker).

-Roy Harper/Arsenal: I’d love Roy back on the team full-time! I really liked the partnership he and Ollie forged and if his return in Season 3 showed us nothing else, no one Thea dates holds a candle to the connection she has with Roy. I’d love to see where Roy is now and if he’s continued his heroics in his own way. If we can’t ever get Dick Grayson, Agent of Spyral because of the Batman rights limits, what about Agent Harper? Roy worked with the Suicide Squad in the comics, so this wouldn’t be that big a change from the source material. The world even thinks he’s dead—like they did Grayson when he went undercover in Spyral—and Spyral is too cool and fun a spy organization not to use on one of The CW’s shows. Reinventing Roy as Ollie’s mole in a mind-bending international spy ring could be an awesome arc! Colton Haynes said he’d be back soon, so I can’t wait!

-Curtis Holt/Mr. Terrific: I want to learn more about him and see how the show deals with super-science beyond what Ray brought to it. Personally, I’d like to see him become the low budget/homemade tech guy to differentiate him from the heroes of Legends, Supergirl, and Flash. Curtis found a good balance between using his fists and his brain to fight crime this year and I’m excited to see that develop even further. Curtis is also working really well as the beacon of untainted light/hope on the show (with a sense of “fair play”) and I’d love for that to continue. We saw his marriage to Paul fall apart this year, so I’d like to see more fallout of that, in addition to flashbacks or something to show us their happier times so we have a better idea of what Curtis lost. I really think Paul is Vigilante, so that’d be a great conflict! I also wouldn’t mind if Curtis and Rene became a thing.

-Dinah Drake/Black Canary 2: I still would like to see more of why the team needs Dinah. I like her, but Team Arrow doesn't feel more complete with her on it. Ollie brought her in reasoning that Laurel left a hole they needed to fill and while her death definitely left the team feeling shattered in Season 4, it felt rebuilt before Dinah was brought in. I don’t think she’s extraneous, I just don't see what Dinah's bringing that no one else is; had Ollie not made that declaration, it wouldn’t stick out like it does. That said, I think there’s great potential with her job as a cop to look at how the rest of the force views superheroes and a chance to examine when it’s appropriate to deal with a crime as a cop and when being Black Canary is necessary. Her policework is also a good source of conflict for her superhero ID, since things like her fingerprints are now on record and she’s surrounded by detectives who’ll notice if she slips away and Black Canary appears; she’ll have to be that much more careful when in the field. I’m also very interested to see how she lives up to Laurel’s legacy in both her and Quentin’s eyes, and how her ongoing conflict with Black Siren develops.

-Rene Ramirez/Wild Dog: I don’t know anything about Wild Dog in the comics and while it took a while for him to grow on me, I left the season a fan. I hope he and Quentin can get his daughter back and I’d also love to see their working relationship at City Hall to continue: that was key to improving and rounding out Rene for me and I loved the bond he built with Quentin. I’m up for anything with his character, but one idea for a fun subplot I had was for him and Zoe to have a playdate with Ollie and William. I doubt it would happen, but I’d absolutely be down for it. At the very least, it seems like it’d be logical for the two kids who seem like they’ll be on the show for a while to bond and become friends. The other key relationship Rene had in Season 5 for me was his friendship with Curtis, so I’d definitely love to see that expanded on and fully explored.

-Quentin Lance: If any member of Team Arrow were to die in the destruction of Lian Yu, my money would be on Quentin. He seems to have mostly cleaned himself up, approved of Dinah carrying on Laurel’s legacy, and found a renewed purpose; it might seem like his arc is complete. However, I think there’s plenty of potential with Laurel-2 around. Black Siren’s presence and the attempt to save her soul can fuel at least another season of plotlines for Quentin. The writers also found a fun reversal of his relationship with Ollie by working as his Deputy Mayor last year and surprising bonds with both Thea and Rene, all of which I’d love to see continue in Season 6.

-Slade Wilson/Deathstroke: I loved the older and wiser version we met in the Season 5 finale, so I’m up for whatever his deal with Ollie to find his son brings. But will the fact that Slade killed Moira be a sticking point for Ollie, no matter how much he wants to believe his old friend has changed?

-Nyssa al Ghul: I just hope she survived Lian Yu. She’s one of my favorites, so I’d love it if her feud with Talia could continue! I’d also like to see her reunite with Sara at some point.

-Dick Grayson/Nightwing: Dick Grayson would be an awesome example of a vigilante who permanently beat the darkness, since Robin came from tragedy yet helped Batman move into the light. Dick’s bright and friendly attitude mixed with his background with a much darker mentor would make for an interesting combination and he’d be a cool foil for Roy or, more pressingly, Thea. This is highly unlikely given Nightwing’s not only getting a movie but leading the Titans…but since that’s a Greg Berlanti show too, I hope they can cross over down the line!

-Barbara Gordon/Oracle: I doubt we’ll get her on the show (maybe on Titans, though), but Ollie has mentioned she exists so it’d be fun to develop a friendly rivalry between Babs and Felicity. Even if she only appeared offscreen via text or email, like Superman in Supergirl Season 1, it could work: they could encounter her Birds of Prey operatives and we wouldn’t necessarily have to see her in the flesh. If that’s the most we can get, I’d take it.

-Helena Bertinelli/Huntress: Guggenheim says she could return and I’d be all for her development beyond the angry vigilante she’s been so far. How does Ollie’s administration deal with a vigilante who isn’t working with his team? Could she be working with Vigilante? With Helix? Perhaps she could mention that she’s working with “someone new,” and she could be one of Oracle’s Birds of Prey operatives. Regardless, I’d like to see her and Ollie patch things up and forge a healthier relationship.

-Vic Sage/The Question: Vic Sage’s brutal style of vigilantism clashes with Ollie’s efforts to find peaceful solutions (think Daredevil and Punisher), while his day job as a reporter would allow him to put pressure on Ollie’s mayoral position as well as threaten to expose his Green Arrow double life. Though it’s true Vigilante and Susan Williams just played very similar roles, Question’s insane Mulder-esque conspiracy theories—which are usually right—would be extremely entertaining with everyone around him thinking he’s completely nuts. Question has struggled with whether or not to take a life in the comics, which would be a cool parallel of Ollie’s recent internal battle. The character’s original objectivist beliefs would be a great contrast to Ollie’s growing liberal mindset too. I’m also up for introducing Renee Montoya (the second Question) as his partner-in-training or as the current Question (and maybe Dinah’s partner on the force!)…though she’s appeared on Gotham so she’s probably off-limits.

Enemies -Robert Queen-2: Either as an enemy or an antagonistic ally, I’d love to see Ollie meet this alternate universe version his father, who became the Arrow of Earth-2. Not doing this would be a major misstep, particularly as Ollie will be a father this season as well and the season’s theme is family. I’d love to see how Robert-2 has developed differently from Ollie and how Ollie reacts to seeing his father in his role. I don’t see them really getting along for some reason (at least at first), but I’d love to see them try! It’s also likely Robert-2 has some history with Black Siren, so that’d be a great connection as well!

-Laurel Lance-2/Black Siren: I’d love to learn about her history on Earth-2 and I can’t wait to see where she goes next season, since Laurel-2 is one of my favorite additions to the show. What does she want now that she’s marooned here? Whether Oliver and Team Arrow are successful in redeeming her or if she goes completely evil, I’m down. I can’t wait to see her battle with Dinah over the Black Canary legacy and how she reacts to Quentin on an extended basis. I’d love to see her interact with Sara over on Legends too! Whatever she does, I hope she’s an independent operative this season rather than working for another bigger bad. There’s a team of villains this year, but I hope they’re equal partners rather than Laurel-2 being a lackey. I’d also like to see a flashback to when and how Barry broke the news to Team Arrow that they had her locked up—and how Ollie reacted—since Team Flash chose to keep her a secret at first.

-Dinah Lance-2: I’d love it if Alex Kingston could return as Laurel-2's mom and the original Black Siren of Earth-2. Either as a hero disappointed by Laurel-2’s villainous turn or a villain who passed her mantle on to her daughter, this would be a cool twist on the comics’ Black Canary legacy, as well as an awesome evil version of Laurel’s legacy on the show. And what if she met our Quentin? Was her Quentin a corrupt cop?

-Vigilante: I can’t wait to find out who’s under the mask and I’m certainly hoping he’s Paul Holt. The clash between him and Curtis—not to mention Curtis’ reaction to finding out Paul is a vigilante too—would be fantastic. I wonder if he’s working with Helix as their muscle, but either way, I hope to see more of his “kill all the villains” philosophy clashing with Ollie’s new mindset.

-Evelyn Sharp/Artemis: I would’ve loved to know how she felt about finally getting to work with Laurel’s old team. Did she feel she was living up to Lance’s legacy? Did once holding the Black Canary mantle make her second-guess her decision to side with Prometheus at all? In hindsight, she was one of Season 5’s bigger missteps, as she had both built-in tension with Oliver from Season 4 that could’ve been focused on and they could’ve done a lot more with her journey from Canary acolyte to villain. She had the makings of a solid supporting enemy and I liked what McLaughlin did with the screentime she had. Unfortunately, she didn’t get enough time to really dig into Evelyn’s potential. If she survived the island, I’d most like to see her played up as a dark foil for Thea; an externalization of Thea’s struggle like Chase was for Ollie. Evelyn being driven by her parents’ deaths is a perfect parallel to Thea feeling the darkness of her parents taking hold of her.

-Werner Zytle/Count Vertigo: An actual count would be awesome—I really like the idea of a criminal with diplomatic immunity—but I doubt we’ll get it now that we’re two Vertigos deep (though Werner Zytle could be disgraced foreign royalty for all we know…or maybe he’s distantly related to royalty and doesn’t know it yet). I loved Seth Gabel’s insane Count, but Zytle could use more personality and grander ambitions IMO. What does he want? What drives him? Could he get into a turf war with Brick? The comics’ reality-warping Vertigo device falling into his hands would give him a more powerful attack and an awesome visual effect! Most importantly, warping Ollie’s perception of reality would be a wholly unique way to mess with Green Arrow’s primary attack strategy. If nothing else, it feels like Vertigo could fill the mob boss role Brick and Church have tried to hold over the course of the series. They could do so much more with Zytle, so I hope they explore him to his fullest!

-William Tockman/Clock King: I’d like to see him return in a larger supervillain role, maybe as someone who organizes other criminals’ crimes so they’re more effective.

-Onomatopoeia: An extremely tough assassin who only speaks in onomatopoeias, he’d be cool and creepy. He’s one of the few major Green Arrow villains who haven’t appeared on the show yet, so it’d be cool to finally get him in live action!

-Lonnie Machin/Anarky: I have no idea where Thea’s arc is going to take her, but I bet there’s a good chance it leads directly to him. I loved the point he made about her always following others and I hope that the two of them have a few more climactic battles.

-Owen Mercer/Captain Boomerang: I don’t see how Digger Harkness could have survived Lian Yu, so perhaps Arrow—or Flash—can introduce his metahuman son! Owen has super speed that manifests in bursts (allowing him to bring a whole new level to his boomerang attacks), but he’s more interested in family than he is in crime. With Season 6 being about family, it’d be cool to see him introduced this year!

-Spyral: A UN covert operations agency from the Cold War, they recruit lone operatives like daredevils and mad scientists rather than agents from established espionage agencies. They’re spies with tech like hypnos implants that create illusions and hallucinations in the minds of enemies, can link operatives’ vision, and can upload information directly to the mind. They also have identity protection implants that “swirl” their face in the minds of enemies and on camera so they can’t be remembered. Maybe they’re interested in taking advantage of the worldwide lack of nukes Damien Darhk caused. Maybe their Cold War ties could connect to Ollie’s time in Russia somehow. They’d also give ARGUS an interesting opponent, to loop Lyla into the story.

-Cheshire: If Roy is coming back, they should introduce her! As the world’s “second-deadliest assassin”—an excellent fighter and acrobat who employs poisoned blades and other weapons—she’d be a great challenge for the team. Her comic history with Roy (she’s the mother of his child) could be twisted in new and interesting ways on the show; if they went with Spyral, maybe she could be his handler or partner. Perhaps a semi-redeemed assassin like post-Roy Cheshire could be a cool foil for Thea as well.

-Edward Nygma/Riddler (or Enigma): It’ll probably never happen, but I’d love to see Team Arrow go up against Riddler, my favorite Batman villain and an entirely different type of challenge for the team. If Cory Michael Smith could play the Berlanti-verse doppelganger of his Gotham character it’d be perfect, as he’s one of the best parts of that show. But since he likely can’t, maybe they could use Riddler’s daughter Enigma instead. Just have her refer to wanting to impress her dad by “improving” on his methods to take down a superhero. I doubt Gotham will ever get to her and if we can have an unnamed Harley Quinn cameo on Arrow, Enigma shouldn’t be that big a stretch.

I don’t have specific ideas for what they could do, but I’m always game for more Cupid, Brick, Chien Na Wei, Liza Warner, Talia, and Calculator! I love that CW villains recur like in the comics and hope that continues. If Season 6 features villains who are deliberate opponents for specific members of Team Arrow, perhaps they could team up to form Arrow’s very own Injustice Gang!

General Show Notes I hope Arrow—and Oliver himself—continues taking on real-life social issues and systemic problems to the extent that Supergirl takes on feminist struggles. Our ongoing real-life political standoff between the rich and poor—as well as the movement for greater equality and representation—makes this the perfect time to dive into that aspect! Dealing with the issues of today could be the key to reinvigorating the show's ratings, direction, and purpose in Season 6 and beyond. Arrow's CW’s grounded show and Ollie is one of the most political characters in comics (in addition to Ollie literally being involved in the politics of Star City), so it’s already a perfect fit!

I certainly hope that any future flashbacks follow Daredevil’s example: use them when needed, but don’t put them in all or even most of the episodes. I like that they’re something of a metaphor for drawing an arrow back before letting it fly, but it’s time to move past them. I can’t wait for the majority of episodes (at least) to use their full runtime—flashbacks took up an average of eight minutes each week—to flesh out the present-day adventures!

This is the absolute smallest nitpick I could possibly come up with, but I’d still like them to start calling the Arrow Cave “The Quiver.” Ever since Harley Quinn pointed out how much more sense that makes for Green Arrow’s base of operations in an issue of Injustice, I’ve thought it should be the canon term. It sounds cool and pulpy too!

Finally, I’d love for them to find a way for Justin Hartley to appear on the show. I don’t know who joked about it years ago, but the idea of Hartley being the actor hired to play Oliver in a movie would be funny! However, if we can go to Earth-Smallville, I’d love to see Team Arrow’s reaction to a much lighter Oliver!

I can’t wait for Arrow to return tomorrow! What do you want to see?

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