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slavic-roots-western-mind · 3 months

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My top Russian Tv-Shows

Despite this being mainly a mandarinblr, I still try to practise my other languages so here are some of the most interesting tv-shows in russian for my fellow russian-learners and speakers and anyone interested.

Kitchen - Кухня This show has several spin-offs including Hotel Eleon and Grand which I will not mention as by the end of the last spin-off there are literally no characters from the original cast and the plot slightly goes of the rails. The actual show is set a french restaurant in Moscow where Max Lavrov, who just finished his military service decided to work at. The show follows the various challenges that Max faces at his new workplace, including the foul-tempered but very talented Chef Viktor Barinov who has a drinking problem and other interesting characters. It's quite funny and heart-warming, and it's a must-watch imo.

Youth - Молодёжка A pretty standard sports series tv plot. The hockey-team "Bears" are a meh team at best, but that all changes when a former National Hockey League player turned coach shows up to make a proper team out of them. I only watched the first season because after that the plot got a tad boring for me, but as far as sports series go, pretty good.

Law of the Lawless (Not the 1964 film!) - Бригада A cult-classic staple of only 15 episodes. The plot is a bit over the place at the beginning, as opening episodes sequence is a flashback to the start of the final episode but after that it's chronological, with the first episode w english subtitles here. 4 best friends start out as youths from early 1990s to 2000s, with one returning home after finishing his army service with plans for uni and the others just starting their lives. However, the Perestroika had significantly changed their lives, so eventually the gang turns from racketeering and petty crime to slowly becoming the mafia. The opening theme is worth watching alone, but then again I'm biased.

How I became Russian - Как я стал русским This comedy show is quite dear to me, as it follows an American journalist with russian and slavic roots navigating life and work in Russia as he works on a story about life in Russia for a major newspaper back home. He's back in his homeland but as a foreigner who finds his heritage utterly confusing. This series resonates with me, as despite having a good grasp of my cultures languages and customs, I still feel disconnected from my heritage at times, and this show has been a reassuring reminder that not being 100% attuned with your heritage is okay, and that there are many different ways of re-connecting with your culture.

Closed school - Закрытая Школа I was slightly tramuatized by this show when I first watched it 4ish years ago, in part due to how unhinged and off the rails the plot slowly but surely becomes. A descent into madness. Andrei and his sister are sent to study at the Logos boarding school, but are then informed that their parents have perished. Andrei doesn't believe this, so he sets off to investigate with his new friends and investigate he does. There are also some other background shenanigans going on, but the unraveling of the schools mystery remains the main interest, including its odd passageways and deeply disturbing history. As a thriller series, it honestly deserves that title.

Here are some shows that came out more recently that I think deserve a mention.

The Boy's Word: Blood on the Asphalt- Слова пацана кровь на осфальте I've only seen a few episodes out of the 8, but it's very Brigada-esque so far. During the mid-late 1980s when Perestroika is going on and the USSR is soon to be no more, 14 year old Andrei is trying to survive as he's constantly bullied at school and by gang-members. He makes friends with one of said gang members Marat, as he slowly descends into the world of street life. I'll finish watching this series sometime probably.

The new guy - Новенький 16-year old Max moves from his glamorous life in Moscow to a small-town Yurovsk due to his parents constant arguing, where he immediately doesn't get along with his clasmmates who think him stuck-up and start bullying him. One day Max goes missing and his classmates are the obvious suspects, as slowly but surely secrets start to emerge revealing everyone's lies. A pretty good suspense/thriller show, which covers the topics of bullying, coming of age and what it means to be an adult pretty well, despite the 4th and final season being kind of lackluster.

Central Russia's Vampires - Вампиры средней полосы Where to even begin with this show. I don't know whether I should introduce the trailer or the opening theme song mv. Basically the life of a small and unconventional vampire family living in Smolensk, presumably in central Russia, who get disturbed when bodies with distinct bite marks are found nearby. This results in the Guardians (aka the guys keeping vampires a secret and ensuring that no one acts out) taking over and investigating with the vampire leader Svyatoslav Vernidubovich given a week to find and punish the culprit. My odd plot description aside, the cast is why I adore this show. The recently turned Gen-Z wannabe blogger Zhenyok, the thousand year old grandpa Svyatoslav, the constantly annoyed Dr. Zhan Ivanovich (who is actually french and decided to hang around after Napoleon was defeated) and his ex-wife The Countess who honestly should have a spin-off show and many more characters.

Doomsday - Конец Света Satan decides to come back to Earth and start the apocalypse, for which he needs his son Dimyan who should become the Antichrist but to his dismay, Dimyan doesn't really care about world domination and money, he just wants to get married to his fiancee Galya and live happily ever after. Chaos ensues as satan tries to persuade Dimyan to join him, whilst Angel vs Demon shenanigans occur in the background. I honestly had no idea that this type of show could even be produced due to the censors and yet it was. It's kind of slightly similar to Good Omens with all the apocalypse stuff and the Angels and Demons eventually teaming up? Good Omens adjacent. Except more gritty with much darker humour. The actor who plays satan is Yuri Kolokolnikov who actually starred in game of thrones so if you're a fan of his acting, do try this show.

Alisa can't wait - Алиса не может ждать Alisa is a 15-16 (don't remember her exact age) year old girl who is going blind and she decides to do something really drastic to ensure that her life will be comfortable after she loses all sight. There's a noticeable build-up to what she's actually planning during the episodes, as her homelife is less than ideal, with her older sister stuck in an unhappy marriage and a turbulent relationship with her parents. This is one of the few shows that really left a deep impression on me but it deals with some very sensitive and potentially upsetting topics so be aware if you're giving it a go.

This list may be updated in the future, so if there are any other shows that I may have missed do share them!

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justforbooks · 3 months

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When Carl Weathers auditioned for the role of Apollo Creed, the prizefighter who gives an untried contender a shot at his heavyweight title in Rocky (1976), he was asked to read opposite the film’s writer. “Now – I’m ignorant – and as I finish reading, I say, ‘Well, wait a minute, if you can get me a real actor to read with, I can do this a lot better.’”

Unbeknown to him, his scene partner was the newcomer Sylvester Stallone, who had not only written the script but was playing the title role. “Somehow I got the job,” said Weathers.

A 6ft 2in former NFL linebacker, Weathers, who has died aged 76, brought the full force of his charisma to a role that could in less skilful hands have prompted straightforward hisses and boos. There was a depth and kindness to him that no amount of on-screen braggadocio could conceal. He spoke, said one LA Times reporter, with the “overly concise diction of a TV evangelist”.

To prepare for the role of Apollo, Weathers watched old Muhammad Ali fights for inspiration. Shot for peanuts, the film grossed $225m, won three Oscars, including best picture, and spawned four sequels. A further three films in the spin-off Creed cycle featured Michael B Jordan as Apollo’s son Adonis.

Weathers was taken aback by the instant fame that Rocky brought him. The day after the film opened, he said, “I was out for a walk in Manhattan and street vendors are yelling, ‘Yo, Apollo.’ That is scary. You are not prepared for that.”

He reprised his role in the first three Rocky sequels. Rocky II (1979) begins immediately after the events of the original film, with both fighters in wheelchairs, coming face-to-swollen-face with one another in the hospital.

“Get up out of that chair, chump, and let’s finish this fight right now!” Apollo demands, having won only on a split decision after 15 rounds. Later, there is a moment of tenderness when Rocky, bandaged and slurring, wheels himself to Apollo’s hospital room late at night, nudges open his door, and asks whether Apollo really gave the match his all.

Though they decide initially against a rematch, Apollo becomes incensed by the hate mail he receives branding the fight a fake. Rocky II ends with the opponents bloodied on the canvas. Struggling to his feet, Rocky is declared the winner.

In Rocky III (1982), Apollo trains Rocky against a vicious new opponent, Clubber Lang (Mr T). The old adversaries get back in the ring at the end of that film for a friendly sparring match, the outcome of which remained a secret until Rocky revealed to Adonis in Creed (2015) that Apollo had clinched it. In Rocky IV (1985), Apollo is brutally trounced in a bout with the Russian boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren). He dies in Rocky’s arms.

Weathers found many of the subsequent roles he was offered to be “pointless and meaningless”. But he enjoyed squaring off against another of that decade’s action heroes – Arnold Schwarzenegger – in the fantasy thriller Predator (1987).

In their first scene together, the men greet each other with a handshake that develops into an impromptu arm-wrestling contest. It is won by Schwarzenegger, his bicep bulging monstrously in close-up – a clear case of the more famous actor literally flexing his celebrity muscle.

Weathers later meets a sticky end during an encounter in the jungle with a shape-shifting alien. He loses an arm – his finger is still firing the trigger of his automatic weapon even as the limb falls to the ground – before expiring with a blood-curdling scream.

During his down-time on Predator, the actor developed with the film’s producer Joel Silver a lead role for himself as a Detroit detective in his own shoot-’em-up adventure, Action Jackson (1988), though a hoped-for franchise never materialised.

He acquitted himself well in the Adam Sandler golfing comedy Happy Gilmore (1996) as a pro golfer whose hand is bitten off by an alligator; in one scene, he sits at a grand piano on a golf course playing We’ve Only Just Begun. He reprised the role in Sandler’s Little Nicky (2000) but was even funnier as a tight-fisted, cost-cutting version of himself in four episodes of the sitcom Arrested Development between 2004 and 2013.

Weathers was born in New Orleans, the eldest son of a labourer father. He won a sports scholarship to St Augustine high school, then attended Long Beach Poly high school and Long Beach City College. He made it to San Diego State University on a football scholarship and graduated with a degree in theatre.

His professional football career began in 1970 with a single season with the Oakland Raiders. After being dismissed for being “too sensitive”, he played for two years with the British Columbia Lions in the Canadian Football League. “How good was I? I was good enough to make it … But I was never dedicated enough. I was never in love with football.” Acting, he said, was “a lot more fun, and I ache a lot less.”

He retired from football in 1974 and won supporting roles in television series such as The Six Million Dollar Man (1975) and Starsky and Hutch (1976), and with Pam Grier in the blaxploitation thrillers Bucktown and Friday Foster (both 1975).

After Rocky, he starred with Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson in the football comedy Semi-Tough (1977); with Robert Shaw and Harrison Ford in the Guns of Navarone sequel Force 10 from Navarone (1978); and alongside Charles Bronson and Lee Marvin in the thriller Death Hunt (1981). He also wrote and performed the 1981 soul single You Ought to Be With Me.

Television work was plentiful, though attempts to fashion a long-running TV vehicle for him were hit-and-miss. In Fortune Dane (1986), he played a political troubleshooter battling white-collar crime; the show lasted six episodes. Its producer Barney Rosenzweig called Weathers “one of the more intelligent people I’ve ever been in business with. But he’s a physical animal. He’s gorgeous … The guy looks like a Greek god.”

He was a regular on Street Justice (1991-93), In the Heat of the Night (1993-95), inspired by the 1967 Sidney Poitier film of the same name, and Chicago Justice (2017).

Weathers also provided the voice of Combat Carl in Toy Story 4 (2019) and played the bounty hunter Greef Karga in the Star Wars spin-off series The Mandalorian (2019-23).

Weathers’ three marriages ended in divorce. He is survived by two sons, Jason and Matthew, from his first marriage, to Mary Ann Castle in 1973.

🔔 Carl Weathers, actor, born 14 January 1948; died 1 February 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

#just for books #Carl Weathers #in memoriam

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cordelia-street · 2 years

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Bollywood Movie Recommendations!

1.Sardar Udham

Length: 2h 42minute

Genre: Thriller, Crime, Biographical

Plot: Indian Revolutionary Udham Singh wants to avenge those lost in Jallianwala Bagh Massacre.

Starring: Vicky Kaushal, Banita Sandhu, Amol Parashar, Kristy Averton, Shaun Scott.

Notes from me: The acting done by Vicky Kaushal as the titular character is absolutely phenomenal and just tugs at your heartstrings, also the last 40 minutes are absolutely tear jerking.

2. Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na

Length: 2h 35 minutes

Genre: Rom-Com, Slice-of-life

Plot: BEST FRIENDS TO LOVERS!!! Two bestfriends Jai and Aditi are obliviously in love with each other until they start dating other people.

Starring: Genelia D’Souza, Imran Khan, Ratna Pathak Shah, Prateik Babbar

Note: COMFORT MOVIE!!!! I love absolutely everything, the connection between the friends, THE SOUNDTRACK!!

3. Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

Length: 2h 30 minutes

Genre: Road trip, Comedy

Plot: Three friends Imran, Arjun and Kabir go on a road trip across Spain, before Kabir’s wedding and find imperfect flaws in their life, make decisions with the help of these friends and guide their way through life

Starring: Farhan Akhtar, Hritik Roshan, Abhay Deol, Kalki Koechlin, Katrina Kaif

Note: love!! once again a comfort movie, leaves you feeling refreshed and wanting to go on a cross country road trip with yout friends!

3. Haider

Length: 2h 40 minutes

Genre: Drama, Thriller, Action

Plot: An adaptation of the Shakespearean play Hamlet set in modern day Jammu & Kashmir. Haider returns to Jammu & Kashmir to find closure for his father’s death, but the states’ politics situation overpower him.

Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Tabu, Kay Kay Menon, Irrfan Khan

Note: A great movie which does not just portray Kashmir as this “beautiful picturesque scenery” but the harsh political reality of this fractured state, which is not easy to portray. This, in my opinion is one of the best acting performance of Shahid Kapoor’s career. Tabu as always SHINES (she should be stored in a gold vault istg), Kay Kay Menon steals the show with his perfectly sinister portrayal of Haider’s Uncle.

4. Kapoor & Sons

Length: 2h 12 minutes

Genre: Drama, Slice-Of-Life

Plot: Two brothers Arjun and Rahul return home to Conoor to visit their ailing Grandfather. During this stay the entire family discovers just how dysfunctional and fractured their relationships are.

Starring: Fawad Khan, Sidarth Malhotra, Rishi Kapoor, Ratna Pathak Shah, Rajat Kapoor

Note: Albeit a slow 20 minutes in the start, the movie really engages you and makes you uncover the aspects of the Kapoor family with them and makes you realise just how broken and tired of the façade of happiness they truly are.

6. Guzaarish

Length: 2 hours

Genre: Drama, Romance

Plot: Former renowned magician Ethan Mascarenhas is quadriplegic and expresses his guzaarish (request) for euthanasia.

Starring: Hritik Roshan, Aishwariya Rai, Aditya Roy Kapur

7. Andhadhun

Length: 2h 18 minutes

Genre: Thriller, Crime, Comedy

Plot: Akash, a piano player pretending to be visually-impaired, unwittingly becomes entangled in a number of problems as he witnesses the murder of a former film actor

Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Manav Vij

Note: TABU!!! Her portrayal of Simi, the wife of the film actor is so good and entrancing. Ayushmann in the film’s climax shines. The plot twists are chefs kiss.

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edvinception · 4 months

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Could you recommend some Swedish series to watch? Like stuff that is not on Netflix because I already watched all of them.😅 Just got a VPN and would like to dig into some of the local streaming services. Thank you!

Say no more, anon!

I'm gonna sort them by streaming platform. Some of these might not work for you but I'll list the ones I can think of.

SVT Play (these shows are free)

Händelser vid vatten (1 season, complete)

Creepy af, made me super uncomfortable but not in a bad way. Pernilla August is in it. Good acting. A thriller. Also based on a famous book.

Bron (4 seasons, complete)

BEST SHIT EVER!!! This one is the best of the best. Swedish/Danish crime drama. Soooogood. Must see.

Kalifat (1 season, complete)

Dark AF but sooooooooooo good. It will pucnh you in the gut. It's about a young woman who lives in Raqqa with her radicalised husband that is an IS warrior. This has been on netflix so my appologies if you have watched it already.

Fröken Frimans Krig (4 seasons, complete)

I've not watched this but Edvin is in it. It's mainly about women's fight for their rights in the early 1900's.

Other shows I've not watched but I've heard good stuff about

Springfloden Jordskott Taelgia Vår tid är nu Innan vi dör

TV4 play (former Cmore)

Gåsmamman (6 seasons, complete)

Had to include gåsmamman, of course. Because Edvin is in it and because I love the story. Scandi crime, very dark and violent.

Nattryttarna (1 season, complete)

Also very dark, based on true stories. Takes place at a fancy stable where alot of young horse girls work but get abused sexually by the owner. Frida Argento has a small role in it.

Ondskan (Evil) (1 season, currently airing)

Based on the book by a famous Swedish author. Takes place at a fancy boarding school during the 50s. Also dark and depressing.

Estonia (1 season, complete)

Based on the real Estonia accident. Estonia was a large Swedish/Estonian ship that sunk in a huge accident that killed around 900 people. The story focuses on the aftermath of the accident and mainly the investigation process.

Knutby (1 season, season 2 in the making but they are stand alones)

Knutby is also based on real events that took place in 2024. I dont want to say too much and spoil it but the story takes place in a very religious setting, in a christian church.

Viaplay

Älska mig (2 seasons, complete)

A comedy, with some darkness (but not really). Very funny. Edvin has a role in the second season. I love this series. I highly recommend

Heder (3 seasons, not sure if there will be more)

Heder is about four strong female lawers that work with female victims and has their own law firm. Of course nothing is smooth sailing with them and there is alot of drama. I love the cast of this one.

Thunder in my heart (2 seasons, not sure if there will be more)

A comedy/drama with a mix of comedy and darkness. Not my favourite but critics love it.

Leva life (1 season, I think complete)

I've not seen this but it's about a young woman living her best life when she gets diagnosed with cancer.

#ask

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faeveries · 1 year

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🌱 hello world!

‼️‼️ note: I post suggestive and heavy/dark content (including but not limited to horror and body horror). do not follow me if you are a minor.

UPDATED: 3/20/23

now that that's out of the way!

bea/fae/isla • any pronouns :-) • early 20s

I LOVE getting asks and @ games! so if you want to send me one but are unsure, gopher it! even if we don’t know each other :-)

my writing tag: #faeveries

what I write and read:

main genres: adventure, comedy, romance, fantasy (supernatural, contemporary, and urban especially)

favorite topics: worldbuilding, thematic characterization, nuanced characters (especially women), LGBTQ+, complex interpersonal relationships, balancing heavy scenes with levity, hurt comfort

branching out into: horror, mystery, thriller

also into: trying anything new really

main: @bymidnightsmoon // goodreads // writing refs

pfp: tinypaint / header: sergey_polyushko (insta)

🌱 MAIN WIP List

NOTE: THIS LIST IS OLD! needs updatin'

working titles used. I write in the New Adult age range.

♥️ The Heart of Wonderland

(fantasy, adventure, action, horror)

Blight ravages the masses, and magic is outlawed (but far from gone). In this world, a blood thirsty assassin and her princely target must work together to take down the queen and escape Wonderland. (contributor: @orionsjester)

Cast: TBA

Status: Working on Draft 1 with a goal of 1 chapter posted a month. (AO3)

Tags: #faes queen, #rb queen (for related reblogged posts)

✨ You Wouldn’t End the World Over a Tortilla Chip Would You-

(or Tortilla Chip for short.. and the answer is yes, yes I would // fantasy, dark comedy, adventure, romance, horror)

A decade after fiery tragedy splits them apart, a former friend group must face their bad blood and prevent the world from unraveling—again. Their plan? Wing it, hope for the best, and try to not kill each other in the process. Emphasis on try.

Cast: TBA

Status: Brainstorming

Tags: #faes tortilla chip, #rb tortilla chip

👻 The Death Order

(fantasy, thriller, action, dark comedy, romance)

To Death, they're Angels. To humans, they're serial killers. Twins Ari and Angeline Rodas were supposed to die. But when they don't, they must masquerade as Angels and work in Death's most gruesome department: Murders, Massacres, and Suicides. After years of dedicating themselves to their gorey profession, the twins finally have an escape plan. But everything falls apart when a true crime podcaster and her brother track them down, and some... one... falls in love.

Cast: Ari Rodas, Angeline Rodas, rest is TBA

Status: Brainstorming

Tags: #faes angels , #rb angels

🔗 BACK BURNER WIP'S

#not entirely sure what I would reblog here vs my main but #having a writeblr sounds fun :-)#faeverses #tag list bc I mostly use mobile:#people #ref #game #ask #media #reading list #positive #insp #faecourse #private #writing

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lethargicwizard · 9 months

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So I watched "Bullet Train" (A while ago but that's not important)

Since it's been a while since the movie came out I feel pretty safe but never the less Spoilers!

If I had to describe "Bullet Train" I'd call it Hollywood's greatest attempt at emulating less conventional methods of storytelling. With the original text being written by Kōtarō Isaka as a novel (and that end, I have no idea what liberties were taken with its production, and adaptation compared to the original story) and because of that fact it may be cringe to say that on my first viewing, I thought the film felt like something that would do well as a single season 12 episode cult classic anime from the mid-nineties to early two-thousands. Everything from the film's setting to the characters screams that sort of slightly absurdist charm that you'd usually see from that era of anime and manga. A collection of assassins board a bullet train in Japan for a myriad of different yet interconnected reasons strung along by a well-foreshadowed central antagonist and a mysterious yet charismatic dark horse, all taking place in a black humor thriller.

Yuichi Kimura is a father out for the blood of the person that put his son on life support struggling with his position as a father demands of him. Not knowing that his decision had left him as a pawn in a dangerous game he does not completely understand.

Ladybug (which is what I will forever refer to this character archetype as) is a charismatic if oafish thief who seems to live in a state of perpetual bad luck however never fatally succumbing to it. returns to work after a stent away from attempting to reevaluate his choices and steer himself away from some of the more unsavory aspects of his profession and more often than not failing miserably at it.

Lemon/Tangerine, a dynamic duo of hitmen who share a familial bond that goes deeper than blood. The former of the two possessing a humorous yet undeniably advantageous character quirk iconic of the film. While the latter becomes an instant fan favorite due to his relatable yet enviable personality. Both of which serve as the poster children for the film.

The Wolf, a self-made legend of the Mexican cartel who shot up the ranks of his organization with his charisma, intellect, and brutality finds himself in Japan to find the murderer of not only his beloved but his partners in crime. An impressive back story for someone who dies within ten minutes of being introduced.

Hiroyuki Sanada, a disgraced former yakuza and the father of one of the other characters also comes to find the would be assassin of his grandson only to be presented the chance to settle a grudge thats haunted him for the better part of his life.

Last but not least The Prince, the dark horse of the film whose motivations and origins tantalize the viewers the entire runtime. The character you love to hate and a secondary antagonist who far outshines the main one. My hat goes off to Joey King for her performance from this absolute menace The Prince is one of my favorite aspects of the film, the fact that the vast majority of situations she's faced with go her way which helps her be more hatable yet interesting as a character. I'm especially fond of her aesthetic as a character she's not a traditional fem fatal but she still leverages her femininity to achieve her goals falling into that gap-moe of having this adolescent schoolgirl design yet being this conniving machiavellian character.

Now after hearing that line up tell me this doesn't sound like an instant cult hit of a dark comedy. Overall I'm quite fond of the film and if you haven't seen it and didn't heed my warning at the top please watch it its quite the treat. for those who have watched the film and just wanted to read this for yucks, I suggest you read the source material Kōtarō Isaka's Maria Beetle if you can find it.

#bullet train #tangerine bullet train #lemon bullet train #maria beetle #ladybug bullet train

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gale-gentlepenguin · 2 years

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Gale’s Top Ten: Strawhat Pirates

1. This list is of my favorite of all Strawhats (that means Honorary Strawhats and the fleet are judged as part of the list)

2. This is not a ranking of the best character, this is a ranking of my Favorite of the crew. (So feel free to disagree. )

3. Spoilers for those who aren’t caught up

__________________________________________

Honorable mentions

(I think it’s clear that the main crew is going to dominate the list, but here is a list of pirates that I Consider my honorary 11th, 12th, and 13th respectively.

13. Nefertari Vivi: The princess of Alabastar. Respect the pirate princess. She travels with them in spirit.

12. Bartolomeo: The greatest Simp and waifu in One piece.

11. Yamato: He is the only man I have felt so attracted too (outside of Aaravos from Dragon prince) . But also cause he is a f***ing beast and arguably one of the most interesting characters in wano. (he is this low because he was ready to join but will probably join later. (I hope he does))

Now, for the official Countdown

____________________________________________

10. Ussop (Sogeking/ god Ussop)

Bounty of 500,000,000 million berries

The crews “Sniper” and legendary lord of the bluff. Ussop is a man of many talents… he is also the canonically weakest member of the Straw hat Officers.

His bounty is a testament to how despite lies, he can inspire real courage. Ussop is a coward, but despite that he still gives his all to fight for his friends, and pulls wins against those he has ZERO business beating.

Though why is he the lowest of the main crew? Well, in truth I actually had him higher before wano. But after he tried to convince Nami to lie to save her life. By saying Luffy wouldn’t be King of the pirates. I can’t forgive that. I don’t care the context. Nami, who is equally as cowardly and knew she was facing what was very likely certain death still refused to say Luffy wouldn’t be king of the pirates.

Ussop should know better, especially after Water 7. So that’s why Ussop is this low.

9. Franky (Ironman Franky)

Bounty 394,000,000 Berries

The man is an army arsenal and a refusal to wear pants. True name Cutty Flam

Out of all the Strawhats he is arguably the most vital (as the Shipwright) and the man of a million weapons. He is more what he makes then who he is.

The time skip is actually the thing that I felt made Franky’s character suffer the most. Not to disrespect him, he is a good character, but everytime he’s on panel, it’s usually for comedy or a robot fight.

I want to see his intelligence explored more and I want to see his creative mind flourish like we see in thriller bark. I want more Franky, I want Franky vs Vegapunk and WINNING!

8.Jinbe (Knight of the Sea)

Bounty of 1,100,000,000

Former warlord of the sea, master of Fish man Karate, MASTER of the Joining crew intro. The knight of the sea.

Jinbe is an amazing character. Ever since Impel down, Jinbe has shown why he is such an amazing character.

He is courageous, honorable, and Uncompromising on his promises. If Jinbe says he will do it, IT WILL GET DONE!

The only one of the crew that saw the agony Luffy went through in person at Marineford (despite not being in his crew yet) jinbe respected Luffy.

Jinbe, the Fishman that’s swimming his way into my heart. I can’t help but love how he acts as the straight man to the crews Shenanigans.

I think as time goes on he will move up the list, but since he is technically the “fledgling” of the Strawhats, we have not had enough interactions yet to get a consensus of his dynamic with the whole crew line we do with the others.

7. Brook (Soul king)

Bounty of 383,000,000 berries

Soul king Brook. The Humming Brook and second swordsman of the crew.

The oldest of the crew, and the prime example of don’t judge a brook by its cover (badum tis)

Brook has an incredibly tragic Backstory and despite that…. He is still one of the most uplifting.

This musician is a master of elevating the mood and has pulled off some incredible feats.

He can run on water, and fight against deadly foes.

He survived Big mom and got her poneglyph.

Brook is even a master of stealth comparable to Sanji, making him an incredible back up to anyone on the crew.

Though if I had to describe Brook, he is a bard. That is the best way to describe him. Skilled in a lot of areas but master of one (music). And I love this skeleton’s skull jokes, he does seem to suffer a bit from background syndrome like Franky. Also his pervy panty question gets old.

Despite that, I love this humming Brook and want more of his antics

6. Vinsmoke Sanji (Black leg )

Bounty of 1,032,000,000 berries

The man who only fights with his feet. The man with legs that can kick for days. The Gentleman Chef, the Man who refuses to EVER hit a woman.

Sanji was born a Vinsmoke, in the north blue. He was part of the Germa Kingdom, and was technically one of the Germa 66.

But unlike his siblings, he was deemed a failure because he had his emotions And wasn’t super strong. So he was locked away as a kid. His only escape was cooking and reading with his mother… who was glad Sanji still had his feelings.

After Sanji fled, he found himself on a ship where he was a garbage boy, learning to cook. Only to then be invaded by Red leg Zeff and his crew.

Zeff ended up stranded with Sanji on an island when a storm hit. Both barely survived (Zeff even ate his own leg to give Sanji more food despite the kid not finding out until later)

After they survived, Zeff retired from pirating and set up the Baratie, where anyone can get food so long as they pay. Rough and tough they fight pirates and marines if need be.

Sanji learned about respecting women from Zeff, along with how to cook.

Now, Sanji no longer sees Germa as his home. His home and family are Zeff and the straw hat pirates.

Sanji is arguably one of the most developed character out of the straw hats, after his arc on Whole cake island. His dream of finding the all blue and cooking food for anyone who wants it.

I love Sanji as a character, sure he is a perv, but he is a gentleman and is uncompromising on his principals. He mainly fears becoming soulless like his birth family, and would do anything to not have that happen. Even telling Zoro that he would rather die if he became like that. (Something Zoro understood (but comedically used as an excuse to fight him) )

Sanji is a character that I think helps makes one piece what it is.

That being said, I love the others in the top 5 so much, that it’s unfortunate I have to leave him in the 6th spot (don’t tell Zoro)

5. Tony Tony Chopper (cotton candy lover)

Bounty 1000 berries

While being mistaken as the Crew’s pet. Chopper is basically the reason most of the crew is still alive. He is the doctor and makes sure that they will never get sick. And if they do, will treat them.

Arguably the most intelligent member of the crew (Robin, Franky, and Nami are also in the running) Chopper is smartest in the field of biology and medicine. Able to beat the ice oni virus within several minutes.

He created Rumble balls to make his devil fruit Hito Hito no mi (human human fruit) have 7 forms instead of the usual 3.

He is a monster in his own right. And his backstory still hits hard.

Hard to believe he is only 17.

Chopper can be naive and is the baby of the group, often being mothered by Robin and Nami (which is adorable)

Luffy helped pull chopper out of sorrow and helped him by taking him on his crew.

Plus, he has the best f***ing song

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I just love the innocence mixed with badassery that is Chopper. Who will always be Doctoring.

4. Nami (Cat Burglar)

Bounty 366,000,000 berries

She is the crew’s navigator and Money manager.

Nami is greedy, and is especially good at getting a deal. Nami will use her ‘Assets’ as a means of getting a deal or special treatment, and has stated she will use any means to get out of trouble or pain.

Deep down though she loves and cares about the Straw hats. She loves them dearly and will do whatever it takes to help/save them. She is so loyal that despite knowing she would likely die if she didn’t say Luffy wouldn’t be king of the Pirates, she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She could never dismiss Luffy’s dream.

Now Nami is a genius navigator and is the common sense of the crew. She knows she is weak but despite that will use her smarts and arsenal to her advantage (beating foes who are leagues above)

Despite Nami’s past with Arlong and his pirate band, She holds no animosity towards Fishman even forgiving Jinbe who basically let Arlong be free and ruin her life.

But what puts Nami above the others on this list is her dynamic with Luffy.

Yes I am a LuNa shipper. She is his brain cell, and he is her hero. They both understand eachother even though they argue. Nami being one of the few people who can get Luffy to think before he acts (to an a extent). And Luffy being the one that helps her be brave and keep pushing onward.

Nami’s loyal to the Strawhats after Arlong park and will be loyal until the end. This orange loving, money grubbing, thief is arguably one of the most loyal.

3. Nico Robin (Devil Child)

Bounty 930,000,000 berries

I’ve mentioned why Robin is best girl and why she is my 3rd favorite character in one piece in a previous post. So I will do my best not to repeat myself.

Robin is found family and she will do anything for her crew. She is also kind of hilarious because of her thoughts and antics despite her mature and Graceful attitude.

She is also an absolute badass and is deserving of her Bounty.

Plus her devil fruit is the one of the ones I want the most

(I don’t get why more people don’t understand why she is best girl)

She is also the reason why they will find laughtale (as she is one of the few people left that can actually read the poneglyphs)

She is loyal, smart, beautiful, badass, and if I was to simp for anyone in one piece, it’s her. (Sanji is correct in this regard)

2. Monkey D. Luffy

Bounty of 3,000,000,000

The Captain of the Straw hat pirates. The Joy boy reborn. The Man that will be king of the pirates.

Luffy is a rubber man after eating the Gum-gum fruit (actually the Hito Hito no mi: Model Nika) and he can stretch his body like rubber.

Luffy is the best protagonist of the big 3 (fight me) (ichigo and Naruto can’t compare).

Luffy is an idiot, but he is determined to achieve his dream (which we don’t know the full extent of, just that it’s the same as Gol D Roger and that he needs to be king of the pirates to make it possible)

Luffy is the Embodiment of Chaotic Good. Luffy believes in freedom above everything, and will punch a tyrant in the face on command if they even try.

Luffy is loyal to his crew and his blood brothers (Sabo and Ace)

Luffy will die to save his crew, risk permanent injury for them, go beyond his limits to save them.

That is how he rolls.

Luffy is mainly carefree and most of his decisions are based on what would be the most fun. Though there are times he is oddly wise. Being able to determine peoples true intentions and even getting people acting foolish to wise up. Even through his childish antics.

Luffy has changed the lives of everytime in his crew, inspiring a fierce and unwavering loyalty that can’t be broken.

Luffy is a force of freedom and joy, and that’s why he’s my second favorite character.

1. Roronoa Zoro (Pirate Hunter, King of Hell)

Bounty of 1,111,000,000 berries

The swordsman of the crew, the First mate, the Right hand man of Luffy. The booze loving, sword swinging, training maniac, Zoro.

After the tragic death of his childhood friend, he swore he would be the greatest swordsman in the world (while taking her sword with him)

Zoro has a devil may care attitude on most things. He does not care about rank or status, if you piss him off, he will cut you.

Though when it comes to the Strawhats, Zoro is very caring and protective of all of them even Sanji.

Zoro’s loyalty to Luffy is on a whole other level. Being the loyalist member of the crew, he has gone on record stating he would give up being the worlds strongest swordsman to keep Luffy alive and have him be King of the Pirates.

Zoro has endure pain beyond comprehension, defied death, and clashed with foes leagues above him, only to get right back up and find a way to win.

Zoro’s goal right now is to best Mihawk (the current title holder of World’s greatest Swordsman)

Zoro in any other series would probably be a main character and likely got lost and ended up in Luffy’s show (joke about him having no sense of direction on par with Ryoga hibiki)

Zoro’s actions and words are always sharp and to the point. He is the only person that can completely put a stop to Luffy’s reckless actions with words alone (a feat that is impressive and terrifying) when Luffy is not able to lead, he steps in, and takes charge.

There is no one Luffy trusts more than Zoro, and the feeling is mutual.

Side note, Luffy and Zoro are hilariously in sync as time goes on, both even mirroring reactions of the other when recovering and seeing food/booze

It’s always fun to see Zoro and knowing he will go to hell to save Luffy only to realize he accidentally found himself in heaven due to a wrong turn

#one piece #gale’s top ten #straw hats #straw hat pirates #op

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shannendoherty-fans · 1 year

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“The power of three will set you free.” We are excited to announce our third and final guest from Charmed to the Washington State Summer Con. Please welcome one of television’s greatest icons of the ’90s, Shannen Doherty, to the lineup in Puyallup from June 23rd through the 25th. Shannen Doherty started her career as a child actress at just 11 years old, starring in Little House on the Prairie as Jenny Wilder. She then appeared in Our House with Deidre Hall and Wilford Brimley. She also starred alongside Sarah Jessica Parker, and Helen Hunt in Girls Just Want to Have Fun and then in Heathers, a teen comedy also starring Winona Ryder. Her real success came in 1990, at the age of 19, when she was cast in Aaron Spelling's long-running hit series Beverly Hills, 90210 as Brenda Walsh. Shannen continued her work in movies, starring in the thriller Almost Dead and the comedy Mallrats. During the fall of 1998, she reunited with long-time producer Aaron Spelling when she was cast as Prue Halliwell on Charmed, a show about three ordinary women who happen to be witches. She starred in Charmed for three years and also directed three of her last episodes. She continued her work in movies by starring in Another Day, The Rendering, The Battle of Mary Kay, and View of Terror. In 2003, she hosted season one of Scare Tactics and season two with only eight episodes and then left to pursue other endeavors. Shannen returned to television on Fox's drama series North Shore. In 2006, she starred in her own reality series, Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty. Doherty and her former Charmed co-star Holly Marie Combs would star in their road-trip reality show, Off the Map with Shannen & Holly, in 2015. Meet Shannen Doherty at the Washington State Summer Con. She will be with us Saturday and Sunday, meeting her fans, signing autographs, and joining Rose and Holly for an epic Charmed reunion panel. Tickets are on sale now: www.wasummercon.com

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#shannen doherty #Washington State Summer Con #news #events #2023 #2023 events #2023 Shannen Doherty #2020s #2020s events #2020s Shannen Doherty #acting career

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spewagepipe · 6 months

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Shocktober 2023 Reflections

I have watched, for the second time ever, all 31 movies on my Shocktober marathon list! Knowing that this was my 10th marathon, and knowing that it's probably going to be the last time (read on, friends), I wanted to make sure I didn't leave myself any loose threads. But enough about that, let's get to the "awards".

The winner of Most Potent Nightmare Fuel goes to: Skinamarink. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea, but it presses my buttons in the worst way.

Runners up in terms of scariness include: V/H/S/94's short "The Empty Wake", Talk to Me, and Relic. If, like me, you're actually looking for something to keep you up at night, these are your best bet.

Special mentions to Duel, Gaslight, Huesera, and You Are Not My Mother for just being good horror/thriller flicks.

Comedy prizes go to One Cut of the Dead and Malignant. The former is basically a very long brick joke and the latter has some bad tone problems early on, but both will probably leave you grinning.

And now we gotta talk, I think, about Shocktober itself. As I mentioned last year, I'm having to spend more and more time searching high and low each year just to find movies that are going to be worth the time and effort to watch. I opted for one more year just to get to an even 10, but now, having watched 285 movies as part of these marathons, I'm pretty confident that it's time to give it a rest.

Does this mean that Shocktober is over forever? No! But it is going to take on a different form. I have a slate of great "horror marathon" alternative schemes: including "let's plays" of long video games, binging seasons of horror TV shows, marathons of horror short stories and copypastas, and, eventually, resurrecting the horror movie marathon with the 31 Most Frightening Films Ever (after I figure out which movies belong on that list, that is).

So I definitely still want to make a fun project out of celebrating Halloween each year, but I think the plan is just to try some other things that'll breathe a little more life and variety into the endeavour, and to maybe (just maybe) ease back a bit on the raw time commitment involved.

#shocktober #shocktober 2023 #horror #movies

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jamiebamberdaily · 10 months

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TV Times Interview - Issue 25 (24 - 30 June 2023)

Tap/Click ‘Keep Reading’ to view the transcript.

Catching criminals isn’t often a glamorous business, but when your patch covers the sun-kissed streets of Cannes in the south of France, it definitely helps! In Acorn TV’s new six-part romantic crime crime drama Cannes Confidential, no-nonsense detective Camille Delmasse (French actor Lucie Lucas) is having a stressful day when she collides with charismatic art collector Harry King (Beyond Paradise favourite Jamie Bamber). For Camille, it’s hate at first sight - but as she keeps encountering Harry while investigating the murder of a famous street artists, the barbed banter between the two takes a flirtatious turn. Could some French kisses be on the cards? TV Times joined Jamie, 50, for an exclusive chat...

What can you tell us about your character?

When we meet Harry, he has an accident with Camille on the street - he’s on a bike an she’s in a car - and he fins himself gradually implicated in this case she’s investigating. You don’t really know anything about him, and we slowly suss that he’s probably up to no good The character reminds me of the Pink Panther movies, and Cary Grant films like To Catch A Thief [1955]. Harry keeps popping up in town and infuriating Camille, so they get off on the wrong foot. The badinage was what drew me in - that sexual chemistry between two people who find each other intolerable!

How quickly did you develop that chemistry with Lucie on set?

It was easy; Lucie’s so open to ideas and she’s got tremendous energy. When Harry finds out that Camille is a police officer, it’s a problem for him as he;s trying to hide a secret from her. But he happens to know a lot of the characters involved in the supposed wrongful imprisonment of her dad, the former chief of police, so they have something that the other needs. The make a quick agreement, and from that moment, they gradually get more dependent on each other as they become this odd couple that works together solving crimes.

What are your favourite shows featuring mismatched partners-in-crime-solving?

Moonlighting is the one I remember from my era, with Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis [the American comedy drama ran for five seasons between 1985 an 1989]. The chemistry was hilarious, and the writing brilliant. The Persuaders! [ITV’s 1970 action comedy is another, Actually, the genesis of this show is that the producers were trying to buy the rights to remake that, but, for one reason or another, the couldn’t, so they thought they’d invent something different, which, at it’s heart, had little nods towards Tony Curtis and Roger Moore running around Côte d’Azur. But, obviously, they changed it completely!

Was it an easy decision for you to sign up for a show where you’d be filming in a location in beautiful Cannes?

I’m a big Francophile and I’ve lived in France quite a bit over my lifetime, so anything that gets me over the Channel for a couple of months is something I will entertain, for sure! But it was more that that. I’ve played some quite dark, dramatic roles - [American sci-fi series] Battlestar Galactica and [ITV crime thriller] Marcella spring to mind straight away - and I feel like I’m a much lighter person than that. This guy felt a bit closer to who I am - not so much the potential con man, although I’m a multinational so, like Harry, I do have multiple passports [laughs]!

How hot was the weather during the shoot?

The most challenging thing I had to deal with was wearing a three-piece suit in the sunshine for three months, and trying not to ruin it with perspiration! Pascale Rodi, my dresser, did amazing work with portable fans, whipping one shirt off and drying it while I wore the other one. It was fun to play a dapper character, but he’s meant to be cool and not sweating all the time, so keeping the clothing dry was hard!

Did you get to shoot scenes in some exciting places?

I didn’t know this, but even the word ‘Cannes’, because of the film festival, is copyrighted, so you have to get permission to use it. But in doing that, we had the mayor’s office on our side, so we had access to some of the more extraordinary locations. We shot in Le Majestic hotel for two weeks - the presidential suite blew my mind; it had a private swimming pool. I found myself there for a couple of days with my own room - that could never happen any other way!

Could you squeeze in some sightseeing on your days off?

The work schedule was pretty heavy, but we had weekends. My daughter [Jamie shares three girls with his wife, Kerry Norton] had just finished her A levels, so she came out and we drove across the border into Italy, which was lovely. I didn’t do too much tourist stuff around Cannes because I know it pretty well but we went to the beaches and had nice dinners. I also played a bit of golf, which I love to do, and I found a tennis coach, too. I had a good time filming this, I can’t lie!

PERFECT PARADISE

Jamie was last seen on our screens earlier this year in series one of BBC1’s hit coastal crime drama Beyond Paradise playing vineyard owner Archie Hughes, who still harboured feelings for ex-fiancée Martha Lloyd (Sally Bretton) - even though she was now engaged to DI Humphrey Goodman (Kris Marshall). While Martha declined Archie’s amorous advances, Jamie says he had a whale of a time working on the programme... “I loved it! he smiles. “I was so thrilled with the reaction. Friends were calling me up because their kids wanted to ask me what Archie was doing, trying to steal poor Humphreys fiancée from him! People got really invested in that character and that story - I’m very proud to have been a part of the show!”

#Jamie Bamber #Cannes Confidential #Interview #Interview Updates #Magazine #TV Times #TV Times Magazine

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justagalwhowrites · 11 months

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hello love!

I hope you’re doing amazing and taking care of yourself I wanted to ask you since we gotta till 2025 for season 2 of TLOU I don’t know what to watch in the meantime so what shows or movies do you like or recommend???

OMG hi lovely!

I'm doing great thank you so much for asking! I hope you are, too!!

I haven't been watching much lately, I've been spending basically all my downtime writing lol BUT here's some stuff that I've generally enjoyed over the past few (maybe 10?) years!

Shows:

The Sopranos - Watched this right at the start of the pandemic and almost immediately saw why it was considered one of the best TV shows ever made. The idea of a mob boss going to a therapist? 10/10, fabulous. (HBO/Max)

The Newsroom - I'm a former journalist and lover of Aaron Sorkin so this show was addictive for me. Give me a good walk and talk dialogue sequence any day. Season one is far and away the best but the other two ain't bad. (HBO/Max)

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - This show was CRIMINALLY underrated. Several new musical numbers every episode, the writing is so damn brilliant it should be taught in school if it's not already. It also tackles mental health beautifully and is hilarious without being overly silly. (Netflix)

Fleabag - Brilliant, insightful, funny and heartbreaking all at once. Phoebe Waller Bridge is a genius. The worst thing about it is that it's so damn short. (Amazon)

Andor - Probably the best Star Wars series so far (SORRY MANDO I LOVE YOU SO MUCH) the storytelling and character work here is so damn good. If you haven't seen it yet, make it a priority. (Disney+)

Movies:

Baby Driver - A love letter to what you can do with sound in film, it's got so much to enjoy. Great performances, editing that's pure genius, excellent storytelling with fun action and a great script. Watch it if you haven't!

500 Days of Summer - in my opinion, this is the best "romantic comedy" (not sure it can REALLY be called that) since When Harry Met Sally. A really critical look at what it means to put the idea of someone over the actual person, it's funny and insightful while making its point.

Promising Young Woman - It's dark and funny and truthful and cathartic all at once. It's a movie length middle finger to the patriarchy and I'm all about it.

Knives Out - Everyone's probably already seen this but the fact that Daniel Craig plays a southern gay detective and is having the time of his life now that he's free of James Bond, it brings me so much joy. The mystery is great, the performances are top tier, it's damn near flawless. Will watch at any time. (Adjacent recommendation: Logan Lucky, a heist movie with a bunch of rednecks robbing a NASCAR race including Daniel Craig debuting his kooky southern drawl. Super fun!)

Nightcrawler - This was one that was super underrated (even though it was up for Best Original Screenplay at the oscars), a noir psychological thriller about a stringer who shoots video freelance for local TV stations. The appetite for bloody content pushes him further than you would expect. It's dark but so well done!

These might be a bit all over the map but hopefully there's some stuff here you've never seen and it's helpful!

Thank you for asking and for being here! Love you!

#ask #tv recs #movie recs

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historyhermann · 1 year

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Velma Review

Velma is a mature animated series which mixes the genres of mystery, comedy horror, and thriller. It is based on characters from the Scooby-Doo franchise and is an origin story, of sorts, for Velma Dinkley, before the formation of Mystery Incorporated. The series was developed by Charles Grandy. He previously created Guys with Kids, produced episodes of The Office, and has been a creative collaborator with Mindy Kaling, the voice of Velma, since 2013. This review will have spoilers.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the twenty-fifth article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on February 17, 2023.

The plot of Velma primarily centers around the story of Velma Dinkley. She attempts to uncover the perpetrator who murdered two local teenage girls, Brenda and Krista, and circumstances behind the her mother's disappearance.

She is soon joined by school news reporter Norville Rogers (voiced by Sam Richardson). Her former best friend, and popular girl, Daphne Blake (voiced by Constance Wu) also helps her, since her quest to find her biological parents, draws her closer to Velma.

Unlike previous depictions, Velma is South Asian American, while Daphne is East Asian American, and Norville, often named "Shaggy" in previous Scooby-Doo iterations, is a Black man. This representation is reflected in the voice actors: Kaling is of Indian descent, Wu is of Taiwanese descent, and Richardson is a Black man of Ghanaian descent.

The only one of the original Mystery, Inc. crew who is portrayed as White is Fred Jones. He is a popular 16-year-old rich kid, heir of a fashion line for men, and said to be a "late bloomer". Despite these negatives, Velma still has a crush on him. Voiced by Glenn Howerton, known for his role as Charlie Day in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Fred is accused as the murder suspect of Brenda and Krista, despite lack of evidence which ties him to the crime.

Velma is differs from previous Scooby-Doo series by not featuring Scooby-Doo as a character. Grandy, one of the show's executive producers, said that the show's staff struggled to find a take on this beloved dog. This coincided with Warner Bros. Animation telling them "Hey, you can’t use the dog", as Grandy recalled.

Apart from Kaling, Wu, and Richardson, the cast is relatively diverse, more than other Scooby-Doo series, including Black men, Black women, and actresses of Cuban, Chinese, Filipino, Malaysian, and Indian descent. This aligns with the focus of Kaling's small-but-powerful production company, Kaling International, which founded in 2012 and described by Time magazine as telling stories about "inner lives of women of color" and stories of underdogs.

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While in previous iterations, Velma has been in romantic relationships with men, her romantic attraction to women was hinted in episodes of Mystery Incorporated and in 2022 animated film, Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! In contrast, Velma depicts her as bisexual, as she has a crush on Fred, and accepts Daphne's feelings toward her. Like other versions, Norville has a crush on her, but it is not received by Velma, as it appears. This leads him, to later, date a cool girl named Gigi (voiced by Yvonne Orji).

Daphne has a crush on Velma, kissing her at the end of the second episode (as shown in the video above), causing her to go into a bit of a panic. She has crushes on men as well. Her actions are partially affected by her two incompetent police detective mothers: Donna and Linda. Both are voiced by lesbian actresses: Wanda Sykes and Jane Marie Lynch. Lynch previously voiced a lesbian character, Mrs. Roop, in The Ghost and Molly McGee, while Sykes voiced a lesbian character Deb, in Q-Force.

This representation is not limited to Daphne, Velma, Donna, and Linda. Cherry Jones, who voices the mother of Fred, Victoria, is a lesbian actress, as is Fortune Feminister, voice of popular girl Olive. Others are unambiguously queer, such as Nicole Byer, the voice of Crystal Cove High principal (and mother of Norville) Blythe Rogers, and Shay Mitchell, the voice of Brenda. This series appears to be the first voice acting role of Mitchell.

Despite this, the characters of Donna and Linda appear to reinforce the lesbian cop trope, which depicts adult lesbian characters as cops. This trope is said to make such characters more palatable to so-called "average people" in the U.S., if these women, mainly women of color, are "helping to uphold the systems that oppress them".

These characters seem to fall into the has two moms / two dads trope, although such a trope ignores "traditional" views of family life necessitating a mother and father. In this case, Donna and Linda are the same gender as their parents, just as Barry and Randall Leibowitz-Jenkins are in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. In fact, Sykes had personally served as a former NSA contracting specialist for five years, something which could have influenced her role as a police detective in Velma.

This breaking of the nuclear family is present in Velma's family, as her original mother, Diya Dinkley (voiced by Sarayu Blue), left. As a result, her father, Aman (voiced by Russell Peters), a lawyer, re-marries to Sophie (voiced by Melissa Fumero), owner of a malt shop in town and a pregnant model. The latter is often belittled by Velma.

While the first season spotlights Velma's long, and strong, friendship with Daphne, with Velma even proposing they become girlfriends in episode 8, it ends with everything up in the air. As a result of the events in the show's season one finale, Velma's personal life is in shambles. This is unfortunate because the writers had a chance to make Velma/Daphne canon, but chose not to. Instead, they went the route of Never Have I Ever, Wednesday, and even Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl by setting the groundwork for a likely love triangle between Daphne, Velma, and Norville, but not Fred. Such a development shows the limitations of Velma.

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Velma has been received by critics, and those on social media, with mixed reviews. Apart from the diverse cast and LGBTQ+ representation, I was drawn into the series as a new fan to the Scooby-Doo franchise. The dialogue can, sometimes, be snappy, funny, and witty, while the plot can move along smoothly. The characters, themselves, can be compelling enough to make viewers sympathize with them, but aren't always this way.

Even though Velma is snarky, one can root for her at times, but not at others. The former is the case when she has horrifying hallucinations as she feels guilt for her mother's disappearance. The only parallel that comes to mind is Julian Chase in gen:LOCK. Although he is only alive as a copy of himself, as his original body barely survived, he faces internal demons, which manifest in his memoryscape, while he faces external demons in the form of the Nemesi, who are "evil" copies of him.

While there is some similarity between both characters, Velma doesn't face trauma akin to the terror Chase experiences. However, she still faces the crushing burdens and oppression of being a person of color, and is in part of some dangerous situations.

Velma sometimes cheapens its own protagonists, even making them unrelatable, at times. For instance, late in the season, Daphne begins a fake relationship with Fred so that both of them can become popular, even if it enrages Velma. Daphne also wants to become part of Jones Gentlemen's Accessories, and is willing to put everything on the line.

On the other hand, Velma acts awful to everyone throughout the series, even acting like she is in a relationship with Norville to fool her mom, Diya, who is recovering her memory. She is probably even worse than the toxicity of Penny Proud's long-time friends in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.

The series seemed to counter past claims about Norville's supposed drug use, as he says he hates drugs, and is only shown to be a nerd who likes Velma. While he might appear to be a stoner, he is annoyed, in the second episode, when stoners are listening to his online show. Funny enough, his father Lamont (voiced by Gary Cole), has a design similar to what Norville looked like in previous iterations. The season one finale hints that Norville may begin trying drugs, possibly marijuana, at the suggestion from his father.

In addition, there is a focus on beauty norms, shut-shaming, human experimentation, and the over-bearing power of the government (especially the police). In terms of the latter, the town's sheriff (voiced by Stephen Root), declares that they can't catch a serial killer because "it is a ghost", not because they are incompetent.

For example, in the fourth episode, it appears that Fred becomes a better person after reading The Feminine Mystique. Instead, Velma just sees him as problematic and gross, showing he hasn't changed. His character somewhat improves as the series move forward, as he becomes more sure of himself.

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The voice actors of Velma are seasoned, making the series strong in that regard. Many have experience in TV, film, and even theatre roles, or previously played characters on other projects by Kaling, like The Mindy Project and Never Have I Ever.

Furthermore, some voiced characters in Amphibia, Kim Possible, Milo Murphy's Law, Phineas and Ferb, Glitch Techs, and Big City Greens, six all-ages series. Others provided voices in mature animations such as Close Enough, American Dad!, Family Guy, Bojack Horseman, Harley Quinn, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Pantheon, and Bob's Burgers.

I had hoped that characters like Dandruff Tuba, voiced by Weird Al Yankovic, would be more prominent. The name was familar because he voiced Milo Murphy in Milo Murphy's Law, a character with so much extreme misfortune and bad luck that he is prepared for any situation thanks to his handy backpack. Sadly, he was underutilized in the series.

The voice talent of Velma comes through with actors like Richardson, who is best known for voicing Richard Splett in Veep. Also, Wu voiced the Mom in Wish Dragon, Lynch voiced characters in Final Space, Fumero voiced others in Elena of Avalor and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and Peters is a Black comedian. The cast of Velma includes well-known talent like Stephen Root, Ming-Na Wen (voicing Carroll), Debby Ryan (as Krista), and Frank Welker (voicing Fred's father).

Welker has voiced Fred since the character began to be animated in 1969. He previously voiced characters in a variety of series, like Star Wars Resistance, 3Below, Totally Spies!, and Futurama. There is, additionally, Karl-Anthony Towns who voices Jacques Beau (Jock Boy). Towns is a professional basketball player of Dominican descent.

Although Velma is not my favorite series, I somewhat enjoyed watching the episodes. Others may have liked the series as much as I did, or perhaps even more, as Velma broke records for HBO Max in terms of the largest number of people watching an original animated series on its premiere day. In fact, at times, the comedy can be subtle and strong.

The series premiere is a miracle in and of itself, considering the HBO Max content purge championed by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav last year. Two series (Summer Camp Island and Victor and Valentino) were removed from the streaming platform, while Craig of the Creek had its final season order cut in half, and Young Justice was effectively cancelled.

All five of these shows, regardless of other issues, had outward LGBTQ+ representation. Previously, the platform shuttered Final Space, which featured a lesbian protagonist, Ash Graven, voiced by pansexual actress Ashly Burch. The acclaimed Infinity Train, which featured Black and Asian protagonists in the third and fourth seasons.

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The fact that the series survived this purge could be due to the fact that it was produced by Warner Bros. Animation, along with 3 Arts Entertainment, Charlie Grandy Productions, and Kaling International. Not only had Charlie Grandy Productions, the production company of executive producer Grandy, worked on previous projects with Kaling before, but an executive producer, Howard Klein, was one of the heads of 3 Arts Entertainment.

Another executive producer, Sam Register, headed Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe. He had previously produced various Scooby-Doo and Tom & Jerry films, Teen Titans, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Young Justice, Harley Quinn, and many others.

Charlie Grandy Productions was known for producing The Office, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Duncanville. The show's producer, Kandace Reuter, had worked on Scooby-Doo!: The Sword and the Scoob and Thundercats Roar, and the show's editors had worked on assorted series, such as Undone, Bojack Horseman, and Tuca & Bertie.

Despite all of these experienced people, in the entertainment industry, working on Velma, it does not take away from one major flaw: music. Apart from a scene in the show's season one finale, in which Velma listens to old voicemails of Norville, the music is altogether unmemorable, and the theme song is strangely alienating.

This is too bad because a Bronx-born Black man, Craig DeLeon, who composed the score of the series, worked with renowned directors in the past. Perhaps his talent was not used as well as it could have been. There were no amazing songs like those in D4DJ or banger songs like the theme song of recently premiered Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.

This credibility of the show's producers may have been a reason that the series moved forward on HBO Max, just as Harley Quinn did. It could have been part of the rationale beyond the renewal of a Season 2 for Velma. Considering that the series became a "lightning rod for controversy" and garnered many hate-watchers, it may garner more of a cult following than anything else.

Although the series has incurred backlash, with Wikipedia claiming that audience response had been "overwhelmingly negative", it did not dissuade me from watching the series, nor even writing about it. Surely some of the criticisms, like the comedic lines which fall flat, or possible stereotypes have merit. But, the show is not the worst thing out there as those review-bombing the series on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, or others complaining about it on social media and YouTube, may lead to you to believe.

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This season had Fred, and his family, as the manifestation of White privilege and wealth. It is on par, in some ways, with the snobbishness and narcissm exemplified by nouveau riche protagonist Kaz Khan in Neo Yokio.

At the same time, the series exemplifies the reality of how easy it easy for someone, especially people of color, to be swept up in the criminal system. After all, Velma herself is almost imprisoned by being at the wrong place at the wrong time, before she falsely implicates Fred in the murder.

Thee show's plot only hints at part of what the Marshall Project noted in their November 2020 post about trials in the U.S.: that many felony convictions on the state and federal levels are often results of plea bargains, and prosecutors are some of the most powerful players in this criminal system, relying on sheriffs and police as key witnesses. In many of the states, the Marshall Project noted, that judges can charge for use of a public defender.

In Velma, the arrest of Fred by Donna and Linda is not questioned, despite Velma's defense of Fred, before his outburst causes the judge to declare him guilty. Velma's father, Aman, takes Fred's case because he wants the money for his girlfriend, Sophie, not because he truly believes in the case.

The series highlights the inadequacy of mental health care in the U.S., therapy, and gender disparity. The latter is exemplified by the school Principal, Blythe, only having 50 dollars in the school budget to counter "centuries of toxic masculinity", which she uses to pay for an all-girls self-defense class, taught by Daphne's moms. The former is shown through Norville and his father.

I thought the story's focus, at first on experiments by Doctor Edna Purdue, the grandmother of Norville, a scientist who found a way to keep the human brain alive outside the body, was intriguing. I would say the same for the series plot about Velma's mom, Diya, her lost memory, and manipulation by a miscreant to commit the murders. However, it felt hollow in the end.

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Velma reveals that Diya had been manipulated to recreate the lab of Dr. Purdue, recruited by Army General Henry Meeting to create the Special Covert Operations Brain Initiative (Scoobi), a reference to the original franchise. This manipulation happened through hypnosis by Fred's mother, Victoria (voiced by Cherry Jones). It is further noted that Velma herself was hypnotized as well.

Victoria states that she wanted to switch Fred's brain with someone more "ambitious", who she believed were "hot girls", and keep the global brand of Jones Gentleman's Accessories afloat. This absurd plot cheapened the series. It was compounded by Velma's foolhardy attempt to get her mom to remember anything, involving massive lying, which blew up in her face, and her rupturing of friendship with Norville after falsely accusing his father as the serial killer.

While the social commentary on big companies which support politicians who "look the other way", as is the case for Jones Gentleman's Accessories, is apt, as much as the criticism of economic exploitation in My Dad the Bounty Hunter, it is muddled by the rest of the story.

For one, there are callbacks to the first episode of this series, when female characters were showering in the nude together, sexism by the police, and more. In the case of Velma, it is problematic that the villain is a woman in that it could send a bad message about women in positions of power.

Through all of that, the series seems to hint at a possible storyline for another season, as the police officer who received the file from Velma is killed while putting it in a "solved cases" box. Undoubtedly, in the next season, Velma will continue to use her "pretty good" detective skills, the relationship between Velma and Daphne may develop, and a new "conspiracy board"/"murder board" would come about. The series will likely have a love triangle between three of the protagonists: Daphne, Norville, and Velma.

This is because, in the season one finale, Velma inadvertently said she "loves" Norville, so he came to save her from the serial killer who is out to kill her, Daphne, and Fred. If this comes to pass, and the story straddles the home/school lives of the main characters, and doesn't come into more of its own, it will feel more like a stale CW drama. That would be a serious loss of potential in a story which could be stronger if it's plot had better execution.

In the end, I feel this series is not great but not terrible, as hate-watchers have declared. Instead, it is only in the middle. So, I can't fully, and confidently, recommend giving this series a watch.

The first season of Velma is currently streaming on HBO Max.

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pop-punklouis · 2 years

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Do you have any movie or short series suggestions? Preferably something on netflix, and not horror.

hi my love! here’s some that instantly come to mind that are on netflix! (the last one isn’t but it’s unexpected impact it had as a series on me this past year, i just had to include it)

Russian Doll (2 Seasons)

Russian Doll follows a woman named Nadia who is caught in a time loop as the guest of honor at a seemingly inescapable birthday party one night in New York City. She dies repeatedly, always restarting at the same moment at the party, as she tries to figure out what is happening to her.

Trailer Park Boys (12 Seasons)

Nova Scotia's trailer parks are colorful thanks to residents Ricky, Bubbles and Julian. Together, they plan mad capers, usually get-rich-quick schemes, with plenty of screw-ups along the way. They're constantly being hunted by their former trailer park supervisor, Jim Lahey, and his perpetually shirtless, pot-belled assistant, Randy. There are a host of other quirky characters that make up this zany locale of below-income characters in this Canadian mockumentary series that has spawned two feature films. (one of my favorite comfort shows)

Perfume (Miniseries)

A young profiler investigating a series of murders traces events back to a small cadre of boys at a boarding school who experimented with manipulating people using human scents.

The Chalet (Miniseries)

Six-part French mystery thriller in which a group of friends and acquaintances are trapped in a rural holiday home, with an apparent serial killer in their midst. It's about revenge, conspiracies and the past not letting go.

Dark (3 Seasons)

In the aftermath of a child's disappearance, Dark follows characters from the fictional German town of Winden as they pursue the truth. They follow connections between four estranged families to unravel a sinister time travel conspiracy which spans several generations.

Grace & Frankie (7 Seasons)

follows Grace, a retired cosmetics mogul, and Frankie, a hippie art teacher, whose husbands, Robert and Sol, are successful divorce lawyers in San Diego. Grace and Frankie's lives are turned upside down when Robert and Sol announce that they are in love with each other and are leaving their wives.

Mindhunters (2 Seasons)

true-crime centric thriller series was inspired by the true story of how the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit began studying psychopaths and serial killers in the late 1970s.

American Vandal (2 Seasons)

A true-crime satire that explores the aftermath of a costly high school prank that left twenty-seven faculty cars vandalized with phallic images.

Feel Good (2 Seasons)

The series follows recovering addict and comedian Mae, who is trying to control the addictive behaviors and intense romanticism that permeate every facet of her life.

Alice in Borderland (2020—)

an obsessed gamer finds himself in a barren and distant reality where the players have to play a game and win in order to survive. (i know it doesn’t sound like much but the human relations and emotions depicted are incredibly complex, and i like it a lot)

Derry Girls (2018—)

comedy series about a group of rowdy Catholic school girls living in Northern Ireland during the ’90s.

The Chestnut Man (Miniseries)

thriller series about a series of murders in Copenhagen committed by a psychopath who leaves chestnut figurines at the scenes of the murders. From this creepy clue, two detectives hunt for a killer linked to a politician’s missing child.

How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) (3 Seasons)

follows Moritz and his friend Lenny Sander attempting to rekindle Moritz's love for ex-girlfriend Lisa Novak, through selling ecstasy online. Starting off as a small time business, it quickly spirals out of control and Moritz and Lenny learn to deal with the consequences of large scale drug trafficking.

Ethos (Miniseries)

tells the story of a group of unique characters from dramatically different socio-cultural backgrounds meeting in startling circumstances.

Devs (Miniseries)

follows the story of a young software engineer, Lily Chan who investigates the secretive development division of her employer which she believes is behind the murder of her boyfriend Sergei. (i love this series bc it has such a philosophical foundation continuously asking the viewer what is destiny and what is free will. it’s so, SO much more than a murder mystery. the murder is simply the jumping off point without much plot elsewhere, and it dives deeper into the human psyche as the series goes on. it’s about technology and grief and humanity etc.)

(also i just realized you said short series WHOOPS i’m sorry but a lot of these are miniseries!!! x)

#you can tell my taste shdkdkdkfl #also i don’t consider crime as horror so if you do i’m sorry 😔

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tilbageidanmark · 2 years

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Movies I watched this Week #88

Glorious summer on the Côte d'Azur: La Piscine (The Swimming Pool), a 1969 psychological thriller, starring Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, and a very young Jane Birkin. A throwback to Delon’s breakthrough role as Tom Ripley in ‘Purple Noon’ 10 years earlier, where he also kills his same best friend Maurice Ronet in the Riviera’s sexy waters. First watch.

I loved Luca Guadagnino’s 2016 remake of this ‘A Bigger Splash’, with Dakota Johnson in the Jane Birkin role, but I find this original even more wistful and ambiguous. 7/10. (Photo Above).

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The Burglars, a 1971 crime noir starring Jean-Paul Belmondo. The genial opening scene with score by Ennio Morricone, and the initial part of a meticulous jewellery heist were very promising, but the movie quickly turn ridiculous. 60′s aesthetics of long car chases in Athens were not enough to offset the unfortunate story. The American version, where all the French and Italian spoke in Engrish, was jarring.

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First watch: Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1924 Michael, an early gay cinema classic. An unscrupulous young model exploits the love of his older benefactor, artist Benjamin Christensen. If it were to be remade today, Michael will surely be played by Timothée Chalamet.

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The Wild Pear Tree (2018) my 4th masterpiece by Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, by now one of my all time favorite authors. Stunningly beautiful story about a young aspiring novelist who returns to his impoverished village. Highly recommended - 8/10.

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I haven’t seen too many ballet movies, and even fewer films about transsexuals, but the Cannes-winner Belgian film Girl (2018) is the best of the lot in my mind. It’s an incredible story of a 15-year-old trans girl who pushes herself too hard to become a professional ballerina, while at the same time undergoing gender reassignment. Brilliant on every level, with one truly-shocking scene at the end. There was some push back at the androgynous male actor who played the young girl, but it was a very difficult role, and he deserved all the accolades he received. 9/10

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2 by (new to me) Derek Cianfrance (who later wrote ‘Sound of Metal’) - both starring Ryan Gosling:

🍿 Sins are passed down through the generations from fathers to sons in the tragic, gripping story The place beyond the pines. It starts when laconic bad boy Gosling, who works as a Wall of Death stunt rider carnie, discovers that he has a 1-year-old son with a former fling. The story goes from there in various unexpected directions, and I don’t want to give out any spoilers, as this movie should be seen ‘cold’.

Star-studded, emotionally-charged and challenging narrative - The surprise discovery of the week!

🍿 In his sad Blue Valentine, hopelessly romantic Ryan Gosling falls for Michelle Williams, and after a life together as a family, they drift apart. Subtle, beautiful and heartbreaking. It also had some innovative end credits.

(All I have left of his is the period piece ‘The Light Between Oceans’, which received generally bad reviews).

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What do you get when you combine Erik Satie and Japanese soft-core from the ‘Roman Porno’ period of the 1970′s? Aroused by Gymnopedies (2016), a strange meta-film about film-making a-la ‘Boogie Nights’. It tells of a has-been art director with insatiable sexual apatite (and a comatose wife) who reaches a dead end in his career, financial and personal life, and now has to resort to directing very cheap porn flicks. While at the same time many young women around him still desire him and are willing to do anything for him. A depressing black comedy. 4/10.

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Another womanizing arthouse director struggling with his behavior toward his female fans is Right Now, Wrong Then, my 9th by Hong Sang-soo. It’s brilliantly divided into two equal halves. The first part is similar to his other films: A famous “Director” meets the pretty Kim Min-hee by chance in a temple, invites her for coffee, then to Soju, and in the course of a day and night tries to seduce her by getting them both drunk. It doesn’t go well, and truthfully, that regular Sang-soo story line is getting banal and tiring, like a standard Woody Allen plot. But then, the whole first hour repeats itself from the beginning, a-la-Groundhog Day, and this time, he's honest with her, and their feelings for each other turn genuine and bittersweet. 7/10.

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I was looking forward to see the original Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, but actually did not enjoy it as much as I should have. Yes, it was cutesy, and going for the heartwarming, clever touch, but the one-trick gimmick would have been better if it stayed a much shorter piece. It went self-referential 'meta’ too quickly. 🍿

Ingrid Bergman X 2:

🍿 George Cukor’s 1944’s Gaslight, the film from which the phrase 'gaslighting’ was derived. A cruel and duplicitous husband isolates and psychologically tortures his young wife by manipulating her to question her reality. An unpleasant and ugly story of misogyny and domestic abuse. Part of the 1940′s cycle of 'Don't Trust Your Husband' films. Also, the film debut of 17-year-old Angela Lansbury.

🍿 Ingrid Bergman’s last role in Ingmar Bergman’s last film (not television productions), Autumn Sonata. The tortured relationship between self-centered world-famous pianist and her unloved, neglected daughter is hard to re-watch. The affected story was acted like a stage play and Ingrid Bergman looked as if she was still playing Golda Meir. The dubbing of the acting into English was a criminal act - This process should be illegal, and punishable by castration!

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Two men emerge from the sea onto the beach carrying a large wooden wardrobe with a mirror on its front in Roman Polański’s 1958 short silent film Two Men and a Wardrobe. 25-year-young Polanski himself plays (again!) one of the thugs.

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“Money is like Christ. It blesses you if you share it. Money enlightens those who use it to open the flower of the world and damn those that glorify it.”

Because I found Jodorowsky's The Dance of Reality (2013) so extraordinary last week, I had to watch it again. It still scores 10/10 in my book. The element of ‘Heart’ appears in it again and again, but what does it mean?

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Tim Robinson X 2:

🍿 Laughing again with the absurd sketch comedy I Think You Should Leave. The humor is different, embarrassingly weird, awkward and sophomore: People behave badly, like a person who farts in a crowded elevator, and then blame it on others. The only immature running theme is scatological, and even though he is obsessed with ‘shit’, he keep calling them instead ‘mud pies’ and farts.

🍿 So I checked out his previous Comedy Central series, Detroiters, which he created together with buddy Sam Richardson (whom I will always remember as the TSA agent in ‘We’re The Millers’). It’s a combination of stupid ‘Mad Men’ in Detroit with the bromance of ‘Dumb and Dumber’. Same cringe-worthy toilet-obsessed humor as his later show, but more structured and less polished. 4/10.

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The only bad injuns... Don Siegel’s western Flaming Star, considered today as one of Elvis Presley 'better’ Hollywood movie. Elvis plays a biracial hero, half-white and half-Kiowa-Indian, in a tragic story about race and prejudices of 1950s America.

Wikipedia Fun Fact: The Andy Warhol silkscreens made of the Elvis publicity shots from the movie generated $380 million dollars (!) when they were sold.

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...They say i'm crazy, just a little bit out of whack, cuz they always like to act like me, now they call me a maniac...

The 1980 comedy Stir Crazy starts with a lovely song, sung by the lovable Gene Wilder, but quickly turns into an outdated, unfunny prison break yarn with a paper-thin plot. At least, Sidney Poitier who directed it, became the first black actor to earn a million dollars for a single film for it. 2/10.

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Know thy enemy: 2,000 Mules is an election-denial agitprop piece about the 2020 ‘ballot harvesting‘, made on the cheap by convicted felon and conspiracy theorist Dinesh D'Souza. As I remove myself more and more from following American politics, this was a little look back to see what I am missing: Grift masked as political discourse. Terrible on every level. 1/10.

Don’t kink-shame: I also watched Leni Riefenstahl’s propaganda spectacle ‘Triumph des Willens', to learn what the Nazis were seeing, when Hitler consolidated his power.

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(My complete movie list is here)

#movies

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friendzonefrog · 2 years

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FriendzoneFrog's 'Formal' Writeblr Intro

Hi!

You can call me Friend or Frog (she/her). I'm a young adult from the US. When I say 'friendzone,' I don't mean it in an incel way, but rather in an "I'm the comedic relief friend character irl and I own it" way <3

What I write:

I don’t ever stick to one thing, but my main niche is dialogue. I have sooo many hypothetical scripts for graphic novels, video games, animation, webseries, stage shows, etc. Basically I’m really into the idea of putting words on paper and then bringing them to life in another way :)

Favorite genres:

Crime and suspense thrillers

Horror

Mystery and whodunnits

Superhero (especially ragtag groups with wacky powers)

Spy/espionage

Dark comedy and satire

I play around with other genres, too!

My projects:

📁Shreds of Integrity

M (17+) Crime/Drama. A story focusing on agents and former agents of an FBI crime analysis unit, as they grapple with the weight of the job, its aftershocks, and its imbalance with personal life. Tags: #shreds of integrity Intro post Playlist Moodboard Character meme (Tens But tag game) STS character asks (sleeping habits) Picrew challenge - Madeleine

🖥️ ERR0R!

T (14+) Sci-Fi/Superhero. Seven strangers evade a tech lab's evil plot involving shady clinical trials, experiments gone wrong, and a supercomputer with the power to take control of the universe. No pressure! Tags: #wip: ERR0R! Intro post Character intros Plalylist Moodboard (under construction) Character meme (Tens But tag game)

😱Morbid Curiosity

M (17+) Horror/Thriller. Anthology series spanning several subgenres of horror, highlighting the weird, the paranormal, the terror in the mundane, and those who can't help but go looking for answers. 🎪 #1 Funfair Paranormal ▸ A college photojournalist visits the site of an abandoned amusement park harboring dark secrets and horrors unknown. 🌾 #2 Backroad Blues Southern Gothic ▸ A big storm's brewing in Uncertain, Texas, home to a population of 80 citizens devoted to preserving the town's rich history... however gruesome it may be. 🏰 #3 The Fall of Strömberg Gothic/Macabre ▸ In 1520, a banquet was set ablaze, killing a family of Swedish nobles, along with their guests. Since that night, nobody has entered the castle ruins and lived to tell the tale. [Might become a standalone outside the anthology tbh!] 🛒 #4 Night Shift Slasher ▸ Retail employees on the night shift usually have to fight to stay awake... but tonight they must fight to stay alive, as an unseen killer attempts to pick them off one by one.

Tags: #wip: Morbid Curiosity #wip: Funfair #backroad blues #the fall of strömberg #wip: Night Shift Intro and masterpost

✨Ms. Praline & the Evening Star

G (all ages) Adventure / Fantasy. As a child, Mae Praline wished upon a star that she could fly. Twenty-two years later, she awakens to find a strange airship on her front lawn, and a mysterious letter addressed to her.

Tags: #ms. praline & the evening star Intro postMoodboard (under construction)

I'm excited to share more about these stories, as well as others I'm dreaming up. I’m always happy to chat about my projects, chat about YOUR projects, answer asks, participate in tag games, etc.! I’ll also share writing tips and prompts when I can.

I have the type of social anxiety where I'm not too good at initiating conversation, but I do try my best, because I enjoy chatting! Feel free to hit me up at any time! (But please keep in mind that, as a personal policy, I am not comfortable privately messaging anyone under the age of 18.)

What I'm into besides writing (and other content you might see) :

Nothing

Messing around on Canva (GRAPHIC DESIGN SIDEBLOG)

Musical theatre and singing

Photography

Commentating/critiquing movies (follow me on letterboxd!)

Video games (follow me on backloggd!)

Board games

Comics (anything Hawkeye, I’m there.)

Attempting to teach myself ukulele and banjo

Making earrings :3

Hatewatching CW shows then accidentally becoming hooked

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CREDITS:

Computer, frog dividers- @ animatedglittergraphics-n-more

Ghost divider- @ racingairplanes

FBI divider- @ firefly-graphics

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