007...I’m your new Quartermaster.

this shot. this shot right here encapsulates their s4 dynamic perfectly

the pjo show’s cinematography is so warm and homey and clever and detail-oriented so i wanna compile a few of my favourite still shots because why not??

^this one had me smiling so hard, not because it’s a particularly beautiful shot but the framing of the three is so well done. the focus is on sally who is talking to grover (both prominently in the front of the shot) while percy – who isn’t a part of the conversation but a listener of it – is still properly visible through the glass of the door and like??? i just think it’s a super cool way of having a passive character in the shot that i haven’t ever seen before, in a way that percy is both highlighted and still so clearly in the background that it doesn’t take away from the focus characters. also percy’s sweater matching the colours on the door is the cherry on top!!

^next is this one. it’s so perfectly angsty and though not complete, the symmetry is still eye-catching. it encapsulates the feeling percy must experience in that moment–him, amidst destruction, knowing he’s the cause but not knowing how or why. he looks all of twelve with his haphazard hoodie and almost forlorn look. he is not gloating, he is not cheerful. though he doesn’t know the gravity of his parentage, it’s almost like the show is telling us that his powers–which cause the door to break, too btw–will always be a source of isolation for percy. he is a force of nature, a destructive one most of the time, and the fact that he is just a child who is confused will never matter because this world doesn’t care for childhood but godhood alone.

idk, this shot just evokes a very unsettling kind of sadness for me. i think it’s beautifully framed.

^i absolutely love this one simply for the fact that the sheer struggle of the fight is so prominently visible. and yes, i cheated, this isn’t exactly a still shot but like an action sequence screenshot but whatever, it’s too good to not mention it here. the way percy is, honest to gods, bracing against the spear for his dear life, the evident and overwhelming rage on clarisse’s face, the blocking of the scene – it’s perfect. clarisse is not playing and percy is genuinely in danger and i love how this shot and the whole scene really sold us on that fact.

^ i just think it’s extremely cool that we can see the minotaur howling in pain, percy having his mouth wide open as if he’s letting out a yell as he goes to plunge the horn and that as percy does this act–killing the minotaur–which is surefire source of safeguarding himself and grover, something that will get him to camp, we can see thalia’s tree in the background. there is no reason percy had to make the kill here, with the chaos of the fight, so the fact that this is the spot and this is the shot as he kills the minotaur makes me think it’s deliberate. having thalia in the background is so impactful because again, percy could have met a similar fate in some other alternate universe but here, he wins and he survives.

^ do i even need to explain??? the shot is pretty and beautiful and almost magical. percy, alone with a tin of fire, burning blue food and talking to his mother. maybe one thing i can point out is that the sally-percy bond has been heavily indicated through glowing lights since the start. if you recall, the “you are not broken” speech by sally was given in front of the warm, glowing headlights of the car and percy’s face was illuminated by that warmth just the same way it is illuminated by the tin-fire in the forest.

^ first, this is too fucking gorgeous. second, percy is wearing his red jacket again and this dream happened after he reached camp so in my opinion, this dream was initially a comfortable imagining of percy’s mind and was then hijacked by kronos but i could be wrong since i don’t clearly remember how they manifested in the books originally. nevertheless, it’s a great detail to have him wear the red jacket because even if he may not have it with him anymore, it’s still clearly something he holds dear – and might associate sally’s memories with.

also, the fact that percy seems to have alot of scenes with fire might be because as someone who can control water, fire can never truly be a source of danger for him and therefore, he can find comfort in its warmth unhindered, always?

^ how could i not love this epic moment? the trident is perfect, big and blue and grand and majestic. half the screen is water, obviously. but what makes this good shot a great one is that there is literally no one else directly near percy except annabeth. the campers are all far away and in this shot itself only annabeth remains close to percy, though she is fittingly on the land, observing the scene before her. remember how i said percy’s legacy promises isolation but this shot tells me that despite that, percy will have someone who he can count on to be by his side (also cool that even in the bathroom, annabeth was technically still near him, even if she was, well, stalking him) and maybe this is my delusional ass talking, but annabeth being here is foreshadowing for me. i just think it’s a choice to have this epic revelation where they could easily have had percy standing alone in the middle of the lake but no, annabeth is also there and not only because she’s the one who led to that revelation but because she’s someone who isn’t intimidated by percy’s parentage and still can be beside him.

^ i adore this shot because 1) it shows us just how young and tiny percy is and 2) it tells us that maybe that door is so fucking huge because it’s being inclusive of centaurs and other giants of their world. also, symmetry strikes again!!! the colours are so well balanced, not bright and vibrant but on the pastel side that indicates an aged feel to them.

and lastly,

^ i just find it funny that a private academy like yancy has an official vehicle that looks as beat up and terribly malfunctioning as this. 😭 like this half van was so out of place i literally goggled at the screen when it first appeared.

okay, i’m done for now. i also really liked the faceless sally scene in the start paralleling medusa’s eventual beheading but i already made a post about it. this legitmately only covers about 10% of the shots i wanted to talk about but these might be my favourites. this was long af so if you read the whole thing, mad respect to you.

Grand Guignol

Wanted to write down my thoughts on this movie because it was AWESOME and I don't want to forget lol. Non-spoilery thoughts above the cut and spoilers below it.

First of all, the colouring of this film is gorgeous. Everything is in dull greys and navy blues and cream, except for the red, and the red is throughout. There's red roses, red lighting, red ties, red viscera, and so, so, so much blood. It makes for a really stunning watch, to see this heightened red spurt and colour the white clothing of the protagonists, and on their faces.

The cinematography is also a lot of fun. So many dirty shots, where the creepy decorations of this school sit in the foreground and the characters having a conversation are left blurred in the background. Quick, hard cuts, so it's not clear whether something was real or not.

And I love the tension being around what is real vs what is fake rather than jump scares. The way cinema and pranks and voyeurism is woven into this plot to make everything more confusing is so well done; it puts us in the same situation as the characters stuck in this school with no clear sense of what's happening or why.

Most of all this was just fun. It was a wild ride where gross, gory, discomforting, messy, and generally weird shit happened constantly lol and I really, really enjoyed the experience.

Cutting here because I couldn't help but spoil from here on out.

I also really love the subtext of the show re: queer as monstrous. There is a suggestion that at least two of these characters were sent to this school abandoned by their families in order to be sacrificed because they are gay, or queer in some sense. The other characters have stories about doing physical harm to those around them, but at the least for Kenta, it's implied that whatever is going on with him and dressing femme--i won't assume--is what got him sent here (this is early in the film so I'm not counting it as a spoiler).

I had to laugh at the excessive lube; Japan's lube game is always incredible. We never get a normal amount of lube in a Japanese BL, and I live for it.

Also really enjoyed the cannibalism subtext! Cannibalism is always such an interesting theme in horror because it's such a taboo. This felt very Rocky Horror-like with the constant viscera shots and the open questions on characters' faces about where it came from.

The message in this film was so fascinating. Normally we get the trope of 'you have to defeat yourself ' as a hero's journey to get past self-doubt in order to win. In this case, Itsuki tells us he was forced to participate in...it's not entirely clear, bullying and mutilation at the least. He seems traumatized by the experience, and it's not clear how much damage he did on his own. But by the end of the film, after the teacher gave him the gun and told him to defeat himself, he manages to move through whatever was holding him back, and he fully embraces doing violence to others. He kisses Teshio, when he was surprised by/recoils from the kiss from Kenta. He laughs, glories in, is freed by the way he mutilated Teshio's corpse, and flashes back to his memory of when he was "forced" to hurt his classmate in his old school, but this time he's similarly elated. He had some initial reaction to seeing Kenta in a dress and wig--Shinji wondered if he wanted to wear it himself--and after the cult dresses him in heels, a dress, and wig, he does not remove them even after he's free and limping in the heels to drag along that sledgehammer. In this case, the hero's journey is one to freedom from moral constraints, allowing in the monstrous--both murderous and queer--parts of Itsuki to overcome any fear or self-hate or physical limitations, and to be victorious. And then we get the final scene, with the uncertainty as to whether the entire film has been a play, whether the play is in Itsuki's mind, or whether it's a metaphor for the audience to represent what happens. I think the uncertainty is the point. The entire film has been messing with our ability to tell what's real and what's fake, and maybe in the end it doesn't matter. Itsuki is dead; whether metaphorically because he's mentally snapped, or literally because he's killed himself, or because the whole thing was a metaphor and he's embraced his weirdness and joined this weird club and found acceptance in this group that puts on horror plays...the Itsuki who was traumatized and terrified of himself is gone by the end of the film, he's defeated the enemy within. I loved that.

And there's something in this film about how it gets us to be interested in this weird friend group before it starts killing them off for the sake of... entertainment, a ritual, to free their parents of the embarrassment, it's not entirely clear which. But there's something implicit in the morality here that these characters are humanized before they're demonized, and that we are set up to see the ritual as cruel and the level of violence as undeserved. This part reminded me of Gang of Cherry; these kids are fucked up, and cruel, and weird, but don't deserve the even more fucked up and cruel situation they're in, which in turn makes them even more fucked up and cruel, until it's a twisted version of enlightenment, when all you are is cruel and fucked up, and delighting in the purity of the emotion.

Anyway that's way too much navel-gazing for what is essentially 1.5 hours of intentionally bad blood-spraying camp and actors who didn't kiss in their BLs kissing in this. Big fan.

If you want realism, sexiness (there is a sex scene but it is not what I would call sexy; it's intentionally discomforting/edged with tension), romance, or a happy ending in the traditional sense this is not for you. If you like campy horror, strategic cinematography, gratuitous gore, gratuitous tongues, being discomforted, psychological horror, and metaphors on metaphors, I think you'll enjoy.

✨Good Omens 2 Review✨

There’s so much to say I don’t really know where to start. After watching it I feel utterly and deeply satisfied. I expected this season to be great and I’m not disappointed. It goes beyond my wildest dreams. It’s just perfect. The cinematography, the music, the acting, the writing, everything is just top class. There’s drama, comedy, epic and it all blends in together very harmoniously to create a brilliant piece of television.

I remember being super excited when S2 was announced and when we got the first on set photos but it was nothing compared to the immense joy I felt when I saw my favourite angel and demon back on my screen. It was like meeting up with friends after a long time, it felt just right, like coming home.

I really love how vibrant the colours are this season, I find it extremely pleasing aesthetically speaking. I love that we get to see more of street where the bookshop is and simply more of the bookshop itself. And I’m sure there’s more to reveal. A round of applause for the people who worked hard to build all the various locations in a studio!

Regarding the story itself, I love how it is written and how it unfolds. It is very much about Crowley and Aziraphale but the other characters really have the opportunity to shine no matter the amount of screen time they have. One of my favourite things about S1 was the cold open in episode 3 so I’m thrilled that we get that in S2 with the minisodes. They were brilliant so a big shoutout to the talented people who wrote them!

Now about the characters, can we talk about how fucking amazing they are? I’ll start with Miranda Richardson’s Shax. I LOVE her, a perfect mix of comedy and badass. It’s in tune with Madame Tracy, her character from S1, despite them being two different characters.

In the “returning actor, different character” category Nina and Maggie are just fabulous, I just love them. I really love the wonderful dynamic the characters and actresses have.

As for the new characters, especially Mrs. Sandwich, Mr. Brown, and Pat, they may not have had that much screen time but they were just brilliant and really funny. Still in the new characters category, I am very fond of Muriel and Saraqael. Muriel because they’re the sweetest cupcake ever and Saraqael because the sass is incredible. So a big shoutout to these two wonderful actresses! And also a big shoutout to Shelley Conn for nailing the role of Beelzebub.

Now Crowley and Aziraphale, I didn’t think I could love those two idiots more than I already do but obviously I was wrong. And if anyone needed any more evidence that David Tennant and Michael Sheen are perfect for the roles then they should watch S2. I love how noticeable yet still subtle the changes in the characters and their relationship are. It’s just a natural progression. David and Michael already had incredible chemistry in S1 but in S2 it’s even more remarkable. Their off-screen friendship shines through and greatly contributes to making the connection between their characters even more genuine and believable. (I’ll write more about them/my theories later).

Now I’d like to quickly talk about two of my favourite things this season: the opening scene and episode 3.

That opening scene was everything. I didn’t expect to see Angel Crowley but what a delightful surprise! I cried because he’s just gorgeous and innocent. The pure delight and excitement he feels about creating stars is just so precious. I’m glad we got to see it and I really hope we’ll get to see more eventually.

Now episode 3 was just hilarious. The bits in Edinburgh had me in stitches. I’m beyond thrilled that David Tennant got to use his Scottish accent, it was music to my ears. And Crowley was just peak comedy. One of my favourite little details in that episode is the change in the telephone wallpaper, switching from the Union Jack to the Scottish flag. I see what you did there 👀🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Overall, my mind is blown and my heart is half in pieces and half holding on as best as it can. This new season is a little gem. I laughed and I cried but overall my heart was filled with joy because I got to see my favourite characters again. I wasn’t worried about what this new season would be like but I’m still really pleased to see that it’s Good Omens at heart. And I’m sure Terry would love it. It is truly a labour of love. Made by people who love the story and characters for people who love them just as equally. But also people who love their craft and love to share it with people who are just as eager as them. There are so many details that are so meaningful. And the Easter eggs, I spotted a few of them and I know there are more for me to discover. I also want to give a big shoutout to the costume department who made the wonderful costumes they are truly marvellous. A round of applause to Peter Anderson Studios for their wonderful designs. And also a special mention to David Arnold and his team for the delightful music. The theme variation for the end titles of episode 3 have special place in my heart. Bless me bagpipes it was glorious!

And finally a heartfelt thank you from the bottom of my heart to the wonderful people who made it all happen. Lots of love and gratitude from me. ♥️

@goodomensonprime @neil-gaiman

omg pine i also rewatched vincenzo recently and i noticed something rlly cool this time around, made me appreciate KHW's directing even more and you gotta know about bc idk if anyones ever talked about it. the entire show is shot in this distinct color palette and weve seen many shows use a certain palette in the directing (like the super vibrant hues in hdl) but i love what KHW did here. if u pay attention, so many shots, like almost the entire show uses cold blue tone and warm orange/golden/yellow tones in contrast, esp in indoor scenes. i always associated the show in general with blue and golden-ish colors but my mind is kinda blown now lol. if u know a bit about color theory these are at the exact opposite from each other on the wheel! KHW is using complementary color shemes. it also reminds me of the flame of a lighter, cold blue and warm golden light. vincenzo is starts out as a rather cold character but he finds warmth in life throughout the series as he meets the characters. COINCIDENCE??? I THINK NAWT😭😭😭

i definitely noticed the colour scheme because i made tons of gifs of the show but wow i never thought about it like that!!!! that is soooo cool my girl kim hee won always coming in clutch

i'm really just in awe of the directing this time around as well. not only because the cinematography is gorgeous but around the comedic scenes too? she lets the jokes breathe or these amazing character actors do their thing and the jokes land so much better idk how to explain it.

thank you for bringing this to my attention, this is so cool

Get to know me!

tagged by @elveny, let's see if I can get this done before I have to get out of bed (someone play me the world's smallest violin)

Share your wallpaper: So my PC is set to cycle through my XIV screenshot folder as its wallpaper, so here's my Chromebook (where I do all my writing) and my phone (where I do all my blogging) wallpapers instead!

A lovely comm from thetictactician on Twitter on my Chromebook!

and this amazing comm on my phone from Hollycircling on Twitter, I can't believe she indulged me and went this fucking hard but she did this. In a week.

The last song you listened to: Warrior by Beth Crowley (this is such a Jess song tbh)

Currently Reading:  Ok... so... I actually haven't read any sort of published novel since... 2011, with A Storm of Crows I think? So I used to read a shit ton, but it was 11th grade and my friends were like 'You're still reading kids books? Read something for grown ups instead' (I was rereading Percy Jackson at the time, my beloved). So I gave it a try with a 'grown up' fantasy series and... fuck GoT it was awful and I decided if that's what adult literature was like, I didn't want any part of it. So I quit reading entirely.

Last Movie: Bullet Train, months ago. I don't like watching movies - I'm huge into the behind the scenes stuff, cinematography, lighting, direction, costume design etc etc so it makes it hard to watch movies when my brain won't stop analyzing and criticizing everything (honestly modern cinema is so full of people just 'sending it' for the next big paycheck, the heart is just gone). But my husband insisted I watch this one and you know what? It was actually really well made, I was impressed.

Craving: More time. More time to finish these cosplays (Twelve have mercy the con is in a week and a half), more time to write, more time to decompress. Also craving a Chromebook/laptop/portable writing device that doesn't freeze when I type more than 5 letters in a row...

What are you wearing right now: My nightgown! (still in bed) It's got penguins on it and it's fucking adorable.

How tall are you: 5'5, idk what that is in the rest of the world. Americans, y'know.

Piercings: None, but I bought some super cute Ascian earrings last year and I've been really tempted to get my earlobes pierced.

Tattoos: None, not my thing but totally cool for everyone else!

Glasses? Contacts?: Lasik! Totally worth if you can do it.

Last drink: Choccy milk (I am an adult)

Last show: Last narrative-focused show? Uhhhhhh.... I watched the first season of The Walking Dead in 2012 and I legit can't think of anything more recent. I just don't enjoy watching things much, I'd rather be doing something, and I'm such a snob when it comes to screenwriting/characters that most things just don't appeal to me. Other than that the last non-scripted show I watched was Restaurant: Impossible.

Last thing you ate: An oatmeal chocolate chip cookie my sister made last night.

Favourite colour: Wine/burgundy! That deep, dark, blood red with just a hint of purple (in case you couldn't tell since it's the color my WoL wears in every outfit)

Current obsession: FFXIV lol

Unrelated Obsession: Unrelated? I'd say writing but that's kind of related... So, horses? I mean that's just always my obsession.

Any pets: Uh... yeah. I myself have two horses. And then... we have a shit ton of cats. So in 2020 strays kept showing up at our house and then they'd have babies, eventually we managed to catch them all and get them fixed and now some of them have chosen to move in. Shelters are full all across the state, rescues and fosters are full. So now we have... 10 cats that live inside (it's a large house) and then another six/seven that are still feral outside but fixed at least. Nothing much we can do about it, but keeping them inside keeps them safe and saves the wildlife outside, too.

Do you have a crush on anyone: An eternal crush on my husband. He's just amazing. Soft. Adorable. Handsome. Perfect. Goofy. Gorgeous. Smart. Creative. Loving. So many more words. 12 years together in May!

Favourite fictional character: Assuming player characters/WoLs don't count, Elena Fisher from Uncharted. She was the first female character I encountered who was just... normal. Not a token female, not sexualized eye candy, not walking boobs without a personality, she was... a real person, a real character in her own right, whose gender didn't change who she was. And I fell in love with that back in 2007 (I was in middle school then, so it was kind of a big deal for me). She only got better as the years went by, I still love her.

The last place you traveled: Depends on your definition of 'travel'. On a literal sense probably Portland, but since both that and Seattle are practically in my backyard I don't really count those. Other than that, Philadelphia I think, for a wedding.

TAGGING! Oh so many people should do this. Off the top of my head, if you'd like to... @ainyan, @mimble-sparklepudding, @boggleoflight, @tallbluelady, @humblemooncat, @dragoon-mid-jump, @otherworldseekers, @aethericfist and now I'm out of time and have to get ready for work so anyone else who sees this! Sorry I was tagging in a hurry, I know a lot of you are character/RP blogs so feel free to ignore.

John Wick Chapter 4, more than any of the previous films is visually stunning. The cinematography is simply beautiful in its composition, lighting, colour & production dressing. I want a book filled with high resolution screencaps of the whole movie. And it is fucking maddening that it will NEVER win any prestigious awards bcos lols the fucking academy. Everything is also BEAUTIFULLY colour coded.

What I'm impressed by is how even DURING action scenes/movement scenes the composition of shots is still so stunning.

URGH. SO GORGEOUS.

6, 14, 17, 24 for the FT ask game 💖💖

6. What is your favourite parallel/reference in the show?

Since seeing the finale, it's definitely that “promise you won't write” “I won't” moment that mirrors episode 5. 🥹😭🥲 ARE THEY SAYING THEY WON'T WRITE OR THEY WON'T PROMISE, CAUSE ARGHHH.

14. Do you have any unpopular opinions about Fellow Travelers?

Spoke a little about my struggles with Hawk earlier, but thinking more on 50s Hawk. And I know it's easier said than done. But that his need to stick it to his dad in episode 2 (which, I really loved him in that scene omg but still) kinda ruined everything? Idk, I feel like he could've easily lied, as he does with everyone else in almost every other aspect of his life, and as he tells Tim to learn to do in episode 5.

Could've cashed in that inheritance, and then have a gorgeous more truthful life in Italy with Skippy. A life like the one he talked about in episode 2 when they were in bed near the beginning... and at the end of that same episode he forced Tim to betray himself and write that lie of a letter... Just- I know the thing with his dad is very very personal, and why he couldn't. I just wanted to shake him so bad there. He of course did find a surrogate dad in Lucy Smith's father, a man who's also disgusted with who he is (and who would probably react not too dissimilar to his own dad, if he knew). Anyway, end of my rant.

17. Do you have recommendations of books, series, films or other media similar to Fellow Travelers?

I've been thinking and I can't think of anything too similar that I've consumed recently (I need recs from others tbh)! Of course there's a lot of heartbreaking gay shows/films. One thing that randomly comes to mind is Blue Is The Warmest Colour, now be warned it's a long ass french movie. But same-sex pairing, one is older, one comes from a more 'well-off' family, one is trying to hide the relationship, there's a time jump, several many heartbreaking moments, beautiful cinematography. Uhh what else, there are some v long nsfw scenes 👀 (some may say uncomfortably long and gratuitous; I don't say this but be warned) ermm, maybe not one to watch with others. But anyway that film lives in my head rent free and I desperately need more edits of it to exist, if anyone does watch - enjoy and *hands you tissues for your tears*.

24. Bonus question: if you were a character in Fellow Travelers, who would you be and why?

I'm probably Mary, cause I'd be dramatically pointing out to Tim every time Hawk is being frustrating 🙄 (love him tho but grr hahaha).

FT ask game

Saltburn

WOW. I had incredibly high expectations for this film going in and this is overall probably my second most anticipated film of the year, only second to Across the spider verse. I thought each trailer for this film was captivating and incredible, showing off the beautiful cinematography without giving away the plot and keeping mysteries hidden. Despite my high excitement and anticipation this film exceeded my already high expectations.

To start off with this film is simply gorgeous. The aspect ratio of this film is 1.33:1 which the director herself claims is to give an intruding sense to the film, make the audience feel like they are peeping in and only catching some of what is happening, it is genius. The saturation is great making all the colours really pop as shown in the images I've used the pinks and reds are visually striking. There are multiple reflection shots including the dinning table and also the river, these shots are the most obviously beautiful but there are gorgeous shots constantly, even simple close ups have such memorable lighting, the film having multiple scenes in clubs and parties allowing for intense blue, red and green lighting.

The plot and twists will be the most admired part of this film for sure. At first it seems like a simple story of an unlikely friendship between Felix and Oliver, a popular boy and a nerd at university together, they learn each others secrets and grow closer through their time at university. Oliver reveals his parents trouble with addiction and his desire to never return home leading to him going to Saltburn with Felix. Tensions rise in Saltburn as Oliver has sex with Felix's sister and has a rivalry with Farley. When watching the trailers I predicted the twist would be that the residents of Saltburn were some sort of cult Oliver had been dragged into, something reminiscent of Get Out... Oh was I wrong. The first twist reveals Oliver had lied about his entire family life, he has a stable wealthy family that loves him and multiple siblings, he was never an abused only child. Oliver pleads with Felix telling him he wanted to seem interesting and put on a performance for him, this twist makes Oliver seem very unlikeable and manipulative, making the audience question his decisions throughout the film. Before this reveal the film was doing an excellent job as illustrating the evolution of his character, changing from a shy nerd into someone bold and manipulative, having sex with both Farley and Felix's sister, he becomes more confident in himself. Then each member of the family begins to die, Felix seemingly dies of alcohol poisoning or an overdose, Venetia commits suicide, the father then dies of old age years after as the mother reconnects with Oliver after all that time. We then reach the REAL twist, Oliver unplugs the mother's life support and its revealed he caused every death, he forged an email so Farley would get kicked out and tricked everyone the entire film, Oliver acts as a perfect wolf with sheep's clothing and Barry Keoghan provides an excellent performance that portrays his hatred yet deep disturbing love for Felix and the family.

All the performances are great, especially Barry Keoghan himself and Rosemond Pike. The side cast of this film is stacked having Reese Shearsmith, Carey Mulligan, Richard E Grant and even Aemon's actor from House of the Dragon, a very talented main and side cast.

The one major problem I can see people having with this film is the very overtly sexual aspects. There are multiple masturbation scenes, including one of Oliver stripping down and masturbating over Felix's grave, these scenes are long and don't hide anything. They are very disturbing and weird but fit with the character and portray him as a psychotic freak, I think these scenes work because they aren't glorified. A good direct comparison for me is Call me By your Name's peach scene and Saltburn's bath scene. In Call me by your name Chalamet's character has sex with a peach and the audience is show most of it, then his love interest comes in, grabs the peach and begins sucking it, this scene is weird and disgusting and feels out of place in a film so focused on romance. Comparatively, Saltburn has Felix masturbate in the bath then leave, Oliver then begins sucking the left over water up. Despite these scenes seeming similar Saltburn works as it presents how obsessive and strange Oliver is, foreshadowing and building towards the reveal of his psychotic actions. The framing of this scene also presents it as a terrible act, having intense close ups and suspenseful music.

Saltburn is sinister, surreal, sexual and sensational.

A Very Personal Best (And Worst) Of 2022

I'm not really one who does summaries at New Year's but this has been A Year so.

Long story short, I have a depressive disorder and crashed quite a bit in the spring, and I usually self-medicate with obsessive re-reading of classics (don't ask me how many times I've read Persuasion) and watching TV. Yes, I also do proper medication and such. Anyway. The last time I was getting myself through a depressive episode I watched unbelievably many hours of various restorations (even some Baumgartner, who's painfully unprofessional) and history shows. This time I apparently opted for things with a narrative instead.

I.e. live action BL.

Oh lordy lord, it's been A Year for certain

Biggest surprise

Back in April I went "Oh, it seems Thailand has managed to make a live action BL that looks fun. Maybe I should watch an episode"

...the first episode hit me about as hard as Porsche kicks, I'm still not okay in the slightest

Is KinnPorsche The Series full of flaws? Sure. Is it nonetheless the most fun I've had watching a TV show since, oh, 2010 or so with BBC's absurd Robin Hood (featuring biker aesthetic Guy of Gisbourne and a delightful sheriff of Nottingham)? Is the acting gorgeous? Is the cinematography gorgeous?

Oh yes.

Since live action BL evidently had come some way since I last had a look I dipped further into it. Which lead to:

Best TV show not necessarily airing in 2022 but that was when I watched it

We Best Love. And it really shouldn't be. On paper, it ticks so many of the boxes that made me rage-stop reading BL years ago: unmotivated rivalry, pissy hothead uke, the page boy trope, the i-saw-you-years-ago-and-we-are-meant-to-be trope (this is one I absolutely hate), unnecessary conflict, you name it it was in there.

And it works.

It works partly because director Ray Jiang doesn't work everything into the ground. The unnecessary conflict grows much less unnecessary. The unmotivated rivalry finds a bit of motivation and it gets resolved, which also handles the uke trope. The meant-to-be shit doesn't get rubbed into the audience's faces (okay, my face specifically). It's elegant. It's well paced. There's none of the clobbering the audience with the trope sledgehammers. It's a gentle trope massage where you (well, I) end up losing quite a bit of your (well, my) loathing of the tropes.

The rest of the reason why WBL works so marvellously well is Sam Lin and Yang Yu Teng, whose chemistry puts most other screen couple chemistries in the history of screen couples to shame. They electrify the show, in every scene they have together.

Extra kudos to WBL for underwater scenes that aren't threadbare kisses.

and also

Best throwback to when the world was fresh and new and I hadn't tired of the classic yaoi tropes

Minato Shouji Coin Laundry. I just liked the colours on the posters I saw before it started airing, thinking this looks like it has a cinematography I tend to find very beautiful, so I gave it a go.

The script is basically a list of tropes I don't enjoy, though. Including "I have loved you at a distance for a fuckton of years so clearly we're supposed to be together", fuck off already, the only thing worse than that shit is "we were lovers in another life so clearly we can't go looking elsewhere but have to be together in this".

I loved every minute of it.

That almost annoys me, but everything is just so toned down beautiful, the kind of colouring where you can almost taste the air, and I'm so easy when it comes to appealing cinematography. I'm also evidently terribly easy when I really like what the cast gets out of annoying characters. I'd like to punch Minato for being a waffling wibbling overgrown child but I adore him because Takuya Kusakawa does an amazing job playing him. I'd like to punch the seme looming out of Shin but I adore him because Sho Nishigaki does an amazing job playing him.

I'll reluctantly admit that it dragged on a bit, but it was pretty all the time.

I don't really do things halfway so I've been catching up on the last few years and various milestone BLs. In some cases it was a slog, in others a delight (Between Us, The Eclipse, Color Rush, Choco Milk Shake, Old Fashion Cupcake, Utsukushii Kare, I Told Sunset About You, Semantic Error, A Man Who Defies The World Of BL, Big Dragon, do I count His or is that too arthouse? and more).

Which brings me to

Worst realisation as I looked at my Completed list on MDL just now

MyDramaList says I've watched 240 hours worth of BL/queer films and shows in 2022. I'm. What. How. Okay, I often watch a 45 minute episode of something before going to bed, and there's been a binge watch or ten, but. HOW.

Aaaand I still have some catching up to do and it would be really nice to find time to watch the second season of Alice in Borderland too.

"Those thirty cans of pineapple had left me feeling queasy, so I went to a bar."

I liked the part with the kittens.

An intriguing blend of noir melodrama and cute, quirky romance. Not at all what I expected it to be, especially after the crime thriller vibes of the first part. I loved the concept of two people brushing past each other in a bustling city and having their lives intertwined from that moment.

Fascinating cinematography, with gorgeous colours and interesting slow motion and time-lapse shots to depict emotional states and isolation within a crowded city. The shot of him sadly smoking while Faye stared at him wistfully was particularly beautiful. I also really liked when he was waiting at the restaurant and slowly inserted a coin into the jukebox while the world rushed on around him.

The soundtrack was great, but man did they ever over-play California Dreaming. In one scene it barely made it past the first verse before it started over from the beginning. I get that it was meant to be the theme to her character and ultimately their relationship, but there is a point of saturation and they far exceeded it.

I can't claim the story was unrealistic; I too would fall in love with Faye Wong if I spoke a small handful of sentences to her over the course of days and then learned she had been secretly living in my apartment and replacing my belongings. Some of the things she did bordered on completely unhinged, but her intentions were sweet and it was still very cute.

Chungking Express' two stories might seem somewhat uneventful, but on an emotional level they are as bustling as the sleepless city around them. It's hard to explain the gamut of things this movie made me feel deeply, but I enjoyed each one of them. It's the feeling that there may be real love, beyond the ennui of everything, and one day you may find it just 0.01cm away from you.

An excellent examination of chance encounters and finding love in crowded spaces.

Movie Review | So Sweet... So Perverse (Lenzi, 1969)

I watched Umberto Lenzi’s Knife of Ice a few days ago, partially inspired by a half-remembered memory of Lenzi taking shots at Dario Argento during an interview. (For better or worse, these shots were not literal.) I had a few takeaways. Among them were that Lenzi actually could be a decent director if he applied himself, and that I liked stepping into the world of giallos enough that there’s a limit to how meaningfully I can really assess them, and that the strains of influence in that movie were pretty pronounced. Now, one of the claims Lenzi made in that interview is that even though Argento gets all the credit, it was really Lenzi who came up with the genre. So to test his claim, and inspired by an internet compatriot’s own exploration into Lenzi’s work, I decided to watch one of his movies that preceded Argento’s directorial efforts, and chose this.

What’s interesting that this isn’t really a giallo, or at least not in the fully formed state that one could associate with The Bird With the Crystal Plumage only a year later. For the record, I’m not saying that the genre materialized out of thin air with that movie, but merely noting that this has a transitory quality that makes it worthwhile in its own right. You take this movie, and you put beside it a Claude Chabrol thriller from the same era, and you drop in maybe The Lickerish Quartet and Camille 2000 by Radley Metzger, and you grab a Franco from the shelf, maybe Succubus, and while you have that one handy, why not also throw in some of Godard’s more colourful ‘60s efforts, or maybe even a Bond movie from the far cabinet? You place these movies close together, and realize that, even though these are movies we often look back on as being a part of different genres or movements, they are maybe not so far apart in how they look and sound. For a few years there, there was something of an overarching atmosphere of sexy, swingin’ European vibes hanging over the movies.

And I think that should give you a sense of what this movie’s like. Lots of handsome widescreen cinematography, lots of stylish, modish decor, and a cast of gorgeous women (Carroll Baker, Erika Blanc and Helga Line, who does not have the weird root vegetable makeup she sported in Nightmare Castle) and men who probably can’t be trusted or at least have too many secrets. In that sense, casting Jean-Louis Trintignant as the lead is an astute choice, despite not registering as remotely sexy (at least to this straight male viewer) but good at playing almost pathologically buttoned down. Where the movie goes won’t be a huge surprise if you read anything about this movie, but the sense of shock is further suppressed, as Lenzi directs the whole thing with an air of upper class detachment. These characters are so comfortable and complacent that they’ll do anything to alleviate their boredom, even if it involves a little murder.

In that sense, I think it’s sort of interesting to examine the presence of animal deaths in his work. Quite frankly, it’s an aspect that I could very much do without, but it’s very much present in the cannibal movies he’s best known for, and popped up in Knife of Ice as well. But here, it seems to click as an actual element of his world view. There are a number of scenes where characters nonchalantly hunt birds (which is probably less off putting to most than the more gruesome scenes in the other movies), sometimes not even paying attention where their guns are pointed. These characters seem so dulled by their wealth that their killing of these animals barely raises their pulse. There’s maybe some kind of class critique here (Lenzi also gives some of the men ascots, which is universally recognized shorthand for “rich asshole”), although given Lenzi’s willingness to indulge in this trope in his other work, it might have been worth turning the camera at himself.

He only sporadically interrupts this atmosphere with bursts of style (one scene has a camera swirling as if going down the drain, followed by slow motion in red), meaning that it never dissolves the barrier between the literal and the subconscious and psychological the way more defined giallos can do, even as the characters’ psyches deteriorate. And the movie’s relative bloodlessness means that it rarely offers the kind of thrills one might seek from a horror movie. But as an attractive, low energy suspense piece, this is relatively diverting.

the last landscape was one of my favourite films I’ve ever been a part of! my group was just insanely talented and cool. I suppose this is me reflecting on it. the problem with blogging is that I’m unable to do it at the same time as all the exciting stuff I am doing, so I lose track of what I’ve actually recorded!

director - KATIE COX (that’s me!)

writer/editor - BONNIE SANDERSON

producer - BETH LINDSAY

cinematographer - EVA MAGDIĆ GOVEDARICA

sound - ORLA MURRAY

production design - AIMEE COMBE

I am so proud of our team. the film echoes so much of the love and passion we had for Bonnie’s script. The first time I read The Last Leaf, I cried, and I wanted to create something with that power. I think we succeeded there! (I’m looking at you Bethany!! ;) )

Once Bonnie had written the gorgeous script, Eva got to work storyboarding everything (I don’t think be ever seen such beautiful storyboards haha). I have a lot to learn from someone like Eva, who is really deft at creating a vision extremely accurately. She’s very organised and able to see shots where I don’t really. I envy her talent, and her dedication to the lighting and filters for the cinematography was something that really came through in our film. It is so visually stunning, and I’m so glad we incorporated the ratio change we talked about.

Our shoot days were chaotic and long, and my bedroom was transformed into the set (I wouldn’t reocmmend this as it was a bit intrusive) but we didn’t really have much choice. Thanks Mary and Parsley for letting us run a bit riot in the house….

In the middle of shooting days, some incidents happened which meant we were unable to shoot on one of the days. So we shot this whole thing in two days, which now I think about it, is insane. Some equipment didn’t work (to be expected) but other than that, it was mostly smooth.

Millie and Sam were lovely to work with, and were great at taking on my feedback. they are very talented and the film would not be what it is without them. I was especially impressed at Millie’s ability to nail Joanna’s conflicting character, because she’s strangely jolly but also desperately sad at her illness. She did that effortlessly! Adam (Eva’s boyfriend), was also incredibly helpful and supportive, cheers adam! Ben Mcmorran was the most sturdy AC on the day, I know he was incredibly invested in this project because he wasn’t able to adapt the last leaf himself. I really appreciated his support, and his general cheerful attitude. He’s clearly very experienced at this. Love ya ben!

Beth produced this film, and I am always impressed by how organised she is. She is ON IT! This gal is a natural. She was so helpful during this, organising everything so it all felt really smooth. Aimee had a really hard task in production design, and I hope she didn’t feel to overstepped because we all had to assist a bit, as it was literally a HUGE production in terms of props. There’s no way one person could’ve done it, but what she did do was really beautiful and worked so well in the film, so thank you Aimee!! Orla’s sound design was stunning, she did it so quickly, and consulted bonnie and I for feedback. Her talent is clear, she’s always on it, and she is so sweet and kind to me as well. cheers orla for the moral support! She also achieved history when she allegedly made Ben spit some beans for foley sounds… (almost glad I wasn’t there to see it….) Bonnie’s editing was really stunning. Her pacing was spot on and I really enjoyed seeing the project come together with her edit. Eva did some colour grading (quickly and seemingly effortlessly, still don’t know how) and I came in later to mask the windows and mirrors in DaVinci too.

Thanks also to Ava Brimilcombe-Cowie, my friend and extremely talented artist! I couldn’t resist featuring her work, and I think it really helped the mise-en scene. Peer also, your landscape was both necessary and beautiful so thank you! Lucy Smith also helped us as an art director and she was really helpful! At the beach, we got approached by Arina Brovanova, a composer from London, who wrote a most stunning score for the film! It was so by chance and so gorgeous (and Orla incorporated it beautifully too).

In the screening, I wish the sound could have been louder because I feel that a lot of Orla’s work was lost, but it was there just about! We got both praise and critique for our ambition, and Eva’s ‘natural’ lighting, both in that it was a good attempt but hard to pull off, so didn’t work every time. We got mostly very kind feedback, and all the critiques made sense too.

As a first time director, I feel really proud of this project. I still need to be more confident and assertive. It all comes with experience I realise, and I know I will gain that. I’m not a very dictatorial director (which I suppose is a good thing) because I would always rather compromise and actually find the best action. For a debut ;) I’m super proud! But I would be completely insane to think this wasn’t an entire team effort, and I am so impressed again and again with our group. I absolutely would’ve fallen apart at multiple points if I hadn’t had them. Thank you guys :’) I will not forget this in a hurry.

'The 1999 movie Talented Mr. Ripley will always be one of our favourites. The glistening Italian sea; the gorgeous Jude Law. It's just so perfect. And now that Netflix is releasing a retelling of the original, a TV series called Ripley with Andrew Scott in the titular role, we just have one question: why exactly is it filmed in black and white?

A Netflix adaptation of a novel-turned-movie is nothing new; you only have to look at One Day to know they're great at it. The latest project to get the revival treatment is Ripley, with the streaming service's synopsis explaining, "A grifter is drawn into a world of wealth and privilege after taking a unique job in Italy. But to seize the life he wants, he must build a web of lies."

The TV series follows Andrew Scott as Tom Ripley, who is tasked with bringing Dickie Greenleaf (played by Johnny Flynn) back from Europe to America by his wealthy father. Dakota Fanning plays his girlfriend, Marge.

One of the changes from the original story is that the new eight-parter is shot in black and white, meaning every single scene is monochrome. This, unsurprisingly, was a purposeful decision, with the show's writer-director Steven Zaillian telling Variety it all stemmed from his copy of the original novel by Patricia Highsmith.

"The edition of the Ripley book I had on my desk had an evocative black-and-white photograph on the cover," he explained. "As I was writing, I held that image in my mind. Black and white fits this story — and it’s gorgeous.

"I also felt that this story — the one that she told, the one that I wanted to tell — was quite sinister and quite dark,” he added. "I just couldn’t imagine that taking place in a beautiful Italian setting with bright blue skies and colourful outfits and things like that."

Andrew Scott also referenced how the monochrome aesthetic helps to portray the mood of the series, adding to IndieWire, "Knowing that the black and white nature of cinematography marries in some way with the pacing and the tone of the show, also means that it allows us as actors just to be."

So there you go.

Ripley premieres on Netflix on the 4th April.'

Shadow (2018)

Zhang Yimou’s Shadow has a lot going on visually. So much that you might not grasp it all. Between the expertly choreographed fight scenes, gorgeous cinematography, lavish sets, costumes that’ll make your jaw drop and the epic Chinese wuxia storyline, you won't know what to focus on unless the material is somewhat familiar to you. It’s an exercise in storytelling that shows off what the director has to offer when he’s in top form.

Years ago, the kingdom of Pei lost the important city of Jingzhou to the kingdom of Yang in a duel between Commander Ziyu (Deng Chao) and Yang Can (Hu Jun). Ever since, Ziyu has plotted to reclaim the city and get his revenge. His plan - a complex set of moves which involve his body double (also played by Deng Chao) and wife, Xiao Ai (Sun Li) - goes against the will of the king (Zheng Kai), who will do anything - even offer his sister (Guan Xiatong) as tribute - to maintain the peace.

Think of this film as China’s equivalent of Macbeth. Not in terms of plot, but in terms of feel. You've got these deeply-running schemes and all-or-nothing gambits fuelled by a mixture of pride and opportunity. Every action sends dominos falling in unexpected directions - or so it seems. Like Shakespeare’s work, this may make the story difficult to follow at first. The opening text screen talks about a third kingdom the Yang and Pei kingdoms united against before Pei lost Jingzhou. That third kingdom? Doesn’t impact the plot at all, it’s there to establish this world’s foundation and because this story is based on the classic 14th century historical novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” which you’re probably not familiar with but everyone in China has seen interpreted in countless ways.

Though it isn’t essential to fully understand the concepts of Yin and Yang or the forces associated with them to enjoy the film, knowing a little will unlock a deeper appreciation for the artistry on display. I’ll admit I had to so don’t be shy. Understanding the symbolism of an umbrella, water, and femininity vs. that of fire, masculinity and a straightforward weapon like a spear makes things much more interesting. Suddenly, that giant Yin Yang arena the warriors battle upon takes on a whole other meaning. It’ll also make you understand why so many of the characters in this film seem… so reasonable. Even the villains are a mixture of black-and-white, a decision that’s very much intentional.

Let’s say you don’t catch all the symbolism upon a first viewing. What does Shadow offer for you? Awesome battles whose outcomes are unpredictable and breathtaking visuals. Is that enough? It will be. The colours are so desaturated you'll wonder if the film was originally shot in black-and-white. There is colour there, however, and it evokes the look of ink drawings. It’s moody and makes you think of ancient powers whose reverberations still impact our world. One look at a set or a character unleashes a deluge of information. Even if you don’t know what the movie is actually about, you understand where everyone stands because what’s here is largely universal in a primeval kind of way. It's familiar without being predictable.

The more Shadow sits with me, the more I like it. Initially drawn in by the story and the action, I’m now enchanted by the symbolism. This is the kind of movie you’ll rewatch and always discover something new. (Original Mandarin with English subtitles, April 3, 2020)