#how has david never even been nominated | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nightgoodomens · 1 month

Note

I completely agree that Michael deserved a nomination and that you can't think of one without thinking of the other, but I wish Neil had phrased it differently, because a lot of people are taking his post as a chance to bitching about David. I’m spotting a bunch of Crowley’s haters in the comments so maybe it’s about that… I don't think there is anyone happier than Michael with David’s nomination, so I don’t understand why trying to put one against the other.

This is why I didn’t reblog Neil’s full post 😅 I wouldn’t think twice about it normally but seeing the stupid shit people are saying and attacking David (sure go after a dude who has never been nominated and who keeps on acting like he doesn’t deserve anything and even his wife cuts his wings constantly) Neil’s post rubbed me the wrong way because it sounded wrong and I knew twats will jump on it.

Can David have ONE day just about him? Or does he always need to share it with someone? It’s exhausting.

These are the same people who have been tearing Crowley to shreds and reducing him to nothing because they can’t accept that people criticised Aziraphale so they lash out. Now it’s extending to David. I hate this place sometimes :(

Michael has been David’s biggest supporter and fan and he’d be heartbroken to see people pitching them and their characters against each other. I’d bet my ass that David was the first one to say Michael should have been nominated because we know David is exactly that type of a person, and Michael was first to scream in his ear how happy he is and how well deserved it is that David is finally recognised. Michael wouldn’t be singing praises since the beginning of time about David and showing his disappointment when he wasn’t nominated to now not be ecstatic about it finally happening.

David had done a gorgeous, amazing, fantastic job as Crowley. The last 15 minutes are breathtaking. The way he completely loses himself in the character. The mannerism. The swagger. The sarcasm, the teasing, the expressions, we can read him so well even though his eyes are covered majority of the time. The way he served all his lines. He’s fucking brilliant as Crowley and I want him celebrated for it.

I understand that Neil was picking on the whole “yin and yang” but David deserved this nomination simply for *his* performance too, Michael or not. He went through it all in season 2.

Let him be celebrated on his own for once. Bloody hell. Why does it always have to be about someone else.

#NightGoodOmens answers

42 notes · View notes

baronetcoins · 1 year

Text

So. The US has a speaker of the house(*). If you've seen the memes floating around for the past few days, you might find yourself wondering: how did that happen? Buckle in folks, this was a bit of a ride.

(*) for now

When we last left our... main characters, Kevin McCarthy had failed an 11th ballot to be elected speaker, down 20 Republican votes when he could afford a maximum of five defectors. The house then voted to adjourn until 12 eastern time on January 6th. Overnight, some deals happened, because for the first time since day 1 there was a significant movement in votes. Round 12 saw 14 of the representatives who had previously been defectors voted for McCarthy—not enough to give him the speakership (lmao, imagine?), but enough to prove his chances of victory weren't entirely dead. Important for later, three representatives were absent—Ken Buck (R-Colorado), Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), and David Trone (D-Maryland).

Round 13 went much the same in actual voter count, with one more of the never-Kevins peeling off to vote for McCarthy, though it was the first round in which there was not another republican candidate formally nominated. Trone came out of his voluntary surgery to vote for Hakeem Jeffries, and there was a motion to adjourn so the republican caucus could continue haggling, which passed. Setting the house up to reconvene at 10 pm eastern time, and some of the most dramatic hours we've seen in this whole glorious train wreck.

Signs suggested Kevin was feeling good—when asked why he felt confident he had the votes to clinch this, he responded "because I count." Two of the more notorious never-Kevins (Boebert and Gaetz) seemed open to negotiating. The press reported Buck and Hunt would be returning for the evening vote. A cart loaded with giant boxes of Five Guys burgers rolled into the speaker's office.

The hours pass. 10 pm rolls around, and the air is thick with anticipation. The house chaplain offers a prayer in which she suggests the gridlock may finally be over. Patrick McHenry (R-North Carolina) gives a nominating speech for McCarthy with not one but two jokes that fell extraordinarily flat, all the while wearing a bow tie.

Now, the votes for speaker are conducted as roll call votes. The poor, probably underpaid, long-suffering house clerk reads off the name of each representative in alphabetical order, then goes through a second time calling the name of any representative who didn't vote the first time. This takes... a while, but what it means is that when you know who's vote to watch, you spend a while in anticipation of that person's name being called, listening to the alphabet.

The other thing to understand, as this gets deep into the weeds, is a little more of the nuts and bolts of how the count works. The speaker of the house is elected by a majority of the votes cast—that is to say, the number of representatives-elect who vote for a name instead of not voting or voting present, divided by half, plus one.

M = [ (# reps elect - # of reps elect not voting - # of reps elect voting present)/2 ] + 1

The US House, while normally filled with 435 reps, currently has 434, due to one death. 212 of those are democrats, the remainder are republicans. If all 434 vote, the threshold for a majority is 218 (434/2, +1). If, say, two members vote present and everyone else votes, the threshold is 217.

The remaining detractors were Biggs, Boebert, Crane, Gaetz, Good, and Rosendale. Biggs, first on the list, voted for a non-Kevin guy, Jordan. Boebert, second in line, voted present. This was a difference that got audible applause from the chamber. For one brief, beautiful, shining moment, it seemed like we might have a resolution. And then Crane votes for Biggs, which. Fine. Kevin can spare a few losses. And then, Gaetz doesn't. vote. Not voting present, which is a different thing. He just lets the first round skip him. Good votes for Jordan. Rosendale votes for Biggs. At which point, the math is as follows. 434 congresspeople, 432 votes, 217 to win. McCarthy has 216 votes. It all comes down to Gaetz: if he votes for McCarthy, Kevin wins. Anything else, and we're doing this again.

Gaetz. Votes. Present.

At first, this gets cheers and claps. And I look at my mom, who's watching the vote with me, and wonder "what the fuck?" The reaction makes me doubt my math. The floor is in chaos. Pretty quickly, it seems people realize that McCarthy is not, in fact, speaker of the house. Kevin runs back towards Gaetz and starts "negotiating" (fig 1)

Fig. 1: things get heated

A democrat heckles from the distance, yelling "On your knees!" To Kevin as he approached Gaetz. There are calls for order. Mike Rogers, R-Alabama, has to be physically dragged away from Gaetz (fig 2)

Fig. 2: lol, and furthermore, lmao

All this, followed by a motion to adjourn until Monday that at first appears to be successful, until Kevin runs to the front to tell members to change their votes. It appears a deal has been struck—and ballot 15 proves it. All the remaining holdouts vote present, lowering the threshold to 215, and allowing Kevin's 216 votes to take him over the line. Truly, our long national nightmare has come to a middle.

What does this mean? Probably bad things. The rules package and committee assignments are yet to be formalized (that'll come on Monday), but expect the house ""freedom"" caucus to be more or less running the show (*) (*pending a long and bloody battle over the rules, which is, IMO, still on the table).

I could go through the speeches, but it's 2:30 am and I've got a flight tomorrow so I would literally Rather Perish so instead, to conclude, i'll leave you with this.

(3: source)

#kevin mccarthy #speaker of the house #us politics #poliscicomm #I am not a journalist I am not an expert I am some dweeb with a fraction of a polisci degree and an unhealthy enthusiasm for cspan #so grain of salt #but for everyone who was asking me what happened: here #this really undersells how chaotic it felt #anyway if anyone *really* wants to hear my thoughts on the speeches send me an ask and I'll rewatch them like next week

195 notes · View notes

giantmushyfriend · 1 month

Text

I know we all like to joke about how David is racking up bragging points over Michael first with the DILF list and now getting a BAFTA nomination for GOs2 while Michael didn't, but can we get mushy for a second? Because I cannot picture a world where Michael, someone who has won a BAFTA, was not genuinely thrilled and so incredibly proud when he saw his best friend, who has never even been nominated despite being deemed a national treasure, nominated for a project they bonded over. I cannot picture a world where Michael did not immediately call or text David and gush about how proud he was of him, congratulate him on a well-overdue nomination, and tell him how much his friendship means to him. I cannot picture a world where the Shennantburgs didn't probably have a small celebration for David, complete with wine and cake. I cannot picture a world where Anna doesnt boasts about David's nominations like Georiga does or where Georgia doesn't boost the shit out of Michael's accomplishments as well. I cannot picture a world where these two families do not celebrate each other's achievements so earnestly- where they aren't friends.

I love them so much.

I love my celebrity platonic polycule.

#michael sheen #david tennant #david and michael #georgia tennant #anna lundberg #the sheenantburgs #Michael most likely offered to give David a little smooch as a nomination present #they love each other #platonically of course

17 notes · View notes

sreegs · 8 months

Note

tumblr has never been a profitable site, right? Even when David was heading things, has there ever been a point when the ship was (nominally) more stable than it is currently?

Given that tumblr was acquired 4 years ago, do you have any guess at how much longer they might allow the site to bleed money?

Yes, there was a time when Tumblr was on a trajectory to be profitable way back in like 2015/2016. I talk about it here.

As for how much longer it's allowed to bleed, I couldn't give you an answer. It's at the whim of the current CEO and the board because Automattic's a private company.

#tumblr

48 notes · View notes

x-populuxe · 1 year

Text

my year in fic: 2022

Following the format of my 2021 year in fic, here’s everything I wrote this year: ~77K words over 4 stories. (I also wrote ~40K words of a few unpublished WIPs, and I am putting this here for public accountability to finish those early in the new year lol.)

I really loved writing these stories; several of them were things I never would have written if it hadn’t been for various fests/prompts. Thank you again to everyone who continues to organize and participate in them!!

1) “Correspondence” Charles/Erik, 13K words, Charles POV over the course of a single day The third installment in my XMFC canon-divergent series “No Steady State”

Summary: It may be the weekend, but there’s a letter Charles really must reply to before getting ready for their far more enticing evening plans.

2) “What We Inherit” Gen (David & Charles), 20K words, modern/still powered AU & what I’ve been describing as a non-romantic (father-son) slow burn Written for X-Men Rare Pairs 2022

Summary: Ever since David came to live with his father, their relationship has been polite but distant: his father is always working, and David still sort of thinks of him as Charles Xavier, The World’s Most Famous Telepath, a larger-than-life figure he first saw on television five years ago.

But when the grandmother David never knew existed calls and demands to meet her grandson, a harrowing weekend trip reveals how much he and his father don’t know about each other—and alters things between them in ways he never would have predicted.

3) “Unlived Histories (The Double Vision Remix)” Charles/Erik, 18K words, time travel/alternate history A remix of “The Cost of a Good Man” by arcapelago, written for X-Men Remix Madness 2022

Summary: When he was a boy, a man visited Erik and his mother and helped them escape before the war. Years later, Erik finally learns the man’s identity—but the truth is far more complicated than he ever could have imagined.

4) “to put the world between us” Charles/Erik, 25K words, modern/still powered actor AU Written for Secret Mutant Madness 2022

Summary: Erik Lehnsherr is one of the hottest actors in Hollywood: fresh off an Academy Award nomination, he’s about to star in HBO’s most anticipated show of the year. And even though online chatter about his recent string of queer roles keeps getting louder, his personal life remains personal—just as it always has, and just as his manager and publicist continue to advise.

But when he winds up at the same wedding as his college best friend, Charles Xavier—and when they quickly fall into bed together—he’s forced to revisit the past he’s been trying to get away from for years. The pull between them has always been magnetic, but so has the weight of secrecy. Can they keep from repeating the same mistakes, or will the price of the truth be too high?

#my fic #cherik #x-men #erik lehnsherr #charles xavier #david haller #emma frost #charles/erik #canon-divergent au #remixes #actor au

63 notes · View notes

filmsfromreel · 1 year

Text

2023 Best Picture Nominees Ranked From Worst to Best

A late list from us at Reel, but a interesting night with some suprising winners meant plenty of time to reflect and discuss, eagerly anticipating the slate of films this year.

Whether or not you agree with the awards it’s safe to say that this year’s nominees for Best Picture were an eclectic group of films all bringing something different to the table. From franchise epics to dark comedies, from war films to music biopics, you cannot deny the quality on show. But, even though all the films were individualistic, some were better than others. Here is our ranking of the Best Picture Nominees from worst to best.

10. Avatar: Way of the Water

Most of the naysayers of James Cameron’s epic Sci-Fi sequel have been silenced as the film became the 3rd highest grossing film of all time. Absolutely nothing can take away the huge financial success of Cameron’s 3-hour water adventure, but, for all the vast landscapes, exciting action and visual wonder it offers, the film still gets bogged down by what plagued it’s predecessor.

For all its otherworldly qualities the film’s biggest problem is in its humanity. The multitude of characters, and their stories, feel like mere splashes in the ocean Cameron has created for us. While the visuals deservedly won big on Oscar night, there really isn’t enough consistency in Avatar’s vast 3-hour runtime, making the journey feel like a slog more so than the thrill-ride everyone was promised.

9. Triangle of Sadness

Ruben Ostlund’s third feature had early signs it may follow a similar trajectory to the one Parasite had 4 years ago. Winning the Palme D’Or and getting nominated for a number of other awards across the globe, it looked like Ostlund would be celebrating deep into award season for his film. However, with no wins at this year’s Academy Awards, Triangle of Sadness has faded into the darkness as far superior films took the spotlight. This may just be circumstantial but arguably it’s because, despite being captivating in parts, this is Ostlund’s weakest effort.

When compared to The Square and Force Majeure, both of which have an enigmatic quality to their stories, Triangle of Sadness regularly smacks you on the head with its themes. Even when Ostlund is showing us some of the finest direction of the year (particularly in the dinner scene on the boat), it still gets dragged out to the extreme – hitting home ideas that were already communicated 10 minutes before. Having said that, Ostlund remains one of the most interesting filmmakers working today and despite Triangle of Sadness feeling weaker than his other efforts, there are still moments of brilliance scattered throughout.

8. The Fabelmans

The biggest takeaway from Spielberg’s reflective life story is that the Director has never lost his touch. Sure, some of his more recent ventures pale in comparison to Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park and Jaws, but his understanding of the medium and how audiences connect to it are the shining light in The Fabelmans. Scenes in which Sammy Fabelman watches his audience react to his films are wonderfully constructed, making it clear that the legendary director has never lost his love for cinema.

However, this film was always going to border on the self indulgent. If you compare this film to the reflective efforts of Cuarón’s Roma and Brannagh’s Belfast, The Fabelmans struggles to find a core reason to tell its story. Its backdrop dabbles with elements of depression, anti-semitism and bullying but never fully explores them and while Spielberg is telling the story with his heart on his sleeve, it still can’t find a genuine reason for the story it’s telling.

7. Top Gun: Maverick

One of the year’s biggest surprises was the quality on show in David Kosinsky’s sequel to the cheesy 80’s classic. While it still adheres to its predecessors rules of topless sport and needless high-fiving the film’s technical aspects very often leave you in awe. The sound, visual effects and action set-pieces are wonderfully put together to create so much energy and tension – but the most surprising part of this sequel is the emotional attachments it holds to the first film.

Tom Cruise’s performance as Maverick is reflective and softer while never losing the rashness of the character, and the emotional beats between Maverick and Goose’s son (named “Rooster”) win you over every time. This could have so easily turned into just another sequel, but Kosinsky’s controlled direction and modern approach make for a mature follow up that surpasses the original with ease.

6. Elvis

Over the past few years we’ve had a slew of mediocre music biopics, often boasting a great central performance but never understanding their subject, which makes it a delightful surprise to have a film like Elvis come along. Baz Luhrmann took the story of an icon and told it with the energy and glamour that make the Director so distinct. But, what’s even more impressive is how the film understands just how emphatic Elvis Presley was as an icon.

The film is by no means perfect, with Tom Hanks not quite hitting the mark as well as his co-stars, but this should be the definitive blueprint for music biopics to come. From his room-shaking begins to the darker days of his time in Vegas, Elvis tells us the story while never forgetting to inject the passion and personality that made Elvis Presley one of the most iconic performers of all time. Also, it’s impossible not to be impressed by Butler’s spellbinding performance.

5. Women Talking

Sarah Polley’s chamber piece rightfully took home the Best Adapted Screenplay award for her talky adaptation of Miriam Toews novel. The script that Polley wrote is a beautiful balance between character, theme and discussion, lending personality and importance to create one of the most timely films of the year.

While Polley’s script is what shines the most it cannot be understated how important her direction is. Instead of being flashy and overbearing she opts for quiet and observational direction that allows her characters to shine with their own heartbreaking individuality. Like all great chamber pieces, Women Talking densely packs its small setting with so much – leaving you eternally affected by the film’s outcome.

4. All Quiet on the Western Front

Edward Berger’s adaptation of Remarque’s novel takes a modern approach in its filmmaking to really hit home the timeless themes of the classic source material. Every battle scene is wonderfully constructed in order to capture the “War Is Hell” mantra of the film while never losing those individual struggles we see from the leading characters.

There are different threads that the film pulls on that don’t work quite as well as the core story, but these merely provide extra layers to a film that’s already packed densely with story. War films have to really do something special to stand out these days and Edward Berger has ensured that his film stands head and shoulders above a lot of films of a similar ilk.

3. Tár

At times Todd Fields’ near 3-hour character piece can feel strenuous. The script never hides away from the world it’s set in, often allowing long stretches of dialogue about Classical music to play out in front of its sturdy camera, but the film succeeds because of its subtle character evolutions. You’d be quick to dismiss this film as a discussion on “cancel culture” or even the separation of Art vs. Artist, but really what it’s doing is building everything into its central character.

Smartly made and marketed like a biopic, the film takes a grounded approach of talking about people who are considered otherworldly. Every action, conversation and thought Lydia Tár experiences is slowly etching away her mythical persona as one of the greatest composers of all time – until it all implodes in glorious fashion. The film will likely be remembered for Blanchett’s wonderful performance, but there is a quiet complexity to Tár that stays with you for a long time.

2. Banshees of Inisherin

Martin McDonagh’s newest film is arguably his finest work. In Bruges loyalists will always argue against that, but McDonagh’s signature style has never felt more fluid than in Banshees of Inisherin. Not only that, but the razor sharp humour wonderfully compliments the quiet melancholic tone – as well as the allegory for the Irish Civil War.

McDonagh surrounds himself with the familiar faces of Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson who, along with the addition of two wonderful performances from Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan, anchor this film’s themes perfectly. The chemistry seeping from every scene shared between the cast amplifies the humour but also gives the film a sense of community, reaffirming the bigger questions of death and legacy, as well as the impact we have on those around us.

1. Everything Everywhere All At Once

Easily the most original and unpredictable film of the year – maybe even of the current decade – The Daniels’ bizarre vision of the multiverse is told with veteran control. You easily find yourself in awe of the film’s barbaric narrative, but what’s even more impressive is the it’s ability to find so much heart at the centre of its chaos.

Amongst the confetti action, hotdog fingers and hundreds of other elements The Daniels pack into their film there is a quietly controlled narrative between Mother and Daughter, exploring their lack of connection and the solace they find in that shared experience. It’s a narrative that is extremely hard to balance at the best times but doing it with so much craziness surrounding it – as well as challenging a suffering marriage as well – is why this film easily stands as the best film nominated for Best Picture. Everything Everywhere All At Once won big at the Oscars and for the first time ever there isn’t a soul out there that can argue against with the wins.

43 notes · View notes

agentem · 8 months

Text

2023: The Year that Should Have Been Samuel L. Jackson's

Anyone who follows my blog knows I really like Samuel L. Jackson. I don't know him personally or anything. I just think he seems fun. I like how he says he makes the kinds of movies he would want to see as a kid (and isn't precious about the ~art~ of acting). Brie Larson also said some things in the Captain Marvel press tour about how confident he is, and now sometimes I think "Pretend you are Samuel L. Jackson" when I feel anxious in a work situation.

Some other things I like about him:

He was expelled from Morehouse College for his acts of civil disobedience. Though I can't say I support some of his later criminal acts or drug use.

I enjoy the random fun fact that he was an usher at Martin Luther King Jr's funeral.

Unlike a lot of the MCU actors, SLJ reads comics. He was the one who saw his face in The Ultimates and was like, "Uh. WTF, Marvel?" just because he happened to read it. (Companies are not allowed to use an individual's likeness without their consent, he could have sued Marvel, instead he made a deal for them to put him in movies if they made them.)

Regarding the above, I think a lot is said about how Feige and Favreau were such visionaries to create the MCU. And obviously they did the work. But I think SLJ saw it even earlier. (Ultimates came out in 2002, six years before Iron Man would happen and the deal he made would pan out.)

I know SLJ has made some bad movies. Some are fun bad. Some are just bad. But he has a way of making even the worst dialogue interesting. (IDK. I saw a teen spy movie he was in with Hailee Steinfeld and Sophie Turner. They are both actresses that I like, but any scene he wasn't in was kind of boring. And I was like, "Whoa how did you make me pay attention; I was falling asleep?")

Wow this post is long and I haven't even gotten to the point.

The point is that Secret Invasion should have been his moment to shine in the MCU. He never led a project before. And it's being called the worst thing ever. But it's so frustrating that it was so bad with the caliber of actors they had. It should not have been this way.

To add insult to injury, Jackson finally got to perform August Wilson's The Piano Lesson on Broadway.

Jackson was part of the original cast of that play, working with the celebrated playwright himself... at Yale Repertory Theater. When it came time to move the play to Broadway, Charles S. Dutton replaced him.

So last year a Broadway revival was staged. It was directed by his wife, LaTonya Richardson Jackson. Now Jackson played the older man, and his friend Denzel's son, John David Washington, played the role Jackson had originated.

Jackson was nominated for a Tony. But didn't win. The internet made fun of his reaction to the results being read.

I just feel like, I'd have been bummed too. He didn't slap anybody or complain about losing. He was gracious.

I keep thinking about what could have been. He's 74 years old (doesn't look it, imo), but he won't be around forever. I want him to be appreciated in his lifetime.

And goddamnit I am still mad they didn't air his Lifetime Achievement Oscar speech.

#fuck i should go to bed #samuel l. jackson #nick fury #slj #samuel l jackson #august wilson #the piano lesson #secret invasion #the marvels #the ultimates

8 notes · View notes

dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 1 year

Text

He hasn't yet entered the contest for the Republican presidential nomination, but even so, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is one of the leading candidates.

In polls of possible nominees, he rivals and sometimes surpasses former President Donald Trump. DeSantis has just released a new book that highlights his pugnacious style and hardline stance on issues ranging from education to public health. It picks up from his first term as Florida Governor when he became well-known nationally through his frequent appearances on Fox News.

November's election was disappointing for Republicans in many states. But not in Florida, where Gov. DeSantis won reelection by nearly 20 points. At his victory celebration, supporters cheered as he pledged to continue his campaign against ideas, policies and laws he derides as "woke."

"We fight the woke in the schools," he said. "We fight the woke in the corporations. We will never, ever surrender to the woke mob. Florida is where woke goes to die!"

'FLORIDA IS WHERE WOKE GOES TO DIE'

As Governor, DeSantis has waded forcefully into the culture wars. In his first term, following national demonstrations around the police killing of George Floyd, he signed a law criminalizing even some peaceful protests. Later, his "Stop Woke Act" restricted what schools and businesses can say about race. A "Parental Rights in Education Act," dubbed "Don't Say Gay" by opponents, limits how teachers discuss sexual orientation and gender identity.

He's taken aim at programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the schools. He's signed a law banning abortions after 15 weeks. And he pushed through new congressional maps that eliminated two African American voting districts. Many of these measures are now held up by legal challenges in the courts.

It's a different DeSantis than the one David Jolly got to know when both served as U.S. House members in Washington. Jolly, a former Republican congressman from the Tampa area, says DeSantis was part of the House Freedom Caucus, a group focused on cutting government spending. "At the time," Jolly says, "I described them as the shutdown caucus."

DeSantis and other members used government shutdowns to push for policy changes and spending reductions, even moving unsuccessfully to depose John Boehner as House Speaker. Jolly says the most impressive thing about DeSantis were the connections he made as a freshman congressman with some of the nation's top Republican donors. Jolly says, "It's always been a question to me: how he did it. And I believe it was just the commitment to fundraising and the raw political hunger of moving beyond the House."

DeSantis, a Yale- and Harvard-educated lawyer who served in the Navy, spent three terms in Congress before running for governor. His frequent appearances on Fox News drew the attention of President Trump who endorsed him. DeSantis embraced the endorsement and ran a now-famous ad narrated by his wife as he reads to his children from Trump's book, Art of the Deal.

MOVING FROM CONGRESS TO THE FLORIDA GOVERNOR'S MANSION

In 2018, he was narrowly elected Governor, defeating Democrat Andrew Gillum by less than a half percentage point. Two years later, after Trump was defeated, DeSantis rarely mentioned the former president's name anymore and refused to join the chorus of supporters who falsely maintained the election was stolen.

Jolly says DeSantis used Trump to build his name recognition but after being elected, he moved on. Jolly compares DeSantis to Hall of Fame hockey player Wayne Gretzky who famously said, "I skate to where the puck is going." Jolly says of DeSantis, "He saw it was going to be Donald Trump's party and he skated to Donald Trump very quickly."

DeSantis' rise to national prominence got a boost with the arrival of the COVID pandemic. In the first months, he largely followed guidance from the Trump White House and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He shut down Florida's beaches, bars and nightclubs. Schools were closed.

BOOSTING NATIONAL PROMINENCE DURING COVID

When the vaccine became available, he championed it in almost daily news conferences and in a live broadcast where a 94-year-old World War II veteran received his shot on Fox News.

But shortly after that appearance, in February 2021, DeSantis' approach to COVID began to change. He'd already ordered all schools reopened for in-class instruction. He soon signed laws banning face mask and vaccine mandates by businesses and government.

Republican Aaron Bean served in Florida's Senate under DeSantis and is now a member of Congress. He has nothing but praise for how the Governor responded to the pandemic. "He went against the grain," Bean says. "You can't say Florida now without saying the 'Free State of Florida' because Governor DeSantis has led the way."

With his hiring of a new surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, DeSantis completed his transition from vaccine proponent to vaccine skeptic. He endorsed recommendations by Ladapo that healthy children under 18 not be vaccinated. Ladapo and DeSantis have also said men age 18 to 39 shouldn't receive the mRNA vaccine. Nationally recognized public health experts say that recommendation is wrong and based on a faulty analysis.

Bill Hanage, an associate professor of epidemiology at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, says DeSantis politicized the public health crisis. His policies, Hanage believes, led to an increase of deaths in Florida from COVID. "If you compare it with California, New York, Massachusetts and the United Kingdom," Hanage says Florida is "the only one to have more deaths since vaccines were available, than before. The only one of them."

In analyzing data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, Hanage found that in Florida, 60% of the total deaths occurred after vaccines were available. In the other places, the number of deaths after vaccines became available are 40% of the total or less.

DeSantis dismisses the criticism, saying Florida voters looked at his record on COVID in November and gave him a resounding vote of confidence. "Not only did we win re-election," he boasts, "we won with the highest percentage of the vote that any Republican Governor candidate has in the history of the state of Florida."

That's true, if you leave out the Reconstruction era.

JUMPING INTO LOCAL ISSUES

As Governor, DeSantis has extended his authority beyond state agencies and laws into local matters — exerting control over school boards, county health policies, even businesses that hold drag shows. To the delight of supporters, he's quick to attack any who challenge him, from the media to the state's largest employers. After Disney's CEO said he'd work to overturn a law, DeSantis signed a bill ending Disney World's self-governing status in Florida.

With his efforts to control even local policies, he's left behind the commitment to limited government he once had as a member of the Freedom Caucus. Former Congressman David Jolly says, it's a lesson he took from Donald Trump. Jolly says, "What Donald Trump brought to the party was to really crush that orthodoxy of small government and instead say the ends justify the means. And so, whatever it takes to achieve conservative results."

It doesn't matter if it takes big government, Jolly says. To DeSantis, it doesn't even matter if courts have said it's unconstitutional.

Last year, with an eye to federal law and Florida's constitution, lawmakers drew up new maps for the state's 28 Congressional districts. DeSantis didn't like the result and demanded lawmakers draw new maps that ended up eliminating two districts that favored Black voters.

"I WAS COMPLETELY DUMBFOUNDED, BLIND-SIDED"

Democratic state Sen. Geraldine Thompson, an African American lawmaker from Orlando, says, "I was completely dumbfounded, blind-sided." It was the first time anyone could recall a Governor in Florida taking control of redistricting.

Republican legislative leaders pushed through the Governor's maps and they were immediately challenged in court as unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders. But the maps remained in place for November's election, and helped Florida Republicans pick up four additional seats in Congress.

Thompson says DeSantis' motivation in targeting black voters is clear. "I think he has an interest in making sure that only certain individuals vote. And that those people are people who are supportive of his agenda," she says. "And then making it difficult for anyone who does not support his agenda, making it difficult for them to vote."

DeSantis doesn't shy away from battles involving race. He's banned Critical Race Theory from the schools even though it's a subject not found in Kindergarten through 12th grade curricula. He also drew national headlines when his education commissioner said he'd prohibit the use of an AP African American studies course in Florida.

Congressman Aaron Bean says those policies aren't intended to target groups, but instead stand up for conservative principles. Bean doesn't expect DeSantis to soften his hardline stance in a campaign for President. "I believe that should he go to the next level, which I think he will," Bean says, "he will push forward an America-first agenda, a common-sense agenda, a freedom agenda."

There are lots of questions surrounding a DeSantis run for the presidency. Among them, how will he handle intense scrutiny from the media and attacks from other candidates, notably Donald Trump? DeSantis hasn't responded to repeated interview requests from NPR. Up to now, he's mostly avoided interviews with mainstream media, preferring instead friendly appearances on Fox News and other conservative outlets.

David Jolly says, for DeSantis, there's a more fundamental question. His nearly 20-point win in Florida came in a midterm election in which most of the country turned away from the Republican Party and many of the conservative policies DeSantis has promoted. Jolly says, "The test for Ron DeSantis will be, is he really that skilled and that good of an evangelist to convince the country to follow the direction he took Florida?"

DeSantis' supporters have a slogan, "Make America Florida." Next year, voters across the country may get a chance to decide if that's something that they want.

31 notes · View notes

8iunie · 1 year

Text

Meet The First-Time GRAMMY Nominee: Måneskin On Redefining Success, Staying Inspired & Honoring Italy

The Italian quartet first exploded onto the scene with a viral cover of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, but Måneskin have continued to exalt and evolve vintage rock thrills on their own terms — all on the way to their first GRAMMY nomination. (posted on 19.01.2023)

A dizzy smile spreads across Måneskin vocalist Damiano David’s face as he attempts to capture the group’s fervent energy in words.

"Going into a room where there's silence and going out with a song. Stepping on stage and then the crowd screams for you. Doing interviews where you can talk about how you think about music," he says. "It's such an open art language, such an open world."

While Måneskin’s inimitable swagger have led to a recent international meteoric rise, the Italian quartet have tapped the glitter and grime of rock’s glory days since forming as teens in 2016. Just a year later, the group made a massive leap, winning the Italian edition of reality competition show "X Factor." But it was Måneskin’s hard rock take on Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons’ "Beggin'" was inescapable following their 2021 Eurovision win — a smash success that led many eager new fans to dig into Måneskin’s catalog of chart-topping albums in their native Italy.

That prowess, ability to connect with the full spectrum of listeners, and a raucous live show netted Måneskin a GRAMMY nomination for Best New Artist at the 2023 GRAMMYs, which take place Sunday, Feb. 5, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ at 8-11:30 p.m. ET / 5-8:30 p.m. PT. They are also a living rebuke to those questioning rock’s staying power, whose grandiose energy and adventurous fashion begs for a yet wider audience.

"This combination is really magical. It gives us the opportunity to play something that doesn't exist so much in the charts," says guitarist Thomas Raggi. "We are rock, of course, in attitude, in the music, but we can reach really different people from different places and different ages."

Global success hasn't changed Måneskin much, as their new record, Rush!, teases. Due Jan. 20, the album only reinforces their bombast via singles like grimy party-starter "Mammamia" and the slinky and suave "Supermodel" — not to mention a guest appearance from Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello on the recently released "Gossip."

GRAMMY.com caught up with Måneskin — David, Raggi, bassist Victoria De Angelis, and drummer Ethan Torchio — to talk about the shock of their GRAMMY nomination, how they’ve evolved into their upcoming new album, and trying to find good espresso everywhere on tour.

This conversation has been edited for clarity.

I want to wish you congratulations on your first GRAMMY nomination. After winning "X Factor" and earning various accolades, has this sort of honor started to feel natural?

Victoria De Angelis: Not really natural, but very cool. It's the craziest thing you can possibly think of.

Damiano David: Of course, when we started, we only thought the biggest thing that could happen was being big in Italy. And then everything happened, so of course our dreams got bigger and of course we thought about it as a possibility in the remote future. Not, like, now. [Laughs.]

That's such a beautiful sentiment. The bigger doors start opening to places that you never could imagine. I can imagine that puts a whole new spin on what it is to be a band, what it is to be a musician.

De Angelis: It really does. Especially touring and everything, even six months makes so much difference. We look back at the things we did six months before and we say, "Okay, now we can add this, we can change this." It's constantly developing. So that's really inspiring and keeps us in a creative process all the time.

David: We've had so many crazy things happen these last two years. We played for the Stones. We played with Iggy Pop. We met like 50 percent of our childhood idols. At the end, wrapping it all up with the GRAMMY nomination, it's a pretty huge deal. The whole journey has been remarkable and we're gonna think about it for a long time.

It seems that you’ve remained remarkably close-knit as a band, which must be so important in the midst of that. How have you remained creatively inspired by one another and that you are constantly pushing yourselves as musicians through all the fame and success?

Ethan Torchio: Fame and success, it's just a coincidence. We don't really focus on that. It's part of our life, part of our journey. But it's an important point: We've always been friends with each other, and we've shared half of our lives together.

David: It's very important to us to be close because, otherwise, this project wouldn't be what it is now. We are four [individuals], and we are very human and curious about ideas. It's not just about what we are or we feel inside, it's also what we live outside. I truly think that [embracing] the new and something that has not been created before is part of our mindset.

De Angelis: As you said, being four, we actually inspire one another even more. We are very different personalities and also have very different taste. And being four, the amount of music we can discover, it happens every day. And also we love to go see shows, so maybe some of us go to one show and then we are like, "Hey, I got this idea from this show." Being four, it keeps us in this creative environment where everyday there is something new.

Touring constantly and being away from home can make you question your identity. How do you keep tied to your roots?

David: It's still pretty easy for us because even if we travel so much, we still live in Italy. When you move from your country and you live in another country for five, 10 years, then you start changing the way you live. But now we kind of bring this huge Italian suitcase with us. We're still asking for espresso everywhere. [Laughs.] With very bad results. How we interact between us and with people, our clothes, our style in general, it's always Italian in a certain way.

It's a difficult needle to thread, needing to mold to a comfortable stance wherever you are while also standing out. Being nominated for a GRAMMY must be an extraordinary test of that balance, so it's amazing to hear that you're still like keeping so true to yourselves.

De Angelis: I think that's always been kind of easy for us in some way, because we've always had such a strong and clear idea about our identity and what we like to do. Just look at this: [points to her shirt, which reads Italians Do It Better]. We've been lucky to never experience this kind of issue. On the other hand, what we experienced is that we had a very clear idea and then maybe it was hard to keep it safe and not let other people get into it or change it. But when it comes to what we stand for, we're always very sure about that.

Talk to me a little bit about that process, then. You all seem to find clever ways to reimagine classic genres and scenes while still honoring their essence.

David: We've been very, very lucky because our only rule has always been being true to what we like — even if we are very, very different one from each other. Vic [De Angelis] and Thomas Raggi especially have a very rock and roll classic background. I'm more into mainstream and low-tempo music. And Ethan [Torchio] actually listens to everything, from very mainstream music, classical music, to crazy experimental [music].

We've always tried to keep the balance between the four of us, and especially in the next album. We really wanted to embrace the difference between the four of us. It has created a personality for the group that also made the four of us very recognizable. People can feel represented from [each of the] four of us and from the group. Every achievement that we get, for us it's not, "Okay, we want this so we have to keep doing the same thing." It's more like, "Okay, we want this because this is our mindset. We have to keep this mindset, not because it makes you win awards but because it makes you recognizable and it gives you an identity and it puts you in a specific place in the market and in the industry.

I'm curious whether your writing and recording processes changed much on your new album, Rush! With first albums, sometimes a band will throw everything at the wall to see if it sticks. On the second one, they might shift things based on audience reaction, and then the third record can either attempt to capture a true self again or push to try even more new things.

De Angelis: It was 50-50, because some of the songs we actually wrote a while ago. There's a song we wrote three years ago, for example, on the record. The whole record was written in different moments. Some of the songs we wrote in the countryside in Italy; we went to this home studio and just jammed all together. And then others we wrote here in L.A., but then we also kept doing them in Japan and in Brazil while we were on tour.

So it's been really crazy. We can hear the moment we wrote the song and the emotion we had in the moment. And it portrays this whole journey we've been through. I think it's cool that we didn't only write it in one month, but it was through the years. It shows the different faces of our personalities and development.

I wanted to ask about the song "Kool Kids", which you recently debuted live. The lyrics have this self-aware edge, where you poke at the idea of whether rock is dead — I'm sure because you’ve been bombarded by that question nonstop.

David: We talk about rock and roll because it's a part of what we do, but I think that you can apply this kind of thought to every music genre. There's no music genre that is actually ever gonna die because trends are constantly changing. The music is developing and sometimes things become other things or change slightly because of the age where they're living. But I think that what we do [is] a new way to do rock and roll, but it's not the way to do it. There's many different ways to do it. You can be super classic, you can do rock and roll music even without analog instruments and go full electro while creating rock and roll structures.

Raggi: Nothing really ends. Nothing really starts. Everything changes.

De Angelis: It's always in development. The motion that rock music created and that pushes us to do it is just that sense of rebellion towards the norms, or when people try to put you in boxes or limit you. This kind of human feeling will always exist. And that's the reason why all these musicians through the past years have been making this kind of music — to oppose something and to talk about it.

Why was music the path you chose to express that perspective?

De Angelis: I think we all started as kids so we didn't even think it did that much. It was just something in us that we had to get out in some way, to express. It just came natural for us to do it as music. When we started playing together we were like 14 years old. We were struggling, all of us individually, to find other kids that were as passionate about it and wanted to invest all their time in this.

It was crazy that we were 13 years old and wanting to be, like, six hours in a rehearsal room every day instead of going out with friends or whatever. But for us it was such a fulfilling experience when we got in the rehearsal room that we just went full in and didn't care about anything else. It just took over us. It was just something so pure that we felt in that moment. The passion came out because we felt we were being ourselves and expressing what we had inside that couldn't come out in other ways. Since then, it has developed in so many ways that it's just who we are nowadays. We couldn't even imagine who we would be without the music.

Raggi: I remember also when I saw my first guitar outside of that guitar shop. No one in my family plays instruments or stuff like that. It was something that just called to me.

Another thing you are all known for is your sense of style. You always go big! Do you have plans for the GRAMMYs red carpet yet?

De Angelis: We're gonna surprise you. [Laughs.] We won't be boring. Promise.

Writer: Lior Phillips

Photo: Tommaso Ottomano

#måneskin #maneskin #my posts 💫#grammys 2023 #article #interview #s

24 notes · View notes

towlerknows · 27 days

Text

I know we all love Ryan and Blake, but I stumbled on this 2017 interview in Variety and now I REALLY get why they're friends and why the Kelce's are all a perfect extended family.

Read the whole thing if you can, but they are all the same kind of people. The ones who take the talents they know they have and work their asses off to just be a part of the conversation and end up being brilliant at that AND so much more without ever losing who they are and their appreciation for what they have in the process.

And they don't lie about working to be broadly appealing and enjoying the trappings of celebrity, while somehow retaining their openness and innate kindness - even as people accuse them of being the opposite.

***********************************************

Hollywood has been nervous about introducing same-sex couplings in superhero movies, out of fear that gargantuan tentpoles could alienate audiences in countries less tolerant of gay rights. “That’s not really a problem for us, because we were banned in China,” Reynolds notes. “We were rated ‘F–k you!’ in China.” But judging by the illegal downloads, “Deadpool” was just as popular there asanywhere else. “We might have been the first billion-dollar R-rated movie,” Reynolds muses.

In that spirit, Reynolds has big plans for Deadpool’s next act, which will shoot in 2017 for a 2018 release. (The first movie’s director, Tim Miller, left the sequel over creative differences and will be replaced by David Leitch.) “The budget is not going to be phenomenally bigger,” Reynolds says, but then takes it back. “Who knows? Maybe the budget will be bigger — anything can happen.”

He’s not worried about being typecast as a comic-book hero. “I would love to play Deadpool for as long as they would let me play Deadpool,” he says. “We have outlines and stories for a number of different films.” He envisions a standalone movie with Deadpool and Wolverine — although that’s news to Jackman.

“I’m hesitating,” says Jackman, who plans on retiring the Wolverine character this year, “because I could totally see how that’s the perfect fit. But the timing may be wrong.”

Reynolds isn’t giving up. “I have no idea if I can change his mind,” he says. “It’s the audience: I would exclusively exploit that relationship to get Hugh back for another one.”

Reynolds doesn’t act like a mega movie star. He arrives early for his photo shoot and shakes hands with members of the crew. He’s not shy about eye contact with strangers. When I start to feel carsick on the ride back to his hotel, he channels a Lamaze coach, saying, “You’re doing great.”

His compassion makes sense: He grew up in Vancouver suffering from anxiety. “I have three older brothers,” he says. “Our father was tough. He wasn’t easy on anyone. And he wasn’t easy on himself. I think the anxiety might have started there, trying to find ways to control others by trying to control myself. At the time, I never recognized that. I was just a twitchy kid.”

#swiftieverse #taylor swift #ryan reynolds #blake lively #i respect the hell out of them #and anne hathaway #keeping their hearts open #and feeling ALL the feelings for their art #and not apologizing for it #and yes sports are an art form

2 notes · View notes

bedtimestoriesforbrokengirls · 4 months

Text

The Daily Dad — Jan 9, 2024

Things you might want to know:

Kevin Feige Confirms All Marvel Films and TV Shows Are Part of the MCU Multiverse 💭 The multiverse is both the raft keeping the MCU afloat, and a cinder block that could easily drag it to the bottom. Feige has already done something extremely impressive —he made movie theaters and movie budgets compatible with television-style, open-ended storytelling— but he still has to climb the final mountain: make the audience take the multiverse for granted, like superheroes themselves.

Armed gang storms Ecuador TV station after state of emergency declared - The Guardian ❝ Gangsters unleashed wave of terror following move by President Daniel Noboa in response to gang leader’s prison escape

Ed Brubaker’s ‘Criminal’ Ordered To Series By Amazon With Jordan Harper As Co-Showrunner ❝ Prime Video has given a series order to Criminal, a drama based on the multi-Eisner Award-winning graphic novel series created by Ed Brubaker, who writes the comic, and Sean Phillips, who illustrat…

Archaeologists Keep Finding Evidence of a Mysterious Ancient Cult In Europe ❝ The discovery of a gilded belt buckle depicting a snake eating a frog was thought to be unique. However, similar evidence is popping up across Europe.

Wave of Apple Generative AI Tools on Track for WWDC Debut ❝ Apple is on schedule to announce a series of generative AI-based tools at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, Bloomberg's Mark...

RIP: David Soul of "Starsky and Hutch" died yesterday at age 80 ❝ David Soul, best known for his role in the 1970s "Starsky & Hutch" television cop duo, died yesterday at the age of 80. The singer and actor, born as David…

CES 2024: Withings Launches 'BeamO' Home Health Scanner ❝ Withings, known primarily for its lineup of iPhone-connected smart scales, today debuted the BeamO, a 4-in-1 home health checkup device. The BeamO...

iPhone Survives 16,000 Foot Drop After Alaska Airlines Plane Incident 💭 This is more impressive if you’re not familiar with terminal velocity.

Apple Announces February 2 Launch Date for Vision Pro Headset ❝ Apple today announced that the Vision Pro headset will launch in the United States on Friday, February 2. The headset will be available at all...

Measles erases the immune system’s memory ❝ The measles virus can usher in other infections for months, or even years.

Is 'Fables' Actually in the Public Domain? And Can We Save It From Bill Willingham’s Iffy Politics? https://static.dc.com/dc/files/default_images/Vert_Essential_Fables_1_ce69fbz4uq_.jpg?w=640 ❝ If true, this would be a huge boon to creatives who are 'Fables' fans. However, things are a bit murkier than Willingham's cut-and-dried statement.

Twitch Bans Implied Nakedness In Response To ‘Nudity Meta’ 💭 Twitch continues to find new ways to make its platform as unappealing as possible… puritanical and indecisive? Fuck right off.

Michael Bolton Reveals Brain Tumor Diagnosis, Announces Break from Touring ❝ Michael Bolton recently underwent a serious procedure to address a brain tumor found by doctors. Here's the latest on his condition.

Portal 64 is an N64 demake of Valve’s classic, now available as a “First Slice” ❝ It's shocking how good the Portal Gun feels on late 1990s tech.

Bill Maher And Seth MacFarlane Clash Over Vaccine Mandates And "Natural Immunity": "That Was Debunked" 💭 Maher was never actually funny… his stand-up has always been weak shit, coasting along on his snide, inexplicable self-importance and little else. Actually clever/funny libertarians of my generation —Penn Gillette, Trey Parker— long ago figured out that simple contrarianism isn’t a philosophy, but Maher never will.

Clicks for iPhone ❝ Clicks brings a REAL KEYBOARD to your iPhone. Enjoy the feel of buttons, type with precision and double your space to create. Available now. Ships worldwide.

N O S ⋊ Ɔ I ᴚ ᴚ Ǝ ᗡ ⊥ ⊥ O Ɔ S ❝ John Cazale starred in only five films. All five were nominated for Best Picture. One of the best actors of all time, he was unafraid to play characters from a place of weakness. He made everyone on screen with him better. https://t.co/We6jlSxBfp pic.twitter.com/DiNSexoTsa

Nigel Lythgoe Faces Second Sexual Assault Suit - Variety 💭 Nigel, ol’ buddy… you need some witnesses for the defense. And I don’t mean the “Our friend Danny Masterson has always been a reliable co-worker and helpful comrade, meaning he couldn’t have raped all those girls” kind of witnesses. He needs the “Paula Abdul was tripping on Vicodin and vodka for at least ten years, and barely remembers her own name” kinda witnesses.

You've seen Disney's Mickey Mouse - here are the new morbid takes popping up as Steamboat Willie enters public domain ❝ Now that Steamboat Willie is in the public domain, expect to see a lot of fake Mickey Mouses across media in the next few years. Here are some of the first.

Ban Facial Recognition in Stores ❝ Your face should not be scanned, stored, or sold just because you walk into or work at a store.

Three Decades Later, Someone Has Finally Beaten Tetris On NES 💭 ”Thirteen year old Blue Scuti”. I suddenly feel like we’re living an episode of Mythic Quest.

Star Trek: Discovery's cancelation wasn't decided until after final season was filmed ❝ The rumors were true: Star Trek: Discovery's fifth season wasn't originally meant to be the final one.

#news

6 notes · View notes

dweemeister · 2 months

Text

Best Live Action Short Film Nominees for the 96th Academy Awards (2024, listed in order of appearance in the shorts package)

This blog, since 2013, has been the site of my write-ups to the Oscar-nominated short film packages – a personal tradition for myself and for this blog. This omnibus write-up goes with my thanks to the Regency South Coast Village in Santa Ana, California for providing all three Oscar-nominated short film packages.

If you are an American or Canadian resident interested in supporting the short film filmmakers in theaters (and you should, as very few of those who work in short films are as affluent as your big-name directors and actors), check your local participating theaters here.

Without further ado, here are the nominees for the Best Live Action Short Film at this year’s Oscars. The write-up for this year's Documentary Short nominees is complete; expect the write-ups for Animated Short soon. Films predominantly in a language other than English are listed with their nation(s) of origin.

The After (2023)

From Netflix, Misan Harriman’s The After is perfectly adequate during its opening minutes as business father Dayo (David Oyelowo) plays along with his daughter, Laura (Amelie Dokubo), as they travel to meet her mother, Amanda (Jessica Plummer). Everything following those first few minutes is, charitably, a filmmaking disaster. Once a black-clad attacker stabs Emily and tosses her off a bridge. Though Dayo and a few other bystanders have successfully restrained the murderer, Amanda, in dismay, throws herself off and commits suicide. Fast-forward a year later and we see that Dayo has left his previous jobs and now works as a rideshare or taxi driver in London. In between ferrying passengers to and from their destinations, he listens to the final voicemail from Amanda, gazes longingly at a family photo, and reminisces about the past.

The After lost almost all of my goodwill after the horrifically staged murder scene (from which the film never recovers). Grief – how one processes it, the stages it takes, how it affects our relationships with others, and any residual trauma – is en vogue in modern short filmmaking. Way too many films touching upon this subject have little to add – cinematically, thematically – for the audience; the most worthwhile films in this subset will filter grief through a specific cultural lens. The After accomplishes neither, despite Harriman’s claims that his screenplay, co-written with John Julius Schwabach, took the Black Lives Matter movement and the isolation of COVID-19’s height as inspiration (the murderer is not a police officer nor is there an implied racial animus; there are no signs of the pandemic here). The final scene, involving a family that Dayo is transporting to their posh home, is unbelievable tripe – contributing nothing to this dreadful exploration of grief. The placement of Birdy and Rhodes’ “Let It All Go” is sheer musical tastelessness. All that remains is David Oyelowo’s performance and, no matter how much he splays out his body in sadness, this film needs more than that to save itself. It might not even have a prayer.

My rating: 4/10

Red, White and Blue (2023)

Going into Nazrin Choudhury’s Red, White and Blue, I suspected, with a title like that, that there was some political bent to the film. I may have detected its messaging later than I would like to admit, but that is not where my significant reservations towards this film lie. Somewhere in present-day Arkansas, single mother Rachel (Brittany Snow) works at a diner afternoons and evenings. She often has her two children, older sister Maddy (Juliet Donenfeld) and younger brother Jake (Redding Munsell), over after school so she can watch over them while she works. After a generous tip from a customer, Rachel (whose fridge magnets hold layers of unpaid bills) forms a plan to take Maddy on a short road trip northwards, leaving her brother temporarily in the care of a family friend. It seems strange that she is only taking one of her children on this trip, but – in a shocking plot twist – we learn that Maddy (who, if this short takes place in its release year, is ten years old) needs an abortion.

In 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States, in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, found that having an abortion is not a constitutional right, overturning years of precedent in Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992). Effectively, this turned abortion regulation over to the states. Arkansas was among those states that made abortion illegal. The outrage stemming from Dobbs v. Jackson was Choudhury’s impetus to write and direct Red, White and Blue. Politics and cinema have intertwined ever since Vitagraph Studios filmed a series of propaganda shorts in support of the Spanish-American War in 1898. But Red, White and Blue commits the age-old mistake by prioritizing its messaging over cinematic craft. Dull lighting and camerawork, merely satisfactory performances, and a lengthy driving-musical montage that does little for characterization or narrative make for an awkward, stilted viewing experience. Its reveal is an extreme situation that could have been just as powerful if Choudhury instead used a more pedestrian example.

My rating: 6/10

Knight of Fortune (2022, Denmark)

Also known in its native Danish as Ridder Lykke, Lasse Lyskjær Noer’s film is rich with Scandinavian humor. In other words, absurd situations amid dark or tragic moments – your enjoyment may vary. The film, available via The New Yorker for American, Canadian, and Mexican audiences, features the elderly Karl (Swedish actor Leif Andrée), who has has just arrived at the morgue to see the body of his late wife. He purposefully delays opening the casket to view his wife’s body by attempting to fix a flickering light nearby and using the restroom. In the restroom, he encounters his next-stall neighbor, Torben (Jens Jørn Spottag), also there for his respective decedent wife. Karl continues to avoid seeing his wife’s body by accompanying Torben into the room where his respective wife’s body lies. If the shenanigans regarding the broken light and the bathroom stalls were not already an indication, this is no conventional narrative about grief (yet another nominee about grief!) as Knight of Fortune further plunges into the absurd. Andrée and Spottag – neither of whom have had significant credits in films distributed beyond Central Europe – are both fantastic here, imbuing the relationship between Karl and Torben with pathos despite the peculiar situation.

Noer, who also wrote the screenplay during a time of personal loss, reminds audiences that grief takes numerous forms, and refuses to pass judgment on any of the grieving characters. The humor is never at the characters’ expense either. What makes Knight of Fortune valuable is its depiction of a grieving man who will do much to postpone his final goodbyes and permitting the audience to laugh (as laughter, strange as it may sound, has a place in grieving). Andrée’s performance and Noer’s direction and tonally controlled writing allow the audience to empathize easily with the protagonist’s plight, amid the unfamiliar and cold glare of the morgue’s flat lighting and its eerie quiet.

My rating: 8/10

Invincible (2022, Canada)

Vincent René-Lortie’s Invincible qualified for the Academy Awards by winning Best Live Action Short at the 2022 Chicago International Children’s Film Festival. Despite CICFF’s moniker, this is not a short appropriate for younger children. Here, we follow fourteen-year-old Marc-Antoine Bernier (also known as just “Marc”; Léokim Beaumier-Lépine in a terrific lead performance), as he has just spent a weekend with his family on an idyllic leave from a juvenile detention and rehabilitation center. Now, back within the center’s gates, Marc has made a critical decision. Before that fateful moment, René-Lortie allows us glimpses of Marc's life at the juvenile detention center: Marc’s attempt to cause havoc to his cell’s fire-extinguishing sprinkler system, a class in which the students share the poems they have composed, and the joys of swimming in the outdoor pool. Soon after, Marc-Antoine escapes. While on the run, he steals a car and commits suicide.

At the top of the end credits, René-Lortie reveals that this film is a tribute to his late friend, Marc-Antoine Bernier, and Invincible is a retelling of his friend’s last hours. According to interviews, René-Lortie and the Bernier family are unsure whether or not Marc’s death was an accident or a suicide. Whatever the case, Marc was clearly troubled.

René-Lortie uses a 4:3 aspect ratio to “entrap” our protagonist in the frame, but, disappointingly, he does little else with the Academy ratio. In yet another missed opportunity in an otherwise fine film, René-Lortie fails to submerge the viewer into Marc’s psychology (René-Lortie is absolutely not framing his friend as unknowable), which makes some of Marc’s actions less understandable in the moment. Nevertheless, René-Lortie deserves plaudits for this sensitive tribute to his absent friend.

My rating: 7/10

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)

Since it has been some time since I last reviewed a Wes Anderson movie, I must admit a bias: I am an Anderson skeptic. Not a popular position to take, but the aesthetic rigidity of Anderson’s movies has only served to take me out of his movies emotionally. One of Anderson’s principal aesthetic influences, director Yasujirô Ozu, also made films that were just as aesthetically rigid. But Ozu’s style, with an unmoving camera and naturalistic acting, never interferes or undermines the emotions he tries to evoke.

Not so with Anderson, as evidenced in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, a 39-minute Netflix production based on Roald Dahl’s short story of the same name. With partial narration from Ralph Fiennes playing Roald Dahl, Henry Sugar (Benedict Cumberbatch) happens upon a book recounting a Dr. Chatterjee’s (Dev Patel) observations of Imdad Khan (Ben Kingsley), who can see things without using his eyes. Inspired by this account, Henry, a serial gambler, decides to learn from Imdad’s meditations and, after almost four years, learns how to read playing cards just by examining their backsides. Eventually, Henry, realizing he has not much time to live, donates his considerable blackjack winnings to children’s hospitals and orphanages.

What I appreciate most about Henry Sugar is its dedication to presenting itself as set-bound. Anderson’s 4:3 screen aspect ratio and off-Technicolor palette combines with stagehands immaculately wheeling parts of the set on- and off-camera for when the story requires it. This takes immaculate blocking and a keen eye for movement – something Anderson clearly has in spades. However, where some are claiming Henry Sugar to be the cinema’s response to audiobooks, I must digress. Henry Sugar adapts the entire Roald Dahl text, and it often seems as if Anderson is intentionally having his actors rush through the material in order to keep the film under the forty-minute limit that defines a short film. There is little to no room for thespian interpretation and inflection as they enunciate the text. For me, this is only slightly better than reading Dahl’s text in a monotone voice. If the production design was not so impressive, this would be an otherwise insufferable experience.

My rating: 7.5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog. Half-points are always rounded down.

From previous years: 85th Academy Awards (2013) 87th (2015) 88th (2016) 89th (2017) 90th (2018) 91st (2019) 92nd (2020) 93rd (2021) 94th (2022) 95th (2023)

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

3 notes · View notes

myhahnestopinion · 3 months

Text

THE AARONS 2023 - Worst Film

It’s a marvel this category isn’t filled up with superhero films after the year they’ve had. Here are The Aarons for Worst Film:

#10. 65

A Quiet Place screenwriters Scott Beck and Bryan Woods don’t knock it out of the (Jurassic) park with their subsequent Spielberg homage. 65 will have viewers counting down the seconds until they can go home. The science-fiction tale strands stars Adam Driver and Ariana Greenblatt in a B-movie bereft of a reason to see it. The fusion of futuristic tech and ferocious animals should have been easy fodder for frivolous entertainment. Instead, the sluggish pace of the film’s imminent extinction event suggests it wasn’t a meteor or da ice age that killed the dinosaurs; it was extreme boredom.

#9. Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire

Director Zack Snyder likes to paint himself as a rebel against a restrictive studio system while being constantly given new opportunities without cause. His latest big-budget misfire is a childish mash-up of Star Wars and Seven Samurai. Par for the course, the prosaic director copies his inspirations while completely misunderstanding their objectives. Already, the film’s awkward and abruptly-ended parade of thinly-sketched characters is being billed as another incomplete vision, requiring not just two parts but two cuts of each part to truly fulfill Snyder’s intentions. Maybe his hardcore fans will be pleased at the end of the prolonged journey; everyone else will be over the Moon long before then.

#8. The Exorcist: Believer

From the beginning, the involvement of David Gordon Green inspired little faith in Believer. Sure enough, the director of Halloween kills interest in his proposed trilogy one film sooner than his last. It’s unclear what exactly led the studio to release a sequel fifty years later that’s tamer than a TV edit of the original. It surely couldn’t have been the return of Ellen Burstyn in her Oscar-nominated role of Chris MacNeil given how quickly the film disfigures and discards the character. That said, it may be for the best that she could excise herself from the proceedings before its embarrassing ending. The franchise is no stranger to desecration but, even at its worst, it was never before this uncompelling.

#7. Five Nights At Freddy’s

Topping the box-office may have demonstrated audiences’ appetite for the haunted pizzeria franchise but, make no mistake, the film adaptation of Freddy’s is as run-down as its central establishment. The animatronic mascots at center stage only manage the most pedestrian of jump-scares; they’re far from the only ones just going through the motions. The script, written in part by franchise creator Scott Cawthon, stretches out its thin premise with banal characters and a bizarre child-custody B-plot. It might have been entertaining if it had been any more cheesy. Instead, Freddy’s only serves up an interminable runtime; five nights has never felt so long.

#6. Hypnotic

Hypnotic is aptly named; the thriller from Spy Kids director Robert Rodriguez certainly commands one’s attention. The plot, which revolves around Ben Affleck sleepwalking through a conspiracy involving dueling factions of psychics, is simply too inane to ignore. Rodriguez wrote his initial script back in 2002 but was clearly susceptible to outside influences; the film rips off several works that were released before and since, including the dream-like architecture of Inception. Although the director may pride himself on his low-budget prowess, even he can’t make those knock-off sequences look good (though they’re not the silliest instance of replicating elaborate scenery on a miniscule budget here). The film fulfills its intentions on one front: once it’s all over, audiences will have a hard time believing any of it was real.

#5. Children of the Corn

The latest offspring of the rotten franchise at least had a kernel of a good idea: the remake roots its characters’ motivations in righteous fury at environmental recklessness rather than strictly religious fervor. However, Children never develops this into any kind of sustenance. The horror here is as, ahem, corny as can be, particularly its stale translation of demonic entity He Who Walks Behind the Rows. Director Kurt Wimmer shows no growth as a director since his last film in 2006, the infamous Ultraviolet; the wooden child actors at least have their youth as an excuse. Sadly though, if ranked within the rest of the series, this one would still land in the middle of the row.

#4. Haunted Mansion

2023 was home to many failures for The Walt Disney Company, but none quite as ghastly as the new Haunted Mansion. It’s baffling how a film this overstuffed with actors (including Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, and Danny DeVito among many others) could end up this vacant. Indeed, the biggest throughline of the theme-park adaptation is not its attempted reflection on grief but its pervasive and perverse product placement (One character’s tearful monologue about his dead wife comes complete with a prominent Baskin Robbins namedrop). It’s definitely haunting, just not in the way they hoped for.

#3. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3

The Big Fat franchise became even more bloated last year with a picture that can most charitably be described as ‘an all-expenses paid trip to Greece for its cast’. There’s certainly no storytelling reason why audiences are still following the adventures of this extended family, which haphazardly include a last-minute wedding of two very minor characters to justify its title. Nia Vardalos finally receives the director’s chair in addition to her regular writing work just in time for there to be no fresh direction to take things in. If she tries to reunite everyone for a fourth go-round, they would be wise to divorce themselves from it as quickly as possible.

#2. Pet Sematary: Bloodlines

Bloodlines resurrects the series last seen in 2019; if this was how it was going to come back, it should have stayed buried. While Stephen King is an imaginative writer, trying to stretch a single chapter of any novel into a feature-length film is like getting blood from a stone. The zombie prequel stumbles its way from scene to scene in search of life, but Bloodlines has nothing for audiences to relate to. Even screen icons like David Duchovny and Pam Grier can’t rouse any interest. Exploiting known franchises may be easy, but, sometimes, making anything else instead is better.

AND THE WORST FILM OF 2023 IS…

#1. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey

Disney slowly losing their stranglehold on intellectual property is a bit bittersweet; Honey is bad enough to sour anyone on the idea of a public domain. The shoddy slasher film, which blustered its way onto the marketplace as soon as the filmmakers could profit from it, is barely recognizable as Pooh but unmistakable as crap. Making the lovable animal into a feral murderer may be legal now, but writer/director Rhys Frake-Waterfield didn’t think, think, think up any other ideas beyond just stirring the pot. Winnie is hoping to prey on one’s curiosity with its premise alone. Word of advice? Don’t bother.

NEXT UP: THE 2023 AARON FOR BEST DIRECTOR!

#film #TheAarons #TheAarons2023 #TheAaronsFilm #worst of 2023 #bad movies #worst film #65 #rebel moon #the exorcist believer #five nights at freddy's #hypnotic #children of the corn #haunted mansion #my big fat greek wedding 3 #pet sematary bloodlines #winnie the pooh blood and honey

2 notes · View notes