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phoenixwatchesmovies · 4 months

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2023 Favorites

I'm kinda glad I was keeping track of what I watched, in retrospect, because looking back over my posts this year, I realized I forgot about a lot of stuff. XD After looking over the recaps and excluding rewatches, here's my top ten New Stuff I Watched for 2023:

10. Cabinet Of Curiosities

Bizarre nightmares unfold in eight tales of terror in a visually stunning, spine-tingling horror collection curated by Guillermo del Toro.

If GDT is your guy, give this a watch. Creature features, cursed objects, aliens, you name it. 8/8 tentacled eldritch abominations.

9. Wolf Creek

Three backpackers stranded in the Australian outback are plunged inside a hellish nightmare of insufferable torture by a sadistic psychopathic local.

Holy shit, this was intense. And as I said initially, so mean. If you're into Texas Chainsaw Massacre, try this. I'm into franchise bingo, so I'm going to look into the sequels and TV series. 3/3 heads on a stick.

8. Requiem For A Dream

The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep.

I get the feeling this is one of those that hurts so much more on rewatching, so there's that to look forward to. I've also rarely seen movies that do so much harmonizing between the music and the visuals, and it was so satisfying. 4/4 refrigerator jump scares.

7. Evil Dead Rise

A twisted tale of two estranged sisters whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.

This was probably the most fun I had with a horror movie all year, TBH. Horror exploring family dynamics will always be a fave, and this brought plenty of fresh stuff to the franchise while also holding onto the core traits. 5/5 Staffenies.

6. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers embark on an epic quest to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.

This was the most fun I had watching a movie all year, period. If you know nothing about DND, it's a good fantasy movie. If you're a DND nerd, the game mechanics are baked into it. If you're a fan of found families, guess what! 6/6 stealth checks.

5. Cowboy Bebop

A ragtag crew of bounty hunters chases down the galaxy's most dangerous criminals. They'll save the world--for the right price.

I got exactly what I wanted out of this, so haters be damned. The anime is a masterpiece and a classic, but if you're not in the mood for the existentialism and other heavier themes, here ya go. 3/3 shower-bath-showers.

4. The Black Phone

After being abducted by a child killer and locked in a soundproof basement, a 13-year-old boy starts receiving calls on a disconnected phone from the killer's previous victims.

Near perfect, as far as I'm concerned. The older I get, the more kids-in-danger as a concept fucks with me, making this the most stressful movie I watched this year (though It Chapter One gave it a run for its money, and I still think they would make a great double feature). 5/5 black balloons.

3. Evil Dead (2013)

Five friends head to a remote cabin, where the discovery of a Book of the Dead leads them to unwittingly summon up demons living in the nearby woods.

It's gnarly. It's badass. I almost puked. I had THE BEST time. The story works as an effective allegory, the effects are gruesomely awesome, and the finale is metal af. Plain and simple. 70,000/70,000 gallons of fake blood.

2. The Crow

A man brutally murdered comes back to life as an undead avenger of his and his fiancée's murder.

Beautiful, sad, aesthetic for days, hella good soundtrack. *chef kiss* I still haven't seen The Batman, but they seem visually similar, so if you like that, you'll probably like this. For more in-depth thoughts, read my post. 1/1 epic rooftop guitar solos.

1. The Fall Of The House Of Usher

To secure their fortune (and future) two ruthless siblings build a family dynasty that begins to crumble when their heirs mysteriously die, one by one.

Not just a new favorite Mike Flanagan. A new favorite in general, and my number one for the year. I just screamed about this one last month, and I don't have anything more to add. I've seen Succession comparisons, and while I have no idea how accurate that is, there's my "if you like that, here's this." Holy crap. 7/7 deadly sins personified.

Happy New Year! 🥂

#yearly round up #watch a thon 2023 #tfothou #the crow 1994 #evil dead 2013 #the black phone #cowboy bebop netflix #dnd honor among thieves #evil dead rise #requiem for a dream #wolf creek #guillermo del toro's cabinet of curiosities

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valky-and-x · 24 days

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youtube

Missaurios and crows froms tumblr.... mi maldito war is over. This thing has been under production since june 2023.... AND AFTER A THON OF CHANGES TO MAKE IT SAFE TO WATCH ITS FINALLY OUT.

Enjoy it and wait until we get to tallulah´s birthday. im gonna collapse

#death family #deathduo #qsmp #animatic #comedy spy x family #Youtube

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danpuff-ao3 · 11 months

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Another May, another Snarry-a-Thon: the best time of year! (Also happens to be my birthday month, which makes it all the more special!) The Snarry community is so full of creative, generous, and supportive folks which always makes for a great event! Plus...more Snarry in the world! :D

This fest has been so meaningful to me over the years, and in celebration of another fest wrapped up, I've compiled a list of some of my favorites! This year had lots of goodies, so make sure to check out the rest of the collection, too!: Snarry-a-Thon 2023 (and the Master List on DW!)

Info: The Want of You, by Ephemeral (@fleetingdesires) Rated: E. Words: 7,337. 8th year. Student/teacher. Clubbing.

Summary:

On his night off, Severus unexpectedly realises that Harry has grown into quite an attractive man. He's just not going to think too hard about it. No, he's not going to think about him at all. It's fine. He's fine. Everything is fine.

Read for: a fun & sexy time.

Quote:

"Merlin, Snape, why was that so hot?" "Because you like breaking rules, and I broke them for the want of you."

Info: My Soul to Keep, by catharticEscapism (@catharticescapism.) Rated: E. Words: 4,027. Fat Harry. Internalized fat phobia. Fat acceptance. Body image & self-esteem. Past child abuse. Bottom!Snape. Fluff & smut.

Summary:

Harry is self-conscious about his weight gain after the war, and Severus reassures him that he’s loved just the way he is.

Read for: heartwarming & wholesome lovemaking.

Quote:

“I have great regard for your body. There is little I enjoy as much as having the opportunity to lay my hands on you.”

Info: Luck of the Draw, by Writcraft (@writcraft.) Rated: E. Words: 11,857. Getting together. Gay bar. Drag queens. Hiking. Minor injuries. Paddington the dog.

Summary:

Severus is enjoying the quiet life when his participation in a Ministry raffle forces him to go on a date with Harry Potter. During a weekend filled with drag queens, hiking, a twisted ankle and a dog named Paddington, Severus begins to wonder if the quiet life is really all it’s cracked up to be.

Read for: humor & fluff

Quote:

Severus has always loved deeply, jealously, greedily. Even if it is utter madness to think of love and Potter in the same breath, now the fire has started Severus knows it is futile to attempt to resist the kind of yearning he believed long since buried.

Info: Nocturne, by NecromanticNoir (@necromanticnoir.) Rated: E. Words: 54,090. Creature fic. Mystery & romance. Fairytale & horror. Angst & feels. Mutual pining. Dark magic.

Summary:

A Gothic Snarry version of ‘Beauty and the Beast’, inspired by the dark and sensual tale from the Czech film version, ‘Panna a Netvor’. I follow some of the plot, but then diverge and do my own thing. Got to make it even weirder, right? An eerie, erotic, brooding, bloody, batty, haunting fairytale.

Read for: erotic fairytales & dark romance.

Quote:

Severus knows he should not watch in secret - but there, through the window - oh, merciful heavens… The young man is bathing, in the large hammered-copper tub, his skin pale as moonbeams. All around the tub, candles burn; a hundred tiny flickering flames. Severus draws closer to the window, mesmerised. The bath water is white, sprinkled with flower petals and herbs of some kind, perhaps rosemary… The water seems to sparkle; the boy bathes in liquid moonshine. Severus draws nearer still, and he beholds creamy skin - a pale shoulder, like marble. He is watching a rare creature; a unicorn, bathing in pure enchantment…

Info: old fires and phantom limbs, by LilaDiurne (@liladiurne.) Rated: E. Words: 14,514. 2nd person POV + present tense. Severus POV. Minor Harry/OMC. Exes to lovers. Heartache. Angst with a happy ending.

Summary:

A long moment passes. And then he steps out of the shadows of the surrounding shops and into the bright sunlight, walking up to you. "You came back," you say bluntly, unable to look away. "Yeah." He shuffles his feet a bit, slips his hands in his pockets in such a familiar way that a pang of deep fondness strikes through your chest. "Last week," he adds. It seems impossible that he would have been back in the country for days and you wouldn't have sensed it somehow. How could his presence not send shockwaves all the way to Spinner's End? How could you not know, in your heart of hearts, the instant that he returned?

Read for: poetic prose & immense emotion.

Quote:

The passers-by come and go around you, shuffling about on the street this way and that, oblivious to your predicament, your dilemma. They did not feel the earthquake, they did not see your life crumbling. They do not know that your polished countenance is truly in shambles, held together with worn pieces of twine.

Info: Loose Ends, by Arrisha (@arrisha-ao3.) Rated: E. Words: 9,856. Heavy angst. Trauma. Mystery. Romance.

Summary:

I love you, Severus wants to say. But the timing is never right.

Read for: emotional devastation and/or you need to cry and the tears need help.

Quote:

He never doubted that the boy loved him. But something deeper, darker, lurked underneath. Harry was broken. The war had broken him, and Severus was all he had.

~~ BONUS: Shameless Shelf Rec ~~

Info: Devotion, by danpuff. Rated: E. Words: 25,843. Postwar. Background Hinny. Minor Severus/others. Cheating. Mental health issues. Angst. Unhealthy relationship. Ambiguous/open ending.

Summary:

Is there anything more undignified than needing someone so much?

Read for: all of my Snarry feels.

Quote:

The light of him transforms Spinner’s End. In the way of dreams, every wall is familiar and strange. Every book, every shelf in its place. The sofa is still lumpy, the lights still dim. The wallpaper still peels at the edges. The colors are changed. Just a shade off, he thinks. The air is crisp. Sweet and fresh as an apple. Cold and biting as a winter breeze. Harry is the soft warmth of a flickering flame. The heavy heat of a raging inferno. He is the blazing sun. The harsh light beneath which nothing can hide, and nothing survives.

#danpuff recs #snarry-a-thon 2023 #snarry-a-thon #snarry #snarry fics #snarry recs #also a self-rec just cuz

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dereksmcgrath · 6 months

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Sunday Morning Manga: Afternoon Reactions #2 (Nov 12 2023)

Romance fail.

I’m still on hiatus for livestreams and podcasts, so here are more quick, underdeveloped reactions about new chapters out today.

Undead Unluck Chapter 183

I hate this.

It’s not the polyamory that bothers me; it’s the lack of honesty. This jerk couldn’t explain all of this to the two sisters before dragging them out in public to embarrass one of them at their own wedding? What a dick.

This jerk is embarrassing his bride by surprising her at their own wedding that he is also going to marry her sister--this reads like the typical harem fantasies of gross men, and a plot that gets its humor out of the initial bride’s fury about all of this before an empty faux-sentimental speech changes her mind. None of the humor and none of the sentimentality in this chapter is legitimate, earned, or effective. This returns Undead Unluck to its worst instincts that I had hoped it had left behind when Andy stopped groping Fuuko.

And, disclaimer: I completely forgot who Latla, Leila, and Rip are--and I’m glad for it, because, man, this chapter soured me on their story.

Well, with the bar that low, I’m sure the other offerings this week can’t be that bad when it comes to romance--

Witch Watch Chapter 132

Oh goddamn it.

I had already expressed discomfort with the story trying to re-situate Nico as Morihito’s daughter figure as opposed to love interest. I had hoped this story would wrap up what seemed like a temporary situation quickly. But nope, seems like Kenta Shinohara is committing to this, as Witch Watch enters its Part 2 phase.

I did read this chapter fast, so maybe I’m missing something integral that justifies letting Nico re-live her life all over again. The problem is, up to this point in this manga, that never seemed like something that had to happen.

At best I can say that, as Morihito hadn’t seen Nico since they were kids, and as Nico had to spend all that time training, then the story would suggest that getting to live the childhood she never had before is warranted. The problem is that idea seems like wish fulfillment, not addressing the reality that we don’t get a do-over in life. Yes, I know that Witch Watch is a fairy tale, but it is a story that up to now still felt like it worked best when putting its fantastic elements against things in life that can’t be changed: parents die, friends can drift apart over time, you can't repeat the past.

And even that “best that I can say” disclaimer is undermined by the story itself implying we are now on a collect-a-thon to retrieve those butterflies to restore Nico’s age and magic--unless, as this chapter seems to suggest, the team will just let Nico age at her own rate and retrieve the butterflies at her own pace, meaning this “Part 2” of the manga could extend for years.

And I’m not that big of a fan of this series to commit my time to digging that much into its nuance, when it seems like Shinohara chickened out on dealing with the relationship progression they established for Nico and Morihito since the first chapter. It’s the same tired cliche that comics creators just refuse to write romance, because they think it’s boring when, as we’ll discuss very, very briefly with Blue Box, no, there is plenty to mine.

Sadly this seems to be in keeping with Shinohara. I’m not the best at judging what is good or bad in a romance story, but it ain’t Witch Watch, and it ain’t a lot of Shinohara’s other works. But at least their earlier works had something that made most of those romances, or potential romances, or failed romances, feel warranted. With Sket Dance, Bossun and Himeko were just in completely different places, so it didn’t work out--and Witch Watch in its return to that story showed that maybe it just isn’t going to happen even later. At least that was mitigated somewhat by the hints of Switch and Momoka dating, and even then it’s kept until the last chapter. Shinohara’s best romance may be Quitterie and Zack, because it’s a comedy of errors that Zack thought they were already dating, such that any work done to make Quitterie the butt of the joke here is mostly harmless and, as with classical comedy, leads them both to a better place. Then again, for every Zack and Quitterie, there’s a Kanata and Aries, the most forced relationship you could imagine.

Spy x Family Chapter 90

The humor in this chapter is by no means as bad as what we got in Undead Unluck, but the jokes depend on some cliches that come across as punching-down--”This old man can’t remember things and mistakes things.” It’s on the level of a bad Mr. Magoo short.

The story also lays on thick the continued goals of this series to give Anya the most ideal family ever: “Spy dad and assassin mom! Secret police uncle! Inventor family friend! Telepathic dog! And…two old people!” What will Barbara and Sigmund add to Anya’s life that will be incredible and awesome? Because so far, it seems like the most we will get is that Sigmund is a learned scholar who can share with Anya the history of this world--but without some exciting detail to pair with that scholarship, it’s going to come across as Sigmund just being boring. And that’s fine--it doesn’t hurt to have a character who is just a relatively normal character in a sea of wacky. The problem is, Twilight was pretty much our most “normal” character, yet since the very beginning with Chapter 1, he has enough fundamental flaws that give him a unique worldview that make his interactions funny because of his misunderstandings. I don’t get that from Sigmund: we get someone wrongly referred to as senile when, no, he’s older, he needs help, this isn’t a fundamental flaw or even an amusing character trait, it feels like punching down humor.

Giving Anya grandparents, when she has never had them before, should be heartwarming and thrilling, the equivalent of Meet the Robinsons or The Incredibles revealing just how chaotic but entertaining, fun, and awesome this family can be. But this chapter isn’t there yet. We don’t know enough about Barbara and Sigmund to get a sense of what kind of grandparents they will be to Anya. It feels like we are only getting to know the most basic information about Barbara and Sigmund before some twist comes later, possibly what Sigmund can tell Anya and by extension the audience as to what the world was like before these wars and as a warning why Twilight and Yor have to be the ones to stop that war.

I haven’t written much about the actual artwork to any of the chapters this week, and even with Spy x Family this week, it didn’t thrill me. We have a lot of panels composed of just settings--buildings Yor and the others pass by, one scene of just the fountain without any real action when Sigmund goes to shower in it, some difficulty in reading the action in particular when Sigmund ended up at the top of the needle tower. At least the introductory image of Sigmund was laid out well.

In terms of any world-building, Yor happens upon a mafia office--and we’re just going to walk past that? The anime for Spy x Family is currently adapting the cruise ship arc that also deals with survivors of a mafia, so is this gang that Yor just escaped going to be related? Will they come back later and recognize Yor? At best we avoided the same old cliches of Yor having to think she has to stay incognito and can’t show off her skill set--because here, the goal she has is not to eliminate the mafia but to get Bond, Sigmund, and Anya to safety, and that is really good covert character progression.

Blue Box Chapter 125

I’m laughing at how the chapter makes something like having lunch with your high school romantic partner in a storage facility so scandalous. What’s next, holding hands?

(See, Witch Watch? Not that hard to make romance entertaining.)

My Hero Academia Chapter 406

His hero name is now Kacchan: the fan theories and headcanons have been fulfilled, I can end this series happy about that--because Bakugo embracing Izuku and All Might’s masochism is not appreciated.

Wrapping Up

Thanks for reading to the end.

Do you think Witch Watch and Undead Unluck dropped the ball on romance, or am I being too harsh? And how do you think romance has been handled in, say, Spy x Family and Blue Box? Let me know in the comments section or email me, [email protected].

Please look forward to more writing from me next week, if not also livestreaming and podcasting about new manga chapters.

As I say at the end of livestreams (after some new additions): until next Sunday, stay safe out there, people--mask up, get vaccinated, install adblockers, register to vote, campaign against fascism and war and genocide and terrorism, and learn and practice anti-bigotry. I’ve been Derek S. McGrath. You have a good afternoon. Bye.

#manga #blue box #my hero academia #undead unluck #spy x family #sunday morning manga #long post #witch watch

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rassilonwatchathon · 28 days

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It's the 9 year anniversary of The Watch-A-Thon of Rassilon, so this month we're sharing our older episodes!

NINTH DOCTOR SERIES ONE (June 27th, 2023-January 31st, 2024) Episode 161- Rose (Eat At Toni Jo’s!) Episode 162- The End of the World (An Old Earth Ballad) Episode 163- The Unquiet Dead (Everything We Do is for the Lesbians) w/ Steve Conway Episode 164- Aliens of London/World War Three (Let Zygons Be Zygons) w/ Vincent E.L. Episode 165- Dalek (Daleks Can’t Shoot Up) w/ @mgoldentumbls Episode 166- The Long Game (Who Gets Pegged) Episode 167- Father’s Day (Dad Stuff) w/ @truestoriesaboutme & @bradheath Episode 168- The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances (Mummy Issues) w/ Adam Clegg & Vincent E.L. Episode 169- Boom Town (Hey Thanks Wales) Episode 170- Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways (Don’t Think About Death) Ninth Doctor Special- A Fantastic Return (Charles Dickens Perservering) TENTH DOCTOR Episode 171- The Christmas Invasion (Premium Dad Content) w/ Vincent E.L. & @bradheath Special- Richard Starkings Interview (The Connector of Universes) w/ Richard Starkings

#doctor who #new who #ninth doctor #christopher eccleston #tenth doctor #david tennant #episodes #Steve Conway #Vincent E.L.#Matt Golden #Christine Cherry #Brad Heath #Adam Clegg #Richard Starkings

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chalet2000 · 4 months

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Some favourite movies I watched for the first time in 2023. According to my spreadsheet I watched 175 discrete films (some twice over the year). 25 of them had Burt Lancaster in them (that's as far as I got in my Burt-A-Thon before I got discouraged by how many bad westerns he did). In order they were watched:

Criss Cross (1946)

Easy Living (1937)

Brute Force (1947)

From Here To Eternity (1953)

Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)

Trapeze (1956)

Seperate Tables (1958)

Elmer Gantry (1960)

A Full Day's Work (1973)

Just A Gigolo (1978)

The Ruling Class (1972)

Phantom Of The Paradise (1974)

The Leather Boys (1964)

Merrily We Live (1938)

Hard Core Logo (1996)

The Seduction Of Mimi (1972)

Passages (2023)

Solo (2023)

Smooth Talk (1985)

Nightmare Alley (1937)

#m #i put in a formula and the average year of the movies i saw this year was 1975 lol

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julianrchandlerx · 1 year

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Seven minutes.

On average, it took about seven minutes to die from asphyxiation. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven minutes. It likewise took about seven minutes for a person to fall asleep. A strange similarity that Julian Rhys Chandler would spend a millennia thinking about, during the quietest moments of his eternity where nothing could occupy him save his own mind. Death had always been such a distant concept to a mortal man of only thirty years. When you’re that young, it felt like nothing could bring you down, and Julian was no exception to that rule. If he thought of his passing, he imagined Death finding him old and wrinkled, gray but hopefully in a distinguished way, and after having lived a long and exceptional life.

At this point in time, there was nothing particularly exceptional about Julian Chandler’s life. A life spent in the immeasurable shadow cast by the Chandler men who came before him, a lonely human existence in a world stranger than fiction. No amazing achievements on record, no wild escapades or fantastic stories to be told. Up until that day, April 21st, 2023, he seemed exceptionally average. Even when he knew the threat of death loomed somewhere above his head, he hadn’t thought it possible.

There would be no tragedy at this town event, after all.

Julian Chandler had been doing his best to side step the overall activity. Long, awkward limbs had not made the best for dancing, though he would have tried his hardest if ever required. Still, he hadn’t come there to participate in the competition. In a fuchsia sweater he found at the thrift store which he thought was passably retro, cuffed Levi’s and scuffed converse sneakers, he hugged the perimeter of the dance-a-thon, watching the fantastical people of Lunar Cove live their enchanting lives. A drink in hand, and a dozen or so chips filling his belly, Julian looked around and thought for that moment that life was good. Life had been good as of late. He was, for the most part, living his childhood dream of living off his artistic abilities (never mind that he was basically a starving artist though) and while it was small, he found a genuine community in this supernatural haven.

Following this train of thought, his eyes sought out the faces which made it for him. Ralph Middlemas was the first he spotted among the crowd, surefooted on the dance floor in a way Julian could only dream to be. His charisma and swagger rolled off him thickly, so full of life and personality. He wanted to be like the vampire, to have his confidence and his spunk. That animated charm which radiated the warmth and comfort of a million suns. The very things that invited Julian in and made him trust Ralph so much, made their friendship what it was. Was that how brothers were supposed to be, he wondered. Was that what he always lacked and craved from his own blood? This sort of bond where they could be goofy and themselves but then get real and honest. The kind of person he knew he could trust with his life — literally — in any situation. Ralph felt like the closest thing to family.

His gaze continued tracking the familiar faces on the dance floor until it settled rather naturally on Nesrim Erkal. Crush felt too simple for the description — in this past week she became something more concrete to him. Her smile was practically etched in his heart now, and their one evening together was, he hoped, the beginning of countless nights they’d share. Since then, Julian could still feel the curve of her in his arms when he slept, her presence lacking in his bed. They didn’t even do anything beyond cuddling and talking for hours, he hadn’t even kissed her, and yet… he was pretty sure it was the single greatest night of his existence. How he wished he could just stay up all night and listen to her speak, witness her brilliant mind at work. Even if he didn’t understand everything she said, he just wanted to be part of her special world.

More faces blurred past his vision, too many to dwell on for long — Nico, Mateo, Mason, more and more and more — until he stopped. Jasmine St. Claire. She was the whole reason he was here, wasn’t she? Perhaps against better judgment, he followed Jasmine to this peculiar town, and he refused to turn back. Tension existed in their friendship, but he was learning. He was beginning to understand the strange world she belonged in. Maybe it was going to be better. He told her he wasn’t going to walk away when she was facing all this danger, and he meant it. That’s not what a friend does. Julian wanted to be a better friend, the best he could be. He hoped she understood how important she was to him. From the moment she showed up at their high school in Queens, Julian Chandler just wanted to be Jasmine St. Claire’s friend. He didn’t want anything in return, he just wanted to know her and be there for her. That much hadn’t changed in the fourteen or so years since he approached her in high school, and he did not intend to change that at all now. Curse or no curse. Their friendship would persist, he wouldn’t give up on it.

Seven minutes…

He cleared his throat, feeling a tickle. “Damn Doritos,” Julian thought out loud, pulling his cup to his lips to take a generous sip. There was a shiver, only slight, rolling down his spine. An odd sensation since it was kind of warm there. Of course it was — there were so many people packed in, exchanging body heat while mostly in motion. He had felt a bit sweaty beneath his collar, but now he was feeling just a tad cold. Maybe it’s the drink, he thought. The drink that was easily going down for a moment. Catching the sudden spit into his cup, the man coughed against the rim. Whoa, wrong pipe, maybe? There was a rawness in Julian’s throat, an uncomfortable sensation which drew his free hand towards his neck instinctively. This strange hoarseness with a tinge of burn began to spread a bit downward until it took root in his chest. Relax, you just breathed in when you were supposed to drink. Just take a breath. His body followed his train of thought, nostrils flaring a bit as Julian attempted to inhale. And failed. That’s odd. He tried again. No air. Are you anxious or something? Once more. Again, no result. His fingers shook as it began to dwell on him.

Julian Chandler suddenly couldn’t breathe.

Distantly he could hear the falling of a cup, the tap, tap, tap as it hobbled on the ground and rolled away. He could vaguely feel the cool wetness of the liquid splashing against his ankle and soaking into the fabric of his sneakers and socks. All other sensations were becoming clouded and distant as his body began to focus on this new obstacle hindering it. Why couldn’t he breathe right? Quickly his shallow inhales became larger, hastier gasps for air, a frantic sound resonating from his throat where he was struggling to pull in that air. His lungs were burning, his heart was catapulting a mile a minute, doing wild and terrified laps in his chest. It hurt, and to add to the growing pain was a spike of anxiety that dug its claws into Julian’s shoulders and shook him wildly. You can’t breathe, Chandler!

Blue eyes darted around him as his hand clawed uselessly at his neck and clavicle. As if he could dig into his skin and pull away this unwanted obtrusion keeping him from taking in a breath of air. His other hand waved above his head, high above the crowd which Julian regularly towered over, trying in vain to flag someone — anyone — down. Was he choking? Was this a sudden anxiety attack? He didn’t know what was happening and he didn’t have time to question it. He couldn’t breathe, for crying out loud. He couldn’t even shout out, “Help,” though his lips curled breathlessly around the word. Why wasn’t anyone coming to him? Could they not see him?

His eyes, wide and pleading, washed over the crowd again, over the faces he just mused over, but then his gaze was traveling up the wall and then above him towards the ceiling. A shot of pain flowed from the back of his head, one shoulder, his hip and side, and leg, and Julian realized what happened. He’d fallen over. By now he thought maybe people noticed, but he wasn’t sure, because now he was lying on the floor, frantically gasping for air that wouldn’t come to him. His vision was blurring, and in the back of his mind he thought maybe this was a sign. Lose oxygen and sooner or later you’re bound to lose consciousness.

Blue eyes searching the area above and around him, he thought maybe a face was coming into view but he didn’t allow himself too much time to make out the details. He was dying. He knew it now. He felt it now. Death was there, standing over him in its dark shroud with a clock in its hand, slowly counting down the minutes until it claimed him. Seven in total. It was coming for him so fast and he couldn’t keep up. Was this how curses took someone, or was this some other cruel trick of fate? Was this somehow always meant to be his destiny — to lose his life in an unfamiliar town in the middle of a dance floor, surrounded by people but without his family near?

Hands shaking above his chest and throat, he mustered up whatever strength was still in him as he managed to catch his voice for one, brief moment. “Ralph,” he croaked. “I need Ralph.” If the last words were said or just part of his imagination, he wasn’t sure. He was focusing then on the gallop of his heart as it slowly but steadily began to dial back. Lose its momentum. It was growing darker and darker at the edges of his vision, his mind slowly collapsing in on itself. Faces and memories and thoughts and unfulfilled dreams passed him by. He never made his great masterpiece, his magnum opus, he didn’t leave anything grand behind. He hadn’t settled down and started a family like he always hoped he would, hadn’t owned anything material and worthwhile in this life that could be his legacy. He hadn’t spoken to his father in god knows how long, and he hadn’t made amends. He never did anything to make Russell Chandler proud of him.

And he hadn’t seen his mother in months. Caroline Chandler. Her face came to his mind’s eye and stayed there. She had always coddled and doted on him, and now he was dying and she had no idea. She wasn’t anywhere near. And all he wanted was to see her one last time, to feel her fingers through his hair, and to hear his own mother tell him it would be okay. Everything will be okay. His chest jumped painfully as he tried to grasp onto anything, to break out of this and keep going. If only it were so easy. He felt the cold coming then, slowly, gently, like a thin, soft blanket being laid over him. A lot like being tucked in by mom before bed. Maybe you should close your eyes and go to sleep, a tempting thought began to settle in and Julian couldn’t tell if his eye lids were closing or if his vision was finally failing him.

Seven minutes… Just like falling asleep.

#death tw #anxiety tw #panic attack tw #suffocation tw #lunarcoveevent6 #event: blossom festival #this can easily work as just a self para tbh since he probs can’t interact with anyone who comes to him #but I wanted to get it out there #if you respond pls don’t feel the need to match length #this is rambly and erratic but that’s how it’s going #blood tw #for the gif

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crowdvscritic · 10 months

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round up // JUNE 23

The best things come in pairs in this Round Up. A few repeat offenders this June:

Jason Schwartzman

Harrison Ford

Brad Pitt

Pixar

Archeological digs

Sports stories

1943 musicals

Tap dancing

‘80s pop-rock records

Two Tales of Cities

And, as always, Crowd and Critic are best when they’re in tandem. These are my top picks for June 2023 in the order I experienced them:

June Crowd-Pleasers

1. Shooting Stars (2023)

As a sports dilettante, I knew nothing about LeBron James’s pre-NBA life. (Full disclosure: I don’t know much about his post-NBA life either.) This sports drama probably sands off some edges (James produced this movie based on a book he wrote), but it hits its marks. It’s inspirational but not schmaltzy, and thanks to great performances (including an always stellar Caleb McLaughlin and I’m-always-glad-when-he-pops-up Dermot Mulroney), this story of five basketball-obsessed kids growing up is much better than you’d expect for a direct-to-Peacock movie. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7/10

2. Elemental (2023)

Pixar is back to basics with Elemental. In the best way, that means Pixar is up to their old shenanigans, but in another sense, it means this movie is, well, basic. Read my full review at ZekeFilm or watch my segment on KMOV to give you an idea on whether Pixar’s latest is for you. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

3. Flamin’ Hot (2023)

What Flamin’ Hot lacks in heat it makes up for in heart. With its relatable stakes and the comedy it finds in skewering corporate culture, this kind-of-true story of the creation of the Flamin’ Hot Cheeto (yes, really) is about as good as it could be. Read my full review at ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8/0 // Critic: 7/10

4. Coco (2017)

Finally watched after being one of my top “oops, I haven’t seen this yet” titles for years. Yes, Pixar did make me sob again. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 9/10

5. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

Do you love to feel nostalgia or to be surprised? Do you like old school action or newfangled special effects? Do you enjoy historical adventures or stories about modern issues? Then the fifth Indiana Jones episode is for you! Literally the only thing this needed to achieve was to surpass the quality of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, but why settle for that when you can make an action-packed adventure better than most summer blockbuster fare? Given that Raiders of the Lost Ark and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade are two of the best adventure movies (or perhaps, just movies) of the 20th century, it’s no insult to say The Dial of Destiny ranks third for me in Indy’s canon with Temple of Doom and Crystal Skull following in distant fourth and fifth places. Crowd: 10/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

6. Bananarama-thon + Bangle-mania + Go-Go-palooza

What says “summer” more than 1980s girl pop-rock bands? (Or really, 1980s pop-rock period?) Bananarama, The Bangles, and The Go-Go’s made excellent summer soundtracks with their respective albums Deep Sea Skiving (1983), Bananarama (1984), and True Confessions (1986); All Over the Place (1984), Different Light (1986), and Everything (1988); and Beauty and the Beat (1981), Vacation (1982), and Talk Show (1984). Also, does Bananarama’s debut album have the greatest cover art of all time?

7. Sports Night (1998-2000)

My binge of short-lived behind-the-scenes shows continues! Clearly Aaron Sorkin and pals like Tommy Schlamme were still learning the ropes of TV, and they were not helped by the fact that premiering in the ‘90s mandated a laugh track in the first season. But the bones of Sorkin’s future are there: Josh Charles and Peter Krause’s bromance feels like laying the track for some of the best of The West Wing, and Felicity Huffman is one of his iconic strong female leads. Robert Guillaume’s elder statesmen of TV (both in front and behind of the camera) is the glue that holds the show together, and the show’s love for sports is so infectious it draws in non-sporty girlies like me.

8. Legal Eagles (1986)

A legal dramedy starring Robert Redford directed with the light touch of Ivan Reitman? This art heist murder mystery co-starring Debra Winger and Daryl Hannah is a hidden gem of the ‘80s...and also an addition to my Favorite Tap Dances list on Letterboxd? Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7.5/10

9. The Stone Roses by The Stone Roses (1989)

A Rolling Stone article I shared last month got me curious about this band (whom I know nothing about beyond that article), and this album has been scratching The Smiths itch that lives in me.

June Critic Picks

1. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

It’s a visual wonder with stellar voice work, especially Jason Schwartzman’s clever villain, and once we get to the Nueva York universe, everything flies. But boy, does it take a while to get there. I normally reserve my Round Ups for praise, but since Across the Spider-Verse’s nearly universal acclaim won’t be tarnished by my critique, the spirit of transparency compels me to complain this film is at least 30 minutes too long. When you’re trying to be both a Gwen Stacy movie and a Miles Morales movie, the somber first hour slows down even more and delays revisiting the stuff we loved most in the first film. The kids next to me were antsy well before this was over, my dad fell asleep in the middle (which he never does), and then it rivals Lord of the Rings for fake out endings. Here's hoping Spider-Ham and Spider-Man Noir get to make up for their lost time in part 3! Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 8/10

2. Ninotchka (1939)

When Soviet Greta Garbo travels to Paris on Communist Party business, can she resist the city’s charms? She and her fellow comrades find themselves succumbing to the amenities, champagne, and romance they can’t find in Mother Russia. An Ernst Lubitsch-directed rom-com co-written by Billy Wilder can’t miss! Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10

3. Little Women (2017)

Another Round Up, another version of Little Women. I immediately pushed this PBS miniseries to the top of my watchlist when I dug into Little Mermaid star Jonah Hauer-King’s past filmography and discovered he performed alongside Angela Lansbury (!!!). Though I expect the budget was smaller than a big screen feature’s, the extended runtime allows for moments we haven’t seen depicted on film before. The cast of ringers includes Lansbury as a delightfully cranky Aunt March and Hauer-King as a lovelorn Laurie, as well Maya Hawke as Jo, Kathryn Newton as Amy, and Michael Gambon as Mr. Laurence in an 1860s Concord as bucolic as ever. Like a warm, encouraging hug!

4. Past Lives (2023)

This bittersweet romantic drama makes me want to call up my boyfriend who moved away the summer after 7th grade and the guy I never dated in college who studied abroad and then transferred and that boy I met at a party a few years ago who said he was moving next week to sail boats in Delaware and then be disappointed none of them are as I remember or imagined who they would become. The best film of the year so far? Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 10/10

5. Double Feature - Silly 1943 Musicals About Marrying for Money: Du Barry Was a Lady + Higher and Higher

Movies today should try being as weird as ‘40s musicals. In Higher and Higher (Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 7.5/10), a one-time millionaire tries to marry off his maid to a wealthy bachelor, though she may prefer to romance Frank Sinatra (playing himself!) instead. In Du Barry Was a Lady (7.5/10 // 8/10), Lucille Ball is trying to snag herself a rich guy, though she may prefer to romance Gene Kelly instead. (This is a much more obvious addition to my Favorite Tap Dances list on Letterboxd.) Both are silly, but when you’ve got Sinatra singing or Kelly dancing to Cole Porter songs, you’ve still got wow moments. More movies today should detour into 18th century dream sequences!

6. Valley of the Kings (1954)

Robert Taylor and Eleanor Parker go on a high-stakes archaeological dig in the early 1900s set in front of gorgeous photography in Egypt. A fun prototype for Indiana Jones and The Mummy! Crowd: 7/10 // Critic: 8/10

7. Asteroid City (2023)

Something Wes Anderson does not get enough credit for: The man has never made a film longer than two hours. This spring’s trend of Wes Anderson-inspired social media may have brought attention to the previously unacquainted, but it took only a few of those superficially xanthic posts to exhaust my Instagram feed. Most social filmmaking is ugly and chaotic, but Anderson’s attention to detail when blocking his troupe of players in the golden ratio, designing perfectly-shaped mushroom clouds, and using color theory to select his palette doesn’t just hold up on a big screen—it deserves it. Read my full review at ZekeFilm. Crowd: 7/10 // Critic: 10/10

8. Double Feature - ‘90s Brad Pitt: Legends of the Fall (1994) + The Devil’s Own (1997)

In Legends of the Fall (Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 8.5/10), Brad Pitt’s nonconformist Tristan upends the lives of his family members (including Anthony Hopkins and Julia Ormond) as they strive to keep their Montana estate through World War I, Prohibition, and the Great Depression. In The Devil’s Own (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 9/10), Pitt’s IRA terrorist Rory upends the life of the family who takes him in (including Harrison Ford) when he escapes to America. One is a soapy historical epic, one is a gritty police thriller, but both show the promise of Pitt’s career.

9. A Tale of Two Cities (1935)

A pretty good adaptation of one of my favorite high school English class reads. Though the nuance and depth of the Mr. Charles “I Get Paid by the Word” Dickens novel can’t be captured in just two hours and the portrayal of Lucie is, well, a lot, Ronald Colman’s Sydney and Blanche Yurka’s Madame De Farge are pitch-perfect, and it’s as moving as its source material. Crowd: 7.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10

10. Good Reads

The incessant onslaught of more-TV-than-can-possibly-be-watched is reaching critical mass:

“The Idol and Our Backlash Times,” NYTimes.com (2023)

“‘The End of Peak Television:’ Has the Era of Prestige TV Just Ground to a Halt?” TheGuardian.com (2023)

“Peak TV Is Over. Welcome to Trough TV,” slate.com (2023)

“From Warrior Nun to Three Women, TV Shows are Being Cancelled. Yet Somehow Emily in Paris Lives On,” TheGuardian.com (2023)

“Media's Succession Obsession,” axios.com (2023)

Thoughts on our moment in diversity in TV and movies:

“Box Office: Early Summer Tentpoles Cash In, Fueled by Diverse Stars,” HollywoodReporter.com (2023)

“‘Why is Bridgerton’s Race Twisting Acceptable?’ The Real Problem With the Show’s Black Fantasy,” TheGuardian.com (2023)

The Hollywood Reporter continues its impressive breadth of Writer’s Strike coverage:

“Tom Hanks, Baby Jessica and Lessons from a Three Strike Writer,” HollywoodReport.com (2023)

“Guest Column: If Writers Lose the Standoff With Studios, It Hurts All Filmmakers,” HollywoodReporter.com (2023)

And a grab bag of pieces on baseball, basketball, and Beyoncé:

“The Team Trying Very, Very Hard to Be the Worst in Baseball History,” slate.com (2023)

“Beyoncé Caused Sweden Inflation Bump, Expert Says,” politico.eu (2023)

“The 100 Most Significant Political Films of All Time,” NewRepublic.com (2023)

“The Flash Was Never Going to Run Away From Its Problems,” TheRinger.com (2023)

“Employee of the Month Rewarded With More Work,” vice.com (2023)

Also in June…

I’m processing a lot of emotions about what’s going on at Turner Classic Movies, and I’ve yet to figure out how to put them into words. Until I get there, I’m constantly adding to my list of movies I’ve watched thanks to the people who work there, and you can see the almost-350 of them on Letterboxd.

Until the end of July, you can see what I’m watching in real time on Letterboxd. Yes, I’ve seen Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One; no I can’t talk about it until after the review embargo lifts on July 5th.

Pending Twitter doesn’t self-implode before you read this, you can also find me there.

Photo credits: Bananarama, The Stone Roses, Good Reads. All others IMDb.com.

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hallmark-movie-fanatics · 10 months

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Ya Gotta Have Heart Rom-Com-a-Thon

Starting at 10a/9c on Saturday, June 24 spend the day watching romantic movies featuring your favorite Hallmark stars from "When Calls the Heart."

June 24

10am/9c - Romance to the Rescue (2022)

12pm/11c - My One & Only (2019)

2pm/1c - Big Sky River (2022)

4pm/3c - The Sweetest Heart (2018)

6pm/5c - It Was Always You (2021)

8pm/7c - Make Me a Match (2023) Premiere

10pm/9c - Feeling Butterflies (2022)

#ya gotta have heart marathon #schedule #hallmark movies #romance to the rescue #my one & only #big sky river #the sweetest heart #it was always you #make me a match #feeling butterflies #hallmark channel

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rookie-critic · 1 year

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Rookie-Critic's Film Review Weekend Wrap-Up - Week of 2/27-3/5/2023

-The Sea Beast (2022, dir. Chris Williams) This was beyond fun. I'll admit my bias towards pirate-y/sailor-y stuff up front, but even aside from that this was just an amazingly crafted, beautifully animated film with a well-told story. The characters are well voice-acted and vibrantly full of character and life. Jared Harris' Captain Crow in particular was fantastic. This really gave me the vibes of the best animated adventure films from the 90s; it had that sense of wonder and heart that the film's from my childhood did and it struck a chord, for sure. Plus, any film that points out how history books might not be completely trustworthy if the ones holding the power are the ones that wrote the books is a win from me. The only reasons this isn't getting a full 10/10 is because of a few small plot devices that aren't explored fully and the fact that the story isn't anything super new or groundbreaking. Anyone who sees that this is nominated for an Oscar and thinks "why the hell is this here?" clearly hasn't seen it and I recommend that you do so immediately. Score: 9/10 Currently streaming on Netflix.

-Rocky (1976, dir. John G. Avildsen) [REWATCH] I've started a Rocky-thon of sorts in order to prepare to go see Creed III, so naturally, first up would be the original 1976 Best Picture winner. The story of street-kid Rocky Balboa's one-in-a-million chance at becoming a professional boxer almost mirrors writer/lead actor Sylvester Stallone's own journey in getting this very film made, and there is a ton to like about Rocky, even outside of the amazing final scene where he fights Apollo Creed for the first (but most certainly not the last, as we've all come to find out) time. The cinematic brilliance of that final fight and subsequent shouting of "ADRIAN!!" cannot be underplayed. No spoilers, of course (although if you're over the age of 20 and have never seen Rocky before, what are you even doing?). I think my biggest issue with the film is it feels very meandering in its first 90 minutes, even by character study standards, which this most definitely is. You get a feel for who Rocky is as a person pretty early on, then the rest is just watching him mumble-through awkward encounters with Talia Shire's Adrian until, miraculously, that blossoms into a relationship. I just had a hard time connecting with Rocky from a personality level, not to even mention the machismo that will continue to plague the franchise well into its lifespan. Also, and I'll get more into this in my other Rocky reviews, but I really, really don't like Paulie. He served a purpose in this film, but man, I've spent four films wishing someone would just deck him. I'm never gonna knock someone for liking Rocky and thinking it's amazing, because a lot of it is, but I found too much lacking in it to give it higher than the score I gave it. Score: 7/10 Currently streaming on Netflix.

-Rocky II (1979, dir. Sylvester Stallone) [REWATCH] Onto the second installment in this all-time classic franchise, and this time there's a rematch. Personally, the story in Rocky II, that is to say the first 90 minutes of film prior to the big fight, interested me way more than the original. Seeing Rocky struggle with the aftermath of success, and the aftermath of short-lived wealth was so compelling. The dichotomy of wanting to live a quiet, peaceful life with your partner and build something away from the quite dangerous world of boxing with the pull of this thing that has been your world for so long, this thing that is your true calling, made for a much more interesting film than the first. Combining that with an increased presence of Burgess Meredith, who was, without question, the best part of the entire film, had me more invested in the narrative through line of Rocky II more so than I ever was in Stallone's first outing. However, where Rocky II falters is in its attempts to recapture the magical moments of the original film. The training montage in this one is, frankly, just silly, and running up all those steps doesn't seem quite as impressive when a thousand children have also just followed you up there and don't look any worse for wear than you do. The fight at the end of the film, while still not bad, isn't nearly what the first film's was. I've heard fans of the franchise say that the fight in this one is one of the best parts of the film, but I just couldn't get hyped up like I was during Rocky's first match with Apollo Creed. Also, Paulie, who I already hated, has lost his purpose for existing in this world outside of to just be an annoyance and something to be tolerated and worked around, and he continues to be this in an ever-worsening way in the future installments. Overall, a better story, but worse in all of the places that made the first film iconic. Score: 7/10 Currently streaming on Netflix.

-Cocaine Bear (2023, dir. Elizabeth Banks) I won't dwell on this too long, as I posted a full review earlier on in the week. This movie is exactly what it advertises itself as, which is a fun, schlocky romp through B-movie horror-comedy territory. Plenty of vibe-conforming bad CGI and gory bits to please any and everyone who saw the trailer and thought "Well, I gotta see that!" Ray Liotta, Alden Ehrenreich, and O'Shea Jackson Jr. are all great, but Christian Convery is the true Cocaine Bear MVP. My complaints with it are more with the editing and the technical end of things, as well as not being the biggest fan of the film's surprisingly half-boring first act. This one is a fun, wacky, and harmless distraction of a film and I had a blast in the theater watching it. Score: 7/10 Only in theaters. Read my full review here.

-A House Made of Splinters (2022, dir. Simon Lereng Wilmont) This documentary about a temporary children's shelter located just a handful of kilometers away from the Ukraine/Russia war's front lines is heartbreaking and, at times, an incredibly tough watch. It shows a consequence of any war that doesn't necessarily always get a light shined on it, which makes this something truly unique. The Ukraine conflict almost exists only as a backdrop. It is clearly the reason for the sheer number of children being housed in this facility, but it is barely mentioned, nor is that particular war really the focus or the point of the documentary; that is placed squarely on the children. The resilience of these kids is truly wondrous, ranging from younger children who maintain their childlike playful nature, even in these extreme circumstances, to slightly older (but still very much young) children who have clearly had to grow up faster than any child should. As a small look into this tiny-but-not-so-tiny, unexplored corner of the war, A House Made of Splinters was a very eye-opening experience. Score: 8/10 Currently available to rent/purchase on digital (iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, etc.).

-Rocky III (1982, dir. Sylvester Stallone) [REWATCH] This is my favorite Rocky of the classic run, bar none, hands down, no contest. It is easily the most fun, easily the most purely entertaining, and has what, to me, is easily the best fight of those first four films. Mr. T is brilliant as Clubber Lang, and Burgess Meredith and Carl Weathers continue to be scene-stealing masters as Mickey and Apollo Creed. I've read that many, many people (both fans and critics alike) think this is the most rewatchable film in the Rocky franchise and I could not agree more. It's still not just a blazing masterpiece or anything; it falls prey to trying to recapture those iconic moments of the first one just like Rocky II did, although to a lesser degree, and Paulie continues to be a giant bag of useless crap that adds nothing to this franchise whatsoever, Stallone even sees fit to add "racist" to Paulie's seemingly never-ending list of (excuse my language) dogshit qualities, for good measure. All of that aside, I had an absolute blast with Rocky III. It's so close to being an 8/10 it can almost taste it, but there are too many things still dragging it down to earn that extra point. Score: 7/10 Currently streaming on Netflix.

-Magic Mike's Last Dance (2023, dir. Steven Soderbergh) How do you strip the magic out of Magic Mike (puns absolutely intended)? You reduce the supporting cast that made the first two entries, especially the second one, so much fun to mere cameos, and then you take Channing Tatum's Mike Lane to London and place him in a position where he only gets to fully dance twice in the entire film. You also throw in a really contrived and unnecessary voiceover and make the big set piece at the film's end, which has been sold to us as something that's supposed to be truly spectacular, a pretty fun strip show, but not one that's any better than the stuff we got at the end of the previous film. I was also surprised by an uncharacteristically sub-par turn from Salma Hayek Pinault, who is normally a great actress. I'm not entirely sure if it was that her character was poorly written, or if her acting was really not good even for the material she was given, but it shocked me to see a veteran actress like Hayek Pinault give something far below her usual. All was not completely lost, though, as the choreography was great, as usual, and the film has still got a trace of the humor that made XXL so fun. I didn't have the worst time with Magic Mike's Last Dance, but I was disappointed. Soderbergh can do better, and I kind of hope this is, indeed, Magic Mike's last dance. Score: 5/10 Only in theaters.

-Rocky IV (1985, dir. Sylvester Stallone) [REWATCH] I'm sorry, I know Rocky fans the world over consider this one of the good ones, but it's bad. It's pretty bad. The runtime is extremely padded with completely unnecessary montages, a couple of which are just music videos for songs on the film's soundtrack. The fight at the end is not worthy of the really good setup that Ivan Drago gets in the film's first half; it's not a bad fight, per se, but the buildup was so big (like I said, there are so many training montages) for a fight that was largely no more intense than the fight from the original film. Not to mention Paulie's robot, which he manages to insert his sexism into (and the film plays it all for laughs), the fact that both Rocky and Adrian abandon their child ON CHRISTMAS to go fight the big-bad Russian man, leaving little Rocky Jr. in the care of the freaking robot! There's also the unavoidable subject of this being a cold-war propaganda film, which might be the most disappointing part of the whole thing. The franchise seems to be a complete bastardization of itself at this point in its lifespan, and it's getting the points I am giving it for Carl Weathers and the great setup of Drago as a menacing villain alone, even if the payoff for that setup was lackluster. I understand Stallone released a director's cut of the film a couple years ago that re-contextualizes a lot of the film into more of a character study befitting the tone of the first few entries. I'd be very interested to watch that and see if that's true. Score: 4/10 Currently streaming on Netflix.

-The Wicker Man (2006, dir. Neal LaBute) The classic. The infamous. The "not the bees!" one. This was the latest film my college friend group watched as a part of our "Nicolas Cage Fridays" movie night. It is everything that people have built it up to be, although maybe not quite as absolute trash as I've heard. It isn't good by any means, but Cage's acting outside of those few beautiful moments where we get full-Cage isn't really that bad. It's not great, but it's pretty standard stuff. It's an interesting enough story, but none of it ever really comes together in a way that isn't unintentionally hilarious. Also, this has no bearing on my score, but I was not aware that there are two different cuts of this film, a theatrical and an unrated. We watched the theatrical version, apparently, so imagine my surprise when the end of the film comes along and that truly iconic line and scene is just completely skipped over. I was livid. Thankfully, that appears to be the only big difference between the two versions, so it was nothing a quick YouTube pull-up couldn't fix. I had a fun time with The Wicker Man, but I attribute most of that to watching it in a group setting and not to the film itself. I really want to watch the original Christopher Lee film from 1973 that this is a remake of, because I hear that is much better. Score: 4/10 Currently available to rent/purchase on digital (iTunes, Amazon, etc.) and on DVD and Blu-ray through Warner Bros.

-Children of the Corn (2023, dir. Kurt Wimmer) An unfortunate fun fact about me is that I have, regrettably, seen all 10 (now 11) entries in this godforsaken franchise. It's one of the unfortunate side-effects of being dedicated to watching all Stephen King-related media. I'm not proud of it, but it is a sunk cost fallacy that I cannot separate myself from. That being said, in the realm of horrible Children of the Corn films (which is basically all of them), this one at least had a decent production value and acting that wasn't laughably atrocious. I think more than anything, this entry suffers the most from being just kind of uninteresting. It comes from the angle of showing just how the town became children-of-the-corn'd, which is interesting, in a way, but once the proverbial shit hits the fan it's just more of the same that we've already seen a handful of times (or, if you're a normal person, maybe only seen once). I think the thing that I hate the most is that I know that, inevitably, there will be another one, and I will go see it, because I've made this bed of corn husks for myself, so I might as well lie in it. Score: 3/10 Only in theaters.

I saw Return to Seoul this morning, but don't feel like I've formed my opinion enough to even give a mini-review yet. That will most likely be a full-length one that I will type up tomorrow. I'm also currently in the middle of Argentina, 1985, so look out for that on next week's wrap-up.

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reliquiaenfr · 2 years

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i’ll be busy next week so i’m posting this year’s call a lil early.

june 8, 2023, is the tenth anniversary and i wanna do a great big hatch-a-thon to celebrate one whole DECADE of dragons! if you wanna join me, great! bring an egg and we’ll crack ‘em open! just wanna watch? that’s cool too! click the banner, should take you to the pinglist.

closer to the actual date, i’ll set up a thread on fr, a spreadsheet, maybe a discord for streaming (or i’ll have to figure out twitch again rip). but in the mean time, happy 9th birthday fr 🎆🎉

boosts would be much appreciated ♥

#flight rising #nonsense #10 years of heck #kinda wanna see if we can collectively #hatch more eggs than we did for cwu #just think it's a fun thing to do

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phoenixwatchesmovies · 11 months

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What I'm Watching 2023: May

Evil Dead Rise

GAAAAAHHHHH HOLY SHIT I LOVE THIS FRANCHISE! I ended up watching this twice and while I would have loooooooooved more body horror, the story more than delivered in my book. So it's a wash. You know the drill, franchise rant someday, etc.

Gerald's Game

Fun fact, I passed out the first time I watched this. I think it's a trend of mine with Mike Flanagan works to enjoy them exponentially more upon revisiting, because I was middle-of-the-road with this one the first time and got my socks knocked clean off this time. Might have to do a Flanagan ranking thingamajig sometime...

Evil Dead 2

GAAAAAHHHHH HOLY SHIT I LOVE THIS FRANCHISE! Hot take, but this one is my least favorite of the franchise. Don't get me wrong, it's fantastic and you can see where Raimi and Campbell have grown between the original and this. There's a reason why it's most fans top pick.

The Simpsons Movie

It's been almost a decade since the last time I watched this, and it's...actually as good as I remember.

The Babadook

I love this movie more every time I watch it. The performances, the sound design, the practical effects, etc. Different parts hit harder every time, but the same parts always have me bawling.

Scooby-Doo: Mystery, Incorporated

I'm finally watching this after hearing so many good things about it. I don't care how old you are, you are NEVER too old for Scooby Doo.

Requiem For A Dream

By several metrics, this is one of the most unique films I've ever seen. I didn't find it quite as depressing as I've heard it made out to be, but it's still a tough watch. And it certainly sticks with you. I still have the theme stuck in my head.

Doctor Sleep

I'm going to need a bigger post to talk about this movie. It's special. It's devastating. I took it way too personally and I'm still fucked up over it. And if you'll excuse me, I have to go cry about it again.

Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

This movie is every bit as good as I hoped it would be, and it lived up to the hype. You can't go wrong with it. If you know D&D, it's a fun campaign. If you don't, it's a fun movie. Good humor, great story, excellent cast, practical effects, and I'm pretty sure everything has a payoff. I'd have to watch it again to be sure, but hey, I'm not complaining.

Gunpowder Milkshake

I'm not usually one for straight-up action movies, but this cast was too good to pass up. The script was a little iffy at times, but that's just one tiny nitpick. The rest was a blast. Beautiful sets, badass fight scenes, great soundtrack, and did I mention this cast? 😍

#watch a thon 2023 #evil dead rise #gerald's game #evil dead 2 #the simpsons movie #the babadook #scooby doo mystery incorporated #requiem for a dream #doctor sleep #dungeons and dragons #gunpowder milkshake

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skippyv20 · 1 year

Text

Australian Article re; Spare nterview

Prince Harry’s ‘idiotic’ tactic for reconciling with his family falls completely flat

https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/royals/prince-harrys-idiotic-tactic-for-reconciling-with-his-family-falls-completely-flat/news-story/24fba855f1063fe95086cce87e3f37b8

Revolutionary Russians were hardly big fans of the monarchy – just ask the Romanovs – but ironically, when it comes to the state of the royal world at the start of 2023, no one put it better than Lenin who said: “There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”

We are currently in one of those weeks, thanks to

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex

who has not one, but two, huge TV interviews as well as the publication of

his autobiography

Spare

set to land in the coming days.

All of this is, of course, after he and wife

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex

unleashed their hitherto biggest offensive yet against the royal family –

their interminable Netflix whinge-a-thon

, six hours of finger pointing and the sort of anti-establishment grenade-throwing that would have cheered up the Bolsheviks no end.

But there will be no rest for our poor, tired eyeballs because Harry is back at it, again, carping on about his family with all the self-pitying of a teenager who has been forcibly parted from his Xbox.

The

first trailer for Harry’s interview with the UK’s Tom Bradby has been released

, with him saying he wants a family “reconciliation”.

“I would like to get my father back,” he said. “I would like to have my brother back.”

It’s hard to find the right words here to truly quantify how stupefying, how ridiculous, how downright idiotic the Duke’s logic is here. Harry wants his family “back” and the way he is going about that is by pillorying them afresh to a global TV audience? By giving an interview to US

60 Minutes

that was being promoted on Tuesday as “explosive”?

Does anyone imagine that in their Birkhall drawing room, all Jack Russell fur-covered sofas and discreetly tucked away ashtrays (probably),

King Charles

and Queen Camilla will sit down to watch Harry – again – cast the royal family as a perfidious bunch of leakers, only for His Majesty to tearfully, full of regret, want to reach for his phone to issue a public apology to his son?

Or that

William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales

, will, watching the Harry confessionals on their iPads in bed, suddenly turn to one another and decide they were in the wrong all along? Somehow I doubt a Peter Jones gift hamper with a heartfelt mea culpa and far too much gluten will be winging its way to Montecito anytime soon.

If Harry and Meghan really wanted nothing more than a true royal rapprochement, a true healing of hurts and mending of fences with the House of Windsor, is there a single, solitary soul on the planet who thinks that the best way to achieve that is via hours and hours of the Sussexes bad-mouthing the royal family?

Which brings us to one indisputable fact in this hub-bubbling mess:

Harry has a book to move

In a week, the Duke will release his memoir, a book that so far promises to be the least fun beach read since the 9/11 commission report came out.

Penguin Random House, for the privilege of publishing the princely pariah’s tell-all, reportedly forked over $29 million for a four-book arrangement with the Sussexes. (The other three? According to the

Sunday Times

, we have a “wellness-focused” title from Meghan, “a book about leadership and philanthropy” and a possible memoir from the Duchess to look forward to. Oh goody.)

Harry, or Aitch as we recently learned ‘Meg’ calls him, has millions of copies of a book to shift in the same way that the Sussexes, in return for their reported $140 million deal with Netflix, had to deliver stonkingly good viewing figures for the streamer.

No amount of morally superior window dressing about wanting his father “back” can obscure that money, to some degree, is now an animating force for the Sussexes.

(Harry has also committed to donating $2.2 million of proceeds from the book to his charity Sentebale and $530,000 the UK’s WellChild of which he is patron.)

When the couple put out their Instagram post that was heard around the world nearly three years ago exactly (January 8, 2020 if you want to observe the solemn day) they said they wanted to become “financially independent”.

Since then it has become apparent that their version of independence seemed to still involve Charles ponying up millions and British taxpayers happily footing the bill for bodyguards to follow the Sussexes around North American organic shops in pursuit of activated almonds.

As Harry told Oprah in 2021: “My family literally

cut me off financially

.” (I know, there aren’t violins small enough …)

Which left the couple needing money – and a heck of a lot of it – which they have proceeded to earn by inking highly profitable deals – deals that so far have largely involved them airing a commercial laundry’s worth of dirty royal linen. (Even Meghan’s

Archetypes

podcast, yet to be renewed for a second season, was peppered with the occasional revelation.)

This picture gets even more complicated when you consider that a “source with knowledge” of Harry’s memoir has told

The Sunday Times

: “I think the book [will be] worse for them than the royal family is expecting. Everything is laid bare. Charles comes out of it better than I had expected, but it’s tough on William, in particular, and even Kate gets a bit of a broadside. There are these minute details, and a description of the fight between the brothers. I personally can’t see how Harry and William will be able to reconcile after this.”

And yet, Harry wants his father and brother “back”. How exactly does he see this happening?

The ‘logic’ in all of this requires such mental contortions I think I need a lie down.

The truly unsettling thing in all of this? The week has not even really begun, with hours of interviews to be watched (or, endured) and hundreds of pages of

Spare

to be ploughed through yet. What will Harry’s relationship with his family look like on the other side of this?

I think the only thing we can confidently say that will be going “back” anytime soon is that Peter Jones gift basket for a refund

Thank you❤️

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onenettvchannel · 1 year

Photo

OneNETnews EXCLUSIVE: Southern Californian Gamer and Animator is all set to Inaugurate for YouTube Plays Pokémon

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA -- A 25 y/o female YouTuber in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America (U.S.A.) named Jaiden Dittfach, known as JaidenAnimations officially announced last Friday night (November 11th, 2022), the video sharing platform seeking your viewers in control per referencing with Twitch.

Her new era is in the works with a different animation style and will soon transition the old Dittfach somewhere in early March 2023 right after the Subscriber Marathon on YouTube.

Dittfach moves forward with a l*wd incident after a massive cease and desist request for the illustrative digital art, in connection to a controversial fictional character under her same name without a consent in s*xual crimes per physical interview with Smosh in 2021. The only animated and gaming personality changes at a single time from scratch.

With the inspiration and reference from the internet broadcasting video game platform Twitch, Dittfach has its own take with the YouTube viewers to play games with your chat typing controls featuring the previous and recent gaming releases of Nintendo. Other features in Game Shows, Speedruns and more is also in the works during an event. This was now so-called "YouTube Plays Pokémon" and was managed personally by herself the said same name, as part of its own Sub-a-thon event.

For those who have not aware, "Twitch Plays Pokémon" acts as players in chat like a robot to type in one of the original game's 8 command buttons with your keyboard to move the main character in the game and was originated in mid-February 2014. Players must beat the whole game in participation and the stream will continue within the 24-hour period. But there is a catch in perspective, the gameplay may take longer to complete and some internet players as chat controllers have now been taking the hardest consequences in the game.

Dittfach's Sub-a-thon is available for a limited time with your Cash Donations through Super Chats (mostly in any minimum amount of U$D10 [PHP575]) or become a member by adding more time to keep the event going until the countdown timer runs out before the new era starts for as low as U$D5 per month (PHP290) by simply click the "Join" button, next to Subscribe button in regular. YouTube Members will receive full access to all the exclusive emotes and occasional members-only live chats which are not available anywhere else in free users.

Dittfach has its own merchandise store and was optionally counted per essential in-kind goodies via JaidenAnimations' online shopping website. Shipping and handling fee varies in some items and it may take a few to several days to deliver during the said event. Subscription popularity has risen through almost nearly to 12 million from her own YouTube account.

So for now, JaidenAnimations (Jaiden Dittfach) from the Los Angeles County, California, U.S.A. invites you the ONLY featured gaming & entertainment presentation to inaugurate for a Subscriber Marathon (Sub-a-thon) and it will be streamed LIVE and Exclusive on YouTube.

Coverage begins this Thursday morning starting November 17th at 10:30am onwards (Pacific local time) until the last remaining countdown timer ran out in the Q1 of 2023.

ART PHOTO COURTESY: Jaiden Dittfach via YT Thumbnail Photo

SOURCE: *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn56lB-BTak [Referenced YT Video from JaidenAnimations - Watching my childhood videos with TheOdd1sOut] *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2aSSUjEd0A [Referenced YT Video from JaidenAnimations - WELCOME TO MY BIGGEST SURPRISE YET...] *https://twitter.com/JaidenAnimation/status/1593673145621569537 [Referenced Twitter Image Post from JaidenAnimation] *https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-26417482 [Referenced News Article from BBC News] *https://old.reddit.com/r/twitchplayspokemon/comments/1y94r8/the_history_of_twitch_plays_pokemon/ [Referenced Editorial Post from the Reddit's '/r/twitchplayspokemon'] and *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitch_Plays_Pok%C3%A9mon

-- OneNETnews Team

#entertainment news #los angeles #california #JaidenAnimations #JaidenLIVE #sub-a-thon #subscriber marathon #youtube plays pokémon #twitch plays pokemon #jaiden dittfach #gaming #YouTuber #new era #exclusive #first and exclusive #OneNETnews

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