#I been watching a lot of Marvel films recently I had to get this out there it was too big brained

[nounaarts]

LEAKED SCENE FROM SONIC MOVIE 3 ??

*queue 80’s music*

Here’s all their crimes listed :)

#procrastinated so hard on this took me like over a week to finish #finally out of my wips #this was the funniest/dumbest idea that spawned in my mind #I been watching a lot of Marvel films recently I had to get this out there it was too big brained #unrelated but I really love the Ant-Man movies #had nothing to do with this post I just wanted to put that out there #sonic the hedgehog #sonic movie #sonic movie 3 #shadow the hedgehog #tails the fox #miles tails prower #knuckles the echidna #amy rose #dr eggman #dr robotnik #agent stone #sonic art #nounaarts #guardians of the galaxy reference

[cosmicpearlz]

celebrity crush

summary: you make your debut on the tonight show with jimmy fallon to promote a movie and end up spilling the beans about your celeb crush.

pairing: percy hynes white x actress!reader

…………………………………………………………………………….

when you were finally asked to be on the tonight show, there was no way you were passing that up. since you had just finished filming the barbie movie, your stylist decided to put you in a dress from valentino’s hot pink collection. the dress was long sleeved, laid off the shoulders and had lots of rhinestones all around. paired with the matching hot pink stockings and platform heels. you felt like this was the best outfit your stylist ever put together but you tend to say that about every outfit.

“now welcoming the lovely and talented y/n!” as you walked from behind the curtains, you waved to the audience with a bright smile. you quickly give jimmy a hug and sit down on the chair.

“hello hello hello!”

“y/n, so how have you been? you recently finished filming the barbie movie, right?” the screams that the audience did made you chuckle while nodding your head.

“i’ve been good jimmy just hanging out at home with my cat. but yes, i did finish filming the barbie movie and i’m so excited for you guys to see it!”

“what was it like? where you nervous at all?”

“it was so amazing and the cast is genuinely so sweet. i definitely was a little nervous being that i’m one of the youngest out of the adults but everyone just made me feel so comfortable.”

“i love that! now, we don’t know much about you but is there anything you care to share with us tonight?” you take a sip of your water glass before you started talking again. you needed a moment to think about what to say quickly.

“i tend to keep most of my life private because i’m just naturally a shy little bean about somethings,” you, jimmy and the audience share a laugh.

“but in all seriousness i’m just like you guys,” you pointed to the audience. “i have celebrity crushes and over fantasize about things that make me happy. i even named my black cat loki because i really enjoy marvel movies and stuff like that.” you could hear the audience clapping and it made you smile to yourself.

“so the celebrity crushes, who is it?” jimmy leaned on his arms that rested on the desk with his head in his hands. immediately you hide your face into the palm of your hands.

“ah jimmy i can’t say that. there’s too many to count!”

“okay, just tell us one of them. who have you been recently crushing on?” you uncover your face and let out a loud playful sigh.

“you guys know the show wednesday, right?” the audience screams once again and you nodded your head.

“and you know xavier thorpe in the show?” your smile was getting bigger by the second because of the way the audience just somehow screamed even louder.

“yeah, so i have a crush on percy hynes white. there i said it!” jimmy leaned back in his chair with laughter.

“oh my goodness, you have a crush on percy?”

“yes! i mean who wouldn’t? have you literally seen those gorgeous green eyes or his smile with his dimples,” you dramatically started fanning yourself to get the point across that you really found him attractive.

“that is not who i expected you to say!”

“what can i say? i’m just down bad for that man. i’m so down bad that after watching wednesday, i went and watched some of his other projects.”

“so you’re that down bad?”

“yes jimmy, that down bad. but you guys can’t tell him! i don’t want him to think that i’m weird!” you bit your trying to hide how nervous you were now. jimmy laughs and shakes his head.

“right after this break, we’ll be back with y/n! we have a fun game in store for you guys.” you waved at the camera with a smile before it cut off for break.

-

it was about two weeks later and you didn’t think of the interview anymore. if you were being honest, you were too engrossed into your book that you started and didn’t even notice how social media was currently blowing up.

“y/n did you look at twitter recently?” sadie sink, your best friend said sitting down next to you on the couch. she had came to visit you since she was also on a work break.

“no why?”

“girl, you caught percy’s attention!” you snapped your head towards her looking away from the tv.

“WHAT?”

“yeah, he went on the tonight show and apparently talked about you!”

“there’s no fucking way. when did this happen?”

“last night.” you quickly pulled up the interview on tv and grabbed sadie’s hand in need of comfort.

the interview

“so percy, we recently had y/n on here two weeks ago. did you happen to see what she said?”

“no, i didn’t get a chance to but i know i kept getting dm’s about it.”

“since you haven’t seen it, we’re gonna pull it up on the monitor and watch it together!”

“let’s do this.”

on que the monitor starts playing the previous interview of you rambling about how much you liked percy. when the video ended, jimmy turned his head to a slightly blushing percy.

“so what do you think about that?”

“first of all i’m really honored to her celebrity crush because have you seen her? she’s literally stunning and two, i wouldn’t mind getting to know her.” the audience freaked out even more than they did for your interview with jimmy.

“did we just match make on the tonight show?”

“maybe. just maybe,” percy smiles a little more making his dimple pop right out.

end of interview

still holding sadie’s hand, you looked at her with your jaw dropped. you couldn’t believe that percy had said that.

“okay wow. check your insta dm’s to see if he messaged you y/n!” you let her hand go and grabbed your phone opening instagram. percy had followed you back and did in fact dm you.

“OH MY GOD SADIE SADIE. HE DM’D ME!”

“well what does it say?” she was excited for you being the main one to hear about the crush you had on him the most.

from percy hynes white (@percy)

hey, i’m in nyc for a couple of more days if you’re down to hangout. just let me know!

“sads what do i say? he sent it a couple of hours ago.”

“don’t be stupid, plan something!”

to percy hynes white (@percy)

i’d love that! how about we go to central park and figure it out from there?

you hit the send button and internally screamed in your head. within minutes, your phone buzzed on your legs. you and sadie share a look before you picked it up.

from percy hynes white (@percy)

sounds great. it’s a date then :) though, can i have your number?

you decided to heart the message and dm your number to him. sitting your phone down once more, you shook sadie’s shoulders in excitement.

“sadie he said it was a date!” she smiles while jumping up and down with you.

“my best friend got a date! my best friend got a dateee!”

now you just had to figure out what to wear.

-

the day for the date finally came and you were buzzing with excitement. the night before, you did a fashion show for sadie and picked out an outfit. settling on a pair of light washed ripped mom jeans, a white and black oversized sweater and your black nike air max 95’s.

“okay babes, i’ll be here with loki. call me if you need anything,” sadie hugs you and pushed you towards the door.

“i love you sads!” you yell out to her quickly before making sure you had everything in your tote bag and running out the door.

you make your journey on the subway to central park. it wasn’t long but that didn’t stop you from reading your book on the train with some music playing in your ears. once the train stopped at your stop, you got off and went to text percy.

to percy <3

hey, are you here yet?

from percy <3

yeah, i just got off the train. where are you?

to percy <3

lol same but i’m right at the park entrance!

you looked up from your phone to see the long brown haired boy looking left and right across the street. you quickly began raising your arm in a waving before he found you. the smile that graced his face was truly a sight to see. he jogs over to you and immediately pulls you into a hug.

“hi stranger,” you looked up at him returning the smile he had.

“hi stranger. let’s go take a walk and get some food, yeah?”

“i’m okay with that.” you guys walk into the park and followed the long trail.

“so i hear i’m your celebrity crush,” you laughed while looking down at your shoes.

“yeah, is it weird for you?”

“weird? why would it weird to have a pretty girl say that i’m her celebrity crush?” percy nudged your arm with his. “if anything, i’d say the feeling is mutual now.”

“percy, you can’t be serious.”

“oh i’m absolutely serious. you’re very pretty and talented as hell.” you looked down with a smile on your face again.

“you’re pretty too,” you gaze up at him to see his face with a blush adoring his cheeks.

the two of you continued the walk just talking about any and everything. your arms kept brushing besides each other before you made the move to interlock your hands together. percy didn’t seem to mind it briefly squeezing your hand.

“what we thinking for food percy?”

“burgers and fries?”

“you had me at a burger,” peering up at him with a grin, leading him to subway station entrance for the b train.

“i know this really good burger place but it’s around rockefeller center if that’s okay.”

“i’m down for it. i honestly dread for when the night has to end,” he rubs his thumb over your hand making you look down again. you’ve never felt this connected to someone in such a short amount of time. little did you know percy felt the same way, he was drawn to you and he liked this newfound feeling.

you tugged his hand and walked down the subway entrance stairs. once you both swiped your metro cards, you leaned on his shoulder with your arms around one of his waiting for the train to come. unbeknownst to the both of you, a couple of fans had silently spotted you guys and decided to start taking secret pictures.

-

the dinner was nice and you had enjoyed his presence. percy even paid for both you and him but you told him the next time that you were paying. he was the perfect gentleman and you knew just from one date that you were definitely going to fall harder than before.

“i had a great time with you percy.” you said while holding hands just like earlier in the day.

“i had a great time with you too. i’m not sure i want to the night to end.” he looks into your eyes with that beautiful dimpled smile. just as you were about to respond, you felt water drops on your head.

“did you feel that?”

“feel what?”

the rain started coming down heavier making you squeal. percy is quick to firmly tighten the hand that was holding yours to run with you to find shade from the rain. once finding shade under a building entrance, you guys were soaked with water head to toe. laughter and heavy breathing was all that was heard from the two of you.

“that’s so cliché!”

“what it raining in the middle of our date?”

“yes percy. it felt like one of those romance movies,” you were looking around watching the rain pour down. percy had turned his attention to you just staring at you thinking about how pretty you looked.

“wanna make it even more cliché?”

“huh?” you turned back to him finding his face dangerously close to yours. when did he even move closer? not that you were complaining.

“can i kiss you y/n?”

“yes.”

he places both of his hands on your cheeks tilting your head upwards pulling you into a kiss. it started off slow then gradually got more intense. your fingers tangled into his wet hair pulling ever so slightly to push him more to you. the kiss was mainly teeth and tongue as you guys desperately consume each other. in that very moment nobody else mattered. just two souls that were drawn towards one another with a kiss that seemed to confirm every feeling even if it was only one day.

“woah, i don’t even know what to say.” your whisper fell upon his lips as his nose nudged yours.

“don’t say anything. just kiss me again.”

#percy hynes white x reader #percy hynes white x actress!reader #wednesday #percy hynes white

[yelenasdiary]

so i would like to request a florence pugh x reader where reader works as a film director or any film job and gets to do a movie with whatever actress you prefer, then rumors about reader and this actress having a relationship start floating around and florence thinks r is cheating on her but is obviously just a huge confusion (basically angst and fluff at the end pls)

Misunderstanding

Pairing: Florence Pugh x Reader 

Summary: Florence wasn’t one to let rumours cloud her mind but when those closest to her start asking questions, she can’t help but read more into the rumours.  

| Angst & Fluff | 1.6K | Language warning | Relationship issues |

AC: Ya’ll really eating up the angst on this blog haha! Enjoy xx 

Working in the film industry has always been a dream of yours since you were able to watch and understand movies. You were known as the family’s cameramen whenever there was an event, a holiday or just an outing. No matter who was around, you always had a camera and would film anything that caught your eye. Your parents knew that one day you’d be working within the industry and that you’d be happy with whatever job was thrown at you. 

You explored many options but instantly fell in love with directing. Being able to capture the right emotion or scene always amazed you. You started off with small projects, a few movies and a couple of episodes of shows that never made it as far as airing on daytime TV. That all changed when you got a call from an unknown number wondering if you’d like to help directed the new Black Widow movie which you accepted gracefully. 

While working for Marvel you learnt a lot from everybody around you, even falling for MCU’s newest member, Florence. The two of you got along like two peas in a pod, other cast and crew would always catch the two of you mucking around, pulling light pranks on others, and loudly laughing at stupid jokes that had no real meaning. 

The two of you made things official shortly after filming wrapped up and it’s been the happiest and healthiest relationship you’ve had. Your family love her, your friends love her, and you always receive compliments about the pair of you whenever you attended award shows and other events. Florence’s family adored you and always made you feel a part of the family. 

----

“How was work love?” you smiled as Florence walked through to the living room. “Meh, it was a long day. I’m going to have a shower and head to bed” she spoke, walking by you as you sat comfortably on the sofa. “Hey, baby, are you okay?” you asked. “I’m fine darling, just really tired” Florence replied but you didn’t buy it. 

Recently, well, since you start directing a new movie, rumours started floating around that you were dating one of the main stars of the movie. This gave you a ‘name on the streets’ as they would say. You knew better than to feed into the drama that came with the job and ignored the claims. 

It was obvious that Florence wanted to have some downtime, so you left her to her own will and continued flicking through the recorded footage that was taken earlier today, eventually falling asleep on the sofa later into the night. 

When you woke up, Florence had already left for that day. She wasn’t herself recently and you wanted to be there for her, but she made it hard when she was giving you the cold shoulder every day. 

----

The day went on as Florence entered the back of your mind, you got caught up with work and really wanted to get these scenes done while the weather was kind enough to allow some public filming. It was never a surprise that paparazzi always seemed to know where movies were being film and when they were taking place. 

They snapped all kinds of photos and videos of the set, anything they could use to get a story update on the upcoming film. You weren’t aware of the damage today’s videos would deliver until you would arrive home.  

While on lunch break, Florence decided she wanted to surprise you on set. She brought you your favourite take out for a change up from the food you’d been eating over the past few months. You never saw her though, the image of you and Lili Reinhart getting cozy with one another didn’t help the thoughts she’d been having recently, the headlines she’d read, the talk of her girlfriend cheating on her was too much. 

It was never like Florence to feed into rumours like these but when her close friends started question her on the photos that media outlets released of you and Lili, she couldn’t take it anymore. She waited for you to set the rumours straight, hopeful the consent headlines bothered you as much as they bothered her, but they didn’t. You knew where your heart belonged too and weren’t threated by the media’s response to you being friendly with a co-worker. 

----

“Flossie, I’m home” you announced as you walked through the front door. The house was dark and Billie’s food bowl was empty. “Baby?” you called out but didn’t get a response. You assumed she wasn’t home as a sigh left your lips. You missed her, you missed being able to spend time with her, cuddling her in the mornings, cooking for each other, snuggled up on the sofa watching movies, you missed her. 

Walking to your shared bedroom you heard the muffled sniffles coming from the hall. “Flo?” you knocked on the door before slowly opening it. “I’ll be out in a moment” she replied, her voice broken but you’d already entered the room. 

“Baby, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” you asked her, eyes filled with worry as you saw her sitting on the floor with photos of the two of you in front of her. Her cheeks were soaked from her tears. “Florence, what’s going on?” you quickly sat down next to her wanting to hold her, but she moved away. “Don’t touch me, please” she chocked. 

“I’m not going to hurt you love, I’m worried about you” 

“No, you’re not…” she wiped her tears only to have her eyes fill with a new stream “you haven’t since you started working on that new film” she added with anger. 

Your brows frown with concern, “Florence what are you talking about? Of course, I’ve been worried about you” 

“Ar-are you” she ran her fingers through her short dirty blonde hair, “are you cheating on me?” she asked bluntly, only then did everything make more sense to you. Shaking your head, “No baby, I’m not” you replied in a serious tone, “where is all this coming from? I thought we agreed to ignore rumours like those” you added. 

“I thought so too but – “she pulled out her phone and slid it across to you her camera roll full of the recent photos of you on set today. You heart dropped; the photos looked more personal than just two friends having a laugh. “I came to see you on set today, I brought you lunch but I saw you literally feeding her half a sandwich then these photos were posted, and I’ve had everybody asking me about us so please… don’t lie to me…are you seeing her on the side?” Florence asked once again, her voice breaking one more. 

You placed her to the side and looked into her red and puffy eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t see this was hurting you, but I promise you, I’m not seeing her on the side, I’m not dating her, I am not cheating on you. We are simply just working on a film together; I promise you that is all. Yes, we have some fun on set and today, what you saw, Lili didn’t want to smudge her lipstick that was just applied so I offered to just tear off pieces and feed them too her instead. I swear, nothing is going on with Lili and I” you explained never leaving her eyes. 

“Why haven’t you set anything straight with the media? I know it’s meaningless, but my friends are questioning us, and I felt so fucking stupid…how was I supposed to explain all those photos?” 

“Because I didn’t think the rumours bothered you this much, they’ve never came between us before…Flo, I’m so sorry I didn’t see the issue sooner and I’m even more sorry that you thought I wasn’t being loyal to you” you shuffled closer to her, this time she didn’t move. “Honey, I love you. I don’t care for anybody else, only you. You mean more to me than a movie” you reached for her hands, “look at me, please” you whispered as tears filled your own eyes. 

Florence’s eyes moved from your hands on top of hers to your eyes. Your heart breaking at the sight of her being so helpless. “You are the one I want to spend the rest of my life with, I mean that. I’m not just saying this because of all that’s happened I’m saying it because I’ve never been so happy with anybody before. If I have to gain your trust again, I’ll do it, I’ll do anything, but I swear you Florence, I only have eyes for you, my heart is in your hands”

With that, Florence broke once again, crashing into you as you wrapped your arms around her. “I’m so sorry baby” you said over and over, rubbing her back as your own tears streamed down your cheeks.

“I’m stupid, I’m so sorry I didn’t just ask you before I overacted” Florence sobbed pulling away from you. Gently you stroked her cheeks with both your hands, wiping her tears. “You had every right to overreact” you smiled softly causing a small chuckle from Florence.

“I may have burnt your favourite hoodie in the backyard” she admits. 

You chuckled, “I don’t care about a hoodie, I just want you to be happy” you continued to stroke her cheeks, “I really do love you darling” you added. 

“I love you too my love” Florence returned a soft smile, crashing her lips onto yours. 

“Tomorrow, can I take you to set and show everybody how much I love you?” you asked after pulling away, “by that I mean I want to show the world that I am only yours” you added. Florence nodded before placing another kiss on your lips, “please just hold me” she whispered before leaning into you. “Of course, honey” you wrapped your arms around her tightly. 

#florence pugh #florence pugh x reader #fanfiction

[denimbex1986]

'On Tuesday, Cillian Murphy was at his parents’ home in Cork, Ireland, drinking a cup of tea when his phone started buzzing. A glance at the dozens of texts revealed the news: For the first time, Murphy had been nominated for the best actor Oscar, for his performance as the title character in “Oppenheimer.”

“It’s very, very humbling,” Murphy, 48, said in an interview by phone on Tuesday. “I’m kind of a little in shock.”

“It’s just a real honor to be involved in a film that has connected so powerfully with people in a way that we never expected,” he added.

In “Oppenheimer,” a stunning biopic by the director Christopher Nolan, Murphy plays the American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, a brilliant, enigmatic figure known as the father of the atomic bomb, a man consumed with ambition and haunted by his past. After opening alongside “Barbie” on July 21, “Oppenheimer” quickly became beloved by critics and fans alike, grossing just over $950 million at the worldwide box office.

Murphy had collaborated with Nolan before, taking supporting roles in movies like “Batman Begins” and “Inception,” but his latest work for the director became a breakthrough moment, with Murphy winning praise for the intensity and emotional complexity he brought to the role. At the Golden Globes, he won best actor in a drama; he also was up for a Critic’s Choice Award (losing out to his fellow Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti); and he’s in the running for a Screen Actors Guild Award, punctuating what has been an exceptionally busy awards season for Murphy.

“It’s been new enough for me, but I gotta say, I think I’m getting good at it,” he said, chuckling. He marveled about a recent ceremony where he was stuck in a line with Meryl Streep.

“That may never happen to me again in my life, and it’s just a wonderful feeling,” he said.

In a phone interview, Murphy also discussed what fascinated him about Oppenheimer the man, how he prepared for the role and the cast’s group chat. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

Were you watching the Oscars announcement?

No, I was at home in Cork with my mom and dad and my wife. And my phone started popping, so I figured it was good news. Everybody started texting. You know, you can’t really avoid good news or bad news, but it’s better when it’s good news.

Oppenheimer is a different role than what you’ve done in the past. What drew you to this character?

Well, he is, in Chris’s words, the most important man that ever lived. He changed the course of the 20th century, and we are all living in Oppenheimer’s world. He was complex and contradictory and flawed and vain and arrogant, but he was still immensely charismatic and fascinating. It was a huge responsibility. But the sorts of roles I enjoy are the ones where you think, I have no idea how I’m going to play this.

What steps did you take to prepare?

Oh man, I had six months. From the moment Chris called me, I just started working — from the inside out and from the outside in. I did an awful lot of reading and research and watched every single archival footage about him. Then I immediately started conditioning my body because he was very interesting how he carried himself physically and how slight his frame was. But a lot of it was just walking around my basement in Dublin talking to myself and practicing, practicing and practicing.

As you did that research, was there anything surprising to you about Oppenheimer?

He was an absolute contradiction in so many ways. He could have been an artist or a writer or a poet. But he was also this freakishly bright human being. A lot of his contemporaries would say he was the brightest man in the room at all times. But he was also very temperamental and fragile emotionally and mentally, particularly in his youth. If you were writing a fictional character, it wouldn’t add up to a character people could identify with. But in fact, he was just like the rest of us. He was just a human being. So that’s what I really identified with — his humanity.

What was it like for you to work with such an all-star cast?

A total gift. Every single cast member was fearless in the film, like they had done so much research and could improvise on the spot about their character and the real-life events. I felt really held and carried by everybody on the movie. We’re still all really close. There was a really good bond on this film, and it remains very very strong.

Is it true there’s an “Oppenhomies” group chat?

That is true, yes. Olivia Thirlby came up with that moniker.

You and Nolan have a long history of working together. How did that impact your work with this film?

Oh, it’s crucial for me. I don’t think I could have made this film with anyone else, without that level of trust that goes back six movies and 20 years. He really, really pushed me and I wanted to be pushed. He expects excellence from you because that’s what he delivers himself every single day.

Is there something distinctive about a Nolan set or film that’s different from other projects you’ve been involved in?

I think it’s the level of focus. It’s quite remarkable. It’s laserlike, the way he uses time, because time, I’ve realized, is your most valuable commodity when you’re on a film set. So much of it gets wasted. When you come on a Chris Nolan set, you come on to work. There’s no phones, there’s no chatting. There’s no video footage, there’s no monitors. That’s not to say it’s not a pleasant environment. It’s a private, focused environment. That’s how you get the best out of people.

In terms of time, you didn’t have much of that at all right?

No, we filmed in 57 days, and three of them were a preshoot. So it was insane, the pace of it, but it never felt rushed. We never left a scene behind.

Some people have criticized the film for the inclusion of nude scenes. What do you make of that critique?

Well, I think those things are essential for the story. If you’re familiar with the story, it was his relationship with Jean Tatlock which was the thing that really made him lose his security clearance and ultimately kind of cost his career. I think it was vital to highlight the intimacy and closeness of their relationship.

Besides the Academy Awards ceremony, what else is in the future for you?

I have a film called “Small Things Like These,” which I produced and acted in and that’s opening at the Berlin Film Festival in February. I’m really proud of the movie. It’s produced by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. They paid for it and we produced it together. So I’m juggling that and attending all these events at the same time.'

#Christopher Nolan #Oppenheimer #Oscars #Cillian Murphy #Small Things Like These #Berlin Film Festival #Matt Damon #Ben Affleck #Meryl Streep #Batman Begins #Inception #Paul Giamatti #Barbie #Olivia Thirlby

[aromancy]

On Gendered Storytelling

Okay, so.

For the purposes of this discussion, I'll be basing my arguments on the two most prevalent genders; those being cis men and cis women. There are other genders, and any time anybody tells me there aren't, we'll add another, but this is going to be a broad-strokes analysis which such nuances won't really assist in dissecting, so I'm going to gloss over that stuff. Know that when I say "men" and "women" for the purposes of this mini-essay, I'm referring to the "average" man and the "average" woman. I'll be making plenty of generalizations in the proceeding text, but every rule has exceptions aplenty, especially when discussing gender, and nothing I say is going to be universally applicable.

Okay? Okay.

My household consisted of four men (myself, my two brothers, and my father) and one woman (my mother) for the majority of the 2000s-2010s. During that time, our family got very much into the Marvel Cinematic Universe; or at least, most of us did. Despite repeated attempts to engage our mother in the universe, my brothers and I failed to capture her interest. More than once during trips to the theater to view installments of the films, she fell asleep halfway through. This made sense during Thor: the Dark World, but less so during our viewing of Ant-Man, which, despite several notable plotholes, was overall an engaging experience for 15-year-old Aro.

More recently, mom has been trying to connect with us through communal viewing of reality TV based on our interests; LEGO Masters is commonly playing, due to my brother's interest in legos, and ever since I got more into cooking, we've also added Chopped and Master Chef to our repertoire.

And it's all boring as sin.

Oh, we watch it. It's nice to see mom happy, and to spend time with her; she spends so much time at church nowadays, and given how the rest of the family has stopped attending mass since the youngest turned 18, that means that the reality shows are about the only social time we get with her. And I do like spending time with her, but I frankly couldn't give a 15-minute ice cream sundae who wins this episode of Chopped.

So I got to thinking why that is. I voiced some of this to my parents, wondering if it had something to do with the culture in which we are raised; men are typically seen as active participants in society, expected to be breadwinners for their families and more involved with social progress; while women are typically put in a more passive role, as the caretakers and raisers of the next generation.

My father pointed out that you can't knock the biological component; men, generally having higher levels of testosterone than women, are typically more aggressive and competitive than the fairer sex. As such, they'd be more receptive to action-heavy films that otherwise lack substance, a la the Transformers franchise. I don't love to reduce things to biological essentialism, but I do think he's got a point; we know that testosterone, like all hormones, has a significant impact on mood and behavior.

That said, I don't think it's purely a matter of people with more testosterone finding action more engaging; the shows I mentioned above are all competitions, after all, which you would expect to resonate well with competitive people (generally men). I also know for a fact that many action films, made poorly, fail to resonate with audiences of either gender. Green Lantern comes to mind as an example of a superhero show that nobody liked, and I already mentioned Thor: the Dark World above, just to solidify my point.

I think the main difference is in the stakes. In a lot of action movies, the stakes are extremely high; the stability of nations, the power of an organized crime syndicate, the world at large are all common stakes in such films. Meanwhile, a lot of reality shows have much more personal stakes; the relationship between family and friends, the love between two strangers, the bereavement of a widow. Both stakes have their place; I want to get along well with my family, but I also want the planet to not explode. But for some reason, media targeted towards men seems to focus mainly on the former, while media targeted towards women often focuses on the latter.

And I don't think it has to be this way. There are action movies, for instance, which focus a lot on lower, interpersonal stakes. I seem to recall that Venom was a lot more popular among female audiences than expected, and conversely a lot less popular among male audiences than expected, for basically telling the story of a man and his symbiote like it was a romantic comedy. John Wick has a dark order of assassins operating in the background, but the debut film is just a story about a man getting revenge for the death of his dog. Women love John Wick! (Here I'll remind you of the notes about generalization back in paragraph one.)

Meanwhile, there are stories with very high stakes and not a whole lot of action. Interstellar threatens the extinction of the human race, but only due to a global famine, with nary a punch thrown throughout the entire film. Yet it seems to resonate with men just as well as with women, perhaps even moreso.

I would assert, therefore, that it is the difference in stakes which resonate more with one gender or the other, and that men typically prefer situations with grander stakes, while women typically prefer situations with more personal stakes. I'm still not sure precisely why that is, but I'd love to get the input of others, if anyone wants to contribute their two cents! Or maybe you think I'm wrong! I'd love to hear about that, too! Leave a reply and let me know why I have no idea what I'm talking about! Thanks!

#film #movies #gender #media analysis #tropes #demographics

[xtrablak674]

Singing my life with his words...

I am not sure what I expected, but I didn't expect that.

Trailers, I think they serve a purpose, in my personal opinion they can skew expectations, generate false anticipation and quite frankly spoil the story. I stopped watching them a few years ago. I mostly pick my films based on familiarity, or subject material and sometimes, well a lot of times seeing stills or gif sets of the film on Tumblr.

Hey I am a visual artist, pulling out stills of a film that feature its visual aesthetics is like crack to me, I just can't get enough! Recently I added more queer films to my diet, and albeit tonights Friday Night Movie's theme wasn't solely left to the gays, All of Us Strangers had been stalking me for weeks all over the Tumblr-verse, so I gave in and added it to the list along with The Marvels and The Color Purple, two other '23 films that kept @'ing me.

Part of my process in choosing my films is traditionally picking a theme or genre and trying to watch films from different decades just to mix it up a bit. These films were all from last year, so they only other thing I could use to distinguish them was their release dates, this placed All of Us, in the middle, right after Marvel's latest block-bluster. #YesThatWasShade

Having peeped that this was categorized as romance and fantasy, I was curious what made it fantasy. Once again IMDB had mis-labeled a film, this wasn't fantastical but a psychological thriller! #LeSigh Maybe I was way too close to the subject material and Andrew Scott clearly being my contemporary wasn't helping the matter at all.

Some of the details were different, albeit after my moms death I was raised as a single-child. I came from a one-parent home, not two. We didn't live in a house but an apartment. We were clearly not middle-class but living below the poverty level. Even with all of these differences I felt exposed in a way that wasn't remotely comfortable. How had this whyte man found out about my story and was now telling it on a stage for all the world to see? #😳

Metastatic breast cancer was the cause of death listed on her death certificate, not a car accident. I wasn't left alone in her bed while she left me for a Christmas party, but I discovered her dead in her bed, the couch in the living room four days before my eleventh birthday. Nine years later I buried my father, who was found by his parents rotting in his Harlem apartment, a reverse to the film where the dad went first followed by the mom.

Like the film they were joined in a way by both dying at approximately forty-four years of age. I rued the moment I would be the same age because like my parents, I thought I'd never live past it, but just like Adam I ultimately ended up being older than my parents than when they died. If I met them now, I guess I would be the one dispensing words of wisdom.

Unlike Adam I wasn't lonely, I have lived alone for nearly thirty years, and have had moments of loneliness, but like so many things that a multiple-orphan and an individual with intersectional identities, I had developed coping methods that were born when I was separated from my siblings at eleven and for the first time had to suffer the world on my own, navigate bullying and nasty taunts from other children. I had learned to have a rich internal emotional life, being my own best friend, and creating adventures in the simplest of things. I had become my own best company.

But like Adam I longed for connection, I longed for resolution around my dead parents. But unlike Adam I am not dead. That's my big reveal/spoiler these many paragraphs in to this essay/journal entry. I think everyone we encountered in that film was dead. #HolySixSenseBatman Delving into how I understood this is immaterial to how it still felt. His parents wanted him to move-on, which could be misconstrued as moving on with his life, but could also have been acknowledging that he was indeed dead and accepting it. The nuance of interpretations of what exactly is going on in the film is masterful, and the director never quite gives us a definitive answer.

Adam felt he wasn't particularly successful with anything in his life, still feeling the scars of his childhood bullying, taunting and the trauma of losing his parents at such a young age. I have mirrored this feeling about my own life, with the only difference that I have been more successful than my parents because I made it to the upper-middle class. #yea But like Adam I have always felt I am just passing-the-time, existing and muddling through.

Curiously the last real relationship I had was nearly twenty years ago, and also interesting was the fact that like Adam, Karl was my junior and like Harry was damaged in many ways, clearly not visible to the world around him, because even my best friend at the time thought he was the boy next door, literally mirroring the movie by his perceptions.

Isn't this why we watch films? Don't we see ourselves in the characters on the screens and sometimes wish we were them or living the lives they were living? Or sometimes what we see on screen is too close to reality and art imitates life in a ghastly manor. But then that means the director/writer has done his job right? Making you feel the pains, indecisions and joy of fictional characters is what a good film is about. But is it exciting to see yourself realized in a way that you wish wasn't you?

All of Us Strangers is a psychological thriller, clearly with aspects of drama and romance. As the reviews say it is haunting and heartbreaking. It is also something else that I am tired of in queer cinema, albeit as realistic as it is, specifically to my own journey, it once again paints queer-life as sad, aloof and unfulfilled.

Having dealt with dysthymia my entire adult life I guess this is in some ways true, but as I explored in a previous entry, I really want our queer movies to be more aspirational. I am not saying Red White & Royal Blue syrupy, but some middle place where we can be not-partnered, not have kids and not be dying or dead and be content with our lives. Is this asking too much?

[Photo Courtesy of All of Us Strangers via IMDB]

#all of us strangers #andrew scott #paul mescal #andrew haigh #queer film #queer fiction #gay lives #journal entry #essay #psychological thriller #romance #imdb #death of parents #orphan #bullying #parenting #haunting #ghost stories #lonelihood #not a review #not a review a reflection #spoilers #telling our stories #mental health #family #emotional trauma

[buckevantommy]

Sorry do you hate marvel or not? You reblogged a gif set from moon knight, that straight up nonsense show, saying they should give a show to one of the supporting characters? You know if you hate marvel media you can just not watch it right

marvel needs to die a fiery death.

i love stucky but the studio either queerbaited or was clueless or queerphobic plus steve's endgame made no sense. i love rdj's tony stark but he deserved better. they sexualised natasha to the nth degree rather than let scarjo work her drama muscles then killed her off rather than let her retire. moon knight was a mess but it was heartwrenching and different and oscar isaac deserves an award for that portrayal and i have a crush on layla and think may would crush a solo show - an egyptian superhero! (sidenote: i watched hawkeye recently and hated it but the deaf woc who got a redemption arc is getting her own show which is great).

i can care about characters and still hate their treatment - I'm an spn fan, it's second nature for me.

one of the many problems with the mcu is they're churning out multiple shows and movies per year which means they're not giving time to flesh out characters and plots like they deserve to be but it ALSO means a lot of eyes are on them bc when you crank out that much content in this day and age you HAVE to give diverse representation so we're seeing more and more poc characters in shows and on the big screen thanks to the mcu - eternals, shang-chi, moon knight, ms marvel, echo, blue beetle - and yes the mcu's diverse rep is problematic bc they care more about flash than substance and more about algorithms than grounded characterisations but you can't deny that the mcu has helped bring diverse casting into mainstream media. the worst company you know did a good thing, or however the saying goes. think back to the first avenger movies and how whitebred supermodel cishet they were. but thanks to societal influence and the changing of times, it became a necessity to have more poc characters in the mcu. the audience expected it.

however when it comes to queer rep, we've seen a lot more racially and bodily diverse casting and poc characters than we have queer characters. the first onscreen gay kiss took 26 movies and happened in Eternals, and other queer characters have been blink and you'll miss it moments or throwaway lines many viewers don't realise signified queer characters and instead misinterpreted those comments as humour or commentary. we've had a few queer side characters (negasonic x yukio, ayo x aneka, valkyrie, korg) but we're to yet to see a main queer character - and regardless of intention or comic book canon, throwaway lines, possible flirting, and jokes do not qualify as queer rep imho. so loki, deadpool, and tony stark don't count. it has to be explicit and undeniable, not catered to queerphobes so they can easily misinterpret.

but my point is: the mcu is a powerhouse that's been dominating the superhero genre and blockbuster charts for two decades, and from their success they've bet big in planning and putting into production dozens of shows and movies set to be released over the next decade. and that is a terrifying thought. they can't predict the future but they're trying to create content to fit a world that hasn't come into being yet. they're already behind the times on queer rep so i dont have high hopes for whatever they have coming queer-rep wise. but aside from that, their storytelling has become trite and so convoluted that they trade sense for the surprise factor. they're writing characters and plots to fit algorithm parameters like someone trying to say every buzzword in their work presentation. just look at Quantumania: a mess from start to finish in plot, dialogue, characterisations, not to mention stilted acting from a cast forced to act the majority of the film on greenscreen with no physical interactions to ground their performances.

i could go on and on but this post would get long and i'm no expert I'm just your average viewer and tumblr user looking for plots that make sense in stories i want to enjoy because i care about (or want to care about) the characters. if only the mcu cared as much about their characters as they do about big budget seizure inducing interdimensional battle scenes. as for genuine queer rep: maybe in 3 years we'll see a pair of same-sex lips gentle colliding like two pale coconuts. or maybe the mcu will crash and burn (or fizzle out) long before then.

i wanna be done with their stranglehold on the genre since they can't even produce decent shit these days. i want all the strikes going on atm to see creative teams get what they're owed. i want the next dozen mcu productions to flop so they realise they're not hot shit anymore. i want the streamer service upheaval to screw over their longterm plans. i want viewers and bloggers and journalists to call them out for being like the very villains they set up for their heroes to defeat - villains who want to control the cinematic universe, kill off competition, and screw over anyone they consider beneath them.

so yes, i hate the mcu. but there are characters i care about, and plots i wish were done better. but that's why fanfiction exists.

#anti marvel #anti mcu #.​txt #diverse characters #queer characters #representation matters #lgbtqia

[sarahrogersevans]

So this is the ask I was talking about I just think it’s a sweet idea

🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

Everyone Gets Overwhelmed- Chris Evans xreader fan fic request

Summary: Chris was working on infinity War with reader and their co worker Elizabeth and reader doesn’t have the greatest home life and during filming and in between Chris and Elizabeth help take care of reader

Warnings: angst, mentions of rough home life, mentions of anxiety and overthinking and feeling small, fluff, mentions of feeling overwhelmed, soft Chris, let me know if I missed anything

———Chris’s POV——-

We started filming Avengers Infinity War a few weeks ago and I noticed Y/N has been having a hard time recently and she confided in me sometimes mentioning about things at home so I helped make sure she rested in between filming fight scenes.

Y/N just finished her scene with Elizabeth Olsen and she came to sit by me and I said “hey hun how are ya feeling?” Y/N gave me a small smile and said “hey Chris, I’m ok just tired but the scenes are going really well so far.” Y/N would ask for hugs sometimes but today she didn’t and I didn’t wanna overwhelm her with everything else going on.

Lizzie came over and said “hey Chris, Y/N you ready for the next section?” Y/N nodded and said “yep let’s go, see you in a bit Chris.” I waved to her and worried something else was going on and I know she’s not my kid but I care about her a lot. After Y/N and Lizzie finished with the others it was time for my scenes and I walked over to Lizzie and said “hey could you do me a favor and keep an eye on Y/N for me until I’m done filming? I don’t want her to be alone..” Lizzie smiled at me and said “of course Evans no problem she’s in good hands.”

———Y/N’s POV——

I took a break after shooting my scenes and I was hungry but didn’t wanna eat and I loved being around the marvel crew they always made sure I was ok or always included me in everything outside of filming it gave me a reprieve from my life outside of it. I wanted to talk to Chris about how I felt but I didn’t wanna burden him but I know he cares and he’s so gentle I love that about him.

Chris came over to me still dressed as nomad Steve and I gotta say I loved that look on him. Chris knelt down by me and put his hand on my knee and said “hey you, you ok? Have you eaten??” I said “hey Chris I’m ok just a lot on my mind and no I don’t feel like eating right now.” Chris gave me a sad smile with a nod and said “ok here I have a deal for you, if you eat a bit of something for me we can go watch a movie for a bit to wind down after I get out of my Steve wardrobe deal?” I smiled and shyly said “ok yea deal, I’ll wait here for you.”

A few minutes later Chris came out and saw me on my phone and held out his hand and smiled at me and said “ready to go eat Y/N?” I looked at his hand and had a flashback and a tear roll down my face and Chris got worried about me and knelt down close to me and said “hey hey doll what’s wrong talk to me?” I started feeling small and I said “no.. it’s nothing sorry just overwhelmed.” Chris hugged me and helped me sit on his lap and said “aww that’s ok sweetheart everyone has those moments but hey I promise you, you’re safe bub I got you now this is a safe place ok? when was the last time you slept?” I moved hair away from my face to look at Chris and I shrugged my shoulders and I said “hmm I don’t know maybe.. a few nights ago but I feel a bit light headed and my stomach is upset..”

Chris grabbed my water bottle and handed it to me and softly smiled at me said “drink up Y/N you need it.” I took the water from him and took a few sips and I smiled after feeling how cold it was and started to relax. I looked at Chris and said “thank you for taking care of me Chris, I’m sorry you had to see me this way.” Chris shook his head and said “no sweet girl you have nothing to apologize for, we all have these days even me too and I’m glad you trust me to help ya, can we go and eat something? I promise you don’t have eat a lot just at least something.” I smiled at him and said “yea let’s go, I’ll eat a bit.”

Lizzie saw Chris walking with me and she saw the state I was in and rushed over and said “hey sweetie are you ok? Did something happen??” Chris said “she’s just a bit overwhelmed but she’s ok.” I hugged Lizzie and said “I’m ok thanks Lizzie just need to eat.” She said “ok Y/N but let me know if you need anything ok?” I nodded and Chris had us stop at the sandwich place near set and we both had a sandwich and Chris smiled at me watching me eat and said “I’m proud of you bub, you feeling any better?” I said “a bit yea.” Chris said “how about I stay with you tonight and help take care of you so you are alone would you like that?” I smiled and hugged Chris and said “yes thank you so much.”

———-time skip——-

We got to my trailer and Chris saw me fall asleep on the couch by him and noticed I was fighting it but said “you’re safe Y/N you need sleep close your eyes I’m here I’m not going anywhere I promise.”

For the first time in a while I didn’t feel overwhelmed and I was very grateful to Chris & the others for looking after me and being there for me I never felt alone again.

Here ya go luv hope you like it 😊💙💙xx I did my best

@fluffycutecevans

@nana1000night

@vrittivsanghavi

@marvelstarker-mha98

#chris evans #steve rogers #fluff #marvel #chris evans fluff #chris evans x fem! reader #fanfics #chris evans angst #chris evans fan fic #infinity war #avengers: infinity war #mcu #chris evans blurb #chris evans one shot #chris evans imagine #fic request #fanfiction requests #nomad steve #the avengers

[natsubeatsrock]

Top 7 Things I Enjoyed in 2023: Number 0

Working with children has been a constant reminder of my mortality. This upcoming June will mark ten years since graduating high school. I don't know that I'd imagine doing even a fraction of what I'm doing now. I didn't know about Fairy Tail. Writing as much as I have about anything would have seemed insane.

Other things were different then. A decade ago, Cartoon Network was still trying to make live-action shows. I didn't hate all of them. One of my favorites was Incredible Crew, which was their attempt at All That. The cast included Jeremy Shada, who voiced Finn from Adventure Time, and some guy named Shamiek Moore. He had some of the crazier roles in skits and he grew on me. And it's always great to see more black actors doing well.

We were also getting ready for the Lego Movie. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were directing a movie that we all thought was going to be a massive sell-out film. In reality, people were slightly disappointed it didn't get more respect. Honestly, it might have deserved an Oscar nod for best song. Even rewatching it recently this year, it's impressive how much was able to be done with the medium.

I wonder what they're all up to now…

Number 0 - Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Apologies to Scott Pilgrim, but this wasn't a competition. 

Almost the instant I left the theater watching this, I knew this film wasn't just the best thing I experienced this year. It might be one of the best superhero movies of all time. Not just for kids, or Marvel, or Spiderman, or whatever time limit you want to put to it. If the competition between the prequel and Endgame was close, this blew the comparison out of the water. Aside from the Guardians movie I've yet to see, it doesn't even sound like there was much competition this year. 

We live in a world where so many properties are trying to handle a multiverse, in no small part because of the original. With a few exceptions, the experiments with the concept have yet to yield great results. Many studios have forgotten the lesson taught by Marvel Studios: get audiences to care about and connect with as few characters as you can reasonably develop at a time. Once that’s done, we can start caring about others as the universe is built.

A big focus of this film is Gwen Stacy. Rewatching the original film, I came to appreciate her version of Spider-Woman a lot more than the first time I saw the film. With one clever retcon, we got to focus on her more than before. She wishes for people she can open up to without the fear that it won’t end well.

However, we never lose focus on Spider-Man himself in all of this. Miles is coming to grips with the fact that, in his universe, he doesn’t feel like he belongs. A lot of people around me have noted that he’s giving up his artistic skills to study physics, just so he can be with his friends. All things considered, that doesn’t seem necessary. (From experience, that would be a depressing life to lead.) His journey is finding security in his own identity, both as Miles Morales and Spider-Man. 

These are the kind of superhero stories we’ve come to know and love over the years. Even after watching this movie once, I was impressed with how much was packed into the film on repeat watches and discussions with other fans. Some things I picked up on, but other things needed to be pointed out to me. The same can be said about the original, but this film feels like everyone involved knows what they’re capable of and is actively pushing their boundaries.

I am not expecting Beyond the Spider-Verse to come out next year. I didn’t believe it would come out on time when I saw the planned release date, and other news made that seem less likely. However, with as many questions and lines this film has set up for the future, it shouldn’t come as a shock to see that film top the list the year it comes out as well.

For now, Across the Spiderverse stands as the undisputed best thing I enjoyed in 2023.

#good riddance 2023 #across the spiderverse #spiderman

[fleshadept]

sorry if you've been asked this before but i'm curious: when and how did you get into film? i've followed you for some time and you mention being in film school, did you always know you wanted to study film? what/who inspired you? how close are you to graduating? i hope these questions are okay and not intrusive!

i only got into film pretty recently actually!! for the longest time i thought i didn't like movies. i went to uni to major in film primarily to take editing courses because what i wanted more than anything was to be an editor for any of the youtubers whose stuff i liked (which tbf would still be a lot of fun). i dabbled in making videos myself for a while, then kinda fell off.

i had a moment in 2020 when i sort of realized what film could be for the first time and watched a lot of great ones: oldboy (2003), fight club (1999), pride (2014), 13th (2016), portrait of a lady on fire (2019), parasite (2019), us (2019), really 2019 was a fucking great year for movies tbh. and i kind of realized that the reason i had said i didn't like movies was because 98% of what i watched was marvel/family movies and i didn't really look for anything else.

but i never REALLY got into the whole analysis thing or fell in love with film until i watched boy (2010) in april of last year. my letterboxd diary before and after that movie is crazy. something snapped in my brain idk. before that i couldn't really sit through movies very often but after that i just couldn't get enough of it and wanted to see everything movies could do because boy hit so hard and was so, so gorgeous. so i did a deep dive into taika waititi's work (i had seen thor and jojo rabbit and what we do in the shadows before but never really cared who made them) and just went a little bit insane. and started watching every other movie i had even wanted to watch a little bit

and it's funny, because looking back at my letterboxd after this, i realized the moment back in 2020 where i started watching more films for a little bit was kicked off by jojo rabbit. so something about this guy's work was just so effective for me, even when i didn't know who he was, and part of what got me so interested in film was trying to figure out why the hell that was and how he did it. and in the process of that i discovered a love for so many other things i didn't realize i had--filmmaking as well as analysis, production as well as postproduction, even writing! i love it all. but taika's work will always have a solid place in my heart because of that.

#and now my gender & sexuality in the horror film class has opened up a whole extra area that i've found out i love #i just. ugh it's so <333 #sorry this answer is probably way longer than you anticipated but i just LOVE FILM!!!!!! #everyone watch boy (2010) right now #it's in my desc #cricket answers #as for graduating i'm pretty close but staying longer than i need to so i can take a few extra classes i really want to

[j0iryyde]

Can black people be mermaids? A theory about elemental spirits

There is something to be said about why Halle Bailey has been receiving so much racist backlash ever since it was announced in 2019 that she was cast to play Ariel in the live-action depiction of the little mermaid. While a lot of use we’re excited for the news to see a black person in a movie about a mermaid, others weren’t very fond of it. In fact some even had racist responses. Some will disguise their racism as the lack of “redhead representation”. Or even will use the argument that since Poseidon is a figure in Greek mythology, Ariel should be white. We’ll get to that part later. 😏

When Black Panther came out in theaters, it was like a holiday for black people. That movie currently has the record of the highest grossing marvel film in history, and the highest grossing film for the year 2018. Why? Because it depicted black people as the leaders of the richest fictional country in the MCU. However, the same thing happened when the trailers released, racist comments left and right. It’s almost as if since y’all can’t keep us in cotton fields anymore, at the very least y’all can watch us in movies as the lowest beings of society to bring comfort to your racist hearts.

Whenever black people enjoy and celebrate something, we get mocked for it. But I digress.

In the eyes of mainstream media, apparently they won’t let a black person be the main character unless they agree to be in a film where their oppression is the main subject.

White people and white supremacy constantly goes out of their way to put down melanated people as nothing more than a slur, or a “token” that white ppl can use to seem “progressive” or “edgy”, or even to fulfill some sick fantasy.

So of course some of y’all can’t possibly imagine somebody black being an elemental spirit, like a mermaid.

Not to mention, so many of our cultures and religions, which for the most part we’re nature-based, are demonized to this day. Look at these industries that white people have created that are destroying the earth. Look at the stereotypes that are given to black and indigenous spiritual practices (hoodoo, voodoo, Santerìa, brujeria, Lucumi, Ifà, etc). The programming that we’ve received that keep us from stepping into our spiritual power because it’s considered “evil” is phenomenal.

Now let’s get to the good part:

Many people speculate that white people don’t even belong on this planet. Which isn’t too far fetched. Look at what white supremacy has done to so many cultures around the world, all of which are NATURE BASED. Look at the way that y’all burn in the sun. Look at the way y’all appropriate our cultures.

In recent years I’ve been seeing a common theme of the earth having a much higher vibration, a very long time ago, where elemental spirits could thrive, until unfamiliar, foreign industrialization and colonization ruined the earth causing these spirits to lose their powers and even disappear over time. That’s assuming that these creatures existed in real life once upon a time, which I personally believe they did.

Melanated people are literally creatures of the earth. We belong here. So in terms of elemental spirits, such as mermaids, fairies (fae), nymphs, angels, minotaurs, etc., It would make a lot more sense for those creatures to be melanated. Not white.

It’s not impossible for a mermaid to be black, in fact it would be the most possible.

#the little mermaid #halle bailey #mermaids #elemental spirits #black spirituality #melanatedpeople #voodoo #hoodoo #black mermaid #Youtube

[thelonesomequeen]

I wonder if they only see him fit to play extremely dialled in virtuous guys like Steve Rogers or crazy unhinged murderers like Ransom and Lloyd. //

That’s exactly what it is. They even said he was miscast initially as Cap and recently in Defending Jacob meanwhile he was excellent in the role. The critics just don’t like Chris and his career choices, especially now because they’re trying to undo the influence Marvel and streaming has on cinema. Unless he’s working with a very good director who the critics like (Rian) do they lighten up on him. Sometimes it’s justified because he excels in roles like Ransom but other times they have nothing else to say. It doesn’t matter anyway because most of the other reviews say Emily and Chris’ chemistry make the film work.

I don’t know that I necessarily agree with this. I think at times as fans, we have rose colored glasses on for our favorites. My honest opinion, and I don’t say this to be rude, is that I think Chris is just a mediocre actor at best. Outside of Cap and Snowpiercer, I think he’s easily replaceable in every other role he’s been in and the film would he none the better or worse for it because they’re roles that are nothing all that special or outstanding. And that isn’t to sound like a hater here, it’s just my opinion. I like him in quite a few movies, but I don’t know that outside of the two I mentioned, someone else couldn’t step in and do just as good of a job if that makes sense. And you are more than free to disagree with me, it’s just an opinion. And you’re free to disagree with critical reviews as well. At the end of the day, they’re still just people who are sharing their opinions as well. There are plenty of times I disagree with critics on slot of movies. I just don’t let it spoil my mood on things. As long as you enjoy what you’re watching, that’s all that really matters at the end of the day.

I don’t know that MCU is to blame for Chris getting average or below average reviews from critics, or you’d see that kind of thing happening with all of the MCU actors and we don’t. Plenty of them are able to go on and do other projects that get them critical acclaim and even nominations. I also think critics aren’t as frustrated with the actors in the MCU as much as they are what the MCU has done to the film industry as a whole. I don’t think they had an issue with it when Marvel had maybe 2 films a year. But once it became 5-6 movies a year that started pushing other films out of the theaters, people began taking issue with that. I think a lot of people are also over the sequel, prequel, remake phenomenon as a whole and they want to see new stories. There’s actually a new book about the rise of the MCU and it’s role within the film industry that I really want to check out. I’ll post it below for others who are interested 🦎

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Physical media lovers rejoice...

This week, we got some rather bombshell news from Disney's home entertainment division...

First up is PREY, the Dan Trachtenberg-directed PREDATOR film, getting a 4K and Blu-ray in October. That's *big*. PREY was one of the movies that Disney sent straight to streaming last year, among many other fellow 20th Century Studios titles like THE PRINCESS and ROSALINE. PREY had actually had actually tested very well before release, and many were puzzled as to why it never got a theatrical release... and why it seemingly had no future as a title outside of Hulu.

Even some recent theatrical 20th Century/Searchlight titles - confusingly - never made it to disc, like BARBARIAN - a surprise favorite of mine last year - and SEE HOW THEY RUN. The former was also thought to be a Hulu-only exclusive, but great test results bumped it to theatrical. And thankfully so, that was a movie - what with its one or two hard-left turns - worth experiencing in a theater. I certainly hope those movies come to 4K/Blu-ray very, very soon.

But even better... More physical media of streaming-exclusive stuff! Disney is now putting three Disney+ shows on physical media, on 4K and Blu-ray. WANDAVISION, LOKI's first season, and THE MANDALORIAN's two seasons... Obvious that they'd go with the MCU shows and the STAR WARS content, but it's a start... And it was strongly implied for quite some time that Disney+ was going to be the *only* place where you could watch the Marvel shows...

Well, demand can be quite a persuasive thing to these companies... Being loud works!

I don't know if this will lead to any other shows or movies getting the disc treatment. Disney heads had sort of implied that they'd put a greater emphasis on physical media releases in North America (meanwhile, pulling the plug on physical media releases in Australia, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 being the final title) post-Chapek... But I can easily see this being applied to popular stuff and not everything that's been released.

My hope is that all those 20th Century films eventually make it to disc, along with the Disney+ original movies and shows. HOWARD, in particular, is at the top of my wish list. Especially the ones they inexplicably removed, too, like CRATER. No work should be erased and unavailable to see. Like, ever. When something's made and released, and I don't care how good or bad it is, it's the public's from there on out. It should always be available, especially in a post-Disney Vault world.

It's funny because Disney themselves, back when the home media division was called "Walt Disney Home Video", released a truck-TON of various live-action movies on video and DVD over the years...

In the early 1980s, 90% of what was available on video from Disney was live-action stuff, due to the company's hesitance to release the majority of the animated features on video. So you had almost all the live-action movies, from well-known films like MARY POPPINS and THE LOVE BUG to things like... THE NORTH AVENUE IRREGULARS, SNOWBALL EXPRESS, GUS, etc. By the late 1980s, several other films made it to video, such as 2-parter movies that were aired on Disney's anthology program... Ever hear of SMOKE? BLACK ARROW? MY DOG, THE THIEF? Even some of the first-ever Disney Channel movies saw video releases back then, such as TIGER TOWN and GONE ARE THE DAYES.

Disney was even pretty good with putting a lot of these on DVD in the 2000s, although some didn't make it past videocassettes. And I have to say, when Disney+ launched, I was quite astounded at how many titles they had on there... Outside of greed and corporations being dinguses, I see no reason for the stuff not to be on there. I get licensing/rights stuff concerning catalogue 20th Century titles... But Disney-made titles? C'moooon...

So, this news gives me a spot of hope regarding physical media and the availability of certain films/shows.

[purplesurveys]

1727

Did you get enough rest last night?  I really didn't. I slept at 5 AM thinking that would surely let me sleep in the entire morning, but my body still automatically woke me up at 9 and didn't let sleep again by then.

What was the last thing that kept you awake?  That would be right now – I finished off the entire first season of D.P. which I ended at around half past midnight, and now I'm back in my room downing the rest of my coffee with no intention to sleep yet, even with just four hours of rest haha.

If you have pets, do they sleep in your bedroom at night?  No, they have their own corner in the living room.

Can you sleep with background noise or does it keep you up?  It helps me fall asleep as the light noise gives me a sense of security, so I kind of need it.

Do you ever take naps? Do you take long naps or little power naps?  Occasionally. I can never do power naps as they always end up feeling super insufficient for me, and I prefer having 3-4 hour naps.

What helps when you have trouble sleeping?  I'd need to go through my phone and watch a lot of videos since that quickly gets the job done.

Who was the last person to cook you a meal? What did they make?  My mom made pasta for sharing a few days ago.

Who was the last person you cooked a meal for? What did you make?  I don't cook for anyone, because I don't cook.

Who is your female celeb crush? (If applicable)  Song Hye Kyo, Park Jihyo.

Who is your male celeb crush? (If applicable)  RM of BTS.

Tell me about an interesting article you’ve read recently.  Andi shared a pretty unique piece with me this morning which was basically a personal essay of why McDonald's' Coke seems to taste better than Coke literally anywhere else. It was silly yet insightful, mundane yet so weirdly intriguing and fascinating. For somebody who doesn't even like soda, I found myself reading until the very end. I liked it a lot and subscribed to that author right away lol.

Do you have a favorite Marvel character?  I'm not into anything superhero.

Favorite DC character?  Yeah, no.

Do you read comic books?  I tried getting into them but I got tired of faking it LOL so I just accepted that comic books and superheroes and I will never mix.

Has a horror film ever actually scared you? Which one(s)?  I found Paranormal Activity to be a refreshing horror concept for its time and it successfully gave me the creeps, especially with the multiple endings. The sequels unsurprisingly didn't hold up the same magic but I'm very much willing to defend the first movie to my grave haha. OH Midsommar was also super freaky. I nearly refused to drive home that night because I was afraid of seeing the trees in the neighborhood suddenly pulsating.

What was the last horror movie you saw? The Menu counts as horror-ish, no?

What was the first horror movie you remember seeing? What did you think of it?  The Exorcist. I was 12 and immediately downloaded a torrent when a quick "what's the scariest movie ever" Google search led me to that movie. In hindsight, though, because I already had expectations of how scary it is, I think that sort of pre-conditioned me to be more sensitive to the jump scares and all the freaky shit that happened in the movie – so 13 years ago, I was definitely spooked.

Realistically though, I feel if I watched it again now at 25 I'd probably find some of the effects more comedic than scary, BUT one thing I'll never get over are *those* demonic images that pop up like three times across the movie. Regardless of how old I get I feel like I'll always look away from those lol.

Name a few historical figures you find interesting. Why?  I recently learned about Herbert K. Pililaau, the US soldier who fought off Korean soldiers on his own while the rest of his crew? platoon? (idk terms) had been assigned somewhere else at the time. Fucking dude kept firing until he was out of ammunition; then switched to grenades; then when he ran out of those too, ended up with knife in one hand, fist in the other to fight the best and longest he could before he was finished off; when he was found, he was surrounded by more or less 40 soldiers he managed to kill. Obviously I don't support war and this is a shitty story all around, but this scenario is straight out of a movie.

What is your favorite historical film and why?  Gone with the Wind. I have yet to understand the complexities and deeper contexts behind the Civil War and all other questions related toit; and when I say it's my favorite it's largely because of the production value and how unprecedented such a movie was to have come out at the time it did.

Do you usually enjoy historical films?  Yes, as long as they don't extremely deviate from or betray things that actually happened, especially if we're covering atrocities or human right violations.

Name a sequel film (any franchise) you like better than the first film. Why is that?  Shrek 2. It's the Shrek movie I grew up with so I'll always be biased towards it.

Which do you find most interesting: Greek, Roman, or Norse mythology? Why?  Eugh, I really dislike mythology haha.

Which tale from whichever mythology you listed above do you find most interesting?  I read Percy Jackson and that's the most I'll read as far as mythology.

Do you collect anything? What was the last item you added to that collection?  Just BTS merch. Last things that arrived were my copies of D-Day and Face, but I'm expecting my orders of Jack in the Box and Layover to arrive October latest.

Do you have any houseplants?  We do, but it's my mom who takes care of them.

How do you like your tea?  As coffee.

Who is your favorite Muppet?  Wasn't really raised on Muppets.

What is your favorite type of bird?  Penguins. < Yes.

Which streaming platform do you use the most, if any?  Spotify.

What is a skill or useful piece of knowledge you wish you’d learned sooner?  How to pack smart.

What is your favorite vampire movie?  TWILIGHT SAGA ALWAYS AND FOREVER

Your favorite fictional couple?  Chandler and Monica from Friends; Glenn and Maggie from The Walking Dead; Mark and Joanna from Two for the Road.

Do you have a favorite historical couple?  Not really, no.

Have you received any good news recently?  Nah.

Have you learned anything new recently?  I took the 16 personalities test earlier for my ~annual check-in and found out I've switched from an ESFJ to an ESTJ. No big change other than the fact that I apparently think more with my head now hah.

[agentnico]

Most Anticipated Movies 2023

Though the COVID pandemic can still be referenced within the film realm as the recent Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery does, the movie industry itself has now seemingly fully recovered from those lockdown days and we now get to enjoy the full might of Hollywood and indies yet again. As such 2023 is proving to be a stacked yet for movies. There’s a lot of them! So many! Many of which will most likely be crap, but here I am listing the ones I am most excited for. Again, come end of 2023 and prepped for disappointment for a lot of these, but as of right now I am full of hopes and dreams! So, in no particular order...

HONOURABLE CURIOUS MENTIONS: Oppenheimer, Next Goal Wins, The Old Way, Wonka, Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning: Part One, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

John Wick: Chapter 4 - It simply doesn’t get better than seeing Hollywood sweetheart the beautiful Keanu Reeves plays an unkillable hitman who is able to kill a man with a single pencil or a book or any item at his disposal, let alone give him a gun. Those headshots then come at the speed of a Call of Duty pro-player! So obviously I want to see what’s next for Mr Wick.

Killers of the Flower Moon - Let the Brendan Fraser renaissance continue! It’s been absolutely adorably awesome seeing him back and looking so happy and pleased to be appreciated for how amazing he is! I mean, yes Killers of the Flower Moon also happens to be a new crime drama from one of cinema’s greats Martin Scorsese featuring a cast including Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert de Niro, but honestly I’m just happy seeing Fraser getting solid work again. Go get them tiger! 

Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre - Technically this was originally slated as an early 2022 release, however due to distribution issues it has been moved a year later. Regardless, Guy Ritchie always makes slick gangster flicks, with his recent The Gentlemen being especially cool and badass, so I’m willing to see Ritchie continue making these types of films as many times as he wants, as long as his dialogue stays sharp and Hugh Grant keeps saying “Darling” during every appearance.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie - Setting aside the controversial lack of effort that Chris Pratt is putting into that Mario voice, this animated effort from Universal and Illumination is actually looking surprisingly enjoyable. The animation looks great and there are some great nostalgic call backs to the games, and even the voice cast (aside from Pratt) are all sounding great. That Bowser voice from Jack Black - woah!! Can’t wait to hear more of that! 

Napoleon - Ridley Scott is doing a movie about Napoleon, and Napoleon himself is played by Joaquin Phoenix. Great director, superb actor, an integrally interesting historical figure at the narrative centre... what’s not to be excited for!

Knock at the Cabin - M. Night Shyamalamalamalamadingdong is back with another plot twist. Look, M Night is very hit-and-miss, and when he’s great he’s great, but when he’s bad he’s bad in a fun way. His last film Old was filled with plot-holes, inconsistencies and ridiculous narrative choices, yet I had a ball watching it and pointing out all the obvious foreshadowing. And then Shyamalan is also responsible for The Happening, which, well, happened. Anyway, new Shyamalan film - gimme gimme gimme!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - Before James Gunn fully takes over the running of DC films (though he already took Henry Cavill as Superman away from us the monster!!!) he still has one Guardians film from Marvel left for us. And though I was not a fan of Vol. 2, the recent Holiday Special has reinstated my hope in this ragtag space-travelling group of outcasts, and Gunn himself has been on a roll with The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, so they’ve got this. Also Rocket has an otter girlfriend in this one so I’m ready to witness some animal loving. 

Barbie - Okay, so it’s okay for a guy to look forward to a Barbie movie?? What’s so wrong with that?? It’s not weird! I don’t have a thing for dolls if that’s what you’re thinking. Nope, in fact I am more hoping that similar to how The Lego Movie managed to take a famous toy and create a superbly meta entertaining movie classic, Barbie shows promise to also go against conventional genre tropes and do something different weird. At least judging from that 2001: A Space Odyssey piss-take of the teaser, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach have created something real unique. Also Ryan Gosling as Ken.....either the greatest casting choice or the worst decision ever. We’ll see...

Renfield - Nicolas Cage is a worldwide treasure, and one thought that him playing himself in a movie was the craziest thing yet. Nah, now he’s playing Dracula. Yep, THE Nicolas Cage is playing THE Count Dracula! And this time he really is a vampire!

Cocaine Bear - It’s a bear that’s high off it’s tits on cocaine and is going on a murderous rampage whilst trying to get more cocaine. I don’t need this to be a good movie. I don’t need it to win any awards. I just want there to be bears, I want there to be cocaine, and ideally those two to be connected for the entire time. What’s more is this is based on the real life story of a 175lb black bear who ingested a duffel bag of abandoned cocaine in northern Georgia in 1985. I mean yes that bear died fairly quickly, but in the movie they’ve evidently taken some creative choices (and definitely the correct ones!!) and instead this bear is simply killing everyone left and right and being high as a kite. And from that recent trailer from the very first appearance you can tell that this bear is on cocaine. That is all I want. 

#2023 #2023 in film #2023 films #cocaine bear #renfield #napoleon 2023 #barbie #knock at the cabin #guardians of the galaxy vol 3 #the super mario bros movie #john wick chapter 4 #killers of the flower moon #operation fortune ruse de guerre #anticipated movies #movies #films #movie reviews #film reviews #anticipated movies 2023 #2023 movies #most anticipated movies 2023

[jessecrust]

games as art, part 2: who cares?

An eternity ago, I wrote a blog about a game you might have heard of called Elden Ring and why it and other games like Hades are probably works of art. It's something I think about far too much on lonely car rides to and from work (my commute is roughly 10 minutes). And it's something I've been thinking about a lot more lately having spent a good deal of my free time actively avoiding any new games and trying to get games from the 90s and 2000s to run on my PC without crashing. Honestly, it's actually extremely easy to avoid playing new games because they're released at a rate of about 2.5 a year in a good year.

And yet it somehow feels like there's never been more video game content out there. There's your multiplayer shooters, your MMOs, your "live service" games, mobile games, remakes, re-releases, etc. etc. I'm not one of those people who think you can draw a line between "real" games like something on a major console or PC and "fake" games like this cute thing I have on my phone called "Cats&Soup", but if every video game is indeed art then it is a unfathomably broad category.

Why does any of this matter? Well, if you've ever spent any time on Wikipedia, you may have come across this, or a similar, sentence:

Deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress, Die Hard was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 2017

One reason it's important to figure out what exactly we're talking about when we have these incredibly tedious conversations is so we can figure out what is worth preserving. I feel that in our Age of Content, as I'll call it, it's increasingly difficult to figure out what we should be preserving for future generations.

I don't think this is me being pretentious, although that word itself has come to mean something entirely different in the age of the never ending Battle Royale Multiplayer Shooter and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A few nights ago, I saw someone say Quentin Tarantino was a pretentious director because he didn't want to make a Marvel movie. That idea really bothered me, that someone would see a guy who spent his career making eminently watchable popcorn movies and think "what a snob". Yes, I admit, I got sad about one guy writing a tweet, that's really dumb, I know. But go type Martin Scorsese into a Twitter search and you'll find he's not alone in thinking there's something pretentious about making movies that doesn't include a CGI raccoon.

But back to the pretentious art snobbery, it's not necessarily a question of "real" vs. fake or art vs. not art. I've had a good time watching movies like Spider-Man: Far From Home, The Batman (which I wrote about), and even that weird Dr. Strange movie that people can't really decide if they liked or not. These movies are probably not in any real danger of disappearing, but other movies are and most, if not all, video games are. And no one is seriously making the claim that none of them are worth preserving: The Dark Knight, a movie about Batman, is part of the National Film Registry.

Film lovers like Scorsese and other writers, directors, critics, etc. have worked hard to preserve their artform for future generations. I can't think of any director or writer or video games that is doing the same for games. It already requires extensive modding to get some games to run on modern PCs, let alone tracking down physical copies of classic games that could easily cost more than you make in a full eight hour shift at your job. Game directors and writers are not celebrities in the way film directors, actors, and musicians are. Try to name a video game director or think of a game you've played recently where you even bothered to find out who directed or wrote it. The most widely known director of video games is probably Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo and I doubt even he would be recognized by more than a quarter of the general population despite being responsible for over 75% of your childhood nostalgia. Yes, there are plenty of hobbyists, academics, etc. that are doing everything they can to preserve games, but we need those artist/advocates to really drive home the stakes. Who better to talk about the history, love, and preservations of this medium than their own creators?

As more technology is pushed to the wayside, as physical media continues to decline and copyright laws in the digital sphere get stranger and stranger, there's a real danger of not being able to immerse yourself in the history of games in the same way you can with every other piece of human culture. What good is a top 100 video games of all time list if I can't even play them? I can't even play the version of Overwatch I bought five years ago. To be sure, this project is also necessarily anti-capitalist, since the rights holders to these franchises and IPs will fight/have fought tooth and nail to stop it.

Do you know why "you can run Doom on anything" became a meme? Partly because anyone can download its source code for free. Imagine if the same were true of every other game release on or before 1993.

To close, I'll tell another anecdote about a post I saw on the internet. I saw a comment somewhere, maybe YouTube, that said something to the effect of "I'm glad I'll get to play Silent Hill 2 when the remake comes out". This is a problem we have to solve quickly...

#video games #games #art #preservation #mcu #content