#It’s the perfect role for Liam Neeson too!

[stephstars08]

Cover Girl

Jack Champion x Reader

Warnings: Insecurities, Negative Thoughts, Self Doubt, Body Issues, Anxiety, Adult Language, Eating Disorder, Angst, Fluff, Arguing, And Jealousy.

Summery: Y/N and Jack have been best friends since they were toddlers. They grew up together always having each other's back. Jack continues to be there for her even when he is away filming a movie but what he doesn't know while he is away is that Y/N is hiding something from him. As Y/N got older she started to feel insecure about the way she looks and her body but another thing is that she started to develop feelings for her best friend as well. Jack also has a secret that he is planning on confessing to her while they are on a beach trip with two of their other best friends. Will Y/N confess her secrets to Jack on the beach trip of will she continue to hide her dark thoughts from him?

Inspired by Cover Girl by Big Time Rush

Word Count: 3,335

Author's Note: Hello Everyone! BEFORE YOU ALL READ THIS I JUST WANT YOU ALL TO KNOW THAT YOU ARE PERFECT AND BEAUTIFUL JUST THE WAY YOU ARE! This one shot does have some sensitive content so I would definally read the warnings before reading! This one shot includes one of Jack's real life best friends named Romeo. This was inspired by the big time rush song but also inspired by the beach trip Jack took with his friends. NEXT WEEK THERE WILL BE NO NEW STORY SINCE I WANT TO TAKE A SMALL BREAK WITH POSTING SO I CAN CATCH UP ON MY WRITING! I hope you all like this one shot and don't be shy to tell me what you think!

Y/N was at home sitting in her room looking at a Vogue magazine. She was lying on her bed on her stomach. As she flipped through the magazine those negative and insecure thoughts started to flood her mind once again. Y/N hasn’t always been insecure about the way she looks. It all started when she hit high school, that’s when it all changed. She couldn’t help but compare her looks to the way all the other girls looked at her school. Once she graduated, she then started to compare herself to celebrities like models and actresses. She especially compares her image to her best friend, Jack’s female co-stars.

Y/N and Jack have been best friends since they were toddlers since their mom’s actually grew up together. Jack had got into acting at a young age. It all started when Jack turned fourteen and got a tiny roll in Avengers End Game and that same day, he got a bigger role in Avatar the Way of Water and since then he’s been in so many big movies including Scream VI and a new movie with Liam Neeson called Retribution that is coming out in August. As the movie rolls kept coming Jack still found a way to be there for Y/N but he doesn’t know about her insecure thoughts.

As they got older Y/N started to develop feelings for her best friend which scared the shit out of her. Does she want to be more than friends with Jack? Hell yes! Will she ever make a move? Most likely not! The reason for this is because Y/N doesn’t think that Jack is into girls that look like her. She looks at the girls Jack stars in movies with and she has no shot going up against them. They wear pretty and glamorous outfits while Y/N normally wears t-shirts and baggy jeans. Sometimes even baggy sweatpants. She also thinks that way too because she doesn’t come from a wealthy family.

When Y/N flipped the page to the magazine she saw three models posing in bikinis. “Why can’t I look like that in a bikini?” Y/N mumbled to herself. Before she could turn the page, someone came into her room. “Hey girl!” Stella said with a big smile walking over to Y/N with Romeo following her inside the bedroom. Y/N shot two of her other best friends a glare for barging not just into her bedroom but into her house. Yes, when Y/N is home alone she keeps the front door locked like her parents tell her to do but her friends know where the spare key is outside.

“How many times have I told you two to knock?” Y/N said in an annoyed tone closing the magazine. “You can chew us out later because we have a surprise for you in the living room.” Romeo told her which confused her. “What?” Y/N asked in a confused tone. “C’mon lazy ass!” Stella said, grabbing her arm and pulling her up off her bed. “Close your eyes!” Romeo told her with excitement. “But- “Y/N started to say but Stella cut her off. “Y/N will you just relax and trust us!” Stella told her. “Fine! If I bump into anything I’m going to beat both of your asses.” Y/N told them in a warning tone and closed her eyes.

She let Stella and Romeo guide her to her living room. They made her stand in the middle of the room and backed away from her standing behind her. Y/N didn’t feel Stella or Romeo’s hands on her arms and hand, but she did feel a present of someone standing right in front of her. “Can I please open my eyes?” Y/N asked, starting to get annoyed again. “You can open your eyes now, Y/N/N.” She heard a familiar voice tell her which made her heartrate speed up.

When she opened her eyes, they went wide in surprise. “You going to hug him or what?” Stella asked her, which earned her a nudge from Romeo silently telling her not to ruin the moment with her big mouth. “Come here!” Jack said wrapping his arms around her tightly. Y/N wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. She let out a little squeal when he picked her up off the floor. It seems like he missed her more than she missed him. “Jack!” Y/N squealed with a laugh as he spun her around. He laughed as he put her back down onto her feet.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on a movie set right now?” Y/N asked him letting go of him. Jack has been away for weeks filming a movie called ‘Everything’s Going to be Good’. This ain’t the first time Y/N and Jack have been away from each other but while he’s away filming, they always text, call, and facetime but it’s still hard on them for not seeing each in person. “We got to wrap a few weeks early.” Jack told her with a smile so happy to be back home with his best friends again. Jack loves his job and being on a movie set, but he does get homesick, missing his family and friends. “That’s great!” Y/N said with a big smile on her face. She hasn’t smiled this big in a while.

“You know what else is great?” Romeo asked her. “My grandparents are letting us stay in their beach house for a whole week!” Stella answered Romeo’s question before Y/N could guess which earned her a glare from him and Jack. “Oh, so we’re going to be going to the beach together. For a week?”  Y/N said as her smile wiped away from her face as those insecure thoughts quickly took over her mind. She doesn’t want to show anyone the way her body looks in a swimsuit, especially Jack. She broke out of that thought when Romeo spoke. “Yeah, we figured why not celebrate Jack finishing up another movie by going on a beach trip!” Romeo explained. “Oh, I don’t know.” Y/N said as she looked down at the floor. “What’s wrong?” Jack asked her with concern. “Do we have to go to the beach? Can’t we go somewhere else to celebrate?” Y/N asked still staring down at the carpeted floor. “Why don’t you want to go to the beach?” Romeo asked which Y/N just responded with a shrug. Stella knew why but just stayed silent since it wasn’t her place to say it.

“Please come Y/N/N.” Jack said taking both of her hands which made her look up at him. “It’ll be fun.” He added as he gave her his signature puppy dog eyes which work on her every time. “Okay! I’ll come.” Y/N said giving in. “Yay!” Stella said with an excited squeal as she jumped up and down. “Awesome! We’ll pick you up tomorrow morning at around eight.” Romeo told her with a smile. “We’re heading home to go pack.” Jack told the girls. “See you tomorrow.” He said to Y/N and gave her hand a kiss. She’s always used to Jack giving her hand a kiss, but it always makes the butterflies in her stomach go into a frenzy. Jack and Romeo walked out the front door just leaving Y/N with Stella. Stella lives in the house right across the street from Y/N, so the boys first came to her house and then they walked across the street to Y/N.

“Wanna tell me why you don’t want to come to the beach?” Stella asked her as she folded her arms over her chest. “You know why.” Y/N told her with a sigh as she walked over to the couch and plopped down onto it. “Y/N, you need to stop looking at those stupid fucking magazines.” Stella told her in a stern tone as she sat down next to her. “You are beautiful just the way you are.” Stella added, which just made Y/N roll her eyes. She’s heard that like a hundred times and she’s over it. “I need to go pack.” Y/N said standing up and walking back to her room which made Stella sigh in frustration.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N was sitting in the back seat of Romeo’s car with Stella while Jack was sitting in the passenger seat. Before they hit the road, they stopped somewhere to get breakfast. Everyone got something to eat but Y/N. She just got something to drink. Jack questioned her about it, but she told him she ate something before they picked her up. They had been on the road for more than an hour and the girls fell asleep.

“You know a beach trip is a perfect time to tell your best friend that you’re in love with her.” Romeo told Jack, which earned him a glare. “Dude!” Jack hissed, which made Romeo laugh. “Bro, relax! Her and Stella are passed out back there.” Romeo reassured him as he kept his eyes on the road. “You really think I should tell her?” Jack asked him. “Hell yeah!” Romeo told him, nodding his head.

Jack has always seen Y/N as his closest best friend till he recently found out that he loves her more than a best friend. When Jack is away filming a movie, he craves for Y/N. When he’s facetiming her, he wishes they could stay on there all day. When he first started feel like that he flipped out. The first person he told was his mom which told him that he’s starting to fall for Y/N. It brought tears to his mom’s eyes when he told her since his mom already sees Y/N as a daughter. The second and last person Jack told was Romeo who agreed with his best friend’s mom.

“How should I do it?” Jack asked him in a curious tone. He’s never told a girl that he’s falling for her. “Take her for a walk on the beach. Do it when there is barley anyone there.” Romeo told him shooting him a quick glance and then back to the road. “Okay, sounds good.” Jack said with a nod as he looked at the review mirror at Y/N peacefully sleeping. He felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest and just the sight of her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they arrived at the beach house it was around four in the afternoon so after they put all of their belongings away, they decided to go on the boardwalk. As they walked the boardwalk, they went into many stores. Y/N and Jack were in a sunglasses store trying on a bunch of random glasses together. Both of them couldn’t help but take a bunch of pictures with each other with some funny looking sunglasses. Everything was going great till one of the young girls who worked at the store came over and started to flirt with Jack taking his attention away from Y/N. She could tell that Jack was completely oblivious to the girl’s flirtation, but it still made Y/N’s blood boil in jealousy.

Y/N let out a heavy sigh as she put the sunglasses she was holding back onto the rack and walked out of the store. She took a seat down onto a wooden bench. “Hey Y/N!” Stella said walking up to her with Romeo by her side. “Where’s Jack?” Romeo asked her. Y/N pointed in the direction of Jack and the girl. “Who’s she?” Stella hissed, looking the girl up and down in disgust at how desperate she was acting. “She works there and just walked up to Jack and started to flirt with him.” Y/N answered as she glared at the girl who was now helping Jack out at the counter. Jack decided to buy a nice pair of sunglasses that were gold and black with blue lenses.

He walked out of the store and over to the group. “There you are.” Jack said to Y/N. “Why did you leave?” He asked her. She still had a dirty glare in her eyes. “Oh, sorry I thought you would rather speak to Ms. Pretty by yourself.” Y/N answered in a snappy tone as she stood up from the bench. She wasn’t just jealous of the girl taking Jack’s attention, she was also jealous at the way the girl looks. “What?” Jack asked confused and shocked by the tone in her voice. Romeo and Stella knew that Y/N was jealous but again, Jack was oblivious.

“Can we just go back to the fucking house.” Y/N snapped and started to walk away. Stella and Romeo shared a look and followed her. Jack was still shocked and confused by Y/N’s sudden burst out as he followed his friends. For the rest of the night Jack kept asking Y/N what was wrong, but she kept avoiding the question or telling him that she’s fine or just tired.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the week went on Jack has been worried about the way Y/N had been acting. Whenever they are on the beach together, she just sits on a beach chair just wearing the bottom of her swimsuit and a long T-shirt. Jack kept trying to get her into the water and swim with everyone, but she would just shake her head saying no. He was confused since when they went to the beach when they were kids all the both of them would do was swim in the water. When they would go eat out somewhere Y/N would barely eat anything. All she would eat at a restaurant is a salad. And again, when Jack would mention something about it, she would tell him that she isn’t really hungry.

Y/N was sitting in the room she shares with Stella lying on one of the beds flipping through a Cover Girl magazine. When she got to one page, one of the models looked like the one girl from the sunglass store. They weren’t the person, but they had so many similarities such as their body type. Of course, those insecure thoughts appeared again in her brain which made her eyes start to tear up. “Hey Y/N can I- “Jack started to say as he walked into the room, but he cut off his sentence when he saw tears in Y/N’s eyes. “Hey, what’s wrong?” Jack asked with concern, startling her as he quickly walked up to her. “Nothing!” Y/N said quickly sitting up and wiping the tears out of her eyes. “Why won’t anyone fucking knock!” Y/N said with frustration and annoyance in her tone.

“Okay, what the fuck has been up with you?” Jack asked with frustration now in his tone, finally having enough of Y/N’s attitude. “It’s like ever since we came here you barley eat, you don’t want go into the water, and you are always looking at those stupid magazines!” Jack explained to her with annoyance. “IT’S BECAUSE I DON’T LIKE THE WAY I LOOK OKAY!!!” Y/N yelled at him as tears quickly returned to her eyes. Jack’s eyes went wide in shock since he wasn’t expecting her to yell at him since she’s never raised her voice at him. He’s actually never heard her raise her voice. “I want to look like those models in those magazines. I want to look like those actresses that star in those movies with you. I want to look like that girl that was flirting with you in that sunglass shop.” Y/N told him as hot tears ran down her face. “But Y/N you are- “Jack started to say but she immediately cut him. “Just fucking forget it!” Y/N snapped standing up and pushing pasted him, running out of the room.

Jack was completely stunned by what Y/N just told him. He had no idea that she was being completely hard on herself. He had no idea that she didn’t like the way she looked. Jack couldn’t help but think that he’s a bad friend for not sensing that something is going on with her. He should’ve known that she was feeling down on herself by her actions.

Jack quickly made his way downstairs into the living room. He only saw Stella and Romeo in there watching TV. “Hey, do you guys know where Y/N went?” Jack asked, getting their attention. “She told us she was going to go sit on the beach.” Romeo answered. “She said that she wanted to be alone.” He added. “Is she okay? She looked like she was crying?” Stella asked him with concern in her tone. When Y/N walked into the room she told them that she was going to go sit on the beach and she wanted to be alone. Before she or Romeo could say anything, she was out the door. “No, I need to go tell her something important.” Jack said and walked out the front door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N was sitting in the sand watching the waves crash on the shore. The sun was setting on the horizon. There were some people walking closer to the shore just letting the waves go over their feet. “Y/N!” She heard Jack say her name behind her. “Leave me alone!” Y/N told him in a stern tone as she continued to stare out into the ocean. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were feeling bad about yourself?” Jack asked her in the same tone she used now standing next to her. “Because you have your own life to live. I don’t need you to be worrying about me.” Y/N told him with frustration still not looking at him with tears streaming down her cheeks. Jack let out a sigh as he sat down next to her.

“You were the only person that I had on my mind when I was away filming.” Jack told her which made her finally look at him. “While I was away all I wanted to do all day was facetime you so I could see your beautiful face.” Jack told her. She felt her heart skip a beat when he called her beautiful. “You think I’m beautiful?” Y/N asked as she stared into his brown eyes. “I think you’re the most beautiful girl in whole world.” Jack told her as he took one of her hands into his. “But why me? I don’t wear all of those glamorous clothes your female co-star’s wear.” Y/N said as the frustration inside her came out again. “I don’t give a fuck about that.” Jack told her in a stern tone.

“Y/N, you are beautiful just the way you are. Just because you don’t wear expensive clothes doesn’t mean that you aren’t beautiful in what you wear. What you wear is your style and I love your style.” Jack told her letting go of her hand, putting his hand on her cheek wiping away her tears with his thumb. “I’m falling in love in with you because I love everything about you.” Jack confessed which made her eyes go wide. She was completely stunned because he just told her that he feels the same way she feels. Jack leaned in and connected his lips with hers. Y/N completely melted into the kiss. Their lips fitted just like a puzzle piece. When they released from the kiss they stared deeply into each other’s eyes.

“Since tomorrow is our last day here, how about we spend the whole day together for our first date?” Jack said to her. “I’d love that!” Y/N said with excitement as a big smile formed on her lips. Jack returned the big smile as he wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders bringing her close to his body. Y/N rested her head onto his shoulder. “Thank you for always being here when I need you.” Y/N said in a soft tone as he rubbed his hand up and down her arm in comfort. “I’m always here for my girl.” Jack told her and gave her a soft kiss on the top of her head which made her giggle. Y/N and Jack stayed in that position as they watched the beautiful sun set.

Tags: @athenalive

@pagesfalling

#jack champion #ethan landry #scream iv #scream vi #jack champion x reader #jack champion oneshot #jack champion fanfic #jack champion x y/n #jack champion imagine #jack champion fluff #jack champion x you #jack champion fanfiction #cover girl #scream cast #spider sully #spider socorro #spider soccoro #avatar spider #spider avatar #avatar way of water #avatar the way of water #avatar 2 #avatar wow #avatar 2 cast #avatar twow #avatar the way of water cast #avatar wow cast #avatar twow cast #jack champion angst

[cinema-tv-etc]

How Do These Celebs SIZE Up?

Do you ever wonder which celebrities have the biggest and smallest penises in Hollywood? Well today you’re in luck! Here at Mr. Man we love penises of all shapes and sizes, and we’re celebrating the delish diversity of dongage with the 20 biggest celebrity growers and showers! Only A-listers actors made the cut (or uncut!) and the results have been verified by our dedicated team of guy-ientists. Those are guy scientists for you non-academics. Hit the list below to check out the sexy celebrities with the biggest and smallest penises in Hollywood!

Watchmen star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is one of the most well-endowed men in Hollywood, according to a list compiled by Mr. Man, a database for male celebrity nude scenes.  The Emmy-award winning actor who can also be seen in the Netflix historical legal drama The Trial of the Chicago 7, is included in “Hollywood Showers” list. “During this award season, we thought it would be fun to recognize the actors who dare to bare all,” says Phil Henricks, an executive at Mr. Man.  “We didn’t feel the need to hand out trophies as these men have already been gifted with the best prizes of all.”

The experts at Mr. Man were satisfied as well. , they chose him among their 10 “Showers” in Tinseltown.  Viggo Mortensen, Ben Affleck, Colin Farrell, and Ewan McGregor also make the well-hung club.

Michael Fassbender, best known for his starring role in the X-Men films, appears on the list for his full-frontal scene in the 2011 film, Shame.  “The German race car driver turned actor is probably not as well known in America as the other men on our list,” reflects Henricks. “But judging from the impression that he made on our team, he should be.”

Among the Growers list are Tom Cruise who appeared nude in 1983’s All the Right Moves, Jude Law from 1999’s The Talented Mr. Ripley, Leonardo DiCaprio in 1995’s Total Eclipse and Tom Hardy who bared all in 2008’s Bronson.  “We applaud the Growers, too,” says Henricks.  “At Mr. Man, we appreciate all shapes and sizes.”

#1: Ben Affleck

It’s no secret that Ben Affleck is one of the sexiest men in the biz we call show. But did you know that the real-life DILF has the biggest penis in Hollywood? It’s true. He surpasses even the legendary Michael Fassbender (who seemingly fluffed for his Shame role). For a look at what Ben is packing, check out his massive member in Gone Girl. Ben there, hung that!

#2: Michael Fassbender

Michael Fassbender’s legendary cock has received ample time in front of the camera thanks to his brazen full-frontal performances. Michael really put other actors to shame in, well, Shame, when he flaunted his huge swinging penis. Raise your hand if you want more Fassbender dick!

#3: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II

The talented and sexy actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II em-bawdy-ies Watchmen’s Dr. Manhattan like no other man can. He lends his perfect, thick penis to the role of the famously naked Dr. Manhattan in multiple mouthwatering scenes. Do we like seeing him naked? Um, Ya...hya.

#4: Liam Neeson

We’re Taken… by Liam Neeson’s cock! Now we know where the horse-hung Irish actor gets his swagger from. Liam Neeson’s full frontal scene goes down in Under Suspicion, when he makes a mad dash across a lawn with his thigh-slapper on full display. Just… wow.

#5: Ewan McGregor

Ewan McGregor is one of the nudest actors in Hollywood, with over a half dozen frontal performances under his rarely-there belt. And with his impressive package in Young Adam, this sexpot is an example of quality and quantity! When it comes to Ewan, we all win.

#6: Omar Epps

Omar God! Omar Epps is definitely an actor who we want to see more nudity from. But at least he blessed us with a great frontal nude scene in Conviction. We’re convinced that he’s one of the most well-endowed actors in Hollywood!

#7: Viggo Mortensen

Viggo Mortensen has delivered decades of dudity, first showing off his thick penis in 1991’s The Indian Runner, and most recently in 2016’s Captain Fantastic. That cock? Fantastic!

#8: Antonio Banderas

Many fans might not know that Zorro himself is packing an impressive sword. Antonio was just a twink when he showed off his genuinely thick sausage in 1982’s False Eyelash! And don’t get us started on that sexy au naturel bush. Just don’t okay.

#9: Colin Farrell

A man with a dashingly handsome face, dreamy eyes, perfectly toned bod, and an extra long dong might seem too good to be true. But that’s exactly what you get with Colin Farrell! Porn fans can check out his sizable soapy cock in Triage.

#10: Justin Theroux

My man’s lingerie? Grey sweatpants. Justin Theroux made headlines for his bobbing bulge in The Leftovers, but to see what he’s actually packing, check out Justin’s impressive frontal shot in Eight Inches Under. We mean, Six Feet Under!

#11: Robert De Niro

The legendary actor Robert De Niro was about as studly as they came when he was a young Hollywood hotshot. We think that his sexy cock, as seen in the Bernardo Bertolucci movie 1900, might contribute to his confidence.

#12: Harvey Keitel

This accomplished actor made a name for himself with his brazen nude performances. You can peep Harvey's hog in unforgettable scenes in Bad Lieutenant, The Piano, Ulysses’ Gaze, and more!

#13: Alexander Skarsgård

Arguably the hottest member of the Skarsgård dy-nasty isn’t afraid to serve up his Swedish sausage. Alexander shocked audiences by delivering full frontal nudity in a True Blood scene that’s straight fire.

#14: Daniel Craig

If you look up “daddy" in the dictionary, you won’t find a picture of Daniel Craig. That’s not how dictionaries work. But if you check him out in Love is the Devil, you will see one of the hottest daddy cocks in Hollywood when he lets it all hang out in the tub!

#15: Richard Gere

Richard Gere proves that it’s not the size that matters, it’s how you use it. The retro heartthrob bravely bared his bits in the aptly named movie American Gigolo. Now that’s what we call kicking things into high Gere!

#16: Tom Hardy

This British babe loves showing off his pint-sized package to anyone and everyone. Shia LaBeouf even claimed that he and Tom once wrestled fully naked! Tom Hardy boldly bares it all in some of the most memorable nude titles here at Mr. Man, like Colditz and Bronson. Hardy will leave you hard!

#17: Tom Cruise

Now we know why things didn’t work out with Katie! Throughout his career Tom Cruise tried his best to hide his package from the camera, but in 1983’s All the Right Moves, he briefly slipped audiences his Cruise missile. Tom’s nudity has us jumping (on the couch) for joy!

#18: Jude Law

Jude Law was every gay boy’s crush in the ’90s, but many people don’t know that he showed off his goods on screen. Jude Law’s best penis shot can be found in the homoerotic The Talented Mr. Ripley. With a face like that, does penis size matter… like at all?

#19: Leonardo DiCaprio

Back when he was a mere twink, industry favorite Leonardo DiCaprio delivered a surprising frontal scene in Total Eclipse. He was only twenty-years-old when he showed his fun-size cock and balls while standing on a roof fully naked! See, you can be a ladies man, even without the gland.

#20: Terrence Howard

We’re certain that he’s simply a grower and not a show-er, but that didn’t stop audiences from commenting on the shocking size of Terrence Howard's penis as seen in Get Rich or Die Tryin’. Maybe in Terryology (Howard’s unproven math theory) three inches equals a foot!

https://www.mrman.com/top10-biggest-smallest-dicks-hollywood

Mr. Man is an adult entertainment website and database of male nude and sexually explicit scenes from mainstream movies and TV.  It launched in 2013, 14 years after its parent site, Mr. Skin.  Its collection includes more than 8,000 stars, 90,000 photos and video clips and a vast selection of curated films and TV shows in full HD video.

You can watch every scene now with a FREE Mr. Man account!

[davidtennantgenderenvy]

The Rest Of My Cast Picks for an Actually Good Live Action Adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist

I couldn't really find any big names who are the right age and the right look for Edward, I would ideally imagine him being like, a River Phoenix type but I want someone who's. You know. Alive

So I ended up finding two up and coming young actors who are currently close to Ed's age at the start of the show who gave performances that really impressed me! First one is Cameron Mann, who played Jullianne Nicholson's son in Mare of Easttown, and the second is Jack Nielsen, who played a young Prince William in Spencer!

Walker Scobell might also work once he finishes puberty

I'd love to go back in time and cast season one of stranger things era Noah Schnapp as Alphonse, but for now I think Gregory Mann (voice of GTD!Pinocchio) could be a great choice

I also wish I could go back in time for Winry bc my DREAM choice is Saiorse Ronan from like ten years ago, I also put Sadie Sink and Amybeth McNulty

Obviously I'd probably just cast unknowns for the Resembool trio but I wanted to find examples for fun anyway

please give me options for Armstrong bc right now the ONLY person coming to mind is John Cena

Same with Envy! Aiden Gallagher is the one choice I could think of but I'd love to think of some actual nonbinary actors who exude that chaotic energy

Michelle Yeoh is SO perfect for Izumi on so many levels, I also put down Sandra Oh and Laura Donnelly (True in The Nevers)

Robert Sheehan is a really good fan favorite for OG Greed, but I also think Kit Young (Jesper from Shadow and Bone) and Blake Ritson (Oscar in The Gilded Age) would do really interesting things with the role

Pedro Pascal as Scar is THE typecastiest typecast (Buff emotionally constipated antihero who accidentally adopts small child) but I just couldn't resist. I'd also love to see what Naveen Andrews (Sayid in LOST) would do with him

Sean Bean and Liam Neeson are fan favorites for Hohenheim for a very good reason!!! But I'd also love to see Andreas Pietschmann (Dark, 1899)

SPEAKING of 1899 Fflynn Edwards would be SUCH a perfect and creepy Selim

He's obviously too old now but LOST era Josh Holloway would've been such a fun Havoc. Also put Aaron Paul down as a treat

PLEASE PLEASE give me actors for Ling Lan Fan and May I clearly haven't watched enough things with good East Asian rep so I couldn't think of anybody who really fit their roles. That said Ling and Lan Fan were PERFECT in the live action trilogy we actually got so honestly I'd just keep them

#fullmetal alchemist #fma live action #Edward elric #walker scobell #noah schnapp #saiorse ronan #Sadie sink #amybeth mcnulty #John cena #Aiden gallagher #Michelle yeoh #sandra oh #Robert sheehan #kit young #Pedro pascal #Sean bean #Liam neeson #1899 netflix #josh holloway #Aaron paul

[greensparty]

Movie Reviews: Marlowe / Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

This week I got to review not one but two new releases...both very different.

Marlowe

Raymond Chandler’s character Philip Marlowe was a private eye in his short stories and books in the 1930s on. Pretty soon Hollywood was adapting Marlowe stories into radio, television and films in the 1940s onward. Some of the Marlowe films I watched in my college History of Film class included Murder, My Sweet and The Big Sleep. Now Neil Jordan has adapted a 2014 Marlowe story written by John Banville into the new crime thriller Marlowe opening in theaters this week after some 2022 film festivals. 

movie poster

In 1940s Los Angeles, hardboiled private eye Marlowe (played by Liam Neeson in his 100th performance according to much press) is hired by a rich heiress Clare (Diane Kruger) to find her ex. The movie star mother (played by Jessica Lange) soon gets entangled. That’s about all I can say without getting into spoilers.

Neeson as Marlowe

Director Neil Jordan has made some great movies in the past. I actually worked for a short time in the Construction Department on his 2007 movie The Brave One. That movie wasn’t perfect by any means, but it had its moments. But his films The Crying Game (he received Oscar nominations for directing and for writing), Interview with a Vampire, and The Butcher Boy really showed his range as a director in terms of excelling in various genres. This is a terrific cast, and I was excited to see Colm Meaney and Ian Hart, both of whom were in Monument Ave (which I worked on) in small supporting roles. The production design was big and lavish. But the problem is: I wanted to like this more than I did. I think the issue is that since the Marlowe films of the 40s, there’s been so many film noir classics and this story (even with a script from William Monahan, which wrote The Departed) it felt derivative of so many other film noirs. Between the character of Marlowe, Neil Jordan and this cast there was something so much better that could’ve been.

For info on Marlowe: https://www.marlowemovie.com/

2 out of 5 stars

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

Marvel Cinematic Universe is hit or miss. Some elitist have said it’s not cinema (Martin Scorsese) or it’s too bad that they are the only types of movies getting made these days (Quentin Tarantino). But hardcore fans have pushed back on that. I fall somewhere in the middle of the fans and the haters. When the movies are good they are really good. When they are bad, they are a let down. Then you have some that are just somewhere in the middle: a fun ride, but nothing I need to see again or buy on blu-ray. In 2015′s Ant-Man, Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang tries to get back to a normal life after getting out of prison and finds himself getting mixed up with a shrinking technology. The first 10-15 minutes of that felt like it was aspiring to so much more than a MCU movie: a guy trying to move on with his life but society won’t let him since he’s an ex-con. Then it just became another super hero movie. It had some fun parts, but it could’ve been so much more, even with a screenplay co-written by Rudd, Edgar Wright and Adam McKay. In 2016′s Captain America: Civil War, Ant-Man gets recruited by Capt. America and became an Avenger. In 2018′s Ant-Man and the Wasp, it was fun to see the shrinking / growing fights in San Francisco, but again it felt like there was a better movie waiting to get out. Ant-Man re-joined the Avengers in 2019′s Avengers: Endgame. Now the third Lang movie Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania opens this week.

movie poster

In this one Hope Van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) and her scientist father Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) now have mother/wife Janet (Michelle Pfieffer) back from the Quantum Realm...even if she is reluctant to talk about this world she was in for 30 years. Lang’s daughter Cassie (now much older and played by Kathryn Newton) is working on a signal to the Quantum Realm, but it thrusts them all into this world, where they get separated. Janet is the most familiar with this world, but even she is fearful of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), who makes a deal with Ant-Man...and things go awry.

Rudd, Newton and Lilly in the Quantum Realm

I actually like this better than the first two Ant-Man movies mainly because of Kang the Conqueror, one of the best Marvel villains we’ve had in a while, and the relationship Lang now has with his grown daughter Cassie. The idea of shrinking is nothing new, we’ve seen it in Fantastic Voyage, The Incredible Shrinking Woman, and Innerspace just to name a few, but with this one instead of reminding me of Marvel movies, it reminded me more of classic Star Trek episodes and sci-fi movies of the 50s and 60s. Returning director Peyton Reed has mixed it up with movies like Bring It On and episodes of The Mandalorian, but what first got my attention about him was the behind-the-scenes special on Back to the Future trilogy that aired on TV in 1990 and then he directed the live-action segments on the BTTF animated series. If he never directs anything else, he has my thumbs up for his contribution to the BTTF universe! But what lifts the sail of all the Ant-Man movies is Paul Rudd. He has a charm and a charisma that has served him well in romances and comedies (notably David Wain and Judd Apatow comedies), but here he’s the protective father on a grand scale. Did I mention I really dug the reference to Welcome Back Kotter too?

For info on A-M&TW:Q: https://www.marvel.com/movies/ant-man-and-the-wasp-quantumania

3 out of 5 stars

#Movie Reviews #marlowe #neil jordan #marvel cinematic universe #ant-man and the wasp: quantumania #peyton reed #ant-man #film geek

[darke15]

If aftermath was a movie, who would you cast?

Ooohhhh I've been waiting for this one...

*cracks knuckles* let's do this!

A couple things before we get started:

I have more of Alpha 1 planned out than I do the rest

I am open to suggestions

If I Cast Alpha 1 :

Commander Mikhail Weston :

Liam Neeson, his portrayal of Colonel Hannibal Smith in The A-Team (2010) was a big inspiration for the Commander and he is the only actor I envision taking up the character.

——————————

Captain Daniel Gonzalez

Edgar Ramirez, another big inspiration was Ramirez as Bodhi in Point Break (2016). Again this is the only actor I can envision playing Danny.

——————————

Sergeant Turner Johnson

Michael Ealy, this guy was the original inspiration for Turner, however, I've recently been talking to @violetvictoriabarnes about Idris Elba also taking on the role and I like him too.

——————————

Private Oliver Walsh

Joseph Mazello, when I rewatched GI Joe Retaliation earlier this year and he came on screen, I literally said, "Oh, hey, Ollie. What's up bro?" At which point I realized he would make a perfect Oliver.

——————————

If I cast...the bad guy :

Dr. Merek Novak

Christopher Waltz, I think we've come to an agreement that Waltz' performance as Blofeld in James Bond is probably the most spot on Novak to ever grace the history of the universe. His quiet, yet intimidating demeanor as Blofeld is perfect.

——————————

If I cast...The Soldier & The Spy :

Agent Boone Cavanaugh

Blake Lively, I will be the first to admit this one isn't quite right but finding a person to fit Boone's slightly psychotic persona is extremely difficult and I am open to suggestions

——————————

Sergeant Duke Dugan

Stephen Amell, like Boone, I am up in the air about this one

——————————

Bonus :

Ammarilla 'Amma' Bright

Tantoo Cardinal, like the previous two I am still up in the air about this one but I think Cardinal could really pull off Amma. Again, I am open to suggestions for casting Amma but I do have one guideline : she has to be Native American.

Lemme know if you want me to cast the rest of Alpha 2 and if you have any other suggestions!

#talk to me goose #anonymous avengers #anonymous avengers ask away #ask me things #ask me literally anything #casting aftermath #battle scarred aftermath

[tomicscomics]

It's Tomics' January 2021 Wallpaper Pack!  Archangel Investors ($5/month) at Patreon.com/Tomics can download this at https://www.patreon.com/posts/46624215.

The New Year is here and it's already startin' its sass.  What better way to survive all that haberdashery and wollimagarky than by finding something classic you like and just enjoying it?  One of my favorite films from eons past is "Taken" with Liam Neeson.  It's not particularly deep, but it's an immensely satisfying action romp.In case it's too subtle, this month's wallpaper is based off of the aforementioned "Taken".

The idea for a "Taken" rip-off with St. Joseph in the starring role was suggested by Will Herrmann on Patreon (thanks for re-suggesting this year, Will).  Writing the infamous Taken-speech so that it fit the Holy Family and their flight to Egypt was really fun, and Will's idea for the final line was perfect.

#st joseph #herod #king herod #holy family #flight to egypt #taken #liam neeson #flippin awesome movies

[mylifeincinema]

My Best of 2021: Non-2021 Films

My Best of 2021 is a series of annual lists in which I pick the best of the best from 2021, all leading up to my official picks for My Top 10 Films of 2021.

I saw a lot fewer new non-2021 films as I would have liked. Less than 15, I think. So it was tough making this list, but only because several on here don’t really belong on any ‘best of’ lists. Oh, well... here they are.

1. A Mighty Wind (Chistopher Guest, 2003)

A hilarious mockumentary about folk music that dismantles and pokes fun at the genre and the artists therein without ever becoming callous. And the original songs are fantastic.

2. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Powell & Pressburger, 1943)

Powell & Pressburger really could direct a movie, couldn’t they? Some of the narrative stuff doesn’t quite work for me, but the character work is phenomenal, and the performances behind them are so full of heart and dedication and loyalty that they fill in the parts that didn’t work and help create a whole that packs a punch.

3. Another Round (Thomas Vinterberg, 2020)

A film about alcohol… both its positives and its negatives. How it brings out the best in us and how it brings out the worst in us. This is a fascinating film about four friends stuck in a painfully boring rut who bust out of it in gloriously drunken fashion; a study of walking a line and finding that said line is quickly beginning to blur. Mads is a powerhouse, here. And that ending is every bit as wonderful as you’ve heard.

4. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (Joseph Sargent, 1974)

Matthau and Shaw are incredible, here. Just so pitch-perfect.

I love how bare-bones it all is. Just a simple heist/hostage film that doesn’t feel the need to overwrite its characters.

This is so, so much more effective than the remake, overall. And I actually really like the remake, too.

5. Best in Show (Christopher Guest, 2000)

It’s really funny. Guest and gang know what they’re doing, they know how to do it, and they milk it for every single available laugh.

6. Let Him Go (Thomas Bezucha, 2020)

This is NOT the film I thought it was going to be. Wow. This is such an effective slow burn of a film, with great performances from both Lane and Costner, a thematically rich, emotionally resonant screenplay and an explosive third act.

7. The War of the Worlds (Byron Haskin, 1953)

I loved the design of the Martians, and the VFX in general is just a ton of fun. There’s some really creative shit going on, here. Yeah, the ending is painfully anti-climactic. And sure, it’s Wells’ fault. But I’m still surprised no adaptation has managed to make it even a little more exciting/thrilling/interesting... and that’s a shame.

8. Greenland (Rick Roman Wuagh, 2020)

Significantly better than expected.

Butler puts a lot of his goofy machismo aside to accentuate his character’s desperation, here, and it pays off. They opt to tell this story with a greater focus on the human angle than the always crowd-pleasing ‘disaster porn’ angle, and that also pays off.

Also, most of this plays out very similar to Spielberg’s War of the Worlds without the aliens. That’s a compliment.

9. The Hunger (Tony Scott, 1983)

Not Scott’s best, but it does manage to captivate occasionally. Bowie is phenomenal in an all-too-small role. And Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon’s chemistry is equally natural and completely intoxicating.

10. Honest Thief (Mark Williams, 2020)

It’s at the lower end of the Liam Neeson action vehicles, but even that still makes for an entertaining ride. Neeson’s fantastic in this type of role, and it’s very hard not to cheer for him. The writing and directing here could have been better, but they do their job well enough for the type of film it is.

Enjoy!

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.

Next Up: Assorted (Animated Feature, Foreign Film, Editing, Screenplay, Etc.)

More of My Best of 2021...  

#film #movies #movie #cinema #best of 2021 #mybestof2021 #non-2021 movies #honest thief #the hunger #greenland #the war of the worlds #let him go #best in show #the taking of pelham one two three #the life and death of colonel blimp #another round #a mighty wind

[tennessoui]

Lool I love your tags so much! He will find you a la Taken Liam Neeson and stomp on you with his hooves! Feral shelter cat Obi with his guardian violent unicorn centaur. I love your caretaker Anakin too. We don't often get to see him be soft which is a shame bc he has a huge heart and so much love. And the role reversal, where he's the "grown-up" and has to help Obi learn how to talk, dress, bathe (Obi climbs on top of Ani's head 1st time he sees a water shower). Ani makes mistakes along the way

2/2 of course he makes mistakes because you can't go from almost Falling temper to well-adjusted that quickly even with traumatized ginger feral cuddles. But Ani will learn from them because Obi is worth everything. Sorry I'm rambling, I just love these two so much, more intimate than lovers, two sides of the same coin ❤❤❤ Yor fics are singlehandedly fuelling my addiction 😘

----

no need to apologize this is perfect!! obi-wan taught anakin how to read and dress appropriately for a Jedi, how to use his lightsaber, and make a good cup of tea. so now it's anakin's turn and it gives him a very much better understanding of how hard it must have been for obi-wan when Anakin was nine, and he promises himself he won't fail, even if it takes fourteen years to fix what seven years took away </3 obi-wan is worth it

#asks #it helps that anakin is benched for a long time after the whole 'he definitely slaughtered all those pirates' thing #my headcanon is that obi-wan is afraid of lightsabers because of the sound or memories he has of a similar weapon or even his onw #being used to hurt him #so he cant stand hearing the sound of them for years #feral!obi-wan

[sideburndanny]

Batman Movie Villains Ranked from Worst to Best

Recently, a YouTuber I follow by the name of Mr. Rogues released a list of Batman villains ranked from worst to best. I have nothing but the utmost of respect for Mr. Rogues as a content creator, but I took issue with his list because his long-standing biases were often the deciding factor in many of his rankings. So, I decided to do a list of my own.

I’ll be going over every Batman villain to appear in the movies, briefly analyzing their portrayals and ranking them on a scale of 1 to 5. To prevent the list from being too cluttered, I’ll be separating the villains by which movie series they’re part of. Here we go!

Burton/Schumacher Tetralogy

Bane: Perhaps the only villain in this series I’d call “bad.” The calculating tactician of the comics is nowhere to be found here; instead, he’s reduced to a monosyllabic, brain-dead stooge for the other villains. Overall, he does nothing that couldn’t be done by a random henchman. 1/5

Two-Face: A deeply layered villain in the comics, Two-Face sadly gets upstaged by the other major rogue in the movie, but that’s not to say he doesn’t leave an impression. Tommy Lee Jones gives him a manic and mercurial demeanor that, combined with his colorful design, wouldn’t be out of place in the Adam West series. The size and scope of his criminal organization make him a genuine threat, and there’s something darkly fitting about Batman’s former ally being responsible for the creation of Robin. 3/5

Poison Ivy: Mr. Rogues for some reason ranked her as the worst Batman movie villain of all time, and frankly, I don’t see why. Like Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face, Uma Thurman gives this character a delightfully over-the-top demeanor that combines with a colorful, comic-booky ensemble to make for another great “what-if-this-character-appeared-in-the-Adam-West-series” take. She does a good job juggling the differing facets of Ivy’s character: she’s the put-upon cynic, the craven opportunist, the radical eco-terrorist, and the suave seductress all in one package. 3.5/5

The Penguin: Fuck the Razzies. Danny DeVito made this role his own and set the stage for the character for years to come. He’s a bit of a departure, but a welcome one: far from the refined gentleman of crime Burgess Meredith portrayed, this Penguin is an animalistic thug warped by a lifetime of anger and hatred of the society who rejected him due to his deformities. His signature wardrobe, trick umbrellas, and Penguin gimmick are all there, but DeVito sells the role by showing amazing versatility: he can go from a comical and pitiable weirdo to a terrifying sociopath at the drop of a stovepipe hat. 4/5

Mr. Freeze: I honestly can’t say much about this character that my mutual @wonderfulworldofmichaelford hasn’t already. Arnold Schwarzenegger perfectly encapsulates both popular versions of this character: the flamboyant, pun-loving criminal genius from the Adam West series and the Animated Series’ traumatized scientist desperate to cure his loving wife of her terminal illness. Sure, the puns and hammy one-liners are what this version character is known for, but Ahnold definitely knows when to apply the brakes and give a greatly emotional performance as he tries desperately to cure his wife. 4.5/5

Max Shreck: Probably the only time you’ll see a movie-exclusive character on this list, and deservedly so. Corrupt businessmen are dime-a-dozen in Batman stories, and most of them have little personality outside of being greedy scumbags who either get defeated by the hero or betrayed by the other villains. Shreck, however, is different. Not only does he have an eye-catching fashion sense on par with any of Batman’s famous rogues, but Christopher Walken brings his signature manic intensity to the role, creating a character that’s as wicked and sinister as he is cool and stylish. You totally buy that the general public sees him as the good guy. His warm relationship with his son is also a delight to watch. 4.5/5

Catwoman: Michelle Pfeiffer does a lot to really make the character her own. She gets a lot of genuinely badass moments, but underneath all of her coolness lies the undercurrent that she’s a broken, traumatized character lashing out at the people who abused her and took her for granted. Even when she takes these ideals to unreasonable extremes, you never stop feeling like the retribution she brings on her enemies is at least a little warranted. Also, she has amazing romantic chemistry with Batman and her costume is fucking metal. 5/5

The Ridder: It’s Jim Carrey. 5/5

The Joker: This role is perhaps the one that set the standard for future Jokers to follow: Jack Nicholson’s humorous yet unnerving performance signaled to audiences early on that this would not be the goofy trickster of the Silver Age, but a different beast entirely. This Joker is a film noir gangster on crack: a disfigured mob hitman who quickly takes the entire criminal underworld by storm and unleashes his special brand of chaos and destruction across Gotham. He’s an artist, a showman, a charismatic leader, and the man responsible for ruining Bruce Wayne’s life. 5/5

Christopher Nolan Trilogy

Talia al Ghul: You know that recent trend in Disney movies where a side character we thought was harmless and inconsequential turned out to have been the villain all along in a twist with no buildup or foreshadowing with the reveal happening too late in the movie for this character to really do anything cool or impressive before being unceremoniously defeated? That’s Talia. DKR is the weakest of the three Nolan films, and I feel like it would’ve been much better received without this twist villain contrivedly shoehorned in. Also, while I could kinda forgive the trilogy’s whitewashing of other villains like Ra’s al Ghul and Bane due to the talent their actors display, Marion Cotillard doesn’t get a pass because she just doesn’t have the charisma or screen presence needed to pull it off. 1/5

Victor Zsasz: While the idea of redefining Zsasz as an over enthusiastic mob hitman instead of a serial killer is very interesting, it’s ruined by the fact that he barely even appears in the movie and doesn’t really do or say much of anything despite the buildup he gets. 1.5/5

Two-Face: Aaron Eckhart portrays Harvey Dent as a character of tragedy in a slightly different way than other tragic villains in superhero movies: he’s lashing out at a society he feels wronged him, but instead of being a lifelong outcast or put-upon loser, he was a handsome, successful crusader for the common good who lost everything he once held dear all in one fell swoop. You really feel for him even as he does horrible things. If I had to nitpick, though, I am slightly bothered by the fact that he plays some comic book movie cliches straight (i.e. they never call him by his alias and he dies at the end,) but it’s a solid performance overall. 3/5

Scarecrow: I’ll be upfront and admit that I’m more than a little annoyed that certain facets of the character had been changed in the name of “realism” — once again, they never call him by his villain name and he never wears a comic-accurate costume — but other than that, I can’t complain. Cillian Murphy plays the character with a smarmy, eerie charm that really makes his scenes stand out, his willingness to ally himself with other villains suits his character well, and the fact that he appears in three consecutive films with a different evil scheme in each really helps tie the movies together. 3.5/5

Catwoman: Much like other secondary villains in this trilogy, she really doesn’t get a chance to shine compared to the main antagonist — and, once again, it pisses me off a little that they do the whole “never refer to her as Catwoman but vaguely hint at it” thing — but she’s everything a modern Catwoman should be. She’s sly, manipulative, really holds her own in a fight, has great chemistry with Bruce Wayne... it’s all there. It’s also great to see Anne Hathaway break away from her usual type casting to play a role this dynamic. 4/5

Ra’s al Ghul: He’s a character that was in desperate need of mainstream exposure, and by God that’s what he got. Making him Bruce Wayne’s mentor adds a layer of personal tragedy to the climax where our hero has to stop the man who made him who he is from destroying Gotham with his admittedly brilliant plan. Add in a strong, captivating performance from Liam Neeson before we found out he was a racist asshole, and we’ve got one hell of an overarching villain. 4.5/5

The Joker: Everybody’s already discussed this version of the character to hell and back and likely will for years to come, so I’ll keep it very brief. He’s funny, he’s badass, he’s terrifying, he has great dialogue, it sucks that Heath Ledger didn’t live to see his performance reach the audience it got, and he basically makes the entire film. 5/5

Bane: Mr. Rogues actually ranked Bane higher than Joker on his list, and keeping it 100, I actually agree with him here. Finally, after decades of being dumbed down and misrepresented outside of comics, Bane is finally portrayed as the tactical genius from the comics. Tom Hardy plays Bane to perfection, being very believable as the peak of human physical and mental achievement, the man who broke Batman physically and emotionally. His design is iconic, his every line is quotable, his voice is weirdly fitting, and the memes are funny. 5/5

DC Extended Universe

KGBeast: Another point where I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Rogues. He is absolutely wasted in BVS, being nothing but a generic henchman for Lex Luthor. He doesn’t wear his costume from the comics, he’s never referred to by his alias, he doesn’t have his signature cybernetic enhancements, and he never does or says anything noteworthy. 1/5

The Joker: Ugh. I don’t know what’s worst: the tacky clothes, the stupid tattoos, the weird Richard Nixon impression that passes as his voice, the fact that promotional material hyped him up as a “beautiful tragedy” of a character even though he’s only in the movie for like 10 minutes and barely does anything, Jared Leto’s toxic edgelord behavior on set done with the flimsy pretense of “getting into character,” or the fact that he’s just trying to copy Heath Ledger instead of making the role his own. 1/5

Victor Zsasz: Chris Messina proves undoubtedly that Zsasz CAN work as a secondary villain in a Batman movie. He’s once again a mob assassin who enjoys his job a little too much, but unlike Batman Begins, he really gets time to shine. He’s just as sadistic and depraved as in the comics, but he also has this disarming, casual demeanor about him like he’s just indulging a hobby instead of slicing innocent people’s faces off. His close friendship with his boss Black Mask adds some depth to the character as well. 3/5

Killer Croc: Sadly, he doesn’t get much time in the spotlight, but he’s pretty cool nonetheless. The makeup and prosthetics used to create him look amazing, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s deep voice and imposing body language make him really stand out as an intimidating presence. He’s often in the background, which fits his role as an outcast by choice and a man of few words, but whenever he does get focus, he has everyone’s attention. It really would be a shame if this character’s only appearance was in a mediocre schlock action movie, but he makes the most of what he has. 3.5/5

Deadshot: Another highlight of what would otherwise be a forgettable film, Deadshot is just as cool and competent as he’s always been in other media, but this portrayal stands out for one simple reason. Will Smith was a very odd choice to play the role, but it worked out for the best here because you get the sense he truly understands the characters. He’s ruthless and pragmatic, but has just as enough charm and depth to make him likable. 4/5

Black Mask: I, like many, was skeptical when I saw early trailers depicting Roman Sionis as a foppish weirdo who doesn’t wear his signature mask, but upon seeing the final movie, I really feel like he has the high ground over other DCEU villains. Ewan McGregor is endlessly captivating in the role, portraying him as a swaggering dandy who is nevertheless dangerous due to his boundless narcissism and explosive temper. Sure, those who deal in absolutes would be put off from the differences with his comic counterpart — who is far more cold and humorless — but from a certain point of view, this flamboyant take on the character isn’t so much a departure as it is an addition to make him stand out while keeping his role the same. Black Mask has always been a middleman between the traditional mobsters of yesteryear and the colorful rogues that plague Gotham today, and this portrayal perfectly encapsulates that. He works in the shadows, but isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty; he flies off the handle and gets reckless at times, but there’s no question that the whole operation was his idea. 5/5

Harley Quinn: Margot Robbie owns this role. She’s unbelievably dazzling as a badass, funny, sexy antihero who deals greatly with tragedy and proves that there’s always been more to her than her initial role as the Joker’s sidekick. Again, not much to say, but she’s almost perfect. 5/5

#dc villains #batman #batman villains #dark knight #dc extended universe #batman movie

[ultrahpfan5blog]

Rewatching TDK Trilogy

Easily my favorite superhero trilogy and arguably one of my favorite trilogies of all time. I think in terms of superhero trilogies, Captain America is the one that comes closest because I love all three movies, but they aren’t a trilogy in the normal sense in that Civil War is essentially Avengers 2.5 and neither Civil War nor Winter Soldier can be understood without having watched Avengers and Age of Ultron. But even putting that aside, I adore TDK trilogy and it still ranks as my favorite superhero movies. The trilogy, obviously starting with Batman Begins, is what put introduced me to Nolan. I hadn’t seen Memento and Insomnia till then so Batman Begins was literally my first introduction to him.

I was always a big Batman fan as a huge follower of the DCAU cartoons with Kevin Conroy voicing a really badass Batman throughout the 90′s and into the early 2000′s. While I enjoyed the first 4 Batman movies as a kid, yes even B&R, I always wanted to see the more somber version from the cartoons. Batman Begins hit me at the perfect time where I started to have longer attention spans and wasn’t just looking for the next action scene. Rewatching the movie, it amazes me that Batman doesn’t show up for half the movie. I think that was a really brave call given pretty much all previous Batman movies introduced Batman almost immediately. I genuinely love all the prelude to Bruce becoming Batman. I liked that we got to see his training extensively and we are introduced to the city and see the dynamics of the rich and the poor, the police, the mob, the lawyers etc... It really gives Gotham a very grounded personality. I think Nolan really killed it at the casting level. By getting Caine as Alfred, Freeman as Fox, and Oldman as Gordon, he created a superbly acted support structure around Bruce/Batman, so we aren’t just always waiting for Bruce to show up. On top of that, they had Liam Neeson as Ra’s, who is effortlessly compelling, as well as other strong supporting actors like Cillian Murphy as a scene stealing Scarecrow, Tom Wilkinson as Falcone, Rutger Hauer as Earle etc... All giving personality to a difference facet of the city and Bruce’s life. But this truly is Bale’s movie. I didn’t know him at all prior to this film, but I have been a fan ever since. He carries the movie on his shoulders and he delivers the ferociousness of Batman and the humanity of Bruce Wayne effortlessly. If there is someone who doesn’t make a big impression, its Katie Holmes. I didn’t find her terrible, but rather the character isn’t exactly well written which bleeds into the next movie with Maggie Gyllenhall as well. My favorite Batman performance. Rewatching, what surprised me the most is the amount of humor in the movie. This is actually reflective of the entire trilogy. The movies deal with darkness and death, but there is actually plenty of humor sprinkled throughout these movies which prevent it from being dour. There have been a lot of superhero origin stories, but this still remains the gold standard of superhero origin stories. A 9/10 for me.

There is nothing I can say about The Dark Knight that hasn’t been said a 100 times over. It quite literally is the best comic book movie of all time. But it basically is at heart a drama about Gotham. Whereas BB acts as a character centric piece, this film is about all the characters living in Gotham. Arguable, the character that has the biggest arc in the film is Harvey Dent. Again, the casting department knocked it out of the park with the casting of Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent. Unfortunately, Eckhart never really capitalized on his performance here because he really was terrific in the film, both as Harvey and as Two-Face, to the point where you wished you had more of Two-Face. Gary Oldman gave his best work in the trilogy in this movie. The desperation as the situation spins out of control is fabulous. Freeman also has a very meaty role in the movie and continues to add a lot of weight to the scenes as well as plenty of humor, as does Michael Caine. Christian Bale continued to be terrific. There were some complaints about his voice, which I feel have been overexaggerated over the years. I definitely think his Begins voice is better, but barring one or two scenes, I never really had an issue with Bale’s voice in this film. He delivers a very nuanced performance. Maggie Gyllenhaal took over from Katie Holmes in TDK and while I think she is a far better actress than Katie Holmes, I think the character itself is not very well written. In both movies, Rachel comes off as very judgmental. Whereas in BB I can understand her reason in being so, given Bruce was ready to commit murder and later was out being a playboy in front of her for the sake of appearances, in this movie she is judgmental towards Bruce even though she knows what he has been doing to help the city. Also, she did come off a bit flaky in the whole Bruce/Rachel/Harvey triangle. And then there is Heath Ledger. There are very few performances that I consider perfect. This is one of them. I think every choice Ledger makes in this movie, be it intentional or unintentional, works amazingly well. Like him licking his lips to keep the make up on. It just adds a creepy quality to his character, even if it is completely unintentional. There are so many ticks and quirks in Ledger’s performance that make this a phenomenal performance. I don’t see any villain performance having matches that since 2008. I think the closest I have seen prior to that is Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector in Silence of the Lambs. It really is a performance that adds such a big extra edge to the movie. I love that Nolan sticks to certain details such as Bruce never actually drinking alcohol and throwing it away at the part and then Joker showing up and taking a glass and him spilling almost all of it. It gives a lot of personality to the characters. If I have any complaint about the movie, it is that Bruce does at times feel like a stationary character as he does not have as big of an arc as a Harvey Dent. And if you want, you can pick apart the holes in the series of events that happen that cause the chaos. But the drama of the film is just so intense that you forget all of that behind. I give it a 9.5/10

The Dark Knight Rises to me is the film that gets often maligned just because it isn’t TDK. And that is a crazy yardstick to compare it to. But as a movie on its own, its pretty damn awesome. TDKR is where the film truly steps away from being a version of the comics to being an Elseworld story with Batman having been absent for 8 years and then Bruce retiring and leaving Gotham at the end of the movie. But I don’t think there was any way for Nolan to close out his trilogy without it becoming an Elseworld story and it really didn’t matter because I always figured that as long as Bruce is out there, if Gotham needed him, he would come back. Its not as if there aren’t existing comic book stories of Bruce having retired or left being Batman behind. Again, there is some superb new casting. JGL ends up being surprising integral and he is terrific. Tom Hardy is awesome as Bane. He manages to provide a terrifying presence. I actually loved his voice. I love that a terrifying brute of a man has a polite, gentlemanly sounding voice. It gave him a unique personality. Marion Cotillard is pretty good as Talia/Miranda. She has an awkwardly filmed death scene but she’s good throughout the rest of the film, particularly during the reveal scene. But the casting of the movie for me was Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle. I knew Anne Hathaway mostly from the Princess Bride movies till then even though she had gotten an academy award nomination by then. But I really didn’t envisage her as Selina Kyle but she blew me out of the water with her performance. She was seductive, yet very likable. I love the clever costume design of her goggles looking like cat ears when she puts them up. I also love Nolan’s version of the Lazarus Pit. Certainly Bruce’s climb out of the pit is one of the most compelling scenes of the movie. You truly feel the emotion. The film also has one of the best acted scenes I have scene between Michael Caine and Christian Bale in the hallway. Its the scene I remember first whenever I think about TDKR. Oscar quality acting by both in that scene. The returning cast is all terrific but Michael Caine has a few gut wrenching scenes, including this one and the scene at the funeral at the end. Oldman and Freeman continue to be stalwarts throughout the movie, I really admire that Nolan did not waste these actors and given them very substantial roles in all the movies and all these actors really respected the material to not sleep walk through the roles. I think Bale’s performance here rivals his performance in Begins. Particularly in the scenes in the Pit. You get to see a full range of emotions, from pain, to despair, to anger, to hope. Its a superb performance. The film isn’t flawless. Its just a tad too long and there is some clunky editing at times. None of the three films can be said to contain very memorable action sequences because Nolan is not known to have great action sequences in his film until more recently, but the drama in the action negates that. Like, the Bane vs Batman fight where Bane breaks Batman, isn’t the greatest action scene in terms of fight choreography, but there is a lot weight to these characters which is what makes it incredibly compelling. Same is true to an extent for the climax at the end. When Batman beats Bane, I felt a sense of satisfaction after what I had witnessed in the previous fight. Overall, I genuinely feel that I love the last act of TDKR the most out of all three films. The Batplane, Batpod, and Tumbler chase scene was thrilling and it was cool to watch all three Bat vehicles in operation. The ending montage also ends the movie on a real uplifting note for all characters, which is very satisfying. I really love the movie. A 9/10.

It has to be said that Zimmer’s score across all three films contributes enormously to these movies. All in all, these set of movies are still my favorite superhero movies and my favorite Nolan movies till date.

#batman #batman begins #the dark knight #the dark knight rises #christopher nolan #christian bale #michael caine #heath ledger #morgan freeman #gary oldman #anne hathaway #tom hardy #joseph gordon levitt #liam neeson #cillian murphy #hans zimmer #katie holmes #maggie gyllenhaal #aaron eckhart

[moviemunchies]

Lincoln is a darn good movie, so this review will probably be short because I barely have anything else to say.

The second he heard that there was going to be a book about Lincoln and politics, Steven Spielberg wanted the film rights. The movie sat in Development Hell for quite some time, with more than one rewrite, bunches of research, and originally was going to star Liam Neeson in the title role; he dropped out during development (different sources cite different reasons). Daniel Day-Lewis came on board, given the condition that he have one year to prepare for the role.

There was talk of a while of having the movie cover all of Abraham Lincoln’s life. This was deemed a bit too broad for a movie, so instead Tony Kushner composed the script to focus on a few months of his life--and even that was cut back a bit to give it more focus. 

And so we get Lincoln, a movie about the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment and Abraham Lincoln’s role in it. I was very much surprised that I liked this film as much as I did; I was afraid that I’d sit in the theater being bored to tears watching two and half hours of people talking politics. Politics is not a subject I tend to find that interesting, and I’ll admit I tend to lean towards action movies rather than character studies, biopics, or political dramas.

But I did not find myself bored. Lincoln is a film that is, at once intensely moving, captivatingly clever, and surprisingly amusing. History comes to life in a drama that grabs you and invests you in the unfolding story on screen. You know what happens in the end, I imagine--I should hope, or else have a very long talk with your elementary school officials--but the movie is still suspenseful. You still care almost as much as the figures on screen about passing this bill.

[Standard spiel here about how the movie isn’t perfectly historically accurate, and someone hates the movie for that and that person can go suck a brick.]

The movie has a message, and that is: sometimes you have to compromise in order to do the right thing. The right thing in this case being ending slavery in the United States, and many of the political players have to do or say something they don’t like or goes against what they feel is right in order to achieve that one goal. And it’s a very good goal! But in order to make that palatable to a group of powerful white politicians that are, let’s face it, very racist, even if they do want to end slavery, sometimes the people pushing for that goal are going to make comments or deals that aren’t so savory. No, Lincoln doesn’t ever go into something insanely immoral, but a large subplot involves trying to buy votes off representatives by offering them new jobs. That wasn’t illegal at the time, but by today’s standards it seems very sketch. And that’s hardly the only morally ambiguous action Lincoln sanctions to do what must be done.

In reviewing this film, I cannot talk about every cast member. I cannot even talk about every outstanding cast member. This film has such a huge and talented cast that to give all of them their due, we’d be here for quite a while and I’m sorry, I have a day job. Instead, I’m just going to hit the highlights and hope that’s enough. 

Daniel Day-Lewis’s Lincoln is both larger than life and intensely human; a man captivating to watch as an audience member, inspiring to the common man. But he’s also the kind of man that’s intensely frustrating to work with, especially in politics. When one of this staff members hears him about to start a story and rushes out of the room, declaring that he can’t take another one of his stories--yeah, I get it. I don’t identify because I like hearing Lincoln’s stories, but I understand that someone who has to work with him every day might be tired of it. And he only barely agrees to compromise, and even when that happens it throws everyone else off so much that they hate that too.

But he is, at his core, a man trying to do the right thing: for his family, for his country, and for his people. And sometimes that hurts him. And it’s a testament to Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance that we feel it too.

Also bringing her A-game is Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln. Mary Lincoln is sometimes written off as being crazy, and let’s be clear, her mental health isn’t the most stable during the events of this film. Being the wife of not just the President of the United States, but _this_ President of the United States, cannot be easy, especially during one of the most stress parts of their lives. She worries about her husband, she worries about her sons (one of whom has already died, another of which wants to go to war), and about a country that seems determined to not get their shiz together.

Mrs. Lincoln can be difficult sometimes, but you know exactly why and you can’t blame her for it.

And also as a notable Lincoln is Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Robert Lincoln, Abraham and Mary’s oldest son. There is a simplicity and innocence to him that most of the other characters have, given that he really wants to join the war effort to be able to say he did _something_ concrete in the conflict. Out of the characters I mention here, his arc is maybe the most shallow/predictable, but that’s because everyone else is so outstanding. Gordon-Levitt’s performance is very good, though I do not think there is much to surprise audience members in it.

One of the biggest joys of this movie is watching Tommy Lee Jones as Thaddeus Stevens. He’s clearly having a ball--an elderly, curmudgeonly Representative who takes no crap from no one in the cause he’s taken up. 

I like David Strathairn, so I was happy to see him in this film as William H. Seward, Lincoln’s Secretary of State. He’s depicted as Lincoln’s right-hand man--a role that I don’t know matched up to his historical personality and job (after all, I don’t think that helping pass a Constitutional Amendment was ever within the jurisdiction of the State Department). He is the one trying to be as practical as possible, despite Lincoln’s attempts to keep this business as honest as possible. He suggests at the beginning even holding off on passing the Amendment until after the war is over, but falls in line when Lincoln explains why he wants it done. His performance as a frustrated but very politically-savvy (if rather cynical) player is a perfect contrast to Lincoln.

I don’t know if I can recommend this movie enough--it’s a spectacular effort to tell the story of man in a crucial moment of both his life and the nation’s history. This very easily could have been a half-hearted attempt at drama that tried to get by on the name recognition of its subject matter and cast alone, and yet it’s one of the greatest historical dramas I’ve had the pleasure of seeing. It’s one of the greatest of Spielberg’s films, and a worthy addition to any film collection.

#Lincoln #Movie Munchies #Steven Spielberg #Daniel Day Lewis #Abraham Lincoln

[letterboxd]

Found Family.

Riders of Justice writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen opens up to Aaron Yap about grimly funny fairy-tales, woke teenagers and creating an accidental Christmas movie with hunky muse, Mads Mikkelsen.

“Genres, that’s just a sales tool really. That’s to give people, show people, ‘are we having sushi or are we having Italian?’ Sometimes I like it when you don’t know what you’re getting.” —Anders Thomas Jensen

It’s stupidly easy to sell writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen’s new film Riders of Justice on its thirsty pulp appeal alone. Who can resist the promise of Danish acting force Mads Mikkelsen finally getting a decent John Wick-ish vehicle of his own, stoically meting out anguished, bloody vengeance to a cadre of underworld thugs? Certainly not, among many Letterboxd members, Harlequinade, who was moved to write this ode:

“MikkelGod sporting a bushy beard MikkelGod wearing a military uniform MikkelGod wearing a suit MikkelGod having this whole silverfox daddy thing going on MikkelGod killing a man with his big beautiful bare hands MIKKELGOD 🤗🙏🏻😍”

But to dismiss Riders of Justice as another entry in the seemingly endless slew of action-revenge pics would also be to undersell its other layers. Much more than Wick, your average Liam Neeson thriller-of-the-month, or even the recent avenging-dad flick, Nobody, Riders positions itself in a more emotionally and psychologically rewarding space, one perhaps closer to its tonally fluid South Korean counterparts. “What lingers,” Douglas Davidson writes, “are the questions Anders presents and the strange hopefulness that flickers upon the credits roll, burning like the embers of a dying fire in the darkness of night.”

It’s of a piece with all of Jensen’s directorial work thus far. A prolific screenwriter who’s penned everything from soulful early Susanne Bier heartbreakers to the recently misfiring The Dark Tower adaptation, Jensen, as a director, has found a sharply honed groove in the form of grimly funny, genre-defying modern fairy-tales populated by oddball characters forced to contend with the chaos of the inscrutable cosmos around them.

Causality plays an even more pronounced role in Riders. The film’s unlikely heroes—hard-bitten special forces soldier Markus Hensen (Mikkelsen) and a trio of bumbling data wizards (Lars Brygmann and Jensen regulars Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Nicolas Bro)—are drawn together to take down a vicious biker gang, but also preoccupied with processing the hows and whys of grief and trauma, and of course, the value of revenge.

Amid the terse blasts of gunfire, the film foregrounds scenes of connection and healing between its characters, an assortment of progressive teens and bumbling middle-aged men whose unusual found-family dynamic recalls Jensen’s previous dark, offbeat comedies like Adam’s Apples and Men and Chicken. As More_Baddass writes, the film gifts us some “Christmastime therapy of an unorthodox family”.

Over Zoom, we spoke about whether it’s possible to make Mikkelsen less handsome, why Denmark won’t be getting a sci-fi blockbuster anytime soon, and the time that Jensen and a friend tried to break the Guinness World Record for movie-watching.

‘Riders of Justice’ cast members Lars Brygmann, Andrea Heick Gadeberg, Mads Mikkelsen, Nikolaj Lie Kaas and Nicolas Bro.

Riders of Justice is one of your more action-packed films. Did you watch any other action flicks, or were there any specific movies that inspired you while you were designing and creating the action in this film? Anders Thomas Jensen: It’s funny, because it’s always subconscious. I never look for inspiration directly because for me, that would be weird to do because then you’re just copying. Definitely in the back of my mind, there’s a lot of action movies and a lot of revenge movies that I’ve seen in the past that will work their way in there. The process for me is very, how do you say, unconscious? What’s it called?

Intuitive? Intuitive, that’s the word. Thank you. First of all, a revenge movie is not easy, but it always has a strong lead and it has a strong will, which is obviously really good if you want to do a script that moves forward. Hamlet is a revenge story, right? I love Once Upon a Time in the West. I love that. The Searchers. The Sting, I guess, is also a revenge movie. Also, there’s so much identification in people who are wronged.

Wish fulfilment. Yeah that too. It’s one of the obviously basic human feelings. Revenge, love. There are these emotions that you’ll do dramas based on long after we were here.

I understand that you took a break from directing for a while and you were spending time raising your family. I’ve noticed, with Men & Chicken and Riders of Justice there’s a lot of attention paid to parenthood, and the role of the parent. Was that intentionally woven into these narratives and something you were thinking of? Yeah. I don’t do it on purpose, but I can definitely see that every movie I ever made I’m very much a part of it. So the whole father story is part of my life in this movie. I have a teenage daughter who I sometimes feel like … I don’t at all have the emotional tools that she and her friends have. This new woke generation that I’m aware of; every single feeling and the environment and everything. I was brought up in a different way. So that’s quite personal in the story, the whole ‘father who has to learn how to communicate through feelings when he’s not very good at it’.

Mads Mikkelsen and Andrea Heick Gadeberg in a scene from ‘Riders of Justice’.

Would you consider Riders of Justice a Christmas movie? Well, it’s so funny because I didn’t see it at all before one of my editors said. No, I wouldn’t because I didn’t pay attention to it at all. The only reason it ends on Christmas is because that’s the perfect coming together of a family. I needed it in the end, but it could have been Easter, but it wasn’t. Perhaps it is a Christmas movie now because it does have Christmas in it.

What was the first film that made you want to be a filmmaker? There are several, but I think the first time I had was Lawrence of Arabia. I saw that when I was very little, when I perhaps shouldn’t have seen it. But when I was around ten, I got a bootleg copy of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. VCRs were a brand new thing and we got a VCR. I saw that film every day for half a year and I still know every line in it. It’s not getting out of my head. I love that film and I think from there on, I knew that I wanted to do films.

As a screenwriter, do you have any other screenwriters that you respect and admire? I have many. Billy Wilder is one of my favorites. Also, Ingmar Bergman, the Coen Brothers, Robert Towne, but many others also. There are a lot of good screenwriters.

I can see elements of those writers coming through your work, especially the first three. You’re really good at blending elements from different genres and putting strange characters together. Are there any other genres you want to explore that you haven’t yet? Well, it’s funny because every time I open up a new streaming service, I look for sci-fi movies first. I’m part of the Academy and when I get the screeners, I’m always checking for sci-fi. I have a love for sci-fi, but unfortunately I’m born in a country where doing a sci-fi film would just be insane. It’s never been done. If you have a really big budget, you have five to six million here. So it’s just something that won’t happen. But of course, you could get ambitious and write a sci-fi movie and hope you could do it somewhere else. I hope one day [to] do a good sci-fi movie, or at least something within that genre because it is a favorite.

But I also have to say, basically, I love all genres. Perhaps not rom-com that much, but I really like Westerns. I like war movies, revenge movies, dramas. I love to mix genres. Every time I do a movie, I get this from the distributors: “What are we going to call it?” Because it is this mix of genres. Genres, that’s just a sales tool really. That’s to give people, show people, “are we having sushi or are we having Italian?” So people don’t get confused. But I think sometimes I like it when you don’t know what you’re getting. That’s also what I love about the Coen Brothers and other directors that play with genres, is that I never know where it’s going.

‘Riders of Justice’ writer-director Anders Thomas Jensen.

Let’s talk a little about Danish cinema. You have your Lars von Trier, you have your Vinterberg and Susanne Bier. Is there an older Danish film that you would recommend that people should see? I actually thought about it and it’s going to sound arrogant, but I couldn’t find one. Not when I compare to what else is out there of American, French, Italian, British, German, Russian and Asian. No, there isn’t. Of course there’s Carl Dreyer. He’s an icon in early, early cinema. That’s the obvious thing to say, but no. For me, Danish cinema starts in the ’90s. Also, I haven’t watched many Danish movies before that, because there aren’t that many. Some people will hate me for saying this, but that’s how I feel.

Are there any recent Danish films or filmmakers that you can recommend? This year I saw a film called Shorta, which was great. It was made by two directors with no budget, about two cops venturing into this Muslim part of Copenhagen where there’s a riot. That was really a promising debut. Also, I really like the idea they had. They made a lot of great stuff visually and for almost no money.

What are your movie-watching habits? You said when you turn on a streaming service, you look out for sci-fi movies. Do you have any other weird behaviors? It’s crazy, but if I really like a movie, I see it many times. I also see it many times where I do not look at it. I hear it. I will just lie with my back to it and just hear the movie. Actually, if the movie is really good, it also works without the picture.

I think that’s [as] weird as it gets, otherwise I’m pretty much normal. I used to binge-watch. Actually, I tried to get into a Guinness Book of Record with a friend when I was fifteen, where, for five days continuously, we watched movies. I can’t remember if it was 107 movies. We watched movies and we had a video store sponsor us. We were lying in an all-night video store, and just saw films until we collapsed. That’s the craziest thing I’ve done, but we never got into the book because there are people that are better at not sleeping, so somebody else beat the record by far.

Do you have a list, or a record of what you watched? No, but there was a journalist that asked us what number afterwards. He asked me, “What film was the film number? 47, 46?” I remember him being very impressed that I could differentiate them.

It would have made a great Letterboxd list. Preserve it for eternity. The funny thing is years after I would actually see a film, and I would get an hour into it and I would go, “Oh, I’ve seen this one.” It was because when I saw the last 30 films, I was unconscious.

I need to ask about Mads Mikkelsen because he’s massive with our community. You’ve worked with him for quite a long time now, so you’ve got a pretty solid working relationship. Having just watched a number of your films in a short period of time, it was impressive that you found that range in him that maybe other filmmakers haven’t tapped into. Is there a type of role that you want to see him in that he hasn’t had a chance to play yet? Yes. There are many roles, but I don’t know. I could put a job description or a feeling on it, but it’s much more complicated with Mads, I think. We have this common thing that we love exploring people who lie to themselves, whether it’s comedy or drama. People who are not being honest with themselves and people who have this screwed up self-image, which in all the films we’ve done together, his character has. There are many other characters I would love to explore with Mads.

His looks are quite specific in each film. He just looks like a different person each time, which is great. You just want to see how he is going to look in the next one. His wife is like that too. She’s always excited and she was so happy this time because he wasn’t ugly. Normally he doesn’t look very well, like in The Green Butchers. Because he’s so handsome, so I try to do him not so handsome.

Riders is the hunkiest he’s been in your films, I guess. Definitely. The competition isn’t tough, though. You’re up against a guy who masturbates and a guy with a bad receding hairline. But it is by far his most hunky.

Related content

Softspacedad’s annotated rundown of 46 Mads Mikkelsen films, and ‘Mads Mikkelsen movies ranked based on how good of a father he is’

‘Mads Mikkelsen is filled with rage and has only one eye’, a list by King

Onebear’s lists of all Danish movies released within each cinematic year since 2009

Anders’ list of films by Danish directors or in the Danish language

Leyner’s list of Danish films nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Film

Mikkel’s list of Danish Christmas films

Follow Aaron on Letterboxd

‘Riders of Justice’ is screening now in select US theaters and available on demand. Images courtesy of Magnet Releasing.

#anders thomas jensen #mads mikkelsen #mads #danish cinema #danish director #danish film #riders of justice #revenge movie #revenge film #action films #action film #denmark #the green butchers #men & chicken #letterboxd

[s1deanwinchester]

my friends: haha supernatural ended and it was bad i guess lol

me, foaming at the mouth: Dean Winchester is one of the greatest characters ever accidentally written. You have a macho character as the working class hero who could have come off as any boring asshole action guy (bond, borne, any character Liam neeson plays in an action movie) but you have Jensen give him this tenderness and vulnerability that you don’t find in many characters by men for men. You quickly see that a lot of the machismo is a facade. Dean is a total badass, competent and smarter than he lets on, and a charismatic flirt. But he’s also got guilty pleasures, low self esteem, hella daddy issues, and a self sacrificing streak that borders on suicidal.  

His early seasons wardrobe is so good for the character, he’s the only man that wears jewelry on the show (silver ring, leather bracelets, talisman necklace), and his father’s too big for him leather jacket (trying to be like his father but not measuring up)

Also by having almost exclusively male characters in the show, they gave dean the female coded roles of mediator and caretaker, made him the target of eroticized violence, and he’s generally the “bait” or the one that uses sexuality to get what they need. I don’t think they wrote him female coded intentionally, they just put him in these roles because they don’t have female characters who usually would have been put in those roles.

Then there is the subtext. You can read bisexuality in the dean as easily as you can read the subtext of John Winchesters abuse. And I think that’s why he’s so compelling as a character and why fandom circles are so invested in him. There is so much subtext, it’s really hard to say how much was intentional and I think a lot of it wasn’t, but it’s there so it counts. It’s a mystery to be solved, and you have to pay attention and look for it. Supernatural never comes out and says Dean was parentified as a child, but the evidence is all there. They show him drinking, but never address the fact that he’s an alcoholic to deal with his PTSD. So that’s why seeing of him being bisexual and in love with Cas is just as true a reading of the text as these other things. (There’s also the idea that he turned tricks as a teen which is so good and fits in so fucking well to his character, but that’s for another essay)

THEN you have his relationship with cas. From the moment they meet they have a relationship that could be one of the great epic romances AND IT WAS COMPLETELY BY ACCIDENT AND IT NEVER PAID OFF. God I wish I could write something like that on purpose. You have dean who thinks he’s worthless and thinks of himself as his fathers soldier, and cas who literally is his fathers (gods) soldier and has no free will. Cas immediately upon meeting dean cuts past his facade and says “oh you don’t think you are worth saving” and proceeds to save him dozens of times throughout the show. Dean in turn makes Castiel more than a soldier and helps him realize his individuality and when this happens Dean starts calling him Cas, dropping the “iel” which is the suffix that means “of god”. They wrote a perfect metaphor and they did it because Castiel is too hard to say 🤦🏻‍♀️

Anyways there are the epic ups and downs and betrayals and deaths and since this is more about accidental best character dean, not accidental epic romance of destiel, and I didn’t watch a lot of the later seasons, I’ll skip it. Then finally you get Castiels confession and death and it doest feel like bury your gays because this is supernatural and no one stays dead. But then you have dean, who they have written into a corner. The only way there is a happy ending for dean is with cas, they have spent too many seasons making this the most important relationship dean has with anyone outside of sam. so they fucking bury you gays dean, and its bad, because he didn’t get a supernatural epic self sacrificing death and he’s permadead because its the last fucking episode, because they would rather kill the main character of their story in the lamest way possible than follow his character development of 15 seasons and let him be bisexual and in a relationship with a man.

[coolrobotsupremacist]

Liam Neeson was a really good Valjean in theory. I think it would be cool if he starred in another adaptation, one more faithful to the character. Likewise, I feel like Russell Crowe could have been a good Javert in a non-singing role that was also more faithful to his character.

It's been a while since I've seen 98' les mis but I remember feeling that Liam Neelson was pretty believable as Valjean, if perhaps a little too traditionally heroically handsome, at least until Javert's suicide.... 

(As a side note, Liam Neeson joyously strolling through hordes of doves away from Javert's suicide is one of the funniest scenes in any adaptation of Les Mis 10/10)

And whatever else he brought to the role I think Russel Crowe had the right spirit at least, especially as he was technically in an adaption of an adaption which further obfuscated the role, musical!Javert being a different beast altogether from brick!Javert. 

But anyway; the spirit of the thing.

I think that's probably the most important thing in any adaption: translating the spirit of the work. Religious adherence to the text is less important than conveying its meaning. This is why shoujo cosette, which understood both the spirit of the characters as well as the themes of les mis overall, is so beloved even though it's not always 100% brick canon accurate, whereas something like BBC Les Mis is so universally loathed even while claiming to be a "book accurate" adaption.

(BBC Les Mis butchered almost all the characters but even then it could have had some merit of they had just understood that the book isn't an edgy story about bad things happening because the world is harsh, but a call to action saying yes things are bad but it's out responsibility and within our power to make things better. And it wasn't even that accurate to the book, y'know that one insufferable selling point that BBC Les Mis wouldn't shut up about?)

So, yeah, I kind of agree; maybe both their performances could have been uplifted by a "better" adaption. However instead of wishing for what might never be, I think it's important to appreciate individual slices of goodness within the plethora of bad/weird/confusing adaptation choices that even some of the most praiseworthy Les Miserables adaptations have made. Nothing is perfect but we can love the good and try to understand the bad.

Additionally what makes an adaption good is so subjective that it's near meaningless I might want to salt the very earth that your ideal adaption grows upon; likewise upon glimpsing my ideal adaption you might douse it in gasoline and reach for the matches.

#les mis #And yes even BBC les mis has some things I can be nice about #but I have to dig deep

[cherubinhell]

@andibecamehellitself​ created this “ask thing” and I’m honoured to be tagged by the creator herself. 🥰

Actress: Lesley Manville

First piece of media you watched her in:

Secrets & Lies, although I didn’t know who she was until I watched Topsy-Turvy.

Top five favourite characters (that mean the most personally to you):

Cathy (Mum), Lydia Quigley (Harlots), Cyril Woodcock (Phantom Thread), Chrissie Read (River), Mary (Another Year). Yeah I’m that predictable. 😂

I think Cathy and Lydia will always be my top two because while I had been a fan since Another Year, it was watching Mum and Harlots back to back in 2018 that had me really stunned at how wide Lesley’s range can be and turned this fan into a stan. 😂

Top five favourite performances (don’t necessarily have to be your favourite character or storyline):

Joan (Ordinary Love), Mary (Another Year), Cathy (Mum), Lydia Quigley (Harlots),  Helene Alving (Ghosts)

She was robbed of an Oscar nomination for Another Year, and don’t even get me started on how underrated Harlots has been, and still is.

Favourite costumes (or favourite character’s dress style):

Cyril Woodcock in Phantom Thread

To be honest I’m not really into her brother’s idea of fashion, but Cyril’s suits and heels are perfect (oh and the look when she meets Alma for the first time in the attic of their country house 🤤). Of course I love Lydia’s costumes in Harlots, too, and I have a feeling that Princess Margaret’s costumes in the Crown season 5 will also become some of my favourites.

Favourite line by a character:

I have two actually. 😂

“I don’t want to hear it because it hurts my ears.” — Cyril Woodcock

“You really ought to take a course in mental hygiene.” — Helen Wyatt

Favourite quote by the actress:

Two for this one, too.

“It’s all wrong. It’s ALL WRONG.”

“Where’s my fucking chair?” (Quoted by Liam Neeson, actually.)

You can only watch one piece of media with this actress in for the rest of your life, what is it?:

Mum, hands down. I will never, ever forget that bonfire night.

A dream role you would like her to play:

Nothing in particular, because I know whatever Lesley does, she’s gonna be brilliant. I would love to see her play a leading role in another Mike Leigh film, though. You just know these two can do no wrong.

Thank you, @andibecamehellitself, it was fun doing this. I don’t know who to tag lol. @lattesansugar would you do it with Michelle? And spread this? Of course anyone who wants to do it is welcome!

Last but not least, I ship Cathy and her crisps. ❤️

#i wish i could watch more of her stageworks #so far only watched ghosts #obviously i use 😂 a lot ha #keep calm and watch lesley #there's one thing i strongly advise you not to watch though #the great ecstasy of robert carmichael #you've been warned #all hail lesley manville

[friendlyneighborhoodamara]

Star Wars Movies Ranked (Best to Worst)

It’s been a while since I’ve seen all the movies, so I’m going off memory.

(Also, if you’re upset about the prequels’ low scores, allow me to elaborate: the prequels honestly have the best story ideas of any SW movie, it’s just those ideas are executed poorly.)

(Also, I know that there was 0 consistency to the length of each mini-review.)

1. The Force Awakens (2015): I adore this movie. Almost everything is perfect. The protagonists are all likable and surprisingly layered and interesting, Kylo Ren (pre-TRoS) is the best movie villain, the old characters play roles in this story that make sense and aren’t just here to be pandering, the effects and lighting are beautiful, the action scenes are fast, hard-hitting and exciting (that lightsaber duel in the wintry forest is my third favorite duel in the series!!). This movie ... it’s a masterpiece.

This would have gotten a perfect score if they leaned into the First Order as the alt-right to the Empire’s Nazi Germany angle, because I feel they’re too strong here. Maybe limit their power so they can only destroy cities instead of galaxies? Also replace the laser on Starkiller Base with fleets of MASSIVE Rathtars, because that’s cooler. Otherwise ... this film is wonderful.

Go watch it. That’s not a request.

- Score: A

2. The Empire Strikes Back (1980): Shorten the Hoth sequence and this film is basically perfect. I feel sorry for any poor soul named Luke who was subjected to jokes about their name, though.

- Score: A-

3. Return of the Jedi (1983): The Jabba sequence is fun, if a bit long, don’t @ me. Every thing else is great. The effects have gotten way better and we get to see the fruits of Luke’s training and maturation as a Jedi.

- Score: B+

4. A New Hope (1977): This movie always gets me in a good mood. I love how it feels less like a summer blockbuster action movie and more like a light-hearted fantasy movie; less MCU and more Wizard of Oz. While the story is one of the most naked attempts to ape on Joseph Campbell I’ve ever seen, it remains entertaining more than forty years later. Special effects are a sight to behold too.

- Score: B 

5. The Last Jedi (2017): 

Rian Johnson gets way too much flack for this movie. He did his best to make a subversive, audacious take on a Star Wars movie, and it was - for the most part - a success. 

Of the three main plots, Rey’s story is the best, obviously. It’s fascinating to watch her develop as a Jedi, to discover Kylo Ren’s past, and to see how Luke has changed since Return of the Jedi. That being said, Finn and Rey’s adventure to deactivate the tracking device is still good (yes, I’m serious) and did develop Finn’s character arc further from TFA. Poe’s plot may have been a bust, but hey, you win some, you lose some. 

Plus, we get the same great score and effects from last time! Still needs Poe x Finn.

- Score: B-

6. Revenge of the Sith (2005): 

Best musical score and best memes of any film in the franchise. That has to mean something. But in all seriousness, this is the best of the Star Wars prequels (and the only one of that trio that I’d call a good movie). The acting, while not amazing, is a step up from the previous prequels (even if the effects have taken a nosedive). 

Similarly, the story is more interesting, although far from perfect, because Lucas made the wise decision to focus more on Anakin’s character struggle than any other aspect. You could honestly skip both of the previous films. 

Also Ewan McGregor is hawt.

- Score: C

7. Rogue One (2016): Eh. S’alright. I like the darker edge to the story, the action scenes are some of the best in the franchise, and the music is good despite not being John Williams, but the characters (sans Jyn Erso, K-20 and Director Krennic, they’re a blast) are pretty bland, in part due to the staid acting. Great effects, though.

My advice is to skip to the awesome fight scene at the end.

- Score: C-

8. The Phantom Menace (1999): This movie is bad but I love watching it (especially with friends!) anyways. The acting is the worst in the series, bar none. The storyline isn’t necessarily complicated, but because of the bland acting, it’s hard to get invested in these characters. 

For example, Liam Neeson as Qui-Gon Jinn acts with as little gravitas or energy as Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan, yet Qui-Gon is supposed to be more unorthodox and rebellious than his more conservative apprentice. The bungling of that specific dynamic is especially disappointing because it’s rare for mainstream films to have a “Maverick Master, Serious Student” duo. 

Furthermore, there’s a lot of telling and not showing: we get holographic reports of Naboo officials saying “The death toll is catastrophic”, but we never see any civilians die or get rounded up. It sucks your interest away. That being said, we got the best lightsaber fight in the series, Jake Lloyd as Anakin is the most precious bean, and Ewan McGregor as one of the hottest man to exist.

- Score: D+

9. The Rise of Skywalker (2019): This movie was actually mediocre at worst, I just hate Reylo. Also Palpatine coming back makes about as much sense as Bardock surviving the explosion of Planet Vegeta and ending up in the past.

Also needs Poe x Finn.

- Score: D+

10. Solo (2018): Boring as tar. 

- Score: D-

11. Attack of the Clones (2002): Not even the memes were good. Also the lightsaber duel against Count Dooku is awful. CGI is awful. All other criticisms from The Phantom Menace apply here

Ewan McGregor isn’t even hot, he has like weird long hair and it’s gross.

- Score: F-