#i’ve been watching lotr at the cinema with my friends and it’s one of my favorite experiences in this life so far

[spidertams]

Oh, Sam…

#samwise the brave #samwise gamgee #lotr #lord of the rings #lotr fanart #spidertams #i’ve been watching lotr at the cinema with my friends and it’s one of my favorite experiences in this life so far

[frodo-with-glasses]

25 Questions with Phil Dragash: YES, SERIOUSLY!

So y'all know how I was reviewing Phil Dragash's audiobook of LotR last year, but kinda fell off somewhere in the middle of Rohan?? Well, guess what! A couple weeks ago, I received a tumblr message from the man himself, saying he'd read through all my reviews, had really enjoyed the little blast from the past, and was open to answering questions if I had any!

So of course, I had LOTS of questions.

The first one being: "Are you actually the real Phil Dragash??"

But I'm delighted to say that after exchanging emails with the work email listed on his website, I can confidently say that it is the real dude, and I've had a blast chatting with him! So for those of you who urged I listen to this audiobook—especially @laurelindorenan for her glowing recommendation—and for everyone else who likes the audiobook and/or enjoyed my reviews: I am delighted to present, ladies and gentlehobbits, this peek behind the curtain!

But of course I'm putting it all below the cut, because this man rambles like I do 🤣

Obligatory disclaimer: All opinions presented by Mr. Dragash are his own, I am not necessarily condoning any of them; please do not come after me for his opinions regarding pineapple on pizza.

25 QUESTIONS, LET'S GO!

1. Tell me how you got into Lord of the Rings!

I was ten years old when my dad took me to the library, and found a VHS copy of Ralph Bakshi’s 1978 animated Lord of the Rings film. I was already a fan of the “Chronicles of Narnia” and my dad just handed the tape to me and said “Look, C.S. Lewis’s friend made this”. I watched it, and had no idea what was going on. It was so hard to understand.

Fast forward to the year 2002 when “Fellowship” was out on DVD, and we had a movie night at my older cousin’s place, and watched the film for the first time. My 13 year old self was enraptured by it. Dad bought the DVD first thing the next day, and I’ve been a fan ever since! I, my brother, and our dad watched “Return of the King” in theaters four times, which was saying something, considering we only ever saw a movie once in cinemas. Between “The Return of the King” opening in December ‘03, I picked up the books and read (as well as I could) through them. A lot of friends kept joking “tell us how the damn story ends!”, good times.

2. When and how did you decide to make this audiobook? What’s the story behind the entire project? 

I was a very ambitious lad, and my first and biggest interest was filmmaking. I used to direct short films with my friends ever since my 11th birthday, and was the youngest in class at the filmschool I attended a few years later. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that I had massive ambitions to direct “the Hobbit”, which is silly in retrospect considering I was 16 years old at the time. I even sent my portfolio and DVDs of my films to Peter Jackson’s manager (who actually got back to me with a wonderful response, despite not being able to accept my ‘completely reasonable’ offer) When I was heartbroken and torn to pieces knowing I wouldn’t be directing the movie, a few more years went by, and I decided to reread some chapters of the “Lord of the Rings” books. I remember really well that this was late at night, laying in bed, and going through “King of the Golden Hall” and seeing how close to the movies it was, but also far more expanded. I thought “my extensive home-made short movies experience with sound design and sound mixing could work here, and I could just read a few chapters and try to make the soundscape as realistic as possible. Why not try it?” 

So, the next day I tried. The first two chapters I tried were “King of the Golden Hall” and “A Journey in the Dark” (which partly answers your other question about that chapter). I was so absolutely surprised by how well it was going, that I decided to upload them onto YouTube in March 2010 I think. I got a fairly good response, and I was planning on doing a few more random chapters. I never intended to do the whole thing. But this one comment on YouTube I’ll always remember, it said: “I think you should go from start to finish, because you’ll probably get used to the characters and sounds and people can also follow along in the story gradually”.

Taking that suggestion to heart, in August 2010 I went from Chapter 1 onward. 

3. Were you inspired by any other audiobook versions of LotR (such as the BBC radio drama)?

I was not, I actually haven’t listened to the BBC Radio drama until far ahead into the project I was doing. I did some research on what other audio productions anyone did with LOTR, from The Mind’s Eye edition, to the ‘60s Hobbit Radio Play; so I felt pretty confident. I just fell in love with the way the films brought Middle-Earth to life and seeing their incredible dedication for authenticity (from the props department, to the music), you really couldn’t do any better than that visually or audibly - at least in my opinion. I just wanted to hear Tolkien’s text but with the realisation of the films. 

However, if you listen to Chapter 1 of TTT, and hear how Legolas laments their absence from not being there to help Boromir at Amon Hen, you can clearly hear the inflection from the BBC Radio play’s version. I just lifted that because I thought it was a fantastic way to deliver the line.

4. Did you have any rituals for “getting into character” before recording?

If I were to show you the raw unedited recording sessions, you’d probably be surprised at how underdeveloped it is! I had no real rituals or warmups, I just went for it. Usually went in cold, and tried reading the entire chapter and doing all the voices at once. Then I’d be exhausted, and afterwards start cutting all the mistakes, and separating each character into different tracks – and then re-recording 50%-70% of it, as I was laying in the sounds. 

I think any character just needs a few words for me to say in their voice, and that helps for the rest of their dialogue. For Aragorn it was usually: “You cannot wield it! None of us can.” for Pippin it was: “Sometimes”, just random things that make things ‘click’ in my head. If I got lost or didn’t feel like the performances were working, I’d simply just watch scenes from the films to hear the real actors again!

5. Who was your favorite character to voice? Who was your least favorite? And why?

People who know me, know I love doing the villains. Sauron, the orcs, the Nazgûl, etc. I just love the idea of personifying things that scare you. Something completely the opposite of who you are. Always a fun time! Any character I can nail extremely accurately always makes me happy, but I’m always very critical of my own work, so it’s a rare thing.

My least favorite characters to voice are: Imrahil, Denethor, Arwen, Celeborn, Galadriel, Erestor, Lindir, Haldir, Goldberry, Gildor… I think the pattern is pretty obvious if you realize that I am incapable of providing a satisfactory voice that feels unique enough. They just sound to me like “I wish I had a broader range. They weren’t done justice.” I have feelings for most of the characters in this situation, but I’m a mere mortal. I can’t do all of them as well as I wish I could. I wish Aragorn was more like Viggo Mortensen’s voice (I tried with the nasally yells you mentioned!), I wish Gandalf had a richer tone, I wish Saruman sounded more majestic, and I wish Frodo was - in retrospect- more older sounding, too. There’s so much I wish I could do better, but to hell with it, I tried.

Fun fact: my least-favorite to voice are also Orcs because they destroy my throat after a while. Which is ironic, because of my first statement.

6. I noticed that you gave the men of Rohan and Gondor slightly different dialects! Are you pulling from any real-world accents to make that happen?

I did try to listen to Anglo-Saxon, and ancient norse but I just tried to make Rohan and Gondor slightly distinct in any way I could. I never really tried to make things too obvious, but admittedly, I think I just used my intuition (smoothing the R’s for the Rohirrim, making the Gondorians more ‘proper’, etc.). I do want to emphasize that this was a one-person project and keeping things together or consistent is definitely an extraneous exercise when you’re just trying to get something finished by yourself! 

7. Some characters (like Beregond and Quickbeam, to name a couple of my favorites) aren’t in the movies, so they don’t have an actor for you to imitate. How did you decide what they would sound like?

Well, in the case of Beregond, I realized he was just “your ordinary guy”, and seeing Minas Tirith through his eyes (and Pippin’s)  is such an amazing and interesting opportunity. It made the city feel so real, and I wanted to take advantage of that. I think I started with a ‘generic’ voice, but when I re-recorded him knowing more and more of the context and what he was saying to Pippin, and as a result who he is, made me adjust what I felt were more his personality. But still that ‘ordinary guy’ idea was the bedrock, and it’s been years since I heard that chapter, but I hope it holds up! (I just remembered Bergil is in that too, another voice I wish I could have done better) 

Another fun fact: when Pippin scares the kids in Minas Tirith, the audio was from something I videotaped when I was 10 years old with my friends, it had the perfect “kids-going-aaah!” sound.

If I had it my way, I’d have a cast of dozens in this Audiobook, so a lot of times I never felt like my voice was enough to truly capture the “We’re in Middle-Earth, we just have microphones to record it” idea. So I have to make compromises since I was the only one doing the voices. That being said, Quickbeam was a fun surprise because he felt like, as you said “young treebeard”, and these things just worked out through experimentation! I think Quickbeam turned out pretty nice. I like Quickbeam.

8. HOW—I ask with great enthusiasm—DID YOU DO TREEBEARD’S VOICE? How did you get that resonance and woody sound? Did you send your voice through a wooden box and re-record it on the other side like they did in the movies?

It’s really great that you know all the behind the scenes stories from the films! Especially what Ethan Van der Ryn, David Farmer, and the late Michael Hopkins have done with their incredible creativity. I had no such resources to produce Treebeard’s sound. What I did was a digital facsimile: a special ‘room’ reverb, with some other equalizing effects to boost the bass and (maybe, I can’t remember) another higher pitched track of the same voice faintly in there. 

You won’t believe this, but I was not going to do The Two Towers audiobook unless I could do a good Treebeard voice. In 2011 after finishing “Fellowship”, I was on the fence about continuing, and only committed once I knew I could do Treebeard right. Treebeard was the key to all this. This should come to no surprise to the ones who played the game, but I used a lot of sound effects from ‘Battle for Middle-Earth’ which contained a lot of clean sounds for ents, trolls, the balrog, the ringwraiths, and other monsters from the films. I used the ent’s footsteps from the games, and recorded my own foley for some of the trees snapping and leaves rustling as well. The “fart” sounds were the low creaking of tree branches, and - as they stated in the making-of for the films - very pitched down cow moos. 

9. Tell me about the foley work! Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been that nerd who watched the Behind The Scenes featurettes for fun, so I’m very interested to hear how you made the sound effects for footsteps and whistling arrows and jangling horse harnesses and such. 

I’m glad you are! I’ve collected sound libraries (ripped from video games, and finding and buying sound packs) for a literal decade, because I always needed sounds for the short films I made when I was younger. I just kept learning about how to mix sounds together, and it’s very creative and very enjoyable! That being said, the foley work itself is mostly recorded by me. If I can’t find a sound in the library I have, I will record it. Clothing rustles, and touch are all recorded while I listen to the audiobook playback and ‘perform’ each character. It’s a really arduous process, but I think it adds so much life into the sound. 

I went out into the woods (or backyard) with my mic to record footsteps, sometimes I would listen to the audiobook with headphones while performing the footsteps. When I would have traveled somewhere with different terrain I would be sure to record more foley (rocks being moved, or pebbles being stepped on) knowing I’ll use it for certain chapters. I do not want to reveal a huge secret about the predominant foley for the character's clothes, but an old backpack I used were 90% of the characters’ ‘movements’. Some wingflaps of the fell beasts were just my jeans. It’s a really creative process trying to find things that ‘sound’ right for an environment or action. The magic is putting them all together and hearing the result. Also, yes Sam’s pan is my grandma’s frying pan, and I know it’s sometimes annoying, but - look - Sam has a lot of stuff to carry.

I start with the background sounds (wind, tree rustles, water if there is any, etc.) lots of layers of them just to make them sound unique and not the same. Then I move to selective and nearer environmental background sounds. Then, the ‘hero’ sounds, the effects that are integral to the story (if it’s sword clashes, or an explosion, or who knows what), and finally the foley (footsteps, clothing rustles, breaths, etc.) - I had a friend record her own horses breathing and moving for a lot of closeups of the horses in the audiobooks. I think even if you can’t really hear some of their low breaths, their presence is still ‘there’. I personally think I got a lot better by the end of LOTR than when I started! 

I wanted to add, the sounds for little Elanor in the very last scene of “The Return of the King” (the baby sounds), I was not happy with the stock baby sounds I had, and asked my older cousin (an audio person too!) to send me recordings he made of his then-1-year-old daughter in a studio. So, my first-cousin-once-removed is Elanor! She’s 22 now. I feel old.

10. Do you have a favorite sound effect from this project? Mine is the “pat-pat” against cloth that’s used to denote a hug.

Absolutely, do you remember the two “watchers” before the tower of Cirith Ungol? The vulture-like statues that block the hobbit’s path out? The alarm sound is a wholly original sound design I did, and I’m really happy with it. It’s just ugly sounding, and that’s the point. I always wished I had more Nazgul, and I think the worst moments I had with mixing were the battle scenes. There’s just too much to handle and make it sound good. But I really tried.

I’m very glad you heard the ‘pat-pat’s. I try my best to perform every character when recording foley, and want even some of the sounds to convey something in the telling of the story.

11. What's the thought process behind your use of the various musical motifs from Howard Shore's score? (Read: Why do you use the Shire theme so often, and why does it get me in the heart every single time?)

I want everyone to know that this is a really important and valuable question, and one I never really get to talk about: To me, Howard Shore’s music is one of the very best things to come out of the films. He truly made an opera out of the story, and all his leitmotifs and orchestrations are a stroke of genius. They work on their own, and when reading the books as well, and as a nerd for films and all that stuff, I wanted to put a lot of care into how I’m placing the score, and for what scene, emotionally and leitmotivically, if that’s a word.

The Audiobook I did is obviously a ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ situation, so I can’t credit myself for the majority of the Audiobook I did, but I wanted to use all my filmmaking intuition to properly use the music to enhance the telling of the story. So, just like the filmmakers had to change and mix lines from the book, or make changes to make it work as a film, I felt like a lot of instances happened with the music for the audiobook. Obviously, I used the score when applicable to the intended scenes, but there are very often cases where they won’t work. I read as much as I could in the past about what the motifs were and where Shore used them in the movies, so I followed that trajectory for the most part. Gondor is Gondor, Rohan is Rohan, Mordor is Mordor, etc. 

Changes happen when I feel the emotions for a scene in the books do not match up to the ones in the films, and then there are brand new scenes and characters not in the movies at all, that I have to figure out! Take the pause from music between Gandalf falling into the chasm with the Balrog, and the fellowship successfully escaping. It’s perfect in the film, but I knew I couldn’t put the lamenting heartbreaking music in there yet, since the descriptions all drive the idea that escape is paramount. So I treated it as a ‘shock’ moment. No music until they’re completely out of the mountain, then the grief comes in. Things like that, a lot of fun creative thinking to get those emotions working!

I recall you mentioning the ‘Gimli / Legolas drinking game’ statement and how I used the hell out of it throughout the Audiobook, which is a good example. I pitched it up and down, for different moments, and it just has that hobbit mundane and jolly quality to it. So, in it goes to fill moments from the books. 

I also edited and modified existing motifs for completely different scenes and ideas. One of my favorites is when Treebeard talks about the Entwives. I needed this melancholy yearning sound that was really essential, and found it by reversing Eowyn’s theme, and pitching it down so the violin sounds like a cello/bass. To me it just felt extremely appropriate for the sound of a long-lost relationship while portraying a larger-than-life creature. 

Let’s also say Bombadil. I made up the idea that the last statement in the credits for “Return of the King”, was Bombadil’s theme. It’s actually just a reference to Der Ring des Nibelungen by Wagner, a very verbose beautiful crescendo, but I thought “I’ll pretend like it’s Bombadil, he’s last in the score even though he’s the first in Arda”. So I used that musical progression in his songs, that’s his leitmotif now (to me, anyway) He sings in that wavy up-and-down melody. Which is why you hear a lot of that in those chapters.

I also try to use recordings not from the original score: I looked far and wide for alternative recordings, predominantly the album by the Royal Prague Philharmonic, and the “LOTR Symphony”, just to make the Audiobooks feel different. I pitched down and moved and reassembled a lot of different cues for different scenes as well.

There are not a lot of instances of music from other movies, however, they do exist! I used music from “Battle for Middle-Earth”, the game “War in the North”, and for the last few chapters, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” since it just came out at the time. I used a lot of music from Howard Shore’s “Seven” and “The Game” during Shelob (I think), and for the Barrow-Downs. I used a tiny bit of underscore from the brilliant Don Davis’s “The Matrix Reloaded”, it had a really eerie choir which made me feel like it would be perfect for the fatigue and dizzying unreality of Mordor when Sam and Frodo were on their last leg, trying to get to Mt. Doom. Lastly, I used a little bit of music from Howard Shore’s “Twilight: Eclipse” for some dialogue scenes during Return of the King! And music from the independent film “Mongol” by Tuomas Kantelinen for the Woses when Theoden has to get help from Ghan-Buri-Ghan. Also the ending of ROTK has a few cues from “The Lord of the Rings musical”, lovely stuff.

It may surprise you that there is a small amount of score I actually ‘wrote’ with help from my brother (he’s a musician). It’s in the coronation of Elessar. It’s not very good but I needed something. There is also a cello version of “to the edge of night”, which I kindly asked permission to use by YouTube celloist, but I sadly don't think that video is up anymore.

Lastly, I use the Shire music so much because - just like Howard Shore said - it becomes a ‘hymn’ or an ‘anthem’ for the hobbits as they leave their comforts behind and are in a wide and unfamiliar world. Every little bit that reminds them of home, or relates to each of them, usually deserves a little ‘shire’ statement here and there. I feel if it’s in the characters’ hearts and minds, it has to be expressed in the music!

12. Out of all the chapters I’ve listened to so far on the Internet Archive, “A Journey in the Dark” is the one most plagued with editing issues; Sam’s temper tantrum over leaving Bill the Pony is cut out entirely. Which is a shame, because I was really looking forward to hearing your take on that. (Is it strange to say that I wanted to hear you break down into blubbering tears? Probably. Let’s ignore that and move on.) Is there any chance that you have a cleaner edit of that chapter somewhere?

I think you’ll be very unsurprised to know that “A Journey in the Dark” is the first chapter I ever recorded. I think you’ll also need to know that I did FOTR when I was 21 years old, and my grasp on doing better sound mixing or even getting the characters right was still a work in progress. I learned so much going chapter-by-chapter and felt that each succeeding one improves from the former. As a demo-run, I did “King of the Golden Hall '' and “Journey in the Dark” in early 2010 (in fact, I did only the first half of “JITD” back then. Stopping right after they are barred inside the mines, as the Watcher destroys the gate. I did the second half once I caught up with the story going chapter-by-chapter.)

There are so many issues with it, and I haven’t listened to it since. If you have headphones you’ll also notice that none of the voices really pan from left to right, or feel like they’re ever anywhere else except the dead-center. I was lazy back then. 

When I read the chapters, at the time, I was sharing an ‘office room’ with my younger brother, and as a teenaged younger brother does - continues strumming his guitar no matter what the other brother is doing. It was really fun, and funny and I was extremely sloppy with editing things out, and taking it too seriously. So, for sure you can hear ‘someone’ in the background during the early parts of FOTR, and I was too lazy to re-record or edit out the noises that weren’t supposed to be there.

Forgive me if this part is a lot longer, but now that you mention it, I want to get on my soap-box and rant about how many things I agree with about the Audiobook’s shortcomings and how many things have changed since the wee days of 2010: 

I didn’t really get a grasp on the characters, and I had no idea I was going to do the entire book. I did not take enough care with sound mixing (it’s a highly technical and rigorous practice, I’ve discovered. Even now, ten plus years later - it’s too technical for me to fully understand yet), and I did not thoroughly re-listen to the chapter when I was done with an edit or a sound-effects pass. Therefore there’s always been mistakes still in there, and just unpleasantly careless placement of sounds and music. I have often thought about re-recording it to get it up to scratch, but it’s been over a decade and I haven’t properly preserved all the sound stems without having to re-sound-mix the whole chapter again, and there is that little thing called ‘burnout’ which is hard to ignore. So, I apologize to everyone who has to suffer through that huge drop in quality with “A Journey in the Dark”. It quite literally was my first attempt, and it definitely shows. 

The good news is that a fan asked me the same thing about the missing piece in that chapter (the one you mentioned! With Sam and Bill!), and I’ve heard the same comments about it throughout the years. Why is it missing? I don’t know why! I recorded it, but in my loose run-and-gun past when I was a wee lad, I was careless, and just had the mp3 with that part missing. A rendering error, perhaps! Stupid 21 year old Phil just hodgepoging everything.

A Few months ago, I did get another email about that missing piece. I thought “okay, once and for all, I’m going to find that missing part.” - and I searched my old harddrives for some kind of archival copy with that part in it. Amazingly, it was a lot harder to find than I thought. Every rendered version of JITD either stopped right before that scene, or had it omitted. I actually found one half of it as a ‘demo’ piece I rendered years ago for a ‘sound trailer’, and then I finally found the original YouTube video I made - which had it intact! Now the hardest part was stitching it together with the rest. Took longer than I thought, but I finally amended this horrible incompetence. And yes, I will share the link to you! And be prepared to be disappointed at the 2010-era quality!

I don’t know if anyone knows this, but with the mp3s circling around, I have taken the liberty of re-recording and re-working some chapters from their original versions. I try my best to preserve the originals, but I also wish people to listen to the re-records. I have actually re-recorded and re-mastered “A Long-Expected Party” three times. 2011, 2013, and 2014. I re-recorded “King of the Golden Hall” in 2013, and “Shadow of the Past” in 2014. I usually try labelling the dates on the mp3 files themselves. The one I’m most proud of re-recording bits of, is “The Pyre of Denethor” as the first time I had Denethor say his last words he was mildly raising his voice, but I listened to it again one day and went “this man should be at the edge of sanity.” - so he absolutely yells now, and it’s such a night-and-day comparison.

Another addendum: I completely understand the complaints about ‘the sound/music drowning out the dialogue’. It’s been the #1 complaint over the decade. I completely understand. I never had professional sound mixing gear, nor did I have proper mixing headphones or speakers or a proper studio (most of the audiobook was recorded at my grandmother’s house!). The balance of the audio making it sound immersive, (like you are there!) and having clear dialogue to hear is - like I said - an extremely technical and complex process that I’ve never had the ability or tech to master. Let alone for a book that’s 48 hours long, and has so much sound and music to it. Nothing would bring me more joy than to work with an experienced sound mixer, and find all my audio stems, and for us to work together to clear up any and all issues. But as this project was a simple fan-made work, and I haven’t distributed it myself for a decade, who knows?

This is also why I never went on to do “The Hobbit”. Burnout is real, and I’ve never recovered from LOTR. The burnout… “it’s never really healed, Sam.”

13. What was your favorite scene to record and mix?

Mount Doom. Can’t get better than trying to make the climax as horrible and eucatastrophic as that. It all led up to this, and it was such a rush to work on. I remember how I was at the edge of my seat watching ROTK in cinemas for the first time, and how amazingly they pulled it off, and I wanted to definitely imitate that, but using Tolkien’s own writing. Just so cool.

I have two favorite chapters: The first one is “The Scouring of the Shire”. I remember well, when I was working on it, I realized this has never been ‘dramatized’ before. At least not in full. I felt so special being the first one (probably) to do it. I could imagine the entire chapter in my head like a film, and I could bring it to life with very little outside influence. Such a poignant and shocking chapter. 

I don’t think I would have done it as well without the experience I gained doing the rest of the Audiobook. Showing the strength of the four hobbits, portraying the dignity and resolve of their kind, giving that pathetic yet dangerous authenticity to Sharkey, and the ruffians, illustrating the battle of bywater with sound… this was done in 2013, so we all were able to listen to new music by Howard Shore (for The Hobbit), and I would be able to transpose motifs from that, into “Scouring”, and honestly I wouldn’t know how it would have worked out if the Hobbit films didn’t come out just at the right time. I think the score fits so well with the events of “Scouring”, there is a ‘mordor’ theme but it feels ‘unfinished’, like the remnant of an old defeated foe; there’s that wily progression for Radagast in the films, that I used for the hobbit’s rebellion and the conflict, and there’s a new ‘hobbit/shire’ motif that worked so perfectly for a ‘wounded, but recovering’ Shire. I feel so silly talking about decisions I made for this, but I always wanted to share some thoughts I had! 

Fun fact: I had a wonderful person ask if she would be able to play Rosie Cotton back in 2013, and I asked her to perform her lines. She was great, but I realized a very strange thing: when I put her in the audio mix, it would actually break the immersion, because you can hear a voice that wasn’t mine, and as a result - I couldn’t help but keep thinking - my voice for Rosie’s mother sounded like a Monty Python skit in comparison! And thus her lines had to be unused. It kind of just opened the fourth wall, breaking the illusion. Which is a shame, because I always dream of having a fully-cast LOTR Audiobook, maybe someday officially.

The other favorite is “The Tower of Cirith Ungol” just because I listened to it one day in 2014, and heard no errors. I was so proud. I couldn’t think of anything I wanted to change substantially. No one dislikes all the errors more than I do!

14. What’s your best memory from this entire project?

My late dad drove me and my brother out into a clearing at midnight in the forest. The sky was so clear and starry. And we were here simply to just yell at the top of our lungs to record material for “Helm’s Deep”. All the clear yells: “Elendil!!!” “Gúthwinë! Gúthwinë For the Mark!”etc. Etc. - I lost my voice, it was a fun time. He held the microphone for me as I splashed around a stream (for Gollum), once again at midnight since there were fewer background sounds.

I also tell this story a lot: A friend of mine who was listening to the chapters as I finished them - she hated the sound of knuckles cracking. And hated spiders. So, obviously, Shelob would have to have knuckle-cracking sounds for her limbs. So I recorded my own knuckles cracking and tried using it as much as I could for Shelob’s legs moving about. My friend was soooo ecstatic to know this fact.

15. If you could do it all again today, what would you change?

I would consider doing a ground-up re-recording of everything. With a budget, with a cast, with a lot more understanding of the story and intentions behind them. With VR sound options. With extra original music. That’s the dream. 

If we’re back to reality, I guess I’d just re-record a bunch of chapters since they could always be better, and tighten all the technical errors. But that would require a lot of assembling of the raw archived files, and re-building of sounds, and re-recording of lines. Also, as I stated before, I do not want to distribute my unofficial fan work just because I know that it’s a copyright nightmare. And burnout… “it’s never really healed, Sam.”

I like taking other people’s opinions to heart, such as the issues with Frodo’s youth or inflections and intonations for certain scenes that I didn’t quite fully grasp the first time. I would love to adjust things and make it closer to the book now.

- - - - -

And now! The Silly Questions Lightning Round!

(With thoughts from Lady Glasses in parentheses and italics!)

1. In Fellowship, long stretches of dialogue would often have someone randomly cough in the background. Tell me about the Cough. Why is the Cough there?

No one hates the coughs more than me. That’s either my brother minding his own business in the other end of our ‘office room’. I think you now know I was 21, I didn’t care, so these things are just left in because I was careless. However, sometimes there are intentional coughs to make it feel more realistic. It’s been years since I listened to it, so unless I somehow do a massive commentary stream someday (thinking about it), your guess will be as good as mine! The coughs heavily subsided once I did Two Towers, since I was by myself.

2. During the dinner scene with Farmer Cotton, someone burps. Who was that?

Mine. I have no regrets with that one. Or Pippin. I guess it could be Pippin.

(Darn! And here I thought it was Farmer Cotton, LOL)

3. How did you manage to make Bill Ferny’s voice so perfectly obnoxious?

I imagined Bill as an obnoxious guy. The image in my head gives me a good idea of what he’d sound like, and I’m so glad he’s so obnoxious that you had to mention it.

(He sounds perfectly punchable. Thanks, I hate it.)

4. Did you crack yourself up at any point in the recording?

Oh yes, in fact I have a whole outtake reel just for you!

(Warning to anyone who clicks the link: the April Fool's audio had me ON THE FLOOR)

5. Voice acting aside, who is your favorite character in LotR and why?

If you asked me in 2002 it would be the Balrog, if you asked me now it would be difficult because so many of them mean so much to me, and each of their aspects have something to aspire to. Gandalf, Aragorn, Sam, Frodo, Galadriel, the list goes on and on.

(That's beautiful, and so true. The story really grows with us, doesn't it?)

6. What’s your favorite color?

Blue. Always has been.

(Blue is a good color! 💙)

7. Political question: Pineapples on pizza, yes or no?

Yes, I still don’t get what the fuss is about

(Oooh, controversial)

8. Is a hotdog a sandwich?

No, it’s a hotdog!

(Counterpoint: A hotdog is a taco.)

9. What’s your opinion on geese?

They’re racist

(Racist against the entire human race, apparently)

10. How much would I have to pay you to say “I love boats!” in Merry’s voice? (It’s an inside joke with my friends.)

Nothing, it’s on the house!

(HOLY CRAP I LOVE YOU)

- - - - -

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! What are you working on nowadays?

I’ve actually had a few people ask me if I’ll ever do more audiobooks like this, and I seem to have tapped something. Yes, in fact! I’m working with a few creative collaborators on a small company to do the exact same sonic experience with other books! Since we’re very small, we are starting with stories in the Public Domain, and have successfully kickstarted (and finished) “The Jungle Book” by Rudyard Kipling. Which will be out (hopefully, officially) by early September! I’m really excited and hope this will lead to more projects, and - hopefully- back to Tolkien someday, in an official manner. Please follow my Instagram or Facebook for more info about it. (I also have a Twitter and Tumblr and more, but they’re all completely unrelated to LOTR and are just me drawing doodles and being a nerd, very unlike the Audiobooks I did, which is a bit confusing, I admit.)

- - - - -

And that concludes our interview! As I told Phil, it was so much fun to discuss a fellow fan's passion project like this. The more I read about it, the more I realized just how similar it was to my own experiences as a fan creator. We all start out as just a noob with a few unpolished skills, making something because we love it, and we learn and grow and hone our talents along the way. It's legitimately inspiring.

Needless to say, I am stoked to finish listening to the rest of this audiobook! Is it a bit weird knowing the creator of the thing might drop in and read my reviews?? Yes. Yes it is. But I'm gonna do it anyway. No holds barred! If I hear another cough, you're gonna know about it, Phil!

Also I may or may not do something with that audio of Merry because I'M STILL DYING OF LAUGHTER HELP

Anyway! If you made it to the end of this, you deserve a cookie! Everybody say thank you to Mr. Dragash, and go check out the other stuff he's doing nowadays! Namárië!

#phil dragash #audiobook #lotr audiobook #interview #CATCH ME SCREAMING ABOUT THIS FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS

[serenity-the-firefly]

I posted 4,395 times in 2022

That's 1,496 more posts than 2021!

229 posts created (5%)

4,166 posts reblogged (95%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@assassinregrets

@divorcedmilfaddict

@solalasoforth

@magicalgirlmindcrank

@eidetictelekinetic

I tagged 2,028 of my posts in 2022

#thoughts - 243 posts

#stranger things - 135 posts

#yeah - 67 posts

#omg - 57 posts

#wooden overcoats - 50 posts

#lotr - 49 posts

#fashion - 46 posts

#me - 40 posts

#goncharov - 35 posts

#the magicians - 31 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#this thought brought to you by me watching the live show and thinking ‘wow if i were antigone listening to him say ‘a long time ago…’ for

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

i think we should start talking about kepler and jacobi the same way people talk about walter white and jesse

230 notes - Posted November 22, 2022

#4

I dont think england is real actually i think it was made up for midsomer murders

286 notes - Posted May 18, 2022

#3

thank you for coming to my five star michelin restaurant, timothee chalamet. i’ve invited you here to be murdered because you’ve ruined the world of cinema for me. please enjoy your foam.

586 notes - Posted November 18, 2022

#2

absolutely obsessed with this letterboxd review of everything everywhere all at once

9,375 notes - Posted April 15, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

really i think one of my favorite character dynamics is “i don’t actually like you but we’ve been through so much together that i’d trust you with my life and know that we will always back each others calls. but i still wouldn’t trust you with my car keys.” like “we aren’t really friends but we’ve been thrust into an intense situation where you are the only other person i know so now we’re besties.” and “if it weren’t for our years of history i would have literally nothing to talk to you about at this work dinner.” Enemies to lovers has NOTHING on general disinterest to begrudging acknowledgment to discovering that this person is now an inextricable part of your life

15,739 notes - Posted October 11, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #ngl i am extremely proud of my top 5 posts (except the eeaao one)

[little-forget-me-not]

Summary 2023

This used to be a tradition but it definitely slid off after I stopped writing much in general (especially with uni and all the damned essays) but Reba asked if I was gonna do one, so I feel compelled to try again. I kinda did one for last year too, except I logged it down by the month on my Insta journal. Extremely satisfying to read but a pain to do. Anyway, I’m already getting sidetracked lol. Unlike previous years, I don’t really have categories for these so I’ll probably just note the highlights (I’ll still try to categorise some of them):

University:

Looking back at my entries this year I can see how I was constantly close to burn out and worn thin by stress, and yet I pulled through it. I was genuinely considering dropping out again due to the immense stress…(again)

Yet despite everything, and this is the fact I keep trying to brush away, but I did well. I did really well. I’ve been scoring basically almost consistent As across the board, for every agonising essay, project and exam I had to take on, I did them well. In fact, I was able to balance over 7 different essays that included separate roleplay demonstrations/tests and NOT freak out while still having time to have fun and socialise with my friends both online and irl (mostly Vot). AND also doing over 50 commissions AND finding a part-time job and going there physically to work. Younger me would have died under all that pressure, but I managed it all pretty well. I know I’m hard on myself, so even if I did well it doesn’t always feel that way, but I really did quite alright.

I remember setting a goal this year, which was to push myself out of my comfort zone and to dive headfirst into challenges, such as interacting with people and doing things that I’m afraid of. And I did do it. I was terrified of my lab sessions where we had to roleplay in front of the class, but every time I was the first to volunteer to demonstrate roleplaying in front of the class, and I actively reached out for advice and help. I even organised several practice meet-ups with a classmate who’s now a friend, Kala! I did gain some confidence in my ability. Cyndi tells me to believe in myself, being easier on myself, not to strive so hard for perfection and be more confident as I’ve proved my abilities in both the material and practice. …yet it’s so hard to believe it, still. But I’m not backing down…even if it terrifies me.

Also the graduations I’ve been to has made me realised that I very much would love to have my own graduation too, surrounded by people who love and support me. Mama and Dawn are going to fly over for it ;m; Bea's coming too! I hope to achieve so next year.

Roleplays/Stories:

Really got into roleplays this year, both for school and for leisure. I especially finally got into fantasy thanks to LOTR. Which we watched in cinemas as they were putting out the trilogies with each new week :D Played BALDUR’S GATE 3!!!!!! With Mero! And Vivi! I love rping with Mero with our dumbass jocks.

One of my dreams came true, made so by Aura who started hosting a Pathfinder campaign called Dusk Over Dreamnest. Because of which I’ve managed to write again…for FUN! I’ve been chronicling our sessions AND writing a separate prose piece based on Bull’s POV experiences. Love that creativity.

Also joined a digimon roleplay thanks to Ryou. Honestly came up with great banger designs tis year that I’m really proud of.

Relationships:

I think my heart grew a little this year to make space for more people in it… When I travel to Finland, I realise I miss Vot or my sis, or my private spaces where I can hang out with Mero. I never really used to miss people apart from Dawn that much, so it’s nice to know it. I also miss Luca and mom when I’m back in SG. Especially hanging out with Luca. He’s such great fun. Hung out with him quite a lot this year! Went to bars for the first time, got drunk, discovered I really like non-fizzy cocktails (had the most delicious, creamy and smooth cocktail made with milk, cream and half shots of de kuper butterscotch and raspberry (each)...on and also White Russians, oh and he and Henry got me Bailey’s for Xmas :D), had lots of late night heart-to-hearts, worked out, he taught me how to do proper punches, I built IKEA furniture with him etc. Really enjoy going on holidays with him especially when the social saturation renders Dawn drained and tired. He made me realise I really valued spontaneity, enthusiasm, openness and energy in relationships. I also appreciate and value his brand of masculinity more now, instead of completely dismissing it in others. He’s really coming into his own, and I appreciate our friendship and his trust in me (like omg when he asked out the giftstore employee and immediately called me after it to tell me, I was so proud but also happy he wanted to include me in his exhilaration and triumphs). Anyway I love him too, and he’s like the brother I never had.

I got closer to Vot too! I enjoyed my very first omakase with him as a birthday meal and there’s no one else I’d rather enjoy food with. Oh, also Jason got me a birthday meal of chilli crab (2 of them AAAAAAAAAAAA) and mantou!!!!! Really made up for the tragic birthday I had last year (which was I spent my birthday with Vot this year instead). Oh and he gave me a laser-printed wooden keychain of Nuki that he drew, with forget-me-nots engraved at the back ;m; Had many great hangouts with Vot, really. He’s a very, very dear person to me. He was one of the few people I can reach out to and able to be vulnerable with. I rarely call anyone when I experience distress (except for Dawn and on occasion Mero) but it’s so nice to know I can rely on more people now. Oh, I also developed a love for board games thanks to Vot. I used to hate them but I genuinely enjoy them now (and am sad when people don’t join me)

Played Persona 5 Royal with my sis! I can’t  believe we first played it in 2017?! It’s been with us for 6 years and replaying the remastered version with her has been such a fun part of the year. It reminds me of all the fun times we used to have with each other, and she’s let me know of how important and valued those times have been for her. Persona 5 is like a CORE memory/connection for us. My sis loves me. Through her graduation and her new air stewardess job, she’s kept me in mind. Apparently she saw a co-worker with a nice pixie-cut and asked them for their hairdresser’s number so she could pass it to me (before reconsidering it because she thought I probably wouldn’t like the back cut). And she tells everyone about me?? She speaks highly of me. She was saying, “You like me? That’s because of my sis” xD Even someone she only knew for 11 days knows of me. It’s incredibly heartening… She also genuinely wants to make our Persona 5 Strikers Japan trip a reality and knowing that makes me want to make it so too. She also thought of me when she saw that there was a Joe Hisaishi concert and bought us tickets (I gotta pay her back, but she covered fees for me ;m;). Through her, I recognised the impact of my chronic depression… I noticed she’d say stuff like “You’d better not die before …” or “You cannot die…” etc whenever she feels truly fond/affectionate/appreciative of me. It made me a little sad but grateful for the sobering realisation of my impact. I spent so long suffering and struggling to stay alive that it made many of the people who did care about me genuinely afraid for my expiration. I definitely say that a lot less now…about wanting to die when depression gets too overwhelming. Or at least I only share it with a very select few when it gets too bad. 

Dawn has been a huge part of my life this year, every year, forever, hopefully. My love for her grows every year and it’s a mutual thing, and I appreciate the freedom and honesty we share about how we feel about each other, and the sad reality that we are incompatible as married companions. She once told me that she wish she was a different person so she could marry me without a thought. Which was honestly really sweet, but I’m also glad she has become someone who honours her own desires and self, and that she thanks me for it. I feel safe in the knowledge and expression of her love. It’s really nice to know that I am loved and to have it be such…a given now. I think she’s spoiled me though. I realised I’m pretty lazy and indulgent and can be very much a “princess” when given the space to be so x’D Oops. I still learn about myself when I’m with her. Also she’s really impressed me this year with her own growth and self-imposed challenges that help her develop traits she’s struggled with (like she reads so many books now..all with complicated text). I never would have pegged her to be such an erudite but then again, it doesn’t completely surprise me, but the resolve and drive she’s shown for it is incredible and inspiring. 

Hung out with more classmates this year…like Allan and Kala and I’ve made an effort to learn and remember more about people. I’m genuinely fond of Allan now and I do miss him when I’m in Singapore. I went to his graduation! He was the valedictorian! I met his husband!

I’m getting tired so I’mm rapid-fire these: Relationship with dad increased. He actually came up to me out of nowhere and passed me $200 as encouragement and to congratulate me of doing a good job with my studies. …I’m…it meant a lot and I was pleasantly shocked. His relationship with Jen has really improved relations in general. I’ve thought of him more because of such. He’s also helped me a lot with my medical bills ;m; Also mom, I’m more…interested in being a part of my family’s life..

Reconnected and met up with Ryoukishi. They were really nice and treated me to korean bbq and hotpots ;; And they shared their love of Digimon with me, and I got into it!

Mental Health:

Doubled my meds. I think it’s making a difference? I don’t really know, but from medical reports, it sounds like it is making a difference. I still feel the weight of depression and oftentimes this year I felt like I was regressing instead of progressing. But Bea said that when one is in a really dark and long tunnel, you are still moving even though it doesn’t always feel like it. Still heading towards the light, and she sees it. And that’s heartening.

Realised that I’m literally almost always overstimulated in SG which is probably why I’m in an almost perpetual state of discomfort x’D Apart from being lonely, which only heightens the discomfort. Somehow it helps to know that. Also when I got incredibly stressed I legit thought I was showing signs of psychosis.

Allan said something about not needing to suffer to succeed and I’m trying to keep that in mind.

Slightly more attempts at acknowledging my strengths instead of dismissing them…not much but some. I wrote some here. Inspired by Reba:

“You’re quick to take responsibility for mistakes, but you have the opposite for positive things. You don’t own the good things and attribute them to luck or chance, as if they have nothing to do with you. You should take responsibility for the good things too.”

For instance, W invited me to take the EFIT course despite it only being largely available to people who signed up for a separate course because it required an in-depth understanding of attachment theory. But W shared that she was so impressed with how well-written my essay was that she noted me as, “this one can”, and then encouraged me to take the course while subsidising the fees. I do write good essays. And I can leave favourable impressions. She even invited me to work part-time for her, to help out with her invoicing and administrative stuff and in compensation, not only do I get paid $15/h, I’m also getting sponsored EFT training, which is a modality I am interested in. I also facilitated a successful couple’s counselling session which was crazy. 

Other stuff:

Discovered and went to EFT (I learnt that this is a modality I'm geuninely interested in. Honestly kinda thinking of going to pursue a masters lmao but idk)

Made lu rou fan for the first time

Got a new guitar and tried learning music!

Began some brainspotting

Got mortar and pestle

Played many cool games. Like Disco Elysium (more roleplay!!!!)

Created my future vision board.

Entered an Armello competition. Won the first round with Ghor!

Sis graduated. Made me realised I would really like to have my own graduation.

Reba got me really a really cute handcrafted sushi keycap ;m;

Made new OCs like Breakfast, Kappa, Beanie (redesigned), Bullorgruokh, Ten, Martivihlar, Rae’zel and Kachimon! It’s been great to feel connected and invested in characters again.

Doubled up on my bed haha!

Tried mämmi, köyhät ritarit, for the first time and I love them! Ate reindeer steak. So GOOD.

Went to Desucon in Lahti!

Had an amazing summer! I made a video for the first time in forever chronicling our time together in Lapland.

Watched a ton of anime and shows with Aura and Luca. PMMM, Bubble, Mob Psycho 3, LOTR, Doctor Stone, Psycho Pass, Kimi ni Todoke (season 1+2), Physical 100, Bluey (fucking love Bluey), Death Note, Vinland Saga, ……just a ton that I don’t even remember now.

Learnt more about myself…maybe became more accepting about physical desires/needs (like intimacy, more casual than spiritual)

Also I learnt that I'm really impatient and restless sometimes so bye this year was pretty dope despite me being so stressed for more than half of it but I'm feeling good rn so I wanna end it on a good note!

#top things of the year #rei talks

[survey--s]

274.

Who’s the last person’s birthday that you celebrated? What’d you do?   Uh, Mike’s I think. We just went out for dinner as we both started back at work the next day after our Christmas break. What’s the next major holiday that you’ll be celebrating? With who? How?   Well, it’s the Queens Jubilee this weekend. We’re not really celebrating as such, but we both have the long weekend off so the plans are just to spend some time together, maybe go out for lunch or something.

When’s the last time you farted a little too hard and accidentally sharted?   Uh, that’s honestly never happened to me, lol. I like you how’re asking this like it’s something that happens to you all the time though, haha.

What’s the last moldy or expired food you found in your fridge or pantry?   Uhh, I don’t remember. Some cheese probably, or an open pot of dip/sauce that ended up getting forgotten about.

How long does it take your car windows to defrost in the winter? Not very long as I have heated windscreens, normally 2-3 minutes maybe.

Are there any movies coming out or recently out that you’d like to see?   No. Since COVID hit, I haven’t really paid any attention to the cinema and what new films are being released. I’ve not been to the cinema in 2.5 years lol.

How much money did you spend the last time you went to the store?   Uh, around £50 on fuel. I also did an online shop last week that cost around £70 or so.

What’s your favorite flavor milkshake? Raspberry.

Do you have more than one best friend?   No.

Are you opposed to getting married? Are you already married?   I’m already married so clearly I don’t oppose it.

Are your parents divorced? If so, when did it happen?   No, they’ve been married for almost forty years now.

Have you ever attended a bachelorette party?   No.

Would you rather act in a play or write a play?   Act in a play.

What do you take pictures of most often?   Dogs, scenery and food.

Have you ever actually been a member of a wedding party before?   Just my own! I’ve also never attended a wedding aside from my own.

Have you ever gotten your period more than once in a month?   Yeah, my periods were all over the place for a while after the COVID jabs.

If you started a YouTube channel, what would it be about? Probably beagles.

Are you currently binge-watching any television shows?   No, I’ve been binge-watching films lately though. This weekend I’ve watched all the Hobbit and LOTR films, and now it’s time for Harry Potter - currently on The Chamber of Secrets.

What book are you currently reading?   I’m not reading anything - I barely bother anymore, tbh.

What’s the smallest animal that you’re afraid of?   Cockroaches.

#survey #surveys

[lovely-v]

LOTR (films) Review

So I finally watched the LOTR films (20 years later). I’m super excited to review these because I read the books very recently so I feel at least a little prepared to voice some opinions. Overall I loved the films, here’s a very long (but by no means exhaustive) compilation of my thoughts, which are of course, totally subjective:

(Warning: a lot of me saying “well, actually, in the book...”)

THINGS I LIKED

- Casting! not much to say here, I thought the casting was great. One of my favorite actors that I didn’t think i’d have a huge opinion on was David Wenham as Faramir. I was kinda ambivalent on him when I saw pictures but i thought he did a great job. he showed his quality.

- Music. so much has been said about the films on the music front. I can’t offer too much original insight but when a bit of the Shire theme started to play as Frodo tries to make his way up Mount Doom I cried a little.

- Boromir and Aragorn. I liked the scene where they interact a little in Rivendell. I also like how Aragorn saves Boromir in the Moria battle and gives him this little nod of friendship. I think the films did a great job portraying the dynamic they have where Aragorn is clearly suspicious of Boromir’s motivations but grows to respect him to the point where he doesn’t even blame Boromir for being corrupted by the ring because he understands that, at heart, Boromir is a good person. 

- Sam and Frodo in Osgiliath. I expected to be kind of annoyed with the way this plot point played out (I knew ahead of time that it strayed from the book), but I actually liked it a lot. As I’ll say later, there’s some gripes I have with the way the films extremely play up the disagreements between Frodo and Sam, but I loved the scene where Frodo pulls the sword on Sam and then seems so defeated when he realizes what he’s done. I was pleasantly surprised by how emotional this scene made me. It’s admittedly A Lot, but it was done nicely, especially in conjunction with Sam’s “there’s good in this world” speech.

- Treatment of the ending. I almost think I should dislike the ending as it is in the movies, but my heart is soft and I like that they sugarcoated it a bit. I know the whole point of the Scouring of the Shire and Frodo’s depression conveys a lot about war and trauma and I think that is important, but after watching these things for twelve hours I just wanted Frodo & co. to be happy and I was kinda relieved that they cut the Scouring. Does that make me weak and perhaps bad at film analysis? yes. do I care? no. I was also very glad that the movies didn’t portray how depressed Sam was about losing Frodo in the end. Yes, he cries, but when he walks home to his family he seems happy and in the books that scene came off so much bleaker. I definitely liked the lighter tone.

THINGS I WAS NEUTRAL ON/DIDN’T LIKE

- Arwen. (Neutral) I don’t hate her, I don’t love her. I think the story she and Aragorn have is compelling and I 100% get why the filmmakers decided to add it to give her character more depth, but it felt misplaced at times. maybe it’s just because it was the only storyline I didn’t know in depth, but the scenes with the Arwen/Aragorn flashbacks felt a bit confusing and disorienting. Don’t have anything against Arwen as a character though, I think she’s pretty alright.

- Gimli. (Complicated thoughts) I want to start off by saying I don’t dislike Gimli. I like him a lot! I just think the movies did him a bit dirty. He had some good movie-exclusive moments, but I think his character really fell into this place of being the butt of too many jokes. Would have liked to see some more serious Gimli development, especially with his relationship to Legolas. Their friendship felt too much like subtext here, whereas it’s explored far more in the books.

- Two Towers Pacing. (Didn’t really like). The pacing of TTT was...weird. maybe I’m going into this with a closed mind because of the books, but it was odd to have the movie begin with Frodo and Sam and then have them only appear for a few rapid scenes after that. I think the fact that a WHOLE LOT of what happens to Frodo and Sam in TTT is moved to RotK is what makes it feel that way? In the books, Two Towers ends with Sam discovering that Frodo isn’t dead from Shelob’s sting, and I was surprised by how long it took the movies to get to that part. However, I will give the films a little leeway because I think they needed Frodo & Sam content for RotK, since most of what happens in that book is them walking through Mordor basically starving and dying. Doesn’t make for great cinema I guess, so they had to put the whole Shelob/Cirith Ungol saga into the final film. Still, I think there’s a weird lack of Frodo and Sam’s presence in TTT.

- The go home/missing bread arc. (Full of rage abt this one) yeah. so. my criticism of this is gonna sound pretty tired because people complain and complain about this part of RotK. but I’m gonna complain some more!! I don’t think the split between Frodo and Sam does anything for the plot. I really don’t. I guess it emphasizes the fact that Sam doesn’t understand how much Frodo is projecting onto Gollum, but it’s just. unnecessary angst? They had enough angst in the Osgiliath scene! Which I actually liked! And it simply doesn’t make a lot of sense for Frodo to suspect Sam of eating the bread when Sam had already offered Frodo his own food and made it clear that he would very much starve if it meant making sure Frodo could eat. But what I hate most about this scene is not that Frodo gets mad and tells Sam to go home. No. It’s that Sam actually... thinks about doing that? he actually? goes down the staircase? emotionally this is bad because Sam clearly cared enough about Frodo to follow him this far, to nearly drown for him, so why would he leave now. Practically this is bad because 1. how would Sam get out of Mordor alone and 2. where would he go. He turns around almost immediately, yes, but what was his plan. where was he going. why.

THINGS I LOVED

- For Frodo! This line, and every other shoutout to Frodo. In the books, they didn’t really actively talk about/worry about Frodo (and Sam) as much as they do in the movies. I like that they talk about Frodo more in the movies! I like that they’re thinking about him! I know it was implied that they were in the books, but I really like how it’s shown here. I think it gave a more complete picture of how much they all care about him on a personal level in addition to just needing him to succeed from a pragmatic standpoint. 

- Merry and Pippin! I feel like Merry and Pippin were so well rounded in the films. I’ve heard criticism about them being turned into comic relief characters (which they always were a little bit) but it honestly didn’t feel that way to me. They had a bit of a rough start because the films didn’t make their motives for going with Frodo as deep as the books did, but I think that by TTT they were absolutely amazing characters in every scene. In RotK their respective arcs hit really well and the scene where Pippin is singing to Denethor? *chef’s kiss* poetic. beautiful. sad. idk man I just feel like I have such a newfound appreciation for Merry and Pippin.

- Parallels! people have pointed out the parallel of Frodo and Sam’s hands before (drowning scene/mount doom scene) and I love how the movie did that. Just stunning. Also! The moving of the Smeagol & Deagol scene to RotK surprised me because in the books it was like,,,at the beginning of Fellowship, but I think the placement of it in the movies really helped emphasize the similarities between Smeagol & Deagol and Frodo & Sam (and how much Frodo fears this similarity.) There were a lot of other well done parallels between storylines and a few bits of dialogue that were repeated with great timing, but I can’t remember all of them at the moment.  

Edit: here’s one I remembered! when Frodo wakes up after being rescued and sees Gandalf, he says Gandalf’s name in a very similar tone to the one he used at the very beginning of Fellowship. It was a nice little subtle connection.

- I can’t carry it for you...alright this is self-indulgent. everyone knows I love this line. I’m just so glad it made it into the movie intact. Sean Astin’s delivery was amazing. I cheered. My mom cheered. It’s a raw line and it makes me feel secret emotions...like if shrimp colors were feelings. that line makes me feel shrimp feelings. idk i’m so tired i just watched twelve hours of movies this review is decreasing in quality by the minute but i’m about done for now anyway

Various silly afterthoughts

- I would have liked to see Sam kiss Frodo’s hands at least once. This happens 50 thousand times in the books, they could have given me one scene. one little extended edition scene. Please Peter Jackson I’m dyin’ out here

- They literally made Gollum so hateable. kinda the point yes, but I was so on board with Sam’s murderous rage. I know why Gollum’s a profoundly complex character, I know why Frodo pities him, I know why murder is bad, but I too would throw hands with that creature. also he literally body shamed Sam so much what was that skdjksdjksd. Sam is lovely. let him commit a small homicide. 

- the scene where merry and pippin drink the tall boy juice (as someone once referred to it in the tags of one of my posts)... not accurate to the books (since they don’t ever drink it with the end goal of getting tall) but so accurate to life. if I found some water that made me taller than my friends? let me at it

- Frodo panicking when he falls into the spider webs. so real bestie. i felt just as panicked watching that. i am terrified of spiders and Elijah Wood did an amazing job doing exactly what i’d do in the situation. yelping a lot and falling down.

- I feel like it’s never stated that Sam’s a gardener (or at least that he’s specifically Frodo’s gardener) until he tells Faramir he is. Did I miss this. Or do they really never say.  are you just meant to know. are you just meant to pick up gardener vibes from him.

*

This has been a very chaotic lotr movie review. Thanks for reading.

#lotr #lord of the rings #lotr movies #vee watches (!) lotr #fellowship of the ring #the two towers #return of the king #Frodo baggins #samwise gamgee #gimli #arwen #boromir #aragorn #gollum #merry brandybuck #pippin took #veesaysthings #long post #seriously SUCH a long post im so sorry #had to get these thoughts out though #im SO tired

[skinks]

hi!!! what are your favourite movies? like actually good ones but also any trashy comfort movies? is IT (2017) one of them?

Hello!! IT (2017) IS ABSOLUTELY ONE OF THEM oh man, thank you for this, I love talking about movies!!!! This is possibly the most difficult question you could have asked me. Apologies for how absolutely off the rails this got, I just... love movies so much lmao

I’ve said this before, but opening night of IT ch1 was the best cinema experience I’ve ever had, I’m so glad I got to see it with a fully packed audience who were all laughing and screaming together the whole way through. I’m a huge fan of... everything ch1 was doing, the 80s nostalgia, the summer-coming-of-age themes, the solid ghost train funhouse JOY of the Pennywise performance and scares, the washed-out cinematography, the tiny background details to make everything that much more eerie, the kids’ ACTING?!

Like, a lot of the time I find child actors can be really awkward and stilted to watch, but I remember leaving the cinema really impressed by JDG and Sophia Lillis in particular. I liked that they were all allowed to be little shitheads with potty mouths, it felt like a callback to 80s movies like The Lost Boys or Stand By Me. The whole thing worked to make me really care about what happened to the kids (even if I do still have issues with how they handled Mike. I understand even ch1 had limitations with juggling so many characters, but still). I saw it another 2 times in the cinema and have rewatched it at least, I dunno, 7-10 more times since then?

Add to all of that the retroactive CANON R+E baby pining subplot? I just love it, as if that wasn’t obvious by now given my Whole Blog. It’s a really special movie to me!

Anyway!! Ok, the main handful of movies I rewatch all the fucking time are:

Back to the Future, The Lost Boys, Pride and Prejudice (2005), Jaws, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Ocean’s 11, POTC 1, The Dark Knight, Inception, Die Hard, LOTR trilogy, Snatch, The Nice Guys, Logan Lucky, Mad Max Fury Road, Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You, Billy Elliot, Dirty Dancing, Tomb Raider (2018)...

Those are the easily consumable ones that I’ve seen so many times I don’t really have to concentrate or think about them, but I really love them and unfortunately often KEEP rewatching them instead of new stuff. It would take too long to go into why I love all these movies so much because I could write the same amount as I already did for ITCH1, and everyone already knows why those movies are good, so, lol.

I think I’m gonna have to subdivide and categorise this whole post because there are too many separate criteria for... goOD MOVIES, AUUHH 😩

Okay so first off, HORROR MOVIES? I’m especially in love with Re-Animator (1985) and its sequel Bride of Re-Animator, they’re such good examples of camp and batshit 80s practical effects, and also EXTREMELY funny. I’m actually just gonna post my list of my fave horror movies that I do actually keep on my phone at all times lmao. These are in no particular order:

Wholeheartedly recommend every one of these. I’ve never been so scared in my life as I was watching Hereditary in the cinema, hoo boy. Mother! by Aronofsky is one of the strangest experiences I’ve ever had (and I actually saw it on the same day I saw IT ch1 for the first time!! That was a fun day)

Psycho (1960) and The Fly from 1986 should also be on there but I couldn’t fit them in the screenshot.

I’m a HUGE fan of a ton of martial arts movies too, like Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer, Ip Man, The Raid movies, John Wick 3 is my fave of the trilogy, Drive from 1997 with Mark Dacascos is incredible, SPL 2, Ong-Bak, Operation Condor, Project A, Iron Monkey, and Zatoichi (2003) are some favourites.

My favourite Tarantino is Reservoir Dogs, fave Coen brothers are Raising Arizona, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and O Brother Where Art Thou. Love some old-timey colour correction and weird offbeat dialogue. I also love Goodfellas!!! And Donnie Brasco! And The Firm, I’m so easy for any good crime/law/gangster/heist procedural like that, especially if they’re from the 80s or 90s in a super dated way.

Fave Disney movie is Tarzan, favourite Ghibli movies are Spirited Away and Lupin III. I remember watching Spirited Away during a thunderstorm one time and it being.... god! Transcendent! Favourite Pixar movie is The Incredibles (the first one. ALSO the documentary “The Pixar Story” is great and well worth a watch, it’s very comforting for some reason) and my favourite Dreamworks movies are HTTYD1 and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron.

I tend to watch more anime movies than tv shows, so stuff like Akira, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Journey to Agartha, and my ultimate fave anime is Sword of the Stranger (2008). The climactic fight in that movie is fucking stunning and should be counted in “bests fights” lists right alongside anything live action

Also if we’re talking animated movies another hearty favourite is Rango, and a Belgian stop-motion (which at one time I considered my favourite movie ever) called Panique Au Village (2009) which is one of the funniest movies ever made imo.

As for TRASHY movies, I’m not sure if that’s the right word for how I feel about these ones but.. dumb/silly/slightly guilty pleasure movies? Ones that I feel need some kind of justification lmfao

Troy - something u must know about me is that I’m a giant slut for the Assassin’s Creed franchise, so if a movie smashes historical and mythological nonsense together with fun costumes and sword fights, I’m gonna enjoy myself. Even if they should have made Achilles and Patroclus gay. Other movies in this vein are King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and Immortals (2011)

Gods of Egypt - I know all the reasons this movie is whitewashed bullshit. But it was already bullshit with giant Anubis mecha and giant snakes and bad acting and ridiculous CGI and frankly I had a blast at the cinema (my friend who I forced to come with me did not have a blast. Sorry H***)

Avatar - yes, the one with the big blue people. This movie gets a lot of flack nowadays but I really do enjoy it just for the spectacle. The full CGI world technology was so new at the time and I love to wallow in the visuals and daydream about riding a cool dragon around in the jungle

George of the Jungle - I’ll defend this movie to the death ok this movie shaped me as a person, it is fucking hilarious and Brendan Fraser is the himbo to end all himbos. It’s perfect. The song Dela is perfect. I still want to write a reddie AU about it. It’s one of the best movies ever made and I’m not being ironic

Set It Up - I KNOW this is a dumb Netflix original romcom but consider this; it was funny and the leads had great chemistry. I got butterflies. I once watched it and then literally immediately set it back to the start so I could watch it again

The Brady Bunch Movie - when people talk about great satires or parodies you will see them bring up the same movies over and over again, Blazing Saddles, This Is Spinal Tap etc, but they never talk about The Brady Bunch Movie from 1995 for some reason, which they should. It is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen and every time i watch it somehow it gets funnier

Some more general favourites that I do still love but don’t rewatch as often, and don’t wanna go into more detail about are:

Moon (2009), Crna Mačka Beli Mačor, The Sixth Sense, Parasite, The Handmaiden, Tremors, Wet Hot American Summer, Tucker and Dale vs Evil, What We Do In The Shadows, Hunt For the Wilderpeople, The Secret of My Success (I love kitschy 80s movies, is that obvious by now), The Green Mile, When Harry Met Sally, Rear Window, The Odd Couple, Breaking Away, Pan’s Labyrinth, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Eagle, Gladiator, The Artist, The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec, Call Me By Your Name, Master and Commander, Pacific Rim, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Legend (1985), Emma. (2020), Flash Gordon, Trolljegeren, Hross í Oss, Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America, WarGames, District 9, Ajeossi (2010), Tracks (2013), Sightseers, Mud (2012), Pitch Black, Four Lions, Shaun of the Dead, Starship Troopers, The Truman Show, Withnail & I....... Jesus Christ ok I need to stop

NOTABLE EXTREME FAVOURITES that I didn’t include in the regular rewatch list because they’re too heavy/not as well known/require more attention.:

Thin Red Line (1998), Badlands (1973) both dir. Terrence Malick

Malick’s brand of dreamy impressionistic filmmaking is something I find really appealing, both of these movies are gorgeous and unusual and poignant and, in the case of Thin Red Line at least, have a lot of things to say about a lot of rough subjects. I don’t totally understand all those things sometimes, but a theme with a lot of my favourite movies is that I’ll be more likely to love something long-term if it raises unanswered questions, or is surreal/esoteric etc. Plus the cinematography is incredible, and I wish there was a way to get Jim Caviezel’s narration from The Thin Red Line as an audiobook because it’s very poetic and soothing.

Let the Bullets Fly (2010) dir. Jiang Wen

This movie is WILD, it’s so much fun. It’s sprawling and intricate and epic and smart and really fucking funny, it! Has! Everything! A gang of very tolerant outlaws!! Jiang Wen’s beautiful broad chest!!! Chow Yun Fat absolutely DECIMATING the scenery, and the two of them outsmarting each other in order to gain control of a small Chinese town!!! Plus it’s long, but it packs so much nonsense and intrigue that it goes by really fast. Wow what a flick

A Field in England (2013) dir. Ben Wheatley

I know I included this in my horror list but aaaaahhh ahhhh Wheatley is one of my favourite directors (he also made Sightseers, and is directing the Tomb Raider sequel which makes me absolutely rabid.) This is a surreal black-and-white psychological horror black comedy set in the English Civil War about some deserters who may or may not meet the Devil in a field. People eat mushrooms. It’s bonkers. I love being blasted in the face with imagery that I don’t understand

Mandy (2018) dir. Panos Cosmatos

Speaking of being blasted in the face!!!!! This movie... I saw it in the cinema and I can’t even begin to explain the experience, but I’ll try. My favourite review site described it like this:

“...somewhere between a prog album cover come to life and a metal album cover come to life, and subscribes to both genre's artistic tendency towards maximalism: what it ends up being is basically naught else but two glorious hours of being pounded by bold colors...”

So, prog and metal are my two favourite genres of music. This movie opens with the quote “When I die, bury me deep, lay two speakers at my feet, put some headphones on my head and rock and roll me when I'm dead.” and then a King Crimson song, it is SURREAL to the nth degree, it’s violent and bizarre and Nic Cage forges a giant silver axe to destroy demonic bikers and there is a CHAINSAW DUEL. A galaxy swirls above a quarry. Multiple animated horror nightmare sequences. At one point a man says “you exude a cosmic darkness” and releases a live tiger. At another point Cage says, in a digitally deepened voice, “The psychotic drowns where the mystic swims. You’re drowning. I’m swimming.” and I haven’t stopped thinking about it for two years

Paper Moon (1973) dir. Peter Bogdanovich

Really fantastic movie set in the Great Depression (and also in black & white) about a conman and a little kid who may or may not be his daughter, running cons across the Midwest. It’s beautifully shot, so sharp and sweet and the progression of their dynamic is really well done because they’re played by an IRL father and daughter. Tatum O’Neal was NINE YEARS OLD and she’s so amazing in this movie she’s actually the youngest person to win a competitive category Oscar. I keep trying to get people to watch this fbdjfjdbf it’s wonderful

Alpha (2018) dir. Albert Hughes

THIS MOVIE IS A VICTIM OF BAD MARKETING ok, the trailers made it look like some twee crappy sentimental Boy And His Dog Adventure, plus it had voiceovers in American-accented english? That’s a total disservice to one of the coolest things about this film; the fact that they got a linguist to construct an entirely original Neolithic language that all the characters speak for the entire runtime. And yes, it is eventually a Boy And His Wolf adventure, but it’s COOL and fairly brutal, and it has some really incredible cinematography. The landscapes are so strange and barren and alien, you really get the sense that this is an ancient world we no longer have any connection to. And it’s also about like, the birth of dog & human companionship sooo it’s perfect.

Free Solo (2018) dir. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin

The Free Climbing Documentary. I loved climbing as a kid, I love outdoor sports, and I love movies that elicit a physical reaction in me, whether that’s horny, scared, real laughter, overwhelming shivers, or in the case of Free Solo - HORRIBLE SWEATING TENSION. Like, I knew about Alex Honnold beforehand because of this adventure film festival I go to every year and I followed him on IG so obviously I knew he lived, but the actual climb itself was torture. My hands sweat every time I see it!! It’s incredible, such a cool look into generally what the human body can do, and more specifically, why Honnold’s psychology and life means he’s so well suited to free soloing. It’s such an exercise in getting to know an individual and get invested in them, before they attempt something very potentially fatal.

Brokeback Mountain (2005) dir. Ang Lee

I can’t even talk about this. When I was around 13 I snuck downstairs to watch this on TV at 11pm in secret, and my life was forever changed. I wouldn’t be who I am if I hadn’t seen Brokeback at the age I did. I seriously can’t talk about this or I’ll write an even longer essay than this already is

God’s Own Country (2017) dir. Francis Lee

The antidote to Brokeback Mountain, I’m so glad I managed to see this one in the cinema too. It makes me cry every time, as someone who’s spent years working on a cold British farm with sheep it was very realistic, which is expected since Lee grew up on a farm in Yorkshire. I love that this movie isn’t really about being closeted, but about being so emotionally repressed and self-loathing that the main character finds it so hard to accept love. Or that he deserves to be loved. The cinnamontographies.... lordt... but also the intimacy and sex scenes are fucking searing wow who hasn’t seen this movie by now. 10 stars. 20 stars!!!

Tomboy (2011) dir. Céline Sciamma

I saw this years ago but I’ve never forgotten it, it cut so deep. It’s from the director of Portrait of a Lady on Fire and it’s about a gnc kid struggling with gender and misogyny and homophobia in a really raw, scrappy way, it reminded me very much of my own... childhood... ahh the central performance is amazing for such a young age. I haven’t seen Portrait yet but I feel like if you went nuts for that, you should definitely check this out, it’s lovely.

Donnie Darko (2001) dir. Richard Kelly

EVERY TIME I WATCH THIS MOVIE I UNDERSTAND LESS AND LESS and that’s what I love so much about it. I love surreal movies, I love time-fuckery and stuff about altered perception etc etc and Donnie Darko scratches all my itches. I wish I could find a way to figure out an IT AU for it, because I know it would work! Somehow! Plus it’s got the subdued 80s nostalgia and I found it at an age when I was really starting to explore movies and music and the soundtrack FUCKS.

Offside (2006) dir. Jafar Panahi

I wish more people knew about this!!! It’s an Iranian film about a disparate group of women and girls who are football fans and want to watch Iran’s qualifying match for the World Cup, but women aren’t allowed into the stadium, so they all get thrown into the Stadium Jail together? They don’t know each other beforehand, but it’s about their changing relationships with each other and the guards and just, their defiance alongside hearing the match from the outside and WOW it’s so lively. Great dialogue and very funny, and such a different kind of story from anything you usually see from Hollywood.

The Fall (2006) dir. Tarsem Singh

This movie... I guess it’s the ideal. This is the platonic ideal of a film for me, it has fantasy, magical realism, glorious visuals, amazing score and costumes and production design and a really interesting, heartbreaking relationship at the core of it. I don’t know why so many of my favourite films feature incredibly raw performances by child actors but this is another one, Catinca Untaru barely knew any English and improvised so much because of that, and it’s fascinating to watch! Also the dynamic with Lee Pace is one of my favourites, where a kid forms a friendship with a guardian figure who isn’t their parent, but the guardian grows to really care for them by the end. It’s like Paper Moon in that sense. What is there to even say about this movie, it’s pure magic joy tempered and countered by genuine gutwrenching emotional conflict in the real world, it’s also ABOUT old moviemaking, in a way, and it’s stunning to look at!

Mad Max Fury Road (2015) dir. George Miller

I know I included this in my “most rewatched” section but it deserves its own thing. We all know why this movie is fucking incredible. I remember clutching my armrests in the cinema and feeling like my skeleton was being blasted back into the seat behind me and tbh that is the high I’m constantly chasing when I go to see any movie. What a fucking gift this film is

Théo et Hugo dans le Même Bateau (2016) dir. Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau

I only found this movie last year and it became an instant favourite. Initially I was just curious because I’d never seen a movie with unsimulated sex before, but it’s so much more than the 18 minute gay sex club orgy it opens with. No, not more than, AS WELL AS. The orgy is important because this movie is so candid and frank about sex and HIV treatment in the modern day, it was eye-opening. Another thing that really got me is that I’d never seen a real-time film before. It’s literally an hour and a half in the lives of these two men, their intense connection and conversation and conflict in the middle of the night in Paris, with some really nice night photography and just!!! Wow!!! AMAZING CHEMISTRY between the actors. This is such a gem if you’re comfortable with explicit sexual content.

Ok. This is already over 3k but film is obviously one of my ridiculous passions and I can and do talk about it for hours. I’ve been reading magazines about it for years, listening to podcasts and reading review blogs and recently, watching video essays on YouTube because the whole process is so interesting to me and I want to learn more!!

Recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of valuing form over narrative. The idea that story can often come second to the deeper physical experience and emotional reaction that’s created by using ALL the elements of filmmaking and not just The Story, y’know? Whether that’s editing, shot composition, colour, the sound mix, the actors, how it should all be used to heighten the emotional state the script wants you to feel. And so, I think for a few years now this approach has been influencing the types of films I really, really love.

I think I love surreality and mind-bending magical realism in films specifically because the filmmakers have to use all those different tools to convey things that can be way too metaphysical for just... a script? I’m always chasing that physical response; if a movie can make me stop thinking “I wonder what it was like to set up that shot” and instead overwhelm that suspension of disbelief, if I can be terrified or woozy or crying for whatever reason, that’s what I’m looking for. That’s why I watch so many fuckin movies, and why I’ll always remember nights like seeing IT (2017) for giving me another favourite.

Thank you again for this question, I didn’t mean to go so overboard. Also there’s no way to do a readmore on tumblr mobile so apologies to anyone’s dashboard 😬

#long post #films #this is like bill hader being asked to pick his fave comedies and he gives a 4 page list #he has such good taste though ahhahbfhfhfhh lemme talk with him nonstop about movies while i ride him. thank you

[gossip-girl-of-middleearth]

For a date: We go get dinner(hopefully with spaghetti), watch a movie(what do you mean LOTR isn't in theaters?), and... idk talk? You seem like you'd be very fun to talk with.

Lol can you tell I've never been on a date

If it’s any consolation, I’ve been asked out on a few, but I’ve turned them all down because they are not ARAGORN son of ARATHORN, like check this guy out a couple weeks ago me and my friends met at the club

Motherfucker blind-sighted me with the “Cocktails and dinner this Friday night”

No question mark, no sweet, “Hey, I think you’re really cool. Was wondering if you ever wanted to get dinner sometime before you move?” just DEMANDS it

And also, “Alright dinner this Friday night” SIR I DID NOT AGREE I WAS TALKING ABOUT KING KONG—

I find discussing Orlando Bloom over and over gets rid of the annoying ones too, the good ones chime in and go “OMG I KNOW RIGHT? ORLANDO BLOOM IS PEAK EVOLUTION” then you realise they’re bi and instantly feel better around them

Also spaghetti and movies are 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻 besides tacos, spaghetti is my favourite food. Also having worked at a cinema before, if enough people are interested, you can actually request them to play a movie, like Lord of the Rings

#xoxo gossip girl

[tsnbrainrot]

Rules: tag people you’d like to get to know better

was tagged by the lovely, big-brained, and very kind @helloamhere ! i think i actually also need a distraction atm so cheers for that xx 

Last song: i was listening to my soft instrumental playlist while reading poetry in the bath earlier so it’s this piano cover of ‘once upon a december’ altho lately i can be found listening to jensen ackles’ cover of simple man for hours. rip in fucking pieces. 

Last movie: i.... barely watch films lately. my 2020 watch list was shameful and 2021 is looking to be the same. i’ve found out that without the cinema i’m a very sad cinephile and my viewings at home are almost only comfort rewatch. and very rarely. i tend to binge tv at home. idk if it’s because i’m not in the mood to get into new things or if i just miss going to the movie theatre that much but *shrug*. last film i watched was ‘the day after tomorrow’ with my mother a few nights ago. it’s one of her favourite films and i hadn’t seen it in years so i joined in while i was working on retagging my lotr posts haha.  speaking of, this is not what the question asks but i’ve been hitching for a lotr rewatch recently so that’s probably going to be my next film. 

Currently watching: well. anyone who follows me knows i’m very slowly making my way through all the supernatural i haven’t seen yet. currently halfway through season 8 with 9, 10 & 11 left to watch before i can claim to have seen the entirety of cw’s spn. shameful. i’m also watching ‘upload’ for the first time, mostly when i’m eating because they’re only 30 min eps. i’m almost done with the season and it gives me some good place vibes while being a little less profound... but i’m enjoying it so far! cool worldbuilding! i’m also kind of rewatching castle because acab but also i do like procedurals :/ but that one is kind of my .... in the background while i do other stuff show of the moment. so i’m not like... watching it watching it? i need noise otherwise my brain gets anxious. next i really want to watch bridgerton because it’s so right up my alley! and the boys! and i need to finish s6 of the flash before s7 starts airing in march. and i really want to finishing watching star wars rebels and the mandalorian. and like a million others; there’s so much tv D: 

Currently reading: i’m rereading red, white, & royal blue atm because i finally got a physical copy of it so i’m annotating it. and i kinda needed a palate cleanser after reading this series of essays by philip pullman that i didn’t super enjoy. i’m also reading the star wars ‘doctor aphra’ comics. i’ve just finished vol. 2 and i’m about to start vol. 3. i really enjoyed the character in the vader comics but jury’s still out on her solo adventures. i also just started margaret atwood’s latest poetry collection, but i’ve barely made a dent in that one so idk. me + poetry is a complicated relationship so i might wait until i’m in a better mood for it. i’m actually kind of looking for what i’m going to read next. i’ve been thinking about mexican gothic, which i heard is really good and sounds like my jam. but.... unfortunately the lotr rewatch desire has made me think about FINALLY doing lotr reread. i’ve only ever read them when i was ten years old. in french. and have been meaning to read them in english for years. but. that’s a huge commitment and i’m already. four books behind on my goodreads challenge and it’s only february......... so yeah.... i don’t know. anyone has any easy fun recs for someone in a weird mood? reading rwrb rn makes me feel like romcoms might be the way for me atm, it’s lifting my spirits so much haha 

Currently craving: ppppppppffffff. honestly? friendship i think. ever since december i’ve been feeling super lonely. lowkey cripplingly so. idk if it’s the harsher lockdown that’s getting to me or just like... fucking winter..... it’s cold and dark and i’ve been working super hard on establishing a routine for myself to keep morale up (which has actually been helping) but through it all i just feel..... really alone rip. i guess i should text my friends more... gosh this is ending on a depressive note :/// i’m kinda craving chocolate too? 

i’m ... not going to tag anyone i think, but do do it if you feel like it xx 

#about moi #you can tell im on my p*riod because i got whiny at the end there rip

[perkynurples]

I was tagged by @orodrethsgeek to talk about 7 comfort films and tag some more people! Thank you for tagging me, this has made me realize I’ve watched precisely none of these during quarantine bc I’ve been in fic writing limbo... Maybe I should fix that :D

Pride and Prejudice (2005)

To literally nobody’s surprise. When this movie came out, I became so obsessed with it I took my family and my friends to see it like half a dozen times in the cinemas, and then I watched it non-stop at home. I was a very intense 13yo discovering for the first time what longing looks and lingering touches could really mean lmao

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

This one obviously holds a special place in my heart because the amount of times I’ve seen it... Well, let’s just say if you woke me up at midnight and asked me to quote it, my eyes would go black and I would comply, but at what cost. The LoTR trilogy, especially Two Towers, is a close second, but AUJ is where it’s at.

Ace Attorney

This rendition of the first AA game is what got me into the franchise, got me to play the games, and I adore it to bits. It doesn’t take itself very seriously, even though it looks like it does, and to me it captures the spirit of justice the games perfectly.

Ať Žijí Duchové - Long Live The Ghosts

A Czech fairytale CLASSIC, wherein a group of kids discovers a ghost girl living in the ruins of an old castle with her dad, and shenanigans ensue. Has some extremely memorable songs and a cast of adorable characters. I’ve seen this one dozens of times and used to only be able to calm down while watching it as a little kid.

Pitch Perfect

Don’t @ me, this movie is a lot of fun. I’m a sucker for the songs, and I always put it on when I don’t know what else to watch and need something groovy and familiar.

Miss Congeniality

Okay HEAR ME OUT. I fucking love this movie. Sandra Bullock getting a huge makeover and kicking ass in high heels? Ladies being fast friends? That one time that handsome guy swims in the pool? Michael Cain? I used to ADORE the cheerful intrigue as a kid and to this day it puts a smile on my face.

Love Actually

Predictable, but again, when I need something to put a smile on my face without fault, I watch this. My Mum and I always sit down to watch it around Christmas, and when the music swells as Colin Firth walks down the stairs in Portugal, we shovel popcorn into our mouths and cry.

This was a lot of fun! I tag (with absolutely no pressure of course!) @sweetlittlevampire, @leatherbookmark, @alien-crustacean, @elenothar​, @acutebird-fics, @darkandstormyranger and literally aaaanyone else who wants to do this! <3

#dammit annie #ghdlkgh this was really fun

[gaybaggins]

let's talk about some else, i mean, what are your favorite characters from the whole lotr universe? (including the hobbit) and when did you started liking this amazing universe? i remember going to the movies with my friends 3 years consecutives to watch the hobbit, i miss those times :)

i feel you on that last part ! i actually only saw bofta in the cinema but i went there with like seven of my friends and it was so much fun :') even if most of us were sobbing by the end of it ajdgshs and i think i saw lotr for the first time when i was 14 !! i remember that very clearly bc i watched all three movies in one night and the last few scenes (especially frodo leaving) honestly broke me a little, i haven't been the same since lmao

as for my favorite character... it's so hard to choose bc i love a lot of these characters so so much (the fellowship and thorin's company especially, of course) and it would feel unfair to put some of them above the others 😔 but i think i've made it very clear how i feel about sam (whom i love in a "that's my fictional husband" kind of way) so he's definitely Up There.. other than him, frodo is probably my favorite character like. there rly are no words to express how much i love him but i think a lot of us here feel that way ahdgshs

#this has to be the most i've ever talked about myself in one message #this was a lot of fun to think about so tysm for asking !! #also who are your favorite characters ? 👀 #asks

[padfootagain]

Carole’s rec-list :

To start this new event, I will try to share with you some of my favourite French movies…

I cannot give you a list that will give you all the French that you should watch… even for me, who has not a thorough knowledge of French cinema, there would be way too many. But I can try to give you my favourites, and to find a balance between 'classics' and 'just the ones I love'. As you may have noticed, I LOVE cinema, so I will undoubtedly get carried away…

And as I cannot give you as much recs as I would like, I will first give you the names of a few directors that have shaped French cinema and that you should definitely check out, even if I won't recommend movies from all of them here, so if you want more French movies, you can check out their work :

-        Jean-Luc Godard

-        Jacques Tati

-        François Truffaut

-        Claude Lelouche

-        Jacques Audiard

-        Jean-Pierre Melville

-        Jean Renoir

-        Claude Chabrol

-        Jacques Demy

Also, I can't recommend movies with all the actors I like, so here are a few names you should check out if you're interested in more French movies (obviously, the list isn't exhaustive, but I like these actors a lot :) ) :

-        Guillaume Canet

-        Lambert Wilson

-        Albert Dupontel

-        François Cluzet

-        Mélanie Laurent

-        Audrey Tautou

-        Marion Cotillard

-        Alain Delon

-        Jean-Paul Belmondo

-        Jean Gabin

-        Catherine Deneuve

Alright, now, let's get to business! There's a bit of everything here, I have tried to put a bit of funny and sad movies to keep a balance and all can find something they like. There's no particular order.

 Les Demoiselles de Rochefort

1962 - Directed by Jacques Demy, starring Catherine Deneuve, Gene Kelly, Françoise Dorléac, Jacques Perrin, George Chakiris, Danielle Darrieux

 Sum-up : For a few days, we follow the life of two twins sisters, living in the small town of Rochefort, who are both looking for love and to escape this tiny town to try to build a career as musician and dancer in Paris. During these few days, the town is shaken by two events : a murder and the arrival of a fair. Characters will walk through the town, and pass by each other, but will the two young women meet the right person?

Carole's critique : This is undoubtedly my favourite French movie of all time, along with my favourite musical movie. After LoTR, it is undoubtedly my favourite movie as well. It's happy, full of colours and characters that you can't help but love. The music, composed by Michel LeGrand, is amazing, and will make you want to dance through your home. The aesthetic of the movie is very representative of the 60's in France and its cinematography at the time: full of colours.

There aren't much musical movies in France, but Jacques Demy shaped the whole genre and gives, with this movie the best French musical movie you will find out there.

YOU MUST SEE IT!

If you like this movie, you should also watch : Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, Peau d'Âne.

 Astérix et Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre

2002 - Directed by Alain Chabat, starring Gérard Depardieu, Christian Clavier, Gérard Darmon, Jamel Debouze, Alain Chabat and Monica Bellucci

Sum-up: During Roman control, a single village resists to the military invasion of the powerful Caesar. Their secret: a magical potion brewed by their druid that gives them an extraordinary strength. When an old Egyptian friend needs help to build Cleopatra the most amazing palace, and knowing that he will be killed if he fails, a group of Gallic travels all the way to Egypt to give him a hand and save his project.

Carole's critique : Astérix and Obélix are very popular comic characters in France. Most of us have grown up reading the comic books as a child. There have been many adaptations on screen of the adventures of the two heroes, but this one is probably the most famous and the best. Directed by Alain Chabat, who started with a little group of friends as a comedy actor, he is known for his crazy but hilarious movies. And with this one, he doesn't disappoint us. It's completely mad, it's goofy and full of mad moments, but it is 100% hilarious. My entire generation knows this movie, and some scenes are now extremely famous. If you want to discover French crazy humour, watch this, you will spend a lovely time. 

If you like this movie, you should also watch : La Cité de La peur, Astérix et Obélix aux Jeux Olympiques, Rrrrrr

 Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis 

2008 - Directed by Dany Boon, staring Danny Boon, Kad Merad.

Sum-up: A postman is transferred from the sunny south of France to the cold north of the country after trying to cheat to be transferred in the town his wife longed to live in. At his arrival in the new town, he has to adapt to the strange accent of his colleagues, along with their food and other habits.

Carole's critique : One of the funniest French movies here again, this film had a HUGE success here, pushing the actors of the movie to the rank of stars in the country. Dealing with the clichés told about the northern part of France (shaped by a lot of mining in the past century, it is often seen as one the poorest part of the country), Dany Boon signs a tender movie about his home. It's hilarious, it's tender, it's happy and will make you feel a bit dizzy. I just hope that the translations will be enough to carry the wordplays used in the movie, as most of the humour relies on that. Anyway, you should definitely watch it.

If you like this movie, you should also watch: Intouchables, Rien à declarer, Un peu, beaucoup, aveuglément

 Intouchables

2012 - Directed by Eric Toledano, starring François Cluzet, Omar Sy

Sum-up: After an accident, a wealthy man is paralyzed and needs constant help to get through his day. Looking for someone to help him, he encounters a strange man from the poorest part of town, looking for a job. On impulse, this wealthy man decides to hire him. The two men will soon become close friends, and change each other's life.

Carole's critique: I'm staying on funny movies, because, despite what the sum-up might let you think, this a comedy. Here again, huge success in France (I've also heard of an American reboot in preparation, but what is the point in watching a reboot when you can watch the original thing?). Actors are perfect and dosing perfectly the balance between humour and serious topics treated in this movie, from disability, poverty, racism and life in general. A beautiful movie, spiced with hilarious scenes.

If you like this movie, you should also watch : Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis

 La Grande Vadrouille 

1966 - Directed by Gérard Oury, starring Louis de Funès, Bourvil

Sum-up: While the country is under German occupation during the Second World War, a group of English soldiers are parachuted in Paris. But they are attacked during the operation, resulting in the scattering of the English soldiers throughout town. A French painter and a French conductor at the opera rescue two of the soldiers, and try to help them escape the German army.

Carole's critique : Here again, a comedy. This is one of the most beloved and famous French movies. Iconic actors De Funès and Bourvil share the screen to result in hilarious scenes that are now extremely famous. It's funny, it deals with the war but do not fear, you will not see anything shocking. The characters are loveable and utterly ridiculous and you will laugh a lot with this movie.

If you like this movie, you should watch : Le Corniaud, La 7ème Compagnie, Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez

 Les Tontons Flingueurs

1963 – Directed by Georges Lautner, starring Lino Ventura, Jean Lefebvre, Bernard Blier, Francis Blanche

Sum-up : An ancient mafia member has to take over the business of his oldest friend after he dies. But many envy the business of the dead man, and try to take away the control of the whole mafia.

Carole's critique : A classic. Everyone has watched, or at least heard about this movie. Clearly a parody of American movies, the movie is a very funny comedy. The last of three independent movies adapted from the same series of books, this movie has become over the years one of the most famous French films. And the actors will always be remembered mostly for their role in this masterpiece.

If you like this movie, you should watch : Touchez pas au grisbi, Le cave se rebiffe (the first two movies of the trilogie, even if the three movies are completely independent from one another), l'Aventure c'est l'aventure.

 Mais où est donc passée la septième compagnie?

1973 - Directed by Robert Lamoureux, starring Pierre Mondy, Jean Lefebvre, Aldo Maccione, Erik Colin

Sum-up: During the Second World War, a group of soldiers is captured by the German troupes, at the exception of three soldiers, who were sent ahead as scouts, and escape the capture. Trying to run away from the German forces, they encounter a French pilot, whose plane has been shot down. Together, they try to establish communication with their hierarchy and hide from the German army.

Carole's critique : This is the first movie of a trilogy, undoubtedly the best movie of the series of movies, btw. In the same spirit as La Grande Vadrouille, the movie is hilarious, despite the theme and time where the story takes place. I used to watch these movies a lot as a kid.

If you like this movie, you should watch : On a retrouvé la septième companie (the second movie of the trilogy), La Grande Vadrouille, Le Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire, La Chèvre.

 Fantômas

1964 – Directed by André Hunebelle, starring Jean Marais, Louis de Funès, Mylène Demongeot

Sum-up : A famous burglar steals a series of precious jewels. In order to catch the criminal, a police officer and a journalist try to build a trap, but they will soon find out that Fantômas is more dangerous than what they thought.

Carole's critique : This is the first movie of a trilogy, inspired by a series of French novels. This is also my mother's favourite film, so I had to put it here. Once again, the movie is funny (yes, I like funny French movies, as you may have noticed). I also adore Jean Marais, who plays two different roles in this (Fantômas and the journalist). It's funny, and there's adventure, and I love this movie, that is all. 

If you like this movie, you should watch : Fantômas se déchaîne, Fantômas contre Scotland Yard (the rest of the trilogy), le Corniaud, Arsène Lupin

 L'Arnacoeur 

2010 – Directed by Pascal Chaumeil, starring Romain Duris, Vanessa Paradis, François Damiens, Julie Ferrier

Sum-up : A man runs a surprising business : he is a professional 'couple breaker'. People can call him, and ask him to cause the break-up of a friend's or family member's couple. Everything was fine, until he was sent to this special mission, and falls for the woman he is supposed to convince to stop before she can get married.

Carole's critique : My personal favourite French romantic comedy. Because it's hilarious, and tender, and just sweet. If you want something funny and cute, watch this!

If you like this movie, you should watch : Jules et Jim, Paris-Manhattan, Un bonheur n'arrive jamais seul, Un peu, beaucoup, aveuglément, Jeux d'enfants

 Un peu, beaucoup, aveuglément

2015 – Directed by Clovis Cornillac, starring Clovis Cornillac, Mélanie Bernier, Lilou Fogli, Philippe Dequesne

Sum-up : A puzzles creator tries to get rid of his new neighbour, a pianist. Indeed, the wall between their two flats is so thin, they can hear everything happening in the other's apartment, and he can't focus when she plays. Failing at convincing her to leave, they try to find a way to live as neighbours despite this very thin wall.

Carole critique : Is this movie a classic? No. Is this the best movie ever? No. But hell, I love it. Because the characters are completely mad and I love them. The story is tender and soft and funny and just cute. A romantic comedy just the way I love them. I advise it if you need something to raise your spirit.

If you like this movie, you should watch : La Délicatesse, Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain, l'Arnacoeur, Paris-Manhattan.

 La Belle et La Bête

1946 – Directed by Jean Cocteau, starring Jean Marais, Josette Day

Sum-up : An adaptation of the famous tale Beauty and The Beast.

Carole's critique: If Cocteau is very famous for his poetry and art, many tend to forget that he was also a film director, pouring poetry all over his projects. This is an old movie, so obviously the special effects are old, but the movie masters such a strange atmosphere and poetry, that it really doesn't matter at all. Jean Marais and Josette Day are outstanding, and the movie is basically the only adaptation of the tale that is worth being watched.

If you like this, you should also watch : Le Fabuleux destin D'Amélie Poulain, Au revoir là-haut, L'Ecume des jours

  Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain

2001 – Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, starring Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz

Sum-up : We follow the life of a dreamer, Amélie Poulain, through her very peculiar world.

Carole's critique : The movie was and kind of still is an alien. The atmosphere is strange, and the movie is strange too, but full of a weird poetry as well. And when you stop watching it, you feel a bit dizzy, like the world around you isn't so real anymore. 

If you like this movie, you should watch : L'écume des jours, La délicatesse

Au Revoir Là-Haut 

2017 – Directed by Albert Dupontel, starring Albert Dupontel, Laurent Laffite, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart

Sum-up : After the First World War, two former soldiers decide to organize a fraud using the artistic talents of one of them to create fake war memorials.

Carole's critique : The topic of the movie is obviously not happy. But the movie is surprisingly poetic and tender, dealing with the aftermath of war and terrible injuries in a delicate manner. The atmosphere is poetic, sometimes barely real, owning the film and its strange aesthetic a soft side. Yes, you will probably cry a little bit, but the feeling that this movie leaves is not as sad as it is tender. The best movie about the conflict and its consequences I've watched so far.

If you like this movie, you should watch: Joyeux Noël, La Traversée de Paris, L'Ecume des jours

Le Samouraï

1967 – Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, starring Alain Delon, François Périer, Natalie Delon, Cathy Rosier

Sum-up : An assassin kills his target, but it might be more difficult than planned to get out of it alive and free.

Carole's critique : A dark thriller that is undoubtedly one of Delon's best roles. Alain Delon is one of these icons of French cinema, and he is the best in the genre 'films noirs', that defies these dark thrillers that exploded in the 50s and 60s in France. It's one movie of a dark series of films that bloomed around that time in France. And it's a good one!

If you like this movie, you should watch : Le Guépard, La piscine, Le Clan des Siciliens, Plein soleil, Borsalino, Peur sur la ville

 L'Armée Des Ombres

1969 – Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, starring Lino Ventura, Simone Signoret, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Cassel

Sum-up : A little group of people try to resist under the Occupation during World War II. But the Gestapo is closing on them.

Carole's critique : It's dark, but it's great! Depicting the resistance under the occupation with a vivid fear of getting caught, this movie is not a happy one. If you are interested in the topic, it's a brilliant movie to watch, but be careful, it's a dark one.

If you like this movie, you should watch : La traversée de Paris, Au revoir là-haut

 Quai des brumes

1938 – Directed by Marcel Carné, starring Jean Gabin, Michèle Morgan, Michel Simon, Pierre Brasseur

Sum-up : An army deserter meets a strange girl who is terrified by her godfather. To defend her, he will have many perils to overcome, and the price to pay may be higher than expected.

Carole's critique : A classic. The scenario, written by Jacques Prévert as an adaptation of the novel of the same name, gives a poetic touch to this 'film noir'. And well, it's a masterpiece, what else can I say, it's just a classic. It's also the movie that revealed both Gabin and Morgan, some of the best French actors.

Le Capitan

1960 – Directed by André Hunebelle, starring Jean Marais, Bourvil, Elsa Martinelli

Sum-up : A man tries to protect the interests of the King against powerful men who are scheming against him.

Carole's critique : I used to watch this movie a lot when I was a child. It's a good example of the genre 'Cape et d'épée', that boomed in the 50's and 60's in France. And to me, it's just a lot of memories from my childhood, so I had to put it on the list. 

If you like this movie, you should watch : Le Bossu, Le masque de fer, Le capitaine Fracasse, Cartouche, Cyrano de Bergerac, Fanfan la tulipe.

 Le cinquième élément

1997 – Directed by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Milla Jovovich

Sum-up : To save the universe, the five elements must be brought together. But on the side of evil, many people try to capture in the fifth element, a perfect being.

Carole's critique : I mean, this movie is brilliant. It's completely crazy, but undoubtedly one of my favourite Sci-Fi movies! I know it's pretty famous worldwide, but if you haven't watched this, you must see this movie! Gary Oldman's performance is extraordinary, let's be honest.

If you like this movie, you should watch : Léon

Proposed by anon :

Les choristes

Directed by Christophe Barratier, starring Gérard Jugnot, François Berléand, Jean-Baptiste Maunier, Kad Merad

A new member of the team in a boarding school in 1949 introduces music and singing in the school. This will help the lives of the children there, even through hard times.

#event #recs #movie recs #movies event #movies recs

[aikainkauna]

Movie meeeehm

Thanks to @nitrateglow for these!

1: A movie you enjoyed as a kid that you don't now

-Probs some comedy I'd find awfully sexist/racist/homophobic etc. now. But of course, I can't recall a specific one, probs because the experience is so deeply squicky and traumatic. Oh, wait, I know. I adored The Great Mouse Detective as a kid, but have heard so many "bleh" comments about it later that I don't want to ruin it by rewatching it as an adult. Why take a happy, cherished, pure and joyous memory away, especially as there are so few of those in my life anyway in proportion to the bad memories?

2: A movie you disliked as a kid that you like/love now

-Not a movie, but I was literally too fucking terrified to watch Doctor Who as a kid on cable, because the Tom Baker repeats they were showing terrified me with the title sequence alone. That empty stare and howling, diddly-duming music were enough to give me nightmares. So I only got into Who in my late teens!

3: Your favorite movie as a kid

-Define "kid." I went through several. I loved the Disney Robin Hood, of course, and at puberty, Wayne's World (yes) and The Princess Bride were my own cult movies, before I had anyone to fangirl them with. Ah, the pre-Internet era.

4: An actor/actress it took you time to warm up to

I remember being weirdly terrified and disturbed by Jeremy Brett as a kid, but then I felt the same about Bowie, and... well. Clearly it was my baby self not knowing WTF to do with all this stirring, restless energy that later turned out to be my skinnyandrogynousbisexualguy orientation thingy. And while I'd first seen Caligari and Casablanca as a teen in the early 90s, I wasn't ready for Connie until he pounced me in 2012. I would not have "got" him the same way and as hard until I was a grown-up, with a wide variety of experiences from many areas of life and a boatload of books/learning behind me. Just... no way.

5: A director it took you time to warm up to

-If anything, I've cooled off various directors I was impressed by when younger. So much of the auteur stuff gets wanky and self-imposing, in this Arrogant Artist Guy "look at my GENIUS big VISION and also insecurity about my penis size" kind of way. I like directors who can be warm and have fun and who show some real humanity (not wanky anvilly/kitchen sink-y sort of "humanity" either). Maybe Branagh? I found him a bit annoying as a kid, but now fap all over his stuff because now I'm old enough to Get It. He is the best kind of fanboy director; his geekiness is catching. Listening to his Thor commentary was a real eye-opener into my realising just how massive a nerd he is, and in a good, "one of us" kind of way.

6: Top five favorite soundtracks of your favorite movie composer

-There isn't just one! But Clint Mansell and Debbie Wiseman turn to gold everything they touch. Debbie especially is hugely unknown still, but she has this most amazing, swellingly Romantic music full of sweeping emotion that I just can't rec her enough. Do check her out; she'll give you goosebumps.

7: Three movies that defined your teen/childhood years

-I think I mentioned those already! But as a teenager, Bram Stoker's Dracula, La Reine Margot and Heavenly Creatures were formative. There were others I obsessed about way more than those, but they weren't as influential--it's more like they were massaging buttons I already had.

8: Sci-fi or westerns?

-Blake's 7! AKA "The Dirty Dozen in Space."

9: Are there any movies you own more than one copy of?

-Ahhahaha. AAAHHAHAHAHA! Of The Thief of Bagdad, I own: The Criterion clusterfuck with the awful clumsy cover someone had their 5-year-old draw, the Nordic DVD, the German Blu-Ray because I live on the edge (what with those Veidt Eye Closeups in HD being a hazard to any uterus) and at least three different digital copies. Because I'm me. I also own two digital copies and one DVD of Casablanca, three digital and one DVD of A Woman's Face and don't get me started on the British telefantasy I have on both DVD and VHS. I have spare copies of both the Caligari Masters of Cinema release and the ITV DVD of The Spy In Black, so I guess I should throw them at somebody.

10: Physical media or streaming?

-Neither. Video files firmly saved onto and run from my hard drive. Fuck streaming with its choppiness (ruins the viewing experience for me) and physical media are usually beyond my budget (unless I save up for a Connie DVD). Besides, I rip my favourite movie discs onto my HD anyway. I want to be able to gif that shit, dammit!

11: Are there any movies you watch on special occasions every year (Christmas, Halloween, birthdays, your mother's aunt's wedding anniversary, etc.)

-Used to do Nightmare Before Christmas on Halloween, but not any more. I still attempt ToB every Christmas. And I used to do All Through The Night with wine on my birthday, but as I can't tolerate alcohol anymore, the experience of Watching ATTN Drunk is no more. Someone start a Halloween tradition with me where we watch either The Student of Prague or Eerie Tales (or both) every year?

12: What movie do you most associate with your best friend(s)?

-Gosh, so few have stayed, so it's more like "movie that reminds you of a broken friendship," yay...?! I've learned to try and not associate movies with people that way any more, because it's more painful than it's worth. Connie is my best friend. He's like Krishna that way.

13: Name a movie adaptation you thought was better than or equal to its source material.

-LOTR put in more facial features and characterisation than Tolkien ever did, and did the tales far less fucking tediously. Imagine if you'd had to sit and watch hobbits walking through the countryside for 6 hours with barely anything happening?! Yeah...

14: What genres do your favorite movies tend to be?

-Historical, fantasy, Gothic Romantic, just Romantic stuff on the whole. More old than new movies these days. Why watch shitty modern chick flicks when I have far better characterisation and far less narrowly defined female lives in old-timey "women's pictures?" And guys who actually fucking shaved, dressed in clothes that were tailored for them instead of rented and saggy, whose bodily expressions weren't frozen for fear of "fagginess," and who weren't pumped full of 'roids.

15: Are you a fan of period dramas and if so, what era do you enjoy best?

-Yes. I love me some costume dramas, but I am seriously picky about them--most post-90s ones have been fucking awful and tend to feature shitty costumes and unkempt hair that would've sent real historical people to Bedlam, wobblycam from hell, vomit-inducingly excessive modernisation to be "edgy", and that one painfully skeletal bint they shove into every period drama ever these days, so it's... slim pickings for a history nerd, these days. There aren't many good ones set in the 17th century/Baroque era, which I love the most: the two Baroque dramas I wholeheartedly love are both series. (The Devil's Whore and By The Sword Divided.) The Angeliques and Musketeer adaptations are riddled with flaws, but there are some glowing bits within. As for The Golden Age of Islam... bloody hell, there really aren't that many good ones out there, are there?! ToB and Jodhaa Akbar and Disney's Aladdin, obviously. La Reine Margot isn't "my" period but it's great, as is Dangerous Liaisons (also not my period)--those are so fucking perfect. And the Connie period dramas, well... I think of them as primarily "silent movies" or "old movies," actually. Of those, The Student of Prague, ToB and The Wandering Jew are the best "costume" ones, IMHO. (I'd probs enjoy Lucrezia Borgia and Carlos and Elisabeth way more, were the copies we have not so smudgy.)

16: Name a movie you love that you would recommend to just about everyone.

-Ah, but we know there are always cynical cunts out there who'd give even Casablanca two stars, so what's the point? I'd still recommend it, though. And The Lion King, I guess.

17: Name a movie you love that you consider an acquired taste.

-Honestly, I'm thinking of telly rather than movies again. You will pry my cherished copy of The Time Monster from my cold, dead hands. Does The Devil of Winterborne count as a movie or TV? That's how far back my love for Mark Gatiss goes. Um... Don't Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood makes me fucking cry with laughter (the comedic timing is what does it. *beat* "Ain't dat some shit!"). Of Connie's oeuvre, yes, I know Bella Donna is rubbish, but Connie and Mary are SIZZLING and horny and juicy and it's Valid as a BDSM porn movie. And the novel is actually good.

18: Name a film you like directed by/starring a filmmaker/actor you normally don't care for.

-Not so much actor/director, but I did *not* expect to love Thor as much as I did, because I expected a dumb popcorn movie but got great adventure cinema with a touch of Shakespeare instead. I really am not the right audience for regular Marvel features at all, before or after. Fuck Marvel up its dumb macho Republican ass. But Thor is fucking beautiful and operatic and poetic and majestic and Pagan and shit. Branagh knows what I like.

19: Name a movie that blew your mind.

-A Woman's Face (1941). Because. Holy. Fuck. How can I keep on finding yet more details in it six years after first watching it, having watched it countless times by now?! And obvs all the other stuff, like the shockingly good female POV, amazing and complex woman protagonist, amazing writing, amazing ensemble cast, amazing direction, amazing lighting, amazing evil Torsten Slinkypussy Barring and The. Goddamn. Attic. Scene.

20: What genre mash-up would you most love to see that either hasn't been done yet or hasn't been done enough?

-Feminist-savvy historical romance with fantasy elements and hot explicit sex that's not shit. Basically, like the stuff you see in my fics, but better paced and woven into coherent adventure movies.

21: The coolest movie you've ever seen

-Too, too many. But Bogie was the coolest. And Claude Rains had the best acting skills. And Conrad Veidt was Conrad motherfucking Veidt. So what with those three mountains of coolness all converging under the Moroccan sky, I'm sure it's safe to say "Casablanca."

#movies #personal #meme #i am leaving out tons i know #but i must attempt sleep nao #i was quoting don't be a menace to myself just yesterday ffs #every time there's an anvilly Point in a movie #i keep screaming 'mmESSAGE!'

[thedaughterofkings]

Five things...

I got tagged by @clotpolesonly, thank you, Jessica!!

5 things you’ll find in my bag:

pens (and a notebook if the bag’s big enough)

lipstick

chapstick (yes both lipstick and chapstick - you never know which one you might need more on any given day!

pain killers in case I (or someone else) get a headache

hair ties and pins

5 things you’ll find in my room:

clothesssss - both in the wardrobe where they belong and anywhere but!

books! Again, most on the shelf, but there’s at least five piles in various corners of my room at any given moment

dragons :DD small ones, big ones, metal ones, wooden ones, bought ones, self-made ones, just - DRAGONS

art material that I use once every three years

lotr posters from lotr calendars that I’ve been buying and hanging up for, I don’t even know, over a decade now?! (I should go count them)

5 things that make me happy:

cuddling the kitty

watching the birdies in the garden

getting a nice comment on a fic *hint hint* :D

playing the piano (I was weirdly maudlin on the 1st - I blame the moon and the lack of sleep - and not really feeling like doing anything. Some random time with the piano worked wonders!)

spending a nice evening with my family

5 things I’m currently into:

baby crafts (there are going to be two babies in my circle of friends soon and I’m knee deep in baby sewing and knitting patterns)

sewing for myself (somehow everyone else has gotten more stuff made than me)

writing sequels :p

Merthur modernRoyalty AUs (when am I ever not, but I just started the year with rereading Cori Lannam’s The Lonely King and now I have a craaaaving - I see a tsp reread in my future, too)

actually going to the cinema! (this has not been a regular occurrence in the last few years, if ever)

5 things on my to do list:

stitch that thing I’ve got planned for Fully grown ;D

decide which fic I’m going to tackle next (options are: the Resurrection fic, the first sequel to pigtails, the sequel to fully grown, some Merthur, some Drarry - votes?)

cut out the waistband for the table cloth skirt so I can start embroidering that

tidy up my room so I can actually put up the bookshelf that’s going to help me keep it tidier!

ACTUALLY work on my uni stuff one of these days *hides*

I tag: @loverofcake, @clotpolesonly, @hyraeth and @fandom-madnessess!

#lessa says #lessa plays tag games #thank you jessica!! #I love being tagged in things like that even if I sometimes take ages to do them oops

[yellowhalcyon]

~ this or that ~

RULES: ANSWER all questions, ADD one question of your own and then TAG as many people as you like!

Got tagged by @budapestalloveragain so here we go...

live session or studio session? studio music sounds so good to me and I’ve never really been a fan of concerts coke or pepsi? please give me some coke disney or dreamworks? dreamworks, never watched any disney coffee or tea? coffee but only when it’s sweet or cold books or movies? I would say books because there’s a lot more creative freedom sometimes and a lot more development of characters windows or mac? windows, macs suck and can burn in hell dc or marvel? tbh Marvel own me a lot of money for the shit they’re pulling at the moment and DC isn’t perfect either xbox or playstation? both, both is good night owl or early riser? depends on my sleeping schedule at the time cards or chess? cards chocolate or vanilla? chocolate, mostly since I find vanilla too sweet vans or converse? my feet are annoying and stupid and I wish I could chop them off star wars or star trek? ...O.O Star Wars, obviously (but I would highly recommend Star Trek to any sci fi, they’re both different but good in their own ways) one episode per week or marathoning? marathoning, then I can watch it whenever I want, since I seem to lose interest when it’s just one week at a time heroes or villains? heroes, villains get woobifyed too much that I’ve kinda gone off them john wiilliams or hans zimmer? so this is basically star wars vs inception sound tracks..? I feel like both are very underappreicated so I would say both because people don’t really realise how much work and effort it takes. disneyland/disney world or six flags? never been to either (or even heard of ‘six flags’) in that case I’ll take disneyland forest or sea? fuck that’s a hard choice, but I guess forests are safer in... some sense flying or reading minds? I don’t like what I know people think of me anyway, so I wouldn’t want to know more, plus I fly in my dreams and it feels so freeing so flying twin peaks or northern exposure? wft is twin peaks or northen exposure?! harry potter or lord of the rings? oh fuck I can’t decide, LotR was my childhood but then Harry Potter is so comforting to me, but I guess LotR is kinda dead now so Harry Potter. cake or pie? pie cos cakes can be too dry for me sometimes you are banished to a desert island, which benedict cumberbatch character would you choose to take with you? Lol, which ever one has the more meat on him so when he inevitably dies (because I kill him) there's enough to sustain me for a long enough period for me to get rescued. train or cruise ship? train cos cruises are for old, rich, white people brian cox or neil degrasse-tyson? Degrasse-tyson is kinda usa and brian cox is uk so cox. wizard of oz or alice in wonderland? alice in wonderland (wizard of oz is really good too) but Alice is so weird and symbolic and unfortunately made by a pedo that’s not to be forgotten fanfiction or fanart? you CAN’T make me chose between these two, like I find art easier to process but then I write fics. I would fight anyone who even thinks to insult these platforms, they’re both amazing and healthy ways to express yourselves. keep making wonderful work everyone <3.<3 the hunger hames - books or movies? the books, movies were whitewashed and boring and should have been 15+ not PG. see the future of travel to the past? the future is always changing and should remain unknown, I believe; I would go into the past as long as they found a way for my germs not to kill everyone han solo or luke skywalker? I would go with Luke cos he’s my gay son. Han is great but Luke is like that guy you could go to crying and, even though he doesn’t know you, he would sit you down and try to help as best he could, whereas Han would just panic and go get Luke. lilacs or sunflowers? hmmmmmmmmmmmm, sunflowers cos they’re tall and bright spring or autumn? spring, I’m a spring baby campfire or fireplace? depends on my mood, but I wouldn’t mind either french fries or onion rings? onion rings are great truth or dare? truth because the dares are always horrible winter or summer? winter because the bugs are back in hell where they belong, I can cover up my ugly body more, and being hot makes me want to die vampires or werewolves? vampires are so disgusting and rapey, also I’m part werewolf so werewolves all the way. red or blue? blood red eyes or lips? hmmmmmmmmmmmmm lips, cos I would rather be blind than deaf burgers or sandwiches? possibly burgers cos I’m really fussy when it comes to sandwiches friends to lovers or enemies to lovers trope? I think everyone thinks enemies to lovers is okay cos they don’t care about how the villain hurt the hero (especially if the hero is a woman) and everyone is like ‘but they’re just friends’ as a way to say something isn’t romantic, so friends to lovers (you should become friends with someone before you love them though) pizza or pasta? pasta is in my blood 24/7 so pizza ancient rome or ancient greece? rome, i guess cos maybe they’re more hygienic foxes or wolves? i love city foxes but then wolves are so family oriented, so both I guess mermaids or dragons? mermaids cos like swimming and breathing underwater sci-fi or fantasy? i can’t decide, fuck me watch a film at home or in a theater? depends on the film, but going to the cinema with my friend is my fav thing fireproof or no more sad songs? ...i don’t know what either of these are bands or individual singers? both are great sweet or salty? salty, I don’t have a sweet tooth monotype corsiva or comic sans? I never use either font so lol turtles or frogs? fuck, I never thought about that... I guess, frogs blur or oasis? oasis baseball or football? that’s such an american question, ummmm... hockey bowling date or movie date? movie cos dates are awkward and I don’t have to talk in a movie fruits or vegetables? i guess veg cos fruits are too sweet sometimes rain or sun? rain cos the sun is *hisses* tattoos or piercings? tattoos cos piercings look painful phone call or text? texting because phones are one of the seven layers of hell animated films or live action remakes? animated cos the live action are usually shit chandler or joey? both have their good or bad points so.... Joey cos he would have more sexual experience have all the boys reunite for a 1d tour but never go on solo tours or have all of them do solo tours but never reunite as a band for a tour? that’s such a fangirl question and I don’t care for either tv show or movie? tv I guess cos I do that film of ‘do I have enough time to pay attention to a 2 hour film? but I’ll totally watch 4 hours straight of a tv show.’ @budapestalloveragain‘s question: ramen or korean bbq? I feel so bad cos I haven’t tried either cos I just don’t eat food creatively (but Catherine is saying I should go with Korean BBQ)

MY QUESTION IS: aesthetic posts or gif set posts?

I tag @buchananbarnesjames and @vinterfalcons and @smilingkat

#my stuff

[beckettsthoughts]

Rules: Answer the questions then come up with one of your own and tag as many people as there questions.

I was tagged by @baz-pitch-is-alive, thank you so much :) 

1. Coke or Pepsi: I don’t actually like fizzy drinks- is apple juice an answer I can give?

2. Disney or Dreamworks: Disney. I love Disney movies.

3. Coffee or tea: You’re going to hate me for this, but I don’t like hot drinks either. Is apple juice an answer I can give?

4. Books or movies: Books, by a long way. I do like movies every now and then, but they often can’t quite hold my attention unless I am actually in the cinema.

5. Window or Mac: Mac, for me. I used Windows up until a couple of years ago but it crashed super often and the settings were really difficult to navigate. It fucked up once when it updated and I could never let it update after that, plus it couldn’t run games without crashing everything, I never tried it but there’s no way it could have run Photoshop. I also like Garageband.

6. DC or Marvel: Marvel, if we’re talking movies. I haven’t read as many Marvel comics as I have DC, though, and while I’ve only read a few DC comics they’ve all been awesome: Black Canary, Gotham Academy, and my absolute favourite The Sandman. I prefer other comics in most cases, though, my favourite being The Wicked + The Divine. 

7. Xbox or PlayStation: PlayStation. I don’t have an Xbox, I do have a PlayStation. I admit, I may be biased. 

8. Dragon Age or Mass Effect: I haven’t played either, but Dragon Age is way more my thing than Mass Effect.

9. Night owl or early riser: Haha, haha, haha; I don’t sleep much. When I do, it’s in the mornings. I am most definitely a night owl, so much so that people may mistake me for an actual nocturnal being. 

10. Cards or chess: Card games, no question. My friends and I used to play card games every lunchtime at school and we still know several, our favourites being Cheat (also known as Bullshit when we’re not at school), Spoons, Shithead (oft-shortened to Shed when teachers were nearby), Irish Snap and a game called Hi-Jack. I’m also a big fan of Sevens and Solitaire. 

11. Chocolate or vanilla: Chocolate. I like vanilla but, alas, I like chocolate more.

12. Vans or converse: Man, in general I prefer Converses but I have this pair of awesome leather-and-corduroy high-top Vans and those are probably the best shoes I own. I’m not really a shoe person. I’d still probably say Converses, overall. I have a couple pairs of low-tops, grey and navy blue.

13. Star Wars or Star Trek: To be honest, I don’t know enough about either to judge. I like what I’ve seen of both, but from what I can predict I’d probably prefer Star Trek overall. I know, I know; I’m a bad nerd.

14. One episode per week or binge watching: I don’t watch much TV, I guess. I’m happy to watch once-a-week if it’s on the actual TV, but if I’m watching things on my laptop I usually binge-watch in a fit of hyperfocus. I can only binge-watch stuff like cartoons that have short episodes, though, or I can’t concentrate.

15. Heroes or villains: Um, I’m a big villains fan. They’re just, like, cooler, I guess. Also they’re way more likely to be supernatural and stuff, and they usually look more goth or have British accents, and they often have deeper backstories. What I really love is like, anti-heroes and anti-villains, though.

16. John Williams or Hans Zimmer: Don’t make me choose, bro.

17. Disneyland/Disney World or Six Flags: I don’t know like, anything about Six Flags, but I can say honestly that what I love about Disney is the atmosphere. From the little I’ve seen of Six Flags it seems pretty cool if you’re into roller coasters and water parks, but I’m not really about that. What I love about Disney is that you can be somewhere completely different, be it foregin or fictional. The California Adventure park is by far my favourite of the Disney parks I’ve been to, for example, because wandering round it felt like Yosemite, it felt like Route 66, it felt like Santa Monica. Walking down Main Street at Disneyland is just amazing, man, I don’t know how to really describe it.

18. Forest or sea: I love forests, but I was born by the sea and I think the coast will always have my heart. The feeling of standing on the sea wall in the dark, watching the ink-black sea churning and roaring and leaping up against the rocks; it’s some strange sort of magic, it’s mesmerising.

19. Flying or reading minds: Both sound awesome, but I think flying. It just looks really fun, whereas I feel reading minds would be really stressful. Like, the pressure of knowing what people are thinking and feeling seems kind of intrusive and I would feel awkward in judging how to react and talk to people. I can’t handle my own mind half of the time, I don’t want to be dealing with others. 

20. Twin Peaks or Northern Exposure: Not seen either, but I’ve heard of Twin Peaks and it looks cool. I’ve literally never even heard of Northern Exposure.

21. Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings: Harry Potter. Again, I don’t know enough about LOTR, I haven’t had the chance to read the books yet because they’re like, intimidatingly long. I shelled out $30 for a replica of Hermione’s wand at Warner Bros Studios, though, and I think that speaks for itself. 

22. Cake or pie: Definitely cake. Preferably chocolate. Preferably M&S star-themed tray-bake.

23. Beyoncé or Lady Gaga: I like both, but I don’t know either very well. I don’t feel like I have enough knowledge to make a fair decision. Beyoncé is like, divinely beautiful though.

24. Rain or sunshine: Rain, rain, rain. I like sunshine and it makes for the best kind of lazy, summer afternoons, but heat is uncomfortable and I like the sound of rain on the roof at night.

25. Steven Universe or Gravity Falls: I haven’t seen Gravity Falls, but I do like Steven Universe. I’m really liking Star Vs The Forces of Evil recently, though.

26. Blue or green: Dammit, I can’t decide. Ultramarine or malachite green, I love both.

27. Vanilla or cinnamon: Vanilla. I barely ever have anything with cinnamon on it, but it’s good on pie?

28. Foreign films, subbed or dubbed: Dubbed is best for me because I like to do other things like draw or write while I watch so being able to listen is super useful, but for TV shows I’ll likely be watching on my laptop and therefore subbed is fine because I can’t write on my laptop and watch on my laptop at the same time.

29. Rain coats or umbrellas: Umbrellas are cool and I have this massive rainbow umbrella that I got given for free at Pride, but I don’t use them very often, if at all. I do, however, have a fair collection of long, flowy coats. They’re not raincoats as such, and in fact none of them have hoods, but I’ve had raincoats in the past and I like them more.

30. Christmas or birthdays: Birthdays! Don’t get me wrong, I really really love Christmas but it can be really stressful, whereas birthdays I’m hanging with my friends and eating cake and it’s really fun. Christmas beats birthdays where dinner is concerned though, because you really can’t beat a British Christmas dinner.

Now for my contribution, it took a minute to think of but my question for all of you is:

Art, literature, or music?

And, though I don’t think I can tag 30 people, I’m going to tag @littleduckalex @toadstoolfuel, @finnisnowdeadrip, @windsweptarmadillo, @luuxraay, @mcnamak, @homjom and @shark-myths as well as anyone who sees this and thinks it looks like fun! 

#b replies #ask meme