Tumgik
#release! the! hardwicke cut!
Text
Doctor Who: Phobos Review
Introduction
"You're scarier than the monsters."
Phobos a Big Finish story that walked so that The Rings Of Akhaten could run. I've mentioned in other reviews that the stories show the darkside of Paul MacGanns Doctor but this story aces as it. Listening to this story without any spoilers, gave me full goosebumps as once everything comes together your left in disbelief.
This story explores fear in a really creative and complex way. Again we get a unique "monster" compared to the usual things The Doctor has to face and deal with it. Its very mythical and creepy throughout. "Phobos" is Greek for fear and we truly get to experience fear throughout the story even if it it isn't a listen. Phobos absolutely blew my mind it took so many twists and turns I didn't expect.
This is another story I definitely recommend listening to individually if your not sold on The Eighth Doctor Adventures.
Tumblr media
What I Liked
Again there's so many things that I could praise about this story as listening to Big Finish I've been shocked at the 100% good quality every time. The cast was once again stacked and they all played their roles too absolute perfection. To cut it down though I'll only talk about a few of the things that stood out to me.
As a musician the music in this story was like that feeling when you first go to an orchestral live concert. I had literal goosebumps. Out of all of the stories I've listened to Phobos definitely had the best music. Andy Hardwick is an absolute genius, he did a great job making the music so atmospheric and mystical. The composition was awesome. Every piece of music composed perfectly matched the aesthetic of each scene. The best theme had to be the chilling motif that played anytime the mysterious Phobians were mentioned. Doctor Who is a difficult piece of work to compose due to how diverse and unique each episode is but Big Finish have handled this challenge really well and delivered. The best part of sci-fi music is when it matches the atmsophere and tensity of the scene and Phobos does that perfectly. From its chilling and thrilling moments to its lighthearted fun moments, it's all composed perfectly in the right way that brings out the right emotions. If there's anything you want to get out of the story, listen deeply and closer to the music. I really hope that once I start by big finish releases they also come with the music because the scores really do slap.
Secondly I just have to talk about the incredible twists and turns throughout. I really wish I could film me listening to Big Finish in real time as trust me when I say that my mouth was a gape when the twists came, my mouth was a gape. My mind was well and truly blown. Again it's another one of those stories where you think it's going one way but then it goes in a completely different direction. Similar to Blood Of The Daleks your stuck guessing what's truly going on. It dives into some really heavy and dark themes and becomes unpredictable every minute that passes. To me, a good story steers away from what's expected of it and builds a twisted narrative that leaves you mind blown, Phobos does just that. The twists in this really allowed for Paul MacGann to shine and show off his Doctors darker side eloquently. All of the resolution is teased throughout the story but it comes as a massive shock to the point even Lucie is now doubtful about The Doctor and his character. It creates an interesting Doctor, Companion dynamic for the rest of this series of adventures.
Finally the incredible creativity and inventiveness of the story. I hate to admit it but Phobos walked so The Rings Of Akhaten could run. A lot of people not agree with me but with the way the stories include the Doctor feeding a creature with his memories it gives me a lot of déjà vu. Phobos feels so fresh from your typical Doctor Who story you'd get and I absolutely love it for that. This story really shows how experimental Big Finish are and how willing they are to explore entirely new concepts which I think is brilliant. Immortal Beloved perfectly showed the darkside of cloning whilst Phobos shows how powerful Fear is and how it has shaped The Doctor in his long life. As a result of the monster soley being on audio we get to be disturbed by on it a more physiological level, which is definitely effect in this series. The cries of people being chased by the creature was enough alone to bring me chills. I also adore the whole concept of the setting. On the surface it seems unoriginal for Phobos to be a chilled holiday destination until you peel back the layers and discover the conflict our side characters are facing. This story really embraced the fact its an exclusively audio story and I hope other Big Finish Stories are like that too.
Tumblr media
What I Disliked
I loved this story but I have to be honest when I say that my enjoyment was spoiled due to its pacing. I've loved listening to the 8th Doctor Adventures but I have to be honest when I say that I have struggled with the pacing of these stories and Phobos was no acception to this. Some of these stories benefit from New Who style pacing whilst others don't.
Whilst the build up had so much pay off it did drag alot. All the build up took long and it felt way too slow paced given the context and threat in the story. I was just waiting for the huge action to happen every time somebody was attacked. Apart from that though I really did enjoy this story. Love your typical Doctor Who Monsters but it's more interesting when it's something entirely new.
Tumblr media
Conclusion
Overall another fun and interesting Big Finish story. It deviated from what would normally be expected and was really inventive. It really flipped the whole monster on the lose killing tourists story and made it crumble beneath your feet. The side characters were an absolute delight and Lucie and The Doctor both got a lot to do here too and they both shone in their own ways. Again I'd heavily recommend giving this one a listen as it's a very interesting story.
My overall rating would be:
Tumblr media
It's a story with a lot of meat that surprisingly works well on audio considering it's action packed and twisted nature. I also really liked that so many tropes were flipped on its head. This is one of the stories that have certain that im doing right by sticking with Big Finish and delving further into their catalogue. Paul MacGann is bumping up my favourite Doctor's list because he's just so endearing and charming in the role.
I definitely plan to in the far future save up to afford some of the season 2 stories and explore more of Lucie Miller. I'm sad that they don't have the rights to Grace and Chang Lee but 8s audio companions sound awesome. I'll give my thoughts on Charlie once I've actually explored that full arc. But as a first time listener I'm really appreciating the diverse stories Big Finish are able to tell.
I'm very excited for the future.
Bonus:
Tumblr media
Since this is my first year getting into Big Finish I decided to publish a listening challenge on The Storygraph with certain prompts to follow that I will eventually fill as the year goes on.
I'm really impressed by all of the stories and am excited to dive into the main range, a few Destiny Of The Doctor audios and some short trips. I've really excited to delve into more Doctor Who adventures beyond the TV series. The Eighth Doctor Adventures have matched and even gone beyond the quality of the show.
The Challenge Is Public And Anyone Can Join:
-Melody-
They/Them
2 notes · View notes
filmbyselen · 8 months
Text
Review of Twilight (2008)
Record-breaking fantasy romance “Twilight” (2008) has been given a bad reputation ever since its release. The narrative and the characters Stephanie Meyer’s infamous novel are rightly criticized as poorly written, yet is that enough to completely ruin its film adaptation? Though I preach that a great film happens when style equals substance, sometimes one of the two is so good it makes up for the other. I think this is the case with “Twilight”. 
In the movie directed by Catherine Hardwicke, Bella Swan, a high school student, moves to a little town in the Pacific Northwest, and gets attracted by the mysterious Edward Cullen. She learns that he is a vampire who has stopped consuming human blood, and gets targeted by an evil vampire who poses a threat to her life as their forbidden love intensifies. Edward and his family try to protect Bella, which results in a heated clash. Bella must ultimately choose between her love for Edward and her desire for a regular human life.
The only conflict in the plot is the central romance and the stakes are not high enough to build much tension. The uneventfulness creates a slow pace without stimulating action. Despite this sole emphasis on building the couple's relationship, it is still not established on firm ground, yet somehow it is not lackluster thanks to the relatable teenage awkwardness.
A slow plot can be tolerable as long as the characters interest us, but they never develop beyond their one-dimensional shell. This lack of depth would not invite any emotional connection with Bella being too flat, yet her youthful uncertainty is easy to relate to. One of the biggest problems people seem to have with “Twilight” is Kristen Stewart’s acting, but as far as I am concerned, the lack of emotion and the stuttering are simply how Bella is at that age.
Moreover, Bella embodies the damsel in distress who needs a strong man to protect her. Edward runs to the rescue when needed and Bella’s reliance on him shows misogyny. The film promotes the idea that a woman should overlook violence as long as the man loves her.
Romanticizing breaking into a crush’s bedroom to watch her sleep, comparing her to a drug, possessiveness and reluctant consent, the film promotes an abusive relationship.
The problematic themes and the lack of emotional arcs, narrative complexity, and exciting action, would make it hard for some to care about the story, yet I was still engaged. Hardwicke’s understanding of teens established in “Thirteen” (2003), is what infuses “Twilight” with charm, too. 
The melodrama characteristic of teen girls can be heard in Bella’s lines from “Dying in the place of someone I love seems like a good way to go” in a serious voiceover to “Why didn’t you just let the van crush me and save yourself all this regret?” in an over-dramatic confrontation. The scene where Bella confronts Edward about being a vampire, begins calmly with steady shots which become dynamic as the revelation unfolds. The disorienting camera movements reflect Bella's confusion. When Edward admits the truth, low-angle shots emphasize his dominance. Bella's shocked reaction is depicted in closeups. Suspense is created through careful pace, with pauses and cuts that highlight the responses. Bella and Edward alternate in quick cross-cuts that enhance the empathy between them.
The heightened emotion can also be seen in Bella’s perception of Forks’s never ending overcast weather. The mossy, moody atmosphere Hardwicke sets is what makes the film memorable as opposed to the rest of the saga. Her distinctive artistry brings color to a lifeless tale by utilizing camera and editing techniques.
The blue hue not only enhances the rainy, forested landscape, but it also creates a sense of melancholia and gloom. There are a few cases where the theme grading is broken by gold light with the intention of matching the warmth in scenes such as Bella and Edward’s first candle-lit date. Despite a popular disapproval of the intense blue filter, I believe it is exactly this choice that makes the film charming. The vivid painting of the town and its nature engross me to a point where I feel like I can step into it.
The handheld cinematography also contributes to this palpability as it puts the viewer in the perspective of someone present in the characters’ spaces. During Bella's first visit to the Cullens' residence, Edward gives a tour of his room and the awkwardness between the new couple manifests in an objective documentary-like style. It matches the rawness of their uncertainty, which fades away with every step forward until the distance is closed and closeups establish intimacy. As they climb up the trees, the camera movements add adrenaline, while the editing builds anticipation. Quick cuts create a rhythmic exhilaration as the scene unfolds. The sound of rustling leaves and wind enhances the adventure and a gentle melody heightens their amorous bond. After an aerial shot’s glorification of the landscape, we transition into Bella watching Edward playing the piano. The borders of the room are shadowed as the outside light streams in through the windows and frames the couple all alone in their own reality. The chiaroscuro lighting elevates the style up to a film noir drama.
The accompanying score and the selected songs immensely contribute to the overall tone, especially in the beloved baseball scene. The music and the visual immersion in the natural settings throughout the film strike the strongest cord with me. The enchantment of the luscious woodland mirrors that of a first love. Away from town and isolated, the forest also provides escapism, and this is exactly how the film makes me feel - otherworldly. Steven Spielberg once said, “The public has an appetite for anything about imagination - anything that is as far away from reality as is creatively possible.”
In a 2018 interview for Screen Rant Hardwicke states that her challenge was to express the drunken feeling of infatuation. The result succeeds as a sincere exploration of adolescence. The director has managed to save a weak story with beautiful filmmaking and the way a story is told sometimes matters more than the story itself.
Judging by the sustained popularity, many consider the film a guilty pleasure and I believe we revisit it due to the escapism it provides. I give “Twilight” a glowing 5-star rating for Catherine Hardwicke’s tone and direction. Writing is important, but film is an audiovisual medium. When done right, style can save a film and in my opinion, the elevated levels of it here are enough to compensate for the lack of substance.
REFERENCES
Hardwicke, C. (Director). (2008). Twilight [Film]. Summit Entertainment, Temple Hill Entertainment, Maverick Films, Imprint Entertainment, Goldcrest Pictures, Twilight Productions.
Hardwicke, C. (Director). (2003). Thirteen [Film]. Searchlight Pictures, Michael London Productions, Working Title Films, Antidote Films (I), Sound for Film.(2018). Director Catherine Hardwicke on Twilight's Cultural Legacy. Screen Rant. https://screenrant.com/twilight-cultural-legacy-impact-hardwicke/
1 note · View note
kayla1993-world · 1 year
Text
Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart takes his licks at the police union-sponsored debate
Vancouver police were not present on Monday night to deal with a shouting match between incumbent Mayor Kennedy Stewart and his challenger, Ken Sim, but they were sitting nearby. In a Vancouver Police Union-sponsored mayoral and council candidate debate, the two mayoral front-runners stood and pointed at each other, yelling. Sim accused the mayor of displaying why he thought council meetings were dysfunctional. Stewart demanded Sim answer a question he had asked about Indigenous reconciliation.
Then, Kennedy took licks from all sides during the second major mayoral debate, with the first meeting also seeing Stewart and Sim go head to head aggressively. At the heart of the attacks was the city’s December 2020 decision to reduce the 2021 Vancouver Police Department budget by $5.7 million. The decision was reversed by the provincial government after a police board appeal.
ABC Vancouver council candidate Brian Montague retired from the VPD five months ago, after 28 years of service. NPA Vancouver council candidate Arezo Zarrabian, who has worked as a VPD crime analyst for the past 13 years, agreed.
The debate came the day after Vancouver police reported another stranger attack. A woman was beaten as she entered the lobby of her apartment near Davie and Howe streets. She fought off a 19-year-old man she didn't know — and fled onto the street, where he followed her and continued the attack, before being stopped by six passersby. The attacker was arrested.
This is one of several recent stranger attacks. According to a provincial government report released on Saturday, street homelessness in the Downtown Eastside is as bad as it has ever been, people are being released on bail who are threats to public safety, and statistics showing a fall in crime are not providing an accurate reflection.
Green councilor Adriane Carr defended her decision to vote in favor of police cuts, saying that it was during COVID-19 when city revenues were down. It also occurred during the defund the police movement after the May 2020 in-custody murder of an African American man, George Floyd, by a Minnesota police officer.
Stewart said that under his watch, the VPD budget had increased in total by $50 million. Budgets need to increase each year, in part because of negotiated wage hikes for officers and other staff.
Sim’s solutions to street crime were to increase the number of police officers by 100, which Zarrabian said was very difficult to do, and to hire more mental health workers. Sim also wants police to wear body cameras and to restore the police school liaison program.
NPA mayoral candidate Fred Harding criticized Sim’s support for decriminalization of drugs and called the promise of 100 additional police officers a gimmick, adding that he did not believe in gimmicks.
TEAM Vancouver mayoral candidate Colleen Hardwick said it was time to appoint a Downtown Eastside commissioner to audit how money from the three levels of government is spent in the neighborhood.
Progress Vancouver mayoral candidate Mark Marissen said that the other candidates’ plans for crime were mostly outside municipal jurisdiction. He called for the restoration of the Vancouver Agreement, which was an attempt by municipal, provincial, and federal governments to better manage the Downtown Eastside.
Recent polling conducted by Research Co. for the Vancouver and District Labour Council predicts an extremely close election. Among decided voters, the poll predicts Stewart will be ahead with 36 percent of the vote, followed by Sims with 34 percent, Hardwick with 14 percent, Marissen with eight percent, and Harding with five percent.
Progress Vancouver released results Monday of recent polling commissioned by the party and conducted by Pollara, showing that among decided voters, 33 percent planned to support Sim. Stewart was in second place with 29 percent, Marissen in third with 17 percent, followed by Hardwick at 11 per cent, and Harding at five percent.
For the first time, they decided to back a mayoral candidate. After the debate, union president Ralph Kaisers said that he liked a little bit of what all the candidates said.
The union executive is expected to make an announcement on Wednesday. At the start of the debate, council candidate Sean Orr held up a sign that said "Police out of politics," before leaving the building.
0 notes
x-reader-theater · 3 years
Note
Ok this might be a strange one but hear me out,, some royal or just crazy super rich persons son has been kidnapped (the reader) and the team finds him!! ok ok but its continues,, they found the reader but not the unsub just yet so they have to interview the reader and meaby something happens between Spency and the reader OR 'Hot'ch and the reader?? nothing too spicy but cutesy feelings and kissies (unless you want some 🌶🌶 in there which im not complaining about ;) )
There's not gonna be any sex because the reader just went through a VERY traumatic experience, and that's not healthy. Also going with Spencer because I got a cute idea and I think it would be better with Spencer. Also, the whole Lila Archer situation just reminded me of this. @mystic-writes edited this for me even with the million mistakes I made because I wrote it very late at night on my phone loll
Tumblr media
"What happened?" Mrs. [L/N] asks, clutching at her necklace as the live feed of you tied to a chair goes dark.
"The unsub must have realized we're getting close," Hotch growls out, and Mr. [L/N] holds onto his wife while they both cry.
Spencer rushes into the room holding a map and places it on the table next to the blacked out computer screen.
"I think I found where he's being held. There's a warehouse district not far from here, and the only empty one, with help from Garcia, is this one," he says, circling one of the warehouses shown on the map.
Hotch nods. "Good work. Get everyone together, we're going in five. Morgan, get swat on the phone."
Morgan nods and Spencer leaves the group, going to exit the house when someone tugs on his sleeve.
He stops and turns around, crouching down to find your little sister, Anna, standing in front of him holding a toy bunny. "Are you going to find my brother?" she asks.
Spencer nods. "I hope so."
Anna smiles. "When you see him, could you give him this?"
She leans up and kisses his cheek lightly. Spencer flushes a bright red and Anna giggles. "S-sure," Spencer says before getting up and practically sprinting out of the house.
You sigh in relief as you hear the multitude of footsteps and someone call out, "FBI!"
"He's not here!" you exclaim, though you can't see where the footsteps are coming from with the blindfold on your face. You feel someone untying the blindfold at the back of your head, and you say, "He left when he realized how close you were to finding me."
"Are you hurt?" someone asks. When the blindfold slips off, you're face to face with a very handsome young man, his hair cut short, a tactical vest pulled tight around his lithe body.
Your hands are released and you shake your head. "No. He barely touched me. I'm fine," you say, and the man frowns at you. You sigh. "I swear. You don't even need to get the paramedics to look at me. He didn't even lay a hand on my head."
The man nods and says, "My name is Doctor Reid. I need to ask you a few questions about your captor."
"Can we go back to my apartment first? I really need a good, long shower," you say, and Dr. Reid looks over at an older man with dark brown hair and eyes, who nods minutely.
"I'll drive you there," Dr. Reid says and you smile appreciatively.
When Spencer pulls up to your apartment complex and you hit the button for the top floor after inserting a spare key you got at the front desk, Spencer realizes your apartment isn't an apartment; It's a penthouse.
It's impeccably decorated with high-end furniture, and plants on every surface, all looking a little too green. Upon closer inspection, Spencer can see they're fake.
You leave him to go take your shower, only taking a couple minutes before you come back, jeans hanging low on your hip with no shirt on. Spencer swallows thickly and you sit down on one of the plush couches, a towel around your shoulders.
Dr. Reid sits uncomfortably in front of you on one of the matching chairs and asks, "Do you know who kidnapped you?"
You nod. "Mr. Garry Hardwick," you say.
"Your father's financial advisor?" Dr. Reid asks and you nod.
"He's been sexually harassing me since I was 11," you say, and Dr. Reid's eyebrows shoot up into his hairline. "Why do you think I didn't want to see my parents? I told them when it first happened and they dismissed it."
"Your sister misses you," he says and you smile.
"I miss her too. I wish I could take her out of that home and put her in a real school, so she can make friends," you say.
"She asked me to give you something, when we found you," he says, and you notice he's blushing.
He gets up and you raise your eyebrows as he sits down next to you.
He leans in and presses a kiss to your cheek.
You smirk, and turn, capturing Spencer's lips in yours, placing your hands on his cheeks lightly, not enough to force him, but enough to keep him steady. He leans into you, kissing you back.
He places a hand on your thigh and you gasp in surprise, allowing your mouth to be plundered by Spencer's tongue.
Spencer pulls away and coughs, but he doesn't move away from you, he just looks away. You smirk, but you don't force yourself on him, sitting next to him.
"I should tell everyone who's the unsub," Spencer says, clearing his throat. You smile, and kiss his cheek.
"I'm going to get dressed," you say, leaning over him. "So, they don't get any wrong ideas…" He blushes and you lean down, kissing him hotly one more time before walking away.
236 notes · View notes
weclassybouquetfun · 3 years
Video
youtube
Netflix’s Film Fam is slated to make an announcement tomorrow.  I’ll take a wild guess, but looking at the actors in the vid, we will see trailers or teasers for 
THE HARDER THEY FALL starring Idris Elba, Regina King, Jonathan Majors and others. 
Tumblr media
RED NOTICE with Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot. 
Tumblr media
Zack Snyder’s ARMY OF THE DEAD with John Bautista, Omari Hardwick, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tig Notaro and Ella Purnell. 
Tumblr media
THE KISSING BOOTH 3 starring Joey King; TO ALL THE BOYS I LOVED BEFORE 3 : ALWAYS AND FOREVER, LARA JEAN with Lana Condor and Noah Centineo. Since EXTRACTION 2 has only been announced, maybe Hemsworth is featured to promote how well the viewership was for the action film. 
If that’s the case, I demand inclusion of THE OLD GUARD considering it did as well and it won Best Superhero Film at last night’s Critics Choice Super Awards. 
Yes, it’s a real award. Yes, it means as much as a MTV Movie Awards, which is to say it means nothing.
Tumblr media
But they did honor Amazon’s THE BOYS, Aya Cash and Antony Starr (2 awards: Best Villain and Best Actor in a Series), so, the voting body has great taste. 
Tumblr media
Although Amy Adams can be currently seen in the much maligned HILLBILLY ELEGY on Netflix, she is likely included because Netflix will run WOMAN IN THE WINDOW, the last film from the shingle that was Fox 2000. 
THUNDER FORCE with Melissa McCarthy and Olivia Spencer.
Tumblr media
and YES DAY with Jennifer Garner and Edgar Ramirez.
Tumblr media
Did Edgar discuss with Jennifer about how his bestie Ana de Armas is dating her ex-husband?
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
- In non-Netflix movie news: Sony is moving MORBIUS from March 19th to October 8th.
With the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out being slow going, at least in the U.S., there are concerns that theaters will not be able to return to business any time soon. Once again there is talk that BLACK WIDOW will get a Disney+ release with premium access (a’la MULAN) and a theatrical release.  
The first major release that is due to roll out is Sony’s CINDERELLA starring Camila Cabello, Idina Menzel and Billy Porter. But with no poster, no teaser or full trailer, this release looks doubtful. 
Tumblr media
- What I miss about not getting the physical version of the trades is that I’m missing out on the full-page For Your Consideration ads.  Cheaper for the studios, yes, but these banner and sidebar ads just don’t cut it.
Like these for Bleeker Street’s SUPERNOVA starring Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci. 
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
The Hollywood Foreign Press is trying to clean up its image as a bunch of sycophantic star f*ckers posing as journalists, so they’re putting their feet down and are trying to quell category fraud.   They have forced Bleeker Street to take Tucci out of Supporting and run him alongside Firth in Lead. 
Tucci, drinking it up, with his wife Felicity and his in-laws Emily Blunt and John Kasinski.
Tumblr media
The opposite, happened for the cast of Regina King’s ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI.  Kingsley Ben-Adir and Eli Goree wanted to campaign as leads with Leslie Odom Jr. and Aldis Hodge in Supporting. But the HPFA denied the request and will have them all run in Supporting. 
Tumblr media
41 notes · View notes
aion-rsa · 3 years
Text
Army of the Dead: Time Loop Theory Explained
https://ift.tt/eA8V8J
This Army of the Dead article contains spoilers.
It’s the most far-out moment in Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead: when Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer) finds the skeletons of another squad of “graverobbers” just outside the casino vault, Vanderohe (Omari Hardwick) asks the young safecracker an ominous question: “Is it another team or is it us, Dieter?” As the camera slowly pans over the corpses, we’re shown captivating evidence that Vanderohe might be on to something (or possibly knows something the rest of the team doesn’t). One skeleton has Scott’s (Dave Bautista) red scarf, while another died wearing necklaces that look identical to Maria’s (Ana de la Reguera). A third skeleton wears the same Hawaiian shirt as Peters (Tig Notaro) in an earlier scene in the movie.
The very first skeleton that appears on camera? One wearing a backpack and scarf just like Vanderohe’s. The corpse is holding some kind of cutting tool, suggesting it was this thief’s job to open the gate to the vault. Is it coincidental that our Vanderohe is also in charge of getting his gate open for Dieter? Boom!
“Think about it: us. I mean, look at them, it’s us,” Vanderohe says to Dieter and Guz in a surreal monologue that lingers through the rest of the movie. “It could be us in another timeline, and we’re caught in some infinite loop of fighting and dying, fighting and dying, fighting and dying. And Tanaka? Puppet master, Devil, God. And we — you, me, Guz, and the rest of the team — simply pawns in some perverse play where we’re destined to repeat our failures. And finally, in some mind-bending, ironic reveal, it all begins again.”
So, are the characters of Army of the Dead stuck in an infinite time loop? It certainly would fit in with the rest of the bonkers twists in Snyder’s insane new take on the zombie genre, which also features theories about alien pathogens, conspiracies about robot zombies, and a secret plan to build the ultimate undead army. By the time Vanderohe shares his theory with the rest of the class, it’s clear this movie exists in tinfoil territory.
Of course, like with many of the movie’s key mysteries, we’re never actually given an answer to the time loop question, and the audience is meant to believe that everyone except Kate and an infected Vanderohe has died at the end of the film. If you’re down with a nihilist interpretation of the ending, then you probably went to bed last Friday night certain that Scott and the rest of his team had died in vain, and that Mexico City would soon hear the death knell of Snyder’s cruel zombie universe.
But the director says not all might be as it seems. When asked by The Film Junkee about the time loop theory, Snyder replied that there was other evidence sprinkled throughout the movie that Vanderohe might be right, including a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot of another group of corpses sitting at a casino table as Scott and his team make their escape (it happens at about 1:53:26).
“I will also say that… there’s a chance – and I’m not saying this is 100% true, and in some ways it’s not – but the group at the table, I mean, it’s pretty subtle, but that’s them also at the table as well as… they get farther every time … possibly… Is this the time they made it all the way to the money?”
One Twitter user posted a thread of some other teasers you might have missed. For example, the body meant to resemble Maria at the vault has a necklace with a three-hole skeleton key, while Reguera wears a four-hole skeleton key during the events of the movie. Does this mean we’re actually watching the team’s fourth attempt to complete the mission? Richard Cheese seems to think so:
“Are you ready boys, a-one, two, three….four” pic.twitter.com/LZCWf2DpjA
— Sam (@SamParkerMetal) May 22, 2021
The planning montage before the actual heist also features a slightly different vault door than the one Dieter eventually opens during the mission, suggesting we’re actually watching a previous loop during the montage:
The safe in the montage is different to the real mission… 🤔 pic.twitter.com/V87TSuCaR9
— Sam (@SamParkerMetal) May 22, 2021
And while Vanderohe doesn’t appear to get bitten while fighting Zeus, the Vanderohe on the plane to Mexico City has clearly been infected. Are we watching the Vanderohe from another loop, or is this just a surprise twist designed to set up a sequel south of the border?
He never actually got bit by Zeus, was the epilogue a different timeline? pic.twitter.com/y4wlpte88L
— Sam (@SamParkerMetal) May 22, 2021
When the team enters the vault, we also see that there are already three AK-47s just like the one Guz is carrying inside, another weird coincidence teased in a promo picture (bottom right) released by Netflix months before the movie’s release:
Ultimately, there are no clear answers. Just more questions to be answered in future installments. As far as that’s concerned, Netflix already has two prequels planned for its fledgling Army of the Dead extended universe. One is an anime series that takes place at the onset of the outbreak in the city, suitably titled Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas. The other is a movie called Army of Thieves, which is directed by and starring Schweighöfer, who will reprise his role as Dieter. Will either of these installments shed light on Vanderohe’s time loop theory? Or will we have to wait for a proper sequel?
“I’d make it in a second,” Zack Snyder said of Army of the Dead 2 in an interview with Polygon. “What we have planned is too crazy. Once we knew Vanderohe was bit, and he’s going to Mexico City, I was like, ‘You know what’s gonna happen?’ And then I just went on a tear. And by the time it ended, Shay [Hatten, co-writer] was like, ‘OK.’”
Fifth time’s the charm?
Army of the Dead is streaming now on Netflix.
cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });
The post Army of the Dead: Time Loop Theory Explained appeared first on Den of Geek.
from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3oRWhFI
5 notes · View notes
thefandomlesbian · 3 years
Note
Can I have a hotchreid proposal?
You got it!
Read it here on AO3! 
...
"All them holy ghosts were laughing when I got down on my knees, and I gave you my confession: You mean the world to me." -"The World to Me," Freddy and Francine
Spencer sat across from Aaron. Aaron had lit the table in his apartment with candlesticks, illuminating the small room with firelight over the panseared steak he'd cooked. "You went over the top on this one," Spencer reminded him gently, his cheeks flushing. "This isn't even an anniversary." As he said it, it made Spencer what it was , if not an anniversary—surely there was a reason Aaron had slaved over this meal. Not a birthday, not an anniversary, not a reunion. Spencer ran through the dates. They'd celebrated their two year anniversary two months ago, and they were still months out from his birthday or Aaron's or Jack's (and besides, Jack wasn't here, so it couldn't have anything to do with him).
"No," Aaron replied patiently, "it's not an anniversary." He fidgeted with his fingers, thumb and forefinger tracing one another. Spencer watched carefully. Aaron self-soothed that way. "Maybe I just want to spoil you." I don't believe that for a second. Spencer licked his lips, analyzing Aaron's behavior, the way his brows twitched and eyelashes fluttered as he thought. Something's bothering him. "Dig in."
Spencer obediently picked up his fork and his knife, cutting into the steak, which Aaron had cooked perfectly to his taste. "You don't expect me to believe that, do you?" he asked as he picked up a bite of steak. Aaron gazed across the table at him. "That nothing's up. I know better than that." Aaron took a manila envelope from the pocket of his suit and placed it on the table beside him. "What is that?" Spencer pressed.  
"It's nothing," Aaron soothed.
Spencer's mind reeled. "Are you sick?"
"What? No, I'm not sick—" Aaron gave a breathy, nervous laugh. "I'm not sick, Spencer. Just eat, please?" A flush had risen to Aaron's cheeks in the candlelight.
"Will you tell me what's going on?" Spencer countered.
" Nothing's going on," Aaron reassured. Spencer shot him an anxious, baleful look. "Look—" Aaron cleared his throat. "I was—I was planning on doing this after dinner, but if it's going to worry you, I can do it now, okay?" Spencer's jaw shifted, watching as Aaron reached for the manila envelope and lifted up the silver tab, sliding out a stack of papers. "Everything is fine," Aaron promised him. Sliding a hand into the pocket of his suit, Aaron withdrew a small, velvet box.
Spencer's heart plummeted into the soles of his feet. No, no, no . Aaron couldn't hear the distressed cries in his head echoing through his veins like caves and tunnels, tunnels plunging all the way to his solar plexus and exhaling to the tips of his fingers and his toes. He descended into the abyss, free-falling, and no one could hear his shrieks of terror, not even Aaron, whose hickory eyes shone with anxious adoration as he got down one knee. "Spencer, will you be my husband?"
His throat closed up in panic. A terrified squeak emerged, not a word, just a sound, like a mouse caught in a trap desperately begging for release. Aaron's face fell, concern replacing everything else on his expression. Spencer took in the scene, something he would never erase from his memory—Aaron, on one knee, looking up at him with pure love and worry, worry because Spencer wasn't saying anything and that had to mean something bad because Spencer always had something to say, the candlelight flickering in the reflections of Aaron's dark eyes and the smile slowly vanishing from his face. "Spencer?" Aaron prompted, softer now.
He placed the open ring box on the table. The ring was beautiful, a hand engraved band with a single diamond imbedded in the silver. Aaron touched Spencer's kneecap.
The touch jerked Spencer back to reality as he realized Aaron wanted an answer, an answer that wasn't a squeak of terror but actually contained words. "No." Spencer's stomach flipped. He thought he would vomit on the spot. "No, I—I can't, I can't marry you, I—" He covered his mouth with his hand to keep from vomiting either words or chyme all over Aaron. His eyes glossed over with tears. He sucked in a desperate breath through his nose, but air seemed harder to come by than before, his chest filling but no oxygen circulating to the rest of his body. His fingers and toes were so cold, so cold—
Aaron covered his hand with his own, warming it, and something inside of Spencer shattered. "Okay," he said slowly, carefully, drawing up his seat behind him and sitting beside Spencer, not letting go of his cold hand. Aaron always knew what he needed. Aaron was always there. Aaron was perfect, and Spencer sat in front of him, tearing their lives to pieces. Aaron squeezed his hand, grounding him from the racing thoughts in his mind—Aaron could always see when his mind galloped to places it wasn't meant to see. "Can I ask why?"
It was such a simple question, one that Aaron arguably deserved the answer to—after two years, it seemed it was inevitable, this progression, that they would get engaged and then get married, because that was what people did. But Spencer didn't know how to answer it. He looked at Aaron with pleading eyes. Don't cry, don't cry, he begged himself, because Aaron wasn't crying, and Spencer had just destroyed their relationship in a single, monosyllabic word. Spencer chewed the inside of his cheek. "I—" His voice cracked, and he tried to clear his throat around it. "I love you, I just—" I love you, isn't that enough? Do we have to be more than that? Why? Why? Why? "My mom always said marrying my dad was the worst mistake she ever made in her entire life, he left, and she was so sick, and he still—he still came for every penny in her bank account and everything she owned and he took everything except responsibility for what he'd done—"
Aaron's brow furrowed. "If you want a prenup, I can make us one. I don't think that's unreasonable." He turned Spencer's hand in his own, lacing their fingers together.
"No, no, I don't want a prenup, I don't want to get married—" Aaron had been married and divorced once, and Spencer had seen that—Aaron had given Haley everything. She got the house, the better car, full custody of Jack, plus more than one hundred percent of the alimony and child support they decided on. Aaron wouldn't rake Spencer over the coals to extort money out of him in the event their relationship crashed and burned. Spencer knew that. He knew Aaron wouldn't hurt him. "I—Anything could happen—I don't want you to be saddled with me, that's not fair—"
" Saddled with you?" Aaron repeated, arching an eyebrow. "Spencer, I love you. I want to marry you because I love you. Do you understand that?"
"You love me right now—"
"Nothing could ever change that for me, you know that—"
"Will you let me finish?" Spencer snapped. "Please?" A single tear rolled down his cheek, and he closed his eyes to try to keep from shedding more. Aaron fell silent, his mouth hanging open as he seemed to try to find an argument before he acquiesced Spencer's request with a nod. After all, he had asked. He owed it to Spencer to let him finish speaking. "You have no idea what it's like caring for a psychotic. Much less while you also have a child—I was three the first time my mom slapped me, Aaron, because she thought I was a robotic spy."
"That's not going to happen to you," Aaron said firmly. "You're past the age—"
"I know the statistics! I do, I know them, and it might be safe, but it's not worth it. It's not worth it for what it would take from you, or for what I could do to Jack—"
"You would never hurt Jack."
"No, I wouldn't, but I would if I looked at him and saw Chester Hardwick, or if—if the voices told me he was an imposter hiding the real Jack. We don't know what could happen, and it's not worth it, it's not worth the risk."
"I think it is."
"I don't care what you think!" Spencer's voice went shrill. "It's my future. I gave you my answer." His heart floundered helplessly in his throat.
Aaron tilted his head. "What do you think would happen, with the way things are now?" he asked softly, his voice not rising at all, though Spencer had nearly shouted at him. "Do you think I would let you suffer alone? Or wash my hands of you just because there isn't some arbitrary piece of paper in the way?"
Spencer set his jaw. He'd had this plan in place for a long time—longer than he'd been with Aaron, since he was in college. "You don't get a say if you're not my relative. I—I'd institutionalize myself, and everyone would be safe." If that didn't work, Spencer had another plan, too, one he wouldn't share with Aaron.
Aaron's tongue started out across his lips. The look of hurt upon his face stung Spencer's soul. "Okay," he agreed quietly. "I'm sorry." He withdrew his hand from Spencer's. Without his touch, everything seemed colder. He tucked the ring box back into his pocket, and then he slid the papers back into the envelope. He pushed back from the table. "I… I'll give you some space. I'll see you tomorrow."
He sounded so small. Spencer hated himself for it. "Wait." His voice shook. He turned around to look at Aaron's silhouette in the candlelight. "What… What are the papers for? In the envelope?"
Aaron glanced down at the floor. "They're adoption papers. I thought we'd start the process tonight, so if anything happens to me in the field, custody of Jack would go to you, instead of the state. But—we can't pursue it if we're not married." Aaron had grabbed Spencer's stomach and ripped it out through his mouth and left him bleeding inside. "Goodnight, Spencer." Aaron opened the door and let himself out into the hallway. Wait, Spencer wanted to call after him, wait, we can talk about this, we can talk about it—
His lips and tongue were frozen, and he stared at the front door of his apartment long after it clicked shut, echoing with finality. What have I done? Spencer had promised himself for years, ever since his father left, he would never marry. He owed it to his mother to heed her advice, given in one of her rare moments of clarity as he helped her sort through the divorce proceedings wherein his father had refused to appear in person. He owed it to Aaron; Aaron didn't know what he was asking for. Spencer did know. Spencer knew how much it hurt to care for a psychotic patient full-time. It was dangerous. It was scary. It was hard work. He couldn't do that to the man he loved, or to his son, either. Our son. Spencer's belly flipped and turned, all sick on the inside.
Aaron had expressed concern before that, if something would happen to him, the state would take custody of Jack before Jessica got to intercede—or worse, on some off-chance that Jessica decided to wash her hands of him completely and stepped back. But Spencer had never dreamed Aaron would take a step like this, would ask this of him. How could he have anticipated this? Most people didn't trust Spencer to keep a plant alive. Aaron was prepared to trust him with the life of his child, trusted him so much, loved him so much to place that upon them.
Aaron had given Spencer an invitation into his family. And Spencer had stomped on it.
Spencer never presumed his role in this relationship. Aaron and Jack were a family; he was the new boyfriend. He wouldn't say he liked it that way, but he was comfortable there, comfortable being the new boyfriend, not the step-dad or anything else, and yet—knowing Aaron had thought of it, had planned on it, had an ideal future in which Spencer was one of them… It burned and smoldered inside of him, that he had thrown that away.
I made the right decision . It didn't feel like the right decision. He needed someone to tell him it was.
He picked up his phone and called out to Bennington. "Hi," he said, "can I… can I be connected to Diana Reid, please? Room 302." The operator pushed his call through, and after a few rings, his mother's voice greeted him from the other end of the line. "Hi, Mom, it's me."
"What's wrong, honey?"
Spencer sat at the kitchen table over a mostly untouched meal his boyfriend had cooked for him out of the goodness out of his heart, and he hung his head, tears rolling down his cheeks. He couldn't push the tremble out of his voice when he looked at the mashed potatoes and the steaks and the green beans and everything Aaron had slaved over to make this night special. Oh, it was so special, it was so fucking special, it would go down in history as the night Spencer broke the only person who cared about him and threw away his only opportunity for a family, for a future. "I… I think I made a mistake, Mom," he whispered. "And I think I might not be able to fix it."
"Tell me what's going on."
Spencer cleared his throat, and then, carefully, slowly, he recounted the night. "He looked," he whispered, "he looked the way a balloon looks when you let all the air out of it. All shriveled up." Aaron would never forgive him—their relationship wouldn't be the same. Spencer couldn't come back from this. How would they recover? Aaron would spend his days feeling he wasn't good enough to marry Spencer, or that Spencer didn't trust him with his future. And maybe it was true. Maybe he didn't trust anyone with his future. Maybe he knew he'd made so many mistakes with his mother, consenting to her care when he didn't know enough, when he didn't have the skills, when he didn't know what was best for her, and he couldn't stand the thought of Aaron living with that same guilt. "Did I do the right thing?"
"Spencer, you're a moron."
The blunt affect didn't catch him off-guard, but he still gave a breathless, teary laugh; hearing her speak to him in her no-nonsense way broke him from his spell of dwelling. "Defend your position?" he asked. She wouldn't make an assertion without evidence, even if the assertion was that he was an idiot.
"You've got a man who already lost everything. He loves and trusts you enough to welcome you into his family and to care for his child. You can't just throw that away based on principle, or some crackheaded advice I gave you twenty-five years ago."
"You think so?" Spencer's voice shook. "What if… what if he changes his mind?"
"I've seen the way the man looks at you, honey. He's not going to change his mind." Spencer paused, licking his lips. "You know what you need to do."
"Yeah," he whispered. "Yeah, I do." Butterflies erupted in his tummy, not the good kind, but the kind which tore through him and stirred his anxiety into a hive of bees. "Thanks, Mom. I love you."
"I love you, too, honey."
Spencer didn’t think any longer for fear he would talk himself out of it. He ended the call, pulled on his shoes, and headed for the door. Thunder pealed in the distance, and as he ducked out of the apartment building, rain cascaded upon him. He had no umbrella. Using his hands to protect his face, he jogged to his car and climbed inside. He jutted his key into the ignition and turned it. The engine sputtered and died. He turned it again, and this time, it didn’t even turn over. Spencer breathed a string of foreign curses under his breath as he withdrew the key.
It came with driving classic cars, of course, that sometimes they encountered issues he couldn’t anticipate, and he was sure he could fix it tomorrow when it wasn’t raining and he had time and he wasn’t trying to save the only relationship in the whole world that mattered to him—but for right now, he didn’t have time for any of that.
Sliding out of his car, Spencer tucked his keys into his back pocket and trotted to the sidewalk, heading up the hill. The bus stop was only two blocks away. The rain surged in torrential sheets. Lightning illuminated the sky on occasion, and each crack of thunder pierced his ears from within. He had nothing to protect himself from the elements, and quickly, his clothing soaked all the way to the skin. Jaw chattering, Spencer ducked beneath the narrow shelter at the bus stop. The rain still pelted and sprayed from outside. The bench held a puddle that Spencer didn’t see until he sat in it.
He sat there, shivering and jittering, for a few minutes, until a homeless man pushed his buggy up behind him. “Young man,” breathed the man, and Spencer turned, expecting him to ask for money. “The bus ain’t running tonight. Crash up on Lakeview and Sycamore Streets. Big pile up. Traffic’s stopped. You’re gonna have to call a cab.”
“Oh.” Spencer reached for his pocket—but he’d left his phone at his apartment. He didn’t have any way to call a cab. Hell, he didn’t have any way to pay for a cab; he didn’t have his wallet, only a twenty dollar bill shoved in his back pocket.
The homeless man squinted at him. “Do you want a coat or something, buddy? You look kinda cold.”
“Er—no.” Spencer stood. His ass was soaked from the puddle on the bench. “Thank you—Thank you.” And, head down, he trudged up the street.
Spencer had done the math because he had traveled these roads many times. There were four point two miles from his apartment to Aaron’s following the quickest route—he could do it in about an hour, if he kept his pace up. Wheezing and puffing and shivering and wondering if the universe was punishing him for his poor decision-making, he trudged onward, the wind battering him backward and the lightning providing illumination as he proceeded.
Twenty blocks later, he ducked into a flower shop, where a somewhat harried old woman regarded him behind her bifocals. “Er—” He was dripping all over her floor. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “Um—” He didn’t take a step off of the front rug. “How do I say ‘I’m a moron, I was wrong, I messed up, I do want to be part of your family, and I love you’ in flower?”
She tilted her head. “Columbine for folly, heliotrope for eternal love and devotion, speedwell for fidelity, ivy for enduring family ties… given the context of what you’ve just said to me.”
“Great, great, could I…”
She raised her eyebrows. “Don’t move, Aquaman. I’ll come to you.”
He left twenty dollars poorer with a very bizarre cluster of flowers all wrapped up in plastic, and as he checked his watch, he picked up into a run. Jack was at a friend’s tonight for a sleepover, but Spencer wanted to catch Aaron before he went to bed--he wanted to catch him at home, awake, eating a dinner that would certainly be considered subpar compared to what currently sat on Spencer’s table getting cold surrounded by lit candles he hadn’t bothered to blow out before he ran out the door in his haste.
By the time Spencer reached Aaron’s apartment, he had more than one stitch in his side. The gales had tarnished his sodden hair and clothing and cast his flowers askew even under the plastic. He shivered from head to toe. His whole body refused to work together as a coherent whole, nothing but a series of jagged movements and jerks. When he stopped in front of Aaron’s apartment door, large black spots danced in his vision. His stomach flipped, and he didn’t know if it stemmed from exertion or from anxiety, but regardless, he wondered if he would vomit.
He knocked. One one thousand two one thousand three one thousand four one thousand five one— The door swung open. “Spencer—what the hell happened to you?” This greeting didn’t surprise Spencer as he took stock of himself, quivering and soaked to the bone, dripping water everywhere, white with rosy patches on his cheeks, his hair slicked to his skin.
“I’m an idiot.” Spencer’s gasping, trembling voice caught him by surprise. “I—I—I— choo. ” He sneezed into the mangled flowers, and then he dropped to his knees, Aaron reaching to steady him or catch him, his face uncertain. “I was wrong—” He gasped for breath between short snippets of words. “I am so sorry, I’m—was stupid, I panicked, I—can’t--don’t--have a future without you, I want—a family—want our family—” Aaron looked all woozy around the edges of his figure. Spencer blinked to try to clear things up. It didn’t help. “I want to marry you, Aaron—will you marry me?”
Aaron grabbed him by the shoulders. “Of course I will.” He dragged Spencer back to his feet. Spencer stumbled into his arms and kissed him hungrily, like a man in a desert stumbling upon an oasis. Aaron was gentle and tender with him, his hands sliding under Spencer’s shirt.
Spencer flinched at the sensation. Aaron’s hands were hot on his pale, frigid skin. “I know—we’re probably supposed to—do that right now—but I just ran—like, four miles—in the pouring rain—”
Aaron gave a tiny, lopsided smile. “I’m not trying to have sex with you. I’m taking these wet clothes off of you, you hypothermic doof.”
“Oh—Okay, cool— a-choo. ” Spencer sneezed into Aaron’s mouth, and Aaron didn’t mind, and Spencer wondered if anyone else would ever have a love as good as this one.
If anyone ever asked, the pneumonia was absolutely worth it.
30 notes · View notes
brokehorrorfan · 4 years
Photo
Tumblr media
Rob Zombie’s Firefly trilogy - House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects, and 3 from Hell - will be released in a Steelbook Blu-ray set on September 8 exclusively at Target. It’s available to pre-order $29.99.
2003's House of 1000 Corpses marked Zombie's feature writing and directorial debut. Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon, Karen Black, Jennifer Jostyn, Chris Hardwick, Erin Daniels, Rainn Wilson, Tom Towles, Walton Goggins, Matthew McGrory, Robert Allen Mukes, and Dennis Fimple star.
Zombie followed it up with 2005’s The Devil’s Rejects, starring Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie, William Forsythe, Ken Foree, Matthew McGrory, and Leslie Easterbrook.
The trilogy came to a close with 2019’s 3 from Hell. Sheri Moon Zombie, Bill Moseley, Richard Brake, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Emilio Rivera, Pancho Moler, Dee Wallace, Danny Trejo, and Sid Haig star.
The Devil’s Rejects and 3 from Hell will be presented in their unrated cuts.
Tumblr media
The terrifying trilogy that follows the blood-soaked saga of the depraved Firefly family, including House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects, and 3 From Hell.
37 notes · View notes
bethhxrmon · 4 years
Text
do flowers exist at night? -prologue
Tumblr media
Prologue: October 24, 1984
Pairing: Steve Harrington x OC
Summary: Annie Hardwick’s seventeenth birthday is anything other than eventful. With only a cat for company, surely there is nothing Hawkins can offer aside from sheer boredom. That is, unless she happens to be unfortunate enough to deal with forces beyond her control.
Word Count: 880
Warnings: The tiniest drop of horror, family issues?
A/N: Howdy, it��s been a minute since I last published anything up in here. Hope y’all end up liking it, so far I’m enjoying writing it!
~*~*~*~
There was a click as the play button was pressed on the boombox and Queen blasted throughout the small house. A black cat stood at the doorway of Annie’s bedroom, meowing. The girl had just flopped onto her bed and glanced up before sighing, looking at the cat.
“Dinner already, Erik? You’ve got both of us eating like old people, it’s so early!” Annie exclaimed, setting down her beaten-up copy of Carrie on her nightstand.
After a few more mews, Annie got up from her bed and followed her cat out to the kitchen. The cassette she was playing could still be heard in the background. It was a rather small kitchen and dimly lit in the first place. She found the cat food, scooping some of it into Erik’s bowl. Then she looked through the refrigerator to find something for herself. When she didn’t see anything appealing in there, she closed it and looked through the cabinets.
The lighting was so poor that she almost didn’t notice the power switch off. It was only because she was humming along to the guitar solo in “Killer Queen” that she noticed something was off. There wasn’t any music and there wasn’t any light. Every fiber of Annie screamed for her to freak out, but she knew better.
She sighed to herself, “This is fine, the house is kinda old, this was gonna happen at some point. Just… it had to happen while you were stuck at home alone for, like, two weeks… or was it one or is it even two weeks now she’s been gone a bit?”
It was probably just a sense of dread and fear, but Annie couldn’t help feeling like the air was cold. She tugged her dark green flannel around her small frame. When she looked to Erik’s food bowl, she saw it was empty.
Her mind had to be playing tricks on her because it was suddenly snowing. Annie looked out the window, trying to catch the right angle to see if her eyes were playing tricks on her. Looking out, it had to be snowing, but since when? Something was off, and she pulled out a knife from one of the drawers.
“Um… Erik, are you there?” Annie asked, starting to shiver.
Then, in an instant, the lights flickered back on and everything felt normal again. Her black cat wove his way between Annie’s legs. She could hear her cassette was well into another song. Taking another look out the window, it was clear out, the sun starting to set.
For the moment, Annie decided to shrug it off. Maybe she just saw something. That didn’t explain the way the music cut out. It didn’t explain most things. She put the knife back in the drawer and went back to finding food.
It was probably just stress. Being moved around twice in less than a couple months was bound to cause stress. Anything to keep her from thinking that she was going crazy.
Realizing she wasn’t hungry right then, she went over to the stack of mail she left on the coffee table. She sorted through it, hoping there was something for her. If there were ever a time for her to get a card or something like that, today would be the day. Perhaps tomorrow, but today would be the most ideal.
There were three piles that Annie sorted the mail into. Pile one, the largest, was for bills and statements and anything her mom was supposed to deal with. Pile two, nonexistent, was for herself. Pile three, with a handful of unopened envelopes, was the burn pile.
All of the letters in the third pile were from the same person. Carter Hardwick had been writing to Annie ever since she and her mom moved to Hawkins. After opening one and reading it all the way through, she vowed to never put herself through that again. 
Burning things was rumored to have some sort of spiritual form of release or catharsis. The two probably went hand in hand, and Annie was more than happy to burn the letters without knowing the contents.
There was a box of matches that Annie knew her mom wouldn’t have wanted her to use on this, but no one was there to stop her. So she went over to the fireplace, opening it up. She struck a match and placed the flame to the handful of letters before tossing them into the fireplace. The paper turned black and shriveled up.
Eventually, she took a couple pieces of lunch meat and cheese and sat at the empty table. The music could still be heard from her room. It was dark outside and she tried to not look out. There were woods behind the back door, and she knew she would only scare herself if she stared.
Then, getting an idea, Annie went over to the coffee table and grabbed a cinnamon scented candle and put it on the dining room table. She pulled out the box of matches again, taking one and striking it. Soon, the candle was lit and the match was blown out.
She stared at the flickering light for a bit before pushing several strands of long, dark hair behind her ear, “Happy birthday to me.”
With that, Annie blew out the candle. All she could bring herself to wish for was to not feel so alone.
Taglist (let me know if you’d like to be added): @dungeons-and-demodogs​ @jxnehxpper​
35 notes · View notes
towatchnext1 · 3 years
Photo
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Zack Snyder Drops a Colorful New Army of the Dead Poster
Zack Snyder unveils a colorful new poster for his upcoming Netflix film Army of the Dead. While fans are still eagerly parsing every detail of his complete Justice League director's cut, Snyder is looking forward to Army of the Dead, his first zombie movie since his directorial debut, Dawn of the Dead. While not a sequel to that 2004 reboot, Army of the Dead presents a new look at the zombie genre while kicking off an original franchise for Netflix. The movie is slated for release on May 21, just over two weeks from now.
Army of the Dead is set in a world where Las Vegas has been cut off from the rest of the United States due to a zombie outbreak. Mercenary Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) leads a heist crew into the quarantine zone with an eye on stealing the $200 million that lies beneath a casino overrun by the undead, promising a thrilling and dangerous adventure for the group. Army of the Dead also stars a large ensemble that includes Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Theo Rossi, Raúl Castillo, Matthias Schweighöfer, and Tig Notaro.
With Army of the Dead drawing steadily closer, Snyder has unveiled another poster for the film. The neon-hued sheet reveals some of the members of Ward's crew assembled before that familiar image of zombie hands stretching upwards. "To get $200 million out, they're going all in," the tagline reads. Check out the poster down below.
he bright promotional materials for Army of the Dead are a long way from the black and white style Snyder adopted for his Justice League, but the former will surely hold plenty of his trademark moves. With Army of the Dead, Snyder is introducing fresh concepts to the zombie genre, such as undead animals and "alpha" zombies. At its center, though, it will be a rollicking heist adventure, and the new poster puts the focus on the humans pulling it off. No word yet on if all of them will survive, though.
Army of the Dead hasn't premiered just yet, but Netflix and Snyder have already begun developing new projects set within its universe. An animated prequel series called Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas is on the way, as is a prequel film titled Army of Thieves centered on Schweighöfer's safecracker Ludwig Dieter. In other words, fans don't have to go into Army of the Dead wondering if this is all they will see from Snyder's new franchise. They can just sit back and enjoy the ride.
2 notes · View notes
edwincullens · 4 years
Text
okay but you don’t know how many times i think about the first kiss scene as catherine hardwicke thought it before it changed because smeyer saw it and said it was too steamy RELEASE THE HARDWICKE CUT YOU COWARDS
34 notes · View notes
thedumpofrps · 4 years
Text
under the cut are #48 rp icons of gemma chan as bess of hardwick in mary queen of scots. all of the caps are mine, and while you can edit these as much as you want please credit me if you re-release them (@ me) and don’t add any donation links to anything you make with them. please like and/or reblog these if they help you at all. 
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
44 notes · View notes
housmania · 5 years
Text
TJLC Review: March-May 2019
Welcome back to the TJLC Review! Questions, comments, and additions are welcome; please check the About page (below) first.
FAQ   Jan/Feb 2019   Nov/Dec 2018   Oct 2018   Aug/Sept 2018   All Issues
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fandom News
The Game is Now released a video featuring Moriarty and new posters. It’s also opening a new bar, which led to some analyses:
Pictures of the mind palace bar, by @shelleysprometheus​
On the inspirations for the mind palace bar, by @devoursjohnlock
Three Patch Podcast released episodes on morality, non-Sherlock fun, and partying.
Sherlock and John’s blogs have been deactivated, but @sherlock has preserved them on Tumblr here and here.
Longer Meta
On rumors about dancing, by @keagan-ashleigh​
On the significance of pink, by @thelevelsman​
On John’s ASiP and TBB blog posts, by @thepersianslipper​
On confessions in HLV, by @sherlock-overflow-error​
On Sherlock’s vows, by @ebaeschnbliah​, with additions by @devoursjohnlock​
On Eurus’s song, by @finalproblem​
On the hiker in THoB, by @ebaeschnbliah​ and @sarahthecoat​
On the Blue Danube in TSOT, by @tendergingergirl, with additions by @ebaeschnbliah​
On the reasons for backlash against TJLC, by@thedoubteriswise
On chain symbolism, by @gosherlocked​, @i-believe-n-sherlock-holmes​, @221brainstorming​,
On Lestrade as a Sherlock mirror in TST, by @raggedyblue​ with additions by @i-believe-n-sherlock-holmes​
On early interviews and five-act structure, by @lesbianlondongrammar​
Mini Meta
On visual metaphors in TLD, by @devoursjohnlock
On queercoded characters’ behavior in TAB, by @watsons-tin-box
On Sherlock and John as heart and brain, by @thejohnlockoutlet
On doctored footage in TST, by @messedupsockindex
On Mycroft’s portraits, by @devoursjohnlock
On the green kitchen, by @thedoubteriswise and @garkgatiss
On fake explanations, by @the-sign-of-two with additions by @impossibleleaf
On angel tropes, by @redvanillabee
On vengeful apparitions, by @messedupsockindex
On Sherlock’s face in the pool scene, by @you-keep-me-right29
Moffat’s notes on John in ASiB, qtd. by @garkgatiss
On staring on the window, by @ferm-acid
On censorship, TAB, and S4, by @shinka
Meta on the Original Stories and Adaptations
On “Bohemia”, by @artemisastarte​
Holmes’s views on marriage and love, by @acdhw​
On The Stark Munro Letters and infatuation, by @materialofonebeing​
On ACD’s image in Memoirs and Adventures, by @acdhw​
On scientific knowledge at the time, by @artemisastarte​
On Holmes’s appearance, by @materialofonebeing​
Celebrating Granada Watson and Hardwicke’s role, by @astronbookfilms
On Holmes and Watson’s dates, by @sherloki1854​
On The Secret of Sherlock Holmes and Twelfth Night, by @nimwallace​, with additions by @may-shepard​, @gloriascott93, and @devoursjohnlock​
On a play that made Holmes/Watson canon, by @waitedforgarridebs​ with additions by @strampunch​
Sherlock Cast & Creators
Arwel Wyn Jones gave an interview about the wallpaper in the show. He also talked about what happened to the S4 skull painting.
Benedict Cumberbatch won a BAFTA for his role in Patrick Melrose. He’s also been cast in a new period drama, 1917.
Martin Freeman is getting a BAFTA career retrospective.
Did you write some cool stuff that I missed? Drop me a message and I’ll stick it in next month’s review. Check out the About page first.
Tags under the cut.  If you would like to be tagged or would like me to stop tagging you, please let me know.
@loudest-subtext-in-tv @hudders-and-hiddles @inevitably-johnlocked @shag-me-senseless-watson @warmth-and-constancy @jenna221b @marcespot @keagan-ashleigh @whtboutdeductions @tjlcisthenewsexy @devoursjohnlock @bluebluenova @euphoriccalliope @roadswewalk @heimishtheidealhusband @the-7-percent-solution @tendergingergirl @sagestreet @ebaeschnbliah @221bloodnun @garkgatiss @marcelock @gosherlocked @sarahthecoat @watsonshoneybee @victorianfantasywatson @raggedyblue @may-shepard @meta-lock @bbcatemysoul @artemisastarte @green-violin-bow @alexxphoenix42 @argoniumcloud @sherlocks-dimples @midnightcat167 @artfulkindoforder @violet-vernet @wibblywobblybowtie @appliedcontext @angel-loving-star @88thparallel @waitedforgarridebs @thegeyison@holmesianscholar @myladylyssa @a-ship-in-every-port @on-baker-street @mollydobby @thelevelsman @messedupsockindex @possiblyimbiassed @finalproblem​ @thepersianslipper​ @featuresofinterest​ @materialofonebeing​ @watsons-tin-box​ @thejohnlockoutlet​
83 notes · View notes
fuckyeahevanrwood · 6 years
Text
"No Bra, No Panties": How Thirteen Defined A Generation Of Women
Catherine Hardwicke was paid $3 on Thirteen — $2 for the screenplay, which she co-wrote with actress Nikki Reed (then 13), and $1 for directing. Fifteen years later, that film stands out as a still-potent cultural milestone for women who grew up in the early aughts — a searing snapshot of the twisted, painful turmoil of being a teenage girl, without the redeeming after school special epilogue. Thirteen spoke to us, not at us. 
“I was a first time director,” Hardwicke said during a Refinery29 roundtable for the landmark movie's anniversary— the first time Hardwicke, Reed, and Evan Rachel Wood have been together since its release. “All the characters are women, and it was going to be rated R and about a teenager. That does not check the boxes for any studio.”
So, in her pursuit to get the film made, Hardwicke worked for nothing and poured whatever money she could into production. The filmmaker, who would go on to direct the first installment in the massive Twilight franchise, used her own furniture as props. Her car makes an appearance, as do some of her clothes. She and the cast, including leads Wood and Reed, slept in the rented house in Los Angeles where they filmed, often in the same bed. (Since then, the film has turned a profit — Hardwicke says she received a check for $18,000 two months ago.)
All of this — the paltry $1.5 million budget, the whirlwind one month summer shooting schedule — contributes to the raw, dizzying atmosphere of Thirteen, a dark and gritty take on the experience of being a teenage girl at a time when the only cinematic alternatives were Freaky Friday and The Lizzie McGuire Movie. Harmony Korine’s Kids — perhaps the closest example in terms of impact and subject matter — had come out nearly a decade before.
I vaguely remember the circumstances under which I saw Thirteen. It was likely a hot, humid early September day in Montreal — the kind that would make my best friend and I seek refuge in one of the city’s downtown movie theaters. I was 13; my best friend was days away from her own 13th birthday.
What I vividly recall are the feelings the film elicited. I remember being terrified, a fear I couldn’t exactly name, but which gnawed at my innards as I watched Tracy Freeland (Wood) morph from a prepubescent innocent into a sexualized harridan who hides her tongue and belly button piercings from her mother. Would I be like that? Should I be? I remember feeling seen, recognizing how intimate a relationship between two teenage girls can be. I remember squirming at the scenes showing interactions with boys, things I was starting to think about but couldn’t imagine myself actually going through. 
Of course, none of these anxieties were voiced as the lights came up, and my best friend and I wandered back out into the haze of the afternoon. But Thirteen had made its mark, as it has on countless women of my generation.
I wouldn’t learn until years later that the film was helmed by women. The script emerged out of a collaboration between Hardwicke and Reed, who had a personal connection: Hardwicke had been in a long-term relationship with Reed’s father and thought of her as a surrogate daughter. They kept in touch after the breakup, and Hardwicke started noticing that something wasn’t right with Reed. Much like Tracy, she was acting out, rising rapidly through the ranks of popularity at her West L.A. school. And then her friends got busted for selling crystal meth.
In her concern for Reed, Hardwicke invited the teen to her Venice Beach home. It was there that over a six-day period in January 2002, the pair wrote the script that would become Thirteen. In the aftermath, they made a pact: If Hardwicke could get the film into production, she would direct it, and Reed would star in it.
Still, the road ahead was rocky. An R-rated movie co-written by a teenager with female leads wasn’t exactly an easy sell. Securing funds wasn’t easy for Hardwicke, who was then working as a production designer in Hollywood, and had no prior directing experience; Reed, meanwhile, had never acted onscreen, and the screenplay was her first. It wasn’t until Holly Hunter, who would go on to be nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Tracy’s mother, signed on that the project finally got off the ground. After an acclaimed premiere at Sundance, where Hardwicke won the top directing award, Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired the film for distribution. Thirteen was released in five U.S. theaters on August 20, 2003, and grossed $116,260 opening weekend. But the salacious subject matter resulted in word-of-mouth and heightened press coverage, especially for the teen leads. By its third week of release, Thirteen’s gross had increased by 622%, as did the film’s reach, as it went on to screen in 73 theaters, and then up to 243, for a total domestic gross of $4.6 million. 
But the value of seeing oneself represented on screen is something that’s harder to quantify.
“It takes women to tell female stories,” Reed says during the interview. This is something we’ve heard many times as Hollywood grapples with the way the industry historically treated women, as well as the systemic inequality that has resulted in a still-egregious gender gap.
Thirteen was an extreme portrayal of the alienation of an especially troubled teenage girl. But that hunger for an outlet for those complicated emotions is universal. “I had a need in me, like Tracy, to just explode,” Wood said. “And acting was something I did so that I could do that. I felt like I couldn't do it anywhere else.
”If it’s been a while, here’s a quick recap: Tracy Freeland (Wood) is a good girl. She gets straight As, loves golden retrievers, and wears her fair blonde hair in cute dual buns. But that doesn’t mean everything’s rosy. Her poetry is an intense, poignant exploration of early teenagehood. Her single mother Melanie is a recovering alcoholic who runs a beauty salon out of her kitchen, and though she’s an attentive parent, she’s overwhelmed. And Tracy’s father (D.W. Moffett), constantly behind on child support, is too focused on his new family and new job to care very much. Tracy copes by locking herself in the bathroom and resorting to self-harm, an act that was shocking to many at the time. But not to Wood.
“I hadn't really done drugs,” she said. “I was a lot of talk, sex-wise, but wasn't really doing much. But the emotions, and that feeling of frustration and being lost and angry, and the dynamics with the family and the cutting — those were things where I was like, ‘Oh. I know what this is. Like, I understand this really well.”
“That's one of the reasons why I wanted to do it too,” the actress, who recently testified before Congress about a sexual assault that led her self-harm and two suicide attempts, explained. “Because I was like, I didn't know cutting was a thing until I read the script. And that's when I was like, ‘Other people do this?’
”So, when classmate Evie Zamora (Nikki Reed) comes along with her jeweled cross necklace, long glossy hair, and jeans so low you can see her thong peeking out, Tracy is already primed for some acting out. It would be easy to paint what comes next as black and white — and in fact, many of the film’s critics did so at the time. Evie and Tracy strike up a friendship, which leads Tracy down a bleak path of drugs, questionably consensual sexual encounters, illicit piercings, and shoplifting. But the truth is more complicated. In her own way, Evie is as vulnerable as Tracy. She lives with a woman named Brooke, sometimes referred to as her guardian, other times her cousin, whose main occupation seems to be recovering from Botox injections and getting drunk. She doesn’t care what Evie does with her time, as long as no ones calls the cops. With Evie by her side, Tracy upgrades to It Girl status at school. But that comes at the expense of her grades, her relationship with her mother, and even her own mental health.
The acting is fantastic. Seasoned child actress Wood, who would be nominated for a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award, handles Tracy’s descent into hell with fiery zeal, concealed under angelic looks. When, towards the end, she’s wandering Hollywood Boulevard in a crop top and smeared black lipstick, drunk, she looks like a nightmare version of herself, her inner turmoil having taken over. It’s a duality that would come into play later in her career, as Dolores, the mild host-turned-avenger on HBO’s Westworld. Reed exudes an uncomfortable degree of sexuality for such a young woman, but there’s also a sadness to her, a need to be loved. And as Melanie, a mother who loves her daughter fiercely, but is blind to the scope of what’s going on behind her closed bedroom door, Hunter quivers with anger, anxiety and concern.
Watching the film for the first time as an adult, I was amazed at how avant-garde it feels.
The central relationships aren’t romantic in nature. Instead, the film focuses on the dynamics between female friends and mothers and daughters. That fraught connection between Tracy and Melanie is one that we’re only just starting to see again, in films like Lady Bird, and, veering sharply into supernatural horror, Hereditary.
Evie and Tracy’s friendship is complex and intense, vacillating between almost sensual devotion and cruel rivalry, especially where Melanie’s affections are concerned. That need to be utterly consumed by one’s best friend while grappling with latent jealousy is so specific to young women of that age, and a dynamic that’s rarely portrayed, even today.
It’s so true to life that while filming, Wood and Reed developed a rapport that mirrored the one they were portraying on screen. “There were moments that I was completely in love with you,” Wood, who came out as bisexual in 2011, told Reed.“
We had this kind of innocence about our relationship that was so personal to us,” Reed responded. “It was ours, and it was so real [...] And then, because a lot of that was in the movie, when it became something that the press could talk about, suddenly it was like our actual relationship, in a sense, was put out there for people to talk about.”
As often happens in Hollywood, especially where young girls are concerned, the stars were held up for comparison by the press. Who was cooler? Who was hotter? Who would have the best career? Things actually got so acute that, like Tracy and Evie, the two drifted apart, not speaking again until nearly a decade later.
“We had to talk about it when we were 25,” Reed said. “I actually went to [Hardwicke’s] house, and I said, ‘You know, I haven't talked to Evan in so long, and I really miss her.’ You gave me her number, and I said, ‘Do you think she would even want me to call her?’ You were like, "Yeah. You guys are in such a similar space.’ We had both gotten married. I called [Wood], and it was so cool. [She was] like, ‘What are you doing tomorrow?’"
Still, Thirteen is best remembered for its shocking scenes — and there are many, including the opening shot, which shows Evie and Tracy sitting on a bed, huffing paint and punching each other in the face, laughing. A provocative confrontation later in the film shows Tracy bragging to her mother that's she's not wearing a bra or panties. 
In one memorable moment, Evie and Nikki seduce an older neighbor, played by then-27-year-old Kip Pardue, who reportedly wasn’t aware that the actresses were 14 until he showed up to shoot. “‘He was in shock,” Hardwicke said.” I was trying to talk him down off the ledge, ‘Look, we're going to be safe. I'm going to be there, the teacher's going to be there. It's all gonna be cool.’"
Ground rules were established: A studio teacher was present at all times, sitting behind the couch the three were kissing on. “Couldn't touch the nipples,” Wood recalled. “Couldn’t touch the top of Kip’s pants.”
All the same, the final film was extremely controversial, so much so that, Hardwicke said, juvenile court judges and directors of rehab centers, accompanied her at Q&As after early screenings so parents could voice their concerns.
“Three mothers stand up: ‘My daughter would never do that,’ she recalled. “And then the judge would say, ‘Excuse me, this movie is mild. Not one person got pregnant. No one got in a car crash, no one [died by] suicide. Nobody died. I see much more elevated cases in this every single day.’”
“I found myself in a weird position where I was being asked to be sort of the spokesperson for teen angst,” Reed said. (A clip from her 2003 appearance on Ellen shows her on the defensive, explaining that she’s a straight-A student: “I just got my report card.)
Both Reed and Wood are parents themselves now. Reed and husband Ian Somerhalder have a one-year-old daughter, Bodhi Soleil. Wood’s son Jack, from her previous marriage to actor Jamie Bell, is five. “I'd show it to my son,” she said of Thirteen. “ I think boys need to be watching more female-centric films anyways, so they have a better understanding about women, and opposite sex.”
Still, they now feel they have a deeper understanding of the visceral reaction adults, particularly parents, had to the film at the time. “I see it all differently,” Reed said. “I’m totally terrified, and I’m also really grateful for it. I feel like I have a really good understanding of some of the things that are going on.“
The movie helped open the door for Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why, which graphically depicts scenes of sexual assault, self-harm, and suicide, and even to a certain extent Eighth Grade, Bo Burnham’s film about the inner life of a 14-year-old girl who turns to the internet to compensate for the feelings of inadequacy she’s facing in the real world.
The lack of social media does date the film, as does its inability to really grapple with race and privilege. As a white middle-class young woman, Tracy is afforded the benefit of the doubt, not to mention a second chance. If she’d been a woman of color, she might never have recovered from her year-long bender. In fact, the only people of color in the film are the guys that Tracy and Evie alternately hook up with, and buy drugs from, a setup that is particularly iffy in hindsight.
Overall, however, Thirteen holds up in a way that never would have seemed possible to Hardwicke or Reed at the time they wrote the script. The impact it has had over the last 15 years far exceeds its original reach. Hardwicke’s $3 payday went a long, long way.
“Literally the other day, a woman came up to me, she's like 28 or 30, working at a cool company, Hardwicke recalled. “She goes: ‘You know what, I saw Thirteen,’ and it scared her straight. She never drank or smoked in her life, or did any drugs.”
“I don’t know if there will ever be anything quite like it,” Reed said. “It was kind of just magic.”
If you or someone you know is considering self-harm, please get help. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
41 notes · View notes