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#80's teen comedies
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The Breakfast Club (1985) written, produced, and directed by John Hughes.
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rovermcfly · 2 years
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dame más by menudo
is in spanish but the lyrics are not important, is because ✨vibes✨
(yeah that's Ricky Martin, why?)
ahjdjd yeah I do believe this captures something about me for sure
Send me anonymously a song you think matches my vibe
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duranduratulsa · 2 years
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Up next on my 80's Fest Movie and TV Marathon...Sixteen Candles (1984) on glorious vintage VHS 📼! #movie #movies #comedy #teenmovies #sixteencandles #johnhughes #mollyringwald #michaelschoeffling #anthonymichaelhall #geddewatanabe #WhatsHappeninHotStuff #vintage #vhs #80s #80sfest #durandurantulsas4thannual80sfest
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The Private Library
... Of Fictional Men Mistress
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Welcome! This post serves as my digital private library... my most beloved collection. None of these works are mine, and all credit is due to the lovely and incredible minds that created these works of art; (which you will find next to their titles, once you choose a category). This is the home to my personal most favorites, and most beloved stories and fanfictions and blog posts I have read. I think about these daily... I adore these. They've made my life better. They've changed my life. They've kept me going during my lowest points in life, and I mean that. I reccomend all of these. These were written by the best writers in the world; true to character, perfectly immersive, so imaginative, feels like you are there.
All of these fanfictions, stories, character & show analysis, random tumblr posts, headcannons, and beloved writings of all types, will be listed in no distinct order, inside their categories. Please Enjoy; explore them all! 🖤🗝☕🥂
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The Majorety of these reccomends are for mature audiences, 18+, so if you are a minor, please DO NOT read through these reccomends yet.
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Choose a vinyl playlist!
What genre of fandom writing do you want to spin on the turntable???
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NOTE: NO LINKS ON THIS LIST ARE CURRENTLY ACTIVE! LISTS ARE BEING FINISHED, AND LINKS WILL BE ADDED TO THIS LIST ALL AT ONCE, VERY SOON. PLEASE CHECK OUT MY OTHER MASTERLISTS, PINNED TO MY BLOG, AND SAVE THIS GOODIE FOR LATER! 😉
• Favorite STARWARS Reccomendations: (The Clone Wars, Prequels, Sequels, The Bad Batch) Analysis / Headcannon / Fanfictions / NSFW & SMUT 🖤
• Favorite BTS Reccomendations: (mostly Taehyung, Namjoon, Yoongi, Jungkook, Jin, Hoseok) Analysis / Headcannon / Fanfictions / NSFW & SMUT 🖤
• Favorite TMNT Reccomendations: (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Bayverse Turtles, 80s, 2003 TMNT, Rise of the TMNT, 2007 TMNT) Analysis / Headcannon / Fanfictions / NSFW & SMUT 🖤
• Favorite MARVEL Reccomendations: (MOON KNIGHT, WandaVision, LOKI, Loki Laufeyson, Avengers, XMEN, Wolverine, VENOM) Analysis / Headcannon / Fanfictions / NSFW & SMUT 🖤
• Favorite LIE TO ME* Reccomendations: (Dr. Cal Lightman, Tim Roth *actor*) Headcannons / Fanfictions / NSFW & SMUT 🖤
• Favorite THE BOYS Recommendations: (Billy Butcher, The Boys Team) Analysis / Headcannon / Fanfictions / NSFW & SMUT 🖤
• Favorite MY HERO ACADAMIA Reccomendations: (Bakugou Katsuki, Todoroki Shouto, Kirishima Enji, Dabi) Analysis / Headcannons / Fanfictions / NSFW & SMUT 🖤
• Favorite Good Omens Reccomendations: (Anthony J. Crowley *The Demon*, Aziraphale A.Z. Fell *The Angel*) Analysis / Headcannons / Fanfictions 🖤
• Favorite "Warden" Hwajin Na *Get Schooled Webtoon* Reccomendations: Analysis / Headcannons / Fanfiction / NSFW & SMUT 🖤
• Favorite Tom Hiddleston Reccomendations: (Tommy Hiddles *actor*) Headcannons / Fanfictions / NSFW & SMUT 🖤
• Favorite What We Do In The Shadows Reccomendations: (Vladislav The Poker, Viago Von Dorna Schmarten Scheden Heimburg, Deacon Bruke, Stu, Nick "Twilight", Anton The Werewolf, Nandor The Relentless, Guillermo De La Cruz, Lazlo Cravensworth, Nadjia of Axtapos, Colin Robinson) Analysis / Headcannon / Fanfictions / NSFW & SMUT 🖤
• Favorite SHERLOCK Reccomendations: (Sherlock Holmes *BBC*, John Watson, classic sir arthur conan doyle books) analysis / fanfictions / NSFW & SMUT 🖤
• Favorite DC COMICS Recommendations: (BATMAN, The Batfamily, Nightwing, Robin, The Teen Titans) analysis / fanfictions 🖤
• Favorite Impractical Jokers Reccomendations: (The Tenderloins comedy troupe, Brian "Q" Quinn, Sal Vulcano, James S. "MURR" Murray, Joe Gatto) Headcannon / Fanfictions / NSFW & SMUT 🖤
• Favorite Portal Recommendations: (Portal, Portal 2, Wheatley, Chell, the Cores) Analysis / Headcannon / Fanfictions / NSFW & SMUT 🖤
• Favorite Ghostbusters Reccomendations: (Dr. Egon Spangler, Dr. Ray Stanz, Dr. Peter Venkman, Winston Zeddermore) Analysis / Headcannon / Fanfictions / NSFW & SMUT 🖤
• Favorite AVATAR (Na'vi) Reccomendations: (Jake Sully, Neteyam Sully) Analysis / Headcannons / Fanfictions / NSFW & SMUT 🖤
• Favorite Stranger Things Reccomendations: (Eddie Munson, Steve Harrington) Headcannon / Fanfictions / NSFW & SMUT 🖤
• Favorite Tumblr Posts: (random, deep & intellectual, movie, life, advice, or most comedic posts, that make tumblr the greatest platform of all) 🖤
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>>> Return to Main Masterlist?
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themosleyreview · 2 months
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The Mosley Review: Lisa Frankenstein
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Often the question the same question comes up in cinema. Why don't we have any more romantic comedies? Where are the quirkie coming of age films that tackle the age old themes of teen life struggles, social constructs within the popularity of each group or just the classic build up to a date to prom? Where are those films?! Well, here's a film that illustrates why that film genre has been buried and is slowing being unearthed. Like many of you, I enjoy a darker and off beat rom com from time to time and how it reflects the current youth lifestyle. Unfortunately, most of today's youth is online instead of in the real world. It was refreshing for this film to strip away modern tech and go back to the often romanticized era of the 80's and fully embrace the sorely missed awkward teen trope and macabre tone of early Tim Burton films. This film excels in that many times when it focuses on that vary grove it tries to stay in. Where it falters is in its weird pacing issues and lack of personal identity. It ultimately had nothing to say that I haven't heard already and it rushed its way through the magical nature of the heartfelt story that exists inbetween the seams.
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Kathryn Newton was fun as the shy and distant teen Lisa Swallows. What I liked in the beginning was her innocence and sort of quiet demeanor in the way she would interact with people in her life. For a few moments she had a mystery to her that gave her that needed silent edge. She was a teen of very little words and when she finally finds her confidence, that's when the character really comes to life. I wish we could've played with her psychological decent and how she copes with things. Liza Soberano was really perky and loving as her lively sister step sister, Taffy. I liked their dynamic and how Taffy is always lifting up Lisa from her more secluded nature and gets her to come out of her shell more. The chemistry between them was really good and made for a lighter version of an almost "Heather's" situation. Joe Chrest was good and essentially a little more attentive version of his character from Stranger Things, Ted Wheeler. Carla Gugino was fantastic as always and as Lisa's stepmother Janet Swallows, she was very much the wicked stepmother from Cinderella. Now the real standout of the film and the most charming character was Cole Sprouse as The Creature. His beautifully tragic story was told expertly in the opening credits and he was a joy to watch once he comes back to life. The physical comedy and sometimes micro expressions he made were brilliantly executed and I loved every second he was on screen. The chemistry between him and Lisa was the heart of the film and even though not a word is spoken from him, his intentions are clear. The two of them together bring out the Edward Scissorhands love story aspect of the film and it felt like a gothic fever dream at times.
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The score by Isabella Summers was good and serviceable, but I wish she leaned more into the horror a bit more which was also a problem with this film. For the majority of the film, I felt as if the film was really living its namesake. It was a greatest hits collection of all the best parts of the 80's horror comedies and early Tim Burton love stories that had so much heart, but this film failed many times to stay focused on those tropes. Where it was succeeding was when it would go down the implausible and fantastical fun of the love story, but it makes sharp turns away from it as things started to get more serious. The best way I could describe my feelings here is if you just look at the first trailer for this film. You get that exact macabre and comedic horror feel the film wanted to be. You get that, but it feels more watered down. Maybe if the film just focused on her coming out her shell and got rid of the stepsister and the other goth girl bully in the film, then maybe this would've been what that trailer promised. Also, I don't know if it was the theater I was in, but the sound mixing in this film was atrocious in the first 20 minutes of the film. The dialogue and score was turned down so low that I had to really focus on what was being said and I almost lost a god chunk of the story. Overall, this was a gothic rom com that had potential to be a new standout among the other same type of films we get each year, but I think it was bogged down by too many characters and the lack of expertise in the field. It could've been so much more. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!
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kyofsonder · 1 month
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If anyone's curious, this is my overly specific Dungeon Meshi AMV idea. Spoilers ahead, this idea hinges on me having read the manga and supplemental materials.
The basis of this idea is Marcille. Specifically, her age. It's been canonically stated that she's 50 years old, and that -- in plain numbers -- this equates to her being about 5 years old compared to a human lifespan. However, it's also been shown that at age 13, Marcille was the size of and dressed like a 2-4 year old and was still drinking juice out of a sippy cup. I'd guess that this means age 50 is further from age 5, developmentally, and closer to early or mid teens. Early 20's at oldest.
This still means that Marcille is the youngest of the group (aside from Izutsumi), but it also means that she's a literal 13-18 year old kid. Which is a fact that can be analyzed for days -- how it influences Marcille's choices in canon, how it affects her relationships with other characters, how we view those choices and relationships through the lens of creatures with an 80-100 year maximum lifespan ourselves, etc -- but it also lends really well to a trend from when I, myself, was a teenager.
I can't make AMVs myself. I didn't have that skill then, I don't have it now. But I still think it would be hilarious if a Marcille "I'm Just a Kid" AMV existed. The irony of that song and the associations with isolation and lack of autonomy and the pressures of vying for justice and fairness in a world that thinks you shouldn't yet know the meaning of the word playing over a slideshow of her more impulsive/childish "I have made things significantly worse for everyone" decisions and highlighting how she's just a kid in the "doesn't know the consequences of her actions and doesn't care because she hasn't had the life experiences to examine things outside herself" way would be really fun right up until near the end when it shows some of her actual emotional reasoning and speeches and reminds the viewer that all the associations of the song do in fact apply to her and her story arc.
I distinctly remember at least 3 anime series with kids as protagonists/major characters that got the "I'm Just a Kid" AMV treatment. It was usually angst, sometimes comedy, always compelling. The one for Toboe from Wolf's Rain left a significant mental mark, and the ones I saw for Ed and Al from FMA/FMAB made a lot of sense, for example.
It would be funny and poignant and perfectly Marcille and I'm slightly frustrated that I can't make it exist. I don't even know where I'd start -- or who I'd ask to make it for me.
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jimsmovieworld · 5 months
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TOTALLY KILLER- 2023 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Jamie (Kiernan Shipka) grows up in a town that was the setting of three teens being murdered by a masked killer in the 80's.
He returns in present day to kill her mum (Julie Bowen). Jamie time travels back to the 80's to prevent the original killings and save her mum...
Fun new horror comedy that plays around with the tropes of the horror genre. Slasher style killer inspired by Ghostface, Michael Myers etc...
Sharp script story wise, interesting twists and turns, original moments. The comedy doesnt always land but thought this was very good overall. Loved the opening kill with Julie Bowen, my highlight of the movie.
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lgbtpopcult · 7 months
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Indie Box Office: A24’s ‘Talk To Me’ Tops Hereditary, Bottoms Expands – Deadline
In its second weekend in theaters, MGM and director Emma Seligman’s teen comedy Bottoms broke into the top ten films for the weekend (no. 7) on 715 screens, a major North America expansion from a 10-theater opening last week. An estimated $3 million gross for the three days, and $3.6 million for the four-day Labor Day holiday (PSA $4,206 and $5,019 respectively) means the film will continue to expand, with about 1,200 screens planned for next weekend.
[...]
Back to Bottoms: It wasn’t a slam dunk that the raunchy comedy about two queer high school girls (Rachel Sennot and Ayo Edebiri) who start a fight club would play as well as it is outside NY and LA and into the burbs. But MGM said exits continue to be well above norms with 91% in the top two boxes and an 86% definite recommend, with the film playing both suburban and urban — and young. Audiences are 80% 18-34, and 48% between 25-34. MGM says social conversation around the film ranks among the highest volume of any theatrical comedy that’s opened this decade.
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mrjoeiconis-blog · 1 year
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From the Archive: BE MORE CHILL TRACK BY TRACK May 16, 2018: Hey, hi, hello. My name is Joe Iconis. I’m a writer and performer and, most notably, the person to blame for the music and lyrics of Be More Chill. I wrote the show, a musical adaptation of Ned Vizzini’s novel, with Joe Tracz and it premiered in a production at Two River Theater in New Jersey in 2015. A cast album was made and was enjoyed by the amount of people you’d expect to enjoy a cast album of a musical that played for six weeks in New Jersey. Then suddenly and without warning, after two years of release, people, in particular young people, discovered the show and became obsessed. One hundred million streams of our cast album later, the show made its Off-Broadway debut in summer 2018 at the Pershing Square Signature Center on 42nd Street, before transferring to Broadway!
Before we launch into the madness of a track by track breakdown of the Be More Chill OCR, let’s talk about the Be More Chill score itself, shall we?
The first thing that excited me about adapting Ned Vizzini’s gorgeous book into a musical was the opportunity to write about the issues teenagers face through a sci-fi lens. I’ve written plenty of teens before. I love that they wear their emotions on their sleeve but don’t always have the vocabulary to properly articulate those emotions. But here was an opportunity to not only delve into the minds of young people, but to tap into some of my favorite genre influences: monster movies of the 1950’s, Sci-Fi/Horror flicks of the 70’s and 80’s, and Teen Comedies of the 80’s and 90’s. In short: John Hughes (Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) meets John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing.) 
Be More Chill is a classic musical comedy in disguise. It reeks of technology and is filthy with moderns sounds, problems, references, etc. But make no mistake about it: The show is as traditional as they come. Well, sort of.
The songs themselves are total showtunes; it’s the orchestrations that place us firmly in the genre world.
As I’d write the tunes on piano, I’d dream about what they’d sound like when given the full 80’s sci-fi treatment, and Charlie Rosen’s orchestrations satisfied my darkest, quirkiest musical fantasies. We worked closely on the specific sounds of this score. Our holy grail (especially when it came to underscore) was John Carpenter film scores. John Carpenter has directed countless horror classics, but he’s also famous for writing his own film scores. He was an electronic music pioneer and his work is immediately recognizable.
Other sonic influences included Oingo Boingo, Bernard Herrmann, Weezer, Tangerine Dream, The Offspring, and contemporary musicians with a retro flair like Sky Ferreira, Kavinsky, and Johnny Jewel.
“Jeremy’s Theme” Written at Joe’s 16th Street Apartment 2012/Two River Theater Library, during rehearsals 2015 I’ve always thought of this as the music that would accompany the production logos in a horror movie. The “American International Pictures presents… A Roger Corman picture…” cards. It immediately places the audience in an unsettled place. Something bad is going to happen and that bad thing is going to be otherworldly. 
We’re actually cramming a lot of information into 30 seconds. Up top you’re getting the beep-bop-boop of computer circuitry. It’s the technological equivalent of a scary thunder storm in a creature feature. Next, our first synth line arrives. Hello, synth. Nice to meet you. Won’t you please overstay your welcome for the next two and a half hours? I drove Charlie slightly crazy in regards to the specificity of keyboard sounds I was looking for as I desperately wanted to be faithful to the Carpenter/Alan Howarth collaborations that inspired much of the score. 
The track culminates with The Squip theme, played gloriously on Theremin by Danny Jonokuchi. The Theremin is a vintage electronic instrument played by the Thereminist moving his hands through the air to control pitch and volume. That instrument was used most often in 1950s sci-fi movies like The Day The Earth Stood Still, usually to accompany the visual of an alien presence. 
We’re one of the only musicals to ever use a Theremin in its orchestration. Be More Chill is a show about kids obsessed with all things outdated and unloved and the show itself is obsessed with all things outdated and unloved! How very! (Heathers reference.)
“More Than Survive” Written in Joe’s 16th Street Apartment, 2012 After our eerie mini-overture, the audience expects to be confronted by a demon or a triffid or worse. Instead, we jump cut to the shockingly mundane sight of an average high school kid staring at his computer in his undies. I’m proud that the first event in the musical is our leading man being caught with his pants down. It establishes Jeremy us a decidedly unheroic hero and also kick-starts a theme of pantlessness that continues throughout the entire show.
The “C-c-c-c’mon” motif was one I came up with early on in writing the song. I wanted a repeated phrase that expressed the frustration of wanting things to move at an accelerated speed, and one that could also sound like the chorus of a pop song. I love immediately subverting the expectation of what Jeremy’s waiting for to load—“Is it a major homework assignment? A college application?” Nope, it’s porn! That moment establishes the spirit of Be More Chill right off the bat. It also makes for awkward car rides when kids listen to the album in the car with their parents. Sorry, not sorry.
In the actual show there are even more mini-scenes between Jeremy and the people in his life. I wanted this whole opening to feel cinematic and sweeping and place Jeremy in the center of a world that is swirling around him. Kind of like the “Head Over Heels” sequence in Donnie Darko. 
The first person who connects with Jeremy enough to actually earn sung musical material is Michael. Michael brings his own music with him because he’s confident and, quite literally, marches to the beat of his own drummer.
Will Connolly’s voice just kills me on the album. He sounds like the love child of Michael Jackson and Billie Jo Armstrong. 
Notice the little synth line underneath the lockers scene with Chloe, Brooke, and Jenna. It’s a quote of “Rich Set a Fire.” The little synth line underneath the first part of Michael’s scene? “Michael in the Bathroom.” The guitar line in the second part? “The Pants Song.” That audience has subconsciously heard so many melodies from the show before the first number is even over! Underscore is sneaky.
It should be noted that “More Than Survive” was the first song I wrote for the show. After sending it to Joe Tracz, I sent it to Jennifer Ashley Tepper, who is now one of our producers of Be More ChillOff-Broadway. She wrote back:
“I tried to listen to the Be More Chill song, got 60 seconds in, and got furious at everyone for all of the noise/ questions/ distractions at work... so I'm gonna go download these on my phone and sit outside or hide in the bathroom to listen. BRB!!!”
Hiding in the bathroom. That’s so Be More Chill.
“I Love Play Rehearsal” Written in Joe’s 47th Street Apartment, 2013 After hearing so much about her in the opening, this is the first time we actually get to hear from Christine herself. Charlie and I wanted her song to sound different from the angular computerized vibe of the rest of the score. Enter recorders! 
Everyone associates recorders with elementary school music class and/or Renaissance fairs. That felt correct for Christine, who is warm, strange, confident, free-spirited, and literally dresses like an authentic Renaissance Princess at the Halloween Party in Act II! So much of Stephanie Hsu’s performance informed the song itself—she’s a brilliant actor and a soulful singer and it’s impossible to not conjure up images of her live performance when listening to her on the album.
The placement of this song moved around a whole bunch during our writing process and the eureka moment was realizing that the song’s not literally about play rehearsal. It’s a song about passion and freedom. It’s not the typical way to be introduced to a leading lady in a musical, which makes it perfect for Christine and for Be More Chill, in general. 
The original second song in the show was an internal duet for Jeremy and Christine called “Touching My Hand.” It was about Jeremy pining for Christine and Christine wondering if she should go on a date with Jake. There was some nice character material for Jeremy, but it gave us information we already knew and it made the show feel like some cute romantic comedy. It also felt antithetical to the character to have Christine’s first real song moment be about a guy. That’s not her and we needed to respect that.
Note that the original full title of this song was “Why I Love Play Rehearsal By Christine Canigula,” which is very fussy and precious and I loved it but it’s too cumbersome and I knew that someone would inevitably make me change it so I just did it myself. (RIP Fussy, Too-Long Title That Joe Loved.)
“The Squip Song” Written at Joe’s 16th Street Apartment, 2012 It begins as a retro-sounding “cool kid in a ’90s movie” rock song (with some Oingo Boingo horns added in for good measure) and then turns full blown sci-fi/horror fantasia. And it all goes down in a bathroom. There are a lot of bathrooms in this musical. 
This song is the first time we hear the “It’s From Japan…” refrain, which repeats ten million times over the course of the show. Gerard Canonico is a powerhouse of the highest order and he turned this song from a serviceable musicalized scene into a show stopper. The optional octave up jump on the second “It’s From Japan” is all Canonico’s doing. We had to add the big ending (including a toilet flush on the final button) just because it was so clear people wanted to clap after Gerard finished doing his thing.
Props to Josh Plotner on the vocoder, yet another retro instrument that’s rarely used in theater orchestration. It’s what makes the weird digitized voice sound. People usually think that it’s a mic effect but it’s all done live! Old school, baby.
For those who care: Gerard’s pronunciation of the word “correctly” is a nod to The Shining’s scary bathroom encounter between Jack Torrence and Delbert Grady.
“Two-Player Game” Written at Joe’s 47th Street Apartment, 2013/Rewritten during rehearsals at Ripley Grier Studios, 2015 I enjoy writing songs where characters have to work through some major personal issue while doing an unrelated task. (Ahem, “The Answer.” Ahem, “Ammonia.”)
Here, the boys talk about self-worth and the desire to be somebody else while playing a video game. Of course, the video game is actually telegraphing the journey they are about to go on but to Michael and Jeremy it’s just another nothing-special hang sesh. When I wrote that little 8-Bit “Apocalypse of the Damned” theme that threads through the song, I was inspired by being a kid and plunking out the melodies to grandiose John Williams orchestral scores on my Casio.
The original version of this song was titled “Level Up” and it did a lot of what “Two-Player Game” does, just not as well. It also sounded exactly like a particular song by The Clash and once I realized how similar the two songs were, “Level Up”s days were numbered.
It should be noted that I am the world’s biggest stickler when it comes to rhyme. I’m super old-school in that I believe things either rhyme or they don’t; none of that “half rhyme” garbage. I think rhyme makes theatre songs easier to understand and actually heightens the dramatic intention of the lyric. Disgustingly, “Two-Player Game” contains an accidental fake rhyme. By the time I realized, it was too late to change the rhyme. Every time I hear it, I cringe, and you can pay me a million dollars but I won’t tell you what it is. 
“The Squip Enters” The grand entrance of our antagonist: The Squip. It was important to our radiantly talented director Stephen Brackett that The Squip’s entrance feel larger than life. His staging of the moment was dazzling, and I needed to write a cue that rose to that occasion. The Squip enters to music that is tastelessly huge, appropriately so. 
It should be noted that I wrote The Squip with Eric William Morris in mind and I’m so glad his iconic performance of the role is preserved forever and ever on the album.
“Be More Chill – Part 1” Written in Joe’s 47th Street Apartment, 2013  I had a lot of trouble figuring out the musical style of The Squip. First I went down a computer-y road, but that felt too in line with the sound of the rest of the show. Then I tried a sort of 1950’s Dick Dale Surf Rock take. (Mike Rosengarten’s nasty, relentless guitar line is a remnant of that version of the song.) 
Eventually, I settled into what currently exists. There’s a timeless cool, laid-back quality to The Squip’s music. It’s approachable and sexy but never too scary or affronting. This is seduction music. The moments where the vocoder is adding the spooky digitized element the melody line (“don’t freak out and don’t resist…”) is where The Squip’s true colors are peeking through the façade just a little bit. By the time we get to “The Play” he’s given up on trying to seduce and is just trying to conquer, so his music sounds different.
The whole “Be More Chill” section is really just a classic “make-over montage” sequence (it’s even set at The Mall!) so I took some musical inspiration from make-over and training sequences as well. Think Karate Kid, Dirty Dancing, The Breakfast Club.
A lot of people are bothered by the harshness of the “everything about you makes me want to die” line. To me, that’s the whole point of the show. The tone may be comedic, but the characters in Be More Chill are actual teenagers struggling with actual problems. I don’t think being depressed or suicidal is a laughing matter, but I do think sometimes people feel like there is a voice inside their head telling them to hurt themselves. It would be insulting and untruthful to pretend that a kid like Jeremy wasn’t struggling with these thoughts. 
The humor, the fantasy, and the harsh reality co-exist in every moment of the show. And, in my experience, in every moment in life. It’s about learning how to deal with it and knowing which of the many voices in your head you’re supposed to listen to. But we’re not at that particular song yet.
“Do You Wanna Ride?” Written in [memory temporarily scrambled] I have no memory of writing this mini-song, it just happened. It didn’t exist and then it did. Look, I made a spicy song about stopping for frozen yogurt where there never was a spicy song about stopping for frozen yogurt. 
Lauren Marcus’s interpretation is a gift from the theatre gods and is a testimony to her brilliance as an actor, singer, comedian and all-around magic person. The yodel, the riff at the end, all Marcus. She’s the Goldie Hawn of musical theater. 
“Be More Chill – Part 2” When I stumbled upon the idea of the “Everything about you is going to be wonderful” section, that’s when the song really clicked for me. After being berated for all the things he isn’t, Jeremy finally gets teased with the promise of unadulterated love and adoration. It’s the false promise of spam emails about penis enlargement pills or the aspirational Instagram accounts of the Kardashians. The idea of: “If you just do This, everything will be Perfect.” The musical equivalent of “Make America Great Again.” Cheerful, optimistic, secretly sinister. The writing and performance make me think that it’s a theme song for an awful 1980s sitcom that never existed in the first place. “Everybody Loves Squips!” maybe.
Props to Dan McMillan for aggressively hitting that gong at the end for a big finish. 
“More Than Survive” (Reprise) Restart! The show essentially begins again and we fast forward through another day at school, this time with notes and instructions from Mr. Super Quantum Unit Intel Processor himself.
The chorus goes into a reggae feel for a few measures at one point. The idea there is that sometimes things are the same but feel a little different and you can’t quite put your finger on why. The familiar feels unsettling. Reggae is a style of music associated with Michael, so I like thinking that maybe Jeremy has Michael on his mind in that one instant before Squip wipes the slate clean.
“A Guy That I’d Kinda Be Into” Written in Ripley-Grier Studios 2015, during rehearsal This was the last song I wrote for the show. I wrote it very quickly on a rehearsal break after not being able to nail this moment for years. I love that Christine gets this unexpected jangly little rock song as her second big number. 
Have you ever noticed how the female lead in musicals is often saddled with the most drag-ass songs? Part of my mission in musical theater is to never subject my female lead to an unmotivated obligatory ballad. 
It should be noted that Christine ends both this tune and “I Love Play Rehearsal” with an unexpected non-rhyme. Christine is a character who subverts our expectations of her at every turn. Gosh, I like her. 
“The Squip Lurks”  I’m eternally grateful we got to include this taste of underscore on the album. I’ve heard rumors that this plays in theme parks during the Halloween season. That’s the highest honor I could ever receive. 
The track name is a reference to “The Shape Lurks” cue from the Halloween soundtrack. And, yes, “Jeremy’s Theme” is also a nod to “Laurie’s Theme.” 
“Upgrade”  Written at a Two River Theater writing retreat, 2014 // Re-written at Ripley Grier Studios 2015, during rehearsal
The line “this is my favorite place behind the school” is one of Joe Tracz’s great creations, delivered incomparably by Ms. Marcus. I don’t know why I find it so funny but I laugh every time I hear it. I think it reveals so much about Brooke.
The notes of “Upgrade-upgrade-upgrade” in the first part of the song are the same notes as the pattern that begins “More Than Survive.” They are just a little scrambled up. The melody of “I already know what it’s like to be the loser” is the “Apocalypse of the Damned” theme song melody.
This song is notable as the first time the character of Jake sings in the show. Poor Jakey D. This is the only musical in history where the classically good-looking Prince Charming-type gets the least amount to sing. I still like the guy, though. It’s another testament to the brilliant Joe Tracz that a character like Jake, who could’ve been a one-dimensional asshole jock, is actually a kind, well-meaning popular kid. Dude can’t help that he’s pretty! Jake Boyd’s vocals are so sensitive and approachable and kind of remind me of Mr. Peanut Butter from Bojack Horseman.
The final chorus of the song is the same melody but we lose the swing and make it more of a driving rock. Damn. Things got not cute quick.
This song used to end with a long minor version of the “Na Na Na” theme from “More Than Survive.” It was very musically exciting and too long and did nothing to service the story and was cut.
“Halloween” Written at a Two River Theater writing retreat 2014 The Halloween Party is a mammoth sequence that begins Act II and I knew it needed its own theme song. I wanted to write a chorus that sounded like what it feels like to be shoved around in loud, hot, crowded room. The sort of song that would send anyone with social anxiety into a full-blown panic attack.
The Suburban Halloween Party is such a hallmark of the movies myself and my collaborators were inspired by and we endeavored to do those films justice and make the greatest Halloween party blowout sequence in musical theater history. Please note that when we wrote the show, there weren’t actually any other musicals with Halloween Party blowout sequences, so just by existing, we were automatically the greatest. Now we’ve got some competition. How fetch! (Mean Girlsreference.) 
There’s an element of group awareness in the “Halloween” lyric. “Cuz a Halloween party’s a rad excuse to put your body through mad abuse.” That’s because we’re experiencing the party through Jeremy. This is his first big social event and as much as he’s trying to be part of it, he’s still on the outside. He’s got a detachment that allows for a bit of perspective.
The dance break was arranged by Broadway legend Rob Berman! He based the melody line on a part of “Halloween” that was subsequently cut. It’s the “who’s got the peach Schnapps?!” section. I often add it back in when I perform the song in concert. 
Props to Amanda Ruzza’s propulsive bass line! Crank it up, crank it up!
“Do You Wanna Hang?” “Do You Wanna Ride?” strikes back! With new lyrics relating to Chloe’s Sexy Baby costume! Katie Carlson is yet another four-leaf clover in our incredible cast of musical theater misfits. Chloe is hilarious and monstrous without ever being a cartoon. She’s trying her best, just like everyone else, she just has… questionable taste. I’m so enamored with the way Katie does the final “Do you wanna stop?!” chorus. I think in that moment Chloe is trying so hard to be Britney Spears circa 1998. Which would almost work if she wasn’t literally dressed as an infant. There’s something charming and a little sad and completely hilarious about it to me. 
We never actually address the fact that Chloe is dressed as a baby (well, a “sexy baby”) in the lyric. In two million years all that will be left of this world will be a fat cockroach, a copy of the Be More ChillOCR, and a few confused aliens wondering what she means by “get inside my diaper, boy.”
“Michael in the Bathroom” Written at Joe’s 43rd Street Apartment, 2014 Many times as a kid and even more times as an adult, I’ve fled to the bathroom to escape a social situation. It feels like one of those no-big-deal things that everyone does and those are the exact sort of scenarios I’m drawn to when writing musical theater.
I’ve always been partial to the “Best Friend” characters. I want to know more about them and never understand why they exist only in the context of the lead character. In every show I’ve written I’ve imagined that when a secondary character leaves the stage, they’re walking into another show where they’re the lead. “Michael in the Bathroom” is the moment when the ultimate sidekick is allowed to take center stage and be the star of someone else’s show. I hope it makes the audience think about all the other secondary characters in the show like Chloe or Rich. They’ve probably all had their own “Michael in the Bathroom” moments over the course of the show, we just don’t get to see them. Oh how I long to write “Jenna in Her Bedroom.” Or “Brooke in the Alley Next to Pinkberry.” Maybe for the sequel.
George Salazar’s performance of the song is magic. It’s one of those miracle moments when a song and a performer connect in a specific way. The music and lyrics are a road map, but there are so many people who make the journey of a song like this happen. It all came together through a collaboration between myself and Ned’s characters and Joe’s book and Stephen’s direction and Nathan Dame’s musical direction and Bobby Tilley’s costumes and every other element that goes in to making any moment of theater. 
George is the first person to sing “Michael in the Bathroom” in the show itself, but while I was developing the score, the song was sung out of context by a few gents including Jason Tam, Seth Eliser, and Will Roland. They taught me much about the tune and I bow down to them.
I wrote the song in one sitting in 2014 and the content never changed, aside from the cutting of a short third verse right after the bridge. We cut it late in the rehearsal process in deference to the “too much of a good thing can be dangerous” rule of theater.
A few people have questioned my use of humor in songs that are otherwise quite serious. “Why do you have jokes in such a powerful song?” an uptight professor once asked. “Why is this hilarious showtune so stinking sad?” a late-nite comedian queried over drinks at McHale’s. The intersection of the comedy and the tragedy feels true to the human experience. The absurdity of having to work through things at the Worst Possible Moment is something I’ve experienced many times. Things are rarely all good or all bad but things are always messy. You find out you got into your dream school while you’re high at your racist grandfather’s funeral. You have to audition for a role on Stranger Things the same day that a mountain lion eats the family dog. (RIP Spot.) You have a panic attack while wearing a Halloween costume after fighting with your possessed best friend in the bathroom of High School Halloween Party. It’s all so forlorn and confusing and funny. To me at least. 
Charlie and I worked closely getting the arrangement just right. We wanted it to ebb and flow and sound like a pop song at first, never giving away that it will eventually turn into this tour-de-force musical theatre mad scene. I like when orchestration is at odds with the content of a song and doesn’t immediately announce what the song is about.
After going on this monumentally poignant journey, Michael undercuts it all with a spot of sarcasm, carrying on the great tradition of musical theatre characters who don’t really mean it when they say “I’m so glad I came.” (Follies reference.) The whole thing ends with the most sardonic cha-cha-cha ever to button a number.
“The Smartphone Hour (Rich Set A Fire)” Written at Ripley-Grier Studios, 2014 Jenna Rolan finally gets her moment of glory, unexpectedly, as the star of a seven-minute dance number. Katie Ladner’s turn as Jenna is so specific and inventive. She deflects the casual barbs thrown at her because she is not letting anyone ruin the time she gets to shine. 
I set out to write a song that dramatizes and activates the dangerous world that the Be More Chill characters exist in. We spend so much time with our kind, sensitive protagonists, it’s easy to forget the madness they are living in. It’s hard to be a teenager, especially today. It’s a menacing world where information travels at warp speed. As does gossip, rumors, insults, lies, etc. To me, “The Smartphone Hour” speaks to the ferociousness of modern teenagers and shines a light on the sort of environment that leads to bullying and depression and worse.
It’s also a splashy musical comedy dance number! I wanted it to feel overlong and unreasonably gargantuan. I thought for sure some smart theatre artist along the way would force me to cut this song. I decided I was going to fight for it. It may not cover a ton of story ground, but I felt that it was imperative to have the number in the show. It sets the audience up for the craziness that’s about to happen in Act II and lets us know that things have spun out of control—both in the story and in the show itself. I think subconsciously, the audience thinks: “A dance number about arson?! The rules of the show are changing! I hope nothing unexpected happens to the characters I love! They wouldn’t kill off Jeremy, would they? Well, if I’m watching a dance number about arson anything is possible! Oh no! #SaveJeremy!” 
Luckily, I never had to fight for the song. As soon as Chase Brock got his hands on it, he made it longer, in deference to the “too much of a good thing can be wonderful” rule of theater. Rob Berman’s arrangement of the dance break sounds like a sleepover from hell on crack and Charlie’s smartphone sounds bear more than a striking resemblance to the sort of sounds normally associated with the sinister Squip. Gossip is Evil, kids.
I really feel like we made the best Michael Bennett number Michael Bennett never choreographed. The final shouted: “End!” was all Chase’s idea and I love it so much. It’s a moment that lives in the real estate between musical theater Cheese Ball and rock’n’roll Middle Finger. A neighborhood I often hang my hat in.
The notes of the phone buttons that are heard after “he told me cuz he’s my best friend” are, once again, the same notes as the “More Than Survive” intro figure. Just reversed this time.
The title is an obvious reference to “The Telephone Hour” from Bye Bye Birdie. “Rich…” is by no means a parody of that song, but I think they are spiritual cousins. It’s another example of Be More Chill having a foot in the past and a foot in the future. 
“The Pitiful Children” Written at Joe’s 47th Street Apartment, 2013 / Joe’s 43rd Street Apartment, 2014–2015 / Ripley-Grier Studios and Two River Theater 2015, during rehearsals Oh, heavens, this song. The lyrics of this song changed a ton over the course of the rehearsal process and I never got it quite right. I love it on the album. It sounds like what would’ve happened if Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails wrote Les Misérables. Alas, dramaturgically, I don’t think I did a great job of telling the story that Joe Tracz laid out. Don’t be surprised if this one gets fiddled with in anticipation of our forthcoming Be More Chill off-Broadway production.
The orchestration of this song is one of my favorites in the whole show. It pushes The Squip firmly into digitized-demon territory. He’s worrying less about seducing people in this number and he’s letting his true colors show. His true colors are cold, industrial, heavy, and militaristic. There’s no question that this Squip has his sights set on world domination.
I like using lyrics that work dramatically and stylistically. The Squip’s “beep-bop-boop” is literally him speaking in his native computerized tongue, but it also conjures up images of an old-fashioned crooner scatting. It’s connected to Jeremy’s “C-c-c-cmon” and the Ensemble’s “Hey hey hey” and all the rest of it.
“The Pants Song” Written at Joe’s Family’s house on Long Island, 2014 My experience writing this song is very much an example of the comic/tragic thing that I often love to write about. 
I had tried to write a song for Jeremy’s Dad for the longest time and could never crack it. Joe Tracz said to me: “I just wish Jeremy’s Dad could have a song about the lesson he learns. That if you love somebody, you put your pants on for them.” Essentially, I am an idea thief. I immediately knew that sentence was a song, I just didn’t know how to write it. We were doing a developmental reading of the show and I was feeling the pressure. There was a date I needed to have the song in by and I had nothing. The day before I needed to have the song, I decided that after rehearsal I was going to have a drink with my best friend Jason SweetTooth Williams and then go home and write the song. And then my Grandma died. After a long illness, my grandmother Flora (RIP Flora) left this damned earth at the Iconis home on Long Island. I needed and wanted to be with my family. After doing all the things that you do when a loved one dies, I went downstairs to my family’s basement at 2 AM and wrote “The Pants Song” in one shot. Sometimes you have to write a song about two guys in their underpants on the night your beloved grandma dies.
Paul Whitty starts in such a forlorn, hurt place at the top of this song. I bet the audience thinks this is going to be a perfect-time-for-a-cigarette-break “sad dad” number and then it turns into a total bop. Much like the “We love everything about you…” section of “Be More Chill,” this was another song that I wanted to feel like a rockin’ version of the theme song from a 1980’s sitcom. Only difference is, the mythical sitcom that “We love everything about you…” comes from is phony and corporate and the “Pants Song” show is heartfelt and cool, Must See TV material.
There used to be a song for Jeremy’s Dad earlier in the show called “The No Pants Song,” where he extolled the virtues of not getting dressed. It was a sad, lazy waltz. The whole thing was one-joke, but I did love the final stanza:
ALL THE EXERTION OF PUTTING ON, THEN TAKING OFF JUST TO PUT BACK ON SEEMS TERRIBLY UNNECCESSARY TO ME WOULDN’T YOU SAY? I’M FINE WITH A Y-FRONT COVERING MY FRONT EVERY DAY
It should be noted that many of my musicals feature moments of pantslessness for male characters. This feels fitting as I am often pantsless when I write said musicals. Write what you know, Joe. (ReWrite reference.)
This is the only song in Be More Chill that features a big, in-your-face key change. I’m normally very discreet about my key changes, but a tasteless shift up a step for two men dancing in their undies feels earned. 
The in-store music playing in the background of The Mall sequence is actually a Muzak version of “The Pants Song.” The moment I wrote the tune I knew it was destined to be the annoying music played on a loop in the atrium of a mall. The sort of irritating ear worm that slowly drives the employees of Payless and Sbarro’s mad.
“The Play” As a kid who spent hours listening to the big action-packed climaxes of the Sweeney Todd OCR, the Sunset Blvd. OCR, and the Carrie soundboard bootleg (thanks, 1996 Playbill Online message boards for making that one happen!), I’m so thrilled we got to include ours on the album. The underscore is straight-up cinematic, with all the themes of the past two hours crashing into each other like violent zombie bumper cars.
A few people have asked me if the cascading downward piano line in “The Play” is referencing “Suppertime” from Little Shop of Horrors. While the two riffs sound similar I was actually alluding to, you guessed it, John Carpenter film scores. The 5/4 time signature and downward modulation are dead giveaways. But I do agree that the line sounds not dissimilar to “Suppertime,” which is fine by me! Little Shop was my first musical and has clearly influenced me in countless ways as a writer, especially on Be More Chill. 
The “Michael makes an entrance” line came late in the game and is a testament to the “sometimes the best thing a writer can do is just musicalize the stage direction” rule of theater. 
One of my favorite bits of orchestral business is the twisted music box version of the “More Than Survive” chorus. Hella Danny Elfman. (Shout out to Rich’s Nightmare Before Christmas belt buckle! The 1990’s are alive and well and living inside my musical.)
The “Squip Death” section was hatched by Eric William Morris and myself in the basement dressing rooms of Two River Theater. It’s hard to make out, but as the Squip is destructing he’s speaking Japanese. The Japanese was translated by my bestie-since-fourth-grade Michael Ettannani. We’ve all got our Michaels.
“Voices In My Head” Written at a Two River Theater writing retreat, 2015
The point of Be More Chill is that we’re always going to have voices in our head, both good and bad, telling us what to do. The trick is to figure out which ones to listen to. The fear and doubt and anger and anxiety never really go away, but you can find a way to manage them. At one point in our process Joe Tracz articulated this by saying: “At the end of the show, there are still voices in his head, but the loudest one is Jeremy’s.” Yet again, I am a lowdown dirty idea thief. I stole Joe’s words and turned them into our finale.
Since the show begins and ends with ensemble numbers led by Jeremy, I thought this was a nice opportunity to chart our leading man’s growth. I wanted the vibe of the chorus to be different from “More Than Survive.” It’s more laidback, it’s more confident, it’s more playful. It’s more (ahem) chill. Even when the Ensemble kicks in with the “Na’s Na’s” from the beginning of the show, it’s less aggressive than it used to be. There’s harmony and everyone’s singing together instead of singing at each other.
It was important to all of the creators of the show that the triumph of our show not be that Jeremy gets with Christine. The personal triumph for him is that he’s able to deal with his “stuff” enough to have a normal-person conversation with her. I don’t know if Jeremy ends up with Christine after the events of Be More Chill. Maybe he does. Maybe he ends up with Michael. Maybe he ends up with no one. It really doesn’t matter. What matters is that he has figured out that his voice is one that is worthy of being listened to. And that allows him to get on with his life and move forward. All of the characters being together shouting “C’mon, let’s go!” is a triumph to me. They don’t know what’s next, but they’re going to go through it together. An army of Creeps, taking on the world hand in hand.
Robert Altman used to talk about how he never understood why movies ended with weddings. Why is the story over just because two people kiss? There are no real endings in life except, maybe, death. Musically, I didn’t want the show to end with a big held-out chord or with arms-around-each-other “it’s all gonna be alright!” sweetness. I wanted the very end to feel raucous and alive and like the music is tumbling toward something. Toward the future.
The joke of the ending is that even though the kids at Middleborough deactivated The Squip and prevented a total take-over, chances are good that all of the neighboring high schools have been completely taken over. No one is safe, all we can do is prepare ourselves as best we can. They may offer you fortune and fame. Love and money and instant acclaim. But whatever they offer you don’t feed the… Squips? Sorry, wrong show. Smiley face, lipstick, kitty paw.
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sparkiekong · 5 months
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Halloween Movie Review (2023)
Did this last year and maybe the year before, but I can't find it... I watch scary movies all month and give you a brief overview. It's become a tradition for me... Some are craptastical...some are not so bad, but here's what I got so far.
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The Appendage (2023) Hulu
3/10 – (-7 cause I didn't like it.) Bit cheesy in the way of monsters, it’s like 80s movie magic. The premise was about negative self talk being a bad thing and making a monster from it via chimera dna. Interesting premise, but poorly implemented. No pet death, no kid death. Bit of blood and guts.
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No One Will Save You (2023) Hulu 5/10 – (+4 for interesting film process, +4 for actress and -3 cause I had to read up the producer’s explanation of the ending. Suspenseful, not scary… Interesting because there was all of two words spoken in the entirety of the movie. Not like A Quiet Place, because it wasn’t sound based, but it was very emotive. The actress did a good job emoting but the story premise sort of fell flat. Not her fault though, she did good with what she was given.)
No pet death, no kid death - Interesting and weird premise about suffering and conversion from an invasion force learning human culture.
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Mirrors (2008) Max – HB0 7/10 – (-3 cause it's older) Kiefer Sutherland – Mystery movie about mirrors. It was a pretty good. No kid death, no pet death, but the kids were potentially going to be harmed. Interesting movie about mirrors and a demonic influence...not sure how this one got past me in 2008.
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The Pyramid (2021) Max - HBO
3/10 – (+3 for the Anubis and Set) awful script, decent set, budget blown on a cool Anubis looking monster. Acting was not good... don't watch it.
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Prey (2020) Hulu
3/10 (+4 pts for the accuracy of First Nation Comanche Peoples and -1 for being a crappy movie about toxic masculinity)
• The only thing I liked about the movie is that it gave some backstory on Predators. Would have liked a movie about that more than anti-toxic masc-crapfest.
• Canine death (Not the dog, but a wolf) - Animal Death • Lots of gore • The First Nation Comanche portrayal historically accurate. • Dumb toxic guy trope… historically accurate I suppose in this context. Besides jerk trappers... First Nation Males gang up on a female who kicks their chief’s ass… Said toxic males don’t listen because she’s a girl… historically accurate I suppose in this context. • Bunch of toxic males picking on lesser animals to prove their badassery… historically accurate I suppose in this context. • Having personal problems why Predator(s) keeps coming to a place where they get their booties kicked in most situations because they themselves are so toxic they don’t see females as a threat… sick of seeing this trope. Plenty of males find females intimidating these days.
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Talk to Me - (2023) VUDU 8/10 Genuinely spooky! (-2 for the brutality... that was crazy unnecessary)
• Brilliant piece - Kids find a embalmed hand of a psychic medium and then use it to get a high off of getting possessed for 90 second. • Brutal piece – Sort of a Shock and Awe piece in the brutality. • Teenager dies - Kid Mutilation (sorry it’s a spoiler…) It’s sort of necessary for the story, but maybe not so necessary to see it. He lives… • No canine death - Animal death (by car)
---- Hell Baby (2013) Hulu – Defined as a Horror Comedy
6/10 - (-4 for the mentions of gentrification of a black neighborhood) Supposed to be a funny campy trip about a couple due to have babies and buy a house to remodel. • No canine death (one avian) • Little bit of devil baby violence
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I See You (2019) Netflix 7/10 - (-3 for Helen Hunt's face... she's scariest thing in this. Sorry Ms. Hunt... you shouldn't fight aging.) Overall it's not a bad movie...
Home invasion and kidnapping - teens get shot, no animal death
The weird thing about that one was there were people living in the walls. Called it Phrogging. Where you sneak into someone's place and crash there for a few days without anyone knowing you're there but there was a twist at the end, so it spun back around to being somewhat decent.
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Incarnate (2016) Netflix 7/10 (-3 for trope of no one listening to easy instructions.) Had some Constantine vibes, standard demon hunter type trope. Why do scary movie characters never listen?
• Demonic possession movie • No canine death - Kid sorta beat up a little because he was possessed • Stupid people not listening to instructions.
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The Nun 2 (2023) Vudu
7/10 - (-3 for weird tie in to explain why Irene was important.) Not bad. Good tie ins to the Warrens universe... actually would have liked it if the two movies had been one movie instead.
• Finished the story from the first one so if you haven’t watched the first, watch that one first. This one will make more sense. • No canine death. • Bullies – Typical school mean girls • No child death
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The Ritual (2017) Netflix
2/10 - I despise this trope. Getting lost in the woods and then deciding to keep doing the exact opposite of what you should be doing if you're lost.
• Group of British fellows go on walk about through spooky forest and get lost • Like Blair Witch, but with a creepy monster and a cult • No canine dead, but dead animals here and there. • Monster was cool. Reminded me of Wintekowa from Conrad's Stevenson's Paranormal P.I. game.
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The Boogeyman (2023) Hulu 7/10 - (-3 for lack of genuine unique spook... everything was telegraphed I could see it happening before it happened.) Stephen King story... overall not bad, bit dark themed with a family recovering from a parents death • Kids get harmed but no dead • No canine death or animal death • LOTs of fire… • So so… not incredibly scary, but good chiller/thriller
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The Hole in the Ground (2023) Max – HB0 5/10 - (-5 kinda boring to start... got better at the end so... very slow burn)
A story about changelings
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Friday the 13th Part 1 Uncut + 2-4 Vudu
7/10 - (-3 for age) I can't say anything bad about these. Yeah, they're old and that means the the movie magic isn't great, but it's just .... CARNAGE ... and for the time these were top of the line scary. I bundled these together because they're all basically the same.
• Cult classic had to watch some of it on Friday the 13th that happens in October… that’s like a rule or something • Standard slasher horror film • Nudity, savage deaths, some trope-y stuff but if you've never seen them, you should watch them at least once if you like horror movies.
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The Immediate F troop....
The Lure (2015) – HBO Max – sadly no dubbed version – Kong doesn’t like to read while being scared. It’s a shame because I wanted to see mermaids as monsters.
Hellhole (2022) Netflix – Polish with no English dub.
The Empty Man (more like Empty Movie) 20 minutes of distant / semi-serious gazes while their friend stares into oblivion to get to the title… yeah… no.
Oracle (2023) HBO Max -So bad that I didn’t finish it.
Skinamarink (2022) Hulu – What? Ok… so this is too Indy for me. House with kids trapped inside??  dad missing, no way out?? Had old video tape / found footage vibes. Coulda been cool, but 14 minutes in, it’s just basically looking at a dark room with maybe 10 words so far. NEXT!
I would love love LOVE to watch the scary movies outside of the US, but it's a FLAW of mine... I can't read and be scared at the same time. So I could read the text, but then I miss the spooks... or I could watch the spooks and miss the text. So I have to fail them... I need dub versions or I can't pull them out of the F troop... sorry.
I cannot stress enough how amazingly wonderful this website is for getting you past triggers that you do not wish to see. There's ALOT of triggers covered here. So you can check a movie before you buy now.
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mylifeincinema · 5 months
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My Week(s) in Reviews: October 21, 2023
It's been a while... Here's what I've been watching.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Wes Anderson, 2023) The Swan (Wes Anderson, 2023) The Rat Catcher (Wes Anderson, 2023) Poison (Wes Anderson, 2023)
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I dropped the ball and didn't get around to reading Roald Dahl's stories before watching these, but it was hard enough waiting for all four to release on Netflix, so I definitely wouldn't be able to wait to get my hands on the stories. From my understanding of the source material, though, these are all perfectly peculiar adaptations, staying true to Dahl's voice and heart. All four short films shine unique light on Wes Anderson's strengths as a filmmaker and storyteller, and it was a pleasure to witness. The Rat Catcher is very likely my favorite of the bunch, with a bizarre story and characters, including an award-worthy turn by the always fantastic Ralph Fiennes. Second best would easily be The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, which highlights Anderson's knack for idiosyncratic storytelling, grabbing hold of the viewer and honoring the source material by keeping it intact. Poison was an experiment in suspense, and both Anderson and the cast delivered completely. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing him venture into more tense material in the future. And, despite the jaw-dropping performance from Rupert Friend, The Swan was probably my least favorite, over-utilizing its narrator storytelling to the point where I felt detached from the story. There's just so much to love throughout the four of these shorts, though. Unsurprisingly, the production design in all four is brilliant, and I especially loved how interactive Anderson & Co. got with it all, here. The stagehands and creative handling of props stoked the imagination. Robert D. Yeoman's (and even Roman Coppola's) cinematography was singularly stunning. And the cast was pure perfection. The aforementioned stand-outs are only the beginning; everyone here was working at the top of their game. I know they're shorts, but don't be surprised if you see Fiennes and Friend - as well as Dev Patel and Ben Kingsley - popping up in My Best of 2023 lists. I really wish I could've experienced these in a cinema, but when it comes to Wes Anderson, I'll take whatever I can get, whenever and however I can get it. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar: 9/10 The Swan: 7.5/10 The Rat Catcher: 8.5/10 Poison: 8/10
Totally Killer (Nahnatchka Khan, 2023)
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The overreactions to the way the teens in the '80s behaved got annoying real fast and shone a horribly unflattering light on just how disinterested people of her character's generation are with taking context into consideration when spouting their attention-hungry pontifications. Then again, that's probably the point? So, good job? The cast was okay. The kills were dull. The horror wasn't scary. The comedy wasn't all that funny. The writing in general is lazily paper-thin, and the stakes damn-near nonexistent. - 3/10
The Creator (Gareth Edwards, 2023)
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I gets some extra points for being an 'original' sci-fi film in a landscape of sequels, reboots and additions to the MCU, but sadly those wind up being pretty much the only points it ends up with. Despite being 'original', every single aspect of this film feels like a tired rendition of a significantly better film. And worst of all, it's all just completely forgettable... I literally forgot Allison Janney until checking IMDb, just now. Sturgill Simpson was a standout, though. I look forward to seeing him again in Killers of the Flower Moon, this week. - 4/10
Fear Street: Part One - 1994 (Leigh Janiak, 2021) Fear Street: Part Two - 1978 (Leigh Janiak, 2021) Fear Street: Part Three - 1666 (Leigh Janiak, 2021)
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They function a little too much as more a limited series than even a trilogy, so they lose some points for that. However, all three are quite good. The best is the first, of course, working the most as a standalone. It also has the best kills and characters, and a tone that most successfully mines the scares out of the material. The second has a good setting, but the extremes of the characters detract from the tone. And while the third works best in its back half, when it completes the storyline set up in the first film, the 1666 section is enjoyable enough in its depiction of just how absurd the 1600s puritan belief system was. 1994: 8.5/10 1978: 7/10 1666: 7.5/10
Enjoy!
-Timothy Patrick Boyer.
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The Breakfast Club (1985) written, produced, and directed by John Hughes.
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misterpseudonym · 6 months
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due to the brief activity on this account i’m doing one of these wwoooaaah
hi i am pseud! he and or him. currently into d20’s fantasy high, team starkid’s hatchetfield series, dunmeshi, & the dragon prince!
OTHER THINGS I MAY POST ABOUT:
a passion project to-be-animated called where lie woodsmen, a supernatural comedy in the vague 80s about urban legends and misplaced faith
a queer teen romcom currently titled roses for the wallflower, a novel with the same cast
eclipse: new moon, a high fantasy d&d inspired universe i’m working on with @unbridled-clownery
other info & socials on my linktree
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duranduratulsa · 2 years
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lola-andheruniverse · 6 months
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AU Thursday - Caryl Fanfiction Rec
AU day is here! And to prove to myself you, dear caryler, that I can rec a fluffy/comedy fic, I've gone all the way and selected an High School AU for today! 🥰 Because nothing gets more fluffier than teen!Daryl and teen!Carol falling in love on their own 80's high school dream..it just doesn't. 🥰
The Sunny Side of You & Me written by @stephanooch is posted both on AO3 and 9Lives and I promise it will melt your heart and give you cavities altogether.
Summary: Her body slammed into something sturdy but soft. Smoke and gasoline filled her nose as she pulled away from the figure. She barely looked at him, not even registering his grunt as she tried to propel herself off him in a hurried fluster to continue down the hall to homeroom.
A wild High School AU Caryl fic based on every John Hughes movie you've ever loved.
Rating: T / Teen and Up Audiences
Word count: 38005
Chapters: 16
Published: April 24, 2015 - COMPLETE
This is just that kind of story that you read in one sitting. It's happy and warm just like a favorite comfort romcom. It has tons of references for the 80's nostalgics and enthusiasts. It has never-ending love symbols like stars and M&Ms. It has big brother Merle sticking his nose where it doesn't belong and creating necessary angst because we always need a cup of that. It has a big dance in the end. And, if you're still not convinced to give this fic a try...It has teen!Gleen!!! *screaming crying throwing up*
Go on, give it a read. While you're at it, give back some love to the author by writing a nice review or just hitting that kudos button. It's always nice to know that something you wrote years prior still causes joy. Caryling on!
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Gonna break the rule and go off anon 😉
What is your ranking for your favourite Chris Evans movies/TV shows????
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Niamh! do you know how hard this is.
Top ten-
Snowpiercer- Really is anyone surprised? I loved this film for how dirty, tragic, and beautiful it was, Curtis is my husband forever and ever. I love him.
Captain America Trilogy- Loved them all, especially The Winter Soldier. I have watched them so many times.
Puncture- God this movie was so tragic and Mike was such a mess but I still really enjoyed this movie and appreciated the issues this film covered.
Avengers Trilogy- comfort series for sure. I will never forget seeing Endgame in theaters, that scene still makes my heart race.
Defending Jacob- Loved Andy! So so much. Probably too much. It's not higher on the list because it's a tv show and tv shows are hard for me to watch cause it felt like such a long movie.
Gifted- Beautiful story and it always makes me tear up
Playing It Cool- This movie was messy but I loved it because of that. Even the storytelling was a mess.
Before We Go- Honestly simple and not exciting but it had some beautiful scenes in it and I was so proud of the work he did for this.
Knives Out- Ransom really was just a piece of the artwork of this film. Top Tier, I am so glad I got to see it in theaters.
Ghosted- Honestly, I thought this one was good, even for all the hate it got. Cole was a disaster and unreasonable at times, over dramatic, but I loved it. Also, I think he had better chemistry with Ana than some of his other female co-stars over the years.
Push- One of those films I saw right around the time it came out and I just liked it. If they just left out his love interest, it would have scored higher.
Losers- Just a fun movie! He should do more comedy.
The Red Sea Diving Resort- This film has so many mixed reviews but I did enjoy it beyond Chris being fucking beautiful in it.
The Gray Man- Fucking Lloyd man... I just loved that mustached prick more than I should have.
What's Your Number? This was a cute one and I absolutely adored him working with Anna. I wish they did more films together.
Fantastic Four 1 and 2- Johnny was a cutie and I had a little crush on him back in the day.
Streetkings- I have only seen this movie a couple times but always enjoyed the drama.
Sunshine- What a interesting Sci Fi. Only watched it once or twice, mostly in bits and pieces, and I find myself getting really frustrated every single time that no one just listened to James.
Lightyear- It was cute. It won't be one I watch regularly though, but cute.
Loss Of A Tear Drop Diamond- I wanted to throttle all of them, but I did love Jimmy in those suspenders and Chris trying his hardest at that accent.
The Nanny Diaries- Cute, but not really my kind of movie.
Cellular- HAHAHA I did love this back in the day, BUT rewatching it I forget that my standards for films has gotten higher and I do cringe. Especially with Jessica popping in, I just don't like her or Jason Statham all that much. William H Macy though... loved him. Lol.
TMNT- I loved this for him, but it wasn't MY TURTLES from the 80's and 90's, so yeah I was judgy.
Fierce People- everyone was just annoying in this movie. I kinda liked it, I kinda didn't. Depends on the day.
The Perfect Score- probably if I had watched this when it came out, I would have loved it. I only recently watched it a few years ago and had a very "just wait till you all start actual adulthood" frame of mind. Lol.
Not Another Teen Movie- My first ever introduction to Chris and I absolutely hated Jake although I admit I still laugh at his insulting jokes.
The Ice Man- So I will give Chris credit in his acting in this, I wouldn't have realized it was him except I mainly watched it to see his work in this. I can't say it was a great film, for me it felt slow. But I can see where others would like it for the true crime aspect of it.
Scott Pilgrim- His part was small but funny. I will never get over the eyebrows. Beyond that part, I didn't have an interest in the rest of the film.
Never Seen -
The Newcomer- no real interest.
London- Y'all really don't know the absolute dislike I have for Jessica Biel. She is the main reason I don't watch this film. Syd also sounds like an absolute prick and I would probably hate him with a passion. I know, I'm sure I am missing out on some great scenes, but... I just don't think I could listen to Jessica's character and Syd whine and carry on the whole movie.
The Battle for Terra- No real interest.
Or the few shows he was in as a kid.
So, how do we compare? I know you didn't ask for reasons, but I am in a writing slump and wanted to give something.
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