#Cate Blanchett fave looks

[la-petite-tannante]

Icons smoking. 🚬

“Smoking makes everything so much more photogenic.”

- Catherine Deneuve

#jean smart #meryl streep #susan sarandon #helen mirren #isabelle huppert #diane keaton #cate blanchett #jessica lange #icons from the 70s #my faves #not saying smoking is good for you #sorry not sorry it looks good #look at the facts

[kemosabeko]

RE Actor AU!

I thought I could hide it but I really can't anymore

*this is mostly about wesker but will I apologize? Nah. Imma do my own thing.

A/N: these are very, VERY self-indulgent

Warnings: None, just fluff and crack

Also this is my first post in Tumblr so idk how do texts/posts works in here :p

This was created because my current hyperfixation rn is wesker (YES)

You'd think with his role he'd be uptight and quite the serious actor. Yknow those types.

Oh boy oh boy would you look at that. He just brought another coffee for everyone on set.

MF LITERALLY IS ONE, IF NOT THE MOST, KINDEST PERSON YOU'LL MEET.

Always there to help crews moving their things, especially the heavy ones like camera.

Helps fellow actors with their script and scene.

But the most noteworthy trait of his is being a family man.

WOFJWISHJS GODDD HOLD ON

He literally SHOWS OFF his twins to his co-workers.

Everyone is a victim

"Chris look at this. They're walking"

"Yeah you showed that to me like five times alr-"

"they're WALKING"

Okay biggest victims are Chris and Leon

Jill and Chris are people who entered the industry the same time as Albert and has worked on multiple projects with each other. Hence, their closeness.

Now back to the general cast

Chris and Claire are literally siblings in real life

This franchise is actually Ada's first acting role in the industry! Which immediately became a huge boom to her career, which she didn't expect.

She was actually originally working as a stunt woman, but one time a manager suggested her to do acting after seeing her try to double a character since the original actor was sick, and she couldn't be more thankful that she took the risk.

She's very skilled in martial arts!

She and Albert are some of the few casts that don't do double-stunts.

Leon is a child actor starting from the age of 7.

Came from a very wealthy (aristocratic) family

ABSOLUTELY IDOLIZES ALBERT

Y'know that one story of Tom Holland when he talked about RDJ and was absolutely stunned when he entered the set?

Yep. That's literally Leon on his first day on set.

Look. He's worked with a lot of big shot names. Cate Blanchett, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Nicole Kidman, you name it!

But has he ever worked with this man with basically a face and body carved by the greek gods themselves, slicked back hair, and possibly the smoothest and healthiest skin ever, who's basically his entire fucking idol and goal to work with? NO!

So why, should he NOT FREEZE UP when he finally met him on set?

Albert saw a blonde, handsome boy sticking out like a sore thumb from the entrance of the set. He quickly realizes that this is the actor they cast for the protagonist. He walks up to them and smiled warmly.

"Hey! we got a new face around here. You must be Leon Kennedy right? Nice to meet you! I'm Albert Wesker"

He stretched out his hand to shake with him, but all Leon could think was

"oh my god... it's ALBERT FUCKING WESKER"

Poor blondie basically stopped working for a few seconds, before he realized how stupid he looked and was on his way to ruin his first impression.

He quickly snapped out of his shock and went to shake his hands and OH MY GOD THEY'RE SO SMOOTH AND WARM AND HIS SMILE--

Had to take a breather when he went to his tent after that encounter.

After that and throughout the shooting, they became closer and eventually became close friends

Which is how Albert met you but that's for another story.

Carlos has a HUGE and I mean, simp level of huge, crush on Jill.

This man really was the real smooth operator cause when he heard that Jill, together with a male character, will be the MC for the third franchise? Oh this man was on a MISSION.

Immediately auditioned and prepared for the role like his life was on the line (on his defense, it was)

The first to hear about this was Chris.

Which he then gossiped to Albert.

To which they both supported Carlos by giving him tips about what Jill likes, hates, her fave foods, her favorite movies, all of that and etc.

CHRIS AND ALBERT #1 VALEVEIRA SHIPPER 💯

Literally had them plotting the most insane shits for a date

Thankfully, their shenanigans bear fruit after a year when Jill finally accepted him as her boyfriend.

Man was so over the moon, he deadass called the other two in the middle of the night to talk about what happened.

Albert was NOT happy being interrupted in his sleep, but decided to let it slide hearing the joy in the younger man's voice.

After all, he wasn't so different when the same thing happened to him with you.

Oh also, did I ever mention that Albert ADORES children?

Which is why he found Sherry so cute! Even though she plots pranks with Leon and Claire occasionally.

Throughout the years, they have become absolutely close friends that they consider each other as family (I'm starting to hear Dom Toretto)

Leon and Ada also eventually became a couple after years of painful pining (the rest of the cast and crew had to suffer witnessing their years of pining for each other)

They often do a late night chats with each other, sometimes they do IG live together when everyone's free.

The fans ABSOLUTELY eats them up because it's their source of meme and crack content from the cast.

The Behind The Scenes were filmed by almost all of them, or whoever wants to.

Tons of them are Chris tripping over almost everything.

Claire trying her stunts and being extremely proud when she successfully does one without her double.

Carlos just playfully punching and having beef with the camera.

It also includes Albert teaching Ada some stunts on how to do them better and more safely, and vice-versa.

And then you got Luis, Ashley, and Leon straight up doing a mukbang ASMR for one of their BTS (they failed horribly cause they, especially Luis, can't stop laughing)

Luis tries teaching Ashley spanish but eventually gave up. But after a few months, Ashley came up to him and said in almost perfect spanish "soy un raton rubio"

Loverboy felt like a proud parent he started singing out of nowhere.

*I feel like I really have so much more to put but maybe I've finally exhausted my ideas so here they are!

#resident evil #RE #albert wesker #chris redfield #jill valentine #leon kennedy #ada wong #luis sera #mouse ashley #ashley graham #carlos oliveira #actor au #game #leon x ada #albert x reader #albert wesker x reader #headcannons #self indulgent #sherry birkin #x reader

[yeetlegay]

Hey! Any wlw recs? Fics movies shows anything

ANON WHERE TO BEGIN

Some personal favorites off the top of my head:

Movies:

Carol (2015) - Cate Blanchett, period (1950s), absolutely stunning and iconic lesbian cinema

The Handmaiden (2016) - reimagining of Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, set in Japanese-occupied Korea during the 1930s, brilliant and imaginative and lush

Imagine Me and You (2005) - Lena Headey (Cersei from GoT) being a hot florist, love at first sight, cheesy romcom deliciousness, big warning for cheating tho it’s handled very well imo

Rafiki (2018) - coming of age love story, beautiful and ends on a good note but there’s a LOT of homophobia and some violence so be careful, was the first Kenyan film screened at Cannes which is amazing

Vita and Virginia (2018) - based on the real life romance between Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West, the 1920s fashion + delicious sexual tension 🤌🏻🤌🏻 cw for depiction of depression and suicidal ideation

Tv shows:

First Kill (2022) - SUPPORT THIS SHOW, vampire and vampire hunter fall in love, set in one of my fave cities (Savannah), very camp Romeo & Juliet high school romance just with more blood and fangs

Fingersmith (2005) - British miniseries based on the same novel as The Handmaiden but much closer to the source material, Victorian lesbians ft the most magnificently crafted plot and sexual tension galore, holy shit watch it

Killing Eve - okay this one is a little controversial bc of the ending (which I pretend doesn’t exist) but holy fuck if you like VegasPete, Villanelle and Eve are their even more murderous and batshit crazy cousins. Cat and mouse games between a psychopath assassin and a British intelligence officer (altho she’s actually American but whatever) that I was sure would be queerbaiting, but nope they’re in love. Consider looking up how it ends tho if you need HEAs in your stories

Gap the Series - not out yet but when it is, WATCH IT. Currently in production I think, probably out later this year. It’s Thai and will be available on YouTube with subtitles. Office romance, so many lesbians I’ve lost count and like one (1) man total in the cast.

Gentleman Jack - just dropped season 2 unffff. Period British show based on the life of lesbian Anne Lister, who is one half of the first known gay marriage in England. She’s so fucking hot and butch if you’re not in love with her the second she jumps off that carriage in episode 1…and her love story with shy, repressed wallflower Ann Walker is tender and sexy and complex. Cw for depiction of anxiety and suicide attempt in season 1 (lmk if you’d like the exact ep and time stamp)

Portrait of a Marriage (1990) - a little hard to find but worth the hunt. Based on the romance between novelist Vita Sackville-West (yes, who also had an affair with Virginia Woolf) and her socialite lover Violet. I cannot believe more people don’t talk about this miniseries bc holy shit. Vita and Violet are so fucking in love and their chemistry and love scenes had me gripping the edge of my seat despite the abysmal quality of the version I watched on Dailymotion. Cw for a shitload of cheating, some toxic vibes, and an ending that while mostly historically accurate was still a bummer.

Fics:

Obv I will shamelessly plug my Kinnporsche f/f smut bc I love her and also am desperate for more f/f fic in the ao3 tag so I’m not over here by myself anymore lol

I don’t know what fandoms you’re in but if you’ve watched Word of Honor or read 2ha, holy shit is there some good f/f fic in those tags. Sort by kudos and godspeed friend

Books:

You didn’t ask about books lol but here are some faves of mine anyway

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake - hot tatted bi protagonist, very gender, falls in love with cute single mom in her hometown when she comes back for her stepsister’s wedding

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston - Kate and Leopold but gay and good, butch lesbian from the 1970s gets stuck in time on the subway, grumpy bisexual falls in love with her, makes me reconsider my stance on subway sex bc holy shit.

Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson - okay this one is sapphic but in a polyamorous context so if you want, like, zero men then skip this rec. Inspired by the lore around Dracula’s brides, very gothic and queer, Constanta (narrator) is the first bride who’s in love with Dracula but also her fellow brides Magdalena and Alexei. Cw for depictions of emotional abuse and gaslighting, Dracula is a manipulative piece of shit (who would’ve guessed lol)

Hope this helps anon!

#I’m not tagging all that lol but #wlw recs #lesbian recs #book recs #movie recs #tv recs #why don’t queue stay

[serendipititties]

White actors who are actually really good at it: ie., shut the fuck up about timothee chalamet

(This isnt in defence of these actors. This is purely my opinion on their acting skills. This also only based on media that Ive seen. Even if theres a famous actor i should have included, im not putting it in if i havent seen it. Not including any REALLY famous actors like gary oldman or cate blanchett cuz thats redundant)

Walton Goggins (gonna make a whole post about how severely underappreciated he is)

Jodie Comer (I watched almost an hour of Prima Facie on yt and its so incredible. A well deserved Tony for her)

Margot Robbie (a fan favourite, but she convinced so many of yall that barbie was a feminist masterpiece and thats pretty good acting to me)

Josh Charles (idc what people say he was ROBBED of an emmy for the good wife)

Alan Cumming (also only saw him in the good wife but he steals almost every scene)

Carrie Preston (again on TGW, incredible addition and her character is so amazingly done)

Michael Emerson (husband of Carrie Preston i think. He was incredible on Person of Interest and he's also really good in Fallout)

Timothy Olyphant (the contrast between him on justified and him on santa clarita diet is NUTS. Just look it up)

Joelle Carter (also on justified. Love her endlessly. Her character Ava is peak tumblr blorbo material)

Sarah Goldberg (she was sally in Barry and is a personal fave of my dad's)

Eve Hewson (another fave of my dad's. Also she's Bono's kid apparently)

Tom Hiddleston (I like to think timothee chalamet was trying to be him and failed miserably in the talent and charisma section. Saw clips of him on Broadway and while i get why he didnt win but his Tony nom was very well deserved.)

Sebastian stan (pls dont hate me but i watched part of a different man and hes really good in it. Hope he gets better scripts in the future)

J*lianna M*rgulies (i feel weird even putting her on this list in light of her disgusting racist comments, but she brought a very quiet, human rage to her role in the good wife and she deserved those 2 emmys for it IMO)

Christine Baranski (also on the good wife. Loved her on it)

Jonny Lee Miller ( i will scream this till the day i die but hes easily the best sherlock of this century like it isnt even a fight for me)

Bitty Schram (Loved her on monk she was at the heart of that show. It would have never been that good without her as an actress)

David Tennant (yall knew we would be here. GO fans love him like crazy but we have to appreciate how genuinely terrifying he was in Jessica Jones. My mom still refuses to watch GO because of how disturbing he was. )

Michael Sheen (nuff said)

Krysten Ritter (loved her on jessica jones)

Michael C. Hall (he was so so good on Dexter)

Simon Baker (he was like the only really good actor on the mentalist maybe)

Stana Katic (her role im castle was shit but shes pretty good in absentia and i would be open to watching her more)

Thats all I have for now

#wren rambles #celebrity #in hindsight maybe christine and tom were too famous for this list #and sebastian

[magicpotiondaily]

Costume Designers Guild Awards 2023 - fave looks ♥️

~ Christina Ricci, Sarah Ann Masse, Mary Zophres, Brigitta Romanov, Elizabeth Debicki, Monica Barbaro, Hunter Schafer, Laura Montgomery, Harvey Guillen, Cate Blanchett, Baz Luhrmann, Nazanin Boniadi, Austin Butler, Andrea Sorrentino, Sarah Kinsumba

#Costume Designers Guild Awards 2023 #fashion #moda #red carpet #tapete vermelho #Christina Ricci #Sarah Ann Masse #Mary Zophres #Brigitta Romanov #Elizabeth Debicki #Monica Barbaro #Hunter Schafer #Laura Montgomery #Harvey Guillen #Cate Blanchett #Baz Luhrmann #Nazanin Boniadi #Austin Butler #Andrea Sorrentino #Sarah Kinsumba

[walsiegirl]

What are some of the funniest moments involving Geoffrey in your opinion? What little things has he done that made you laugh?

Hi Anon!

This is quite a broad question, like there are so many things I can recall where he made me laugh, some of them on the big screen, some the small screen, and then there’s those little things one got in replies to one’s fan mail on a more personal level which would certainly brighten your day.

If you want a general collection of funny, there are lots of moments from his stint presenting the AFIs in (I think) 2006 which were, I think, very amusing. I may still have some copies of his sketches some where on my old hard drive. There was a bit where he dubbed over a scene from “Elizabeth” between him and Cate Blanchett and made it into a conversation about bringing her to the awards ceremony - it was so funny, that’s one of my faves.

In terms of film, he has excellent comedic timing and I would always pick his performance as the Marquis de Sade as a rib-tickler. It’s a dark comedy but his timing, his expressions, gesticulations, his line delivery: spot on. But you can look at a lot of his performances, not necessarily in comedies, and find some very funny moments - Barbossa in both “Curse of the Black Pearl” and “At World’s End” has some insanely good lines, for example: he chews on that part like a meaty bone; his timing and delivery are again perfecto, and let’s face it, a fair few of his Pirates lines/scenes have since become immortalised in memes - can’t get better feedback than that!

One of my fave comedy films of his is one of his earlier films called “A Little Bit of Soul”. It’s a bit niche, the humour won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but literally I will bawl with laughter from start to finish and he is so very funny in that; his face is like elastic, you wouldn’t think anyone had so many expressions available to use. It’s defo worth watching if you’ve not seen it; it might not be for you but for me it’s the best thing to put on if I need a laugh.

On a personal level for me, again there are so many lil things that have made me smile. Given time I could probably think of a few. I still really adore his clear love of word play and/or nicknames, he used to do quite a lot of this in his fan correspondence. As I’ve mentioned either on this blog or my main Tumblr previously, he put the title “HRH” in front of my name on the first letter I got in reply from him in 2008, and I also had a postcard from him which I found again recently from either 2009 or 2010 where he put “Spymaster” after my name, as he knew that Walsingham was my area of obsession out of all his roles. THat was really cool and never fails to induce a smile, even now when I look back. He knew how to make his fans happy. :)

Hope that helps! Thanks for the ask!

[turnipoddity]

What are some of your fave gay movies?? (it can be movies that explicitly show gayness or have gay subtext)

oooh!! here’s my faves:

1. The Way He Looks

about a blind boy who has a crush on a new student

2. Bound

mafia lesbian movie. need i say more?

3. The Miseducation of Cameron Post

It’s a serious version of “But I’m a Cheerleader”

4. Carol

It’s the cate blanchett one, where a departement store cashier fell inlove with a fancy customer

5. Black Mirror: San junipero

a funky girl being with a nerd girl is always my favorite trope honestly

#asks

[sugdenlovesdingle]

Can you recommend any good gay movies or TV shows or storylines in tv shows?

Depends on what you’re looking for anon.

Love Simon and Love Victor are both really good

the thing about Harry (a gay romcom from the guy who used to play Emmett in QAF)

Pride (you probably know this but it’s one of my absolute fave films ever so I had to mention it)

God’s own country (beware when watching with company - there’s some graphic sex scenes in it)

Chez Nous - a Dutch gay heist movie. it’s hilarious. A group of friends want to save their favourite gay bar from foreclosure so they plan to steal an expensive necklace from the museum during pride. If you don’t speak Dutch it might take some internet magic to find subtitles for it.

TK & Carlos from 911 Lone star. They’re cute but there’s only 10 eps of the show so far and they don’t get that much focus - but there will be a season 2.

I started watching Roswell New Mexico for Michael en Alex... but I like fanon more than canon (for now - there’s only 2 seasons and there will be a third)

Family Business on Netflix is a French comedy series and it’s absolutely insane (in a good way) - it has a minor lesbian character/relationship/storyline. It’s about a guy who wants to save his family’s butcher shop by turning it into a coffee shop (the kind that sells weed) It’s funny and there will be a season 2.

Ocean’s 8 is very very gay... but no-one is officially gay. Its just the way Cate Blanchett and Sandra Bullock look at each other.

Elite - on Netflix. A Spanish show about rich kids at a posh school. There are 3 seasons so far and Omar and Ander are in all 3. There is also some poly action in season 3.

Hollywood - on Netflix. A mini series from Ryan Murphy about the ‘old Hollywood’ of the 1940s, features a gay storyline

I started watching Dix Pour Cent on Netflix - a French show about an agency who represent actors. One of the agents working at the company is a lesbian and one of the assistants is a gay man (though a bit stereotypical). I’m only a few eps in but I like it.

ek ladki ko dekha toh aisa laga - a super cute lesbian Bollywood film. it’s on netflix.

shubh mangal zyada saavdhan - gay romantic Bollywood comedy. On Amazon Prime. (subtitles are a bit shit though so it helps if you speak Hindi - but you still understand it if you don’t)

Hartenstraat - a cheesy Dutch romantic comedy, features a gay couple, and the guy who plays Joe in The Old Guard!

Alles is liefde- Dutch version of Love, Actually where a gay couple is the wedding storyline. it’s set around Sinterklaas and it’s a bit outdated so there’s still some blackface with zwarte Piet.

Vis à vis - I call it the Spanish OITNB but that doesn’t really do it justice because it’s a really good show on it’s own. But still about a women’s prison, with a bisexual main character just like OITNB.

And it’s not really the same as the rest but there’s a documentary on Netflix called Life in the dog house. It’s about a gay couple in America who have turned their house into a dog shelter. It’s not a scripted show about a cute couple getting it on but I love it so. These people have devoted their entire lives to helping as many dogs as they can and it’s great. You should definitely watch it if you like dogs/animals.

happy watching anon!

#Anonymous

[unknown-terrain]

cerseixjaime shippers are so mad nikolaj and gwendoline are friends lol. look at what this crazy bitch said "remember when nik & gwen had their last scene together, cuddled for hours afterwards, crying in each others arms, saying "i love you" to each other, then did take selfies afterwards saying lovingly goodbye to each other on instagram? oh no wait that were nik and lena."

Yeah I know anon Lol, this same person has also said Nik was cheating on his wife Nukaka with Lena so I didn’t pay attention to this nonsense when I realized it was the same loon from Crazytown. But yes for some reason Twincest shippers feel so threatened by Nik and Gwen’s friendship they feel the need to pit Lena and Gwen against each other even though they’re all friends who care deeply for one another. J/C shippers were also sending anons to J/B blogs for a time after S8 feigning concern over Gwen and Nik’s friendship being fake. They’re so transparent they’re not even good at fooling people.

Using Nik and Lena’s emotional reactions during the filming of their character’s death scene and posting goodbye messages to each other to invalidate Gwen and Nik’s friendship is beyond pathetic and reeks of desperation from creepy Lena/Nik shippers. Bff’s Maisie and Sophie didn’t post goodbye messages to each other, guess that means like Nik and Gwen their friendship was fake all this time. Emilia Clarke posted a goodbye message to Iain Glen but not to her known GoT besties Kit, Nathalie, and Jacob so according to J/C shipper logic that must mean they had a fraudulent friendship too! Anyway it was pretty obvious to me that goodbye messages weren’t needed between those people because they’re in constant contact outside the show and there’s proof of them spending time together outside GoT just like Nik and Gwen.

As for Nik and Lena, they’ve been friends and coworkers for 10 years so of course filming their character’s demise, characters that they’ve been playing for so long was going to be emotional. D&D gave J/C more scenes compared to the books so they also worked together more.

Now back to Nik and Gwen and their fake friendship. Lmao. Yes they hate each other so much which is why most of the time at award shows and afterparties they’re together. He also asked her to be his co-star in a play he wrote which they performed in LA, not to mention all those times they confirmed calling each other staying in contact all these years like for example when Nik called Gwen during an interview, and being the first to call each other after reading the S8 scripts, being the first to call her congratulating her on her emmy nom etc and etc. AND all those sightings of them just hanging out together during their downtime in different parts of the world. Like earlier this year they were spotted attending Cate Blanchett and Stephen Dillane’s (aka Stannis) play together in London. Gwen has also said her and Nik love each other and I think we already knew that obviously. But if you want actual receipts for everything I mentioned here I would be happy to provide them because unlike certain people I don’t make claims without proof.

So before the J/Crazies start accusing Nik and Gwen of being fake friends they first need to take a step back with their rpf shipping and ask themselves have my faves been seen together outside Game of Thrones/HBO promo/Conventions? We know Nik and Gwen have LOL. Jelly? Oops. Next time you see Twincest shippers trying to spread false rumors about Gwen/Nik  remind them of that or send them on over to my post for a dose of reality. This came out longer than expected but NIK AND GWEN’S PRECIOUS FRIENDSHIP MUST BE DEFENDED AT ALL COST.

Here’s a bonus pic of Nik and Gwen pretending to like each other at a party in LA. 😉 Have a nice day.

#gwendoline christie #nikolaj coster waldau #lena headey #jaime lannister #anti jaime x cersei

[grigori77]

2019 in Movies - My Top 30 Fave Movies (Part 3)

10.  HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD – while I love Disney and Pixar as much as the next movie nut, since the Millennium my loyalty has been slowly but effectively usurped by the consistently impressive (but sometimes frustratingly underappreciated) output of Dreamworks Animation Studios, and in recent years in particular they really have come to rival the House of Mouse in both the astounding quality of their work and their increasing box office reliability.  But none of their own franchises (not even Shrek or Kung Fu Panda) have come CLOSE to equalling the sheer, unbridled AWESOMENESS of How to Train Your Dragon, which started off as a fairly loose adaptation of Cressida Cowell’s popular series of children’s stories but quickly developed a very sharp mind of its own – the first two films were undisputable MASTERPIECES, and this third and definitively FINAL chapter in the trilogy matches them to perfection, as well as capping the story off with all the style, flair and raw emotional power we’ve come to expect.  The time has come to say goodbye to diminutive Viking Hiccup (Jay Baruchel, as effortlessly endearing as ever) and his adorable Night Fury mount/best friend Toothless, fiancée Astrid (America Ferrera, still tough, sassy and WAY too good for him), mother Valka (Cate Blanchett, classy, wise and still sporting a pretty flawless Scottish accent) and all the other Dragon Riders of the tiny, inhospitable island kingdom of Berk – their home has become overpopulated with scaly, fire-breathing denizens, while a trapper fleet led by the fiendish Grimmel the Grisly (F. Murray Abraham delivering a wonderfully soft-spoken, subtly chilling master villain) is beginning to draw close, prompting Hiccup to take up his late father Stoick (Gerard Butler returning with a gentle turn that EASILY prompts tears and throat-lumps) the Vast’s dream of finding the fabled “Hidden World”, a mysterious safe haven for dragon-kind where they can be safe from those who seek to do them harm.  But there’s a wrinkle – Grimmel has a new piece of bait, a female Night Fury (or rather, a “Light Fury”), a major distraction that gets Toothless all hot and bothered … returning writer-director Dean DeBlois has rounded things off beautifully with this closer, giving loyal fans everything they could ever want while also introducing fresh elements such as intriguing new environments, characters and species of dragons to further enrich what is already a powerful, intoxicating world for viewers young and old (I particularly love Craig Ferguson’s ever-reliable comic relief veteran Viking Gobber’s brilliant overreactions to a certain adorably grotesque little new arrival), and like its predecessors this film is just as full of wry, broad and sometimes slightly (or not so slightly) absurd humour and deep down gut-twisting FEELS as it is of stirring, pulse-quickening action sequences and sheer, jaw-dropping WONDER, so it’s as nourishing to our soul as it is to our senses.  From the perfectly-pitched, cheekily irreverent opening to the truly devastating, heartbreaking close, this is EXACTLY the final chapter we’ve always dreamed of, even if it does hurt to see this most beloved of screen franchises go. It’s been a wild ride, and one that I think really does CEMENT Dreamworks’ status as one of the true giants of the genre …

9.  TERMINATOR: DARK FATE – back in 1984, James Cameron burst onto the scene with a stone-cold PHENOMENON, a pitch-perfect adrenaline-fuelled science fiction survival horror that spawned a million imitators but has never truly been equalled.  Less than a decade later, he revisited that universe with a much bigger and far bolder vision, creating an epic action adventure that truly changed blockbuster cinema for the better (or perhaps worse, depending on how you want to look at it), but, with its decidedly final, full-stop climax, also effectively rendered itself sequel-proof.  Except that Hollywood had other ideas, the unstoppable money machine smelling potential profit and deciding to milk this particular cash cow for all it was worth – on the small screen, it was the impressive but ultimately intrinsically limited Sarah Connor Chronicles, while on the big screen they cranked out THREE MORE sequels, Sony Pictures starting with straightforward retread Rise of the Machines and following with post-apocalyptic marmite movie Salvation, while Twentieth Century Fox then tried a sort-of soft reboot follow-up to T2 in Genisys.  These were all interesting in their own way (personally, I like them all, particularly Salvation), but ultimately suffered from diminishing returns and whiffed strongly of trying too hard without quite getting the point. Cameron himself had long since washed his hands of the whole affair, and it looked like that might well be it … but then Skydance Productions founder David Ellison thought up a new take to breathe much needed new life into the franchise, and enlisted Cameron’s help to usher it in properly, with Deadpool director Tim Miller the intriguing but ultimately inspired choice to helm the project.  The end result wisely chooses to paint right over all the pretenders, kicking off right where Judgement Day left off, and as well as Cameron being heavily involved in the story itself, draws another ace with the long-awaited ON-SCREEN return of Linda Hamilton in the role that’s pretty much defined her career, hardboiled survivor Sarah Connor.  I’ll leave the details of her return for newcomers to discover, suffice to say she gets caught up in the chase when a new, MUCH more advanced terminator is sent back in time to kill unassuming young Mexican factory worker Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes).  Of course, the future resistance has once again sent a protector back to watch her back, Grace (Blade Runner 2049’s Mackenzie Davis), a cybernetically-enhanced super-soldier specifically outfitted to combat terminators, who reluctantly agrees to team up with the highly experienced Sarah in order to keep Dani alive. Arnold Schwarzenegger once again returns to the role that truly made him a star (of course, how could he not?), and he for one has clearly not lost ANY of his old love or enthusiasm for playing the old T-800, but revealing exactly HOW he comes into the story this time would give away too much; the new terminator, meanwhile, is brilliantly portrayed by Gabriel Luna (probably best known for playing Ghost Rider in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD), who brings predatory menace and an interesting edge of subtle, entitled arrogance to the role of Rev-9.  Ultimately though, this is very much the ladies’ film, the three leads dominating the action and drama both as they kick-ass and verbally spar in equal measure, their chemistry palpably strong throughout – Hamilton is as badass as ever, making Sarah even more of a take-no-shit survivalist burnout than she ever was in T2, and she’s utterly mesmerising in what’s EASILY her best turn in YEARS, while Reyes goes through an incredible transformative character arc as she’s forced to evolve from terrified salary-girl to proto she-warrior through several pleasingly organic steps … my greatest pleasure, however, definitely comes from watching Mackenzie Davis OWN the role of Grace, investing her with an irresistible mixture of icy military precision, downright feral mother lion ferocity and a surprisingly sweet innocence buried underneath all the bravado, thus creating one of my favourite ass-kicking heroines not just for the year but this past decade entirely. Unsurprisingly, in the hands of old hand Tim Miller (working from a screenplay headlined by Blade and Batman Begins scribe David Goyer) this is a pulse-pounding thrill ride that rarely lets its foot up off the pedal, but thankfully the action is ALWAYS in service to the story, each precision-crafted set piece engineered to perfection as we power through high speed chases, explosive shootouts and a succession of bruising heavy metal smackdowns, but thankfully there’s just as much attention paid to the characters and the story – given the familiarity of the tale there’s inevitably a certain predictability to events, but Miller and co. still pull off a few deftly handled surprise twists, while character development always feels organic.  Best of all, this genuinely feels like a legitimate part of the original Terminator franchise, Cameron and Hamilton’s returns having finally brought back the old magic that’s been missing for so long. I’d definitely be willing to sign up for more of this – such a shame then that, thanks to the film’s frustrating underperformance at the box office, it looks like this is gonna be it after all. Damn it …

8.  DOCTOR SLEEP – first up, before I say anything else about this latest Stephen King screen adaptation, I HAVE NOT yet got round to reading the original novel yet, so I can’t speak to how it compares.  That said, I HAVE read The Shining, to which the book is a direct sequel, so I DO know about at least one of the major, KEY changes, and besides, this is actually a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s MOVIE of The Shining, which differed significantly from its own source material anyway, so there’s that … yeah, this is a complicated kettle of fish even BEFORE we get down to the details.  Suffice to say, you don’t have to have read the book to get this movie, but a working knowledge of Kubrick’s horror classic may at least help you get some context before watching this … anyways, enough with the confusion, on to the meat of the matter – this is a CRACKING horror movie by any stretch, and, for me, one of the strongest King horrors to make it to the big screen in quite some time.  Of course it helps no end to have a filmmaker of MAJOR calibre at the helm, and there are few working in horror at the moment with whom I am quite so impressed as Mike Flanagan, writer-director of two of this past decade’s definitive horrors (at least for me), Oculus and Hush, as well as a BLINDING TV series adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House for Netflix – the man is an absolute master of the craft, incredibly skilled with all the tricks of this particular genre’s trade, and, as it turns out, a perfect fit with King’s material.  Following on from The Shining, then, we learn what happened to the kid, Danny Torrance, after he and his mother left the Overlook Hotel in the wake of his father’s psychotic break driven by monstrous apparitions “living” in the cursed halls, following him from childhood as he initially shuns the psychic gifts (or “shine”) he was taught to use by the hotel’s late caretaker, Dick Halloran.  It’s only in later years, as he fights to overcome his alcoholism and self-destructive lifestyle, that he reconnects with that power, just in time to discover psychic “pen-pal” Abra Stone, an immensely powerful young psychic.  Which leads us to the present day, when Abra, now a teenager, becomes the target of the True Knot, a group of psychic vampires who travel America hunting and killing young people with psychic abilities in order to consume their “smoke” (basically the stuff of their “shines”), thus expanding their already unnatural lifespans – they’re tracking Abra, and they’re getting close, and only her “Uncle Dan” can save her from them.  Ewan McGregor is PERFECT as the grown-up Dan, delivering one of his career-best turns as he captures the world-weary seriousness of someone who’s seen, felt and had to do things no-one should, especially when he was so very young, the kinds of things that colour a soul for their entire life, and he’s clearly DESPERATE not to become his father; newcomer Kyleigh Curran, meanwhile, is an absolute revelation as Abra, bringing depth and weight far beyond her years to the role, but never losing sight of the fact that, under all the power, she’s ultimately still just a child; there are also excellent supporting turns from the likes of Cliff Curtis as Dan’s best friend and AA sponsor Billy Freeman, Zahn McClarnon (Longmire, Fargo season 2) and Emily Lind (Revenge, Code Black) as True Knot members Crow Daddy and Snakebite Annie, and Carl Lumbly (Cagney & Lacey, TV’s Supergirl), who beautifully replaces deceased original actor Scatman Crothers in the role of Dick.  The film’s tour-de-force performance, however, comes from Rebecca Ferguson as Rose the Hat, leader of the True Knot – they’re an intriguing bunch of villains, very well written and fleshed out, and it’s clear they have genuine love for one another, like a real family, which makes it hard not to sympathise with them a little bit, and this is none more true than in Rose, whom Ferguson invests with so much light and warmth and intriguing, complex character, as well as a fantastic streak of playful mischief that makes her all the more riveting in those times when they then turn around and do some truly heinous, unforgivable things … as horror movies go this is the cream of the crop, but Flanagan has purposefully kept away from jump scares and the more flashy stuff, preferring, like Kubrick in The Shining, to let the insidious darkness bubble up underneath good and slow, drawing out the creepiness and those most unsettling, twisted little touches the author himself is always so very good at.  Intent can be such a scary thing, and Flanagan gets it, so that’s just what he uses here.   As a result this is a fantastic slow-burn creep-fest that constantly works its way deeper under your skin, building to a phenomenal climax that, (perversely) thanks in no small part to the differences between both novels and films, pays as much loving tribute to Kubrick’s visionary landmark as the original novel of The Shining.  For me, this is Flanagan’s best film to date, and as far as Stephen King adaptations go I consider this to be right up there with the likes of The Mist and The Green Mile.  Best of all, I think he’d be proud of it too …

7.  SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME – summer 20019 was something of a decompression period for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with many of us recovering from the sheer emotional DEVASTATION of the grand finale of Phase 3, Avengers: Endgame, so the main Blockbuster Season’s entry really needed to be light and breezy, a blessed relief after all that angst and loss, much like Ant-Man & the Wasp was last year as it followed Infinity War.  And it is, by and large – this is as light-hearted and irreverent as its predecessor, following much the same goofy teen comedy template as Homecoming, but there’s no denying that there’s a definite emotional through-line from Endgame that looms large here, a sense of loss the film fearlessly addresses right from the start, sometimes with a bittersweet sense of humour, sometimes straight.  But whichever path the narrative chooses, the film stays true to this underlying truth – there have been great and painful changes in this world, and we can’t go back to how it was before, no matter how hard we try, but then perhaps we shouldn’t. This is certainly central to our young hero’s central arc – Peter Parker (Tom Holland) is in mourning, and not even the prospect of a trip around Europe with his newly returned classmates, together with the chance to finally get close to M.J. (Zendaya), maybe even start a relationship, can entirely distract him from the gaping hole in his life. Still, he’s gonna give it his best shot, but it looks like fate has other plans for our erstwhile Spider-Man as superspy extraordinaire Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) comes calling, basically hijacking his vacation with an Avengers-level threat to deal with, aided by enigmatic inter-dimensional superhero Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), who has a personal stake in the mission, but as he’s drawn deeper into the fray Peter discovers that things may not be quite as they seem. Of course, giving anything more away would of course dumps HEINOUS spoilers on the precious few who haven’t yet seen the film – suffice to say that the narrative drops a MAJOR sea-change twist at the midpoint that’s EVERY BIT as fiendish as the one Shane Black gave us in Iron Man 3 (although the more knowledgeable fans of the comics will likely see it coming), and also provides Peter with JUST the push he needs to get his priorities straight and just GET OVER IT once and for all.  Tom Holland again proves his character is the most endearing teenage geek in cinematic history, his spectacular super-powered abilities and winning underdog perseverance in the face of impossible odds still paradoxically tempered by the fact he’s as loveably hopeless as ever outside his suit; Mysterio himself, meanwhile, frequently steals the film out from under him, the strong bromance they develop certainly mirroring what Peter had with Tony Stark, and it’s a major credit to Gyllenhaal that he so perfectly captures the essential dualities of the character, investing Beck with a roguish but subtly self-deprecating charm that makes him EXTREMELY easy to like, but ultimately belying something much more complex hidden beneath it; it’s also nice to see so many beloved familiar faces returning, particularly the fantastically snarky and self-assured Zendaya, Jacob Batalon (once again pure comedy gold as Peter’s adorably nerdy best friend Ned), Tony Revolori (as his self-important class rival Flash Thompson) and, of course, Marisa Tomei as the ever-pivotal Aunt May, as well as Jackson and Cobie Smoulders as dynamite SHIELD duo Fury and his faithful lieutenant Maria Hill, and best of all Jon Favreau gets a MUCH bigger role this time round as Happy Hogan.  Altogether this is very much business as usual for the MCU, the well-oiled machine unsurprisingly turning out another near-perfect gem of a superhero flick that ticks all the required boxes, but a big part of the film’s success should be attributed to returning director Jon Watts, effectively building on the granite-strong foundations of Homecoming with the help of fellow alumni Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers on screenplay duty, for a picture that feels both comfortingly familiar and rewardingly fresh, delivering on all the required counts with thrilling action and eye candy spectacle, endearingly quirky character-based charm and a typically winning sense of humour, and plenty of understandably powerful emotional heft.  And, like always, there are plenty of fan-pleasing winks and nods and revelations, and the pre-requisite mid- and post-credit teasers too, both proving to be some proper game-changing corkers.  Another winner from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, then, but was there really ever any doubt?

6.  US – back in 2017, Jordan Peele made the transition from racially-charged TV and stand-up comedy to astounding cinemagoers with stunning ease through his writer-director feature debut Get Out, a sharply observed jet black comedy horror with SERIOUS themes that was INSANELY well-received by audiences and horror fans alike.  Peele instantly became ONE TO WATCH in the genre, so his follow-up feature had A LOT riding on it, but this equally biting, deeply satirical existential mind-bender is EASILY the equal of its predecessor, possibly even its better … giving away too much plot detail would do great disservice to the many intriguing, shocking twists on offer as middle class parents Adelaide and Gabe Wilson (Black Panther alumni Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke) take their children, Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex), to Santa Cruz on vacation, only to step into a nightmare as a night-time visitation by a family of murderous doppelgangers signals the start of a terrifying supernatural revolution with potential nationwide consequences.  The idea at the heart of this film is ASTOUNDINGLY original, quite an achievement in a genre where just about everything has been tried at least once, but it’s also DEEPLY subversive, as challenging and thought-provoking as the themes visited in Get Out, but also potentially even more wide-reaching. It’s also THOROUGHLY fascinating and absolutely TERRIFYING, a peerless exercise in slow-burn tension and acid-drip discomfort, liberally soaked in an oppressive atmosphere so thick you could choke on it if you’re not careful, such a perfect horror master-class it’s amazing that this is only Peele’s second FEATURE, never mind his sophomore offering IN THE GENRE.  The incredibly game cast really help, too – the four leads are all EXCEPTIONAL, each delivering fascinatingly nuanced performances in startlingly oppositional dual roles as both the besieged family AND their monstrous doubles, a feat brilliantly mimicked by Mad Men and The Handmaid’s Tale-star Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker and teen twins Cali and Noelle Sheldon as the Wilsons’ friends, the Tylers, and their similarly psychotic mimics.  The film is DOMINATED, however, by Oscar-troubler Nyong’o, effortlessly holding our attention throughout the film with yet another raw, intense, masterful turn that keeps up glued to the screen from start to finish, even as the twists get weirder and more full-on brain-mashy.  Of course, while this really is scary as hell, it’s also often HILARIOUSLY funny, Peele again poking HUGE fun at both his intended audience AND his allegorical targets, proving that scares often work best when twinned with humour.  BY FAR the best thing in horror in 2019, Us shows just what a master of the genre Jordan Peele is, and it looks like he’s here to stay …

5.  KNIVES OUT – with The Last Jedi, writer-director Rian Johnson divided audiences so completely that he seemed to have come perilously close to ruining his career.  Thankfully, he’s a thick-skinned auteur with an almost ridiculous amount of talent, and he’s come bouncing back as strong as ever, doing what he does best. His big break feature debut was with Brick, a cult classic murder mystery that was, surprisingly, set in and around a high school, and his latest has some of that same DNA as Johnson crafts a fantastic sleuthy whodunit cast in the classic mould of Agatha Christie, albeit shot through with his own wonderfully eclectic verve, wit and slyly subversive streak.  Daniel Craig holds court magnificently as quirky and flamboyant Deep South private detective Benoit Blanc, summoned to the home of newly-deceased star crime author Harlan Thrombey (Christopher Plummer) to investigate his possible murder and faced with a veritable web of lies, deceit and twisting knives as he meets the maybe-victim’s extensive and INCREDIBLY dysfunctional family, all of whom are potential suspects.  Craig is thoroughly mesmerising throughout, clearly having the time of his life in one of his career-best roles, while the narrative focus is actually, interestingly, given largely to Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049 and soon to be seen with Craig again in the latest Bond-flick No Time To Die), who proves equally adept at driving the film as Harlan’s sweet but steely and impressively resourceful nurse Marta Cabrera, whose own involvement in the case it would do the film a massive disservice to reveal. The rest of the Thrombey clan are an equally intriguing bunch, all played to the hilt by an amazing selection of heavyweight talent that includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Toni Collette and It’s Jaeden Martell, but the film is, undeniably, DOMINATED by Chris Evans as Harlan’s black sheep grandson Ransom, the now former Captain America clearly enjoying his first major post-MCU role as he roundly steals every scene he’s in, effortlessly bringing back the kind of snarky, sarcastic underhanded arrogance we haven’t seen him play since his early career and entertaining us thoroughly.  Johnson has very nearly outdone himself this time, weaving a gleefully twisty web of intrigue that viewers will take great pleasure in watching Blanc untangle, even if we’re actually already privy to (most of) the truth of the deed, and he pulls off some diabolical twists and turns as we rattle towards an inspired final reveal which genuinely surprises. He’s also generously smothered the film with oodles of his characteristically dry, acerbic wit, wonderfully tweaking many of the classic tropes of this familiar little sub-genre so this is at once a loving homage to the classics but also a sly, skilful deconstruction.  Intriguing, compelling, enrapturing and often thoroughly hilarious, this is VERY NEARLY the best film he’s ever made.  Only the mighty Looper remains unbeaten …

4.  CAPTAIN MARVEL – before the first real main event of not only the year’s blockbusters but also, more importantly, 2019’s big screen MCU roster, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and co dropped a powerful opening salvo with what, it turns out, was the TRUE inception point of the Avengers Initiative and all its accompanying baggage (not Captain America: the First Avenger, as we were originally led to believe).  For me, this is simply the MCU film I have MOST been looking forward to essentially since the beginning – the onscreen introduction of my favourite Avenger, former US Air Force Captain Carol Danvers, the TRUE Captain Marvel (no matter what the DC purists might say), who was hinted at in the post credits sting of Avengers: Infinity War but never actually seen.  Not only is she the most powerful Avenger (sorry Thor, but it’s true), but for me she’s also the most badass – she’s an unstoppable force of (cosmically enhanced) nature, with near GODLIKE powers (she can even fly through space without needing a suit!), but the thing that REALLY makes her so full-on EPIC is her sheer, unbreakable WILL, the fact that no matter what’s thrown at her, no matter how often or how hard she gets knocked down, she KEEPS GETTING BACK UP.  She is, without a doubt, the MOST AWESOME woman in the entire Marvel Universe, both on the comic page AND up on the big screen. Needless to say, such a special character needs an equally special actor to portray her, and we’re thoroughly blessed in the inspired casting choice of Brie Larson, who might as well have been purpose-engineered exclusively for this very role – she’s Carol Danvers stepped right out of the primary-coloured panels, as steely cool, unswervingly determined and strikingly statuesque as she’s always been drawn and scripted, with just the right amount of twinkle-eyed, knowing smirk and sassy humour to complete the package.  Needless to say she’s the heart and soul of the film, a pure joy to watch throughout, but there’s so much more to enjoy here that this is VERY NEARLY the most enjoyable cinematic experience I had all year … writer-director double-act Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck may only be known for smart, humble indies like Half Nelson and Mississippi Grind, but they’ve taken to the big budget, all-action blockbuster game like ducks to water, co-scripting with Geneva Robertson-Dworet (writer of the Tomb Raider reboot movie and the long-gestating third Sherlock Holmes movie) to craft yet another pitch-perfect MCU origin story, playing a sneakily multilayered, misleading game of perception-versus-truth as we’re told how Carol got her powers and became the unstoppable badass supposedly destined to turn the tide in a certain Endgame … slyly rolling the clock back to the mid-90s, we’re presented with a skilfully realised mid-90s period culture clash adventure as Carol, a super-powered warrior fighting for the Kree Empire against the encroaching threat of the shape-shifting Skrulls, crash-lands in California and winds up uncovering the hidden truth behind her origins, with the help of a particular SHIELD agent, before he wound up with an eye-patch and a more cynical point-of-view – yup, it’s a younger, fresher Nick Fury (the incomparable Samuel L. Jackson, digitally de-aged with such skill it’s really just a pure, flesh-and-blood performance). There’s action, thrills, spectacle and (as always with the MCU) pure, skilfully observed, wry humour by the bucket-load, but one of the biggest strengths of the film is the perfectly natural chemistry between the two leads, Larson and Jackson playing off each other BEAUTIFULLY, no hint of romantic tension, just a playfully prickly, banter-rich odd couple vibe that belies a deep, honest respect building between both the characters and, clearly, the actors themselves.  There’s also sterling support from Jude Law as Kree warrior Yon-Rogg, Carol’s commander and mentor, Ben Mendelsohn, slick, sly and surprisingly seductive (despite a whole lot of make-up) as Skrull leader Talos, returning MCU-faces Clark Gregg and Lee Pace as rookie SHIELD agent Phil Coulson (another wildly successful de-aging job) and Kree Accuser Ronan, Annette Bening as a mysterious face from Carol’s past and, in particular, Lashana Lynch (Still Star-Crossed, soon to be seen in No Time To Die) as Carol’s one-time best friend and fellow Air Force pilot Maria Rambeau, along with the impossibly adorable Akira Akbar as her precocious daughter Monica … that said, the film is frequently stolen by a quartet of ginger tabbies who perfectly capture fan-favourite Goose the “cat” (better known to comics fans as Chewie).  This is about as great as the MCU standalone films get – for me it’s up there with the Russo’s Captain America films and Black Panther, perfectly pitched and SO MUCH FUN, but with a multilayered, monofilament-sharp intelligence that makes it a more cerebrally satisfying ride than most blockbusters, throwing us a slew of skilfully choreographed twists and narrative curveballs we almost never see coming, and finishing it off with a bucket-load of swaggering style and pure, raw emotional power (the film kicks right off with an incredibly touching, heartfelt tear-jerking tribute to Marvel master Stan Lee).  Forget Steve Rogers – THIS is the Captain MCU fans need AND deserve, and I am SO CHUFFED they got my favourite Avenger so totally, perfectly RIGHT.  I can die happy now, I guess …

3.  JOHN WICK CHAPTER 3 – needless to say, those who know me should be in no doubt why THIS was at the top of my list for summer 2019 – this has EVERYTHING I love in movies and more. Keanu Reeves is back in the very best role he’s ever played, unstoppable, unbeatable, un-killable hitman John Wick, who, when we rejoin him mere moments after the end of 2017’s phenomenal Chapter 2, is in some SERIOUSLY deep shit, having been declared Incommunicado by the High Table (the all-powerful ruling elite who run this dark and deadly shadowy underworld) after circumstances forced him to gun down an enemy on the grounds of the New York Continental Hotel (the inviolable sanctuary safe-house for all denizens of the underworld), as his last remaining moments of peace tick away and he desperately tries to find somewhere safe to weather the initial storm.  Needless to say the opening act of the film is ONE LONG ACTION SEQUENCE as John careers through the rain-slick streets of New York, fighting off attackers left and right with his signature brutal efficiency and unerring skill, perfectly setting up what’s to come – namely a head-spinning, exhausting parade of spectacular set pieces that each put EVERY OTHER offering in every other film this past year to shame.  Returning director Chad Stahelski again proves that he’s one of the very best helmsmen around for this kind of stuff, delivering FAR beyond the call on every count as he creates a third entry to a series that continues to go from strength to strength, while Keanu once again demonstrates what a phenomenal screen action GOD he is, gliding through each scenario with poise, precision and just the right balance of brooding charm and so-very-done-with-this-shit intensity and a thoroughly enviable athletic physicality that really does put him on the same genre footing as Tom Cruise.  As with the first two chapters, what plot there is is largely an afterthought, a facility to fuel the endless wave of stylish, wince-inducing, thoroughly exhilarating violent bloodshed, as John cuts another bloody swathe through the underworld searching for a way to remove the lethal bounty from his head while an Adjudicator from the High Table (Orange Is the New Black’s Asia Kate Dillon) arrives in New York to settle affairs with Winston (Ian McShane), the manager of the New York Continental, and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) for helping John create this mess in the first place.  McShane and Fishburne are both HUGE entertainment in their fantastically nuanced large-than-life roles, effortlessly stealing each of their scenes, while the ever-brilliant Lance Reddick also makes a welcome return as Winston’s faithful right-hand Charon, the concierge of the Continental, who finally gets to show off his own hardcore action chops when trouble arrives at their doorstep, and there are plenty of franchise newcomers who make strong impressions here – Dillon is the epitome of icy imperiousness, perfectly capturing the haughty superiority you’d expect from a direct representative of the High Table, Halle Berry gets a frustratingly rare opportunity to show just how seriously badass she can be as former assassin Sofia, the manager of the Casablanca branch of the Continental and one of John’s only remaining allies, Game of Thrones’ Jerome Flynn is smarmy and entitled as her boss Berrada, and Anjelica Houston is typically classy as the Director, the ruthless head of New York’s Ruska Roma (John’s former “alma mater”, basically).  The one that REALLY sticks in the memory, though, is Mark Dacascos, finally returning to the big time after frustrating years languishing in lurid straight-to-video action dreck and lowbrow TV hosting duties thanks to a BLISTERING turn as Zero, a truly brilliant semi-comic creation who routinely runs away with the film – he’s the Japanese master ninja the Adjudicator tasks with dispensing her will, a thoroughly lethal killer who may well be as skilled as our hero, but his deadliness is amusingly tempered by the fact that he’s also a total nerd who HERO WORSHIPS John Wick, adorably geeking out whenever their paths cross.  Their long-gestating showdown provides a suitably magnificent climax to the action, but there’s plenty to enjoy in the meantime, as former stuntman Stahelski and co keep things interestingly fluid as they constantly change up the dynamics and add new elements, from John using kicking horses in a stable and knives torn out of display cases in a weaponry museum to dispatch foes on the fly, through Sofia’s use of attack dogs to make the Moroccan portion particularly nasty and a SPECTACULAR high octane sequence in which John fights katana-wielding assailants on speeding motorcycles, to the film’s UNDISPUTABLE highlight, an astounding fight in which John takes on Zero’s disciples (including two of the most impressive guys from The Raid movies, Cecep Arif Rahman and Yayan Ruhian) in (and through) an expansive chamber made up entirely of glass walls and floors.  Altogether then, this is business as usual for a franchise that’s consistently set the bar for the genre as a whole, an intensely bruising, blissfully blood-drenched epic that cranks its action up to eleven, shot with delicious neon-drenched flair and glossy graphic novel visual excess, a consistently inspired exercise in fascinating world-building that genuinely makes you want to live among its deadly denizens (even though you probably wouldn’t live very long).  The denouement sets things up for an inevitable sequel, and I’m not at all surprised – right from the first film I knew the concept had legs, and it’s just too good to quit yet.  Which is just how I like it …

2.  AVENGERS: ENDGAME – the stars have aligned and everything is right with the world – the second half of the ridiculously vast, epic, nerve-shredding and gut-punching MCU saga that began with 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War has FINALLY arrived and it’s JUST AS GOOD as its predecessor … maybe even a little bit better, simply by virtue of the fact that (just about) all the soul-crushing loss and upheaval of the first film is resolved here.  Opening shortly after the universally cataclysmic repercussions of “the Snap”, the world at large and the surviving Avengers in particular are VERY MUCH on the back foot as they desperately search for a means to reverse the damage wrought by brutally single-minded cosmic megalomaniac Thanos and his Infinity Stone-powered gauntlet – revealing much more dumps so many spoilers it’s criminal to continue, so I’ll simply say that their immediate plan really DOESN’T work out, leaving them worse off than ever.  Fast-forward five years and the universe is a very different place, mourning what it’s lost and torn apart by grief-fuelled outbursts, while our heroes in particular are in various, sometimes better, but often much worse places – Bruce Banner/the Hulk (Mark Ruffallo) has found a kind of peace that’s always eluded him before, but Thor (Chris Hemsworth) really is a MESS, while Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) has gone to a VERY dark place indeed. Then Ant-Man Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) finds a way back from his forced sojourn in the Quantum Realm, and brings with him a potential solution of a very temporal nature … star directors the Russo Brothers, along with returning screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, have once again crafted a stunning cinematic masterpiece, taking what could have been a bloated, overloaded and simply RIDICULOUS narrative mess and weaving it into a compelling, rich and thoroughly rewarding ride that, despite its THREE HOURS PLUS RUNNING TIME, stays fresh and interesting from start to finish, building on the solid foundations of Infinity War while also forging new ground (narratively speaking, at least) incorporating a wonderfully fresh take on time-travel that pokes gleeful fun at the decidedly clichéd tropes inherent in this particular little sub-genre.  In fact this is frequently a simply HILARIOUS film in its own right, largely pulling away from the darker tone of its predecessor by injecting a very strong vein of chaotic humour into proceedings, perfectly tempering the more dramatic turns and epic feels that inevitably crop up, particularly as the stakes continue to rise.  Needless to say the entire cast get to shine throughout, particularly those veterans whose own tours of duty in the franchise are coming to a close, and as with Infinity War even the minor characters get at least a few choice moments in the spotlight, especially in the vast, operatic climax where pretty much the ENTIRE MCU cast return for the inevitable final showdown.  It’s a masterful affair, handled with skill and deep, earnest respect but also enough irreverence to keep it fun, although in the end it really comes down to those big, fat, heart-crushing emotional FEELS, as we say goodbye to some favourites and see others reach crossroads in their own arcs that send them off in new, interesting directions.  Seriously guys, keep a lot of tissues handy, you really will need them.  If this were the very last MCU film ever, I’d say it’s a PERFECT piece to go out on – thankfully it’s not, and while it is the end of an era the franchise looks set to go on as strong as ever, safe in the knowledge that there’s plenty more cracking movies on the way so long as Kevin Feige and co continue to employ top-notch talent like this to make their films. Eleven years and twenty-two films down, then – here’s to eleven and twenty-two more, I say …

1.  THE IRISHMAN (aka I HEARD YOU PAINT HOUSES) – beating smash-hit superhero movies and unstoppable assassin action-fests to the top spot is no mean feat, but so completely blowing me away that I had NO OTHER CHOICE than to put this at NUMBER ONE is something else entirely.  Not only is this the best thing I saw at the cinema this past year, but I’d be happy to say it’s guaranteed to go down as one of my all-time greats of the entire decade. I’ve been an ardent fan of the filmmaking of Martin Scorsese ever since I first properly got into cinema in my early adolescence, when I was first shown Taxi Driver and was completely and irrevocably changed forever as a movie junkie.  He’s a director who impresses me like a select few others, one of the true, undisputable masters of the craft, and I find it incredibly pleasing that I’m not alone in this assertion.  Goodfellas and The Departed are both numbered among my all-time favourite crime movies, while I regard the latter as one of the greatest films of the current cinematic century.  I’ve learned more about the art and craft of filmmaking and big-screen storytelling from watching Scorsese’s work than from any other director out there (with the notable exception of my OTHER filmmaking hero, Ridley Scott), and I continue to discover more about his films every time I watch them, so I never stop.  Anyways … enough with the gushing, time to get on with talking about his latest offering, a Netflix Original true-life gangster thriller of truly epic proportions chronicling the career and times of Frank Sheeran, a Philadelphia truck driver who became the most trusted assassin of the Northeastern Pennsylvania crime family and, in particular, its boss (and Sheeran’s best friend) Russell Bufalino, particularly focusing on his rise to power within the Philly Mob and his significant association with controversial and ultimately ill-fated Teamster boss Jimmy Hoffa.  It’s a sprawling epic in the tradition of Scorsese’s previously most expansive film, Casino, but in terms of scope this easily eclipses the 1995 classic, taking in SIX DECADES of genuinely world-changing events largely seen through Sheeran’s eyes, but as always the director is in total control throughout, never losing sight of the true focus – one man’s fall from grace as he loses his soul to the terrible events he takes part in.  Then again, the screenplay is by Steve Zaillian (Schindler’s List, Moneyball, Fincher’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), one of the true masters of the art form, with whom Scorsese previously worked with on Gangs of New York, so it’s pure gold – tight as a drum, razor sharp and impossibly rich and rewarding, the perfect vehicle for the director to just prep his cast and run with it.  And WHAT A CAST we have here – this is a three-way lead master-class of titanic proportions, as Scorsese-regular Robert De Niro and his Goodfellas co-star Joe Pesci are finally reteamed as, respectively, Sheeran and Bufalino, while Al Pacino gets to work with the master for the first time as Hoffa; all three are INCREDIBLE, EXTRAORDINARY, on absolute tip-top form as they bring everything they have to their roles, De Niro and Pesci underplaying magnificently while Pacino just lets rip with his full, thunderous fury in a seemingly larger-than-life turn which simply does one of history’s biggest crooks perfect justice; the supporting cast, meanwhile, is one of the strongest seen in cinema all year, with Ray Romano, Bobby Canavale, Anna Paquin, Stephen Graham, Harvey Keitel, Stephanie Kurtzuba (The Wolf of Wall Street), Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire) and Jesse Plemmons among MANY others all making MAJOR impressions throughout, all holding their own even when up against the combined star power of the headlining trio.  This is filmmaking as high art, Scorsese bringing every trick at his considerable, monumentally experienced disposal to bear to craft a crime thriller that strongly compares not only to the director’s own best but many of the genre’s own other masterpieces such as The Godfather and Chinatown.  It may clock in at a potentially insane THREE HOURS AND TWENTY-NINE MINUTES but it NEVER feels overlong, every moment crafted for maximum impact with a story that unfolds so busily and with such mesmerising power it’s impossible to get bored with it.  The film may have received a limited theatrical release, obviously reaching MOST of its audience when unleashed on Netflix nearly a month later, but I was one of the lucky few who got to see it on the big screen, and BELIEVE ME, it was totally worth it.  Best thing I saw in 2019, ONE OF the best things I saw this past decade, and DEFINITELY one of Scorsese’s best films EVER.  See it, any way you can.  You won’t be disappointed.

#how to train your dragon the hidden world #terminator dark fate #doctor sleep #spider-man far from home #us #us movie #knives out #Captain Marvel #john wick chapter 3 #avengers endgame #the irishman #2019 in movies

[magicpotiondaily]

Critics Choice Awards 2023 - fave looks ♥️

~ Britt Lower, Phoebe Dynevor, Amy Brenneman, Niecy Nash, Anya Taylor-Joy, Elle Fanning, Kate Hudson, Cate Blanchett, Rhea Seehorn, Adam Scott, Tyler James Williams, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Thuso Mbedu, Eve Hewson, Matt Smith, Jin Ha, Soji Arai, Jay Ellis, Brendan Fraser, Niv Sultan, Austin Butler, D’Arcy Carden, Lewis Pullman, Amber Midthunder, Quinta Brunson, Jessie Buckley, Aubrey Plaza, Marcia Gay Harden, Seth Rogan, Viola Davis, Anna Sawai, Andrew Garfield, Chelsea Handler, Stephanie Hsu, Jen Tullock, Monica Barbaro, Michelle Yeoh, Billy Eichner, Brian Tyree Henry, Paul Dano, Glen Powell, Stephen Lang, Henry Golding, Giancarlo Esposito

#critics choice awards #critics choice awards 2023 #red carpet #tapete vermelho #fashion #moda #Britt Lower #Phoebe Dynevor #Amy Brenneman #Niecy Nash #kate hudson #Anya Taylor-Joy #elle fanning #Cate Blanchett #Rhea Seehorn #Adam Scott #Tyler James Williams #Daisy Edgar-Jones #Thuso Mbedu #Eve Hewson #Matt Smith #Jin Ha #Soji Arai #Jay Ellis #Brendan Fraser #Niv Sultan #Austin Butler #D’Arcy Carden #Lewis Pullman #Amber Midthunder

[f1esbian]

i was tagged by @dykemulder so thank u my lovely queen 🥰🥰🥰

nickname: i honestly just prefer being called meghan but some people call me meg so that’s that lol

star sign: pieces sun, scorpio moon, gemini rising

favorite musicians: right now at this exact moment in time it’s tove lo, doja cat, and billie eilish

favorite sports team: chicago cubs

other blogs: nope. it’s a shit storm of everything i like here.

how many people do I follow: 400ish lol

tumblr crushes: like iz said, mu mutuals. yall hot asf

lucky numbers: just 3 hehe

dream vacation: go to a beautiful cabin somewhere during winter. there is like windows and everything and u can see all the snow out and it’s warm inside and i can just snuggle up and watch the snow fall omg that sounds like heaven.

dream car: uh. i don’t know anything about cars. i just don’t like driving big cars so as long as i always get to drive a small car, i’ll be happy.

favorite food: i don’t eat bc i like to eat. i eat out of necessity lmaoo. so i don’t really have a fave that stands out but i guess i love tomatos and string cheese (i know gross but id die for it) and ive been eating a lot of chicken noodle soup recently.

drink of choice: honestly i’ve just really been fucking with ginger ale recently

instruments: i was a percussionist in middle school but i stopped in high school bc i didn’t wanna do marching band. im two years out of high school so i haven’t played an instrument in a while.

language: just english. i took french for 3 years in high school but don’t remember any of it

celebrity crushes: every single commentary youtuber’s girlfriend. kelsey, aleena, mia, amanda, laura, jenna, ect. they’re all hot as fuck. other than that cate blanchett, margot robbie, florence pugh, anne winters, cindy kimberly, and tove lo. i could list more but here’s this.

fun fact: im not a fun person but i guess maybe uhh i met david duchovny and gillian anderson in 2016 lmao

tagging anyone who sees this and thinks it looks fun! just say i tagged u, i wanna read it ! :):) thanks again iz, love u sm queen❤️❤️

[serenagaywaterford]

I am reading up on Phyllis Schlafly, really infuriating stuff. Definitely seeing a lot of her in Serena (on the show only), right down to even her looks... so I can see why people hate her so much. I don’t know without Yvonne’s nuanced performance, I would’ve had much sympathy and empathy. Or maybe I am just a slut for Yvonne. Oh well... Btw, any interest in Mrs America? It’s got a great cast, although for some reason, I get a sense you aren’t a big Cate fan? Or I got it all wrong?

Well, Schlafly was one of the prominent anti-feminists Atwood based Serena Joy off of so it’s only natural to see the similarities! (The other was Tammy Fay Baker. Amongst, I’m sure, many other women of that ilk during the time period Atwood was writing.) They did strip basically the entire Tammy Fay aspect of Serena out of the TV!Serena. (Which is a shame in some ways, but sort of understandable in others. Book!Serena was a lot to translate, and yet strangely less developed somehow than the show version. Or am I crazy?) I have read some of these women’s essays and such, originally not voluntarily lol but part of a feminism course at uni and the prof thought it was absolutely necessary to read the other wide’s views in order to understand the entire scope of the issues. 

I think it’s pretty much majority opinion that without Yvonne’s specific acting choices and skill (and I suppose–let’s admit the director’s get some credit too lol) for bringing Serena to the screen, most of us wouldn’t find the character so fascinating. And I am not going to pretend to even lie, her looks help too. ;)

Of course I’m interested in Mrs. America. The content of this series is exactly up my alley. I love shit like this. And I have a gross little fascination with cults/terrible social movements and terrible conservative women and why they are so fucking awful lol. (Which leads into my slight preoccupation about how to change their minds so they can be feminists too. So many of them are intelligent, driven women who… my God. If they just could break that patriarchal bullshit mindset… Although admittedly, some seem to be just plain horrible to their bones. And I’ll admit it’s more appealing in fiction, than reality cos in real life people don’t change as easily or dramatically.) 

I’ll tell everyone here a little secret:

I know I probably give off a different vibe lol, but I don’t choose TV shows to watch based on who the actors are. (Subjective opinion time: If I did, I probably wouldn’t have watched THT cos I don’t like Fiennes, Bledel, or Moss all that much. Well, Moss as an actor has grown on me in time, lbr. Fiennes has always bothered me, so he’s perfect for Fred then lol but I still don’t think he’s an excellent actor, and Bledel is such a one-note actor imo. I know, sacrilege. Throw me to the lions, or whatever. Which is why I was pleasantly surprised by some of her scenes in THT, and not shocked when she didn’t deliver in other ones. And, I will fully admit, I didn’t care who the fuck Yvonne Strahovski was prior to her becoming Serena. I’d seen her in Dexter and she never really left an impression. So, based on casting alone, THT would not have been something I particularly cared about. Ann Dowd is about the only actor in THT that I had positive thoughts about cos she is stellar and always is, but she is hardly a main character in THT lol.) 

So, disliking an actor isn’t really an issue unless I particularly loathe one and know I wouldn’t be able to stand watching them under any circumstances. (This is rare.) Yes, sometimes I’ll give something a shot I otherwise wouldn’t cos I love a specific actor in it, but that doesn’t mean I will stick with it even if it sucks or say it’s great when it’s clearly not. I’m not one of those completists that must watch everything a certain person has been in. (Not anymore, anyway lol. When I had time and money in my youth, that was a different story. You bet I watched everything I could that had Natalie Portman, Laura Linney, Olivia Wilde, or Amy Adams in it lol.)

About Cate Blanchett. Um. I don’t dislike her? I actually enjoy her work as an actor… mostly, from what I’ve seen. (I very much disliked Carol, which is perhaps where you’re getting my dislike of her from? I thought it was a slow, boring, underwhelming movie. And I hated the age gap. But that’s not Cate’s fault. I also dislike Rooney Mara…so, yeah.) 

I’ve watched quite a few other films with Blanchett. Some were great, some sucked. As most actors have in their filmography. I adamantly don’t follow the tumblr/twitter lesbian trend of mooning over Cate because I am firmly and obstinately opposed to stanning straight people as “lesbian icons uwu” or “honorary lesbians” (See also: Hozier, Taylor Swift, Rachel Weisz, Harry Styles, etc etc.). I hate it (esp when it’s straight MEN) and I will not join in, even if they are outspoken activists for gay rights. Which none of them are. That just makes them a decent person, not a gay icon/honorary gay.

“Rather, I mention it as a reminder to myself, and to you, of an unfortunate yet undeniable fact: Heterosexuality is an overwhelmingly common trait for our so-called gay icons.

Celebrity fandom is really just a bizarro reflection of ourselves: who we are, what we value, who we want to be, and, sometimes, who we want to fuck. Our faves are us, basically, just in that creepy sexy lady Snapchat filter. And as fans, we invest in the celebrities we love. We help their interview clips go viral; we see their movies in theaters then stream them at home; we loudly cheer their awards season campaigns on social media. The celebrities we choose to uplift reap our time and our attention and our clicks and our money. They accumulate both our cultural and literal capital; they gain buzz and caché and glossy magazine profiles; they get bigger roles and bigger paychecks.” [this article is a basic explanation, but doesn’t get nearly as nasty as I would if I wrote it, lol.]

That doesn’t mean I don’t like Blanchett. It just means I don’t have the energy to waste on gushing over her cos she wears suits really well, goes to a drag brunch, and has played a lesbian once (that I know of, like, I’ll admit I don’t follow her career lol). She’s good. She’s done good roles. She’s not gay and shouldn’t be a lesbian icon, nor is she my fav ever. So, meh. She’s fine. I do appreciate her… energy? If that’s a thing. It’s a very self-assured, self-sufficient female energy that she emanates in her acting, and offscreen I would argue. It’s refreshing. I love confidence without arrogance or egoism. (Altho, lbr, all famous actors are egoists. It’s basically a pre-req. Some are just excellent at not letting it show.) But if I want to talk about an otherworldly tall lanky blonde actress, I’d prolly lean towards Tilda Swinton lol.

I’m looking forward to her in Stateless and Mrs America. I think she has potential to do both roles quite well. Although… I will say her American accent often leaves a lot to be desired lol. But it’s getting better. If I’m going to gush over any “lesbian icon” in Mrs. America, it’ll be Sarah Paulson. 

#(but lbr i don't really gush over lesbian icons anyway lol) #i just wanted to give a shout out to sarah paulson lmao #OOPS THIS GOT LONG AND I STARTED TALKING ABOUT THINGS ANON DIDN'T ASK AT ALL YIKES #oh well #it has been A Day #Anonymous

[imgoddamnpluckyremember]

Look, I'm just saying that Cinderella (2015) is where the bar is set for all Disney reboots, ok?

End credits song that feels exactly like it's the gotdam 90s again with it's poppy princessy vibe

That fucking ridiculously gratuitous 30 second shot of her dress. Your fave will never

Cate Blanchett with the murder eyes in fucking SILKS

Have courage and be kind. Omg, is there LITERALLY A BETTER GODDAMN MOVIE to teach children that kindness isn't weakness? No. There isn't.

CAN WE TALK MORE ABOUT THE SHEER FUCKING BEAUTY IN THE DESIGN OF THIS MOVIE THOUGH jfc what an eyegasm.

The prince isn't just like... There n shit. We know the guy. He seems like a winner. He wants to try to be a good King.

Okay, marrying a commoner like a FUCKING REBEL. Bro. Way to secure a woman who is for the people because she was one of the people. Power move.

Literally every part of this movie is a nostalgia fest. It's almost nothing like its predecessor, it's modern. Takes literally nothing appearance wise from the original. How many times have you watched a Cinderella redux in one fashion or another? They're NOTHING like the first version we watched as tiny people, except this one. If you watched hours and hours of all the Cinderella adaptations out there, this is as close to your childhood as you're going to get with remakes.

Bro. They can literally remake every Disney movie. They can use the most updated CGI, they can pull out all the fucking stops to make it a spectacular movie, but it'll never feel like your childhood as much as this will.

I'm sorry. I loved beauty and the beast ok, like... No hate or anything. But Cinderella is superior to everything. E v e r y t h i n g.

In short, this is a pro Cinderella (2015) blog. Haters get in the bandwagon or get tf off.

#Cinderella discourse #cinderella

[becumsh]

Oh hi, sorry if this is weird, but I've seen lots of post (reblogs?) you have about Guardian and... I'm intrigued. What is it? And do you know where I could watch it? (also I really like your blog so thank you!)

Sorry for the reblog shitposting, but this blog is nothing but a shitposting trashcan... But I’m glad I managed to pique your interest.

Guardian (zhen hun/镇魂) is a Chinese drama that has consumed my life and soul. I see it as a story about Chinese Torchwood that deals with supernatural creatures from the underworld. But absolutely no one in this fandom watches it for the sake of the plot due to the lack of thereof. I personally started watching it because Chinese is my minor, and I need some practice, but then I really got into it even though I really don’t want to be into it, but I’m very very very into it.

The show is based on a BL (boy’s love? yaoi? slash?) novel by Priest. The novel is about an epic love story between the Ghost King (an anthropomorphic demon-something being) and the Mountain God Kunlun, the drama unfortunately is very different and, as we say in Russia, tries both to eat a fish and sit on a dick, so it’s sort of Supernatural meets Torchwood meets CSI meets I don’t know what, it’s a bit of a mess. The series itself follows the adventures of the Special Investigation Department whose chief, Zhao Yunlan, is one of the two main leads of the show. At the beginning of the show he is very friendly, brave, devoted, and outgoing but has a cold heart. That is until he meets the second main lead, a polite and unassuming bio-engineering professor Shen Wei, who JUST HAPPENS to be the Black Envoy, the most powerful supernatural creature out there. It’s a little bit difficult to take him seriously because he’s wearing a black robe and wears a mask I can buy in a craft shop for kids down the road, so he kinda looks like a dramatic angsty goth teen going through a phase, but the actor manages to pull it.

Shen Wei (Black Envoy or what have you) met Zhao Yunlan 10 thousand years ago. Zhao Yunlan met him while investigating a murder in present day. Zhao Yunlan isn’t aware of that 10 millenium connection between them, and while Shen Wei silently pines after Zhao Yunlan, Zhao Yunlan falls for Shen Wei pretty fucking quickly. The rest is history, and you just need to watch it.

Before you say anything: it’s canon, and boi was I surprised just how much can you throw past the censors. I know, I was surprised too. I never thought that there can be the greatest love story never told in flesh and blood, not just only a queerbaiting delusional bullshit. And the love story is heartwrenching, you will bawl your eyes out.

Zhu Yilong (Shen Wei) is the most beautiful and etheral human being on the entire planet Earth second only to Cate Blanchett, Fan Bingbing, Eva Green, and Doona Bae, but let’s be real, those standards are unreachable, he might as well be the most etheral and beautiful person on the planet. I love him with all my heart. He deserves better roles, I cannot bear to watch the shit he stars in. He also is very meme-worthy, and random snapshots of him are hilarious, an opinion the fandom and I apparently don’t agree on, but like... I have a special folder on my laptop that says “Zhu Yilong Meme Screencaps”.

Johnny Bai (Bai Yu) who plays Zhao Yunlan is a precious cinnamon roll of pureness and kindness, he singlehandedly restores my faith in humanity, I will fight for him, and his voice drives me up the wall. He has an upcoming drama called ‘Detective L’ which is like a Sherlock Holmes adaptation set in Shanghai 30s, a series I’m absolutely obsessed with even though it doesn’t come out until March 2019. 

I lost the track of thought and I forgot the question, but basically:

There’s more relevant information in this post by @andwebegin

To understand exactly how unapologetically gay it is, watch @nerjaveika‘s works, my personal fave is this crack. Every single line spoken in Mandarin is present in the original show. Every single line. I know.

You can watch it on Youtube. I downloaded the episodes from MEGA, the subtitles are also there (the subs there are not that great though)

Basically [2] the plot, integrity, CGI, anything is terrible in this show, it’s very cringy and makes my eyes bleed. But the love story between Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei is one of the best I have ever, EVER seen. And considering that creators couldn’t make subtext text because of the censorship (it’s China, so...), I just thing the show deserves a round of applause because it managed to show such profound love it leaves me speechless. (bbc go and fuck urself, i hate you even more after having watched this show, just go and fuck urself).

And the acting of Johnny Bai and Zhu Yilong is absolutely banging, also once you start digging in, reading the novel, reading interviews and readint the making of, you realise how much love and work went into the show, I love it very much.

P.S. I have to warn you that you will cry buckets and buckets and buckets, it’s just........ there are going to be a lot of tears, so if you are not prepared for a perpetual trauma and a gaping hole inside of your heart, may be watch it up to, idk, ep33 or whatever. I’m sorry, my answer is all over the place, I lost it xDDD

#镇魂 #guardian #white-spirit-of-darkness