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mynameisananagram · 7 years

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Ryder character questions

This post was made by @jedimasteramell but because no one asks me owt, I’m gonna answer all of them.

Also thanks @alicesaurus for reblogging this onto my dash!

Just some fun character development/get-to-know-them questions! Warning, there are some basic spoilers.

The basics! Whats their full name, gender, and sexuality? Describe their general appearance and/or include a picture. Is there anything you canon beyond what the game allows?

This is Greta Ryder. She’s a pansexual woman with a tattoo on the left side of her face and neck, and scars on her right cheek. Her make up is amazing.

Can’t always wear Initiative whites and blues, Whats their dress style like? Do they prefer casual wear, or being in armor? Is it the same as it was in the Milky Way? How, if applicable, has it changed since arriving in Helius?

She prefers the armour options in Andromeda; integrating angaran or Remnant tech is extremely helpful; generally though, she prefers to chill out in her badass jacket. All her outfits are functional and stylish, in her favourite colours.

Do they have piercings, tattoos, or notable scars? Do they dye their hair, or is it a gene mod?

The scars on her cheek are a remnant from a previous misunderstanding with a group of vorcha at a Prothean dig site. The misunderstanding was resolved amicably, but there were scars on both sides.

As for hair, it’s a gene mod, done more for convenience than anything else; having to dye one’s hair in between missions was incredibly tiresome.

What’s their personality like? How do they feel about being Pathfinder? How do they change, if at all, over the course of the story?

At first, she was incredibly unsure of herself. Spending most of her pre-Heleus career on fairly tame dig sites, the only trouble she’d face was from pirates and scavengers. Outside of her comfort zone she’s constantly second guessing herself. Thanks to SAM and the rest of her team, not to mention her successes, she’s becoming more and more the Pathfinder her father knew she’d be.

What’s their preferred profile, or class? Were they naturally inclined towards combat or technical skills? Were they a developed biotic, or did they first experience it with SAM?

Greta was always into technology, always the first to adapt to new tech in both combat and her scientific role. As such, she tends to prefer tech skills in Helus, with the combo of Overload and Incinerate being very useful. That said, the biotic Annihilation Field is awesome for close range combos.

Canon says they served in the Alliance before joining the Initiative, do you keep this canon, or have you made some changes? Explain their backstory either way.

I’m a fan of the canon, truth be told. Greta has always been a sarcastic, highly capable nerd. She joined the Alliance, following in her father’s footsteps, but despite showing an aptitude as a combat technician, she found the idea of uncovering the mysteries of Prothean civilisation far too big a draw, and joined the scientific corps as a researcher and peacekeeper.

Everyone’s got one… List their (or your) favorite powers, weapons, and armor sets. Any special reason for these choices?

Throughout my Mass Effect history I’ve always loved the tech stuff. Overload and Incinerate are fantastic together, and good for basically every kind of enemy. As for weapons, the Disciple from ME3 is ace in Andromeda; I crafted I my own with armour-busting seeking projectiles and named it Deathlord. Couple that with cryo ammo and a crafted krogan hammer called Smash Bastard and the results are explosive.

As for armour, the health benefits of the Remnant armour is super handy, though the Maverick armour is a lot more stylish.

Its all in the family. Explain their relationship with Alec, Ellen, and their sibling. If you changed anyone’s names or added a different sibling in your canon, explain why.

As a rule, I don’t change canon. Greta’s relationship with her father is strained; there’s a lot of respect there but it’s not a traditional daughter’s love for her family. She is, however, extremely close to her twin, Scott. She wishes she could have spent more time with her mother.

What’s their favorite memory they have of their sibling? Of their parents?

The two weren’t close as children; the fact that they were twins was more of an embarrassment than anything else. Both wanted to be their own person and be as individual as possible. They only really became close in their late teens as they enlisted in the Alliance and realising just how similar they were to each other

How have they dealt with the aftermath of Habitat 7? How deeply does this affect them?

It’s hard to put into words. While never close to her father, Alec was still Greta’s dad, and he was a huge figure in his life. Losing him in such a heroic manner was hard to come to terms with, and the only person she could talk to about it was in a coma. Breaking the news to Scott while he was comatose was especially hard. Couple that with all the pressure put on her by the Nexus leadership, not to mention the insulting interactions with Foster Addison, has left a psychological toll.

Thankfully, her family on the Tempest has helped her adapt to this. Liam is always good for downtime, Jaal is always happy to talk about feelings, and Vetra is good for forgetting about problems and shooting the breeze. Lexi’s medical and psychiatric advice has been invaluable.

As they unlock the memories, how does this change, if at all, their view of their parents?

There was definitely a lot more to her parents than meets the eye; as mindblowing as these revelations are, especially these Reaper things and the apparent destruction of the entire Milky Way, part of Greta can’t help but feel hurt that Alec never trusted either of his children enough to impart this knowledge while he was alive.

Explain the way they feel about their squadmates, both initially and over the course of the story.

Initially, Greta finds Cora standoffish and cold. Over the course of the story, she finds her creepy love for the asari to be kinda disconcerting, and would rather keep her distance.

Liam’s a laugh. Initially he’s a bit annoying and cocky, but there’s real depth to him, and he’s a real friend, if a little immature.

Vetra is a solid friend, and helping her and Sid become closer really solidified the friendship Greta shares with her.

Jaal is a sweetie. He’s always been a sweetie, and most likely will always be a sweetie.

Drack is the best space grandpa ever. If Greta ever realised that she needed a parental figure, she’d probably realise that Drack fits the bill perfectly.

Peebee is definitely affected by her abusive relationship with Kulinda, but regardless, she’s an insufferable, immature, edgelord of an arsehole, and Greta is happy to have as little to do with her as possible.

Explain the way they feel about the rest of the Tempest crew?

Gil is a cocky, arrogant twat who needs to take a good hard look at himself.

Kallo is the loveliest being in the entire universe, and if anyone hurts him in Greta’s presence, they’d better be good at running away fast.

Suvi is the most beautiful woman in the world to Greta. They don’t agree on matters of religion, but their shared love of the beauty of the cosmos and science in general (not to mention that accent) keeps the fire burning.

How about Nexus leadership and the people on the Nexus in general?

Kesh is awesome. Kandros is a solid guy. Tann is a snivelling bureaucrat. Addison and her goddamn poetry can fuck right off.

What were their reactions to the Angara and the Exiles? How did learning there was a whole new species in Helius affect them? How did news of the rebellion affect them?

“Huh, a brand new galaxy and yet life has evolved beings with the same limbs and facial arrangements as the Milky Way, that’s extremely unlikely but OK whatever” (I have something of a bugbear about the fact that aliens all looking the same but with different heads is just ridiculously implausible, and don’t even get me started on the female angara looking ridiculously oversexualised... also, while we’re on the subject, why are humans the only species in the known universe to evolve hair? The fuck’s that about?

Ahem. Anyway. The existence of a pre-existing species in Andromeda does change perspectives; the Nexus species came here for a home, but the Habitats chosen were already habitats to other species. To just set up outposts willy nilly would be dangerously close to the colonisation of the Americas by the Europeans, which began with genocide and devolved from there. Every decision the Nexus makes in Heleus has to be at the discretion of the angara.

To paraphrase Greta at the beginning of the game, what would we do if the angara turned up on Earth expecting to live there?

What about their interactions with the Kett?

Knowing their true origin is hard; it’s not like there’s a lot of choice in the matter but the idea of eradicating an entire species, however hostile, is a chilling prospect.

Did Ryder fall in love? If so, with whom? What drew them to that person? Would their sibling approve?

She is deeply in love with Suvi (though she won’t deny an attraction to Jaal, Keri T’Vessa or Reyes Vidal), for reasons explained above. Scott would approve, probably; he’d also most likely have been drawn to Mr. Vidal.

What does Ryder do in their spare time? What are their hobbies and interests? Do they share these with their friends, or are they more private?

Greta’s big into reading. She likes to read mind-numbingly complex scientific journals, but her favourite are asari pulp romance novels which she enjoys reading for comedy value.

How do they feel being in command of the Tempest? Whats their favorite part of the ship? Least favorite?

Greta still finds it uncomfortable being in charge, but she’s getting there. She loves hanging out in her quarters (being bigger than a lot of Nexus apartments after all, but her favourite place is the bridge, next to her beau and the stars.

How about driving the Nomad? Are they a good or terrible driver?

No comment. Don’t ask Jaal.

How do they feel about their connection with SAM? What’s their views on AI in general? Knowing Milky Way history and the attack on Eden Prime and the Citadel a recent memory, did the Geth influence this view? Does their view on SAM change?

Greta is pro-AI, and while understanding the quarians’ actions during their war with the geth, she finds it upsetting that most quarians are still anti-AI. The geth attacks on Eden Prime and the Citadel were terrifying, but Greta knows that AI are objective and rational in their behaviours, and attacking colonies and the Citadel is not standard geth behaviour; she would have liked to have been assigned to the task force investigating the geth attacks had she not had her Alliance career sidelined by her father’s own research.

As for SAM, she is a huge fan. No matter what happens, she’ll never be alone, not to mention the fact that she’s basically a superhero now, able to adapt her body and mind at will.

Favorite world they landed on? How do they feel getting to be the first human to step in many of these places?

Clear out all the predators from Havarl and Greta could live there forever; it’s so beautiful and twilight and there’s no shortage of Remnant to study. If she didn’t have such a wanderlust she could definitely imagine another life as a scientist seconded to Pelaav Station.

How do they feel about the Remnant? Are they worried? Curious? Simply accepting of what they can do with it?

Being a former Prothean researcher, Greta is right at home in a world filled with ancient, mysterious alien relics from a long lost civilisation. And being a tech head, the ability to couple Remnant technology with their own is a big draw.

Do they ever wish they could just return to the Milky Way? Do they miss anything in particular about their old home? Did they bring anything special with them?

It would be odd not to want to go home; for one thing, you just can’t get a decent steak on the Nexus, given the rationing and limitations. Sometimes it’s nice to fantasise about her former life, where if she ran out of something, she could just go to a shop.

Thankfully, her excitement and interest in the exploration and discovery far outweigh the minor inconveniences.

How do they feel about what they’ve accomplished in Helius? Are they proud? Worried? Do they feel positive about the chances for a cluster-wide unity? If they could change anything that had happened since everyone arrived in the cluster, what would it be and why?

The journey to Meridian and beyond showed the power of a united galaxy, even with the limited resources of both the Nexus species and the angaran resistance. Reuniting the 4 main pathfinders, with word of the quarians still out there too, not to mention the krogan colony, was a huge effort but this union drove out a terrible threat and learned more about a cluster than ever before. The overarching feeling of the whole experience is one of hope. There’s much more work to be done, but with everyone working together, there’s nothing that can stop us.

#mass effect #spoilers #andromeda spoilers #mass effect andromeda #meandromeda #andromeda #mass effect spoilers #meme #ryder #greta ryder

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ecotone99 · 4 years

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[FN] Man in a Box - LUDIMΔGIK

I guess I'm as good a place to start as any. When I say "I" I don't mean the guy who was just speaking to you in the Introduction. I'm Chance, King of Queens. Is my name really Chance? Yes, but I’m not a rapper. Am I really a king? Yes, of the Queens of Kings. I don't want to tell you my real name. Where I’m from, everyone knows me as Chance. And by everyone I mean by you. Not "you," you but yeah, well, you. You from another time and dimension. You in another time and dimension know me—in another time and dimension. BUT before you roll your eyes and return to Facebook or Twitter, or, I don't know, TMZ? (Do people still use Gawker at this point? I'm still getting acclimated.), I know what I said sounds crazy. I know. And, while I do acknowledge that this might put this little story in the "fantasy" genre of your mind, I do encourage you to bear with me, because— because—actually, screw it! Ha! I can see already that most of you barely made it through the last guy's ramblings. Now this?! Well I'll have you know that I did not exactly ask to be in this position either, but here we are, with me in your hands! If you want to close me like a window, then do it! I was already out the door anyhow! But if you close that window, and I close that door, with me on the other side of it, we could be trapped! As I don't think we'll make much use of that hole in the wall, like with Pyramus and Thisbe, one of us would ruin this love affair!

Excuse me. I—I lost myself for a moment there. I think it knew I was talking to you. Whatever “it” is. That seems to be happening, ever since I got here. For one, I don’t mix metaphors. Often. And who the heck is Primus von Frisbee?

I’ll be honest. It’s exhausting. Did it work on you? The reverse psychology? The scare tactic? It got me before. You could stop, you know. You could stop reading. Possibly it’ll be too much. Possibly it’ll be too confusing. I can’t though. I’m stuck here. There’s no turning back. Is the desperation evident? I. am. thirsty. Burning up. You see, I'm really not used to this. Where I'm from, I'm a star. Like, I don't know. I can't say who I'm like because I'm just me. It'd be like if George Clooney suddenly said, "Who am I? I'm like Bradley Cooper." We'd all be like, "Um, what are you talking about, George Clooney? Are you okay? You're both very essential, incredibly sexy, talented m—theatre par excellence—you—" okay maybe this isn't the best example. But you get it. You got it, right? Ugh. It'd be like if Meryl Streep said, "I'm like Leo Messi!" (Though, come to think, she probably could play Leo in a movie on or on the field, the woman can do anything. Good point. Well, a point. Okay, focus! Me, Chance. I'm like...who am I like?) So I guess, in a way, where I’m from I'm like Andy Warhol, but more awkward? Or maybe more like a not-so-genius Leonardo da Vinci? Without the impeccable charisma, smoking body and that whole Renaissance-man quality that he was known for. Wow! Really not selling this well here. I’m like—I’m like an innovative Norman effing Rockwell, okay! Just—kind of commenting on and changing the times through painting, you know? I’m me! Just me. Imagine you, famous, and you’ll more or less get me. Does that make sense? Yes? No? Anyone?

Gah! It's so hard! You see, how can I explain to you that you already like me? Most of you, anyway. How can I explain that others before you, your ancestors, already have? (Some, not so much.) I guess I really can't, can I? I'll just have to show you. I'll just have to tell you about what happened in my dimension. How it's differed from yours.

In my dimension, the tension…the tension is very different. Kind of funny but, in my dimension Twitter banned Donald Trump from using the site during the middle of his presidential campaign (for obvious reasons) and he lost. But not because of being banned from Twitter. He wasn’t even a contender. I’m not going to go into all the details now, but the history of the USA during the last twenty years has been immensely different, because in the year 2000 of my dimension George W. Bush suffered a serious heart attack on Election Day and did not move to halt the recounting of Florida’s votes in the Supreme Court, which ultimately secured Al Gore the electoral college votes needed for victory.

For the past several years we’ve been turning methane released from livestock into renewable energy. Which sounds like some wacky Willy Wonka nonsense, I know, but US scientists collaborated with researchers in Argentina who had already developed a similar technology on a smaller scale, and together they made a device capable of extracting the gas out of the atmosphere. The federal government actually incentivized farmers to use the technology to make money. And there’s a lot of new building going on, even skyscrapers covered in plants. Companies also extracting carbon from the atmosphere. Landfills which double as power plants but are treated so they don’t release toxic chemicals…that triple as city attractions and tourist destinations. All of that is barely happening here, if at all. It’s kind of surreal to witness your world; it’s almost the opposite of mine. Partly due to Gore convincing one conservative billionaire (whom I’ll not name) that the future could and should be green, and that the moment was the optimal time to invest. Of course, it was the story of it that made any difference. The headline was enough to freeze the country’s broken, partisaned ice and allow politicians and private interest to skate to greener pastures, or whatever. I should add, by the way, that I’m not even some big environmentalist nerd. I mean, I care! I’m just telling you how it’s different in my place and time.

Regarding the small stuff, I really don't need to spend paragraphs describing it. Celebrity gossip is all kind of the same, isn’t it? You’re probably more curious as to how I got here, from another dimension. Or why? Lean close to the screen, let me tell you a secret. (I’m not doing that.) The secret is: I have no effin’ idea! Like, did I die? I passed out one night and I woke up in another version of me. How would you feel if you woke up in your body, but it wasn’t yours, and you couldn’t even talk or control it? You just sit there and watch this…buffoon of yourself go about all day mucking just about everything up. Barely getting a word in. I feel like I’m stuck inside a copy of myself here, is what I’m saying, a version of me in serious need of an upgrade. I feel like I’m on layaway. I’m half-convinced I’m dreaming. I’m struggling more than a bit, truth be told. You can probably tell, I don’t have a lot of answers. Really, very few. I’m kind of just rolling with it? Low-key losing my mind a bit but in a really controlled way. Maybe I just have to do something here, then I can go. Complete some task. I don’t know. What I do know is that one tiny BIG difference between your dimension and mine is me. Why does that matter? I think part of what's brought me here is the same thing that brought you to where you are now, that which brings us such joy yet so often gets in our way of passions pursued and unrealized alike. Any guesses as to what it is? I'll give you two hints. It doesn't grow on trees and it makes the world go round.

You guessed it! Love! You can't buy it, ya know. (Oh, and the money was a bit of a problem, too.) You see, in your dimension, a battle never occurred. A king was taken prisoner, in a sense, before it could. The me who used to inhabit this body solely, before I arrived. I guess I should give him a name, shouldn't I? To make this easier. We'll call the pre-Me me "Alex." Yeah. I like that. Alexander! It sounds honorable enough. Alex, he was a good guy. Is, I should say. I mean he's not gone. I’m Alex. I’m Alex from another dimension, one in which he had a lot less problems and did a lot more painting. He’s here. I, Chance, am an altogether different Alex, an Alex he could have been if he had gotten the...well, hopefully you're starting to get it. I don't know what to tell ya. Go back and reread, or I don't know, ask a friend. As for Alex, that cruel, blind love struck him at his core, just once in his life (his faulty tortoise shell never was very thick). Boy, did it mess with his brain. By the time it was finished with him, he was writhing on unable to get on his feet again and finish the race.

Because of love, because of a card in the deck remained blank. A king card was missing, never entered a battle. It was reshuffled, reshuffled, from one relationship to the next, one job to the next, one drink to the next. One joint, one cigarette. Then reshuffled some more. And yea I feel I should make it clear that when I say shuffle I mean drink, drink...drunk. Alex’s dream of being a novelist

Unfortunately, for Alex—let's see. How can I phrase this with self-compassion? We're a mixed bag. The roller-coaster ride was fun before it coasted right off the tracks. Or maybe it was that at a certain point Alex "forgot" to pull the safety bar down tight enough. And maybe the ride safety inspector was careless, carefully so. In the realm of looks, let's just say we’re kind of handsome and kind of ugly. In the realm of personality, a real fly guy and hella awkward. Brains? Smart enough to be writing this and dumb enough to be writing this. (And don't forget the dose of crazy!) What else? Virtue? Check +! In the realm of physical prowess? We’re the crouching tiger and the hidden dragon, caged at the zoo. We’re part beauty, part beast. Finally found, but so lost here. Y'all, there's giant wave about to lurch out of this great big length of ocean, and we’re just as liable to get carried away with it as you are. How do you see us, though? That strange, magical interplay between your mind, body and soul: how does it reflect us back to you?

Maybe if I let Alex explain it will help. OH. But first there's an important detail I'm leaving out. These "dream battles"—Rounds—in our story affect the real world in real ways, all too real. You know how you go to sleep and dream about the events and people of the past? Maybe about your problems, worries, sexual repressions...the subconscious is a jungle and the machete that is your conscious allows very limited access to it, for most of us. It's different with the Players in our story. Whereas most of us dream with little control over our actions in them, the outcome of their dreams, which they navigate with lucidity, can affect our culture, our politics, our every day to day. Success for these stars in the Ludimagik realm translates to success in the real world.

But Alex? Poor Alex. He never stood a chance. It’s almost as if the Universe said, what an infant, he’ll never grow up, and so it set about making him cry. Of course, he didn’t exactly make anything easier on himself, either. Let me ask you: How often do you remember your dreams if you get hammered, if that's an occurrence for you at all? Much less know that you're dreaming and control the dream? How much do you think your brain is developing, as it does throughout our twenties, when it's constantly being drenched in booze and beer? We're here to tell you: not as much as if you're living right, not by a long shot. For the longest time he had no clue that he could dream with any lucidity. And he’s still doesn’t have the full picture.

See, without saying too much yet, what I can tell you is that a good deal of people know a lot more about Alex than he does. They have been trying to orchestrate his fate, manipulating him into playing their games. Exploit what he doesn’t know. Or maybe they think he’s a bad guy. I don’t know. It’s pretty messed up when you think about all he’s been through. But hey—power corrupts! Someone’s got to have it.

In his defense, had the “demon” of alcoholism not gotten to him, things would be different. I’m proof of that. It’s hard to fight something you can’t see. The point is that drinking, getting drunk, every day, for years, up until the point when he nearly died, afforded him no second thoughts about dreaming. He’s getting there, though. Soon, he’ll play Ludimagik. Soon, he’ll be just aware, as soon you will be, of what he is capable of building, of creating.

Shall we meet Alex? Just be warned: he’s a little—what’s that word we heard the other day?—”extra.” But that’s just me. Here, decide for yourself.

Continue reading here.

See the previous section, the Introduction, here.

Please share and subscribe if you enjoy. Thanks for reading.

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layesica · 5 years

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Goodbye 2018: A Year in Review with Some Stuff Left Out

Guys… this year, I saw Dear Evan Hansen. Well… I guess we’re done here!

Yeah. You’re not getting off that easy. I would very much like to have a rant here, but I’m resisting the temptation. What’s done is done, so no point in wasting time thinking about it.

Have I ever done this as bullet points? Do I always do it as bullet points, but don’t remember that because I’m tired? Well, here are the bullet points of a year gone by…

JANUARY

• Started the year with Pack people. No kiss at midnight. This was a continuing trend…

• My schedule was all over the place. Tech and Front of House all willy-nilly.

• Started Grad Revue at Second City. I worked with a whole new group of people because that’s how it worked for me. Worked in the office to pay for it.

• Started my second Whole Life Challenge.

• Auditioned for the Universal Studios Tour Guide Program. Got the callback, but failed the improv. This was a continuing trend…

• For fun? Oh! I went roller skating for Sandy’s birthday. I friggin’ love roller skating, y’all!

• Rediscovered the Los Feliz 3. Saw Lady Bird and I, Tonya.

FEBRUARY

• Things got a little more ordered. Grad Revue, Second City office, Very Famous… all my nights were allocated!

• I started working exclusively tech at The Pack and exclusively Fridays. Hunter asked me to host Go Sketch Yourself, so Katie D. and I did it from the booth. My very niche bad tech sketch went over so well with this crowd!

• Went to the Opera for the first time to see Candide. It had Kelsey Grammar in it? Still enjoyable.

• Met some friends at Gracias Madre. I’d been wanting to try it since I moved here. Finally! Expensive and scene-y, but good!

• At the end of the month, I went part-time at the hotel because… well, there were no benefits to being there full-time, and I have shit to do, y’all!

• Got a Conan taping in there.

• Ordered some Samoas from a neighborhood Girl Scout. Someone tried to sabotage me, but I got those cookies and put them in my face! Finally!

• This year had two themes: 1) Forgiveness and, conversely, 2) You are dead to me now. Forgiveness started at the end of this month. It was an awkward first step, but sometimes it’s good to take a first step. I guess it’s just looking at the big picture of whether, as a whole, someone is a positive in your life or a negative.

• I did something terrible. I killed Gary. He was a delightful little aloe (according to Reddit, an aloe aristata). He was in a sugar skull planter from Trader Joe’s. I couldn’t tell that I was overwatering him. I overwatered him to death. I am a terrible plant parent. I still feel awful.

• Another loss. My trusty Herschel backpack finally gave out. So, I got a new one. Not a Herschel. A cheaper one.

MARCH

• Mom and Dad came to visit. They got a nice AirBNB right down the street from me... but the plumbing was shot. So we got to spend a week at The Hollywood Hampty! (Thanks, George!) We went to a Conan taping. We went to Madame Tussaud’s… um… yeah. Did the double decker tour bus that I get for free because I sell them at work. We dropped by Eataly. I need to go back there. We got free breakfast every day!

• I went to a party! I don’t normally do that.

• I got to be in Book Report at The Pack. Buzz Aldrin was seated in the front row I had to do a quick change into an elaborate costume and ran out with my dress tucked into my tights.

• I learned that when you do someone a huge favor, they don’t always reciprocate in kind, so you should bear that in mind when you choose to share.

APRIL

• Took a day trip to Venice and Santa Monica. Walked around the canals. That was neat.

• I doggie-sat for George and Ian with Parker -- a very, very good dog. Their apartment is so serene PLUS they left me gin and tonic and an adorable call sheet with Parker’s day outlined. Nice!

• I interviewed for the page program at Paramount thanks to Sandy’s recommendation. Didn’t get it. Maybe they felt like I was too old. I don’t know. They seemed impressed with my resume, but I still haven’t been called in for an interview for a regular job. This is a continuing trend… At least I got to have some Texas-style margaritas in the build up.

• Started Sketch 3 at The Pack. Old version. Just talking about the history of comedy and other comedy nerd / writer pursuits with Mike Upchurch . This may have been my favorite comedy class ever. Got some insider Mr. Show information. It’s the fandom that keeps giving!

• Saw Scott Thompson’s Buddy Cole Monologues at UCB. Accidentally made eye contact with Bruce McCulloch. It was a very exciting night for me.

• During Very Famous’s April Show, I gave this gift to my family back in Texas.

MAY

• Gallegos visited and did Go Sketch Yourself.

• He and Eloy came to opening night of my Grad Revue — Clickbait & Switch. Oh yeah! My Grad Revue at Second City opened.

• FYC Season, y’all! Netflix had some good stuff! I got to take a picture of Emily with Marty Short which enjoying the open bar and passed tray foods.

• Lindsey came to visit. Lots of Marvel. I probably will not be seeing any more Marvel, though. Unless they hire me for that job I applied for. Then, I would love Marvel! We went to Universal and my favorite Harry Potter ride broke down. Then, we rode it again immediately. And then I had motion sickness that lasted 7 days

• Brent Forrester started a series of Comedy Knowledge Drops at Dynasty Typewriter. They were so good! He is great!

• Put up a sketch at The Pack’s Ladies of Sketch Night with a dream team of actors. Also, go to dance again, but, sadly, I always end up in the back. Too many ladies!

• My calendar simply says “BOB!” I imagine I saw Bob at something… Oh, Dynasty Typewriter! It was fundraiser for one of their employees to renew her visa or something. Took photos of Emily and a very nice BrBa/BCS fan with Bob before we walked through Murder Park to get to the train.

• An actor that I very much had a crush on stayed at our hotel. He’s been on a downhill slide for a while and was obviously pretty high. He was also a jerk to the person who check him in. But he was nice to me… and when he smiled at me while thanking me for calling a cab, I kind of died a little on the inside. I wish I had the video from our security cam, but I’ll just have to remember it in my mind. When I got home from work and turned on the TV, there he was in a terrible movie.

• Went on an easy hike to a waterfall in Altadena.

JUNE

• Went to ATX fest again! Mom & Dad came and stayed a night at the hotel with me. Lindsey and Andrea met up the second day. It wasn’t as fun because I live in this place where I’m constantly surrounded by TV stuff. They did a Better Call Saul thing, so I got to go to that. I had some TexMex. It was A LOT.

• Flew back from Texas earlier than I had planned because our Grad Revue closed that Sunday. We did our final show, then received our diplomas and t-shirts. I am now a Second City Graduate. But not “Alumni.” That’s different… and also not possible in Hollywood. I also resigned from my work-study job with enough hours to take 3 more classes. It was sad, but I needed that time back to make money.

• Took in some Fringe shows. I’m so supportive! But also, the lack of reciprocal support is not exclusive to comedy people. That’s a thing I learned.

• I auditioned for Sketch at Second City. Didn’t get it. This is a continuing trend…

• Went on a little weekend trip to Long Beach. Checked out the aquarium. Did a whale tour. Saw an actual whale tail. Had some decent barbecue. Got a sunburn. I recommend the Hotel Maya near the Queen Mary. All the cookies you can eat! And they have fire pits!

JULY

• This was a light month, but that was fine because…

• I went to Comic Con in San Diego! We got volunteer badges. I ended up catching a ride with my friend, Osiokeh, so I got to spend one night at the hotel connected to the Convention Center. So nice! Well, I spent part of the night because there was a Better Call Saul Panel in Hall H, so I had to camp out waiting for my wristband. Of course, they had issues and that took forever. Then, I slept for 4 hours then went to get back in line. I sat through so much stuff AND that place pretty much emptied out for some boring panels. Not enough for me to upgrade my seating, but I could have just not done that at all.I did not budget enough time to get to my volunteer shift, so I had to scoot as soon as that was over. My volunteer job SUCKED! Gordon was nice enough to come look for me, but they didn’t allow us to have phones, so I missed him. So sad. What a sweetheart, though. :(

• Volunteering at Comic-con… Oof! I just kept getting the wrong shifts. They were torturous! The last day was a complete mess, and I was one of the last volunteers standing… because of course I was. At the end of all this, I was like, “NEVER AGAIN!” I did enjoy finding a hotel to work at and just people watching. I guess the first year is when you learn. I totally missed the badge sale for 2019!

• I finally started Improv 2 at The Pack. Neal Dandade was great! All new people again!

AUGUST

• Did a better convention… CAT CON! Now, this is where I belong. I won a Litter Genie and the cat-weed company gave Penelope a CatIt Flower Fountain. She is obsessed! So, I guess it may have been better than weed. We may never know. I met Cindy from @foster_kittens. She was very nice… but the main event was meeting Felix. He was so soft, but so over being petted by strangers! I signed up to be a foster, but with a chupacabra in our apartment, I decided against it. That’ll change.

• Season 3 of Better Call Saul started. Then I started a class, so I had to miss watching it live. Emily and I watched the first one with… some refreshments. It was so good! I am turning on Jimmy as he turns into Saul though. Like, I super hated him right at the end there. We’ll wait for Gene to roll around. Oh Gene. My heart.

• Went to San Diego for a weekend. Nice to check it out as a tourist. Walked across a swinging bridge. Spent hours at the USS Midway. Went on a paddle boat ride. Checked out a Padres game at Petco Park. Almost died on a Bird scooter.

• Finally started that Late Night Writing class. It finally worked out. I love it. I wrote jokes and people liked them. I guess I can write them after all.

• Took a one-day class on sketch writing from improv with Kevin McDonald from Canada’s Kids in the Hall. It was fun. Lots of nerds. We wrote 2 sketches.

• Went to see David Cross with Emily. Took myself to Umami before hand. We got some Bonus Bob!

• Other shows: So You Do Comedy…? at UCB. Chris had John and Jessie Ennis. That was fun. Kevin McDonald did a variety show at the Lyric Hyperion Theater. First time there. Cute place! We sat so close. Tim Heidecker dropped a guitar stand on me.

SEPTEMBER

• Improv 3 at The Pack Started. Shaun Landry showed us how to be actors. We did prepared monologues for a class that John Conroy subbed. Shaun said he told her he wanted to tape one of them because it was so good. She said Justin. There was no Justin. No one even close except Jessica. So, I’m just gonna assume he meant me. Because I need it for this next thing…

• Submitted a reel to be a performer on my or a TPT Sketch Team. Didn’t get a callback. I’m starting to think maybe I am not a good performer. But giving up isn’t a thing I do, so I’ll keep trucking along. At least I get to feel like I’m SNL-era Bob Odenkirk. And from what I heard from a person who worked with him around this time, we have/had about the same pitching style for this level in our careers. That makes me feel better. But, like, he was at SNL and I’m at a little theater in Hollywood… and also he’s a genius… so maybe not that much the same.

• The good news is that I get to continue as a writer on Very Famous.

• I also got to play a terrible British stereotype in a sketch with friends at Go Sketch Yourself and UCB’s Everybody Get In Here. Multiple people told me how funny they thought I was in it. I accidentally dressed like Oliver Hardy, but thinner and with boobs.

• Dana Gould did Chopping Block at The Pack. That was amazing! They needed extras and, oh, how I wanted to be in something one of my heroes wrote… but also I wanted to watch it. So I chose the latter. I’m good with that.

• At work, a guy from Fox News yelled at me over the phone because of something dumb. I don’t even remember. Cool guy.

• Briefly joined an improv practice group. Quickly realized that I am too poor for that.

• Started another Whole Life Challenge. It had been a while.

• Went to another Conan taping. It turned out to be the last. September 18. 25 years and 5 days after I first watched Conan on late night television. A few weeks after this, the hour-long show would cease to be. A total surprise to me. A half-hour replacement coming in January.

OCTOBER

• Oh yeah! Back in September, Andrew asked if I would like to be in The Ointment at The Pack. Um… OF COURSE! So I got to play a character who murdered her husband… 10 years after she wrote a blog post about how she would do it. I also played an Octopus tentacle. It was so fun!

• Ian asked me to be in some short, blackout videos he was making to remind people to vote. That was fun, too!

• Briana asked me to be in her sketch for Tales from the Laugh Dimension at The Pack. Duh! Of course! I also did a couple of things with her for open mic sketch shows. It was a lot of fun.

• The best thing about all these parts I got was that right around this time, someone who was grasping at straws to make me a bad person declared that I was “angry about all the sketches I didn’t get cast in.” LOL Yeah, about that. So, I guess things do happen for a reason.

• After a couple months of looking for a full-time position, so I could get out of my living situation because of it being a danger to Penelope, I kicked that into overdrive. I wish I could have kept my old place, as I was the only one who really loved it, but also, all the sage in the world wouldn’t be able to vanquish the bad joo-joo. This turned out for the better in the long run.

• But more good things happen! Hunter suggested that I help produce a show at The Pack for Halloween as part of WPCK. We did an exquisite corpse with all-female writers and an all-female cast (but a male director because… I guess… let’s not go overboard?) based on the Bill Joel video for Allentown, the play No Time for Sargents (watch the TV version of this, please) and Ragnar Benson’s series of survival books. I got a pretty big part and memorized the shit out of my lines… only to have my entire intro skipped. So, I had some confusing costuming, but the whole thing was kind of that way… and I guess we can just blame the format anyway. It was still fun. And I got to go eat Doomie’s with some great ladies!

• Finally got to see 1970s-style Hollywood Boulevard thanks to that Tarantino movie. I was only there for the throwback architecture. Walking home after class, I saw Brad Pitt.

• Took myself to the beach again.

NOVEMBER

• November 1. The day I saw Dear Evan Hansen. I was not ready. It was so good! I cried the entire time. I tried to win the ticket lottery every day. I listen to the soundtrack constantly. I may have to wait, like, 3 years to see it again.

• The next day, I picked up my rental. I deserve a break, so I took one in the form of a road trip along the PCH. I ram some errands in Burbank, then drove through Malibu Canyon to start in Malibu. It was beautiful. How have I never been to Malibu before after 2+ years in LA? The first day, I stopped in San Luis Obispo. Oof! At least the Embassy had a good evening reception. I ordered some Santa Maria steak on Postmates and it was so good! Then, I just relaxed. SLO is not that exciting.

• Day 2, I drove up to Monterey. It took forever. But it was BEAUTIFUL. Just singing Dear Evan Hansen songs and trying to pay attention to the road. In Monterey, I went to some beach locations, like where John Denver crashed his plane. Then I watched the sun set on the beach. The Embassy there did not have a good evening reception.

• On the last day of my road trip, I drove up to San Jose to go to the Winchester Mansion. It was really neat, but not as exciting as I thought it would be. Still enjoyable. Had an expensive burger, went on a disappointing detour trying to find a Peet’s, then drove in the dark on The 5 back to LA. Wow! There is nothing there.

• The last day with the car, I took Penelope to the vet. Got the works. She’s all good. Didn’t even need a teeth cleaning.

• Station Theater’s Can’t Tell Us Nothing won Matt Besser’s Improv for Humans contest. They did a show at UCB, so reunited with some Houston improv folks. And also someone I worked with at the WPCK thing. Worlds collide!

• Saw a screening of Stan & Ollie at IFC Fest. The acting was great!

• There was a book event for Paul Myers’ book about Kids in the Hall at UCB with Dave and Scott. Scott is a force of nature. I love him so much! Also, Paul Myers is Mike’s brother… or Mike Myers pretending to be a guy named Paul who is also his brother.

• When I was in high school and college, there was a stand up / storytelling show in LA called Uncabaret. If I lived in LA, I would have gone. Now that I do, I went to their 25th anniversary show. It was a room full of people from the 90s, still in the 90s. Not a complaint.

• Late one night, I saw that Katie was subletting the apartment she had just moved out of. A studio in Hollywood in my budget, bills included. By the end of the month, I had the keys to that apartment. I should have gone ahead and put my notice in for December 1, but I got nervous. I ended up paying rent on 2 places.

• Started Improv 4 at The Pack. Rich is great! He has the perfect personality of a person I can get along with.

• Thanksgiving at Fogo de Chao is TOO MUCH MEAT!

• Very Famous got into SF Sketchfest! Finally going to San Francisco!

DECEMBER

• Packing! That pretty much sums it up. I rented a car for the small stuff. Asked for help with the big stuff. We did it! Penelope and I are free!

• Ian asked me to be in his directorial debut at Second City — A Fonzie Scheme. We did rehearsals to generate material. It was fun.

• I saw Come From Away. I mean, after Dear Evan Hansen, I thought I would never be able to love a new musical, but this one got me. It was good.

• I got older. For my actual birthday, we went to a Yoga guru’s Winter Solstice Celebration — even though it wasn’t the solstice yet. We did some intention setting and white people dancing and healing breathing and tarot card pulling and labyrinth walking and fireside singing. Then we got ice cream. The following day, I invited some people to bottomless mimosa brunch. It was a great time! A single mimosa, followed by a carafe of mimosa, then another single mimosa is the perfect amount of mimosa. Then, I bought some corn cookies and a slice of crack pie from milk bar.

• Spent the next few days getting the apartment in order, so I could come back home to not a mess after the holidays. I did a lot, so I’m looking forward to getting home to Penelope.

• Capped off a creative year by submitting my very first late night-style writing packet. A warmup for the NBC Late Night Writers Workshop. Guys, I’ve known it my whole life: I friggin’ love late night!

• And just for good measure, my $400 (I got them on sale for $75) sunglasses broke. I was tempted to get some Ray Bans, but opted for some MUCH cheaper Target ones. RIP Jimmy Choo star sunglasses. They were good to me for like 3 years AT LEAST.

• Went back home for the holidays. Spent a lot of quality time with Mom and Dad. Saw Mark and Jacob. Didn’t get nearly enough writing done. Didn’t finish my book. At least I got to mostly relax. Mom let me win at Scrabble a couple times before winning like 12 times after that.

A LOOK AHEAD

Tonight for New Year’s Eve, Emily, Ian and I are going to see Bob and Naomi’s Not Inappropriate Show at UCB. Then later, we are going to the New Years Eve celebration at Dynasty Typewriter. They got a lot going on over there.

I tried to focus on the high points of this past year. The low points were pretty low. I’ve struggled this year, but have done my best to try and stay positive. I lived and I learned.

The word of the year for 2019 is BUDGET. I am going to set myself up with the tools I need to budget my money, budget my time and budget my food. The main focus will be finding a new job. That has been a big issue since I moved to LA. I’m wearing myself out.

I need to cut myself some slack this year, but also continue to get shit done and be better at that.

I hope the rest of you have a wonderful year. And, if you made it this far, why are we not best friends and going to Salt & Straw every month or laughing and bitching over bottomless mimosas every other weekend? I need more of that!

BONUS

Annual kitty feet, anyone?

#year in review #goodbye 2018 #hello 2018 #la improvisers #comedy writing

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Best Amazon Prime movies: the best films to stream in July 2018

http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=5201 Best Amazon Prime movies: the best films to stream in July 2018 - http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=5201 Amazon Prime's movie selection keeps getting better and better. While it's rival Netflix focuses on original content, newer movies and TV shows (something that Amazon does admirably at too), Amazon does a good job of keeping its movie streaming catalogue loaded up with classics and award-winning flicks. Having said that, there are lots of films in its library that are boring, mediocre and really, really rubbish. The cream is there, but there's a lot to dig through first.That’s why we've done all the hard work for you. We've scoured all of the movies on offer for anything and everything that's worth watching on Amazon Prime.We've collected together more than 100 movies that you can stream on Amazon Video (that’s the movies and TV streaming section of Amazon Prime) right now. Expect a mixture of recent releases and timeless classics, as well as films that are suitable for the whole family. [Update: Amazon Prime has recently added The Wrestler, Darren Aronofsky's touching and heart-breaking movie about a wrestler (played by Mickey Rourke) who despite being too old and ill for the ring tries to cling onto the success he had decades before. Dark comedy classic Death Becomes Her has also landed on the streaming service, which stars Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis.]We all know that streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video can turn an occasional movie-watching hobby into hours (and hours and hours) of endlessly flicking through film options. It's also worth bearing in mind that for every award-winning work of art on Amazon Video, there's lots of B-movie trash that isn't even worth putting on to ease away a Sunday morning hangover.Although we do love the odd guilty pleasure now and again, in this list we’ve created you'll only find the best picks. So let's dive straight in. Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial New Entry: This dark comedy stars Goldie Hawn and Meryl Streep who are on a mission to stay young, beautiful and full of life forever. As you'd expect, that wish comes with pretty disturbing consequences, especially when you're buying a creepy elixir from a witch, played brilliantly by Isabella Rossellini. New Entry: This touching and (and at times heart-breaking) movie from Darren Aronofsky is about a wrestler (played by Mickey Rourke) who despite being too old and ill for the ring tries to cling onto the success he had decades before while trying to rebuild his relationship with his daughter. New Entry: The Mummy Sure Tom Cruise and co. tried to remake the 1999 version of The Mummy, but it just didn't have the cheesy charm of this original. If you haven't seen it already, it's a fun and at times actually quite creepy, classic adventure tale about awakening an ancient Egyptian mummy. Rachel Weisz and Brendan Fraser are kooky and lovable as the lead characters and the sequel, The Mummy 2, isn't half bad either. New Entry: The Theory of Everything Managing to be both beautifully heart-warming and heart-breaking at the same time, this biographical movie follows the early life of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. It's been adapted from the book Travelling to Infinity: My Life With Stephen, written by Hawking's ex-wife Jane. It particularly focuses on his time at Cambridge University, his relationship with Jane and his ALS diagnosis. New Entry: True Romance It's not your standard love story, but True Romance stands up as one of the greatest in Hollywood history. Take two unlikely lovers, a bunch of crooks, drugs, guns and arguably the best script Quentin Tarantino has ever worked on, and you've got a cult classic if ever there was one.When comic book nerd Elvis falls in love with Alabama, the beau of a big time drug dealing pimp, the two have to race across country in an attempt to avoid the mob from whom they've accidentally stolen a suitcase of cocaine from. With violence around every corner, will they ever be free to just enjoy each other's company? Here's our Best Amazon Prime TV ShowsRival check: These are our best movies on Netflix UKAnd here are the best shows on NetflixThe best Netflix sci-fi movies you can stream right nowThe best horror movies you can scare yourself silly with Logan Lucky Brothers Jimmy, played by Channing Tatum, and Clyde, played by Adam Driver, plan to carry out an elaborate robbery during the Charlotte Motor Speedway. It's an action-packed comedy with a stellar cast, alongside Driver and Tatum, Daniel Craig, Hilary Swank, Katie Holmes and Sebastian Stan all star. Steven Soderbergh reportedly came out of retirement in order to direct and distribute Logan Lucky, if you wanted anymore proof it's definitely worth a watch. The Last Stand Arnie plays a small town sheriff on a border town who has to go head-to-head with a fugitive on the run from the FBI. It's not the best movie on offer, but if you like action, one liners and edge-of-yer-seat thrillers then it's one for you. The Hurt Locker Kathryn Bigelow is one of the best action directors around, so it’s no surprise that The Hurt Locker won her the Best Director award at the Oscars - the first time a women won the accolade. What is surprising, though, is just how nuanced the film is. Given it’s about disposing of bombs, the tension is in the quiet moments, rather than when the explosions start. Full Metal Jacket Stanley Kubrick's classic take on the Vietnam War follows the journey of Private Joker Davis, from his gruelling training regime all the way to marine status. It looks at the ups, downs, horrors and psychological damage of war. Free Fire Set in Boston in the late '70s, Free Fire is a fantastic, inventive film that mostly takes place in a warehouse. Because of the limited scenario, it's thanks to Ben Wheatley's effortless and stylish direction and the superb ensemble cast - and lots and lots of gun play - that Free Fire never becomes boring. The Man From U.N.C.L.E The Man From U.N.C.L.E is by no means a faithful adaptation of the TV show of the same name (the characters remain but everything else has changed) but it is a super-stylish crime caper from Guy Ritchie. It looks great, thanks to its '60s setting, and the cast are superb. Henry Cavill (a Brit playing an American CIA agent) finally shows the world the charisma he lacks as Superman, while Armie Hammer (an American playing a Russian) is fantastic as Cavill's KGB opposite. Alicia Vikander (a swede playing a German) shows off her funny side, while Elizabeth Debicki (a french woman playing someone who is not French) is great as the villain of the piece. It's a tad overlong and convoluted but a great, underrated watch. Heat Heat is widely regarded as Michael Mann’s best film. And it also has the classic combo of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino at the height of their acting powers. De Niro’s Neil McCauley is planning one last heist before retirement and Pacino’s Lieutenant Hanna has to stop him. A story of two flawed alpha males on each side of the law, their relationship is one of both enmity and respect. This isn’t your average by-the-numbers crime thriller. End of Watch Before David Ayer was assembling a Suicide Squad and creating one of the most abysmal comic-book movies ever, he made this highly original film that’s shot documentary style and focuses on a couple of cops whose job it is to patrol South Central LA and keep the peace. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña are superb as the pair who risk life and limb to do their job. Given Ayer grew up on streets not dissimilar to what’s being portrayed in the movie, End of Watch is a searing and honest portrayal of an area of America few would dare venture. The Wave Norway isn’t renowned for its disaster movies, but with The Wave and Troll Hunter it is making a decent name for itself. The Wave is about a tsunami that hits the country when a Norwegian fjord collapses. Given the relatively low budget, not much disaster is actually seen. Instead we are let to deal with the individuals who are trying to survive the wave. As disaster movies go, this is one of the more interesting to watch. Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial Pawn Sacrifice Tobey Maguire plays American chess legend Bobby Fischer in this dramatic biographical film. It follows the true story of the 1972 World Chess Championship when the troubled genius Fischer battled Soviet Grandmaster Boris Spassky, played by Liev Schreiber. Perfect if you're looking for a gripping Cold War drama. There Will Be Blood Award-winning US drama There Will Be Blood tells the compelling, chilling and at times very, very emotional tale of a silver miner-turned-oilman desperate to make a fortune during California's oil boom in the late 19th century. Critics loved the movie and Daniel Day-Lewis, who plays the lead role, landed himself a BAFTA, Oscar, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, NYFCC and IFTA Best Actor award for his performance. Wowee! Last Flag Flying Based on Darryl Ponicsan's book of the same name, Last Flag Flying is Richard Linklater's latest movie starring Steve Carell, Bryan Cranston and Laurence Fishburne. That stellar line-up play three veterans who reunite after one of their sons is killed in the Iraq War. The Florida Project Indie critical hit The Florida Project is one of the newer films on Amazon Video. It follows a summer in the life of six year-old Moonee, a joy-filled child who lives in a motel just outside Disney World. And the struggles of her mother as she tries to makes ends meet. The film is directed by Sean Baker, one of today’s most interesting indie film-makers. He also made 2015’s Tangerine, a low-budget hit shot entirely using iPhone 5 phones. Borg Vs McEnroe Perhaps one of the most iconic tennis matches of all time has been immortalized in this drama from director Janus Metz Pedersen starring Sverrir Gudnason as Björn Borg and Shia LaBeouf as John McEnroe. This isn't just about the tennis though, as the drama follows how the legendary duel at Wimbledon affected the men's lives too. A Clockwork Orange We could argue all day about which of Stanley Kubrick’s films is the best. But A Clockwork Orange is up there with 2001: A Space Odyssey, Dr Strangelove and The Shining, no doubt. It’s an adaptation of Stanley Burgess’s novel of the same name. A Clockwork Orange follows Malcolm McDowell’s Alex and his gang of Droogs. They stalk the streets, committing acts of “ultra-violence” and talking in an affected argot. A description like this doesn’t uncover the unsettling and weird appeal of this 1971 classic, though. You’ll have to watch it. Falling Down William Foster is a man falling apart. He’s divorced, fired from his job, a middle-aged white man who feels like a victim of the world. So he takes to the streets with an uzi, terrorising ordinary people. Falling Down was a powerful film in 1993. The current issues of US gun policy and racial division make the movie seem as vital as ever. Michael Douglas plays the lead role, and some consider it to be the best performance of his career. Magnolia You’ll need to set an evening aside for this one. Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1999 Magnolia is a sprawling three-hour epic of the interconnecting lives of disparate people living in the San Fernando valley, Calfornia.Some criticise it for being overlong and melodramatic. But if you can submit to this film you’ll find it powerful and moving, an insight into human nature. “Do not expect subdued taste and restraint, but instead a kind of operatic ecstasy,” said movie reviewing legend Roger Ebert. Goodfellas An unalloyed classic among gangster films, Goodfellas isn’t to be missed. Ray Liotta is Henry Hill, a young man who idolises the gangster lifestyle and rises up through the ranks under the guidance of De Niro’s menacing but charismatic James “The Gent” Conway.There are guns, drugs and the downfall of powerful figures. It’s all laced with black comedy, and director Martin Scorsese's masterful movie-making doesn’t waste any of Goodfella’s two and a half hour run time. Dial M for Murder We're sure you've heard of this one. Dial M for Murder is a Hitchcock classic starring Ray Milland and Grace Kelly. Milland plays a man who suspects that his wife (Grace Kelly) is having an affair and blackmails an old friend to murder her. What follows is a thrilling crime drama that's a true classic. The Lost City of Z Largely overlooked upon its release, The Lost City of Z is in fact a fascinating tale, with Charlie Hunnam playing real-life British explorer Percy Fawcett. At the turn of the 20th century he ventured into the heart of the Amazon, and discovered an unknown, advanced civilisation. It become a great passion, understanding this culture, with Fawcett returning multiple times to demystify a people previously considered "savages", before Fawcett himself mysteriously disappeared. If you're adverse to films starring Robert Pattinson (co-starring here) after his Twilight days, don't let that stop you from giving this wonderful film a go. Jackie Jackie is all about Natalie Portman. Her portrayal of Jackie Kennedy, days after the assassination of her husband and president of the United States John F Kennedy, is a masterclass of acting. She has studied footage of Jackie and got her mannerisms and speech imprint spot on. The film is a stark and intimate look and the former First Lady and is a rollercoaster of emotions. It's endlessly watchable and it's all because of Portman who earned (and subsequently missed out on) a well-deserved Best Actress Oscar nomination. Silence Martin Scorsese has been in the movie business long enough to do whatever he wants. Silence is his him at his most uncompromising. A difficult sell after the fleeting fun that was Wolf of Wall Street, Silence is a meditative, hard-to-watch movie about pilgrimage. Starring Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver as two monks who go on a journey to find a place where Christians are put to extremes to prove their love for god. It's a trying movie and one that takes the utmost concentration. It's not quite the masterpiece Scorsese was seeking, given he's been mulling the story for decades but it's a worthy, if meandering watch. Moonlight Moonlight is stunning film. Split into three parts, the movie charts the life of Chiron, a black man growing up in Miami. It's heartbreaking and uplifting in equal measure and just so happens to be the lowest-ever budgeted movie that has won the Best Picture Oscar. While the acting is superb in all three of the sections - it's the storytelling that really shines and shimmers here. It's captivating, brooding stuff. Manchester By The Sea It's hard not to write about Manchester By The Sea without stepping into spoiler territory so here's the broad strokes: Casey Affleck stars as a Boston janitor who has to take care of his brother's son after his brother dies. What ensues is a heartbreaking movie. Its backdrop is a snowy Manchester in Massachusetts, something that echoes the characters in the movie. This isn't a film that wraps up neatly in a bow in the end - it's much more closer to fractured, complicated business that is real life. Lion Lion sounds like a movie that's been manufactured for awards season but it's much cleverer than that. It's based on the true story of Saroo Brierley, a child from India separated from his family when he was just five years old and adopted by a couple from Tasmania. The story follows Saroo in his younger years then flips to him as an adult on the lookout for his real parents. Dev Patel is brilliant as the adult who goes on a journey to find out his true heritage. While it all sounds a little melodramatic, it really isn't - director Garth Davis of Top Of The Lake fame manages to make a movie that's not too overly dramatic but really rather moving. I, Daniel Blake Some 40 films into his career, you would expect director Ken Loach's talents to be on the wane but I, Daniel Blake may well be his masterpiece. It's a superb study of the class system in the UK, and what happens when someone tries to be a better person despite bureaucracy stopping them from doing just that. Yes, it's political but Loach doesn't play this part of it up - it just naturally seeps through because of the frustrations the film presents. Essential stuff. The Impossible The Impossible is what Tom Holland was doing before he became Spider-Man, starring in a true tale about the devastating tsunami in Thailand. He is one of three sons of Naomi Watts and Ewen McGregor's characters and part of a compelling character study of what happens to people with natural disasters strike. Director JA Bayona proved he is a talent to look out for with The Impossible. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which he is helming in 2018, should cement that fact. Room Brie Larson stars in this heartfelt study of human endurance. Larson is Ma. She has been imprisoned in a small shed for years, having to bring up her little boy Jack (a great Jacob Tremblay) in isolation. The film follows their story to the bittersweet end. For a film that’s mostly shot within the confines of a small room, director Lenny Abrahamson manages to eek out pathos in the mundane but it’s the acting of the two leads that’s the real reason to watch the heart-rending movie. Apocalypse Now Apocalypse Now is a rare gem of a movie. Born out of chaos, where leading actors had to be replaced, medical problems blighted the shoot and Marlon Brando went somewhat off piste, it’s a miracle there was any film at all to show for the shoot, let alone one of the greatest movies ever made. Based loosely on Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness, the film follows a soldier’s descent into hell as he tries to track down the elusive Colonel Kurtz, a decorated war veteran who has seemingly gone mad. From the amazing visuals, to the sweeping score, to the acting chops of the main cast, Apocalypse Now is a terrifying masterclass in filmmaking. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy John LeCarre’s superb spy novel is given a decent adaptation, thanks to Let Me In director Tomas Alfredson’s measured, careful take on the source material. Gary Oldman is superb as George Smiley, the veteran spy catcher brought out of retirement to find an Russian mole in the ranks of the MI6. Even if you know who the mole is, the way the film unfurls this information is utterly captivating. Spotlight A deserved winner of the Best Film Oscar, Spotlight is a searing look at investigative journalism at its finest - trying to uncover the truth of child abuse within the Catholic church. The film is a true testament to real journalism and throws shade at online clickbait and its erosion of proper investigative news gathering. Oh. The King's Speech Another Oscar winner seemingly grown in a petri dish for the sole purpose to win awards, The King's Speech is one man's struggle to get over a speech impediment and subsequent fear of public speech - it just so happens this man is also the king of England. For all its faults, it tugs on the right strings and is very watchable. The Deer Hunter The Russian roulette scene may be what most people think of when someone chats about Deer Hunter but the movie has so much more to offer. It shows the horrors of war during and after the Vietnam conflict, shining a light on what a situation like that does to a person and their relationships. It's a gruelling but sometimes beautiful watch. Mulholland Drive What started off as a failed TV pilot ended up being one of David Lynch’s most accomplished films. As with any Lynch movie describing the plot won't do Mulholland Drive justice. What starts off as a portrayal of a woman seeking fame in Hollywood ends up being a nightmarish look at the duality of personality and what happens when reality turns into a fever dream. Captain Fantastic It’s great to see Viggo Mortensen back as a leading man and Captain Fantastic suits his eclectic sensibilities down to the ground. It’s a film about a family of homeschooled children who have lived off-grid with their eccentric parents. When their mother dies, they come back to civilisation with a bump. Mortensen is superb as the grizzled patriarch and the casting of the kids is spot on. In a film full of surprises, perhaps the most surprising thing about Captain Fantastic is its writer-director Matt Ross. He plays Gavin Belson in Silicon Valley! Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial Interstellar Even when Christopher Nolan missteps, he still manages to hide the stumble with a highly orchestrated dance routine. Interstellar is overblown and weighed down by its own importance but, boy, is it an epic watch. Matthew McConaughey stars as Cooper, a farmer and former test pilot who helps on a mission to save the people of Earth, which is ravaged by lack of land resource. The mission involves going to space and entering a wormhole and exploring a new planet that may have the means for sustaining human life. The film falls in on itself as it nears its conclusion but it’s a bold, measured ride into the unknown with some of the best visuals Nolan has created. Just don’t go expecting a masterpiece, however. The Island The Island may not be new, but it's new to Amazon Prime Video and it's a sci-fi action movie with a fairly smart, interesting plot. Directed and co-produced by Michael Bay, it follows the story of Lincoln Six Echo (played by Ewan McGregor) and Jordan Two Delta (played by Scarlett Johansson), who are trapped on an island for pretty dark and scary reasons. As you can guess, they escape and try to figure out the nature of their existence and why they're been kept captive. Colossal Fancy something a bit offbeat and wacky to watch today? This Anne Hathaway-starring film features an unemployed young writer who finds out she's the reason a giant monster is causing havoc on the other side of the planet. The film also stars Jason Sudeikis and Dan Stevens, and it's ready to watch on Amazon Prime now. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring It’s the movie that started two decades of Gollum impressions and Gandalf quotes. The Fellowship of the Ring is the first third of the Lord of the Rings saga, starting in the Shire. It dramatises all the delicious backstory that makes fantasy epics seem so grand.We only get the standard theatrical cut of Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring on Amazon Video, and neither of the two films that followed. But this three-hour cut is worth revisiting. While visual effects have improved a lot since this film’s release, its grand vistas filmed in New Zealand are still quite something to witness. Inception A dream with a dream within a dream. When Inception arrived it did so with a similar impact as The Matrix, a decade earlier. It made you think, but was wrapped around a blockbuster shell that demanded to be seen on the big screen. But, hey, lots of us have big screens in our living rooms these days.Leonardo DiCaprio is a thief who enters people’s subconscious to plant ideas in their minds. But when the border between the dream world and reality has been broken, how can you tell which you’re in? Inception had all the makings of a high-concept hokey mess on paper but Christopher Nolan turned it into one of the best action films of recent decades. Gremlins We know you know Gremlins. This is the film that tells the story of a young man who receives a Furby-like creature as a pet and fails to follow every instruction with regards to its care. What results is an army of destructive, evil Gremlins set on destroying a small town at Christmas. It's a festive classic. Arrival Like aliens and whiteboards? Get you a movie that can do both. Arrival was an astonishing science fiction film, released towards the end of 2016, and making its way to Amazon Prime Video before it's even landed on cable or satellite TV in the UK. Based on the novella 'Stories of Your Life' by Ted Chiang, and directed by Sicario director Denis Villeneuve (whose next task will be the long-awaited sequel to Blade Runner), it's a fantastic film exploring love, loss, communication and the lengths we should all be prepared to go to in order to understand, accept and value the differences between us. Super 8 If you bypassed this sci-fi movie from J.J. Abrams when it was first released in 2011, it's definitely worth watching now. It'll especially appeal to those who really got into Stranger Things, as well as those with a soft spot for classic coming-of-age adventure movies, like E.T. and The Goonies. There's a lot of great character development, mystery, action, sci-fi and, of course, lots of lens flare because it's a J. J. Abrams movie after all. Looper One of the more interesting sci-fi movies of the past decade and a huge reason why director Rian Johnson got the Star Wars: Episode VIII gig. Looper focuses on the timey wimey tale of a bunch of hitmen, whose job it is to send people from the future into the past to kill them. Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are superb in the film, which manages to take complex ideas and boil them down into an entertaining popcorn thriller. Attack The Block Star Wars alumni John Boyega got his first break on this great UK indie, as did newly instated Doctor Who Jodie Whittaker. Attack The Block is the first movie by Joe Cornish - of Adam and Joe fame - and it’s an absolute corker. Aliens have come to earth to wreak havoc and it’s down to a South London gang to make sure their neighbourhood doesn’t become a disaster zone. Full of warm wit and fantastic humour - not to mention some startling special effects - the movie mashes together a number of genres together and has a whole lot of fun doing it. Source Code You wait years for a sci-fi movie that’s influenced by Groundhog Day to come along and then two appear at once. Yes, Source Code has a similar time-repeating plot to Edge of Tomorrow but it’s less bombastic and more thoughtful in its approach. Jake Gyllenhaal stars as the soldier who only has eight minutes to stop a bomber on a busy train, before time resets and he has to do the whole thing again. Duncan Jones does well in the director seat, managing to make a plot device that could grow old rather quick really work. Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial Legend It’s by no means a perfect movie, but Legend has two fantastic central performances… both played by Tom Hardy. Hardy is both Ronald and Reggie Kray, the notorious twins that ruled half of London’s underworld in the Sixties. Legend is about their rise and subsequent fall, shot through the lens of Reggie’s relationship with Frances Shea, the ever-brilliant Emily Browning. While Legend doesn’t offer anything different to the, er, legend of the Krays it’s still a brutal and occasionally funny watch. Jackie Brown Quentin Tarantino's 1987 crime thriller is about a stewardess called Jackie Brown who smuggles money from Mexico to L.A. for a big arms dealer. She gets caught, but strikes a deal with the agents to help them bring down her boss in exchange for her going free. Of course there are other plans afoot and a dramatic thriller unfolds about crime, deceit and corruption. It's got all the twists and turns of a Tarantino flick with some stellar acting from Pam Grier, who plays Jackie Brown, as well as Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Keaton. Swordfish This slick and stylish thriller is about a mystery man who hires a hacker to steal billions from a government bank account. An FBI computer crime specialist is one step ahead and gets involved in the action too. It's got a stellar cast with John Travolta and Hugh Jackman in the lead roles supported by Halle Berry. It's fast-paced, thrilling and full of plenty of twists and turns. The Killing of a Sacred Deer Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos or The Lobster and Dogtooth fame, The Killing of a Sacred Deer is an intense psychological horror movie based on the Greek play Iphigenia at Aulis by Euripides. It follows the story of a successful cardiac surgeon (played by Colin Farrell) who befriends a mysterious teen. As you'd expect from a psychological horror from Lanthimos, this is hardly an easy Sunday afternoon watch. You've been warned. The Handmaiden Describe a movie as erotic and it usually conjures up something that's utterly not sexy like 50 Shades of Grey or the Lego Movie. The Handmaiden, though, is erotic and shimmers as a result. Directed by South Korean's finest, Park Chan-wook, the movie is masterful in its suspense and when sex is shown - and it's a lot of the time - it's used to bolster the characters and the story, rather than for pure titillation. The Handmaiden is yet another new release that's headed to Amazon Prime Video - we're not sure why it keeps getting all these 'just released on Blu-ray' movies but we're happy that it's happening. Shutter Island Nothing is as it seems in Martin Scorsese's chilling Shutter Island. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a marshal who investigates the disappearance of a patient at Boston's Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital. The hospital is one renowned for bizarre experiments on its inmates which ups the freaky ante somewhat. Then things get really scary and a lot more obscure when a hurricane cuts the island off from the mainland. This is definitely a film you will want to watch again, probably straight after you watch it the first time. Munich Steven Spielberg ratchets up the tension to near breaking point in Munich - a wonderful movies that charts the Black September aftermath. The movie follows the assassin's whose job it was to rid the world of those who created the atrocities that saw a number of Israeli athletes killed at the Munich Olympics in 1972. Girl On The Train It's difficult to talk about Girl On The Train without giving a twisty plot point or two away. So, let's just say that Emma Blunt is great in this tense thriller that does justice to the hugely successful book. The only issue we have is the whole plot has been transposed to an American town. We prefer the distinctly British setting. Other than that, prepared to be both shocked and entertained. Hell Or High Water Taylor Sheridan is a man of many talents. Not only has he starred in hit shows such as Sons of Anarchy and Veronica Mars, he's also penned some of the finest thrillers in recent years. First there was the superb Sicario and now Hell Or High Water, for which he was nominated for a Best Screenplay Oscar. It's easy to see why, this is a taut, tense film about two brothers who turn to bank robbery to help their family. Starring Chris Pine, Ben Foster and Jeff Bridges, the film is a fast-paced modern take on the Western. Chloe Director Atom Egoyan is not one to take the conventional route when telling his tales - and Chloe is no different. Starring Julianne Moore, Amanda Seyfried and Liam Neeson, it’s about a seemingly normal couple who resort to using a sex worker to test the trust in their relationship. This turns out to be a very bad decision. The film is a remake of the superior French drama Nathalie but it’s a decent thriller that manages to walk the line between gratuity and maturity well. 99 Homes This is a devastating film. Based on the true events of what is still a recent economic disaster in the US, 99 Homes is about Andrew Garfield’s Dennis Nash, someone whose home faces foreclosure. To make ends meet he starts working for the real estate company - and the villainous Michael Shannon - that caused him and his family to lose his home. It’s a convoluted but brazen look at what can happen to a person when they are on the brink of losing everything. Fish Tank Andrea Arnold’s second movie was the one that cemented her as one of the UK’s best filmmakers. Fish Tank stars Katie Jarvis and Michael Fassbender as a teenager and the boyfriend of her mother. An uneasy relationship is struck between them both that goes from bad to worse. This is one of Fassbender’s first starring roles and watching it back, it’s easy to see why he’s such a big star now. The Place Beyond The Pines This is most definitely a movie of two halves - in that something significant happens midway through that changes both the pace and tone of the movie considerably. For some, the shift is too much but it really does work. Ryan Gosling plays Luke, a fantastic stunt motorcyclist turned bank robber who’s trying to do the best for his family. Eva Mendes is his estranged partner, while Bradley Cooper crops up as Avery, a good cop that’s trying to make the best out of some terrible situations. Brilliantly acted and expertly told, The Place Beyond The Pines is a powerful movie watching experience. Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial Submarine Richard Ayoade has proved over two feature films that he is a director to watch. While The Double was a fascinating Gilliam-esque comedy thriller, his first movie was much more in keeping with the French New Wave, despite being set in the depths of Wales. It’s set in 1980s Swansea and focuses on the relationship between a teenage loner and a girl who seems to share his passion for doom and gloom. Craig Roberts is fantastic as the loner - a role that won him plaudits and the starring role in Amazon Prime’s fantastic TV show Red Oaks. Clueless Is this the perfect film? You wouldn’t notice from Clueless’s bubblegum sheen, but its plot and characters are based on those of Emma by Jane Austen. This is no period piece, mind, but one of the best romantic comedies of all time. Alicia Silverstone is Cher, a pampered teen who gives the new girl in school, Tai, a makeover. She thinks it’s Tai that’s “clueless”, but finds it’s her who needs to re-think her life. That’s the cheesy movie poster version anyway. As usual, Paul Rudd oozes charm, playing Cher’s half brother. And the script is razor-sharp. Few movies hold up to repeat viewings over the years as well as Clueless. Anchorman Not every film on your must-see list needs to be from the IMDb top 250. Anchorman is a deeply silly Will Ferrel vehicle from 2004. He plays chauvinist, incompetent TV anchor Ron Burgundy who starts to fall apart when a female anchor joins his team. On first sight it seems the pairing of comedy greats Steve Carrell, Ferrel, David Koechner and Paul Rudd that makes Anchorman work. However, just as Spinal Tap skewers something real, elements of Anchorman’s setting in the world of local news TV ring true. Practical Magic Starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock as two witch sisters who use their magical powers in a quest to break a curse and find love. A pretty standard romantic comedy elevated by an excellent cast, this is one worth watching if you're in the mood for something light-hearted. Addams Family Values While the first Addams Family was a fun but flawed reboot of the old TV show, Addams Family Values is a subversive gem. Comedy sequels are rarely better than the first movie but what Barry Sonnenfeld did with Values was make it far more twisted than anyone expecting. Whether it's cooking strippers alive (Lurch), various attempts by Wednesday and Pugsley to kill their newly born brethren or the constant references to Morticia and Gomez’s sex life it's a whole lot of ooky fun. Mindhorn A once-famous actor in the '80s tries to resurrect his career in Mindhorn, a superb pastiche of cop shows of old. Julian Barrett is on top form as the titular Mindhorn, whose desperate attempt to become relevant again means he unwittingly finds himself in a murder investigation on the Richard Thorncroft. Goon As underrated movies go, Goon is pretty much on top of the list. Wrongly brushed aside as another farcical American Pie style movie, because it's got Seann William Scott in it, Goon is much more than that. It's funny, yes, but it's also an affectionate look at the underdog, filled with some pretty big scenes of violence and a number of tender moments too. There's a sequel in the works, which is fantastic news, as Goon is a little-watched gem. The School Of Rock This shouldn't work. Jack Black as a high school teacher teaching kids to play music sounds like it has 'straight to video' written all over it but School of Rock is a whole lot of fun. Director Richard Linklater and writer Mike White take most of the sickly sweet moments out of the movie and leave a fun, riotous movie that is a brilliant showcase of Jack Black's talents. The film has been a big hit since its launch and has recently been turned into a stage production, sans Jack Black though - he's still raking it in through his movies. Toni Erdmann This is a superb movie. It's so good that a US remake has already been announced. Toni Erdmann is about an estranged father trying to reconnect with his daughter in a rather bizarre way: by pretending to be her boss's life coach. It's a surreal movie, packed with embarrassing moments and some surprising empathy. Ted Ted shouldn’t work. It’s a comedy about a man and his childhood toy, which just happens to be alive. That man is the normally dour Mark Whalberg, the toy is voiced by Seth MacFarlane and sounds strangely like Peter Griffin in Family Guy. But it does work - it’s occasionally laugh out loud, funny throughout and proves that Whalberg does comedy best when he’s just playing a more earnest version of himself. Unfortunately all of this come untangled in its disappointing sequel, but the original Ted is well worth a watch. Four Lions It’s a shame that Chris Morris doesn’t do more stuff as when his new projects come along they always change the game in some way. Four Lions finds humour in one of the most serious subjects: terrorism. For a film shot in 2010, it’s still surprisingly current. It follows docu-style British jihadists who are trying to conjure up a terror plot. The problem is, they’re idiots. Starring, among others, Riz Ahmed, Four Lions is funny, frank and endlessly controversial. But it’s done in such a way that you can’t help but admire the movie. Moonrise Kingdom Wes Anderson's style is so unique that he’s following some of his director heroes - David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick etc - and becoming an adjective. If a film is Wes-like, then it’s filled with childhood wonder, symmetry and quirk. Moonrise Kingdom is packed with all of this and is about two children who escape from a town in the US, only to be tracked down by a search party. It’s a wonderfully innocent movie drenched in melancholy but funny with it. Bruce Willis, Edward Norton and Bill Murray all star but its real stars are the children - played by Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward. In The Loop It’s a shame that The Thick Of It never hit the big screen. What with Brexit madness and the UK government a mess of contradictions, a movie starring Malcolm Tucker swearing them all into shape is sorely needed. In The Loop is the closest thing we’ve got. It’s a strange movie as it takes strands from The Thick Of It and ports it to the US. This means the film is a hybrid of The Thick of It and the US show Veep. What we do get though is Malcolm Tucker (a never-bettered Peter Capaldi), full of vim and vigor, spinning his way through the choppy waters that is US politics. It’s not perfect, but as satires go it’s one of the most searing. Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial Where the Wild Things Are We tend to feel protective when movie producers get their hands on texts from our childhoods. However, Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are captures the wonder and adventure of Maurice Sendak’s children’s book, on which it is based. Max is a young boy who finds himself in the land of the Wild Things. They’re the big furry creatures you’ll have seen if you’ve ever walked down the children’s lit aisle at a bookshop. Max becomes their leader, and the film follows their adventures. Where the Wild Things Are is a little darker than you might expect, earning a PG rating. However, it is also a useful exploration of anger, with greater depth than many a family film. Rango When Gore Verbinski set sail for The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise everyone thought we would never see him make an indie film again but then came Rango. A brilliant, subversive animation, Rango is an LSD-tinged Western where all the characters are animals or lizards. Johnny Depp plays Rango, a chameleon who leaves his family home and ends up in the strange town of Dirt. Brilliantly, nutty stuff. Your Name A surprise 2016 hit that saw a rare mainstream overseas success for Japanese anime, Your Name is a supernatural high-school-romance-come-body-swap disaster movie. Yep – there's a lot going on here, as a teenage boy and girl find themselves inhabiting each other's bodies, slowly unravelling the mystery surrounding their condition – and that of an awful disaster. J J Abrams of Lost and Star Wars fame is said to be looking into making a live-action version, such was the success of the animation – but it'll take something to top the magnificent original. The Red Turtle Will the magic ever dim at Studio Ghibli? The lyrical animation powerhouse delivers yet again with The Red Turtle, the story of a man shipwrecked on a remote island, inhabited just by turtles, crabs and other critters. What appears a simple story slowly peels back to reveal hidden depths, with Studio Ghibli's inimitable attention to detail in animation remaining the industry benchmark. Batman Beyond - Return of the Joker Everyone loves it when Batman meets the Joker but this movie does it with a twist. The Batman that meets the joker here is Terry McGinnis, a new Batman mentored by an ageing Bruce Wayne. McGinnis is equipped with new-fangled tech to make sure the Joker and his gang don’t end up running the city, but it also takes some old-school advice from Bruce Wayne to save the day. Superman - Doomsday Based on the controversial Death of Superman storyline, this animated movie is all about Doomsday - the hideous creature that puts an end to Superman. Although it’s faithful to the comic-book series from which it is adapted, it is all a little rushed. But great animation and voice talent - Adam Baldwin is superb as Supes and James Marsters is menacing as Lex Luthor - make this film a must watch, especially if you are annoyed with the treatment of Superman in the recent DC movie universe. Batman - Mask of the Phantasm When people argue about the best Batman, Kevin Conroy’s name never comes up. But it really really should. He’s been voice acting as Batman for a number of years and one of the best ways to hear his dark, dulcet tones is by watching Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. This animated movie pitched Batman against another masked vigilante - one that wants to bring Gotham City to justice. If that wasn’t enough, The Joker makes an appearance too. The film is a must for those who grew up on Burton’s Batman and had their faith restored with Chris Nolan’s interpretation. If it wasn’t animated, Mask of the Phantasm would be hailed as one of the best Batman movies. It’s certainly the best Batman animated movie. Bridge to Terabithia This isn’t the film that was advertised but it is still a great children’s movie. When it was promoted back in 2007, you would be forgiven that this is a fantasy epic. While there are those elements, they only make for a section of the movie. The rest is a sad, gripping tale about the relationship between two school friends who deal with the darkness in their lives by creating the imaginary world of Terabithia. Son of Rambow One of the most endearing coming-of-age movies you are likely to see, Son of Rambow is about two children growing up in the ’80s who are obsessed with Rambo. So much, they decide to make their own version of the movie with the help of their friends. What ensues is a fun, inventive film about the magic of childhood friendship and imagination. Directed by music video supremo Garth Jennings, Son of Rambow is a trio of love letters: one to the Eighties, one to home videos and the other to the cartoon violence that was born out of an era where Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Willis ruled the box office. Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial Lost In Translation Lost in Translation is a superb, dreamlike movie that wonderfully captures feeling of alienation and loneliness you can feel in a city you don’t belong in. The city in question is Tokyo, the lonely people are Bill Murray as an ageing actor and Scarlett Johansson as a college graduate left to her own devices by her photographer husband. The chemistry between Murray and Johansson is electric, both endearing and hilarious, as is the soundtrack and the way the film slowly creeps up on you in an wonderful way. Gone with the Wind Today your best chances of seeing a film that pushes past the three hour mark are from Bollywood epics or ultra-slow art house films. But 1939’s Gone With the Wind is a four hour romance story. When Harry Met Sally this is not.Our lead is Scarlett O’Hara, a name so famous you’d swear it was the actor (Vivien Leigh), not the character. Gone with the Wind follows her life, around the time of the US civil war, on a plantation in Georgia. And, supplying the romance, her knotted affairs with Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard) and Rhett Butler (Clark Gable). Its portrayal of slavery and the deep south may jar for the modern viewer, but this remains a classic watch. Before Sunrise Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise is a simple, beautiful romantic movie about an American man who meets a French woman and they spent the whole night walking around the city together. Because they both don't think they'll see each other again, they end up sharing a lot about their lives, their fears and everything in-between. But it turns out they do see each other again (erm, spoiler alert?) because Linklater followed the movie up with two others, Before Sunset and Before Midnight. The Big Sick Loosely based of the real lives of the film's stars, Emily V Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani play an interracial couple who have to deal with Emily becoming ill and how cultural differences affect the couple. The film has been nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards 2018, but it's already on Amazon Prime ahead of this year's big ceremony. Vicky Cristina Barcelona Woody Allen managed to assemble a cracking ensemble for Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The film is a fun look at friends Vicky Cristina (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) as they travel to Barcelona and meet a mysterious artist, played by Javier Bardem. It’s all sex and sultriness until his unhinged ex-wife appears. She’s played by Penelope Cruz with such magnetism that you are drawn to her and kind of forget the rest of the characters. It’s not Allen at his best but even his ‘good enough’ films are a cut above most. Blue Valentine There’s a deep, maddening love portrayed in Blue Valentine that is so powerful it ends up being destructive. With that in mind, this isn’t the movie to put on if you don’t want you and your loved one to question your own relationship. It’s a brutal, raw movie that focuses on the relationship between married couple Dean and Cindy, played by Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams respectively. They are two people in love, pushed apart by circumstance. The story flits back and forth in time, so with each tender moment you get anguish. Powerful stuff. Carol Todd Haynes is one of the world's most fascinating directors, who loves to mine different eras for inspiration. While he courted the ’70s with Velvet Goldmine and I’m Not There, it is perhaps the ’50s where he has managed to use the tensions of the era to create superb character dramas. Carol is just that, a romantic tale between two women - Rooney Mara is the clerk that falls in love with Cate Blanchett’s character who is unhappy in a marriage of convenience. The anxieties and problems Haynes highlights in his earlier movie Safe are back with Carol. In this movie, though, everything has been given a more sumptuous sheen. Knight of Cups Thank goodness we live in an era where Terrence Malick is back and making movies on a regular basis. Knight of Cups is as dreamlike and fractured as you have come to expect from the revered director. As with all his movies, it’s clear he shot way more footage and didn’t decide on what film he was making until he hit the edit suite, but that’s part of its charm. Here we see Christian Bale as Rick, a writer who flits between Vegas and LA with six different women. Vegas is perfect Territory for Malick, a desert of neon suits his filmmaking style. While the supporting cast Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman and Freida Pinto all add gravitas to the film. Once Writer-director John Carney’s debut is a low-budget joy that’s since been turned into a very successful play. The plot is slight: a busker and immigrant spend a week in Dublin falling in love and making music together. But it’s the songs that make the movie. Each one is a gem, sprinkled throughout the movie to give it a musical quality. Carney’s latest Sing Street is well worth a watch, too. Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial Amy The Amy documentary is a hard watch, one that will have you fighting back tears. The talent on show is blighted by the talent that is thrown away. The doc showcases Amy Winehouse in her early years, using archive footage of the star that shows just how much of a talent she was. There are talking heads with her family - including her husband - as well as good friends of hers. Dark Days This documentary may have gained prominence thanks to its DJ Shadow soundtrack, but it’s the subject matter that makes Dark Days such a must watch. Shot and directed by Marc Singer, Dark Days shines a light on those who live in underground tunnels under New York. Criminally, this was Singer’s only foray into documentary filmmaking but at least he created a classic. Gimme Danger Jim Jarmusch uses music in his movies to fine effect, so it makes complete sense that he is the one to helm a documentary about The Stooges and their enigmatic frontman, Iggy Pop. The Stooges may not have hit the heights of, say, The Rolling Stones but they’re an important piece of the rock puzzle. This doc does well to uncover what made the band tick, complete with recent talking heads with members of the band. The Beatles: Eight Days A Week A-list director Ron Howard took a break from feature-filmmaking to direct this documentary about the most famous band ever. It’s a slick production, meshing old interviews, archive footage and new interviews with the surviving members together to create a vivid look at a band in their pomp to their rather sour end. Man on Wire Forget the rather disappointing 3D movie and instead focus on this riveting documentary about a French high-wire artist who decides to one day scale one of the towers World Trade Center and walk across to the other one using just a tightrope. It’s utterly absorbing Man on Wire features an in-depth interview with the person that did the stunt, Philippe Petit. The way he tells the story of how he got past security to walk the Twin Towers is as engrossing as any heist movie. Marley Bob Marley’s music is as strong today as when it was released back in the ‘70s. His politics are as strong as they are now, his protest songs have lost none of their vibrancy. Which is why Marley is such a brilliant watch. It tells the tale of how Marley brought his music to the masses, his love of football and his life living in both London and Jamaica - all of which are brought brilliantly to life by interviews with friends and family and archive footage. Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial Kill List Director Ben Wheatley adds the right amount of realism and menace to Kill List - a film that is never quite what it seems. On the face of it, it’s a kitchen sink drama about a hitman and his latest assignment to kill three people but as the story unravels so does the hitman’s life (played in earnest by the brilliant Neil Maskell). It flirts at being a family drama, teases you that it’s a crime saga then hits you with the most relentless horror that you’ll be watching the end behind your hands. Great stuff. The Faculty This teen horror flick comes straight from the minds of the Scream and Scream 2 creators, so expect nerds, jocks and lots of teen drama with plenty of gore and frights thrown in for good measure. But in our books there's something a bit different about The Faculty that makes it a not-so-guilty guilty pleasure. Whether it's the compelling cast (with Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett and Famke Janssen), dark yet ridiculous tone or parasitic creatures from another planet, it's a fun flick for the weekend. Constantine You can rarely go wrong with an action horror starring Keanu Reeves and Constantine is one such movie. Reeves takes up the role of John Constantine, a man who can see half-breed angels and demons who stalk the Earth disguised as humans. Driven to attempt suicide by his visions, Constantine is returned to the land of the living and must use his gift to protect humanity an earn his place in Heaven. The Shining We know what you're thinking. Why has The Shining only just arrived on Amazon Prime Video? Well, worry not. Stanley Kubrick's classic movie about family, isolation and plenty of unnerving, bloody horror is now available to stream on Amazon Prime. The film is a true classic for a whole host of reasons, from Kubrick's ambitious film-making to spectacular performances from the cast and a score that makes your skin tingle. It's always worthy of a re-watch, just go and check all the doors and windows are locked first before you really get stuck in. Train To Busan South Korea has slowly but surely marked itself out as a country that's producing some fantastic filmmakers. Interestingly, two of the best movies from South Korean directors of recent times have been based on trains - Joon-ho Bong's Snowpiercer (which criminally never got a UK release) and Sang-ho Yeon’s Train To Busan. Train To Busan is a brilliant zombie horror movie. By having most of the action take place on a train, we see what it's like when a zombie epidemic takes hold in close confines, complete with cloying claustrophobia. It's part action movie, part love story, all character study, showing that a situation such as a freaking zombie outbreak can bring out the best and the very worst in people. Hell House LLC Well this was unexpected. The name Hell House LLC doesn't exactly scream 'must watch' but despite its rather Grindhouse-esque title, this is a brilliant slice of horror. The plot is simple: a group of friends who create haunted house experiences for Halloween find a house to convert that's seemingly filled with real-life ghosts. The movie is their footage spliced together, with police reports and the like. The found footage genre is rather stagnant now but Hell House manages to breathe new life into it, mustering up some genuine scares that will have even the most hardened horror fans watching from behind their fingers. Its final scenes don't quite match what went before it (or make much sense) but this is one of the best horror films to come out in years. Sinister Sinister is that rare horror film: it has brains, A-listers and is still really scary. Ethan Hawke is a true crime writer. After finding a box of what he thinks is footage of murders committed by a serial killer, things start to go very bad in his life. Director Scott Derrickson may have recently made the more family friendly Doctor Strange, but with Sinister he proves that he is just as adept at garnering scares as he is guiding the Marvel universe. Pontypool A low-budget chiller that takes place in a small town in Ontario, Canada (bet you can’t guess its name) and follows the exploits of a talk radio team who are reporting on strange goings on in the town. It’s essentially a movie about zombies but distilled through the eyes of a small, yet vocal, group of people. Its budget may well be small but its ambition is big and that’s what makes Pontypool such a fun watch. I Saw the Devil This serial killer cat-and-mouse movie is one of the most visceral around. Starring Old Boy’s Min-Sik Choy as the killer, the film is graphic in its content - Its tale of revenge is uncompromising - but is a fantastic watch. It’s also one of the best movies from director Jee-woon Kim who has a platinum line-up of films, including A Tale of Two Sisters, A Bittersweet Life and to a lesser extent his sole US movie, The Last Stand. Get your free 30-day Amazon Prime trial Source link

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ecotone99 · 4 years

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[FN] LUDIMΔGIK - Man in a Box

Shall we meet Alex? Just be warned: he’s a little—what’s that word we heard the other day?—”extra.” But that’s just me. Here, decide for yourself.

Continue reading here.

See the previous section, the Introduction, here.

Please share and subscribe if you enjoy. Thanks for reading.

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ecotone99 · 4 years

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[FN] LUDIMΔGIK -- "One: Introductions"

Shall we meet Alex? Just be warned: he’s a little—what’s that word we heard the other day?—”extra.” But that’s just me. Here, decide for yourself.

Continue reading here.

See the previous section, the Introduction, here.

submitted by /u/nick_boatwright [link] [comments] via Blogger https://ift.tt/2R9B89z

#Blogger #Story

0 notes