#films series imdb reviews opinion

[rings-of-power-realm]

Some 5 star Rings Of Power Reviews (I chose some ones to share that sounded like they were skeptical beforehand to really prove how this show does not deserve the bombardment of hate it is subjected to by trolls)

I have read most of the objections about creative decisions taken with this series. I agree with some of them in principle. But a thing must be judged by what it is, by what the creators have shaped. So I sat down to watch the first episode of The Rings of Power with grave doubts, but as open a mind as I was capable of. Bear in mind I love Tolkien's books. I also admire Peter Jackson's movies I was able to embrace the changes his production team made to translate the stories to a filmic medium. Could I do so again? Yes, as it happens. I could. I was thoroughly immersed and enjoyed the first episode enormously. I can't wait to watch episode 2 this evening. If you have been doubting, like I was, set your doubts aside and just allow yourself to enjoy. There are some stunning visuals. Through it all, the sweeping grandeur of Tolkien's mythic themes are present. The characters and storylines that have been added are essential to this episodic visual medium. Storytelling is an art, and books and films are different media with different needs to carry a tale. No adaptation is ever going to tick all your personal boxes. No creative decisions are ever going to be the same as the ones you would have made. But you have the books for those things. Just allow yourself to unwind and enjoy what the creators have done with the decisions they made, because they have turned them into gold. I hadn't expected myself to say this, but this a masterpiece. It possesses a real majesty, and I can't wait to see how the series unfolds.7 people found this helpful

.                                                          .                                                      .

Like many, I love the hobbit and the lord of the rings films and hoped that this series would capture some of the feeling from those cherished movies. However I was concerned as there appeared to be many people  who appear to have written this series off as being a complete waste of time and money. So I approached this with lowish expectations but importantly with an open mind. So having watched the first two episodes my thoughts are as follows. Firstly the scale of this series is epic, you can clearly see where the money has been spent as it feels as if you are watching a high budget movie rather than a made for tv series. The music is excellent and really captures the feel of the original movies. The story is sympathetic with the history of the films / books. The acting is on point, the script / dialogue is good and the cast all seem committed in making this project as good as it can be. I know some people are saying the pace is a little slow and yes I get that but the story is unfolding over a number of episodes (each over 60 mins long) so they can afford to take their time and we can really enjoy the story lines. Is this going to be as good as any of the films……I really don’t know but it could be and I just don’t understand why anyone who claims to enjoy the original movies would want to dismiss this series without giving it a fair chance. On IMDB it has a current rating of 6.3 which is incredibly low for such a quality production. I for one will be eagerly awaiting the next episode and I can only applaud Amazon for taking on a task of this scale and (in my opinion) pulling it off. Bravo 👏. For me it’s currently a 9 out of 10 👏

.                                                      .                                                           .

Breathtakingly beautiful, well acted an cast. Feels like Peter Jackson’s take on Tolkien’s work The show is grand, detailed, beautiful and well acted. It amazes me how movie like the production quality is (better than most movies even). It has the same atmosphere and tone as the Movies which is great and very important. All these rights and license agreements made me worry about how different it would be however one can place this series in the same continuity as the movies that Peter Jackson crafted. Talking of which i hope he is enjoying this as he talked of robbing himself of the joy of seeing these movies because he made them, now he can enjoy this like the rest of us. The length of the episodes are also very generous and the show is well paced for a TV show. Slower than the movies, which is just right as there is more time but also it means we get to see the details of Tolkiens work. The series is like an “extended edition” but with “super” added to the front.

.                                                              .                                               .

The first two episodes of this new series blew me away. These early episodes are always challenging in a complex story spanning continents, decades, and centuries. I thought the first two episodes set out some of the key traits and characteristics of the different societies and geographies involved. Several key and long-running characters have been introduced well, and the original works' interpretations are just excellent storytelling. Just as important, the visual rendering of the world is simply astounding - this is much closer to a cinema experience than a TV series. From the start in Valinor to Khazad-Dum and everything else is brilliant, and whilst it is different from how I might have imagined these places in my mind's eye, they really do justice to the fantasy world of JRR Tolkien. I know there are detractors - but I have not seen any of them that are actually complaining about the story, the visuals, the acting, or anything actually relevant to reviewing the programme. From what I understand this is due to them not wanting non-white actors in roles in the series. Well - time to grow up people. We are the human race, and we have people of lots of colours, shapes, and sizes. Why would that be any different in any other fantasy race? It is very simple - if you do not like the fact that there is variety in life, then how about you just don't bother watching the programme rather than moan and complain all the time.

#the rings of power #long post #positivity #positive reviews #<3

[yukihime242]

Today is the day of love. And love can come in all forms, parental love, friendship love, romantic love etc. In lieu of today’s Valentine’s Day, I will be doing a cluster review of the anime that has the romance theme.

There may be some 🚨SPOILERS🚨 involved.

1️⃣ Horimiya

(Picture Source: Horimiya Wiki Fandom thru’ Google Image Search)

Horimiya is about this guy (right), Izumi, who got pulled out of the invisibility veil of his classroom by a popular classmate, Hori.

Well... technically, they met under the circumstance where Izumi had to escort Hori’s younger brother home. From there, a friendship blossomed and Hori and Izumi became very close to the point they were dating.

I would say that this anime is one of those very cozy anime, where you can snuggle in your blanket at the corner of your room and watch it. It often gives you the warmth and affection feelings of a family throughout the series.

But I would admit, like any slice-of-life genre, it can get a bit boring... Usually, this kind of genre is always accompanied with the humour genre, but most of the jokes in this anime wasn’t as funny as I hoped it would be. The only one that I found absolute hilarious was the confession scene Yuki received.

Other than that, it is quite a cozy romance anime you can consider putting in your next watchlist.

Rating: 8⭐/10

TLDR: Cozy romance anime to snuggle up to but may be a bit dry.

2️⃣ Kimi no Todoke

(Picture Source: IMDB thru’ Google Image Search)

Another anime that is quite similar (in the synopsis) to the previous entry is Kimi ni Todoke. The story tells of a girl, Sawako, whose life got turned around after meeting the class popular guy, Kazehaya.

The reason why Sawako was shunned had to do with the fact that she gave off a very awkward and misunderstood scary aura. Many of her schoolmates attributed her to the famous Japanese horror film character, Sadako. But after consistently bumping into Kazehaya and received a pep talk from him, she gained enough confidence to approach others and took initiative to befriend them.

I may be biased on this anime because Sawako’s school life prior to meeting Kazehaya was something I deeply resonated with. I would recommend people to watch this anime to understand how difficult it was to survive by yourself with no other friends.

Rating: 9⭐/10

TLDR: A wholesome anime where you may constantly be rooting for the protagonist of the story throughout the seasons.

3️⃣ Violet Evergarden

(Picture Source: IMDB thru’ Google Image Search)

The story revolves around a girl, Violet, who struggles to fit into society and learn about the meaning of the emotion, love. Throughout the series, you will follow Violet on her journey as she meet others and seeking answers for herself.

That’s really all I can say. And.. if you really want to watch this anime, you may need to go to the supermarket and empty out the shelves of tissues, because every single episode is going to make you bawl like a baby.

No, I am not joking.

Really.

Rating: 10⭐/10

I am not rating it that simply because I want you guys to watch it. It is really an excellent anime to watch in my opinion.

TLDR: GET TISSUES! ALL OF THEM!

4️⃣ Kaguya-sama: Love Is War!

(Picture Source: IMDB thru’ Google Image Search)

This anime is no brainer to be on this cluster list because it is literally about romance.

The romance is actually between Miyuki, the president of the student council, and Kaguya, the vice-president of the student council. It has been a long time since I last watched this anime, hence, I am not entirely sure what happened.

But I remember that both Miyuki and Kaguya are secretly in love with each other but they refused to confess their feelings to each other first. To them, the first person to confess lose this some invisible game they are unconsciously playing.

I have yet to watch the second season, and any others after the first season if there is, but I do hope that I would be able to catch it soon before I get too overwhelmed by my ever-growing list of things to catch up on.

But, honestly, it can get a bit annoying from time to time...

Rating: 7⭐/10

TLDR: Fun to watch the two protagonist hide their feelings for each other but it can get a bit annoying after a while...

#yukihime's anime review #kaguya sama love is war #horimiya #kimi ni todoke #violet evergarden

[iminsanearenti]

The David Project

I'm going to watch and review everything David Tennant had been in starting from the beginning of his career to present day.

Rules:

The list is made up of movies, tv shows, plays, skits, mini movies, and radio dramas. That includes voice acting roles.

Everything is found on Letterbox and IMDB

I won't be doing a full review of anything I've already seen but I might do a mini one. Application of this rule may vary.

If he's only in one episode of a tv series I will only watch that episode, but will research so ik more about the show.

In cases of voice acting I might not finish the show.

Remember the driving force of this project is my love for him and that will absolutely skew results

The first one (L.A. Without a Map) is labeled #0 because I only got this idea after starting the movie. Moving forward they will be in order.

DISCLAIMER:

I am not and have never claimed to be an expert on film. I'm not even particularly interested in it that much. I'm doing this purely for my own entertainment and because I'm a big fan of his. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I'm sure there are much better ones out there than mine.

Keep in mind that these aren't entirely serious reviews and my love of David Tennant will absolutely effect the results

#i love him that's all #david tennant #doctor who #broadchurch #movie review #tv shows #movies #good omens

[mercedeszberzsan-blog]

Introduction

Once I asked my English teacher in elementary school, how comes that her English is way better than ours. OK, sorryyyy I know, this is an extremely stupid question because she is more experienced, went to uni for many years and yeah, that’s her job to do, kiddo. But please forgive me I was just a kid. She didn’t laughed at me and gave me a very good advice: ’Watch films and and series with English subtitle. It’s going to be very hard at the beginning but after a while you wouldn’t even notice they are in a foreign language.’ So I took her advice.

First I started with those films their strories I was familiar with. I used to read many Nicholas Sparks books for example The Longest Ride, The Notebook, Safe Heaven, The Lucky One, Dear John etc. So I watched them. I remember spending my entire summer holiday with watching 4-5 films each day with small breaks. I felt like I am wasting my time if I have those breaks and I don’t spend every single minute getting to know new characters, storylines, songs etc. So this is how my passion for films started. 

Then I’ve found IMDb. 

IMDb (Internet Movie Database) is an online webside of information related to films, series, actors, actresses even video games. The webside also provides many information about the cast, trivia, fan and critical reviews, and ratings. The page is accessible to all internet users. However the rating function only works if you register. There are several functions I adore like putting films on your watchlist so if somebody has a movie suggession you just open IMDb on your phone - yes, there’s also an app for smartphones- and save it for later. I also like this page because now I can’t sleep in while watching any kind of films -I am so sure it happens to everybody sometimes- because I like rating them. It also encourages me to think critically which genes my critical thinking. 

To be honest I’ve never ever written a review only rated the films but now on I’d like to have a review of every singe movie or TV-show I watched. 

#films series imdb reviews opinion

[reallivegeekgirl]

StanQuest

Something clicked on in my brain a couple months ago and suddenly Sebastian Stan became the hottest man alive. So I decided to watch everything he’s ever been in. A friend and I called it StanQuest.

Here are my spoiler-free reviews for anyone considering something similar (in inverse chronological order starting with latest works and going back in time. The stars are an overall rating of the work, not of Sebastian’s performance.

This only lists things I could find streaming for free or a price I was willing to pay. It does not count after credits scenes, music videos, or works in which he was uncredited.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021) - TV show - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This started it all. I very much enjoyed it. Good balance of humor and action, heart and heroics. I’ve watched it four times already, and will watch it again. Bucky Barnes is my favorite character of his and this is my favorite story of Bucky's so far. I can’t wait to see what he does next. (And I have a lot to say about how they treat his trauma in this show. I’ve definitely written about it before and may again.)

Monday (2020) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐ - This is the one where he gets naked. If that’s all you’re looking for, enjoy. It was a very realistic portrayal of a relationship between two deeply flawed people. It can get depressing. But hey, penis.

The Devil All the Time (2020) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - If you think Monday is depressing, this movie says “hold my beer”. But something about it is just captivating. It’s really disturbing, and if you’ve ever been screwed over by American Evangelical Christianity it might be more disturbing. Still, I’ve watched it twice. And as much of a bastard as Lee Bodecker is, he also looks really cuddly. He’s just barely in it.

The Last Full Measure (2019) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - You will cry. A lot. It’s based on a true story. Sebastian plays a man who cares more about his career than this weird quest dumped on his desk by his boss, but changes his mind and his heart as he investigates why a war hero was denied a medal of honor 34 years before. Definitely recommend.

Endings, Beginnings (2019) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - One of two love interests in the complicated life of Shailene Woodley’s Daphne, Sebastian is an adorable mess. The editing is interesting and fresh feeling. Watch it and you’ll see what I mean. Fair amount of sex in this movie, and you see his butt. It’s a very nice butt. I’ve watched this one a few times so far.

Avengers: Endgame (2019) - Movie - ⭐⭐ - There is no reason to watch this movie if you’re not familiar with at least most of the rest of the MCU. It plays merry hob with the rules of time travel, and only makes sense if you don’t really think about it. In my opinion, the ending is really freaking stupid comsidering his character’s history, but at least it sets up TFatWS, which was amazing.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle (2018) - Movie - ⭐ - If you’re into movies that are creepy but also almost nothing happens for most of the movie, this is the one for you. Sebastian is handsome as hell, but also a complete asshole. As fine as he is, I’m not gonna watch this again. I fucking hated it.

Destroyer (2018) - Movie - ⭐⭐- I had a hard time paying attention to the plot because it seemed like they made this movie just to get Nicole Kidman an Oscar nomination for wearing ugly makeup and playing a complete mess of a person. It’s a fine movie, and all of the performances are good. Sebastian looks surprisingly good with the short hair and goatee. Ultimately, the plot is depressing and the whole movie seems kind of pointless.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - Movie - ⭐⭐- Again, no reason to watch this if you aren’t already familiar with all the movies leading up to it. It’s long and the villain looks like Grimace and a California Raisin had an evil baby. The ending made me scream with frustration that I had to wait until the next one came out. Now I just watch them back-to-back if I watch them at all. It’s not a good movie, but it is part of a long-form story that I enjoy in general.

I’m Not Here (2017) - Movie - ⭐⭐- Another depressing one. Told over the course of one man’s terrible life, it’s a sad account of how much your parents can fuck you up. Sebastian portrays the middle part of the man’s life. J.K. Simmons plays the current day part and unreliable narrator.. Do not watch unless you are fully prepared to be sad for a really long time after.

I, Tonya (2017) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐- This movie is hilarious. I mean, the true story is insane and really stupid. The spousal abuse is hard to watch, and Sebastian’s mustache in this is a war crime. But the acting is great and it’s a very engaging movie. The parts that aren’t horrifying are pretty funny.

Logan Lucky (2017) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Watch. This. Movie. Sebastian Stan is only in it a little, but it’s a really fun, clever caper/heist movie and everyone in it is fantastic. I don’t want to say anything else about it if you’re going in fresh. I’ll be rewatching this one a lot

Captain America: Civil War (2016) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - If you ignore how kind of silly the conflict over the Sokovia Accords is, this is a good Marvel movie. Sebastian gets a lot of screen time because Bucky is the more pressing concern/urgent point of contention than the Accords. Bucky is my favorite character of his partly because of this movie.

The Martian (2015) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I’m watching it(again) as I’m typing this. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched it. Sebastian Stan isn’t in it very much, but he’s very cute and so is his little story arc. Mostly I watch it because Ridley Scott made a fantastic movie. If you can get your hands on the Blu-Ray, it comes with a ton of extras. They made a very complete story that isn’t all seen in the movie. A lot of it is stuff about Mars, but there are also extra “crew” interviews, so there’s another chance to see more of Sebastian’s character.

Ricki and the Flash (2015) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - He’s not in this very much, but he’s very cute when he does appear. It’s all about the relationship between Ricki and her daughter. Definitely rewatchable. Meryl Streep is fantastic, because she’s Meryl Streep.

The Bronze (2015) - Movie - ⭐ - This is not a good movie. It’s about Olympic gymnastics, so it might be slightly more interesting right now while the Olympics are happening. Sebastian isn’t in it a lot, but his performance is certainly… memorable. Weirdest sex scene I’ve ever seen. Worth watching just for that.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - This is the one I can watch over and over. I bought a Winter Soldier face mask for when I need to feel like a badass. Bucky’s story is really sad, but he’s also extremely sexy with the metal arm and determined walk.

Once Upon a Time (2012-2013) - TV Show - ⭐⭐⭐ - This show is so stupid, but it’s also fun. If you haven’t seen it, the premise is that fairy tale characters are real and live in another land. Snow White’s Evil Queen casts a spell to transport a bunch of them to a town she creates in Maine called Storybrooke, and gives them all fake memories so she can be mayor and watch them all not remember who they are. Sebastian plays Jefferson, a.k.a. The Mad Hatter. He’s in a few episodes in season 1 and 2, and doesn’t get a ton of screen time, but he’s really cute and tragic as Jefferson. It probably helps to watch the whole first season just to understand his episodes, but that’s up to your tolerance for weird shit. Note: IMDB says he’s in an episode uncredited, but I’ve watched it and didn’t see him anywhere in that one.

Labyrinth (2012) - TV Mini-Series - ⭐⭐⭐ - Two episodes that tell a complete story. Sebastian isn’t in this one a whole lot, but he is adorable. It’s a strange story about religious stuff and a sort of Holy Grail that’s three books. It’s hard to describe. It’s on Amazon Prime right now, but they’re taking it down August 8, 2021, so watch it while you can.

The Apparition (2012) - Movie - ⭐ - If you like horror movies, you might like this. I did not. From what I understand, it’s not a very good horror movie. Watch with caution and expect it to suck.

Political Animals (2012) - TV Mini-Series - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I had to buy this through Apple and watch it on a Mac, but it was worth it. Sebastian plays TJ Hammond, the out gay son of a former American president who is clearly based on Bill Clinton. Sigorney Weaver plays the former first lady and current secretary of state. TJ struggles with addiction and relationship problems. His performance is heart-wrenching. The whole show is pretty great. I wish there was more of it.

Gone (2012) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐ - More of a psychological thriller than a horror movie. Sebastian has a small amount of screen time as the worried boyfriend. Amanda Seyfried is good. She carries the film well on her own.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - If you haven’t seen this yet, I’d like to know what it’s like under your rock. This is a movie I can rewatch a lot, and have. I 100% cried in the theater. Sebastian looks fantastic in uniform as Bucky Barnes. This is his introduction and the start of his ultimately tragic story (before he’s saved by his best friend, again).

Black Swan (2010) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Sebastian is barely in this. He’s basically just in one scene in a dance club. But I watched it to try to complete StanQuest, and I had seen it before. It’s a good movie, but might induce some nightmares, depending on what scares you. If Natalie Portman didn’t at least get a nomination for an award she was robbed.

Gossip Girl (2007-2010) - TV Show - ⭐⭐ - Carter Baizen is a little shit. The episodes with Sebastian in them might have made more sense if I watched the show from the beginning, but I didn’t want to. His character is an asshole, but a very cute one.

Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐- The people who made this movie are bad at math, and their rules of time travel are sketchy at best, but it is funny and entertaining. Sebastian plays a ski patrol bro who’s paranoid about the Russians, which is hilarious irony to me. Worth watching if you want to laugh at something dumb.

Kings (2009) - TV Show - ⭐⭐⭐- Sebastian plays Jack Benjamin, the closeted gay son of the king of a fictional place. It’s loosely based on the David and Goliath story from the Bible. Sebastian is so sad and so gay. His family makes his life a living hell. Ian McShane is a force of nature in this. It’s only one season. I’ve watched it twice. I will watch it again.

Spread (2009) - Movie - no stars - This movie was practically unwatchable. It stars Ashton Kutcher and Anne Heche as a romantic couple, I guess? I ended up just skipping to Sebastian’s scenes and only watching those. Still painful.

The Covenant (2006) - Movie - ⭐⭐⭐ - This movie is so fuckig stupid, and I will watch it a ridiculous number of times. It’s about magic and teenagers, like The Craft for boys. Nothing about it makes sense. It’s terrible, almost irredeemable, but an evil Sebastian with magic powers is a siren song that will make me steer my boat right into the rocks.

And there you have it. There are a bunch of earlier things on IMDB that I just can’t find or don’t want to pay to rent. Maybe some day I’ll watch them and add them to this list.

#sebastian stan #bucky barnes #the winter soldier #the falcon and the winter soldier #james buchanan barnes #monday: movie #the devil all the time #the last full measure #we have always lived in the castle #destroyer #endings beginnings #i'm not here #i tonya #logan lucky #ricki and the flash #the martian #the bronze #once upon a time #the covenant #spread #kings: show #Labyrinth: show #hot tub time machine #black swan #gossip girl #gone: movie #political animals #the apparition #movie reviews #celebrity crushes

[todaydreambelieversfic]

Author Spotlight: Coffeegleek Day 3

Author : @coffeegleek​

How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

At least a few revisions. Then multiple editing passes, and even with my spouse as my proofreader for the past 25+ years, and doing more editing passes before posting to AO3, I still find annoying little typos, sometimes large ones.

If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?

There was a crack fic I stopped writing years ago. It was a self-challenge during one of those tumblr trope challenges. I was trying to combine all of the tropes into the same fic as they were announced. It got zero traction though so I gave up. I'd love to go back and complete it, make it better. I had the whole thing outlined too.

What do you look for in a beta?

My spouse. We've been together for decades. He's been proofreading my original science fiction work and various fandoms' fanfics since before we were married. He even proofreads my Klaine smut and doesn't blink an eye. (He's a Glee fan too and on tumblr.) He knows what I'm trying to say when I can't find the right words and supplies them. He catches things I don't. What I love the most is for my original work, he's written his own fanfic. It's BAD. It truly is, but it's so heartfelt and earnest. He even came up with a soundtrack should I ever publish my sci-fi novel and the movie or show rights be bought. You really can't get a better beta than that. <3

There’s a number of friends on tumblr that I bounce ideas off of and who give me advice for topics they know far more about than me and google. I try to thank them in my fics.

If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

I’m going to steal another author’s recent answer and say that I could never do someone else’s work justice. However, I would love to see the author’s ideas for their fics even if they couldn’t write a prequel or sequel.

I suck at remembering titles and author names. There were two political fics that I would love to read more of should their authors ever decide to write in those verses again. One was where Kurt and Blaine's dads were running for president and Kurt and Blaine were along for the ride, staying in the same hotels at time (where they first met,) having to do school remotely, having to be the perfect sons for the press and Blaine being fed up because his parents were conservative Republicans. Then there was another fic where Burt was president and Kurt was the First Son living in the White House, along with Finn, and it was hard to date when your every move is watched by the press.

Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?

I write AU, so canon is only a word often misspelled by me. :) Seriously though, I try to incorporate as many canon elements and characters into my AU fics as I can. It's the kind of AU I like to read as well. What draws me to read and write AUs is taking canon characters, putting them into a different setting, and seeing how they'll react. At their core, they still need to remain the same in principle and have many of the same traits. Like Kurt will always love fashion and be headstrong no matter what. Blaine is always going to have that spark within himself, no matter how depressed or oppressed he gets. Burt and Carole are always going to be loving and nurturing parents at heart. Even in fics where Burt isn't woke, there's a part of him that means well. (Not one of my own fics, but one I read a long time ago.) Different circumstances will change the canon characters and make them react in different ways though. Like, Kurt could end up more withdrawn and hide his love of fashion as a matter of survival and self preservation. He or Blaine could turn into "bad boys." Coach Beiste will always have a heart of gold. Miss Pillsbury will always have a problem with messes. Things like that. I know canon. Give me all the alternate universe versions of it and I will be a happy camper.

Talk about a review that made your day.

I haven't checked for reviews on my fics in ages (because I'm an insecure chicken) so I don't remember any specifically. I do remember there were many that made my day. There are those who take the time to review every chapter. Ones who write only a short note to thank me for writing the fic - both the angsty ones and the cracky fun ones. I love it when someone mentions something that no one else has that I was hoping someone would notice because I was proud of it. I'm not a popular author and don't get a lot of kudos or comments or reblogs compared to many. So each comment and kudos means a lot to me and I'd like to publicly thank every single person who wrote one or hit that kudos button.

Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

I once got a troll who decided it was his job to complain that I had misspelled hors d'oeuvres in one sentence out of an entire verse where the word was written multiple times correctly. It was a series of Klaine Advent one shots for the Empty Nest verse. At first I was shocked and replied with an apology. Then I was, "F this. The person is a troll who didn't read any other part of the fic or verse, just this one quickly written one shot entry, and if all they had to say was that I'd misspelled a commonly misspelled word, then they aren't worth my time." I deleted the comment. There's concrit and trolling. It wasn't concrit.

What advice do you have for people just starting to write?

Have fun writing, even the hard stuff. Know that it's okay to take breaks. Try your best and know you'll get better the more you write and the more you read. Pronouns are your friend and free. Don't put, "I know this is going to suck, so whatever," in your fic description. We all suck at times. It's a part of writing. But if you want folks to read it, using that as your fic's summary isn't the way to go. Just my opinions, which won't even buy you a cup of coffee.

Which fic do you most like to discuss with other people? Why?  

I think it’s pretty obvious from all of my rambling that I enjoy talking about both of my series - Empty Nest verse and A Very Hallmark Christmas verse.  I'm not a popular author and I know my fics, especially the Empty Nest verse ones, aren’t everyone’s thing, so I never get to really discuss them except with friends that I bug to death in private and via long replies to comments on AO3. (You all are saints blessed by all of the good and patient gods.) I have so much to say about them - the process of writing them, the world building, research, and character decisions that went into every single one. I know they’re not perfect. I know the Empty Nest verse grew miles beyond the ficlette about Burt and Carole that it was meant to be. I know my sense of humor in the Hallmark verse isn’t everyone’s thing either. I still worked really hard on them and am glad that I did. Empty Nest let me release a lot of the fear and anxiety I had for my Hispanic and gay son after the 2016 election. The Hallmark ones were a needed break to put some humor into my life. If others enjoyed them, great. If folks want to know more, my inbox is always open.

What's one aspect of writing fic that gets you really excited?

Writing humor even if I'm the only one that finds it funny. As I said above, writing the Hallmark Christmas movie dialogue and plot and the actors as they were filming it was a blast. Writing the commercials was fun and exciting. In my angsty fics, knowing I wrote a good scene, line, or moment that brought out all the feels. That's more of “satisfaction of a job well done” than excited.

***

Check out Coffeegleek’s Fics

Humorous Spooky Drabbles -  Humorous drabbles to spookish type prompts based on a tumblr post called October Drabble Prompts #1 by hallofceleano. The parts in bold and italic are from those prompts. Characters include Kurt, Blaine, Burt, Carole, and Finn. All fun; only #4 has some mild angst. #4 is for snarkyhag and regarding #5 - I know next to nothing about Twilight and had to look up Taylor Lautner on imdb. The liberties I took are my own.

A Very Sloppy Christmas - lucy8675309 posted to tumblr a series of gifs with Kurt dressed up as an elf. It inspired me to write the following prompt, which CoffeeAddict80 encouraged me to write as a fic:

I now want a fic where real Santa’s elf!Kurt gets drunk and vents to Blaine about all the woes of working for Santa. He’s over 100 years old and the outfits are terrible. Why couldn’t they wear clothes like the elves did in that one movie? Drunk elf Kurt has no idea he’s venting to Santa’s son.

Bonus if he wakes up and realizes he just had a drunken one night stand. He isn’t sure who it was with. Only that he’s naked, the guy in the bed beside him is naked and showing off a really great ass. Then said guy turns over and after Kurt’s done staring at his dick, he looks at the guy’s face and realizes who it is.

It’s a Twisted World -  I decided to challenge myself by combining the posted 5 weekly Klaine AU Friday themes and adding another one of my own. So that means: Farm, Fairytale, Vintage (1900’s,) Super Powers, Zombie Apocalypse, and Harry Potter World Klaine with a splash of a fic idea I thought of while in the produce section of the grocery store. Each week, the story will continue, though each part stands alone. This is not a brilliant work of perfectly composed fan fiction. What it is, is fast-paced, cracky fun, with a large dose of innuendo. At least it had my son laughing his ass off. I hope y'all enjoy it too. :)

#author spotlight #coffeegleek

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter - Monday, May 3

Jenny: You kids really dig the library, don't you? Buffy: We're literary! Xander: To read makes our speaking English good.

~~I Robot, You Jane..~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Failed Harvest (The Master+Luke, PG) by badly_knitted

[Chaptered Fiction]

Lost Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, M) by HollyDB

In Dreams Chapter 5 (Buffy/Giles, E) by TheScholarlyStrumpet (equipoise)

Marked Chapter 16 (Crossover, Faith/Dean Winchester + Buffy/Spike + Willow/Charlie Bradbury, E) by HollyDB

Coexist Chapter 5 (Faith/Buffy, T) by Coraniaid

144 Days Chapter 40 (Buffy/Spike, T) by violettathepiratequeen

Season 7 Redux (or, wow, my title skills are terrible) Chapter 21 (Faith/Tara, T) by BuffyBot3000

Child of Shadow Chapter 18 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Sigyn

Peaches & Cream Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by MissLuci

The Cookie Incident Chapter 7 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by DeamonQueen

Lost & Found Chapter 6 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by bramcrackers

Allies & Axis: Supernatural Edition (Crossover, Willow/Tara, T) by DestinyMaverick

[Images, Audio & Video]

Video: Drawing The Anointed One | Buffy Club (Andrew J. Ferchland, Season 2 Episode 01, 02) by GamingGreyhound

Image: I Found My Old Buffy Memorabilia Motherload!! by Kit_Pistol

Artwork: A problematic peroxide pretty boy by lizleeillustration

Video: Buffy Summers - Unstoppable by rohanna

PODCAST: Mythtakenbtvs - Episode 53: The Zeppo by newworldwitchery

[Recs]

Critically Touched reviews by lesbianrey

[Reviews & Recaps]

Buffy Season 8-12, and Angel & Faith Seasons 6-?: The Good and the Bad by DrPepper450

20 Year Rewatch - s04e01 "Deep Down" (and the Angel Characters Tier List) by Ohigetjokes

Buffy rewatch: S03E02 by three-blogs-in-a-trenchcoat

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season One - Episodic Analysis by McGeeK02

[Community Announcements]

Summer of Giles 2021 starts 1st July at summer-of-giles

[Fandom Discussions]

Discussion of Buffy 9.06 "On Your Own - Part 1" Released 2/8/12 (Dark Horse) by wickedtiger86

Arguments Against Arguments Against Spuffy (continued) by multiple people

Willow and Riley? (continued) by multiple people

Unpopular Opinion Support Group (continued) by Puppet

Best twist they stuck with (continued) by Puppet

What is the significance/point of Angel and Buffy sharing dreams in Amends? (continued) by Cheese Slices and HardlyThere

Angel Legacy Editions vol3 and onwards (continued) by Whiskey

If Buffy Episodes Were Named Like Friends Episodes (continued) by multiple people

Did anyone else........like The Potentials? by DrPepper450

Episodes where Buffy breaks off wood or uses a pool cue by ToTYly_AUSem

i thought this was so adorable by x5sammy5x

Multiple slayers by Maleficent_Wedding_9

SMG was a huge teen star during the run of the series. Why didn't she go on to have a memorable film by KevTravels

Cordelia's use of the word, "retard" or "retarded" by precita

Saddest ending? by jdpm1991

Fred’s Sexuality by m8walsh

Season 4 episode 11 - The writing feels wrong against Amy and Charisma? by Quirky_Butterfly

Which Buffyverse vampire looked the best in Game Face? by bb_666

Giles' parents by melonsmessymusings

Buffy turning Xander down in Prophecy Girl by firemanwhenthefloodsrollback

[Darla's role and importance in the Buffyverse] by chasingfictions

I really want to know what Team Angel remembers happening during late Season 3 and Season 4 by highonbandcandy

[Buffy/Spike direction in Becoming pt2 script] by chasingfictions

[Darla and Drusilla's relationship] by yourfriendlyneighborhoodbimbo

[The Mayor vs the Scoobies re. dealing with Faith] by yourfriendlyneighborhoodbimbo

Buffy and Angel’s relationship is rooted in resistance and Buffy and Spike’s is rooted in temptation by buffysummers

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

‘Leverage: Redemption’ Unveils First Trailer & Premiere Date On IMDb TV at Deadline

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Join the editor team :)

#Buffy The Vampire Slayer #btvs #ats

[hungama2fullmovie]

Hungama 2 (2020) Full Movie Download 720p GDrive

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Hungama 2 (2020) IMDB Ratings : N/A Director: Priyadarshan Writers: Anukalp Goswami (dialogue), Yunus Sajawal (screenplay) Stars: Pranitha, Paresh Rawal, Ashutosh Rana Country: India Genres: Comedy Language: Hindi Release Date: 14 August 2020 Quality: 1080p, 720p HDRip File Size:

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Kapil Sharma will speak to Shilpa Shetty's parents and tell them that he is a BBC journalist - challenging, computer-born. The actor laughs as he recounts her husband Raj Kundra's' unfortunate 'birthday party, which he jokingly calls her.

He will say he would love to get back into a role where he can do more things, even romance. He will say that while he can handle social media, it will be difficult to check his children's homework by mail and check their homework by mail. Kapil Sharma will laugh when Archana Puran Singh warns him to polish his skills with technology so she can help her daughter, and says he can't get a job because he doesn't even have an email ID.

To stream and download movies, you must register on Hungama.com (you can also add a social account) and select a price plan based on your movie preferences. Once you have selected the plan, you will stream or download your selected movies after purchasing the plan. The streaming option allows you to watch your favorite movies without waiting for the movie download to be completed. After you have selected the price of the plans you want to watch, click on PLAY for all the movies you want to watch.

You can renew your subscription by storing your payment details from your last purchase and enjoying uninterrupted entertainment. If you have used your credit card to pay, your plan will be automatically renewed and you will not renew it.

The recipient only has to pay the balance and no amount that the recipient has left with the company at the time of booking will be treated as part of the establishment of a refundable deposit. A refundable deposit can only be obtained by the Company for the sole purpose of refunding the deposit to secure a refund of a certain amount of money (the "refundable deposit").

The movie trailers are a quick snapshot of the movie, which can be viewed by most movies by selecting it from the download. The preview function is the one you are looking for before you buy, and provides you with tracks and videos of movies, TV shows, etc. that you can try and be sure that they are the ones available on Hungama.com. All measures have been taken to ensure that the content downloaded from this website is CD quality and free of viruses and spyware.

Throughout the segment, the former cricketers and politicians will mimic the style of the stage and watch the climax. If the show does well, it should be watched by the industry that has seen Adhyayan's talent And he's too good. The makers Ekant and Babani need to be supported, as they have filled the screen with sex and nudity, just like other makers do to get eyeballs.

The recipient returns the JioPhone to the company, but only after a subsequent visit to the CEO and the Marketing Director of the company. The company can offer repair or replacement of the JioPhone, including any defects it has. During the warranty period, the Company or its authorized service partners or another third party will repair or replace the defective product or part thereof and / or not damage or repair it, provided that the Consumer makes a valid claim. The consumer is advised to ensure that his information is verified through the Company's website and its jiophone.com, which may be published and updated from time to time. Such repairs or replacement of a defective product shall include the warranty period, whether it is dead on arrival or after purchase, for a period not exceeding two (2) years.

The following is a summary of the way your personal information is collected, stored, shared, used and / or used in any way. You agree that RRL, its licensees and agents may collect such personal information about you to provide you with information about your products and services. Location data may be used by RRC and its licensees to provide or improve location-based products or services and for other purposes.

Your location data may be subject to verification and verification if you are using a third-party device or any other specific FD device that uses or provides your location data. Your location information on third-party devices and other specified RRC devices may contain links to other websites and applications and may display other content associated with third-party websites. Our team is constantly on site and works on secure setups to ensure that the site is free of viruses and spyware.

Public Safety defines itself as a non-profit organization dedicated to maintaining the safety of the citizens of New York City and its communities. Crime prevention means working with the public and holding them accountable for their crime prevention and public safety activities.

The consumer owes JioPhone a basic duty of care and all matters falling under this category, as specified in paragraph 3.1 above, are final and binding on the consumer. The Consumer's opinion on all matters covered by these categories, as stated in point 2.0 of point 1.2 of the above clause, and on all other matters covered by these categories, is final, binding and not subject to review by third parties.

If you are wondering what you can see on this site, you should know that it covers a wide range of genres, including horror, science fiction, fantasy, action, comedy, horror and many more. There are many other popular genre films, ranging from action movies to horror movies, science fiction films and even comedies. We are keeping and telling everyone who is interested how to watch some of our favorite movies on our website.

There are also biographical films that tell the story of a character, but the film itself is fiction, based on the facts of the true story, whether it is based on a "true" story or not.

Television for television, whether current or historical, and whether the series can be a comedy or a drama or both.

Stuntmen are meant to replace actors who perform difficult or extreme scenes, as is usually the case in action or action films. There is also the term extras, which is used for minor characters with few or no roles in the film. Actors or actresses must be required to have a good acting talent that corresponds to the subject of the films in which they are starring. To do this, you have to work behind the desk and start at the beginning of a film, from the beginning to the end of its production.

Commenting on the ambiguity and complexity of the characters in the story, Oscar-winner Akira Kurosawa said: "I think that people who want to see stories with that quality are watching television as we see them on television now. This refers to actors (men, actresses and women) and the roles they play in a film.

Television shows are television shows that can be presented in a variety of formats and genres such as drama, comedy, science fiction, horror, fantasy, drama and drama.

The first television programmes were black and white, which were broadcast sporadically from the 1930s onwards and continued in black and white for the next ten years. The colour change was announced in 1964, with the announcement that by autumn 1965 half of the station's programmes would be broadcast in colour at prime time. In 1966, the last daytime show on the network was switched to color, leading to a first all-color network season.

Filmmaking has become an important industry, where cinema is always waiting for the feature film, but it is also a form of entertainment that people can visualize through film. A film is a live image that is shot to create a moving image that is presented to us as a form of entertainment.

[creaturecarnival]

Monsters From 9

Hey, it’s ya [REDACTED], mod Frankie, and for my first post, I thought I’d review a movie which I wish I’d watched much sooner than I did, 9! If you haven’t seen 9, I highly suggest you watch it as soon as you get the chance. It’s about a bunch of grimy magic rat-people dolls called the Stitchpunks fighting evil robots in a war-ravaged post-apocalypse, and if that doesn’t entice you then I’m afraid I can’t help you. This post will contain major spoilers, so if you want to avoid that then get the fuck outta here and watch the movie, ya dingus! Or don’t and just ogle these cool ass monsters, whatever boats your float.

The Cat Beast

We’ll be reviewing these monsters in the order that they appear in the film, so first off we have the Cat Beast! The Cat Beast really does perfectly exemplify the aesthetic of the movie, mixing together organic and inorganic elements to create something more disturbing than the sum of its parts. The part that stands out the most is obviously the cat skull that comprises its head, complete with a super evil glowy red eye in the left socket, and a blinding spotlight in the right, which really kicks the design up a few notches in my opinion.

This official art gives a nice profile view, and you can really see all the bones intermixed. One of my favorite things about it is the way it moves. Its posture and general appearance would suggest that it would be crude and animalistic, but it shows signs of higher intelligence such as picking things up in its claws and carefully inspecting them, and throwing 2 in a cage after capturing him instead of killing him outright, meaning it is capable of much more complex thought than you would expect at first glance, which is really eerie and jarring.

The Fabrication Machine

The main antagonist of the movie, the Fabrication Machine is an enormous robot that was created by the same scientist who created the Stitchpunks. Where our heroic rag dolls were made from fragments of their creator’s soul, the Fabrication Machine was made from the scientist’s intellect alone, meaning it could be easily influenced by outside forces who controlled it. It was made with the purpose to be an instrument of creation, but the only other human character, The Chancellor corrupted it and used it to create war machines that would eventually turn against humanity, wiping out all life on Earth with poisonous gas. I think that it would get along well with GLaDOS.

Design-wise, I LOVE the Fabrication Machine. The iron wrought industrial aesthetic is just so cool, and I’m a sucker for gigantic machinery in general. As a bonus, whenever it gets excited about something, a network of sparks run across its surface! It’s an unnecessary detail, but it elevates the design as well as the expressiveness of the character. The way that it cobbles together all of its creations is also really fun to watch, specifically the scene where it’s making our next creature on the list...

The Winged Beast

After the beheading of its first lil’ abomination, the Machine decided to take to the skies with the aptly named Winged Beast. Equipped with a total of four beady red eyes and a scorpion-like tail tipped with a harpoon gun, this thing is gnarly. Its wings are stitched together tatters of a flag, it uses a fan to propel itself through the air in addition to its wings, and apparently it has human bones incorporated into its body, because we see the Fabrication Machine cutting up the remains of a human skeleton. I can’t identify any on the creature’s design, but we can assume they’re in there somewhere. My favorite part of its design the “beak”, which is made up of at least 10 discreet blades, and opens up like a nightmarish origami fortune teller where all of the predictions read “death”.

THAT’S what I’m talkin’ about, babey!

The Seeker Drones

Next we have possibly my favorite design in the whole movie, the Seeker Drones. The first time we see them, there’s only one and it just brings the Winged Beast’s head back to the factory. The next time we see them, however, there’s dozens of them, and they’re patrolling the skies outside of the factory with spotlights.

We can really get a lovely view of it on this texture call-out sheet. It uses bellows to propel itself, and has a siren attached to it that it can crank with its single talon-like arm. And just look at those adorably googly little eyestalks!!! That’s the part that really makes the design for me. It just gives this goofy charm that you don’t expect from an evil robot and I love it. I love this silly snail-zeppelin.

The Spiderbots

These guys can be seen crawling all over the factory in a couple of scenes. It’s not really clear why they were created, and I really don’t have all that much to say about them. They’re just fairly generic little spider robots, and that’s okay, because they don’t really have to be anything more than that.

The Seamstress

Well, this one wins the contest for “most viscerally disturbing” by a landslide. It is incidentally also the most powerful creation of the Machine by far, capable of paralyzing onlookers with 2’s corpse, which it has attached to the end of its serpentine body like a rattle, tying them up with thread, and then storing them inside its own body. Clearly it was at this point that the Machine decided it was time to quit fucking around.

Here we can really appreciate all the components of this monstrosity. This was the highest resolution image I could find, I swear. Anyway, the cobra-like silhouette is really cool when mixed with six limbs befitting of an insect with a crippling sewing addiction. It’s also bookended nicely by the two most wonderfully ghastly features it possesses.

That bisected doll head complete with spooky red eye is a nice callback to 2’s trinket cart which was comprised of a similarly damaged doll, and is a really neat way to incorporate visual elements that the viewer associates with 2, since this monster’s basis is to take that character and twist him into something horrifying. I thought the Seekers were my favorite at first, but after looking a lot more closely at the Seamstress than I originally planned, I’ve gotta say it’s my favorite just because of how strong it is in both concept and execution.

Conclusion

When I first saw 9, I fell in love with it. The aesthetic, the characters, the worldbuilding, and yes, the monsters, all come together perfectly to create a true masterpiece. I was shocked to see that it has a 7.1/10 on IMDb, a 57% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 60% on Metacritic. If you read through this review and still haven’t watched it, it’s on Netflix as of the writing of this post and I strongly encourage you to do so. Also, I’m calling it now, there’s gonna be a sequel movie or series released on 9/9/19.

#creature carnival #mod frankie #9

[iamcinema]

IAC Reviews: #009: Extreme Life & Death: The Blair Witches of Shockumentaries: Part One (2000)

Warning: The following film contains graphic imagrey that’s considered NSFW/NSFL, and should be avoided by those who are faint of heart and don’t like the sight of real death media and violence. While the following review delves into such topics, it contains no stills from the film and is marked as safe. If you wish to view it to judge for yourself, it’s readily available online to view via Archive.org.

________________________________________

After disappearing for 84 years, I’m back in the saddle to bring in something new...or old rather. So, what’s a better way to mark my return than with a genre staple of my morally questionable childhood? We’re back in action with another shockumentary title, and this has been one of the more elusive titles thus far.

Extreme Life & Death: The Blair Witches of Shockumentaries is a three-part series akin to others of its kind; bringing us highlights and reels of death, mayhem, and tragedy caught on film. This includes the usual suspects like vehicular accidents, terrorism, natural disasters, and fantastical human feats and achievements - thus the name, Extreme Life & Death.

There’s very little information about the company, DMP Entertainment, out there as the IMDb pages for these entries are barren with nothing to them beyond their tags to explain what they were. You can find a company called DMP Entertainment online, but whether or not they’re related is hard to tell for sure. However, the cover art for Part Two bears a striking resemblence to the artwork for Death: The Final Journey, an expansive seven part series that touches on the same topic, released by Wayne Enterprises and DMN Productions around the same time. Given the similarities, my guess is that DMP Entertainment and DMN Productions are the same company - and oddly enough, both appear to be currently active with their main focus being on music production. Interesting. So, much like the legend about the Blair Witch herself, it’s tough to find solid answers as to the mystery behind these strange titles. While they may not be the most obscure or even potentially sought after, they do raise a brow as to what the hell you’re in for.

Extreme Life & Death; Part One in One Gif:

Hmm, okay, let’s try to talk about this one because I had a hard time doing so elsewhere. Also, I apologize for the strange choice in a photo since I wasn’t able to find a stand alone VHS scan of the tape for some reason. So, shout out to /u/Str8Jeffin over on the VHS sub for being lucky enough to find this. The comments on it are either those who haven’t heard about either film, or applaud him for finding two rarities in the wild - and yeah, I’ll get to Zombie Bloodbath eventually.

Now, the part I’ve been dreading when it’s come to getting to writing this is figuring out how to. As I said previously, this has been a very weird film to dig for and I wouldn’t have known about it if it wasn’t for the few shockumentary lists on IMDb that even acknowledge it and other oddball titles like Traces of Gore, More Than Smashed Pumpkins, and Snuff R73. Much like some of those titles, this applies to even production credits or cover art to confirm the validity of their existence. I wasn’t even sure if I’d be able to do much in terms of potentially reviewing this or not at all, but someone managed to find all three films on a Spanish or Portuguese website and saved them before the site went under. So, if you want to see these, I’ll provide a link at the end for you to get a taste of the action.

Now, onto the first installment...

________________________________________

Judging from just the release dates alone, my guess is that it tried to follow the train of titles of the 1990′s and the dawning of the new millenium; so Traces of Death, The Many Faces of Death, and Death File. There’s a bit of a saying that once you’ve seen one of these films, you’ve seen all of them, and in a way it’s true.

A good portion of shockumentaries are just recycled and repurposed clips and archived footage from other shockumentaries and documentaries, and after one uses something fresh to bring to the table, it’s dead on arrival and bloated up the river by the time it gets in the hands of others to spread around. For some, this can kill the mood and experience if you’re seeing rehashed films you’ve already seen before and you know what to expect. For others, they don’t necessarily see it as a bad thing or wholly disappointing. But, hey, to each their own I suppose. I guess that’s up to you with where you sit on the matter. This also rings true for the topic of narratiors and whether or not they add to the scenes or take away from it, with a sort of set in stone range from traditional documentary style narrations by Dr. Francis B. Gross and Dr. Flellis of the Faces of Death series and the brutal, in your face of Darrin Ramage and Dr. Vincent van Gore of Traces of Death and Faces of Gore, respectively.

I bring this up, particularlly the topic of narrators because you won’t find that here - well, sort of, and it goes hand-in-hand with the old saying.

_________________________________________

Exteme Life & Death: Part One is as simple and bare bones as they come, which is strange to say for a niche subgenre where the raw heart of the matter is just a showcase of death, carnage, destruction, and the like. I say that because others of its kind have more, I guess you can say, substance to them in the form of a soundtrack, narration, or chapters to help steer things along to be more organized. However, these things are noticably abscent from the film if it wasn’t previously supplied with the archived footage.

In a similar manner to how I talked about The Act of Seeing With Ones Own Eyes in my review of Le Poéme, this will either make for a rather boring watch or something more intimate and direct with the viewer because it throws you right into the heart of it with no filler. On the other hand, this can also make the film appear to be more a more cheap, thoughtless, and lazy cash-in with it’s rough, copy-and-paste style of editing. It’s really just a matter of preference for what you’re into, I suppose. While I can understand not providing either for emotion or context as a means to just push the viewer into the chaos of the scenes, I don’t get having the ability to do so out of being cheap or incompetent - which feels to be more of the case, at least in my opinion.

My process for coming to this conclusion comes in the form of many of the scenes provided, which have been recycled from previous shockumentaries of times gone by. While those films provide exposition for their origins, this film uses black and white captions to tell the limited background information instead. For example, one of the more notable scenes comes in the form of firing squad execution footage that was smuggled out of Iraq sometime in the early 1990′s. This scene has been repurposed and reused in other films with exposition, but this time around we just get a similar copy-and-paste style method of explaining what’s going on. Whether or not this cheapens or degrades the experience is up to you, because, then again, there’s the crowd that found the narration and delivery method for the early Traces of Death films to be so boring that Damon Fox was told people would just mute the film and blast their death metal albums over it.

So, enough on this topic. What can one expect if they want to see this?

I feel that the opening sequences tells you what exactly we’re in for as far as quality goes, which is that of a woman walking around a cemetery sobbing as she throws herself onto the tombstones to mourn. It feels rather cheap and forced, which doesn’t really help it that much at all. The editing style feels rather sloppy as the scenes don’t really have much direction for them as far as how they’ve organized things. To go back to Faces of Death, we have general chapters that attempt to string things along in a seamless transition; with natural disasters, animal cruelty, capitol punishment, and human atrocities being served up. Here, it feels like there’s no rhyme or reason for the direction things want to go. So, it’s not out of line to see air show disaster footage one moment and then something unrelated the next with no explanation. The footage in question isn’t particularly graphic either and is relatively on the tame side compared to other films; with some of the more gruesome scenes being that of a city block after a potential bombing, a corpse discovered in the jungles of Nicaragua, and last rites given to a man who was fatally hit by a truck.

_________________________________________

So, with all of that being said, what do I think about this one? Honestly, I don’t know. In a way, it does try to hold up on its own with trying to stand out compared to it’s bloody brothers and sisters, so I can’t say it didn’t at least try. Well, maybe “try” is a bit generous.

I’m not sure.

There’s a part of me that thinks it did it’s job alright, and there’s another that feels like it didn’t want to bother putting in the additional effort to really push things to the limit or reach it’s full potential - plus, the title alone can give you an impression as to what it’s trying to do and whether or not you feel that’s a good thing is up to you. I want to say that if the makers went there to at least give us something a bit extra (as a treat), like music or even a mediocre narrator, this could have been more of a recognized name...even if that in of itself is weird enough. It makes me wonder how many people followed in the steps of early Traces of Death viewers and just flipped on their goregrind albums to add anything at all to the experience.

Now, it’s up for you to decide what to make of this. If there’s enough interest, I can attempt to do reviews for the other two parts, even if it means repeating myself. If you want to get a glimpse of what I was talking about, you can view all three parts over on the Internet Archive that got added back in September 2019. If you’re into shockumentaries, then I’d say to give it a watch at some point, even if it’s just to say you’ve officially seen everything. For those who are new to the subgenre, then I’d say you would be in good hands to start with something like this if Faces of Death is too much for you - even if a good chunk of the franchise is recreated footage. However, if you’re into shockumentaries and this hasn’t swayed any opinion you have, then don’t fret because you won’t lose much sleep if you pass on this one.

RATING: 3/10

#extreme life and death #extreme life & death #shockumentary #shockumentaries #90's horror #90s horror #00s horror #00's horror #obscure horror #rare horror #documentary #death #macabre #carnage #horror review #film review #iac reviews #film #horror #extreme horror #underground horror #horror cinema #extreme cinema #death documentary

[scifigeneration]

‘Black Mirror’: the dark side of technology

by Oihab Allal-Chérif

Season 5 of Black Mirror begins on June 5, 2019. Allocine

(translated from French)

Because technology as its main character, Black Mirror is one of the most fascinating yet disturbing series of the last ten years. Fascinating, because viewers can easily identify with most situations. Disturbing, because the technology is hostile: addictive, invasive, spy, alienating, psychopathic, apocalyptic… Since Netflix broadcast the trailer for season 5 of Black Mirror on May 15, to launch on June 5, viewers have been eagerly awaiting the series, which, in very few episodes, has inspired the public, and many other shows.

Black Mirror season 5 trailer.

An original concept for a powerful message

Launched in 2011, Black Mirror not only aims to entertain, but it also invites us to think about how technology can harm society and transform our behaviour. Each episode shows how an existing technology could evolve in the near future, for better, or especially for worse. Technology can be dangerous in itself, but more often malicious designers or users use it to manipulate, humiliate, coerce, enslave or kill.

In Black Mirror, the situations are familiar, but are pushed to the extreme, provoking anxiety, destruction and even death. Each episode is independent, with its own universe and style, though clues sometimes link them. The topics covered include the obsession with celebrities, reality TV, social networks, video games, smartphones, and pornography; the end of private life; robots and androids; social and commercial profiling; fake news and opinion manipulation; dating sites and matching systems; immersive augmented reality; cybersecurity and cyberbullying; the transfer of memory or consciousness into a machine; and transhumanism.

One of the most iconic Black Mirror episodes is season 1, episode 2, “Fifteen Million Merits”. It presents a world close to the description of philosopher Herbert Marcuse, in which humanity is enslaved by mass media, advertising and industry. The main character, Bing, spends his days pedalling an exercise bike in front of a television screen, like the whole of the middle class. He earns credits, called “merits”, to buy products or services. In this materialistic society, where technology dominates and corrupts, everyone is constantly being filmed. Reality TV and gaming are the only entertainment, and fame the only ambition. Not using pornography is a crime. Although Bing wants to revolt and denounce the system that oppresses him, he eventually becomes part of it, abandoning his morals for a comfortable life.

The most powerful moments in Black Mirror, episode “Fifteen Million Merits”.

From horrifying science fiction to tragic reality

While Black Mirror seems to unfold in the near future, the show depicts worrying current trends. Its creator, Charlie Brooker, surfs the technological news, cleverly incorporating it into terrifying scenarios. While these fantastic stories may seem exaggerated, technology, particularly digital technology, is increasingly used in crime, is responsible for multiple pathologies, and causes geopolitical conflict, the drift toward authoritarianism and social deterioration. Black Mirror prophecies that have come true are the subject of heated debate.

The perverse behaviour presented in several episodes of Black Mirror can be observed on social networks. On May 15, a 16-year-old Malaysian teenager committed suicide after asking her Instagram followers if she should live or die, because 69% told her to end her life. Facebook has also been blamed for broadcasting live 17 minutes of the March 15 attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand in which 51 people died. Black Mirror repeatedly illustrates the morbid, sordid tastes of many anonymous online viewers, as in the very first episode.

Black Mirror, trailer for the “National Anthem” episode.

A futuristic show that questions the present

Season 3, episode 1, “Nosedive” describes an oppressive society where everyone constantly grades other people’s words, actions, and publications on a five-point scale. They are equipped with eye implants enabling them to see the grades of those around them. This satire on a society where everyone is obsessed by their own image criticises superficiality and the need to portray oneself positively to obtain other people’s approval. The episode illustrates perfectly the consequences of China’s “social credit” system, which monitors and records the entire population in real time to “improve” behaviour and strengthen the regime.

In season 3, episode 2, “Playtest”, a gamer tries an experimental video game that kills him in a few milliseconds. The guinea pig is equipped with a virtual reality headset and a neural implant. The implant hacks his brain and generates images based on his fears and physiological data. The episode warns against giving developers control of human senses, and about the immersive, invasive technologies that are the future of video games. “Playtest” was first broadcast on Netflix on October 21, 2016, a few months after the release of the Facebook Oculus Rift Headset on March 28, 2016.

Season 4, episode 5, “Metalhead”, describes a post-apocalyptic world, where intelligent killer dogs hunt humans. This is a direct reference to the company Boston Dynamics, which Google sold in 2017 to the Japanese group Softbank. In the series, these dogbots appear on building sites and in public, but the project was initially a partnership with DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), a US military R&D agency.

Fiction: special effects in the Black Mirror episode “Metalhead”.

Reality: Boston Dynamics robot testing at construction sites.

Imitated but never equaled

The Season 5 promotional campaign reminds us that the series has changed its viewers’ perceptions of the world and has received multiple prizes, including Emmys and BAFTA Awards. The reviews are excellent, with an overall score of 8.9/10 on IMDb.

Similar shows have tried to imitate the success, such as the miniseries Electric Dreams, based on sci-fi author Philip K. Dick’s short novels, many of which have been adapted for the screen. Considered a clone of Black Mirror, Electric Dreams was first aired on Channel 4 in Britain, like its model. Amazon Video acquired the US rights, and with Bryan Cranston as executive producer and an all-star cast, the series was successful, but did not attain the cult status of Black Mirror.

Westworld also seems strongly influenced by Black Mirror. Its first two seasons focused on robotics and transhumanism. HBO has just released the trailer for the third season, planned for 2020, in which a new character, played by Aaron Paul (who played Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad, and who performed a voiceover in an episode of Black Mirror) condemns the false promise of a better world made to justify the technological development and commercialisation of servo devices.

Black Mirror has often been compared to The Twilight Zone in the 1960s, and is probably at the origin of its reboot, although the showrunner Jordan Peele – author, director and producer of the thrillers Get Out and Us – denies the similarity. Jordan Peele is also co-author of the series Weird City, released on February 13, 2019, on YouTube Premium. Its well-chosen guest-stars present the dangers of technology with more humour.

AMC, which broadcast popular series like Mad Men, Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead, has commissioned a new series for 2020 from Will Bridges, one of the authors of Black Mirror, that will focus on a dating technology that finds your soul mate. Since the original is often better than its copies, let’s hope that Netflix will produce many more seasons of Black Mirror.

About The Author:

Oihab Allal-Chérif is a Full Professor of Information Systems, Purchasing and Supply Chain Management at Neoma Business School

This article was republished from our content partners at The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

#science fiction #science fiction and fantasy #scifi tv #Netflix #Black Mirror #black mirror season 5 #technopolitics #social media #scifi in society #featured

[fyh2ojustaddwater]

Full Moon Madness (02/19/19)!

Happy Super Snow Moon! And happy Full Moon Madness everyone!!

Hope everyone’s been staying warm this winter.

Here’s everything new I’ve discovered for the H2O cast:

Bloom: I mentioned Phoebe’s new mini-series in the last F.M.M post, but now, it’s finally here! Aired in its entirety on Australia’s Stan channel on New Year’s Day, this series stars our beloved Phoebe Tonkin. Her character (Gwen) gets a second chance at being young again! But based on what we see in the trailer, it doesn’t look like it’s all what it’s cracked up to be.  There’s something else that’s worth noting about this series. As I was checking this project out on iMDB, I noticed another H2O cast-mate will be joining her. Looks like, none other then Angus McLaren will be in an episode. Having not seen the series, I have no clue if he’ll share any scenes with Phoebe or not...but one can hope. I do know that he’s only in the 5th episode though :( If I manage to get around to watching this, I will of course provide more info and definitely screen caps! Ah, could you imagine...an on screen Clewis reunion? *heart eyes*

If anyone’s already seen this series, did you like it? I’m super curious about it! 

The Divorce Party: I heard about this project when Claire was filming it last year or so? But finally, it’s here for our viewing pleasure!  The Divorce Party’s synopsis is as follows:  A recently dumped divorcee in his late-twenties sets out to plan a wedding-sized divorced party in an attempt to get his life back on track.

Claire Holt plays Susan, person that dumps said divorcee. From viewing the trailer and given the plot, I think she’ll only be in the movie for 30 minutes tops...but it’ll be the best 30 minutes ever! 

This film has been released digitally (I believe around Feb 9th) and can be purchased on Prime, Google, Vudu, etc.

A sneak peek was also released, featuring Claire!

Shadowhunters 3B Premiere: Any Shadowhunters fans here?  Well, the season 3B premiere is almost upon us! Monday it returns to Freeform, and shortly we’ll be seeing Chai Hansen’s Jordan Kyle on our screens again. Using iMDB once again, it says he’s listed on 3.14, so get ready folks!

So far, no new images nor video clips have been released showing what’s to happen to his character, but give it time.  Also, I review this show over at With An Accent, so if you’re just a general fan of the show, feel free to check them out, if you so fancy!

Siren: Okay, so this has nothing to do with the H2O gang, but it does have something to do with mermaids.  Freeform’s Siren is currently airing its second season and I love it ever so much! If you need a show to fill the mermaid void in your heart, this is it! (Plus, there’s TONS of POC rep and even some LGBT rep. Something I wish we had in H2O tbh) I also review this show, so feel free to fangirl with me. I HAVE SO MANY OPINIONS #Bryndie <3

That’s it for this month’s ‘Full Moon Madness’!

Anything I missed that you’re excited about? If you want us to mention anything, feel free to submit/leave us ask messages! I’m always trying to keep up with the H2O cast, but some things fall through the cracks unfortunately.

Until next month!

-Kelly

#updates #full moon madness

[glitterysummerkitty]

Sebastian Stan

Gif Source- http://www.pinterest.com/pin/295830269246450900

Taken From- Giphy.com

Sebastian Stan One- Shot

Pairing- Sebastian Stan x Reader

Warning(s)- None

“Where to Miss?”

      You whack your best friend’s arm as he asks you in the best imitation of a cabbie. Y/F/N glares at you mockingly before his lips break out in a wide grin. Shifting the gear he pulls the car on to the highway teeming with evening traffic.

“Thanks thou for coming to pick me up on such a short notice.”, you say.

“No problem at all. By the way, not that it’s any of my business, why didn’t you call your hot shot boyfriend?”, he asks.

“I did call him but for some reason Stan has his phone turned off or something. It kept going straight to voice mail.”, you reply, glancing at the passing cars. Technically, you were still within the airport limit and the traffic here seems endless with arrivals and departures alike.

“Hhmm... Must be not expecting your call at this hour.”, Y/F/N says absently as he switches lane.

      You pull your mobile phone out the pant pocket and see that it was half past seven. Y/F/N had a point. According to Stan you should be filming at this moment but filming had ended much sooner than planned and now you were on your way home. In all the chaos you had forgotten to inform your boyfriend that you were heading home. So there was no need to worry if Stan’s phone was turned off. Yet still there was a nagging feeling in your mind and you ask your friend to drive faster.

         Sebastian had been warned. By you. But he had never really been good at heeding warnings.

      It had been a lazy day, spent on making late breakfast (because he woke up late), then some chores and then a late lunch. After lunch he had tried to face time with Y/N but couldn’t reach, which surprised him a bit but didn’t dwell on it much. He had looked around a bit in search of doing something when he finally ended up before his laptop in an attempt to surf the internet on very random subjects.

      He was going through IMDb’s list of the top performances by an actor in the year 2017 and saw that Y/N led the list with her performance in ‘Blanc Skies’. He knew from the rave reviews from both the audience and critics alike (which is an impossible feat, in his opinion), the Golden Globe nomination, the Academy nomination, etc, that his girlfriend had given an outstanding performance as ‘Faye’, and while all of this made him extremely proud of his girlfriend, he had never been able to enjoy the movie himself.

      Reason? Y/N had barred him from watching the movie ever. When he had asked once she had simply said that she knew that her character’s demise would not be taken well by him. Of course Sebastian being the masochistic male had scoffed at her ridiculousness but Y/N was stubborn and had said with a full degree of finality in her voice that Sebastian should not watch the movie.

      Now as he saw the, obviously old, list of the site he felt the supressed curiosity worm it’s way on to the surface. Both bored out of his mind and also wanting to see his girlfriend perform, he decides to watch the movie after all. Anyways, Y/N wasn’t here to stop him. Also he was an actor too and as an actor he knew this wasn’t real. It was fictional story in which his girlfriend happens to play the role of the fictional character Faye and the fictional character dies, not his girlfriend. Y/N was just overreacting over nothing. He was man, he could handle a little fiction.

      With that delightful thought, Sebastian had walked to the living room, with his chest puffed up. In the sitting room, on the centre shelf of the TV unit was a box where the copies of each films, series that Y/N and Sebastian had ever been in. From the very box he pulled out the DVD case and gently plucked the CD.

      A glimmer of guilt had entered his mind but he quickly pushed it away, thinking that Y/N was only worried that he wouldn’t take her character’s death too well. He knew for a fact that that moment didn’t arrive till the very end, ergo he would just turn it off when he would get to that part.

      Little did he know that he would get so sucked into the movie that even when all the signs and warnings hinted at the impending he didn’t find it in himself to turn it off. All the worse, he had not thought how much Y/N would be right, and how at the moment he felt as if someone had punched him hard in the chest, sucking every ounce of breath from his lungs.

      The movie had come to an end and the last of the titles had just rolled off the screen but Sebastian sat on the couch, with his head between his hands, willing the gore image to leave his mind. Y/N had said that her character would die but she had never mentioned how gruesome it was. Nevertheless he should have figured it. Nudity, violence, gore- that was the rage these days.

         You enter the penthouse apartment you two shared and for a moment, you get the feeling that Stan wasn’t home. Leaving your bags by the door you stroll into the apartment, stopping short in the sitting room, when you see Stan sitting on the couch, looking extremely distressed. The sight of his dishevelled hair, the slouched shoulders and the network of bulging veins in his hands makes your heart leap into your throat with fear.

      You approach him very carefully and come to kneel before him. He doesn’t move at all leading you to think that either he hasn’t noticed you or he’s ignoring you. The latter although seems impossible to you. Gently you wrap your hands around his arms and whisper his name but he doesn’t answer.

“What happened?”, you ask but Stan doesn’t move a finger.

“Stan... Please talk to me. What’s going on? You’re scaring me.”, you say, your voice still firm and gentle but filled with anxiety and trepidation.

      Slowly he lifts his head and when you look into his grief stricken face you feel a wave of nausea threaten you. Suddenly Stan falls down to his knees and pulls you hard against his chest and holds you tight against him. You find it hard to breathe but you don’t complain as you can sense that he needs this. There was no sound but the wetness that began to drip and soak through your flimsy blouse on the back told you that Stan was crying.

      His tears only served to cause you panic because Stan never cried. Never! You coax him once more to speak up but Stan just holds you tighter.

    You hear the seconds hand tick around in the wall clock as Stan continued to crush you. When the dripping of the tears stopped you began counting every tick. On the hundred and twenty fifth tick Stan loosed his grip a little and mumbled something incoherent.

“Huh?”, you say.

“I said I am sorry.”, he mumbled again in a jagged voice.

“Why?”, you ask, your heart beating frantically in your chest.

“I should have listened to you. I shouldn’t have watched it.”

      For a moment you consider his very confusing answer but you soon suspicion about what he could be talking about.

“Please tell me you didn’t watch Blanc Skies?”, you mumble feeling your anger rise slowly.

“I did. I just didn’t expect--”

“Oh shut it!”, you let go of your anger finally and pull away from him. Standing up you glare down at him.

“I told you not to watch it. Look at you. For the past fifteen minutes...”, you glance at the same wall clock to make certain that is how much time had passed before turning to glare at him, “Fifteen minutes you have had me in a fix wondering what could have possibly happened to turn you into this wreck!”

“I am sorry...”, still kneeling he reaches out to hold your hand but you jerk it away before he could touch you.

“I knew you won’t be able to stomach it. But no! You had to go ahead and watch it!”, you go on. Stan could see that you were really pissed and felt ashamed. He felt pathetic at being such a wreck over a fiction but Y/N had done a really great job. He couldn’t help but be absorbed into the character. He let his head hang low, ashamed and furious over himself that he got carried away.

      Despite all the anger, there was something about the way Stan looked right now that tugged at your heart. Yes you were upset with him but you were also insanely in love with the man and, as twisted as it sounds, seeing him devastated over the death of your character made a teeny tiny part of you happy?

“I am right here.”, you sigh and kneel down. “And even if you wanted to you wouldn’t be able to get rid of me for a very long time Mr. So save your tears.”

      You place a soft kiss against his lips that tasted of salt at the moment. Sebastian leans forward and kisses you back, finding some solace in the physical contact. You pull away and sit on the floor getting comfortable between his legs, placing her back against his chest while he wrapped his arms around you.

“How come you are home early?”, he asks breaking the comfortable silence you two had been enjoying.

“We finished early.”, you reply. “By the way. I tried calling you from the airport. It kept going to the voicemail. My car broke and it’s still in the airport and since I couldn’t reach you, I called up Y/F/N.”

      You feel Stan go a little stiff at the mention of your friend’s name and smirk. For some reason Stan never got along with him.

“Hhmm. I forgot to plug in my phone to charge today. Probably got switched off.”, his voice was still rough.

      He knew you were still mad at him, which was appropriate, but for the moment all he wants is to hold you which you gladly allow.

#sebastian stan #sebastian #stan #sebastian stan one shot #sebastian stan imagine #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian x reader #oneshot #one shot #celebrities #celebs #hot celerities #hot celebs #celebrity #celeb one shots #celeb au #celebrity au #au celebrities #hot actors #requests #bucky barnes #bucky #barnes

[huong-mac]

The skeleton dance - Excited animation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOGhAV-84iI&ab_channel=WaltDisneyAnimationStudios

The Skeleton Dance,  a short animated film in 1929, is the first of the Silly Symphony series. This animation was produced and directed by Walt Disney, written by Carl W. Stalling, and animated by Ub Iwerks.

Original Creative Ideas

The Skeleton Dance was made untraditionally because the music in this cartoon was composed before designing the visual images. In other words, Carl W. Stalling created the music, then Ub Iwerks drew drawings according to the technical and structural features of the music. Especially, it is the first animated cartoon to use non-post-sync sound. Most of these drawings were drawn by Ub Iwerks in about six weeks. Later on, the cartoon was produced in black and white on standard 1.33:1 35mm film with a running time is 5.31’ (https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1296706.pdf).

In the film, a group of human skeletons dances and plays music around a spooky graveyard. These skeletons seem happy when gathering for dancing and playing music under the full moon. Its scene may make the audience creepy with old tombs and nocturnal animals such as an owl, bats, black cats, and dogs. In addition, the sound of a crowing owl, a howling dog, yelling cats, and fluttering bats lead the audience to think about death and fear. However, the cartoon depicts four skeletons having fun the whole night and making music using the spine and bone’ peers; that is a comedy aspect. Then, a rooster appears, and crows suddenly at dawn make four skeletons panic and try to come back to their tombs as soon as possible. The cartoon continues to make the audience laugh at the end because these poor skeletons are too scared. They collide with each other and combine in a different form.

Initial Public Audience Responses

The Skeleton Dance ranks 18th in Jerry Beck’s book of the 50 Greatest Cartoons. Initially, many movie theatres refused to show The Skeleton Dance in its early days, and even this animation was banned in Denmark for being terrifying. Besides, the theatre manager found the cartoon ‘very scary’ and complained about this matter. That is why Disney had considerable difficulties showing The Skeleton Dance in theatres during 1956. At the time of The Skeleton Dance, there were differences between societies, so this movie is difficult to accept by the audience everywhere (https://allthetropes.org/wiki/The_Skeleton_Dance).

Important Turning Point

However, once “The Skeleton Dance” was debuted theatrically—first at Los Angeles’ Carthay Circle Theater—the response it generated was just what Walt wished it would be. “Here is one of the most novel cartoon subjects ever shown on a screen,” wrote Film Daily. When the film was booked in New York, at the Roxy Theater, the theaters’ impresario Samuel “Roxy” Rothapfel, wrote Walt a note calling “The Skeleton Dance,” “one of the cleverest things I have seen,” and more importantly, “the audience enjoyed every moment of it.” Today, the vast majority of people who used to see violence, harming, bloodshed, hitting, and sexual content on screens will not find The Skeleton Dance uncomfortable, shocking or confusing, unlike the 1920s. (https://ohmy.disney.com/insider/2016/05/19/silly-symphonies/).

Expert Reviews / Opinions

The review in the July 17, 1929 issue of Variety stated:

"Title tells the story, but not the number of laughs included in this sounded cartoon short. The number is high. Peak is reached when one skeleton plays the spine of another in xylophone fashion, using a pair of thigh bones as hammers. Perfectly timed xylo accompaniment completes the effect. The skeletons hoof and frolic. One throws his skull at a hooting owl and knocks the latter's feathers off. Four bones brothers do a unison routine that's a howl. To set the finish, a rooster crows at dawn. The skeletons, through for the night, dive into a nearby grave, pulling the lid down after them. Along comes a pair of feet, somehow left behind. They kick on the slab and a bony arm reaches out to pull them in. All takes place in a graveyard. Don't bring your children."

The review in the July 21, 1929 issue of The Film Daily stated:

"Here is one of the most novel cartoon subjects ever shown on a screen. Here we have a bunch of skeletons knocking out the laughs on their own bones, and how. They do a xylophone number with one playing the tune on the others spine. All takes place in a graveyard, and it is a howl from start to finish, with an owl and a rooster brought in for atmosphere." (https://www.mouseplanet.com/12776/The_Skeleton_Dance_Story).

Today, according to IMDb Pro, the rating of this short film is 7.7/10 (4.5K) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020414/)

Conclusion

With the rapid development of social media and the change of thinking in society, the audience can easily find various movies, including horror film styles. That is why I saw this animation when I was looking for some animated film on the Internet. In my opinion, The Skeleton Dance is a funny animated movie with a perfect combination between music and images. In particular, it was made over 90 years ago. In conclusion, I recommend the others to watch The Skeleton Dance.

[mingqiwu]

FMP: Forefront 5 -  Flee

Flee (2021) is a documentary based on real characters. The story is about the protagonist, Amin, as a gay child, grew up in Kabul, and then fled to Russia and then to Denmark to escape the war. Based on the trailer, documentaries exist in the form of memories of the past and the present. It is worth noting that there are two visual styles in the trailer. One is a real image related to war, and the other is a charcoal-like visual style. I think the use of these two visual styles brings innovative artistic expression and visual aesthetics to the entire work.

Flee （2021）Official Trailer:

Flee Trailer | Sundance 2021 - YouTube

Davis (2021) pointed out that flee used Russian archive video clips from Kabul in the 80s and 90s, and charcoal-like animations to express Amin's real experience and psychological state. Although I haven't watched a complete documentary, the role of two visual styles can be seen from the trailer. According to David's film review, combined with the trailer, it can be seen that the entire documentary uses three images, animation style, charcoal-like style and real images. The three constructs the experience structure between Amin's memory and trauma.

Excluding the animation part that occupies most of the proportion, the use of real image style and charcoal-like style has a strong purpose and innovation. Real images strengthen the authenticity of the war. From the low pixels of the real image itself, to the special selection of images, including news reports, soldiers, gun smoke, combat aircraft, etc. The use of this series of real images has actually enhanced the concept of documentary and the objectivity of events. The use of charcoal-like style has strengthened Amin's personal mental state and memories. The picture is expressed in a fuzzy, chaotic, black and white visual style, showing a strong sense of instability. Simulates amin's psychological state, emotions, and a series of personal expressions. Compared with real images, the use of charcoal-like style is more subjective, and the audience is easily affected. Combined with objective and real images, the audience can easily have an immersive experience.

In my opinion, the innovation of this film is not simply to show events, but to produce an affective experience with a strong sense of reality and artistry through the use of different visual styles. The choice of painting style has a strong prominent and representative role in the subjectivity and objectivity of events. To produce a specific viewing experience.

Therefore, I think that the combination of different styles can produce a special affective experience. I have tried to use different styles of painting to convey different concepts and emotions in the final project. I think this is a very innovative artistic expression. In the future, I will explore more about the connection between visual expression and viewing experience.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Reference

Ahmed, R. (2021). Flee Trailer | Sundance 2021. [Online] 31 January 2021.  Available at: Flee Trailer | Sundance 2021 - YouTube. [Accessed: July 4th 2021].

Davis, V. (2021). ‘Flee’: An Animated Documentary Recounts a Harrowing Personal Trauma. [Online] 2nd March 2021. Available at: ‘Flee’: An Animated Documentary Recounts a Harrowing Personal Trauma | Animation World Network (awn.com). [Accessed: July 4th 2021].

Flee (2021). Animated documentary film. Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen. [IMDb]. USA, UK, France, Sweden, Norway, Denmark: Neon, Participant, Curzon Artificial Eye, Haut et Court.

#Forefront

[agentnico]

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) Review

So, I find myself in a conundrum. I have seen the big flick of the year, Avengers: Infinity War, however I have no idea how to go about reviewing it. “How so?” you ask. “Just give it a score and be done with it, you silly tot!” you exclaim again. “Well,” I reply. “Firstly don’t call me a tot, who uses ‘tot’ these days anyway? Secondly, let me explain.” Then I take a deep breath, look around wearily at the eager swarm of Marvel fans, and begin my tale of woe...

I hated Avengers: Infinity War... Wow, that was not that difficult to explain actually! Alright, alright! Hang on, hold your “f*ck” screaming crusade back, I haven’t finished yet. Basically, I simply am not the right target audience for this film it seems. And I say ‘it seems’ because in all fairness I used to really enjoy Marvel films. But in the past year I began developing this illness called superhero fatigue! Yes, yes, I hear your shocking screams, it’s a terrible terrible illness, worse than what the Black Death did back in the day. The truth needs to be faced though, I have been infected, like in The Walking Dead, only better, cause that show sucks now! I mean really, what happened to that show??...............*sob* anyway, that’s a rant for another day. Having become more and more bored with superhero flicks, with certain exceptions like the first Deadpool, Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther actually surprising me, and especially following those last two I was hopeful that this new Marvel entry was not going to be affected by my disease filled mind......okay, that’s a lie, I wasn’t optimistic about this film whatsoever from the start, my friends Paul and Josh would confirm how not-excited I was for this film (hey, I guess this is what a shout out is, cool, hello you guys!!!). But I went into this film with an open-ish mind......and yeah, bloody hated, didn’t I. So here I am wondering how to go about reviewing this film (if I can call it that), because as I said, I hated it, but that doesn’t mean its a bad film. For a casual movie goer and most definitely for Marvel fans I’m sure it a great time, I’m sure people will love it..........holy mother of crabs, this movie has a 9/10 on IMDb? What in the actual a**?? Sorry, sorry, I promised to be calm. Who am I kidding, I didn’t promise jack sh**! But where was I? Ah, yes, the Avengers: Infinity War. So yes, this is 100% Marvel fan service and I understand why people like this film, it has everything a popcorn movie needs going for it, so it’s not my place to give this film a proper review or score as I am not the right demographic and it’s not my place to stray away casual movie-goers from enjoying this film. However who cares what I say, we all know this movie is going to make over a billion regardless what I say. *looks at phone* Oh bloody hell, it already made a billion! Well. Well then. I guess I’m just going to leave some of my personal thoughts on the film down below, I know that I usually don’t do spoilers but, you know, f*** it, SPOILER WARNING!!

Plot: The big purple dude finally gets of his chair after taking the big giant 10 year dump and goes to collect a bunch of stones to shove up his anus. Okay, not his anus, but who cares about this plot description, if you’re reading this you should have already saw the film or, like me, don’t care about it. Once again, SPOILER WARNING. Don’t read anymore, as I’m going to spoil everything in 3, 2, 1...

Thanos dies!! Alright, I’m kidding, Thanos is fine, but seriously, spoilers ahead.

MAGNOLIA YOU ARE NOT - There are too many characters in this film which the story does not manage to balance well, so many of them are under-used. And yes, I did a Magnolia reference, even though this is not the kind of film to compare to Magnolia, but I don’t care, I’m being biased, deal with it!!

THE PLOT - What plot?? I’m kidding, but seriously, what plot?? The film is made up of an escalating series of fight vignettes all under the motto of “We have to stop Thanos!” Especially to the end of the film, we keep cutting to these various locations with different characters that it is hardly possible to engage with any of the stories.

AGE OF THANOS - Yeah, yeah, I know, everyone loves Josh Brolin as Thanos. Well sorry to disappoint, folks, I didn’t like him. C’mon now, get on the trend with this ‘review’, it’s obviously a negative one, stop getting surprised at everything I didn’t like! Obviously if you liked his character, good on you, but I didn’t. In my eyes it was yet again another big CGI villain like the one-note Ultron from the last Avengers flick, only bigger and, in all fairness, had a better motivation, but I found that Brolin played him quite monotone. Yes, you see his tears when he has to kill Gamora to receive the Soul Stone, but I didn’t find that emotional whatsoever. But that’s just me. Or is it?......no, no, it’s definitely just me. I feel your hatred towards me soothing through your body as you are reading this.

THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES - Oh look, it’s another massive battle with CGI monsters! Wooo!!

DEADPOOL...ONLY IT’S PG! *GASP!* - MCU films are known to incorporate humour into all their films, but in this one it felt too forced. With the amount of jokes they had it really took away from the gravitas of the darker more emotional moments. As an example, Gamora’s death is straight away followed by a joke about Starbucks. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll happily laugh about Starbucks any day, but still.

“AMERICA, F*** YEAH!!” - Of course the first time aliens arrive on Earth it’s obviously in America! How else are we gonna feel patriotic, eh?

SILLY-LORD - Star-Lord messing up the whole plan at the end with taking the gauntlet of Thanos’ hand could have been done much smoother. Like I get why he was annoyed and angry, but Tony was literally shouting in his ear saying for him to just wait one more minute so that they could take off the glove and then he would have had full right to Fight Club him to his full heart’s desire. But nooooooo, let’s have our characters make dumb decisions. And I’m not just talking about Star-Lord! P.S. Yes, I understand that the whole Star-Lord shtick is a set-up towards Doctor Strange’s ultimate plan of what he saw in the future, but it still feels like a deus ex machina cop out nonetheless.

THE TRUE HEROES - Okay, so I’m sure out of all the complaints on this list I think with this one you might actually agree. Where in the world were Valkyrie, Korg and Miek at the beginning with the Asgardian ship? It’s not like the credits rolled after Thor: Ragnarok and Korg and Valkyrie decided to jump out of the ship into the cosmos in search of coffee? Right? Right??

#TEAMDRAX - Oh, Drax, if only you were.........actually, I don’t have a problem with Drax. No, I’m serious, this one actually is not a complaint. I know, I surprised myself! I do have to give props to both the writing for and performance of Drax. He was actually hilarious in this film and his jokes were actually well timed. From the awkward spying on Gamora’s and Star-Lord’s intimate moment and him being convinced that he’s invisible saying “I have mastered the ability of standing so incredibly still that I have become invisible to the eye....my movement, is so slow that its imperceptible....I’m sure I’m invisible.” to his description of Thor “It’s like a pirate had a baby with an angel.” to the misunderstanding argument where Quill is asking where Gamora is, Iron Man then questions who Gamora even is and then Drax’s logistical, but at the same time misinterpreted response “I’ll do you one better - WHY is Gamora??” In my eyes, Dave Bautista (with his dead-pan delivery of the lines) stole the show as Drax, though Chris Hemsworth as Thor and his buddy-ing up with Rocket was a nice dynamic.

“FREEDOM! I SAID FREEDOM!” - Not going to lie, when Heimdall was killed I actually felt happy for him. You could see in Idris Elba’s eyes how happy he was that he finally full-filled his contract and was freed from his Marvel obligations. We all knew Idris didn’t want to be a part of this franchise, blame his agent.

HAHA, MIDGET! - No, I’m serious, that’s an actual joke in the film.

“WAS THE MUSIC TOO LOUD?” - And we’re back with Marvel films having generic unmemorable scores/soundtracks. Just a bunch of dramatic noises to keep the crowd pumping. Unlike Thor: Ragnarok or Black Panther (and in all fairness the Guardians of the Galaxy films, though I do have a personal vendetta against Vol.2), which actually had good music accompaniment, but now we’re back where we started. Dang it.

“REST IN PEACE, WHY WON’T YOU LET ME REST IN PEACE??” - Those of you who get what I’m referencing with that sub-title, full respect to you. Any-hoot, half of the Avengers die at the end of this film. And it’s the lack of consequence that annoys me, especially with the knowledge of future films on Marvel’s slate. We know some of them will be back. In all fairness, we do seem to have a few proper permanent deaths (then again, this IS Marvel...) in this film with the likes of Loki, Heimdall (good on you, Idris!), Gamora and Vision, but Marvel does have a problem with killing off characters, which is evident at the end of this film. And yes, you can say that its based off the comics and its supposed to be like that, but it does take away any kind of stakes.

GAME OF STONES - The MCU would work so much better as a high budget TV series, since Infinity War seems both rushed and at the same time drags on so much at 2 hours 40 minutes. It’s overstuffed like Thanos’ gigantic purple jawline!

In all seriousness, if you enjoyed Avengers: Infinity War, I’m glad. Truly, I am, and I totally understand why so many people do indeed like it. For me it has definitely proved that I am more of an indie film fan, as to me this endless array of ACTION, ACTION, ACTION with, in my opinion, no deeper meaning or message, is just not my kind of thing. I have lost any kind of excitement for any upcoming superhero films, minus Deadpool 2, I actually think that one will be a good laugh, but otherwise I should stick with independent cinema. I’m not going to give this film a score, as if I would have, it would have been quite low and would have not been fair on the film since I’m not the right person to rate it.

Overall score: N/A

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