#the first capra ask

[hottest-fromsoft-monster]

Which is hotter? Bipeds or more-than-bipeds? Your personal opinion.

personally i like biped+ (darklurker with the 4 arms comes to mind)

#asks #anons #idk if that’s what you meant #or tark/quelaag as more than biped if that’s what u meant #i am rooting for tark or capra this time #my girl nashandra got betrayed in the first round

[psygull]

one of the best bits from the department of truth comics is the implication that before asking stanley kubrick to fake the moon landing they asked frank capra first. put jimmy stewart up there

#psygullisms #aw gee nobody's ever been on the MOON before #the department of truth #excellent comics. i finished all the issues currently available recently and i liked them

[shepherds-of-haven]

Do students have to pay to join/stay in the circle? Is it entirely self-sufficient or does it rely on things from the surrounding city?

Yes, students generally have to pay tuition to attend the Circle, though there are lots of exceptions. The Circle's many reserves of gold and the personal investments of Archmage Tevanti's family (who owned a lot of real estate in Capra) ensured that it received steady revenue throughout the years and could offer "scholarships" to worthy students who couldn't afford to attend on their own. I think fifth years and up were also allowed to take on part-time jobs in Capra if they wanted to, though both they and their chosen places of employment had to be vetted and cleared by multiple teachers first. Capra is a predominantly Mage city, so there are plenty of businesses and vendors who have known (or at least heavily suspected) what's up with Solhadur for multiple generations and will give the students a safe place to work without fear of discovery (though plausible deniability still has to be maintained). Like, there are definitely the equivalent of college bars that the students knew it was safe to go to on the weekends versus places that weren't so trustworthy. The Circle is largely self-sufficient when it comes to things like growing food or running its own repairs (having a community of advanced Mages has its perks), but it will still discretely buy supplies and equipment from said trusted vendors and businesses in the city when it needs to; so long as no one is seen delivering large shipments up to "the old abandoned castle up on the hill" and the vendors didn't ask exactly where all these supplies were going (which merchants who do a lot of business rarely do), they got by without raising too many eyebrows!

#Shepherds of Haven #worldbuilding #solhadur #capra #circle

[betterbooktitles]

My college girlfriend walked out of Chautauqua’s little church-shaped movie theater with tears in her eyes. We’d seen Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night (1934). I had enjoyed the movie but wasn’t necessarily as moved as she was. She suddenly needed to tell me something. She came to visit me in Chautauqua on a Saturday. It was now Wednesday night. Wednesday was the Classic Cinema Night at the theater when they screened an old movie at 5 PM for people who couldn’t watch a movie after 7 PM without falling asleep. I was one of those people.

The sun was still bright when we walked out of the theater. We headed down a grass hill and stood on the brick walk in front of the arches of the opera house.

“Did the movie bother you?” I asked.

She was pinching her flushed face, tears rolling down her cheeks while she squeezed my hand. She would not look at me. 

“I did something.” she said.

I knew. I even knew who it was with. Not hard to guess. In a way, I was glad it was her ex-boyfriend and not some random guy she’d gotten drunk with. That I would have taken personally. This instance was mostly about them and not me. Except we’d been together for at least a year, so I felt somewhat involved.

She fucked her ex and told me about it. She wanted me to know she wasn’t rekindling anything and saw the act more as the death knell of their love for each other. She hated that it happened, though I didn’t feel like she hated herself enough for doing it. He hated that she didn’t want him back, I know that much. I know a lot I wish I didn’t. More details than I needed. He was outdoorsy and she had loved him half her life and he could do a one-handed push-up. I was some nerd she’d met at school who liked reading Updike novels, most of which were ironically about this very subject.

After our conversation, I walked the 3-mile loop of the Chautauqua Institution in the dark. I wasn’t ready to cry yet, and instead entered the manic phase of a young man in pain, making small talk with strangers in a voice I now know must have sounded too fast and high-pitched. Many of these people took the opportunity to turn down the first available side street and wave me off.

For better or worse, this was not the straw that broke the camel’s back for me and my girlfriend. That would come much later. Chautauqua, however, was ruined for an evening, perhaps a year. Why wasn’t I in New York City getting a leg up on my comedy career? Why was I wasting a summer in this pretty place made for young families and the nearly deceased? I should be using this current heartbreak to fuel my rampage of the city’s eligible dating pool. I made a plan to not come back the next year as I walked.

The flowers looked black against the moonlit surface of the lake. The cackling silhouettes of carefree teens getting drunk by the bell tower seemed like wraiths. I went home where she was waiting for me on the porch. I got some more details I didn’t want, and then we made up and dated for two more years.

Read the rest here.

#essay #writing #creative writing #literature #lit #movies #love #breakup #books #chautauqua #dan wilbur

[aylaaescar]

I hope it's not to late to ask some of the Romance Asks! I'd love to know 2, 12, 15, and 31 for Tysinno, please! Feel free to only do some if four it too much <3

absolutely not too late to ask, and thank you very much! I'm always happy to have an excuse to talk about Tysinno, and Tysinno/Ayla 🥰🖤

2. What was the first moment that they knew they were in love with their LI? 

the first minute he saw Ayla Aescar. love at first sight, y'all

jk nah. Tysinno knew he had feelings for her for a while, and was interested pretty early on (as early as Capra, after fighting Quiial.) but as of my typing this right now, I'm thinking he doesn't realize "oh, I'm in love with her" until a more mundane moment at the compound when they're spending time together. I have this headcanon that Ayla occasionally uses wind magic to mess with Tysinno when he's sparring or practicing something, like... using the wind to send a practice bullet straight into the ground instead of a target, lol, or pushing a dummy back when he's trying melee stuff. one such occasion, he rolls his eyes and jokingly glares as usual while she's snickering at him, and that's when he knows that he loves her.

(that said, I reserve the right to change my mind on The Moment (tm) as more of Ayla's days off come out! my answer might be different next year :D)

12. Do they have similar goals? If they clash, how do they deal?

I don't think they clash all that often, in terms of goals? they're both very similar people: they both want a community and a family, they're both wanderers who want to see more of the world, they both just generally want this feeling of peace, security, and understanding. they just get each other, so I feel like they're going to want the same things as a couple. stay with the Shepherds, travel the world, start a family at some point. I'm sure that they will clash on something there at some point, but I'm not entirely sure what?

maaaaybe on how many cats Tysinno can have, lol. I think he'd gladly take in every single cat he could if Ayla didn't put her foot down or set a limit or something.

15. Does their view of themselves differ from their partner’s view?

oh, absolutely. :') Tysinno doesn't have the best view of himself; he's struggled with self-loathing over what happened to Maj for the longest time, and he's really only just starting to cope with it as of chapter eight. he sees himself as a bad luck charm, and believes deep down that people are better off without him around. it's why he wandered for so long, and also why he left the Circle without giving his best friend Red a goodbye.

Ayla sees him differently, of course, as do I! Tysinno is aloof at first, but he's incredibly warm and sweet once you become friends, and will yell at gargoyles for you. he's got a dry wit that isn't nearly as overt as Chase's jokes, but still makes you laugh (especially if you have a morbid sense of humor.) he's a gifted artist and writer, he's compassionate and caring, he's just a lot better than he initially gives himself credit for at the start of SHOH. Ayla sees all of that in him, and I imagine that while she does understand why he feels the way he does about himself, she still challenges it and dares him to see the good in himself. which he does to her as well. :)

31. Share anything you would like about the couple!

Tysinno's working on learning Gangara in his spare time! he wants to be able to surprise Ayla by being able to speak to her in her first language.

in RPG terms, I like to think of them as a healer/tank couple.

this scene always makes me laugh, and was just one of many 😳😏 moments from Tysinno lol

#ask tag #kris-mage-fics #a few days late bc it's been a busy week but! here it is! thank you for asking me about the OTP #they sure are my fave <3 #SHOH blogging #OTP: Windswept #OC: Tysinno Maratis #SHOH alpha spoilers #not a lot but just to be safe

[rottenscare]

Shuffle your favorite playlist and post the first five songs that come up. Then copy/paste this ask to your favorite mutuals. 💌🩷

Here Come the Rome Plows by Drive Like Jehu

Pink Slip by Snooze

Blunt Force Marijuana by Niiice

Silana by Capra

Flesh Pursuit by Gulch

#me #music #ask

[ivy-kissobryos]

22/6/2023

“Capra, Capella, Hircine Queen: you are She whose cloven feet are the drums conjuring forth flame and torrent, whose horns graze the sky and draw down the swift howls of the storm. I ask not for mercy— only deliverance from fear, that I may stand tall amid the downpour, unflinching as the whip-crack of thunder crashes through dark clouds.Just because there are storms on the horizon does not mean one should cease sailing. I know this— for I have passed through the storm and lived. O Castor and Pollux: you lanterns in the dark, the First Fire and promises of blue skies! This catamaran is made to endure, and I have faith in St Elmo’s fire to guide me through the terror and the tempest.”

#capella #castor #murmura ponti #fixed stars #astrolatry #storm #weather

[maddygoesthemiles]

What are 5 movies you think everyone should watch in their lifetime?

Okay first, I love you so much for asking me about movies. It’s currently my favorite thing.

Second, this is an interesting phrasing bc it’s like should I recommend movies that will appeal to a wide audience? Or are you hoping to see ones I think are the most impactful? Or the movies that did The Most? Hard to say.

Third, though I’ve recently started watching more movies and focusing on classics and/or highly rated films, there’s so so many I haven’t seen yet. So please take my opinion with a grain of salt!

Rear Window (1954) dir. Alfred Hitchcock - funny, suspenseful, and the whole movie takes place in one room. Super unique concept and my favorite Hitchcock film.

It Happened One Night (1934) dir. Frank Capra - delightful comedy/road-trip movie. This was one of the first films to follow the Hays Code, which was incredibly strict. It’s fun to see how the creators implied romance while not being allowed to explicitly show it. Also, it swept the Oscars!

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) dir. Céline Sciamma - beautiful film with tons of symbolism. I loved the cinematography and the use of colors. If you’re going to watch a lesbian yearning film, this is the one to watch.

The Hunt (2010) dir. Thomas Vinterburg - incredibly heartbreaking Danish film about a man’s ostracism from his small community. Amazing acting.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) dir. Jonathan Demme - my first favorite movie. This has my whole heart. I love the cinematography and the acting and almost everything about it. It’s so fun to analyze (and I wrote several papers about it in college, mostly about the intersection between feminism and transphobia in the movie).

Bonus!! The Thing (1982) dir. John Carpenter - the ultimate isolation film and also my favorite monster movie! This movie made me love horror movies.

Clearly, I need to prioritize movies directed by women and POC. This is something I’m conscious of when reading, but not as much when watching. Ask me again in a year!

Thank you so much! I had fun reflecting on this.

#movie day #anon post #asks

[delightfulemerald]

What are your first and second favorite movies, if The Apartment is your third favorite?

Oh thanks for asking! I like having favorites, I think it's fun!

So here are my top 5 favorite movies:

Holiday (1938, dir. George Cukor, starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn)

The Princess Bride (1987, dir. Rob Reiner, starring Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin)

The Apartment (1961, dir. Billy Wilder, starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine)

The Fall (2006, dir. Tarsem Singh, starring Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru)

You Can't Take It With You (1938, dir. Frank Capra, starring Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, Jimmy Stewart)

#me #movies #movie #favorites

[liathgray]

Hey! I just wanted to say I just finished Capra for the first time and I LOVED IT. I can't wait to read the sequel, which I've got queued up as we speak! I hope you're not offended but I'd like to offer myself as a proof reader for Capra/followng stories? I noticed a number of minor grammar/spelling errors and I'd love to fix them up for you! Again, no offense meant, feel free to tell me to fuck off :) I also had a maybe stupid question. I still don't understand what happened on the boat? Is that something that is yet to be fully explained, and I just haven't read it yet in Marelle? Or am I missing something? I adored your work and the effort you put into it really showed through!

Hi!!! Gosh I’m so glad you enjoyed it aaaHhhhH thank you! I hope Marelle has been treating you well

I appreciate the offer, but will pass. A chunk of what has been kindly pointed out by readers grammar-wise is intentional misusing things for the sake of structure or impact. Also occasionally because I use Canadian spelling so sometimes what is incorrect to readers isnt incorrect to me and i REFUSE TO CONFORM!!!!

Im hesitant to revisit a work a few years old like Capra because I came out of it happy with how I’d written, and am a highly critical person. If i reread it now, theres a pretty high chance i’ll get frustrated and want to revise or restart. I don’t wanna ruin it for myself

All that is to say: no thank u ❤️

Im assuming you mean the segment when Ed’s talking to that woman? The long and short of it was she couldnt afford to be on the boat monetary-wise. She lied to get herself and her kid and now owes a debt, and is running low on physical things she can sell (ex: clothing, jewelry, hair, etc) so shes offered to pay the toll with a tooth, which is worth enough to cover the debt. Her hands shake, so she asked Ed to do it.

#thank youuuu #im glad u liked it!! #all aboard the que que train #im gonna que uo a handful of the asks actually cause i fee bad theyve been sittin in here so long but dont wanna spam #capra fma #i hope this helps with the boat stuff #if there’s other stuff u didn’t get feel free to ask i love excuses to talk abt fics dncbnsnd #cece writes

[t-lane-writes]

For the character ask game: 4, 11 and 16 for Priya and Tenney? You can choose which question to answer for each, or all of them ;)

4. Has your character ever witnessed something that fundamentally changed them? If so, does anyone else know?

I don't think I have a moment like that for them. For Priya a fundamental change came gradually, from the talks with Tenney, Ryan and Tilga, and her own "adding two and two together". She was raised in a lie, and by being exposed to different views than those ingrained into her, she learned to see that lie for what it was. So it wasn't a one-time event. The other may not know about that change, because they didn't know her before.

Tenney is consistent in his views. He is changed -- later in the story -- not so much by something he witnesses, but rather by something that happens to him. Something internal. Priya is the most aware of that change. They talk about it.

11. In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been?

As for Priya, let me give you this:

Her Nest cared. Priya Samir represented her Nest. "I care." She looked into the dark eyes of the bandit leader again. "Let it be known that Rosehaw Nest cares. You can take whatever you like. Just don't hurt anyone."  The man's eyes lost focus for a moment there. He seemed to look through her, took a few rapid, shallow breaths, then blinked and furrowed his brow at her, as if he saw her for the first time. Priya shivered.   "Whatever we like?" he breathed out. His eyes gleamed feverishly. It frightened her more than spears and sabres of his men.  "Yes," she tried to make her voice sound strong, but it faltered.  "What if I want to take you?" He pulled the reins tighter, forcing her capra to take a small step forward.  A cold bead of sweat trickled down Priya's spine.  "You cannot be serious!"  "Please, get down from your capra."  "I said whatever, not who--"  "Fior, aim for the capra!"  Priya couldn't believe what she was seeing. The tall woman adjusted her grip on the javelin, the tip of the weapon unmistakably aimed at the animal's neck artery. Priya could feel the capra's heart pulsing beneath her saddle.  "No!" She choked out.   She heard her men move behind her, saw small adjustments in the bandits' stances. She couldn't let it happen. She didn't want her animal to be killed, she didn't want to order her men to mangle all those children – because she was sure the woman, the leader, the angry one and the big one in the back would get out of this unscathed. She didn't want her men to get hurt either, because some might. She might get hurt. Or even killed. She didn't want any of this.  The man in charge of the bandits apparently knew what she was thinking.  "Get down from your capra," he repeated.  "Nestess," Telfer grunted, but he was not in charge here. She was.  "Stand down," Priya ordered, then climbed off her mount.  Now she stood in front of the bandit leader and stared straight into his eyes. He was maybe an inch taller than her, but slender and hunched over. One of his shoulders seemed to be higher than the other. He did not possess an intimidating body – it was all in his unblinking dark stare. Priya was not scared he would hurt her physically, but his mental prowess inspired respect, profound respect bordering on awe.  And justly so. "Shawn," he said, not letting go of her eyes. He didn't even have to give the order, the angry man found himself at her side instantly and grabbed her arms. Now, that man was scary on a visceral level. He was terrifying, stinking of sweat, his breathing coarse in her ear. He put a knife to her throat.  "Like this?" he sneered.  The leader didn't look at him, didn't look at Priya anymore either, even though she tried to get his attention. He was now completely focused on her armed escort.

As for Tenney... hmmm. I'm not sure that he was ever very afraid. He will be, though, when his visions will go away, and he will not see his purpose as clearly anymore. It will be interesting to write, because it will be a different kind of fear, not immediate, not situational, but rather existential.

16. Which does your character idealize most: happiness or success?

They are both focused on success, rather than personal happiness. If it can be distinguished that way, I mean.

Thank you for the ask. :)

.

#ask game #priya samir #tenney #priya and tenney #crystal spring valley #writeblr #my writing #original writing

[motownfiction]

the thing you carry everywhere

Sam likes first-day-of-class icebreaker activities. He doesn’t like homework – at least, not the homework that’s assigned to him – but he likes talking about himself. After all, he likes himself. He’s one of the most interesting people he knows. Why wouldn’t he want to spend a few minutes on the first day of school filling out information about an interesting person, especially one he knows all about? That’s exactly how he feels now, in English class, on his first day of (community) college. He takes a pen out and begins to drum it against the desk in between the survey questions.

His instructor is asking for a lot of basics. No trouble for Sam. Favorite color, purple. Favorite movie, A Hard Day’s Night. Favorite song, impossible to choose, but currently feeling very attached to “Expressway to Your Heart.” Favorite food, pancakes on Christmas morning. He makes his way down a list of favorites, and he thinks he might like (community) college, after all.

Then he comes upon the strangest question.

The thing you carry everywhere.

Sam’s not sure how to answer that question. It’s funny, he thinks. The answer should be easy. He takes his Walkman everywhere he goes, ever since he got it for his birthday a little while back. It’s in his backpack right now, paused on Clarence “Frogman” Henry and “Ain’t Got No Home.” But that doesn’t feel like the right answer. A Walkman is just a thing. He can’t take it with him, just like that Frank Capra movie he saw on TV over the summer.

Music doesn’t feel like the right answer, either. Maybe for somebody a little more comfortable with clichés, but that’s not Sam. He doesn’t want to be one of those people who says that music is his escape, or when he can’t speak, the music speaks for him. He’s not a monologue. He’s a person. He’s a person who happens to listen to a lot of music, but it’s not the thing he carries with him everywhere. It is him. Music is Sam, and Sam is music – more than even Charlie, the piano prodigy he calls his little brother. It’s not an escape if it’s who you are.

That’s when it dawns on him. The answer to the question. Maybe it’s just as cliché as his first impulse, but maybe for a second, he doesn’t care. He writes it down and hopes the instructor knows what he means. That he isn’t just being a smartass. That he’s as honest as he can be. That if he didn’t think this was the best response, he wouldn’t write down anything at all.

The thing you carry everywhere, the piece of paper reads.

My skeleton, Sam writes, and everything therein.

(part of @nosebleedclub january challenge -- day xxxi! it is barely still january in my time zone, so i’ll say that this is barely on time)

#drabble #writeblr #ch: sam doyle #year: 1985

[mogwai-movie-house]

Films You’re Not Supposed To Like But I Do Regardless

Neglected Treasures and Guilty Pleasures

1. The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)

Yes, it has its flaws, and perhaps the most ill-fitting soundtrack of any Hollywood movie yet made, but judged separately from its much more celebrated source material, I still feel if this film had been made by Frank Capra in the 1940s it would be considered a classic.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

2. Last Action Hero (1993)

I've heard this film described as "a joyless, soulless machine of a movie" and "a perfect example of cinematic-self hatred", but I think that's all a little harsh: personally, I see an absolute one-off, a hugely over-budgeted action blockbuster that is a meta-parody of itself. There's quite a bit of it that doesn't work but the bits that do are a joy and unlike anything else you'll have ever seen.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

3. Under the Cherry Moon (1986)

The great weakness of the follow-up to the phenomenally successful Purple Rain is that there's no room for music (very similar to '8-Mile'). But in its place there's a quirky black & white fantasy tribute to '30's romantic comedies, and Prince is much funnier than most would imagine.

At root it's a vanity project, and something of a silly mess, but it's not the abomination it was made out to be when first released, and if you're a fan of the man there's a lot to love.

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

4. One-Trick Pony (1980)

Paul Simon's one and only movie was a terrible flop upon release but his story of a 60's one-hit wonder still touring and trying to make a comeback is not really all that bad. If it had been released a few years earlier, I think it would have fitted in more with the gritty, downbeat American films of the time, but at the turn of the 80s, in the immediate aftermath of Punk and New Wave, it got kinda lost.

A small, thoughtful, slightly amateurish film, it's just about worth seeing for Lou Reed's cameo alone.

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

5. Stardust Memories (1980)

I can't for the life of me see what everyone hated about this one. Yes, it owes quite a debt to Fellini, but on the other hand there'd never been another American film like it, and this is prime Woody Allen, up there alongside Hannah & Her Sisters, Manhattan and Annie Hall with his very best, perfectly blending comedy and pathos into something that is neither but all his own. My very favourite film of all time.

★★★★★★★★★★

6. Kongo (1932)

Don't really want to say anything to spoil it, but this luridly twisted pre-code nightmare genuinely does have to be seen to be believed. It would be hard to get away with what happens in it now, so it's amazing they got away with it then.

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

7. Lady in the Water (2006)

M. Night Shyamalan made one great movie (The Sixth Sense), two very good movies (The Village and Unbreakable), a seemingly never-ending stream of diarrhea (everything else), and then this, which is kind of a bit of all three. It is an incoherent and sloppily pieced-together meander but there's a delightful film in there somewhere trying its best to get out.

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

8. The Brown Bunny (2003)

The only thing anyone remembers about this is the blowjob, but the whole film is a beautifully shot, deeply intimate and narcissistically self-indulgent work of art, that deserves a much larger cult following than it presently has, and eventually will get.

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

9. The Rapture (1991)

Every time you think you've figured out what this film is saying, it switches up on you and heads somewhere else. It starts out like some straight-to-video softcore, seemingly gets religion in a big way 20 minutes in, then gets very very dark and ends up somewhere all its own.

When watching this for the first time, set a timer on your clock to remind you every 20 minutes to ask yourself "who the hell put up the money to make this?!"

★★★★★★★★½☆

10. St. Elmo's Fire (1985)

Usually overlooked and/or derided 80's 'Brat Pack' movie, looking like a John Hughes misstep but really just a younger version of 'The Big Chill'. And like that film, it's a warm, funny, and well-acted meditation on the complications of growing up and adulthood.

The worst thing in it is Rob Lowe playing the saxophone.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

11. The End (1978)

A full-length comedy entirely about a man trying to kill himself still seems a very strange career decision for action movie superstar Burt Reynolds, but I always rather liked it.

★★★★★½☆☆☆☆

12. Class (1983)

Another rarely mentioned 80s 'teen movie' that has a lot more tenderness and depth to it than the 'Porkies'-type comedies it usually gets lumped in with.

Along with 'St Elmo's Fire', Andrew McCarthy and Rob Lowe's best movie.

★★★★★★★½☆☆

13. The Ghost Train (1941)

Just a completely forgotten time capsule of British wartime comedy, now seeming to come from not only a different age but a different planet. Creaky and atmospheric, sort of an English take on something like 'The Cat and The Canary', but a pretty successful star vehicle for the sometimes very funny, sometimes very grating Arthur Askey.

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

14. Death Proof (2007)

Quentin Tarantino's 'Grindhouse' double bill never really took off the way he wanted to, but seen alone, this is one of his best second tier films - not as good as Pulp Fiction, of course, or Reservoir Dogs or even Jackie Brown, but I would say better than the much higher praised Django Unchained, Inglourious Basterds and Hateful Eight.

A gloriously lurid tribute to the satin-jacketed stuntman movies and slasher films of the seventies, it's enough of a one-off labor of love to be treasured for itself.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

15. 1941 (1979)

Once a chaotic mess, the Director's Cut turns this into a pretty watchable movie with some great set-pieces.

★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

16. Rumble Fish (1983)

Francis Ford Coppola's final great movie was maybe too small-scale and quirky to get the attention it deserved, but it's a twilit, no-man's land meet-up of a dream of a 1950s that never was and some greaser 80's punk noir, based on pages from a teenage novel and ending up feeling more some kind of black & white myth. It's a smokey, jazzy, melancholy movie all in a world of its own, and Mickey Rourke was never so beautiful or perfect again.

★★★★★★★½☆☆

17. Hannibal (2001)

Lambasted for pushing the powers of Dr Lecter some way beyond those of mere mortals, but really not much more than, say, Sherlock Holmes, this is a fantastic thriller with Anthony Hopkins on toppermost form. If they'd managed to keep Jodie Foster aboard it would have been perfect.

★★★★★★★★½☆

18. Monsieur Verdoux (1947)

The film that finally drove Chaplin from Hollywood and America, it's a failure as a comedy but a triumph as a uniquely cynical take on the morality of murder and war, out of step with everything else made in that time and since.

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

19. Hudson Hawk (1991)

As with many other things in this list, it's a bit of a self-indulgent mess but a lot of fun too, if you're willing to get on board and go along with it.

★★★★★½☆☆☆☆

20. Unbreakable (2000)

Not a flop, and not forgotten, but still undervalued for what it is. Unbreakable introduces superhuman powers into a recognizably everyday world in a far more believable, original and powerful way than many much more famous 'superhero' movies since.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

#classic movies #film recommendations

[xenodile]

For the Souls Ask: 6, 7, 9, and 12

6 - Boss you found strangely easy

Capra Demon. I had heard so many horror stories about Capra Demon ruining people's days, the speed run killer, the first major wall...and then I did it on my first try. I can totally get WHY people can get wrecked by Capra, but it just never gave me trouble.

7 - Boss you found strangely difficult

Hrmm, none come to mind as "this is super easy, why is it fucking me up this bad". Not to say I've never struggled on a boss, I just can't recall feeling like I was stonewalled by a boss that should have been easy.

9 - Three favorite weapons and why?

Fume Ultra Greatsword in DS2, Stake Driver in Bloodborne, Dark Moon Greatsword in Elden Ring.

The DS2 Fume Ultra is probably one of the best feeling two handed swords in the franchise. It's heavy, it hits hard, it has a good moveset, and you get to remember fighting FUME KNIGHT.

Stake Driver earns points just by nature of being an arm mounted pilebunker, and few things are as satisfying as landing that fully charged R2 and just knocking anything flat on its ass. I also enjoy its standard moveset of punches while loaded and broad swipes when extended.

Dark Moon Greatsword is probably my favorite iteration of the Moonlight Greatsword (though Bloodborne's comes close), in no small part to its connection to Ranni. It was the first weapon that really made me want to commit to specific build in ER, as up to that point I'd just been trying out whatever as I got it.

12 - Any ships you enjoy?

Not particularly, Soulsborne characters tend to be pretty isolated from each other, so I don't really see the chemistry I'd need to get behind a ship. I've seen some very cute Melina/Ranni art here and there, so I'll go with that.

#honeysuckle-fic-creator

[byneddiedingo]

Isao Numasaki and Chieko Nakakita in One Wonderful Sunday (Akira Kurosawa, 1947) Cast: Isao Numasaki, Chieko Nakakita, Atsushi Watanabe, Zeko Nakamura, Ichiro Sugai, Masao Shimizu, Shiro Mizutani, Midori Ariyama, Toshi Mori. Screenplay: Akira Kurosawa, Keinosuke Uekusa. Cinematography: Asakazu Nakai. Production design: Kazuo Kubo. Music: Tadashi Hattori. Akira Kurosawa's One Wonderful Sunday brings to mind two near-contemporary films: Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves (1948). In its own odd way, Kurosawa's film blends a bit of the fantasy of the Capra film with the neorealism of the De Sica, though it doesn't quite succeed in the attempt. All three are products of the postwar world. The Americans, having won the war, naturally put the stress on optimism; the Italians and the Japanese, having lost, and having been sunk in the economic crisis caused by losing, naturally put the stress on endurance, on clinging to shreds of hope. Kurosawa's protagonists are a young couple, Yuzo (Isao Numasaki) and Masako (Chieko Nakakita), who can't afford to get married, but pool their resources, a meager 35 yen, to try to enjoy a Sunday together. Yuzo's depression shadows the outing, but Masako is determined to cheer him up. She's a little bit bossy, however -- when they first get together at the train station, he has just picked up a half-smoked cigarette from the pavement, hoping to smoke it later, but she strikes it out of his hand. Then she drags him into a model home in a new housing development, even though it's well beyond their means and is, he notes, shoddily built. Their housing plight -- he lives with a friend, she with her sister's family -- is emphasized when they visit a place that has a room to rent, only to discover that it's only minimally livable and that they can't afford even that. But Yuzo manages to climb out of his depression when he finds a bunch of kids playing baseball in the street and joins their game. And so it goes through the day as they oscillate between depression and hope. A visit to what remains of the city's zoo confronts them with some sad-looking animals. A large, fat pig slumbers in a cage that used to belong to a lion, causing Yuzo to remark, "The world is run by pigs." And then it starts to rain. Yuzo suggests that they go to his place -- his roommate will be out until late, he says -- but Masako resists, angering him. Then she notices a poster for a concert featuring Schubert's Unfinished Symphony. They can afford the 10-yen tickets, so they run through the rain to the concert hall. But scalpers have bought up all the 10-yen tickets and are selling them for 15 yen, and when Yuzo protests, they beat him up. When they go to Yuzo's room after all, where Masako treats his wounds, he tries to persuade her to sleep with him and she leaves. More depressed than ever -- even the roof is leaking -- Yuzo broods until Masako returns, contrite, but her sobs make any further sexual moves impossible, so they decide to spend the last of their money in a coffee shop. Even there, they are stymied: The coffee shop bills them for café au lait, instead of the regular coffee they thought they ordered, so Yuzo leaves his overcoat, saying he'll return the next day to make good on the bill. Now penniless, they begin to live in their dreams. They pretend that the ruins of a house are the coffee shop they want to open some day and, discovering an old band shell, try to pretend that Yuzo is conducting the performance of Schubert's Unfinished that they missed. At this point, Kurosawa departs from neorealism and has Masako address the movie audience directly: If they'll applaud for all the sad, impoverished lovers in the world, then she and Yuzo will be able to hear the music he's pretending to conduct. It works, and they hear the music. They part as the film ends, promising each other to meet again next Sunday. In fact, Kurosawa's borrowing from Peter Pan and asking for the audience's applause didn't work in Japan, where audiences were simply puzzled, though when the film was shown in France years later, French audiences responded enthusiastically. The sentimentality of One Wonderful Sunday is hardly characteristic of Kurosawa, but it's tempered by some masterly use of locations -- blended with more stylized studio sets -- and good performances by the leads: Isao Numasaki, in fact, does manage to evoke both James Stewart in Capra's film and Lamberto Maggiorani in De Sica's, even though he couldn't have seen the latter and probably didn't see the former. There are moments when Kurosawa prolongs the depression of Yuzo and Masako a bit too much, and the film seems a little overextended for the slightness of its narrative, but it's clearly a formative work for a master director, as well as a heartfelt depiction of the plight of his country.

#One Wonderful Sunday #Akira Kurosawa #Isao Numasaki #Chieko Nakakita

[lurlenebinns517]

Long-Range Water Pistols, Light-Beam Weapons : Toy Gun Makers See A New Hit

Which character said, "You're gonna want an even bigger boat"? Steven Spielberg the king of the blockbusters. To build suspense (and disguise the prop's flaws) Spielberg stored the killer shark offscreen for a lot of the film. Roy Scheider as Chief Brody is the primary to see the great white in all its glory and intones the now-famous "greater boat" line. Few movies are as beloved as Frank Capra's "It's an exquisite Life." Although it's Clarence Odbody, AS2 (Angel Second Class) who first tells us that every time a bell rings, and angel will get his wings, it is little ZuZu Bailey's enthusiastic delivery of the road that brings down the house. Robinson, you're making an attempt to seduce me. Robert De Niro stars as Travis Bickle, an unbalanced Vietnam vet who takes a job as a brand new York cabbie in 1976's "Taxi Driver." In one of the movie's most disturbing scenes, Bickle practices his fast draw within the mirror repeatedly asking, "You talkin' to me?" as he rehearses for confrontation.

In a signature function, Bette Davis stars as aging Broadway actress Margo Channing in "All About Eve." Channing gets greater than she bargains for when she takes opportunistic fan Eve Harrington below her wing. Margo delivers the well-known quote at a party the place Eve makes herself the focal point. Midnight Cowboy" is the story of an unlikely friendship between Joe Buck, a wannabe hustler, and Ratso Rizzo, a sleazy conman. Although the film's producers dispute it, actor Dustin Hoffman maintains that his line as Ratso, "Hey! Some Like it Hot" stars Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as musicians who go on the lam in drag after witnessing a mob hit. Within the movie, millionaire Osgood Fielding III falls for Lemmon's feminine persona which, when uncovered, leads the unfazed yachtsman to say "Well, no person's good. The Shining" to the screen as one of the crucial frightening movies ever. Jack Nicholson improvised his memorable "Heeere's Johnny!

The soldier holding us in his sights is sporting Russian army-type camouflage, but without any insignia. Two more run as much as us a minute later. One has a Kalashnikov assault rifle, the opposite can be laden with a sniper rifle and grenade-launcher. I believe they have slightly overestimated the threat posed by our digicam group, but I don't tell them that. It seems unattainable to refuse such an offer. We march on, previous a few trenches. The people sitting in them watch us, trying surprised. We enter a small, dilapidated brick constructing. There are some bullet holes within the walls. I say, making an attempt to be mild-hearted. The soldiers then smile and put their weapons down. Things get just a little calmer. We show what we filmed with the digicam and open a rucksack. That morning we have not recorded a lot - and clearly it is of no curiosity. But they ask us to wipe it anyway, just to be sur

Americans bought 19 million toy guns value $64.2 million last year, down 43% from 33.Four million toy guns value $eighty million in 1980, in keeping with MPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y.-based mostly market analysis agency. LJN, particularly, is going after the toy gun enterprise aggressively. The new York-based company’s Entertech division sells water guns which are scale models of real submachine guns and different weapons. "The Entertech arsenal options the greatest assortment of realistically detailed and genuine-sounding guns, life-sized for enhanced fantasy motion play," in line with the company’s promotional materials. Leo Hoffman, director of promoting for LJN toys, said: "The motorized water machine Orbi Gun category is one that we think is going to develop. It hits really a broad age range. The product has really common attraction. "The play value is large, really. The product is actually harmless. The toys’ realism has caused occasional problems, nonetheless. Police in several cities have been summoned by individuals who thought that the toy guns being carried by youngsters or young adults were the actual factor.

LJN’s Entertech division is making life-dimension, accurate reproductions of the Photon Phaser. The battery-powered weapons are to be shipped in June and can value anywhere from $60 to $149.95, Hoffman mentioned. LJN and DIC additionally plan to tie in Photon with 26 weeks of children’s Tv programming, beginning in September. The prime component of Worlds of Wonder’s Lazer Tag is the StarLyte, a hand unit that emits a direct beam of protected, infrared mild used to tag the StarSensor, an electro-optical gadget worn by the opposing player. StarLyte tasks its beam up to a hundred toes and emits an digital sound indicating the unit has been activated. When a player tags one other player, he or she scores factors towards profitable the sport, says Worlds of Wonder, which also makes the high-tech Teddy Ruxpin bear that was a Christmas hit. When a player is tagged, the StarSensor emits a stuttered electronic tone and one of the score-holding lights will mild up. After six tags, the StarSensor emits a recreation-over sound and the rating-conserving lights flash in unison. There are various accessories for Lazer Tag, including a StarHelmet and StarCap, which add to the challenge of the game by growing the number of sensors worn by the gamers on different areas of the body. The helmet and cap permit tags from a 360-degree radius.