#the way nyles look at sarah :')

[xalygatorx]

Powerless (2017) | Chapter 5, "Everything I've Done"

Years after Sarah’s wit and bravery saved her brother and brought the Labyrinth to its knees, her daughter Andie is transported to what remains of that same fantastical place, somewhere she thought only existed in her favorite childhood stories. To find her way back home, she must traverse what’s left of the crumbling kingdom, find a way to set both moments and magic in motion again, and even save the Goblin King, himself. But who will save her from him?

Powerless is a SFW slow-burn romance between Jareth and an original female character. The story overall contains descriptions of fantasy violence, mild suggestive content, and grief regarding family illness. Chapter-by-chapter warnings will be provided as well.

Summary: Andie and Jareth get acquainted while waiting for help. Jareth offers her an alliance that hinges on her helping him guard the truth of his condition and reclaim his kingdom.

Pairing: Jareth x Fem!OC

Warnings: None

Word Count: 2.9k

"Do be quiet, they won't hear you," said the voice wearily nearby as Andie shouted again, having scrambled back out of the light when he'd first spoken, her eyes still searching the gloomy subterranean perimeter for the owner. "Even so, this is an oubliette. Do you know what that is?"

Andie faltered. "A… It's a trap, isn't it?"

"Indeed. For those to be forgotten."

"Who are you?"

She was finally able to make out a dark form sitting opposite where she stood, but no details came into focus for the lack of light. It was the most human figure she'd seen here yet, even more so than the half-human Nyle. "I think a better question is who you are," the male voice countered as he stood, making his way over to her side of the cave. "You don't seem to be who I first thought. And how have you come to my labyrinth to fall down a hole?"

Her eyes widened incrementally. "Your labyrinth—wait… You're the Goblin King, aren't you?"

A soft chuckle danced around the space just as a boot crossed the rim of the light shining down from the opening she'd made high above them. Into view stepped one of the most eccentric looking men she'd ever seen and, even with the oddities in his appearance ranging from his somewhat spiky blond hair and some smudges of what appeared to be eyeliner around his eyes, he could have easily passed for human. Had she not known the truth, anyway. His teeth glittered faintly as he sent a weary, yet Cheshire smile her way. "Now, that is something I've not heard someone call me in quite some time."

"What are you doing down here?"

"All questions I could easily be asking you," he pointed out, eying her closely. She wondered if he was somehow able to see better than she was down here. Then again, who knew how long he'd been down here. Now that she thought about it, his hair looked matted in places, his clothes a bit rumpled, and he appeared particularly thin, though she had no memory of him to compare his present self to. Perhaps that was just the way he looked.

"Well, then maybe—," Andie began, only to pause when she heard a faint echo of her name down the tunnel. She brushed past him to peer up toward the light, where she could now see a pin-sized head peeping over. "I'm down here!" she shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth to project her voice more efficiently.

"Stay there! I'm coming down to get you!" Hoggle shouted and he disappeared from over the opening.

"Yeah, where else am I going to go…," she muttered softly, smoothing a hand through her hair before regarding Jareth again. He was watching her with an amused sort of air and the scrutiny in his eyes unnerved her. "What I was saying is maybe we should both be answering these obvious questions. Since we'll probably be stuck here awhile."

He scoffed a bit. "You've no idea what 'awhile' is, girl."

"I take it you didn't just get here, too," she noted with a grimace.

"Oh, no," he murmured with a slight shake of his head. "No, I've lost track of the years."

Andie's eyes widened. "Years? How are you still alive?"

"Time has stopped in this world. With it, so has the aging process for every creature in attendance," he explained calmly before sitting down on the floor again. "Even you."

"So, you just…"

"Starved without emaciating, withered without withering, oh… Yes. And it was more excruciating than actually dying such a pathetic death." He looked at her wearily. "Sit. You're tiring me further by standing like that."

"Well, excuse me," she grumbled, but sat down nearby. "Why couldn't you just magic yourself out? I'm sure the king of the goblins has some kind of magical ability, right? Or am I relying too heavily on fairytales?"

Jareth chuckled, but the sound was weak. He seemed disgusted by it. "I had that ability, long ago. But that's left me, too, it seems. I'm sure the lack of time progression has something to do with that."

"Why would that have any influence?" Andie asked dubiously.

He seemed worn out by her questions already, though she figured he was probably just worn out, period. "Because have you ever had something remotely in the realm of 'magical' happen while you're standing still? Isn't it always after moving forward?"

"You're getting a bit too existentialist on me, Jareth," she commented.

"Now, is it fair that you know my name yet I do not know yours?"

"I guess not. It's Andie."

"Andie, hm? I've never heard such a name. Short for…?"

"Cassandra."

"Interesting," Jareth murmured, though his bored tone disagreed with that sentiment. "So, Andie, what were your other questions? My memory is slacking with my current state of health, as I'm sure you understand."

She was somewhat suspicious of his manners—Hoggle had made it sound like he was a wild, aggressive thing, but it looked like he could barely move. She half expected him to turn on her at any moment, at least until she figured she might just be his ticket out of here. He was perhaps simply lucky she'd dropped in, pun intended. "How'd you end up down here?"

"I lost my magic directly after the Labyrinth, itself, fell to pieces," he said uncomfortably and she could only wonder why he was telling her this. "Those I presided over grew more rampant and restless and some attempted a mutiny once they felt the scales begin to tilt. I thought it wise to disappear awhile."

"You meant to get trapped down here?"

"Of course not. I took the plunge down here while attempting to disappear, of course," he said irritably before sighing and glancing at the tunnel over them. "Succeeded too thoroughly, I suppose."

"Why are you telling me this?" Andie finally asked. "About your magic being gone and your blunders, why would you give me that information when we've only just met?"

Jareth looked at her pensively before replying, "I need your help. And you must know that it is quite humiliating for me to say that. It is also a leap to trust you with that explanation, as—you're right—I've known you but a few moments in a timeless world. However, I would hope for both our sakes that this is not a mistake."

"What do you need my help for?"

"Well, first for getting out of here, which you've already managed to do just by being here. Also for finding a way to return the Labyrinth to its original form. I need time to move again so I can regain my power and my control over this unpredictable place."

"I'm supposed to help you with that?"

"You seem moderately intelligent," he said with a lift of his shoulders that made Andie want to pummel him. "And you seem to have already won allies. I will need such connections and, this time, they cannot stem only from fear." Jareth's intense gaze moved over to meet hers again as he said his next words. "I will also need you to keep my lack of magic to yourself. Under no circumstances can I afford this information to be divulged. Do you understand?"

Andie met his gaze levelly before looking at her hands and saying seriously, "You know, it's unwise to go on first impressions of people."

"I do not have much choice at this moment. I need someone on my side."

"And what makes you think I'm on your side?"

"Well," he murmured, beginning to become irked but containing it. "You are not not on my side…"

"That is terrible logic," Andie told him. "Awful. You're lucky you've not been killed on that thinking."

"Indeed, but it is true," he groused. "Look, I'm putting a good amount of faith in you, recognize that this does not come lightly—"

"Or with permission."

"Andie," he grumbled.

"All right, all right," Andie muttered. "But make more informed decisions in the future. I may not spill your secret, but I'm not planning on risking my neck to save your skin either. And don't act like you know me, like we're friends. You don't know anything about me."

"And the same applies in reverse," Jareth pointed out. "At least I'm willing."

"Because you want something from me."

"There is no point in denying it, as I've already made that clear. Yes. I want your help."

"Earn it," Andie snipped just as a hidden door nearby swung open and Hoggle entered the oubliette.

"I knew I shoulda gone with ya, are you—" He paled when his eyes found Jareth. "It's you!"

"In the flesh," Jareth said flippantly, shooting a glance toward Andie as he stood. "Having a chat with your new friend. Say…" He paused and looked at her considerately. "How did you come to be in my Labyrinth anyway?"

"I picked up a glass peach, it cut my hand, and then—boom—I was here."

Interest sparked in his eyes and she began to ponder what Hoggle had warned her about earlier. "And how did you manage to come across such a trinket?" he asked softly.

She started to answer and, after catching Hoggle's eye, who was practically begging her silently not to tell the truth, she said instead, "I found it. In a thrift store."

Jareth's eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't press the subject. "Curious."

"Indeed," she murmured, not breaking his gaze. He watched her a moment longer before nodding and walking toward the door, ducking low to make his way into the tunnel beyond. She looked down at Hoggle. "Thank you for coming down here."

"Of course, though I might've done things differently had I known he was down here, too," he murmured, casting a sideways glance through the doorway. "Go on."

Andie stepped through the doorway and then straightened up, hearing Hoggle walk out and shut the door behind them. They then began to walk down the tunnel, Hoggle stepping ahead to lead the way. There was something rigid in Jareth's frame that reminded Andie of a caged animal wary of recapture, so she kept her distance. However, the young woman nearly leapt out of her skin when a booming voice shattered the silence only permeated by their footsteps. "TURN BACK."

"YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY," boomed another up where Hoggle was walking.

"Oh, shut it," Hoggle grumbled, ignoring the enormous stone heads. "Don't mind them, they're just False Alarms."

"NO, THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING."

"Now, that's just rude, trying to steer people off course," she accused the last one to shout.

"It's… It's my job, Miss," it said awkwardly, glancing away from her. When it didn't shout again, she cut it some slack, moving along to catch up with Hoggle and Jareth, who had slowed to wait. Jareth still had an air of amusement about him, but said nothing.

After following Hoggle through the winding tunnels of the Underground, they reached the end and crawled out through a small burrow, camouflaged beneath a line of brush. Hoggle turned around to help Andie out and grimaced when Jareth stepped out as well. He leaned toward Andie and whispered, "What's he still doing here?"

She shrugged. "Feels like tagging along, I guess."

"Not fond of my company, Hogarth? I'm offended," Jareth commented patronizingly.

"It's Hoggle! I see at least one thing hasn't changed in this place!" he grumped as he began to lead the way back to the campsite.

Walking ahead to mutter about things Andie only heard bits and pieces of, she walked at her own pace, finding that she'd scraped her cheek a bit when she'd fallen in the oubliette. "Stupid hands," she sighed as she ran her fingertips over the uneven edge of the scrape and winced when it stung.

Ludo was pacing around the camp when they got back, visibly relieved when he saw that they'd come back. Andie couldn't be sure whether he just didn't notice Jareth or didn't have an opinion of him since he didn't react to the addition to their party, but Jareth certainly didn't seem to care for the bumbling giant. Didymus, Leona, and Nyle all had their reactions, however.

"Oh, goodness me, are you all right?!" Didymus fussed as he hurried over to them, his jaw dropping when he saw Jareth. "And where on earth did he come from?"

"Everyone is so shocked to see me, where did you all think I went?" Jareth muttered with a roll of his dual-colored eyes, which soon fell upon the half-goblin nearby. "Nyle. An interesting surprise."

Nyle inclined his head, but the venom in his voice was plain. "Your Highness."

"Indeed," Jareth agreed flippantly, which only seemed to piss Nyle off more. Andie made a mental note to ask him about the Goblin King a little later on, expecting a nicely candid answer from someone with such a sour opinion and not afraid to express it. "And…?"

"Leona," the sphinx said calmly, though her eyes were narrowed with some contempt.

"Ah, yes… You've left your post."

She snorted softly through her stone nose and Andie wondered suddenly if she was only stone on the outside or if some kind of magic made her stone body malleable. She couldn't really say why she kept wondering about these things when none of it made sense, but her brain hadn't stopped trying to categorize and decipher the oddities yet. "So have you."

"The entirety of the Labyrinth is my post, I recall assigning you to the clocktower."

"It was the side entrance to the castle and this place is already so disorderly, it hardly matters."

Jareth arched a brow her way. "You would speak so to your king?"

"I am fashioned to fear nothing and, as such, I have nothing to fear," she said dismissively. "This is what makes my guardianship so absolute."

"Hm," he murmured before shrugging it off. "Fair enough." He appeared to be a mixture of equal parts miffed and impressed. "Say, where might your… A-ha!" He'd sighted the provisions, but Hoggle began to make a beeline toward the stash. "Excuse me, dwarf, you think this wise?"

Hoggle paused and seemed conflicted in what to do next, but ended up slowly stepping away, muttering about being a coward. It was no wonder he wanted everyone to still think he had his magic, Andie noted. He's an absolute bully. She watched Jareth step over and pour himself a cup of tea from leaves Didymus had contributed, which had tasted strangely like cold medicine to Andie, and help himself to the leftover food. Didymus looked to Andie after a moment of quiet had passed in which everyone had cast judgy, aggravated glances toward Jareth and said, "I was thinking, perhaps the Wiseman would have some, well, wisdom for you on how you might return home."

"The Wiseman?" she repeated curiously.

"Exactly as he sounds, milady. Quite wise. And it couldn't hurt to ask, could it?"

"Not at all, thank you for saying something," Andie said with a smile before heading over to sit near the wall, where she'd taken lunch earlier. A patch of dark sky had wandered near and had begun to take over the area of the courtyard and for about a square mile all around. Her fatigue hit her all at once and Andie slouched just enough to gain a stable position and before she knew it, her eyes had shut and she was out like a light.

Jareth was making a point of eating slowly, despite his stomach feeling as if it would gnarl and swallow the rest of his insides at the first sign of nutrients in centuries. The curse of living agelessly while his body's needs and soul's unrest rotted him in a cell was disturbingly potent, as he'd previously had doubts that anything in this world could faze him any longer. It was all he could do not to cringe every time he swallowed another bit of dried meat or sandwich, it didn't matter what he ate or drank from the provisions by the fire, it all felt like lead in his stomach. He could feel eyes on him though, and knew now wasn't the time to show even mild discomfort.

Darkness closed in around them and painted the visible overhead with spiraling stars and an endless depth of black. Jareth listened to the other creatures around the campsite shift and settle into place for the "night," though the cycle of light had been disrupted with the rest of the reality around them. Once he heard stillness fall back over the courtyard, he looked up, surveying the faces decorated by shadows and the flicker of the fire. Jareth glanced away from Ludo and Didymus across the clearing with disinterest, his gaze settling on the dark-haired girl to his right. He stared at her for a long moment before scoffing softly to himself and looking back down to his tea, which he sipped deeply and then nearly choked on, before going off to rest for the night as well, though the last thing he felt the need for was sleep after spending so long in the dark of the earth and his own mind.

It was only forever, he thought to himself with a dismal tinge of melancholy disguising itself as irony and humor. His lips curved without the expression touching his eyes. Not long at all.

Next chapter: Chapter 6, "Falling Down"

#labyrinth #labyrinth fanfiction #labyrinth fanfic #jareth x oc #jareth the goblin king #jareth #slow burn #angst with a happy ending #the labyrinth #romance fanfiction

[adamwatchesmovies]

Palm Springs (2020)

Palm Springs is a consistently funny, well-executed time-loop comedy full of unexpected depths. I’d seen it before, called it one of my favorite movies of 2020 but was a little hesitant when my coworkers suggested we watch it together. A movie this good I don’t want to watch over and over; I want to space out my viewings so I can forget the little details and re-capture some of the surprise I got the first time. My apprehension was unfounded, as it proved just as good on a rewatch. You don’t know what you’re getting into when you step into this movie.

On November 9, in Palm Springs, Sarah (Cristin Milioti) is shocked when Nyles (Andy Samberg) - a complete stranger - gives a touching speech at her sister’s wedding. While everyone celebrates, they connect privately. The next morning, Sarah wakes up. It’s still November 9th. Nyles has been stuck in a time loop. Every morning, he wakes up and it’s November 9th. Now, it's happening to Sarah too.

You expect a certain kind of humor from this concept. Nyles has done it all so he knows exactly what dance moves everyone will pull during the wedding reception - it makes him move on the floor like no one else could - and his time in the loop has made him so nonchalant about stuff like death it’s hilarious. That’s all well done but the big laughs come from his pairing with Sarah. She’s new to this, so he has to do his best to explain to her everything he already knows about this time loop, to no avail. It gets funnier when she accepts her fate and decides to make the best of it. With their life free of consequences, they pull elaborate pranks on the wedding guests, spring expertly coordinated and rehearsed dances “out of nowhere” and find endless ways to mess around and have a good time.

With excellent performances by Andy Samberg and Cristin Milloti - who have terrific chemistry, it’s easy to think this will be a nice, breezy rom-com that eventually gets solved when…. I dunno. The two declare their love for each other and break the time-loop spell or something? but there's more to the movie. Nyles has been stuck in the time loop for so long this is his life now. While everything may reset every day, it’s a vacation that will never end. He never has to work. He can do whatever he wants and never suffer the repercussions. Nothing he does matters, and he sees it as a good thing. Every morning he wakes up in a relationship with a woman who’s cheating on him (Meredith Hagner as Misty) but he doesn’t care. In fact, he likes it. If he ever wants sex, he knows what to say to her and on the days where he finds Misty intolerable, he’ll befriend someone else at the party. What’s there not to love about this perpetual Palm Springs? As he falls for Sarah, it feels as though things have just gotten better… but they aren’t, because she’s not like him. Breaking free from the time loop could be synonymous with that stage in a relationship where you move in together, meet each others’ parents, or get married. Moving forward is scary, it carries risks, but without those risks, what's the point? Sarah understands that the uncertain is what makes life living. The way our protagonists grow and the realizations they make along the way is often upsetting, which compliments the hilarity wonderfully. This is the kind of movie you can watch over and over and always find some new detail that makes you see just how well-written it is.

Palm Springs starts off as raunchy fun and then comes at you from the side with the heavy emotions. The blend is so smooth you look back and are surprised you didn’t see it coming. It packs so much into its story and characters you’ll be shocked it only lasted 90 minutes. This is a refreshingly romantic and uproarious movie - a new favorite for everyone who sees it. (September 16th, 2021)

#Palm Springs #movies #films #movie reviews #film reviews #Max Barbakow #Andy Siara #Andy Samberg #Cristin Milioti #J. K. Simmons #2020 movies #2020 films

[fulboyle]

“But now it’s time for us to give to you. Here you are standing on the precipice of something so much bigger than anyone here. And it may be frightening and filled with doubt. But always remember: you are not alone. Everyone here is your family. We are your world. And we will cheer you on with delight in our eyes as you achieve your wildest dreams. So raise a glass.”

#gifs #brooklyn nine nine #brooklyn 99 #b99 #palm springs #palm springs spoilers #nyles #sarah #hulu #neon rated #g3 #the way nyles look at sarah :') #also sorry for not posting new gifs lately

[letsperaltiago]

ok time to break my silence caused by the fact that i spent all day making this lol too many feels 

so.. palm springs thoughts !! and there are manyyyy so buckle up and feeel free to hit me up with either matching or contradicting thoughts or whateveer!! i would LOVE to nerd out about this movie with someone:’)

here comes thoughts and pictures!! 

we basically start off with a mr. samberg sex-scene okAYYYYY the mood is set. we love the view

nyles aka. mr. samberg is the most gorgeous man alive and it was a true pleasure to admire him for 90 minutes straight 

CURLS!!????! THEY ARE UNREAL. i shall dedicate an entire post to them

Cristin Milioti is perfect for her role. her acting? *chef’s kiss* I love that she’s not the stereotypical female rom-com lead.

Her chemistry with Andy? Gosh.. Can’t believe Nyles x Sarah is my new main movie-ship!! They play off of each other SO. WELL. Their characters are equally stone cold and bitter, but then again not really, and they both portray it so well!!

“You don’t ned a leg up.” *moans* “Hold my leg up!” i SCREAMED

“Don’t you kiss me.” “Don’t you tell me what to do.” hoW DARE THEY!

Ok ur basically on love already stop it

The fact that they were just gonna fuck on a blanket on top OF ROCKS?!

but then again in this movie’s already insane universe it’s prob pretty normal:)

The overall dark, existential humor?? This is what I live and breathe for on a daily basis. Basiaclly both main characters are a BIG MOOD

Nyles not giving a shit vs. Sarah severely freaking out in the beginning is an iconic dynamic

“I am the antichrist” and then the rock falling? For a hot sec I literally thought the movie was gonna take a turn with Nyles being some magical/scientific creature that’d created the timeloop or something idkkk ahhha

Nyles in the suit... ridiculous(ly hot)

The torture methods Roy uses on Nyles and the fact that he’s not mentally scarred?? How?? 

On that note I love that Nyles and Sarah keep their memories even if the day starts over. Would’ve been a completely different concept if they had to “meet each other for the first time” every day and it wouldn’t’ve allowed their relationship arc to evolve as it did 

Darla is the fucking shit 

Nyles in the baseball cap, amirite?

THE BARTENDER TALKING ABOUT HITTING A GUY WITH THE CAR SHE’S CURRENTLY GIVING NYLES A HANDJOB IN IS COMEDIC GOLD 

“You fucked Jerry Schlieffen?” “Well he fucked me.” Yes SIR. Andy Samberg’s characters are all bottoms and we’re here for it

Sarah’s tongue click and “nice try” when Nyles asks her about her sex life?? 

IDK WHY BUT SO GOD

Randy is hella annoying. That’s it. That’s the tweet.

THIS ENTIRE SCENE:

the fact that they both start waking up smiling because now at least they have each other 🥺😭🤯

uhm i love a good ship that’s like... best friends to lovers and the montage of them basically becoming besties killed me 

this outfit Y E S: 

sarah falling off the car and nyles laughing it off is relationship goals

the crashing plane I LOL’ED

okay so... big moment... the DANCING AND MATCHING OUTFITS? THEY ARE MY DREAM TEAM. Also how excited they are running away from the bar 🥺

IM POSITIVE THIS IS THE MOMENT NYLES KNOWS! LIKE HE DOESN’T ADMIT IT TO HIMSELF COMPLETELY BUT HE KNOWS 

the bomb in the cake and french pirate-skit? so fucking random but i lovee it because it’s so them

*DRUM ROLL* PERHAPS MY FAVORITE MOMENT IN THE ENTIRE MOVIE: 

STORYLINE WISE AND VISUALLY A++++

the deep talks by the fire were SO well written. they were actually deep and genuine, allowing the characters to grow and opening up to us as viewers but also remained fun and witty

sarah trying to get nyles to admit he cares for her and him joking it off??? the flirtinggg

really wish we’d gotten to know more about what nyles meant with “it drifts away: just like they all do.” because it really seemed to trigger something within him. Like WHO “They”???

the dinosaurs lmao no comment but at least they got a cute cuddly moment

from the very first millisecond inside the tent you can CLEARLY tell Sarah is just dying to do something about them!!!

 the disbelief on nyles’ face when sarah says “lets just get it over with” because she’d clearly stated he didn’t want to and even though he obviously did he’s respected it and not done anything further about it oh babey

we love some good making out:’))) 

NYLES HALTING TO TAKE IN THE MOMENT EXCUSE ME WHILE I GO SCREAM INTO THE VOID 

i will die for a post-sexy timez cuddle and how sarah is trying to staying awake to be besides him is just *explosion* 

this has to be *the moment* she realises 

and they’re both sooooo fucking happy when they wake up after damn love me like that pls

THE GROOM BOOO FUCK OFF CAN’T EVEN BE BOTHERED TO REMEMBER HIS NAME CHEATING SCUM 

THIS FACE:

Baby is trying so hard and is so cute and nervous about it. SARAH LISTEN TO HIM HE LOVES YOU.

HE FELT GOOD WAKING UP BECAUSE OF YOUUUU, GIRL. DO NOT CALL IT “FUN”, SARAH 

“Going to bed maybe just got a little better” 😭😭😭😭

The entire cop scene is just pure insanity, very Lonely Island and I’m here for it even though I just want Sarah to rEALLY LISTEN TO WHAT NYLES IS TRYING TO SAY 

“Pain is real” oh babey that means SO MANY THINGS 🥺💔

“I followed you into that cave because I liked you!” like jake would say: don’t love how we got here but we’re going where i want

“pretentious sad boy” me

not shocked that they’ve hooked up before because c h e m i s t r y but don’t like how it got out :)))

why is nyles’ one sleeve shirt rolled up? im triggered

drinking pure vodka? oh babey its gonna be okay 

WE LOVE A SMART BOI WHO RECOGNIZES HIS GIRL’S PERFUME 

Sarah’s parents singing:)) i would cry too, nyles

"I love her.” “I see... That’s interesting” lmao savage

I actually really love Roy’s character. It turns out to be very humble actually and he has some insightful and lowkey poetic that lines i love. Besides that he’s hilarious. 

SO the whole time i was wondering how they’d get out of the whole “same day forever”-thing, if they were to. and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that they had such a logical way out of it: science. Not anything cheesy like “a true love’s kiss” or “you learned your lesson”. Pure logic and Sarah’s hard work to get there. Huge fan of this. 

I will never get over how good Nyles looks waking up and Sarah is xtra pretty in that scene:’) 

Nyles just wants to stay in a loop forever because it means for sure that he gets to stay with Sarah forever and I’m lowkey into it but also like lowkey LISTEN TO HER AND GO WITH HER PLAN, NYLES

“I wanna stay with you” *sniffles*

“I love you. How about that?” PRETTY FUCKING GOOD 

I love Nyles’ character development. He started off so nonchalant and cold, closed off and by this point he’s the softest, smiliest in love fool I’ve ever seen and Andy does it so good. SAMBERG HEART EYES!!

“Nothing is real in here” YES SARAH UR LOVE IS

I’m taking Sarah’s asking Nyles to believe in her and leave with her as her first “I love you” because it’s very clear that she wants to leave with him rather than without. 

just- this entire scene i ugh <3 <3 <3 <3

BREAKING. UP. WITH. MISTY ! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

glass of wine filled to the brim? sarah’s my type of gal

the speech was really beautiful and sweet without being too cheesy and kudos to cristin for really delivering it like a pro! especially her “abe, don’t fuck this up” like yes girl kill him, chop him to pieces with your eyes!!! also camila is such really pretty bride

nyles looks like a cockatoo here :

nyles taking the shot and smashing the glass into the ground got me 🤭😵😏🥵

“I’m your son” I SCREAM

GIVE THE MAN A WHITE HORSE DAMNIT

Gotta admit Sarah looks like a bomb (lol nu pun intended) ass super hero in her bridesmaid dress and C4-gettup 

The sentence ending up being total grammatical gibberish but Nyles trying so. damn. hard is the sweetest thing ever and should and will go down in rom-com history. It’s super romantic but also well-balanced by humor and I just.. so good. This is the kind of characters and relationships I love and wanna write myself 

“you’re my favorite person that i’ve ever met” 🥺🥺🥺

“i’d rather die with you than live in this world without you” WHY AM I SO SINGLE SOMEONE LOVEE ME LIKE THIS 

okay so idk but “what if we get sick of each other?” “we’re already sick of each other. it’s the best.” is so so so soft, the way nyles says it like it doesn’t matter and is honestly another key moment for me: they’ve experienced basically everything imaginable during their time in the box/loop. they’ve liked, disliked, loved, hated each other and still: he loves her. the fact that nyles knows no matter what happens it won’t stop that because it’s them?? ouch my heart. 

this chaotic mess of a pairing?MESSY BOMB BRIDESMAID AND CURLY-HAIR HAWAII SHIRT-BOI!! MY OTp

Them dissing Nyles’ mom on their way into potential death? that’s love, baby 

the fUCKING KISSSSSSS MANNNNNNNNNN!!!! SO ICONIC AND THE EXPLOSION IN THE BACKGROUND AND JUST WE DESERVE THIS THEY DESERVE THIS EVERYONE DESERVES THISSSS!!! 

NEVER OVEER THIS EVER FOREVER NEVER

Ok so I was SURE that when it faded to black that it was done and I grew super ficking frustrated because it would leave us with this “the ending is up to whatever you chose”-kinda thing kinda a la Celeste and Jesse where it just feels unresolved and I WASN’T OKAY WITH THAT. So I’m so happy we got to know that it worked and the bebes will live happuilly ever after with Nyles’ shaggy dog:’) 

Their hands on each other’s knee >>>>>

all in all 100000/10 

#palm springs #palm springs spoilers #andy samberg #cristin milioti #camila mendes #sarah x nyles #emilie says things #sarah #nyles #the lonely island #nyrah

[brella]

yuletide reveals are go! i only wrote one thing this year, but i received five (FIVE) absolutely gorgeous gifts. here is my roundup for easy access!

i wrote don’t take the money, a palm springs fic; sort of a sarah wilder character study and sort of a sarah/nyles relationship study and mostly a post-canon exploration of how they cope with, you know, not being in a time loop anymore. rated E, 5300 words. an excerpt: It’s a dusky blue spring evening, and she’s sautéeing the onions and peppers for the ratatouille, which she is, as she had hysterically told the woman in the produce section, going to make, and isn’t that just a fucking triumph of living?

as for my gifts—

all that’s left of our wings, run with the wind, iwakura yukihiko/kiyose haiji. not rated, 1900 words. a missing scene of haiji and yuki getting ready for graduation. my favorite kind of missing scene, too: ostensibly ordinary, but woven with so much significance, quiet tension, things unspoken, things wanted and longed for. it encompasses everything i love about their dynamic so well, and is beautifully, carefully rendered. a favorite line: All of the rooms in this building let in the bare minimum of sun, something that has bothered Yuki for years. And yet, looking at Haiji is illuminated now, the light twines with something that Yuki has been brushing aside for as long as he can remember. Something akin to longing, spreading out over the land of blue morbidities carved between them.

party on, party out, run with the wind, iwakura yukihiko/kiyose haiji. rated T, 2100 words. this fic has it all: feelings at the club. past hook-ups. dancing, at the club. a little bit of silliness and a little bit of melancholy. a KISS. i am spoiled rotten. a favorite line: Yuki lifted his glass, suddenly strangely aware of the fact that Haiji’s lips had touched the straw, before just shrugging and drinking the rest of the glass’ contents. He wasn’t some fresh-faced high schooler, he had no time to be worried about something as silly as indirect kisses or whatever they called it.

come healing, hades, megaera & persephone + megaera & zagreus gen. rated G, 3300 words. i longed for megaera to be a more three-dimensional character than the game permitted her to be, and this fic makes that more real than i can bear. absolutely wonderful, painful, strangely gentle look at her relationship with persephone and her involvement in the queen’s return to the underworld—and it has brushstrokes of the other erinyes too, which made me so happy. this has everything: her cruelty, her guilt, her anger, her love, her forgiveness. i can’t praise it highly enough! a favorite line: Her hand moved toward her whip, the titan-blood within her calling out for justice. But she remembered the queen she knew, once; the one who had given her a flower, when she did not know what such was. Who had shown her kindness, when she did know how to.

to those who cannot love gently, hades, megaera gen with a side of megaera/zagreus. rated M, 1800 words. ANOTHER stunning megaera study, revolving around five times she was too rough and one time she was gentle. it has everything i could have hoped for in a meg study—her friendship with dusa, her complicated feelings on zagreus, her backstory with her sisters, her odd but beautiful bonds with and respect for persephone and nyx. each scene is so small, but carries so much power and detail. the gradual escalation is masterfully done. every time i finish reading this i am bodied by my love for this character and what she means to me and i think that is a good sign. a favorite line: After the Queen left, none dared to touch her garden for fear of incurring Lord Hades’ wrath. In those first years, it was as if he wished to banish the Queen’s name from everyone’s tongue. Even now, when anyone spoke of Persephone, it was with a furtive tone and lamentable air, a dream of summer long disappeared.

you never needed it to be a clear day, kiki’s delivery service, kiki/tombo. rated G, 2700 words. i am still floored by how, like... graciously catered to me this is. it hits all the right notes for the kiki fic i feel like i’ve been dreaming of since i was little. a future fic exploration of how kiki’s depression and anxiety connect to her magic/creative work, and kiki and tombo are roommates, oh my god they are roommates??? and she cradles jiji in her arms, and it makes me feel the same love and warmth i feel when i cradle my own kitty in my arms? kiki as an adult, in all the realest and most beautiful ways? aaah! there’s just so much love in this, so much honesty and heart. i feel so lucky to have received it... a favorite line: Kiki looks it over. She remembers this from their childhood days. The problem is that the flying bike, no matter what the case was, could never sustain flight for too long. It always crashed, or at least drifted into an irreversible glide. Tombo gave up on it because—well—he said it made him feel regressive to be so obsessed with flight in that way.

again, cannot overstate how lucky and grateful i feel this year. happy reveals, everyone. o/ 💖

#yuletide #!2020 #palm springs

[leguin]

tagged by @prettyboysdontlookatexplosions​!

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line, then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

tagging @karasweirdfantasy @melthedestroyer and anyone else who wants to do it!

1. ontario sunshine (the kid detective):

The lock scrapes and clicks, and she huddles in her blanket, back pressed against the wall as though that's ever protected her.

2. making mountains out of molehills is a good habit to get into (the magicians):

The group therapy is Julia’s idea.

3. small craft on a milk sea (palm springs):

They leave Palm Springs in separate cars, Sarah heading to her apartment in Austin and Nyles going to pick up his dog, and then on to his house in Santa Cruz.

4. edge-stepper (succession):

It takes three weeks for anyone to fill Stewy in on what had happened to Kendall after the press conference.

5. reach for the latch (cobra kai):

As a kid, Johnny Lawrence hadn’t liked staying at home.

6. (a)drift (succession):

It’s not really a gay thought so much as an objective observation of Tom’s that Greg has a sort of youthful, hypnotic beauty to him, one that Tom sometimes finds himself resentful of.

7. tighten the bolts (succession):

When he steps onto the helicopter he’s still not quite sure what he’s going to do next.

8. straw house, straw dog (succession):

It’s so much easier to go through the motions.

9. objects not found in nature (succession):

When Marcia and Amir slip out of the room, Kendall becomes certain that there will be no getting out of this.

10. he has fixed his sign in the sky (cobra kai):

In 1981, Johnny loses the All Valley Under-18 tournament for the first time.

11. and now the final frame (cobra kai):

The thing you gotta know about Johnny Lawrence is that he’s always looking for a fight.

12. never die, never die (cobra kai):

Cobra Kai has three rules, and Johnny could recite them backwards in his sleep if you told him to with enough of a bite in your voice.

13. lacunae (the magicians) [this has like 3 different ‘first lines’ so i just picked one]:

dark hair curling just so over his forehead, and he’s reaching out a hand to touch it when someone jerks him out of sleep and

14. knowing is kin to the sound (the magicians):

There’s a certain terror to the Monster disappearing to satisfy its curiosity about something.

15. empty promises, empty promises (the magicians):

Two months and four days after Quentin dies, Eliot sees him in the bathroom mirror.

16. carpentry and other demonstrations (the goldfinch):

Theo’s on his way out the door from a Barbour family lunch, which eight months on from Amsterdam have become excruciating in only the mildest of ways, when Kitsey puts a hand on his arm and says, “Oh, Theo, I have something for you.”

17. like having nothing at all (the magicians):

The morning is very bright, and the coffee is very hot. 

18. How to Sell a Globe (documentary now!):

Pete flies economy class from Tallahassee to Cincinnati on a Tuesday morning.

19. bikinis, handguns, and diner fries (preacher):

Tulip slides cold french fries across her plate and listens to Jesse talk himself into circles trying to explain the stupidest fucking idea in the history of ideas. 

20. in infinite trust (the goldfinch):

Theo and Boris get married the day after Theo’s eighteenth birthday, at the Clark County Office of Civil Marriages.

my gosh is that a lot of fics. really the main pattern i’ve noticed here is that i don’t think of the literal first line of most of my fics as the First Line Hook - that’s usually the job of the summary. the actual first lines tend to serve a much more utilitarian purpose of like...well, the story has to start somewhere. they do also generally set the tone, which i suppose is also utilitarian. have to say i’m surprised that getting 20 fics in didn’t even scratch the surface of my magicians or goldfinch fics! (you can read any of them here, i was too lazy to link to them individually).

#long post #my stuff

[ultrahpfan5blog]

My thoughts on Palm Springs (2020)

I have been looking forward to this movie ever since I heard of it during its sale to Neon and Hulu. I am a big fan of Andy Samberg, primarily through my love of B99, and I loved Cristin Millioti in the last season of HIMYM and the short lived A to Z. Just by those shows, I knew both of these actors would be a great combo in a romcom and the reviews just hyped me up even more. Thankfully, this movie lives up to it. Its a damn fun movie with excellent performances by the leads and a delightful supporting turn by JK Simmons. 

The film has fun with the time loop concept. Yes, there have been many shows and movies that have dealt with time loops but this film adds the rare wrinkle where multiple people get stuck in the time loop together so we get to see the loops through different perspectives, namely Nyles and Sarah. It does add a little flavor because we essentially get two different character journeys, both of which are extremely satisfying. This is the film’s biggest strength but also a source of its weakness, which I will get into later. The film doesn’t waste much time by introducing you to Nyles and you immediately know that something’s not quite right with him. The reveal that he’s been in a time loop for ages when we first see him also adds an interesting turn because when Sarah gets stuck in the loop, we also see his resigned understanding of all the panic that Sarah feels and all the theories she comes up with. The middle section is where the film is at its most fun, where Nyles and Sarah are just messing around. Samberg and Millioti’s chemistry shines in this section of the movie. JK Simmons pops up a couple of times as Roy, who inadvertently also got trapped and the montage of him meeting Nyles, getting stuck in the loop, and then hunting Nyles through various time loops is darkly amusing. The film then delves into the existential drama of both leads individually which helps the film feel more substantial.

Sarah has the more clearly defined personal drama, if a fairly predictable one. Millioti is pretty brilliant at portraying the hurt and the conflict of being trapped in the loop where she has to confront the fact that she slept with her sister’s fiance every time she wakes up. It makes the character’s drive to escape understandable. I love that she just ups and decides to learn Quantum Physics and figures her way out. If I have a slight issue with the arc its that I don’t completely buy that she lets Abe gets married to her sister Tala after what she says about her in the last time loop before she attempts to escape. Also, while Nyles’ arc in terms of their romance is well realized, her’s is a little more half baked. We don’t necessarily get the impression she loves Nyles the way he loves her. I think a little more exploration of her perspective on the romance would have helped. Regardless, she’s excellent and I hope this gives her more exposure.

Nyles is the more unpredictable and more interesting character of the two, yet also the more ill defined one. The film doesn’t quite push some of the more interesting ideas with regards to him. The whole concept of him being happier in the time loop than outside is an interesting idea but the film doesn’t really give us anything about his life before the time loop to maybe give us an assessment. There is also the idea floated that Nyles’ “nothing matters” attitude stems from the fact that he’s been in the loop so long that his memories of his life are starting to fade. That’s also an interesting concept. There’s a great scene with Roy and Nyles towards the end which demonstrates the difference in their situations. Whereas Roy is grounded in that every day he has his wife and kids around him to keep him remembering who he is, and even Sarah is surrounded by her family constantly reminding her who she is, Nyles is basically stuck in a loop with complete strangers and a cheating girlfriend, basically endlessly floating through life in the loop. Which is why the romance from Nyles’ perspective is better realized because you see that his romance with Sarah is the first real relationship and connection he’s had for who knows how long and you buy why that it is important to him. I’ve always considered Samberg an underrated actor. People associate him with the Adam Sandler brand of comedy because of films like That’s My Boy, but he’s really quite amazing at portraying characters that have an undercurrent of pain hidden behind the goofball exterior. He’s shown it on B99 and he shows it again in the movie. He’s brilliant and I hope he gets more roles where he gets to show the depth he has. 

As I mentioned before, the fact that the film doesn’t explore Sarah’s personal romantic connection towards Nyles much at the expense of her working through the personal trauma and not exploring Nyles’ character and his predicament as much for the expense of emphasizing his co dependency and connection with Sarah is both a strength and a weakness. Its a tradeoff that mostly works and you buy the romance on the chemistry of the leads alone and the individual arcs are still very compelling. Still, the film is at its best when the leads are together. As I mentioned before, JK Simmons also adds a lot with his short screen time. The supporting cast like Peter Gallagher, Tyler Hoechlin, Camila Mendes, Meredith Hagner etc... all lend good support. When the film is funny, I had to literally pause the movie to finish laughing because I didn’t want to miss further scenes because I was laughing so hard. The dramatic beats also largely work. The chemistry is great and while I could have used another 10-15 minutes to flesh out some of the issues I mentioned, its a very breezy run time. Its a shame this movie didn’t get to release in theaters. I feel this could have been a sleeper summer hit. Its a damn good summer date movie and better than 99% of the romcoms that get released.

Anyways, highly recommended from me for whatever that’s worth. If you are a fan of B99 and Andy Samberg, I recommend it. If you are a fan of Cristin from HIMYM or Black Mirror or A to Z, I recommend it. If you are a JK Simmons fan, I recommend it, because who isn’t? If you like romcoms, looking for a laugh in troubled times, or are just bored and have nothing to do on a weekend, give it a shot. I think people will like it. My grade: 8/10

#palm springs #palm springs spoilers #andy samberg #cristin milioti #jk simmons #nyles x sarah #nyles #sarah #b99 #himym

[nbbkatherine]

This Might As Well Happen

New in Town, John Mulaney comedy special. My Favorite Shapes, Julio Torres comedy special; Palm Springs 2020 Max Barbakow movie; Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency tv show.

“And by the way, part of me was like whatever, you know? You ever have those days where you’re like, this might as well happen. Adult life is already so goddamn weird.” 

I think about this John Mulaney quote a lot. Especially now in the year of our lord 2020. Anyway, I love his brand of comedy, and this quote is from his special New in Town, currently streaming on Netflix. You can also find clips of it on YouTube, it’s from his bit about the time he tried to get a Xanax prescription, or listen to the album on Spotify.  

It’s a meandering, wonderful mess of a thing, as John Mulaney tells stories about being a kid growing up in Chicago with two lawyers for parents to moving to New York City, being a comedy writer, dating his girlfriend, and watching Law & Order. He also dumps on Delta Airlines, so he gets some brownie points from me for that.

“I have a lot of shapes, but not a lot of time. So we have to start immediately.” I adore Julio Torres’s My Favorite Shapes, currently on HBO. If you’re looking for another comedy special, give this one a try. It’s totally opposite to the usual “empty stage, stool with a water bottle, unremarkable but nice outfit” generally seen in comedy specials (e.g. John Mulaney’s). Instead, Julio Torres walks on stage wearing a beautiful, shimmery silver suit that he designed, takes a seat behind a pastel conveyer belt structure, and proceeds to tell the audience all about his cactus, and his little plastic seahorse, and his tiny glass swan, and many more of his favorite shapes. It’s delightful.

“It’s one of those infinite time loop situations you might have heard about?” “That I might have heard about?” “Yeah.” Palm Springs, starring Andy Samberg as Nyles and Cristin Milioti as Sarah, fully embraces the weirdness of the forever-living-the-same-day trope, and I love it for that. Watch Nyles and Sarah waste some time in this excellent rom-com, streaming on Hulu.

“Have you noticed an acceleration of strangeness in your life as of late?” I really did not know what I was getting myself into when I watched the first episode of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency—I’d heard good things but really did not know what it was about. Turns out, this sci-fi-fantasy-mystery-comedy is based on books by Douglas Adams (who also wrote The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), which makes a lot of sense. Things happen and just keep happening, everything is connected, and the characters have no choice but to roll with it.

#comedy #movies #tv

[xalygatorx]

Powerless (2017) | Chapter 8, "Dance Magic"

Years after Sarah’s wit and bravery saved her brother and brought the Labyrinth to its knees, her daughter Andie is transported to what remains of that same fantastical place, somewhere she thought only existed in her favorite childhood stories. To find her way back home, she must traverse what’s left of the crumbling kingdom, find a way to set both moments and magic in motion again, and even save the Goblin King, himself. But who will save her from him?

Powerless is a SFW slow-burn romance between Jareth and an original female character. The story overall contains descriptions of fantasy violence, mild suggestive content, and grief regarding family illness. Chapter-by-chapter warnings will be provided as well.

Summary: Andie wakes in a comfortable, albeit unorthodox predicament. The group scout a direction to take and end up at the lakeside of the Netherbeast. Jareth uses his affinity for music to get them to the other side. Andie and Jareth are catching feelings and Nyle takes notice.

Pairing: Jareth x Fem!OC

Warnings: None

Word Count: 3.1k

It was only when a shaft of light pouring between patches of clouds in a new potion of sky hit her face that Andie discovered she'd fallen asleep. She winced against the glare and turned her face away, though it didn't do much good. With a small sigh, Andie opened her eyes and began to do her habitual arm stretch—head tilt, interlocked fingers, the whole shebang—when she also realized she was way too comfortable to be sleeping on a wall.

Andie frowned and cautiously turned her head, glancing downward and seeing a familiar hand resting against the ground, knuckles down, the white cuff around it dotted faintly with a bit of dirt and her own blood. She could only assume that after Jareth had finished bandaging her torso the night—or whatever this world ran on—before, she'd finally been hit with the resulting exhaustion and had…

She peered behind her after moving her head another careful increment. That sight—and the steady heartbeat in her ear—confirmed it. She'd fallen asleep on him.

Don't panic, Andie told herself sternly even while her pulse began to accelerate, which she forced herself to acknowledge as a reaction to embarrassment alone until she gave up and admitted to herself that he was rather mystically attractive. She was beginning to ready herself to move when a shadow pierced the light shining in her eyes. Andie startled at first, but relaxed when she saw it was just Nyle. At least, initially. When she saw the look on his face, her reaction became muddled. The half-changed goblin-man eyed her and the man sleeping against the wall behind her with a gaze scarcely shy of repulsed, softened only by some strange degree of turning gears and formulation. When his eyes met hers, he stared just a few seconds more before continuing past them back to the others, who were scattered about and all sleeping still.

Andie tried to contain the shiver that threatened to ripple up her spine, warily watching his retreat before positioning herself to stably shift over Jareth's leg. She made it across without jostling him and sat against the wall beside him, admittedly missing the comfort when her shoulders and skull hit stone. She especially wondered if her pride was worth it when her middle ached from the awkward movement, though she felt a bit better once she'd relaxed in her new spot. After dozing off for a few moments more, Andie found herself opening her eyes all over again, but this time it wasn't just Jareth in the vicinity; Hoggle stood nearby with the water jug, seeming to startle when she looked at him even though it appeared that he was waiting for her to wake up. "Something wrong?" she wondered aloud.

"Oh, uh… No… Here," he said awkwardly, handing her the water jug bashfully.

Andie took the jug and tilted it to get a drink, soon handing it back to him with a quiet, "Thanks." Hoggle nodded and started to walk away when Andie added, "Hoggle? I'm sorry for yesterday. I was upset, but I didn't handle it well."

"No, I'm sorry," he said with a heavy sigh, trudging over to sit down next to her. "I'm just a big coward. I thought I'd changed, but I took one look at those snakes and ran for it."

"If it makes you feel better, I think we all wanted to make a run for it," Andie pointed out.

"Yeah, but I was the only one who did without everybody else…"

"I don't know. Nyle ducked out of there pretty fast…"

Hoggle glanced over toward the others, who were all awake now, and said in a lowered tone, "He isn't much of a team player. But he has good intentions, no matter how he acts at times. Trust me."

Andie wasn't so sure about that, but she didn't argue. He would know better than she did, considering he'd known Nyle and the others much longer than she did. "Okay. Are we good?"

Hoggle smiled a little, still trying so hard not to come off as sensitive. "Yeah. We are."

"Awesome."

"Well, isn't that touching." Andie and Hoggle glanced over, seeing Jareth looking at them lazily. "Though you could have had your heartfelt moment a bit more quietly. Some of us are trying to sleep."

"Just you, apparently," Andie noted as she looked toward the others. Hoggle, however, apologized and went back to the group with a small bow. When he was gone, Andie shot Jareth a look. "Really?"

"What?"

"You know, you could stand to be a bit nicer. At least once in a while."

"Dressing your wounds isn't considered nice any longer? What a tragic world this has turned out to be."

"Not just to me, to them, too," Andie asserted. "They're helping us."

"They're helping you."

"And by association, also you."

His eyes narrowed. "As they should. I am their king."

"You know what good kings do?" Andie asked frustratedly. "Make their subjects and staff feel appreciated."

"What king has ever lowered himself to such a degree?"

Andie grimaced. "You're a real jerk, you know that?"

Jareth rolled his eyes. "If you say so, little fool… Speaking of foolishness, why are you moving around in your state?"

"I'm not moving around, I'm sitting."

"Well, you had to have moved at some point, as you fell asleep over here."

Crap. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't you," Jareth murmured, somehow torn between being amused and entirely the opposite.

Andie sighed, able to tell she was nearing the end of his rope for the time being. "Fine, I do, but that's not…uh, appropriate."

He cracked a smile before laughing. "Appropriate?"

Andie tried to keep a serious tone, but failed, smiling too and looking away as to not encourage him. "Shut up, you know what I mean."

"I know what you mean and it is hysterical," Jareth chuckled. "I will have you know, however, that I was not ever-so scandalously taking advantage of you."

"It didn't seem like you were, I just didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea, okay?" Andie said defensively through a smirk, feeling her face redden as he continued to laugh at her every time she tried to smooth the situation over. "Stop laughing, you're terrible!"

"I can't help it," Jareth said genuinely, his eyes glittering with mirth. He stood slowly, stretching a bit before taking a couple of steps and crouching in front of Andie, who looked back at him with an arch in her brow. "I will say I've not laughed for quite some time, so forgive me." His smirk pulled more tightly at his lips as he added, "Besides, when we give them the 'wrong idea,' I will do so much more thoroughly."

Then the man had the nerve to wink at her before straightening up and heading over to the others, as food was now being parted out.

Andie stared after him with her mouth slightly agape at his remark and the confidence with which he left her to process it. She made a small half-laughing sound of disbelief before getting up, herself, and going to get one of the rations. Hoggle met her halfway and handed her what remained of the dehydrated meats and sandwiches she'd added to the stock, looking a bit worried. "We'll have to look for more food some time soon. Find wherever the jungle's floated off to and avoid the Fireys long enough to get some fruit… Or something. Either way, that's the last of it."

She nodded. "We'll find something," she reassured him. Though she really would've preferred that she had been done with the Fireys for the whole of her journey. Andie watched Hoggle walk back to the others and took one of the sandwiches from the small plate he'd given her and took a bite, wondering what they would run into next. While she was munching, she heard a call of "my lady" and she looked over to see Didymus climbing up Ludo's back and hopping a bit on the beast's shoulder. She started back toward them, eating along the way. "What?"

"I am terribly, er… Vertically lacking, my lady," Didymus said with such a discouraged air, Andie had to try hard not to laugh. "Would you mind taking a survey of the landscape? We are hoping to find the jungle, as Hoggle might have said."

"Oh, um… Okay," Andie said uncertainly as she finished her food and set her plate down with the others.

"Wonderful! Ambrosius!" Didymus waited until the sheepdog sidled up to Ludo and then hopped from the giant's shoulder onto its back. "Right then! Up you go, my lady!"

Andie looked doubtfully at Ludo, even as he bent down a little to help her. However, behind her, she heard Nyle say in his normal, eerie tone of voice, "Allow me." She felt his hands dip under her arms, his long fingers cold even through the fabric of her shirt. When he was this close, she realized just how much taller than her he was, which ended up being a positive in this moment. It just made her feel diminutive. As he swung her carefully up onto Ludo's shoulders, Andie didn't notice Jareth's hard stare in their direction, but Nyle certainly did. After he'd gotten Andie in place, he pointedly looked over at Jareth and sneered before glancing back toward Ludo, who was standing up straight while Andie hung on. "Anything?"

Andie was craning her neck to get a good view over the expanse of the Labyrinth, nibbling her lower lip as she straightened as much as she could to get the full view. "I… I don't… Hold on, I think I see it!"

"Do you see how to get there?" Didymus called up to her.

"Yeah, I think so… The problem is that it's still moving around."

"Well… We shall have to do our best to hurry," Didymus declared. "Thank you!" 

Ludo bent down again and Andie started to maneuver herself off his back, feeling hands brace her just above her waist to balance her when she was climbing down. She glanced over her shoulder and saw it was Jareth this time; he nodded for her to let go, smirking faintly. She released her hold on Ludo's fur and let him lower her the rest of the way, his hands warm and strong.

After he set her down, he let his hands fall to his sides and just looked at her in his smug way until she muttered at him to shut up.

"Ludo hungry," Ludo said morosely for probably the fifth time since they had started out toward the jungle.

"We are all well aware of that, you big lug," Jareth muttered grumpily, looking more resemblant of Nyle's normally unpleasant demeanor than even Nyle did at the moment.

"We're all hungry, Ludo," Andie sighed sympathetically, running a hand through her hair and wishing they had showers in the Labyrinth. What she wouldn't give for some shampoo…

"What in the world is all this?" Leona wondered from the front of the group, catching everyone else's attention. As they caught up with her, they saw a stretching chasm between their path and the other side, where the path continued, the space between entirely black and bottomless. "Is it another void?"

Didymus peered at it and tapped the surface with his scepter, gasping when the surface rippled with movement, the rings soon disappearing entirely back into the eerily smooth, glass-like plane. "Wouldn't do that if I was you!" crowed a voice nearby, making them all jump.

Andie looked toward the wall, where four freestanding stone statues grinned cheekily, all toting what appeared to be musical instruments, but none like she'd ever seen. "Why not?"

"The Netherbeast lives in there, girlie!" a short, squat one said with alarm.

"He's your worst enemy in those waters," said one with a toothy grin and a shrug of bony shoulders. "And he's your only way to the other side!"

"Hate to sound like a broken record… But what do you mean?"

"Why, you've got to cross somehow, don't ye! Figure it out!"

Andie sighed and murmured, "Why can't everyone be as easy to get by as those guardsmen…," as she looked around, trying to get an idea of what to do. "Ideas?"

There was a consensus of head-shaking and she frowned, looking toward the instruments again. "Why do you have those?"

"Ah, now you're asking the right questions," the tall, skinny statue said approvingly.

"We're a band, of course!" the short one cried.

"And music always soothes the savage beast, if you get my drift…," one of medium height said with a wink. Andie couldn't help but picture a fantastical version of the Beatles when she looked at them.

"So… Does it like music?" she wondered.

"Won't know 'til you try, will ye?"

"Um… Okay… Then can I borrow one of your instruments?" Andie asked uncertainly.

"Course not!" the short one squealed.

"We need these! Use your own!"

"We don't have any!" Hoggle shouted, getting frustrated and afraid as he repeatedly glanced at the water.

"Sure you's do," the tall one said. "Tell you what, you start something and we'll help you. It's easy!"

"Composing a song on the spot?" Andie muttered. "Hardly!" A slight scoff issued from behind her and she turned to see Jareth smirking at the exchange. "What's so funny?"

"Music is simple," Jareth noted. "It's the most fluid element in existence."

"Then you do something!"

Jareth shrugged and looked at the musician with the drums. "You. Start."

"OH, uh, yes. Your Highness," the squat one said as he began a basic rhythm.

Jareth sneered and looked at Andie. "You remind me of the babe."

"Excuse me?" she asked, at a complete loss.

"The babe with the power," he added as if to explain.

"What power?"

"The power of voodoo."

"I don't—"

"You do!"

"Do what?!"

"Remind me of the babe," he laughed mirthfully. Andie was visibly frustrated and he chuckled at her misery, extending a hand to her. "Oh, come, you lovely thing, have a bit of fun!"

"I'm so not in the mood t—HEY! What is your deal?!" she cried as he snatched her hand in mid-gesture and tugged her over to him, catching her by the waist as if they were waltzing. "I thought you were supposed to be helping!"

"I am," Jareth proclaimed with a crooked grin, spinning her about as he started to sing, the entire band joining in now that they had something to play to. There was a strange draw to the way his voice sounded, all soft rock and magic spells. Andie eventually stopped feeling miffed and embarrassed about being flounced around by the baffling King of the Goblins, noticing how much fun he was having. She wondered if that was how he'd been before on a normal day, before her mom and before all the turmoil of unrequited affections. His elation was infectious and she soon forgot that she didn't know how to dance, and also that she was supposed to be fighting this. 

"What kind of magic spells to use…," he sang, tugging her close and leaning his forehead against hers as she tried—and failed—not to smile. The musical statues sang backup for him then, giving a string of spell ingredients that resembled any fairytale her world could've cooked up.

Jareth seemed to grow happier as she let him lead her, the rest of their group either dancing or swaying with the beat of the instruments and Jareth's voice. Even Nyle, all gloom and doom, was nodding his head to the beat, watching it all unfold. He twirled her again and sang out the refrain at last, "Dance, magic, dance! Dance, magic, dance! Put that baby spell on me! Jump, magic, jump!" A peculiar tilt entered his smile just before he switched his other hand down to her waist as well, boosting her up in a perfectly choreographed lift as she yelped in surprise, causing him to throw his head back and laugh. From the group, Nyle was watching this exchange again, more speculatively than was normal, even for him.

Andie looked over toward the water when he'd set her down and danced with her again, pointing as what appeared to be the back of a long, black, scaly creature crested from the water. "Look," she murmured. 

Jareth followed her gaze and nodded for the others to start across, still singing. The scaled body continued to span the stretch of the gap until finally, a large, spiny head surfaced at the end, resting on the other side, eyes closed. The creature was sound asleep. Once everyone was on their way over, he looked down at her, meeting her gaze and looked as if he had something he wanted to say, but he just kept singing, giving her one more playful spin before steadying her and ushering her toward the edge of the chasm.

They both stepped onto the creature's back and Jareth didn't take the chance that stopping his song would be, continuing to repeat the chorus until they were all the way across and well on their way from the area in case the creature woke up right away. The band cheered their exit and soon they were far away from the chasm and the stone musicians. "Who knew you were a singer," Andie commented as she walked beside Jareth just a few steps behind the rest of the group.

"Everyone but you," he chuckled, his voice melodic as it was nice and warmed up now. "Do you sing?"

"In the shower," Andie laughed. "Not publicly like you just did."

"Hm, well, now I know where to go to hear you," Jareth remarked with a wink.

"Good luck with that," she snarked back, looking away to hide a faint blush.

"OH, NO!" Hoggle shouted just feet in front of them and before Jareth and Andie could react and stop walking, they'd toppled into the rest of their group. The added weight on the single spot was enough and they all fell down as the floor once again collapsed under them, though this time they were all rolled into a stone tunnel, issuing a variety of shouts and yells until they spilled onto a ledge, all scrambling to hang on to something. Jareth nearly slid off the edge, but Andie and Leona both grabbed him before he fell, hauling him up.

"Should've let him drop," Nyle remarked, his hand over his nose. "He's threatened enough of us with this place!"

"I'll hex you on the spot if you suggest such treason again!" Jareth shouted at him, putting his arm over his nose and mouth once he stood.

"Would you both just—oh, what is that smell?!" Andie asked miserably.

"Smell?" Didymus wondered, vaguely confused by everyone's disgust.

"It's the Bog!" Hoggle wailed. "The Bog of Eternal Stench!"

"SMELL BAD."

Next chapter: Chapter 9, "And Hardships Unnumbered"

#labyrinth #labyrinth fanfiction #labyrinth fanfic #jareth x oc #jareth the goblin king #jareth #slow burn #angst with a happy ending #the labyrinth #romance fanfiction

[adamwatchesmovies]

Palm Springs (2020)

You think the Groundhogs Day model has been fully explored with recent innovators like Happy Death Day but then Palm Springs comes along. This romantic comedy brings a whole new dimension to the concept of infinity. Clever and innovative, funny, romantic, heartfelt, even profound. It’s among the year’s best.

On November 9 in Palm Springs, Sarah (Cristin Milioti) is shocked when Nyles (Andy Samberg) - a complete stranger - gives a touching speech at her sister’s wedding. While everyone celebrates, they connect privately. The next morning, Sarah wakes up. It’s still November 9th. Nyles has been stuck in a time loop. Every morning, he wakes up and it’s November 9th and now, it's happening to Sarah too.

Initially, Palm Springs offers the jokes you’d expect. Nyles has lived this day an innumerable amount of time. He navigates the ceremony like a wizard, expertly predicting everyone’s dance moves and saying the best lines but beneath that exterior is profound boredom. Anything Sarah thinks of, he’s tried before. Now, his days are spent drinking and going through the motions. When he gets a playmate, the same day repeated over and over means infinite possibilities for schemes and pranks - the kind that would be the stuff of legends and it's hilarious.

Woven into the fun is a deep story about lasting love. Try repeating this day over and over: you wake up next to a girlfriend (Meredith Hagner) you know doesn’t love you anymore, getting ready for a wedding that - in your view - isn’t going anywhere. All alone. He’s reached peak cynicism. He so doesn’t care about anything he's not even looking for an escape. Why bother when dying just means starting over?

Everything changes once Sarah is brought into the loop. Nyles isn’t alone anymore. He’s still trapped but there’s a huge difference between eternity, and eternity with someone else. Palm Springs may be about a fictional scenario that could never happen to any of us but just wait a bit. Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti have excellent chemistry. You want them to get together - they’ve literally got infinite time to figure out they’d be the perfect couple… but would they be? Isn't it a matter of time before they get sick of each other? Would they be together if they weren't the only people whose day didn't reset to zero? This is where real-life parallels can be drawn. When you’re in a marriage, you’re in it for the long run. Every morning will be "the same". You'll always wake up married to your spouse. How much of that relationship is maintained by love? How much by comfort of not having to look for someone? That’s a difficult question and the sci-fi premise allows Palm Springs to get to it efficiently, to condense and resolve it in a way no other scenario could.

Palm Springs may have its goofy moments but the jokes are stacked upon real-life questions everyone in a long-term relationship asks themselves. It's deceptively deep when it isn't gut-bustingly funny and whatever you do, don’t miss the mid-credit scene, which wraps it all up perfectly. (April 24, 2021)

#PalmSprings #movies #films #movieReviews #FilmReviews #MaxBarbakow #AndySiara #AndySamberg #CristinMilioti #PeterGallagher #J.K.Simmons #2020movies #2020films

[loopedliability]

“  hey. dude. look alive.  ”    she doesn’t even look at misty as she pushes her way into nyles’s room. she’s lost track of how many times she’s done this. early on she’d tried to keep count but now... now it’s all getting blurrier. still -- finding ways to fuck around with somebody who was, for all intents and purposes, the only other person on earth at least made something out of the monotony. 

ignoring the blonde’s protests, sarah grabs the bottom of the comforter and whips it off the bed.    “  seriously, i’m too sober for 10 am. so move!  ”    she says, yanking one of his bare feet.

                                              @hitundo​​ liked for a starter!

#hitundo #hitundo: nyles #v. ｢ verse • in the loop. ｣ #IDK BUT HI

[kentonramsey]

Andy Samberg’s “Palm Springs” Is My 2020 Time Warp Comfort Food

You could argue that any time is a good time for a delightfully cheesy and genuinely funny rom-com to debut on a streaming service, but the timing of Andy Samberg’s Palm Springs couldn’t be more perfect. The release of this particular movie at this particular time feels like it was part of some kind of cosmic intervention. Palm Springs is about two people who become caught in an infinite time loop while attending a wedding in the middle of the Californian desert. Together, they live the same day over and over and over, with no real means of escape. I may not exactly know the feeling but, also, throw in a virus and swap Palm Springs for the three-mile radius around my apartment and… I know the feeling.

Without giving too much away, Nyles (Andy) and Sarah (Cristin Milioti) do the usual things main characters in a rom-com do, while also navigating their current situation of restarting the same day every time they fall asleep. Sarah is cool, hot, and a bit of a mess without falling into manic-pixie-dream-girl territory. Cristin is also 34 years old, which is something I actually appreciated more than I expected. Andy, my long-time number-one celebrity crush, also looks just as good as ever. As my friend Terri said, he is definitive proof that being unproblematic is good for your skin. (An unrelated side note: I also want to find out exactly who wrote the dialogue for the one Australian character because my god, it was bloody spot on.)

The comfort I found in the rinse-and-repeat repetitiveness of Palm Springs felt shocking similar to the mindless gratification I’ve found in watching back-to-back episodes of Love Island Australia. If you haven’t succumbed to the allure of Love Island yet, the plot of this reality TV show is essentially “group of young hot singles agree to lock themselves in an island villa for weeks, in an attempt to find love and Instagram fame.” Take away the whole young-hot-and-single thing, and the beach-island-paradise thing, and, yet again, you have yourself a scenario that’s felt somewhat akin to the situation quarantined individuals have been feeling since March.

If there’s one thing my TV and movie watching habits during this time have taught me, it’s that watching people live out silly little character arcs, silly little dramas, and silly little love stories without going anywhere feels a whole lot better than watching someone do all the things I currently can’t. So long as I’m stuck inside without the stimulation of new people, places, and things, the comfort of the familiar feels important. When I watch Love Island Australia, it’s the familiarity of the slang and countless stereotypes (tradies get the ladies!). And when I watched Palm Springs I was comforted not only by the anguish Nyles and Sarah felt when they initially discovered their predicament, but also the reminder that there is joy to be found in moments of mundane repetition and that—in rom-coms and in real life—if there’s a way into a bad situation, there’s eventually going to be a way out too.

Images via Everett Collection.

The post Andy Samberg’s “Palm Springs” Is My 2020 Time Warp Comfort Food appeared first on Man Repeller.

Andy Samberg’s “Palm Springs” Is My 2020 Time Warp Comfort Food published first on https://normaltimepiecesshop.tumblr.com/ Andy Samberg’s “Palm Springs” Is My 2020 Time Warp Comfort Food published first on https://mariakistler.tumblr.com/

[ericfruits]

During the pandemic, time-loop films have become irresistibly apposite

Every day the same During the pandemic, time-loop films have become irresistibly apposite

“Palm Springs”, a new romantic comedy, has arrived at the right time

Books, arts and culture Prospero

WHAT IF EVERY day was the same? What if you woke up each morning in the exact same place as you did the day before, and every moment that followed was as painfully predictable as the last? Would anything matter? For the millions of people around the world sheltering in place due to the covid-19 pandemic, stuck in their homes with the same people, these are questions that have become more urgent. They are also the basis for a genre of film that is suddenly more relevant than ever.

“Groundhog Day”, the most famous movie of this kind, features Bill Murray as an egomaniacal weatherman whose cosmic predicament in a small Pennsylvania town is played for laughs. It was a minor hit upon its release in 1993, but it has grown in esteem ever since: in 2017 the film was voted the fourth-best comedy of all time in a BBC poll. The next generation of film-makers has used the same time-loop premise in other ways. “Edge of Tomorrow” (2014) turned it into an action/sci-fi spectacle with a military PR hack (Tom Cruise) using his predicament to evolve from a snivelling coward to a supersoldier who wins a global war against alien invaders. In “Happy Death Day” (2017) a student (Jessica Rothe) experiences the day of her murder over and over again, only escaping the loop when she uncovers the killer.

“Palm Springs”, the latest iteration, has more modest goals. (Though not a modest price tag: Hulu, a streaming service, and Neon, a distributor, paid nearly $22m for it in the biggest deal ever made at the Sundance film festival.) The movie stars Andy Samberg as Nyles, a slacker who, due to mysterious circumstances involving a glowing cave in the desert, is stuck living a pretty terrible day. He is in Palm Springs, a hip desert town outside Los Angeles, for a wedding at which he doesn’t know anyone except his shallow, cheating girlfriend. Many days into his ordeal—but on the first day shown in the film—he befriends the maid of honour, Sarah (Cristin Milioti) and accidentally drags her into his repetitive nightmare.

Inevitably these two people overcome their initial friction—Sarah is understandably miffed at Nyles ruining her life—and fall in love. “Palm Springs” is at its best when the couple are embracing the spontaneity that their situation affords. Other films have ventured down this avenue: “Groundhog Day” featured a memorable sequence in which its protagonist gorges on pastries and convinces a good-looking stranger to go to bed with him. But “Palm Springs” has a more innocent sensibility. For their fun, Nyles and Sarah steal a single-engine plane, and actually get it off the ground, before crashing spectacularly. They stage a prank at the wedding. In the film’s most gleeful sequence, they burst into a dive bar and enact a choreographed dance routine for a group of bewildered boozers. It is infectiously endearing.

Mr Samberg has honed this kind of offbeat humour with his longtime comedy trio, The Lonely Island (the other members, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, are producers of the film). They rose to fame for their zany sketches on “Saturday Night Live” but their first attempt at a feature film, “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping” (2016), failed to find much of an audience at the box office. Absurdist comedy rarely appeals to mainstream viewers, but this film wisely balances the eccentric elements with the conventions of the romantic comedy.

What is surprising is how familiar “Palm Springs” feels even with its supernatural trappings. Mr Samberg and Ms Milioti produce natural and empathetic performances, but both Nyles and Sarah are archetypes. Nyles, a smart alec with a tender heart, is afraid of real commitment, while Sarah’s romantic troubles have made her a black sheep in her family. There is not much character growth. Time-loop films are inherently philosophical, and they work best when they have something new to say about life, relationships or human nature. “Palm Springs” may fail this test, but it is still an enjoyable way to spend a day in purgatory.

“Palm Springs” is available to stream on Hulu from July 10th

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[reviewsbyracine]

I SAW A MOVIE: “Palm Springs”

I am at the point where I will watch anything that involves Andy Samberg. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is one of the few shows that I watch as it airs live, and his mockumentary Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is easily one of the funniest and most quotable movies released recently. When I heard about his new movie Palm Springs being available on Hulu, I waited eagerly for its release date, already sensing that it was something I would enjoy.

Palm Springs stars Samberg as Nyles and Cristin Milioti as Sarah, two lonely individuals who meet at a wedding taking place at a resort in - you guessed it - Palm Springs. Surprising circumstances lead the two to discover they are unable to leave the resort or each others' company. Along the way they meet some fabulous characters, from J.K. Simmons as Roy, a seriously pissed off acquaintance of Nyles's, to Meredith Hanger as Nyles's hilariously squeaky and unfaithful girlfriend Misty.

Saying any more about the plot will ruin the fun of Palm Springs, so forgive me for being vague. Hopefully you will believe me when I tell you that the movie was delightful from beginning to end, kept finding ways to surprise and entertain me, and featured the second best use of Kate Bush's “Cloudbusting” (first best goes to season three of The Handmaid's Tale, hands down). The script by Andy Siara was original and exciting and Max Barbakow's direction gave the movie plenty of energy, clocking the end result at a concise and well-paced ninety minutes. Samberg and Milioti oozed chemistry and both looked like they were having a great time making this movie with each other.

For anyone with a Hulu account, please do not sleep on Palm Springs. Not only is it one of my favorite new movies I've seen this year (a short list, I know), but it's just the delightfully silly and charming movie we need right now.

[jillmckenzie1]

Love, Die, Repeat

Sometimes, the best-case scenario is to be wrong. We all have our blind spots, right? I was wrong about Andy Samberg. Wrong as hell. For a while there, I had him pegged as a second-tier Saturday Night Live alum. I figured his comic persona was just like Jimmy Fallon, where he was all about being cute and non-threatening. He would probably get a talk show or a sitcom, and that would be that.

Turns out Samberg did get a sitcom, the very funny and very sharp Brooklyn Nine-Nine. He’s also part of the comedy troupe The Lonely Island, and he starred in the criminally unappreciated Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. He’s appeared on YouTube, television, film, and he’s made music. You don’t branch out and achieve that level of success by being non-threatening, and for the most part, Samberg has delivered strong work.

Is it possible that all comedians yearn to be taken seriously? Someday, will Samberg star in a drama playing a meth-addict marketing executive who dreams of free-diving to the bottom of the Mariana Trench? I hope not, because despite what the Academy Awards might have us believe, comedy is harder to pull off than drama. Even harder than that is pulling off a comedy with a brain, a soul, and something to say. Andy Samberg’s newest film is Palm Springs, and it checks all of those boxes masterfully.

The wedding day is November 9. On that day, Nyles (Andy Samberg) awakens to the sight of his girlfriend Misty’s (Meredith Hagner) leg. He smiles at her, yet the smile is forced. They try (and fail) to have sex. Misty is preoccupied since she’s a bridesmaid in the wedding of Tala (Camila Mendes) and Abe (Tyler Hoechlin). Nyles is also preoccupied since…well, we’ll get to that.

His preoccupation extends to the wedding itself. So much so that he arrives in shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and clutching a beer. He becomes interested in Sarah (Cristin Milioti). She’s the maid of honor. She’s drunk, unprepared, and is in the beginning stages of botching her wedding speech. Her family views her as a liability, and she likely shares that view to a degree. Can you blame her, considering that her younger sister is so saintly she donated bone marrow to save a life?

Before Sarah can crash and burn, Nyles delivers a seemingly impromptu speech. It’s a hit. She’s interested in him. He’s interested in her, so much so that when he discovers that Misty is enthusiastically cheating on him, he doesn’t seem too bothered by it. The two of them head for the desert for an improvised hookup and a respite from their unsatisfying lives. And then?

The wedding day is November 9. Again. The bad news is that Sarah discovers she’s stuck in a time loop. The worse news is that she discovers Nyles has been stuck in the same loop for a very long time. After having slept with many of the wedding guests and having committed suicide multiple times, Nyles has come to the conclusion that nothing matters and nothing can be changed. Sarah disagrees, and tells him, “I don’t want tomorrow to be today. I want tomorrow to be tomorrow.” What happens from there is unexpected and delightful.

It bears mentioning that this is the debut feature of director Max Barbakow. He’s cut his teeth on a number of shorts, and right out of the gate, he’s made a great-looking feature with more humor and complexity than many made by industry veterans. It speaks to his talent that, in a 90-minute film, he simultaneously never wastes any of the run time while also knowing when to slow down for character moments and when to hit the gas.

Barbakow, along with screenwriter Andy Siara, knows that if you’re going to make a time-loop film that will inevitably be compared to Groundhog Day, you need to stake out your own space. While the former film is ultimately about a guy reaching self-actualization, the script for Palm Springs has a greater focus on how a couple deals with recurring sadness and anxiety. If you’re concerned that you’re in for an existential bummer-fest, don’t be. The time-loop stuff is endlessly fresh and creative, and there are a lot of laughs to be found here. The emotional beats never feel contrived, and I liked how Sarah’s and Nyles’ feelings never get put on hold at the expense of a gag.

For a time-loop movie to work, the majority of your supporting cast needs their roles to be broad enough to be recognizable over and over, while your main characters should be as specific as possible. Cristin Milioti and Andy Samberg take the dull trope of “the hypercompetent woman and the dopey man-child kind of don’t like each other but fall in love in the end anyway,” and effectively turn it on its head. Milioti’s Sarah is, in her way, just as much of a screw-up as Nyles is. She’s intelligent and armors up her insecurities with sarcasm and booze. On the surface, Samberg seems to be playing another version of his Brooklyn Nine-Nine goofball Jake Peralta. Look a little closer, and you’ll see him using that as a cover for deep melancholy. For Nyles, when you’ve been in a time-loop that long and done nearly everything, why care about anything? The chemistry between Samberg and Milioti is excellent, and they’re both playing smart and complicated characters slowly learning that they’re right for each other. Also, it would be churlish of me to spoil the role the mighty J.K. Simmons plays, but allow me to mention that the guy he seems to be playing when we first meet him is very different from the guy he is in the last scene.

Andy Samberg? I owe you an apology, dog. Funny, sad, and achingly romantic, Palm Springs is perhaps the perfect film to watch in a time where time has no meaning and when one day blurs into the next. I know it’s a little weird to say this, considering movie theaters shut down in March, but I’m thinking Palm Springs might be the best film of the year. If it isn’t, and there are better films on the back end of 2020, then I’ll feel weirdly blessed.

  *Though the captain of the Titanic also thought he had reasonably good judgment.

from Blog https://ondenver.com/love-die-repeat/

[chicagoindiecritics]

New from Al and Linda Lerner on Movies and Shakers: Palm Springs

Never thought we’d be trapped in a time loop like Andy Samberg’s character when when this prescient, fun film premiered at Sundance.

Harold Ramis’ work in 1993 certainly stands the test of time and still holds it’s place against other attempts at using the time loop device. A couple of examples include action films like Tom Cruise’s Edge of Tomorrow (2014)  or Source Code (2011) and even a slasher flick, Happy Death Day (2017).

The inevitable comparison to Groundhog Day is apt, but Director Max Barbakow gives a darker edge to Samberg’s nihilist, slacker. He’s the forlorn Plus 1 of his incredibly dense girlfriend and bridesmaid, Misty (Meredith Hagner) at a posh wedding in, yep, Palm Springs.

In this iteration Barbakow and writer Andy Siara start with Nyles already stuck living the hated wedding day. As opposed to Groundhog Day’s Phil (Bill Murray), no amount of good deeds, hook-ups or alcohol can get this day off repeat. And he’s tried them all. He’s neither in heaven or hell, just at an eternal so-so party. Where Bill Murray didn’t give in and kept looking for a way out, Andy Samber gives himself over to the loop and finds a degree of comfort in never having to worry about a job, or money, or relationships.

At the outset, only one other person is aware of Nyles’ plight and that’s the outrageous Roy (J.K. Simmons) who is also stuck and blames Nyles. Roy turns up regularly to murder him, usually with a bow and arrow, but Nyles never succumbs. He just wakes up in the same hotel bed having to begin the day all over again.

Until Sarah. Sarah (Cristin Milioti – The Wolf of Wall Street) is the sister of the bride and maid-of-honor. Weird Nyles has captured her attention. She’s curious and follows him as he walks into a mysterious, glowing cave. In spite of his warnings, she gets zapped by whatever is going on in there and gets stuck in the same time loop. The cave device is one aspect of the script that feels a bit too convenient. 

Cristin Milioti turns in a winning performance, alternately both over-the-top and thoughtful. Her weary, wide eyes tell so much about what’s boiling underneath. As the black sheep of the family, she already has a connection to Nyles. Both have dark attitudes and an over-reliance on booze. Taking her under his wing, Nyles and Sarah team up and he schools her that “Your best bet is just to learn how to suffer existence.” In their case, suffering existence means to just give in to what’s inevitable by going rogue. 

They create a never-ending party together, doing anything and everything they ever wanted, no matter how crazy or how it affects others. They speed down highways, steal airplanes, take over a family’s house and pool, even invade dive bars to show off their dance moves and always with a beer in hand. There are a few reveals that wreak more family havoc which, because of the time loop, they can’t escape. 

Barbakow and Milioti allow her character to percolate and bloom into the kind of caring person Sarah always wanted to be. With the help of Samberg, Milioti as Sarah, is able to acknowledge love and still be able to let go. This creates a moment that is full of sweet pathos that lifts this movie beyond a simple rom-com with sci-fi overtones. For all of us who feel a kinship with this couple living their days over and over again, Palm Springs might be a good one to see over again, too.

Hulu                      87 Minutes              R

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