#we love simu liu

[mxrisacoulter]

Barbie (2023) // Supernatural (2005-2020) 8x05 - "Blood Brother"

#mine* #barbie #margot robbie #ryan gosling #simu liu #supernatural #jensen ackles #dean winchester #castiel #misha collins #benny lafitte #ty olsson #ngl this is my magnum opus as a gif maker #i love cinematic parallels and im so glad im able to contribute to the art form in this small insignificant way #usersource #useroptional #filmtvdaily #i think i got the subtitle colours the wrong way round actually cause ken is much more cas coded but here we are #as always any typos/grammatical errors i simply do not wish to know <3

[favroitecrime]

some of these barbie people are fake fans!!! ken is barbie’s and barbie’s only his life is dedicated to HER. he’s obsessed with HER. he would DIE a thousand PAINFUL deaths just for her to get a pair of shoes she likes!!! what do you mean you think he’s a villain or a manipulator?? i’ll kill you.

#tag: i speakth #ken is devoted to barbie don’t piss me off #now simu liu’s garbage ken self #he fuckinng sucks but we all knew that immediately #that’s a bad vibes man the trailer basically told us #and you think ruan gosling’s ken is the manipulator #KEN LOVES AND SUPPORTS AND GIVES HIS LIFE TO BARBIE

[fullyerecteggplant]

the most unrealistic thing about the barbie movie to me is just how many kens there were in barbieland. no one had that many kens. if there are 100 barbies in barbieland we should be looking at like 5 kens max. of course i love the spectacle of dozens of kens beaching each other off but really that whole scene probably should have just been a ryan gosling and simu liu angrily scissoring

#barbie #barbie spoilers

[reveluving]

i can only see you ; ken x reader

warnings: fluffy fluff (ken just loves your hugs & kisses!)

a/n: WHERE THE SIMU!KEN FICS AT DAYUM (ok but you can actually read this as Ryan!Ken too!)

» fancy reading something new? check out my full m.list!

Ken loves your hugs. Like, if hugs were illegal, he'd probably face 32 years in prison for just how much he adores embracing you, and he'd do it again, no regrets, no questions asked.

He especially loves it if you're just passing by while doing your own thing, only to wrap your arms around him while he's sitting down. He'd rest his head on your tummy or chest, looking up at you as though you hung the moon.

The moment only gets sweeter if it's a rainy day; just the sounds of rain pitter-patter against the windows and the neon lights of the busy road coming through it. Not that he'd ever decline your affection on any other days, but the gloomy showers that he's not exactly used to since coming to the real world only makes your presence, let alone hugs and kisses so much more meaningful.

The best part is getting to hear you giggle whenever he nuzzles your tummy. He won't let go, not even if you try to take a step back—imagine a comical imagery with his ass remaining seated while he stretches his body because letting you go is not an option.

You'd cradle his jaw, stroking the apple of his cheeks with your thumbs before giving him a kiss the tip of his nose, then one on his left cheek, then another on the right, another one on his forehead. Ending each peck with a loud smooch!

Just kisses after kisses, not leaving a single part of his handsome face untouched.

By the time you're done, he has this dreamy look on his face. Blinking slowly with a stupid smile on his face. The embodiment of kicking his feet in the air, like that one GIF.

"What was that for?" He'd asked, huffing a little laugh like a man who had a drop too much.

"Nothing," You'd shrug, grinning, "Just felt like kissing you."

Bonus if you have lipstick on! Doesn't matter what the colour is or if they're sheer, creamy or glossy. Ooh, he just wears them like a medal!

Expect to be paid the same way, but in a more romantic way possible. He'd dip you, sway with you to a soft/city-pop or lofi-ish song, or kiss along your arms before locking his lips with yours.

Being hugged and kissed by you is one thing, but being called 'handsome' as his default petname is just the most delicious buttercream icing on the cake! Like, he could just he vibing and suddenly, you'd come up behind him to peck on his temple before asking, "What're you doing, handsome?"

And he'd melt. Oh my God, he'll just sag in your hold, and once you pull away, he'll chase after your lips with his own readily puckered up.

Impressing you everyday is the key to life, or so he says. Doesn't matter if it's a backflip, serenading, perfecting a recipe of yours or even just surviving the day, he'd do it all, because he has you by his side. Your cuddles and/or kisses of appreciation is the best kind of payment of them all.

And no matter how much confidence he exudes, he can only hope his love is just as meaningful to you as yours does him.

˚ · . f i n . · ˚

P.S. In need of some Simu!Ken thoughts PLS DON'T LET MY INBOX GO DRY SEND SOFT THOTS. I REPEAT. WE NEED MORE OF MR KEN LIU 🗣🔊🔊❗

#— reve's reverie 🌹 #ken x reader #ken x fem reader #ken x you #just ken #ken headcanon #ken fluff #simu liu!ken #simu liu!ken x reader #simu liu #simu liu ken x reader #ryan gosling #ryan gosling!ken #ryan gosling!ken x reader #barbie #greta gerwig

[theallanfanpage]

So we have all heard of the interview where Michael Cera says that Allan loves ken. My question is which one tho. Or is Allan born with an innate crush on all kens. So i ask you…

#barbie #allan #barbie allan #barbie 2023 #allan barbie #barbie movie #barbie spoilers #barbie movie allan #barbie alan #the barbie movie

[luna-rainbow]

I was looking at some information on Captain America 4 because it sounds like they are doing an entire reshoot. I saw a preview for Sam's new suit for the movie. What are your thoughts on this? Because it feels like he barely wore the one that he got to wear in TFATWS. And that one was given to him by Wakanda and made from Vibranium. How can this new suit be preferable to that one? And I guess its now not a big deal that he got a suit from Wakanda?

Thanks for the ask!

The change of suit happened with Wanda as well when she went from TV to movie so I guess it happens with major budget upgrades. It does suck that vital character development points get undermined but, hey, this is the MCU we’re talking about.

As far as the new suit goes, I quite like it! I like that navy shade, the lines look more dynamic and I think overall the design is much more complimentary to Mackie’s body shape. Maybe they can say vibranium can change the suit’s paint job — after all, didn’t T’Challa’s suit hide in his beads? Surely changing the colours isn’t a big deal in a world like that 😂

I think the issues with the show were pretty evident as soon as it ended. The criticism about the “do better” speech was always there. There is a group of very vocal people who have a vested (ship war) interest in defending that show. From what I’ve seen, a good number of them are well aware of the flaws of the show (and have many of the exact same talking points) but if you are not one of them, you’re not allowed to talk about it. I don’t think these people have changed their stance on CA4 — in the sense that they were always concerned about Spellman bungling it, and they always disliked how little care was put into promoting Sam’s story, but god forbid if you’re not in their ship and talked about it. So in a way, I don't think the show isn't "ageing well"...because I think most people really haven't changed their original opinions. I'm sure there are some people out there who previously loved the show and now changed their mind because of Sabra, but I haven't seen a lot of comment from that corner on Tumblr at least...

I do think it’s ironic that CA4 is now being accused of Zionist agenda when the first criticism that came out was its anti-Semitic working title (New World Order). I have no idea what politics it will push — if any, because let’s face it, the main problem with TFATWS isn’t its centrism, it’s the lack of commitment to any ideology and its protagonist-centric morality — but what this whole saga tells me is that the publicity team for CA4 is either incompetent or woefully understaffed. I don’t think I’ve heard anyone come out to try and salvage the publicity debacles. The optics of Sabra is going to be very tricky given the current climate, and I don’t see Spellman being a writer who can handle the subtlety (or bravery?) to make her work.

I remember Simu Liu allegedly said to Marvel execs that "we (POC) are not an experiment" -- but honestly, this is what CA4 is feeling like. Sam the Black Cap is experimental and they're cutting corners on many parts of this production. They don't care that he fails - so they are setting him up to fail, which would then justify them pulling the plug early so they can go back to investing in safe favourites.

#tfatws critical #asks

[salmonskinrolltf]

Story Index

Original Stories

Anniversary Present Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 - a squabbling gay couple fall under the thrall of a time-traveling watch Ben Gay Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 - frat boys in a snowed-in cabin discover a mysterious ointment that makes any body part irresistibly ache for the touch of male flesh The Breeder Curse Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 - gay men are cursed to become were-straights Don't Read This! - a Tumblr curse turns a straight man into the last celebrity saved on his phone The Grind - While working from home, Todd finds himself drawn to the sounds of the skaters in the alley Grindr Roulette - A gay couple selects random Tribes for their profiles on Grindr to create a transformative hookup Happy Hour - A preppy couple celebrating their anniversary is annoyed by the partying frat bros at the bar Indian and in Love - Kyle becomes the perfect partner for his stoner friend Jack's New Roommate Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 - Jack's slobby roommate is improved upon Like a Light Switch - Charlie Puth becomes more like the slobby, lazy straight man he should be Nerdflix Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 - an athlete and his nerdy roommate swap lifestyles Shower Scene - Scream 2022's Wes Hicks is offered an unusual way to escape Ghostface Soulmates - Two boyfriends try to make each other perfect, one by changing the past and one by changing the future Soulmates 2 - Two roommates use the same method to try and make each other perfect Third - a couple has a threesome for their tenth anniversary, but which two of the three is the real couple?

Original Shorts

The Comments Section - a young man has a hairy experience on OnlyFans Heat Conservation - a magic beanie changes a young man's life Roll the Die Shorts - readers requested transformations and rolled the die. Roll a 6? Get exactly what you want. Roll a 1? Get the opposite. Everything in between? Well, we'll see.

Office DILF | Athletic Cuban | Couch Potato | Hairy Beanpole | Future Daddy | Tom Holland | David Ayer | More Size | Simu Liu | Korean Star | College Wrestler | Playboy | Indian Construction Worker | Needy Bear | Surfer | Himbo Bad Boy | Massive | College Nerd | Wrong Target | Swagger

Be Kind Rewind Shorts - New Roll the Die stories where readers get pulled into a movie/TV universe of their choice

Glee | Wolverine

Commissioned Stories

The American Way - a gay Frenchman becomes a conservative American El Bailarin - a gay ballet dancer discovers a passion for Latin dance and machismo Con-fidence - an office worker wishes to be more intimidating and gets exactly what he asks for Joining the Team Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 - an athletic training student ends up with baseball skills (and a fetish for facial hair) Light a Candle - a young man who fantasizes about swapping with a middle-aged daddy should be careful what he wishes for Magic Mustache Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 - a high school graduate buys a fake mustache to look older before college, and it might work too well Sir - an alpha jock applying for a job gets an unexpected offer that he can't refuse Under Construction - a smart college grad can't get a job at a tech company, but the construction department might have an opening Walk a Mile - a xenophobic Russian gets what's coming to him

[re-bee-key]

I think what truely gets me about Chris Pratt being Mario isnt that he sounds like "some guy" or isnt doing the Mario voice. Mario has been voiced different ways before. No, its that he sounds like he doesnt care. He sounds so bored and done and put upon.

And like, Mario is one of the most popular and beloved characters of ALL TIME. There are so many people who would do anything to voice Mario. That would put their whole heart and soul to make sure Mario is the best he can be.

But no. We get Chris. Who cant even be bothered to sound enthused about the first trailer. Who cant even remember GOOMBAS! The first and most recurring enemy in the whole franchise!

I guess for me, some roles should only be given to people who really care about the character they are going to be playing.

We need people like David Tennant playing the Doctor. Simu Liu as Shang-Chi. Ian McKellen as Gandalf.

People who loved the characters and put their whole soul into making these famous characters come to life and know the privilege they have to be the one portraying the characters they are playing.

We deserved that in Mario. He is THE most famous video game character of all time. He rivals Mickey Mouse as industry mascots. And to see every other character in the trailer have strong personality and energy in their voices and even the other language Marios giving strong performances. Only for Chris to give the lowest energy trailer intro and then few lines Ive ever seen? Its like a betrayal.

Anyways, this all may seem very dramatic. And yeah. It is. Like, Im gonna enjoy the movie. Heck, i might not even mind Chris as Mario while Im watching the movie. Its just on principle I guess. That such a beloved character should be voiced by someone who actually loves him and not just forced to play.

#super mario #mario #long rant #long post #sorry guys for all the posts lately #i just have so many feelings about the movie

[twittercomfrnklin2001-blog]

Barbie

Greta Gerwig’s BARBIE (2023, Max) is an anomaly. It’s a film created to help market a toy, but it also has a solid basis in feminism and performance theory. Gerwig’s approach flirts with subversion, and if it never quite goes all the way, it’s an enjoyable ride with some lovely buoyant moments. It opens with a funny send-up of 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) featuring little girls in a desert landscape destroying their baby dolls after the appearance of a giant Barbie in their midst. We then move to Barbieland, where the Barbies and Kens live along with some discontinued models like Midge, Allen and Magic Earring Ken. Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) starts worrying about death and develops cellulite, which suggests a negative influence from someone playing with her in the real world. So she travels there with her boyfriend, Beach Ken (Ryan Gosling, who’s very funny). There each starts a journey of discovery.

Gerwig and co-writer Noah Baumbach throw in a lot of good, silly stuff and envision the collision of toy and real world very thoroughly. As a director, Gerwig works well with a large ensemble cast including Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Michael Cera, Will Ferrell and a surprisingly beatific Rhea Pearlman. But there are also places where it feels like we have to pay for the silliness. When Barbie and Ken return to Barbieland, the action drags a bit, and there’s a scene in which the two discuss identity that borders on the preachy. There’s also a chase scene with some evil executives that could be better staged. It feels almost perfunctory and lacks the balletic wonder of Chaplin, Keaton or Preston Sturges. And after setting the film up as a musical, Gerwig and Baumbach make us wait an awfully long time between numbers. But things perk up a lot when America Ferrera, who’s quite wonderful, delivers “the monologue,” which, for all its political points she wisely plays spontaneously. It’s less a lecture than her own moment of discovery. And the staging and performance of “I’m Just Ken” and the montage under “What Was I Made For” are spot on.

I don’t know whether it was somebody’s comment on the invisibility of women or a rebellion against the film’s feminist message, but whoever did the closed captions for Max refers to Ferrara throughout not by her character’s name, Gloria, but as “Sasha’s mother.”

#barbie #margot robbie #ryan gosling #greta gerwig #noah baumbach #issa rae #kate mckinnon #simu liu #ncuti gatwa #michael cera #will ferrell #america ferrara

[silveragelovechild]

What about Midge?

Margot Robbie’s “Barbie” movie has become a cultural phenomenon. It’s projected to make between $75 million and a whopping $140 million on it first weekend.

But is it good? I don’t think any movie can live up to the hype that has been generated. I thought it was interesting and odd.

Warner Brothers has released so many clip from the movie that the first third involves connecting all the dots of Barbie’s bubble gum pink world.

The second third is your classic fish out of water story - Barbie’s rude awakening that women (and girls) are not empowered in the real world. But more importantly, it sets up the villain of the last third of the movie - Ken as the villain.

Until now Ken has been treated as an “also ran”. Barbie barely acknowledges him despite his professions of love. So when he sees men control the power structure of the real world - he brings that back to BarbieLand.

This section of the movie is very existential with Barbie trying to understand her place in the world. There’s lots of talking about empowerment.

What I thought was odd, was how easily and quickly the Barbies of BarbieLand turned over their power to the Kens. Is there an underlying message?

The movie is fun and bright (and has a terrific dance number by the Kens) and it’s also thought provoking. BUT little girls (and boys) who actually play with Barbie Dolls won’t have a clue about what’s going on. And their mother’s might be shocked when Barbie proclaims, “I don’t have a vagina.”

Margot Robbie is great, both as Stereotypical Barbie and as Dazed and Confused Barbie. Ryan Gosling is terrific as Ken and he really committed to the role. Can an actor win an Oscar for portraying a plastic doll?

I also enjoyed Simu Liu as Ken’s rival Ken#2. I think it will be a long time before we see the sequel to Marvel’s Shang-Chi so it was nice that he had screen time.

With all the talk about empowerment and discovering who you really are, I was surprised the movie shamed Teenage Pregnancy. Mattel created Midge in 1963. She was supposed to be Barbie’s best friend. They gave her a boyfriend too - Allan, played by Michael Cera. In 1988 Mattel released a pregnant Midge (with a small baby doll in her belly). It created a bit of a controversy and the line (and Midge) was discontinued.

In the film, Pregnant Midge appears a few times - but always in the periphery of the scene, and when someone notices her, they proclaim, “I thought we cancelled her!”

In the 21st Century I thought we had grown beyond shaming Pregnant Teenaged Girls.

By the way, it was fun seeing cameos by 1993’s Gay Ken (check out his necklace). And 2009’s Sugar Daddy Ken (He has a dog named Sugar, and he’s the dog’s “daddy”.)

NOTE: The entire subplot involving Will Ferrell was pointless and unnecessary.

#Margot Robbie #Ryan gosling #gay Ken #sugar daddy Ken #simu liu #shaming teen aged pregnant girls #existential #empowerment #Barbie movie review #barbieland

[denimbex1986]

'In one corner, veteran heavyweight Christopher Nolan. In the other, nimble visionary Greta Gerwig. Their big films come out on the same day – but whose will triumph at the box office?

We live in divisive times. Opinion is more tribal and entrenched than ever, the value of reasoned argument and willing compromise plummeting by the day. This volatility could spread to the multiplex next month, where a battle of the blockbusters is destined to make previous cinematic standoffs – Mothra v Godzilla, Alien v Predator, Kramer vs Kramer – look like games of playground pat-a-cake. Get ready, then, for Barbie v Oppenheimer.

Directed by celebrated auteurs (Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan respectively), and hyped by multiple trailers over the past year, both movies are scheduled to open on the same crowded day. Forget your QR codes: this is one time to buy a physical ticket and save the stub to show your grandchildren. Future generations will want to know where you stood on 21 July 2023 when Barbie met the bomb.

In the pink corner is Gerwig’s DayGlo toy story starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken, who while away their days happily but vacuously in Barbie-land. In a plot apparently borrowed from Enchanted and The Purple Rose of Cairo, with a dash of Don’t Worry Darling, they swap their cosseted fairytale existence for our harsh modern world. (The trailer shows Barbie having her police mugshot taken after walloping a Venice Beach groper in the face.) The cast incorporates hot young things Issa Rae, Simu Liu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Jamie Demetriou and, most excitingly, the new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, as well as old hands Michael Cera, Kate McKinnon and Will Ferrell; Helen Mirren is on narrating duties.

The 39-year-old Gerwig is arguably as big a selling point as Robbie or Gosling, as well as a guarantor of quality control. The three-time Oscar nominee directed Lady Bird and Little Women, as well as co-directing with Joe Swanberg the long-distance love story Nights and Weekends, back in the days when she was the doyenne of the lo-fi indie “mumblecore” movement. Her co-writer on Barbie is her partner, the director Noah Baumbach, with whom she wrote gems such as Frances Ha and Mistress America. Back in 2010 when she was promoting Greenberg, the bittersweet Baumbach comedy which became her Hollywood springboard, she spoke of her childhood habit of jumbling up the letters in her name: “In second grade, I’d be writing ‘Great Gerwig, Great Gerwig’ on everything,” she said. These days, it’s more than just an anagram.

Her opponent is the 52-year-old Nolan, a five-time Oscar nominee who has heft on his side. His is the weightier directing CV (12 films), with Oppenheimer his longest yet: he recently confirmed that it is “kissing three hours”, which makes it more than an hour longer than Barbie. This is serious, spectacular event cinema, shot with Imax cameras and booked long ago into all that format’s venues – to the apparent chagrin of Tom Cruise, whose latest Mission: Impossible adventure opens a week earlier but will be relegated to smaller screens the instant Oppenheimer drops.

Nolan’s cast is every bit as impressive as Gerwig’s; as well as the perpetually haunted Cillian Murphy as the physicist Robert J Oppenheimer, father of the atomic bomb, Nolan has assembled Florence Pugh, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Robert Downey Jr, Gary Oldman and Kenneth Branagh. The chances of any of them rollerblading à la Gosling in Barbie are negligible, which may help explain why Gerwig’s film is on track to have the more impressive opening weekend. Not that Oppenheimer will exactly bomb.

Barbie also has the edge when it comes to marketing opportunities, as might be expected of any movie adapted from merchandise. This goes way beyond the valley of the dolls: among the many tie-in products is an inflatable Barbie pool-float golf-cart, a Barbie dog’s basket, and an electric toothbrush capable of 36,000 sonic vibrations a minute – the same effect you get from watching Oppenheimer in Imax.

Unlike Barbie, Nolan’s film probably doesn’t have its own Exclusive Oral Beauty Partner, though given his protagonist’s chain-smoking tendencies there may be a teeth-whitening deal in the offing. And we shouldn’t rule out Oppenheimer throwing its hat in the ring when it comes to headgear. As far back as 2010, one plaintive user on thefedoralounge.com was searching “for a lid like the one the famous nuclear physicist wore,” citing a “2½-inch snap brim and a very thin ribbon” and concluding that “such a hat would be positively atomic”. Factor in the Cillian Murphy effect – this is the man who helped popularise the Peaky Blinders newsboy cap/undercut combo – and the Oppenheimer fedora and brown wool coat could be the look to replace Barbie’s summery pink once the nippier months roll around.

Some mild shade has already been thrown between the film’s respective camps on social media. “Greta Gerwig could do Oppenheimer but Christopher Nolan couldn’t do Barbie,” observed one tweet. Another overreached by proposing that “Margot Robbie could do Oppenheimer but Cillian Murphy couldn’t do Barbie” – clearly the work of someone who has never seen him in Breakfast on Pluto or Peacock. But the encouraging thing about the Barbie v Oppenheimer discourse is that, by and large, it has not followed the contours that often prevail in our online interactions. For anyone who loves cinema, the vibe feels closer to a cuddle than a cage fight.

There is real genius in this tactic of opening films catering for different audiences on the same day (known as counter-programming). The canny part is not what separates Nolan and Gerwig but what unites them: despite a clear contrast of style and sensibility, both directors possess a comparable skill, intelligence and passion, and tend to inspire loyalty in their fans. This same situation could never have arisen had Oppenheimer been pitted against, say, The Super Mario Bros Movie. Though that film is a smash, having grossed more than $1bn worldwide to date, it has nothing in it to propel cultural conversation along with profits.

Opening two films together that share similar DNA would also produce less of a spark. The experience of going to an afternoon screening of Ghostbusters on opening day in December 1984, then coming out and going straight back in to see Gremlins at teatime, was thrilling for my friends and me as 13-year-olds (especially as Gremlins was rated 15), but it was a routine sort of double bill on reflection: both were comedies that trafficked in the scary or supernatural.

What makes the combination of Barbie and Oppenheimer sing is that it is unlikely but not nonsensical. And though the films’ subjects are markedly different, there will be some overlap between their audiences. The major Rorschach test of our era, one Twitter user has suggested, will be whether you follow Oppenheimer with Barbie or vice versa. It’s no longer the case of “either/or” that it first appeared to be but rather “which one first?”. The Picturehouse chain is even extending the double bill idea by screening a selection of both directors’ past work in the coming weeks; audiences can see Lady Bird take flight alongside Interstellar, or pair Little Women and Dunkirk in a double bill of wartime stories, albeit from different wars.

Contrary to the way the rivalry was initially framed, this is no replay of the hostile Blur v Oasis Britpop war of the mid-1990s. Even the formulation of Barbie v Oppenheimer misrepresents the tenor of this unusual pairing: shouldn’t it be the more harmonious Barbie x Oppenheimer, in the style of today’s brand collaborations? Whichever film prevails financially, the result will be less meaningful to audiences than what these movies represent in a post-pandemic landscape that has seen famished exhibitors begging for new product.

Next month’s clash only came about in the first place because of Nolan’s commitment to cinemas over streaming. He would likely have set up Oppenheimer at his usual home, Warner Bros, had that studio not instigated a policy in 2021 (no longer in force today) of releasing its films simultaneously in cinemas and on HBO Max, in response to uncertainty during the pandemic. (Nolan, remember, had ruled out a streaming release for his previous film, Tenet, back in 2020 when cinema exhibition was at its most precarious.) Warner Bros still hopes to woo him back. Barbie is a Warners film, and if the studio had been distributing both pictures, they would never have let them go out on the same day. But Nolan took Oppenheimer to Universal – hence the scheduling pile-up.

No matter. The impact of Covid and the streaming revolution have been bruising, even in some cases annihilating, to parts of the industry. But contrary to the tagline from Alien Vs Predator – “Whoever wins … we lose” – the outcome of Barbie opening in lockstep with Oppenheimer can only be positive. Whichever one triumphs, cinema rules.'

#Oppenheimer #Christopher Nolan #Cillian Murphy #Barbie #Greta Gerwig #Margot Robbie #Tenet #Dunkirk #Ryan Gosling #Emily Blunt #Rami Malek #Matt Damon #Lady Bird #Peaky Blinders #Little Women

[waitinqroom]

my 2023 reads 💌

(this year i’ve decided to include individual poems, articles, short stories, and more!)

mad girl’s love song by sylvia plath (1/02)

red by ted hughes (1/02)

the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe by cs lewis (1/01-1/03)

someday i’ll love ocean vuong by ocean vuong (1/04)

you think it, i’ll say it by curtis sittenfeld (1/01-1/04)

no exit by taylor adams (1/04-1/08)

the drinking water crisis on tribal lands and how the federal government is finally stepping up by marianne goodland (1/09)

the unfinished business of flint’s water crisis by anna clark (1/09)

do not go gentle into that good night by dylan thomas (1/09)

susan sontag on writing by maria popova (1/15)

dark they were, and golden eyed by ray bradbury (1/16)

we were dreamers by simu liu (1/08-1/19)

on photography by susan sontag (1/15-2/03)

diversity vs. fairness by david leonhardt (2/15)

an act of love by tommye blount (2/15)

the horse and his boy by cs lewis (2/11-2/15)

dept. of speculation by jenny offill (2/13-2/18)

sonnets to orpheus by rainer maria rilke (2/20-2/22)

prince caspian by cs lewis (2/18-2/22)

the summer i turned pretty by jenny han (2/26-3/02)

it’s not summer without you by jenny han (3/02-3/04)

we’ll always have summer by jenny han (3/04)

a history of performance (edition: hamlet) by david bevington (3/04)

hamlet by william shakespeare (1/31-3/23)

1984 by george orwell (1/29-3/28)

gone girl by gillian flynn (4/03-4/07)

the joy luck club by amy tan (5/06-6/04)

alexander hamilton by ron chernow (5/14-6/14)

letters to a young poet by rainer maria rilke (6/30)

animal farm by george orwell (6/30-7/02)

the bell jar by sylvia plath (7/02-7/15)

twelfth night by william shakespeare (7/16-7/30)

sappho: a new translation by sappho, translated by mary barnard (8/21)

the scarlet ibis by james hurst (8/22)

marigolds by eugenia collier (8/23)

the monkey’s paw by w.w. jacobs (8/23)

the open boat by stephen crane (8/24)

korean through english by sang-oak lee (2/20-8/24)

the lady or the tiger? by frank r. stockton (8/26)

the minister's black veil by nathaniel hawthorne (8/29)

an occurrence at owl creek bridge by ambrose bierce (8/29)

korean social emotions: han (한 恨), heung (흥 興), and jeong (정 情) by iljoon park (8/30)

the cask of amontillado by edgar allan poe (8/30)

the yellow wallpaper by charlotte perkins gilman (8/30)

beautiful world, where are you by sally rooney (7/02-8/30)

daisy jones & the six by taylor jenkins reid (8/30-9/3)

the chalice of the gods by rick riordan (10/08-10/12)

the beatrice letters by lemony snicket (10/14) - reread

yellowface by rf kuang (11/03)

diper overlode by jeff kinney (11/03-11/05)

#!!! #reading #2023 #eeeek

[tom-whore-dleston]

As my bday month comes to a close, it is safe to say I had an amazing birthday month being blessed with all the amazing writers in my life, along with the equally amazing fics they wrote. These writers put so much heart and soul into these pieces, they deserve as much love as they put into their works. We thank you for your contribution to the fandom 😘

Some of these works are 18+ only so please be respectful of their warnings and boundaries!

Make sure to reblog and comment on these amazing fics! Your feedback and responses are what motivate them to continue writing such beautiful works 💖💖💖

Fictional Hotties

Xu Shang-Chi/Shangqi

Tantalize by @ussgallifrey

Steven Grant/Marc Spector

Desirous & Condemnation in Disguise by @inklore

Peas Outside the Pod & Chicken and Waffles by @blackbat05

Taste... & The Edge of Oblivion & Put You to Sleep by @wint3r-h3art

Loki Laufeyson

Your Grace by @give-me-a-moose

Poe Dameron

Are You Busy? By @stellarstarwarsimagines

Stephen Strange

Red Wine & Cigarettes by @burnthoneymint

Please Doctor by @/wint3r-h3art

Real Life Hotties

Simu Liu

Happy Birthday & Karaoke by @tonystarksfavoritedaughter

Strip Poker with Simu by @/wint3r-h3art

“Do you want to go for a drive and listen to Taylor Swift?” “Well for starters, I’m in love with you.” by @togrowoldinv

Tom Holland

Coffee Stains by @little-diable

dividers by @firefly-graphics

#fave fics #fic recs #shang chi x reader #shangqi x reader #steven grant x reader #marc spector x reader #loki laufeyson x reader #poe dameron x reader #stephen strange x reader #simu liu x reader #tom holland x reader

[pinkacadessays]

A Condensed Essay on Ken and the Dream Gap

As some of you were interested, I decided to edit the notes for the Ken section of my lecture into an essay unto itself. I considered giving you the whole transcript, but I have decided to put that energy into a wider array of projects instead of just one. I hope you enjoy!

Ken and the Dream Gap

The Barbie Movie is a materpiece that manages to balance the pastel pink psychological horror of Stereotypical Barbie’s journey into existentialism with Beach Ken’s Greased Lightnin’ Kenergy, and equally Ken’s destress from his journey from radicalisation to self-acceptance and Barbie’s fun, energetic adventure with her new friends.

The key conflict of the Barbie movie stems from how Ken feels upon discovering patriarchy after being subject exclusively to matriarchy for his entire existence.

If Barbie is Everything, where does that leave Ken? Well, according to Ryan Gosling, Ken is face down in the mud next to a squished lemon, which is where he found his daughters’ Ken doll. Every day is a good day for Barbie, but Ken only has a good day if Barbie looks at him. Luckily for Ken, Barbie is inclined towards looking at him, but it sets up Ken’s position from early on. Ken is just Ken. He means about as much to Barbie, and every Ken means about as much to every Barbie, as their purses or their shoes because Ken is an accessory. Jokes have been made about how his legal name is “and Ken,” because he only exists if he’s with Barbie. Barbie admits having no idea where Ken- and the Kens in general- live.

When Ken gets to the Real World and discovers the Patriarchy, he is seeing for the first time a world in which he can see people who look like him in the positions usually held by people who look like Barbie. Ken represents something greater than he would ever think he could in this movie: the Dream Gap.

The Kens

Beach Ken is not the only Ken, and we have to address the Kens because of how the hierarchy of Barbieland is revealed through them.

Simu Liu’s Ken exists as a rival to an accesory, so where does that put him in the hierarchy? Ryan Gosling’s Ken’s job is “beach,” which doesn’t mean much, but he does have something he’s good at. Simu Liu’s Ken is Ryan Gosling’s Ken’s rival for Stereotypical Barbie’s affections, but what is he aside from that? And what of the other Kens? Do they have jobs? One of them is a lifeguard at a plastic beach that it’s impossible to drown in, and is inhabited by merfolk. They exist to be looked at and admired, but Barbie admits to not being in love with her Ken.

If every night is girls’ night, do the Kens have the autonomy to have Boys’ night?

The feminism of the Barbie movie is pretty obvious from the earliest introduction of Barbieland: there’s a woman as president with a team of women behind her, and that’s just one of the positions from a female-dominated world. The feminism is intersectional too with one Barbie with a golden prosthetic to match her golden accesories, and a Barbie in a perfect pink wheelchair. Hari Nef, a trans woman, plays Doctor Barbie, and the Barbies come from a number of races and ethnicities, as well as body types. The Kens are also equally diverse in appearance.

But the point is that the feminism is imperfect, because just as there are issues with gender equality in the real world, the highest ranking Ken seems to be Lifeguard Ken.

Is it any wonder that they fall so quickly victim to the patriarchal mindset, seeing what it could represent for them?

The Dream Gap

The key conflict of the Barbie movie involves the Barbies taking Barbieland back before the Kens can complete their coup d’etat. What spurns Beach Ken towards the coup in the first place is his discovery of the patriarchy within the Real World, a place in which he sees men- like him- in positions of power, something that he recognises as different and unusual compared to Barbieland.

This is not Ken trying to create the toxicity of patriarchy; as made clear by his belief that horses are such a big part of patriarchy, he doesn’t fully understand it and just wants the same level of respect that he perceives the men of the real world to have, and that the women of Barbieland have.

Ken has never before seen a man in any of these positions. His job is to stand on the beach and look pretty. Ken is the embodiment of the Dream Gap.

The Dream Gap stems from girls seeing the breakdown of society, and how that works against their progression. Seeing women in positions of power encourages girls to seek and desire positions of power, and Ken has never witnessed that.

Lesson 5 of the Dream Gap curriculum is The Career Compass which “encourages kids to believe that they can be anything and explains why exploring lots of careers is important!”

If the Kens had that lesson, would Beach Ken have seen the men of the Real World as powerful or as overpowered compared to their female counterparts.

If little girls had this message generations ago, would The Dream Gap Project be needed today?

Don't Pit Kens Against Each Other

Part of the Barbies’ plot to take back Barbieland involves them working on the Kens’ jealousy towards the other Kens based on certain Barbies’ affections. This pitting of the Kens against each other did work in the Barbies’ favour, but it speaks to a wider societal problem of women being pitted against against each other- for positions in society and jobs, or worse, for male affection.

This isn’t about sports or games, or even about going for the same promotion; this is about desiring for another person to fail where you succeed.

The blog the un-edit says: It’s been ingrained into our society that girls should be jealous of other girls. We should always be unhappy about a girl who is more popular than us. We flip through magazines, or scroll through social media, feeling bitter about any girl’s figure we rank above our own.

Why does it seem so bold to say that, we should not only stop with the comparisons, but we should actually feel good about other peoples’ successes?

Going back to the film, what happens to the Kens? The Barbies pit them against each other in order to regain their positions, and have them compete for female attention. We learn by the end that Stereotypical Barbie is not interested romantically in Beach Ken, and seemingly not in any Ken, and yet the Kens’ feelings for the Barbies’ were so crucial to saving Barbieland.

In Conclusion

Ultimately, the Kens are a metaphor for how women feel in the Real World: failed by a societal system designed to work against them. We need to feel seen in important societal roles frm bin collector to president, to astronaut to ballerina, to mermaid; Ken had never seen a man do any of those things just as women are so rarely part of those real-life conversations. It is magnified by other issues such as race and ethnicity, class and economic status, ability, and gender and orientation, and ultimately is the point is, we need to see ourselves to feel seen. Ken is as much the victim of the Dream Gap as a little girl in the Real World might be, and its up to everyone together, on equal footing, to close it.

#essay #pink academia #pinkacademic #barbie 2023 #barbie movie #barbie #ken

[the-forest-library]

November 2022 Reads

Longshadow - Olivia Atwater

Marmee - Sarah Miller

Dracula - Bram Stoker

Red, White, & Royal Blue: Collector’s Edition - Casey McQuiston

Scattered Showers - Rainbow Rowell

Ship Wrecked - Olivia Dade

Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail - Ashley Herring Blake

The Man I Never Met - Elle Cook

Kiss Her Once for Me - Alison Cochran

Before I Do - Sophie Cousens

A Cosmic Kind of Love - Samantha Young

When in Rome - Sarah Adams

How to Excavate a Heart - Jake Maia Allow

Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory - Martha Wells

Foundryside - Robert Jackson Bennett

Maybe an Artist - Liz Montague

Ride On - Faith Erin Hicks

The Sea in Winter - Christine Day

So Much Snow - Hyunmin Park

Fry Bread - Kevin Noble Maillard

The Electricity of Every Living Thing - Katherine May

All the Living and the Dead - Hayley Campbell

It Didn’t Start with You - Mark Wolynn

Dickens and Prince - Nick Hornsby

The Future is Disabled - Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen - Sean Sherman

Waxing On - Ralph Macchio

Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing - Matthew Perry

We Were Dreamers - Simu Liu

Have I Told You this Already? - Lauren Graham 

Surrender - Bono

Bold = Highly Recommend Italics = Worth It Crossed out = Nope

Thoughts:

So, obviously the standout this month was Dracula - nothing could compare to reading this novel through Dracula Daily and the entire tumblr experience of it all. What an absolute treat. 

This was a much better reading month than I remember it being. Although, I do remember absolutely loving Marmee. Little Women is my favorite book and hearing the story through the matriarch’s tender recollections was just lovely. 

Also, if you haven’t read Olivia Atwater yet, make that a goal for next year. Longshadow has been my favorite read of hers so far, but they are all so comforting and cozy. 

Goodreads Goal: 377/400 (this is a silly number - do not attempt this)

2017 Reads | 2018 Reads | 2019 Reads | 2020 Reads | 2021 Reads |

2022 Reads

#2022 reads #book reviews #book recommendations #books #booklr #bookish #reading #bibliophile

[bdzonthareel]

Barbie

When I first heard about a Barbie movie, I like many people rolled their eyes at the very thought of it. Barbie media has often (at times unfairly) lambasted for being a cash grab and that was my initial reaction, however we I heard that Margot Robbie was involved and her production company was fitting the bill, my interest was piqued. So without further ado, (and I never thought I would ever say these words) let’s talk about Barbie!

We’re introduced to the fictional world of Barbieland, where every concept of Barbie exists and lives in perfect harmony with a respective Ken, and Allan (there’s only one of him.) But the harmony is disrupted when Robbie’s Stereotypical Barbie begins to suffer from an existential crisis and in order for her to fix what’s wrong she must go to the real world and meet the girl who is playing with her and figure out what’s wrong.

In all genres of entertainment, comedy is one of those that I am insanely harsh on, as comedian myself I feel like there should be a flow to long form story, especially in comedy. But I can say that Director and co-screenwriter Greta Gerwig created a work that was heartfelt and hilarious in this film.

The cinematography is nothing short of brilliant, lots and lots of pink paint was used to bring Barbieland to life and it felt like one massive play set. And the various Real World shots were not to be out done giving off a stark contrast to each other.

The soundtrack was a delightful mix of classic top 40s, newer hits and self-aware comedic songs. The score was equally light poppy and fun, composers (pop music legend) Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt brought an amazing upbeat energy to this film.

Co-writer Noah Baumbach, helped with some very well-timed jokes, and you know they worked because they triggered a metric ton of incels, and that alone was worth the price of admission. Together with Gerwig, I was throughly impressed with the amount of meta commentary on display, and despite what some might lead you to believe, the film doesn’t demonize men; the film’s message is far more complex than that. I also appreciate the fact that they made the movie about the titular character, with seems to be something that franchises like Transformers can’t seem to get right.

And the performances were hilariously well done, Margot Robbie and Ryan Gossling have great chemistry as they lampoon the ideas of these characters’ roles. Simu Liu, is amazing versatile and brings the same amazing timing that he brought to Kim’s Convenience and it was delightful. Although my favorite Barbies were Issa Rei as President Barbie and Sharon Rooney as Lawyer Barbie. And I would be remised to ignore Hari Nef whose Doctor Barbie was whimsical and charming, Also since I’m madly in love with Alexandra Shipp I can say that she another of my favorite parts. America Ferreira and Ariana Greenblat served as great moral support for the various inhabitants of Barbieland and then there Will Ferrell I was almost convinced was Ken at one point given his goofball behavior. I also enjoyed seeing Rhea Pearlman as one (spoilers), she just gets better with age. Kate McKinnon really went all in as Weird Barbie as did Michael Cera as Allan (easily my favorite character in the film.) And last but certainly NOT least, Dame Hellen Mirren as the narrator brought a nice touch of her

Barbie was more than what I and many others initially expected, it was packaged as a goofball fish-out-of-water comedy which is a tired cliché in its own right, I sat down on this for a good while before writing this and I feel like its one of the best comedies I have seen in a very long time. It was very funny, but it also had a lot to say about growing up, holding on to thing that we love, and letting go of them. The biggest message that we all have to find our own way, because we are all more than just an idea and life doesn’t exist in just a straight line and at the end of the day isn’t that what it means to be human?

I give Barbie a well-deserved, 5 out of 5.

#movie review #hollywood #barbie #ryan gosling #margot robbie #barbieheimer #ken doll #micheal cera #dua lipa #john cena #greta gerwig #will ferrell #comedy #matel #barbie doll #barbie girl #barbieland #barbie world