Pardon, but your tie is not symmetrical.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

Final result: the majority of voters have NEVER HEARD OF this film.

This film is about a gay artist who returns home to small town Montana to care for his ailing grandfather. The person who submitted this film says "Literal best movie ever ??? Seriously, though, this is like a warm hug in movie form. Also coincidentally has one of the best movie soundtracks of all time. And it won a bunch of actual awards too or whatever... Bonus for including one of the wildest love ~~triangles~~ squares (?) ever put to film (the dinner scene with all the cross-looks... cinematography...) and it's not even that messy."

If you have not watched this movie, especially if you're about as old as this movie or younger, I highly recommend watching it. There is a little bit of ... hmm. Some of the acting in it seems like overacting to modern sensibilities, until you realize that it's mostly the cast of the original play, and they're stage actors who are still acting a little more for the stage than for film.

It's a wonderful, hopeful little time capsule of a film. It's a gift to every queer person who grew up in a hostile rural family or a hostile rural area: what if it didn't have to be like this? What if everybody was just as happy for their queer community members and just as benignly nosy about their love lives as they are about the cishet folx in their circles?

Find a way to watch it, if you can. It makes me cry every time, and it's a gift to my sad little grew-up-rural-and-scared queer heart.

The "Did we teach you shame?" scene will hit you so hard, and in the best way. It will make you realize that teaching a child shame is an offense against the universe.

It cut open an old scar in me that I didn't realize was still there, and in the absolute best way? Like, talk about catharsis.

I love this movie. it's like a little Hallmark movie, but for us.

I was trying to explain to a friend I watched it with--it's this cheesy hallmark-style movie . . . where we are allowed to exist.

and be people

I can't explain how euphoric this littler movie made me BECAUSE NO ONE DIED. I sat through so many tragic fucking queer movies back in the day and it was all Bury Your Gays all the time--it felt like death from a thousand cuts.

But then. Then there was this LITTLE DARLING. It's quiet and real and normal and not only do the GAYS LIVE but there is NO HOMOPHOBIA in their little town.

The latter was a point of criticism at the time, BTW, because it meant it wasn't "realistic". But, you know, 700 cuts was enough ~Hollywood~ "realism" for me anyway, and I was so glad to just cozy up with this.

Also-- an important point in my book-- the love interest/main Native character is portrayed as and allowed to be wholly Native without coming off as a hackneyed stereotype. His culture isn't treated as a 'fun little add on' and his part in things doesn't feel like he's just there to be the 'token diversity representative'; he is allowed to be wholly himself as someone Native, as someone who was fortunate enough to grow up thoroughly enmeshed in his culture, and the other characters never act like he's any kind of outsider despite their different backgrounds.

I love this movie, y'all.

[ID: a picture of the movie cover from "Big Eden" (2000), showing the title and main character Henry Hart standing on a pier, arms raised, in front of a lake, mountains in the distance. /end ID].

Every Taika Waititi film ranked by how much I liked them, while I count down the days to the release of Next Goal Wins (my most anticipated movie of the year!)

DISCLAIMER: I like all Taika Waititi films, so don't get angry at me

7. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Fun and colourful, I love Korg, Jeff Goldblum is great, but to me this is just a Marvel movie. Sorry, Marvel fans, this movie was just OK.

6. Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)

More fun and colourful than Ragnarok, loved Christian Bale, loved the kids, loved Jane Foster's arc (I thought it was well handled!). There was a bit too much Korg, I admit. People say this movie had too many jokes and didn't take itself seriously enough. Well, of course it didn't! It's a movie about gods and aliens and stuff in space! Honestly it was a blast and I liked it better than the third one. I said what I said.

5. JoJo Rabbit (2019)

This is a great film, we all know that. It speaks really well of Taika's filmography that it's so down on the list. It was hilarious and adorable and important. I feel like the comedy-drama could have been better balanced, I couldn't fully connect emotionally. Still, it was great and hilarious, the parody aspects were really well done and I really liked it.

4. Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)

This one is really funny, it doesn't get enough credit for how funny it is. I loved the too leads, especially Sam Neill, I wasn't sure how well he'd fit into Taika's style, but he was fantastic. A really fun film.

3. Eagle vs Shark (2007)

All Eagle vs Shark haters are wrong, this film is great. Lily is the most adorable person, Jarrod is a dick but played with so much love that you can't help but emphatize with him and hope that he gets a redemption. The story was so sweet, I was actually, like, 'awww'ing out lout at times. Also the small town vibes and the awkwardness, and the feeling of having a giant crush on someone you have never really spoken to, it's all so real, I really love it.

2. What We Do in the Shadows (2014)

That I didn't rank this as number 1 is a surprise even to myself. This is one of my favourite movies and maybe my favourite comedy film of all time. I love the show as well, but to be honest I think the film is much much better. It's just- the vibes, man. The documentary aspect is fantastic. Also, Stu.

1. Boy (2010)

This movie feels like being told a secret, it's so personal. It is small and self-contained, but at the same time it creates a world so huge and lived-in that it's hard to believe it wasn't really filmed in the eighties. The kids are adorable, the scenery is so beautiful, the story is so heartfelt and full of emotions it genuinely made me cry (not for anything in particular, just everything had been done with so much love, it made me feel so many emotions and they could only escape through tears). It is Taika Waititi's masterpiece. Where he usually leans more into the comedy, here he lets the seriousness take over when necessary, and it really works so well. I just love this film, it is amazing, go watch it right now.

...and that's it. Taika Waititi is probably my favorite director at the moment, he's got a vision and is very good at realising it. He writes heartfelt and funny stories, likeable characters, amazing dialoge and his films always look very pretty. Totally recoment any of the ones in this list!

Fayard Nicholas and Harold Nicholas in DOWN ARGENTINE WAY 1940 | Irving Cummings

this is going around twitter rn but im also super curious: please tell me your top four comfort movies that you’re always down to watch bc my friend thinks mine are ridiculous and now we’ve realised everyone’s version of “comfort” is hilariously different

‘Comfort films’ 🎥 😏 🍿 I’ll play, please join in if you wish…

Comfort films …

There’s a few more but 🤷‍♀️ what’s everyone else’s?

Oooh this is a good question. I never really gave this any kind of thought before. Honestly it’s really hard to narrow it down to four.

1. Any of the original trilogy of Star Wars. I do not recognize the existence any other Star Wars films or television shows.

2. The John Wick films even though I didn’t care for John Wick 3 but 4 made up for it.

3. Full Metal Jacket or really any Stanley Kubrick film

4. The first three Indiana Jones Movies. I do not recognize the existence of any other Indiana Jones movies.

Honorable mentions: Lost in Translation, the Thin Red Line, and Patton.

I’ll tag @countrystrongforever @foreverredheadedcoffeelover @shedreamsintechnicolor @princessred101-v2 @persephone-sighed @texasred43 @three-red-horns @scarletluvsdanno @honeybee8914 @stethaddict @maggiel212 @country-bumpkin-69 @serial-red-head @reddelicious-56-again @wickedlyredculrs and anyone else who wants to join in.

Thank you, @married-to-a-redhead !

Being a retrophile, mine are all old.

1. The Thin Man (1934). William Powell and Myrna Loy were perfection as Nick & Nora Charles.

2. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). One of the first films to address “shell shock” (PTSD) and the difficulties WWII soldiers faced when returning home.

3. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948). Cary Grant and Myrna Loy attempt to build a home in Connecticut, and nothing goes right. Melvyn Douglas was excellent in this movie, too.

4. Rear Window (1955). Grace Kelly was magical.

Honorable mentions - Dial M for Murder, Room for One More, The Birds

Tagging @jwclapton and anyone else who would like to join!

Many thanks, @shedreamsintechnicolor. 🤍

1. Any Sonja Henie film. She’s the one who kick-started my interest in figure skating about three years ago. I’ll go with her first one, One in a Million (1936). Plenty of fine skating and song!

2. Any Deanna Durbin film. I’ll choose Can’t Help Singing (1944) for this one. I just adore her and her singing so much.

3. It’s Love I’m After (1937). One of my favorite screwball comedies. It’s also my favorite of the three films in which Bette Davis and Leslie Howard costarred.

4. Beauty and the Beast (1991). My favorite Disney movie by a long way. I reject the existence of the 2017 version completely.

Also recommended: Happy Landing and Mad About Music (both 1938); The Wizard of Oz (1939); Ball of Fire (1941).

Tagging: @cozywonderheart, @gingerbreadland, @maudeboggins, @norashelley, and @valsemelancolique.

Thanks for the tag @jwclapton! 4 of my old Hollywood comfort films are - Easy Living White Christmas The Egg and I Top Hat

and then I’ll include 4 non old hollywood comfort films too! Brave My Neighbor Totoro It Takes Two Little Women (1994)

I’ll tag @ladyoftheharbour @chantalstacys @grusinskayas @valancystirling48 @nitrateglow @screenclassics

Thanks @norashelley!

1. Any Buster Keaton film. That man gives me life. He never fails to astonish and delight me.

2. Frankenstein (1931) because the Monster is like a friend and there’s something cozy about early talkies to me.

3. Wait Until Dark, which I’m pretty sure I can quote word for word. I love the characters, the dialogue, the tension, the late 60s vibes, everything.

4. The Castle of Cagliostro, because it’s so feel good and exciting, and I love the castle and the bittersweet ending. What a classic.

Honorable mentions: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), The Phantom of the Opera (1925), Ace of Hearts (1921)

I’ll tag @sewerfight @midnightcowboy1969 @traceamountsoftimetravel @cesarescabinet @mygreatadventurehasbegun @hobbitmajora

Thanks for the tag @nitrateglow

1. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938).  This movie has never failed at making me smile or lifting my spirits.

2. The Sound of Music.  I don’t watch it often, but when I do, I am instantly transported back to my childhood and simpler time.

3.  Sense & Sensibility.  The comfort movie I watch when I also need to cry.

4.  Phantom of the Opera (1938).  So many feels.  Too many to name.

Honorable mentions: Little Women (1949), Cinderella (1965), The Little Mermaid (1989), The Rocky Horror Picture Show, How to Steal a Million.

I tag @hobbitmajora @victorie-etoile @muzikalsiren @fran-kubelik 

Thanks to the wonderful @mygreatadventurehasbegun for the tag! :))

1. Here Comes Mr. Jordan. I love everyone in this movie so much, especially Claude Rains and Robert Montgomery! Just a cozy little movie to watch anytime.

2. Phantom of the Opera(1943) Just a beautiful film overall and I adore it more each time.

3. Elvis. A recent favorite of mine for the music and the beautiful visuals.

4. Fiddler on the Roof. Always a classic and I’m always humming along. I’ve also been in the show twice so it just feels like home in a way. :))

Tagging @hobbitmajora for this one!

Big thanks to @nitrateglow, @mygreatadventurehasbegun, and @victorie-etoile for the tags!

1. Really any Tarantino movie, but especially Reservoir Dogs: I know it sounds insane, but any Tarantino flick is like a big bowl of comfort food for me, and Reservoir Dogs has always been my favorite.

2. The Creature From The Black Lagoon: Really, I could’ve put any Universal Monsters movie here that I loved growing up, from The Mummy to The Bride of Frankenstein, but I just had to go with my favorite.

3. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory: One of my childhood favorites that I still love to revisit as an adult, it never fails to make me feel like a kid again when I watch it; from the first frame to the last, I’m seven years old again.

4. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein: I know it’s everyone’s favorite of the “Meet The Monsters” series, but I watched it many, many times as a kid, and it’s still my favorite to this this day!

Honorably mention goes to The Killers (1964), just by virtue of feeling like Tarantino-Lite to me, and being comforting in its own right!

I tag @faintlymcabre, @callsign-skydancer, @fred-erick-frankenstein, and all others who’d like to do it! Say I tagged you!

Thanks for the tag 💛💛

1. Arsenic and old lace

2. Big Eden

3. The Emperor's New Groove - not so much me watching it tho and more reciting it in my head (I watched it many, many times) whenever I'm in a situation that I don't feel comfortable in but can't leave. That or when I'm bored but can't read smth on my phone or so 🤷🏻‍♂️

4. Not so much a movie and more a show: Jeeves and Wooster.

(honorable mention currently Rosenheim Cops (don't laugh) it's very good to just have something on in the background that's not dramatic or anything, that you don't even have to pay attention to and that is mostly about personal relationships and has beautiful views of the alps in it 😅)

@sam7sparks7 @fanfic-she-wrote @cinemacrypt @tiredesperdad @quantifierrasing and whoever wants to do this 💛

I'M FINE, just watching the 1980 version of Little Lord Fauntleroy and bawling my eyes out every 15 mins because this sweet child is so good and kind to everyone around him and brightens up their lives, THAT'S ALL.

The funniest sword fight scene in the history of cinema. 

BEST. SWORD FIGHT. EVER.

Let’s be honest, this is how I would sword fight.

@warmageragnar Lewis Vs Otranto, a realistic version.

#what on earth is this?

The Court Jester starring Danny Kaye, Basil Rathbone, and the amazing Glynis Johns, and Angela Lansbury and it is all around a fun time.

All kidding aside, watch Basil Rathbone’s foot work. He knows fencing, and sets up the form even though he’s still playing up the stage blows for Danny Kaye to flail at for comedic effect.

Okay, but I need to talk about this because it’s even funnier if you know the context... Basil Rathbone was one of the greatest swordsmen in Hollywood history.  Which is why he almost never won any of his onscreen fights–he was good enough that he knew how to effectively make the other guy look even better.  That’s why the swordfight in The Adventures of Robin Hood looks so awesome even though Errol Flynn is nowhere near Rathbone’s level.

But this fight, right here?  Was one of the only fights where he needed a stunt double.  Because while he was able to keep Danny Kaye from being seriously injured, Rathbone himself nearly got skewered a few times by Kaye’s flailing around.  So in a bizarre way, this is probably the closest to an even match Rathbone had in his career… just not for the reasons you’d expect.

The origin of a saying I’ve seen quoted in various works of fiction - “The best swordsman does not fear the second best, he fears the worst since there’s no telling what that idiot is going to do.”

9 Favorite Movies

I was tagged by @christopherleefan to post 9 of my favorite movies. Thank you! 😄

I tag: @movieexpert1978 @fred-erick-frankenstein @arwyn-the-cyrptic-bisexural and anyone who wants to join. No pressure

Thanks for the tag 💛💛I finally got around to make this 😅

I tried to order them by how long I've know and loved them (tho I'm not 100% sure when it comes to "Arsenic" and "Scent of a Woman").

Honorable mention goes to "Cool Runnings" because I love it (!) a lot (and known it for quite some time) and "Young Frankenstein" and "Erin Brokovich" 💕 but, like, I already had 9 movies soo... This was difficult... 😔But the others I have watched more (waay more) often...

I tag: @medical-malpractice-malewife @jeremiebrett @anoirevictoria @melodux @salvadorbonaparte @tiredesperdad @quantifierrasing @buildarocketboys @giogiogundam and whoever wants to do it💛

the mutuals who recommended me big eden i am shaking you by the shoulders this movie is insane

"it sounds foolish but i just want things to be nice for him"

"you know what they say when you get lost in the woods. if you stay in one place and don't wander they'll find you. and i was hoping you would let yourself be found this time. i was hoping you'd let us find you, but you keep wandering and we can't"

[ID 1: a gif of a man crying, grabbing his head with his hands before grabbing something in front of him, screaming with tears in his eyes.

ID 2: a gif of singer Britney Spears, tears in her eyes, nodding. She's saying: "Yeah..." /end ID].

It's so good😭❤️

Spirited Away. (2001)

the mutuals who recommended me big eden i am shaking you by the shoulders this movie is insane

"it sounds foolish but i just want things to be nice for him"

"you know what they say when you get lost in the woods. if you stay in one place and don't wander they'll find you. and i was hoping you would let yourself be found this time. i was hoping you'd let us find you, but you keep wandering and we can't"

[ID 1: a gif of a man crying, grabbing his head with his hands before grabbing something in front of him, screaming with tears in his eyes.

ID 2: a gif of singer Britney Spears, tears in her eyes, nodding. She's saying: "Yeah..." /end ID].

It's so good😭❤️

Marvel movies have completely eliminated the concept of practical effects from the movie-watching public’s consciousness

Not just practical effects just like. Basic set design lol

How… How do they think sci-fi was done before CGI?

Really badly? Do you remember sci-fi before CGI? It was shit. And don’t say Star Wars because they went back and fixed that with CGI later.

*big sigh* *puts head in hands* heathens who’ve never watched pre-MCU sci-fi movies OR the unedited Star Wars movies, my beloathed

So first of all, most people agree that the majority of the “CGI fixes” in the Star Wars original trilogy (excluding minor visual/sound effects like lightsaber colors and blaster sounds) are unececssary, extremely conspicuous, and/or bad. This is not news to literally anyone older than about 20 who has consumed Star Wars content on any level. There are quite literally two very famous ‘despecialized’ fan projects explicitly dedicated to un-doing all of the shitty “fixed” CGI effects while simultaneously restoring the OT in HD.

And yes, I do, in fact, remember sci-fi special effects before CGI was the foundational cornerstone of moviemaking. It was not, in fact, shit:

Also, ironically I can show you by….*gasp* using fucking Star Wars, of all things. Welcome to the Tatooine pod race set of The Phantom Menace, which was not, as popularly believed, CGI’d but was instead a fully-built miniature set:

Yes, they built the entire set as a minature, built life-sized pod racers for the actors, then spliced the two together using digital effects. Yes, they did such a fantastic job that people think the entire set and scene sequence was basically completely CGI’d to this day. You’re fucking welcome for undervaluing the time, effort, and talents of set designers by implying that set design and practical effects inherently mean things will look like shit.

CGI also ages really poorly. What you think looks incredibly realistic now is going to look terrible in a few years. Just look at the original vs remastered Star Trek. They “restored” Star Trek around 2006 and replaced a lot of the practical effects with CGI, and maybe it looked ok in 2006, but it looks so bad and fake now.

You can see a video comparison for one episode here: https://youtu.be/ruPVTPCavdM

In the 60s they built a whole model of the Enterprise, complete with blinking lights and beautifully sculpted/painted details. It looks stunning! Then they replaced it with that horribly smooth and fake looking cgi ship.

Just look at this beauty

You can see the model at the Air and Space Museum in DC

Unfortunately the remastered version is the only version available to stream, but you can still find DVDs with the original effect.

made in 1968 and still stunning 2001 A Space Odyssey

the designers worked with engineers at NASA to make realistic futuristic special effects using models and matte paintings no computer effects at all! - and incidentally inspired David Bowie to write Space Oddity, later performed in space by astronaut Chris Hadfield

The CGI of the original Jurassic Park may not be aging well (though arguably still better than some), but the practical effects will always look stunning. 

I want to talk fantasy.

This shot was achieved with splicing and green screen.

This wild-looking shot (and similar manipulations) was famously achieved by having a professional juggler in a duplicate of Bowie’s jacket and gloves sitting behind him, basically with Bowie in his lap, doing the handwork while Bowie kept his arms behind the juggler. You may have seen a game based on this on Whose Line Is It Anyway.

This? Wires! Splicing! THE CGI TO DO THIS DIDN’T EXIST YET! (The juggler is hidden under the cape. If there’s a scene where he’s wearing a cape, that’s actually probably why.)

And this? This heartstopping shot?

This does appear to be from the version with CGI—

—CGI THAT WAS USED TO ERASE THE SHADOW FROM THE PRACTICAL EFFECT.

The shot itself hasn’t changed. The lift itself was done with wires and Bowie was given some propulsion with an air cannon so he could make that turn at speed. A minor amount of CGI was used in the 30th anniversary to “touch up” the work done in 1986, and one of the things they did was to remove a shadow on the wall from one of the wires.

How about this?

You don’t know it, but you’re looking at a practical effect. In real life, the Ruby Slippers are almost orange. That luxe, rich ruby color showed up on the film as black when the shoes were the correct color, so the costumers adjusted the actual costume to give the color they wanted.

A MODEL OF A HOUSE SHOT INSIDE A NYLON STOCKING ATTACHED TO A FAN.

MAN IN A COSTUME.

HORSES DUSTED WITH COLORED GELATIN.

And this? This is where it would’ve been useful to have CGI. Margaret Hamilton got really badly burned on the steam doing one of her entrance/exits, and ended up in the hospital. THIS is what you use CGI for.

You come into my house and insult practical effects?

I’ll just finish off by reminding you THIS IS ONE, TOO.

That last one, iirc, was there was a double in a sepia-toned costume, and the interior door and wall there was painted brown, so when it was lit and shot it all appeared to still be in the sepia tone of the Kansas scenes, and part of why Dorothy stepped back out of the frame was so the double and Judy Garland (in the proper blue-and-white costume) could swap.

You are correct. The double’s name, by the way, was Bobbi Koshay.

#this is also a purely personal opinion but aged practical effects are charming #in a way that aged cgi is not (via @glorious-spoon)

There are also a lot of backgrounds that are matte paintings!

Lord of The Rings used some incredible miniature sets too.

The real reason CGI has taken over is not because it creates better effects (although it is very useful!) but because it’s cheaper. The practical effects artists have union protections. CGI artists don’t.

(Pssst, unionize!)

Reblog if you're a Millennian and do not ever want to be taught anything unless you told it on the cell phone

reblog if this is the first time you’ve heard of this movie

NIAGARA (1953) dir. Henry Hathaway / dop. Joe MacDonald

Midnight Cowboy (1969) dir. John Schlesinger

For anyone who likes Tony Curtis and/or free shit I took the liberty to upload 1952's Flesh and Fury to YouTube