The Top Boq Ten tbh

[Boquise]

Greetings, citizens of mafia stuffs tbh. This is your lucky day/week/indefinite time! I have decided to grant you the wish you never knew you wished for. The answer to the questions you have only subconsciously thought. "What stuff does Boq like?" Stuff, as in media. My pristine and quaint tastes will surely fulfil you with enlightenment. A privilege, to be sure, to be sure tbh


Commonly asked questions:
Q: But Monsieur Boquise, what if I disagree with your list?
A: Then you are wrong, my child. Take my hand and I will educate you on fine culture.

Q: What pieces of media tbh
A: Movies (live action and animated), games, BOOKS, comics + manga...

Q: Why did you not include x thing?
A: because i did not want to, or because I have not read/watched/played it.


Starting off will be movies! I will post about 1 movie each day.

But first, I will watch a movie with my brother.

Expect the first movie when the bell tolls one tbh!

[Mistyx]

hype tbh

[Wisdom]

Nämen, speaking of the devil!!!

This might inspire me to do something similar at some point, very much hype!!

I don't have many lasting tabs open but this will be one of them!

[lute]

hey boq can you rank every pokemon

[Creature]

Give western animated shows

[c4e5g3d5]

Expect the first movie when the bell tolls one tbh!

):

[Boquise]

*We are now entering the first entrance of the list*
*Please keep your seatbelts tightened, this will be a spoilery ride.*
*Make sure to digest every bit of beef or fragments of underdone potatoes,
Lest you will be more of gravy than of a grave*


It is... show time!


#10 - The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)




Aah, it was a bleak December evening, many many years ago, when I lived in Canada. I went to the cinema to watch this movie, and a magical ride it was. I had no expectations going in. What I saw was... amazing.

But before we go anecdotal, I need to tell you about this movie. This movie THATISTILLAMNOTABLETOWATCHINSWEDENDUETOREGIONLOCKS THANKYOUWORLD.
This movie is, which some of you cultury folks have guessed, a Christmas movie. And not only a Christmas movie - no sir, this is A Christmas Carol movie. The beautiful, masterful novel from 1843. That story that has been remade into movies so many times so both Alfred Pennyworth and The Riddler have had the time to play the main character Ebeneezer Scrooge. Yes, that story. The story about Ebeneezer Scrooge.



Only it is not.
Psyche!

The handsome man the camera has been focusing on is none other than Charles $%#!ens. You see, this movie has two main characters: Charles $%#!ens, and A Christmas Carol, the story. This is an origin tale, for both of them. Which is very deserved, considering that Mister $%#!ens, albeit relatively $%#!ish, was not much of a $%#! compared to the other $%#!s of London. He was quite cooler. This movie is about Mr $%#!ens and how he crafted his Ghostly little book. There have probably been lots of other movies about this specific theme, the author and his story, but my knowledge of cinema is limited and I do not care. I love this movie, and I will tell you why.

The Man Who Invented Christmas tells us about $%#!ens' life. We are introduced to his vast, and expanding, family. Several sons and daughters and a loving wife. His fame is well-established already, which makes sense because We, the audience, do not really need a full background story of $%#!ens - he is still that known. Christmas is approaching, and Mr $%#!ens is in trouble. He is a generous man giving money to charity and beggars, and buying toys to his and other children. The fortune he has been earning is drying up.

Mr $%#!ens return to his beloved London after a trip to the USA, is aggravated by some bad reviews (and lesser irl rival authors' glee) and is tasked to speedrun write a Christmas book. But since $%#!ens is a man of the people, he commits to the art of procrastination.



Yadda yadda...

All this is known as historical fact. Mr $%#!ens had to write A Christmas Carol, not out of love or because he had a spur of Christmas spirit induced into him. He had to write it and make it hit the stores before the Holidays because he was facing both economical and professional bankruptcy. People were questioning both his sanity with money and his worth as an author.

This might all sound very cliché, and it is. The movie could have been just another historical drama where $%#!ens struggle, gets in some argument with his wife, cheats on his wife with the cute maid, is forgiven in the end because "Oh You Dirty Dog" wholesomeness and we the audience would go like:


But it is not. The movie has two themes it wants to explore.

1. The life of Charles $%#!ens
The movie feeds us with bits of $%#!ens past, as a kid and so on. We get to see the inspiration from Oliver Twist, and we get to see his conflicted relationship with his father. They do this with outmost respect of $%#!ens the person. Movies tend to dramatise historical people's lives and, happily, make them into huge $%#!s. It is clear that the movie makers are fans of $%#!ens, and thus it becomes a delight to see. Sure, there IS a cute maid, but $%#!ens does not try to pursue her in any way. Which is refreshing (Later in $%#!ens life, he will dump his wife for a younger girl, but that is not relevant to this story so whilst that is bittersweet outside knowledge to have, the movie is not trying to make a thing out of it since it had yet to happen). She does help him with brainstorming his book tho!

But Monsieur Boquise! You said earlier that this movie is not about $%#!ens' life! You fraud! Yes, my ever observant minion, I did, and that still holds true. This movie takes place in well-established $%#!ens' life. Time is however not linear. He experiences things that makes him remember and think back to his childhood. Most days during 1843's December are eventful for $%#!ens. And he never stops thinking. He never stops imagining. Just like we don't. So we are fed small bits of backstory, when $%#!ens thinks back and re-experiences certain childhood trauma. So it is about $%#!ens' life but also not.

What is also nice is that this theme is woven into the master theme of the movie.


2. The creative process.

Charles $%#!ens is having a writer's block. He does not know how to move his story, and he feels generally lost on what the story will be about really. He walks around London, talk to people, but the financial and domestic stresses are overbearing.


Until a chance meeting occurs.
He sees an elderly gentleman at the local pub. That quick observation creates something. A ghost. What should a ghost be named? Ah yes, of course, Jacob Marley, sir, obviously it is you! But who are you haunting? Someone mean, someone cruel...



mmh yes, this man needs a harsh word. SCRATCH. There's a BITE in SCRATCH - he bites off heads and households alike. An itchy scab in your face. He is an old Scratch, alright, but that is a nickname not the name signed on eviction notes with black ink.



Aye, I imagine long and cold money-nabbing fingers. Old fingers worn from counting coin. But no, that is not it. Scrunge. That sounds like a beaten boot. Who is afraid of a Scrunge?



You might grow weary of this pedantic focus on names. Names, you might scoff. Those are titles we can get later. Who cares. But there you are wrong, my child. The name is everything. The name should be able to stand alone without adjectives and you just get the character.



This man needs to be ghoulish enough to be visited by a spectre. He needs to stand between Victorian superstition and Realism. He needs to make the London winters colder, harsher, more bitter. A ghost made of flesh and blood. An ogre of a man. Who is he? The brisk fire of questions to which we, the audience, are exposed, elicited from the movie that $%#!ens was thinking of an animal a live animal, rather a disagreeable animal, a savage animal, an animal that growled and grunted sometimes, and talked sometimes, and lived in London, and walked about the streets, and wasn’t made a show of, and wasn’t led by anybody, and didn’t live in a menagerie, and was never killed in a market, and was not a horse, or an $%#!, or a cow, or a bull, or a tiger, or a dog, or a pig, or a cat, or a bear. No of course not! His name is obvious! It is



ScrOooOoooOge.
Perfect. And what has he to say about Christmas?


Why I am putting so much effort into names here is simple. It was important to $%#!ens. Not only did irl $%#!ens put thought into the naming of his characters, he also wanted their whole appearance and characteristics tell the story and personality of his characters. The movie shows this. I am so happy it does. It stays true to how $%#!ens created.

Mr $%#!ens picks up on dialogues in the busy city. We, the viewers, get to watch a creative process being born. It is slow, at first, but soon it is flowing. It does not just become him listening to people, it becomes him acting as those people. He paces around his little writing room, making faces and talking to himself. The characters are, in the movie, literally coming to life in $%#!ens' eyes. They are the elderly gentleman, the butcher, that woman he just passed when out for his morning walk. They are cast into one of the greatest stories there ever has been, without knowing it.

And $%#!ens, he is everyone. As the characters say their lines, he echoes them. Because those are his lines too. Which you can see in the gif I posted above about Christmas.

This is not enough to make a "great" movie, a top boq ten nonetheless. However, the movie lets the two themes mesh. $%#!ens' visions interfere with his personal journey as well. And that might sound completely normie and natural to you, and I agree. But it is a good thing, to me. Writing a story is not just sitting down with your pencil and you write it. Writing a story is not like how Ernest Hemingway depicted it, that when you put down your pencil the story is gone and you just live as it is not happening real time at the very moment. Maybe that was how it was for Hemingway, but it is not for me and certainly not for movie $%#!ens.

Life does indeed move as you write a story, and even though $%#!ens writes this Ghostly little book during less than a month, life is happening full speed for him too. His wife is pregnant with their like... sixth child, idk. His alcoholic dad is in desperate need of help and wants to reconnect with both son and grandkids. Money is running short. Authors and critics laugh at him. And this story is causing a havoc in his head. Occupying more and more space until it becomes the master-passion triumphing over every other noble aspiration. Perhaps he will end up as his father? Or maybe Christmas is saved? Whatever the answer, the movie shows how a writing project meshes with your everyday life. You can't really escape it. You will learn from your characters. You will be affected by them and you will affect them through the state of your mind. And that is super cool! Humans can simulate complex alternate worlds inside their heads and they leave footprints in the real world! You are walking in your characters' shoes without knowing it. And they, sometimes, borrow yours. You love them, you hate them. It is a relationship.

All in all, what made the movie stuck with me was $%#!ens' creative process. I relate heavily to it, since I usually walk around and act out my characters. My then 23-year-old mind was blown away. I have rarely experienced that feeling before, seeing a creative process "live" and just go "thats how I do it too!" As the characters were popping up and lines were made, I could not sit still on my seat. I laughed, I clapped my hands, I was being a maniac. I was thankfully alone in the cinema.

The Man Who Invented Christmas is originally a non-fiction book written by Les Standiford. I have yet to read it. Though I surely will one day, I will treat the book and movie as separate entities. There is a lot to say about fact vs fiction, and the movie industry will always make a story "based on true events" pompous and grander than it probably really was. A lot of things in the movie -are- as true as they can ever be; some things are exaggerated. That is okay. Who knows if Charles $%#!ens ran around in his home saying "Humbug!" This movie is realism sprinkled with some very very soft magic. It is a delight to watch.



As the credits rolled, I was silent. Perhaps a single tear dropped into my empty popcorn. Perhaps I had just witnessed an illustration of a creative brain processing. Perhaps it was like a mirror to my own. Or I would like to think so. I felt richer. Joyous. Child-like.


So be a good soldier and watch this movie


and you might be able to salute as enthusiastic as the young $%#!ens child there!

which is actually a super dark and grim detail for those in the known. I am pretty sure that that child is supposed to be Walter Landor $%#!ens (it was five years ago since I watched the movie so I don't remember; there are so many $%#!ens kids). Walter aspired to be an author just like his dad, but Charles $%#!ens dissuaded him. "The less he is encouraged to write the better, and the happier he will be", $%#!ens apparently said. Instead, Walter became a cadet of the East India Company. He left for India at age 16, and never returned home. Walter died of an aortic aneurysm in Calcutta. Charles $%#!ens got the news on his birthday, two months later. Hence why that salute is a bit... grim tbh. They are like, imagining to be soldier and general and stuff.

[Mistyx]

posts like this are the reason i have the swear filter on

[c4e5g3d5]

posts like this are the reason i have the swear filter on

And $%#!ens, he is everyone.

[Boquise]

Nämen, speaking of the devil!!!

This might inspire me to do something similar at some point, very much hype!!

I don't have many lasting tabs open but this will be one of them!

Our conversation reminded me that I had this idea tbh!

hey boq can you rank every pokemon

No tbh
But I could say my top 10 Pokémon tbh

Give western animated shows

Sure tbh
------

#9 write up will begin in an hour and hopefully take less time than #10 tbh

[Boquise]

posts like this are the reason i have the swear filter on

[Boquise]

I fell asleep and then I had to transport my flesh vessel to work


Anyway



SPOILERS OFC!

(I suggest you listen to the Wild Things soundtrack as you read this tbh. This is song 1)

#9 - Where The Wild Things Are (2009)



Ah, wild things. My brother insisted to us watching this when it hit the cinema, and I had only a vague recollection of the book. But hey! Tony Soprano is in the movie so it must be a good thing tbh! Oh and the Riddler too... The Riddler sure has an active acting career...



I remember how I was in a server chat in the small mmorpg Florensia when were about to leave for the movies. And one of random fellows, I think he was from Bulgaria, said how that picture book was his favourite when growing up. Other people joined in, from various parts of Europe. It was a beloved book. My expectations were thus pretty high, despite not really knowing what to expect. Just that it was supposed to be something great.

And boy. This pierced my 15 year old heart and still does. Lemme just tie my worried shoes.


Where The Wild Things Are let's us meet Max, the protagonist of the story. He is a little rascal, up in the ears of mischief, and he is unhappy. Unhappy in the manner that you can't really put words into it. Indescribably sad. His mother has a new guy, and his big sister is now a teenager busy with boys. Max has an adventurous tent in his room, and his blankets is an ocean. But do they care? No, not if you ask Max. Those meanies. Who needs boys when you already have Max?!



Max' imagination is the movie's pillars. It is for sure that in Maurice Sendak's picture book too, but it has been expanded. But let's keep at it somewhat chronologically. Max goes to school and is told worrying news by his teacher.



This takes root in his mind, and will come back later in symbolic ways. It does show how small pieces of information can manifest in a child's mind and affect their fantasy. Children uses play to process and understand things they meet in life (this is proven). This is why it is important for teachers to discuss heavy themes thoroughly and preferably during a few days. It is a nice touch by the movie!

Our little hero is in a constant conflict at home. He tries his best to get the other family members' attention, and sometimes it works. His mom occasionally likes listening to his stories, and he manages to make the teenagers play with him. By throwing a snowball at them. A snowball war ensures! It is so fun! Max thinks. And the camera work makes us understand that too. The camera switches angles rapidly between the characters and I am pretty sure the camera man is sometimes running with the actors. This solidifies a hectic and chaotic feeling, until the play ends, by the teenagers playing too rough. Max hides in his little igloo and one of the teens jumps on it and thus jumps on Max.

Did Max learn from this lesson? No. Of course not. Eventually he is so fed up with being set aside by his mom, who refuses to play! So he threatens her in the only way a child could.



He causes a ruckus. "You are out of control!" his mom yells. When insulted in such a manner, all you can do is run away from home. So Max does just that. They don't need him either way. He finds himself staring at an endless ocean. Who knows where he is, but that is irrelevant. Nothing matters. So Max sails away to mysterious lands.



What comes next is Max' arrival and adventure with the Wild Things. The Wild Things are chaotic large fluffy monsters (except from The Riddler who is rather small) that plays all the time and has no control. He tells an innocent lie (because the other option is to be eaten) and becomes their king, and therefore parent.



Why I have spent more time writing about the first part is simple. It is usually the overlooked "boring" part. Tony Soprano has not even appeared! But that section is considerably long, and that is because everything that happens in the first part, happens in the second part. Only that Max has to shift from youngest Wild Thing to the parent role/big brother role. This is quite hammered in. For an example, Max has very important kingly orders.



But instead of snowballs, the Wild Things throw giant mudballs at each other. It is all fun and games until one Wild Thing feels another Wild Thing plays too rough, like a typical child game. Just like the snowball war.


Ah, good ol' games not monitored by boring parents...

But like... why is this movie so good?
1. Camera, 2. Real puppets instead of CGI (aside from the eyes), 3. Themes in the storytelling, 4. The soundtrack.

There are a lot of running scenes. From happy skipping to fleeing in terror. The camera makes sure to capture this, like in the snowball fight. What makes this so good, in my opinion, is that it also illustrates children playing in a realistic manner. A lot of things are happening at the same time, and the play can shift in tone quickly.



The puppets are amazing, and whilst I am hearing Tony Soprano when Carroll speaks his first lines, my immersion is not broken. They are expressive, they are terrifying, they are childish. Because whilst this is a children's movie, it is also rather scary. Which is good! Not everything is all fun and games. Not everything is happy all the time. We get to themes



At its core, Where The Wild Things Are could be seen as a movie with the message "listen to your parents, stop playing so roughly!" For Max has to yell to Carroll "You are out of control!" and he later escapes back to his home. But that is really not it, you know. Where The Wild Things Are is like a dream. One of those dreams where you work out why you are mad at someone and then you cool down and apologise. A dream where you get a lucky break with like-minded friends. Only that you are responsible. Imo, this movie is about how responsibility sucks, and is inevitable. Sometimes you do try to do everything right and fulfil all the wishes and they are still not happy. #TheLifeOfATeacher



C'mon Carroll and Douglas, be reasonable here.

It is also about worry, loneliness, and being different. Alexander (aka the Riddler) is small and sensitive, and he really really really wanna be tough and scary. But is ridiculed. Bullied. Another Wild Thing is a big big big one, but silent. He has a soft, cute little voice. And also so worried. That cool chick Wild Thing has some other friends she hangs out with at time and oh that infuriates Carroll oh so much with jealousy. The World of The Wild Things is a forest, but also a barren wasteland. The wasteland is coming closer, they do not know why. Everyone in this movie is anxious. Max makes the mistake to tell the Wild Things about the sun going out, and they take it literally. Ignorance is a bliss?



Why am I feeling so much for these fluffy monsters???



Carroll, stop it.
This reminds me of that one time I got high and felt like my teeth were decaying.
...oh.

I think this movie resonates with me because it illustrates the fickle line between happiness and anxiety. Or rather, anxiety is always there. Perhaps it is because I was a very anxious child too (who had like 5 runaway attempts). You know, you are being happy but you also know that happiness could easily be broken like a twig, washed away, because something in the game was not fair, because something is happening at home. You just know it. Perhaps you let your guard down for a second, and suddenly you are alone in your silly little costume.



And the anxiety was actually right, and not irrational. It is a terrifying thought.

The movie also shows how anger can really ruin things and make people not want to hang around with you. Easy pill to swallow for an adult perhaps, but a good lesson for kids. Like, if you are out of control, then making friends will be difficult. Duh.

Ultimately, you will notice that most movies in my list are movies that have affected me greatly. I cry to this movie. It is a movie that makes me anxious. It is a movie that shows that something IS wrong with the surroundings, that we are only at a temporar ceasefire. It is also a movie that shows why you should leave toxic friendships. And that sometimes, you are in the wrong. You are the toxic one.


Oh Carroll...

This is a movie for you who enjoys being taken away to a world where realism and imagination meet arm in arm, and perhaps enjoying one arm being ripped off



This movie is hilarious.
And terrifying.
Because everyone is out of control.

So like, watch this movie? It will make you feel better?



Underneath all the fantastical Wild Things, this is a story about a young boy processing emotional turmoil. One could dive deep into the symbolism and hidden meanings here. I have done that before. But that would make this already long text much longer. And I think it would make this movie a diservice if I sat for too long saying "mm'yes, what an exquisite movie, for sure indeed". What I can say is that the movie shows the result of bottling up anger and sadness. The consequence of wanting to be happy and playing all the time. "Happiness is not always the best way to be happy", indeed.

So let's end this with a song!



This movie was btw in production hell for some time. There's lots of story behind its creation, quite a fun read tbh.

[Wisdom]

Now you made me want to see that movie! >:

[Boquise]

Now you made me want to see that movie! >:

Mission complete!

I want to add a thing. Like in that clip I posted, we have Carroll immediately defending himself and reflecting blame back on Douglas.

"That was my favourite arm!"
"I-I-I was just holding on to it. YOU pulled it away!"

It is simple and childish, but I have met that dialogue so many times in life smh tbh


Such a great movie...

I decided to rewatch it. Frame by frame it is perfection. Too bad I don't have the words to describe it.

Here's some more dialogue:
"You have those bird bones that are gonna cut my mouth? Do you?"
"No I don't have bird bones"
"You better not. You better not be difficult to eat! Did you even think of that? God, you're selfish."

Reminds me of some ex girlfriends

[LordQuas]

*We are now entering the first entrance of the list*
*Please keep your seatbelts tightened, this will be a spoilery ride.*
*Make sure to digest every bit of beef or fragments of underdone potatoes,
Lest you will be more of gravy than of a grave*


It is... show time!


#10 - The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)



[FONT=Times New Roman]
Aah, it was a bleak December evening, many many years ago, when I lived in Canada. I went to the cinema to watch this movie, and a magical ride it was. I had no expectations going in. What I saw was... amazing.

But before we go anecdotal, I need to tell you about this movie. This movie THATISTILLAMNOTABLETOWATCHINSWEDENDUETOREGIONLOCKS THANKYOUWORLD.
This movie is, which some of you cultury folks have guessed, a Christmas movie. And not only a Christmas movie - no sir, this is A Christmas Carol movie. The beautiful, masterful novel from 1843. That story that has been remade into movies so many times so both Alfred Pennyworth and The Riddler have had the time to play the main character Ebeneezer Scrooge. Yes, that story. The story about Ebeneezer Scrooge.



Only it is not.
Psyche!

The handsome man the camera has been focusing on is none other than Charles $%#!ens. You see, this movie has two main characters: Charles $%#!ens, and A Christmas Carol, the story. This is an origin tale, for both of them. Which is very deserved, considering that Mister $%#!ens, albeit relatively $%#!ish, was not much of a $%#! compared to the other $%#!s of London. He was quite cooler. This movie is about Mr $%#!ens and how he crafted his Ghostly little book. There have probably been lots of other movies about this specific theme, the author and his story, but my knowledge of cinema is limited and I do not care. I love this movie, and I will tell you why.

The Man Who Invented Christmas tells us about $%#!ens' life. We are introduced to his vast, and expanding, family. Several sons and daughters and a loving wife. His fame is well-established already, which makes sense because We, the audience, do not really need a full background story of $%#!ens - he is still that known. Christmas is approaching, and Mr $%#!ens is in trouble. He is a generous man giving money to charity and beggars, and buying toys to his and other children. The fortune he has been earning is drying up.

Mr $%#!ens return to his beloved London after a trip to the USA, is aggravated by some bad reviews (and lesser irl rival authors' glee) and is tasked to speedrun write a Christmas book. But since $%#!ens is a man of the people, he commits to the art of procrastination.



Yadda yadda...

All this is known as historical fact. Mr $%#!ens had to write A Christmas Carol, not out of love or because he had a spur of Christmas spirit induced into him. He had to write it and make it hit the stores before the Holidays because he was facing both economical and professional bankruptcy. People were questioning both his sanity with money and his worth as an author.

This might all sound very cliché, and it is. The movie could have been just another historical drama where $%#!ens struggle, gets in some argument with his wife, cheats on his wife with the cute maid, is forgiven in the end because "Oh You Dirty Dog" wholesomeness and we the audience would go like:


But it is not. The movie has two themes it wants to explore.

1. The life of Charles $%#!ens
The movie feeds us with bits of $%#!ens past, as a kid and so on. We get to see the inspiration from Oliver Twist, and we get to see his conflicted relationship with his father. They do this with outmost respect of $%#!ens the person. Movies tend to dramatise historical people's lives and, happily, make them into huge $%#!s. It is clear that the movie makers are fans of $%#!ens, and thus it becomes a delight to see. Sure, there IS a cute maid, but $%#!ens does not try to pursue her in any way. Which is refreshing (Later in $%#!ens life, he will dump his wife for a younger girl, but that is not relevant to this story so whilst that is bittersweet outside knowledge to have, the movie is not trying to make a thing out of it since it had yet to happen). She does help him with brainstorming his book tho!

But Monsieur Boquise! You said earlier that this movie is not about $%#!ens' life! You fraud! Yes, my ever observant minion, I did, and that still holds true. This movie takes place in well-established $%#!ens' life. Time is however not linear. He experiences things that makes him remember and think back to his childhood. Most days during 1843's December are eventful for $%#!ens. And he never stops thinking. He never stops imagining. Just like we don't. So we are fed small bits of backstory, when $%#!ens thinks back and re-experiences certain childhood trauma. So it is about $%#!ens' life but also not.

What is also nice is that this theme is woven into the master theme of the movie.


2. The creative process.

Charles $%#!ens is having a writer's block. He does not know how to move his story, and he feels generally lost on what the story will be about really. He walks around London, talk to people, but the financial and domestic stresses are overbearing.


Until a chance meeting occurs.
He sees an elderly gentleman at the local pub. That quick observation creates something. A ghost. What should a ghost be named? Ah yes, of course, Jacob Marley, sir, obviously it is you! But who are you haunting? Someone mean, someone cruel...



mmh yes, this man needs a harsh word. SCRATCH. There's a BITE in SCRATCH - he bites off heads and households alike. An itchy scab in your face. He is an old Scratch, alright, but that is a nickname not the name signed on eviction notes with black ink.



Aye, I imagine long and cold money-nabbing fingers. Old fingers worn from counting coin. But no, that is not it. Scrunge. That sounds like a beaten boot. Who is afraid of a Scrunge?



You might grow weary of this pedantic focus on names. Names, you might scoff. Those are titles we can get later. Who cares. But there you are wrong, my child. The name is everything. The name should be able to stand alone without adjectives and you just get the character.



This man needs to be ghoulish enough to be visited by a spectre. He needs to stand between Victorian superstition and Realism. He needs to make the London winters colder, harsher, more bitter. A ghost made of flesh and blood. An ogre of a man. Who is he? The brisk fire of questions to which we, the audience, are exposed, elicited from the movie that $%#!ens was thinking of an animal a live animal, rather a disagreeable animal, a savage animal, an animal that growled and grunted sometimes, and talked sometimes, and lived in London, and walked about the streets, and wasn’t made a show of, and wasn’t led by anybody, and didn’t live in a menagerie, and was never killed in a market, and was not a horse, or an $%#!, or a cow, or a bull, or a tiger, or a dog, or a pig, or a cat, or a bear. No of course not! His name is obvious! It is



ScrOooOoooOge.
Perfect. And what has he to say about Christmas?


Why I am putting so much effort into names here is simple. It was important to $%#!ens. Not only did irl $%#!ens put thought into the naming of his characters, he also wanted their whole appearance and characteristics tell the story and personality of his characters. The movie shows this. I am so happy it does. It stays true to how $%#!ens created.

Mr $%#!ens picks up on dialogues in the busy city. We, the viewers, get to watch a creative process being born. It is slow, at first, but soon it is flowing. It does not just become him listening to people, it becomes him acting as those people. He paces around his little writing room, making faces and talking to himself. The characters are, in the movie, literally coming to life in $%#!ens' eyes. They are the elderly gentleman, the butcher, that woman he just passed when out for his morning walk. They are cast into one of the greatest stories there ever has been, without knowing it.

And $%#!ens, he is everyone. As the characters say their lines, he echoes them. Because those are his lines too. Which you can see in the gif I posted above about Christmas.

This is not enough to make a "great" movie, a top boq ten nonetheless. However, the movie lets the two themes mesh. $%#!ens' visions interfere with his personal journey as well. And that might sound completely normie and natural to you, and I agree. But it is a good thing, to me. Writing a story is not just sitting down with your pencil and you write it. Writing a story is not like how Ernest Hemingway depicted it, that when you put down your pencil the story is gone and you just live as it is not happening real time at the very moment. Maybe that was how it was for Hemingway, but it is not for me and certainly not for movie $%#!ens.

Life does indeed move as you write a story, and even though $%#!ens writes this Ghostly little book during less than a month, life is happening full speed for him too. His wife is pregnant with their like... sixth child, idk. His alcoholic dad is in desperate need of help and wants to reconnect with both son and grandkids. Money is running short. Authors and critics laugh at him. And this story is causing a havoc in his head. Occupying more and more space until it becomes the master-passion triumphing over every other noble aspiration. Perhaps he will end up as his father? Or maybe Christmas is saved? Whatever the answer, the movie shows how a writing project meshes with your everyday life. You can't really escape it. You will learn from your characters. You will be affected by them and you will affect them through the state of your mind. And that is super cool! Humans can simulate complex alternate worlds inside their heads and they leave footprints in the real world! You are walking in your characters' shoes without knowing it. And they, sometimes, borrow yours. You love them, you hate them. It is a relationship.

All in all, what made the movie stuck with me was $%#!ens' creative process. I relate heavily to it, since I usually walk around and act out my characters. My then 23-year-old mind was blown away. I have rarely experienced that feeling before, seeing a creative process "live" and just go "thats how I do it too!" As the characters were popping up and lines were made, I could not sit still on my seat. I laughed, I clapped my hands, I was being a maniac. I was thankfully alone in the cinema.

The Man Who Invented Christmas is originally a non-fiction book written by Les Standiford. I have yet to read it. Though I surely will one day, I will treat the book and movie as separate entities. There is a lot to say about fact vs fiction, and the movie industry will always make a story "based on true events" pompous and grander than it probably really was. A lot of things in the movie -are- as true as they can ever be; some things are exaggerated. That is okay. Who knows if Charles $%#!ens ran around in his home saying "Humbug!" This movie is realism sprinkled with some very very soft magic. It is a delight to watch.



As the credits rolled, I was silent. Perhaps a single tear dropped into my empty popcorn. Perhaps I had just witnessed an illustration of a creative brain processing. Perhaps it was like a mirror to my own. Or I would like to think so. I felt richer. Joyous. Child-like.


So be a good soldier and watch this movie


and you might be able to salute as enthusiastic as the young $%#!ens child there!

which is actually a super dark and grim detail for those in the known. I am pretty sure that that child is supposed to be Walter Landor $%#!ens (it was five years ago since I watched the movie so I don't remember; there are so many $%#!ens kids). Walter aspired to be an author just like his dad, but Charles $%#!ens dissuaded him. "The less he is encouraged to write the better, and the happier he will be", $%#!ens apparently said. Instead, Walter became a cadet of the East India Company. He left for India at age 16, and never returned home. Walter died of an aortic aneurysm in Calcutta. Charles $%#!ens got the news on his birthday, two months later. Hence why that salute is a bit... grim tbh. They are like, imagining to be soldier and general and stuff.

[/FONT

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@Boquise I watched this movie w/ my parents over the holidays randomly a few years ago and we were all pleasantly surprised at how good it was. can second this endorsement

[billymills]

damn boq that was incredible

made me wish you had taught me english

i love the blend of serious critique with memes and self deprication. its so refreshing to see language wielded so magnificently

[LordQuas]

damn boq that was incredible

made me wish you had taught me english

i love the blend of serious critique with memes and self deprication. its so refreshing to see language wielded so magnificently

genuine and sincere billy makes me uncomfortable

[katze]

damn boq that was incredible

made me wish you had taught me english

i love the blend of serious critique with memes and self deprication. its so refreshing to see language wielded so magnificently

genuine and sincere billy makes me uncomfortable

bold of you to think that was genuine, sincere, or billy

[Boquise]

The suspense has been chilling.

Which movie will be up next?

Which movie is lurking out in the snow storm?



(spoilers, duh)

We are at the Eighth boq movie. Eight happens to be my favourite number. Though it does not mean this is movie number one, it does please me aesthetically that it is none other than:

#8 - The Hateful Eight (2015)



Before I begin writing about the movie itself, I need to address something very important. Look at that poster above. Look how the trees loom over the eight silhouttes. The trees are huge compared to the people. The mountain trail is steep. The only thing that looks warm is the cabin with its chimney smoke and colour. It is the only thing being really colourised. Except for the subtle blood trail that stalks the footsteps of the two silhouttes in the foreground. All of this hinting at something sinister at play. Does this look like a western movie to you?

No, it does not, and that is why I chose this poster over the others. We have the typical action-y poster that is more commonly used, and some that are more focusing on the snow. This poster illustrates the force of nature and the smallness of its people. This is important, because there would not be a movie without nature interferring (which we will get to). It also showcases all characters, as silhouttes, and the trail of blood. We cannot make out anything of them. All we can discern is that there are eight of them, and a storm is coming. Silhouettes symbolise that we do not know them, which also means that we do not know them. What are their motives? Can they be trusted? Who really are they? They will probably seek shelter in that cabin, at least. One of them seems to be holding a gun, and the one female-shaped silhouette is chained to him. A prisoner, huh.

The set-up, the game board, is perfect for what is to come.

One last thing, just to drive my point home.

The main soundtrack. Just a few seconds in and you know, dear viewer, that something is not alright here. Something is weird. Dare I say, something is afoot. Because this, my friends, is not a Western movie. It is just set with those Western attires and around the time period. No, this is a thriller and, more precisely, a whodunnit. This is a Gothic movie. That can be heard through the music and by having knowledge of the genre. Just the poster shows it. The players have gathered at civilisation's last frontier. Who are the players? I recommend you listen to the soundtrack with me.

Without further ado, let me introduce you to the hateful eight!

Dramatis Personae:



Major Marquis Warren. Our main character. A bounty hunter caught up in the snow storm, having a pile of dead wanted men next to him when making his appearance. Once a black Union soldier, fought for the Northern side. Infamous on the Southern side for being exceptionally ruthless, earning him a bounty from the Confederate. Famous in all the united states for claiming to have had letter correspondence with President Lincoln. He is encountered by The Hangman and asks for a ride to the town of Red Rock, Wyoming. Both he and The Hangman are heading that way, after all.



John Ruth, aka The Hangman. An infamous bounty hunter who earned his alias by being one of the few who saw the "alive" part of "wanted dead or alive", and brought his prisoners to the sheriff office. So he could see them hang. "You really only need to hang mean bastards, but mean bastards you need to hang!" is his philosophy. He is sitting comfy next to his newest prisoner in a horse wagon, heading to Red Rock to see her hang, when encountering a certain bounty hunter...


General Sandford “Sandy” Smithers. Once a confederate general, as you can see. Gigantic racist, as you can guess. He is up there in the cabin, next to the fire, having the countenance of stubborn pride only old coots can possess. Regardless of what they have done.


Chris Mannix. A Southern renegade, youngest son to the leader of the Mannix's marauders - a band of guerillas who fought for the Confederate side. John Ruth, Mayor Warren, and The Prisoner, meet him in snowy forest. He holds a lantern, says his horse died, and asks for a spot in Ruth's wagon. Ruth is not too enthusiastic, and he does not believe one minute of Mannix' claim to be the new sheriff of Red Rock. Alas, Mannix manages to persuade him a spot in the wagon.


Up in the cabin we have Bob. Yes, this man's name is Bob. Calling it a "cabin" is too unspecific. Why, its official name is Minnie's Haberdashery. Where is Minnie? She is off to the other side of the mountain, visiting her parents. Bob is her employee and is taking care of the Haberdashery whilst she is away. He has made some nice stew and helps unloading the horses. Don't call him a liar. Do you get it, cabron?


What is a mystery movie without a British gentleman with a spruce moustache? Meet Oswaldo Mobray, the hangman of Red Rock, sought protection in the Haberdashery from the nature's wild powers. He has the papers to prove it, and wants nothing but that these violence-prune Americans do not kill each other during this, ah, sejour. This is civilisation, and frontier justice is not something to endorse.


Joe Gage. Mysterious cowboy sitting in a corner. He is off to visit his mother, for it is Christmas. Christmas with mother, is something special, don't you think? Meanwhile he is writing the only thing he is qualified to write - his life story. It's not much, but it's honest work.


Daisy Domergue, imprisoned by John Ruth, off to Red Rock to meet the gallows. Unpleasant and racist, fugitive wanted dead or alive and part of the Domergue gang. She is chained into John Ruth to ensure that she cannot escape her death. A southern... belle?

You should read the title "Hateful 8" as literal. None of these characters are heroes. They all have questionable morals. Most of them are extremely racist, and most of them are extremely violent. Oh I am forgetting someone... Hold on...


This is OB. Notice how he has no title card. That is because this movie is called The Hateful Eight, not Nine. Duh. There can thus only be 8 hateful peeps through the movie. OB is also not particularly hateful. He is John Ruth's rider, and everyone likes him.

Alright, all the players have been introduced. Let's take a look at the setting for this play.

Minnie's Haberdashery

90% of the movie is spent here. The Haberdashery is one giant room with just one door - the exit. The privy is a few metres away. Perfect to be cozy with each other. The Haberdashery is there for weary travelers to rest between their journeys. A place for shelter up there in the mountains.

Alright, players and setting done. Before I go into the plot, I want to put out a few disclaimers and trigger warnings.

• This movie takes place in the late 1870s USA. It contains racist language with racist characters and physical abuse on a female. The racism is not hidden under a rug nor is it excused. It just is.
• Given it is a Tarantino movie, it contains f-bombs and blood fountains.
• There is no real satisfying comeuppance towards the racism. This is not Django Unchained.
• One could debate about the okay-ness in depicting racism in such a, imo, realistic manner. That is not a debate I am interested in right now however.
• I will spoil some parts of the movie, even the ending, but there are certain things I will leave for you to discover if you happen to watch this movie.

Phew, now that is done.
Speaking of Django Unchained, many people I know like to compare The Hateful Eight with it, and thus claiming Django to be much superior than the 8. They are very different movies in different genres. The Hateful Eight was originally supposed to be a sequel to Django, called Django in White Hell. I am thankful it is not. It would lose its own identity if it was a sequel. Perhaps it was because the script leaked that made the change. Tarantino was close to throw it all away, maybe make it into a theatre play or something. But here we are. Finally, let's talk about the plot.

You have already been told the first part. Warren meets up with Ruth, OB and Daisy. The old bounty hunter recommends them staying at Minnie's, whom he knows from before, because they will not be able to outride the oncoming storm. They reluctantly pick up Mannix on the way. The ride is unpleasant. Ruth is paranoid of both Warren ("perhaps he will steal my prize") and Mannix ("an idiot like that cannot be the new sheriff"). They are forced to be unnarmed in present of Ruth. Ruth does warm up when he gets to read Warren's letter from Lincoln after all...

And well, Ruth does trust Warren. Trusts him so much so he returns Warrens gun, so someone can have an eye on Mannix whilst he holds an eye on Daisy.

It is good to have friends tbh

They finally arrive at Minnie's Haberdashery, just as the stalking storm takes hold of the mountains. They meet Bob, who assists Warren with the horses. The characters can barely see each other. And what is up with the door? The people inside have nailed it stuck so they have to redo the process each and every time anyone goes outside, because otherwise the door will blow open.

They also need to make a safe passage to the privy, hammering down iron poles and tying a rope between them. OB and Mannix are the men for the job, and a job it sure is. It is a blizzard, they can barely keep their balance, and the two almost die when going through this hazardous job. Then it is time to nail the door stuck.


It is so nice seeing people get involved for a common cause.

Finally, everyone is hurdled up in the cabin and get to know each other better. Eight strangers and an OB. OB swears that the blizzard won't be seeing him again. That is for sure.



But where is Minnie? Warren asked Bob questions, to which the bearded helper responded defensively. "Are you calling me a liar, cabron?" No, no, Warren assures him. "If I call you a liar, you will know it". So something is afoot, indeed. Warren is not the only character who is suspicious of the situation. Ruth does not buy these stories. Someone is there to free his prisoner. A loner cowboy visiting his mother for Christmas? A British hangman? Mannix is a sheriff? ...Bob? Give me a break.



Ruth questions every man inside the cabin and also demands them to give him all their guns. He throws the weapons in a bucket of water. Now, only he and Warren are the armed fellows inside this here habberdashery. And he explains his intentions to the other residents of Minnie's



And the game can start. Who is lying?

You might have been wondering for a while, why do I like this movie so much? Like, I even made a disclaimer on how much awfulness these characters spit. The answer is the setting, the dialogue, the story, the music, the house. The mystery. Samuel Jackson (who plays Warren, in case you did not recognise him) has compared his character with Poirot, and it is not wrong to do so. Piece by piece, Warren completes the puzzle, and the story is structured like an Agatha Christie novel, after all. The dialogue?! you might react. Well, here is the thing. The dialogue is so ruthlessly good because all the characters try to absolutely bury each other with witty words, given that they no longer have their guns. They are funny, they are disgusting, they are raw. There is a lot of hammy lines (it is a Tarantino movie so). This is also why I have delibaretly structured this text like the script for a play.

Because this is a play. Aside from the beginning, we are stuck in this house with them. One room. This movie is structured like a theatre play, and we the viewers believe that we have full sight on whatever happens, though we do wonder, like Ruth and Warren, who is the liar?

I love whodunnits! I love claustrophobic settings! I even made a mafia game with Hateful Eight flavour back in 2015ish.

Anyway, like Oswaldo says, we all need to be civil in here; the civil war is over. Let bygones be bygones etc. So Warren sits next to the old Confederate general Sandy Smithers (much to Mannix' ire, the boy admires the general like he was a superhero).



Warren wants to exchange war stories with Smithers. The old general is not really happy about that though, he makes it very clear what he thinks of Warren's "kind". But, Warren points out, they were both soldiers. The general can't deny him that, at least? And the general relents. So they sit and have a chit-chat. Which might be a very bizarre thing, given the context, but hey! It is cool, right? The general tells his story, that he is up there looking for his son. A son who was chasing a certain wanted man, having a bounty by the Confederate. Warren smiles. You are that General Sandy Smithers? Wow, What. A. Surprise. That is sure a name. Let me tell you a story. A funny story. A story about a little soldier boy searching for his fortune equipped with a gun and snow shoes. That soldier boy came for Warren, but was outmatched. That could have ended it all, the boy could have been sent back in defeat like the previous hunters, but no, the boy made a mistake. He begged, and he said, he was the son of the General Sandy Smithers. Do you think that SUCH an opportunity could just pass? Warren explains, in meticulous details, what he did to Smithers' son. In the cold mountains. Alone.



Eventually, Smithers is so triggered so he pulls his trigger but he isn't as quick as Warren is with the quick draw. #3 is shot in self-defence. We have our first death.

I am putting so much time in this part of the story because it 1. shows how Warren, the main character, uses language to get the reaction he wants from the others. Language is Warren's best weapon, as he solves the puzzle and coax the truth out of everyone else. For he shot in self-defence, so he cannot be charged for any crime. 2. This is the end of the second act, and we are now reaching the middle part of the movie.

The narrator tells us that the character draws straws on who will depose of Smithers' body. OB loses.


OB is the butt-monkey of this movie...

Okay, okay, but what about the MYSTERY? The whodunnit? Well, it was obviously not the general. But who ever thought that? All this cold and fighting and bickering and murdering would leave anyone hungry. They all sit together and eat Minnie's good ol' stew. Ruth is even nice enough to free Daisy temporarily so she can eat.


Best of friends.

We are told something though, by the Narrator. As $%#! was going down with Warren and Smithers, someone was up to no good. What is the best drink during a blizzard? The answer is simple, just look at my profile picture. It is coffee. Everyone wants a hot cup of joe during harsh winter evenings. And we are told that someone has been tampering with the coffee. Our eyes are glued at the coffee. Two people take a new cup and drink after this: Ruth and OB. Soon the poison will kick in. No one knows this, except for two people. The poisoner, and Daisy. And now she, and we, wait.


This is what we call "dramatic irony" in plays and novels.

What comes after is an intense scene. Both Ruth and OB spit blood, and not so little of that either. Ruth manages to warn Mannix, who is about to warm himself with that glorious drink, "the coffee is poisoned!" before he pukes more blood. Daisy laughs in triumph, and Ruth chains her onto his arm once more and proceeds to beat the living $%#! out of her. She keeps laughing, and shoots him, with his own gun. The irony. He took all the strangers' guns so he would not be shot, but was foiled by his own steel. What also makes this scene great is the music that plays as the poison takes effect on the two men.



The bunch of you who are movie dorks might recognise this piece. This song is from an older movie, and one that The Hateful Eight draws inspiration from. I'll put the answer in spoilers.

Yes, The Thing (1982).

Fun facts: Kurt Russell, who plays John Ruth, is the main character in The Thing. OB's outdoorsy clothes reminds me of Russel's in The Thing

It is pretty cool how this piece fits with the whole score without sticking out.

#2 has passed. The Hangman is dead. And so is poor ol' OB. A real crime has been made - putting poison in coffee. Daisy's friend has not accounted for two things though. 1. Mannix, and, most importantly, 2. motherfucking Warren. After his little shoot-out, he has been sitting on his chair all content. He has also had ample time to think and observe. Immediately after The Hangman's death he rise, guns in both hands, and order the others to face the wall. Except for Daisy. She is stuck to Ruth's heavy corpse. Warren is the detective who has solved it all, but what is a detective without an assistant? Mannix was close to die! He is cleared by coffee tbh!


Did anyone predict that these two would end up having a bromance? Don't lie.
Also look how happy Mannix is! Going from unsure to happy-go-lucky in his facial expression, almost as if he can't believe it either that he is one of the good guys. He actually is the new sheriff of Red Rock! Who would've thought? Not he at least.

Now to determine who of these $%#!s poisoned the coffee!
And I will spoil it (or will I?).

Brilliantly executed, Warren posit each theory toward the characters. Bringing 'em down, one lie at a time. What has bothered him for a while, aside from all these new not-Minnie-like rules that Bob has, is one little detail. One thing that makes this all so strange. The habberdashery is Minnie's treasure. That is a fact. Another fact, is that Minnie absolutely hates Mexicans. She would never give one the keys to her habberdashery. Let alone be friends. For there is literally a "No Mexicans" sign on this here house.



Warren shoots Bob to kingdom come, his face resembling Minnie's stew more than a person. ...Villain found out through racism..? ...Yaaay? At least Warren told him that he'd know when Warren calls him a liar. No more #5.

One last spoiler. Warren is right on the money. Daisy's gang has been hiding at Minnie's. Before Warren, Ruth, Daisy and Mannix arrived, they had prepped the scene, their roles and lines, and managed to get it all done right before the "heroes" arrive.

This is brilliant. This is meta theatre at play. The movie is set up like a theatre play, and some of the characters are acting in the movie. I love layers like that.

So let's sum it up. Daisy ends up hanged, in honour of the late Hangman. Buh-bye #8. There are a lot of things transpiring in-between my paragraphs though. You'll have to experience them yourselves! Can't do all the work for you, can I.

This movie is great. Due to the limited scenery, it forces both the set and the actors to go all out in delivering their performance. There sure are grim dialogues, yes, but also absolutely hilarious ones. Like the one line Mannix say to Smithers when encountering him (as you can see in one of the gif above). Daisy is sometimes funny, Joe Gage is funny, and Tim Roth... my man, who plays Oswaldo Mobray. You can just see how he is loving each and every second of this debacle.


Just look at him! PS. If you like a certain other Tarantino movie, you will be delighted of what happens to Roth's character.

This is really important. You need the comical relief characters, dialogue and plot lines to make a heavy (and Gothic) story to work with the audience. Otherwise it would be like chewing on a leathery piece of meat for two hours. Not fun!

What else is there to say? This movie shows that you can make something cool with limited space. The score is absolutely amazing. The whodunnit has been put on a spin. By letting Ruth declare early that someone is lying, the stakes become way more higher and the movie experience way more intense for the audience. We are on high alert mode with the characters too. I also absolutely love stories where no character is really "good". Instead having an ensemble of deeply flawed characters. It pictures the "calmness before the storm" brilliantly, especially since there is a literal storm waiting outside.

I do not think there really is a movie like The Hateful Eight. It takes the core from various genre and twists it, plays with it. And as usual, Tarantino lets his actors go absolutely ham on the script. It makes it into an unforgettable experience.

One could make some sort of deep analysis on themes and the history sipping in from the cottage cracks, and that would be fair and interesting. I do think there is a conversation to be had there and a conversation The Hateful Eight is willing to participate in. But to me, this movie is all technique. This is Tarantino boasting "look at the $%#! I can do" with a leaked script. This is a playground for his actors where they can show their shine. Nowadays I watch this movie just to gush on the narrative techniques at display. And because it is $%#!ing entertaining.

Also!
Given that Joe Gage is out to visit his dear Mama for Christmas, and Bob playing Silent Night on the piano (as Warren destroys Smithers), this should be included in the Christmas movie canon! So now you know what to watch during the next Christmas season! Wahooooo murderous cowboys!

fun fact. In the scene where Ruth destroys Daisy's guitar, they don't switch out the guitar with the prop. Daisy's guitar was a genuine antique. The actors' reactions are genuine. RIP guitar.

[Boquise]

damn boq that was incredible

made me wish you had taught me english

i love the blend of serious critique with memes and self deprication. its so refreshing to see language wielded so magnificently

thanks tbh!

[Wisdom]

That's also a movie I've wanted to see for a long time!

[Boquise]

I did not forget this tbh

Work's been busy

Got a kid to feed
me

but here I am again, back at it tbh

Let us talk about the seventh movie of the boqqos and the newest addition too.

Yes, I am a normie.
Yes, I am an edgy boi tbh.
Yes, I am a clown.
No, I have not watched Taxi driver smh


Without further ado, here's.......

#7 - The Joker (2019)


Image of this movie kicking itself into the top 7 list tbh


Yeah so this movie is 3 years old now. Still, considering it caused such a stir, I don't think I need to summarise the plot or anything. I will try not to do some pretentious analysis either, since YouTube is full of those. I will simply state the small things that make this movie so good (in my opinion).

"But Boq!! Did you not know! The Joker is basically just a reprint of Martin Scorsese' movie Taxi Driver from 1976! It is the same movie, does the same stuff, it-"


Look, if I got a penny every time I have been told this after expressing how much I like this movie, I would be at least 5 pennies richer. And I don't even know how much money that is!

Or how every discussion about the Joker is usurped by "did you know taxi driver..."
$%#! it is already happening.

Ok. I have not watched Taxi Driver. I will one day. Maybe I am afraid it will make me appreciate this movie less. Idk. Now back to Mr. Joker tbh

Why do I like it? I will assume that you have watched this movie already tbh
Well, I will start with the simpler aspect. I enjoy movies that give a "dirty"/"sleazy" vibe. I enjoy watching characters living in the, uh, dirtier parts of cities. Not because I enjoy poverty, no sir not I tbh, but I like the aesthetic. Like, Arthur's apartment feels unique. It feels like his place. The clown agency's dressing room has a certain aesthetic too, same with the city streets, so the environment gets a bit of character. They feel special. And I feel like movies with these sorts of "dirty" vibe are the best at it because they are handling real characters.

It is really hard to describe this feeling tbh. It is like the same reason I like Nirvana and the grunge genre.

Now to the real meat of it. During my first viewing of the movie, there was a specific scene that sold me. That made me think “this is great”. It is the scene where Arthur watches Murray’s show with his mother. Suddenly Arthur and the viewer are transported into the show. It is not explicitly told (which I also like). Instead the observant viewer can notice that the scene is much more colourful compared to the other scenes. Arthur gets Murray’s attention, by his ridiculous laughter. It all ends super well. Arthur gets positive attention from everyone, he has the literal spotlight on him, he gets to address that he has no father and Murray says he’d be happy to have a son like Arthur. Then we are transported back to reality.

I really enjoyed that scene because:

• I think many of us have found ourselves fantasising about great scenarios. Where we are chosen and made special. Where a person we idolise makes our dreams come true and say the right things. And the attribute we feel shame for (in this case, Arthur’s laughter) actually becomes the key for getting that positivity.
  
• It shows that we are the main character in our own fantasy, which is, well, obvious but it is nice showing it like this.
  
• It builds up for everything else. There are several scenes where Arthur smiles knowingly and acts like he is in the “known” compared to the rest. Before I get to the point, let’s also throw in one of the earliest scenes. Arthur is beaten up in an alley by some punks. He instinctively covers his face and crotch. That is a defence mechanism, just like that “acting in the known” thing. Removing yourself from situations in reality is a way of escape. Acting like you know a lot more than the rest of the peeps is also a means of escape and protection. Life is miserable to Arthur. There are hints of an inferiority complex. Pretending that you are smarter than the rest protects the ego. I believe Arthur uses his fantasy to protect himself. Be it imagining scenarios or just acting.

I know some would call this narcissism. I do not think it necessarily has to be that. Sure, there is a narcissistic tendency to believe that you are worth more than the current life you are living. But in this case, I think it is because of how Arthur views his life. He needs to hold on to “I know better than everyone else in society” because without that thought, he has nothing tbh.

It is also interesting that he is dominant and in-the-know when he and his mother watch the news together. Like a different person. Perhaps that is the only context where he is brave enough to express such an attitude.

I believe that this is why the movie caused a stir. The whole incel/npc-whatever debate. That the movie was regarded as dangerous or whatever. And that is because Joker, Arthur, is extremely relatable for the every-day person. He is the end result of what a person could become. This is probably discomforting, since Joker is not a good person and it feels bad to relate to not only a murderous villain, but a loser even. Those characters are supposed to be ridiculed or criticised, or at best, pitied.

So I like Joker, because it is a character study of a person you do not want to relate with, but are anyway.


I just really like how his whole face moves here. Laughing, the sigh, face twitching, eyes closed, frown. I see it as re-focusing yourself tbh. It is something I do when trying to combat an oncoming anxiety attack.

Dancing is an important part of the movie, and there are several videos analysing them. I won’t write much about it, but I want to add some stuff. I interpret the dances as the moments where Arthur feels beautiful tbh. Like the only moments. It is a nice touch tbh.

Another thing I like with movies, and stories overall, is when I feel like there are multiple ways one can watch the movie. Multiple modes, if you will. The whole “What is real” question comes into play, especially at the ending.

Let’s look back on the scene I adore. It is a fantastical scene where everything that Arthur wants to happen, happens. But it does not happen. That is clear. Then the movie ends with a “What’s so funny?” “You wouldn’t get it.” dialogue between a therapist and Arthur at a mental hospital (which can be interpreted multiple ways). But. So Arthur somehow ignited a movement, or at least hijacked the movement against the rich of Gotham? He is cheered on as a hero of the people. He manages to be invited into Murray’s show and to shoot Murray. Is that really real? Perhaps it is another one of his power fantasies where he comes out on top.



Or we could watch it as linear and real. The scene with Murray is brilliant, especially so if we regard it as “real”. Considering that this is the first time Arthur has to confront people of a group he does not belong to, the enemy group. His badass speech loses power and becomes ridiculous (The “we go werewolf” thing), so it doesn’t become that power fantasy moment that Arthur probably wanted. I would not be surprised though if everything just transpired inside his head tbh.

Either way. Nice movie tbh. I enjoy stories with main characters like Arthur, and I enjoy questioning the sanity of the narrator.

[roro__b]

I might watch peepee poopoo eight but I kinda think joker was super overhyped and i felt kinda not wowed after I had seen it and it made me sad because everyone said I would be

[Boquise]

I might watch peepee poopoo eight but I kinda think joker was super overhyped and i felt kinda not wowed after I had seen it and it made me sad because everyone said I would be

Aww sad.
The danger of overhype tbh

Joker is not a wow film imo. It is streamlined chaos. I hope I am not overhyping the other movies tho

Perhaps this clip will make you feel better. I forgot to add a funny spoiler for movie 7

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Vz69L4qyuuE

[Norwee]

Looking classy as ever.