Judi Dench discusses husband's heartbreaking death with ...

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 53%. (I'm a bot)

For the last seven years, British actress Judi Dench has been nurturing a forest dedicated to those close to her who have passed.
Dench's fascination with trees, a life-long interest she says started when she just a little girl, is the subject of a new BBC documentary, "Judi Dench: My Passion for Trees." The one hour special, filmed over the course of a year, follows Dench as she learns more about the secrets of forests with the assistance of tree scientists and historians.
"A forest is a very social place. Everyone is sharing and passing on things to everyone else. When I planted trees in memory of my friends I always hoped they would be part of a community, that they would be communicating with each other. And now it's so reassuring to find out it's true."
As part of the groundbreaking science exposing the secrets of trees, researchers Dr. Mathias Disney and Phil Wilkes conducted 3-D laser measurements of a 200-year-old oak in Dench's garden.
Dench joked to the The Times that she could one day see herself giving up acting to lecture on the wonders of trees.
You can see Dench express her love for forests in the 2012 clip below as part of a tree-planting campaign for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.

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So I know there's a lot of opinions about the 2005 pride and prejudice. Personally, I love it. The cinematography of the ball where lizzy and Darcy finally dance, is stunning. The way that isolate the couple as they fall in love and the crowd melted away and it's just lizzy and Darcy as they become absolutely focused on each other. The visual representation of how they only have eyes for each other is so, perfectly, beautiful.
Knightly does a perfectly reasonable job at lizzy, even if it's not the best.
But! Matthew McFadden as Darcy is stunningly done imo. I've seen a lot of critics tear him down in the past but I'm not sure how actual Austen fans feel.
I love how when he first sees lizzy at the ball, he holds the glance a little too long.
How he looks for lizzy in the crowd before he calls her perfectly tolerable. His restrained stun at getting caught anyway.
The way he tells her that her sister is upstairs, just a little too fast.
The way he holds her hand, and runs from his feelings after the ball.
The struggle that is visible in him when he professes his love. It is passionate and overwhelming to him, and it destroys and outrages him that she doesn't see the compliment that is his love despite everything. To him in the 19th century it is a sacrifice to him and Austen intentionally wrote lizzy to be indifferent to that sacrifice. He embodies the bafflement so well.
In every comment chain I've seen, people criticize McFadden for being too stony, unfeeling. But I see a man who feels deeply. But works very hard to hide it, and he does so successfully.
However, he is very like my husband, so maybe I see knowing glances, loving gestures, where others don't.
Edit: I probably should've looked this up, but my husband was exposed to the big bad recently. I've spent a week separated from my husband and children as I was exposed second hand. I'm drunk, and watching the movie missing my husband
Edit : the sound track is stunning. The cliff scene and tour scene are largely unnecessary, but the music makes me feel the emotions of lizzy
Edit : streaming consciousness part 3 the scenes at pemberly are a magnification of his slipping control. She almost cries at his inconvenience and his hope is so thick you could cut it with a knife
Last edit : many moments I waited till the end to spoil the last.
His heart break when Wickham pulls his shit with Lydia. The hope is gone, he's lost her. His apology is to buy Wickhams commission.
That he role plays Jane for Bingley
The growing hope after dame Judy Dench arrives
His pacing in front of the house
Mrs. Darcy, Mrs. Darcy, Mrs. Darcy, Mrs. Darcy, Mrs. Darcy.
Edit
Okay so I fucked up his name
Whelp is in the title.
I'll have to ride it the tifu to small for /tifu

Let’s start with the good news. As advertised, 10 more Film4 productions have been added to the BritBox UK archive. These are as follows:

• A Room with a View (1995)

Helena Bonham Carter and Dame Maggie Smith star in this BAFTA-winning story of an Edwardian romance. When a well-to-do young women and her chaperone find themselves staying in Florence in rooms without views, two fellow guests step in to help.

• Alive & Kicking (1997)

A gifted young dancer has his life turned upside down when faced with death. Just when all seems dark around him, he meets an older man who becomes his lover, mentor and companion.

• Brassed Off (1996)

Pete Postlethwaite, Ewan McGregor and Tara Fitzgerald star in this heartfelt drama set in a deprived northern town. When a Yorkshire mining pit is closed down, its colliery band tries to win a music contest to restore community pride.

• Close My Eyes (2011)

Alan Rickman, Clive Owen and Saskia Reeves star in this tense drama exploring themes of forbidden intimacy. When a brother and sister's unconventional relationship crosses a line, her husband begins to suspect something is very wrong indeed.

• Dancing at Lughnasa (1998)

Stunningly shot drama starring Meryl Streep, Kathy Burke & Rhys Ifans. Five sisters living together in 1930s rural Ireland experience the many ways in which family life can bring both joy and heartbreak.

• Monsoon Wedding (2002)

BAFTA-winning comedy drama from director Mira Nair about a lively Punjabi wedding. As family gather from across the globe in Delhi to celebrate a marriage, themes of love & tradition are explored.

• The Raggedy Rawny (1989)

Bob Hoskins makes his directorial debut in this atmospheric tale of a shellshocked army deserter who falls in with a band of gypsies. Disguised as a woman to avoid being found by his military superiors, Tom is initially mistaken for a witch.

• Remembrance (1982)

Gary Oldman stars in his film debut alongside Timothy Spall in this story of young Navy recruits. A group of sailors head out for their last night of freedom in Plymouth before going on a six-month exercise.

• Velvet Goldmine (1998)

Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Christian Bale & Toni Collette star in this gloriously glam rock story inspired by David Bowie. A journalist attempts to discover why a rock star tried to fake his own death a decade earlier.

• Vroom (1988)

Clive Owen and David Thewlis star as Jake and Ringe in this epic 80s road movie. Two pals escape their bleak northern hometown for adventure in their bright pink Chevrolet.

Now, let's move on to the ominous part of the headline. No, it isn't a typo. 82 pieces of content have been removed from BritBox UK today. The majority of which almost certainly due to the expiry of roughly 1-year streaming agreements. Make no mistake either, we'll definitely see more of this throughout November as initial deals continue to expire. Here is everything confirmed to have left the service today in a conveniently numbered list which I compiled with the help of third party-website New On BritBox UK:

1. Age Before Beauty
2. Arthur & George
3. Beecham House
4. Being Poirot
5. The Billion Dollar Chicken Shop
6. Bouquet of Barbed Wire
7. Boy Meets Girl
8. Chatsworth,
9. Churchill's Secret
10. Cockroaches,
11. Colditz
12. The Company of Wolves
13. The Coroner
14. Dark Angel
15. Doctor in the House
16. Doctor Thorne
17. The Four Feathers
18. The Frankenstein Chronicles
19. The Game Show Serial Killer: Police Tapes
20. The Ganges with Sue Perkins
21. Ghostboat
22. Gino's Italian Escape
23. Girlfriends
24. Hamlet
25. Henry V
26. HIM
27. The Hit
28. Hold the Sunset
29. Inside Claridges
30. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
31. The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: Pilot: a Great Deliverance
32. The Intelligence Men
33. James Martin's American Adventure
34. James Martin's French Adventure
35. James Martin's Great British Adventure
36. Judi Dench's Wild Borneo Adventure
37. Jungle Book
38. Lightfields
39. Lucan
40. Madeleine
41. The Magnificent Two
42. Maigret
43. Michael Palin's Hemingway Adventure
44. My Family: Special: Christmas 2009: Special 2039 - A Christmas Oddity
45. My Mother and Other Strangers
46. Nature's Great Events
47. Nature's Great Migrations (Aka the Great Race)
48. Next of Kin
49. North and South
50. Ordinary Lies
51. Parade's End
52. Pollyanna
53. Posh People: Inside Tatler
54. Prick Up Your Ears
55. Prime Suspect 1973
56. QI XL
57. The Quiller Memorandum
58. Rescue: River Deep
59. Mountain High
60. Rillington Place
61. The Scandalous Adventures of Lord Byron
62. School Swap: The Class Divide
63. The Tamarind Seed
64. Tarka the Otter
65. That Riviera Touch
66. The Thief of Bagdad
67. Tina & Bobby
68. Top Gear
69. Top Gear: Africa Special
70. Top Gear: India Special
71. Top Gear: Patagonia Special
72. Trauma
73. Tutankhamun
74. Under Suspicion
75. Undercover Heart
76. Voyage of the Damned
77. The Widow
78. Wild Africa
79. Wild China
80. Wild Wales
81. Wilt
82. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

Now, there's no way around it - this list is long and concerning when taken at face value. Hell, it roughly accounts for 10% or more of the current overall library. However, the likelihood that all (or even the majority) of these titles are gone for good is fairly low. Going by past behaviour, this is probably the usual cycle of content being allowed to leave, then BritBox will decide what's worth re-signing within their relatively tight budget. At very least, the major BBC and ITV programming feel like prime candidates to return. If you want to argue that BritBox UK should communicate expiries to their customers in advance, I'm sure most everyone would agree. But I doubt that many of these will stay gone if ITV and BBC can help it.

During quarantine, I've had the opportunity to rewatch every movie in relatively short succession. I've seen them all 2-10 times and have been a lifelong Bond fan. I enjoy every Bond film, even the "bad" ones, but I wanted to try and rank them. I used a scoring system to help me, but ultimately went with my gut (e.g. License to Kill MUST be better than The World is Not Enough). I thought a tier system of ranking was useful, because it really is splitting hairs to rank some of these. Feel free to critique my ratings, my ratings weightings, and opinions!
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You could say I have too much time on my hands
Tier 7: The Worst

1. Die Another Day: Best Sword Fight

- Why it's not irredeemable: For being the lowest ranked film on this list, it's not without its moments. Bond getting caught, tortured, then escaping from MI6 was interesting and novel. The ice hotel was neat, as well as the chase scene. I'll even defend the much maligned invisible car, as the Aston Martin Vanquish is quite a car.
- Why it's not higher: Personally, I think Halle Berry is a terrible Bond girl, alternating between damsel in distress and super woman as the plot demands it. Moreover, Graves and the plot in general is pretty cheesy and boring. Perhaps most damaging is the deadly serious tone of the movie, which doesn't even provide the fun and excitement Brosnan's films generally provide the viewer.
- Most under-appreciated part: The fencing scene is the best action scene of the entire movie. It's surprising it took Bond this long to fence, but seeing them go at it across the club was a blast.
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Tier 6: Disappointing

1. Quantum of Solace: Best Car Chase

- Why it's this high: The action is quite good, likely meriting the distinction of the best car chase in the entire series (the pre-credits sequence). Mathis is a good ally and it is sad to see him go.
- Why it's not higher: My biggest beef with Craig's Bond films is that they are too serious, so when the plot and script isn't top-notch, the movie watching experience is just kind of dull. Quantum of Solace takes a bold risk in making the first Bond sequel, but unfortunately it's just not that good. Greene seems like a rather pathetic Bond villain, and his henchman (the worst in the series?) ends up in a neck-brace after getting tripped by Camilla. Also, the shaky cam is distracting and exhausting.
- Most under-appreciated part: I actually thing the theme song is pretty good! Maybe I'm just too much of a Jack White groupie, but I think it rocks.
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1. Moonraker: Best Locales

- Why it's this high: I'm pleased to see Jaws making a return, as he is an amazing henchman. On that note, the pre-credits sequence with Bond and Jaws falling out of the plane is exhilarating. Holly Goodhead is a very good Bond girl, beautiful, smart, and competent. Roger Moore always does an excellent job playing the role with suavity and wit.
- Why it's not higher: Gosh it's cheesy. Particularly egregious is Jaws' love story. The theme song is terrible and Bond doesn't have any solid allies besides Goodhead and Jaws.
- Most under-appreciated part: They really go all out with the settings here. Obviously, space is pretty polarizing, but I think Bond clearly should go to space at SOME point during the series. In addition, Italy and Brazil were gorgeous views, while Drax's estate is magnificent.
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1. Spectre: Best Shooting

- Why it's this high: Rewatching this for the second time, I realized Lea Seydoux does a good job as the Bond girl, and it's actually quite believable she and James could work out, as she is the daughter of an assassin and can understand him (as Blofeld points out). Seeing Bond show off his marksmanship was quite satisfying, especially that one long shot during the escape from Blofeld's compound. Bonus points for Bond's DB10 and resurrecting the DB5.
- Why it's not higher: The fatal flaw of this film is making Blofeld Bond's adopted brother. How did Bond not recognize him? How is Blofeld able to keep himself secret from British intelligence yet every criminal worth his salt knows of him? The worst part is that it actually cheapens the plot of the other Craig movies. I believe the Bond franchise should stay clear from sequels from here on out. Yes, they can weave a great story if done correctly, but it's so much more difficult to make great sequels (e.g. Star Wars only made two worthy sequels in seven tries) than to do one-offs. As usual for a Craig film, Bond has little charisma (save for his surprisingly good rapport with Moneypenny) and little in the way of jokes to lighten the mood.
- Most under-appreciated part: The train fight scene with Dave Bautista is great! Gosh it was awesome to see them go at it, break through walls, and a priceless expression on Bautista's face when he knows he's done. Bautista is the first decent henchman since the 90s, so glad to see the series go back to this staple.
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1. The Man with the Golden Gun: Best Potential, Worst Execution

- Why it's this high: This Bond movie frustrates more than any other, as it has the potential to be an all-time great. Bond's debriefing starts off with promise, as it turns out the world's top assassin is gunning for Bond! For the first time in the series, Bond seems vulnerable! M makes a hilarious quip as to who would try to kill Bond ("jealous husbands ... the list is endless"). Furthermore, the legendary Christopher Lee is possible the best Bond villain, a rare peer of 007.
- Why it's not higher: Unfortunately, the movie opts to change course so that it's just Maud Adams trying to get Bond to kill Scaramanga. Goodnight is beautiful, but maybe the most inept Bond girl of all-time. They used a SLIDE WHISTLE, ruining one of the coolest Bond stunts ever (the car jump).
- Most under-appreciated part: Nick Nack is a splendid henchman, showing the role can be more than just a strongman.
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1. Diamonds Are Forever: Great Beginning and Ending, but Bad Everywhere Else

- Why it's this high: Is there another Bond with such a great contrast between the beginning/ending and everything in between? Connery shows his tough side, as he muscles his way through the pre-credits scene. Particularly good was the part where he seduces the woman, then uses her bikini top to choke her. At the end, Bond expertly uses his wine knowledge to detect something is amiss, then dispatches Kidd and Wint in style. Other cool scenes include Bond scaling the building to reach Blofeld and Bond driving the Mustang through the alley.
- Why it's not higher: This is one of the films that I find myself liking less and less over time. Vegas, and especially the space laboratory scene, just seem cheesy. Connery is officially too old at this point, and Jill St. John just isn't a very compelling Bond girl. I would've preferred to have seen more of Plenty O'Toole, but alas 'twas not meant to be. Leiter is uninspired as well. Having Bond go after Blofeld for the millionth time just seems tired at this point.
- Most under-appreciated part: Mr. Kidd and Wint are the creepiest henchmen in the Bond universe, but I'd argue they are some of the best. Their banter and creative modes of execution are quite chilling and thrilling.
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1. A View to a Kill: Best Theme

- Why it's this high: Is it a hot take to not have View in the bottom five? Let me explain. I contend Duran Duran's theme is the very best. The ending fight scene on the Golden Gate Bridge is actually one of the most iconic ending set pieces in the series. The plot is stellar on paper, as the horse racing part was a very Bondian side story, and the idea of an attack on Silicon Valley actually seems even more plausible today.
- Why it's not higher: It's self-evident that Moore is way too old for the part. Some parts are just mind-blowingly ridiculous, such as the fire truck chase scene through San Francisco and the part where Stacey is caught unaware by a blimp behind her. Speaking of Stacey, she may be beautiful, but she spends most of the movie shrieking whenever something goes wrong.
- Most under-appreciated part: The scene with Bond and Ivanova is cool (I always like it when he interacts with other spies) and quite entertaining how he fools her with the cassettes.
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Tier 5: Below Average

1. Octopussy: The Most Characteristically Roger Moore Bond Film

- Why it's this high: Maud Adams has great screen presence as Octopussy, and her Amazonian-like women are cool to watch fight. Bond's deft swipe of the egg was nicely done. On a related aside, I wish Bond films would emphasize Bond's intellect more, as it seems the 60s and 70s films would allow Bond to showcase his vast knowledge more frequently than he does today. Gobinda is a fierce henchman, while India in general is a cool location. The plot is realistic, yet grand (war-mongering Russian general tries to detonate a nuke to get NATO to turn on itself).
- Why it's not higher: This is the first Moore film where he simply was too old and shouldn't have been cast. Yes, it's too cheesy at times, most infamously during the Tarzan yell. Bond also doesn't use any cool vehicles.
- Most under-appreciated part: People tend to focus too much on Bond dressing as a clown, but the scene where Bond furiously tries to get to the bomb in time to defuse it is one of the tensest moments in the series. Moore's "Dammit there's a bomb in there!" really demonstrated the gravity of the situation (I get goosebumps during that part).
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1. Tomorrow Never Dies: Most Tasteful Humor

- Why it's this high: Brosnan really settles into the role well here. He gives the most charismatic Bond performance in 15 years or so. His quip "I'm just here at Oxford, brushing up on a little Danish" is an all-time great Bond line. Teri Hatcher is stunning as Paris Carver, delivering a memorable performance with her limited screen time. The plot is original and ages well, highlighting the potential downsides of media power, while Carver is an above average villain.
- Why it's not higher: Wai Lin is good for action, but the chemistry between her and Bond is non-existent. By the end of the movie, Pryce just seem silly (especially the scene where he mocks Wai Lin's martial arts skills). There aren't any good Bond allies, as Jack Wade doesn't impress in his return to the franchise. In general though, the movie has few things terribly wrong with it, it just doesn't excel in many ways.
- Most under-appreciated part: Dr. Kaufman is hysterical. At first, I thought "this is weird," but by the end of the scene I'm cracking up. I genuinely wish they found someway to bring him back for World, but c'est la vie.
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1. The World Is Not Enough: Less than the Sum of its Parts

- Why it's this high: According to my spreadsheet, this is a top 10 Bond film, while on my first watch on this film I thought it was bottom five. I think the truth is that it's somewhere in between. I like the settings, everything from the temporary MI-6 headquarters to Azerbaijan. Elektra is an all-time great Bond girl, with a nice plot twist and character arc. The glasses where Bond sees through women's clothing are hilarious. The sense of danger is strong, with everyone from Bond to M being in danger. The return of Zukovsky is a nice plus.
- Why it's not higher: I think two things really doom this film. First, Renard is totally wasted a henchman. The idea of him not feeling pain is a cool one, but he just seems boring and extraneous. I don't even think Carlyle acted poorly, he was just misused. Secondly, the ending (after Bond killing Elektra which is quite good) is rather terrible. The whole scene in the sub just isn't entertaining or engaging.
- Most under-appreciated part: I'm going to defend Denise Richards as Christmas Jones. Although no Ursula Andress, Richards is absolutely gorgeous and did not actively make Bond's mission more difficult, which is more than some Bond girls can say *cough Britt Ekland. In particular, I found her introductory scene to be quite memorable and convincing. Also, the Christmas quip at the end is quite cheeky.
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Tier 4: Solid

1. The Living Daylights:

- Why it's this high: Dalton brings a breath of fresh air to the franchise here. His more serious take makes for interesting movies that seem more unique than most. I'm happy to see this subreddit appreciate Dalton more than the casual fun does, but I wouldn't go as far as the Dalton fanboys and say he's the best Bond or anything like that. I do wish he got the role sooner and did more films. Moving on to Daylights, it's got a good intro for Dalton and good plot in general. Surprisingly, Bond's fidelity doesn't bother me one bit, as it actually makes sense that Kara falls in love with James by the end, given all they've gone through.
- Why it's not higher: The biggest reason is that the villain is just terrible. Whitaker seems silly and pathetic, a terrible contrast to Dalton's serious nature. I think Whitaker might be the worst in the series, and a Bond movie can't be great without a good villain. Also, Dalton doesn't have much charm and is abysmal at one-liners, which, in my opinion, IS a facet of the perfect James Bond.
- Most under-appreciated part: The Aston Martin Vantage is a beautiful car, and the chase scene across the ice is great! It's both exciting and funny! Not sure why people don't talk about this chase scene and this car more; it's arguably the highlight of the movie for me.
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1. Thunderball: The Most Beautiful

- Why it's this high: Thunderball used to be top five for me and here is why. The underwater scenes, the setting, the score, and the Bond girls are beautiful even to this day. Domino is excellent, while Volpe is a tour de force, oozing sexuality and danger. I think the underwater parts are interesting and novel, creating a staple of sorts for the franchise. The DB 5 is always welcome, and the jetpack use was quite cool for the time (and to some extent now).
- Why it's not higher: Some would say it's boring, while I would more generously admit the plot is slow. Furthermore, the theme song is all-time bad (apparently they could have used Johnny Cash!!!), and there is no great henchman for Bond to dispatch.
- Most under-appreciated part: Two plot ideas I liked a lot: Bond being injured and needing rehab, plus the part where all the 00s meet up and then are sent to the corners of the globe.
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1. Never Say Never Again: Guilty Pleasure

- Why it's this high: Rewatching Never for the third time, I was struck by how fun this movie is. It's exciting, funny, and fast-paced. Basically, it's a more exciting version of Thunderball, with better pacing and better humor. I think Irvin Kershner did a great job managing this star studded cast. Carrera is a firecracker as Blush, Sydow is a convincing Blofeld, and Basinger is a classic Bond girl. Connery clearly has a blast returning to the role, doing a great job despite his advanced age. If anything, this one might not be ranked high enough.
- Why it's not higher: The music is terrible. Normally I don't notice these things, but one can't help but notice how dreadful this one is. The theme is awful as well. I'd argue this is the worst music of any Bond film.
- Most under-appreciated part: The humor! This is one of the funniest Bonds, as I found myself laughing out loud at various parts (e.g. Mr Bean!).
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1. The Spy Who Loved Me: Best Intro

- Why it's this high: There's a lot to love about this one, so I get why this ranks highly for many. It is simply the best introduction, starting with Bond romancing a woman, followed by a skii chase, then jumping off the cliff and pulling the Union Jack parachute! The Lotus is a top 3 Bond car. Jaws is a superb henchman. Triple X was an excellent Bond girl, deadly, charming, and beautiful. Of course, Moore is charming and the locations are exotic (Egypt was a cool locale). If I had to pick one Moore movie for a newcomer to watch, it would be this one.
- Why it's not higher: The theme song is bad, and Stromberg is a below average villain. I also think the last 45 minutes or so of the movie kind of drags.
- Most under-appreciated part: The whole dynamic between Bond and Triple X is great. Whenever Bond movies show Bond squaring off against other spies (see View to a Kill, Goldeneye) it's just a pleasure to watch.
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1. Live and Let Die: Most Suave

- Why it's this high: Roger Moore superbly carves out his own take on Bond in an excellent addition to the franchise. The boat chase is my favorite in the series, and Live and Let Die is my second favorite theme. Jane Seymour is a good Bond girl, while Tee Hee and Kananga are a solid villain/henchman duo. Unpopular opinion: I find J.W. Pepper to be hilarious.
- Why it's not higher: The introduction isn't very good, as Bond isn't even included! The second climax with the voodoo isn't great. Bond blowing up Kananga has aged terribly.
- Most under-appreciated part: When Bond is visited in his apartment by M and Moneypenny, Bond rushes to hide his girl from his coworkers. Finally, when they leave and he unzips the dress with his magnetic watch is one of the best uses of a Bond gadget in the series, showcasing why Moore might be the most charming Bond of them all.
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1. You Only Live Twice: Best Blofeld

- Why it's this high: Just your classic, fun Sean Connery Bond movie. It was a great decision to send Bond to Japan for his first Asian visit, giving the movie a fresh feel. The ending set piece battle is potentially the best of this staple of 60s/70s Bonds. Tiger Tanaka is one of Bond's cooler allies. Pleasance killed it as Blofeld; when I think of Blofeld, I think of his take. In what could have been cheesy, he is actually somewhat frightening.
- Why it's not higher: The whole "we need to make you look Japanese" part seems both unrealistic (who is he really fooling?) plus surprisingly impotent coming from Tiger Tanaka who seems to be a competent and connected man otherwise. Honestly though, this movie doesn't have a major weakness.
- Most under-appreciated part: The fight scene with the guard in the executive's office is probably the best hand-to-hand fight in the series up until that point.
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Tier 3: Excellent

1. Dr. No: The Most Spy-Like

- Why it's this high: Nearly 60 years later, this film is still a blast to watch, due in no small part to its focus on the little things of being a spy. I adore the scenes where Bond does the little things spies (presumably) do, such as putting a hair across the door, or showing Bond playing solitaire while waiting to spring his trap on Prof. Dent. I also enjoy the suspense of Bond sleuthing around the island, while he and the viewer are completely unaware of whom the villain is until quite late in the film. It's easy to take for granted now, but this film established so many series traditions that were ingenious. My personal favorite is Bond's introduction at the card table: "Bond .... James Bond."
- Why it's not higher: The film just doesn't have the payoff it deserves. Maybe it's just a result of the time and budget, but from the point Bond escapes on, it's just mediocre. Particularly egregious is the "fight" between Dr. No and Bond where No meets his demise.
- Most under-appreciated part: Ursula Andress was a surprisingly well developed Bond girl, with a shockingly violent backstory (she was raped!). Obviously, she is beautiful and the beach scene is iconic, but I was pleasantly surprised to conclude she is more than just eye candy.
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1. License to Kill: The Grittiest

- Why it's this high: On my first watch, this was my least favorite Bond film, as I thought it was too dark and violent to befit 007. By my third time watching, I've decided it's actually one of the best. Fortunately, I don't have to go on my "Ackshually, Dalton did a good job" rant with this subreddit. I liked the wedding intro and the concept of a revenge arc for Leiter (although come on he should've been killed by a freaking shark). Also, Lamora and (especially) Bouvier are great Bond girls. Bouvier is both competent and beautiful, and it's great to see Bond choose her at the end.
- Why it's not higher: The theme song is atrocious, Dalton is so angry (dare I say charmless?) the whole time it's almost puzzling why Bouvier and Lamora fall for him, and Bond doesn't use any cool vehicles.
- Most under-appreciated part: Sanchez is actually a sneaky good Bond villain.
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1. For Your Eyes Only: The Most Underrated

- Why it's this high: I think Moore is a bit underrated as Bond. Yes, he was too old towards the end and yes, his movies were at times too campy, but he himself played the role admirably. He was the most charming and witty of all the Bonds, so by the time he got his first relatively serious plot to work with, he hit it out of the park. Anyhow, the climactic mountaintop assault is one of my favorite Bond action climaxes. Columbo is one of the best Bond allies, and the plot twist where he turns out to be good and Kristatos bad was well-done.
- Why it's not higher: The intro is just silly. Bibi's romantic infatuation with Bond is just ...er... uncomfortable?
- Most under-appreciated part: The theme song is a banger. What a chorus!
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Tier 2: Exceptional

1. Skyfall: The Sharpest Film (From Plot to Aesthetics)

- Why it's this high: One of the best plots of the entire series. The idea of an older Bond who had lost a step, along with making M the focus point of the movie, works very well. Seeing Bond's childhood home is also pretty cool. Bardem's take on Silva is delightful and a lot of fun to watch. Even the cinematography is a series peak, while Adele's them is excellent.
- Why it's not higher: One thing most Craig Bond films suffer from is the lack of a Bond-worthy henchman. Skyfall is no exception. More importantly, Bond girls are mostly irrelevant to the film. Yes, Severine is both beautiful and interesting, but she's scarcely twenty minutes of the film.
- Most under-appreciated part: Setting the new supporting characters up nicely. The Moneypenny backstory was well-done. Casting Ralph Fiennes as the new M is a great choice in of itself, but he also got a nice chuck of background story to help us going forward.
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1. Casino Royale: The First Bond Film I'd Show a Series Newcomer

- Why it's this high: Craig's take on Bond feels like a breath of fresh air. In particular, his hand-to-hand combat scenes are so much better (and more believable) than any other Bond. The parkour chase scene is one of the best chase scenes in the series. Le Chifre is an excellent villain, but, more importantly, Vesper is an all-time great Bond girl. The conversation between Vesper and Bond on the train is probably the most interesting of any film. Bonus points for Jeffrey Wright as Leiter and the Aston Martin DBS.
- Why it's not higher: There are hardly any humorous parts or much charm displayed by Bond in general. More importantly, the movie should have just ended when Bond wakes up in rehab. The rest of the movie feels confused and superfluous.
- Most under-appreciated part: The decision to change from chemin de fer to poker makes for much better (and understandable!) cinema. The poker scenes are the best of Bond's many gambling scenes throughout the series.
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1. Goldeneye: The Most Fun

- Why it's this high: Wow, rewatching Goldeneye I was struck by how entertaining the whole thing is. The opening jump is breath taking, the scene where Bond drives his evaluator around is hilarious, and Xenia Onatopp is a livewire. Sean Bean is a formidable villain as 006, and a great foil to James. Bond and Judi Dench's first scene together is amazing. Goldeneye feels like the first modern Bond, yet so true to the predecessors. Wade and especially Zukovsky are excellent allies.
- Why it's not higher: Simonova is a forgettable Bond girl. She's not annoying, unattractive, or acted poorly, but is just below average in most regards (looks, back story, chemistry with Bond, plot).
- Most under-appreciated part: the action is just so much better than any Bond before it
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1. From Russia with Love: The Best Henchman (Red Grant)

- Why it's this high: Interesting settings, beautiful women, and an engaging story make this a classic. I'm not the first to point out that the scenes with Grant and Bond aboard the train are some of the best in the entire series. Grant is one of the few villains who feels like a match for 007. Furthermore, the addition of Desmond Llewyn as Q was crucial and Kerim Bey is one of the better Bond allies.
- Why it's not higher: The helicopter scene should've just been omitted, especially when combined with the subsequent boat chase. It's just awkward to watch.
- Most under-appreciated part: The gypsy scenes are quite exotic and entertaining.
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1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service: The Most Heartfelt

- Why it's this high: James and Tracy's love story is charming, and when she dies at the end, this is the one and only time in the entire series where the viewer feels genuinely sad. Diana Rigg did an excellent job convincing the audience Bond could finally fall in love with one girl. The skiing scenes were beautifully filmed, and the score was exemplary. Personally, I quite liked Lazenby's take; however, some of his lines and jokes fall flat. To his credit, he looks and acts like Bond more than any other actor.
- Why it's not higher: Honestly, it does drag at times in the first half, plus there is no theme song!
- Most under-appreciated part: Bond's Aston Martin DBS is a beautiful car, combining 60's sports-car beauty with Aston Martin's elegance.
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Tier 1: The Best

1. Goldfinger: The quintessential Bond

- Why it's this high: From the opening ("Positively shocking") to the seduction of Pussy Galore at the end, this film has it all. Goldfinger is an all time great villain, while Odd Job is an exceptional henchman. Connery delivers a master performance, and drives THE classic Bond Car, ejector seat included. The reason I put it #1 is not necessarily because it is the best film (although it is great), it checks all the boxes of what a perfect Bond film should do.
- Why it's not higher: I cannot think of any notable imperfections.
- Most under-appreciated part: The golf scene between Bond and Goldfinger is a delight to watch, demonstrating Bond's wits for the first and only time on the golf course.

The tragedy of Hecuba came to define the genre in 16th century Europe. “Hecuba, a wretch forlorn and captive, when she saw Polyxena first slaughtered, and her son, her Polydorus, on the wild sea-beach next met the mourning woman’s view, then reft of sense did she bark like a dog; such mighty power had grief to wrench her soul.” Dante, Inferno Canto xxx, 16-2. (Translation after Cary (New York: P. F. Collier and Son, 1914).
Judi Dench as Hecuba in Kenneth Branagh's 1996 film adaptation of \"Hamlet\"
If Shakespeare was not familiar with Dante, he was well versed in Arthur Golding’s translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses (1598) where Hecuba’s grief robs her of human speech, and she barks like a dog:
The Thracians at theyr Tyrannes harme for anger wexing wood, Began to scare the Trojane wyves with darts and stones. Anon Queene Hecub ronning at a stone, with gnarring seazd theron, ... [XIII.680] And wirryed it beetweene her teeth. And as shee opte her chappe To speake, in stead of speeche shee barkt. (The Fifteen Books of Ovid's Metamorphoses, 1567. The first translation into English - credited to Arthur Golding. p. 88.)
“Hecuba features especially prominently in Shakespeare’s writings [i.e., “What’s Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,/ That he should weep for her?” says Hamlet (Hamlet, II.ii.1599-1600)]; he alludes to her fifteen times by name, as well as once by status (“the queen of Troy”, Titus Andronicus I.i.136) and once indirectly through a page’s misidentification (“my lord, Althea dreamt she was delivered of a firebrand”, 2 Henry IV, II.ii.82). (Shakespeare’s Myths, Tanya Pollard.)
“Hecuba was the first Greek tragedy to be translated into Latin (with fragment as early as c. 1362), and is the only extant tragedy demonstrably studied prior to the sixteenth century (see Mossman 1995; 220-221). Erasmus’ 1506 translation made it the first Greek tragedy to be printed in Latin alongside his Iphigenia at Aulis. Erasmus’ accessible translation facilitated the first known post-classical production of Hecuba at the Collège du Porc, Belium c. 1514, and inspired a proliferation of Latin and vernacular translations across Europe. Hecuba became the Renaissance’s most frequently translated and printed Greek tragedy, as well as operating as a key reference in discussions of drama (Mossman 1995: 220-221; Heath 1987: 40-43). As Malcolm Heath puts it, ‘[f]or the critics in the Renaissance, Hecuba was indeed a paradigmatic tragedy, perhaps the outstanding piece in the Greek tragic corpus.’ (1987:40). In consequence, as Pollard shows, Hecuba functioned culturally as “an icon of tragedy” (2012: 1060). In England’s grammar schools, the Hecuba of Ovid’s Metamorphoses (Book 13) was required reading, where she was memorized, internalized, translated, and dissected at length” (A Handbook to the Reception of Greek Drama, edited by Betine Van Syl Smit.)
What brought this critical matter to my attention was a note by Paul Adrian Fried on the Shakespeare and Early Modern Friends Forum on FB where he compares the lament of Lear for Cordelia to the Pietà of Michelangelo, an interpretation shared by many Shakespeareans. For example, R.A. Foakes writes "In King Lear, ostensibly a play set in pagan times, Christian echoes serve to lend a special grace to the character of Cordelia, enhancing the pathos of the ending, in which the entrance of Lear carrying her dead body may be thought of as shadowed by the image of a pietà." (King Lear and Endgame. Shakespeare Survey: Volume 55, King Lear and Its Afterlife: An Annual Survey of Shakespeare Studies and Production, Cambridge University Press, 2002, p. 158)
There is no mention in the Bible of Mary ever holding Jesus after his Deposition from the Cross. In the Gospel accounts, it is Joseph of Arimathaea who claimed the body of Jesus, prepared it for burial, and then laid it in the tomb. So far I am aware, “pietàs” were not represented in England in the 15th or 16th century. It was a subject depicted in artworks in France and Germany and later in Italy. "One aspect of the English Reformation was a widespread reaction against Mary as a mediatrix alongside Christ, or sometimes even in his place. Such exaggerated devotions, in part inspired by presentations of Christ as an inaccessible Judge as well as Redeemer, were criticized by Erasmus and Thomas More and rejected by the Church of England. Together with a new emphasis on Scripture as the fundamental standard of faith, there was a renewed devotion by the Reformers to the belief that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God the Father and humanity. This rejected any overt devotion to Mary and diminished her place in the life of the Church.” (Anglican Marian theology, Wikipedia.)
Conceptually, Shakespeare’s representation of Lear and Cordelia is the antithesis of Michelangelo’s Pietà. There is no spiritual resignation for Lear who enters howling and cursing at men, like his prototype, Hecuba. In the Michelangelo’s work, Mary "seems resigned to what has happened, and becomes enveloped in graceful acceptance. Christ, too, is depicted almost as if he is in a peaceful slumber, and not one who has been bloodied and bruised after hours of torture and suffering. In supporting Christ, the Virgin’s right hand does not come into direct contact with his flesh, but instead it is covered with a cloth which then touches Christ’s side. This signifies the sacredness of Christ’s body. Overall, these two figures are beautiful and idealized, despite their suffering.” (Italianrenaissance.org)
What characterizes the ending of King Lear is its dramatic irony—the principal stylistic feature of the whole play. Albany's rousing proclamation “All friends shall taste the wages of their virtue; all all foes the cup of their deserving,” properly spoken in the moments before Lear enters with Cordelia dead as read in my version, is consistent in style with Lear's response to the Herald’s news of Edmund’s death.
Herald. Edmund is dead, my lord. Alb. That’s but a trifle here. Lear. And my poor fool is hang’d. No, no, no life. Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life, And thou no breath at all? Thou’lt come no more, Never, never, never, never, never.— [To Edgar.] Pray you, undo this button. Thank you, sir. Do you see this. Look on her, look, her lips, Look there, look there! [Dies.
Unlike Christ who died by God’s will to save humanity, and was resurrected from the dead, Cordelia’s life serves no moral purpose at all. Cordelia is less favored than rats for all of her virtue. "As flies to wanton boys are we do the gods; they kill us for their sport.” Shakespeare places great emphasis on the permanence of Cordelia’s death: "Thou’lt come no more, Never, never, never, never, never." There will be no resurrection for her; no place in highest heaven; no “special grace” as R.A. Foakes wrongly asserts.
In Michelangelo’s Pietà the right hand of Michelangelo’s Mary does not touch the sacred flesh of her son. Shakespeare’s Lear by contrast dies touching the cold lips of Cordelia, and calls on everybody present to look upon them. Whatever awaits father and daughter after death, Lear knows there will be no tearful reunion; no warm hugging; no kissing. I think of Mamie Till, the mother of Emmett Till, a 14-year old African-American child who was murdered in 1955 by white supremacists. She demanded a public funeral with an open casket for people to look at the life that was lost to her: "I wanted the world to see what they did to my baby." That is what Lear wants. The ending of the play is a blatant rebuke of Providence—"God's loving care for man and the need for confidence in Almighty God”—and the reason I think Edmund Tylney had Shakespeare revise it.
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Emmett Till, photo by David Jackson, 1955. \"For almost a century, African Americans were lynched with regularity and impunity. Now, thanks to a mother’s determination to expose the barbarousness of the crime, the public could no longer pretend to ignore what they couldn’t see.” (TIME 100 Photos)
The ONLY similarity to Michelangelo’s Pietà, which is pyramidal in composition, is Shakespeare's blocking of the scene. Lear summons Edgar to help him unbutton his shirt, presumably for the practical purpose of easing the pressure on his heart: "Pray you, undo this button.” As noted in I,i,187, we can logically deduce that the role of Edgar was doubled with the King of France, and thus, in the final moments of the play, Shakespeare frames the lifeless body of Cordelia with father and husband, the two men who truly loved her in the flesh. This is the sole reason for moving Edgar over to Lear at this critical juncture: to form a triangle. During the Renaissance, geometric forms and/or ratios were given certain esoteric significance and meanings. Ancient Greeks believed that there is a close association in mathematics between beauty and truth. They believed there to be three "ingredients" to beauty: symmetry, proportion, and harmony. "Beauty was an object of love and something that was to be imitated and reproduced in their lives, architecture, education (paideia), and politics." Proportion's relation to beauty and goodness is stressed throughout Plato's dialogues. He writes in (Phlb. 64d–65a): “if we cannot capture the good in one form, we will have to take hold of it in a conjunction of three: beauty, proportion and truth. Let us affirm that these should by right be treated as a unity and be held responsible for what is in the mixture, for goodness is what makes the mixture good in itself.”
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Plato and Aristotle, detail from \"The School of Athens\", Raphael.
On the subject of Plato, Lear’s line “And my poor Fool is hang’d.” is an allusion to his Theory of Forms which asserts that “the physical world is not as real or true as timeless, absolute, unchangeable ideas." As I discuss in my text, the parts of Cordelia and the Fool are played by the same boy actor. Doubling the characters of Cordelia and the Fool is absolutely essential in representing the idea that the two share the same Form: “divine love” or what the Greeks called agape (Ancient Greek ἀγάπη, agapē). "Agape love is the central premise of Protestant Christian theology. According to The Oxford Handbook of Theological Ethics, 'Luther’s rediscovery of the primacy of agape was the linchpin of the Reformation and the rediscovery of genuine Christian ethics.’" (See G. Meilaender and W. Werpehowski, The Oxford Handbook of Theological Ethics, 2007, p. 456.)
See https://king-lear-comstock.com/

In the first of 2 pleasantly surprising releases, BritBox UK has made all 4 series of multi-BAFTA-winning sitcom A Fine Romance available for viewing. With 32 episodes over 4 series, the description is as follows:

Husband and wife team Michael Williams and Judi Dench star in this comedy series. Dench plays Laura who is 37 and unmarried. Williams plays Mike, also single. Laura's sister is anxious to see Laura 'married off' and introduces her to Mike at a party.

Secondly, we have To Walk Invisible, The BBC's 2016 feature-length period drama following the lives of the Bronte sisters. Here is the synopsis:

Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë face a life of hardship. Trapped at home with very few opportunities, they share the burden of supporting their father Patrick and their troubled brother Branwell, who has lost his way in life.

The title pretty much gives you the TLDR of this one!
This happened a couple of years ago before I joined this sub and realised what Drama Queen was about.
Drama Queen got married twice, once to my father which lasted 25 years and once to my stepfather who she is still married to. They are both narcissists and suit each other very well and seem happy.
For her first wedding Drama Queen wore a nice 70’s style wedding dress in kinda vintage boho fashion. I think she looked pretty in her wedding pictures but she always gripes about how white doesn’t suit her skin tone and how she was too blonde on her wedding day because she didn’t realise how strong bleach is and how white makes her look awful which is why she never wears white, unless it’s a skirt, because she can’t have white near her face.
For her second marriage Drama Queen bought a cream dress in rustic silk and wore a floor length fitted coat over the top which was made of heavy linen, with some embroidery on the lapels. Think Judi Dench style long evening coat.
A couple of years ago the cousin closest to me in age got married and had a church ceremony followed by a country house reception with lovely gardens.
Cousin wore a beautiful lace and organza Carolina Herrera mermaid dress with an open back and a long veil and she looked stunning. It was a hot sunny day with cerulean blue skies and Cousin was radiant.
Prior to the wedding Drama Queen had been asking me what I was wearing (because I cannot possibly chose my own outfit) and discussing what she wanted to wear (the real subject under discussion!).
I suggested some styles which she turned down and then I said she should go shopping. Oh no no no, she couldn’t possibly! Stepfather wouldn’t be happy with her spending money on an outfit just for a wedding, she must pick from what she already has. How about what she wore to her wedding, wouldn’t that be prefect?
No. No it wouldn’t. Her ensemble was not obviously bridal or a wedding dress like some of the mothers on here have gone for but it was still her wedding dress and it was cream and the family all knew that it was her wedding outfit. I suggested that getting a new dress to go with the coat might be better. Drama Queen disagreed and because I was still a sweet summer child walking through the fog I didn’t push it.
Drama Queen wore her wedding outfit and I saw a large amount of side eye going on from family members, especially my grandmother who is hot on etiquette and my aunt who was mother of the bride. Cousin and her new husband didn’t notice because they were too busy being over the moon at their wedding and Cousin didn’t attend Drama Queen’s wedding so hadn’t seen the dress before.
Not the worst wedding tale by miles but I only just realised what she did and I guess it goes to show how much this sub and you wonderful people have helped because two years ago this was normal! Now I’m getting wise, building my spine and learning to not take her bullshit to heart.
However my sister is getting married next year so I will need to be getting ready for Drama Queen to pull some wardrobe shenanigans. Hopefully Stepfather will ‘let’ her buy a new dress for her former golden child’s wedding but I will be ready with the red wine if anything like her wedding dress appears again!

Directed by Kenneth Branagh; written by Ben Elton
Actor and director Kenneth Branagh has made a film, scripted by Ben Elton, devoted to the last years—1613-1616—of English poet and playwright William Shakespeare’s life.
All Is True derives its name from an alternative title for Henry VIII, one of Shakespeare’s later works, generally believed to be the product of a collaboration with John Fletcher. Kenneth Branagh in All Is True
The subject matter is fascinating and rich with promise, but the treatment, unfortunately, is largely leaden and relies on contemporary upper-middle class preoccupations to make sense of—or fail to make sense of—the life of an early 17th century artist.
The premise of Branagh’s film is that following the fire which broke out at the Globe theater in London (in fact, during a performance of Henry VIII) in June 1613 and which burned the theater to the ground, Shakespeare retires to Stratford-upon-Avon. He has spent much of the previous quarter century or more in London acting and writing. His wife, the former Anne Hathaway, and his two daughters, one of them married with a child, still live in Stratford, some 90 miles north of the capital.
Shakespeare (Branagh) doesn’t merely return to his birthplace in All Is True, but to a host of vexing private dramas—wholly invented or assigned to him, one might add, by the filmmakers.
Anne Shakespeare is a neglected and resentful wife. “Twenty years, Will. We’ve seen you less and less,” she says, and invites him to sleep apart from her. Later, Anne complains jealously about Shakespeare’s sonnets, some of which famously describe a “dark lady”: “But you wrote them, Will, and people read them. And after they’d read them, they kept asking, ‘Who are they? Who is this dark lady he’s so in love with?’”
The film operates at a generally clichéd and, when it chooses, peculiarly literal level. Shakespeare’s elder daughter Susanna (Lydia Wilson) is married to Dr. John Hall (Hadley Fraser), a prominent local physician. Because Hall is ideologically a Puritan, this means for the filmmakers that Hall has to be cold and “puritanical,” and hypocritical, in his relations with his wife. All Is True therefore implies that the claim by one John Lane (Sean Foley) that Susanna is “fornicating” with a local tradesman may well or ought to be true. (The real Lane did make the accusation, but he had previously been “sued for riot; and libelling the vicar and aldermen; the churchwarden charged him with drunkenness.” William Shakespeare: A Compact Documentary Life, S. Schoenbaum)
Absurdly, the film has Shakespeare threaten Lane with a visit from an “African” actor, “magnificent and terrifying,” to discourage the disreputable man from pursuing his charges against Susanna.
Susanna’s younger sister is in an even worse fix. Unmarried at 28, Judith Shakespeare (Kathryn Wilder) is embittered and openly hostile toward her long-absent father in All Is True, the very model of a modern angry feminist.
Judith inveighs against a woman’s position in society, bemoaning the fact, for example, that “by law” her sister’s property is Hall’s, “as is her body.” Toward the conclusion, she explains that “I was jealous, because Hamnet went to school, and I had to work in the kitchens because I was a girl.” Judi Dench and Kenneth Branagh in All Is True
She is a surviving twin. Judith’s brother Hamnet has died almost 20 years previously, in 1596. The filmmakers dream up a body of poems, apparently written by the dead boy, which had made Shakespeare “the proudest father in the kingdom.”
This of course only makes Judith more irate and aggrieved. Speaking of her father, she bursts out at one point, “Every single time he reads one of them bloody poems, which aren’t even that good, he thinks, ‘Why did she survive and not him?’ You know, ‘The golden boy’s gone, and you know what? I’m just left with a girl. A useless, pointless girl. … Why did the wrong twin die?’” Naturally, there are revelations (further inventions) that will place these comments in a different light.
Harvard professor and Shakespeare scholar Stephen Greenblatt observes that the central theme of All Is True seems to be “the tragic cost of not having full access to literacy if you were a woman.” (Is this all that’s to be made of Shakespeare’s life and work? Does it not have any objective significance apart from the light it sheds on gender inequalities? Is that why his works are performed more often than those of any other playwright who ever lived?)
The banalities here—in the playwright’s own phrase (As You Like It)—“flow as hugely as the sea.” Susanna asks her father, “So why are you come home, hmm? No more stories left to write?” He replies, “Susanna, I’ve lived so long in imaginary worlds, I think I’ve lost sight of what is real, what is true.” (The dramatist’s plays, these mere “imaginary worlds,” have endured for 400 years precisely because they contain so much of “what is real, what is true.”)
An admirer accosts Shakespeare while he is gardening in All Is True and inquires, wonderingly, “how you knew … everything.” This is the subsequent exchange:
Shakespeare: I … have imagined. Man: But they say that you left school at 14. You’ve never traveled. Imagined from what? Shakespeare: From myself. Man: Yourself?
Shakespeare: Yes. Everything I’ve ever done, everything I’ve ever seen, every book I’ve ever read, every conversation I’ve ever had, including—God help me—this one. If you want to be a writer, then speak to others and for others. Speak first for yourself. Search within. Consider the contents of your own soul, your humanity. And if you’re honest with yourself, then whatever you write, all is true.
We have no idea what Shakespeare thought about the sources of his art, but this is trivial and misses the point. Enormous historical processes and transformations lay behind Shakespeare’s work and the work of his gifted contemporaries. Bourgeois society, as Leon Trotsky noted, “during the period of its rise, had a great aim for itself. Personal emancipation was its name. Out of it grew the dramas of Shakespeare and Goethe’s Faust. Man placed himself in the center of the universe, and therefore in the center of art also.”
All Is True reduces Shakespeare to a contemporary best-selling novelist offering “self-help” advice.
Branagh’s Shakespeare has the opportunity for his own outraged tirade, addressed to Anne, which might not be out of place in an Arthur Miller drama: “I’ve worked ceaselessly on behalf of this family. On your own behalf. Yeah, and I’m head of this family! And I’ve given you a fine house and servants, sent you money all your life. Is not that comfort? You have two beautiful daughters, you’ve got a brilliant son and a husband who, though absent, kept you always in his thoughts. Is that not that companionship in abundance? I’ve risen this family up! Through my genius, I’ve brought fame and fortune to this house. Yes, yes, my genius. Would you have me ignore that, as well? Ignore a gift from God Almighty so that I could stay here in Stratford and be a bloody glove maker, and you might feel a bit more appreciated?”
There are a few pleasures in All Is True. Branagh is a fine actor, and hearing both him and Ian McKellen (as the Earl of Southampton), another remarkable performer, recite in turn Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29, “When, in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,” is a brief joy. A famous snatch of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (“I know a bank where the wild thyme blows, Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine …”) is a delight too. All Is True
And the final sequence, in which Anne and Judith, more or less reconciled to husband and father, respectively, along with Susanna, declaim the words of the song from Cymbeline that begins …
“Fear no more the heat o’ the sun, Nor the furious winter’s rages; Thou thy worldly task hast done, Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages: Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney-sweepers, come to dust. …”
… is genuinely moving.
Shakespeare possessed unique artistic, poetic genius. Not all those attracted—even genuinely and deeply attracted!—to his work are thereby guaranteed genius as well.
Branagh (born 1960), as noted, is a gifted performer. From a humble background in Belfast, his father a plumber and joiner who ran a small firm, he determined at a young age, among other things, that Shakespeare ought to be made accessible to wide audiences. His early film adaptations of Shakespeare (Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing and Hamlet), while not inspired, had a certain “democratic” freshness and openness to them, especially as they appeared in the bleak cultural landscape of the late 1980s to the mid-1990s.
Without Shakespeare on hand, however, his Dead Again, Peter’s Friends and In the Bleak Midwinter were extremely weak, awkwardly and gracelessly done. By 2011, Branagh was reduced to directing one of the Marvel Comics series, Thor. He followed that up with Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, about the fictional CIA agent, and the turgid, tedious Murder on the Orient Express. Branagh has not exhibited to date any particular film sense.
Even leaving aside the “playful” and empty postmodernist ambiguities (“And if you’re honest with yourself … all is true” versus “Judith says, Nothing is true”), Branagh’s All Is True falls down in its approach to Shakespeare’s life and to historical development.
James Shapiro, in Contested Will (2010), cautioned against the assumption “that what makes people who they are now made people who they were back in Shakespeare’s day. Social historians have shown how risky such an assumption can be. There’s little evidence that the lives of early modern men and women resembled our own … Despite all this, it’s not easy to break that preconception central to psychobiography that the modern nuclear family and the developmental struggles intrinsic to it were the norm back then too.” (All Is True’s script has Shakespeare-Branagh proclaim, at Judith’s wedding, apparently in all seriousness, that “family is everything.”) Kathryn Wilder and Kenneth Branagh in All Is True
Shapiro observed it was “odd” that many biographers “focus so exclusively on his [Shakespeare’s] relationships with his father, son, wife, and daughters—all of whom he lived apart from most of his adult life.” He pointed out as well that the “lives of women within Elizabethan households” had been “especially misunderstood.” Anne Hathaway, he argued, supervised Shakespeare’s economic activities as “part of the complicated business of overseeing a household for close to thirty years while her husband was mostly off in London.” Biographers “unable to imagine Anne Hathaway as anything but a spurned, passive, and possibly adulterous wife … have got it wrong.”
Furthermore, “Extraordinary claims have been made about Shakespeare’s grief over his young son, Hamnet’s, death. But there’s a good chance that he saw his son only a handful of times after leaving Stratford-upon-Avon for London not long after Hamnet was born.” Shapiro adds, and he might have been writing about All Is True, “As much as we might want Shakespeare to have been like us, he wasn’t—and biographers lead us astray when they invite us to imagine that he was.”
In the end, such views are not merely misguided, nor are they “innocent,” they serve social interests. In The Historical Novel (1937), Georg Lukács noted that one of the features of the increasing inability of bourgeois novelists—from the mid-19th century and the emergence of the working class onward—to honestly confront “general social-historical problems” was their tendency to reduce history to “no more than a pictorial frame within which a purely modern story is unfolded.” Lukacs further referred to “the outward, soulless facts of history … which are injected with an entirely modern sensibility.” He described an approach that “does not make the feelings, ideas and thoughts of past human beings intelligible to us, but attributes our feelings, etc. to them.” Bound up with that was the transformation of social life into “picturesque atmosphere or immobile background, etc., against which supposedly purely private histories are unfolded.”
Obviously, this process has reached an advanced stage by the time it makes an extremely threadbare appearance in a work such as All Is True and nearly every other film treatment of history at present.
Concretely, the overwhelming inclination of contemporary artists to “always find the same motive forces in history, their own” (in Bertolt Brecht’s expression), to repeat to themselves and others, “People don’t change much,” “Love is timeless” or “I’m exactly like everybody, everybody is exactly like me,” has roots in the current political and cultural stagnation, including a sharply deteriorated historical sense.
But such conceptions, which present the past as indistinguishable from the present, have definite consequences and implications. They encourage the idea that life and society are unalterable and unchanging, that things have always been the same and always will be. They reinforce the status quo.
The situation is only made worse when contemporary gender politics is transported back in time. History and historical figures are reorganized and “sanitized” (or condemned) so as not to offend contemporary petty bourgeois tastes and views. This is not a fruitful or productive path.
See Also: Kenneth Branagh Tribute Reel (7:44 min) - https://vimeo.com/41183896

Has anyone else seen this? It came out a few years ago, starring the wonderful Judi Dench playing Queen Victoria after she lost her husband, and shows her relationship with an adviser, Mr. Brown. I am lately thinking about it a lot lately, and her raw grief. It might be helpful for those who are told to "get over it" to watch it. Mr. Brown "gets it" about her and her grief. I don't know if this was what really happened in real life, but I suspect it was pretty close to the truth.
BTW, there is also a sequel "Victoria and Abdul," which is set 20 years later, and looks at Victoria's friendship with an Indian assistant at the time - also scandalous at the time.

Book(s): A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
Rating: 4/5 (Awesome, but pacing was uneven in a couple of spots)
Bingo Square: Dragons! (no kidding...), Award Winner, Fantasy of Manners
Finished: 10 June
Intro
How had I not heard of this little gem! I have a soft spot for historical fiction (or stories that make intimations towards that), and also interested in fantasy that takes a more scientific approach to things: this definitely hits those points! This is the story of a "scientific expeditions to study dragons" sent in a fantasy secondary world that has all the trappings of the "victorian era", steamships, guns, pompous gentlemen and headstrong ladies :)
It made me think a lot of His Majesty's Dragon and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, but better written than the first and less convoluted than the latter.
Characters
Our only PoV character is Lady Isabella Trent - apparently a famed "natural historian" who had literally written the book on dragons. But here she is writing her memoirs of her early life and first expedition. She is a lovely character! A woman shaped by the prejudices of her culture, but struggling to break free and become her own person. I especially loved her as she is NOT a mary sue. Yes she is more "enlightened" than many of her peers, but she still has many cultural blindspots due to her privileged upbringing - but she tries! She acknowledges her flaws, and sometimes flat out states that she likes things a certain way and wont apologise for them. The fascinating thing is how her commentary is done - she is relating events that happened many years in her past, and often gives a lot of commentary from her older self about those events. There are a lot of "social standards" that the younger self is concerned about that the older self considers idiotic.. its very dry, but quite hilarious at times. I completely pictured the Old Lady Trent as Judi Dench
We meet a few other characters, such as an old Lord who funds the expeditions. Jacob who later becomes her husband, Dagmira the "peasant maid" she meets on the expedition, and a few others - but they are never the focus of the story really. And I did notice that I occasionally mixed characters up and conflated some (I totally didn't realise that the expedition was 4 main people - there was another guy who came along with the Lord, Husband and Lady Trent, but I kept forgetting about him)
Plot/Setting
The plot is (again) relatively simple, but there are some nice little twists in there as well. We follow the childhood of Lady Trent as she struggles to find her own way - railing against the imposed societal limits placed on "a proper lady". Normally this shit annoys the everliving crap out of me - but it turns out that only when it is done badly is it annoying. This I found inspiring at many points! But once she meets her husband, (and the love story is glorious, very rational and a meeting of minds!) she has a chance meeting with with a famous explorer and manages to get onto the next expedition... I loved that the investigation of Dragons and their behaviors leads to the uncovering and exposure of a criminal enterprise which they put down.
The setting is an expy-europe. Scirling is basically victorian England, with and expy eastern europe and russians thrown into the mix. I almost think this might have been even better if our author had followed the example of Naomi Novik and just done straight historical (+ Dragons). All it would need would be a couple of name changes and we'd be done!
Pacing/tone
This is very much a "memoir". The narrator is "Old Lady Trent" after she's published all her books and become famous, while the character we follow is her younger self. I was surprised at how fast this moved though! The scene framing is wonderful - as the narrator is specifically only showing those moments that were important to her - those moments that caused things to change. This made every scene feel important and dramatic, and the story literally flew by. The tone is a little dry at points, but we are in the head of a scientific naturalist who's default behavior is to observe and analyse. It gives the story a very different feel, but it also makes it feel very believable. Unfortunately, the ending feels rushed, and perhaps a little forced (Deus ex Machina really), but it is a solid and satisfying conclusion to all the questions and promises made in the story leading up to it. I also loved the little coda at the end which launch Lady Trent into her "history" of being a famous Dragon Naturalist.
Writing Style
I loved the descriptions - the "science" behind the dragons. The attention to detail, but also that said details furthered the story. Unfortunately this attention to the details of the world made pretty much any other character who was not Lady Trent feel like a bit of a blank... only Jacob was really examined, while many of the other characters didn't even get a name until later on in the story when they "became important" to Lady Trent. This did leave me feeling a tad dissatisfied.
You'd like this if : you like your fantasy more grounded and society/culture to actually mean something. As I mentioned earlier, the Temeraire series, and "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" and good touchstones if you want to think what this story is like. Some of the tone of Sherlock Holmes stories also come to mind.
Other Thoughts
The ONLY things that bothered me was the very bland secondary characters and the very rushed ending. Both are acceptable given the character of Lady Trent and how she has been viewing the world as a whole, but the little too neat ending felt forced. But that is literally one scene in a book full of great.
But I love my character driven stories, so only a 4 for me. But DAMN I will be reading the rest of this series soon!

TL;DR: (Warning, this post is quite long...) I roll in the open. At the same time, I don't want my PCs to die. These do not mix. I wrote a funeral for the following session that made one of the players cry.
I started the campaign with players who had never played D&D. I am a new DM so I began with the starter set running a modified version of Lost Mines of Phandelver. During the events of that story arc, the PCs never made their way to Thundertree, so they never had the opportunity to face Venomfang. Once that story ended, I rolled it into a homebrew game based loosely off of the Balance campaign of The Adventure Zone.
I am a generous DM. I gave them max HP for the first 3 levels. Gave them a starting racial feat from XGTE. Rolled for stats and rerolled anything under 10 and required at least two 15s or one 18. Gave them each what was essentially a legendary item designed for their PC/Playstyle, that (would have) evolved as they leveled. Allowed Potions to be consumed as a bonus action. I wanted them to survive until the end of the campaign. I actually liked the characters.
It has been about a month or two in game, and about 10 months irl.
Cast:
PCs
Darcy: Half-Elf ranger, played by my wife. Has daddy issues, also the Granddaughter of The Director.
Cade: Halfling Bard; his father is an alcoholic wizard, and his sister, a barbarian had to have her mind wiped after an encounter with an artifact.
Nirvana: Tiefling Druid; Her uncle is Riedoth; her mother could not get pregnant, Nature Spirits and Fey couldn't/wouldn't help her, so she turned to ... other means.
Questor: Stereotypical wood-elf assassin rogue; Boring backstory, normal unassuming parents and childhood. Decided to save a village (not his) from invaders, thus beginning his life of adventuring.
NPCs
The Director: Director of the Bureau of Balance; Elf; Grandmother of Darcy. Think Judy Dench as M in 007 movies.
Riedoth: Human Druid; investigating the Blight effecting Thundertree, but efforts are impeded by Venomfang. Nirvana's Uncle.
The Woman with Black Hair: (She has a name, but isn't referred by it in the story so I left it out); Semi-outcast member of a Land Druid Circle. Signed a contract with a Devil to become pregnant with Nirvana.
Roscoe: Halfling Wizard. Cade and Jade's father.
Jade: Halfling Barbarian; had to have memory wiped after an encounter with a powerful artifact as she was succumbing to its thrall. An attempt to repair the missing memory will result in her reverting back to her previous state.
​
The party had just hit level 6 and were on their way to Mount Hotenow to investigate rumors of another artifact when they decided to stop over at Thundertree since it was basically on the way. I decided that since they skipped Thundertree at level 3-4 when it was "scripted" to be run, that Venomfang wouldn't escape at 1/2 HP. I also decided to play the encounter as outlined here. I read the script...almost word for word.
​
And the party, Bahamut bless their souls, took the bait, hook, line, and sinker.
​
I honestly don't know if they actually believed it (They are all relatively new players to D&D after all, and may not have known Green Dragons are sly sons o' bitches), or if they were just RPing really well.
They also went in without even a hint of a plan. Riedoth told them where the dragon was lairing, and the lay of the land (forest surrounding the tower, big gaping hole in the side, etc.). They went to the front door, up the stairs. They basically said, "alright, let's go fight a dragon!" and that was it.
After the initial breath attack (which I ruled as a surprise round since they were basically lulled into a false sense of security), the entire party was sub-10 HP. They didn't run. they didn't talk about running. Now, I know it's quite the ask to think players will run from a fight. Normally I don't give "Hints" or tips as a DM, because I don't want the players to think that if I say something, it is the "only" way to do it. This time I said, on basically every player's turn, "You have a clear path to the stairs" or "You are standing next to the hole in the wall and see several places you could easily grip along the outer wall of the tower should you choose to climb down."
They did not move from the spot they were in when they first got hit. they were still grouped when the inevitable happened...I think you know where this is going. Nor did any of them heal (besides one Healing Word from the Bard)
They managed to get him down to 11 HP by the 3rd round (One and a half of them actually doing anything, considering the surprise round). one or two more hits and he would have died, and they would have had a glorious victory and a story to tell.
​
Now...I roll in the open. I have since the beginning and made it very clear that the dice can make just about any encounter deadly. I rolled to recharge the breath weapon. 6. Fuck. rolled for damage, and prayed for all 1s. 42. every. single. one. failed their saves (not that it would have mattered at that point, no poison resistance).
I left it to them to decide their fate. I told them flat out: you should be dead, but I like your PCs and I happen to like where the campaign is going. I can figure out a way to save you, but at that point, is there really a fear of death? I allowed them a blind vote.
The votes were split. Darcy and Nirvana voted to be saved, while Cade and Questor voted to die. The decision fell back to me.
We ended that session there while I figured out how I wanted the next session to go. the game was put on a 5-week hiatus. Normally we meet every other week, but My wife had serendipitously already volunteered to run a one-shot for us the following session so that I could play for once, and the session after that was canceled due to scheduling conflicts, so we had a make-up session on an off week.
They came to the session with no knowledge of my decision. I opened with a collection of sad music and began to read:

You stand at attention with the other 200 members of the organization on the observation deck of the Bureau of Balance.
“Questor” The Director’s voice intones as she stands on her dais, holding a beautifully carved White Oak staff. She taps the staff lightly on the floor. The sound it makes in the cavernous room seems unnaturally loud. The Director’s assistant, a mousy gnome woman named Ella Cobblelob swiftly writes the name and various details of his life. The quill, which, under any other circumstances would be comical as it is longer than Ella is tall, dances wildly as his age, family, and various deeds are all recorded on a thick roll of parchment while the other members of the Bureau all stand silently waiting. Even where you stand, you hear the quill rapidly scratching the surface of the parchment.
Below the dais, facing you and the other members of the Bureau are the family of the lost who are also members. A tall, blonde elf man stares stone-faced ahead as the Director says the name.
The massive cylindrical tank holding the otherworldly Voidfish looms next to The Director. It waits along with you in silent anticipation. You only knew Questor and the others in passing. They were the first and thus far only group to have retrieved one of the seven Artifacts. It has been a week since they were killed by the vile dragon Venomfang. You didn’t know them, but that will soon change… at least for you. To the world below, Questor and the others will very shortly be forgotten.
Far below, in a small elvish village, a rider from Neverwinter approaches a small cottage. He dismounts and slowly approaches the door. He knocks, and a tall, fair-haired elf woman answers with a smile. He bows and begins to speak. Her smile slowly fades as she drops the towel she had been using to clean the home. Her hands instinctively cover her face as tears well in her eyes. As her tears turn to sobs, a tall, brown-haired male elf appears from the cottage behind her. The messenger speaks again, and the man hangs his head and holds his wife.
Nearby, in another village, a young human woman with red hair smiles wistfully as she remembers the mysterious young elf who had saved her and her village from their would-be tyrants. She wonders if she will ever see him again.
“Nirvana.” The Director says solemnly. Thud. the staff strikes the floor. The quill scratches the parchment for several minutes as the director stares stoically ahead. Below the dais, a human man with long, white hair and beard seems uncomfortable as he stands amongst his peers. Even from where you stand, you can tell “people” are not his strength. You have heard stories the Reidoth and other Druids like him are more at home amongst the trees and wildlife than they are with other people. You heard that he was there, or at least nearby when the group faced the dragon and that he was the only survivor. He brought the news to The Director before traveling to the ground below to deliver the news to his sister.
Far below, deep within a dark forest, a man who looked well beyond his years walked slowly through the branches. Wolves, bears, and all manner of forest-dwelling creatures bowed as he approached. With grunts, growls, chatter, and whistles they passed the word deeper into the forest that a Keeper of the Trees had returned. It was not long before word arrived at the Circle in the Heart of the Forest.
As the man walked further, a panther leaped from the branches of a massive oak and landed beside him. Without looking up, he continued walking as the panther walked with him. The walked together in silence for several miles until he finally spoke three words. The panther stopped and bared its teeth and growled. The man stopped as well. He turned to face the panther with sadness in his eyes. His eyes spoke volumes more than words ever could. The panther lowered itself into a threatening posture as if to pounce the man.
He didn’t flinch as it leaped at him and its razor-sharp claws and the sleek black muscled body flew mere inches above his head. Before he could blink, the panther had disappeared into the dark foliage of the forest. Without turning to see it go, he slowly and sadly walked back the way he had come.
The panther had run for days without so much as a moment to rest. She ran with intent, without hesitation. Where she was going, hesitation would mean death. The Circle forbade keeping the form of a beast for more than a few hours a day. The Circle forbade many things, and compared to what she had done...what she was about to do, remaining in this form for a few days would be the least of their concerns.
She only slowed as she approached the grove. In this dark and twisted clearing, no man or beast or even Fey had dared tread for centuries. Except for her. Once...before. And now today. The black gnarled and twisted limbs reached for her as if to strangle. Their leafless branches scratched at her fur, constricting her movement. Then, as if commanded, the path was clear and she could see it. The ancient and rotten Ironwood at the heart of the grove. Long ago cursed by some infernal ritual, it seemed to open its arms to welcome her...home.
Only then did she drop the panther form. A human woman, with green eyes and long black hair, stood facing the Ironwood. It seemed to beckon her. Her lips set with determination and resolve as she lifted her staff above her head. In a booming voice, she spoke a language unfamiliar to the forest she called home. As she spoke, the staff cracked and splintered, and a Fey spirit of nature that had vowed to be with her and help her was released. For a moment, it seemed confused, and then afraid, as if it sensed what was about to transpire. It tried to flee, but the desecrated ground of the cursed grove seemed to open as the spirit struggled to break from some unseen grip.
As the spirit was pulled, struggling, into the ground, infernal flames burst forth and surrounded and enveloped the woman. She felt its hot embrace on her flesh. It greeted her with a feeling akin to some twisted bastard of love. Before her, the massive form of a Devil smiled down at her. He had been expecting her. She stood her ground, her eyes meeting his with defiance. She screamed at him, and he began to laugh. The violent mirth thundering through the dark grove and into the forest beyond, birds took flight for miles around and the beasts of the forest fled the terrible sound in panic. And still, she stood her ground, daring him to strike. Instead, he materialized the contract she had bound with her blood all those years ago. It was impossibly long and written to confuse and confound anyone who agreed to the terms. He pointed to a line in a paragraph in a subsection of a bylaw, buried in a clause about contingencies. He laughed again. And smiled as he conjured a new, unsigned contract.
“Cade” The Director’s voice is measured and emotionless as she speaks the names. Thud. Ella continued to write, recording every known moment of their lives. Below the dais, the halfling wizard Roscoe is conspicuously absent. Rumors abound that the last several weeks have been especially difficult for him. In his place stands an old wizened elf. As he looks out over the ranks of Bureau members, he seems to be searching, reaching into your soul.
You knew Cade better than the others. He was especially social and would share a drink and a song with anyone who would join him you joined him on several such occasions and learned many things about the party and their exploits from him. Ella’s Quill dances on the parchment as she records them.
Far below, a halfling man stumbled into the village, drawing stares and murmurs from the gathering crowd. Looks of recognition slowly dawned on many older members of the community. Eventually, someone parted from the crowd to run to a large house. A stocky halfling woman emerged, holding a small child, with another following close behind. She saw the man sitting on a bench in the village square. She handed the child to one of the many on-lookers and proceeded to approach the man.
The man looks up and for a moment joy shines in his otherwise dull eyes. He reaches his hand up to her face and touches her cheek. He began to speak, his words slurred and jumbled. She looked at him, confused. Her brow furrowed as if trying to remember something outside her grasp. Her look turned to pain as she struggled against the shackles that had been placed in her mind. She screamed and fell to her knees. At once, she rose, with rage burning in her eyes. She roughly grabbed the man’s collar and threw him to the side as if he were refuse to be discarded. She stormed through the crowd, grabbing an ax buried in a chopping block as she passed it. Her children cried for her, but she was deaf to them. She shoved past anyone who dared stand in her path, her path to Neverwinter, to Phandalin, to the mines of Phandelver.
The quill falls silent as Ella finishes recording Cade’s life. You stand in silence for several long moments. You see The Director staring ahead, motionless, save for muscles in her jaw working rapidly. Finally, she speaks. “Darcy.” for the first time you hear her voice waver. Thud. She slams he staff onto the ground harder than before. Several people who had been looking at each other in the silence snap back to rigid attention. Ella begins writing again.
Below the dais stands a tall elf with black hair that you don’t recognize. He wears a simple but elegant looking black cloak, and he stands impassively facing you and the other members. His presence on the base has caused quite a stir. He is not a full member of the Bureau, yet as far as anyone can tell, he has been inoculated from the effects of the Voidfish. He bears a more than passing resemblance to The Director, so the leading rumor is that he is her son or some other close relative. Stranger still, he has been identified as Darcy’s biological father, yet The Director never spoke of their familial connection, if any.
The tall elf with black hair stepped down from the steps of the carriage. He spoke a word to his servant who was waiting for him before he left the carriage. The servant bowed low and waited at attention beside the horses. The elf walked with purpose toward the door of the modest farmhouse in a small village outside of Neverwinter. As he neared the door, he faltered and slowed his pace. It seemed for a moment that he had changed his mind when a middle-aged human woman called to him from a nearby field.
He turned to her. As their eyes met she stopped. There was a look of recognition in her eyes as well as one of pain and sadness. She continued toward him as he collected himself and stood with regal poise. As she approached he could not bring himself to meet her gaze as he began to speak. As she wept, she angrily, but fruitlessly slammed her fists against him. He allowed it to happen as he stared dully past her.
Far to the south, a conclave of rangers fought tirelessly for their lives and those of everyone else in the land. They were the last line of defense holding out against the endless horde of undead that plagued the land. The blighted forest was ever encroaching, ever spreading. Any creature that perished within its reach would soon leave it to join the horde. One such, what used to be a human man, led battalions of undead with military precision. Strips of dead flesh hung like pennants from his skeletal frame. A dozen arrows protruded from every part of his body. His rotten bow cracked with age, held together by the same necrotic magic that held his bones together. As he marched, he paused as he felt a presence, one he had not felt since...before he became this abomination. His student had joined him. He and his army of undead simultaneously turned north to join her.
After several moments of silence save for the quill scratching away at the parchment, Ella gently places the quill in the inkpot and begins rolling the parchment. She hands it reverently to The Director as she bows. You see a flash of blue arcane energy flash as an ethereal hand appears from The Director’s open palm. The hand grasps the rolled parchment and lists it to the brim of the Voidfish tank. The enigmatic Voidfish slowly spins, the stars and galaxies in its form winking in and out of existence. You see the hand go into the tank, still gripping the parchment. The voidfish lifts one of its many tendrils and touches the parchment...and begins to sing. It is unlike any music you have ever heard before; indeed you cannot even be sure it is music. The ethereal hand vanishes as The Director drops her arm to her side. Everyone in the room watches with rapt attention as The Voidfish performs its ritual.
The tendril draws the parchment into the Voidfish’s body. For several moments the stars and galaxies in its body seem to flicker with greater intensity. Its song builds in intensity and it starts to spin faster. Faster and faster it spins until you are unable to differentiate individual tendrils. You see its spinning form now resembles one of the spiral galaxies you have seen on it. Suddenly it stops spinning and singing as a burst of purple energy emanates from its core. The wave of energy washes over you and you...remember.
You know these four who have died as well as any friend or family, any enemy or lover. You remember stalking a murderer through dimly lit streets with Questor. You remember communing with the forest with Nirvana. You remember learning to play the drum with Cade. You remember hunting stag in the forest with Darcy. You remember, but the world below forgets.
The woman at the farm weeps silently as her husband comforts her. There is a flash of purple light and the woman looks up at her husband and smiles. She leaves the farmhouse and returns to the work she had been doing. It is odd to her that she had stopped and couldn’t figure a reason for it.
The stocky halfling woman stops in her tracks as the purple light flashes in her eyes. She is confused and frightened. Where is she? Where is she going? How did she get here? Then she remembers: the gauntlet. She must have it. Her rage begins anew as she pushes forward toward the mines.
The red-haired young woman frowns. She had been thinking of...something? Someone? There was a flash of purple and even now the act of remembering the daydream is being pulled away. As quickly as the light passed before her she continues on her way to the market of the small village.
The messenger from Neverwinter and the two elves at the cottage are standing at the door of the cottage. The messenger stands dutifully offing to help in any way. The woman weeps while the man comforts. As the purple light passes over them, the woman greets the messenger with a smile. The messenger politely excuses himself, failing to remember why he was sent to this remote elf village in the first place.
The black-haired woman stands in the cursed grove, trying in vain to make sense of the infernal contract before her. Finally, after hours of pouring over sections and subsections, pages upon pages of fine print, and reading until her eyes hurt, she finally gave up. She looks at the devil defiantly as he smiles with needle-like teeth back at her. She draws her dagger and pulls it across her palm. As blood wells from the wound, she presses her hand to the pages of the contract. The devil’s smile grows wider. Suddenly he frowns and whips his head around. He sniffs the air like a wolf catching the scent of prey. He quickly turns back to the black-haired woman and grabs her shoulder, digging his dagger-like claws painfully into her skin. In a flash of infernal flame, they both vanish just as the purple light reaches the grove. The forest is deathly silent.
A renewed sense of purpose and determination seems to wash over the people on the observation deck. The mission is clear: retrieve the artifacts. These four heroes had done it. You watched them do it, you remember. The path ahead will be difficult and fraught with dangers, but the task must be completed.
After it is over, The Director calls you into her office. “So tell me, who are you?” she asks as she sits behind her desk.

Thus began session 0, with a "soft" reset of the campaign. My wife said she teared up a few times while I was reading.
​

CONTENT COURTESY OF COLUMBIA CVB
 
ON STAGE

• “Blithe Spirit” Friday-Saturday 7:30 PM and Sunday 2 PM at Macklanburg Playhouse. A timeless-frolicking comedy from the stages of London and Broadway. Charles Condomine, a fussy and cantankerous novelist, encounters the ghost of his late first wife through the happy medium of Madame Arcati. Personalities clash, humor ensues and blithe spirits haunt the hapless Charles into perpetuity.

• “The Gin Game” Friday-Saturday 7:30 PM and Sunday 2 PM at Talking Horse Productions. This winner of the 1978 Pulitzer Prize uses a card game as a metaphor for life. Weller Martin and Fonsia Dorsey discover they both dislike their nursing home and enjoy gin rummy, so they begin to play and to reveal intimate details of their lives. Soon their secrets become weapons used against one another.

 
SPECIAL EVENTS

• Passport Series: ‘Pop Aye’ (Thailand) Wednesday-Thursday 6:30 PM at Ragtag Cinema. Thana (Thaneth Warakulnukroh, a rock musician in his first acting role) faces a midlife crisis: his career as an architect is being obliterated by modernization and his wife finds him sexually lacking. After a chance encounter with his childhood elephant, Popeye (Bong), he seizes the chance to escape from Bangkok and return Popeye to his childhood village. Without a car, Thana is forced to beg for rides. Hitchhiking with an elephant, however, is just as difficult as you can imagine.

• Das Boot and Liter Holding Contest Thursday 7 PM at Gunter Hans. We will be partnering with Hofbrauhaus to throw a liter holding contest! All are welcome, but only the winner walks home with a gift card and Das Boot.

• Heal Cancer Glow Run 5K Friday 5:15 at Hallsville Intermediate School. A fun run for the whole family to help support families with children of acute illness. goinggoldforjackson.org/events.

• Oktoberfest in the Biergarten Friday-Saturday 7-10 PM at Gunter Hans. We’re loading up the Biergarten with all our favorite Oktoberfest beers!

• Weekend Film: Girl’s Trip Friday-Saturday 7 PM and 9:30 PM at Wrench Auditorium, MU. Four friends travel to New Orleans as their sisterhoods are rekindled and wild sides are rediscovered. $1 with MU student ID, $2 for others..

• Bear Creek Run Saturday 8 AM at Albert-Oakland Park. The Bear Creek Run Half Marathon has quickly become a favorite race in Mid-Missouri. Runners and walkers have come to love the scenic course along the Bear Creek Trail as well as the encouraging volunteers, great race shirts, finisher medals and awards by local artists. The 13.1 mile course starts and finishes at Albert-Oakland Park and takes participants to Columbia’s Cosmo Park and back on 80 percent gravel trail. “Inspiration Hill” will keep runners motivated as they approach the half-way point. There are aid stations (water stops) every mile to mile-and-a-half along the well-marked course.

• Boone County Farmers Market Saturday 8-12 PM at the Columbia Mall. When in Season, the following products expected at the market include: Flowering Plants, Vegetable Plants, hanging baskets, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, onions, beets, radishes, spinach, lettuce, apples, peaches, berries, cucumbers, zucchini, meats, jams, jellies, soaps, baked goods, kettle corn, watermelon, cantaloupe, pumpkins, gourds, winter squash, etc.

• Columbia Farmers Market Saturday 8-12 PM in the ARC Parking Lot. Fresh vegetables & fruit, meat, farm fresh eggs, cheeses, honey, cut flowers, plants, artisan items & more. As a producer-only market, everything sold here is offered by the farmers and artisans who help sustain our region. SNAP (food stamps) accepted at all markets. Live music every Saturday! Rain or Shine.

• Hartsburg Pumpkin Festival Saturday-Sunday 9-5 PM in Hartsburg. The charming river town of Hartsburg hosts thousands of visitors during this annual festival on the second weekend in October, which features 150 craft vendors, petting zoo, pony rides, food booths, pumpkins galore, and a variety of pumpkin activities for the whole family.

• Taste of the Holiday Home Tour Luncheon Saturday 11:30 AM at Community United Methodist Church. The Women’s Symphony League is hosting the 4th Annual Taste of the Holiday Home Tour Luncheon. Tickets are $35 and need to be purchased by October 10th. The ticket includes lunch catered by Hoss’ Market, a Fashion Show by My Sister’s Circus and Calena’s, an introduction to the homes on the 2017 Holiday Home Tour, Silent Auction, and one ticket to the 34th Annual Holiday Home Tour (value of $15).

• Dancing Thru the Decades Saturday 6 PM at Bob Lemone Building in Hallsville. Come join us to support Jackson Morton and the other children of Pascale’s Pals at The Dancing Thru The Decades party. Put on your outfit from your favorite decade and be entered in a chance to win the best dressed contest. (21+).

• Fiber Arts Festival Saturday 10-4 PM at Jefferson Farm and Garden. Fiber artists from around the region will gather at Jefferson Farm and Garden to demonstrate their skills in all aspects of textiles, including: crocheters, dyers, felters, knitters, quilters, spinners and weavers. Visitors can enjoy workshops and classes in various fiber techniques, interact with farm animals that are essential to fiber production, or visit with many local guild booths.

• Orr Street Farmers and Artisans Market Sunday 9-1 PM at Wabash Station Parking Lot. Produce, art, jewelry, crafts, music by Austin Jones and the Bootheel Boys, and Ozark Mountain Biscuit Food Truck.

• 2017 Sustainable Living Fair Sunday 10:30 AM – 5 PM at City Hall. Free Event with Workshops, Booths, and Solar Tours. The Sustainable Living Fair is mid-Missouri’s premier sustainability education event of the year. It will offer mid-Missourians a chance to learn about sustainability firsthand.

• Columbia’s Great Muslim Food Fest Sunday 11-5 PM at the Islamic Center of Central Missouri. Join us for a delicious day filled with food, fun for the family, entertainment, tours of the Islamic Center, and an opportunity to meet your Muslim neighbors. Shop in the Bazaar for amazing food items and other unique non-food stuff from various local vendors.

• 2017 Missouri Community Betterment Fall Conference Sunday-Monday at Stoney Creek Conference Center. Come join us as we participate in educational sessions relevant to rural communities, listen to engaging and uplifting speakers and network with other community members who share interests, concerns and ideas relevant to rural Missouri.

 
GALLERY
 

• Restraint and Limitation: through Oct. 19 at the George Caleb Bingham Gallery, inside the Fine Arts Building at the University of Missouri. This exhibit, curated by artist and professor Matt Ballou, examines the meaning and practice of abstraction in the hands of three women artists. art.missouri.edu.
  
• Alexis Dwyer: through Oct. 25 in the Greg Hardwick Gallery at Columbia College. This Columbia College alum will display a body of printmaking work. facebook.com/ccgalleries.
  
• Dan Gemko: through Nov. 3 in the Sidney Larson Gallery at Columbia College. The photography of this Columbia College alum will be on display.
  
• Missouri Watercolor Society Invitational: Through Nov. 5 at the Montminy Gallery inside Boone County Historical Society, 3801 Ponderosa St. boonehistory.org.
  
• The Joan Crawford Effect: through December 17 at Lela Raney Wood Hall, Stephens College. This exhibition looks at the manufacture of glamour showcasing by-products and inspirations for the collaboration between Academy Award-winning Hollywood star, Joan Crawford (1904-1977) and costume designer, Adrian (1903-1959). 1930s and 1940s suits and evening gowns from the permanent collections—including a ’30s Letty Lynton-inspired gown—will be on exhibit. The exhibition includes never-before-exhibited archives related to Joan Crawford’s experience as a fledgling student at Stephens College in the 1920s.
  

• Autumn Exhibit: at Sager Braudis Gallery, 1025 E. Walnut St. Exhibiting artists are Peregrine Honig, Chris Morrey, Hannah Reeves, Joel Sager and Andrea Wan. sagerbraudisgallery.com.

• Courtiers, Courtesans and Crones: Women in Japanese Prints: Through Oct. 29 at the MU Museum of Art and Archaeology. Using woodblock prints, this exhibit examines the narrow ways in which women were conceived by male Japanese artists. maa.missouri.edu.

• Interpretations V: Through Nov. 3 at Columbia Art League, 207 S. Ninth St. In this wildly popular exhibit, visual artists and writers trade inspiration, using one another’s works as muses for their own. columbiaartleague.org.

• Kansas City Cartoonists S. J. Ray and Lee Judge: Cartoonists from Two Millennia Critique Culture: Through November at the State Historical Society of Missouri. Through a wide array of over 60 cartoons by Ray and Judge from the SHSMO collection, this exhibition displays humorous and creative approaches to contemporary issues. Viewers can compare the styles, perspectives, and attitudes of two artists. Shsmo.org.

• Impression of Modernity: Prints from 1870 to 1945: through Dec. 10 at the University of Missouri Museum of Art and Archaeology, 115 Business Loop 70W. This exhibit explores how artists such as Cassatt, Kandinsky, Picasso and Rivera used prints to express certain sides of their work. maa.missouri.edu.

• The Lasting World: Simon Dinnerstein and the Fulbright Triptych: Through Dec. 22 at the MU Museum of Art and Archaeology. Numerous major works by the esteemed artist are on display. maa.missouri.edu.

 
SPORTS
 

• Columbia College Volleyball vs. Evangel University FRI 3 PM at Southwell Complex.

• Columbia College Volleyball vs. Westmont University FRI 7 PM at Southwell Complex.

• Columbia College Soccer vs. Park University FRI Women’s 4:30 PM, Men’s 7 PM at Columbia College.

• Mizzou Volleyball vs. Mississippi State FRI 6:30 PM at Hearnes Center.

• Mizzou Swimming SAT 12 PM at Mizzou Aquatic Center.

 
LIVE MUSIC
 
Thursday

• Moon Hooch, Lavender Fields, Jackson Whalan 8 PM at Rose Music Hall; $13 in advance, $15 day of show.

• Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Elliott Root 9 PM at The Blue Note; $15.

Friday

• The Woodsmiths 6 PM at Cooper’s Landing.

• Grindstone Unplugged 6 PM at The Station House.

• Akropolis Reed Quintet 7 PM at First Baptist Church.

• Summerfest: The Head and the Heart 7 PM on 9th Street; $33.75 in advance, $39 day of show.

• Return of the Palace Guard 8 PM at Rose Music Hall; free.

Saturday

• The Flood Brothers 5 PM at Cooper’s Landing.

• The Calvin Street Band 6 PM at The Station House.

• The Festival of Choirs 7 PM at Missouri United Methodist Church.

• The Magpie Salute 8:30 PM at The Blue Note; $29.50 in advance, $34 day of show.

Sunday

• The Clay Creek Band 2 PM at The Station House.

• The Fox Brothers 5 PM at Cooper’s Landing.

• Lucas Oswald, Rachel Mallin & The Wild Type, Tim Carey 8 PM at Rose Music Hall; free.

 
MOVIE GUIDE
AMERICAN MADE - In this '80s-set thriller based on a true story, airline pilot Barry Seal (Tom Cruise) is recruited by the CIA to smuggle drugs and weapons abroad for the U.S. government. Seal quickly amasses a fortune via his undercover operations, but he gets in over his head when he becomes involved with Colombia's Medellín cartel and the Iran-contra scandal.
BEACH RATS - On the outskirts of Brooklyn, Frankie (Harris Dickinson), an aimless teenager, begins to scour hookup sites for older men while simultaneously entering into a cautious relationship with a young woman. As Frankie struggles to reconcile his competing desires, his decisions leave him hurtling toward irreparable consequences.
BLADE RUNNER 2049 - After discovering a long-buried secret that jeopardizes what's left of society, a new blade runner (Ryan Gosling) embarks on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former blade runner who's been missing for 30 years.
FLATLINERS - Eager to find out what the afterlife is like, five adventurous medical students seek out near-death experiences by stopping their hearts for a brief period of time. However, their haunting visions of the great beyond eventually turn nightmarish and take over their waking lives.
THE FOREIGNER - London businessman Quan's (Chan) long-buried past erupts in a revenge-fueled vendetta when the only person left for him to love -- his teenage daughter -- is taken from him in a senseless act of politically-motivated terrorism.
HAPPY DEATH DAY - A college student (Jessica Rothe) is trapped in a time loop that forces her to keep reliving a birthday that ends with her murder at the hands of a masked madman. As she repeats the same day over and over again, she tries to figure out her killer's identity so she can avoid a grisly fate.
HOME AGAIN - A recently separated woman (Reese Witherspoon) moves to Los Angeles with her two daughters, where she rents out her guesthouse to three much younger men (Pico Alexander, Nat Wolff, and Jon Rudnitsky) -- one of whom she soon begins dating. Her new life gets even more complicated when her estranged husband (Michael Sheen) reenters the picture.
IT - In a small town in 1989 Maine, seven bullied kids known as the "Losers' Club" discover that a malevolent force is preying on the local children. When they realize that the town's adults can't protect them, they band together to destroy the monster, a killer clown called Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård).
KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE - When Kingsman's headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage, their journey leads them to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the US called Statesman, dating back to the day they were both founded.
MARSHALL - Thurgood Marshall, a young lawyer, must defend a black chauffeur charged with sexual assault and attempted murder of his white socialite employer. Muzzled by a segregationist court, he partners with a courageous young Jewish lawyer, Samuel Friedman.
THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US - Stranded after a tragic plane crash, two strangers must forge a connection to survive the extreme elements of a remote snow covered mountain. When they realize help is not coming, they embark on a perilous journey across the wilderness.
MY LITTLE PONY: THE MOVIE - A dark force threatens Ponyville, and the Mane 6 embark on an unforgettable journey beyond Equestria where they meet new friends and exciting challenges on a quest to use the magic of friendship to save their home.
RAT FILM - “There’s never been a rat problem in Baltimore, it’s always been a people problem.” Rat Film (True/False 2017) is a documentary that uses the rat—as well as the humans that love them, live with them, and kill them—to explore the history of Baltimore.
VICTORIA & ABDUL - Directed by Stephen Frears (Philomena, The Queen), Victoria & Abdul is an extraordinary true story set during Queen Victoria's (Academy Award winner Judi Dench) rule. When Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal), a young clerk, travels from India to participate in the Queen's Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favor with the Queen herself. As the Queen questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty to one another that her household and inner circle all attempt to destroy. As the friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes and joyfully reclaims her humanity.
 
CHECK EACH THEATRE FOR SHOWTIMES
RAGTAG CINEMA – 10 Hitt Street 573-443-4359
REGAL STADIUM 14 THEATER – 2800 Goodwin Pointe Drive 573-817-0770
GOODRICH FORUM 8 – 1209 Forum Katy Parkway 573-445-7469

Repost with more information.
My mom is looking for a movie that she saw on The Movie Network in about 2004 (possibly early 2005, but likely before that.) The Movie Network in Canada generally shows releases from the previous 2-3 years, but it might have been on the Encore channel, which means it Could have been early 2000s, or possibly late 1990s. Likely not any earlier.
She describes it Somerset Maugham-like movie that takes place on an Amazon-like river.
A husband and wife accepted employment (possibly teaching?) at a remote settlement run by an authoritarian older woman (stern Judy Dench-like) who has a middle-aged virginal adult son (who looks sorta like Phillip Seymour Hoffman, but it’s not PSH.)
The wife ends up having an affair with the adult son. Nudity and sex was r-rated, but the virginal son could not have actual intercourse (possibly due to religion - he had to remain a virgin.)
Wife is striking but not conventionally beautiful. Dark hair.
Husband and wife are stuck there. The boat will not be returning for several months.
Psychological study, foreboding and claustrophobic feeling. Might have been set in the 30s to 40s. Very cult-like community of maybe a couple dozen people.
No big names - all unknown or lesser known actors (or at least unknown to my mom, who has a pretty broad film knowledge.) Indie movie feel.

My husband and I recently viewed and enjoyed the film "Philomena" starring Judi Dench (love her!) and Steve Coogan. http://www.amazon.com/Philomena-Judi-Dench/dp/B00GSBMNOQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415237415&sr=8-1&keywords=philomena.
The story is part adventure, part mystery and part comedy. Amazon provides an excellent synopsis, based on a true story: "When she fell pregnant as a teenager in Ireland in 1952, Philomena Lee (Judi Dench) was sent to the convent to be looked after as a fallen woman. She cared for her baby for three years until the Church took him from her and sold him, like countless others, to America for adoption. Coerced into signing a document promising never to attempt to see her child again, she nonetheless spent the next fifty years secretly searching for him, unaware that he was searching for her from across the Atlantic." The story resonates with me for 2 reasons: first, we are the adoptive parents of daughters from China who will most likely never know their birth stories, and second, my mother was persuaded to give her firstborn son for adoption in the 1950s.
Dinner Menu!
Country French Omelet: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/country-french-omelet-recipe.html - Philomena has an appreciation for food and takes the opportunity to talk to the restaurant staff about the differences between American and English food while at the hotel's breakfast omelet bar.
Ceaser Salad with Crunchy Croutons http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/caesar-salad-with-crunchy-croutons-recipe.html - At Philomena's first meeting with Martin, she tells him how much she likes croutons and proceeds to fill her bowl full of croutons.
Your Choice of Tea or a Buck's Fizz Cocktail http://cocktails.about.com/od/cocktailrecipes/bucks_fizz.htm - Philomena is offered a Buck's Fizz Cocktail on her flight to Washington D.C.
Dessert - Hotel Chocolat http://www.hotelchocolat.com/uk/ - Chocolate like the ones left on hotel bed pillows that Philomena enjoys!

Verified? (This bot cannot verify AMAs just yet)
Date: 2013-11-21
Link to submission (Has self-text)

Questions	Answers
Sarah! it's my birthday tomorrow, can I get a happy birthday wish from you?!	Happy birthday reddit nerd! Go outside and check out some fresh air and posture!
What's your least favorite way to be approached?	When someone comes up w crazy eyes and says something like, "can I have a picture- my husband has cancer." And I'm like "well okay... AS LONG AS HE HAS CANCER I guess I will" -- just keep it short and be cool, fool.
What is it like knowing 13yr old boys still jack off to your tits?	It's an honor.
What is the strangest or most memorable thing a fan has asked you to do?	Tattoo his leg. I just tattooed a guy's leg with an actual needle. I put WWSD (what would Sarah do).
I miss The Sarah Silverman Program. Any new TV plans?	I just shot a pilot for HBO so we'll seee.
Who are your top 5 favorite comedians? Are there any up-and-comers we should know about? Who does a better job of humiliating Jimmy Kimmel...you or Jimmy Kimmel?	You should know Tig Notaro Kyle Dunnigan Natasha Leggero Todd glass.
Who is the coolest/most popular person you have every done any illegal drug with?	Jane fonda.
What was your favorite part of Wreck-it Ralph?	At the end when Ralph says he likes getting thrown off the building now because he can see vanellope win the race from there, and that makes him happy.
You were really funny on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. What's something no one knows about Jerry Seinfeld?	He's jewish.
What's the most important lesson you've learned so far in life? What advice would you give to your teenage self?	No matter how bad things get, if you make yourself say "thank you for everything just as it is" it makes it better- even if just from making you laugh from the irony.
In a podcast I listen to Steve Agee talked about playing GoldenEye with you all the time in the early days. Do you remember this? Do you play anything now?	Some of my best memories. I still have it and we sometimes play. I know every room of that game.
Sarah, how old is your dog?	He's zero cuz he's dead but he was 19 up until 3 months ago.
When you were first getting started in standup comedy, how long did it take you to feel confident in your act?	About 6 years. Still fluctuates.
Hey Sarah! When you did Star Trek: Voyager, it seemed like you and Robert McNeill has great onscreen chemistry. Any of that carry over off-screen?	No but we had a great time. Lots of laughs were had
What's your favorite thing while your'e not busy?	TV and sleep and kissing.
Where would you recommend to get an abortion?	Best Buy.
How do you feel about male comedians that make rape jokes?	Buttery.
Who's your celebrity crush?	Helen mirren.
Hi Sarah! Thank you for all the goofs, gags, and laughs over the years! My question for you is: who are your main influences and what about their style influenced yours?	Steve Martin Phil Donahue Ruth Gordon Garry Shandling mr. Rogers Albert brooks.
Sarah I remember seeing you do a skit where you sang amazing Grace with your vagina, where can I watch that again?	My guess is you'll figure out the right search words to find it. I believe in you 22taylor22.
Did you ever scissor Sheldon Adelson?	Not yet.
Do you wipe forward or backwards?	What??? ALWAYS front to back!
Would you rather eat poop or have to choose someone else to have to eat poop?	Great question! The latter.
Sarah...big fan. In what context do you prefer we see Harris Wittels' penis--hardcover, paperback, or Kindle?	Paperback, definitely paperback.
I saw you in 'Strange Powers: Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields'. Question: what's your favourite MF song?	Book of love. Acoustic guitar. - oh - I Don't Believe in the Sun.
3D is still a waste of money, right?	I don't like wearing those reusable 3d glasses. You have to assume they are covered w dried semen and fecal matter and I don't want to put that near my eyes.
Ok, as a comedian, at some point life gets in the way and your human (I think) so its normal to be depressed now and then. How do you stay quick witted and funny? I lost my mojo and it's like I've used all my allotted funnies. Help!	I have days in a row of not talking out loud, staying in, sleeping, letting myself be low.
Sarah I love you! Anyway, you joke about controversial topics a lot, have you ever felt seriously threatened by the backlash?	Yes. But I'm still alive so I'm still gonna express myself as I see fit as I encourage you to do as well.
Whats your favorite book of the bible?	Crazy from the heat.
Hi Sarah Silverman. How's your day going?	It's going up!
Have you had a noteworthy dream since the shark with the braces bit?	Yes. Dame Judy dench was starring in a tv biopic of Linda ellerbee.
What does David Cross smell like?	Green apples.
Batman or superman?	Superman.
What's your favorite non-comedy movie?	Ordinary People The Squid and the Whale.
What's your favorite alcoholic drink?	I don't drink. Wish I did but I literally have a 10 year old's palate
Can you tell my girlfriend emily happy birthday? We are both Huge fans!	Happy birthday Emily you son of a gun. Make it count.
If there were to be a biopic made about your life, who would you cast as the role of Sarah Silverman?	A young Danielle Brisebois.
What was it like shooting for A Million Ways to Die in the West? Any crazy stories from the set?	It was a blast! So funny.
Is Jesus Magic?	Obvs.
What are your feelings on Pete Holmes?	Awesome. He flails like no one else! Also he convinced me to drink alkaline water and the convinced me to stop. FLAILS!
The TV show you have to watch weekly.	Homeland, walking Dead right now.
Perfect Night is my anthem. Amazing. Thank youuu.	You're welcome, it is the closest thing to an autobiography in song.
I want to shave your bush.	Um... Yes?
	Join the club. Seriously. I started a club.
As a woman from Texas I just want to say thank you for the support of the Pro-Choice movement here. Eat a dick Rick Perry!	I second that emotion.

Last updated: 2013-11-25 20:56 UTC
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