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spot, 18
i am an insecure 18 year old white boy that was going to college this semester but withdrew after my brother committed suicide. sadism seems neat. not really sure what i want you to do specifically because everything here is new to me. someone willing to wail on me until i work out what my niche is would be nice. you know- you tell me do a thing, i don’t do the thing, you smack me around, then i do the thing. that sort of thing. if you are older and have your life together, i am considering moving in with you because i don’t want to live with my parents while they assume i’m going back to college next semester.

 

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uFoundboy, 18
No sex… I’m sick of it already

Into:
Lick my feet (I won’t try to stop u)

Not into:
Cum control (love it when it makes me horny but my tool is tired)
smoke (allergy)
Piss & scat (too disgusted)
Blood & needle (phobia)
Spits (sweat is fine…)
Chub (ah please don’t)
Physical abuse… I’m sick of it
Verbal abuse… if u hurt my feeling, I’ll kill u…

 

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MARCO, 21
I am very sexy play boy and I interested by ledis and I won’t sex for only many beacouse many is important of my life

 

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ChaserSeeksPoison, 24
Hey, Jeff, I’m always horny and I adore unnatural, creepy, disturbing shit and I will do anything for a dollar or a Klondike bar. I have literally zero limits (I feel like a lot of people say that and don’t know what it means but I know what it means and I really have zero.. count them.. ZERO limits) so message me with what you’re into it because I have the fun combination of anxiety, depression, and an overwhelming sense of nihilism so I guarantee I’m into whatever it is too.

Comments

Anonymous – July 29th, 2016
severe psychotic

 

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famouslastwords, 23
boy looking to be bread

 

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Im_lithe, 19
Effete city boy looking for older (50+) Bear that likes outdoors, hunting, fishing, etc…

I’d like to discover the fabled fun side of sex because it has almost never been fun for me.

Thus far I can say I’ve only liked being spanked by a Bear while he jerks off to my screams.

 

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Maybeapeach, 19
To me self-description is a calamity, but ..

My name is Javi. Javi is the abbreviation of Javier and this is the Spanish form of the given name Xavier.

Major nerd and Cosplay dope and and harsh fem btw.

I’ve been interested in BDSM for my whole life, but in the past two months that I’ve been at college, the need to explore the lifestyle has really become incredible.

I have one hard limit that I know of: Knifeplay.

My favorite music is probably synthpop like Chvrches, Phantogram, and Purity Ring.

Don’t be so mean.

Comments

ick199347 – Oct. 7.2016
My guess.. He must’ve weighed 100lbs more at some point, and lost the weight. Hes slim, but his skin’s very loose. When you fuck him hard, he wobbles from the neck down.

ich_mach_es_dir – Oct. 6.2016
How so, ick?

ick199347 – Oct. 6.2016
Cute face, impressive makeup, bit poncey, more than sexually cooperative, but his body is ugh.

 

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Prisoner07, 19
Guys, I need someone’s help, and NOW! I have a stupid STUPID reckless teenage Texan bottom tied up in my basement, dove in way over his head -and mine- before he realized it and after I could stop myself. I can’t turn him loose now, he’s a MESS. I’ve got to get rid of him. I’ll hand him off for free -he’ll go with you, no questions- if you can pick him up and keep him stored. I don’t know much about him.
Do whatever you want to him. Or don’t. I don’t care.

Comments

SodomizeU – Oct. 12.2016
BDSM is not something i do every day, but once im in the game, its hard to stop.

 

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SwissTeen, 20
Looking for the guy in the back room I chickened out of speaking to. Tall with the checkered shirt. I was the skinny blond twinky type in a Marc Jacobs t-shirt very drunk with my friend.

 

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FuckingThrill, 22
I don’t have an attitude! Just a personality that you can’t handle! The truth? I like you. A lot. please pls pls pls pls I’m serious. if You make me happy, i make you happy too. Sex’m practically unhindered. Here for you to crunch me. You’re different. You’re a little crazy and awkward, but may i have your body? I’d love to kiss you. I can also perfect fucked. I’m girly and while I’m girly, I’m crazy too. My mood can change and I’ll wanna be a boy but not confident like you!

 

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rat/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\, 20
a slave boy that do not know the word no, that lake to be poesde 2 an paast its 0 limmits. and cont wate to plzz his master no mater what be it to work in his garden or being tade to his tree.

 

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bullyvictim, 20
I like to be bullied/hazed.

Wedgies noogies swirlies headlocks full nelsons pink bellies wet willies purple nurples shoving in lockers and trashcans dead legs pushing ruffling hair emasculating name calling.

I live and work at the Grand Canyon.

 

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BadRomance, 24
Obsessed to the point of madness with (1) eating out the armpits of beautiful blond eastern European teenage and twenty-something guys.

That’s not me in the lower photos, obviously. They’re there to show the kind of blond beautiful young gods I mean. I’m in the upper photo.

(2) Also only with the same blond gods, getting their toxic loads and their DNA, getting infected with all their bugs, receiving as much diseases as possible from them inside my ass.

 

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OrbitMe, 19
You can do what you want with me but first this boy needs to be a man’s 1950’s or earlier western culture wife.

No scat as if I should have to say so.

I’m usually only on here when I am drunk between 1-5 am.

 

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Transformboy, 22
im searching for a men, who will turn me into his incredibly freaky sextoy and Keep me in his home (living in). i love extreme bodymodifications, even though i dont have anything extreme yet at the moment. things i would like to have done to my body are implants in my face to an extend that no one will recognise me anymore. also much stuff like taking out my testes and putting heavy steel balls into my scrotum, that will let my ballsack dangle as low as my knees or even lower. Maybe fill my face with silicone to turn it into a huge, overblown orb. Another hot thing is nipple pumping to double them in diameter and have them protrude nicely from my chest and maybe even giving me female hormones to support this enlargement and to let my breasts swell majorly. Also arms amputated at the shoulders and one or both legs amputated at the hip. Im open for all other strange mods and even extremer stuff. I want to become a gross freak, permanently. The weirder the better.

 

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MeYeahBitch, 18
I realized I am a slave. I am a worthless prisoner slave. I am a worthless prisoner slave. I have vision and hearing impairement and use mobility cane to travel safely in the communitty. I’m looking to be drugged turned all the way to a veg. I’ll just leave this short and sweet.

 

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Theycallme, 20
My name is Chris I’m a 20 year old sailor living in Japan. I have yet to have sex with a man. I’m into being humiliated, beaten, raped. Or at least I think I am. Like I said I’ve never had any form of gay sex. Willing to try. I refuse to feel shame any longer about my desires and fantasies. Please be normal enough to introduce to my parents.

 

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GermanYoungSlut, 18
I’m a boy who loves to lick handsome guys. Beat me up if it pleases you.

Love the idea of me licking your body from head to toe that is covered with my blood sprayed and splashed on you after you have beat me up then when you are clean you ram your cock hard up my ass.

I’m only 17 (which is legal) with no experience in this what ever but I will do anything, or so I’ve been told.

___________

longpiglet, 20
mange moi, eat me
not symbolically
not a metaphor
bon ap

 

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Nofilternobrain, 21
I’m very skinny, but then some say that skinny is the new buff. I have long hair that’s naturally brown, but currently died ‘dark cherry’. I have possibly the darkest brown eyes you’ll ever see.

I have the birth defect hypospadias, and although I had surgery to correct it in my early teens, the damage done to my bladder means I have to do an intermittent catheter 2 or 3 times a day. I’m sure there’s a kink in there somewhere. The ‘boy bits’ work just fine when they need to, and measure just shy of 6.5″ pubic bone to tip when erect, though I’m infinitely more interested in my partner’s.

I have a stupid fast food job. Got married to a girl at 16, still married on paper, but we separated in June. I’m a non-smoker, though I really don’t mind smokers as long as they don’t do it in my car. My only real vice is meth. Oh, and plain chocolate digestives. I can munch through a whole pack of those in one sitting.

I should mention that I’m a social transgender. I mostly tend to do this with my femmy friends around Manchester and Leeds. I don’t expect a Master to join in if it isn’t their bag, but if it’s a deal breaker for you, then fair enough. I have no plans to have surgery or go full time. Got sausage. Like sausage. Want sausage. This is a fish free zone. But I do shave my pubic hair and armpits, and sometimes my legs.

 

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Pig4slaughter, 22
I would love to be passed around in a party where lots of meth is being snorted and injected getting fucked by one person after another with as many guys as can possibly fit in me all the time, totally painful, infecting me with all STDs, full blown and completely med resistant, and all strains of each STD possible, until they lose their minds and go totally crazy and slaughter me.

That’s right, slaughter, you heard me!

 

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marinarasauce, 18
I love older men who wear flip flops or sandals and POPPERS.

I like to listen but I can shout, silent makes the move fast.

I would like to become a dog, forgetting that I ever was a human being.

I want this because I am bored and too addicted to anti oppression politics.

 

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scumtrash, 24
Naturally submissive born mega-hung boy here able to be married off or adopted your choice and owned til death:legally and morally.

As for me ok lets see i drink end of story.

03/04/16 Scumtrash is now owned property to MasterP.

18/06/16 Useless cumcrazed faggot scumtrash Owned by MASTER BLACKWILL

09/07/16 Scumtrash owned by ATOP2OWNU

 

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STILLWHOIUSEDTOBE, 19
trying to find some people I used to talk to

 

____________

MakeMeHurtPlease, 18
Hi there, I’m Ashy or Ashley. Or just Ash, whatever~

I’m an 18 year old femboy from Lincoln by way of Russia.

I’m a person who is at a transitional stage in their life. I do feel more like I’m a tiny bit younger than my age, to be honest due to missing a few crucial years out because of some horrible stuff.

I have pretty strong body issues due to my birth gender which causes me anxiety, which has stemmed from things in the past. I’m making an active effort to defeat the ‘downers’ of boyhood however and I’m much better than I used to be. If you’re interested in possibly a relationship of some sort if I genuinely interest you as a body, despite the problems inside that body, please get in contact.

In terms of “inside that body”, I’m very friendly and I love nothing better than just feeling like I belong. I can be timid, but this seems to melt away when force is used. I’m the sort of person you can do anything to and I’ve been told I’m great at vocalizing my reactions in a sexy way. I love playing guitar, composing all manner of crazy things. I also really love comedy!

My ideal partner would be under the age of 35 and an alt/goth/emo type. If you’re over 35 you would need to be exceptionally compelling in some other way.

I’ve currently cut my hair much shorter so I need to update my pictures soon, so I’ll need to remember to do that.

 

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Bang_a_gong, 24
Smoke start recently, just a few months. I don’t have relatives or friends who smoke, but I am always submissive ass eating pig to men who smoke and older than me. I am only 70% passive so I can bang some butts if you want.

 

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Blondandsexy18, 20
Hi I’m Joshua 🙂

What I’m into:

Evil older guys ✔
Extreme pain 🙂 ✔
Mock execution ✔
Slutting for death ✔
Killed/resuscitated 🙂 ✔
Incremental brain damage ✔
Guns/knives ✔
Snuff films starring me ✔

What I’m not:

Tickling ✘
Vanilla Sex ✘

I almost forgot, … I’m an amputee. Left leg below knee. Looking to meet guys not hung up on that little detail.

 

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ItaBtm, 21
If you want to get your worst aggressions and rocks extremely off on Gran Canaria with a skandinaviian boy, I’m what your looking for here.

I’m very quiet and shy when talking with someone new, it takes me a while to become comfortable with someone, but when I do I get very rowdy.

My ultimate hook up is a guy who wants to destroy me from head to toe in front of a mirror, I want to watch my destruction and keep thinking, “Fuck yeah!”

But basically I enjoy pretty much everything except big crowds and drunk parties.

 

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topsecretslave, 21
here goes:
no one ever know is very much important
i am bottom, but it doesn’t mean to go there.
your face pic first, will not trade face pic
do not ask personal questions ever
slim shaved ok body
not good looking so dont set that expectation high
im dumb, so pardon my stupid
if u ask me I love fisting, that is my thing, if you have small hand go deep to elbow
trying slave for some extra oomph

 

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snuffslave666, 21
“Okay,I want you to know that once you submit yourself to be my slave servant you will not be permitted to look or talk to another Master,do you understand? And I want you to address me Master at all-time cause respect is my number one priority here do you understand?”

my answer:

No – I told you alread what I want. If you don’t like – or don’t want it… just fuck off. This stupid stuff to try to rule me – based on some scrpt – you use for anybody – bores the shit out of me,

FUCK OFF!

 

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!!!!!!!!!……..!!!!!!!!, 18
I am a bisexual owned slave. I am scared of whales. My master loves guns knives and anything that can take a life. I really don’t mind being objectified. My master cant stand knowitalls. I grew up around drugs and violence. My master’s best friend is his sawed off shotgun that he never unloads. I love video games. My master is a survivalist. I’m fuckin’ glad to be done with high school. My master loves to curse. Oh and i wear glasses.

Comments

!!!!!!!!……..!!!!!!!! – 08.03.2016
Only when my master wants me to see something but he almost never does.

TickTickTickBoom – 08.02.2016
You wear glasses during sex?

 

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SLAVENOTDUMB, 19
MY NAME IS MAYCON 19YEARS OLD… IM SLAVE FROM AMERICA , NO MASTER , AND IN PARIS for hollyday as long as possible… IM FITNESS , and i love musculation…… PLEASE DONT CALL ME TO ASK FUCK ME AND GO I DONT LIKE THIS …. AND PLEASE DONT CALL ME TO HOW ARE U? AND TO FLATTER AND LIE i dont answer u …. AND PLEASE JUST CALL ME IF YOU WANT TO TORTURE ME … I DONT HAVE INTERST FOR JUST SEX…. SO NAME IT, AND I’LL DO IT (except beeing a bottom)! I DONT MIND MY ASS BEING PUSHED OUT OF ITS COMFORT ZONE, BUT I DONT WANT IT TO BE SHOVED OUT! KISSSSSS

Comments

talentedCOCK – Sept.21.2016
J’ai pensé ainsi.

SLAVENOTDUMB – Sept.20.2016
Skinny.

talentedCOCK – Sept.19.2016
Avez-vous été en gras ou maigre quand vous étiez enfant?

 

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gaynude4you, 20
I took dick once and it was amazing so I’m hoping for more.

No longer horny. Will not respond.

 

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ANALconda, 23
Once again I have created a slave account but only for a different reason : to find someone who can own me two months somewhere in the USA, UK, Australia or Canada …

… I noticed that with a slave account I get a lot more visits than with an escort account. Therefore I am not looking for sex so if you are seeking sex with me, you would be wasting your time.

I come to your place. You tie and mercilessly tickle me. You untie me when you have decided. Not before two months, maybe after. I love you much good.

I also love drinking piss- from a glass, straight from the tap or even brushing my teeth with it.

Payment as I/you walk in.

 

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NumberThree, 18
Look for “S” , I want to be 肉便器
10/24 ~ 28 Tokyo
My English very poor
I do not understand Japanese
Will come as turist but want never live
Don’t want my identity anymore, want a new identity
14
Very very very horny

 

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Slavehereplease, 19
Hi .. i am Erick. I am here. For a while.

I’m really into getting slapped around and punched in the face, especially by muscular guys. I LOVE muscle. Bears are tolerable too. It doesn’t have to be sexual.

I will die for a tough, tattooed skateboarder.

 

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littlesatan, 22
Into everything on meth and shit except doing little kids but there’s a first time for everything.

 

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Marquis_de_Faggot, 21
I would love to be there to harness your energy and make others say “wow how can I get a slave like that?” I’m available for meetings, family functions, groups, weddings, work dos, out and about’s and much more.

I have one strict rule – I am always a piece of meat, but be free to praise me, caress or humanize me – that’s all very flattering. However, don’t expect that your desire for me to be more than usable meat will get you anywhere, I am just human meat. That said you need to love me. Love is everything.

The honest bit:
I am disabled, but still fully functional, but I find it best to tell people from the get go. I have a spinal problem, so I need to use a walking stick and often need to relax and deal with the pain. I am not fragile, but just know you can never be the only one causing me pain if that’s you thing.

 

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Blackmoon&Whitesun, 20
We use the names Blackmoon and Whitesun to differentiate ourselves. We always meet together and you can not separate us even at the meet.

I’m Blackmoon. First of all thank you for visiting our profile! If you like to test or own a slave who is terrible person , really dogshit, who been accuse of rape 4 times and prosecute twice, acquit both times on technicality, masculine but girls face ,really horny for rape nd punish me, and I am so scared of this,,seem confident but am just a piece of shit , thats me who you looking for. Please don’t suck my dick , please don’t rim or wank me! No kissing whatsoever, I can’t stand it.

I’m Whitesun. (Whitesun is in jail now , forbidden to access the website, will be out on 10/18 –Blackmoon) I on the path to the darkness, I wanted to explore the DARK part and now I’m not able to stop this walking to the darkness. Dark, darker, darkest!!!! I can’t stop this anymore. O Magnificent Satan, raise the beast within me. If it please You, Lord Satan, I will become the slavering, depraved beast You Yourself placed deep within me! Let the human recede!

 

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carbonmonoxide, 22
I wish I had a pussy. NOT a trans girl AT ALL. Just wish I was a truly cute twink dude with a working vagina so I could get gang banged by straight guys and gay guys and have a sloppy, gaping, cum-filled cunt.

Would love to tape up my dick and balls into something that looks like a vagina and get fucked in the ass by a guy who wants me to be a cute boy with a pussy and wants to be able to pick between two, open, willing, ready holes. Fucking me like that while I’m wearing my (American) football gear would be a +.

 

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superhotsexyboy, 20
Nothing much to me want to get fucked no matter what you are

 

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Travellingcumdump, 20
Submissive/passive slutty bottom fag into drinking until I pass out and getting abused whilst I’m out. Now open to drinking myself unconscious around really kinky types who understand the complexity of themselves.
I’m a funny guy but I like sick horny men to make party’s with me.
Everyone thinks I’m a “whore”, I think I’m “popular”.
From Australia. Travelling around Europe. Currently looking in London City close to Saint Pauls cathedral, heading to Berlin on the 28th of September for a month or two, after that my plans are open.

Comments

karma_police – Sept. 21.2016
THIS UGLY DIRTY BITCH NEEDS DEATH

 

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IMPRETTYSHITTY, 19
I kinda just hate myself and everyone everything on this earth this god forsaken planet your kids

 

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I-dunno, 24
If you are into cute, lean, blond, submissive guys I was basically made for you – otherwise I can change 😛

Since I was a kid I have been a meek, insecure and unconfident person despite having been told I was cute ad infinitium.
Once I came out I immediately looked for non-traditional types of partners (arrogant, douchey, violent) most parents would advise you never to go with.

I believe that these feelings have been deeply ingrained in the pleasure centres of my brain and are basically irreversible as of now.

Never would I have thought I could share intimacy with more than one person>>>
An ex-boyfriend took me to sexclubs where he would show me off and later he even organized “home parties” for boys and men to fuck me for $$ and even fuck my body up for $$$ -_-

I think in my journey that was only the beginning though, it’s basically a dark and twisted and ultimately horrendous personal evolution I am going through.

I would love to find a guy that has the means, skills, sickness and arrogance to mold me to a subhuman bag of garbage or something even more special.
I’m resigned that he would want to have a lot of sex first because I’m always told how cute and hot I am even though I never believe them.

Because this is obviously such a niche-thing I am open to all the global maniacs here.

 

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DickMe, 18
I’m a 10yr old Virgin who really wants to be tied up and suspended in the air and lowered onto extreme toys by an older man, it would be my first time so you would have to take it slow…..

Comments

Chemsfuck45 – Oct. 17.2016
He is picky.

 

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Knees, 18
i had my first gay experience when i was 15, and i it wasnt baD, FROM THT DAY , i found tht gay people where nice to be with , they were in to me because lets say im lucky to have easYer ass thn normal vietnamese,,
i doesnt look gay people as my inferior, so if they will be in to me i will be more easY to them and im sure ill satisfy them with my extra curious ass , hehehehe .
so so …. ill make you the most horny if u will choose me . i can look young but i am not. i can play dead like a toy. my favroite writers are Joyce, Le Guin, and Plath.

 

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librasupreme, 19
Hi! I’m study literature in Mexico and my dream is to go to Finland and see the Northern lights.
I love snow.
Can you do that happen?
Of course I am slut bottom lol and that’s the only way I could pay you. sorry.

 

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TWINK to USE, 23
Are you looking for a good-looking, male, submissive teenager, because you can use? Since you a group and want to see how the teenager is fucked while suffering? Whether you love me alone or with your boyfriend or bring a dozen men since… I, 257years old of french heritage, will do with me what your imagination has always sought. I will think about it later on.

Comments

Maxfund – Oct. 2.2016
Call me a purist or old fashioned, but I remember the days when not just any random twink bottom looking for a poke could come in here and call themselves a slave. I remember the days when the word slave meant something.

andrewjackson825 – Sept.28.2016
On his back with one dude choking him while another dude punch fisted him while he jerked off was hands down the fastest and surest way to get him to cum for us. But it can’t be the only way.

 

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Let-me-know, 18
I’m a very unhappy teen with self esteem issues seeking 40+ disturbingly dominant, obseesed top. The larger psycho the better. Zero no-go area. Zero role playbullshit. This should be real. Lay claim, possess in your mind, start online and then progress to phone and then physical contact. When I reject (and I WILL!), attackrape, go psycho, threaten to kill me, bombarde with messages, show up unexpectedly, and keep tabs on me CONSTANTLY. Stalk. I am actively begging you to stalk me even when you’re not inside me. Fuck my life from near, afar, everywhere.

Comments

Vulcaiin – Oct. 1.2016
don’t listen to BigBabe!!!!

BigBabe – Oct. 1.2016
.. or you could try a psychiatrist

 

*

p.s. Hey. ** Dóra Grőber, Hi, Dóra! Okay, cool, gotcha on the exam. I thought maybe you had to take a written test or something. So you just have to be cogent and confident and charming, which shouldn’t be hard. Thanks about the Xiu Xiu video. Yeah, I guess we’ll polish it into finality — although Xiu Xiu will have the actual final say, I guess — this weekend. I hope you get to see ‘Kinderotenlieder’ too. It went really well last night. It sounded like your free day was going to be very pleasurable, true. You have fun plans this weekend? I’ll be on the video finalizing, and I’m seeing a Tim Hecker concert tonight, which I’m excited about as I’ve never seen him do his thing live. And doing other stuff as yet unknown. Please tell me how yours went. ** Tomk, Hi, Tom! Always great to see you, man! Most of the texts I’ve written for Gisele are so tuned into the visuals and stuff that they probably seem pretty fragmentary on their own, with a few exceptions. There’s a plan in motion to do a big book on Gisele’s work with photos and DVDs and stuff, and I think all the texts will be printed in that and will hopefully make sense in relation to the visuals. Thanks for asking. Dude, that’s awesome about your piece going up on Entropy! I’m a daily Entropy addict. For sure let me/us know when it goes up, okay, so I can alert everybody here. Yay! Take care, T. ** David Ehrenstein, Hi, David. Thanks for talking to the show. I just saw some really great new sculptures by Jim Dine. He’s still cooking it. ** Steevee, Hi. Eek. Well, hang in there, and I hope it’s not as rocky a transition as you fear. I like all those Johnnie To films too. Great, very curious to read your review of the Pop/Jarmusch. Everyone, Steevee has written about the new, highly anticipated Jim Jarmusch documentary on Iggy Pop and the Stooges, and he really likes it! Check it out for your delectation and appetite whetting. Here. Mm, I have to say it always irritates me when people say that Woody Allen committed “unforgivable” acts when, in his case, it’s entirely a he said/she said thing with no evidence other than warring claims and he’s never been charged with anything. I get that people would be suspicious of him, but that rush to final judgment seems like overly expedient p.c.-infected madness to me. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. I’m glad you liked the show, and I know Kristen was very happy to hear that. It is a chic thing, so, worst comes to worst, you’ll be traveling in regal style. I would absolutely love a Cosey Fanni Tutti Day if you’re so inclined. That would be amazing! Thank you a lot for wanting to, and have the best weekend ever. ** Thomas Moronic, Thank you a lot, man. You have a fun weekend ahead or amidst or behind depending on when you read this? ** Nicholas, Hi, Nicholas. Of course I remember you and you vis-a-vis the blog. It’s great to see you! Wow, there couldn’t be a better outcome for our film than inspiring you to write. Thank you for … being susceptible? That’s excellent news! I know K48, but I don’t believe I’ve seen a copy. Is there anything of those issues with your work in them online? Or seeable/gettable elsewhere, do you know? And I’ll get over to that tumblr and have a look for your stuff today. Great, thank you a lot! ** Jamie McMorrow, Hi, Jamie. Yeah, the pop video is a really, really interesting form. And can deliver great stuff, at least occasionally. It’s been exciting to get to work in it. You’re at the gifted hotel now! Jeez, it sounds nice. All those lamps, ha ha. Does it have enough electrical outlets? In my experience, there’s been this annoying thing where, the cooler and swankier the hotel, the less outlets they provide in their rooms. I’ve been in top-notch hotels where there wasn’t a single outlet available to plug in your laptop or to recharge your phone or whatever, and you had to unplug a lamp or the airconditioner. Anyway, enjoy the brightly lit luxury. Okay, I’ll backpedal my interest in the Mclaren. Thanks for warning me. We’re actually going to Salon du Chocolat on Tuesday now ‘cos it lasts until then and we really should work on the video and stuff until then. Yeah, a work-y weekend for me plus a Tim Hecker concert tonight. I think that’ll be it. Are you ensconced in the fancy joint and its surroundings for the weekend? Wannabe fancy love, Dennis. ** Misanthrope, Hey. I do like open face sandwiches, but I do always think, There is no good reason which this should be open-face. I always think the sandwich maker is just skimping on the bread and trying to be cool or something. Mm, I don’t think you mentioned that Italian fellow before. Excellent descriptioon. He totally filled in and popped. Nice. Speaking of, are you writing at all these days? ** The Dreadful Flying Glove, Yay, hi, man! Thank you a lot for speaking for Kristen. It is truly awesome to be back in touch! Are you still in South Africa? I have this memory of you having maybe returned to the UK at some point back when, but I’m not totally trusting that memory. Yeah, on the posts, there is a plan/thought to try to corral some local tech guy to see if he or she can finesse a way to get around the broken image codes. They did send me all the images in a gigantic folder. I would love to hear more about your ins and ours with that weird, interesting technology if you ever get the jones to say. What’s your weekend look like? You doing or feeling anything Halloween related? ** H, Hi. Thank you for your attention to the art show. I have long wanted to watch Peter Watkins’ ‘Edvard Munch’, but I have not yet. Hm, maybe I will. On Halloween itself? There’s not much related to do here in Paris. Paris has one very good haunted house, but I fear that every Parisian who wants to do something on Halloween will go to it on that day/night, and the long line might keep me away. I do plan to scour the Paris listings to see if there’s anything on Halloween that I’ve missed. ** Puddentane, Hi. Wow, what a good name you have. I really like it. Damn, the thing is that I haven’t yet uploaded everything from old blog onto this one yet, and the post on the day you’re asking about is not up for me to check. Hm. I’ll see if I can fish around in the vat of data Google sent me and find that post and see if I can find the book you’re talking about. Sorry. If you feel like it and remember to remind me, I’ll try to have the info ready for you or at least some possibilities. It’s not Guyotat, right? No, that’s not it. I’ll see what I can figure out. My apologies, and my hearty thanks for coming in here. Have a good weekend. ** Okay. You’re getting the monthly slaves batch a teeny bit early this time because I have something else for you on Halloween day. I hope they do the trick. See you on Monday.

‘Despite our best efforts, time always marches on. The high-functioning worker bees of Johnnie To’s glitzy 2015 musical Office are reminded of this fact every day by a massive open-faced clock dominating their wall-less workspace. Seconds glide away as looming deadlines and fluctuating market trends help to create a culture of frantic normalcy. Characters alleviate stress by breaking out into song, the lyrics of which concern everything from accounting practices and corporate hierarchy to individual purchasing power. Within this razzle-dazzle simulacrum of Hong Kong, where greed and ambition are seemingly filtered through the ventilation systems, it’s no longer possible to separate the rigors of work from the joys of expression. This is life without boundaries.

‘One could imagine similar feelings of unease permeating through the steel corridors of Hong Kong leading up to and immediately after 1997, the year Britain transferred sovereignty of its former colony to the People’s Republic of China. In his 1998 text Hong Kong: Culture and the Politics of Disappearance, Ackbar Abbas discusses the contradictions of Hong Kong and China’s brokered relationship after the “Handover”: “When sovereignty reverts to China, we may expect to find a situation that is quasi-colonial, but with an important historical twist: the colonized state, while politically subordinate, is in many other crucial respects not in a dependent sub-altern position but is in fact more advanced—in terms of education, technology, access to international networks, and so forth—than the colonizing state.”

‘Pervasive complications have always underlined Hong Kong and China’s relationship status, and they can be felt throughout many films released in the last twenty years. To’s diverse string of genre efforts cultivates this tension organically within a specifically sleek and chaotic worldview. Since 2005’s Election and 2006’s Triad Election, the director has shifted focus from underworld criminal politics and alliances to the tumultuous emotions of business professionals and public figures—people such as Louis Koo’s disgraced superstar in Romancing in Thin Air (2012), for example, who decides to grapple with tabloid embarrassment through prolonged dramatic distraction and seclusion. He’s just one of many yearning characters whose perspectives are warped by Hong Kong’s newly misshapen identity, caught between the ghosts of British colonial rule and the realities of China’s global expansion.

‘Abbas addresses this unsettling overlap and how it concerns the arts in general. “Culture in Hong Kong cannot just be related to ‘colonialism’; it must be related to this changed and changing place, this colonial space of disappearance, which in many respects does not resemble the old colonialisms at all.” To’s films respect this ongoing evolution, the cinematic space between aged and new, revealing China’s thorny influence on Hong Kong by subverting gender dynamics and relishing in subtext. While the movie DNA may resemble archetypes made popular by Classic Hollywood (gangster, musical, screwball comedy) and Seventies and Eighties Hong Kong cinema, each of To’s recent films feels jazzy, sincere, and conceptual in its own unique way. Fueling such an improvisatory spirit is the clash between divergent financial practices and political ideologies, providing a perfect nesting ground for personal stories about unhinged romantic relationships in the postmodern era.

‘Here, snake-bit characters, their deeply felt emotions, and their manic professions are all interconnected. Stock markets could be crashing in the background and a swooning couple will be falling in love in the foreground. A startling economic rebound might be superseded by a devastating revelation in an ill-fated affair. The illusion of professional and emotional control remains palpable in both situations, as certain as the romantic volatility in the Don’t Go Breaking My Heart films or the institutional coldness that envelops Drug War (2012) like gray smog. Call it the duality of rising and falling—this sometimes happens in the same frame.

‘To views Hong Kong as a singular urban space where human interaction produces frazzled miscommunication. Getting stuck between commitments and codes happens on a daily basis. There are very few villains but more than enough weak men. Women desire both individual success and fairy-tale endings to their romantic pursuits. The LGBTQ experience is criminally underserved. All the while, Chinese economic, cultural, and political influence lingers like a mischievous ghost, helping to promote an invisible havoc in the lives of Hong Kong’s beautiful citizens.

‘Starting with 2008’s Sparrow, To’s filmography contains markedly similar interests in the inevitability of heartbreak and economic collapse in Hong Kong and China. Despite the prevailing sense of mounting pressure, To ably reminds his characters that happiness is just a fleet-footed camera movement or breezy musical choice away. Narrative twists and turns feel predetermined, yet all roads lead toward an obscured future. Certain recurring themes help confirm this bond between personal and professional, only complicating these matters of the heart further…’ — Cineaste

 

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Stills

 

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Further

Johnnie To @ IMDb
20 Essential Johnnie To Films You Need To Watch
Johnnie To’s Top 10 @ The Criterion Collection
TOP 10 JOHNNIE TO FILMS THAT SHOULD BE IN THE CRITERION COLLECTION
Johnnie To @ MUBI
Hong Kong Cinemagic – Johnnie To
Observations on film art : Director: Johnnie To
Johnnie To @ Les Inrocks
Johnnie To: The Godfather of Hong Kong Gangster Cinema
Johnnie To, Hong Kong cinema and the mainland
Johnnie To : “La situation du cinéma à Hongkong est devenue chaotique”
Mean Streets: Johnnie To interview
Fulltime Cinema: An Interview With Johnnie To
On Johnnie To At Age 60
Ushering In A New Regime: Johnnie To, Crime Films and Dissent
Thirty Years on, Hong Kong’s Johnnie To is Still Making Waves
LOUDER THAN WORDS: THE FILMS OF JOHNNIE TO
Johnnie To: A Hong Kong action master adapts to a changing China
Johnnie To In Charge

 

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Extras

Johnnie To interview | London 2015

NOIR: a cinema masterclass by Jacques Audiard and Johnnie To

Interview – Johnnie To

Andy Lau on why Johnnie To is so important to…

 

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Interview
from Filmmaker Magazine

Filmmaker: What was it like working with another director on Mad Detective? Did you each have certain duties or did you do everything together?

To: Wai Ka Fai and I have been co-directing films together for almost 10 years. I consider him the “brain” of Milkyway and I am the “hands.” For Mad Detective, we were on the set together. I would set up the shots and direct the actors, whereas he will be there to make sure I execute his ideas correctly.

Filmmaker: How different was it from your previous collaboration?

To: Mad Detective is a film that follows no rules. Very much unlike the commercial films Wai and I did together in the past. So every day on the set felt like an experiment.

Filmmaker: What were the particular challenges of making this film?

To: The story unfolds through the perspectives of different characters/inner personalities. It was difficult to decide who’s perspective we should shoot at different moments.

Filmmaker: Is it always important to you to have comic moments in your thrillers? Are you consciously trying to subvert the genre?

To: I like black humor because it reflects my view of life: It is always full of unexpected surprises!

Filmmaker: You say in your director’s statement that both you and Wai Ka Fai are “never satisfied with what’s already been done.” Do you mean your own work or filmmaking in general?

To: For Wai and I, making a film is always about doing something new. We don’t like to repeat ourselves, even if the previous works were successful. We like to push the boundaries. Exploring uncertainty is the most exciting part of making a film.

Filmmaker: You continue by explaining that you want to “break new ground and establish new rules.” How successful do you feel you have been so far in doing this? And does this always always come organically, or is it increasingly difficult to remain innovative and original?

To: As I have said, I don’t like to repeat myself. So that’s my attitude toward making movies. As long as I know what I want to say in a film, I believe it will be unique.

Filmmaker: How much has Hong Kong cinema changed since you started Milkyway Image in 1996 and began reshaping its image? How clearly now do you see what you still want to alter?

To: The industry has gone into a recession in the past 10 years. But the good thing that came out of it is more filmmakers are learning to eschew commercial formula and explore their personal style. This attitude gives Hong Kong cinema a fresher edge, compared to the formulaic genre pictures in the past. What worries me is there is a shortage of new young filmmakers. I hope we can find more fresh talents to join the industry.

Filmmaker: Do you see yourself as an auteur? Are such things of importance to you?

To: “Auteur” is a big word. But I think nothing matters more than making a film that reflects who you are as a person.

Filmmaker: Do you see your talents as being more suited to interpreting other people’s scripts, or will you go back to writing again?

To: Finding a good collaborator for writing is very difficult. I am very fortunate to have Wai Ka Fai, who like me likes to test new ideas.

Filmmaker: Do you see genres as a help or a hindrance to filmmakers? Is it easier to do interesting work within an existing and easily recognizable framework?

To: Hong Kong cinema is based on genre films. I don’t find it to be a hindrance. In a way it helps audience to be more receptive to our films. We believe a good commercial film is 70% formula and 30% of fresh ideas. Audience enjoys familiarity because they want to be entertained. But at the same time they want to be surprised. As a filmmaker, I think it is very difficult to find the balance.

Filmmaker: In your director’s statement, you mentioned that you want to take “a new direction for the next 10 years.” Do you know what direction that will be? And how will it differ to your previous course?

To: What I meant was to stop repeating what we have already done and come up with new ideas. Today, “Milkyway movies” have a meaning to its audience. We hope we don’t get stuck with one stereotypical label for the next 10 years.

Filmmaker: As you are so prolific, do you still have time to watch a lot of films?

To: Not really. These days I am very selective when it comes to movies. I spend more time on reading.

Filmmaker: What was the last film that had a big impact on you?

To: Dogville. An amazing film which I have recommended to many friends.

Filmmaker: Finally, which actor would you pay to see in anything?

To: Steve McQueen or Alain Delon.

 

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16 of Johnnie To’s 69 films
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Three (2016)
‘God bless Johnnie To. A prolific formalist whose lyrical flair for stories of cops and robbers regularly embarrasses the work of his Western contemporaries, the maverick Hong Kong auteur behind the likes of “Election” and “Running on Karma” is 36 years (and almost 70 features) into his career and he’s still making movies without a safety net. “Three” is decidedly minor stuff for such a major filmmaker, but there’s nevertheless something remarkable about watching a master like To reverse-engineer an entire thriller from a single idea that he just had to try — in this case, a climactic shootout unlike anything you’ve seen before. The raison d’être for To’s latest doesn’t become apparent until the final movements of this meticulously arranged 87-minute chamber piece, but the patient build-up to it is part of the fun. Confining the action to the crowded guts of a big Hong Kong hospital, “Three” finds the director carving operating rooms and intensive care suites into uniquely cinematic spaces in much the same way as last year’s “Office” allowed him to transform a drab corporate headquarters into the animated backdrop of a full-throated musical.’ — Indiewire

Trailer

 

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Office (2015)
‘Although he remains best known for his stunning collaborations with another Hong Kong auteur, Wong Kar-wai, production designer William Chang (working with Yau Wai-ming) has outdone himself with “Office,” a picture that gives you far more to look at (and think about) than its humdrum title would suggest. The film’s corporate setting has been styled with rigorous artifice — all blacks, whites and grays, with a network of vertical lines running in the background, and an enormous, vaguely Steampunk-ish clock positioned at the center of the action. It’s a spartan, highly theatrical presentation that befits the material’s legit origins (not to be confused with Noel Coward’s “Design for Living”), but what To does with the space is, as ever, vividly cinematic, from the complex formations in which he moves his actors to the richly immersive effect of the 3D.’ — Variety

Trailer

 

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Blind Detective (2013)
‘Who wants to play it safe? Not Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai, apparently. To and Wai reunite with stars Sammi Cheng and Andy Lau for the crime comedy Blind Detective, which should have been an easy-to-please commercial laffer. After all, the pair starred in the To-Wai (let’s call them ToWai) romcoms Love on a Diet and Needing You, which were Milkyway Image’s biggest commercial hits and are exceptionally beloved by Hong Kong audiences. The pair’s third Milkyway Image film, Yesterday Once More, featured more irony, a clever but not very happy ending, and a much smaller box office take. Conventional wisdom suggests regression for the fourth ToWai-Andy-Sammi collaboration, but Blind Detective instead offers an extreme mishmash of familiar Milkyway Image ideas delivered with in-your-face Cantonese comedy execution. The result is intriguing but divisive, entertaining but ugly, and the textbook definition of a mixed bag. Given that Blind Detective could have been a repeat of ToWai’s romcoms, it’s admirable that something this ambitious and unwieldy was even attempted.’ — lovehkfilm.com

Trailer

Live From Cannes: Johnnie To on the ‘Blind Detective’

 

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Drug War (2013)
‘The big stateside breakthrough that Johnnie To’s American fans have been hoping for no longer seems possible. To is as talented an action director as Kathryn Bigelow or Michael Mann, yet he was unlucky enough to find his voice long after the American vogue for Hong Kong cinema had peaked and the art-house circuit had imploded. The releases of Election (05), Triad Election (06) and Exiled (06) produced negligible box-office returns, while some of To’s best films, like Sparrow (08), have gone entirely un-released in the U.S. He’s shown little interest in working on these shores, no doubt learning from the mistakes of his compatriots in the Nineties; apart from the rom-com Romancing in Thin Air (12), he’s never catered to mainland Chinese audiences. With a few exceptions (Exiled was shot on Macao), his cinema remains grounded in Hong Kong life, with all its political and social overtones. Drug War is his first genre co-production with the PRC. The Chinese government doesn’t seem to have placed many restrictions on his depiction of violence, and the bullets and blood fly freely, especially in the film’s final 15 minutes. However, the mainland authorities do seem to have exerted some ideological pressure. Not only does the film never question the ethics of a war on drugs in which dealers and manufacturers are subject to the death penalty, it appears to enthusiastically endorse it. It even includes a scene in which an undercover cop tries cocaine and freaks out like a character in a Partnership for a Drug-Free America PSA. If you’re looking for a nuanced treatment of drug policy, this isn’t the film for you.’ — Film Comment

Trailer

Excerpt

 

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Don’t Go Breaking My Heart (2011)
‘Despite its manic plotting and the constant see-sawing of its romances, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart lacks a consistent sense of energy, hitting its stride only during the high kitsch climax and a stand-out, mid-film sequence in which the flight cancellations occasioned by Hurricane Sandy cause all of Shen Ran’s flight-attendant mistresses to show up at his office at once—a farce that, in the style of the original film, is framed in part through floor-to-ceiling windows, which make the office resemble a cutaway theatrical set. The thing about great directors is that even their lesser efforts can have flashes of brilliance.’ –– The AV Club

Trailer

 

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Sparrow (2008)
‘Don’t expect much more narrative than that or for it to really lead anywhere. This film isn’t about the story, it’s about presenting Hong Kong as a gorgeous and romantic place in which a plethora of characters all seem to live in a world where nearly everybody is a pickpocket or a petty thief whilst breezing through life without too many worries. It’s all about the cinematic style and visual flair here and To creates an alternative idealised vision of Hong Kong through rhythm, smooth camerawork, editing and a wonderfully complementary soundtrack. Sparrow might not amount to much for the casual viewer but fans of To’s style will find plenty to like here.’ — Taste of Cinema

Trailer

Excerpt

 

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Triangle (2007)
‘The set-up for Triangle is a little like the set-up for its crime: a plan that doesn’t go quite as it should. Lam, To and Tsui decided to play a game of exquisite corpse: each director will continue the story the previous one starts, but lead it into whatever direction he wants. It’s one of those great auteurist experiments. From a production standpoint, Triangle is a “Johnnie To movie:” made through his company, Milkyway Image, starring his regular actors (Simon Yam, Louis Koo and Kelly Lin, plus many more familiar faces), shot by his cinematographer, Siu-keung Cheng, and cut together by his regular editor, David M. Richardson (those who believe the quality of a film’s editing depends on the editor should look no further than Richardson’s resume; the man who works on the brilliant editing of To’s films is the same one who edits Uwe Boll’s movies). There are no title cards to indicate which segment is directed by whom (only the opening credits and a recurring establishing shot hint at divisions or orders), but it’s obvious to anyone who’s seen two or more films by any of the involved directors who is directing which part: Tsui for the first 25 minutes, Lam for the next half hour or so, and To for the last lap.’ — mubi

Excerpt

Excerpt

 

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Exiled (2006)
‘Johnnie To’s Exiled is a flabbergasting spectacle of kaleidoscopic violence that abstractly appraises codes of masculine honor. The coolest director on the block, To channels the spirit of the western throughout this elegantly tossed-off triumph, though he never misrepresents the natural essence of Macau, a small territory on the southern coast of China that exudes a sweaty tropical-like vibe. A bass-heavy Ennio Morricone riff would not be entirely out of place in this film, which boasts one jaw-dropping set piece after another, beginning with an elegiac confrontation between childhood friends outside the home of a woman and her newborn child. Two mysterious men arrive looking for her husband Wo (Nick Cheung), followed closely by two others who coolly plead for the man’s life. Upstairs, a remarkable shoot-out ensues, damaging only doors and mirrors, after which friends and family sit down for a picture. This photograph contrasts with another, taken many years earlier—a symbol of how far these men have come and a reminder of the camaraderie they should protect. Blaze (Anthony Wong) and Tai (Francis Ng) do not kill Wo, and together with Cat (Roy Cheung) and Fat (Lam Suet) they take arms against a torrent of new enemies—in a restaurant, a doctor’s apartment, a field near Buddha Mountain, and a hotel lobby. A house burns to the ground, igniting the vengeance-is-mine fury of Wo’s wife; blood explodes out of people’s bodies in clouds of red dust; cans of Red Bull are used to intimidate police officers; and the flip of a coin determines crucial decisions. Through it all, there is a sense that destiny cannot be undone. Thrillingly prismatic, this robust film bests Martin Scorsese’s visually competent but emotionally flat The Departed by actually having buildings, photographs, and a jingly memento mori resonate with existential and metaphysical questioning.’ — Slant Magazine

Trailer

Excerpt

Excerpt

 

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Triad Election (2006)
‘Triad Election is arguably more a remake of its predecessor than a sequel. The second can be easily watched without the first—which is good, because only a few theaters will be showing them together—with just some business about the chairman’s official baton losing some resonance in the transition. And while Triad Election’s message about the stain that power leaves on men’s souls is a little hackneyed, To supports it with an unbroken string of well-observed, well-acted scenes where rich villains jostle for position and try to maintain the illusion that they’re just trying to build a better life for their offspring. Triad Election echoes The Godfather Part II, The Sopranos, and Goodfellas, but it’s resolutely a Chinese story, reaching back to the origins of Hong Kong crime syndicates, and showing how they struggle to keep a foothold in a modernized world. To covers it all, from the remnants of tradition to the new technological wonderland where citizens still live in fear of bird flu. Like the best crime stories, this one isn’t about how the bad guys live, it’s about how we live.’ — AV Club

the entire film

 

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Election (2005)
‘Election marked an unexpected move in the illustrious career of Johnnie To. As a film about organized crime operating across Hong Kong and China, it has scenes of violence, but no guns are fired; as a story of winning, holding, or losing power, it is less about open, bloody confrontations of gangs or sovereign individuals (the law of the urban, gangster jungle) than backroom manipulations of opinion and allegiance (i.e., politics). And it is a movie in which To’s regularly vertiginous, experimental style is pared right down to a minimalistic concentration on the utterance of words, the performance of small gestures, the conveyance of signs and objects that always have a precise, codified role to play in the proceedings.’ — mubi

Trailer

Two Takes on Strategy in Johnnie To’s “Election”

 

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Throw Down (2004)
‘Johnnie To’s films are becoming increasingly genre-defying—avant garde almost—and 2003’s Throw Down evokes the woozy sensation of being trapped inside a smoke-filled Karaoke bar listening to people sing in a foreign tongue. It’s strange, funny, intimate, and irritating, which is probably why To has the show clock in at less than 90 minutes. Though it’s dedicated to Akira Kurosawa and claims allegiance to Sanjuro, this film about the “world of Judo” may as well have been inspired by Singin’ in the Rain, not just because most of the action—or, rather, non-action—is impeccably timed to its incessant score by Peter Kam but because To’s fluid direction is slippery when wet. The film’s three main characters—a judo-champion-turned-nightclub-owner, Sze-To (Louis Koo); an eager upstart, Tony (Aaron Kwok), itching for a fight; and an aspiring singer, Mona (Cherrie Jones), attempting to evade prostitution—converge almost wordlessly, each introduced as if they were chords in a song working their way through a captivating crescendo of smoky encounters, recurrent dramatic and comedic refrains (a scene with Tony and Mona hiding inside a bathroom stall typifies To’s heady sense of humor), and building toward some impossible climax—one, in this case, that I’m not sure ever comes. The film is something of a love story, not just between the three leads but between To and his actors: From Sze-To reaching out to wipe Tony’s brow to Mona fleeing from a nightclub and picking up Sze-To’s lost shoe, every gesture evokes buried emotions and To’s camerawork not only jives with the hesitancy, frustration, and affection implicit in these movements but echoes them as well. When they don’t appear to be sliding off of To’s sometimes oblique angles, these characters are guided by the trippy female grunts frequently heard on the soundtrack. The story itself is oblique to the point of distraction, but even as it begins to sober up sometime past its midway point, Throw Down remains a compelling remix of aesthetic showmanship and human movement.’ — Slant Magazine

Trailer

Excerpts

 

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Running on Karma (2003)
‘Be ready for quite the content in terms of mood and genres with Running On Karma. What starts in the strip club scene is very lighthearted but quickly the piece turns into a thriller with burst of gory violence, mixed in with comedy, a decent romance, wire enhanced kung fu and a philosophical nature to the narrative involving karma, or rather the the laws of karma. It’s no surprise that you got all that in a Hong Kong movie seeing as they’ve never been afraid to include everything (except knowledge, to quote Anthony Wong). Rarely have I seen it merged so well though and it really shouldn’t have worked, especially the comedy. I smiled in the beginning because this preconceived notion of mine, after watching the production stills, really seemed to go out of the window, fast. Maybe Johnnie To can be part of a worthwhile project nowadays that isn’t in the style of films like The Mission? Personally I enjoy To’s work the most when that style is on display and while Running On Karma shares some of the quirkiness, it’s actually very far from it but with one positive point. It isn’t a breezy, easily digested romantic comedy. Thank god.’ — sogoodreviews.com

the entire film

 

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Turn Left, Turn Right (2003)
‘Turn Left, Turn Right is a simple, light-hearted drama, but conceptually quite strong and pure. The film demands that you go along with its concept and leave it at that. The story is extremely unlikely and heavily constructed, and those wanting a more realistic plot will be quite frustrated. To’s world is governed by To’s laws and those are all in function of the basic premise. Accept this and you’ll find an endearing and sweet but quite cruel romantic film. Not among To’s very best but still highly entertaining and fun to watch.’ — onderhond

the entire film

 

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PTU (2003)
‘PTU, by the veteran Hong Kong action director Johnnie To, is a cop drama that uses what devotees of the genre would call classic methods of dramatizing the tensions between the underworld and the police. (Although others might dismiss those chestnuts as hoary.) The film focuses on the egos that keep these groups pitted against each other. There is still a lot of incredibly entertaining mileage in the vibrant and, yes, inevitable displays of tempers and brooding arrogance that set these movies off and the physical wit used to depict them. Hong Kong crime pictures supply as steady a stream of forceful, charismatic thugs as Warner Brothers did in the 1930’s. In this year of the 20th anniversary of ”Scarface,” directed by Brian De Palma and written by Oliver Stone, it is intriguing to observe that this picture’s influence extends beyond hip-hop.’ — NYT

Trailer

the entire film

 

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Running Out of Time 2 (2001)
‘The chase sequences, comic interplay and considerable atmosphere of Running out of Time coincide with a sense that few actions will ever lead to completion; that missed opportunities and abandoned ambitions rule our lives. Escaping from the police, Cheung meets a beautiful young woman (Yo Yo Mung) on a bus, but To refuses to resort to a romantic subplot. You sense instead all the unleashed eroticism of a truncated attraction, one more failed connection in a city that lacks any interpersonal cohesion. The commercial and critical success of Running out of Time – a Best Actor award for Lau at the 2000 Hong Kong Film Awards and Best Asian film at the 2000 Fant-Asia Film Festival – led to the inevitable To-directed sequel in 2001. Ekin Cheng stands in for Andy Lau, and while the character’s criminal chicanery comes across as even more ingenious and elaborately planned than in its predecessor, Running out of Time 2 lacks almost any emotional undertow whatsoever. The fact that Cheng’s character is a magician excuses his actions from any obligation to the rules of rationality, and the interjection of CGI sleight-of-mind makes for a more lavish look yet a hollow final product. If, in the end, Cheng disappears, Lau lingers in the mind long after the final credits. And where does that leave Inspector Ho: alone in the noodle shop, content with his memories of the masterful misbehavior of two mysterious but never malevolent law breakers.’ — Senses of Cinema

Trailer

 

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Fulltime Killer (2001)
‘The plot, from a novel by Edmond Pang, is the stuff of a thousand movies. Careerist assassin Tok (Lau) wants to be No 1 Hitman, which puts the elusive O (Sorimachi), the current title holder, in his sights. Tok’s killer smile and panache goes up against O’s cool, meticulous professionalism. They get involved with the same beautiful woman (Kelly Lin), while floating in and out of each other’s crosshairs as Interpol agent Lee (Yam) chases them across most of the Far East. Derivative? You betcha. To stress the point, film fanatic Tok namechecks other movies like he’s Martin Scorsese, providing wisecracking commentary to the sharpshooter shenanigans of Leon, Point Break and ‘that film with Alain Delon’. The co-directors provide further I-Spy opportunities by way of Sonatine and Branded to Kill, while the slo-mo showdown feels less like a nod to John Woo than a bid to beat him at his own game. It’s a measure of the directors’ talent that they can put intertextuality centre stage and still deliver a film with pizzazz, freshness and devil may care humour all of its own.’ — Time Out

the entire film

 

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Running Out of Time (1999)
‘Having seen ‘only’ about 200 Hong Kong films in my time, I have to say this film is among my very top favorites. Not only is the plot engaging (and in some ways surprising, which these days is rare for any movie), but the chemistry between the two lead actors is superb. Top notch casting! And while often even the most serious HK films tend to insert quite a bit of humor in between all the drama and action, often spoiling the mood a bit, here the jokes are kept subtle and woven into the plot, even improving character relations. The music is also very well done, and the two main themes are very beautiful. With the release of the HK special Edition, they’ve even cleaned the picture (first release was grainy) and the subtitles, even if the quality of the translation is still lacking (nothing new there). All in all, if you have to see a HK film that isn’t directed by John Woo or have Chow Yun Fat in it, this should be at least on your short list! A truly fascinating and entertaining watch!’ — se86

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p.s. Hey. ** Armando, Hi. Well, basically you would. Like I said before, I think if you decide the self-publish, you should do an eBook/Pdf kind of thing rather than a physical book because getting a physical book out on your own is way too difficult. Basically, you could set up a page for the book in social media — Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram, etc. You could send copies of your book to people you want to read it — other writers, review sites, etc. I could do a ‘welcome’ post on the blog to help. So, yes, you would need to do at the least the minimum amount of work to alert people that the book exists. That’s preoccupying and takes concentrated time, but you can do all of that from your computer. ** Jamie McMorrow, Morning to you, Jamie. A good one, obviously. The one I most wish I could go through is The Opechee Haunt. My very favorite kind of HH is the home-haunt/handmade type that people do in their houses, and the fact that that one is done by a 14 year-old kid is really exciting, at least to someone like me who made haunted houses in our basement when I was around his age and charged neighbors to go through. The video editing went well. We did a rough cut without the music, and we got it down to 40 seconds too long and then laid the music over it, and it worked surprisingly well. So, today we’re going to edit it with the music to match some (not all) parts in the video’s rhythm to the song’s rhythm and dynamics. It’s looking good, I think. Well, the song that the album is on comes out in February, but the song will be the single, so I’m guessing it’ll get released earlier, but I don’t know when yet. I’ll let you know. Did reading about animation fill in with more things you need to know? Excellent day, man! Love, me. ** David Ehrenstein, Ha ha, in many cases it’s true. ** Lynne Tillman, Hi, Lynne! It was so, so great seeing you in NYC, and Zac loved getting to meet you. I wish I could be there for the Hauser & Wirth event. I went to an event there a short while back, and it’s an excellent venue, and the performance space is nice and atmospheric. Lots of love to you! ** MANCY, Hi, S. Not a whole post about them, but I’ve included them in past round-up posts. My sense from looking for haunted houses for the posts this year is that they don’t seem to be as prevalent as they used to be, but maybe it’s just that they’re aren’t as often listed in the general haunted house guides. Maybe they’ve gone from being trendy back to being more niche-type things. Hm, I’ll check. I might try doing a post about them even though Halloween will be history when/if I do. Let me know if you go to one this year. I’m very curious. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. Yeah, Creep looks tasty. Good news about ‘American Honey’. I’ll look for it somewhere. ** Steevee, Hi. Ah, music rights problem, gotcha, yeah. Thanks! ** B, Hi, Bear. Ha ha, my memories of Santa’s Village are pretty vagued out. I remember some sort of monorail ride. That mine shaft thing you mentioned sounds familiar too. LA is the heaven on earth of haunted house attractions, the world’s premiere capitol of them, and it’s the place where the innovations in the form tend to happen first. NYC is strangely rather weak re: HHs, I’m guessing just because of the real estate rental prices. There are a few. I went to one in NYC a couple of years ago that was pretty good, if it’s still happening. It was called, I think, ‘Blood Manor’. It was down sort of in the western side of Tribeca, I think. That’s interesting: I went to a haunted house in Japan that was pretty similar to the one you describe. It was in Tokyo, a year-round one. Let me see if I can find it. Hold on. No link, but it’s in Tokyo Dome City, and it’s called ‘Akanbo Jigoku’ (‘Baby in Hell’). It was very cool. Thanks a lot, buddy, and have a superb morning-to-night. ** Misanthrope, George, sir. Maybe you should charge people to sit in your haunted recliner as a Halloween attraction. Later April should work. I’ll keep you informed when I’m informed. NYC does have excellent food available for a price, that is an inarguable fact. Oh, sad, about your niece. Why is she doing that? ** H, Hi, h. Thank you! I think they would like you too if they had emotional attachments to humans. ** Okay. When I was in Sitges recently to show LCTG, I saw the new Johnny To film, ‘Three’, and it revived my fondness for his film and for his filmic thing, so I made that fondness into a post. See you tomorrow.