X Files, 1993-2002 (The truth is out there!)

The X-Files is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The original television series aired from September 1993 to May 2002 on Fox. During its original run, the program spanned nine seasons, with 202 episodes. A tenth season consisting of six episodes ran from January to February 2016. Following the ratings success of this revival, The X-Files returned for an eleventh season of ten episodes, which ran from January to March 2018. In addition to the television series, two feature films have been released: the 1998 film The X-Files and the stand-alone film The X-Files: I Want to Believe, released in 2008, six years after the original television run ended.

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The X-Files follows the careers and personal lives of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). Special Agent Mulder is a talented profiler, conspiracy theorist, and an ardent supernaturalist. He is also adamant about the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life and its presence on Earth. This set of beliefs earns him the nickname "Spooky Mulder" and an assignment to a little-known department that deals with unsolved cases, the X-Files. His belief in the paranormal springs from the claimed abduction of his sister Samantha Mulder by extraterrestrials when Mulder was 12. Her abduction drives Mulder throughout most of the series. Because of this, as well as more nebulous desires for vindication and the revelation of truths kept hidden by human authorities, Mulder struggles to maintain objectivity in his investigations.

Special Agent Scully is a foil for Mulder in this regard. As a medical doctor and natural skeptic, Scully approaches cases with complete detachment, even when Mulder, despite his considerable training, loses his objectivity. She is partnered with Mulder initially so that she can debunk Mulder's nonconforming theories, often supplying logical, scientific explanations for the cases' apparently unexplainable phenomena. Although she is frequently able to offer scientific alternatives to Mulder's deductions, she is rarely able to refute them completely. Over the course of the series, she becomes increasingly dissatisfied with her own ability to approach the cases scientifically. After Mulder's abduction at the hands of aliens in the seventh season finale "Requiem", Scully becomes a "reluctant believer" who manages to explain the paranormal with science.

Various episodes also deal with the relationship between Mulder and Scully, originally platonic, but that later develops romantically. Mulder and Scully are joined by John Doggett (Robert Patrick) and Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) late in the series, after Mulder is abducted. Doggett replaces him as Scully's partner and helps her search for him, later involving Reyes, of whom Doggett had professional knowledge. The initial run of The X-Files ends when Mulder is secretly subjected to a military tribunal for breaking into the top secret Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center and viewing plans for alien invasion and colonization of Earth. He is found guilty and sentenced to death but escapes punishment with the help of the other agents, and he and Scully become fugitives.

Rating: 10 Stars

The Witcher, 2019 Netflix Series

 The Witcher, 2019 is a fantasy drama television series created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich for Netflix. It is based on the book series by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. Set on a fictional, medieval-inspired landmass known as the Continent, The Witcher explores the legend of Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer of Vengerberg and Princess Ciri. It stars Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, and Freya Allan.

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The first season, consisting of eight episodes, was released on Netflix on December 20, 2019. It was based on The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, which are collections of short stories that precede the main The Witcher saga. The second season, also consisting of eight episodes and based on the novel Blood of Elves, was released on December 17, 2021. In September 2021, Netflix renewed the series for a third season, which also consists of eight episodes, released in two volumes on June 29 and July 27, 2023. This will be followed by a fourth season, with Liam Hemsworth taking over the role of Geralt of Rivia. In April 2024, the series was renewed for its fifth and final season.

An animated origin story film, Nightmare of the Wolf, was released on August 23, 2021. A prequel miniseries, Blood Origin, was released on December 25, 2022. A second film, Sirens of the Deep, is expected to be released in February 2025.

Synopsis

The story begins with Geralt of Rivia, Crown Princess Cirilla of Cintra, and the quarter-elf sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg at different points in time, exploring formative events that shape their characters throughout the first season, before eventually merging into a single timeline.

Geralt and Ciri are linked by destiny since before she was born when he unknowingly demanded her as a reward for his services by invoking "the Law of Surprise". After the two finally meet, Geralt becomes the princess's protector and must help her and fight against her various pursuers to prevent her Elder Blood and powerful magic from being used for malevolent purposes and keep Ciri and their world safe.

Rating: 10 Stars

Big Eyes, 2014

Big Eyes is a 2014 American biographical drama film directed by Tim Burton, written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, and starring Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz. It is about the relationship between American artist Margaret Keane and her second husband, Walter Keane, who, in the 1950s and 1960s, took credit for Margaret's phenomenally popular paintings of people with big eyes.

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In 1958, Margaret Ulbrich leaves her then-husband and takes her young daughter Jane to North Beach, San Francisco, where she gets a job painting illustrations at a furniture factory. While doing portraits at an outdoor art show, she meets Walter Keane, who sells paintings of Parisian street scenes but makes his money in real estate. They soon become close friends. Margaret is distraught when her ex-husband, Jane's father, asks for custody of Jane as part of the divorce settlement. Walter proposes, and they marry and honeymoon in Hawaii. She retains custody of Jane.

Unable to get his or Margaret's paintings into a fine art gallery, Walter convinces Enrico Banducci, the owner of a popular jazz club, to rent him some wall space to exhibit their work. He is frustrated when the designated space is in the back by the bathrooms. He fights with Banducci and puts the man's head through one of Margaret's canvases. This becomes a front-page story in a local newspaper, which packs the club with people curious to see the art that made grown men fight. Dick Nolan, a celebrity gossip columnist, wants to know more about the artwork but proceeds to ask about Margaret's paintings of young girls with big eyes. Walter goes along with the misunderstanding, failing to clarify that they are Margaret's creations. Afterward, he shows Margaret how much money he made selling her work and suggests they team up, with her staying at home painting and him taking credit and handling publicity and sales.

Walter opens his own gallery selling Margaret's art and eventually comes up with the idea of making cheap reproductions of Margaret's works, which sell in huge numbers. The family moves into a mansion. Walter spends his time hobnobbing with celebrities while Margaret is stuck at home, feeling increasingly isolated. He even makes Margaret lie to Jane about who is doing the paintings.

One day, she finds a crate full of paintings of Parisian street scenes, all signed "S. CENIC". She realizes that she has never actually seen Walter paint and discovers that he has been painting over the name of the original artist and claiming these paintings as his own. When confronted, he says he always wanted to be an artist but never had the talent.

Disillusioned, Margaret indicates that she is losing her interest in continuing the ruse, so Walter threatens to have her killed. Later, he tells her of his plan to get a painting displayed at the upcoming New York World's Fair and demands Margaret paint her "masterpiece". Jane sneaks into the studio when Margaret is working on the huge painting, "Tomorrow Forever", and says she already knew Margaret was really the artist.

At a party, Walter becomes angry after reading John Canaday's scathing review of "Tomorrow Forever", which leads the Fair not to exhibit the painting, and confronts the critic. At home, he drunkenly blames Margaret for the failure of the painting and becomes violent. Along with her daughter, she runs and locks them both in the studio in an attempt to stay away from harm. He then starts throwing lit matches through the studio's keyhole at her and Jane. As he continues to throw lit matches and nearly sets the house on fire, both Margaret and Jane manage to escape, take the car, and drive away from home.

One year later, Margaret and Jane have settled in Honolulu, Hawaii. Walter says he will only grant Margaret a divorce if she signs over the rights to every painting and produces 100 more. Initially, Margaret agrees, but her growing interest in the Jehovah's Witnesses convinces her of the importance of honesty. She finally signs a batch of paintings with her own name. Later, on a Hawaiian radio show, she reveals that she is the real artist behind the "big eyes" paintings, which makes national news. Nolan publishes Walter's claims that Margaret is delusional. On Jane's suggestion, Margaret sues both Walter and Nolan's newspaper for slander and libel.

At the trial, the judge immediately dismisses the libel suit against the newspaper, and Walter is left to defend himself against slander. He botches his defence, even mimicking in court what he has gathered from watching Perry Mason episodes on TV. When he proceeds to cross-examine himself as a witness, the judge becomes fed up and directs both Margaret and Walter to create a painting in court to prove who the real artist is. Whereas Margaret paints steadily, Walter stalls before claiming his arm hurts too much to hold a paintbrush. Margaret wins the lawsuit, and a fan asks her to sign a copy of Walter's coffee table book.

A textual epilogue reveals that Walter, despite continuing to insist that he was the true artist, never produced another painting and died penniless while Margaret remarried, moved back to San Francisco, and opened a new gallery.

Rating: 10 Stars

Midnight In Paris, 2011

Midnight in Paris is a 2011 fantasy comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen. Set in Paris, the film follows Gil Pender (Owen Wilson), a screenwriter and aspiring novelist, who is forced to confront the shortcomings of his relationship with his materialistic fiancée (Rachel McAdams) and their divergent goals, which become increasingly exaggerated as he travels back in time to the 1920s each night at midnight.

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In 2010, disillusioned screenwriter Gil Pender and his fiancée, Inez, vacation in Paris with Inez's wealthy parents. Gil, struggling to finish his debut novel about a man who works in a nostalgia shop, finds himself drawn to the artistic history of Paris, especially the Lost Generation of the 1920s, and has ambitions to move there, which Inez dismisses. By chance, they meet Inez's friend, Paul, and his wife, Carol. Paul speaks with great authority but questionable accuracy on French history, annoying Gil but impressing Inez.

Intoxicated after a night of wine tasting, Gil decides to walk back to their hotel, while Inez goes with Paul and Carol by taxi. At midnight, a 1920s car pulls up beside Gil and delivers him to a party for Jean Cocteau, attended by other people of the 1920s Paris art scene. Zelda Fitzgerald, bored, encourages her husband Scott and Gil to leave with her. They head to a cafe where they run into Ernest Hemingway and Juan Belmonte. After Zelda and Scott leave, Gil and Hemingway discuss writing, and Hemingway offers to show Gil's novel to Gertrude Stein. As Gil leaves to fetch his manuscript, he returns to 2010; the cafe is now a laundromat.

The next night, Gil tries to repeat the experience with Inez, but she leaves before midnight. Returning to the 1920s, Gil accompanies Hemingway to visit Gertrude Stein, who critiques Pablo Picasso's new painting of his lover Adriana. Gil becomes drawn to Adriana, a costume designer who also had affairs with Amedeo Modigliani and Georges Braque. Having heard the first line of Gil's novel, Adriana praises it and admits she has always longed for the past.

Gil continues to time travel the following nights. Inez grows jaded with Paris and Gil's constant disappearing, while her father grows suspicious and hires a private detective to follow him. Adriana leaves Picasso and continues to bond with Gil, who is conflicted by his attraction to her. Gil explains his situation to Salvador Dalí, Man Ray, and Luis Buñuel; as surrealists, they do not question his claim of coming from the future. Gil later suggests the plot of "The Exterminating Angel" to Buñuel.

While Inez and her parents travel to Mont Saint Michel, Gil meets Gabrielle, an antique dealer and fellow admirer of the Lost Generation. He later finds Adriana's diary at a book stall, which reveals that she was in love with Gil and dreamed of being gifted earrings before making love to him. To seduce Adriana, Gil tries to steal a pair of Inez's earrings but is thwarted by her early return to the hotel room.

Gil buys new earrings and returns to the past. After he gives Adriana the earrings, a horse-drawn carriage arrives, transporting them to the Belle Époque, an era Adriana considers Paris's Golden Age, they go to the Moulin Rouge where they meet Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Gauguin, and Edgar Degas, who all agree that Paris's best era was the Renaissance. Adriana is offered a job designing ballet costumes; thrilled, she proposes to Gil that they stay, but he, observing the unhappiness of Adriana and the other artists, realizes that chasing nostalgia is fruitless because the present is always "a little unsatisfying." Adriana decides to stay, and they part ways.

Gil rewrites the first two chapters of his novel. He retrieves his draft from Stein, who praises his rewrite. Still, he says that on reading the new chapters, Hemingway does not believe that the protagonist does not realize that his fiancée, based on Inez, is having an affair with the character based on Paul. Gil returns to 2010 and confronts Inez, who admits to sleeping with Paul but disregards it as a meaningless fling. Gil breaks up with her and decides to move to Paris. The detective following him takes a "wrong turn" and ends up being chased by the palace guards of Louis XVI just before a revolution breaks out. While walking by the Seine at midnight, Gil encounters Gabrielle. As it begins to rain, he offers to walk her home and learns that they share a love for Paris in the rain.

Rating: 10 Stars (In the list of my favourites).