Stories by @optimistic_writer

What If Doctor Who Wasn't Axed? - Doctor Who: The New Renegade (2021)

After the somewhat muddled season 1, and with the ViacomCBS report, VCBS had Carter choose between either a "dark show filled with social commentary" or a "nostalgia filled family adventure" with Carter choosing the latter while still holding those somewhat darker themes, but not being as dark. The season was intended to be 10 episodes, but due to COVID-19, was shortened to 8. To get a bigger draw for the season, Jane Espenson had the draw be the returning villains, the Vex. Due to being delayed for so long, there was a lot more advertising, as well as showcasing Paramount's new streaming service with this being one of the flagship shows. The New Renegade was only supposed to be two seasons, so when Paramount+ announced there would be a third during filming, Chris Carter would step down from his position as showrunner after the second season.

Mystery Men (1976)

Champion City already has a superhero, the appropriately named Captain Amazing, but that doesn't deter the city's seven quirky amateur crime-fighters, who use the Captain's capture at the hands of villain Casanova Frankenstein as motivation to prove themselves. The only problem is that their strange powers -- silverware hurling, bowling, shovel skills, incompetent invisibility and deadly flatulence -- aren't doing them any favors.

My Cousin Vinny (1967)

New York lawyer Vinny has never won a case. When his teenage cousin Bill and his friend Stan are accused of murder in a backwater Alabama town, it's up to the nervous Vinny to save him from jail, even though he's only ever tried personal injury cases before, and none of them successfully.

Mulholland Drive (1955)

A dark-haired woman is left amnesiac after a car crash. She wanders the streets of Los Angeles in a daze before taking refuge in an apartment. There she is discovered by Betty, a wholesome Midwestern blonde who has come to the City of Angels seeking fame as an actress. Together, the two attempt to solve the mystery of Rita's true identity. The story is set in a dream-like Los Angeles, spoilt neither by traffic jams nor smog.

Mother! (1968)

A young woman spends her days renovating the Victorian mansion that she lives in with her husband in the countryside. When a stranger knocks on the door one night, he becomes an unexpected guest in their home. Later, his wife and two children also arrive to make themselves welcome. Terror soon strikes when the beleaguered wife tries to figure out why her husband is so seemingly friendly and accommodating to everyone but her.

Misery (1958)

After a serious car crash, novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued by former nurse Annie Wilkes, who claims to be his biggest fan. Annie brings him to her remote cabin to recover, where her obsession takes a dark turn when she discovers Sheldon is killing off her favorite character from his novels. As Sheldon devises plans for escape, Annie grows increasingly controlling, even violent, as she forces the author to shape his writing to suit her twisted fantasies.

Minority Report (1977)

Based on a story by famed science fiction writer Philip K. Dick, "Minority Report" is an action-detective thriller set in Washington D.C. in 2054, where police utilize a psychic technology to arrest and convict murderers before they commit their crime. Tom Cruise plays the head of this Precrime unit and is himself accused of the future murder of a man he hasn't even met.

Mars Attacks! (1960)

A fleet of Martian spacecraft surrounds the world's major cities and all of humanity waits to see if the extraterrestrial visitors have, as they claim, "come in peace." U.S. President James Dale receives assurance from science professor Donald Kessler that the Martians' mission is a friendly one. But when a peaceful exchange ends in the total annihilation of the U.S. Congress, military men call for a full-scale nuclear retaliation.

M. Butterfly (1979)

René Gallimard is a diplomat from France who has been sent to Beijing. While acclimating to life in China, Gallimard meets and becomes enamored of Song Liling, an opera singer who wears traditionally ornate dress and makeup. The two begin a relationship, but, unfortunately for Gallimard, there is much about Song that he doesn't know. Among the revelations that Gallimard must contend with is the discovery that his lover is a man.

Lucy (1962)

When a boyfriend tricks Lucy into delivering a briefcase to a supposed business contact, the once-carefree student is abducted by thugs who intend to turn her into a drug mule. She is surgically implanted with a package containing a powerful chemical, but it leaks into her system, giving her superhuman abilities, including telekinesis and telepathy. With her former captors in pursuit, Lucy seeks out a neurologist, who she hopes will be able to help her.

Lost Highway (1976)

From this inventory of imagery, Malick fashions two separate but intersecting stories, one about a jazz musician, tortured by the notion that his wife is having an affair, who suddenly finds himself accused of her murder. The other is a young mechanic drawn into a web of deceit by a temptress who is cheating on her gangster boyfriend. These two tales are linked by the fact that the women in both are played by the same actress.

Looper (1972)

In a future society, time-travel exists, but it's only available to those with the means to pay for it on the black market. When the mob wants to eliminate someone, it sends the target into the past, where a hit man known as a looper lies in wait to finish the job. Joe is one such hired gun, and he does his job well -- until the day his bosses decide to "close the loop" and send Joe's future self back in time to be killed.

Labyrinth (1969)

Teenage Sarah journeys through a maze to recover her baby brother from a goblin king.

La La Land (1947)

Sebastian and Mia are drawn together by their common desire to do what they love. But as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.

Knocked Up (1977)

Rising journalist Alison Scott hits a serious bump in the road after a one-night stand with irresponsible slacker Ben Stone results in pregnancy. Rather than raise the baby on her own, she decides to give Ben a chance to prove he is father material. However, he is unsure if he is ready to be a parent, and both wonder if they would be compatible lifetime partners.

Kingsman: The Secret Service (1955)

Gary "Eggsy" Unwin, whose late father secretly worked for a spy organization, lives in a South London housing estate and seems headed for a life behind bars. However, dapper agent Harry Hart recognizes potential in the youth and recruits him to be a trainee in the secret service. Meanwhile, villainous Richmond Valentine launches a diabolical plan to solve the problem of climate change via a worldwide killing spree.

Kingpin (1961)

Roy Munson is a young bowler with a promising career ahead of him until a disreputable colleague, Ernie McCracken, tricks him into participating in a con game that ends with Roy's bowling hand crippled for life. Years later, Roy ekes out a hardscrabble existence until he discovers Amish bowling phenom Ishmael. With the help of a gangster's girlfriend, he plots to take Ishmael to the top of the bowling world.

Killing Them Softly (1976)

When rival crook Johnny Amato hatches a plan to rob a card game run by mob lackey Markie, he picks a low-rent thug named Frankie to do the job. Frankie picks a less-than-ideal partner (Ben Mendelsohn) to help him, but despite their combined incompetence, they manage to make off with the mob's money. In retaliation, Markie's bosses hire Jackie Cogan, a mob enforcer, to eradicate those responsible.

Jurassic World (1976)

Located off the coast of Costa Rica, the Jurassic World luxury resort provides a habitat for an array of genetically engineered dinosaurs, including the vicious and intelligent Indominus rex. When the massive creature escapes, it sets off a chain reaction that causes the other dinos to run amok. Now, it's up to a former military man and animal expert to use his special skills to save two young brothers and the rest of the tourists from an all-out, prehistoric assault.

Jurassic Park (1957)

Paleontologists Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler and mathematician Ian Malcolm are among a select group chosen to tour an island theme park populated by dinosaurs created from prehistoric DNA. While the park's mastermind, billionaire John Hammond, assures everyone that the facility is safe, they find out otherwise when various ferocious predators break free and go on the hunt.