annie appreciation post✨
"Elijah, why are you here?"
WUNMI MOSAKU and MICHAEL B. JORDAN as ANNIE and SMOKE SINNERS (2025) dir. Ryan Coogler
“He built up this totem of Cassian, this kind of voodoo doll, and the fact that he wasn’t even a blip on Cassian’s radar is crushing to him. He’s so desperate to be remembered and to make a difference, and it’s a cut too deep by that point. He’s been betrayed by Dedra and the Empire, and now his one true obsession doesn’t even think he’s worth remembering. He’s heartbroken.” - Kyle Soller
Okay, much to process, much to process, but one hot take before bed: for me the sequence leading up to Syril's death was perfect, 14/10, no notes. He has a crisis upon learning that his job wasn't what he thought it was and that Dedra's been withholding information/manipulating him, but rather than sprint into the square to try to protect people or to join the resistance, his reactions are to (1) assault Dedra, (2) spin out uselessly, and (3) react with instinctive, snarling violence upon recognizing Cassian - completely unable to recalibrate his moral system in the face of new information and just seizing on the first person he'd previously categorized as a bad actor to try to recover his own sense of self-righteousness. And then the "who are you?!" right before he gets shot by the man he shoved down in the street for calling him a stooge and a narc? Perfect to me. He's more upset about finding out that his self-concept as a daring romantic hero was mistaken than he is about people getting hurt, and he gets exactly the ending that such an inability to overcome ego deserves.
Syril realizing everything he's done has lead to this, to the slaughter of innocents. He seems remorseful. Until he sees Cassian, the man he's been hunting. And he attacks him, beats him, nearly kills him.
And then Cassian asks who he is. And Syril realizes that this hunt was pointless too.
And then he gets shot in the head.
What a fucking ending.
quitting my job so i can stare at this photo all day
That was the last sunrise I ever saw. Perhaps the kindest thing the dark gift has given me. // It was the last time I saw my brother. It was the last time I saw the sun. It was the only time I ever felt free.
Interview with the Vampire (2022 - ) // Sinners (2025)
Rewatching Apothecary Diaries and remembering how much I love these dorks
I too want to give Maomao a kiss on the cheek
EDIT: I made a follow up comic