Starring: Woody Harelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, Emma Stone, and Zoey Deutch
Summary:
The sequel to an absolutely ridiculous movie (Zombieland). Our heroes have started categorizing the zombies into Homers (stupid ones), Hawkings (smart ones), and ninjas (athletic ones). Their happy little family is disrupted by the ladies running away. The world’s still a mess, but there’s hope out there somewhere. They’re not really sure where they want to go, but everybody’s seeking something.
Additional Comments:
This might be the one movie (besides the first) where breaking the 4th wall doesn’t really bother me.
The displays of the rules at various pts was amusing.
Side characters 3.5/5: I didn’t like Avan Jogia’s character, Berkley. On the other hand, Luke Wilson’s character and Thomas Middleditch’s character, Flagstaff, were hilarious. The makers specifically did everything they could to make the two carbon copies of Tallahassee and Columbus. Madison’s voice was extremely annoying by design.
For being a zombie movie, it had a decent (if stereotypical) message of finding one’s true home.
This must have been a fun movie to be an extra for. The makeup probably took forever. Lots of CGI effects. The action scenes are amusing.
Content warnings: language and innuendo of course.
Conclusion:
If you enjoyed the first, you’ll likely be satisfied with the second. If you never saw the first but just like watching zombies get killed in awesome ways, you may still enjoy it. Seeing it on a big screen may help you appreciate the special effects more.
Associate links to follow…
Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything.
New Release: The Shadow Council Series 1: Money Makes it Deadlier – An FBI agent gets caught up in a robbery gone wrong.
Shadow Council Book 2: Revenge Makes it Sweeter – A midnight summons calls FBI Special Agent Megan Luchek into a fight for a young girl’s life.
Shadow Council Book 3: Christmas Makes it Chaos – The FBI agent gets a strange ally in the quest to prevent chaos from rocking a lot of people’s holiday season.
Shadow Council Book 4: Treachery Makes it Tense – The agent and the assassin have to team up if they want to survive.
Shadow Council is also available as a ~13 hr bundle.
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…
Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.
An attempted takedown of a heroin dealer goes very wrong. Vic—the cop who has been after the drug dealer—gets taken off the case. The day he gets Lasik surgery to correct his vision, he gets a tip that there’s a large drop happening that evening. Since he can’t drive well, he turns to Uber to get a ride. What happens from there is one ridiculous, outlandish thing after another.
Additional Comments:
– Rated R for a reason. That reason mainly being crude language and adult content (innuendos more than anything).
– One of the funniest movies of its kind. It relies on a combination of overblown situations and comedic timing and a fantastic script. Oh sure, there are times when it’s blah-blah, touchy feely, but that’s kind of the point. The two main characters are polar opposites of each other.
– Plot twists are predictable, but intriguing nonetheless. It’s always great when a movie can pull off being predictable yet be entertaining.
Conclusion:
Pretty sure the beginning half of the script read “drop about eighty f-bombs” but aside from that, the story worked. They had to make some things quite convenient to get the plot to work, but it’s surprisingly deep for a movie vying for most ridiculous of the year.
Associate links to follow…
Amazon Prime
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…
Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.
OR
Spoiler Section:
– Predictable Moments: Stu and Nicole ending up together. Though I will say the ugly sweaters was a nice touch. Stu jumping in front of a bullet for Nicole. Vic ending up with the dog. Vic’s boss being evil.
– Nice touches: Stu’s got an obsession with 5 stars. That’s even his license plate. Also, at the end, there were 5 stars in the Christmas wreath. The differences between Stu and Vic are huge, but surprisingly, there’s halfway decent character development from both sides.
– Funny Moments: Stu needing to pull a K turn in about 5 moves. Stu getting relationship advice from the stripper. Calling about 12 ubers to the hot sauce factory. The shootout in the vet clinic where Stu’s fighting with cans of dog food. Stu’s assessment of the cavalry. Stu explaining to Vic how Uber works.
Bip is useless but chosen to save the world. Handin is amazing and on a different quest… err not sure what his role was exactly.
Additional Comments:
A lot of people are going to disagree with me here, but I found the book exceedingly boring.
It’s been likened to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and I can see vague resemblances. That story was ok. If you are a diehard fan of that you may enjoy this as it really really strives for the same brand of dry, stupid humor. (I’m going to describe something in 89 words and maybe on the 90th we’ll get to the punchline.)
Who is this book for? Also reminds me of Abbot and Costello’s Who’s on First routine. If you like that, you may like this. I find that skit annoying.
The author relies very heavily on the humor brand to carry the book, so if that brand annoys rather than amuses, it falls flat on its face.
Content Warnings: there is a naked harpy at one point and maybes curse or two. There’s also a part so irreverent as to kick the border of crass.
Narration (4/5): the audio performance was well-handled.
Plot (2/5): a lot of things happen but it meanders to nowhere. Kid is a failure at the beginning and a lucky failure at the end. What are the stakes? Oh, just the world ending… ho hum. That is the way things are presented. It’s so cold and impersonal that I don’t care 1 whit about any of the characters.
Characterization (1/5): I get that this is a spoof on sci-fi but there is a reason most heroes have some likable/ remarkable trait. The one guy is so overpowered, but I still don’t know his role. The other is pathetic. That’s cool if that’s the start but when that is all there is start and finish, it makes one feel cheated. Everybody else is forgettable, except maybe the thief.
If this is representative of sci-fi comedy, I have to conclude this is not a genre for me.
Conclusion:
This is probably a polarizing work. If you love the ultra dry humor, give it a go. It’s reminiscent of Hitchhiker’s Guide. If that annoyed or nonplussed you, this is likely not a book you will enjoy. Best I can say is read a sample and see if you like it. If you connect with the sample, go for it.
Associate links to follow…
Amazon Prime
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…
Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.
An unusually touching look at WWE’s Paige’s (Florence Pugh) journey from obscurity to superstardom. We don’t get to control our families, but sometimes, their obsessions take control of our futures. That’s sort of what happened for Paige.
Additional Comments:
Pretty sure they changed some stuff for the movie, but it still worked.
Saraya Knight had quite the upbringing. She ended up filling in for her dad in one of their wrestling events and fell in love with the whole thing. She then grew up doing regular bouts with her brother and parents. That part’s glossed over, but they only have so much time to tell a film.
It was interesting to see the lady who played Cersi play Saraya’s mother (Lena Headey). She did a decent job with the performance, but I’m probably forever gonna type cast her in my head.
Rest of the cast did a nice job too. (Nick Frost played Ricky Knight – her father; Jack Lowden played Zak Knight – her brother; Vince Vaughn played Coach Hutch) Had to read it on a cast list, but it’s cool that Zak Knight got to play a bit part in the movie.
The movie covers a pretty wide range of emotions from the mixed elation/agony of winning a slot to go to Florida to train but not having her brother make it too to the public bullying that’s only part “showbiz” to the final battle and triumph.
The parts with the Rock were amusing. It’s only mildly disappointing that they didn’t actually happen.
Content warnings: crude humor.
Conclusion:
A surprisingly moving film that follows a young woman and her family through the journey to WWE fame.
Associate links to follow…
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)
Amazon Prime
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
I don’t own any of these. They were all promos for their respective movies.
Introduction:
Midway through the year I ended up joining AMC’s A List. That’s the program where you pay a flat fee each month and can see up to 3 movies a week. I’d been debating myself most of the summer if it was worth it. So far, it has, but I’m not sure how it will work moving forward as I return to more writing and less movies. It also depends on the movie releases in 2019. (You break even if you see 1 dolby movie or two of almost anything else in a month.) Unless you’re not terribly picky, it’s kind of hard to find 3 movies a week you’d want to see. Personally, I rewatch really good movies, but I only managed to see 3 movies 1 week so far.
Saw about 40 movies this year.
*Top picks after ads.
What I saw in 2018:
(This is what I have ticket stubs for or AMC’s app could tell me. The ratings might have changed since I actually reviewed them because I’m going from memory. Incidentally, how well I liked something is actually subject to change over time. Guess this is more a “what is my feeling this moment” rating.)
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle 4/5 stars (1/1/2018)
I remembered liking the original Jumanji movie when I was a kid, so I gave this one a shot. It turned out surprisingly entertaining. Didn’t watch it again, but if it happened to be on TV, I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.
The Last Jedi 4/5 stars (2/8/2018)
One thing a body learns being a Star Wars fan is that you’re not obligated to like every single one of the movies. They’ve definitely turned out some bombs. Still, I saw this multiple times, and I would see it again. It’s not ever going to make it as my absolute favorite Star Wars movie. I never was a fan of the middle story in a trilogy anyway. They’re always terribly dark. The end of next year should launch the conclusion to the trilogy, so I guess it’s all good.
Black Panther 4/5 stars (2/23/2018)
Enjoyable movie typical of the Marvel universe. It had plenty of action and a decent sprinkling of humor throughout.
Tomb Raider 4/5 stars (3/16/2018)
This reboot definitely follows more of the video game than the old school Tomb Raider stories, but both are nice prequel setups. The first game in the reboot series was absolutely fantastic. I remember playing it quite a few times. The only thing I didn’t do was finish all those silly shoot the target achievements. Anyway, it looks like that poor actress did a heck of a lot of work for that movie and it showed, big time.
Ready Player One 4/5 stars (3/29/2018)
Starting to think that my secret to enjoying movies is not really knowing the source material it comes from. I didn’t particularly like the main character in Ready Player One, but it’s an interesting world with some cool special effects. Reminded me a lot of Tron. A potential issue the story had was lack of stakes. Sure, the big, bad company’s after the kid, but what’s the impact for the rest of the world. A big company would have just as much motivation to keep things running smoothly for the mindless masses as a kid fighting for freedom on the Oasis.
Avengers: Infinity War 4/5 stars (4/27/2018; 5/4/2018)
Despite it’s infuriating lack of closure, Infinity War brought high stakes to new heights. It’s pretty much part one of its story arc because you know another movie’s coming. One of my friends really, really, really hated it, but I’m in the “eh, that’s a cheap trick, you studio meanies” category. I ended up seeing it several times as people could make it.
Solo 4/5 stars (5/24/2018; 5/25/2018)
Saw an early screening that was part of a fundraiser for my school. Then, I saw it the next day as well, as planned. That concludes the number of times I saw the movie. Although a decent film, it didn’t have a lot of sticking power. If it hadn’t been labeled Star Wars and used the familiar enemies and such, it could have been any middling scifi flick. I enjoyed it, but I wasn’t motivated to see it endlessly.
Incredibles 2 4.5/5 stars (~7/3/2018; 6/15/2018)
Despite them having one of those stupid “thanks for coming to see the movie” messages at the beginning, I enjoyed the movie. Why can’t they save that junk for the blu-ray/dvd extra section? My favorite part is still the baby’s fight with he racoon. Pretty sure I saw this a few times.
Ant-Man and the Wasp 4/5 stars (7/17/2018)
I can’t remember if I saw this more than once. I think so. It had good action, but in hindsight, I don’t think the main characters had much chemistry. Heroes don’t necessarily have glamorous lives.
Christopher Robin 3.5/5 stars (8/3/2018)
Enjoyable but forgettable. I like Ewan McGreggor and Haley Atwell. She’s better in Agent Carter, but that’s besides the point. The story is sweet, but it’s kind of like adults trying to cling desperately to their childhood dreams and cash in on a stagnant franchise.
I’m not even a huge fan of the franchise, but this movie turned out swell. As usual, it’s a non-stop, the world’s gonna-end-if-we-don’t-stop-this kind of tale. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is running over buildings and jumping off them as expected. The chase scene with the helicopters (last 1/5 of the movie) is intense and crazy.
The Meg 4.5/5 stars (8/14/2018)
Jason Stratham typically plays tough guy characters. This round that’s not much different, though there are less guns involved, more swimming. A giant company is exploring the depths of the ocean and accidentally releases a megaladon (really big shark). It wrecks havoc on the heroes.
Blackklansman 4/5 stars (8/28/2018)
Glad I saw this one, but it’s not exactly my usual movie fare. I like Adam Driver who plays a supporting character. Seems there was a whole rash of “based on a true story” movies this year, though that could simply be me finally paying attention to such things. I’d never have seen this without A-List because I just wouldn’t have bothered to pay to see it.
Crazy Rich Asians 4.5/5 (8/30/2018)
Another surprisingly enjoyable movie. One of my friends wanted to see it, and a group of my friends wanted to try a new dine-in theater. The theater experience turned out to be just okay because they needed a better variety of food, but I’m glad we went. Romantic Comedies aren’t typically my thing, but it was worth watching. Not sure I’d ever go out of my way to read the books.
Peppermint 3.5/5 stars (~9/10/2018)
Woman on a revenge spree. Jennifer Garner (I think) takes on the role of a mother playing avenging angel. Typical everything-must-die thriller.
A Simple Favor 4/5 stars (~9/12/2018)
Creepy mystery, though not a murder mystery per se … more of a twisty friendship gone weird thing.
The House With a Clock in Its Walls 3.5/5 (~9/19/2018)
One of the stupidest titles for a movie I’ve ever seen, but it was okay. A mindless Halloween kiddie movie.
Smallfoot 4/5 (~9/26/2018 – lost stub)
Has one of the catchiest songs.
Venom 4/5 stars (~9/30/2018 – lost the stub somewhere)
Dark but fun.
Night School 3.5/5 stars (~9/30/2018 – can’t find the stub)
Fun for a weird comedy.
Bad Times at the El Royale (~10/17/2018)
I was entertained, but this is the kind of movie that makes you feel like you knocked yourself unconscious and had a weird dream.
Hunter Killer 5/5 stars (10/29/2018)
If you’ve kept up with my reviews this year or even just within this post, you’ll know that I don’t just hand out 5’s like candy. It takes a lot to move me beyond 4 stars. It’s a simple must-stop-x-to-prevent-the-world-from-blowing-up story that’s terrifyingly plausible. Gerard Butler plays a submarine captain who’s tasked with finding out what’s going on deep in the waters near Russia.
The Nutcracker 3/5 stars (11/2/2018)
Reminded me a lot of the “new” style Willy Wonka. Had a lot of garish colors and weirdo characters. Pretty sure that’s what it was meant to have, but maybe I’m just old. I was bored. I’m generally cool with most movies, but I can’t help feeling this one just wasted part of my life.
The Girl in the Spider’s Web 4/5 stars (11/7/2018)
Still haven’t seen the rest of the movies in the series or read the books. That might have helped with me figuring out who’s who and what’s what, but the movie’s enjoyable alone. There’s part at the end with a house set in the middle of nowhere that involves some very cool tech.
Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch 3/5 stars (11/9/2018)
Love Benedict Cumberbatch, but he’s so much better as Sherlock Holmes. I’m only marginally familiar with the story of the Grinch. Still, it’s a fairly forgettable movie.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald 4/5 stars (11/19/2018)
A fun movie set in the world of Harry Potter, but besides the main character and possibly one of the newbies, it’s like they worked very, very hard to get certain characters in (Jacob) just to tie it to the first movie and call it a sequel. Also, besides the cool fight scene at the end, there’s really not much going on. It’s essentially the middle story of however many they can justify making, so there’s a decided lack of closure.
Robin Hood 4/5 stars (11/21/2018; 11/26/2018)
New take on an old tale. I saw this several times with different friends. It’s a fun genre breaking fantasy story. The costuming felt decidedly modern. The dude who played Krennic in Rogue One essentially plays the same character here as the Sherriff of Nottingham.
Ralph Breaks the Internet 4.5/5 stars (11/21/2018)
Great sequel, and yes, they did a horrific “thanks for watching the movie” thing. This time, it was even longer and more painful than others because they were pretending to be on voice group chat. Besides that, the movie itself was a lot of fun. It’s a great depiction of the internet.
Widows 3.5/5 stars (11/28/2018)
Intriguing heist thriller, though it’s technically not really about the heist itself. It’s about the characters. It’s a rather complicated tale. Satisfying to see once, but not worth it in the long run.
Instant Family 4/5 stars (12/4/2018)
This might be the most surprising in terms of me actually enjoying it. The story focuses on a couple who decides to liven up their lives by becoming foster parents to 3 kids, a teenager and two elementary school aged kids.
Creed II 4/5 stars (12/7/2018)
Don’t typically watch sports movies. They generally end the same, but all the side stuff about his struggles helped balance things out. Creed is on top of the world but gets challenged by the son of the guy who killed his father in the ring ages ago. It would have been so much more satisfying if one of them could have punched out that idiot promoter. He was such a slimeball.
Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse 3.5/5 stars (12/13/2018)
This is the type of movie that will continue to drop in stars if I think about it. It doesn’t make much sense, but then again, it’s based off a super hero so the unexplainable is sort of a given. I liked Miles Morales’s story, but the animation was a little hard to watch. They messed with the frame rate to make it more like a comic book. The end fight was like watching a nightmare fight (direction didn’t matter).
Mortal Engines 4/5 stars (12/14/2018)
Not sure why people keep making YA series into movies. While it turned out decently, I think it’s like the gold rush. Everybody’s hoping to recreate the giant success of Harry Potter and The Hunger Games (maybe even Divergent or The Maze Runner series, though I haven’t seen or read either of those). They come close but there’s so much in the books that it’s hard to adapt. I’ve not read the books so it didn’t bother me. The movie had some stellar and beautiful landscapes, but the story seemed convenient.
Green Book 4/5 stars (12/17/2018)
Not really about the story. Very much about the characters. It’s another “based on a true story” deals. An Italian guy and a world-class black pianist travel the deep South in the 1960’s. Racial tensions are still high, but in a different way than today.
Aquaman 4/5 stars (12/20/2018)
A genre-hopping wonderful hot mess of a movie. I had a great time and would definitely see it again. Jason Momoa is an excellent choice to play the title character. The guy who really wants revenge on him seemed like an annoying gnat of a character, but I think he means more to those who read the comic books.
Bumblebee 4/5 stars (12/21/2018)
Never saw the rest of the Transformer movies. Although a good movie, I doubt this would tempt me to see the rest of them. They spent a lot of time building Charlie’s backstory. While I liked her as a character, her longevity for the franchise is pretty much nil, so it seems a wasted investment of screentime.
Conclusion:
Great year for movies. Lots of intriguing tales of adventure. I’m still drawn to action/thriller or Disney type animated family safe types.
Associate links to follow…
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)
Amazon Prime
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
OR
Top Picks of 2018:
Incredibles 2 – family/ animated; funniest scene (Jack Jack vs the Racoon)
Mission Impossible: Fallout – action/thriller; top thriller
Ralph Breaks the internet – family/animated; fun film
Instant Family – family/drama; most surprising that I liked it
Nutcraker and Grinch – tie for worst movie I saw this year
Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Margo Martindale (I love her), Isabela Moner, Tig Notaro, Olivia Spencer (Love her too), and many more
4/5 Surprisingly Touching Family Story
Summary:
A husband and wife consider adopting through the foster system because they want to shake up the monotony of their lives. They take an 8-week course and go to a fair where they can meet and greet some of the kids in the foster system. They talk themselves into and out of the situation several times, but finally, doubts from their family pushes them to take the leap. They’re interested in a teenager who just happens to come with two younger siblings.
Additional Comments:
I’m not a huge Mark Wahlberg fan because a lot of them are truly ridiculous, but this one turned out fine.
The trailer made the movie seem like it would be funnier than it was.
Like anything truly to do with family, this movie took turns being charming, frustrating, amusing, and heartwarming.
It’s not an easy road to walk. Kids from troubled homes have all the normal kid problems plus a few dozen more unique to those in the system.
Characters: I don’t remember much about the kids’ names, except that the teenager went by Lizzy. Can’t even remember the parents’ names. I do remember Grandmother Sandy.
Drama: The filmmakers did a nice job catching a good variety of sweet and hellish moments with the kids.
Conclusion:
Worth watching. Don’t think it’s a movie that really encourages people to go out and enter foster classes, but it’s a worthwhile tale. Would be good to watch alone, with friends, or with family.
Associate links to follow…
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)
Amazon Prime
The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.
If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.
Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.
Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.
OR
Spoiler Section:
Favorite Moment: When Grandmother Sandy tells them plainly that their court speech stinks, and they need to rewrite it pronto.
Sometimes, I wonder how much of the “based on a true story” part is true. There are certain things these people say and do, like punching out the janitor or being slapped by the people they went to for help, holds truth. A lot of what they said, especially in confronting the high school kid they thought had sent lewd pictures to the teenage girl, seemed highly inappropriate in and of itself.
Theodore (Teddy) Walker is a great salesman, but an accident forces him to seek a career change. Unfortunately, that career change comes with the requirement of a high school diploma or the equivalent, a GED.
Genre: Comedy
Additional Comments:
– Congratulations, movie, I’ve been forced to give a rating I’ve never given before for a show. It was good, but not that good. It had hit or miss humor and a smattering of cool messages mired in misfired comedy efforts. (see spoiler speak for my example of this as well as my favorite moments.)
– It’s a modern movie in that there’s an ultimate message of celebrating learning differences.
– The cast of Night School people is pretty well-rounded. There’s the kid there to avoid juvenile detention, a lyft driver/ former waiter, an overworked mom, a father of a teenage son, a paranoid guy, and a prisoner.
– The principal’s an overbearing sterotype, but there’s decent character development here.
Conclusion:
Worth watching at least once. It’s not my typical movie fare, but I’m glad I got to see it.
Associate links to follow…
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)
Amazon Prime
Don’t have something in the truly comedic vein, but here are some short stories and lighthearted fantasy: Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts.
Being the Chosen Redeemer could kill Vic. She’s got a destiny she doesn’t understand, two friends from feuding races, and zombies out to get her. (Redeemer Chronicles 1: Awakening)
****Spoiler Speak****
– Hands down, favorite line: “That’s not a chemical. It’s chemical warfare!” I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe.
– I enjoyed the fact that Teddy didn’t pass the first or second or even third go at the GED. Not really sure how many times you can take that test. But he persisted and eventually passed. I also liked that he had learning disabilities but people wouldn’t let him quit.
– Example of cool message strangled by misfired comedy: The very end where Teddy’s giving the graduation speech. He has some excellent stuff to say then keeps blithering on about the stuff his father said. The father’s expression is kind of funny, but I think the moment would have been much more powerful without that.
– Moral of the story: – Teddy’s a great character because he’s not perfect. He wants to be someone he’s not, so he lies, but the lies only get him into trouble. Hard work helps him rise above his learning disabilities.
General promo pic for the movie. Nope, I don’t own it.
3.5/5 Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies – you guessed it, spoilers are possible.
Summary:
Neither masterful, nor terrible. This is a quirky, shallow, comic, horror movie. The original Pride and Prejudice isn’t my favorite book, but it was probably one of the best books they made me read in high school.
Additional Comments:
Getting ready for ball intriguing; nice weapons.
Featherstone’s demise … ha. That’s pretty much going to be a thing.
The fights always went to slow motion… kind of a cheap trick.
Darcy babbles about Lizzy after the fight. Jane takes down a zombie on the way to tea with the Bingleys.
Lizzy catches the flies that would tell if her sister was bitten or not. Ha.
Other Observations:
– Wickham is still a jerk.
– Turning down Collins was still epic.
– Wickham’s zombie friendly philosophy is odd.
– Lady Catherine as a great zombie hunter. Also, same actress as Cersi Lannister… that’s awesome.
– Darcy’s confession of love is beautifully awkward. I don’t remember it being quite so awkward in the original tale. Their conversation is more interesting as a fist fight though.
– The woven tale of Wickham is nicely done.
– Rekindled love over a zombie graveyard. Cliche but fitting.
Random:
Logistically, the sound goes crazy high whenever there’s any kind of special effects or fighting. While I’m sure that’s awesome in a movie theater, it’s really jarring at home. One needed to keep the volume pretty high to understand the dialogue.
It’d probably be pretty slow and boring without the random acts of violence that crop up against zombies here.
Conclusion:
Worth watching, but the audiobook is way better.
Associate links to follow…
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)
Amazon Prime
Audible – If you’d like some free codes, please email me at [email protected] with requests for any of my works.
Rachel Chu is dating Nick Young. He gets invited to be best man for a good friend who’s wedding is in Singapore. It’s not until they’re on the plane that Rachel gets vibes that Nick’s family might have more money than he lets on. And it’s not until she gets to her friend’s mansion that while there that she gets a clue just how crazy rich Nick’s family is. That kind of wealth comes with a heck of a lot of strings attached.
Additional Comments:
– Funniest character award(s): It’s a tie between Rachel’s friend, Piglet?? (not sure about real name) and Nick’s cousin Oliver. I was told by a friend that I (and another friend) kind of channel Rachel’s friend. My response: Thanks, I think (followed by about a billion question marks).
– If you enjoy the kind of outrageous wealth present in something like the Choices game Royal Romance series, then you’ll enjoy this movie. Saying that the parties are extravagant affairs is a big, fat understatement. The bachelor party starts out on a giant boat in international waters. A ship painted specifically for the party. They had to take 3 helicopters to get there. The bachelorette party takes place on a private island. Basically, makes a fine case for old money real estate ventures.
– Without going into gory details, Rachel’s introduction to Nick’s family seems okay on the surface but she’s definitely not of their world and various parties make that abundantly clear.
– Rachel’s left to make a really tough decision. So is Nick for that matter.
– high points: Nice mix of drama and hilarity. Well-acted all around. Sets were drop-dead gorgeous.
Conclusion:
Well worth watching. More fun with friends. Might even be worth seeing a few times.
Conclusion:
Episode 7 has quite the parlay. Short season. Dany’s entrance is stylish . Truce? Intriguing. End awesome. Finally!!!! Cersi is well, herself. Jaime at least has honor. The whole winter is here thing finally makes sense.
Associate links to follow…
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)
Amazon Prime
Audible – If you’d like some free codes, please email me at [email protected] with requests for any of my works.
Try The Golden City Captives. Narrated by Reuben Corbett.
Seemingly on a whim, Ron Stallworth, a black cop in Colorado Springs, answers an ad for the KKK. Surprisingly, he gets through and the conversation goes well enough that they want to meet. He ends up having many conversations with the KKK and running a long investigation into them and their activities. He’s helped by Flip Zimmerman (played by Adam Driver), a white cop who agrees to do the face-to-face meetings with the KKK for obvious reasons.
Additional Comments:
– It’s based on a true story. Sometimes, I wonder how loosely things are based on true stories, but this one seems like they wouldn’t deviate too far.
– Music choices were pretty good.
– There’s a good bit of humor.
– Content warnings: very, very strong language.
– Beginning = odd: The very beginning they opened with a bizarre clip from an old movie that portrayed black union soldiers terrorizing southern plantation types. You pretty much forget that as they worked very hard to suck you into the 1960’s era US.
– Middle = powerful: At one point, they bounced back and forth between a klan meeting and a meeting of the Black Student Union. That was probably their most powerful and awesome sections. This movie has/had great potential for starting needed conversations.
– Ending = disappointing: They had several great spots to end it on a powerful note, but then they went straight to overkill mode. We have a political agenda and we’re going to shove it down your throat now. It ended with several clips from 2017. I think one was a KKK march and one was the Charlottesville tragedy of people getting run over by the crazy dude taking out counter protestors. You know what their agenda is, but it’s just jarring and not in a good way.
(It’s like painting a beautiful picture then spraying it with animal blood to make a point. We get it, but you still just ruined a perfectly good picture for no good reason.)
Conclusion:
It was well acted and worth watching once, but the overkill in strong language and political preaching took away some of the enjoyment.
Associate links to follow…
(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)
Amazon Prime
Audible – If you’d like some free codes, please email me at [email protected] with requests for any of my works.
Try The Golden City Captives. Narrated by Reuben Corbett.
