A Review: A Wrinkle in Time (2018)

What I learned from movies made of beloved classic books?

There was a likelihood that I would be disappointed.

I wanted to like this movie. I wanted to like it SO BAD. But, when I walked out of the theatre I was a little confused. Later I was disappointed.

Why did it go to see this movie? Because, I loved the original source material and I wanted to see a big screen adaptation. Note: I reviewed the TV movie adaptation here. I read A Wrinkle in Time in 7th or maybe 8th grade (I can't rightly remember now) and fell in love with the story. It is a powerful story of growth and learning to face your fears and accept your faults.

I wanted to love the movie, I even wanted to like it. 

There are a few points I would like to make first. Yes, I have read the book, at least a half a dozen or more times, so I am familiar with this story. Also, I can read or watch a story and know if it can stand alone from its source material. I have watched a number of movie adaptations to know when a story stands up to adaptation. Some movie adaptations are so good that you don’t need to have read the book, or seen the previous incarnation. 

But, sometimes an adaptation just doesn’t work.

A Wrinkle in Time doesn’t work for me.

It is not because I am really close to the source material. That might well be true, but while I was watching this version, I found myself confused by the whole of the story. There were basic mistakes that were made in the storytelling. Movie (and TV) adaptations of books, short stories, and plays are prone to more intense scrutiny by fans of the original source material, and movie buffs will happily tear apart a movie. 

The prime example is of storytelling faux pas is “Show, Don’t Tell”, when there is more explanation than action.

A Wrinkle in Time suffers from this and other grievous sins. 

Pet Peeves of (Movie) Adaptations:

1.Show, don’t Tell; a lack of explanation or moving the plot forward too quickly. This means that characters go from place to place, have interactions with other characters, and there is little to no explanation for why they do this (Going from X to Y, and then to Z);

2. Changing a character’s motivation or personality;

3. Omitting crucial details.

In my opinion, if you do any of these things, then you have committed a sins against storytelling. If your audience doesn’t understand why your characters are doing what they are doing, then the audience will lost. Having your audience lost is never a good thing, because they will tell other people about their confusion. You risk losing your audience.

Let’s begin. First, why do Meg, Calvin, Charles Wallace, and the Mrs’s go to Uriel? In this movie there is no explanation for why the Mrs’s chose Uriel, at least nothing that an audience member can explain. In the book the reason for going to the planet Uriel is because it has the thinnest atmosphere of any planet and when standing on the tallest mountains you can see The Black Thing (Camazotz). Also, you need a flower to breath this thin atmosphere. Bet you didn’t know that fact? This is never explained and it feels clunky to the viewer.

Second, why go to the Orion’s belt to visit the Happy Medium? The Happy Medium can show them a closer look at Camazotz, and also we also get a closer look at the main characters. Note: the Happy Medium is an old woman in the book, Zach Galifianakis is an entertaining Happy Medium though.

Third, why go to Camazotz? Because that is where Mr. Murry is. It is also where the force behind Camazotz originates. Again the movie doesn’t explain this.

These are things that need to be established or your audience will feel lost within your story. You don’t need to have read the book to know these details if you present these details clearly. 

Characters and why they are there.

Why is Calvin there? Is he a forced love interest? A warrior of the light? Why does he connected with Meg and her family? All that the movie gives you is that Calvin doesn’t like his home life and his is good at diplomacy and communication. He tells Meg that he had a compulsion to being there to meet her and Charles Wallace.

What are the Mrs’s? The movie never explains what they are. In the book you are given clues to what the Mrs’s are, hell, even Calvin figures it out in the book. Although I suspect that for the movie the aspects of faith were removed that is why the Mrs’s aren’t not explained to be Angels (or in the case of Mrs. Whatsit a former star). 

Who is Red, Michael Pena's character in the movie? What is his purpose? The book has two chapters to explain who the Man with the Red Eyes is, (is he the Prime Coordinator) or what the IT is. We are never really told about IT in the movie, you are just shown the place where it ‘lives’. And this brings up a good point that the movie does not do...What is going on on Camazotz? You don’t get a reason for why it succumbed to the darkness, or even what the darkness is. You are just told it is a dark world. Madeline L’Engle reveals that the IT is a brain and that IT controls all of the life on Camazotz. Why? In a effort make life better (or just control everything)? Punishing those who step out of line, and stopping all disease and suffering for the good of the people. The books explains it far clearer, but in reality IT has caused more pain by training those who step outside the norm to behave properly. It is a VERY scary premise, and one that the screenwriter and director likely felt compelled to tone down for the movie. It loses something in the telling.

Onto motivation and character representation.

Why does Mrs. Whatsit do what she does? Why does she look like a flying lettuce leaf? Mrs. Whatsit is a favourite character, as she is the one closest to Meg in the book. She is the one to tell Meg that she loves her and not judge Meg for her faults. That is an important point to the conclusion of the story. Also, they changed Mrs. Whatsit’s form. She is NOT a flying lettuce leaf. She is this and the book explains what is she and why the battle against Camazotz is important to her. The other two Mrs’s also are never really explained either. As for her motivation, well, Mrs. Whatsit’s motivation to help Meg and Charles Wallace, but the movie makes her into a slightly self-absorbed celestial entity who likes to complain, even though Mrs. Which says that is because Mrs. Whatsit is so much younger then Mrs. Who or Mrs. Which.

If I had to pick a favourite Mrs. from the movie it would be Mrs. Who. She is the most truly represented in the movie as in the book. Mindy Kaling is a precious Mrs. Who too.There wasn’t much for her to work with either.  While Mrs. Whatsit is my favourite from the book.

Where is Aunt Beast? There is a whole scene and a half that features Aunt Beast and Meg’s recovery from her father tessering to safety and her returning to Camazotz for her brother. It is  not in the movie. Charles Wallace is currently under the control of IT. It comes across in the movie as forced when you see that Mr. Murry Tessering away from Camazotz and Meg stops the tesser. When in the book they escape, leaving Charles Wallace behind, and Meg is near death. Not only is that why Aunt Beast is there, to nurse Meg back to health, but also  to explain why Meg has to return to Camazotz to rescue Charles Wallace. She also comes to terms with her father and herself, because it is HER story. The book explains this quite clearly that she needs to take responsibility for Charles Wallace (who up to that point was always taking care of her), and not preemptively stop her father from tessering away to safety, which is what the movie does. The movie forgets that Meg is the protagonist at times.

A Wrinkle in Time is guilty is also guilty of weaken storytelling with:

1. Poor character development;

2. Changing details [sometimes it is easier to omit non-crucial characters if you have a limited time frame to tell the story].

Back the problem of Calvin. He seems to be dropped into Meg’s world, which is actually correct for both the book and movie. “Why are you here?”, “Ever just have a compulsion?”, except that Calvin is not given a chance to explain why he is there, or have any back story about his family and why he prefers the Murry clan to his own. There is a brief scene with the Happy Medium. Here we get a glimpse of Calvin’s overbearing father yelling at him about his grades. He feels stunted as a character with little to nothing to do, except almost save Charles Wallace once. It is a disservice to his character presented in the book.

Mrs. Whatsit also suffers from a severe lack of development, and some changes in character. The brash and fearless Mrs. Whatsit is presented in the movie and slightly mean spirited. Mrs. Whatsit is brash and strong willed, but she is very concerned with Meg (in the book), although you wouldn’t know that in the movie. That part about Mrs. Whatsit and love is omitted and just left for the audience to come to there own reasonings about Meg and Mrs. Whatsit relationship.

Now, points to the movie:

1. Meg and Charles Wallace’s characters;

2. Including Fortinbras, the dog, although he is never named in the movie;

3. The depiction of Mr. Murry.

It wasn’t all bad. The movie got the characters of Meg and Charles Wallace pretty close to spot on; Meg being an angry, scared teenager and Charles Wallace, a super intelligent, maybe too smart for his own good child. Storm Reid and Deric McCabe were well cast and directed. 

There were changes from the book that include the bully that Meg beats up into a girl (was a boy in the book), and Charles Wallace was already in school and actually talked to people outside of the family (when he was only 4 in the book and not school age yet). I don’t think they weaken the story. Although having a gang of girls to harass Meg, is more in the vein of Mean Girls and not A Wrinkle in Time.

A note here and I want to get nit picky. Where are Sandy and Dennys, the twins? In the book Meg has twin brothers. No word or reference to them at all. A small additional note-for the curious-they get there own adventure in the book, Many Waters. Since there are only in a bit of the beginning of the book, I can forgive the director and screenwriter for deciding to omit them from the movie.

I enjoyed Chris Pine as Mr. Murry, his performance was strong and quite compelling. There were details that were changed or omitted, like how he couldn’t see while imprisoned and needed Mrs. Who’s glasses to be able to see in his prison (called the Transparent Column in the book). His chemistry with Storm Reid was very believable.and drives the story along.

A Wrinkle in Time (2018) gets a 5 out of 10, because while it was a beautifully shot, and there were some strong acting featured, I just couldn’t get behind the movie’s version of the story. It was too confusing and rushed at points. Maybe there were too many changes for me, but the storytelling was far too weak for me. I don’t think that it is an unfilmable story, it just needs someone to do it right by the source material and make it relevant to a modern audience.

Black Mirror: A Review

I recently discovered a Netflix show, a Sci-Fi anthology based show, written and directed by Charlie Brooker, that so blew away my expectations of what is scary and what is possible. I am familiar with Brooker's previous works, Newswipe and Screenwipe that explain how the news, TV, and movies are presented to the public.

His approach to this show is different, and yet ultimatley familiar. Brooker make everything direct and ultimately funny, even if it the subject matter if not funny. He makes it real! He makes it scary.

A four season show, much of which Brooker has written, directed, and executive produced started in 2011 and take you for a ride. It's like a modern of the Twilight Zone, that features humans are the cause for the cruelty foisted upon themselves, usually. I would say Black Mirror was darker than The Twilight Zone, but truthfully, Rod Serling wrote many episodes designed to scare the people of the 1950s. Brooker is no exception. While not every episode always dark and foreboding, much of the show presents a bleak world where man tries  to master over the technology it has created. The best part is Black Mirror does not use AI (artificial intelligence) to bring mankind down the 'rabbit hole'.

The episode called Nosedive (and a personal favourite) features Lacie, an insecure office worker who is trying to boost her social media score to secure a posh apartment in Pelican Bay where they only accept you if you have a 4.5+ score. The entire world uses something designed to look like Facebook, it's eerily mirroring our own world, to share photos and rate other photos to garner favour with other, get the best stuff in life to get a higher score.

Episode Nosedive  - used for review purposes.

You see, in the world if you have a higher score, well then you have access to better housing, better rental cars, better friends. The worst your score is, the harder it is to get quality products or services, and the more people will look down on you. I think this is the most how our world is, when it matters what you have and who you know. Lacie is pushed to the brink trying to get to her friend Naomi's wedding when after a social score plunge meets Susan, a truck driver who had once had a 4.5 score and lost it all after her score failed to save her husband from Cancer. She tells Lacie that is is better to not cater to the system, because then you don't have to keep working to retain that score. In the end, (I won't spoil the ending here, Dear Readers. You to watch for yourself.) sometimes it is better to not worry about what others think, because you are still alive.

The scary part is the China already uses a system much like this. Read here for more China's Social Credit.

This episode features Bryce Dallas Howard (Lady in the Water) is a surprising well acted role, and the story is well developed and not contrived. The writing is really spot on taking the currently technology of the world and taking it to where it will likely be in the next ten minutes or next year. Scary, isn't it?

That is what I love about Black Mirror. the stories are related. You can understand why the character do what they do, even if you don't agree with them. They are real people.

A few of my favourite episodes include 15 Million Merits, The Entire History of You, White Christmas, White Bear, San Junipero, Shut Up and Dance, USS Callister, and Hang the DJ. All of the episodes are quality storytelling, in the vein of The Twilight Zone, but with the modern twist. Also, I must note that the new Doctor, (Doctor Who) Jodie Whittaker is feature in The Entire History of You, Jodie Foster directed Arkangel.

Subjects that are touched on in Black Mirror: controlling people for personal gain, social media scoring, retribution of family, using people's DNA for your own fantasies, and social media justice. If any of this interests you, then you definitely should check out Black Mirror. If you like amazing quality storytelling, then Black Mirror is for you. If you like weird things, then Black Mirror is for you.

What TV shows and or Movies have you been watching, Dear Reader? What books are you currently reading? I am currently enjoying Netflix's Bill Nye Saves the World, and Garth Nix's The Keys to the Kingdom series. (Lady Friday) Leave me some love below, Dear Readers.

Used for review purposes.

Used for review purposes.

Up next a look at Children's Literature. I am currently submitting two of my children's picture book stories to publishers and part of my research involves reading current children's book that are on the shelves of bookstores everywhere and looking at what what I read as a child (I had quite the collection back in the day).

Movie Review: Three Billboards outside of Ebbing, Missouri

I didn't really know much about this movie, except for the title.

I went in thinking that I was going to be seeing a story and I will react accordingly. When I arrived at the theatre I was surprised that the only other people watching Three Billboards with me were two older ladies who set in the back, while I sat in the front. Their reactions while we watched were worth the ticket price.

Dark comedies. Yeah, I am not used to them, but I was surprised by the storytelling and the acting. This is Sam Rockwell's movie. I won't get spoilery on you, Dear Readers. It's very much a mystery, but not in the normal sense. It's not a hunt for the clues and find the bad guy, but more like a fall into the pieces and happen upon the bad guy. That is kind of refreshing, when most movies put out there are almost too cookie cutter in plot and character development (or having lack of character development).

Sam Rockwell is solid as Jason Dixon, the asshole cop; Woody Harrelson gives a believable performance as Willoughby; and Frances McDormand is really good at being an angry woman. What is amount to are believable characters, who are terribly flawed and that is what is entertaining. Not once during this time did I feel uncomfortable and ready for the movie to be over. It is very engaging, if surprising by what they push the boundaries on.

"They can say that in a movie now?"

I remember thinking halfway through the movie. It's not a fluffy comedy, nor is it a boring drama. Three Billboard gets under your skin, crawls into your brain, and make you think. I like that. I like a story, movie, book, TV show that'll have you think, and even make you a little uncomfortable.

Standout actors Sam Rockwell and Peter Dinklage. Sam Rockwell does a lot with little to no dialogue at times and it really works. Peter Dinklage might have had a smaller part, but he owns that part.

It's a good thought experiment and what would you do in this situation. I have realized lately that if you picture yourself in a characters shoes, sometimes the choices you thought you would make are not what you end up making.

Three Billboards is definitely on my top 10 list for movies in 2017.

 What are your thoughts on Three Billboards, Dear Readers? Have you seen it? Will you see it? Leave me a comment below, and next time, my thoughts on the Sci-Fi/Suspense TV show, Black Mirror.

Jodi Whittacker in the episode "The Entire History of You."

Kickstarter Status Update: Stories to be Told, unsuccessful? I don't think so...

My Kickstarter is over.

I didn't make funding.

I did make 486 dollars of my 1,100 goal. That is 44% funded, and pretty damn good for my first time out.

Thank you to backers and everyone who supported me through donations, emotional and mental support, and shared the living daylights out of this little project of mine. This project, Stories to be Told is so important to me, and I can only move forward with its creation.

It has been quite a month. I found my passion, my Arete.

I have learned a lot this January, everything from marketing/business practices, how to get back up after falling, finding my joy in my writing my Arete), the choice to go independent, and the most important thing I learned is how to fail forward. Failure is a part of life and for every thousand failures, there will be successes. The more you fail and keep going (learning from each mistake and misstep), well the more you are to succeed. They also say it takes about 10,000 hours of work to make something a reality.

Arete: (Moral Virtue) as defined by Wikipedia, excellence of any kind. Connected to the concept of fulfillment of purpose. Greek in origin.

My friend and mentor, James always says that arete is the fulfillment of one's true purpose. I like that so much, that I knew I had to buckle down and take my writing seriously, edited and revise my writing, and take a step into my fears and do thing I was afraid to do; get myself published. That lead into the Kickstarter, and little did I realize that I would start a path to greatness and ever failure.

Note: failure is only true failure if it stops you from moving forward.

"It is not a catastrophe, but merely a course correction." 

~James A. Owen

So, what is next? Well, after I write to my backers, then I begin Plan B, which entails putting together "Stories to be Told", Issue 0 in a PDF version for my backers as a thank you.  Quite possibly I will sell the PDF version in the near future, but that is still early to say. There is the re-planning and re-structuring of the Stories to be Told Kickstarter re-launch with the printing of Issue #1 (maybe Issue summer or Issue * or Issue Badger, or whatever I care to call it). This will require a month worth of marketing and promotion prior to re-launch. I'm looking at April. Also, includes promoted my self as a writer, going to seminars and lectures on writing and business of art, printing business cards, bookmarks and stickers as promotional materials. Even going to writing convention, especially after I has print versions of Stories to be Told, although I will still go to these conventions and events before that happens.

My Publishing Company!

I still have a Winter Give-Away over at Here, There be a Writer. Go over there, click like and share the Winter Give-Away status to be entered into the give-away that runs through tomorrow (1/31/2018).  I will be drawing winners for a limited edition bookmark and another for a Phoenix Rising Press sticker.

On the creative side this means I need to continue to write and edit new works for future Issues. Also, I am working on ramping up of my submission goals for my children's books, A Little Lost and A Spatula Story, and any other pieces for my current and past catalog of works. The only difference this time is I will only by submitting from a list of selected works and researching places where I think they would fit into, and then submitting those pieces to those places until I get a taker.. That is going to be a project in itself.

These are the things I started in 2017, and will manifest in 2018 and beyond.

I know that sounds like a lot, right? It is. But it is worth it. Will I fail? Sometimes yes. But other times I won't. I will always learn what to do differently, what new things to try, and document what I do.

If I get board, I always have some other project to work on. This year my podcast Quantum Highway is going to be recorded and released! More on that later...

"If you really want to do something; no one can stop you. If you really don't want to do something; no one can help you."

~James A. Owen

Please keep coming back, Dear Readers. Thank you for your love and support. Leave me a comment on what you are doing in 2018. What books are you reading, movies you have seen, projects or classes you are taking, etc.

As always, your devoted writer,
~Cindy

Movie Reviews: Paddington and Lady Bird

I haven't written a full scale review in a loooong time, in fact I have watched two movies this past weekend that very much need to be talked about, Dear Readers. Update: I also saw Three Billboard Outside of Ebbing, Missouri, so that will be my next review.

First up is Paddington 2:

A sequel that stands on its own, but is also aware of where it comes from.  It is rare that a sequel is as good, or better than the original. Paddington 2 is the first sequel that you do not need to see the first movie to understand what is going on. In fact the only thing to really need to know is Paddington is originally from Peru and was sent to England by his Aunt Lucy. If you are familiar with the books written by Michael Bond or the stop motion animation TV series that began in 1976 then you are all step.

With that being said, I need to point out the the story for Paddington is a solid story, believable, but also just a tad bit over the top. As Paddington is a clumsy bear and a penchant of being over eager to help that lands him into some tight spots, but he means way and because of that he is the most well loved Spectacled  Bear in Windsor Gardens.

What's a Spectacled Bear?

A bear native to the Andes Mountains of South America, and if you didn't know it, Paddington was originally supposed to be from darkest Africa, but it was changed to Peru because bears don't live in Africa.

The story of Paddington continues with Paddington wanting to get Aunt Lucy a very special birthday present, a pop-up book of London. The problem is that the book cost $1,000.00, and the bigger problem is that book has been stolen and Paddington is now blamed for the crime.

The Brown's, they are on the case to find he thieve and Paddington is sent to prison where he meets Nuckels and share he's love of Marmalade with hardened criminals. The pop-up book and the little bear from Peru are on a wild chase to find adventure and the real meaning of friendship

For Paddington 2, they created a beautiful story about adventure, friendship, and accepting others even if they are different.

Hugh Grant is a stand out favourite. He is delightful and really makes his mark on the story. I think he had a lot of fun as Phoenix Buchanan and Jim Broadbend as the slightly forgetful but always helpful Mr. Gruber; of course Peter Capaldi was a personal favourite, reprising his role as cranky Mr. Curry. I thought the casting was solid for all of the characters, especially the Browns.

The animation was very fluid and I never felt that Paddington wasn't a part of the live actors, and the bit about the pop-up book with Paddington and Aunt Lucy was adorable and creative way to include Aunt Lucy into the story.

Paddington 2 is a must watch for both kids and adult alike. This is a movie that know no age limit, in my opinion, as there is something that anyone would get out of it.

Next, Lady Bird:

A coming of age movie about Catherine "Lady Bird" McPherson and her mother, Marion.

I loved the trailer for this movie, and because of that I needed to see this movie. It's such a real movie. There exists a place that is this movie and I felt that all of the characters were real people. The story was very real, relate-able story. That was what drew you into Lady Bird's world.

The story of Lady Bird is that she is trying to survive her senior year of high school at a catholic school, with dreams of leaving Sacramento behind, and going to school on the East coast. But there are the standard money problems, mother and daughter arguments, and the poor life choice that all teenagers must face from boys, dating, friends, and sex. All very real things that all of us have had to experience  in one way or another.

The writer of this fantastic story, Greta Gerwig makes you feel like you are living in Sacramento, CA in 2002, post 9/11, and at the beginning of the war of terrorism. A scary time for anyone, but especially for a teenager looking to spread her wings and go New York City. Saorise Ronan who plays Lady Bird is so convincing that you would swear she was an American teenager not an Irish actress, even though she was born in The Bronx and later moved to Ireland when she was three. I first encounter Saorise in the Vincent Van Gogh bio-pic, Loving Vincent, which is the first oil painting animated movie. She is also featured in Ed Sheeran's video, Galway Girl.

Also, you haven't seen Laurie Metcalf in a role like this, she is raw in to portrayal of Marion and her chemistry with Saorise and Tracy Letts as Larry McPherson (the Dad) is very powerful.

Greta Gerwig is an amazing writer and director, so I definitely want to see more of her work. So, go out and check it!

Kickstarter LIVE! (17 days to go)

It's official! I have a Kickstarter.

I am finally done with waiting around for things to happen. I am going to make things happen. Since 2011 I have wanted to take my writing and getting published more seriously. it was about that time I started submitting stories and poetry to online journals and some contests. I have received A LOT of rejection letters, a couple with constructive criticism (that was sweet of them), but nothing has yielded anything.

I kept trying though, although lately I have not been submitting as much.

It was last year that I realized that I needed to try something different.

First, I asked a fellow local poet friend if there were any local contests I could submit to. This resulted in twice having a selected (years 2016 and 2017) poem in two separate calendars  with featured local photographers.

Then there was a contest for a art and poetry called "The Sexuality Show"  (and The Sexuality Poems book) that featured local artists' work for a gallery showing and poems to be published in the aforementioned book on sexuality and gender. I submitted two poems for consideration. One was picked to be included in a book.

Talk about exciting!

I even got to read my poem at two separate poetry readings.

Talk about being nervous. I was going up against some really talented and well known local poets. But, I did it. And surprise surprise my fellow poets seemed to like my poem.

The story goes since 2011 I have been trying to submit poems and stories to various online journals, more in the last couple of years. The pile of rejection letters has grown. I felt that I wasn't getting anywhere. I was definitely getting discouraged. I was still trying, but not with the same exuberance.

It wasn't until I realized that I wasn't planning how I was submitting my poems and/or stories. I was being random in my selection of works, ad not being consistent. So, I started selecting certain works and kept submitting those. Again, more rejection and I wasn't getting anyway. I know rejection is part of the deal. Still its hard to not have my writing out there, which is the reason I became writer. I love bringing worlds to life, especially writing plays that get performed.

On and front, I wrote my first play in 2012-ish, and seeing this world brought to life spark something in me. Since then I have written seven or eight plays.

Sometime around 2013 I met my mentor in person, and something in that meeting and his words from his books spark and renewal. I started writing more, and after a while started concentrating on editing and revision of my previous writings. I had SO MANY already written that needed work and could be better and ultimately published.

But recently-about 2016 through 2017-the lack of progress and a shifting focus on what I what has made me realize that I am a good writer, a writer that deserves to be published. So, after I started on two new projects in 2017, I thought that maybe I can just publish my own works. I began taking my projects seriously; researching the independent publication of a children's book, courting artists, writing podcast scripts for a new story idea, courting a composer, and making plans for both of these projects. I have had to change my time tables a lot in the last year, but I am more confident and making more progress to making these a reality. I also realized that I could do a smaller Kickstarter and take some of my completed works and publish a literary magazine through crowdfunding.

What does this mean?

Well, 2017 was about developing ideas and editing/revising my work. 2018 is putting those ideas/projects into action.

I realized that you can never succeed if you don't try, and even if you fail in the process, you still learn something.

Time for action!

Introducing Here, There be a Writer's "Stories to be Told", my Kickstarter, which is live. I am hoping to raise $1,100 dollars to cover publishing costs and writer expenses to help launch my writing career.

Please have a look, maybe donate some if you can, Dear Readers. Share my little dream, so I can make  my dreams come true.

SOOPER SEKRET PROJECT updates!

So, long time, no see, Dear Readers.

Yes, I blame the holidays, but the fault is more in the lack of preparedness on my end. I am finally at a point where I want to DO something. I want to do something important. I want to make something happen. I am making it happen!

I am currently working on a project that I hope I can launch by December 31st, if not then after the New Year. It's a big leap and as of right now still SOOPER SEKRET! But I am still excited to be working on it.

I want to tell you, but, well I kinda like the suspense I'm building up here, so stay tuned for more details.

from MorgueFile

In the meantime...

I have seen a lot of  movies this year, and last year too, so maybe it's time to share a bit about those movies. Here are my top 10 movies from 2017 that I have seen in the theatre, and in no particular order.

1. Coco: Pixar nailed it when they made Coco. A movie that features music, actors, and a true message about finding your place in the world.

2. The Last Jedi: Mark Hamil taking back the role of Luke Skywalker, that and the friggin' adorable creatures, oh and the story is quit fetching too!

3.Thor: Rangorok: Without knowing half of the Marvel cinematic universe, I was surprisingly NOT lost. Two words, Holy Hela!

4. Loving Vincent: this movie is beautiful and the story is an interesting take on the death of Van Gogh.

5. Hidden Figures: history unwrapped and supported. A beautiful telling of the African American women behind NASA.

6. Wonder Woman: that is how you do a superhero movie, a FEMALE superhero movie. The Greek myth geek in me was pleased at the connections here.

7. Blade Runner 2049: this was the BEST space epic set on earth. Not an action movie, but a brilliant movie anyway.

8. Baby Driver: music and stellar shooting Also, Jamie Fox plays a phenomenal asshole,

9. Beauty and the Beast: with just enough new stuff to make it interesting and keeping with the feel of the original. Lefou,  Gaston, and Kevin Kline as Maurice are the strong favourites.

10. Wonder: not  just a sappy and tear jerker about bullying, but a fantastic look at how a whole family and friends are affected.