#REVIEW OF WONDER WOMAN 2017

[james-stark-the-writer]

what a fucking disappointment. ruins so much of its own fucking point and potential because of a shit third act. honestly, i wish this was a Steve Trevor movie because he is the best fucking part of this. Chris Pine steals the show, as he usually does with anything he's involved in. at the end of the day, as a whole, this is just a movie that exists.

My ★★★½ review of Wonder Woman on Letterboxd

[yurimother]

Second Print Volume of Sapphic Webtoon 'Always Human' Released

On Tuesday, July 25, Little Bee Books released the second and final print volume adaptation of Ari "walkingnorth" North's Yuri webtoon Always Human. The graphic novel, entitled Love and Gravity: An Always Human Story, adapts episodes 38 through the epilogue of the series.

Always Human was initially published as a WebToon Original from 2015 to 2017. It is published under Little Bee Books' young adult imprint Yellow Jacket in sponsorship with GLAAD.

The sci-fi series follows Sunati, a young woman living in a future world where people use technology to change their appearance at will through body mods. She spots and is instantly attracted to Austen, a girl unable to use mods. Gradually as their relationship unfolds, they deal with friends, family, and emotional turmoils that, despite the fantastic setting, are surprisingly grounded and human.

The publisher describes Love and Gravity:

Sunati and Austen are back in the final volume of their inspirational love story... Austen is working hard to overcome the limitations of Egan's Syndrome, a very rare condition that rejects body modifications, which is making school difficult. But while Austen is forced to confront her plans for the future, Sunati receives a once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity. . . on Saturn's moon, Enceladus! Will Austen find her way? And will Sunati leave Austen when she needs her most to follow her own dreams of space exploration? The wonderful ending to this story celebrates the complexity and beauty of what makes us human.

The print edition includes some updated and adjusted dialogue to along with the graphic novel's young adult audience, such as toning down Austen's swearing. The original version is still available to read on Webtoon for free.

Always Human has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics. It received perfect 10/10s from Erica Friedman on Okazu and YuriMother. YuriMother listed the series as one of the best Yuri of the past 100 years in a guest post on Okazu and as a "must-see" series on the 2022 and 2023 editions of its Yuri Guide.

North is running a promotion through the end of August where customers who purchase any edition of the book and submit a copy of their receipt on alwayshumanbooks.carrd.co will receive Something Old, Something New, a short digital comic about Sunati and Austen's future engagement and wedding, as well as a digital copy of the Always Human soundtrack, including a brand new track. Customers who purchase the hardcover edition of Love and Gravity will also receive a postcard print and two signed chibi bookplate stickers in addition to the digital comic and soundtrack.

You can purchase Love and Gravity, the second print volume of Always Human, today digitally and in paperback and hardcover editions: https://amzn.to/3rTQ0yP

Official releases help support creators and publishers. YuriMother may make a small commission from sales to help fund future content.

[talleyuh]

i’m a pretty big fan of DC comics (specifically the movies because there are just so many gosh darn comic runs out there but i do my wiki research) and the characterization of diana prince/wonder woman is so all over the place.

i feel like i haven’t seen an adaptation of her character that really served her well, like everyone makes her super boring? i often see the criticism of captain marvel that she had no real personality outside of being a strong woman and i see that a lot with Diana in the DCAMU. like yes she’s a strong woman but I feel like there’s so much more that can be done with that character.

all of her dialogue in the dcamu movies was just really flat and boring. when she took center stage in wonder woman: bloodlines she made for a really forgettable character. i liked that they showed the lengths she would go in battle when she blinded herself to fight medusa but i had to reread my letterboxd review because i couldn’t remember that. i feel like the writing issue could be said for all of the dcamu movies, but they’re not available to watch on max anymore so i could be wrong.

i’ve seen most of the dceu movies (i am the strongest soldier i know) and i just found diana in any movie past wonder woman (2017) to be flat, repetitive, and radiate serious nlog energy. the entire crux of her character is that we the audience is to find her attractive, but god forbid we mess with her or she’ll beat us up. or when she said “i’m unlike any woman you’ve ever met” what about all the other female superheroes out there? she only works in a sort of male fantasy-only girl on the team kind of vibe. kind of similar to early black widow from the marvel movies but with only a little more agency.

i revisited justice league and justice league unlimited for the second summer in a row and i feel like the episodes where we get diana center stage are some of my favorites. even though i have my gripes with bruce timm and the writing of diana there too, i think diana works a lot and she could’ve carried her own series with a different set of writers.

as far as i can tell in the in jl and jlu (and the 6 issues i pirated from the sensational wonder woman) diana is levelheaded, kind, compassionate, incredibly headstrong, and genuinely smart. sometimes she prioritizes the brawn a little more than strategy but she was raised as a warrior and i feel like that could’ve been an interesting arc to explore.

i really hate how in every adaptation i’ve seen, they made all of the Amazons seem like heartless misandrists. like according to greek mythology, ortrera (the mother of the amazons) was raised in a world where women were treated horribly so she left and built her own world with other women so they could live in peace and train to be warriors. i’m assuming that ortera’s daughter hippolyta (even tho she died) is supposed to be diana’s mom. i think that the pressure of basically being an heir to themyscira could’ve been a lot of pressure for diana to subscribe to her grandmother’s line of thinking and been part of the reason she even left paradise island in the first place. also women were oppressed because femininity was seen as lesser and i would’ve loved to see femininity not be villainized and have a place to flourish on paradise island where they would be safe to express themselves.

the more i watch dcau shows, the more i can tell that they were made by men for boys and no one else. diana and shayera were sidelined so much even though they were probably the most compelling, at least to me. i feel like the audience was supposed to side eye diana because she grew up in a culture that was misandrist but didn’t take the care to explain with nuance why that was a problem.

time and time again we see people write diana to reject femininity and denounce her womanhood in favor of her strength to show she’s just as good as a man, but that sucks. she has the potential to be such an interesting character on screen if someone is willing to put in the work. and i especially hate that we only see her embrace femininity when she’s in a romantic situation with a man. we see her talk a lot about the deep sisterhood she shares with her amazon sister, but i wanna see it happen. i want to see her embrace the women on the justice league, have girls nights with her civilian friends, complain about work, just exist as a regular woman living in america.

i’m so sick of every adaptation of her character have themes tied to surface level gender politics because we’ve already gotten the same character a dozen times when the other two parts of the trinity are given so much depth. so challenge yourself, write diana like a human being!!! she is so much more then her gender

[trvllngjwllr]

Film Review: Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

When 2017’s Wonder Woman directed by Patty Jenkins was released it was considered the lighter, more fun of the films in the DC Extended Cinematic Universe. It brought us this portrayal of a character that was full of optimism and hope. The latest release sees Jenkins return to direct the follow up, this time setting it in the brash and bold 1980’s.  After the poor performance of Tenet earlier…

[gloriouswhispers]

BIANCA HART: ACTING CAREER

2016 (Age 26):

Deadpool – Bianca appeared with a small but significant role, marking her as a new face within the industry thanks to connections through her relationship with a director.

2017 (Age 27):

Wonder Woman – Bianca took on a supporting role in this successful DC superhero film. It was around this time that she began being referred to as Hollywood's golddigger.

2018 (Age 28):

A Quiet Place – Bianca starred in this suspenseful horror-thriller, she didn't get very good reviews lol

2019 (Age 29):

Knives Out – Bianca played a key supporting role in this modern whodunit.

2020 (Age 30):

On the Rocks – Bianca starred in this dramedy about a woman reconnecting with her estranged father.

2021 (Age 31):

Don't Look Up – Bianca starred in this satirical disaster film.

2022 (Age 32):

Top Gun: Maverick – Bianca starred in this highly anticipated sequel to the 1986 classic.

2023 (Age 33):

Barbie – Bianca had a supporting role.

[365days365movies]

Romance February: Omnibus

As I prepare for the future of this blog (and there is a future, if anybody's wondering), I find myself looking back at the good times, when I had the time to watch a movie a day and write a blog about it, which...yeah, wasn't even sustainable for me in 2021, so make of that what you will. ANYWAY, I decided that I would bring all of these posts together in an omnibus of sorts, so anybody that wanted to read these posts could find them all easily in one place. This, alongside other archives, are going to be pinned to the top of my page, and will serve as a long index of the films in the appropriate genres. The goal? To extend these archives as I go along, and have this running index for my blog. And again...there will be additions...

SO! With that, feel free to check out these films in the romance genre, which is somewhat...difficult to define, honestly. Romance overlaps with a bunch of other genres, so even films that put the love story at the center of the narrative have more to them by necessity. So, just figure these as films whose narrative is driven primarily by romantic tension and motivation. Any films you'd like to see in this list? Comment, reblog, message me, whatever! I'm always open to suggestions to add to my ever-building master list of romance films. And check out the other indices to come!

Dirty Dancing (1987; dir. Emile Ardolino) (Recap | Review) Pretty Woman (1990; dir. Garry Marshall) (Recap | Review) Sleepless in Seattle (1993; dir. Nora Ephron) (Recap | Review) You’ve Got Mail (1998; dir. Nora Ephron) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Review) The Notebook (2004; dir. Nick Cassavetes) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Review) Romeo + Juliet (1996; dir. Baz Luhrmann) (Recap | Review) Emma. (2020; dir. Autumn de Wilde) (Recap | Review) The English Patient (1996; dir. Anthony Minghella) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Review)

Doctor Zhivago (1965; dir. David Lean) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Review) In the Mood for Love (2000; dir. Wong Kar-wai) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Review) The Bridges of Madison County (1995; dir. Clint Eastwood) (Part 1 | Part 2) If Beale Street Could Talk (2018; dir. Barry Jenkins) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Review) Before Sunrise (1995; dir. Richard Linklater) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Review) Brokeback Mountain (2005; dir. Ang Lee) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Review) Call Me By Your Name (2017; dir. Luca Guadagnino) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Review) Carol (2015; dir. Todd Haynes) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Review) Desert Hearts (1985; dir. Donna Dietch) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Review) The Danish Girl (2015; dir. Tom Hooper) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Review)

The Phantom of the Opera (2004; dir. Joel Schumacher) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Review) An Affair to Remember (1957; dir. Leo McCarey) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Review) The African Queen (1951; dir. John Huston) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Review) Pillow Talk (1959; dir. Michael Gordon) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Review) My Girl Friday (1940; dir. Howard Hawks) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Review) Annie Hall (1977; dir. Woody Allen) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Review)Amélie (2001; dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet) (Part 1 | Part 2 | Review) Love Story (1970; dir. Arthur Hiller) (Part 1 | Part 2) Love, Actually (2003; dir. Richard Curtis) (Part 1 | Part 2) West Side Story (1961; dir. Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins) (Part 1 | Part 2)

Omnibus: Film Reviews

[earthboundguythatlikesmother1]

Welp, with The Flash coming out and it being like swan song to the DCEU, I couldn't help but take a look back at some of the other DC movies and i was like, "why not just rank them and with my stupid opinions!"

Aight so this is the part where I explain why, originally i considered making a post of each movie like how i did it with marvel movies and shows on Twitter at some point but decided not because I'm not a poignant person with the most creative writing nor could i often keep the same attention span for it for awhile so here is the best way to review em all in a few words or less.

Will be doing it in the order they were released in.

1. Man Of Steel

7.5/10.

I actually like this movie, it's definitely has non-stop action and i can't help but think maybe I just enjoy that because I have a peanut for a brain. It definitely tries to be more grounded to see how humanity would react to Superman existing our world. I do like Henry Cavill as Superman i just wish we got more scenes of him being more warmer and more scenes of him helping and saving people. I can definitely understand why others disagree and really dislike this one.

2. Batman V. Superman: Dawn Of Justice

3.5/10

This movie exists and is what set off panic triggers at Warner Bros. & Prettyyyyyyy much ruined the perception of Superman and Batman to a bunch of "certain" people. It crams in way too many storylines, tries to set up way too much, some miscasting, kills off superman in his like 2nd appearance, wonder woman got spoiled in the trailers and whatnot.

Ben Affleck as Batman was cool and the warehouse fight scene was cool. I'm sad that it was Dick Grayson the one who got killed.

The Ultimate Edition of this one is just a 6/10, while it does give more context and more scenes that I do like, it still has the same problems so no, it doesn't fix everything.

3. Suicide Squad

2/10

Nobody likes this movie, also nobody likes me.

I remember thinking that the comic con trailer was the coolest shit to ever exist. Then I saw the movie and remember feeling lied to and deceived.

Everything sucks, everything happens too much at the same time, characters barely feel like character at times, etc. Really deserving of that Oscar!!!!!!!

I did like Harley Quinn, Amanda Waller, and Captain Boomerang (even if he barely did anything)

4. Wonder Woman

8.5/10 Wonder Woman

Really love this movie, Wonder Woman is great, i love the characters, the chemistry, the action and her helping people.

It does stumble abit towards the end however but even then, it still felt like a great movie 👍

5. Justice League (2017)

5.5/10

This movie pretty much is the reason why the DCEU became a wild rabid animal that needed to be put down immediately.

Movie is just mediocre, humor is just "Not funny. Didn't laugh." , Action is lame, backstories are rushed, Flash is annoying, Aquaman is a dickhead for no reason, cyborg doesn't even get a backstory, they really take their time saving people, dumb Russian family subplot.

I liked the after credits scene of Superman and Flash racing. So while the movie is not extremely awful and not a bad waste of your time, it's also not a good waste of your time.

6. Aquaman

7.5/10

Really like Aquaman, love how cheesy it was, Black Manta was cool.

While i love the cheesiness in this movie, this movie does also get abit stupid at times but still a fun time where you can go off with, with a pal or smth.

7. Shazam!

8/10

I thought the movie was a fun time, nothing outrageous but nothing bad as well, just a movie i can have a good time watching.

8. Birds Of Prey

6.5/10

Cassandra Cain is not even Cassandra Cain and that still pisses me off to this day. Overall, it's definitely a Harley Quinn movie and NOT a Birds Of Prey movie. Black Mask was a cool villain. This movie felt like it was trying too hard to be like Deadpool ngl.

9. Wonder Woman 1984

4/10

It's like being asked out by someone you like so you get excited and say yes and later show up to the date all ready and stuff, only to find out it was a prank just to see if you were gullible enough to fall for it.

10. Zack Snyder's Justice League

6.5/10

Welp, i now wish the movie never got released so the people who are like #restorethesnyderverse never got the satisfaction and got to comfortable enough to become a bunch of crybabies believing they are the top of the world.

Movie is just okay, cool action, good characters for the most part but holy shit is it way too long with really unnecessary scenes. If you can't release a movie without making it 4 hours long thinking it'll make things more cohesive, well i got some news for ya pal.

Welp turns out i ran to a limit with the images so lemme make another post about it to keep sharing my thoughts on the DCEU Movies, ig this is a part 1 of 2 post.

But for now, what did you think of my thoughts? Do you agree or disagree to the point that you wanna break into my house to beat me up, kill me and burn my house to the ground.

Lmk what you think or want to hear more thoughts for me to specify.

Thanks for reading, losing your braincells along the way and have a nice day.

[herecomesthefirstday]

herecomesthefirstday's year in review

Big things: Published a paper & a letter with my job, moved out of my parents' house and in with my boyfriend, stopped having a job, started watching One Piece, flew to Atlanta even though I hate flying, caught up with One Piece

TOP 20 FILMS OF 2023 / more & more year in review (music, TV, books, games) under readmore

Bottoms

Past Lives

Polite Society

The Holdovers

Oppenheimer

John Wick Chapter 4

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Rye Lane

Killers of the Flower Moon

May December

Barbie

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning

The Pope's Exorcist

Asteroid City

Theater Camp

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

You Hurt My Feelings

Poor Things

They Cloned Tyrone

80 For Brady

BEST SHORT OF 2023: Take Me Home

Songs on repeat / movies I watched and rated 4.5 or 5 stars / books read / TV watched / games played by month

January 🎵 Marigolds - Kishi Bashi American Teenager - Ethel Cain 🎬 Hail, Caesar! (2016) 4.5 Embrace of the Serpent (2015) 5 Fail Safe (1964) 4.5 Honorable mention: The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) 3.5 📚 World War Z - Max Brooks 🔁1/16 Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir 1/18 Harrow the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir 1/23 Nona the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir 1/26 📺 Dark

February 🎵 Partita for 8 Voices - Roomful of Teeth God Is a Freak - Peach PRC 🎬 Third Kind (2018) 4.5 Showgirls (1995) 4.5 Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003) 🔁 5 📚 The Memory Police - Yōko Ogawa 2/7 Authority - Jeff VanderMeer 2/15 📺 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 🔁 Bloodline S1

March 🎵 Not Another Rockstar - Maisie Peters 🎬 Banshees of Inisherin (2022) 4.5 John Wick (2014) 🔁 4.5 John Wick: Chapter 3 (2019) 🔁 5 Honorable mention: 80 for Brady (2023) 3 📚 Acceptance - Jeff VanderMeer 3/4 How To Hide An Empire - Daniel Immerwahr 📺 Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 🔁 Yellowjackets S1 🔁 S2 Poker Face Defending Jacob

April 🎵 2 Be Loved (Am I Ready) - Lizzo Daytona Sand - Orville Peck Little Dark Age - MGMT 🎬 John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) 4.5 Honorable mention: Rye Lane (2023) 4 📚 How To Hide An Empire - Daniel Immerwahr 4/1 📺 Succession Grey's Anatomy Yellowjackets

May 🎵 Home - Diana Ross Lipstick Lover - Janelle Monáe Gloria - Laura Branigan 🎬 Polite Society (2023) 5 The Joy Luck Club (1993) 4.5 Crank (2006) 4.5 📺 Succession Grey's Anatomy Yellowjackets White Lotus 🎮 Tears of the Kingdom

June 🎵 Lipstick Lover - Janelle Monáe Movin' Out - Billy Joel 🎬 The Fabelmans (2022) 4.5 Casablanca (1942) 🔁 4.5 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) 4.5 Deep Blue Sea (1999) 5 What We Do In The Shadows (2014) 🔁 5 📺 White Lotus Grey's Anatomy Marriage The Bear 🎮 Tears of the Kingdom

July 🎵 My House - Diana Ross Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell 🎬 Lady Bird (2017) 🔁 4.5 Pacific Rim (2013) 🔁 5 Whiplash (2014) 5 The Watermelon Woman (1996) 4.5 Howl's Moving Castle (2004) 🔁 4.5 Oppenheimer (2023) 4.5 📺 The Bear Grey's Anatomy Black Mirror What We Do In The Shadows Foundation 🎮 Tears of the Kingdom Rocket League

August 🎵 It's All Coming Back To Me Now - Celine Dion Adagio in D Minor - John Murphy 🎬 Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021) 4.5 📺 Foundation Only Murders in the Building Grey's Anatomy One Piece 🎮 Tears of the Kingdom We Love Katamari 📚 The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco

September 🎵 American Pie - Don McLean 🎬 Bottoms (2023) 5 📺 One Piece Foundation Grey's Anatomy 🎮 We Love Katamari 📚 The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco (9/9) Stone Butch Blues - Leslie Feinberg (9/26)

October 🎵 No One Comes Close - Infinity Song New Body Rhumba - LCD Soundsystem No One Dies From Love - Tove Lo 🎬 Past Lives (2023) 5 Deep Blue Sea (1999) 🔁 5 📺 One Piece Grey's Anatomy Lupin GBBO 📚 Arsène Lupin, Gentleman-Thief - Maurice Leblanc (10/26)

November 🎵 Liability - Lorde Together in Electric Dreams - Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder 🎬 Annette (2021) 4.5 Electric Dreams (1984) 5 Honorable Mention: Light & Magic (2022) 4 📺 One Piece Grey's Anatomy GBBO The Crown Mindhunter 🔁 📚 The Uranium Club - Miriam E. Hiebert (11/16)

December 🎵 Isumagijunnaitaungituq (The Unforgiven) - Elisapie Butchered Tongue - Hozier Christmas Baby - Infinity Song Home For Christmas - Infinity Song 🎬 The Holdovers (2023) 4.5 x2 Take Me Home (2023) 5 - short Pro Pool (2022) 4.5 - short Mamma Mia! (2008) 5 🔁 Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018) 5 🔁 The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) 5 🔁 Honorable mention: The Quiet Girl (2022) 4 📺 One Piece Grey's Anatomy Only Murders in the Building New Amsterdam Frieren Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury The Crown Pokémon Concierge 🎮 Fall Guys Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 📚 Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel (12/25)

[capricorn-0mnikorn]

hello! I'm asking around to a bunch of people to try an find book recommendations and was wondering if you had any. my mom is a high school English teacher and next year is going to be teaching a literature class about cultural conceptions of physical and mental deviance throughout cultures and time focusing on queer and disabled voices, but she doesn't have enough material to teach yet. initially I was like oh! I'm queer and disabled and know a lot about this topic maybe I could give some book recommendations. then I realized that I can't really read books and so I do not in fact have any recommendations (especially not any that would be appropriate to teach to high schoolers) but I was hoping you might. it doesn't have to be just books or fiction either; short stories, poetry, historical context/analysis, biographies, etc would all be greatly appreciated also. ideally things written by queer and/or disabled people. thank you so much for any recommendations you may have (and if not don't worry about it) (⁠✿^⁠‿⁠^⁠)ﾉ

Well, my first thought was this website: Disability in Kidlit, which has reviews of books with disabled characters. Some of it is for kids younger than Y.A.. And it looks like the most recent activity is from 2017. But it's a place to start.

My second thought was the anthology Defying Doomsday, edited by Tsana Dolichva and Holly Kench, a collection of stories of disabled protagonists surviving the apocalypse. The paperback was published in 2016. And when I looked that up, I saw there was a sequel anthology published in 2020, also edited by Tsana Dolichva: Rebuilding Tomorrow.

If she's able / allowed to show YouTube videos in her class, for discussion and analysis, I recommend Jessica Kellgren-Fozard, who is a multiply disabled queer woman who has several curated playlists on Queer History and Disabled people in History.

I'm also posting this as a signal boost, to see if anyone has more suggestions.

[eg-writtenthoughts]

'Scarred' Book Review & Thoughts

Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, The Cult that Bound My Life

Sarah Edmonton (with Kristine Gasbarre); 2019

This is my first post, and what better book to start off with than Scarred by Sarah Edmonson? In 2017, Sarah was an integral part of the NXIVM whistleblowers. If you don’t recognize the name, NXIVM was a cult masquerading as a self-help company since the early 2000s. ‘Scarred’ solely focuses on Sarah’s story of being promoted through NXIVM and its Stripe Path while working on her “personal growth”. 

HBO’s ‘The Vow’ was my first real introduction to NXIVM. After bingeing the first season on my (ex)boyfriend’s couch, my interest had peeked. The directors perfectly set the stage by the end of the first episode, to make the audience, myself included, think ‘oh, it doesn’t sound that bad. I get why people tried it.’

‘Scarred’ is written to make the reader feel like Sarah is writing her story to you, a personal friend. The first chapter is when the reader is given a dose of discomfort. It tells of the day Sarah was branded under the watchful eye of her best friend, Lauren. This was filmed on Lauren’s phone and sent to Keith Raniere, the leader of NXIVM. It feels like Sarah is saying “this is the worst that happened. Here it is. Everything else you’ll read just leads up to my worst moment.” The chapter itself has the feeling you get when watching a horror movie, knowing the girl checking the empty bedroom where she heard the mysterious sounds coming from, is going to die. 

But then, as you’re about to be transported back to 2005 to start Sarah’s story, an image flashed through my mind. The moment in a movie where the crazy opening scene happens and the screen freezes on the main character’s warped face as the voice over says, “Hi there. Yep, that’s me. You’re probably wondering how I got here.”

‘Scarred’ has a cathartic feeling. As a reader, you understand that you’re reading a part of Sarah’s healing process. Some of her experiences are shared on camera in ‘The Vow’, but in ‘Scarred’, she lays it all out. You understand her thought process as to why she joined, allowed herself to spend the money/do a work exchange to learn more, and the decade of her life to be promoted up the Stripe Path (NXIVM’s company hierarchy) before opening her own education centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. 

While reading, I’d have loved more details. What sash did Nippy have when Sarah met him? Was Nancy’s home the one that every other senior leader copied? How long was David a member of NXIVM?  Did Sarah collect Air Miles? Did Sarah and Bonnie have a friendship? (Do any of these questions make sense if you haven’t read the book? No, which is why you should read it) It often felt like she gave the bare minimum of what happened in any situation. But I still read it, all 222 pages. If I didn’t make any notes while I read, it would’ve taken me two days to finish. 

The want for more information is a ‘me thing’. I always want to know more of somebody’s story if it’s out there. At the end of the day, I understand that Sarah (and her co-writer Kristine Gasbarre) could only share what’s important to her story. 

And if you’re wondering, NXIVM had its notes of wisdom. People wouldn’t have joined if it didn’t. Sarah was able to share those tidbits throughout her book. It’s how she could rationalise the strange things and behaviours she witnessed over twelve years within the company. Genuinely, they had sentences in their curriculum that could be applied to someone’s life to make them feel just a little lighter. And yes, I said sentences. Anything more, Raniere went WILD with confusing sentences. 

But of course, we know who created that curriculum. Every time I saw a sliver of sense, I thought “if it wasn’t NXIVM, this could be beneficial.”

Before I wrap up, I’d like to add that Sarah Edmonson is an absolute badass. I know she didn’t write this book to brag but holy crap, this woman has a work ethic and determination that I envy. The dedication she put into ESP (the company under the umbrella corporation NXIVM), to growing the first Canadian centre for ESP that she opened, to enrolling as many people as she could and helping them to expand their own personal growth, is admirable. I think she could run her own non-culty company any day.

But overall, this is a story Sarah could’ve kept in her drawer with her diary or in her therapist’s notebook. Her willingness to share her vulnerability with the anonymous audience is touching and admirable. In lamest terms, she’s warning everyone not to join a cult.

Do I think ‘Scarred’ is a good way to introduce people to the NXIVM story and crimes? As good as Sarah’s book is, no I don’t. I think if you want to know all of the details about NXIVM and the timeline leading up to the 2019 trial, you should watch ‘The Vow’ for that. 

Through HBO, ‘The Vow’, a docu-series was released in 2019. Sarah, her husband Anthony “Nippy” Ames, and other whistleblowers, Mark Vicente (who can be thanked for most of the in-the-moment NXIVM footage), Bonnie Piesse, and Catherine Oxobrough appear heavily in the first season. The second season focuses heavily on the trial of Keith Reniere, NXIVM’s creator and “Vanguard”. (I’d like to personally add that I cannot see the word vanguard now without being a little creeped out.)

After you watch the documentary series and pick your jaw off the ground, listen to ‘A Little Bit Culty’, Sarah’s and Nippy’s podcast (which I avidly listen to) and read ‘Scarred’. You read with Sarah’s empathy and wholesomeness in your head to know that she wasn’t your stereotypical person to fall for a cult. She was able to rationalise it and other than a few times, I don’t want to rip my hair out at just how obviously manipulative the people around her were.

My final note… ‘Coercive control’ is a term that’s becoming more familiar to the American legal system thanks to the NXIVM case. The United States Assistant Attorneys were able to show the 2019 jury that the women charged along with Raniere weren’t doing the horrible acts they committed because it’s what they wanted. They were manipulated (brainwashed, if you will), by Raniere, something he was highly talented at. Some of these women were under his influence for 20 years! Coercive control was recently mentioned in another high profile case; this time in Hollywood. Danny Masterson, of That 70s Show fame, was charged with the SA of three women. Masterson has been convicted at the time of writing this blog post.

[denimbex1986]

'“Barbenheimer” is more than just a meme. It’s a full-fledged box office phenomenon.

Over the weekend, moviegoers turned out in force for Greta Gerwig’s neon-coated fantasy comedy “Barbie,” which smashed expectations with $155 million to land the biggest debut of the year. But they also showed up to see Christopher Nolan’s R-rated historical drama “Oppenheimer,” which collected a remarkable $80.5 million in its opening weekend.

Hundreds of thousands of ticket buyers refused to choose between the two seemingly different auter-driven blockbusters with sprawling casts and twin release dates. So they opted to attend same-day viewings of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” turning the box office battle into a double feature for the ages.

“This is an unequivocally great weekend for moviegoing,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ are complementing each other at the box office, not taking audience from each other.”

The cultural craze known as “Barbenheimer” worked to fuel the biggest collective box office weekend of the pandemic era, as well as the fourth-biggest overall weekend in history. It’s worth noting the top three weekends of all time were led by the debuts of sequels in massive franchises (“Avengers: Endgame,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”).

“Studios gave audiences two uniquely different, smart and original stories that were meant for the big screen, says Michael O’Leary, president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners, the industry’s trade organization. “People recognized that something special was happening, and they wanted to be a part of it.”

In the end, though, it wasn’t a competition as “Barbie” loomed large over box office charts, thanks to an inescapable marketing campaign, as well as quality to match the stratospheric hype. At the international box office, the film added $182 million for a stunning global tally of $337 million.

The $145 million-budgeted movie, backed by Warner Bros. and Mattel, dominated the zeitgeist in the weeks leading up to its debut (even reportedly causing a shortage of the color pink) to a degree that’s rare for original fare. (Yes, Barbie is perhaps the world’s most famous doll, but the movie isn’t a sequel or part of a pre-existing film franchise.)

“We have a pink unicorn here,” says Jeff Goldstein, the president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. “We thought it would be $75 million for the opening weekend. Nobody saw $155 million coming. This doll has long legs.”

Audiences and critics dug the PG-13 film, which landed an “A” CinemaScore and 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. Initial crowds were 65% female (which, duh…), but that’s notable because it’s almost always the inverse for any movie that generates over $100 million in its debut.

Among its many records, “Barbie” also scored the biggest opening weekend ever for a film directed by a woman. “Captain Marvel,” which was co-directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, previously held the title with $153 million in 2019. “Wonder Woman,” from filmmaker Patty Jenkins, stood as the record-holder for a movie solely directed by a woman with $103 million in 2017.

Gerwig, the Oscar-nominated director of “Lady Bird” and “Little Women,” co-wrote the screenplay with her partner Noah Baumbach. Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling star as the stereotypical versions of Barbie and Ken, who leave behind the Dreamhouse on a quest for self-discovery in the real world. The cast also includes Issa Rae, Dua Lipa, Simu Liu, Michael Cera, Helen Mirren, John Cena and Will Ferrell.

“Oppenheimer” may be settling for second place — not that Universal or Nolan is complaining. Buoyed by stellar reviews and premium large formats, the biopic about the so-called “father of the atomic bomb” is wildly outperforming expectations for a three-hour-long period piece with little action and lots of talking.

Heading into the weekend, analysts were anticipating a $50 million start, which already would have been notable given the grim film’s subject matter and style. With the bigger-than-projected debut, Nolan has only solidified his status as a box office draw, no matter the genre. And his appeal as a filmmaker spans continents. At the international box office, “Oppenheimer” added $93.7 million for a global tally of $174 million.

“This is a 1940s period piece,” says Universal’s president of domestic distribution Jim Orr. “That speaks volumes to the appeal of Nolan and his prowess as a filmmaker. He has an amazing reputation for storytelling in the biggest format possible.”

Nolan, the blockbuster director of “The Dark Knight” and “Inception,” is known to evangelize about Imax — and moviegoers have taken note. Premium large formats (PLFs, as they are known in the industry) contributed a massive 47% of the film’s domestic tally. Imax alone accounted for $35 million of global ticket sales.

“Around the world, we’ve seen sellouts at 4 a.m. shows and people traveling hours across borders to see ‘Oppenheimer’ in Imax 70mm,” says Imax CEO Rich Gelfond. “This is a phenomenon beyond compare in Imax, and we’re just getting started.”

“Oppenheimer,” which cost $100 million, marks the first time in more than two decades that Nolan isn’t working with Warner Bros. (Yes, the backers of “Barbie.”) He parted ways with the studio over its ill-fated decision to put its entire 2021 movie slate simultaneously on HBO Max.

Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning book “American Prometheus,” “Oppenheimer” is a star-studded character study about theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. Cillian Murphy plays the man who led the action at Los Alamos, alongside an ensemble of Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh and Alden Ehrenreich.

With “Barbenheimer” taking up most of the oxygen at multiplexes, the other movies that were playing in theaters had to fight for scraps.

Tom Cruise’s big-budget sequel “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” took third place, tumbling by 64% with $19.5 million in its second weekend of release. It didn’t help that “Oppenheimer” is all but monopolizing the country’s PLF footprint, where tickets are pricier than standard screens.

The seventh installment in Paramount and Skydance’s globe-trotting action franchise has generated $118.7 million in North America and $370 million globally to date. However, it cost a mammoth $291 million before marketing, so it’ll need to hold its own against “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” to justify that price tag...'

[thebossestunicycle]

Final Flash Update: an actual review

The DCEU has always been very hit or miss for me, but it has a special place in my heart. When Man of Steel came out, my dad was OBSESSED with it (still is), and it became the first superhero movie I ever watched. Despite the mediocre scores internet-wide (and how the terraforming scared the shit out of me as a kid), I cannot help but love that film to death. It really sparked my interest with superheroes and just ‘nerdier’ stuff in general.

While the DCEU opened me up to the whole world of superheroes, it also became part of what made me so weary of comic book movies. While there were good movies like Wonder Woman (2017) and (hot take) Black Adam, and great ones like the Snydercut, there were also huge disappointments that left me feeling pissed off when the theater lights turned back on. It’s not like all of these movies are downright horrible in every way (exception being 2016’s Suicide Squad), but each seemed to have its own form of kryptonite. The Justice League (2017)’s being its lack of character development; Wonder Woman 1984’s forgettable plot; and of course, Batman v. Superman’s Martha scene.

With the DCEU’s track record, the over saturation of superhero media, and with Ezra Miller being… Ezra Miller, my hopes for this movie were extremely low. But I actually left the theater feeling pretty.. decent?

Here are my main takeaways. Spoilers ahead:

Plot + Characters

As of now, I haven’t noticed any critical plot holes, which is pretty great, especially considering it’s a multiverse movie and all. Everything that blew up in Barry’s face was tied up nicely. But I am sorta curious to see how moving the tomato can caused Ben Affleck to become George Clooney.

The time mechanics were also pretty neat, like how a new future creates a new past.

I kinda like Barry a lot. He’s wicked awkward but it’s funny to watch.

Younger Barry too! He was such an airhead in the beginning that I was shocked to find out he was the guy that our Barry kept seeing when he time travelled.

I found Keaton’s Batman entertaining too. But the whole time Keaton didn’t really seem like he was trying to act. He just looked happy to be Batman again, which I can’t blame him for. On that note, I wish Bale’s Batman made a cameo somehow.

I was underwhelmed with the Zod plot. I was ready to watch him totally kick Flash’s ass. I didn’t mind Kara, but again she was a bit underwhelming too.

I got excited when Zod mentioned discovering Clark in his pod somewhere in space. I was like “Oh shit, did they take him in and train him to fight for them?” Seeing an evil Superman would’ve been crazy, but nah, they just killed him instead. Lame-os.

Effects / CGI

Oh man, I did not enjoy some of the choices made here.

First of all, the deep fake cameos. And also, deepfaking people like Adam West and all, who are dead, is a little odd. However Nicholas Cage showing up was very funny.

Then there was the CGI in the Speedverse (?? correct me if that’s the wrong name). It was video-game level. I felt like I was watching a skyrim-inspired acid trip.

Even outside of speedverse, the quality was really spotty.

Action

Oh my god, it’s so refreshing when there’s even the tiniest ounce of creativity in fight scenes (Looking at you, MCU).

Diving deeper into Barry’s powers was cool and seeing him fight with (and then against) himself was neat!

Then there was also pretty standard Batman stuff that I’m a sucker for

NEEDED a better Kara v. Zod fight. I wanted lasers. I wanted them to go to space. ANYTHING

Overall Emotional Reaction

Both Barrys hit hard a few times. The desperation to fix everything. Having to let go of their mom and accept their fate(s?). The scene when he said goodbye to her for the last time was pretty sad.

The themes were simple: accept your past; pain makes us who we are; etc etc. But there’s nothing really wrong with that.

The jokes landed! I laughed with, not at, most things

…Okay, I did laugh out loud at some things, like the deepfakes and when the Barrys phased for the first time.

But yeah, it was really enjoyable to watch. The runtime wasn’t an issue at all. Dull moments were rare (though I didn’t give a single shit about Barry’s dating life at all)

Final Score:

Characters: 7/10

Plot: 7/10

CGI: 4/10

Action: 7/10

6.3 / 10

If I had to rank: above Black Adam, below Wonder Woman

but seriously can they just recast flash already. I wish ezra miller all the best on rehabbing themselves, and they really do a great job with the character, but it’s like they’re trying to get a jail sentence with everything they’ve done

[hyperfixasian]

Just some general random thoughts/review about BP:WF since the last time I saw an MCU film opening weekend was Thor: Ragnarok in 2017. And this is without consuming most of the prerelease material

Spoilers under the cut I suppose...

Cons:

Movie was ridiculously long. I’m not a fan of anything that almost taps out at 3 hours, and it only ever happens with action flicks. If you need 3 hours to tell a story, most of the time you’re doing too much

Shuri being the next Black Panther was ridiculously drawn out. We knew it was going to happen but it wasn’t even acknowledged by the narrative until like 75% of the way in

Related to the pacing, the conclusion wrapped up far too quickly for a conflict that was drawn out for like 60% of the film. Personally thought it was great for Shuri to choose compassion over vengeance but my god this huge conflict with much bloodshed was suddenly over in like 10 seconds

Thought the plot with Riri/Ironheart was kind of awkward... Even as we’re going into the MCU’s 300th movie, I’m always bothered that these people who exist in this universe just get scooped up out of their lives and then they go back to living, and this is just a thing that happens with no protocol in place

Hated every time Laura Dreyfuss’s character was on screen, and thought Agent Ross was poorly used in the film. I don’t know how they could’ve integrated him better but every scene with the American portion of the film took me out of it

Did they ever explain the sonic siren attack or is that something the Talokanians can just do?

Pros:

A fantastic homage to the late and great Chadwick Boseman. Respectful and loving but not placing too much focus that detracted from the story or made the tone too sorrowful

Black Panther remains one of my favorite film series within MCU because of the wide array of strong female characters from leaders, warriors, and scientists to mothers and teachers

Shuri’s arc was fabulous. Her character is a tragic one, much like Thor, Wanda, and Peter before her and yet she still finds her own specific way to grieve. You can see her tackle each stage of grief but what makes it special is that she doesn’t even have time to finish mourning T’Challa before her mother is taken from her, and you can see her, still in the anger phase, multiply that rage exponentially

The city of Talokan was sooo beautiful, and I love that it and its citizens appeared to Shuri just as much as Wakanda did. I love that the narrative remembered that the Talokan were not just a warring army, there were thousands of citizens who lived happy and peaceful lives just as the Wakandans. Would’ve shortened that scene but it was skillfully used

Nakia/Lupita looked sooo beautiful every scene she was in, I could not look away

Love that Black Panther always knows the tone it’s setting. There are plenty of moments that had my theater roaring from laughter, Agent Ross, Okoye, and Riri especially. But the sorrowful moments of mourning Chadwick were respectful, and the serious moments focusing on colonization/war profiteering/racism/imperialism were always taken completely seriously. None of the jokes ever felt out of place, and I appreciate it for a film series tackling very serious subject matter

Neutral:

The post credits scene??? Ummmmm... T’Challa and Nakia had a whole ass child (looks to be like 4-6 years old so I’m wondering how that fits in the timeline) and they just kept it a secret??? And Ramonda knew but not Shuri

Idk why my girl Okoye has to go through some shit every film. She’s a complicated woman but I feel like the story likes to punish her very often when she is just sticking to her principles

Love that my man, Michael Bae Jordan/Killmonger, got to show up a little, was a pleasant and almost scary surprise. Did they explain why he showed up in the ancestral plane rather than Shuri? Is it because she didn’t believe and that’s why he was called to her?

Probably have more thoughts but this is all my 11pm brain can produce. Would love to hear anyone else’s thoughts on it! All in all, I loved the film and can’t wait for it to be released on D+ (just wish it was 30 min shorter for my ADHD brain)

[bashsbooks]

The Maddie Diaries Book Review

★☆☆☆☆ ~ 1 out of 5 stars

Like most people who read (or listen to, in this case) books sometimes, I listened to Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died last year (though not recently enough to give it a proper review - sorry!). That was my first audiobook memoir, and it set the bar very high for audiobook memoirs.

By contrast, I just scraped the bottom of the audiobook-memoir barrel with my first one of 2023 - Maddie Ziegler’s The Maddie Diaries. If you’re wondering who that is, I envy your lack of familiarity with the reality TV show Dance Moms, on which Ziegler and her younger sister, Mackenzie, starred as child dancers for several years in the late 00s and early 10s. Like all reality TV, Dance Moms contained drama and strife to a cartoonish degree. Something about watching moms and a dance teacher fight about which little girl is the very best dancer really tapped into the American psyche during the time period in which it was on, though. This show was popular, and it launched Maddie, her sister, and her costars to varying degrees of fame. Due to her role on Dance Moms, Ziegler was picked up as a dancer for the popstar Sia and was a judge for So You Think You Can Dance back in 2016. 

The Maddie Diaries was published in 2017, when Ziegler was fourteen. This is generally a little young to write a memoir, but Ziegler is famous and has had an unusual life, so I thought that perhaps her age was not the biggest red flag. Retrospectively, that was a bit naïve of me. 

First and foremost, The Maddie Diaries is not a memoir. It is half teen self-help book and half an opportunity to brag, with a dash of kissing up to Sia, that is masquerading as a memoir. Every chapter contains an “Ask Maddie” section where generic questions about common teen issues are given to Ziegler, and she gives the blandest and least controversial advice possible for each one. When she is not instructing teens on how to be little angels, she is usually just listing her accomplishments and talking about her interests. While those things should be incorporated into a good memoir, there is no underlying reason why she is talking about these things; they don’t provide conflict or tension.

In fact, this is one of the most conflict-avoidant books I’ve ever read. This is seen most acutely when Ziegler raises the question of whether the drama on Dance Moms is real, no doubt because she knows her readers are curious. She gives a nonresponse about how competition life is stressful, and then she goes back to only focusing on the positive aspects of all the experiences that she has had. Focusing on the positive is a respectable choice, but never saying anything that could be construed as negative makes for a boring book.

I don’t think these issues with The Maddie Diaries are Ziegler’s fault. I don’t know how much of this book she wrote herself, but it seems apparent to me that there was a heavy amount of outside input on what she should and shouldn’t say and a great concern about the possibility of stepping on people’s toes. I think this is the reason why they moved in more of a teen self-help book direction. And I think the reason that they didn’t completely commit to that direction is that Ziegler or someone else involved in the book’s creation wanted to create space to gush about her personal experiences. But those are just my speculations.

Returning to what is in the book, the biggest throughline in The Maddie Diaries, the one thing she keeps coming back to over and over again, is Sia. Sia wrote the foreword to this “memoir,” wherein she praised Ziegler for being a brilliant and talented young woman and notes that she hopes to be a mentor to Ziegler and help her avoid the predation that happens so often in Hollywood. Ziegler returns these praises tenfold within the text, talking about how Sia is like her best friend and her second mom all rolled into one, wishing that the two of them could live together, attending a wedding with Sia, noting how people sometimes call her Sia’s muse, talking about being on tour and in the studio with Sia constantly. When I listened to all this, I texted a friend and said that I cannot tell if Ziegler is being a kiss-ass here, or if she has a crush, or both. Additionally, I have to wonder if Sia’s intentions in seeking out a famous child dancer and getting her involved in all of her projects, from music videos to tours to movies, is as altruistically motivated as Sia claims. 

All that said, I would give The Maddie Diaries 1 out of 5 stars. I don’t recommend reading it. I hope that one day Ziegler produces a memoir that is a little more genuine - I’m sure she would have lots of interesting stories to tell if she were not worried about pissing anyone off or sounding ungrateful. 

[Thank you to @wideeyedreader for giving me feedback on this review!]

[heavenboy09]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊 TO YOU

THE MOST RAVISHING & ASTOUNDING DEDICATED & HIGHLY ACCLAIMED REDHEAD👩‍🦰 AMERICAN ACTRESS IN CINEMA 🎥

Adams was born on August 20, 1974 in Aviano, Italy, to American parents Kathryn and Richard Adams, while her father was serving for the U.S. Army.

She is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received various accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, and has been nominated for six Academy Awards, seven British Academy Film Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards.

Adams began her career as a dancer in dinner theater, which she pursued from 1994 to 1998, and made her film debut with a supporting part in the dark comedy Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999). She made guest appearances in television and took on "mean girl" parts in low-budget feature films. Her first major role was in Steven Spielberg's biopic Catch Me If You Can (2002), but she was unemployed for a year afterward. Her breakthrough came when she portrayed a loquacious pregnant woman in the independent comedy-drama Junebug (2005), for which she received her first Academy Award nomination.

The musical fantasy film Enchanted (2007), where Adams played a cheerful princess-to-be, was her first success as a leading lady. She followed it by playing other naïve, optimistic women in films like the drama Doubt (2008), and subsequently played more assertive parts to positive reviews in the sports film The Fighter (2010) and the psychological drama The Master (2012).

From 2013 to 2017, she portrayed Lois Lane in superhero films set in the DC Extended Universe.

She won two consecutive Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress for playing a seductive con artist in the crime film American Hustle (2013) and painter Margaret Keane in the biopic Big Eyes (2014). Further acclaim came for playing a linguist in the science fiction film Arrival (2016), a self-harming reporter in the HBO miniseries Sharp Objects (2018), and Lynne Cheney in the satire Vice (2018).

Adams' stage roles include the Public Theater's revival of Into the Woods in 2012 and the West End theatre revival of The Glass Menagerie in 2022. In 2014, she was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time, and featured in the Forbes Celebrity 100 list.

PLEASE WISH THIS RAVISHING & ESTEEMED ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEE REDHEADED AMERICAN ACTRESS 👩‍🦰❤ OF THE DCEU

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊

YOU KNOW HER

YOU CANT NOT BE ABLE TO STOP WATCHING HER IN MOVIES & TV

& THE MERE SIGHT OF HER IS A WONDER OF ALL IMAGINATION

THE 1 & ONLY

MS. AMY LOU ADAMS 👩‍🦰🇺🇸🇮🇹❤ AKA LOIS LANE OF DC COMICS'S MAN OF STEEL 🦸🏻‍♂️

HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY 🎂 🥳 🎉 🎈 🎁 🎊 TO YOU MS . ADAMS 👩‍🦰🇺🇸🇮🇹❤ & HERE'S TO MANY MORE YEARS TO COME

#AmyAdams #CatchMeIfYouCan #JuneBug #Enchanted #Doubt #TheFighter #ManOfSteel #LoisLane #DCEU

[billconrad]

Reflecting on My First Book

    I began writing what became known as Interviewing Immortality in March 2016 and published this book with Amazon in May 2017. The reviews have generally been positive, and people have encouraged me to continue. Yay!

    I thought pondering my accomplishment would be fun, and so, if you have not purchased this well-written novel, I will summarize: James, a less-than-perfect author, is captured and forced to undergo a bizarre medical procedure that will extend his life. He then interviewed his 500-year-old female captor.

    The main negative feedback revolves around the torture scene. When I wrote the story, I set that scene at a modestly frightening tone and kept the gore to a minimum. The impact came from describing the feelings instead of a graphical description. At the time, I felt the result was mild compared to horror plots but many readers still claimed it was too gory. My only consolidation to these offended readers is, “Umm, the world is tough. I’m the least of your worries.”

    The other negative feedback was that I had “redundant” characters but never understood what this meant. My only thought is that this might refer to my writing tick of repeating myself. Fortunately, this happens less often, less often with later works.

    A recent reviewer did like the story’s conclusion and felt it needed more closure. I intended to leave the story open because not all stories have a perfect ending. Also, that is what the next book (now on sale) is for. Yet, I conclude that I could have made a better ending.

    Another concern from readers is that the story has been done. “An author is forced to write a book. How unimaginative.” They compare my story to the novel Misery by Steven King. I can’t entirely agree. Misery is a kidnapping horror story, and mine explores a fantastic woman’s life from the perspective of a disgraced author.

    This highlights a common problem. Let’s say I want to write a western. My story is about a cowboy bringing home the herd. That has only been done a thousand times. So, when I wanted to write about an immortal woman, there were only so many plots to choose from. I avoided the vampire angle or the famous person trap. Having her/paying somebody to tell the story seemed lame. So, the only option was forcing somebody to record her story. I still think it is a good angle, but there is the famous book/TV/movie Interview with the Vampire. I have not read/watched it, but I imagine there are many similarities.

    Also, let us not forget that many people feel Star Wars is based on the movie Once Upon a Time in the West. When Harold Ramis wrote the movie Ghostbusters, he was unaware of the unpopular show “Ghost Busters.” Or did he secretly use that miserable mess as inspiration? Who knows?

    I thought marketing would be easy. After all, it is in Amazon’s best interest to promote new authors. Upload a book, and everybody will buy it. Bam! Done! It turns out that Amazon required me to market my work, which requires natural ability, experience, research, effort, connections, and luck. I possess ten percent of this requirement, and my dismal sales are the proof. Bummer.

    On the positive side of my writing experience, I received many touching reviews and messages from readers. Each one made me feel wonderful, and I reread them many times. Thanks!

    Another positive is that my writing ability has improved, allowing me to reflect on the quality of my original work. Yeah… There were many issues, and in July 2023, I released a second edition. It was a significant revision…

    From a high-level point of view, I feel my original work still contains a good story. Why? The main characters are perfectly contrasting. One is a low-life author who cannot be honest with himself, and the other is a fantastic paranoid psychotic killer with unlimited resources. Even after all this time, I still find their interaction interesting. I wonder how I came up with such a creative combination?

    Publishing my first book still fills me with pride. Sure, it has issues, but that is not the point. Many people talk about a big game, but only a few are brave enough to publish. Sometimes, we take a leap and land somewhere extraordinary. For me, that turned out to be writing.

    You’re the best -Bill

    May 25, 2024

    Hey book lovers, I published four. Please check them out:

    Interviewing Immortality. A dramatic first-person psychological thriller that weaves a tale of intrigue, suspense, and self-confrontation.

    Pushed to the Edge of Survival. A drama, romance, and science fiction story about two unlikely people surviving a shipwreck and living with the consequences.

    Cable Ties. A slow-burn political thriller that reflects the realities of modern intelligence, law enforcement, department cooperation, and international politics.

    Saving Immortality. Continuing in the first-person psychological thriller genre, James Kimble searches for his former captor to answer his life’s questions.

    These books are available in soft-cover on Amazon and eBook format everywhere.