Thinking Out Loud

~ Alyxwrites ~ 1 Comment
ThinkingOutLoud
Found this photo online and added the words for the sake of this post. I don’t own it.
Part I: One and Only
Part II: Falling Fast
Part III: Hello Heartache
Part IV: When It’s All Over
Thinking Out Loud (Part V)
It’d been days since he first met her.
She was on his mind every day regardless of how many times he tried to push her out.
She has a boyfriend.
Every time she invaded his thoughts he had to remind himself that she has a boyfriend.
Torture. That’s what it is. Every day he thinks about her, her eyes, her beautiful smile, the brown of her skin, the way she smelt, the curl of her hair and he knew he was losing his mind. He always saw her brown eyes, they were a rusted amber color that had to be created only for her. He remembered the way she looked at him when she realized just who he was and what they were supposed to be. Forever. Soulmates. She went through so many emotions in such a short period of time. He committed to memory every expression. He felt it as soon as she said her words and he knew she felt it too, she had to but she fought against it. After she ran off it kind of hurt. He didn’t want to admit it but it hurt like hell.
His mind constantly drifted back to the conversation they had after their first meeting; it was extremely awkward. However, the longer they sat in each other’s presence, it felt natural, like they were falling into an easy rhythm. He liked that. He hadn’t had that in a while. Not even with Natalie. With Natalie, there was excitement but she was analytical where he was creative. They worked but there were many times when they didn’t. He could see it now.
Of course, she had something to do with her boyfriend, so she left, and it was like… something inside of him left with her. He missed her and he didn’t even really know her.
It was because of his alleged constant “moping”, that he was dragged out for a night downtown at the new Jazz club The Broken Spoke. Blake and Eric insisted that he tag along with them, it was Open Mic Night and they wanted to be there because women turn up for Open Mic Nights. He was an artist but creative writing was not a strength besides he was more of an illustrator, a painter, a sketch artist…
“Hello! Earth to Mike!”
He blinked in surprise as Eric waved his hand frantically in his face. Blake watched him with a cool expression while Eric tried to stifle a loud laugh. Their eyes focused on what Michael doodled on the pad he always carried around. He’d been absentmindedly doodling and he finally glanced down at his pad and immediately felt embarrassed.
“You’ve been doodling her name for weeks.” Blake murmured as he slipped his hands in his pockets.
“This is sad.” Eric said as he slid into the booth and draped his arm around his best friend. “You have to get over this.”
Blake was mysterious and “dreamy” as Natalie used to say and Eric was so cool and open. It annoyed the hell out of him. He could never be like either of them. Michael was always the reserved one, always had been. Reserved. Not mysterious.
“Look, could you at least go and get a drink? Act like you’re going to have fun? Cool?” No answer. “Cool.” Eric pushed himself out of the booth and walked off, not missing a beat in his mingling.
Sometimes he hated Eric. They’d been friends since freshman year in college and it was because of him that he got out of his comfort zone. Blake came along some time around senior year and he just mixed right in. He was quiet but apparently there was something alluring about him. Eric was the shortest of the three, but he stood tall. Michael watched as he moved over to a booth full of beautiful ladies. They flirted. Eric was brown skinned with light eyes and girls seemed to just swoon. Always the lady killer.
His eyes fell on the girl at the far right in the group. He jumped to his feet thinking he saw… but in the end, it turned out not to be her. He stood there awkwardly for a moment before taking a wary glance at Blake who regarded him with dark green eyes.
“You should go and get a drink.”
Michael plopped back down with a loud sigh. “I don’t want to get a drink.”
Blake ran a hand through his dark hair and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “Listen Michael. I know you can’t stop thinking about this girl, but, there’s nothing you can do. She has a boyfriend and in the end, the choice is hers. Right?”
Michael wouldn’t look at his friend. Eric was charismatic while Blake was observant and seemed to just understand everything. They both knew what happened and they had different takes on what Michael should do.
“Alright.” Blake stood. Michael didn’t even remember seeing him sit down. “We’re here to have a good time. There’s good music, a cool atmosphere. Do something other than draw.” He walked away and Michael wilted. He shouldn’t have left the apartment. He looked down at his pad, looked into the eyes he couldn’t forget and closed the book.
He forced himself to walk to the bar. It was long with three bartenders. There wasn’t a ton of people in The Broken Spoke but it seemed to be popular as all of the bartenders were busy so he slid into a seat at the end. After a few moments of waiting, the tall bald bartender stopped in front of him.
“Sorry about that. There’s always a rush at this time. What can I get you?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know in as you’re not much of a drinker or you don’t have a preference?”
“Both.” Michael wasn’t much of a drinker. He’d go out with his friends and have a few, or Eric would throw a party and he might drink but that was never a vice for him. He never knew what to order. The bartender nodded and seemed to think for a moment.
“Okay. I’ll give you something simple.” He turned around and did his bartending magic and slide a tall glass of dark liquid to him. “This is a rum and coke.”
That was one of his dad’s drinks. He tried it and it was… okay.
“Good?” The bartender asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah.”
“Cool.”
The guy moved away to help someone else. Michael sipped at his drink and watched the people in the building. Someone was singing on stage, people were chatting in booths, chatting at tables and some were dancing to the girl’s song. It was nice.
He could see Eric swaying with a leggy girl on the dance floor. He glanced around till he found Blake leaning against a wall talking with a redhead girl. Some people just had it.
“You good over here?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“Are you here alone?”
Silence. Awkward shuffle.
“I might as well be.” He nodded to where his two friends were. “They’re doing their thing.”
Blake was tall and long, with his dark curls and green eyes. Girls just loved him. He and Eric were polar opposites but they had the same affect on people and neither one of them cared about soulmates.
“Not much of a ladies man?”
Michael turned away from his friends and leaned his elbows atop the bar. The bartender watched him with dark eyes. It was intense.
“What, you going to be my therapist now?” Michael chuckled.
“Well you know, we do do that sometimes.”
Silence.
Crap.
The intensity cracked when he chuckled and swiped a few glasses left on the counter. Michael always wondered if that was a real thing and apparently it is.
“Everyone doesn’t do it but I enjoy it. I went to school for psychology. People are interesting.”
“Is that why you became a bartender? To practice?”
Another chuckle.
“Nah. I like bartending and it just so happens I can talk to people. I wear a suit and tie during the day. Not much interaction with different people.”
Michael didn’t have to worry about not having people to talk to. He worked in a museum as a tour guide on the brink of becoming an educator. He saw hundreds of people a day. He loved art and wanted to be as close to it as possible. One day, he wanted to see his paintings, old sketchbooks, original comic drawings put into a museum to be seen by people forever. He always loved the idea of “forever”.
The bartender was called away, so Michael sipped more at his drink and turned back to the crowd. Eric was now sitting at a table with three different girls. One of them seemed intrigued by him and the other two were watching and talking amongst themselves. He searched the room for a tall figure and found him talking to the same redhead he was talking to before and even from far away, Michael saw something different in Blake’s body language. Michael watched for a moment and like he could feel the stare, Blake’s green eyes cut in his direction and they were wide. He’s never seen that look before, not on Blake but in the reflection of Theo’s eyes.
Did Blake meet his soulmate tonight??
Jealousy crept through his body at the thought. At the sight. It clawed its way from his stomach through his chest and he tore his eyes away from them and he tried to push it away.
“Ready for another one?”
He jerked hearing the voice of the bartender walk up to him.
“What?” The words caught up with him and he noticed his empty glass. “No.”
Silence.
“I think you do.” The Bartender mixed another drink. It seemed stronger this time.
“It’s so easy for some people.”
“What is?”
“Everything.”
He had no clue if that was actually Blake’s soulmate, or if she was single, or if she was even interested in falling into that black hole that was fate. But it was the fact that someone who is indifferent to soulmates, someone who is so casual and so unbothered looked so…
“Hey.” His eyes snapped up to face the tall man before him. The Bartender’s expression seemed a bit worried. He wasn’t angry, at least he didn’t think he was. “I don’t what happened in the two minutes I was gone but get it together.”
“You don’t know me.”
“No. But you’re different now. Why?”
Michael clenched his jaw. This man was not his therapist and he didn’t have to tell him anything. Plus, it wasn’t like he was that much older than him, it wasn’t like he was this adult who had all of the answers. The bartender’s eyes flickered away from him for a few moments before settling back on him.
“So, you buy into this whole soulmate thing?” Silence. “Look. We’re human and we have free will. It’s not true love.”
“Yes it is.”
“No it’s not.”
“How do you explain the feeling then? You must not have met your soulmate.” Forget the sip. He drank.
“I have actually.”
Michael arched an eyebrow at the bartender’s words. It was impossible for him to have met his soulmate if he was so nonchalant about it. His parents are soulmates and they were in love. They argued because they’re human but they loved each other like they need each other to live.
“Then how can you say that? If you’ve met your soulmate then you know how it feels to hear your words and feel like every breath in your body–.”
“Because I make my own way. Just because I met my soulmate does not mean that I’m going to fall for her. She’s a stranger to me.” The Bartender rested his hands on the bar and spoke with a calm demeanor which irritated Michael. “I work in an office because it’s what I have to do but this is what I prefer to be doing.”
“So what?” Michael’s eyes narrowed. “Are you saying that fate pushed you into your office job but you go against it by being a bartender?”
“We choose our own path. Just because the universe says you’re supposed to do this with your life, or be with that person, doesn’t mean you have to listen.”
Every since he was a little kid, Michael knew what he wanted to do with his life. He loved art. He did different kinds and wanted to be around it as often as possible. That’s never changed. Michael liked signs. Whenever he felt there was a sign, he’d follow it. It lead him to greatness in many ways. Maybe not right away but life isn’t perfect. He ended up in the museum because he met someone randomly one day who worked there. He took it as a sign and applied. Look at him now, he’s moving up and he actually loves the museum.
“Maybe, but that doesn’t mean that you have to ignore it when a sign does come. People ask for signs all the time.”
“If you can’t find direction on your own–.”
“So you’re one of those then? One of those people who just ignore it when something is put right in front of you for a reason?” Michael ran a hand through his hair at the thought. The Bartender watched him. It made him uncomfortable. Michael wrapped his fingers around his sketchbook tightly, trying to maintain the stare.
The moment broke. The Bartender pushed off the counter and turned away from Michael. He spoke to the brunette bartender who nodded and smiled. He turned back to the young artist and rolled his shoulders.
“Taking a break.” Silence. Stare. Moves around the bar to take a seat next to Michael. “So it’s obvious you’ve met your soulmate. I can only assume that it wasn’t happily ever after for you?”
“She has a boyfriend.”
Now that he was sitting next to him, he couldn’t see his expression. Not that he really wanted to anyway. He heard the man make an understanding noise. It was quiet again. The only thing making a sound was the band playing in the background. He was sure Blake was still in enthralled with the redhead and Eric was still making his way through the lounge. Here he was, sitting next to a bartender who clearly doesn’t agree with him and he hasn’t moved yet. Maybe he just needed someone who wasn’t close to him to talk with. They always say it’s easier to talk to a stranger about personal problems.
“There’s nothing you can do about that.”
“I know.” Two drinks appeared in front of them and he took one like a thirsty man in the desert. Drink. “But what happens to me if she doesn’t choose me?”
He didn’t want to end up like his aunt. She found her soulmate, according to her, the woman was beautiful and everything she wanted in a partner but she was engaged to another woman. The woman chose to be with her fiance instead of his aunt. Aunt Sharon was still single. He loved his aunt but she always seems sad… would that happen to him if Theo chose her boyfriend and not him? Would he be sad for the rest of his life?  How could anyone ever measure up?
“I wish that it wasn’t like this. I’m an artist, I agonize in general,” Soft chuckle. “But I don’t want to be in pain for the rest of my life.”
“You have to make waves for your own life. I mean, what if you have to wait five years or ten years before you see her again? You make your own choices. Life doesn’t happen to you. You happen to life.”
Ugh. He didn’t even come here for this. He came here to have a good time. Well try to have a good time. He’ll probably be up late tonight sketching again. He might have to break out the big guns and cover up that hole in his wall with a new mural or something.
“This whole soulmate thing has people doing things they probably wouldn’t if they didn’t think their life was mapped out for them just because of some magic little words on their body. If we didn’t have them then none of this would a problem.” Pause. “I think you have to just live your life man. My parents aren’t soulmates and they’re happy.”
“My parents are soulmates.”
“Good for them. That doesn’t have to be you though. Artists always make their own way. I don’t think it should be any different from you.”
Michael also couldn’t help but to think about her boyfriend. If Theo did choose him, then what will happen to that guy? He’s been in that position before where he wasn’t the soulmate and he wasn’t chosen. It hurt like hell. Michael didn’t think he was a bad guy and of course he wanted Theo to choose him but… god this is so hard.
Silence loomed over them again. How could he love someone he didn’t even know? That’s what this guy was saying. That’s what kept him from making the choice of going after his soulmate. Michael wasn’t sure if he could do that though. Even without the matching soulmarks, he felt a connection to Theo, he knew he could love her no matter what.
“Hey man.” Eric sat on the barstool on his left and released a huge yawn. “I’m beat. You wanna go?”
“Where’s Blake?”
Eric waved his arm somewhere behind him without actually turning around to see. “He’s talking to that redhead over there. I think she’s his soulmate. I’ve never seen him look like that before.”
“That’s what I thought.” Well good for Blake. He took a deep breath and allowed himself to come down from being wrung so tight due to the extreme jealousy he couldn’t help but to feel. Now that’s drained away, he felt exhausted.
Eric looked past him at the man on his right. The Bartender nodded at him and downed the rest of his drink.
“Steve!” One of the girls shouted from behind the counter. He made an annoyed noise and jumped to his feet rolling his neck.  
“Guess I have to get back to work. It was cool talking to you man. You finished?” Michael pushed the empty glass to his outstretched hands and watched as he walked back around the counter. “Good luck in everything.”
Michael stood to his feet and stretched his limbs, he noticed that Eric was trading eyes with the brunette behind the bar. Michael shook his head and patted his shoulder.
“Come on man.”
He grabbed the back of Eric’s shirt and he stumbled back off the stool. He made a “call me” sign at the girl who winked at him. Michael shook his head.
“You okay?” Eric asked once he got himself together to catch up with his taller friend. Michael shrugged and stuffed his hands in his pockets as they moved towards the door. Blake was waiting for them with a mystified look on his face. “You get that girl’s number Blake?”
He nodded, his green eyes looking through his friends. “Yeah. Her name is Delia.”
Yep, soulmate. Michael knew because he acted the same way when he told them about Theo. Eric laughed and nodded turning Blake away towards the door. After he had a chance to get his life together, Michael smiled. He was happy for Blake. All the ladies could eat their hearts out.
Just as they got out the door, he realized he’d forgotten something.
“Oh hold up, I left my book. I’ll be back.”
He turned back made his way back towards the bar. He narrowed his eyes seeing The Bartender standing there flipping through his book. Michael didn’t mind people looking at his work but he’d rather if he was showing it instead of them stealing looks. As he got closer, he noticed The Bartender’s eyes were intensely focused on the pages.
“Hey.”
The Bartender had a tight hold on his sketchpad. After what seemed like forever, he looked up at the young man before him, his eyes a mixture between confusion and anger. He slammed the book down on the counter and slid it towards him. With a downward glance, Michael saw just what he saw.
Her eyes.
“Are you Michael?”
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Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018) Movie Review

~ Alyxwrites ~ Leave a comment

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Summary: Count Dracula and company participate in a cruise for sea-loving monsters, unaware that their boat is being commandeered by the monster-hating Van Helsing family.
This will be a short review.
Pros:
Cast and Characters. So, we get the same characters we know and love from the other two films in this one. I’m not going to talk about Drac’s friends because while they’re in it, they’re not as important to the story as they have been in the past. Just know that they’re all present and they’re all still entertaining.
  • Adam Sandler as Count Dracula. He is a 540-year-old lord of the vampires and the founder of Hotel Transylvania. He’s been running his hotel for years and now he’s feeling a bit lonely after seeing his daughter and most of his friends find their true love. He doesn’t believe it’s possible again because monsters can only “zing” once. However, he meets Ericka and it’s a ZING at first sight. I like Drac, he’s funny, loving and protective of his family and you want him to succeed because he’s just that likable. Adam Sandler is a hit or miss for me, but I love him in these movies, he does such a great job as Drac and I think, especially with his movies of late, these are some of his best work.
  • Andy Samberg as Jonathan Loughran. A human who is Mavis’ husband and Dennis’ father. I think his role was reduced a lot in this movie, but he’s still sweet and funny. He’s really a happy-go-lucky guy and he’s always ride or die. Andy Samberg clearly has a lot of fun with this character and he’s funny and I don’t really find him all that funny.
  • Selena Gomez as Mavis. Dracula’s daughter and pretty much the main woman in Drac’s life. Mavis is headstrong and protective her family. She notices her father is lonely, especially since he runs the hotel, she sees that he takes care of everyone but now it’s time for him to have a vacation and be taken care of, so she plans the vacation. She is determined for her family to have a good time. I like Mavis, she’s like her father but I also love it when she gets angry or when she’s sure she’s right about something because she will do whatever it takes. Like when she follows her father after he follows Erika somewhere, she wasn’t playing any games. Selena Gomez does a great job voicing Mavis, she’s earnest, youthful but when she must be stern, she does it well.
  • Kathryn Hahn as Ericka Van Helsing. The captain and cruise director of the cruise ship Legacy. She is secretly continuing her great-grandfather’s wishes in eliminating monsters and is Dracula’s love interest. When we first meet her, she is so interesting and can see why Drac is immediately drawn to her, but we know her secret and it’s hilarious watching her
  • Jim Gaffigan as Abraham Van Helsing. Ericka’s great-grandfather who is a legendary monster hunter and Dracula’s archenemy.
Humorous/Entertaining. I laughed quite a bit during the movie. I think a lot of it had to do with the guy who was sitting next to us because he was having a great time. BUT, there’s a scene where they’re traveling to see the underwater volcano and the fish guide tells the full name of the location and that was hilarious that my friend and I cackled for like 5 minutes. Also, the entire side story with Dennis and Winnie and their dog was cute. Or the fact that Wayne and his wife got to be puppy free for a time and it’s something they never experienced. This movie has a lot of little hilarious nuggets in it that I was shocked at how much I genuinely laughed.
Warmhearted message. At the core, the movie talks about loving past the differences, which in a way is kind of what the first one talked about since Drac had to get over his hatred for humans to allow Mavis to be with Johnny. In this one, it’s almost reversed since Mavis does not fully trust Ericka. It’s cute and I think the movie handles the message in a clear and entertaining way.
Cons:
Predictable. I mean, did anyone really expect any twists and turns? We know from the jump that Ericka is a Van Helsing, but the “twist” comes when she falls in love with Drac, but I think everyone knew that.
Overall, I thought Hotel Transylvania 3 was cute and fun and it was an experience that I think many families would enjoy. It is the third in a trilogy (or maybe a series) so I do think it’s the weakest of the bunch, but I think it’s a solid sequel. If you are looking for entertaining animated characters, and cute animation with entertaining humor and a warmhearted message, then this movie is for you. I don’t have many cons because it’s a harmless movie. It’s predictable but that’s to be expected for a movie like this. Everyone can be entertained while watching.
Rating: 3.7 out of 5 stars.
Have you seen Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments below and answer my BIG QUESTION.
Big Question: Which Hotel Transylvania movie is your favorite??

Ghost Boys (2018) Book Review

~ Alyxwrites ~ Leave a comment

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Summary: Twelve-year-old Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, he observes the devastation that’s been unleashed on his family and community in the wake of what they see as an unjust and brutal killing.
Soon Jerome meets another ghost: Emmett Till, a boy from a very different time but similar circumstances. Emmett helps Jerome process what has happened, on a journey towards recognizing how historical racism may have led to the events that ended his life. Jerome also meets Sarah, the daughter of the police officer, who grapples with her father’s actions.
This is a quick review.
Pros:
Characters. We meet a lot of characters in this story, with Jerome’s family and Carlos, even the bullies and the leader of the Ghost Boys, but I’m going to only focus on Jerome because he is who the story follows.
  • Jerome is the main character. We see the story through his eyes and the good thing is, is that while he’s a ghost (which isn’t a good thing), he gets to be everywhere. He’s a smart kid, kind, but he has a system, when he goes to school he’s really bullied by these kids and he’s used to it, but he has ways to avoid it. It’s sad really but understandable. When Carlos is introduced, no one reacts to be his friend, so Jerome does, and even when he doesn’t want to have Carlos around to make the bullying worse for him, he does. Later, when he meets Sarah and she can see him, he finds a bit of comfort in her even though they argued a lot at first since her dad was the officer that killed him. As the reader, you’ll feel bad for him because he was 12 and he had a life ahead of him, a life full of love and he has to watch his family suffer. His character feels like a real kid.
Story Importance. There is a lot going on in this book. Not a lot of action or anything, but a lot to think about. Characters deal with death, racism, bullying life after death, cultural traditions and it’s just so current that I think anyone can read this and completely identify with some aspect of Jerome’s life.
Emotional. I legit teared up twice and I think I kind of cried. Not sure. But it’s a very emotional story. In the first part, you learn about his death, there’s no easing into it, but when you get to meet Jerome before his death, meet his family and his relationship with them, it’s sad. Plus, Carlos feels this heavy guilt about Jerome’s death and when he talks with the grandmother at the end, it was a really moving moment. Also, Jerome can see into Emmett’s past, so his story is told again and that’s always sad and it makes me emotional regardless. Even if there aren’t any tears, I think readers would be moved.
Historical Connections. Being that the story is about the death of black boys at the hands of police, or violence, the inclusion of Emmett Till really helps put things into perspective. When Jerome first sees Emmett, we have no idea who he is, but he was my first thought (I didn’t really read the synopsis, so I didn’t realize Emmett Till was going to be in the story). There are also mentions of Tamir Rice and I think Jerome also sees Trayvon Martin’s ghost walking listening to music or something. In ways, it’s eerie because we know about these deaths but because Jerome was a victim of police brutality and racism, his story is connected to so many who came before him. I thought that was unique and it also gave Jerome things to consider and think about instead of just watching his family grieve for him.
Cons:
Heavy Handed. This was the only thing I could really think of when it came to what I might think would be a “negative”. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal, but I can imagine some people feeling too “pushed down” by the story. It’s an important story, but I think with what Jerome goes through, what Sarah deals with and what he learns from Emmett, that it could feel preachy.
Overall, while it took me a while to finish the book, I think it’s a great story for young readers to read and even understand what’s going on in the world today. I think the story is handled well and that the author doesn’t shy away from talking about grief, but also including how different cultures honor the dead. I think Jerome, being a young boy, gives the perspective of someone different as compared to teenagers or parents like in the other books of this nature. The story is importance, and I think the story is handled well. It’s emotional and holds historical importance. I can understand why someone might find it heavy-handed in the topic, and while I agree to a small extent, I think the author finds a balance.
Rating: 4 out 5 stars.
Check out Ghost Boys if you haven’t. It’s a powerful story told through the lens of a young kid. Give your young readers something to relate to but also understand the tragedy in the world today.
Next Book: I don’t know lol, I have a ton of things to read on my nightstand.

A Quiet Place (2018) Movie Review

~ Alyxwrites ~ 3 Comments

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Summary: In a post-apocalyptic world, a family is forced to live in silence while hiding from monsters with ultra-sensitive hearing.
Pros:
Cast and Characters.
  • Emily Blunt as Evelyn Abbott. She is the wife of Lee and the mother of three children, later adding a fourth. In the wiki it says she was a doctor, which in ways makes sense. Of course, being the mother, she wants her family to be safe, for her husband to keep her children safe when they go out and about, especially now that she’s pregnant and can’t accompany them. She’s smart as well. She knows how to think on her feet. Emily Blunt is great, as I always think, just that scene in the house when she’s in labor is just so great. Her fear for her family, her fear for her life and her baby, and the guilt she feels for what happened to Beau still haunts her. Emily does all of this so well.
  • John Krasinski, as Lee Abbott. An engineer, husband of Evelyn, and the father of Regan, Marcus, and Beau. He is a survivalist who focuses on getting his family through each day. His job is to protect his family and teach his kids how to be survivors as well. He takes Marcus out to learn some things and it’s easy to tell that he wants his son to still enjoy the little things that are awarded to them. He also feels this huge guilt about Beau and it does seem like he’s a little hard on his daughter, but he just feels like he let her down. He’s working on creating a working hearing aid for her and he feels like a failure. It’s interesting really. I’ve never really seen John Krasinski in anything, but he’s great in the role, you really feel and see his fear as well. Plus, he did a great job directing.
  • Millicent Simmonds as Regan Abbott. Lee and Evelyn’s deaf daughter, and Marcus and Beau’s sister. She is close with her young siblings and feels protective over them, but after what happened to Beau, she feels the most guilt about it as she was the one who gave him the rocket. She also feels like her father blames her and they haven’t been on good terms. She’s also a preteen so she’s a bit moody. Mili Simmonds does such a great job, her emotions of feeling like a failure, of being angry, it all makes sense why she feels that way.
  • Noah Jupe as Marcus Abbott. The oldest son of Lee and Evelyn, and Regan and Beau’s brother. I saw this kid in Wonder and I really liked him then, so once I realized who he was, I got excited lol. His facial expressions are some of the highlights of the film. He does so much with just his expressions. When he’s with his father out and about, for what seems like the first time, he is terrified of what might happened, but he’s also very wise because he understands his sister and his father, and he knows there’s a rift. He wants them to fix it. He also does whatever he can to reach out and protect his family, he even gets in trouble for trying to help. I liked him a lot, I mean I liked everyone, but he was a wise kid. Noah Jupe does a great job in the film.
The Premise. Legit, this movie gives away nothing and you learn nothing about the world their in. The movie is about the family having to survive whatever is going on and not about what happened to the world. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to know what the creatures were and why they were there. What happened before the movie? Sometimes movies like this has little nuggets where they’ll share things, newspaper articles and what not, that kind of give you a hint of what happened but this movie doesn’t do that. It has those things but because the family doesn’t really know much, we as the audience don’t get to know much. The movie isn’t that long but that’s okay because it packs such a punch.
Family Dynamic. The film has hardly any dialogue, so we have to see how this family interacts without that. The very beginning, we see them scavenging a grocery store and we see how they work together. Something happens at the beginning and the family feels a crushing guilt, everyone pretty much, which causes a rift, especially between Regan and Lee which you can see throughout. But there is also a close bond between Marcus and Regan which is sweet. They way the parents love each other and their children, how Lee wants to do anything he can to protect his family, or how Evelyn does whatever she can to protect her unborn and then later newborn baby. They felt like a real family and you want to see them succeed.
Horror Aspects. I don’t normally enjoy horror films, too scared, but I wanted to see this movie since I knew about it. It’s very quiet and as a watcher, make sure you watch the film on a large screen (if you can), make sure it’s dark and silent to get the full ambiance of the film. It’s quiet, it only gets silent whenever the movie “goes into” Regan’s POV since she’s deaf but other than that, you might hear natural sounds, but the characters aren’t making noise, or at least very minimal noise. Due to the silence, it allows for a lot of scares to really get you and while they are jump scares, they’re done in a smart way.
Evelyn, Baby and Monster. Definitely the best scene in the film because it plays up on so much fear, tension and stress. I was stressed out watching it. The scene is set up earlier when she is doing laundry and when she realizes her water broke, she goes to fix their yard lights to Lee and the others would know, and something happen that causes her to drop something with a clatter which causes the monsters to come to the house. So much stress because she has to have her baby and of course the baby might cry, and the thing is in the house. The whole scene with her in the bath tub, ugh. So good. Emily Blunt did the damn thing!
Use of Sound. The movie is smart in how it uses sound. Because the creatures are attracted by sound and attack anything making it, it’s interesting how they even hear just the tiniest sound. The ticking of a timer, the static of a broken TV, all of these things are used in such a smart way. Also, there is a great scene with Regan in the cornfield and the creature that comes through the cornstalks. How they worked that in through the film was so cool!
Creature Design. Ugh those things are ugly. I want to know what they are, but since they’re movie monsters, it’s easy to say “Oh I’ve seen that before” but I can honestly say I have never seen monsters with faces like those. How they could open the flaps on their heads to listen for the tiny sounds, or the fact that they kind of look like extreme mutated humans, but they were kind of cool but also very gross lol. Very original design.
Cons:
Character Stupidity. There are a few instances where I think things could be avoided if characters didn’t make stupid choices. For one thing, we know it’s been 89 days since whatever happened, happened, so all of their kids know by now the severity of what they’re experiencing. Even the youngest boy. But for the newborn, why didn’t the parents think to use condoms or maybe other means of abstinence considering how babies and children are loud? Things will happen that causes them to be loud. It seems like unnecessary stress. What about taking the batteries with them instead of leaving them on the counter? Why not have the little one in the front of the group so he could be seen at all times? What about that nail? It was already sticking up? Why didn’t Lee or even Evelyn notice it before and pull it out? What about Regan being a moody teenager and going off on her own because she’s upset? I know they can’t physically talk but they communicate in sign language and I’m sure she wouldn’t have left if she and Lee actually had a talk BEFORE the events of the film. It makes for wonderful storytelling but still can’t help but to notice.
Overall, I really liked the film. All of the characters are such interesting and well-written characters. The actors do a great job living into his world they unfortunately have to live in and they all have a great family dynamic and chemistry that they feel like a family. All the while a family that has tragedy and it feels a little strained. The premise of the family trying to survive and being a unit is what the film is about, they just happen to be in a post-apocalyptic society. It is a horror film, and I did jump, but it creates a feeling of stress and tension more than fear, personally. The best scene in the film was with Evelyn in the house when she’s in labor, the tension, the stress I felt was so intense, it was so good, and Emily Blunt did a great job. I also think the use of sound in the film is very unique as is the design of the creature. My only problem at the moment is how characters make really dumb choices that could easily be avoided or how there are things that happen that could be controlled but are treated like they couldn’t. Otherwise, this is a great film!
Rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars.

Everyday (2018) Movie Review

~ Alyxwrites ~ 1 Comment

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Summary: A shy teenager falls for someone who transforms into another person every day.
Pros:
Cast and Characters. So the weird thing is that we really only spend time with two characters, it’s just that one of them wakes up in a different body everyday. So I’m going to handle this one a bit differently then I normally would.
  • Angourie Rice as Rhiannon. The summary calls her “shy” but I wouldn’t really call her shy but she’s not like a popular kid or anything. She’s the girl next door. She’s a nice girl and she definitely tries to understand whatever A is, which was nice about her. I liked Angourie Rice, she was pretty, likable in the role and I believed that she was into A, because she seemed to have fun with whoever he was, once she got used to the idea.
So below is the entire list of actors who play the character “A”. 
  • Justice Smith as Justin. He is Rhiannon’s boyfriend so we get to see him the most. The movie starts off with A in Justin, and apparently Justin isn’t the best boyfriend but A gives Rhiannon a great time, so when Justin returns, she’s confused and he’s confused because she keeps referencing something he doesn’t remember. I’ve only seen Justice Smith once before this movie, and he’s likable, even though Justin is a jerk, he was still kind of likable lol.
  • Jeni Ross as Amy. The second one A is in, and who might confuse the audience if they don’t know what’s going on.
  • Lucas Jade Zumann as Nathan. The third one, he shows up at a party, and connects with Rhiannon, pretending to be the cousin of the guy who is throwing the party. A doesn’t make it back to Nathan’s house so he thinks he was possessed by a demon lol.
  • Rory McDonald as David. I think he was blind so nothing really happened here.
  • Katie Douglas as Megan. This is when Rhiannon started to get weirded out because A told her, what was going on.
  • Jacob Batalon as James. More exposition. They sit in a diner.
  • Ian Alexander as Vic. He goes to Rhiannon’s school just to see her, and they talk more.
  • Sean Jones as George. More talking but this is finally where Rhiannon starts to get a little more comfortable but they stay in the library.
  • Colin Ford as Xavier. They go away for the weekend, we don’t learn much about him but it seems that Rhiannon liked him physically.
  • Jake Sim as Michael. His family was going on vacation and according the rules, if A left the area in another person’s body then wherever that person stayed, is where A will stay. So he ran back to Rhiannon.
  • Nicole Law as Kelsea. She was dealing with a lot, and this is where it’s discovered that A could stay in a person’s body for a time, so they did and got Kelsea help.
  • Karena Evans as Hannah. The first time where A was in a body that they couldn’t hang out together as Hannah had a boyfriend, but I think this was their first kiss.
  • Owen Teague as Alexander. So Rhiannon knows Alexander, they’re in the same class, he’s a good kid and A stays in him for a while, and then A makes a decision for Rhiannon while inside of Alexander. He did seem like a good kid. It’s just so weird to see Owen Teague being crazy Patrick Hockstetter and then being this kid lol.
  • Hannah Richardson as Katie. The last person we see A in for the film.
Chemistry between A & Rhiannon. I think this movie banks on these two feeling like two people who are connecting past physicality. It’s kind of weird since A is a different person every time we see them, but it always manages to work out where Angourie Rice connects with whoever A is inhabiting.
The Story/Message. At its heart, the movie wants to say that love can go past the physical connection. Love is really what’s on the inside which is a sweet message. I don’t think it’s trying to push any kind of agenda or anything like that (the book I felt kind of did that in one particular part) but it’s managing to do it in the guise of a teen romance movie, which works in its own way.
Cons:
A as a Character. They’re not a bad character, it’s just that we never get to know them. We know Rhiannon way more which allows us to like and connect with her, but we never really get to know A. In the book, it’s told through their point of view so we get to see how their mind works and how they handle their life, but because the movie kind of follows Rhiannon (there’s a companion book Another Day which is told in her point of view) which keeps us from really knowing A. It really bothered me to be honest. All we get is all of the exposition that A gives every time their with Rhiannon. It was kind of annoying because A was just this mysterious being and while I like Rhiannon, I’d rather know what A is dealing with as the person they’re living as, but I guess the movie needed a constant which would be Rhiannon. *sighs*
Unanswered Plot threads. The book handles it a bit better I think, but we never really get to know what happened with that kid who claimed that he was possessed by the devil. Rhiannon goes to visit him but that’s the last time we see of him, in the book, we get a bit more of a plot with that character and I think it would have added a bit of edge to the movie so it wouldn’t just be this cheesy teen romance. I also would have liked for the movie to explore the idea that A wonders if there is anyone else out there like them. Yeah, they mention to Rhiannon that they’ve thought about it, but that’s it.
Weak storytelling. Sooooo I did not like the way the movie told the story. There was so much exposition that I would roll my eyes every time Rhiannon spoke with A. Yeah, I get that she needs to understand what’s going on, but that slows the movie down and it feels longer than it is, or even should be. This is literally how it would go “Rhiannon sees kid who might be A, talks to them for a while, and then maybe they have a moment” rinse and repeat. It’s not until we get into Colin Ford’s A (Xavier) that something really and actually happens. I think they could have either got Rhiannon to get on board a lot earlier and just let them be together or just limited the amount of exposition.
Overall, I thought it was a good movie. I had some issues, but I was also thinking of the book and how the book handled certain things in the story, which I thought the movie changed for no particular reason. Angourie Rice is good in her role, she’s likable, and sweet and she manages to handle the movie on her own, and she has good chemistry with all of the people who “A” inhabits, which is pretty cool. I also thought the message, “love transcends physical” is pretty cute and the movie managed to make that happen within these YA movie, without it coming off as cheesy. My problem with the movie comes from the audience not really getting the chance to know who A is, yeah we see them but we know get to really know them. I also didn’t really care for how the story was told, there was a looooot of talking and when they’re finally together, it’s pretty quick. But it’s a sweet movie, pretty harmless.
Rating: 3.3 out of 5 stars. 
Have you seen Everday? Did you read the book? What did you think of the film and let me know in the comments below, the answer to my big question.
Big Question: Would you be able to be with someone who changed bodies every day?
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Thanks for reading!

Kidnap (2017) Movie Review

~ Alyxwrites ~ 3 Comments

kidnap

Summary: A mother stops at nothing to recover her kidnapped son.
Another short review! yay!
Pros:
Halle Berry. Normally, I don’t really find Halle Berry to be that good of an actress. I think she has hits and misses, and while I don’t think this movie is good, I thought she was very committed to her role and she did her thing.
The First 30 Minutes. I was into the first 30 minutes with the adorable video of Frankie growing up, and then all the way to him being abducted, and Karla seeing him being put into a car. She chases them in that tank of a minivan, and she was intent on following them. All of that was very entertaining to watch and I was really into it for a little while.
The Van. It’s not a character but that minivan was EVERYTHING! That red van lasted through everything. It was amazing. It got hit by cars, she was swerving that thing though traffic. SO MUCH! It didn’t even run out of gas until we had maybe 20 minutes of film left lol, that thing was the MVP of the movie, the REAL star.
Entertaining. The movie was very entertaining, for the most part. I did enjoy it for a little while, or I enjoyed it during certain intervals. Whenever Karla was actually having physical interactions with the kidnappers, that was fun to see.
Cons:
Not Original. Obviously, this premise isn’t anything original, but this movie is literally like The Call, another Halle Berry movie, especially the end. While watching it, I kept going “this movie is just like that other Halle Berry” movie lol.
The Chase. I was really into it in the beginning, but it really just remains the same thing for such a long time, that I lost a bit of interest. I wanted her to find her kid, but she spent most of the movie in her car, talking to herself. It got old really quickly.
The Ending. So, I don’t want to spoil too much, I kind of don’t care, but I don’t want to spoil too much, but there’s a line that a reporter says and I’m still trying to understand how they figured that out. So, there was a child abduction ring, but how exactly did they find the other people in such a short amount of time to even arrest anyone in other states?? How??
Overall, don’t expect much from this movie. The title is super lazy “Kidnap”, NO really? Lol but I did enjoy most of it. I thought Halle Berry was good as a mother who never stops going after her son. The movie is definitely an advertisement for a minivan, and the chase at first was really entertaining and fun to watch. The plot is straightforward but nothing else happens, after a while the chase gets old. Basically, it’s like “chase, chase chase, she stops because they threaten the child” then “chase some more, she tries to get people’s attention” and rinse and repeat. The ending also has some really stupid comments going on there, MAKES NO SENSE!! If you want a mindless adventure, then sure watch Kidnap.
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars.
Have you seen Kidnap? Let me know your thoughts on this movie down below in the comments!
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Happy Death Day (2017) Movie Review

~ Alyxwrites ~ 1 Comment

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Summary: A college student must relive the day of her murder over and over again, in a loop that will end only when she discovers her killer’s identity.
Pros:
Cast and Characters. Since Tree keeps living the day over and over again, we meet a lot of people but there are really only two constants that I’m going to talk about for the film.
  • Jessica Rothe as Theresa “Tree” Gelbman. Our main character, she wakes up in a dorm room, not really sure what happened the night before. She goes through her day, it’s her birthday but she doesn’t particularly want to celebrate it. But on her way to a party, she gets killed and her day restarts. So, throughout the film, she basically keeps trying to prevent the death, but gets killed. She is not the nicest person at first and while I never really wanted her to die, you kind of get it. Plus, you start making lists of who might want to kill her considering how indifferent she is to people. But as the film continues, you begin to understand her and watch as she becomes more and more desperate. She gets smarter in how she handles things, kind of and she tries to do right by others because it could make a difference. It was really cool watching her try and solve the problem, while also becoming a bit badass in the end. I thought Jessica Rothe did a great job in basically having the film on her own. Between her comedic timing, her reactions to dying and everything else, I very much enjoyed watching her in this film.
  • Israel Broussard as Carter Davis. Nice guy, Tree wakes up to him every time since it’s his dorm room she wakes up in. He took her back to his place because she was wasted, and he didn’t want anything to happen to here. There are a few times where she tells him what happened to her and he tries to help, and each time he’s understanding. He’s a great guy. I liked him quite a bit. The actor is likable, and he has good chemistry with Jessica Rothe, and he quickly becomes a nice friend for her.
Thrilling. It’s not scary, I didn’t think it would be, but it’s very thrilling. You know that the killer is behind her, or in the bathroom or whatever, and it’s creepy but it’s very thrilling to watch. When she thinks she’s figured it out, or when she’s testing out the suspects on her list, it’s entertaining to watch. I mean, her dying isn’t but the whole process is. There were times where I was legit freaked out, especially in the beginning when she first gets killed, that whole thing with the music box, creeped out, plus the whole idea with the baby mask. I would never go to a college where the mascot was a Baby. No thanks.
The Deaths. I thought it was really cool to see her wake up feeling or reacting to whatever her death was the night before. When this kind of stuff happens, it’s usually just them waking up with a gasp and thinking about what happened, but Tree would wake up screaming, or spitting out whatever to whatever happened that caused them to die, or if she was angry at dying, she would angrily freak out. I quite liked how different that was compared to how other “time loop” movies handle the reset. It was also pretty unique how her body maintains her injuries even after she’s had a reset.
Humorous. It’s actually pretty funny. It’s kind of a slasher, horror film, but it’s also really funny and light-hearted in certain areas. Like when she starts trying to find out who’s killing her, or her interactions with other people when she walks back to her sorority house. It’s surprisingly funny. Jessica Rothe gets all that credit, well that and the writing but she’s great.
Cons:
Obvious Villain. I knew who it was from the beginning. Probably not supposed to be a secret but you totally know from the trailers and you definitely know. They do try to trip you up, but I was like “nah”. Plus, I thought the motivation was also really dumb, or at least really juvenile. Since I knew it was that person, I wondered what exactly the problem was, I knew it had something to do with Tree probably being mean, but still, lame motivation.
The Slasher Part. I think the movie is trying to wear a few different hats, but while the slasher part is in there, I don’t think it’s as important as some of the other things the movie wants to focus on. It’s definitely lacking considering how the first time through the day, it’s kind of scary but after that that particular tone is not the same anymore. So, it’s marketed as a horror film and while it starts out as one, it doesn’t maintain that tone.
Overall, I quite enjoyed Happy Death Day. I thought it was a fun, funny, thrilling movie with a great lead. Jessica Rothe was great to watch, she was energetic, charismatic and funny. I think the movie is surprisingly funny, I wasn’t really expecting to laugh the way I did. I don’t think the movie is a comedy by any means, but it does have a lot of humorous elements, like, I mean the killer wears a baby face mask, that’s funny (and creepy) and one of her deaths is with a bong hahaha. That’s funny.  I also enjoyed how the deaths were handled. While, Tree got a reset each day, it wasn’t like there was no repercussions for her, because she felt all of them and I thought that was very realistic compared to the “slate wiped clean” kind of thing. I do think the villain was obvious, not to mention the motivation for this whole thing was also really stupid. Also, why did she have a time loop anyway? I wish these time loop movies would allow for some kind of explanation other than the fact that it’s just happening. But I also think the slasher bit, or the horror bit of the film is lacking compared to how the movie made it out to be. The first time we meet the killer it’s intense and kind of horror like, but after that, it turns into a different kind of movie. But whatever, I had fun.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Have you seen Happy Death Day? What did you think about it? Do you think it’s more of a “Dark comedy” or a “Horror Comedy”? Let me know your thoughts down below!
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