Category Archives: reviews

On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson

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Golden Pond

PLAY TITLE: On Golden Pond
AUTHOR: Ernest Thompson

RATING OVERVIEW
Writing: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★★★
Appearance: ★★★★
Overall: ★★★★★ (4.75)

AMAZON DESCRIPTION:
A comedy for a cast of 3 men, 2 women, 1 boy. This is the love story of Ethel and Norman Thayer, who are returning to their summer home on Golden Pond for the forty-eighth year. He is a retired professor, nearing eighty, with heart palpitations and a failing memory-but still as tart-tongued, observant and eager for life as ever. Ethel, ten years younger, and the perfect foil for Norman, delights in all the small things that have enriched and continue to enrich their long life together. They are visited by their divorced, middle-aged daughter and her dentist fiancé, who then go off to Europe, leaving his teenage son behind for the summer. The boy quickly becomes the “grandchild” the elderly couple have longed for, and as Norman revels in taking his ward fishing and thrusting good books at him, he also learns some lessons about modern teenage awareness-and slang-in return. In the end, as the summer wanes, so does their brief idyll, and in the final, deeply moving moments of the play, Norman and Ethel are brought even closer together by the incidence of a mild heart attack. Time, they know, is now against them, but the years have been good and, perhaps, another summer on Golden Pond still awaits.

Buy the play HERE!

Buy the movie HERE!
MY 2 CENTS: 
On Golden Pond is a classic. The way that Thompson brings these characters to live is simply beautiful. It’s about life, relationships, and the heart.

I love when an author like Thompson can take a simple story, a retired couple spending the summer at their lake house, and turn it into so much more. By the end of the script, you’re emotionally attached to the characters, you care what happens to them, and you long to learn more about them.

The father/daughter relationship between Norman and Chelsea is heartbreaking. In just the few scenes in which they are together, it is obvious how much they love each other… how much they want to be close… and yet, they aren’t. It isn’t until Chelsea brings Billy, her boyfriend’s son, to visit her parents that Norman finally bonds with a child. It’s just said that it wasn’t his own child.

The husband/wife relationship between Norman and Ethel is exactly what I believe my grandparents had. They lived a similar life and were not only each other’s best friends, but they were soul mates. They were perfect together in every way. I believe that Thompson wrote their relationship to be perfect… almost to perfect, but not unbelievable in any way.

As an actress, reading this script has just added two characters to my list of dream roles I’d love to play. If I ever get the chance, in the next few years to audition for Chelsea, I will not let it pass me by, and of course… Ethel would be a dream role when I get older.

As a director, I have to be honest… I think it would be hard knowing how emotionally connected I am with the characters. I think I’d want to be on stage too much to do justice as a director.

APPEARANCE: Plain green cover with black text… Typical Dramatists Play Service cover. I feel like the plain cover allows the reader to use their imagination when envisioning the characters.

MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
“Sometimes you have to look hard at a person and remember he’s doing the best he can. He’s just trying to find his way, just like you.”

“Well, that’s what happens if you live long enough: You end up being old. it’s one of the disadvantages of a long life. I still prefer it to the alternative.” 

Check out my YouTube channel and the video review below… and make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video.

 

on golden pond movie posterMovie Title: On Golden Pond
Director: Mark Rydell
Stars: Katharine Hepburn (Ethel Thayer), Henry Fonda (Norman Thayer Jr.), and Jane Fonda (Chelsea Thayer Wayne)

STORYLINE: The loons are back again on Golden Pond and so are Norman Thayer, a retired professor, and Ethel who have had a summer cottage there since early in their marriage. This summer their daughter Chelsea — whom they haven’t seen for years — feels she must be there for Norman’s birthday. She and her fiancé are on their way to Europe the next day but will be back in a couple of weeks to pick up the fiancé’s son. When she returns Chelsea is married and her stepson has the relationship with her father that she always wanted. Will father and daughter be able to communicate at last? (IMDB.COM)

Watch the official movie trailers here:

https://youtu.be/l-lcl2j3yf0

https://youtu.be/Y85sfYVOS84

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

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TITLE: Of Mice and Men
AUTHOR: John Steinbeck

RATING OVERVIEW
Writing: ★★★★
Story: ★★★★
Characters: ★★★★★
Overall: ★★★★★ (4.33)

 

AMAZON DESCRIPTION:
A controversial tale of friendship and tragedy during the Great Depression.

They are an unlikely pair: George is “small and quick and dark of face”; Lennie, a man of tremendous size, has the mind of a young child. Yet they have formed a “family,” clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation.

Laborers in California’s dusty vegetable fields, they hustle work when they can, living a hand-to-mouth existence. For George and Lennie have a plan: to own an acre of land and a shack they can call their own. When they land jobs on a ranch in the Salinas Valley, the fulfillment of their dream seems to be within their grasp. But even George cannot guard Lennie from the provocations of a flirtatious woman, nor predict the consequences of Lennie’s unswerving obedience to the things George taught him.

“A thriller, a gripping tale . . . that you will not set down until it is finished. Steinbeck has touched the quick.” —The New York Times

Buy the book HERE!

Buy the play HERE! 

Buy the movie HERE! 

The Critical Points:
I picked up this book because of a recommendation by one of my youtube viewers. So, if you haven’t checked out my youtube reviews, make sure you check out the page HERE.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, was originally published in 1937. A lot has changed in literature and society since 1937…

With that said, let’s get into the guts of this story and my opinion of it. Just a warning… there will be spoilers in this review.

WRITING: Of Mice and Men is a classic, read in many high schools across the country, although I don’t believe I ever read it in school. Although I never read the novel, until now, I had read the play while studying theatre in college.

I can understand why the novel received the Nobel Prize in Literature, but I have to admit that it wasn’t my favorite of Steinbeck’s novels. The writing style, although probably a good example of the time period, was choppy and repetitive. I found the excessive foul language to be distracting and often unnecessary.

STORY: The story is beautiful. It is the relationship between two men, George and Lennie, an unlikely pair of friends. George takes care of Lennie, who is mentally challenged, as they travel the country looking for work on farms. Their goal… or rather, their dream, is to one day own some land of their own. However, Lennie is continually getting into trouble causing them to have to pick up and move at a moment’s notice, which in turn makes it difficult for them to save up the money for the land they hope to purchase.

CHARACTERS: George is a small, caring man, who looks after Lennie like he is more than just a friend, as if he is a brother. Lennie is a rather large and very strong, mentally challenged man who doesn’t know his own strength. He doesn’t know how to think for himself and as a result relies on George to tell him what to do and how to react to situations. When left to his own devices, Lennie reacts physically and is unable to control himself, hence killing the mice he keeps hidden in his pocket, or the puppy he so desperately wanted to pet. Although, it isn’t until he kills his boss’ wife that George realizes that he has to stop covering for Lennie and make the hard decision of letting him go.

The final scene of the book is heart wrenching, emotionally draining, and sad. It was also predictable, but that didn’t in any way dampen the emotional affect of the scene when reading it.

MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
“I seen hunderds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads. Hunderds of them. They come, an’ they quit an’ go on; an’ every damn one of em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It’s just in their head.” ~ Of Mice and Men

Check out my YouTube channel and the video review below… and make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video.

https://youtu.be/bqh5T4fIBbg

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of mice

MOVIE DETAILS
Title: Of Mice and Men
Director: Gary Sinise
Screenplay Written by: Horton Foote
Stars: John Malkovich (Lennie) and Gary Sinise (George)

 

Check out the official movie trailer here:

https://youtu.be/BQtiStdDaYw

 

My 2 Cents… Girl (2018)

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GIRLTitle: Girl
Director: Lukas Dhont
Writers: Lukas Dhont and Angelo Tijssens
Stars: Victor Polster (Lara), Arieh Worthalter (Mathias), and Oliver Bodart (Milo)

SHOW RATING OVERVIEW
Writing: ★★★★
Cinematography: ★★★★
Story: ★★★★
Acting: ★★★★★
Overall: ★★★★★ (4.25)

STORYLINE:
Lara, a 15-year-old transgender girl who aspires to be a professional ballerina, moves with her supportive father, Mathias, and younger brother to attend a prestigious Dutch-speaking dance academy. Undergoing hormone replacement therapy in preparation for sex reassignment surgery, she is frustrated by the slow progress of the treatment. At school, she tucks her penis with tape during ballet practices and experiences transphobic harassment from her classmates. Since the taping has caused an infection, she is denied the surgery for now, so she mutilates herself with a pair of scissors. The film ends with a shot of Lara walking down a street in the sun.

MY 2 CENTS:
• Golden Globes Awards – Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film

It’s hard being a teenager. It’s hard being a teenage girl going through hormonal changes, self-doubt, body issues, and so much more. Throw into the mix the fact that Lara, played by Victor Polster, is a 15-year-old girl who was born in the body of a boy that she doesn’t relate to.

I don’t know, nor would I ever presume to understand, what that might feel like. But I can say this, I know it couldn’t be easy.

Although Girl is not a documentary, or true story, it was inspired by Nora Monsecour, a trans female dancer from Belgium. I’m not sure how much of the story was true to Nora’s life or how much was purely fiction, but it was beautifully told.

I’ve read a number of reviews and articles that have criticized the film for its depiction of self-harm and gender-dysphoria, which I recently learned is the distress a person experiences when the gender they are assigned at birth does not match the person’s gender identity causing them to be transgender. Honestly, I can’t criticize a film for something I don’t truly understand. All I know is that the struggle Lara was going through in the film, felt honest, raw, and real.

VictorGirl was actor Victor Polster’s debut role and he did a beautiful job. I won’t lie, I had to look up the film’s IMDB page to find out if Lara was played by a male or female actor. I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know if the director had used a body double for the nude scenes or if the actress was actually an actor. I will say this, I am a bit shocked that the actor was only fourteen at the time of the filming and there were scenes of him with full frontal nudity (with his parent’s permission). That was off-putting to say the least.

Arieh Worthalter, who played Mathias – Lara’s father, was amazing. He was so natural on-screen. He wore his emotions on his sleeve… on his face… in his eyes. Half the time, I just wanted to hug him and tell him everything was going to be alright. You could see that he, as much as his daughter, was struggling just to keep himself together. The love he felt for both of his children was so pure and you could tell he would do anything for them. Enough so that he uprooted his family so that Lara, the oldest of the two children, could attend an elite dance school and be treated by doctors who could really help her. He supported her 100% through the process of preparing for sex reassignment surgery and was there for her every step of the way even though he was worried sick about her.

It was a beautiful story of family, love, pain, growing up, and discovering yourself even when you have to look through the mud to find out who you really are.

Check out my YouTube channel and the video review below… and make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video.

https://youtu.be/1JqjW0wUtFA

You can watch the official trailer here:

https://youtu.be/Kdzu26tnUTc

Silent Sky by Lauren Gunderson

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Silent Sky

PLAY TITLE: Silent Sky
AUTHOR: Lauren Gunderson

RATING OVERVIEW
Writing: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★★★
Appearance: ★★★★
Overall: ★★★★★ (4.75)

AMAZON DESCRIPTION:
When Henrietta Leavitt begins work at the Harvard Observatory in the early 1900s, she isn’t allowed to touch a telescope or express an original idea. Instead, she joins a group of women “computers,” charting the stars for a renowned astronomer who calculates projects in “girl hours” and has no time for the women’s probing theories. As Henrietta, in her free time, attempts to measure the light and distance of stars, she must also take measure of her life on Earth, trying to balance her dedication to science with family obligations and the possibility of love. The true story of 19th-century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt explores a woman’s place in society during a time of immense scientific discoveries, when women’s ideas were dismissed until men claimed credit for them. Social progress, like scientific progress, can be hard to see when one is trapped among earthly complications; Henrietta Leavitt and her female peers believe in both, and their dedication changed the way we understand both the heavens and Earth.

Buy it HERE on Amazon!

My 2 Cents: 
This is a beautiful play about one of the first women who worked in the field of astronomy. The reader (or audience if seeing the play life) get to see how she balances, or fails to balance, life while still pursuing her dream of reaching for the stars. It is intelligent, artistic, heart wrenching, and emotionally moving.

I started reading this play with no knowledge of what it was about other than that it had to do with female astronomers, or ‘computers’ as they were called back in the early 1900s. I was happy to find that it was not only beautifully written with humor woven throughout the story, but it avoided the typical traps stories like this often fall into such as only focusing on the negative aspects of women in what is considered a “man’s world”, over dramatizing work and home life balance… or lack thereof, or not sharing all aspects of the story such as family/science/and love… there is room for it all and I believe that Gunderson successfully brought it all together.

CHARACTERS: Through her writing, Gunderson brings to life each of the five characters in such a beautiful way. They each have their own history, their own desires, and their own goals. Life ends up differently for each of them, and as with our lead character, Henrietta, they all experience

  • Henrietta Leavitt
  • Margaret Leavitt
  • Peter Shaw
  • Annie Cannon
  • Williamina Fleming

APPEARANCE: it’s a plain colored cover, in this case blue, with black lettering, typical of a Dramatists Play Service playbook. I personally prefer this style of cover for plays because I want the writing to tell me what the characters look like, rather than an image on the cover.

MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
“I used to think that to be truly alive I needed answers. I needed to know. But all this does not in fact need to be known, does it? We do. Because the real point… is seeing something bigger. And knowing we’re a small part of it, if we’re lucky. In the end that is a life well-lived.” ~ Henrietta in Silent Sky

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HL

Henrietta Leavitt, (born July 4, 1868, Lancaster, Massachusetts, U.S.—died December 12, 1921, Cambridge, Massachusetts), was one of the first female American astronomers. She was known for her discovery of the relationship between period and luminosity in Cepheids, pulsating stars. 

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Check out my YouTube channel and the video review below… and make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video.

https://youtu.be/o4UV_YOR7Qk

My 2 Cents… A Star Is Born (2018)

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2018Title: A Star Is Born
Director: Bradley Cooper
Writers: Eric Roth, Bradley Cooper, and Will Fetters
Stars: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, and Sam Elliott

Based on the 1954 Screenplay by: Moss Hart
Based on the 1976 Screenplay by: john Gregory Dunne, Joan Didion, and Frank Pierson
Based on a story by: William Wellman and Robert Carson

 

SHOW RATING OVERVIEW
Writing: ★★★★★
Cinematography: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Acting: ★★★★★
Singing: ★★★★★
Overall: ★★★★★ (5)

STORYLINE:
Seasoned musician Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) discovers-and falls in love with-struggling artist Ally (Gaga). She has just about given up on her dream to make it big as a singer – until Jack coaxes her into the spotlight. But even as Ally’s career takes off, the personal side of their relationship is breaking down, as Jack fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons. Written by Warner Bros.

AWARDS:

  • Winner of the 2019 Oscar for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)
  • Nominated in the categories of Best Achievement in Sound Mixing, Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Bradley Cooper), Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Lady Gaga), Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Sam Elliott), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Achievement in Cinematography.

MY 2 CENTS:

I honestly didn’t know what to expect with this movie… I’m not a big fan of movies where singers, athletes, and wrestlers decided to be actors. I know, that probably sounds bad. However, in most cases it is my opinion that they should just leave the acting to the actors.

With that said, I think this movie really worked. I wasn’t expecting much of a performance from Lady Gaga, but she was really impressive. I’ve always liked her music and although I can’t sing to save my life, I can recognize that talent in others. She is such an awesome performer – bigger than life – that I just couldn’t imagine her bringing her performance down to life-size on the big screen. Then I saw A Star Is Born… Watching her act in A Star Is Born was like seeing her for the first time. She was raw, open, emotional, and beautiful. Her talent not only extends to her musical performances but she is a natural actress. I don’t say that often when it comes to musicians, but she really was a wonder in this film.

Bradley Cooper, who I’ve always enjoyed watching, gave 110% percent with this one. His performance was so real… so raw… and completely heartbreaking. I’m not going to lie, I cried. How could you not. If you didn’t cry during his last scene, then you clearly don’t have a heart.

I was surprised to find out that he not only stared in the film, he helped write the screenplay, and he directed it. BRAVO!!!

Sam Elliott played Bradley Cooper’s older brother, although I didn’t get that connection until well into the film. His performance as great. I’m a huge fan. I loved him in everything from Tombstone to The Big Lebowski, to, most recently, the TV series The Ranch.

MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
“Unless you get out there and try to do it, you’ll never know. That’s just the truth. If there’s one reason we’re supposed to be here is to say somethin’ so people wanna hear it. So you gotta grab it and you don’t apologize. You don’t worry about why they’re listenin’ or how long they’re gonna be listening for. You just tell em what you wanna say.” Jackson Maine ~ A Star is Born (2018)

“You know it’s like, I dunno you… you float out… float out at sea then one day you find a port say, “I’m gonna stay here a few days.” Few days ‘comes a few years. Then you forgot where you’re going in the first place. Then you realize you don’t really give a sh*t about where you was goin’, cause you like where you at.” Noodles ~ A Star is Born (2018)

“Music is essentially twelve notes between any octave. Twelve notes and the octave repeats. It’s the same story told over and over. All the artist can offer the world is how they see those twelve notes.” Bobby ~ A Star is Born (2018)

Check out my YouTube channel and the video review below… and make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video.

https://youtu.be/mtWzWzZILSU

You can watch the official trailer here:

https://youtu.be/nSbzyEJ8X9E

See the 1976 and 2018 movie posters below:

1976 Movie Poster
2018 Movie Poster

Final Girls by Riley Sager

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TITLE: Final Girls
AUTHOR: Riley Sager

RATING OVERVIEW
Writing: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★★★
Appearance: ★★★★★
Overall: ★★★★★ (5)

 

AMAZON DESCRIPTION:
Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie–scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to—a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls: Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them and, with that, one another. Despite the media’s attempts, they never meet.

Now, Quincy is doing well—maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.

That is until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit; and Sam, the second Final Girl, appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Blowing through Quincy’s life-like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa’s death come to light, Quincy’s life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.

Buy it HERE on Amazon!

THE CRITICAL POINTS:
I don’t usually give a 5 out of 5 review, but this book was exceptional!!!

WARNING… SPOILER ALERT… WARNING… SPOILER ALERT… WARNING

WRITING: Final Girls is the first psychological thriller by Riley Sager, a pseudonym for an author who has previously published under another name. IF YOU KNOW HIS REAL NAME… PLEASE SHARE IT WITH ME!!! I’d love to check out some of his other novels.

Sager’s writing is detailed, descriptive, and draws you in while leaving you on the edge of your seat. Once I started, I couldn’t stop reading… this is one you are not going to want to put down!

STORY: WOW… It has been a very long time since I read a story that completely came full circle and left no plot holes, unanswered questions, or room to doubt the author’s choices. This was a beautifully constructed story with plot twists that leave you amazed.

The thing I loved best about this novel is that it is literally two stories in one… intertwined as if folded into each other. The numbered chapters are present day and the non-numbered chapters, marked with the time in which they related to ‘Pine Cottage’ a pivotal moment in our lead character’s life, are all past events. Sager beautifully merges these two-time periods to allow use to glimpse just enough of the past that we don’t figure out all the secrets the story has in store, until the perfect moment. There are hints and clues along with way, some leading you astray and others foreshadowing the future. I’m not going to lie, I had a ‘Sixth Sense’ moment there at the end wondering why I didn’t see it all along… the reason, because Sager is just that good!

CHARACTERS: Not only were our main characters Quincy, Sam, Coop, and Jeff flushed out to the point that we felt we knew them, even the side characters; Janelle, Craig, Betz, Amy, Rodney, and Lisa all had complete stories and character development.

APPEARANCE: The cover is simple, the back of a woman’s head – I assume it’s Quincy, our lead character, but it could just as easily be Lisa or Sam. The blood read lettering is perfect for the psychological thriller theme and the knife wounds that replace the I’s are perfect and well thought out. Congrats to the cover artist, who obviously understood the feel the author was going for.

MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
“You can’t change what’s happened. The only thing you can control is how you deal with it.”

“Final Girl is film-geek speak for the last woman standing at the end of a horror movie.”

Check out my YouTube channel and the video review below… and make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video.

https://youtu.be/1wCE8omnHAE

My 2 Cents… Free Solo

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MV5BMjMwYjcwNWQtNTQ5YS00MzVlLTkxYzMtNDIwZWIxZTE4Zjg2XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTQxNzMzNDI@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,666,1000_AL_Title: Free Solo
Genre: Documentary (2019 Academy Award Winner for best documentary feature)
Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
Stars: Alex Honnold, Tommy Caldwell, Jimmy Chin, Dierdre Wolownick, and Sanni McCandless

SHOW RATING OVERVIEW
Writing: N/A
Cinematography: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Acting: N/A
Overall: ★★★★★ (5)

STORYLINE:
Follow Alex Honnold as he becomes the first person to ever free solo climb Yosemite’s 3,000 ft high El Capitan wall. With no ropes or safety gear, he completed arguably the greatest feat in rock climbing history.

MY 2 CENTS:
WOW!!! This beautifully filmed documentary is filled with breathtaking views, shocking athletic feats, sadly emotional admissions, and a love not truly reciprocated.

free solo

“Free Solo” Nat Geo

Through simply stunning visuals directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi were able to capture the substantial life-threatening risk this climb entails. Although going in, I already knew Alex Honnold’s climb was a success, I was on the edge of my seat worried he would get injured, fearful he wouldn’t make it, and wondering what kind of stress it was putting on his friends to watch him risk so much.

Alex Honnold is a truly amazing athlete, accomplishing something no one else has even dared to try. The amount of training, not to mention self-confidence, it must have taken to not only say, ‘Yeah, I think I’ll try that,” but then to do it and complete the climb in just four hours is incredible. This film gives you a look inside the man… not only at his physical challenges but also the mental challenges he endured throughout this process.

I felt bad for Sanni, Alex’s girlfriend. She seems to truly love him, but unfortunately, he will always put climbing before her. Climbing is his passion and he was very upfront and clear with her that she does not mean as much to him as climbing. I hope that one day, she will learn what it means to be that passionate about something… that she will also look at her life and decide if she wants to continue to be placed second… third… or even forth. Alex doesn’t deserve a girlfriend like her, I hope she realizes that someday.

free solo

Directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin on location for “Free Solo” National Geographic/Chris Figens

With all that said, I am amazed… and awe inspired by this film. I do wish the footage of the actual climb had been longer, but what they did give the viewers was nothing less than astonishing.

MY FAVORITE QUOTE:
“I think it’s the best thing in life to be able to take the one thing you love the most and have it, like, work out that you can make a living that way.”

Check out my YouTube channel and the video review below… and make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video.

https://youtu.be/jRqtmfowbeI

You can watch the official trailers and video clips here:

Things My Mother Taught Me by Katherine DiSavino

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PLAY TITLE: Things My Mother Taught Me
AUTHOR: Katherine DiSavino

RATING OVERVIEW
Writing: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★★★
Appearance: ★★★★
Overall: ★★★★★ (4.75)

 

AMAZON DESCRIPTION:
Olivia and Gabe are moving into their first apartment together. They’ve just packed up all of their belongings and driven halfway across the country, to start a new life together in Chicago. Their moving day doesn’t go exactly as planned, though, and things become slightly more complicated when all of their parents show up to help! Can a two-bedroom apartment contain all of the love, laughs, worry and wisdom that’s about to happen?

This brand-new comedy from the author of Nana’s Naughty Knickers takes a generational look at relationships, and how sometimes parents are passing their best lessons on to their children without even meaning to. Funny and touching, this one will make you laugh out loud and fall in love all over again.

Buy it HERE on Amazon!

The Critical Points:
I don’t usually review plays, but this one just spoke to me! Things My Mother Taught Me has something for everyone! It’s your typical family drama full of unexpected encounters, comical misunderstands, and drama… lots of drama!

WARNING… SPOILER ALERT… WARNING… SPOILER ALERT… WARNING

WRITING: Katherine Disavino, author of Seasonal Allergies and Nana’s Naughty Knickers knocks it out of the park with Things My Mother Taught Me. It is a quick, easy read full of laughs.

STORY: Olivia and Gabe, a 20-something couple move from New York to Chicago… Gabe has hidden an engagement ring in the cushion of his favorite chair, the chair Olivia hates! He has also invited both of their parents to come down for the weekend, so they can share in the excitement of the surprise proposal he is planning. Things don’t go as planned, the moving truck is stolen (along with the $20K ring), and the engagement is cancelled. However, DiSavino doesn’t let it end there… they all live happily ever after when a plastic, cereal box ring gives Gabe hope and Max, the Polish building super, comes to the rescue and saves the day.

CHARACTERS: DiSavino pulls together a beautiful ensemble cast of characters in ‘Things My Mother Taught Me’.

  • OLIVIA KEEGAN – late 20s; energetic; neat; slightly OCD; an architect.
  • KAREN KEEGAN – late 50s-60s; Olivia’s mother.
  • CARTER KEEGAN – 60s; Olivia’s father.
  • GABE LAWSON – late 20s; a writer; good-natured.
  • LYDIA LAWSON – late 50s-60s; Gabe’s mother.
  • WYATT LAWSON – 60s; Gabe’s father.
  • MAX MIROWSKI – late 50s; Polish accent; building super; may be played by a man or woman.

APPEARANCE: The cover is cute, but when it comes to theatre scripts, I prefer a plain colored playbook. I don’t like to be shown a photo of the characters, instead I like to use my own imagination to figure out what they look like.

MY FAVORITE QUOTE:
“Don’t even try that Casanova bull on me. I just peed in front of your mother. The last thing I want right now is a cuddle from the child that came out of her uterus.” ~ Olivia in Things My Mother Taught Me

Check out my YouTube channel and the video review below… and make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video

Check out this short clip from the
Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse production September-November 2013

https://youtu.be/w4ryseOmQKw

My 2 Cents… Set it Up

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Title: Set it Up
Director: Claire Scanlon
Writer: Katie Silberman
Stars: Zoey Deutch, Glen Powell, Lucy Liu, and Taye Diggs

SHOW RATING OVERVIEW
Writing: ★★★★★
Story: ★★★★ (The only reason this is 4 stars and not 5 is because of the predictability of the script).
Acting: ★★★★★
Overall: ★★★★★ (4.66)

 

STORYLINE:
Two young assistants in New York City realize they can make their lives easier by setting up their workaholics bosses to date. While trying to perpetuate this romantic ruse between their nightmare bosses, the assistants realize they might be right for each other. Written by https://teaser-trailer.com

MY 2 CENTS:
I was in the mood for a fun, predictable, romantic comedy… Set it Up did not disappoint! I loved the chemistry between Zoey Deutch and glen Powell who played off of each other perfectly and looked great together. Even the supporting characters; the guy in the elevator, the best friend/roommate, and the waiter played their characters perfectly.

The script was tight, with little to no plot holes our unanswered questions. Although I had predicted the ending, long before, I was still crossing my fingers and rooting for the characters.

This film has a little bit for everyone… romance, humor, sports, etc. It is a feel-good film that is perfect for a rainy day.

Check out my YouTube channel and the video review below… and make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video

https://youtu.be/RhphTXUVotM

You can watch the official trailers and video clips here:

https://youtu.be/X-eRc9PF3TU

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

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GIRL

TITLE: Girl of Nightmares
AUTHOR: Kendare Blake

RATING OVERVIEW
Writing: ★★★★
Story: ★★★★
Characters: ★★★★
Appearance: ★★★★
Overall: ★★★★ (4.)

 

AMAZON DESCRIPTION:
Girl of Nightmares, the acclaimed sequel to Kendare Blake’s Anna Dressed in Blood.
It’s been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can’t move on.

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live―not walk around half dead. He knows they’re right, but in Cas’s eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he’s seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he’s asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong…these aren’t just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn’t know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn’t deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it’s time for him to return the favor.

Buy it HERE on Amazon! 

The Critical Points:
This is the second and final book in the Anna Dressed In Blood series. Last week I talked about Anna Dressed In Blood, and if you saw that review you know I loved that it.

WRITING: Blake’s writing style is very fluid and easy to read. This was a quick read, I think it took me three days to finish. With that said, I did feel like Blake struggled a little with getting through this story, or maybe figuring out where it was supposed to go. It didn’t feel as well planned as the first book did.

STORY: This is a continuation of the story found in Anna Dressed in Blood, and picks up shortly after that book ended. Although I really enjoyed the first book, I have to say I felt a bit let down by this one.

CHARACTERS: Cas, who I loved in the previous book, came across more as a whiney kid in this one. He was always complaining when he didn’t get his way, or focusing on the negative instead of showing the strength and confidence he had in the first book. I also didn’t really care for the new character we meet… the mysterious Jestine who for whatever reason has to save the day. No, I won’t give any spoilers, but I will say this, I don’t like it when authors feel the need to save the female lead with a pop-up male character, well, I don’t like it when a pop-up female character has to jump in and save the male either.

APPEARANCE: Like the cover of Anna Dressed In Blood, this one is also very beautiful, and whimsical. Yet, surrounded by fire is evokes more fear than the previous cover did. The hit of romance is gone and the truth behind the veil of death is revealed. The cover for Girl of Nightmares perfectly portrays the feel I believe Blake was going for when she wrote this story.

MY FAVORITE QUOTES:
“Every time I question him about the feasibility, he smiles at me like he’s Yoda and I’m just a dumbass without the Force.”

“Everyone seems to know more than I do, and being on the shallow end of the information pool is starting to piss me off.”

“It’s true what they say about answers only leading to more questions. There will always be more to find out, more to learn, more to do.”

“…I kiss her, one time, and try to tell her in that single gesture everything that she’ll forget as soon as she turns away. I tell her I love her. I tell her I’ll miss her. And then I let her go.”

Check out my YouTube channel and the video review below… and make sure you hit subscribe so you never miss a video.

https://youtu.be/mC_9HhI3v0U