Directed by Shane Black and starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling, it’s a quirky film. If you’ve ever seen the director’s movie Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, you’ll understand the type of quirkiness.
The film harkens back to the 80’s and 90’s buddy films. (Reminded me a little of The Last Boy Scout.) Crowe and Gosling are a mismatched pair who have to work together to solve the mystery.
It wasn’t quite a funny as I’d been led to believe. The humor is more quirky, less laugh out loud.
The characters are damaged. They really aren’t nice guys. (They aren’t really bad guys, either.) They do go through a process of some redemption though.
It’s also rated R for a reason – violence, language, and nudity (as the plot involves investigating the porn industry.)
Marginally recommended. (Unless you really dig films like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, then go see it!)
The Thing That Turned Me anthology from Stay Classy Productions will be out on June 30.
When asked to contribute, I decided to return to the Cassa universe and a time in Byron’s life before he began Cosbolt training.
Read CassaDawn and other stories on June 30!
This also came in the mail last week, all the way from the UK!
I have an autographed copy of Yvonne Lewis’ latest book, Stand by Me, Danny Boy.
Thank you, Yvonne!
New Releases
A Spy in Me, The Harley Files, Freshman Year, Book 1 by Rebecca Green Gasper
When college student Harley Jenkins finds out she’s on probation with her university for something her roommate has done, she decides to distract herself with the mysterious death of a local girl by hiding out in small spaces even though she’s claustrophobic. Will Harley be able to solve the mystery before it takes the lives of more girls, or will she have to back out to solve her own problem?
Find it at Amazon and Smashwords
Chaos Season (The Season Avatars Book 3) by Sandra Ulbrich Almazan
Jenna Dorshay t’Reve isn’t your typical farmer’s daughter. Blessed with plant magic, she’s been impatiently waiting to take her place as Summer Avatar of Challen. All she and her sister Season Avatars have to do is tame a Chaos Season, a magical weather storm sent to Challen by a wrathful demigoddess…
Find it at Amazon
Cassie and The Wild Cat: Run Wild With A Child by Pat Hatt
Cassie and The Wild Cat are back for their 6th adventure at their shack. This time they were having a good meal when they were met with a new ordeal. A child came in and they both considered that a sin.
Find it at Amazon
Swepty Away by Elizabeth Seckman
He came looking for a ghost. Instead, he found a girl.
Find it on Amazon
Sometimes the Walls Cry: A book of Haiku and Sketch by Dean Miller
It’s time for some movie trivia! In honor of The Nice Guys, today features all buddy films. Name them based on the actors and year.
1 – Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin 1988
2 – Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith 1997
3 – Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, 1982
4 – David Spade, John Goodman 2000
5 – Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell 1989
6 – Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker 1998
7 – Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy 2001
Does Going Through Crap Make One a Better Writer?
We know writers tend to be an insecure bunch. But it seems that’s not all. After years of associating with other writers and thousands of IWSG posts, I noticed some common threads.
Many writers have been through some crap in their life. Maybe it was a bad childhood, a divorce, drugs, alcohol, illness – the list is endless. It’s left scars and many seem to draw upon their difficult experiences to write great stories.
There’s also the emotional roller coaster. Writers can be depressed one minute and excited the next. Again, everyone seems to draw from this whirlwind of emotions when writing. They make their mental and emotional hang ups work to their advantage.
My question – do you need to go through some of that stuff in order to be a good writer? The reason I ask? Because none of that describes me.
I’ve really never been through anything traumatic. I had a good childhood. Never experienced drugs or any addiction. My wife and I have never had issues outside of the usual ‘heated discussions.’ I’ve experienced death of course, losing family members and friends. But overall, I’ve had a really good life. Plus, I’m even-keeled when it comes to emotions. I don’t experience real highs or lows.
As far as I can tell, that is not normal for a writer.
(Although it’s not just with writing. I hear others give their salvation story – they were alcoholics, on drugs, atheists, angry with the world, etc. – and it’s a great testimony. Me? I was actually having a pretty good life when I got saved. Until I got saved, I had no idea anything was really missing. My testimony would be really boring.)
So, does it take that stuff to be a good writer? Does it make one more worldly and experienced?
Seen The Nice Guys yet? Picking up some new books? Know any of the trivia? And does going through stuff make one a better writer?
I will be gone Memorial Day weekend – catch you all on June 1 for the IWSG!