My awesome co-hosts today are Misha Gericke, LK Hill, Juneta Key, Christy and Joylene Buter!
The IWSG is proud to announce we have two new admins joining the ranks!
Heather Gardner will be running the conferences page at the IWSG site.
C. Lee McKenzie will be our media relations expert, expanding our reach into the world and bringing in experts.
Please stop by their sites and welcome them today!
Today’s optional question - How has being a writer changed your experience as a reader?
I notice things now. While I can forgive some typos, I do notice mistakes and poor writing more now. What really bugs me is pacing. Slow or uneven pacing, especially if watered down with too much description, just takes me right out of a story.
How has your reading experience changed?
If you haven’t seen the cover for the upcoming IWSG anthology, Hero Lost, stop by the IWSG and check it out.
Also, on Monday we are having an amazing guest at the IWSG - Emmy and Golden Globe winning screenwriter, Erik Bork. You don’t want to miss it!
Jeremy Hawkins developed a t-shirt for us a couple years ago, but now we also have pens and magnets.
Sales of these items will benefit the IWSG directly and help us to expand to bigger and better things for you, the members.
Time to be insecure and proud!
Visit the IWSG site for yours.
Finally, the IWSG anthology authors of Hero Lost have started a really cool website. Check it out!
Movie Review
Hidden Figures
This film follows three real life NASA employees and their struggles.
An excellent film, it’s important on so many levels.
All three women struggle to achieve their goals at a time crucial to America’s history. Set in the early sixties, civil rights play a big role, but more on a personal level for each woman. They fight not only for the rights of blacks, but of women in general.
Taraji P. Henson is stunning in the starring role. (And a big shame she was not nominated for an Oscar.) She is mathematically gifted but meek, and yet when she needs to assert herself, she does. (Her tirade to Kevin Costner as to why she has to trek halfway across the NASA facility to use the bathroom is very moving.) Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae are also fighting a barrier with everything they’ve got.
This film hits on many issues. The women aren’t just fighting for their civil rights. They have to deal with prejudice as women and jealousy. (Jim Parsons takes a big leap in playing a very unlikeable character, as does Kirsten Dunst.)
While predictable in the path it will take, Hidden Figures hits all the key notes perfectly.
Highly recommended!
February Movie Preview
Here are the upcoming theatrical releases for February! As always, descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snark provided by me.
10 –
John Wick: Chapter 2
The continuing adventures of former hitman, John Wick.
Director: Chad Stahelski v Stars: Ruby Rose, Keanu Reeves, Bridget Moynahan, Ian McShane
Considering the body count in the first John Wick film, by the time we get to chapter ten, everyone in the world will be dead.
17 –
An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company's CEO from an idyllic but mysterious "wellness center" at a remote location in the Swiss Alps but soon suspects that the spa's miraculous treatments are not what they seem.
Director: Gore Verbinski
Stars: Jason Isaacs, Dane DeHaan, Mia Goth, Adrian Schiller
Hopefully more like The Ring and less Wacky Adventures of Jack Sparrow.
European mercenaries searching for black powder become embroiled in the defense of the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures.
Director: Yimou Zhang
Stars: Matt Damon, Tian Jing, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe
Matt Damon fights Donald Trump over who’s going to pay for the damn thing. (It will be huuuuuuuuuge….)
21 –
DVD release – Hacksaw RidgeBased on a true story about a conscientious objector who joins the army and without ever carrying a weapon, saved seventy-five people on Hacksaw Ridge. Excellent film and my pick for Best Motion Picture. Lead Andrew Garcia is also nominated for Best Actor. Don’t miss this one.
28 –
An egotistical plastic surgeon goes in search of a cure for his crippled hands and finds a mystical world and talents he never knew he possessed. A lot of fun and the 3D and special effects are mind-bending. Benedict Cumberbatch is great as the doctor. A must for you superhero collection – and watch for the doctor in the next Thor film.
What are your insecurities today? How has being a writer changed the way you read? Anyone else see Hidden Figures? What movies or DVD releases interest you this month?
Don’t forget to welcome Heather Gardner and C. Lee McKenzie to the IWSG fold.
