Insecure Writer’s Support Group; May Movie Preview; and Reviews – Mandalorian, Battlebots, Picard, and Nope

It’s time for another group posting of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group! Time to release our fears to the world – or offer encouragement to those who are feeling neurotic. If you’d like to join us, click on the tab above and sign up. We post the first Wednesday of every month. I encourage everyone to visit at least a dozen new blogs and leave a comment. Your words might be the encouragement someone needs.

The awesome co-hosts for the May 3 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Meka James, Victoria Marie Lees, and M Louise Barbour!

May 3 question - When you are working on a story, what inspires you?

This should come as no surprise – music! Whatever prog-metal band has me captivated at that moment. Jam some tunes and the words flow.


We are sad to say Elizabeth Seckman will be stepping away from the IWSG Admin team. Juneta Key has assumed her duty of producing our newsletter.

Elizabeth, we’ll miss you!

Quick Reviews

The Mandalorian
It just wrapped up its third season and is still as great as ever. A little more focus on Mando as opposed to Grogu, but you still get plenty of ‘Baby Yoda’ cuteness. Also a bit more side-quest and not as focused on the overall story. And the final ten minutes are just perfect. So far Disney is still telling a great story without any agenda and it’s refreshing.

Picard
Also on its third season, it’s an improvement over season two which I never could finish. (Season two was an insult, three more of a love letter, although it still falls a bit short.) Lots of previous Trek characters are back – lots! Still slogs in part when the villain goes into a long dialogue about why she’s so evil. But the action is good and some episodes harken back to Next Generation in feel.

Battlebots
Yes, it’s another round of ‘Robot Fighting Time!’ A few surprises and a few lame fights, but as always it’s great to see giant metal monsters beat the crap out of each other. Finals approaching soon, so don’t miss it.

Nope
This is one weird film. It’s a mesh of many genres, from Western to science fiction to horror. Mostly horror. But it was too long and some of the subplots were unnecessary. It was well done, actors were great, and it was very unique. Just…weird.

May Movie Preview

Here are the theatrical releases for May. Descriptions courtesy of the IMDB. Snark provided by me.

5 -

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill rallies his team to defend the universe and one of their own - a mission that could mean the end of the Guardians if not successful.
Director: James Gunn
Stars: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista
From what I understand, James Gunn has replaced all of the Guardians with DC characters. (Just kidding! Looking forward to it)

12 –

Hypnotic
A detective investigates a mystery involving his missing daughter and a secret government program.
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Star: Ben Affleck, William Fichtner, Alice Braga
Perhaps they can hire a hypnotic to get people into the theater?

19 –

Fast X
Dom Toretto and his family are targeted by the vengeful son of drug kingpin Hernan Reyes.
Director: Louis Leterrier
Stars: Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster, Tyrease Gibson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Momoa, Ludacris, John Cena, Jason Statham
Finally! A Fast and Furious-Aquaman mashup.

26 –

The Little Mermaid
A young mermaid makes a deal with a sea witch to trade her beautiful voice for human legs so she can discover the world above water and impress a prince.
Director: Rob Marshall
Stars: Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Melissa McCarthy
I understand they changed the lyrics from something I don’t care about to…something I don’t care about.

What inspires you? Have you seen any of those shows or the movie? What May movies catch your interest?
I will be back next Monday with a special guest!

Picard, Freaks, and Color Out of Space Reviews, Plus Ninja News

Show/Movie Reviews

Picard

Seven episodes in (ten total) and I can at last do a proper review of this series.

This series is a love letter to everyone who enjoyed Next Generation. Picard is such a great character and it’s always joyous to see him return to the screen.

Some find the series slow but I think the pacing is perfect. It gives the story and characters time to fully develop.

The characters are great and they are allowing them to grow and be fleshed out over the course of the series. None are perfect—they all come with baggage—but that makes them real. Raffi especially is a damaged person, but she still tries to do her best and the right thing.

Slight spoilers:

Dahj and Soji the daughters of Data? Now that is just awesome.

Seven of Nine is basically a ranger now and needs her own show. (And yes, Jeri Ryan is still hot.)

The interaction between Soji and the Romulan was the weakest part, but now that he’s shown his true colors and she knows who she is, it’s kicked up into a higher gear.

Episode seven featured Picard visiting Will Riker, Deanna Troi, and their daughter. In another series (like Discovery) they would be bitter and hateful and bad things would happen because Picard visited them. But no, true to the pureness of Rodenberry’s vision and spirit, Riker and Deanna were happy and still in love. It was touching to watch.

Unlike Discovery, this is a show I will watch again. Highly recommended! And I can’t wait to see how it ends.

Freaks

Released in 2018, this small film stars Emile Hirsch, Bruce Dern, Lexy Kolker, and Grace Park (Boomer/Athena/Number Eight from Battlestar Galactica.)

Young Chloe is not allowed to leave the house. Her father has barricaded them in, leaving only for food and supplies, telling her the world outside is very dangerous. But there’s something unique about Chloe and you wonder what is real and what’s not. What’s up with the ice cream truck outside? What happened to her mother? What is really going on?

This film is a unique take on the mutant genre. It’s small scale and intimate, and you can tell the creators and crew cared very much and made the most of their tiny budget. (The emphasis is on the characters, but the special effects are still well done.) While not a great film, that caring translates into a really solid film that will keep you guessing for a while.

Color Out of Space

An alien invasion movie based on a Lovecraft story of the same name.

The daughter is a practicing wiccan, the oldest son a stoner, the youngest son has security issues, mom has cancer, and dad (played by Nicolas Cage) is your typical bat-crap crazy Nicolas Cage. Oh, and they live on a remote estate, a hippie also lives on the land (Tommy Chong!), and they raise alpacas.

And things only get weirder when the meteor lands on their property and the alien entity starts to spread…

The movie is very trippy. It has elements of Annihilation and The Thing, and while the original story was set about a hundred years ago, this one is firmly planted in today’s time and modernized.

There’s not a lot I can say about it without giving the story away. That and the weirdness is difficult to describe. You have to see it to believe it!

If you like trippy films or just enjoy watching Nicolas Cage go even more bat-crap crazy, then this is an interesting movie to watch.

Ninja News

It was another great Insecure Writer’s Support Group post day! Thanks to all who participated and commented – and to those who offered to co-host. We are good to go the next two months.
We will also be announcing the genre and judges for the next IWSG Anthology Contest on April 1! You’ll have to wait until May 6 for the theme and the opening of the contest though. But the theme is really cool and we have seven awesome agents/authors/editors lined up as judges.

Write Club starts soon!
DL Hammons is looking for judges – see his site for more information and to contact him.

The A to Z Challenge starts April 1. (Which is also April Fool’s Day and the next IWSG post – it’s going to be busy in the blogging world!)
Visit the site to sign up and get the scoop on upcoming dates.




According to JoBlo, shooting will start soon for the Hawkeye series. Jeremey Renner will reprise his role as Hawkeye. The series is set to appear on Disney+.

Also on JoBlo, there is early praise for A Quiet Place: Part II:
The release of A QUIET PLACE: PART II is mere weeks away and one of the biggest questions leading up to its upcoming release is if it can possibly live up to the nerve-racking inducing horror and tension of the first film? It might be time for some of us to rest easy because the film recently screened for the first round of press and it appears that we're in for a sequel that isn't a shameless cash grab and it more than justifies its existence.

Have you been watching Picard? Seen either Freaks or Color Out of Space? Excited about the next IWSG Anthology Contest? Participating in either the A to Z Challenge or Write Club?
My next post will be March 23.

Reviews – Picard, Togo, The Aeronauts; Top Movies of the Decade, War Movie Trivia Answers, New Releases, and Ninja News

Last Friday, I was a guest on Scott Coon’s site for the Little Create Interview – five simple questions, five interesting answers. Check it out!

I also posted at the IWSG site - Ten Tips for Handling Bad Book Reviews.

Movie and Show Reviews

Picard

This show debuted on January 23, picking up with Jean Luc Picard twenty years after the last Next Gen movie, Nemesis.
It was a great first episode, snagging you from the opening scene. And it doesn’t let go. It’s very nostalgic without pandering. They don’t force-feed – it comes through sweet and natural.
The special effects, sets, everything – top-notch and movie quality.
And as much as I hate CBS for making me pay for this, they have my money for the duration of this show…
Highly recommended!

The Aeronauts

Inspired by a true event, this film depicts the first gas balloon to go beyond 23,000 feet in 1862.
Felicity Jones is daredevil balloon pilot Amelia Wren and Eddie Redmayne is scientist and meteorologist James Glaisher. Both are battling demons – she lost her husband in a balloon accident and he is fighting to prove the weather can be predicted.
The cinematography is amazing. The view from the balloon, the sight of the balloon in the clouds – all impressive.
The leads do great in their roles. The story begins with the balloon launch and then is told in flashbacks to show you where the characters came from and why this flight is so important to both. There are plenty of scary moments, as well as some painful ones when they hit ice. (Always bring the moleskin!)
While not historically accurate, it’s still a fun adventure tale and a look at a world we no longer know. Created by Amazon Studios, they’ve proven they can produce a big theater film.
Recommended

Togo

The true story of the real sled dog hero in the 1925 Nome, Alaska diphtheria serum run. Willem Dafoe plays musher Leonhard Seppala as he and his team, led by the aging Togo, race to get the serum during a storm.
Those of you who’ve seen the animated film Balto only know part of the story. Also one of Seppala’s dogs, he was the lead dog of the team that reached Nome with the serum – and therefore got the glory. However, that team was one of nineteen who ran for approximately thirty-one miles each. Seppala and Togo covered over two hundred and sixty miles!
It’s told in flashbacks, going from Seppala and Togo’s run through the storm to the beginning when man and pup met – and it was not love at first sight! Togo was a runt and Seppala wrote him off, but Togo proved to be smart, fast, and one amazing escape artist, and eventually he won over Seppala and became his lead dog.
There are plenty of tense moments, such as when they cross the frozen sound. The settings are beautiful and closeup special effects really good. (Just ignore the obvious matte paintings in the background of the sweeping shots.)
At its core, Togo is about the close relationship between man and dog and what happens if they push each other too far.
If you’re a fan of adventure, animal, or survival stories, you’ll really enjoy Togo.
Highly recommended

Ninja News

#IWSGPit went fantastic! There were more Tweets than ever before.
Thanks to everyone who participated or spread the word.
Any success stories from #IWSGPit, please pass them along. We want to feature you in the newsletter!

Spurred by a post by Anne R. Allen, I finally started being more active on Book Bub. My profile was set, but not every book had all the links, I wasn’t following many other authors, and I hadn’t reviewed any books. I am rectifying that now! If you have a Book Bub presence, please follow me – and I will follow back. And I am going to spend time every week reviewing new books.

The authors featured in the five IWSG anthology books have a website they run - IWSG Anthologies. With Voyagers: The Third Ghost coming out soon, you can visit the site each week to learn more about the authors and read a snippet of each story.

New release-
Moving Through Disclosure: The Handbook I Wanted During My Husband’s Pornography Addiction Disclosure by Elsie Amata
Find it on Amazon

And to give you a little chuckle…
I was watching a RiffTrax movie.
Man and woman watching the news on television.
The man gets up and says ‘No time for news now.’
One of the RiffTrax guys responds – ‘CNN’s new slogan!’
Yeah, almost too sad and true to be funny…

Top Ten Movies of the Decade

Here are the top ten, best-reviewed, and of course my personal favorite movies of the past decade, in no particular order. (Without commentary – sorry, I was running out of room in this post!)

The Avengers

Rogue One
Mad Max: Fury Road
Inception
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The Hobbit trilogy
Super 8
Wonder Woman
Fast Five
Guardians of the Galaxy

And special mention to Aquaman and Star Trek: Into Darkness

Movie Trivia Answers

War movies – name the movie from the three actors and the year.

Fionn Whitehead, Tom Hardy, Barry Keoghan, 2017 Dunkirk
Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, 2009 Inglorious Basterds
Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Dina Meyer, 1997 Starship Troopers
Jeremy Irvine, Davile Thewlis, Tom Hiddleston, 2011 War Horse
Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, 1979 Apocalypse Now
Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, 2014 Edge of Tomorrow
Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, 1986 Platton
Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, 2001 Black Hawk Down
Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, 1967 The Dirty Dozen
Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Hugo Weaving, 2016 Hacksaw Ridge
Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, 1964 Dr. Strangelove

Did you watch Picard? Seen Togo or The Aeronauts? Participate in #IWSGPit? On Book Bub? Did you get any of the trivia right? And what are some of your favorite movies from the past decade?