Month: June 2023

5 Word Movie Reviews – April, May, & June

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So behind on this space, but envision more engagement in the next few months. I miss my blogging peeps!

In a comment, give me your 5 words (or less!) and earn $1 for charity. Once we get to $100 the person with the most reviews will choose the charity. Click here to see the past winners, the charities they chose and the other reviews you can add to. Anyone is welcome to join in at any time. Click here to see past movie posts.

We’re at $85 right now.  Your charity could be next 

Listed in the order I liked them best…

Peanut Butter Falcon, 2019 (Shia LaBouf, Zack Gottsagen. Dakota Fanning, John Hawkes, Bruce Dern, John Bernthal, Thomas Haden Church, Yelawolf) Grade A

Everyone deserves to be seen.

Air, 2023 (Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Chris Tucker, Viola Davis, Chris Messina) Grade A

Is MJ really MJ without his Jordans?

Rush, 2013 (Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Bruhl, Olivia Wilde, Alexandra Maria Lara, Pierfrancisco Favino) Grade B+

Racing greats very different approaches.

The Gift, 2015 (Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, Joel Edgerton) Grade B

Careful who your friends are.

Super Mario Bros Movie, 2023 (Voices-Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, Charlie Day, Seth Rogan, Keegan-Michael Key, Fred Armisen) Grade B

Surprising fun. Peaches is addicttive.

Superbad, 2007 (Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Seth Rogan, Bill Hader, Emma Stone) Grade B-

Husband made me watch it.

Paranormal Activity, 2007 (Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat, Mark Fredrichs, Ashley Palmer) Grade C

I was expecting more scares.

The Hating Game, 2021 (Lucy Hale, Austin Stowell, Damon Daunno, Corbin Bernsen, Sakina Jaffrey) Grade C

Playing with lusty fire.

Chaos Walking, 2021 (Tom Holland, Daisy Ridley, Mads Mikkelson, David Oyelowo, Nick Jonas, Demian Bichir, Cynthia Erivo) Grade C-

Why do this to a perfectly good trilogy?

Flung Out of Space: Inspired by the Indecent Adventures of Patricia Highsmith

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Flung Out of Space by Grace Ellis and Hannah Templar. 4.5/5 stars, graphic bio, 208 pages, 2022.

Any Patricia Highsmith fans out there? This is a graphic bio of the time when she wrote Strangers on a Train and the lesbian thriller A Pinch of Salt under a pseudonym. A Pinch of Salt was later retitled Carol and is known for having the first happy ending gay characters had gotten in books.

Loved the book and recommend it. It was the Author’s Note at the beginning that hooked me. I left out more good stuff for brevity.

“This is a story I believe is worth telling. That being said, I want to be clear: The protagonist of this story is not a good person. She was deeply anti-Semitic, racist, and misogynistic, even by the standards of her time. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say that many of her beliefs were nothing short of evil…

History is populated by complicated and destructive human beings. I think it’s important that we reckon with that. Not every influential or important figure deserves to be put on a pedestal, including women and LGBTQ people…Patricia Highsmith is not a hero, and she had a huge, positive impact on LGBTQ literature, not to mention American literature in general…

If you read this book and end up conflicted about Highsmith and her legacy: good.”

The Yards Between Us by RK Russell

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The Yards Between Us by RK Russell. 4/5 stars. Autobiography. 304 pages. 2023

Do you like football? Do you like poetic memoirs about learning to live your truth? Are you wanting to add to your Pride month reading list? I’ve got just the book for you!

RK Russell grew up in Texas with a single mom and very little money. He was big for his age, but even so didn’t start playing football until high school. He had a steady girlfriend. He went on to play football at Purdue University where he also had a girlfriend but also started questioning his attraction to men.

He went on to play in the NFL and the book has a few games rehashed in great detail for you football lovers. BUT this is more than football. This is about a young man coming to terms and then embracing who he is. I loved his stories of growing up as much as I loved the happy ending he made for himself.

He has a book of poetry published and I’m not surprised. He knows how to turn a phrase.

I received this from TLC Book Tours and was supposed to post my review May 22 😳. I totally forgot about it and once I picked it up it only took two days to read, so the tardiness is mine and no fault of the book.