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The Bell Jar

the bell jar

I’m going to start this review on a somber note. May in the US celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month. Most of the world suffers from some form of mental illness whether mild or severe and many never get treated for one reason or another. Much of it comes from guilt, shame, or denial or plenty of other reasons but the outcome remains the same: a pain others can’t see. I’ve suffered from mental illness and many of my loved ones have. The Bell Jar helped me realize I wasn’t alone…

Esther Greenwood is a young woman who ought to feel on top of the world. From college she scored herself a much sought after internship at a women’s magazine and has come a long way from her roots in Boston. Unlike the others around her, she isn’t fascinated by the big city life. She feels stuck, unsure what to do or where to go after school and what the world could have in store for her except a life as a homemaker to please her nagging mother and marry a dude she barely likes basically because she’s expected to. One night she finds herself in a dark situation and Esther unravels, leading to suicide attempts and trips to the asylum and the barbaric treatments of the day, all alone, and misunderstood inside of her own personal jar…

The Bell Jar scared me. Deeply terrified me in fact. It wasn’t the fear of a monster or the supernatural that terrified me but how much I related to the feelings Esther portrayed. The book is beautifully written and the characters feel palpable through Esther’s eyes. The feelings she has feel justified and while sympathetic, by the end I rooted for her to find hope. The ending I found even more tragic when the real life of Sylvia Plath was taken into account. In the end, The Bell Jar is a book every reader, writer, or anyone dealing with mental illness should read. Instead of our customary farewell, I urge anyone dealing with mental illness to seek help and best wishes; it’s Ok to not be Ok.

The Perfection

perfection

I have a strange place in my heart for movies that make me say “WTF?”, especially more psychological endeavors like May (2002) or The Witch: a New-England Folktale . My last jump into Netflix horror was I am the pretty thing that lives in the house which didn’t really do anything for me. What lured me were claims of how controversial it was. By the end I wasn’t able to speak.

Charlotte was a cello prodigy who left her prestigious music school to care for her dying mother, leaving a life of fame behind. She returns to the posh world of classical music she left behind, finding another young prodigy, Lizzy, has taken the scene by storm. There mutual mentor, Anton, says they were the greatest pupils he ever had. It just so happens Charlotte’s last day was Lizzy’s first and there talent seems equal. They hit it off after a duet together, and after a night of dancing and love making, they go for a trip that goes horribly wrong when Lizzy gets sick and the question goes: how far will some go to find perfection…

There is a lot to the story I don’t want to spoil but there is a crazy amount of twists and turns I didn’t see coming. What I feel is the movie’s strongest attribute is how well it switches between romance, drama, horror, and revenge thriller. The scenery and music are beautiful and the acting is well done, especially the romantic chemistry between the lead actresses. The only real gripe I have is it’s annoying how the movie literally rewinds itself after a major twist to replay what’s really going on and there is a really weird camera choice for the final climax. I have to say while satisfying the ending feels a bit abrupt. Regardless of some bumps, the Perfection is a damn good movie with a story that will keep you guessing and I recommend it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Terminator: Dark Fate trailer

Terminator was once upon a time an amazing Sci-fi action movie with one of the greatest sequels of all time, becoming two pop culture icons. Sadly that wasn’t enough and now with one of the muddiest canons in modern film, we get yet another “Se-boot” , trying to be the T2 sequel that never was. Despite Cameron’s involvement and the return of Linda Hamilton and Arnie, I doubt this is going far I’m afraid. The effects look fairly poor by today’s standards and the new Terminator reminded me of Ultron mixed with Conner in Genysis. The future isn’t written but I hope the title doesn’t reflect Terminator’s future, a dark fate. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Pokemon Stadium

With Detective Pikachu killing it in theaters, I wanted to look back at a classic for 90’s kids. Pokemon Stadium was a simple concept done right- choose from the classic first generation 150 Pokemon and battle in epic tournaments against the AI or your friends, challenge the classic Indigo League gym leaders, or play some pretty fun mini games.

Much like the classic Pokemon games on Gameboy ( Red, Blue, Yellow, etc.) battling is standard turned based combat. I admit, knowing Pokemon in advance is a huge advantage. Types are everything and discovering what type beats your opponent grants you a near instant K.O. While the combat is certainly fun, type-matching and spam moves rule. There are a awesome assortment of modes to choose from; my favorite was a combination of the gym leader tower and the mini games. The graphics are fairly solid for the time but the sound effects are pretty corny, even for twenty years ago. While I don’t have much to say, if you have a friend and an N64, Pokemon Stadium is an amazing time. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

The Blackcoat’s Daughter

blackcoats daughter

The Blackcoat’s Daughter is the story of 3 young women and a remote all girls boarding school. Katherine is a quiet, weird girl whose parent’s haven’t come to get her on winter break; Rose is pretty, popular, and is afraid because she may or not be pregnant; Joan is a mysterious girl found on the side of a road by a grieving couple and given a ride, while being followed by the cops. Katherine and Rose are stuck at the school over break, waiting for there parents to show. Something isn’t right when Katherine begins acting strange; can an old rumor be true?

This is not a basic horror movie. I will say the atmosphere, the cinematography, and sound sell the film. There is a very well done feeling of cold isolation throughout and a really good sense of dread. There are a few creepy moments and the ending is unsettling. The acting is really good from the 3 leading ladies. The story itself is a bit confusingly laid out but overall is solid. It is a slow burn and I feel many will zone out because it’s not an eventful movie and there isn’t any huge effects in it which will turn many off. I feel the first third of the movie drags a bit too much. Blackcoat’s Daughter is a decent movie with some great aspects to it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Mr B Gone

mr b gone

Clive Barker, over the past decade I’ve been trying to better myself as a writer, has been something of a inspiration to me. While his work I find pretty varied in hits and misses, he is a master of working gruesome details and making the macabre almost beautiful and creative. Since The Hellbound Heart I haven’t read a full book by him, sticking with short stories like those found in Books of Blood (vol 1) , until I read this strange oddity called Mr. B Gone…

Jakabok Botch is a pathetic demon residing in hell with his family. Beaten, hated, and scarred by them, everything changes when he kills his father as he’s pulled to Earth circa the 1400’s. After running from his captors, he sets off on a journey of menace and bloodshed amongst the weak and corrupt disguising himself as a burned man. His only partner in mischief is Quitoon, a lover, a friend, and enemy. Quitoon, fascinated by the inventions of man, is excited by a new invention that will change the world: the printing press…

After finishing the book, I really didn’t know what to think. I like the overall narrative and thought the story itself was pretty inventive. There are some great gore moments and some good dark humor moments. I didn’t like Mr B as a main character and the meta nature of the book itself irked the hell out of me. I’ve never liked stories where the narrator talks directly to the audience so that made the story slog longer for me than it should have; I will say I had to chuckle for the reasoning behind it revealed at the end. While not my favorite by Barker, Mr B Gone should be checked out if you like horror meta fiction but avoided if you want a straight narrative. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Batman: Hush trailer 1

When I heard that Hush was going to be the next DC animated movie, I was pretty excited. Originally I was under the understanding it was going to be R rated and at first I was bummed. Regardless the animation and voice acting looks solid and I think it would be a cool, though my main fear is it being watered down. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Mass Effect 3

mass effect 3

Continuing after the events of Mass Effect 2 Shepherd has returned to the Alliance on Earth and Cerberus has began running amok. If that wasn’t troubling enough, the Reapers have began harvesting more races and changing them into monsters. The story begins with the unimaginable, the Reapers descending on Earth, obliterating Alliance HQ and Shepherd, traumatized by the devastation watches as the clock starts ticking. Generations of conflict between races must be settled if any race across the universe is to survive, but can Shepherd unite entire worlds in a seemingly hapless war when time is short and the Illusive Man still lurks around…

Mass Effect 3 has been said to be one of the biggest disappointments in modern gaming and arguably it began the decline of EA’s reputation. Of the trilogy, I admit its the weakest entry but still an awesome game. The opening is awesome in it’s sheer scope and sets up an emotional final entry. While you get a smaller roster of characters as you’re allies this time, with the exception of one, you have prior relationships with your team. Many for the characters you’ve encountered through the trilogy come have satisfying conclusions and throughout the game there are some great tear jerk scenes. Gameplay is still fun and fluid but while in the Normandy, there are some new check points that slow you down all of a sudden. It’s also kind of point less that they have a stealth take down mechanic but I rarely found a time to use it. The ultimate endings are meh but as I see it, with such a epic build up, its rare a ending could have matched the hype. In the end, it was a solid end to what many consider one of gaming’s greatest trilogy. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

IT Chapter 2 teaser

I have to admit I was surprised the trailer didn’t drop during Pet Sematary 2019 but after an extremely tough week, it was a nice surprise. I adore the choice of starting the trailer with adult Beverly and the old woman and slowly letting the suspense build. Like the first part, I’m glad they aren’t showing much, which helped immensely the first time. I can’t wait to float this September with Pennywise again, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Final Destination 3

fd3

It’s been a while since I dug into the Final Destination series and why not resume with the entry that was originally in 3D. From the mid to late 2000’s, 3D made a decent comeback for one reason or another and with Death’s wacky antics, 3D was perfect.

Wendy and a group of her friends and classmates are at a carnival before graduation. Wendy is taking pictures of everyone having fun and all is well. Finally they decide to hop on an intense roller coaster. Wendy has a vision of how things will go horribly wrong and after getting kicked off the roller coaster, they come to find out it was true. Death is coming for the survivors but can the photographs she took help save them?

Final Destination 3 is pretty much the same formula as the first and Final Destination 2 . Much like the others, it’s not going to scare anymore. You are basically coming for goofy deaths and over the top characters and it delivers. Whether it’s watching 2 Paris Hilton wannabes getting cooked in a tanning bed or getting crushed by a falling sign after a villain speech. I can’t say I liked any of the characters and without Tony Todd’s cameo, there was 0 dread. You can’t really notice the 3D except for a few brief moments in the roller coaster sequence. In the end it’s a forgettable sequel but is fairly humorous. May the gaming gods bring you glory.