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Flash Movie Review: Silent Night
I MAY HAVE MENTIONED A LONG time ago one among the many things that motivated me to lose weight was a pair of bell-bottomed pants. Seems strange when I see that statement down on print, but it was true. Bell bottoms became a fashion trend when I was in elementary school; everyone, both girls and boys, wore them. I was not able to because they did not come in my waist size. It was one of those life events that influenced me because it was then I realized my excess weight made me different from the other kids. It did not matter there were other kids bigger than me; I took it personally as if the pants manufacturing companies were picking on me. Because I desperately wanted a pair, I started dieting. Granted there were many other reasons such as being called a variety of names by the bullies of the school and the humiliation of the yearly weigh-in at the first gym class of the new school year that could have been used for motivation. All of this deeply affected me to the point I decided to do something about it and began to diet. I still remember how I would eat cottage cheese for breakfast and chicken bouillon soup with oyster crackers for lunch. I cut out desserts and after a few months maintaining this way of eating, I was rewarded by receiving a pair of blue bell-bottomed pants. OUTSIDE INFLUENCES CERTAINLY CAN BE STRONG motivators as you can see. For me it was a sense of peer pressure and peer abuse that made me change my eating habits. However, I must say I have found motivation in my dreams and vision of what kind of life I wished to live. Teaching aerobics came about because of my love of music. I took that love and choreographed a variety of moves into a routine to each song I played in class. A friend of mine could not stand to be alone with herself so she quickly found someone and married them in a matter of a couple of months. This may not have been the healthiest choice to rectify the situation. The point being, she was determined to take matters into her own hands and force her way to a marriage. One never knows what is in store for them that triggers such a strong response; outside factors mixed in with one’s emotions can truly become a powerful event. Though it might be tough for some viewers to watch, this action thriller directed by John Woo (Red Cliff franchise, Face/Off) shows what a person can do when they experience a strong outside factor. WHEN HIS SON WAS KILLED IN the crossfire between two rival gangs, the little boy’s father begins a path that will avenge his son’s needless death. With Joel Kinnaman (RoboCop, The Suicide Squad) as Brian Godlock, Catalina Sandino Moreno (A Most Violet Year, Marie Full of Grace) as Saya, Kid Cudi (Need for Speed, House Party) as Vassell, Harold Torres (Memory, Run Coyote Run-TV) as Playa and Vinny O’Brien (Stoker Hills, Jexi) as Anthony Barello Esq.; this violent and bloody film took me by surprise because there was no dialog in the movie. I appreciated the premise of the story, but I thought the execution of it was too slow paced. For the first half of the picture, I noticed I was getting bored. If one does not use dialog, then the actors must be able to communicate with their faces and that was the issue I had with the movie. Joel, I felt, did not effectively communicate with his facial expressions. The action when it finally came, was intense and as I said earlier, violent and bloody. There also was a sense of non-believability in several scenes. By the time the film ended, I was left with a sense of emptiness, no feelings either way which I bet I could convey without saying a word out loud.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Entergalactic
ONE OF THE BEST PIECES OF advice given to me was I need to love myself before someone can love me. Never having a great self-image of myself, it took a long time to find my way to accepting and loving myself. Prior to getting to that place, I went through a period where I had a series of multiple dates that each one did not last more than two or three months. Looking back, I can see one factor that did not work in my favor. By not feeling good about myself and/or where I was in life, I was not able to connect with others on a deeper level. I stayed very guarded, not willing or to be more precise, not able to express a sense of joy and wonder about life. Most of my first dates were more like an interview, with me as the interviewer. It was easier for me to hear about someone else’s issues and try to fix them than me working on myself. I especially enjoyed the challenge when a first-time date talked about their ex, which many people say is a red flag. It never bothered me unless it sounded like they missed and wanted to get back with them, which has happened to me. On some level, hearing about someone else’s troubles with a previous partner made me feel like I was not the only one suffering from a bad relationship. FROM MY EXPERIENCES, WHEN ASKED I have offered advice to my friends who are dealing with dating issues. I have one friend who has avoided looking at their recent past relationships that ended with sadness. It is as if they take all their feelings and emotions and put them in a box to be stored somewhere in the back of their brain. I remember when their previous relationship ended and one week later, they were out on a date. When they finally asked me for advice, I asked them if they saw a pattern taking place from each breakup. Maintaining a safe environment for them to finally open up about it, they discovered certain things they do in each relationship. Once that connection was made, they got into exploring more about themselves and I could not be happier that today they are in a loving relationship that turned into marriage. When things fall into places where one feels good about themselves, their career, their life, then they can really make connections with other human beings. And I am not only talking about connecting on a love relationship, but with friends and family, the world opens for them to spread and share that love. I saw it in this animated, musical romantic comedy. AFTER GETTING HIRED BY A POPULAR publishing company and moving into a dream apartment, a graffiti artist finds himself balancing the aspects of his new life. He can also forget about the girlfriend who dumped him…or could he? With Kid Cudi (Need for Speed, X) voicing Jabari, Jessica Williams (Fantastic Beasts franchise, Booksmart) voicing Meadow, Laura Harrier (Spider-Man: Homecoming, White Men Can’t Jump) voicing Carmen, musical artist Ty Dolla Sign voicing Ky and Timothee Chalamet (Dune, Call Me by Your Name) voicing Jimmy; I found this film exciting. The reason is because it took a generic rom-com scenario and injected it with a new, creative flair that made viewing and listening to it so enjoyable. I thought the animation was excellent, to the point where one could almost see the characters as living, breathing human beings. The musical soundtrack fit the story perfectly and I liked the way the songs were introduced during it. Even when scenes were predictable, it did not matter to me because of the way the movie told the story. This was a confident and well-done production all around.
3 ½ stars
moviejoltz 