The blog of author Stacy Kingsley - Stacy Kingsley

Movie Review - THE VOICES

6/25/2016

This is what IMDb says - A likable guy pursues his office crush with the help of his evil talking pets, but things turn sinister when she stands him up for a date. But the movie was much more than that. It wasn't about two evil talking pets, only the cat was evil (as cats are), but the dog was not evil. In fact it seemed like the dog was a moral conscience for the guy.

This movie starred Ryan Reynolds as the main character Jerry. Jerry seems like an all american guy with a normal job and a somewhat active social life. He has some obvious awkwardness in social situations, but he does get a few date. None of the dates end well however, and the viewer finds out that not everything is as it seems. Jerry is an odd duck. He talks to his pets, a dog and a cat, then again what single person doesn't talk to their pets. He is awkward when asking women out, but he does get a few dates. Plus, he is good at his job, at least no one there has noticed anything odd about him. Problem is, Jerry has a secret, and that secret involved a lot of plastic takeout boxes, and a saw.

This movie was weird, and when I say that I mean it in a good way. There are a lot of weird movies out there, not all of them are good, but this one was pretty funny. It was a dark comedy about love and death and how pets influence you. Jerry was a really interesting character. The viewer didn't expect him to be the man he really was.

This movie was funny in just the right spots. The talking animals were both very rich characters and they really added to the absurdity of this movie.

While this seems to have been made earlier than it was (the video quality was odd) it was made in 2015. The video quality really made it seem like it was made in the '80's.

If you have time, and not much to do, I recommend watching this movie. It has humor, love, murder, and animals.

Zombies, Family, and Love

2/15/2016

So THE WALKING DEAD is back on, and I often get asked, "What do you think of THE WALKING DEAD?"

Let me be honest, I thought it was okay, I only watched the first three, maybe four, seasons because some of the characters I liked from the graphic novels are not alive anymore. I get it, Daryl is awesome, and no he isn't in the graphic novels. But in the graphic novels Andrea is a total badass, Rick's daughter...don't get me started, The Governor was way more interesting as a character study, and honestly in both I really am just waiting for Carl to die. I'd so much like him to go away, and I'd so much like for Rick to stop being such a big baby. I watched the "look at the flower" episode, and I thought it was interesting, but honestly there is very little to make me want to watch the characters when they are much more poignant in the graphic novels. It's not even that I dislike zombie shows or movies, I mean have you watched Z Nation? It's awesome! Also, while iZombie has some weird humor (I think some is okay but lets stop making zombies romantic characters or living humans with normal lives), I think it's only okay right now.

Yesterday was Valentine's Day. To some this is a day about family, others it's about the partner you are with, or if you're single you may want to kill people. Personally, I think there doesn't need to be just one day to show your family or the person you love that you love them. Tell them and show them every day! I mean, I can go to a nice romantic dinner any time I choose, all I have to do is make the reservation and choose. And really that heart shape, I don't think that's cool. If I am going to send you a Valentine I'm gonna make sure the heart on the card looks like a damn anatomical heart!

These thoughts lead to a question in my head... why are we trying so hard to be in love? There are dating apps, and websites, and groups, and it's insane. Love should just happen. Sure it's hard to meet people, but that's because we are trying too hard. I love the one I'm with. I found this person on total accident. That's how you find people. Love is something we all want, but how about we love ourselves. If something happened to my partner tomorrow, I'd be devastated, but I wouldn't have to immediately jump out and find a new partner. I can be by myself. It would be hard, but I'd do it.

Of course I might see about cryogenically freezing my partners body so if zombies do rise I can turn him into my zombie love slave.

In the end

1/17/2016

In the end I got a card, it said call me, I never got around to it.
In the end I looked at everything in your house, I looked at the emptiness and it felt my heart with dread.
In the end I wandered into your bedroom and saw nothing left of you.
In the end I drove out of town for the last time, realizing it was the last time and I had no reason to go to your house again.
In the end my tears made it hard to drive as I got further and further away from my memories of you.

In the end I was told I couldn't hold her because all I wanted to do was see a dead body.
In the end no one thought I was sad because I didn't cry, or look depressed, but everyone grieves differently.
In the end I realized we would never meet, and I had waited so long.
In the end no one held me and told me it was going to be okay, as I told my siblings it would be okay and tried to be strong for them, and my parents.
In the end no one comforted me so I cried in the shower, and in the dark of night, and I tried to move on, but it is always hard.

In the end I watched as he slid deeper and deeper into fever dreams.
In the end I don't think he knew I was there as I placed the cool washcloth on his warm head.
In the end I saw how thin and and small he had become.
In the end I bottled things up as he became quite.
In the end I tried hard not to break when he left this world.
In the end I sat in a dark bathroom missing him and clutching a small stuffed tiger to my chest.
In the end I knew we'd never talk again, and I'd never be able to ask all the questions I saved because I was too sad watching the disease eat away at his body, his strength, his ability to walk with me to get ice cream.

In the end I never knew who she was.
In the end I regretted never reaching out on my own to say hello and get to know her.
In the end when she passed I wasn't able to say goodbye.
In the end I missed my opportunity.
In the end I realized it probably wasn't my fault.

In the end we all have these thoughts. In the end we regret the decisions that we should have, could have, or would have made. We wait. We wait to call because we know they are sick and don't want to bother them. We wait to say we love them because we are waiting to meet them. We wait to hug them because they are so fragile and we are afraid we might break them. We wait to get to know them because of the influences of others. We wait. We lose.

I miss them all, all of them and more.

Don't wait. In the end you never get a second chance.

Book Review - SAINT ODD by Dean Koontz

1/25/2015

If you haven't read any of the ODD THOMAS books I suggest you don't read this blog post because while I try not to post spoilers, there may be a moment when I can't help myself.

SAINT ODD is the 8th and final book in the series. After reading all of the books, wanting to give up when I got to ODD INTERLUDE, and then hoping that I could finish the series, I am glad I did.

Growing with the main character, Odd, for all seven books I was curious but not surprised at how the series ended. I would have actually like it better if it hadn't been so obvious what was going to happen in the last book.

This book finds Odd back in his hometown of Pico De Mundo, a small town he saved from disaster in the very first book in the series, ODD THOMAS. He returns home to once again save it from disaster. Followed by a group of cultists that want to kill him and set the world on fire, Odd finds that he has friends he can always depend on, but he also has people who will always want to kill him. Throughout the book I felt that I was reading one disaster after another and one murder after another. Not a lot was described and there wasn't really a lot of movement in the book. When I got halfway through I wondered what was really going on because the book really seemed to be going no where.

The ending of the book was absolutely predictable and expected, especially if one has read the other seven books. I really wish it hadn't been so predictable, and I also wish this last book had a little more substance. The cultists weren't really explored in this book, they were just random killers running amok through the book until they try killing the next person. The other characters weren't really that interesting or developed either, not like previous books in the series. The returning characters were mostly background noise. In the end it didn't make much sense except to lead to the ending that I already knew was coming.

I can't say I recommend this book, but I don't want to deter anyone from reading the rest of the series when the first 3, maybe 4 books, were really pretty good. In my view this book didn't add anything to the story, it felt a little rushed, and the only thing that came out of it was the ending, which wasn't a surprise either.

I was disappointed, but I would have still read it.

Movie Review - HER

1/24/2015

Joaquin Phoenix plays Theo, a man who writes letters for other people for a living. He lives in a society where everyone is connected, and they use their OS machines to run their lives. One day Theo decides to update his OS and then he meets Samantha, the woman, or machine of his dreams.

Theo is a man going through a tough time. He is on his way to divorce, all he has to do is sign the papers. He doesn't have much of a dating life, and when he does try to date he is considered something of an odd duck, making his dates not as successful as he would like. His best friend is a young woman named Amy, played by Amy Adams, who is herself in a difficult and interesting relationship. Theo realizes that with his OS, Samantha, he can be who he wants and who he is, and really she makes him a better man.

The relationship is of course complicated, he's a human and she's a computer. In the end the question is where do they go and how do they get there?

This movie was a really good movie. It was quiet and funny and sad and beautiful. There were moments when I wondered how it would end and where they could go, but then when the movie reached the end I saw that it couldn't have ended any other way. I did wonder how much we rely on technology, and how many people out there might already be in love with their computers. It would be so easy to fall in love with someone who wasn't there, a long distance relationship might work better than living with someone, but is the relationship real.

I recommend this movie to everyone. It is a sci-fi romantic comedy and it should have received more hype than it did. This is really a movie for anyone, except those who only like horror and death, those of you who like that won't get much out of this movie.

Movie Review - A NORMAL HEART

12/5/2014

Usually I wouldn't review such a serious movie for my blog, especially since this is mostly a horror blog, but the AIDS crisis continues today and this movie was a great representation of the beginning days of the virus in New York. The movie follows Ned Weeks (played by Mark Ruffalo), a gay activist who is continually watching his friends die from a disease called "Gay Cancer". It begins in 1981, which was several years before HIV/AIDS was recognized as a sexually transmitted disease.

Ned is an overbearing loudmouth who isn't good at making friends in high places, but he's passionate, especially since he is continually watching his friends and their lovers die of a disease that has no cure, no treatment and is getting no research help. Julia Roberts plays Dr. Emma Brookner, the one hope these Ned and his friends have at finding and getting a cure. Her ideas are not popular since they involve refraining from the intimacy of kissing and sex, but all she is trying to do is protect those she can. Dr. Brookner is tired of watching men come in sick, she is tired of watching nurses and doctors avoiding those who are deathly sick because they are afraid they can catch it, and she is tired of watching men die.

This was a pretty good movie. I felt that although there were times when it was slow, it showed both the heartache and the passion that the gay community had when HIV/AIDS first appeared. These people were suffering and not getting the help nor was the research being done to save lives. It wasn't until a heterosexual man in 1984 ended up sick that this epidemic began to gain more exposure. The movie is based on the life if Larry Kramer, the real life Ned Weeks, and is really very heartbreaking.

As I said before though, there were some very slow parts of this movie, and at one point I just wished that the character of Ned Weeks would be a little more respectful of his friends, especially those who had not outed themselves. I also found some of the other character a little too passive. These men were watching their friends die, and yet they were afraid to seek out the help they so desperately needed because they were afraid people would find out they were gay. So some of the characterizations were a little annoying and I would have liked to see a little bit more development in the personalities as the crisis became more urgent. Overall however, this was a pretty good and realistic portrayal of the beginning days of the HIV/AIDS crisis.

Movie Review - HUNGER GAMES MOCKINGJAY PART 1

12/3/2014

Let me start by saying I really enjoyed the first two movies quite a bit. Also, I'd like to put it out there that in movies that are part of a series there is usually one that is slow and not so good as the others. I feel like MOCKINGJAY PART 1 was the slow not so wonderful movie in the HUNGER GAMES series.

If you are a fan of watching Jennifer Lawrence look sad and cry then this is the perfect movie for you. Otherwise this movie was so slow I was wondering, before it was halfway through, when it was going to be over. I was so bored at one point I almost fell asleep. The dramatic moments in this movie were almost soap opera dramatic. I just don't understand how they could have taken the first two movies, which were action packed and character driven, and made a movie that was so slow and uninspired from this book series.

Now I know this won't be a popular review of this movie, so many people are already in love with it, but I think it could have been better. I did read the books and I think that in an effort to make four movies for this series they took some of the dullest things they could and made them duller. The best part of the movie was when Peeta and Katniss were reunited, otherwise I really could have cared less about what was going on. I was also incredibly uncomfortable with the communist Germany feel I got throughout the movie, some of the gestures and the actions made me uncomfortable.

Also, I must say Phillip Seymour Hoffman was wonderful as usual and he will be missed as an actor and a man. His performances in pretty much every movie was spectacular.

Movie Review - THE COUNTESS

10/28/2014

Recently I stumbled upon a movie titled THE COUNTESS on netflix. I was interested because I thought Countess Bathroy was an interesting lady although she was also a crazed serial killer who bathed in the blood of innocent young women and children.

So the story was an unusual take on the story of Countess Bathroy. It portrayed the Countess as a sympathetic character and made her seem like a woman who was not only hurt by love but famed by men who wanted her power and her money. The movie almost makes it seem as if she never did a thing except help young ladies who had hard lives. She was betrayed by a man who she thought was satisfying to her, and her torturous side. In the movie she had a female lover who tried to warn her she was being used by strangers who only wanted her money and power. The Countess was portrayed as so sympathetic that by the end of the movie the viewer almost didn't want her to be sealed up in her little prison.

In reality the Countess was an evil woman who literally bathed in the blood of the innocent women she killed. The movie made it seem like she did everything she did for love, but she was just self-absorbed. I thought it was an interesting point of view on her life and story, but knowing as much as I do about her it was very unrealistic, plus the actress who played her just played her so flat, in love or angry she sounded and looked exactly the same.

I'd say watch this because of the unique view, but otherwise it isn't memorable enough to recommend.

Book Review - GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn

9/23/2014

GONE GIRL is a book about marriage, and what one does to either succeed or fail in marriage. The story revolves around Nick and Amy Dunne, a married couple who recently moved to help out with Nick's ailing mother. On their 5th wedding anniversary Amy goes missing and Nick begins the search for her. The police believe what police often believe when one spouse goes missing and it looks like they were killed, the husband did it.

I was hoping to love this book. A mystery thriller that has a movie coming out sounded like a great story. I always try to read the books before I see the movies, and unfortunately, unless the movie is totally different from the book I won't be seeing it.

None of the characters were interesting or likeable. In fact I hated the characters so much I wanted to throw the book, but I can't help myself, I need to finish a book when I start it, just to see if it gets better, but no, it didn't get better. Both characters were pretentious and annoying. The writing was also very pretentious and annoying. It was almost as if Ms. Flynn wrote the book, deciding to create the most hateful characters just to antagonize the reader. Not only were the characters not at all enjoyable, but even the background characters were dull and flat. There was potential in Nick's hateful father. The man was suffering from Alzheimer's and yet their was no development in the father/son relationship, nor was the past described in their relationship. The reader is given no reason to hate the father as much as Nick seems to. The potential to go into the main characters deeper by looking at their family history never got developed enough for me to care about the characters, their families, or what happens.

Now, I hate to be so down on a book, but I thought this was a terrible book. The first section had potential, but the rest of the book just gave excuse after excuse as to why things were happening the way they were. Lastly the ending was just wrong. I just hated the ending so much, and without giving anything away I can't believe that I read this entire book just to end up where I started. At least this was how I felt.

About DOCTOR WHO

8/31/2014

I really enjoy the television show DOCTOR WHO, and I'm surprised how much I am enjoying the new doctor thus far, especially since he is Scottish and not English. I'll admit I haven't watched any episodes before the 9th doctor, but I keep being told that I should, and eventually I will get to it (I know some of the older doctors are interesting as well).

After watching seven seasons I think about the bad guys and the good guys. There have been so many intense moments in the show, both heart wrenching and mind boggling. The situation between Rose and #10 was so intense and what an interesting love story. The forgetfulness of Donna and the way she lost everything she had loved, it still makes me sad to think about. The way Rory and Amy's story ended was the only way it could have ended, no matter how much the audience would have loved for it to end a different way, yet they were together, no matter what. Then there is Clara, the impossible girl who deserved something she will never get now.

The bad guys, the ones that are silly and the ones that freak me out, are some of the most terrifying and thought provoking monsters I have ever seen. The cybermen, Daleks, the silence, weeping angels, because of these anyone who has watched the show won't look at statues, robots, or toasters again, and we will question if we are losing time because the silence is hanging around.

And the question that keeps coming up is who is good and who is evil, or an even more pressing question is what consequence does a person's actions create and if it kills or hurts others does it make that person evil?

So, with this being said, I'm wondering how many of you out there in the internet universe watch the show and how many enjoy it...still...even with a Scottish doctor?