#debra fletcher

[gettingready2read]

Getting Ready to Read on Our Planet and Beyond

We have a double feature for you this month! Check out There's an Alien in Your Book by Tom Fletcher and This is the Planet Where I Live by K.L. Going and Debra Frasier!

There's an Alien in Your Book

Children will enjoy all the fun activities in There's An Alien in Your Book by Tom Fletcher. Fletcher has the reader using their imagination, turning pages, jiggling the book, pressing buttons and waving at the adorable alien.

With plenty of interactive bold faced action words, this book is great for helping your child with print awareness.

As you read to your child, be sure to emphasize the bold-faced words to help with phonological awareness as they sound out the words with you.

Children will enjoy waving good-bye to the alien at the end, and exclaiming their new chant, "zaa-zee-zoo!"

This is the Planet Where I Live

Another book to share with your child is This is the Planet Where I Live by K.L. Going and Debra Frasier. The authors do a great job of connecting every facet of our planet through repetitive phrases, building larger and larger sentences thus helping your child learn how stories work.

This book is a simple yet thorough introduction to the living things of the earth and sky that make up our planet where we live, imparting new words which help to build background knowledge.

Extend the Books with an Alien Spaceship!

Use this template to trace and cut out the shapes for a spaceship on different colored construction paper.

You'll also need a glue stick and a marker to draw one bright eyeball and a smile on your alien!

[jonfarreporter]

Was Shea Butter Part of Cleopatra’s Beauty Regime?

As the weather turns from winter into spring, no doubt those seeking to be outside will need to moisturize their skin as the shift in temperatures with sun, water and wind make an impact. Skincare product specialist, Caryl Brandes of Caryl B has just “the thing for spring” and that is Shea Butter.

“Shea Butter is extracted from shea nuts from the Karite tree,” said Brandes. “Shea Butter is known for its luxurious moisturizing properties,” she added and Shea Butter melts at body temperature making it easily absorbed into the skin.”

The word ‘Karite’ comes from the French who established a colonizing presence in West Africa where the Shea Tree grows. Known by the people of the Senegal as “ghariti,” The Shea Tree grows naturally in the wild in the dry savannah belt of West Africa from Senegal in the west to Sudan in the east, and further onto the foothills of the Ethiopian highlands.

“It is a great choice for dry, irritated skin,” said Brandes. “It has been well-documented to improve the appearance of scars and stretch marks,” she noted.

Dermatology specialist Dr. Debra Jaliman, MD agreed as she said. “Shea Butter is very moisturizing.” It’s good as long as you aren’t acne prone.”

Still even so, Shea butter has anti-inflammatory properties, which can soothe and repair sensitive skin reducing the effects of skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema. 

Because of its emollient properties, such as the fatty acids and vitamin-rich oils produced by the seeds-nut-kernels, it’s believed that people in ancient times such as Cleopatra used Shea Butter.

“Fortunately I cover this throughout my book 'Cleopatra the Great' (published by Harper Collins),” said Professor Joann Fletcher, PhD an Egyptologist at The University of York in England.

“The perfumes available during Cleopatra's time were many; said Professor Fletcher, using everything from rose and myrtle oils to cinnamon and wine, plus various cleansing creams, bathing products and cosmetics.”

Fletcher noted, “there are lots of websites claiming Cleopatra used pretty much every product out there.” But, as she pointed out with regard to such beliefs, “this is almost always inaccurate.”

“I haven't come across any references of Cleopatra using shea butter either in my research for my biography of Cleopatra, or in our chemical analysis work here in the lab,” said Fletcher.

And while that might be a disappointment, it doesn’t diminish or take away the qualities or efficacy of Shea Butter. Besides, where the Shea Tree has traditionally been grown in West Africa, Egypt is over 2,000 miles away.

Regardless of whether or not Shea Butter was used in Egypt since ancient times, the current popularity of Shea Butter continues to grow. Shea Butter harvesting brings in around $200 million every year for the West African region, according to some accounts. And, according to others such as Polaris Market Research, in 2023, the global Shea Butter market is valued at over $2 billion dollars.

Naturally this is happy news for skincare product manufacturers like Caryl Brandes who has been making exceptional skincare and bath products for 10 years.

Caryl B’s ‘Calm Woods’ and ‘Healing Hand Cream’ are made with an exceptional high percentage-quality level of Shea Butter. Both these are now available. As Brandes emphasized, “just a small amount is needed to keep your hands soft and moisturized throughout the day.”

To learn more about these high quality Shea Butter products available, visit the Caryl B website.

[dollycas]

My Reading Itinerary Monday! – Week #41 – 2024

Welcome to My Reading Itinerary Monday!  Where are your books taking you this week? I will be traveling to North Carolina and Maine!! Here’s what I read and what I have planned for this week. Escapes Completed Barks and Clues: A Canine Cozy Mystery by Sharon Michaels Release Date - February 29, 2024 Setting - Small Town USA The Great Escapes Tour stops here tomorrow! Sleep in Heavenly Pizza: A Deep Dish Mystery by Mindy Quigley Release Date - October 22, 2024 Setting - Wisconsin I will feature this book this week on Cozy Wednesday! Pumpkin Spice Puppy (A Melanie Travis Canine Mystery) by Laurien Berenson Release Date - August 20, 2024 Setting - Connecticut My Review will be up Thursday! A Corpse at the Witching Hour: A Food Blogger Mystery by Debra Sennefelder Release Date - October 5, 2023 Setting - Connecticut My #FlashbackFriday Read! Six Stunning Sirens (Kitchen Witch Mysteries) by Lynn Cahoon Release Date - September 24, 2024 Setting - Idaho For Review Scheduled Escapes Murder on the Page (A Literary Dining Mystery) by Daryl Wood Gerber Release Date - October 22, 2024 Setting - North Carolina The Great Escapes Tour will stop here next week for Cozy Wednesday! Murder, She Wrote: A Killer Christmas by Jessica Fletcher & Terrie Farley Moran Release Date - October 8, 2024 Setting - Maine The Great Escapes Tour will stop here next Thursday! I need to choose a #FlashbackFriday read! Future Escapes October 6 - 12, 2024 Please Share Your Reading Itinerary in the Comments below! Happy Reading!! Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using my links, I will receive a small commission from the sale at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Escape With Dollycas. Read the full article

[walks-the-ages]

Article contents:

'Blind Side' subject Oher alleges Tuohys made millions off lie

by Michael A. Fletcher, ESPN

Aug 14, 2023, 12:00 PM ET

Retired NFL star Michael Oher, whose supposed adoption out of grinding poverty by a wealthy, white family was immortalized in the 2009 movie "The Blind Side," petitioned a Tennessee court Monday with allegations that a central element of the story was a lie concocted by the family to enrich itself at his expense.

The 14-page petition, filed in Shelby County, Tennessee, probate court, alleges that Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy, who took Oher into their home as a high school student, never adopted him. Instead, less than three months after Oher turned 18 in 2004, the petition says, the couple tricked him into signing a document making them his conservators, which gave them legal authority to make business deals in his name.

The petition further alleges that the Tuohys used their power as conservators to strike a deal that paid them and their two birth children millions of dollars in royalties from an Oscar-winning film that earned more than $300 million, while Oher got nothing for a story "that would not have existed without him." In the years since, the Tuohys have continued calling the 37-year-old Oher their adopted son and have used that assertion to promote their foundation as well as Leigh Anne Tuohy's work as an author and motivational speaker.

"The lie of Michael's adoption is one upon which Co-Conservators Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy have enriched themselves at the expense of their Ward, the undersigned Michael Oher," the legal filing says. "Michael Oher discovered this lie to his chagrin and embarrassment in February of 2023, when he learned that the Conservatorship to which he consented on the basis that doing so would make him a member of the Tuohy family, in fact provided him no familial relationship with the Tuohys."

Oher's petition asks the court to end the Tuohys' conservatorship and to issue an injunction barring them from using his name and likeness. It also seeks a full accounting of the money the Tuohys earned using Oher's name, and to have the couple pay him his fair share of profits, as well as unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

"Since at least August of 2004, Conservators have allowed Michael, specifically, and the public, generally, to believe that Conservators adopted Michael and have used that untruth to gain financial advantages for themselves and the foundations which they own or which they exercise control," the petition says. "All monies made in said manner should in all conscience and equity be disgorged and paid over to the said ward, Michael Oher."

Oher was a rising high school senior when he signed the conservatorship papers, and he has written that the Tuohys told him that there was essentially no difference between adoption and conservatorship. "They explained to me that it means pretty much the exact same thing as 'adoptive parents,' but that the laws were just written in a way that took my age into account," Oher wrote in his 2011 best-selling memoir "I Beat the Odds."

But there are some important legal distinctions. If Oher had been adopted by the Tuohys, he would have been a legal member of their family, and he would have retained power to handle his own financial affairs. Under the conservatorship, Oher surrendered that authority to the Tuohys, even though he was a legal adult with no known physical or psychological disabilities.

The petition alleges that the Tuohys began negotiating a movie deal about their relationship with Oher shortly after the 2006 release of the book "The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game," which chronicled the story.

The deal lists all four Tuohy family members as having the same representative at Creative Artists Agency, the petition says. But Oher's agent, who would receive movie contract and payment notices, is listed as Debra Branan, a close family friend of the Tuohys and the same lawyer who filed the 2004 conservatorship petition, the petition alleges. Branan did not return a call to her law office on Monday.

In the past, the Tuohys have denied making much money from the movie, saying they received a flat fee for the story and did not reap any of the movie's profits. And what they did earn, they added, was shared with Oher.

"We divided it five ways," the Tuohys wrote in their 2010 book, "In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving."

Oher's court petition says he never received any money from the movie, even though he long suspected that others were profiting, according to his attorney, J. Gerard Stranch IV. Whenever Oher asked questions, he did not get straight answers, his attorney said.

And since the film's success coincided with the start of his lucrative NFL career in 2009, Oher did not take the time to fully investigate the deal until after he retired in 2016, Stranch said. Oher eventually hired a lawyer who helped him uncover the details surrounding the movie deal and his legal connection to the people he believed were his adoptive parents. His lawyer unearthed the conservatorship document in February, and Oher came to the painful realization that the Tuohys had not adopted him.

The petition marks a sharp break in what had been an inspiring, if unsettlingly stereotypical, feel-good story. As the movie portrayed the story, the Tuohys adopted Oher, a poor, virtually homeless and academically challenged Black teenager. They made Oher part of a functional family for the first time. They helped him catch up in school, taught him the basics of football and how to harness his athleticism, putting him on the road to sports stardom.

The truth, however, was more complicated.

Oher certainly led a hard-knock life growing up. But he also had the smarts, the pluck and plenty of help from the Tuohys and others to rise above his circumstances.

Oher was one of 12 children born to his mother, who struggled with drug addiction. Before his 11th birthday, Oher was placed into foster care, where he bounced around numerous homes, and at times lived on the streets. Although he was a capable student, he attended 11 schools in nine years, and repeated both the first and second grades, leaving him behind academically.

His fortunes changed after a friend's father, impressed with Oher's inner drive and focus, introduced him to the principal of a private Christian school in a prosperous Memphis neighborhood. Oher began attending the school in 10th grade, even as his home life remained chaotic. He was a sports prodigy, excelling in track and field, basketball and football, a game he had studied for years.

He began playing football for his new school in 11th grade, quickly establishing himself as one of the nation's top offensive linemen, and college scholarship offers poured in from big-time football programs across the country.

Because of his unstable housing situation, Oher frequently stayed over at the homes of his classmates, including the Tuohys, whose children attended the school. The petition says that the Tuohys forged a closer relationship with him once Oher's athletic prowess drew wide attention. They invited him to spend more nights at their spacious Memphis home and took him shopping. Eventually, they asked Oher to move in. They encouraged him to address them as "mom" and "dad," and said they planned to adopt him, the filing says.

Oher was delighted with all that at the time, his lawyer said, and he fully trusted the Tuohys.

After the success of "The Blind Side," however, suspicion slowly eclipsed Oher's trust of the Tuohys, his lawyer said.

"Mike's relationship with the Tuohy family started to decline when he discovered that he was portrayed in the movie as unintelligent," Stranch said. "Their relationship continued to deteriorate as he learned that he was the only member of the family not receiving royalty checks from the movie, and it was permanently fractured when he realized he wasn't adopted and a part of the family."

For years, Oher has chafed at how "The Blind Side" depicted him, saying it hurt his football career and clouded how people view him. He has said that based on the film, some NFL decision-makers assumed he was mentally slow or lacked leadership skills.

"People look at me, and they take things away from me because of a movie," Oher told ESPN in 2015. "They don't really see the skills and the kind of player I am."

For their part, the Tuohys agreed that Oher always had what it took to succeed. "If there is a fundamental misapprehension about Michael, it's that he needed saving," the Tuohys wrote in their book. "We discovered that underneath his shyness, his foot shuffling, and his head ducking, he had a tremendous will to determine the course of his own life."

For years, Oher has said, he was content to live with the myth created by the movie, reasoning that its inspirational message outweighed the pain inflicted by what he saw as its inaccurate portrayal of his life. But that has changed.

"There has been so much created from The Blind Side that I am grateful for, which is why you might find it as a shock that the experience surrounding the story has also been a large source of some of my deepest hurt and pain over the past 14 years," Oher wrote in his book "When Your Back's Against the Wall," released last week.

"Beyond the details of the deal, the politics, and the money behind the book and movie, it was the principle of the choices some people made that cut me the deepest."

[rose-multiverse]

For Rogue Fletcher~ #079. How easy is it for them to read the emotions of others?and #080. How easy is it for others to read your character’s emotions?

79.

Rouge: I have some difficulty with that . . .

80.

Rouge: It's mostly hard to read my emotions, since I don't really show them, but Debby is great at that *She kissed her girlfriend on the forehead while having her in her lap*

[abs0luteb4stard]

W A T C H I N G

[joeygoeshollywood]

My 25 Favorite Films of 2020

Well, this was quite the crazy year, especially for movies. While many films that were slated to be released this year were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year still provided some laughs, tears, and thrills both in theaters and in the living room. 

(NOTE: Due to the delayed awards season calendar and postponed Oscar bait films that are unavailable to be seen before the end of 2020, this list will eventually be updated after having seen the following films: The Father, Minari, News of the World, Nomadland, One Night in Miami, Pieces of a Woman, Promising Young Woman)

Here are my 25 favorite films of the year:

25. Kajillionaire 

Quirky filmmaker Miranda July is back with her first feature in nearly a decade. Kajillionaire is a bizarre but captivating tale about a family of criminal grifters and how the daughter reevaluates her strained relationship with her parents after an outsider is welcomed into the fold. Evan Rachel Wood takes what could have easily been dismissed as a goofy caricature in Old Dolio (yes, that’s her name) and turns into a heartfelt portrayal of a woman whose lifestyle of freeloading dictated by her parents (played by Debra Winger and Richard Jenkins) becomes her own crisis. In many ways, Kajillionaire feels like a fantasy that keeps people asking, “What on earth is going on?” And this time, it’s for the best. 

24. Freaky

Revamping decades-old plots like the body-swapping antics from Freaky Friday can either result in a predictable failure or a surprising success. Thankfully, Freaky falls into the latter category. In this horror comedy, a deranged serial killer (played by Vince Vaughn) swaps bodies with his victim, a timid teen girl (played by Kathryn Newton). What makes the film work though are the dedicated lead performances, particularly by Vaughn, who is pretty convincing as young girl trapped in a grown man’s body. With a few good laughs and decent thrills, Freaky is worth the watch. 

23. The Outpost

The Outpost is an intense film about the real-life story of small group of US troops isolated by surrounding mountains in Afghanistan, under the constant threat of the Taliban, which ultimately comes to a head in the Battle of Kamdesh. The film captures the harrowing experiences of these soldiers with heart-pounding action sequences, which are fueled by a solid cast including Scott Eastwood, Caleb Landry Jones, and Orlando Bloom. 

22. Uncle Frank

Paul Bettany may be best known for playing The Vision in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he should be celebrated as his title character in Uncle Frank, a touching dramedy set in 1973 about an NYU professor who returns home to his estranged family for his father’s funeral while his niece, played by rising star Sophia Lillis, idolizes him for teaching her to be her authentic self while he keeps his sexuality a secret. Bettany brilliantly balances the coolness of his stature with the internal agony that ultimately hits a boiling point, which is counterbalanced by Peter Macdissi’s fun performance as Frank’s happy-go-lucky lover who accompanies him back home despite his wishes. 

21. Hillbilly Elegy

Hillbilly Elegy was panned by critics over politics that had absolutely no role the film. Based on the best-selling memoir by J.D. Vance, the newest feature from Ron Howard shows the journey of a boy who despite all odds growing up in a poor family that constantly struggled with abuse and addition managed to get into Yale Law School and achieve the American dream. While both Gabriel Basso and Owen Asztalos hold the film together as the younger and older Vance in the present and flashback scenes, Amy Adams as the impulsive, irresponsible mother and an unrecognizable Glenn Close as the no-nonsense inspiring grandmother that turn Hillbilly Elegy into an acting tour de force. 

20. The Trial of the Chicago 7

Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin sits in the director’s chair once again in this courtroom drama about the real-life protesters who showed up in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. With themes that resonate today, The Trial of the Chicago 7 benefits from its sharp screenplay, well-paced editing, and an outstanding ensemble cast that includes Eddie Redmayne, Mark Rylance, Yahoo Abdul-Mateen II, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, Frank Langella, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Michael Keaton. 

19. Yellow Rose

Broadway actress Eva Noblezada makes her film debut as an aspiring country singer on the run after her mother, an illegal immigrant, is obtained for deportation. Yellow Rose presents a nuanced depiction of US immigration, but at the heart of it is a heartbreaking story of a young woman who struggles between putting her family or her dreams first. Between Noblezada’s powerful performance and solid original music, Yellow Rose hits all the right chords. 

18. Palm Springs

Move over, Groundhog Day. While the Bill Murray classic has largely monopolized the time loop film genre, Palm Springs gives it a run for its money. Andy Sandberg and Cristin Milioti star as the unlikely duo who are stranded reliving the same dreaded wedding day involving mutual acquaintances and their desperate efforts to escape the seemingly inescapable. The Hulu comedy stands on its own two feet for the good laughs, the chemistry between the two leads, and the film’s emotionally-grounded plot.  

17. Let Him Go

Kevin Costner and Diane Lane reunite on the big screen after playing farmer parents in Man of Steel to rancher grandparents in Let Him Go, although this time they are able to display their full acting chops. In this period dramatic thriller, they set out to find their only grandchild following the death of their son only to discover that the widowed daughter-in-law remarried into an infamous crime family. While both Costner and Lane tug at the heartstrings, it’s Lesley Manville, who plays the ruthless matriarch of the family, that really takes command of the screen. Ultimately, Let Him Go is all about family and the lengths one is willing to go to protect it. 

16. Unhinged

In a year plagued by the pandemic, Unhinged led the way to the revival of movie theaters back in August and perhaps in some ways it was meant to be the film to do so as the themes of a rage-fueled society and the lack of human connection carry weight. Russell Crowe stars, as the title suggests, as an unhinged psychopath whose road rage torments a woman and her adolescent son. Unhinged is the epitome of pure entertainment and is why we go to the movies. While it’s not quite the most sophisticated thriller of the year, it’s still one helluva ride. 

15. Emma

Anya Taylor-Joy has had quite the year with both highs (The Queen’s Gambit) and lows (The New Mutants). But it began before the pandemic with the release of Emma, which she stars as the iconic Jane Austen title character, a socialite who meddles in the love life of others while refusing to acknowledge her own shortcomings in that department. Supported with a strong ensemble cast, beautiful production design, and comedic charm, Emma is not to be missed. 

14. The Invisible Man

ln the era of remakes and reboots, very few are as good as Universal’s latest monster flick revival of The Invisible Man. Elisabeth Moss stars as a woman who believes she’s being haunted by her abusive ex-husband, someone she becomes convinced faked his own death and is stalking her without being able to be seen. Filmmaker Leigh Whannell, the writer behind the Saw and Insidious horror franchises, generates good thrills and high-wire tension with the help of high production value and a terrifyingly-good performance from Moss. 

13. Dick Johnson is Dead

Documentarian Kirsten Johnson filmed a beautiful, intimate tribute to her father Dick Johnson, who has been suffering from Alzheimer's in the final years of his life. However, instead of dreading his death, both daughter and father embrace it by having him acting out several scenes of his over-the-top demises. Dick Johnson is Dead may focus on the subject manner of death, but this documentary actually celebrates life and the laughs that happen along the way. 

12. The Wolf of Snow Hollow

Perhaps one of the littlest-known films of the year, The Wolf of Snow Hollow is not your conventional indie comedy horror flick. Writer/director Jim Cummings stars as an overly-heated police officer who attempts to get to the bottom of a string of murders in his small, snowy Utah town by what appears to be some sort of werewolf, though he remains unconvinced. Featuring one of the final performances from veteran actor Robert Forster, The Wolf of Snow Hollow uses its quirky sense of humor to stand out from the rest of the pack. 

11. The Gentlemen 

The Gentlemen is a fun, action-packed, crime caper from Guy Ritchie about the London turf war of drug kingpins. Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Goulding, Michelle Dockery, and Colin Ferrell all round out the strong cast, but its Hugh Grant that really steals the show as the comedically manipulative Fletcher, whose only allegiance is to himself. If you like a stylish film with well-choreographed violence and a fast-paced plot, The Gentlemen should be your cup of tea.  

10. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Some of the best play-to-film adaptations are the films that feel like you’re watching a play, and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is one of them. Produced by Denzel Washington, Viola Davis gives a transformative performance as Ma Rainey, known as the “mother of the blues” and the clash she had with a pair of White music producers, but she also butts heads with her trumpet player (played by the late Chadwick Boseman), who also has his own music ambitions. While Davis obviously gives other Oscar-worthy performance, it was Boseman who was able to show how incredibly gifted he was as an actor. And while the world lost him far too soon, at least his last role ended up being his greatest. 

9. The Kid Detective

One of the biggest surprises of the year was how good a movie starring and produced by Adam Brody was. Brody plays a washed up former kid detective who attempts to revive his once-celebrated career of solving mysteries by getting to the bottom of a murder in his hometown. The Kid Detective is a brilliant dark comedy from newcomer writer/director Evan Morgan with good laughs, plenty of plot twists, and a career-best performance from Brody, who proves he’s more than just the pretty face from The O.C. we all know him as. 

8. Mank

Citizen Kane is widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made and Mank is a worthy tribute. Gary Oldman stars as the title character Herman “Mank” Mankiewicz, the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind the iconic film. David Fincher (The Social Network, Gone Girl) managed to capture the epic scale of the 1941 classic that would make Orson Welles proud. 

7. Soul

Soul is one of those rare existential Pixar films that goes beyond being children’s entertainment. Following in the footsteps of 2015′s Inside Out, Soul depicts what happens to the soul of a jazz musician who’s convinced his time on Earth isn’t over. While the universe created to explain how souls work and the plot that went along with it falls short of its emotions predecessor, Soul is still high-caliber among Pixar films and a great movie for both kids and adults alike. 

6. Another Round

Perhaps the greatest work from Swedish director Thomas Vinterberg to date, Another Round follows four unsatisfied middle aged men who decide to take a theory of task from a Norwegian psychiatrist, who concluded that maintaining a blood alcohol level of 0.050 will enhance their mental and psychological state. Mads Mikkelsen, who’s best known to American audiences as Hannibal Lecter in the short-lived NBC series Hannibal and the Bond villain in Casino Royale, offers a strong, nuanced performance as one of the four educators who embraces this drinking challenge in a film that provides an equal balance of chuckles, cringes, and emotional gut punches. 

5. I’m Thinking of Ending Things

From the crazy mastermind of Charlie Kaufman, the writer behind Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Anomalisa, his latest on Netflix is too a mind-bender. I’m Thinking of Ending Things is a surreal, zany, and at times disturbing examination of the human condition as the nameless female protagonist played by an incredible Jessie Buckley mulls over breaking up with her boyfriend (played by Jesse Plemons) while visiting his parents’ house. Accompanied with a stellar production design and a crazy-good performance from Toni Collette as “Mother,” Kaufman newest cerebral feature lives up to his iconic reputation of filmmaking. 

4. Da 5 Bloods

Spike Lee is one of the few genius filmmakers who is able to blend multiple genres together and his latest film is no different. Da 5 Bloods is an action adventure, buddy comedy, dramatic character study, and war movie all wrapped up into one about a group of Vietnam War veterans who return to the former battlegrounds to find the remains of one of their fallen soldiers as well as some treasure that they kept hidden years ago. With a strong ensemble cast that includes the late Chadwick Boseman, its longtime character actor Delroy Lindo who steals the show with his powerful performance. Da 5 Bloods is easily one of Netflix’s strongest films to date. 

3. The Assistant

One of the first #MeToo-era films, The Assistant offers the day in the life of a low-level female staffer of a production company who is haunted by the presence of her Harvey Weinstein-like boss (who never actually appears in the film). However, rather than depicting the dramatics of sexual misconduct, The Assistant uses the common subtleties and nuances of the workplace yet maintains the same tension and heartbreak. Anchored by the remarkable, devastating performance by up-and-comer Julia Garner (Ozark), The Assistant is as important as it is well-done. 

2. Sound of Metal

Riz Ahmed gives the performance of his career as a heavy metal drummer and former addict whose sudden battle with going deaf upends his life. Sound of Metal is an incredible experience that gives a rare glimpse in the American deaf community which is enhanced by the remarkable sound design that helps the audience actually hear what the musician is going through. It’s truly one of the most rewarding films of the year. 

1. The Climb

The Climb takes the generic “man sleeps with his best friend’s fiancé” storyline and turns it on its head. In his feature debut as writer and director, Michael Angelo Covino leads as the not-so-apologetic adulterer Mike and Kyle Marvin, who co-wrote the film, is the good-hearted Kyle who struggles to whether or not to forgive his best friend’s ultimately betrayal. Not only is The Climb is quirky and hilariously written, it’s a remarkably well-made comedy with some of the year’s best cinematography. Between a strong cast, a superb screenplay, and the extremely-high production value, The Climb is at the top of the mountain of 2020′s best films. 

[lievmultimuses1]

GIFS WIP

Here is a list of the people i’m currently making gifs:

Aline Mineiro

Brendon Urie

Carla Diaz

Chris Evans

Cobie Smulders

Debra Messing

Dolly Parton

Ed Sheeran

Eliza Dushku

Emilia Clark

Emma Deigman

Eric McCormack

Flayslane da Silva

Francia Raisa

Frank Grillo

Gabi Martins

Gabrielle Byndloss

Garrett Watts

Gigi Hadid

Hailey Bieber

Hannah Montoya

Hasan Piker

Hilary Duff

Hugh Jackman

Imane Anys (Pokimane)

Isis Valverde

Ivy Moraes

Jack Whitehall

Jameela Jamil

Jamie Chung

Jana Kramer

Jasmine Villegas

Jason Spisak

Jeff Schine

Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Jenna Dewan

Jenna Fischer

Jenna Ushkowitz

Jennie Mai

Jennifer Lopez

Jesse Williams

Jessica Alba

Joe Alwyn

Joe Jonas

Joelle Fletcher

John Mulaney

Jordana Maronttinni (Jojo)

Jordyn Woods

Joseph Morgan

Josh Peck

Juliana Paes

Julianne Hough

Juliette Freire

Justin Bieber

Kaley Cuoco

Karrueche Tran

Kate Hudson

Kate Walsh

Katherine Langford

Katy Perry

Kelhani Parrish

Keke Palmer

Kelly Key

Kendall Jenner

Kim Jisoo

Kim Kardashian

Kourtney Kardashian

Kylie Jenner

Lana Condor

Larissa Machado (Anitta)

Larissa Manoela

Laura Marano

Laura Ponticorvo

Lauren Jauregui

Leigh Anne Pinnock

Lesley Ann Brandt

Lili Reinhart

Lily Collins

Lin Manuel Miranda

Loey Lane

Lucas Penteado

Luisa Sonza

Madison Beer

Madison Pettis

Maisa Silva

Maisie Williams

Mandy Patinkin

Manu Gavassi

Mariah Carey

Marina Ferrari

Marina Ruy Barbosa

Mark Fischbach

Mark Ruffalo

Marzia Kjellberg

Matt Bomer

Matt Smith

Max Greenfield

Megan Pete (Megan thee Stallion)

Melissa Benoist

Melissa Jefferson (Lizzo)

Michael B Jordan

Miley Cyrus

Morena Baccarin

Nathaniel Buzolic

Neil Newbon

Neymar Jr

Niall Horan

Nicholas Hoult

Nick Apostolides

Nikki Anderson

Nina Dobrev

Noah Centineo

Noah Cyrus

Olivia Culpo

Olivia Munn

Olivia Rodrigo

Onika Maraj (Nicki Minaj)

Pablo Vittar

Paris Hilton

Patrick Scharzenegger

Patrick Stewart

Pete Davidson

Philip DeFranco

Rachel Hofstetter (Valkyrae)

Rafa Kalimann

Raúl Esparza

Rebecca Gomez (Becky G)

Rebel Wilson

Rico Melquiades

Rita Ora

Robert Downey Jr

Robert Pattinson

Robyn Fenty (Rihanna)

Romee Strijd

Romy Monteiro

Ronny Chieng

Roseanne Park

Roy Haylock

Ryan Reynolds

Sabrina Carpenter

Sabrina Sato

Sara Sampaio

Sarah Andrade

Sarah Hyland

Scott Bakula

Sean Hayes

Seán McLoughlin (Jacksepticeye)

Selena Gomez

Serena Williams

Shakira Ripoll

Shane Madej

Shanola Hampton

Shantel Vansanten

Shay Mitchell

Shenae Grimes

Simon Pegg

Skai Jackson

Skyler Samuels

Sofia Richie

Sofia Vergara

Sophia Bush

Sophie Porley

Sophie Turner

Stanley Tucci

Stephen Fry

Steve Martin

Sthefane Matos

Sydney Sweeney

Tais de Verdade

Tammin Sursok

Taraji P Henson

Taran Killam

Tatá Werneck

Taylor Swift

Teresa Palmer

Thais Braz

Thelma Assis

Tia Mowry

Tiff Thornton

Tiffany Abreu

Tom Felton

Tom Fletcher

Tom Hardy

Tom Holland

Trevor Noah

Valentina Francavilla

Victoria Beckham

Victoria Justice

Victoria Pedretti

Vitoria Moraes

Viviane Pereira

Winnie Harlow

Wyatt Russell

[transtechnc]

TransTech

TransTech is a truck driving school and CDL instruction program with several locations across North Carolina, including this one in Greenville. We pride ourselves on keeping our program completely up-to-date by listening to all of the top trucking companies in the nation. We offer modern facilities, small class sizes, first-class equipment, and professionally certified trainers. In addition to truck driver training, we also provide locations for 3rd-party Class A CDL testing. Get in touch with our Greenville, NC office today to sign up for an upcoming trucking course, or to reserve our location as a testing site.

Address :    5077 Hendersonville Rd, Fletcher, NC 28732, USA

Phone : (828) 483-6666

Business Email : debra@trans-tech.net

Website :  https://www.trans-tech.net/cdl-truck-driving-school-asheville-nc-2/

Working hours :  Monday to Friday 8:00am–5.00pm; Saturday-Sunday: Closed

[liszten]

Hot And Anxious (1931)

Composed And Arranged By Horace Henderson

Performed By Fletcher Henderson And His Orchestra

Artwork By Debra Hurd

[iwouldvebeendrake01]

WOMEN IN FILM

Agnieszka Holland - director, The Secret Garden (1993) Alice Waddington - director, Paradise Hills (2019) Amma Asante - director, Belle (2013), A United Kingdom (2016) Amy Heckerling - director, Look Who’s Talking (1989), Clueless (1995) Angela Workman - writer, The Zookeeper’s Wife (2017), Longbourn (?) Angelina Jolie - director, By the Sea (2015), First They Killed My Father (2017) Anna Boden - director, It’s Kind of a Funny Story (2010), Captain Marvel (2019) Anna Kendrick - exec. producer, Dummy (?), Love Life (?) Anne Fletcher - director, The Proposal (2009), Dumplin’ (2018) Ava DuVernay - director, Selma (2014), A Wrinkle in Time (2018) Barbara Streisand - director, Yentl (1983) Brenda Chapman - director, The Prince of Egypt (1998), Brave (2012) Brie Larson - director, Unicorn Store (2017) Bryce Dallas Howard - director, Dads (2019), The Mandalorian Ch. 4 (2019) Carey Mulligan - exec. producer, Promising Young Woman (2020) Cate Shortland - director, Lore (2012), Black Widow (2020) Cathy Yan - director, Birds of Prey (2020) Céline Sciamma - director, Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) Chanya Button - director, Vita & Virginia (2018) Charlize Theron - producer, Monster (2003), Atomic Blonde (2017), Bombshell (2019) Chloé Zhao - director, Eternals (2020) Claire McCarthy - director, Ophelia (2018), The Luminaries (?) Debbie Allen - director, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990), The Twilight Zone (2003) Deborah Chow - director, The Mandalorian Ch. 3, Ch. 7 (2019), Obi-Wan Series (?) Debra Granik - director, Winter’s Bone (2010) Desiree Akhavan - director, Appropriate Behavior (2014) Diablo Cody - writer, Jennifer’s Body (2009), Young Adult (2011) Dorota Kobiela - director, Loving Vincent (2017) Drew Barrymore - director, Whip It (2009) Elizabeth Banks - director, Pitch Perfect 2 (2015), Charlie’s Angels (2019) Elizabeth Olsen - exec. producer, Sorry for Your Loss (2018–) Emma Stone - exec. producer, Maniac (2018) Emma Thompson - writer, Sense and Sensibility (1995), Last Christmas (2019) Gal Gadot - producer, Wonder Woman 1984 (2020), Hedy Lamarr Mini-Series (2020–) Gillian Armstrong - director, Little Women (1994), Death Defying Acts (2007) Greta Gerwig - director, Lady Bird (2017), Little Women (2019), Barbie (?) Gurinder Chadha - director, Bride & Prejudice (2004), Blinded by the Light (2019) Jamie Babbit - director, Supergirl (2016), The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2018) Jane Goldman - writer, Stardust (2007), X-Men: First Class (2011), Rebecca (2020) Jennifer Lee - writer, Frozen (2013), Zootopia (2016), Frozen II (2019) Jerusha Hess - writer, Napoleon Dynamite (2004), Nacho Libre (2006), Austenland (2013) Jessica Chastain - producer, I Am Jane Doe (2017), 355 (2021) Joanna Hogg - director, Unrelated (2007), Archipelago (2010), The Souvenir (2019) Josie Rourke - director, Coriolanus (2014), Mary Queen of Scots (2018) Julia Ducournau - director, Raw (2016), Titane (2020) Julie Taymor - director, Frida (2002), Across the Universe (2007), The Glorias (2020) Karen Gillan - director, The Party’s Just Beginning (2018) Kari Skogland - director, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2020–) Karyn Kusama - director, Æon Flux (2005), Jennifer’s Body (2009), Destroyer (2018) Kate Mara - producer, My Days of Mercy (2017), A Teacher (2020–) Kathryn Bigelow - director, The Hurt Locker (2008), Zero Dark Thirty (2012) Katt Shea - director, Poison Ivy (1992), Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019) Kay Cannon - writer, New Girl (2012-2013), Girlboss (2017), Cinderella (2021) Kelly Fremon Craig - director, The Edge of Seventeen (2016)  Lana & Lilly Wachowski - directors, The Matrix (1999), Cloud Atlas (2012) Laura Lau - director, Silent House (2011) Leslye Headland - writer, Terriers (2010), Bachelorette (2012), Russian Doll (2019–) Lindsey Beer - writer, Chaos Walking (2020), The Kingkiller Chronicle (?), Silver Sable (?) Lois Weber - director, A Heroine of ‘76 (1911), The Angel of Broadway (1927) Lone Scherfig - director, An Education (2009), One Day (2011), Their Finest (2016) Lorene Scafaria - director, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012), Hustlers (2019) Lucia Aniello - director, Rough Night (2017), Broad City (2014-2019) Lupita Nyong’o - producer, In My Genes (2009), Americanah (2020–) Lynne Ramsay - director, We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011) Madonna - director, Filth and Wisdom (2008), W.E. (2011) Margot Robbie - exec. producer, Gotham City Sirens (?), Modern Shakespeare Project (?) Marielle Heller - director, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) Marjane Satrapi - director, Persepolis (2007), The Voices (2014), Radioactive (2020) Marti Noxon - writer, Fright Night (2011), To the Bone (2017), Sharp Objects (2018) Mary Harron - director, American Psycho (2000), Alias Grace (2017), Charlie Says (2018) Mary Pickford - writer, The Awakening (1909), Rags (1915), A Girl of Yesterday (1915) Michelle Williams - exec. producer, Blue Valentine (2010), Fosse/Verdon (2019) Millie Bobby Brown - producer, Enola Holmes (2020) Mimi Leder - director, Deep Impact (1998), On the Basis of Sex (2018) Nancy Meyers - director, The Parent Trap (1998), The Holiday (2006), The Intern (2015) Naomi Watts - exec. producer, Gypsy (2017), The Wolf Hour (2019) Natalie Dormer - writer, In Darkness (2018) Natalie Portman - director, A Tale of Love and Darkness (2015) Nia DaCosta - director, Little Woods (2018), Candyman (2020) Niki Caro - director, Whale Rider (2002), The Zookeeper’s Wife (2017), Mulan (2020) Noomi Rapace - producer, Stockholm (2018), Close (2019), Hearts of Stone (2020) Nora Ephron - director, Sleepless in Seattle (1993), You’ve Got Mail (1998), Julie & Julia (2009) Octavia Spencer - exec. producer, Green Book (2018), Self Made (2020–) Olivia Wilde - director, Booksmart (2019) Patty Jenkins - director, Monster (2003), Wonder Woman (2017), I Am the Night (2019) Penélope Cruz - producer, Twice Born (2012), Ma ma (2015), The Queen of Spain (2016) Penny Marshall - director, Big (1988), A League of Their Own (1992) Phoebe Waller-Bridge - writer, Fleabag (2016-2019), No Time to Die (2020) Quiara Alegría Hudes - writer, In the Heights (2020), Vivo (2021) Rachel Weisz - producer, The Shape of Things (2003), Radiator (2014), Disobedience (2017) Rashida Jones - writer, Black Mirror: Nosedive (2016), Toy Story 4 (2019) Rebecca Hall - director, Passing (2020) Reese Witherspoon - producer, Penelope (2006), Gone Girl (2014), Tinker Bell (?) Robin Wright - director, House of Cards (2014-2018), Land (?) Ruth Wilson - exec. producer, Mrs. Wilson (2018) Sally Potter - director, Orlando (1992), The Man Who Cried (2000) Salma Hayek - producer, Frida (2002), Ugly Betty (2006-2010), The Prophet (2014) Sandra Bullock - exec. producer, George Lopez (2002-2007), The Proposal (2009) Scarlett Johansson - exec. producer, The Whale (2011), Black Widow (2020) Sofia Coppola - director, Lost in Translation (2003), The Beguiled (2017) Susanna White - director, Bleak House (2005), Jane Eyre (2006), Woman Walks Ahead (2017) Susanne Bier - director, Serena (2014), The Night Manager (2016), Bird Box (2018) Tessa Thompson - exec. producer, Little Woods (2018), Sylvie’s Love (2020) Thea Sharrock - director, The Hollow Crown: Henry V (2012), Me Before You (2016) Thea von Harbou - writer, Destiny (1921), Metropolis (1927), Woman in the Moon (1929) Tina Fey - writer, Mean Girls (2004), Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015-2019) Valerie Faris - director, Battle of the Sexes (2017), Living with Yourself (2019–) Vanessa Taylor - writer, Divergent (2014), The Shape of Water (2017) Zoe Kazan - writer, Ruby Sparks (2012), Wildlife (2018) Zoe Lister-Jones - director, Band Aid (2017), Woman Up (?), The Craft (?) Zoe Saldana - producer, Rosemary’s Baby (2014), The Honor List (2018), From Scratch (2020–) Zooey Deschanel - exec. producer, New Girl (2011-2018)

[jonfarreporter]

Vitamin C Has Always Been a Good Thing, Especially for Skin

As this fall season begins with a bumper crop of nutritious produce, one of the most important and common vitamins to help us into the oncoming winter is Vitamin C. 

This past September 29 weekend, Caryl Brandes of Caryl B Skin Care Products introduced her Face Cream with Vitamin C at Farmers Market - Marin County Mart in Larkspur, at Larkspur Landing, not far from the Larkspur Ferry terminal. 

Also referred to as ascorbic acid, Vitamin C has been known for centuries for its health benefits.  Primarily through citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit. Historians/archaeologist can trace the origins of the importance of this antioxidant-nutrient as far back as ancient Egypt, through the descriptions in ancient records of its lack there of in conditions such as scurvy. 

Egyptologist, professor Joann Fletcher, PhD clarified. “Some scholars have also suggested scurvy is referred to in the Ebers Medical Papyri from c.1550 BC (although the terms used are somewhat vague).”

Yet, as the University of York, England archaeological researcher pointed out.

“It is also worth saying that the Egyptian diet - then and now - has always been very rich in onions and garlic.” “Both are excellent sources of Vitamin C,” she added.

It was during the age of exploration in the 1700s when it was discovered that eating citrus fruits combated scurvy. Citrus was then prescribed as essential for sailors and crew on ships to avoid scurvy by having citrus added to their daily diet. 

And, it wasn’t until the 20th Century when in the 1930s a form of Vitamin C was added to skin care. A Hungarian biochemist Albert Szent-Györgyi, discovered and isolated the particular chemical properties of Vitamin C. From that discovery, Vitamin C became a staple of health. 

His discovery earned him and his team the Nobel Prize in 1937. Since that time, for over 80 years, Vitamin C has become a vital nutrient utilized in many food-nutrition and health care products.

As noted by researchers at Harvard Medical School, “clinical studies have demonstrated that vitamin C can improve wrinkles,” noted Neera Nathan, MD & Payal Patel, MD. 

The two Harvard University physicians went on to say… “Topical vitamin C is a science-backed, dermatologist-favorite ingredient that may help slow early skin aging, prevent sun damage, and improve the appearance of wrinkles, dark spots, and acne.”

This is why Brandes wanted to incorporate the use of Vitamin C in her face cream product line. “Vitamin C helps, said Brandes - it is just one of many ingredients I use in my specialty skin care products that are beneficial.”

As one who is well acquainted with skin conditions, Dr. Debra Jaliman, MD, a dermatologist in private practice in New York City, added. “Vitamin C, stimulates collagen production so it helps with fine lines.” As a safe and effective ingredient, Dr. Jaliman says, Vitamin C decreases spots, patches of discoloration, and melasma on the skin.” 

Melasma can occur when the skin is exposed to too much sun. Hot weather and intense heat can aggravate the skin. With fall weather temperatures continuing into 80 degrees, Caryl B’s face cream and face serum are a welcome relief to sun-stressed skin.

Because Caryl B products are made essentially for those with sensitive skin, having a high quality face cream is vital. Pleased that her skin care products are well-received, Brandes said. “I just try to educate my customers as to what certain ingredients such as Vitamin C can  do to help.”

For more information about Caryl B skin and personal care products, visit the website.

[aion-rsa]

Upcoming Movies in September 2020: Theaters, Streaming, and VOD

https://ift.tt/2CUVT60

Movies are back! Granted they never really left either, with Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, and others keeping us satiated with content these past five months. Still, the streamers are about to be reinforced for those willing to return to movie theaters: Major Hollywood blockbuster releases are coming, and limited rollouts are slowly making their way back into cinemas around the world.

For that reason, we’ve assembled a list of potential moviegoing experiences in September, whether on the big screen (please consider the risks of attending a theatrical screening) or at home via video on demand. It’s time for the popcorn to get popping.

Bill & Ted Face the Music

Now playing in theaters and VOD in the US (September 23 in the UK)

One of the biggest movies yet to eschew its intended theatrical window for a premium video on demand (PVOD) release is this most excellent adventure. It’s been 29 years since we last saw Alex Winter’s far out Ted or Keanu Reeves’ perpetually astonished Bill, yet it’s good to have both back in their legendary stoner roles. 

The fact they’re middle-aged and still having adventures through time and space, and against the visage of Death—he’s still cheating!—is pretty sweet. As is Keanu coming back to this role one Speed, three Matrixes, and nearly five John Wick chapters later. But this time they’ve got daughters (played by Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine)… but rest assured, the children are as amused as their dads.

Tenet

Now playing in the UK (September 3 in the US)

Already playing in the UK, Tenet will be making its much vaunted North American debut in “select U.S. cities” in September. We’re still not entirely clear what that will look like, but hopefully it will be worth it for this mysterious and visually dazzling Christopher Nolan epic. 

Early reviews are in, and the majority promise Nolan’s most exciting use of IMAX spectacle to date, though even without spoilers, this one might be too big for its own good. Our own Rosie Fletcher describes it as Nolan’s long-whispered about James Bond movie meets Doctor Who…

The New Mutants

Now playing in the U.S. (September 4 UK)

Josh Boone’s journey into the X-Men universe has been pushed back so many times it almost feels like a mythical lost movie. So when it finally arrives in UK cinemas on Sept. 4 (it landed in the U.S. at the end of August) it might feel like a bizarre flashback to another era – namely that of 2017 when the main shoot took place. 

Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Blu Hunt, and Henry Zaga star as five young mutants held in a sinister facility against their will. It’s been positioned as an action horror which in theory sounds pretty cool, though what the final cut will look like is anyone’s guess.

Mulan

September 4 (Disney+ with premium)

One day after Tenet makes its U.S. debut, Disney, and more specifically Disney+, offers a starkly different vision for the future of cinema with Mulan. Whereas Tenet will attempt to jumpstart moviegoing, Disney has pushed one of their biggest 2020 blockbusters exclusively to streaming in all markets featuring Disney+, including the U.S. and UK. That means if you want to see Niki Caro’s anticipated reimagining of the 1998 animated Disney movie, you are going to have to pay $30 on top of your Disney+ subscription to get a load of this bad boy on a new PVOD model.

Read more

Movies

Mulan and Tenet Show Competing Visions for Future of Movies

By David Crow

Movies

UK Cinemas Slam Disney After Mulan Streaming Announcement

By Kirsten Howard

Even so, the film’s need to step away from the 1998 version’s iconography—Chinese moviegoers generally dislike musicals—appears to offer an opportunity to make a modern 2020 epic that can stand on its own two feet.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things

September 4 (Netflix)

Charlie Kaufman does horror? Well, uh, maybe?! For his first Netflix original production, the idiosyncratic writer-director behind Synecdoche, New York, and the Being John Malkovich screenplay is adapting Iain Reid’s thriller novel, I’m Thinking of Ending Things. But Kaufman is expected to come at it from his singularly off-center perspective.

With a somber setup about a young woman (played by Wild Rose’s talented Jessie Buckley) going to meet the parents of her boyfriend (Jesse Plemons), the movie is actually about an unhappy lover planning to terminate her relationship. Yet when she meets Mom and Dad (Toni Collette and David Thewlis), things are going to get weirder, if not necessarily better for the relationship…

The Roads Not Taken

September 11 (UK)

Sally Potter’s wistful drama was nominated for the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival earlier in the year before the world went into lockdown. It follows Leo (Javier Bardem), a man with dementia, as he imagines different paths in life he might have taken, while his daughter Mollie tries to help him keep various appointments and struggles with decisions about her own future. A very personal study of mental illness, grief, and regret.

The Devil All the Time

September 16 (Netflix)

Southern fried noir might be the creepiest noir. With its rural and sunny backdrops, and a smiling Christian face, its pleasantries belie an evil heart. And Tom Holland of all people will be driving right to the dark center of it in The Devil All the Time, a new thriller by writer-director Antonio Campos. 

Ready to bow on Netflix this month, the all-star cast, which also includes Bill Skarsgård, Riley Keough, Sebastian Stan, and Robert Pattinson, as a fire and brimstone preacher no less, The Devil All the Time reimagines post-WWII Tennessee backwoods as a hotbed of corruption, hypocrisy, and murder. Sounds about right.

Antebellum

September 18 (U.S. Only)

Co-writers and directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz appear to have cracked the code in making one of fiction’s favorite fantasies terrifying. You know the type: From Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court to Midnight in Paris, some congenial fellow travels back to a point in history he loves and has an all-around splendid time. Now imagine that same scenario except the protagonist is a Black woman. And she’s sent to the Antebellum South on the eve of the Civil War. Scared yet?

It’s a disturbing premise that aims to put Antebellum in the same wheelhouse as recent horror movies that have tackled American racism head on, including Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Us. The movie stars the ever compelling Janelle Monáe as a 21st century author trapped inside a 19th century nightmare, and it’s one of the most intriguing setups of the year. It also will be available on VOD and in select theaters.

The King’s Man

September 18 (September 16 in the UK)

Kingsman: The Secret Service was one of the nicer surprises of 2015. A better Bond movie than that year’s Bond film, this Matthew Vaughn directed and Jane Goldman co-written spy adventure was both a satire and loving homage to 007 movies of the 1960s and ‘70s, with excessive swagger and style to boot. Unfortunately, Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) didn’t live up to its predecessor. It did, however, make enough money to spawn a prequel. Which brings us to The King’s Man.

As Disney/20th Century Studios’ latest release, this movie sees Vaughn return to the director’s chair as he travels back in time to World War I and the origins of the Kingsman secret service. With the same daffy style but now in period garb (it worked for Vaughn in X-Men: First Class), the prequel hopes to recapture the charm of the original. It certainly has a winning cast that includes Ralph Fiennes, Daniel Bruhl, Djimon Hounsou, and Gemma Arterton.

Kajillionaire

September 18 (October 9 in the UK)

One of the happy discoveries out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Focus Features’ Kajillionaire is a movie we’ve had our eye on for a while. The picture is writer-director Miranda July’s pleasant vision of criminality and heists being the stuff of family team-building. Take Evan Rachel Wood as Old Dolio. She’s an adult daughter whose depression has forced her to live at home with her small time crook parents. But Mom and Pop (Debra Winger and Richard Jenkins) have a plan; they’ll incorporate their daughter in the next heist and bring her out of her funk. It’s a charming premise that won over almost every critic who saw it back in January.

The Nest

September 18 (U.S. Only)

Another apparent highlight out of Sundance this year, Sean Durkin’s The Nest presents itself as a foreboding drama. As the follow-up feature from the director of Martha Marcy May Marlene, the film intends to be an unsettling account of a wealthy marriage descending into Gaslight levels of manipulation. With Jude Law as the rich patriarch and Carrie Coon as his quietly suffering wife, a sudden move to the country reveals dark dimensions to their relationship and the brittleness of domesticity. If the buzz is to be believed, the wound up WASPy tension in this could strangle an elephant.

Enola Holmes

September 23 (Netflix)

Did you know Sherlock Holmes had a little sister? You’re about to thanks to some strong synergetic mojo going on at Netflix with Enola Holmes, a new mystery/adventure that stars The Witcher’s Henry Cavill as Sherlock, The Crown’s Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Holmes, and Stranger Things’ Millie Bobby Brown as the eponymous Enola. That’s right, Eleven’s going to use her own English accent and play Sherlock’s kid sister. 

Often kept in her famous brother’s shadow, it is up to Enola to do him one better when she sets off to find their mysteriously vanished mother. In the process, she proves she’s a super-sleuth in her own right and brings to light a deadly conspiracy. The game’s afoot!

Misbehaviour

September 25 (Open in the UK)

A crowd-pleaser that debuted earlier in the year in the UK, Misbehaviour has all the markers of a charming dramedy with real world ramifications. In fact, it’s set during the events of the Miss World competition in 1970, a televised beauty pageant in London that was then the most-watched event on the planet. In this context, the Women’s Liberation Movement reached international acclaim by disrupting the proceedings, and a Woman of Color from Grenada became a contender for the Miss World title.

Director Philippa Lowthorpe (The Crown) reportedly explores these events to winning results with an ensemble of players that Keira Knightley and Jessie Buckley as lead activists, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Jennifer Hosten (aka Miss Grenada), and Greg Kinnear at his greasiest as an aging Bob Hope.

Greenland

September 25 (U.S. Only)

Imagine this: A comet that is supposed to gently pass Earth by was misjudged by the science community, and instead a cataclysmic extinction level event occurs with comet fragments destroying parts of the world one action scene at a time! Yeah, in 2020 that sounds about right. It’s also the plot of Greenland, a new high-concept survivalist action movie starring Gerard Butler as a family man who, realizing Florida is gone and his home state is next, tries to save his wife (Morena Baccarin) and child by getting his family to the last place that may be spared: military bunkers in Greenland!

And you thought U.S. leadership was being ridiculous when it tried to buy the country a few years ago…

The post Upcoming Movies in September 2020: Theaters, Streaming, and VOD appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2EO8EjF

[tabloidtoc]

Hollywood Reporter, November 20

Cover: Spotify’s Daniel Ek and Dawn Ostroff unveil a plan to harness Hollywood talent and exclusive podcasts to become the world’s #1 audio platform 

Page 10: Contents 

Page 14: Contents 

Page 21: The Report -- Star Wars Uncertainty Extends to Disney’s Lucasfilm Leader Too 

Page 22: What the End of the Paramount Decrees Actually Means 

Page 24: Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun and the Imminent Rerecording War 

Page 26: More Joker -- Warners’ 1B Reasons to Say Yes

Page 28: Box Office, Broadcast TV, Cable TV, Billboard Hot 100, Billboard 200, Closer Look -- Apple TV + Audience So Far 

Page 30: Awards Season -- Best Picture -- Joker, The Good Liar, Ford v Ferrari, Best Original Screenplay -- Lena Waithe for Queen & Slim, Best Actress -- Jessie Buckley in Wild Rose, Best Supporting Actress -- Margot Robbie in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Zhao Shuzhen in The Farewell 

Page 32: 7 Days of Deals -- It’s Showtime for A24-produced Features on Television, $500M Price Is Right for Sony’s GSN Takeover, Rights Available -- The Districts by Johnny Dwyer, Revelation by Bobi Gentry Goodwin, Film -- Nicolas Cage, Spike Lee, Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland, Sam Worthington and Russell Crowe, Michael De Luca 

Page 33: Television -- Sarah Michelle Gellar, Vanessa Bayer, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Nick Cannon, Clive Owen, Jenni Konner and Sarah Treem, Digital -- Joe and Anthony Russo, Riley Keough, Bill Murray and Alyssa Milano, Eddie Murphy, Gary Oldman, Real Estate -- Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Rep Sheet -- Mia Maestro, Valerie Weiss, Drake Doremus, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, Victoria Mahoney, Julia Fox, Next Big Thing -- Jonah Hauer-King 

Page 37: About Town -- Cenk Uygur: ‘I’m Going to Maul Them’ 

Page 38: R.I.P. Retail Therapy: A Fond Farewell to Barneys, Mike Nichols and Sidney Lumet and Roman Polanski: Three New Reads on Larger-Than-Life Moviemaking

Page 40: Yes, I Did Say That! Taylor Swift, John Stankey, Elizabeth Banks, Byron Allen, Julia Wolov on Louis C.K., Gayle King, Alex Zhu, Jeff Probst, Flashback -- Courteney Cox in 2014 

Page 42: HFPA and THR’s Golden Globes Ambassador Party -- Kaitlyn Dever and Olivia Wilde and Beanie Feldstein, Daniel Kaluuya and Emilia Clarke, Jacob Tremblay and Rob Gronkowski, Kate Beckinsale and Jamie Foxx and Tyrese Gibson, Adam Scott, Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd and Robert Pattinson, Greta Gerwig and Amy Pascal, Ali Wong and Chrissy Metz, Florence Pugh and Joe Keery and Ginnifer Goodwin and Jameela Jamil, Natasha Lyonne and Jill Soloway and Shakina Nayfack, Dylan Brosnan and Pierce Brosnan and Lorenzo Soria and Paris Brosnan, Justin Hartley and Bonnie Arnold, Sam Taylor-Johnson and husband Aaron 

Page 43: The Big Bash Gala -- Megan Colligan and son Lukas Roybal, Nina Jacobson, Mike Shumard, Susan Moseley and Priscilla Valldejuli and Sherry Lansing and Laura Lizer, Mike Daly, Michael Green and Rob Steinman and Dan Gardenswartz 

Page 44: Rambling Reporter -- Finding Jack’s directors originally wanted Elvis Presley to bring back from the dead but had to settle for James Dean, Noah Baumbach’s agent Jeremy Barber has cameos in three of his films including Marriage Story, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington finally won the top prize at the 1939 Cannes Film Festival, Idris Elba is now shilling for Ford but he used to work on their assembly line, Power Dining -- Dana Walden, Jeremy Zimmer, T Bone Burnett, Billy Porter, Halm Saban, JoJo Siwa, Bruce Willis, Olivia Munn, Michael Ovitz, Ben Stein, Bob Simonds, Roy Price, John Branca, Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, Common, Laura Dern 

Page 46: Hitched, Hatched, Hired 

Page 50: The Business -- Lisa Katz and Tracey Pakosta 

Page 52: Law & Policy -- The Streaming Wars’ Wild West: Programmers vs. Distributors 

Page 54: The Race -- Are Films About Slavery Good for African Americans? 

Page 56: Behind the Screen -- Finding the Revs and Roars of Ford v Ferrari 

Page 62: Style -- Wine for Everyone on Your List 

Page 64: Send Me the Same Stuff the Guys Get -- Don’t buy into antiquated stereotypes and assume women want wine as gifts

Page 66: Cover Story -- Spotify the Storyteller 

Page 72: Producers Roundtable -- Debra Martin Chase, Peter Chernin, Charlize Theron, Dan Lin, Emma Tillinger Koskoff and David Heyman 

Page 80: Awards Season Playbook -- Directing -- James Mangold of Ford v Ferrari, Taika Waititi of Jojo Rabbit, Destin Daniel Cretton of Just Mercy, Noah Baumbach of Marriage Story, Quentin Tarantino of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Bong Joon Ho of Parasite, Melina Matsoukas of Queen & Slim, Dexter Fletcher of Rocketman, Robert Eggers of The Lighthouse, Benny and Josh Safdie of Uncut Gems, Trey Edward Shults of Waves 

Page 82: Writing -- These screenplays might seem fantastical but the exploration of how a dad’s love (or lack of it) shapes a man couldn’t be more real 

Page 84: The making of A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood 

Page 88: Critic’s Notebook -- The “Plus TV” Era Is Upon Us 

Page 89: Social Climbers -- Actors -- Lili Reinhart, Tom Felton, Scripted TV -- Stranger Things, TV Personalities -- Jimmy Fallon 

Page 90: Backlot -- Hollywood’s Top 25 Marketing Masterminds 

Page 94: How Singapore Is Shaping Asia’s Digital Future 

Page 96: 90 Years of THR -- 1982 -- Tom Hanks Got His Start in Splatter and D&D Flicks

[rose-multiverse]

Debra reference sheet

For more details check her bio

Made using this picrew

[beingdreeyore]

BPD Books

If you’re looking to increase your understanding of the way the brain works in BPD, or just in general, or want something specifically for DBT or mindfulness skills, these are the books that I have read (well, demolished is probably the more appropriate word…). I’m talking notes in the margin, scrawling reminders on post-it notes, and highlighting my favourite quotes on Goodreads, constantly referring back to, kind of demolished...

If you’re wanting to read one but not sure where to start or want to ask questions before you buy one, feel free to comment or send an ask. Lots of you have asked me lately about what I’ve read, so here you go 💙

(To be completely honest, I’m also posting this so I can keep track myself… There are a few I’ve inhaled lately. Hopefully not at the expense of my impending exams… Eek!).

Specifically for BPD & DBT:

DBT Skills Training Handouts and Worksheets – Marsha M Linehan

Mindfulness for Borderline Personality Disorder – Blaise Aguirre & gillian Galen

Loving Someone With Borderline Personality Disorder – Shari Y Manning & Marsha M Linehan

I Hate you, Don’t Leave Me: Understanding The Borderline Personality – Jerold J Kreisman

High Conflict Couple: A DBT Guide to Finding Peace, Intimacy, & Validation – Alan E Fruzzetti

Coping With BPD: DBT and CBT Skills to Soothe the Symptoms of BPD – Blaise Aguirre & Gillian Galen

Borderline Personality Disorder Toolbox – Jeff Riggenbach

Beyond Borderline: True Stories of Recovery From BPD – John G Gunderson & Perry D Hoffman

The Borderline Personality Disorder Survival Guide – Alexander Chapman

The Buddha & The Borderline – Kiera van Gelder

The DBT Skills Workbook – Jeffrey C Wood

The DBT Diary – Matthew McKay

The Mindfulness Solution for Intense Emotions – Cedar R Koons, Marsha M Linehan

Girl, Interrupted – Susanna Kaysen

Stop Sabotaging: A 31 Day DBT Challenge to Change Your Life – Debbie Corso

This Is Not The End: Conversations on Borderline Personality Disorder – Tabetha Martin

Mindfulness &/or Meditation:

Radical Acceptance: Awakening The Love That Heals Fear and Shame – Tara Brach

The Miracle of Mindfulness – Thich Nhat Hanh

Wake Up Now – Stephan Bodian

How To Relax – Thich Nhat Hanh

How to Sit – Thich Nhat Hanh

How to Walk – Thich Nhat Hanh

How to Eat – Thich Nhat Hanh

How to Love – Thich Nhat Hanh

No Mud, No Lotus – Thich Nhat Hanh

True Love – Thich Nhat Hanh

The Relaxation Response – Herbert Benson

Walking The Noble Path – Thich Nhat Hanh

Where You Go, There You Are - Jon Kabat-Zinn

Relationships:

My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward – Mark Lukach

The Course of Love – Alain de Botton

Essays in Love – Alain de Botton

Disordered Eating:

The DBT Solution for Emotional Eating – Debra L Safer

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for Binge Eating and Bulimia – Debra L Safer

The DBT Skills Workbook for Bulimia – Ellen Astrachan-Fletcher

General Psychology:

Man’s Search for Meaning – Viktor E Frankl

Advice Not Given - Dr Mark Epstein

The Trauma of Everyday Life - Mark Epstein

The Body Keeps The Score - Bessel A van der Kolk

Women Who Run With The Wolves - Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Neurology, Plasticity of the Brain, & Physiology:

The Brain’s Way of Healing – Norman Doidge

The Brain That Changes Itself – Norman Doidge

Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst – Robert M Sapolsky

Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers - Robert M Sapolsky

Yogic Philosophy:

The Wisdom of Yoga - Stephen Cope

The Great Work of Your Life - Stephen Cope

Inner Engineering: A Yogi’s Guide To Joy - Sadhguru

Weird & Wonderful:

Mastering Your Mean Girl – Melissa Ambrosini

The Pocket Rumi - Rumi 

How Proust Can Change Your Life - Alain de Botton

BPD with Relatable Fictional Characters

Eloping is For Losers by Alice Morrison

And waiting to be read on my Kindle or desk…

The Five Invitations - Frank Ostaseski 

Happy reading and skills practice 💙