#suspense digest 2019

[adamwatchesmovies]

X2: X-Men United (2003)

There have been A LOT superhero movies since the genre really blew up in 2000 with X-Men. The fact that X2: X-Men United remains one of the best means a lot. There aren’t many sequels which top their predecessors but this is one of them. Full of great character moments with the characters we've come to love and with plenty of contestants for new favorites, it’s got action, suspense and many reasons to come revisit it over and over again.

After Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) - a teleporting, blue-skinned mutant - attempts to assassinate the U.S. President (Cotter Smith), he allows William Stryker (Brian Cox) to shut down Charles Xavier’s school for mutants. Actually, Stryker's goal isn't merely to capture the mutants; he wants Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and his mutant tracking computer, Cerebro. With their leader gone and the students on the run, the X-Men have no choice but to turn to Magneto (Ian McKellen) for help.

When we met Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), the film took us for a loop by revealing that the most important mutant at Xavier's school was Rogue (Anna Paquin), not him. This twist made us even more eager to learn about Logan’s past. Was his adamantium-laced skeleton and those mechanical retractable claws (the series hadn’t yet retconned these to be a natural part of his mutation) some kind of ultimate weapon program gone wrong? Something forced upon our amnesiac hero? The answer comes in the form of the mutant-hating Stryker, a great baddie that poses an extreme threat because he’s smart and ruthless. There are some deliciously gross and squishy moments waiting for you as you piece together the lengths he’ll go to. It gives me the willies thinking about what he did to his mutant son - almost as much as learning what his son did to his mother.

There are many scenes to make your skin crawl. Magneto’s escape from his plastic prison (a favourite moment of mine), the final battle between Wolverine and Lady Death Strike (Kelly Hu), Stryker’s domination of Magneto…. you probably didn't expect those fom an action superhero film. Neither did you foresee the emotional blows. Bobby “Iceman” Drake (Shawn Ashmore) betrayed by his brother, the children being taken away by Stryker’s forces in the middle of the night, Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) teasing Wolverine with her shapeshifting powers, Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) sacrificing herself... There’s a lot going on. A lot to love.

It’s hard to pick a favourite thing about this follow-up. You suddenly find yourself routing for the mutant terrorist Magneto because we’ve been given an even bigger, more sinister foe for our heroes. That’s no small feat. X2 is a confident picture with a lot of balls in the air and director Brian Singer (who’s fallen out of favour today but was a wizard behind the camera) keeps them all afloat, all perfectly distanced to keep the balance and the excitement flowing smoothly.

What’s there NOT to like in X2? It builds on the success of the first in so many meaningful ways. You see the younger X-Men grow into adults, the love triangle between Jean, Wolverine and Scott “Cyclops” Summers (James Marsden) get even more tangled, heroes like Storm (Halle Berry) in a whole new light and villains suddenly become heroes. This film gives you a lot to digest, making it a superhero adventure you eagerly return to over and over. (On Blu-ray, May 19, 2019)

[randomishz]

One of my favorite plot twists is from an anime called The Promised Neverland, which was animated in January 2019 and written by Kaiu Shirai.

The Promised Neverland opens like an affectionate story of a cozy orphanage full of cheerful children, and their gentle caretaker, Isabella whom they cheerfully refer to as "Mom." The orphanage is a haven where the kids live like family, awaiting the very day when they get "adopted" and enjoy a new lease on life. Very innocent charm is built in with the art and atmosphere of this story that draws you into what feels like a slice-of-life story about kids who trust in their "Mom" and dream of a brighter future.

But then comes that plot twist that changes everything. Emma, Norman, and Ray, three of the main characters, discover a horrifying truth-the orphanage isn't the sanctuary it seemed. In fact, it was a farm where the kids were bred to be fed to demons. All the adoptions they were looking forward to every year, all their friends sent off, weren't going to some other family-they were being sent to their deaths. It's a stomach-churning moment that turns the whole story on its head, making what appeared to be a idyllic story of childhood into this dark suspense thriller.

And to make things worse, the most loved "Mom" is not just a bystander; she plays an active part in this abhorrent system, keeping the kids well-groomed and ignorant, raising them like livestock for deliverance to their fates. It is such a betrayal to digest; it makes you feel so urgent about the kids' situation as they design an escape.

From then on, the entire tone shifts. It's no longer about the warmth of childhood but the raw fear and high stakes of survival in a brutal world ruled by demons and sinister conspiracies. When you watch Emma, Norman, and Ray strategize and fight for their freedom, The Promised Neverland becomes this easy orphan story transformed into a spine-chilling escape thriller full of moments of dread, heart, and twists that keep one hooked. It's an intense ride, blending psychological horror with mystery and suspense, and it pulls you in as you root for the kids' survival in a world that's much darker than you could have ever imagined.

By Marina O. Villegas I November 23, 2024

[epacer]

Education

The Learning Curve: How San Diego Unified Plans to Spend State Dollars

Last week, San Diego Unified officials gathered at DePortola Middle School for a workshop on the district’s latest Local Control Accountability Plan, or LCAP. The plan is one in a long list of school-related jargon needing an explanation. So, strap on your education caps. 

Here’s a basic overview of one of the most important – and overlooked – educational documents.

What Is an LCAP?

More than a decade ago, California adopted a new funding formula that aimed to provide greater spending flexibility and more money to districts with higher populations of marginalized student groups. Those groups included children in poverty, homeless and foster care students and English language learners. 

To make sure districts were spending the money in line with the state’s priorities, districts were required to complete an LCAP. The three-year plans detail each district’s goals, how they hope to achieve them and how they will measure their progress. 

School districts are also required to work with parents to develop these plans, in theory giving parents a louder voice in the way schools work. But even given that mandate, state auditors have slammed the LCAP process for being incomprehensible and overly complex, which has prevented parents from taking part.

San Diego Unified was one of three school districts auditors focused on in 2019. They found that the document was replete with educational jargon that made the report “less transparent and useful.” In response, school board member Richard Barrera committed to simplifying the district’s LCAP template to make it more digestible.

What’s in San Diego Unified’s Latest LCAP?

The draft LCAP presented by the district’s board, superintendent and other officials at last week’s workshop is broken into four distinct goals: social emotional learning, broad and challenging curriculum, graduation and the equity multiplier. The district noted that each of these goals address various of the state’s key priorities. Each of the goals also includes a brief description of how they would impact what the district calls “spotlight” students – district jargon for kids who are underserved, marginalized or underperforming – and how they’ve engaged educational partners like parents.

Social and Emotional Learning: The district’s first goal is to improve the social-emotional wellbeing of students. They plan to do this by providing teacher training on equity and by developing new resources and systems to support teachers. Officials also seek to roll out social and emotional learning lessons to students in grades one through twelve, as well as provide mental health education events for caregivers. Lastly, officials plan to expand educators’ access to alternatives to traditional disciplinary methods like suspension and expulsion. Progress on these goals will be determined using metrics like rates of chronic absenteeism, behavioral incidents and suspension rates. 

Broad and Challenging Curriculum: The draft LCAP states the district will institute professional learning communities in up to 14 schools a year. Professional learning communities allow teachers to share strategies, learn from each other and improve year around and are shown to help the overall performance of students. 

The district also highlighted tamping down chronic absenteeism, the continued rollout of community schools, improved support for English language learners and improved math and English curriculum as its strategies to reach this goal. Metrics like state standardized test scores, attendance rates and English language learner performance data will be used to determine progress.

Graduation: This goal focuses not only on ensuring kids graduate, but all things leading up to that point. The draft plan states that by 2027, the district will create new pathways to graduation that allow kids to focus on things like visual and performing arts, college, career and technical education and even military leadership. Officials also seek to improve GPAs by bringing down the number of D’s and F’s issued, to expand online and independent learning options and increase the number of students taking advanced placement or college courses. Officials will use metrics like the number of D’s and F’s issued, advanced placement enrollment and passage rates and GPAs to determine if they’ve met this goal.

Equity Multiplier: This last goal is focused squarely on improving outcomes for “students furthest from educational justice,” the draft plan reads. These may include “students with disabilities, multilingual learners, socioeconomic disadvantaged, homeless, foster, black, Latinx, and Native American youth.”  The district plans to implement new student mentorship programs, hold workshops with parents and to develop a new “Equity Team.” Similar to the other goals, it will use metrics like test scores and GPA, rates of attendance and suspension and expulsion data to determine if it’s succeeded. *Reposted article from the Voice of SD by Jakob McWhinney on May 29, 2024

[art-of-manliness]

Odds & Ends: April 26, 2024

Why Public Health Should Attend to the Spiritual Side of Life. When analyzing what factors affect health, researchers rarely factor in the influence of religion and spirituality. Tyler J. VanderWeele, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at Harvard’s School of  Public Health, thinks this is a mistake, as this area of life can have a dramatic impact on physical and mental well-being. To wit, while much of the cultural discussion around increases in depression and anxiety, especially among young adults, has centered on smartphones, research has shown “that about 40 percent of the increasing suicide rate in the United States from 1999 to 2014 might be attributed to declines in attendance at religious services during this period. Another study suggested declining attendance from 1991 to 2019 accounted for 28 percent of the increase in depression among adolescents.” There are a lot of benefits to going to church — even when you’re not sure of your beliefs.  The Handbook of Style: A Man’s Guide to Looking Good. Back in the 2000s, Esquire would put out special editions of the magazine called The Big Black Book. My favorite part of these issues was their handsomely illustrated guides on men’s style. Back in 2009, they compiled all these guides in a book, The Handbook of Style. Despite being published over 15 years ago, the advice is still relevant today. My 13-year-old son has a burgeoning interest in upping his style game, and this has become one of his favorite bedtime reads.  Dial M for Murder. Compared to entries like Rear Window and Vertigo, Dial M for Murder is a lesser-known entry in the Hitchcock canon, but it’s still an enjoyable and suspenseful watch. A retired professional tennis player (Ray Milland) plots to kill his cheating wife (Grace Kelly), but his plans go awry. Adapted from a stage play, all the action, such as there is, takes place within the couple’s home, but despite the claustrophobic, dialogue-driven backdrop, the unfolding of the plot and the quality acting (especially from the detective who works the case) draws you in.  KIND Protein MAX Crispy Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar. We’re always on the lookout for new protein bars in the McKay household. They’re great for road trips or when you need some extra protein during your day to hit your protein count. The latest bar we’ve been enjoying is from KIND. Sweetened with low-calorie allulose, it doesn’t have the sugar alcohols of many bars that can cause digestional difficulties, nor the weird stevia flavor of bars like Quest. The first ingredient is peanuts, and these filling bars have a pleasant, nutty, almost granola-bar-esque taste. Quote of the Week A good man doubles the length of his existence; to have lived so as to look back with pleasure on our past life is to live twice. —Marcus Valerius Martialis Help support independent publishing. Make a donation to The Art of Manliness! Thanks for the support! http://dlvr.it/T63zF4

[lisamasonthewriter]

ODDITIES: 22 Stories by Lisa Mason #publishedstories #magazinestories #anthologystories #sciencefiction #fantasy #historical #SFWApro ODDITIES 22 Stories Lisa Mason Here You Enter Yesterday Tomorrow & Fantasy Coming November 17, 2020 in Print and Ebook

[celestialmazer]

Julie Mehretu, Untitled 2, 1999. Private collection. Courtesy of White Cube. © Julie Mehretu

Julie Mehretu, Hineni (E. 3:4), 2018. Centre Pompidou, Paris, Musée national d’art moderne/Centre de création industrielle; gift of George Economou, 2019. © Julie Mehretu. Photography:Tom Powel Imaging

Julie Mehretu, Mind-Wind Field Drawings (quarantine studio, d.h.) #1, 2019-2020. Private collection, courtesy Marian Goodman Gallery New York/Paris. © Julie Mehretu. Photography courtesy Marian Goodman Gallery

Julie Mehretu, Mogamma (A Painting in Four Parts) Part 1, 2012. Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. © Julie Mehretu. Photography: White Cube, Ben Westoby

Julie Mehretu, Conjured Parts (eye), Ferguson, 2016. The Broad Art Foundation, Los Angeles. © Julie Mehretu. Photography: Cathy Carver

Julie Mehretu, Migration Direction Map (large), 1996. Private collection. © Julie Mehretu. Photography: Tom Powel Imaging

At home with artist Julie Mehretu

CAMILLE OKHIO - 25 MAR 2021

Julie Mehretu speaks with the joy and conviction of someone who has had the freedom to investigate all their interests. Curiosity has led her to the myriad topics, objects and moments that inform her work, among them cartography, archaeology, the birth of civilisation and mycology. Since the 1990s, her practice has expanded outwardly in all directions like a spider web. A lack of understanding and preconceived notions among reviewers have often led to her work being flattened – simplified so that it is easily digestible – but in reality, her work is far from a simplistic investigation of any one topic. It encompasses multitudes.

The artist’s recent paintings are mostly large scale, but her early works on paper (often created with multiple layers – one sheet of Mylar on top of another) are as small as a six-inch square. The works often comprise innumerable minuscule markings – tremendous force and knowledge communicated through delicate inkings and streaks. Their layers reveal, rather than obfuscate. And though Mehretu’s creative process springs from a desire to understand herself better, the work itself is in no way autobiographical. 

Born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the tails of a continental rejection of colonialism, and raised there, then in Michigan, Mehretu has a flexible and full-hearted understanding of home. It is not one physical place, but many, all holding equal importance. On 25 March, Mehretu will present her first major retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art, with works spanning 1996 to 2019. The institution is an important one for Mehretu, as it played host to several pivotal shows in her youth.

Her exhibition has served as an impetus for Mehretu to look back at her already prolific career, observing and organising the thoughts, questions and answers she has put forth for over two decades. The six years it took to bring this exhibition together proved an incredibly valuable time of reflection, fatefully dovetailing with a year of quarantine. 

Wallpaper*: Where are you as we speak?

Julie Mehretu: I’m in my studio on 26th Street, right on the West Side Highway. I’ve worked here for 11 years.

W*: Are there any artists, writers or thinkers that have had a meaningful impact on you?

JM: I don’t know how to answer that because there are literally so many! It’s constantly changing. Right now, Kara Walker, David Hammons, William Pope.L, and younger artists like Jason Moran (who has made amazing work around abstraction). There are so many artists that have been informative and important to me: Frank Bowling, Jack Whitten, Caravaggio.

I also look at a lot of prehistoric work, from as far back as 60,000 years ago, as well as cave paintings from 6th century China and early prehistoric drawings in the caves of Australia. 

W*: What’s the most interesting thing you have read, watched or listened to recently?

JM: For the last few weeks I’ve been immersed in Steve McQueen films. I’ve been bingeing on lovers rock music. And a TV show that really moved me was [Michaela Cole’s] I May Destroy You. It’s difficult, but it was really well done and powerful. 

Ocean Vuong’s novel On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous is amazing. The Mushroom at the End of the World by Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing is a really incredible book too – she studies this mushroom that became a delicacy in Japan in the 7th century. It started growing in deforested areas – it’s in these places destroyed by human beings that these mushrooms survive. [I find it interesting] that this mushroom grows on the edge of precarity and destruction. Like with Black folks, there is a constant aspect of insisting on yourself and reinventing yourself in the midst of constant effort of destruction. 

W*: What was the first piece of art you remember seeing? How did you feel about it?

JM: One of the first times I remember being moved by a work of art was looking through my mother’s Rembrandt book. We brought so few things back from Ethiopia and that was one of them. [Particularly] Rembrandt’s The Sacrifice of Isaac. That story is so intense. I was so moved by the light and the skin and the way the paint made light and skin. 

W*: Do you travel? If so, what does travel afford you, and what have you missed about it during Covid-19?

JM: I travel a lot, but I haven’t travelled this year. There has been this amazing sense of suspension and a pause in that. I miss travelling, but going to look at art, watching films, reading novels and listening to music is the way I travel now. For instance, I’ve been listening to Afro-Peruvian music and now I want to go to Peru.

Before I know it we will be back in this fast-paced, zooming-around environment – there is something I want to savour by staying here, now, in this time and absorbing as much as I can.

W*: You are said to have a vast collection of objects and images. Walk me through your collection – what areas, materials, makers and things have the largest presence and why?

JM: When you enter our home there is this long hallway. Framed along the wall we have around 20 fluorescent Daniel Joseph Martinez block-printed posters he made with words – almost poems. Our kids grew up reading those. One says ‘Sometimes I can’t breathe’ and another one says ‘Don’t work’, while some are really long.

We also have a great Paul Pfeiffer photograph of one from the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse series. We have a group of Richard Tuttle etchings right over our dining table. We have an amazing David Hammons body print as well, and my kids’ work is all over the house.

W*: As the daughter of immigrants and an immigrant yourself – how do you conceptualise home and how do you create it?

JM: There were a lot of times I felt very transient – as a student and a young adult, going in and out of school and residency programmes. It always came back to music and food. There are certain flavours, foods, music, smells that you take wherever you go. Also as a mother, I’m building a home for my children. Home becomes something else because of them. They are the core of home now. 

W* How has motherhood affected your practice?

JM: I became much more productive when I had kids for several reasons – one is that I felt a lot of pressure to make [work] in the time I wasn’t with them, which of course is unsustainable. A large part of making is not making – thinking and searching. 

When I got to work I could get into it much more quickly. Kids grow and change so fast, you feel time is passing so you need to use it. I wasn’t going to stop working, that’s for sure. All women who are pushing in their lives make that choice. 

W*: What is your favourite myth and why does it hold importance for you?

JM: Right now I’m reading Greek myths to my ten-year-old. We’ve read them before, but he wanted to read them again. I still read to him at night even though he’s a voracious reader himself.

The myths I remember the most are myths I’ve come across in visual works. Titian’s Diana and Actaeon – I know that myth so well because of his painting. Bernini’s mesmerising sculpture of Apollo and Daphne I saw in Rome, where her body becomes a tree. The leaves are so delicately carved into the marble, it’s a work of incredible beauty. I’ve been considering this deconstructionist approach to mythology. Storytelling becomes this place to interrogate propositions, which is what I think mythology does.

W*: Have you experienced a flattening of your work?

JM: I’m always concerned with flattening and pigeonholing. That is something that happens to artists like us all the time. When I first was working and showing there was a bit of that happening with my work. It was put into the space of cartography or an architectural analysis of it. It was said to be autobiographical work.

The art world tries to consume. There is this desire to flatten and the desire for Black artists to be a reflection of their experience. I don’t think any artist is like that at all. In reality, none of us are flat. We all contain multitudes and are complicated – that has always been the core of the Black radical tradition.

[uunovels]

Suspense Digest June 2019 is available to reading online. Follow the given link:https://uunovels.com/suspense-digest-june-2019-download-pdf-reading-online/

[youngerdaniel]

Youngo’s 2019 at the Movies (with Baby Yoda)

IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN, FOLKS...

Wherein this blog crawls out of the woodwork with fresh aspirations for a more consistent content strategy in the year to come. Like a Baby Yoda emerging from his floating iron egg to great the sun. So let’s dust off some cobwebs and talk about the great movies that came out in 2019.

BRIEF UPDATES FROM THE WAFFLER This year marked a turning point. No, not that fucking decade that everybody’s making a big deal about. Not even that I hit 30 but thankfully have most of my (still not totally gray) hair... Nope, I went into business for myself. I leapt off the stable lily pad of 9-5 etc. and went freelance! Life’s been full of stories since then -- both the kind I write, and the kind I get to look under the hood on. I’m happy to report I’ve written more than ever before... Just not blogs, and mostly stuff I’m not at liberty to discuss.

*Clears throat. Pulls up the collar on his trench coat.* And I may have had more hair turn gray. Turns out, running your own ship is quite a bit of work, especially when you’re teaching yourself how the hell you do it. Nevertheless, I loved the shit out of every minute of it, and I still use phrases like nevertheless. It could easily be a blog (or several) for a different time, but the short and easy explanation of the absence is I was busy, it was fun, get over it. 

Besides, we don’t actually care about whatever lame excuse I have for why I haven’t been posting. We’re here because it’s 2020 and time for a listicle, dammit! This one is neither definitive nor ranked. But dang if 2019′s fodder didn’t come sauntering into theaters like the big chuckling cherub of Christmas Present, with a cornucopia of awesomeness. 

THINGS I LOVED, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

UNDER THE SILVER LAKE David Robert Mitchell’s neo noir takes a fittingly existential approach to detective fiction. An enigmatic case, hidden clues and coded pop culture, Andrew Garfield’s charmingly hapless sleuth... There’s a lot to love in this weird soup of a movie. At times nightmarish, often trippy, and an excellent performance from a parrot. Late night fodder.

CLIMAX Gaspar Noe does not make sane movies. With Climax, there’s a hypnotic quality that sucks you in and drags you along on its nightmarish journey as a group of dancers drink from a punchbowl laced with drugs. The result is absolute bedlam, and everything from the lighting to the camerawork pulls its weight to put you into the action. This is the kind of thing you watch and marvel that, “Wow, they went there.” to varying degrees of satisfaction. Like a freight train barreling toward the side of a mountain, it’s hard to look away even though you know you probably should. 

JOJO RABBIT And then there’s a different kind of madness. The movie that billed itself as “The movie that shouldn’t work.” Jojo Rabbit is so full of heart. This is Taika Waititi in full force, and hilarity meets real pathos. Love is better than Nazis. It’s a simple message, and I think it doesn’t need to be much more. The relevance of such a narrative in our time is pretty disappointing, but the truth seems to be that we need ones like this to come along and remind the collective. The mashup of humor with genuine drama is balanced in a way that will feel familiar to fans of THE HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE or BOY. The performances are superb, and it’s a beautiful looking film. If you missed it last year, start the new one off right and amend this problem.

US The thing I dug the most about US was how unique it felt. Original premises in horror are on the rise, and there’s no denying the man leading the wave is Jordan Peele. The social commentary elements of this followup to GET OUT play with a little more subtlety, and in some ways it almost felt like a stronger move... But I refuse to compare the two of them. US stands out in its own right, and carries some of the most memorable performances of the year. A twisting narrative that crackles with tension, and a concept that haunts the imagination. What if your every action had an equal an opposite effect on a mirrored version of yourself? A study on the impact of the class system, and a nightmarish what-if to explain the real life series of underground tunnels that span the United States. Also, that costume design! That Alexa gag! The way this one opens up at the midpoint was such a delight in the theater. I’d apologize for spoilers, but let’s be real... You’ve seen this movie.

AD ASTRA Best summed up as “Daddy Issues in Space,” AD ASTRA feels like the kind of sci-fi mysteries that were made in the late 70s and 80s. A spellbinding journey to the far edges of the galaxy to save the world, and maybe prove that aliens exist. Oh, and to stop your possibly insane father from destroying the human race on the way. Brad Pitt is on fire, and everything about this potent emotional journey remains focused on his character’s dilemma of deciding whether or not his father was a good man, what it means to him and his own isolated existence, and whether he can overcome that shit and live a life instead of taking risks. From its opening scene to its closing one, this one blends gripping life-or-death set-pieces exploring the dangers of space travel and the cyclical nature of humanity’s progress with small moments. The journey, the heart-wrenching climax, and the harrowing trip home is well worth the rental fee. Check it out.

THE GIRL ON THE THIRD FLOOR

Some horror movies exist to make you think, some exist to cover their protagonists in black goo, subject them to grueling physical and psychological lament, and chuck ‘em through a woodchipper for good measure. The Girl on the Third Floor takes your average premise of “Stubborn and troubled guy picks a fixer-upper house to flip, only to discover horrors beyond his imagining” and leans hard into the gross-outs and festering boils of body horror. Reminiscent of Evil Dead, Amityville, and Dead Alive, there’s so much insanity to love, and the movie makes some big turns -- some surprising, some daring, some a little out there. It is by no means perfect, but it’s got a charm about its rough edges. You will never look at a marble the same way again.

I LOST MY BODY

I know. “A life-affirming work” left me a little skeptical too. But from its very first frame, I LOST MY BODY is arresting. Its hypnotic narrative follows the story of a severed hand in search of its owner, and has great fun carrying you along with its troubled protagonist’s journey from a crush to obsession. The sheer amount of visual storytelling and striking imagery is worth the runtime, but for any arthouse lovers feeling a little too chilled to hop down to the nearest indie theatre can open a new tab and have at it. Didn’t expect to be as moved by this one as I was, and for that I must recommend it.

AVENGERS: ENDGAME The fact that a movie like this can even exist is pretty amazing, and I have to say, as the culmination to the Avengers saga as we know it, ENDGAME delivered something with way more heart and character than I expected. Funny, sad, bittersweet, and massively satisfying. This is the Thanksgiving Turkey dinner of movies. It’s got everything. But the best part for me was how little fighting the big superhero finale of the decade had to it. Firmly rooted in character, taking ambitious and surprising turns in their trajectories, and balancing the fanwanks with a genuinely exciting story. I mean, c’mon. Time heist? A Greatest Hits play that also recontextualizes a few of the lesser films of the sweeping franchise? The third act battle felt a little tacked-on, but the conclusion felt like exactly what we needed. 

READY OR NOT I love this movie. Love it like an adorable, scrappy friend who always manages to make their social commentary entertaining. Hide and Seek turns deadly for a bride to be when she meets her future in-laws, the proprietors of a board game company that takes their product very seriously. A darkly funny survive-the-gauntlet-till-morning ride. Great characters. Awesome kills. A few really unexpected and delightfully devilish turns. Oh, and it takes a stab at privilege and how far some people are willing to go to preserve theirs. It’s got teeth, a mean bite, and it’s fun to walk around the neighborhood. If you liked YOU’RE NEXT, you will probably love this movie. I still can’t get its final few moments out of my head. And I mean that in the best way.

PARASITE Speaking of social criticism and privilege, there’s no denying the brute fucking force of PARASITE. Following a struggling family who imbed themselves into a rich family by posing as the help, this madcap game of suspense takes so many surprising turns that even describing the full plot spoils the fun. Go into this one having read as little as possible. It will take you for a spin. Part con movie, part social critique, part comedy and part tragedy, it’s a lot to digest, but it’s a damned tasty treat. 

KNIVES OUT In a word, it’s fun. Rian Johnson’s locked room murder mystery packs some wonderful barbs in the side of affluence, armchair activism, and the corruptive nature of wealth. A wealthy novelist is found dead, and all of his family members have motive... But don’t let the familiar set-up fool you, KNIVES OUT plays fair with its audience, but it is a fast runner. The story jumps ahead of you almost every time you think you’ve got it figured out. Daniel Craig’s genius sleuth is full of likable energy, protagonist Marta is full of layers, and the family are all such a pleasure to watch. Several times along the trip, I had no idea where the story would turn next, or how much further the envelope could be pushed, but by the end, I came out marveling at its construction. The production design is unreal. The direction and vibe are so unique, and by the closing image, it’s nearly impossible not to enjoy the shift in values. There’s also a speech involving donuts that I will be reciting at parties for the foreseeable future.

DANIEL ISN’T REAL

I closed off the year with this wildly inventive take on the possession trope. This. Movie. Is. Nuts. Which, considering it was produced by the same folks who did MANDY, shouldn’t come as a surprise. A mind-bending tale that riffs on Jekyll and Hyde, with a great modernization tackling the concept from a mental health perspective... It’s not the first time it’s been done, but the execution is just excellent. We follow a disturbed young man whose imaginary friend hatched from a childhood trauma makes a devilish return to play hell with his adult life. It’s a psychological horror that’s FIGHT CLUB meets THE DOUBLE. Great look. Excellent creature design and visuals for a cosmic horror that makes great use of low budget devices. If you’re looking for the answer to the age old question of “Should my third act involve my protagonist battling his inner demons literally with a rooftop sword fight?” You’ve found your contender.

I’ll tell you this, reader friend. The hardest part about 2019′s slate at the box office was deciding what to see. There were so many interesting movies that came out, brimming with big ideas and social commentary. Sad as the state of the world is, there’s no denying times of unrest have a knack for yielding great art. The Trump era has made its stamp on Hollywood for better or for worse. But the rising tide of voices pushing back give me a bit of hope, and a lot of salve for the whole existential dread thing. I think that, however small it is, is good.

For what it’s worth, none of these films are reinventing the wheel or burning flags... But they are asking questions. Okay, CLIMAX, really isn’t asking anything, but it is fun as hell. There’s just as much merit in the salve as there is in the flame that caused the burn.  So may your 2020 be full of entertainment. I’ll try to get some useful content up here at least every couple of months in smaller digestible forms. Now go forth and brunch, you hungover, resolution-breaking slob.

[satsangat]

September 6, 2019 - Astrotransits

Feeling like August still? In fact, these six days I’ve had to correct ‘August’ in the date title written in automatic mode. It’s not only the extreme heat (at least here in TX), or cold in the Southern Hemisphere, but the energy from the sky is still very similar. Those retrograde planets are keeping it in suspense, and the faster planets are activating the suspense one by one. 

Today, the Moon passes over Jupiter, emotions go overboard, we see the big picture, we can find the truth in the middle of an ocean of information if we’re ready to see it. The reality of all fast planets transiting Virgo opposing Neptune rx pushes the truth forward. Jupiter direct is now picking up speed and will soon third quarter square Neptune. It’s the last one and the more powerful expansion of their relationship, because they have squared three times and because they are in their way to the conjunction. It means that they are in the ‘crisis in consciousness’ stage. Have we learned the lesson they started teaching around 10 years ago in the last conjunction in Aquarius during the 2009 year? Do you remember what the ‘revelation’ and the ‘delusion’ were about? The whole world remembers, right? Because their conjunction included Chiron, it hurt, a lot! Jupiter and Neptune are not planets of small things, they go big; Jupiter may be contained by Saturn, but Neptune has no limits! So we are about to learn BIG THINGS that have been kept hidden, lies that affect us all. With Virgo involved now, we are ‘digesting’ the shocking revelations. 

I’ll write more about this square as it approaches exactitude, because Jupiter square Neptune has its positive side as well. 

Today, Mercury square Jupiter and the media is invaded by news of huge disasters involving water, gas explosions (Neptune in Pisces). There are long distant travel news as well, like India going to the Moon, and airline companies showing problems that leave their passengers stranded. There was a bomb of a surprising news (Mercury square Jupiter) about the hidden side of the opera singer Placido Domingo (Neptune also rules actors, and society celebrities). We start understanding that things are not as they look in the open, the iceberg goes 90% under the ocean! As I said previously, these are just meager examples or signs of the big hidden, which is about the economy, business market, and market values, including money and resources (Uranus in Taurus). Keep an eye on the ups and downs taking place at the moment, related to the global trade ‘deliberations’ between the economic leaders.  

Develop awareness, and make it a great day! Sat Nam.

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Platform (2019)

It isn’t enough for your movie to contain symbolism and allegories. It must also say something and give something to those who "don't get it". Even if you somehow miss what The Platform is actually about, it works. Grotesque, frightening, and suspenseful, it’ll make you think too. Even with some elements of the conclusion not quite adding up, it's smart.

Goreng (Iván Massagué) wakes up in a “Vertical Self-Management Center”, a sort of prison/testing institution that places two inmates on each of its many floors. His “partner” Trimagasi (Zorion Eguileor) explains that food is delivered by a platform that allows those below to eat the leftovers of those above. As the supplies diminish with each floor, those at the bottom struggle to survive.

The Platform begins with a great, simple premise. Each month, everyone is given a new floor. Also, each person is allowed one item of their choice when they arrive. Poor Goreng chose a book. You know others brought something a little bit more useful in case they wake up on a low floor next to someone determined to survive. For the moment, things are ok. He’s a naive dreamer, his cellmate is a bit of a curmudgeon but he’s street-wise. It makes for a good dynamic as we learn the rules of this place.

Let’s set aside the metaphor and focus on the situation as presented. It’s terrific. Goreng wakes up on a relatively safe floor. What happens next month? Instantly, you’ve got moral dilemmas and tension. The situation gets more complicated the more you learn about the people and the world they inhabit. What security measures are in place to ensure things are “fair”? How can they be exploited? What are the Administration's true intentions? Piecing it together is loads of fun. You try to picture what you'd do if you were in this scenario. The system isn’t fair. You want to blame someone. The people at the top? Obviously but there’s always someone above them. A revolution's got to come. But how?

Directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia with a screenplay by David Desolations and Pedro Rivero, you're given a lot to think about. Yes, it’s often pretty gross but the stomach churning images are necessary and there’s plenty of humour to make the violence and gore digestible. The brutality helps drive the point The Platform is making. This place gets more hellish the lower you go. Whether it’s the system, the people or a combination of both responsible matters little to those at the bottom. They aren’t in a position to make a difference. Who will step up? Everything serves a purpose, even the aspect of the conclusion that doesn’t quite hold up logically or metaphorically. Film-wise, it does. It’s a big twist that’ll have to itching to go back to the beginning and watch the whole thing again. The Platform is the kind of movie you want to gather around with friends and discuss at length. (Original Spanish with English subtitles, July 28, 2020)

[digestlove]

Read and Download Free Suspense Digest April 2019

Read and Download Free Suspense Digest April 2019

Read and Download Free Suspense Digest April 2019 in PDF File. Now You can Download Suspense Digest April 2019 in PDF and Click beneath the link to Download and Read this Book Online at Online Server with Great HD Quality.

Every one to want,s every month a new latest digest now on this website you will get every month new digests and novels we will upload Urdu Digests Urdu Books Novels Magazines…

[writingdotcoffee]

#73: The Third Draft

Last year, it took me a couple of weeks to get organised and starting the revisions on my WIP. I’m not making that mistake again. I was going to write one more short story before getting back to it, but I decided against that and went straight back to editing.

I’m on the third draft of my cyberpunk/techno-thriller. The second draft ended up being quite a heavy rewrite with me going through all the 57 chapters and restructuring almost every single one. I moved chapters around, deleted some and added a few more. It was a lot of work, but that process helped me turn a pile of 90,000 words into the book that I wanted to write in the first place.

I made hundreds of notes in the process about various parts of the story that I couldn’t address right away. The third draft for me will be going through that list and ticking things off. Some are small — like adding clues and explanation into earlier scenes. Others span multiple chapters — making sure that my descriptions of an office are consistent across the whole book.

I’m using a kanban board to manage everything. Each task has its own card that I move across as I incorporate them into the draft. I can prioritise them easily and track my progress. This really keeps my head from exploding. Also, it’s quite satisfying.

I’ve gone through a good number of items this week. But I have about 200 cards still to go through. It looks like I’ll be stuck with this for a while.

I’m accepting bets on how many tasks I’ll be able to tick off next week ;-).

What I Am Reading

I finished Killing Floor by Lee Child this week. A gritty, suspenseful, renegade detective sort-of thriller. It wasn’t particularly realistic, but it made for an enjoyable weekend read.

After that, I picked up Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton. Really well written, and wholly unconventional story — an Agatha Christie murder mystery meets Ground Hog Day. A brilliant idea that must have been a real pain to execute. The protagonist relives the same day eight times from the perspective of eight different characters. His actions can change the course of the day. Mind blown. Check this out, you won’t be disappointed.

Next week, I’ll be reading This is Marketing by Seth Godin. That may sound like an utter bore, but don’t be fooled by the title. Seth writes about marketing as a way of making ideas spread, not selling crap to people that don’t want it.

Then I’m not entirely sure. I have dozens of books in the queue, and to be honest, I want to read all of them now.

Short Stories

I also read these short stories:

Innocence by Honore de Balzac

The Apparition of Mrs Veal by Daniel Defoe

Adventures in Alaska by Edward Eggleston

Eeldrop and Appleplex by T. S. Eliot

False Flag by Cory Doctorow

The Remarkable Case of Davidson’s Eyes by H. G. Wells

The Plattner Story by H. G. Wells

Want More?

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Past Editions

#72: Getting Started, January 2019

#71: This Is It, December 2018

#70: The Moment, December 2018

#69: All I want for Christmas…, December 2018

#68: Getting Overwhelmed, December 2018

#67: Time vs Energy, December 2018

[everyonesanauthor]

What a beautiful cabbage! So round, so vividly colored, so, um, noisy to eat and digest. Mary Elizabeth Williams describes herself as an optimist and “professional extrovert,” and she wrote this June 2019 narrative about cabbage soup and her mother for Salon, where she is a staff writer.

QUESTIONS

1. Williams is writing about diets, but she doesn’t particularly like them. What is her attitude toward diets? Why? What benefit did she derive from the cabbage soup diet? Are you tempted to try that diet yourself? Why or why not?

2. Williams’s opening sentence drops you right into the drama. We expect that you can hardly help yourself from wanting to know more. Where else does Williams build suspense and interest? Point to two more examples. Does Williams’s narrative style hold your interest? Why or why not? Explain your response.

3. Williams’s writing transitions very smoothly back and forth between first and second person. Does her way of directly addressing you enhance your interest in her narrative? Why or why not? Explain your reasoning.

4. The probability is close to 100%: if you’ve lived in the US for any length of time (or perhaps even if you’ve arrived recently from elsewhere), at some time in your life you’ve taken deliberate steps to modify your food intake for some specific purpose. Perhaps a relative or caregiver persuaded or obliged you to make such modifications. And you probably have some feelings about doing so, whether positive, negative, or complicated. Write a narrative describing your experience with a particular food category or diet regimen. In your writing, consider your own attitude(s) and your interactions with others who may have participated with you as enforcers, encouragers, co-eaters, or any other relevant role.

[aerialyoga]

What is Aero Aerobatic Yoga?

The Acrobatic AeroYoga®  is the variant of the AeroYoga method, more physically and mentally demanding. Developed by Rafael Martinez since the last decade, it is dedicated to the increase of strength, resistance, self-awareness, proprioception, coordination and psychomotricity.

This article is part of the ongoing training of Aero Yoga Institute, accredited by YACEP (Continuing Education Provider) of Yoga Alliance.

Acrobatic AeroYoga®  is one of the variants of the AeroYoga® system focused on the most spectacular  postures, without detriment to the development of inner awareness in relation to the environment (proprioception)

.LOOK MORE IN OUR BLOG https://www.aeroyoga-official.com/aerialwellness/aerial-yoga-discover-the-acrobatic-aeroyoga/  

To whom is this practice directed?

The AeroYoga® Acrobatic is aimed at students with extensive experience in aeroyoga in their intermediate and basic levels and to practitioners of asthanga yoga, hatha yoga or advanced acro yoga. Also ideal for practitioners and professionals of artistic gymnastics, classical and contemporary dance, acrobatics or climbing for example.

The AeroYoga®, thanks to its progressive teaching system, will allow the student to experience postures and acrobatics, from lesser to greater degree, for everyone. 

The important thing is a calm and progressive practice.

Unhurried and guided by a certified Aero Yoga and Aero Pilates International teacher.

What techniques have influenced the development of this method?

Apart from Hatha Yoga, Asthanga, Contemporary dance and Creative Yoga ©, one of the great bases of the method is Mallakhamb rope. 

It is a combination of traditional yoga and aerial gymnastics with ropes that has its origin in the twelfth century in Mumbai. 

This practice includes fabulous acrobatics and is famous in India for helping to gain agility, strengthen the mind and body coordination, which makes it a true integral fitness.

How much does breathing influence Acrobatic AeroYoga®? 

We say that for AeroYoga® breathing is located before the swing itself as the main tool.

We use the breath as a physical element to generate concentration, a sensation of cellular 'nutrition' and also as a creative element essential in the AeroYoga® Acrobatic practice for a safe practice.

On a physical level, weightlessness favors the release and isolation of each area of the respiratory system, which favors the work of conscious breathing.

For its part from the creative point of view:Just as an artist uses paint to create a painting, a mural, AeroYoga® uses breathing as the main material for the development of creative abilities in the student.

And the mind what place it occupies in Acrobatic AeroYoga®?

The mind plays a revealing role. In fact, the first exercises consist of working the body in a certain way, with techniques so that the mind is silent doing priority to the corporal expression with full consciousness of the exercise, although this is demanding.

The game of the body and mind breathing  in AeroYoga® allow the student to "disconnect" and then "reconnect" and strengthen the body-mind dialogue. Thanks to specific exercises specially designed for this purpose the effect is always palpable and often surprising.

AeroYoga® can bring us many benefits * and help us:

· Improve blood circulation throughout the body, clear the mind and promote anti-aging properties ...

· Benefits for the body and mental system

· This aerial exercise can positively affect all body systems:Endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic or digestive systems.

· This helps strengthen the spine and improve postural awareness.

· Helps to strengthen the respiratory system by forming the basis of a multitude of pranayama (conscious breathing) exercises, which are favored by suspension work.

More info about ours teachers training contact by

WHATSAPP+34 601083313

MAIL hello@aeroyoga-official.com

WEB www.aeroyoga-official.com See in this link all the courses and dates scheduled for this 2019 https://www.aeroyoga-official.com/curso-presencial-de-instructor-de-aeroyoga/

If you want to know more about online certification (available in Spanish and English - also very soon in French), click here https://www.aeroyoga-official.com/cursos/curso-online/

Aero Yoga Institute is the first institution dedicated to aerial yoga, accredited Yoga Alliance (diploma 200 h). AeroYoga is a method of personal and professional suspension development.

Our contents are related to health, well-being and exercise, as well as artistic expression throughout the body. AeroYoga® is an international registered trademark, also in USA, UK, Canada Ireland or Australia.The experience cannot be improvised: Join the original aerial yoga and pilates method with more experience in training for your personal and professional growth! * Consult your doctor about any health problem and the convenience in your case to perform a demanding practice such as aeroyoga.

[lisamasonthewriter]

“Taiga” Has Been Published in Not One of Us, Poetry and Fiction Digest #61, April 2019! Inspiration for My Story “Taiga” Lisa Mason #SFWApro #SFWAauthor #sciencefiction #PhilipKDickAwardFinalist #aliens #psychology #poetry #womenssciencefiction I appreciate SF stories that explore the inner space of humanity, rather than the outer space of the universe with space ships, space travel, ship’s captains, and the like.

[kman1902]

Bits and things about movies and TV shows in 2018

It is a rather similar post to what I have done back in 2016, and I thought it would be a great way how to re-start /for at least a fifth time/ to write and share some stories of life, movies and some other things as well.  Movies and TV series have always been something that I enjoy watching. I love it for many reasons, starting with the fact that you can see a form of art displayed on the screen. Imagine how many people it took to put the whole thing together. Actors, directors, designers (costume and set), producers, editors, sound engineers and way more. Movies and TV shows in a way also provide a great escape for those who need it. You can let your imagination flow with the movie and explore something above your own life. Movies and TV shows can also change our perception of life. I am not saying it alters your life completely, but I do believe that a great idea caught in a movie can be taken home with you and it shifts your understanding at least a little bit.

This is not a list of the TOP 10 movies, created by the academy or a scientifically proven list, this is just me as a friend and a lover of the arts sharing my own favourite movies and TV shows of 2018. A fair warning ahead, these are not just movies and TV shows released in 2018, but I have included older ones, which I have seen and enjoyed in the past year. I have been nice and I linked all the titles with the IMDb pages as well. /Enough blah, blah and lets start!/

The Voices (2014) - /Told you that I ain't sharing just 2018 love affairs/ This one definitely has flown under the radar by many. Ryan Reynolds is in it, so do you need any other reason, why not to watch it? It is a very psychedelic thriller comedy. It definitely made me a bit sad the next day /and slightly relieved/ that I can not understand what my animals are trying to say. 

Black Panther (2018) - Of course this is on my list, not just because I am a huge fan of the Marvel cinematic universe, but also because this raised a new bar for superhero story telling. I know that a lot of people did not like the movie, it was not their taste. That is totally fine, cause we are so different, with so many opinions. But for me the movie felt great because it was engaging both on the action, I loved the story how Black Panther came to be and it was filled with color. Also in my opinion the African style was very nicely added within the clothes and each tribes specific culture. Additional reason why it is one of my 2018 favourites is also due to what it did on a social level. If you have no idea, what I am talking about, check this article. Wakanda forever!

The Office (2005–2013) - As I had no job for a month and a half, between writing job applications and sleeping /officially we stick with this story/, this was what I devoted my whole attention to. For sure this is not everyones cup of tea, but as a person who quit working in a big corporation I could relate to a lot of things within the show. Also I started daydreaming of having a similar love story as Jim Halpert and Pam, but more in reality I was driving towards being Stanley or even Creed. Not sure what I am talking about, again? Just check out the show. The jokes are still very relevant and the corporate environment is still the same. 

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - /Give them all the Oscars/ A second of many entries from the Marvel universe. Not everyone likes superhero movies, but for those who do, I think this one is one of the top ones. The sheer pressure throughout the movie and the rather dark ending of it brought many people to shed a tear. /Me included/ What in general I love about superhero movies lately is the fact, that it is not all fun and games, and being the best. It is portrayed as a challenge that actually in the end destroys you. Speaking in philosophical terms, it is the same as being nice and open to everyone in these days. Sooner or later you will burn out for the sake of others. Back to the movie, it is also amazing that they managed to connect so many characters together and bring a good story with them all. Marvel has definitely worked this out, and the result of Captain America: Civil War already showed it. 

Lady Bird (2017) - Yes, standing next to superheroes there is also this film. The simple question - do you remember how you felt when you were seventeen? When I look back at things now, sometimes I would give everything to be seventeen again. Take away the responsibilities and everything, but then I also remember that even back then the world felt a bit too big to handle. Most of us have managed to step away from the idea that we need to please everyone, but still we do like the idea that people like us. Remember how it was back then?

The End of the F***ing World - There are many opinions about this TV show, from people saying that it is awesome, to people saying that they don't get why others waste time on it. I loved it. It is best if you check out the trailer and give it a try. Maybe it connects to people on a personal level and it drives them to watch it, maybe that is also the reason for such divided opinions. 

The Magicians - I have not seen Harry Potter /for shame... I know... how can I even exist/ but I think this would be something a HP fan would love as well as anyone else. The premise is simple - what would you do if you would find out that magic is real? I watched the first season with a buddy in 2017 and then I binged watched the second and third once I moved back home. It is a crazy story that can also drive the question in your mind - what would do if you would find out magic exists? Watch the first trailer here and do the goddamn magic! P.S. Hurry up season 4 is just around the corner. 

The Orville - I owe a lot to my buddy Marian for sharing this with me. This show definitely receives a gold medal from my side. It is funny, engaging and it talks about so many social questions and issues all at once. In our society I would expect we would be more advance and wiser, but there are still so many instances of racism and homophobia around us. This show tackles these serious notions and others perfectly. Of course in reality most probably if we would meet alien species at first it would be bombarding them and asking questions later, but just think how our belief and general acceptance would change if we would live and work side by side with aliens from many different planets. There is more to life than just black and white, and it is my belief that we should be advancing to a more open, understanding and diverse society. Second season is out now and so far it is as amazing as the first one. 

Papillon (2017) - The story plot I think is not heard for the first time. A wrongly accused man gets imprisoned and forms a friendship with someone. But the story develops and takes you along with it. The sad reality is that quite a lot of people have faced it back in the day and in some countries they face it still. 

A Prayer Before Dawn (2017) - The plot of the movie is based on a real life story of an English fighter who is imprisoned in Thailand. It is not an easy afternoon movie to watch, it is actually rather hard to digest, because of the simple notion that it is true. I can only be surprised how in reality the main character has survived it all and how he now works with prisoners and tries to help them. 

Origin - This was such a damn surprise. Started it at the end of the year and binged watched it until the end, after coming back home from a New Years party on the 1st of January. It is a thriller horror mashup. The idea of moving away from direct jump scare and gory horror is something that I love, and this show delivered on it. Being a suspense play between hunting an alien on a spaceship, surviving and dealing with their own pasts, the survivors on the ship portray brilliantly how people in stressful situations change. The horror genre is not for everyone, but seeing that this is not the standard horror flick with gore added, I can only recommend it. 

A Quiet Place (2018) - I started 2019 by really jumping into scary (or I would much rather call them thriller) movies. In a way, I blame Origin for that, because it filled me with adrenaline and I needed more suspense, and boy o boy, did A Quiet Place deliver on it. John Krasinski has directed a great movie, playing in it with sounds and sign language, adding suspense as the movie develops. It is called one of the best movies of 2018 and there is a good reason for that. I did not like the ending of the movie, but that is something you can check out and share your opinion about.

Aquaman (2018) - Yes, I am ending the list with a superhero movie. I just will come out and say it - I loved Aquaman! I am still so hyped about it, that I am even going to take my sisters kids to see it. The DC universe has been in the shadows ever since Batman v Superman (I am on of the few people who loved it), better let's stay away from Suicide Squad because it was a pure disappointment. Justice League was ok, but in all honesty I forgot I have seen it. But Aquaman... oh Jason Momoa, hats off for bringing the character that has been a bit of a joke between the comic fans on the first spot. The visual effects, the action, the story. It was all really well combined. I do hope that Warner Brothers and DC take this into account and they maybe find their vibe in creating good movies. I still don't get it, why did they get so afraid when people said that Batman v Superman was so dark.  

Honorable mentions:

Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) - Perfectly stands next to Avengers: Infinity War and tries not to compete with it. 

Venom (2018) - Not sure why people did not like this one. 

Deadpool 2 (2018) - It is Deadpool... how can you not love Deadpool? 

The Terror (2018) - Literally a chilling TV show thriller. 

Bird Box (2018) - The hype is very real and deserved. 

Outlaw King (2018) - Netflix definitely has the power to create great movies (most of the time)

Darkest Hour (2018) - As it turns out Mr. Churchill in real life was not such a nice guy, but Gary Oldmans performance of the character was amazing. 

Altered Carbon (2018) - I like Sci-Fi and in particular I liked Blade Runner 2049, and this gave me a similar feeling to it. 

Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017) - I did not know Vince Vaughn could play such a strong and steady character. This movie reminded me Shot Caller which in a similar way undeservedly flew by people. 

I did not get it:

The Predator (2018) - They had such an amazing material (first two movies in particular) to work with, but they created such a dud. 

Bright (2017) - I miss the days when Will Smith was in good movies. 

Skyscraper (2018) - I know that The Rock can do way better movies. Just look at The Rundown (2003). 

Daddys Home 2 (2017), Tag (2018) and Night School (2018) - Comedy movies in general are facing a hard time, it could be because most of the jokes have already been said and also because it is hard to connect with a slightly older audience. /Yes, yes 27 is not that old, but it is not that young as well either/ I think comedy movies should stop dumbing it down and maybe trying to find more intelligent and maybe sarcastic approach to jokes. Not saying that the movies are bad per say, but they are not impressive enough in a genre that deserves and needs impressive, good comedy movies. 

Murder on the Orient Express (2017) - Tried to watch it at least three times and could not finish it.

This is for sure a view point of my own and I am not expecting that everyone would have the same opinion about the movies selected. Movies and TV shows are something to enjoy and entertain ourselves with. It is not just the story plot, the acting, it is also camera work and playing with words and in some cases even sounds. Spending their free time in front of the screen is not for everyone, but for me, I love a good movie and TV show, the same as I love reading a good book in the morning whilst going to work. 2019 will be an interesting year for movies and TV shows, as Marvel is releasing Captain Marvel, Avengers: End Game, there will be also many great shows returning like The Magicians, The Punisher, Vikings is now running as well, and of course Game of Thrones comes to an end. 

Have I missed something watch worthy? 

Let us hope for a headbanging and awesome 2019 inside and outside of the big screen!