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Biscuit – 4 months old – on the edge of sanity…but just barely.
As luck would have it, things are JUST STARTING to calm down at the ranch. Monkey, in all of her 7 year old wisdom, hasn’t quite taken a shine to this little nugget of energy, but I don’t think she totally hates him like she did in the first few weeks. Now, we’re in the ‘head smacking’ and ‘quieter hissing stage’ when he wants to play…
Progress!
And speaking of progress, I have ONE MORE STORY to edit in Draft #5 of In a Corner, Darkly: Volume 3. I’m pretty excited about these stories. Some go places that I didn’t expect. When I finish, I’ll be sending the manuscript to my Beta Readers and they’ll have until February 1st to return their comments. So, early February will be the start of Draft #6. Yay!
I have three events left in 2024. This weekend, I’ll be heading to the Normal West Band Craft Market right here in Normal (Saturday from 9am to 2pm for the local peeps), and on December 1st, I’ll be in Springfield, Illinois at the Orr Building on the State Fairgrounds) for the First Sunday Midwest Bazaar from 8am to 4pm. The last one, rounding up the year, will be in Towanda, Illinois at the Old Rugged Barn for their craft market. As usual, hit the Events section of the blog for all the details!
Okay, as promised, here’s what we’ve been eyeballing:
Trap (2024) – A man and his teenage daughter realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event while watching a concert.(Google) I know…M. Night Shyamalan really splits audiences. While I can’t say that I love all his movies (or even like some), I am a fan of The Happening. Yeah, I’ll fight on that hill. LOL. Anyway, Trap is little more than an outlet for M. Night’s daughter to make her singing debut. Sure, much of the movie takes place at a concert, but I never thought that it would take up about 75% of the run time. And then, for some odd reason, the singer (who is supposed to be on par with Taylor Swift or someone just as popular), gets pulled into the ‘plot’… Ug. It doesn’t work. I’m looking at the score we gave it and it’s not resonating with me. I gave it a 7.3?? Really? I don’t think I was paying attention because looking back, I would NOT rank this as such. Anyway, this is a real hit and miss film with more misses than hits (see? singing? bands? hits? – yeah, it’s this kind of show…)
The Unknown (1927) – On the run from the law, Alonzo (Lon Chaney) hides in the circus as The Armless Wonder — a performer who uses his feet to hurl knives. Alonzo actually has the use of his arms but keeps them concealed so that his true identity remains under wraps. Meanwhile, Alonzo falls in love with another performer, Nanon (Joan Crawford), who has a phobia against being touched by a man. But when the circus owner (Nick De Ruiz) discovers Alonzo’s true identity, the performer makes a tragic decision. (Google) NOTE** – This is a silent movie, so go in with a heads up on that. The great Lon Chaney and an unrecognizable Joan Crawford take this film to some very interesting places. Most of ‘the work’ is done by expression and insinuation, so if you are a film buff, you’ll dig this. The story is more complex than I expected, but it’s easy to follow if you read all the title cards. I gave it a 7.8 because of the retro vibe and witnessing Lon Chaney do his thing is pretty awesome. Charlie came in at a 6.4.
Sugar Baby (2024) – An enterprising Sugar Baby is offered $30,000 to move in with her Sugar Daddy for the week, but soon discovers the sinister secrets trapped within his home. (IMDb) Blech. I guess if you’re looking for some lite porn-ish movie for your weekend activity, this might fit the bill. I have to say that I couldn’t care LESS about any of the characters, and cared even LESS THAN THAT about what happens to them. Save your time, people. I gave it a 3.3 and Charlie offered up a 2.15 – and we were being generous.
Caddo Lake (2024) – When an eight-year-old girl mysteriously vanishes, a series of past deaths and disappearances start to link together, forever altering a broken family’s history. (Google) This is a film that has a TON of moving parts. While the premise is intriguing, if you look away for 5 seconds, you might find yourself lost and having to look up what just happened. There are time jumps. There are many characters to keep track of. There’s a host of puzzles, dead-ends, and threads that weave their way through this sci-fi offering. Yep, M. Night Shyamalan has his hands all over this one too, as producer. It’s a head-scratcher to be sure. Just remember, if you get lost, there’s always Wikipedia. I came in at a 6.8, but Charlie loved it up with a 9.0.
The Trip (2021) – Eager to end their marriage by murdering each other, a husband and wife head to a remote cabin — but soon find themselves facing an even bigger threat. (Google) I’m not mincing words on this one. I hated it. I hated the characters. I hated the plot. I hated the dialogue. But did you try, Sue? Did you even give it a shot? Yes. Yes, I did. But honestly, I don’t find movies that feature people being mean and violent toward each other for over 85% of the film to be a reasonable way to spend my time. It’s sort of slapstick, sort of quirky, and annoying as all heck. I barely gave it a 1.3. Charlie gave it an 8.5. Hmmm.
Okay, that’s a wrap, people! Have a great Thanksgiving (if you celebrate). Keep going with NaNoWriMo if you’re doing it this year. And I’ll catch you in December!
Sue Rovens 