Between Worlds staring Nicolas Cage #MovieReview

Between Worlds

2018 * Thriller * 1h 30 min

IMDb - 4.9/10 Rotten Tomatoes - 32%

Nicolas Cage might be the most eccentric actor of his generation. He brings an unpredictable and wild charisma to each of his projects, whether he’s a convicted criminal just trying to catch a ride home in Con Air, or a revenge stricken crazy man in Mandy. He delivers entertainment. The good, the bad and the utterly ridiculous.

His latest film Between Worlds falls in the last category.

It’s not a bad premise. Julie, played by Franka Potene, wants to save her comatose daughter. Enter Joe, Nic Cage’s character, a truck driver drinking away life, mourning the loss of his family. Julie enlists his help to jump between worlds in order to coax her daughter back to the living. Except, Joe’s wife jumps into the body of Julie’s daughter.

I expected Joe to play an essential role in the souls passing from the living to the dead. Really, he doesn’t. His only purpose…Actually, I have no idea what his purpose within this movie is. Horrible sex scenes? Cringe worthy dialogue? Now that I’m reflecting on the movie, I honestly can’t come up with a reason why his character decided to stick around with Julie after their first encounter.

And what a crazy amazing first encounter it was. They meet at a gas station bathroom where Julie is being chocked to death. We later find out that in order for Julie to jump between worlds, she needs to have a near death experience. But Joe doesn’t know this, and he saves her. From there, they team up to go visit Julie’s daughter in the hospital. Why? I don’t know. Maybe Julie couldn’t withstand the animal magnetism Joe is radiating. But they go to the hospital and that’s when Julie convinces Joe to strangler her. The goal is to get Julie to help her daughter’s spirit get back into her body.

But I’d argue Julie has no real power. Not then, not ever within this movie. She can enter the spirit world, but does absolutely nothing once there. Literally, she just stands there. And there is no real spirit world, not like I was expecting. It’s just the exact same setting as the real world. No floating spirits. No angels, no devils, no fire and brimstone, no special effects.

And from there, things just continue to slide downhill. You have exorcist style sex scenes, Nic Cage dancing while Julie’s daughter sprays him with a hose, a hand job under a blanket scene, a predictable twist, and an ending that had me groaning in bewilderment.

With all that said, I can’t help but be entertained. It’s a bad movie worth watching with a friend, someone who can laugh along with you at the absurd dialogue and acting. I actually reviewed this movie along with my podcast co-host Ward on our bad movie review podcast Box Office Refund. Ward goes on the record saying this is one of Nic Cage’s best performances. I wouldn’t go that far, but I’ll leave it up to you to decide.

My score: 2 Stars

Should Books Have Ratings?

It’s a discussion that keeps coming up. With movies, TV shows, music and video games already under the umbrella of a ratings system, why not books? Would it be beneficial for readers, especially tweens? Or is it one step away from censorship and book burning parties?

First, it’s important to realize that there is a difference between ratings and censorship. Censorship involves altering or eliminating content while ratings involve classifying content based on some sort of standard. When we’re talking about rating media, we’re referring to the process of an independent group such as Common Sense Media which scores books based on several elements including violence, sex and nudity, educational value, and profanity.

So what are the advantages and disadvantages to applying a rating system to literature? Let’s take a look at the issue from both sides.

Pro Ratings

In 2012, a professor at Brigham Young University's department of family life, named Sarah Coyne, conducted a study suggesting adding a rating to book covers, specifically of young adult books. She claims that this would “empower” parents to make thoughtful and wise decisions in regards to what their young children (ages 9 - 12) should be reading.

That doesn’t sounds so bad. Many parents already monitor their children’s media content, using pre-existing ratings to determine if a movie or TV show is appropriate. I know plenty of parents who have guided their children toward more child-friendly content based on the small rating box in the corner of a video game.

But I can understand how supporting a rating system could spiral out of control. Remember book burning? But maybe if society learns to separate ratings and censorship, there could be a way to please those who benefit from ratings while avoiding censorship.

Editor and writer Rachel Manwill’s article WARNING: On YA, Ratings, and Censorship doesn’t support censorship, but does challenge people to consider a rating system claiming, “The ratings themselves are not a form of censorship; the stores and booksellers that would use those ratings to restrict purchases – they are the ones guilty of censorship. The ratings are NOT. “

Valid point. We know To Kill A Mockingbird was banned from schools based on content. It was the adults and school systems that decided to ban it, along with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and even Harry Potter got backlash thanks to some Christian parents who felt the witchcraft premise might not be appropriate for their children.

The ratings aren’t the problem. It’s how we handle the ratings that is the concern. So why should people who want the ratings suffer because some people take it too far?

Against Ratings

Well, some people will suffer because people take it too far. At least, that’s one of the anti-ratings arguments. If we were to rate To Kill A Mockingbird “R” based on theme and content, what would happen?

Scenario One - Parents would be allowed to decide if their child can handle the content. Some teenagers might be more mature and advanced than others, and their parents may decide to allow their children to read this book. Others, may decline. And that would be the end of the story.

Scenario Two - Parents would rally together, citing an “R” rating as completely inappropriate for their teenager’s English class. The book would get banned.

See the concern?

The National Coalition Against Censorship argues this exact point, that public education would suffer and what starts out as an innocent request for ratings would end in censorship.

Writer Lauren Davis examines the issue in her article The Thriving Industry That Helps Encourage Book Censorship. She states “rating services tend to boil content down into overly simplified categories, with bullet points that can at times read less as thoughtful dissection of the texts than as a warning to parents.”

Also a valid point. The violence and racism in To Kill A Mockingbird wasn’t frivolous, but if a parent who never read the book were to look at a bulleted list of “questionable” content found within the book, they might be quick to write it off before giving it a chance. And where would we be without books like the ones on the banned list?

My Opinion

I wish there were a way to have ratings without censorship. As a book reviewer, I can’t tell you how many times I wished I knew what trigger warnings were in a book before I started reading. But yes, that means I would have cut those books off my to-be read list. And to be completely honest, I refuse to read certain books with specific triggers. Some books just aren’t for me, and if possible, I appreciate the heads up.

But as a writer, I want to be able to write whatever I want without fear that someone will rally against my work and deem it unfit for the masses. I care deeply about my stories and my characters. They have purpose and meaning, and it would be discouraging to have my work boiled down to bullet points from Common Sense Media.

So I’m somewhere in the middle.

Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.

10 Writing Prompts to Spark the Imagination #writingprompts

Coming up with an idea isn’t always easy, so here are 10 writing prompts I’ve created to give you a boost!

National Encourage a Young Writer Day - April 10th #EncourageAYoungWriterDay

Let’s Get Writing!

April 10th is National Encourage a Young Writer Day! To celebrate, I am going to give daily prompts on my twitter account and instagram stories in order to encourage anyone 18 years old or under to explore the world of writing. For those interested, they can send their stories, poems, lyrics or scribbles to my at nicobellfiction@gmail.com and I will compile them in a blog post for later this month. You don’t need to follow my prompts in order to be eligible for the blog post. Just make sure your writing doesn’t contain extreme violence, extreme profanity, sexual assault or excessive gore. And please, only those 18 years or younger can participate :)

Open from April 1st - midnight April 10th. I reserve the right not to publish any content I find that doesn’t meet the requirements.

For other ways to encourage youth writing, check out the National Day Calendar website.

Now get writing!

The Haunted Forest Tour #bookreview

Summary

Bram Stoker Award nominees James A. Moore (BLOOD RED) and Jeff Strand (PRESSURE) join forces for this 87,000-word action-packed, gore-drenched monster extravaganza.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Haunted Forest Tour!

Sit back and enjoy a smooth ride in air-conditioned comfort as your heavily armored tram takes you through nature’s most astonishing creation. The forest is packed to capacity with dangerous and terrifying creatures of all shapes, sizes, and hunger levels, and you’ll get to observe these wonders in complete safety.

Howl with a werewolf! Gaze into the glowing eyes of a giant spider! Look right through a spooky ghost! See horrific monsters you couldn’t even imagine, only inches away from you! Things with fangs, things with claws, things with dripping red jaws—you’ll see them all!

Not thrilling enough? Well, it’s Halloween, and so we’re offering a very special tour through the Haunted Forest. The new route goes deeper into the woods than any civilians have ventured before, and you’re guaranteed to get a good scare! Rest assured that every possible security precaution has been taken. The Haunted Forest Tour has a 100% safety record, and technical difficulties are unheard of. You will be in no danger whatsoever.

We promise.

Review

Wow. Get ready for an insane adventure through the scariest forest on Earth. With an incredible story world and intense plot, The Haunted Forest Tour digs it’s claws into you from the first page until the last.

I had no idea what direction the story would take and the suspense never let up. A forest magically appears in the middle of New Mexico but why and how? It seems the characters care less about these reasons and more about what lurks within the darkness. Monsters. And lots of them. Every monster you can possibly imagine, and many you’ve never considered imagining, dwell within the thick trees and if you’re one of the lucky few, you can take a tram ride through the madness.

And it’s perfectly safe. No deaths, no injuries, no worries.

Until Halloween.

Hell, literally, breaks loose. The monsters attack and slaughter, claw and dismember. This novel isn’t for the weak stomach as blood, guts and gore line the pages. Many people die, including two incidents of child death, so keep that in mind before embarking on this haunted adventure.

The pace doesn’t stop. At one point, I had to set the book down just to catch my breath. Each character is thrown into the worst case scenario only to find out that things can, and do, get worse. Christopher is the lead protagonist, and I admired his evolution from a disgruntled employee to monster killer. Many other characters had equally satisfying and well developed arcs that made me cheer them on as they battled snakes, dragons, aliens and demons. Even grumpy and self-centered tram driver Eddie, who is arguably the least likeable character, managed to win me over as the story progressed.

I only had one main concern. I didn’t love how the majority of females were portrayed in this novel. They are constantly being objectified by the men in their lives. Even when the shit hits the fan, a male character finds a moment of peace by checking out a woman’s chest. Also, when the haunted tour tram gets stuck on the track, in the middle of the forest, and it’s clear that they are in trouble, the female tour guide hands out weapons to men. Only men. She’s told to scout the tram and look for people who can help defend the passengers, who can use a gun, who are able to step up. And she scouts males. In my opinion, only one female had grit. Tina, who was a passenger on the haunted tour, proved to hold her own. Otherwise, I grew tired of men starting at women’s chests, or thinking about how they’d be in bed.

But this book holds nothing back in terms of action, imagination and horror. You’ll be chewing down your nails and holding your breath as you devour this manuscript in one sitting. The twists keep you guessing and the end will turn your stomach in the best way. I hope this gets made into a movie one day. It’d be a terrifying good time.

This book is available at: Amazon I Kobo (Audio version)

Women In Horror Month: Literature Edition #WIHM

From Mary Shelley to Tananarive Due, the landscape of horror literature has been shaped by brilliant women writers. Since it’s Women in Horror Month, I decided to highlight some indie women you may not have heard about. Enjoy!

Gemma Amor

Gemma is a UK horror fiction author, podcaster, artist and voice actor. She writes for the NoSleep Podcast and her short story anthology ‘Cruel Works of Nature: 11 Illustrated Horror Novellas’ is availible on Amazon.

Description of Cruel Works of Nature: 11 Illustrated Horror Novellas

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but supernatural curiosities brought it back. 

A Jack-in-the-Box made from skulls. 

A monster egg in the mail.

A sketchbook bridging imagination with reality. 

What other wondrous and terrible secrets will these survivors tell? 

CRUEL WORKS OF NATURE is a collection of 11 horror novellas about strange and exciting supernatural encounters. Reality and the fantastic are blended seamlessly in these immersive tales, with plenty of mystery to lead the reader on a thrilling journey. Some stories are dark and macabre while others whimsical and lighthearted, together ensuring constant surprises and terrifying twists to keep you reading until the very last page. 

Website: https://gemmaamorauthor.com/

Mariko Koike

Mariko is an award winning Japanese horror author who wrote her debut novel in 1985. Since then, she has published several dark works such as The Graveyard Apartment, The Silent One and Fig Forest. She is known for combining genres and terrifying readers.

Description of The Graveyard Apartment

One of the most popular writers working in Japan today, Mariko Koike is a recognized master of detective fiction and horror writing. Known in particular for her hybrid works that blend these styles with elements of romance, The Graveyard Apartment is arguably Koike’s masterpiece. Originally published in Japan in 1986, Koike’s novel is the suspenseful tale of a young family that believes it has found the perfect home to grow into, only to realize that the apartment’s idyllic setting harbors the specter of evil and that longer they stay, the more trapped they become.

This tale of a young married couple who harbor a dark secret is packed with dread and terror, as they and their daughter move into a brand new apartment building built next to a graveyard. As strange and terrifying occurrences begin to pile up, people in the building start to move out one by one, until the young family is left alone with someone... or something... lurking in the basement. The psychological horror builds moment after moment, scene after scene, culminating with a conclusion that will make you think twice before ever going into a basement again

Annie Neugebauer

Annie is a Texas based Bram Stoker Award-Nominated author who specializes in horror, gothic, literary fiction, poetry and speculative. Her work appears in Apex, Black Static, and Cemetery Dance, as well as anthologies such as Year’s Best Hardcore Horror Volume 3 and #1 Amazon bestseller Killing It Softly. When she isn’t writing, she’s participating in Denton Writers’ Critique Group and the Horror Writers Association. You can check her out at her website: https://annieneugebauer.com/

Camilla Voiez

Taken from her website, award winning author Camilla says it best. She is “ a proudly bisexual and mildly autistic introvert who finds writing much easier than verbal communication. A life long Goth, living with two kids, two cats and a poet by the sea.” She is an indie and self published author whose work includes sorcery, gothic elements, ghosts, vampires…There’s someone for everyone.

Description of Starblood

Star craves freedom, but Satori refuses to let her go. He casts a spell to make her love him again, opening a gateway through which Lilith, mother of demons, enters his life.

​Lilith serves no man. Instead she seduces Star, assuring her that there is no shame in love, only completion. Thus begins a strange and terrible love triangle that leads them to Scotland and the Cairngorm mountains.

​An LGBT love story full of horror and dark fantasy - be careful what you wish for.

​Winner of HFA's Horror Author of the Year, Fear Venture's Author of the Year (2014), Best Horror Release by The Three Bookateers (2014) and nominated for the Commonwealth Book Prize. Starblood is the first book in a series - Psychonaut, Black Sun, and Ribbons continue Star, Satori and Lilith's stories.

​A graphic novel based on this award-winning novel is also available, illustrated by Anna Prashkovich.

Website: http://carmillavoiez.wixsite.com/carmillavoiez

The importance of Women in Horror Month #WiHM FILM EDITION

It’s the tenth year of celebrating Women in Horror Month! But why does this month matter?

Let’s start with some women in film. I’ll do another post later this month about women in horror literature.

Here are the facts. Of the top 250 movies in 2017, a 2017 report from San Diego State University says that 88% had no women directors. The Atlantic reported in a 2018 article that 83% of the top 250 films had no female writers and 96% had no female cinemantographers. A study conducted by the Center of Study of Women in Television and Film states only 24% of the top 100 movies in 2017 had a sole female protagonist with only 34% having a speaking role.

Why should you care about this and what does it have to do with horror?

An article from

says it best:

Each year, the Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media publishes research that shows how gender imbalances in film affects women and girls.

For example, they’ve found that positive and prominent roles for women in movies “motivate women to be more ambitious” professionally and personally. But when there is a dearth of women being depicted in positive ways, it has an opposite, negative effect.

A recent study by Google and the Geena Davis Institute studied this phenomenon across genres. They developed something called “the GD-IQ” (Geena Davis Inclusion Quotient), which is facilitated by machine-learning technology. The goal was to recognize patterns in gender, screen time and speaking time that the casual movie viewer might overlook. The results of this study told a familiar story: In film, men are seen and heard twice as often as women.

This means that an entire group of human beings is being marginalized within a booming industry, creating a ripple effect within our society.

But let’s talk horror specifically. So often, horror depicts women as dimwits who scream more than they talk and often die first. Even in the most iconic of films, such as Halloween (1978) or Friday the 13th (1980), we see the gross stereotype perpetuated to make money from the mega horror industry. They are usually virgins who end up having sex, only to be hunted and killed because of it. Think of Cabin Fever (2002) or Sorority Row (2009) where those who have sex die first. Or it’s the opposite. The virgin girl is the only one to survive due to her purity, such as in Halloween. Even in the cult classic Carrie (1976), sex plays a pivotal role as the movie starts when she begins menstruating and her purity is called into question.

It seems women can’t win within the horror genre. We’re a tired, stereotypical, disgusting troupe.

And that’s why we need more women.

More women protagonists. More women directors, produces, writers, and cinematographers.

We need a new perspective.

And I think it’s becoming clear to Hollywood that women are done being the screaming sex-driven eye candy in films. We’re not settling for the same old misogynistic approach in our horror films. Here’s a look at some incredible women in horror for you to check out this month:

Julia Ducournau

Ducournau is the French writer and director of Raw (2016), a haunting and beautiful horror movie about a a teenager with an appetite for human flesh. The film won the FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographiqu) prize at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival

Sophia Takal

Takal is an actor and director whose film Always Shine (2016) highlights envy and destruction between two friends.

Mary Harron

Harron directed and co-wrote American Psycho (2000) with Guinevere Turner. Need I say more? Okay, I’ll say a little more. She also created a teenage Gothic horror, The Moth Diaries (2011) and created a horror film with Turner based on Charles Manson, which will hopefully be released later this year.

Ana Lily Amirpour

I’ve heard Amirpour’s first debut film A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014) notes as an Iranian Western vampire movie. She’s a UK director and also is credited with The Bad Batch (2016) , a cannible dystopian film.

Jennifer Kent

Kent is an actress and director who directed The Babadook (2014), which is a personal favorite of mine. A mother and son must battle a mysterious force intent to kill them.

Book Review: Game Changers of the Apocalypse by Mark Kirkbride

Back of the Book Summary:

It’s always the end of the world when you break up with someone. This time it really is…

Everyone on the planet has mysteriously disappeared, leaving exes Greg and Polly. They’ve survived the apocalypse, yet shouldn’t have. Battling each other and a malevolent entity that teases them with their fate, how long can they remain ahead? Even more terrifying than everyone else on the planet disappearing is what’s about to take their place…

3 Star Review:

Game Changers of the Apocalypse is a fun chase through the apocalypse. Interesting and bizarre twists keep the reader engaged, but there were some problems with character development and pacing that kept this book from reaching its full potential.

Greg is a solid protagonist. He’s thrown into impossible situations and proves to be an intelligent and resourceful asset. Too bad his girlfriend Polly is so annoying. Greg is the driving force within the relationship and constantly does all the heavy lifting to keep them alive while the world falls apart.

Polly is one of my major problems with this book. I love a strong heroine, with intelligence, independence and grit. She possesses none of these skills. Polly complains. A lot. And she’s highly emotional and irrational. They’re in the middle of the apocalypse and she puts their lives in danger due to her anger over Greg’s commitment issues. There’s a scene where Greg crashes their car into a jewelry store while zombies are chasing them. Now, you’d think the next move would be to find another mode of transportation and get out of harm’s way. That’s Greg’s plan. What does Polly do? She throws a hissy fit and walks down into the subway to wait for a train. Yup, she goes underground where there’s no exits.

Because she’s angry that Greg didn’t realize how upset she’d be that he crashed into a jewelry store.

Where they sell wedding rings.

Because she wants to get married and decides that moment is the best to bring it up.

As a female reader, I despised Polly and how impractical she was in basically every scenario. It is frustrating to see a female portrayed as the “damsel in distress”, especially in today’s social climate. I wanted to see her kicking zombie butt, coming up with a plan, taking control. But that was all Greg’s doing. She just huffed and puffed and complained. By the end, I was routing for her death.

But let’s talk plot. It isn’t a cookie cutter end of the world story. There are zombies, but these aren’t your typical zombies and that was a pleasant surprise. There are so many clever twists within this story. Some seem a little far-fetched, but I didn’t mind stretching the boundaries of my imagination. It has religious overtones, but it wasn’t preachy or overtly religious. The ideas of the book mixed horror and religion in a way that they balanced each other in a way I found intriguing. There’s questions about death, the afterlife, and free will all bundled together while Greg and Polly run for their lives.

But there is a lot of running. So much running. Too much.

Let me break it down by parts.

Part one set an eerie story world where only Greg and Polly survived the apocalypse. We don’t know why they were selected to live, or if it were some mistake that they outwitted death, but they are desolate and alone. Some of this part was realistic while other times I struggled to believe their actions. They didn’t do a whole lot of searching for other survivors, having accepted rather quickly that they were the only two left on the Earth.

And then there’s the ear on the building.

And a security camera that seems to follow their movements.

These are the first hints that something is amiss, but the big problem with this novel is pacing and “action / reaction structure”. When we discover that an ear – and actual human ear – is growing from a building, we expect answers. We’re not given any. The very next chapter is a time jump and Greg and Polly keep living life as if the ear never existed. I feel that was a missed opportunity to keep the tension growing.

Part Two is the zombie phase, which is high action from chapter to chapter. They’re running all over London with little hope of escape. Frankly, it becomes redundant and while I was engaged in the first few chapters of this portion, I realized quickly that Greg and Polly were only going to be doing the exact same thing but in different locations. Run to a new place, zombies attack, run new place, zombies attack…Except for the few whining fits of Polly, which seem entirely inappropriate, this part was redundant. I started skimming.

Part Three and Part Four tie up the book, so I won’t give those away, but the ebb and flow aren’t much better in these sections. And there was a part at the end that I was thoroughly confused about because it was completely skipped over.

But the concept of this book was cool. So many cool ideas laid within these pages that even though I had issues with the structure of the story and Polly as a female lead, I still found myself enjoying the story world created. Give it a try and let me know what you think. 3 stars.

How to Avoid Writer's Block in 2019

It’s totally natural.

You’re chugging along, writing your story and then you hit a plot pothole. Okay, no problem. Just take a second, regroup, and keep going. Except that pothole turns into a sinkhole, and then a crater, and soon you’re pulling out your hair, cursing at your computer and yelling about how you should have listened to your parents and gone to medical school.

Welcome to the world of writer’s block. This is a judgement free zone.

If you’re new to writing, this land of endless coffee, arguing with critique partners, questioning your life decisions and bargaining with the devil for a nugget of writing genius may be new. If you’re a seasoned writer, welcome home.

But writer’s block doesn’t need to destroy your New Year’s resolution writing goals. Over the years, I’ve found several helpful ways to beat the blues and get back to doing what I love.

Do something else that is creative. Other than writing, what creative outlet would you like to explore? Don’t worry about your skill set, just explore a different artistic avenue. During the month of October, I participated in Inktober, a themed daily drawing challenge. They aren’t great (you can check them out on my instagram) but it was nice to get the creative juices flowing in a different way. Maybe consider taking a painting class, or buying a chunk of clay and molding a vase. Perhaps you want to hit the Karakoe bars or tour an art museum or try to sew a dress. Whatever it is, enjoy stretching your creative muscles.

Bounce ideas with your critique partners Don’t have a critique partner? I suggest getting one, but if you’re unable, then find a willing friend and bounce ideas off of him or her. But the advantage of a critique partner is being able to help that individual with her project. It gets your mind off your own writer’s block while still keeping the creativity flowing. Plus, it’s fun helping others achieve their creative goals.

Read the type of book your want to write. I have a list of “go-to” authors that I pull up whenever I am in a writing funk. Curling up with my dog, a great book and a cup of coffee always puts me in a good mood. And reading a book I want to be able to write gives me the inspiration I need to keep going.

Get moving. Get out of the house and move that body! Take a walk, or a run. Go dancing. Roll down a hill. Whatever makes you happy :) Just getting up and moving recharges your brain and helps reset your sour mood into something more inspiring.

Write. Sorry, but this is the one you just have to do. The medicine for writer’s block is to sit down and write. Don’t worry about quality or even quantity, just get something on the page. A short story, perhaps? A single paragraph? Maybe a book review? Just write something.

Just remember to give yourself a break. Writing is hard work and you’re bound to have days when you produce nothing more than a jumble of incoherent rubbish. That’s okay :) I’ve been there too! Just keep at it and trust that writer’s block is only temporary.

Have any proven techniques to get over writer’s block? Leave them in the comments below!