Written by Erica Rose Jackson We’ve been waiting a long time for the follow up to 2017’s Wonder Woman and thanks to COVID, we got to wait a little bit longer. Was Wonder Woman 1984 worth the wait? That’s what I’m here to tell you. DC Comics has long struggled to create a universe as successful as Marvel’s. Wonder Woman was easily their best film to date. WW1984 may not quite live up to its predecessor but it is still a fantastic film: filled with adventure, humor, and heart. The sequel jumps ahead and shows us what Diana Prince's (Gal Gadot) life is like in more modern times. She’s still saving people as Wonder Woman while also working at the Smithsonian. She meets Barabara Minerva (Kristen Wiig) at her job and we are introduced to a new loveable, yet insecure, character. Wiig owns her role throughout her character’s transformation from shy Barbara to the Cheetah. Her performance reminds me of Michelle Pfeiffer’s as Catwoman in Batman Returns. I can’t think of a higher compliment than that! Wiig isn’t the only impressive addition to Wonder Woman 1984. We also get to enjoy Maxwell Lord played by The Mandalorian’s Pedro Pascal. Lord is an over-the-top oil tycoon/TV personality who can get pretty much anything he wants. Pascal’s work in this film is exceptional! He played a villain that I both love to hate and hate to love. He was just human enough that I found myself caring about his fate as the movie progressed deeper and deeper. I also loved his chemistry with Wiig in the scenes they shared. I could watch an entire movie about Lord and Minerva getting up to no good. WW1984 is beautifully acted by all parties involved and that rings most true when the scenes focus on Diana and Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). I won’t go into the details about how Steve returns from the grave to join Diana on her adventures, but I will share that these two have an undeniable chemistry on the screen. Diana and Steve are definitely my OTP in the DC Comics universe. This film feels like it’s been divided into two sections: the love story starts us off, and the action sequences follow. WW1984 is well executed, directed, and acted. Patty Jenkins delivered once again as the director for this outstanding follow-up to Wonder Woman. I’d love to see her involved in more projects because she is just that good! You can go to the theater (like I did -- thanks to McWane Center’s IMAX Dome), or you can stream the film from the comfort of your home with HBO Max. Either way, you’re going to love it because it brings us back to a hero’s story that DC Comics handles really well.
0 Comments
Written by Erica Rose Jackson As Christmas looms around the corner, I thought it would be fun to write a post about my novellas. They are all easy reads and make great gifts or stocking stuffers. Within this post, I've included the book cover, description and a link to purchase!
Written by Erica Rose Jackson With the recent release of the sequel to 'Mrs. Claus', I thought I'd dedicate a special blog post to giving y'all a teaser. I'm sharing the prologue and first chapter in this post along with a link where the entire novella is available. I sincerely hope you enjoy these opening chapters! Prologue “Merry Christmas to you too,” Nick replied with a laugh, “I happen to be making my rounds. You know, bringing everyone their presents.” Grae nodded, “Of course, I’m sorry. I just didn’t think I’d ever be seeing you again, after I left. How is Jordyn?” she asked, attempting to be polite. Nick shook his head, “She’s good I assume,” he paused before revealing, “back home.” “What do you mean?” she inquired, “I left, so she won.” “Can’t win something that’s been canceled,” Nick offered, “You see, I didn’t want anyone to be my Mrs. Claus except you. So, when you left that night I told Corym the entire thing was off.” Grae was confused, “But, you were supposed to pick someone. That was the whole point. Aren’t you going to get in some kind of trouble?” “You pointed out something very important on one of our first dates,” he responded, “I am Santa Claus, the boss of the North Pole. I don’t need some points system to pick out my future wife. Especially not when I have feelings for someone,” Nick took a few steps closer to her, placing his hands on her upper arms. “Did I mention how lovely you look in that gown?” he asked. Grae shook her head, “What are you trying to tell me, Nick? My heart can’t take much more of this,” she said, her voice low and vulnerable. Nick placed his hand on her cheek, “I canceled the competition because I want you. You’re the only person I want by my side, the only woman in the world who could be my Mrs. Claus,” he whispered, leaning in to place his lips to hers. Grae felt his lips on hers and allowed him to deepen the kiss, just as Emma entered the room again. “Um, I hate to break this up,” Emma cleared her throat and announced her presence, “But don’t you have a lot to do, Santa?” Nick pulled back from the kiss and chuckled, glancing in Emma’s direction, “You’re quite right, but I still haven’t given Ms. Reed her present.” Emma leaned back on the wall in anticipation. Grae scrunched her face, “What else could you have? You already told me you sent Jordyn home and I get to be yours. There’s nothing else I could ever need,” she stated. Emma laughed, unable to help herself, “That’s cheesy even for you, Grae.” Grae looked at her best friend and playfully frowned, “Sh,” she teased, “you’re going to ruin whatever this moment is.” Grae looked back at Nick, “Though with you, this could be an elaborate scheme to throw something at me,” she teased. “She’s not wrong,” Nick agreed as he got down on one knee in front of Grae. “You know, I didn’t plan on you being so well dressed for tonight, but this look really works,” he commented on her gown once again, adding to the anticipation. Grae rolled her eyes, “Is this what I think or are you about to just stand back up and get in your sleigh?” “Well, you did ruin our first kiss with questions about my beard,” he replied, teasingly, “This was my turn to delay at your expense this time. Is it annoying you?” Grae shook her head, “You know it is. Get on with it, Mr. Claus.” Nick laughed before he spoke, “Ms. Grae Reed, you are stubborn and intelligent. You challenge me at every turn. But against all odds, even the North Pole’s supposedly flawless system, I have fallen deeply in love with you,” he paused to pull out a box. He opened it to reveal a ring. The ring had a diamond snowflake surrounded in smaller diamonds on a white gold band. “You better not be playing with me,” Grae warned. Emma couldn’t stay quiet for another moment, “You’re ruining his moment again! Just hush and let him lead the conversation,” she caught a glare from Grae. “I say it with love,” she added. Nick glanced at Emma, mouthing ‘thank you’, before he looked at Grae once more to continue. “Will you do me the greatest honor of becoming my wife, Mrs. Claus, and the First Lady of Christmas?” Nick finally asked, “If you say yes, it will make me both the happiest and most annoyed man in the universe,” he added with a small, subtle laugh and a tiny wink. Grae rolled her eyes once again, “You just couldn’t resist could you?” Nick shook his head, “So, what do you say? Are you going to be my Mrs. Claus?” Grae took a deep breath and nodded, “Yes, I would love nothing more,” she answered, offering her hand so he could place the ring on her finger. He rose from on his knee and placed his lips to hers once more. “I’m getting everyone eggnog!” Emma shrieked with joy. Nick pulled back, “I’m afraid I have to get back to work,” he declined, “Grae, you once mentioned wanting to help me hand out gifts on Christmas. Would you like to join me?” Grae looked at Emma for approval. She didn’t want to leave her friend alone on Christmas Eve. Emma glared at her, gesturing for her to get out of there. “I would love to join you, Mr. Claus,” Grae replied as she took his hand and allowed her to guide her to his sleigh, this time as his fiance. Chapter 1 “Mom,” Grae whined as she flipped through the wedding dress magazine for the millionth time that afternoon, “I don’t have that much longer before Nick will be here. Can’t we just agree on one dress?” she practically begged. Her mom, Patricia, gave her best friend Emma an exasperated shrug before she responded, “When will you be able to come back and plan with us again? I just don’t think any of these dresses we’ve seen are speaking to me.” Emma quickly got up to brew another pot of coffee, not wanting to be forced to take sides. Grae sat back down and looked at her mother, “Shouldn’t the dress be speaking to me? Like, this one?” she asked as she flipped back to the dress which had jumped out for her. It was a lace gown with a sweetheart neckline with short lace sleeves. It was both simple and elegant, everything Grae was after for her special day. Patricia picked up the catalogue and took a closer look at the dress her daughter was pointing out. Silence followed as she studied the dress with an imaginary magnifying glass until she finally spoke, which felt like eons later. It took her so long, in fact, that Emma had returned with a cup of coffee for each of them. “I do like this one,” Patricia finally agreed, “I think it’ll look quite flattering on you. What do you think, Emma?” she asked as she handed the magazine to Grae’s best friend and maid of honor. Emma took the book and glanced at the dress in question, “That’s the one I like the best. My vote is yes,” she changed the subject, “I’m, honestly, more interested in what I’m going to be wearing. Have you and Nick decided on colors?” she asked. “We have,” Grae beamed, “we’re going with maroon and lace,” she shared before handing Emma a page of choices she would be able to pick her dress from, “What do you think?” she asked, slightly nervous as she revealed the color scheme of her upcoming nuptials. Emma and Patricia smiled brightly in unison, “Those are perfect colors for a December wedding!” Patricia agreed, enthusiastically, before asking, “And, are you sure December 12th gives him enough time to get back and prepare for the big night?” “Yeah,” Grae replied, “Nick said that should be plenty of time. I mailed the invitations out yesterday after we picked our colors so you two should be receiving yours any day now,” she revealed. Emma smiled once again before she passed the bridesmaid page back to Grae, pointing out the one she wanted. “I’m going to wear this one,” Emma announced as she showed off a basic, strapless maroon gown. “I knew you’d pick that one,” Grae responded with a slight laugh, “I love it,” she agreed before turning her attention to her mom, “I trust you to pick out anything because I know you have great style so don’t let me down,” she added with a wink. Patricia shook her head as she took a sip of her coffee, “Have I ever?” causing Grae to shake her head before embracing her mother in a large, tight hug. As the two women parted, they were interrupted by Nick’s entrance from the balcony, “Good evening, ladies. I hope you’ve had enough time to get some planning done,” he stated with a smile, “But, unfortunately, I need to take Grae back to the North Pole now.” Grae stood and gave her mom and Emma each another hug before she walked over by Nick’s side. Sometimes she still couldn’t get over the fact that he was so close to her age when he had grey hair and a beard to match. Luckily for her, he had a rugged Santa look instead of a cheesy one. “I’m good to go,” Grae replied after she wrapped her arms around him in a hug, “We picked out my dress and the maid of honor dress,” she shared, proudly. Nick placed a small kiss on her forehead, “Very good, dear. Well, ladies,” he glanced back to Patricia and Emma, “I’ll bring her back again as soon as I can.” With his words, the couple was back in Nick’s sleigh and racing back to the North Pole at record speeds. Nick pulled back into the stables in twenty minutes before he hopped off the sled and came around to Grae’s side to help her down, as well. Once she was on her feet, he leaned down and gently placed his lips to hers. “I can’t believe I get to marry you in just four short weeks,” Nick gushed once their lips parted, “I’m the luckiest man in the world.” Grae shook her head, “I hope you still feel that way after a few years,” she changed the subject,” What’s on my agenda?” she asked. Nick glanced down at her with a hesitant frown forming on his lips, “Actually, Corym needs to see you. I told him you were planning the wedding and he seemed extremely agitated at the idea,” he shared. “Do you know anything about previous weddings between Santa and Mrs Claus?” she asked, an idea already forming in her mind regarding what Corym wanted to see her about. Nick gave her an honest shrug in response, “I wish I did, but I don’t really know what’s expected of us. I have to go make sure everything’s on schedule. Will you be alright?” Grae gave him a small nod before she stole one more quick kiss and then headed to the main workshop where she knew Corym would be hard at work on everything from Christmas to their wedding. “Corym!” Grae yelled, once she entered the factory, “I heard you wanted to see me about Nick’s and my wedding,” she added. It only took a few moments before Corym appeared before her eyes. “I’m glad you’re here,” Corym began, “I’ve been wanting to show you the details of your wedding to Mr. Claus,” he announced as he opened a large binder in front of her with every detail planned out without any input from her or Nick, not even the colors they’d chosen. “Corym,” Grae began, “this is very sweet. But, I can plan my own wedding. In fact, I’ve already started. I mailed out the invitations yesterday,” she responded as she pulled out the magazine to show him the dress and bridesmaids dresses along with the color scheme. Corym shook his head as he looked over the different papers Grae had placed on top of the ones he’d prepared, “Grae, Mrs. Claus is not supposed to plan the wedding. It’s always been up to the Head Elf,” he revealed. “Excuse me?” Grae responded, her voice taking on a dangerous tone. Written by Erica Rose Jackson Y’all, I just got my review posted for Folklore and Taylor Swift has already released another album with evermore. If it’s possible evermore is even better than folklore which I loved so deeply and am still listening to on a weekly basis. Swift didn’t give us much warning before she let us know evermore was coming, but that doesn’t matter because it truly is the sister album to Folklore. Evermore is full of stories and feelings that are all just too much, but I’m still here for it. As I like to do, I’m going to go over evermore track by track. ‘willow’
‘champagne problems’
‘gold rush’
‘tis the damn season’
‘tolerate it’
‘no body, no crime’
‘happiness’
‘coney island’
‘ivy’
‘cowboy like me’
‘long story short’
‘closure’
‘evermore’
10. House – Joy To The World
9. Supernatural – A Very Supernatural Christmas
8. Boston Legal – The Nutcrackers
7. Monk – Mr. Monk Meets His Dad
6. Parks and Recreation – Christmas Scandal
5. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Amends
4. The Office – Christmas Party
3. Seinfeld - The Strike
2. Grey's Anatomy - Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
1. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - A Very Sunny Christmas
Written by Erica Rose Jackson If I’d written this post a few years ago, it would have been titled the gifts for the nerds you know but times have changed. Nerds, like myself, are the cool kids now and Boxlunch is one of the best stores to shop in. Boxlunch has something for any fandom you or your friends and family might be into. Take a peek at my top 10 picks for fandom related gifts for this Christmas season! Visit boxlunch.com or all of your gift giving needs! 10. Marvel Chibi Characters Slow Cooker
9. Loungefly Star Wars The Mandalorian The Child Makeup Brush Holder - BoxLunch Exclusive
8. Harry Potter Slytherin Crest Holiday Sweater - BoxLunch Exclusive
7. Harry Potter Glow-In-The-Dark Hogwarts Puzzle - BoxLunch Exclusive
6. Friends Central Perk Soup Mug
5. Grey's Anatomy Grey-Sloan Womens T-Shirt - BoxLunch Exclusive
4. The Lord of the Rings Chibi Pencil Case - BoxLunch Exclusive
3. Wonder Woman: The Official Cookbook
2. Star Wars Comedic Illustrations Mini Backpack - BoxLunch Exclusive
1. Harry Potter Hogwarts Crest Floral Throw - BoxLunch Exclusive
Happy Gift Giving! Written by Erica Rose Jackson I think we can all agree that Bruce Willis has made some rough movie over the last few years. They’re not terrible, but none of them are going to be the next Die Hard. Recently a new Willis film has been trending in Netflix’s top ten and that movie is Hard Kill. This one isn’t a Netflix original but it is a new movie in the longest year ever, 2020. Hard Kill was released straight to streaming services in late August and added to Netflix on November 23rd. I was intrigued by this movie when it was first released but I’d been burned by too many of Willis’ latest offerings. I just couldn’t justify paying money to watch another disappointment. Hard Kill caught my attention again when it was continually trending in the Netflix top ten. I had some hope that maybe this movie would finally be an awesome Bruce Willis action film. Before watching, I read some tweets and reviews and quickly learned I was very wrong to have any hope and Hard Kill would be another in the long line of terrible Bruce Willis movies, but I decided to watch anyway. Willis stars as billionaire Mr. Chalmers who’s daughter Eva (Lala Kent) has been kidnapped because of their super scary Project 725. Eva is in the hands of the Pardoner (Sergio Rizzuto) who plans to use Project 725 to reset the world back to the very beginning to fix our main problem, greed. Willis hires a team of mercenaries led by Derek Miller (Jesse Metcalfe) to help him get his daughter and the project back. Miller’s team includes: Sasha Zindel (Natalie Eva Marie), my personal favorite character besides Willis, Dash Hawkins (Swen Temmel), and Harrison Zindel (Jon Galanis). I don’t want to give away any more details of the plot because I don’t want to spoil anything. Hard Kill might have been panned by almost everyone who’s watched it, but if you go in with low expectations, like myself, it comes off as a surprisingly fun movie. Rizzuto is a pretty great bad guy and Metcalfe is always a joy to watch. Lala Kent and Natalie Eva Marie are two badass ladies! Willis has some great moments showing why he’s been one of the biggest action stars for the past thirty years. Give Hard Kill a chance, it might just surprise you. Check out the trailer below.
You might remember Spears releasing ‘Mood Ring’ over the summer which was another track that didn’t make it on the final track list for Glory. ‘Mood Ring’ soared on the charts and was a welcome hello from Britney. Just when we thought that was all Glory had to offer, we’re getting more! ‘Swimming in the Stars’ was released today on all the streaming sources. It was announced a few weeks back as an exclusive vinyl single from Urban Outfitters which left many of us wondering how we were going to listen to it. Luckily, Ms. Spears decided to give it to all of us on her birthday and it is a phenomenal song! The song has a whimsical air about it similar to ‘Man on the Moon’ from Glory but better. It’s beautiful both lyrically and musically. Take a peek at some of the lyrics. “So let’s go Swimming in the stars tonight Oh, and we’ll glow And shimmer in the diamond lights We’ll dive in Head first, all the way down, in gravity’s arms we’ll drown The world is ours” I can't wait to hear 'Matches' when it's available on streaming services. Spears and the Backstreet Boys are going to take us back to 1999 and, I think we can all agree, we're ready for it! |
Archives
January 2023
|