How M. Night Shyamalan Got His Groove Back

Okay, so my sister and I have this tradition around Christmastime.  It’s called Double Movie Day.  The day before Christmas Eve, we pick out two movies and spend the entire day at the theater.  Last year, we saw The Theory of Everything and Night at the Museum 3.

This year, we decided to push Double Movie Day up a few months because A) my sister was home for the weekend B) and we had two movies that we REALLY wanted to see.

The movies we saw fit right in with the impending Halloween season: The Perfect Guy and The Visit.

As usual, this post WILL contain spoilers.  However, given that one of the films is an M. Night Shyamalan production, I will do my best to keep them to a minimum.

Thoughts on The Perfect Guy

  • This movie kind of looks like an adaptation of The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks.
  • It also kind of looks like a high-budget Lifetime Movie.
  • I can’t wait.
  • Script is a little weak at first, but it tells us what we need to know.  Leah wants to get married and have kids.  Dave doesn’t.  So she ends it.  Fair enough.  Sorry, Dave.  You blew it.
  • Even though I know from the previews that Carter is a creepy psychopathic stalker, the guy playing him is really attractive.
  • His character, however, is so smooth you know that something’s off about him.
  • Public bathroom inside a hole-in-the-wall dance club.  Perfect place to consummate a relationship.
  • AW, she has an orange kitty named Rusty.  I had an orange kitty named Rusty!
  • Oh PLEASE don’t let anything bad happen to Rusty!
  • I don’t think I even need to talk about how fast you run after you see your boyfriend beat someone else to a pulp.
  • Leah, no.  Do not listen to your friend.  She is giving you terrible advice.
  • Karen, you’re the worst friend ever.
  • No!  I KNEW that sicko would take Rusty!  I knew it!  Poor kitty!
  • Oh, good.  Dave is back.  I like Dave.
  • Leah is not a believable single woman.  If my cat was missing, I wouldn’t know how to function.  I wouldn’t be able to live.  I would be curled up in a ball, crying, until she came home.
  • WTF. WHAT. NO. *Spoiler*
  • I feel like this entire movie is a commentary on how the system can’t help victims of stalking/harassment until something bad has already happened.  Leah knows Carter is dangerous.  She knows he’s stalking her.  He has gone out of his way to ruin her ENTIRE life and everything she’s worked for.  But the way the system is set up, no one can actually help her until he does something dangerous and drastic.
  • I do like how the detective is really trying to help her.
  • This is like Criminal Minds with a really good-looking unsub.
  • The house Leah lives in is actually really creepy.  It’s all modern and designer with really big open windows.  I could never live in a house like that.  I wouldn’t feel safe at all.  Plus it’s just not very cozy or homey.
  • I do like the pool though.
  • Provoking crazy people. Such a terrible idea.
  • Oh thank GOD she got Rusty back!
  • Again, you go, girl.

Thoughts on The Visit

  • Okay, M. Night. I love The Sixth Sense, Signs, and The Village.  It’s been a while.  I’m expecting good things.  Good scary things.
  • Small white child rapping.  Stop.  Please.  Stop.
  • Aw, I like the snow.  I know I won’t like it when it’s falling from the sky in February, but since it’s between the months of September and December, I like snow.
  • Old people houses are so creepy in movies.  What’s the deal?
  • Granted, this is supposed to be a creepy movie so I get it.
  • Bedtime at 9:30 and no wifi? That’s a horror movie in and of itself.
  • OLD LADY VOMITING NOOOOOO. EWWWWWW.
  • OMG the game of hide and seek?  This movie is already terrifying.
  • I’m really seeing a lot of classic M. Night in this movie.  Rural setting.  Isolated.  Inside a home where you’re supposed to feel safe.  Eerie nighttime noises that let you know that you’re not alone in the house and that whatever is in there with you is REALLY EFFING CREEPY.
  • I bet the lady playing the grandma had so much fun filming this movie.  It’s probably not often that she gets to scare the pants off of people.  She’s such a cute lady.
  • Okay, I’m beginning to get the impression that the mom is a huge flake.
  • Trying to figure out what the twist will be.  Thinking it probably has something to do with demons or witchcraft or maybe an ancient spell discovered at the well.  There’s sort of an underground/water theme going on.
  • I know the grandma is kind of the possessed one, but the grandpa is freaking me out too.
  • Okay, this might not be the scariest M. Night film of all time, but I think it’s the one that scares me the most and it’s because your grandparents are supposed to love you and take care of you.  They’re not supposed to scare you.
  • Okay, I’ve got to know what this gossip is that everyone keeps talking about.
  • What.  WHAT.  WHATTTTTTT.
  • OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG.
  • I am freaking out right now.  I’m not even kidding you.  This is terrifying.  OMG.  OMG.
  • No no no no no no no no no no.
  • I might just be scarred for life after this movie.  Oh my God.
  • Hey, lady next to me on your cell phone.  SHUT UP.
  • Good she hung up.
  • I cannot get over this movie.
  • Aw, this is kind of sad.
  • OH MY GOD ARE YOU SERIOUS. YOU’RE ON YOUR CELL PHONE AGAIN?!
  • I am throwing some SERIOUS shade at you, lady.
  • So rude.
  • Oh, no.  White child is rapping again.  I’m out.

In short, I can highly recommend both of these movies.  With The Perfect Guy, you kind of know what you’re getting, but it’s still definitely worth the watch.  I want my mom to see it.  It’s right up her alley.  As far as The Visit goes?  Congratulations, M. Night.  You once again blew my mind, scared me half to death, and kept me lying awake until odd hours of the night telling myself over and over again that there were no creepy old ladies crawling down my hall.

The Lurking Series

Hi, friends!  Happy Wednesday!

I’m so happy.  The sun is actually out.  It’s been so cloudy and rainy recently, which, as y’all may know, is very unusual for Texas.  I mean, yeah, we get thunderstorms and maybe even a few tornadoes every year, but it has never been THIS constantly rainy.  It’s like living in Florida or something.  It’s been great for lakes and plants (we’re not in a drought for the first time in YEARS) but you know me.  I like the sun!  I like being outside!  I need Vitamin D!!!

Anyway…

Today, I wanted to talk to y’all a little bit more about The Lurking Series, presented by Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing.  The first in this series, Lurking in the Deep, is already out.

Lurking in the Deep Small

I love being a part of this amazing group of hard-working, talented, and dedicated authors.  Jaidis Shaw, who headed up the project and edited the entire 200+ page book especially went above and beyond in pouring her heart and soul into making this book, and now this series, a reality.

Because I know so many of you are exceptionally talented writers and authors, I wanted to share this opportunity to be a part of the rest of the series!  There will be at least three more books, Lurking in the WoodsLurking in the Mind, and Lurking in the Shadows.

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These are all open submission and a fantastic opportunity for published and aspiring authors!  I’ve loved being a part of this series and I’m so proud of Lurking in the Deep.  It’s a wonderful collection of exceptional stories.

Lurking in the Deephttp://www.amazon.com/Lurking-Deep-Jaidis-Shaw-ebook/dp/B00X6MGZNU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432145399&sr=8-1&keywords=lurking+in+the+deep

Jaidis Shaw: http://www.junipergrove.net

Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing: http://www.crushingheartsandblackbutterfly.com

Hello, 27

Today is my 27th birthday.  As always, I love the fact that it is my birthday.  Everyone is being extra nice to me.  I get presents and food and time with my friends and family.  But 27 is a little intimidating.  Somehow, it feels a lot closer to 30 than 26 did.  Not that that’s a bad thing.  After all, 13 Going on 30 claims that your thirties are the best years of your life.  If that’s the case, bring them on! Still, I feel like I have so much of my 20s left to enjoy.  Thankfully, I have three more years!  But if the last three years are any indication, these next three are just going to fly.

I have several goals for the next three years, but my one real goal, my ultimate goal, is really the one that matters.  That goal is to become a NYT Bestselling Author by the time I turn 30.  That gives me exactly three years.  The good news is that next year is a leap year so you know, one extra day (woo-hoo!).  My other goals are more personal, but that’s the big one.  Until that happens, however, I am going to keep working as hard as I can and enjoying every minute of it.

Oh, and on that note, it’s my birthday.  Go buy my books.

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http://www.amazon.com/Jacqueline-E.-Smith/e/B00F7BPXX6/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1421269417&sr=8-1