Welcome to Gracie Mae DeLunac's life, via the computer. This is where you'll see updates on my stories and whatnot. I'll post when I can about what new stuff has occurred in my mind, in the world, and whatever goes. Benvenue, everyone!
Top 5 Movies in General
1. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
2. Christine (1983)
3. Nim's Island (2008)
4. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
5. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
Top 5 Horror Movies
1. Saw (2004)
2. Final Destination 3 (2006)
3. Alien (1979)
4. Final Destination 5 (2011)
5. The Shining (1980)
Top 5 Romance Movies
1. You've Got Mail (1998)
2. Kate & Leopold (2001)
3. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
4. Never Been Kissed (1999)
5. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Top 5 Animated Movies
1. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
2. Wall-E (2008)
3. Mulan (1998)
4. Finding Nemo (2003)
5. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005)
Top 5 Science Fiction Movies
1. Galaxy Quest (1999)
2. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
3. Resident Evil (2002)
4. Tron: Legacy (2010)
5. Alien (1986)
Top 5 Comedy Movies
1. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
2. Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery (1997)
3. Spaceballs (1987)
4. Beetlejuice (1988)
5. Paul (2011)
Top 5 Supernatural/Superhero Movies
1. MIB (1997)
2. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
3. X-Men (2000)
4. Sixth Sense (1999)
5. X-Files (1998)
Top 5 Writing/Writer Movies
1. Nim's Island (2008)
2. Misery (1990)
3. Secret Window (2004)
4. Private Number (2014)
5. Stranger than Fiction (2006)
Honorable Mention (editted 04/10/17):
Not Another Happy Ending (2013)
This is a movie review for "Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny", released November 22, 2006. I have heard a bit of the music from this movie but have never watched the movie before, so I watched it on Netflix {03/17/17}.
Plot
Two guys wanting to rock meet up and try to start a band. Kyle's mom cuts him off of rent checks so they have to find a way to pay the rent. The only way that they can pay the rent is to win an open mic contest. To do that, they need to get the Pick of Destiny, which is Satan's tooth that was carved into a guitar pick back in the middle ages. They find out about this pick by looking at the cover of Rolling Stones at some rad bands - "They all use the same pick," says Kyle. So off they go to find the pick and to steal it from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame..
Rating Criteria
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.
1/5 – Barely worth any time.
2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little. 3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more. 4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.
5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around – characters, music, theme, story line, etc.
3.5/5 - This is a stoner movie, worse than "Dude, Where's My Car?".
Not for children as there is drugs, implied sex, a covered dick [to deactivate security lasers at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame], sexual references [Satan: "my cock you will suck"; Satan making motions to Kyle that he is going to fuck him when he wins the rock-off challenge], profanity, and more.
There's really not much more to say about this movie though I must put out this music vid from the beginning of the movie. It reminds me of my family...
The music is good for this movie but the overall non-G rated stuff is awkward, especially the "let's us the cock to disable security lasers" scene. I was turned off from the movie when that scene showed. Like seriously, gross. 3.5/5.
Plot
This is a documentary about Wal-Mart. This is about their market takeovers (closing down generations-old small businesses), international labor exploitation, community destruction (via forcing employees to go to the state/county for health care, food stamps, and housing help; via not caring about environmental hazards), etc.
Rating Criteria
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.
1/5 – Barely worth any time.
2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.
3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.
4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie. 5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around – characters, music, theme, story line, etc. 5/5 - This movie really makes you think. As I have worked at their stores, I can attest to some of the things this movie points out [low wage, "go to the state/county for help", not giving health care (or making it very expensive), etc.]. However, most of the stuff that they talk about it more prevalent when you look around you at the towns where they have planted themselves. In smaller town, the small businesses are run out and the grocery stores have issues staying open. There is no way the smaller businesses can keep competitive when the prices are so low. True, the customer service might be much better at a family-owned business but when the customer merely wants a cheaper price, Wal-Mart is the way most go.
I wouldn't be surprised if this blog post is found out by Wal-Mart and taken down but, then again, I am only an ex-employee giving my review about something true that I watched.
Highly recommended viewing. I do not recommend working for them, nor shopping for them if you can afford to avoid them.
This is a movie review of "Goosebumps", released October 16, 2015. I watched this on Netflix.
Trailer
Cast Jack Black...Stine Dylan Minnette...Zach Odeya Rush...Hannah Ryan Lee ...Champ Plot
Zach and his mom have just moved to a small town so that she can become the vice principal at the school. They are both having to deal with Zach's dad's death (when, they never say) so "a new start" is what they are looking for. Something that Zach isn't looking for is a mysterious girl next door that catches his eye and heart, but that's what happens. Her name is Hannah. Her dad is super weird and comes off as overprotective. One night, something happens to her that makes her scream and Zach tries to come to the rescue, all to no avail because there is no evidence of any harm. Zach recruits his new friend Champ to help him enter the house while Hannah's dad is out and they find her as well as a big bookshelf. All of the books on the shelf are Goosebumps books, and locked. The concensus between Zach and Champ is "What's the harm of unlocking a book?". [Did no one in the making of this movie or the characters themselves ever see "The Mummy" with Evie saying "No harm ever came from reading a book."?]
Anyways, there are creatures in the books and, whenever the books open, they come to life. So somehow a mannequin named Slappy gets out and creates havoc on the town (and on Hannah/Zach/Champ/Hannah's dad) by letting out all the creatures from all the books. Slappy also makes sure that the creatures are not captured by burning the books, so they can't be returned to the books.
Oh, and Hannah's dad turns out to be R.L. Stine, the author of the Goosebumps books and that's why he has all of the manuscripts to the books. Yay. So now we have to deal with garden gnomes, a giant mantis, an invisible boy, and many other Goosebumps monsters while they try to destroy the town. The police are not helpful (as we saw earlier with the whole "Hannah is screaming" thing and them being completely backwater idiots that can't take a hint or do their jobs) so it comes down to Stine, Hannah, Zach and Champ to figure out how to recapture all of the monsters. How can they survive all the creepy creatures and get them into a book? By Stine writing as they are fighting them. So.... yeah.
Rating Criteria
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.
1/5 – Barely worth any time.
2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little. 3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more. 4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.
5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around – characters, music, theme, story line, etc.
3.5/5 - It was an interesting movie but it definitely could have used more. I don't know what it could have done for improvement but at the end, I felt that I was missing something through the movie. Yes, Zach and Champ both had character development but it didn't help. I would have rathered watched the T.V. series instead of this movie, honestly.
For those of you that read the books and/or watched the T.V. series, you might enjoy it. For those that haven't, it seems to be missing something. Maybe it was just made for those who have read/watched Goosebumps so there could be nostalgia. I'm not sure but I was bummed... 3.5/5.
{Editted 04/10/17} CinemaSins' Everything Wrong with "Goosebumps" in 15 Minutes or Less
This is a movie review for "Forks Over Knives", released in France on October 16, 2013.
Trailer
Plot
This is a documentary about the cost of eating meat and animal by-products. How can one reverse/heal diabetes, cancer and so many diseases that the world is dying from? Cut out animal products and by-products. Cut out meat, dairy, eggs, and whatnot and you can actually have a plant-based diet heal them.
Rating Criteria
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.
1/5 – Barely worth any time.
2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.
3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more.
4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie. 5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around – characters, music, theme, story line, etc. 5/5 - This is a wonderful documentary. It changed my life. Since I started cutting out meat in the spring of 2016, I have been losing weight and feeling better. Once I watched this movie at the end of 2016, I have been cutting out dairy and eggs. When I saw my doctor in January of 2017, he said that between April 2016 and January 2017, I have lost almost 40 pounds. "Whatever you are doing, you're doing it right. It is a slow loss so it won't affect you negatively. Keep at it." Though my grandparents, parents, cousins and siblings can't understand why I want to cut cheese, milk, and eggs out of my diet, they are glad that I am getting healthier. In fact, I have been able to lose a few centimeters around my stomach so I am between one size and another in pants. Maybe I will be able to actually get to the next smaller size by the end of the summer. I am just glad that my doctor agrees that a better nutritional diet would be good for me - if I lose enough weight, I could kick my medical issues without having to go for a $16,000 biopsy again. So, there's that.
This movie changed my life. I recommend it for everyone, even if you don't want to change your "lifestyle"/diet. Open your mind and take a peek.
Another month of #GuessWrite on Twitter has come again. For March, the theme was "Spring". Our first prize winner was Cassandra Thomson, @cursed_elysium. Her prize was to get hosted on my blog [here, obviously] with one of her stories. Come meet Cassandra!
"Hello! I’m Cassandra Thomson, a writer based in the Pacific Northwest. I’m here to introduce you to my unpublished novel, Eternal.
A historical fantasy set in ancient Greece, Eternal follows nineteen-year-old Elysia, daughter of the god who set the universe in motion. While she may have grown up in a timeless paradise, Elysia was born human, just as her late mother before her – and in order to earn her eternity at her father’s side, she must pass her mother’s tests. She must live a vulnerable human life in the city. For her protection, Elysia learns self-defense, but that won’t protect her from love, grief, or danger. When her father mistakenly unleashes a natural disaster, she must face all three. If she cannot pass her tests before the end of her lifetime – if the city kills her – there are no do-overs: Elysia will die forever, leaving her father to an eternity of solitude as the last remaining god.
Plot
Julia is a young girl that has a inconsistent life with her mother (who seems to have been a whore) and has been put into the foster system. She wants to find a home, preferrably with her mother but that doesn't seem to work out very well. She ends up with the Cooper family (Patti and her husband Scott, and their son Billy). When they are at a Christmas reunion with Scott's family, Billy and his cousin get BB guns and go out to shoot at some cans. Of course, they run out of cans and start going after live stuff. A bunny is hit and Julia automatically says (without words, since she won't really talk) that she wants to take care of it.
They take the bunny to a vet who doesn't know much about rabbits and sends them to Betsy Ross. Mrs. Ross has a bunny farm from all the people that abandon their pets and those that just don't know how to take care of them. Mrs. Ross says that she will take care of Rumple (the bunny) until he is better and then maybe, if Julia gets some training, she can take the bunny back.
Mrs. Ross and Julia start working together to take care of the rabbits at the farm as Julia learns how to take care of rabbits. Julia seems to have learned about how to take care of them but her life with the Cooper family still is not well. Billy and his cousin decide to pick up Rumple and put him on a slide that could seriously hurt if not kill him. Julia, still not talking, decides to protect the bunny by any means necessary [which means she bit Billy]. Mr. Cooper says to his wife that Julia and the rabbit are both too big of a hassle. Maybe the two of them should both leave.
How can Julia and Rumple find a permanent home? Can the Cooper family accept her or must she move on?
Rating Criteria
0/5 – No value whatsoever. Absolute waste of time.
1/5 – Barely worth any time.
2/5 – Pathetic but has a bit of something to hold the attention a little.
3/5 – Somewhat kept the attention but could definitely have used more. 4/5 – Good, but not awe-strikingly amazing. Could have maybe used a bit more to the movie.
5/5 – Go see it! Wonderful movie all around – characters, music, theme, story line, etc.
{Warning: I am passionate about rabbits so you are going to get a lot of stuff from me on this one.}
4/5 - The main thing that I knock down is the way that Mrs. Ross (the "expert" on rabbits) picks up the rabbits. You are NOT supposed to pick them up by the scruff of the neck like you do a cat: 0:41 seconds on the video. That can actually hurt them! Um, seriously, if you are going to be the expert, you should know this!
Aside that, this movie is very good about taking care of rabbits. Yes, they do eat their cecotropes. A movie mistake: It isn't poop. It is a nutritious undigested part of their food that they have to eat to stay healthy. Per San Diego Rabbit Society:
Cecal pellets (aka cecotropes) are a special food made by bunny, just for bunny. They are partially digested foods that are passed from the bunny and then reingested. You may not see bunny do this, but when she appears to be bathing her belly and she comes up chewing, she's probably just taken up a cecal pellet. It is from these cecal pellets that a rabbit gets the majority of her nutrition, not from the first passage of food through the gut.
Unlike most other mammals, rabbits produce two types of droppings, fecal pellets (the round, dry ones you usually see in the litterbox) and cecotropes. The latter are produced in a portion of the rabbit's digestive tract called the cecum. The cecum contains a wild brew of bacteria and fungi that are normal and beneficial for the rabbit. In fact, the rabbit cannot live without them, since the cecal flora produces essential nutrients (e.g., fatty acids and vitamins) that the rabbit cannot produce on her own.
How does the rabbit get those vitamins? She eats the cecotropes as they exit the anus. Sound disgusting? Not for a rabbit. When she's enjoying her favorite, home-made snack, she'll tell you how delightful it is with that blissful, soft-eyed face and butt-twitch that signals all is well with the world.
Cecotropes are not feces. They are nutrient-packed dietary items essential to your rabbit's good health. A rabbit usually produces cecotropes at a characteristic time of the day, which may vary from rabbit to rabbit. Some produce cecotropes in the late morning, some in the late afternoon, and some at night. In any case, they usually do this when you're not watching, which might be why some people refer to cecotropes as "night droppings."
Another thing that the movie stated properly is the fact that rabbit teeth are constantly growing. They need to gnaw. It is just part of their characteristics for the species. If they don't gnaw, their teeth can overgrow, which is really bad for their health (because then they can't eat or groom themselves). I'd show you but it really makes me sad to look at the photos... :'-(
The movie said right that they need hay to keep their systems working properly. They need the ruffage to keep the system going. If they don't have the hay, their system can get blocked. And if their system gets blocked, they can die within a day (unlike dogs or cats who slowly die over days).
Another movie said right is the fact that you should NEVER be giving (or allow) your rabbit sweets and bread products. A carrot or a thin slice of banana has more than sufficient sugar in it. You can give the rabbit diabetes or go into (roughly) sugar shock if they get that kind of stuff in their system. Like chocolate for a dog, sugars are not good for rabbits. [Honestly, I was surprised Rumple the bunny survived as long as he did.]
The last right fact that the movie said (that I will touch on) is the fact that rabbits are social animals. Yes, they are. They need attention. They may be picky about when/how the attention is given but they need to know that others are around. They are not like fish that you can just put in their "bed", feed it, give it water, and let it be. No, rabbits need socializing. There are so many skiddish rabbits out there because they have not been properly socialized. The Easter rabbit thought really doesn't help this out because stupid families go and buy a little bunny for their children {that don't know how to take care of it, nor do the parents}, don't interact with the rabbit properly and scare the critter to the point of Post Tramatic Syndrome, and then realize that the bunny won't stay small. Well, what are we to do with the bunny that became an adult rabbit who likes to chew on furniture and dig up the carpet? Most say "give it to a shelter" or "let it free" (which is WAY worse than giving it to even a no-kill shelter). Domesticated rabbits cannot fend for themselves. They are prey animals and will be killed or will die from lack of food. DO NOT let a domesticated/pet rabbit free, for the love of all things holy and good.
Anyways, that's my thing about rabbits. I love my buns and, though our buns (currently, on March 17, 2017, we only have one - Dobby) are the light of our lives, we warn others that rabbits are much harder to deal with than a cat or a dog. There is a lot at stake and a lot of work to do when you take in a rabbit. They are worth it, if you train them right and take care of them properly.
Regarding the movie, aside the whole "let's pick up the rabbit the WRONG way", this was a very good movie for families that are debating on bringing a rabbit into their house. And it is a good movie for those that are trying to find their own forever home. I highly recommend the movie for its themes but not for the fact that they pick up the rabbit wrong.
Oh, and there is a strong religious theme in this movie though they don't name with religion. It definitely feels Christian or Catholic. So there's that, for those that are worried. For those that are not worried, maybe it makes this movie even better for families.
