Author Archives: Bizarre Brunette

Ready or Not (2019)

Posted in Bizarre Brunette Big-Screen Watches by
Image is a photo for the movie poster for Ready or Not. It shows a bride front and center with bullets strapped to her chest. She's wearing a wedding dress and a veil. There are many characters on either side of her, one is an older woman carrying an axe. There's a house below her that's on fire.

Recently, I have been getting into watching more horror movies. Typically, I hate horror movies. I’m not a fan of the “gory / over the top” horror. This is why I never got into The Walking Dead, or why I couldn’t watch past Saw II, because it felt a little too gross for me. Ready or Not was recommended to me to watch because of the darker humor, and it wasn’t gory. Ready or Not is an intelligently written, black comedy, horror film.

Grace (played by Samara Weaving) is ecstatic to be marrying her husband, Alex Le Domas (played by Mark O’Brien). The Le Domases are extremely wealthy as they own the “Le Domas Family Games” company. After Grace and Alex get married, they are forced to sit down and play a game. Grace draws the “hide and seek” card, which is the only card that forces the Le Domas family to kill the bride or groom-to-be. Grace doesn’t take hide & seek seriously until she sees a family member murder a maid. Grace has to fight the family and survive the night.

As I mentioned, I’m not into gore. There’s a little bit of gore because it is a horror movie, but not enough that I couldn’t watch the movie. I appreciate the eat the rich message in this movie. The reason why the Le Domas have their money is that they agreed to participate in this game ritual. They don’t care about what they have to do to keep their wealth. Even Samara utters in the movie, “fucking rich people”.

Samara Weaving is amazing in this role. I rooted for her throughout the movie. When Grace sits outside the mansion as it’s up in flames, smoking a cigarette, what an aesthetic. Adam Brody plays Daniel Le Domas, and he was a great character to watch, too. Supporting roles by Andie MacDowell, Henry Czerny, and Melanie Scrofano help make this rich family as evil as they are.

Ready or Not is a great film to play in a horror movie marathon in October. Another recommendation would be to play this movie as background noise during a board game night. Let me know in the comments if you watched Ready or Not and what your thoughts are. Additionally, if you have horror movie recommendations that aren’t super gory, I’m happy to hear those recommendations as well.

Bought My Blog Domain Name!

Posted in Life Lately by
Image is a photo of me with both my arms raised past my shoulders. I'm wearing a winter jacket. Behind me, there's an art mural. It shows Jake the Dog from Adventure Time. He's smiling and his arms are squiggly and above his head.

Last Friday, I had a couple of hard seltzers (Vizzy is my favorite, especially the Blue Pomegranate), and I was debating what I wanted to do with my blog. I have been blogging since 2014, and I have so many goals for how to make my blog better. With that being said, I decided to purchase my blog name! I’m officially bizarrebrunette.com versus bizarrebrunette.wordpress.com. I’m excited to see how my site can improve.

As far as goals, I want to change the layout of my blog. It’s a plain purple color, but I would like a patterned layout. I want a blog image that’s mine. Whether it’s a cartoon version of me or an actual blog logo. Lots to accomplish and so little time. I figure purchasing my blog name is the first step to get there.

I thought about what I want out of this blog. Many bloggers want to monetize their site, and I’m not sure if I’m there yet. I blog because I genuinely enjoy writing, and I want something to reflect on. However, making side money isn’t something to complain about either.

Anyway, to wrap up this post, I’m looking forward to my blog and the future ahead. Thanks to everyone who reads my post, I wouldn’t be here without all of you.

May Star Wars Month Recap

Posted in Bizarre Brunette Big-Screen Watches, Gaming, Reading/Books by

For the entire month of May, I devoted myself to reading, watching, and playing anything Star Wars related. In May, I always do my yearly re-watching of the Star Wars movies, but I wanted to do a bit more for this year.

Image is a photo of me smiling at the camera. I'm wearing my gray Rogue One t-shirt which has Jyn Erso on the front.

Movies

I re-watched episodes I-VI, including Solo: A Star Wars Story and Rogue One, in chronological order. My top three favorite Star Wars movies are:

  1. Revenge of the Sith
  2. Return of the Jedi
  3. Rogue One

How dare I not include Empire Strikes Back?? My top Star Wars movie is one of the prequels?? Why yes, Revenge of the Sith is my number one pick. I grew up with the prequel movies, so there is a special spot in my heart for Revenge of the Sith. The last hour of this movie always messes me up emotionally. The song played while Anakin and Obi-Wan fight on Mustafar always makes me cry. It’s full of emotion. Hayden Christiansen and Ewan McGregor sell this scene.

I listed Return of the Jedi as my second favorite, which shouldn’t be a surprise considering Revenge is my #1 movie. Return of the Jedi shows the redemption Vader has as he throws Palpatine down the shaft. He does this for his son. Ever since Luke entered his life, there was confusion within Vader, and Luke made him confront this. It doesn’t eliminate all the evil Vader has done, but we see a villain come back. I’m glad Hayden was digitally added to this movie after Revenge came out.

Finally, Rogue One is my third Star Wars movie I picked. Rogue One introduces various characters who all have different agendas and backgrounds. With the little screen time these characters have, I start to care about them, and yet they all give their lives to retrieve the Death Star plans. Every time I watch Rogue One, my heart beats so fast as their plan is deteriorating and they’re running out of time to retrieve the plans.

In June, I plan on watching episodes VII-XI.

Books

Besides watching the movies, I read Aftermath by Chuck Wendig. I wasn’t a fan of this book. It takes place right after Return of the Jedi and follows Wedge Antilles as he’s near the planet, Akiva. Throughout the book, it brings together Wedge along with four other supporting characters. I felt the writing and sentence structure weren’t great, while some characters had more backstory than others. I intend on continuing with the series because I want to read all the Star Wars canon novels.

Currently, I’m reading Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed. I have high hopes for this book because Alexander wrote the Rogue One novelization, which I enjoyed a lot.

TV Shows

Keeping this short and simple. I watched The Mandalorian, and it fucking rocked. End of story.

Gaming

My fiancé bought me a copy of Jedi: Fallen Order. I’m on Kashyyyk now after taking over the AT-AT with help from BB1. Overall, I’m having a blast being a baby Jedi. This game presents its challenges with spreading out the save points. Too often, I would die and have to repeat sections of the game. Now I’m more familiar with the game mode, so I’m cautious when I enter the game battles. I hope to finish the story mode in June.

Accompanying my Jedi: Fallen Order playthrough, I have been playing Star Wars Battlefront II. My fiancé received this for his birthday this year, and after watching him play, I decided to give this a try for myself. I’m having a blast. Last night, I played as Finn on one of the New Order maps, and I was in first place for our team! We didn’t win the match, but being in first place was an achievement.

I’m carrying over the Star Wars love into June as I haven’t finished Fallen Order or read Alphabet Squadron yet. Star Wars will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s the perfect fandom to dive into with the world we are living in now.

Dating Monsters in Monster Prom

Posted in Gaming by
Image is a screenshot I took from the game Monster Prom. It shows various character icons in the white background. It says Quit at the top left, Modtool at the top right. The options are Play, Online, Gallery and Settings listed vertically on the main home screen.

In quarantine, I was looking for new games to play to occupy my time. I’m playing Jedi: Fallen Order currently, and while I’m enjoying the game, it’s a game that I prefer to play on the weekends. I was looking for more casual PC games to play during the week, where, if I had a stressful workday, these games would relax me. Monster Prom fills this fix as it’s the perfect casual game to play during the week.

Monster Prom is a game in which you have three weeks to secure a date for prom. The exception is you’re a monster at a high school filled with other monsters. During each round, you can pick which part of the high school to interact with, which allows your predetermined monster to socialize with the other monsters. At each social interaction, your character makes a choice, and this choice earns you hearts with the monsters. The more hearts you have, the more likely the monster you ask to prom will say yes.

Monster Prom is a well-made dating simulator game. In character creation, you can pick your pronouns, and the game includes they as an option. This is a small feature to add, but it leads to gamers feeling heard while playing the game. All the monsters are unique in their own way. Damien is the angry devil, while Liam is a hipster vampire. The monsters combine high school stereotypes with their monster counterparts.

While playing through Monster Prom, there are secret endings to unlock. The secret endings are the prom outcomes, for example, if your date says yes or if you’re left without a date for prom. Combined with the Steam achievements allows for more replay in the game.

Monster Prom is a fun dating simulator game with detailed dialogue and interesting monster characters. Let me know if you have played Monster Prom in the comments below. If so, let me know who your favorite monster is. Monster Prom can be purchased on Steam for $11.99.

First Films: At The Movies Blog Challenge

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I took a break from writing posts, and it was nice. Last weekend, we visited the fiancé’s family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Since I wasn’t at my own apartment, I didn’t prep my blog posts like I usually do. Every Sunday, I sit down and schedule my posts to release during the week. With all the emails I write at my job, I don’t feel like writing after work. This allowed me to rejuvenate my creativity in the posts for this week. To launch back into blogging, I decided to join Oh So Geeky’s At The Movies Blog Challenge. This challenge is running until June 5th, so don’t forget to write your post.

The theme for my challenge post is my first film. I’m going to share five early memories featuring movies, whether it be from my childhood or movie memories I will always cherish.

Harry Potter and Monsters Inc. Double Header

When I was in second grade, the first Harry Potter movie was released along with Monsters Inc. My dad loved to go see movies in the theater, and he took our family to Monster’s Inc. during the day with a break for dinner and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the evening. This is the only memory I can recall where we saw two movies in one day.

Watching Pirates of the Caribbean in a Closet..?

Remember when portable DVD players existed? In middle school, my friend and I would watch Pirates of the Caribbean on a portable DVD player, and for some odd reason, we decided to watch the movie in her closet. To this day, I’m not sure why we picked her closet. It wasn’t a walk-in closet either; it was a standard, small, long closet. We would watch this movie on repeat. The whole cast sold this franchise with Johnny Depp becoming Jack Sparrow. Kiera Knightley and Orlando Bloom had convincing chemistry together; it surprises me how they never dated in reality. Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the best film franchises to exist.

James Bond Film Marathons With My Mom

My mom introduced me to a variety of different films. I watched numerous Harrison Ford 90s action films, including Air Force One and Clear and Present Danger. My favorite memory, though, is watching all the James Bond films. My mom bought the James Bond boxed sets with a mix of the different films. My dad wasn’t thrilled about me watching them, but it became a way for me to bond with my mom. Timothy Dalton is my favorite Bond, and nobody can sway me differently.

The Phantom Menace & Star Wars Toys!!

I was young when the prequels were released. The prequels are flawed films, but they get way too much hate in my opinion. I had the communicator device toy that Qui-Gon uses in the film, along with the Queen Amidala Barbie sitting on my childhood dresser. This memory is more about the toys from the prequel movies, but without the movies, I wouldn’t have the toys.

The Polar Express

This memory is a bit sad, but it’s worth it to include on this list. When The Polar Express was released in theaters, my dad wanted us all to go and see the movie. For whatever reason, we didn’t want to go see it with him, so my dad ended up not seeing the film at all. The Polar Express was released in 2004, my dad was diagnosed with cancer in 2005, and he passed away in 2006. It makes me sad reflecting on this memory because this would have been a moment shared with him. I wouldn’t say this was a regret of mine, but if I could go back to this moment, I would have changed my mind and seen this movie with him.

These are my first film memories, and I’m happy to have shared them here. I spent a lot of time writing these memories and reflecting on these movie experiences. If you would like to participate in this blog challenge, please tweet at @katyrochelle or post on her blog that you’re participating. The link to her post is in the first paragraph.

Birds of Prey Graphic Novels Review

Posted in Reading/Books by

Barbara Gordon is the best DC Comics, female superheroine and I cannot be convinced to change my mind. The Birds of Prey are the kickass, female, superhero group where each member has a different background and talent. In March, I picked up the Birds of Prey graphic novel released coinciding with the movie. Additionally, I read Batgirl and the Birds of Prey: Vol #1 Who is Oracle which should be no surprise. I decided to combine the reviews in one post since they do go hand in hand.

Image is a photo of a graphic novel. It says Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey which coincides with the film's release. It shows Harley Quinn front and center with the other characters surrounding her. The cover is neon colors surrounding her.
Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey. Image taken by me.

Birds of Prey: 4 Stars****

This is a graphic novel compilation of stories featuring the six characters from the movie: Harley Quinn, Huntress, Cassandra Cain, Renee Montoya, Black Canary, and the Black Mask. This isn’t highly rated on Goodreads since it’s a compilation. I knew this going into the graphic novel, so I wasn’t disappointed. My favorite stories were Huntress, Black Mask, and the Black Canary.

The Huntress was my favorite because Nightwing and Huntress share the steamiest kiss. I hardcore ship Nightwing and Barbara Gordon together, but this wasn’t bad. I’m not sure if this is the best story told, as I like it so much solely because Nightwing was in it. The Black Mask story shows how violent and brutal he can be. Black Mask isn’t the most well-known Batman villain, but he’s ruthless. Finally, the Black Canary story features a fun cameo of another DC character, which I won’t reveal.

I rated this four stars because I mostly enjoyed the stories picked, and it’s a fun graphic novel for me to add to my DC collection.

Image is a photo of a cover for a graphic novel titled Batgirl and the Birds of Prey Volume.1 Who is Oracle. It shows two women and their faces are close together. One woman is off in the middle looking concerned.
Batgirl And The Birds of Prey: Vol #1 Who is Oracle. Image taken by me.

Batgirl Volume #1: 4 Stars****

This Batgirl rendition features Barbara out of her wheelchair and fighting crime with her bestie, Black Canary. Huntress’s interests align with theirs, and she teams up with them. Oracle’s identity is stolen online, and the three try to uncover who this mysterious, fake Oracle is.

The negative reviews surrounding this graphic novel have to do with which Barbara Gordon you prefer. This outing features a younger, more immature Barbara in her crime-fighting days. If you’re used to the older Birds of Prey stories, it shows an older Barbara who has already been wounded by the Joker and is embracing the Oracle identity. Many of the negative reviews don’t like this “hippy” or “trendy” Barbara swiping through dating apps.

I’m devoted to Barbara Gordon as a character throughout the several runs of her story. This Barbara is younger, more naive, and at times, foolish. She’s also young and is trying to balance her three identities: Barbara, Batgirl, and Oracle. I miss Barbara Gordon in a wheelchair because I felt she added disability representation in comics. However, can we eliminate the Joker story from comics? I hate The Killing Joke with a passion, and how it intertwines with Barbara’s injury.

Overall, I rated this four stars as I do enjoy this portrayal of Barbara. This isn’t for everyone, and I get that. It’s all about what version of Barbara is your favorite. I like them both.

Quarantine has given me plenty of time to read my comics and graphic novels stack. What have you been reading? Let me know in the comments below.

Hitman Tries Acting in Barry

Posted in Bizarre Brunette Big-Screen Watches by

While watching promotional interviews for It Chapter 2, Bill Hader would discuss his TV show, Barry. I knew the show was airing, but I don’t have a way to watch HBO. Recently, Hulu has acquired a few popular HBO shows without purchasing the HBO add-on. This included Barry. Bill Hader and Henry Winkler won Emmys for this series, so it must be good, right? I concur that this show is worth watching.

Barry Berkman (played by Bill Hader) is sent to LA by his assassin mentor Monroe Fuches (played by Stephen Root). While completing his assassination, he discovers an indie theater where he decides to start taking acting lessons. Barry is living a double life by murdering people and acting in Gene Cousineau’s (played by Henry Winkler) classes. This is an odd concept for a show, but it works.

Bill Hader becomes Barry. Barry is shown to be struggling with his career of taking lives and wanting to be someone else. Acting has become his escape. Let’s be clear, Barry isn’t a good person. In the first season, especially, there’s a scene where Barry kills someone in a car. It’s shocking because I didn’t think Barry would go there, but he does. He’s balancing a fine line between doing his job and getting caught.

As a side note, Bill Hader is a great actor in darker roles. Another good example of this, besides Barry, is the movie The Skeleton Twins. It stars Hader and Kristin Wiig. It’s an emotional and depressing movie, but it illustrates how Bill Hader can act in darker material.

Barry cannot be described as a dark comedy without the appearance of NoHo Hank (played by Anthony Carrigan). NoHo Hank’s witty one-liners are hilarious, even if they’re about killing or torture. Bill Hader has talked about filming behind the scenes with Anthony Carrigan, and it sounds like there are shenanigans to be had.

Barry was a quick watch. Each season has eight episodes, with only two seasons. The third season was supposed to be out next year, I believe? However, with COVID-19, this will probably be delayed. Barry was an entertaining show, to say the least. Both seasons of Barry can be found on Hulu without the purchase of the HBO add-on.

Kingdom Hearts III

Posted in Gaming by

Last Friday, I spent four hours and drank four hard seltzers to beat Kingdom Hearts III. Kingdom Hearts is known for having brutal boss battles, and Kingdom Hearts III is no different. I almost quit, but I persisted and finally defeated Master Xehanort. Since completing Kingdom Hearts III, I wanted to reflect on my favorite levels and general thoughts about the game.

Kingdom Hearts III shows our memorable key wielder, Sora, as his strength is at an all-time low. He travels with his companions, Donald and Goofy, to regain his strength and learn the “power of waking,” the ability to restore lost hearts. It’s revealed how Sora has Roxas’s heart along with two other hearts bound to his. This power will be useful to prevent Xehanort from opening Kingdom Hearts, casting the world in darkness.

Kingdom Hearts III has levels in many of the newest worlds from recent movies. Olympus and Port Royal make a reappearance, along with new levels from Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Tangled, and Big Hero 6. The best level was the Toy Story level. Starting at Andy’s house, the toys make their way to a major toy store. Sora can enter these gigantic toy robots to fight Heartless while wandering the toy store. As a ’90s baby who grew up with older Pixar movies, Kingdom Hearts III appeals to my nostalgia for these movies.

The last level is where all the boss battles begin. Sora has to fight his way through all the major characters in Organization XIII. When I reached the final battle, I had leveled up Sora to level #43. In the future, I would have stayed on the Big Hero 6 level for longer to level up Sora to be more prepared for taking on Organization XIII. Before taking on Xehanort, I would recommend having at least 4+ hours of free time. There’s one final save point before entering the town and Xehanort’s territory. Kingdom Hearts III has designated save points, and you don’t want to lose progress in the fight and have to redo it.

Kingdom Hearts III is filled with nostalgia. The story isn’t the main reason why I play this series. I play for the characters, including Sora, with Aqua being my favorite key wielder. Besides the Toy Story level, I liked the Monsters Inc. level. I’m impressed with the voice acting in this game. Without having the original voice actors, the characters sound like the original characters from the movies. Kingdom Hearts III was worth the wait.

Monitoring Movies with Letterboxd

Posted in Bizarre Brunette Big-Screen Watches by

My cousin watches so many movies! She made a Facebook status saying how she updated her Letterboxd account. After researching, I downloaded the Letterboxd app, and it has changed the way I am watching movies while in quarantine. I can follow friends, see their movie recommendations, and list movies on a watch list. Letterboxd is my new favorite app.

I’m the type of moviegoer who always watches movies I have seen previously. It’s difficult for me to force myself to watch something new. I don’t want to waste my time watching a movie I don’t enjoy. With Letterboxd, I can note which movies I have seen, and I can include reviews when I add them to my watched list. Since using Letterboxd, I have watched: Vice, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Knives Out, Ex Machina, and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Swedish version).

Letterboxd has renewed motivation in re-watching movies. I’m planning on re-watching the James Bond films, Marvel movies, and, since it’s May, the Star Wars movies. I plan to log my thoughts as I finish the movies on my list. I created a list titled “The Movies That Define Me,” and I have been slowly adding my favorite movies to this list.

Letterboxd is an easy-to-use app. It has a good interface, is organized, and doesn’t crash. The app is free to use, although there are ads that pop up every now and then. For $19 a month, you can have an ad-free version, or pay $49 a month to become a patron. Becoming a patron allows for backdrops on your profile, along with early access to beta features. Right now, I’m not planning on paying for Letterboxd; however, it may be something I consider in the future.

If you use Letterboxd, feel free to add me! I’m BizarreBrunette. Letterboxd can be found on Google Play and the App Store.

Game Knights, University Sims & Fortnite

Posted in Gaming, Life Lately by

Gaming has been the perfect distraction from the current environment. Video games, board games, card games, it doesn’t matter. All forms of gaming have provided me a way to distance myself from all things COVID-19. Therefore, I wanted to share a couple of updates as to how gaming is providing me happiness throughout this time.

Winning the Game Knights Contest

Image is a screenshot I took from The Command Zone's Twitter page. It's a tweet and it says: "Here are our GIVEAWAY WINNERS for Game Knights Unsanctioned! Facebook winners will be announced on our page there: @UltraProIntl Winners: @eelzap @MaddeyCougarBam @bizzarebrunette @Card_Kingdom Winners: @NBen2001 @R_J_I We will send you a DM with details on Twitter! Congrats!
Screenshot of the tweet saying I had won. I’m @bizzarebrunette

Shortly before entering Quarantine, I found out through Twitter that I had won the Game Knights contest in February 2020. It was exciting! I received a signed Forest playmat, bright yellow sleeves, a green deck box, and a couple of booster packs. I used the green deck box to put my new deck in, but the sleeves and playmat have remained untouched. I have touched on how I’m back into playing Magic, and this added to my excitement. A special thanks to The Command Zone cast, who sent me these items.

Partying in The Sims #3 University Life

Image is a screenshot from The Sims 3. It shows a woman sitting at a table. She's wearing a red headband with a braid in her hair. Behind her, is a kitchen which another Sim is in.
Jessica Day. The screenshot was taken by me.
Image shows two sims talking. There are blue + signs on top indicating at they are friends.
Schmidt is in the fancy purple blazer. The screenshot taken by me.
Image shows a Sim wearing a white shirt, brown pants with a dish towel hanging from his belt line. It shows the sim on a university campus.
Nick Miller. The screenshot taken by me.

The Sims 3 is iconic. During a blizzard or in quarantine, The Sims #3 passes the time. I purchased the University Life expansion pack from Steam. I’m in awe at how much better the University expansion is compared to The Sims #2 version. It’s more realistic, and my Sims get invited to social outings. I created the cast of New Girl, which includes Nick Miller, Jessica Day, Schmidt, and Winston. It’s helped pass the time.

Playing Fortnite Online

I never thought I would be saying this, but I have been playing Fortnite. A couple of friends from work invited me to play Fortnite, and it was actually fun. To be clear, I wouldn’t play this game alone. Fortnite is meant to be played with friends, and it’s one of the few games that’s cross-platform.

Next, I hope to complete KHIII (Kingdom Hearts III) along with Jedi: Fallen Order. I’m playing Monster Prom on Steam, and I want to unlock all the bonus endings. Finally, I’m trying out Xbox Game Pass, and I downloaded a couple of games on Xbox. I’m trying to establish mini gaming goals, so I can be more productive as a gamer. Wish me luck!