Horror Movie Review – Exhibit A

Title: Exhibit A

Genre: Thriller/Horror – Found Footage

Synopsis: The timely story of a normal family disintegrating under financial pressure, eventually driven to the unimaginable. We witness the terrifying events unfold through daughter Judith’s video camera, which subsequently becomes Exhibit A.

I watched this movie on the recommendation of Overthinking Horror Films. For some reason, I really enjoy “found footage” horror films and was looking for something that was found footage but wasn’t littered with profanity and super shaky cam. I mean, the jitter cam is fine, but when it’s 80 percent of the movie, it’s more annoying than atmospheric.

I’d seen Exhibit A in my travels through the websites that listed found footage, but never really paused to examine it more closely. First of all, it’s a British film and either I didn’t want to fight with the accents, or the description didn’t grab me. However, since I trust OHF’s taste in films, I took a chance and watched it.

I’ve seen reviews which poo-poo the film or say that it’s over the top. They’ll say the acting was terrible and how could the daughter film all through this. Let me just say this. The film got me by throat and didn’t let go until the end. I even gasped in some parts.

The basic premise is a regular old family of Mom and Dad, and two teens, a girl and a boy. I was a little annoyed when thirty seconds in , the girl filmed herself in the mirror so that we could see who she was. Ugh. However, I stuck with it and while I can’t say I was rewarded for my perseverance, I was served a good film.

The father’s performance was one that stuck with me the most. Early on, I could see something was amiss and the little things just kept piling up. The film became more painful to watch as it went on, not because the performances were bad, but you could see where the train was going. You just wondered where exactly it was going to wreck.

And wreck it did. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more harrowing to an ending in recent years. At one point, I had to look away from the screen to relieve the tension. I just didn’t want to bear witness to it any more. Yes, it’s a movie, but the actors sold the story and I was right there with them.

This is not a gleeful horror film. While it’s stylized up to a point, it’s a little too close to the bone to be laughed at.

Rating: B+ Recommended.

Tip Tuesday – Make it Work with One Notebook

For those of you who’ve seen me flitting about on social media, especially Instagram, then you know how much I love my journals and notebooks. It is truly an affliction. I can’t resist the call of a beautiful looking journal, knowing I can fill its blank pages with my genius thoughts.

Once I get the journal home, it’s another story. The pages are so pretty and pristine, I am reluctant to sully them with my less than important. So, I put the date on the journal and place it on the shelf. It still looks pretty, but it’s unused.

What happens next? Well, I get into an organizing frenzy. Since I see so many journals on the shelf, I pick one for story ideas, one for daily to do lists and one for note taking. Since they’re so disparate, I do need the three journals, right? After about a week, that plan, as brilliant as I thought it was, is all shot to hell.

Enter 2018 and yet another renewed effort for organization. My daughter encouraged me to purchase yet another journal, because 1) she wanted one and 2) they were on sale for 4 dollars each with a coupon and 3) they were so pretty I couldn’t resist. Not only did I end up purchasing more journal-ly meth, I also drew my daughter into the dangerous world of stationery addictions.

When I got home, I determined that this HAD TO STOP! There was no way I could go on with piles of beautiful but blank journals. That’s not what they were made for. I needed to use them for their intended purpose.

And then, I watched a rerun of Breaking Bad. Hank is investigating the death of someone and it winds up they kept meth recipes, titration diagrams and vegan brownie recipes…in the same notebook. While this may seem minor, it was a true epiphany for me. I could use my journal in a multipurpose way.

Which notes do I write in this journal, you may ask?

No. I did not organize it. No, I didn’t do anything cute like those nifty bullet journals. As Dirty Harry said, “A man’s got to know his limitations.” I scribble book snippets that occur to me at odd times, partial grocery lists, passwords and story ideas. And guess what?

IT WORKS!

Not only am I keeping up with it after a full seven days (a record), I am saving so much time. Yes, I do have to flip through a few pages to find what I’m looking for, but that’s what stick flags are for. The point is, I KNOW the information is there because I KNOW I wrote it down. For a disorganized kinda gal like me, this is just so…..liberating!

Oh, yes, the tip for Tuesday? Try a one notebook approach!

Shout out to Breaking Bad for the breakthrough! (See what I did there?)

How are you handling organization? Are you a journal person? A phone person? Let me know in the comments.

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Dahlia

Writers: Increase Productivity with these 3 Tools

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As a writer and a lover of technology, I find I like to try a lot of different things I think will increase my productivity. Sometimes I find a tool helpful, sometimes it simply pulls hours of frustration from my life with no real return. Right now, I want to share some of my best apps and tools which assist me in make a life as an author and as a mom a little easier.

Writing often includes research, lots of it. From recipes to the right way to give CPR to trying to find out if a .357 Magnum would really blow your head “clean off” as Dirty Harry once told us, “writing” isn’t all about getting words on the page. In fact, it’s the research that helps us find our flow and get words on the page in the first place. I always feel twenty minutes of thorough research can influence at least 5,000 words on the page.

The question is, where do you store all this research? Printing it out is ridiculous. Who needs all those reams of paper floating around their space? I have enough clutter as it is. While I love the printed page, I make the effort to go paperless when I can.

Enter Evernote.
Yes, an elephant never forgets, unlike my spotty memory. Evernote floats along with you on your web searches. Any little thing you want to save, it’s there for you. You can even enter your own voice and written notes.

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5 Favorite Fun Christmas Songs

It’s getting closer!

Our tree is up and I have most of the presents I need to give. Of course, I’ve got a ton of cooking to do, but, hey, I’ve got Saturday and Sunday. No cooking, except for the turkey, I think, will be done on Christmas. (Famous last words, right?)

I wanted to take this time to wish everyone a happy holiday and a restful one, too. Having fun is part of the season, don’t let the mundane things drag you down.

Oh, yes, my list of my fun Christmas songs. These are the songs that really pep me up – it’s not “officially” Christmas unless I can hear at least three out of these five songs. Let’s begin, shall we?

If you missed my list of classic Christmas songs, do click here.

5. Santa Claus is Coming to Town – Bruce Springsteen

I have to admit that this song makes me laugh every time I hear it. It’s so ridiculous, with Bruce yelling at the crowd and his band…honestly, he sounds as if he had a little too much “Christmas cheer”, but it’s definitely a fun song to listen to.

4. All I Want for Christmas is You – Mariah Carey

I love Mariah. She just doesn’t give a f*ck. Diva was able to put a price on her time by getting a settlement from that millionaire fiance of hers. Yes, she is a little loopy but I love her just the same. This is such a fun, bouncy, song that’s about loooooooove at Christmas. It does a cold heart really good!

3. Christmas Rap – The Waitresses

I am a child of the 80s, ’tis true. I didn’t really appreciate the song when it first came out – I thought it was kind of stupid. But, as the years went by, it has grown on me and now I look forward to hearing it. Remember, they did the theme song for Square Pegs?

2. Christmas in Hollis – Run DMC

Oh, yeah, did I mention I was a child of the 80s? Here’s Run DMC’s version of a Christmas song. And yes, I’ll be cooking collard greens.

1. Santa Baby – Eartha Kitt

I grew up on Madonna and am so impressed at how long she was able to keep a career going, but her version is simply….not very good. This is the unique Eartha Kitt (the best Catwoman), in a cute and sexy version of the song.

There you have it folks!

Have a lovely holiday!

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