• Home
  • About Me
  • My Books
  • Lobby
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Dahlia DeWinters - Author

Quirky Heroines, Happy Endings

BlogtoberFest 2017 – The Days of Halloween

Let’s face it, the holidays start earlier and earlier every year.  I saw a six foot light up snowman in Costco at the end of August.  Therefore, I see no reason not to begin the celebration of all things spooky, macabre, and scary in the month of October.

You faithful readers of my blog:  I thank you.  AND you already know what’s going to be happening.  Recipes, Top 3 lists, Top 5 lists, spooky songs, movies, books….everything relating to the theme of Halloween and horror.  Click over every day to see something new!

So pour yourself a Bloody Mary with bacon garnish and come on along for the ride.  We’ve been expecting you.

 


Filed Under: Blogtoberfest Tagged: author, black geek girls, black girl nerds, blerd, blogtoberfest, colors in darkness, dahlia dewinters, halloween, Halloween fun, halloween party, halloween recipe, movies that scare

Thriller Movie Review: Kidnap

Kidnap:  Every Parent’s Horror Movie

In the US, a child goes missing every 40 seconds. You never think it will happen to you. Until it does. Alone and scared, Karla Dyson (Halle Berry) is unwilling to leave the fate of her son’s life in someone else’s hands. When she catches a glimpse of the abductors speeding away, she decides to fight back. In a heart pounding race against time, Karla begins a high speed pursuit and will stop at nothing to save her son’s life. Written by https://teaser-trailer.com

Remember that time you stepped off to the side in the store to take a kind of important call and you got so engrossed you took your eyes of your child for more than a couple of minutes?  Yep.  That’ was Halle Berry’s mistake in Kidnap.  But boy, does she make up for it, if I may say, in spades.

Berry plays single mother Karla Dyson, who’s set up in the movie is done quite well.  She works at a diner in a thankless waitress job, as demonstrated by one snooty patron, and is looking forward to a well deserved break at an amusement park with her son, Frankie. But what should be an idyllic afternoon between mother and son turns into the worst of nightmares, as Frankie is spirited away under his mother’s nose and she’s helpless to stop it.

The film is non-stop action.  The moment Frankie is stuffed into that car, Halle Berry goes full tiger mom mode.  Without stopping to call the police, she makes an attempt at stopping the kidnapping right away and chases the villain’s car in her minivan.  This begins a cat-and-mouse game, which keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire movie.

The story is told from Halle’s point of view and that’s all the insight we need.  In such an impossible situation, she knows the police will move too slowly and that it’s up to her to save her son.  She digs deep down and finds the strength to chase her son and his kidnappers all the way into the Louisiana countryside.

Halle carries most of the movie, both in talking to herself and screaming in frustration at the kidnappers.  As a mother, I felt her pain every step of the way.  Not many people want to see a child in danger or hurt, and it was harrowing to see Halle’s near misses at getting Frankie back.  Though the villain remains unseen for most of the movie, just the fact they’ve kidnapped a kid launches them into full-on villain status.  There are no gray areas in this movie, and Halle is justified in the things she does.

It’s also refreshing to see a woman of color in a lead role in a thriller.  Instead of playing the “girlfriend” or the “woman who sits home and frets”, she takes an active role in reclaiming her child.  Digging deep for the reserves of power and ingenuity within her, there’s nothing she won’t do to get him back.  I simply love how she goes all out in pursuit.  No minivan ever has seen such action!!

For steady movie goers – you won’t see anything new in this movie.  However, Halle puts a fresh spin on the “child in peril” movie and seriously owns some of the scenes in it.  Is it a great movie?  Not at all, but it is entertaining, and isn’t that what we go to the movies for?

All in all an effective thriller with great car chases and a heroine you can root for.

A

 

[wpdevart_youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-Ht8VRPRvU[/wpdevart_youtube]

 

 

 

SPOILER FOR THOSE SENSITIVE TO CHILDREN IN PERIL

 

 

 

 

 

No children were hurt or harmed in the film.  There are some scary situations, yes, but no children were harmed.


Filed Under: Horror Movie Reviews, Movies--Books--Music--Television, Uncategorized Tagged: black geek girls, black girl nerds, blerd, female geek bloggers, geek girl, halle berry, horror movie review, kidnap movie, kidnap movie review, movie geek, movie review, thriller movie review

Horror Movies-Original vs. Remakes – Battle One

So, you call yourself a horror movie fan?  Well, even as a middle of the road fan, meaning I won’t watch them at night, and if something is too gory or too much, I will turn it off to preserve my sanity.  Given that, I’ve seen a lot of scary movies, but even I was surprised to find out some were remakes. Let’s take a look, beyond the obvious.

 

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

Yep, this sister vs sister thriller/horror was remade in 1991 starring real life sisters Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave.  John Glover plays the part, I think, that Victor Buono played in the original.  I’ve seen it, I’ve noted it, I’ve blanked it out.  Nuff said.  Here’s the trailer.

[wpdevart_youtube]https://youtu.be/ASNWw6yFIb8[/wpdevart_youtube]

 

The Crazies

Timothy Olyphant, who I will always forever see as sexy salesman Danny Cordray on The Office, and Radha Mitchell do a great job in this remake of the 1973 classic.  I don’t mind telling you, the trailer scared me.  The image of people enjoying a nice day at a baseball game as a huge, zombie-like dude marches across the field carrying a bloody weapon….that’s horror, where the ordinary go so wrong, so fast.  I haven’t seen the original, so I’m not sure how it measures up, but I can say it sure scared me.

Last House on the Left

As an exercise in 70s horror, I watched this.  It was an awful experience because the movie was so good at being awful.  The feeling of dread, of hopelessness and fear exudes from the screen after the two fun-loving girls meet up with that terrible crew.  Once seen, it is not an experience I’d want to repeat, because the movie did so well at making its audience feel terrible.  I won’t watch the remake.

The Fly

David Cronenberg is a body horror master.  In The Fly, he lets it all hang out.  Ugh.  I’ve seen both, but the remake is more stomach turning, and probably realistic than the original.  Both movies, however, do have good points.

The Blob

Yes, Steve McQueen was dreamy as a 40 year old high school student, but let’s be real.  The original Blob depended more on suspense than gross out scenes.  In the remake, it was a disgusting thrill to see the dude sucked down the drain by the blob.  The telephone booth scene was also a good scare.  Again, with what they had to work with, the original Blob was pretty good, but the remake’s special effects made a scary story much better.\

 

 

So what’s your vote?

[socialpoll id=”2160294″ type=”set”]

 

 

 

 


Filed Under: Horror Movie Reviews, Movies--Books--Music--Television, Uncategorized Tagged: black geek girls, black girl nerds, blerd, colors in darkness, dahlia dewinters, female geek bloggers, geek girl, horror, horror movie remakes, movie review, remake, scary movies

Wordless Wednesday – Feb 1 2016


Filed Under: Wordless Wednesday Tagged: birds, black geek girls, black girl geeks, black girl nerd, black girl nerds, blerd, dahlia dewinters, dahliadewinters, photography, wordless Wednesday

Music Monday – Top 5 Elton John Songs

Since I did Billy Joel last week, it’s only fair that I praise my other favorite piano man, Elton John.  I first heard of Elton John (to know he was Elton John) during the eighties. Upon further exploration of his discography, I discovered that I had been enjoying his songs for quite a while, even though I hadn’t known who he was.  This was back in the olden times of radio and DJs….

Without further ramblings, here’s my top five mix of Elton John songs. As always, they are in no particular order.

 

 

I’m Still Standing

Rollicking upbeat elton.

[wpdevart_youtube]ZHwVBirqD2s[/wpdevart_youtube]

 

Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road

The vocal riff of “Oh…oh…oh….” is what sells it.

[wpdevart_youtube]RZ3Bb4UsXhU[/wpdevart_youtube]

 

The One

“All I ever needed was the one……”

[wpdevart_youtube]85B_REWeNcM[/wpdevart_youtube]

 

Candle in the Wind

His tribute to Marilyn Monroe, and later Princess Diana, still brings a tear to my eye.

[wpdevart_youtube]NoOhnrjdYOc[/wpdevart_youtube]

 

Rocket Man

 

[wpdevart_youtube]uNNl3C0qvKg[/wpdevart_youtube]

 

Honorable Mention – Bennie and the Jets

[wpdevart_youtube]p5rQHoaQpTw[/wpdevart_youtube]

 

And there’s my faves from Elton John..  Have any Elton John favorites?  Drop them in the comments!

 

Peace, Love, Unity

Dahlia

 


Filed Under: Music Tagged: black geek girls, blerd, candle in the wind, dahlia dewinters, elton john, goodbye yellow brick road, multicultural romance, music, music favorites, music monday, top elton john songs

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • …
  • 8
  • Next Page »

Willkommen! Bienvenue! Welcome!

Find me Online!

RSS
Follow by Email
Facebook
Twitter
Follow Me
Tweet
YouTube
YouTube
Pinterest

Find what you’re looking for

This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. I make a small commision if you purchase through links on this site. Thank you.

Made With Love by Boutique Web Design Studio · Copyright © 2023

Copyright © 2023 · Mystic Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

 

Loading Comments...