The Poets Korner: Maya Angelou

Maya 

Poems And books 

Lectures and looks
Freedom you took

Unthinkable for a woman, and a black one at that
The world glared at you at you stared right back
Unafraid to succeed

And as a young girl I read
I absorbed and you fed
My curiosity

And as I grew older my head on good shoulders I decided to soldier in your army of words
I decided to write
Because you taught me that dreams might
be chased like high flying kites

That I should put down my thoughts
For others to ponder
That I can no longer wonder
Why the caged bird sings

You epic epitome of all that I want for me
May you rest in peace
May the world never cease to read the words of wisdom you graciously surrendered

Maya

Love, Nika

MSMC #6: The Poughkeepsie Tapes

This movie is for mature audiences only!

IMDB - Rotten Tomatoes

Release: February 9, 2009

Plot Summary:

A serial killer obsessively documents his career in carnage in this pseudo-documentary thriller. When police raid a house in upstate New York, they discover a profoundly disturbing record of one man's ugly crimes. 

A psychotic serial killer once called the house his home, and along with the implements of his grisly pastime, investigators find over 240 hours of videotape shot by the killer which present a visual record of his murders in all their horrifying details. Both state and federal law enforcement teams sift through the gruesome images, looking for clues of the slayer's identity, the identity of his victims, and where he could possibly have gone. 

But repeated viewings of the material reveal little beyond the terrible facts of the crimes, and as the authorities comb through the madman's images, they find the tapes have had a disquieting effect on them. Written and directed by John Erick Dowdle, The Poughkeepsie Tapes was screened in competition at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival.

My Thoughts:

I often Google "scariest films ever" my sister asks me why? I tell her because I want to test the limits of my tolerance for the macabre. Or some such nonsense she undoubtedly scoffs at. But it is true, I am, and always have been a horror junkie. The first horror film I ever saw was the old Bella Lugosi Dracula. I was around five years old. It was the middle of the night, and  I sat in my pj's on the edge of madness with fear. My aunt should have known better than to show a very imaginative child such as myself, something so dark. My mind ate it up. And when I went to bed that night I pulled the covers around my neck to protect myself from the vampyres bite. Nowadays, I sleep with my windows open hoping the vamprye will visit me. Horror junkie! 

The Poughkeepsie Tapes had been on my 'to watch' list for years now. For some reasons I hadn't the time or the fortitude to make myself watch the film. I had heard of its disturbing content, and I was intrigued. So one night, with my sister, I decided to watch it. I know now why I had waited. The film, like so many of the "horror" movies today is filmed with hand held cameras to give it a real life or documentary feel. The only thing different about this film is that it is filmed from the perspective of the serial killer. He is showing us his brutal crimes and his ruthless nature. Because he shows it to us, the audience--it seems much more real. This film takes chances. It goes where few films dare to tread. Children. Usually children in films, especially horror films are off limits. You don't show the death of a child. But this film  makes full on attacks on children without mercy. 

The film also has a strong BDSM element to it. In the forced relationship between the murderer and one of his captives. He starves her, mutilates her, brainwashes her, and does all sorts of unspeakable things to her person. She suffers greatly from Stockholm syndrome and is convinced that this monster is the only person who ever loved her. It is a sick notion, but it is even more disturbing when you realize that things like this really happen, have happened, and probably will continue to happen. It is a psychological film in its grittiest form. 

I loved the film. I would watch it again. I recommend it to other horror junkies, but not to people who found paranormal activity frightening. Not to people who think insidious was nightmarish  Because behind the ghosts and the ghouls, and the unexplained happenings that break all your neat safety rules. There are real monsters who exist among us. This is the story of such a man. 

Screenshots :)

Have you seen The Poughkeepsie Tapes?

What's the creepiest/scariest movie you've seen?

Would you ever watch this movie?

Movie Review: Lincoln

IMDB - Rotten Tomatoes - Amazon - Official Site

Release Date: November 16, 2012
DVD Release Date: February 2013 (estimated)

Cast:
- Daniel Day-Lewis
- Sally Field
- David Strathairn
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt
- James Spader
- Hal Holbrook
- Tommy Lee Jones
- John Hawkes
- Jackie Earle Haley
- Bruce McGill
- Tim Blake Nelson


My Review:
I waited months for the release of this film. To me, it was going to be another "Color Purple" another "Schindler's List" it was going to be epic, and it was going to be the return of Spielberg in a big way. I was spending a magical day in Los Angles with one of my best friends. We had toured museums and bummed around Amoeba Records, the perfect closing to a perfect day was going to view the film Lincoln at the majestic theater at the Grove. It was going to be a real movie experience  the kind where the theatre is full of people, all packed in for the same reasons--to escape. The kind where at the end everyone would clap to show they were for those moments transported into another world, another way of thinking. I had built this experience up in my head and it couldn't fail. Spielberg was back! 

The film begins well. It starts off strong and meaningful. Daniel Day Lewis could not have looked more like Lincoln, and I honestly think he deserves an academy for his performance. It was beautiful. The film begins with Lincoln meeting a few members of the black regiment. They have come to talk to him and show their respect and love. One of the more outspoken of the trio decides to confront the President with issues of rank and pay between the black soldiers and the white soldiers. Lincoln admires the man for his concerns. The scene closes with the men, joined by a few other white soldiers repeating The Gettysburg Address to the President. It is a very powerful opening to the film and it generally sets the tone for the movie. 

The battle scenes were realistic enough and some were quite bloody. The pure carnage and savagery of war in this period was definitely communicated to audiences in the form of explosions and severed body parts. In the form of weeping mothers and angry fathers. Everyone was losing something, and this was a key element to the story. However, the question that boggled them then, as it boggled audiences was how much should be lost? How far do you go to protect human freedom. Lincoln proved that the price to be paid was blood, and there could never be enough of it to protect freedom. 

Because I am a history major, it was almost essential that I saw this film. Having said that, I also must state that it was almost impossible for me not to find some fault with it. I did not like how Lincoln was portrayed as a saint, and the south as completely evil. You have to think about these things from a logical and historical perspective, especially when you are telling a story through film for the world to see. Lincoln was no great anti-slavery saint. He operated by the ideals of his time, like any man does. The things he did, were stratigic measures and influenced by all kinds of ideas, not all of them necessarily wholesome. The south, though I abhor slavery, was not evil. They were ignorant and brilliant all at the same time. What choice did the south have, but fight, when someone was threatening their sole way of life--their economy. The southern states were fighting for their livelihood and there isn't anything evil about that. In the grand scheme of it all, in the past and today we are all just people, reacting to the world in anyway we see how. 

Another complaint I had about the film was the conclusion. In my opinion, Spielberg had the perfect opportunity to end the film 10 minutes earlier than it actually ended. It was at the point when his butler comes to inform him that he is late for the theatre and hands him his gloves. He says so poingently "Well, I guess it's time for me to go, but I'd really prefer to stay." Then he makes his way out of the White house, the moment is heart-wrenching because you know what is to follow. If the director would have ended it there I could be happy and call the film brilliant. But he did not. He choose to show the demise of this beloved President, and really just mucked up the ending. I knew my observations were right because at the end of the film, no one clapped. I wanted to clap, but not alone. So I sat in disbelief, and stared at my friend. We agreed that it should have ended earlier. We agreed that we would mourn this film because it could have been greatness.   

Even so, I give the film 4 1/2 stars. It is worth watching, but I would just end it at that perfect moment, instead of waiting for the directors drawn out explanation of the past. I will say that it is one of the better historical films I have seen in the recent past and I look forward to more work from one of Hollywood's most beloved visionaries.

Did you see Lincoln?

What did you think?

Leave a comment :)

The Poets Korner: Ode To Thee

I cannot say forget me
For that will never fly
Impossibilities
like birds without wings
Take my soul from your eyes

I cannot say forgive me
For I am not sure of my sin
I take your fair heart with a fare start and balance it on the wind.

the breath that is left inside my heaving chest is meant for the exultation of you.
And all that i am in spirit, on land is spent in the loving of you.
For love as it is, as rare and as cleansed is not a forlorn sensation. I cannot say this is the only way, but the direction I've paved is without the pace I know.
And the love that exists refuses to relent, like the falling snow.

The Poets Korner: Today

Today is for the children
Called so violently away
Though it wasn't their time it was sadly their day

Today is for the families torn apart in dismay
Their foundations shook by an earthquake of emotion
Spread across the nation in waves of devotion

Never has a country cried so for the death of innocents
Brought swiftly on by psychotic ignorance

And we Mourn

Today

We mourn because we are human and it is our nature to care.
That the misfortune of others is somehow ours to bare.
These events hit much to close to home.
In the blink of an eye it could have been your own.

So we mourn.
For these children, for these families
But much more greatly for the state of
Humanity.

I wrote this in response to the 

December 14th tragedy of the 

Sandy Hook Elementary shooting.

Movie Review: Cloud Atlas

"Everything Is Connected"

IMDB - Rotten Tomatoes - Amazon - Official Site

Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave dramatically through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future. Each member of the ensemble appears in multiple roles as the stories move through time.

Release Date: October 26, 2012
DVD Release Date: February 5, 2013
Running Time: 172 minutes
MPAA Rating: R

Cast:
-Tom Hanks
-Halle Berry
-Jim Broadbent
-Hugo Weaving
-Jim Sturgess
-Doona Bae
-Ben Whishaw
-Keith David
-James D'Arcy
-Xun Zhou
-David Gyasi
-Susan Sarandon
-Hugh Grant

My Thoughts:
Sometimes, it happens rarely give the state of current authorship, but sometimes the film is better than the book.

I recently started dating again after my breakup and a friend decided to take me to see the film Cloud Atlas. I didn't know much about what I was going to see. So, I didn't have any real expectations from the movie. I wasn't prepared for the single most life altering film experience I had ever had.

The film begins slowly, but at the same time dives into a world of reality and fiction, past, present and future to give you a feel for what's in store. The films score is magical, it evokes feelings of utter sadness and loss, mixed with the angelic ting of hope. The film itself plays out like a symphony of words, images and thoughts.

Needless to say it was for me a life altering experience. I no longer thought my problems, my life, myself was something singular unto myself. But after seeing this film it became all to apparent to me that I am part of the past, the present and the future. That every decision I make will effect the world in some way no matter how minute. That every decision made before me has affected me and caused me to be who and what I am.

Cloud Atlas is 3 hours long but it feels like a blip of time because the view becomes so entangled with the action on screen. It is visual poetry and musical history. It is love, life, humanity, cruelty, death, loss, pain and hope. This film is more human than many of us could feign to ever be. I urge everyone to see it. Learn from it. Live it.

Screenshots :)

Have you seen Cloud Atlas?

Crossing the Fire

The Crossfire series by Sylvia Day consists of two books so far: Bared to You and Reflected in You. In my opinion they are both great books, and when compared to the literary train wreck that is Fifty Shades, the Crossfire Series is the quintessential demonstration of this genre.

[Goodreads - Amazon - B&N]

Our journey began in fire...

Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness—beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white-hot. I was drawn to him as I'd never been to anything or anyone in my life. 

I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me. I was flawed and damaged, and he opened those cracks in me so easily...

Gideon knew. He had demons of his own. And we would become the mirrors that reflected each other's most private wounds... and desires.

The bonds of his love transformed me, even as I prayed that the torment of our pasts didn't tear us apart...

Bared to you: My sister already did a wonderful review on this piece, and you can view that here, but I just wanted to share my thoughts on it as well. And I wanted to do a little compare and contrast with the characters of Fifty Shades. The main character of Bared to You is Eva Tramell. She, unlike miss Anastasia Steele has her shit together. She moved from California to New York City, the place where every young upstart dreams of making it big. And with tenacity and dedication she found herself a productive place in NYC. She was not inexperienced and scared of life like Steele and for that reason, she makes a much better role model for women. She is fearless. 

It has always been a dream of mine to move somewhere foreign and brave the world with my best friend. Eva gets to experience this change with her long time bestie Cary Taylor. Who is amazing and gorgeous and just as emotionally odd as she. I think in life as well as in fiction you need a good sidekick, Cary made the most perfect one. He was her foil but also an iron clad keeper of not only her heart but her sanity. He would be a welcome addition to my life. I think every girl wants a really close guy friend that has their best interests at heart but doesn't want to be repaid sexually for it. It works. 

Now for the star of the show Mr. Gideon Cross. A very wealthy and deliciously attractive businessman. He is the love interest of Eva and I've really never read any two characters that deserved each other more. They both have terribly spotted pasts but their spots are similar enough to blend into a perfect pattern of sequined bliss. His name means destroyer, but all he does is repair Eva in the best way he can. They have their issues like any couple however. He is a sex addicted control freak. But Eva is cut in such a way that his brand of crazy fits right into her mold. Upon reading this book it is extremely easy to get lost in the characters and their lives. I went to sleep dreaming of sparking my own fictional relationship with Mr. Cross. When compared to Mr. Grey from Fifty Shades, Cross is much less crazy. He doesn't want to hurt Eva like Grey wants to do to Ana. And I think that Cross is a much more in depth character. He's just better on paper than Grey could ever be. 

[Goodreads - Amazon - B&N]

Gideon Cross. As beautiful and flawless on the outside as he was damaged and tormented on the inside. 

He was a bright, scorching flame that singed me with the darkest of pleasures. I couldn’t stay away. I didn’t want to. He was my addiction… my every desire… mine.

My past was as violent as his, and I was just as broken. We’d never work. It was too hard, too painful… except when it was perfect. Those moments when the driving hunger and desperate love were the most exquisite insanity.

We were bound by our need. And our passion would take us beyond our limits to the sweetest, sharpest edge of obsession…

Reflected in You: This is the second book in this soon to be trilogy. It picks right up where book one leaves off. It exhibits more of the same reckless sexual behavior that the two seem to be drawn to. It also chronicles more of their rocky misunderstandings and relationship woes.

In this second book it offers an even deeper analysis into these characters that the first book has forced you to care about. And it is much more focused on the reasoning and useful nature of Gideon's controlling nature. The book has an acceptable ending, and frankly I really cannot wait until the next one is out to see what kind of trouble they get into.

I found that with Fifty Shades that the writing was atrocious and simple and I could not focus enough on the characters and plot to care. I think there should be a book where Eva meets Grey and see how that turns out. Of course Day would have to write it because she is obviously a better writer than the author of Fifty Shades, in this reviewers humble opinion anyway.

Have you read this series yet?
If yes, what did you think?
If no, you really need to!

Happy Halloween!

This is our Halloween post! So Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you all have a wonderful day. This is also going to be my wrap up post. I didn't exactly follow schedule, but I tried... Which has to count for something right?! So I read 5 books, 1 naughty short story (with a naughty cover, so I didn't show it here, but it's Hannah's Choice by Selena Kitt) and 1 comic issue, I had a whole lot more on my list, but it's over now :) I'm pretty happy with what I read and some of the reviews are already up. I'll link them in the bottom. Enjoy!

**Covers link to Goodreads**

Reviews: What's Left of Me & Jenny Pox

What did you read to get

 in the Halloween spirit?

Leave a comment or a 

link to your site :)

Thought this was cute!

It's a scream panda!

Halloween Reads

OoOoOoOoO... October has finally come!

Happy Birthday Nika!

Movie Review: Ken Park (18+ Review)

The Sex Is Real

[IMDB - Rotten Tomatoes - Amazon]

Releases:
Theaters: August 31, 2002
DVD: November 10, 2003

Cast:
-Adam Chubbuck
-James Ransone
-Tiffany Limos
-Maeve Quinlan
-Amanda Plummer
-Wade Williams
-James Bullard

Plot Summary:
An intense scrutiny of the lives of four teenagers, all childhood friends & their parents. Their unmasked lives are full of violence, sex, hatred & drugs.

My Thoughts:

There are not many non-pornographic films that show the amount of explicit real sex that the film Ken Park does. The films director Larry Clark, director of the film Kids (1995), and Bully (2001) has a knack for capturing the essence of teenage angst and culture. 

The film delves into the lives of several teenagers and their destructive home lives. It explores the unsettling themes of teen sex, drug abuse, alcoholism, incest, child abuse, and suicide. In the world of Ken Park, nothing is what it seems and there is little tangible reality besides sex. 

This film is very explicit. If viewing sex acts bothers you than you probably shouldn't watch the film because it can and does get easily pegged as a piece of pornography. However, Ken Park is not a pornographic film. It is not meant to be viewed for sexual purposes but rather the sex in the film is used to underscore the complete tragedy of these teens lives. 

The film is a piece of art. And it offers a real and gritty look into the psyche of the American teenager. It crosses gender and racial lines to show that life is not only fucked up for boys or girls, or for white or colored people, but life is hell for everyone. That theme I think offers a uniting thread for not only the characters in the film but the viewers of the film as well. 

So, I give this movie five stars for the subject matter and the audacity and bravery it took to show it without any censorship. 

Book Review: Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
[Goodreads - Amazon]

So, the summer before last I read Madame Bovary's Daughter by Linda Urbach. It was extremely well written and continues the classic story of Madame Bovary written by Gustave Flaubert in the 1850's. Well after reading such an intriguing continuation. I naturally wanted to go back to the beginning and read what started it all. So I picked up a classically bound copy of Madame Bovary and read it.

It was amazing! It tells the gripping story of a woman who marries a young doctor for what she tells herself is "love". Later in the relationship she finds herself feeling confined and bored. The book explores the feeling of many middle class women during that period of time of confinement. Because, unlike women of a lower class, they were not expected to work to earn a living. Therefore they were left to lord themselves over the house and become annoyed with their own limited existences. She then falls in love with another man and cheats on her husband with him. The affair doesn't last long. Prior to the affair she has a baby girl and eventually neglects her child because of her own self importance.

Later she ends up bankrupting her husband and running out of money. When she tries to obtain loans from her friends they turn her down and in her shame she kills herself with arsenic. A sad and painful way to die. Her story, though it seems like the tale of a selfish wealthy women with nothing better to do than neglect her responsibilities as a wife and mother in favor of a more adventurous life, is much more than that. It is is a tale of the female struggle for independence from the manor-like cage upper class men created for their wives. In the end she was the ultimate master of her fate and would not be kept prisoner in a life she despised.

The Poets Korner: Untitled

UNTITLED

The first time you took mine 

and called it something else

I rejoiced in the calamity that ensued.

The destruction of my self taught nature 

the beginning of your tyrannical bliss.

a cold mistress kept blind and held

tied to the idea of you.

bound to a future with you.

And this is what I try to forget.

That I was ever something 

other than myself 

that I allowed you to take 

my youth, my health!

That me and you were wound 

inside a cocoon of lies 

and you encased my mind.

Your curious nature was an invader 

and mimicked the savior 

that I gave shelter 

in the corners of my heart. 

The Poets Korner: Lighter

Lighter

I need a lighter to set my soul on fire 

Throw my bones upon the pyre 

And watch me slowly burn 

I have one desire 

To see you love me more 

To see you being drained 

Of everyone before 

To hear your deaf lips whisper 

Things only I can hear 

To have my fading shadow 

Be your only fear 

Lying in your arms 

No longer meant for me 

The safety of your touch 

Pretends to set me free.

The Poets Korner: Forgive Me

Forgive Me

Forgive me love 

For I have sinned

I let my guard down 

And let you in

I gave you all my entirety

I'm left with nothing 

But the shell of me

I feel it still

Your heart beats for me

But no longer will you 

Play keeps with me

Discarded like an old rag doll

You let me slip

You let me fall.

Top Ten Posts That Reflect You Best As A Person

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly

 meme held over at The Broke and the Bookish. 

This week is the Top Ten posts on your blog that 

would give the BEST picture of YOU (as a reader 

and a person -- so pick the 10 best reviews/posts

 that you wish every potential reader of your blog 

would see!)

The first two are some of Nika's best posts:

The Poets Korner: Remembering To Forget: I honestly love this poem. I think it shows just how well Nika can write some poetry!

Movie Review: Dark Knight Rises: This is the best movie review Nika has written. She has so much love for Batman and the whole thing with the shooting, she just put her heart into this post. 

Onto Mine:

Book Review: Need by Sherri Hayes: I think this is the best book review I've ever written. I loved this book so much. And it was so different from anything I'd ever read. 

Cover Issues: Across The Universe Trilogy: This is a new thing I started. They really like messing with the book covers and I had a whole lot to say about the new covers to this trilogy. Go read!

Book Review: Easy by Tammara Webber: I don't know why I chose this post. I just really loved the book. It was a fabulous summertime read. You should definitely check it out. 

Movie Review: Cedar Rapids: This one shows exactly what I think is funny! Stupid, stupid comedies! I think they're the only thing that keeps me going when I'm really down. Not family, friends and all that other cliche stuff. COMEDIES! And I absolutely love Ed Helms.

Book Review: Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma: This post would be another I don't know one. This book was really different. And it's about a touchy subject. 

Book Review: Looking For Alaska by John Green: This post shows how I really tried to like a book. How I gave my honest opinion and tried not to bash the book or the author. (**Come on! You gotta love John Green!**)

Book Review: Across The Universe by Beth Revis: Once again, I don't know why I chose this one. I really liked the book and enjoyed doing the post. It was also the very first review I wrote!

Angela's Buys: (6/25): This post shows just how much I love buying thrift books and how overly excited I get when I get to go there. It also shows my obsession with buying books. I'll keep buying until I'm broke.

Hope you like the posts I chose,

and if you did a TTT, leave a 

comment and a link to yours.

Have a great day!

The Poets Korner: Remembering To Forget

Remembering To Forget
Woke up this morning
Then I closed my eyes again
I remembered you were gone

I remembered that picture on the night stand was face down
I remembered how I missed you
I forgot how to forget

And before I woke up it was working so well
My uncurious unconscious dictated my feelings
Filing my head with music and happiness up to the ceiling

Where the only thing that mattered was jumping sheep
With pink polka dots
Wearing green hats

Woke up this morning feeling loss
I remembered your favorite song
I remembered how you smiled when I sang it
I forgot how to forget

The most important thing
The one thing I needed to remember I let slip
Sliding out of bed

I slowly started to push you back
Into the depths of my mind
Starting my day, I’ve pushed you out of the way

Here in the waking world I remember how to forget
A smile crosses my lips