Mind Sieve 05/06/22

News/Musings	StoryOrigin Swap 1
Mini Movie Reviews	Movie/Show Previews
StoryOrigin Swaps 2	Just for Fun!
Out of the Past Giveaway	Sci-Fi Adventures Giveaway
Pets of Cozy Mysteries Giveaway

Greetings!

May is here! Can you believe it? Raining cats and dogs! 🌧

News/Musings

Speaking of dogs… The family suffered a loss on 5/4/22. Our beloved dog, Serenity, had to be put down. She was a runt when my daughter and her husband got her, but she quickly grew into a massive dog! But she was super friendly, spoiled rotten (John, I’m looking at you), and was a big part of the family.

Photo of our dog, Serenity

Serenity always had minor health issues as she’d been the runt of the litter, but she got checked frequently. (Allergies, skin rashes, ear problems, etc.)
By the time we realized something was up with her health, and though the vet mentioned we did catch it early, the cancer was so virulent, that it was already too late to do anything about it. 😭 So they had to put her down. We’re all taking it rather hard, especially as it was so unexpected. 😭

Extra stuff I’ve shoved in here:

1) Two StoryOrigin Swaps (Freebies!)

2) Three May Giveaways (more Freebies!)

More deets on all of these in their sections. 😊

StoryOrigin Swap 1 (Freebie!)

The Forgotten Mystery

How it all began…

The Forgotten Mystery takes us back in time two years to Wren’s very first murder mystery, the day she first got her cat Gracie, a day that was wiped from her mind. But why was it taken from her? And was her first mystery a success or a failure? Find out in this funny, intriguing little cozy mystery.

Time is running out and there’s no turning back.

Mini Movie Reviews 🎥

★ – Why did I go see this? Why?!

★★ – Showed promise but on execution, crashed

★★★ – Enjoyable, just don’t look under the hood too closely

★★★★ – A great film, totally worth seeing!

★★★★★ – 🤯 Too fabulous for words!

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Prime yourself for a crazy trip! The beginning is slow, trying to show the audience the humdrum life of Evelyn Wang. Then the whole thing goes sideways. Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan (Short Round!!!!), Stephanie Hsu, Gong Gong, and especially Jamie Lee Curtis, were fabulous! The turning-on-a-dime character portrayals were fantastic as alternates took over. Some super bizarre humor is thrown in as well, making fun of a ton of things. It shows how hubby and I do differ in some of our tastes as while I thought the film was great, he was not as excited about it when it was over. 😋 Worth watching for the acting and craziness alone! Lol.

Rating: ★★★★ out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Better for Matinee)

The Batman

Yes, we finally saw it. There were things about it I did love, while there were other things that were odd or just meh. The chemistry between Batman and Catwoman was great! It totally sizzled. Though it was super weird they kept calling him vengeance rather than Batman. This new tendency of making the main characters dress like crap and be unkempt is beyond me. Bruce Wayne is a millionaire, he has no reason not to have t-shirts without holes! Long hair will get you killed during combat (imagine the long bangs getting into his eyes as Batman – no way to move it! LOL). The Batmobile was underwhelming. Loved the rocket engine, but just stuffing it into a muscle car seemed unimaginative. I did like the broodiness as that was very much like the comics back in the day. Nothing new was really explored, but if you’ve nothing better to do, it might be worth a watch. 😝

Rating: ★★★.5 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission.)

The Bad Guys

This film was as fun as it looked in the previews! Think Ocean Eleven as an animated film, with more heartstring-pulling. 😁 For Lupin the 3rd fans, there’s one scene where Wolf leaps with a bag of cash in the exact pose Lupin does. It was awesome!
There are some surprises, emotional discoveries, and lots of one-upmanships. They explore the concepts of what you look like vs. who you are, amongst second chances, and other things. It was a lot of fun.

Rating: ★★★★ out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission!)

The Secrets of Dumbledore

Overall, we enjoyed the film. I love Mads Mikkelsen, and while he did a fabulous job, the muted eye color differences, and Johnny Depp’s previous work on the character weren’t all there to better merge with the last film.

The lack of Tina’s presence, despite the flimsy excuse given for her absence, for one of the biggest problems ever to confront the Wizarding World, really took away a lot. Though the character of Lally Hicks was a riot, she was still not the character we expected to be hand in hand with Newt to solve this mess (especially as her sister had been dragged into it!) They also never explained how Jacob’s wand activated magic he did not throw. Far as we know, you have to be touching your wand to use it, and since he has no magic, Jacob could not initiate a spell. (Maybe they can pre-program one?)

While enjoyable, it didn’t seem as well thought out as the previous films. With all the weirdness between the film company, Rowling, and Depp, I suppose it shouldn’t have been a surprise.

Rating: ★★★.75 out of 5 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission to See Again!)

Movie Previews 🎥

Obi-Wan Kenobi Official Trailer – this one has more info than the last one. I can’t wait! 6 episode series.

Last Seen Alive Movie Trailer – could be interesting.

Memory Trailer – first time I’ve seen a trailer on this one, though I think it’s out?

Story Origin Swap 2 (Freebie)

Talisman of El

WHAT IF YOUR WHOLE LIFE WAS A LIE?

One Planet.

Two Worlds.

Population: Human … 7 billion.
Others … unknown.

When 14-year-old Charlie Blake wakes up sweating and gasping for air in the middle of the night, he knows it is happening again. This time he witnesses a brutal murder. He’s afraid to tell anyone. No one would believe him… because it was a dream. Just like the one he had four years ago — the day before his dad died.

Charlie doesn’t know why this is happening. He would give anything to have an ordinary life. The problem: he doesn’t belong in the world he knows as home.

He belongs with the others.