A short response to Peanut Butter Falcon- no spoilers!

At some point before watching a movie months and months ago a trailer for The Peanut Butter Falcon played and, well, they had me at peanut butter. I’m just being honest. As the trailer went, I was more and more into it. The synopsis as it showed in the trailer wasn’t about some specific huge dramatic event, but just showing bits and pieces of the journey the characters were on. Here’s the trailer.

The movie stars Zack Gottsagen, Shia LaBeouf, and Dakota Johnson.

What an adventure they went on. Having a Down Syndrome sister, I’m always curious how the acting will be with a Down Syndrome actor. I’ll explain. When I talk with my sister, there are certain natural ways she’ll respond and react. Just like everyone actually haha So when an actor has lines in a movie, the writers job (and the actors) is to make that character seem as real as real life, does that make sense? It’s not Leonardo DiCaprio playing a poor boy who snuck onto the Titanic, we’re watching Jack on the adventure of his life.

So when Zack is performing in this movie, will it be the way a person with Down syndrome would naturally respond, or did it come across as reading lines? That’s something else I think when I see kid actors in movies or on TV. Sometimes you can tell the lines are written by adults because kids would never say the things they end up having to say as scripted. Well, after watching, Zack did an amazing job! It was fun to follow along with his adventure in the movie. There were moments I was laughing, cheering, and even my heart breaking when he was delivering his lines, it was truly great!

Then there’s Shia LaBeouf. I’ve been a fan since “Even Stevens” on the Disney Channel way back when. He’s definitely one of my favorite actors and in this movie, he didn’t disappoint. Same with Zack, there are certain ways people will react to things in real life, and it’s a director/writer/actor’s job to capture that in an acting role. For Shia, he’s just so darn believable. He reacts the way a person in real life would react and I love that about him. Check the trailer at 1:58 and notice Shia’s reaction to what Zack was doing. I guarantee you the script didn’t say- “bounce up and down slightly,” but Shia reacts how most people would in that situation. It’s just so real and natural. There are a few scenes where he, Zack, and Dakota are  floating on a raft and the conversations were like they didn’t rehearse at all. It was just 3 people talking who happened to be part of a movie. I hope that makes sense! Shia has always acted that way, it’s why I liked him in Even Stevens.

So the acting is great, including Dakota who played the more straight, strict character. The movie overall is one you need to see. Note that there is some language so it’s not best suited for young kids, but the message is fantastic and heartwarming, down to the very last scene which I really want to mention, but I won’t. Just rent it or get it from the library or stream it or whatever you need to do to watch it. Afterwards, let me know what you think.

I’m off to get a spoonful of peanut butter, thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness

A white woman has a 66% chance of winning the Bachelor this season

The new season is almost upon us and with all the busyness of the December holidays, episode 1 has definitely snuck up on me. This season has Peter in the cockpit with not 25, but 30!!!! ladies calmly buckled in as his love passengers. Does anyone know when they switched from 25 to 30 contestants? I mean, goodness gracious that’s a lot! I vaguely remember one season a few years back they promoted it as having 5 more than usual, but it seems like the norm to have 30 now.

Here’s a list of the contestants if you care to take a look.

Breaking it down by the numbers, there are 7 woman who look to be black or at least mixed race, 3 of Asian decent, and the rest white, 20.

Of those white ladies, 9 are brunette, 10 are blonde, and 1 is a red-head.

If my math is correct, and it rarely ever was in school, that gives a white woman around a 67% chance of winning, a black woman has a 23% chance, and the Asian ladies are at 10%. But numbers don’t really matter when it comes to love. Peter takes flight Monday night and I’m sure there will be dozens of flight/pilot/airline jokes so please return your seat to it’s upright position, turn off all your devices, and let’s fly the friendly skies of The Bachelor together.

If you’re interested in reading recaps of each new episode, kindly respond below to let me know!

-Out of the Wilderness

 

 

Top Posts of 2019

Another year down, and 2020 has already started flying by! Before we get too far into it (and I forget to do this…) here’s the top posts from 2019. Thanks to everyone who stopped by! I absolutely love writing, although if you follow this blog and check it regularly, there are times where weeks go by without a post. Sometimes I just don’t have what I think is something worthy of writing. I’ll try to be better about that this year. In all, I had 89 new posts in 2019. To be honest, my favorites are the original satire I wrote in the fall. But anywho, here are some stats!

Top 3 Most-Viewed Posts All Time: 

The Woman in Omi’s “Cheerleader” Music Video (post date- July 15, 2015). Views- 6,294

Uptown Funk: Smoother Than A Fresh Jar of Skippy Explained (post date- February 15, 2015). Views- 3,119

The Woman in Brett Young’s “In Case You Didn’t Know” (post date- April 8, 2017). Views- 2,149

Top 3 Most-Viewed Posts from 2019:

12 Songs for Being Laid Off or Fired (post date- April 25). Views- 1,236

GEICO and Jerome Bettis Fumble on New TV Spot (post date- August 29). Views- 264

17 Songs for Being Laid Off or Fired (post date- April 25). Views- 208

 

Thanks again, and be sure to check back in for new and just as exciting posts in 2020!

-Out of the Wilderness

Do you like any cover songs better than the originals?

There are quite a few songs I’ve heard that were simply remakes of an older version. An easy one to use as an example is “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” Everyone and their mother knows this song was made popular by Elvis Presley.


But this isn’t the version I heard first. For me, it was the recording by UB40 that I fell in love with in the early 1990s.


There are other songs, too, that are only a newer artists take on an old classic. So my question is this:

Does a person generally like the first version they hear of a song, even if it’s not the original artist singing it?

Alien Ant Farm “Smooth Criminal,” Boyz II Men “In the Still of the Night,” Jeff Buckley “Hallelujah,” Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You,” and Sinead O’Connor “Nothing Compares 2 U” are arguably better covers than the originals, along with many, many other songs. If you heard these first, would you think they’re better than Michael Jackson, The Five Satins, Leonard Cohen, Dolly Parton, and Prince’s originals?

What are your thoughts? Do you have a few cover favorites you like better than the original? Chime in below!

-Out of the Wilderness

It was a…. what???

I was standing in the kitchen of my house and felt something I didn’t expect to feel at this particular moment. Five minutes prior, I was lying on the couch watching an episode of Lost In Space. After the dramatic last few minutes, I clicked off the TV and thought about preparing for bedtime. That’s when I felt it.

Something was crawling on the back of my neck, much to my dislike. I thought to myself… “Gosh, I really hope this is just a……” WAIT! There is absolutely nothing I could hope this was. I swiped at it, flinging it to the kitchen floor. Yep, everyone’s worst nightmare. A baby roach. And I’ll save you time; according to Google, a baby roach is called a nymph. Well, this was more of a toddler than a baby, but yikes.

What’s the worst thing that’s happened to you? At least now, after this story, you may can say to yourself, “At least I didn’t have a roach crawling on my neck!”

-Out of the Wilderness