About Me

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Hi, my name is Jonathan Denard McNeair and I grew up in Lexington, North Carolina, also known as Pig City...Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha, Ha...The town is mostly known for its barbeque where they often throw barbeque festivals every October. In my chosen career, I am a self-published author of fiction.
Showing posts with label True To Be Kind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label True To Be Kind. Show all posts

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Anne Rice Tribute

 


I know I'm a little late on this but I would like to pay tribute to the one and only Anne Rice. Through her writing, she is one of those writers that taught me to be a better writer and to give her the utmost gratitude I present to you my review of her best work of fiction

Rest In Peace, Anne Rice:

https://thestoriesofjdandivy.blogspot.com/2020/06/interview-with-vampire-1994.html

https://thestoriesofjdandivy.blogspot.com/2020/07/queen-of-damned-2002.html

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Update




It's a new dawn, it's a new day, and it's a new year...
Speaking of a new year, I meant to release my second Manhattan Girls novel in December of 2019 but I guess life got in the way where I had to delay some things. But fear not my fellow readers, I am almost, almost finished. I have just a few more chapters to write. By that time, I'll get it edited and before you know it...boom! It'll be all complete. So stay tuned...
On top of that, I'll be doing some book to movie reviews such as She-Devil starring Roseanne Barr and Meryl Streep and Interview with the Vampire and It's sequel Queen Of The Damned starring the late, great Aaliyah alongside The Anatomy of Riverdale: Season 2.
So be sure to leave a comment if you may.
Until then, have a great new year.
See you soon...

Friday, April 3, 2015

The Thing With Remakes







I meant to make this a short overview but somehow this turned out to be a rant/discussion instead. There have been a slew of remakes lately and it's gotten kind of out of control almost like it's a marketing ploy. It 's been a hit or miss in some movies, however it's been mostly a miss. Statistics show that Hollywood since the coming decade has literally run out of original ideas. This isn't always the case all the time but, trust me you guys, compare to the horror movies or movies in general back in the 70's, 80's, and 90's and the movies of modern times. Without a doubt, there is just no original ideas that pop out anymore. No movies that pop out or stand the test of time. I know I'm being a little overdramatic, however, it's only my opinion. There are some movies that heighten our expectations  though you get your occasional remake, reboot, re-imagining, re-do, redux, it never ends. This have been trending since the 90's and I am a firm lover of the 90's though that's not really the issue. People will eventually keep making remakes whether it's necessary or not(like the recent re-do of Poltergeist I might add). The problem is the people behind the movies don't put any sort of thought or passion into the project or any respect for the original. I feel like if the filmmakers doesn't know what they're doing, what's the point of remaking the film at all. If somebody took the time to re-evaluate what was missing from the original and put on a new perspective on the new material, I'll probably give a lot of respect towards that filmmaker. I want to keep this short and simple because I know I have a lot of remakes to review though since there are so many I can only review a quarter amount that I have which is about 18 or so and that's a lot. And maybe in the future, I can make a vol.2 to this.
So that's pretty much all my venting into this whole remake phenomenon. And I'll be sure to hope to go on with the reviews as much as I can, this isn't an easy task. So wish me luck!

Monday, January 27, 2014

Misunderstood Women: Miley Cyrus and The Rise and Fall Of The Teen Idol



I haven't been doing this for a while, so this is a two-way topic with the budding stardom of Miley Cyrus and the analyzing of former teen stars.


By the past year, people have been ranting and raving about how wild Miley Cyrus has become. But has anyone seen her make an idiot of herself? Did anyone seen her dancing on tables or flashing her crotch area in public places? No.


It's all because she was twerking on a guy's clothed penis at the VMAs. Everybody acted like that was the most shocking thing in the world, but just to remind people, that was a Performance. And it was probably rehearsed and everything. By the way, a lot of unexpected things happened at the VMAs, so certain people need to get used to that. Not long before this, Miley Cyrus have been trying to break away from the whole Hanna Montana thing and branch out a new image for herself.



Like many examples before her, like Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera, these young stars had to take risks, even if it meant putting on an outrageous performance at the VMAs. People need to give into the fact that sex sells in this industry. But not all pop stars have to be overtly sexual and provocative.



Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Swift still maintain their girl-next-door image but even they are able to take risks by being a little edgy. Considering Taylor Swift likes to write about her ex-boyfriends, it would be cool if she wrote about cutting a guy's dick off and feeding it to the dogs, because her songs might come pretty close to that in the future.
It's not just in music that Former Teen Stars take big risks, there are also actresses who are willing to do more scandalous roles to be taken seriously. And in this day in age, Child stars and teen stars are gonna grow up and if they don't do something to wow it's new adult audience, they're going to fade out. It's about taking risk and it's not about being the next sexpot or anything. Doing these kinds of edgy roles whether if it involves nudity, albeit artistically not sleazy I must add, or brassy like playing an ax murderer or drug addict.


I mean Anne Hathaway did such heavy adult roles such as Havoc, Brokeback Mountain, and Love And Other Drugs, and now she's an Oscar winner.



There are actually two Disney stars that are branching out in a new way, which are Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens.


As they both star in the overtly raunchy, highly violent Spring Breakers. Yes, it's surprising to see Selena Gomez in a movie like this but I think it is opening doors to more mature roles. Although, she had a misstep with Getaway, I'm sure she'll get much notable roles in the future. But the real showstopper is Vanessa Hudgens. She is now getting into more gritter roles and even getting rave reviews in films like The Frozen Ground and The aforementioned Spring Breakers. She is so committed, in fact, that she is willing to chop off her hair and wear grungy clothes in the movie Gimmie Shelter. I surely think that Vanessa Hudgens is going places and is more than just a pretty face.
So let's talk about boy bands and pretty boys. The boy band fad isn't really relevant like it use to be.



The recent breakup of such bands as The Jonas Brothers and The Wanted, It shows that the world just doesn't care about this trend anymore.


And in a few years, One Direction might be on the same boat. Yeah, they might do something edgy or brassy to appeal to their older fanbase, like New Kids On The Block did in the mid-nineties, but by the end of the day, they're just not going to hit the mark. Furthermore, they're just so.....boring. What made the boy bands so popular back in the day, is because they had different personalities, different styles, different quirks. But One Direction is just not appealing enough to climb bigger mountains. Yes, they are really cute, attractive boys, but they're just so bland and interchangeable. They have the same hair, they have the same clothes, they even sing the same songs. By the next year or so, their little fangirls just won't care anymore.
Though the real hot topic of this is......


Justin Bieber

Now I really didn't have a problem with Justin Bieber at first. He was just a harmless teen idol popstar, even though, his music isn't really all that good. I mean he really didn't deserved to be mega popular in my opinion. But up until now, he has become incredibly unlikeable and annoying. Before I talk about the arrest everyone's raving about, let me explain the close calls Mr. Bieber had prior to the DUI. First, he peed in a janitor's bucket. That's strike one and it's surprising he didn't get arrested for public urination. Also, Neighbors complained about his wild antics, including his feud with fellow neighbor Keyshawn Johnston. That's strike two. Then, there was a time where he did illegal graffiti and causing a ruckus in Brazil. That's strike three. AND then there was the recent drug bust at his house, though he didn't get arrested, the cops has confiscated his personal items that are still possibly under investigation. And according to some rumors, his cellphone might have nude photos of underage girls. That's the final strike.


Now it has come to this, and there is no given fact that Justin Bieber is turning into examples such as Leif Garret, Aaron Carter, and unfortunately, Corey Haim. And I just can't help but to compare him to Chris Brown, I mean, hell, they even did a collaboration once. And then there a few additional examples with Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes, two actresses I used to like but at least they're trying to get their act together. If Justin Bieber continues on this path of destruction, there is no point of no return...And I quite frankly don't care.


As much as Justin Bieber annoys me these days, judging from the details of the arrest, I see the bigger picture.


According to news reports, Jeremy Bieber (that's Justin Bieber's father) blocked all the roadways, just so his son could drag race, EVEN THOUGH, he is under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs. Then he later rants about how "unfair" the media is portraying Justin. Now I see who's the real idiot in this situation. Parents of child stars has got to know the limits of their son or daughter unexpected stardoms and the hardships of Hollywood. If the child star is suddenly growing up to be this badass with legal problems and reckless behavior, then it's only going to ruin their careers.


This is the wrong way of taking risks and I doubt if Justin Bieber will have any success again after Pretty boys like Austin Manhone and Ross Lynch are now taking the shot at the spotlight.
Oh well, It is what it is and it's a classic story of when you lose your reputation and that cute harmless image, Hollywood can chew you up and spit you out.











 

Monday, August 15, 2011