Knock at the Cabin wasn't terrible, it just wasn't good. 

*Spoiler Alert*

Directed by M. Night Shamalamadingdong a.k.a. M. Night Shyamalan, Knock At the Cabin had potential with an interesting story based on Paul Tremblay's book The Cabin at the End of the World. (We know how I feel about his writing.) 

A gay couple and their young daughter are vacationing at a remote cabin in the woods, and four armed strangers knock at the cabin and tell them they have to make a decision to avoid an apocalypse. They have to sacrifice one of themselves to save the world. Note: They can't commit suicide, it has to be an agreed on choice. The four strangers know this because even though they lead very different lifestyles, they all had the same vision of the world ending.

Of course, initially, the dads don't make a choice which results in the first signs of the end of the world...AND of the four strangers, one of them has to die by the hand of the other three... and so on until the last stranger kills himself because the family won't decide, and a rain of fire touches the earth. Not until that happens, do the dads come to a decision. The dad with the temper kills the other dad. Since the other dad sees the future with his daughter living happily, he knows she will be fine and chooses death. Plot twist, THERE IS NO PLOT TWIST. Honestly it would have been better with a twist.

They describe the four strangers as the four horsemen, and they are the aspects of humanity: malice, healing, nurturing, and guidance. I knew them as war, famine, pestilence, and death, so this threw me.

A big first chunk of the movie is a slow burn to explain the premise, only it wasn't really explained. Why did the horsemen come with homemade weapons? Why did the horsemen have to kill one of themselves? Why were they chosen? Why wasn't the president notified of the upcoming tragedies? Why didn't the horsemen get therapy, and why didn't the therapists contact the police? Does this happen all over the world, because the plagues etc. happened all over the world? How often is a family picked to decide the world's demise? So many questions, not enough answers. Oh, and one of the plagues looks like Covid 19. It builds to nothing and remains anticlimactic.

I was waiting for something to happen. There is only hinted at gore and some camera angles are odd. Rupert Grint and Dave Bautista are excellent in it, but not enough to save humanity...er I mean the movie. I give it 2 grasshoppers out of 5.

Trailer below...

Witch history throughout countries and cities, how can this book be bad? Well I'm not going to lie, I had a hard time reading it and almost didn't finish it, and it's not because of the subject matter...

I was excited to dig into Witch Hunt A Traveler's Guide to the Power & Persecution of the Witch by Kristen J Sollee, after all it was recommended by Pam Grossman, who I love. I've reviewed Sollee's books before, and again the same problem cropped up in this one...SHE NEEDS PICTURES, or at the very least a map! 

Each chapter of the book is named after the cities she visited, all of them with a history of witch persecutions, most of them European. It comes off as more of her personal travel diary, filled in with quotes from scholarly books on witch history or feminism. She constantly reminds the reader of the juxtaposition of contemporary life she's surrounded by vs. what a sacred place she's in. Let's not forget how many times she tells the reader she's already been to Europe. We get it, you're a second generation witch and educator, you have experience with witches, no need to remind us in almost every chapter. I found it pretentious. To the uninitiated, her witch history would get lost, not enough explanations of the persecution of witches, who they were, the power they held, and the consequences. Did I mention it's also filled in with overly descriptive romantic narration and descriptions of "visions" she has of the past? I rolled my eyes. It's hard to read when you're rolling your eyes. 

It would have been better with a map to highlight the locations she traveled to. She writes about snapping photos, it would have been nice to see them, or even pictures of what she's talking about. There is a reference at the back of the book of places to note, museums, shops, and memorials etc. and a bibliography of all the books she references. It stills feels like it's lacking. I'd say stick to her other books and pass on this one unless you are planning a trip to Europe and want to find witchy locations, then use the Travel Resource section at the back.

Based on the 2012 book A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman, A Man Called Otto is a sweet drama that needs a trigger warning for suicide! Based on what I heard, I was really hoping there was more cat in it, but it was still a decent watch.

I saw it at my favorite movie theater in town, The North Park Theatre, a historical landmark in Buffalo, NY. And if you didn't know, this movie is supposed to take place in Pennsylvania, but it was filmed in Niagara Falls, NY! A hop skip and a jump from where I live. (If you've ever been to Buffalo, we'll tell you everything is 20 minutes away by car, and it's true!)

***WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD***

Tom Hanks is Otto, an octogenarian curmudgeon, the total opposite of his portrayal of Mister Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019). Otto has recently lost his wheelchair bound wife to cancer and feels he has no reason to live anymore. He decides to take his life, but his plan gets upended by new neighbors moving in across the street... and a stray cat. While the new family is a charming distraction, the cat isn't really part of the movie. He's in the background and there's a tiny bit of story surrounding him ~ Otto protects him from the bitchy neighbor with a dog ~ but you don't even find out if he's given the cat a name! I was hoping the story would be more of the cat giving him something to live for, and, while that's true, the family, and friends were more of the impetuous for him to keep going. Miserable Otto continues to try to kill himself throughout the movie in various ways, but always ends up failing because of the humanity from the people around him or his own kindness. When he makes these attempts, you see his life in flashbacks and begin to understand his reasoning. In his last attempt, he has a vision from his wife, and she tells him to keep living, so he does. Without being prompted he steps up and helps one of her old students, his long time neighbor, and of course the family across the street in truly thoughtful ways. He has a purpose beyond his wife now, and he continues to live and find his place without her in it. When the time comes, he dies peacefully from a chronic heart condition.

I enjoyed this movie. While I'm used to watching period dramas, bloody horror, and musicals, it was a nice change. The acting is superb, especially the contrast of Otto's character and everyone surrounding him. The story, although sad, has some funny and feel good parts that they show in the trailer, I just really wanted more cat. There's a part where he attacks a clown, that is valid, and very comical. I give this movie four tuna cans out of five.

p.s. If you or anyone you know is in distress and has thoughts of suicide, you can call 988. It will route you to the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It's 24/7 and confidential.

Here's the trailer...

Thank you for continuing to follow me, so far it's been 6 years 💗 I don't write as much as when I started, but that doesn't mean I'm not still passionate about cats and horror! Enter to win my 6 year prize pack, description and rules below...

Prizes include:

1. Vincent Price Art Print by Little Shop of Gore, framed.

2. Acrylic Bat Necklace by Murderous Jewels.

3. The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay, hardcover.

4. Bat Bag by GoreJess Laboratory.

5. Silver Cat Earrings.

6. Bookmark to go with all your books from Little Black Bats.

7. An English Ghost Story by Kim Newman.

8. 25th Anniversary Edition of Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman.

9. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

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Wednesday, February 15 and they'll be contacted via Facebook. *Sorry only US residents.