Peter's Will

Well, I know I haven't posted on blogger for a long time, but in the instance that you missed the news I published my book on paperback, here it is.

Dear russellpennwright.blogspot.com readers

I want you to know that you are awesome and I thank you for being with me through the years, through my Asian Athletes blog, through my movie blogs, and now through russellpennwright.blogspot.com. I write to you this to inform you that I have moved my author page to a new website:

http://russellpennwright.wordpress.com

Thank you for the years of readership and patience. I am writing a lot more these days and I am trying to get another book published.

Humbly yours,

Russell Pennwright

Wow, my novel in Amazon Japan!

I never even knew about this. I wish I could read in Japanese. It is kind of cool. I absolutely love it.

The Prince of the Shadow Warriors

My Newfound Love For Tweeting

I have been on twitter since 2010, but only now have I actually used it to this degree. I realized that twitter is fun, giving me an opportunity to interact with people who know more than me about certain subjects. It has given me a brand new perspective on social media.

The layout of twitter has greatly improved over the years and it has made the website easier to use. I commend the twitter team on increasing the word limit on tweets. This definitely is one of the reasons why I had began to like tweeting more and more. I suddenly find myself not worrying about word counts. 

The people on twitter are great passionate people who like to learn just like me. It was all serious for me back in the day, which is probably why I never got to appreciate what twitter actually can do: that is, to learn more than to teach. And, in the past, I was teaching; however, teaching can also be learning when one is humble and is willing to admit to himself that he may not know everything. It has indeed been a humbling experience.

Are You Kidding Me, Ekaterina Vandaryeva?

Looking for some cool kickboxing clips for some updates about the kickboxing world, I stumbled upon a female boxer named Ekaterina Vandaryeva. I couldn't believe that anyone this beautiful could be a kickboxer. It is something definitely not common. Simply unbelievable: like a supermodel, like an angel. 

I know, I know. It is not like anything I had ever posted, even back in the day on my other website. But, boy, I am simply just surprised. And, rightfully so, she deserves the claim to be called 'The World's Sexiest Boxer'.

Why or why Microsoft Word?

It is an oddity, to me, that no matter how many writing programs there may be, and, I had indeed tried many of them, I end up going back to Microsoft Word. There is just no substitute. If indeed there are other writing programs out there that you think is better, please feel free to share. 

Movies: Red Sparrow, Death Wish, Annihilation

I saw all of these movies in the last 3 days or so and I must say that despite all the hoopla, only one movie managed to entertain me. I will let you be the guessers here on which one I like. And, many of my readers practically know what floats my boat.

I do watch a lot of movies, mostly on my spare time when I am not writing these days, and, I do seem to be doing a lot of writing these days; I hope to publish another book this year or so.

In all, I do think that it has not been a good start to movies in 2018, as the only movies out there, with an exception of the blockbuster 'The Black Panther', have simply stood out as a film that can make you go 'Wow!'

I say this in the outmost respect: much of the films I have seen are quite slow and are quite difficult to follow. A viewer should never have to say to himself, "What in the world is going on?"

Almost New Year

I want to thank all of my readers who had continued to follow me after all these years. I have not been doing as much writing as I should, but I have been doing some from time-to-time whenever I get some free time. I could say that 2017 had been quite an experience for me.

Thank you for your support for my only book. I wish I had published more manuscripts, but for some reason, it never happened. Perhaps, in the future, I will publish more titles to come.


Read an excerpt of my novel: Click Here

Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle

As I entered the theater today, I was very skeptical about seeing this film, having prejudices about it because of the original film, Jumanji, which starred Robin Williams and Kirsten Dunst. I really thought that it was lame putting Dwayne Johnson in such a role. Was I wrong? Yes, I was. I not only loved Dwayne Johnson in the film, but I commend him for being brave for taking the role of the geeky strong guy.

Karen Gillan, Jack Black, and Kevin Hart all did a superb job in bringing the movie to the golden screen. It may not be roles in which they will win an Oscar for or any award for that matter, but they definitely deserve a round of applause for making the chemistry between them work. I will watch this film again, in fact.

Defending Star Wars: The Last Jedi

For people who watched the Film:

Well, like everything in the world, you can't please everyone; however, since there are some critics on the movie that didn't like the new installment, I must say that I can't blame them because I can understand how it somehow lacked its prototypical warriors' journey.  For instance, the transition of Luke Skywalker from hero to a somewhat cowardice figure who got soft and couldn't cope with his nephew turning evil seemed a little off character to many people. His father was Darth Vader, for goodness sakes, and, he just gives up on the Jedi, the way of life in which he lived after all those years? Really?

But, if we really dig down to the core, Luke Skywalker in episode 8 is not the same as the Luke we all know from episodes 4,5,6. He is now an old man, all battered up from the battles of the past. We must construct that he may have seen his nephew, Kylo Ren, as his last hope for the way of the Jedi to survive. So, when he felt that Kylo was becoming more evil, naturally, he must have panicked because he would have interpreted it as the same transition his father, Darth Vader, underwent in the past. 

Episode 9, hopefully, clears much of the questions that episode 8 left behind. But, in terms of its worthiness in the spectrum of the Star Wars franchise, I am not disappointed.

Almost Christmas

Relaxing 

Well, as the year comes near to a close, it is almost time for Christmas once again. Many would say that Christmas is just another holiday, but it is much more than that. It is the time that we actually realize that we need other to be happy. Sure, we might actually know that subconsciously already, but for certain, it is on Christmas that we do actually hope that someone is thinking of us to hope for some kind of present on Christmas day, even if indeed that gift is just a pair of socks. We can hope for something more, but a gift indeed can just about bring out a smile, even in a form of disappointment because we never got the gift that we had hoped for to get. But, instead, we get a pair of socks.

The Random Nice Man

As I walked at the cross section this morning, I came across random people who walked to the opposite direction I was going to. And, in the mix, there was an elderly woman struggling to cross the street. Then, out of nowhere, it seemed, a rugged looking man appeared. He didn't seem like the type who would help an elderly woman cross the street that's for sure. But, he did.

It had left such an impression upon me that I still think about it 12 hours later. This shows that you just never know which person has a pure heart.

I hadn't found anything to write about until that very moment this morning. I was so touched by the care that the man showed to the elderly woman that for some unknown reason I had started to tear a little. Kind of sounds cliché, but it is what it is. It is those kinds of moments that makes a person realize that no matter how cruel the world may seem sometimes, there are good people that make the world a better place every day.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

I have a love-hate relationship with Star Wars. No matter how I try not to watch it, I end up seeing it anyway. For some reason, I always get swayed into watching it. Perhaps, I never quite understood why I liked it before. Growing up, I always thought that the themes in the series were too complex, probably because there are too many characters that even now I can't name them all. But, as a screenwriting student years ago, I began to understand why people love 'Star Wars'.....

I don't want to get into too much details because being a screenwriting graduate, I could go on forever about structure, character personas, and setting, etc. There's a reason why they teach screenwriting. Just like everything else in this world: there are right and wrong ways to do things. I just feel that learning screenwriting structure is not for everyone because it will change one's perspective on movies. Well, that being said, I must be the first one to admit that the creators of 'Star Wars' have mastered how to make people care about the characters. That is part of the aura that makes the entire series enticing to many viewers and readers of the saga. It goes beyond the cool outfits, the cool fighting scenes, and the bad ass villains.

I am also a big fan of Felicity Jones, so there is no way I am going to miss this new film in which she is the major character in.

INFERNO: Movie

Tom Hanks is a great actor. There is no question, but I am a bit disappointed with the movie in general because it is just so far off from the "Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons"...... Perhaps, it may be because it is one of which I had never read the book version of. It seemed, to me, superficial. Don't get me wrong. I happen to like the previous two installments of the Langdon character in movie form, but something was definitely missing in this one. 

The movie is doing well in the box office, mostly because the Langdon character in "Inferno" is played by Tom Hanks. I don't want to give any spoilers to those who had not seen the movie. I just want to know if other people feel the same way after seeing the movie.

Watch the movie and tell me what you think.

Dear Readers:

To those who followed my sports blog page, I humbly had to delete it because I simply don't have the time to actually do any kind of research for the said topic.

Humbly,

Russell Pennwright

Andrew Carnegie's Best Quote

Probably one of the truest quotes out there. It's simple, but yet powerful words said by a truly great and wise man. 

To Learn more about Carnegie, click link

Ghostbusters Revamped?

1989 Poster  

With the new Ghostbusters movie's filming having come to an end, I am still uncertain of what to truly feel about this new movie. I don't want to know the plot nor do I want to know how it's gotten all twisted, but the characters Venkman, Stantz, Spengler, and Winston are what makes the Ghostbusters what it is. If you twist it all up, it's not the Ghostbusters anymore. It becomes something different.

Perhaps, they could have called it something different or they could have created something out of the Ghostbusters franchise. No disrespect to Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig. They are very talented actresses, but even so, it just doesn't feel right to change up the Ghostbusters so much.

Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos

I was hesitant to watch this because it's a Spanish-speaking movie.

It's not often that I leave the theater with a smile these days, but with this movie, I did. It's simple, direct to the point, and very enjoyable. And, most of all, fun which is what is lacking even in many movies for kids these days.

The thing that I liked about the movie is that it depicts the hero's journey really well. Everything revolves around the main character including the actions of the supporting characters. Needless to say, it's all about ToTo.

Disney's The Jungle Book

This is one remake that I'm actually looking forward to. The problem I had with the 1994 live action version was that the main character was portrayed as a grown man. As far as I've always known "The Jungle Book" has always portrayed him as a boy. So, it's nice to see a more traditional portrayal of the main character. I'm glad that Disney has finally come to their senses. Bravo!

I will sure add this to my must watch movie list.

Suddenly, I feel Inspired

This song gives me goosebumps.