Ethan Parke Author Blog

 It was clear that The Mandalorian and Grogu was intended to be a fourth season of the series, made into a movie at the last minute. I personally would have preferred if more characters from the series appeared in the movie, but they were either killed in the last season, got fired, or died in real life. The opening scene with the walkers was fun, and the battle at the end was OK, but it was clearly intended as a TV series first, or maybe nobody prepared to make a spinoff movie. Because it was a blockbuster, I think the next one will be more like a movie.  Not much is revealed about the next Star Wars standalone movie, Star Wars: Starfighter, except the cast and that it takes place five years after Rise of the Skywalker. It has a good cast with Ryan Gosling and Amy Adams and directed by the one of the directors of Stranger Things, but whatever Disney's plans are, I accepted that chances are there will never be a Star Wars movie as good as the first three.  Star Wars was i...

 Sorry, I haven't blogged in a while, but I'm back to it.  I didn't play a lot of Mortal Kombat when I was a kid and when I did it was at friends' houses. Even so, I enjoyed the fight scenes in the 1995 movie, and it was the same in the last movie in 2021. When I saw bait for a sequel, I had a feeling it would be the same, and when I saw Karl Urban was going to play Johnny Cage, I got a little excited. It was not only because Karl was in my favorite movie, because in truth all actors in Lord of the Rings are, and another way to describe him is an underrated legend. Like with the other Mortal Kombat movies I've seen, the action scenes were fun, and Johnny's banter was fun. I liked the way they attempted to make us relate to Johnny by having him be an out of work action movie actor, feeling defeated, and see that he had a universe to protect.  In the Covert Militia Campaigns, Jack Stamper's only desire is to play hard rock music, while the Third World War inte...

 Normal was much like the nobody movies, with Bob Odenkirk playing a former assassin with a troubled life, ending up in a massive battle, after taking an interim job as a sherif in a small Minnesota town. It was clear from the beginning that he was eager to atone for his past acts, particularly when he talked with his wife he was not answering. It was weird seeing the mayor played by Henry Winkler in an action movie, because it's impossible not to separate him from The Fonze, but it was fun seeing him get shot with a grenade launcher. The people initially thought to be bank robbers also repented, when they saw that the town was allied to the Yakuza, and Odenkirk teamed with the deceased sheriff's daughter who eager to make up for his mistakes, and in the end, he was able to reconcile and speak with his wife.  It was clear the theme of the movie was atonement, and that is a major theme in my latest book, The Loathsome Serpent. In the Covert Militia's Third Campaign, Jack Sta...

 I remember having a good time going to see the last Mario movie, and I had a good time see the Galaxy one this weekend. The best comedy was the interaction between Mario and the shrunken Bowser, and the way they met all the other Nintendo characters. I also liked the love letter to everything Nintendo, that we saw in the background and foreground. Critics may have disdained it, but everyone seeing it in the theater with me clearly enjoyed it. I know many people who would be glad Mario didn't have to rescue the princess like he usually did, same as in the last one. If anything, this time it was Princess Peach, who rescued Princess Rosalena, her sister, who do not remember from when I played Mario, though to be fair I had not played a Mario game since I had a Nintendo 64.  The aspect of princess rescuing made me think about how in high school when I told my friends my aspirations to be an author and my intent to model characters on people I knew, nearly all my friends that were...

  For a movie that was mostly Ryan Gosling talking to an insect like alien, Project: Hail Mary was a great flick. Telling the story of how the sun was losing its energy, Gosling was sent into space despite being a schoolteacher and not an astronaut, because he was the only one who knew how to obtain the resources to save Earth. On his mission, Gosling met the alien I mentioned earlier which also came from an endangered planet, and they worked together to acquire what they needed, and he became his first friend, teaching him English and what particular expressions meant, giving him the name Rocky because of how he looked. When Gosling discovered Rocky's ship would not make it back to his home planet, he turned back, sending the resources back to Earth and started teaching school on his planet, contemplating whether or not to return to Earth. I have similar ideas to that, but first I have to write them. When I mentioned the interaction between Gosling and Rocky, it is the same as it ...

 All I remember about the original Ready Or Not Movie was the bullet points, about a young woman marrying into a family that is a Satanic cult. I did not remember anything leading up to the cult having the power to control the world, or the protagonist having an estranged sister. Even so, the movie was entertaining enough, showing the two sisters reconcile as they fought to survive, similar to how in my latest book, Jack Stamper has to reconcile with his mother and contend with a younger brother he does not get along with who is under his command in The Fourth Covert Militia. I easily bought the rift between Sarah Michelle Geller, and her twin brother and Elijah Wood did a good performance as the lawyer who might be Satan, and I have to praise him after all, because he played the protagonist in my favorite movie of all time.  If you are interested in my books, which center on young adults in a secret militia waging guerilla warfare and espionage against an axis of evil across ...

 The movie Undertone had a creative enough premise but was overall boring until the last ten minutes. It told the story of how a podcaster, who talked about the dark origin behind children's songs and nursery rhymes, and a supernatural entity was in her house. Her mother was also dying and was somehow connected to it, but in the end nothing really happened. When I left the theater people were talking about how confusing it was.  There were some interesting things in it though, such as when they talked about the dark origin of kid's songs and nursery rhymes. I study literature and poetry to get ideas for books, and in those books The Covert Militia will face the same kind of evil. If you are interested in them, click on the link.  Smashwords.com

 As a monster movie fan, I had to see The Bride, and it had its moments. Anyone who likes bizarre and twisted horror films, will enjoy some of it, and I know my mother won't.  I personally found the premise creative enough, and if you are interested in the work of independent authors who are looking for readers, click on the link.  Smashwords.com  

How To Make A Killing was a good dark comedy thriller, telling the story of how Glen Powell was a man born to a wealthy family whose mother was exiled tries to prosper. The family that exiled him and his mother was not a loving family and were greedy, inhuman, jerks who saw destitute people as exposition. There was only one relative who was kind to him, and as the movie progressed it was clear revenge was leaving his mind, but things happened that amplified his desire for their inheritance.  One other thing I need to say is there was a scene when Powell's youngest cousin was singing karaoke to Papa Roach's "Last Resort" and whenever I hear that song I always feel like I'm going to see Lord of the Rings for the first time, because it came on my car radio each time I was on my way to the theater. I mention that because Tolkien's legendarium was my main inspiration, and if you are interested in my books and the work of many other independent authors, click on the...

 Despite very little action scenes, Crime 101 was entertaining because it was more about solving crimes than fighting them. Many things will keep you guessing if you ever rewatch. Parts of it involved sticking up to your employer in a job that doesn't get you anywhere, and also atonement, the way Chris Hemsworth's character gave up robbing criminals, and used what he took to support the people that helped him.  If you are interested in books that you believe would make good movies, and supporting independent authors, click on the link, where you can find my books and the work of many independent writers.  Smashwords.com

Many movies are about empowerment, and Send Help is one of them. They resonate with people because they relate to the characters in them. In some way I relate to Rachel McAdams character, who worked hard to attain the vice president position at her office, only to be turned down in favor of her new boss's best friend. Being stranded on what they thought was a deserted island gave her the chance to give him what he deserved because every time it looked like he was cooperating with her, it was a facade. Some people might pick up on the surprise twist ending, but I will not mention it.    If you would like to help writers trying to get their careers started, click on the link to find my books and the work of many authors looking for readers interested in their work. 

 Sometimes, putting the right actor in a movie without much depth, just works. Jason Statham is one of those actors where it is just fun to see him kick ass, and the new movie Shelter, that's just what he does. It particularly works, when it has something to keep you rooting for him, and this case it was the young girl he was protecting, that helped him see the value in not living a reclusive life. It was also clear that Statham's character regretted a lot of the things he did when he worked for the organization he did before faking his death, and in protecting that girl, he atoned for his crimes.  I am close to finishing a novel, though third in The Covert Militia Campaigns, it has a heavy theme of atonement. If you are interested in reading them, and the work of various independent authors, click on the line.  Smashwords.com

 A lot of people did not like the new action film, Mercy, but I always have a soft spot for action movies. Though I get why people didn't like it, I felt the story about A.I. become almost sentient was good commentary on our current status. Facebook, which was created to help us stay connected, has become a cesspool of political disagreements. It should be used to enhance art and not plagiarize, and not to make your work faster. The thing that I think annoyed most people about the movie was it was mostly Chris Pratt strapped to a chair talking to a computerized Rebbecca Ferguson, but it got good near the end.  There are many authors looking to find readers interested in their work, and if you are interested in finding a good book, click on the link.  Smsahwords.com  

 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple clearly gave viewers the impression of what life would be like after a zombie apocalypse, and it looks like the next one is going to have some thrilling action. Ralph Fiennes character was the best thing in the movie, and I especially liked when he used Iron Maiden's song "Number of the Beast" to calm the zombies. I know a lot of people who would have trouble looking at the screen because of some of the imagery and people who would consider it blasphemy and not entertainment, but if you can give all that a pass it is a fun movie.  If you like a good book and if you support independent authors, click on the link to find some good reads.  Smsahwords.com

 For some reason, a lot of people find the final season of a particular show, not very good. Either it ends in a hurry, like Game of Thrones, ends abruptly like The Sopranos, or makes the hole series pointless, like Lost. That being said, I found the last season of Stranger Things, appropriate enough, but can see why people did not like it. I know a lot of people don't like seeing something they enjoy coming to an end, and can't think of something new to watch, and I understand that. I felt that way when Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was released in December 2003, because ever since I missed having a movie to look forward to at the end of the year. The last episode of Stranger Things had an ending akin to Return of the King, showing everything that happened to all the characters, but that show had a lot of characters and it was necessary to show what happened to all of them. I was surprised none of the main characters died, likely because people expected a lot of th...