The Introverted Detective

The cult classics are never going out of style, whether they hit the box office well or flopped. Some of them were experiments, graphic novels and books, or just the result of a British or American TV show spinoff. What cult classics have you seen?  Photo By Forbes What qualifies as a cult classic? Good question. The standard is that a film must have a devoted cult following, which means a devoted fan group in different wording. It can't be a short-lived infatuation. These films don't go away and fade out of memory in a few years. They are remembered years later and have sequels in some cases. Some films are remembered for being bad, so much so that we are laughing at the film in theatres when it isn't a comedy (like The Room ). Others are classics for being good and timeless. Princess Bride , just one example, is known as a fantastic film everywhere and is unlikely to be remade or enjoyed as a remake. There are a few of these movies that are known for their unique features...

Here we are discussing Brave , only today we are tackling the magic and folklore of the Brave movie. What are wisps? Do they really lead you to your fate or doom? Keep reading to find out. Photo courtesy of Surf and Sunshine  Those cute little blue flames are real folklore. Wisps are as bad as pixies. They are spirits of the dead or spirits of fairies that lead travelers off the beaten path and lead you to your doom (which does in fact change your fate) or treasure. According to folklore, you should be wary of them if you are out after sunset on an unfamiliar path.  Ignus Fatuus, or foolish fire, often leads lost travelers into the marshes. Why? Because it is a natural phenomenon that is due to decaying plants in marshy areas. It is a case of biology explained by the folk tales. Fun, right? So, please, don't follow those blue flames into the marshes and get stuck. They are not actually dead spirits or fairies. You will die in the bogs or drown there. People used to follow the...

 I am here to show you the unicorn of movies - the ones that are accurate to the books! Yes, I know, I'm showing you long lost treasure. If anyone else is disappointed by films that don't reflect their source material read further and allow me to show you some hope. Photo courtesy of In Their Own League Most movies take some creative liberties and have budgets to deal with. It is also possible that insurance says no to some stunts. Taking a book from a novel to a screenplay is actually rather hard to do. You can't always do every scene from the book. After taking a scriptwriting class I found that out for myself when I took my own short story and had to pull it apart beyond belief to make it fit the play form. I give Hollywood some slack after that. I gave Hollywood even more slack after I took a film class at Malone University and couldn't use the places I wanted to make my documentary on my fiance, so yeah, we don't always get the locations we want. It is not easy...

The characters in the movie Brave  are well written and change throughout the movie. While it is easy to say Merida was all in the wrong or Queen Elinor was all in the wrong that is not what the actual movie was about, to begin with. Here is a character study that will give you a deeper understanding of Merida and Queen Elinor. Our starting point is explaining the plot. If you've watched this movie you know the plot, but I'm banking on the fact some of you haven't. Put simply and in a few words, Merida and Queen Elinor have a disagreement over Merida getting married to the winner of the archery contest (which Merida secretly entered herself and won her own hand). There are some hurtful words on both ends, Merida runs into a witch, and it all leads to Queen Elinor turning into a bear unless they "mend the bond torn by pride", which takes both mother and daughter to do. There is more detail, but I'm not here to analyze the whole plot, just two characters. Merida...

 Pull out your book of Hans Christian Anderson tales and Brothers Grimm and let's dive in. Let's see what Disney made more pleasant for the sake of children.  Disney, that great monopoly we know and love, has toned down so much that when we read the original tales themselves we find ourselves horrified with the violence and darkness of it. Children of the time of Grimm and Andersen were told tales that we wouldn't read to our own children, let alone ourselves. Usually, each tale had a moral to it. Frankly, after volume I was out of Brothers Grimm, even the Grimm brothers toned down tales. Some of these dark stories were told verbally and then edited by the brothers Grimm, who collected these tales to put in a written volume. Disney got a lot of material from here. Without any further ado, we go on. They are not all Grimm, but they are close enough. Elsa Yes, you Frozen fans, Elsa is not a hero in the Hans Christian Andersen story of  The Snow Queen . She was a villain. ...

So you have an introverted roommate and just don't understand them. You're in luck because today I am going to explain how to comfortably live with your introverted roommate while making them comfortable as well.  As an introvert, I have felt stress from living with an extrovert (though I know they didn't actually mean to cause me stress), so if your roommate seems distant they may just need more space. They may not even be paying attention to the outside world at all - we turn inward for stimulation, not outward -  so don't assume we hate you. Unless they actually say they dislike you, assume nothing. This is for the extroverts getting confused as to why we do what we do. Think of us as somewhat cat-like, if that helps. We only want attention for a short time or a certain amount of time before we get overwhelmed or stressed. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind when you are an extrovert living with an introvert, from the mouth of an introvert herself. Personal Spac...

 We all know Marvel Comics for Iron Man, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Fantastic Four, and so on, but let's talk about the Marvel that was not mainstream but was - make no mistake - just as good.  Comics Worth Reading I have recently read about Squirrel Girl and was curious enough to invest my amazon gift cards from Christmas and Birthday into getting a full set of The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl . Halfway through book 1 of 4 of the set I have no regrets, not one. I now want to collect them all.  We know that comics get a little weird, depending on what you are reading, and X-Men can get confusing (past to present to past, and what's going on now?!), but here are some heroes you should look into in Marvel Comics. (I may do a DC Comics edition of this blog topic later, but it depends on what I find.) Squirrel Girl Comicbook.com I opened talking about her, so let's start here. She is part squirrel and part human. She has a squirrel named Tippy Toe as h...