Author Archives: Dazzling Erin

So, I Watched Mickey (2004, Dir. by Hugh Wilson)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Tripp Spence (Harry Connick, Jr.) is a lawyer who cheated on his taxes.  He goes on the run with his 13 year-old son, Derrick (Shawn Salinas).  They settle in Las Vegas with new identities.  Tripp now goes by Glenn Ryan and Derrick’s new name is Mickey.  Because Derrick was given the identity of someone who was a year young than him, he is still eligible to play one more season of Little League baseball.  Mickey leads his team to victory after victory and that’s no surprise.  He’s a year older and a head taller than all the other players.  Eventually, Mickey takes his team to the Little League World Series, where he plays a team from Cuba.  Glenn knows that, with all of the publicity, the IRS is going to catch him but all that matters is that his son get to play in the big game.

I love baseball and I can get pretty sentimental when it comes to watching a Little League game.  I tear up at both version of The Bad News Bears.  I also like Harry Connick, Jr.  What I don’t like is cheating and it bothered me that this whole movie was built around a father encouraging his son to cheat.  There wasn’t any reason why Mikey had to be thirteen.  It wouldn’t have changed the plot that much if he had actually been twelve and still eligible to play.  It’s one thing when major leaguers cheat by corking their bat or wiping something on their pitches.  They’re adults and everyone knows that it’s a part of the game.  But to encourage your son to cheat at Little League?  That’s low.

Mickey was written by John Grisham, who loves baseball but who still should have known better.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Celebrating Rain

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Here are four classic shots, all featuring rain.

4 Rainy Shots From 4 Films

My Neighbor Totoro (1988, Dir. by Hayao Miyazaki)

The Shawshank Redemption (1994, Dir. by Frank Darabont)

Prisoners (2013, Dir. by Denis Villeneuve)

Toy Story 4 (2019, Dir. by Josh Cooley)

Music Video of the Day: Ugly Heart by G.R.L. (2014, Dir. by Chris Marrs Piliero)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Do you remember G.R.L.?  They were the girl group that Robin Antin put together that was not the Pussycat Dolls.

This song is about a man who is beautiful on the outside but ugly on the inside.  The members of G.R.L. tattoo “ugly” all over his face as way to let the world know.  They get arrested but they regret nothing, which they prove by turning the police station into a dance party.

Do not try this at home.

Enjoy!

I Watched Last County (2024, Dir. by Barret Mulholland)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Abby (Kaelen Ohm) has been through a lot.  A recovering alcoholic, Abby is struggling with the guilt of having caused a car accident while her young daughter was in the backseat.  Her daughter’s okay but her husband cannot forgive Abby for putting their child in harm’s way.  Needing to clear her head, Abby heads to the farmhouse where she grew up.  She hopes that her husband and her daughter will eventually join her there.  Instead, she finds herself trapped in the middle of a battle between two drug mules and a corrupt sheriff (Nicholas Campbell).

I liked Last County more than I thought it would.  It’s a straightforward thriller that doesn’t waste any time getting to the action.  Kaelen Ohm was great as Abby and I really found myself getting caught up in her story.  I wasn’t just worried about whether or not she would survive the siege led by the sheriff.  I was also really worried about what would happen with her as far as her family was concerned.  Would her marriage be saved or would she fall in love with the more sensitive of the two drug mules?  Along with good performance and direction, Last County also really captured the feel of being isolated out in the middle of the country.

Far better than I thought it would, Last County took me by surprise.  It’s on Tubi.

Music Video of the Day: Coming Of Age by Cassandra Coleman (2025, Dir. by Miles Murphy)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

At first, I didn’t think I was going to like this video because, at first, the song sounded like every other song that’s been released nowadays.  Sometimes, I feel like every up-and-coming female singer works with same committee of songwriters and every song ends up sounding the same as a result.  Luckily, around the two-minute mark, the song finally got interesting and it won me over.

The video was filmed in the country and it’s pretty to look at.  These are the type of locations that I love to visit with my camera to see if maybe I can capture some of that rural beauty before it goes away.  Going for a nice walk is something that I suggest to anyone who finds themselves away from the city.  Sometimes, you really do find some strikingly beautiful locations if you’re willing to look for them.  Here’s one of my favorite pictures, which I took at a country cemetery in Arkansas.  I was lucky enough to turn around just in time to see a deer making a visit.

by Erin Nicole

Enjoy!

 

I Watched Fatal Exposure (2025, Dir. by Sam Coyle)

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Red flags, girls!  You need to know how and when to spot them!

Photographer Ariel (Sofia Masson) is the victim of a violent home invasion and her sex buddy Derek (Stephen Huszar) just happens to show up a minute later?  Red flag!

The only photograph from Ariel’s exhibit that sells is an erotic selife called “No Daddy Issues” and then Derek suddenly wants to be called “daddy” while in the bedroom?  Guess what?  That’s a red flag!

Derek invites Ariel to his estate for the summer without telling her that he’s a widower and that he has a stepdaughter named Chloe (Jasmine Vaga)?  You better believe that’s a red flag!

Chloe is the same age as Ariel and physically resembles Ariel and calls her stepfather “daddy?”  Red flag, red flag, red flag!

I watched this movie because it was about a photographer and there really aren’t that many non-documentaries about photographers.  I didn’t think that the selfie that Ariel sold was that impressive but some of her other photographs showed a hint of talent.  But a photographer has to be aware of the world around her and she has to be able to see the things that other people miss.  That’s what distinguishes a photographer from someone who just has a camera.  How could any photographer miss all the red flags and all the strange atmosphere inside of Derek’s estate?

(I did like that Ariel had somehow developed a system to allow her to develop film and make prints within seconds.  I’d love to know how she did that.)

Fatal Exposure requires a big suspension of disbelief.  If you can do it, then the film itself is enjoyably trashy.  Derek’s gothic mansion is a great location and the acting wasn’t bad at all.  But you just have to be willing to accept that someone could miss all of those red flags.  Derek was too obviously evil from the start but he did give Ariel a nice studio to work in.  Maybe he wasn’t all bad.