Skye (Haley Webb, Teen Wolfe TV series, Final Destination), a struggling writer needs some extra money so she takes in struggling writer Holly (Chelsea Lopez, Forgotten Pheonix, Blood Heist), who is willing to pay her $2000 to proof read her manuscript. Everything seems good at first, but it's not long until we learn that both have an agenda for their choices.
Unwritten Obsession(2017) is mostly set in Skye's house where we watch the interaction between the two women. Straight away we can see that Holly is a bit strange and possibly dangerous. Therefore, we are left to wonder why would Skye risk her life by allowing this woman to stay in her house while she (Holly) works on her manuscript. As mentioned earlier, Skye does need the money, but is she so desperate for it she's heeding the warning signs, especially when Holly starts crossing the line with Skype by going through her personal things and not respecting Skye's privacy. Even after Skye asks her to stop going through her personal items, especially those in the attic, Holly can't resist the urge.
But Skye has secrets of her own and sometimes your own secrets will allow you to ignore the actions of those you normally wouldn't forgive. And Sky's secrets go beyond the laws of sanity but not the laws of desperation for desperation has no laws. Though Skye has secrets, it's Holly's secret that's really the game changer.
This was one of those movies that I absolutely loved and can watch over and over again for there's always something you missed the first go round. Well, when you know the outcome, you're able to concentrate on other going ons in the movie.
If you get a chance to see this movie please do. You won't be disappointed especially the ending. I did not see that coming. This is what makes Lifetime Movies worth watching, just when you think it's over, it's not.
A man (Daniel played Jason Shane-Scott, Shrieker, Until Death, Caught and Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss) who is on the top of the list to be the next judge is hell bent on keeping his nose clean in order to get the job even if it means setting his fiancé up for a car crash which caused the death of another driver. To add insult to injury, the dead person was someone important and thus the charges will be harsh. Now the fiancé (Jenny played by Katrina Bowden 30 Rock) must prove she wasn’t driving the night of the accident. On top of all that, the dead man’s man wife (Mrs. Langford) has lost their unborn baby.
Now Jenny has lost her job at the hospital due to Mrs. Langford public harassing of her. When Jenny goes to confront her she explains that it was Daniel, not her, that was driving at the time of the accident. After she finally convinces Mrs. Langford she's telling the truth, Jenny explains that Daniel has a nervous twitch when he's confronted with something. With this knowledge in hand Mrs. Langford goes to see Daniel and when she asks him about the accident he tells her that Jenny was driving. During this period, Mrs. Langford notices the nervous twitch Daniel has. She now wants to team up with Jenny to take Daniel down. But is revenge really sweet?
THERE'S SOMETHING LACKING
I really wanted to enjoy Framed By My Fiancé, and I sort of did. However, I was hoping this was a book that was made into a movie. If there was a book I was going to read it for the movie seemed to lack a lot. The movie seemed to skip a lot of information and possible scenes. I think they should have made this into a two part movie (2 hours each) for it would feel more together. It's hard to give examples without giving parts of the movie away.
OVERALL THOUGHT
Overall the movie was pretty good. It had a good premise and very good acting by most of the cast. It definitely showed the lengths someone would go to to protect their prospective job and the road to their success. As with any Lifetime Movie there were a few things I questioned happening, but had to remind myself this is a movie, not to mention a Lifetime Movie and they aren't much on logic, just on plot even if if the plot has holes.
I will always be a fan of Lifetime movies whether I like the movie or not.
I recommend the movie if you get a chance to see it. Framed By My Fiancé premiered last night onLifetime Movie Network.
NEXT THURSDAY AND FRIDAY:
Two movies will be premiering next Thursday (Psycho Wedding Crasher - 30 Nov 2017) and Friday (A Wedding To Die For - 1 Dec 2017). You see previews of both can be seen here:
I grew up watching Match Game and now I watch reruns on BuzzrTV (channel 169 for me - San Francisco Bay Area Xfinity). This is one game show that doesn't get old no matter how many times I watch it. The main reason is it's host Gene Rayburn (pictured left on above picture).
I must say I was little when I watched this show, therefore,I don't remember a lot of the contestants and some celebrities guests (minus the regulars like Brett Sommers, Charles Nelsen Reilley and Richard Dawson and few others) that were on the show, but I remember the format and some other things related to the show.
Watching re-runs I've been introduced to the most nervous game show contestant I've ever seen, past and present. Her name is Evie Phineas. You have to watch the entire show below. I must warn you, you will be rolling over Evie. I have a feeling this lady was the nicest person on earth.
For a year and a half Valerie and Gary used to date and then things ended. Gary has since married and has two kids, both in high school. Valerie, however, has not moved on and apparently been pining for Gary since their break up.
Gary has a semi successful transportation business (it's in financial dire straights) and Valerie has a successful purse making business and I do mean successful.
Gary and Valerie meet up again at their high school reunion. I'm going to guess it's their third or fourth, it depends on how often their school has these reunions. Some schools, such as mine, did it every ten-twenty years. But I digress.
As mentioned, the two meet up again at the reunion and begin talking. Gary is complaining about his wife (big mistake) and Valerie is listening tentatively like there's going to be a big test on it later. later on during the reunion, Gary gets caught up in the moment and kisses Valerie (another mistake - this clown is full of mistakes). Valerie, on the other hand, took the kiss to mean something more.
Jess is Gary's wife and a Yoga instructor, who seems to have a successful business of her own. Valerie makes it a point to seek out Jess and semi-befriends her. As with any stalker/obsessed ex-girlfriend, she her motives are not pure. She was, in a sense, checking out the competition, and to her, as we learn later from her own salty lips, she had no competition.
I'M IN TOWN ON BUSINESS, LET ME STALK YOU
Valerie always claimed she was in town on business whenever she wanted to see Gary. Valerie was in town on business..the business of stalking, and fine job she was doing. This women found out everything about Gary, from where he lived to his business and his kids. The kids part came from a lunch her Gary had that Gary forgot to tell his wife about. I'll get to that in a bit.
ANYTHING YOU SAY AT THIS LUNCH MAY BE HELD AGAINST YOU
What Gary told Valerie at their reunion about his marriage she hung on to. What Gary told her about his kids, she hung on to and used it to her advantage.
During their lunch, which she initiated, of course, Gary begins talking about his kids. He tells her that his daughter is starring the school play Anthony and Cleopatra as Cleopatra. Oh Gary, why did you tell her this? I can't remember if he told when the play was or she found for her self (I'm guessing the latter since this woman is very resourceful) but she was completing two things from this lunch: get lipstick on Gary's collar and decided to send a gift to his daughter on the night of the play.
THE LIPSTICK STUNT
Towards the end of the lunch, Valerie excuses herself to the ladies room. While there she puts on a fresh coat of lipstick and then returns to the table. As they are getting ready to leave they give each other a hug and that's when Valerie presses her lips against his collar and neck, thus leaving the infamous lipstick on the collar in hopes he wife finds it. But her plan backfired - almost.
Gary goes back to work in which his business partner comes into his office to tell him something and notices the lipstick and tells Gary who doesn't know what to do now. When he gets home he pretends he has something in his eye and by passes everyone to get up stairs so he can hide the shirt.
The next morning, Gary retrieves the shirt and puts it in his gym bag. Well, it looked like a gym bag. What Gary doesn't know is his wife saw him retrieve the shirt though she didn't say anything. Later on she calls the dry cleaning place they frequent to find out if he's brought a shirt in for cleaning and they say yes and proceed to tell her the lipstick on the collar won't be hard to get out.
Jess (that's Gary's wife) calls Gary at work to confront him about the shirt. My question is why didn't she do this at home? Why interrupt his business/busy day. Perhaps because she knew he would lie about the shirt if confronted at home. By doing it her way, she was able to get the truth. Fine. Why not wait until he gets home to confront him? She's aware his business is about to go belly up so why interrupt him trying to find a way out for his business? Who knows. Welcome to Lifetime Movies.
CLEOPATRA HAS A PURSE
Remember when Gary told Valerie about his daughter's play? Well Valerie sent his daughter a $500 purse as a gift for her role. Of course this started a confrontation between Gary and Jess because its from Gary's ex and Jess didn't know they had lunch together (see, Gary had to tell Jess how Valerie knew about his daughter's play). There's also a dinner date that didn't end well either. There's so much that didn't end well in this movie, including the ending.
PICTURES?
Valerie had sent Gary nude pictures of herself through, what seems a social media site. Gary didn't delete the pictures and thus his son found them. The son has a big mouth and blurts it out in front of his mother and father. Another argument ensues between Jess and Gary which leads to Gary being thrown out of the house and into a hotel. Well, you guess where things went from here. Or can you?
LET'S END THINGS RIGHT HERE
I'm not going to give any more details of the movie, should you want to watch it. As if I haven't given enough already. Oy vey!
I enjoyed the movie myself, mostly due to Henstridge's performance. She's one of those actresses that keeps you glued to the screen. I remember seeing her in Species, which was a good movie on it's own, but she added to it. I think the acting by all was really good, save for the daughter when she was yelling towards the end of the movie. I seriously wanted drop kick her like nobody's business.
The movie was realistic as far as you never know about people you used to date. You might think things ended well until one day at that class reunion. Beware of those class reunions and exes.
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Deadly Ex (original name Inconceivable)
Cast: Valerie: Natasha Henstridge (Species, Cold Spring , Gary: Jason Gerhardtand (CSI, Mistresses, General Hospital), Jess: Marguerite Moreau (Queen of the Damned, Runaway Jury, Gray's Anatomy)
Release Date: 1 October 2016
Production Company: Creative Arts Entertainment Group, Inc.
Writers: Christine Conradt, Chris Lancey
Where to Watch: I usually like to put places to watch the movie but I couldn't find any. But I'm sure you creative people will find a way.
As someone who enjoy Lifetime TV movies and LMN (Lifetime Movie Network) movies I'm always seeking movies I haven't seen before. There was a time I had seen all the movies on either Lifetime channels. However, with us getting rid of DVR and me watching Saturday Night Football (college) I missed a lot of the movies. And working full time does not allot a lot of time for movie watching during the day.
BAD ACTING, BAD WRITING AND SOMETIMES CHEESY
Lifetime movies are not known for their great acting nor great writing and at times cheesy, but I have to admit they are good, if you can get past the fore mentioned.
PREMISE SOUNDS GOOD
This is how I select my Lifetime movies, by the premise. Well, this is how we select all our movies, isn't it. Sometimes it pays off and sometimes it doesn't. And this time it didn't at all.
The premise of Her Infidelityis this: A woman feeling down about her marriage has a one-night stand with her son's teacher. Sounds simple right? Of course it does. And since it said "her son's teacher" I was thinking teen age son. But noooooooooo. The son is in grade school so the teacher is probably in his late 20's, right? Well the mother looks like she's in her 40's. Yeah, she looked old. There are people that look great at that age, so I'm not knocking the age at all. I shouldn't since I'm so old I can tell you about Noah's Ark from personal experience. But I digress.
WHAT WENT WRONG?
Besides everything? The connection/chemistry between the wife and husband was off not to mention the acting between the two was just horrid. The son's acting was even worse. He sounded like he was reading his lines instead of speaking them. The only good acting was from the psychopath teacher and that's from facial expressions to his actual acting. The best friend in the movie was one of those you were hoping the psychopath would kill so there would be one less torturous character to have to deal with.
CHANGE THE CHANNEL IF IT'S THAT BAD
Yeah, I could change the channel but as mentioned these movies are good if get past everything I just mentioned. But sometimes the movie is just so bad that even the premise starts to seem like a bad idea.
WHO WRITES THIS STUFF
I always wonder who writes these horrible movies and why Lifetime picks them up. I wonder how many stations have the writers pitched their ideas to before they went to Lifetime? I'm starting to think that Lifetime is the starting point for most writers, producers and actors/actresses. I know it may sound like I'm bashing Lifetime movies, but I'm really not. I'm just bashing this one.
For the most part, Lifetime (both channels) have some really good movies despite the bad acting. Unwanted Guest is a prime example of this.
UNWANTED GUEST
Premise: When Amy has nowhere to go for winter break, her friend Christine insists she come stay with her family. What begins as a dream situation turns into a nightmare when Amy starts to obsess and wreak havoc on her welcoming hosts (imbd.com).
Here's another movie with a good premise that I thought would find worth watching and it was. Again, the only good acting was done by Amy. The mother was pretty descent as was the father, but the daughter, Christine, was just awful. However, the writing and directing was well done that you overlooked a lot. If you can find this movie, it's worth the watch.
THE THINGS YOU LEARN
While researching this movie I learned that the mother was played by Rachel Hunter. If that names sounds familiar it's because she used to be married to Rod Stewart. But that doesn't give her the right to think she can act, does it? See, now I'm being hard on the woman. She did her best with what she was given, both script wise and directing wise.
OVER ALL
I disliked the movie. The potential was definitely there, especially given the premise. As with all Lifetime movies (both channels) it had a happy ending. This is the cheesy part of these movies, but sometimes they are done well and sometimes they are done so cheesy you quickly grab the remote and change the channel to anything.
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HER INFIDELITY
Country: CANADALanguage: EnglishRelease Date: 22 April 2015 (Canada)Also Known As: InfedeleStars: Rachel Hunter (the mother), Clayton Chitty (the teacher) and Lane Edwards (the husband)Written By: Alan Donahue and Christine Will Directed By: Christine Will
Even the trailer looks inviting:
I have tried reading some books of Stephen King's #stephenking and I can't get through them. They are way too detailed, drawn out and at times pointless. I seriously wonder how he became such a successful novelist as he has.
Don't get me wrong, I think the man is talented..but only in the idea department. But when it comes to writing out the idea, I'm not impressed.
IF IT WASN'T FOR THE MOVIES...
If it wasn't for the movies, I wouldn't know who Stephen King is. I absolutely love the movies made of books from Christine, Stand By Me,Misery, Shawshank Redemption, and definitely Carrie. The only movie I didn't care for is It. Now I can add another King novel turned into a movie to my list of likes and that's Gerald's Game.
GERALD'S GAME IS JESSE'S GAME
Gerald and Jessie head to a friend's vacation house in the middle of nowhere to try to save their marriage but adding a little spice to their sex life. But when Gerald dies and Jessie is left handcuffed to the bed, it's Jesse who needs saving. Not just her life, but her mind and definitely her soul.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE MOVIE
The movie does a great job of setting everything up. I was concerned they were going to spend a lot of time on a sex scene because people think they have to have soft porn in movies to bring in the viewers. Let me tell you, you don't. There was a time when movies indicated something went on without showing something going on and those movies were successful and are not classics. But I digress.
As mentioned, I thought a lot of time was going show the unnecessary, but it didn't. It showed enough to set up to provide one of the symbols and I guess you can say, another character in the movie. The handcuffs.
We are introduced to another character in the movie early on which is a stray dog. But what makes the dog an interesting character is he has a collar so he belongs to someone. However, Gerald won't let Jessie get close enough to the dog to find out who it's owners are. This is an interesting fact when you know the rest of the movie.
DELUSIONS OR ILLUSIONS
While Jessie is handcuffed to the bed, she begins having conversations with her dead husband as well as herself. There is also an unwelcome guest that shows up here and there and Jessie begins to wonder if this person is part of her delusion as well. We also have the dog that is there throughout the time of Jessie's delusions or illusions. It depends on how you see it.
Through these incidents we learn a lot about Jessie and that the handcuffs are not only physical torments for her but also a symbols of her past, which she has carried her entire life. This isn't something I'm thinking up. It was actually mentioned in the movie by herself to herself during one of her illusions. But the handcuffs were not only a symbol, they were also another character in the movie as was the bed and her slip. But the main symbol in the movie was her being stuck in a place in which she can call out for help all she wants, but no one will hear her.
WHERE I HAD AN ISSUE WITH THE MOVIE
Jessie was stuck in the bed for almost two days and not once did she make a bathroom run in the bed. Everyone has to go the bathroom at least once or twice a night, but apparently not Jessie. I know it's only a movie, but this is something that kinda had me scratching my head. However, I was able to let this go rather quickly because the movie itself was so well written and directed it kept you sitting on the edge of your seat and mind constantly trying to solve this enigma we called Jessie's life.
IT WOULDN'T BE A STEPHEN KING MOVIE IF...
It wouldn't be a Stephen King movie it there wasn't some disturbing gore scene within the movie. Although brief, it will have you squirming and groaning with pain as you're watching. I personally found this to be a symbol as well. Not the squirming and groaning by the viewer, but what actions Jessie had to take. Desperate times calls for desperate measures.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I absolutely loved this movie. I will be watching it a few more times for I feel I will find something new each time I watch it.
Everyone on this planet should watch the movie. You don't have to be a Stephen King fan to enjoy the movie. I'm not a fan of his but I love his movie. And as mentioned, this has been added to my favorite King books made into a movie.
___________________________________ GERALD'S GAME Starring: Carla Gugino (The Watchmen, Sin City); Bruce Greenwood (Knots Landing, I, Robot, American Dad) Written By: Mike Flanagan and Jeff Howard (based on the Stephen King novel) Directed By: Mike Flanagan Release Date: 29 September 2017 Country: United States Location: Mobile, Alabama IMDB Rating: 6.9/10 Rotten Tomatoe Rating: 91%
Current Streaming on Netflix
TRIVIA
There are a number of references to previous King novels/movies within this movie:
Gerald refers to the stray dog as Cujo
Gerald says the line: "all things serve the beam" - Dark Towers reference
Jessie describes a woman looking over a well (a dream she had) - this is a reference to Delores Clairborn
Jessie describes a man with a bag of bones - Bag of Bones is another Stephen King novel
Clare (Teresa Palmer), an architect photography is traveling through Eastern Europe to take photos of building when she meets Andi (Max Riemelt) in Berlin, who is a native Berliner and a professor at Uni (a university). They immediately hit it off. Clare ends up having a one night stand with Andi at his apartment. When she awakes the next morning she finds Andi has left (for work) and the door boarded with no way out. Clare doesn't think much about it but still tries to find a way out. But it doesn't take Clare long to realize she's gotten her self in quite a fix. She also learns later in the movie that she's not the only one Andi has done this too.
LOOKING FOR A WAY OUT
As Clare spends her days locked in Andi's apartment she finds more disturbing things about Andi and the things he has done to other women. Each day becomes a desperation to get out. The closer Clare gets to escaping the more obstacles she runs into and the more controlling Andi gets.
FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS
This is a hard movie to watch for it makes you feel Clare's pain, anguish and desperation. You want to fly to Berlin, if you're not there already, and try to save her.
What makes this even more disturbing is this sort of thing happens every day. The most infamous one is The Cleveland Kidnappings in which Ariel Castro held three women (Michell Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus) prisoner in his home for 10 years, from 2002 to 2013. Because of Castro's demeanor when in public no one suspected a thing from him, as with Andi in the movie. Yes, Andi is a bit strange, but people have come to accept him as such. But he's also a likable guy
Palmer and Riemelt make the movie even more hard to watch due to excellent acting by both.
STOCKHOLM SYNDROME
Some dubbed what Clare had with Andi the Stockholm Syndrome.
Feelings of trust or affection felt in certain cases of kidnapping or hostage-taking by a victim toward a captor (Google)
I disagree with this analogy. I felt Clare did what she needed to do to keep her sanity to continue to gain and keep his trust, even in times of when he caught her trying to escape. When someone puts you in a situation in which your freedom is taken away, there's no way you could fall in love or have affection for that person. What you end up having is survival instincts and if making your captor think you trust them and having feelings for them is the way to go, then you do it.
FOREIGN FILMS
This is one of the reasons why I love foreign films, the acting. Palmer and Riemelt were excellent, as I've mentioned. But there were actors I've never heard of. Not knowing the players won't have me comparing them to other roles I've seen them. However, because of movies such as this, I am inclined to watch other movies Palmer and Riemelt were in.
Foreign films don't seem as restricted as American films seem to be, unless you're an indie filmmaker. But even indie filmmakers don't hold a candle to foreign films for me. As mentioned, the acting does it for me. But also learning of other countries is another reason I enjoy foreign films. Learning of different cultures and traveling the world without leaving the comfort of my living room is great. On the same note, these movies make me want to actual visit the countries they are filmed in.
_____________________________________ BERLIN SYNDROME Release Date: 26 May 2017 Country: Australia Languages: English, German and Russian Run Time: 116 minutes Stars: Teresa Palmer as Clare and Max Riemelt as Andi Directed by: Cate Shorland Written by: Shawn Grant (screenplay) Based on the novel of the same name by: Melanie Joosten
I heard the novel was just as hard to read. It's been said that both the novel and movie were great; neither was better than the other, which is rare when it comes to book to movie adaption Currently streaming: Netflix
"We are different, in essence, from other men.If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon." Emil Zatopek, winner of four Olympic gold medals
DON'T GIVE ME THE RUN AROUND
Running around the track is enough for some. Running in a short race will be OK. But for some, running a marathon is a goal they want to reach and complete. But what if that marathon is also an obstacle course and the time is 60 hours?
MARATHONS
I knew someone who does the Bay To Breakers every year (a marathon race held in May in San Francisco). She also participated in Triathlons (swimming, running and biking). I don’t mind the biking part, but will pass on the swimming and definitely, the running.
OFF THE RACES
Today, as in current times, running a marathon isn’t enough of a challenge. People seem to want to take themselves and their bodies to the next level.
There are a number of obstacle races that provide what someone is looking for. Tough Mudder - s an endurance event series in which participants attempt 10–12 mile-long (16–19 km) obstacle courses that tests mental as well as physical strength. It was co-founded by Will Dean, a former British counter terrorism officer, and Guy Livingstone, a former corporate lawyer. (Wikipedia) Spartan Race - is a series of obstacle races of varying distance and difficulty ranging from 3 miles to marathon distances. ... The series include the Spartan Sprint, the Super Spartan, the Spartan Beast, and the Ultra Beast. (Wikipedia)
CrossFit - this how Crossfit is defined describes its strength and conditioning program as "constantly varied functional movements executed at high intensity across broad time and modal domains," with the stated goal of improving fitness, which it defines as "work capacity across broad time and modal domains." (Wikipedia). Now take that definition and put it in a competition - a grueling competition.
Each of the races requires the participants to push themselves to the limit and beyond, should they desire to do so.
I recently learned of a new race called The Barkley Marathon that’s held in Wartburg, Tennessee every year either in late March or early April.
HISTORY IN THE ESCAPING
The Barkley Marathon was formed in 1986 by Gary "Lazarus Lake" Cantrell and Raw Dog. Gary, who goes by Lazarus, heard about the 55 hour escape attempt by James Earl Ray (1977). James Earl was convicted of assassinating Martin Luther King in 1968 and was serving his time at the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary.
After 55 hours on the run, Ray only covered eight miles. Lazarus felt he could do much better. Instead of actually doing it, he created the marathon, which is named for a friend of his Barry Barkley. And Lazarus wants people to know the race is no means a tribute to James Early Ray.
WHO IS LAZARUS LAKE?
To get an idea of Lazarus's personality, he and the director (Annika Iltis) were leaving Lazarus's place in a old blue truck. Probably from the 1950's or 1960's.
Annika noticed the fuel gage was close to E and she asked him if it was broken. In response, Lazarus said no. He continued with "E is for excellent and F means you're fucked".
He's the one that does the talking in the film. We see his co-founder, Raw Dog, a few times. I believe it's due to the fact that Lazarus founded the marathon and basically runs it.
THOSE WHO CAN CAN AND THOSE WHO CAN'T CAN'T
Hundreds of runners from the around the world apply for the marathon but only 40 make it in. And those that make it in, find it difficult to finish. And if you're one of the lucky few, you have to bring your state's license place with you.
Sometimes, Lazarus will require other items to be given to him such as white shirts, sox, and at the 2015 event, flannel shirts.
KEEP ME IN THE LOOP
The race is a grueling one which starts between midnight and noon. And to give you an idea of how grueling, here's what I learned from the film. By the way, I was tired just hearing it.
There's five loops (circular routes). Each loop is about 20 miles, according to Lazarus. The runners see it differently. They feel it's really 26 miles.
Daytime consists of two loops going clockwise. Nighttime consists of two loops counter clockwise, with a total of four loops. For the fifth loop they send them in opposite directions. One goes clockwise while the other goes counter clockwise.
Three loops is considered a 'fun run'. By whom, I have no idea. It takes five loops to finish the race which is 130 miles.
MAPPING, NAPPING AND TAPPING (OUT)
There are check points at each route, or loop in this case. At these check points are books in which you have to tear our the corresponding page to your assigned number. This is the prove you ran the course. Once you reached the starting gate, which is also the finish point, you give Lazarus the page from the book. You also have a choice of taking a nap (resting) or continue on. You also have the choice of quitting. If you quit, taps is played for you...literally.
Some of you might think you could run this marathon, but you might want to think twice. It's not just running up a hill and down a hill. The routes have actual names, just to give you an idea of how brutal this race is.
Pillars of Doom (yes, there are real pillars you have walk across): Checkmate Hill Son Of A Bitch Ditch Testicle Spectacle Raw Dog Falls Danger Dave's Climbing Walls Pighead Creek Rat Jaw The Bad Thing Zip Line Big Hell
AT THE DARK END OF THE STREET..ERRR MARATHON
There are those that go up to 48 hours without sleep just win this thing. One participant ran on just one hour of sleep. Remember, the race is 130 miles and 60 hours long. There are no rewards handed out. No cash prizes and ticket tapped parade waiting for finishers, which there aren't many. This is a test people place upon themselves. There are those that do different marathon courses such as this and say The Barkley Marathon is most intense one they've endured.
THE TAKEAWAY
I enjoyed this documentary a great deal. There were no voice-overs, no fancy lighting, music scores or anything else to make this documentary great. It was great on it's own. From Lazarus Lake to the participants and definitely, the obstacle course.
As a history buff (and useless knowledge seeker) I liked the history of the race. Oh, by the way, one of the course does require the runners to go through the North East of the prison where there's a stream coming from a tunnel. The tunnel is how James Early Ray made his escape. The only concern for the runners are the screws (guards) near by. And you definitely should to get to the tunnel before dark.
I found the entire process fascinating. The participants who come from all walks of life from a physicist to a grad student. They come from California, Pennsylvania, Utah and even Belgium.
You saw the good (those who continued without taking a break), the bad (the scratched up legs and feet) and the tired (those who tapped out), but through it all, you saw will power and determination.
AND THE WINNER IS...
I'm not going to say who the winner was in 2015 for it was anybody's game. You should experience the documentary and story for yourself. And, after watching, and you're feeling brave, sign up for the marathon. Oh, and good luck finding the application and passing the exam. Yes, there's an exam you have to take and send in.
THE BARKLEY MARATHON Directed by Annika Iltis and Timothy James Kane Released 1 October 2016 (Neatherlands) Run time is 1 hour and 29 minutes Filming location: Wartburg, Tenn at Frozen Head State Park Where to watch: Netflix
IMDB rating: 7.8 Rotten Tomato rating: 67%
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OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS
Fittest on Earth 2015: The Story of the 2015 Reebok Crossfit Games Released 2016 Netflix (Streaming), Amazon or iTunes (rent or buy) Fittest on Earth: Decade of Fitness Released 2017 Amazon, iTunes, Google Play (rent or buy) Rise Of the Sufferfests Released 2016 Amazon, iTunes (rent or buy) The World's Toughest Mudder Release date 2016 This takes you through the 24 hour race that took place in 2015 https://toughmudder.com/mudder-nation/blog/introducing-worlds-toughest-mudder-2015-documentary (can only be viewed online)
As someone who enjoys LifetimeTV movies and have become a fan of both Colin Theys and John Doolan (both involved in The Murder Pact), I was excited to learn of their new collaboration Stalker's Prey. Stalker's Pray aka Hunter's Cove centers on a high school student who loses her boyfriend to a shark attack. Shortly afterwards, she is stalked by the man who saved her from being attacked by the same shark.
THE SET UP
Laura (Saxon Sharbino - Touch [TV series]) sneaks out of house to meet a friend of hers and they drive down to the docks where her boyfriend, Nick, is supposed to meet her. Laura soon learns that her boyfriend has a surprise for her. A boat ride into the ocean.
While swimming Laura and her boyfriend feel something on their leg. Each blame the other for the antics. It isn't until Laura sees the shark's fin and then the shark, does she realize that they are imminent danger. It's too late for Nick who gets attacked by the shark, but not for Laura who is rescued by a stranger.
We learn that the stranger is Bruce Kane (Mason Dye - Flowers In The Attic), the son of a politician in their town.
LET THE STALKING BEGIN
While in the hospital Bruce visits Laura three times. Two she's aware of, and one she's not. Bruce visits her in the middle of the night while she's sleeping. When he visits her at night, we learn that he's had his eye on her for a long, long while.
While at home Bruce visits her again and asks her to a dinner party his parents are hosting. They do end up sleeping together.
Laura is at the beach when she gets a phone call from Bruce who is there as well. She tells him she needs some space and she didn't mean for last night to happen. He complies with her wishes and head to his car. This is where we see him lose it.
At school Laura learn her substitute English teacher is Bruce Cane. We did learn earlier in the movie that Bruce not only volunteers at the hospitals pediatric unit visiting the kids, but he's a substitute English teacher.
There's another little thing we learn about Bruce. He used to date someone named Allison, who he refers to as Allie.
It's not long before Bruce begins showing up wherever Laura is and physically hurts Laura's friends Parker Lowe (Camerus Johnson - Luke Cage, OA) and Bre Hendricks (Gillian Rose - in her first role).
Bruce will go to any length to be with Laura and mean any length.
THEYS AND DOOLAN DO IT AGAIN
I'm not sure what history Theys and Doolan have but Theys does a great job of directing Doolan's scripts. And if it wasn't for Doolan's great writing, Theys wouldn't be able to bring it to life. My first introduction to this team was The Murder Pact (2015). I don't think I have ever enjoyed a LifttimeTV movie as much as I did with The Murder Pack. You know a movie is good when two hours go by and it didn't feel like two hours. Stalker's Prey holds your interest from the time Bruce shows up until the very end.
Mason Dye (Bruce Kane) is an excellent actor. I remember watching him in Flowers In The Attic and automatically thought of Ricky Schroeder. Not only his is looks but his acting as well.
As for Saxon Sharbino (Laura), I hope to see her in more dramatic movies. I wasn't too sure about her when the movie first started, but once she got to show her acting chops against Bruce, I knew she would be someone I want to keep an eye on in future roles.
WHAT'S NEXT?
I hope we don't have to wait two years for another collaboration from @ColinTheys and @Johnny_Doolan. These two bring out the best in each other.
I highly recommend checking out The Murder Pack after you have viewed Stalker's Prey. It's currently on LifetimeTV.
There's a show called Wentworthwhich is set in a fictitious women's prison in Wentworth, Australia, currently running on FOXTEL (new season to begin in May). In this drama there is a character named Joan Ferguson (but you can all her Governor). If the name sounds familiar it's because there was a series (soap opera) on some thirty years ago calledPrisoner: Cell Block H in which there was a screw (guard) of the same name played very well by Maggie Kirkpatrick. Joan Ferguson is synonyms with evil and manipulation and anything else you can think of, yet, she's a fantastic character, both in Wentworth and Prisoner because the character is more than what we see on the surface, but to keep reminding us of our pain, sorrow, anguish, we choose not to look too deep and just enjoy the antics that is Joan Ferguson.
GOVANA FERGUSON
In Wentworth Ferguson is played by Pamela Rabe who does a excellent job of becoming evil personified, yet I am fascinated with her (the character, that is) and most don't know why and for me to explain would be difficult. In a nutshell, I see more than just evil lurking in the eyes of this character. I see hurt and anguish in which there is no outlet. It's something we all can relate to if we take the time to look past the antics of the character and look inside the character. The writers did a great job in taking Ferguson to the next level by reminding us that loss is the most painful thing we can experience, and loss can haunt us for years, if we let it.
But Ferguson's pain goes deeper than just the loss of someone she loved. Her pain and anguish also stems from year of verbal, and possibly, emotional abuse by her father. Although Ferguson is a fictional character, all characters are created from someone's truth that soon becomes out truth. This is why we, at times, grab on to fictional characters. I tend to gravitate towards troubled characters; those that the world would soon turn it's back on rather than try to understand. Someone else's truth, sometimes, becomes my truth.
GOLD FISH
The picture below was captured by me while watching S3:E8 (titled Goldfish). I feel this is an extremely important episode in the whole series and there were a few scenes that played into my thought, this one being one of them. It depicts Ferguson in her office staring at her reflection (I captured the picture when she turned from her reflection). You see her turning from side to side watching her reflection do the same. Then she turns from her reflection to walk away but her reflection remains standing.
It's also interesting this episode was named Goldfish: In Buddhism: The golden fish symbolizes the auspiciousness of all living beings in a states of fearlessness, without danger of drowning in the ocean of sufferings, and migrating from place to place freely and spontaneously, just as fish swim freely without free through water. I added the poem tonight because this particular picture kept staying with me in my mind and as an artist, I had to write it's tale through my eyes.
MY REFLECTION
My reflection stares though I can't comprehend The meaning behind my eyes and a heart that won't mend.
A master controller
has invaded my space
Bringing me closer
to my dead end race.
Memories are lacking
behind my cold gaze
My soul is entangled
in my homegrown maze.
I stand face to back
on this bleeding leading ledge
Always planning my demise
with this dull razor's edge
I know of no solace
from the destruction I did comprise
For my reflection can't comprehend
the soul that has since left my eyes. (c) 2016 by Nikki Hoskin All rights reserved.
As someone who thoroughly enjoy documentaries, I was glad to come across Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru for I have always liked Tony, yet I’m not a follower. I’ve never bought any of his books or attended any of his over priced seminars, especially the Day of Destiny six day seminar that takes place in Boca Raton, FL every year, costing $4995 to attend (that’s 2014’s cost). If I spent $4995 on a seminar that lasts 6 days, 11-12 hours a day, I would need a shrink, and not a so-called self-help guru. So, being able to watch the process from the comfort of my home, without having the pay the hefty fee, allowed me to enjoy more. Sort of.
STRESSFUL SHOWS LEADS TO STRESSFUL SLEEP
I would watch the documentary before going to sleep because during the day I was watching shows that would only produce a stressful sleep such Marcella (Netflix original), The Man in the High Castle (Amazon original based on the book of the same name), along with binge watching Mr. Robot and Queen of the South ( both currently in Season 1 – via USA Network, either on the computer or the app). I wanted to end my nights with something a bit more calming, and Tony’s documentary did the trick, to a point.
EVERYTHING WAS FINE UNTIL THE FEE WAS MENTIONED
The documentary is the brain child of Joe Berlinger, who, after attending one of Tony’s Date with Destiny seminars, wanted to document the whole thing, including Tony. After two years of asking, Tony finally agreed. Not sure if begging was included, but you would think that someone who believes in helping others, would have conceded sooner than two years. Problem number one for me with this whole documentary.
Everything started out great for me, when learning of Tony’s goal for the attendees and what he offers people in the 12 hour a day, six day seminar, until the fee was announced: $4995. In 2015, it was $6k for the seminar. For 2016, here are the prices for the seminar that took play in May of this year (2016):
They try to con you by stating you are saving $4k, but the prices are still ridiculous and seem to go up every year. As mentioned, the one in 2014 coast $4995 and I couldn’t get this out of my mind while watching the show. The people at the seminar were not broken people, they were idiots. If someone gave me $4995, I’ll fix them myself. Being a self-help guru doesn’t not take skill, it takes compassion, and compassion can’t be taught. You either have it or you don’t.
I feel if you can fork over $4995 bucks, you are doing fine, financially that is. Save $4971 and go buy a $24.00 book by Tony that will do the same thing as the seminars will do. Or, how about someone just forks over $25.00 to me and we go have a beer or two.
STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND
Picture it. Sicily, 1924…a little Golden Girls joke there. Seriously. Picture it. You’re in a room with 24,999 other people you don’t know (that’s if you came alone. If you came with someone, then there’s 24,998 strangers in the room with you). Tony picks you out of the crowd (I’m not sure the process, but he does) and now you have to tell you bleeding heart story to a room full of strangers. Why? Because Tony makes you feel that comfortable. He makes you feel like it’s just you and him in that room, while reminding you there’s thousands of strangers in the room rooting for you. He starts by asking what your issue is, and you tell him. He asks you again, and again, you tell him, with more details added on. This process goes on until he has reached the real underlying issue you’ve been carrying around. He makes you think it’s OK to express yourself in front of total strangers, and perhaps it is, for some. But this is the beauty of this documentary’ we are only seeing those that were willing to share and had a “break through.” We are not privy to those who refused to share, not to mention, just refused to stand. Not all are there to share, but to listen.
I can barely express myself in a room full of people I’ve known for years, how can I express myself in a room full of total strangers?
Tony claims he goes by the energy in the room and can tell who he should pick. But he has another method. At the end of each day (or almost each day), Tony and his crew go through some flash cards that were filled out before the seminar began by those attending and emails sent to Tony’s office of those with issues. He and his crew go through the cards and emails and pick out “red flags”. Red Flags are people in real need of help, such as those contemplating suicide. There was one person who attempted suicide two days prior to the seminar. I, personally, doubt this, and feel it was to get attention. And yes, there are those who do go there for the attention, the hope of being singled out by Tony. This is one thing I enjoyed, watching Tony determine who was there for attention and who isn’t. And when one of his team members read someone’s story to Tony, and he knew it was for attention, he would say, “she only wants attention” or “he only wants attention.”
Once he and his crew picked out the red flags the previous night, Tony single those people out in the seminar the next day.
PEER PRESSURE VS. FREE WILL
As mentioned earlier, Tony singles out some people to tell their story, or get to the root of the issue so he can “help” them. I use the world ‘help’ very loosely. My understanding is, he spends one to two hours with these people in the seminars, but the documentary only allows us 10 minutes of he is interaction with them. One particular person he singled out was a lady named Hali. Hali states her father always treated her like a princess. She also states she was in a bad relationship, but is currently in another relationship. Tony seemed to narrow it down to her being the issue and not the other person in the relationship. Why? Because she knows she will always get love from daddy so getting love from other men is not important to her. Or some BS like that. Knowing that we are not seeing the entire interaction with the person, I am going boldly says that Tony has CONVINCED her that she’s the problem in the relationships. What we are able to witness is Tony telling Hali that she should break up with her current boyfriend because he does not deserve what she’s putting him through. He first asks Hali if “Joe” (I can’t remember the boyfriend’s real name) is the one, to which she really has to think about it. The next words out of Tony’s month is, “take out your phone”. With this comment from Tony, comes the gasp from the audience for they all know what Tony wants Hali to do. Tony wants Hali to break up with her boyfriend right there on the spot, yet he says to her, and tried to convince everyone in the room, that the choice is hers to break up with him or not.
Hali is standing in room full of her peers and being told by Tony that she needs to break up with her boyfriend. He convinces her, and the others in the room, that it’s of her free will to do this, while telling her she must do this. She is faced with two decisions: follow the silent crowd and break up with her boyfriend right then and there, or tell Tony that she wants to think about it. If she does the latter, Tony will make her look like a coward, like she’s not facing her fears and she’ll never grow. Hali caves in and calls her boyfriend (phone on speaker) and breaks up with him. During the call he hangs up on her. Tony convinces her it’s OK and she did the right thing.
I have to admit I had to turn the show off before Hali’s phone call for I was feeling a great deal of embarrassment for her and a great deal of sadness for the soon-to-be-dumped boyfriend. I viewed Facebook, Twitter and played a round of Candy Crush Soda before making my way back to the disaster about to take place. I cringed when she dialed the phone and cringed at each ring that took place. I was hoping it would go to voicemail and save her the embarrassment and him the heartache. But luck was not on my side, nor hers, for you could see on her face she was hoping it would go to voicemail as well.
The boyfriend answers and she gives some lame story and breaks up with him. After he hangs up on her, she is still under the impression that what she’s done is OK and for her own good. We learn, at the end of the documentary, that Hali and her boyfriend got back together, which I was glad to hear. This speaks volumes about the interaction earlier, in that Hali felt what she did was not right. What Tony told her she did not believe, and that this person she’s with is the one and she’s willing to work on her own issues, while keeping this special someone in her life.
TELL ME ALL YOUR SECRETS WHILE I HIDE MINE
Another thing that bothered me about this whole process was Tony’s unwillingness to talk about his past completely. He does mention during the seminar that his mother used to beat him every day. He also mentioned that his mother was depended on drugs, prescription drugs, for he would have to go the pharmacy a lot to get Vicodin for her, telling the pharmacist his mother lost the bottle. I’m not sure how things were back when Tony was old enough to get Vicodine for his mother, but I don’t think it was that easy to get a prescription that often without a red flag being thrown up at the doctor’s office as well as the pharmacy. But this is the story he told.
Tony doesn’t reveal much of himself on stage nor on camera. There was a member who shared with the world that she grew up in a commune in Brazil (I hope I have that right) called Children of God and at the age of six on, was engaged in sex with different people (sex slave, basically) in the name of God. While telling the story, Tony begins shedding tears. Back stage the director asks Tony about the incident and tries to get him to talk about his past and what has happened to him. I understand not wanting to tell you story to others. We all have bad things that has happened to us, that we don’t want to share. And I also understand Tony’s stance that the bad he’s endured makes him the person he is today. Whatever doesn’t kill you, makes you stranger. I get that. However, how am I to trust you can help me if you won’t open yourself up to me, yet, you want me to open myself up to you?
I’m aware when you go see a counselor or shrink, they are there to listen to you and advise you. However, I, and I think the director too, was expecting Tony to open up more about himself. After all, this documentary was about him and his Date with Destiny seminar, but that was not to happen. Berlinger asked Tony multiple times, throughout the film, about his past and Tony just would not talk about it. This tells me that Tony has not fully healed from his past. As the saying goes, if you say it out loud it makes it real. All I got from the film is Tony’s mother used to beat him a lot, he used to protect his brother and sister and he had to go to the pharmacy a lot to get Vicodin for his mother. We don’t need to know every single detail of his rough past at home, but I think he should show more of the human side of him instead of this “I can heal you of your issues”.
MI CASA SI NO ES SU CASA
Here’s something else that got me throughout the film: Tony’s house in Florida
A modest life he does not lead. Parts of the house was featured (so you could say it was another character in the documentary) a few times throughout the documentary. This is another reason I find the fee for the seminars (which keeps going up each year) to be a bit much. When I look at what was included in the prices (for their are two packages – refer above for chart), I didn’t see anything about food and lodging being included in the prices. Not only that, the seminars each day, are 12 hours long: 11:30am – 11:30pm. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Jim Jones have 12 hour long services? I’m sure you are free to come and go during the seminars, but 12 hours is a bit much for six days. So now, I have the $4995 fee stuck in my head along with Tony’s fat house and the 12 hour days. I think the fee stuck in my head more than anything else.
I believe in the adage, do what you love for free and the money will come later. Did Tony do this for free at all or has he always charged for his “words of wisdom” that can be found anywhere if you look hard enough. And now-a-days, you don’t have to look that hard. There’s YouTube, books, articles on the Internet. But more importantly, surround yourself with good people and you won’t need to pay $4995 for someone to tell you what you already know or can find out in a $24.00 book.
THE TRUTH WE ARE ALLOWED TO SEE
I do admit that I enjoyed the documentary. I took some things away, such as when Tony said that settling for a low paying job means you feel you are not worthy of high paying job. I almost fell into this statement. I took a very low paying job because I felt I wasn’t going to find another job in my respective IT field paying what I should be getting paid and have been getting paid. I ended up not taking the job and decided to pursue what I am worth. He also states that when you settle you are not moving forward. Very true.
The whole 1:56 mins wasn’t completely wasted. I did sleep a bit better at night, until I finished the film and realized a lot of things that brings to mind a lot of questions.
Why were we only shown people that Tony was able to reach or did what Tony wanted them to do and not shown those that would not stand up, or possibly disputed what Tony said?
At the end of the documentary, why are we only privy to those that got something out of the seminar, and not those that may have found the whole thing a waste of money and time?
Why was Tony so secretive of his past, but wanted others to express themselves completely and expose themselves in a room full of strangers?
I understand the purpose of the seminar is for others to find whatever it is they are seeking in FL with a fee $4995 (yeah, I’ll never get over that and the fact it increases each year), and that’s all well and good. But I feel in a documentary, Tony should have shared more of his past. Him not sharing his past was not a deal breaker for me with this film. Would I watch this film again? No. Would I recommend this film to anyone? Probably not. And if I did, I would give the three things mentioned to keep in mind when watching the documentary.
The lady that was part of the commune sold all her furniture to attend the seminar. Somehow, she ended leaving Boca Raton with $100,000 due to people giving her money. I guess she told anyone that would listen that she sold her furniture so she could attend the seminar and people fell for it and just handed money to her.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
I feel Tony Robbins has a good heart and wants to help people. I also believe the same of Deepak Chopra, but I lean more towards Chopra than I do Robbins. It’s a preference thing, that’s all.
If anyone told me they were going to the Date with Destiny seminar or thinking of going, I would quickly talk them out of it. This is where I would tell them to watch the documentary and save them $20 million dollars. I would advise them to buy one of Tony’s book, look him up on YouTube, find articles, if they are set on Tony. I would recommend they explore Chopra or other ‘self-help’ wizards out there.
I don’t doubt there are people that have and will continue to benefit from Robbins, I’m just not one of them. I don’t need Robbins telling me I’m good enough and I shouldn’t be down on myself about anything. One, it’s not realistic, and two, whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stranger. I prefer to continue being strange and getting stranger by the day.
NETFLIX TRAILER:
Here is the trailer for Tony Robbins: I am Not Your Gurucurrently playing on Netflix.
BONUS MATERIAL: TONY ROBBINS IN SHALLOW HAL
If you haven’t seen Shallow Hal with Jack Black, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jason Alexander, you have to find this movie and watch it. It’s about a man, Jack Black, who only sees people from the outside. It’s not until he’s giving a key word (provided by Robbins) that he begins to see people’s inner beauty.
Here’s a scene with Jason Alexander asking Robbins to undo whatever he did to Hal:
MTV’s The Challenge started in 1998 under the name Road Rules: All Stars, which had members from Real World and Road Rules in a competition show to win some money. In Season 2, the show’s name was changed to Real World / Road Rules, and is currently known as The Challenge with variations on the name such as: The Challenge: Fresh Meat I, II, The Challenge: Rival I, II, and recently, Rivals III, among other names it’s know for.
I started watching it in the early 2000’s and continue to do so til this day. I thoroughly enjoy this show along with The Real World, and Catfish.
THE CHALLENGE: RIVALS I, II AND III
Each season, MTV’s The Challenge tries to mix things up. First it was Fresh Meat and the Rivals. I, personally, find Rivals more enjoyable for two reasons: 1. they are bringing back people the viewers are familiar with, and 2. you know there’s going to be major drama because you have two people in the same house, that dislike each other, if not hate each other.
In Rivals they like to pair Rivals up with each other, which makes for better TV.
THE CHALLENGE: RIVALS III
courtesy of MTV
Instead of giving the whole set up for this season’s The Challenge on who was paired up with whom and their history, I’m going to cut straight to the point of this post.
Friends now Rivals:
Johnny Devenanzio aka Johnny Bananas and Sarah Rice (now Patterson)
Johnny and Sarah from Rivals III
Quick back story:
Johnny and Sarah had been friends for a long time. I believe they met on the show a while back and from there became good friends. In last season’s The Challenge: Skeletons, Sarah was paired with Jordon from The Real World Las Vegas, and Johnny was paired with Nany, also from RW Las Vegas.
Johnny and Nany
Sarah and Jordan
Sarah and Jordan had won the last challenge in the game before the finale, and had to choose who would go into elimination. It It was discussed, and I believed, agreed between Sarah/Jordan and Johnny/Nany that Sarah would not put in Johnny. Well, Sarah ended up putting in Johnny and Nany to battle another couple in the elimination round, in which Johnny and Nany lost, sending Johnny home without a chance at the money.
This move by Sarah turned her and Johnny into Rivals and a perfect pair to bring back for Rivals III.
I’m So Happy To See You
During the entire challenge, Johnny and Sarah worked great together and won a lot of the challenges, which made them the team to beat. About mid way through the season, Sarah apologized to Johnny for what she did to him in the previous season. Johnny expressed himself, Sarah expressed herself and they seemed to have made up and left the bad blood behind them. They both expressed their like for each other, how much they missed being around each other. Johnny even told Sarah that when she walked into his room one night he was genuinely happy to see her. From that point on, their rivalry was gone and friendship was back on the menu. Or so we thought.
THE FINALE AND THE TWIST
The teams that made it to the finale were:
L to R: Devin, Cheyenne, Johnny, Sarah, Jenna, Vince (this is at top of the mountain where Johnny and Sarah finished first)
How it normally works in team challenges is the winning team splits the money down the middle, but not this time. TJ Lavin (host of the show) tell the teams the person with the highest point at the finish line can decide to either keep all the money or split it with their teammate. 3rd place: $25,000 2nd place: (which is first place loser): $50,000 1st place: $275,000
How the scoring worked: Everybody would complete the same task. The first person first each team that finished the task first got a point, if they choose, they could help their teammate, which all of them did for each challenge. In the end Johnny and Sarah won the whole thing and the $275,000.
Devin and Cheyenne came in third and Devin split the money with Cheyenne.
Vince and Jenna came in second and Vince split the money with Jenna
HOWEVER, when TJ asked Johnny what was he going to do, Johnny gave some BS story about how he may not have many challenges left and needs to look out for his future, thus deciding not to split the money with Sarah.
As both Devin and Vince said, if it wasn’t for their partners they wouldn’t be in the finale, so they should split the money. Johnny felt his future was more important than thanking his partner, Sarah, for getting him to the finale. He didn’t get their by himself. Johnny didn’t win all those challenges by himself. He had Sarah with him all the way. As Sarah said in the reunion show, she would have never done that him. No descent human being would do that to someone was their partner an entire season and contributed to them being in the finale and then winning the finale. But Johnny proved to not be a descent person.
FROM JOHNNY BANANAS TO JOHNNY ROTTEN
Somehow, Johnny Devenanzio got the name Bananas and it’s stuck for all these years. Well, after this season of The Challenge, he will be known as Johnny Rotten.
I normally watch these shows with a grain of salt. They are mindless entertainment while I’m doing something else (playing Candy Crush Soda, mostly). But what Johnny did in the finale really had me heated for I really liked Johnny. He had his moments in which the light didn’t shine favorably on him, but for the most part, I thought he had a good heart, and he showed it, especially to the newbies on the show. He’s said some harsh things, but if anyone knows, the older you get the less of a filter you have, and if you know the person well enough, you know they mean no harm. Yeah, there’s a lot of me in those last statements. I have no filter and I mean no harm.
LET'S SPLIT THE MONEY
Splitting the money would have given each $137,000, which would have been more than enough for Johnny to “protect his future”. I’m not sure what the cut off age for the show is, but if he’s still in shape as the years progress, why not keep doing them. Well, hold on…this is how I felt before he pulled a fast one on Sarah. Johnny doesn’t seem to have a real job outside of these shows. He apparently has his own clothing line, but I feel that came about after his popularity on the shows grew. He also is the first contestant to have a bobble-head made after him.
Yeah, I don’t get either.
I’m not sure if the decision Johnny made was last minute or seeking revenge on Sarah for what she did last season. However, like I said on Twitter:
I’m sure by next season, if Johnny and/or Sarah are on, we might find out something different has taken place. It might be a good something. I think I’m still hoping that Johnny Bananas isn’t Johnny Rotten after all.
I must add, I was glad not see Cara Marie in this season’s The Challenge. But hope to not see her next season or the season after that.
