Movie Review: The Invisible War by Kirby Dick

The Invisible War is a 2012 documentary film written and directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Amy Ziering and Tanner King Barklow about sexual assault in the United States military. It premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the U.S. Documentary Audience Award. The film was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 85th Academy Awards. I am not surprised - it fully deserves far more than just that.

My impressions

The movie features interviews with veterans (mainly female but also male) from multiple branches of the United States Armed Forces who recount the events surrounding their assaults. Their stories show many common, depressingly recurring themes:  the lack of recourse to an impartial justice system, reprisals against the victims instead of against perpetrators, the absence of adequate emotional and physical care for survivors, and something which I found perhaps the most sickening of all,  the unhindered advancement of perpetrators' careers, and the forced expulsion of survivors from service. In short they show how low the US Army really values their best and brightest soldiers.

In the film's most prominent narrative, Coast Guard veteran Seaman Kori Cioca struggles to earn benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs to pay for the many medical difficulties that have resulted from her very brutal rape perpetrated by one of her colleagues. Although she has a husband and a little daughter, Kori cannot function normally and she needs urgently several costly operations but nobody wants to hear about her problems, let alone finance the treatment. She shows that the doctors keep prescribing her the same set of pills which, combined, might have led to her premature death - fortunately she's learned not to take them together. With the help of attorney Susan L. Burke, Cioca, along with other survivors featured in the film, brings a civil suit against the Department of Defense alleging a failure to adequately address sexual assault within the military. Their suit is, surprise, surprise, unsuccessful. They don't give up but you can say it is going to be one long struggle, lined with barbed wire and concertina of neglect, lies, procrastination and humiliations.

If you're a young person thinking of enlisting in the U.S. military, you might want to give this some thought: a recent court decision held that rape was actualy among "occupational hazards" of the job. I bet they haven't included that one in any recruitment materials, have they? Department of Defense official figures indicate 22,800 rapes occurred last year in the Armed Services. Most of the victims were women, but perhaps 10 percent were men. Everybody agrees it is just a tip of the iceberg because most of assaults, like 80%, aren't reported - for obvious reasons. If victims are told that they might be accused of adultery, public intoxication and slander in turn, then publicly punished shamed and demoted, you should be hardly surprised they do think twice before filing a complaint.

Why rape is so disgustingly popular among military? Why is it so difficult to get any amount of justice? The military is a macho, adrenaline-fueled culture which in turn draws attention of power-crazy, abusive sociopaths. It doesn't mean every single one of military men and/or women is a rapist; it rather means that a violent rapist might be particularly inclined to join the ranks of military because he/she might perceive it as an opportunity for having mostly nonpunishable 'fun' and a fresh batch of victims in a form of recruits.

The Army lay great emphasis on authority and teamwork. You follow the leader - no questions asked. You go along with the program - no matter at what cost. You never mention anything negative or criminal because it might lower the morale and cast a shadow on your own career prospects. What's more, your complaint not only puts your commanding officer in a bad light, but also may involve him; the film says "25 percent of women didn't report an incident — because their commander was their rapist." Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Until a few months ago, there was no way to go above your commander to report a rape. Defense Dept. Secretary Leon Panetta saw this film, and two days later, issued an order changing that practice. But the over-all problem remains. Rape is twice as common in the military as in civilian life, and "an estimated 15 percent of recruits attempted or committed rape before entering service." In other words if you need a rapist in your life, join the Army - any branch will do - and sooner or later you're bound to meet one.

If I had to choose the most disturbing moment I would be really spoilt for choices; still I guess my award would go to that silly military sex abuse prevention campaign which was supposed to make all the difference. One of its slogans reads: 'ask her when she is sober'. I found it highly offensive, especially after getting to know all those sad, horrible stories of rape. So, accroding to the military PR specialists, basically only women soldiers get drunk, right? And, after all, it IS a bit of their fault because they tend to overuse alcohol and then some men, poor things, simply cannot restrain themselves...but still, mind you, they will always ask you first, like fine gentlemen they are...what a pile of stinking, macho bullshit.

Finally the most moving and absolutely heartrending parts were about the aftermath of rape. Every victim, and we speak here about incredibly strong women and men, both physically and mentally, cried when talking about their experience. Some said it was actually more humiliating than the rape itself. Their tears were more telling than any statistics or facts provided.

Final verdict:

An absolute must-see for any young woman who dreams about a military career in the US or anywhere else - watch it before it is too late, do your research and ask the right questions during the recruitment process. Also a strong documentary which tries to explain why  rape culture is alive and kicking and why, even if you are a high-profile professional, male or female, you cannot demand any respect or decency from your military superiors and coworkers. The film's implication, quite starkly, is that a strong military doesn't favor crybabies, that a certain degree of rape is simply unavoidable — and inevitably, that some women may have been asking for it. Begging for it in fact. One hearing noted that the victim was dressed provocatively in a short skirt- the said skirt being the part of her official uniform. How very indecent of her. Catch 22 anyone? The US Army is waiting.

Dead Sexy Dragon (Dragon Heat #1) by Lolita Lopez

Synopsis:
The last thing dragon shifter Stig Wyvern needs is his dead friend’s kid sister showing up on his doorstep. He’s just minutes away from entering a mating phase. Sharing his isolated house with the young woman he’s desperately lusted after for quite some time is a recipe for disaster.

But Cora Cardenas has nowhere else to go. She’s in deep trouble with some really nasty people and Stig is the only one who can protect her. That he’s deliciously sexy and makes her tingle with the simplest of smiles is just a bonus.

Cora quickly realizes Stig is hiding something from her. To make matters worse, she’s plagued with breathtakingly naughty dreams starring a shadowed lover who bears a startling resemblance to her host. And just what the hell is going on down in the basement at night?

Stig needs to get Cora out of his house but his inner beast has other ideas. He’s found his mate and she’s not going anywhere...



Cora is on the run from a bad situation and the only place she can think to hide in is with her dead brother’s marine friend. How is she to know that said friend, Stig (sans the helmet), is about to go into a heat and be turned into a dragon against his will? Of course the two of them sharing a bathroom leads to sexy times, and because this is a novella it happens very quickly.


I’m sorry to say this didn’t work for me. Truly sorry, because my usual gripes are absent. There’s quite a bit world building with a long and complex history that promises to be expanded in the sequels. The main characters are pretty well sketched with dreams and fears of their own even if I had trouble believing an immortal being that keen on joining a war after another. Due to the length of it, the story is rushed but it remains logical and believable within its world’s rules.

No, this time it was the erotica part of the book that failed me. More accurately, the erotica vocabulary:

< highlight for spoiler>
core,
cum,
cunt,
folds,
mound,
pussy,
(honeyed) sex,
tummy
</spoiler>

…yeah, no. Because I couldn’t lean on the insta-lust crutch, I didn’t buy the insta-love angle either. I simply couldn’t enjoy roadrunner fast the romance. Too much of a stretch even for my active imagination.

It’s too bad, because had the smut adjectives and nouns been less repulsive to me, I’d have wanted to read more about the world Lopez has created.



I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Review: The Conspiracy (Theft and Sorcery 02) by Erica Dakin

Synopsis:

Vaysita (Sita), a half-elf orphan, has been palace-bred and trained all her life. Adopted by Queen of Arlis she was made the companion and bodyguard of her son, prince Tio, a very handsome jerk. Soon some extra-curricular subjects were added to Sita's normal daily schedule: lock-picking, burglary,  close combat, dagger throwing and such – not exactly skills expected from a high-born courtier who calls the Queen her Aunt Tima.

One night Sita is sent by her shadowy tutor to rob her own castle’s treasury. During the test she meets a real burglar Kailev (Kai) – a handsome young thief, far more skilled than her and  with magical abilities as well. His simple, straightforward compliments, so different than the oblique wooing of mercenary court elves and half-elves of noble birth, make Sita blush too easily. Kai is clearly smitten with the pretty burglar girl but doesn’t promise himself a lot – she is evidently a refined lady and he lives on the streets. Still soon enough Sita will need his help in a very important mission and he won’t be able to say ‘no’. How long will the calf love last? Is it really just a case of calf love?

What I liked:

I am very glad to say the second part of Theft and Sorcery was far better than the first book. The author limited the amount of romance (in the previous installment there were two couples of identical twins in love; in this one we get just Sita and Kai) on behalf of world building and her choice paid off. From my point of view the novel was far more interesting than the first one.

The romance itself was also quite well executed – although Kai was instantly in love with Sita it took him plenty of time and effort to understand properly not only his beloved and her feelings but also himself. I really enjoyed how these two had to adjust  each other’s ideas of relationship to the reality they had to face. I didn’t expect much and I was very positively surprised – take it from a regular romance-basher! The fact that Sita had to overcome her previous infatuation with Tio Prince Charming added to the romantic story arc a much-welcomed reality factor and was more than enough to justify the first person narration. Overall well-done!

If it comes to the world building I really, truly adored the Tizar household of Nayev and his family! Far better than Rivendell and Elrond’s home, I am telling you – not high fantasy of course but who needs high fantasy when you are having fun?

The cover art is simple but I like it. At least you don't have to look at another plastic naked, headless torso.

What I didn’t like:

Once again the whole plot sometimes made me nonplussed to say the least because the mission of prince Tio and Sita was close to suicide.  The longer I thought about it the less pleasant epithets I had for the Elven Queen and her outlandish ideas of spying on those ugly, plotting elven lords. Let's face it, she endangered two important people close to her just to get some proof which could have been bought with gold and favours – what a prodigality! Of course you might argue that if not for the mission Kai and Sita would never got to know each other so well.

Final verdict:

I like a series which gets better and better; I am pleased to say this is one of them. Light read perfect for the summer with elves, half-elves, magic, theft and a lot of steamy romance – if you don’t have anything against the genre I recommend it and no, you don’t have to start with the first part in order to get your bearings.

Broken Homes (Peter Grant #4) by Ben Aaronovitch

Synopsis:
Ben Aaronovitch has stormed the bestseller list with his superb London crime series. A unique blend of police procedural, loving detail about the greatest character of all, London, and a dash of the supernatural.

In the new novel DC Peter Grant must head south of the river to the alien environs of Elephant and Castle. There's a murderer abroad and, as always when Grant's department are reluctantly called in by CID there is more than a whiff of the supernatural in the darkness.

Full of warmth, sly humour and a rich cornucopia of things you never knew about London, Aaronovitch's series has swiftly added Grant's magical London to Rebus' Edinburgh and Morse's Oxford as a destination of choice for those who love their crime with something a little extra.


What the hell did I just read? Where’s the rest of it? I need the rest of it NOW!

On a more rational note, this is another better novel of the Peter Grant series. As ever, the strength of the writing and story lies on Peter’s narration and sarcastic voice, so if that hasn’t won you over by now, don’t expect the scattered plot threads to dazzle you. If you’re invested in the long plot, however, sit back and enjoy the ride.

The story is of the slow sort and reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes in a way that doesn’t make a good mystery novel. Not in the puristic sense. Too much is hidden for the readers to piece together the puzzle for themselves and they have to wait for the genius to guide them through the intuitive steps of logical deduction.

Broken Homes also suffers from the middle book syndrome but because this is the fourth in the series let’s call it the set up syndrome. Everything, and I do mean everything is set up for bigger things to come and even the explosions at the end aren’t enough to release the underlying tension. It feels like things are going to get a lot worse before they get better and Peter needs to improve on his policing as well as his magic lessons. And fast.

When’s the next book coming out again?

Movie review: Red by Robert Schwentke

Release date: 2010

Starring: Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren

Synopsis:

Frank Moses is a retired CIA agent. He lives alone in a comfortable, pristine house, takes his pills every morning, exercises in the basement and waits for the pension check to arrive. As soon as he gets it, he tears it down in order to have a pretext to phone and talk with his social security phone crush, a woman called Sara. It is his only pastime and he has never seen Sara in real life. Yes, he is so romantically awkward, lonely and bored. Fortunately lovely Sara, although much younger than Frank, seems almost as bored with her life as him – she reads Harlequins (“Love’s Wild Secret” is her latest choice - horrible but so enticing), she goes on dates, one more botched than the other, she dreams of travelling and exotic countries.

One night, though, Frank’s boredom is over. A special forces squad is sent to murder him. Who and why – you can only guess and our hero is hardly surprised. After so many years in CIA you are bound to know some dangerous secrets, right? In fact it seems he has been preparing himself for such a possibility all that time; mind you he knows every trick in the special operations books and then some. Not only he neutralizes his opponents very efficiently but also he manages to escape more or less unscathed, grabbing a bag full of documents, cash and everything a man on the run might need in order to survive for several weeks. Still Frank will be anything but alone. He goes to Sara in Kansas City and takes her away for their first date – literally kidnapping her. Then he pays visits to all his old pals who might be also targeted. They form a nice little squad on their own. Who will prevail, young CIA agents or their retired counterparts?

My impressions:

It's a comic book adaptation starring actors who are mostly over the age of 50 or 60. And it's paced like a movie for older audiences, too. Technically I shouldn’t have liked it but I did. This film might be not a killer thrill ride but I admit I haven’t seen a better spy comedy for a long time. It tells you that you are never too old for a mayhem (read: fun and fireworks) in your life and the allure of firing an honest-to-god RPG outweighs the prospects of peaceful retirement and tending to your garden – a refreshingly original premise.

Bruce Willis did surprise me – I hardly remember his other roles but this one was fun! A retired agent role suited him perfectly and there was one simply precious scene when he and his beloved Sara were reading the same romance novel (but, of course, for different reasons!).

Overall all the actors seemed to have a lot of fun while shooting this one and it translated into a piece of effortless entertainment even though, from time to time, you must put your brain on hold, preferably with some relaxing music in the background. Not every plot twist makes sense, not everything is easily believable but who cares when Helen Mirren is killing a bunch of baddies with a big machine gun positioned on a tripod, wearing a scrumptious evening dress with make-up and an impeccable hairdo to match? Or John Malkovitch, in full obsessed-weirdo-camouflage outfit, helps her swapping glossy stilettos for sturdy outdoor boots? You would have to be dead in order not to smile!

Final verdict:

A perfect light comedy for an easy evening – good humour afterwards guaranteed. You can even watch it with the whole family, most probably nobody will get bored

Love Has No Boundaries: Short Stories & Short Reviews Part 1

These short stories were written as a part of the M/M Romance Group's "Love Has No Boundaries" event. Group members were asked to write a story prompt inspired by a photo of their choice. Authors of the group selected a photo and prompt that spoke to them and wrote a short story.

The Tail of a Dog by Summer Devon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cute. Told from the dog's point of view, and shows how two kind-hearted men find themselves through an unfortunate event. My favourite parts were where Javier was confiding in the dog, because people do talk to their pets and tell them things they wouldn't dream of saying to another human being.


Falling Away by Lisa Henry

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It was written in third limited, so that's one good thing about it. It also had that good meh-like thing going on until it promptly fell flat on its face with that ending. I liked Dark Space, but this made me doubt whether I want to read The Island or not.


Smoky Glimpses by Nicole Forcine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Left me slightly weak in the knees. It's told in third person limited but Kaden's voice is clear and personal. Also it's a paranormal that left me wanting more of the story and the world.



Last First Kiss by Piper Vaughn

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

It wasn't bad but neither was it anything especially good either. An angsty short story that touched subjects far too big for its ~10k word count. Especially because a third of it was dedicated to the sex. Friends to lovers trope.


#First Impressions #Second Chances by Heidi Belleau

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another friends to lovers story. It started out really well, then took a dip with the reveal, and only partially recovered. Cute but skimpy on the reality details.

Review: The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike 01) by Robert Galbraith (a.k.a. J.K. Rowling)

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.

Then John Bristow, the brother of his childhood friend, walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.

You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.

What I liked:

I did like the fact that the book was published under an alias. If you remember my review of The Casual Vacancy you know I have been an ardent proponent of such a solution. And surprise, surprise: before that secret became known to all and sundry allegedly at least one editor rejected the novel. Let's face it: it is a good story but hardly brilliant. Still kudos to the author for taking the risk of an impartial assessment! I do hope it will lead to better novels in the future!

I admit I liked the Cuckoo's Calling far better than the first 'adult' JKR's book. The plot was more interesting, the main character and his secretary sidekick - more likeable. Small wonder: this book is full of birds: we got a cuckoo, a cormoran, a robin and a Leda who, as far as I remember my Greek myths, was intimately involved with a certain swan...

Fortunately JKR does like to torture her characters - poor Cormoran not only has just one leg and is virtually penniless, forced to sleep in his office, but also has been ditched by his fiancee, a very beautiful and rich girl called Charlotte he apparently still loves. What's more, he is rather overweight and plain, in bad physical condition, practically friendless, constantly harrassed by people who only want to know more about his relationship with the famous rock star father. I admired the man's stamina and patience - if I were him I would be completely miserable, snapping at everybody right left and centre.

The mysterious death of a fashion model, Lula Landry, wasn't done badly - perhaps not exactly an original premise, definitely reminding me of some Agatha Christie's books, but overall executed nicely as far as I am concerned. The narrative voice of Rowling was, in my opinion, the best feature of this one. JKR knows how to write, although she sometimes uses a bit too bombastic vocabulary to suit a simple whodunnit.

What I didn't like:

Let me start with an unimportant tidbit. One name: Lechsinka. It was supposed to be a name of a lovely Polish cleaning lady, a girl with bad English but a great bottom and a thorough approach to her job. One problem: that name doesn't exist and/or is not used in real life - take it from another girl born and raised in Poland. One would think that there are so many Polish people, cleaners or otherwise, living and working on the British Isles it would be relatively easy to come with a real name, Slavic-flavoured and all. I wonder why JKR decided to invent one instead. Boredom? Laziness? Some obscure Google problems? Or maybe the authoress thought that nobody would care ? After all an immigrant cleaner and a secondary character to boot is not important, right? Well, wrong. A good author, in my view, always tries to dot their i's and cross their t's. In a great novel there are no unimportant characters or spurious names. What's worse, Lechsinka apparently doesn't know the English word 'detecive' - Cormoran has to explain to her that he is a kind of cop. I found the scene simply ludicrous because that particular word is very similar to its Polish counterpart (detektyw) so easily recognizable. Honestly, is research such an onerous task, Mrs. Rowling?

My second complain: there were too many elements which purpose I simply didn't understand. For example these Latin quotes (and additionally it did bother me that I couldn't find any mention of the author of the English translations - did JKR translate them herself? If so, why it wasn't stated anywhere?). At a stretch you could somehow join them with some story arcs but they were, in my humble opinion, too philosophical and aloof to fit the novel. I might be just mean now but after a while I admit I started to suspect that the author included them because she wanted to appear more sophisiticated and educated than your ordinary crime story writer. A completely uncharitable thought, I know.

Then the title. It was a bit too vague, too metaphorical to reflect well the content or provide a clear message of any kind. Ok, I admit it, after a while it kind of made sense (and no, not because the book features a Swiss cuckoo clock ;p ) but, at the same time, it felt spurious, too overthought perhaps. I personally could think of several more fitting titles (e.g.Of cuckoos and cormorans) and I am not the only one. One of funnier suggestions I've found (under the review published by the Guardian): The golden goose's calling. Simply brilliant!

Finally something that really disturbed my reading and made me bored more than once: walking and talking. In other words the pacing of the novel was too stolid for my taste. I grant it, perhaps the real investigations done by real detectives are mundane drudgeries like this one, consisting mainly of interviewing the witnesses, family and friends, connecting the facts, guessing and double guessing who lies, who tells the truth and why but in a novel it should be limited to the bare minimum. Nothing kills the interest in the crime itself more swiftly than an endless walking and talking. Nothing is more pathetic than a situation when a crime mystery reader, reaching page 320 out of 388, shouts : hooray, finally something happens!

Let me add a word or two about the cover - it is HIDEOUS and STUPID, perhaps a good choice for a chick lit novel but completely WRONG for a crime fiction book. I would never take this one into my hand just because of the cover appeal because there is NONE.

Final verdict:

A moderately good crime story. For a rookie writer it could have been a nice debut (if it was published at all, that is); for somebody of JKR's fame and renown my expectations were definitely higher. Better luck next time, Mr. Strike. I suppose I might be inclined to give you a second chance but let me call a spade a spade: I am a bit disappointed so it will be your last one.

BTW go and read a fabulous review of this book by Tasha/Heidenkind.