That being said, there are people who just cannot STFU about Heat and I've seen literally podcasts discussing Heat and I cannot deal with this.

It wasn't that good of a movie from the start, why are we having a podcast about it 30 years later and treating this seriously?

Heat is, true to its name, a lot of wasted potential. Two fantastic actors whose entire performance boils down to one choppy diner scene that can be summed up as:

"If you're thinking of stealing stuff, don't."

"Well... I'm gonna."

I've seen more interesting situations with drying paint.

And I'm being as polite as I can be here.

There are test movies -- movies you use to test your friends or loved ones.

I use Pulp Fiction (1994) and Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) as two good examples of films that aren't for everybody. If I recommend one of these, I'm testing you. It's not a test of your intelligence or wit or character.

I just want to know if we can vibe about movies together. If you love these movies, we're probably gonna be cool with each other.

Hope you like non-chronological storytelling, because I sure as shit do.

Training Day is a good movie. I wouldn't call it great, I wouldn't say it's epic. Solid acting, good story, keeps you engaged.

That's more than I can say for Heat.

None of them are movies that I own, and I certainly don't keep a physical copy around to share with special people who I've decided to test or bless or whatever tf you call it when you subject a friend to two hours of whatever your specific fetish is.

Credit where credit is due:

"Thorn-shaped teeth snapped an inch away from his cheek."

Teeth aren't normally shaped like thorns. This sentence informs the situation.

It's a far cry better than this typical "Lisa picked up the key with the fingers on her hand and tightly clutched the metal object to the breasts she kept on the front of her chest" bullshit.

My point is that you should know your strengths. If you have a talent for writing fighting scenes, or love scenes, or whatever, lean into that.

Have people read and critique the stuff you're not so great at doing. And tell them emphatically to not hold back on their reactions.

Don't expect honest feedback from family and loved ones.

Odds are good that you suck at something, and people telling you the story's good actively harms you when you're trying to spell out something subtle and esoteric. Solving the riddle of the mummy's curse is important, sure, but if you screw up every description of ancient keys turning ancient locks, you may as well not have ever bothered.