Belles's Blog

July Reading

2011-08-04T10:09:00.002-04:00

Once again I let my blogging slide, so I'll be giving brief reviews of what I read in July. I started the month with Heartless by Gail Carriger, the latest installment in her fun and funny Parasol Protectorate steam punk series. I enjoyed reading it but I'm glad there's only one more book planned for this series. It's time for it to end.

Undead and Undermined, the latest in Mary Janice Davidson's Queen Betsy series, was another fun and funny book. She's got some crazy stuff going on with Betsy, queen of the vampires; her sister who is the spawn of Satan; and some bizarre time traveling / timeline altering shenanigans. Kudos to Davidson who finds ways to keep this series fresh.

I read the Cassie Palmer series by Karen Chance, which included Touch the Dark, Claimed by Shadow, Embrace the Night, Curse the Dawn, and Hunt the Moon. The series starts out OK, but if you stick with it you'll find that the fourth and fifth books really take off.

The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan was really good. Werewolves have been hunted to near extinction. Jake is the last of his kind and he's ready to die. After living a few hundred years he finds he doesn't have a purpose to his life, until something changes his mind. I found the vampire subplot a bit extraneous, but I really liked this character driven novel. Very well written.

Forever by Maggie Stiefvater is the last of the Wolves of Mercy Falls series. It nicely wraps up the story of Sam and Grace, but I found myself more interested in the dynamics between Isabel and Cole. On a side note, Maggie came to my local bookstore and I got her autograph in my book! She was really nice and had a lot of funny stories to tell. It was great meeting her.

The last Harry Potter movie (which was FANTASTIC) got me in a mood to re-read the books, but I'm trying to hold off until they're released as ebooks in October on Pottermore.com. So to tide me over I re-read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard. All are wonderful and clever books. If you're a fan of the series and haven't read these yet, you'll really enjoy them.

I also read a few Kindle freebies which all turned out to be duds. I'll list them here so you know not to waste your money on them: No Rest for the Wicked by Rebecca Knight, Embrace the Night by Karen Chance; and Just One Taste and Another Sip by CJ Ellison.

June Reading

2011-07-01T13:03:00.004-04:00

I'll start with my favorite book of June: Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews, the latest in the Kate Daniels series. I love this series and I love this book. Andrews weaves a compelling story in an alternate reality. I absolutely recommend this whole series to everyone. I also read the two Curran POV releases. Interesting supplemental material to the series, but not must-reads.

I re-read Ilona Andrews' On the Edge, the first in The Edge series for my book club. Another home run for Andrews. There's our normal non-magic world called The Broken; there's a parallel magic world called The Weird; in between those two worlds is a thin band called The Edge that has it's own magic, laws and rules. Rose works for minimum wage in The Broken to keep food on the table for her two young brothers when a couple mysterious men show up in life as several evil predatory monsters. Great writing and great storytelling. I definitely recommend this series, too.

Hit List, the latest Anita Blake novel by Laurell K. Hamilton, was a pleasant surprise. I'm not a fan of Anita or LKH, but I do like the characters Edward and Olaf and, thankfully, these were the featured characters. Edward is a sociopath with two distinct personalities, one he shows the rest of the world (his Ted Forrester persona) and one only a select few know about (Edward, the killing machine). Olaf has two personas as well, but we mostly see him in his full psychopath mode with his fixation on Anita. I wish LKH would drop the rest of the nonsensical characters from this world and focus on Edward and Olaf. If you've toughed this series out so far, you may as well read this one, too.

I tried to get into A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. It won a Pulitzer and it's very well written, but I disliked it. There was no real plot and the entire book was depressing. I'm glad I tried it, though. Makes me appreciate my Urban Fantasy books with their HEAs.

Eternal Hearts by Jennifer Turner, the follow up to Eternal Seduction, was disappointing. With the first book she had her own unique twist on the vampire genre. This second outing was good, but it was just like every other vampire book out there. I'm hoping in future books we get back to the more unique aspects of her world.

Hounded by Kevin Hearne was a fun book. Atticus O'Sullivan is a Druid who's thousands of years old living in our modern times. There's lots of humor to go along with the action. I definitely recommend this one.

I re-read Twice as Hot by Gena Showalter for my book club. It was just as fun this second time around. It's slightly on the silly side, but it has to be because it's a world where people gain super powers. Lots of action and humor. If you like Urban Fantasy, this series is fun.

I plowed through a bunch of Kindle freebies that I've been collecting for a few years. I figured it was time to blast through some of them. The best was Operation Sheba by Misty Evans. It's a spy thriller involving double crossing CIA agents. Kept me on the edge of my seat the whole book. I got it for free, but I'd even recommend that you buy it. It makes for great summer reading.

I can't say the same for the rest of the freebies I read. As I look back at my reading list I can't even remember what some of these were about. They were good enough to read because they were free, but I wouldn't recommend spending money on any of these: Reunion by FE Heaton, The Abandoned by Amanda Stevens, Samson's Lovely Mortal by Tina Folsom, Hunter's Choice by Shiloh Walker, Out of the Box by Kallysten, Demon Girl by Penelope Fletcher, Enchanting the Lady by Katherine Kennedy, The Marquis by Denise Patrick, Tyger Tyger Burning Bryght by Cathryn Cade, Duality by Renee Wildes, and Claimed by KR Smith.

Super 8 and Bad Teacher

2011-06-28T13:20:00.002-04:00

Super 8 was a fun summer action/adventure movie. Set in 1980 before any kind of modern technology, it's about a group of kids filming their own movie who stumble on a big government secret. It's very Spielberg-y. The deputy was exactly like Brody in Jaws, the messy house was straight out of Close Encounter of the Third Kind, and the adventure the kids go on is just like ET. But it still all works. If you don't catch it in the theater then definitely put it in your rental queue.

Bad Teacher was funnier than I thought it would be. Cameron Diaz plays a teacher who shows movies in class until she finds out that the teacher with the highest state test score at the end of the year gets a bonus, which she plans to use for a boob job. Not a must-see movie, but it had me laughing out loud at a few scenes.

May Book Reviews

2011-05-31T10:13:00.002-04:00

I started out May by rereading Playing with Fire by Gena Showalter, the first her Tales of an Extraordinary Girl series. It's a fun book about a girl who suddenly acquires super powers and can control the weather. It sounds hokey, but there's a lot of humor and sarcasm which mixes nicely with the plot. I definitely recommend this series to anyone who reads Urban Fantasy. I'll be reading the next book in this series in June.

Hard Bitten by Chloe Neill, the latest in the Chicagoland Vampire series, really knocked me for a loop. The writing and story were great, as usual. But there was a surprise at the end of the book that I never saw coming. I'm concerned with what Neill plans to do with this new plot development in future books. I hope they don't turn into anything hokey because this is one of the best written Urban Fantasy series.

Dead Reckoning, the latest in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, was disappointing, just like the last few books in this series. Harris should have wrapped up this series with the fairy wars. Instead, her contract got extended due to HBO picking this up but she's clearly out of things to write about. In this book, the first five chapters are about Sookie cleaning out her attic. Then some characters do things they wouldn't normally do. Then Harris comes up with the worst deus ex machina ever that's going to explode in the last book of the series. If you're not a die-hard fan of the series, skip it.

I picked up The Heat, The Strip, and The Spell which comprise the Big Bad Wolf series so far by Heather Killough-Walden. I downloaded them for $1 each on my Kindle. If they're still $1 and you like Urban Fantasy books about shifters, definitely download them.

I read a few short story freebies: Thrill of the Hunt by Nathalie Grey, Snaring the Huntress by Sylvia Day, and A Knight to Remember by Karin Tabke. They were all just OK. I'd skip them all.

I tried to fit in a reread of the whole Kate Daniels series at the end of the month before the next book came out, but I only managed to fit in Magic Bites, Magic Burns, and Magic Strikes. This one of my most favorite series. Well written, lots of humor, and a tough and sassy heroine. What's not to love?! I absolutely recommend this series!

April Reviews

2011-04-29T10:52:00.003-04:00

Eternal Rider by Larissa Ione is the the first in her Lords of Deliverance series about the four horsemen of the apocalypse (or, to be more exact, three horsemen and one horsewoman). This one focuses on War/Ares and his attempts to keep his seal from breaking to prevent Armageddon. Good writing and an action-packed story kept me on the edge of my seat through the whole book. This series is a spin-off from her Demonica series. You don't have to read Demonica first, but there are character crossovers from that series and a plot spoiler in this one for the end of the Demonica series. I definitely recommend both series to fans of the urban fantasy genre.

City of Fallen Angels, the fourth book in Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments YA series, doesn't disappoint. Fan's of the first three books will definitely enjoy this one. Simon takes more of a lead role in this one, but Clary, Jace, Isabelle and the rest are all featured. Readers of young adult literature will want to check out this series.

Unbreakable by Sydney Sommers was a surprise hit with me. I downloaded it several months ago as a Kindle freebie and decided to pick it up only to reduce my freebie TBR pile. Usually these freebies end up being somewhat of a disappointment, but this one was a fun, action-packed read.

I also read the Aisling Grey series by Katie MacAlister. Aisling discovers that she's a guardian in charge of protecting the world from demons. She ends up falling in love with a dragon (in human form, of course) and gets dragged into dragon sept and other underworld politics. It's a fun, funny, entertaining four book series. If you're looking for lighter urban fantasy, you may want to try these.

Spring Round-Up

2011-04-13T12:16:00.006-04:00

I've seen several movies and read many books since my last post. I'll just give a quick one line review and a rating for each.

BOOKS

River Marked by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson series) ★★★★★

I missed the pack in this one, but it was a nice departure from the usual story line.

White Witch, Black Curse by Kim Harrison (The Hollows series) ★★★★★

Black Magic Sanction by Kim Harrison (The Hollows series) ★★★★★

These books are just as good the second time around!

Across the Universe by Beth Revis ★★★

A decent dystopian YA sci-fi novel, but I'd recommend The Hunger Games over this.

The Night Season by Chelsea Cain (Archie/Gretchen series) ★★★

Decent murder mystery, but Gretchen is very noticeably absent.

Battle of the Network Zombies by Mark Henry ★★

Too much humor and not enough story.

Iron Crowned by Richelle Meade (Dark Swan series) ★★★★

A great installment to the series. I can't wait to see how it all ends!

One of Our Thursday's is Missing by Jasper Fforde (Thursday Next series) ★★★★★

Another brilliant book by one of my favorite authors.

A Red Herring without Mustard by Alan Bradley (Flavia de Luce series) ★★★★

I will never grow tired of seeing the world through Flavia's eyes!

The Passion by Donna Boyd ★★★

Well written, but it ends up being a tragedy and I really need my HEA.

The Gift of Fury by Richard Jackson ★★★

It kept me reading even though I wasn't in the mood for it, which probably means it's better than how I rated it.

Primal Calling by Jillian Burns ★★

Boring and predictable.

Invincible by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Chronicles of Nick series) ★★★★

Great story with lots of humor - I might end up liking this YA spin-off better than the main Dark Hunter series.

The Sacrifice by Samantha Sommersby ★★★

Not as bad as I was expecting it to be since it was a Kindle freebie.

Fang Me by Parker Blue (Demon Underground series) ★★★★

I'm enjoying this YA series, but I don't think Ms. Blue is planning to write many more of these books.

Lover Unleashed by JR Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood series) ★★★★★

Another home run for Ward. I don't think she's capable of striking out.

The Harlequin by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake series) ★★★

Blood Noir by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake series) ★★★

Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake series) ★★★

Flirt by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake series) ★★★

Bullet by Laurell K. Hamilton (Anita Blake series) ★★★

I'm glad to be all caught up with this series. It was a challenge to keep reading.

Atomic Lobster by Tim Dorsey ★★

Another book that was too jokey and light on plot.

Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampire series) ★★★★★

Friday Night Bites by Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampire series) ★★★★★

Twice Bitten by Chloe Neill (Chicagoland Vampire series) ★★★★★

It was great re-reading these. Just as good the second time around.

MOVIES

Hannah starring Cate Blanchett and Eric Bana ★★★★

Great acting, great music, great scenery.

Source Code starring Jake Gyllenhall and Vera Farmiga ★★★

A decent movie for your rental queue.

Limitless starring Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro ★★★★

Good movie. Definitely watch it.

Insidious ★★★

A decent attempt for a scary movie, though several key scenes were pretty hokey.

Rango ★★

Somewhat boring and predictable, though not the worst movie I've ever seen.

TV SHOWS

Nurse Jackie ★★★★

I'm glad this one started up again. I love all the goofy people who work in the hospital.

Gods of the Arena (Spartacus prequel) ★★★

It's not going to win any awards, but it's a fun show with lots skin and blood.

The Borgias ★★

This should be a lot more interesting than it is.

February Wrap-Up

2011-03-01T10:45:00.003-05:00

Pale Demon, the latest in Kim Harrison's Hollows series, was incredible! Lots of good plot stuff happens, lots of great character development happens, and I'm left practically dying for the next installment. It's great that Harrison is still on the top of her game with this series and isn't painfully dragging it out like so many other authors. I definitely recommend this whole series.

This Side of the Grave, the latest in Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress series, is unfortunately one of the books that is dragging out a series without too much substance. I had a feeling this was going to happen because Frost doesn't have a lot of "pieces" in play in the overall plot to successfully extend this series. This book was OK, but I wouldn't recommend it. I would recommend the first three books in this series, though.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness was a pleasant surprise. This debut novel reads more like a regular novel than an urban fantasy one, which may or may not work for you depending on your reading style preferences. I definitely recommend it and I'm looking forward to more books by her.

Sapphique, the follow up to Incarceron by Catherine Fisher, was just as good as its predecessor. These are both just straight up well written science fiction. Dreams of a Dark Warrior, the latest in the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole, was just OK. I thought the first half dragged.

I went to see Unknown starring Liam Neeson. It had a good twist, but the rest of the plot of painfully stupid. I don't recommend it. I watched The Maltese Falcon and was disappointed. It's all just people sitting around talking about what happened instead of actually showing what happened. Very boring. But I also caught Goodfellas, and that movie never gets old!

Last Dragonslayer, The Rite, and Other Reviews

2011-02-08T13:27:00.002-05:00

Once again, Jasper Fforde's writing has thrilled me to pieces with The Last Dragonslayer. It's marketed to young adults, but is full of his usual intelligent wit so it's enjoyable for adults as well. Set in an alternate universe where magic is fading, 15 year-old Jennifer Strange discovers that she's the last dragonslayer and that she must slay the last dragon. Of course, there's also lots of social commentary as with all his books. Definitely a must-read!!

I re-read The Outlaw Demon Wails, the sixth book in Kim Harrison's The Hollows series. Lots of background and secrets are revealed in this installment. Jenks continues to be my favorite character in the whole series - who wouldn't love a smart-mouthed 4-inch tall pixie who's always cursing Tinkerbell?! Fans of the urban fantasy genre will enjoy this series.

I also read Archangel's Consort, the latest in Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series, which was a bit of a let-down; Eternity Embraced, a short story filling out Larissa Ione's Demonica series, which was as good as the rest of the series; and I read several books in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, which were all total crap. Don't read anything by LK Hamilton!

The only new movie I've seen since my last post is The Rite starring Anthony Hopkins. Of course, he's incredible to watch in anything he does but this movie was boring in its complete predictability. It offered nothing new that you haven't already seen before. Disappointing.

January - Catching Up

2011-01-24T10:10:00.004-05:00

Yikes! I've been bad about keeping up with my blog. I took a wonderful trip to DC last weekend to visit friends. It was so good to see them, but it makes me miss them all the more now that I'm back home. My favorite site was the Library of Congress. It's the most beautiful building in America, both inside and out. I got see the Gutenberg bible and Thomas Jefferson's library - both are quite incredible. Being the book nerd that I am I bought all of my souvenirs here. Such a great trip! This is a picture of me in the Library of Congress with my new library card.

I have to start my book reviews with Shadowfever, the last book in the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning. Talk about ending the series with a bang! It was a complete roller coaster ride full of action and jaw-dropping reveals. The previous books in the series are good, but this one is great. No fan of the series will walk away feeling unsatisfied, even if we still don't know what Barrons is.

I re-read the Mercedes Thompson series and the Alpha & Omega series by Patricia Briggs. I love the Mercy series! Mercy is a 'walker' who shifts into a coyote at will. She lives in mobile home on the plot of land behind the alpha of the local werewolf pack. She works as a VW auto mechanic in the garage she bought from Siebold Adelbertsmiter, a metalworking Fae. One of her clients and friends is a vampire who owns a bus painted like the Mystery Machine from Scooby-Doo. Great writing and fun stories. I'm looking forward to the next Mercy release in March.

I also re-read For A Few Demons More from the Hollows series by Kim Harrison. I loved it as much this second time around. I tried Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey, but dumped it because I just couldn't get into it. Then I picked up the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter, a decent urban fantasy series about a skinwalker who hunts vampires. I'll be finishing up the last book in this series tonight.

I caught a few older movies on Netflix this weekend. I loved Fanboys, a movie about the ultimate Star Wars fans. Very funny if you're into sci-fi, otherwise I don't think you'd like it. I also watched Unthinkable starring Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Sheen and Carrie-Ann Moss. The casting and the acting was good, but the story lacked a little something extra so I didn't like it as much as I hoped I would.

The King's Speech, Black Swan, and other reviews

2011-01-05T11:39:00.002-05:00

I absolutely loved The King's Speech! It stars Colin Firth as Prince Albert, who stutters. His father (the king) dies, then his older brother abdicates the throne to Albert (George VI), all this happening while Hitler is continuing to take over Europe. Albert finds help from a very unorthodox speech therapist played by Geoffrey Rush. With his help, Albert is able to deliver the radio speech to the nation on the eve of England's involvement in WWII. It's a wonderful movie full of humor and heart. I'm sure Firth and Rush will be getting Oscar nominations for their performances. Definitely go see this movie.

The Black Swan was just slightly too weird for me. Natalie Portman's performance as a driven ballet dancer will surely win her an Oscar nomination, but the character she played was unlikeable and I became more annoyed with her as the movie went on. That combined with the many suddenly bloody scenes had me anxious for the movie to end. It's well done, but I don't recommend it unless you want to see a movie that's a little too 'out there.'

I read Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex, the latest in Eoin Colfer's series. It was good, but not as good as its predecessors. Definitely worth reading though if you're into YA literature. I also read Hellforged by Nancy Holzner which rocked my world. Shifters, demons, zombies galore and a kick ass chick kicking all their asses - what more could you ask for? I just finished a re-read of For A Few Demons More, the fifth book in Kim Harrison's The Hollows series. Just as great the second time around. Great wedding scene, heartbreaking ending.

I played a few Nintendo games over the holidays. I love Professor Layton and the Curious Village and Professor Layton and the Unwound Future. Both are puzzle games wrapped in fun little stories. Great series for the DS. I also played Epic Mickey on the Wii. It's sort of like a Mario game but not as fun for some reason.

True Grit, Tron, The Fighter, and Other Movie Reviews

2010-12-24T09:24:00.002-05:00

True Grit was awesome! The gritty tale of a girl seeking justice for the man who killed her father is a pretty main stream movie for the Cohen brothers. I was impressed that the young girl who stars in the movie was not overshadowed by Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon. I definitely recommend it. It's one of my top five favorite movies of the year.

The Fighter was a good movie, but the most impressive part was Christian Bale. He'll definitely get an Oscar nomination for his role. While this is the story of a boxer, there wasn't an over-abundance of fight scenes. It's a movie about a dysfunctional family and how they cope with the up and coming success of one of their own.

Tron pretty much stunk. Visually it was great and the acting was fine. But the plot was boring and predictable, and the dialogue was truly awful! The only redeeming part of the movie was Michael Sheen as Zeus. Unfortunately the movie was called Tron, not Zeus, so we didn't get to see much of his character. If I was a 12 year old boy and this was my first sci-fi movie I would have liked it, but I'm not and I expect more when I see a movie.

I also rented a few movies. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work was good. It was a reminder to me that Joan Rivers is still as sassy and hilarious as she ever was. Notorious, the story of Biggie Smalls, was just ok. It was too long and, therefore, a little boring. Gone Baby Gone is probably the best most forgettable movie ever made. I had seen this one before and it was interesting, but something about it makes you forget it as soon as it's over.

Bookwise, I'm still plugging my way through the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton. Narcissus in Chains was excessively long and full of passages that I could easily skim read. I think this book marks the turning point for the series and the books are going to start going downhill from here. I'm still determined to make it through them all, though.

Last Sacrifice, The Tourist & Real Vampires Have More to Love

2010-12-14T13:47:00.002-05:00

I read Last Sacrifice, the conclusion to the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead, in a day. It was incredible. I appreciate that she had an overall story arc in mind for the series, which included a dynamic ending. I was on the edge of my seat the entire story with action-packed excitement from start to finish. Even though it's technically classified as YA, I definitely recommend this series to any fan of the urban fantasy genre.

And speaking of Last Sacrifice...Richelle Mead is currently on a book tour and she made a stop in Michigan! She did a reading, answered some questions, and signed books (note the picture related to this post). She was very down to earth and seemed to enjoy meeting all her fans. Very cool.

What wasn't cool was the latest book in the Glory St. Clair series by Gerry Bartlett, Real Vampires Have More to Love. It was the same story with the same people doing the same things they've already done. As opposed to Vampire Academy which had a specific structure to the series, it's clear that Bartlett is just writing books with nothing specific in mind. Very lazy writing. I'm disappointed in this one.

I also went to see The Tourist starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. The critics are beating it up pretty hard. I didn't think it was that bad. Despite being predictable, it was an entertaining spy film. It's not a must-see movie, but you should at least try to catch it when it come to cable.

Faster, The Hurt Locker, & Fistful of Charms

2010-12-06T15:25:00.003-05:00

Faster, starring Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) and Billy Bob Thornton, was a fun action movie romp. I love watching Johnson take down the bad guys to correct injustice! Johnson is released from prison for being the driver in a bank robbery, and immediately starts gunning down the people involved in his brother's murder. Thornton plays a crooked cop mere days away from retirement who gets assigned to this case. Also mixed up in the plot is a psychopathic killer who's hired to take down Johnson before he can finish killing everyone on his list. It's definitely not a must-see movie, but if you like action flicks then put this one on your list.

I finally got around to renting The Hurt Locker. I hated it. One of my biggest pet peeves is when there is NO PLOT! It's so aggravating. I thought I was going to get a small semblance of a plot when I Ralph Fiennes walked on screen, but he was killed about five minutes after his grand entrance. Eventually I started pushing buttons on the remote to my new blu-ray player to find out how much time was left in this torturous piece of crap, but I hit a wrong button and stopped the disc completely. When I went back to the disc it didn't save my spot so I just ejected the disc. What's the point? There was no plot so it's not like I missed some big ending where questions were answered and story lines wrapped up. Faster was much more entertaining.

I just finished my re-read of A Fistful of Charms, the fourth book in The Hollows series by Kim Harrison. This is such a great series! I'm having a lot of fun re-reading it. In this book, Rachel starts to use demon magic (black magic) but for good reasons. She continuously struggles with her choices but ultimately she is who she is, and that's a person who would do anything in her power to help her friends. The price of invoking demon magic is big splat of black smut on her aura to make up for the imbalance she created in the universe. Either before or after she dies, she's has to work to remove the smut before she can go to heaven. The usual characters are afoot in the story: Ivy is a mess, Jenks is human-sized, and Nick is a turd. If you like the urban fantasy genre, definitely pick up The Hollows series.

I also read A Bite Before Christmas by Heidi Betts. It's a series of three novellas that feature vampires at Christmastime. It wasn't bad for a Kindle freebie, but it's not a must-read either. I just didn't want this one to sit around too long like my other Kindle freebies because of the Christmas theme. If it's still free and you like vampire books then download it.

Next 3 Days, Blade Runner, Anita Blake 1-9

2010-12-02T14:26:00.002-05:00

I just got Netflix and the first movie I decided to stream on demand was Blade Runner, a futuristic movie that explores what means to be human. What a great movie! It really stands the test of time. My only complaint is that Sean Young's acting was bad, but it was offset by the awesomeness of Rutger Hauer who will forever be my favorite bad guy.

The Next Three Days, starring Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks, was just ok. My mom wanted to go to a movie and it was either this one or Love and Other Drugs, and I'd rather stab my eyes out than see that stupid looking piece of crap. Three Days was predictable so the pace didn't really need to be as slow as it was. You can wait for this one to come out on cable.

I've been working my way through the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter book series by Laurell K. Hamilton and just finished the ninth book out of 19. I knew that they weren't going to knock my socks off. The first eight were ok. The ninth one, Obsidian Butterfly, was pretty good, though. The main point against them is that LKH started writing this series in the early 90s. I think if I had started this series back then I would have loved them, but they don't quite stand the test of time. I'm still planning to continue with the series. Ten more to go to catch up, and #20 coming out in the summer. I was hoping to have this series finished by the end of the year but I don't think that's going to happen.

Deathly Hallows and MANY other reviews

2010-11-24T14:34:00.002-05:00

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 was EXCELLENT! Very good movie making and story telling. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire movie. I can't wait for the last installment to come out next summer. You definitely need to see this one. I'm going again this weekend, and it probably won't be the last time I see it.

Fair Game starring Naomi Campbell and Sean Penn was another excellent movie. It's a dramatization of the true story of the undercover CIA agent that got outed by the a-holes in the Bush administration. My only warning is that you will be so angry by the time the movie is over, but it's very well done.

Unstoppable starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine was a fun action movie, but you can wait for DVD.

The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead was SO FREAKING AWESOME!! This is one of my most favorite book series ever! I highly recommend them. The last book in the series comes out on December 7th. I'm going to a book signing on December 12th, so I'm pretty geeked to meet her.

Full Dark, No Stars is typical Stephen King. It's the train wreck you can't look away from because his writing is so good. I always recommend Stephen King.

Unfortunately I've also read a few stinkers: Immortal by Allison Cassatta which I couldn't even finish, Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox which I had to skim read just to finish, and Immortal Beloved by James Simon which had a good story but was full of typos.

Currently, I'm working my way through the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton. I'm on the seventh book in the series. So far they're all ok but nothing special. I wouldn't recommend them, but I'm still going to continue the series.

Due Date, Good, Alfie & Every Which Way But Dead

2010-11-09T13:44:00.002-05:00

Due Date, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galafianakis, was funny but not as funny as The Hangover. A funny, outrageous plot pits Downey's uptight character against Galafianakis' flaky idiot. It's definitely worth seeing.

Good stars Viggo Mortensen as a regular German guy who lets himself get swept up in the Nazi-ism in the 1930s. He is a "good" guy who doesn't take action to oppose Nazi forces and lets his Jewish friend get taken away to a concentration camp. It's a good movie that explores character weakness instead of strength in the face of Nazi forces. Definitely worth renting.

Alfie, starring Jude Law, is incredibly boring. Don't waste your time on this.

Every Which Way But Dead, the third book Kim Harrison's Hollows series, is fabulous! It was fun re-reading it to soak in all the details. I love watching Rachel take on the world even though she's kind of a mess. Great scenes between her and Al, and her and Trent. I definitely recommend this urban fantasy series.

Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Conviction, and Other Reviews

2010-11-04T14:45:00.002-04:00

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest kicked ass! I thought this third movie held its own with the first two and was a fantastic way to wrap up the series. Noomi Rapace, once again, turned in a stellar performance as Lisbeth Salander. My favorite scene was watching her walk toward the courtroom in her full hard-core goth gear (see picture on the left). If you can tolerate subtitles, I highly recommend watching all of these movies.

Conviction stars Hillary Swank as the sister of a man convicted of murder, played by Sam Rockwell. The movie was very well done, but the story itself is pretty incredible: not only what the woman did to free her brother, but all the legal crap that kept setting them back. This is definitely worth watching.

Two movies that aren't worth watching are Paranormal Activity and The Fourth Kind. Both were slow, boring, and didn't deliver. Don't even bother putting these in your rental queue.

I've been a little slow in my reading lately. Wolf Tracks by Vivian Arend, the forth installment in the Granite Lake Wolves series, was good. I also read Scat by Carl Hiaasen, which was an excellent book aimed at the 9-12 age bracket. I appreciate immensely that he didn't dumb-down his writing and that he kept the story entertaining through humor and several well-developed subplots. This is a great book for a young reader.

Mockingjay, Crescendo, Clockwork Angel, and More

2010-10-28T18:49:00.003-04:00

Once again I let all my reviews pile up, so these will be short and sweet. Let's start with Mockingjay which totally rocked my world! The third and final book in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins was an intense and exciting exploration of the uprising of an oppressed people. Katniss was such a wonderfully flawed and damaged protagonist who felt very real to me. I think everybody over the age of twelve should read these books.

Crescendo, the follow-up to Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, was almost as good as the first book. It was an action-packed mystery that kept my rapt attention. My only complaint is the cliffhanger ending to set up the next book. Cliffhangers are starting to get a little too gimmicky for me. If your writing is good then people will read your next book, even without a cliffhanger.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare is the first book in her Infernal Devices series, which is a prequel to the Mortal Instruments series. I liked it, but not as much as the Mortal Instruments books. I think the main reason is that some big issues were brought up at the end of the book to lure readers into the next book when it comes out. *sigh*

I've read some Kindle freebies recently. Sin's Daughter by Eve Silver was a decent short story. The Pearl at the Gate by Anya Delvay was an OK short story. The Ghost Shrink by Vivi Andrews was funny and entertaining! An Unwanted Hunger by Ciana Stone was one of the worst books I've read in awhile.

I'm currently working my way through the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton. So far I've read the first four books, which are all OK but not great. I try to keep in mind that she started the series in the early 90s and helped establish the Urban Fantasy genre. It helps that I've been reading other books between these. Four down, eleven to go!

And last but not least, I went to see Hereafter starring Matt Damon and directed by Clint Eastwood. A very good but slow-paced movie about a few people struggling to come to terms how the afterlife has impacted them. Very well done. Definitely worth seeing.

Crave, Catching Fire, RED, and other reviews

2010-10-18T10:19:00.003-04:00

Crave, the second installment of J.R. Ward's Fallen Angels series was pretty good. The overall plot of the series is that fallen angel Jim Heron has seven souls to save, one for each deadly sin. Each book in the series focuses on one of those souls. This book was well written and I enjoyed it, but I had already figured out the plot twist that occurred toward the end of the book as well as the ending (I hate when I already know what's going to happen). But, like I said, it was good and I recommend them to readers in the Urban Fantasy genre.

Catching Fire, the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, had just as captivated as the first book. In this installment, Katniss returns home to district 12 after surviving the brutal Hunger Games. She learns that many districts are primed for a revolt and that she is the symbol and catalyst they use. This is a very well written young adult series. I couldn't put it down. I definitely recommend these.

It was wonderful to re-read The Good, The Bad and The Undead, the second book in The Hollows series by Kim Harrison. I love absorbing all the details this second time around. It's fun to watch the various characters develop in the series. My favorites are Algaliarept the demon and Trent the...well I won't spoil that for you. ;) Harrison is great at writing complex and fascinating characters. Ivy, vampire and coworker to our heroine Rachel, is really struggling in this book and it was to watch that all play out. As usual, Jenks the pixie gets all the best lines. “Oh my God Rachel it’s polyester. I’m wearing polyester. I’m breaking out! I can’t wear polyester. Look. See? Welts. And it stinks. I can smell the oil. I’m wearing dead dinosaur. I can’t wear a dead animal. It’s barbaric, Rache.” *snicker, snort* I highly recommend this series.

I also read The Fury, the third book in The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith. This whole series is poorly written and I struggled to get through this. I couldn't bring myself to read anymore in this series. I recommend you stay away from these books entirely. If you're interested in this at all, watch the TV show on the CW which is much better than these crappy books.

RED was a fun movie! John Malkovich, Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, and Morgan Freeman are all retired CIA agents labeled as Retired, Extremely Dangerous. Willis' character was set up to be murdered, and he unravels an unsavory plot that requires the help of his former agents. It was a lot of fun and it didn't take itself too seriously. If you're looking for something light but highly entertaining I definitely recommend watching this.

The Social Network, Bayou Moon, and More

2010-10-05T15:48:00.006-04:00

The Social Network blew me away. I can't believe how much I enjoyed this movie. The bulk of its success has to do with the writer, Aaron Sorkin, who excels at writing intense, fast-paced dialog. The story was presented well with cuts between depositions and the story of what happened. I found it fascinating that there really wasn't a good guy and a bad guy, or a right person and a wrong person. There's just what happened and how everyone felt about it. This movie will definitely get a few Oscar nods. I highly recommend it.

Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews did not disappoint. It's the second book in her The Edge series, this one featuring the story of William whose character was kind of left hanging after the first book, On the Edge. It dragged a little in a few spots, but overall I like the crazy 'world' she created, and I always enjoy a smart, capable woman in the leading role. It's a great mix of action, adventure, romance and fun. If you like urban fantasy you'll like everything written by Ilona Andrews.

I finally picked up The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I know, I know - it took me long enough! I didn't really want to read it, but I picked it up at four in the afternoon on Saturday and didn't put it down until I finished around 11. I just had to know what happened next! Set in a dystopian future, 24 teens are sent into an arena-type location where the winner is the last one left alive. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the trilogy. If you like young adult literature, you'll love this book.

I browsed through Exile by Diana Gabaldon in the bookstore. It's the graphic novel version of Outlander. I guess it was good for what it was. I just don't enjoy reading graphic novels. It has no flow since you look at the picture, read the text, then take another look at the picture before you move on to the next cel. I like to get lost in a story which is impossible in this format since you're always stopping and starting. This wasn't the first graphic novel for me and it won't be the last since this is one of the new waves of publishing, and several of my favorite authors have committed to making these. *sigh*

Last night I read Discovering Dani by NJ Walters, a Kindle freebie I picked up along the way. It was predictable and, therefore, somewhat boring. But it was short and I needed a book that would keep me occupied for one night, so I guess it served its purpose.

I recently rented It Might Get Loud, a documentary sort of about guitars. It features The Edge, Jimmy Page, and Jack White sitting around talking a little and musically wanking on their guitars a lot. I got bored. Unless you're a guitar player yourself and a huge fan of all three of these guys I wouldn't recommend it.

Vampire Diaries, Extraordinary Girl, and Angels' Pawn reviews

2010-09-28T16:30:00.003-04:00

I decided to pick up the Vampire Diaries books by LJ Smith because I've started watching the TV show. If you were wondering, the TV show is better than the books. They were written back in the early 90s when young adult literature was dumbed down. I've only read the first two so far, The Awakening and The Struggle. I already have the next two so I'll read those soon, but I definitely recommend the show and suggest you skip the books altogether. {Please note the photo of Ian Somerhalder; he's the reason I watch the show. *wink*}

I also recently read the Extraordinary Girl series by Gena Showalter, which includes Playing with Fire and Twice as Hot. Belle is an ordinary girl with a sassy mouth who develops super powers of controlling fire, water, wind and earth. This series is a fun and funny way to explore what would happen if a normal people developed super powers. I definitely recommend these.

Somehow Angels' Pawn slipped through the cracks when I was reading Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series. It's a novella set in the "world" but doesn't involve the main characters of the series. It's good, and I recommend it if you've read the other books in the series.

Pat Benatar Rocks!

2010-09-20T15:40:00.002-04:00

I just read Pat Benatar's autobiography Between a Heart and a Rock Place and I love her even more now than I did when I was eight (if that's even possible). I played my Crimes of Passion tape over and over and over until it literally wore out. I found it fascinating to read how she succeeded in a male dominated industry that wouldn't listen to her. Instead they exploited her as much as they could, and many of the people around her who were supposed to be looking out for best interests weren't. But she rocked it out anyway and bulldozed a path for women in the recording industry.

The best part about this book is that a dear friend of mine bought it for me when Pat Benatar was in her town signing autographs...so I have autographed copy!!! SQUEE!!! This is definitely one of the coolest things I own. :)

Blameless by Gail Carriger, the latest in her Parasol Protectorate series, was good but not as good as the first two books. The humor was there but the story lacked the mystery that kept me interested in the first two books. It was obvious where this one was going, even though it was a fun ride to get there.

Sin Undone by Larissa Ione is the fifth and last book in her Demonica series. It did a good job wrapping up various story lines, as well as setting up the spin-off series about the four horsemen of the apocalypse. I like Ione's writing so I'm looking forward to the new series coming out next year.

I rented a couple movies recently. Bronson starring Tom Hardy is a British film about the man considered to be the most dangerous prisoner in Britain. It was well made and done slightly over the top, reminiscent of Clockwork Orange but with better focus. I definitely recommend it if you're looking for a heavier movie done in a slightly artsier way.

I also rented A Threevening with Kevin Smith which was slightly disappointing. It wasn't nearly as funny as the first two but was still entertaining. Toward the beginning Kevin went off on an excessively long story about how he ended up with all his dogs that had me bored stiff. After that I never really got into the rest of his musings. But I'd still recommend this to any fan of his.

Review for Mortal Instruments, No Mercy, and more

2010-09-12T19:08:00.002-04:00

I finally got around to reading the three books out so far in the young adult Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, which includes City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass. I'm glad I forced these into my reading line up because they were a lot of fun. It's an alternate reality of vampires, werewolves, and nephilim. It's your typical epic saga format where the good have to unite against the evil, but it kept me captivated throughout. I definitely recommend these to fans of YA UF books.

I also read No Mercy, the latest book in Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series. It was good, but I was slightly disappointed in the main plot because there wasn't really anything original about it. Also, she didn't do too much with the primary subplot involving Nick. She didn't reveal anything new about him, nor did she put him in an interesting situation. Overall, I liked this book but it didn't advance the series in any way which left me wanting more.

I re-read Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison, the first book in her Hollows series, for my book club on Shelfari. It was great to be able to soak in more details this second time around! I love that Rachel's life is a mess, but she stubbornly fights the good fight because it's the right thing to do (even though it may not be the best thing for her). It's one of my most favorite series and I highly recommend it everyone.

I also picked up I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore, another young adult urban fantasy novel. A decade ago, an alien species sent nine children to Earth when their planet was destroyed by another evil race. The children are discovered on Earth and hunted by this evil race, but they can only be killed in the order in which they were numbered. When the novel opens the first three have been killed and number four is next on the hit list. It's a fast-paced entertaining read.

Regina in the Sun was a free Kindle download I picked up somewhere along the way and finally got around to reading. It was an OK vampire book, but I don't plan to read more in this series.

I've seen several movies recently, but Get Low is the only one I recommend. Starring Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, and Bill Murray, it's one of the year's best movies and sure to get a few Oscar nominations. This is one of the very few must-see movies out this year.

However, you can definitely skip The American with George Clooney (well made but slow and boring), The Other Guys with Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg (predictable and not funny), and The Last Exorcism (slow and not scary).

Big Mess o' Book Reviews

2010-08-25T12:52:00.002-04:00

Demon from the Dark by Kresley Cole, the latest in her Immortals After Dark series, didn't disappoint. It's the story of a demon-turned-vampire (vemon), Malkom, and his escape from captivity with the help of Carrow, a Valkyrie. Lots of action and adventure. I definitely recommend this series.

Amberville by Tim Davys was a freebie download from Kindle I picked up somewhere along the way. The characters are all stuffed animals - odd, but it's the reason I downloaded it in the first place. Eric Bear is tasked with discovering if there really is a deathlist and if a mobster dove is on the list. Eric indeed discovers the list but is heartbroken to see that his twin brother, Teddy, is on the deathlist as well. It's a very interesting story that delves into the nature of good and evil. I definitely recommend this one.

Mossy Creek is another Kindle freebie I collected somewhere. It's a series of short stories by various authors, with the common thread of all the stories being set in the small Southern fictional town of Mossy Creek. It's not bad, but I wouldn't recommend that anyone spend money to buy it.

A few other free Kindle downloads were The Wicked House of Rohan by Anne Stuart, Seducing Jane Porter by Dominique Adair, and Mistress by Mistake by Maggie Robinson. Of these three I only recommend the latter, which was surprisingly good because it actually had a plot and some character development. I don't know why some authors find these two concepts to be elusive.

The Expendables and More

2010-08-17T13:01:00.002-04:00

I loved The Expendables! It was a good old fashioned 80s action movie revamped for a new generation to enjoy. Was the plot good or believable? Who cares?!! There were a lot of explosions, guns, explosions, knives and explosions. Each of the major action stars got to show off their stuff in their own separate scenes. It was very cool that Ahhnold and Bruce Willis each made a brief appearance. My only complaint is that I would have liked more of the funny/cheesy lines that go hand-in-hand with this type of movie. There was one great one that had the whole audience chuckling, but I would have liked a few more sprinkled here and there. If you're a fan of action movies, you definitely have to see this one!

I really enjoyed reading The Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett. I couldn't put it down. Even the beginning where all the different characters who have seemingly unrelated stories was great reading. It's set during WWII just before the Allies' invasion of Normandy. It explores the possibility of what would have happened if a Germany spy found out about the deception leading up to the planned attack. It's quite the page turner. I definitely recommend it.

I also finished reading the Wild Wulfs of London series by Ronda Thompson. It was a pretty decent trilogy. The thing I liked most about it is that they were the more traditional werewolves who were at the mercy of the phases of the moon. Each of the Wulfs had to figure out how to break the curse that's plagued their family for generations. I recommend these to fans of the PNR/UF genre.

Pile O' Book Reviews

2010-08-12T10:14:00.003-04:00

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher is the best fantasy novel I've read in a long time. Technically it's classified as Young Adult, but once the story got going I forgot it's supposedly aimed at teens because I got wrapped up in the engaging story. In a dystopian future, people have picked an idealized historic period to "live" instead of their actual time period. They also made an advanced prison called Incarceron where they locked in thousands of inmates and a hundred philosophers who are supposed to be living in a utopia. But the reality is much different. The story centers on a group of people who are trying to escape from the prison, but Incarceron is so much more than they ever thought it would be. Great story, good writing. Definitely pick this one up.

I also read The Guild Hunter series by Nalini Singh which includes Angels' Blood, Angels' Judgment (a short story in the Must Love Hellhounds anthology), and Archangel's Kiss. This series centers more on angels but also has vampires. It's decently written and I'll definitely read more in this series.

The Red Rock Pass series by Moira Rogers was better than I thought it would be. I got the first book as Kindle freebie, Cry Sanctuary, then I proceeded to read the rest: Sanctuary Lost, Sanctuary's Price, and Sanctuary Unbound. This series centers around werewolves and the overall plot is how the good packs are trying to save others from the bad packs. Decent, but not a must read.

I also read The China Study by Colin Campbell et al. It's a comprehensive nutrition study that concludes that plant-based foods, specifically plant-based protein, is so good for you that it has been shown to fight cancer; and that animal-based protein actually causes cancer to grow. Stunning conclusion, actually. It's definitely food for thought (pun intended). I couldn't jump into a vegan diet, but it will help me make better food choices for myself.

Eternal Kiss of Darkness, Salt, and Other Reviews

2010-08-01T19:39:00.003-04:00

Eternal Kiss of Darkness, one of Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress World books, was good but I was expecting more. There was only the main story with Mencheres and Kira; there was nothing else was going on with any of the other characters. Vlad had a minor role in this book. He's one of my favorite characters in this series so it was great to see him, but again, nothing really happened with him outside of what was going on with Mencheres. It was a decent book and I'd still recommend it, but it's not as good as a Cat & Bones book. I'm looking forward to reading This Side of the Grave in February.

Salt turned out to be a better movie than I thought it would be. Yes, it was a somewhat typical Angelina Jolie action flick, but the plot more engaging than I anticipated. A few little twists were thrown in here and there which kept me interested. Also, Liev Schreiber just rocks. If you like action movies you should check this one out.

Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd was an excellent book. It's a thriller about a man who is somewhat framed for a murder and how he lives under the radar while everyone is searching for him. There are many other levels working in the story as well, and I couldn't put it down. Stephen King put this book on his recommended summer reading list and so do I.

I also read Pride Mates by Jennifer Ashley and Bitten & Smitten by Michelle Rowen. They were both better than I thought they'd be. They both had more involved plots than I was anticipating, which always makes for a better book. The former is about shifters and the latter is about vampires. If you're interested in either I'd recommend them both.

Sourcerer's Apprentice, Linger, and other Reviews

2010-07-26T10:36:00.007-04:00

The Sourcerer's Apprentice, starring Nicholas Cage, was about what I expected it to be. As a Disney movie I expected it to be good, clean fun and it was. The script was good, the acting was good, and the effects were cool and not over-used (like Last Airbender). Not a must-see at the theater, but you'll probably want to catch it on cable or DVD.

I loved Linger, Maggie Stiefvater's sequel to Shiver. She's a wonderful writer - proof that young adult novels don't have to be dumbed down, which is a pet peeve of mine. She introduces a few more characters to the story of Nora and Sam, a werewolf bite survivor and a former werewolf, respectively. Stiefvater takes the story in an almost heartbreaking direction, but left me wanting more. I can't wait to read more in this series.

I re-read one of my favorite books for a book club: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. I think I loved it more this second time around because I was able to take in more detail. Such a clever and funny book. This is definitely a must-read, as is the rest of the series.

I also read A Questionable Client by Ilonoa Andrews in the Dark and Stormy Knights anthology. This is a Kate Daniels story that takes place before the book series. It's the story of how she met Saiman. Very good story - a must read for Kate Daniels fans.

Icy Heat wasn't as bad as I thought it would be for a free Kindle download. Not really a glowing recommendation, huh? Well, I don't have a glowing recommendation for The Passage by Justin Cronin either. I gave up after 322 pages.

Inception and Many Other Reviews

2010-07-18T13:51:00.003-04:00

The year is only half done but I'm declaring Inception the best movie of the year! Of course the special effects were good, but the story had me on the edge of my seat for the whole movie. It was original and creative, the acting was great, and the ending was fabulous!! You must see this movie.

The Swedish import of The Girl Who Played with Fire was excellent as well. I didn't find the subtitles distracting. If you can deal with subtitles you should see the Girl Who films before Hollywood gets their hands on them. However, you can completely skip The Last Airbender which sucked wind (pun intended).

Now on to books...I was hoping that I'd like Black Dust Mambo by Adrian Phoenix better than I did. I haven't read any of her other books but I know people love her Maker's Song series. I won't be reading more in this series. I did, however, enjoy the Granite Lake Wolves series by Vivian Arend. They were quick and fun to read.

I really liked the Demon Underground YA series by Parker Blue which includes Bite Me and Try Me. It follows the life of an 18 year old girl who is one-eight succubus demon. I absolutely recommend these to anyone who likes urban fantasy. I also read The Wallflower by Dana Marie Bell which was OK but not good enough for me to want to read more in this series. And I unfortunately read Lakota Flower by Janelle Taylor which was really bad.

Twice Bitten and Other Reviews

2010-07-08T15:14:00.002-04:00

Twice Bitten, the third book in the Chicagoland Vampires by Chloe Neill, was absolutely as good, if not better, than the first two in the series. The character development is excellent and the story was riveting. I'm totally hooked on this series. I probably have to wait a year before the next book is released.

Undead and Unfinished, the ninth book in the Queen Betsy series by Mary Janice Davidson, was a decent read. Betsy continues to be hilarious, but I wasn't thrilled with the plot. However, the bombshell she dropped at the very end of the book still has me reeling - my feeble mind just doesn't want to process it! Now I'm dying for the next book in this series, too.

I watched a few DVDs this past weekend. Surrogates with Bruce Willis was good, but I was bound to like it since it was a sci-fi/action flick. X-Men: Wolverine was just okay. Blindness with Julianne Moore was weird! I thought it was supposed to be a government conspiracy thing that Julianne Moore was going to figure out since she was the only person who didn't go blind. But it turned out to be a study of how social norms break down in the absence of structure. Definitely skip this one.

Eclipse Movie and Other Reviews

2010-07-03T16:17:00.003-04:00

Eclipse is by far the best movie of the Twilight franchise. There's a good balance between the teen love triangle of Edward, Bella and Jacob, and the character development and action scenes in the rest of the movie. The fight scene was great, and I love the wolves (they look like real wolves instead of part wolf-part monster things). It was great that this movie addressed the back stories of Rosalie and Jasper, which helped round out the story by focusing on characters other than the main trio. This definitely worth seeing in the theater.

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest is a first rate steampunk novel. It's set in an alternate reality in Civil War era Seattle. On the surface it's an action-adventure story, but her writing draws you into the story of a tragedy surrounding one family and a mother's love for a son she doesn't understand. This is definitely worth reading.

Born of Fire and Born of Ice, the second and third books in the League series by Sherrilyn Kenyon were about as good as the first book, Born of Night - which is to say that they're just okay. There's a good story in there and I liked reading them, but these were the first books she ever published and the writing lacks subtlety and the finesse she's mastered in her later books. If you want to read them, try finding them in your library or a used book store.

I. Can't. Wait!

2010-07-02T08:07:00.000-04:00

Chicagoland Vampires and other Book Reviews

2010-06-28T11:07:00.004-04:00

I absolutely love the Chicagoland Vampire books by Chloe Neill which include Some Girls Bite, Friday Night Bites, and the soon-to-be released Twice Bitten. Neill created an interesting and diverse world in which her robust characters thrive. The stories center around a masters student named Merit who, after being attacked and left for dead by a rogue vampire, is turned vampire to escape death by Ethan Sullivan, head of the Cadogan house. Merit turns out to be a powerful vampire, but she gets caught up in a new world of vampire politics and intrigue. Very well written. I definitely recommend these books.

I recently finished re-reading Bloodsucking Fiends by Christopher Moore. He's so much fun to read! His nutty fictional San Francisco is full of vampires, a homeless man who's declared himself The Emperor of San Francisco, and a crazy group of guys who work the night shift at the local supermarket, who spend a lot of their time bowling with frozen turkeys and water skiing on the back of the floor washing machine. I definitely recommend all of Christopher Moore's books.

I made my way through a few of my Kindle freebies as well. Demonfire by Kate Douglas started off with demon-possessed garden gnomes who eat rabbits and kill people. It was bizarre enough to hold my attention but I never would have paid money for this. Winter's Passage by Julie Kagawa was a short story that was clearly part of a series that I haven't read. The story was easy to follow but I hate not starting from the beginning of a story. It was well written but not interesting enough for me to be reading the rest of the series. I read a couple of pieces of crap that aren't even worth mentioning.

Reviews for Infinity, Hush Hush, and More

2010-06-17T13:45:00.002-04:00

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick is the story of a fallen angel who wants to become human. Unfortunately, the only way he can do this is by killing the girl he falls in love with. This is a YA book with a good story and good writing. I absolutely applaud YA authors who don't dumb their writing down just because they're targeting a younger audience. I definitely recommend this one.

Infinity, the first book in the Chronicles of Nick, is a YA spin-off series of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter series. This will be a 12 or 13 book series that follows Nick Gautier through his teen-age years, and culminating to his own book in the Dark Hunter series. Already things are different for Nick than what we know occurred in his life in the Dark Hunter stories. I'm hoping (for Nick's sake) that these changes in his history will effect a different (happier) outcome for him as an adult. Good writing, good story, good character development. If you like to read YA then you should give this one a try.

Another YA book I read was Milrose Munce and the Den of Professional Help by Douglas Anthony Cooper. I got it as a free download on my Kindle, and I'm so glad I did! This was a wonderful and ridiculous story that had me laughing all the way through it. Milrose is a teenager who can see all the ghosts of the students who have died in his high school. His teachers have noticed him talking to "air" and decide to get him "Help." Very cleverly written. Definitely pick this one up too.

Last night I finished Born of Night, the first book in Sherrilyn Kenyon's League series. I think this was the first book she ever got published, and it kind of shows. While I like the story and the characters, the actual writing lacked any subtlety and the plot plodded along at a slow pace due to redundant situations that didn't move the story forward. It's not bad. I plan to read the other two books in this series, but I can't recommend it without a disclaimer.

I caught a few movies last weekend as well. Did You Hear About the Morgans starring Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. However, there's no way around SJP's horribly flat acting. The 24th Day starring James Marsden and Scott Speedman was a little weird. It seems like it was adapted from a one act play. The Objective is about a special ops team in Afghanistan who go on a secret special mission only to discover aliens. Yeah...you can pretty much skip all three of these.

Pile 'o Reviews

2010-06-07T15:52:00.003-04:00

*sigh* I let this pile up again just like I promised myself I wouldn't. Here we go...

I read Once Bitten and Twice Dead by Kalayna Price. Once Bitten was a Kindle freebie somewhere along the way which is why I decided to read these at all. The first one was just ok; it was clearly the author's first book. There was vast improvement in writing for the second book. Not 'must-reads' to recommend but entertaining nonetheless.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater is a young adult werewolf book. I really liked this one! There's an innocence and sweetness about it because it's YA. It's very well written. I absolutely recommend this one to anyone who likes YA books.

Staked by JF Lewis was a little slow at the beginning for me because our protagonist was a little too unsympathetic at first. But it eventually picked up and I enjoyed reading it. I definitely recommend this one if you're looking for something funny to read.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer is her latest Twilight add-on. I'm quite sick of her repackaging Twilight over and over again. I wish she'd write something else. Having said that, I'd recommend this novella to any fan of the Twilight series. Her writing has improved by leaps and bounds since her first book. Even though we knew how this one was going to end (it ties in to Eclipse), I still found it enjoyable. Now please write something else, Ms. Meyer.

The Forbidden Rose by Joanna Bourne is just a fun, quick little read. I've read her first two books, and I like that she has the same cast of characters that she works with. It gives the characters a little more depth.

The movie MacGruber was SO horrible that we walked out of the theater after a half hour. The good thing is that we went 'theater hopping' and snuck into a viewing of Letters to Juliet, which turned out to be a cute little movie. It's completely predictable but it's well made.

Kate Daniels and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

2010-05-24T12:50:00.003-04:00

I'm reading my way through the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews which includes Magic Bites, Magic Burns, Magic Strikes, a short story in the Must Love Hellhounds anthology, and a new book being released tomorrow titled Magic Bleeds. Kate is an ass-kicking mercenary-turned-cop in a world full of shifters, vampires, witches and demons where the world fluctuates between flares of magic and a normal state where technology actually works. Kate is a powerful magician who keeps her power very deeply hidden for fear of death if she's found out. She's tasked with assignments that always get her involved with the local shifter pack whose leader is Curran, the very strong and powerful were-lion. I love these books! I love urban fantasy books with a strong female lead character, so these are right up my alley. I definitely recommend them.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is the latest book by Seth Grahame-Smith who also wrote Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Like PP&Z, this book was decent but it didn't quite go as far as I wanted it too. It was a little on the dry side. I wanted something more; more crazy, more funny, more outrageous, more something. But I did enjoy reading it. It tells Abe's vampire hunting history, starting with the death of his mother from a vampire and delves into the 'real' reason for the civil war (lest you think it was merely about slavery). My favorite parts of the book were the old photographs touched up so show either the vamp-killing axe in Abe's hand or random vampires lurking in crowds. I would recommend you pick it up only if you have a real interest in reading this. If you pick it up as a casual read you may be slightly disappointed.

Robin Hood, John Adams, and Burned

2010-05-17T10:33:00.004-04:00

Robin Hood, starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett, is a terrific interpretation of the Robin Hood legend for a smarter movie audience. If you're looking for another cute and predictable version like the Kevin Costner rendition you'll be in for a shock. I'm most impressed by the script. I love when people actually spend time developing a story and characters for an action movie. This movie sort of ended up being a prequel to what we think of as "the story" so I'm hoping there will be more movies to come in this franchise. Definitely go see this one.

I finally got around to renting the John Adams HBO mini-series starring Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney. It was excellent! I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love when HBO takes on history because they breathe life into what textbooks portray as boring facts. If you haven't yet seen it, do yourself a favor and rent it.

I struggled through Burned, the latest book in the House of Night series by P.C. and Kristin Cast. It was terrible. The series started out okay, but they've gotten sloppy with the writing and the stories are almost non-existent. If you haven't yet started this series, don't. I'm dropping it altogether.

Iron Man II, Mercy Thompson, and other reviews

2010-05-10T13:58:00.003-04:00

Oh, I have been so bad at keeping up with my blogging. Oops. Since I have a lot to blog I'll keep them all short.

Iron Man II was great! It's definitely summer movie time now that I've got my big blockbuster movie. I love how Robert Downey Jr. and Gwenyth Paltrow come across on screen. They're great together. Mickey Rourke is freaky looking on a good day, so with the addition of nasty teeth and a huge pile of tattoos he was positively nasty. AND there's actually a good plot! I liked the end of the first Iron Man film when Tony Stark admitted to being Iron Man instead of keeping a secret identity like all other super heroes. The plot is the fall-out of that scenario, which you could easily see happening. Definitely go see this one.

I also saw The Secret of the Kells, a beautifully animated Irish fairy tale about the creation of the book of Kells. It was nice break from the usual Pixar animation. I really enjoyed watching it and recommend that you give this one a try if you have the opportunity to see it.

I read the Mercy Thompson series and the Alpha & Omega series, both by Patricia Briggs, and loved them! Briggs creates a rich and wonderful world of supernaturals which primarily focuses on the werewolf pack in the area in which our heroine, Mercy Thompson, lives. Briggs also dabbles a little in the Fae's who are much more terrible than the humans think they are, and, of course, vampires who are mostly evil except for Mercy's friend Stefan who drives a VW bus tricked out to look like The Mystery Machine from the Scooby-Doo cartoons. Anyone who reads urban fantasy needs to read these book. They're definitely among my favorites.

I read the latest in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Lover Mine, by JR Ward. Great book from a great series. All you vampire fans need to read this series. I also read Dead in the Family, the latest Sookie Stackhouse book by Charlaine Harris. I thought this book was good but not great. Harris managed to work in a storyline that covered issues from the Fae, vampires, and weres, which is no small feat. I recommend this series for those looking for lighter "beach read" type books. And I just finished Burned, the latest in the House of Night series by PC Cast. This YA series is getting annoying to read. She is unnecessarily dragging out the storyline which is making the books boring and tedious to read. If you haven't started this series, don't. Save your time and your money.

Changeless and other Book & Movie Reviews

2010-04-14T15:37:00.004-04:00

Changeless, the second book in the Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger, was everything I hoped it would be: very humorous with a twisty mystery and dash of absurdity for good measure. In this story our heroine, Alexia, is trying to figure out why areas of paranormal creatures turn into mortals. I definitely recommend this book, but be forewarned about a big cliffhanger of an ending.

The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley was just as wonderful as his first novel The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Once again, our intrepid little 11 year old heroine, Flavia de Luce, is determined to solve the mystery of a puppeteer's murder. Charming, funny and well written. I definitely recommend both of these books.

Vampire A Go Go by Victor Gischler was a fun romp that I also recommend. Various factions and individuals are all chasing after the philosopher's stone for one reason or another. It's an action packed mystery adventure.

I picked up Dog Days by John Levitt for one of my book challenges, which was to pick a book based solely on its cover. It had a guy and a dog that glowed blue, and at the bottom is said Magic is a Man's Best friend. It was actually a pretty good book so I lucked out. What's not to love about a magic dog?

Date Night was funnier than I thought it would be. The previews definitely don't do it justice. Tina Fey and Steve Carrell are spot on. The funniest part may have been the outtakes when the credits were rolling.

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was a good movie, which surprised me because the book was slow and tedious and I couldn't make it past chapter 10. It was made in Sweden. If you can stand reading subtitles I definitely recommend this movie.

Deadtown, Heroin Diaries, and other reviews

2010-04-04T19:21:00.005-04:00

I just finished Deadtown by Nancy Holzner and I really enjoyed reading it. Set in Massachusetts, it takes place in a current time when a virus had mutated around Boston and caused some unfortunate people in the vicinity to become zombies. They're quarantined in the area now known as Deadtown. Our heroine, Vicky, is a shifter who comes from a long line of demon slayers. She lives in Deadtown with her vampire roommate and dates a werewolf lawyer. It's an action-packed, entertaining urban fantasy novel that I recommend to readers of the genre.

I also read The Heroin Diaries by Nikki Sixx, bass player for Motley Crue. He kept journals during 1987 when he was into some of his heaviest heroin use. It's fascinating/terrifying/heartbreaking to read what he was thinking during that time. He supplements his diary entries with his own reflections, as well as the reflections of others who were around him at that time. I usually don't read these types of books, but I definitely recommend this one to anyone who's even remotely interested. It'll blow you away.

I also made it through Monster in the Box by Ruth Rendell. I read a couple of her other books and absolutely loved them, but not this one. It was tedious to read and boring. The only reason I finished it is because it was only 300 pages long with big print. I just forced myself through it. If you're looking for a good mystery, pick up Thirteen Steps Down or The Water's Lovely instead. Those are well worth your time; this one is not.

I went to see Clash of the Titans yesterday. It was OK but not great. Ralph Fiennes and Liam Neesan are always wonderful to watch, but their screen time is short. Being a sci-fi/action film fan, I'm glad I saw it. If you're planning to watch it DON'T waste your money on the 3D version. Many scenes weren't in 3D. This is one of those movies they never intended to make in 3D but threw a 3D version together anyway.

Bite Me, How to Train Your Dragon, and Other Reviews

2010-03-27T19:09:00.006-04:00

I've been slacking in my blogging so these reviews are going to be short. I'll start with Bite Me by Christopher Moore. I don't know how he gets funnier with every book but he does. I lost count of how many times I laughed out loud in the first chapter alone, not to mention the rest of the book. The third and last book in his vampire trilogy (Bloodsucking Fiends and You Suck are the other two) this book primarily focuses on the adventures of Abby Normal, self-appointed goth minion to the vampire couple she discovered. I don't want to say too much to ruin any of the laughs for anyone. I recommend all of Moore's books to everyone. Read them.

I also read the Merry Gentry series by Laurell K. Hamilton. I know this is a very popular PNR/UF series, but I didn't really like Hamilton's writing style. It wasn't until the last three books that anything of any substance actually happened in the overall story. I know these are very popular books, but I can't really recommend them.

A couple Kindle freebies also made into my reading: Murder Takes the Cake by Gayle Trent and Moonstone by Marilee Brothers. The former is a nice little cozy mystery placed in a small town involving cakes, pets, murder, and old town secrets. It was a nice little book but I'm glad it was free because I would never pay for this. Moonstone was a nice Young Adult book. Again, I'm glad it was free because I would never pay for this. If you happen to have downloaded either of these when Kindle was offering them for free then read them, but I don't recommend buying them.

Today I went to see How to Tame Your Dragon. I WANT A DRAGON!! They're so awesomely cute! This was a really good animated movie. I highly recommend it to everyone. Last week I went to see The Bounty Hunter with my mom. Gerard Butler is nice eye candy but you can otherwise skip this one. And I rented The Marine only to look at Manu Bennett who plays Crixus in the Spartacus series on Showtime. Nice eye candy, truly horrible movie.

Alice in Wonderland and The Green Zone

2010-03-15T13:24:00.003-04:00

Alice in Wonderland was visually stunning but the story was slow. This type of story lends itself well to Tim Burton's movie-making style. My favorite character was the Cheshire Cat; the animation and voice were absolutely perfect. I also like that Burton worked in Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky poem into the main story line. However, it would have been a better movie overall if it had faster pacing and possibly a more exciting Alice. I recommend this movie to any Lewis Carroll fan.

The Green Zone is about the first few weeks of the Bush administration's disastrous invasion of Iraq. It's a well made movie with great actors. I definitely recommend it as a good movie, but it made me so angry all over again that I came home from the theater pissed off and bitchy. If you don't want to drudge up those emotions again, you may want to skip this one.

Kim Harrison

2010-03-05T09:05:00.002-05:00

Last weekend I got to meet one of my favorite authors, Kim Harrison, at a book signing in Lansing, MI. She was really funny and nice. She started by reading a short passage from her newest book Black Magic Sanction, the latest in the Hollows series, and then spent a good 20 minutes answering all kinds of questions.

I thought it was interesting that she doesn't have much input on her book titles or her covers. She started the series with modified Clint Eastwood films for her titles, then when she started gaining popularity her publishers took over the naming of her books. But they still stay with the Clint Eastwood theme. For book covers, they always ask her what she would like to see, she always says Jenks, they always say no, but they always end up with a cool cover anyway.

Then when it was time to sign the books, she would sign as many books as you had - no limit, which was very cool of her. And she posed for pictures with anyone who wanted one. She was just very accessible and down to earth, which makes her very easy to like. It's always a treat when someone you idolize for their talent turns out to be a good person too. What a treat to have met her.

Black Magic Sanction Review

2010-02-26T15:05:00.002-05:00

I was so excited on Tuesday when Black Magic Sanction was finally released. I think Kim Harrison is a very talented writer, and the latest book in her Hollows series doesn't disappoint. In this book, both the demons and the witches are hunting Rachel. Being neither quite a witch nor quite a demon, her unique genetic make-up would allow demons to start repopulating. Demons want to use her, and so-called white witches want to destroy her. And, as always, helping her out of sticky situations are her close band of friends Ivy the vampire, Jenks the Pixie and Pierce the witch, among others. Floating in and out of the story is Trent Kalamack, a billionaire whose history with Rachel goes back to childhood, and who isn't really on Rachel's side but isn't necessarily against her either. And Al! Al! Al! There's lots of Al the demon in this one so I was very happy to explore his teacher/student relationship with Rachel in more detail. Al is such a unique and interesting character so I was glad that he featured prominently in this book. If you like the urban fantasy genre of books, I recommend you pick up the first in this Hollows series, Dead Witch Walking. This is one of the best series out there, in my opinion.

I also managed to read the Demonica series by Larissa Ione. I loved this series, but I'm a huge fan of urban fantasy books. These books center on demon (obviously) brothers who run a hospital hidden under New York somewhere for other demons, vampires, weres, shifters, fallen angels, and other supernatural creatures. It's a fun series if you're into this genre.

Shutter Island Review

2010-02-26T14:50:00.005-05:00

I've been lazy about keeping up with my blogging lately. I blame the Olympics which has me completely captivated. I did manage to tear myself away from the Olympics long enough to watch Shutter Island starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley and Max von Sydow. Scorsese makes amazing movies and this was no exception. DiCaprio plays a US Marshall sent to the island to find a patient who escaped and is presumably hiding on the island. What he discovers is so much more and it's a fun ride to take with DiCaprio as he uncovers clues and information. Definitely go see this movie. You will not be disappointed.

A few movies you can skip are The Ugly Truth, Year One, and Knowing. These movies are slow and boring. If they're in your movie rental queue you should consider removing them.

Olympic Ladies' Figure Skating

2010-02-26T10:13:00.003-05:00

Ok, WOW! The women's figure skating last night was incredible. The three medalists are mind blowing! Gold medalist Yu Na Kim broke a record with the highest score ever awarded to a female skater. She was over 23 points ahead of the second place girl. And she's from South Korea of all places! She trains in Canada with Brian Orser, but it's incredible that her talent for figure skating was recognized in a country not known for its figure skating and cultivated. Her performance was absolute beauty.

Silver medalist Mao Asada also made history by being the first woman to land three triple axels in one competition, one in her short program and two in her long. Most women can't even do triple axels. Axels are the most difficult jump because they're the only jump that takes off forward, and they're a half a rotation more than every other jump. When she was setting up for her second triple axel last night I was chanting at the TV "do it do it do it do it" trying to will my energy and positive thoughts to her. The rest of her program was great too. {On a side note, this is another example (*cough* Evgeny Plushenko *cough*) as to why having a bigger jump won't guarantee you a gold medal. You need the complete package to get one of those.}

And Joannie...the person everyone on the planet was rooting for. How do you pull off an excellent program like that under those conditions? I knew she was going to do it, though, when she smacked her coach's hands with two hard fives and took two hard fives back right before her skate. The crowd erupted and so did I. Such a wonderful performance. It wasn't a "sympathy" vote to put her on the podium. She earned that medal fair and square. Only a true world-class Olympic athlete could have accomplished what she did.

I also want to take a moment to explain why the American skater didn't belong on the podium. Mirai Nagasu did very, very well but she was generally less polished than the top three. The area where Joannie edged her out was the Program Components which includes choreography, interpretation, etc. Joannie was 8 points higher than Marai in this area, and Marai was only 3 points higher than Joannie in the executed elements. You also have to remember that they factor in the short program as well. Joannie was almost 8 points higher than Marai in the short program score. Watch out in the next Olympics though. Marai Nagasu will definitely be a force to be reckoned with.

I hope you all got a chance to watch this. It was truly an amazing night for figure skating.

Wolfman, The Graduate, Clockwork Orange

2010-02-14T17:24:00.007-05:00

Wolfman is a solid representation of the classic wolfman story. The acting is superb with a cast that includes Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving and Emily Blunt. It was also visually stunning with the setting and the wolfman effects, which weren't overdone. There's nothing particularly amazing about this movie, but it was well made and I recommend it to anyone who likes these kinds of movies.

I finally got around to watching The Graduate. It's one of the few older movies I've watched that actually holds up over time. It's about a guy who doesn't know what he wants to do with his life after he graduates college. He has an affair with a friend of his parents (the Anne Bancroft character), but ends up falling in love with her daughter.

It's soundtrack is famous for its use of several Simon & Garfunkel songs. My only complaint is the use of the same ones over and over. I really didn't need to hear Scarborough Fair four times in a row. S&G have an extensive music catalogue and I wish we got to hear more of it.

A Clockwork Orange is a product of its time. I'm sure it was cutting edge back when it was made, but it doesn't really hold up today. Kubrick tried too hard to make a weird movie.

Reviews for Legion, Temple Grandin, and How to Wash a Cat

2010-02-08T10:15:00.003-05:00

I was so disappointed in Legion. I love action/sci-fi movies so I was kind of excited to see this one. I know the reviews weren't good, but I don't listen to movie critics because they don't tend to appreciate the action/sci-fi genre like I do. First the good points: Paul Bettany is nice to look at; and the best scene in the whole movie was when the fry cook ninja chucked a cast iron frying pan at the head of a freaky old lady. Bad points: a whole lotta nothing happened; it was never really explained why this baby of all the babies waiting to be born was the one that could save the world; Dennis Quaid (whose acting gets worse as he ages); and the thing I hated the most was the stupid, moron guy who was supposed to be the protector of the girl and her baby. He was borderline mentally handicapped. Very irritating. I'm sorry to say that I don't recommend this movie at all.

HBO's Temple Grandin biopic was fabulous. I read one of her books on animal behavior several years ago so I was very interested in watching this movie of the story of her life. She was born with Autism, but because of the way her brain processed information she was able to excel at the science animal behavior for which she has a PhD. She single handedly revolutionized the cattle industry. By noticing behavior in cattle that no one else was able to, she redesigned the way in which cattle are treated at ranches and at processing plants. Her design plans are currently used in over half the facilities in the US and she is considered the foremost expert in her field. This is an incredible movie. You should really try to catch it on HBO this month.

My dad picked up a mystery book for me called How to Wash a Cat by Rebecca M. Hale. It's a "cozy" mystery (as opposed to a forensic analysis) about a woman with two cats in San Francisco whose uncle dies. While investigating some mysterious clues her uncle leaves behind, we get involved in the history of San Francisco during the days of the gold rush. It's a fun story that's a little too slow in the middle, but picks up at the end. If you're owned by a cat and you're looking for a fun little read pick this one up.

The Queen Betsy series by Mary Janice Davidson

2010-02-04T14:50:00.002-05:00

The Queen Betsy series by Mary Janice Davidson is chick-lit meets the paranormal. These books are laugh-out-loud hilarious and very fun to read. The first book, Undead and Unwed, opens with Betsy as a newly unemployed secretary who gets plowed over by an SUV. She wakes up shortly after in a coffin in a funeral home dressed in a cheap suit and tacky shoes (by her horrible step mother). She soon discovers that she's a vampire, but not an ordinary one because she can walk into a church, is immune to holy water and sunlight, and even a wooden stake in the heart doesn't take her out. This means that she is the queen of the vampires as prophesied in the Book of the Dead, the creepy vampire equivalent of the bible that's bound in human skin and written in blood.

These books follow Betsy, a shallow shoe whore, through her reluctant transformation into the vampire queen. Her unorthodox approach to solving problems both threatens other vampires and endears them to her. I recommend this book for anyone looking for a book on the lighter side of urban fantasy.

Immortals After Dark

2010-01-26T15:41:00.002-05:00

OK, I'm hooked on the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole. The overall story arc revolves around the coming Accession, occurring naturally every 500 years, in which various factions of immortals kill each other off (essentially controlling the immortal population). However, we can tell that this Accession is going to be a doozy. Nix, the prognosticating Valkyrie, works in the background throughout the books to align the Valkyrie, werewolves, certain vampires, witches, various demonarchies, and others against the bad guys (yes, those were the good guys). Nucking Futs Nix, as she is not-so-affectionately known by most characters, is a minor character, but if she's working this hard she obviously sees a real possibility of the bad guys winning this time around. If you're looking for a UF/PNR series with hot vampires and werewolves you might want to check this one out.

Extraordinary Measures

2010-01-26T15:27:00.002-05:00

Based on a true story, Extraordinary Measures starring Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser is about a father's quest to help his children born with a rare genetic defect. Fraser plays the father who quits his job when he finds a scientist (Ford) who has a plausible theory on which to formulate a drug that could save his children's lives.

The movie isn't bad, but it's drippy and predictable. It's sweetened up in all the right spots so it can get maximum leverage from pulling on your heartstrings. I wouldn't recommend it, but if you're dying to see it you can wait to rent it.

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

2010-01-20T18:46:00.002-05:00

Shades of Grey, the first book in a new series by Jasper Fforde, takes place in an alternate reality some time in the future after the "Something That Happened." People now live in an over-simplified world where strict adherence to the Rules are required (no matter how silly or harsh they are) and people can only see one color. The social hierarchy, the Colortocracy, is based on what color you see; greys are the very bottom, reds just above the greys, and purples at the top.

Our main character, Eddie Russet, is a young man who is sent to East Carmine to take a chair census because he needs to learn humility for the egregious offense of trying to improve the system in which people stand in line. He ends up learning humility, but from the secret subculture of the greys where he discovers there's much more going on in the world than he ever realized. He comes to learn that the Rules are meant to keep people ignorant and subservient, and that people sent to Reboot for breaking the Rules aren't rehabilitated like everyone is meant to believe.

This is a less playful book than the ones he wrote for his Thursday Next and Nursery Crime series' but it's just as clever and thoughtful. I continue to be amazed at the ideas Fforde comes up with. I'm interested in seeing how he unfolds the story in future books. I definitely recommend this one, but if you've never picked up one of his books before I suggest you start with The Eyre Affair, the first book in his Thursday Next series.

Movie Review for Daybreakers

2010-01-16T17:40:00.002-05:00

I just went to see Daybreakers and was pleasantly surprised. The movie critics beat it up, but they're just movie snobs who would rather die than give a vampire movie any respect. The plot was original: in the not-too-distant future the world is mostly populated by vampires, and humans are on their way to becoming extinct. What does the vampire world do to feed? Where do they draw the lines of morality? What if someone found a way to turn vampires human again?

In addition to the interesting plot, it had more gore than I was expecting which was fine with me because I haven't watched a good gory movie in a long time. Sam Neill plays a great bad guy, and Willem Defoe and Ethan Hawke are really good in their roles. The ending had a few little twists that I didn't see coming, which I always enjoy. I hate movies where the entire plot is predictable and therefore boring (like Avatar).

I definitely recommend this movie. If you don't get a chance to see it in the theaters put it in your rental queue.

God, I love True Blood!

2010-01-14T19:13:00.000-05:00

Book Review for the Glory St. Clair Series

2010-01-14T18:10:00.003-05:00

I just finished the the Glory St. Clair series by Gerry Bartlett, which includes Real Vampires Have Curves, Real Vampires Live Large, Real Vampires Get Lucky, and Real Vampires Don't Diet. I really enjoyed reading this series. Glory is a full-figured vampire who moves to Austin after working a Las Vegas showgirl and fighting off a gambling addiction. She opens a vintage clothing store (why not, she's got a stockpile of clothes, shoes, and handbags from living over 400 years) so she can make a success of her life on her own. Her on-again-off-again lover, Jeremy Blade, is also her over-protective sire who tries to keep her safe from a high-tech billionaire vampire hunter. She also has a guard dog, Valdez, (who is much more than what he seems) and many other zany vampire friends. It's a light, fun, and very humorous series. The next book comes out on February 2nd, Real Vampires Hate Their Thighs. I'm definitely going to read it, and I recommend that you do too.

Reviews for An Echo in the Bone and Avatar

2010-01-10T20:23:00.003-05:00

An Echo in the Bone, the latest in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, is my favorite in the series since the first book. It was nonstop action from start to finish. She has a lot of characters all over the place (and all over time) but she does a great job at keeping all of them engaged in the story, which somehow remains quite cohesive.

In previous books she didn't leave us with cliffhanger endings, but she certainly did in this one! Most of the story lines left us dangling; some because of the arc of the plot, and some because things happen that you never would have thought would ever happen. I'm not dangling on that cliff, I went way over and I'm in a free fall while I wait for the next (possibly last?) installment in this series.

Avatar. *sigh* I liked it, but I didn't love it like everyone else seems to. The animation was spectacular. I especially liked the little floating puffy things that looked like jellyfish. I wish they would have put as much effort into the script as they did in the animation. The plot was trite and completely predictable. It was a half-assed Dances With Wolves wannabe that lacked any subtlety.

My main issue with the plot was that I know it didn't have to be that bad; someone was just lazy to care about it. I would like to point to Up and Wall-E as examples of how high tech movies ought to be. The animation in these two were spectacular, of course. But beyond that, they had me captivated in a riveting story with characters I really care about. In my mind I was trying to justify Avatar's plot by telling myself that they were aiming for a broad audience that encompassed kids (unlike Dances With Wolves which was clearly for adults only). But that argument just doesn't hold. Up and Wall-E were aimed directly at children but bewitched and enchanted people of all ages.

So I know it can be done: there can be a successful marriage between CGI technology and meaningful scripts. It's just up to the producers to care enough about making a quality movie and not just a flashy one.

Book & Movie Reviews

2010-01-01T12:27:00.002-05:00

I have a lot to cover so these will be brief. I'll start with book reviews. Under the Dome by Stephen King was, of course, fabulous. A mysterious force field appears over a small town in Maine (I'm never going to Maine - bad stuff always happens to those poor people) and no existing technology or weapons can remove it. This creates the perfect environment for the shady people trapped under the dome to create chaos and take control. This isn't the first time King's told us story of what bad things can happen to a microcosm of people, but the point of this book is very clear: together we are responsible for horrible atrocities and it's only when we're alone and thinking independently that we put an end to these things. He's not even talking about taking pity on someone much less showing kindness; he's talking about tapping into the base humanity we all have to stop what we know it wrong. It's over 1,000 pages but well worth the read.

The Dude Abides by Cathleen Falsani explores the gospel of the Cohen brothers by analyzing each of their movies. This is a very interesting book for anyone who's a fan of their movies.

I really loved On the Edge by Ilona Andrews. Between the world we know and the magical world is a place called The Edge where people have very individualized magical ability. Rose and her two young brothers live here. Their parents are gone and Rose is trying to keep the family going by herself when a mysterious man shows up one day and demands that Rose become his bride. Around the same time a large group of vicious hounds invade The Edge and try to destroy everything in it, leaving Rose no choice but to join forces with the stranger. This complex plot kept me turning the pages as fast as I could. I definitely recommend this to anyone interested in urban fantasy.

Now for the movies. Pirate Radio is a great movie that was fun to watch, and when you left the theater you were whistling the tunes. Definitely rent this one when it comes out on DVD.

Sherlock Holmes was a fun movie and I enjoyed watching it, but it could have used about 20 minutes of editing in the middle of the movie. I would have liked to have seen more of Holmes' deductive powers of reasoning in action throughout the movie instead of saving it all up for the end. But I definitely recommend it.

Up in the Air starring George Clooney is about a man who lives most of his life traveling the country for his work. He avoids getting close with anyone, including his family, until he meets a woman who lives the same kind of lifestyle. It's a great movie that explores why we need to have connections with people to give our lives meaning. Definitely see this one as soon as you can.

Movie & Book Reviews

2009-12-05T17:34:00.002-05:00

As grim as the post-apocalyptic The Road is, it's incredibly well made and well acted. The point of this movie is about keeping your humanity. The father of a 10 year old boy loses his along his journey. He knows he's dying and his determination to do everything he can to ensure his son's survival is the only thing he can focus on. The son, even after seeing all the same horrors as his father, has kept an open heart and continuously fights with his father to do the right thing instead of the thing that will only benefit themselves. Always there is hope in the next generation, and hope is the theme of this movie. Definitely see this movie, but brace yourself for a bumpy ride.

I'll do a quick summary of the recent books I've read. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson didn't do it for me. I ditched it after 10 chapters. Other people love this book but I can't recommend it.

The Brass Bed by Jennifer Stevenson was a funny tale about a demon trapped in a brass bed due to a curse put on him hundreds of years ago. Paradox I was two short stories by Rosemary Laurie and JC Wilder. Both of these books were free Kindle downloads, and they were better than I thought they would be. Bloodlust was a free short story by Larissa Ione. I'm looking forward to reading more of her books in the future. And last, I read A Highlander Christmas, a collection of short stories by Dawn Halliday, Cindy Miles and Sophie Renwick. I bought it as a prize for my on-line book club but had to read it before I gave it away.

New Moon Movie Review

2009-11-22T18:04:00.003-05:00

New Moon, the second installment in the Twilight saga, is a fairly decent movie. It his all the high points in the book and told the overall story pretty well. It was fun to see the Cullens again, and I'm glad Jasper got a line in the movie so we could hear his southern accent (he was a confederate soldier, after all). I liked that Rosalie got a couple lines to explain why she doesn't want Bella to turn into a vampire. But I'm sure the back stories of Jasper and Rosalie will never make it into the movies, nor will those of Esme, Emmet or Alice. At least Carlisle's was hinted at in this one.

The best thing about this whole movie was the Volturi, the ancient and powerful governing body for all vampires. The Volturi are led by Aro, expertly played by Michael Sheen. Sheen stands out as a seasoned professional among an entire cast of amateurs. He is deliciously evil and power hungry, and I'm bummed that the Volturi aren't part of the third story.

The second book was all about the wolf pack so I was a little disappointed that they didn't go into more detail about it. They could have spared a minute or two to explain the pack mentality and how they're all connected all the time (and they all hate it). They very briefly mentioned that a pack member has to (i.e., physically cannot do otherwise even if they want to) follow the Alpha's orders. I was most surprised they left out the imprinting since it has such a huge impact on the end of the last book. But I guess they're going to follow the pattern of the Harry Potter movies and just chunk it all into the last movie.

My complaint about the special effects is that when the sun hits Edward he radiates light like a light bulb is in inside of him and shooting out of his pores. The effect is worse than a disco ball. I much prefer the low budget effect of the first movie which matched perfectly how I imagined Edward in the sun.

Overall the movie was decent. It's a must-see for Twihards, but for the mere Twi-curious you might want to skip the chaos of the movie theater and wait for the DVD.

Movie & Book Reviews

2009-11-15T19:16:00.002-05:00

I'll start with the movie reviews. 2012 rocked! Great special effects drive this movie starring John Cusack and Amanda Peet. The editors of this movie did a great job at balancing the special effects with the human interest stories. If the world were to experience something this huge in such a short amount of time, this is probably very close to what would happen. Great movie, great story. Go see this one.

The Damned United is a British movie starring Michael Sheen as soccer coach Brian Clough. It's a true story about Clough and his drive to be a better coach than his rival Don Revie. I like that it's not the typical story arc where the guy starts as nothing and ends up on top and everybody lives happily ever after. The movie is filled with fantastic British actors such as Colm Meaney, James Broadbent, and Timothy Spall. If you don't catch this one in the theater, make sure you put it in your rental queue.

Now on to books. The Magicians by Lev Grossman was a very interesting read. It sounds like it would be Harry Potter all over again because our protagonist, Quentin, finds out that he can do real magic and goes off to magic school instead of college. However, this book is absolutely nothing like Harry Potter. HP is the typical hero's story. This book is about the elite students at an elite school who are insufferable snobs who excel at what they do. When they graduate from school they have the capability to do almost anything, and they're given vast amounts of money to do it with. But with no focus in their lives they become overly self-indulgent and grow bored with themselves. The author holds degrees from Harvard and Yale, so we can see that he has plopped his Ivy League experience into a story about magicians. This is very well done and, as I said before, it's very interesting to read. I definitely recommend this one.

Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris, the latest book in her Harper Connelly mystery series, is probably the best story in this series so far. After getting struck by lightning as a teenager, Harper can sense dead bodies. While discovering the reason for her client's father's passing, Harper uncovers secrets about that family's past which end up tying into her own family secrets. If you're looking for something easy and entertaining to read, give this one a shot.

Battle of the Blades - Week 6

2009-11-09T20:35:00.003-05:00

We're down to the final three: Simpson, Lemieux and Richer. I think that these are the top three guys so I'm pleased with the voting and judging so far. Tonight, though, the judges were highly praising Lemieux and Richer, and sort of dissed Simpson for his edges. I disagree completely. All three of the them are good at tossing their partners around in various lifts, but only Craig Simpson has truly embraced figure skating. He's learned how to do a waltz jump (and, in fact, did three of them in a row last week), today he did a spiral, he's done some tricky footwork, and he's the only guy to actually skate on one foot! I don't understand why the judges don't appreciate his hard work as much as I do.

On a side note, Katerina Witt was the guest judge and she's just a little weird. She kept making remarks about wanting to be in a threesome with the skaters. o.O Her comments were just a little odd. Maybe her thoughts didn't quite translate well from the German in her head to the English out of her mouth. However she was handing out 6.0's like they were going out of style. It's about time. For a few weeks I've been screaming six-point-oh! at the TV every time Craig Simpson and Jamie Sale skate and she gave them one.

For the Monday night skate off, Richer's partner had hurt her back and couldn't skate. The judges decided, and the skaters agreed, that all three pairs will remain in the competition and all will skate in next Sunday's competition. So Canada, make sure you watch and vote next week!

Book Reviews

2009-11-05T15:50:00.002-05:00

Covet, the latest book by JR Ward, is the first of a new series in which the world hangs in the balance between angels and demons with one guy who can save us all. There will be seven books in this series, one for each of the deadly sins. This book really appealed to my inner sci-fi/fantasy/action geek. There were a few scenes that could have been tightened up a little, but overall I really enjoyed this book. I recommend it to anyone who loves the Urban Fantasy sub-genre of books.

Soulless by Gail Carriger is cute and funny. It's set in Victorian England, which is usually a big "ugh" for me. But the whole book was filled with such silliness that I couldn't help but enjoy it. I guess I'd classify it as a historical vampire/werewolf mystery adventure. (Does that even make sense?!) Our spunky heroine is a parasol-carrying soulless spinster (at the ripe old age of 25) who is determined to solve the mysterious disappearances and murders of all the supernatural beings. If you have any interest in something light and a little off the wall I recommend giving this a try.

Tempted is the latest in the House of Night series by P.C. and Kristen Cast. It's the continuing story of teenager Zoey Redbird, favored priestess of the vampyre goddess Nyx, who tries to lead a group of her friends against the forces of evil that erupt in her life. This is series just OK. If I were a teenager I'm sure I'd like it more, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to my adult friends unless they were specifically looking to read something like this.

This Is It - Movie Review

2009-11-05T15:47:00.001-05:00

It was truly stunning to watch Michael Jackson's concert rehearsal footage for his never-realized This Is It concert. This footage was taped over the course of a few different rehearsals each at different stages of completion. Michael Jackson was involved in every part of this production from the instrumental music, vocals, dancing, staging, lighting, special effects and everything in between. I found it interesting to see how he inspired everyone to achieve excellence through his passion, commitment and, most refreshingly, his genuine kindness. And in an age where many singer's voices are dubbed and digitally corrected due to (extreme) lack of talent, it was awesome to hear him sing and sound just like he does on his albums. And, of course, his dancing is phenomenal.

I loved some of the phrases he used while giving directions during rehearsals. In one scene he was trying to get the tempo right on The Way You Make Me Feel. He wanted the beginning slower and with a specific overall "tone" (for lack of a better word on my part). He told the keyboardist that he wanted the musical feeling of "just getting out of bed" - which, when you listened to it, was an accurate description of how it sounded. Then the keyboardist started adding more music too quickly, and Michael Jackson corrected him by telling him that he wanted the music to "simmer" for awhile before it kicked in.

I was enthralled with this whole movie. I want to see him perform this concert live. It's clear why the 50 shows he had scheduled sold out almost instantly. I wish we could turn back time and somehow prevent his untimely and UNNECESSARY death. It's clear that he was physically healthy and excited about performing these shows. I am both inspired and heartbroken. *sigh* Anyone who has even the slightest interest in Michael Jackson should go see this movie. You will not be disappointed.

Battle of the Blades - Week 5

2009-11-01T21:22:00.004-05:00

We're down to the final four pairs tonight, and I think it's pretty clear that Tie Domi has to go. He's clearly the worst skater of the group. He excels at lifting his partner, Toughy Hough, and swinging her around, but he lacks the ability to actually skate. The other skater in the bottom two with Tie tomorrow night will either be Stephane Richer or Claude Lemieux. Both of them skated well but not spectacularly.

Craig Simpson is the guy who is head and shoulders above the rest. He and Jamie Sale skated to the Austin Powers theme and they clearly had a lot of fun taking on the movie personas for this performance. He blew me away with a three waltz jump combo - and it was done in unison with Jamie. I look forward to watching them skate every week. The judges gave them 5.9s, but it was most obviously a 6.0 performance.

For Monday night's skate off, Domi really got turned around during the middle of his performance and then couldn't seem to get himself back together for the rest of his program. He ended up getting the boot.

Book and Movie Reviews

2009-10-26T13:06:00.002-04:00

I just finished reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward. I loved these books about a secret underworld of vampires that's slowly crumbling under archaic, oppressive traditions. The Brotherhood are a small group of men fighting the lessers, a cadre of undead scum created by the Omega (the devil). The vampire society is lead by a king, also the leader of the Brotherhood, who is trying desperately to stabilize society while the lessers wreak havoc. Each book in the series delves into the background and issues of specific characters while pushing the overall story forward. Many people in the on-line book club I belong to have a favorite character, but I couldn't possibly pick just one. I love them all!

I can't wait to read more in this series. The next book in this series is due out in April. Her latest book, Covet, is the first in a companion series. I will be reading it in the near future (once I straighten out my massive tbr list). I really liked these books and recommend them if Urban Fantasy is your reading genre of choice.

I also saw a couple movies this weekend. Law Abiding Citizen, starring Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx, was pretty good. Butler plays a man whose wife and daughter were murdered during a robbery. One of the bad guys gets the death penalty, but the other bad guy gets free after a few years in prison because he made a plea deal and ratted on the other guy. Butler spends the rest of the movie getting back at all the people who essentially let this second felon walk. It's very well made. If you don't get to the theaters to see this one, put it in your rental queue.

The other movie I saw was Good Hair, a documentary by Chris Rock about African-American women's hair. It was informative, funny (no surprise there with Chris Rock at the helm), and very well made. He explores all aspects of hair products and styles while interviewing many people ranging from common everyday people to celebrities. The most revealing aspect for me was what a HUGE business this is just because women don't like their hair! And this statement applies to white women as well, even though this movie specifically focuses on black hair. Definitely see this movie, no matter what race you are. After watching this, I swear I won't complain about my hair as much. (If I said "never" you'd know I was lying.)

Battle of the Blades - Week 4

2009-10-26T11:33:00.006-04:00

This is still my most favorite show on TV right now. This week's musical theme was R&B, and the guest judge was Lanny McDonald. Lanny still has his giant 'stash, it's just white now instead of red.

Craig Simpson and Jamie Sale TOTALLY BLEW ME AWAY! I was screaming 6.0! 6.0! at the TV. Craig is skating really, really well (in spite of a back injury), they both have a great feel for the music, AND he was the first guy to do an actual jump!! A waltz jump, if you've never done a jump in figure skates, can be difficult. The judges only gave them 5.9's. I thought Dick Button might cave and give them a 6.0 but he didn't. He's probably saving it for the last episode or two.

Claude Lemieux looked great too. I still predict Lemieux and Simpson in the final two. Tie Domi got stuck with some crappy slow song I've never heard before, but he skated pretty darn well to the music with his partner (even if he is still in hockey skates). Daneyko and Richer were OK, but not fantastic. I'm guessing these are the two that will be in the skate-off tonight. We shall see!

===============

Daneyko and Domi were in the bottom two tonight. Domi skated very well. Daneyko did pretty good too, but not as good as Domi. Daneyko had a little bit of a flub on one of the lifts, but even discounting that his program didn't measure up to Domi's and he was booted off.

Battle of the Blades - Week 3

2009-10-18T19:41:00.003-04:00

Week three and the pressure is ON! Tonight they skated to Latin music, and for the first time we're starting to see who's got the skating chops to make it. Most pairs skated well. Stephane Richer turned in a solid performance, while Tie Domi was fun to watch (as usual) and probably remains the crowd favorite.

Ken Daneyko was a little klutzy and he dumped his partner on her butt. Ron Duguay and Barb Underhill were a bit lackluster in their performance. I'm guessing those are the two that will be in the skate off tomorrow night.

After tonight I'm predict that the final two skaters will be Craig Simpson and *cough gag choke* Claude Lemieux. They both are skating exceptionally well, and they don't look like clumsy lumbering hockey players. I'm seriously impressed with their skating. The only thing either of them lack is the training to do spins and jumps, otherwise you'd never guess that weren't trained figure skaters.

===============

I was half wrong. The two players skating off on Monday night were Ron Duguay and Tie Domi. Tie's performance maybe wasn't technically advanced but he sold his "Rico Suave" performance to the judges. Ron Duguay's performance was similar to last nights: underwhelming. Ron was sent home. No more looking at his fake tans or perfectly coiffed hair (or his bad disco shirts).

Battle of the Blades - Week 2

2009-10-11T21:18:00.004-04:00

Ho-lee-KOW! Last week when they announced that everyone would be skating to Frank Sinatra music on their second week, I thought it was a dirty trick to play on all the hockey players who are still getting used to figure skates. But they all looked really great this week. All the men wore figure skates except for Tie Domi, who did great anyway. I was especially surprised at how well Mr. Clean look-alike Ken Daneyko did.

My favorite was Craig Simpson who skated an honest-to-God pairs program with his partner Jamie Sale. He even did a few spirals as well as some lifts. I think they had the best performance, but the judges liked Claude Lemieux and Shae-Lynn Bourne the best. But again, they all turned in really great performances. I'm so impressed.

We'll have to wait until tomorrow to see which two pairs get the least amount of votes before we find out who'll get booted off next. Based on tonight's performance I'd go with Glenn Anderson who tripped on his toe pick and fell, then tripped on his toe pick again getting up. Shortly after that there was a very shaky lift that had me yelling "oh $hi+" because I thought he was going to drop his partner, Isabelle Brasseur. In spite of these mistakes, it was still a pretty good performance. If he can turn in a stellar performance tomorrow night, the judges might save him.

===============

As predicted, Glenn Anderson was in the bottom two, as well as Stephan Richer for the second week in a row (not quite sure why he keeps ending up in the bottom). Glenn skated much better in the elimination round. His lift toward the end of the program was solid, and led to a little bit of a different ending than what we saw on Sunday night (the correct ending, I'm assuming). But the judges voted him out.

The best part about this elimination round was Don Cherry calling out Dick Button for being excessively mean toward Glenn Anderson. Having followed figure skating for a couple decades, I'm used to Dick Button ripping apart the skaters. I don't think Don Cherry expected his harsh criticism since this show is just for fun and they're all skating for charity. It just goes to show you that the bitchiness of the figure skating world permeates everything it touches. Too bad.

Battle of the Blades - Week 1

2009-10-06T18:32:00.003-04:00

OMG! Battle of the Blades is my new favorite show! It's on CBC every Sunday and Monday for the next six weeks. This show pairs hockey players with figure skaters to see how well the hockey players adapt to figure skating. It's hosted by Ron MacLean and Kurt Browning, and the judges are Dick Button and Sandra Bezic with a guest judge each week. This week's judge was Kelly Hrudey who you could tell had a lot of fun watching the big brawny hockey players skate a little routine with their partners.

The pairs are Bob Probert and Kristina Lenko (see photo), Claude Lemieux and Shae-Lynn Bourne, Glenn Anderson and Isabelle Brasseur, Stephane Richer and Marie-France Dubreuil, Ken Daneyko and Jodeyne Higgins, Tie Domi and Christine (Tuffy) Hough-Sweeney, Craig Simpson and Jamie Sale, and Ron Duguay and Barbara Underhill.

It's a lot better than you might think because the hockey players already know how to skate. Most of them have adjusted pretty well to the toe picks on the figure skates, but a few of them obviously didn't because they ended up wearing their hockey skates. Probert, Domi and Duguay all wore their hockey skates, but then Barbara Underhill sported a pair herself for this first round.

The judges gave the highest marks to Duguay who clearly visited Studio 54 a time or two when he played for New York. It kills kills kills me to say this, but if I had voted it would have been for Claude Lemieux. *choke choke, gag gag* Seriously, Lemieux and Bourne had the most elements in their program, including a full overhead lift, AND Lemieux did the whole thing on figure skates! I was really impressed. Actually I was impressed with all of the guys who all did a lot better than I had expected....except for Probert. *sigh*

I wish I could say my Red Wing skated figure eights around Domi, but he clearly had the hardest time adjusting to the fluidity of movement needed for figure skating. And after the skate-off on Monday between Probert and Richer (who had the two lowest vote tallys), the judges voted off Probert.

Next week the remaining seven pairs will be skating to music by Frank Sinatra, and the guest judge is going to be........drum roll........Don Cherry! YES! Grapes himself will be critiquing Tie Domi's ability to adapt a lovely skating routine to a lilting Frank Sinatra melody. (No, pigs aren't flying and hell hasn't frozen over.) If that's not enough to get you tune in then I don't know what is.

Pandorum

2009-10-06T18:23:00.002-04:00

Pandorum was a good action /sci-fi flick reminiscent of the Alien movies. It was a little predictable but well made and fun to watch. It did have a nice little twist at the end, and God knows I love those!

My friend had a question about a key plot point, and when I pointed out the scene where we got that information she grumbled something about having someone else give us the information instead of the guy who's hard to understand. My one complaint was that at the end of every scene someone had to say "We've got to get out of here." It was obvious by everything that was going on in the plot that it was crucial for them to keep moving. I don't think they had to remind us quite so often. But hey, if you can roll with that and focus your listening on the mumbly guy's big scene, you're sure to enjoy this thriller.

Movie and Book Reviews

2009-09-22T15:46:00.003-04:00

The Informant starring Matt Damon is hilarious. It's based on a true story about a VP at a company who turns informant for the FBI and provides evidence of price fixing in the industry. But the way it's made has you laughing throughout the entire film. It's unbelievable to watch all the events unfold. If you don't catch this one at the theater then definitely put it in your rental pile.

I rented Race to Witch Mountain. I'll admit it: I only rented it because to look at The Rock. You can skip this movie.

Dan Brown's new book The Lost Symbol is a fun read. I would say it's not as far-fetched as Angels & Demons or The Da Vinci Code, which I liked but I'm guessing most other people won't like this one as much. It's set in Washington, DC and focuses on the secrets and symbols of the Masons.

Last but definitely not least is The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. I adored this book! It's a murder mystery told from the first person perspective of an 11 year old chemistry enthusiast named Flavia. The thing I loved the most about this book is the distinction between the world everyone else lives in, and Flavia's world. This book is charming and funny, and you have to put it in your to-be-read pile.

Movie Reviews: Inglourious Basterds, etc.

2009-09-14T10:10:00.002-04:00

I finally got to see Inglourious Basterds this weekend and loved it. It's set in Nazi occupied France in WWII and focuses on an elite group of Jewish American soldiers called the Basterds (led by Brad Pitt's character) who brutally kill and scalp Nazis. They eventually cross paths one fateful evening with a Jewish woman (hiding her identity) who runs a movie theater in Paris that is frequented by German soldiers. Together they change the course of history (if only!!). This is classic Tarantino and I highly recommend it to his fans. However, don't go see this movie if you don't like his other movies.

I also rented a bunch of stinkers lately. I highly do not recommend Employee of the Month (not funny), The Watchmen (WAY too long), Dream Girls (well made but boring), or Laddder 49 (predictable and boring).

Gamer and Stranger in a Strange Land

2009-09-07T17:47:00.004-04:00

It was a cloudy day here in Michigan so I went to see Gamer starring Gerard Butler. It takes place in the not-too-distant future where nanochips are implanted into the brain cells of convicts and are then controlled like a video game character by real people in a real life combat scenario. Ultimately it explores technology taken to far by greedy, obsessive humans. It's a decent movie if you're into action/sci-fi films, but if you're a chick-flick type movie goer don't see this one.

Also, at the urging of a friend of mine I read Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein...eventually...after setting a reading schedule and forcing myself to stick to it. My main problem is that it was written in the '60s for a '60s mentality. Had I read it then I probably would have loved it. But, with my modern sci-fi mentality, I struggled to make it through. It wasn't a bad book or a poorly written book, it was just very laborious for me to read. But I'm glad I did, though, because it's a sci-fi classic and I've always wanted to read it.

It's about a man from Mars who comes to live on Earth. I would have enjoyed it more if the book focused on the man from Mars. As it is, less than a third of the book is about him. The main portion of the book focuses on our human reactions to him, told primarily through a blow-hard named Jubal who talks just to hear himself talk. If I ran the universe, I would make a "good parts" version like they did for Princess Bride. But I don't, and therefore it's hard for me to recommend this to anyone else.

District 9 movie and Dark Swan book series

2009-08-31T14:31:00.002-04:00

I went to see District 9 this weekend and loved it! It's an intelligent and fresh take on what would happen if aliens came to earth. I like that it happens in Johannesburg, South Africa (very symbolic, btw) as opposed to some typical US city. I also liked that they used all unknown actors, which played well with the documentary-style of storytelling. The only thing I didn't like is that almost all of it was filmed on hand-held cameras making for a lot of jittery shots. My eyes were getting sore after awhile so I kept looking down to focus on my stable and unmoving knee for a few moments. Excellent movie. I highly recommend it.

I've also read the Dark Swan book series by Richelle Mead which so far includes Storm Born and Thorn Queen. I just read these two books to kill a couple days until the new Chelsea Cain book comes out, but I ended up enjoying reading these two books. They're fun and easy to read urban fantasy books. Pick these up if you're looking for an easy way to kill some time. {Thorn Queen is currently available as a free download on the Kindle.}

Book Reviews: The Hollows Series and the Fever series

2009-08-26T15:29:00.003-04:00

I was recently laid up after having an operation on my foot so I had a lot of time to make a dent in my TBR pile. The first series I read was the urban fantasy Hollows series by Kim Harrison which includes Dead Witch Walking; The Good, The Bad and the Undead; Every Which Way But Dead; A Fistful of Charms; For a Few Demons More; The Outlaw Demon Wails; and White Witch, Black Curse. I absolutely LOVED this series. The main character, Rachel Morgan, is a witch with a messed up and complicated life, and although life keeps throwing curveballs at her she still manages to fight the good fight.

There are so many fun and interesting characters, my favorite of which is a pixie named Jenks who is one of Rachel's business partners. He may only be four inches tall but his personality is larger than life. My favorite part of these books are the Tink curses he spews out, such as Tink's titties! Tink's tampons! Tink's diaphram! And, of course, Tink's a Disney whore! Baa-haa-haa!

All these books were so much fun to read. I recommend them to everyone.

The other book series I read was the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning which includes Darkfever, Bloodfever, Faefever, and Dreamfever. The main character, MacKayla Lane, is unwittingly lured into an epic fight between humans and faes for the planet earth. The series is just ok. The only thing that keeps it really intersting is the character Jerhico Z. Barrons. We're still not sure who or what he is. He's dark, powerful, mysterious, dangerous, and he keeps Mac alive. I wouldn't necessarily recommend these books unless this is your genre of choice.

Julie & Julia

2009-08-09T15:47:00.003-04:00

I went to see Julie & Julia before I get laid up with my foot surgery. I didn't think it would be a good movie because it didn't appear to have any plot. However, Meryl Streep comes through once again with her larger than life portrayal of Julia Child. You can't help but love her, annoying voice and all. And I love Stanley Tucci who played Julia's husband (but I like him in anything he does). Amy Adams, who portrayed the woman who cooked her way through Julia Child's cookbook in year, was good as well. It's a good movie if you're looking for something to see.

On a side note, I would like to remind people who sit in the seats at the ends of the rows in movie theaters that once the movie is over, you need to stand up and exit the theater. If you didn't get hint when the movie ended and the credits started rolling, the other cue is when those of us who sit in the middle of the rows stand up and start moving toward the aisles (re: you). We don't want to be blocked in until you feel like getting your lazy keester out of the (uncomfortable) chair.

Book Review: Night Huntress Series

2009-08-05T14:26:00.002-04:00

I just read my way through the Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost, which includes Halfway to the Grave, One Foot in the Grave, At Grave's End, and the recently released Destined for an Early Grave. What a fun read! It follows our heroine, Cat, through her adventures of finding and killing bad vampires while inadvertently getting involved with the good vampires.

I like that Cat is a tough, take-charge chick who doesn't need a guy to save her that Bones, the good vampire who finds her, let's her be that chick and loves her for it. There's also a lot of humor and action in these books. If you're looking for something fun to read, check these out.

Movie and Book Reviews

2009-07-22T12:36:00.004-04:00

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was the best Harry Potter movie yet. I think much of it has to do with being able to dispense with the "ooh, look at that cool new spell Hermione can do" and the "oh no, a cave a troll in the girl's bathroom" type gimmicks and get down to the nitty gritty story that's been brewing for six books.

Even if you've never read the books and have only seen the movies, you know that a war is coming. It's always been leading to a showdown between Harry and Voldemort. Half Blood Prince is a great set-up for the ending of the series. I understand the need to cut out as much from the books as possible to get the movie down to a good running time, but the movie-only people (I feel) have been cheated out of the entire back story of Tom Riddle/Voldemort. While not entirely necessary, it seems like something everyone should know going into the Deathly Hallows. It only seems fair since we've been exposed to most of Harry's back story and this series ostensibly centers around those two and how and why they're bound together through Trelawney's prophecy (though we discover at the end of the last book that the series is really about two other characters, but I won't spoil that for those of you who haven't read the books).

And now I'm going to whine about other scenes missing from the movie because I'm a huge Potter dork. The most satisfying scene in the book, and possibly the whole series, was when Dumbledore came to pick up Harry from the Dursley's and gave them all the big old what for, Dumbledore-style of course. Those horrible people have had that coming for a long time and I would have loved to see them get what's coming to them on screen. I also would have liked to see the opening chapter, The Other Minister, where the Prime Minister (unwillingly) meets the Minister of Magic who has to explain that all the disasters occurring in England are actually caused by bad wizards. They even could have gotten Michael Sheen to play the Prime Minister (he plays Tony Blair in just about half the movies he's in). It's a funny chapter in the book and it would have brought a moment of levity to a dark movie. As would the scenes at the Weasley's in the beginning with Fleur Delacour, who the rest of the kids nickname Phlegm due to her overbearing personality. But at 2 1/2 hours I understand why these scenes were cut.This is a fabulous must-see movie. The seasoned actors are great as you would expect (Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane). But this movie also highlights how good the kids have become. They've all done a little bit of work outside of the Potterverse and it's improved their acting in these movies. Emma Watson has always been the best actor of the main trio, but Daniel Radcliff's stage work on Equus has brought him up to the level of the adult actors in the movie. I think he now has the ability to believably pull off all the horrible and wonderful things that happen in Deathly Hallows. If only I had one of those darn time-turners I could speed myself ahead to watch the last two installments right now!

Public Enemies with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale was boring. The movie makers missed the mark on what to focus on and how to make it interesting. Don't bother with this one.

I also rented a couple. Shooter with Mark Wahlberg was decent but predictable. Stephen King's The Shining (not to be confused with the Kubrick version) was an excellent adaptation of the book. Less psycho and more cerebral, it focused more on the mental state of the alcoholic father, and his son who is gifted with some form of ESP that he calls 'the shining.'

Speaking of books, I've read quite a few. I've read the 13 Dark Hunter books by Sherrilyn Kenyon and most of the ancillary short stories. The series is fun but starts off a little slow. I don't think she really had an overall story arc in mind until several books in. The last two books, Acheron and One Silent Night, were fantastic. They focused more on action and the overall plot development and less on the individual love stories.

The background of the story centers around ancient Greek and Atlantean gods. 11,000 years ago, some Apollites killed Apollo's Atlantean mistress and their baby. He took revenge by cursing all Apollites by 1) making it so they can't go in the sun so he doesn't have to look at them, 2) they have to feed off each other for sustenance, and 3) they die a very painful death on their 27th birthday since that's how old his mistress was when she was murdered. Some of them accept their fate, but those who don't, daimons, feed off of humans to suck their souls, thereby extended their lives. The Dark Hunters are the ones who kill the daimons to keep humans safe. They are people who die tragic deaths and call on Artemis (known to many in this series as 'the bitch goddess' - and rightfully so) who trade their souls to her for immortality and some extra powers so they can exact their revenge, but are then bound to serve as Dark Hunters. There's a lot of other stuff going on, but that's the main gist of the background.

I also read the four Dream Hunter books, which are offshoots of the Dark Hunter series. It takes place in the same universe but focuses on the Oneroi, the gods who can enter your dreams. I don't find these books as interesting as the Dark Hunter books, but they fill in a lot more of the overall background and characters.

This is light reading, but if you can tolerate the goopy love stories you might enjoy the overall storyline like me. I'm all set now for the latest book which comes out on August 4th, which is supposed to center around Fang and Aimee. I can't wait to see what happens next.

I also read His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik which I downloaded for free on my Kindle. It was a good story that explores how dragons would have been incorporated into the Napoleonic wars. I liked the beginning more than the end. The beginning focused on the dragon and its relationship with his person. The end of the story focused a lot on the battles. Because of that, I wasn't compelled to read additional stories in this series. But it was a solid book if you want to check it out.

Goodbye, Michael Jackson

2009-06-26T14:20:00.005-04:00

I'm sure many of you are mourning the loss of Michael Jackson today like I am. I was obsessed with him in 6th, 7th & 8th grade. I had all his posters all over my walls and all his buttons all over my jacket. For Christmas I got a red pleather jacket that looked just like the one he wore in his Beat It video. My brother got a black one just like it and my mom a white one.

I think our neighborhood was the last one in the entire USA to get cable. When the Thriller video came out I had to go over to a friends house to catch it. MTV was playing it every half hour. They've never done that since - that's how groundbreaking the video was. That zombie dance is STILL totally kick ass!
And the moonwalk?! W-O-W!! There hasn't been a dance move before or since (or any kind of move by anybody doing anything) that blew everyone away. 'Fess up - you tried to do it and failed miserable but even now you still wish you could to it. (It's ok, me too.)

I dragged my whole family (though it wasn't hard) to the Jackson's Victory concert at the Pontiac Silverdome when I was 13. It was my first concert so I couldn't say for sure, but I think that was the first concert tour that was a 'production' and not just a concert. I remember we were all dazzled the entire time. I got to see him moonwalk live while singing Billie Jean. What a memory to have! I still have my concert ticket.

I remember when the Black or White video premiered on MTV when I was college. It obviously was about race relations so I thought it was going to be slow and preachy, but it turned out to be one of the best pop songs he ever wrote. And how cool was the end of that video when all those people were morphing into each other?!

At the end, it seems like he surrounded himself with a bunch of self-serving leeches who didn't do anything to help him emotionally or physically. And if the toxicology report reveals that his death was caused by all meds, I hope the evil Dr. Feelgood gets stripped of his medical license and thrown in jail. He had all those people around him - why didn't any of them help him? The frustrating thing is that he could have gotten help and didn't have to die.

MJ: You are missed. Say 'hi' to Elvis for me.

Movie Reviews

2009-06-22T20:20:00.003-04:00

Movie review time! The Life Before Her Eyes starring Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood is the story of a woman who survived a Columbine-like tragedy. This isn't my normal genre of movies, so please believe me when I say it's worth renting.

I also recommend Death At A Funeral, a British comedy about family dynamics in midst of the funeral of the family patriarch. I wasn't in the mood to watch a British film, but it won me over in spite of my bad mood. It was pretty darn funny.

Darjeeling Ltd. was a little too goofy for me. It's the story of a trio of brothers who never got over the death of their father. If you're in the mood for a very quirky movie you might like this one.

Outlaw starring Sean Bean is slow, and Awake is stupid. Don't rent either of them.

Movie & Book Reviews

2009-06-14T18:33:00.002-04:00

I've been laid up after having surgery on my foot so I have lots of reviews to post from all this free time on my hands. I'll start with The Hangover which was hilarious. Three guys wake up in their trashed Vegas hotel room after a crazy night out on the town for a bachelor party to find a chicken, a baby, and a tiger - but no groom. They have no memory of the night before and try to retrace their steps so they can find their friend. This movie was absolutely laugh out loud funny. This is a must see.

Yesterday I went through South Park Season 12. If you're a South Park fan this is a must see. The first few episodes were a little on the weak side, but as the season progressed the episodes got funnier culminating in the best and last episode of the season where Butters thinks he's turned into a vampire after getting a Hot Topic makeover and drinking Clamato. I love Butters.

The rest of the movies I watched I can't really recommend. Deception, starring Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor, is slow and predictable. Harsh Times, starring Christian Bale, is about a stupid white guy trying to fit into Latino street culture. One Missed Call wasn't scary at all. Lars and the Real Girl wasn't bad, but I thought it was supposed to be comedy and it turned out to be a touching indy film.

Now for a couple book reviews. The first one is a short story that was free on the Kindle called Serial by Jack Kilborn and Blake Crouch. It's three chapters long. The first chapter follows a male serial killer who rapes and tortures a hitch hiker in a cornfield. The second chapter follows a female serial killer who drugs her victims so she can tie them to the back of the car and drag them until they die. The third chapter has these two serial killers meet each other and gets interesting as we watch them try to kill each other. Very twisted. It's not bad, but I'm glad it was only three chapters because it was disturbing.

The other book was also a free Kindle download called The Alchemyst by Michael Scott. It's aimed at a pre-teen audience, but it was a good little story. It's about Nicholas Flamel and the philosopher's stone, which can make the elixir of life. Some bad people steal the codex of ancient formulas and it's up to a set of twins to help Flamel save the world from destruction. Cute, but I can't recommend it to an adult audience.

Pride & Prejudice & Zombies

2009-06-03T08:51:00.002-04:00

Zombies?! Yes, you read that right. Some genius named Seth Grahame-Smith took Jane Austen's torturously boring novel and wrote in a bunch of zombies to spice it up. The Bennet girls are all ninja warriors pledged to kill Satan's minions, but the main story is still Austen's original drivel. This book is much more clever and entertaining than it sounds like it would be.

It took me a long time to read this; probably about a month when my usual pace for a book is a few days to a week. It if weren't for Grahame-Smith's upgrades I would have stabbed my eyes out with a fork and tossed the book into the garbage (well, not really because I have it on my Kindle, but you get the point). I don't know how Austen got herself published and why her books are considered classics. Thank God Grahame-Smith had the inclination and the time to revamp it so than now I may say that this new version is definitely a classic.

My initial thought was that he should upgrade all of Austen's books, but his next project is going to be Abe Lincoln: Vampire Slayer. I'm glad he's spreading the love around. I'm looking forward to his future works.

Movie Reviews

2009-05-31T19:49:00.002-04:00

Up was a fabulous movie! I love that animated movies are more geared to an adult audience these days. It's about old man who lifts his house up with helium balloons to fulfill his life-long dream of exploring South America. Soon after lift off he realized that he's not alone. An eight year old Wilderness Explorer was on his porch when the house lifted off. I loved this kid - he had the funniest lines!

The most beautiful part of the movie is the beginning, which tells the life story of the old man exclusively visually (no dialogue whatsoever). We learned so much about our main character in only a few minutes of animation. Very impressive. Definitely go see this one.

One you should definitely skip is Drag Me To Hell. Indeed. I felt like I was actually in hell while sitting through this piece of crap. At the half hour point I was bored stiff. I wasn't scared at all and it was completely predictable. At several points I laughing because it was so lame - like the angry talking goat, for example. I'm amazed that someone thought this was a good enough script to give Sam Raimi millions of dollars to make this. Do you really want to be the guy who made the worst movie in the past decade?!

I've rented several movies as well. Ones you should catch are Kill Shot based on an Elmore Leonard book starring Mickey Rourke and Diane Lane (filmed in Michigan, btw); December Boys, a British coming of age movie about a group of orphans in Australia starring Dan Radcliff; and Swing Vote, a very over-the-top political comedy starring Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper and Kelsey Grammer.

Ones to remove from your movie queue Paul Blart: Mall Cop, which was really stupid and not funny at all (I think Adam Sandler had his hand in this somehow which explains why it sucked so hard); and American Yakuza from 1993 which wasn't horrible, but doesn't stand up to today's movie standards.

Terminator Salvation

2009-05-24T14:31:00.003-04:00

I have to say that I liked Terminator Salvation, I think mostly because I didn't have any expectations going into it. Christian Bale was totally awesome as John Connor, leader of the resistance against the machines who have taken over the world. It fills in the backstory implied in the first three movies nicely. The movie seemed to wander a bit in the middle, but pulled together nicely toward the end. It was totally awesome to get a bit of Ah-nold in there too. It was fun movie to watch, but it's only a must-see for Terminator junkies.

I also rented a few movies. Mirrors with Keifer Sutherland was so beyond horrible that it wasn't scary at all. I can't believe they make movies this bad. The original War of the Worlds made in the 50s was really horrible too. Sid & Nancy with Gary Oldman was somewhat interesting. It's about the relationship between Sex Pistols bass player Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungeon. These people are really annoying so the movie got a little boring.

Movie Reviews: Angels & Demons, etc.

2009-05-19T13:32:00.002-04:00

I've been a movie watching fool these last few days. I went to see Angels & Demons this weekend. I thought it was a good adaptation of the book, which is essentially an action/adventure story anyway. One of the reasons it probably works so well is that we actually get to see the churches and statues referenced in the book, which helps a lot if, like me, you don't know anything about old sculptures and churches in Rome.

This story centers around a group founded hundreds of years ago by scientists who were bold enough to go against the Catholic church and say crazy things like, "the earth isn't the center of the universe." This group, called The Illuminati, has supposedly been secretly kept alive and are now exacting their revenge on the Catholic church by threatening to blow it up with anti-matter made in an experiment that basically proves that man can create "the big bang," thereby kind of proving that there is no god. It's a fun romp . Definitely go see it.

I don't recommend the rest of the movies I've seen recently. Therefore, I'll give you a quick list.

Lucky You - boring movie about a poker player. Great acting by Robert Duvall and Eric Bana. Horrible horrible horrible acting by Drew Barrymore.

The Nugget - little Aussie film about three average guys who find a giant nugget of gold and the problems it causes. It's a light, funny film but not a must-see.

5th Element - futuristic sci-fi movie that's too quirky for its own good. Surprisingly, Milla Jovovich was the best part about this movie. Go figure.

The Grudge - would have been scary if it wasn't overly-long and thus, boring.

Pumpkinhead - lame 80s horror flick with false advertising - no guy with a pumpkin on his head.

Vampires - I almost enjoyed this movie. It got the right mix of serious and sass. Made by John Carpenter and stars James Wood.

Star Trek

2009-05-10T18:04:00.005-04:00

Star Trek is possibly the best movie ever made. It was so incredible. There are so many 'easter eggs' for trekkies (from Captain Pike to the Kobayashi Maru to Captain Archer's Beagle) but if you've never seen a Star Trek movie or tv show you could enjoy the movie just as much. It's a 'prequel' to the entire series focusing on a young Kirk, Spock and the gang and how they came together.

Hats off to JJ Abrahm's and his crew for putting a lot of thought into the actual script and effort into making a great movie. I think my favorite character (aside from Spock, of course, who is and will always be everyone's favorite character) was Bones played masterfully by Karl Urban. He got the exact attitude and timing down for Dr. McCoy's lines. But the whole cast was fabulous, especially our Romulan villain played by Eric Bana.

If there's any downside at all to this movie it's bad science. I won't even tell you about it because if you don't know about it (or don't really care, like me) you can just go with the flow of the the story and enjoy a marvelous movie.

I can't say enough great things about it. I can't wait to see it again. This is a must see.

Dead and Gone

2009-05-07T14:24:00.002-04:00

I just read the latest Sookie Stackhouse book Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris. I enjoy reading these books because they're light and fun and easy to read. This latest book is very Eric-centric (for you Eric fans out there) but centers around a rift within the fairy realm. Sookie gets sucked into the war because her great-grandfather, Niall, is one of the two fairy princes at war with each other. But don't fret, vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, and witches are all part of Sookie's life so they're all in this book.

And, I am very pleased to say, my favorite literary character of all time makes an appearance, Bubba. If you don't know who Bubba is, pick up the first book in this Southern Vampire Series called Dead Until Dark. If you've watched the first season of the HBO series based on these books, True Blood, you will have missed out on the insanity that is Bubba. It's your loss.

These aren't the deepest books in the world, but if you're looking for something fun and light to read on the beach this summer I would recommend these.

Assassin's Quest

2009-05-06T12:35:00.004-04:00

Wowee wowee wow. I just finished Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb, the last book in the Farseer trilogy. I totally loved this series and adamantly recommend it to everyone. I had no idea that any current author was writing fabulous science fiction tales. Why hasn't this gained the same popularity as the works of Tolkein and Rowling? Am baffled at this because Hobb truly belongs in the upper most echelon with them.

I have read several reader reviews that complain of the story, and especially this last book. I think their primary complaint stems from this story not taking the obvious route to the expected closure of a typical science fiction novel. However, this is what I enjoyed most about this series. The world and the characters Hobb created had me mesmerized from start to finish. The end of this book had me speed-reading as fast as I possibly could because I absolutely had to see how the final events were going to unfold as quickly as possible. I was not disappointed.

I the other complaint I've read from readers is of our hero, Fitz. I think Fitz is the best protagonist I've ever read in science fiction. I find it extremely boring to read about perfect people who always make the best choices; what's interesting reading about somebody doing something that's easy for them? In this story, Fitz tries throughout his life to do the right thing, to be a "king's man." But his mistakes, misjudgments and wrong assumptions combined with his constant struggle to do what he wants versus what he should, shape him into such a robust character that, by the end of the series, I was breathing each breath with him and hoping his same hopes and fearing his same fears.

This was an incredible series. I can't wait to read other books of Hobb's. She has written two more trilogies in this same world she created in the Realm of the Elderlings, as well as other books outside of this universe. Check back to my blog in the future for postings on all of these books, which I will surely read.

Reviews

2009-05-05T14:59:00.004-04:00

I haven't posted in a while and I do have several reviews to post. I'll start with the movies. I went to see I Love You Man, which was much funnier than I expected it to be. It was nice to see that his fiance wasn't a nagging you-know-what and was happy for him when he found a friend. I think it's out of the theaters now, but you haven't seen it make sure you rent it on DVD. I guarantee you'll laugh.

My good friend loaned me some of her horror movies and I managed to watch two of them so far. The Prophecy stars Christopher Walken (mister freaky looking himself) as a fallen angel and Viggo Mortensen as The Fallen Angel. Hellraiser was just a smidge disappointing because there wasn't very much Pinhead in this first movie. I am told that the next few have more Pinhead and that if I watch them I will be rewarded (with a puzzle box). These two are both decent in an 80s horror flick kind of way. They're fun to watch if you're in the right mood.

Last and least for the movies in this post is 88 Minutes starring Al Pacino. I figured out the problem - Al can't act. He just just struts around stating his lines with extreme arrogance and no emotion whatsoever. It's quite a far fall from The Godfather. Do not watch this movie under any circumstance.

Now on to my latest book, The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne. I found this book on the blog of Diana Gabaldon, the author the Outlander series which I adore. This was a fun romp following French and English spies during the reign of Napoleon. I classify this book in the same category as the Outlander series - action/adventure books for chicks (I say for chicks because there is a romantic element to the story, as you can probably tell from the cover). It was a fun and easy read that I definitely recommend. I have her follow up book in my book queue and will probably be blogging about it in the near future.

State of Play, The Other Boleyn Girl, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

2009-04-19T15:57:00.006-04:00

State of Play is an excellent movie. It's a twisty, turny thriller starring Ben Affleck, Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams, and Helen Mirren. The movie opens with a petty thief being gunned down in an alley, which is the catalyst to uncovering a vast conspiracy. I don't want to say much more about the plot which keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time. Take it from me, don't drink a large Coke while watching this movie because you won't want to get up for a bathroom break.

I should have caught The Other Boleyn Girl in the theaters, but I'm glad I finally did see it. It's a great depiction of the story of Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII starring Natalie Portman and Eric Bana, as well as Scarlett Johansson who plays Anne's sister Mary. I never knew Anne had a sister and that she was actually the king's lover first. Great story, very well acted. Definitely catch this one if you haven't already.

I took a chance on The Diving Bell and the Butterfly and it was way to boring and weird for me. I can't recommend this movie, which I ended up fast forwarding through. It's the true story of a guy who had a stroke that resulted in locked-in story. He wrote a book by communicating with blinks of his one good eye. It sounds interesting and inspiring, but you really have to want to watch this kind of movie to make it through the whole thing.

Royal Assassin

2009-04-17T12:40:00.002-04:00

Royal Assassin is the second book in Robin Hobbs' Farseer trilogy, and as far as second books in trilogies go, this one was pretty darn good! The overall story arch progressed nicely and there was actual character development (things both generally missing in second books of trilogies).

The story continues to follow young FitzChivalry, bastard grandson and assassin to the dying King Shrewd, as he weaves his way through life in the royal court serving both Shrewd and king-in-waiting Verity, while the Shrewd's youngest son Regal weaves his nasty web of deceit and betrayal. The Red Ship Raiders continue to attack the coast and turn all survivors into zombie-like beings. In a desperate attempt to save the kingdom, Verity leaves his ailing father and pregnant wife in the hands of shady Regal so he can pursue the Elderlings spoken of in their land's ancient lore who were said to have some special power that may help end the coastal attacks. Needless to say, everything goes to hell in a hand basket.

This is a wonderful, well-written story. It was almost heartbreaking to read about the internal destruction of the kingdom and the king's court at the hands of dastardly Regal. I thought it had a great ending (which I will not reveal here). I'm looking forward to reading the last of this trilogy, as well as the other books Hobbs has written about this brilliant world she's created.

Adventureland

2009-04-13T11:17:00.002-04:00

Adventureland is a coming of age story set in 1987 as James graduates from undergrad, then faces the harsh realization that his parents can't afford to finance his summer trip to Europe or his graduate school even though he was accepted to Columbia. As a journalism major he's unqualified to do anything except work in a dumpy amusement park. Here he learns more life lessons than he ever learned in college, and he falls in love.

This is more of a 'dramedy' (sorry to use this word - I'm not a big fan of it) than a comedy. Much of the humor is in the horrible clothes, hair, make up, and music throughout the movie. The main 'soundtrack' is comprised of bands like The Cure, Husker Du, The Replacements, and, for some gawdawful reason, Lou Reed. But the film also gives a nod to the other genres of 80s music. For example, Rock Me Amadeus plays incessantly at the amusement park driving everyone crazy. (Feel free to admit to yourself that you owned the '45 back in the day - you know you did). And one of my favorite scenes was James running for his life from a dumb thug who wanted to beat him up while Breaking The Law by Judas Priest played in the background.

It was a good film that had more of an indy feel to it. It's worth seeing, especially if you grew up in the 80s, but it's not necessary to catch it in the theaters.

Assassin's Apprentice

2009-04-09T10:50:00.002-04:00

Lucky me to have downloaded Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb on my Kindle for free. Yes, I'm addicted to the free books offered on the Kindle, but the 'lucky' part is that this book is actually good and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it; in fact I plan to read the whole series and possibly everything Robin Hobb ever wrote. (This, I am sure, was the diabolical reasoning behind the free offering, like giving a person one M&M knowing that they will certainly eat more...tricksy, tricksy.)

The story begins with a grandfather dumping his six year old grandson at the king's castle because he can no longer afford to feed and clothe the child, who is apparently the bastard son of the prince first in line to the throne. The book is the story of the boy, who they call Fitz (which means illegitimate son) and how he grows up in the castle keep, not quite royalty but not quite commoner. He is taught many skills by many experts, one of which (you guessed it) is how to be a subtle assassin. The assassin's trade deals with poison's and herbology as opposed to the skills he learns with weapons.

But Fitz has a two unique abilities of his own that set him apart from everybody else. First, he is very powerful but very unstable with the 'Skill,' a form of telepathy that runs in the genes of some royalty. Once honed, the Skill can be used to influence what people think (for example, I could touch your mind without you even knowing it and have you bring me a bag of M&Ms). Fitz's other ability is the 'Wit' which is extremely shunned so he has to keep it a secret from everyone. Wit is not only the ability to connect minds with animals, but to possibly bond with one of them, thus eventually turning your mind into something much more savage and animalistic.

The story unfolds as Fits learns all these things while he grows up in the midst of royal intrigue and scheming. He learns what it truly means to be a 'king's man' and all the sacrifices that entails. One of my favorite characters in the book is the Fool, who is the least foolish person in the book. I will leave it up to you to discover the meaning behind "Fitz fixes feists fits. Fat suffices." I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

Sunshine Cleaning and Heavenly Creatures

2009-04-06T10:37:00.004-04:00

Sunshine Cleaning was an even better movie than I hoped for. It stars Amy Adams and Emily Blunt as sisters who start a crime scene cleaning service to make some money, and Alan Arkin who plays their father. While there are several funny scenes in the movie, it's a poignant drama about a family coping with the suicide of their mother/wife two decades later, and how her loss still deeply touches them all. It's an excellent movie and well worth your time to watch it.

My latest movie rental was Heavenly Creatures (1994) which, like Sunshine Cleaning, was better than I was expecting. It's a true story starting Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey as girls who develop an intensely close relationship in prep school in the 1950s. Their parents are disturbed by this relationship and the extremely elaborate fantasy world they've created for themselves. One of them is forced to move to South Africa and the other is not allowed to go with her, so the two girls kill one of their mothers in an attempt to stay together. It took me a little while in the beginning of the movie to realize that all the hokey melodramatic music was a device that kept the viewers in the girls' constant existence in their fantasy world. Once I got past that I really got into the movie. I definitely recommend this one.

Movie Reviews: Role Models, King Arthur, and Othello

2009-03-30T10:13:00.009-04:00

Role Models (2008) is one of the funniest movies I've watched in a long time. I was laughing out loud throughout the whole movie, which is something I normally don't do. Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott play two energy drink salesmen who are sentenced to community service to avoid jail time, and end up in a mentoring program with two young misfits. One is the shy, nerdy Auggie who's overly involved in a live action role playing game, and the other is sassy, potty-mouthed Ronnie who has most of the best lines in the movie. I don't want to say any more so I don't ruin the laughs for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. If you haven't, rent it very soon.

King Arthur (2004), starring Clive Owen and Kiera Knightly, is a movie that explores who Arthur would have been if he were a real historical figure. In this adaptation, he's a knight of the Roman empire as it is falling and the Roman armies are fleeing the British isles. Lawlessness erupts and Arthur stays in England to fight in hopes of restoring order. It's a well done movie, but Blockbuster sent me the "directors cut" which means it was overly long. However, it was a nice surprise to see Ray Stevenson as one of Arthur's knights. Stevenson was one of the stars in the HBO series Rome which totally rocked. I recommend both this movie and HBO's Rome.

Othello (1995) was surprisingly enjoyable to watch. I'm not a Shakespeare buff by any means, but I think I was able to enjoy it because they cut out about half of the original text (and let's face it, that's where we all lose interest after a while). I couldn't understand the meaning every single spoken line, but I was able to follow the story very easily. It stars Laurence Fishburne as the jealous and untrusting Othello and Kenneth Branagh as the dastardly Iago. Rent this if you're in the mood to try out a Shakespeare flick.

Movie Reviews: Wilde and The Four Feathers

2009-03-25T08:22:00.004-04:00

I've been working my way through my huge backlog of older movies and recently rented a couple movies that can both be described in the same way: well made, well acted, but too long and therefore a smidge boring. Wilde (1997) is the biopic of poet and playwright Oscar Wilde staring Stephen Fry and Jude Law. Wilde lived in Victorian England with a wife and two children - and a male lover. His homosexuality was discovered and exposed, but his refusal to leave the country led to a court trial and he was sentenced to two years hard labor. Only pick this one up if you're specifically interested in learning more about the life of Oscar Wilde. (Note that his writing isn't really addressed or discussed in this movie.)

The Four Feathers (2002) is a remake of an old 1915 movie set in 1884 Sudan about a man who resigns his enlistment in the British army right before his regiments ships out for battle. He receives four white feathers from his friends and fiancee as symbols of his cowardice. To redeem his honor, he spends the rest of the movie undercover helping his army regiment during and after the battle. It stars Heath Ledger and Djimon Hounsou and, again, it's well made but long and slow. I only recommend this movie if you've dedicated yourself to watching all of Heath Ledger's movies.

Movie Reviews: Duplicity, Timeline & Undercover Blues

2009-03-23T14:37:00.005-04:00

Duplicity was the most fun I've had at a movie in a while, but I'm sure that has a lot to do with all those overly-serious Oscar nominated flicks I've seen lately. This movie has the audience constantly guessing at whose side everyone is on and where everyone's allegiances really lie. Clive Owen and Julia Roberts play ex-MI-6 and ex-CIA agents, respectively, who have teamed up to pull their own scam - or have they? Can they possibly trust each other long enough to pull off their plan, or are they playing each other (along with everyone else)? I'm not a Julia Roberts fan (she freaks me out if I look at her odd face for too long), but if you're like me I say suck it up for two hours because this movie is too fun to miss.

I rented Timeline (2003) based on the Michael Crichton book of the same name. I remember this movie getting trashed in the reviews when it first came out. I think I may have enjoyed it more because my expectations were low and I was able to watch it in the comfort of my own home. Starring Gerard Butler, Michael Sheen and David Thewlis, among others, it's about a group of archeology students who travel back in time via a wormhole to 14th century France to save their professor who gets trapped in the past. It's overly sensational and cheesy, but so was Michael Crichton's book. If you're looking for something fun and light check this one out, but it's definitely not a must-see movie.

I also watched Undercover Blues (1993) at the recommendation of my back therapist. This is a zany family romp about a couple with a baby who happen to be former spies that get lured out of retirement to catch a dangerous arms embezzler. Hilarity ensues as Dennis Quaid and Kathleen Turner multi-task their way through this action comedy. It's dated, lame, and way too cheesy. I'm definitely not recommending this one.

Hunted

2009-03-22T12:53:00.003-04:00

Hunted is the fifth installment of the House of Night series written by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast. The story continues to follow Zoey Redbird, a vampyre fledgling blessed by the goddess Nyx, and her small band of friends. In this latest story, they have to defeat Kalona, a fallen angel turned to darkness, and Neferet, the high priestess of the school who has turned her back on Nyx in her quest for power and domination.

Overall, I like the world the authors have created where vampyres are known and exist along side humans though not quite peacefully. I also like the overall story where a small band of good guys are trying to overthrow the more powerful bad guys - having been raised on Star Wars movies and Lord of the Rings books this is exactly why I started this series. However, I wish the authors would stop trying so hard to make trendy teen-talk and spend more time on the quality of the writing.

I recommend this series if you're into action/sci-fi books. Start with the first one in this series, Marked, in which Zoey first gets introduced to the vampyre world. Starting with Hunted would leave you lost as to what is going on in the story overall.

Music Within and Forgetting Sarah Marshall

2009-03-10T12:58:00.003-04:00

I took a chance on a movie I never heard of before, Music Within, and was pleasantly surprised. It's a true story about Richard Pimentel who came back from Vietnam legally deaf, being able to only hear vowel sounds but not consonants. He befriends Art, a very smart writer with cerebral palsy, primarily because Richard can understand the way Art speaks (when no one else can). The movie explores Richard's life after the war, focusing on his achievements on behalf of Americans with disabilities. I definitely recommend this movie.

Also watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which was funnier than I thought it would be. As you can tell from the title, it's about a guy trying to get over the girl who dumped him. He decides to go to Hawaii, but ends up at the same resort with Sarah and her new British rocker boyfriend. Hilarity ensues, but my favorite part was the end (**spoiler alert**) because he doesn't get back with Sarah but ends up with someone better for him. Rent this one when you want a laugh.

Into the Wild and Jumper

2009-03-01T17:07:00.007-05:00

I rented two non-recommendable movies this weekend. The first one I suffered through was Jumper, which is about a few guys who can teleport to anywhere in the world any time they want. Sounds like a cool premise, but there wasn't much of a plot and the girl that was supposed to be the love interest was exceptionally annoying; I couldn't help but want the bad guy, played by Samuel L. Jackson, to kill her. He didn't.

The other movie was an artsy-fartsy movie directed by Sean Penn called Into The Wild. It's based on a true story about a kid who left to go to Alaska to live alone in the wilderness away from all society. It was really long (2 1/2 hours) and was really boring. I think if it had been condensed into an hour and a half I would have enjoyed it more, but then it wouldn't have been the self-indulgent indy film Sean Penn wanted to make. Needless to say, I can't recommend either of these movies.