Book Review: Real Murders

After reading the Sookie Stackhouse series I decided to check out Charliane Harris' mysteries, the first of which is Real Murders. Her writing style seems to be what refer to as "a good beach read" or "a good book to read while on a plane." Having said that, I enjoyed the light and quick-to-read murder mystery. A librarian is part of a club that studies and discusses real-life famous murders (such as Lizzy Borden), but someone is killing off each member of the club in the fashion of one of these famous murders. Definitely not a must-read. I bought the first three books of this series at the same time. I'm not sure I'll continue with her mysteries after I read the next two.

More Sookie Stackhouse

Well, I've been on a tear reading the rest of the Sookie Stackhouse books: Dead in Dallas, Club Dead, Dead to the World, Dead as a Doornail, Definitely Dead, All Together Dead, and From Dead to Worse. Whew! I thought I'd just post one blog for the rest of these. As part mystery, part sci-fi, and part romance these books are tons of fun to read. I have a new favorite literary character: Bubba. I won't spoil it for you, but I guarantee you will get a chuckle out of this minor character. If I've piqued your curiosity, check out the first book in the series, Dead Until Dark; Bubba pops up toward the end of the book. {snicker, snicker} I highly doubt Bubba will show up in the upcoming HBO series based on these books, True Blood. I'm looking forward to the show. I hope it's as fun as these books.

Dead Until Dark

Ruh-roh Raggy! I found a new book series that you're going to hear all about starting with this book and carrying on with the other seven once I read them. The first book is called Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. HBO is starting a new series on September 7th called True Blood, which is based on this book series and created by the Six Feet Under guy. So I thought I'd give the first book a read before the TV show started and I got hooked immediately. I read the first book last night, and I plan to crank through the rest of the books almost as quickly. It's set in Bon Temps, a small Louisiana town, in present time; the only difference is that vampires "came out of the coffin" a couple years ago after the Japanese successfully synthesized blood and are trying to find their place in society (well, some more than others). The main character in these books is Sookie Stackhouse, a young woman who can read minds whether she wants to or not. She becomes instantly attracted to a vampire that moves into town because she can't read his thoughts and enjoys the peace and quiet of just being around him. Of course, murder and mayhem ensues. If you're looking for a fun, easy read pick this up and give it a try.

Reign of Fire

I had low expectations for Reign of Fire but it turned out to be a fun movie. It's got dragons - what more could you ask for?! Who cares about the plot?! In case you're one of those people who actually do care about the plot, it's set about 20 years in the future when dragons mysteriously and overwhelmingly take over the world to consume everything. There's a small pocket of human survivors in Scotland, who are joined by a group of Americans (not quite sure where they came from), who attempt to hold off the dragons and prevent human extinction. Rent this one if you want to see some cool looking dragons.

Book Review: The Subtle Knife

The second book in Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy, The Subtle Knife, was a little disappointing. The first three-quarters of the book was somewhat boring. We're following around our 10 year old heroin, Lyra, who doesn't know or learn much of what's going on so we're mostly left in the dark until close to the end of the book. We eventually find out more about what's going on, and the cliff-hanger at the end of this book leaves the reader anxious to find out what happens next. It's not bad, but I have higher expectations for the pace of the last book. I guess this book fell deeply into the pit that most second books of triliogies fall into: The Great Pit of Nothing Much Happens Because I'm Saving It All For The End Of My Epic Trilogy.

Hope for Dumbledore?

I heard a rumor that Michael Gambon may have actually looked at the sixth book of the Harry Potter series, HP and the Half-Blood Prince, while filming the movie. Notice that I didn't say he read the book, only looked at it. Apparently Daniel Radcliff who plays Harry Potter said at one time or another that they were consulting the book during some scene they were filming together. This is just a rumor I heard. I have not found the actual quote.

Any glimpse whatsoever at any of the books could only help Michael Gambon and his horribly inaccurate portrayal of Albus Dumbledore. If there was anyone who ever needed to consult the source material it's him. I don't understand what his problem is. He's a British actor so he obviously has tremendous talent. The books are neither too simple to be interesting nor too complex to follow. I can only conclude that he is lazy and belligerent and in it for the money since he clearly puts no thought whatsoever into the character he's portraying.

I'm not going to set any expectations of a better performance, but I will hope that Daniel Radcliff loaned him the book for a day or two peruse. We'll see in November.

Rescue Dawn

I don't know why I did this to myself. I hate watching war movies. I hate seeing all the horrible things people do to each other in times of war. But I rented Rescue Dawn because I'm on a Christian Bale kick since Batman came out. I think my kick is over. It's based on a true story about guy who got shot down in Laos while on a top secret mission and he gets caught by the natives. Basically, the rest of the movie is watching him being tortured. Because it's such a well made and well acted movie it makes the cruelty that much more horrible. Watch it at your own risk.

Breaking Dawn

Breaking Dawn, the last book of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, was great send off to a fun saga. This books wraps of the story of Bella and Edward and their struggle to make a place for themselves in this world; a somewhat difficult task since Edward is a vampire and Bella wants to become one. It took a turn near the beginning that I wasn't expecting and brought the story in a whole different direction than I was anticipating. I like when stories surprise me like that. I was more interested in reading the book since I didn't predict this turn in their story. It was obvious from the previous books, though, that there would be a showdown with the Volturi, the ancient rulers of the world of vampires. I was pleasantly surprised, again, that the confrontation occurred differently than I had anticipated. I liked that it didn't quite follow the cliche that I had anticipated. This was a fun series and I recommend that you at least give the first book a try.

Movie Reviews

I've rented a few movies recently. The first was The Machinist starring Christian Bale. I rented it because in all the articles surrounding the Batman release they mentioned this movie. I enjoyed this movie overall, but it was a little artsy-fartsy. The majority of the movie was him doing seemingly random things while weird things happened to him. But in the last five minutes or so it all fell together and I sighed a big "Ohhhhhhhhh." The acting and the filming of this movie were really good, so if you're in the mood for something a little off the wall try this one. But I will warn you that Christian Bale is anorexic in this movie; it's very disturbing to see.

I rented Shattered with my mom and it was OK. It starred Maria Bello and Gerard Butler who play a couple terrorize by Pierce Brosnan who is holding their young daughter hostage and making them do all kinds of weird things. Overall the movie was just OK so don't rush out to rent it right now, but it had a big twist at the end and I always like a movie with a surprise ending.

The last movie I saw was In Bruges starring Brendan Gleeson, Colin Ferrell, and Ralph Feinnes. This was a funny, non-PC British movie about a couple thugs hiding in Bruges, Belgium after a hit goes wrong. You should really add this one to your rental list. It's very well done.

I Want To Believe

The X Files: I Want To Believe was a better movie than I expected. I didn't follow the TV show through the end of its run so I worried that I wouldn't be able to follow all the inside sub-plots. But there is no need to be an X Phile to follow this movie. This could have been any FBI movie, but it was more fun to watch Mulder and Scully trying to solve the case. The movie opens in modern day after Mulder and Scully have both been retired from the FBI for some time. Mulder is called in to assist with a case in which they are using a psychic to assist them (the "X" part of the movie), and Mulder, in turn, needs Scully's assistance.

Initially, I thought "I Want To Believe" was a cheesy attention getting ploy for the title. But as the movie wore on it became apparent that this was the main theme of the movie for all of the main characters. While not applicable to the specific case they were trying to solve, the psychic needed to believe that his sins (which we learn to be heinous) are forgiven, Mulder needs to believe in his old X Files intuition, and Scully, the person in the most intense personal crises, needs to believe in God.

It's not a movie you have to run right out and see this instant, but you should at least put it on your rental list. The truth is out there.

Movie and Book Reviews

I don't like westerns so it better be a darn good movie if I'm going to invest the time to watch it. 3:10 to Yuma is better than darn good and I highly recommend it. It stars Christian Bale as a rancher who volunteers to join the group of men escorting a high profile outlaw, played by Russell Crowe, to the train that would take him to prison. The beginning of the movie is good, but as the movie progressed and the characters developed I liked it more and more. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see how it was going to end (I was not disappointed). Add this to your list of movies to rent.

The book I just finished reading is Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer. This is the sixth book in his Artemis Fowl series and I love it as much as I loved all the others. I think these books fall in the genre of young adult literature, but if JK Rowling taught us anything it's that a good book is a good book no matter what section you buy from in the book store. In this one, Artemis' mother becomes deathly ill with a disease that can only be contracted through tainted magic. Artemis has to call on his old friend, Holly Short, a fairy and officer in the Lower Elements Police (LEP) Recon division. He also calls on his new friend, No 1, a demon (but a happy and friendly one to be sure) to them back in time so he can find the cure for his mother in a now extinct lemur. But to save his mother's life he has to triumph over his most cunning adversary yet - his younger (and much more obnoxious) self. My favorite character in all of literature has an appearance - Mulch Diggums, a dwarf and thief that creates tunnels by eating the earth, then expelling the debris out the other end in rude but hilarious ways. This book is a fun ride. If you've never read one you should give it a chance.

Charlie Bartlett

Charlie Barlett is a coming-of-age tale about a teenager, new to public schools, who gains popularity when he attempts to be a psychologist to the troubled student body. Half comedy/half drama, this is funny and moving look into the problems life deals out. Once again, I am blown away by the phenomenal acting of Robert Downey Jr. Even though he only has a supporting role as the high school principal and father of Charlie's girlfriend, he brings so much power and emotion to the struggles that his character is forced to deal with. I suggest you add this to your list of DVD rentals.

The Golden Compass

I just finished reading The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, the first book of His Dark Materials series. (Yes, I'm quite late to this party.) The central character is an 11 year old girl, but I didn't think this book was written down to speak to children. Since I'm a fan of sci-fi/action books and movies, I was bound to like this one. Who can resist talking polar bears who kick major booty?! If you're a fan of this genre I suggest you pick up this book and give this series a try.

I'm going to read the other two Dark Materials books, but first I have to read the latest Artemis Fowl.

Also, I went to see The Dark Knight this weekend. Wow! What a GREAT movie! This is a must see. For a more in-depth review, please see my other blog http://jandkatthemovies.blogspot.com/

National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets

Disney knows how to make good movies, that's all there is to it. National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets was a fun adventure romp that takes us on a quest to find a lost city of gold from a pre-Columbian Native American nation. The places our heroes sneak in and out of unscathed are ridiculous (Buckingham Palace, the White House), but who cares?! I liked going along for the ride. My favorite part was that Mount Rushmore was an attempt to cover up a vast conspiracy. Add this to your list of movies to rent.

Mirror Mirror

I just finished reading Mirror Mirror by Gregory McGuire. He's the same guy who wrote Wicked (which I didn't enjoy at all). I liked the spin he put on this overhaul of the Snow White story. He worked in Lucrezia Borgia in the wicked queen role, along with her brother, Cesare, both of whom were infamous for being the children of a pope and who spent their lives in pursuit of power by just about any means available to them. Weaving these historical figures into his story made it more interesting to read. This story also includes an eighth "dwarf" (for lack of a better word to call these odd creatures), apples from the Tree of Knowledge (yes, that one from the Bible), and, of course, a magic mirror. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading a dramatically different story of Snow White.

The Water's Lovely

I think I need to add Ruth Rendell to my list of favorite authors. In The Water's Lovely, she creates a fabulous mess with a mixed cast of characters that makes you not want to put the book down until you've read the very last word. Everybody has vastly different motivations (some good, some sinister) and she weaves their lives together in the wonderfully intricate web. This is a must read (as all of her novels probably are, but it'll take me quite some time to read all 60 or 70 of them).

Reviews for 2 1/2 Movies

The Bucket List is a touching movie about two older gentlemen, played by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson, who find out they both have less than a year to live. So they make a list of all the things they want to do before they kick the bucket. It's much more moving and inspiring than I was expecting. If I had known it was this good I would have gone to the theaters to watch it. This is a must see so add it to your movie list.

27 Dresses turned out to be better than I thought too. It's about a woman who's always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Then her sister comes to town and turns her life upside down, forcing her to decide to take charge of her own life. Add this to your list of chick flicks to watch.

Now for the "half" movie, Fools Gold. This was so stupid that I couldn't finish watching it. It was torture. Don't waste your time or money on this one.

Reviews for 1 1/2 Books

I just finished reading Two-Dollar Bill by Stuart Woods. Definitely a must-read. It's a quick-paced mystery full of many well fleshed-out characters that turn the pages for you. This novel follows Stone Barrington, a Manhattan cop-turned-lawyer, as his life gets turned around by a highly skilled con man. I guarantee you will enjoy the crisp writing and witty banter between the characters.

Before that, I was struggling through another mystery called Shattered by Dick Francis, who is clearly a stuffy, fussy old British guy. I tried to stay with it, but the writing was too tedious to keep reading. After almost a 100 pages I decided that I had enough of the background story to be able to read the conclusion, so I flipped to the back of the book to read the ending. I'm so glad I did. I saved myself a few hundred pages of reading and I still got the whole story without suffering through more of the writing than I had to.

Movie Reviews

Let's start with the good movie first. The Orphanage is a very good movie but it's in Spanish so you'll have to read subtitles. It's by Guillermo del Toro of Pan's Labyrinth fame, which I also recommend. It's about a woman who was in an orphanage as a little girl before she was adopted. Now as an adult, she bought the orphanage with her husband with the intention of caring for several special children. But when her (adopted) son goes missing, she has to discover the secret the ghosts of her childhood friends keep in an effort to find her own child. It's dark but not scary, and the ghosts are minimal so it's not hokey. It's very well made and I suggest you add it to your list of movies to see.

Now for the bad movie. Sweeny Todd is s-l-o-w and boring and the music is terrible! I thought I remember that it got good reviews, but I recommend that you don't waste your time because it's two hours of your life that you'll never get back. The acting is good - no one could argue that Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, and Helena Bonham-Carter (all Harry Potter actors, by the way) could ever do a poor job. But the almost nonexistent plot and the bad music just make this movie drag. Skip this one.

Send Your Own Twilight E Card

What's So Funny?

I'm finally diving into my backlog of books (as opposed to buying all new books like I've been doing lately) and found a treasure my Dad passed along to me a while back. What's So Funny?, written by Donald Westlake, is a crime caper featuring one of Westlake's best loved characters, Dortmunder. This hilarious romp follows Dortmunder and his usual goofy crew of hoodlums as they try to get their hands on a gold and jewel encrusted chess set. If you're looking for something light and funny, pick this one up.

Books & Movies

I've been reading a lot lately, but let's start with the Wall E movie review. Aside from being funny and cute, it was very interesting in that most of the movie doesn't have dialog. The story is told 75% visually. I highly recommend you add this to your list of movies to see.

Now to books! As I usually do, once I find an author I like, I get obsessed and read all their stuff. My latest author is Stephenie Meyer and the book that sucked me in was Twilight. I'm a little late to the party on this one, but I've been burned by several books written for younger audiences that have received overly-generous reviews. It's about a teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire. Sounds cheesy but it's a very well written book and I enjoyed reading it...so much so that I read the three books in this series in four days (book two is New Moon and three is Eclipse. The next book, Breaking Dawn, comes out in about a month (please see my widget countdown on the left side of the screen). I can't wait for the further adventures of Edward and Bella!

Then I picked up the other book she wrote outside of the series called Host. This one doesn't fall into teen fiction since it centers around adults. It's a science fiction story about an alien species that uses human bodies as hosts for their parasitic life form. It's a good story because it focuses on people and relationships, and not too much on crazy sci-fi stuff. Definitely add this one, if not all of her books, to your reading list.

Book Review

Last week I finished reading People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. My dad passed this one along to me (I never would have picked this up on my own). The plot of this book is similar to the movie The Red Violin (an excellent movie, btw) in that the main story takes place in modern times, but then flashes back to various points in the object's history to learn about what was going on with the people at that time. It won a Pulitzer so it's a little heavier than what I normally read, but I enjoyed it.

This week I started a book called The Zero and I couldn't get into it so I gave up on it. I guess it's safe to say that if you read a book review on here that I liked it as I don't make myself read books that I don't enjoy.

Book Review: Heartsick

Heartsick, a murder mystery thriller written by Chelsea Cain, was a wonderful read. Our protagonist, Archie Sheridan, is trying to find a serial killer that's kidnapping and murdering teenage girls. The side story (and the most interesting part of this book) is that Archie makes weekly jail visits to a convicted serial killer, Gretchen Lowell (a la Hannibal Lecter). The sick twisted fun part is that Archie was Gretchen's last victim - not that Archie caught her. He was tortured for ten days during which he died and was brought back to life by his tormentor, and was then mysteriously released by what we initially assume is her mercy. It's a fun journey in the dark, tormented mind, body, and soul of Archie. Put it on your list of books to read.

A Lot To Catch Up On

I haven't been posting, but I've been busy. Let's start with the poll results. 50% of you were looking forward to the Indiana Jones movie, 35% the next Harry Potter movie, and 15% the next Batman movie.

Let's move to books next. I can now say I've read all of Jasper Fforde's book since I finished reading The Fourth Bear, part of his nursery crime series. I loved it, of course (see reviews of all his other books in my previous posts). The twisty-turny plot had me guessing how he was going to pull together an ending that involved Goldilocks, the Three Bears, giant cucumbers, seemingly random devastating explosions, and the Gingerbread Man. (Ever wondered whether he was a cake or a cookie? Read this book to find out why it's so important.) Like everything else he wrote, this is funny, witty, and spellbinding. I recommend you put all of his books on your reading list.

I also read a book called Lamb by Christopher Moore, a smart-ass of the first water. Lamb is the Gospel of Biff, Jesus' best friend. Mr. Moore weaves a funny and creative tale as he attempts to fill in the blanks of the first thirty years of Jesus' life. Put this on your list of books to read, too.

I just finished reading a chick-lit book called Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison. This isn't really my genre. It was a cute little no-brainer read. If you're looking for something fun that doesn't involve any thinking pick this one up.

Now on to movies. I have to start with my favorite movie so far this year, Young @ Heart. This incredible documentary follows a choir full of senior citizens for a few months as they learn contemporary songs (well, more contemporary that their generation) in preparation for a concert. The movie opened with one of the women performing Should I Stay Or Should I Go by the Clash. It was great! I laughed, I cried, and I was, most importantly, inspired by the zest for life these people have. I saw it at a local theater that tends to show independent films, so you may have to hunt for this one. It is worth it. I have six words for you: must see must see must see. If you're not convinced, search on You Tube for a few downloads from the movie. They made videos for a couple songs in the movie and, of course, someone put them on You Tube. But the movie is so much more than these videos.

I also rented Untraceable and Michael Clayton. The first one was decent. Rent it if want a scary movie on tracking down a serial killer. The second was very good, but make sure you're in the mood for a serious movie.

The last movie I have to report in on is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. It's definitely worth seeing - who doesn't want to see Indy in action again - but I can't help but be disappointed. It's been 15 years and this is the best script Spielberg and Lucas could come up with in all that time?! If you want to read an overly-verbose review of the movie rife with spoilers on just about every plot point, check out my other blog I have with my friend. There's a link on the left side of this page to J and K at the Movies.

That's all for now. Don't forget to vote in my new poll!