Thursday's Picks (12)

Yay for Thursday!!! My favorite bloggy day of the week! It's time for a late-breaking Thursday's Picks. Each week I tell you guys the best books, DVDs and movies to look for in the next week. Feel free to tell me what you're excited about! Leave me a comment or do your own post; just be sure to grab a button for your post.

Here we go!!!

This Week's Movie Pick:
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Release Date: December 10, 2010
Rated PG (Fox 2000, Walden Media)
Starring Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Simon Pegg and Liam Neeson


Summary (Courtesy of Moviefone):

Upon returning to Narnia to join Prince Caspian for a voyage on the majestic royal vessel known as The Dawn Treader, Lucy, Edmund, and their cousin Eustace encounter merfolk, dragons, dwarves, and a wandering band of lost warriors. As the edge of the world draws near, their remarkable adventure at sea sails toward an exciting, yet uncertain, conclusion.

I chose The Voyage of the Dawn Treader for this week's film pick. As some of you know, I am a part-time reporter for Page to Premiere, and my top assignment is The Chronicles of Narnia. So I have gotten very excited for this film with all of the research and news scouring I've done regarding the franchise. I'm even going to review it for Suite 101. And believe me that you can count on a link to the review here. I love Liam Neeson (he's on my list of older guys I'm in love with, along with Robert Downey Jr., Alan Rickman, Johnny Depp and Bill Nighy) and the prospect of Aslan Neeson is drawing me in. I also love the source material. Dawn Treader was my second favorite book of the Narnia series. (The Silver Chair, my number one, is rumored to be the next in the series to be adapted to film. Check out my Page to Premier post about it here.) You can bet I'll have my butt in a theater seat this weekend for this movie.

Side note: If I could do a double pick, I would this week. The Tempest hits theaters on December 10th as well, and this one peaks my interest in a serious way. Starring Djimon Hounsou, Hellen Mirren, Russell Brand and Alfred Molina, this Shakespearean adaptation should be on the top of any literature fan's list. The film is directed by Academy award nominee Julie Taymor, of Across the Universe fame.

This Week's Book Pick:
Entice
Written by Carrie Jones
Release Date: December 14, 2010
Bloomsbury USA


Summary (Courtesy of Barnes and Noble):

Zara and Nick are soul mates, meant to be together forever. But that’s not how things have worked out. For starters, well, Nick is gone. He’s been taken to some mythic place for warriors called Valhalla, where Zara and her friends might be able to get him back. It’s just not going to be easy.
Meanwhile, Bedford needs its warriors more than ever, since a group of evil pixies is devastating the place, with teens going missing every day. An all-out war seems imminent. But even if Zara and her friends can find the way to Valhalla, there’s that other small problem: Zara’s been pixie kissed. When she finds Nick, will he even want to leave with her? Especially considering she hasn’t turned into just any pixie . . . She’s Astley’s queen.

I chose Entice by Carrie Jones for this week's book pick because I've heard that this series is fantastic. The premise is pretty cool and combines awesome mythology with romance, drama and action to keep the pages turning. I look forward to getting my hands on every book in this series. Note: Captivate, another installment in this series, also is being released in paperback on December 14th. Pick them both up to make sure you get the best reading experience.


This Week's DVD Pick:
Despicable Me
Release Date: December 14, 2010
Rated PG (Universal Studios)
Starring Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Russell Brand, Kristen Wiig, Julie Andrews and Danny R. McBride


Summary (Courtesy of Moviefone):

A mysterious criminal mastermind has stolen one of the pyramids in Egypt, sparking a fit of jealous envy in evil genius Gru (Steve Carell), who hasn't managed to make headlines since he and his minions swiped the Times Square JumboTron years back. Ever since Gru was a little boy, he dreamed of going to the moon. Now, if Gru can just build a rocket and get his hands on a powerful shrink-ray, he can cement his reputation as the greatest thief who ever lived by stealing the Earth's satellite right out of the sky. But immediately after Gru heists the shrink-ray, the cunning super-nerd Vector (Jason Segel) swoops in and snatches it right out of his hands. Now, in order to claim the moon, Gru must first reacquire the weapon from Vector. Armed with the knowledge that his nemesis has a mean sweet tooth, Gru adopts cookie-selling orphans Margo (Miranda Cosgrove), Agnes (Elsie Fisher), and Edith (Dana Gaier) and commissions a new line of cookie robots from the evil Dr. Nefario (Russell Brand), his personal weapons specialist. But as Gru and his diminutive yellow minions prepare to carry out the biggest heist in history, something strange happens. Gru discovers that the three little girls who have come into his life are much more than simple pawns. They actually seem to care about Gru, and it turns out the scheming evildoer makes a pretty good father. When Gru realizes that his upcoming moon mission clashes with a ballet performance by the girls, he must decide what's more important -- being a present parent or cementing his nefarious reputation once and for all.

This is such a cute and funny film. Full of great writing and awesome voices, this is a family-friendly batch of awesomesauce for your DVD or Blu-Ray player.