Review: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Angel
Written by Cassandra Clare
Release Date: August 31, 2010
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
NOT a publisher requested review

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars




Summary (Courtesy of Barnes and Noble):

Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still.
When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.
Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What’s more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.
Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length . . . everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world. . . . and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

 Another perfect offering from the always brilliant mind of Cassandra Clare. Beautiful imagery, a really awesome steampunk theme, striking characters and an action-packed story that will suck you in and never let you go. Full review after the jump. WARNING: SPOILERS!

Super-Sized Valentine Follower Love Giveaway!

February is fast approaching, so I thought I'd give you guys the scoop on the upcoming gigantic monster-sized giveaway I'm doing this Valentine's Day. The contest is officially titled the Super-Sized Valentine Follower Love Giveaway, and it will open for entries on Valentine's Day. Entries will be open for about two weeks, and prizes are TBA at this point. I do know for certain that there will be some signed ARCs, autographed swag and Things Liz Makes goodies, with at least 3 winners.

The final amount of winners and prizes will depend on a number of factors, including how many of you will participate! There will be extra entries to be had for spreading the word, a special prize for the most contest-related tweets and one for fans of our Facebook page. So, go ahead and follow the Twitter and Like the Facebook page so you can get a jump on the special prizes!

I'm putting together the sidebar button as we speak, and I am extremely excited for this giveaway! Are you guys excited for a big giveaway? Tell me what you think about the contest plans!

Also, we still have looooow entries in the Things Liz Makes Freebie Comments Contest, so leave a comment on that post so you can get a little free stuff before the big giveaway!

Thursday's Picks (17)

Thursday's Picks time! Buckle down and get ready for some movie, book and DVD goodness! As always, Thursday's Picks is where I tell you a little bit about some of the best movie, book and DVD releases coming up this week. I'm doing a little reformatting with this weekly segment, so things will look a little different, but it's still the same great stuff! Feel free to play along! Leave me a comment about your picks, or what you think about my picks. You can even snag a button and make your own Thursday's Pick post, if you like. Enough jib-jab, let's get to the picks!

This Week on Thursday's Picks: Waiting for Forever, Welcome to the Rileys and Trapped

Time Travel Tuesday Revisits MMPR

Back in September, when I first started Things Liz Loves, I posted a few things from my old Wordpress blog that I thought were particularly awesome. One thing I brought over was a post about the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, which was one of a few posts that became Time Travel Tuesday. I decided to do a bit of a throwback to a couple of posts that were from the TLL early days that many of you may not have seen because you didn't know I existed. So the first one we're going to look back at is the MMPR post.

The first set of Power Rangers.

After the first Ranger swap...

After that man-stealing Kat took over for the Pink Ranger.

I loved the Power Rangers as a kid. After re-reading that post, I started to get curious. What are the old school Power Rangers up to these days? I'm only going to cover the actors from the original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, not the ones from later incarnations, i.e. Turbo, Animal Force, etc.

Dietary Quirks - My Cleansing Journey

Hello there, bloggy buddies! I know this isn't an entertainment related post, but I wanted to get some feedback and talk about the new dietary journey I've been on these past few weeks. I've made some big changes in the way my family is eating, and it's pretty interesting to analyze the resulting effects.

So what inspired this change? Tony Horton. I don't know if any of you are fitness buffs, but Tony Horton is the creator of P90X, which is one of the most popular at-home workout programs in America. He's insane. He's in his 50's and in better shape than I've ever been in my life. The man is a beast, and my husband follows his fitness stuff like gospel. He is intent on owning anything and everything that Tony Horton has ever touched. So, when Mr. Horton wrote a book, he had to have it the week it hit shelves.

I may be older than your dad,
but I look fantastic!

Tony Horton's book, Bring It!, features a 30-day diet cleanse to get you off of sugar, processed foods, gluten and animal products that was pioneered by Karma Chow (whose founder is also Tony's personal chef). The second my husband read this, we were committed to do a serious diet cleanse. And, boy, was it serious.

In the first week, we gave up soda. This may not seem like a big deal, but most of you haven't met my husband and his twice-daily Super Big Gulp. We also let go of all processed foods, which wasn't so bad since I don't really like the stuff anyway. Just from that change alone, I lost four pounds. Four pounds from soda! I was amazed.

Pretty sure my husband could kill this in an evening.

The second week, we gave up all products containing gluten. This was rough. I don't know if you know this, but gluten is in everything that contains wheat. Almost EVERYTHING contains wheat! No more pasta. No more bread. No more flour tortillas. No pastries of any kind. I was terrified of this step! But I went a-searchin' on Google and found out a lot of delicious gluten-free alternatives for things. I learned about quinoa and amaranth, which are super-tasty, ridiculously healthy grains that you can use to give variety to a gluten-free diet. I made my own gluten-free portobello ravioli with a combination of soy, rice, potato, tapioca and corn flours that was incredible. I found some great rice and quinoa pastas to replace wheat noodles. I have to say, I'm not really missing the gluten. And I lost another three pounds from giving up the gluten! So that's seven pounds in two weeks, without changing my workout routine (read: not doing anything, aside from chasing my kids). Incredible! Maybe this Tony Horton guy knows a thing or two.

Quionoa. OMG, is this stuff tasty!

I'm about midway through week three of the cleanse, which is dairy-free week. This wasn't too difficult, since I don't really eat dairy products, but I do miss being able to use milk in my cooking and cheese on certain things. I got some tasty rice "cheeze" for the enchiladas I made last night, and it was just fine as a substitute. We'll see what pulling dairy from the diet does at the end of the week.

If only I could say that was me under that tape measure.

Next week is the final week, and it's the one where we give up all animal products. Full blown vegan. This one makes me nervous because my husband is a candidate for the poster boy of carnivores, and because vegetable broth just doesn't work as well as good old hearty chicken stock. As tough as this will be, I'm going to stick with the commitment and give it all up, at least for a little while. I figure, it can't hurt to try something new to get healthier. Who knows how much weight I can drop from this!

What about you guys? Any special dietary considerations you're making? Anyone with a gluten intolerance or living vegan? Tell me all about it and let's talk food! If you're interested in taking on a big time cleanse like this, you can pick up Tony Horton's book from my Amazon A-Store below, or you can visit Karma Chow's website to sign up for a group cleanse.

Thursday's Picks Will Have to Wait

I know that you guys are probably fed up with me not posting this week. I'm so sorry! My internet had a "scheduled outage" all day today, which made it impossible to post Thursday's Picks today. I'm pretty upset with Comcast about this "scheduled outage" because no one told me it was happening.

Comcast, you failed me today.

So, now the husband is home and he hates it when I have to do anything on the computer while he's home. He's a bit of a whiner.

Why are you on the computer AGAIN, Liz?! *sob*

So, Thursday's Picks is going to be postponed till next week. I hope you guys will accept the little comments contest I posted yesterday as amends for this week's lapse in blog awesomeness. I still love you guys!

Bear with me, I promise I'll get better with the posting.

Blogging Fail Made Better with Bribery

I have failed this week, big time. Time Travel Tuesday was neglected. Will you guys ever forgive me? I hope so.

I have treats to make amends with!

I'm going to have a little giveaway for you guys, just to let you know I still love you all. I have a couple of crocheted book marks set aside for you guys, and I figure now is as good a time as any to give them to you. All you have to do is leave me a comment on this post telling me how you follow the blog and your email address. If you don't feel comfortable leaving your email in a comment, click the "Contact" tab to get my email and shoot me a note to let me know. I'll pick two winners by random number generator. You do have to follow the blog for all my contests, and this will be verified. Contest is international, so get your entry in!

I made this! And I have crazy eyes.

The tassel slips right through a little notch
in the bookmark, so you never lose it.

Doesn't it look great, nestled between the pages of this glorious book?

It fits perfectly!

These bookmarks are an original Things Liz Makes design, and you can only find them in my Etsy store (currently, I'm out of stock because I'm giving the couple I have on hand to you guys, but there will be more for purchase soon!). This is a big show of my love for my bloggy buddies, and I wish all of you good luck! Leave an extra comment for an extra entry if you spread the word about this little, through Twitter or Facebook or blog post. Just be sure to leave me a link. I'll end the contest a month from today, on February 19th. Have fun!

Stephanie's Friday (Saturday?) Movie Pick: The Green Hornet

This Week's Pick:
The Green Hornet
Release Date: January 14, 2010
Rated PG-13 (Sony Pictures)
Starring Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz, Jay Chou, Christoph Waltz and Tom Wilkinson


Summary (Courtesy of Moviefone):

Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) is the son of LA's most prominent and respected media magnate and perfectly happy to maintain a directionless existence on the party scene -- until his father (Tom Wilkinson) mysteriously dies, leaving Britt his vast media empire. Striking an unlikely friendship with one of his father's more industrious and inventive employees, Kato (Jay Chou), they see their chance to do something meaningful for the first time in their lives: fight crime. But in order to do this, they decide to become criminals themselves -- protecting the law by breaking it, Britt becomes the vigilante The Green Hornet as he and Kato hit the streets.

Using all his ingenuity and skill, Kato builds the ultimate in advanced retro weaponry, The Black Beauty, an indestructible car equal parts firepower and horsepower. Rolling in a mobile fortress on wheels and striking the bad guys with Kato's clever gadgets, The Green Hornet and Kato quickly start making a name for themselves, and with the help of Britt's new secretary, Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz), they begin hunting down the man who controls LA's gritty underworld: Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz). But Chudnofsky has plans of his own: to swat down The Green Hornet once and for all.

My pick for this week is The Green Hornet, starring Seth Rogen and Jay Chou. Based on the radio series from 1936, The Green Hornet tells the story of professional slacker Britt Reid (Rogen), the son of newspaper owner James Reid. After his father's untimely death, Britt takes over the paper and moves into his father's home. There, he meets Kato (Chou), the most kick-ass assistant ever and they take on the criminal underground.

I'm a total sucker for the classics, so this will, hopefully, be a great throwback. The previews give me hope for a fun-filled adventure which would probably have been better suited for (and initially was) a summer release. The teens of my household have been asked what they would see this movie for. The answers ranged from Kato to the car, Black Beauty. I want to see Seth Rogen get gassed. It really does have something for everyone.

Nifty New Swagbucks Feature

I don't know if you guys have checked out Swagbucks, but it's pretty sweet. Basically, you earn Swagbucks for doing a bunch of random stuff on their site, and it's stuff you may already do anyway, like web searches and watching videos. I like to earn free things, so Swagbucks is cool for me because I can build up bucks and use them to buy things like Amazon gift cards for contests on the blog. They have all kinds of sweet stuff you can cash in for, and getting bucks is really easy.

The reason I bring up Swagbucks is because they started a new program for earning bucks. Do you play Flash games? Do you like free games that suck you in and keep you from working or doing anything productive? I know I do. Well, you might as well get something for playing games. Swagbucks now lets you earn buck just for playing games on your computer. Games you would probably already be playing anyway. Puzzles, word games, arcade games, you name it. And you can earn tons of bucks if you let Flash games suck your day away, because you can play these things all day. I did yesterday, and I earned a couple hundred Swagbucks. They are fun and addictive, and you can't beat getting something for doing what you're already doing anyway.

Sound like fun? Go on over to Swagbucks and check out the Games program. It's in beta right now, so I'm giving you guys the inside scoop that not every Swagbucks member gets. Just follow this link and sign up for a free Swagbucks account. You even get some Swagbucks just for joining! Also, joining Swagbucks is going to be a way to earn extra entries in upcoming contests, so go ahead and do it in preparation for the next big giveaway coming up. Remember to use the link I provided to get the extra Swagbuck bonus.

Note: this is not a spam post. I'm just really excited about what Swagbucks has going on and want to share the wealth with my fabulous followers!

Thursday's Picks (16)

Welcome back to Thursday's Pick, where I give you the skinny on the best upcoming releases to book, film and DVD! You know how it goes: I tell you what's coming out that I'm excited about, give you some tasty tidbits about why it's worth checking out, and you tell me what you think! Leave me some comments, I love them! You can even snatch the idea and do your own Thursday's Picks, just grab a button from the sidebar and have a blast!

Now it's pick time!

This Week's Movie Pick:
The Dilemma
Release Date: January 14, 2011
Rated PG-13 (Universal Pictures)
Starring Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Winona Ryder, Jennifer Connelly and Channing Tatum

Summary (Courtesy of Moviefone):

A lifelong bachelor struggles with the decision to tell his best friend that his wife is cheating on him with another man in this comedy from director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer. Inseparable since college, best friends Ronny (Vince Vaughn) and Nick (Kevin James) have recently gone into business together by starting their own engine design firm. Meanwhile, Ronny has begun dating Beth (Jennifer Connelly) and Nick is happily married to Geneva (Winona Ryder). The four friends couldn't be more happy together until the day that Ronny catches Geneva with another man (Channing Tatum), and tells her that he can't keep the news a secret from Nick. But when Geneva fires back that she will deny everything and shift the blame to Ronny, the decision over how to handle the sensitive situation becomes all the more difficult. Subsequently attempting to gather irrefutable evidence of the affair, Ronny uncovers a few secrets about his old pal Nick as well. And the timing couldn't be worse either, because in just a few days Ronny and Nick are scheduled to give the presentation that could make or break their company. With the weight of the truth bearing down on Ronny's conscience and no simple solution to his pressing dilemma, it all comes down to one crucial, defining moment that could make or break his friendship with Nick forever.

This week was a tie between The Dilemma and The Green Hornet, but I figured I would let Stephanie take the lead on the Green Hornet for tomorrow's weekend movie pick. The Dilemma is no short straw as far as picks go, however. It's got Kevin James, who is one of my favorite comedians of all time, and Vince Vaughn, who makes everything hilarious. The two together seem to have great comedic chemistry, and I really think it will make for some riotous screen moments. Also, Channing Tatum's hot self is in this one, being all hot and stupid and adulterous as the other man to James's wife, Winona Rider. PS, why does Kevin James always land waaay hot chicks as his significant other in every movie or show he's in? It's the funny, I think. Check out the trailer and see if you find yourself inexplicably drawn to him.


This Week's Book Pick:
The Weird Sisters
Written by Eleanor Brown
Release Date: January 20, 2011
Publisher: Kirkwood (A Penguin Group Imprint)


Summary (Courtesy of Barnes and Noble):

A major new talent tackles the complicated terrain of sisters, the power of books, and the places we decide to call home.
There is no problem that a library card can't solve.
The Andreas family is one of readers. Their father, a renowned Shakespeare professor who speaks almost entirely in verse, has named his three daughters after famous Shakespearean women. When the sisters return to their childhood home, ostensibly to care for their ailing mother, but really to lick their wounds and bury their secrets, they are horrified to find the others there. See, we love each other. We just don't happen to like each other very much. But the sisters soon discover that everything they've been running from-one another, their small hometown, and themselves-might offer more than they ever expected.

I know, shock! It's not an urban fantasy young adult pick! I can read grown up books too. And they don't even have to be supernatural or science fiction-y for me to read them. This book seems like a really heartfelt story about sisters trying to find a bond that they should have, but never had. I can relate to that. My own sister and I weren't close for a while because we lived with different parents, so when I moved to Utah to be closer to my mom and siblings, it was tenuous at first. We had a pretty hard time getting along for a while, but now we're closer than ever. I think I'll be able to relate to this book in that sense, which will be pretty interesting. I also think the other elements of the story will mix nicely and make for a great read. Plus, the main characters are all named after Shakespeare characters. How much win is that?


This Week's DVD Pick:
Buried
Release Date: January 18, 2011
Rated R (Lionsgate)
Starring Ryan Reynolds, Ivana Miño, Stephen Tobolowsky, Samantha Mathis and Diane Farr


Summary (Courtesy of Moviefone):

Paul Conroy is not ready to die.

But when he wakes up 6 feet underground with no idea of who put him there or why, life for the truck driver and family man instantly becomes a hellish struggle for survival. Buried with only a cell phone and a lighter, his contact with the outside world and ability to piece together clues that could help him discover his location are maddeningly limited. Poor reception, a rapidly draining battery, and a dwindling oxygen supply become his worst enemies in a tightly confined race against time-fighting panic, despair and delirium, Paul has only 90 minutes to be rescued before his worst nightmare comes true.

 This movie just looks like it would creep me out. I hate hate hate confined spaces, and the mere thought of being buried alive makes it hard to breathe. I have a feeling this movie will really dig at the scary part of my brain and give me buried alive nightmares for a while. Here's hoping it's not one of those unhappy ending movies and I don't have to watch Ryan Reynolds die...he's the sexiest man alive, after all.

Time Travel Tuesday: Childhood Career Choices

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" A question all of us were asked several times as kids, and one that received ever-changing answers. Even as an adult, I don't have a concrete answer to this question. As you can tell from the constant evolution of things I do, my interests are constantly evolving, as are most of yours. We never really stay in one place as people. Looking back at the things we loved to do and wanted to be when we were kids is always fun and helps remind us of interests we may have otherwise forgotten.

So what did you want to be when you were a kid? My answers were pretty consistent as a child. I always wanted to be a singer and an actress, as far back as I can remember. I held onto that dream all the way up through high school, and still entertain the thought from time to time. I was blessed enough to be born with musical and acting talent, so it was really easy to hold fast to the idea that I would do that with my life. I would occasionally pop up with other interests that I felt might be a good career choice: writer (hmm...), artist, designer...it depended on what I was into at the time. I remember drawing clothing designs in a notebook in 3rd grade that were a hit among my elementary peers. I have several pictures I drew when I was about 12 on my DeviantArt profile from when I wanted to become an artist. And I've always toyed with the idea of becoming a writer (obviously), which is what I technically ended up doing.

I pursue other interests, of course...crafting has become a big deal to me now (NOTE: The Things Liz Makes store has items for sale now! Check them out by clicking the Things Liz Makes tab!) so it takes up almost as much of my time as reading and writing do. I even entertained the thought of opening my own restaurant because of my love of cooking. So even now, I still see the possibilities in interests and want to make a go at a business. I know I'm not the only one, either!

So tell me about your childhood career choices. How often did they change? Did you live your dreams and make a go at one of your childhood job picks? Have you figured out what you want to be when you grow up yet, or are you still dabbling in a little of everything? Leave me a comment so I can check it out!

Review: The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire, Book One) by Clay and Susan Griffith

The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire, Book One)
Written by Clay and Susan Griffith
Release Date: November 18, 2010
Publisher: Pyr (an imprint of Prometheus Books)
ARC provided for review by the publisher. Thank You!!!



Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Summary (Courtesy of Barnes and Noble):

In the year 1870, a horrible plague of vampires swept over the northern regions of the world. Millions of humans were killed outright. Millions more died of disease and famine due to the havoc that followed. Within two years, once-great cities were shrouded by the gray empire of the vampire clans. Human refugees fled south to the tropics because vampires could not tolerate the constant heat there. They brought technology and a feverish drive to reestablish their shattered societies of steam and iron amid the mosques of Alexandria, the torrid quietude of Panama, or the green temples of Malaya.
It is now 2020 and a bloody reckoning is coming.
Princess Adele is heir to the Empire of Equatoria, a remnant of the old tropical British Empire. She is quick with her wit as well as with a sword or gun. She is eager for an adventure before she settles into a life of duty and political marriage to a man she does not know. But her quest turns black when she becomes the target of a merciless vampire clan. Her only protector is the Greyfriar, a mysterious hero who fights the vampires from deep within their territory. Their dangerous relationship plays out against an approaching war to the death between humankind and the vampire clans.
The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire, Book 1) is the first book in a trilogy of high adventure and alternate history. Combining rousing pulp action with steampunk style, the Vampire Empire series brings epic political themes to life within a story of heartbreaking romance, sacrifice, and heroism.

 I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I really dug the dystopian-steampunk elements of the story, and the characters were memorable in every way. I found myself ready for the sequel before I even finished the story. Full review after the jump. WARNING: SPOILERS!!!

Thursday's Picks (15)

Another week, another set of picks for your viewing pleasure! Welcome back to Thursday's Picks, the weekly feature where I tell you what's the bees knees in books, films and DVD releases for the week! We'll call today's Thursday's Picks the Dental Edition, since I have to endure the dentist chair in a couple of hours. Eeek. You know how we do this: I give you the low down on my favorite book, film and DVD releases for this week, along with summaries, video trailers and pics to grab your attention. You can leave me comments about what books or movies you're more excited about as well! Do you hate my picks? Do you love them? Let me know! You could even make your own post and use the Thursday's Picks button from the sidebar.

Now it's time to get pickin'!

I'm on a horse.

This Week's Movie Pick:
Season of the Witch
Release Date: January 7, 2011
Rated PG-13 (Relativity Media)
Starring Nicolas Cage, Ron Pearlman, Stephen Campbell Moore, Claire Foy, Robbie Sheehan




Summary (Courtesy of Moviefone):

Oscar winner Nicolas Cage ('National Treasure', 'Ghost Rider') and Ron Perlman ('Hellboy', 'Hellboy II') star in this supernatural action adventure about a heroic Crusader and his fellow soldier who must transport a woman accused of being a witch to a remote monastery. The arduous journey across perilous terrain tests their strength and courage as they discover the girl's secret and find themselves battling a terrifyingly powerful force that will determine the fate of the world.

This movie just kind of fell into the pick for this week by default. It was either Season of the Witch or strange foreign films that no one has heard of yet. I'm not particularly fond of Nicolas Cage's work, except when he just lets the crazy go. He's crazy, and if you don't know that yet, see the video "Nicolas Cage Losing His Sh*t" and try to argue the point again. The only movies I like him in are the ones where he's not trying to act, he's just being his crazy self. Like The Sorcerer's Apprentice...crazy Nic Cage teaches a nerdy kid to be a crazy sorcerer. Face/Off...crazy Nic Cage pretends he's John Travolta, making him act even more crazy than normal. I'm hopeful that Season of the Witch will offer a glimpse of crazy Nic Cage. Because, let's be honest. When he tries to actually act, he crashes and burns regularly. Here's the trailer. Oh, PS: It's got that monkey looking fellow Ron Pearlman in it!


This Week's Book Pick:
Across the Universe
Written By Beth Revis
Release Date: January 11, 2011
Penguin Group


Summary (Courtesy of Barnes and Noble):

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.
Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.
Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

This book has gotten rave reviews from my fellow bloggers, and the story description is stand-out among other YA novels. Futuristic dystopian literature is starting to gain a lot of momentum with the success of The Hunger Games series, and it's a trend I can dig. I've always been a little bit of a sci-fi nerd, so to see that secret love of mine get a voice in popular young adult literature is exciting for me. The cover is beautiful, the story sounds gripping, and the community gives it a thumbs-up...you can bet I'm picking this one up.


NOTE: Melissa Marr is also releasing a Wicked Lovely installment in ebook format, titled Old Habits, which follows the events between Ink Exchange and Fragile Eternity. This is a biggie for me, since I'm publicly in love with everything Melissa Marr ever writes. Fangirl squee begins now.

This Week's DVD Pick:
The Social Network
Release Date: January 11, 2011
Rated PG-13 (Columbia Pictures)
Starring Jesse Eisenberg,Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield, Rashida Jones, Armie Hammer Jr., Max Minghella and Rooney Mara


Summary (Courtesy of Moviefone):

Director David Fincher (Fight Club, Seven) teams with screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing) to explore the meaning of success in the early 21st century from the perspectives of the technological innovators who revolutionized the way we all communicate. The year was 2003. As prohibitively expensive technology became affordable to the masses and the Internet made it easy to stay in touch with people who were halfway across the world, Harvard undergrad and computer programming wizard Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) launched a website with the potential to alter the very fabric of our society. At the time, Zuckerberg was just six years away from making his first million. But his hearty payday would come at a high price, because despite all of Zuckerberg's wealth and success, his personal life began to suffer as he became mired in legal disputes, and discovered that many of the 500 million people he had friended during his rise to the top were eager to see him fall. Chief among that growing list of detractors was Zuckerberg's former college friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), whose generous financial contributions to Facebook served as the seed that helped the company to sprout. And some might argue that Zuckerberg's bold venture wouldn't have evolved into the cultural juggernaut that it ultimately became had Napster founder Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) not spread the word about Facebook to the venture capitalists from Silicon Valley. Meanwhile, the Winklevoss twins (Armie Hammer and Josh Pence) engage Zuckerberg in a fierce courtroom battle for ownership of Facebook that left many suspecting the young entrepreneur might have let his greed eclipse his better judgment. The Social Network was based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich.

I've been waiting patiently for the DVD of The Social Network to come out. My husband has been bugging the crap out of me wanting to watch this movie. Why, I will never understand. He is completely computer illiterate and has never so much as touched a Facebook page in his life. Why he's so interested in the sensationalized version of how Facebook began is beyond me. That being said, it looks like a pretty good film. I like Jesse Eisenberg's work. He's like a funnier, slightly hotter version of Michael Cera. He really works socially awkward sexy in a way that few actors can. The new Spiderman, Andrew Garfield, and the new Lisbeth Salander, Rooney Mara, are also in this film. Add to this that the second love of my boy band life, Justin Timberlake, is in this one and you can't keep me away.