Upcoming Book Reviews

These are some freaking awesome books! Can't wait to start reviewing!

I have been wracking my brain trying to decide the best book to kick off my book reviews section of the blog because I want to get this blog going with a strong start, so I started browsing some publisher catalogs and putting in requests for ARCs from different publishers. I got a really quick response from one (hint: they publish the Beautiful Creatures series) so I should be cranking out a review pretty soon. I, for one, am very excited to be throwing my hat into the ring of book blogging!

Do you have any upcoming book releases or newly released books you would like me to review? Leave a comment and let me know what you want to hear about!

I'm diving head-first into this thing...

I set up an RSS feed and a Facebook fan page for the blog, because I really want to make a go at this, so check those out! Any suggestions as to what kind of sharing options you guys would prefer, let me know and I'll see what I can do. I've been so hyped about starting up the new blog that I've been neglecting my other jobs, so I'm going to take the weekend off after transferring another post. Share the page and help me get this blog on the radar! Love you guys!!!

Contest Ideas...

I'm considering a few options for contests for the blog. Since it's still brand spankin' new and I'm not exactly rolling in followers, I'm going to wait until I have a solid number of followers to do one, but I would like to have something in mind. So I'm thinking of giving away some gift cards or nifty merchandise when I have maybe 250 followers...I'm willing to take suggestions. The gift cards would be book, TV or movie-related, as well as any merchandise. Let me know what you want in a giveaway!

Stuff from the Old Blog: Daybreakers DVD Review

"We're the folks with the crossbows." Yeah, I can see that.

A decent vampire movie that stays true to the genre but sags in the middle.

Daybreakers is not a vampire movie for the Cullen-obsessed masses. It has violence and blood and gore and cursing (oh my!), which earned the film it's R-rating. Taking place in a world where most of the population is vampire, the film focuses on the dwindling human blood supply and the effects running out will have on the vampire race. Ethan Hawke plays Edward Dalton (EDWARD!), a vampire hematologist with a conscience who is searching for a blood substitute to save the endangered human race. He plays his role well, and while he isn't as dreamy as Robert Pattinson, he is a good lead for the film. The other characters were fairly unmemorable, including Sam Neill's creepy corporate vamp Charles Bromley. The only other stand-out performance was that of Willem Dafoe as Elvis Cormac. I may be biased about his performance (he is my old-man-crush), but all of his dialogue was interesting and funny in all the right places. He stole pretty much every scene he was in, which Mr. Dafoe is very good at doing.

The story starts off really awesome. From the opening sequence, you are sucked into this strange future world. The day to day life of this vampire civilization is so interesting that you can't help but want to learn all about it. I mean, blood coffee creamer?! Come ON! The aesthetic is dreary and disturbing, just how you want a vampire movie to be. It seems like it's going to be the best vampire film of the Twilight times. But then they sort of lull. The story really lags after the human  resistance is introduced and really doesn't pick up till the very end, where the whole thing comes together in a bloody mess and almost everyone eats each other. You do leave the story with hope for the characters, but not so much for a sequel.

The special features on the DVD are pretty nifty, but limited. When you pop in the disc, you are given a choice of Vampires or Humans. Each choice has a different menu interface: for Humans, there is a message urging you to call for help with the transition to vampirism and pictures of the human characters from the film with each menu option, as well as a underground broadcast message to "ignore vampire propaganda"; for Vampires, it shows a kind of vampire life management interface, with a sunrise timer, blood bank rations counter and "news reel" with a few scenes from the movie. Cool idea, but the coolness kind of stops there. The special features menu has a commentary with the directors/writers (which is pretty standard), a "Making Of" feature, a poster art reel, and the theatrical trailer of the film. The "Making Of" clips are pretty interesting and have interviews with the cast and crew about the whole creation of the film, from the early writing of  the script to the special effects. That's about as interesting as it gets for the extras.

All in all, Daybreakers is a pretty good movie and worth a rent. The extras don't merit a purchase for me, but you should check it out.


3.5 out of 5


Available on DVD and BluRay

Stuff from the Old Blog: Nostalgia! Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers

It's Morphin' Time!

In 1995, I was in 4th grade, and my favorite show was Power Rangers. This was the purest form of the show: the original. Every day after school, I became part of the Angel Grove universe to hang out with my friends Jason, Kimberly, Billy, Zack, Trini and Tommy.  I was hopelessly in love with Jason, the hard-bodied, raspy-voiced red ranger. The show was never the same for me after he was replaced with Rocky. I never could get over the loss of my beloved Jason.  Those of you who feel the same know exactly what I mean.

MMPR had everything a kid could want in a show. There was the action first and foremost, which inspired countless ninja fighting sessions (and bloody noses and stitches) in my childhood home. They were teenagers, so a kid could idolize them, but they didn't do typical teenager activities (read: they weren't rebelling), so it wasn't such a stretch to imagine yourself as one of them. And finally, they were all really good looking, so everyone could develop a crush on someone. The villains provided antagonism and comic relief in the same blow. That is genius that isn't found in the shows they give to grown-ups to watch. And there isn't a single kid in the universe who didn't love giant robots fighting humongous monsters with laser guns.


There was even a really awesome Power Rangers movie. And, as far as kid shows go, if there was a movie that actually hit theaters, you know it was a big deal.

The best change the show ever made was the addition of the Green ranger, Tommy. They showed that bad guys can get redemption and that everyone can be a hero by bringing him on the show. He became the main character on the show and stepped into the leader role when the Red ranger was replaced. He stuck with the show through several incarnations and even came back as an adult to mentor future rangers. Tommy Oliver is the definition of "Power Ranger". Unfortunately, that change was the only change I could get behind. Replacing the original red, yellow and black rangers was incredibly depressing (see paragraph one, AKA declaration of love to red ranger Jason), and when they replaced my idol, pink ranger Kimberly, with that blonde Australian chick, I stopped watching all together. How could they break up Tommy and Kimberly?! OUTRAGE!

This show brings back memories of simple problems with simple solutions. There was never a problem the rangers couldn't handle with team work and a positive attitude. Granted, they had non-existent magic powers to help them. But the influence that show gave me helped me to believe that a kid could do anything. And it helped me to gain a taste for guys with dark hair, raspy voices and muscles.


For those of you who have yet to experience the greatness that is the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (or those of you who have kids that would get a kick out of the show), check out Amazon's selection of Power Rangers DVD's.

Post from the Old Blog: Why People Should Stop Caring About Celebrity Romances

Celebrities and the people who stalk them.

We all know who they are. The crazy posters on all the celebrity gossip boards and fansites. If you so much as think the word "Robsten" around them, and the war begins. Team Robsten and Team Haters flame each other on the message boards, citing a plethora of fan made youtube videos and gossip articles to fit their cases. The posts always result in personal attacks on the people involved in the discussion and the subjects.

For example,a recent comment thread I read on gossipcop.com about the ever-popular Robert Pattinson/Kristen Stewart romance speculations turned very ugly. One poster wrote a 3-part manifesto about why Rob and Kristen could never be together because Kristen is "a foul-mouthed, drug-addled lesbian." This poster listed links to several fan-made youtube videos that were cut together specifically to point out what a terrible person Miss Stewart is. If that isn't psychotic enough, this poster was met with a deluge of responses claiming that "if you don't believe in Robsten, then you should kill yourself because you don't believe in true love and have nothing to live for." These people also cited fan-made youtube videos that had been cut to illustrate the "undeniable" connection between Pattinson and Stewart. All I could do in response is laugh.

Why are people so invested in the personal lives of celebrities they don't personally know and have probably never met? I understand the appeal to celebrity gossip. It's morbidly entertaining to see the lives that celebrities lead and compare them to our own. But to spend a large percentage of your day searching for evidence of the supposed relationships and to assume that your comment on a blog will mean anything to the people you obsess over is ridiculous.

And now to the main point of this piece: why should all these superfans stop caring who is sleeping with who? To the avid celebrity couple supporter, I say that your support is not only unnecessary, but creepy. How much would you like it if there were blogs and youtube accounts devoted to who you are shagging? I would hate having every glance and public conversation exchanged between myself and my friend or lover analysed and blogged to death. There already is such a lack of privacy for these people, and to have people obsessing over their personal relationships is downright disturbing.

And to the people who so adamantly refuse to admit that their celeb crush might be with someone, it's time to get a grip. We all fantasize from time to time, but it's fantasy. The reality is that most of us will never have sex with Robert Pattinson. Why attack a woman who is lucky enough to tap what we never will? I say, if Kristen and Rob (or Taylor and Selena, or Miley and Joe, etc.) are together, good for them. Let them have some peace. And STOP threatening each other because of celebrity relationships! It's none of your business anyway.

Post from the Old Blog: Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus DVD Review

If you liked the movie, it’s worth a rent.

If you are like a lot of people, you only wanted to see this movie because it was the last thing Heath Ledger did before his untimely death. Since the film was a limited release, many of us had to wait for the DVD to see it. So, this review covers the movie and the DVD content. Enjoy…

I thought the movie itself was okay. Just okay. It took too long to explain the back story, so it was easy to get bored in the first third of the movie. Heath Ledger’s character brought some life to the story, but his slimeball-iness wasn’t properly conveyed until he became Colin Farrell at the end.  Johnny Depp played it too sweet, and Jude Law seemed more like a wide-eyed little girl during his turn in the Imaginarium. Ledger’s performance was pretty much what it should have been for the story, considering he was trying to fool everyone. He retained a tiny bit of the mannerisms from his role as The Joker, which I particularly enjoyed. The performances by Lily Cole, Verne Troyer and Andrew Garfield were funny in all the right places, and Christopher Plummer fit the role of Doctor Parnassus perfectly. Tom Waits’ Mr. Nick (aka Satan) was my favorite character and performance because of his consistently sinister humor.

The visual effects in this movie were nice. The Imaginarium itself is colorful and vibrant and looks like it was pulled from some incredible children’s books. The costumes worn during the stage shows (see photo) were a lot of fun and a throwback to Shakespeare. All in all, the movie was visually pleasing, but that hardly makes up for the choppy, slow-moving story.

The DVD’s special features do help to make sense of the choppiness of the story. There is one deleted scene, which is just more of the scene where Anton is finding the boy who accidentally goes through the mirror. It really only makes sense to purchase the DVD for the special features if you are a superfan of Heath Ledger though, because most of them are about him.

My final word on this DVD is 'meh'. If you like it, rent it. If you obsess about Heath Ledger or any of the other man candy (Depp, Farrell, Law) buy it.


2.5 out of 5.


Available on DVD and BluRay.