BOOK REVIEW (40): The Elite (The Selection #2)

BOOK REVIEW:

The Elite

Here's the second review for this vlog serial on author Kiera Cass' The Selection series. The vid speaks for itself. :)

A-to-Z Challenge (2015 edition): Z is for Zathura

A-TO-Z CHALLENGE:

DAY TWENTY SIX

It's here! The end of the A-to-Z Challenge!

We made it. So let's get this final film review underway:

Zathura: A Space Adventure was my 'Z' movie. I was going to watch World War Z, but that would be cheating. It's just that Zathura wasn't at the top of my list of choices. It looked...well, boring...

But I was pleasantly wrong!

Before I knew that the same author who wrote Jumanji, I figured it had to have been pitched like the children's classic. Same sort of premise--two kids, in this case two brothers, find a magical board game that launches them into another world. Same sort of dire need to go home motivating the children to complete the game, etc.

I liked the family dynamic aspect. These two brothers are suffering the repercussions of their parents' mutual divorce, and they're growing apart prior to the start of the game. Kristen Stewart is also in it, but she really plays a minor role. She pops up more toward the end, and that's about it. Which was great because I think she sucks at acting. She doesn't offer a range of emotion at all.

This is the gist of it in Twilight and in The Panic Room.

 Frozen Stewart aside, the movie has tons of heart-racing action (i.e. the Zorgons) and teary moments (e.g. astronaut guy talking about wishing his kid brother away), and just straight up weirdness that touches on unconscious incestuous thoughts.

Ahem.

Yeah, for once I agree with you there.

BOOK REVIEW (39): Prime Suspect (Falsely Accused #3)

BOOK REVIEW:

Prime Suspect

Okay, so I went from reading an erotic romance to an inspirational.

Talk about major change. Lol.

Still after I got a taste of suspense from that erotic rom, I wanted to actually read a suspense/mystery again. So I didn’t have to dig around my TBR too find Virginia Smith’s Prime Suspect.

This story follows Darcie Wiley, who’s really young… She’s like 22, which surprised me. Anyways, Darcie finds herself in a heap of trouble as murder suspect #1 when she stumbles on a body. She isn’t alone though, catching the intrigue and sympathy of fellow employee Caleb Buchanan.

You see, lucky for Darcie, Caleb actually works as a P.I. on the side with his two good friends. These friends are the two heroes in the first two books of this series, Prime Suspect being the third and final book of Ms. Smith’s Falsely Accused trilogy.

I know I was reading a sweet romance, but Caleb Buchanan sounded hot. Seriously. Have a read for yourself:

A man was stooped on the ground, his broad back turned her way. She must have made a sound, for he turned. When he caught sight of her, he rose to his feet. For an instant Darcie fought an instinct to run. His muscular build, massive shoulders and intimidating height would give anyone pause, even without the colorful array of tattoos decorating his forearms. But the friendly smile that lit his face halted her.

See? It’s not my fault.

Darcie has a pretty unfortunate tale that had me rooting for her. I hate when characters get blamed for something they didn’t do. I wanted to scream at all her haters! (I’m looking at you, Detective Samuels.)

As far as the suspense goes, this story had a mystery element as well. It was a whodunit because Darcie needed to clear her name and Caleb was helping her with his “expertise”. Dude has the strangest connections…

So yeah, mystery was fun. I kinda narrowed it down between the actual antagonist and, uh, an old lady.

I don’t think this is much of a spoiler but old Mrs. Byler isn’t the killer. You know if you’re as crazy as I am with your guesses. What can I say though? I don’t have a future as a detective.

Suspense was really intense up until the end. I thought Caleb and/or Darcie were going to come out with more than scratches. And the ending was blissfully perfect, particularly for poor Darcie

One thing I didn’t like so much was Caleb’s character development with the romantic conflict. He’s hung up over a mystery girl—she has a name but that isn’t the point. I just didn’t think he had a good enough excuse. I get that this is supposed to show his reluctance in letting Darcie be more than a client, but I think Darcie was shouldering most of the conflict here for the both of them without the addition of mentioning Caleb’s sketchy history with some flighty girl.

Though I had a thought… Maybe this girl shows up briefly in one of the other two stories? Who knows?

But I might have to read Book 1, Dangerous Imposter and Book 2, Bullseye of Falsely Accused.

My verdict:

✮✮✮✮.5

(4.5 stars)

A-to-Z Challenge (2015 edition): Y is for Your Sister's Sister

A-TO-Z CHALLENGE:

DAY TWENTY FIVE

Before I jump into this review, let me just say I was super tired when I was watching this Sunday morning, and I thought the film was called "Your Sister's Keeper" and it was a Jodi Picoult rip-off. But that isn't the title. And Your Sister's Sister is not a rip-off.

The film follows after the one-year anniversary of the MC's brother's death. I hope that makes sense. (I swear, I must still be tired while writing this. Yeesh.)

Anyways, let's try this again: the MC, Jack, lost his brother a year ago and his best friend, Iris (played by Emily Blunt) invites him to crash at her father's cottage. So he goes up there without Iris to spend a weekend thinking about the shambles his life has been since his brother died. What Jack doesn't expect is company in the form of Emily's elusive older half-sister, Hannah.

Hannah just broke up with her long-term girlfriend and she's a mess like Jack. And after they drink a lot, they sleep together for two different reasons, though both equally selfish. It's their selfishness that comes to light and nearly ruins their relationship with Iris when the latter decides to drop by for a surprise visit, not at all expecting her sister to be there or for Jack, whom she's fallen in love with, to have slept with her sister.

Stuff happens, the ending is...umm, poetic. Annoying AND poetic.

All I'm going to say is that there's a birth control test and we don't know if Hannah's pregnant or not. And no, I highly doubt there's a sequel. My bad, that should read...The End.

BOOK REVIEW (38): Riding Steele (Ready To Ride #3)

BOOK REVIEW:

Riding Steele

I’ve jumped back in another erotic romance because I sorta wanted a break from some YA that I’ve been reading.

Riding Steele is the 3^rd in Opal Carew’s Ready to Ride series. The first two books are novellas that were originally released as ebooks, and the 4^th in the series, Hot Ride—another full-length novel—has just started its serialization last Tuesday…and I believe Part 2 of Hot Ride is out today!

Now that I caught you up on the progress with the series, let me tell you all about heroine Laurie (who’s last name is eluding me…) and Steele (who hasn’t shared his full name). See they already fit so well together, playing at mysterious…

I really loved Riding Steele, though I had a feeling I would. I have a thing for bikers, like I have a thing for Vikings and Highlanders. I don’t see too much of the latter two, but then again I haven’t met any biker gang before.

I liked Laurie because she doesn’t just throw herself on Steele. She’s attracted to him, but she also fears intimacy and that the main romantic conflict between them.

Oddly enough this book was actually pretty tame with the sex scenes. I mean, you get sex scenes, ladies and gentlemen, and they’re steamy as heck! But as far as erotic novels goes, Laurie didn’t have a lot of sex because, like I said above, she has intimacy issues. And with good reason!

Steele doesn’t push her too much either. He does corner her a bit, but not too really provoke her. He’s an Alpha that’s well written as he doesn’t toe the line of being a dominant A-hole.

External conflict-wise, I do think that it was legitimately scary and believable. I might as well admit that I also love the kidnap/capture trope in romance novels. But only when they’re done well, which I think personally is really hard.

One) the kidnapping party of the couple (it doesn’t always have to be the hero, though I have yet to read of the heroine doing the kidnapping) must have a really good reason—Steele did!

Two) the kidnapped party cannot mistake LOVE for Stockholm syndrome. I don’t like Stockholm syndrome—though this is a very much a trope, and I wouldn’t care if I were reading a horror romance, otherwise it has to go.

Three) there’s actual conflict outside the kidnapping…which kinda goes back to reason one and can include reason two.

Anyways I give Riding Steele two thumbs up—I even enjoyed the group sex which is rare, and I’m now eagerly waiting the release of Book 4 - Hot Ride, starring one of Steele’s friends and gang members and one of my favorite men, in its entirety this July.

Also this if you need more motivation.

My verdict:

✮✮✮✮✮

(5 stars)

A-to-Z Challenge (2015 edition): X is for X

A-TO-Z CHALLENGE:

DAY TWENTY FOUR

I was going to go with X-Men for this one, but I found another film and so I didn't have to cheat and watch Project X either.

X: Night of Vengeance was like a poetic crime thriller. Crazy crap happened, but there were more intimate moments...and by intimate I don't mean the load of sex in the film. The plot follows two characters, 30-year-old Holly, a prostitute who's had enough of the sex world and is calling an early retirement to the City of Lights, and 17-year-old Shay, a runaway school girl who leaves behind her world after her mother dies.

Tbh I have no clue why this film is called "X"? The meaning is lost to me. I mean I sort of figure the subtitle makes more sense. The film takes place in one night...well, two sorta, but really the action all goes down in one night.

And there's a lot of action. Some cop defies the laws of...well, he defies death over and over until he bites the bullet and finally dies. The taxi driver, Harry, is adorable. Shay is crazily naive, but her loyalty to her deceased mother and the fact that she's just so lost makes my heart break over just thinking about it. I loved that Holly came back for her...watch the film and you'll get what I mean.

The ending was bittersweet, but I couldn't imagine it happening any other way.

Fair warning, of course. It's R-rated for a reason. So approach with caution as there's more nudity than violence, although one violent incident made me a bit squeamish. Don't let that stop you from watching X. It's a good movie, if you don't mind nudity, violence and swearing.

A-to-Z Challenge (2015 edition): W is for What We Do in the Shadows

A-TO-Z CHALLENGE:

DAY TWENTY THREE

I went ahead and decided to role with another vampire flick. What We Do in the Shadows is like the male version of Vamps: instead of two single female vampires, the film is a mockumentary following the lifestyle of 4 male vampires rooming together.

It was okay-funny, not haha-funny. We get to know each of the vampires. They're all old, so it was a nice contrast when a young vampire joins their little night party. The mythology was shaky if non-existent. The purpose of the so-called "documentary" was to follow these vampires in their natural habitat. In the end...the whole camera crew is killed, so I never figured out how the end was filmed.

I guess the company dispatched other guys? It was weird.
Also not just vampires, as zombies and werewolves make a cameo.

Lol @ that motto.

It's a strange movie, with a strong concept but a sorta weak execution... It could have used tighter direction. Still check it out if you're looking for something varied.

CAMPNANO (APRIL 2015) UPDATE #4: 7 minutes in the writing tag hot seat.

CAMPNANO (APRIL 2015):

VLOG UPDATE #4

I can't believe we're at the end of the month! Let alone that I made it through these vlogs...

Phew. It takes a lot of energy from a recovering "procratinator".

I decided to do something differently in this vlog, though. Seeing as it's the last one for this month. And as I'm still unsure whether I'll be jumping into the fray in July's Camp. Besides, it's way too early to decide.

For those of you plugging away at your projects and with no hope of finishing up your WIP this month, please please PLEASE continue to write in May and onward. Finish that story for you!

BOOK REVIEW (37): The Selection (The Selection #1)

BOOK REVIEW:

The Selection

So the reviews for the first 3 books of Kiera Cass' dystopian romance series, The Selection will all be part of a vlog series. ^^

Here's the review for Book One, titled The Selection (and yes, it was filmed the same day as BOOK REVIEW #36):

BOOK REVIEW (36): The History of Castles

BOOK REVIEW:

The History of Castles

Finally I got around to filming this review, since I already did a vlog review for the other castles-themed non-fiction title I've read earlier this year.

Not much more to write here. The video drained me and it says everything I gotta say about this text. Enjoy!

BAKING REVIEW (4): Strawberry Shortcake

BAKING REVIEW:

Strawberry Shortcake

I've decided to challenge myself to eat fruits more this month. So far it's going good, I've been replacing my chocolate with the more natural sugars from apples, pineapples, berries, etc. But I figured that I could do one better: find a dessert that brings in a bit of my healthier turn for April.

I wanted something simple. I'm still taking baby steps with this whole baking thing. I mean I bake and I bake frequently, but I'm also super relaxed and I appreciate the "art" of easy, quick results.

So the original recipe looked like this:

And this is what my attempt looked like, and a fair warning of the aesthetics:

And before I cut it:

So I need to work on the recipe visually.

Confession time! I never worked with whip cream before...yeah. I'm sorta live with a plain palate. On a similar note, I don't even do salad dressing. What can I say?

Anyways, it tastes good! I definitely recommend this recipe. I don't know if other variants add more flavor. My family gave me their approval, and they seem to be eating it so I guess that proves they aren't just being kind to me.

My verdict:

❤❤❤❤

(4 hearts)

A-to-Z Challenge (2015 edition): V is for Vamps

A-TO-Z CHALLENGE:

DAY TWENTY TWO

Okay, I didn't make much of an effort to avoid a vampire movie... So I picked tastefully--*cough*Vampires Suck*cough*--and went with an Alicia Silverstone film (or a film with Alicia Silverstone starring) because I figured I couldn't go too wrong with her:

And I was right!

Vamps wasn't great, but it had a pretty sweet ending. By sweet I mean satisfying. It wasn't by any means a HEA. And this isn't a romance, necessarily. If Vamps were a book, I would call it a chicklit. As in, some romantic subplot(s) but the romance could be removed and the story reworked easily.

So Vamps follows Silverstone's character, a 160+ year old vampire, and her more newly-turned vampire roommate, played by Krysten Ritter.

Both girls are trying to live a modern-life, and Silverstone is having more trouble, even as she takes the younger Ritter character under her, err, bat wing, to teach her about night life and especially on how to survive without drinking from humans. Ritter's vamp character never drunk from a human, but she doesn't have to deal with urges when she lands herself a hunk of a human bf.

It was more cheesy than funny. But the minutes flew by. It's a cute movie, and I don't have much to complain about. I did cringe every time they stuck a straw in a rat...that doesn't count against Vamps though.

Wrapping up the first month of spring! (Big Dreams Blog Update #19)

Spring is finally here!

The last few weeks have been beautiful, though the temperatures have dropped again where I live... It does give me hope when it rains and the grass grows greener, and people are breaking out their skirts and shorts and t-shirts. :)

And it also means that it's now the end of April, and that means UPDATE DAY.

We've been given a reprieve from doing an update day from our blog hosts, Misha Gericke and Beth Fred, but I'm a rebel...also I feel like if I skip this blog it'll will take twice as much energy to push through my procrastination for next month's update day.

Cool?

So if you're interested in more info on this blog hop, watch the vlog or click the picture of our blog hop's banner (put together by the lovely SF author, Shah Wharton) and learn more about the blog hop and about signing up.

Onto the video:

A-to-Z Challenge (2015 edition): U is for Upside Down

A-TO-Z CHALLENGE:

DAY TWENTY ONE

I watched another Kristen Dunst movie. I actually didn't want to. I'm not a fan of her acting. She's pretty but plain, and she's typecast into these daze-eyed romantic roles. But her character, Eden, was a far cry better than her role as Marie Antoinette. That much I can say in this film's favor.

So, what is Upside Down about? Well, it made me wonder if it was based off a YA dystopian-scifi novel. It would make a good book, but the visuals were better captured through the film medium.

The sad part was this movie would make a better thriller than a romance...or w/e it was going for. Nothing revolutionary happened. I mean, in book terms like me put it like this: it was authors Amy Ewing's Jewel trilogy and Kiera Cass' The Selection series (I'm using these examples cause I just read these books).

Like these books, Upside Down was a love story set in a world that happens to be fantasical place where two--and discredit me here for my science skills--planets are in the same orbit??? Wikipedia describes it as a "two-planet home world", so there. They probably get the visual across better.

It took me thirty minutes to warm to the movie and the world that was being presented to me. I still don't understand WHY the pink bees can float from world to world to gather pollen? Or why the honey had to be pink, and not red, or green or blue? Not that I was complaining. Pink is my favorite color.

Tbh I was waiting for hte part where they would have sex. No, I wasn't being a pervert. I was just...curius. How does one have sex if Eden and, hero Adam, are from opposite worlds? And no. No those dumb names were not lost on me. The sex was off-screen but I know it happened because Eden, who I keep wanting to call Eve, tells Adam the news that they're to be parents to twins and that, SURPRISE, her pregnancy seems to have changed gravity for her and she's able to live with him..."down below". Yes, I laughed every time someone said "down below". Sounded like a frikkin' euphemism for hell or some other terrible abyss when the way I saw it, it all depended on what world you were on.

Lol, could this get any more Biblical? (Maybe the sequel will star their twins, named Cain and Abel, err, I mean Kain and Able.)

Joking aside though, I liked this movie better than Elizabethtown. Just don't get too disappointed if you don't get the MJ and Spidey upside down kiss. This is how close we get, and in a role reversal:

And closer:

On a totally random note, this film is Canadian. So go Canada!

A-to-Z Challenge (2015 edition): T is for This is the End

A-TO-Z CHALLENGE:

DAY TWENTY

I was happy when I saw the end...of this movie.
It was bad. I mean I went totally expecting it would be annoying and long, and annoyingly long because Seth Rogen was in it.

Well, to be fair, Rogen and Jonah Hill and Danny McBride. Put them all together, acting like themselves--which doesn't matter because they ALWAYS act like themselves. In. Every. Movie.

Or in every movie I forced myself to watch with these actors. Although I loved Hill in both Jump Street films, though again he was typecast in that role, too.  Let it be known, I hated 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up. And no, I haven't watched Pineapple Express yet. BTW that last film is described as a "stoner action comedy". I guess this means like Harold & Kumar, which was pretty terrible when you take away a couple giggles I had.
I make it a point to avoid things I know I'll probably dislike.

And you know what?! They actually mention it in the movie! Ha. Best part, and I had to grudgingly give kudos to Rogen.

And what was this movie supposed to really be about? I wasn't expecting it to go the Biblical apocalyptic way. Why? -shakes head-

So this movie was just a bunch of guys who decide to get stoned over the course of a religious apocalypse. There's an exorcism. Beams from the sky that are not from alien invaders, unless you count angels and God as aliens...
McBride eats James Franco. Random face-dropping of celebrities (i.e. cameos from Rihanna, MacLovin' Plasse, Michael Cera, etc. Also Channing Tatum who looked to be reprising his role from Magic Mike--another dumb movie. Great premise, stupid execution).

Oh, oh! The best part was heaven. And since they kept name-dropping Jesus and the Holy Trinity, I'm guessing a Christian heaven... But what the heck. This ending basically undid the whole premise of the film: to be good enough to get beamed up to heaven.

Soooooo. 
The only good thing I could say about this movie was this.

A.J: OMG we're back again.
Me: Umm... Where did you go to start with?

Watch this film at your own discretion.
WARNING: you may lose your time and hate yourself for it.

A-to-Z Challenge (2015 edition): S is for So Undercover

A-TO-Z CHALLENGE:

DAY NINETEEN

I had a lot of movie choices for ‘S’, but I decided to go with So Undercover. And that would be two films this year where I’ve watched Miley Cyrus star as the MC (the first was LOL w/ Demi Moore).

Since I didn’t mind that first movie and Miley’s acting didn’t force me to chuck my remote at the TV, and I was drawn by the premise of a college sorority (what can I say? I think drama! And I liked House Bunny) I went ahead and watched the film.

Overall it wasn’t a terrible movie. I don’t actually go out of my way to consume entertainment I’ve been warned is crap… Why would I waste my time when I could use it better doing/watching/reading the things I might love?

Anyways. So Undercover is an okay movie, once you can get over the bad jokes and equally cringe-worthy conversations. Miley is awkward. Hella awkward, and after watching two movies (and a couple Hannah Montana episodes), I know it has nothing to do with the character’s portrayal.

It was a tame version of Mean Girls meets Veronica Mars, only more awkward and I didn’t really like the Dad’s character. The love interest was a cutie. The sorority girls were airheaded, but they weren’t as nasty as they could have been which was nice. And yeah, not a bad movie, so not discredit it just ‘cuz Miley’s in it.

A-to-Z Challenge (2015 edition): R is for Role Models

A-TO-Z CHALLENGE:

DAY EIGHTEEN

Usually I go into watching movies like Role Models reminding myself to be open to the experience (sorta like how I tried and failed with Grownups and Daddy Day Care).

Do you see my point?

But all my preparation was unnecessary because the movie was decent. It was actually pretty cute. Predictable, that's for sure, but cute.

Paul Rudd--who I don't always like to watch--had a very distinct role that contrasted with Seann William Scott's typecast "perverted party guy" role. Throw in MacLovin' and some mouthy little kid in and you got yourself a movie that you definitely shouldn't watch with your kids unless you're cool with them seeing boobs and Scott smoking pot.

Looks can be deceiving. This is more raunchier than both Grownups & Daddy Day Care, so choose your movies wild.

That being said, I did have a problem with the kid in this movie being exposed to the nudity and the language. And he was cussing so much... Oh man, I understand that he got permission to play the role from his parents/legal guardians, but the idea of exploiting your kids into roles like these are just disgusting.

Case in point:

First, holy graphic... And come on!! How is this funny? Also this bullsh** stereotype of angry black people needs to stop!

Anyways, overall the movie was just fine once you looked over the misogynist, child exploiting, lame jokes (e.g. that woman from Gleewas not funny) crap.

A-to-Z Challenge (2015 edition): Q is for Quarantine

A-TO-Z CHALLENGE:

DAY SEVENTEEN

I was planning to watch Quarantine back when the trailers aired in 2008, because I’d just watched 28 Weeks Later/28 Days Later and I’m a RE fan, so I’m all about zombie (or zombie-like) bio-apocalyptic entertainment.

But this movie was so-so (kinda like the 2^nd 28 Days Later) and I really wanted to kill the heroine by the last 15 minutes. I get that the situation was crazy tense. The CDC locking them in and the rabies-infected tenants running around the apartment looking for…um, violence, tbh though I had no clue why they were eating people…

I was expecting a happy end, so I had no qualms about how this all went down in the end. And by the end, I really wanted the heroine to die. It was a blessing when she got dragged off.

I also didn’t quite understand why the landlord didn’t just give up the goods of the basement-sewer exit?? Like dude! What the heck. Everyone could have maybe, MAYBE lived if this old guy just came out with this alternative exit out of the apartment.

Or how these rabies-infected peeps were still alive after getting shot: I mean, what was the mythos behind this all? What rules were they playing by? One old lady gets shot in the chest twice and she’s still alive. So is she a zombie? Or… I didn’t even know what was going on sometimes.

And don't get me started with the cult twist: just stop. Cults aren't behind every evil thing that occurs.

Quarantine is all right. It was better than the Resident Evil movies--stir clear of those. I'd still recommend 28 Weeks/Days Later though.

CAMPNANO (APRIL 2015) UPDATE #3: How to be A Successful Writer.

CAMPNANO (APRIL 2015):

VLOG UPDATE #3

Okay, this vlog I had no topic again, but I decided to go ahead and discuss some points to approaching writing and succeeding in completing the first draft.

By no means was this planned, and these 3 points I talk about are really broad.
There are many other DETAILED writing sources that offer excellent tips.
In the end of the day, I feel that no amount of tips can actually do the writing for you.

So...WRITE!

A-to-Z Challenge (2015 edition): P is for Porky's

A-TO-Z CHALLENGE:

DAY SIXTEEN

I wanted to watch Project X, which is a party movie—get it ‘P’ for Party—but I couldn’t seem to find it. Also I had Porky’s lying around and I’d been meaning to watch it, and its synopsis gave me the sense of what Project X would have been: both movies have a young cast of males who are pulling stupid stunts.

A scene at Porky's strip bar...

And a toast from the peeps of Project X.

What’s the difference, right?

Tbh I’m pretty sure Porky’s is better than Project X. Most party movies nowadays are…um, annoying a bit. Like they almost try to raise the bar on the disgust level, and I remember reading this article about this crazy kid who decided to create his on viral “Project X” house-slash-street party.

Anyways, Porky’s was a funny movie. I LOVED it. And now I’m trying to re-watch it with my sisters.

Fair warning, it does make a lot of sexual references (explicit and implicit, though mostly explicit) and there’s partial nudity (i.e. stripper shows her boobs, you see butts and female pubic hair, etc.). But it’s pretty tame compared to what you can find in the Hangover trilogy or the Harold & Kumar movies.

So it’s not a family movie, but it is a film you should consider if you’ve watched any of the recent party and/or road trip movies with the same plot to party hard…