Of Triton book review

Of Triton

By Anna Banks

 

This book was released May 28, 2013 by the Feiwel & Friends publishers and is the second in Anna Banks' series of The Syrena Legacy. It is a teen drama and fantasy that continues the story of Galen and Emma. It picks up right where Of Poseidon left off. Emma and her mother, who is now known to be the lost Syrena princess Naia, are on the run. While Galen, Toraf, and Rayna attempt to convince the rest of the Syrena that Nalia is alive, there are many questions along the way to what will happen to all those involved.

I love the way that this story is written from both Emma's and Galen's perspective. Each is able to give different views of each situation, and it causes for a better view of the story as a whole. Throughout reading the story, it isn't just the main characters that interest you. I really enjoyed Toraf and Rayna, because they contrast each other so great and you weren't always certain what they would try to do next. This book also allows for more details about the other characters like Grom which you see very little of during the first book.

All action sequences are easy to follow throughout the book which I enjoyed. I did, however, feel that the climax of the book could (or should) have been elongated a bit. It left me wanting a little bit more. The beginning of the book is a little slow, because it seems to be a small mystery followed by a small mystery and so on. The second half of the book definitely urges you on to read more and more. 

Overall, I did enjoy the book. I found the characters to be interesting, dynamic, and surprising. The storyline also felt original and new. I do wish that there had been a bigger and more dramatic, but I still enjoyed it. The book isn't as mushy as I had thought that it would be. It isn't wholly based around the couple Galen and Emma, but it also covers Syrena history and the Syrena. The ending also fits perfectly which is something that I was worried about as reading the book. I had thought that the Epilogue would have been further out in the future, but seems to only be a few months in the future.

My favorite part about this book is the humor used and some of the words used. There is a use of fan-flipping-tastic often which I find hilarious. They use a jaws reference which I could help but giggle at. One of my favorite jokes/reference was from Rachel who talks about having someone swimming with the fishes. On page 60, there is a manly staring contest. My three favorite lines in the book are:

Page 76 which shows Toraf "...going from Romeo mode to Tracker mode in fast-point-two-seconds."

Page 78 "It's like watching Beauty an the Beast. And Toraf's not the Beast."

Page 193 "Ah, the bonding power of tangled hair and whale dancing."

But there are a few moments that can get a little long widen with the wording. If you read the book, let me know your favorite moments in the book. If you think there is a book that I should read and review comment about it. 

Happy readings!

Here's where you can get this book:

Barnes and Noble
NOOK Book - $9.99 Hardcover - $13.41 Audiobook - $21.56

Amazon
Kindle - $8.89 

My review of Of Poseidon is here:  Of Poseidon

Riddick (2013) Movie Review

Riddick (2013)

IMDB

Director: David Twohy

Writers: David Twohy, Jim Wheat, & Ken Wheat

Actors: Vin Diesel, Jordi Mollà, Matt Nable, Katee Sackhoff, Nolan Gerard Funk, & Karl Urban

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Movie Release Date: September 6, 2013

DVD Release Date: estimated December 2013

The storyline is this movie is similar to the other ones (which is sad to said). Riddick gets stranded on a deserted planet and must fight all sorts of creatures to survive. Eventually, he realizes there is a greater threat on this planet then he had thought. He signals a beacon that summons two groups of bounty hunters to him. These bounty hunters fall into his plan to get off the planet and return to his home plant of Furya.

The acting in this movie is a similar level as the other Riddick movies. The movies are more about the action scenes then they are about the level of acting. The only acting that bothered me was the scenes were a light up gun was used. I am unsure of what the gun was called, but it was not as effectively shot as the regular guns of the movie. The best acting job I would have to say was probably Matt Nable as Boss Johns. There is a particularly scene where the character has a rather emotional moment and I truly felt that from the actor. He seemed to fully embody his character through every scene in the movie. There was also random nudity scenes that didn't really aid the storytelling process.

I did find myself rather distracted from the story due to two different actors. The first being Karl Urban. I got super excited when I seen him because he plays Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy in the newer Star Trek movies. After I finally got past that moment of excitement, I found another one that I lost my marbles to! One of the current up-and-coming actors that I love, Nolan Gerard Funk, was in the movie! During Awkward was when I first feel in love with the actor, and this love meant I spent the whole movie worried about whether or not his character died.

The settings for the movie was well done and not overly thought out. It was just perfect feeling for the whole movie. The special effects on the other hand are a little off. There were some scenes were the CGI weren't all that bad, but then there were other scenes were it was pretty bad. There was a lack of consistency with the CGI usage throughout the movie. 

The movie didn't fully pull me into the storyline, but that may have been do to my overwhelming concerns that Luna (Nolan Gerard Funk's character) wouldn't live till the end. I think the other two Riddick's had a little more story of Riddick's past than this one did (Pitch Black (2000) & The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)). The storyline left me wanting to know more about Riddick. Rotten Tomatoes rates this movie with 60% or 5.4/10 (Rotten Tomatoes). I disagree; I think the movie was a little better than that like 70% or so. This is a movie that I'm likely to purchase and re-watch, because I am a fan of the Riddick series, Vin Diesel, and especially Nolan Gerard Funk!

I do not own any of this images. This and more can be found here: Rotten Tomatoes

Sleepy Hollow (2013) TV Series Review

Sleep Hollow (2013)

 On Fox Mondays at 9/8c

This TV show is directed by Len Wiseman and stars Nicole Beharie as Abbie Mills and Tom Mison as Ichabod Crane. The series is an action/adventure, drama, and mystery/crime that premiered on September 16, 2013. The synopsis for this episode (from Direct TV itself) was: "Ichabod Crane finds himself 250 years in the future and realizes that evil accompanied him to modern-day Sleepy Hollow; Ichabod forms a bond with Detective Abbie Mills after the Headless Horseman murders the sheriff."

The acting and actors within the show are spot on I really enjoyed their performances. I also noticed that there was a great deal of effort put into making sure that Ichabod Crane spoken with proper terminology from his time. The settings were perfect for the series, and the camera angles were perfect. I would suggest watching the show after the sun has gone down so that it is easier to see all the scenes. It can get dark at times. The special effects were also well done. It didn't feel overly done and cheesy. It was just the right amount used which mostly centered around the horseman.

This series didn't originally catch my eye from the commercials, and that was because I never really read the sleepy hollow story when I was younger. I still don't really know much about the original story other than the fact that there is a headless horseman. From the bit I do know, I think that is a really good new take on an old classic. I love when old stories are taken and revamped to be more relevant and tell a familiar but different story.

Overall, I really loved the show! There was little quirky humor points that I loved. This show felt more like I was watching a movie than a TV show. I was definitely pulled into the story. It just has so many questions that you want to have answered and you just end up sucked in. The story is a marriage between sleepy hollow, witches, and the bible story of the four horsemen. It is a great merger of a murder mystery and sci-fi/fantasy. 

I highly suggest watching this series! I look forward to finding out more about this mystery and the things to come with this series. My favorite scene had to be when Crane is talking about working under the command of General Washington, and was then handed a one dollar bill that had Washington's face on it. 

Let me know what you thought about the show and your favorite scene if you have seen it, and also suggest any other shows that I should check out in the new future. Happy watching!

Source: Sleep Hollow

Elysium (2013) Movie Review

Elysium (2013)

IMDB

Director & Writer: Neill Blomkamp (who also made District 9)

Actors: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Diego Luna, Wagner Moura, & William Fichtner

Genre: Action, Drama, & Sci-Fi

Movie Release Date: August 9, 2013

DVD Release Date: around December, 2013

The movie takes place on Earth in 2154. The world has been divided into two classes: those who must remain on Earth and those who live on Elysium. Earth is a shadow of what it use to be, and most everyone on the Earth is sick, dying, or struggling to live. While those on Elysium have everything, they are able to cure anything and do not struggle with the same things that those on Earth do. The main character, Max, takes on a mission to infiltrate Elysium and change the rules and laws of their time.

I really enjoyed the storyline because it was truly well written and thought out. There was a definite direction in the movie. A few moments in the movie do have a similar feel to that in District 9, but that is not meant to be a bad comment by any means.

The best actors in this movie had to be Matt Damon as Max Da Costa and Sharlto Copley as Kruger. My favorite scene of Matt Damon's would have to be the scenes were we see Max ill. They are very well acted and shot. I truly felt bad for the character Max and felt that nursing feeling of wanting to cure him. There are several scenes that show Sharlto Copley's amazing acting abilities. This is the same man who played Wikus Van De Merwe from District 9 and Murdock from The A-Team, and I wouldn't have guessed that from the acting in this movie. He does such an amazing job of playing the bad guy and making you hate him. There were so many scenes that made me just want to punch the character; so it is safe to say that I was thoroughly disgusted with the character. I also mean that in the best way possible.

The only actor that threw me off was Jodie Foster. She played the Secretary Delacourt which was originally written as a male role, according to IMDB's trivia on the movie (IMDB). It wasn't as if I disliked her performance, it just threw me off so much that I can't seem to make up my mind about her performance.

I really enjoyed the settings that they used for the Earth scenes. They were believable and well designed. The scenes on Elysium were weird. There were scenes that were super futuristic looking, but then when they would show the houses on Elysium, they didn't look as futuristic. The houses seems like stuff we could build today; the only futuristic thing about them were the medical pods they had within them. So Elysium as a whole felt rather inconsistent. The special effects were nicely done. No one scene was overly animated or fake looking. My favorite special effects were probably to battle suits used by Kruger and Max. They just look so nifty and have that anatomical correctness to them.

This was a really good movie. I definitely got pulled into the storyline, and I wasn't able to guess the ending early on in the movie. Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a 68% with a rating of 6.5/10 (Rotten Tomatoes Elysium). I would agree with that rating. This isn't a movie that I would want to buy and re-watch any time soon, but I am happy that I seen it.

I do not own any of these photos. These and more can be found here: Rotten Tomatoes

Warm Bodies (Book) Review

Warm Bodies

by Issac Marion

This book was published by the company Atria Books and released April 26, 2011. I would classify the genre of this book as Zombie Apocalypse.

The story follows around R, who is a zombie. After interacting (or more attacking) a group of humans, he begins to get attached to the memories he is seeing after eating the brain of one of his victims. Within these memories, he sees images of a girl named Julie who happened to be in the group of humans he attacked. The relationship between Julie and R is the main focus of the story.

R is the main character and who we get to read the thoughts of. The book does not have much dialogue due to the fact that zombies don't exactly have a big vocabulary and tend to have very, very short sentences.

M is R's best friend or at least would be his best friend if zombies had best friends. He is a bigger part of the story in the beginning and end, but not so much in the middle.

Julie is the other main character. She is a rather interesting character, or at least, the thoughts of R on this character are interesting. Within the humans, she has a different thought process and hasn't given up on the ideals of the old world before the zombie apocalypse.

The way the book is written is done in a simply yet beautiful manner. There is just enough descriptions given to be able to create an image within your mind, but not so much that it is impossible to follow the story. The few action scenes within the story are not overly written which is refreshing. Sometimes authors put too much thought into the scenes, and all that does is make it hard to follow.

While reading this book, I found that I was pulled into the story and curious about what was going to happen. There was a randomness to some of the scenes that kept the story refreshing. I always looked forward to the times that I would sit down and read more of the story. It was a little odd that the chapters weren't cohesive with their sizes, but each chapter had a specific scene within them. Some scenes didn't need as much writing within them to be able to tell them while others needed more. While reading, there are points where you can set the book down. It is nice because then you don't get some engrossed in the book that you forget to live your daily life (which has happened to me one too many times).

Where you can find the book for yourself: 

Warm Bodies (Hardback) $16.70

Warm Bodies (Paperback) $15.00

Warm Bodies (NOOK Book) $5.99

Warm Bodies (Kindle Edition) $5.46

Here is where you can find the movie which I haven't seen yet:

DVD Release Date: 6/4/2013

Warm Bodies (Blu-ray) $39.99

Warm Bodies (DVD) $29.99

Other Works by Isaac Marion

The New Hunger: The Prequel to Warm Bodies

The New Hunger - The Prequel to Warm Bodies (Amazon)

You can get a NOOK Book version….in Italian…. Publication date 2/5/2013

The New Hunger - The Prequel to Warm Bodies (Barnes and Noble)

If there is a book that you'd like to see reviewed, feel free to leave it in the comments so that I review it for ya! Also let me know your thoughts on this book and whether I should or should not watch the movie. Have a nice day!