Weekly Recap #15: The Infinite Sea, Lullabies, The Flash, TMNT ...

I haven't been doing this for a while partly because I just wasn't able to squeeze writing a post and partly because some the TV shows I was following went on mid season break and so there wasn't  much to recap on the TV side. That said the mid season break has certainly threw me off the TV watching momentum and I haven't got back on to watching even though some of the series have comeback from their break. I guess now I have to wait for them to either air marathons or wait for the DVDs which probably means September or October.

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The Infinite Sea
This is the second book of the Fifth Wave series by Rick Yancey. If you haven't heard of this series before you will very soon since its been made into a movie with Chloe Moretz as the lead to be released in 2016. I read the first book, the Fifth Wave, a year and a half ago and I have to say getting back into the world in The Infinite Sea was difficult because I remember very little of what happened in the first book. Usually I rely on a website called The Recaptains where a group of bloggers recap books from YA series to help readers get into the next book in a series but unfortunately this time it didn't help at all. Basically I was totally lost and it affected my enjoyment of the Infinite Sea. I think in part it was also because in the first book I was more invested in what happened to the main characters and in the second book the secondary characters have a greater role in the story and I just can't remember who they were. Do you ever get that? Read a book and come across characters that you remember nothing about?

Lullabies
Sometime in 2013 I began seeing Love & Misadventure Lang Leav's first book of poetry on Tumblr. Now I don't really read poetry beyond the epigraphs in books or poems that are referenced in books/movies/TV but the cover of Love & Misadventure, which was very pretty, attracted me to it. I was initially surprised by how short and simple the poetry was but there was a touch of whimsy to them and I actually like a couple plus I suppose it is its simpleness that makes it accessible to non poetry readers like me. Anyway Lullabies came out last year so naturally I decided to check it out and I have a much different reaction to this. I used to think the poet's poetry was short and cute, now with this second book I'm of the opinion that it's simplistic, too childlike and cliche. So my question again is, is this poetry? Because they sound more and more like little love notes between lovers and quotes found in greeting cards. But what really made me want to chuck this book halfway through it was that it's full of romantic love poems: finding love, being in love and heartbreak. What about regret, failure, guilt, shame, fear, contentment, anger...I'm sure these emotions would have made great themes for poetry too? I mean I get it, the poet's probably in love or out of love or whatever but with a title like Lullabies I expected it to have moved away from the themes of love which was already well explore in Love & Misadventure. I probably won't recommend Lullabies but I am now terribly curious what people who actually read poetry would think of it.

Watched

TV

The Flash
I've only watched a few episodes so I am totally not up to date with the series at all but I am loving it thus far. I used to watch the 90's series but I remember nothing of it, so the story is like new to me. I was a little worried that the series wasn't going to hold me being too episodic with a meta human of the week to torment Barry, but so far they have done a good job of weaving the normal everyday drama and the continuing mystery of who murdered Barry's mother into the narrative so there is definitely something to look forward to the next week. Now I like Arrow (the series the Flash spins off from) but Oliver is very reserved, distant and guarded so much so it's very hard to see any emotion from him. In contrast, Barry wears his heart on his sleeve; we get to see the full extent of his emotions (like his excitement over the cool stuff he can do with his new powers which is very cute) and that just make him a much more human, likeable and endearing character. He and all his friends are a lot more fun to watch. And I love that Barry's rival in the romance department is such a nice guy. Barry just can't hate him and neither can we. I know there's a The Flash movie coming in 2018(?) and it's interesting that they have another actor, Ezra Miller, in the title role. I mean I know this has been done before with Superman Returns/Smallville but Grant Gustin who plays Barry in this series is just so good as Barry. And if the movie is another origin story that begins at the same point...I really don't see the point of the movie version within 3 years of the TV series.

American Idol

The new season has just started. They started off the show a little differently this time around by letting us hear, but not see, the finalists singing...I guest it's meant to give the audience a taste of the talent we can look forward too. I also noticed they've been showing fewer of the wacky attention-seeking auditions, good move because I can't stand them. Next week is the hollywood week which is always intense for the contestants and fun for us to watch.

Movies

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

I used to be watch this series a lot as a kid and I enjoyed recognizing characters, looking for their quirks and hearing out their catchphrases. But beyond the nostalgia, this movie did not hold my attention. The thing is I'm not fond of action movies, so I didn't care for the action here where I suppose was where much of the budget went too. The characters: I know the turtles were different sizes, they wore different eyebands, had different weapons, one was flirty, another was a techie, but seriously I couldn't match which characteristics to which turtle, which I think I could when I saw the cartoons. Here they seem like just a blur of turtles. And I have to say, seeing a live action TMNT movie is just weird. The turtles were weird. They're like turtles on steroids. I mean they were suppose to be Ninjas! Does the word "Ninja" conjure up images of muscled characters? No right! And I don't remember the cartoon turtles to be muscled so I don't get that desicion. Then there was Megan Fox as April. I get why she was casted but Megan Fox is not April! She's just too sexy and not enough ambitious journalist so it just didn't work from the start. If you like the cartoons, I'd say just stick to the cartoons.

Crush (2013)

There's so many of these crazy obsessive crush movies and though this isn't a great movie I do think it offers at least something interesting: it actually presents three simultaneous crush/stalker relationships highlighting that the line between harmless crush and plain crazy stalking is just so fine. The movie also plays up on the mystery of the secret admirer who's the real crazy one out of the three and yet there's something that gives away the identity before the movie even begins so I'm confused whether are we suppose to know? Or are we suppose to not know which means someone really screwed up and gave the identity away unintentionally?

Weekly Recap #14: Deadline, Downton Abbey, The Walking Dead

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Deadline by Mira Grant

Recently finished the second book of the Newflesh trilogy about a bunch of bloggers uncovering some conspiracies set in a post zombie apocalypse world where blood tests and showers with bleach and sterilization of clothes are a part of every day life I really enjoyed the first book but this second one not as much. I suppose it's because we follow a new narrator, Shaun, who's not as likable. He is quite a jerk. Plus I think there was less zombie action here and more of just driving around and waiting things out.

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Watched

Movies 

A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014)

This was boring. I tuned out from the second half. Some of the jokes are quite funny but the lead actor has a monotous kinda voice and his delivery is just not expressive enough for an outright comedy. It's seem like it would be more suited for a satire or dark comedy for which this movie is neither. 

TV

Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 5

Yes! Miss Bunting finally leaves. Good riddance. In her final goodbye to Tom, she tells him that she loves him and Tom actually has this painful winced expression like he wished she didn't confess it. She is just awful! She presumes too much that Tom likes her just as she presumes she can say whatever she thinks at those dinners she attends but just ends up being a rude guest. And Edith! She is the stupidest of all the Crawley sisters and now she is about to ruin the farmer's family.

From Dusk Till Dawn Season 1 Episode 3

I like this episode the least. It is not bad but Seth and Richie hardly share a scene together, and it's the great dialogue between the two that I love. Richie once again goes in and out of madness which makes us wonder how much of the shit he does Seth can tolerate.

Gotham Season 1 Episode 5

Penguin comes clean with his new boss and we finally see what Fish is planning with her protege. I think the show should show less of Bruce because the whole thing of making him a mini adult is just not working. 

Revenge Season 4 Episode 4

DC is out in public! He set the whole thing up right? Because it was a way to be able to walk freely instead of confessing that he faked his death...right? And surely he sees through Victoria's lies? 

The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 2

I thought we'd see Morgan this week but nope. Not a fan of Bob, he's probably one of the weakest characters in the show...but the end of this episode was just so horrific. Reminds me of Sin City. And did Daryl really see Beth in the car? The car went by fast and I didn't catch anything.

Weekly Recap #13: Godzilla, Downton Abbey, The Walking Dead

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Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix

When I first saw this book on a book blogger's blog I thought why is she reading an IKEA catalogue. It's not. It's a book about a fictional haunted retail store which is a ripoff of IKEA. I love the whole concept and the book's packaging. The story starts off strong. It got a little weird in the middle when the ghosts start to appear but the end was pretty good. 

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Watched

Movies 

Brotherhood of the Wolf

I watched this a long time ago and couldn't remember much of it and so a rewatch was in order. I actually thought it's about a werewolf which it is so not. I loved the way the main characters were introduced. They were wearing the trench coats that covered half their face as featured in the movie  poster. It created a great air of mystery to who these men were. The movie had some nice pretty scenery shots and costuming, but the story just wasn't for me.

Godzilla

Am I the only person who didn't know what's going on half the time. I mean I know the electricity was messed up and so no good lighting but it was just so dark I didn't know what I was looking at for most of the action scenes.

TV

Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 4

Miss Bunting is so irritating. Can they drop her please? It's getting old. She does the same thing every episode. In other news, Cousin Violet gets a marriage proposal from a Lord. I think it's so cute! But I thought that doctor and her kinda like each other. Aren't they always having tea or something?

From Dusk Till Dawn Season 1 Episode 2

I am loving this show. Love the dialogue between Seth and Richie. Richie is showing more of his insane-ness. My theory is that Carlos hypnotized him to make sure he delivers the money across the border. We also meet some new characters in this episode as well; the family with the RV. From the promos, I suppose they will cross path with the Gecko brothers pretty soon.

Gotham Season 1 Episode 4

I think this series may be losing me a little. I hope Gotham doesn't become too episodic, what with a new mad men/killer every week. I'm liking the Penguin development but everything else is just so meh. And can Gordon please stop confiding in Bruce about police/government corruption! He's like what 11?

Revenge Season 4 Episode 3

DC found Emily. He should recognise her right? I mean the last time they met should be when Emily was a teenager. Plus how could he not know Amanda has been masquerading as Emily. I know he was holed up in a cave the last decade but surely he was curious what his enemies were doing all this time, and if ever checked out about any them in any media, he would have come across Emily right? Right?

The Walking Dead Season 5 Episode 1

I binged watch season 4 in time for the premiere of season 5 earlier this week. Season 4 was so-so. I really didn't like when the survivors were separated and whole episode s sometimes just focused on one small group. I don't think some of the characters story was strong enough to carry one whole episode. So I'm glad the gang has finally met up with each other in the premiere. As expected the sanctuary is messed up. How did the sanctuary people go from being the "cattle" to purposely baiting people to come to the sanctuary? At the end of the episode my mom was like saying  Rick's group is pretty large now and I said that can only mean one thing - one or two of them won't survive the season.

Weekly Recap #12: Blindless, Gotham, From Dusk Till Dawn...

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Blindness by José Saramago

The book has an interesting premise of a blindness pandemic. I think it is less about not having sight but more on exploring what people would do when they know they are not monitored by people around them. Will they continue to regulate their own behaviors like they used to or will they not, now that there is no one to literally see and judge them doing uncouth and uncivilized things. I'm looking forward to seeing the movie which was made a few years ago. The book went to some dark places and I wonder if the movie took it that far.

Fallen by Lauren Kate 
This is another YA book that has been turned into a movie, set to be release next year. I've never been attracted to angel theme books because I don't like when books get religious and preachy. The very few angel theme ones I've read are on the fantasy, romance or apocalyptic side. Fallen is more fantasy/romance and I like this the least. Firstly it has a love triangle which is just so overused in YA books. Secondly we all already know Daniel is a fallen angel and that Luce and Daniel are a cursed couple (its in the book synopsis) and the book in the doesn't really go beyond being just a story about Luce finding out what we already know about Daniel and Luce. Thirdly nothing is ever explained. The shadows? The love story; we are just suppose to take that Luce and Daniel have this epic eternal love without giving any foundation to their love story? Why are they cursed? Fourth, why are the fallen angels all in one place masquerading not only as humans and but also that they are friends even when they are on different sides. I suppose things are left unresolved for the purpose of enticing its readers to read the 2nd book (it's a 4 book series), but having read the first book...not sure I'd pick up the second

TV

Downton Abbey Season 5 Episode 3

Edith has become irritating again. It was a bad idea bringing the child so near and now she's meddling in the rearing of the girl. Whoa Mary! Will she drop Gillingham...sure looks like it. And can everyone stop inviting Miss Bunting upstairs!

Gotham Season 1 Episode 3

Am I missing something from the end of episode 2. So Gordon and Bullock caught the creepy kidnappers, but obviously something bigger is going on there right? I thought episode 3 was going to dig deeper into the case. But instead it's about a balloon vigilante?

Revenge Season 4 Episode 2

What is wrong with Charlotte? she like latches on any new guy that comes around? And now with the fire? She's getting nuttier and people are so going to find out because it's so obviously arson...

From Dusk Till Dawn Season 1 Episode 1

I vaguely remember the movie. It had George Clooney and Selma Hayek with a snake and crazy club filled with vampires...that's about it. It has since been made into a TV series and I'm so glad one the cable channels is airing it albeit a little late. The first episode is explosive! Even though I can't remember which actors played what role in the movie, every time I see Seth Gecko speak I can imagine George Clooney speaking the same lines. Clooney obviously played this role in the movie and I'm right after checking IMDB. I love how they dressed the Gecko brothers in this. They look like they jumped out of some fashion magazine of course and just so out of place. Which in a way works because they so obviously are and so out of their depth with the turn of events or more like Richie being a little trigger happy. And Richie and those glasses...he does look insane doesn't he? Overall this series looks promising. I like the dialogue between the brothers, their relationship is interesting and I can't wait for the second episode.

Weekly Recap #11: Downton Abbey, Gotham, Revenge

So the past two weeks or so I've been watching a lot of TV because it's that time of the year where all the TV show have their series and season premieres. I think this is the first time ever that we've had so many scripted TV series making their premieres on the local cable channels the same week or some even within 24 hours of their US/UK premieres. These cable channels have finally figured that they either air these show immediately or not ever bring these shows in at all because no one will be watching them if they bring them a season or two late like they used to. 

Anyway...here's a recap of some, not all, of the series I've been watching.

The reality TV shows:

Amazing Race 25

Still love this show. It always fun seeing the contestant completing the challenges and navigating foreign countries under time and budget constraints. This is probably one of the most challenging game shows to play and I suppose especially to produce from a logistical standpoint. 

Survivor 29

Similarly I still love watching Survivor mostly for the strategic games the contestants play. It's still early days; the fun usually really begins when the tribes merge and the alliances start to come into play more.

X Factor 11 UK

I've only seen the US version which did not get a 4th season. The UK version is I believe where the show originated from and so the format is of course similar. Currently the contestants are at the judges houses. Thus far only the male solo acts have given amazing performance. 

Scripted TV:

Downton Abbey Season 5

The first season was the best. Each subsequent season after were inferior and this new one continue to be so. Mainly because the characters are acting so stupidly and the newer characters are just so very weak. Lady Rose I suppose was introduced to be the young blood in the Crawley family after Sybil death but argh she is just like the annoying teenage cousin. Then there's Miss Bunting who's suppose to be Tom's new love interest. She gets invited to a big dinner at the Crawley's and somehow makes comment after comment that insults them. 

Gotham Season 1

Not really a fan of most of the DC superheroes, but this seems really interesting having the story start off where it all began when Bruce parents were killed and yet not have Bruce be the protagonist. It's fun seeing all the younger versions of the characters in the Batman universe. It does get a little campy in the second episode with the two kidnapper characters. I'm also not getting why James Gordon is being frank with Bruce with the failings/corruption of the police department. Bruce is rich and very mature for a child, but still a child. Still I'm enjoying most of the show so far.

Revenge Season 4

I've been binge watching season 3 so that I could watch the season 4 premiere. It surprises me that I continue to enjoy this show which essentially is a revenge soap opera. But honestly it is a fun series with a lot of clever set ups which doesn't necessarily mean they all play out smoothly for Emily. Sometimes it's more fun when it doesn't and we get to see the characters carry out their contingency plans if they already have one or if they don't...just scramble. We lost two major characters in season 3 which was incredibly unexpected and so sad but I suppose necessary to illustrate the stakes. Now I'm looking forward with what they'll do in future episodes with the reemergence of a major character.

Weekly Recap #10: Breaking Dawn, Death Comes to Pemberley, House of Cards ...

This post is linked to Stacking the Shelves (hosted by Tynga Reviews)  and The Sunday Post (hosted by Kimba @Caffeinated Book Reviewer).

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Read

Breaking Dawn
I finished reading the other books in this series years ago and it is only now that I have finally completed Breaking Dawn. I have made it nearly halfway at least twice before and was so determine to complete this series (because I've completed few series) that for the third time I took to listening to the audiobook. I actually like Twilight when I first read it but the subsequent books not so much. Maybe it's the criticism of the series as a whole that has affected me or maybe Breaking Dawn is simply just bad. Because I do find Breaking Dawn pretty bad. It's just so long and draggy. 

I was never crazy for Edward but now I can no longer stand him. He is just so over protective and always hovering and all tormented by what he is. Why does Bella like him? He's good looking and that's all I'm getting from the books. Do they have conversations about anything? Bella as it turns out, become a perfect vampire, and who everyone looks at with wonderment because of how perfect she is. They look Reneesme the same way as well. Can everyone stop being perfect? Here's another annoying bit...other than the vampires perfectness, Meyer over does it on their strengths and their seemingly in-destructiveness. As for Jacob, he always play the hurt card...just stop the pity party already. Either leave or stay and suck it up. And Bella can she stop stringing Jacob along? Even the rest of the Cullens, their appeal has waned. Now they always seem to be there at every turn all goodness and pure. They used to be interesting with the superpowers, not anymore when every other vampire seem to have a superpower of their own. I so dislike how the other vampires were introduced.. We've heard nothing about most of the Cullen's vampire friends in the previous books so it was annoying just how game they all are to stand by the Cullens. Of course each one more exotic than the other with super cool powers. 

Then we come to the big the supposed high stakes battle that everyone was preparing for...how anti climatic it actually turns out. No one gets dirty and brutal, no one had to make hard choices and confront whatever they think they are or stood for. I hate it when we are presented with a high stakes scenario and yet it doesn't follow through with any casualties. I'd say just watch the movie if you were thinking of reading this, at least there was more action.

Death Comes to Pemberley
It's been a long time since I've read Pride and Prejudice, possibly what I remember of it comes from the two adaptations which I have watch many times, I interpreted Pride and Prejudice as a social commentary that is often humorous. So despite the title Death Comes to Pemberley suggesting a more ominous premise, I thought it would still be witty. Rather than be a satire about marriage, wealth and courtship like in Pride and Prejudice... I had thought it would take a stab at death...what a dark comedy it would be. But no, Death Comes to Pemberley is quite serious; unless I really miss the irony and humor. Which makes the book disappointing even though i's filled with most of the characters of the original, the characteristics of some of the characters have not been retained. Lizzie isn't quite as quick witted and seems to have lost the sharp tongue of hers. Most changed perhaps is Colonel Fitzwilliam. Although Death Comes to Pemberly does try to give an explanation for the change, still he is so different from the Colonel in Pride and Prejudice where he was pretty charming especially compared to Darcy. As for the story, it does stick with what Pride and Prejudice had which includes a scandal involving, who else but the rake Wickham. Similarly everything is fixed by the cleverness of a relative who does not want the doings of Wickham to mar all those that are connected to him by blood and law.

Watched

House of Cards - Season 1
Some of my thoughts for season 1 which I just finished watching. Beware of some minor spoilers.

• Politics is dirty and makes for entertaining TV
• Oh the scheming! It's what present day Game of Thrones would be like I suppose. People making alliances, exchanging favours, backstabbing and fighting for the various positions of power.
• Frank can be a little over the top with how he is always one step ahead of everyone and having a back up plan for every failed scheme still he is one of the most interesting characters on TV now. I particularly like when he looks at the camera gives his thoughts on a situation and dispenses his principles.
• Love all the sharp dialogue.
• I think Frank and Claire may possibly have one of the best TV marriage. Though I'm sensing there's no romantic love there, it's more like a partnership. They communicate and support one another. When one of them has a problem, the other would usually say "What can I do". Not that it's always peachy. The show does attempt to explore that push comes to shove, whose ambition is deemed more important, and we do see Claire get angry that hers is always second to Frank's.
• The portrayal of women being catty and stepping over one another to get the top is getting old, so I love that Zoe and Janine's relationship takes a positive turn the later part of the season. 

Barbara (2012)

I love quiet subtle drama and this one is really good. In 1980's East Germany, Barbara is a doctor banished to work in a clinic in the country after applying to get an exit visa so that she can join her boyfriend who lives in the West. At the new clinic Barbara separates herself from her colleagues knowing everyone could play a part in her surveillance and can be tapped by Stasi to provide a report about her. Still her seperateness could also raise suspicion that she has something to hide. Barbara has to constantly be on guard with what she says, does and not do, and also has to endure the routine check ups by the Stasi's. There's always an air of danger in the quiet country as if something terrible is about to happen as Barbara goes about the normal duties of a doctor. Has someone turn on Barbara, has she been too careless or have we become paranoid for her as well?

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Around the Blog


Wednesday:  I took part in Wendell's Back to School Movie Blogathon. The game was to cast movie characters in a few school archetypes like jocks, nerds and so forth. Check out which characters made my class.
Thursday: Thursday Movie Picks #9 was Sports Movies.I'm not a big fan of sport movies but I do have some that I enjoyed. Next week's theme is Movies about Childhood/Young Love. So if you love movies, come and take part in this weekly series. You can read about future topics here.

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Other Stuff

 

• I saw a trailer of horror movie Honeymoon. The movie looks good. I am intrigued as to what is causing the bride's weird behaviour.
• I found out that Wolf Hall and Bringing Up Bodies is getting a TV adaptation. Haven't read the books, but I enjoy Tudor stories...there are a lot of interesting stuff that happened during their reign which makes for compelling movies/TV/books.

Weekly Recap #9: Gone Girl, Orphan Black, Dog Soldiers, The Intouchables

This post is linked to Stacking the Shelves (hosted by Tynga Reviews)  and The Sunday Post (hosted by Kimba @Caffeinated Book Reviewer).

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Read

Gone Girl 
I mentioned last week that I was listening to the audiobook. I don't know if the book had a content page but the audiobook certainly had a table of contents with chapter titles and which to me pretty much gaveaway the story. So from that I guess what happen to Amy but not the actual specifics. I understand that the book is popular in part for the supposed twist and the shock value but because of the giveaway and the fact that I feel like I've read or watched a similar story before, nothing in Gone Girl surprised me. Still the dual perspective was interesting, possibly why it made for a appealing thriller for most.

Watched

Orphan Black - Season 2
Some of my thoughts for season 2 which I just finished watching. Beware of some minor spoilers even though I am pretty vague on most of the things.

• Tatiana Maslany is amazing as all the different characters she plays. 
• We get to see Kira's dad, Cal, and I'd love to see how much involved he will be in Season 3 now that he knows the truth.
• Helena! I'm liking her more and more. Her being slightly nuts is what makes her soo interesting. She has no filter too, just says what she thinks.
• Plus I'd love for Gracey and Mark to cross path with Helena again. And Mark, does he know all that stuff that is revealed at the end of the last episode?
• Donnie, Alison's husband, had been such a fumbling fool throughout season 1 and 2 but he had this awesome scene near the end of season 2.
• Felix is like the most loyal brother ever.
• Paul! He has such great chemistry with Sarah! For awhile he looked like he really cared for her. Enough to risk his own life. The he pretty much disappeared and was not as involved? I know that the Dyad has something on him and controlling him but was all before an act? I hope we see more of him in season 3. Plus it would bring some interesting tension especially with how it seems Cal is going to be around.
• I love the first season because it's mostly about the girls learning about themselves and keeping their existence secret. The second season with Dyad playing a larger role, I'm seriously confused what their agenda is. Who's in charge? Who's playing who? I hope it doesn't get even more convoluted?
• That said I like how the season ends. Makes sense the girls aren't the only ones.

Dog Soldiers (2002)

A squad of British soldiers is sent to some remote woodland area for a military exercise. Unfortunately they have just entered werewolf territory and find themselves hole up in an empty country house hoping to survive till daylight as the werewolves circle them waiting for an attack. I've heard of this movie before but never knew it was a werewolf movie. I haven't seen a lot of werewolf movies but this is one of the better ones I've seen. It has a really interesting premise with a routine military exercise gone terribly wrong and the werewolves in Dog Soldiers are really monstrous and vicious. There's a sense of claustrophobia as their shelter and weapons become inadequate, and the werewolves close in on them again and again. Other than the scares I really like the characters, the interactions between the soldiers seem so natural and you do want them all to survive the night.


The Intouchables (2011)
I wasn't really keen to watch this since it looks like it's filled with a lot stereotypes and one of those movies trying to be inspirational. But I gave in to watching this when it was airing on TV recently. And I have to admit it is an incredibly heartwarming movie about the friendship between an aristocrat and his caretaker. It was funny too, which I didn't expect. It is no wonder that this was the most popular film in France the year it was released.

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Around the Blog

Thursday: Thursday Movie Picks #8 was Movies Set Locally. It was interesting seeing everyone's local picks, so do check them all out. I'm not a big fan of sport movies but still next week's theme is Sports Movies. So if you love movies, come and take part in this weekly series. You can read about future topics here.
Friday: Did a photo post.

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Other Stuff

• There's a companion The Walking Dead TV series in the works. I suppose we'll follow a brand new set of characters? Cool. Love to see a completely different landscape than what we've see.
• Bran Stark is not returning for season 5 of Game of Thrones! I haven't even seen season 4 but Bran is one of my favourite GOT character so that's so sad. By the time we'll see Bran in season 6 he's going to be all grown up, probably as tall as Hodor, if he could stand.
• Saw the Gone Girl trailers. Looking forward to this especially since its directed by David Fincher who does thrillers well.
• If you didn't know yet, the 5th Wave by Rick Yancey is being made into a movie with Chloe Moretz in the lead. I'm always mixing up 5th Wave with Angelfall (which seems to be getting an adaptation too but not cast yet) since both are set in apocalyptic world with a teen girl protagonist looking for her sibling. 

• So A Monster Calls is also being made into a movie. Like the above two books, I enjoyed this book as well and it had some pretty illustrations. So I'm definitely looking forward to how they're bringing the Monster to screen who will be played by Liam Neeson. If you've never heard of the book check out the trailer for the book above, which gives a taste of the story visually and tonally. I'm not entirely sure if the movie is going to be animated or live action. Hopefully live action.

Weekly Recap #8: Untold, Gone Girl, Witches of East End, Bates Motel, Grosse Pointe Blank

This post is linked to Stacking the Shelves (hosted by Tynga Reviews)  and The Sunday Post (hosted by Kimba @Caffeinated Book Reviewer).

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Read

Untold (The Lynburn Legacy, #2)  by Sarah Rees Brennan
Read the first book in the series, Unspoken earlier this year. Despite Unspoken getting really rave reviews and good ratings on goodreads, I did not share the same opinion. It was just a meh for me. But the ending of Unspoken felt very abrupt and more like a non ending, which is the reason why I have picked up the second book, Untold. If you have not heard of this series it's about a teenage school reporter who discovers that her sleepy English town (which has locations with whimsical names) called Sorry-in-the-Vale is home to Sorcerers who are trying to get back to the old ways of ruling. By the way...what is the collective noun for Sorcerers? Anyway, I don't think Untold improved much from the first book. The love triangle in this is frustrating as it always is in most stories. I hate that Kami and Jared comes close to actually communicating on things that matters but don't most of the time. However, this does have a better ending than Unspoken...a cliffhanger involving Jared which looks like the kind gothic ghost stories are made of. So yes, I will be coming back for the third book due for release late September this year.


Watched

Witches of East End - Season 1

Recently finished the first season. The family of witches aspect, 2 generations of sisters in this one, reminds me a bit of Charmed at least the first season Charmed before it seemed the characters/cast were in competition with each other as to who could wear less clothes. Quite enjoyed this first season where so far the storyline has been about defeating enemies from their past that have come back into their life, which I think has a more manageable plot than them being defenders of this realm.

Bates Motel - Season 2
Another great season where more bad stuff happens. We see more of Norman's unstable side and he is just scary during his bouts of explosive anger. When will someone see that he is just mentally not right instead of just referring him to as a sensitive boy? It'll be great if in the future season Norman actually get's institutionalize and see a psychiatrist try to diagnose him and discovering some of the crazy stuff that has happened the last few years. In Season 2 we also learn more about Norma's past when a family member comes to town, which explains a lot why Dylan seems to be the son that she loves less. Poor Dylan. I like that we see more of his character in this season and he is possibly the most normal member of the Bates  family. Can't wait for season 3.

Grosse Pointe Blank
When I did my Thursday Movie Picks on Assassins, someone recommended Grosse Pointe Blnak (I think it was Greg?) and so I caught it the past week. John Cusack plays, Martin Blank, a hit man who reluctantly goes back to his hometown (Grosse Pointe) for his 10 year high school reunion as he sees it as an opportunity to see his old girlfriend (Minnie Driver) and complete his latest assignment which happens to be in his hometown as well. The movie is a dark comedy and it's great. There's action, romance, and just so darkly funny. A lot of great lines. I love that whenever anyone in his hometown ask Martin what he does for living, he'd say professional killer and every single time people thought it was all joke. Then there's Martin's psychiatrist who is terrified of Martin because of his occupation and every advice/session pretty much ends with him telling Martin to not to kill anyone.

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Thursday: Thursday Movie Picks #7 was Dramatic Scenes in which I included YouTube clips of 3 of my favourite scenes. Do check out what my picks were as well as the blogs that participated. Next Thursday's topic is Movies set Locally (you can choose country or state). Since the participators of past edition of this meme comes from various places, I don't expect to see any similar picks for this upcoming meme :). So if you love movies, come and take part in this weekly meme. You can read about future topics here.
Friday: Did another Let's Get Creative post.

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Other Stuff

• I tried reading Gone Girl some weeks ago. Read about 2 chapters and gave up. Now currently listening to the audiobook. So far things are interesting. I always feel like I'm cheating when I listen to an audiobook. The experience is just different from actual reading since the work is partly interpreted for me.
• Have you seen The Lizzie Benet Diaries before. It's a YouTube series based on Pride and Prejudice and set in present day. I started watching last year, took a break and and was reminded of it again when I started seeing Emma Approved gifs on Tumblr. It seems present day adaptations of classic works YouTube style is all the rage now. If you love those two check out more series here to fill that Emma Approved void.
• Underworld is getting a reboot! I don't care much about the 3rd and 4th movie but I really like the Underworld universe so I'd love to see another Underworld movie. But I'm not sure how I feel about a reboot since the last movie didn't have like a proper ending for the characters, seems more like Underworld should get a final sequel.
• Did you see Weird Al Yankovic perform some Show Themes at the Emmys? I of course love the Game of Thrones theme he did. Don't know what I'm talking about? See it here.

Weekly Recap #7: Feed, Petals on the Wind,Paranormal Activity

This post is linked to Stacking the Shelves (hosted by Tynga Reviews)  and The Sunday Post (hosted by Kimba @Caffeinated Book Reviewer).

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Read

Feed by M.T. Anderson
Finished Feed a book set in a futuristic world where people are completely immersed in technology and consumerism. In Feed, people have access to a wealth of information which are transmitted to a feed implant in their brain. They are constantly bombarded by entertainment, advertising and messages by friends and family. Being fed information instantaneously consequently results in the erosion of people cognitive ability. Most don't know how to read, write or even speak in complete sentences. Imagine knowing that 10 plus 10 is 20 because you brain googles this answer but don't actually know how to calculate this on your own. Only when a hacker attacks their feeds does Titus, the main character, becomes aware of the pervasiveness of the feed and the negative effects that they have. I find books that create a new language/slangs challenging to read; meaning extremely difficult to read. This as well. I nearly gave up as it was hard trying to make sense of this new world and trying to decipher what the characters were saying with all the made up slang filled dialogue. It was only midway through that the world began to make more sense and I understood the language more. Overall I find myself liking the book and gives me much to think about.

 

Watched

Petals on the Wind
Beware of some spoilers for Flowers in the Attic - Petals on the Wind was so bad. I understand that the children were screwed up by what happened to them in the attic but a lot of the stuff that happens until midway through in the Petals on the Wind just seemed like unnecessary attempts to be more scandalous than the incestuous affair of the teenage siblings in Flowers in the Attic. Example: what importance was Carrie's and the priest's engagement other than be a wafer like reason for her to seek her mother? Or even of Cathy's involvement with that toxic male dancer? Not much other than being a frivolous filler for an already short TV movie before the actual main confrontation/revenge plot comes into play. 

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
This movie has such a low ratings on IMDB. I don't get it. It's not too bad. I think it's probably that with a lot of the Paranormal Activity movies there is no resolution in the end which leaves the audiences dissatisfied. I remember watching the first movie in the theater and when the credits rolled a person actually actual cried out something along the lines of "that's it?". So yeah the ending is always left hanging, although I do think they've tried to tie each of the sequels to the first movie. I'm not sure how coherent and successful they are at linking up the stories together since I have not watch any of the movies back to back or in the order they were released. Anyway, I did enjoy this movie. There were several scary bits but what I like most about it was the characters had great chemistry. They really seem like friends and family and we are one of them along for the ride.

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Thursday:Thursday Movie Picks #6 was Movies about Time Travel. I really enjoy watching time travel movies and had a lot of fun coming up with my picks. We also had the most of participants taking part in the meme last Thursday. So do check out what my Time Travel Movie picks were as well as the blogs that participated. Now next Thursdays topic is a lot of fun; Dramatic Scenes (Your pic of dramatic scenes. You can either quote the scene or post a YouTube clip of it). So if you love movies, come and take part in this weekly meme. You can read about future topics here.
Friday: Did another Let's Get Creative post.

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Other Stuff


I have been hanging around Tumblr and seeing a lot of the Outlander gifs...I so want to watch this. It's a period time travel TV series...awesome right? If the books weren't so thick I'd probably have checked it out first.

Weekly Recap #6: Garden Spells, Snowpiercer and Flowers in the Attic

This post is linked to Stacking the Shelves (hosted by Tynga Reviews)  and The Sunday Post (hosted by Kimba @Caffeinated Book Reviewer).

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Read

Garden Spells
A short read about the Waverly sisters who are not quite so ordinary. One, a caterer who can cook up dishes to meet the special needs of her clients and the other finally discovers where her talents lie when she returns home after a decade away. I haven't read a lot of magical realism and this is one I enjoyed very much. Sweet and charming story, I'd say it's a mix of Practical Magic and Chocolat.

Watched

Snowpiercer
Finally saw this after hearing/reading about it. It recently aired on one of those cable movie channels, which isn't exactly the ideal way to watch a movie since they either tend to be edited and have no subtitles which I have come to depend on. I'm not sure how much was edited out for Snowpiercer but what really sucks was there were several scenes where Namgoong used this translator device which translates whatever he said into English, and the audio for the computer translator was just soo much lower than the voices of all the other characters that I missed out on chunks of what Namgoong was trying to say. Aside from that, the movie started out well.

The world of Snowpiercer was interesting, the train is self sufficient and I love discovering the contents of each carriage. The aquarium and the garden ones were wondrous and thus such a contrast to the back carriages and the artic cold that lies outside of the the train. The look of the world of Snowpiercer I'd say was like a cross of City of Ember and Harry Potter/Wes Anderson movies for the front carriages. I was to a point sold on the whole lower class revolting against the ruling upper class premise until I began to see some plot holes. Well...it was either plot holes or I wasn't quite paying attention. How exactly did the class system work? The Snowpiercer I'm assuming represents the world; people in the front are the upper class, and at the back are the lower class. Unfortunately I think the movie does a deservice by not actually showing the lower class working, as such they're not exactly illustrating the exploitative nature of such a system. Secondly if each carriage exist solely for one purpose only, this meant that passengers would have to go through several carriages to go to whatever destination they were headed to...which in turn meant that armed guards would have to go through the kindergarten everyday just to get to the back of the train? Err...not really clever planning from the genius Wilford. And I don't get why anyone felt it was worth to fight for the control of the engine, in the end you're still trapped on a train, so yeah Namgoong is probably the only one who has his head straight. Still the train itself is fascinating and I like the characters so I expected a good payoff at the end, with the engine and the leader of the train, Wilford. I don't want to spoil it so I'll just say I was disappointed. In a way I understood Wilford's reason but it seemed such a tedious and convoluted way to bring about what he wanted. 

Flowers in the Attic (2014)
I've not read the book but I am a little familiar with the story from having watch the earlier adaptation made in the 80's. Can't exactly compare the two adaptation since I watched the earlier one almost a decade ago. Some positive for this newer movie; good that they used kid actors who are closer to the age of the Dollanger children. It made believing their naivety slightly easier. Negatives; well this is a Lifetime channel movie, as expected the dialogue isn't really good. They do have some good actors here but even they can't carry some of the bad lines this movie had. Some scenes also seemed weirdly edited together, but since I saw this on TV, this may be due to some scenes having to be censored out. Overall not so bad. The sequel Petals on the Wind airs next week.
  

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Wednesday: Did another Let's Get Creative post
Thursday: This is the fifth week for the Thursday Movie Picks meme where I listed 3 Movies that feature Food Predominantly. Do check out what my picks were as well as the blogs that participated in this meme. Fortunately Wendall spotted there was no theme for this coming week Thursday Movie Picks and so I have chosen one his suggestions; Movies about Time Travel for this Thursday. So if you love movies, come and take part in this weekly meme. You can read about future topics here.

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Other Stuff

• Currently reading Feed set in a futuristic world where people are completely immersed in technology and consumerism...we're not too far away from it.
• Currently watching the Walking Dead Season 4....in time for Season 5 which should be premiering soon.
  

Weekly Recap #5: Vampire Academy, ATM, The Vampire Chronicles

This post is linked to Stacking the Shelves (hosted by Tynga Reviews)  and The Sunday Post (hosted by Kimba @Caffeinated Book Reviewer).

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Read

Vampire Academy
You may have read my mini review of the movie in a past StSatSP post. In brief, it was terrible. Now the book is a lot better. It was more thorough in explaining the different type of vampires and their difference and I kinda grasp all of it, though I'm not quite sold on their brand of vampires and half breeds. Rose is less annoying here; she is not spewing pop culture reference every other sentence unlike the movie. We get to see more of the friendship between Rose and Lissa and they really are great friends, very loyal. Lissa is less of a weakling which was the impression I get from the movie. She did do her part in many situations. I can definitely see the appeal of the VA series. It has a strong female friendship story and Rose and Lissa are both a force, proactive, taking action to secure their own safety instead of waiting to be saved.

Watched

ATM
I'm not sure I've heard of this movie prior to watching. The gist of it is that three co-workers gets trap in an ATM one wintry night by a hooded man as he stalks and tries to break into the booth to get to them. I don't know where ATM booths are located elsewhere, but in this movie it is located in an area that looks like to be far off from main roads and surrounded by a large parking lot which was empty? So here's a question, why have an ATM where there is no traffic at all? Who would ever go to such an ATM? And why is there a large parking lot for an ATM booth? I just don't get it. Is it just wanting to be bait for robberies. So you see...the set up is just ridiculous. More frustrating is that there are three of them trapped but somehow they weren't able to brainstorm on how to get past the menacing man nor try to take him down, instead they just sit and wait. And there's more...none of the characters had their hand phone on their person when they entered the booth. Seriously? Not one of them?  Aren't most people attached to their phones - and these are supposed to be young savvy investment bankers?? Arghh.


Currently Watching

Once Upon a Time Season 3
Last week I nitpicked Grey's Anatomy, this time it's Once Upon a Time. Well I can't un-notice what I've already notice. What is up with Snow White's hair! That wig they have Ginnifer Goodwin wearing is terrible this season. It looks like a stringy brown mop on her. Was it always this bad in the last seasons? And the make up on the Wicked Witch - the green paint on her face is notably uneven on her face. It seems to be thin on some areas that I can clearly see her natural skin colour.  
 

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It has been a week of lists the past week:

Monday: I blogged about trying to be more creative
Tuesday: Top Ten Books I'd Give To Readers Who Have Never Read YA. So if you haven't read any YA before. Give some of the books in my list a try.
Wednesday: I did another movie blogathon where I list movies I like to see a sequel of.
Thursday: This is the fourth Thursday Movie Picks outing where I listed 3 Movies about assassins. Next Thursday's topic is Movies that feature Food Predominantly. If you love movies, come and take part in this weekly meme. You can read about future topics here.

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Other Stuff

• Just as I thought Vampire Academy won't get a sequel, after that terrible first movie, apparently it still is. You can go to IndieGoGo to help Frostbite get made.
• In other Vampire news, it seems Universal has acquired the rights to Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles. I love the 1994 Interview with the Vampire so I'd love to see a complete adaptation of the books in the series. I've not read the books; who do you think would be perfect for Louis, Lestat and Claudia?

Weekly Recap #4: Can you Keep a Secret? Jack Ryan. Game of Thrones. Grey's Anatomy

This post is linked to Stacking the Shelves (hosted by Tynga Reviews)  and The Sunday Post (hosted by Kimba @Caffeinated Book Reviewer).

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Read

Can You Keep a Secret by Sophie Kinsella 

I don't usually read chick lit (do people still call things chick lit?). I'm just not into cutesy comedies, but well you know there's only so much dystopian/apocalyptic tales I can read before all those depressing world gets tiring and old. So this book looked like fun. A book about secrets that isn't about a terrible soul crushing secret (We Were Liars...I'm talking to you)...perfect, since I didn't want anything bleak. Hat's off to this book too for pointing out that normal everyday secrets which can seem silly nothings but if they get out in the open they too can be horribly bad and embarrassing, although still totally survivable, and total entertainment for this reader. The main character, Emma's secrets were normal enough stupid things that we would all get embarrassed over. I do wish the romantic interest isn't rich, and was able to sweep Emma and us readers in a more humble way. Plus I wanted her to make it without someone powerful liking her romantically and who could possibly be attributed for her doing well at her job. Ultimately Can you Keep a Secret is a fun funny read and I liked Emma who seemed to be like the everyday girl struggling to find a job she likes and is good at doing, which I think all of us can relate to.

Watched

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

This movie was forgettable. The story is just boring. What is it about again? Oh yeah...the origin story of Jack Ryan when he was first recruited as a CIA analyst and him stopping some Russian from destroying the world and it's economy. A damsel in distress cliche was also thrown into the story which way just soo bad. And I can't believe that Kenneth Branagh played the bad guy...a Russian? In a movie that has a contemporary setting? I thought he only did period dramas save for that Wallander gig.

Game of Thrones Season Three

Awesome as always. What makes Game of Thrones are its characters so I'll go through the major ones:

• Sansa the silly little girl we saw in season one has come a long way and I like her more and more. Her enemies are literally down the hall and she plays the game well enough to still have her head. 
• Bran had some great scenes that showed great maturity in season 1 and 2. This seem to be lacking in season 3 so I hope to see more in later seasons as I get the sense that he is one of those characters that are destined for greatness. 
• Rob is well Rob...I never thought he was the smartest Stark kid (Bran is) but I get where he was coming from in this season and some of his strategy made some sense, unlike Edmure (who is a fool). Anyway I finally know what the red wedding is! 
• Jon Snow...I'm not finding his story strong enough. I don't get why the wildings (or issit wildlings?) trust him at all...I am questioning their poor judgement.
• Arya...the poor girl just had to witness the most awful things. I like that she is now on the road with the Hound, their banter would no doubt be awesome. 
• Daenerys...not liking her story this season. She used to be a gentle character, but she has grown to not only be smarter but pretty ruthless as well. Her freeing the slaves...I kinda expect there would be like a Francis Underwood (from House of Cards) moment where she would look at the camera and say "let's free them all and they be so grateful they will serve me for free willingly". Did Daenerys take Psychology 101 secretly? And that scene at the end when the Yunkai freed slaves went out to receive Daenerys...it was uncomfortably awful. 
• The Lannister's...oh I love them! I know they're suppose to be the bad guys but they're so awesome! And are they really the bad guys? Tywin and Jamie give some good points that just greys the lines between good and bad. Plus they all have such a wonderful love hate relationship...the "I hate you, but I hate everyone that's not our blood more". 
• Joffrey is of course as awful as always, and it's great to see him being scolded by Tywin.
• In season three, the Tyrells all have larger roles. I love Margaery, the only person I think other than Tywin who is able to control Joffrey. Her grandmother, Ollena is pretty badass too...equal to Tywin in the political game...I hope to see them more in the next season.

So this has become a long Game of Thrones recap. I'll stop with those characters even though there are still many more. What can I say...the series has lots of characters and most of them are incredible. Can't wait to see season 4. I saw season 3 on DVD and I do wish they had more special features on the DVD. I don't understand why they can't put the same features that are on the Blu-ray on the DVD too...arghh!!

Currently Watching

Grey's Anatomy Season 10  

I watch this on and off. Not exactly great television but something to watch when there's nothing else on TV. The perfect hair on this series have always bugged me, I mean do surgeons curl their hair before going to work? And still have that bouncy wavy hair still look perfect after a long shift? Seriously the characters in this show have some of the most perfect hair! I've also noticed that the make up on season 10 is just awful. Dr Edwards and Torres just have so much blusher and makeup overall and Dr Wilson has this smokey eye thing going on. I don't think the make up was this bad in the previous seasons, where it looked more natural looking. Does anyone else notice the change in make up?

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Was a little busy the past week, so not much updates.

Thursday was the third Thursday Movie Picks post and the topic was Movies set in a Mental Institution. My favourite was The Princess and the Warrior, hidden gem was It's Kind of a Funny Story and my pick for worst was Sucker Punch.

Sunday, today, I've updated/revised some of the Thursday Movie Picks future themes. Please see the meme page here to see all the future themes up till the end of the year. The whole of October now has a Halloween theme and the five topics for the five Thursdays in October are: Unstable Characters, Zombie Movies, Found Footage Movies, Vampire Movies and Haunted Buildings. 

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Next Week

I'll be doing the usual Thursday Movie Picks and also Top Ten Tuesday since I like next week's topic.
Hoping to finish reading Vampire Academy soon.

I had wanted to do "a sequels you want to see" topic for my Thursday Movie Picks, but since there is already a similar blogathon (Attack of the Sequels) currently going on, I'll be participating that. So stay tune for my post on the 5 sequels I want to see.