Wow, but I haven't read a book that gripped me like this one for quite awhile. It's a survival story that really had me on the edge of my reading seat the whole time, and I devoured it. (Ha devoured... because yet again, this book will make you HUNGRY and THIRSTY both, like... literally!)
It's about two brothers (ages 13 and 11) who are trying to walk the 96 miles across the Nevada dessert to get to family friends who they hope will help them. Because there's been a country-wide blackout and it's been about a month now with no electricity. Which means that society is falling apart.
Just before the blackout, their dad had gone on a business trip, leaving the boys alone. And it appears he is having a problem getting back to them, because they have heard nothing from him at all.
Normally they'd be fine, because their dad is one who has prepared... they have food storage and a generator and all the things they need. But the neighbors raid it and steal everything. This is a problem in more ways than one, and so they head off for help.
It's written in such an engaging way that I was invested from page one. It read very much like a YA for me and not sure why... the characters just felt a bit older than they actually were, but not in a way that bothered me, you know? They are awesome kids. We do meet up with another sibling pair and the four of them face this adventure together. It's very heartwarming. And rough, and scary. And sad, once again showing an idea of what people will do in the face of survival.
Anyway. Yeah. I loved it. Now, I kind of want to go take drive and see this road they had to walk down.
Movie: Gemini Man Starring: Will Smith Genre: Action Adventure Rating: one and a half thumbs up
I have a goal to start finding my love for the movies again, so the plan is to just simply go more often for date night, or whatever. Here's hoping some decent ones show up now and then! Mostly I look at the list of available movies and there's just nothing that looks good.
Anyway, that being said, the other night we ended up randomly at Gemini Man. Because anything Will Smith has got to be good, right?
And it was... not bad. Actually quite good I'd say. I actually enjoyed it!
The premise is that we have an assassin... Will Smith, who kills the bad guys. And then just as he's about to retire, someone is out to kill HIM. And when he finds out who it is, this dude LOOKS JUST LIKE HIM... a younger him. So he and his cohort (a girl he has just barely met) set out to figure out what's going on. And who this dude is.
It's all quite fascinating really. And a little disturbing.
There is lots of violence and fighting, but not as much as I expected. The movie actually had a lot of chill and quiet moments which was surprising. I remember leaving the theater thinking... there were some great parts and some really weird parts. I think some of it seemed very real... and some of it seemed way too fake and digital-ized, you know? I think that was it.
But we had no idea if Will Smith played both characters, and it turns out, he sure did! So somehow they managed to make him look all those years younger. It didn't look fake, that part, either. And he looked just different enough that it made us wonder (not knowing going in) if it was him, or someone else.
Anyway, what an excellent acting job! I loved that.
So, if you are up for a decent action adventure, and you are a Will Smith fan, then check it out!
I have a list of a bunch of things I've seen and read and attended this past while. I was going to write posts for them all, but then I remembered the awesome mini review idea and thought: brilliant plan! Especially since most of these really don't require a full post. So here goes.
Movie: Robin Hood
We had the theater rented out for Stuey's work people. I have no idea why they picked this movie for a party, but they did, so we went. I knew nothing AT ALL going in. So, it was yet again another take on the story of how Robin Hood began. I love this story, so of course I enjoyed it. But mostly it made me miss the BBC production that I loved back in the day. The dude playing Robin Hood reminded me both of that dude and Stephen Amell who plays the Green Arrow dude. Anyway, it was enjoyable with lots of great fight/escapade scenes as one would expect with Robin Hood.
Broadway: Finding Neverland
Last week we went to another musical... Finding Neverland and it was also enjoyable. I thought my heart strings would be tugged at more than they were, but it was sweet and the music was pretty great and the kids in the show were awesome. I think the actual stars could have been... louder. Not sure if it was their fault or the fault of the sound guy. But yeah. LOUDER!
Book: Flower Boy Tour Guide by Shannon Kent
Another fun fluffy K fan book.... this one not kpop, but kdrama. I read it on my phone on the plane coming home from our Thanksgiving adventure. It was a quick read, yes! It's about a girl (this one is not YA but NA... very very clean NA) who goes to Korea to participate in a tour of all the fun kdrama places. And the guy who leads this tour is beautiful of course (the flower boy... a term for beautiful guy.) But they annoy each other... until they don't. :) It was fun, as all these little easy K fan books are!
TV Show: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
While visiting my daughter, I suggested we watch this one evening. It was a fun one to watch together though her husband thought it was way too predictable and trope-y. I didn't remember the book at all, so everything was new to me. I really enjoyed it and thought it was a sweet and well done movie.
Movie: Luck Key
When Toto joined us in Illinois for Thanksgiving she "made" us watch this Korean movie that she had just watched with roommates and loved. Everyone actually seemed to enjoy it, (the above son in law seemed to enjoy it better than PPP Society!) It's one of those movies where you THINK you know what's happening, but in the end, everything was not at all as it seemed. We have two guys who live completely different lives and they somehow (the mess up of the locker key) switch lives. And in the process, they become better dudes... and in the process we the viewers find out what's REALLY going on. Pretty good!
Movie: BTS Burn the Stage
Earlier this year YouTube Red did an awesome documentary on BTS following them on their Wings tour (the one in 2017 that I was able to attend) and we all loved. So then they decided to do a feature film. I thought it was the same thing, but when it came out the week before Thanksgiving (only limited showings in limited places) I heard from all those able to go that it was similar, but different. So of course I was sad I couldn't go since I was no where near a theater that was showing it. But lucky for me, they decided to bring it back for a second run and I got to go this time! YES! It was so fun. I smiled and giggled so much my face hurt. It's so awesome to see the behind the scenes of what these guys put themselves through to make fans happy and put on the best concerts they can.
What have you all been watching, seeing and reading these days?
