Movie Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron

Movie: Avengers: Age of Ultron
Genre: Action Adventure
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlet Johanson, Jeremy Renner and many more!
Rating: PG 13
My Rating: Two thumbs up

What a ride this movie is! Man. If you are into special effects, you've gotta go just for that. But besides all the crazy crazy movie making things, there's character development and heart warming bits too. Back stories galore and may surprises. I loved that. I love all these characters so much.

But Loki was missing. I think there was some issue about that though I never read the article. So that was sad.

But I love Hawkeye and am firmly in the camp that he needs his own movie!

The cool one.

Backing up a bit here, let me just say that the plots of these movies pretty much go over my head. It's like you don't really need to know what's going on.. you just watch!

I think it begins when Tony Stark and Dr. Banner decide to build an artificial intelligence being. And suddenly, this  entity takes over and turns... while I wouldn't say bad... he just has some really crazy ideas. And they can't control him. His name is Ultron. And he's pretty scary. But then when he tries to get himself a real body, he's interrupted and the intelligence of Tony Stark's computer program ends up in his head instead? I think. Anyway, so now we have two Data sort of creatures running around. A bad one and good one.

The bad one.

The good one.

And the bad one decides to destroy the city and a most spectacular way and of course the Avengers have to save everyone. And it gets pretty intense!

Oh, and did I mention all the funny one liners? I think I missed half of them though and need to re-see the movie to catch them all.

The missing one!

Anyway, fun fun movie!

Here's the trailer:

Book Review Discussion: The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain

Book: The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
For: Review
From: Received for free from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Short Synopsis: A girl gets mugged in Paris and her purse is stolen. In the process she bangs her head and ends up in the hospital. Meanwhile, a guy finds the abondoned purse after the mugger takes out the money. This guy is fascinated with it's contents (including a red notebook) and becomes obsessed with finding the girl.. in a non- agressive sort of way. All sorts of funny things happen due to all sorts of funny events. And in the end. Well, I'm guessing you can guess what happens.

My Response: Very cute! I totally enjoyed it. Maybe a little too contrived, but since that's what's expected, it didn't bother me. I enjoyed the characters and of course the setting! And I really don't know what else to say about it!

Bottom Line: If you're in the mood for a fun quick romantic sort of story set in Paris, this would do the trick!

Let's Talk About: Cute fun books! What do you think? Are you good with them or do you need some deep thinking stuff?

Other Reviews:

While brief in page count, it is filled to the brim with beauty and intensity, mixed with humor, mystery, and a touch of classic romance, that together create a truly monumental read. From Jenn's Bookshelves

I love a book that leaves me with a smile after I have put it down . From Winstonsdad Blog

There is mystery, romance and friendship running throughout this book. It was a lovely little read and one I will probably revisit again. From Fromfirstpagetolast

You need to pick up this great little book and spend some of your time in the company of Laurent and co. to discover the answers and became lost in the fabulous storytelling of Antoine Laurain. From Shaz's Book Blog

Dune Read Along Part Two Discussion and Questions

I enjoyed part two much better than part one. Much much better. Lots more character stuff. Which is you know, much better! :)

Here's what I understood happened in this section:

• Paul and Jessica spend their first night out in the sand in a tent.
• They are captured, but they escape with the help of Kynes. 
• Hawat is captured, but he does not escape.
• Paul and Jessica fly through a sand storm and escape... again. Everyone else thinks they didn't make it.
• Paul and Jessica spend a night walking across the sand. They see some worms. Jessica is buried alive, but Paul finds her. They lose their pack. They find it. 
• We meet the Baron's nephews, Rabban and Feyd-Rautha.
• Gurney joins up with a band of smugglers.
• We learn that Kynes has been abandoned on the sand with no supplies. We watch him die as he has hallucinations about his father.
• Paul and Jessica meet up with some Freman. Jessica fights the leader named Stilgar and Paul fights one of the other guys named Jamis.
• Stilgar is impressed with Paul and Jessica, he knows who they are and he takes them in.
• Paul meets Chani, the girl from his dreams. Jessica is on alert about this.
• Paul has to fight Jamis again. He has to kill him.
• Paul and Jessica participate in the funeral for Jamis and learn how they harvest his water. Paul cries and the Freman are amazed.
• Paul and Jessica also see where and how the Freman store water in an underground lake of sorts.
• Paul is becoming more and more respected by the Freman. He continues to have disturbing visions including his own death. He also continues to recognize things coming true from previous visions.
• We meet a Count dude and his wife. They are scheming something sinister which includes the wife planning the seduction of Feyd-Rautha... who is only 17 years old!
• Feyd-Rautha fights a gladiator slave and kills him. But, something is not right. Though I'm not quite sure what.
• Paul wins a woman! (Sheesh, he's only 15!!!) Oh, AND a couple of kids too!
• Jessica drinks some spice stuff and becomes the Reverend Mother. Paul drinks the spice stuff and has more visions. It's weird. Really weird and I'm not sure I get it.
• Paul and Chani have a moment. 

(I've probably got some details wrong, in fact, most likely I've got some details wrong. Jenni can correct me in comments!)

Stilgar

Sting as Feyd-Rautha

Don't you want to just go guzzle a huge glass of ice water after a few chapters of reading this book?

Some questions:

1. What do you think about all the rituals the Freman have surrounding water? Especially the funeral.
2. Any other thoughts you have about the Freman now that we've been introduced a little better?

3.. How do you feel about the way Paul is progressing to his destiny?

4. We had more deaths in this section, two that stand out. Compare and contrast them.

5. What political maneuverings are happening during this section? I'd love a nice uncomplicated explanation!
6. What religious events are happening?
7. What do you think of the Baron?
8. Any foreshadowing moments that stand out to you? What's going to happen?
9. How do you like (or dislike) this section compared to the first? Any new favorite characters?
10. Do you plan to finish and stick with us through part three?

My quick answers:

1. I find the rituals quite fascinating. The funeral was really interesting what with taking his water and adding it to the pool, and then having all his "friends" pick out one of his possessions. Hand off his "wife" and kids to Paul was very weird though. Poor Paul. The money system with the rings representing amounts of water too. I loved that.

2. I find them to be very cool. They have some strange and interesting traditions. I'm still not sure why they find Paul so special though.

3. Paul. I'm just not convinced I see what everyone else is saying. I can't get over that he's only 15. I feel bad for him mostly, that he has to deal with all this.

4. Ah. Kynes! And Jamis. One died all alone. One died among friends. One lost to the sand forever, and one immortalized with the gift of his water. I'm still sort of holding out hope that Kynes is actually okay somehow!

5. Yeah, I don't get what's going on with this. The Count guy is working for the Emperor maybe? And he's come to give the Baron grief? The Baron has plans, but he's scared about whatever the Emperor wants. Which is not his nephew as the next Baron I'm guessing.

6. So somehow Jessica has become something powerful to the Freman and Paul is up next? They get drugged with the spice and have hallucinations mostly. And then weird stuff happens. I want to know how you all are understanding these sections!

The Baron

7. The Baron is disgusting! But interesting at the same time! He gives me the creeps, but I still enjoy his chapters!

8. I'm a little worried about that unborn baby. She's been messed up already. And the whole thing between Paul and Chani? Intriguing but I don't think it'll go anywhere. I'm thinking Stilgar likes Jessica quite a bit though. I wonder if something will happen there. Paul is going to rise to more and more power though, I know that!

9. I really like Stilgar! Chani is interesting too. But not the nephews or the Count. Icky! This section, as I mentioned way at the top of this massive post, because we had more about the characters, the survival out in the sand, the traditions of the Freman and etc. I like that stuff much better than all the political talk that I don't get.

10. I will stick with it!

If you do a post with your answers, please link up below so we can all be sure to see it!

Oh and PS. Join us for a chat TOMORROW (that's Thursday for those keeping track!) at 9 pm MDT. :) 

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I'll (Probably) Never Read

I think I may have done this prompt before, but why not again, eh? Maybe the books have changed? Maybe I've changed. Maybe what I wouldn't read then I'd read now. Then again, maybe not.


Ten Books I'll (Probably) Never Read

1. Fifty Shades of Grey (um, no)
2. Ulysses (I'm intrigued, but I doubt it'll ever happen.)
3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (eh, I don't think I could handle it.)
4. In Cold Blood (ditto)
5. Under the Banner of Heaven (this one would probably make me too mad)
6. Moby-Dick ( could be persuaded I bet)
7. A Clockwork Orange ( read the first page of this one and... yeah.. no.)
8. Cloud Atlas (not sure about this one, but it looks hard)
9. Carrie or some other such Stephen King book (I'll read some of his, and I have, but some I just can't!)
10. Wow, there are so many more books I won't be reading! But I can't think of a specific one right now! How about I say basically any book with a cover like this:

LOL! That cover's not that bad! What am I saying?? I'll probably read that book some day! :)


What about you? What books will you never read? Well, probably never, because we never say never, right? Link on up over at The Broke and the Bookish! 

Book Review Discussion: Love, Lucas by Chantele Sedgwick

Book: Love, Lucas by Chantele Sedgwick
Genre: YA Contemporary/Romance
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
For: Supporting Local Authors
From: Received for free from Edelweiss. All opinions are my own. (Released on May 5, 2015)

Short Synopsis: Oakley has just recently lost her older brother to cancer. In order to cope, it's decided she'll go live with her aunt in California for awhile. About that time, her mom gives her a notebook that her brother wrote to just her. Oakley doesn't think she can handle reading it but slowly, she finds comfort in her brother's letters to her, especially as she is falling in love with a local surfer boy and is feeling guilty about being even a little bit happy.

My Response: I totally enjoyed this bitter sweet story! A sad story in the sense that this girl really is struggling and it's hard to see her going through the loss of her brother, who sounds like he was totally awesome by the way. It's sad for us readers not to be able to meet him except through his letters! But a sweet story in the sense that she does come around and discover how she can actually live her life without him. There's lots of surfing scenes which are fun, not to mention the cute surfer boys. :)

Bottom Line: A great contemporary romance that starts out sad and ends uplifting.

Let's Talk About: It seems like lots of books have the element of dealing with loss. Do you think most of them get it right? If you've gone through such an experience before, you'll know how it feels. I wonder if some books come closer to others in what it must really be like. I think this one does a pretty good job.

Other Reviews:

It's the kind of summer love any teenager could easily see themselves hoping for. From Hello, Chelly

There are numerous books out there focusing on grief, but death is something that happens in the real world all too often and the grief that comes with it is very raw. This book features this so realistically. From The Psychotic Nerd

What really made tears come to my eyes was Lucas's notebook that held letters that he had written to Oakley while in hospital. From Jess Time to Read

But all in all, Love, Lucas is one of the most genuine book I’ve ever read. From Her Book Thoughts

Movie Review: The Age of Adaline

Movie: The Age of Adaline
Genre: Drama
Starring: Blake Lively, Harrison Ford,  Michiel Huisman
Rating: PG 13
My Rating: Two thumbs up




This movie doesn't have anything wowser about it. It's just a simple story about a girl who gets zapped by lightening basically and (as is explained in the voice over narration) stuff happens and she stops aging.

Then she has to deal with strange things when people start noticing, among them the FBI who want to study her or something. So she spends the next many decades running and changing her identity and moving and living a lonely existence, except for minimal contact with her daughter who, when the movie opens, is an old lady.

And then she meets a guy and she wants to stop running. But this thought is very scary. And then she meets the guys family and that is pretty intense too. And then she wants to run again. And then she doesn't! What's she going to do!

You'll have to go see the movie!

Yes, it's a simple movie, but very heartfelt and I loved see Harrison Ford in this roll. He's awesome. He's perfect. Blake Lively was perfect for this part too. And the guy? I enjoyed him too!  Michiel Huisman is his name. I guess he's a Game of Thrones dude? Anyway. Yeah. I liked him.

The biggest thing is that it makes you look at aging in a whole new way. Something I need to think about right now! Getting old is a GOOD thing! Ha.

Here's the trailer:

April 2015 Reading Recap

Easter!

Here are the books I read this past month. Three during the month and three during the readathon. Hmmm... something is not right here!

 The Golem and Jinni by Helene Wecker: A golem (a creature from Jewish lore) and a jinni ( creature from middle eastern lore) end up in New York in 1899. They both have adventures including meeting each other.

 The Eternity Key by Bree Despain: The continuation of Daphne and Haden's adventures as they try to find the key that will let them into Hades so they can stop the war.

 Remake by Ilima Tood: When Nine has to choose her gender, she's not sure what to do. But then an accident happens and she is left with no choice. 

 It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han: Belly chooses between Conrad and Jeremiah and it's not what you expect.

 We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han: Stuff happens and Belly ends up finally deciding who she'll be with forever!

 The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain: When a lady is mugged and a guy ends up finding her discarded purse, he learns stuff about her that makes him really want to find her and meet her.

Favorites of the Month: The Golem and the Jinni for sure. 

Plans for May:

• Finish Dune
• And I think that's about it! :) Hopefully I'll fit in a few other things.