The Host : Film

     I wasn't expecting much from this film, and sad to say, I was right. I have never read the book. But some stories made for the stage, need to stay on the stage. Same thing for books. Some books aren't well adapted  for film, this was one of them.

     The Twilight Films adapted well enough. I have never read those books either, but liked the films better than The Host. I will give credit for the creative twist of the parasite alien tale. Have been the told the book is better.

     The issues with this book are not enough alien background for one. Their beliefs and such. Its hard to connect to the characters when your thrown into their lives somewhere in the middle. Add a little back story to not only explain things, but get you caring about the characters sooner. I should care about the main characters soon after the story unfolds. Make me care about what is happening to them, now, not over halfway through the film. Felt too long also. Perhaps made better as a TV mini-series.

     In my opinion, not worth paying the money to see, buy or even rent it. I wish it was better than I thought. Not worth seeing. I wasn't even interested in the book. Could have been better.

The Complete Tales of Edgar Allen Poe

     Most know Poe for such works as The Raven, The Tell Tale Heart, and such tales of horror, but Poe was much more.

     Beside Gothic works and poetry, he had a slight sense of humor and a fun and imaginative side to writing, as some of his  stories show. He wrote in essay, and even play format at times. Even had a novel.

     He wrote the first detective novel and is even credited as being an influence on the character of Sherlock Holmes. If your familiar with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's, Sherlock Holmes, one can see bits of him in the character of Dupine, especially in The Purloined Letter.

    
 I really liked a lot of his work and wasn't aware of how much he had actually written. Eye opening to my knowledge of Poe. A good read, and the horror didn't give me nightmares either.
     

  

Wicked Jealous by Robin Palmer

When I first saw this book and read the teaser, I thought, alright, might be worth the look. Boy, was I disappointed.

     For the record, this is not the first modernized fairy tale I have read or for that matter, film I have seen. This book was disappointing.

     There are several things that seem to bog this story down. First off, the prologue was unnecessary, and when it connected to the point in the story, it wasn't the same. A prologue does one or two things, connects to a future part of the story, or fills in a few blanks to ensure the reader isn't lost when they begin the story.

     The villain in the tale should have a motive that makes sense. Ok, I could the "stepmom"  to be, marrying a wealthy and older man to set herself up for life. When you modernize a fairytale, things can be altered without ruining the tale. I mean really be jealous of someone who would soon be going to college, and then be out of her life for the most part. She's so narcissistic that a teenager, is a threat to her, seriously? She lives in Hollywood, a lot of pretty people there. Or change her reason for wanting "Snow White" out of the way.

     When would her Dad have time to date? Workaholics can't make time to keep a serious relationship. Look at Ryan Seacrest. He's got money, but why would the "Evil Queen" not go after someone higher up on the ladder of Hollywood success?

     Way too many cultural references. I don't need titles for everything. Leave things to the imagination. Some refernces can add to a tale, too many just become annoying.

     Seven dwarfs. Why have seven when five were focused on?

     The story was too long? Might make a semi-decent movie.

     An alright read, but nothing more. Will not read any more of her books.

Silver Linings Playbook

     I'll be honest and this film was one of those I thought might be alright to see, but if I didn't no big deal. Even after The Oscar nominations and wins, it was still the same thing, mostly.
     My sister is visiting for Spring Break so I saw the film. I really enjoyed it and see why it won and got Oscar noms.
     I rarely see any films that feel more real when it comes to romance and love. I liked the idea of the main couple being dysfunctional and complex issues, throw in family with their own quirks, and issues and a great drama with a dash of romance is born.
     I was even more impressed that the siblings reminded me a bit of me and my sister.
     I can see why this film became such a surprise at the box office, and beyond. Definitely worth seeing at least once.

Oz : The Great and Powerful

     This film was one of the few that I wanted to see. I had seen the Wizard of Oz, Tin Man mini-series, and The Return to Oz. The preview looked good. This film left me disappointed. It needed more, for instance more Oz beyond China Town and places Dorothy had been too. I do realize a lot of viewers probably wouldn't have seen The Wizard Oz, but still, you have a fantastical land, make it so.
     The story wasn't bad, the casting was fine. Though certain new additions, were nice, the bell ringing and opening flowers made me think a bit of Alice in Wonderland. I think the characters could have been more fleshed out and that would have helped with the story. The film wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. The 3-D was alright addition.
     Is it worth a movie admission price? X-D was great with the color, so depends on what you want in the film. 3-D and X-D options.

Hexed : Short story Collection

     This anthology consists of four novellas. a novella is a story that is much shorter than a novel, 50,000 words is considered novel length. But is longer than a short story and usually has chapters.
     This collection had three authors I am familiar with and follow their series. Since this has only four tales in it, I'll briefly introduce them.
     This is the first collection that I think I enjoyed all the stories in, at least when it comes to multiple authors. I do also read collection of stories from authors I love.
     This collection has a theme of supernatural women, who deal with magic in some form or another.
     The first story is by Ilona Andrews. The tale "Magic Dreams" follows a minor character from The Kate Daniels Series. Dali is were-tiger and she must confront a vengeful creature or lose the man she has secretly loved forever. If you don't read the series but interested in trying it. The first book is Magic Bites.
     The second tale is by Yasmine Galenorn. The tale " Ice Shards " takes place in the Sisters of the Moon or Otherworld series. The tale follows Iris, a house sprite, who is much more than she appears to be, and her journey to confront the past and the monster she created. The first book in this series is Witchling.
     The third tale is " Double Hexed " by Allison James. I am not familiar with her work but the novella sparked my interest and I have the first book in the Storm Walker series to my want to read list. The first book is Storm Walker. This tale follows Janet, a half Navajo and half demon goddess as she deals with a double hex placed on her hotel, and protecting those she cares about.
     The fourth tale is "Blood Debt" by Jeanne C. Stein. This tale takes place in the Anna Strong Series. IF you keep up with the series, there's a change in boyfriends but the story of their meeting is hinted at and nothing more. This tale fill in the blanks of how Anna, a vampire and bounty hunter meets Stephen Powers, the reporter. Interested in checking out the series. The first book is The Becoming.

Jack : The Giant Slayer

     This film was alright. It had its moments. The story just seemed to fall short. Not enough with the giants, and when there was, it was a lot of gross things, like snot eating. Well, that was when they weren't fighting each other or humans.
     There was potential for a really good story. But cheesy dialogue, gross humor, and lack of spending time in the Giant's domain, caused the story to fall short of what it could have been. Oh, and naming three giants, Fe, Fi, and Fo was lame. Why, not include the Fairy Tale Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum, I spell the blood of an Englishman, or human even.
     Two other things bothered me. When Jack was in the water and the giant was coming, the water should have been making waves, and the ground should be trembling a bit, like a small quake. Physics, use them. Otherwise, these were the lightest giants ever.
     I guess the giants who were obviously long lived, and dirty and filthy because either all the females left, died out, or Giants just sprouted into being. No females in sight.
     Oh, and a rather lame ending too. My suggestion, wait to rent it or see it on TV.