Veronika Decides to Die

Gellar (The Ringer), Tucker (Justified), Christensen (Parenthood - tv series), Gimpel (Profiler), Leo (The Young Riders), and Thewlis (Dragonheart) all star. The main character attempts suicide. Her parents place her in a private facility after she wakes from her comma. The psychiatrist at the facility has unorthodox methods for helping his mental patients. As the movie unfolds we learn more and more about the doctors plans. His colleague doubts him. Will he be able to heal three patients as well as himself. There is a great twist, I didn't see coming at the end. For most of the movie I thought it was going to be a thriller - not so much though. I didn't read the book. All in all, I say: SEE IT - I got it on OnDemand.

Backstrom

New cop show premiered last night. If it continues with its current writing and directing I don't think it will last long. Kennedy (SWAT), Rosen (2012), Wilson (The Office), Angelson (Top Five), Haysbert (The Unit), Polaha (Life Unexpected), Manji (Outsourced), and Dekker (Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles) all star. They are the freaks of the police force and all work together to solve crimes - they are a special unit. Wilson's first person narrative stuff got old fast as did all the inappropriate humor. I think Polaha should have been the lead, but still the same character. All in all, I say: SKIP IT - I'm going to try one more time.

Predestination

I'm just gonna put it all out there.

A woman who was raised at an orphanage gets kicks out of a space program and while attending night school meets herself as man. Not realizing it though, she has sex with herself and gets herself pregnant. She gives birth to herself and afterwards her health demands that she have a sex change. She is now a he and one night goes into a bar and tells her/his story to the bartender who is really herself/himself after plastic surgery to repair burns that occurred when he/she time traveled to stop a bomber who ends up being an alternative version for herself/himself. She/he kills herself/himself to prevent more bombings, but not before time traveling to kidnap herself/himself as a baby from the maternity ward and delivering herself/himself to the orphanage where she/he was raised, but in the past. She/he it turns out has prevented many deaths in the experimentals time traveling space program, and becomes/is their best agent ever.

Words that come to mind after seeing this...
Disturbing
Gross
No
No
No

All in all, I say: NOOOOOOOOOOO

Monument 14: Savage Drift

The group goes in search of one of their own. They get separated but all somehow end up at the same military base. As with the other two books the ending comes quick and neat. The endings always happen to suddenly and have too much of a coincidence. All in all, I say: READ IT if you read the other two in order to get closure. Otherwise, SKIP IT

Boyhood

This movies is a scripted film. The main character is not an actor. The directed filmed it in pieces over years. It shows a boys life from age 5 to 18. It dragged. Even though I like Arquette (True Romance) and Hawke (Gattaca) I didn't really enjoy it. It was filmed in Texas where Hawke and the main character are from. All in all, I say: SKIP IT - I got it on OnDemand.

Galavant

The guy that wrote most of the songs in most Pixar movies does it again. This is a comedy, romance, and a musical. It's a fun light hearted piece. It will only be one season. Sasse (Rogue) is the handsome and brave knight. Omundson (Psyche) is the posh King. Jones (Snatch.) is the right hand man of the King. There are cameos that are worth watching if nothing else it. Watch it with close captioned so you can sing along. I don't usually like musicals, but I enjoy this. I would recommend watching it all at once and not a couple every Sunday. All in all, I say: SEE IT

Independent Study: The Testing Book 2

In the first book the main characters discover that if you are selected to leave your community to attend university you are entering a world of life and death situations. Everything is a test and no one can trust anyone. The main characters are slowly getting their memories back and they are having to maneuver safely at university. Cia is separated by her love and put into the same field of study as the boy that tried to kill her in the last book. She is placed in line to work in Government. This gets her a front row seat at the battle between the rebels, the school leaders, and the government leaders. Who can she trust? All in all, I say: READ IT if you read the first book - if not then SKIP IT it's a cross between Hunger Games and Divergent. Been there; read that!

American Sniper

You've seen/heard the previews, the tv coverage, the radio coverage, the magazine coverage, and word of mouth. You've seen how much Cooper (Guardians of the Galaxy) bulked up. It was well directed by Eastwood (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil). Cooper had good company with Miller (Foxcatcher), Gallner (Veronica Mars), McDorman (Live Free or Die Hard), Ladin (Mad Men), Grimes who is from Ohio and was born in January (Taken 2), Griffin (Iron Man), Close (Without a Trace), Duhame (Thor), Hamada (Unknown), Jaeger (Catch and Release), and Yeoman (Mentalist) all star. All in all, I say: SEE IT

The Other Woman

On HBO now I put it off for some time because I don't like slapstick comedy. This was better than that - I think the editing saves this movie. Mann (Knocked Up) is so loveable and funny. She plays the wife. Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) is so cute, but he's the cheater in this. Diaz (Charlie's Angels) plays the smart and confident one in this. Johnson (Miami Vice) plays Diaz's dad. Kinney (Chicago Fire) is the brother - cute. It's a light comedy with some funny parts. All in all, I say: SEE IT if you get bored and have HBO.

I Married Who?

IMDb describes the plot, "Straight-laced Jordan (Martin) is about to marry her perfect match, Peter (Snedeker) a clean-cut ambitious attorney. Before she walks down the aisle, Jordan and her best friends, Claire (Adrienne Frantz) and Jessica (Daphnee Duplaix), head to Vegas for a bachelorette party. Determined to get Jordan to loosen up, Claire steers the girls to the hottest nightclub for a few drinks and some fun, because what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? But when Jordan wakes up the next morning unable to recall the night before, she panics when she finds she's in movie star Matt's (Ethan Erickson) hotel suite with a gigantic diamond on her finger and a marriage certificate lying nearby. Before Jordan can have the marriage annulled and put this nightmare behind her, the impromptu wedding explodes into a publicity stunt fueled by Matt's manager Eric (Bruce Nozick) to promote his latest movie. With her wedding day approaching, Jordan finds herself more confused than ever when she starts falling in love with the movie star she's married to instead of the fiancé she thought was her perfect match."

It was cute. All in all, I say: SEE IT

The Unleashed

Part 3 of the Blemished series. Amazon writes, "“I wanted to live. I wanted us to have a future, and there was nothing else on my mind. With Daniel by my side I ran so fast my lungs ached.”

Mina’s world is turned upside down as an important person from her past materialises to take her away from the Compound. She finds herself separated from her friends and facing life-changing decisions on her own.

Meanwhile Daniel is on a mission to find Mina when he becomes involved in the Resistance – along with the rest of the Freaks. His visions take their toll as he learns of an event that could devastate the people he loves the most. Only he can stop it.

Angela finds herself on the adventure of a lifetime as she helps Sebastian find his father in Area 14. After action and adventure on the way there, the group are thrown into another life and death situation... can Angela find a way out? "

The last of the series - the 2 worlds collide and the ending is anti-climatic. It was predictable I think. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

Taken 3

I think I would be insulting you if I attempted to write anything about the plot - you know the plot if you have seen the last 2 movies. Same plot - the differences - acting in this one worse than the others. The bad guys not as good as the others. The action not as good as the others. I guess your only incentive for seeing this - and not in theatres (don't waste the money) would be to find closure. Also, there are one or more scenes filmed in Atlanta. Nope probably won't do it for ya. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

The Fractured: Maggie

Maggie is on the bad side of the Fracture. She was the daughter of a GEM, but she fell for the wrong guy and got pregnant - the illegal way. He broke her heart as did her parents. She married a man she didn't love and became a teacher in Area 14. After her baby and husband died she became cruel especially toward Blemished students like Mina. This is a novella of how she became who she is and what she has in store now that she's in charge of the GEM army. This should be read after the first two books (Blemished and Vanished), and after the other novella (Elena). All in all, I say: READ IT if you've read all the other ones, otherwise SKIP IT.

Last Chance to Run

A cheesy romance novel. The plot is suspenseful - not great, but keep you interested. Amazon describes the plot as, "To an undercover agent, Angel is a Person of Interest. Zane's interested. 

Escaping the compound of a deadly international felon--with a fortune in rare, stolen coins hidden on her body--elite athlete Angel Farentino has to make the most important run of her life. Literally. With her father in prison, where he belongs, and a prior undeserved conviction hanging over her head, she has nowhere to turn and no one to trust. Definitely not law enforcement who railroaded her through a judicial nightmare. One step ahead of lethal men and dogs on her trail, she runs into the arms of a dark stranger willing to help her if she’d let him. But that would only get the sexy pilot killed. 
Between figuring out who’s sabotaging his undercover work for the DEA and trying to save his baby sister from herself, Zane Jackson has enough on his plate. The last thing he needs is to get entangled with a woman who’s treading on the wrong side of the law. But when the long-legged distraction races into the middle of his operation and stows away on his plane, a primal need to protect forces Zane to risk everything, starting with his heart. "

It was at one time a free Kindle read to get you hooked on the series. I'm not going to read the series. All in all, I say: READ IT - if you like a quick, romantic read.

The Fractured: Elena

This is a novella from the Blemished series. It takes a minor character from the first book in the series, Blemished, and shows us what happens to her. After she helps Mina, the main character, escape she decides to use her movie star good looks to win a beauty pageant in order to get away from Area 14 and into London. That's just the beginning of her journey. The books gives the reader a better look at the resistance, London, and whether or not Elena will join the resistance. All in all, I say: READ IT if you read the other two. If not, SKIP IT

The Vanished

Part 2 in the Blemished series.  When we left off the main character and her 2 friends were taken from area 14 to Scotland - a zone free from the GEM. While there Mini becomes what the Compound people call a Freak like 4 other kids. They use their powers to change the outcome of a battle between the free groups in Scotland. All in all, I say: SKIP IT - I have to see this series through now, but you don't have to. It's not as good as the first because aside from the main character everything is different. The point of the series changes - the plot take a tangent. But, if you are like me and you can't leave it in the air then READ IT

Z Nation

A SyFy original series that is filmed in Washington. Smith (Roll Bounce) and Scott (That Thing You Do!) are former national guard. They take on a mission from Perrineau (Oz) when he dies. The mission is to get Allen (who has been in three other zombie projects) to the CDC because he holds the key to the cure for Zombism. It's been three years into the zombie apocalypse already when the show begins. Qualls (Supernatural) is left behind by the military at an NSA station way up north. He uses communications to broadcast to anyone listening including the group that is trying to get the a CDC facility in California.  Hodgkinson (Grimm) plays Doc. Zang the actor that plays 10K - an excellent shooter is fmailiar but IMDb doesn't have anything listed for him, so if someone knows where I know him from let me know. Welch (twilight series) and Baranova (Russian actress that has done mainly video game voices) also star. All in all, I say: SEE IT - it's a good mix of horror, action, and comedy. There is even a ZombieNado.

Her Dakota Man

A free Kindle romance novel with one sex scene and a decent plot. A man and woman are separated by the lie of a friend they have in common. Years later they met up again and hash out whether they can repair their relationship. It's a quick and easy read. All in all, I say: READ IT if you like romance.

Longbourn

Jane Austin wrote about the "upstairs" lot in her novels. This book by Baker focuses on the lives those who are "downstairs". She specifically writes about the servants that work for Mr. Bennett in Pride & Prejudice. It has some very detailed historical information and follows the timeline of the Austin novel. All in all, I say: READ IT - it wasn't super fantastic, but it was interesting.

Cold Justice

A Crime Scene Investigator and a former Prosecutor help solve cold cases. In mostly small towns there simply is not access to certain things needed to solve circumstantial murders. In some cases the towns have had next to no murders ever and the local law enforcement has no experience or training on how to go about getting all the evidence they need to take to a DA so a DA could take the case to a grand jury. The two women bring experienced homicide detectives with them, so not only are the assisting they are also training the small town law enforcement officers. The show is well edited and the two women really lead the audience through the decisions that are made throughout the investigation. There was a case in Columbus, Georgia; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and one in Paulding County Ohio which is familiar to me. All in all, I say: SEE IT if you like true crime - it's done in a tasteful and interesting way as opposed to other shows I've tried. SKIP IT if you don't true crime.