The Conjuring 2

Same actors as the 1st - you do have to see that first and I would even recommend you see Annabelle before this one too. O'Connor (The Hunter) is the mother of four whose daughter is being troubled by a demon. Both the Conjurings are based on the true cases of the couple- the beginning is terrifying - I loved it. The actors - Wilson (he sings!!!!!) and Farmiga - do such a great job that it makes watching so enjoyable. It's a great demonic horror film - there are some clues at the beginning - look carefully at the scenes that take place inside their home in the US - clues there. All in all, I say: SEE IT - if you have seen the other two.

Deliver us From Evil

Bana (Hulk) is a NY cop who has the ability to sense evil/demons. He comes across a case involving three military men. Munn (X-Men) plays his wife - a small role. Ramirez (Joy) plays a flawed priest. The characters are based on the real life people. The case is made up though. They have a book out that gives the real cases. All in all, I say: SEE IT - it's not bad for a demonic horror film.

Diary of a Teenage Girl

Skarsgard (new Tarazan) is dating a woman with two girls. He has an affair with the 16 year old. Wiig (Ghostbusters) plays her mother. I didn't like the scenes with the young girl with Skarsgard - I know in real life she's in her 20s, but her character isn't. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

Jo

A cop show set in France with a ton of British & American actors. Everyone speaks English only signs and things are in French - so it's a little strange, but good. I like Reno's (The Professional) character. Hennessy (Law & Order) plays a nun - she does a good job with what little she does. Austin (Royals) has an American accent in this just like Hennessy.

It's a great cast - decent plot - but it only lasted for one season. All in all, I say: SEE IT on Acorn TV.

Kidnap and Ransom

It's supposed to be about a man who goes all over the world negotiating the release of an insurance companies clients who have been kidnapped. It had potential when you read that - unfortunately, the entire season focuses on one kidnapping it spirals out of control and becomes more and more ridiculous. All in all, I say: SKIP IT - it would have been better if the main character was younger and each episode was a different kidnapping,

Queen of the South

I typically hate movies and tv shows about drugs and addition, but this first episode had me hooked - I can't wait till the second episode. Brazilian Braga's (I am Legend) acting and narration make this amazing. At least so far - I may change my mind later. I like that she's not naive - she's one smart survivor. All in all, I say: SEE IT

X-Men: Apocalypse

Takes place int he 70s - when everyone was young so it's the Fassbender/McAvoy pairing. New editions to cast: GoT actress Turner, Newsroom actress Munn, and Star Wars actor Isaac. I could follow the plot - the action scenes were good. I like it like I liked the first X-Man movie. All in all, I say: SEE IT

Falcon

A British cop drama that only lasted one season and was set in Seville, Spain as well as made for Spanish television. Kiwi Csokas (Into the Badlands) does an awesome job as always - he is a great actor. He has flaws, but he is a decent man.

Brit Atwell (Captain America) also stars as a possible love interest. Brit Fox, E (The Pianist) is his ex-wife. Kiwi Fox, K (Shallow Grave) is his sister. Brit Tena (Harry Potter) is a co-worker. Everyone talks in English with English accents, but all the writing in the movie is in Spanish. I loved it - it was gritty and he is a pleasure to watch. All in all, I say: SEE IT - I think the US to make their own version. I watched it on Acorn TV.

Convenient Groom

A Hallmark wedding movie. Marcil (General Hospital) stars and she has had injections or implants in her cheeks and lips - she shouldn't have had any plastic surgery done and she would look good. I'm not sure why she has to wear the too big for her face glasses in this. Sutcliffe (Gilmore Girls) does a good job though. Many of the scenes are just horribly written and edited. It is almost painful. All in all, I say: (can't believe I'm going to write this) SKIP IT

Stop the Wedding

A Hallmark wedding movie. Two young people are trying to keep their dad & aunt from marrying. It turns out they fall in love in the process. Boston (Witches of East End) and Matter (Eureka) star. There are some awkward scenes that I think editing or writing could have fixed. All in all, I say: SEE IT

Wedding Bells

A Hallmark wedding movie. McKellar (Wonder Years) and Smith (Eureka) are best friends of an engaged couple. They agree to help plan the wedding when the couple needs to meet with lawyers over a crisis. They both don't believe in love or something like that. By being in the country and planning the wedding together they fall in love. The kissing in this is pretty bad. They are funny and the plot is decent, The editing was a little off. Boxleitner (Scarecrow and Mrs. King) also stars. All in all, I say: SEE IT

Ms. Matched

Another Hallmark wedding film that is completely unrealistic. But I like the fluff. It's like a happiness drug. PenaVega (Spy Kids) has grown up and does an ok job in this. Roberts (Resident Evil) is a bit bulkier than the usual Hallmark male lead - he does ok acting. A wedding planner clashes and yet falls in love with an economist who has written a book that is the opposite of what a wedding planner would want. Planner - big dream wedding. Economist - small affordable. All in all, I say: SEE IT

Chasing Shadows

Shearsmith (Galavant) is an autistic detective in London's murder squad. He is put - rather unwisely - in front of cameras and tells the truth to reporters questions getting him transferred. He become a police liaison to the civilian missing persons bureau - he looks for patterns and is able not only to find many people, but also manages to find multiple-murders by seeing patterns of missing people. Kingston (Dr. Who) and Clarke (Dr Who) also star - they have chemistry already so it's a great addition. The pace is good - the plot is good - the writing is decent - the acting is excellent. It only lasted 4 episodes or 2 UK seasons which is disappointing because it was so good. I think the US needs their own version - I would totally watch that. All in all, I say: SEE IT but be prepared to left wanting as it was not renewed. I watched on Acorn TV.

A Country Wedding

A Hallmark movie so you really already know the plot - boy & girl once friends see each other after about 20 years or so and fall in love - it's meant to be. Metcalfe (Dallas) is cute and doesn't really look his age - late 30s, but he is not the best of actors. Reeser (Hawaii Five-O) is better so she picks up the slack. Mennell (Haven) had a horrible blond wig which distracted from any acting. All in all, I say: SEE IT - but know it is a cheesy Hallmark (unrealistic) happily ever after film.

Omnivores Dilemma

Maybe if I didn't already know most of this information then it would have been a good read. I was BORED out of my mind - and found myself saying, "So what...". I think it needed to have more of an agenda rather than to be more historical/informational. All in all, I say: SKIP IT - unless you truly are cluless about how our huiman diet got the way it did and why that's bad.

The New Prince

It's the new, updated version of Machiavelli. Instead of focusing on royalty and monarchs who ruled and the best way to be a ruler - this book takes a politician. I have no interest in being a politician, so I found it boring. I speed read through most. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

Portable Atheist

1st not portable - it's a thick and hefty book. I think this is for someone that has recently decided they are atheist or considering it and don't really know much. For me - like the other I have blogged about - there wasn't much I didn't already know. And as with the others - there is too much about religion. I know that sounds a little silly, but honestly when I read these books I learn more about religion than I do about those people & beliefs that are about the absence of supernatural and religion. All in all, I say: SKIP IT unless you are curious about famous, historical figures who were/are atheist and why they got to that conclusion.

Black Country

I wanted to give the Scotland Yard murder series another chance - this one was worse. It was so boring and the characters are so uninteresting to me. I had to stop before I was half way through. I'm done with the series. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

Ready, Set, Green

This is divided into weeks - it takes someone from day one week one all the way to the end of 8 weeks it is believed it can take for someone to "go green". I don't like things paced like this and everything seemed to structure. It feels a little like you can't go ahead if you haven't really completed the week/section you are currently on. All in all, I say: SKIP IT unless you need something this structured.

The Green Book

This is divided into categories like home, work and so on. In each section there is a list of items followed by a short paragraph explanation of ways to be more "green." For example, under home there is a paragraph on wood floors and an explanation of how bamboo is the best & most friendly for the environment. It is biased & slanted toward "green". I found I knew about 90% of it already, so I was bored. If you are not into "green" or haven't even thought it about and are interested it's a good book to start with. All in all. I say: SKIP IT unless you know nothing about how to be more "green".

Texts from Jane Eyre

BORING - which is so disappointing because it had so much potential to be funny and clever and it fell so short of that. I didn't smile or laugh at any of my favorites. Maybe it should have been high schoolers after they read the classics wrote texts or tweets or did Snap Chats or something. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

Gardens of Stone

Coppola (Jeepers Creepers III) directed this film in 1987. This is from the film: "Here's to us and those like us...Damn few left."

IMDb writes, "A sergeant must deal with his desires to save the lives of young soldiers being sent to Vietnam. Continuously denied the chance to teach the soldiers about his experiences, he settles for trying to help the son of an old army buddy."  Caan (Elf), Huston (50/50), Stockwell (Quantum Leap), Sweeney (Heist), Masterson (As You Are), Fishburne (Matrix), Siemaszko (Stand By Me), and Jones (The Lion King) all star. 

It is sad. All in all, I say: SEE IT

Mutant Message Down Under

Amazon writes, "Mutant Message Down Under is the fictional account of an American woman's spiritual odyssey through outback Australia. An underground bestseller in its original self-published edition, Marlo Morgan's powerful tale of challenge and endurance has a message for us all. Summoned by a remote tribe of nomadic Aborigines to accompany them on walkabout, the woman makes a four-month-long journey and learns how they thrive in natural harmony with the plants and animals that exist in the rugged lands of Australia's bush. From the first day of her adventure, Morgan is challenged by the physical requirements of the journey—she faces daily tests of her endurance, challenges that ultimately contribute to her personal transformation.By traveling with this extraordinary community, Morgan becomes a witness to their essential way of being in a world based on the ancient wisdom and philosophy of a culture that is more than 50,000 years old."  All in all, I say: READ IT

This is from the book:

We, the tribe of Divine Oneness Real People, are leaving planet Earth. In our remaining time we have elected to live the highest level of spiritual life; celibacy, a way to demonstrate physical discipline. We are having no more children. When our youngest member is gone, that will be the last of the pure human race. We are eternal beings. There are many places in the universe where souls who are to follow us can take on body forms. We are the direct descendants of first beings. We have passed the test of surviving since the beginning of time, holding stead fast to the original values and laws, It is our group consciousness that has held the earth together. Now we have received permission to leave. The people of the world have changed and given a part of the soul of the land away. We go to join it in the sky. You have been chosen as our Mutant Messenger to tell your kind we are going. We are leaving Mother Earth to you. We pray you will see what your way of life is doing to the water, the animals, the air, and to each other. We pray you will find a solution to your problems without destroying this world. There are Mutants on the edge of regaining their individual spirit of true beingness. With enough focus, there is time to reverse the destruction on the planet, but we can no longer help you. Our time is up. Already the rain pattern has been changed, the heat is increased, and we have seen years of plant and animal reproduction lessened. We can no longer provide human forms for spirits to inhabit because there will soon be no water or food left here in the desert.

A River Runs Through It

 Maclean wrote his autobiography which centers on fly-fishing. He provides the reader with insights and wisdom all by writing about fly-fishing. His father was a preacher - Presbyterian. His brother was rebellious and lived a life on the edge. He however took another path. It is touching. All in all, I say: READ IT but be warned there is a lot of fishing!
This is from the book:
"Now nearly all those I loved and did not understand when I was young are dead, but I still reach out to them. Of course, now I am too old to be much of a fisherman, and now of course I usually fish the big waters alone, although some friends think I shouldn't. Like many fly fisherman in western Montana where the summer days are almost Arctic in length, I often do not start fishing until the cool of the evening. Then in the Arctic half-light of the canyon all existence fades to a being with my soul and memories and the sounds of the Big Blackfoot River and a four-count rhythm and the hope that a fish will rise. Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs. I am haunted by waters."

Redford (The Sting) directed this film adaptation. It still has fly-fishing just not as much. A lot of the stories are condensed a bit for story telling purposes, but I have to say you won't care. The acting and the scenery is magnificent. Directed the way on Redford can. Sheffer (That Was Then, This is Now), Pitt (Moneyball), Skerritt (Top Gun), and Blethyn (Liitle Voice) do an amazing job. All in all, I say: SEE IT

Lord of the Flies

 A group of children - boys - are stranded with no adults on an island. And things get so out of control crazy - that modern day - we call things that get out of control crazy when people get hurt - Lord of The Flies. The book was hard to read - it hits you heart and soul. You will weep. All in all, I say: READ IT & then see the 90s movie.

This is from the book:
"And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy."

Getty's (Feast) performance is insane - he should have won. Dale (Shame) also stars. It's kind of worse to see it  - what you've read - sometime my imagination is worse and sometimes it's better. I think the movie made it more real than the reading. All in all, I say: SEE IT after you read it.

Tale of Two Cities

 Of all the movies based on Dickens' book - this is the one I recommend. Coleman (Lost Horizon) and Rathbone (he played Sherlock Holmes in the 40s) are excellent actors. It does a decent job and staying extremely close to the book. All in all, I say: SEE IT

This is Dickens at his best. This is a classic - this is a very romantic book. This is the Casablanca of books - before Casablanca. It takes place during the French Revolution. A man is in love with a woman who is in love with another man. He sacrifices himself for her happiness. The ending is heart wrenching. All in all, I say: READ IT and then see the 30s movie - and none other.

This is from the book:
"It is a far, far better thing that I do, then I have ever done; it is a far, far, better rest that I go to than I have ever known."

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way, in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

By far one of the most brilliant run-on sentences ever!!!

Night

This is a heartbreaking book - auto-biography - about how one man survived the Holocaust at the worst concentration camp during WWII. It is hard to get through. It is important that it be read - it is important that we never forget. All in all, I say: READ IT

This is from the book:
"I did not weep, and it pained me that I could not weep. But I had no more tears. And, in the depths of my being, in the recesses of my weakened conscience, could I have searched it, I might perhaps have found something like - free at last!"

The Last of the Mohicans

Cooper's writing is long winded and often times confusing. I struggled with this book - I read it in middle school, but still - my goodness man get to a point. The emotion was hard to get at because of the complications I had trying to figure out who was who and what the hell was everyone doing.  I can't believe I'm going to write this but...All in all, I say: SKIP IT and watch the movie.

This is from the book:
"The pale faces are masters of the earth, and the time of the red-men has not yet come again. My day has been too long. In the morning I saw the sons of Unamis happy and strong; and yet, before the night has come, have I lived to see the last warrior of the wise race of the Mohicans."

Mann (Heat) directs this film adaptation of the novel. It so helps to have the visuals and not need to read about them in detail. It is beautifully shot - Lewis (Lincoln), Stowe (Stakeout), and Studi (Penny Dreadful) do an amazing job. Not surprisingly, the whites in this film got more acclaim than the Native Americans. The ending is heart breaking - the emotions gets your heart racing - the action will have you on the edge of your seat. You may swoon. All in all, I say: SEE IT

The Time Machine

 Taylor (The Birds) stars in this 1960 film adaptation of the book. After reading the book it was fun to watch. The effects are 60s effects, but don't let stuff like that prevent you from seeing a good film. All in all, I say: SEE IT after reading the book.

This is my favorite HG Wells book. I have read it more than once. Odd considering how much I loath stories, movies, and such about time travel. Perhaps, because it was the first of its kind that I read. Perhaps because it was Wells and none other. It is about precisely what the title leads you to believe. A scientist makes a time machine and uses it. I don't want to tell the results. All in all, I say: READ IT - then see the original movie not the remake.

This is from the book:
"Into the manhood of the race: I, for my own part, cannot think that these latter days of weak experiment, fragmentary theory, and mutual discord are indeed man's culminating time! I say, for my own part. He, I know - for the question had been discussed among us long before the Time Machine was made - thought but cheerlessly of the Advancement of Mankind, and saw in the growing pile of civilization only a foolish heaping that must inevitably fall back upon and destroy its makers in the end. If that is so, it remains for us to live as though it were not so. But to me the future is still black and blank - is a vast ignorance, lit at a few casual places by the memory of his story...to witness that even when mind and strength had gone, gratitude and a mutual tenderness still lived on in the heart of man."

Once and Future King

T.H. White's masterpiece that is studied all over. It's the legend of King Arthur and all that you know or are at least familiar with. It kind of goes with Disney's The Sword in the Stone. It also goes with White's other books on the same subject. I had to read this for a class, and loved it. This is written on the last page:
"The fate of this man or that man was less than a drop, although it was a sparkling one, in the great blue motion of the sunlit sea." This line is just beautiful and kind of sums up the legend of King Arthur.
Then it is written:
Explicit Liber Regis Quondam
Regisque Futuri
The Beginning

All in all, I say: READ IT

Ayn Rand

Her philosophy as written and summarized by New York Times Co.

"Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism, begins by embracing the basic fact that existence exists. Reality is, and in the quest to live we must discover reality’s nature and learn to act successfully in it.

To exist is to be something, to possess a specific identity. This is the Law of Identity: A is A. Facts are facts, independent of any consciousness. No amount of passionate wishing, desperate longing or hopeful pleading can alter the facts. Nor will ignoring or evading the facts erase them: the facts remain, immutable.

In Rand’s philosophy, reality is not to be rewritten or escaped, but, solemnly and proudly, faced. One of her favorite sayings is Francis Bacon’s: “Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed.”

Reality — that which exists — has no alternatives, no competitors, nothing “transcending” it. To embrace existence is to reject all notions of the supernatural and the mystical, including God."

Now, I agree with her beliefs of supernatural, but as far as facts remain and reality - we differ slightly. Believe it or not people as a whole do not agree on facts. I'm sure someone else has said it better, but here goes. Someone is robbed of their wallet. The person does not have their wallet, they say someone took it, someone else does indeed have it - that's a fact. I add - what if there was nothing in the wallet - it was old and about to be thrown away? What if the person who took it thought it was theirs - they didn't realize till later it wasn't? What if the entire thing was staged by both parties for whatever reason? Then it is no longer robbery. And, yes, sometimes it is just theft. Her belief that nature must be obeyed - she might say it's in a man's nature to cheat and seek power (as evidenced by some of her writing) - I don't believe that. Then again, perhaps I've oversimplified things and I truly don't understand her.

Here is a quote my sister found that I like.

"I wished to know the meaning of things. I am the meaning. I wished to find a warrant for being. I need no warrant for being,..." (Anthem) I agree that we each create meaning or seek to find meaning. I don't agree that we don't need a reason for being - I feel that people that lack this often lean toward suicide. 

"For they have nothing to fight me with, save the brute forces of their numbers. I have my mind." (Anthem)

A Place to Call Home

After WWII, a Jewish woman comes to a small Australian town as a nurse and chaos! There is back stabbing and devious plots. A one hour drama - that gets close to being a soap opera except for the fact that the actors are fantastic. All in all, I say: SEE IT - I watch on Acorn TV.

The Italian Secretary

I liked Carr's novel The Alienist and I like Sherlock Holmes, but this was too much. It was drawn out and a few chapters in I just couldn't take it. All in all, I say: SKIP IT

Midnight Special

Shannon (Mud) and Dunst (Fargo) are the parents of an extraordinary boy. Driver (What If), Sparks (Mud), Shepard (Mud) all star.  Edgerton (Black Mass) plays a friend of the family that helps them escape the government and a cult. Nichols (Mud) wrote and directed this movie. All in all, I say: WATCH IT if it comes on tv otherwise SKIP IT.

The 50 Funniest American Writers

It's a large collection of stories and essays written by famous authors that are in the comedy genre. Some of the writers and pieces inside are good. All in all, I say: READ IT

The Prophet

Amazon writes, "The Prophet is a collection of poetic essays that are philosophical, spiritual, and, above all, inspirational. Gibran’s musings are divided into twenty-eight chapters covering such sprawling topics as love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, housing, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death." All in all, I say" SKIP IT. I didn't enjoy it - it was a gift from my Papa.

Virginia Woolf

 I can't explain it but I didn't enjoy reading this book. Amazon writes, "The serene and maternal Mrs. Ramsay, the tragic yet absurd Mr. Ramsay, and their children and assorted guests are on holiday on the Isle of Skye. From the seemingly trivial postponement of a visit to a nearby lighthouse, Woolf constructs a remarkable, moving examination of the complex tensions and allegiances of family life and the conflict between men and women."  All in all, I say: SKIP IT

 Warning - this is tragic and depressing. Amazon writes, "In A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf imagines that Shakespeare had a sister—a sister equal to Shakespeare in talent, and equal in genius, but whose legacy is radically different. This imaginary woman never writes a word and dies by her own hand, her genius unexpressed. If only she had found the means to create, argues Woolf, she would have reached the same heights as her immortal sibling. In this classic essay, she takes on the establishment, using her gift of language to dissect the world around her and give voice to those who are without. Her message is a simple one: women must have a fixed income and a room of their own in order to have the freedom to create." All in all, I say; READ IT

This is indeed very well written. Amazon writes, "In Mrs. Dalloway, the novel on which the movie The Hours was based, Virginia Woolf details Clarissa Dalloway’s preparations for a party of which she is to be hostess, exploring the hidden springs of thought and action in one day of a woman’s life. The novel "contains some of the most beautiful, complex, incisive and idiosyncratic sentences ever written in English, and that alone would be reason enough to read it. It is one of the most moving, revolutionary artworks of the twentieth century" (Michael Cunningham)." All in all, I say: READ IT

One Hundred and One Famous Poems

I would say more than 70% of this is not the best - famous in the 20s maybe. There are some sweet pieces in there though. It was a gift from my Papa. All in all, I say: READ IT

In the Days of the Comet

Amazon writes, "In the Days of the Comet (1906) is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells in which humanity is "exalted" when a comet causes "the nitrogen of the air, the old azote," to "change out of itself" and become "a respirable gas, differing indeed from oxygen, but helping and sustaining its action, a bath of strength and healing for nerve and brain." The result: "The great Change has come for evermore, happiness and beauty are our atmosphere, there is peace on earth and good will to all men." All in all, I say: READ IT, but I'm a Wells fan.

Best Science Fiction Stories of H.G. Wells

Amazon writes, "It is now more than 70 years since H. G. Wells founded modern science-fiction with the brilliant succession of novels and short stories that ended in the first decade of this century. Even though two generations have gone by since these stories were first written, they still remain in the first rank. It is safe to say that very few writers have equaled Wells's achievement, and no one has excelled it. The stories of H. G. Wells are a timeless achievement that stand as high as they ever have.This present collection contains the best of H. G. Wells's science-fiction short stories: favorites like "The Crystal Egg," "Aepyornis Island," "The Strange Orchid," "The Man Who Could Work Miracles," "A Dream of Armageddon," "The Sea Raiders," and eleven other tales about fourth-dimensional adventure, biological monstrosities, marvelous inventions, time distortions, cosmic catastrophe, and similar events. In addition to these seventeen short stories, several of which could be called short novels, the full novel "The Invisible Man" is also included. One of the most popular of Wells's stories, as a serious study of egotism it ranks as high as it does as a science-fiction thriller"  All in all, I say: READ IT - if you like Wells as much as I do.

The Monster at the End of this Book

This is one of my favorite children's book. It's so clever and fun. It's adorable. All in all, I say: READ IT