Book Review: Dead to the World (Charlaine Harris)

With Bill travelling Peru to continue building the vampire database the vampire queen of Louisiana wants, Sookie Stackhouse is rebuilding her life in Bon Temps without him. She has a lot to focus on – her brother is dating a shape shifter, she is still working on her self-control to not read people’s minds, and she is also dealing with the snide remarks about her previous relationship with the vampire.

Sookie finds Eric Northman on the side of the road one night, stumbling, clad only in jeans. There is obviously something very wrong with him – he can’t remember anything about his life or even his position as the Sheriff of Vampire area 5. Pam and Cho show up, and they ask Sookie to look after Eric while they try and catch the witch that cast the spell on Eric. Jason, Sookie’s brother, negotiates a massive fee for Sookie’s help, and the vampires reluctantly agree because they know the witches have put a large price on Eric’s head should he be delivered to them.

The offending witch is Hallow, a powerful, underhanded and corrupt woman who drinks vampire blood and that, combined with her powers, makes her a formidable enemy. Pam tells Sookie that the witch wanted profits from Eric’s vampire bar, Fangtasia, as well as Eric for a lover, and when he refused, she cast the spell on him.

Sookie has another problem to deal with when Shirley Hennessey, Jason’s boss, calls to ask where Jason is because he isn’t at work. Worried, Sookie checks up on him, but although his truck is at home, he is missing. The police don’t seem too overly worried about this, as Jason is known to do whatever he wants.

Sookie takes it upon herself to find her brother. The options of his whereabouts are endless. When the police find tiger tracks near his house, they think he was mauled to death. Sookie also knows that Pam and Cho could very well have taken Jason hostage as insurance while she takes care of Eric, and Sookie is also worried that Hallow and her coven might have taken him.

With Eric having no idea who he is, devoid of his charming but offensive personality, he and Sookie soon become lovers. Pam and Cho propose a plan to take out Hallow and restore Eric, but will they be successful? What will the vampire do when he is his old self again and knows that he has become Sookie’s bed mate? Can Sookie find Jason alive and well?

Rating: 6.5/10

The Fourth book in the Sookie Stackhouse series comes in at nearly the same pace as the previous three. I have to say that I wasn’t as completely enchanted and having fun as with the other books. Sookie really gets around a whole lot and she doesn’t discriminate when it comes to sleeping partners, and that is starting to grate on me. I think she blatantly ignored it most of the time that her brother was missing, because hey, she was banging the hot Viking vampire.

There were a lot of things happening in this book that could have been explored to great detail – Hallow, Jason’s disappearance, an inbred wolf community, Eric losing his memory, the fairy rocking up. Everything was swept under the rug most of the time and not really written to what it could have been.

Hallow turned out to be so disappointing. She was the complete reason that Eric lost his memory, but her character was underdeveloped and she was destroyed as a by-product. I also think the fairy was incredibly lame. Why include her if you are not going to completely incorporate her completely?

Oh yes, and regarding Eric’s memory: It would have been way more fun if Eric had pretended to lose his memory – it jibes perfectly with his character and is something he would do. THAT could have been a plot twist.

Debbie Pelt’s demise was something I found petty pleasure in. No matter my irritations with the heroine, I am still on Sookie Stackhouse’s side and want her to live happy and safe. Debbie was very evil and deceptive about it, and I really like Alcide, who deserves better.

Bill is still his annoying self, and he has tons to make up for in the future books. Talk about moody, difficult and obsessed – and people say Eric is the difficult vampire in here?!

I am definitely continuing with these books, but I do hope that there is a developing story line somewhere. So far the books are completely separated from each other and there is no continuing story line, which is something that can make the books much more enjoyable.

September 30, 2014 by Natasha Categories: Books, Reviews, SeriesTags: Alcide, Bill Compton, Bon Temps, Books, Charlaine Harris, Eric Northman, Merlottes, Reviews, Sookie Stackhouse, Sookie Stackhouse novels, vampires, Werewolves 23 Comments

Marvellous Mondays: The Punisher by Sporadic Chronicles of a Beginner Blogger

Happiest of Mondays fair friends! Today I have the absolutely enormous pleasure of hosting one of my favourite people on this planet for the Marvelous Monday blogathon. I hereby introduce my bestie Zoë, who not only rocks, but hosts an awesome blog over at the Sporadic Chronicles of a Beginner Blogger. If you haven’t yet followed her, do yourself a favour and hop over. (If you are interested in picking up a movie, check out the available movies here and let me know!)

So when my best Chemistry Kidney decided to start hosting Marvellous Mondays, I thought it was a fantastic idea. I got even more excited when she said she would be opening it for anyone and everyone to participate if they wanted to. I mean really? Hell yeah, I was so in! I get to talk about The Punisher yet again? I wanted to. Granted, there are plenty other films on the list, and granted, I have written about it before (on my site and for Genre Grandeur), and granted, I should probably find a way to get this film out of my system but do you know what? I don’t think I will. I love it, and if I get to wax lyrical about it from time to time, then you better be sure that I am going to. I watched this movie when I was younger and I absolutely fell in love with it. Maybe it spoke to something in me when I was younger, but it has remained with me ever since, and I cannot shake it. That’s totally fine with me.

I know that I am definitely in the minority for loving this movie, but hey, you don’t always have a choice, right? Moving along from all that, let me get to the movie…

 “I leave this as a declaration of intent, so no one will be confused. One: “Si vis pacem, para bellum.” – If you want peace, prepare for war.”
– Frank Castle

SYNOPSIS: Special agent Frank Castle had it all: A loving family, a great life, and an adventurous job. But when his life is taken away from him by a ruthless criminal and his associates, Frank has become reborn. Now serving as judge, jury, and executioner, he’s a new kind of vigilante out to wage a one man war against those who have done him wrong. – viaIMDB

I think I absolutely love the fact that this is darker than most comic book movies. I love the fact that it is focused on the antihero. It’s certainly something different. I have no idea why the comic book world hasn’t delved into the world of the antihero more. I mean granted, we got Spawn, and I liked that, and I am one of the few that has a really soft spot for Constantine, but why is this not a genre that gets more attention? I know I would watch the hell out of them.

The Punisher is something that builds on itself pretty quickly, but at the same time not too fast as to leave you behind. I liked that. It doesn’t really lag or get boring anywhere for me, and I enjoy the journey each and every time. Starting off simply enough with a sting gone wrong, meeting Frank Castle, seeing his white-picket-fence-life, you see it ripped away from him, and it is cold to witness. Seeing what happens next, for me, is thrilling. The broken man who rises up and fights back, exacts what vengeance he may, and tries to rebuild some semblance of a life while doing so. It is so interesting for me! Also, I loved the outfits in here – or maybe I should be more specific and say that I think Castle’s Punisher outfit was pretty badass.

One thing that I thought was just excellently executed was John Travolta as the villain. I think he portrays a very satisfying villain, and he made it onto my Top Ten Comic Book Movie Villains that I compiled a while ago for my dear Eric’s site, though it seemed he was not a very popular choice. I don’t know why that is. Travolta brought the goods to the table. He was cold, he was odd, he worshipped his wife, he loved his sons, he was ruthless, and he loved power. When his façade started to fray, I was really impressed with how he handled it all. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him play out (to perfection) the path that Frank had laid bare for him, tearing his own life apart on his own, what with Frank just sitting back and watching how it came to be. That was cold.

Overall, I enjoyed the acting. I think that everyone did a mighty fine job bringing their characters to the screen. I really liked Quentin (Will Patton), I thought he was a great fiend, and I actually took a shine to him. James Carpinello’s portrayal of the twins, John and Bobby Saint, was a little wooden maybe, and he didn’t actually say much but it was probably better that way. I thoroughly enjoy Ben Foster and I feel he is an incredibly underappreciated actor, and he played Dave very well. John Pinette was great as Bumpo, and Rebecca Romijn played Joan well, too. So the cast was alright and kept things moving along nicely, too.

Considering this movie didn’t have a killer budget, the effects were really good. I had such a blast (and it remains one of my favourite scenes) when Harry Heck walks into the diner that Joan works at and sings In Time. The song is beautiful, but the statement that the song was written for Frank and that he, Heck, would play it at Castle’s funeral was a little unsettling. Their showdown after that build up was a little bit of a let-down, but only if you separate the scenes. I wished for a little more time with them together, but alas, no such luck.

Thomas Jane is an interesting actor for me. While he is no DiCaprio or anything like that, he can carry a lead role, but as Ruthsays, maybe a little handsome-but-vacuous. He isn’t bad at all, though, but he also isn’t gripping. His Frank Castle is certainly one of my favorite roles of his, and when I was younger I just thought he was a real hottie with his dark (not blonde) hair. Plus that attitude?Sullen and angry and dejected and on a mission? Why would that not appeal to me? My evidence…

I know that there are numerous gripes about this film. For one, the movie really doesn’t look at Castle too closely, and his development. It probably would have been nice to see more of that, but I could understand how and why he ended up where he was, ready to take down the Saints. You don’t need to be a full-fledged psychologist to understand why it affected him so deeply. For two, there was a little humor injected in here that I understand is not a part of the comic books. What people don’t tell you is that it is so seldom that you actually forget that it was there in the first place.

I am going to close down this post with something that Tim linked to me when I posted my review of The Punisher. This really awesome little clip, so if you want a few more minutes to revel in the glory that is Thomas Jane as Frank Castle, I would highly suggest you go and check this out.

September 29, 2014September 29, 2014 by Natasha Categories: Movies, ReviewsTags: Frank Castle, guest posts, James Carpinello, marvel, Marvellous Mondays, The Punisher, Will PAtton 12 Comments

Genre Grandeur – Avatar (2009)

I did a guest post for Rob’s Genre Grandeur this month. Go have a look!

MovieRob

Natasha from Life of This City Girl chose to review Avatar (2009) for this month’s Genre Grandeur – Space.

Next month’s Genre is Biographical movies, so please send me your review by 25th October to bio@movierob.net

Take it away Natasha….

Genre Grandeur: Avatar (2009) Life of This City Girl

Good day folks! For Rob’s Genre Grandeur this month I knew I just had to review one of my favourite Space films, Avatar. Now, I know Avatar has a whole lot of haters and lovers, so I will just come out and say that I am a real fan of this. It is epic, it is dramatic, and it is obviously done with a lot of dedication. Without further ado, I give you…. Avatar!

Plot: (via IMDb) A paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he…

View original post 374 more words

September 28, 2014 by Natasha Categories: Uncategorized 1 Comment

The Ten Most Iconic Female Movie Characters Blogathon

My best friend and follow blogger Zoë gave me the enormously difficult pleasure of taking part in this blogathon. It all originated with a brilliant idea from Dell on Movies, which stated the following:

A list of 10 iconic female movie characters has been made. That list will be assigned to another blogger who can then change it by removing one character (describing why they think she should not be on the list) and replacing it with another one (also with motivation) and hand over the baton to another blogger. Once assigned, that blogger will have to put his/her post up within a week. If this is not the case the blogger who assigned it has to reassign it to another blogger.

Now, this was a lot of fun. It took some thinking, because even though iconic female characters are plenty (yet under appreciated a lot of the time), emotions are involved with this list. I did realize taking off names like Ellen Ripley and Princess Leia would cause the internet to explode, The only tricky part was choosing a character from the damn near perfect list Zoë sent me to shoo one off and replace with someone just as deserving.

So, without further ado:

Who didn’t make it:

Reasoning: 

Don’t get me wrong: From the number of Bond films I’ve seen, I have always adored Judie Dench as M. She is classy, straightforward and powerful. So why did I have to kick her off? Well, I took a look at the list and considered what I thought of as viable options, and M is the only character I see on there that hasn’t had a cultural impact with who she is.

Who gets to go on:

Maria Von Trapp

Why? Julie Andrews impressed the world with her portrayal as Maria. I have always enjoyed this movie so much and it impressively spans time so that it is never boring even though it is rather old. Maria is patient, sweet, kind and funny and I really think she had an enormous impact on society. Even now, when I think of pure class, I think of Julie Andrews. She has gone through the horror of losing her impressive singing voice and still managed to continue her career in Hollywood and has always been so dignified, even as a young lady here.

I hereby nominate Kim from Tranquil Dreams. Kim, you have a week! 🙂 (and the best of luck!)

September 28, 2014 by Natasha Categories: MoviesTags: Clarice Starling, Ellen Ripley, Guest post, Iconic Female Characters, Jackie Brown, M, Marge Gunderson, Maria Von Trapp, Princess Leia, Rosemary Woodhouse, Scarlett O'Hara, Shoshanna Dreyfus, The Bride 21 Comments

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Best funny moments

Hello! I’ve been reading Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince (yes, again). I can’t really classify this as my favorite Harry Potter book, because they each and every Potter book is a favourite of mine, but I really love this one exceptionally much because it is so funny. Harry and his friends are growing up, and they are dealing with their hormones while still having to think of the murderous Voldemort who wants Harry dead. Here are some of the funny moments in the book that just makes me giggle every time.

Cornelius Fudge telling the British Prime Minister about the existence of the Magical World

“Not to worry”, he said, “it’s odds on you’ll never see me again. I’ll only bother you if there’s something really serious on our end, something that’s likely to affect the Muggles – the non-magical population, I should say. Otherwise it’s live and let live. And I must say, you’re taking it a lot better than your predecessor. He tried to throw me out of the window, thought I was a hoax planned by the opposition”

At this, the Prime Minister had found his voice at last.

“You’re – you’re not a hoax, then?”

It had been his last, desperate hope.

“No”, said Fudge gently. “No, I’m afraid not. Look”

And he had turned the Prime Minister’s teacup into a gerbil.

“Bur”, said the Prime Minister breathlessly, watching his teacup chewin on the corner of his next speech, “but why – has no body told me – ?”

“The Minister for Magic only reveals him or herself to the Muggle Prime Minster of the day”, said Fudge, poking his want back inside his jacket. “We find the best way to maintain secrecy”

“But then”, bleated the Prime Minister, “why hasn’t a former Prime Minister warned me-“?

At this, Fudge had actually laughed

“My dear Prime Minister, are you ever going to tell anybody?”

Funny factor: At least a 7/10. Although this is by far not the funniest part of the book, I always have a good chuckle imagining any Prime Minister discovering a secret world just after his elections. I would certainly question my own sanity, I would definitely suspect a hoax, and I would certainly be most loathsome of the thought that there is another PM running a part of my country after all the hard work I’ve put in to win elections!

Dumbledore giving Vernon Dursley some sass

“I don’t mean to be rude – “he began, in a tone threatening rudeness in every syllable.

“-yet, sadly, accidental rudeness occurs alarmingly often”, Dumbledore finished the sentence gravely. “Best to say nothing at all, my dear man. Ah, and this must be Petunia”

Funny factor: 8/10. The Dursleys have mistreated Harry since day one, and they are always a thorn in his side. I love that every time the Dursleys meat someone of the magical world, something goes askew, whether it is planned or not. Dumbledore sneaking in some well deserved attitude towards them is hilarious and well deserved.

Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes

Why Are You Worrying About You-Know-Who?

You SHOULD Be Worrying About

U-NO-POO –

The Constipation Sensation That’s Gripping The Nation!

Funny Factor: 10/10Fred and George are always hilarious, and the bring the funny yet again by dealing with a crisis with humour.

Harry giving Snape some sass

“Do you remember me telling you we are practising non-verbal spells, Potter?”

“Yes,” said Harry stiffly.

“Yes, sir”

“There’s no need to call me “sir”, Professor”

Rating: 9/10 Ah, Harry and Snape. By now we all know that Snape ultimately redeemed his mean behaviour, but these two were always at odds at Hogwarts. This is just one of the occasions where Harry shows once again he is a funny guy and that he can deal with unfair discrimination with humour.

Harry’s “Tattoo”

“You’d think people had better things to gossip about,” said Ginny, as she sat on the common-room floor, leaning against Harry’s legs and reading the Daily Prophet. “Three Dementor attacks in a week, and all Romilda Vane does ask me if it’s true you’ve got a Hippogriff tattooed across your chest”

Ron and Hermione both roared with laughter. Harry ignored them.

“What did you tell her?”

“I told her it’s a Hungarian Horntails” said Ginny, turning a page of the newspaper idly. “Much more macho”

“Thanks”, said Harry, grinning. “And what did you tell her Ron’s got?”

“A Pygmy Puff, but I didn’t say where”

Rating: 8.5/10 Apart from the fact that Harry finally woke up and discovered Ginny Weasley is the girl for him, this scene always makes me laugh. It is a happy one, showing Harry and Ginny’s fun side and how cute their relationship is.

Any additions/comments? Let me know!

September 25, 2014September 25, 2014 by Natasha Categories: Books, Harry Potter, ThoughtsTags: Albus Dumbledore, Books, cornelius fudge, Dementors, Fred Weasley, Friday, George Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Hermione Granger, Hippogriff, JK Rowling, Reading, Ron Weasley, Severus Snape, Tattoo, Vernon Dursely 5 Comments

Marvelous Mondays: The Fantastic Four by The Review Club

Hi There! Today’s Marvelous Monday post is about the Fantastic Four, done by Troy of the Review Club. Thanks for participating Troy!! (If you are interested in taking part, see the updated movies list here)

FANTASTIC 4 (2005)

Wow, this feels like a trip down memory lane. I remember going to see this film when it came out, I would have been 14 and superhero films were big, but I guess not as big as they are now what with Marvel creating its own branded universe and yearly layout and DC now getting onto that same planning bandwagon with untitled films scheduled for the next few years. Seeing this now almost ten years later loses the young wonder I saw it with before, it has some fun elements but on the whole it lacks a punch and that’s sad considering the four powerful characters it has to play with.

On getting his idea agreed to, Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) takes his friend Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis) to Victor Von Doom’s (Julian McMahon) space station where they’re joined by Von D himself, Reed’s old flame Susan Storm (Jessica Alba) and future flame figure Johnny Storm (Chris Evans). Up there they’re all struck by a freak radiation storm cloud and soon they discover they have powers which they need to understand, control and use to fight a power mad Doom.

There’s fun and slight enjoyment to be had in certain places, the space station cosmic disaster is good enough to shed light on how they all come to gain their gifts, the last showdown with the masked Dr. Doom has some shiny glimmers if not feeling disappointingly short for a final act battle. The best sequence I thought was the bridge which gave time for Ben/The Thing to become a hero and be seen as not some weird orange rock monster. The destruction comes thick and fast with fire engines wreaking havoc, vehicles flipping and flying and all four of them use their powers openly for the first time giving them the public attention to make them the heroes of the movie. There may be some few poor green screen moments or CGI weaknesses amongst this sequence but on the whole it’s the best thing in the movie…I feel.

The issue this film has it never feels fast or exciting; it takes more time with them and their problems which in turn becomes the plots problem. It has an opening that jumps straight into Reed’s plan leaving the exposition light wildly flashing. The majority of the film is about Reed attempting to use his science know how to get them back to the way they were, which isn’t at all interesting to watch. Now with films such as Iron Man or The Avengers letting the heroes revel in the way they are it feels a touch boring having this as the main driving story, the motive is never serious as you want them to stay the way they are so the whole time they’re trying to revert their powers you’re growing tired of it. Siding with the smooth yet cocky Johnny proves to be the right choice.

Chris Evans brings comedy and a twinkle eyed performance as The Human Torch and without falling back on a pun he does burn away the others with his character, a smouldering fiery performance even! Sorry. Ioan Gruffudd does what is needed as the straight laced smart guy but he’s a bit dull and as the group leader Mr Fantastic he’s not that fantastic. Jessica Alba is gorgeous and gets under the skin of the preppy and romantic seeking Invisible Woman with enough believability even if at times you feel she’s acting. I’ll forgive her. Michael Chiklis gets the raw deal being caked in stupid prosthetics that make him look like a reject Pokémon with his only trait really being that he can clobber and smash. McMahon has flashes of evil in his path to becoming the big bad but he like the story never comes across as exciting as he could be considering he’s the only villain.

It’s not a greatly made movie by any account but at least it had time to set up all the characters which is perhaps the reason why ‘Rise of the Silver Surfer’ is a much better movie and actually proves that sequels can be done well. A hit and mostly miss movie with some enjoyable moments here and there, but a movie that Marvel must feel glad it never became part of their new universe.

5/10

September 22, 2014September 21, 2014 by Natasha Categories: Movies, ReviewsTags: Chris Evans, Fantastic Four, guest posts, Jessica Alba, marvel, Marvelous Mondays, Movies, Reviews 5 Comments

Series Review: Mentalist (Season 6)

Highlights of the season:

Patrick Jane finally catches Red John

*Some suspects *

After years of hide and seek, Red John, the killer of Patrick’s family and countless others, are finally revealed. After narrowing it down to six candidates, Patrick (Simon Baker) realizes that the corruption of law enforcement runs deep and that is how Red John has been getting away with what he does every time. Patrick’s final confrontation with Red John plays out in such a spectacular fashion I was ready to start chewing nails.

Patrick’s life after Red John.

I’ve always wondered what Patrick would do after he caught the man that had ruined his life and taken away his family in such a brutal fashion. Seeing Patrick walking on the beach and just being at peace with who he is was unbelievably sweet.

Patrick, Teresa and Cho’s careers in the FBI

Theresa took the hardest hit for Patrick’s shenanigans, and when Patrick returns to the USA and requests her presence on the FBI team, it is such a sweet gesture from him. Cho (Tim Kang) is so focused on fixing himself and getting somewhere within law enforcement. I really like how he will always give credit to the right person and how hard working he is.

Teresa and Patrick finally address their relationship

This is probably the thing after Red John that interested me the most. Teresa (Robin Tunney) and Patrick have the oddest relationship, and she is more often than not exasperated with him, but she is also the only person that gets why he is the way he is and can fully cope with his mannerisms. It is good that they waited for Red John to be out of the picture – Patrick could not start a relationship if he hadn’t apprehended the monster in his life first.

Rating: 7/10

Although its usual length, The Mentalist season 6 felt like it took ages to get done. There were a lot of different things happening, so the feeling of being stretched wide is actually understandable.

The first 6 episodes are truly nail-biting and I would have rated those 8 had it been a separate season. Red John’s capture the extent of his power, the madness of the man and that final chase was scream worthy. I am really happy they didn’t spend the entire season on it; it would have been ridiculous to do that in the show’s sixth run. The man who played Red John (I don’t want to give too much away) was so frightening in the end. That voice flip still freaks me out to this day. A huge shout out to the show for finally revealing and ending the serial killer that has been tormenting Patrick for so long – I really don’t think that a seventh season of searching would have worked out at all.

The next couple of episodes deal with Jane’s hideout location, and how the FBI tracks him down to come work for them. I found it highly enjoyable because Patrick really did deserve a holiday after he put all that work in.

The majority of the last episodes are all cases with the FBI. The show evolves into purely procedural crime drama, and it works fine.  I really find Abbott amusing – he doesn’tmind at all to remind Jane who is in charge.

I loved Rigsby (Owain Yeoman) and Van Pelt’s (Amanda Righetti) relationship and how they made something for themselves outside the CBI and law-enforcement. One of the most intense scenes to me was with Rigsby hiding with their baby in the closet. I am a major fan of Rigsby and he is so cute as a father/husband/businessman. I am still a major fan of Cho and he should get some more screen time. He is so serious about his job and dedicated and momentarily hilarious most of the time.

The last few episodes slipped for me. It was without the jaw dropping emotion that had me hooked on this show from its first episode, and it just really felt tired. Simon Baker is still amazing as Patrick Jane. He is a great actor capable of projecting intense emotions. I mean, the whole human trafficking story could have been so much more if the writers were completely dedicated. That last episode could have been a lot more intense with the right aims. I did love Pedro Pascal as FBI agent Marcus Pike in here as well. When I realized that Oberyn Martell had crossed worlds to become an FBI agent I was really touched. His character was such a nice guy and you felt sorry for him even though he was messing with the plans of the show.

Have you seen this? What did you think?

September 19, 2014September 18, 2014 by Natasha Categories: Reviews, SeriesTags: Amanda Righetti, Grace van Pelt, Kimball Cho, Owain Yeoman, Patrick Jane, Red John, Reviews, Robin Tunney, Series, Simon Baker, Teresa Lisbon, The Mentalist, Tim Kang, Wayne Rigsby 6 Comments

Movie Review: The Other Woman (2014)

What happens? (The short version)

Carly (Cameron Diaz) has what seems like the perfect relationship with Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). When he cancels meeting her father for the first time, she is angry, but her father Frank (Don Johnson), convinces her that she overreacted and should surprise Mark at his house in Connecticut.

Carly is the one who gets the surprise when she finds Mark’s wife Kate (Leslie Mann) at the door. Embarrassed, she leaves, but Kate realizes something is amiss. Kate visits Carly the next day and when the truth comes out, Kate freaks but realizes that Carly never knew about Mark’s relationship.

Now Carly has to deal with her new best friend Kate and the knowledge that she was a mistress and she didn’t even know that. After meeting Kate’s Brother Phil (Taylor Kinney), Carly gets to know and like him. Phil is outraged that Mark cheated on his sister and warns Carly that Kate will eventually a breakdown when she the knowledge sinks in.

Mark King: I wouldn’t even be me without you. I might not always get it right, but I’m right where I want to be.

Carly and Kate visit Phil’s beach house to spy on Mark and yet another mistress, Amber (Kate Upton). Amber is devastated when she hears Mark’s wife is nothing like the evil, cheating bitch Mark had described to her.

The three ladies band together in their solid dislike of Mark, and devise plans to get back at him. But can their friendship survive after Mark falls? How will Kate handle the demise of her marriage? Is there a real future for Carly and Phil, who met under dubious circumstances at best?

Rating: 6/10

I actually enjoyed this one. It suited well as some light-hearted Sunday night viewing, something to chase away the thought that we would all be working in a few hours.

The plot line was pretty obvious from the start – anyone who thought Jamie Lannister was capable of a normal, functioning relationship should have their heads checked. I had some sympathy with Carly, because what happened to her was disgusting and unfair – how often do men (probably women too) lie about their relationship status?

I thought all was lost when Nicki Minaj entered the scene, and really wondered if Kim K would rock up and like, like everything. However, Minaj didn’t really get a lot of screen time, and what she was given she did semi-okay with. Her performance was still the most questionable, but not tearing-out-hair bad.

I will admit that I am not overly fond of Cameron Diaz. I don’t understand the hype around her and she really seems so mediocre.  I would give her performance here credit by saying it is not as irritating as usual.

How hot is Taylor Kinney?!?! I saw him recently in my rerun of Vampire Diaries, and man, that guy is fine. His acting is also good, it has improved and the role really suited him. I was wondering if Lady Gaga called Nicki and was like “hey girl, my boo needs work” and then they worked together, or if Minaj called Gaga and was like “girrrl, I need work”, and then Taylor said it is cool she can work on his new movie. Anyhow, I am glad Kinney was in here because he is one of the things that worked in this movie. PS: Is he still dating Gaga? If not, I am definitely available!

A serious plus in the movie is Taylor Kinney’s face!

Ugh, Kate Upton. Can she be any more perfect/gorgeous? Her acting chops equaled that of Christina Aguilera in Burlesque – not bad but you can see it is not their field of expertise.

What I loved about this movie is the connection these ladies made with each other. They were all screwed (quite literally) by the same man, but didn’t turn on each other as is the norm. In the end they worked together to destroy him and bonded and became friends. I would love if that happened more often, because hey, blaming just one person of the adulterous relationship is incredibly unfair.

This chick-flick gets points for being more realistic than the tons of other shit that floats around, especially Ghosts of Girlfriend’s Past. Friendship between a wife and a mistress isn’t really plausible, but it is more plausible than travelling back in time to witness your mistakes, if you know what I mean.

Have you seen this? What did you think?

September 18, 2014September 18, 2014 by Natasha Categories: Movies, ReviewsTags: Cameron Diaz, Don Johnson, Kate Upton, Leslie Mann, Movies, Nicki Minaj, Nikolaj Coster-Walday, Reviews, Taylor Kinney 4 Comments

Quote for the week

September 17, 2014 by Natasha Categories: Books, QuotesTags: Books, F. Scott Fitzgerald, literature, Quotes, Reading 10 Comments

Movie Review: Lucy (2014)

Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) is twenty five and lives in Taipei as a student. Her new boyfriend asks her to deliver a case to a Mr. Jang (Choi Min-Sik), and she refuses multiple times, but he cuffs the case to her arm and she is forced to enter the hotel and deliver the package.

Her boyfriend is shot before her eyes and Mr. Jang’s henchmen drags her to a suite, where she is forced to open the case. The case contains a new synthetic drug CPH4, and before she knows it, the drug is implanted in Lucy’s abdomen, and she must deliver within 24 hours or die when the plastic bag inside her disintegrates. Lucy is kept captive while waiting for the flight, but one of her captors kicks her and the bag breaks, opening it and pushing all those drugs into her system.

The effects are remarkable; something Professor Samuel Norman (Morgan Freeman) has hypothesised about but never had a hope to witness. Lucy contacts him and tells him what is happening to her and agrees to meet with him in twelve hours.

Lucy: We’ve codified our existence to bring it down to human size, to make it comprehensible, we’ve created a scale so we can forget its unfathomable scale

Meanwhile, there are still men with CPH4 in their bellies on the way to different countries. Lucy contacts Police Captain Pierre Del Rio (Amr Waked) in France to tell him what is happening, and he is convinced to take action. All three men are taken by the police and rushed to hospital, but the Taiwanese drug cartel takes also arrives to take the drug. Chaos ensues, but Lucy is able to get all three packets of CPH4 from the now dead drug mules.

As Lucy’s access to her brain capacity increases, she becomes telekinetic and able to manipulate people and matter. With these mind-blowing powers comes the knowledge that her body cannot bear the drugs infinitely and that she isn’t infinitely strong enough to survive all the mental capacity she is now subjected to. As she races to Professor Norman, Mr. Jang is still on his pursuit to get his drugs back. Can Lucy share her knowledge before her face off with Jang or her meeting with her own death?

Rating: 8/10

I saw this movie over this weekend thinking that we were actually going to watch Sex-tape because some of my friends claimed they were too scared to watch Lucy. I am so happy that I got to see this instead because yet another Jason Segal and Cameron Diaz movie is not at the top of my to-do list.

Lucy is a movie that is actually worth the hype. I get why people would want to see it. Gripping story plus good action usually wields excellent results.

I really enjoyed Scarlett Johansson, and Analeigh Tipton wasn’t enough on screen to irritate me. The story had an excellent pace and I really thought that even though the hypothesis was far-fetched, the story did what it could to remain believable. As Michael said in this blog post, we need more female leads in action movies that don’t constantly send out sexual innuendos and need a man to save her. Lucy did everything herself, she kicked ass, her tale didn’t revolve how tight her clothes was (ahem, Black Widow, Scarlett) and the men ended up awed by her powers.

Thoughts while watching:

Firstly, don’t trust the Taiwanese. I did not spot any Taiwanese in Lucy that had a smidgen of dignity.

Can Morgan Freeman please, please do the voice over for my life?

I need Lucy’s super skills for traffic every Monday morning.

Don’t date guys you meet in a drunken adventure in a club at night, and more importantly, leave the first time when he asks you to do something questionable outside a high powered hotel.

Spanish/French/Whatever cops with crooked noses are surprisingly hot. Maybe it is the accent?

Even though there are some questionable scientific discoveries, I really had fun watching this. Morgan Freeman looks and sounds like the highly qualified professor that he portrays, and then the man dumbstruck with the fact that what he has hypothesised has happened.

Reasons why I really liked it:

Female kicks ass – there are not nearly enough action movies, or any genre of movies for that sake, that hosts a female lead who seriously kicks everybody’s ass, finds a way to save herself and not need a man to do it.

Oh, science. I enjoyed Morgan Freeman as the Professor and I just enjoy movies where science is celebrated and explored.

Good acting, lady. My usual range of comments about Scarlett Johansson is not always flattering, but she deserves accolades for Lucy. I thought she coped exceptionally well with having an unimaginable amount of life threatening drugs in her system. SJ was a superhero at the end of the day, and I didn’t even feel sorry for anyone she took out of her way – they truly deserved that.

Good recipe of drugs, drama, action and sadness. What do you do when you realise that you have unimaginable knowledge for a short time and then you will die? You contact the leading academic in the field, lure the madman out who is responsible for your upcoming death, give the police of France a day they will never forget and kick serious but. I wasn’t bored even once, I didn’t wonder when it would end and the action scenes weren’t boringly drawn out till I wanted to cry.

Recommendation: You won’t be ruining your day by watching this, but if you are scared easily I won’t recommend it. Go give it a try!

September 16, 2014September 15, 2014 by Natasha Categories: Movies, ReviewsTags: action, Amr Waked, Analeigh Tipton, Choi Min-Sik, CPH4, Lucy, Morgan Freeman, Movies, Pierre Del Rio, Professor Samuel Norman, Reviews, Scarlett Johansson, Sci-Fi 9 Comments