All reviews - Movies (204) - TV Shows (28) - DVDs (79) - Books (155) - Music (36) - Games (1)

Chill Factor: Book Three of the Weather Warden review

Posted : 1 day, 3 hours ago on 2 July 2008 04:07 (A review of Chill Factor: Book Three of the Weather Warden)

I think maybe Caine hates Joanne... because I can't imagine an author who loves their character putting her through so much pain and agony! :P

It's absolutely amazing the beating that Joanne takes in this novel. In reality, I can't imagine anyone going through that and not wanting to curl up and die. I suppose that's meant to be a testament to how strong she is... but I'm just too caught up in how ridiculous it is!

But the story itself is good. There's quite a bit of background in here and we learn a little more about Joanne's principles. It's interesting to see how she handles everything while being betrayed by people she cares so much about. Her integrity is also questioned quite a few times in the story and we really get a sense of how important Joanne feels her work is.

It builds up nicely and I really like that the Weather Warden universe continues to evolve. Though you wonder how many times they can really save the world from total annihilation, the characters themselves and the world they live in is constantly changing. That's refreshing and probably really helps the series from becoming too stale.

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Guitar Girl review

Posted : 1 day, 4 hours ago on 2 July 2008 03:07 (A review of Guitar Girl)

A suprisingly sweet and quick read. I was a little disappointed that it jumped so quickly into the fame bit of the story, as I would have liked to have read more about those struggles, the recording, and the writing. But, I do believe that it just mirrored that idea that everything happened so fast for Molly. I loved the ending and the letter - very touching - and Molly was a wonderful character.

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Fool's Gold review

Posted : 2 days, 4 hours ago on 1 July 2008 03:52 (A review of Fool's Gold)

Entertaining, and typical McConaughey. The movie is definitely recommended for those who enjoy the treasure hunting scenarios, or who were fans of "Sahara"... same movie, different location.

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The Lake House review

Posted : 2 days, 4 hours ago on 1 July 2008 03:48 (A review of The Lake House)

Although utterly implausible, there's something really soft and likable about the movie. I didn't particularly care for the lack of chemistry between Bullock and Reeves... but as they spend so little time actually together on-screen, it's really easy to overlook. It will definitely tug at the heart strings for any romantic.

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Stop Loss review

Posted : 2 days, 9 hours ago on 1 July 2008 10:47 (A review of Stop Loss)

I don't find it very easy to watch any movies these days about soldiers fighting in Iraq. There's a lot of political weight to it all, but it's also emotional. I liked this movie for concentrating largely on those emotions. A lot of ups and downs, lots of questions about what we're doing over there and what's happening to these people. I was not a fan of the ending, but I'm not sure it could really have ended any other way. It makes sense for the context, but is heartbreaking nonetheless.

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Step Up 2: The Streets review

Posted : 2 days, 11 hours ago on 1 July 2008 08:31 (A review of Step Up 2: The Streets)

If you watched and enjoyed the first movie, then you'll have no trouble getting into this one as well. Though the plots are very similar, I found that the first one seemed to have a little more heart. You cared about the characters a little more and it was about blending the dances, not strictly urban/b-boy type stuff.

In this movie, all you really care about is the dancing. There's amazing choreography in here for the group stuff... and of course the ending dance sequence is high energy. My hats off to the dancers and to all the hard work that went into that. Some of the solo stuff at the beginning, though, was a little chaotic and all-over the place, but it comes together nicely. Also, it was nice to see a cameo by the Jabbawockeez.

The most irritating part? Probably the gross overuse of the "the streets" ... That got old really fast.

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War, Inc. review

Posted : 4 days, 23 hours ago on 28 June 2008 08:11 (A review of War, Inc.)

Very funny and satirical. There are some parts that are so odd, they're almost like a spoof. But unfortunately, the story is fairly lame and just falls short of impressive. Somewhere along the line it loses it's message.

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Betrayed (House of Night, Book 2) review

Posted : 6 days, 4 hours ago on 27 June 2008 03:07 (A review of Betrayed (House of Night, Book 2))

The Casts have written a great follow-up to "Betrayal." I find myself really liking the House of Night universe, its concepts, and its traditions.

I was shocked by the death of one of the characters, but I applaud the way it was written. It was incredibly touching and worked into the story so nicely. Along the same lines, I'm a big fan of characters that aren't always what they seem; good guys becoming bad guys, and vice versa. Very realistic and it's far less two-dimensional, which is often an issue with teen novels.

What isn't realistic is the possible Anita Blake-ness of Zoey (see: Laurell K. Hamilton). So, we haven't gotten into all-out explicit sex, but there are hints of it. I don't mind the level it's at night, but I'm hoping that won't become a main focus of the future stories. Zoey's also being written as one of those "everybody falls in love with her" characters... the men always finding her irresistible and special. I'm really hoping that we're not going to get this crazy love pentagon where there are so many characters to flirt with it takes away from any actual plot. This is, of course, a personal preference and many readers may not particularly care about that.

Outside of that, a good read and it's a hard one to put down.

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Biting the Bullet (Jaz Parks, Book 3) review

Posted : 6 days, 5 hours ago on 27 June 2008 02:56 (A review of Biting the Bullet (Jaz Parks, Book 3))

I was a big fan of the first two novels in this series, and now somehow feel a little letdown by this one. I'm not sure if it's that I wasn't into the storyline wholeheartedly, or if it was indeed the writing, but I feel like I was missing something.

I actually checked the internet and the spine of the book more than once to see I hadn't actually skipped over a book. I think it's because it started so quickly into the action and Jaz's storytelling that you didn't get a chance to absorb it or settle into the premise.

I was also perplexed by the amount of backtracking. It would be two sentences in the present time, then back a couple of hours, then forward one, back one, and then finally coming back to the present time. It was filled with stories within stories within stories. A couple of times, it is valid... but otherwise there was no reason we couldn't have followed Jaz along, rather than have her backtrack constantly like that. It just got a little confusing and tended to muddle the pace.

Vayl was also very odd and seemingly did things that were rather out of character for him. He wasn't present as much as before, and when he was I just couldn't connect him with the ideal that I had previously formed about him.

I found these little things irritating me while I rad so I just couldn't find myself as absorbed in the story as the other two novels. With that being said, I do like Jaz and Vayl (in general) and so I'm hoping the next one will renew some of my earlier enthusiasm.

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Impulse review

Posted : 1 week, 3 days ago on 23 June 2008 07:23 (A review of Impulse)

I really wanted to like this one, mostly because of how much I've enjoyed Hopkins' other work. And, technically, there's nothing really wrong with the story, I just sort of missed her old format of prose/poetry. The others were laid out so visually and sometimes there were key phrases separated from the rest. This one followed more like an actual story and might have served better as an actual novel. All that aside, the ending from some of the characters is a bit much of a "happy ending" and too convenient. You read it the whole time waiting for the pin to drop, but you see it coming from miles away. This gave me too much time to prep for it and therefore didn't have the emotional impact it should have.

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