All reviews - Movies (232) - TV Shows (31) - DVDs (79) - Books (175) - Music (36) - Games (1)

Impulse review

Posted : 3 months, 2 weeks 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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Mad Money review

Posted : 3 months, 2 weeks ago on 23 June 2008 07:17 (A review of Mad Money)

You know... the story's cute and the characters really meshed well together. There's a few quirky moments where I actually laughed out-loud. But overall, the whole plot is asinine and the idea that anyone would get away with it is ridiculous.

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Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs review

Posted : 3 months, 2 weeks ago on 23 June 2008 07:15 (A review of Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs)

It's Futurama! So expect the usual from the cartoon, including off-colour jokes and ridiculous space plots. Definitely liked this one better than "Bender's Big Score"

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21 review

Posted : 3 months, 2 weeks ago on 23 June 2008 07:11 (A review of 21)

Ugh... interesting plot... but really just a teen flick. There's nothing in this movie that'll get you talking about it or that will even impress you. It's all been done so many times and there are much better casino/gambling movies out there.

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New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2) review

Posted : 3 months, 3 weeks ago on 22 June 2008 07:36 (A review of New Moon (The Twilight Saga, Book 2))

Why do girls always go for the most complicated and damaged ones?!

I personally don't have such a great attachment to Edward as other readers seem to. I believe he's great for creating a lot of emotional tension, but outside of that his and Bella's relationship is really just obsessive. I was rather upset about the extent to which Bella was broken up in this novel, to the point of catatonia. Maybe that's a personal issue, that I dislike the fact that someone would be so dependent on another for their happiness.

This is kind of why I like Jacob. Their relationship starts off as this great friendship and the desire to hang out simply because they like each other. There's no big weight between them, or this need to be uber-secretive and protective. I'm a little miffed about what happens between the Bella and Jake, and that Meyer felt she had to take it in such a direction. It seems she's firmly planted in Edward's camp and won't allow Bella to get past that.

What I did like was the fact that there was more action. I felt much more like there was something going on in this story, rather than an overly long, romantic introduction to the characters. I'm not sure that I would have been able to tolerate that for another four hundred pages; I like some substance.

And though I wasn't a fan of the fact that Bella completely falls apart, I do like the way Meyer wrote it; which is to say that she didn't write it at all and just indicated the passage of time. I thought that was nicely done.

I enjoyed the novel and do look forward to reading the next installments... but I'm beginning to wonder what all the fuss is about. I'm glad that these novels have opened a new world of reading and the urban fantasy genre to younger readers... but there are tons of books with teens vamps. Why have readers so latched onto this one?

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Feast of Fools (Morganville Vampires) (Morganville Vampires) review

Posted : 3 months, 3 weeks ago on 19 June 2008 06:10 (A review of Feast of Fools (Morganville Vampires) (Morganville Vampires))

Raise your hand if you're sick of cliffhanger endings?! Is there a reason these stories couldn't have been made into two or three longer novels, rather than spreading them out like this? Grr!

Moving on... What I do love is the fact that the "good guys" and "bad guys" can be interchangeable in this series. It's not completely cut and dry, with those thinking we're meant to utterly hate, occasionally surprising us. Claire seems to be able to find allies in the oddest of places.

This story gives us a glimpse into the traditions and ceremonies for Morganville vampires. That's often one of the more interesting part of vampire novels, if only because it's like glimpsing into a different nationality, or the customs of a country we've not heard much about. It tends to add some depth and makes the whole universe more convincing.

As an adult reader, I am also liking the tension between Shane and Claire; though I believe it's overly erring on the side of caution. Maybe because of experience and the fact that I am far more liberal, or maybe because I feel as if it's not at all representative of the times we're in, but it just seems to me that it's all so... "virginal." I get that the message is a good one for young girls, but it just doesn't stick with me. That's not to say I'd like Caine to get all explicit on us, but rather allow the characters romantically experience a little more, or at least talk to each other.

All in all, decent, and it definitely shadows some intense action and maybe al all-out war for the next novel.

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Queen of Babble in the Big City review

Posted : 3 months, 4 weeks ago on 15 June 2008 01:48 (A review of Queen of Babble in the Big City)

It's impossible for me to judge whether this story was good or not... mostly because it tends to stand for a lot of things I had about books for women these days. A lot of chick lit seems to center around vaguely vapid girls who are overly concerned with money and fashionable brands. This really wasn't what I thought it was when I picked it up, but I should have known better. I guess if that's your thing you'll enjoy it all... but outside of that, it just got on my nerves.

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Surrender My Love review

Posted : 3 months, 4 weeks ago on 15 June 2008 01:44 (A review of Surrender My Love)

Yet another romance novel based on a kidnapping/slave plot. It truly unfortunate because it's not particularly my idea of romantic. Perhaps this is because I believe it's incredibly insulting and don't think anyone in their right mind would be very forgiving about this... regardless of the era.

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The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford review

Posted : 3 months, 4 weeks ago on 14 June 2008 07:31 (A review of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford)

It has to be said above all else that you must have great patience in watching this movie. I find that this is the kind of movie that most people these days won't enjoy because it's slow, long, and very much character based. There's no great action or old-fashioned western shoot-em-up's. I found the movie, personally, to be rather divine. There's a very dream-like quality to the filming and there are so many quiet moments. It's incredibly intense and both Pitt and Affleck's characters are at times creepy, and other times rather serene. Sometimes, it felt very much like a painting that you find yourself staring out for hours, fascinated, without ever really knowing why.

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Jumper review

Posted : 4 months ago on 9 June 2008 05:56 (A review of Jumper)

At the very least, this was entertaining. It was greatly flawed though, and a lot of the plot and romance was rubbish. If it had concentrated a lot more in the science fiction part of it all - What makes a jumper? What is the science behind the jumping? What are the morals or ethics involved with jumping? - than perhaps the movie could have been salvaged. It was a really just a general bland "Wee! look at me travel!" when it should have delved far more into the consequences and ramifications of the whole jumping concept.

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