Posts Tagged ‘Reviews’

Flightplan

// October 2nd, 2005 // 2 Comments » // tagged:

A mother’s worst nightmare comes to life in Jodie Foster’s newest suspense movie – Flightplan. Kyle (Foster) and her 6-year old daughter Julia are on a trans-atlantic jumbo-jet flight (with Kyle’s husband’s body in the cargo hold). A few hours into the flight, Kyle can’t find her daughter. The US Marshall on board and the flight crew searches the enormous plane but Julia isn’t found. Kyle happens to be one of the engineers who developed the plane … and she knows all sorts of hiding places. Eventually we learn that no one on the plane remembers seeing 6-year old Julia – and her name isn’t on the passenger list. How can this be happening? How can a little girl go missing on a plane? And the real question on everyones minds eventually becomes … was she ever there in the first place?

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The Taking

// July 9th, 2005 // No Comments » // tagged:

Not one of Koontz’s best. This story centers around a couple who wake up in the middle of the night in a rainstorm the likes of which neither has everseen. The gal hangs out with some coyotes, they see weird things in mirrors, and like The Sixth Sense – the see dead people. Lots of them. Yadda Yadda Yadda. Weird fungi growing everywhere with people’s faces in it. 300 pages later, they’re still seeing dead people, hanging out with some super-smart dogs who help them find children, and then suddenly everything changes again. The resolution to this book is lame … lame … lame. All this build-up – and then – er, ok.

A quick read – but not even a big Koontz fan like me could recommend it as an entertaining read. Hopefully Koontz was just smoking crack or something when he wrote this one. Now Velocity … that’s another story. A GOOD one.

Life Expectancy

// June 26th, 2005 // 3 Comments » // tagged:

This was a really good read – I laughed out loud several times while reading Life Expectancy – there are some really witty and funny scenes mixed in with Koontz standard dose of horror!

Jimmy Tock is born at the very moment his grandfather dies – but not before the grandfather unexpectedly makes several predictions about Jimmy’s life – 5 terrible days. (The grandfather doesn’t mention the night of his birth as one of the 5 days. On that night, we see a man go on a murderous rampage in the maternity ward. A man who will forever be entwined in the fate of our hero, Jimmy.)

We journey along with Jimmy and his family – through the 5 terrible days – seeing a wonderful family who love and support each other through the best and worst times in life. You truly grow to love these characters – Jimmy, his parents & grandmother, and, of course, his quick-witted, beautiful and courageous wife. You’re rooting for them as they approach each day – wondering what terrible thing will happen; there seems to be no escaping the 5 terrible days.

And the ending. Great Ending. On the 5th terrible day – when it’s all said and done – they end up meeting the terms of the “deal” with Punchinello after all ;)

Great book – definitely recommend it :)

Velocity

// June 22nd, 2005 // No Comments » // tagged:

Got this new Dean Koontz book yesterday via the amazon marketplace . I ended up reading the whole thing last night in about 2 hours. It’s one of those books that is so incredibly fast-paced that you find you have read 100 pages and you haven’t even reached for your glass of Diet Coke. It’s a gripping story – with a likeable and yet dark hero, Billy Wiles. Billy gets caught in this cycle of choices – each choice leading to an even more horrible one. There seems to be no escaping the path he most surely is heading down …

Great book. One of those I had to finish before going to bed — or I knew I’d have nightmares of “the freak” :scared:

The Notebook

// June 17th, 2005 // 4 Comments » // tagged:

Started watching this last night on my computer while I was doing some work – within a few minutes I had moved down to watch it on the bigscreen. This is one of the few Nicholas Sparks books that I hadn’t read – so I didn’t know the storyline for the movie (although evidently they did change the movie a bit; especially the ending.)

What a sweet love story – and excellent performances by everyone – James Garner, Gena Rowlands – and especially Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. The onscreen chemistry between Gosling and McAdams was amazing. I was watching one of the DVD extras after finishing the movie — and even in their screentest it was like wow – great chemistry.

The setting of this movie is absolutely gorgeous as well. The scene in the river – with all the geese – simply beautiful. Every shot seemed to be so well-thought-out. Gorgeous.

I love a good romance and storyline – and don’t mind having a little cry at the end; this movie delivered.

The Time Traveler’s Wife

// May 7th, 2005 // 1 Comment » // tagged:

The Time Traveler’s Wife is a thought-provoking novel by Audrey Niffenegger with a storyline that includes sci-fi, drama and romance. Henry De Tamble, our tragic hero, is cursed/blessed with the ability to travel in time – within his own lifetime that is. The book switches point-of-view frequently: from Henry, at different ages, and at different spaces in time, and from Clare, his wife. (This isn’t a book you can read without concentrating. You don’t find yourself having read a page with no idea what happened.) Sometimes Henry visits himself as a child; sometimes he visits his wife, Clare when she was a child; He doesn’t have control over where in time he goes. The time-travel is a large part of the book — and yet it is merely the backdrop for a discussion on love, inner strength, and the courage to get through what life hands you.

The concept of “chrono-displacement” (that’s what the doctors call Henry’s disorder) is a fascinating topic for a book — I wonder if there will be a sequel. I’d definitely pick it up at the bookstore.

Survivor in Death

// March 1st, 2005 // No Comments » // tagged:

Giving any of the “In Death” books 4 stars isn’t hard for me — I LOVE this series. Eve and Roarke are characters I’ve grown to love while reading this 22+ book series. This newest book in the series is sure to please Roarke/Eve fans – although those who read it more for the mystery than for the relationships might be a bit disappointed. It all starts with the brutal murder of an entire family … save one little girl. The “bad guys” aren’t very well fleshed-out – though I think this book was intended to be more focused on Eve and Roarke dealing with a child – and the horrible memories of their own childhoods – than on the mystery that the books usually focus on.

If you’re already a J.D. Robb fan – you’ll enjoy the book. I love series books – so I love having a 22+ book series. If you haven’t read any of this series yet … start with the first one – Naked in Death.

My Dog Skip

// January 18th, 2005 // 8 Comments » // tagged:

A wonderful boy meets dog movie. Watched this over the Christmas holidays at my parents house. Our dog MacGyver was out on the porch and we just had to go out and give him a hug when this movie was over. A sweet, sweet movie. Frankie Muniz is perfect in the role of Willie, a young and awkward boy whose life is changed for the better when his mom gives him a dog for his 9th birthday. The dog, a cuter than cute Jack Russell Terrier, helps Willie grow into himself, gain confidence, make friends, AND meet girls ;) We all had tears in our eyes through-out the movie :cry: … it’s a feel-good, coming of age, wonderful story. Have I mentioned that it’s a good movie? ;)

If you’re an animal lover, you’ll really enjoy this family movie. If you aren’t an animal lover … what’s wrong with you? :think:

Deep Fire Rising

// January 9th, 2005 // 1 Comment » // tagged:

I like discovering new authors I enjoy – and Jack DuBrul is definitely going on my list. My dad loaned me this book – saying it was particularly interesting considering the recent events in Indonesia. The book is fast-paced and extremely interesting. Our hero, Phillip Mercer, is a world-renowned geologist (who is also the hero of several other DuBrul novels) who is pulled into a top-secret project at the infamous Area 51. We have a secret Order who can somehow predict natural disasters and yet does nothing to stop them, a mysterious underground experiment gone wrong, and a doomsday event prediction that is eerily similar to the recent tsunami in Indian Ocean. Overall it was a suspenseful read … and I’ll be picking up a few more DuBrul novels for a great weekend read!

Trace

// November 22nd, 2004 // 4 Comments » // tagged:

I’ve been waiting for the next Scarpetta novel for almost a year.

I would have waited a little bit longer if it would have meant a better book.

This isn’t Patricia Cornwell’s finest writing … nowhere close. You can’t quite get into the story til about 2/3 through … and then it still doesn’t gel. The ending is so fast you almost miss it. Don’t blink … or you’ll miss the solving of the mystery. I literally had to turn back a page because I thought I must be missing some pages.

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