(4) TV Preview: The Hundred

The Hundred is based off the book, The 100 Kass Morgan, a 2013 debut.  The book is released later, and looks good.  The Hundred is just one of the few YA adaptions that were circulating this year, but it beat out contenders like The Selection for a spot on the CW this fall.

It's not one I'm super excited for, but the concept-- almost a century after evacuating earth, 100 juvenile delinquents are sent to try and recolonize-- and the promise of Henry Ian Cusick (Desmond, anybody?) make it look like something I would like.  I plan on checking out the book when it's released, and you can expect a review!

Here are the two covers I found for the book.  I like them both, but actually don't know which one is real.

Book Review: Supernaturally

In order to avoid spoilers this will be a rather vague review.  Basically, not much really happened until the ending, which was rather predictable.  The book retained its “cutesy” atmosphere the whole time, even in the darkest moments which makes it hard to take this book seriously.  Character-wise, I think that Jack was the most interesting and that only Evie really grew.  Lend’s charm wore off since he’s far from the exotic shape shifter he started off as and there are no secrets between him and Evie.  Evie, on the other hand, is good at keeping secrets from him.  Having them in normal situations was rather dull and I wish there had been more time running or hiding or… something.  None-the-less, I really do need a lighter reading load (and this is a light book) because my life has been full of so many stressful heavy things, my brain needs a break.  If it were any other time, I probably wouldn’t be rating this as high.  Again, the story-lines in these books are uber-original, so I can’t complain about that.  Have the next one on my shelf, but I don’t know when I plan on getting to it.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

(3) TV Preview: Intelligence

Intelligence was the one show I was most rooting for this season.  As soon as I heard Josh Holloway was working on the pilot for a show (if you didn’t know, I’m a huge Lost fan) I jumped on board the idea.  Then Meghan Ory (love her too!) joined and I knew I was in love.  The idea behind the show sounds pretty awesome too.  Basically, Josh’s character Gabriel Black is the military’s secret weapon because he has a chip implanted in his head that allows him to do stuff no one else can.  Meghan’s character, Riley O’Neil, is assigned to be his handler of sorts.  Intelligence will be airing on CBS at 10pm and will be a midseason show.  And, if you’re really interested, it’s based of the upcoming YA debut novel Phoenix Island by John Dixon.  How cool is that?

 

Memorial Day

This is one of my favorite songs and I think a good way to honor those who have given their lives for our country.  They deserve so much more, but I think this is a good start.

America by Imagine Dragons

(2) TV Preview: Resurrection

There isn't too much out about this show.  The basic idea is that all these dead people in town come back to life, fully normal and human, as if no time has passed at all.  That's the show's summary.  Normally that wouldn't really catch my interest because it sounds so flimsy, but the idea is rather unique.  I can't really say to much about the show right now, because there's nothing to share, but I am excited to see what happens with it.

If you're interested, it's based off the book The Returned by Jason Mott.  I plan on picking it up.  How about you?

Movie Review: Oblivion

I know, I'm a little late to the game with this one.  In fact, I had to drive about half an hour to just get to a theater that was still showing it.  At first, when the previews were just coming out, I wasn't that interested.  It was just another Tom Cruise action flick.  But then the trailer above really caught my eye and I decided I had to see it.

In Oblivion Tom's character, Jack Harper, and Andrea Riseborough's character, Victoria, are the only two humans left on earth.  Their job is to keep track of the drones- basically fighting machines- that in turn take care of destroying Scav's- the aliens that tried to take over earth- and protect the drills that are working on sucking the ocean's dry to use as energy on the new home for humans, Titan.  Jack is drawn to the idea of earth and wishes he could have remembered living there while Victoria just wants to get home to the other humans.

There's a deep mythology to the end of the world and the dynamics, and it's interesting enough, except that it takes a while to tell.  Plus, there are so many secrets that need to be revealed, there are several parts where it drags.  But the secrets- oh! the secrets!- are probably the best part!  They really do catch you off guard and you feel a little more fulfilled for having them there.  Because, without the mythology and surprises around every corner, it really is just another Tom Cruise action flick.

I was happy with the movie, in fact I was rather glad I got to see it on the big screen because with all the special effects it looked really nice.  My only complaint is that the graphic novel it was based on (by the same guy who directed the movie) wasn't actually released.  I would have loved to read it.  There's still hope!

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

(1) TV Preview: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Welcome to my first TV Preview post.  I'll be doing these for the next week to showcase the new shows I'm most interested in for the 2013-2014 season.  First up is a no brainer - SHIELD: Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.

Doesn't this just send shivers through your spine?  It looks so good!  "Welcome to level seven." 

 



And here's the cast!
From right to left, we've got Chloe Bennet playing Skye; Elizabeth Henstridge playing Jemma Simmons; Iain De Caestecker playing Leo Fitz; Clark Gregg playing Phil Coulson (!!!!!!!!!He's alive!!!!!!); Ming-Na Wen playing Melinda May; and Brett Dalton playing Grant Ward.

The pilot is directed by the fantastic Joss Whedon, so what could go wrong?

It'll be on ABC Tuesdays, and I think I may just have to watch this show live if I can.  That says a lot because I have pretty much no time during the year to watch things live. 

What do you guys think?  How do you think Coulson's alive?  Share your theories and hopes and dreams for the show in the comments.

Also, don't touch Lola.

Star Trek Update (1)

My goal this summer is to go through every single season of every single series of Star Trek, start to finish, movies included.

I've seen both of Abram's new movies (OMGosh I loved them!!), and several episodes from varying seasons.  I've grown up in a family of Geeks (only the other day we were debating getting life size Iron Man armor) but I've never sat through the whole series so I figured it was time.  So in these posts I'll be talking about how I feel about each episode I've seen.  You can expect about a post a week, but be warned, because some days I can watch several hours of television (current record is somewhere between 8 and 10 Supernatural episodes).

To start it off, the Pilot of The Original Series, "The Cage":
The pilot is about Capt. Pike, so at first I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy it.  I really just wanted to get to Capt. Kirk and comp., but I watched it anyways.  I liked it.  The story kept me captivated even when the special effects did not.  However, I can appreciate the special effects because they actually weren't crappy, but decently got the job done without to much glitz to them.  They seemed more real life.  As a pilot it gave a pretty good idea of how the show was going to turn out and what was planned.  In the end I give it a 4 out of 5, pilot wise.  Episode wise it probably only gets a 3 out of 5.

Next I watched "The Man Trap":
Finally we get to see Capt. Kirk and comp.!  I found myself immersed in this episode and was waiting for the ending like I would anything else-- both hoping it would come so I could see how it wrapped up and get to the next one, and hoping it wouldn't come so I could spend even more time with these characters.  I give it 3 out of 5.

Finally, this morning I saw "Charlie X":
It had some parallels to the pilot, but gave us more of Jim.  I give this, too, a 3 out of 5.

Book Review: Ballad

Ballad is the second book in a trilogy by Maggie Stiefvater.  It is yet to be finished, but she's at work on Requiem.  The first book, Lament, was good, but not her best work.  Ballad is better, but I feel like by having a different character narrate, we lost a lot of the action and got out of touch with Dee, who I would say is the main character.

Ballad takes place a couple months after Lament.  James and Dee have decided to attend Thornking-Ash, a school for the musically gifted.  James went to follow Dee, who he loves even though she doesn't love him back.  Dee is the cloverhand, which means she attracts fairies and is pretty much disliked by most of Them.  James is psychic, and also a fantastic piper, which draws Nuala (pronounced Noola), a Leanan Sidhe (pronounced Len-an-shee) to himself.  Nuala is there to make a deal with him- give him amazing music and take years off his life.

Over all it's a standard book, there's romance, action, and music (Maggie Stiefvater style, of course).  It took a while for me to get into it, but that happened with Lament, too, so it may just be I need to warm up to these stories.  Once I was in the thick of it I didn't want to put it down.  I even found myself losing track of time as I read it.  It was really great to be immersed in the story.

Now I've read every single Maggie Stiefvater book and am quite proud of the fact.  I don't own them all (my next goal, of course), but having read them is great.  I wouldn't really recommend this series unless you're a fan of Stiefvater or of Fairies, because in the end, there isn't some special draw.

Book Review: Paranormalcy

So I've been gone for two months.  Really, I'm sorry.  Computer problems have kept me away, but Paranormalcy by Kiersten White.

that shouldn't be a problem much longer.  Anyway, I thought I'd kick off my return with the review of the book I just finished,

This is the first in a trilogy and centers on Evie, the only person who can see past the glamours Paranormals put up to hide from the normal world.  She works for IPCA, a international containment agency for Paranormals.  Evie's always wanted a normal life, but has always been deprived it.  She's also been deprived a lot of knowledge of the IPCA, even as she works there.  Then one day Lend, a mysterious new paranormal, shows up.  He can shape shift into anyone and his kind has never been seen before.  Evie spends time with Lend, falling in love with him, and then something starts killing Paranormals.  This something, or someone, is intrinsically linked to Evie, and she'd like to know how.

Basically, this is one of those books that incorporates a bajillion types of mythical stuff into it.  There are no real "rules" for specific type of creature.  Sometimes this works well, sometimes not so much.  This book is one of those that works out well.  I was unhappy that there was a lot of focus on fairies, though, because I really wanted to explore IPCA and the types of Paranormals that roamed the world.  Neither of those things happened, and I think that crippled the story.

Also, the pacing had a few problems nearing the end of the book, and Lend's character kind of fell apart.  He was all set up to be this deep, mysterious guy, but then it turns out he really is just a two dimensional character.  Maybe I just feel this way because it was a lighter book, in need of lighter characters, but I was a little disappointed.

If White was trying to set up a love triangle between Reth, Evie, and Lend, she failed.  Reth was a jerk, I mean I really, really hated him, so it really wasn't a love triangle.  I would, however, like to get to know his character a bit more, and then maybe I could like him.

Evie herself was fun.  Her obsession with the color pink got on my nerves, but really it was fine.  The way she acted about her favorite TV show, though, that's exactly how I act about my shows.  It was really funny to see it play out on the page like that, but I loved it.  That kind of personal connection is rare, so I'm glad I found it.

Well, I've got the next two books on my shelf and ready to read, so we'll see how they go.  Till next time, Just keep reading one page at a time.