Mini Movie Reviews || A bit of both rant and raving!

Name: Wonder Woman
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Romance, [Young-Adult]
Director: Patty Jenkins
Cast: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Robin Wright
Release Date: 2 June 2017 (USA)
My Rating:

THIS!! ❤ I loved this movie so freaking much and though I was a little bit that it wouldn’t live up to my expectations because the hype surrounding this movie but I’m so glad it did. Princess Diana has never been outside the Amazons where she had trained her whole life. When she learns about the war ravaging mankind, she understands it must be Ares, the God of war who had come back to take his place back in the world by destroying God’s creations, aka men.

I was hooked from the very start. The story unfolds in a beautiful yet strong way. When an opportunity presents itself, Diana takes it upon herself to save mankind. I loved Gal Gafot so freaking much. I would have been imagined a better Wonder Woman than her. She was simply perfect for this role. This movie is not only enjoyable but also empowering. I watched it with my little brother and we both had so much fun.

The war was portrayed realistically and the Dr. Maru or the poison woman was really, really vicious. I hated her from the very start and I guess Diana pardoned herself due to the better cause but I hope she gets the ultimate punishment. I loved Steve!! I mean, I have always adored Chris Pine but the ending!! Why, oh why!! Nonetheless, I loved the action sequences, they were pretty kickass and I enjoyed every moment of it.

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Name: Before I Fall
Genre: Paranormal, Romance, [Young-Adult]
Director: Ry Russo-Young
Cast: Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage, Cynthy Wu
Release Date: 3 March 2017 (USA)
My Rating:

I went into the movie fully knowing what was about to come but it still managed to break my heart. Although this movie did not manage to capture me like the book (obviously -.-) but it definitely had its moments. I wish we had more of Sam and Kent, he was portrayed by perfectly but we only got very little of him. Nonetheless, Sam was this pretty and mean queen bee as portrayed in the books. All her other friends were cast perfectly too. I hated how everyone treated Juliet, I hated the fact that Sam didn’t stand up for her in front of everyone. It would have been nice if the movie provided some sort of closure with how everything ended. This movie stayed pretty true to the book and although the middle felt a bit slow but it was because of the fact that how everything repeats itself and the way how the book is narrated. Overall it was an enjoyable watch.

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Name: Beauty and the Beast
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, [Young-Adult]
Director: Bill Condon
Cast: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans
Release Date: 17 March 2017 (USA)
My Rating:

Unpopular opinion alert! I usually enjoy musicals. I mean it’s in my genes since I grew up with all the Bollywood movies but I didn’t quite enjoy this as much as I had hoped. Don’t get me wrong, Emma was just perfection just as I wished Belle would have been but all the continuous extravagant singing and dancing were giving me a headache. But I did enjoy this movie, I loved the beast and the enjoyed the fighting sequences. I especially loved the tea cup lady and the ending was joyous and truly beautiful.

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Name: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Horror, Romance, [Young-Adult]
Director: Burr Steers
Cast: Lily James, Sam Riley, Jack Huston
Release Date: 5 February 2016 (USA)
My Rating:

I seriously loved reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen during my 2nd year of college. I hadn’t read this book but I was pretty excited for this movie and honestly, it pretty much lived up to my expectations. I loved the action and the sassiness along with the humour which kept me engaged throughout the book. Although I didn’t enjoy Lily James as Cinderella but I adored her as Elizabeth. She upholds her character and stood true to the original character. The zombies were definitely a horrific part of the film, and I hated how a particular character played a part in that but it was a no brainer. Darcy, I would have expected a bit more from him but in the end, I was satisfied. There were definitely oh-my-god moments and the last scene after the credits nearly killed me and finally when the scene cut off and ringa ringa roses emerged in the background, it gave me chills to my bones.

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Name: Letters to Juliet
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, [Adult]
Director: Gary Winick
Cast: Amanda Seyfried, Gael García Bernal, Vanessa Redgrave
Release Date: 14 May 2010 (USA)
My Rating:

This was such a sweet and romantic movie. I loooved it so much. Sophie had always wanted to be a writer and when she visits Verona, Italy with her fiance, she gets to meet the “Secretaries of Juliet”, a group of women who write back replies to the letters of love, trouble and heartbreak on the wall, she can’t help but feel intrigued. And when she finds one by her own which hadn’t been replied over for years, she takes it upon herself to write the lady back regarding her dilemma about love. And now, with her encouraging words, that lady is back to conquer her lost love she left behind all those years ago.

Honestly, this movie was such a great ride. It was filled with fun and adventure and the promise of love. Claire ran away from love when she was young but after getting Sophie’s letter, she returns to find the man she once loved accompanied by her grandson Charlie who tries to persuade her to go back in every step. This was a story not only about love but also about discovering oneself and knowing what the heart really wanted. I loved how the story unfolded, it was funny and humorous at times. Even the angry young man of a grandson aka Charlie felt the change in himself with Juliet along for the ride. I loved the chemistry between them and I liked how maturely Sophie handled things with her fiance. The ending was super sweet and it melted my heart.

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Name: The Boss Baby
Genre: Animation, Comedy
Director: Tom McGrath
Cast/Voice: Alec Baldwin, Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Kimmel
Release Date: 31 March 2017 (USA)
My Rating:

This was a super fun watch! I watched this with my brother as well and both enjoyed it very much. When the babies are ready to be delivered from Baby Cory, most of them get chosen into a family while some get their duties assigned to management. The boss baby is one of that few who comes to Tim’s house as his new baby brother with the intention of fulfilling his mission of collecting information about Puppy Co who is stealing all the attention from the babies which is leading to the loss of their company.

The relationship between the baby boss and Tim started on bitter terms since Tim was the only child and he got all the attention but everything started changing since boss baby arrived. But when they came clear of his mission, Tim agrees to help him so that he would return back to his company soon enough and everything would be like before again. And so the adventure began. It was seriously funny but the fact that I loved the most was, despite everything they began to develop a bond as a family. I seriously loved the duo and it was heartbreaking when the boss baby had to go back. Tim took the ultimate step and I felt so proud of him. The ending was seriously the sweetest, I enjoyed this movie so much!

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Name: Angry Birds
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure
Directors: Clay Kaytis, Fergal Reilly
Cast/Voice: Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride
Release Date: 20 May 2016 (USA)
My Rating:

I actually saw this movie last year but since I was doing this post, I decided to add this to the list since it was a pretty fun watch. Red is always angry and he prefers to stay isolated. When the pigs come into their homeland, all the other birds invite them with joy but Red is the only one who suspects them. His suspicion turns true when all their eggs are stolen by the pigs.

This was an enjoyable movie. I never played the Angry Birds game much but my brother was a huge fan and we also watched this together when he came for a visit. Despite not playing the game, I loved these wonderful and colourful birds so much! 😀 Each of them were unique and had a personality of their own. Red had to suffer because of his attitude but it was exactly was saved the day. When all the eggs of the birds get stolen, Red takes it upon himself to rescue them. He leads the mission and it was so fun to watch. All the specific powers that the birds in the games, they had the same in the movies too which made it worth watching the movie. The birds fought bravely against the evil pigs and Red used his wit against them to defeat them. This movie also dealt with a great deal of friendship and I was glad Red managed to make true friends in the midst of everything.

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So guys, what are your thoughts on this movie? Have you watched all of these from my list? Any particular favourites?

Review: Turning Grace by J.Q. Davis || Blog Tour + Giveaway!

Welcome to my tour stop of Turning Grace by J.Q. Davis hosted by YA Bound Book Tours. You can view the full tour schedule here.

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Title: Turning Grace

Author: J.Q. Davis

Series: The Turning, book 1

Genre: Horror, Sci-fi, [Young-Adult]

Heat Rating: Cool

Page Count and Format: 197 pages, Ebook

Published: 2014 by J.Q. Davis

Source: I received a digital copy of this book for the blog tour in exchange for an honest review.

My Rating: 

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Blurb (from Goodreads):

Life or death?
It all seems to be the same for Grace…

Some of us have been there before — falling for the hot, popular jock who just so happens to be dating the hot, popular girl in school.

Your snarky-but-always-right bestie insists you make a move, but you’re not so much into putting yourself out there.

Then it happens, and suddenly you find yourself eating a cat on your neighbor’s porch.

No? Never happened to you?

Well, Grace Watkins can’t say the same. Her hunger is growing with each day that passes and her urges are getting harder to control.
No one can explain why her body is changing, except one man.

**Medal Winner of the 2014 New Apple Book Awards in the E-Book Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror Category**

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This book was definitely intriguing. But some parts were gross, like flesh eating gross. But as a zombie book, it was pretty well done!

Grace is just like another teenage girl but her appetite is growing everyday which is turning out to be way beyond her control. She realises something is extremely wrong with her as one day she eats a cat out of sheer hunger. And then a horrific chain of events begin. Only one man has the answers to all her questions and he might be able to able to help her. But whatever he is saying, is it even true? Or is Grace falling into more danger than she already was?

This book was zombishly good! Honestly, I don’t think I have ever read a zombie book before so this was definitely a different experience. Grace’s hunger is increasing day by day and she can’t control it anymore. She kills a living cat and eats it which is basically ew but nonetheless she is horrified. But after that a few more incidents happen before she understands the full depth of her situation. The narrative is pretty interesting from start which kept me glued to book. Although the first portion of this book was a bit slow but the pace picked up soon enough.

Grace was a pretty interesting yet normal character, I liked her from the start.  Tristen was a nice character but I don’t know, he was perhaps a bit too nice, I mean if I eat someone I think the other person will probably run in the other direction rather than saving my life! But he stayed through. I do have another theory about him but I’m not gonna say anything as it might spoil a little bit of the story. Dr. Robinson, whom Graces’s mom trusted so much seemed fishy to me as well. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book as the ending of this book was an interesting one which left me wanting for more.

Overall, Turning Grace was a good read. The plot was interesting from the beginning and the characters were good enough. The writing was pretty smooth. I hope I’m able to read the next book soon enough as I can’t wait to know what happens next!

Recommend it?

Yes.

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Author Bio:

Q. Davis is from New Orleans, Louisiana. She and her husband, an active duty Marine, have no children but consider their pooches, Lucy and Bella, their daughters.
When she was little girl, she aspired to become a writer. But then one day, she learned about zombies…and now she wants to be a zombie.

 

Author Links:

Website || Goodreads || Twitter || Facebook

Purchase Links:

Amazon || B&N || iTunes || Kobo || Smashwords

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Giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Lucid by Jay Bonansinga

Author: Jay Bonansinga

Tittle: Lucid

Standalone

Genre: Paranormal, Horror, [Young-Adult]

Page count and format: 171 pages, Ebook

Published: April 28th 2015 by Smashwords Edition (first published April 7th 2015)

Source: I received a digital copy of this book from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

My rating: 

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Blurb (from Goodreads):

Lori Blaine is not your average seventeen-year-old high school student. Cool and iconoclastic in her dread-locks and natty thrift shop garb, with an IQ that’s off the charts, she is the ersatz leader of a pack of Goth kids that circle around her in the halls of Valesburg Central like a school of pilot fish. Lori speaks softly, but when she does speak, people have a tendency to listen.

But Lori Blaine has one problem: The door.

Lori’s dreams are haunted by this strange, recurring symbol. The door is always there on the periphery… beckoning to her, daring her to see what might be waiting for her on the other side. Finally, at the urging of an overzealous school psychologist, Lori Blaine decides to face her fears. The next night, she goes through the dream door… and immediately plunges into a shattered looking glass world in which nothing is as it seems and evil awaits around every corner.

But when Lori fights back, all hell breaks loose.

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This book was SO FREAKING AWSOOOOME!! I LOVED, loved every bit of it. First of all, the cover is sooo creepy that I’m afraid to look at it! The plot was incredible, the concept was definitely awsome. How did I not know something so awsome like lucid dreaming! The concept fascinated me to such an extend that I want to try it myself. I did some of my own research and Wiki bro says that it could be achieved with sheer practice. Though I doubt it’ll possible but there’s no harm in giving it a try! Yesh, I know what you guys are thinking but I was born crazy! Now moving on…

Summary-

Lori is a girl who can lucid dream. Basically it means that you realise in your dream that you are dreaming and from that point onwards you are in complete control of your dreams. But in Lori’s dreams there is always a door which she tries to stay away from. But finally when she confronts her school psychologist, he tells her to cross through the door and see what happens. She decides to take upon the advice and what she confronts behind the door is beyond her imagination. There is a whole different out there in which she is not alone. She meets a bunch of people who claim that they are protecting this limbo space from the dangerous creatures known as bogies who possess people through their nightmares. Now, Lori is caught between a war between the two sides and she has only one option if she ever wants to get rid of her nightmares, she has to fight back. And when she does, all hell breaks lose.

Plot-

The plot was fresh and absolutely incredible. It had the perfect amount of creepiness and thrill which kept me on my toes from the very first page. The mystery aspect was well maintained and I was dying to know what happened next. The plot was so gripping, it was very hard to stop reading the book for a second. The concept of lucid dreaming was the thing which fascinated me the most. Just imagine, how incredible it is to lucid dream and take full control of your dreams! The author took this concept and twisted it into so much more. The twists and turns were so awsome and surprising! I never guessed them and they poured on me. I had quite a few “WHAAAAAAT” moments. The plot waa also full of action which I definitely enjoyed, there was something or the other constantly happening and it kept me intrigued throughout the novel. I simply loved the way things were executed.

Characters-

The characters were diverse and unique in their own way. I liked Lori a lot, she was a Goth and a total misfit in her school but she had a few loyal friends. She was afraid like any other person when she had to face her nightmare but when she had no other option she fought back to save herself and save her loved ones. She acted quite maturely given the situation. I also liked Nick, he was sweet and caring. He was the one forever locked in the dream dimension because he crossed his time there but he took up his responsibility quite maturely and did everything to save Lori and help her go back.

Hugo was another character I liked, he was a loyal best friend to Lori and believed her when she told the truth. The archangel Michael was quite mysterious but he was a nice guy, I quite liked him. The bogies were oh so gross creatures. At first I imagined them like the grievers in The Maze Runner, well they were quite similar but with wings. Thinking about them makes me shudder.

Writing style-

The writing was simple and addicting. It was really so hard to stop reading it. The writing was very easy to get into and I fell into the rhythm from the first page and finished it in one sitting. I loved the descriptive details which made it easy to not to get confused about the concept. The pace was pretty fast throughout the book and I enjoyed the thrill ride very much. I’m definitely looking forward to read other books by this author.

Overall-

Lucid was an incredible book that I immensely enjoyed. The plot was great, the concept was absolutely awsome and the characters were diverse and unique. The writing style was smooth and pretty addicting, it was hard to stop reading it for a second, there was never a single dull moment in the novel. The pace was pretty fast and this book had the perfect amount of creepiness mixed with thrill which made the book very intriguing.

Recommend it?

ABSOLUTELY! YES! You guys have to give this book a try, it was sooo incredible and awsome! Just go and read this!

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So guys have you read Lucid yet or want to? Liked it or hated it? And how many of you are aware of the concept of lucid dreaming? Share your thoughts with me!