Book Review: Beyonders 3: Chasing the Prophesy

Beyonders 3: Chasing the Prophesy, Brandon Mull, Aladdin, New York, 2013.
This is the exciting climax to this three book series.  Mull knows how to tell a story.  In this book everything seems hopeless; not only hopeless but at times you wonder how the tasks assigned can do any good.  And why each person was assigned to which task.  Jason has a specific task, to find some information that will turn the tide which is kept by a long dead wizard.  Rachel has the task of going with Galloran the King to attack the Emperor Maldor and his kingdom.  This is an impossible task, and making a bold move just gives Maldor the advantages as he moves men to crush those who oppose him.  As for Justin and his group, the emperor sends a changeling, Te Wanderer, to deal with them.  Being almost invincible, he can also change into trusted characters to win his way.  I found this book exciting.  It easily carried the story.  

Movie Review: ****The Ant-Man (2015)

Movie: The Ant Man

This is a fun movie.  I seem to love all the Marvel Comic movies.  Marvel Comics seems to always hit home runs with their movies, and this is in the same.  Scot (Paul Rudd) is a cat burglar.  He has recently been released from prison and wants to go straight to regain visitation with his daughter.   But he needs a job and money for an apartment.  Baskin Robbins lets him go when his past becomes known.  He finally takes a burglary job, and finds the only thing in the vault is a suit of some kind.  He tries it on, and discovers the suit makes him small.    He later finds out that he was permitted to steal the suit as he was actually being recruited by the suit’s creator Dr. Pym (Michael Douglas).   Dr. Pym needs help to thwart the efforts of his former assistant who forced him out of the company, Darren Cross/Yellow Jacket (Corey Stoll).  Helping Dr. Pym is his daughter, Hope (Evangeline Lilly) who is the inside person as she makes it look like she has abandoned her father for Cross.  Also helping the Ant Man are the ants, of several different varieties. 

Great action, and clever script.  Ant Man vs Yellow Jacket is a great series of confrontations.  Ant Man’s daughter gets involved by the Yellow Jacket and he has to save her. 

Marvel Universe

Book Review: The Candy Shop War

The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull, Shadow Mountain Publishing, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2007.

This book is a bit different than the other Brandon Mull books.  Children are not sucked into an alternate universe, but this story takes place in a community on earth.  In this case, the community is visited by Candy makers, whose candy is magical in nature.  Our four primary characters, Nate, new to town, Pigeon, Summer and Trevor have a club for finding treasures.  They are sucked into helping the candy maker, Belinda White, for free candy.  I did not think this book was going anyplace good, because the kids were doing some pretty shady stuff.  This included breaking into a museum and also digging up a coffin at the cemetery.  The book was better after they came to their senses.   The book includes many questions at the end to help the young reader get to the moral of the book.  This book covers issues of addiction, parenting, bullying and misusing powers. 

Movie Review: ****Adrift (2018)

Adrift (2018)  Shailene Woodley as Tami Oldham and Sam Claflin as Richard Sharp star in this romance.  These two are young world travelers, that meet in Tahiti.  Their relationship quickly turns into a romance, as they travel on Richard’s boat.  They want to make their way to Japan, but they receive an offer to take and even bigger boat to San Diego for pay and plane tickets back.  They reluctantly agree to this trip, because of the impressive nature of the boat.  All is going well, until a bird comes flying onto the boat.  They are many miles off shore.  A terrible hurricane is approaching.  Efforts to go around to avoid the hurricane fail, and they are caught in the middle of the storm.  The storm is worse than they had expected, and it leaves the boat crippled.  Richard has been blown overboard and Tami has injured her head.  This begins a 41-day journey of survival.  She rescues Richard from the ocean, so it seems.  He is badly injured. 

Book Review: Beyonders: Seed of Rebellion

Book Review: Beyonders: Seeds of Rebellion by Brandon Mull, Aladdin, New York, 2012.

In the first book, we learned that the “word” to overcome the emperor is actually a ruse, and is the word destroy a different wizard.  So now the efforts of our heroes turns to receiving a prophesy to explore their chances for success if they attack the emperor out right.  They are slim indeed, but the ability to recruit people to stand with him, depends on the word of a famous prophetess who lives in the North.  So they travel: Galloran the King, his best men Nedwin, who is use to torture and pain, but finally got away from the dungeons of Maldor, the emperor.  Rachel, who is becoming adept at Edomic, or the magical arts, and Jason who has returned with the help of the band member, Tark.  Ferrin the displacer (all displacers are under control of the emperor) who has gained enough trust to be part of the company by giving a piece of his neck to Galloran with a jugular vein.  Aram is giant by night and dwarf by day is recruited by Jason as a friend of Tark’s to be part of the quest.  Corinne is the daughter of Galloran, who has lived a sheltered life inside a tree.  There are also several from the Amar Kabal including Jasher and his wife, Farfalee and her brother, Drake.  This group of heroes have a long ways to travel and many hazards to confront to make it to receive the prophesy.  And when they receive the prophecy, it costs the life of the prophetess, and now they must put their faith in these words given, as there are specific assignments for them all, and each must play a role in the success of their attack on Emperor Maldor.

Following this group is very entertaining and exciting.  The obstacles and solutions are all unique.  Rachel uses that famous word to destroy a misshapen wizard who is guarding a large cache of orantium, an explosive substance.  Are group of heroes have some things going for them, and perhaps the prophesy will give them some chance. 

Movie Review: Table 19 (2017)

Movie Review: ****Table 19

This movie really got me thinking.  This movie is mostly about two relationships.  One is a relationship struggling in getting off the ground, and the other one that is struggling after many years of falling out of love.  I liked watching both relationships develop.  Eloise (Anna Kendrick) was intended to be the maid of honor at her friend’s wedding.  However she is now out of favor after the bride’s brother, Teddy (Wyatt Russell) has dumped her for a new girl who is the maid of honor.  As such she goes from table 2 to table 19.  At table 19 is a couple who run a restaurant the Kepps (Lisa Kudrow and Craig Robinson) where the bride’s father frequents, a man who stole from the father and ended up in jail, Walter (Stephen Merchant), the bride’s nannie, Jo (June Squibb) and a young man, Renzo (Tony Revolori) who is rather awkward.  They are at the outcast table, in a way.  However they form a relationship, and even step out for a time, when Eloise crashes into the cake and it ends up all over all of them.  The share a joint, and start opening up about their lives.  This includes discovering that Eloise is pregnant, and the Jo is dying of cancer.  Lots of twists and turns, and great conversation.

I dislike that this movie has too many people falling down.  This is not slap stick.  It also shows the butt of Walter’s roommate twice.  (Once was too much.)  This rather odd group muddles through, and they even seem to grow as a result of the night.  I enjoyed this.  I find that I really enjoy Anna Kendrick as an actress.  

Movie Review: ****Cinderella (1957)

This is the original presentation of this Rogers and Hammerstein musical.  This musical was written for television and was first performed live in 1957 with Julie Andrews in the starring role.  Jon Cypers plays the prince.  Many of the songs form this musical taught me about love, although I was watching a later version.  "Do I love you because you're beautiful; or are you beautiful because I love you." and the "Ten Minutes Ago" is classic: "I have found her, she's an angel, with the dust of the stars in her eyes!  We are dancing, we are flying and she's taking me back to the skies.
Those kinds of melodies and lyrics make a home run every time.
This film is in black and white, but beautifully done.  The songs carry the day.

Book Review: Beyonders: A World Without Heroes

Beyonders: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull, Aladdin, New York, 2011.
Int this series, Mull continues on with a common theme, youth who have been sucked into another world, and have to prove their own courage.  Jason from Colorado, and Rachel form Florida are both brought to the world of the Beyonders by extraordinary, Jason through the mouth of a hippo, and Rachel through an arch.  However, both become part of a plot to discover a word, which if spoken in the presence of the evil emperor, will destroy the emperor.  The word is well hidden, and past users of the word cannot help, because using the word erases its memory.  Our two heroes from earth go on a quest for the word.  They are joined at times by Ferrin, a being who can take himself apart, and not to be trusted as he works for the emperor; and Tark, a musician who helped in bringing Jason into the world.  This series has many twists, but this first book ends with Jason being captured by the emperor--the word does not work--and facing continuous torture.  However Ferrin betrays the emperor, and sends Jason home to his own world.  Things on the world of the Beyonders are just worse rather than better.
This book is an excellent read.  I love the quest books, and then the addition of magical powers.  This is very well done.