Movie Review - New York, I love you

Rating: 9/10

New York, I love you is a movie of eleven interweaved short films whose main topic is about finding love in New York city. It was preceded by Paris, Je t'aime.

What I liked most about this movie is the stellar cast. There's Shia LaBeouf, Natalie Portman, Andy Garcia, Robin Wright Penn, Maggie Q, Orlando Bloom, and more actors and actresses. It's also interesting because one of the shorts is directed by the pretty Natalie Portman. Yay! She's so awesome.

Anyway, there were five shorts I liked: the first (Andy Garcia, Hayden Christensen, and Rachel Bilson), the third (Orlando Bloom [-swoonfaintswoon-] and Christina Ricci), eighth (Taylor Geare and Carlos Acosta), ninth (Ugur Yucel and Shu Qi), and the tenth (Eli Wallach and Cloris Leachman). They're just so pretty (the eighth one was directed by Natalie Portman). :D

Movie Review - Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Rating: 9/10

This movie, starring Logan Lerman, is the film adaptation of the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. It tells the story of Percy Jackson, the son of a god (Poseidon) and a mortal (Sally Jackson). Percy is accused of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt, the most powerful weapon ever created. He must return it in fourteen days, before the summer solstice, or war will break out. Thus, Percy, with the aid of Annabeth (Athena's daughter) and Grover (a satyr), must find the bolt and return it to Zeus.

(Crappy summary, I know. :P)

I liked the movie very much because of the mythic elements. (I wanted to see Nike in the movie but she wasn't there...) The special effects are also lovely and Logan Lerman is... HOT!!!

Book Review - Witch Child by Celia Rees

Rating: 8/10

Witch Child is a novel by Celia Rees about the diary of Mary Newbury, a fourteen year old girl living during the English and Salem witch hunts. Her words are chronicled in a journal-like way but the dates are not certain so the posts are sequenced from clues in the text. It is about her voyage from England to the New World, thinking that she had left the witch identity behind (her grandmother was accused of being one).

Well, the book interested me because of this stuff:

"The following manuscript comes from a remarkable collection of documents termed 'the Mary papers.' Found hidden inside a newly discovered and extremely rare quilt from the colonial period, the papers seem to take the form of an irregularly kept journal or diary. All dates are guesswork, based on references within the text. The first entries are tentatively dated from March 1659. I have altered the original as little as possible, but punctuation, paragraphing, and spelling have been standardized for the modern reader.

"Alison Ellman
"Boston, MA"

I know. It must be pretty crazy but, like I said in the previous posts, I like reading historical novels and this sounds a lot like one (but is isn't, by the way). Anyway, there's an [American] Indian boy, named Jaybird, here who has long lashes. It seems that he's pretty close to Mary and, based on the preview, it seems that she joined the Indians for a time. Oh well.

Book Review - Brian's Return by Gary Paulsen

Rating: 7/10

Brian's Return is the story of Brian Robeson two years after returning home from the Canadian wilderness. He decides that the city life is not for him so he returns to the forest.

It is an interesting story (any Gary Paulsen story is) and it has a lot of insight on survival. I only find it really short, with only a hundred and ten pages (or is it just my reading capacity?). I want more. I do like the part where Brian thought about the Inuits and their perception of the Northern Lights.

Movie Review - Iron Man 2

Rating: 10/10

This movie starts out with Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr.) announcement that he is indeed Iron Man. In Siberia, Anton Vankov dies, leaving his son Ivan. It is revealed that Anton was a partner of Tony's father in creating a reactor. Ivan decides to build it, fueled by revenge.

I give it a 10. Why? Because it's RDJ! Haha!

No, really. The movie was awesome. I liked the effects. The story is good and is a good mix of action and humor. I pretty much liked it (even with the fact that I haven't watched the prequel...).

I recommend it. :D

Book Review - The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray

Rating: 10/10

The Sweet Far Thing is the last book in New York Times bestselling author Libba Bray's trilogy. Gemma Doyle successfully bound the magic to herself but soon she has to let go of it and share it with the others. But who will these be? The Order? The Rakshana? Or her new alliance? Plus, her debut is near and she will have to make a decision: the society's "corset" or her freedom?

Oh, I love love love this book (and the whole trilogy)! It's bursting with more illusions, lies, betrayals, doubts, magic, and, most of all, love. Libba Bray weaves a lovely tale. I appreciated every chapter, every paragraph, every word. The things she's written in it are real jewels, no illusions. She has successfully made the reader feel what the characters feel. I mean, it's fantastic! I so love this woman and her craft!

For the first time ever, Libba Bray made me hate centaurs. I've always loved centaurs. But, in this novel I hate them. Haha! And also that Neela. Argh. Gorgon is amazing! I love her! Brigid is also a nice character. I didn't like Ms. McCleethy before but when she did that, I think I liked her character. Cecily, Martha, and Elizabeth are still as hateful as they bloody were before.

The dark scenes in the novel are written out so well that I was continuously afraid of a pixie's hand grabbing my foot. Haha! It was that effective, readers.

The [forbidden] romance between Kartik and Gemma is true and sadly bittersweet. I could swear that I didn't like it when Kartik died, but it just showed how truly he felt for Gemma when he gave his life to the Tree of All Souls. It's also lovely to note that he constantly appears in her dreams, waving to her from the other side. Their love story is one of the best I've read. (Really, I was heartbroken when he died.)

Libba Bray's trilogy is not only a tale of fantasy and love, it also serves as a book that will empower women anywhere. This quote from page 811 says it all:

"Why should we girls not have the same privileges as men? Why do we police ourselves so stringently - whittling each other down with cutting remarks or holding ourselves back from the greatness with a harness woven of fear and shame and longing? If we do not deem ourselves worthy first, how shall we ever ask for more?"

I'm really glad I got to read this treasure of a book.

(This is where it ends, eh? I'm severely heartbroken because the beloved trilogy is finished; I desperately want more. Libba Bray, this bloody novel captivated me. XD)

COMPLETE!!!

HA! I have completed the Gemma Doyle trilogy by purchasing the last book: The Sweet Far Thing. I think, so far, it has been the most expensive of my collections with the total cost amounting to 959 pesos. Booyeah.

COMPLETE!!!

HA! I have completed the Gemma Doyle trilogy by purchasing the last book: The Sweet Far Thing. I think, so far, it has been the most expensive of my collections with the total cost amounting to 959 pesos. Booyeah.

Book Review - Rebel Angels by Libba Bray

Rating: 9/10

Rebel Angels is the second book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy, the sequel to the New York Times Bestseller A Great and Terrible Beauty. With the destruction of the Runes, Gemma Doyle has set the magic loose in the realms, free for anyone to use. Everything in the realms is changing, becoming corrupted, even their beloved Pippa. Now, Gemma must find the temple and bind the magic, defeating her mother's friend turned foe - Circe, Sarah Rees-Toome.

I'm afraid I've enjoyed A Great and Terrible Beauty more. While Libba Bray's humor and dark mystery is still captivating, I find Rebel Angels... Um... Lacking, in some way I cannot name. Anyway, it is great that Kartik narrates the Prologue. There is some mention of the "last sixty days" of his life and I feared that I would lose him (HA!). But it was different. Anyway, I shan't spoil the fun.

The novel, in its entirety, pulsates with lies and illusions, but mostly the latter. The mystery that is Circe is... Err... Mysterious. I think Ms. Bray did a good job with it although some parts of it are, for me, a bit rusty. I don't know, but like I said something in it is lacking. Perhaps it is a trait of an in-between book. Perhaps... Perhaps it is the romance that is lacking?..

Booyeah. I'm turning into a dreadful romantic with each passing day. But there, I think I have adapted the language from the Victorian era. Anyway, that is good because it shows the influence of the book. Anyway, Rebel Angels is fascinating in some way and it ends in a way that will leave the reader wanting for more. :D

Introducing Camuchii

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046321&id=1370242613&l=b11006904c

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20988085@N08/sets/72157623961150592/

These are some of the pictures taken with Camuchii - my new Fujifilm Z33 Waterproof Camera. :D

It's Mom's gift to me from Qatar.

Camuchii boasts 10.1 Megapixels but the greatest thing about him (or her or it...) is the ability to take pictures underwater. XD