Explosive Eighteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel by Janet Evanovich/ Review

Janet Evanovich (Author)

“No less than her plotting, Evanovich’s characterizations are models of screwball artistry. . . . The intricate plot machinery of her comic capers is fueled by inventive twists.”—The New York Times

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum’s life is set to blow sky high when international murder hits dangerously close to home, in this dynamite novel by Janet Evanovich.

Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 Hawaii to Newark, she’s knee deep in trouble. Her dream vacation turned into a nightmare, and she’s flying back to New Jersey solo. Worse still, her seatmate never returned to the plane after the L.A. layover. Now he’s dead, in a garbage can, waiting for curbside pickup. His killer could be anyone. And a ragtag collection of thugs and psychos, not to mention the FBI, are all looking for a photograph the dead man was supposed to be carrying.

Only one other person has seen the missing photo—Stephanie Plum. Now she’s the target, and she doesn’t intend to end up in a garbage can. With the help of an FBI sketch artist Stephanie re-creates the person in the photo. Unfortunately the first sketch turns out to look like Tom Cruise, and the second sketch like Ashton Kutcher. Until Stephanie can improve her descriptive skills, she’ll need to watch her back.

About the Author

Janet Evanovich is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Stephanie Plum novels, twelve romance novels, the Alexandra Barnaby novels and graphic novels, Wicked Appetite (the first book in the Lizzy and Diesel series), and How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author.

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    Hardcover: 320 pages
    Publisher: Bantam (November 22, 2011)
    Language: English
    ISBN-10: 0345527712
    ISBN-13: 978-0345527714
    Genre: Literature, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense & Romance
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The Son of No One (2011)/Movie Review

Taglines: Serve. Protect. Lie.
Genres: Action | Crime | Thriller
Release Date: 4 November 2011 (USA) Runtime: 90 min

A young cop is assigned to a precinct in the working class neighborhood where he grew up, and an old secret threatens to destroy his life and his family.

Director: Dito Montiel
Writer: Dito Montiel
Stars:    Al Pacino, Channing Tatum, James Ransone, Ray Liotta,     Katie Holmes, Ursula Parker     Brian Gilbert, Tracy Morgan, Jake Cherry, Juliette Binoche

Storyline
A rookie cop is assigned to the 118 Precinct in the same district where he grew up. The Precinct Captain starts receiving letters about two unsolved murders that happened many years ago in the housing projects when the rookie cop was just a kid. These letters bring back bad memories and old secrets that begin to threaten his career and break up his family.

Review

This movie is about a cop Jonathon white (channing Tatum) who when he was a young boy accidentally killed two men. it was an accident and Vinny (Tracy Morgan) johns friend helps cover it up by not saying anything. then comes detective Charles Stanford (Al pacino) who knows Jonathon because Jonathon's father was Stanford's partner. johns father had died a while back and john lives with his grandmother. to help Jonathon Stanford covers the murder by not giving a piece of evidence to point john and Vinny to the murder. that took place in 1986. fast forward 16 years to 2002. Jonathon becomes a cop for a crooked police department led by captain Marion mathers (ray liotta). then the letter start coming in talking about the covered up murder, and worse things come of that. this movie has a predictable plot, but great actors who gave fantastic performances. what led me to this film is mainly Al pacino. he is my favorite actor. but when i saw the movie i was surprised of how it was not as bad as i thought it would be. canning Tatum who has been accused of being an untalented actor gave a very mystic performance. Tracy Morgan in his first serious role also gave a brilliant performance as a mentally retarded Vinny. ray liotta who hasn't been in movie theaters for quite some time gives us that crazy short tempered character that we love, much like his other characters in cop land and goodfellas. Katie Holmes plays the wife of Jonathon Kerry white and Katie Holmes brings in a strong performance as a tough wife who will stand up for herself whenever needed. great performance by Katie Holmes. and of course one of the greatest actors of all time and my favorite actor Al pacino brings in the shining performance in the film as he does in every film hes in playing a cop. i wish pacino was in it a little more but the scenes he was in he is the Guy you look at because he is Al pacino. and maybe it works out for the best because the less he is in this film the more you cherish the scenes he is in. this movie is currently limited release, and i say its worth going to see in theaters. its a fun movie to watch. great actors, and great acting, and good story. see it 

MORE DETAILS

Filming Locations: Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA
Production Co: Hannibal Pictures, Millennium Films, Nu Image Films, SONO Production
Original Music by Jonathan Elias     & David Wittman       
Cinematography by Benoît Delhomme       
Film Editing by Jake Pushinsky         
Art Direction by Michael Ahern       
Costume Design by Sandra Hernandez         

Movie Trailer

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In Time (2011)

Release Date: 28 October 2011 (USA) Runtime: 109 min
Taglines: Time Is Money Genre: Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

In a future where people stop aging at 25, but are engineered to live only one more year, having the means to buy your way out of the situation is a shot at immortal youth. Here, Will Salas finds himself accused of murder and on the run with a hostage - a connection that becomes an important part of the way against the system.

Directed by  Andrew Niccol       
Writing credits:  Andrew Niccol    
Cast overview: Cillian Murphy, Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried , Shyloh Oostwald, Johnny Galecki , Colin McGurk, Olivia Wilde, Will Harris, Michael William Freeman
Storyline
In the not-too-distant future the aging gene has been switched off. To avoid overpopulation, time has become the currency and the way people pay for luxuries and necessities. The rich can live forever, while the rest try to negotiate for their immortality. A poor young man who comes into a fortune of time, though too late to help his mother from dying. He ends up on the run from a police force known as 'time keepers'.
Review
A great film that sadly many will not be able to follow
Author: Ed Carden from United States

IN TIME is a modern day spin on ROBIN HOOD in Orwells 1984. Director Andrew Niccol shows a future society in which literal time is the commodity of the age, used to pay for anything and everything. Want a cup of coffee, that will be 5 minutes; it was only 4 minutes just a few days ago.
IN TIME shows us just what our world might look like if everyone stopped aging at 25 and was able to live forever so long as they could afford it. For those with great wealth, time is a valued and guarded surplus; something to allow the lessers in society to have in small controllable amounts. For those in the ghetto who live day by day time is life and most would do anything get just a little more time.
While the acting is on par with what you'd expect there are a few let downs but mostly due to the direction of the character and not by any fault on the part of the actor. Cillian Murphy is awesome as a Timekeeper, the 'IN TIME' verse-esque equivalent of the current day detective. His job, to keep track of time and when necessary , re-posses it.
Justim Timberlake, the protagonist of the story does a wonderful job of portraying the "live one day at a time" Will Sallas. A 2 time 25 year old (will make sense when you seethe film) who lives life one day at a time literally. He also represents what we all would like to believe we would be if we were in his shoes, alway6s willing to give others a little more time, even those who would do harm.
In the end IN TIME makes one ask What is wealth? What is living? Do we miss life in the pursuit of wealth? Some will find IN TIME unbearable because its not the Mid-fall, mindless SciFi action flick they were hoping for. Others will find it offensive and preachy since the rich and wealthy are shown to be selfish and uncaring.
What IN TIME does, it does well and thats giving us a glimpse at just how precious time really is because in the real world you don;t know how much time you do have but you do know with certainty that you will not get any more if it so you better spend it wisely.
If your still in doubt about IN TIME then catch an early morning showing or the matinée and save your self a few bucks.

Other Details
Original Music by Craig Armstrong       
Cinematography by Roger Deakins       
Film Editing by Zach Staenberg       
Casting by  Denise Chamian       
Production Design by  Alex McDowell       
Costume Design by Colleen Atwood  
Filming Locations: 1100 S Hope St, Los Angeles, California, USA
Box Office
Opening Weekend: $12,050,368 (USA) (30 October 2011) (3122 Screens)
Gross: $12,050,368 (USA) (30 October 2011)
Production Co: Regency Enterprises, New Regency Pictures, Strike Entertainment
Sound Mix: Dolby

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The Rum Diary (2011)/Review

Taglines: One part outrage. One part justice. Three parts rum. Mix well.
Release Date: 28 October 2011 (USA) Runtime: 120 min
Genres: Drama | Mystery | Thriller

American journalist Paul Kemp takes on a freelance job in Puerto Rico for a local newspaper during the 1950s and struggles to find a balance between island culture and the expatriates who live there.

Director: Bruce Robinson
Writers: Bruce Robinson (screenplay), Hunter S. Thompson (novel)
Cast overview: Johnny Depp, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Rispoli, Amber Heard, Richard Jenkins, Giovanni Ribisi, Amaury Nolasco, Marshall Bell , Bill Smitrovich, Julian Holloway, Karen Austin

Storyline

Paul Kemp is a freelance journalist who finds himself at a critical turning point in his life while writing for a run-down newspaper in the Caribbean. Paul is challenged on many levels as he tries to carve out a more secure niche for himself amidst a group of lost souls all bent on self-destruction.

Filming Locations: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Budget: $45,000,000 (estimated)
Production Co: Dark & Stormy Entertainment, FilmEngine, GK Films
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

Review

Rum Diary was an interesting movie that told the story of a writer at a crossroads in his life who flees to Puerto Rico in 1960 to either find something better in himself or get lost in a river of rum.
Johnny Depp goes a good job as a failing novelist who takes to journalism for the San Juan Star in hoping that writing something will help him ultimately succeed at writing novels. Depp is captivating in every scene, as his character falls into endless trouble but finds ways out. Ultimately, the chaos around him helps Depp's character find focus and purpose.
Michael Ribosi does an outstanding job as Depp's sidekick and American guide to Puerto Rico. Ribosi's character survives on rum and the occasional hamburger. Despite his character's self-destructive nature, his character adds warmth and humanity to the film.
I initially went to see Rum Diary for its setting in Puerto Rico. I have lived in Puerto Rico and visited many times. The rural settings accurately depict the rural Puerto Rican lifestyle even today. And the beauty of the island and Old San Juan is captured nicely throughout the movie, albeit less than I hoped.
The Rum Diary is a captivating look into a fascinating and flawed character in a unique time and place. 

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Nightwoods: A Novel by Charles Frazier/Revie

by Charles Frazier
Publisher: Random House (September 27, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 140006709X
ISBN-13: 978-1400067091
Literature & Fiction 
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers

A Letter from Author Charles Frazier

Lost in the woods. A dangerous phrase, but also with a resonance of folktale. Hansel and Gretel with their bread crumbs. Jack alone, roaming the lovely, dark, and deep southern mountains. So, young people and old people being lost in the woods has always been interesting to me for those reasons. And also because it happens all the time still.
Back when I was a kid, eight or ten, my friends and I lived with a mountain in our backyards. We stayed off it in summer. Too hot and snaky. But in the cool seasons, we roamed freely. We carried bb guns in the fall and rode our sleds down old logging roads in winter. We often got lost. But we knew that downhill was the way out, the way home. When I grew up and went into bigger mountains, you couldn’t always be so sure. I remember being lost in Bolivia. Or let’s say that I grew increasingly uncertain whether I was still on the trail or not. That’s the point where you ought to sit down and drink some water and consult your maps and compass very carefully and calmly. I kept walking. At some point, it became a matter of rigging ropes to swing a heavy pack over a scary white watercourse. I ended up at a dropoff. Down far below, upper reaches of the Amazon basin stretched hazy green into the distance. Downhill did not at all seem like the way home.
You’ll just have to trust me that this has something to do with my new novel, but to go into it much would risk spoilers. I’ll just say that early on in the writing of Nightwoods, Luce and the children were meant to be fairly minor characters, but I kept finding myself coming back to them, wanting to know more about them until they became the heart of the story. Some of my wanting to focus on them was surely influenced by several cases of kids lost in the woods in areas where I’m typically jogging and mountain biking alone at least a hundred days a year. It’s part of my writing process, though I hardly ever think about work while I’m in the woods. But I do keep obsessive count of how many miles a day I go and how many words I write, lots of numbers on 3x5 notecards. All those days watching the micro changes of seasons can’t help but become part of the texture of what I write, and those lost kids, too.

PRAISE:

"...[A] taut narrative of love and suspense, told against a gritty background of bootlegging and violence. The characters are rich and unforgettable, and the prose almost lyrical. This is Charles Frazier at his best. ...Just mention a new novel by the Cold Mountain author, and a line will start forming."  —Booklist
"...[T]hink Thunder Road meets Night of the Hunter meets old murder ballads. This is a suspenseful noir nightmare, complete with bootleggers and switchblades." —The Daily Beast

"A boisterous, confident novel that draws from the epic tradition: It tips its hat to Don Quixote as well as Twain and Melville, and it boldly sets out to capture a broad swatch of America’s story in the mid-nineteenth century."  —The Boston Globe on Thirteen Moons

REVIEW

A Most Memorable Novel of Mid 20th Century Appalachia from Charles Frazier

By   John Kwok (New York, NY USA)

In his latest novel "Nightwoods", Charles Frazier returns to the same bleak, quiet Appalachian landscape that he introduced readers to in "Cold Mountain". However, unlike his celebrated earlier work of fiction, there is an almost timeless quality in "Nightwoods", a story that could have taken place as easily during the midst of the Civil War or sometime late in the Twentieth Century. Instead Frazier drops subtle hints (e. g. a reference to the film "The Defiant Ones") that it is set in the late 1950s, in a rural Appalachia that is virtually indistinguishable from the one described in "Cold Mountain", rendered vividly in a sparse, often lyrical, prose that will remind readers of Cormac McCarthy's recent work, especially "The Road"; a comparison that is most apt since "Nightwoods" is almost as bleak as McCarthy's rural near future dystopian novel. Frazier offers his readers a most captivating, often poignant, and quite brilliant, portrayal of Luce, the young woman who unexpectedly inherits her sister's troublesome, emotionally scarred, son and daughter. Hers is an epic battle of wits with her sister's husband, Bud - whom she suspects is her sister Lola's killer - as she seeks to protect Lola's young children from their alcoholic, violence-prone father. Her only ally in this quest is the unassuming Stubblefield, who becomes both friend and guardian angel to Luce, her niece and her nephew. Frazier has once again combined his excellent storytelling talent with his superb prose into a winning combination destined to be celebrated by critics and fans alike; without question, one of the finest, and most compelling, works of fiction published this year.

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Trespass (2011)

Review   

Unrealistic to the point of absurdity; a tad melodramatic

Trespass is so unrealistic and outrageous that at times it becomes absurd and outrageously melodramatic. It tries to sweep away with one grand stroke all of the logical flaws in the script by simply claiming that the burglars are psychotic and insane. On the whole it insults the intelligence of the viewer by expecting the viewer to believe things would happen like they did in Trespass. In other movies of this genre there are always twists and somewhat unrealistic scenes that one can overlook if there is a cleverness or a presiding intelligence behind the story, but Trespass lacks this sharpness and edginess. The outrageousness, lack of realism, and madness of the story is simply too much to ask the viewer to believe and look past.

The movie does have its moments and isn't entirely worth ignoring however. The acting of Nicole Kidman is excellent and to see how she and Nicholas Cage are on-screen together is also very intriguing. The house where it is set has a very interesting modern design that comes off as very stylish and aesthetically appealing. A few of the twists and surprises in the movie are clever and there are a handful of good moments in the movie where I was surprised and satisfied with the cleverness of a certain turn of events.

Overall however, the movie turned into not the fascinating, intense, and intelligent thriller I hoped it would be, but a merely average movie that I couldn't possibly believe that got worse and worse as it climaxed to near complete absurdity. If the movie is worth a view at all it is simply to see the chemistry between Cage and Kidman and to appreciate the architectural design of the house where the movie is set. The ideas in the writing aren't wholly absurd, but clearly the writing and ideas aren't the strong point of Trespass.
DETAILS
Release Date: 21 October 2011 (Bulgaria) Runtime: 91 min
Genres: Crime | Drama | Thriller
Taglines: When terror is at your door, you can run, or you can fight.

As they're held for ransom, a husband and wife's predicament grows more dire amid the discovery of betrayal and deception.

Director:Joel Schumacher
Writer:Karl Gajdusek

Cast

Nicolas Cage,  Nicole Kidman,  Ben Mendelsohn, Liana Liberato, Cam Gigandet , Jordana Spiro Dash Mihok , Emily Meade, Nico Tortorella, Terry Milam , Nilo Otero
Music by David Buckley       
Cinematography by Andrzej Bartkowiak       
Film Editing by Bill Pankow       
Casting by Jessica Kelly    & Suzanne Smith  
Filming Locations: Shreveport, Louisiana, USA

Box Office Budget: $35,000,000 (estimated)

Production Co: Millennium Films, Nu Image Films, Winkler Films See
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse /Book Review

James Wesley Rawles (Author)
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Atria Books; 1St Edition edition (October 4, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1439172803
ISBN-13: 978-1439172803
Genre:Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure,  Mystery & Thrillers

Description

WHAT IF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT ENDED TOMORROW?
The America we are accustomed to is no more. Practically overnight the stock market has plummeted, hyperinflation has crippled commerce, and the fragile chains of supply and high-technology infrastructure have fallen. The power grids are down. Brutal rioting and looting grip every major city. The volatile era known as “the Crunch” has begun, and this new period in our history will leave no one untouched. In this unfamiliar environment, only a handful of individuals are equipped to survive.
Andrew Laine, a resourceful young U.S. Army officer stationed overseas in Afghanistan, wants nothing more than to return home to Bloomfield, New Mexico. With the world in turmoil and all air and sea traffic to America suspended, Laine must rely on his own ingenuity and the help of good Samaritans to reach his family. Andrew will do whatever it takes to make it home to his fiancée, no matter how difficult the circumstances.
Major Ian Doyle is a U.S. Air Force pilot sta-tioned in Arizona with his wife, Blanca. Their young daughter, Linda, is trapped in the North- eastern riots. Three teenage orphans, Shadrach, Reuben, and Matthew Phelps, have no choice but to set out on their own when their orphanage closes at the beginning of the Crunch. Then there is Ignacio Garcia, the ruthless leader of the criminal gang called La Fuerza, who will stop at nothing to amass an army capable of razing the countryside. And over everything looms the threat of a provisional government, determined to take over America and destroy the freedoms upon which it was built. The world of Survivors is a terrifyingly familiar one. Rawles has written a novel so close to the truth, readers will forget it’s fiction. If everything you thought you knew suddenly fell apart, would you survive?
About the Author
Former U.S. Army intelligence officer and survivalist James Wesley, Rawles is a well-known survival lecturer and author. Rawles is the editor of SurvivalBlog.com—the nation's most popular blog on family preparedness. He lives in an undisclosed location west of the Rockies. He is the author of the bestselling Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse and a nonfiction survival guide, How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It.

Review
I'm a Survivor,   By  F. Harrison

If Patriots was a great survival manual in novel format, Survivors is a great novel with a survivalist theme. If you read his first successful novel, you'll be glad to hear that author John Wesley Rawles has made dramatic improvement from the standpoint of fiction writing. The latest (not really a sequel, but based on the same setting of a post collapse world), has a much more fluid story and much more interesting characters. I couldn't tell you one thing about the characters from Patriots, but there are some memorable ones in Survivors.
The lead character, Anders, is a soldier in Afghanistan, who gets stuck after the US cuts off fuel supplies during the collapse. He has to make it back to his wife and brother back in America and uses his technical and survival skills to do so.
Other story lines intersect as Rawles showcases how people in different parts of the country try to cope with the shocking collapse of the economic system. While all of the protagonists in Patriots were survivalists, some of the characters in Survivors aren't, making for a compelling plot. Not only do they have to deal with a shattered economy, but the entire country has turned into a Mad-Max-esque free for all with roving gangs becoming dominant.
If you enjoy dystopian or political fiction like Orwell or the excellent Gods of Ruin, you must read this book!

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Johnny English Reborn (2011)

Release Date: 23 September 2011 (India) Runtime:  101 min
Genres: Adventure | Comedy | Thriller
Taglines: Laugh at the face of danger

Johnny English goes up against international assassins hunting down the Chinese premier.

Director: Oliver Parker
Writers: William Davies, Hamish McColl ,Robert Wade &    Neal Purvis
Cast overview
Roger Barclay , Eric Carte , Rowan Atkinson, Togo Igawa, Eleanor Wyld, Mandi Sidhu, Margaret Clunie , Gillian Anderson , Rosamund Pike , Dominic West , Tim McInnerny , Mariella Frostrup Daniel Kaluuya , Miles Jupp, Pik Sen Lim
Original Music by  Ilan Eshkeri       
 Cinematography by  Danny Cohen       
Film Editing by  Guy Bensley       
Casting by  Lucy Bevan       
Production Design by  Jim Clay       
Art Direction by  Paul Laugier & Mike Stallion         
Costume Design by  Beatrix Aruna Pasztor       

Storyline

Rowan Atkinson returns to the role of the accidental secret agent who doesn't know fear or danger in the comedy spy-thriller Johnny English Reborn. In his latest adventure, the most unlikely intelligence officer in Her Majesty's Secret Service must stop a group of international assassins before they eliminate a world leader and cause global chaos. In the years since MI-7's top spy vanished off the grid, he has been honing his unique skills in a remote region of Asia. But when his agency superiors learn of an attempt against the Chinese premier's life, they must hunt down the highly unorthodox agent. Now that the world needs him once again, Johnny English is back in action. With one shot at redemption, he must employ the latest in hi-tech gadgets to unravel a web of conspiracy that runs throughout the KGB, CIA and even MI-7. With mere days until a heads of state conference. Written by Universal Pictures  

Filming Locations:  Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK
Production Co:  Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Studio Canal
Sound Mix:  Dolby Digital  | DTS (as Datasat Digital Sound) | SDDS

Review

Agent Tucker played by the famous and well known Daniel Kaluuya is exactly what many movies are missing. Agent Tucker is the missing link to all those movies which lacked the ignition to make them blockbusters. Tucker plays Johnny Englishes (Rowan) sinister assistant in the epic race to find the third member of the assassination group Vortex. Tucker brings action, comedy and drama to the screen with a performance which is sure to win him an Oscar and major roles in the years to come. Many people say that this sequel does not live up to the expectations of the prequel but i can surely say that this movie had me and the edge of my seat with laughter as well as the audience who attended the screening.

MOVIE TRAILER 

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The Thing (2011)

Release Date: 14 October 2011 (India) Runtime: USA: 103 min
Genres: Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller
Taglines: It's not human. Yet.

At an Antarctica research site, the discovery of an alien craft leads to a confrontation between graduate student Kate Lloyd and scientist Dr. Sander Halvorson.

Director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
Writers:  Eric Heisserer, John W. Campbell Jr. (short story "Who Goes There?")
Cast overview

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen, Eric Christian Olsen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Paul Braunstein, Trond Espen Seim, Kim Bubbs, Jørgen Langhelle, Lars Jan Gunnar Røise , Stig Henrik Hoff, Kristofer Hivju , Jo Adrian Haavind, Carsten Bjørnlund Jonathan Walker

Produced by J. Miles Dale , David Foster & Gabrielle Neimand
Original Music by Marco Beltrami     
Cinematography by Michel Abramowicz        
Film Editing by  Peter Boyle, Julian Clarke & Jono Griffith
Storyline

At an Antarctica research site, the discovery of an alien craft leads to a confrontation between graduate student Kate Lloyd and scientist Dr. Sander Halvorson. While Dr. Halvorson keeps to his research, Kate partners with Sam Carter, a helicopter pilot, to pursue the alien life form. Written by IMDb Editors 

Filming Locations: British Columbia & Ontario, Canada
Budget:  $35,000,000 (estimated)
Production Co:  Morgan Creek Productions, Strike Entertainment See more »
Sound Mix:  Dolby Digital  | DTS (as Datasat Digital Sound) | SDDS
Review
Truly a film for the fans
Author: gbi09403 from United States

John Carpenter's version of "The Thing" is a classic. The makers of this film clearly recognize that. So instead of doing the typical thing of this generation and "rebooting" a series/film, they did something classy- they expanded on a story. And they pulled it off exceptionally well. Yes, this movie has MUCH more CGI effects, but it wasn't overboard. The tie-ins to Carpenter's version are spot on. Set designs were great. The acting went way beyond my expectations- Winstead was amazing as the lead. The story was tight. As its first week of release showed, I'm certain this film - like Carpenter's - will go under-appreciated. But I would bet the farm this movie will find its place right next to Carpenter's on your movie shelf at home. Give it a chance!!

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The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes/Book Review

Julian Barnes (Author)
Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: Knopf (October 5, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307957128
ISBN-13: 978-0307957122
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers > Literature & Fiction 

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize [2011]

“The David Cohen Prize is in effect a UK version of the Nobel Prize for Literature, open to writers of fiction and non-fiction, comedy and tragedy. . . . What is remarkable about Julian Barnes is that he has excelled in all these areas. The already extraordinary list of David Cohen Prize–winning authors has been fittingly extended.”
—Mark Lawson, David Cohen Prize citation

Editorial Reviews

“Barnes builds a powerful atmosphere of shame and silence. . . . As ever, Barnes excels at colouring everyday reality with his narrator’s unique subjectivity, without sacrificing any of its vivid precision. . . . Novel, fertile and memorable.” —The Guardian
“Compelling. . . . His reputation will surely be enhanced by this book. Do not be misled by its brevity. Its mystery is as deeply embedded as the most archaic of memories.”
—The Telegraph

“Short and sharp. . . . A true master of his craft, Barnes’s precise and economic prose is often a delight, and he packs in some vivid characterisation, scene-drawing and emotional insight within his brief 150 pages.” —The List

“Barnes has effectively doubled the length of the book by giving us a final revelation that obliges us to reread it. Without overstating his case in the slightest, Barnes’s story is a meditation on the unreliability and falsity of memory. . . . Such a slyly subversive book.” —London Evening Standard

“Julian Barnes is one of those marvelously inventive authors who writes a very different book each time. He experiments with historical and contemporary fiction, memoir, biography and essays, seamlessly moving from genre to genre. . . . His prose is rich without being showy; he has a precision and economy of language that at times recalls William Trevor.” —The Oregonian

“Barnes is among the most adventurous writers—in style, versatility and narrative structure—of his Amis-McEwan-Hitchens generation.” — The New York Times Book Review

Description

By an acclaimed writer at the height of his powers, The Sense of an Ending extends a streak of extraordinary books that began with the best-selling Arthur & George and continued with Nothing to Be Frightened Of and, most recently, Pulse.
This intense new novel follows a middle-aged man as he contends with a past he has never much thought about—until his closest childhood friends return with a vengeance, one of them from the grave, another maddeningly present. Tony Webster thought he’d left all this behind as he built a life for himself, and by now his marriage and family and career have fallen into an amicable divorce and retirement. But he is then presented with a mysterious legacy that obliges him to reconsider a variety of things he thought he’d understood all along, and to revise his estimation of his own nature and place in the world.
A novel so compelling that it begs to be read in a single sitting, with stunning psychological and emotional depth and sophistication, The Sense of an Ending is a brilliant new chapter in Julian Barnes’s oeuvre.

Review
Dirk Sinnewe "books galore" (Germany)

If Barnes's novel was only a philosophical treatise on themes such as, for example, the constructedness of history, memory, love or remorse, then only a few people would read it, so the author offers us some kind of mystery story which the main protagonist Webster has to solve: the deceased mother of his former girlfriend Veronica has left him 500 pounds as well as the diary of his friend Adrian. Why does Veronica's mother do this and will the content of Adrian's diary shed some light on his suicide?
This "mystery story" only works because Veronica remains more or less silent throughout the second part of the book. She may fall into the category of the mysterious woman; after all Barnes is at pains to portray her as a woman that is surrounded by an air of secrecy, so it may seem in keeping with her character that she does not immediately tell Webster all she knows, her monosyllabic replies may also just be credible, but her continuous repetition of the set phrase "You just don't get it, do you?" when she meets Webster after so many years is just not credible at all. For me this is the central weakness of the plot, resulting from a flawed character-construction. Either that or the unreliable narrator may have, once again, constructed his very own version of the past.

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Shock Wave (A Virgil Flowers Novel) /Book Review

By John Sandford
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Putnam Adult (October 4, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0399157697
ISBN-13: 978-0399157691
Mystery & Thrillers >Suspense

Book Description

The thrilling new Virgil Flowers novel from the #1 New York Times-bestselling author.
The superstore chain PyeMart has its sights set on a Minnesota river town, but two very angry groups want to stop it: local merchants, fearing for their businesses, and environmentalists, predicting ecological disaster. The protests don't seem to be slowing the project, though, until someone decides to take matters into his own hands.
The first bomb goes off on the top floor of PyeMart's headquarters. The second one explodes at the construction site itself. The blasts are meant to inflict maximum damage-and they do. Who's behind the bombs, and how far will they go? It's Virgil Flowers's job to find out . . . before more people get killed.
About the Author
John Sandford is the author of twenty-one Prey novels, most recently Buried Prey; the Virgil Flowers novels, most recently Bad Blood; and six other books. He lives in Minnesota.

Review
Outstanding entry in Sandford's Virgil Flowers series ! 
By  Gerald M. Bull (Fairview, TN United States)

We are big fans of Sandford, having read every single one of his Kidd, Lucas Davenport, and Virgil Flowers novels. These latter stories are similar to, but usually less violent than, the "Prey" novels, as Virgil is inclined to let the "regular" cops do most of the dirty work while he contemplates things quietly and often draws clever conclusions from just talking to people.
"Shock Wave" is aptly named, as it involves a plot about a very busy bomber who has it in for "Pye-Mart", obviously a Walmart knockoff, that is in the early construction phase in Butternut Falls (MN), and expected to destroy the local merchants and pollute the river with runoff, etc., etc. While that's not exactly an original premise, the one or two bombings per day keep everyone hopping to an insane degree, with a similar increase in suspense to the reader. Not surprisingly, there appears to have been illegal payoffs to local politicos to make the approval for the new megastore a reality; and while he's trying to discover the identity of the bomber, Virgil uncovers those crimes as well, nicely cleaning up the local scene. Meanwhile, Virgil seems to be telephonically breaking up with his new sheriff sweetheart, which slows down his tendency to womanize key characters, but that only added to the "off-screen" fun.
We don't award many books all five stars, but this one seems quite deserving -- a terrific protagonist in an exciting and suspenseful plot combine for a thrill-charged entertaining novel -- highly recommended!

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Abduction (2011)/Movie Review

 Release Date: 23 September 2011 (India) Runtime: 106 min

Genres: Action | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Taglines: The fight for the truth will be the fight of his life.

A thriller centered on a young man who sets out to uncover the truth about his life after finding his baby photo on a missing persons website.

Director: John Singleton
Writer: Shawn Christensen
Cast: Lily Collins, Jake Andolin, Oriah Acima Andrews,     Ken Arnold, Maria Bello    , Steve Blass, Derek Burnell, Benjamin J. Cain Jr., Holly Scott Cavanuagh, Radick Cembrzynski, Richard Cetrone, Mike Clark  

Original Music by Ed Shearmur
Cinematography by Peter Menzies Jr.
Film Editing by Bruce Cannon       
Casting by Alan Lee Joseph Middleton       
Production Design by Keith Brian Burns       
Production Companies: Gotham Group  Lionsgate  Quick Six Entertainment  Tailor Made Vertigo Entertainment
Filming locations:  Brownsville, Pennsylvania, USA Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Sutersville, Pennsylvania, USA
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital
REVIEW

The premise for this story is that Nathan (Lautner) is living a wonderful life with his two parents. However, one fateful day a group of men kill his parents and destroy his home sending he and his girlfriend Karen (Lily Collins) on an adventure, as they try to avoid the CIA and the Russian Intelligence. This is really all I can say without ruining any major aspects in this tried and true plot.
I'll start this review by saying that trailer was more action packed then the actual movie. Rather than seeing Lautner wield a gun and do some awesome martial arts, a majority of the action involves the teenage couple mainly eluding the henchmen. Various chase scenes, both car and on foot, are shown throughout the movie, and are interspersed with repetitive dialog and occasional, albeit brief combat scenes. As a result, action lovers or even semi action lovers will be disappointed with what this movie has to offer.
So you may be asking, "Robbie if the story was bad and the action was not very good, what was good about it?" Well the two biggest strengths of this movie were the soundtrack and the suggestion of a plot twist. The soundtrack for the most part provided more of an adrenaline rush than anything interlacing fast paced techno tones with hard core guitar. The combination of the two styles gave half of the chase scenes their character. Perhaps the biggest reason I stayed though was that the film kept suggesting there was going to be some plot twist, or underlying motif to the reason Nathan was being chased. Although they told you the reason he was being hunted, the acting and plethora of shady moves kept hinting there was something more. I'm here to tell you that there is a very minor twist that really wasn't worth the long wait.
The only other things I can say about this movie are the following. First Taylor Lautner fans are going to go gaga over watching their favorite werewolf smolder and pout throughout the whole movie. He still delivers the same monotone dialog that he made famous in his teenybopper career, but this time keeps his shirt on to actually act. Regardless teenage girls and other big fans will not mind as they scream in delight, while those who don't will enjoy watching him get owned in a few scenes. Guys will be happy to see the cute Lilly Collins throughout the movie, and may even enjoy her acting as much as I did. I have to applaud the camera work as well as they do a nice job of capturing what little detail was in this movie. Finally fans may have seen Sigourney Weaver in the trailer, but like so many cameos these days, her star appearance is few and far in between.
Lautner may have finally escaped his werewolf days of Twilight, but he hasn't really traveled that far outside of the role. The promise Abduction had shown in the trailers was grossly overrated. A shallow plot, overabundance of chase scenes, and lack of twist really disappointed me.

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Killer Elite (2011)/Movie Review

Release Date: 23 September 2011 (USA)
Runtime: USA: 105 min  | Germany: 116 min  | UK: 100 min
Genres: Action | Thriller   Taglines: May the Best Man Live

When his mentor is taken captive, a retired member of Britain's Elite Special Air Service is forced into action. His mission: kill three assassins dispatched by their cunning leader.

Cast overview:
Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro, Dominic Purcell, Aden Young, Yvonne Strahovski, Ben Mendelsohn, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, David Whiteley, Matthew Nable, Lachy Hulme, Firass Dirani, Nick Tate, Bille Brown, Stewart Morritt
   
Director: Gary McKendry
Writers: Matt Sherring (screenplay), Ranulph Fiennes(book "The Feather Men")
Original Music by  Reinhold Heil     & Johnny Klimek        
Cinematography by Simon Duggan & Alain Duplantier
Film Editing by John Gilbert        
Casting by Leigh Pickford        
Production Design by Michelle McGahey        

Storyline

Based on a true story, Killer Elite pits two of the worlds' most elite operatives - Danny, an ex-special ops agent (Jason Statham) and Hunter, his longtime mentor (Robert De Niro) - against the cunning leader of a secret military society ('Clive Owen' ). Covering the globe from Australia to Paris, London and the Middle East, Danny and Hunter are plunged into a highly dangerous game of cat and mouse - where the predators become the prey.

Production Companies :  Omnilab Media|   Ambience Entertainment|   Current Entertainment
Film Victoria |  International Traders |  Open Road Films |  Palomar Pictures (II)  | Sighvatsson Films | Wales Creative IP Fund
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital  | DTS (as Datasat Digital Sound) | SDDS

Filming Locations:  Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales, UK| Central City Studios, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (studio)| Dandenong, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia| Footscray, Victoria, Australia| Frankston, Victoria, Australia| Hawthorn, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia|

Review

The Killer Elite is saddled with a vague and forgettable title but at least it sounds more lethal than the book it is based on by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, "The Feather Men". An evil cabal known as the Feather Men does not inspire too much fear. These ex-SAS (Special Air Service) members, and now business leaders, chose the name themselves to signify their light touch on situations which concern them. Shady characters are starting to ask around about an old mission in Oman involving SAS men and this falls right in the wheelhouse of issues the Feather Men are watching out for.
The Feather Men novel is allegedly based on a true story but none of the facts have ever been verified. Sir Fiennes described the book as 'factional' which does not bode well for the story's authenticity. However, the plot is intriguing, especially for a shoot 'em up first, ask questions later action fest. The background and set up are complicated enough which makes you want to follow it closely. I do not want to provide an exact plot synopsis but essentially Danny Bryce (Jason Statham) must kill some ex-SAS men to save his assassin mentor (Robert De Niro) from some Omani oil sheiks. Spike Logan (Clive Owen), also an ex-SAS man but not one of the marked men, has his sixth sense kick into overdrive and tries to save his mates from Danny's bullets as a good Feather Man would. Sir Fiennes actually claims to be one of those marked SAS men.
The script portrays Danny as an assassin who has lost his taste for killing and vows after every trigger pull that "this is my last job". He is supposedly from Australia but oddly maintains a thick and native British accent. Since every assassin must have someone to come home to, his girlfriend Anne (Yvonne Strahovski) waits impatiently for him as he disappears on his missions. Strahovski is a real life Australian and has a matching accent to prove it. She has been outstanding in the Chuck series so it is enjoyable to see her finally cross over into mainstream film.
The overall look to the Killer Elite is good however. Even though it was mainly shot in Melbourne, the skies are usually England gray and the Brecon Beacons mountain range sequence is shot well. This film is right in that middle range where I am unsure still at this point rather to recommend it or not. It is much better than the garbage in its genre such as The Expendables but fails to reach up to the higher level of Crank or The Bank Job. I suppose I marginally recommend the Killer Elite for its absorbing plot and intricate assassination sequences, but be warned, this film is not anything more than average.

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Straw Dogs (2011) /Movie Review

Release Date: 21 October 2011 (India) |16 September 2011 (Canada & USA)

Runtime: 110 min Genres: Thriller

Taglines: Don't let them in.

 L.A. screenwriter David Sumner relocates with his wife to her hometown in the deep South. There, while tensions build between them, a brewing conflict with locals becomes a threat to them both.

Directed by Rod Lurie

Writing credits : Rod Lurie, David Zelag Goodman, Sam Peckinpah, Gordon Williams

Original Music by Larry Groupé

Cinematography by Alik Sakharov

Film Editing by Sarah Boyd

Cast

James Marsden,  Kate Bosworth , Alexander Skarsgård , James Woods , Dominic Purcell , Rhys Coiro ,

Billy Lush , Laz Alonso , Willa Holland , Walton Goggins , Anson Mount , Drew Powell , Kristen Shaw ,

Megan Adelle , Randall Newsome

Budget: $12,500,000 (estimated)

Production Co: Screen Gems, Battleplan Productions
Sound Mix: SDDS  | Dolby Digital  | DTS

Filming Locations: Bossier City, Louisiana, USA

Review

Dull, unnecessary remake

 johnno-17 (Greece)

Sam Peckinpah's "Straw Dogs" remains a most disturbing, morally ambiguous confrontation between the brute code of uneducated farmboys with the complex attempts at rationalization by a sophisticated, neurotic, hyper-educated urban college professor attempting to escape the responsibilities of living in an increasingly complex world. It is also a magnificently constructed motion picture, elegantly photographed, brilliantly edited, hauntingly scored, with powerhouse performances from every actor.

This wholly unnecessary remake on the other hand is amateurish swill - banal photography, drama-class acting (and why not? all the characters have been reduced to caricature), and soap-opera rewriting. It's basically a television movie with some sex and violence thrown in for the fan-boy crowd. It's even got the requisite car-chases, and supposedly pointed dialog about adultery and motivations, blah blah blah.

Graceless, visually dull, with no sympathetic characters, but a lotta boom! crash! foe those who think loud noises and pyrotechnics make up for lack of intelligence and imagination.

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Drive (2011) /Movie Review

Release Date: 16 September 2011 (USA)  Runtime: 100 min

Genres: Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Official Sites: http://www.drive-movie.com
Taglines: Get in. Get out. Get away.

A Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a wheelman discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist gone wrong.

Director:  Nicolas Winding Refn

Writers:  Hossein Maine (screenplay), James Sallis (book)

Original Music by Cliff Martinez

Cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel

Film Editing by Matthew Newman

Cast

Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Oscar Isaac, Christina Hendricks,

Ron Perlman, Kaden Leos, Jeff Wolfe, James Biberi, Russ Tamblyn, Joe Bucaro III, Tiara Parker

Budget:  $13,000,000 (estimated)

Production Co: Bold Films, Odd Lot Entertainment, Marc Platt Productions

Sound Mix: DTS  | Dolby Digital  | SDDS

Filming Locations: Los Angeles, California, USA

Review 

A Tense and Often Beautiful Masterpiece.

by evansweet1214 (United States)

You might hear one comparing this to a Tarantino film, but leave all worries at the door, this is an absorbing and tremendously unique piece of cinema from Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn. The reason it works so exquisitely well is because the film grabs hold of you and takes you inside this often dark and dream-like LA setting. So, when the end of the film hits, you feel apart of this film, and it's there to stay.

This film also offers a Ryan Gosling like you've never seen him, speaking only when necessary, with tension and fury in his eyes. He's silent, caring, and ridiculously tough. Every line is delivered perfectly and every gesture is natural.  The music only makes this film more unique. It is catchy and synchronized perfectly with the TRULY beautiful cinematography.

This film is the BEST of its genre. I honestly cannot compare it to any other film, for it is truly that different. "Drive" is already the best of the year, because I'm POSITIVE no other film will haunt and invade me quite like this film has. This is not just a classic for its genre, but a beautiful and bold classic in general.

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Heat Rises (Nikki Heat) by Richard Castle/Book Review

Richard Castle

Hardcover: 320 pages

Publisher: Hyperion (September 20, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1401324436

ISBN-13: 978-1401324438

Genre: Mystery & Thrillers

Description

Fast-paced and full of intrigue, Heat Rises pairs the tough and sexy NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat with hotshot reporter Jameson Rook in New York Times bestselling author Richard Castle's most thrilling mystery yet.

The bizarre murder of a parish priest at a New York bondage club opens Nikki Heat's most thrilling and dangerous case so far, pitting her against New York's most vicious drug lord, an arrogant CIA contractor, and a shadowy death squad out to gun her down. And that is just the tip of an iceberg that leads to a dark conspiracy reaching all the way to the highest level of the NYPD.

But when she gets too close to the truth, Nikki finds herself disgraced, stripped of her badge, and out on her own as a target for killers with nobody she can trust. Except maybe the one man in her life who's not a cop. Reporter Jameson Rook.

In the midst of New York's coldest winter in a hundred years, there's one thing Nikki is determined to prove: Heat Rises.

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Red State (2011) /Movie Review

Release Date: 12 August 2011(UK)| 22 September 2011 (Australia)

Runtime: 88 min | USA:97 min    Genre:  Horror | Thriller

Tagline: Fear God  Sound Mix: Dolby

Set in Middle America, a group of teens receive an online invitation for sex, though they soon encounter fundamentalists with a much more sinister agenda.

Director:  Kevin Smith

Writer:  Kevin Smith

Cinematography by David Klein

Film Editing by Kevin Smith

Cast: Michael Angarano,  Deborah Aquila, Nicholas Braun, Ronnie Connell, Kaylee DeFer, Joey Figueroa, Kyle Gallner, Anna Gunn, Matt L. Jones, John Lacy,Catherine McCord,  Alexa Nikolas, Stephen Root, Cooper Thornton, Betty Aberlin, Kerry Bishé

Production Companies

• Harvey Boys, The
• NVSH Productions

User Reviews

Best Kevin Smith Film to Date!

Author: sethmartin  from United States

The film begins with sort of the stereotypical horror movie formula, teenagers go out looking for sex and find themselves staring death in the face. However, what happens to them in Red State is a far departure from your standard Jason or Michael Myers flick. The film is hardly a stereotypical horror movie. In fact, Kevin Smith deliberately goes out of his way in this film to keep it far from the typical story arch and structure of most studio movies. Just when you think you know what is going to happen next, Smith hits you with another twist and surprise. This film is completely unpredictable and unforgiving of its characters.

This is by far the best looking Kevin Smith movie to date. The constant use of hand held cameras and creative cutting, keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time. I think a fair comparison would be Rob Zombie's "The Devil's Rejects" or parts of the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre". Also, the film has no musical underscore. It uses ambiance and sound effects in place which works beautifully for this film. Most films use music to enhance the mood and make you feel a certain way. In this film, you can tell Kevin Smith doesn't care how you feel and wants you to just sit there and take it.

The cast is also spectacular. Michael Parks steals the show. Also John Goodman delivers the goods and has a lot more screen time than the teaser trailer suggests.

All in all,  this film is one of the best films in the last few years. With everything being computer generated these days, it refreshing to see a small practical film like this which still holds as much power as one of the big boy studio flicks. And for those of you worrying about the political or religious messages, there aren't any. This movie does not preach religious views to you nor does it take any kind of political side. Its plain and simple. This is just a horror movie about a family of psychos. The fact that they are religious just adds to the terror.

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Robert B. Parker's Killing the Blues (A Jesse Stone Novel)/ Book Review

Michael Brandman (Author)

Hardcover: 288 pages

Publisher: Putnam Adult (September 13, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0399157840

ISBN-13: 978-0399157844

Description

Paradise, Massachusetts, police chief Jesse Stone returns in a brilliant new addition to the New York Times-bestselling series.

Paradise, Massachusetts, is preparing for the summer tourist season when a string of car thefts disturbs what is usually a quiet time in town. In a sudden escalation of violence, the thefts become murder, and chief of police Jesse Stone finds himself facing one of the toughest cases of his career. Pressure from the town politicians only increases when another crime wave puts residents on edge. Jesse confronts a personal dilemma as well: a burgeoning relationship with a young PR executive, whose plans to turn Paradise into a summertime concert destination may have her running afoul of the law.

When a mysterious figure from Jesse's past arrives in town, memories of his last troubled days as a cop in L.A. threaten his ability to keep order in Paradise-especially when it appears that the stranger is out for revenge.

About the Author

Robert B. Parker was the author of more than fifty books. He died in January 2010.

Michael Brandman is uniquely qualified to carry the Jesse Stone series into the future. An award-winning producer of more than thirty motion pictures, he collaborated with Robert B. Parker on more than a dozen of them. Together they wrote the screenplay for Tom Selleck's TNT movie Monte Walsh. Brandman produced and Parker wrote three Spenser films for A&E, and their collaboration continued with the Jesse Stone TV movies currently broadcast on CBS. Brandman lives in California.

Review

The practice of having relatively unknown authors write novels under a popular author's name, dead or alive, is awful, as far as I'm concerned. Look at James Patterson, for example. How long has it been since he wrote a book on his own? Ian Fleming, for another. Long dead, the James Bond novels just keep coming.

Robert B. Parker was a wonderful writer when he started out. His early Spencer novels were very satisfying, with fully fleshed out characters and intelligent plots. By the 90s, they read like TV scenarios, very short novels fattened up by double spacing and printing on thick paper. His writing style had evolved as well. I read a full page in arecent Parker novel which consisted of short statements or questions by two characters in which every quote was followed by "he said". "Sit down," he said. "I'm fine," he said, "Why are you here?" he said, etc., etc., for a full page. Talk about choppy! It sounded even worse on a book on tape.

Also,the idea of a hard-bitten detective who fought in Korea has become ridiculous. Spencer must be 85 by now!  Please, let the man be gone.

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