New Moon: The Movie

I didn't do a review of Twilight last year because I thought that the hype it received was totally undeserved and I wasn't going to add anything to it. I had my hopes for it from the get-go only to have them crushed. I wanted it to do well, but I was expecting that it wouldn't. However, I did go to the midnight showing with my mom, my two sisters, and my sister-in-law, the most fun I had the whole night was just hangin' with them in line.

I just wanted to give you a bit of a background for you to fully understand this.

Stupidly, my mom and I waited too late to get a 12:01 showing of New Moon, we got them only a week before and all of the 12:01 and 12:15 showings were sold out. All eight of 'em. My mom thought since we lived in a smaller town that we wouldn't have any trouble getting our tickets, but she was wrong and we ended up getting 12:30 tickets.

I must admit that I was super excited for New Moon. Anytime I saw something on E! about it I would squeal. I am ashamed. But none the less, I was dying to see it. We got there around 9:30 (we were late because we had a hard time deciding what candy to get) and the line was already crazy. There were hundreds of girls in line already. So we sat down and just hung out for about a half an hour before Vania showed up. Being the crazy (loud) girl that she is she definitely made waiting in line a lot easier.

At about 10:30, 10:45 the line started moving, so we called my dad and said they (Tori, my dad, and my older brother...who totally loves the movies) should start leaving now because of the line. We initially thought that the theater was gonna do what they did last year, which was first come, first serve no matter what was on your ticket. They were so overwhelmed that it was the best they could do, and in my opinion, they should've done it the same way this time. They were so not organized! Even though we had a 12:30 showing the movie didn't start until 1:00, they were letting the 12:15 people in the theater at 12:15. So yeah, they better do well next time because that pissed me off a bit...a lot.

On to the movie!

I swear, we got the dud theater! Like, the screaming was at the lowest minimum possible. Vania had to start the screaming when they showed Taylor shirtless for the first time. It was so sad!

I'm gonna start with the cons and then finish with the pros.

• Though Kristen Stewart's acting was better, it wasn't good by any stretch of the imagination. Granted she didn't stutter like a complete idiot as much but her eyelid fluttering was at an all time high. She actually showed some emotion this time! Not very much, but it was better than what we got in Twilight. Also, her nightmare scenes were embarrassing to watch. Seriously, I wanted to look away because I was so embarrassed for Kristen. Overall: better, but not good.
• Though the movie was better overall, it was still cheesy as hell. I think the whole theater was laughing at scenes that weren't supposed to be funny. Like the vision that Alice has of Bella being turned into a vampire...uh, what the hell was that? I was perplexed for a moment but then I laughed. That scene was just bad.
• Not only were some of the scenes funny but the dialogue was hilarious too. There were some things that were said that made me cock my head to the side and think, "What the--are you kidding me?"
• The special effects weren't so great this time around. I mean, don't get me wrong they were ten times better. But the wolves? Yeah, not so pretty. At least no one was climbing trees this time.

Wow, the cons list was much smaller than I thought it would be. If I think of something else I'll make sure to edit it in.

• Hello Taylor Lautner! That boy is fine! Not only is he the hottest boy in the movie with the rockinest bod, but he's also a good actor! For the couple of minutes he was in Twilight I actually thought he was the best actor in the entire movie and getting to see him so much more in New Moon was awesome. I'm serious. I don't have one bad thing to say about this kid! I feel a little pedophilic though because he's only seventeen.
• The fight scenes I must admit were not too shabby. I was totally diggin' the Volturi fight and that was the one scene I was ehhh about.
• The entire movie was just...better. Everything about it--the acting (like I said before not good, but better) and the special effects (someone of them were good and some not-so good).
• I bow down to the new director for doing a good job with this one. He actually made it worthy of watching! Good job new director guy!
• Okay...I'm just going to say. I. Liked. It. No, really! I'm serious. I am super excited for Eclipse now, hopefully they'll just get better and better...until Breaking Dawn, that is.

Like I said before, if I think of anything else about the movie, I'll edit them in later!

For those of you who have seen it, what did ya think?

New "Fall" Look!

Due to my blog ADD, I decided that I was going to make myself an Autumn layout because it's my favorite season...other than the leaf raking. I know I'm a little late on this, so I'm only going to keep it up until the end of the month (so make sure you get a look at it now!) and then for the entire month of December I'm going to have a Christmas layout. After that, I don't know.

So what do y'all think?!

Waiting On Wednesday: The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson

I pretty much have no info on the is book for you guys other than that it's the sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes which I read about two years ago and loved. I hope that we actually get to read what's in the last envelope because I was let down when it was stolen! Will the mystery finally be revealed? I hope so! It's supposed to be released in May of 2011 but hopefully it'll be released sooner than that. I don't want to have to wait so long!

What a lucky lady!

Laurie Halse Anderson, the author of Speak and Wintergirls, posted a video on YouTube a couple of days ago about her writing cottage. That's right, her husband built her a cottage in the woods just for writing. I hope my husband will be that rockin' and supportive of me!

Just watch:

Review: Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters

Title: Kiss of Life
Author: Daniel Waters
Pub. Date: May 2009
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Number of Pages: 410
Copy Received: Bought


Summary:


The phenomenon that's been sweeping the country seems to be here to stay. Not only are the teenagers who have come back from their graves still here, but newlydeads are being unearthed all the time. While scientists look for answers and politicians take their stands, the undead population of Oakville have banded together in a group they're calling the Sons of Romero, hoping to find solidarity in segregation.


Phoebe Kendall may be alive, but she feels just as lost and alone as her dead friends. Just when she reconciled herself to having feelings for a zombie — her Homecoming date Tommy Williams — her friend Adam is murdered taking a bullet that was meant for her. Things get even more confusing when Adam comes back from the grave. Now she has romantic interest in two dead boys; one who saved her life, and one she can't seem to live without.

Review:

I actually hadn’t planned on reading Kiss of Life but once I heard Daniel Waters speak at the book festival in Tennessee, I knew I couldn’t go home without it. I don’t know why, but at first, I was incredibly reluctant to read Kiss of Life; maybe it was because I loved the first one so much that I didn’t want to ruin it by reading the sequel. I think I set it up to fail in my mind.


So imagine my surprise when I liked Kiss of Life more than Generation Dead. This sequel dealt a lot more with how the world views the “zombies” and not just the small town that Phoebe lives in. After a group of zombie-haters pull terrible pranks in their town and blame it on the differently biotic, the whole world reacts with hate towards them. On top of that, they discover that the Hunter Foundation isn’t as helpful as they originally were led to believe. In the end after everything has gone down, being a zombie is made illegal if you don’t have a parent/guardian watching over you. Many of the zombies have to go “underground” so they aren’t arrested.


I do have one sneaky suspicion though! I have to come the conclusion that Karen is not actually a zombie. I could be completely wrong but it’s something that was lodged in the back of my mind while reading the book. A few hints are dropped along the way that brought me to this and I shall give you a few examples.


First, there is the obvious: the way she moves. She walks and talks like any normal human being, which is a pretty big feat for zombies. Also, she has no recollection of what she saw after she “died” while some of the other differently biotic do, not all but some. On top of that, she gets a job at the mall which is practically impossible for the undead to do! It takes an easy and quick background check to determine that but she says that she just hasn’t told them yet. Then when she has a heart-to-heart with Tak she starts to tremble while he holds her and then he says this:


“You’re trembling,” he said. “How is it that you can…tremble”?


And one more thing! While at Aftermath, a club for the undead in New York, one of the guys that Phoebe talks to asks if Karen is there, she isn’t, and she says something about Karen being a zombie and the guy says that he thought she was kidding when she told him that.
So yeah, I think Karen is one big faker and I guess we will find out the next book because of the big showdown that happens in the end.


In the beginning we find out that Phoebe and Tommy are no longer together which was okay for me because he was never one of my characters. Throughout the book Phoebe gets closer and closer to Adam until they’re dating. At first, maybe for the guilt but she really does begin to love him. They become closer than ever through the tragedy of his death and the difficulty of him regaining his body movements back. It seems like it’s much harder for him than any other differently biotic person to regain control of his body which causes him to become angry at times.


Though I may have been reluctant to read Kiss of Life I’m really glad that I did and now I can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Waiting on Wednesday: The Extraordinary Secret of April, May, and June by Robin Benway

Title: The Extraordinary Secret of April, May, and June
Author: Robin Benway
Release: August 3, 2010


Summary:


Three sisters, three extraordinary, life-changing powers!


I hugged my sisters and they fit against my sides like two jigsaw pieces that would never fit anywhere else. I couldn’t imagine ever letting them go again, like releasing them would be to surrender the best parts of myself.


Three sisters share a magical, unshakeable bond in this witty high-concept novel from the critically acclaimed author of Audrey, Wait! Around the time of their parents’ divorce, sisters April, May, and June recover special powers from childhood—powers that come in handy navigating the hell that is high school. Powers that help them cope with the hardest year of their lives. But could they have a greater purpose?


April, the oldest and a bit of a worrier, can see the future. Middle-child May can literally disappear. And baby June reads minds—everyone’s but her own. When April gets a vision of disaster, the girls come together to save the day and reconcile their strained family. They realize that no matter what happens, powers or no powers, they’ll always have each other.


Because there’s one thing stronger than magic: sisterhood.

Eek! I can't freakin' wait for this! It looks so amazing and it's ROBIN BENWAY. Need I say more?

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Review: Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Title: Liar
Author: Justine Larbalestier
Pub. Date: September 2009
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pages: 384
Received: Bought


Summary:


Micah will freely admit that she’s a compulsive liar, but that may be the one honest thing she’ll ever tell you. Over the years she’s duped her classmates, her teachers, and even her parents, and she’s always managed to stay one step ahead of her lies. That is, until her boyfriend dies under brutal circumstances and her dishonesty begins to catch up with her. But is it possible to tell the truth when lying comes as naturally as breathing? Taking readers deep into the psyche of a young woman who will say just about anything to convince them—and herself—that she’s finally come clean, Liar is a bone-chilling thriller that will have readers see-sawing between truths and lies right up to the end. Honestly.

Review:

Micah is a liar, a liar who is ready to tell the truth. She is an accomplished liar; on her first day of high school she convinced everyone there that she was a boy, then she was a hermaphrodite, and now her father is an arms dealer. She lies for the thrill, to see the faces on others when she gets them to believe something untrue.


But after she discovers that her “after-hours boyfriend” has been murdered she decides that it’s time to tell her story and without lying.


Liar was the opposite of what I was expecting, and if you’ve read the book then you know what I’m talking about! The truth that Micah tells the reader seems like the biggest lie of all, and I thought it was, until she went on to explain several things about her secret and it all starts to click. Maybe she’s been telling the truth about this off-the-wall secret the entire time!


I am such a gullible person and I tend to believe in the best of everyone so every time Micah confessed about a lie that she told the reader I was surprised, because I am so gullible I believed every word that she told me. It was easy to believe her since she is such a wonderful liar.


The story is told in such a unique way with three parts and small sections in those parts (like Before, After, History of Me, and Family History), so it’s easier for the reader to understand the entire story. At first, it threw me off because I hadn’t known the way it was written and it might me a little difficult to get started but you can easily pick up on it.


I can’t give a full review like I want to because it would be so easy for me to spoil everything about the book. I’m just going to say that it was incredibly surprising and I totally loved it!