Movie Review: Ithaca

Title: Ithaca
Author: Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, Momentum Pictures
Release Date: 2015
Genre: war, family, drama, coming of age
My Rating: ****
Official Rating: PG: thematic elements, a war image, and smoking (edited to add: implied drinking)
Age Group: 12+

Summary: Fourteen year old Homer is the man of the family now. His father is dead, and his brother Marcus is away in the war. No way his little four year old brother can take care of things, and his sister is sweet but not really ready to take on adult responsibilities yet. And Mom? Well Mom is a wonderful woman, but she misses her husband.
So Homer goes up the road to get a job as a telegraph messenger. He meets a young man who was "the best messenger there ever was", now just trying to keep his business alive. Then there's the old man who transcribes the telegraphs and regularly gets drunk at night because he struggles with reality.
The first day of work finds Homer stumbling into the house saying, "It's fine, Mom. Everything is fine." And then confessing the world is not what he thought. He spends his day in school, his afternoons and nights at the office delivering telegraphs that sometimes he'd rather no one had to receive.
This is the story of Homer's becoming a man during World War II.


Word of Warning

• Ulysses (the little brother) is quite the little adventurer, running off and all over the town. Nothing serious ever happens to him, but it's a little concerning.
• We don't know how Homer's father died, but Homer has a nightmare about him, and his mother sometimes sees his father in the house when he is clearly not there.
• Marcus' friend confesses that he doesn't have a family or any real reason to care about anything. It's sad to think he grew up with no one.
• As mentioned in the PG rating, there is one war image. It is mostly smoke, some shouting, lots of running, and one or two screams.
• The old man at the telegraph office gets drunk every night--and he'll admit this without hesitation.
• A group of three soldiers about to ship out meet Homer's sister and friend and take them to the movies. They're clearly smitten, but all that happens is a kiss on the cheek and one of the soldiers staring, spellbound, at one of the girls in a rather sweet way.
• Homer delivers letter after letter that begin something like "The US Secretary of War regrets to inform you."
• Two deaths, both very heartbreaking, neither graphic.
• Homer says he has changed, that he doesn't really care anymore. He doesn't care whether the new girl likes him, or what Ulysses does next, or anything else. It's not that he's lost the will to live, he just doesn't care about the things he used to. It's heartbreaking to watch this change happen to him as he is forced to grow up far too quickly.

My Thoughts
Is there a plot? No. Nothing happens, there is no bad guy, and there is no definitive end. This is simply the story of a fourteen year old boy during the war. He receives letters from home, he brings home his paycheck to his mother, he chats with his little brother early in the morning, and he delivers letters that break hearts.
Despite the lack of plot, the movie itself is beautiful. It makes use of simple and realistic dialogue, silence, and careful lighting to set a mood and tell a tale that perhaps we do not want to hear, but should.

Movie Review: Brooklyn

Title: Brooklyn
Author: BBC Films, Parallel Film Production
Release Date: 2015
Genre: Historical fiction, romance, drama
My Rating: ***
Official Rating: PG-13 (for a scene of sexuality and brief strong language)
Age Group: 18+

Summary
Eilis (A-lish) is stuck in Ireland with no prospects. Her mother stays at home, her sister works, and Eilis works too--at the general store down the street run by a crabby middle-aged lady. Rose, Eilis' sister, writes to Fr. Flood in America and soon enough Eilis finds herself on a boat to Brooklyn with no indication of coming back.
Brooklyn's nice enough, and full of Irish people, but Eilis misses home. And life in America isn't as easy as everyone says.
We hope Eilis can make it America, but making it isn't everything. Hopefully she can thrive.

Word of Warning

• Eilis is very non-combative. This is fine, except it leads to many misunderstandings because instead of explaining or defending herself, she just remains silent and deals with the issues herself.
• We see a sea sick young woman sit on a bucket since the bathroom has been locked. Later, she pukes in the same bucket.
• Language: f*ck. There were others that were less problematic, but unfortunately I don't have a list of them.
• A dead cold body is shown, found by the mother of the dead character. It can be very hard to see because it's so heartbreaking.
• Eilis struggles with being homesick and lonely.
• Eilis neglects to tell her mother about a significant development in her life. This causes all sorts of complications later on.
• A young woman accidentally leads a young man on, then eventually this becomes less of an accident but something she just doesn't bother to clear up.
• Two characters make love the day before they're to be married in a civil ceremony. While we don't see much as far as skin, the scene is very awkward and there is no question about what is going on. It isn't a long scene and easily skipped.

My Thoughts
It was a simple movie that you need to be in the right mood for, and honestly I don't think any of my brothers will ever sit through more than five minutes of it. But my sister and I enjoyed it. The movie moves slowly, simply, and feels honest and quiet. It feels like Eilis.
Somehow, they capture in film how she's feeling even though it involves no voice overs or camera tricks. This is just the story of an Irish immigrant in the 1950s. There is little to say about it, to be completely honest. It's just good and well done. It's not one of those films that exposes some tragedy or terrible thing that happened.
It just looks at the truth in an honest and simple way, and ends honestly and simply, and worth watching.

Book Review: Legion

Title: Legion
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Release Date: 2012
Genre: Adventure, drama, sci-fi
My Rating: ****
Official Rating: adult fiction
Age Group: 12+

Summary
"My name is Stephen Leeds, and I am perfectly sane. My hallucinations, however, are all quite mad."
Thus begins a mind-bending adventure in which we meet Stephen Leeds' hallucinations, or aspects, as he calls them. He's a brilliant man and essentially what happens is he has different characters in his head. One's a SEAL, one a therapist, another a history expert, then there's the one who speaks Hebrew...and so on until he has nearly all 47 rooms in his mansion filled.
Of course, no one can see or hear these aspects except Leeds, but he still gives them actual space, and thankfully so does his faithful butler Wilson.
Leeds is a recluse, hiding away from the scientists who want to figure out his "condition" but when a woman presents to him an interesting mystery, he agrees to go to Israel to try to solve it.
Afterall, why not try to find a camera that can take pictures of the past?
Well, one reason could be the terrorist group that wants to use it to destroy all major world religions. Or that could be a motivator. Either way, Leeds is off to Israel!

Word of Warning
Very few problems with this book. I think it's not put in children's or YA fiction just because it's not structured or targeted as one, but I think it really hits the three major areas (children, YA, adult) rather well.

• Language: damn, "oh my God", and bastard. Each time these are used (as rarely as it is), one of the aspects kindly warns "Language!"
• Terrorists. They attack, blow a car up, capture major characters, and torture/beat a man almost to death before shooting him. They also cut off his hand (but that's done before we meet him).
• Speaking of shooting, there is an aspect, J.C. (the SEAL) who is practicing his aim by shooting at a picture of bin Laden. He tends to request "Can I shoot him?" quite often, but I'm not entirely sure he's serious. He does come in handy when the terrorists are in the heat of a battle.
• Essentially, Leeds murders about five people in self-defense, but it's complicated by by the fact that he attributes this to J.C.
• The goal of the terrorist group is to prove all major world religions wrong. This is nicely contrasted by another character who is trying to use the camera to prove Christianity (more specifically Catholicism) true. And it's not that this character doubts it, it's that he wants to prove it to doubters.
• One of the aspects is very impressed by the man's persistence in remaining a serious scientist and a faithful Christian (probably Catholic). While this is really great, the aspect spends a few moments making it sound like these two things actually don't go together and should in a normal world compete. Eventually the aspect tries to conclude that they can work together, but the conclusion is a little weak when put up against his speech before it.

My Thoughts
It's a fast read, really only about 84 pages, mostly dialogue since Leeds spends a good amount of time talking to his aspects. It's fun, watching a character talk to compartmentalized information in his head that is manifested as characters. Plus the adventure is a fun, fast-paced story that isn't too complicated to follow but just enough to make you think, and just when you thought you had it, turns out you didn't.
And Leeds knows his aspects aren't real. He also thinks he can't live without them. But there's a mysterious woman who was teaching him how to control them, and himself, to get his life back into order. And he's torn between how much he loves life with his aspects, and knowing that he really needs something more from life, and something needs to change.
With something this easy and enjoyable to read, I can say two things: I'm off to find the rest of the series, and I'm interested to see where Leeds goes next.

Movie Review: Earth to Echo

Title: Earth to Echo
Author: Disney
Release Date: 2014
Genre: adventure, sci-fi, family, friendship
My Rating ****
Official Rating: PG for action, peril, and mild language
Age Group: 8+ (my only concern for this age group is the bar scene, mentioned below)

Summary
Tuck, Alex, and Munch. They're best friends, and suddenly, per a government ruling that a freeway will be built right through their neighborhood, they're forced to part. The boys are devastated and are pretty sure this is going to be the end of their friendship. But when their phones "barf" the day before they're all scheduled to move, the boys decide to have one last adventure together. They're going to figure out what is going on with the phones, no matter what it takes.
Tuck will, of course, film the whole thing. Always gotta have a good home video!

Word of Warning

• The boys all lie to their parents about where they'll be so they can run off to the desert, alone. Later, they're joined by a girl, who also lies. Another issue with this is how easily the boys get away with this, and for how long. It's clear that while their parents probably do love them, they're not paid nearly enough close attention.
• The group soon learns that in order to complete their mission, they need to break into various places where havoc results--not by their direct doing, but they do enable it.
• One of the places the group ends up at is a bar. People are partying and drinking, and an older woman at the bar buys some of the boys drinks (they bravely resist, and are luckily able to escape before they're forced to drink).
• One character goes on and on about how her father is a drunk (or an addict...it was hard to hear) and how she just wants to get away from him and her poor mother....All as a lie to distract someone whom she doesn't want asking questions. The whole story is completely made up and mumbled through fake tears.
• Someone gets left behind and caught by a security guard. He's rescued, and nothing bad happens aside from a mildly-harsh scolding from the guard, but this experience is traumatizing for the kid who is an orphan and living with foster parents. He has a fear of being left behind, and this experience does NOT help matters.
• The kids are eventually "captured" by government agents. They're questioned and while the most fearful of them breaks down and sobs out every answer asked for, the others don't seem nearly as scared. The agents themselves behave as children would imagine them to, not telling their parents and forcing them to do things against their wills.
• One of the boys tells a story about how he and a girl at school kissed in the bathroom. He rates the kiss as ok, saying that "he's kissed girls in better places" but this comment seems much more related to the bathroom setting than it does to other possibilities.
• One of the boys remarks that he'll be sleeping over, "In your mother's bed. Not playing video games", a comment meant to be inappropriate but honestly just really funny to an older audience because of how innocent and ridiculous it sounds.
• The kids end up at a teen party where there is clearly under-age drinking, passionate kissing, and one guy is passed out in the bathtub (fully clothed, alone, no implications made).
• Under-age driving.
• The boys, having met an alien, decide to do whatever they can to rescue it. Sometimes this means just following a map, but eventually it means breaking into places, trespassing, and breaking various other laws. At the climax, they decide to trust the alien, at the risk of hundreds of human families, and give it what it wants. It's not clear whether they expect the alien to harm the hundreds, but they do know it's a very real possibility. While this might seem honorable in terms of friendship, it's childishly short-sighted.

My Thoughts
There are a few texts that I am honestly impressed with their make up or structure. Finding Neverland captures J. M. Barrie so well and has such a beautiful supportive structure that, as a whole, it's a wonderful work of art. Sea of Tranquility uses alternating narration to navigate difficult issues in a way that is very human but also honest and open. Chasing Shadows blends narration with comic strips to give a sense of urgency and intense emotions. Salt to the Sea uses multiple narrators, finally circling each other in a fascinating way, to tell a story so horrible and yet so full of goodness you cry at the end, even if you're not a crier for anything else. And The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society uses letters to tell a great story, adding an edge that the story could never have in classic narration form. While there are others, they are sadly few and far between.

But this movie joins those ranks. Tuck is proposed as the "author" of the story, narrating, filming, and apparently later compiling the videos to create the final product. We're given his camera, the other boys' cameras, and the alien's camera. We're convinced that these are just boys adventuring, and honestly, it's so genuine I don't even know how someone wrote this. It makes me wonder if they handed the boys cameras and said, "You find an alien and it needs help" and let them go from there.
I know that's not what happened, but that's how well-done this movie is. It fits well as a whole. The dialogue, the characters, the structure, the camera, the music, everything--it comes together as an incredible whole that is worth seeing.

Movie Review: Pan

Title: Pan
Author: Warner Brothers
Release Date: 2015
Genre: fantasy, family, adventure, Peter Pan, British literature, children
My Rating: ***
Official Rating PG for fantasy action violence, language, and some thematic material
Age Group: 10+

Summary
Poor Peter and his friends. They're orphans in a very miserable orphanage, as apparently all orphanages always are. He wants his mother, and he's positive that she'll come back for him. But with WWII raging on outdoors, doesn't he have bigger things to think about?
Unlike all literary orphanages, this one has a crabby old nun (wait for it, I promise this is different)...who sells the boys to pirates who fly ships across the sky.
Wait, what?
Peter and some of the boys are kidnapped by Blackbeard where they are forced to mine fairy dust and fight for their survival. But Peter still wants his mother, and his new buddy James Hook wants to go home, so why not work together?
Just when they're ready to take off though, Tiger Lily shows up spewing nonsense about a chosen one, a savior, someone called the Pan. And she's pretty sure Peter is it.
So is Blackbeard, and he'll stop at nothing to get what he wants.

Word of Warning

• As mentioned above, Peter and the other boys live in a sad orphanage with a cruel nun character who is fat and ugly and basically a tyrant. She also sells the boys to pirates. She's just an all-around nasty character.
• As with any orphanage, there are abandoned children.
• The characters are not all together good, even though we're to believe they're on the good side. They break into places, steal, and do general mischief.
• The PG rating comes from fantasy action violence and thematic material. We see scenes where characters fall to their deaths, bombs are dropped (on England and on pirate ships), characters are nearly crushed by a falling metal car, there is an animated war scene (shown as historical of Neverland), an animated battle scene shows a woman made of bubbles being stabbed and dying, a man looks possessed when attacked by fairies (and quite honestly, attacking fairies are rather fierce), and so on.
• The mermaids apparently do not even wear shells. Their hair covers what is absolutely necessary. Tiger Lily wears a bandeau style shirt for significantly long parts of the movie. 
• There is a light, somewhat playful, romance that never amounts to anything physical (not even a hug).
• Blackbeard is using fairy dust to stay young forever. This can be (and should be) disturbing.
• An old man is shot and killed. Other characters die as well, though some of these deaths are meant to be comical.
• Brief mention of suicide, not as an action to take, but rather as a caution.
• The animals of Neverland are creepy and dangerous.

My Thoughts
If you're looking for something accurate to the original Peter Pan stories by J. M. Barrie, this isn't it. It's much closer to the original feel than, say, Hook starring Robin Williams and a grown up Peter Pan (wait, isn't that a contradiction?). However, there is much focus on family, knowing where one comes from, and heroism for the sake of doing the right thing. This is very much not the vibe of the original book.

But if you're looking for a well done movie with little known actors who are incredibly skilled, a fun fantasy adventure romp, this is a great option. I enjoyed it in theaters, and I enjoyed it again while watching it for research. It proposes some interesting questions, and I'd like to see how it is connected, eventually, to the original Peter Pan. By the end of the movie, you get the feeling this is the first half of a prequel to Peter Pan. I'd like to see where it goes from here.
And even if it goes nowhere, it's still a good, well done movie worth watching and enjoying.

Book Review: Violet and the Pearl of the Orient

Title: Violet and the Pearl of the Orient
Author: Harriet Whitehorn
Illustrated by: Becka Moor
Release Date: 2014
Genre: friendship, mystery, British literature
My Rating: **
Official Rating: Childrens to middle grade fiction
Age Group: 8+

Summary
Violet Remy-Robinson and her best friend Rose have a good life. They like to play in the garden (Violet is a very good climber), visit the eccentric neighbor lady Dee Dee (she's from America), care for their cats, and they go to a nice school.
Then the Du Plicitous family moves in. Isabella is rude, and so are her parents. Dee Dee starts having trouble with them as her new landlords. Then one day Dee Dee's most valuable possession, the Pearl of the Orient, goes missing. Violet and Rose don't think the whole thing is being handled properly, and they set out to solve the mystery themselves. Now if they could just get someone to take them seriously....

Word of Warning

• The Du Plicitous family is very very rude. 
• Violet and Rose hatch several plans to escape from school. Eventually they do (but there are consequences).
• Violet's parents like a good cocktail, or so we're told. There are several other drinks mentioned as well, and Violet is given a small amount in her own glass. Still, there is no drunkenness or anything I'd be worried about.
• Violet disobeys her mother and climbs a tree she was told not to climb.

My Thoughts
I picked it up looking for a book to bring home to my younger sister--and because of the illustrations. They're fun, but my favorite part was how they interacted with the text. They didn't just give more detail to the text, making it easier to picture. They were part of the text, and often it was necessary to look at them closely in order to understand the story. It was fun.
The reason there are no more stars than there are is because nothing about this book stood out to me. It was good, and I will be gifting it after all, but it didn't do anything (aside from the pictures) to stand out above any other mystery novel written for this age group.
Still, it's a fun and fast read, and it has enough British English vocabulary in it to keep an American on her toes. Plus, the eccentric American woman was too funny.

Book Review: Hetty Feather

Title: Hetty Feather
Author: Jacqueline Wilson
Release Date: 2010
Genre: historical fiction, family, friendship, orphans, British literature, children's fiction
My Rating: ****
Official Rating: Children's fiction (middle grade)
Age Group: 10+

Summary:
Hetty Feather's name isn't actually Hetty. That's just the name the Foundling Hospital gave her when she was abandoned there by her mother. She's pretty sure she actually has a really beautiful name, even though she's not quite sure that would match her appearance.
Lucky Hetty ends up with a loving foster family. Then, she's sent back to the Foundling Hospital at the age of six, as is required of all foundlings who were fostered. There, she learns her school lessons and sews. She's fed and has a home.
Hetty knows there is so much more in the world, and quite honestly, the Foundling Hospital isn't what it's all cracked up to be, and Hetty and her authorities don't get along very well.
Which is fine, because Hetty is dead set on finding out who her mother is and finding a real home at last.
What will happen to Hetty?

Word of Warning
I apologize that this list isn't as detailed as it could be. I had not intended to write a review on this book and had to read it for school in less than 48 hours, so did not have much time to keep a detailed list of problems.

• Orphans, often hopeless.
• Children are "beaten" as punishment.
• Children sneak out when they're not supposed to.
• Mention of a circus lady being "barely dressed". She is idolized for her skills as a horse rider by Hetty.
• Children are mean to each other.
• People die. Children die.
• A man, probably a pedophile, approaches Hetty and speaks to her. For the innocent reader, all you can tell is that he's a creepy person. For the more mature reader, the signs are there for us to know what this man is without the story becoming graphic.
• A drunken man beats his children (mentioned but never shown).

My Thoughts

This seems to be the Laura Ingles Wilder series of Britain. It has its own show, has become a series, is historical fiction, and is very popular.

It's well written. I didn't need the impish redhead on the front of the book to know this girl was sassy, cute, and just trying to make it with what she's handed. The narration is well done, and mature themes are handled very appropriately. They are serious, but because of the narrator's age the story moves past them quickly. This risks making serious things feel trivial, but such as not the case. Just as death isn't trivial for children in reality, it's not trivial here either. It's just dealt with at a different speed, with a different understanding, and in a different way than adult readers would tend toward in their own lives.

Honestly, this is a very well-done book. There were points where I skimmed narration (possibly because of the short time frame I had to read the book). There were points when my frustration as a reader could not be reconciled by my knowledge as a writer and literary critique (those moments when there really seems no good reason for that plot point/twist to have happened).
Overall, though, it was well done. I won't be giving this book away any time soon, except as a loan, and as such, to anyone who is willing to take it.

Movie Review: Old Fashioned

Title: Old Fashioned
Author: PureFlix
Release Date: 2015
Genre: romance, Christian
My Rating: **
Official Rating: Unrated
Age Group: 18+

Summary
Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is...
Chivalry makes a comeback.

So the front of the DVD case says. The movie starts with, "Love makes your soul crawl from its hiding place" credited to Zora Neal Hurston.

Amber comes rolling into town, where her car runs out of gas. So, that's where she settles. She rents a place from a guy who owns the antique shop below her little apartment. He's weird, doesn't talk much, and makes her sit on the step whenever he needs to fix any of the appliances in her apartment. Amber, on the other hand, is a free spirit. While Clay might have turned his back on his wild college days completely, Amber likes to have fun, though she's not a party girl, exactly. She just likes to have a good time and not tie herself down.
Really though, she just hasn't found a place she can call home.

Amber and Clay decide they like each other. Ok. So Clay says, "My rules" and Amber says "Sure, as long as you ask me out." He does. And his rules are weird. They get a marriage prep book from the local pastor. Their dates aren't normal, there is no kissing, barely any touching, and they are never to be alone. He says what they're doing isn't dating, because that doesn't lead to good things.
So what are they doing? And why?

Word of Warning
This section is going to be a little strange. Having given my age recommendation, my main concern isn't the content exactly, it's the philosophy. So while I'll briefly list the objectionable content here, I'm also going to share my concerns with the philosophy.

• Radio. The radio has a lot of awful things to say about women. While there is a person behind the radio, the things said are quite disturbing and very sexist (and I don't usually use that word seriously, but I am here).
• Mention of seductive ladies ready to win a bachelor; women are stupid, also a mention of "hot stupid women"; mocking of a sweet, faithful, good woman or man; mention of a "luscious body"; mention of a woman getting "knocked up"; the question "what is the point of marriage?" with no answer proposed by the speaker or even the movie
• A man swipes a picture of a woman. The picture belongs to another man. (goodness, I had to make that two sentences to make it make sense and not sound wrong)
• Clay apparently made old videos with college girls. We see the girls acting flirty for the camera, and later Amber watches a video and cries, but we don't see the screen. Everything is implied.
• A friend asks Clay for the "story about the redhead that summer and her ______" (the blank is filled with what is meant to be a suggestive nod)
• A friend mocks Clay's "I wouldn't do anything to her that I wouldn't want done to me" motto.
• Quite a few veiled references to sex. It is also mentioned outright a few times, once when Amber claims that "sex takes practice" for one of the reasons one shouldn't wait for marriage.
• Amber claims to be spiritual, not religious (logical contradiction there), and Clay has stopped going to church because of the hypocrites there.
• A couple with kids is living together. The woman doesn't see the point in getting married and resists whenever it is mentioned.
• The ideal honeymoon: not a single distraction from building intimacy with a life-long bride. (which is really sweet, but still something parents should be aware of)
• When trying to understand why Clay is so weird, Amber's coworkers muse that he's gay, has a disease, or has a "tiny problem"
• The question "how many sexual partners have you had?" is asked outright. Spoiler: the answer is not one.
• Clay seems to think dating and the hook up culture are the same (they're not).
• Careless mention of an extramarital affair.
• On her honeymoon, a woman says she cried herself to sleep, trying to figure out why her new husband wanted to watch [pause] on TV than touch her.
• A stripper starts to remove clothes (she gets as far as her scarf and jacket) at a bachelor party.
• Drinking. Characters get drunk.
• Interestingly enough, even with all this, characters are for the most part modestly dressed.
• Divorce.

Philosophy:
Amber's stove won't work. She calls Clay. He comes up to fix it, but tells her she needs to sit on the step while he does so. They can't be in the same house alone, he says. So she sits out there, wrapped in a blanket, and waits for him to fix her stove.
This is just one of Clay's many rules. Don't get me wrong, the rules aren't bad. It's just what he uses them for. Clay uses the rules to avoid facing any difficulties, to hide. No, I am not saying one should put oneself in a dangerous situation for the purpose of facing difficulty, nor that one shouldn't try to avoid it. I am saying Clay is using these rules to protect himself emotionally as well. Rules are good, so long as their purpose is kept in mind, and they are not followed blindly. Clay says no sex before marriage. Right on. He also says no kissing before marriage (fun fact: the Catholic Church, aside from warning against arousal, doesn't have any objections to a chaste kiss). Nothing good happens after 11pm, Clay declares. He's probably right.

But he's also wrong. He uses the rules to shut things out. This is not courting in the traditional sense (like the movie implies). It's dating, something Clay claims to be determined to avoid. But dating is not inherently evil, though the movie tries to convince you that it is. It tries to tell you that you're better than that, that you deserve more than dating. Clay says dating teaches you to be witty, charming, and romantic--and somehow these are negative things. But are they really inherently bad? No, they're not.
And, he uses his set of rules (a "theory" he calls them) to claim that it's not our job to seek a romantic partner, they just come to us and we do what we should with them. A soulmate, he explains. Fun fact #2: the Catholic Church doesn't teach that either. And it doesn't say there is anything wrong with looking. So long as it is done properly and for the right reasons and in the right way.

The basic idea of respecting women is wonderful. Thumbs up for that! But the way that idea is carried out is unsatisfying, and there's a reason for that: rules only work when they're based on something and when they can be looked at for their meaning. They must have a heart. Take the Ten Commandments. Suppose I decided to doubt them. You could go through and explain why they should still be upheld, even if I wasn't a religious person. This movie is like Josh Harris's I Kissed Dating Goodbye book. It's a nice idea, but without any grounding, and it's not really clear how to do the idea either. The beauty of the Catholic Church is that it has reasons for what it teaches, it can stand on something.
But Clay can't. He has ideas about how the world works, and for the most part he's right. Then he sets up rules based on the ideas, and these result in the very thing he set out to avoid: causing suffering to a woman he loves. For some reason, this is glorified.
It's not right. It's incredibly frustrating.

Rules are good. But they need a heart, a reason, a why that matches up with the rule. The rule should produce the result the why was pointing at. Clay's don't.


My Thoughts

"Life isn't all warm fuzzies."
"It's not all rules either."

But Amber's "warm fuzzies" don't really win out in the end. In fact, she's shown as the one doing the pursuing in the entire relationship. Clay's rules win. The movie tries to propose that there was a compromise, but if you look closely at the philosophy of it, there wasn't. Not really. Those fuzzies were squashed.
I don't disagree with the rules or the value of rules, particularly in a delicate situation like this. I do disagree with their approach to dating (see this article for a very interesting write up on courting).
Think of flowers as a rule. On Valentines day, that's when and how they're properly used. Now think of flowers on any other day of the year and how nice it is to get them out of the blue, because of what they mean.

But Clay's rules drive his girlfriend to seek drunken comfort in the arms of a man she has never met. They are the reason she begs, "Send me flowers. Bring me chocolate. Tell me I'm the most beautiful woman you have ever met, even if that's not true. I need to know that you want me!"
Clay has denied her something she desperately needs, and deserves. And we're supposed to believe one candlelit evening in a grocery store at the end of the movie means he's willing to bend?
No. Because he's not. He's hurting her.

It's weird. I'm struggling to explain it. By doing everything right, more so than necessary, he's doing everything wrong. The movie was slow, boring, but sort of sweet.
Mostly though, it was frustrating. Most of my notes are arguing with the movie's philosophy, not notes on the content.
That shouldn't be the problem with this kind of movie.

Allow me to end with this. John Henry Newman, the great Anglican convert to Catholicism, spends an entire book titled An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine (a 445 page "essay") reasoning through how Christianity could get to where it was in his time after what it looked like to begin with. Basically, to put 445 pages in a nutshell (and that's quite daunting task, considering the work at hand), his aim is this: using "tests", he sets out to prove that the Catholic Church is indeed what it is claiming to be, the Church of Acts (and the Gospels, and the bible, and everything else).
But in the end, even as an Anglican, and later as a Catholic, he admits that these tests (read: rules) will only get him so far. And they can't be applied blindly, or you end up with the debacle the Vincentian method lands the Anglicans in (read: a hypocritical mess).
Sometimes, you need a little faith.
Sometimes, you need to send a girl flowers when it's not Valentine's day. Give her chocolate. Tell her she's the most beautiful woman you've ever met.

Because sometimes...sometimes application of rules, tests, and the Vincentian method land you in a more confusing and unfulfilling place than when you started.

Movie Review: Unbranded

Title: Unbranded
Author: N/A
Release Date: 2015
Genre: animals, wild west, friendship, travel, true story
My Rating: ** (not because it wasn't any good, but because it barely kept my interest)
Official Rating: PG-13
Age Group: 12+

Summary
Just out of college, four buddies sharing a passion for horses, decide to do something crazy to make a point. Mustangs are great horses, they insisted. So they decided to prove it by taking sixteen mustangs (and a donkey, to spice up the unit's appearance) from border to border. That's right, Mexico to Canada. Just four guys and their wild horses. All the way across the country.

Word of Warning

•  Swearing. At least a few uses of f*** and s***, as well as others I did not write down.
• Horses get hurt. Nothing graphic. A few get leg injuries. One tumbles down a hill, getting a few scrapes.
• A dead horse is shown. They guys look in its mouth, can't find the cause of death, and cut off the tail. It's disturbing to know this isn't staged, it's a real dead horse.
• The guys fight. No blows, but lots of angry shouting and plenty of swearing.
• Guys talk about getting drunk.
• Mention of suffering and starving horses eating dead horses, foul trying to nurse from a dead mother.
• This isn't really a bad thing, but it is something to be aware of. To break up the traveling, experts from the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) discusses the measures being taken to keep wild mustangs populations under control. They do give screen time to people who disagree with the BLM, but using arguments they basically paint those in disagreement as wrong.

My Thoughts
I watched it because a rather skilled horseback rider told me it was a good movie and she enjoyed it. And I figured that if she liked it, experiencing what she's experienced, knowing what she knows, then it had to be realistic and good.
And it was. I think. I don't know enough in the area to be sure if it was, but it sure looked like it. I learned a lot. It was interesting.

So why the two stars? Because it was boring. Because it took me three days, not consecutive days, to finish this movie, and the last hour was finished after a long exhausting day. Also because one of the guys on the trip really annoyed me for some reason, and he was the leader. He controlled everything and lost it when others wanted to throw a little something into the journey. He had these goals he was determined to meet, but unfortunately the goals required the others to do exactly what he had planned for them to do, and when they didn't, it didn't go over well.
And as pathetic as it sounds, that, added to the lack of hook, made it hard to enjoy the movie more than two stars.

It's not a bad movie. It just wasn't a super good movie. It was an ok movie.

Movie Review: Captain America: Civil War

Super excited to welcome a new student author, reviewing, of all things, a contemporary movie which came out less than a week ago. For the future, if we do not have a review of something you're looking for, you can usually find something at Plugged In.


Title: Captain America: Civil War
Author: Marvel
Release Date: 2016
Genre: Action/Adventure, Superhero, Sci Fi, Fantasy, drama
My Rating: 4.5 Stars!!! (****)
Official Rating: PG-13
Age Group: 13&older

Summary:
Helmut Zemo’s family was killed by one of the Avenger’s exploits, making him vengeful.  To try to get even, he devises a plan to tear the team from the inside, which would prove much more effective than trying to kill them himself.  When certain events happen resulting in deaths of innocent people (including the king of Wakanda), the world starts seeing Superheroes as more of a threat than a safety.  In an attempt to make things right, the United Nation’s government makes the Avengers decide between letting them govern their actions or to retire as a superhero.  The team divides themselves, with one side for the idea of the government judging whether an emergency is important enough for them to save people, and the other against.  After multiple epic battle scenes, Tony Stark finds evidence that the Avengers were framed just so they would fight each other.  Though there were multiple plots and countless twists, the Avengers managed to resolve it all without killing each other.

Word of Warning:
Swearing: Actually, not much swearing considering this is a Marvel movie.  Compared to most others, this one is pretty clean in this aspect.
Blood:  Lots of blood and gore. 
Violence:  Considering most of the movie is fighting, lots of violence.

My Thoughts:
Man.  This was a great movie.  I’d heard good things, I’d heard bad things, but nothing that prepared me to what I saw in the theater.  Sure, there was some questionable scenes where I was like, um, what just happened, but overall it was just a really good movie!  It had everything I wanted: Action, adventure, comedy, even some feels!  The fight from the inside had me on the edge of my seat, and although I was on Cap’s side, there was a couple times during the movie where I second guessed myself and thought that Iron Man had some pretty valid points with his argument.  Like any Marvel movie though, the pace was too fast and multiple times during the movie I was left with that feeling where you go, what the heck just happened, and then just forget it because the next scene is playing.  I loved how there were a lot of super heroes, ranging from Ant-Man to Spider Man to even Black Panther!  And as always, Marvel never fails to impress me with it multiple plotlines and how everything ties together at the end even though you have no idea what is going on in the middle.  This movie was really good, much better than I thought it would be.


Author Bio:
Hello!  I am a decent author, with a number of literature and writing classes under my belt.  In my free time, I like to experiment with my awesome tree power and my sweet Super Ninja Monkey Magical Dragon skills.  I have Master’s degrees in weirdness and eating sugar from the U of Me, and hopefully at least a minor in awesomeness.  Don’t know for sure about that one though.  You can find me fishing, hanging out with friends, being weird, eating sugar, practicing how to be awesome (have to take lessons), and perfecting my Super Ninja Monkey Magical Dragon.  My newest accomplishment is granting wishes.

Movie Review: The Peanuts Movie

Title: The Peanuts Movie
Author: Twentieth Century Fox, Blue Sky Studios
Release Date: 2015
Genre: animation, comedy, romance, friendship, adventure, animals
My Rating: ****
Official Rating: G (all ages)
Age Group: family movie night!

Summary
Charlie Brown is a failure. I mean, seriously, we all know him because he's always messing things up and we can, unfortunately relate to that all too well.
But when a new kid moves into two, Charlie's excited to have the chance to start over. He doesn't have a reputation with this new kid, and he's looking forward to that opportunity. He has high hopes.
Then he discovers that the new kid is a girl, and the stakes rise considerably.
So when Charlie suddenly becomes a hero, what does that do to our good old Charlie Brown?

Word of Warning
 These are going to be extremely nit-picky, because this film was incredibly clean.

• Comic scenes of violence and failure. No actual injuries are incurred. (think cartoon mishaps used for laughter)
• Characters gloat and are sometimes rude to one another. Flirting, insults...think Lucy.
• Charlie desperately wants someone who will just love him for who he is and not judge or give advice. That isn't really a good friendship though, and his best friendship (with Snoopy) involves all sorts of advice and judgement.
• The age old Peppermint Paddy being called "sir" takes on a new connotation in our day. The movie doesn't give any reason for the viewer to think this, but we bring social connotations to every text we consume.
• Snoopy has a few battle scenes with the Red Baron.
• Charlie "stalks" the Little Red Haired Girl. This is supposed to be sweet, but it's really a little weird.
• Charlie faces the "I'm nothing" and "she's something" conflict and believes it.
• Words: rats, good grief, stupid, blockhead
• Someone remarks "it was written in the cards" when names are drawn for a final assignment.
• In Snoopy's stories, a female dog is kidnapped and held prisoner (this isn't very dramatic).
• Adults are not visible and barely participate. This is classic Peanuts, but still odd.
• Snoopy shouts, "Curse you, Red Baron!"

My Thoughts
I had a huge grin on my face the whole movie. Except when I was sad for Charlie Brown. Or when I was laughing.
I had been expecting, with dread, the modern film industry to ruin this classic by making it modern. It didn't. This was Peanuts like it has always been. A little more hopeful, but still Peanuts.
Snoopy made a great best friend, one everyone wants to have. Charlie Brown did the right thing, which lead every one to think poorly of him--twice. Once, out of integrity. Once, for his sister. Charlie Brown, when he is at his lowest point, finds himself by helping another (interesting theological points could be made about that).

There isn't much to say about the movie. It was simple. It was the Peanuts. It was good. It was family friendly.
So go ahead. Borrow or rent it and enjoy a family movie night without worry about bad words or veiled inappropriate references. For the first time in a very long time, you can watch something made by mainstream movie producers after the year 2000 without holding that remote at ready.

Book Review: Sea of Tranquility

*******MATURE CONTENT WARNING*******

Title: Sea of Tranquility
Author: Katja Millay
Release Date: 2013
Genre: romance, coming of age, YA fiction
My Rating: *****
Official Rating: YA fiction
Age Group: 18+

Summary
Nastya is dead. Or so she says. She continually refers to herself as the girl who died. We meet her at the beginning of her senior year at a school she has never attended before. She lives with her aunt even though her family is alive and well in a different city. She's that problem student who doesn't care, doesn't socialize, and dresses like a slut. She's not destructive or violent, but still.
And she doesn't talk. No, she actually doesn't talk. Nastya has not spoken to anyone in over two years and it looks like she doesn't intend to start any time soon.
What Nastya does do is run. Every day, she runs until her body can't take it anymore. One night, having puked up the contents of her stomach after a long run, she comes across a curious garage. She approaches to find a boy from her school. He's a woodworker, according to his tools and materials.
But it isn't Josh's woodworking that captures Nastya's attention. It's the fact that everyone in school just leaves him alone. That's what she wants. So, she decides to watch him and figure out how he does it.
But you can't just watch, as Nastya and Josh eventually find out. Sooner or later, someone breaks the awkward silence with an awkward question which turns into an awkward one-sided conversation.
And then one day, that one-sided conversation suddenly becomes two-sided, and horrible secrets come out.

Word of Warning

•  We have the stock characters of high school. The jerk, the nerds, the angry ex-girlfriend, the player, and so on. This in itself isn't bad, but some of these roles (like player) are.
• Violence and graphic injuries. A character is beaten near death and details are not spared for the reader.
• Serious language issues. Teens swear. A lot.
• Teens refuse to listen to adult guidance, when they really really should.
• Minors drinking and becoming drunk. Also, use of drugs by minors (though any use of drugs would be bad).
• Teen sexual intimacy. For the most part, we're merely aware of its existence but are able to avoid any sort of descriptions. However, there is one poetically graphic scene. By "poetically graphic" I mean no specific biological terms are used, but there is no question as to what is going on.
• Hints of depression. The main character may very well be depressed, as some of the others may be as well. While none of the characters consider suicide, it is mentioned that a character did commit suicide. This character is a minor character who accidentally spurs some of the biggest events in the book, but the suicide happens before this book starts. Basically, the suicidal teen's world is separate from the book's world except for one bridging character. I apologize if this is too cryptic, I am trying to avoid giving away the story but still warn you of the contents.
• Attempted murder. I will assure you that none of the characters proposed as main characters does this.
• Death. One character in particular is surrounded by death, with this character's entirely family being dead before this character is a legal adult. This is emotionally very hurtful, as I'm sure you can imagine.
• Attempted rape. Not successful, but still a disgusting and disturbing and horrible scene.

My Thoughts
And if you're not judging me at this point for giving this book a rating of five stars, I am a little worried. Nevertheless, let me explain.
I came across this book by accident, and the biggest problems (sexual content) did not show up until I was greatly invested in the characters' journeys. Now, that doesn't make reading it ok, but the way the objectionable content was dealt with is honestly beautiful, especially for YA fiction. I think my favorite scene is after two characters have sex. They both realize they've ruined the beautiful relationship they had by doing such a thing before marriage. The "before marriage" part isn't explicitly stated, but is implied. They're heartbroken and have to figure out how to rebuild a relationship with this white elephant in the room.
Now even that isn't enough to read the book. Thankfully, the things that are bad are treated as bad. Still, this book is a beautiful study of humanity. Nastya starts out as barely human and becomes human through her actions. Objectionable content is faced head on by characters and author and hashed out as best they can before coming to the conclusion that there is an answer, but it is out of reach of the characters (perhaps because they have no religious beliefs to stand on?).

And the whole thing is an interesting journey from the uncomfortable gritty aspects of life, progressing to beauty even when surrounded by dirt.

Do I think everyone should read this? Absolutely not. I myself would not normally read something like this. But do I think the book has redeeming qualities? For sure. And way more redeeming qualities than the average YA novel. In fact, it was far too deep of a study on humanity for me to feel comfortable calling it YA fiction. There was just something more to it that I can't explain.

Below is a more extensive description written for an education course of why the book might be acceptable for select audiences in case you are curious to read more.

Movie Review: Catching Faith

Title: Catching Faith
Release Date: 2015
Genre: Christian, family, drama, sports
My Rating: *
Official Rating: NR (not rated)
Age Group: 14+ for teen drinking and lack of parental guidance

Summary
They're like any other family. A father with a job, a mother who stays at home and runs things, two seniors in high school, one boy, one girl. The girl's smart and headed for M.I.T. Her brother, the football star who's popular and good at the game he plays. They've even got the grandparents who are nice, but get on their nerves every now and then. The mother's friends who are concerned about appearance and don't really know her. The crazy church lady who seems to think they need help.
But they don't need help. They're the perfect family with success and great clothes. They're fine. Great, actually.

Then the son gets caught drinking. The grandfather dies of a heart attack, the grandmother moves in and drives everyone crazy. The daughter has a copy of the answers to the final Latin exam that hasn't been given yet. The mother is falling apart and doesn't know where to turn, and on top of all that, her husband wants the son to confess to drinking. Which will get him kicked off the team. But the husband wants his family to have "integrity" and he's positive that's the way to get it. Get the kid kicked off the football team. Make enemies of the entire town.
Right. 'Cause that's a good idea.

Word of Warning

• Underage drinking (were it not for this, I might give it a much lower age rating)
• Mother hesitates and thinks her son should get away with drinking because he didn't get caught. This may be the attitude of the town, as at least one other mother (who is used to represent the views of the women) believes that if the kids are safe and don't get caught, it's not a big deal and should be left alone.
• Daughter steals a copy of the test answers (she doesn't use it, but she does have it)
• Grandmother is always rude and nitpicking her daughter's way of running the house/family
• Wife takes a necklace her husband bought her to the store to exchange it for a bigger one and doesn't tell him
• Dishonesty, tension, problems in the marriage
• Death
• Daughter's clothes are sometimes revealing
• A very rude woman who masquerades as a friend
• Family issues. Basically, the family bond is suffering
• No bad words, no violence (save for a few football tackles), nothing bad on the intimacy front (except for the conflicts in the marriage, but that's not inappropriate for younger viewers)

My Thoughts
Two things I want to address: the use of nouns instead of specific names, and the low rating for something obviously appropriate for nearly the whole family.

Let's start with the single star. The single star is because I found this film rather boring. It was the typical Christian film that is slightly preachy, but I have to give them credit for still putting the family through plenty of struggles even after the faith comes back into their lives. It wasn't even that preachy until the moment on the bench when the football coach starts quoting Scripture to the son. Which I have nothing against--it was just painfully preachy and sort of pushy of the movie. If they had managed to make it a bit more interesting, I could have dealt with the pushy preaching.

Husband. Wife. Son. Daughter. Grandmother. Grandfather. Why no names? I could confess that I can't even remember the names (aside from Beau, the son's name, because he got yelled at a lot). But I want to claim a stylistic move here. The movie is meant to be universal. It's trying hard to be classic, the story of every family. No, it's not the story of every family (M.I.T.? drinking?), but I will admit that it does a pretty good job of feeling applicable and real for everyone (which is probably why it's so boring--after all, we all know the story and its ending). So I went with it instead of looking up names, because I liked the implications that choice made.

So it was boring, but it was every day life with a semi-every day family and it was mostly appropriate for all ages. I'm just not sure all ages would be interested, since it mostly follows the struggles of the mother and isn't very gripping.

Book Review: Salt to the Sea

Title: Salt to the Sea
Author: Ruta Sepetys
Release Date: 2016
Genre: historical fiction, WW2, romance, teen fiction, travel, family, pain
My Rating: *****
Official Rating: teen fiction
Age Group: 16+ (or 18+, depending on reader's exposure)
Awards: Junior Library Guild Book Pick, 2015 Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Residency

Summary
"We the survivors are not the true witnesses. The true witnesses, those in possession of the unspeakable truth, are the drowned, the dead, the disappeared" --Primo Levi

Joana: a nurse from Lithuania, Lina's cousin, and just trying to make up for her mistakes by caring for those around her. Emilia: a young Polish girl running away, hiding a pregnancy, looking for some goodness in the world that mirrors the fairy tale world she so recently lived in. Alfred: a young German soldier, stuck in his own head, blind to the evils around him, eager to please but not wanting to work. Florian: a Prussian art scholar, fleeing two countries as he tries to avenge his father's death and find his sister before it is too late. And Sorry Eva and Wandering Boy Klaus and Shoe Poet and all the others.
Wilhelm Gustloff, the ship that will take the injured soldiers and refugees to safety.

The lives of these characters all converge until they find themselves aboard the Gustloff where they witness what the author calls "the single greatest tragedy in maritime history."

Word of Warning

• This is war. Horrible things happen, and the descriptions are not graphic but are rather stark. People are frozen dead, starve, shot, missing limbs, delirious, dying, drowning, getting crushed, and more. There is an assumed murder-sucicide of a family.
• We hear of the invasion of a town where the Russians raped the young women and slaughtered all the others. Later there is mention of getting someone's "skirt up", which is what the Russians would do (or so we are told).
• A young woman gives birth.
• A character has shrapnel embedded in his back which has to be removed without medical supplies.
• People are cruel animals to each other. Children die horrible deaths, parents are desperate, and people are generally heartless.
• Kisses. Flirting (honest, delirious, and twisted--though from different people).
• Lying. Cheating. Spying.

My Thoughts
From a purely literary perspective, it is a work of art. The way the author shapes the narrative through the minds of four distinct characters from four different countries, all stories converging on the Gustloff,  and giving incredibly historical perspective all along the way--this is a truly stunning book.

She's done it again. Ruta Sepetys, the author of Between Shades of Gray, has once again written us something that tears at our hearts while revealing to us the horrible truths of history which are so often overlooked.
It sounds horrible to say this is a good book. I might use the word "priceless" instead. Amid all the horror, we see people emerge as heroes. Amid all the smoke, we are at last shown the truth.

I have nothing valuable to say about this book aside from this: read it.

Movie Review: Antman

Title: Antman
Author: Marvel
Release Date: 2015
Genre: adventure, action, superheroes, science fiction, family, fathers, romance
My Rating: ****
Brother's Rating: **** */2 (4.5)
Official Rating: PG-13 (for sci-fi action violence)
Age Group: 14+ (that's probably over cautious, but there's one line that makes me uneasy)

Summary
Scott isn't a robber, he's a burglar. He doesn't like violence, and honestly, the only time he stole was for the greater good. Rich people were ripping off their clients, so he hacked the system and got the money back.
Then he went to jail, leaving his daughter and a woman he loved behind.
But now he's out, and he's determined to stay on track and be a good guy. Unfortunately, life is hard for people who spent time in jail, and he finds himself doing just one last job with some buddies for money, desperate to see his little girl again but unable to do so without money.
Then he steals something he isn't too sure he wants. Then he returns it and goes back to jail. Then he is rescued from jail by the man he stole from.
And told there is a mission he needs to complete, to "be the hero his daughter already knows he is." He's got to break into a super secure facility and steal a tiny little suit that can shrink the wearer to the size of an ant. After all, we can't have bad guys getting their hands on that suit.
And to do that, he's got to team up with a strange old man, an apparently cold young woman, and a whole awful lot of ants.
And he has to shrink down to the size of an ant and lead the attack. No problem. Right?

Word of Warning

•  The beginning scene is a fist fight between men in jail. One is much bigger than the other, but no serious injuries are received. There are several other fist fights throughout the movie, all resulting in something similar (unfairly matched opponents, no serious injuries).
• A man mentions that "those were the first boobs I touched." (this is the line that makes me bump up the age recommendation)
• A woman died by shrinking into eternity forever.
• A character is caught in a bug zapper.
• Women in tight clothes and low shirts and short skirts. This is usually in scenes when on character is story telling (twice, that I recall) because the other times they are wearing business clothes. Also one kiss, more implied than seen.
• People get knocked out, kicked around, etc. Typical superhero violence, but nothing graphic or even that serious. However, a few people are shot (again, not graphic).
• A building blows up.
• A woman and her fiance are living together with her little daughter (who has a different father).
• A man calls another an "a**hat". S*** is used a few times, as well as d***, a**, and b****. God's name is used in vane about three times.
• An ant gets supersized. So does a toy Thomas the Train engine, which promptly tears a whole in the roof.
• A man is shrunken unsuccessfully and turns into a blob of gooey organic matter. The same happens with a really cute lamb.
• Scenes are shown where a super tiny man punches bigger men with serious power, knocking them out (or possibly killing them. this is unclear, as it is an old recorded war scene).
• A man is shrunken piece by piece until he explodes or disappears (it's unclear which).

Something to note: unlike most Marvel movies, the body count and destruction of cities is kept pretty low.

My Thoughts
Bear with me for a moment as an apparently-nonapplicable story becomes applicable.
Over the summers, I teach writing classes to local students. In "Fiction 2" this summer we delved deep into all sorts of devices, techniques, and ways to form a story. One lesson spent much time on how to deal with plot holes in a story. Plot holes can never completely be avoided, my premise was, and we can never meet fully a reader's expectation of narrative fidelity (taken from Walter Fischer's Narrative Paradigm Theory of Communication). The trick, then, is to do what we can so the reader believes us anyway. Engaging style, fast story, something just a tad too complex for the reader to completely follow, engaging character, and others. Or, you can own it.

Well this film has an awful lot of plot holes. The plot itself is honestly ridiculous, when you really think about it.
And the writers owned it. It was like they said, "Yeah, we know we got a crazy story for you that doesn't make any sense, but we're going to own it and still be totally awesome." They knew the plot was weird and fell apart almost right away. They were probably painfully aware that this worked much better as a comic (I assume, as I am sadly unfamiliar with the Marvel comic universe, other than what the screen tells me).

Well they succeeded fantastically. I had that idiotic "teacher/English nerd who is super stunned and impressed" grin on on my face the whole time.
I watched it twice. I'd watch it again, and probably laugh just as hard.

It wasn't all laughter. There were moments of heroics. Moments of great fathers learning to be great. Moments of reconciliation between characters who had no reason to be reconciled save for a little girl. There was seriousness.

But there was also an awful lot of craziness. And the writers owned it--brilliantly.

Book Review: The Bees

Title: The Bees
Author: Laline Paull
Release Date: 2015
Genre: fiction, biology...I'm really not sure what to call this one
My Rating: ***
Official Rating: adult fiction
Age Group: 18+
Awards: Bailey's Women's Prize for Fiction (Shortlisted)

Summary

Flora 717 is born into her hive just as every other Flora is born--she climbs out of a cell, shakes herself dry, and is ready to work. Just like all the other bees.
Except Flora is, well a Flora. That means she's at the bottom of the bee-list. She's a cleaner of the hive. But a Sage decides to try an experiment and moves Flora up to the nursery where the young bee learns to tend to the babies.
That was a big mistake.
Flora gets smart. She learns how to blend in with any of her sisters, the Sage (priestesses), the foragers, and butting heads with the Teasel. Plus, she befriends a Drone, the most disgusting and self-absorbed member of the hive.
Yes, Flora is dangerously resourceful--and she's a mutant. But one day her ability to move from class to class becomes a real threat. One day, she falls in love with motherhood.
And one day, she realizes something horrible: the Queen is sick.

Word of Warning

• This book is incredibly brutal. Bees and wasps are torn apart and murdered in various ways. Spiders prey upon the bees and suck their lives from them. It's the brutal reality of the animal world like we've never seen it before. The violence is not glorified, and is treated appropriately, but can be disturbing.
• The Drones. They're disgusting and self-centered and just, yuck. Their sole desire is to mate with a Queen (and once they do so, they die). We get a rather stark description of this processes. It's detailed and graphic but strangely non-sexual. I know that sounds ridiculous, but the way the material is treated is more factual and scientific than anything else. It's weird and disturbing to remove romance and anything beautiful from that kind if intimacy. I think that's what bothered me most about this discussion. I realize these are animals, so of course you have to remove that, but I hadn't realized how messed up it sounds.
• The Sisters' (bees) religion kept reminding me over and over of a Pagan/misunderstanding of Catholicism mashup. I never could pin down if the author was trying to mock Catholicism or not. The Sisters have ranks, priestesses, a library with books in it that they revere, and a Queen Mother that they worship above all else. They gather for Devotion once a day and their prayers sometimes sound similar to the Hail Mary prayer. It was really disconcerting.

My Thoughts

Wow. Having grown up enchanted by creepy crawlies and other creatures, I knew pretty much all the factual information in this book. But there is a huge difference between knowing the facts and seeing them in action. I'd never really thought of these facts in the form of a story--at least, not realistically.

Life in the hive is confusing and full of blind followers. It's brutal. It's disgusting.

But it's the life of a bee.

And I honestly enjoyed this book. I found it hard to put down. The writing style was haunting and the story was stunning.

Wow. That's just about all I have to say about this one.

And yes, that may be a purposeful paraphrase of Mr. Slinger in Kevin Henkes' Lily and the Purple Plastic Purse. Because I do enjoy a good picture book, and I have my childhood favorites that I will never forget. Like The Poky Little Puppy.

TV Show Review: The (Green) Arrow

Title: The (Green) Arrow
Author: DC Comics
Release Date: 2012 (season 4 showing now)
Genre: action, adventure, superheroes, science fiction
My Rating: **
Official Rating: TV-14 (probably PG-13)
Age Group: 16+ or 18+

Summary
Oliver Queen and his father died on a yacht trip years ago, a rich teen cut down in his prime. Well, then there was Sara Lance, Oliver's girlfriend's sister, who snuck aboard at the last moment at Oliver's urging. But that's complicated.
So they died.
And then Oliver appears again, apparently not dead after all. And what happens with billionaires who disappear for a long time? They continue their playboy lives by day, and by night they turn into epic bad-guy-beating heroes who have crazy combat skills. Far be it for Oliver to do anything but live up to our expectations. Of course, he forms a team around himself, mostly consisting of cute tech genius Felicity Smoak but suplimented by friend John Diggle, former army man.
And while others come and go, ultimately it's up to these three to save the world of Starling City from the rather messed up crime lords.

Word of Warning
Please note that while I am not reviewing specific episodes (for the most part), I am commenting on trends the show carries. I will also do my best to comment on any problems that really stand out, even if they were only in one episode.

• Comic book violence. Can get pretty graphic. People die a lot, to the point where you're numb against it.
• Torture. Sometimes this is done by the bad guys, sometimes by Oliver.
• Oliver is a playboy. Like, a lot. We get passionate kissing scenes and more than once a trip to the bedroom is implied. The only scene I can remember where we actually saw the characters in bed is in season 3 and is discrete as to what is shown, but there is no doubt what is going on.
• Evil mentors. Deception. Dark themes (death, killing, manipulation, torture, etc).
• Injuries. Blood, broken bones, etc. While painful, Oliver is somewhat superhuman in that he can take injuries pretty well (usually).
• Drinking to the point of getting drunk.
• There is a whole cult thing (the League of Shadows, I believe) where the people are very cruel. They have a Lazarus Pit which brings people back to life, but when they come back they're usually pretty messed up and go kind of crazy (having what is called a "bloodlust").

This list looks a lot shorter than that of The Flash, but there are a few reasons for that:

1. This show has so many problems it's hard to be as specific as I was with the other show.
2. I don't watch this one as closely or carefully as I do The Flash, partially because I don't like how its dark themes affect my thinking (not that I would do any of these things, just that it skews my view of the world).
3. It's so dark there is no end to the problems.
4. There are a lot more seasons here to deal with.

My Thoughts
I remember describing this show to Stacy when I first discovered it. I tried to give her the intro shpeel, but eventually, since it was identical to Batman, I reached for something else. How about Oliver's character and his relationships? Five minutes in and I had lost count of the girls I'd mentioned. And while Bruce Wayne is in love with Rachel but pretending with the girls he plays, it's super hard to figure out what Oliver is doing. The one thing we know is that he's in love with Felicity (spoiler alert really isn't necessary since this is so obvious), and she's in love with him.
So of course that never actually works out for them.

Oliver's problems with girls, as well as his inner darkness, it all just hits me the wrong way. Sure, I've enjoyed the series, since I usually enjoy a DC or Marvel story, but the enjoyment is usually in the moment and mixed with so much frustration and darkness that when I step back and actually think about it, I wonder why I watch in the first place.


It's dark, very dark, and just keeps getting darker. Oliver is no hero, just as Batman and Katniss aren't heroes. Oliver does try, but not hard enough.

TV Show Review: The Flash

Title: The Flash
Author: DC Comics
Release Date: 2014
Genre: action, adventure, superheroes, science fiction
My Rating: *****
Stacy's Rating: *****
Official Rating: TV-PG (I propose a PG-13 rating)
Age Group: 14+

Summary
Harrison Wells built a particle accelerator because, well, he's brilliant.
And Barry Allen's role model.
But let's back up. Barry Allen is an orphan adopted by a police detective after his father apparently murdered his mother (Barry believes differently). The 10 year old whose mother died is now in his twenties and working as a forensic scientist--a very good forensic scientist who, in his spare time, still tries to prove his father innocent.
Alright. Forward now.
Wells' big scientific thing explodes. That same night, Barry is hit by lightening and goes into a coma. Nine months later, he wakes up with abs and the ability to run super super fast.
Cool.
But he also discovers his first love (who he never actually approached on the topic) is dating someone else and apparently does not return his affections.
Bummer.
It keeps going! Barry discovers other people have been changed by that explosion too and now they have powers. Unfortunately, he's having a really hard time finding anyone who doesn't want to use their powers to do evil.
It's a known fact that selfish people get more selfish when big sci-fi explosions happen. And nice people like Barry?
They become superheroes.

Word of Warning
Please note that while I am not reviewing specific episodes (for the most part), I am commenting on trends the show carries. I will also do my best to comment on any problems that really stand out, even if they were only in one episode.
All these problems are very spread out over two seasons. I would like to point out that the second season is more violent, a little darker (though really, you can't be the happy go lucky  hero in a city with a vortex to another world with super villains for every long), and more intense. Not so much that I need to change the rating from season 1 to 2.

General:

• Comic book violence. Relatively non-graphic. Few deaths. When they do die, it's generally very heartbreaking.
•  Dead parents. Both Barry and Iris have death mothers.
• Injuries. Blood, broken bones, etc. While painful, these clear up pretty quickly (super fast healing and all that).
• There's a running joke that Barry can't get drunk, and this seems to be a disappointment to everyone.
• Very mild swearing. So much so that Stacy had to remind me it was there.
• One character often makes rather veiled inappropriate comments. One or two are more obvious than the rest.
• Kisses here and there.

Specific:

• A mother is kicked out of her house and daughter's life due to a drug problem that puts the daughter in danger more than once. This is all in the past and is only verbally related.
• At a low point, Barry breaks a bad guy out of jail, threatens him, and then leaves him to be caught and sentenced more harshly than before.
• A man shoots himself to save the city. Heroic, but still suicide.
• Barry watches his mother die in a horrible tear-inducing scene.
• Barry's romantic relationship gets a little too physical in two episodes. Passionate kissing and, in one scene, both characters lose their shirts while kissing passionately on the couch. This is ended rather abruptly (but by chance, not because someone was actually thinking).
• A female character gets very drunk and undresses down to her underwear in front of a male character. While this is awful (and her "did you take a peek at my goods?" comment is worse), this is also one of my favorite scenes because the male character does everything right.
• It's implied that a woman and her fiance are living together.
• A few really big violent moments: a man's head is smashed against a wall and a huge blood smear is left (season 2); people's heads get blown of by implanted bombs, we see only the stumps (season 2); an innocent girl blows up off screen after dying (season 1).

My Thoughts
If there's one thing I do when life gets crazy and I'm super busy with homework and work, it's to watch The Flash. While I may be a few days ahead of Stacy, she's usually right on my trail.
Do remember we're both full time students. I have two jobs, Stacy has one really big one. And we have various other things going on in our lives.
So when we say this is a really good show, and we make sure to stay up to date on it, you should know that it is, in fact, fantastic.

DC seems to have a dark brooding side (think Batman and Arrow) and a lighter side (think Superman). Well, the Flash falls on this lighter side. This isn't to say that horrible things are made small, or that good moral points are not made. The opposite, in fact. They're there, they're just not shrouded by all the other messy things.

Stacy says: Watch it. It's awesome. Also, it's addicting. So expect to lose half your life to Netflix. But you won't regret it.

I agree.

Movie Review: Tomorrow, When the War Began

Title: Tomorrow, When the War Began
Author: Caitlin Stasey (Lady Kenna in Reign series), Rachel Hurd-Wood, Lincoln Lewis, etc. Basically people I recognized by face, but not name. All with awesome Australian accents.
Release Date: 2010
Genre: war, drama, romance, coming of age, action, adventure, survival
My Rating: ***
Official Rating: R (according to IMDb, but that seems a little high, which is odd given MPAA ratings tend to be too low in my opinion); proposed rating: PG-13
Age Group: 16+ (could be 14+ if not for mention of teens having sex)

Summary
Seven unlikely friends go camping in the beautiful wilderness of their native Australia. Two best friends from childhood, a boyfriend, the rich (but sweet) girl, the town trouble-maker, the boy whose family owns a restaurant, and a church girl (because the parents wanted 8 to go, but they decided 7 would be fine as long as one was a church girl--keep them all in line and whatnot).
They're having a great time on their last big hurray before graduation and moving on to bigger responsibilities. Sure, there are deadly snakes and they have to hunt rabbits, but really, small price to pay for such a great adventure.
Then they go home. And no one is there. The kids eventually learn Australia has been invaded and everyone has been rounded up into camps. Trying to avoid being killed themselves, the kids flee back to their campsite, bringing along yet another unlikely member (a sweet guy who smokes pot).
Guilt eats at them. Finally, they decide to wage guerrilla warfare on the enemy until help comes.

Word of Warning

As noted above, I find the MPAA rating a little high. Granted, I advised the movie not be watched by anyone younger than 16 (mainly because of my first bullet point below), but I am used to MPAA ratings being a bit young. What I see in this movie is horrible, yes, because it is war, but not what I've seen in the very few R rated movies I've seen.

•  Two girls at the beginning of the movie talk about sex. There is nothing graphic. One girl says she and her boyfriend did it, and the other girl responds. Both seem excited, and nothing negative is said.
• Clothing. Low cut shirts, short shorts, and a girl wearing a bikini (a guy ogles her unashamedly).
• Kissing. The couple mentioned above is seen kissing a few times. One girl says she kissed a member of the group and claims he is "a really good kisser." Another kiss is shown that starts to get passionate (and, quite honestly, is grossly loud with headphones on).
• Injuries. One kid gets shot in the leg (we don't see it, only blood, and the healing is fast). A girl cuts her leg pretty badly. One kid is shot in the abdomen and is rushed to a hospital (that is the last we see of this character). A person is shot through the head, scene is a far-off shot but still very disturbing.
• This is war. There are guns, people get shot at (and hit sometimes), buildings are bombed, and things blow up. The kids barely escape more than once.
• In a heartbreaking scene the most innocent of the group mows down three enemy soldiers with a semi-automatic to save other members of the group.
• One character lights a stick on fire and causes an explosion that lights several enemy soldiers on fire. We see one soldier in a close-up, her face melted, and she presumably dies. The character who caused the explosion rightfully has a very hard time getting over this.
• A dead dog is shown, eye clouded, flies buzzing about. I realize in the grand scheme of this movie, this really isn't a big deal. But the scene is disturbing and startling based on where it is put in the movie.
• A car chase involving a garbage truck and two to three little zippy cars (no clue what to call them). Cars blow up and flip and the chase is rather harrowing. It's also a good point, because really, a garbage truck and speedy car chase?
• One character smokes pot. In one scene he talks about being stoned, but he's clearly still high.
• Kids lie to their parents, particularly a religious figure.
• Language. I didn't write down the words or the numbers. I hadn't even intended to review the movie originally. Basically, if you deem the other stuff in this list appropriate, the language content should be fine too.

My Thoughts
The movie took a little while to get anywhere, which frustrated me. Then again, they were dealing with seven (then eight) characters, so I can understand why it took a little while to establish any character development. When it does come, I appreciated the raw look at killing and how it changes the soul. The poor teens propose different views of this but ultimately cannot come to a conclusion: only that it seems to be necessary given the circumstances, and that it's awful. Who gets to decide who dies? Why is one person's life more valuable than another? Good moral questions, and the movie does not shy away from them.
My biggest objection (aside from the completely unnecessary mention of sexual intimacy at the beginning, and the apparent glorification of it) is the ending.
Which simply isn't.
I realize this is a movie based on a book series by John Marsden, and this is probably how the first book ended. But still. If you watch it, you'll see what I mean. However, don't avoid the movie just because of the dissatisfying ending.

Fun Quote:
"That a good book?"
"Yes. Better than the movie."
"Books always are."

Album Review: Under the Arches

Hello all!
To usher in the beginning of a new church season, and because my ears are so very happy at the moment, I thought I'd do an interesting review of some music. Interesting because I am reviewing a cover album, so in a sense I am double-reviewing (reviewing the lyrics of the original as well as the covering artist). This will change the format a bit, of course, but hopefully it is still relatively familiar. Here I go!


Title: Under the Arches
Author: Summit Singers
Release Date: 2015
Genre: pop, country, classic, A Capella
My Rating: *****
Official Rating: N/A
Age Group: 6+

Summary: Summit Singers is an all male A Capella group based out of the University of St. Thomas. While they have been performing for a few years now, this is their first album. Below are the songs they covered and a review of the lyrics, as well as their renditions.
Their Website
Music Video of I Lived 
Updated to add: O Holy Night

My Thoughts
My one critique is that the balance between the main singer (the person with the lyrics) and the backup (the people with the music) needs some work. Far too often, the main singer is drowned out by the others. And along the lines of the main singer, they do not always pick their best singers to play that part. Which sometimes is actually a good choice given the song (lyrics, meaning, feel, etc), but sometimes can be a big frustrating.
Other than that, these guys are fantastic. Listening to their music, well, honestly I shouldn't be trying to use words to describe something like this, no matter how much we English majors value them. Words fail here. There is little to say except these young men are very very skilled and I hope you have the chance to enjoy these great songs not only in their original form, but in this A Capella rendition.
And one other thing: as fantastic as this CD is, it does not do this group justice. Someone else who has heard them live said the same thing. This is fantastic, and I love having it in my car so I don't have to wait for the biannual concerts, but as amazing as the CD sounds, they sound even better in concert.

As with all my music reviews, I've added a break here because the post is so long. I encourage you to click and read on!