You Again Review

RATED:

PG: " For brief mild language and rude behavior,"

DIRECTOR:
Andy Flickman

WRITER:
Moe Jelline

RELEASE DATE:
SEPTEMBER 24, 2010

My Synopsis:
Let's face it, Marni (Kristen Bell) was not the popular kid in senior year. She was the only loser, only ugly-faced person, and only geek in the whole school. Marni was tormented Joanna (Odette Yustman), who made her life a living hell.

A few years later, Marni is successful woman, who is happy, and now VP of a Public Relations Agency. Marni is coming home for her brother, Will's (John Wolk), wedding. Until she finds out that her brother is marrying her high school nemesis, Joanna. Her brother sees Joanna as the perfect angel in his eyes, which is the exact opposite of what Marni sees.

All of this is compounded by the fact that the bride's wealthy Aunt Romona (Sigourney Weaver) flies into town and comes face to face with Marni's mother Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis), who it turns out has an old high school score to settle with Gail.

Now that they're about to become family, Marni and her mom do their best to let bygones be bygones. But old grudges die hard, and by the time the wedding bells chime, these old foes will already have some saucy stories to share with their grandchildren.

The claws are about to come out.

My Review:

I thought that this movie was funny, hilarious, and very cute. The plot is very original, but some of the parts were a little bit cheesy.
I thought the casting and the make up was great. Kristen Bell is a very pretty girl, and it couldn't have been easy to transform her into the unattractive high school geek that Marni was supposed to have been. Yet make-up artists and Bell's adoption of some less than pretty tics make you believe in the earlier version of Marni. Odette Yustman also does a good job as the pretty, popular girl whose mission in life is to make Marni miserable. Some of the movie's best moments come, though, as the result of the past and present rivalry between Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver. I'd be very surprised if the two of them had less than a ball doing their scenes together because it certainly shows on screen that way.
Not only was the movie great, the background music is very current. For example I know I heard Toxic by Britney Spears in one of the scenes.
Oh, and let's not forget legendary, Betty White. She is one of my favorite actors. She plays Grandma Bunny and is hilarious and silly.
I really enjoyed this movie. I would recommend this to ages 10+.

Here is the link to one of the trailers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1-UMzt9e34

from,
madigan aka m@dz

WANTED WEDNESDAYS: CRESCENDO

Hey guys, Alisha is hitting the books! So I just wanted to share my Wanted Wednesdays book with you. I have said that I love romance books about fallen angels so it should come of no surprise that the book I want is about just that. The beginning of this year I was at Barnes & Noble with my friend and saw a book cover that coat my eye immediately. The cover was of an angel falling from the heavens reaching up in despair wearing nothing else but black jeans. The feathers from his wings looked liked they were being torn off by the violent wind that hit him while he was falling. The cover sparkled and I do love thing that sparkle {Edward!}, so I bought the book with the unique name of HUSH, HUSH.

"Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those who have fallen -- and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life." 

I loved the book because It was romantic, suspenseful, thrilling, with a little bit of mystery. It was and all around a great book and a good read for me. Becca Fitzpatrick the author did a great job blending the spiritual supernatural with situations (like when the girls are at Victoria Secret) that happen everyday. Fitzpatrick also mad it fun and not all doom and gloom like “we have to save the world” stuff, it was actually refreshing to see some humor with in the book. The main characters built up to their romance quit nicely with a hint of mischievous mystery and thrill that this reader really enjoyed.

Now on to my Wanted Wednesdays book. It is the sequel to HUSH, HUSH and it goes by the name of CRESCENDO. It is due out on October 19 {right on my brother’s birthday} and I hope it lives up to the expectations as the thrilling sequel of HUSH, HUSH. Fitzpatrick has her work cut of for her since the first book of her series was so good. I am hoping to go more in depth with the love story and back story of the characters with out losing the mystery and suspense I have come to expect. I guess that I will find out very soon. Check out HUSH, HUSH if it sounds like a good read to you I think you might like it.

"Nora should have know her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away and Nora can't figure out if it's for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home.

The farther Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn't answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?"


Link: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Becca-Fitzpatrick/62751281

P.S.  I wrote this Wednesday and was twiking it so when I finally hit publish it was Thursday, sorry you guy.

Ballerina Curtsy,

Blancy

BREAKING DAWN UPDATE QUOTES

I am so excited that I just can’t hide it! Breaking Dawn has a script and is in pre-production and I bet that pretty soon they will start shooting. I am dancing around my room right now. Here are the quotes from Breaking Dawn’s movie director Bill Condon and actor Peter Facinella who plays the charming Dr. Carlisle Cullen.

Bill Condon updates Fans on Breaking Dawn's pre-production.

"Hello fans!

Has it really been five months (and a day) since my last dispatch? In my defense, they’ve been five months spent immersed in the world of TWILIGHT – something I’m sure you can all appreciate. We’re in the thick of pre-production now, juggling everything from casting to storyboarding to location scouting, getting it all ready to go,"

link: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150268729695005

Peter Facinella twitted about reading Breaking Dawn's movie script.

“Just read the Breaking Dawn scripts. I must say…AWESOME! Very excited. J”


Link: http://twitter.com/peterfacinelli

Ballerina Curtsy,

Blancy

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: THE OFFICIAL ILLUSTRATED GUIDE

Entertainment Weekly had this cool info that I just had to share with all the Twilight fans. If you're a craz-fan like me you'll pre-order it as soon as pre-order is available. Enjoy!

{The bad news: It’s not another sequel.
The good news: There will be plenty of brand-new details in The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide, a reference book Stephenie Meyer created to accompany her best-selling novels. According to a press release from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, the $24.99 encyclopedia, which will go on sale April 12, 2011, includes “character profiles, outtakes, a conversation with Meyer, genealogical charts, maps, extensive cross-references, and much more,” including art by Young Kim, who illustrated Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Volume 1.
For her part, Meyer said, “I’m always amazed at how many in-depth questions my readers have about my characters and the world within the Twilight Saga. With The Official Illustrated Guide, I hoped we could incorporate as many details as possible, including character histories, like Alice’s back story.”}


link to the artical: http://shelf-life.ew.com/2010/10/05/exclusive-stephenie-meyers-the-twilight-saga-to-go-on-sale-april-12-2011/


Ballerina Curtsy,
Blancy

Need by Carrie Jones (Book Review)

Genre: YA, Paranormal, Romance
Published: December 8, 2009
Format: Hardback, 336 Pages
ISBN-10: 1599904535 (Bloomsbury)
ISBN-13: 978-1599904535 (Bloomsbury)
Synopsis: Zara collects phobias the way other high school girls collect lipsticks. Little wonder, since life’s been pretty rough so far. Her father left, her stepfather just died, and her mother’s pretty much checked out. Now Zara’s living with her grandmother in sleepy, cold Maine so that she stays “safe.” Zara doesn’t think she’s in danger; she thinks her mother can’t deal.



Wrong. Turns out that guy she sees everywhere, the one leaving trails of gold glitter, isn’t a figment of her imagination. He’s a pixie—and not the cute, lovable kind with wings. He’s the kind who has dreadful, uncontrollable needs. And he’s trailing Zara. Source

Review: The cover was very interesting. A pair of gold dusted lips upon a pale face with a weeping willow tracing over the person's neck. This instantly drew me in, I will say this is a series I will keep up with but it seemed like a series that has every element of a good YA series but doesn't blend together smoothly. The main

character, Zara, seems like a more confident version of Bella Swan to me. She runs track and is a strong-willed girl who loves Amnesty International. Of course, she is intrigued by the brooding nd mysterious, Nick, who takes an obvious interest in her as well. They try to start a romantic relationship and seem to start one by the end of the book. Her friends Issie and Devyn are very energetic and ready for anything Zara brings up. Issie and Zara instantly become best friends, which I don't find very interesting because I like the characters to grow into their relationships. Betty, Zara's grandma, is a spark of flash in the book, she gives snarky comments and is a breath of fresh air.

The plot of the book is very...simple. With all of the different creatures in the book, the plot seemed like it could have been very suspenseful and exiciting but was executed very simply and was resolved in a matter of pages. I feel like the plot could have been expanded into more pages and that it could have flowed slowly up to the climax. The plot was hurried just to get to the end, and when I got to it, I uttered, "Was that it?"

The creatures were another thing that were not developed in the book. They were kind of just slapped into the book to seem like it is surprising, when you can already guess. In Twilight and Vampire Kisses, when Edward and Alexander were revealed as vampires, it slowly led up to it. Alexander revealed that he was a vampire to Raven at the very end of the book and Edward agreed with Bella that he was a vampire after weeks and I think even a couple months passed. I wanted to be surprised as to who and what the creatures were.

I give this book three black nail polishes because I loved the romance and the characters but I didn't like how the plot was executed and the relationships didn't progress at a reasonable pace.

I will continue to read the series because I don't like completely stopping a series without giving them a chance. The next Captivate is already on shelves but Entice will becoming out a day before my birthday, December 7th, 2010!

Peace and Fangs,

Alisha

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Book Review)

Genre: Classic, Historical Fiction
Published: 1960
Format: Paperback, 281 Pages
Synopsis: Harper Lee's classic novel of a lawyer in the deep south defending a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has earned many distinctions since its original publication in 1960. It won the Pulitzer Prize, has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, and been made into an enormously popular movie. Most recently, librarians across the country gave the book the highest of honors by voting it the best novel of the twentieth century. Source

Review: Of course, like all other high schoolers, this girl had to read To Kill A Mockingbird for summer reading. At first, I was skeptical at this: it didn't look interesting and I wasn't always excited about reading books that our teachers assigned us. However, like some other books, this book was better than I expected it to be. The first time I read this it took me forever to get done with it, and it was only around 280 pages! I knew that I wasn't udnerstanding what was going on, but I was just rushing through it to get it done before school. The second time I read it was during school because my teacher decided that since some people "didn't get" the summer reading, everyone should read it over. When I read it over, I read the SparkNote for the chapter and then read the chapter to better understand the plot.

TKAM has different themes throughout the book from racism to small towns to family. The characters bring different examples on all of these themes. My favorite character was, of course, Scout. She was the main character and the voice of the novel. What I liked about her was how she matured throughout the novel. In the beginning, she is a small girl who is innocent to the world around her. As the Tom Robinson case proceeds, she starts to see that the world around her isn't so innocent and accepting like her and her family is.

Along with the characters, the setting and location seemed to spark a life of its own. Since Scout's family lives in a small town in Maycomb County, you see different views of the residents in the town. Because of the small town atmosphere, one view takes up the majority of the residents' minds, so when someone in the town has a diffeent mindset, you can see the res tof the residents' responses to that.

I give this book a perfect score because it is an epitome of a classic novel and how the topic of racism should be expressed, with every different view shown properly and elegantly.

Peace and Fangs,
Alisha

Book Blogger Hop: Oct. 1-4, 2010

I have not done a Blog Hop in awhile! But, Crazy For Books is an amazing book blog that does these weekly Book Blog Hop's for Book Blogs all over the internet! There is a question for the Book Bloggers' to answer and their readers can answer as well. It helps other Book Bloggers meet others who blog and enjoy the same genre of books they do!

This week's question is:

How do you spread the word about your blog?

(e.g. Social Networking sites, Book Blog Directories, comments on other blogs...)

My answer: I spread my word about my blog by mostly befriending other blogs that are the same as my blog or deal with a topic I'm interested in. (Cupcakes, books, movies, Twilight, etc) Also, I've learned to do contests and giveaways on my blog to reel people in. Some of my readers are from other blogs who have won one of my ILYB Awards. I have also started accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. So, I have different ways I try and spread the word on my blog but mostly I try to just find new ways to get people to read and meet other bloggers who give me AH-mazing advice on what to do to gain readers!

Comment and tell me your answer!



P.S. Any blog who I visit or comes to my blog from the Hop, I add to my Blog Hop Buddy list!

Peace and Fangs,

Alisha

Vampire Diaries--Season 2, Episode 4: "Memory Lane"

For this week's episode, we go back to dealing with Katherine. She makes her presence known when she manipulates Stefan's dream to show Damon talking to Elena, playing pool with her, and even kissing her. Damon even says at one point to Stefan, "Prepare to lose." Katherine brings him back to the Founder's Ball in 1864 and tells him, "Now you know how I feel." Stefan wakes up from the nightmare to see Elena sleeping beside him, it takes him a moment to see that it is really Katherine.

Stefan fnds Katherine reading Damon's journals and gains knowledge of the Lockwoods'. She tells Stefan that the werewolves played a part in the vampires' "eradiction" in 1864. She tells Stefan that just because the Lockwoods' have the werewolf trait, it doesn't mean they are full werewolves. Stefan then seduces her into thinking that he loves her and stabs her with vervain. He locks her up in the cell and tells her to spill the reason why she's in Mystic Falls.

Mason refuses to tell Tyler what he saw the other night and about the wolf curse. Mason tells Tyler that it happens but it won't happen to Tyler. Tyler isn't too keen on Mason's answer though.

Jenna hosts a barbecue where she invites Mason, Damon, and Alaric. Jenna and Mason get along too easily and Alaric isn't too happy with this fact. Damon shows up and Mason introduces himself. Caroline joins the barbecue and talks with Elena about her excessive eating so she will not feed. Caroline then confesses to Elena that Stefan has too much trouble with being with Elena because of the smell of her blood.

We jump back to 1864, where Stefan walks Katherine home unaware of that she is a vampire. He tells her that he's never met a woman like her. Katherine says goodnight and goes to her room where the curly haired (totally sexy) Damon is waiting for her. He tells her that he was going to meet her there but she compels him and tells him to leave.  Stefan then learns (in present day) that Henry Lockwood was using vampires to cover his tracks. He planned to have them all captured but how Katherine could escape.

Damon is messing around with Mason and puts a silver knife in the pie for everyone to cut their own piece. Mason does the nasty solution and picks up the slice of pie with his grubby hands. He confronts Damon and tells him to not start an old-age feud. He obviously doesn't know Damon's style, Damon waits for him outside and stabs him. Mason tells her that "now you've made an enemy."

Elena thanks Caroline for giving her a lift to Stefan's but asks Caroline why she's so short with her. Caroline tells her that she has her own problems and that the odds of Elena and Stefan working is slim. The car suddenly stalls (because of Caroline) and the two have to wait for a tow truck. Elena says it is taking to long and starts to walk. Caroline stops her and tells her she can't leave but Elena says she is worried about Stefan. Caroline then asks Elena why she is rushing to a relatyionship that can't work. Caroline gives comments to Elena about how Elena can't grow old with Stefan or have his kids. She says she's only trying to be a friend but Elena tells ehr to stop trying and decides to walk once the tow truck comes.

Stefan continues to ask Katherine the true reason as to why she's back in Mystic Falls. She tells him that she has already told him the reason. They begin the start talking about that Katherine is not afraid to kill to get what she wants. Stefan tells her that if she really wanted to kill Elena, she would have already. Katherine then comments that she could snap Elena's neck like a twig. Stefan grabs a chair leg and threatens to kill Katherine. She tells him he wouldn't and then says that he can't be with Elena anymore and if he is, she will kill everyone Elena loves in front of her and then kill Elena while Stefan watches. Elena then enters the Salvator home and Katherine breaks out of her chains and tells Stefan she has been sipping vervain to gain immunity from it. She stabs Stefan in the leg and runs up to where Elena is. Elena turns around and asks Katherine how they can look exactly alike. Katherine tells her she is asking the wrong questions and runs off by time Stefan comes into the living room where Elena is at. They hug and ask one another if they're OK.

Caroline if in the Mystic Grill bathrooms when Katherine appears and asks her why she couldn't occupy Elena like she was asked. She says she did and told Elena that her relationship with Stefan is doomed and she thinks it got to Elena. Katherine says she hopes and that she killed Caroline once and she can easily do it again.

Tyler has the moonstone Mason wants and won't give any information on it until Mason tells him how the curse is triggered. Mason still refuses but finally snaps and tells Tyler that it is triggered by killing someone.

Elena enters the Mystic Grill and there Caroline apologizes for her behavior earlier. Elena says it's fine and that she was being a friend in her own way. She goes over to Stefan where he says they have to start taking Katherine seriously. Elena says she isn't scared of Katherine but Stefan tells her she should be and that Katherine has threatened everyone. Elena refuses to let Katherine take over their relationship but Stefan admits that she already has. Elena leaves while Damon and Caroline have just heard the whole conversation.

Katherine meets Damon outside of the Grill and asks why he is so pouty. He tells Katherine that he tried to kill a werewolf and failed. She tells him that they are dangerous and hard to kill, she then tells him not to be a hero. Damon comments, "Been there, done that. At least this time it will be worth it."

Elena goes to her room and Stefan appears. They hug and agree that it was hard to "break-up" with one another. Elena says Caroline hung on every word they said and that she might be working for Katherine. Stefan isn't surprised and says it is "pure Katherine". Elena then comments that they are going through a lot just she could have him. Stefan says it can't be that, but because "Katherine doesn't care about anyone but herself. She never has. She's incapable of love."

We then go to Katherine who flashes back to 1864 where George Lockwood tells her that her carriage is ready. She tells him that she will kill him if she finds out that he told that she escaped before she hands him the moonstone. She looks back at Damon and Stefan who were shot earlier from trying to save her. Katherine runs over to Stefan and strokes his cheek. She tells him that she loves him and they will be together soon. She kisses him. Katherine then goes back to the present and brushes her lips, smiling.

What did you guys think of this episode? Was Elena and Stefan convincing in their "break-up"? Will Tyler kill someone to become a werewolf? What will Katherine do next?

P.S. Does anyone know where Jeremy was?

Preview of next week's episode, "Kill or Be Killed":


Peace and Fangs,
Alisha