Movie Review: Ever After

Name: Ever After

Director: Andy Tennant

Starring: Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston

Rated: PG

For: brief language and mild thematic elements.

Brief summary: Ever After tells the story of the "Real" Cinderella, Danielle De Barbarac, played by Drew Barrymore. Danielle, like Cinderella, has the wicked stepmother and two stepsisters. Unlike other adaptions of the fairytale, instead of waiting for her prince, Cinderella, or Danielle, in this case, rescues herself. Instead of having a fairy godmother, Danielle has Leonardo DiVinci to help her out. Danielle overcomes her hardships, escapes from her evil family, marries her prince, and gets the famous happy ending.

Age level: Ten and up

Cautions: Kissing and some violence and immodesty.

If you like this movie, you might also like . . . A Cinderella Story

Personal Opinion: As a lover of fairy tales and re-tellings of fairy tales, I obviously love this movie. It's fun, action filled, dramatic, romantic, and everything else you can think of. You have to love Danielle more than Cinderella: she is the ultimate poster girl for "Girl Power!" The casting was great, especially with Drew Barrymore as the heroine. I love Drew Barrymore and she DOMINATED this movie.

Overall rating: 9/10

Random tidbit: I'm boring and don't have any. *le sigh*

Book Review: At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks

Name: At First Sight

Author: Nicholas Sparks


Brief summary: This is the sequel to "True Believer". Jeremy and Lexie are unexpectedly expecting their first child together and planning their wedding. When Jeremy gets a strange email from a stranger making him question whether or not he is the father of Lexie's baby, he begins that Lexie is having an affair with a friend from her childhood. Will they be able to get married and live happily ever after, or will Lexie's prince charming be someone else besides Jeremy?

Ages: 15 and up

Cautions: Dealing with death, the idea of an affair, a shotgun wedding, and a pregnancy before marriage.

If you like this book, you will also like… Well, you of course have to read True Believer first!

Personal Opinion: Oh, my goodness. Wow. Nicholas Sparks definately delivered in this wonderful sequel. This book kept me on the edge of my seat, making me thirst for more. The ending was wonderful, so sad and horrible, yet so great.

Rating: 9/10

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince

Name: Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince

Director: David Yates

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson

Rated: PG

For: scary images, some violence, language, and mild sensuality

Brief summary: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are back at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their sixth year of school. Over the summer, the trio saw Harry's enemy, Draco Malfoy, at a sketchy store. Harry is convinced that Draco is a Death Eater, a follower of the evil wizard, Voldemort. Ron and Hermione, however, are convinced that Harry is biased and overreacting. Also during the summer, Albus Dumbledore, Harry's mentor and the headmaster of Hogwarts, takes him to convince an old teacher, Horace Slughorn, to come back to Hogwarts to teach. During the year, Harry goes to regular meetings held by Dumbledore, to help Harry understand what Voldemort was like before he went bad. This movie was filled with action, humor and, believe it or not, a great deal of APPROPRIATE romance.

Age level: Eight and up

Cautions: A girl kisses a boy passionately, A boy makes a sexual face to a girl, A boy and girl kiss, there is some violence and blood.

If you like this movie, you might also like . . . Any of the other Harry Potter movies.

Personal Opinion: I have to admit, after the disappointment I experienced after "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", I was expecting "Halfblood Prince" to have the same outcome on me. However, as soon as the movie had started, I was happily proven wrong. The movie not only had supberb filming, directing, acting, and cinematography, it also stayed much more true to the books than any of the other movies, except maybe for the first or second movies. The one thing I was disappointed in was that they cut out one of my favorite parts in all the books. "Roonil Wazlib". Not that it was at all important in the book, it was just funny. There were somethings that happened in the movie that made me raise my eyebrow (I won't say what, just in case you haven't seen the movie yet and plan on seeing it), just some stuff that was random and didn't happen in the book. And, ummm, is MAYBE NEEDED in the next movie?? I dunno. *shrug*

Overall rating: 9/10

Random tidbit: Rupert Grint was my first celebrity crush. I am now in love with him again. *giggle*.

Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

Name: Princess Academy
Author: Shannon Hale

Brief summary: When the priests predict that the prince's future wife will come from the mountains, everyone is shocked at the idea. When the King's Men come to let those from the "chosen" mountain town know that every girl aged 12-18 must come to "The Princess Academy", Miri is less than thrilled. Miri, a girl filled with imagination, character and wit, is angered when she is told she doesn't get a choice and must go to the Princess Academy, especially when she realizes her sister, Marda, is a few days too old to go with her. Miri, along with every other girl, goes to the Princess Academy to be taught how to act, dress, eat and do everything else a princess must. Along the way, Miri makes an unexpected friend, Britta. Britta recently moved to the mountains from a city and was recently orphaned. This book was filled to the brim with adventure and romance.
Grade/Age level: 12 and up
Cautions: None
If you like this book, you will also like....Any book by Gail Carson Levine, Especially Ella Enchanted.
Personal Opinion: The same cousin who gave me Cycler gave me this book YEARS ago. I randomly found it while cleaning my room and decided to give it a shot. As I read it, memories of me rereading Ella Enchanted for the trillionth time filled my head. Miri and Ella have much in common, including that both are spunky and they both fight their way through different trials. Princess Academy was a fun book that I HATED to put down.

Rating: 9/10

Cycler by Lauren McLaughlin

Name: Cycler

Author: Lauren McLaughlin

Brief summary: Everyone hates "That time of month", right? Jill has a different reason than most girls to hate her period. For four days every month, Jill turns into Jack, a rebellious teenage boy. With the help of her "anti- Jack" mother, everytime Jack turns back to Jill, she meditates on the fact that she is "All Girl" and forgets everything that Jack did during his visit. With the help of his yoga loving father, Jack is able to be a normal teenage boy, complete with sneaking out, food and porn. Her friends all think that during those four days when she's out of school and can't see or talk to any of her friends, that she's getting blood transfusions. When Jill developes a crush on a cute bi-sexual boy, she is determined to go to prom with him. The only problem? Jack will be visiting.

Grade/Age level: 14 and up

Cautions: Jack sleeps with a girl, Jack asks for porn (and gets it), A boy is bi-sexual, Jill and her friend kiss on the lips, just as a joke though.

If you like this book, you will also like....I have no idea! This book is so unique...

Personal Opinion: When my cousin gave me this book and told me what it was about, I laughed. A girl who turns into a guy during her period? FUNNY! Makes my period seem alot easier. :P But as I randomly started to read it, I was mesmorized. I meant just to read a chapter or two, but instead I stayed up all night reading it. It was funny, touching and WAY different than any book I've ever read.

The only thing I really had a problem with was the porn. It made me uncomfortable, and that's probably the only reason I'm not letting my sister read it.

Rating: 9/10

Book Review: The Lilies of the Field

Name: The Lilies of the Field
Author: William E. Barrett
Brief summary: Homer Smith is an itinerant handyman/jack-of-all-trades who stops at a farm in the Arizona desert to see what is happening at the farm since there is no man around. The farm is run by a group of German nuns. He is persuaded to do a small roofing repair by Mother Maria. He stays overnight, believing that he will be paid in the morning. He is tries to persuade Mother Maria by quoting a bible but Mother Maria as back in a verse saying, Look at the lilies of the field, they continue to appear beautiful even though they get no payment. The bloom is to honor God, but not to get paid for their work.In fact, the nuns have no money and subsist only by living off the land, on what vegetables the arid climate provides, and some milk and eggs. Even after being stalled/stonewalled when asking for payment, and after being persuaded to stay for a meal, and against his better judgement, Smith agrees to stay another day to help them with other small jobs, always with the faint hope that Mother Maria Marthe, the head nun (called "Mother Maria" and played by Lilia Skala in the film) will settle with him. As Smith's strength and many construction skills, and tools, are revealed to the small order of nuns as he finishes the repairs needed, they come to believe that he has been sent by God to help them in their dream of building a chapel for the nearby townsfolk. (from wikipedia.com

Grade/Age level: 10 and up
Cautions: none
If you like this book, you might also like . . . I'm not sure....
Personal Opinion: What a great, fun, book! I had to read it for school, but I barely noticed! It's a quick read, but awesome anyway!
Rating: 9/10
Random tidbit: There's a great movie version! It's starring Sidney Poiter. Apparently he's famous. :D