Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer

Saturday, November 30, 2019

DVD Review - Angela's Christmas

*This is a sponsored post with affiliate links. All opinions are 100% mine.

Angela's Christmas

Netflix's animated holiday special "Angela's Christmas" is now available to own on DVD & Digital HD from Mill Creek Entertainment.

Angela's Christmas is based on the children's book "Angela and the Baby Jesus" by Frank McCourt (Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Angela's Ashes"). Directed by Brian Gleeson, the 30-minute story features the talented voices of Oscar nominee Ruth Negga (2016, Best Actress - Loving), Lucy O'Connell (Song of the Sea), and Brian Gleeson. The animated Christmas tale features the original song "Angela's Song" performed by the late singer Dolores O'Riordan (lead singer of The Crannberries).

Special Features include:

The Making of Angela's Christmas

La Navidad de Angela - Spanish Version

Scene Selection

Trailer

Where to Purchase?

Holiday Gift Guide 2019: Ripley's Believe It or Not!: Beyond the Bizarre!

Billy Burgess Holiday Gift Guide 2019 ,

*This is a sponsored post with affiliate links. All opinions are 100% mine.

Ripley's Believe It or Not!: Beyond the Bizarre!

Believe it or not, Ripley's Publishing recently released their 16th annual hardcover, Ripley's Believe It or Not! Beyond the Bizarre!, featuring thousands of all-true amazing facts, incredible stories, and stunning photos.

Read about a cat with 28 toes, a man living in a sand castle, a toad museum, and many other unbelievable but true facts!

Where to Purchase?

Book Blogger Hop: November 29th - December 5th

Billy Burgess book blogger hop ,

Book Blogger Hop

Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop!

If you want to schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

The Book Blogger Hop now has its own Facebook Group! Please join the group to get all the newest Book Blogger Hop updates. Also, you can communicate with your fellow book bloggers in the group.

What To Do

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

This week's question is submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer.

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below. Please enter your Name/Nickname @ Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Here's an example: Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer

3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading a few posts and possible become a new follower. The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

Review - Phantom Audition by Simon Dillon

Billy Burgess books , fiction

*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.

Available to Buy on AMAZON!

What's "Phantom Audition" About?

Small-time actress Mia Yardley, recently widowed wife of renowned actor Steven Yardley, discovers her late husband’s secret acting diary. The diary details appointments made with a psychic medium, who advised Steven on which roles to take. It also raises questions about his mysterious and inexplicable suicide. Seeking answers, Mia speaks to the medium, but in doing so is drawn into an ever- deepening mystery about what happened to her husband during the final days of his life. Eventually, she is forced to ask the terrible question: was Steven Yardley murdered by a vengeful evil from beyond the grave?

Review

I'm a sucker for any book with a creepy mansion on the cover, which is the #1 reason why I wanted to read Phantom Audition to begin with. At just under 300 pages, I quickly read through it yesterday morning before I finished one cup of coffee.

The very beginning of the novel somewhat reminds me of the classic Twilight Zone episode "The Sixteen-Millimeter Shrine," though the two have completely different plots. With both tales, I was under the assumption they were going to be simple haunted house stories but neither one went that route.

Mia Yardley is a fairly interesting main character for the most part. I struggled to connect with her for several chapters but eventually something snapped and I became intrigued with her quest to unravel the mystery behind her husband's questionable suicide.

The author's writing style is pretty good and I got a "Gothic" vibe all through the novel. All of the dialogue is well-written and the descriptions are very detailed.

Overall, despite a slow beginning, Phantom Audition turned out to be an entertaining read.

About the Author

The spirit of Simon Dillon took human form in 1975, in accordance with The Prophecy. He kept a low profile during his formative years, living the first twenty or so of them in Oxford, before attending University in Southampton, and shortly afterwards hiding undercover in a television job. In the intervening years, he honed his writing skills and has now been unleashed on the world, deploying various short stories and novels to deliberately and ruthlessly entertain his readers. He presently lives in the South-West of England with his wife and two children, busily brainwashing the latter with the books he loved growing up.

Learn more about Simon at: simondillonbooks.wordpress.com

Follow Simon on Twitter and Facebook.

Monday Morning Madness: Phantom Audition, The Testaments, and Santa With Muscles

Billy Burgess Monday Morning Madness ,

Good Morning, Everyone!

Once again, I'm combining this week's Sunday Post (hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer) with today's It's Monday! What Are You Reading (hosted by The Book Date).

What Am I Currently Reading?

I'll start reading Phantom Audition by Simon Dillon sometime today. My review will be posted on Wednesday.

Recent Reviews

SAF3 2: Under Pressure

(DVD Review)

Canadian Dreadful

(Fall Reads)

PanAm: The Complete Series

(DVD Review)

The Swan Princess: 25th Anniversary

(Blu-ray Review)

What's in the Mail?

DVD Review: SAF3 2: Under Pressure

Billy Burgess movies ,

*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.

Mill Creek Entertainment; AMAZON

Last month, I received a few titles from Mill Creek Entertainment to review on this blog. One of those titles was SAF3 2: Under Pressure DVD starring Dolph Lundgren. I was under the impression the film was a sequel to one of his many direct-to-video action flicks. However, that isn't exactly the case there. Yes, it's a sequel to SAF3, which was released on DVD in 2018 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, but the 83-minute movie is the edited version of several episodes from the 2013-2014 short-lived syndicated action series, SAF3. Yeah, instead of releasing the entire series to DVD, ITN Distribution decided to combine several episodes together in the attempt to make people believe this is a new movie.

Gary Capo and Phil Scarpaci are credited as the directors for SAF3 2: Under Pressure. Along with Dolph Lundgren, the film (or series) also stars J.R. Martinez, Lydia Hull, Texas Battle, Jocelyn Osorino, Travis Burns, Katie Meehan, and Danielle Anderson.

Dolph Lundgren stars as John Eriksson, a leader of the Sea, Air, and Fire divisions of the Malibu Fire Department, which is "under pressure" after a fire lead to a firefighter, Alfonso Rivera (played by J.R. Martinez), being seriously severely burned.

Final Thoughts

Fall Reads: Canadian Dreadful: An Anthology

Billy Burgess Fall Reads ,

*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.

AMAZON; GOODREADS

I spent this afternoon reading the new horror anthology Canadian Dreadful, which is published by Dark Dragon Publishing and edited by David Tocher.

As you can probably guess by the title, all of the stories (14 total) are set in or near Canada. There are a wide range of horror tales in this collection featuring sacrifices, cannibalism, ghosts, and mystical forests.

The story titles and authors are:

Aranzazu Banks by Robin Rowland
Centre Ice by Cailtin Marceau
His Cold Coffin by Tyner Gillies
Memories Of Miss Mindy Tulane by Jen Frankel
Nowhere Time by Pat Fleweeling
Rebecca Raven by David Tocher
Relentless by Repo Kempt
Sins of the Father by Colleen Anderson
Snow Angel by Nancy Kilpatrick
The Delivery Boy by Judith Baron
The Mansion by Karen Dales
Two Trees by Vanessa C. Hawkins
Stag And Storm by Sara C. Walker
The Sound Of Passing Traffic by Joe Powers

Book Blogger Hop: November 22nd - 28th

Billy Burgess book blogger hop ,

Book Blogger Hop

Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop!

What To Do

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

This week's question is submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer.

Book Blogger Hop: November 15th - 21st

Billy Burgess book blogger hop ,

Book Blogger Hop

Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop!

What To Do

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

This week's question is submitted by Maria @ A Night's Dream of Books.

The Friday 56: The Handmaid's Tale

Billy Burgess The Friday 56 ,

Rules

Grab a book, any book.
Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it).
Post it.
Add your (url) post below in the Linky at: www.fredasvoice.com
Add the post url, not your blog url.

Don't you know how many women's lives, how many women's bodies, the tanks had to roll over just to get that far?

page 156, The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

My Thoughts

DVD Review: Pan Am: The Complete Series

Billy Burgess DVD , Pan Am

*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are my own!

Mill Creek Entertainment; AMAZON

Does anyone remember the television drama Pan Am airing on ABC in 2011?

Hopefully, I'm not the only person in the world that had never of this series. Well, that is until Mill Creek Entertainment released Pan Am: The Complete Series on DVD back in August, featuring all 14 episodes on a 2-dsic set.

Created by Jack Orman, the series is set in the 1963 and centers around around four stewardesses - Maggie, Laura, Colette, and Kate - who all work on international flights coming from New York City.

Maggie (played by Christina Ricci) returns to work as a"purser" after being suspended for not wearing a girdle. Kate and Laura are sisters. Kate (played by Kelli Garner) helped her sister become a stewardess after Laura (played by Margot Robbie) had left her fiance at the alter. Just prior to her first assignment, Laura is featured on the cover of of Life magazine wearing her Pan Am uniform, which instantly makes her a celebrity. Lastly, Colette (played by Karine Vanasse) became an orphan during the German occupation of France and now, as an adult, works as a stewardesses.

Final Thoughts

Blu-ray Review - The Swan Princess: 25th Anniversary

Billy Burgess movies ,

*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.

AMAZON

For a very long time, it seemed Disney was the only studio releasing animated films. However, that changed in the '90s, many thanks to direct-to-video releases, as well as a few theatrical releases from other studios. One of these films happens to be The Swan Princess, which is an adaptation of the Swan Lake ballet.

Directed by Richard Rich, the film was originally released to theatres in 1994, featuring the voice cast of Michelle Nicastro, Howard McGillin, Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, Steve Vinovich, and Sandy Duncan.

Monday Morning Madness: Decaf for the Dead and Paperbacks From Hell

Billy Burgess Monday Morning Madness ,

Good Afternoon, Everyone!

Yes, I'm well aware it's way past noon. Originally, I wanted to have this post published earlier but I got distracted by several other things. Once again, I'm combining this week's Sunday Post (hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer) with today's It's Monday! What Are You Reading (hosted by The Book Date).

What Am I Currently Reading?

Tomorrow, I'll be reading Decaf for the Dead by Sandy Lo, who nicely sent me a review copy. I posted an interview with Sandy Lo on Saturday, which you can read right here!

Last week, was a reread week for me with The Shining and Doctor Sleep. I'll probably be writing reviews for them sometime later in the week. I never got around to reading Rise of the Gorgon by Galen Surlak-Ramsey so it'll probably be next read after Decaf for the Dead. Then I'm going to start reading the books I have lined up for this year's Holiday Gift Guide.

Recent Reviews

47 Meters Down: Uncaged

(Midnight Horror Review)

The Institute

by Stephen King

(Fall Reads

Goosebumps SlappyWorld: Revenge of the Invisible Boy

by R.L. Stine

(Fall Reads)

The Thing

(Midnight Horror Review)

What's in the Mail?

Midnight Horror Review - The Thing (2011) Blu-ray

Billy Burgess midnight horror , movies

*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.

Mill Creek Ent.; Amazon

For those of you who don't already know, The Thing was re-released to Blu-ray on Oct. 29th by Mill Creek Entertainment.

No, I'm not referring to the John Carpenter's 1982 classic scifi-horror flick, which is a remake of the 1951 classic The Thing from Another World and an adaptation of the 1938 novella Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell, Jr., but instead I'm referring to the 2011 prequel film of the same name. Confused yet?

Directed by Matthijs Heijningen, the prequel was originally going to be titled The Thing: Begins. However, due to producers and behind-the-scenes drama (more on that later), the film was released as The Thing, which made moviegoers believe it was a remake of a remake.

Set in the winter 1982, the prequel centers around Kate Lloyd (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a paleontologist who is sent to an isolated Norwegian research station in Antarctica to investigate a possible buried alien spacecraft. The expedition is lead by Dr. Sander Halvorson (played by Ulrich Thomsen) and his assistant, Adam Finch (played by Eric Christian Olsen). After excavating a body frozen in the ground, they accidentally release a lifeform that takes control and mutilates its victims. The movie also stars Joel Edgerton, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Kristofer Hivju.

The director shot the prequel in 35mm film so it would have the same look as the 1982 film. Animatronic special effects were used for the creatures to match the 1982 effects. However, studio politics interfered and all of the traditional effects were replaced CGI. Add in additional reshoots, which changed many scenes (especially the ending), as well as the title change, the movie ended up flopping at the box office.

Blu-ray Bonus Features include:

Feature Commentary with Director Matthiijs van Heijningen and Producer Eric Newman
The Thing Involves
Fire & Ice
Deleted/Extended Scenes
Trailer

Final Thoughts

Midnight Horror Review: 47 Meters Down: Uncaged

Billy Burgess midnight horror , movies

*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.

BEST BUY; WALMART

Once upon a time ago, there was only one big shark movie - Jaws, minus the unneeded sequel (though Jaws 2 was pretty good). Fast forward to the present day, there are tons of shark flicks and almost of all them are horrible.

In 2017, Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures released the low-budget horror shark film 47 Meters Down, which wasn't half bad. Due to its success, naturally there was going to be sequel. 47 Meters Down: Uncaged was released to theatres in August 2019 and took in $38.9 million against a $12 million budget.

47 Meters Down: Uncaged is arriving on Blu-ray (+DVD + Digital) on Nov. 12th from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Co-written and directed by Johannes Roberts, the film stars Sophie Nelisse, Corinne Foxx, Brianne Tju, Sistine Stallone, Brec Bassinger, and John Corbett.

The plot centers around teenage stepsisters, Mia and Sasha (played by Sophie Nelisse and Corinne Foxx) and Sasha's two friends, Alexa and Nicole (played by Brianne Tju and Sistine Stallone), cut classes and travel to a secret saloon that holds the entrance to a submerged Mayan city, which was discovered by Mia's father, Grant (played by John Corbett). The girls put on their diving gear and dive into the saloon to explore the Mayan city. They were just wanting to see the sunken ruins but what they find is pure terror!

Living in the submerged Mayan city are blind great white sharks with an appetite for anything living. Low on air, the girls are trapped in the underwater labyrinths of caves and claustrophobic tunnels with no way to escape.

Special Effects include:

Diving Deeper: Uncaging 47 Meters Down
Audio Commentary with Writer-Director Johannes Roberts, Producer James Harris, and Writer Ernest Riera

Final Thoughts

Saturday Takeover! with Sandy Lo, Author of "Decaf For the Dead"

Billy Burgess interview , Q&A

Good Morning, Bookworms!

Today, I'm sharing an interview with Sandy Lo, author of the novella Decaf For the Dead. It's a great title. However, I prefer caffeinated or decaf! (FYI: That's my attempt at a joke! Remember, I'm a coffee lover!)

Review - The Institute by Stephen King

Billy Burgess book review ,

*This is a sponsored review. All opinions are 100% mine.

There are many book bloggers who'll crank out a review as soon as they finished reading the final pages of whatever they're reading. Well, that's not me! I tend to reflect on what I've just read. If I'm not emotionally connected to the story, then I'll write my review within a few days. However, if I am emotionally connected, it takes me a bit longer to gather up my final thoughts.

I finished reading The Institute by Stephen King nearly a month ago and it's one of those reads I needed to sit on before talking about.

The Institute is a mix of Carrie and Firestarter, and centers around Luke Ellis, a bright young boy who's taken from his suburban Minneapolis home in the middle of night and wakes up at the Institute in a room that closely resembles his own. It seems a government organization is experimenting on children with telekinesis and telepathy and Luke happens to be one of them.

Along with the other kids, Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris and Avery, in the Front Half, Luke tries his best to play by the rules which are set by the sinister Institution's director, Mrs. Sigsby. However, one by one, each kid is moved to the Black Half and are never seen again. To save himself, as well as Avery, the youngest of the group, Luke must find away to escape this hell.

Final Thoughts

Book Blogger Hop: November 8th - 14th

Billy Burgess book blogger hop ,

Book Blogger Hop

Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop!

What To Do

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

This week's question is submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Review.

The Friday 56: Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

Billy Burgess The Friday 56 ,

Rules

Grab a book, any book.
Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it).
Post it.
Add your (url) post below in the Linky at: www.fredasvoice.com
Add the post url, not your blog url.

In all his wanderings he had avoided mountains, especially the jagged monsters that broke the country in two.

page 56, Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

Saturday, November 30, 2019

Friday, November 29, 2019

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop!

What To Do

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

What's "Phantom Audition" About?

Review

About the Author

Monday, November 25, 2019

Good Morning, Everyone!

What Am I Currently Reading?

Recent Reviews

What's in the Mail?

Final Thoughts

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Friday, November 22, 2019

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop!

What To Do

Friday, November 15, 2019

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop!

What To Do

Rules

My Thoughts

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Final Thoughts

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Monday, November 11, 2019

Good Afternoon, Everyone!

What Am I Currently Reading?

Recent Reviews

What's in the Mail?

Final Thoughts

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Final Thoughts

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Good Morning, Bookworms!

Final Thoughts

Friday, November 8, 2019

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop!

What To Do

Rules

My Thoughts

About Me

This Week's Hop

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