Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Disney's ZOMBIES DVD Review

Disney; TV-PG; 95 minutes; Walmart
Being released today to DVD from Disney Home Entertainment is the Disney Channel Original Movie ZOMBIES. The DVD comes with FREE Glow-In-The-Dark Tattoos.

Directed & produced by Paul Hoen (Camp Rock 2), the film stars Milo Manheim, Meg Donnelly (ABC's American Housewife), Trevor Tordjman, Kylee Russell, Carla Jeffery, Kingston Foster, and James Godfrey.

ZOMBIES is set in the small community of Seabrook, where fifty years ago a lime soda plant explosion turned half of the population into zombies. Those who weren't infected built a wall to keep the zombies out and forcing them to live in their own community called Zombietown. Fast forward to the present, the government requires all zombies to wear "Z-Band" bracelets that sends  electromagnetic pulses to keep zombies from craving brains.

The film centers on Addison, a teenager who's excited to be starting a brand new year of school, as she's going to be trying out for the Seabrook High cheerleader team, which is lead by her cousin Bucky. Addison isn't exactly normal, as she actually has white hair, which was probably passed down to her from her grandfather who was bitten by a zombie, but her parents make her wear a blonde wig.

The first day of school also marks the very first time the high school will be allowing zombie teenagers to attend classes. Zed, Eliza, and Bonzo, along with a handful of other zombie teenagers, were excited about starting school at Seabrook High; well, that is until they actually arrived there. Ordered by the principal, all of the zombie students must attend classes in the basement. Also, zombies aren't allowed to join school activities, including sports. Now, this is a major disappointment for Zed because he was wanting to tryout for the Mighty Shrimp football team.

After the "zombie alarm" is accidentally set off, Addison bumps into Zed inside a "zombie bunker," and the two quickly begin a friendship. Later, Zed convinces the principal and the football coach into letting him join the team. Thanks to Eliza's help by hacking his "Z-Band" to make him more aggressive, Zed leads the team to several victories.

Despite becoming the school's football star, Bucky and a few other cheerleaders are determined to get  Zed and the rest of the zombie students kicked out of school.

Bonus Features include:
  • Bloopers - Laugh out loud at the Cast of ZOMBIES in this compilation of the funniest bloopers and outtakes from the making of the film.
  • Deleted Scenes
    • It’s a Cheer-tastrope 
    • New Jacket, New Name
  • Audition Footage 
    • Milo Manheim Audition
    • Meg Donnelly Audition
  • Zombies Survival Guide To High School - This piece uses a visual motif of a Zombie Survival Guide, with styled infographics and hosted by the talent.  We go down the list of some of the most important survival tips for Zombies and humans on how to get along and make the best of high school. 
  • Dance Tutorial - Join Meg Donnelly (Addison), Kylee Russell (Eliza) and ZOMBIES Choreographer, Christopher Scott, as they show you how to dance along to the ‘BAMM” Music Video.
  • Music Videos 
    • Music Video - "BAMM"
    • Lyric Video - "BAMM"
  • Trailers



Final Thoughts

Friday, April 20, 2018

Book Blogger Hop: April 20th - 26th




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


Welcome to the new Book Blogger Hop!

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

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

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


How do you organize your books for review? Does it work for you or have you had to change it?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other 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.
  

My Answer:

They're not organized at all. The books are just piled up on my desk.


Linky List:

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Interview with Patrica J Anderson, author of Threshold



Amazon


When did you become interested in storytelling?

Years ago, I was working on a book of interviews. People answered questions eagerly but when I came to edit the transcripts it became clear that, although they were telling a story, it was buried in what they said. When we talk, we don’t formulate a beginning, a middle, and an end. We start with what we feel is the most important point and then usually we go to the end and then backtrack to fill in details and often end with the beginning. But no matter how we tell it, it’s all stories. This experience gave me a crash course in shaping narrative.

Stories are how we understand ourselves and everything around us. People who are unable to form a narrative cannot function in our world. In the branch of psychotherapy called narrative therapy, therapists found that, in dealing with people who had been through terrible ordeals including war, torture, or great loss, the patient who could form a narrative, who could tell a story about what happened and why it happened, might recover and go on. Those who couldn’t do that remained in a state of disfunction.

Ursula Le Guin said, “Stories held in common make and remake the world we inhabit. The story we agree to tell about what a child is or who the bad guys are or what a woman wants will shape our thinking and our actions, whether we call that story a myth or a movie or a speech in Congress.”

I believe this to be true.

What was your first book/story published?

When I was 11 years old, a Bay Area newspaper held a contest for kids to find the best essay about, you guessed it, “What I Did on My Summer Vacation.” Mine was one of the three winners and our essays were published in the paper. Does that count?

What inspired you to write Threshold?

A few years ago I was researching a project on the environment and I read through many of the important nonfiction books on the subject of climate change and related problems mounting in the natural world. It’s heavy stuff and it occurred to me that approaching these issues from another angle, in an imaginative and entertaining manner, could be a good idea. I wanted to write something … different. As I worked on Threshold, it became differenter and differenter. Then all these animals showed up. To tell the truth, it got out of my control. The characters wrote this. I was an innocent bystander.

What character in Threshold is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

I would like to be more like Raoul, a very transgressive little fellow, but I’m afraid I’m more a goodie two-shoes like the main character, Banshooo.

What is your favorite part in Threshold?

The scenes with the crazy-wisdom master, Sid. He really tells us what we need to know.

What was the hardest part to write?

Several characters die. I liked them and didn’t want them to go but that’s the way of it, in stories, in life, in the natural world.

What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?

Well actually, I’d like to be King of the World. I’m sure I would do a good job. No, really. Seriously. Don’t you think you could make things better if you were able to decree all those things you know would help. In lieu of that, I write. It’s a way to get your hopes, dreams, ideas, fears, all of it out there.

Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Interview with David L Wallace, author of Preordained



Now available on Amazon, BN, Kobo, and iTunes is the paranormal crime thriller Preordained by David L Wallace.


The author has taken a few minutes out of his busy schedule to talk about newest novel.


When did you become interested in storytelling?

I’ve always been interested in writing. Prior to graduating high school, I’d write short stories about some of my interesting friends. After graduation, I spent some time in the Navy and started a family. My life became so busy, I didn’t feel I had the time to write. No longer able to suppress that need, I studied writing at UCLA and started my author career.

What was your first book/story published?

Trojan (2016), a techno thriller. Inspiration for it came from a work scenario during my attendance of a computer science class while on active duty in the US Navy. One of the instructors removed the covers off a few of the computers in the lab and I noticed the tiny chips, the brains of those machines, were all manufactured overseas somewhere. It shocked me and made me a little nervous that our defense systems could be dependent on foreign parts. It begged the question … what if an unknown entity embedded rogue computer logic within the hardware components of those machines at the time they’re manufactured, causing them to crash at a predetermined time, incapacitating our defense capabilities? That question led to the formation of Trojan.

What inspired you to write Preordained?

Inspiration for my current release, Preordained (2018), came from childhood events in my life. My parents moved our family from New York to South Carolina when I was in the first grade. The locals in the surrounding areas, both family members and neighbors, would speak of ghost, paranormal and supernatural events, believing with everything in them that those stories were real. I’ve enjoyed watching and reading numerous stories of that ilk and when I decided to pen one, naturally, I decided to make the setting be one of the neighboring counties to where I grew up.

What character in Preordained is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

Art is the most like me. I’ve discovered that all my stories reflect aspects of my persona within the main protagonist. The number one characteristic is Art’s willingness to sacrifice all and fight for what he believes in.

What is your favorite part in Preordained?

My favorite parts of the story are the dynamics of Art’s personal relationships with his girlfriend Angela Hunter, his maternal grandmother Sarah, and his son Benjamin.

What was the hardest part to write?

The hardest parts to write were the last two chapters because of the resolution Art found at the end of the story, and the flaw I gave his partner and love interest, Angela Hunter. The story had only one way to end and when I wrote it, it took a toll on me. The flaw that I gave Angela, is one that people close to me also experience.

What would your ideal career be, if you couldn't be an author?

Fears of Online Dating


I'm almost positive that every single person (male and female) has had some sort of doubts and fears when it comes to online dating.

I know I do!

If you follow this blog, then you would already know I've been interesting in online dating, but my fear of rejection holds me back from actually joining a dating site. I briefly tried out a free dating site a few years ago, but I didn't exactly have a pleasant experience. While I did find a few matches, the women that replied were rude, and they just weren't the type of date that I would wanted to be associated with.

Also, I have a fear (well more like anxiety) of meeting new people, which doesn't exactly help me in meeting a woman for an actual date. I've seen way too many episodes of Law & Order SVU, so I do know that online dating can be dangerous.

Recently, I read about an innovative campaign in London called "Ask for Angela," which allows someone who feels uncomfortable on a date at a pub or club to discreetly ask for help from a staff member by simply "asking for Angela." The initiative (or program) is available at participating locations throughout London. Originally launched by Lincolnshire County Council, the program was created to help reduce sexual violence by letting individuals to get assistance from the staff by using a non-descript phrase. The staff would take this person to a safer location and either call a cab for them or contact a friend or family member. A test-run for the program occurred last year by the Metropolitan Police in Merton and was proven to be a success with more than 50% of the venues signing up to join the initiative. 

Monday, April 16, 2018

Braven Blu-ray Review

Lionsgate; Rated R; 94 minutes; Amazon


Now available to own on Blu-ray & Digital from Lionsgate Home Entertainment is the action-thriller Braven. Directed by Lin Oeding, the film the stars Jason Moma (Justice League; Stargate Atlantis), Garret Dillahunt (Fear the Walking Dead), Jill Wagner (Stargate Atlantis), and Stephan Lang (Avatar). The only Special Feature on the Blu-ray is "The Braven's View."

The film centers on Joe Braven (played by Jason Momoa), a logging company owner. He travels to his family's remote hunting cabin with his father (played by Stephen Lang), who suffers from dementia. After his father had caused a fight at a bar, Joe and his wife, Stephanie (played by Jill Wagner), decides that the best step would be to place him in a nursing home. Joe had planned on telling him during their trip, but his plans changes when they discover a duffel bag full of cocaine.

With no way to report the drugs due to no cellular signals in the area, Joe and his father planned on leaving as soon as possible before the drug trafficker returns, but things don't unfold out they way they had hoped. The drug lord Kassen (played by Garret Dillahunt) and his mercenaries surround the cabin. To make matters worse, Joe's young daughter, Charlotte, had hid herself in the family car. So, now, Joe must hide the cocaine and barricade his family inside the cabin; all while, he becomes a one-man army against Kassen and the mercenaries.


Final Thoughts

Friday, April 13, 2018

Book Blogger Hop: April 13th - 19th




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


Welcome to the new Book Blogger Hop!

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

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

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


Is there a fictitious town in a book that you would love to live in? What makes it appealing?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other 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.
  

My Answer:

I would like to visit Hobbiton from the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings novels by J.R.R Tolkien!

Linky List: