Wild Storm
by Richard Castle
Publisher: Kingswell
Pub. Date: May 13, 2014
List Price: $25.99
ISBN: 978-1484711422
Pages: 352
Buy Link: Hardback, Kindle

Review:
 
Arriving in bookstores today is the newest media-tie-in to ABC's hit series Castle, titled Wild Storm, written by the fictional author Richard Castle, whom is played by actor Nathan Fillion on the television series. The second installment of the Derrick Storm thriller series is published by Kingswell, a new imprint of the Disney Book Group.

Derrick Storm is fictional character from Richard Castle's novels on Castle. The character suppose to have died in the novel Storm Fall (a fake novel created for the series), but was resurrected (well he faked his death and came out of hiding) in an ebook trilogy (A Brewing Storm, A Raging Storm and A Bloody Storm). After the success of the Nikki Heat novels, the Disney Book Group released Storm Front (Note: The characters Nikki Heat and Jameson Nook appear in it.) last year.

Wild Storm finds CIA Agent Derick Storm in major trouble, as the airliner he is on (Flight 937) experiences a few deadly problems, causing Derrick to help Captain Estes land the plane safely. After quickly exiting the plane before the media sees him, Derrick learns there were three others planes in different locations around the world experiencing the same situation, with one flight becoming catastrophic.

Meanwhile in Hercules, California, a retired scientist, William "Bill" McRae disappeared without a trace after going on his daily jog.

Weekend At Bernie's
Director: Ted Kotcheff
Starring: Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman, Catherine Mary Stewart, Terry Kiser
Studio: MGM/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Retail: $19.99
ASIN: B00IOFDJVA
Running Time: 98 minutes
Rated: PG-13

Review:

Arriving on Blu-ray for the first time this month is the 1989 dark comedy Weekend At Bernie's, directed by Ted Kotcheff and starring Andrew McCarthy, Jonathan Silverman and Terry Kiser as Bernie.

Weekend at Bernie's centers on two twenty-something insurance employees, Richard Parker (played by Jonathan Silverman) and Larry Wilson (played by Andrew McCarthy), whom discover some missing money from the company and reports the situation to their boss, Bernie Lomax (played by Terry Kiser). Their boss thanks them for reporting the fraud and invites them to stay at his Hampton Island beach house for the weekend.

Richard and Larry are more than excited to get away from the city and relax on the beach, but when they arrive at the beach house, they find a huge surprise - Bernie is dead. Before they can report the murder to the police, several guests arrive at the beach house for a party.

Now afraid they will be blamed for their boss's death, they decide to make everyone believe that Bernie is still alive; that is until his murderer returns.

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!

When you enter a contest or request a book, how do you keep track of what the books are? or perhaps you don't keep track and just remember what you entered or requested? (submitted by Elizabeth)

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 should keep tracking of all my requests by writing them in a notebook, but I don't. If I can't remember a specific request, I go back and check my email 'sent' file/box to see what I have requested to review.

It may seem like a controversial statement, but in my ever so humble opinion the most interesting films released in the past decade have not been produced by the Hollywood big wigs or even the esteemed UK indie filmmakers, but further afield in Korea, Japan and continental Europe. And yet for so many, the world of subtitled entertainment remains closed off due primarily to sheer, old fashioned stubbornness. A common argument is that watching a subtitled film or show feels “A little like reading a book,” but this argument is completely void, as minutes into any good film, a strong reader will cease to notice that they're even watching the subtitles and will simply fall into the story and the characters. In fact, if you are still actively aware of the fact that you're reading the subtitles, then it's either a bad film or a bad translation.

Western audiences have not always been so hesitant to the idea of foreign cinema of course. In the 60's, cinema was still very much in its infancy and as such, there wasn't the sheer choice we have today. There was none of the reverse snobbery you might find today, so great cinematic masters like Fellini and Kurosawa ruled the screen and the Oscars were rife with films 'not in the English language'. It's only really in the last few decades that subtitled films have fallen out of favour with the masses and it's a real shame. What with the global box office success of the 'Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' films, however, that trend appears to be reversing. Below I'll take you through some of the films and shows that introduced me to subtitled entertainment; hopefully they can do the same for you.

As many of my blog readers already know, I not the biggest fan of books set during WWII, as I prefer books set in the 1800s. Nevertheless, I still signed up to review A Promise in Pieces by Emily T. Wierenga, which is the latest entry in the Quilts of Love Series. I have read a few of the other books in the series, which a few have been set during WWII, and I have enjoyed reading each one.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Director: Ben Stiller
Starring: Ben Stiller,  Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Patton Oswalt, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, Sean Penn
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: April 15, 2014
Retail: $39.99
ASIN: B00H7KJTCG
Running Time: 114 minutes
Rating: PG

Review:

Available to own on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD is The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The DVD bonus features include Behind-the-Scenes of The Secret of Walter Mitty and a Still Gallery. The special features on the Blu-ray include Pre-viz, The Look of Life, deleted scenes, extended scenes, alternate scenes and the music video "Stay Alive" by Jose Gonzalez.


The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is loosely based on the 1939 short story of the same name written by James Thurber and is a remake of the1947 classic starring Danny Kaye in the lead role. In the 2013 version, Ben Stiller directs and stars as the main character, Walter Mitty, a negative assets manager for Life magazine.

Walter hasn't done much with his life, besides for being a good son to Edna (played by Shirley MacLaine) and a big-brother to wannabe-actress, Odessa (played by Kathryn Hahn). He spends most of his time daydreaming, which in reality to everyone else, he is actually "zoning out" or staring into space. He has a bit of a crush on a fellow employee, Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig). He even creates a profile on eHarmony, as he had overheard that Cheryl had a profile on there, but he has never gotten around to sending her a "wink."

Life magazine is downsizing and will become an online magazine, so the soon-to-be-released issue will be its last. Photojournalist Sean O'Connell (played by Sean Penn) had sent his latest reel of film for the magazine to Walter, with the negative 25 going to be the cover for the final issue, but there is one little problem - the negative is missing.

Revenge of the Nerds
Director: Jeff Kanew
Starring: Timothy Busfield, Robert Carradine, Curtis Armstrong, Andrew Cassese, Anthony Edwards
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: May 6, 2014
Retail: $14.99
ASIN: B00IXD2MMU
Running Time: 90 minutes
Rating:  R

Review:

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is releasing the 1984 box-office smash comedy Revenge of the Nerds on Blu-ray for the first time on Tuesday, May 6, 2014.

Special Features include I'm a Nerd, and I'm Pretty Proud Of It; deleted scenes; Revenge of the Nerds TV Pilot; commentary by Director Jeff Kanew and actors Robert Carradine, Timothy Busfield and Curtis Armstrong; and the original theatrical trailer.

Before there was the American Pie teen comedy and its countless sequels, there were many teen/college rated R comedies being released in the 1980s, including the 1984 Revenge of the Nerds starring Robert Carradine as  Lewis Skolnick and Anthony Edwards as Gilbert Lowe, best-friends, nerds, who have just arrived at Adams College. The start of the freshman year hits a snag when the fraternity, The Alpha Betas, take over their dorm and tosses them, along with a few other freshman,o out.

The Alpha Betas' frat house had burned to the ground, which is reason why they took over the dorm, leading the college no other choice, but to allow fraternities to take in the freshman, but Lewis and Gilbert have a slight problem - no fraternity will accept nerds.

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!

When you receive a book in the mail or from UPS, do you immediately catalog it or leave the books stacked up until the week is up and then catalog them?

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: 

Typically, I stack the books in order that they need to be read in or by the blog tour date. When I receive DVDs/Blu-rays, I stack them by their release dates. I never catalog anything; though I do set up a post draft with the basic stuff (cover image, title, author bio, buy link, etc.) before I start my review.

Great Expectations
Director: Mike Newell
Starring: Jeremy Irvine, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes, Holliday Grainger
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: April 15, 2014
Retail: $29.99
ASIN: B00IEXX2RI
Running Time: 128 minutes
Rating: PG-13

Review:

Arriving on Blu-ray for the first time in the United States is the 2012 film adaption of Charles Dickens' classic tale Great Expectations. The film was directed by Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) and stars Jeremy Irvine, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes and Holliday Grainger. Special Features include the Great Expectations Premiere and trailers.

Great Expectations first appeared in the periodical All the Year Round in 1860, as a weekly serial until August 1961. Chapman and Hall published the novel in three volumes in October 1861. At the time the novel received mixed reviews from critics, but it is now considered a classic and is a recommend read for most high school and college literature classes.

There has many film adaptions, mini-series and spin-offs based on Great Expectations over the years, the only one I had ever seen before reviewing this Blu-ray was the 1998 contemporary version starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Ethan Hawke, which in my opinion wasn't a very good film.

Many of you probably have never heard of the 2012 version of the classic tale and there is a good , reason, as it only appeared at the BFI London Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival, followed by a limited release in the UK. The film has finally made its way to the United States, but only on DVD and Blu-ray.