3 Days To Kill
Director: McG
Starring: Kevin Costner, Amber Heard, Hailee Steinfeld
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: May 20, 2014
Retail: $39.99
ASIN: B00JA3RPAG
Running Time: 117 minutes
Rated: PG-13

Review:

Arriving on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD on Tuesday, May 20, 2014 is the action thriller 3 Days To Kill, directed by McG and starring Kevin Costner. Special Features exclusive to Blu-ray include both the theatrical and extended versions of the film in high definition, The Making of 3 Days to Kill, McG's Method and Covert Operation.

McG's directorial outings have been a mixed-bag with a few blockbusters (Charlie's Angels, Terminator Salvation, and This Means War) and a few flops (Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, We Are Marshall). Similar to other films, 3 Days To Kill received mixed to negative reviews from most critics, but managed to a make slight profit at the box-office, making nearly $45-million on a $28-million budget.

3 Days To Kill centers on terminal-ill CIA agent Ethan Renner (played by Kevin Costner), who is putting down his gun to spend his final months alive in Paris with his wife Christine (Connie Nielsen) and daughter Zoey (played by Hailee Steinfeld). He has been separated from Connie for quite some time and they both have their own places. To his surprise, Ethan finds an African family squatting in his apartment. According to the law, he can't kick any squatters out until after winter.

Just when he attempts to reconnect with his teenager daughter, Vivi Delay (played by Amber Heard), a CIA's elite assassins, enlists Ethan's help in tracking down and killing the arms dealer called the Wolf in exchange for an experimental drug that could extend Ethan's life.

As you have probably read before on this blog, I'm not he biggest fan of WWII dramas, but I have been reviewing a few novels set in the era if either the plot interests me or if have recognize the author's name. In this case, both those reasons are why I wanted to review Daisies are Forever by Liz Tolsma, as I had read the author's other WWII book (Snow on the Tulips) last year.

Daisies are Forever centers on an American twenty-year-old Gisela Cramer, her cousin Ella and their ailing grandmother living in Heiligenbeil in 1945; near the fall of Nazi Germany. Fearing that the Russians will invade, Ella encourages Gisela to take leave and sneak into Berlin, along with Ella's two young daughters, so they can be safe.

Arriving on DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday, May 20, 2014, is the hit BBC/PBS series, Call the Midwife, created by Heidi Thomas based on the memoirs of the late Jennifer Worth. A special feature includes "Inside Call The Midwife - Interviews With Cast and Crew."

Call the Midwife is set in the East End of London in the late 1950s and centers on a twenty-something nurse named Jenny Lee (played by Jessica Raine), whom works side-by-side with the midwives and nuns at the Nonnatus House.

The 2013 Christmas Special bridges the gap between the second and third season. A bomb is found in the district, causing the residents to be evacuated. Sister Julienne and the other Sisters help the homeless find shelter until the crisis is over. The former-nun, Shelagh, is planning her wedding to Dr Turner, but the wedding becomes in jeopardy when a family emergency occurs.

Season Three, Trixie (Helen George), Chummy (Miranda Hart), Jenny Lee (Jessica Raine) and Cynthia Miller (Bryony Hannah)

Episode One is set in 1959 and introduces the new Nonnatus House, as the old house was being torn down. There is also a new nun named Sister Winifred at the house to help out while Chummy tries to adapt at being a stay-at-home mother.

Murder Simply Brewed
An Amish Village Mystery
by Vannetta Chapman
Publisher: Zondervan
Pub. Date: March 25, 2014
ISBN: 978-0310326168
Pages: 368

Review:

As many of you already know, I do love my morning (or nightly) cup of coffee and one of my favorite book genres is Amish fiction; therefore it is a no-brainier why I wanted to review Murder Simply Brewed: An Amish-Murder Mystery written by Vannetta Chapman.

Set in Middlebury, Indiana, Simply Brewed centers on Amber Wright, the owner of several stores/shops (Cat's Meow, Simple Toys, Katie's Mercantile, Village Fashions, Quilting Bee and Simply Brewed) in the Middlebury’s Amish Artisan Village. Her life, as well as her businesses, are going well, that is until the manager of Simply Brewed, Ethan Gray, is found dead in the coffee shop, Simply Brewed.

The cash register still has money in it, so a robbery gone wrong is quickly ruled out, so basically everyone believes he died of a simple heart attack. Well, everyone except for Amber, who smells foul play is at hand.

The department stores already have the "Happy Father's Day" greeting cards in stock, and I bought a card for my father yesterday afternoon. Cards are easy to pick out, but finding the perfect present can be a bit of a chore. If your father is like my father, then he probably already has about two of everything, and getting him another wallet seems a little impractical.

I thought I would share my idea of the perfect Father's Day Present - HBO's True Detectives - Season One. The series aired on HBO earlier this year, receiving raved reviews from both critics and viewers. The series stars Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Potts, and Tory Kittles.

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 RAnn!

How do you decide what blogs to follow?

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 try to follow other blogs that follow my blog. I also follow other blogs that review titles I'm interested in reading.

Petals on the Wind
by V.C. Andrews
Publisher: Pocket Books
Pub. Date: May 20, 2014
Retail: $7.99
ISBN: 978-1476789552
Pages: 448
Buy Link: Paperback

From Fiction to Film: Pick up Petals on the Wind May 20^th and watch the movie May 26^th!

Petals on the Wind cast: 
Heather Graham as Corrine
Ellen Burstyn as Olivia
Dylan Bruce as Bart
Rose McIver as Young Cathy (played by Kiernan Shipka in Flowers in the Attic)
Wyatt Nash as Christopher (played by Mason Dye in Flowers in the Attic)


Watch the movie trailer below, and tune in to Lifetime on  Monday, May 26^th, 9:00 pm ET to watch the World Premier of Petals on the Wind!




Enter To Win: Go to the Pocket Books Facebook page beginning May 20^th to enter the sweepstakes for a prize pack of Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind, and the Flowers in the Attic DVD.  Visit right before tuning into Petals on the Wind late May for the sweepstakes giveaway (date to be announced)!

Review:

Despite some heavy-duty controversy due to the incest plot of Flowers in the Attic written by V.C. Andrews, the book was a huge success; spawning three sequels and one prequel. Book two in the series, titled Petals on the Wind, was released in 1980, picking up shortly after the first novel left off and covers over fifteen years, from November 1960 to the fall of 1975.

Christopher, Cathy and Carrie Dollanganger barely escaped from their grandparents' attic; leaving their money-craving mother far behind, whom had been putting poison in their powdered donuts, resulting in the death of Carrie's twin brother, Cory. They stole enough money to buy three bus tickets to Florida, but their journey took an unexpected turn with Carrie becomes too ill to travel. Luckily, a mute housekeeper, Henrietta Beech, was on the bus and directs them to her boss, a doctor by the name of Dr. Paul Sheffield.

America's Covered Bridges: Practical Crossings - Nostalgic Icons
by Terry E. Miller & Ronald G. Knapp
Photographer: A. Chester Ong
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Pub. Date: March 24, 2014
ISBN: 978-0804842655
ASIN: B00JGAINOU
Pages: 272
Buy Link: Amazon.com





Book Description (from Amazon.com):

The history of North America is in many ways encapsulated in the history of her covered bridges. The early 1800s saw a tremendous boom in the construction of these bridges, and in the years that followed as many as 15,000 covered bridges were built. Today, fewer than a thousand remain.

Without covered bridges to span the rivers and provide access to vast swaths of the interior that had previously been difficult to access—America never would have developed the way she did. In America's Covered Bridges, authors Terry E. Miller and Ronald G. Knapp tell the fascinating story of these bridges, how they were built, the technological breakthroughs required to construct them, and above all the dedication and skill of their builders. Each of the bridges, whether still standing or long gone, has a story to tell about the nature of America at the time—not only about its transportational needs, but the availability of materials and the technological prowess of the people who built it.

Central to the development of these bridges was the challenge of supporting a long spans with flat roadways. Early American bridge builders and carpenters developed revolutionary new methods of joining timbers into patterns consisting of triangles or continuous arches that resulted in structures rigid enough to span long distances. Called trusses, these systems were critical and had to be protected from the elements by a roof and siding. Few people today realize that bridges were covered to protect the trusses—not the people using the bridge! Unprotected, the trusses soon degraded and the bridge would collapse.

North American covered bridges were marvels of engineering long before modern civil engineering was invented. Self-taught carpenters and builders discovered how to shape and join timbers into patterns in just the right ways to achieve a desired strength. Over time, wooden bridges eventually gave way to ones made of iron, steel, and concrete. Many covered bridges became obsolete and were replaced—others simply decayed and collapsed. Many more were swept away by raging torrents or ice floes, or by tornados, tropical storms, and hurricanes. A few were reduced to ashes by accidental fires, or torched by arsonists. Illustrated with some 550 historical and contemporary photos, paintings, and technical drawings of nearly 400 different covered bridges, the book offers five readable chapters on the history, design, and fate of America's covered bridges, plus related bridges in Canada. Most of the contemporary photography is by master photographer A. Chester Ong of Hong Kong.

THE “YEAR OF THE DRAGON” CONTINUES WITH 

THE AWARD WINNING ADVENTURE!

The DVD of the 2013 Annie Award winner for Best Animated Television Production for Children is loaded with exciting bonus content for the whole family to enjoy and contains 10 epic adventures and all-new dragons.

Based on the DreamWorks Animation Academy Award® nominated movie How to Train Your Dragon, there’s action at every turn and excitement on every ride in DREAMWORKS DRAGONS: DEFENDERS OF BERK PART 2 as Hiccup and his fearless friends embark on new adventures and battle to protect their island home. The young Vikings must put their dragon training skills to the test to defeat dangerous and surprising new enemies! The series features original voice talent from the film including Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera and Christopher Mintz-Plasse and will include Zack Pearlman and more.

Defenders of Berk, and the previously released Riders of Berk, is a must-own for any Dragons fan to catch up before the summer event when How to Train Your Dragon 2 hits theatres June 13th! The DVD is jam-packed with special features that dive deeper into the exciting world of Dragons, including Dragon Tracker Part 4 featuring an in-depth look at Skrill, Baby Thunderdrums and Speed Stinger dragons, along with a special sneak peek of Snaptrapper, a dragon that will be seen in How to Train Your Dragon 2; Evolution of Skrill, a featurette with visual effects supervisor David Jones who explains the history behind this mysterious and scary dragon; and the “Here Comes the Fire” Dragon Mash-up music video. When it comes to action and excitement, the sky’s the limit in this high-flying animated TV series.

Fans that purchase the DVD will also get a Digital HD UltraViolet™ code for the title and Movie Money ($7.50 value) to redeem for tickets to How to Train Your Dragon 2 when the film hits theatres in June, as well as a chance to win a free dragon racing saddle or a mystery box code for exclusive battle gear and powers to School of Dragons, the online game from JumpStart based on DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon franchise. With cinema-like graphics and an immersive 3D world, it takes more than courage to train a dragon but brains as well. For more information, visit http://www.schoolofdragons.com.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS: