$14.98; 9 hrs 58 mins; Buy Link: Amazon

I'm sure there are many television series that we liked, but were quickly for canceled. Luckily, many of these titles are now available on DVD.

The short-lived "Legend" that air on the UPN in 1995 and was released on DVD from Mill Creek Entertainment last month, featuring all 12 episodes.

The series started Richard Dean Anderson, who at the time just ended his run as MacGyver, and John de Lance ("Q" from Star Trek: The Next Generation). Anderson played Ernest Pratt, a dime-store novelist who gets dragged to small town, where someone has been impersonating his fictional character, "Nicodemus Legend."

Upon arriving he quickly learns that Janos Bartok, an European scientist/inventor (played by John de Lance), has been using "Nicodemus Legend" to help save the townsfolk of Sheridan, Colorado. Ernest stays around to help, but had all intentions of leaving immediately. However, he had been suffering from writer's block prior to meeting Janos, and decides the best way to come up with new adventures is to actually experience them.

Episodes on the two-disc set are:

110 Pages; Buy Link: Amazon

My quest to "reread" the Rotten School series by the best-selling author R.L. Stine continues this week with the sixth entry, titled Rotten School: The Heinie Prize.

For those of you who haven't read the Rotten School books or have never read my past posts, I'll give you a quick history on the books.

Rotten School is a private boarding school for elementary kids. The series centers on a Bernie Bridges, a 4th grader troublemaker, who is always finding away to skip glass and con the other students into giving him money. He stays in the Rotten House with his pals Feenman and Crench, as well as a few other goofy characters.

While Bernie isn't the best student at the school, he's determined to win "The Heinie Prize," an annual award that is given to the very best 4th grader in Mrs. Heinie's class. Unfortunately, the runner-up for the award this year is Bernie's nemesis, the rich kid named Sherman Oaks.

Shockingly, some bad news hits the Rotten School after Belzer (Bernie's personal slave/classmate) receives a letter from a his parents, informing him that since he isn't learning anything at the school, except for doing Bernie's chores & homework, they are pulling him out of the school.

Now there is noway Bernie is going to let his slave... his friend get kicked out of Rotten School. So there is only one way to get Belzer's parents to let him stay - Bezler is going to have to win this year's Heinie Prize.

PG-13/R; 372 minutes; Buy Link: Amazon

No matter what your entertainment budget is, it's pretty cheap to buy a horror flick on DVD as many of them can be purchased for $5 at Walmart; many of these DVDs contains several flicks. Mill Creek Entertainment is known to release horror movies at a decent price, and they recently released Queens of Scream, which contains four horror movies - I Know What You Did Last Summer, When A Stranger Calls, Vacancy, and The Cave.

When A Stranger Calls is the 2006 remake of the 1976 classic of the same. While the original was pretty scary, the remake is very bland with hardly any scares. Now it's only known for having small parts by Katie Cassidy (CW's Arrow) and Clark Gregg (Marvel's Agents of Shield).

The Cave is an underrated action-horror film that was released in 2005, the same year the classic The Descent came out, which had a similar plot. The film has a pretty big cast, including a pre-Game of Thrones Lena Headey. Despite predictable scares and silly dialogue, I actually liked it.

Vacancy is a 2007 horror film starring the weird pairing of Owen Wilson and Kate Beckinsale. They play a troubled married couple that take a wrong turn on a highway and are eventually stranded at a motel after their car breaks down. After watching a snuff film that was left in their room, they realize the film was shot right there in the motel. Of course they attempt to get the hell out of Dodge, but unfortunately the killers are already there. I first saw the film when it was originally released and I thought (and still do) it was a really good scary movie. It will make you think twice about checking into a motel.

PG-13; 148 minutes; Buy Link: Amazon

With all the Star Wars mania that went on last year, I had almost forgotten about the newest James Bond adventure (twenty-fourth to be exact), titled Spectre which arrives tomorrow on Blu-ray and DVD. My review copy arrived on my doorsteps early this morning, and being a big 007 fan, I went ahead and watched the Blu-ray this afternoon.

There are two reasons why I didn't see the film in theaters:

1. It received mixed reviews from mainstream critics.

2. I live in a small town and the film never arrived at the one-screen theater.

 The previous film, Skyfall, was the biggest grossing entry of the franchise and it was a critical hit as well. The director Sam Mendes returned to helm Spectre, which the film had a handful of product problems including the 2014 Sony Pictures Entertainment hack and rumors of the production going way over budget; with the final budget estimated between $245 to $250 million. While Spectre didn't make as much money as Skyfall, it was still one of the biggest grossing films of 2015, taking in $877.9 million.

In Spectre, James Bond is on a more personal mission this time after he received a recorded video message from his deceased boss, M (a cameo played by Judi Dench). With the 00 division about to be canceled, Bond is on a race against time to overthrow the terrorist organization known as Spectre. His only lead to them is Dr. Madeleine Swann (played by Léa Seydoux), the daughter of Mr. White (played once again by Jesper Christensen). Of course he gets a little help from Moneypenny (played by Naomie Harris), Q (played by Ben Whishaw) and the new M (played by Ralph Fiennes) along the way.

91 mins; Not Rated; Buy Link: Amazon

You would think that a Halloween-themed horror flick would do better if it's released before Halloween, but that isn't case for All Hallows' Eve 2, which was released on February 2nd.

Honestly, I've never seen the first film, so I have no clue what it was about. All Hallows' Eve 2 is an anthology from RLJ Entertainment, featuring shorts from directors Elias Benavidez (A Boy's Life), Mike Kochansky (Mr. Tricker's Treat), Andres Borghi (Alexia), Bryan Norton (Seven Hells), Antonio Padovan (Once Upon a Time, Inc.), Marc Rouseel (The Last Halloween), Ryan Patch (If I Give My Soul), Jay Holben (Hunger) and The Kondelik Borthers (Airplane VS Volcano).

The film opens up with a woman watching an old VHS tape. Trapped inside the VHS is the serial killer "The Trickster," who will be released from his prison after the she finishes watching all the shorts. Does this make any sense?

Some of the shorts have a Halloween-theme, while others have nothing to do with the holiday. The first story happens to the best. "Jack Attack" is a blood-tale about a young woman teaching a boy how to carve a pumpkin and roast pumpkin seeds. It's very short, but terrifying. And it has a few throwbacks to John Carpenter's Halloween.


"Mr. Tricker’s Treat," "The Last Halloween," "Alexia," "Descent," "The Offering," and "M Is for Masochistare" all below average stories with hardly any scares. I hate to admit it, but I fell asleep several times during these shorts.

If you're as big of a coffee drinker as I am, then you probably have tons of K-Cups just laying around in the way.

Personally, I already own a drawer-type K-Cup storage, but I still have many K-cups just tossed about. Luckily for me, I was sent the Oak Leaf K-Cup Carousel Tower to test out and review. The #OakLeaf tower retails for $52.99, but it can be purchased on Amazon currently for $13.29.

The storage tower is made from strong metal that has been painted black; though the handle is gray. The bottom part the carousel has a felt padding, so it won't scratch whatever surface it is placed on. Both sides of the tower will hold 15 K-Cups.

$26.99; 337 minutes; Buy Link: Amazon

The name Lizzie Borden has become somewhat of a legend over the years; mostly thanks to wild tales, books, television movies and feature films.

For those that don't know who Lizzie Borden was, I'll give you a quick history lesson. Lizzie was thirty-two-years-old when she was accused of brutally murdering her father, Andrew, and her stepmother, Abby, in 1892 at their house in River Fall, Massachusetts. Andrew was hit with a hatchet 18 or 19 times and Abby was hit with a hatchet 11 times. Lizzie was arrested for the murders; which was quite odd for a women to be accused of murder at the time, and the media went crazy over the trial. In the end, Lizzie was acquitted, though many people believed she was guilty.

In 2014, Lifetime aired a 90-minute television movie, titled Lizzie Bored Took An Axe, which starred Christine Ricci (Adams Family, Casper) in the title role. While the movie followed actual events, most if was fictionalized. The movie was a big hit for the cable channel with 4.4 million viewers.

A little over a year later, an eight-part limited-series, The Lizzie Borden Chronicles, premiered on Lifetime with Christine Ricci returning as Lizzie Borden and Clea DuVall returning as her sister, Emma. The series was released to DVD on February 2nd from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Special features includes deleted scenes and a gag reel.

Set after the trial, the series shows what happened to Lizzie and Emma as they try to get on with their lives, which all the plots are speculative and fictionalized. While their father was rich, he had a lot of bad investments, so Lizzie and Emma have a hard time trying to get a hold of their inheritance. The situation gets worse when their half-brother, William (played by Andrew Howard) shows up wanting his part of the family fortune. Lizzie has no choice, but to go back to her old ways and get rid of their problems in a bloody fashion.

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!

Does your significant other share your reading passion?

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: 

Since I'm currently single, I can't really answer this week's question. Though if I ever do get married, hopefully she will like to read books.

Buy Link: Amazon

I almost forgot about this week's Thursday ReRead, until I noticed that I had left the book Rotten School: Shake, Rattle, & Hurl! was on my desk. After that, I made a cup of coffee, grabbed the book and started reading it this afternoon.

Once again, Bernie Bridges is the main character, a fourth-grader living who attends the private school, Rotten School. He thinks that he's the coolest kid at the school, even though in reality he's the rottenest of the students.

The school is going to hold a talent contest, which the winners will win tickets to The Plopps concert. The Plopps are Bernie's favorite singers, so he has to find a way to win the contest. Plus, he plans on inviting the prettiest girl at the school, April-May-June, as his date.

Unfortunately, the Nyce House Band is also going to enter the contest, which one of the band members is Bernie's archenemy, Sherman Oaks. Despite Bernie's dislike for the band, the Nyce House Band are actually good. To make matters worse, Bernie isn't musically inclined.

Buy Link: Amazon

The Berenstain Bears is one of the most popular and the longest-running picture book series on the market today. The first book was released in 1962 and was written and illustrated by Stan and Jan Berenstain. Sadly, both authors has passed away, but their son, Mike, has taken over the franchise; adding Christian themes to the most recent releases.

The newest book, titled The Berenstain Bears' Easter Sunday, was released last month to bookstores. Like the title suggests, the story is set on Easter Sunday morning, where the Bear family (Papa, Mama, Brother, Sister and Honey) are getting ready to attend church. This is when the cubs asks why everyone has to wear bright colors that day. Mama answers, "Bright colors are for happy, joyous occasions."

The cubs enjoy Easter Sunday's sermon at church, where Preacher Brown tells the story of Jesus. Afterward, the cubs participate in an Easter hunt. No, they're not hunting for colored eggs, but instead they are hunting for gift boxes, which has a Noah's ark figure inside each one.  The cubs end up learning that Easter is so much more than just colored eggs and chocolate bunnies.

When did you become interested in storytelling?

At a fairly early age. Lying is a way of telling stories, right? I also wrote poems when I was little, then articles for the school paper in my teens. It was my nana who gave me the final nudge to write down my stories after I left college.

What was your first book/story published? 

Divide and Conquer was my first. It was published amid delays and close to the publication date of my second book, Guarded, so Divide and Conquer never got the attention I owed it. Such a shame, because it’s quirky and unusual, with a good deal of humor and romance.

What inspired you to write Divide and Conquer?

Frustration. I was fed up with the usual couplings of man and man in the traditional buddy cop movies and of man and woman in paranormal fantasy. So I wanted to write about the lives of two inherently different women who come together for a common purpose. Each follows her own romance interest without sacrificing her friendship with the other, but their bond is at the heart of the story.

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

HBO has become more popular than ever thanks to the awarding-winning series Game of Thrones, True Detectives and Veep. Now with the long-awaiting Deadwood reunion movie finally moving forward (the script has been green-lit), I'm sure it will bring in even more viewers.

Of course technology has changed since Deadwood ended 10 years ago as you access your favorite shows (True Blood) & movies with a HBO GO subscription on any device (tablet, cell phone, laptop, etc.). Sadly, this service is not available in some areas, such as the UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, etc, as you can only have access if you are living in the fifty states of the United States of America.

The good new is that there are a few ways around this problem!

HBO GO can detect if a user isn't located in the United States by the user's unique IP Address. If you use the Smart DNS Proxy Service, you can bypass any regional restrictions, so you can be able to watch your favorite HBO programming in HD anywhere around the world.

I love reading all books, but I'm not the biggest fan of non-fiction titles. Typically, when I receive a press release about a non-fiction book, I just automatically delete it. However, that wasn't the case when I heard about Bronner: A Journey To Understand by Sherri Burgess as I noticed that I had the same last name as the author. After reading the synopsis, I thought I would give the book a try.

Usually, I write a few paragraphs describing the plot of a book, but I'm finding it hard to do this for this title. Bronner: A Journey To Understand is a spiritual journey of healing and the power of faith. The author uses her own personal pain and suffering when she lost her two-and-half-year-old son, Bonner, in 2008 to teach others that faith in the Lord can help you get through the toughest ordeal, even the death of a child.

Final Thoughts