Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Blu-ray Review - The Odd Life of Timothy Green

The Odd Life of Timothy Green
Director: Peter Hedges
Starring: Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton, CJ Adams
Studio: Disney
Release Date: December 4, 2012
ASIN: B005LAIIL2
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number of discs: 2 
Running Time: 105 minutes
Rated: PG

Review:

The Odd Life of Timothy Green is making its way onto DVD and Blu-ray on December 4th just in time for Christmas. I recall seeing a few advertisements for it when it was released to theaters, but I never got a chance to see it until I watched it on DVD last night. Disney was nice enough to send me an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

At first I thought The Odd Life of Timothy Green was based on a book, but I was mistaken as it was based on the concept by Ahmet Zappa. It was written and directed by Peter Hedges (What's Eating Gilbert Grape).

Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Garner star as Jim and Cindy Green, a couple living in the small drought-stricken town of Stanleyville, North Carolina. Jim spends his days working at the town's historic pencil factory while Cindy works at the local museum. The couple desperately wants to have children, but they find out they cannot conceive a child.

Heartbroken, they write down their dream child's characteristics onto pieces of paper, put the pieces into a wooden box and buried it in their garden.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Review - Resurrect

Resurrect
By David E. Stevens
Publisher: Monarch Books
Pub. Date:October 2, 2012
ISBN: 978-0857212498
ASIN: B008M4ISD2
Pages: 384
Buy Link: http://ow.ly/faaOD
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/DStevens

Review:  

Resurrect has been sitting on my desk for a few months, as I received a free copy from Litfuse Publicity Group and Monarch Books in exchange for an honest review, and I recently got around to reading it. The book is written by Commander David E. Stevens, a navy fighter pilot, and by the fighter jet on the book cover, I thought Resurrect might be a war novel, but I was completely wrong. I don't want to give away too many spoilers, so I'll leave the synopsis short.

Navy Commander Josh Logan is the main character in Resurrect and he is testing out a new fighter jet. After a malfunction, Logan quickly avoids crashing into civilians' homes, but ejects from the jet a few moments too late.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Music Review - Kelly Clarkson: Greatest Hits - Chapter One

Greatest Hits - Chapter One
By Kelly Clarkson
Label: RCA
Release Date: November 19, 2012
ASIN: B009LXEBD4


I wasn't even aware that Kelly had a new CD out until I stumbled upon it tonight at my local Walmart at their Black Friday (well, Thursday night) sale. I've been a fan of her music since she one the first season of American Idol. All of her best songs are here including my favorites, Behind These Hazel Eyes, Already Gone, Breakaway, and Don't You Want to Stay.

As a bonus there are three new songs, Catch My Breath, Don't Rush, and People Like Us. Her holiday song I'll be home for Christmas is also the CD. Overall, I really enjoyed listening to the CD and I recommend it to others.

The Songs Are:

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Music Review - Music From Another Dimension!

Music from Another Dimension!
By Aerosmith
Label: Columbia
Release Date: November 6, 2012
ASIN: B0085RQLXK

Review:

I saw Music From Another Dimension at Walmart a few weeks ago, but I it didn't pick it up until today during the Black Friday sales for five dollars. The retro B-movie album cover is cool, but covers can be misleading. I made the mistake of reading several bad reviews, so my expectations were low. It seems that fans think the band will crank out hit after hit, but you have to realize that it has been eleven years since their last release. During that amount of time people can change and so can their style of music.

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Review - Call the Midwife: Season One DVD

Call The Midwife: Season One
Starring: Jessica Raine, Jenny Agutter, Pam Ferris, Judy Parfitt, Miranda Hart, and featuring Vanessa Redgrave
Studio: BBC Warner
ASIN: B0093I913W
ASIN: B0093I5QG8 (Blu-ray)
Release Date: November 6, 2012
Running Time: 360 minutes 
Not Rated

Just in the time for the holidays is the release of the new hit series that aired on BBC in the UK and on PBS in the United States. I recall reading an article in the TV Guide a few months about the show, but I had forgotten it was being aired. Luckily, I got an opportunity to receive a free copy of Season One in exchange of an honest review courtesy of BBC Worldwide Americas.

The series was created and written by Heidi Thomas (also created Upstairs Downstairs) and is based on the memoirs of the late Jennifer Worth. Set in the poverty-stricken East London in the 1950s, the series centers around a young Jenny Lee (played by Jessica Raine), who believes she is going to be working at a small hospital called Nonnatus House, but to her surprise, it is actually a convent. She quickly befriends the other nurses, Trixie and Cynthia, the handyman Fred, and the Sisters, Julienne, Evangelina, Bernadette and Monica Joan. Jenny is there mainly as a midwife, but she has other duties to attend to as well. Just like the other midwives, Jenny must ride a bicycle to visit her patients.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Review - The Breath of Dawn

The Breath of Dawn
By Kristen Heitzmann
Publisher: Bethany House
Pub. Date: November 1, 2012
ISBN: 978-0764210426
ASIN: B008B9HQL8
Pages: 448
Buy Link: http://amzn.to/VkkqTX
Blog Tour Link: http://litfusegroup.com/campaigns/breathofdawn

Review:

The Breath of Dawn is book three of the series that started with A Rush of Wings and Still of the Night. I have only read A Rush of Wings, in which I wasn't the biggest fan of at the time. I hesitated before I signed up to review the third book from Litfuse Publicity Group and Bethany House Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Even though I hadn't read second book, I still figured out who was who and what was what. In the third entry, Morgan Spencer had a wonderful family and a successful business, but every thing changed the moment his wife died, leaving him as a widowed father to a two-year-old daughter, Livie. His daughter is his entire life, until fate changes things once again for him.

Review - No Safe Harbor

No Safe Harbor
by Elizabeth Ludwig
Publisher: Bethany House
ISBN: 978-0764210396
Pub. Date: October 1, 2012
Pages: 336
Buy Links: http://ow.ly/eh4Xf
Blog Tour Link: http://litfusegroup.com/author/ELudwig

Review:

Set in the year 1897, Cara Hamilton thought that her twin brother, Eoghan, was deceased until she gets an unexpected letter from him, in which he urges her to come find him and warns her to trust no one. She boards the ship called the Servia and travels across the Atlantic Ocean from Ireland to America.

When Cara arrives in New York, she meets a stranger named Rourke Walsh. She takes refuge at a boardinghouse where she befriends most of the women whom are living there, all except Deirdre. Why would a woman that hardly knew her, hate her so much? There has to be here than meets the eye about this woman. Cara is determined to learn more about Deirdre, especially when she catches Deirdre prying in her room.