Saturday, October 4, 2014

Blu-ray Review - Million Dollar Arm

baseball , Blu-ray
Blu-ray Review - Million Dollar Arm

Million Dollar Arm
Director: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Jon Hamm, Aasif Mandvi, Bill Paxton, Suraj Sharma, Lake Bell and Alan Arkin
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Release Date: October 7, 2014
Retail: $39.99
Running Time: 124 minutes
ASIN: B00KYYFHGO
Rating: PG
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD on October 7, 2014 is the Million Dollar Arm. The film is directed by Craig Gillespie (Fright Night) and stars John Hamm, Aasif Mandvi, Bill Paxton, Suraj Sharma, Lake Bell and Alan Arkin. Special Features include: Training Camp: actors Suraj Sharma and Madhur Mittal face the same daunting challenge that their characters Rinku and Dinesh did - learning how to pitch a baseball; Their Story - the real JB Bernstein, Rinku and Dinesh explore the legacy of the Million Dollar Arm contest and its impact on the lives and aspirations of children in India ... and their own lives as well; Million Dollar Music By A.R. Raham - The Oscar-winning composer (Best Original Score, Slumdog Millionaire, 2008) talks about creating music that encompasses two worlds - India and the U.S.; alternate ending; deleted scenes and outtakes.

Based on the true story, Million Dollar Arm centers on JB Bernstein (played by Jon Hamm), a sports agent who is struggling to keep the doors to his business open. After flipping through channels late one night, he stumbles upon Britain's Got Talent and a cricket match, resulting in an idea that may save his business. Bernstein and his business partner Ash (played by Aasif Mandvi) convinces Chang, a sports business investor, into backing their idea of running a contest called the Million Dollar Arm in India. The contest is to find the best cricket bowlers, which the winners receive $100,000 and will travel to the United States to train for a tryout for the MLB.

Bernstein doesn't find just one suitable candidate, but he finds two - Suraj Sharma and Madhur Mittal, two young men that have no clue how to play baseball.
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Blu-ray Review - A Million Ways To Die In The West

Blu-Ray Review ,
Blu-ray Review - A Million Ways To Die In The West


A Million Ways To Die In The West
UNRATED
Director: Seth MacFarlane
Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson, Neil Patrick Harris, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Silverman
Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Release Date: October 7, 2014
Retail: $34.98
ASIN: B00KM9MP9I
Running Time: 116 minutes (Theatrical Version) - 135 minutes (Unrated Version)
Rated: R
Buy Links: Blu-ray, DVD

 Review:

Arriving on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD on October 7, 2014 is the comedy-western A Million Ways To Die In The West. The film is co-written and directed by Seth MacFarlane, who happens to play the main character. Special Features include a Gag Reel, A Fistful of Dirt ... In Your Mouth and a Feature Commentary. Blu-ray Exclusive extras include the UNRATED Version, Alternate Opening & Ending; Deleted, Extended & Alternate Scenes; Once Upon a Time in a Different West and UNRATED Feature Commentary.

 A Million Ways To Die In The West centers on Albert Stark (played by Seth MacFarlane), a sheep farmer living in the small town of Old Stump in the year 1882. He becomes known as a coward to the townsfolk when he talks his way out of a gunfight, which embarrasses his girlfriend Louise (played by Amanda Seyfried). She quickly dumps him for Foy (played by Neil Patrick Harris). Feeling like a loser, Albert shelters himself from the town that is until his best-friend Edward (played by Giovanni Ribisi) and his prostitute girlfriend Ruth (played by Sarah Silverman) try to encourage him to start dating again.

Meanwhile, Anna Barnes-Leatherwood (played by Charlize Theron) is fed up with her murderer boyfriend, Clinch Leatherwood (played by Liam Neeson) and arrives in Old Stump to lie low. She is accompanied by one of her husband's men, Lewis (played by Evan Jones). When Lewis gets arrested for murder, Anna runs into Albert and they start an unlikely friendship when Albert challenges Foy to a duel, but there is one problem - Albert doesn't know how to shoot.

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Friday, October 3, 2014

Book Blogger Hop: Halloween Edition - Oct. 3rd - 9th

book blogger hop , Halloween Blog Bash
Book Blogger Hop: Halloween Edition - Oct. 3rd - 9th
Book Blogger Hop

Welcome Ghouls and Goblins
to the
Book Blogger Hop: Halloween Edition!
  
If you want schedule next week's thrilling question, click here to find the next prompt fright-fest. 
To submit a question, fill out this form.

 How to participate in this week's creepy meme:

1. Post on your blog answering this haunt:

 Where is the creepiest place
you have read a book at?

2. Enter the link to your terrifying tale in the haunting 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 a curse).

 

3. Visit other haunters in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new creeper.  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.
 

Billy's Answer!


I vividly remember when I was around five-years-old (prior to starting kindergarten) when my parents and me lived in an old two-story house in the country. I was looking at a Berenstain Bears book (I don't think I knew how to read a complete book yet) in my bedroom when suddenly a shadowy image of a little girl walked across the room, opened up the cabinet door and began tossing my stuffed toys towards me. I grabbed my book and ran downstairs screaming. I don't recall what happened afterwards, but I remember my parents moving the beds to the family room and we slept in there until we eventually moved into town. Now every time I pick up a Berenstain Bears book, I think about the little ghost girl playing with my toys. 



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Thursday, October 2, 2014

Enter If You Dare! Creepy Hallowen Decorations For Your Yard!

Halloween ,
Enter If You Dare! Creepy Hallowen Decorations For Your Yard!

R.I.P. Tombstone
It seems just like yesterday that I was taking down last year's Halloween decorations, but I will once again drag out everything and decorate my yard for Halloween Night in a few weeks. For me, this has been an annual tradition since I was a middle-grader. I'm now in my 30's and I still enjoy giving out candy to trick-or-treaters, which there are normally between 120-130 trick-or-treaters every year.

Last year, I put out a creepy cemetery in my yard, which I received positive praise from trick-or-treaters and their parents. Of course I want to expand the cemetery this year by adding a few more creepy things, so I teamed up with Oriental Trading, who kindly sent me a few complimentary Halloween products to review.

Up first is the R.I.P. Tombstone (IN-13687750), which is a 22" tall foam tombstone that comes with two plastic ground stakes. The tombstone has a realistic weathered look to it, as well as a cross and R.I.P. on the front of it. The tombstone retails around $9.50, bu it is currently out-of-stock.

I'm rating this 4 out of 5!

Light-Up Gothic Tombstone
Having a few creepy tombstones can spook up any yard, but if you really want your yard to pop out, then you're going to have to get some decorations or props that have lights in them. That is why the next item I reviewed was the Light-Up Gothic Angel Tombstone (IN-13636966), which retails at $22. The 22" tall tombstone is made from foam, unlike what the description on the Oriental Trading website states - it is not made out of plastic. It also doesn't come with batteries like it says in the description You'll need to purchase three AAA batteries. It does comes with two plastic ground stakes.

You'll also need a small Phillips screwdriver to remove the lid, so you can install the batteries. There is also a strobe light that is located below the In Loving Memory R.I.P. engraving.

The Light-Up Gothic Tombstone is not as detailed as I thought it would be, but the strobe light does give the tombstone a creepy look.

I'm rating this 3.5 out of 5!

Light-Up Gothic Tombstone's light!

"R.I.P." Tombstone in box!
Next is the "R.I.P." Tombstone (IN-42/123), which retails at $21, but its currently on sale for $19.98. The tombstone arrived in two different part which were packaged together. You'll have to slip the cross into the slot that is located on the top part of the bottom half of the tombstone. The overall height of this tombstone is 35" and comes with two plastic stakes. 

"R.I.P." Tombstone
Cons: The multicolor eyes lights never worked. I thought maybe it was the batteries, which were included, so I changed the batteries and it still didn't work. Since I received the product "free" for review purposes, I decided instead of contacting Oriental Trading about the problem, I would just repair the lights myself. After taking the battery panel, I realized it was just a faulty panel. Therefore, I just purchased a new pair of eye lights and a battery panel. The panel was slightly bigger than the old one, so with a knife I carefully cut out the exact size I needed from the back of the cross foam. Then I placed the eye lights in and hot glued the battery panel.

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Wednesday, October 1, 2014

I Dare You To Walk Down The Halls of Eerie Elementary

book review , Halloween Blog Bash
I Dare You To Walk Down The Halls of Eerie Elementary


I thought I would kickoff The Halloween Blog Bash with a review of the second installment of the new Eerie Elementary series, which is part of the Branches book line from Scholastic Inc. Eerie Elementary #2: The Locker Ate Lucy! (ISBN: 978-0545623957; 96 pagers) is written by Jack Chabert with illustrations by Sam Ricks.

Eerie Elementary centers on the third grade hall monitor Sam Graves, who had just learned from the school's janitor, Mr. Nekobi, that the school is actually alive and it needs to feed off of students. Along with his pals, Lucy and Antonio, Sam tries to protect his fellow students against the supernatural school.

In the second installment, The Locker Ate Lucy!, Sam, Lucy And Antonio begin the researching the history of Eerie Elementary in the attempt to discover what or whom is behind the supernatural occurrences. After stepping into the creepy Eerie Cemetery, the trio learn that Orson Eerie never died, even though he was born 1871. Is Orson Eerie behind the haunting at the school?

The trio rush back to Eerie Elementary, so they won't be late for their classes. Shortly after arriving, the unthinkable happens - Lucy disappears into thin air near her locker. After a quick investigation, Sam and Antonio find some sort of slime in her locker which leads to a dark tunnel. They must follow the trail of slime into the deepest and scariest parts of Eerie Elementary in the attempt to rescue Lucy.

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Writing Tips Wednesday: Tips for Writing Horror from 5 Horror Masters

Writing Tips Wednesdays ,
Writing Tips Wednesday: Tips for Writing Horror from 5 Horror Masters


It’s October, which means it is the scariest month of the year! Today, I am going to talk about how to make writing sound scary- in case any of you are interested in picking up some horror writing tips.

Now, I am not talking about writing that is scary because the grammar and spelling is so bad. Nope, today, we are going to dissect some of the writing from the horror masters and see what it is about their writing that makes them successful.

Now, everyone probably has their own personal interpretation of what makes writing scary, but I have identified five categories below that many horror writers employ. These categories are suspense, unexpected things, weird things, and gross things.

Many of my favorite horror authors, including Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe, and HP Lovecraft employ these elements in their stories.

Suspense

If you state something abruptly, there isn’t time to develop fear for it. Suspense is a necessity in any horror story. The Tell-Tale Heart is quite short, but it spends at least half of the story building up suspense. Take a look at this passage- this is just after the narrator has come into the room to murder the man:

“Presently I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. It was not a groan of pain or of grief --oh, no! --it was the low stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe. I knew the sound well. Many a night, just at midnight, when all the world slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the terrors that distracted me. I say I knew it well. I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart. I knew that he had been lying awake ever since the first slight noise, when he had turned in the bed. His fears had been ever since growing upon him. He had been trying to fancy them causeless, but could not. He had been saying to himself --"It is nothing but the wind in the chimney --it is only a mouse crossing the floor," or "It is merely a cricket which has made a single chirp." Yes, he had been trying to comfort himself with these suppositions: but he had found all in vain. All in vain; because Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim. And it was the mournful influence of the unperceived shadow that caused him to feel --although he neither saw nor heard --to feel the presence of my head within the room.”

The Unknown

What is the scariest thing? Fear. And if you know what something is, you fear it less. So, the longer a story goes without telling you want the scary thing is, the scarier the final reveal will actually be. The Turn of the Screw is a prime example of building up the fear of the unknown:

“But it was a comfort that there could be no uneasiness in a connection with anything so beatific as the radiant image of my little girl, the vision of whose angelic beauty had probably more than anything else to do with me restlessness that, before morning, made me several times rise and wander about my room to take in the whole picture and prospect; to watch, from my open window, the faint summer dawn, to look at such portions of the rest of the house as I could catch, and to listen, while, in the fading dusk, the first birds began to twitter, for the possible recurrence of a sound or two, less natural and not without, but within, that I had fancied I heard. There had been a moment when I believed I recognized, faint and far, the cry of a child; there had been another when I found myself just consciously starting as at the passage, before my door, of a light footstep. But these fancies were not marked enough not to be thrown off, and it is only in the light, or the gloom, I should rather say, of other and subsequent matters that they now come back to me.”

Unexpected Events

When something unexpected happens, it is scarier. This is a common technique employed by horror writers. One of my favorite examples is from The Lord of the Flies:

“Maybe there is a beast… maybe it's only us.” 

The idea that every person is capable of indescribable horrors is one of the most terrifying ideas of all.

Weird or Shocking Things

Most characters in horror novels are insane. Their insanity makes them unpredicible, which is why they are terrifying. Most of these insane characters have sadistic views and twisted likes. For example, take the character of Patrick Bateman from American Psycho:

"My pain is constant and sharp and I do not hope for a better world for anyone. In fact, I want my pain to be inflicted on others. I want no one to escape."


Gross Things

Gross things are always scarier than non-gross things. That is why, for example, a mummy is scarier than a leprechaun. Take for example, this passage from The Road:

“He started down the rough wooden steps. He ducked his head and then flicked the lighter and swung the flame out over the darkness like an offering. Coldness and damp. An ungodly stench. He could see part of a stone wall. Clay floor. An old mattress darkly stained. He crouched and stepped down again and held out the light. Huddled against the back wall were naked people, male and female, all trying to hide, shielding their faces with their hands. On the mattress lay a man with his legs gone to the hip and the stumps of them blackened and burnt. The smell was hideous.
Jesus, he whispered.
Then one by one they turned and blinked in the pitiful light. Help us, they whispered. Please help us.”
This scene has many gross words that incite all the senses: stench, coldness, damp, nakedness, stumps of flesh, burned skin, stained mattresses, and flickering light bulbs. You can’t help but be frightened by all the ugliness and gross. 


And to wrap things up, the horror master himself has this to say about what makes a story scary:

“The 3 types of terror: The Gross-out: the sight of a severed head tumbling down a flight of stairs, it's when the lights go out and something green and slimy splatters against your arm. The Horror: the unnatural, spiders the size of bears, the dead waking up and walking around, it's when the lights go out and something with claws grabs you by the arm. And the last and worse one: Terror, when you come home and notice everything you own had been taken away and replaced by an exact substitute. It's when the lights go out and you feel something behind you, you hear it, you feel its breath against your ear, but when you turn around, there's nothing there...”
--Stephen King

What are your favorite scary passages from literature?

Brenda is a fellow book-lover and coffee-addict. She is a freelance writer, punctuation nerd, and grammar enthusiast. Her favorite book genres are Science Fiction, Fantasy with a Twist, and Dystopian. Brenda blogs about books, writing and more at Daily Mayo. Find her here on CaW for Writing Tips Wednesdays the first Wednesday of every month.

Follow Brenda on Facebook and Twitter or subscribe to updates from Daily Mayo to keep up with all the exciting things in her life; ranging from drinking coffee to get through the day to drinking coffee just for fun.
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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Canvas Champ Review & Giveaway

Canvas Champ ,
Canvas Champ Review & Giveaway


Christmas is barely over three months away and today is the perfect time to start making your gift shopping list. Buying toys and gizmos for the kids is an easy task, but figuring out what to buy an adult can be a little challenging.

Yes, you could just go ahead and buy some sort of gift card, but whoever you are giving the gift to may think you didn't put an effort into the gift. The perfect gift should be something that is more personal, something that you put a little thought into.

Recently, I was contacted by Canvas Champ, a picture to canvas company that was interested in me reviewing a 12" x 8" complimentary copy in exchange for my honest thoughts. I had reviewed a similar canvas company last year, so I thought "Why Not!"


Canvas Champ prices are reasonably priced compared to other companies. A 12"x8" canvas currently costs only $16.77. The canvas sizes ranges from 8"x8" to 30"x20," though you can customize your own canvas size up to 52". The company also sells peel and stick wallpaper, photo boards, metal prints, acrylic prints and canvas banners.

Now you're probably wondering what photo I wanted transfered to canvas. Well, the photo I picked is an old family picture that has my great-grandmother standing in the center with her siblings around her. My great-great-grandparents are the elderly couple sitting in the chairs. It isn't exactly the best photo in the world, but I thought if it turned out good, then I would give it my my grandmother for Christmas.
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