PG-13; 137 mins; $39.99; Amazon

Being somewhat of a movie buff, I had nearly forgotten the fact that the final installment of The Hunger Games franchise, Mockingjay - Part 2, was released to theaters last November. I recall seeing a few advertisements for the film, but between the Spectre (the 24th James Bond flick) and the Star Wars madness last year, it totally slipped my mind.

Despite being judged for the studio's decision to split the final installment into two films, Mockingjay - Part 2 was a commercial success; taking in $653 million at the box-office, thought it was the least profitable of the franchise.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 will be arriving on Blu-ray Combo Pack tomorrow, March 22nd, from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Also being released tomorrow is The Hunger Games Complete 4-Film Collection on Blu-ray and DVD. The Digital HD was released on March 8th.

Based on the best-selling book series by author Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 picks up where the previous film had ended. The rebels had rescued Peeta Mellark (played by Josh Hutcherson), but he's been brainwashed by the Capitol, resulting in his hatred for Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence).


Against orders from President Alma Coin (played by Julianne Moore), Katniss sneaks aboard a supply ship that will take her to the Capitol. Upon arrival, Commander Paylor (played by Patina Miller) assigns Katniss to the Star Squad, a team lead by Boggs (played by Mahershala Ali). Basically, they will film Katniss as a hero at the same time the rebels take control of the Capitol; though their mission is put into jeopardy when Peeta joins their team.

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!

Has your contact with authors usually been in person, via e-mail, social media, or something else?Do you believe audio books are the future and why do believe?

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 usually communicate by email with either the author's agent or publisher; though occasionally the author actually contacts me (email).

ZonderKidz; $16.99; 32 pages; Amazon

I don't normally pay too attention to new books that are written for girls, but I have a much younger cousin, so I thought I would keep my eye out on any new titles which she might enjoy. When I saw that The Princess Twins and the Birthday Party was available to review through BookLook Bloggers, I eagerly signed up to review it.

Written by Mona Hodgson and published by ZonderKidz as an "I can Read!" series (1 - Beginning Reading), The Princess Twins and the Birthday Party centers on Emma and Abby, twin sisters who are princesses, and today is their birthday!

Emma and Abby hop out of bed, both excited about their big day. They pick out the prettiest dresses, put on their crowns, and head downstairs to eat breakfast with their parents. Then the twins help set things up for their birthday party, like name cards, etc..

Before long, their friends arrive carring presents for the twins. Everyone seems to be having a great time, well, all except for Emma's friend Beth, who has vanished from the party. Where did Emma go?

Zondervan; 224 pages; Amazon

It seems that retelling classic fairy tales and other mythological stories is the in-thing in the YA fiction market. Some of you might recall me reading The Golden Braid last year by author Jody Hedlund, which was a new version of Rapunzel. Now the author has put her spin on the old Robin Hood story with a blend of Disney/Pixar's Brave.

A Daring Sacrifice centers on Julianna Wessex, a young woman whom has kicked away her royal roots and grabbed a bow & arrows to seek revenge against her uncle, Lord Wessex, who had murdered her father. She now spends her days as the "cloaked  bandit," robbing the rich and giving back to poor. (Sounds a bit familiar!).

Julianna thought the whole kingdom believed that she was dead; well, that is until she robbed Collin Goodrich, who instantly recognized her.

Later after becoming injured, Julianna must rely on Collin's help. She agrees to stay at his estate for one week to heal her wounds and in exchange Collin must live with her in the woods for a week. Sounds simple enough to Julianna, but the one thing she never thought would happen does - she falls in love him.

188 pages; Amazon

In my continuing quest to reread the entire 16 book Rotten School series by R.L. Stine, I sat down this afternoon, took a few sips of coffee and read book 11, Rotten School: Punk'd and Skunked.

The series takes place at the boarding school called Rotten School and centers on a fourth-grader, Bernie Bridges, a student who annoys his teachers and tries to con his fellow classmates out of money.

For this installment, Bernie is excited about the upcoming Make-a-Great-Invention Contest, in which each dorm (there are three) will compete for a chance to win a trip to the super-rich prep school, Preppy Prep Prep. Then the winners will compete against other schools at the prep school with a chance to when $5,000.

Bernie is desperate to win the $5,000. He tries to get his buddies at the Rotten House to help him come up with a great idea for the contest. Sadly, they end up with the stupidest invention - a battery-powered Nose Vac.

Despite having the worst invention, Bernie and pals win the contest as Headmaster Upchuck will do anything to get rid of Bernie for a few days.

Not Rated; 43 mins; $14.99; Amazon

Arriving today on DVD from Nickelodeon is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Half-Shell Heroes: Blast To The Past; the 43-minute movie spin-off of the current TMNT animated series. There are no special features or extras. However, it does come with a bonus Nick Jr. DVD.

Based on the Playmates Toys' Half-Shell Heroes, "Blast To the Past" dropped the current computer-animation style and went with a 2D animation look. The four turtles are now half the size of what they are in the regular series, but they still have the same voices.

After finding crystals inside a meteorite that will help power up Donatello's new turtle vehicle, he accidentally sends himself along with his brothers, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael, as well as Bebop and Rocksteady, back in time to the Cretaceous Period.

The turtles don't exactly fit in with this era as they're constantly being chased by hungry dinosaurs. They would rather just head back home, but the meteorite's crystals have been destroyed.  To make things worse, their enemy, the Triceratons, are also there; forcing the dinosaurs to help them mine for crystals.

Leo, Donnie, Raph and Mikey must befriend a few dinosaurs and plan a last-minute attack on the Triceratons, in the hope of stopping the aliens' plans, rescue Bebop and Rocksteady (Yep, they're in trouble!) and grab a few crystals, so they can return home to NYC.

PG-13; 89 minutes; $9.98; Amazon

Available on to own on Blu-ray from Mill Creek Entertainment tomorrow is the 2001 comedy Just Visiting. Directed by Jean-Marie Gaubert and produced by the late John Hughes, the film stars Jean Reno, Christina Applegate, Christian Clavier, Malcolm McDowell, Tara Reid and Bridgette Wilson. There are no special features of extras on the single-disc.

Just Visiting is the American remake of the French comedy Les Visiteurs, which was also directed by Jean-Marie Poiré and starred Jean Reno and Christian Clavier. A sequel, Les visiteurs 2: Les couloirs du temps, was released in 1998 and a third film, Les Visiteurs 3 : La Terreur, is scheduled to be released this year.

The American version centers on Lord Thibault Malféte (played by Jean Reno), who is about to marry Princess Rosalind. During the wedding banquet, Thibault's drink is spiked by a witch, causing him to  hallucinate and kills Rosalind. Quickly sentence to death by the king, Thibault's loyal servant Andre (played by Christian Clavier) finds a wizard (played by Malcolm McDowell) to send him back in time. However, things go wrong. Thiabualt and Andre end up being sent to the year 2000.