Friday, April 1, 2016

Popcorn & Coffee: Identicals


   
Rated R; 100 minutes; $25.99; Amazon
Arriving on DVD on April 5th from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the British science-fiction thriller Identicals. Directed by documentary maker Simon Pummel, the film was released to limited theater screens,Digital and On Demand on March 25th. It stars Nick Blood (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D), Lachlan Nieboer (Charlie Countryman), Nora - Jane Noone (Brooklyn), Michelle Asante (London Boulevard) and Tony Way (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

Special Features on the single-disc DVD includes:

Discussion with Writer/Director Simon Pummell

Visual Effects Breakdown

Set in a strange futuristic world, Identicals centers on Slater (played by Lachlan Nieboer), a man who witnesses his girlfriend's abduction by the Brand New-U Identifies, a network that helps people have a better life by walking into the body of someone else.

After a confrontation with Nadia's look-alike (played by Nora-Jane Noone), Slater is accused of murder, well that is until the Brand New-U Identifies offers him a choice - take the rap for the murder or upgrade his life.

Slater chooses the latter and becomes an Identical. Sadly, he can never let his past disappear, and he ends up searching for his only true love, Nadia.

Book Blogger Hop: April 1st - 7th


Book Blogger Hop

Welcome to the new Book Blogger Hop!

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!

Have you ever ventured out of your comfort zone in terms of reading a genre you have never read? If so, did you get hooked on that new genre?

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 mostly read horror novels (Stephen King, John Saul, etc.) when I was a teenager, but after I first read a Beverly Lewis novel when I was in my early 20s, I quickly became addicted to Amish-romance genre.


Linky List:

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Review - Rotten School: Got Cake?



128 pages; Amazon
No, I didn't forget about this week's Thursday ReReads. I had read Rotten School: Got Cake? early yesterday morning (Thursday), but I was so busy during the day, I was just too tired to write the review for it; which explains why I'm posting this today (Friday), though I'm posting it under a Thursday post (yesterday). Does any of this make any sense?

Anyhow, this the 13th entry in the Rotten School series (out of 16) once again has our favorite 4th-grader Bernie Bridges is up to no good.

After giving us, readers, a quick understanding on how to be popular, Bernie runs into Leif Blower, a 6th-grader, who is in charge of this year's Rotten School Yearbook. To celebrate the 100th year edition of the yearbook, there will be a special page called "The Most Popular Rotten Egg," in which the most popular student will get one whole paged dedicated to them.

As you can probably guess, Bernie wants to be featured on the 100 anniversary page, and he will do anything and everything to prove he is the most popular student.

How will he do this?

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Spring Reads: The Princess Twins and the Tea Party


32 pages; $3.99; Amazon
There is no better time than the present to get your kids into reading with the I Can Read! books, a series that has five different reading levels:

My First - ideal for sharing with emergent readers.
1 - simple sentences for eager new readers.
2 - high-interest stories for developing readers.
3 - complex plots for confident readers.
4 - the perfect bridge to chapter books.

Now available in bookstores from ZonderKidz is the picture book The Princess Twins and the Tea Party by author Mona Hodgson with pictures by Julie Olson.

The Princess Twins and the Tea Party centers on Emma and Abby, twin princess with big imaginations. Princess Emma is excited that today is Spring Tea Day, in which their friends will be coming over to their home for tea.

Everything has to be just perfect for tea party. Princess Emma double-checks to make sure the cakes have enough sugar in them, the table is set correctly and that the perfect tea is going to be used.

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Review - A Coffee Lover's Guide To Coffee



238 pages; $4.99; Amazon
Just because you are a big coffee drinker (like me), doesn't mean you know every single thing about coffee.

Available now to read on Amazon Kindle is A Coffee Lover's Guide To Coffee by Shlomo Stern, a very detailed eBook that explains everything there needs to know about my making one cup of coffee.

Did you know the first coffee shop opened in 1475 in Constantinople, Turkey?

Did you know the first instant coffee was patented in New Zealand in 1890?

You'll learn where a coffee tree is planted around the world, how the coffee beans are processed and roasted to perfection. Learn about the different tastes/flavors of coffee.

The book goes into detail about the different stages of roasting as well as the the best ways to grind and store the coffee beans/grounds. There are also chapters on instant coffees, decaffeinated coffees, coffee brewing methods, everything espresso related, milk frothing, different coffee beverages, and much more.

Review - Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade


72 minutes (counting extras); Amazon
Just in case you missed the premiere of the new Ice Age television special on Fox last weekend, The Great Egg-Scapade is now available to own on Digital HD ( iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, Amazon Video, Sony Playstation Store, Microsoft Movies & TV and MGo).

Picking up after the events of 2012's Ice Age: Continental Drift, The Great Egg-Scapade centers on Sid (voiced by John Leguizamo), who comes with the idea that he is responsible enough to babysit a dozen eggs while the mother's are gathering food. Sounds like a great plan, well, that is until Sid falls asleep and when he wakes up all the eggs have disappeared.

The ex-pirate bunny Squint (voiced by Seth Green) wants revenge for his ship being destroyed in Continental Drift, so he kidnaps all the eggs. He paints the eggs and scatters them around the land. Manny (voiced Ray Romano), Diego (voiced Denis Leary) must go along with Sid on an egg hunt, with a little help from Squint's brother Clint (voiced by Blake Anderson).

Meanwhile, Crash (voiced by Seann Williams Scott) and Eddie (voiced by Josh Peck) try to play an April Fools' joke on Peaches (played Keke Palmer).

Special Features includes:

Cosmic Scrat-trastrophe: A five-minute sneak peek of ICE AGE: THE COLLISION COURSE
Ice Age: The Story So Far
More Nuts for Scrat
Ice Age – Continental Crack-Up, Part 1
Ice Age – Continental Crack-Up, Part 2
Gone Nutty – Scrat’s Missing Adventure
No Time For Nuts
Falling For Scratte
Scrat: From Head to Toe
Educational Featurettes: Lost Historical Films, The Sloth: “Nature’s Loveable Lisper”, The Saber-Toothed Tiger: “Nature’s Fearsome Feline”, The Possum: “Nature’s Spunky Spectacles

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Review & Giveaway - Brooklyn Bean Roastery "Bold Variety" Roast Coffees


There's no reason for me to go into an excessive rambling about my love for coffee as I've already written many posts about my caffeine addiction; so it should be no surprise to anyone that I'm once again writing a review for a coffee brand.

This month I was sent the "Bold Variety" Roast Coffees from Brooklyn Bean Roastery, which contains 40 single-serve coffee cups. All the cups are compatible with most Keurig brewers. Brooklyn Bean Roastery coffees are made from 100% Arabica coffee beans.




The flavors are

Cyclone - a dark, extra bold roast with a sweet and smoky flavor. 

Fuhgeddaboutit -  an extremely dark, extra bold roast with a smoky blend.

Express-O - an espresso roast that was made for those who need a quick pick-me-up early in the mornings.

French Roast - a dark roast with an intense smoky flavor.