Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Tuesday Picks!



Welcome to my Tuesday Picks! post, where I'll be picking out my favorite books and movies that are being released this week.


Books

 

The Noel Stranger 

by Richard Paul Evans 

BARNES & NOBLE

Power Rangers: The Ultimate Visual History

by  Ramin Zahed and Jody Revenson 

BARNES & NOBLE

Then She Was Gone 

by Lisa Jewell

BARNES & NOBLE

My Thoughts

I don't know where Richard Paul Evans comes with with all his holiday romance stories, but here he is with another another book, The Noel Stranger. I'll probably send a request to the publisher about reviewing the book. 

Power Rangers: The Ultimate Visual History looks like a fun coffee table book, if you're a Power Rangers fan.

Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell looks like an intriguing thriller.


 Movies / TV Series


Monday, November 12, 2018

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme 
hosted by The Book Date.


What Am I Currently Reading?



I just started reading the eBook Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter 2: The Axe Will Fall by C.A. Verstraete.


I'm still reading American Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell by Deborah Soloman. I'm currently on page 50.


What am I reading next?

Review - 18 Wheels of Science Fiction

*This is a sponsored post. All opinions are 100% mine.

312 pages; $14.99; Amazon
I've only read a handful of science fiction novels during my lifetime. While I don't mind watching a good science fiction movie, I'm just not really into the reading books set in the genre, except for the occasional anthology, like the recently released 18 Wheels of Science Fiction.

Published by Big Time Books and edited by Eric Miller, 18 Wheels of Science Fiction features 18 short stories about futuristic truck driving.


Here's the official blurb from the back cover:

An alien fuel additive shows just how fast a big rig can go... A disembodied driver wages war on self-driving trucks... A haul through time takes an unexpected turn... Reality shatters for a trucker using an experimental delivery device... Stargazing gives an overweight driver a new lease on life... A young girl risks her life to hitch a ride out of an apocalyptic wasteland...

Take a trip through the imaginations of 18 visionary writers as they explore the future of trucking in these speculative tales. The highways of the universe will never be the same.

The short stories are:

The Wreckers 
by John DeChancie

Speed Trap 
by Jeff Seeman

Thin Ice
by Bond Elam

Q-Bits
by Lucio Rodriguez

I, Truck
by Gary Phillips

Over Flat Mountain
by Terry Bisson

Wheels Of Wrath
by Janet Joyce Holden

Shotgun Seat
by Paul Carlson

Job No. 34264
by Lisa Morton

Essential Oils
by Michael Bailey

Big Rig, Big Rip
by Alvaro Zinos-Armaro

A Flicker of Bright Light
by Del Howison

Hit/Run
by Edward M. Erdelac

Everything Looks So Small
by Carla Robinson

Silent Passenger
by Kate Jonez

Indica Asterion & The Wizard Of Ozymandias
by Sean Patrick Traver

Human, Trafficking
by Michael Paul Gonzalez

Drive
by Eric Miller

Final Thoughts

Sunday, November 11, 2018

Sunday Post: November 11, 2018

Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @  Caffeinated Book Reviewer!


Good Evening, Everyone!


My Current Reads!

Last week was an extremely busy week for me. Between running errands, taking care of my grandmother's issues, my television dying, and planning Thanksgiving dinner, I decided to redesign this blog, which took me 36+ hours to complete. Since I didn't have any free time, I made the decision to delay last week's reading schedule.

Books on my agenda this week are: Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter 2:The Axe Will Fall by C.A. Verstraete, Elevation by Stephen King, and Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan.

I had planned on reading Lizzie Borden 2 and Elevation last week, but those were the two main books I shoved aside in order to work on the blog's redesign. 

Reading Update

I haven't opened up American Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell since last Sunday, so I'm still on page 50.

 

Last Week's Reviews

(book)

(Blu-ray)

(DVD)

(Blu-ray Steelbook)

 

In The Mail

DVD Review: Blood, Sweat and Terrors


Not Rated; 98 minutes; Amazon
Blood, Sweat and Terrors arrived on DVD from RLJ Entertainment last week. Based on the art cover and the synopsis (which you can read in the next paragraph), I believed the movie would be a fun, low-budget, 90's-like action film.

There's no running from this fight. A lethal dose of gangsters, hit men, crooked cops and guerilla fighters are headed for the ultimate showdown...with more non-stop, bare-fisted action than one movie can handle. The hardcore double crosses, desperate missions and cold-blooded revenge are loaded into every minute won't end until the last bullet is fired. It will take more than courage to survive, and even the best will fall.

I have no idea who wrote the the synopsis for the DVD, but it has almost nothing to do with the movie.  Actually, calling this a movie is a big stretch. The film is nothing more than 9 random short films edited into one movie.

The short films are:

Empire of Dirt 

Directed by Adam Mason, this is the weirdest short in the collection. It's less action and more of a Clive Barker horror tale featuring graphic nudity.

Awesome Runaway

Directed by Benjamin De Los Santos, an over the top action tale about a kidnapped victim hallucinating his escape.

Jacob's Wrath 

Directed by Alexandre Carriere, this tale involves a man's quest to kill his daughter's killer. The short switches back and forth from our world (reality) to a hallucinated apocalyptic world.

Flow

Directed by Shelagh Rowan-Legg, this happens to be dumbest tale of the bunch. It involves two female guerilla fighters bickering over the last Tampax. Yes, this is the real plot of the short!

Express Delivery

Directed by Beau Fowler, all this short is is one long fight scene between "The Postman" and a guy named "Swifty" (played by Beau Flower). Fun to watch, but pointless.

Turncoat

Directed by Will Gilbey, "Turncoat" is about two crooked cops who invade a man's home. It's very boring!

Get Some

Directed by Adam Horton and Joe Horton, this tale is set in a zombie-infested world, where Hunter Smith (played by Warren Brown) hunts down the "outsiders" during his reality series "Get Some." For this episode, Hunter has brought along Dr. James Borans (played by John Hannah), an "outsider" activist, to go hunting with him in an English forest.
 

Olga

Directed by Olaf Svenson, this subtitled foreign short tells the story of a young woman's quest to avenge her parents' death by the hands of a mob boss.

Fetch

Directed by Daniel Bernhardt, "Fetch" is a boring tale about a private detective's journey to retrieve a missing dog.




Final Thoughts

Saturday, November 10, 2018

Blu-ray Review: Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis Steelbook


Mill Creek Entertainment * Amazon
Now available on a Blu-ray + DVD Steelbook from Mill Creek Entertainment is the 2001 anime classic Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis (PG-13; 108 minutes; $34.98).

Based on the 1949 manga by the late Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy) and loosely inspired by the 1927 German silent film "Metropolis," the anime film is set in a futuristic city where humans and robots, but not in harmony. Robots are classified by levels and if they leave their levels, then they'll be destroyed.

A powerful industrial leader, Duke Red, is creating an oversized skyscraper called the Ziggurat, which is supposed to give off a massive amount of power across the entire planet. Duke had hired a mad scientist, Dr. Laughton, to create a super human robot in the likeness of his deceased daughter, Tima. He wants Tima to be the leader of the Ziggurat.

Duke's adopted son, Rock, is the leader of the Marduk Party, a anti-robot group who will do anything to destroy all robots. Rock believes that Tima will lead to the death of his father and he vowed to kill her, along with any humans or robots that gets in his way.

A private detective Shunsaku Ban travels to Metropolis with his nephew Kenich. He's there to arrest Dr. Laughton, who is wanted for organ trafficking. Unfortunately, by the time Shunsaku locates Dr. Laughton, Rock had already left the doctor mortally wounded. The attack upon the the doctor's lab leads to Tima being activated. Eventually, Kenich befriends Tima, who doesn't know she's a robot, and becomes sort of a father figure for her.

Lost in the city, Kenich takes the responsibility of protecting Timam from Rock's wrath.

 

Special Features include:

  • Amazing High-Definition Prestation
  • English DTS-HD Master Audio and uncompressed Japanese audio
  • English SDH subtitles
  • The Making of Metropolis featurette
  • Filmmaker Interviews
  • Animation Comparisons
  • Concept Art Gallery


Final Thoughts

Friday, November 9, 2018

Book Blogger Hop: November 9th - 15th






Instructions: Select all code above, copy it and paste it inside your blog post as HTML


Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop! 


If you want to schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

The Book Blogger Hop now has its own Facebook Group! Please join the group to get all the newest Book Blogger Hop updates. Also, you can communicate with your fellow book bloggers in the group.

What To Do


1. Post on your blog answering this question:




This week's question is submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer.


2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below. Please enter your Name/Nickname @ Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Here's an example: Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer

3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading a few 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.

The Friday 56: 18 Wheels Of Science Fiction




Rules

Grab a book, any book.
Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it).
Post it.
 Add your (url) post below in the Linky at: www.fredasvoice.com
Add the post url, not your blog url.




They couldn't pare down the tucks, which had their own electronic and computer systems, but they could limit the complexity of interacting with the human elements.

18 Wheels Of Science Fiction, page 56 - "Q-Bits" by Lucio Rodriguez


  My Thoughts

Blu-ray Review: Black Sails: The Complete Collection



Lionsgate; 35 hours 56 minutes; Not Rated; Amazon
There are way too many television series I have wanted to watch, but I never got around to watching them during their original runs. Black Sails happens to be one of these series.

Black Sails: The Complete Collection was recently released to Blu-ray from STARZ and Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

Created by by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine, Black Sails aired on STARZ for four seasons. The series starred Toby Stephens, Hannah New, Luke Arnold, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Tom Hopper, Zach McGowan, Toby Schmitz, Clara Paget, Mark Ryan, Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Sean Cameron Michael, Louise Barnes, Rupert Penry-Jones, Luke Roberts, Ray Stevenson, David Wilmot, and Harriet Walter.

Black Sails is a prequel to the classic novel Treasure Island written by Robert Louis Stevenson. Set in 1715 (roughly twenty years before the novel), the series mostly focuses on Captain Flint (played by Toby Stephens), a former British officer turned pirate who finds himself on the New Providence island with an eager crew, but without an actual ship to sail.

New Providence is lead by Eleanor Guthrie (played by Hannah New), a young woman who has taken control of her father's operations across the island. She has taken ownership of the local brothel and wants to control of all the pirates; except for Captain Flint, who has a personal vendetta against the British Navy, and Captain Charles Vane (played by Zach McGowan), a brutal pirate who takes possession of the island, as well as Hannah's heart.

All three characters collide after "Long" John Silver (played by Luke Arnold), arrives on the island with several schemes up his sleeves, including stealing a "schedule" page from Captain Flint. With a lot of backstabbing, Captain Flint acquires a ship and gathers his crew (which includes Silver), so they can steal a treasure of gold.

Let's just say things don't go as planned!

Special Features include:
  • Season 1
    • "Black Sails": An Inside Look
    • Dressed to Kill
    • Pirate Camp
    • Folklore Is Finished
    • A Place in History
    • Building the Behemoth
  • Season 2
    • Inside the World of "Black Sails"
    • Man O'War
    • Expanding Worlds
    • High Sea Action
    • History's Influence
  • Season 3
    • Season Two Recap
    • Blackbeard: An 18-Century Pirate
    • The Storm
    • A Pirate's Last Words
    • Woodes Rogers
    • Inside the World of "Black Sails"
  • Season 4
    • Inside the World of "Black Sails"
    • Creating the World
    • Roundtable: Women in Piracy
    • Roundtable: The Legends of Treasure Island
    • Roundtable: Fearless Fans


Final Thoughts

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Giveaway: Mile 22 Blu-ray Combo Pack





Arriving on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and On Demand on Tuesday November 13th from STXfilms & Universal Pictures Home Entertainment  is the action-packed film Mile 22! It's already available on Digital.

Directed by Peter Berg (Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon), Mile 22 stars an outstanding cast including Mark Wahlberg (Deepwater Horizon) along with Lauren Cohan (The Walking Dead), Iko Uwais (The Raid), Ronda Rousey (Fast & Furious 7) and John Malkovich (Red).

In a visceral modern thriller from the director of Lone Survivor, Mark Wahlberg plays James Silva, an operative of the CIA’s most highly-prized and little-known unit. Aided by a top-secret tactical command team, Silva must transport an asset (Uwais) who has vital information to an airfield for extraction before the enemy closes in. “Loaded with edge-of-your-seat action” (Steve Weintraub, Collider), Mile 22 is the perfect film for fans of fast-paced combat cinema.

Deemed as “Mark Wahlberg’s best action movie to date” (Jack Giroux, Film), Mile 22 is filled with non-stop action and intense stunts. The film on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital comes packed with exciting bonus features including a behind-the-scenes look at stunts with actor and stunt choreographer Iko Uwais, a special featurette on the fearless female actresses and more that take audiences deeper into the adrenaline-filled story.

BONUS FEATURES on BLU-RAY COMBO PACK

  • Overwatch: Follow the “Overwatch”, the para-military division in Mile 22, and explore the background and inspiration as to why this type of team was chosen for the film. 

  • Introducing Iko: A spotlight on world-renowned action star Iko Uwais and his experience with combat fighting, stunt work and choreographing his own scenes in the film.

  • Iko Fight: Interview with Iko Uwais discussing his intense fight scenes from the practice room to the final shot.

  • Bad Ass Women: A behind-the-scenes look with stars Lauren Cohan and Ronda Rousey along with writer Lea Carpenter, discussing stunts, intellectual smarts and the overall tenacity of the film’s female characters.

  • BTS Stunts: An in-depth take on the creation of the action-packed stunts of Mile 22 with commentary from Director Peter Berg and the film’s stars.

  • Modern Combat: Explore the concept of modern action cinema, where scenes are created and shot in real time with multiple cameras, mesmerizing cinematography and intense action stunts.

  • Colombia: Take a tour Bogota, Colombia with the cast and filmmakers discussing key filming location points.

  • Trailers

Giveaway Details