Walmart; Target

Arriving on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital form Disney Home Entertainment on January 29th is fantasy adventure The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (PG; 99 minutes).

Directed by Lasse Hallström and Joe Johnston, the film stars Keira Knightley, Mackenzie Foy, Eugenio Derbez, Matthew Macfadyen, Richard E. Grant, Misty Copeland, with Helen Mirren, and Morgan Freeman.

Based on the short story"The Nutcracker and the Mouse King"by E. T. A. Hoffmann and the play "The Nutcracker" by Marius Petipa, the film centers around Clara Stahlbaum receiving a locked handcrafted egg-shaped box as a Christmas gift from her late mother. (Actually, Clara's father gave it her, but her mother had gave him instructions to do so before she died.) Her mother also left behind a note, which stated the egg is all she would ever need.

While attending a Christmas Eve ball, Clara visits her godfather, Drosselmeyer, who happens to be an engineer. She learns Drosselmeyer had made the egg many years ago and had given it to her mother as a gift. After having a brief argument with her father, Clara finds a string with her name on it. She follows the string into the forest which takes her to a parallel world where she locates the egg's key. However, before she can grab the key, a mouse snatches it away.

Within minutes of losing the key, Clara meets Captain Philip Hoffman the Nutcracker, Sugar Plum Fairy of the Land of Sweets, Shivers of the Land of Snowflakes, and Hawthorne of the Land of Flowers, who are all at war with the Land of Amusements, otherwise known as "the Fourth Realm."

To recover the lost key that will unlock her mother's gift, Clara must battle an army of  life-size toy soldiers and somehow restore peace to the Realms.


Blu-ray Special Features are:

• On Pointe: Misty Copeland - Copeland shares the thrill of portraying one of her favorite characters in a whole new way.
• Unwrapping The Nutcracker and the Four Realms - Dive into the production design, sets, costumes and more that helped transform a beloved ballet into an adventurous movie.
• Deleted Scenes
• The Stahlbaums Arrive- As the Stahlbaums enter the Christmas Eve ball, the butler attempts to announce them to the assembled guests.
• Follow Your Ribbon- Drosselmeyer encourages a reluctant Clara to go find her gift.
• Deleted Scene: Clara Asks About Her Mother - Sugar Plum gives Clara a tour of her mother’s bedroom.
• Left, Left, Left, Left, Left - Wandering lost in the forest, palace guards Cavalier and Harlequin quarrel about which way to go.
• Out with the Old- Sugar Plum makes sweeping changes to the palace decor.
• Music Videos
• “Fall on Me” Performed by Andrea Bocelli Featuring Matteo Bocelli - Experience superstar tenor Andrea Bocelli and his son Matteo Bocelli performing their first duet together in this uplifting song.
• “The Nutcracker Suite” Performed by Lang Lang - Get swept up in a series of images from the movie, set to Tchaikovsky’s music and featuring world-renowned pianist Lang Lang.

Exclusive Digital Bonus Feature:

• Unwrapped: The Visuals Effects of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms - Get swept up in a series of images from the movie, set to Tchaikovsky’s music and featuring world-renowned pianist Lang Lang. 

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.

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.

My Father was fond of quoting Dante Gabriel Rossetti after my mother died. "Beauty without the beloved is like a sword through the heart." I thought of it at his funeral. It eased my pain to think he would no longer suffer a sword through his heart.

page 56, The Silhouette Girl by V.C. Andrews

  My Thoughts

AMAZON; Barnes & Noble

One of the most popular book series for middle graders in recent years is the Middle School series by James Patterson, which centers around a character named Rafe Khatchadorian. Of course when a series becomes extremely popular spinoffs are eventually released, such as the I Funny series. Now there is a new spinoff called Dog Diaries: A Middle School Story (Jimmy Patterson; $9.99; 208 pages) that focuses on Rafe's dog, Junior!

Co-written with Steven Butler and featuring illustrations by Richard Watson, Dog Diaries chronicles the early life of Junior; starting from his days at the Hills Village dog shelter to winning a big "prize" for losing a "Best in Show" dog competition.

Life of a dog can be great when your best friend "Ruff" (a.k.a. - Rafe) always has your back. However, being a dog does has its obstacles, such as running away from the vacuum cleaner, staying on the good side of Mom-Lady (Rafe's mother), protecting the yard from monsters (birds, raccoons, and squirrels), and staying clear of the evil Jawjaw (Rafe's little sister).

Final Thoughts

Ever since we were little kids, we have been encouraged to read on our own, as it helps us to learn how to spell, develop a rich vocabulary, enhances our imaginations, improve our writing skills,  and encourages us to do better in our school work. However, as we grow older, we make excuses not to read and become distracted by television, phones, tablets, and laptops. This isn't a good thing! While we might not be as young as we used to be, we still can receive great benefits from reading!

Reading Reduces Stress

Reading a good book can help you unwind after a stressful day.

As an adult, we have to deal with paying bills, family emergencies, relationships problems, raising kids, running countless errands, and so on & so on... With all the chaos of our day-to-day lives, our stress levels can go through the roof, which can lead to high blood pressure, insomnia, and even depression. Taking the time out to read for fifteen minutes or more per day can help you relax.

Alex from TrustedCare agrees, "reading in later years is great for the mind. From stimulating reads to page turners, reading can improve memory, reduce stress and improve focus and concentration. With local libraries and book clubs running, it can be a great avenue to increase social interaction."

Reading Improves Memory

One of the many downsides about getting older is that we will eventually forget things. It could be because of old age in general or you could have dementia or Alzheimer’s.  Reading is one of the best neurologically activities. It's a great brain challenging exercise that will help stock up your neurons, which can delay Alzheimer's from destroying them. So keep your brain active by reading an entertaining book, which will help prevent memory loss.

Reading Can Help You Sleep Better

AMAZON; Barnes & Noble

What I hate about living in small town is that my local Walmart has an extremely small book section. However, the store does normally get in the novels by popular authors, so I had my hopes that the massive book Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin would be there. Well, I was disappointed when the book didn't come in stock last November. Due to the holidays and a family emergency, I had completely forgotten about the novel until I stumbled upon it at the local library.

Fire & Blood is volume one of two in the History of the Targaryen Kings of Westeros, which is set 300 years before A Game of Thrones (a.k.a. - A Song of Ice and Fire series).

At over 700 pages, Fire & Blood is written like a history book with George R.R. Martin telling us about all the past Targaryen kings and queens, as well as all the dragons that once ruled across the lands. It begins with Aegon the Conqueror, the creator of the Iron Throne and takes you to the Dance of the Dragons.

The book features gorgeous illustrations by Doug Wheatley!

Final Thoughts

AMAZON; Barnes & Noble

Last month was a little chaotic for me. If you've been following this blog as of lately, then you would know I had a family emergency recently; which has resulted in me being slightly late with a couple of reviews. I had read Mind Games by Nancy Mehl back in early December, but with everything that was going on with my grandmother, I had completely forgot about writing the actual review for it!

Mind Games ($15.99; Bethany House Publishers; 396 pages) is the first book in the all-new Kaely Quinn Profiler series. It centers around FBI Behavioral Analyst Kaely Quinn, a woman who made it her mission to track down serial killers after a childhood "event" changed her life forever. She has tried her best to put her past in the past, but she can no longer do so after a reporter unveils the truth about her: She is the daughter of a serial killer.

Demoted and transferred to St. Louis, Missouri, Kaely once again tries to move forward with her life; well, until the same reporter reenters her life, claiming he received an anonymous poem predicting a series of murders.

Along with her new partner, Special Agent Noah Hunter, Kaely investigates a murder that fits the exact details that was in the poem. Now she must race against the clock to stop the killer before he or she strikes again.

Final Thoughts