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For the last ten weeks, I've spent my Saturday night watching the second (and final) season of AMC's The Son starring Pierce Brosnan, which is based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Philipp Meyer. The first season (or the first 10 episodes) aired in 2017. I didn't start watching the series until several seeks after it premiered on On Demand. I was addicted to the series after the first episode. It's a shame that AMC didn't have faith in the series and cancelled it several months for the second season began. I bet the two year gap between seasons didn't help much.

Before I had finished watching the first season in 2017, I bought the novel by Philipp Meyer, which is nearly 600 pages with small lettering. Like many other titles, I had intended on reading the book right away, but that didn't occur. Actually, the book was put up and I just forgot about it until final season of the series started, this is when I remembered I owned a copy. Considering the page length, I figured it would take me at least two weeks to read the novel, but I ended up reading the book fairly quickly.

The novel is mostly told in three different point-of-views - Colonel Eli McCullough, Peter McCullough, and Jeanne Anne McCullough. Now I say "mostly" because are there are two others included towards the latter of the novel but I'm not going to mention the names here, as it would give away the twist.

Colonel Eli McCullough's story book begins in 1936 when he was 100-years-old and the rest of his story is told in flashbacks beginning when he was a 13-year-old in 1849 living in Texas with his mother, brother, and sister. Comanches attack their home, they rape and murder his mother and sister, and capture him and his older brother, who later dies. Eli is adopted by the Kotsoteka Comanches and is named Tiehteti. While living with the Comanches, Toshaway (the Indian who kidnapped him) becomes his new father. At first, he is treated cruelly by the other tribe members, but eventually he earns their respect. He spends three years with the Comanches until fate leads him on a different path to become a cattle baron and oil king.

Peter is the son of Eli McCullough and Madeline Black and his story is told from journal entries dating from 1915 to 1917. During these years, his father and sons murdered the neighboring Garcia family in cold blood, took their land, and buried their bodies in a mass grave. There was only one survivor - Maria Garcia, an ex-flame. Peter will do anything to protect her, even if it means leaving his wife, Sally, and their sons behind.

Jeanne Anne is the granddaughter of Peter and Sally. Though she never met her grandfather, she has found memories of her great-grandfather, the "Colonel." Despite being the only daughter out of four children, Jeanne become the inheritor of the family's cattle and oil business. Her story is told through flashbacks beginning when she was ten-year-old up until the year 2012 when her family's past comes to haunt her.

 

Final Thoughts

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.

The gallery was closed when we arrived, so we were forced to spend the night at a hotel.

page 256, Treasure Hunters: All-American Adventure by James Patterson & Chris Grabenstein

  My Thoughts

WALMART

Back in the spring, Disney released their live-action take on the 1941 animated classic Dumbo to theatrers in-between Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame. Against a $170 million budget, as well as poor marketing, Dumbo didn't impress the mainstream critics and it underperformed at the box office, bringing in near $352 million.

Dumbo landed on 4K Ultra HD, Digital HD, Blu-ray, and DVD this week from Disney Home Entertainment, giving the film a second change to find an audience.

Directed by Tim Burton, Dumbo centers around Holt Farrier (played by Colin Farrell), a WWI  amputee who comes home to learn that his wife had died. Along with his two children, Milly and Joe (played by Nico Parke and Finley Hobbins), Holt returns to work at the Medici Brothers' Circus as the caretaker for the newest attraction -  a pregnant Asian elephant named "Mrs. Jumbo".

The circus is nearly bankrupt and the owner & ringmaster, Max Medici (played by Danny DeVito), put all his faith on the soon-to-be born calf.  Lets just say everyone is in shock when the calf is born with  unusually large ears, resulting in the public believing the calf is a fake and naming him "Dumbo."

Still mourning over the death of their mother, Milly and Joe bond with Dumbo, and this is when they learn, with a little help of a feather, that Dumbo can fly!

Dumbo becomes a sensation for the Medici Brothers' Circus and catches the attention of V. A. Vandevere (played by Michael Keaton), a wicked businessman who will do anything to have Dumbo as the main attraction at his "Dreamland" amusement park.


BLU-RAY & DIGITAL HD Special Features:

• CIRCUS SPECTACULARS: Dumbo’s cast share their experience of making the film—and get to the heart of a story about family and believing in yourself.

• THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: Explore how one of Disney’s most lovable characters went from an animated classic to a stunning live-action retelling.

• BUILT TO AMAZE: Get a closer look at the film’s production and costume design.
• DELETED SCENES: A compelling collection of scenes that almost made the final film.
• Roustabout Rufus
• Pachyderm Plans
• The Other Medici Brother
• Monkey Business
• A Star Is Born
• Where’s Dumbo
• Elephant Heist
• A Seat at the Show
• EASTER EGGS ON PARADE: Discover the hidden and not-so-hidden nods to the animated Dumbo in this narrated tribute to the Disney classic.
• CLOWNING AROUND: Laugh along with the cast in a collection of big-top bloopers and goofs from the set.
• “BABY MINE”: Visual video performed by Arcade Fire.

DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE Featurette:

• DREAMLAND – ANATOMY OF A SCENE: From Final Script to Final Scene: The filmmakers and cast talk a lot about the feeling of “grand intimacy” in the film. Step right up as they bring the Dreamland parade to life, accomplishing the rare marriage of a massive spectacle combined with an emotional tenderness.

Final Thoughts

Has anyone ever read the Fifty Shades Trilogy by E. L. James?

Way back in 2012, I had worked with the startup eBook gift card company (which sadly no longer exists) and in exchange for a post about the the company, I received an eBook gift card of my choosing and I ended up getting Fifty Shades of Grey as there was big buzz around the romance series at the time. A little bit later, I worked with an adult toy website on a few blog posts and was compensated with a few promo codes which I used to buy Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed. I had planned on reading the trilogy, but I didn't get around to it due to other obligations.

After the first feature film adaptation was announced, I started hearing a lot of negative things about the books, especially with how the BDSM was represented in the relationship between Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. Despite a lot controversy, the first novel sold over 125 million copies and has been printed in 52 languages. Two other additional books, Grey and Darker, were later published, which just retold Fifty Shades of Grey and Fifty Shades Darker from the point-of-view of Christian Grey.

Eventually, I did attempt to read Fifty Shades of Grey but I had major issues with the quality of the writing by E. L. James. Plus, I just couldn't connect with the character Anastasia. I ended up removing the book from my Kindle. As for the sequels, I donated them to a thrift store along with some other books.

Earlier this month, I had watched the 2018 thriller Bad Times at the El Royale on HBO which co-stars Dakota Johnson, the same actress who played Anastasia Steele in the Fifty Shades film series. It was the first film I had seen Dakota in and I liked her performance. Now I'm kinda interested in watching the Fifty Shades film series.

Should I read the books before watching the movies?

Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

The silly comedy Encino Man was of my favorite guilty pleasure movies from the early '90s. Yes, it was completely stupid, but for some reason it appealed to me during my pre-teen years. Pauly Shore was one of the co-stars in the film and he went on to star in several similar comedies during the '90s, including 1995's Jury Duty, which was released to Blu-ray earlier this month from Mill Creek Entertainment as part of their Retro VHS series.

Directed by John Fortenberry, the film is more of a spoof of 12 Angry Men, where an unemployed Tommy Collins (played by Pauly Shore) finds himself out of a home when his mother and her boyfriend take their mobile home to Las Vegas to get married. Tommy and his chihuahua Peanuts are now homeless, well, that is until he receives a jury summons!

Tommy becomes one of the 12 jurors for a murder trial and as jury foreman he deliberately delays the verdict just so he can be paid $5 per day, get free meals, and live in a nice hotel room (also for free). While attempting to convinced the other jurors of reasonable doubt, he begins to believe the murderer is actually innocent.

Rounding out the rest of the cast is Tia Carrere, Brian Doyle-Murray, Stanley Tucci, Abe Vigoda, Charles Napier, and Shelley Winters.

Final Thoughts

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

I finished reading The Son by Philipp Meyer early yesterday morning after reading more than half the book on Saturday. My review will be coming soon! I had won four eBooks from two LibraryThing giveaways last month and the publishing company finally sent me the books last week. One of those books happens to be Ring of Roses by Sara Clancy. It'll probably be my main read for the wee,k followed by the sequels Pocket of Posies and Ashes to Ashes, which came together as one giveaway prize. The other book I'd won is the anthology Terror in the Shadows: Volume 2.

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