Good Afternoon, Everyone!

Tomorrow, I'll be reading Decaf for the Dead by Sandy Lo, who nicely sent me a review copy. I posted an interview with Sandy Lo on Saturday, which you can read right here!

Last week, was  a reread week for me with The Shining and Doctor Sleep. I'll probably be writing reviews for them sometime later in the week. I never got around to reading Rise of the Gorgon by Galen Surlak-Ramsey so it'll probably be next read after Decaf for the Dead. Then I'm going to start reading the books I have lined up for this year's Holiday Gift Guide.

47 Meters Down: Uncaged

(Midnight Horror Review)

The Institute

by Stephen King

(Fall Reads

Goosebumps SlappyWorld: Revenge of the Invisible Boy

by R.L. Stine

(Fall Reads) 

The Thing

(Midnight Horror Review)

Mill Creek Ent.; Amazon

For those of you who don't already know, The Thing was re-released to Blu-ray on Oct. 29th by Mill Creek Entertainment.

No, I'm not referring to the John Carpenter's 1982 classic scifi-horror flick, which is a remake of the 1951 classic The Thing from Another World and an adaptation of the 1938 novella Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell, Jr., but instead I'm referring to the 2011 prequel film of the same name. Confused yet?

Directed by Matthijs Heijningen, the prequel was originally going to be titled The Thing: Begins. However, due to producers and behind-the-scenes drama (more on that later), the film was released as The Thing, which made moviegoers believe it was a remake of a remake.

Set in the winter 1982, the prequel centers around Kate Lloyd (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a paleontologist who is sent to an isolated Norwegian research station in Antarctica to investigate a possible buried alien spacecraft. The expedition is lead by Dr. Sander Halvorson (played by Ulrich Thomsen) and his assistant, Adam Finch (played by Eric Christian Olsen). After excavating a body frozen in the ground, they accidentally release a lifeform that takes control and mutilates its victims. The movie also stars Joel Edgerton, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Kristofer Hivju.

The director shot the prequel in 35mm film so it would have the same look as the 1982 film.  Animatronic special effects were used for the creatures to match the 1982 effects. However, studio politics interfered and all of the traditional effects were replaced CGI. Add in additional reshoots, which changed many scenes (especially the ending), as well as the title change, the movie ended up flopping at the box office.

Blu-ray Bonus Features include:

• Feature Commentary with Director Matthiijs van Heijningen and Producer Eric Newman
• The Thing Involves
• Fire & Ice
• Deleted/Extended Scenes
• Trailer

Final Thoughts

Good Morning, Bookworms!

Today, I'm sharing an interview with Sandy Lo, author of the novella Decaf For the Dead. It's a great title. However, I prefer caffeinated or decaf! (FYI: That's my attempt at a joke! Remember, I'm a coffee lover!)

There are many book bloggers who'll crank out a review as soon as they finished reading the final pages of whatever they're reading. Well, that's not me! I tend to reflect on what I've just read. If I'm not emotionally connected to the story, then I'll write my review within a few days. However, if I am emotionally connected, it takes me a bit longer to gather up my final thoughts.

I finished reading The Institute by Stephen King nearly a month ago and it's one of those reads I needed to sit on before talking about.

The Institute is a mix of Carrie and Firestarter, and centers around Luke Ellis, a bright young boy who's taken from his suburban Minneapolis home in the middle of night and wakes up at the Institute in a room that closely resembles his own. It seems a government organization is experimenting on children with telekinesis and telepathy and Luke happens to be one of them.

Along with the other kids, Kalisha, Nick, George, Iris and Avery, in the Front Half, Luke tries his best to play by the rules which are set by the sinister Institution's director, Mrs. Sigsby. However, one by one, each kid is moved to the Black Half and are never seen again. To save himself, as well as Avery, the youngest of the group, Luke must find away to escape this hell.

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.

In all his wanderings he had avoided mountains, especially the jagged monsters that broke the country in two.

page 56, Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

  My Thoughts