Review: CATCHING FIRE

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Book 2 of the The Hunger Games series
Narrated by Carolyn McCormick
Genre: post-apocalyptic urban fantasy, YA
Format: paperback & (unabridged) audiobook

About Catching Fire:

Sparks are igniting, flames are spreading and the Capitol wants revenge.

Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before...and surprising readers at every turn.

Source: Info in the About Catching Fire was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6148028-catching-fire on 29/03/2013.

Review:

With Book 1: The Hunger Games, I watched the movie before reading the book. I decided that this time around I would try reading the book first and then watch the movie and see which way I like better. Turns out, it's better to watch the movie first, then I don't sit thru the movie playing critique. Now I know better. What remains to be seen is if I would remember that lesson when the next book-to-movie gig comes around...

I wasn't really looking forward to reading this book because I've read a few not so sparklingly bright reviews about this book and Mockingjay that I actually stopped reading this series after Book 1: The Hunger Games. I liked Book 1: The Hunger Games and wanted that "like" feeling to last a bit longer by putting off reading the disappointment of the next books as long as possible. I shouldn't have done that because this book was not a disappointment. Sure there were a few nitcpicking points I would have liked to have been not there but I could easily forgive those for the marvellous reading pleasure that this book brought me!

Carolyn McCormick mimicked Effie Trinket in the movie so closely that it made me smile! That is how good the narration is. Or maybe I am just used to McCormick's voice by now seeing this is the second book already by her. Either way I rate her narration a 5.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4.5
Ending = 4
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = N/A (11 hrs and 14 mins audiobook)
Plot = 3.5
Narrator = 5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries

Movie Review: MORTAL INSTRUMENTS

Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones (2013)
Starring Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Kevin Zegers, Jemima West, Robert Sheehan, Godfrey Gao, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Directed by Harald Zwart.

Genre: urban fantasy YA

About Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones (2013):

Set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray (Lily Collins), discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After the disappearance of her mother (Lena Headey), Clary must join forces with a group of Shadowhunters, who introduce her to a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld, filled with demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other deadly creatures. Based on the worldwide best-selling book series. Written by Sony Pictures Entertainment

Source: Info in the About Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones (2013) was taken from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1538403/ on 24/08/2013.

Movie Trailer:

Movie Links:
www.themortalinstrumentsmovie.com
Wiki
imdb
official facebook

Review:

I love the world building in the story! Sure, it is recycled, still fantastic though. But the plot depended loosely on the characters acting stupid to give the story a bit more drama. Not the most sturdy of plots. Clary Fray and Jocelyn Fray are just this side of stupid and quite annoying to watch. It makes me wanna shake them and scream for them to use the brains they were born with. Not having read the book yet, it made me wonder if they are even more stupid in the book than they are in the movie... it does not encourage me to read the book after that thought... And then as if that is not enough, the scenes just looked too contrived. It wasn't very convincing. So you have big, scary demons bearing down on you, so everybody takes 5 minutes to look at each other and look dreamy??? WTF?! If it was in "slow motion" to give a scene emphasis, yes, that I could buy. But the actors to act in slow motion? What was that all about?!? Brought the suspension of disbelief down to the boots! It makes me hope that the next Mortal Instruments movie would NOT be directed by Harald Zwart again because this obviously shows that he does not pay that much attention to detail. Or it could be a lack in the talent department. Either way, he ruins what should have been a good movie. I don't even blame Lily Collins for not giving her character a very convincing performance seeing that she is suppose to be stupid and Harald Zwart for a director. She is beautiful though. Her acting is just not as good as her looks. Now, Jonathan Rhys Meyers... he makes a very good villain! The movie makers got that one right! Another thing this movie aced is the cinematography. They have the most talented CGI (computer generated imagery) team ever! The mixing of the CGI effects and live actors/physical set was seamless! The paranormal elements of the story was brought to life in fantastic ways on the silver screen! And I think that was the best feature of this film.

Empirical Evaluation:
Cinematography = 5
Script/Story Itself = 2
Ending = 3
World building = 4.5
Attention To Detail = 1.5
Plot = 2
Acting = 3

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 cherries

The book from which the movie was based from:

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Book 1 of the Mortal Instruments series
Genre: urban fantasy YA

About City of Bones:

Don’t miss The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, soon to be a major motion picture in theaters August 2013!

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

Source: Info in the About City of Bones was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/256683.City_of_Bones on 24/08/2013.

Book-To-Movies this February 2013

Great Movies To Look Forward To this Month:

• WARM BODIES
• BEAUTIFUL CREATURES

WARM BODIES (2013) movie trailer:

About Warm Bodies (2013):

Warm Bodies is a 2013 American romantic zombie comedy film based on Isaac Marion's popular novel of the same name. Directed and written by Jonathan Levine, the film stars Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer. This film focuses on the development of the relationship between Julie (a teenage girl) and R (a zombie) and how their romance sets in motion a sequence of events that might transform the entire lifeless world.

Source: Info in the About Warm Bodies (2013) was taken from http://bit.ly/OMVilB on 26/11/2012.

Starring Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer. Directed by Jonathan Levine. Produced by Summit Entertainment.

Movie Link(s):
Official Site
imdb

Movie Release Date: 8 February 2013 (UK)

The book from which the movie was adopted from:

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
Book 1 of Warm Bodies series
Genre: urban fantasy | YA

About Warm Bodies:

A zombie who yearns for a better life ends up falling in love — with a human — in this astonishingly original debut novel.

R is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He doesn’t enjoy killing people; he enjoys riding escalators and listening to Frank Sinatra. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Not just another zombie novel, Warm Bodies is funny, scary, and deeply moving.

Source: Info in the About Warm Bodies was taken from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7619057-warm-bodies on 26/11/2012.

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES (2013) movie trailer:

About Beautiful Creatures (2013):

Ethan longs to escape his small Southern town. He meets a mysterious new girl, Lena. Together, they uncover dark secrets about their respective families, their history and their town.

Source: Info in the About Beautiful Creatures (2013) was taken from http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1559547 on 19/11/2012.

Starring Jeremy Irons, Alice Englert, Alden Ehrenreich, and Thomas Mann. Directed by Richard LaGravenese. Produced by Alcon Entertainment and Warner Bros. Entertainment.

Movie Link(s):
www.facebook.com/BeautifulCreaturesMovie
@RavenwoodManor
beautifulcreaturesmovie.tumblr.com
google+
imdb

Movie Release Date: 13 February 2013

The book from which the movie was adopted from:

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Book 1 of Caster Chronicles series
Genre: urban fantasy | YA

About Beautiful Creatures:

There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Source: Info in the About Beautiful Creatures was taken from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6304335-beautiful-creatures on 19/11/2012.

Review: THE HUNGER GAMES

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Book 1 of the The Hunger Games series
Narrated by Carolyn McCormick
Genre: post-apocalyptic urban fantasy, YA
Format: paperback, (unabridged) audiobook

About The Hunger Games:

Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning?

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister’s place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before — and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Source: Info in the About The Hunger Games was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2767052-the-hunger-games on 14/07/2012.

Review:

This is my first book-to-movie where I saw the movie first before I read the book. And I still like the book better than the movie, however the movie is not half-bad. In fact it was well done! I would still have preferred it if they stuck to the book religiously but I do recognize that once adapted to movie they have to modify to make it possible to shoot into a movie.

It took a couple of chapters before I could get into the story but once I did, it was smooth sailing and the pace getting quicker towards the end. Having said that, I could only listen as fast as the narrator reads so for the audiobook, the pace could not really be rated for this reason. However, for the paperback, I imagine that the pace could be said to be good with a rating of about 4 out of 5.

Now, I love this book! However, maybe because I enjoyed this book so much that I am now apprehensive that the next book would disappoint me having raised the expectation bar high up.... and maybe because I have read a review in the blogosphere somewhere that the finalle of this trilogy did not live up to expectations. Which is a real bummer! And now I like to keep my happy thoughts of this book a bit longer and decided I'll stop reading here and delay the disappointment and read the rest of the books in this series later rather than sooner... Besides, they did a great job in making the movie of this book, maybe they'll do it again in the next two books, so I'll wait for the movie to come out instead of reading Catching Fire and Mockingjay even though I already got them in my TBR shelves.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4
Story itself = 4.5
Ending = 4
World building = 5
Cover art = 4
Pace = N/A (11 hrs and 14 mins audiobook)
Plot = 3.5
Narrator = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries

Movie Review: Breaking Dawn (Part 2)

The Twilight Saga: BREAKING DAWN (Part 2)
Starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner as the most prominent of the cast. Released by Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment. Directed by Bill Condon.
Genre: urban fantasy
Format: (Watched at the cinema.)

About The Twilight Saga: BREAKING DAWN (Part 2):

After the birth of Renesmee, the Cullens gather other vampire clans in order to protect the child from a false allegation that puts the family in front of the Volturi.

Source: Info in the About The Twilight Saga: BREAKING DAWN (Part 2) was taken from http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1673434/ on 20/11/2012.

My Thoughts:

So I watched Breaking Dawn (Part 2) at the cinemas and I was happy enough with it. I am a sucker for happily ever afters (HEA) and I got what I wanted. However, I have to say that the Twilight series was just a long drawn out affair marketed dry to the very last drop. What would have been a spectaular movie experience is now a dried up husk of a beautiful thing. I could still see the beauty in it but the enjoyment is diminished by how they marketed it, as in they chopped the movie into little pieces to span several years. The Lord Of The Rings was chopped to bits but you can see there was a lot packed in every section/in every movie. And the sections makes sense, not just drawn out for the sake of marketing it out to dry, which the Twilight series was. I think I would be wary about watching films by Bill Condon next time. Maybe I'll just buy them in dvd format if they really look good. But go to the cinema again? I don't think so. I think I am one of those fans disillusioned by the movie outcome of the book largely contributed by how Bill Condon messed it up.

Kristen Stewart is very pretty which made up for her lack of acting abilities. But... the cinematographic effects was fantastic! I noticed it with Twilight (the first movie installment) and I am happy to see that it has persisted to the final movie installment of the Twilight saga! Gotta give kudos to the cinematographic team!!

At the end of it, I did enjoy the film and I would rate it a 3.5 out of 5 in terms of entertainment value.

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries

Review: THE HOST

The Host by Stephanie Meyer
Book 1 of The Host series
Narrated by Kate Reading
Format: hardback, audiobook
Genre: scifi/fantasy

About The Host:

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans, is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too-vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves - Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

Source: Info in the About The Host was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1656001.The_Host on 09/04/2012.

Review:

I bought the paperback edition of The Host a few years ago, but I just couldn't get into it. I couldn't get past the first chapter or so until I finally gave up and gave my copy away. However when I saw the audiobook format for download from the library, I thought that here is my chance to cheat and finish the book, finally. Of course lately I also saw that it is to come out as a movie next year. Hopefully by then I would have forgotten most of the book enough for me to enjoy the movie instead of sitting there playing critique.

I think the best feature of this book is the world building. It is massively beautiful! It insinuates into your mind and it stays with you long after you have read the book. Then I felt cranky after reading the book because I was left looking for another book to read with the same level of masterful beauty!!

I like Kate Reading's interpretation. It gave the story a certain flavour that I like. Her voice is not as mesmerizing as Therese Plummer or Alyssa Bresnahan but it is not as grating as Cristine McMurdo-Wallis either. Plus her diction is good. The words are clear and distinct. However, I did not like the way she gave her reading a question mark "up-tilt" at the end of her sentences even though they are not questions.

The story telling quality is not very compelling though. This is an audiobook, right? But I still find myself stopping and needing little breaks from it. This gave the book a feeling that it is considerably longer than the 23hours that the audiobook is suppose to be. And like I said, it took me a long time to get into this book even with the audiobook version. However once I got across the halfway mark, the pace did pick up and it went faster and faster specially towards the end. The plot also has little holes in it which were worthy of an "eye-rolling" disbelief moments. Having said that, I did like the ending and cannot wait for the next book in the series!!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 3.5
Character development = 3.5
Story itself = 3
Ending = 4.5
World building = 5
Cover art = 3.5
Pace = (23 hours and 6 minutes listening time)
Plot = 3.5
Narration = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 cherries


Author Link(s):
Stephanie Meyer
Book Link(s):
GoodReads
Movie Link(s)::
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Movie Release Date: 29 March 2013
Movie Trailer:

Thank you to the RCT Library for letting me borrow this book (both digital audiobook and hardback editions).

FTC Disclosure:
This book was borrowed from the library. No money received for this review.