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8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<b><i>I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
When I first read <i><a href="http://www.bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-the-prophecy-of-shadows-by-michelle-madow"; target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Prophecy of Shadows</a></i>, the book felt really slow. The pacing just didn’t feel right and there wasn’t enough action. But the series showed promise to get better (and like with any other book, there’s the risk of the sequel being worse than that first book), so when I saw <i>The Blood of the Hydra </i>being available on Netgalley for request, I jumped at the chance because I wanted to see if the series would get better.

And I have to say: Wow. Despite the book has the feel of a love triangle on the horizon, <i>The Blood of the Hydra</i> is more interesting - Madow incorporates more mythology (rather than the first book, when Nicole is new to the world and learning everything about it). The characters undergo a development - in the first book, there’s a bit of tension and a division, yet a sense of unity, among the five witches. In the sequel, there is still tension, but that tension from the first has noticeably died down.

<i>The Blood of the Hydra</i> is also more action packed than the first book. More monsters and more fighting involved - honestly, I enjoyed the sequel more than <i>The Prophecy of Shadows</i> and cannot wait to continue the series.

Side Note: I know I reviewed the third book before the second. Shh.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/mini-reviews-pt-2-zac-brewer-amie-kaufman-meagan-spooner-michelle-madow-dawn-rae-miller-jamie-blair/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
  
The Witcher - Season 1
The Witcher - Season 1
2019 | Action, Drama, Fantasy
Good introduction, true to the feel of the books, despite Geralt
I have played a little of Witcher 3, and have read the three sets of Sapkowski's Witcher short stories which precede the main series of books. I found the series to be quite true to the feel of the books. Throughout the short stories you are reading what feels like a decent story of hunting a monster but longing to have something larger with more background to get your teeth into. Similarly, the series shows us certain of Geralt's exploits vanquishing monsters for various lords, which are ok but somewhat lacking.
Cavill as Geralt doesn't say much, which is true to his character in the game (but then as he is the PoV character, it would be odd if he was constantly chatting to you and there is rarely anyone else there!). He tends to grunt and swear and is generally a right brooding bore.
However, throughout the series we have the backstory to Ciri (the young girl destined to accompany Geralt) and Yenefer (the powerful mage Geralt is obsessed with), both of which give much more insight into the world, the politics and some of the magic.
Yenefer's story is especially gripping, going from a deformed kind-hearted girl to the strong, beautiful, powerful witch she becomes.
A few reviews complain that the story jumps around a lot, both in person/place and time and it is quite hard to stitch it together. All I would say is if you stick with it, it all becomes clear. Like with the books, some of Geralt's stories feature what seem like small details but which turn out to be very important for the future parts of the story.
My main gripe is as with the books the Witcher himself is a dreadfully boring, one-dimensional cliché of a character, but those around him, given more focus, make this quote a gripping and enjoyable series.
  
Frozen (2013)
Frozen (2013)
2013 | Animation, Family
One thing that easily wins my heart over in animated movies is the adorable little kid. Think Boo in Monsters, Inc. or Agnes from Despicable Me. Wide-eyed, funny and cute is the winning formula. In Frozen it’s Anna who wins me over with a simple flop and a sigh as she tries to entice her sister, Elsa in a late night snow adventure. As the older of the two princesses of Arendelle, young Elsa tries to be the responsible one, but even she can’t resist little Anna’s whispered, “Do you want to build a snowman?”

Because the only trailers I saw for this movie were the funny scenes with Olaf the snowman and Sven the reindeer, I honestly had no idea the movie was going to be a musical treat about two princesses. Disney knows the formula of a simple but engaging story, an attractive heroine, catchy songs and comical supporting characters has worked for them time and time again, so they doubled their efforts with two princesses, voiced beautifully by Kristin Bell (Anna) and Glee’s Idina Menzel (Elsa), two funny supporting characters and a plethora of memorable songs. While strongly geared toward little Disney princesses, boys will enjoy the antics of Olaf, voiced perfectly by Jon Gad and the bravery of Kristoff and his reindeer Sven, both voiced by another Glee alum, Jonathan Groff.
Disney must love the fact that every movie they release about princesses sparks nostalgic feelings of other Disney favorites. Because of the constant reference to “A true love’s kiss” in this movie, I’m digging around for my copy of “Enchanted”. While the songs are more broadway than the Disney pop little kids love, weeks after screening this movie both my husband and I still sing, “Do you want to build a snowman?” to each other and try to look as adorable as Anna. A definitely must-watch again.
  
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That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
2018 | Action, Adventure, Animation
7
7.0 (2 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime is a 2018 anime series animated by 8-Bit with the light novel written by Fuse. It was directed by Yasuhito Kikuchi, with Atsushi Nakayama as assistant director. Kazuyuki Fudeyasu handled music composition with Ryouma Ebata designing the characters and Takahiro Kishida providing monster designs. The series was Simulcast by both Crunchyroll and Funimation.


Minami Satoru was a 37-year old manga loving, corporate worker until one day his life ended in tragedy. While meeting up with a friend for dinner, he sees a man with a knife run up and shoves his friend out of the way, but is fatally injured and dies. When Satoru regains consciousness, he discovers he has been reborn as a "slime", a famously weak character from video games and now in a different world. Blind, deaf, and weak, things are pretty grim initially but he finds he has some new abilities which he uses to gain both friends and enemies in a whole new world.


This anime is pretty cool. It's an "isekai" anime which means it's set in a different world; and is also a genre of anime that I enjoy. It has a fantasy element too and a variety of different races of characters. This series has quite a bit of "fan service" so it might not be for everyone. Also the main character is pretty "op" (over-powered), so you might not find it as compelling as other anime. I felt that they were able to make the conflict that arises work very well with the storyline and with the introduction of new characters. One thing that I didn't think I was going to like, was how he has abilities similar to a character in a video game and learns more over the series. This wound up being really cool in the way they show him use it and develop his abilities as he uses them against enemies. I really liked the animation and designs of the characters and monsters too.
  
AVP - Alien Vs. Predator (2004)
AVP - Alien Vs. Predator (2004)
2004 | Action, Horror, Mystery
A missed opportunity
More than anything, AVP just pisses me off, usually when thinking about what could have been.
Why on earth is it PG-13, and why oh why was this historic meeting of two of cinemas most iconic aliens entrusted to Paul WS Anderson!?

I mean, in all honesty, both series had run out of gas at this point, so by the time AVP finally rolled around (14 years after the conflict had been teased at the end of Predator 2), it was never going to be much more than a gimmick, a shameless cash grab to get people in the cinema, hence the family friendly blockbuster nature of the film.
In terms of a big blockbuster, it's not terrible. There are some relatively entertaining moments here and there. The first clash between the titular monsters about 30 minutes in is undeniably surrounded by a sense of child like glee.
In terms of cast, it was a great touch to have Lance Henrikson involved, and Sanaa Lathan is a likeable enough badass-female lead, but everyone else is typical forgettable mercenary cannon fodder.
The effects work is pretty decent for the most part as well.

I can't help but feel that AVP is indeed a missed opportunity. The lack of tension, scares, or viscera just doesn't cut it when it comes to these franchises (although the piss poor sequel proved that more violence doesn't always improve a films quality), but I would have gladly accepted just one of the above mentioned features, but it lacks all of it.
There's a brief flashback which shows a handful of Predators fighting waves upon waves of xenomorphs, and whilst it's a great visual, it serves to remind you that there could have been a much better film produced.

I know that I sound like a miserable bastard and that's a fair enough assumption, and for what it's worth, AVP is watchable - easy Hollywood trash to digest, which is the exact opposite of what I feel an Alien film should be.
  
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Sid Krofft recommended The Wizard of Oz (1939) in Movies (curated)

 
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
1939 | Fantasy, Musical

"I, on opening day, saw The Wizard of Oz — 1939, in Providence, Rhode Island. I even remember the theater, the Majestic Theater. Our dad [took us] and we slept in the street that night to wait for the first showing of it. And of course, just like everybody else on this planet, it’s made a lifetime impression on me. As a matter of fact, I think that H.R. Pufnstuft, which was our first television show, the whole feeling came from The Wizard of Oz. It wasn’t like it, but the story — with a boy instead of a girl, and all the characters and the trees and the witch — but we went in a whole other direction with ours. As a matter of fact, when the first Pufnstuft movie came out a year after we did the series, Time Magazine said it was “the next Wizard of Oz.” That was quite a statement. What else? Margaret Hamilton — as a matter of fact, I think the very last job that she had before she left us was in Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. She played the crazy lady next door who kept seeing the little monster and nobody believed her. She did two or three episodes for us. And the reason she wanted to do it? She wanted to meet Billie Hayes, who was Witchiepoo. She said Witchiepoo is the best witch; as a matter of fact, Billie Hayes met her at the airport and they became great friends. And the reason for being of Land of the Lost? In 1940 there was a movie called One Million B.C. Marty was just a couple of years old, and I was eleven. I had never seen a dinosaur moving; no one had. Only in our schoolbooks. I would take him to see One Million B.C. with Victor Mature… wow. That made a huge impression. It scared the hell out of me. Because, like I said, we had never seen a dinosaur moving before! And that idea gave us the idea to do Land of the Lost."

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