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I haven't seen the anime of this yet, and I'm not sure which was released first. I'm definitely interested in seeing the show now though, and am certainly going to read the rest of the manga volumes (if I can find/afford them all!).

As usual, I will try not to ruin the plot for anyone who wants to read it. I'll just say that Ichigo can see ghosts, and one day comes across a soul reaper - who accidentally gives her powers away and is stuck in a temporary human body. Together, they work as soul reapers to rid the world of "evil" hollows - which takes them through some pretty sad memories.

The writing is great - I found this so so comedic, and just enjoyable to read all the way through. I read all 500+ pages in one afternoon!

There's also some.seriously sad stuff in there - dead family members make guest appearances, and I actually found some of the scenes so touching and painful. The entire volume was just written so fantastically.

The art is amazing, too - I especially liked the odd blank page with just a small illustration that peppered the book. It was artistic, yet still presented the story well.

This is probably gonna be a favourite of mine for a long time. I cannot wait to read on - the end of the third volume in this collection is very intriguing! 5/5 stars.
  
Real Steel (2011)
Real Steel (2011)
2011 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
This is a good film, not a great film but very good.
Contains spoilers, click to show
This film is the reason I decided to do my own movie reviews. After hearing a review for this film from BBC Radio 1's movie reviewer, I decided to start my own review page. She reviewed this film seeing nothing more than the robots. She totally missed out on the whole plot of the movie, and then her comment "the climax takes a long time to come and it happens right at the end" made me want to climb into the radio and tape her mouth shut. I know where I expect the climax of a film to be, and I know it is nowhere but at the end of the film. Yes this film has big giant robots in it, but the plot is way more than that, it is a story about redemption and doing the right thing no matter how hard the journey. I got that much from just seeing the trailer, she saw the whole thing and missed the whole point.

OK rant over.

This is a good film, not a great film but very good. Hugh Jackman is good in this but to be fair he is good in most things. He gets to show off a bigger range of his acting skills than he has in the X-Men films. He plays Charlie Kenton, a former boxer now heavily in debt due to pushing his fighting robots too hard and expecting more than they can give, like fighting a 300lb bull! This also stars Evangeline Lilly in I believe her first role since the series Lost ended. She is also very good in this. However, the star of the film is Dakota Goya as Max Kenton. He shines as the child thrown together with the father he doesn't know. He enters the world of robot fighting with his father and manages to rescue a robot from a scrap pile. He then convinces his father to enter the robot in the fights. You really get to experience the wonder of the Robots through him. The other star is the robot he rescues, Atom. Although not sentient, the director manages to bring him to life with good camera angles and subtle sounds. You really start to feel for the robot and you manage to forget the fights aren't real. The other very clever part of the film is the setting. It is set in the near future, but the only really futuristic thing is the robots. There are no fancy cars or clothes and this enables you to connect with the film easier.

The climax of the film (at the end!), is a big showdown with the undefeated champion. Instead of just two robots bashing each other, you get Atom, the underdog, controlled by Max, and helped by his father. You see and feel each blow the robot takes and through the acting skills of Dakota Goya, you forget it's a machine and you can't help but cheer him on.

This could have been an average film, but the fine performances by the cast and the skill of the director in bringing Atom to life with just the use of camera shots and clever subtle sounds turns this film in to a joy to watch as you take the journey with father, son and giant robot.
  
The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, #3)
The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, #3)
J.R.R. Tolkien | 1955 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
8.9 (34 Ratings)
Book Rating
See the latest and more detailed review over on Ramble Media here http://www.ramblemedia.com/?p=20020

The final instalment of TolkienÕs thrilling epic doesnÕt disappoint. In a gripping, at times, but IÕll get to that later, ending with twists and turns, drama and intrigue, and simply a fitting conclusion to a well written tale. Again, as always, I will intend to keep this short, and IÕll start with the bad and end with the good, because overall, this book is very good!

So for the bad, I have to admit, I find Frodo and Sam utterly boring. I appreciate that they have the most important task of the Company, and they need to be alone whist they are completing it, but they need something to complete their part of the story. Now I can understand others may have differing views, and I can appreciate this, but I find them such a tiresome partnership. Sam redeemed himself greatly in his persistence and growth of ÔspiritÕ as he continued with his task, but thatÕs the final word IÕll say on it as, it is a very good book for the most part.

And onto the good! I read a lot of books with battles in them, and rarely have I ever experienced the emotion, fear, sadness and excitement that a battle brings in such balance and proportion. The first book of this book, and apologies if that sounds a bit Irish as my mum would say, is totally enthralling and, to coin a common phrase, unputdownable. It is almost as though you can actually feel the charisma of Aragorn and the other captains pouring through the pages and giving you as the reader the desire to continue reading through what you know is going to be some pretty difficult parts emotionally.

Another positive of this is that the camaraderie seen at the end of the battles is truly heart-warming to see. It is sad that more is not seen of Gimli and Legolas, however I can understand that the emphasis needed to be on the captains and those of higher rank. This was especially true as the slow unveiling of Aragorn progressed, and the ceremony was extremely well written and really did help the reader to see what it would have been like to have been amongst the people welcoming their long lost King to their city of stone.

I have to admit my brain was rather slow on the uptake of where this story was going, but I couldn't have imagined half of the goings on that did occur. These were however, intricately weaved into each other and give the book a sense of completeness as you discover the ending for all the characters, not just the odd one or two. Usually, as a fanfiction writer, I like the reader to leave me thinking at the end so I can fill some gaps myself, but on this occasion, having journeyed so far and put so much into the effort of reading the book, I have to say I enjoyed having the majority of things being tidied up for me. Tolkien really did tidy stuff up, the Hobbits, the Elves, the Men, and this gave a strange sense of fulfilment which I rarely get when I finish a book, and that was lovely to experience. Anyway, IÕm waffling, but you get the gist as I canÕt, for a change, express myself in words.

Another fact I loved about this book was the sudden twist in the fate of the Shire. This hit me like a bolt of the blue and really opened my eyes to situations such as this which had been a part of Ômodern day lifeÕ. I never thought the Shire could ever be taken by evil, despite all the warnings of Gandalf and the Rangers, I was still, hobbitlike I suppose, in my defiance that it could happen. Well, blow me over with a feather! When I read their homecoming I was crushed, truly crushed. This affected me more than any other part of the story, however the sadness was short lived as I had never expected the journey to change the little hobbits so much! Merry and Pippin really did live up to the new livery of their respective Lords, and showed a new side to the wonderful tenacity and resourcefulness of the hobbits.

The addition of the appendices is a wonderful touch, as I feel as fully versed in the lore of this world as my own. It is clear from this alone that to Tolkien, this was not just a story, it was a living world just out of our reach and he created a doorway to it, letting us experience their trials and tribulations, joys and victories and many other occurrences alongside our own. I find myself looking for evidence of this world now when I travel and it has truly grasped my imagination in a way few books ever do. The impact of this will be lasting, and I know I will always be looking for an ideal hobbit hole in the Shire to retire to!

In conclusion, I adored parts of this book, abhorred others, but the contrast makes me love it all the more as it is so relatable to modern events, despite being written many years ago before such events could ever have been contrived in the minds of men. It is a truly fitting conclusion to the build up in the other books, and provides thought, excitement, happiness, sadness and many other emotions to help bring the reader home to the Shire along a twisting road. Fantastically written, an excellent testament to the greatness of Tolkien and a book I would not only highly recommend, but nag people until they had at least given it a try. A truly wonderful and epic tale that will be read again and again.
  
Foul Play (Barlow Sisters #3)
Foul Play (Barlow Sisters #3)
Jordan Ford | 2017 | Romance, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Foul Play (Barlow Sisters #3) by Jordan Ford
Foul Play is the third and final book in the Barlow Sisters Trilogy. This time we focus on Chloe, the youngest of the three. She is a year younger than Maddie and Max, but is stubborn and passionate about what she believes. She knows it is a tough, hard world out there, but is convinced that if she can spread some goodness - just a little bit at a time - then eventually, the world will be a better place. This could lead to a whole world of hurt, but luckily for Chloe, she has a warrior who wants to protect her. A warrior who is down and broken, scarred with life, but not beyond Chloe's help. Together, these two help each other and the world too.

Jordan Ford has managed to write Chloe to perfection. I was a little bit worried from the first two books that she would by 'too' sweet, but instead, she comes across as naive but strong. Vincent is her perfect foil, and does what he can to protect her, even taking physical beatings to keep someone away from her. The storyline that has spread across all three books comes to a close here, and it was the most brilliant ending. It didn't go the way I thought at all, but once I read it, I couldn't envisage it any other way. Max and Maddie don't feature as much in this book, not until the end. We still have parts that overlap with other books, but it is totally from Chloe and Vincent's perspective.

Also, Jordan Ford has once again given me smiles, when she gives an extended epilogue at the end. Yes, I know I'm greedy, but I do love knowing how the characters are getting on at some point in the future. I won't share any spoilers, but I'm happy with how it ends!

Extremely well written, with no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow; this book was a smooth read from start to finish. Absolutely recommended by me.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
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Big Love  - Season 1
Big Love - Season 1
2006 | Drama
10
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Characters (2 more)
Bizarrely normal
Theme tune
Margene (0 more)
It’s Big Love from me
Big Love straddles the bizarre and the normal in a way that only they could. You will find yourself finding a favourite wife, (personally I can’t stand Margene- she’s too chirpy)
The cast put in stellar performances which make you feel like their just a normal family.
I love the theme tune and the opening sequence, it’s one of the most onpoint tv openers ever and it beautifully foreshadows things to come.
 You will end up falling in love with this crazy, quirky little world.
This has been my choice of tv bingeing for the past few weeks and I had forgotten just how good this show is, it makes you laugh, makes you cry, makes your skin crawl and it will bring out your inner judge and if you are anything like me you will begin googling polygamy because you will want to know if Big Love is real or just a fanciful tale