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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Monster Trucks (2016) in Movies

Jul 12, 2019

Monster Trucks (2016)

2016 | Animation

4.8

(6 Ratings)

Movie Rating

It’s safe to say that movies nowadays are either remakes of beloved classic movies, based off a book, or are a sequel. Original ideas and story lines are few and far between. When I first heard about this so-called movie Monster Trucks, I thought it was going to be about those hug trucks you see at Monster Jam shows driving over cars with their loud engines entertaining crowds. This film is far from anything of the sort. It’s based off the idea from a 4 year old about monster trucks actually having monsters in the trucks.
Set in a small oil drilling town in North Dakota, Tripp (Lucas Till), a troubled high school student, befriends an extraterrestrial squid-like creature that takes up residence in the hood of Tripp’s truck. After an accident occurs at a nearby drilling site displacing this creature, it doesn’t take long for the oil company to realize if they don’t locate this creature, they will have to cease drilling which affects their bottom line. With the help of his friend Meredith (Jane Levy), Tripp realizes he must take his new friend back to his home before the villainous oil company CEO ( Rob Lowe) catches them.
If you take the movie for what it is: trucks, monsters, friends, and good guy/bad guys-it’s an entertaining film with some great laugh out loud moments that also attempts to tug at the heartstrings from a pair of unlikely friends. Dig deeper and try to analyze every piece of the movie, you’ll only see the outlandish, unrealistic, and far fetch concept with underdeveloped character relationships. All in all, I enjoyed the film. The friendship between Tripp and the creature he named Creech was similar to that of Elliott and E.T. with less drama. It brought me back to my childhood. It taught my son the meaning of friendship, sacrifice, and loyalty.

Kudos

Molly J (Cover To Cover Cafe) (106 KP) rated An Amish Christmas Kitchen in Books

Sep 5, 2019

A Wunderbaar Christmas Collection!

I love Christmas, I love novellas (they’re fast and easy to read!), and I love Amish, so what better combination than all three wrapped up into one amazing collection? There isn’t anything better, if you ask me. And, I have to say, this collection was worth the anticipation, worth the wait. All these authors did a fabulous job!

But, one specific story I want to focus on is Kate Lloyd’s An Unexpected Christmas Gift. After reading all of Lloyd’s other novels, I knew I needed to read this story. And, I will tell you, I was not disappointed! It was a quick read, I read it in just an hour, but it was packed full of amazing characters, and one heart warming, soul moving message of truth and forgiveness.

Following Maria Romano and her story was moving. I loved every minute of this holiday novella. I fell in love with Naomi, Nancy, Anna and Silas, the Amish family that invited her in, I fell in love with Maria herself and Naomi’s sister Linda, I loved Troy Bennett and despite my food allergies and not able to eat a lot of delicious amazing food, I fell in love with the recipe that Lloyd included in the story. I will definitely be making the Christmas Caramel Cake for my guys!

If you’re a fan of Christmas, Amish, and working in the kitchen, then I will tell you right now. This is a collection of stories you don’t want to miss. All the stories are worthy of 4 stars and have a touch of romance woven in. Don’t miss it! You’ll be sharing this collection of holiday stories with all your book loving, Amish loving friends.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Publisher, Bethany House Publishers and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*