The Host

I read Stephenie Meyer's book 'The Host' about four years ago. I'm not someone who enjoys reading. I have a very small attention span and end up reading through 2 pages and having to go back and re-read them again since I didn't pay attention. I also must have been one of the only people to not know who Stephenie Meyer was at the time of reading the book. 
In order for a book to keep me interested enough to read all the way through, it needs to be exciting and easy to picture in my imagination. In my life I have read a total of 6 books all the way through. So, I guess that says a lot about how many books can really keep my attention. 
When beginning 'The Host' I had the same expectations as I do with all books. I'll finish one chapter, then it will sit on my bookcase unread for the rest of time. Fortunately and surprisingly that did not happen. It so happened that once I was done the first chapter I couldn't put the book down. When I was reading the book the pictures came so easily and my imagination ran wild. Once finished, as with all 6 books that I had finished, I felt accomplished. Such a wonderful feeling to finish a book, and yet also so depressing that it is over. 
Last year they announced there was to be a movie about the book 'The Host'. I was so excited. Only 2 of the 6 books I had read had ever made it to a movie, and they did not disappoint. There are many reasons why it's exciting to see a book you've finished make it to the movie screen. I enjoy it cause I get to see first if it's true to the story, and second if my imagination did me justice. 

I've been to see the film and loved it. I feel they may have made it more 'P.G' and younger than needed, but they were true to the story. Better yet, my imagination was very close. I did feel like the caves were slightly more smaller and darker than in the movie. I don't feel the trailer did the movie any justice whatsoever. Were I to have not read the book, I most likely wouldn't have thought to see it. Personally however I was very disappointed with who they got to play Wanda in the last few scenes. I have watched the actress grow through 'Lemoney Snicket', 'Suckerpunch' and 'Sleeping Beauty', through which she looked beautiful. She did not look beautiful at all in 'The Host'. I was disgusted looking at the choice of actress as I see Wanda as a gentle beauty. 

I would highly suggest reading the book before seeing the movie, as you get a deeper emotional connection. I loved the book and the movie, and will be purchasing the movie once it's out. :)

Movie Reviews

I am a huge movie buff. Movies make my day whether it’s a terrifying horror movie, or a laugh out loud comedy. I’m personally not too fond of action, mainly because to me most action movies leave out the most important part… THE STORY. Any movie that causes me to have an emotional connection, whether it’s crying at Titanic, laughing at Jim Carrey or jumping at a Velociraptor is going to make me like, love and possibly watch it again. I have a collection of 200-300 blue rays and DVD’s that I watch at home continuously. One of my favorite past-times is watching a movie while crafting. I can see the movie in my head without needing the screen to watch it, but I guess that means I've just watched the movies I have too many times. What’s your favorite movie to watch continuously?



Here’s some recent movies I've watched and my thoughts and reviews on them.

Oz the Great and Powerful:

This movie was very visually pleasing. I watched it in 3D but I believe even without the 3D effects the beauty of the movie would surely not be missed. Although the acting at times was less than brilliant, (and really who couldn't guess that with the cast) it was made up with the intelligent story line. It was a very predictable movie, but oddly enough that did nothing to ruin it either. I must say I was highly hesitant to even go to the film. As a young girl, I would watch The Wizard of Oz at least twice a week, and now as an adult at least 8 times a year. So I was hesitant that they would ruin the story line or soil the good name of the movie. I was wonderfully mistaken, as the movie kept my attention to the very end. I feel the movie felt very much like Disney’s Alice in Wonderland 2010 version. The movie was darker and scarier than I would've expected which only made it better.

This movie was a 10 for me! I will be purchasing it.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey:

Let me begin by saying LOTR is a favourite trilogy of mine.

I saw this in 3D but felt there really was no reason to pay the extra fee. It was action packed, but lacked a good amount of story. I realize this is just the first of 3 movies; however I am going to find it hard to motivate myself to go see the next one. The only scene I thought was gripping enough to keep me interested was the scene with Gollum. This was not a favorite of mine, and will probably not be watched again. Hopefully the next part will be more to my liking. This movie barely got a 5 from me.

Wreck-It Ralph:

I LOVE video games. However you definitely don’t need to be a video game fan to enjoy this movie. (But if you are you may just love it more) I watched this film in 3D, and yes it is better in 3D, but I believe the color will be stimulating enough to those who don’t get the chance to see it in 3D. The story was brilliant, made me laugh, made me cry, made me hungry, and made me want to craft everything I saw! LOL. Beautiful movie for kids and adults alike! I will be purchasing this movie and re-watching it several times! This movie is a 10!

Identity Thief:

This movie was ho-hum for me. But it did get my emotional currents flowing. I admit I yelled at the screen numerous times and laughed once or twice. It’s definitely a feel-good comedy (although I wanted to punch things a lot?!?) but the story was very predictable. Definitely worth a watch on a rainy day. I give this a 7.

Deadfall:

What a waste of time this movie was. Seeing as I like Sissey Spacek and the trailer looked awesome, I didn't hesitate to watch this movie. How wrong I was. I'm going to blame the actors on one hand, because they just royally sucked… but I know most of the blame must be laid on the writer and director… but mainly the writer. The story was not well explained at all, but I believe all the characters were ... to put it nicely “country folk” from at least 30-40 years ago! However they never state the time period in the movie so I can’t be sure. If indeed the writer was intending it to be made for this century he was sadly mistaken. The amount of womanizing in this movie is ridiculous, as well as the actual women taking this abuse from men. The movie had 15 minutes left when the story actually started. I was just very disappointed with the acting, the story and the whole movie. This movie was highly unrealistic and dumb. I give this a 1!

Dark Skies:

I love Alien movies. Especially when they are done right. My top favorite is “The Fourth Kind” but others like “Alien”, “Aliens”, “Alien 3”, “Alien: resurrection”, “Galaxy Quest” Ok.. ok.. I just LOVE Sigourney Weaver! LOL. “Futurama”, “The Neighbors”, “The Mist”, “The hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy”, “Fire in the Sky” and many many more are all in my favorite list. Don’t get me wrong many have been done horribly wrong, focusing way too much on only the action or just having a bad story line in general. I’m not a fan of Keri Russell so I was skeptical in going to see the film. Although I was only jolted from my seat once the chills in this movie made it worth it. It’s sad that they placed most of the good parts directly in the trailer itself, ruining half the movie… but most trailers do that. This movie made me scared to walk around my house alone. So it did me proud. J I give this one a 9!

Looper:

Here’s an action packed film done right! Just the right amount of action, with the right amount of sexy hunk. The story was compelling. I usually hate time based movies as most are done stupidly without using logic. I enjoyed sitting on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen. Very thought provoking. I give this one an 8!

Vegucated:

I sometimes enjoy watching documentaries. This documentary was very emotional for me, as an animal lover. If you are not in the mood to watch anything sad don’t watch this. If you are also an animal lover, environmentalist, or enjoy movies that bring out emotion and tears, this is the movie for you. I love movies that touch me, and make me cry. This movie educates as well as follows people struggling to change their ways. It’s truly beautiful. I give this a 10!

Django Unchained:

This isn't a movie I would normally watch. There is far too much action for my taste. However the amount of actors in it really piqued my interest, well that and it was on the Oscars “to watch” list. The acting was great in it. The movie bored me most of the time, and was far too long for the story itself. The ending was self indulgent and predictable. But, it did win 2 Oscars. So I do recommend seeing it to get your own opinion as “action” films are not my forte. I give the movie a 6.

Upside Down:

I enjoyed this film. It was visually pleasing to the eye and the story was compelling. It was a bit predictable, but of course it is a love story. I found the movie highly unique and the only criticism I would say is that my neck hurts from continuously twisting to view the movie in both directions. I give this beautiful movie an 8.

Cold Souls:

A not so new movie I recently watched on Netflix. I watched it out of boredom and because I love Paul Giamatti. It was interestingly weird. It wasn't fascinating, but not dull enough to turn off. I don’t know if I would recommend watching it as I think the audience for this movie would be thin. If you ever want a weird, odd movie to watch with little logic and lots of weird acting, then this is it. I give this movie a 6.

The Twilight Saga – Breaking Dawn – Part 2:

My husband hated this movie, and found it hard to continue to watch it all the way through. We normally agree so I find it weird that I kind of enjoyed it. Maybe it’s the writer Stephenie Meyer, or just a secret indulgent. I love the concept of vampires. No movie has ever done it better in my eyes than “Interview with the Vampire” I do enjoy “True Blood” although I have many problems with it. This movie does not hold a candle to these mentioned, but it’s still a watcher! I watched the other movies in the series, so I can’t go without watching the last one. It held my attention, even though the acting was horrible and the story was a bit iffy. I give it a 6.

ParaNorman:

This is a cute little movie, obviously better in 3D. I wouldn't recommend it for children under 8 or 9, or for devout Catholics. The movie has a lot of dead people, with body parts crawling everywhere and a lot of witch hating/loving. I personally enjoyed it as a cute rainy day film. The movie was predictable and a feel-good comedy. I give it a 7.

House at the End of the Street:

Interesting horror movie. It wasn't horrible, kept my attention, and wasn't very predictable. I probably wouldn't watch it again, but for a one time watch this isn't too bad. I give it a 6.

Mama:

Trailer was awesome. LOL. My skin was crawling with chills up until about the last 15 minutes of the movie. Why do they have to ruin a perfectly good movie right at the end? The kids were creepy in the movie, almost enough to deter me entirely from having any. But the ending was illogical and done wrong. Very disappointed. I give this movie a 4!