Books, Movies & TV!

I've been busy... I guess, or rather, actually I have just not posted any reviews in a while so I'm covering several things today.

First I want to talk about a couple of books. I recently finished The Language of Flowers (one of the books from my aunt) and I loved it! I am not a gardener but this book talks about all kinds of plants and their meanings. The story unravels in a good way and although there were some discrepancies in the story (head-scratching things that distracted me), overall I truly enjoyed this book and after it was over I kept thinking about it. That indicates a well-told story to me. I highly recommend this book. I wouldn't call it a light read, or a romance but it is well-written and worth it.

I also read the entire Lily Bard series by Charlaine Harris. I read recently that she will not be writing anymore in this series and I can see why. One thing about Ms. Harris' writing that I find amusing is that her characters go about their everyday business (like house cleaning) and Ms. Harris writes about it. I don't know if that's a southern thing or just something the author thinks about but I've noticed it in all her books. Sookie does a lot of house cleaning as well. Interesting. 
The Lily Bard series was captivating and I enjoyed the mysteries. Each book is pretty short and per Ms. Harris style, does not go exactly as you expect. A mystery I cannot solve in the first chapter is a good read for me. 

I am currently rereading a Georgette Heyer (The Grand Sophy). I absolutely adore Ms. Heyer's work and will be rereading a few of her books. 

Man of Steel--Full Cast

Over the weekend I watched two new movies. Man of Steel is the new Superman movie and I have to say I absolutely loved it. The story moved around in history and covered nearly everything the first three Christopher Reeve Superman movies did in only 143 minutes! Russell Crowe (not singing!) and Kevin Costner played Jor-El and Jonathan Kent (respectively) and both were magnificent. Diane Lane did a fine job as Martha Kent and surprisingly I thought Amy Adams' Lois Lane was perfect. She was brave as well as accident-prone as we expect from Superman's love interest. There was also a tiny bit with Lana Lang (Clark's high school sweetie) and a bit of Smallville. The Hercules/Jesus mythology was strong and Henry Cavill's Superman was an admirable and archetypal example (even though he's really a Brit). I liked the portrayal of Superman's humanity. I look forward to another one!

Brad Pitt looking yummy ... as usual.

I also saw World War Z with Brad Pitt. He looks delicious, as usual. Portraying a family man who worked for the U.N., he is basically forced to go back to work to help find "Patient Zero" in this newest Zombie flick. I love Zombies so I was excited to see this movie. I did not read the book and am unaware of the differences. I know that they changed the ending (originally this movie was supposed to be part of a trilogy) and the issue is basically resolved so I don't think there will be any sequels. (It wouldn't really make sense.) 

The Zombies in this movie move faster than any other Zombie I've seen. Other than that they look the same. Some of the other issues were that it only takes a bite to change into a Zombie (unlike The Walking Dead, where all you have to do is die). While not finding a cure, [SPOILER ALERT] Pitt's character does find a vaccine. This is an entirely new concept in my understanding of Zombie-verses. I am kind of interested in reading the book now, just kind of. 

I talk a lot about Buffy (the Vampire Slayer) but I have also been watching Angel. I am on Season 5 of Buffy now and Season 2 of Angel. I have to say that so far I enjoyed Season 1 of Angel more than 2. Buffy is still keeping me fascinated (the impromptu entrance of her sister is interesting). 

Wesley, (Charles) Gunn, Angel, Cordelia

Buffy and Dawn Summers

Angel is ticking me off, but I think we're supposed to have myriad emotions with this character because Vampires are inherently evil and he struggles against this natural tendency, which makes him very intriguing. 

Recently I found a BBC series called Copper and I watched the first episode. I love period pieces and this one takes place in New York City in 1864. Considering it's BBC I'm thinking it must be pretty authentic and I thoroughly enjoyed the first episode. I will be continuing to watch this. 

Matt Passmore/Jim Longworth

Season 3 of The Glades finally came out and I watched all of those in less than a week which explains why I'm behind on my school work. I now have six essays (750 words each) to finish up by Saturday. No problem. I enjoy The Glades because it's in Florida, they're mysteries, and the main character is easy on the eyes and quirky. All things I love. 

So that is what I've been up to lately with my free time.