Monthly Archives: October 2014

Happy Halloween!

Posted on October 31, 2014 | 1 comment

halloween

Picture by me.

1 Comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , ,

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, no good very bad day – Movie

Posted on October 29, 2014 | Leave a comment

horrible

I have to say that this was a great family flick. I loved it and so did my 8 yr old daughter. We laughed and cried and nearly snorted out our popcorn! The story stars Alexander (played by Ed Oxenbould) as he has the worst day of his young life. From gum in the hair mishaps to catching his crush’s book on fire in science class, the day keeps getting worse and worse.

fire

His family doesn’t seem to acknowledge his very bad day and he makes a wish that they would understand. The result is that each of his family members experiences the equivalent of their worst day ever resulting in some really hilarious antics. Steve Carell plays the dad and is funny as ever. The whole cast does an amazing job creating a mountain of laughter. The rest of the cast includes: Jennifer Garner (mom) Dylan Minnette (brother) and Kerris Dorsey (sister).

The movie is a heartfelt comedy that shows no matter how bad it gets, if you stick together as a family and support each other, nothing can really get you down. Lots of laughs and fun for the whole family.

family

4 stars for me.

Leave a comment

Posted in Movie Reviews

Tagged , , , ,

The Judge: Starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall

Posted on October 24, 2014 | 1 comment

the judge

The movie centers on Defence attorney Hank (Robert Downey Jr) who is a little on the callous side defending guilty people with money by bending every rule he can. “Innocent people can’t afford me”, he tells another attorney who is outraged at his lack of morals. Hank has to return to his hometown to attend his mother’s funeral when we meet Hank’s father (Robert Duvall), a prominent judge from their hometown in Indiana. Joseph Palmer (Duval) is a veteran judge who imposes his highly moral standard on all those he presides over. He has little tolerance for lawyers like Hank. The relationship between father and son is strained (to put it lightly) and highly charged making for a very emotional rollercoaster of antagonism and disdain between the two. (And an entertaining match up for us viewers to watch!)

The judge 2

Things really get heated when the Judge is suspected of killing someone with his car (I won’t give any details for fear of a spoiler) Hank of course wants to represent his father but the Judge will not hear of it. We see a lot of the cool disdain both characters have for the other with the underlying family issues that really set things on edge. Old grudges and bad feelings are at the forefront until Hank learns of his father’s illness. The movie takes on a very emotional hinge that really sets you up to understand the tolerance and acceptance family’s face regardless of what has happened before.

The judge 3

I have to say this movie was really well done. The courtroom drama was great, the family interaction and dynamic was amazing with these two actors and entertaining to watch (a little humour thrown in) and even the illness was made very realistic and hard-core. There were some great supporting roles with Hank’s brothers (Jeremy Strong and Vincent D’Onofrio play Dale and Glen) as well but I won’t go into it here. Billy Bob Thornton plays the prosecuting attorney as well and has a grudge against Hank. I wasn’t a big fan of this role for him, but it was done very well.

Overall, a great movie if you are expecting drama tied in with courtroom appeal and family dynamic. If you are expecting action…go see something else.

4 stars for me.

1 Comment

Posted in Movie Reviews

Tagged , , ,

WWW Wednesdays (Oct 22)

Posted on October 22, 2014 | 9 comments

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

My Answers:

Unfortunately I am still reading the same book.  It is really good but I just don’t seem to have any reading time lately. 😦  hopefully soon…

  Enchantment (Spellbound, #3) Recently Finished:  Enchantment (Spellbound #3) by Nikki Jefford. Love this series and really loved this book.  Review here:

https://cynthiastacey.com/2014/10/17/enchantment-spellbound-3-by-nikki-jefford/

The Treatment (The Program, #2)Currently Reading : The Treatment (The Program #2) by Suzanne Young. I don’t know about this one. I loved the first book but I’m having a hard time getting into this one.  Not sure if its the book or me not having much time to really get into it.

Up Next?

Steadfast Steadfast (Spellcaster #2) by Claudia Gray.  I have this downloaded on my kindle and can’t wait to dive into it.  Loved the first book!

I also have these in my sights!

Reckoning (The Arotas Trilogy, #2)Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, #2)

Reckoning (Arotos Trilogy #2) by Amy Miles

Magic Burns (Kate daniels #2) by Ilona Andrews

And as always you never know what little treasure will show up and DEMAND to be read.  Happy reading everyone.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own WWW Wednesdays post, or share your answers in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks! :D

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Check out their blog!

9 Comments

Posted in WWW Wednesdays

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

Wordless Wednesday Oct 22- OMG I want one!

Posted on October 22, 2014 | 2 comments

siberian kitten             photo by becuo.com

I love Wordless Wednesday. I get a kick out of finding the best picture that makes me laugh or go ‘OMG that is so adorable’. So please LEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Wordless Wednesday post, or just a comment (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks! :D

2 Comments

Posted in Wordless Wednesday

Tagged , ,

Enchantment (Spellbound #3) by Nikki Jefford

Posted on October 17, 2014 | 1 comment

Enchantment (Spellbound, #3) Enchantment (Spellbound #3) by Nikki Jefford. Published April 6, 2013 by the Author.  CDN$ 4.04 Kindle edition.

Graylee Perez returned from the dead, took on a duplicate, and now faces her biggest adventure yet.

Barcelona.
Summer escape.

Or so Gray thought until her old adversary, Adrian Montez, brings his magic show to Spain.

Gray seeks out a Spanish wizard to help banish Adrian from her life once and for all. Instead, she tumbles headfirst into a love spell with the arrogant warlock.

When old enemies close in on them, Gray must face her true feelings and decide if Adrian’s worth fighting for and, more importantly, whether he’s worthy of her heart. (Goodreads excerpt)

WOW is all that comes to mind when I finished this book. What an amazing conclusion to a fabulous series. It is hard to write a review about the third book without giving anything away so this will be short and sweet.

I have to admit that I wasn’t a fan of Adrian in the first two books. He came off a little sleazy and a little bit evil, but I like that we get to know him on a more personal level in the third book and I have definitely changed my mind. He is a little bit bad (part of the appeal) but he has some good in him that is brought out by Gray. I think Adrian is the catalyst that made this book so good. You keep waiting to see which side he is going to land on and you really get swept away…not to mention the romantic elements that come into play here as well with the spell casting and everything else. Wink! wink! No spoilers please!

One of the amazing things about this series is the Gray/Graylee/Lee scenario with all three girls really being the same person but branching off on their own. I know this sounds a little complicated and I don’t want to spoil it but suffice to say it is an amazingly original concept that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

I have to say that this series is amazing and I can’t wait to dive into another Nikki Jefford story. She really is an amazing author!

5 amazingly hot stars for me!

1 Comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , ,

Teaser Tuesday (Oct 14)

Posted on October 14, 2014 | 11 comments

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teaser:

Nadia Caldani stood directly under the cast-iron gate, which bent into curves to imitate leaves, roses, and thorns.  Nothing about her wine-red sweater or dark jeans betrayed the most important secret Nadia had: that she was a witch – young and only half-trained, but more powerful than she’d once believed.

Page 1

Steadfast (Spellcaster, #2)Steadfast (Spellcaster #2) by Claudia Gray

Love Love Love this series.  Just barely into the third book, but it is looking good! 🙂

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Teaser Tuesdays post, or share your ‘teasers’ in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks! :D

Teaser Tuesday is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Check out their blog!

11 Comments

Posted in Teaser Tuesdays

Tagged , ,

Wordless Wednesday Oct 1 – Splash!

Posted on October 1, 2014 | Leave a comment

P1010238 photo from Cuba

I love Wordless Wednesday. I get a kick out of finding the best picture that makes me laugh or go ‘OMG that is so adorable’. So please LEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Wordless Wednesday post, or just a comment (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks! :D

Leave a comment

Posted in Wordless Wednesday

Tagged , ,

WWW Wednesdays (Oct 1)

Posted on October 1, 2014 | 2 comments

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

My Answers:

Unfortunately I am still reading the same book.  It is really good but I just don’t seem to have any reading time lately. 😦  hopefully soon…

The Right Song  Recently Finished:  The Right Song by Shane Morgan.  Really liked this book. Different from my usual reads but good. Review posted here:

https://cynthiastacey.com/2014/09/24/the-right-song-by-shane-morgan/

Enchantment (Spellbound, #3)Currently Reading : Enchantment (Spellbound #3) by Nikki Jefford.  Love this series and really enjoying this third book.

Up Next? 

I am dying to read The Treatment (Program #2) by Suzanne Young, so that is most likely up next, but I still have these others in my sites so will be on my TBR soon list!

The Treatment (The Program, #2)Reckoning (The Arotas Trilogy, #2)Magic Burns (Kate Daniels, #2)

Reckoning (Arotos Trilogy #2) by Amy Miles

Magic Burns (Kate daniels #2) by Ilona Andrews

And as always you never know what little treasure will show up and DEMAND to be read.  Happy reading everyone.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own WWW Wednesdays post, or share your answers in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks! :D

WWW Wednesday is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Check out their blog!

2 Comments

Posted in WWW Wednesdays

Tagged , , , , , , ,