Avengers:FilmFail ends Bad Movie Month by breaking Red Dawn

At last, we reach the end of Bad Movie Month as our special theme of Avengers:FilmFail has felt as long as an infinity war and now, it's great to finally be in the endgame.

Our last entry shines a less than divine spotlight on Chris Hemsworth, aka Thor, in the 2012 remake of the 1984 cult classic Red Dawn. Just like the original, this new edition has a PG-13 rating but beyond that,there's not much of an improvement over the first film.

Let's start with the opening credits, which gives us a CNN style cliff notes version of world events, showcasing North Korea as the next major threat( the first script had the Chinese attacking us but the producers soon realized that having them as the adversaries would make it hard for this movie to do well...in China).

Then it gets all Friday Night Lights, as our leading man Jed(Hemsworth) is back home after serving in Iraq and watching his little brother Matt(Josh Peck) screw up the big football game. Of course, Jed and his dad(who happens to be the local sheriff) are all supportive of Matt, who has a cute blonde girlfriend who is,naturally a cheerleader  and there's a cute girl named Toni(Adrianne Palicki) who finds Jed to be cute as well.

Toni and Jed keep running into each other during the course of this movie as a potential romantic couple but their brief moments together are as meaningful as two people who meet cute in any cheesy TV commercial, not to mention I've seen better writing in Hallmark Channel movies:

The next morning, the town is under invasion from North Korean forces who follow a WWII style of attack, with parachute jumps and soldiers on the move! Seriously, we're about fifteen minutes into this movie and already the boom-boom-boom has begun.

Jed and company flee to the woods, with the enemy in hot pursuit and yes, I have so many questions. For one, how is it that once they get to the family cabin in the woods, everyone immediately knows where all the guns are stored inside? I mean, some of the weapons are in kitchen drawers and other offbeat spots but nobody seems to need to ask where any ammo is or anything like that!

Also, more importantly-why are the occupying army so worried about a bunch of high school kids lead by one ex-soldier? You'd think that with the mayor and the sheriff under their control, that would be more than enough to maintain control of a small town, plus they're the ones that have the armored cars and rocket launchers on hand!

Anyway, after his dad is nobly taken out by the main captain of the invasion troops, Jed decides to turn his kid brother and their band of CW show extras into a resistance squad who call themselves Wolverines(after their high school mascot, not the X-Men character). Speeches and training montages follow:

Granted, it's been a long while since I saw the 1984 Red Dawn but this movie felt like it was on fast forward the whole time-click, a training scene-whoosh, a raid on the town,bam, a major raid being screwed up by Jed's brother looking for his captured girlfriend, boom, new rebel allies show up!

Plus, as Drive In Theater expert Joe Bob Briggs might say, there's not much plot to get in the way of the story. At one point, it's mentioned that the NK invaders were being backed by Russia-why would Russia need to use North Korea as a military beard? Then later, during a big battle scene in town, two of the teen Wolverines take refuge in a sandwich shop and decide to rob the frightened staff for food! Uh, hello, you're supposed to be the good guys, remember? Stealing from your fellow captive townsfolk is not in the playbook there!

A lot goes on but it's hard to care about any of the characters since I've seen Colorform sticker figures with more personality. Sure, they try to add a few lighthearted moments, such as tricking a guy into drinking deer blood, but none of that jells at all.

Hemsworth does what he can here but his acting muscles are not strong enough to give any substance to the paper thin plot points. He does fight the NK captain that took out his dad at one point and gets to deliver the line "You f**ked with the wrong family!", which would have held some weigh had Hemsworth and the bad guy in question been able to exchange a little dialogue beforehand or at any time in the movie!

Mainly, this movie is made up of noise and fury, signifying less than nothing but wasted screen time. The only good thing I can say about this movie is that it's short, yet far from sweet:

Oh, wait-I can also say in it's favor that it does have a few memorably bad lines like "Marines don't die-they go to hell and regroup!" and "It's a vital piece of military equipment, not your porn stash!" Other than that, this movie is as memorable as cotton candy with the bad aftertaste of nostalgia porn left on your cinematic palate.

Well, I thank you all for sharing this awful movie journey with me and hopefully, my theme for next time will be more mirthful and less deep hurting. In the meanwhile, I am happy that this cycle of Marvel movies have done so well and I look forward to what lies ahead(although taking Spiderman out of the MCU is a dumb idea,Sony!). With any luck, we will see a brighter tomorrow both on and off screen:

Taking some cozy mystery comfort in my High Summer reading

Having the High Summer readathon in August this year was a great idea, as the steaming heat from the outdoors(not to mention the sweltering headlines in the news) really makes you want to find a nice spot of shade to enjoy a good book in.

A good portion of my completed reads for this challenge brought me to the cozy mystery section and yes, all of these titles do have a touch of foodie fun.

First up was Murder Lo Mein, the third book in Vivien Chien's Noodle Shop series, where leading lady Lana Lee is now the manager of her family's restaurant. She finds herself actually liking the responsibility, particularly now that her hovering mother is well distracted by the arrival of Lana's grandmother who is more than a match for her own daughter!

However, the big event on the horizon is the annual Asian Noodle contest, where Ho-Lee Noodle House appears to be in the lead, thanks to amazing chef Peter. Unfortunately after an early round of competition, one of the judges(a notoriously nasty food critic) is found dead at an after party. To make matters worse, he received a strange fortune cookie message which sounded more like a threat than a promise.

Lana winds up going into mystery solving mode, complete with her best friend Megan by her side along with other pals old and new as another judge is taken down. When Lana finds one of those frightening fortune cookies slipped into her purse, the search for the killer becomes less appetizing but necessary to save her own life, not to mention the contest!

I really love the world building that Chien does here, making the Asia Village mall as lively and connected as any small town(really hope that Mahjong Matrons get in on the mystery action at some point!), plus the network of female friendships that Lana has is great to see.

 Also, I like it that her relationship with police detective Adam Trudeau got a bit more deeper here, giving him a solid backstory that elevates him from the usual overprotective boyfriend role in this genre.

What's really great in finishing this tasty third helping of the Noodle Shop Mysteries is that book four, Wonton Terror, is due out in just a few days! Yes, I did pre-order this one and will be eagerly awaiting it at my mailbox as much as Lana waits for her new favorite doughnut shop in Asia Village to open it's doors for another delicious treat:

Next, I took a book off of one of my other reading lists(Series-ous Reading, which I'll get back to this September) to dive into as it's set in a very vacation friendly location.

A Crime of Passion Fruit has Ellie Alexander take her bakeshop heroine Jules Capshaw back to the high seas as a temporary pastry chef onboard the cruise ship where she first met her estranged husband Carlos.

As it happens, it's a good time for Jules to be away from her beloved hometown bakery Torte, due to an expansion of the premises during the slow season, plus her hard working mom Helen is given a free trip(along with her police detective beau known as the Professor) as part of the deal.

While Jules finds herself enjoying the time back on the boat, along with seeing her mom finally get a chance to relax and have fun, the unexpected death of a young woman causes everything to swerve off course. None of the crew or the passengers seem to know who the woman was or how she got on the ship in the first place and by heading to the nearest port to get official assistance in the matter, the ship winds up in the path of a vicious storm.

Can Jules keep her feet steady enough to solve the case and keep her kitchen afloat? Well, for one thing, it's good to see our leading lady in another setting,especially the one that has the most significance to her marriage and makes up a strong portion of her backstory. While we do hear about what's happening at Torte(thanks to e-mail) while she's away, having Jules maintain her own sense of self elsewhere is great to see.

I do like the bond that she has with the Professor, as he fully respects her crime solving skills and doesn't patronize Jules at all. It's very father-daughter but not at all a substitution for Jules' actual connection with her late father.

Speaking of bonds, Jules makes a major decision about her relationship with Carlos and while I'm still not happy with him for withholding important information from her, I do admit that he is trying to make up for that as best he can.  I do have happily have more Bakeshop Mystery books to read and look forward to another recipe for page turning pastry goodness indeed:

 Last in this category but miles away from least, The Whispered Word by Ellery Adams is a welcome sequel to the first book in her new series The Secret,Book and Scone Society.

When book shop owner Nora discovers a mysterious young woman hiding in her storage room, she instantly decides to help her out anyway she can. Her fellow society members agree, including baker Hester, who lets the newcomer who calls herself Abilene work in her pastry shop.

While Nora is more than willing to give Abilene the time and space she needs, too many unanswered questions crop up that cause Nora to wonder if there's any connection between her new young friend and the death of a cantankerous customer whose obnoxious son is also causing trouble around town.

Abilene does seem like a person in need of help but she displays quite a few talents that only raise more questions about her origins-in addition to baking, she has amazing artistic display skills(she arranges a gorgeously creative window tableau for the book store overnight) and when making a deal to have her own apartment above the new business in town, Virtual Genie,  she also possesses a keen flair for appraising clocks and watches:

Virtual Genie also appears to be too good to be true, as it's appraisal services for online sales of  various valuables puts on a good show but are they as reliable as they claim to be? Nora and her SBS band of gal pals might have a lot on their plate here yet these ladies are no strangers to compassionate multitasking there!

I do like the developing friendships between the leading ladies, who might disagree on occasion about certain things but still remain the best of buddies. While Nora is more or less the central figure in these books so far, I do hope that one of our other society sisters such as June or Estella gets a chance to headline one of these stories.

With the third book due out next year(The Book of Candlelight), perhaps we'll see that happen. Regardless, this is a lovely series that blends cozy mystery with female focused fiction that charms as well as renews the spirit.


We do have another week to go with the High Summer readathon and from what I've seen, everyone involved is having a wonderfully bookish time! Thanks again to Michelle Miller for making this happen and best literary wishes to all out there.

My plans for the rest of this week include finishing up Meg Wolitzer's The Wife and basking in The Golden Hour with Beatriz Williams, plus not getting any snack stains on my book pages.

Some treats are just too risky to be shared with books but luckily, books are flavorful enough on their own to enjoy( and some snacks have to be handled with caution, that's all!):

Avengers:FilmFail misses a Due Date for laughs in Bad Movie Month

Yes, folks, we're halfway through our Bad Movie Month journey and our Avengers:FilmFail theme brings us to the Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr.

Now, Downey can be very funny, when given the right material, and his comic talents have bolstered up some rather flimsy films in the past. However, there was no amount of super powers that could turn a boring bromance movie like Due Date into worthwhile entertainment.

Granted, the movie did do well at the box office when it was originally released in 2010 but most of that success can be attributed to Downey's Iron Man fandom(the second sequel came out earlier that year) than any real attempt at making this sorry mess work.

Downey plays Peter, an architect determined to get home in time to witness the birth of his first child, with wife played by Michelle Monaghan,who was also the love interest in Playing It Cool(the Captain America entry in this series). Does she have really bad luck in picking these roles or what?

Anyway, Peter runs into Ethan(Zach Galifianakis), a weird guy with a French bulldog in tow, at the airport. As Peter and Ethan keep bumping into one another, including an awkwardly gross encounter involving overhead baggage on the plane, things get worse for our man Peter.

Before he even gets on board, an accidental luggage switch has him under suspicion as a drug mule(how they let him on the plane after a quick phone call is beyond me) and then when Ethan starts making comments about terrorism, it's Peter who gets zapped by security. I know this is supposed to be dark humor but some jokes just don't work these days and airline terrorism is a subject best disposed of there:

 After they both get tossed off the place, Peter and Ethan wind up traveling to L.A. together, since Ethan wants to a) spread his father's ashes that are in a coffee can and yes, a bad coffee brewing scene crops up later and b) become an actor. Oh, and he's a big fan of Two and A Half Men and you bet, there's a pay-off on that towards the end!

Peter, not having his wallet on hand, decides to put up with Ethan for as long as it takes to get back to his wife(Monaghan is fortunate enough to literally phone in her performance) but so many wacky hijinks get in their way!

From being beaten up by an irate Western Union clerk(Danny McBride) to stopping by for "glaucoma medicine" being dealt by Juliette Lewis, where Peter has to watch her obnoxious kids(and accidentally on purpose, punching one of them) and then winding up unintentionally crossing into Mexico to be detained by the border police, which so does not play well in this day and age, Ethan and Peter get on each other's nerves and mine to boot!

Since the director Todd Phillips also made The Hangover, this movie was said to be a cross between that buddy adventure and the John Hughes' travel comedy Planes,Trains and Automobiles. Sadly, I also see a bit of The Odd Couple here, with Downey trying to be a more polished Felix Unger and having Galifinakis being the stoner version of Oscar Madison.

Trouble is, Downey comes off as a major elitist jerk who makes things worse for himself rather than a good hearted fussbudget and Galifianakis seems to be a character in a tired SNL skit most of the time, which doesn't help in building any chemistry with his co-star.

 That lack of connection between the two just makes jokes that involve drugs, self pleasuring as a form of sleep aid(and the poor dog is dragged into that bit,too!) and suspecting that Peter's wife may be having a baby with one of his friends(Jamie Foxx) seem vulgar and unoriginal instead of cutting edge:

Even when the movie has their leading men in scenes that are supposed to be bonding moments, the guys give off a strong going through the motions energy.

One of those moments is in a men's room, where Peter tries to give Ethan a chance to work on his acting by setting up scenarios for him to riff on. It's like watching the worst episode of Whose Line Is It Anyway? where an actual toilet is on the stage, ready to flush away this awful demonstration of bad acting:

Well, Due Date was definitely one to miss and if I may take a moment for a personal complaint-I hate it when you're made to watch a bunch of trailers on a DVD before getting to the menu to start the movie! It's like the studio is saying "Hey, we know this movie is so bad that you might stop watching it before the halfway mark so look at these ads first!"

Yes, Due Date is one of those DVDs and making me sit through trailers for cinematic crap like Hall Pass doesn't put one in the mood to enjoy this dismal attempt at comedy.

Thank goodness, the next entry is our last one, Chris Hemsworth,aka Thor, in the 2012 remake of the 80s action movie Red Dawn, the first PG-13 movie to be released, a dubious honor at best. Hopefully, there will be some memorably bad lines in this one as my sister and I goofing around on the phone that night was much better dialogue than any to be found in Due Date:

Avengers:FilmFail tries Playing It Cool for Bad Movie Month

Welcome back, folks, for another round of Bad Movie Month where our theme this time out is Avengers:FilmFail, reminding those stars of the less than super roles they've played in the past.

Sadly, I have to highlight Captain America himself, Chris Evans, for the alleged romantic comedy Playing It Cool, which I call alleged due to this being neither one of those two categories.

Evans plays a screenwriter with no name(seriously, he is never called by name by anyone and the same goes for his love interest, which I'll get to in a moment) who has to finish punching up a romcom screenplay before he can work on the action film that he's more interested in.

Evans gets pressured by his agent(Anthony Mackie, aka The Falcon) to hurry up, with promises of getting to go on location to pick up attractive women and yes, I'm being polite here. Let's just say his descriptions are gross on the level of a 80's sex comedy and leave it at that.

Anyway, Evans mopes around, reading trashy magazine articles as research because his history of bad relationships makes it hard for him to write about love. First off, shouldn't a screenwriter watch a few movies set in this genre instead? Hell, TCM alone has plenty of classic material to inspire a decent script!

During his moping, Evans goes to an event with one of his buddies(Topher Grace) and winds up meeting a mystery woman(Michelle Monaghan) that he's instantly attracted to. No, she also has no name either and you would think that a first meet would be the time to introduce yourself, right? Well, they hit it off and for some reason, decide to have fun by randomly hitting on older people at the party. This is supposed to be cute and funny but it comes off as really weird and mean instead:

Evans keeps trying to meet Monaghan again in a lengthy sequence that is made extra tedious with pointless narration. See, this movie wants to have it both ways; complaining about standard movie tropes while using as many of them as possible to pad the story line.

In addition to endless narration(Sorry, Chris Evans but even you can't make boring cliches sound interesting), there's also bits where our leading man imagines himself as the main character in other people's stories, which gets amazingly awkward when one of his friends relates a plot line from a K-drama!

At one point, Evans talks to his grandfather(who conveniently dies later on so that he can find Meaning in Life and Love) who takes a break from calling him a term related to a cat to tell the "how I met your grandmother" tale that a)Evans and Monaghan pop up in as the leads and b) turns into an actual cartoon about WWII, which had me wondering if I was watching a bad episode of Adult Swim!

In between his attempts to woo Monaghan, Evans hangs out in weird places(a gun range and then a bowling alley straight out of The Big Lebowski) to consult with the motley crew that make up his friends such as Grace, who is also a screenwriter that leaves copies of Love in the Time of Cholera in random spots, claiming that it's his "art." How the hell is someone else's book YOUR art?! Granted, Evans calls him on that at a later time but Grace's argument seems to be somehow justified nonetheless.

Along with Grace, Evans hangs out with Aubrey Plaza,who sounds like she's intentionally over enunciating her lines and Luke Wilson, who enjoys giving crappy advice. By the way, these characters do have names but I don't care to give them. Trust me, they're not worth knowing:

Evans and Monaghan do wind up in a relationship, which is complicated by her already having a boyfriend(Ioan Gruffudd, the original big screen Mr. Fantastic). It's very on-again, off-again and oh so boring beyond belief!

The dialogue itself is so mind numbing that I found myself wishing I was watching a Lifetime made for TV movie instead. At least those movie have memorably bad lines!

Given the number of reasonably well known actors that pop up in this dismal film such as Patrick Warburton, Beverly D'Angelo(very briefly) and SNL's Kyle Mooney, I'm guessing that the writers and/or the director were pretty well connected to get this movie off the ground but also given the fact that this dull as dirt clunker was shelved for a couple of years, their considerable clout ran out once someone who was not their friend took a good look at the end results!

For one thing, it's hard to sympathize with Evans' plight as he is pursuing a woman who is seeing someone else and the little that we see of the other guy, his only fault seems to be that he's not as cool as Evans:

Also, I find it hard to root for a romance that begins with a first kiss right after the gal tells the guy how she buys birthday cards for herself to send from her dead dad(who killed himself right before her birthday,btw). Kind of sets a morbid mood there, in my opinion.

Yet that revelation clicks with our leading man because his mother left him as a child with a goodbye note attached to his favorite cereal and after hooking with Monaghan , Evans can eat Captain Crunch again. That just leaves a weirdly unpleasant taste in my mouth, sort of like peanut butter and sushi.

Anyhow, the rest of the movie falls into the usual cliche pit, complete with racing through the city to stop Monaghan from Marrying The Wrong Guy and I swear, for a hour and a half long film, this whole end bit felt longer than a Ken Burns miniseries!

Well, hopefully the next installment in Avengers:FilmFail is not as torturous as we join Robert Downey, Jr. on his road trip with Zach Galiafinakis  in Due Date. We shall see,folks, but my expectations are lower than before after watching this moanworthy mess:

Scooping up some sweet late summer book releases

I know everything's been rough these last couple of weeks, not to mention dealing with the humid dog days of summer, but there is one joy that we can cling to with certainty and that is books.

August does have the reputation for being slow and sluggish, especially pop culture wise, but there are page turning treasures to be found and with this being National Book Lovers Day, it's the perfect time to recommend some new books.

First up is The Wedding Party, the newest romcom from Jasmine Guillory. Theo and Maddie share a friendship with Alexa(the heroine of Guillory's The Wedding Date) but little else in common, each finding the other barely tolerable. That all changes when one fateful night, the two of them become one in the intimate sense of the term.

This leads to a continuing yet quiet relationship, where they both agree to keep Alexa and other mutual acquaintances in the dark about their new found appreciation of one another. However, when Maddie and Theo are both invited to Alexa's upcoming nuptials, they decide to make that occasion their endgame. However, will they both want to stop playing by then or take things to the next level?

I really love how Guillory is creating this interconnected world of friends and lovers that doesn't require you to read each entry in exact order. Also, her stories of people trying to make love work with all of the everyday issues around them are so engaging, using heart and humor to keep the plot lines on an even yet entertaining track. Yes, this is one party you want to get an invitation to!:

If you're feeling the flavor of mystery, Vivien Chien has a fourth helping of her Noodle Shop Mystery series to serve up soon. Wonton Terror takes Lana Lee and the Ho-Lee Noodle House folk to the Asian Night Market that marks the start of summer for Cleveland.

While the festival is fun for many reasons, Lana and friends find some tough competition for their famed menu from a new food truck, Wonton on Wheels. Since the owners happen to be long time friends of her parents, Lana feels that this will be a friendly rivalry at best.

However, an unfortunate attack on the food truck leads Lana back into sleuth mode which tests the new levels of trust made with her police detective boyfriend Adam. Worse yet, the investigation becomes very personal as a few secrets from the past are added to the suspenseful stew of events. Can Lana solve the case without stirring the family pot too much?

I just finished book three, Murder Lo Mein, the other day and already have this next one on pre-order. This is such a charmingly delightful series that it's hard to wait for another visit to Ho-Lee Noodle House at Asia Village but this side trip to the night market will be worth my patience indeed:

If a mix of mystery and 1930's screwball comedy is more your style, Love and Death Among the Cheetahs by Rhys Bowen might do the trick.

The latest in the Her Royal Spyness series takes Lady Georgiana "Georgie" to Kenya on honeymoon with her beloved Darcy. While she's thrilled to go, some of her traveling companions are less than welcome such as former frenemy Rowena Hartley and her brother Rupert, visiting their newly ennobled father Lord Cheriton.

During their stay, Georgie and Darcy also run into the obnoxious Wallis Simpson(still hunting down Prince Edward), get invited to an overnight party that's wilder than expected and find their host Lord Cheriton as a meal for the big cats of the title the following morning. Can the newlyweds have some romantic moments together while dealing with the outdoor and indoor dangers about them?

This is a great series for those who like Downton Abbey and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries that just bubble over with fearsome good fun. Reading out of order is fine but once you try one of these dashing adventures with the sweetly sassy Georgie, you will go back for more!

For full on historical fiction that's female forward, you can do no better than Philippa Gregory, who is launching a fresh saga set in England during a time of turmoil.

The leading lady of Tidelands is Alinor, a midwife with two children who has to fend for herself as her fisherman husband has vanished to who knows where. With her skills at herbal remedies, she can make a decent living but in England of 1648, Alinor has to walk a fine line or be accused of witchcraft by the Puritan forces  who have recently taken over the country.

To complicate things further, she meets James, a Catholic priest in hiding who is still loyal to the exiled court of King Charles, now living in France. By helping James, Alinor may be able to gain some favor that could help her family yet she risks her heart by falling in love with him. Turns out the feelings are mutual but so are the dangers from the rising political tides beyond their control.

Gregory has a deft hand when it comes to showcasing strong women in history and with this first in a new series, promises to give us heroines of the past who can inspire us to hold fast to the fights we face in the here and now:

I hope you all can delight in National Book Lovers Day and embrace some cool breezes before summer is truly over and done with. As for me, I do like making book recommendations when I can but even my list of picks gets rather overwhelming-then again, this is a good problem to have!:

Bad Movie Month premieres Avengers:FilmFail on The Island

Welcome,folks, to this year's Bad Movie Month, our annual salute to sorry cinema.

Our theme for 2019 is Avengers:FilmFail, due to the overwhelming success of the MCU that culminated in the triumph that is Avengers:Endgame, it only seemed right to remind ourselves of the less than stellar performances that four of the big players in this series have given us in the past.

First up is Scarlet Johansson, aka Black Widow(and also known as "ScarJo"), a lady who has been rather vocal about her choices when it comes to film roles. Too bad she wasn't that particular in 2005 when the script for The Island came her way. Trust me, she would've been better off playing a tree than in this big,loud and stupid mess, courtesy of Michael Bay!

Johansson is the co-star here, playing Jordan, the best "friend" of Ewan McGregor's Lincoln where both of them are confined to an enclosed facility due to the outside world being contaminated by some sort of virus/plague/whatever(it's never really explained).

Lincoln is having weird Altered States on acid type of dreams but his biggest worries in life are not being allowed to have bacon at breakfast, a left shoe that goes missing and a cranky guy on his morning elevator ride who complains that he still hasn't been chosen to go to the island!

The breakfast issue gets somewhat solved, as Jordan uses her charms on the food server lady to get some extra portions and the guy complaining about being stuck in the facility, which is pretty much a luxury hotel set-up, is dealt with but we never find out about that shoe. Some mysteries are best left alone, I guess.

Everyone in the jump suits is just waiting for the lottery to announce that he or she gets to go to the title location, the one place on earth still safe to be at. Of course, it's not what it seems to be and when Jordan's number is called, Lincoln is sad to see her go. Particularly since he's always told to "watch the proximity" whenever he gets too close to Jordan like home schooled teenagers at a chaperoned prom:

The big secret is that there is no island, it's just a ruse to keep them in line as they're all clones who are considered "products" due to the mad science doings of Sean Bean, made for rich folk to use as spare parts.

There's a whole lot of stupid that you have to buy into here, as later in the film, it's explained that the reason for making a little community for the clones is to keep the organs functioning but couldn't that be done another way, like making headless bodies, for example? If you have the tech to make full grown replicas of human beings that takes less than an hour, I would think that this wouldn't be that hard to figure out there!

Also, the clones are supposed to be as educated "to the level of a fifteen year old" but for what purpose? There's no mention of brain transplants and in the beginning of the story, we see a clone class reading Dick and Jane books-if they're supposed to be refugees from a pre-existing world, why would they have to start with the basics?

In addition to that, they're intended  to be not "programmed" for sex yet early on, there's a pregnant clone lady who turns out to be an unknowing surrogate mother. How is that explained to the others and if you're supposed to repopulate the world, why would you be discouraged from sex? No wonder that at least Lincoln caught on to the false front but perhaps if Sean Bean and company had just given him some bacon every now and then.....

Anyway, Lincoln saves Jordan from the organ chop shop and the two of them venture out into the real world and this being a Michael Bay movie, the first point of civilization they arrive at is a strip joint!

There, Lincoln finds Steve Buscemi(one of the workers at the clone farm who hangs out in secret with him) using the men's room and yanks him out of the stall to confront him about the whole "I live in Sector Five" story that Buscemi has given him over the years. Yes, this does lead to an unfortunate misunderstanding about meeting in the men's bathroom from a guy who walks in on this-so not funny then or now- and thankfully, it's brief!

Buscemi is no stranger to cashing a paycheck in cinematic crap like this(he was a welcome sight to see in Con Air) but it's a thankless task in this movie to be the one to let Lincoln and Jordan in on their doomed clone status. He's forced to drop truth bombs such as "Just because people want to eat hamburger, that doesn't mean they want to meet the cow."

 Too bad he couldn't say what my mom(who kindly suffered though this movie with me) said when constantly asked by his unexpected guests, "What are we?" Idiots for being in this movie, that's what!:

Granted, expecting this movie to be at all original is perhaps asking too much, considering that it was sued for copyright infringement by the makers of the 70s B-movie Parts: The Clonus Horror(settled out of court before the trial began).

However, it is down right criminal how underwritten Johansson's role is. At one point in the story, she makes a video call to her original version's home and the OG Jordan's little boy answers,saying his mom is in the hospital . He then asks Jordan "Mom, is that you?"

That thread is dropped quicker than a hot potato and the closest we get to a conclusion is when Sean Bean mentions that the OG Jordan is comatose and brain dead, making the intended organ harvest pointless but still planning to do it anyway. Uh, hello, sub plot much?

Why not have Jordan and Lincoln ,who are betrayed by Lincoln's original source material-a real creep who leers at Jordan like she's a piece of Wasbu beef-find the kid and maybe the husband of the first Jordan to help them out? Maybe set up a love triangle between Lincoln and Jordan's husband, who is torn between saving his wife and being attracted to the fresh new version of her? I know, I know, this is a Michael Bay movie, no character development allowed!

Still, the best she gets is being able to read lies in people's eyes,along with killer kick boxer moves that come in handy for the endless chase and destroy sequences that make up a good portion of this flimsy flick. Given that this movie runs nearly two and a half hours, I think that dropping one or two action scenes would've allowed for a little more nuance, even if hover bikes are involved:

As you may guess, The Island was a major flop at the box office with it's failure blamed on marketing rather than the lazy story telling and over reliance on blowing things up real good.

It was not only a waste of ScarJo's time and talents, this movie also gave fine actors like the late Michael Clarke Duncan and Djimon Hounsou not much to work with. Sean Bean did his fair share of mustache twirling as the villain of the story, with wince worthy lines such as "We have a product on the loose!" and the classic cliche, "I brought you into this world and I can take you out" when having that all too expected showdown with Lincoln.

You might think that ScarJo would try to steer clear of badly written sci-fi scripts after this but given that she later starred in the likes of Lucy in 2014 and then Ghost in the Shell(a wrong choice for so many reasons) a couple of years later, clearly the answer is no to that question! Well, if you persist on making the same mistakes over and over again, you need a thicker skin to handle the blowback, honey.

Join us again for another Avengers:FilmFail when we see Chris Evans aka Captain America, try his hand at romantic comedy in 2015's Playing It Cool. The good news is one of his Avenger co-stars, Anthony Mackie, is in the movie and the bad news is that this film was sitting on the shelf for a long while, making it perhaps staler than it already was:

All set for a High Summer of reading

Thanks to a welcome change-up in the schedule, Seasons of Reading is now holding it's annual High Summer readathon in August, giving us something cool to do during this decidedly heated end of summer time.

It's not too late to sign up and join in the bookish fun, which starts on August 1 and ends on the 31st. Since there's no set theme, you're free to read what you want, old ,new or simply stuff you need to clear off your TBR.  I try to keep my goals simple and it does help to mix in a couple of short reads along with a thick title or two. Anyway, here's my reading list for HSR:

 For my literary appetizers, I'm starting off with a pair of tasty cozy mysteries. Murder Lo Mein is the third book in Vivien Chen's Noodle Shop series, starring Lana Lee, the reluctantly dutiful daughter who is now managing her family's restaurant.

Making the best of her new situation. Lana has Ho-Lee Noodle House enter a noodle tasting contest, which should get them plenty of good attention there. Unfortunately, the local food critic serving as judge winds up dead after a fatal fortune cookie message,his final resting place being a dish of lo mein.

Lana, with the help of a few friends, is more invested than ever in solving this case but will that determination cost her that blossoming romance with Det. Adam Trudeau, not to mention her own life?

This series is a delightful feast of detective deliciousness and I'm happy to report that a fourth book(Wonton Terror) is due out this August, along with a fifth(Egg Drop Dead) to be released early next year. Unlike some of the food related mysteries that I read, this one doesn't include recipes but that doesn't mean that there isn't plenty to savor:

Along side of that, I have Ellery Adams' The Whispered Word, which is the second in her A Secret,Book and Scone Society mystery tales, set in the small North Carolina town of Miracle Springs, devoted to providing healthy retreats for all visitors.

Book store owner Nora Pennington loves to select the right books for the weary souls who stop to browse but one new customer needs more than just a good book to help her out. As Nora and friends work together to assist the young woman called Abilene, a suspicious death in the area may prove to reveal those secrets that their new acquaintance is desperate to hide.

This series has a lot of what I like; good book talk, food and strong female friendships that truly save the day. A third book is in the works(The Book of Candlelight in January of 2020) and hopefully, we get to see more of these savvy ladies of a certain age showcase their wits when it comes to taking down the bad guys:

Moving onto the main course, The Wife by Meg Wolitzer tells the tale of Joan Castleman, the second wife of acclaimed author Joe Castleman who is about to receive a major literary award for his lifetime of work overseas.

During that trip, Joan is being interviewed by a young reporter about her husband's career but it becomes all too clear that his interest is in Joan's contributions to Joe's writing, which may be more substantial than many people may realize.

I've been putting off seeing the movie version, which earned Glenn Close a Best Actress Oscar nomination that she surprisingly didn't win, in order to judge this novel on it's own merits. No doubt that the film will do justice to the book yet I think I might appreciate it better after engaging with the original recipe edition:

For my rather decadent dessert, I'm having a double serving of Beatriz Williams which includes her latest novel, The Golden Hour.

Not only does this book include the infamous couple who define the term "royal scandal", The Duke of Winsor and American divorcee Wallis Simpson, the story also provides leading lady Lulu with quite the backstory.

Lulu not only had a troublesome first husband to deal with, her second spouse is a spy for the British, caught behind enemy lines. Her purpose in being in the Bahamas during 1941 is not merely to do a profile on the Duke and Duchess but to find a way to rescue her husband as well. It sounds very Casablanca, in the best sense, doesn't it?

Meanwhile, The Wicked City is set at two points in time with two different heroines, where in 1988, newly separated wife Ella has just moved into a Manhattan apartment and hears jazz music play late at night from the empty building next door.

That very same apartment that Ella now resides is where Ginger "Gin" Kelly lived in 1924. The building next to her place had a speakeasy set up in the basement(where Ella is hearing the late night tunes) and upon being caught up in a raid, Gin finds herself involved in an investigation with Prohibition agent Oliver Anston.

Turns out, Gin's stepfather runs a bootlegging business that stretches back to their Maryland home town and she's a perfect pick for playing double agent. Can she pull this off without a hitch or will her past truly haunt the present day occupant? I've been reading to read this for awhile and now that the second book(this is the first in a trilogy) is scheduled to be released this fall, there is no time like the present, as they say!:

Thanks to Michelle Miller, for setting up another great readathon, and I hope that everyone who signs up has a relaxing time with  their chosen books this end of summer season.

Any excuse to stay indoors during the upcoming heat waves is fine by me and yes, I know there is this concept of "reading outdoors" but in my opinion, such a pastime is only done well truly once in a blue moon. I prefer to page turn by some well cranked up air conditioning, the way the reading gods intended:

Enjoying some Jane Austen modern makeovers with a slice of Cherry Cheesecake Murder

As the heat waves approach us, keeping cool in the shade of a good book is more vital than ever before.

Fortunately, I was recently able to catch up with a pair of Jane Austen themed novels as well as dive back into a cozy culinary series(more on that later) in order to embrace the warmth of good writing rather than the warmth of the day.

As it happens, both of the Austen related books have two things in common; they're set in modern times and each one adapts a fresh version of Pride & Prejudice. First up is Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin, which takes place in Canada where our title heroine is beginning her career as a substitute teacher. She would much rather pursue her ambitions as a poet but practical concerns and family obligations push her into this traditionally safe profession.

At age 27, Ayesha is considered too old for the marriage market, which is fine with her. However, one of her neighbors, Khalid, who is rather conservative in dress and manners, finds himself attracted to her strong outspoken nature while his mother is firmly on the hunt for a suitable wife for him,according to her standards.

More than one situation throws Ayesha and Khalid together, giving their respective group of family and friends plenty of chances to encourage them as they slowly yet surely fall in love. Plenty of complications arise as well, with enemies from the past and present haunting Khalid and attempting to get in the way of his possible romance with Ayesha.

What I really loved about this book was the delicious rom-com flow of the story that used P&P as a guideline but not a rigid structure. A solid blend of humor and heart went into these characters, such as Ayesha's grandparents who subtly influenced certain plot points and Khalid's party hearty co-worker, who winds up bettering himself a bit as he tries to help his friend.

I also liked how the female characters were fully developed, particularly in the relationship between Ayesha and her cousin Hasfa, who is so the Lydia Bennet of this story. While they do care about each other, Hasfa is rather spoiled and selfish at times, taking advantage of her cousin's generosity, to the point of having Ayesha pretend to be her for an event planning gig that compromises her integrity.

When Ayesha finally does confront her about that and a few other things, it's not pretty but it was also necessary for both characters to truly get to the next emotional level for themselves and the story arc. That push-pull of their relationship makes their bond more sisterly, which reflects on the JA source material nicely:

The romance between Ayesha and Khalid is not to be discounted, however, and it does help to see his side of things here. While Ayesha learns how to take more chances in life and not just settle for lesser dreams, Khalid finds out a few truths about his own family, especially his older sister who was sent packing due to a secret that his manipulative mother was determined to hide(his mom is such a Lady Catherine!).

Seeing the two of them find a place of mutual love and respect in order to be together is lovely and having a few Shakespearean quotes sprinkled throughout the story, courtesy of Ayesha's literary grandfather, really rounds out this enchanting tale of true love, Austen style:

Meanwhile, Sonali Dev's Pride,Prejudice and Other Flavors is not just serving up some Jane Austen goodness, this book is meant to be the start of a series of Austen influenced stories set in California that features the Raje family.

Trisha Raje is a brilliant neurosurgeon, still dealing with the guilt of an incident from the past that could upset her brother Yash's political future. As their father is determined for his son to make a distinctive mark in the world, his harshness makes it difficult for Trisha to stay in touch with her family.

Try as she might,though, her family duty pulls her into the current campaign to get Yash into higher office which has her run into DJ Caine, a talented chef who left England to help his sister Emma, an artist with a serious health condition.

As it turns out, Emma happens to be Trisha's patient, which brings them both together more often than either of them would like. No matter what the situation, they just can't help clashing like water and fiery oil, to say the least:

The one thing that they can agree on is food as DJ has high culinary standards and Trisha tends to be rather hangry at times. She does appreciate his cooking, even if her growing feelings for him make her incredibly tongue tied, and he can't resist liking someone who fully enjoys the effort that he puts into his life's work:

A huge barrier to their friendship and potential romance is Julia Wickam, a former friend of Trisha's who betrayed more than one trust. Julia claims to be making fund raising documentaries for the critically ill and wants to use Emma as her next subject. That , along with other complications and secrets that are insisted upon to be kept, makes both Trisha and DJ more conflicted about any feelings that arise between them.

This story is very engaging, with the P&P elements blended lightly into the overall story but still detectable nonetheless. This is one of those up-all-night reads, where you have to make yourself go to bed despite wanting to see what's about to happen on the next page or in the next chapter. This is the first time that I've read Sonali Dev and I'm looking forward to more of the Raje family saga indeed.

At the moment, I'm indulging in the next Hannah Swensen title on my list, Cherry Cheesecake Murder, which I was saving for my Series-ous Reading challenge but the need for a relaxing read was just too great. Plus, my mom is way ahead of me with these books and I ought to keep up with them and her!

The main plot has Hannah and friends being thrilled that a Hollywood movie is being made in their beloved town of Lake Eden but when the film's director finds himself on the wrong end of an alleged prop gun, the hunt for a killer in their midst is on.

I do love small town movie making story lines but what really liven up things for me was how Hannah dealt with the pressure of having both Mike and Norman propose marriage to her(that happened at the end of the previous book). Everyone in town kept calling her on the phone, demanding that she make a choice so that either Mike or Norman would stop moping around. Hello, what about Hannah's needs, here?

This was very Stars Hollow and I liked how Hannah became all Luke Danes in publicly taking this issue on, which was really nobody's business but their own. Then again, that is how small towns go, I guess but sometimes, you have to tell folks to stand back and let a person breathe there:

Well, I hope all of you are having a good reading time this summer and if you're in the mood for a new take on Jane Austen, one of the titles above will suit your bookish needs.

 Speaking of bookish needs, I'm still making adjustments to my readathon list for August-long books are great but a shorter title or two might help me meet my goals better. Decisions, decisions! At least this is the good kind of dilemma to deal with, if you ask me:

Making it a cool summer with some good books

With the July Fourth holiday over with, the rest of the summer is a relatively quiet time where the main focus is to beat the ever increasing heat.

 That didn't stop me from making a visit to the library-books were due back,after all!-and I managed to pick up a few promising titles that should hold me over for awhile.

One book that I've heard quite a bit about is The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin, where a quartet of siblings are given the precise date of their deaths by a fortune teller on Manhattan's Lower East Side in 1969.

 This dubious yet rather exact information leads the Gold children to take all sorts of chances in life, since each of them has their own due date set by fate already. Brother and sister Simon and Klara team up to take off to San Francisco in the latter portion of the 1970s, where one of them decides to look into magic, particularly talking with the dead.

Meanwhile, decades later, their elder brother Daniel uses his connections as a military doctor to track down the fortune teller, who is on the FBI wanted list for fraud. Varya, the oldest of all her siblings, is a researcher seeking the key to increasing the human life span. While she has more of an emotional bond with the simian subjects of her experiments than actual human beings, an interview with a journalist sets off a change that could alter the whole course of her life.

This novel was on a good number of Best of the Year lists in 2018 and does offer a truly intriguing premise; how different would your life be if you knew just how long you had to live it? It's certainly worth a try and perhaps I'll get a few more reading suggestions out of this promising read as well:

 A pair of mysteries also found their way onto my library checkout; Cleo Coyle's A Shot in the Dark and The Dead Ringer by M.C. Beaton.  The latter is the latest Agatha Raisin entry, where our leading lady is asked to attend the arrival of a rather handsome bishop in a neighboring town.

This bishop attracts a lot of female attention, some of which leads to either a strange disappearance(of heiress Amber, who was said to be interested in marriage) or an untimely death such as one of the lady bell ringers at the church he was visiting.

Agatha is interested in both of these cases while trying to balance her love life and help out a few folks in need of her guidance, in her opinion. Can she manage it all out before things get more complicated than usual?

While I have read several of Coyle's Coffee House books before, this is the first Agatha Raisin novel that I'm reading(and yes, I do have the first two books in the series on hand). Well, at this point I have four library books at home and if you have that many taken out, you should start reading one of them at least!

Anyway, even though this title is further on in the series, I did finish watching Season One of the British TV series(which is great fun) and this ought to tide me over until Season Two is available:

Of course, the library wasn't the only place for me to get new books for the summer. Thanks to Library Thing, I won a copy of The Romanov Empress by C.W. Gortner, which chronicles the beginning of the end of the Russian monarchy.

Princess Maria Feodorovna of Denmark was destined to marry one son of the czar yet an unexpected turn for the worse leads her to wed his brother Sasha. As she joins the family, conditions under the rule of her father in law Alexander II lead the country into a realm of despair and uncertainty.

Maria does her best to keep her loved ones safe and secure, a mission that grows more difficult when Sasha's troubled reign is handed off to their son Nicholas, whose wife Alexandra is being strongly influenced by devious new advisor, Rasputin. Can she guide her family into calmer waters before it's too late?

I do like historical fiction but haven't read much about Russia in this genre, so this should be a good introduction to that. At the very least, I might watch the acclaimed Nicholas and Alexandra movie from the seventies, which sounds like a grand companion piece to this story:

However, I was unable to resist a book sale or two so, along with a Beatriz Williams novel that I've been meaning to get to, Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce is making it's way to me as we speak.

Set in WWII London, Emmeline, aka Emmy, Lake is hoping to do her bit for the war effort by becoming a Lady War Correspondent. However, her new job at Women's Friend magazine has Emmy being the assistant to Henrietta Bird, a popular advice columnist who demands that "unsuitable" letters from readers be tossed away.

Moved by the plight of those desperate letter writers, Emmy secretly answers them, using the Mrs. Bird byline. While she is helping to boost the moral of those waiting women at the home front, Emmy does run the risk of being found out and sent off in disgrace, not to mention her advice giving urges could lead to some personal disasters as well.

This charming novel should make for a great summer read, plus I do like the notion of someone with a plucky can-do spirit trying to spread joy in troubled times. That's something we all could use more of these days, that's for sure!:

Hopefully, these new finds will satisfy my bookish needs as the temperatures climb higher and higher. Best case scenario, my book buying budget will not be exceeded by all of the great deals being showcased out there.

Of course, there are some books that don't need a sale to be purchase worthy but it does make resisting temptation all the harder when that special book you've been waiting for is at such a good price! Perhaps I'm not alone in wanting my resolve in such matters to be as solid as a block of ice instead of being as prone to melting as ice cream, especially in summer:

Wrapping up a readathon and other summer book plans

With the expansion of the Sci-Fi Summer readathon(thanks to Michelle at Seasons of Reading), I was able to add a couple of non theme related titles to my immediate TBR and since one of them was a library book, that really came in handy.

The other book was the third in a series and oddly enough, the second one that I read from this author. Laura Disilverio's The Readaholics mysteries all take place in a town called Heaven in Colorado(a recent name change, in order to attract the tourist trade) where a book club that focuses on mystery novels  winds up solving a few murders in their own backyard.

In The Readaholics and the Gothic Gala, leading lady Amy-Faye Johnson is using her event planning skills to arrange a local literary event,The Celebration of Gothic Novels, being hosted by a book shop called Book Bliss(love that name!). It's a theme that Amy-Faye and friends are in the mood for, having chosen Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca as their latest book club selection.

The Gothic Novels celebration has three modern day authors in attendance; grand dame Constance Aldringham, spunky Francesca Bugle and debut darling Mary Stewart. While most of the scheduled events go well, with only a few odd mishaps that are cleared up rather quickly, it's the costume party held at the golf club that produces the most excitement.

Two unexpected guests cause quite the uproar, with the first being Eloise Hufnagle, who insists that Mary Stewart stole her manuscript, making her surprise bestseller a fraud. As Eloise makes her getaway via dousing various party goers with (fortunately) fake blood, Amy-Faye is asked to go to the manager's office where a deceased stranger breaks up the party for good. Is Eloise to blame for this shocking surprise as well?:

Turns out that the stranger is an out of towner named Trent Van Allen, who Amy-Faye noticed showing up at the celebration events all day. He certainly didn't appear to be a gothic reader and in fact, had a rather shifty past.

Since the murder weapon was a stake swiped from Lola, one of the Readaholics at the party, Amy-Faye and company feel honor bound to discover who the killer is.

Secrets and lies abound with the newcomers to town as Constance's daughter Allyson has had prior trouble with the law, Mary Stewart and her accompanying brother/bodyguard Lucas are not who they seem to be, plus Francesca and Hollywood producer Cosmo Zeller are all too anxious about the upcoming adaptation of her bestselling novel, Barbary Close.

With Amy-Fay getting a tip from Van Allen's girlfriend Sharla, who has good reason not to go to the cops, it appears that the motive for murder is blackmail. But, which of the authors is being targeted and is it a secret worth killing for?:

I really like this series and hope there are more books to come. Amy-Faye and her Readaholic friends are great fun, especially Maud, a lady who's clearly lived a pretty interesting life and has some wild tales to tell! Another bonus is that the club does take the time to discuss their recent read(as well as watch the film version) and that each book plays a part in solving the main mystery.

I do have the first book to read,The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco, and while it's weird to read the first one last, this appears to be working for me. With Gothic Gala being published back in 2016, it might be the final one in this series, which would be a shame. Perhaps there's another Readaholics meeting being planned as we speak but if not, at least this was a grand gothic time worth having:

With Gothic Gala and Sujita Massey's The Satapur Moonstone(a wonderful read) being completed and Sci-Fi Summer finished until next time, I'm going to try and just have a few relaxing reads this July.

There are plans for a Christmas in July readathon but I am going to sit that one out and join up for the High Summer event this August. That month is going to be busy for me, with Bad Movie Month and setting up a fall book preview ,too,but no rest for the wicked as they say!

In the meanwhile, I have a few new books to explore such as Pride,Prejudice and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev. In this present day take on the iconic Jane Austen novel,  Trisha Raje and DJ Caine seem to come from very different worlds as she is a talented neurosurgeon devoted strictly to her work and he's a chef /actual DJ that's hired to cater a major event for her family.

The two of them take an instant dislike to each other yet what they do have in common is DJ's younger sister, who is dealing with medical problems that require Trisha's skills and DJ's support. As they find themselves growing closer, a certain lady with the last name of Wickam does her best to split this potential for new love apart.

I do like a fresh blend of Jane Austen storytelling with modern day flair and this novel promises to be an engaging read, filled with fine writing and accomplished women galore:

Also, I'm going to be sampling some of M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin mystery series. thanks in part to enjoying the BBC TV series that it inspired on DVD.

We are introduced to Agatha in The Quiche of Death, where our leading lady has moved from London to a small village in the Cotswalds, having taken an early retirement from her successful PR firm. It's been a childhood dream of hers to enjoy a quiet country life but she's not fitting in as well as she thought she would.

Agatha decides to enter the local quiche contest, using a store bought pastry from out of town, as a means to making a good impression. That backfires as not only does her entry not win, it poisons one of the judges! Not wanting to reveal her cheating at the competition, Agatha decides to get to the bottom of the mystery before another deadly bite is taken.

The show is charming, with a nice bit of whimsy and potential romance, and with the first two books in the series, I will most likely have another cozy mystery author queuing up on my shelves to enjoy:

My blog posts might be light this month but I will pop in from time to time there. My thanks to Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading for another great readathon(will sign up in August and yes, I have a TBR all set for High Summer!) and a Happy July Fourth to all.

I do know that I read a lot of  mysteries(cozy and otherwise) but I have no plans to start any amateur sleuthing on my own, I promise! Some things are best left to the experts or to those delightful fictional folk who make all of that page turning a suspenseful sweet treat indeed:

Planning a ladies' night at the movies this summer

While we're in the big blockbuster movie season at the moment, it's a good idea to take a serious look around at the upcoming film schedule to see if there is anything on the cinematic horizon that's a bit more bookish and female focused.

At the very least, you might find a small treasure just waiting to be discovered or a merely a not on the major radar movie that needs a little extra attention to gain a sizeable audience. For example, a different take on Shakespeare's Hamlet is due out later this month entitled Ophelia, starring Daisy Ridley in the title role.

From being taken in as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Gertrude(Naomi Watts) to becoming the secret love interest of Prince Hamlet(George McKay) as the royal family deals with major upheavals,including betrayal of the most intimate kind, Ophelia has to rely on her own wits to find a safe passage for herself. However, such maneuvering often comes at a terrible price but will she be willing to pay that cost?

Based on the novel by Lisa Klein as well as the iconic play, this vision of Hamlet's Denmark could be an eye opener even for those who think they know this story inside and out. Perhaps a new set of eyes could make this tragic tale more poignant than ever before:

 Arriving in August, Vita & Virginia puts the spotlight on two main members of the famed Bloomsbury Group in England of the 1920s.

Vita Sackville-West (Gemma Arterton) is determined to befriend the reclusive writer Virginia Woolf(Elizabeth Debicki) in order to liven up her dreary social life but their connection turns out to become much deeper than that.

The growing affection between them is strong, with neither of their seemingly conventional marriages getting in the way, and eventually their bond becomes the inspiration for one of Woolf's most innovative works, Orlando.

Adapted from the stage play by Eileen Atkins(who used the actual correspondence of these remarkable women as source material), this movie may be a great introduction into the Bloomsbury mystique as well as inviting those devoted to this special circle of friends over for some engaging drama:

Also set for August but a little closer to modern times, The Kitchen stars Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish and Elizabeth Moss as a trio of wives living in Hell's Kitchen during the 1970s who share two things in common; their husbands are in prison and they're facing hard financial times.

Tired of scrapping by and barely making do with what little is given to them, the ladies decide to be their own mob bosses and surprise themselves by being more than just as good as the men. In fact, they're far better.

However, even these strong willed women have to deal with the aftermath of a life of crime but perhaps they can make it work on their own terms. This movie is based on a DC/Vertigo graphic novel by Ollie Masters and Ming Doyle that should be reissued in time for this movie to make it's mark on the big screen.  Why this is set for so late in the summer movie game, I don't know but it could be a savvy sleeper hit, we shall see:

Well, it's good to see some girl power on the silver screen this summer and not just in the fall in time for award show season. Although, we may get a bit of mega movie fun when back to school season starts that should be delightfully wicked indeed, particularly if you're fond of villainous leading ladies, which I so am!: