Saturday, April 2, 2016

Stacking the Shelves - 4.2.16

Stacking the Shelves
hosted by Tynga's Reviews (details)

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

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Freebie: for kindle

Saven Deception
by Siobhan Davis
-SciFi, YA
Amazon | Goodreads

=====> From Stacking Shelves post by Brmaycock's Book Blog (here).

The Crown and the Arrow:
A Wrath & the Dawn Short Story
by Renée Ahdieh
-New Adult, Romance
Amazon | Goodreads

For Review:

Steampunk Soldiers
Uniforms and Weapons
by Philip Smith and Joseph A. McCullough
Illustrated by: Mark Stacey
-Art, Steampunk
courtesy of publisher -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads

Steampunk Soldiers
The American Frontier
by Philip Smith and Joseph A. McCullough
Illustrated by: Mark Stacey
-Art, Steampunk
courtesy of publisher -Thanks!
Release date: May 24, 2016
Amazon | Publisher

UNBOXING:

From Owlcrate package (details & signup):
OwlCrate is a subscription service that sends you magical monthly boxes tailored to a chosen theme. Each OwlCrate will contain one new Young Adult novel, as well as 3-5 other bookish treats to help you get your nerd on. @owlcrate


MARCH Box includes:
- The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
- Note from author, Jeff Zentner
- 642 Tiny Things to Write About from Chronicle Books
- Custom pack of pins from Bookworm Boutique
- Banned Books Socks from Out of Print
- Quill pen from Kikkerland

The Serpent King
by Jeff Zenter
-YA
Amazon | Goodreads

Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life—at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father’s extreme faith and very public fall from grace.

He and his fellow outcast friends must try to make it through their senior year of high school without letting the small-town culture destroy their creative spirits and sense of self. Graduation will lead to new beginnings for Lydia, whose edgy fashion blog is her ticket out of their rural Tennessee town. And Travis is content where he is thanks to his obsession with an epic book series and the fangirl turning his reality into real-life fantasy.

Their diverging paths could mean the end of their friendship. But not before Dill confronts his dark legacy to attempt to find a way into the light of a future worth living.



AND watched: in theatre

Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015)
Director/Writer: Chloé Zhao
Starring: Irene Bedard, Dakota Brown, Cat Clifford
-Drama | imdb | my rating: 5

With an older brother in jail and living with their single mother on Pine Ridge Reservation, Johnny and his sister Jashuan's lives develop new challenges when their absentee cowboy father suddenly dies. The loss prompts Johnny to strike out for Los Angeles, but would mean leaving behind his beloved sister.

=====> Loved getting a peek into the American Indian reservation world with beautiful cinematography of the landscape.

The director was in the theatre for Q&A - Thanks! The interesting thing revealed is that the movie was made based on all the film footage and very basic storyline (similar to Kar-Wai Wong's filming style). So, in some ways this fiction film felt like a documentary.

The Dark Horse (2014)
Director/Writer: James Napier Robertson
Starring: Cliff Curtis, James Rolleston, Kirk Torrance
-Drama, New Zealand | imdb | my rating: 5

An emotionally charged and inspiring drama about a man who searches for the courage to lead, despite his own adversities - finding purpose and hope in passing on his gift to the children in his community.

=====> Interesting peek into living in New Zealand. Loved the references to chess and how it affected the lives of the community.

AND watched: on Netflix

Tangerine (2015)
Director: Sean Baker
Writers: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch
Starring: Kitana Kiki Rodriguez, Mya Taylor
-Comedy, Drama | imdb | my rating: 5

A working girl tears through Tinseltown on Christmas Eve searching for the pimp who broke her heart.

=====> Filmed using an Apple iPhone. <-- that was the draw to watch this film. Surprisingly, the story was just as amazing as the film format. What a life the two main characters lead. What a life!





The Wolfpack (2015)
Director: Crystal Moselle
Starring: Bhagavan Angulo, Govinda Angulo, Jagadisa Angulo
-Biography, Documentary | imdb | my rating: 5

Locked away from society in an apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Angulo brothers learn about the outside world through the films that they watch. Nicknamed, 'The Wolfpack,' the brothers spend their childhood reenacting their favorite films using elaborate homemade props and costumes. Their world is shaken up when one of the brothers decides to revisit the outside world and everything changes.

=====> Loved the mini-films these boys created while living in the state they were in. There is something to be said about escapism and creativity. Of course while watching this film you wonder, how in the world could something like this happen in America?

AND watched: on Drama Fever

Miss Granny (2014)
Su-sang-han geu-nyeo (original title)
Director and Adaptation: Dong-hyuk Hwang
Writers: Dong-ik Shin, Yoon-jeong Hong, Hee-seon Dong
Starring: Eun-kyung Shim, Mun-hee Na, In-hwan Park
-Comedy, Fantasy, Music, Korean | imdb | my rating: 5

A 74-year-old widow realizes she is becoming a burden on her family. She mysteriously regains her physical appearance from the age of 20.

=====> I haven't been able to sit and binge watch South Korean drama, so I tried a movie. Loved it! This one had a nice blend of fantasy, music and fun moments.

AND watched: on DVD

The Maze Runner (2014)
Director: Wes Ball
Screenplay: Noah Oppenheim, Grant Pierce Myers, T.S. Nowlin
Based on book by: James Dashner
Starring: Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Ki Hong Lee, Thomas Brodie-Sangster
-Action, Mystery, SciFi | imdb | my rating: 5

Thomas is deposited in a community of boys after his memory is erased, soon learning they're all trapped in a maze that will require him to join forces with fellow "runners" for a shot at escape.

=====> I thought watching this would be a good and quick way to catch up with this series as I have not been able to get around to reading it.

Loved this dystopia story. The cliffhanger ending sure got me hooked. And now, I will go backwards and start reading the book series before the third film installment is released in 2017.

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