Movie Review: Justice League: The New Frontier

June 30, 2009June 30, 2009 Heidi Leave a comment

Buy Justice League – The New Frontier (Two-Disc Special Edition) on Amazon.

Hal Jordan is shot down in his plane, even though it’s just been announced that the Korean War is over. He is forced to shoot an enemy soldier in self defense and ends up in a hospital because of the trauma. His time in the hospital makes it difficult for him to find a position as a pilot in the future.

The Martian Manhunter has been accidentally transported to earth by a curious scientist. The scientist has a heart attack and Martian Manhunter takes on his persona, since he can’t return to Mars. He takes to learning about the human race by interacting and watching television.

Superman and Wonder Woman argue over justice and if superheroes should be allowed to distribute it. The Justice Society has disbanded and Batman is a fugitive. The government is distrusting of the heroes.

This is the set up for a full length animated movie about how the Justice League comes to be. The movie includes an all star cast. David Boreanaz as Hal Jordan, Miguel Ferrer as J’onn J’onzz, Lucy Lawless as Wonder Woman, Kyle MacLachlan as Superman, Kyra Sedgwick as Lois Lane, and Neil Patrick Harris as The Flash.

A Cult surrounding a mysterious being called the Centre is showing up in the lives of several of the heroes. Batman and J’onzz team up to investigate the Centre, until J’onzz decides to try and leave the planet. He finds out about Hal Jordan’s mission to Mars and tries to hitch a ride. He doesn’t feel at home one Earth with all the hatred and conformity. He misses his chance and is captured instead.

The Flash decides to quite the hero business, since no one seems to want them anyway. He doesn’t want to put his loved ones at risk.

Hal Jordan’s Mars mission fails and he’s rescued by Superman. Abin Sur, the Green Lantern of Sector 2814, is fatally injured and leaves Hal his ring and information about the Centre, who is a monstrous creature that fears humans and wants to rid the planet of them. Hal must now work to stop the Centre, as the new Green Lantern.

The Centre attacks and the heroes come together to fight it. After a rousing speech about trusting each other as human beings Superman goes to fight the Centre, but is defeated. Thinking Superman is dead Hal Jordan, Batman, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, and even the Green Arrow come up with a plan to defeat the Centre.

The New Frontier explores themes of teamwork, paranoia, freedom, trust, and justice. It has origins for Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter and some deeper insight into Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Flash. It successfully focuses on more than one superhero with development for all of them. It would be great to see a live action Justice League movie as well done as this.

Favorite quote: Batman to the Martian Manhunter- “I have a $70,000 sliver of radioactive meteor to stop the one in Metropolis. With you, all I need is a penny for a book of matches.”

Book Review: Around the World in 80 Dates

June 22, 2009June 22, 2009 Tabz Leave a comment

Buy Around the World in 80 Dates (Sydney Alexander Series, Book 1) on Amazon || Buy from NavPress.com

I’ll freely admit it. I was skeptical about this book. Recently I signed up for NavPress’ blogger review program and was checking out the books they had available for review and I thought, “a Christian chick-lit book? That must be awful.”

Now, you must understand something. I’ve been in the Christian culture since I was prenatal. I know how ridiculous items made in our culture can get (*coughLeftBehindFilmscough*). Though, do not go ragging on the Left Behind books since my uncle went to college with Jerry B. Jenkins at my alma mater.

But I digress.

Despite my reservations, I decided to give Around the World in 80 Dates a try. After all, the cover looked compelling and, as a Christian single girl, I felt I needed some feel-good chick-lit. If nothing else, I’d have something serious to say in my review about the lack of realism in Christian fiction.

Boy was I wrong. I picked the book up and two days later had the entire thing read (I would have had it done sooner, but I have a friend visiting). It’s been a long time since I consumed a book like I did Around the World in 80 Dates.

Book Review: God’s Little Princess Devotional Bible

June 21, 2009June 21, 2009 Tabz Leave a comment

Buy God’s Little Princess Devotional Bible: Bible Storybook on Amazon

What little girl doesn’t love being a princess? If your child enjoys the stories of Cinderella and Snow White, this is the devotional for her. Written with ages 4-7 in mind Shelia Walsh brings Bible stories to life — highlighting women of faith, virtue and character from the Bible and letting girls know that their worth is not in how they look on the outside, but who they are on the inside.

But there’s more than just Bible stories retold in ways that a child can understand. Shelia weaves in activities, songs, tiny skits and ethical lessons as the book progresses. Since kids learn best through using all of their senses, this is a huge plus for this book. I’ve read other devotionals aimed for kids and (to be honest) they were pretty bland. Especially for kids who grow up in a Christian home and know all of the stories by heart, but not so with Shelia’s delightful book.

My favorite part is the design. From the front cover (which features sparkly jewels for the tiara and glitter for the small heart and the word Bible) to the inside where each page is gorgeous decorated and colored with cute graphics and girl-friendly colors. This makes the book playful and fun to read.

Comic-Con Collector’s Book Available for Pre-Sale

June 20, 2009June 20, 2009 Tabz Leave a comment

A new hardbound collector’s book entitled Comic-Con: 40 Years of Artists, Writers, Fans and Friends is now available for pre-sale.

The massive 208-page, 9X12 full-color book features over 620 images from the 40-year history of Comic-Con. Most of the art has not been seen since its initial publication in Comic-Con’s program and souvenir books, and the majority of the photos have never been seen outside of the Comic-Con archives. And sprinkled throughout the book are quotes and observations from leading professionals in comics, movies, and television, commenting on their own experiences at the show.

The whole package is capped off with an amazing new full-color wraparound cover by one of Comic-Con’s favorite special guests: Sergio Aragones. Masterfully colored by Tom Luth!

Advance sale books are $31.99 and includes CA Sales tax, but are only available to those attending Comic-Con 2009 and must be picked up on site during the convention. Unfortunately at this time Comic-Con cannot ship the book. All orders for pick up must be received by Monday, July 13, 2009.

Books will also be for sale at Comic-Con (provided books are still available) for the cover price of $40.00 + CA Sales tax.

Complete information on how to order and where to pick up the Book at Comic-Con is available at http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_40th_book.php.

Comic-Con: 40 Years of Artists, Writers, Fans, and Friends was produced by Comic-Con and designed and published by Chronicle Books of San Francisco, one of the world’s leading publishers of pop culture and art and photography books.

Book Review: The Dresden Files #4 – Summer Knight

June 18, 2009June 18, 2009 AthenaMuze Leave a comment

Buy Summer Knight: A Novel of the Dresden Files on Amazon || Buy Summer Knight Audio Book on Amazon || Watch the Dresden Files on Hulu

The fantastic thing about the summertime is that there is ample opportunity to read. Whether you are sitting around by the pool on a sunny day or snuggled at home watching the rainstorms, it’s a great time to catch up on all those books you’ve been meaning to read but just didn’t get around to. For anyone who is actually looking for something to read, I’d like to recommend an amazing and interesting series called the Dresden Files.

10 Reasons Why You Should Buy J.C. Hutchin’s Personal Effects: Dark Art

June 9, 2009June 9, 2009 Tabz 1 Comment

BUY Personal Effects: Dark Art NOW.

My good friend, podcasting and social media innovator and cheery ball of sunshine – J.C. Hutchins has just launched his latest psychological thriller/awesome novel – Personal Effects: Dark Art. Now, if you haven’t already heard J.C. Hutchins’ amazing podcast novel trilogy – 7th Son and have been living under a rock the past couple years, you may not know why YOU MUST BUY THIS BOOK. So I, as one of those people you can trust to tell you why you should always make the right decision (like switching from your PC to a Mac), will give you the top ten reasons you should buy Personal Effects: Dark Art.

#10. J.C. Hutchins loves baby bunnies.

Despite the nail-biting, page turning, grip you by the throat and drag you off into the darkest parts of the human mind story that IS Personal Effects: Dark Art, J.C. Hutchins is a lovable, fluffy, sweet soul of a man who gives freely of his time, energy and creative spirit. Even though his characters may do terrible, horrible, unspeakable things – J.C. Hutchins is a man who bathes daily in the sweet aroma of life itself. He tried being evil once, but then he was awesome instead. True story.

Book Review: The Demon’s Lexicon

June 9, 2009June 9, 2009 Laura E-D Leave a comment

Buy The Demon’s Lexicon on Amazon or for Kindle

This is a review of The Demon’s Lexicon, the first book in a trilogy of urban fantasy novels from debut author Sarah Rees Brennan.

I first encountered Sarah Rees Brennan on her blog, which is located on LiveJournal under username “sarahtales” (one word, no underscore). This blog is an absolute must-read. It’s a collection of hilarious stories from Sarah’s day-to-day life, as well as book reviews and movie parodies. Back when Sarah was better known as Maya, a prolific Harry Potter fan fiction writer, this was where all of her stories were posted. Sadly, in an unusually cruel cyberattack, all of Sarah’s blog was deleted one week prior to the release of The Demon’s Lexicon on June 2, along with all of her personal and business emails. It is a testament to the respect and love Sarah has earned as a blogger that within a day of the attack, several of her loyal readers had managed to recover seven years’ worth of posts from Google’s cache, and Sarah’s blog has mostly been restored to its former glory.