fantasy

When Disney Movies Go Terribly, Horribly Wrong

I watched Babes in Toyland once growing up, and I’ve had it in my head for a long time under the “good movies I’d like to watch again sometime.” Netflix added it to the collection a few weeks ago, and I so I sat down last night to watch it with the kiddos. Oh. My. Golly. It starts off light and fun enough. Fairy tale people having fairy tale problems. Annette Funicello is always a plus, and the songs weren’t too bad. About what I expected from a movie I’d watched once as a kid and remembered being good. The

Book Review: The Rithmatist

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson My rating: 5 of 5 stars At this point, sometimes I wonder why I write reviews of Brandon Sanderson’s books. I’ve loved them all, and so it seems at times like I’m just continually beating that “this was awesome” drum. But you know what? I like drums, and when you find an awesome one, why *wouldn’t* you want to keep beating it? This is Brandon’s version of a school book, sort of on the vein of Harry Potter, but with the typical Sanderson flair for magic systems. The Rithmatist takes place in a world where

Book Review: The Black Prism

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks My rating: 5 of 5 stars I don’t read as many books at the moment as I’d like to. It’s more than I used to before I got my Kindle PaperWhite, but it’s still not as many as I’d prefer. (How many books? I’m right around 2-3 a month at the moment. I’d like to be at 1 a week or so.) In any case, I try to make the books I *do* read “count.” I don’t want to blow my reading time on something I won’t enjoy. Thus, I will often put a

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Review

When you’ve got a movie title like How to Train Your Dragon 2, you’ve automatically lowered everyone’s expectations. Not that I didn’t like the first one, but simple “add a number at the end of the title” sequels aren’t exactly known for their finesse and light touch. Typically, that number translates into “the first one made us a bunch of money, so here’s another. More please?” Real sequels get their own name. The Dark Knight. The Empire Strikes Back. The Godfather Part II. (Oh. Wait . . . ) So when I read the good reviews of the film, I kept my

X Men: Days of Future Past Review

Sometimes you just have to go to the movies. Sit in a theater, relax, and forget your worries for a bit. I did that a few days ago, heading to the theater by my lonesome to check out the latest X Men movie. I’d heard good things, and MC isn’t yet at the age where we’re comfortable having baby sitters in charge, so Denisa and I have been missing out on the movie scene. This was one I didn’t want to miss, so off I went. I’ve seen many of the X Men movies. I didn’t see the third one,