This is Where I Leave You (2014)

This is Where I Leave You

This is Where I Leave You (2014)

Director:

Shawn Levy

Starring:

Jason Bateman

Tina Fey

Jane Fonda

Adam Driver

Rose Byrne

Corey Stoll

Kathryn Hahn

Plot:

When their father passes away, four grown siblings are forced to return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a week, along with their over-sharing mother and an assortment of spouses, exes and might-have-beens.

Review:

I was a little afraid that I was going to hate this movie, but the trailer was funny enough that I decided to give it a try. The problem I have with dark comedies is when they become hopeless lets all commit suicide comedies. Thankfully this movie was not that way.

There were plenty of thoughtful moments, and each of the actors had their chance to be sad and unfunny, but it was an ensemble cast of comedians and, thank god, they were also funny.

I laughed out loud a few times, I cried, and I got a vague, kind of happy, who knows, ending. This is what I look for, and enjoy, with dark comedies. None of that August: Osage County bullshit.

The family was messed up, none of them were perfect, they fought, they didn’t necessarily enjoy being around one another, but they loved each other. They weren’t fucked up individuals with no redeeming qualities (August: Osage County really screwed me up apparently).

3.75/5

Trinkets, Treasures, and Other Bloody Magic (The Dowser #2) By: Meghan Ciana Doidge

Trinkets Treasures and other Bloody Magic

Trinkets, Treasures, and Other Bloody Magic (The Dowser #2) By: Meghan Ciana Doidge

Plot:

Three months ago, I lost my foster sister, Sienna, to the darkness. As in blood magic and chaos and general mayhem. No one saw it until it was too late, but I should have. Now, I have a wounded heart and soul that I can’t even reveal to anyone around me, because I’m supposed to hate Sienna with the fiery passion of the justified. And I do. I just wish I didn’t feel so lost without her, so unsure of the path I thought I had carved for myself, and so outclassed by the powerful Adepts constantly by my side these days. I’m not even sure if they’re with me for my own protection or because my shiny new powers are rare and valuable. Assuming I ever figure out who or what I am, and how my magic actually works.
Even chocolate can’t save the day every time … just most of the time. At least I’ve got that going for me.

Review:

I’m not sure why I thought the first book was supposed to be a cozy mystery because this series is very clearly an urban fantasy now. Maybe it was the book cover? Not sure.

Anyway, there was a lot of world building in this book, and some of it seemed to really be channeling Ilona Andrews Kate Daniels series. Jade now sort of has a thing for the “beast lord” even though I don’t remember that in the first book. I thought she was afraid of him. Jade is nothing like Kate, though, so that’s pretty much where the similarities end.

Jade is still more willing to let others tell her what to do and not as eager to learn about her new world as I would like her, but she does seem to be giving it some sort of attempt. Her mother played a larger part in this book and I really enjoyed that relationship a lot. It wasn’t toxic and Jade started to really understand why her mother let her grandmother raise her.

The ending was great and leaves a lot up in the air. You finally find out what the other half of Jade’s heritage is and it opens up a whole new world in this universe. I’m excited to read the next installment.

4/5

The Skeleton Twins (2014)

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The Skeleton Twins (2014)

Director:

Craig Johnson

Starring:

Kristen Wiig

Bill Hader

Luke Wilson

Plot:

Having both coincidentally cheated death on the same day, estranged twins reunite with the possibility of mending their relationship.

Review:

I don’t know why I try and watch these movies. I knew going in it was going to be one of those depressing “real life” indie movies, but I wanted to watch it anyway. Some review somewhere said it had a lot of dark comedy and that’s all it took.

It was by no means as horrible as August: Osage County, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. There were funny moments and it was definitely a darker humor, but they were minor blips in a film about suicidal twins with self-destructive tendencies.

It wasn’t my kind of movie but it wasn’t a bad one. It ended on a hopeful note which was nice. Everything had burned down around them, basically, but they were finally learning some coping skills.

3/5

CSI: Cyber (2015-?)

csi-cyber

CSI: Cyber (2015-?)

Network:

CBS

Starring:

Peter MacNicol

Patricia Arquette

Charley Koontz

Hayley Kiyoko

James Van Der Beek

Plot:

Special agent Avery Ryan works to solve crimes as a CyberPsychologist for the FBI.

Review:

Not sure why but I’m not a fan of Patricia Arquette, that’s ok though because I like James Van Der Beek so they cancel each other out.

Just starting the show and I’m already annoyed by the zoom they’re doing. They went really heavy handed with over dramatizing things and know almost nothing about “cyber” stuff.

It’s been a while since I’ve watched a CSI but I’m glad to see they still have the characters say stuff all dramatically and then cut to commercial.

All in all not a fan. The lengths they’ve had to go to make sitting at a computer look cool is too far for me.

2/5

Thank god James Van Der Beek saves the day.

Cupcakes, Trinkets, and other Deadly Magic (Dowser #1) By: Meghan Ciana Doidge

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Cupcakes, Trinkets, and other Deadly Magic (Dowser #1) By: Meghan Ciana Doidge

Plot:

If you’d asked me a week ago, I would have told you that the best cupcakes were dark chocolate with chocolate cream cheese icing, that dancing in a crowd of magic wielders — the Adept — was better than sex, and that my life was peaceful and uneventful. Just the way I liked it. That’s what twenty-three years in the magical backwater of Vancouver will get you — a completely skewed sense of reality. Because when the dead werewolves started showing up, it all unraveled … except for the cupcake part. That’s a universal truth.

Review:

So looking at this cover and reading the blurb I was excited at the prospect of reading a supernatural cozy mystery. After finishing it I’m not sure if I would still classify it as a cozy. It had some cozy elements, like dead bodies and a normal civilian being dragged into things, but it was much more a Supernatural book than a cozy. I didn’t have a problem with that, though.

Jade wasn’t quiet curious enough, for my tastes. She just seemed to accept what she’d always been told and never tried to figure stuff out for herself. Which is an okay trait for a young adult to have but when you’re older you really should start thinking for yourself. By the end she was a little better, but I’m not sure if it’s a quality that will continue through the rest of the books. I hope it does.

I figured out who the bad guy was fairly quickly, or who I hoped the bad guy was, and I was right. There will probably be backlash in the following books from what happened and it looks like there will be a love triangle in the future as well.

The world created was very interesting and Doidge seems to have the rules of magic nailed down so that’s a positive for her. Though Jade is just starting to figure things out so we’ll see if things change. I thought the Vancouver setting was nice and different and there were mentions of Australia so maybe we’ll go there in upcoming books.

All and all I really liked this series and I’ll be looking up the next one as soon as I’m finished here.

4.5/5