Tag: entertainment

Jen’s Movie Review: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

Loved it! Two thumbs up! High five! Gold star! Home run!

Mortal-Instruments-City-of-Bones-Movie-Logo-wide-560x282Okay, I wanted to make my opinion clear right off the bat, because I’ve been seeing a lot of negative reviews for The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, and I’m annoyed and frustrated by them. From a moviegoers standpoint, I thought City of Bones was entertaining, well paced and filled with plenty of eye candy (and I’m not just talking about Jamie Campbell Bower). And from a book nerd’s perspective, I felt the movie did a great job transporting Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter tale to the big screen. Even more impressively, it tempted me to go back and re-read the entire Mortal Instrument series.

MORTAL-INSTRUMENTS-GUIDE_612x380Before I go any further, let me say two things: 1) I’m not a die-hard fan of The Mortal Instruments. I enjoyed the books, but they’re not my favorite YA series out there. I much prefer Cassandra Clare’s prequel series, The Infernal Devices. And 2) I had very, very low expectations for this movie. In fact, before the the lights went down and the opening credits began rolling, I leaned over to my sister and said, “Don’t hold your breath. I think this is going to suck.”

But it didn’t. And I was SHOCKED!

-The-Mortal-Instruments-City-of-Bones-stills-shadowhunter-chronicles-34441022-2048-1365Overall, I thought the acting was superb, the plot nicely adapted and the casting near perfect. Lily Collins was beautiful, alluring and believable as Clary, and Jamie Campbell Bower was sexy, witty and, well, Jace (I’m not ashamed to admit that I totally have a goo-goo-gaga crush on him now). These two leads were wonderfully supported by Jemima West as Isabelle, Kevin Zegers as Alec, and Lena Headey as Jocelyn. And nobody could’ve played the role of Simon better than Robert Sheehan. He was funny, endearing and mundane-ishly heroic.

In my opinion, the only miscast was Godfrey Gao as Magnus Bane. Physically, he was great. Acting wise, he was stiff, dull and not at all flouncy, eccentric or magical like I imagined his character to be.

Luckily, he wasn’t in the film that much, so he didn’t ruin the whole thing for me.

As far as the actual adaption went, I thought it was well done. I know lovers of The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones are probably complaining about things that were changed, added or dropped. Personally, I was a little sad I didn’t get to see Jace’s demon flying motorcycle after the battle at Hotel Dumort. However, as a book fanatic, I’ve learned a hard lesson over the years: movies are not books. They don’t have the luxury of time to cover every single detail of a 485-page book. So as long as the adaptation captures the essence of the story, hits upon the major plot points and includes the main characters, I’m happy.

And City of Bones did all of those things.

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Now, is The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones the best movie ever? Uh, no. Will it rack up a bunch of Oscars in the spring? Nooo. BUT was it fun, engaging and witty like the books? Hell yes! In fact, my sister (clueless to most YA book series like this one, and quickly bored by movies in general) was leaning forward in her seat the whole time and constantly whispering questions at me (my favorite being, “Oh God, is Simon a demon?” Ha!). And when we walked out of the theater, she admitted she had a ridiculous crush on Jace. I believe her exact words were, “Ohhh, yeahhh.”

the-mortal-instrumentsYeah…I totally agree with her 😉

I truly hope City of Bones does well enough at the box office so that its sequel, City of Ashes, will be brought to life for fans too. And I really hope people don’t listen to all the negative reviews out there. Because. They. Are. WRONG!

Look, just remember when you walk into the theater with your candy and popcorn, this movie isn’t going to be exactly like the book. They never are. So get over it, sit down and enjoy it! I mean, seriously, if you can stomach the cheesy Twilight films and the nasty adaption of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, then The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is going to be like a slice of yummy, delicious, ooey gooey chocolate cake!

Jen’s Rating:

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Jen’s Top 10 YA Series

My sister is a high school teacher and she tends to sucker me into helping her chaperone field trips for her FBLA and DECA students. Well, during one of these field trips, I found myself in a conversation with two girls who loved to read, but had only read the big, popular, everyone-and-their-brother-has-read-these-books series. Like, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games and Twilight.

I tried not to show my horror and started recommending a few–well, a lot–of YA series that I thought they’d enjoy. When I hit the tenth series, I stopped and told them I’d give them a written list instead. Well, that list turned out to be ginormous too, so I told them to start at the top. Those were the big ones they HAD to read.

So, in a nutshell, here’s my Top Ten list of must-read YA series. Whether you’re a teen or an adult, you’re sure to enjoy them!

1. Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor8490112Bizarre, addicting and wonderful! I loved the author’s premise, wit and style. Really, it doesn’t even matter that I haven’t read the third and final book in the series, Dreams of Gods & Monsters (set to be published on April 1st, 2014). This is absolutely my favorite YA series! Karou’s blue hair and all!

2. The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare

7171637This prequel series to Clare’s Mortal Instruments shares the same fun, rip-roaring action and smart humor, but it feels richer and more endearing. By the last page, I was crying (and I’m not a crier) and wishing a thousand times it wasn’t over. I guess I’ll just have to re-read it someday!

Lately, rumors have been swirling around that this could make it to the silver screen. Fingers crossed!

3. Delirium by Lauren Oliver

11614718The concept alone for this series is a reason to pick it up. Love is a disease, deliria, and a cure has been created to eradicate it. But, not everyone wants to be cured and an uprising begins…Now, although the series had its up’s and down’s, overall, I found it to be intriguing and addicting. Plus, it nearly became a TV series, so it definitely has mass appeal. Check it out.

Oh, and I know I’m in the minority on this, but I’m totally Team Julian. Sorry, Alex!

4. Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

10756656A surprisingly enjoyable dystopian novel where the future meets the past. We’re transported from Aria’s underground world of technology and bliss, to up above, to Perry’s savage, poisoned reality “under the never sky”. The love-hate relationship between Aria and Perry is amusing and endearing to read, and has you cheering them on from beginning to end. Into the Still Blue, the third in the series, is set to be released on January 28th, 2014.

5. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

6050678Author of the well-known Uglies series, Westerfield takes readers on an around-the-world adventure with would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Prince Aleksander, and commoner girl-disguised-as-boy, Deryn Sharp. The story is exciting, sweet and completely entertaining. Trust me, you’ll be saying “barking spiders” for weeks!

6. Maze Runner by James Dashner

6186357It’s fun, it’s intriguing, and it leaves you wondering “what the heck is going to happen next?”. The Maze Runner is vaguely reminiscent of Lord of the Flies, but with a maze, a couple of girls, and oozing, creeping creatures that attack in the night! Oh, and there’s a tiny world-wide plague that gives people zombie-like symptoms. Make sure you read all three in the series before you see it in theaters February 14th, 2014!

7. Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

8591107When it comes to books, I tend to be one of those “judge a book by its cover” kind of gals. That’s how I came to pick up The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. I just loved, loved, loved the cover. And it was worth it! This haunting story makes you question the protagonist’s sanity the entire time and…well, I don’t want to spoil it for you, so I’ll just leave it at that. You can read the next book in the Mara Dyer series, The Retribution of Mara Dyer, on June 3rd, 2014.

8. Legend by Marie Lu

9275658Lu came up with the plot for Legend when she was watching Les Miserables on TV and thought a teenaged version of the criminal vs. detective storyline would be interesting. And she was right! Hopping back and forth between the two protagonists–June, the military prodigy, and Day, the country’s most wanted criminal–this dystopian tale will have you flipping to the next page again and again. Get the final book in the series, Champion, on November 5th, 2013!

9. Shades of London by Maureen Johnson

9802372A thriller that has you both scared and laughing throughout it. After a near-death experience, Rory Deveaux begins seeing ghosts, one in particular that has been wreaking havoc on London lately: Jack the Ripper. I loved the premise, the dialogue and, more than anything, the protagonist. Simply put, Rory was one of the most amusing character’s I’ve ever read. I can’t wait to read the next in the series, The Shadow Cabinet, set for a 2014 release.

10. Lux by Jennifer L. Armentrout

12578077This last one was a bit of a toss up. I almost went with Unearthly by Cynthia Hand, but I figured I’d already covered the angels genre with Daughter of Smoke & Bone. So, I’m using this final slot for a silly and frivolous book that was too entertaining to omit. It has aliens (dun, dun, dun!) and a sizzling hot boy. How can you beat that?

Counting down the days for the 4th book’s release. Origin will hit shelves on August 27th, 2013.

Now, I know some of you may be thinking, “uh, where’s Divergent? They’re making it into a movie, after all!”. Well, to be completely honest, I loved Divergent, but I was let down by its sequel, Insurgent. It’s difficult for me to say this because I genuinely enjoy Veronica Roth’s style and imagination.  Even so, I’m waiting to read Allegiant, the final book in the series due out October 22nd, before I decide my overall feelings for this particular YA series.

Be sure to check out Goodreads for full synopses and reviews of these and so, so, so many other wonderful YA series!

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