Play Reviews 4/5 Stars: Peter and the Star Catcher

November 28, 2019November 27, 2019 Julie Gilbert Fantasy, Young Adult Peter and Star Catcher, School Play

photo of playbill given out during the play.

Summary:

The story revolves around an orphan and a star catcher. It’s a prequel to Peter Pan that tries to explain the who’s who and what’s what before we met them in the original, classic tale.

Additional Comments:

As usual, the costumes and scenery were lovingly attended to.
Casting worked out very well too.
I don’t think it was billed as a musical, but there are quite a few songs in here.
It’s always fun to see how a prequel lines up with things in the known story.
The student actors poured their heart and soul into the production and it showed. I enjoy seeing them in action outside the classroom.
The microphones worked okay this year, though an upgrade to a better system would probably enhance the experience since it’s hard to follow if/when you miss a word here and there.
I work in a high school. It’s easy to support local plays. They’re usually affordable and worth seeing. I always appreciate that there’s a senior citizen performance of each play.

Conclusion:

If you get the chance to see a local play, take it. If you get to see Peter and the Star Catcher, bonus for you. It’s a decent play.

Note: Never Again isn’t an audio yet…it should be early 2020.

Associate links to follow…

Note: I’m starting to use a few ad sites for audiobooks, so codes are disappearing quickly.

Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything. That will change very soon.

New Release: The Shadow Council Series 1: Money Makes it Deadlier – An FBI agent gets caught up in a robbery gone wrong.

Shadow Council Book 2: Revenge Makes it Sweeter – A midnight summons calls FBI Special Agent Megan Luchek into a fight for a young girl’s life.

Shadow Council Book 3: Christmas Makes it Chaos – The FBI agent gets a strange ally in the quest to prevent chaos from rocking a lot of people’s holiday season.

Shadow Council Book 4: Treachery Makes it Tense – The agent and the assassin have to team up if they want to survive.

Shadow Council is also available as a ~13 hr bundle.

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.

4.5/5 stars One Size Fits None by Stephanie Anderson

November 25, 2019November 21, 2019 Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, Nonfiction Aven Shore, farming, nonfiction, regenerative farming, Stephanie Anderson

Subtitle: A Farm Girl’s Search for the Promise of Regenerative Agriculture

Narrated by Aven Shore

Unconventional Nonfiction Book

Summary:

The author walks the reader through 4-ish different examples of people who changed their outlook on farming. They found a way to restore some of the damage done by conventional farming. She also lays out how conventional farming actually hurts the environment. The book is a little preachy on the this is a whole community problem while being a little light on details of how. The point is that there is no one answer for each community.

Additional Comments:

– The performance is fine. I played the book back at 2.5 speed because it’s very long.

– While not a straight entertainment book, I going the tales of the farmers’ lives and hardships very interesting.

– I probably won’t be switching my eating habits over to organic. But if the opportunity came to get better conveniently, I might.

– The part I really enjoyed centered on the ecology of soil and farms.

– Much of the answer to healing the land lies in letting it return to natural courses. The guy who used cow herds to maintain the farm was awesome. Why doesn’t everybody who can work less and make more? The author’s answer is common sense… fear of change.

– She went on a rant at the end about farmers thinking they’re better but really no different than poor people on welfare. While I see what she’s saying, not sure that’s the note I would have ended on.

Conclusion:

A very informative and educational overview of the issues with conventional farming and 4 viable answers that it’s possible to change farming ideology and practices for the better.

Associate links to follow…

Note: I’m starting to use a few ad sites for audiobooks, so codes are disappearing quickly.

Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything. That will change very soon.

New Release: The Shadow Council Series 1: Money Makes it Deadlier – An FBI agent gets caught up in a robbery gone wrong.

Shadow Council Book 2: Revenge Makes it Sweeter – A midnight summons calls FBI Special Agent Megan Luchek into a fight for a young girl’s life.

Shadow Council Book 3: Christmas Makes it Chaos – The FBI agent gets a strange ally in the quest to prevent chaos from rocking a lot of people’s holiday season.

Shadow Council Book 4: Treachery Makes it Tense – The agent and the assassin have to team up if they want to survive.

Shadow Council is also available as a ~13 hr bundle.

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.

5/5 Stars: Frozen 2 (is Fantastic)

November 22, 2019November 21, 2019 Julie Gilbert children's, Family, Fantasy, Movie Reviews disney, Frozen, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Kristen Bell

I can only assume a standard promo pic…captures the main characters well.

Starring: Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff

Summary:

Picking up where Frozen left us, Arendelle is peaceful and happy. Then, Queen Elsa starts hearing a voice calling to her and feels compelled to investigate. Mysterious forces drive the people out of the city after Elsa inadvertently awakens something powerful. Her sister, Anna won’t let her run off alone, so Kristoff, Sven (the Reindeer), and Olaf (the comic relief snowman) get caught up in the adventure as well.

Additional Comments:

Songs 4/5 Stars: Some of the songs are wonderful. Some are kind of just there because it’s a musical, so pretty much every emotion needs a song.
Plot 4.5/5 Stars: It’s super predictable, yet it works.
Comic Relief 5/5 Stars: Spoiler section with specifics after ads.
The heartfelt moments between the sisters works.
There’s a lot in here to love for everybody.
The performances and animation are high quality.
The tie-in to the first movie is far from subtle, but it’s also not overbearing.

Conclusion:

Find an excuse to go see this movie. You don’t need to have seen the first recently to enjoy it, but it would help if you’ve seen it once upon a time. Not sure if the big screen experience is better than it would be from the comforts of home, but I suspect a lot of people will be doing both (seeing now and buying a dvd/ bluray later…or waiting for Disney + to have it).

Associate links to follow…

Note: I’m starting to use a few ad sites for audiobooks, so codes are disappearing quickly.

Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything. That will change very soon.

New Release: The Shadow Council Series 1: Money Makes it Deadlier – An FBI agent gets caught up in a robbery gone wrong.

Shadow Council Book 2: Revenge Makes it Sweeter – A midnight summons calls FBI Special Agent Megan Luchek into a fight for a young girl’s life.

Shadow Council Book 3: Christmas Makes it Chaos – The FBI agent gets a strange ally in the quest to prevent chaos from rocking a lot of people’s holiday season.

Shadow Council Book 4: Treachery Makes it Tense – The agent and the assassin have to team up if they want to survive.

Shadow Council is also available as a ~13 hr bundle.

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.

Spoiler Section:

Humor is spot on.
Highlights: Olaf telling stories. Oh my goodness, he’s deliciously terrible at it. The experience is like watching a five-year-old who has to pee tell a tale.
Curse Disney and their need to make something so freaking cute in every movie. This time, the award for cutest thing, probably will have to buy as a plushie, is the Fire Spirit. The thing didn’t even had any lines but literally and figuratively lit up the screen every time it showed it’s tiny, adorable salamander like face.
The beginning scene with Anna and Elsa as kids listening to their father tell a story was awesome. Young Anna carries the same essence as her future self. She’s also adorable.
Even Kristoff’s bungling of the proposal until the end is predictable but still works out well.
Elsa’s fight with the water spirit was pretty sweet.
It follows classic storytelling arcs, including some pretty dark points.

4/5 Stars Charlie’s Angels 2019

November 20, 2019November 17, 2019 Julie Gilbert Action Adventure, Movie Reviews, thriller Elizabeth Banks, Ella Balinska, Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott

Standard promo pic I grabbed off Google.

Directed by Elizabeth Banks.

Starring: Ella Balinska, Kristen Stewart, and Naomi Scott

Summary:

Standard girl-power sort of action flick. Premise is that the next high-tech gadget ready to light up the world has a flaw, meaning it could be turned into a weapon. Contrary to many action flicks, I don’t think it’s the blow-up-the-world type. It’s more of a perfect-assassin’s-tool.

Additional Comments:

– 95% of the soundtrack is pop-esque. I appreciated the fact that occasionally the music matched the country. It might have done so more often and I just didn’t catch it. Haven’t downloaded it yet, but I got a code from an AMC promo. I enjoyed most of the music.

– I liked that they attempted some interesting twists.

– Pretty sure it involved some cursing, but it didn’t rely on hard language to carry a non-existent plot, which I appreciated.

– Aside: I did not remember Scott was also Princess Jasmine in the latest Disney money grab reboot of one of its classic animated movies.

– Plot 3.5/5: I’m pretty sure it’s on par with most action movies. Lots of sleek tech, people trying to kill the heroines, fighting, etc. Strangely, all the globetrotting slowed the movie down.

– Characters 4/5: The trio of leading ladies works with the stereotypes. You have a tough girl (Jane Kano played by Ella Balinska), the maverick (Sabina Wilson played by Kristen Stewart), and the newbie (Elena Houghlin played by Naomi Scott). Incidentally, there is decent character development which I appreciate. Also, Kristen Stewart successfully rocks the short hair look as Sabina.

– A few scenes probably could have been safely cut, but it’s still entertaining overall.

– The movie has a strong, over-the-top, feminist message that sort of backfires. It might have been a better show if it had a good balance of characters.

– Passes the Entertain-me test.

Conclusion:

Not bad for a reboot. It’s a fun movie to see in theaters with the larger-than-life screens. Most action movies miss something when they’re played back on a itty-bitty phone screen. A home theater system might suffice. Charlie’s Angels is worth seeing once on a big screen and maybe once later on Netflix or TV.

Associate links to follow…

Note: I’m starting to use a few ad sites for audiobooks, so codes are disappearing quickly.

Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything. That will change very soon.

New Release: The Shadow Council Series 1: Money Makes it Deadlier – An FBI agent gets caught up in a robbery gone wrong.

Shadow Council Book 2: Revenge Makes it Sweeter – A midnight summons calls FBI Special Agent Megan Luchek into a fight for a young girl’s life.

Shadow Council Book 3: Christmas Makes it Chaos – The FBI agent gets a strange ally in the quest to prevent chaos from rocking a lot of people’s holiday season.

Shadow Council Book 4: Treachery Makes it Tense – The agent and the assassin have to team up if they want to survive.

Shadow Council is also available as a ~13 hr bundle.

The Collins Case – 2 FBI agents track down a kidnapped family. Kid friendly.

If fantasy’s more your thing, go Redeemer Chronicles. The first, Awakening, is available as an audiobook.

Ashlynn’s Dreams Shorts – a kid deals with her parents’ divorce, bullies, and the wonder of discovery.

Try The Dark Side of Science – Genetically altered kids fight for the right to live.

Beyond Broken Pencils – Contemporary literary tale of a school shooting. Ian unleashes his inner demons on his classmates and teachers…

Scratched Off – FBI agent vs a serial killer. When Sam Kerman sets out to hunt a serial killer, he has no idea how personal the case will become.

Choices Stories Review 4/5 Stars: Red Carpet Diaries Book 1

November 17, 2019October 23, 2019 Julie Gilbert Choices Stories, drama, romance Choices Stories, red carpet diaries series

*Spoilers possible in discussion

Summary:

Your character, a lovely young lady you get to name and choose a face for, ends up in LA looking to land a dream job as an actress. It happens. Your best friend becomes your agent. He’s a low-level cog in a big organization. His boss is a big jerk.

Additional Comments:

You land a role in a movie with a certifiably nuts director.
Teja’s the assistant director. The MC likes her. Even the crazy dude likes your character enough to change his movie to give you a bigger role.
Seth’s a neighbor. He’s hot. He’s also a budding comedian. So is Gloria, a former actress. She’s weird but charming.
Matt Rodriguez is your co-star. He’s trying to expand from mindless action movies into more demanding drama roles.
Come to think of it, this book has a relatively low number of love interests/side characters. I guess they usually go with 3-4, so I’m guessing that’s standard. Not sure why it seems small this round.
They find a way to bring the main character through quite an emotional ringer.
It’s reminiscent of Rules of Engagement, America’s Most Eligible, and Royal Romance.
I almost went with the default name (Jessica). The variant, Jessie, fit the character face I’d chosen very well.

Conclusion:

I was pleasantly surprised in how much I enjoyed this story. There are no guns drawn or zombies coming out of the woodwork, but there’s a lot of drama.

Associate links to follow…

Available Audiobooks: I have free codes for almost everything.

New Release: The Shadow Council Series 1: Money Makes it Deadlier – An FBI agent gets caught up in a robbery gone wrong.