adventure

Audiobook Reviews 3/5 Stars: A Turtle’s Magical Adventure by Wanda Luthman

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, children's , , ,

3/5 stars A Turtle’s Magical Adventure by Wanda Luthman

Summary:

Tad the Turtle’s journey to accept himself.

Additional Comments:

– The book contained some interesting world-building (like the wizard’s seeming absolute rule over the forest), but there wasn’t enough details to really make anything stick.
– I realize it’s a children’s book, but the turtle made quite a few nonsensical, extraordinarily stupid moves based on bad advice that it became painful to listen to.
– Things work out in the end.
– There’s very little sense of flow. He’s at school then he’s talking to neighbors then he’s wandering away to go get some stranger to magically improve his life. Where the heck are his parents?
– moral lesson – accept yourself as is, you are wonderful.

Conclusion:

I will absolutely be the first to admit I am not in the target audience, so if you have very small children and they have very good headphones it’s probably a great gift for them.

Associate links to follow…

Amazon Prime

 

 

Audible – If you’d like some free codes, please email me at [email protected] with requests for any of my works.


Movie Review: 4/5 Stars Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales – Surprisingly Good

Julie Gilbert Movie Reviews , , , ,

Introduction:

The fifth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Men Tell No Tales, follows in same footsteps as the first few. It’s weird. It’s loud. It’s got a gorgeous soundtrack. They were never the “serious” tales. Overall, I enjoyed this one much more than 2-4. It suffers from being a sequel, but that’s to be expected. As a story, it has quite a few “convenient” moments, but it’s pretty standard fare action/adventure/humor with quite a bit of Disney’s touch upon the tale.

I’ll try to keep this relatively spoiler free. No promises though.

Additional Comments:

  • Casting worked out very well. I thought the guy who played Captain Sullivan would annoy me because his voice is super annoying in the trailer. It’s the same voice in the movie but thankfully, his speaking parts are limited and most of the time he’s just stomping about shouting. The young man they got to play Henry Turner and the young woman they got to play, Carina (sorry, dunno if it’s supposed to be K or C), did nice jobs with their roles. Depp is his usual oddball self as Captain Jack Sparrow.
  • The opening scene in St. Martin sets the tone for what you’re going to get. It’s pretty funny among other things.
  • There’s no real sense of danger for our heroes and heroine during any of the times they’re on the land. You know they’re going to escape. It’s just a matter of how.
  • The banter between Henry and Carina is not always funny, but they do innocent charm decently well.
  • Although I think this movie’s world’s better than 2-4, it also makes more sense if you’ve seen them, especially the 2nd movie.

Conclusion:

I don’t think it’s a see-8-times in theaters movie, but it’s certainly well-worth watching. I was entertained. I’ll probably end up buying the soundtrack. As usual, it’s a beautiful score that mixes the old and the new. Not bad for something inspired by a ride at Disney World.