family

Movie Reviews 4/5 Stars: Instant Family

Julie Gilbert comedy, contemporary, Family, Movie Reviews , , , , ,

*Spoiler Section After Ads

Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Margo Martindale (I love her), Isabela Moner, Tig Notaro, Olivia Spencer (Love her too), and many more

4/5 Surprisingly Touching Family Story

Summary:

A husband and wife consider adopting through the foster system because they want to shake up the monotony of their lives. They take an 8-week course and go to a fair where they can meet and greet some of the kids in the foster system. They talk themselves into and out of the situation several times, but finally, doubts from their family pushes them to take the leap. They’re interested in a teenager who just happens to come with two younger siblings.

Additional Comments:

  • I’m not a huge Mark Wahlberg fan because a lot of them are truly ridiculous, but this one turned out fine.
  • The trailer made the movie seem like it would be funnier than it was.
  • Like anything truly to do with family, this movie took turns being charming, frustrating, amusing, and heartwarming.
  • It’s not an easy road to walk. Kids from troubled homes have all the normal kid problems plus a few dozen more unique to those in the system.
  • Characters: I don’t remember much about the kids’ names, except that the teenager went by Lizzy. Can’t even remember the parents’ names. I do remember Grandmother Sandy.
  • Drama: The filmmakers did a nice job catching a good variety of sweet and hellish moments with the kids.

Conclusion:

Worth watching. Don’t think it’s a movie that really encourages people to go out and enter foster classes, but it’s a worthwhile tale. Would be good to watch alone, with friends, or with family.

 

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 ….)

Amazon Prime

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.


OR

Spoiler Section:

  • Favorite Moment: When Grandmother Sandy tells them plainly that their court speech stinks, and they need to rewrite it pronto.
  • Sometimes, I wonder how much of the “based on a true story” part is true. There are certain things these people say and do, like punching out the janitor or being slapped by the people they went to for help, holds truth. A lot of what they said, especially in confronting the high school kid they thought had sent lewd pictures to the teenage girl, seemed highly inappropriate in and of itself.

Audiobook Reviews: 2 Books Narrated by Duncan Cassidy

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, children's, Family , ,

3/5 Just Like Down Home by Dale Stubbart

Narrated by Duncan Cassidy

Length 30 minutes

Summary:

Strange little fantasy story about an English gentleman named Joel September who doesn’t particularly like his job but things are about to change for him.

Additional Comments:

  • The blurb pretty much tells the whole story, though I could have sworn the man’s name was Joe in the book I heard.
  • Not really sure I know what Joel’s day job is exactly. His night job was a tad better described.
  • Nice cover. Very soothing.

 

Conclusion: Strange short story.

 

2.5/5 Spend a Year on the Farm by Baby Professor

Narrated by Duncan Cassidy

Length 5 minutes

Summary:

A brief glance at what happens on farms.

Additional Comments:

  • Pretty sure the Wikipedia page for farms has more substance and actual information than this book.
  • Perhaps this book makes more sense as a picture book.
  • I don’t think it even mentions what can be grown or raised on a farm.
  • The narrator has a very unique style of reading that suits the book. Lots of ebb and flow to the phrasing.
  • I’m fairly certain I’m not in the target audience for the book, but then again, I’m not sure who is. Kids that young probably don’t care about a straight up audio because it lacks the visual piece.

Conclusion:

Not my cup of tea, but it’s totally kid safe.

 

Associate links to follow…

(If you click through and buy something, there’s the chance I’ll earn like $0.04 … not kidding, that’s basically it.)

Amazon Prime

 

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

Try The Dark Side of Science.


OR

Audiobook Reviews 4/5 stars: Blue Hydrangeas by Marianne Sciucco

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, drama, Reader Resource, romance, women's fiction , , , ,

 

Summary:

Jack’s struggling to take care of his wife. She has good days and bad days. On good days, she remembers who she is, where she is, and what she’s doing. On bad days, she could end up anywhere in a panic because her mind’s being blasted to bits by an awful disease.

Additional Comments:

– The narrator’s performance did the story justice.

– Plot (4/5): Nothing that happens seems out of the ordinary for the situation. I’m sort of used to books with more murder and mystery, but it’s still a touching story.

– Characters (4/5): Jack and Sara are a lovely couple. There’s not much information about what they did before retirement. They ran their home as a bed and breakfast. He did some sort of business in a city. She’s an artist. Who’s Emily? Not terribly clear on the rest of who’s who in their family. As I understand it, Derek and Jesse are the grandsons, their father is David, who is Jack and Sara’s son. David’s wife is Anne. I think that sums up the major players.

– Flashbacks: I’m not a fan, but one probably couldn’t really tell such a tale without them.

– The descriptions of Jack’s struggle to care for Sara are touching.

– The crisis that the family’s in over the disease seems realistic.

Conclusion:

A different kind of drama than I’m used to, but heartfelt nonetheless.

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.

 

Go here if you want to learn more about Alzheimer’s disease:



Audiobook Reviews: 4/5 The Time Pedaler by Michael Maxwell and Tally Scully

Julie Gilbert Audiobooks, children's, middle grade, mystery, time travel , , , ,

 

Summary:

Chant Baker finds and old time machine in the basement of his parents’ shop. He uses it to visit a few key spots in history and solve a small mystery.

Additional Comments:

– It’s middle grade appropriate.

– I’m not big on time travel books in general because logic always messes with my head. They tried to address the issue of clothes a few times, but it just seemed like everywhere Chant went initially, people were very friendly and totally accepting of the fact that he appeared out of nowhere. I can see his clothes blending in well enough in the 1960’s but 1860’s?

– His family’s perfect, but that’s cool. The fact that a perfect nuclear family strikes me as abnormal is probably just a sad commentary on the state of the modern world.

– The places Chant chooses to visit do follow a certain logic, which I appreciate. (Mostly, they’re places he wants to study for history or English class.) I enjoyed the fact that he didn’t get a perfect grade even though he’d traveled back in time and witnessed the event in person because history isn’t always remembered perfectly.

– There wasn’t a real sense of danger, but that might come from the general middle grade feel than something in the plot. Probably don’t want a story like this to come across as too scary anyway.

– I hear the audio version, which was very good.

– Fun, unique premise that’s well-executed (in audio format anyway)

Conclusion:

If middle grade time travel’s something you enjoy, Chant won’t disappoint you.

 

As Always …

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Julie C. Gilbert

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