A Series Of (Un)Fortunate Reviews

Miss Shayne returns to review an item from her list of what she was looking forward to this year that was featured in her 2016 Staff Picks .  She previously reviewed 1000 Forms of Fear earlier this year on the blog. Sia’s newest album, released in January of this year, was an album I was looking forward to being released. Her last album, 1000 Forms of Fear , was one of the most magnificent musical masterpieces I had ever heard, and it left me wanting more. This is Acting consists of songs that Sia wrote for other artists but were rejected. It is different from its predecessor, but it is still a pretty good album. Like Sia’s previous album, this album has some masterpieces that will not be heard on the radio. “Alive,” “Bird Set Free,” and “Reaper” all blew me away, but I had to buy this album in order to hear them. These songs, as well as some others, highlight some of the struggles that people face throughout their lives. Not only are these songs catchy, they’re inspiratio...

Still Life is a Canadian production that stars Nathaniel Parker.  It's an adaptation of the book by the same title by Louise Penny that is the first in Three Pines Mystery series.  I reviewed the book almost five years ago on this book, click here to read that review. When a beloved, retired teacher is shot through the heart by an arrow and left for dead in the woods near her home in tiny Three Pines, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is dispatched to the scene to determine if the incident was an accident or a homicide.  He is accompanied by his crack team that includes his second in command, Inspector Jean-Guy Beauvoir and Agent Yvette Nichol, a less experienced law enforcement agent.  This tiny, idyllic Quebecois village that has become a haven for artistic types won't be same when Gamache's investigation concludes. The investigation is initially hampered by the victim's next of kin, a real piece of work, who refuses to allow the police to search the victim's...

Miss Shayne reviews Dracula by Bram Stoker this week.  In fact, both Ms. Angie and Miss Shayne have read this book for a class for college.  You hear so much about vampires in the media and through TV shows and movies that you feel like you already know Stoker's Dracula story before you've even read it.  When Ms. Angie read Dracula, she found it was not at all what she was expecting.  Read on to find out what Miss Shayne thought about the novel when she read it! Before reading this novel, I thought I knew exactly what was going to happen in this story. I didn’t. Hollywood gets it all wrong! So, forget everything you thought you knew about Dracula ! Like always, the book is nothing like the movies. After spending a few days in Count Dracula’s castle on a business trip, Jonathan Harker notices Dracula is up to something. Harker is being held against his will and strange things keep happening both inside the castle and out. He eventually escapes the castle and ...

Miss Shayne, guest reviewer, has returned, so expect to hear from her about what's she's read and/or watched lately!  This is her first review of the summer! I had such high hopes for Kingsman: The Secret Service . The trailer was so action-packed; it looked just like the kind of movie I’d be into. I had wanted to see it since it came out, but I never did until recently. This movie is about a secret organization that thwarts villains all over the globe. A member of this organization dies, so they have to replace him. One member recruits a lovable misfit to undergo a series of tests to see if he would do well in the organization. Meanwhile, our villain is implanting the world’s richest citizens with chips that can protect them from his awful creation or make their heads explode. The secret organization must figure out what he is up to and stop him before he is able to control everyone on the planet who is without the protection of the chip implant. This movie star...