In the epic action-adventure Snow White and the Huntsman, Kristen Stewart (Twilight) plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Oscar(r) winner Charlize Theron) out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth, Thor) dispatched to kill her. Sam Claflin (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) joins the cast as the prince long enchanted by Snow White's beauty and power.
The breathtaking new vision of the legendary tale is from Joe Roth, the producer of Alice in Wonderland, producer Sam Mercer (The Sixth Sense) and acclaimed commercial director and state-of-the-art visualist Rupert Sanders.
Source: Info in the About Snow White And The Huntsman was taken from http://snowwhiteandthehuntsman.com/#/about.
I like Madonna's Evita film with Antonnio Banderas. I think they did very well with that film. Here, I came across a music video of the Evita song, sang by Patti LuPone:
Gavin Guile is the Prism, the most powerful man in the world. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. But Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live: Five years to achieve five impossible goals.
But when Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart
Source: Info in the About The Black Prism was taken from http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7165300-the-black-prism on 07/09/2011.
Another book slated to become a movie is Darkefever by Karen Marie Moning. Apparently Dreamworks has the contract. Info so far is sketchy at best. Even the author's website (www.karenmoning.com) is not saying anything and is keeping quite about it. But here is an article which purported about the movie deal:
DreamWorks bags 'Darkfever' franchise
Previously set up at 20th Century Fox under New Regency banner
By JEFF SNEIDER
With "Harry Potter" finished, "The Twilight Saga" coming to a close and "The Hunger Games" getting steady buzz, DreamWorks is looking to launch its own fantasy franchise, as the studio has acquired feature film rights to all five books in Karen Marie Moning's bestselling "Darkfever" series.
Project was previously set up at 20th Century Fox under its New Regency banner.
Series follows MacKayla Lane, an ordinary young woman from Georgia who travels to Ireland to track down her sister's killer. While overseas, she discovers an extraordinary world filled with ancient secrets and tough-to-kill creatures. Protag, who has special abilities, is tasked with finding the Sinsar Dubh, a powerful yet elusive book that can help her save both the fantasy realm and the mortal world.
No exec has been assigned to oversee the project yet, though it is being envisioned as a potential live-action fantasy franchise.
The fifth and final installment of the adult-themed series, "Shadowfever," was released last December.
DreamWorks has a long-term deal with Disney to market and release its live-action pics.
I am a fan of Karen Marie Moning's Highlander series. That was how I knew her. When the Fever series came out, I was disappointed with the dark fantasy turn the sries took. Plus it became more of an urban fantasy rather than a paranormal romance, which is what the Highlander series was. That was why I stopped reading the Fever series after book 2. However, with book 5 already out, it seems that Karen Marie Moning has not totally abandoned the romantic theme and it seems that Jericho has become a romantic icon. And because of that, I think I would come to like this series as opposed to my profound disappointment after book 2. However, now with a movie on the horizon, I am ambivalent whether to read the book or wait for the movie!!!
Thor (released a couple of days ago) kicked off this summer of fantasy movies:
I haven't seen Thor yet, but I'm planning to :) Some bloggers gave this movie a less than stellar reviews... even if the movie is really not that good, I'd still want to see it even if it's just to drool over Chris Hemsworth's abs!! And ofcourse the trailer makes me wanna see the movie anyway... besides, Natalie Portman is such a good actress!
After a week, Super 8 comes out on the the 10th of June:
I'm not sure I like this movie going by the trailer alone... It doesn't show the villain... but this is a Steven Spielberg film, and he does put quality into his name, so might be worth watching...
A week after that, on the 17th of June, comes out the Green Lantern:
The trailer looks good but I think I like Ryan Reynolds the vampire, better than him in green spandex...
Followed by the final installment in the HP series (HP7.2), Harry Potter: Deathly Hollows 2, to be released on the 15th of July 2011.
Now, HP7.2 is something I'm dying to see!! **squee**
The following week, on the 29th of July, we get to see Cowboys And Aliens:
Cowboys and Aliens looks interesting...
On the 5th of August, is the movie release of Rise of the Planet of the Apes :
This ape remake has it's job cut out for it because movie goers, me in particlular, have seen this tale told so many times already that no matter which way you're going to dress it up, it's going to be same old, same old, I don't think I'd really wanna watch it again...
Then on the 19th of August, we get to see yet another remake, Conan The Barbarian:
Whatcha think?
Looks like Steven Spielberg's been busy and I'd be at the movies every week this summer... So, these are the movies that caught my eye... What do you wanna watch this summer?
n a land torn apart by civil war, pestilence, and shaky alliances, a man branded a traitor ends up in a place he never expected...
The rebellious son of a long line of pureblood cartographers and diviners, Valen has spent most of his life trying to escape what society - and his family - have ordained for him. His own mother has predicted that he will meet his doom in water, blood, and ice. Her divination seems fulfilled when a comrade abandons Valen in a rainy wilderness half-dead, addicted to an enchantment that converts pain to pleasure, and possessing only a stolen book of maps.
Offered sanctuary in a nearby monastery, Valen discovers that his book - rumored to lead men into the realm of angels - gains him entry into a world of secret societies, doomsayers, monks, princes, and madmen, all seeking to unlock the mystery of a coming dark age. To his dismay, Valen must face what he fled so long ago, for the key to Navronne's doom is buried in half-forgotten myth and the secrets of his own past...
Synopsis taken from the author's website at http://www.sff.net/people/carolberg/lighthouse.html on 29/03/2011.
Osriel the Bastard wagged his finger, choking off my response as if a noose tightened about my neck. "But you, Magnus Valentia de Cartamandua-Celestine...what does Sila Diaglou want with you?"
Not just the murderous Harrower priestess, but everyone in Navronne seems to be after Valen. There is the Bastard Prince himself, who steals dead men's eyes. And the Pureblood Registry, determined to keep every pureblood sorcerer in thrall. Even beings out of myth, the Danae guardians, whose dancing nurtures the earth and whose attention could prove the most costly of all.
As Navronne sinks deeper into civil war and perilous winter, Valen finds himself a bargaining chip in a deadly standoff. Doomed to madness by his addiction to the doulon, and bound by oaths he refuses to abandon, the young sorcerer risks body and soul to rescue one child, seek justice for another, and bring the ailing land its righteous king. Yet no one is who they seem, and Valen's search for healing grace leads him from Harrower dungeons to the very heart of the world. In the twilight of a legend, he at last discovers the hard truth of the coming dark age and the glorious, terrible price of the land's redemption...and his own.
Synopsis taken from the author's website at http://www.sff.net/people/carolberg/lighthouse.html on 29/03/2011.
Review:
I would rate these two books as one because honestly, they are just one book cut into half and published twice. The first book ended in a cliffhanger which shouldn't be read on it's own. I would highly recommend that you have both books before even starting to read to avoid a whole lot of frustration. Having said that, once you get to book two, it's fast-paced ride all the way to the end. I would rate the pace a 4 out of 5. The story telling quality is 5 out of 5. Simply masterpiece! The main protagonist is a dysfuntional male from a dysfuntional family yet managed to rise above it all and try to do the right thing even if it is against all odds. I would give the character development a 5 out of 5. The world building is fantastically painted in my mind that the world of the Lighthouse Duet came to life in vivid color! I would give it another 5 out of 5. Overall, I would say that this is a classic masterpiece which epic fantasy readers will enjoy again and again through the years, a 5 out of 5.
Win A Box Of Milk Chocolates at The Chocolate Cafe!
This is a Twitter contest, so you have Tweet or Re-Tweet their competition post. It would probably help in notifying you if you win if you also follow them at @welovechocolate. Contest is open to UK residents only and ends on Feb 6.
The man of her dreams might be the cause of her nightmares.
Six months ago, Abby Sinclair was struggling to pick up the pieces of her shattered life. Now, she has an enchanted iPod, a miniature unicorn living in her underwear drawer, and a magical marketplace to manage. But despite her growing knowledge of the OtherWorld, Abby isn’t at all prepared for Brystion, the dark, mysterious, and sexy-as- sin incubus searching for his sister, convinced Abby has the key to the succubus’s whereabouts. Abby has enough problems without having this seductive shape-shifter literally invade her dreams to get information. But when her Faery boss and some of her friends vanish, as well, Abby and Brystion must form an uneasy alliance. As she is sucked deeper and deeper into this perilous world of faeries, angels, and daemons, Abby realizes her life is in as much danger as her heart—and there’s no one she can trust to save her.
Synopsis was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8200504-a-brush-of-darkness on 05/02/2011.
After their parents' shocking revelation about their fae heritage and an attack on their lives, the McDonald twins find themselves on the run—forced to hide out at Riverdale Academy , a boarding school for vampire slayers, deep in the Swiss Alps. With no cells, no internet, and no way to contact their vampire boyfriends—the twins are on their own.
Being a vampire stuck in a school full of slayers isn't easy. Especially with no blood substitute stocked on campus. Soon Rayne finds herself succumbing to her bloodlust and losing control—especially around the arrogant, but devastatingly handsome Corbin Billingsworth the Third—who isn't sure whether he wants to kiss her...or kill her.
But when Sunny starts acting strange, Rayne realizes Riverdale Academy may be hiding some deadly secrets of its own—leading to a showdown in Fairyland that may cost the twins their lives.
To help shake off those January blues Chocolate Cafe thought to offer you the chance to win some FREE chocolate!.
The competition is open to anybody who follows @welovechocolate on Twitter, & the prize is one of the Chocolate Café tasting bundles. You can view the tasting bundles & choose your bars here http://www.chocolate-cafe.co.uk/chocolate/
The winner can choose which three chocolate bars they would like & they will be delivered to you anywhere in the UK.
The competition is open to UK residents only and will close at midnight on Sunday 9th January 2011.
A winner will be selected at random and notified by direct message on twitter (please make sure you are following @welovechocolate so they can let you know if you have won!)
!! **squee**
