Wicked The Musical

 

I had seen the stage musical Wicked on Thursday, June 13! I missed the first fifteen minutes or so, but I was immersed into this story. I did not want it to end. When the intermission started, I had to buy the soundtrack. I fell in love with the music right away.

 

The performances are fantastic. The characters delivered in-depth emotion. I cared for them all the time. I rooted for both Elphaba and Galinda (later Glinda).

 

Wicked is a memorable theatrical experience. My favorite song is "Defying Gravity". This live performance made a bold statement with several messages.

 

The company is currently touring, so it may be near you. Take advantage to see this musical! It definitely defies gravity and nobody can pull it down. You can buy tickets on the official website!

Man of Steel

 

Directed by Zack Snyder

In theatres tomorrow!

 

I recently gained interest in Man of Steel. I heard of the film numerous times before, but it didn't cross my mind until I had seen the trailer one month ago in theatres. Now I'm literally dying to see Man of Steel! Seriously, this is my MUST-SEE of the Summer.

 

My expectations are insanely ridiculous for Man of Steel. Even more ridiculous than what I had for The Great Gatsby. The trailers look EPIC. Henry Cavill is handsome eye-candy and imagine him in the film ... a smokin' hot Clark Kent/Superman.

 

It seems everyone is looking forward to Man of Steel. I'm late to the party, but who cares? This will be the ultimate Summer Blockbuster besides Iron Man 3. It will make millions of dollars at the domestic and foreign box-office.

 

I hope Man of Steel is able to stand out from the other superhero films. It must amaze me from the first frame to the last. This film should be pure awesomeness like Star Trek Into Darkness, but I don't know for sure. I want to be transported to another world for two hours. Despite my very high expectations, I think I'll walk out of theatre disappointed.

 

I'm not putting my expectations any higher or lower than what I have them now. I may or may not be generous to Man of Steel when I write my review. It depends on many factors when I analyze the film. I want it to be awesome all the time, but that may not happen. Nothing is guaranteed until I see for myself.

 

The television spots and trailers are incredible for Man of Steel. Distribution company Warner Bros. Pictures definitely knows how to market this type of film. It's aiming at the comic fans and beyond. I won't be surprised if the theatres are packed on its opening day and weekend.

 

I'm seeing Man of Steel a few days after its opening weekend. I can't wait any longer. I've seen the trailer a million times and I get very excited when I see it.

 

I'm writing a movie review for Man of Steel, so it will be posted a couple days after I see it. I can't say for sure it's an awesome film. Yes, I expect it to fulfill its hype and deliver epicness. Ask the folks who are seeing it in its opening weekend. You better let me know how awesome it is!

 

Are you seeing Man of Steel this weekend?

Review: The Internship

 

My Review

The Internship is relevant to today, but it didn’t deliver its full potential. This film just didn’t acquire enough“googliness” to pass the test.

Nick Campbell (Owen Wilson) and Billy McMahon (Vince Vaughn) seek employment after being fired from their positions as watch salesmen. They apply for an internship at Google and give it a shot.

 

The interns are separated into teams and compete against each other to see how well they accomplish their tasks given by Mr. Chetty (Aasif Mandvi). He is the chair of Google Internships and made the decisions for the interns’ futures.

 

Nick and Billy are joined by the leftovers that include Neha (Tiya Sircar), Stuart (Dylan O’Brian), and Yo-Yo Santos (Tobit Raphael). When one team wins the competitions, they receive full-time jobs at Google.

 

Wilson and Vaughn deliver mediocre performances. The actors shine only in a few sequences, but they never explore their characters in-depth. The soul may be there, but it doesn’t come out at the right moments.

 

The situations are unrealistic and not funny at all. I found myself laughing at the stupidest things in this film. Why did I laugh at Yo-Yo picking his eyebrows when something went wrong? Seriously, I have no idea.

 

The competitions overstayed their welcome. The strip club sequence seemed to fit in an R-rated film. The Internship hangs out in the ‘safe’ zone. This film never took risks.

 

Nonsense and technology clichés made The Internship seem dumb. It’s too caught up in the frenzy working with Google. The conclusion is obvious in the first act. I knew the ending before the credits rolled.

 

The Internship delivers a strong and repetitive message: Never give up. This has been said numerous times before in realistic, but better films such as This Is 40.

 

It's incredible how technology advances every year and take advantage of it. Google accomplished success. On the other hand, the mega-company didn't win this competition. Work for Bing instead. C-

How to Date a Nerd Cover Reveal

Congratulations to my friend Cassie Mae today! This author will reach for the stars and beyond. *happy dances and chest bumps*

 

Synopsis

Zoe has a great pair of legs, perky boobs, and wears exactly what she needs to show it all off. She works hard for the easy sleazy ‘you only wish you were me’ reputation, burying who she really is -- an all-out nerd.

 

The only time Zoe gets to be herself is when she hides under her comforter to read X-Men comics, sending jealousy stabs at everyone who attends Comic-Con. Keeping up her popular rep is too important, and she’s so damn insecure to care about the consequences. But when Zoe’s sister takes her car for a ‘crash and burn into a tree’ joyride, her parents get her a replacement. A manual. Something she doesn’t know how to operate, but her next door neighbor Zak sure as heck does.

 

Zak’s a geek to the core, shunned by everyone in school for playing Dungeons and Dragons at lunch and wearing “Use the Force” t-shirts. And Zoe’s got it bad for the boy. Only Zak doesn’t want Popular Zoe. He wants Geek Zoe.

 

She has to shove her insecurities and the fear of dropping a few rungs on the social ladder aside to prove to Zak who she really is and who she wants to be… if she can figure it out herself.

 

How to Date a Nerd will be released on November 5, 2013 by Swoon Romance Publishing.

Author Spotlight: Rachel Morgan

 

Please welcome Rachel Morgan, author of The Faerie Prince series! Rachel will discuss her writing and publication  journey. Take it away, Rachel!

2007

I was working towards a degree in genetics, not knowing exactly what I’d do with it, but keen nonetheless. I read books all the time, and I had stories buzzing around in my head – which I’ve had for as long as I can remember. I figured I’d write a book some day in the distant future.

 

2009 

After fourth months of working on a research masters and writing down story ideas on the side and wondering when I’d ever have time to actually write a book, my light bulb moment happened: I realized I wanted to be an author NOW. I wanted to write books NOW. Not years in the future when I’ve retired and whatever kids I have leave home.

 

I left the university to become an author, but guess what? I needed a job while I tried to write my first book (because unpublished authors don’t exactly make much money!). So I somehow found myself at a high school teaching maths. I was terrified at first, but it turned out to be fantastic!

 

2010 

Full-time teaching was HECTIC (as any teacher knows!), so I worked out a part-time plan with my principal so that I could teach for half the day and write (and prepare lessons and set tests and mark test papers) for the other half of the day. It was difficult getting my brain to switch back and forth between the teaching zone and the writing zone all the time, but I made it happen.

 

2011

I finished my very first YA fantasy novel! At approximately 120,000 words, it was in definite need of some editing. While I left that novel to “chill” for a while, I started reading all about the epublishing craze. Amanda Hocking’s books had taken off, and other authors were beginning to jump onto the self-pub bandwagon.

 

I also had my first spark of an idea for the Creepy Hollow series and wondered if I could use it to “try out” ePublishing. I looked at all the pros and cons of traditional vs self-publishing, and I eventually decided to self-publish the whole Creepy Hollow story as a series of short parts, i.e. a serial. I spent the rest of 2011 planning my big publishing move.

 

2012

I BECAME A PUBLISHED AUTHOR! In March I published the first part of the Creepy Hollow serial. Then the second, the third and the fourth. Towards the end of the year, I decided that the story I was telling was better suited to a series of full-length novels. It had just become too big and interlinked for short, separate parts! So Parts I to IV became the first novel, and in October The Faerie Guardian was born!

 

2013

I am no longer teaching, I am now married, and I’m writing full-time! I spent the first half of this year getting The Faerie Prince written, edited, formatted and published. AND HERE I AM! Touring the virtual book world to tell everyone about my second novel.

 

I have learned a HUGE amount since I began this journey (some fun things, some not so fun!), and I know I'll continue to learn for as long as this journey takes. And I don't plan for it to end any time soon!

Thank you Rachel!