MOVIE REVIEW: Vampire Academy

Vampire Academy

Theater Release Date: 7th February 2014
Available on DVD/Blu-Ray: Yes
Overall:
Watched on: DVD from Redbox

   Starring:
Zoey Deutch - Rose Hathaway
Lucy Fry - Lissa Dragomir
Danila Kozlovsky - Dimitri Belikov
Gabriel Byrne - Victor Dashkov
Dominic Sherwood - Christian Ozera

Review: I haven't read the books that everyone else has--I never felt interested enough. But the trailer for this movie sucked (ba-dum-tss) me in and I had to watch. I rented the movie and made cookies & cream popcorn, ready for disappointment. But I surprisingly enjoyed it!

Because I haven't read the books, I had no idea what would actually happen in this movie. I didn't know any of the characters or the basis for the movie. And for that reason I felt like I was in the dark for some of it. Some things seemed jumped over or random or just out of place. I would guess it would be because they assumed most viewers have read the book.

All of that aside, I loved the casting. Especially Rose, played by Zoey Deutch. Everything from her one-liners to her physical movements, she was just purely enjoyable and my favorite thing about the movie. Her fighting stance and physicality made me want to work out and possibly take up some sort of boxing training or Tae Kwon Do. I kind of want to be a bad ass.

The Vampires. Even though this movie is called Vampire Academy, and everyone is a vampire, or half vampire (aka Dhampir) I didn't feel focused on that aspect at all. Is was more directed towards the friendships, romance and basic high school drama with the exception of Lissa being a vampire princess and trying to keep her and everyone else safe from the Strigoi. Basically they're rogue & evil vampires with no remorse for any one or anything.

The ending left enough open that (I'm hoping) they'll go ahead with the sequel, Frostbite.
I may even read the first few books in the series by then.

If you haven't read the books, I recommend you watch this movie. It's funny, has action, romance, and a kick-ass heroine. I won't recommend if you've read the books, only because I don't have an inkling on how they compare. But if you've read the books and seen the movies, let me know what you think!!

Movie Trailer:


More on: Official Website |  IMDb | Wikipedia | GoodReads

Review: "Dead in the Family" by Charlaine Harris

Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
Released: May 5th, 2010
Publisher: Cengage Gale
Age: Adult
Pages: 465
Overall:
Acquired: Library
Summary: Sookie Stackhouse has finally settled into a relationship with the Viking vampire Eric, and her errant brother Jason seems to have his life in order, too. But all the other people in Sookie’s life – Eric himself, her former lover Bill, her friend and boss Sam – are having family problems. Eric’s maker shows up with Eric’s ‘brother’ in tow, the ailing Bill can only be healed by a blood sibling, and Sam’s brother’s marriage is about to take place... or will it? The furor raised by the coming out of the two-natured has yet to settle; some people are just not ready to sit down to dinner with a man who turns into a dog. And Sookie herself is still recovering from her last ordeal. She’s definitely improving, physically and mentally, but she’s always going to have some dark moments now. The werewolves tell her that there have been strange and ominous passers-by in the Stackhouse woods; now Sookie is about to come face-to-face with one of her more distant relatives..

Review: Charlaine Harris has a very imaginative mind, that much is obvious, but it seems that it's lost in translation by the time it makes it to the page.

Dead in the Family is about the aftermath of the Fae War that happened in the previous book--Dead and Gone. Family, be it Sookie's, Eric's, Bill's, or even Sam's, is the main focus. Claude, Sookie's fairy cousin comes to live with her because he feels lonely after his sister Claudine's death. Sookie gets a visit from her telepathic nephew, Hunter--her cousin Hadley's son. And Eric gets a visit from his maker, Appius Livius Ocella. Of course a slew of other people both good and bad come in.

Sadly, I feel Charlaine  Harris just isn't as interested in this series as her readers are. Instead of writing what she feels is right, she's just writing what she thinks we want to see.

I'm still Team Eric, but I loved any interaction with Sam. I've always loved him and if the series continues, I hope he's in it more and more.

Any time confrontation or danger happened it seemed to wrap up so nicely and without a hitch. Anytime something happened it would take up a page or two, but the most random things that were of no importance took up pages...even a chapter or two! Kind of aggravating!

I'm a fan of all the characters but we don't get too much depth with them!

I'm going to continue to read this series because I enjoy this world. I just wish Charlaine Harris would put more heart into it.

P.S. If you're a fan of True Blood, how do you feel about the way the writers and Alan Ball have taken the series!? I'm actually annoyed by it and wish Charlaine Harris would help them along. This is a great series, just not well told. But the show is like a circus! Ugh!


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