Movie Review: Belle (2014)

Length: 1 hr & 42 mins
Released: 2013
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG
Where I Got It: Online rent

SUMMARY:
BELLE is inspired by the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate mixed race daughter of Admiral Sir John Lindsay. Raised by her aristocratic great-uncle Lord Mansfield and his wife, Belle's lineage affords her certain privileges, yet her status prevents her from the traditions of noble social standing. While her cousin Elizabeth chases suitors for marriage, Belle is left on the sidelines wondering if she will ever find love. After meeting an idealistic young vicar's son bent on changing society, he and Belle help shape Lord Mansfield's role as Lord Chief Justice to end slavery in England

TRAILER:

REVIEW:

I've been wanting to watch this movie FOREVER!! I'm a little unsure about where to begin, so I shall divide and conquer this review. 

Characters

-Belle "Dido": Poor girl. Kuddos to her being so tough about everything. Especially a certain jerk and the jerk's mother. I was worried that she was going to be a "perfect" character, but it took her time to develop into a strong woman. 

-Captain Lindsay: I wish he got some more screen time, because he was an awesome guy. He didn't give a damn about his reputation, he wanted to do rights by his daughter Belle.

-Lady Mary: At first I didn't like her, but I loved her after a while.

-Lady Mansfield: Again...at first I didn't like her, but she made it up and did right by Belle. 

-Lord Mansfield: One of my favorite actors! It made me happy to see his face. 

-Elizabeth: I liked her even though she was a total air-head and totally naive at times. At one point I wanted to punch her, but she made it up.

-Lady Ashford: Total beeeeyotch. >______>

-Oliver Ashford: I did like him even tho he said some dumb things.

-James Ashford: DRACO MALFOY! Oh *cough* um, hello weird looking guy. Why did he look so weird? Maybe they made him look weird to fit his nasty personality. Why does this actor like playing an ass all the time?

-Davinier: Awwwwwwwwe. :3 Cute. 

(So many characters, I know)

Story

I never heard of Miss Belle and her story. I never even heard of her before! Hmmmm, I want to know more about her. Are there books or other movies about her? I want to learn more. Kuddos to her....they treated her like such crap at times. She was too high of status to eat with the slaves, but not white enough to eat with the family during events. So, so sad how evil humanity can be. :/ 

I did oddly love the love triangle. Crazy, right? I am so glad that Belle picked the right lad in the end though...because he truly deserved her and never really ever noticed her being half black. Ok, he noticed it but never said any dumb comments about it like the other lad did. I was certainly nervous, but alas, my worries were for not. 

The Ending

Yayy! It made me happy. I almost got really upset, but they didn't let me down (I knew what would happen, because its historical fact, but I try to ignore the facts and go for the ride). 

Conclusion

I loved the cast they got for the characters; they all did good. The story was also good and had me hooked. Even Boyfriend was totally into the movie. I also want to know more about Belle "Dido", so I shall go on the search for books and movies about her. In the end, I recommend this to those that love historical movies mixed with some controversial issues. I shall stamp this with 5 stars. :)

Favorite Character(s): Belle, Captain Lindsay, Elizabeth, and Davinier

Not-so Favorite Character(s): James & Lady Ashford

Re-watch?: Yes! A good one! Adding it to my collection of historical films. 

Book Review: Paper Towns by John Green

Author: John Green
Title: Paper Towns
Genre: YA, Fiction, Romance, and mystery
Pages: 305
First Published: October 2008
Where I Got It: Borrowed from friend

"Who is the real Margo?

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew..."

I read this book for the book club I am in, but I've been wanting to give John Green another go (I tried reading one of his books forever ago, but it was a DNF). I want to read 'The Fault in Our Stars', but I won't complain that I was made to read this book first. 

For this review, though, I am going to trying something different. I took notes after each part, so I will type them and expand about what I meant/thought/felt. 

Prologue 
You know me...I normally don't read these, but Sam demanded that I read it because it is important. She was right. Read it.
-3 stars

Part 1
-Slow beginning, but it sped up as it went along.
-It made me remember High School and some really good AND bad memories. I don't miss it, but it was a nice reminder of the old times.
-Ugh. Margo. I wanted to punch her attention-wanting ways. Yes, I loved the fact that she made Q go on an adventure of revenge with her...but still...ugh.
-Their adventure was fun! I am jealous I never did anything crazy like them! I especially loved Q's revenge on his bully - I was jealous!
-I loved the incorporation of TS Eliot. It really fit. 
-The end of part 1 left me agasp...so yes, I had to continue
-3 stars

Part 2
- After the grand adventure...everything hit a speed bump and slowed down again. 
-Meh, I hated Margo, but she did make things interesting.
-I skimmed a little bit.
-However, I'm glad the author gave some more spotlight to other characters; especially Q and his friends. It was nice to get to know them.
-As "clues" began to pop up, things got interesting again. 
-This was a long, long, loooooooong part. Honestly, I would have divided it into two, but that's my opinion.
-EEEK! The ending had me excited and dying to see what happened next!
-2 stars

Part 3
-Best section of the book. I simply could not stop reading the last 60 pages. 
-I loved how the author formatted the road trip. He went hour, by hour. It was fun and refreshing. 
-Ooooh, everything did tie together nicely in the end. Kuddos to the author!
-The ending....ohmygoodness. It was amazing, sad, and tragically hopeful. I still do not like Margo, but man....
-Poor Q.
-Poor Margo.
-I wish that the author had a little epilogue, but the get what the author was doing and he did a lovely job with ending. I love the last sentence of the book. It was simply my favorite. 
-5 stars 

Conclusion
I was a little worried about this book due to my previous attempt at reading this author, but I was pleasantly surprised with this book. It was good especially for a YA book (you know how picky I am on these). The characters were fun, even though I was not a fan for Margo. Q deserves a hell of a lot better in my opinion, but the heart cannot stop wanting what the heart wants.

I loved all the references to popular writers and quotes. It added extra flavoring to the story. I totally recommend this to those that need a good shake-up in their reading list. Especially for those looking for not a typical love story. Yes, it was an odd love story about a hopeless love, but also an adventure to find oneself. Part of part 2 was slow, but it was worth it to get to part 3, which was the best part throughout the whole book. 

Ok...I did an average of all the parts and it came out to 3.25, so I shall round and give this 3 stars.

Favorite Character(s): Q, Radar, and Lacey
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Margo, Margo's parents, and Ben (Meh)

B's Review: Sweet Inspiration by Penny Watson

Blurb:
What if the legend of Santa Claus is in fact, true? What if Santa has five big strapping sons who help him run his empire? Five single, sexy sons looking for romance...

Nicholas Klaus is a master pastry chef, a strict disciplinarian, and the eldest son of the legendary Santa Claus. One look at café owner Lucy Brewster sends him into an unexpected tailspin of lusty desires. When Lucy is injured, Nicholas makes a decision that catapults both of their lives into turmoil ....

Lucy Brewster, the free-spirited proprietor of Sweet Inspiration, has a flair for concocting sugary confections but no time for adventure. She gets more than she bargained for when she awakens in the North Pole...rambunctious elves, a fitness-obsessed Santa, and the man of her dreams. Does she have what it takes to become the next Mrs. Klaus? 

My thoughts:

A sweet novella :) About Santa's son!

Nicholas Klaus is a good chef. His love for it takes him to a cafe' where the owner's cookies enchant him. And she enchants him too. Yes they do fall at once, but hey it works. Nicholas is strict and well...a bit German ;) *cough*. Hey, he just wants discipline in his kitchen. I like order too.

Lucy bakes the best cookies and has the hots for a certain costumer. She is his opposite, bakes without measuring (the horror). But they fit each other and makes each other better.

And then they start to fall for each other and goes to the North Pole. I did wonder about the whole Santa thing and was all..really? But I then got an explanation about who and how Santa came to be, and it worked. I liked the explanation.

Did I say it was sweet? And made me want cookies? Oh yes, mmm cookies. 

Sweet (I said it again), a fun book to read before Christmas. 

Kindle Edition, Second Edition, 164 pages
Published September 22nd 2012 by Penny Watson
Klaus Brothers #1
Contemporary paranormal romance
Own

Book Review: The Dance of Spirits by Catherine Aerie

Author: Catherine Aerie
Title: The Dance of the Spirits
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, and Drama
Pages: ebook
First Published: September, 2013
Where I Got It: My shelf (Given to me by the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)

"Spring 1951: it is the fiery zenith of the Korean War, a war that the youthful US Army lieutenant Wesley Palm and his men thought that they had won... until the Chinese swept across the Yalu River. Traveling with the million-man army bent on driving back the march of "American imperialism" is Jasmine Young, a Chinese surgeon who has volunteered herself into the war for unspoken, grave reasons. Through a chronicle of merciless battles, freezing winters, and the brutality and hypocrisy of human nature, the two will find themselves weaving through the twists and turns of fate and destiny. Though their love is forbidden, their passion and pursuit of liberty cannot be quenched."

Another dark novel on my hands, but it was good. Jasmine and Wes are in the middle of a bloody war. Wes is an American who is fighting, while Jasmine is a Chinese doctor trying to save lives at the same time as trying to safe herself and try to be the perfect "communist", but her mid-set is from the old world.

So sad, so dark. War is such a nasty thing and the author does a wonderful job bringing it to life. However, it's not over-the-top. The ending was sooooooooooo sad with a sparkle of hope. I can't say what happened, but it was good, but I didn't like it. I wish that it wasn't so quick, I wish it was longer. But it was a good way to end it. I admit, I had to re-read it a couple times, because I didn't believe it happened! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Anyways....I also wish that Wes had more spotlight and got to tell his background too, because I wanted to know more about him. Maybe a short story is in the works? *hint hint* I liked Wes, but I didn't get to connect with him like I did with Jasmine. I liked Jasmine and I felt so bad for her. Yes, she had a good life and it was blown up due to the Communists taking over the government, but I am proud of her, because she managed to adjust and survive. She has "thinking issues" (lol) and she gets in trouble a lot with her commanders for it, but she has adjusted well for being a rich girl. 

I can't say much else without giving up some major spoilers, but I simply couldn't put this down, because I wanted to know what happened next.

In the end, this was a good war and romance novel. Sometimes the war outshined the love story, but it felt realistic and the author did a good job showing this. I liked Jasmine and I wanted to know more about Wes. Like where he is from and what he did before the war. I felt disconnected with him, so I didn't really care about his POV. Other then that, it was a good book! If you like war and a tragic romance, I recommend this for you. Out of five stars, I stamp this with 4 stars. 

Favorite Character(s): Jasmine, Tin Bo (Until he made me mad at the end....), and Jasmine's mother.
Not-so Favorite Character(s): Tin Bo (*shakes my head*)