Season of the Witch

I keep hoping that Nicolas Cage will hit it big again like he did with the National Treasure flicks. All these little actions movies he does that come off as being 'B' movies aren't horrible, but I think he has so much more to offer. This movie's production is decent; the special effects are convincing and realistic, costumes appear accurate and appropriately detailed, and the makeup of the plague victims was gross enough to make me want to gag. The action is good, too, but the film just lacks overall appeal. Nicolas Cage sold his performance, but it was a little hard to buy. I liked the witch premise and the demon twist at the end, but the rest of the movie was kind of blah and predictable and a little too gross. Worth a $1 rental at the very least.

Red Riding Hood

This movie is targeted more towards young adults. You can tell by the modern-day language and the Twilight-esque cinematography, but that is probably due mostly to the fact that the films have the same director. I think the characters should have had accents (I read that the tale is German in origin) or at the very least they should've spoken proper English, but, again, tweens were the target for this flick. They probably won't care much about those kinds of little details with sexy Peter and Henry vying for Valerie's affections. Sex-crazed teeny boppers drool over a good, steamy love triangle, but I have to admit that I certainly enjoy that, too. I especially liked Peter and Valerie's little innocent roll in the hay. That was hot! Aside from the steamy stuff, I did like the mystery of the wolf. I thought I had him figured out, but my guesses were incorrect. That made me happy, because I am tired of predictable movies these days. Hollywood needs more original ideas. This movie is far from being totally original, but I appreciate its good twist on a classic.

On another note, I love Gary Oldman, and I think he is always a great addition to any film in any role. He does quirky, weird characters very well. I think his part as the priest was extinguished a little quickly, and I wanted to see him through to the end. So that was a little disappointing.

The movie's ending was kind of left a little open yet it was satisfying. I rented this for a buck, but I kind of wish I'd gone to see it on the big screen. I'll probably end up buying this one.

Lady Susan - (Audiobook) - Jane Austen

I listened to the unabridged audiobook. I love Jane Austen's work dearly, but I got absolutely nothing out of this story. The letter format is a nice idea, but it seemed like there were a lot of details that I didn't need to hear, and I was a little confused about who was writing what at times. That might have been due to the fact that I was listening to the story and not reading it with my own eyes. I don't know. I think I would still be confused even then, and I felt like what I was listening to was overly dramatic and exaggerated. Perhaps I will read the book for myself one day instead of listening, but something tells me I still won't care for it.