Hey, everyone! I'm BACK! I'm going to keep it short and sweet since this post is already extra long because I am including last week's releases (July 3rd) with this weeks.
Last week there were some great new adult book releases, such as Sylvia Day's A Hunger So Wild, book 2 in her Renegade Angels series and Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues, sequel to My Life as A White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland. In young adult, July 3rd brought us Just For Fins (#3 in a mermaid series), Once (sequel to Eve, a dystopian series), and This Dark Earth (zombies!).
This week I am looking forward to picking up Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce, Year Zero by Rob Reid, and Quarantine: The Loners by Lex Thomas.
July 3rd in Movies marked some very interesting releases such as God Bless America, Jesus Henry Christ, The Hunter. All three are definitely worth checking out.
This week, check out Christian Bale in Flowers of War, the most expensive Chinese movie ever made. The film was absolutely phenomenal and heart-wrenching. The only movies coming out in a blu-ray-dvd combo packs are American Reunion and Margaret. There were none last week.
Wednesday I should have a much needed new book review posted as well as some updates in both of my sidebars (such as a new poll question, what I am currently reading, watching, etc.).
Enjoy!
BOOKS (JULY 3rd-10th)
ADULT (July 3rd)
A Hunger So Wild (Renegade Angels, #2)
by: Sylvia Day
Elijah
Reynolds is the most dominant of lycans, a rare Alpha whose skill on the hunt is surpassed only by his primal sexuality. When the lycans revolt due to the iron fist of angelic rule, he steps into command, becoming both enemy and coveted ally in the conflict between vampires and angels.Vashti is the second most powerful vampire in the world, a lethal beauty with a path of devastation in her wake. Tasked with proposing an alliance between vampires and the lycans who killed her mate, Vash approaches Elijah, whose need to avenge a friend demands Vash's death even as his passion demands her surrender.
Soon, their enmity erodes beneath an all-consuming desire. Elijah has never encountered a woman whose warrior spirit and fierce sexual appetite rivals his own, while Vash is faced with the one man strong enough to be her equal. But as war looms, each must decide where their loyalty lies--with their own kind or with the enemy lover they can no longer live without.
Alliance Forged (Light Blade, #2)
by: Kylie Griffin
There i
s no mercy in the demon realm. No escape. In this place of desperation and conflict, anyone who is not purebred is virtually powerless. Until a blind priestess lays claim to a half-breed warrior, body and soul…Hunted and marked for death by Na’Reish demons for their half-blood heritage, the Na’Chi are searching for a new home—something an alliance offered by the human leader could provide. With both races divided by prejudice, when Light Blade rebels brutally attack the Na’Chi, the alliance seems doomed to fail.
Varian, leader of the Na’Chi, a hybrid race of gifted warriors, is cursed with the darker impulses of his demon heritage. Controlling the part of himself that craves the high of the battle is a struggle he’s afraid he’ll lose—until he meets Kymora Tayn, a priestess driven to serve her deity. While he’s unwilling to trust anyone outside his people, he finds himself drawn to Kymora’s strength and passionate nature, and discovers she has the power to calm the darkness inside him.
When the Na’Reish raid human territory for blood-slaves and kickstart a war, the key to the survival of both races—Na’Chi and human— is an alliance. However, when Kymora is kidnapped, pitting human against human, Varian realizes he must embrace his darker half, not only to save the alliance…but also the woman he loves.
Blood Before Sunrise (Shaede Assassin, #2)
by: Amanda Bonilla
For mont
hs Darian and her Shaede guardian Raif have searched for the Oracle who attempted to overthrow the Shaede Nation—and kill Darian in the bargain. But now that they’ve finally found the half-crazed Oracle, for their efforts they are granted a possibility too painful for Raif to imagine, and too enticing for Darian to ignore.Darian is determined to reunite Raif and the daughter he thought was dead, but her mission quickly proves dangerous when her lover Tyler is almost killed. And when a brooding and mysterious Fae warrior offers his guidance—at an extraordinary price—Darian finds herself willing to risk everything. As her single-minded hunt turns into an obsession, and she and Tyler grow further apart, Darian finds herself caught between the man she loves like a brother, and the man whose love she can’t live without…
Defiant (MacKinnon's Rangers, #3)
by: Pamela Clare
Major
Connor MacKinnon despises his commander, Lord William Wentworth, beyond all other men. Ordered to rescue Wentworth’s niece after the Shawnee take her captive, he expects Lady Sarah Woodville to be every bit as arrogant and contemptible as her uncle. Instead, he finds a brave and beautiful lass in desperate peril. But the only way to free Sarah is for Connor to defeat the Shawnee warrior who kidnapped her—and claim her himself.Torn by tragedy from her sheltered life in London, Lady Sarah is unprepared for the harshness of the frontier—or for the attraction she feels toward Connor as he guides her first through the consummation of their forced union and then through the dangers of the wilderness. When they reach civilization, however, it is she who must protect him. For if her uncle knew all that Connor had done to save her, he would surely kill him.
But the flames of passion, once kindled, are difficult to deny. As desire transforms into love, Connor will have to defy an empire to keep Sarah at his side.
Echoes at Dawn (KGI, #5)
by: Maya BanksThe Kelly
Group International (KGI): A super-elite, top secret, family-run business.Qualifications: High intelligence, rock-hard body, military background.
Mission: Hostage/kidnap victim recovery. Intelligence gathering. Handling jobs the U.S. government can’t…
They live by night.
Grace Peterson is desperate, in hiding, and on the run after escaping a shadowy group determined to exploit her extraordinary ability to heal others. Her only lifeline—an unerring telepathic ability she shares with her sister—has been severed, leaving her alone and vulnerable. And time is fast running out...
Enlisted to bring Grace home is Rio, relentless member of the KGI. He’s unprepared for his reaction to this wounded, damaged woman, and he’s fiercely determined to protect her from those who nearly destroyed her. In Rio, she finds a safe haven, and for the first time...hope. But the mission is far from over. The danger Grace has eluded is fast closing in. And now it’s pitching two lovers toward an unfamiliar horizon, with no place left to hide.
Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues (White Trash Zombie, #2)
by: Diana Rowland
Angel
Crawford is finally starting to get used to life as a brain-eating zombie, but her problems are far from over. Her felony record is coming back to haunt her, more zombie hunters are popping up, and she's beginning to wonder if her hunky cop-boyfriend is involved with the zombie mafia. Yeah, that's right--the zombie mafia.Throw in a secret lab and a lot of conspiracy, and Angel's going to need all of her brainpower--and maybe a brain smoothie as well--in order to get through it without falling apart.
Heaven's War (Heaven's Shadow, #2)
by: David S. Goyer
When it fi
rst appeared, the astronomers named the asteroid Keanu.A Near Earth Object, from a distant constellation, it was headed directly toward our sun.
But when we went to meet it, it turned out to be far more than a huge rock hurtling through space...
The two teams of astronauts sent to explore Keanu discovered it is, in fact, a spacecraft, a giant ship with an alien crew. A ship that had headed to Earth with a mission and a message: Help Us. A brave new frontier beckons. But we are about to learn that it comes with a price...
Without warning, the aliens transport small groups of humans from the competing scientific communities of Houston, Texas and Bangalore, India to the vast interior habitats of Keanu. Their first challenge is to survive. Their second; to discover why The Architects—the unknown, unseen aliens controlling the asteroid—brought them there. And soon a third emerges: they must find a way to take control of Keanu.
Because the NEO is moving again—away from Earth. The Architects are headed home...
Liquid Lies (Elementals, #1)
by: Hanna Martine
Magic is c
orporate America’s best-kept secret, and Gwen Carroway is superior at selling it ...Gwen possesses the unique ability to pick up any language in an instant—a power that will globally expand the profitable family business. As dutiful future leader of her race of water elementals, she'll do anything to protect her people's secrets and bloodlines—including enter an arranged marriage. Inside, however, she yearns for forbidden human men.
Reed is a mercenary addicted to the money and adrenaline rush of his work. After he inadvertently saves Gwen's life, he ignites her taboo desire for men without magic—and with bodies of gods. Just as things heat up, Reed discovers that Gwen is exactly who he’s been hired to kidnap. He resolves to put work before lust, yet her luscious beauty and fiery spirit unravel him…
But there is a terrible truth behind Gwen’s family business—and now, caught between the kinsmen she no longer trusts and an enemy bent on vengeance, the only ally she has is her abductor…
Lord of Fire and Ice
by: Connie Mason, Mia Marlowe
His Duty i
s to Fulfill Her Every Desire...Brandr the Far–Traveled has seen the world and a good many of the beautiful women in it. His bed skills are the stuff of steamy legend, his sword sings death, and he can call up fire from thin air. No one in a hundred years ever thought he could be enslaved through trickery and forced to wear the iron collar of a thrall—least of all him.
Until All She Desires is Him...
Katla the Black isn't just called so for her dark, silky hair. His new mistress has a temper as fierce as a warrior's and a heart as icy as the frozen North. But inch by delicious inch, Brandr means to make her melt..
Night Seeker (Indigo Court, #3)
by: Yasmine Galenorn
Eons ag
o, vampires tried to turn the dark Fae to harness their magic, only to create a demonic enemy more powerful than they could have imagined. Now, the Vampiric Fae are on the move, hunting anyone in their path. As the war with the vampires ratchets up, Myst, Queen of the Indigo Court, enshrouds New Forest in her chilling grasp.Cicely Waters, owl shifter and Wind Witch, has rescued the Fae Prince Grieve at a great cost. Their reunion has lost them the allegiance of the Summer Queen — and the tolerance of the vampires. In desperation they turn to the Consortium for help. Now, to regain the good will of Lainule, they must dare to enter the heart of Myst's realm. But as Cicely and Grieve embark on their search for the heartstone of Summer, Winter is already wreaking her terrifying revenge.
Samurai Game (Ghostwalkers, #10)
by: Christine Feehan
In an und
erground club, a high-ranking public official spends his secret nights indulging in fantasies as exciting as they are depraved. For a seductive employee of the Dungeon, it’s her job to fulfill them. But she’s playing a far more dangerous game—one of blackmail, politics, and murder that reaches into the shadow world of the Ghostwalkers, and the creation of a spectacular, one-of-a-kind new weapon of defense.But when a dictator makes his own catastrophic moves, the Ghostwalkers have no choice but to bring in two major players—a man and woman both driven by passion and revenge. Both expendable. Both with nothing left to lose.
YOUNG ADULT (July 3rd)
Dark Companion
by: Marta Acosta
When fo
ster teen Jane Williams is invited to attend elite Birch Grove Academy for Girls and escape her violent urban neighborhood, she thinks the offer is too good to be true. She's even offered her own living quarters, the groundskeeper's cottage in the center of the birch grove.Something's not quite right about the school -- or is it Jane? She thinks she sees things in the birch grove at night. She's also beginning to suspect that the elegant headmistress and her sons are hiding secrets. Lucky is the gorgeous, golden son who is especially attentive to Jane, and Jack is the sardonic puzzling brother.
The school with its talented teachers and bright students is a dream for a science and math geek like Jane. She also loves her new friends, including hilarious poetry-spouting rich girl, Mary Violet. But the longer Jane stays at Birch Grove, the more questions she has about the disappearance of another scholarship girl and a missing faculty member.
Jane discovers one secret about Birch Grove, which only leads to more mysteries. What is she willing to sacrifice in order to stay at this school...and be bound to Birch Grove forever?
Just For Fins (Fins, #3)
by: Tera Lynn Childs
When Lil
y Sanderson decided to remain Crown Princess Waterlily of the mermaid kingdom Thalassinia, she knew she couldn’t just coast along in the current. But since she’s spent the last couple of years on land—with gorgeous human Quince by her side—Lily’s not sure she has the fins to lead a kingdom. Even her maddeningly pretentious cousin Dosinia seems to know more about ruling than she does.But Lily has to dive in deep to keep her promise to Tellin, her mer bond in name only, whose kingdom is suffering in the changing ocean climate. Lily knows this is a seven seas–sized problem: from sea animals dying to oil spills and threats to humans. They’ll need to create some serious waves to make the mer community aware and get it to join together to make things right. Even if that means facing one of the iciest queens in the mer kingdoms.
Just when Lily thinks her double life on land and sea can’t get any more complicated, an ancient mer law might separate Lily and Quince after all. It feels as if the pair is up against a solid tsunami wave!
Once (Eve, #2)
by: Anna Carey
When
you're being hunted, who can you trust?For the first time since she escaped from her school many months ago, Eve can sleep soundly. She's living in Califia, a haven for women, protected from the terrifying fate that awaits orphaned girls in The New America.
But her safety came at a price: She was forced to abandon Caleb, the boy she loves, wounded and alone at the city gates. When Eve gets word that Caleb is in trouble, she sets out into the wild again to rescue him, only to be captured and brought to the City of Sand, the capital of The New America.
Trapped inside the City walls, Eve uncovers a shocking secret about her past--and is forced to confront the harsh reality of her future. When she discovers Caleb is alive, Eve attempts to flee her prison so they can be together--but the consequences could be deadly. She must make a desperate choice to save the ones she loves . . . or risk losing Caleb forever.
Team Human
by: Justine Larbalestier, Sarah Rees Brennan
Just beca
use Mel lives in New Whitby, a city founded by vampires, doesn't mean she knows any of the blood-drinking undead personally. They stay in their part of town; she says in hers. Until the day a vampire shows up at her high school. Worse yet, her best friend, Cathy, seems to be falling in love with him. It's up to Mel to save Cathy from a mistake she might regret for all eternityOn top of trying to help Cathy (whether she wants it or not), Mel is investigating a mysterious disappearance for another friend and discovering the attractions of a certain vampire wannabe. Combine all this with a cranky vampire cop, a number of unlikely romantic entanglements, and the occasional zombie, and soon Mel is hip-deep in an adventure that is equal parts hilarious and touching.
Acclaimed authors Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan team up to create a witty and poignant story of cool vampires, warm friendships, and the changes that test the bonds of love.
This Dark Earth
by: John Horner Jacobs
In a
bleak, zombie-ridden future, a small settlement fights for survival and looks to a teenager to lead them...So you survived the zombie uprising. Now what?
The land is contaminated, electronics are defunct, the ravenous undead remain, and life has fallen into a nasty and brutish state of nature. You need: food, water, weapons.
Welcome to Bridge City in what was once Arkansas—part medieval fortress, part Western outpost, and the precarious last chance for civilization.
A ten-year-old prodigy when the world ended, Gus is now at fourteen a battle-hardened young man. Gus designed Bridge City to protect the living few from the shamblers always at the gates. Now he’s being groomed by his physician mother, Lucy, and the gentle giant Knock-Out to become the next leader of men. But an army of slavers is on its way, and the war it wages for the city’s resources could mean the end of survival as we know it. Can Gus be humanity’s savior? If he is, will it mean becoming a dictator, a martyr, or maybe something worse than even the zombies?
Grab a sturdy headknocker, strap on some Kevlar, and prepare to shape the future of humankind.
Tiger Lily
by: Jodi Lynn Anderson
Before P
eter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . .Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.
Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.
With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Peaches comes a magical and bewitching story of the romance between a fearless heroine and the boy who wouldn't grow up.
Waking Storms (Lost Voices, #2)
by: Sarah Porter
After pa
rting ways with her troubled mermaid tribe, Luce just wants to live peacefully on her own. But her tranquility doesn’t last long: she receives news that the tribe is on the verge of collapse and desperately needs her leadership. The tribe’s cruel queen wants Luce dead. Dorian, the boy Luce broke mermaid law to save, is determined to make her pay for her part in the murder of his family. And while the mermaids cling to the idea that humans never suspect their existence, there are suddenly ominous signs to the contrary. But when Luce and Dorian meet, they start to wonder if love can overpower the hatred they know they should feel for each other. Can Luce fulfill her rightful role as queen of the mermaids without sacrificing her forbidden romance with Dorian?ADULT (July 10th)
Some Kind of Fairy Tale
by: Graham Joyce
It is Ch
ristmas afternoon and Peter Martin gets an unexpected phonecall from his parents, asking him to come round. It pulls him away from his wife and children and into a bewildering mystery.He arrives at his parents house and discovers that they have a visitor. His sister Tara. Not so unusual you might think, this is Christmas after all, a time when families get together. But twenty years ago Tara took a walk into the woods and never came back and as the years have gone by with no word from her the family have, unspoken, assumed that she was dead. Now she's back, tired, dirty, dishevelled, but happy and full of stories about twenty years spent travelling the world, an epic odyssey taken on a whim.
But her stories don't quite hang together and once she has cleaned herself up and got some sleep it becomes apparent that the intervening years have been very kind to Tara. She really does look no different from the young women who walked out the door twenty years ago. Peter's parents are just delighted to have their little girl back, but Peter and his best friend Richie, Tara's one time boyfriend, are not so sure. Tara seems happy enough but there is something about her. A haunted, otherworldly quality. Some would say it's as if she's off with the fairies. And as the months go by Peter begins to suspect that the woods around their homes are not finished with Tara and his family..
West of Want (Hearts of Anemoi, #2)
by: Laura Kaye
Betraya
l is all he’s ever known, but in her, he’ll find a love strong enough to be trusted…When Marcella Raines’ twin brother dies, she honors his request to be buried at sea, never expecting the violent storm that swamps her boat. Recently divorced over her infertility and gravely injured, Ella still fights to survive.
Zephyros Martius is the Supreme God of the West Wind and Spring, but being the strongest Anemoi hasn’t saved him from betrayal and loss—worse, he’s sure his brother Eurus is behind it. When Zeph’s heartbreak whips up a storm that shipwrecks a human, his guilt leads him to save her, but he vows not to get involved.
Ella’s honesty, empathy, and unique calming influence attract Zeph like no other, and he finds himself wanting…everything. Ella knows Zeph’s different and fears rejection, but falls for his otherworldly masculinity and ancient, sad blue eyes. When Eurus threatens Ella, she and Zeph struggle to let go of the past, defend their future, and embrace what they most want—a love that can be trusted.
Year Zero
by: Rob Reid
In the h
ilarious tradition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Rob Reid takes you on a headlong journey through the outer reaches of the universe—and the inner workings of our absurdly dysfunctional music industry.Low-level entertainment lawyer Nick Carter thinks it’s a prank, not an alien encounter, when a redheaded mullah and a curvaceous nun show up at his office. But Frampton and Carly are highly advanced (if bumbling) extraterrestrials. And boy, do they have news.
The entire cosmos, they tell him, has been hopelessly hooked on humanity’s music ever since “Year Zero” (1977 to us), when American pop songs first reached alien ears. This addiction has driven a vast intergalactic society to commit the biggest copyright violation since the Big Bang. The resulting fines and penalties have bankrupted the whole universe. We humans suddenly own everything—and the aliens are not amused.
Nick Carter has just been tapped to clean up this mess before things get ugly, and he’s an unlikely galaxy-hopping hero: He’s scared of heights. He’s also about to be fired. And he happens to have the same name as a Backstreet Boy. But he does know a thing or two about copyright law. And he’s packing a couple of other pencil-pushing superpowers that could come in handy.
Soon he’s on the run from a sinister parrot and a highly combustible vacuum cleaner. With Carly and Frampton as his guides, Nick now has forty-eight hours to save humanity, while hopefully wowing the hot girl who lives down the hall from him.
YOUNG ADULT (July 10th)
Dark Water (Siren, #3)
by: Tricia Rayburn
The sea
is calling, but the reluctant siren will do anything not to answer. . . . A year after the events that killed her sister and turned her into a siren, Vanessa is desperately trying to put her family back together and reclaim a “normal” life. But no matter how many times she swims, or how much salt water she drinks, she can feel herself getting weaker and weaker. She has no idea how to survive as a siren and she doesn’t want to know the truth about her newly discovered identity. It’s just too horrifying.
Then her biological mother shows up at her summer house in Maine—she is one of the Nenuphars, the most powerful of all sirens. She promises that she wants to help the daughter from whom she’s been separated for far too long. But is she to be trusted? Now Vanessa must face the harshest reality of all—to survive she must endanger and injure others—but is that any sort of life?
Chilling and romantic, Dark Water explores questions of identity as old as the sea, and brings the Siren trilogy to a startling conclusion.
Fury's Fire (Siren Storm, #2)
by: Lisa Papademetriou
At the e
nd of Siren's Storm, the Sirens were defeated, and now the town of Walfang is once again a peaceful beach community.Or is it? Gretchen and Will are still haunted by the memories of the night the Sirens were destroyed—Gretchen because she can't remember what happened and Will because he doesn't know how to tell Gretchen what he saw. He doesn't even understand what he saw, but he does know now that Gretchen is more than what she seems, more than a human girl. And at the same time, he is more in love with her than ever.
Gretchen knows there's something wrong, too. She feels like an alien in her own body, but she doesn't know why. And she feels a presence stalking her at every turn. Have the Sirens returned to Walfang? Or has some other force come to claim her?
Insignia (Insignia, #1)
by: S.J. Kincaid
More tha
n anything, Tom Raines wants to be important, though his shadowy life is anything but that. For years, Tom’s drifted from casino to casino with his unlucky gambler of a dad, gaming for their survival. Keeping a roof over their heads depends on a careful combination of skill, luck, con artistry, and staying invisible.Then one day, Tom stops being invisible. Someone’s been watching his virtual-reality prowess, and he’s offered the incredible—a place at the Pentagonal Spire, an elite military academy. There, Tom’s instincts for combat will be put to the test, and if he passes, he’ll become a member of the Intrasolar Forces, helping to lead his country to victory in World War Three. Finally, he’ll be someone important: a superhuman war machine with the tech skills that every virtual-reality warrior dreams of. Life at the Spire holds everything that Tom’s always wanted—friends, the possibility of a girlfriend, and a life where his every action matters—but what will it cost him?
Never Enough
by: Denise Jaden
From th
e author of Losing Faith, a novel about two sisters and the eating disorder that threatens to destroy their family.Loann’s always wanted to be popular and pretty like her sister, Claire. So when Claire’s ex-boyfriend starts flirting with her, Loann is willing to do whatever it takes to feel special… even if that means betraying her sister.
But as Loann slips inside Claire’s world, she discovers that everything is not as it seems. Claire’s quest for perfection is all-consuming, and comes at a dangerous price. As Claire increasingly withdraws from friends and family, Loann struggles to understand her and make amends. Can she heal their relationship —and her sister—before it’s too late?
Quarantine: The Loners (Quarantine, #1)
by: Lex Thomas
It was
just another ordinary day at McKinley High—until a massive explosion devastated the school. When loner David Thorpe tried to help his English teacher to safety, the teacher convulsed and died right in front of him. And that was just the beginning.A year later, McKinley has descended into chaos. All the students are infected with a virus that makes them deadly to adults. The school is under military quarantine. The teachers are gone. Violent gangs have formed based on high school social cliques. Without a gang, you’re as good as dead. And David has no gang. It’s just him and his little brother, Will, against the whole school.
In this frighteningly dark and captivating novel, Lex Thomas locks readers inside a school where kids don’t fight to be popular, they fight to stay alive.
So Close To You (So Close To You, #1)
by: Rachel Carter
Lydia
Bentley has heard stories about the Montauk Project all her life: stories about the strange things that took place at the abandoned military base near her home and the people who've disappeared over the years. Stories about people like her own great-grandfather.When Lydia stumbles into a portal that transports her to a dangerous and strange new reality, she discovers that all the stories she's ever heard about the Montauk Project are true, and that she's in the middle of one of the most dangerous experiments in history.
Alongside a darkly mysterious boy she is wary to trust, Lydia begins to unravel the secrets surrounding the Project. But the truths behind these secrets force her to question all her choices--and if Lydia chooses wrong, she might not save her family but destroy them . . . and herself.
The Forsaken (Forsaken, #1)
by: Lisa M. Stasse
A thoug
ht-provoking and exciting start to a riveting new dystopian trilogy.As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet—having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up.
The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.
MOVIES & TV SERIES (July 3rd-10th)
MOVIES (July 3rd)
Barbarella [blu-ray release]
Directed by: Roger Vadim
Starrin
g: Jane Fonda, John Phillip LawA voluptuous outer space agent travels to another galaxy in search of a missing inventor in this science fiction send-up. Barbarella (Jane Fonda), an interstellar representative of the united Earth government in the 41st century, is dispatched to locate scientist Durand Durand, whose positronic ray, if not recovered, could signal the end of humanity. Outfitted in an array of stunning Star Trek/Bond girl outfits and cruising around in a plush, psychedelic spaceship, Barbarella travels to the Tau Seti system and promptly crash-lands. She then spends the rest of the film discovering the joys of interstellar sex with a keeper of feral children (Ugo Tognazzi), a blind, beatific angel (John Phillip Law), and an inept revolutionary named Dildano (David Hemmings). Slowly but surely, she also finds her way to Durand Durand by moving from one exotic, Wizard of Oz-style locale to another. Along the way, she meets the kindly Professor Ping (a surprisingly verbal Marcel Marceau), a Eurotrash dominatrix named the Great Tyrant (Rolling Stones gal pal Anita Pallenberg), and the Concierge (Milo O'Shea), a strangely familiar lackey of the Great Tyrant who tries to destroy Barbarella with his great big organ of love. Jean-Claude Forest, who created the character Barbarella in 1962 for V-Magazine, served as visual advisor on the adaptation. The film's missing scientist character famously inspired the band name of '80s pop stars Duran Duran (who altered the spelling slightly).
God Bless America
Directed by: Bobcat Goldthwait
Starring: Joe
l Murray, Tara Lynne BarFrank (Joel Murray) has had enough of the downward spiral of American culture. Divorced, recently fired, and possibly terminally ill, Frank truly has nothing left to live for. But instead of taking his own life, he buys a gun and decides to take out his frustration on the cruelest, stupidest, most intolerant people he can imagine -- starting with some particularly odious reality television stars. Frank finds an unusual accomplice in a high-school student named Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr), who shares his sense of rage and disenfranchisement. Together they embark on a nationwide assault on our country's most irritating celebrities.
Jesus Henry Christ
Directed by: Dennis Lee
Starring:
Jason Speyack, Michael SheenThis colorful, modern family comedy revolves around 10-year-old boy genius Henry James Herman (Jason Spevack) and his fervently left-wing single mother Patricia (Toni Collette), who works at the local university's cafeteria. A misfit from birth, Henry's precocious, rabble-rousing ways catch up with him when he gets kicked out of school for writing "Manifestos on the Nature of Truth." Meanwhile, 12-year-old Audrey (Samantha Weinstein) has her own problems because of her single father, university professor Dr. Slavkin O'Hara (Michael Sheen), who used her as the test subject for his best-selling book Born Gay or Made that Way? Needless to say, she gets a not-so-nice nickname from her classmates. When Henry scores a scholarship to the university as a child prodigy, the two families cross paths and everything they knew about their lives is thrown to the wind.
Joe + Belle
Directed by: Veronica Kedar
Starrin
g: Veronica Kedar, Sivan LevyJoe + Belle is a funny and romantic new lesbian feature boasting a great story, a whimsically dark comic sensibility and stellar performances. Writer-director-star Veronica Kedar shines as Joe - a laid-back dope dealer full of magnetic charisma. Sivan Levy is Belle - a forlorn yet irresistibly sensual crazy girl who attaches herself to Joe and refuses to let go. The two women first meet when Belle breaks into Joe's house, then become an unlikely team when they accidentally shoot a guy - twice! - and must figure out how to get rid of the body and escape the authorities. They go on the lam together, and surprisingly fall in love amidst car chases, rocket bombs falling and other surprising misadventures.
Step Up [Blu-ray release]
Directed by: Anne Fletcher
Starri
ng: Channing Tatum, Jenna DewanAn aspiring ballerina from a wealthy family learns some lessons about both dancing and life from a roughneck with soul in this teen drama. Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum) grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in a rough section of Baltimore, and has been in and out of trouble with the law most of his life. Finding himself before the judge yet again, Tyler is sentenced to 200 hours of community service, and he ends up mopping floors at the Maryland School of the Arts. Tyler catches the eye of Nora (Jenna Dewan), a gifted ballet student who is trying to incorporate hip-hop moves into her classical routines. None of Nora's fellow students seem to be on the same page as her, but Tyler is a talented street dancer with strength, moves, and enthusiasm. Despite the misgivings of the school's administrators, Nora persuades Tyler to team up with her for a major class project. Tyler gains a new self-respect as he gives in to the discipline of the dance academy, but he wonders if this new opportunity means turning his back on who he really is. Matters become all the more complicated when Tyler and Nora realize they're falling in love. Step Up was the first directorial credit for choreographer Anne Fletcher, who designed dance routines for the films Bring It On, She's All That, and Boogie Nights.
The Forger
Directed by: Lawrence Roeck
Starring:
Josh Hutcherson, Hayden PanettiereTroubled, homeless 15-year-old Joshua (Josh Hutcherson, 'The Hunger Games') lives from hand to mouth on the streets. He lands in Carmel by the Sea, a small town in California known for its local art community, where his prodigious art skill is discovered. As his talent flourishes, Joshua is lured into the underground world of high dollar art forgery. At the same time, he falls in love with Amber, played by Hayden Panettiere ('Heroes'). Amber is a privileged girl from the wealthiest part of town. As the two become closer, the temptations of his new, illegal world become too great a lure for Joshua to resist. In the cutthroat and high stakes game of art forgery, where no one is who they appear to be, Joshua must now attempt to survive, stay true to himself and win back the heart of the girl he loves.
The Hunter
Directed by: Daniel Nettheim
Starring:
Willem DafoeThe Hunter is the story of Martin, a skilled and ruthless mercenary sent into the Tasmanian wilderness on a hunt for a tiger believed to be extinct. Hired by an anonymous company that wants the tiger's genetic material, Martin arrives in Tasmania posing as a scientist. He proceeds to set up base camp at a broken-down farmhouse, where he stays with a family whose father has gone missing. Usually a loner, Martin becomes increasingly close to the family; however, as his attachment to the family grows, Martin is led down a path of unforeseen dangers, complicating his deadly mission.
TV SERIES (July 3rd)
Man vs. Wild: Season 6
Starring: Bea
r GryllsMAN VS. WILD Season 6 brings seasoned adventurer Bear Grylls face to face with the grueling task of navigating remote locations, sharing invaluable survival strategies along the way.
The Women of SNL
Starring:
n/aThe Women of SNL features a showcase of the incredibly talented women who have created some of the funniest and most memorable characters on Saturday Night Live throughout its rich history. Beginning with a Real Housewives parody, host Andy Cohen invites some of the women of SNL back to studio 8H for a comically charged reunion show with an honest "Housewives-style" tell-all that lets us know what they've been up to since being featured on Saturday Night Live. Then take a look back at some classic sketches such as Debbie Downer, Mary Katherine Gallagher, The Lawrence Welk Show, Oprah, Bronx Beat, and the Nerds. You'll also enjoy backstage stories and some of your favorite impressions that can only be seen here, including ones from the women who began it all, Gilda Radner, Laraine Newman and Jane Curtin.
MOVIES (July 10th)
American Reunion
Directed by: Hayden Schlossberg
Starring:
Jason Biggs, Alyson HanniganIn the comedy American Reunion, all the American Pie characters we met a little more than a decade ago return to East Great Falls for their high-school reunion. In one long-overdue weekend, they will discover what has changed, who hasn't and that time and distance can't break the bonds of friendship. It was summer 1999 when four small-town Michigan boys began a quest to lose their virginity. In the years that have passed, Jim and Michelle married while Kevin and Vicky said goodbye. Oz and Heather grew apart, but Finch still longs for Stifler's mom. Now these lifelong friends have come home as adults to reminisce about-and get inspired by-the hormonal teens who launched a comedy legend.
Being Flynn
Directed by: Paul Weitz
Starri
ng: Paul Dano, Robert De NiroWriter-director Paul Weitz turns his hand to this moving portrait of fathers and sons. Based on a true story, Being Flynn follows Nick Flynn (Paul Dano) who is shocked to have his eccentric and long-absent father, Jonathan (Robert De Niro) reach out to him unexpectedly. Still feeling the loss of his mother (played in flashbacks by Julianne Moore) in the midst of starting a new relationship with Denise (Olivia Thirlby), the last person Nick wants to see is his father. But you can't outrun fate and slowly Nick comes to realize he has been given the chance to make a real future not only for himself, but for his struggling father too.
Fatso
Directed by: Arild Frohlich
Starrin
g: Nils Jorgen KaalstadNot to be confused with the 1980 Anne Bancroft-Dom DeLuise farce of the same name, this raunchy Finnish sex comedy stars Nils Jorgen Kaalstad as Rino Hanssen, a virginal, agoraphobic porn addict who still lives with his father at age 30 - and whose only friend is a hateful, asthmatic loser named Filip (Kyrre Hellum). Circumstances change somewhat when Rino's dad opts to rent one of the rooms in his apartment to a beautiful, free-spirited young girl named Malin - so free-spirited, in fact, that she finds meaning through constant sex and wild living. One step at a time, Rino finds himself drawn out of his shell and into a world he has long sought to avoid; fears of failure and rejection linger, however, making this transition an extremely challenging and frightening one for Rino.
Flowers of War
Directed by: Yimou Zhang
Starring: Chr
istian BaleIn 1937, Nanking stands at the forefront of a war between China and Japan. As the invading Japanese Imperial Army overruns China's capital city, desperate civilians seek refuge behind the nominally protective walls of a western cathedral. Here, John Miller (Christian Bale), an American trapped amidst the chaos of battle and the ensuing occupation takes shelter, joined by a group of innocent schoolgirls and thirteen courtesans, equally determined to escape the horrors taking place outside the church walls. Struggling to survive the violence and persecution wrought by the Japanese army, it is an act of heroism which eventually leads the seemingly disparate group to fight back, risking their lives for the sake of everyone.
I Kissed a Vampire
Directed by: Chris Nolan
Starring: L
ucas Brabeel, Drew SeeleyHaunted by bizarre dreams about Goth rocker Trey Sylvania (Drew Seeley), and experiencing a growing lust for blood, Dylan (Lucas Grabeel), a not-so-average teenager finds himself transforming into a vampire! It all started when he was bitten by a voracious fanged exchange student, and it's a process he is desperate to stop - but how? His demented dentist can't do anything about Dylan's aching teeth and emerging fangs, and the anti-bloodsucking pills he gets from his para-psychologist just give him a rash. Dylan is terrified and he doesn't know what to do - especially about his beautiful girlfriend Sara (Adrian Slade).
Margaret
Directed by: Kenneth Lonergan
Starring: A
nna Paquin, Matt DamonMargaret centers on a 17-year-old New York City high-school student who feels certain that she inadvertently played a role in a traffic accident that has claimed a woman's life. In her attempts to set things right she meets with opposition at every step. Torn apart with frustration, she begins emotionally brutalizing her family, her friends, her teachers, and most of all, herself. She has been confronted quite unexpectedly with a basic truth: that her youthful ideals are on a collision course against the realities and compromises of the adult world.
Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog
Directed by: Sai Yoichi
Starring
: n/a (documentary)Based on a true story, Quill: The Life of a Guide Dog is the sweet tale of a yellow Labrador Retriever guide dog for the blind named Quill. We follow Quill from the litter to his selection as a guide dog shortly after his first birthday. After training at a school for guide dogs, Quill is paired with a blind man named Watanabe who at first is reluctant to rely on him. But Quill's great patience, gentleness and skill eventually win him over and they become inseparable friends.
Seven Minutes In Heaven
Directed by: Omri Givon
Starring: Reymond Amsalem, Benjamin Jagendorf
A woma
n's brush with death forces her to re-examine her past and present in this drama from Israel. Galia (Reymond Amsalem) was riding a city bus when a suicide bomber on board set off an explosive device. While Galia survived the bombing, she suffered severe burns and injuries and was declared clinically dead for seven minutes. While Galia's body has been healing steadily, her mind is still struggling to make sense of what happened; she has no memory of the terrible day, and can only piece together nightmarish flashes of the chaotic events. Itzik (Benjamin Jagendorf) is a seminarian who was on hand to help the injured on the day of the explosion, and he attempts to counsel Galia, helping her put together the shards of her memory and explain his theory that the souls of people who have briefly been "dead" often have trouble reacquainting themselves after they've traveled outside the body. As Galia ponders these questions about her life and her spirit, she finds comfort in her new friendship with Boaz (Eldad Fribas). Sheva Dakot Be Gan Eden (aka Seven Minutes In Heaven) was the first feature film from director Omri Givon.TV SERIES (July 10th)
Adventure Time: Season 1
Starrin
g: n/aWhat time is it? It's time for Adventure Time: The Complete First Season DVD. The Cartoon Network's #1 hit comedy show and Emmy nominated series that centers on the post apocalyptic adventures of Finn, a human boy with a funny hat, and his friend Jake.
Earthworm Jim: Complete Series
Starrin
g: n/aJim was a multi-celled life form happily burrowing through the topsoil. His life changed in a flash when an extraterrestrial super-suit fell out of the sky. Instantly transformed from a 98 gram weakling into a muscular worm endowed with superpowers, extraordinary strength and the ability to leap incredible heights and distances, the suit renders him invulnerable. Earthworm Jim: daring defender of Earth, the cosmos and everything in between!
iCarly: Season 4
Sta
rring: Miranda Cosgrove, Jennette McCurdyHold your sauce - Freddie and Sam are officially together! You won't want to miss all the comedic ups-and-downs of this crazy relationship. Also this season, Carly starts dating a super smart guy, Nora returns in a 2-part episode, the crew gets a visit from a VIP, and lots more to make you LOL!
The Glades: Season 2
Starring
: Matt Passmore, Kiele SanchezMatt Passmore is back as Jim Longworth - a Chicago detective who relocates to South Florida - in the compelling and wryly humorous second season of The Glades. When he's not hitting the links, Longworth is haunted by old ghosts, facing an intriguing caseload of baffling homicides. Amid mobsters, NASCAR drivers, bootleggers, and sideshow freaks, everyone is a suspect. Meanwhile, Jim and Callie's fledgling relationship is threatened when her husband is released from prison and an old flame reappears. And Jim will need a lot more than good looks and devilish charm when a final standoff leaves Callie's life in jeopardy.
Warehouse 13: Season 3
Starring:
Simon Reynolds, Saul RubinekReturn to the mysterious Warehouse for the most thrilling season yet of Syfy's most popular series ever! Pete, Myka, Claudia & Artie are joined by new agent Steve Jinks (Aaron Ashmore, Smallville) as they pursue dangerous new missions, and face a powerful new enemy whose vendetta against the Warehouse knows no bounds. Filled with explosive action, fantastical artifacts and inventive gadgetry, this collectible three-disc set is packed with every Season Three episode and riveting bonus features including a never-before-seen episode of the webisode series "Of Monsters and Men."
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