Dinner and a movie Thursday.....

It is so much fun going to movies that the girls have been in.  They spend so much time on set.  Sometimes they are featured more than others but in the end, it is still very exciting.  They always come home with behind the scene stories.  Plus it is also fun to see their names on the movie's IMDb page.  Tonight was the early premier of The Darkest Minds.  We had a blast looking for them to appear in different scenes of the movie tonight.  A trailer for another movie came on before The Darkest Minds which they were in as well called The Hate U Give.  It looks very intense.  See you at the movies.........

While we were watching The Originals tonight.......

a trailer for The Darkest Minds movie came on.  Whoo hoo!  Both the girls spent a LOT of time on this movie set which was film at Stone Mountain and a closed former military base in GA.  Cannot wait to see it.

There will be a special early screening in California in a few weeks.  Find that info here.

It is official............

The girls are booked for at least ten overnight shoots between now and the end of this month before they wrap on this current movie.
 

They have actually both been given a little more of a role in this film.  They will both be playing the parts of ___________.  Ha ha, no details!

The overnight shoots are pretty hard on all of us.  For them, they have to stay awake all night and sleep most of the day and then back to it.  For me, I have to sleep two or three hours, take them to the location, which is usually at least an hour drive, and then sit in traffic for hours to get back home, then I have to work and all my other tasks, and get ready to go back and get them at an undetermined time.  Usually if they go in, for example, at 6 p.m. adding 12 hours on to that would be about the right time to go back but sometimes they wrap early, sometimes they wrap late.  I always like to get back early so they don't have to wait on me.  Who needs sleep anyway?

We will be watching The Hunger Games tonight in honor of .........

the 5 year anniversary of the original release.  Popcorn and candy:  Check, check!

Check out Irish writer Peadar O'Guilin's book........

The Call.  This book will take you to the darker side of Irish mythology and surviving.  Check out Peadar's website here.

He is also one seriously nice guy.

We were lucky enough to meet him on his book tour to promote this awesome book.  You can read about that here.

Young adult or old adult, this is a must read!

Find Peadar on Twitter and Facebook.

Paper Towns. We just saw the early premiere and loved it!!! John Green does it again!

The Maze Runner movie review

***Beware, there may be spoilers in this movie review.  I tried really hard not to include any spoilers.

My thoughts are that this is an action-packed movie with a lot of young talent.  

The Maze Runner movie is based on the best-selling novel by James Dashner and accumulated a mere 32.5 million on the opening weekend.  I would say that is pretty good!  A sequel to The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is set to be released in September 2015.


Imagine yourself waking up in a rusty elevator only to find you are trapped in
a massive maze and you have no memory of anything, not even your own name.

You discover that there are at least 60 other boys there just like you, this is what happened to Thomas (Dylan O'Brien).

A new boy a.k.a. a greenie is sent into the maze every 30 days via elevator.  The boys have formed a society of sorts in the middle of this ever-shifting maze (the Glade).  The boys are not the only inhabitants in the maze. The maze is also home to mysterious creatures in the maze called Grievers.

Everyone in the glade has a job to do in order to survive. These jobs include healers, builders, and runners.

Thomas is very curious and brave and all he wants to do is get out of the maze.  He is the protagonist in the story.  He instantly makes friends and enemies.  He eventually proves himself as a leader among the group.

Alby (Aml Ameen) is the society's leader.  He is head strong and experienced.  All the boys love Alby and respect Alby.  He has been there the longest.

The runners run through the maze every day trying to find a way out.  Minho (Ki Hong Lee) is the lead runner.  He has also been in the Glade for a long time.  He is a dependable runner, and he knows a little more than he is letting on to.

Chuck (Blake Cooper) is the youngest in the group and has a stellar attitude.  He is Thomas' guide on Thomas' first night in the Glade.  While a little on the annoying side, he is very innocent and naive. Thomas grows to love Chuck like a younger brother.

Newt (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) also plays an intricate role in this group.  Newt is the second in command.  He is very direct and a little sarcastic at times.  He and Thomas become friends.

Gally (Will Poulter) was not a fan of Thomas' from the start.  Gally is not the most popular Glader in the Glade.  He is a bully and is suspicious of Thomas.  He encourages the other Gladers to be suspicious of Thomas as well.

Teresa (Kaya Scodelario) is a teenage girl arriving in the Glade after Thomas.  Thomas believes he knows Teresa but cannot remember how.  Their connection is eventually revealed.

These Grievers come out after dark with the sole purpose of killing the Gladers. Watch a clip of the grievers in action here.

20th Century Fox 

Here is a full list of the cast.
Glader slang
My other short blog post
Movie trailer
My Pinterest page
Other Pinterest
Facebook Maze Runner Movie

The Maze Runner gets two thumbs up!!! Full review coming soon.

Visit the official Maze Runner Site.

City of Heavenly Fire countdown

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones movie review.

from Shadowhunters' wikia.

This post has been a long time coming, since last year!  When I finished up this blog post, I decided to let my Mortal Instruments expert, C14, read my post before I posted it.  As she was reading, I could hear a little snickering here and there so I figured she was just laughing at my mundane writing, and she knows way more about this than I ever will so I gave her the challenge of sitting down and "improving" my original work.  When I blog, I want the information to be correct no matter what the blog post is about or I do not want to blog it.  So here is the finished post that I coauthored with C14.  It is a little interesting though when I went back to see what she changed and added,  I discovered we have similar writing styles because I could not tell in some parts if I wrote it or she wrote it.  She is a fantastic writer! 

So when my girls get obsessed with something, they really get obsessed with it.  C14 has a very select few favorite authors/book series at the moment and one is, you guessed it, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. I have seen the movie at least five times.  C14 has seen the movie at least five times more than me.  This is not a comparison of this movie to The Hunger Games, Twilight, and especially not Harry Potter.  In my opinion, they can only be classified in the same type of genre, and for me and C14, that is where the similarities stop!

A very brief summary, (my version of brief anyway).  This is a science fiction/romance/fantasy movie.  The movie starts out with a relatively normal teenager girl in New York but she soon discovers that she is not all that normal and that she is actually a Shadowhunter-which is a race of half-angel beings- sworn to ridding the world of demons.

It is probably a good idea to go ahead and give a few descriptions and character information so it is a little clearer what is actually going on but if you are a non-reader and have not seen the movie, you will probably be lost anyway.  We tried to make sure there were no spoilers here in case after reading this blog post, you want to check it out.

~Mundane-a normal human with no special powers, just mundane.  A mundie!  

~Shadowhunters (also known as Nephilim or the Angel's Children) The job of a Shadowhunter is to control the Shadow World (or Downworld) and all the demons and downworlders that live there.  Though technically these Shadowhunters are human, they can age and die; but the angelic blood gives them a special ability to do things that "mundanes" cannot do.  Feats beyond human possibilities.  They accomplish these feats through the

angelic runes. 

Nephilim-a human-angel hybrid.

~runes- Are symbols given to the Shadowhunters by the Angel Raziel, which Shadowhunters burn into their skin to grant them various abilities, supernatural abilities, abilities above and beyond that of a regular mundane. These include strength, stamina, healing, speed, precision, memory, angelic power, agility, and courage.

~downworlders-these are the non-demon, supernatural folks that inhabit the Shadow World.  This means they are part human and part demon.  They possess a human soul, and they are counted as part of the human race but downworlders are typically classified as the werewolves (children of the moon), vampires (children of the night), warlocks (Lilith's children), and the faeries (the Fair Folk). The downworlder list can also include nixies, ifrits, mermaids, and peris.  Although downworlders cannot use runes, each type of Downworlder has their own supernatural abilities. 

~Stele- a wand-shaped object made of adamas- a heavenly metal forged by the Iron Sisters- which Shadowhunters use to apply their runes. 

~Nixie-a water faerie. 

~Ifrits-ifrits are technically warlocks, although they cannot perform magic for whatever reason. 

The Clave-This just means the political body, the law.

~Accords-The Accords are a peace treaty between Shadowhunters and Downworlders. They must be re-signed every fifteen years in the Shadowhunter's home country of Idris.  

~Parabatai-a pair of Shadowhunters that fight together and are very close, like siblings.  In this series, Jace and Alec are parabatai. You can only have one parabatai in your lifetime, and the bond is only severed by the death of one of the pair, or if one becomes a mundane, downworlder, Silent Brother or Iron Sister. Parabatai can draw on each other's strength in battle, and because of this, have access to runes only they can use. 

~Portal-a portal is used to transport someone/something from one location to another. Shadowhunters cannot use magic, so the assistance of a warlock is needed to create- and close- them. 

~The Mortal Cup-this is one of the three mortal instruments given to the first Shadowhunter by the angel Raziel. Raziel poured his blood into it, and whoever drank from it became a Shadowhunter. 

~Witchlight stone-a small stone used as a flashlight.  It lights up, a stone that lights up.

~Institutes- Institutes are located all over the world and serve as safe houses for Shadowhunters. 

~Silent Brothers- The Silent Brothers are the archivists of the Shadowhunters, keeping extensive records of Shadowhunter histories and the Shadowhunters themselves. They lock these records away in the depths of the Silent City, which only they can access. Though Shadowhunters once, they have chosen to take upon them some of the most powerful runes in existence, in the pursuit of knowledge. Their mouths are usually sewn shut, and they have no eyes. They wear long parchment-colored robes. Despite their unsettling appearance, the Silent Brothers are typically friendly toward other Shadowhunters.

~Iron Sisters- Little is known about the Iron Sisters, as they choose to keep themselves hidden away in the Adamant Citadel- which only female Shadowhunters are permitted to enter. They are the weapon-makers of the Shadow World, and create all the steles, witchlights and seraph blades. Unlike the Silent Brothers, they don't sew their mouths shut or remove their eyes, and wear long white gowns instead of robes. The only thing unusual about their appearance is their eye color, often described as resembling flames. 

CHARACTERS:  

Lily Collins

~Clary Fray-teenage girl protagonist raised by her mother. 

Lena Headey

~Jocelyn Fray-Clary's mother and ex-Shadowhunter.







~Jace Wayland/Lightwood/Morgenstern/Herondale-Jace is an

Jamie Campbell Bower

orphaned Shadowhunter.  He lives at the Institute in New York.

Robert Michael Sheehan

~Simon Lewis-Clary's best friend of ten years, and he is in love with Clary but she has no interest in him.  

Jemima West

~Isabelle Lightwood-"Izzy is a Shadowhunter and the only daughter of Maryse and Robet Lightwood.  She is little sister to Alec Lightwood.






~Alexander Lightwood-Alec (Isabelle's brother) is a Shadowhunter but he has never killed a demon.  Alec is in love with Jace and is jealous of the relationship forming between

Kevin Zegers

Jace and Clary.

Aidan Turner

~Luke Garroway-was a Shadowhunter and is best friends with Jocelyn and loves her.  They have a very close relationship.  Clary considers him her father.  He becomes a werewolf because Valentine Morgenstern betrays him.  

Jonathan Rhys Meyers

~Valentine Morgenstern-This dude is a powerhouse of evil.  He is a Shadowhunter that reappears after years of hiding.  He was presumed dead.  He tries to steal the Mortal Cup from his former wife, drum roll, Jocelyn. 

Godfrey Gao

~Magnus Bane-He is the High Warlock of Brooklyn and he looks high walking around in his underwear and a jacket.  He is very interested in Alec Lightwood.

Jared Harris

~Hodge Starkweather-Hodge is a tutor.  He suffers a curse that was cast by the Clave which keeps him trapped inside the Institute as punishment.  He secretly joined forces with Valentine who can release him from the curse but does he?


Finally!  The main character, Clary, played by Lily Collins finds out that her mother is actually a Shadowhunter.  Cool!  Clary did not know that her mother was a half-angel warrior until she was kidnapped by demonic goons that wanted the Mortal Cup that she had hid.  After Clary's mother was kidnapped, she meets up with Jace.  He is a bad boy, a very blond and very tattooed bad boy that looks like an angel.  I would call him a cutie but C14 would call me a mundane so I won't call him a cutie even though he is. After Clary finds out she is a descendant of the Shadowhunter line, she teams up with Jace and other Shadowhunters at the Institute to find her mother.  Clary's adventures take her through many shocking surprises, and she learns a lot about who she is.  She also leans a few disturbing bits of information that are untrue but I cannot say more because if you do not know, it would ruin the story for you.  

I would say is it definitely worth the time reading or watching whether you are a mundane or not!  

Latin lesson-sed lex dura lex-The Law is hard, but it is the Law.

Need more?
Cassandra Clare's blog
Shmoop
Wiki
more cast and crew
movie trailer youtube
my Pinterest page
Facebook movie page
another Facebook page
Cassandra Clare's Facebook page
Too many to count Pinterest pages
Twitter pages

**This is just our review of the movie adaptation Mortal Instruments: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.  We did not receive anything for this blog post, although Ms. Clare, if you are reading this, an autograph would be awesome!  Just sayin'! 
**These photographs were taken from multiple sites on the internet.