Random Previews: Feb 2010

Yikes! I almost missed February's random previews. That's not good at all, especially with all the cool movies coming out.


- The Bounty Hunter (19 march 2010)
LOL!! This looks like a couple's movie for sure. And I don't mean dating couples. I mean married couples. Just like Mr. And Mrs. Smith is a married couple's movie. Most single and/or dating people don't get it but the married people will LOVE it. I definitely want to see this, even if Gerard Butler does look like he put on a little weight (nooooo!! that 300 physique gone to waste. WHY!!?).

- The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Limited Release Starting March)
I know nothing about the books. The preview told me this is a trilogy. The website told me more about the premise since the trailer (and more than likely) the movie is meant for the fans. It's kind of rare for me to be on the outside looking in at a highly anticipated for-fans movie, but... here I am. Can't say as I'm impressed with the trailer or the premise. Maybe a DVD movie.

- Chloe (26 March 2010)
Interesting premise. It's got a Single White Female vibe going. Looks like fun and I'll enjoy watching it. Maybe not in the theaters but I'll definitely try to see it.

- Centurion (UK Release April, US Release?)
Now this looks nice. It would probably make a great double feature with the new Robin Hood that's coming out. BUT, since there seems to be no release date for the US and past experience (Dorian Gray) has shown I may not get a chance to see it.

- The Sorcerer's Apprentice (16 July 2010)
:D

Disney is on! I can't wait to see this. Really, I just want to see the dragon but the rest of the movie looks good too.

Manga Review: King Of Debt

King of Debt by Sanae Rokuya


Publisher: 801 Media / Oakla Publishing
Price: $12.95
Genre: Yaoi, Drama, Romance
Themes: Host Club, Boxing
Rating: Mature 18+
Volumes: 1
ISBNs: 978-1-934129-16-6



Basic Premise:
One shot, multiple stories
King of Debt (title story)
Souta Saiki is always lending money to his friend Taketora. He's on the verge of cutting him off unless Taketora can convince him otherwise.

Rush
Shinpachi Nakamura wants to be the best boxer there is. He just has to get past Tsugihiro Fujieda's training of his body first.

My Dear, My Bear
Minori's brother abandoned him a year ago with nothing but a note a small stuffed bear. Minori is making due until his bear becomes a real man willing to take care of him.

Call My Name
Yanase confessed to Natsume back in high school and got rejected. A few years later they are reunited but has Natsume had a change of heart or developed a cruel streak?

VS
Ryuuji is determined to topple Natsuki has the top host in his first month of working. Or maybe Ryuuji just wants to topple Natsuki.

Extra Manga
One last visit with each of the couples.


Sex Shown:
The drawings aren't detailed but the sex is graphic. There are silhouettes penetrating silhouettes.


Review:
Each story was really short so writing a review for each seems a little troublesome. They were all good. My favorite couple was Minori and Bear followed by Natsuki and Ryuuji.

I love that Rokuya-sensei never actually gave "Bear" a name. It was too cute that Minori kept calling him Bear. It was also kind of funny that he just accepted the fact that his stuffed teddy bear turned into a real man.

Natsuki and Ryuuji end off with a strange conundrum -- which is the uke and which is the seme? As well as, how old is Ryuuji really? Those two questions kept the story intriguing for and make me want to read it again and again just to see if I'll get a hidden clue as to the answer of both.

Manga Review: Hey, Sensei!?

Hey, Sensei!? by Yaya Sakuragi

Publisher: DMP June
Price: $12.95
Genre: Boy's Love, Drama, Comedy, Romance
Themes: High School, Teacher-Student
Rating: Mature 18+
Volumes: 1
ISBNs: 978-1-56970-047-1



Basic Premise:
One Shot - Hey Sensei!? (title story)
Takashi Homura is in love with Isa-sensei, his high school math teacher. For Isa-sensei there are just too many obstacles besides the student-teacher impropriety to surmount -- the ten-year age gap, for instance. Can Takashi get Isa-sensei to forget all of that in the name of love?

Side Story - Unbreakable Bones
Yuji and Manabu are childhood friends. In the past Yuji protected Manabu. In the present, Yuji is a ramen delivery boy who used to be a delinquent and Manabu is a cop. It's an odd couple but can they make it work?



Sex Shown:
For Both - Bodies are in sexual positions, doing sexual actions, and there are allusions to anatomy but no real detail.


Review:
Hey Sensei!?
A cute story and good for a momentary distraction. I didn't feel like Sakuragi-sensei explored the characters enough. Even though the chapters were told from either Takashi's point of view or Isa's point of view, I still didn't feel like I was "in" the characters.

Even though both characters admit to feeling strongly for each other, it seemed like they are both just marking time until one of them sees something shiny and leaves. Not a couple I could find myself attached to. As well, there were a few things left dangling like Takashi's sister and what she would think of all of this.

Unbreakable Bones
I liked Manabu and Yuji. I almost feel like they should have been the main story OR be given their own one shot so the full story could be explored. There was a lot of depth for a story that only took one chapter.

On a side note, I thought the puppy in this story was incredibly cute. Yuji looked that much manlier carrying it. :D

CBL - Finished!

I be done.

Contractually Bound Love is finished at 94,770 words.

I finished just now. I wanted to pop on and write a quick note before heading off to bed.

This coming weekend (my weekend, not the traditional weekend) I get to do the final read through before sending it off to my betas, come up with a blurb, write the query, and stamp out a quick one-page synopsis.

I loved that "finished" feeling. Everything unwinds. :D

Title! (And Writing Update)

I knew it would come to me if I just stewed on it for a little while. "Baby" now has a title.

Contractually Bound Love

It speaks to the entire theme of the book and goes great with the cover idea I have. I'm a happy Renee now. I'll be even happier when the last two chapters come together. Believe it or not, I had finished yesterday... well almost.

I had everything written except the closing paragraph. I just couldn't figure out how to end the book. I put it aside so I could take my shower and get ready for bed (work night). As usual, the shower helped me think (ahhh relaxing hot water) and I decided I didn't like the last two chapters... actually the last chapter and a half, so I killed them.

Not to worry, not to worry. I killed them but I replaced them with something I like a whole lot better. I have it all mapped out in my head and thanks to some help from Flash and her knowledge of labor and delivery (she used to intern), I now have a better picture of how the ending will look.

I'm off to take another relaxing shower and then get some writing in before I head off to sleepy land. Yes, I work tonight too.

Movie Review: Percy Jackson Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief


Basic Premise:
Percy Jackson is the half human son of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. Percy has only just found out this news when he's thrust into a dangerous quest to recover Zeus's stolen lightning bolt before all of Olympus is torn apart by war.

Writing Update 13 Feb

"You haven't updated your meter. WTF!!!?"

Oh, bless you for actually visiting my blog to check on my progress. I'd hug you but I don't know where you've been... and the whole cyber space thing. :P

I haven't updated my meters because I no longer have a word goal for "Baby". Really. It was supposed to be a quick, simple 30k story. It's now clocking in at 83k (waaaaaaay more than the 60k I have on the meter) and I still have 4 chapters left to write.

So yes, I am almost finished. That is yippee-worthy news. BUT, my "day job" (remember I work nights, hence the quotes) has me too tired to do more than stumble in the door and stare blankly into space.

I'll have more energy after tonight since this is my Friday. I'm aiming to get this bad boy finished so I can jump into my dragon story. It's calling me hardcore but I want to finish one before I move on to another. A new work ethic I think will help me actually finish some books.

I only have one major issue so far as "Baby" is concerned... I have no clue what to call it. I need to come up with a title before I can submit it. As it is a Zen-Ren story, I can't simply name it after the heroine like my DRB books. That's a DRB foible so I want to keep the distinction. If the heroine's name appears in the title, good. If not, I'm not too upset. I would just like a title... any title... so long as it isn't cheesy or too pun-ish.

*sigh*

It'll come to me. Hopefully in the next few days.

Snowed In

Maryland is snowed in. Yup, pretty much the whole state. Governor O'Malley has declared a second state of emergency in almost as many weeks. I called in to work last night thinking the snow would only get worse and I might get stuck at work (20-30min drive from my house depending on traffic). The snow was already a foot high and covering the ground as fast as I cleared it. After ten minutes of fighting with it, I said "screw it" and went back inside to the heat and my phone.

By 7am Saturday morning, everything I had cleared the night before was completely buried and there was a foot and a half snow drift outside my front door. That pretty much guaranteed I wasn't going to work tonight either.

Around 9:30pm, I checked out MD transportation online and saw that O'Malley had called it and was telling people to stay off the roads for their own safety as well as to leave everything open and clear for emergency vehicles, so I did the call in thing again. I didn't think anyone would be there but thought I should call just the same. Come to find out there were people there. One manager had actually braved conditions to show up while a few others had gotten snowed in from the night before and had to stay in a nearby hotel during the day. I guess they figured they might as well go to work since they were already there.

Suffice to say, if I'm going to be stuck, I'm glad I got stuck at home. Oh yeah, today is my Friday. :P