Movie Review #4: Ender's Game

Another movie review! I saw the movie Ender's Game recently and thought I would do a review. This is pretty much spoiler free.

Title: Ender's Game
Director: Gavin Hood
Rating: PG-13
My Rating: 4 Crowns
Release Date: November 1, 2013

Let me be honest, I firstly decided to watch this because Asa Butterfield is in it. I had a tiny obsession with him a couple years ago. But I also decided to watch it because I heard that it was good from some of my trusted friends.

PLOT

The plot was interesting but to be fair, f it wasn't I probably would not have continued to watch it. I thought the whole concept of the film was fairly interesting. I liked how there was a training school in space and how the characters were sent there if they had a certain potential. I didn't really understand why they were trying to wage war on a species that wasn't doing anything to hurt them. But otherwise, the plot was rather interesting.

ACTORS/CHARACTERS

Asa Butterfield plays the lead character, Ender. He was really good as the role. Ender has a pretty bad life. He is brillant and so that gives people reason to bully him. However, he gets chosen to go to battle school because of his scores and actions. Ender is really brave and determined to make his way in this world but he does have a few things that pull him back at times. Overall, Asa was a delight to watch and I enjoyed his character. 

Harrison Ford plays the Colonel. I didn't enjoy his character all that much because he was rather rude and pushed Ender even when he didn't really want to do whatever it was. He was still good in his role but I didn't much enjoy the character he played. 

Hailee Steinfeld played Petra and I adored her. She was strong and really smart and was one of the first people to open up to Ender in battle school. Ender was slightly out of place and Petra made sure he had a friend and could count on her. 

FIGHTING

The fighting is mostly on screens or virtually but there is a little where Ender fights other children. Otherwise, I didn't think there was much fighting. 

CONTENT FOR OLDER VIEWERS ONLY?

PG-13 is a good rating for this film. It does have a couple things that younger kids wouldn't understand and some of the themes could get younger kids annoyed or confused but otherwise it was reasonable.

I recommend this movie and think it is a good movie to watch for enjoyment. Don't judge it too hard. 

Lock and Mori by Heather W. Petty Review

This is a spoiler free review!

Lock and Mori

Written by Heather W. Petty

Genre: Young Adult/Mystery/Retelling

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Release Date: September 15, 2016

Pages: 248

Source: Library

Places to Get this Book: Amazon Barnes and Noble Book Depository

Recommended Age: 13 and up!

Summary:

In modern-day London, two brilliant high school students—one Sherlock Holmes and a Miss James “Mori” Moriarty—meet. A murder will bring them together. The truth very well might drive them apart.

Before they were mortal enemies, they were much more…

FACT: Someone has been murdered in London’s Regent’s Park. The police have no leads.

FACT: Miss James “Mori” Moriarty and Sherlock “Lock” Holmes should be hitting the books on a school night. Instead, they are out crashing a crime scene.

FACT: Lock has challenged Mori to solve the case before he does. Challenge accepted.

FACT: Despite agreeing to Lock’s one rule—they must share every clue with each other—Mori is keeping secrets.

OBSERVATION: Sometimes you can’t trust the people closest to you with matters of the heart. And after this case, Mori may never trust Lock again

Review:

Such an amazing Sherlock rendition. It made me laugh and almost sob. It was also really creepy and chilled me to the bone. I really enjoyed this one. I was a little bit worried because of what some of the goodreads reviews said. A lot of people didn't think it was a good Sherlock retelling but I honestly thought it was one of the best.

COVER

Not sure how I feel about the cover. It is interesting, that's for sure. I like how they have the two main character's faces on the front and I also like how it is kind of foggy and mysterious, just like the actual book.

WORLD-BUILDING

Not really much world-building in this one just because it is set in modern day England. But Mori lives on Baker Street and Sherlock actually lives at 221 Baker Street. *squeals* As you can probably tell, I am a huge fan of the TV show, Sherlock.

Then there are the characters.

MORI

Mori is a strong female character. She is not extremely likeable at the begining and sort of seems detached from people emotionally but soon she clears all that up and you understand why she acts the way she does. You can really tell that she could be a master villain like her namesake. Mori does have a more compassionate side though. She cares about her brothers and really cares about her best friend and Sherlock.

LOCK

Heather really portrays Sherlock as if he was more the socially awkward type and not just the brooding brilliant hermit that he is in other adaptations. He has a strong sense of vulnerability and isn't the hero that we all expect him to be. He made you want to hug him every time he spoke or looked slightly upset. I really enjoyed his character and his character interactions. Can I have him?

PLOT

The plot was kind of what you'd expect from a Sherlock retelling or mystery book but it veered far away from the usual path. I don't normally read mysteries because they often confuse and annoy me so I put them down. But this one didn't annoy me as much. I found myself trying to solve the mystery with Mori and Lock and then almost breaking down by events that happened at the end. This book touches your heart.

ROMANCE

“When a person cares for another, he wants to know everything about her all at once.” 

The romance was a little bit like insta-love but I believe that when two people share this much information about themselves all at once then they have to form a strong connection. Lock and Mori really seem to care about each other and hold on to each other when times get rough. I found myself shipping these two and being immensely happy for them because I felt like they were two people that really fit and needed each other. 

WRITING

The writing in it was nice. It wasn't beautiful and flowy like some books but it was still nice. 

Final Thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book. It is a good Sherlock retelling and an even better book. I adored the characters and the plot was amazing. It does deal with some issues that may scare some people so proceed with caution but otherwise it was fantastic. The ending was also really well done and I would have never seen some of that coming. *shudders*

Quotes from the Book:

“Maybe that’s how one becomes a killer. Not with decision, but with acceptance.”

“I, of course, had heard of Sherlock Holmes and his secret lab in the basement of the theater. It was just cartoonish enough of an image to spread widely around the school.” 

My Rating: 5 out of 5 Crowns