Ninja News, Movie Reviews, and 80’s Trivia

Ninja News!

Thanks to everyone who visited me at The Writing Nut last week. The GIVEAWAY for CassaStar and CassaFire is open through July 31, and the winner will be whoever writes the most compelling reason why he or she should win the books. Nutschell is the judge, which is good, because I couldn’t select just one.

I was also blown away by the comments on my guest post at Rachna’s Scriptorium. I really worried I’d mess up on that one, considering the topic. Thanks, guys!

And finally, thanks to Andrew at Strange Pegs for his encouraging and very fair review of CassaStar.

One of the best writer resources is the Writer’s Knowledge Base. Started by author Elizabeth S. Craig and Mike Fleming, it is FULL of information. If you’re a writer, be sure to check it out soon.

Don’t forget to save the date for my next blogfest on September 17. I’ll announce the topic the first full week of August.

Still working hard on CassaStorm. Wrote a scene this weekend that just might be my best ever! I’m sure later I’ll discover I was wrong…

And I won’t be posting again until Friday. But the Ninja will be lurking...

Movie Reviews

Ice Age Continental Drift
The fourth outing with Manny, Diego, and Sid find the boys separated from everyone else and adrift at sea. I’ll just be upfront and state that I am not a big fan of this series. First one was good, but the others have been just all right.
This one relies on a lot of juvenile humor and the scenes with ‘teenager’ Peaches reminded me of just about every bad sitcom I’ve ever seen. The message is the same – herd first – so it doesn’t tackle anything new there.
The animation is beautiful though. The 3D was effective without being overwhelming. Peter Dinklage does an amazing job as the voice of the ape pirate captain – I didn’t even recognize him. And Sid’s cranky Granny utters the funniest lines in the movie.
My wife, who loves these films, found the teen segments a little annoying. However, she giggled throughout the entire movie, and since I find her giggling adorable, I foresee an Ice Age V in my future…
For those of you with kids – go and enjoy!

The Three Musketeers
Reminded me a little of Battleship.
It was dumb, completely implausible, and threw history right out the window. That said, it was also a lot of fun! It tells the basic story and adds nonsense so over the top, you’ll be laughing along with it. Staring A LOT of people: Christoph Waltz, Milla Jovovich, Ray Stevenson, Orlando Bloom, Matthew Macfayden, Mads Mikkelsen, and Logan Lerman from Percy Jackson. Leave brain at door and enjoy the visual feast of a ride.

Trivia Time!

At the request of more trivia, we’re going back to the 80’s for these questions:

1 – To avoid an X rating, ten seconds is cut from this movie staring Mickey Rourke and Lisa Bonet.

2 – This expansion team joins the NBA the same year as the (former) Charlotte Hornets.

3 – What was the last Bond film to feature Roger Moore as Bond?

4 – This computer company introduces its VIC-20 model personal computer in 1981.

5 – What movie contains the line “This is pure snow. Do you know the street value of this mountain?”

6 – Name U2’s first #1 single on the Billboard chart.

Be sure to enter the giveaway! Do you use the Writer’s Knowledge Base? Seen either of those films? Know the answers to any of the trivia questions? And who is ready for The Dark Knight Returns this Friday?