Hail, Caesar!

Hail, Caesar! is a comedy by the Coen Brothers that takes place in the 1950s Hollywood. Baird Whitlock (George Clooney) is the biggest star on Earth and is kidnapped with only a day left to shoot the biggest blockbuster of the year. Eddie Mannix (Josh Brolin) is the studio executive trying to keep the studio running business as usual and putting out fires daily to keep their actors in line and avoiding unwanted news stories.
Not only do the Coen Brothers deliver a monstrous cast of heavy hitters, they also put out a great show. Every actor gives an awesome performance, but especially Channing Tatum as the "song and dance guy" Burt Gurney. Tatum shows his singing and dancing chops doing a six minute tap dance number that was thoroughly entertaining and is reminiscent of Gene Kelly.
There were a few twists that I didn't see coming which added to my enjoyment of the film, and I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys the Coen Brothers' other works or loves the films of the 1950s.

Dirty Grandpa

Dirty Grandpa definitely delivers on its name. I generally will see anything Robert De Niro is in, and having him play a foulmouthed, horny grandpa is just an added bonus. Its been a while since I've really seen anything Zac Efron has been in, the last being 17 Again since I somehow still haven't seen Neighbors. I love the dynamic between Efron and De Niro. Efron is an uptight lawyer who's life has been planned out for him by his father and is about to get married to an equally uptight Julianne Hough. De Niro needs a ride to get down to Boca Raton and cons his grandson (Efron) to give him a ride. However, Grandpa's intentions are quickly exposed where he just wants to get laid after not having sex in 15 years. He again cons his grandson to going to Daytona Beach where things go quickly south for Efron's character.
While not necessarily an award winning comedy, it is definitely funny and worth a watch if you enjoy raunchier comedies. There is LOTS of nudity, drugs, and drinking, including Efron being nearly completely naked. (He definitely works out) If you are easily offended, its probably not the movie for you. Everyone gave very believable performances and De Niro as always is awesome. I especially enjoyed Hough's character, since I've been a fan of hers since she was a pro on Dancing with the Stars. And Aubrey Plaza's character while similar to most of the character's I've seen her play was comedic gold.
If you want to laugh, Dirty Grandpa is the movie to see.

Darkness Fair: Book Two in the Dark Cycle Series

Darkness Fair picks up shortly after Darkness Brutal left off. Aiden is trying to figure out his new powers, Ava is still stuck between the living and the dead, and Rebecca doesn't really know where she stands in the world.
The Dark Cycle Series definitely falls in the young adult fantasy category however the themes and dark themes and feel are much more adult than what I've normally read for young adult. Each character has been beaten down or broken for some reason in their life but they are still trying to save the world from the oncoming darkness.
The first time I started reading book one, Darkness Brutal, I didn't get pulled in right away. I had to put it aside for a month or two then I decided to give it another go. That's when I got sucked in and read the whole book in one day. I was pretty excited to see book two was available and I got sucked in quickly. So many dark fantasies dealing with angels and demons don't really show how good and evil people and the supernatural can be. In theory they are evil but they don't do anything too brutal or savage. The evil is usually more grand scheme. In this series there is the normal grand scheme evil but it also gets down and dirty with blood and gore and death. This is definitely not a normal young adult dark fantasy, but I really enjoyed the story and had trouble putting it down. It really shows that good doesn't always automatically win, and there are many young kids and adults who have really had it bad growing up and they are just doing the best they can do not only live but also survive.
I really recommend this series to anyone who enjoys dark contemporary fantasy. It feels like a rated R version of Supernatural at times.

I received this book for review at NetGalley.

Taste of Beirut

The Taste of Beirut Cookbook was something I was interested in checking out because I've been trying to learn more about Mediterranean and Middle East cooking for many of their health benefits. This sounded especially interesting once I read through the introduction because Joumana Accad tells stories of her life that not only helps you understand what a food is but gives a taste of the culture. She really explains what some of the more traditional ingredients are and where you might be able to find them. Joumana also gives tips and ideas to help you create dishes that would normal take a day or more to create properly in less than an hour, since most Americans don't have that sort of time to prepare one meal.
I really like the idea that I can make my own falafels and shwarma. Those are the recipes I'm most excited about. I already make my own hummus but her variations sound good enough to eat.
One thing I appreciate in cookbooks that have recipes and ingredients that aren't necessarily well known to us Americans is the author explaining what things are and how they should taste. Joumana made Lebanese cuisine very accessible for the average American and I definitely recommend this cookbook for anyone looking to branch out in what they are cooking for dinner.
I received this book for review at NetGalley.

The Geeky Chef Cookbook

As a huge geeky chef girl I don't think there was anyway I wouldn't like this book. And Cassandra Reeder definitely delivered exactly what I wanted and expected. I had never heard of her blog until I read this cookbook but I'm definitely a follower now!
I am one of those people who plays video games, watches sci-fi and fantasy, and reads avidly. And I always imagine what things might taste like, or descriptions of food and drinks make me wonder how to make it. And now I have a great resource to go to.
It is also great she mentions the various "official" cookbooks for fandoms, a few of which I already have but also a few that I didn't know existed.
One recipe I intend to try very soon is the "Sweet Rolls" from Skyrim. They always look so good as I steal them from people's houses and I'm glad I don't have to come up with my own recipe to make them now!
I highly recommend this for any geeks who like to cook as well as Cassandra's blog.
I received this book for review at Edelweiss.

This Calls for a Drink!

When I first read the description for This Calls for a Drink I was pretty excited about it. I LOVE wine, but its been nearly a decade since I took higher level wine classes in culinary school so I'm out of practice on knowing wine pairings. Its one thing to go to a restaurant and ask for a wine pairing, but sometimes you just want a wine to pair with junk food and Netflix. Not only does Diane McMartin have an amusing tone but she has great situations that can apply to almost anyone. Including an entire section on breakups that include when you are dumped, when you are the jerk who dumped, and "its not you, its me."
In between the various categories, she includes profiles on many types of wine and gives a very readable section about glasses, regions and types of wine and beer, and even how to taste different drinks and what to look for. It was a great refresher for me and got me excited all over again for tasting wine. I genuinely chuckled at the titles of most of the categories and definitely make me reminisce about similar situations in my life.
This is a must for non-pretentious wine-lovers who want to move beyond the bargain brand and branch out when you go on an OkCupid date, or go to a baby shower for someone you only sort of know at work, or get street food while on vacation.
I received this book for review at NetGalley.

Super Genes

Super Genes I wasn't expecting to like as much as I did. I almost thought it was going to be another fad diet book or at least something that was boring and filled with a mix of scientific and new age mumbojumbo. However I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting this book was and how informative it was. I keep finding myself telling people about it, especially anyone who is looking to improve their overall health. The only reason I ended up reading it was because I've heard of Deepak Chopra.

The whole idea of epigenetics was fascinating to me and how our gut microbes can completely affect how our DNA affects our health and body in general. I haven't taken a science class in a LONG time so I haven't learned much about genetics since. I had always learned the your DNA can't change, so the idea of epigenetics kind of blew my mind that our decisions in our life can affect our DNA to turn on and turn off different genetic markers. And it really makes sense to me. Just because you have Alzheimer's or breast cancer markers in your DNA it doesn't guarantee you'll get either. However the choices in diet, exercise, and exposure to various environmental factors can change your chances of getting any disease you genetically have a chance to get.

I'm overweight, and struggle even when my diet and exercise is on point to lose weight. And, while I don't want to use it as an excuse, the idea that my gut microbes could be working against me is something I really need to consider. So I plan on incorporating the techniques to reset my gut within the book. As well as try to incorporate many of the other suggestions into my daily life. I know better than to try to change everything at once, and the authors know this as well, suggesting making one change a week whether minor or major, so that by halfway through the year many of the early easier minor changes are firmly ingrained in daily life and the medium to major lifestyle changes don't feel quite as daunting.

I've never been much for meditation but I do enjoy yoga, so I'm seriously considering one of my changes further down the line as adding meditation to my routine.

I highly recommend this book to anyone trying to make a healthier life and hope to avoid conditions that you may have inherited from your family.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.