June Favourites.

Hello,

So today I am going to be writing about my favourite things I watched/listened to in June! june was a very good month for movies and television, however not a very good month for books...I started loads of books but didn't finish any. Anyway, lets get started with my June Favourites.

Movies: Howl's Moving Castle

Howl's Moving Castle is a 2004 Japanese Studio Ghibli anime movie, directed and written by the so called 'Japanese Walt Disney' Hayao Miyazaki. Recently I have been watching quite a lot of Studio Ghibli movies, so far I have seen My Neighbour Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Nausicaa of the valley of the wind, and Howl's Moving Castle. My favourite so far has to be either Howl's Moving Castle or My Neighbor Totoro. Howl's is such a magnificent film, it has an amazing storyline, wonderful characters and some of the most splendid scenery, It was such a fun film and I definitely recommend it to all ages, I can definitely see why Studio Ghibli is called the Japanese 'Pixar'. 

Movies: 50/50

50/50 is one of those rare movies that has such a thought-provoking message. Rarely nowadays you get comedies that have an actual deep theme in them, this is why I loved 50/50. With a big cast with the likes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick, this film follows Adam Lerner who is an ordinary guy, he finds out that he has cancer and his chances are 50/50. I don't want to say much in case I spoil it but all I want to say is that this movie is amazing, it shows the ups and downs of life and how life takes a 180 degrees spin when cancer gets involved with your life. The acting in this movie was amazing as well, Joseph Gordon-Levitt deserves an oscar.   

Movies: The Fault in Our Stars 

The Fault in Our Stars is the movie adaptation of the hugely-successful novel by John Green. I'm sure everyone who reads regularly has heard of this novel or movie so I'm not going to go into detail, but the basic summary of this novel/book is about a teenage girl named Hazel Grace Lancaster who has lung cancer, her mother urges her to go to Cancer Support Group to make friends, she reluctantly goes, however there she meets the mysterious Augustus Waters, a previous victim of Cancer. This story is about their friendship and later relationship. I read the book about two years ago, and I was so excited about this adaptation ever since it was announced, needless to say this movie was perfect, I don't think anything important was left out, everything was how I imagined. I strongly suggest watching this whilst it is still in Cinemas.

TV: The Office US. 

 

Can I just say THANK YOU NETFLIX! for the last few weeks, I have just binge-watched the first 3 seasons of the office, I would watch more, but I want this show to end! With one of the biggest ensemble casts I have ever seen on tv, you would think that this show would be a mess, nope, this has to be one of the funniest shows on tv. The Office is a sitcom about the office life of a paper company, Dunder Mifflin, This show started the career of many comedy stars, most famously Steve Carell. This show just makes me so happy, it is a perfect blend of funny and sarcasm. My favourite characters have to be Michael Scott, Jim Halpert, Pam Beesly and Dwight Schrute. This show was part of the four cult NBC comedies which include of The Office, 30 Rock, Community and Parks and Recreation. I watch all four of these comedies and they all are amazing, my favourite has to be Parks and Recreation but The Office is a close second, however I also absolutely love Community and 30 Rock. 

Music: Ultraviolence     

Ultraviolence is the new album by american singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. If you know me well, you would know that Lana Del Rey is my favourite singer of all time, her songs not just have an amazing score, but have a powerful message. I thought nothing could beat her 'Born to Die' album but I think 'Ultraviolence' might of done it! This new album has a sense of noir which fits perfectly with the 1960/1970's theme I think she is going for. My favourite songs on this album are Cruel World, Ultraviolence, Fuc*ed my way up to the top and Brooklyn Baby being my favourite. Lana Del Rey is such a powerful singer and 'Ultraviolence' proves that. 

Movie Reviews: The Lego Movie

The Lego Movie Review  

Everything is awesome! That's right, I just saw 'The Lego Movie' and yes indeed, everything was awesome!

The Lego Movie is about An ordinary Lego construction worker named Emmet, who is thought to be the prophesied 'Special'. He is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil tyrant from gluing the Lego universe into eternal stasis. With an exceptional voice cast including Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Morgan Freeman and Elizabeth Banks.  

The Lego Movie really surprised me, I had heard excellent things and it's really highly rated on Rotten Tomatoes at 96%, however I still didn't think it would be amazing. With excellent dialogue, astounding cameos and an awesome portrayal of Batman, I have to say this is one of the best animations I have seen in a while, It was fresh, new, funny and a movie that is not just for kids, but teenagers and adults. 

The premise for this movie is very simple and it could've been done awfully, but it wasn't, the voices were top-notch, the writing was hilarious and the CGI was breathtaking, the action scenes were so cool and seeing all the lego pieces used as something almost made me hyperventilate! I just loved how everything looked so real. This movie also has so many Pop Culture references, which will make you have a smile on your face the whole entire time, and I loved all of the lego cameos, my favourites being Green Lantern, Millhouse and Gandalf! also this movie was really quotable, there were so many quotes I bursted out laughing at, most of them coming from Batman. Will Ferrell was as always over the top, but it really worked for this movie because of his character and he had some of the funniest dialogue in the movie. with his inaccurate pronunciation being my favourite, eg. 'Bring me the Poe-lish remover of Naheel' (which translates to Nail polish Remover). 

I didn't really have any negative thoughts about this movie, it was so fun and enjoyable, however if I had a tiny criticism, I would say that it was maybe 10 minutes too long, they could of condensed a few scenes such as the wild west. 

Favourite Quotes:

The Walls are crying! - UniKitty (Voiced by Alison Brie) 

I only use black, or sometimes I use very dark grey - Batman (Voiced by Will Arnett)  

Bring me the poe-lish remover of Naheel! - Lord Business (Voiced by Will Ferrell)

Overall, this movie is really worth checking out and it is probably the best animation I have seen since Tangled, bear in mind I still haven't seen Frozen...

And can't we just all sing 'Everything is awesome!!!'

Grade: F, D, C-, C, C+, B-, B, B+, A-, A, A+ 

  

Book Reviews: Paper Towns

Paper Towns by John Green

 “The town was paper, but the memories were not.” 
- John Green, Paper Towns.

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues - and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer Q gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew.


Now let me just start this review by saying this book is very similar to Looking For Alaska and I can see why some people got annoyed, but I didn't really mind, I thought it had it's own originality even if the main characters were basically a carbon cutout of Miles and Alaska. 

Paper Towns is the story of a boy named Quentin who is in his Senior Year in school, Ever since he was a child, he has been in love with the quirky, eccentric Margo. One night Margo enters Quentin's bedroom window and takes him on an adventurous night full of pranks, breaking into SeaWorld and scenting cars with the smell of fish, however the next day, Quentin finds that Margo has disappeared, que a book full of mystery, humor and many pretentious characters. 

I really enjoyed this book, much more than I thought I would. It wasn't my favourite John Green book but it was really fun and quick. I had my problems with it, but overall I thought it was a good novel, not outstanding though.

Characters:

I really enjoyed Quentin's character at the start of the book, but towards the middle he got quite annoying with his obsession with Margo, even missing his Prom and Graduation just for her. It was quite unrealistic since he had only talked to her about 3 times in his life. Also he was in his Senior year in school and he didn't even care about his future education.
I really liked Radar, Lacey and Ben, they were really funny and made the book much more interesting. The minivan scenes were really funny to read about.
Margo was a 50/50 character, I really liked her at the start, but she was really annoying at the end, and I found her to be quite attention-seeking.

Plot:

I loved the start of the book, it was really fun and I loved all the pranks Margo and Q pulled, however when Margo disappeared the book started to get quite slow and boring.
My favourite scene was probably the shopping/minivan scene, it was hilarious.
I felt the ending was a bit anti climatic and I thought it should've been a bit longer so we could see what would happen after (SPOILER) Quentin leaves Margo, I would of loved an epilogue happening after Q started College and finding out what happens to Margo.

Overall I thought this was a good novel and I really enjoyed it, not one of my favourites but it was a nice summer read. I have read every John Green book now except An Abundance of Katherines, which I plan to read quite soon. I'm giving this book 4 stars out of 5.

Bout of Books 10 Update: Days 1-4

Hello guys!
Well Bout of Books 10 started on Monday 12th May, and it has been one helluva week so far! I have has some high reading moments and some very bad ones....
Here is my progress so far and what I am planning to read for the remainder of the week.

So I started off the week with Reading Paper Towns, and I was already 141 pages in before the read-a-thon. Monday was the worst reading day so far, I only read 6 pages! I actually have no excuse other than I was too lazy and I couldn't stop watching The Office US. On Tuesday I did slightly better, I read 87 pages bringing my total of the read-a-thon to 93 pages. On Wednesday I read quite a lot and ended up finishing Paper Towns, I also started Miss Peregrines home for Peculiar Children and read 30 pages of that.
Overall Mon-Wed statistics:

Monday: 6 Pages of Paper Towns (On Page 147)
Tuesday: 87 Pages of Paper Towns (On Page 234)
Wednesday: 104 Pages altogether, 71 pages of Paper Towns (Finished on Page 305) and 33 Pages of Miss Peregrines home for Peculiar Children.

So far today, I have read 110 pages of Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children, meaning I am on page 143. I plan on reading about 40 pages more today. So far my page count is 307, and I am very happy with that, My goal is to read 500 pages altogether for the read-a-thon, and I think that I am on track.

So I am planning to finish Miss Peregrines Home For Peculiar Children by early Saturday, and then starting The Darkest Minds as said in my TBR post last week, however I am thinking of changing that and reading Hollow City, the sequel to Miss Peregrine's instead, I just bought it today and because I am in love with the first one so far, I might want to continue on with the world. So that is it for now, You can keep up with my progress on Goodreads or Twitter, I will leave the links down below.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RainingKnight18
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9990480-haroon

Don't forget I am going to be doing a full wrap up when the read-a-thon is finished. Bye For Now!

Bout of Books 10 Reads!

Hello!
In my last post, I announced that I would be participating in the Bout of Books 10 read-a-thon happening during the week of 12th-18th of May. I have picked out three books which I am planning to read during the week. I am very excited about all these choices.



Miss Peregrine's home for 
Peculiar Children

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

I recently bought this books and I am extremely excited to dive into this story, it sounds amazing and the pictures are truly creepy. I may even read this before the read-a-thon...



Paper Towns 


Two-time Printz Medalist John Green’s New York Times bestseller, now in paperback!

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life — dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge — he follows.

After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues — and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

I am really interested to see how this book turns out, since I have heard mixed things about it, but I think the plot sounds really interesting and mysterious. Also I am a massive John Green fan and I have really liked all the books I have read by him so far, With Looking For Alaska being my favourite.



The Darkest Minds 


When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government "rehabilitation camp." She might have survived the mysterious disease that's killed most of America's children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she's on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her-East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can't risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at a life worth living.

I have been hearing non-stop hype surrounding this book and I am so excited to read this book because it just sounds so amazing and unique, Also it involves road-trips which is like the coolest thing ever. Nuff' said.


   

Bout Of Books 10

Hello!
It is that time again, Bout of Books is back! I participated in the last 'Bout Of Books' Read-a-thon and it was so much fun, so I am participating again and I am super excited, lets hope I read more this time!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 12th and runs through Sunday, May 18th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 10 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

Panic by Lauren Oliver: Review

Panic by Lauren Oliver: Book Review

Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.

Panic is a new Young-adult book written by Lauren Oliver, the author of the very famous 'Delirium' trilogy. Panic was my first Lauren Oliver book and I had high expectations going in, not only did the premise sound cool but it was one of my most anticipated reads of this year, Needless to say I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't perfect, I did have a few problems but for the most part it was very thrilling and extremely hard to put down. This book was a very fast-read, which is really good if you want a quick, heart racing book, however it wasn't as deep as I was expecting. 

Characters:

The main issue I had with this novel was the characters, I didn't really like any of them and they were very flat and quite frankly boring. I thought Heather got quite interesting towards the end, but for the most part she was very mary-sue (ish). Dodge was [probably my favourite character because of how twisted he was, but I still didn't like him, I just thought he was an interesting character to read about. I hated Natalie so much, I don;t even want to get into that, she was so annoying and was too melodramatic. If I had to choose a favourite character it would probably be Tiger #2, but I did think Tiger #1 had more depth to it. (sarcastic tone)

Plot:

The plot was my favourite part of the book, it was very fast paced and was really exciting, however I did have one major issue, the end. The ending was very rushed and I thought it could of been longer, it just felt very 'meh' and bland. The last challenge was supposed to be dramatic and shocking, but it just wasn't. If I had to do one challenge, it would probably be the tiger one, because it was only for ten seconds and I like tigers! 

Overall this book was really good, nut I feel it could of been better by having a more shocking end and more interesting characters. It was a fun read and I would recommend it to people who want a exciting, thrilling book that doesn't take much effort to read. I would rate this 4/5 stars.