Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (2008)

January 5th, 2011 by Manda | 4 Comments | Filed in Reviews

Tagline: The girl with the dragon tattoo.

Summary: Mikhael Blomkvist, a formerly respected journalist, is given the chance to re-establish his professional name as long as he undertakes a year-long assignment to research the disappearance of Harriet Vanger, which occurred almost four decades ago. Enlisting the help of Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius, the two begin to uncover a tangled web of family secrets as they work towards solving what happened to Harriet Vanger all those years ago.

5 Words/Phrases: Absolutely incredible book; tightly plotted; fast-paced; vivid characters; compelling plot filled with unexpected twists

Most Impressed By: The intricacy of the plot and how the book is suspenseful from page one till the end. Also, the enigmatic character of Lisbeth Salander is absolutely fascinating.

Least Impressed By: …nothing!

Comments: I heartily recommend this book to everyone. It is an amazing read! At a little over 600 pages paperback, it’s not exactly a short read, but I devoured it in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down. Stieg Larsson was a fantastic writer and I can’t wait to begin the next book in this series.

Overall Rating: 10/10

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One (2010)

November 24th, 2010 by Manda | 6 Comments | Filed in Reviews

Tagline: Nowhere is safe.

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint

Summary: As Harry races against time and evil to destroy the Horcruxes, he uncovers the existence of three most powerful objects in the wizarding world: the Deathly Hallows1

5 Words/Phrases: Phenomenal cinematography; very loyal to the book; fantastic performances from everyone; laid a good foundation for the second installment; incredibly well done movie

Most Impressed By: The cinematography and the overall tone of the movie – it really added so much to the film. Watson’s acting was also very impressive, which speaks to her improvement as an actress as I’ve never thought of her as a good one!

Least Impressed By: …nothing!

Comments: Why is July so far away?!

Overall Rating: 10/10

  1. Taken from IMDB. []

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Speak Now (Taylor Swift) (2010)

October 29th, 2010 by Manda | 2 Comments | Filed in Reviews

Summary: “Speak Now” is Taylor Swift’s third album and her follow-up to her massively successful album “Fearless” (2008)

5 Words/Phrases: Solid songwriting; some songs sound more similar than different; songs are clear examples of how Swift is growing as both a person and an artist; Swift’s tunes are as catchy as ever; not quite sure how Swift is fitting the “country” genre

Most Impressed By: The tracks “The Story of Us,” “Better Than Revenge,” and “Haunted”

Least Impressed By: The track “Long Live” is relatively dull

Comments: The deluxe version is worth getting as it has acoustic versions of some of Swift’s songs – acoustic versions of songs are my favorite!

Overall Rating: 9.5/10

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