Film's Addict's January Film Choice

It was one of my best friends' birthday last week so like I did back in August for my kid sister, I have dedicated the Film Addict's January Film Choice to her and she chose Serenity, the film sequel to the Firefly TV series, one of her favourite films as well as mine.

Serenity is the film continuation of Joss Whedon's TV series Firefly, a space western, with the same main cast that portrayed the crew in the TV series plus new additions which allows the world Whedon created to be expanded.  Stars of Serenity include Nathan Fillion (Castle, Slither), Gina Torres (The Matrix Reloaded, Suits), Alan Tudyk (I, Robot, Frozen), Adam Baldwin (Chuck, The Last Ship), Summer Glau (Arrow, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles), Jewel Staite (Stargate Atlantis, Space Cases), Sean Maher (Much Ado About Nothing, Arrow), Morena Baccarin (V, Gotham), and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, American Gangster), many of whom have starred in other works that Whedon has directed and written.

Like the Film Addict's May, August, and November Film Choice, there is a special point that I have added that my friend picked and this time it was her favourite part.

Rating: 9

Recommended To: Anyone; Joss Whedon fans; sci-fi fans

Favourite Characters: Mal - typical outlaw hero; Wash - always been my favourite

Favourite Part: Wash: It's okay, I'm a leaf on the wind!
Mal: What does that mean?

Good Points: Characters were fantastic; expansion of the universe Serenity is set in; continuation from the TV series

Bad Points: Not quite the same as the TV series

Special: First scene on-board Serenity

Bookworm Wednesday

What books would make great book club picks?

I truly struggled with this topic because I have never really taken part in a book club but I understand the concept, in some ways, it was weird that I picked this topic for my own challenge but at least it made me think more. I could only pick six books instead of my normal ten because for me, book clubs mean you discuss the book you read and these six are the only ones I thought could generate a truly great discussion because my other books are too niche in my opinion or are just some fluffy entertainment.

Geek Alert - January Loot Crate

It's Loot Crate time and everything from across the pond is starting to arrive at a normal rate, sort of, and once again, it's weird and wonderful with a retro spin on the usual random items.

Tim Waggoner - The Roads Not Taken

I got fed up with being too slow at writing my reviews, which is my own fault because I got busy with work and got distracted too easily, so I decided to read a small book to revitalise my need to read more.

Based on the Supernatural TV series and its primary characters, The Roads Not Taken is a choose-your-own-adventure book by Tim Waggoner where fans of the series and the like can take fate into their own hands and make some of Sam and Dean's decisions for them and see how long they would survive.

Rating: 8

Recommended To: Supernatural fans

Favourite Character: Dean

Favourite Part: Shulman's Model

Good Points: Interesting to have control over the Winchester's fates; multiple endings; the stories were interlinked

Bad Points: Could have been longer; Here Kitty, Kitty was too obvious

Bookworm Wednesday

Name your favourite book series.

From standalone books to series that seem to go on forever, I love all kinds of books and when I find a series I really enjoy, I have a tendency to buy the entire series (if they're out already) so that I can continue it as I presume most book bloggers do; the blogs I read do at least.

Geek Alert - January My Geek Box

It's a new year and with that comes new things.  January's My Geek Box arrived today which I was excited about, as I tend to be because of my puppy-like personality.

Into the Woods

It's a new year and to mix things up a bit, my mum and I went to see the new adaptation of Into the Woods as it intrigued me with the different actors that were taking part in it and the plot of the musical it was based on and how they were going to adapt that to screen even though I have never seen the musical.  Musicals aren't my favourite kind of film, even though a lot of Disney films are musical in some way, but I like to watch them occasionally so it's something different to see.

Into the Woods is the 2015 Disney musical film by Rob Marshall based on Stephen Sondheim's musical of the same name starring Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada, Julie & Julia), Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada, Gnomeo & Juliet), James Corden (Gavin & Stacey, One Chance), Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect, Up in the Air), Chris Pine (Star Trek series, Rise of the Guardians), Tracey Ullman (Corpse Bride, How I Met Your Mother), Christine Baranski (The Big Bang Theory, The Good Wife), and Johnny Depp (Edward Scissorhands, Pirates of the Caribbean series).  Into the Woods is inspired by a number of fairy tales including Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood as several of the characters are brought together and a story is wound around them.

Rating: 7

Recommended To: Musical fans

Favourite Characters: Baker - great character development

Favourite Part: Jack: Magic what type of magic? 
Baker's Wife: Tell him.
Baker: Magic that, uh, defies description.

Good Points: Very surreal but very enjoyable; interesting amalgamation of fairy tales; production design is wonderful

Bad Points: Could be overcomplicated for children

Bookworm Wednesday

What are your favourite books that you received as a gift?

It is officially the first Bookworm Wednesday ever and I thought I'd start with a festive-ish kind of start because it has been Christmas and etc. in the last month so I assume you may have got books for presents; I know I did at least because my friends and family know I'm such a bibliophile or I asked for certain books so here are some of my favourite books that I have received.  On this list, I have also included some books I was given as a gift years ago because they were, and still are some of my favourite gifts.

Update from the Bibliophile

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas and New Year, mine was quiet but I was working around both dates so the quiet festive season was a blessing.

As of today, I have invited someone to join The Bibliophile + FilmAddict as a co-blogger; she is interested in music as well as books so every so often, there may be another post about music she would like to share or a book she has read.  I thought it would be a great addition to this blog and I hope everyone will enjoy it too.

As well as a new co-blogger, I know a lot of book review blogs do weekly memes and a lot of people take part in them and I have thought about joining them over the course of last year.  However, they have already started and I would like to start a weekly meme from the very beginning; on top of that, they have some challenges that I'm not keen on so I have decided to start my own meme as of next week called Bookworm Wednesday which anyone can join if they so choose.

The list is much like The Broke and the Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday and Book Badger's Five Friday Favourites but it's my own version; it's a Who? What? Where? kind of meme.

Geek Alert - December Loot Crate

Happy anniversary!!!

Because I live across the pond in jolly old Blighty, sometimes it takes a while for things to get through customs, especially at Christmas because it gets busy so this month's Loot Crate took longer to get here.  Fortunately, it was a fantastic parcel that was worth waiting for.