I’ve been pretty silent on the blogging front for a little while, partly because I’ve been trying to get my head together enough to fix up a revision of one of my books (a different series to The Medoran Chronicles), but also because I’ve hurt my hand and it’s a bit painful to type much at the moment. Thus my lacking updates.
To be slightly less vague, I broke my thumb and index finger when I was twelve (I fell off a horse and had to have surgery to get pins put in my thumb to move it back into place – ouch!) but it all healed up fine and I haven’t had any problems for nearly two decades… But in August I wrote the final book in the Akarnae series – 140,000 words within just 25 days – and I think I must have given myself some kind of typing-related RSI that’s somehow reawakened the old injury. And my gosh, it is sore. Not ideal for an author to be in pain while writing, haha. (That was an awkward, uncomfortable, wincing laugh, by the way.)
Anyway, I’ve basically just been strapping my hand and using anti-inflamatories and keeping it as still as possible (and thankfully, it’s starting to feel a lot better), which means I’ve had plenty of time to catch up on some reading and movies. It’s actually been really nice in a weird, “Omigosh, I NEED to be writing” kind of way. And since I’m still kinda hurting a bit as I type this, I’m going to keep it brief and just give an overview review of a few of the movies I’ve watched recently.
So here goes…
Independence Day: Resurgence
In a word, this movie ROCKED. I’d fully recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the first movie – which really should be everyone. Seriously. If you haven’t seen number two yet, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?!?
(5/5 Alien Stars!)
Ghostbusters
I was super surprised by this one. I’d heard all these great reviews, but I was still on the fence since I’m not a huge Ghostbusters fan (the throwing up of all the goo always freaked me out and/or grossed me out). But this was ridiculously enjoyable, and the character development was AMAZING. Everyone was so unique and they all just gelled really well. And omigosh, Chris Hemsworth as the ‘dumb receptionist’ had me laughing out loud way too many times!
(4/5 Ghosty Stars!)
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
This was also another movie that I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy, since I actually watched the first ten (or so) minutes back when it first came out and I wasn’t in a movie-watching mood at the time so I recall being really bored and turning it off. But I absolutely adore Henry Cavill so I decided to give this another go, and boy, am I sure glad I did! I loved it! And Armie Hammer is fantastic in it as well! (That accent!!) Total recommendation for anyone who hasn’t seen it!
(4.5/5 Spy Stars!)
Risen
Another one I wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about seeing, since there are so many of these kinds of films out there. Or so I thought. But Risen was actually rather interesting, told from the point of view of a (definite!) unbeliever, so it was intriguing and entertaining to follow his journey as he was basically what-the-fudge?-ing his way through the death and resurrection of Jesus. It was gritty, and I appreciated that. Probably not a movie I’d watch again, but still enjoyable all the same.
(3.5/5 A.D. Stars!)
The 5th Wave
I hate to say it, but the whole first half of this movie was a bit of a snore-fest for me. I usually LOVE all the YA book-to-movie adaptations out there, even knowing that 90% of the stories change and develop through the page-to-screen process. But this one kinda fell a bit short for me. Possibly because I didn’t read the book first (my bad), or possibly because it was just a bit… slow. The second half picked up, but on the whole I was a little disappointed. (*Insert sad face here*)
(2.5/5 Invader Stars!)
Central Intelligence
… Just not my cup of tea. Some of it was funny, but overall I just found it was trying a little too hard. And oh, boy, it was predictable. But there’s so much love for this movie out there, and I can understand why (even if I can’t relate).
(2/5 Slapstick Stars)
The Legend Of Tarzan
This was really quite… dark. And I actually really enjoyed it. It wasn’t the classic retelling that I was expecting, and I’m grateful for that. (I watched the new Jungle Book recently and while it was visually brilliant, I was hoping for more of a twist on the story, like what they did with Maleficent – which was awesome!) So on the whole, I thought this Tarzan adaptation was great (even if parts of it were, ahem, unrealistic) and I was captivated right until the very end.
(4/5 Animalistic Stars!)
Hunt For The Wilderpeople
This was seriously awesome. Like, everyone should watch this movie!! The acting was brilliant and the humour was so on point. The only reason I’m taking off a quarter of a star is because there were a handful of slower moments. But don’t let that put you off, because… just wow. It’s the kind of movie the whole family will love!
(4.75/5 “Bro” Stars!)
… And that’s all! I’m hoping my hand will be up to some longer typing soon, but I’m using the least painful times to chip away at my revision and not sure when I’ll next be posting here. I’m pretty active on my other social media though, so be sure to follow me on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook for more regular updates!
Lynette Noni 
I have to watch The man from UNCLE….. Looks interesting