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Showing posts from September, 2015

GIVEAWAY - When Calls the Heart: Heart and Home on DVD {ends 10/5}

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The 4th DVD in the second season of When Calls the Heart  is now available, and you can win a copy of it here! More info: When Calls the Heart, Produced by Michael Landon Jr. and inspired by the best-selling books by Janette Oke, tells the story of Elizabeth Thatcher (Erin Krakow), a young woman of privilege, working as a teacher in a prairie town in the Western Frontier. Still anxious to win the approval of Elizabeth’s father, Jack now has to overcome an unforseen problem- his brother. He and Elizabeth’s sister Julie are now planning to run off together, infuriating her father, and complicating Jack’s own plans of courting Elizabeth. To make matters worse, his brother Tom, and Julie are in an automobile accident. Synopsis: From celebrated author Janette Oke (The Love Comes Softly series) comes a rigorous and romantic adventure as epic as the wide frontier. Erin Krakow (Army Wives), Daniel Lissing (Eye Candy), Jack Wagner (Melrose Place) and Lori Loughlin (Full House, 90210)

Review: Marvel Universe LIVE at the Palace - ongoing this weekend! #Detroit

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*Disclosure: I have an ongoing relationship with Feld Entertainment and received complimentary show tickets in exchange for this review. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. Last night, my parents and I headed to the Palace of Auburn Hills to check out the new (to this area) show, Marvel Universe LIVE. The videos I had seen online for the show looked great, but I wasn't sure what to expect as this was my first time attending. The result? Like watching a live Avengers  movie - and super fun! All your favorite Marvel characters are here, and working together in a giant plot to stop Loki - the Avengers (Captain America, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Iron Man, etc.) plus Spider-Man and some of the X-Men characters too (Storm, Wolverine, etc.). It was a little strange to see them all together, since normally in the movies they're separate, but they're all part of the Marvel universe. Loki in all his evilness

Movie Review: The Intern

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The Devil Wears Prada is one of my favorite Hathaway (and Streep) movies, so I found it ironic that in The Intern , Anne Hathaway is now running her own fashion website (in a weird way, it's kind of like a sequel of her Prada character). This movie was funnier than I thought it would be, but a little inconsistent at times; nonetheless, it's still worth seeing. Jules Ostin (Hathaway) started her own fashion website startup only 18 months ago from her home, and now she has over 200 employees. The website starts a community outreach program of sorts, its Senior Internship Program, for people over 65, and 70-year-old Ben Whittaker (Robet De Niro) decides to apply; he's bored with retired life, and misses having a place to go during the day. He along with two other seniors are accepted, and he dives in to the world of technology and social media, with the help of some of the website's other employees (Adam DeVine, Zack Pearlman, to name a few). He's assigned as perso

Yes/No Detroit on the Road: Lake Erie Arts & Film Fest (LEAFF) & Put-in-Bay, Ohio

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*Disclosure: I received a complimentary hotel stay, ferry passage on Miller Ferry, Perry's Cave tickets, a golf cart rental, and media tickets to LEAFF in exchange for this post. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. This past weekend, I was able to experience the first annual Lake Erie Arts & Film Fest (LEAFF)  in Sandusky, Ohio, as well as spend a day on Put-in-Bay, an island which is about a 15-minute ferry ride from the mainland (Port Clinton). On Friday, I ducked out of work a bit early and we arrived at Comfort Inn, Sandusky , around 5pm. I hadn't stayed at a Comfort Inn in a few years, and this one had a spacious room, and was very nice. It was also very centrally located, on Milan Rd. about ten to fifteen minutes from downtown Sandusky and about fifteen minutes from Cedar Point. After that, we grabbed some dinner at Fazoli's (one of my favorite chains, and the only Michigan ones are about 1-2 hours away from me), and headed to downtown S

Upcoming: Newsies at the Detroit Opera House, December 15-27

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*Disclosure: I have an ongoing media relationship and will be receiving tickets to this show. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. Newsies will be coming to the Detroit Opera House this December 15-27, and tickets are now available to purchase! I've never seen Newsies but I've heard great things about it, and I'm excited to attend. More info: NEWSIES, the new American musical, features a Tony® Award-winning score with music by eight-time Academy Award® winner Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman, a book by four-time Tony® Award winner Harvey Fierstein and is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, NEWSIES is directed by Tony® nominee Jeff Calhoun and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, who won a 2012 Tony Award® for his work. The entire creative team has reunited to bring the break-out smash musical to audiences across North America. When it opened on March 29, 2012 NEWSIES was intended for a Broadway run of just 101 performances. The show’

Recap: ENMN Conference 2015 + my trip to L.A. and Hollywood #ENMNCon15

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About a week and a half ago now, I headed to L.A. for the second annual Entertainment New Media Network (ENMN) conference. I had attended the first conference last year , which was in Anaheim, and which was also my first trip ever to California. One of my big complaints about the conference last year was that we stayed in the hotel for the majority of the sessions, and this year none of them were in the hotel, which was great - it allowed us to explore Hollywood and L.A. a bit. Our host hotel was the Holiday Inn North Hollywood, and it was extremely nice; it had recently been redone, and the rooms were very spacious, which is great when you have roommates, too. Day 1: Ventura/KOA campground + PJ party Our sessions this year were held at two different Hard Rock Cafes (Hollywood/Highland, as well as the Universal Studios CityWalk location), and at the Ventura Ranch KOA campground. We headed out to Ventura my first full day in L.A., that Thursday, and I wasn't entirely sure to

Movie Review: Black Mass

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I read a bit about the James "Whitey" Bulger story before I saw this film in the theater, and it's definitely an interesting one. I'm from Massachusetts originally, so I had definitely heard of him, but he was apparently quite the dangerous and elusive criminal - he wasn't caught until four years ago (2011), in California. The entire cast is great, but it's Johnny Depp, who plays Bulger, who really makes this film worth watching. "Whitey" Bulger (Depp) starts out as a small-time criminal in South Boston ("Southie"). His brother, Billy (Benedict Cumberbatch), actually ends up becoming a Senator, who turns his head at Whitey's crimes. They grow up with John Connolly (Joel Edgerton), who is now an FBI agent, and the FBI starts using Bulger as an informant; however, when a new FBI agent starts working there (Corey Stoll), he demands to know why Bulger hasn't been brought to justice yet, which starts an investigation into Connolly and

Movie Review: Everest

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Everest is based on the true events of May 1996, in which multiple blizzards hit the famous mountain on the same day. There have been many books and TV movies created about the events that happened that day, but Everest is the first feature film about it. Rob Hall (Jason Clarke) is an Everest expedition guide, and he guides both experienced climbers and amateurs. He leaves his pregnant wife (Keira Knightley) and flies to Nepal, where he meets up with some old friends - Doug (John Hawkes), who has tried (and failed) to climb Everest before; Beck (Josh Brolin), an older man who is attempting it; and his camp doctor and organizer (Elizabeth Debicki and Emily Watson, respectively). More and more guides are trying for a piece of the Everest pie this year, including Scott (Jake Gyllenhaal), who runs a similar guiding business, and they all want to make the climb on the same day: May 10th. On their way down after reaching the top of Everest, however, Hall and his clients run into a major b

Blu-ray Review: Pitch Perfect 2, plus win a walk-on role in Pitch Perfect 3!

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*Disclosure: I received a Blu-ray copy of Pitch Perfect 2 for reviewing purposes. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. I reviewed Pitch Perfect 2  back in May when it came out, and I gave it 4 out of 5 stars. How did my second viewing of it hold up to the first? First, more about the Blu-ray: The fabulous Bellas of Barden University are back to compete in the World Championships of A Cappella after a scandal threatens their legacy in Pitch Perfect 2. The high-spirited sequel to the movie that sparked a worldwide phenomenon is coming to Digital HD on September 1st and Blu-ray™, DVD and On Demand September 22 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Pitch Perfect 2 is packed with more original musical arrangements, memorable one-liners and offbeat romance as the original’s most beloved characters fight to regain their former glory on a worldwide stage facing off against the toughest competition on the planet. Hysterical behind-the-scenes bonus features, never-befo

Review: STAINMASTER™ Carpet Stain Remover at Meijer (and an mPerks coupon!) #cleanandprotect

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*Disclosure: I received a product and a gift card from Meijer to facilitate this post. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. When I'm not seeing movies, I very occasionally have to clean my apartment. I'm pretty neat in general, stuff-wise, but I tend to put off things like carpet cleaning and vacuuming until I definitely need to do something about it. When I was asked to review the STAINMASTER™ Carpet Stain Remover, I knew that I could definitely use a product like that. I actually ended up bringing the product over to my parents' house, because there's a portion of carpet there that we all throw our shoes onto when we walk into the house; needless to say, over time it had accumulated some stains. Before we began, my mom tested the product in a corner of the carpet to make sure the carpet color was unaffected by the product. After that, we vacuumed the area, and then sprayed the product onto the dirty spots on the carpet. After five minu

Upcoming: Costume ideas + more for Marvel Universe LIVE! at the Palace, Sept. 25-27 (Detroit area)

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credit: Marvel Universe LIVE! Facebook page Marvel Universe LIVE! is coming to the Palace of Auburn Hills (Detroit area) soon, from September 25-27. As a reminder, here are showtimes and a link where you can buy tickets, in case you missed my giveaway : Friday, September 25th: 7:30pm Saturday, September 26th: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm Sunday, September 27th: 11:30am, 3:30pm, 7:30pm { Ticketmaster link } Tickets range from $25 to $150, and kids' tickets are $20. Here's some ideas for costume ideas for when you / your little ones go to the show, and even some fun drink and project ideas for before or after the show: DIY Captain America and Thor costumes ( thescrapshoppeblog.com ) ( pin for later ) Printable 3D hero crafts ( mypaperheroes.blogspot.ca ) ( pin for later ) Superhero drinks! (non-alcoholic) ( thecardswedrew.com ) ( pin for later ) Who is your / your child's favorite Marvel superhero Do you plan on attending Marvel Universe LIVE!

Movie Review: The Visit

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Regular readers of this blog will know that I usually don't enjoy horror movies. The last one I remember seeing was The Woman in Black , about three years ago, and only because Daniel Radcliffe was in it. However, I am a big fan of M. Night Shyamalan's films, and since he is the writer and director of The Visit , I put on my "big-girl pants" and went to check it out. Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) and Rebecca Jamison (Olivia DeJonge) are being sent to go visit their grandparents, in the house where their mother (Kathryn Hahn) grew up. Their mom and her parents had a falling out when she was 19, when she decided to run off with an older man, but the grandparents have never seen their grandchildren and would like them to visit. Rebecca also is a budding filmmaker, and decided to film a documentary about the visit and about her mother's life, as well as the falling out that led her and her parents to be estranged. When they originally arrive at the home in rural Pennsylvani

GIVEAWAY: Adrenaline on DVD {ends 9/15}

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Adrenaline  will be available on DVD and digital copy September 8th, and you can win yourself a copy here. About the movie: Winner of the International Christian Film Festival, Adrenaline stars Michael Rosander as Joseph Jenkins, a drag racer whose life is changed forever by a near-fatal car crash that leaves him partially paralyzed, forcing him to face new circumstances as he ultimately learns to race again. John Schneider (October Baby, Smallville) plays Paul Sharpe, Joseph’s uncle that helps his nephew find his way to race again. “After straightening the curves all these years, it was a pleasure to finally race in a straight line,” said Schneider, the beloved “Dukes of Hazard” star. “I am very excited about this film." Adrenaline also stars Charline Amoia (Port Charles, Seven Pounds) as his physical therapist and Gregory Alan Williams (In the Line of Fire, Remember the Titans) as a fellow patient, that help Joseph find his true purpose in life before he faces his on road

Movie Review: The Transporter Refueled

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I was skeptical going in to  The Transporter Refueled , because I loved the series when Jason Statham was the Transporter. However, due to salary cutbacks, we have a new Transporter (Ed Skrein) in this film, and although it's still a fun ride, it overall lacks depth and character development. Frank Martin (Skrein) is good at his job; he doesn't ask questions, he doesn't exchange names, and he does what he's told. His father, Frank Senior (Ray Stevenson), has just retired from his job at the British embassy, and Frank Jr. drives him around since Frank Sr. doesn't really drive. Frank Jr. receives a mysterious phone call from a woman (Loan Chabanol) who wants his services, but when he goes for the pickup, the "packages" turn out to be two women - all of whom are harboring secrets. To ensure that he does their bidding, they kidnap his father, too, and Frank Jr. must help them get out of the prostitution ring that they've been enslaved in, or else they w

GIVEAWAY - The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Sixth Season OR The Originals: The Complete Second Season {ends 9/7}

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*Disclosure: I will be receiving a Blu-ray copy of one of these in exchange for this post. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. Do you watch either The Vampire Diaries  or The Originals ? (or both, like I do?) If so, then I have a great giveaway for you - one lucky winner will win EITHER the sixth season of The Vampire Diaries  or the second season of The Originals  on Blu-ray + Digital DVD (to be decided randomly by sponsor). Both seasons are coming to Blu-ray/Digital HD today, September 1st. First, read about the shows here: About The Vampire Diaries: The Complete Sixth Season The Vampire Diaries continues its sixth season with more delicious drama to sink your teeth into. In season five, after a passionate summer with Damon, Elena headed to Whitmore College with Caroline, not knowing Bonnie sacrificed her life for Jeremy’s. Meanwhile, Stefan and Caroline’s friendship deepened as they stood up to the Travelers, a nomadic witch tribe driven to strip Mystic Fa