The World’s Favorite Musical

Comedy, romance, great musical numbers, stars at their best and a fond recreation of a bygone movie making era: Singin' in the Rain has so much that it ranked a lofty 10th on the American Film Institute's 100 Best American Films list. Silents are giving way to Talkies—and matinee idol (Gene Kelly) is caught in that bumpy transition, as well as his buddy (Donald O'Connor), prospective ladylove (Debbie Reynolds) and shrewish co-star (Jean Hagen). Singin' in the Rain is pure singin', dancin' laughin', lovin', moviewatchin' joy.

Title: Singin’ in the Rain
Release: March 27, 1952
Genre: Musical-Comedy Romance
MPAA Rating: G
Writer: Betty Comden & Adolph Green
Director: Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly
Produced By: Arthur Freed
Distributed By: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Run Time: 103 min.

Rated the #1 musical by the American Film Institute and nominated for two Academy Awards, Singin’ in the Rain is probably one of the most well-known musical ever made. It stars Debbie Reynolds, the hilarious Donald O’Connor, and Gene Kelly in his most famous role ever.

I’ve always loved a good musical and Singin’ in the Rain definitely fits the bill! It was a bit over the top in some places but I still really liked it for the most part. I would have enjoyed it a whole lot more if certain numbers would have been cut though. My favorites were Singing in the Rain (of course), Good Morning, and Make ‘Em Laugh. I also really liked the dance numbers for Moses Supposes and Fit as a Fiddle.

Just about everyone today knows who Gene Kelly is even if they have never seen any of his work and this film has a lot to do with that. Although I adore Kelly and always will I have to say his co-star Donald O’Connor really caught my eye! From what I’ve seen, not too many actors can keep up with Mr. Gene Kelly but O’Connor does! I was also impressed by the fact Debbie Reynolds never had any training in dancing but she still makes it look almost effortless (although later she revealed that it was the hardest thing she had ever done and Fred Astaire himself helped her).

The whole film is funny, sweet, and altogether wonderful! It essentially parodies the panic of Tinseltown once the “talkie” film revolution came and how all the studios handled this major turning point in film history. Because of this, the film seems to lose it’s train of thought in a couple of spots (like in the very colorful Gotta Dance) but it always finds it’s way back to the love story at it’s center.

Wikipedia and Imdb.com have really great articles on Singin’ in the Rain but I really enjoyed this fan site that has a walk-through of the film with trivia. There are also tons of interesting video interviews and movie clips on the musical at TCM.com.

Trailer:

visit videodetective.com for more info

Title Song:


Make 'Em Laugh:

A Dark, Fathomless Love

Neely Wallace thought she had found the perfect lover. Aidan Tremayne was both angel and devil, as tender and sensitive as he was powerfully erotic. Then she learned the secret that tormented his soul... Aidan was cursed with the dark gift of immortality. His passion for a mortal woman was forbidden, a reckless temptation that fired the hunger within ... and threatened to destroy them both.

Title: Forever and the Night
Author: Linda Lael Miller
Series: Vampire, Book 1
Published: 1993
Publisher: Berkley Publishing
Pages: 338
Genre: Paranormal-Romance

Romance is something that author Linda Lael Miller is an old hand at but she ventured into a new realm of forbidden love with Forever and the Night, the first book in her vampire series. She claims that after reading several vampire stories (like Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles) she “wanted to write about such dramatic creatures” because they are “dark and mysterious, yet sensual, too”. I believe that Ms. Miller achieved her goal with this enthralling, yet very down-to-earth story.

Like most writers of vampire tales, there are a couple of borrowed ideas in the book about vampires that are situated firmly into the public’s mind like the drinking of blood, sleeping through the lethal day, immortality, etc. but I’ve found that vampire fiction is best when the writer brings her own version to the table. Linda Lael Miller’s vampires are no different. Not only can they vanish at will, communicate mentally with other vampires, read human minds, oh and the coolest thing: they can travel through time!

I was a little disappointed that the time travel wasn’t used more often but it was still a good story although I admit, a little corny at times. Neely was a great heroine that reacts the same way many real women would in her shoes and I found myself liking her spirit. I also liked Aidan even though he was more than a little different from what I normally am used to vampire-wise. There are usually a few vampires in fiction that hate what they are but I’ve never heard of being able to revert back to their original human form before like Aidan wants to (vampirism was created on Atlantica).

There are also a few intriguing minor characters in the book like Aidan’s “friend” Valerian and his twin sister, Maeve. I’m looking forward to reading their stories in Linda Lael Miller’s other books that make up this series.

Vampire Series:

• Forever and the Night
• For All Eternity
• Time Without End
• Tonight and Always

An Anthology of Dark Fantasy

On the make. On the scent. On the edge.
On the prowl…

Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs
The werewolf Anna finds a new sense of self when the son of the werewolf king comes to town to quell unrest in the Chicago pack-and inspires a power in Anna she’s never felt before.

Inhuman by Eileen Wilks
Kai has a secret gift of sensing thoughts and desires. What she senses in her neighbor Nathan could be dangerous. Because he has a secret gift too, and it’s about to be let loose…

Buying Trouble by Karen Chance
A Lord of the Fey crosses paths with a fiery red-headed mage named Claire in a New York auction house. But in this strange underground society, the rarity up for sale is Claire herself.

Mona Lisa Betwining by Sunny
Among the children of the moon, Mona Lisa is of mixed blood-part Monère, part human, and destined to be alone. Until she meets a man who could be her salvation-or her downfall.

Title: On the Prowl (anthology)
Author: Patricia Briggs, Eileen Wilks, Karen Chance, Sunny
Published: 2007
Publisher: Berkley Publishing
Pages: 341
Genre: Anthology-Paranormal Romance-Urban Fantasy, Adventure

The anthology On the Prowl includes a story from the best-selling author of the Mercedes Thompson series, Patricia Briggs as well as stories by Eileen Wilks, Karen Chance, and Sunny all whose characters dwell in paranormal/fantasy worlds where dragons, werewolves, or even Fey could very well be your neighbors.

Alpha and Omega is a short story that takes place in the world of Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series during or soon after the first book, Moon Called but Mercy herself is never mentioned. This is the story of the Morok’s (leader of the werewolves) son and “hitman” Charles and how he meets Anna while investigating the Chicago pack.

The whole reason I picked up this anthology in the first place was because of how much I liked Briggs’ writing style and Charles’ half-brother Samuel is a recurring character in the Mercy series but little is mentioned of Charles himself so I was interested in finding out more about him. I also really liked Anna because she was such a strong character and refused to be continue being a victim.

There are a few references to things that happened in the original series but there aren’t any big spoilers and I believe that this story could be read on its own. Charles and Anna’s first complete book , called Cry Wolf will be out this August, hopefully it will continue into a series as well.

Eileen Wilks is the author of the second short story called Inhuman and it is the sixth story in her World of the Lupi series, most of which are available in other anthologies. The WotL takes place in an earth very similar to ours except it’s populated with people who are “Gifted” because of the “power winds” and “nodes”. Of course there are regular people too and people who aren’t even from this world!

I have never read anything by Ms. Wilks before but I found the story itself very intriguing. There was a lot of interesting world-building but unfortunately, it was also way too complex for a short story. You’re left with a bit of a cliffhanger and it also doesn’t really explain some things either. More like the author realized that her story was the longest in the book and tried to wrap it up as quickly as possible. I was left with the feeling that she decided to just set up for the next story with Kia and Nathan in it called Night Season and ultimately let this one become unraveled in places.

The third story in the book is called Buying Trouble by Karen Chance. Magic null Claire knows her life sucks, her whole family (what’s left of it) wants her dead or sold (nulls can be killed and harvested) but she soon finds out that there is more to herself than she originally thought when she and a Fey named Heider are accidentally transported into a hostile part of Faerie.

Karen Chance seems like she’s a fairly new author whose Cassandra Palmer series have recently become best-sellers but I’ve actually never heard of her before now. However, her story was the second best story in the anthology. The characters had so much personality (especially Claire!) and the worlds that the story is set in are full of Sidhe, dragons, werewolves, mages, etc. I wouldn’t mind visiting again if Ms. Chance decided to set another novel in those worlds... I just wouldn’t want to live there!

Author Sunny’s (no last name) Mona Lisa Betwining is a dark fantasy, erotic romance and it’s the last short story in On the Prowl. It’s also the fourth story in her Monére, Children of the Moon series. The Monére are supernatural creatures, mostly shapeshifters who are “descended from the moon” and take power from it as well. Mona Lisa is a Queen (there seem to be many of them) who is a half Monére, half human and she has to go to the High Court with her men about things that happened in previous novels.

Being the last story in the anthology, you would expect that it would be really good (most authors and publishers like to leave you with a high note) but you cannot really understand too much of Mona Lisa Betwining unless you’ve read the other books in the series. Not only do they constantly refer back to things that happened previous to this story but also it seems like you’re expected to know about them (the Monére themselves aren’t even explained very well). Not very friendly to a first-time reader of Sunny’s work like myself. I did like what I understood though and I’m considering trying to get the first couple of books in the series.

For an anthology, On the Prowl has a surprising amount of information available online! The first author

Patricia Briggs comments on her story Alpha and Omega here on her website. To view a complete list of her works, check out the Wikipedia article. Eileen Wilks talks more about her World of the Lupi series in this interview, she has a Wikipedia article with her complete bibliography too. The third author, Karen Chance has an excerpt of her story on her website and this interview explains what her other series is about. This interview with Sunny helped me understand the background of her Mona Lisa series better.

The Ice Queen’s Story

Behind her mask is a deadly secret...

The powerful head of the covert mercenary organization The Committee, Isobel Lambert is a sleek, sophisticated professional who comes into contact with some of the most dangerous people in the world. But beneath Isobel’s cool exterior a ghost exists, haunting her with memories of another life...a life that ended long ago.

But Isobel’s past and present are about to collide when Serafin, mercenary, assassin and the most dangerous man in the world, makes a deal with The Committee. Seventeen years ago Isabel shot him and left him for dead. Now it looks as if he’s tracked her down for revenge. But Isobel knows all too well that looks can be deceiving...and that’s what she’s counting on to keep her cover in this international masquerade of murder.

Title: Ice Storm
Author: Anne Stuart
Series: The Ice Series
Published: 2007
Publisher: MIRA books
Pages: 347
Genre: Romantic Suspense

In Ice Storm; the current book in Anne Stuart’s extremely romantic and suspenseful Ice series, the entire Committee and all it’s operatives are in danger but especially the head of the organization Isobel Lambert. If she can survive the assassination attempts, she may just lose her heart.

Each book in Anne Stuart’s series focuses on a cold-blooded member of the Committee (which is an organization that keeps bad guys trying to create global annihilation or domination) and their current mission where they meet the woman (or in this case man) who melts their heart. Because of this, some of the Committee’s best operatives started retiring leaving them short-handed which in turn is why Lambert was in the field in the first place.

I have to say that Ice Storm is truly my favorite book in the Ice series so far (although I have a feeling that will change when Reno’s story Fire and Ice comes out). All of the Committee members that I know and love from the previous books come back to help take out the threat (except Takashi who sends his cousin Reno in his place). Plus there are nail-biting moments when you aren’t sure if everyone will survive and well-written flash-back sequences where you get to know the mysterious Madame Lambert and who she used to be until she met a man named Killian who changed the course of her life.

Although there isn’t that much I could find on Ice Storm other than reviews, Wikipedia has a complete listing of all her books and MIRA has a list of them too as well as an interview and Fun Facts about the author.

The Ice Series:

• Black Ice
• Cold As Ice
• Ice Blue
• Ice Storm
• Fire and Ice (Unreleased)

Three Cheers for Pooh

In 1926, Winnie-the-Pooh, a collection of stories about a rather stout, somewhat confused bear, was published in England and America. The enchanting tales of Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, Christopher Robin, and the others were an immediate success, and firmly established A. A. Milne, already an acclaimed dramatist, as a major author of children's books.

Ernest H. Shepard's brilliant illustrations were based on real toys owned by Milne's son Christopher Robin. The artist visited Cotchford Farm, the Milne country home in Sussex, where he sketched the child, the stuffed animals, and the surrounding countryside.

The world of Winnie-the-Pooh is as popular today as when it was first created. The book has appeared in twenty-one languages, among them Hebrew, Afrikaans, Esperanto, and Latin.

Here are the beloved stories of Pooh stuck in Rabbit's doorway, of gloomy Eeyore and his nearly forgotten birthday, of playing Poohsticks on the bridge and so many more. Elegant yet simple, whimsical yet wise, these classic stories shall forever be treasured.

Title: Winnie the Pooh
Author: A. A. Milne
Illustrator: E. H. Shepard
Published: 1926
Publisher: Methuen & Co. Ltd.
Pages: 192
Genre: Children-Classics

A. A. Milne’s stories about a chubby little stuffed bear named Winnie the Pooh have been favorites of children and adults alike ever since they were first published over 80 years ago as stories in a newspaper. After so many people expressed such interest in Milne’s characters he wrote more and then adapted his already published stories into one book.

Pooh’s stories continued in The House at Pooh Corner and they have been adapted as Disney movies such as well. The Disney Company has produced tons of movies and cartoons that feature Pooh and his friends like The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and just about every other has some basis on the original material.

For some reason I had never read any of A. A. Milne’s books but I was still familiar with all of the Pooh stories because of the Disney adaptations. I really liked the author’s writing styles but I guess I’m so spoiled on the versions of his characters that I kept finding their personalities odd. They aren’t all sweet, cuddly characters, sometimes they’re almost like little children themselves. Especially Pooh and Piglet!

A man named E. H. Shepard had done some illustration work before for Mr. Milne so he got the job of doing the artwork for Winnie the Pooh, making him one of the most famous children’s illustrators ever. As with every hugely successful artist though, he never was able to get away from his creation and it overshadowed all of his other work. We actually have him to thank for the Disney version of Pooh and his friends we all know and love today.

Wikipedia has great articles on the book, author, and the character of Pooh himself. I found a fan page that has many links to various Pooh subjects like a virtual tour of the real Poohsticks Bridge, games, wallpapers, and biographies of the author and illustrator. This is the complete book and I wrote a post on the Disney movie The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh over on my other site.