This is the second installment of a new book series that features Ryder Creed, a former dog handler for the K9 Unit in the Marines. He was traumatized from the war in Afghanistan, almost taking his life, but is saved by Hannah Washington, a single mother with two sons. She helps him see his natural talent in handling dogs. Together they open a search-dog business called “K9 CrimeScents.” Hannah handles the business part, while Creed does the fieldwork. Their dogs are mostly those that have been cast aside and that Creed has trained. They offer their services to the public, the police, and the local and federal government. Continue reading
Reviews – book & movie reviews
K. Pinella’s movie & book reviews
Out of the Dark (a movie review)
This is a haunting tale about an American couple with a five-year-old daughter who becomes mysteriously ill. The movie begins with the family driving through a small Colombian town to visit with the wife’s father, who has a long-established paper mill business there. The father, played by Stephen Rea, suddenly needs help running the business, so his daughter, played by Julia Stiles, takes her husband (played by Scott Speedman) and their daughter abroad to help out. Not too long after they settle into a large country estate owned by the father, strange things start happening, beginning with their daughter who gets into a little accident and then becomes sick. Meanwhile, deformed looking children dart here and there during the night as the parents hear strange noises. The film is a “ghoul movie” because ghoulish looking children will suddenly pop up during creepy moments. It is somewhat reminiscent of the horror movie, The Ring.
At the end of the story, just before all the credits, there is reference to a site that invites you to learn more about real-life hauntings: takepart.com. Going to this site before watching the movie might be a spoiler, but do check it out.
Hot Pursuit (a movie review)
This is one of those movies that is funny in some places, while not in most. Definitely not one of Reese Witherspoon’s better movies. She plays an earnest cop who becomes involved in transporting a key federal witness, played by Sofia Vergara, to safety. It’s your typical “partner movie” in which the two women distrust each other. Eventually, they bond and then become fond of each other during their attempt to run for safety and justice. It’s more a showcase of how good they both look than about the plot, which is predictable, but I won’t spoil any more of it. It’s a chase movie, hence called “Hot Pursuit.”
Mad Max. Fury Road (a movie review)
This movie is one adrenaline rush after another. Because it is a post-apocalyptic movie about surviving, it is violent and has some gruesome scenes. Tom Hardy plays the title role of Mad Max, who gets captured by a gang ruled by a warlord, Immortan Joe. Since Joe has control over many resources—water, food, and gas—he controls the majority of the survivors. One of the group members, Furiosa (who is played by Charlize Theron) decides to run away with some of Joe’s treasured assets. Furiosa had planned her escape well because she flees in a war rig vehicle. Max gets involved after he is dragged into going after Furiosa. Soon they end up partnering with each other to fight off their mutual enemy. Continue reading
Boulevard (a movie review)
This movie is Robin Williams’ final on-screen performance. Robin Williams plays a banker who has been in the same position for 25 years, which is almost about as long as his character has been married to or known his wife. I can’t remember. They have no kids. Their social life is rather minimal. We know that Williams’ best friend since college is a college professor played by Bob Odenkirk of the Breaking Bad fame. As a momentary aside, Odenkirk’s Saul character spun off into another series, Better Call Saul, which is just as good and equally engrossing as Breaking Bad, but the second season doesn’t start until early next year. Continue reading
Code of Conduct by Brad Thor (a book review)
This is the 15th book in a thriller series about a super-agent of an NGO (nongovernmental organization) that frequently takes on covert assignments for the U.S. government. The organization is headed by Reed Carlton, a former CIA operative, who has recruited our hero, Scot Harvath. A human version of Superman, Harvath is fortysomething, extremely fit, highly intelligent, greatly resourceful, and truly patriotic. He is a former SEAL, who had served as a Secret Agent at one time, to a former U.S. President. He was so indebted to Harvath for saving his daughter that he gifted Harvath a lifetime residence at a historical site in Washington, D.C. You should read the prior 14 books first because it’s more enjoyable to know the sequence of events. Also, the story lines become more incredible. This last one is quite epic. Suffice to say it has the same theme as the movie Kingsman: The Secret Service. If you haven’t seen that movie, then I will say this is about controlling of the masses. I originally wrote something else, but I think it would be a spoiler. Continue reading
Aloha (a movie review)
I watched this movie because of Bradley Cooper, Bill Murray, John Krasinski, Alec Baldwin, Emma Stone, and Rachel McAdams. The cast sounded too good to pass up even though the trailer didn’t do much for me. Sometimes watching something light like Aloha can be relaxing; the photography looks nice and the actors look good. You don’t get excited much about anything in this movie though; it’s like watching someone’s vacation video. As the title suggests, the movie is set in Hawaii. Continue reading
The Fixer by Joseph Finder (a book review)
This is a thriller set in Boston with references to the Big Dig, a fiasco of a highway/tunnel project that ran way behind schedule (try over 8 to 10 years, depending which viewpoint you take) and racked up the cost to over $20 billion (still not fully paid to date). Although that in itself is criminal, there are many other criminals in the story. Much of the story is about Rick Hoffman, a thirtysomething journalist who finds himself out of a high-paying job and homeless. He goes back to his family home, which has become a big fixer-upper because his father has been in a convalescence facility for 18 years due to a stroke that left him unable to speak or care for himself. His mother has long been deceased and his only sibling, a sister, lives in Seattle. Continue reading
The President’s Shadow by Brad Meltzer (a book review)
This book is the third of a series about a young Archivist named Beecher White, who gets involved in the many intrigues going on in the White House. The underlying mystery about how his father had died is revealed in this book, and tied to the mystery of two dismembered arms, each planted in a strategic place that implies it’s an attempt to assassinate the President of the United States. You also get to know more about the other characters introduced in the first two books. If I give even a hint of what happens, I will end up spoiling a good read. Continue reading
What We Do in the Shadows (a movie review)
This movie is a must-see for those who want to laugh. A unique take on vampire movies, What We Do in the Shadows is a mockumentary about the lifestyle of three vampires “flatting,” or sharing a place together. As documentaries go, this one includes different components like the reminiscing moments, a confessional, a self-revelation or occasional epiphany. Within such chapters, the stories told in the context of being a vampire are hilariously absurd. Because I don’t want to spoil it for you, I will give a small example. The main vampire telling the story talks about the differences in their behavior or “maturity level” because of their age differences, with one being over 800 years old vs. one who is under 200 years old, and then there is the “geriatric” who is over 8,000 years old and he looks like the vampire character in Nosferatu. Continue reading
Karina Pinella 
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