Yes/No Detroit

For those of you who didn't win my Hobbit digital copy giveaway , I have good news - I now have a Blu-ray version for a lucky reader to win! Here's the synopsis (again) if you're unfamiliar with the series: From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies," the third in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpieceThe Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of Dwarves. Having reclaimed their homeland from the Dragon Smaug, the Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the world. Special Features on the Blu-Ray combo pack include: • New Zealand: Home of Middle-earth Part 3 • Recruiting the Five Armies • Completing Middle-earth: A Six-Part Saga • Completing Middle-earth: A Seventeen-Year Journey • The Last Goodbye: Behind the Scenes • Musi...

Written and directed by Michigan native Amy S. Weber, A Girl Like Her  will be opening in select theaters on March 27th. Official synopsis: Sophomore year has been a nightmare for Jessica Burns. Relentlessly harassed by her former friend Avery Keller, Jessica doesn't know what she did to deserve the abuse from one of South Brookdale High's most popular and beautiful students. But when a shocking event changes both of their lives, a documentary film crew, a hidden digital camera, and the attention of a reeling community begin to reveal the powerful truth about A Girl Like Her. Social media links: Official URL: AGirlLikeHerMovie.com Facebook: /AGirlLikeHerMovie Instagram: @AGirlLikeHer My thoughts:  This movie looks like an accurate portrayal of what it's like to be bullied in school. Although I luckily was not bullied in high school, I know some who were, and even though it wasn't as intense as how the situation looks for Jessica in this film, it was stil...

The second movie in the Divergent series, Insurgent follows Tris, Four, and their friends as they continue to try to disband the oppressive government, and Tris wants to kill Jeanine, as well, who is responsible for countless deaths. Things don't always go as planned, though, especially with the addition of some new characters into the mix. The film opens with a message from leader Jeanine to the city, and then we see Tris (Shailene Woodley), Four (Theo James), Peter (Miles Teller), and Tris's brother, Caleb (Ansel Elgort), who have taken refuge at Amity. Amity is led by Johanna (Octavia Spencer), and she's about to kick them out for fighting, when Eric (Jai Courtney) and his goons show up looking for them. Tris and co. flee, and again are on the run; they end up back in the city (a dystopian Chicago), at Candor headquarters, where they must convince the leader of their innocence from crimes supposedly committed during Divergent (first movie), and also put together an a...

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies  is now out in Digital HD, and one of my lucky readers will win a digital copy for themself! Official synopsis:   (in case you've been living under a rock) From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies," the third in a trilogy of films adapting the endearingly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" brings to an epic conclusion the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of Dwarves. Having reclaimed their homeland from the Dragon Smaug, the Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the world. #TheHobbit Own it on Digital HD NOW! Own it on Blu-ray March 24th. First, check this out:

When Disney announced that they were creating a live-action Cinderella movie, my first thought was of Ever After - also a live-action  Cinderella , and one of my favorite movies. That film and this one are quite different, however, and I enjoyed this  Cinderella  movie as well. Cinderella (Lily James) lives with her mother (Hayley Atwell) and father (Ben Chaplin), until her mother passes away. Many years later, her father decides it is time for him to remarry, and Cinderella's new stepmother (Cate Blanchett) and two dumb stepsisters (Holliday Grainger, Sophie McShera) come to stay with them. Her father passes away on a business trip, and Cinderella is stuck in the house with the three women, who do not treat her kindly. One day, when out for a horse ride, Cinderella meets a handsome young apprentice named Kit (Richard Madden) and can't get him off of her mind. What she doesn't know, however, is that Kit is the Prince - and he can't get her off his mind either.

*Disclosure: I received store credit from Door to Door Organics in exchange for this post. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own. I first tried out Door to Door Organics earlier in the year. I'm a self-proclaimed foodie, but I'm also pretty busy - I work full-time and run two blogs, this one and this one , and I also write Best of Detroit lists for CBS Detroit - and sometimes it's hard to find time to get to the grocery store. I also tend to eat way too many sweets not eat healthily some of the time. When I got my first Door to Door Organics box, I was pretty excited about it - at that time, I had ordered the "small" box, which was actually HUGE, and it had a ton of (all organic) fruits and veggies in it. Not only was I able to skip the store that week, I didn't even have to leave my apartment to get local food that was also healthy and a good choice for me to eat.

The trailer for Focus immediately made me think of Matt Damon's pickpocket character in the Ocean's 11 movies. Will Smith's character here is very similar, although more of a con man, and the moral of this film is that you shouldn't always believe what you think is real. Nicky (Will Smith) is the ultimate con man; he and his team can pull in over a million dollars when a major event is going on. He meets Jess Barrett (Margot Robbie) in a restaurant, and she tries to pull a small-time con on him - once they're upstairs in a hotel room, her "husband" bursts in, starts to get upset, and brandishes a gun at Nicky. Nicky knows it's a con, though, and is pretty calm; Jess is in awe and asks him to teach her the tricks of the trade. He takes her with him to New Orleans, during Super Bowl week, and by the end of the week, they and the rest of Nicky's team leave rich; however, Jess isn't entirely fulfilled with how she and Nicky leave their relation...

I reviewed Kody Keplinger's The DUFF on my book blog back in January 2011, and now it's a feature film. I'd have to reread the book to see how much was changed, but I think a fair amount was; that being said, it ended up being a cute movie, but it seemed to have borrowed heavily from other teen favorites like Mean Girls . I saw the screening on December 30th, and we were told that this was an unedited version of the film; it's possible that it will be edited a bit more before it reaches theaters. Bianca (Mae Whitman) is best friends with Jess (Skyler Samuels) and Casey (Bianca A. Santos), both of whom are considered the school "hotties." Her neighbor Wesley (Robbie Amell) informs her one day that she is their DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend. Bianca has never heard of a DUFF before, but when she Googles it, she quickly realizes he is right - and she dislikes this so much that she "breaks up" with her friends and tries to make a go of it solo. She...

*Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ChangingPrepaid #CollectiveBias I consider myself a "techie" of sorts - I love playing around with the latest and greatest technology. However, my current phone with - let's call them "Provider X" - is a bit elderly; the phone I use day to day is the Samsung Galaxy s3. When I first purchased it in October 2012, it was so fast ... now, not so much. My parents and I are on a family plan together, and have been thinking about leaving Provider X for a while now - I don't have unlimited texting ( gasp!  Rare in 2015) and it's about time for a new phone anyways. I headed over to Walmart to check out their phones, but I didn't want to be tied down to a plan this time - Provider X's plans last for two years, usually. At the same time, I didn't want to spend $600+ for a phone, either. What do you think of when you hear the ...

McFarland, USA is a "feel good" movie, but it's also a true story: at the end of the film, we see the actual people that the movie is based on, which I loved. The film is set in 1987 and tells the story of a group of gifted runners at a McFarland, CA, high school. Though they're fast, the kids' school doesn't have a track team, and since most of the students help their families as pickers in the fields, there's not a lot of time for extracurricular activities. Jim White (Kevin Costner) moves his family to McFarland after getting fired from his last school, and becomes the football coach. McFarland has a mostly Hispanic population, and the school's football team is rather dismal. During PE class (he's also the PE coach), Jim sees that many of the students are actually really fast runners; however, the school has no track or cross country teams. He decides to form a team, but he doesn't realize at first how much these kids are sacrificing to ...

Before you ask: yes, I've read all three of the Fifty Shades  books in the trilogy (and no, you won't find reviews on my book blog ) . Fifty Shades  started the current erotica boom that you will notice occurring now in books, and although I wasn't a fan of the writing itself (it's a bit dreadful), the actual story was interesting, so I was interested in seeing it on the big screen. Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) is a college senior who takes her roommate's assignment to interview Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) for their school paper, since the roommate is sick that day. She meets Mr. Grey, a 27-year-old self-made billionaire, and is intimidated by him, but also very curious about his background. She's also very attracted to him, and the next day or so he shows up at her job at the hardware store posing to buy some supplies. He then starts to pursue her, but she quickly learns that he has a certain preference for the sexual activities in his life; she must ...

I figured that  Kingsman: The Secret Service would be James Bond-esque, but it actually ended up being James Bond Jr. meets Kill Bill , and it was a highly entertaining ride throughout. Gary (Taron Egerton), who goes by "Eggsy," is a bit of a hooligan; when we meet him at the start of the film, he has just stolen a car, and is being chased by the police - while he drives the car backwards through the streets of London. When he ends up in jail, Eggsy calls the number on the back of a necklace he wears; he's released from jail, and met by Harry Hart (Colin Firth), who wants to give him a job. "Give" is a bit of an understatement, though: Harry wants Eggsy to "interview" for a job in Kingsman, a super secret CIA-esque group that is highly selective of its recruits. Eggsy will be competing against higher-educated peers for the job, as well, but it turns out Eggsy has a knack for the secret service life; which isn't surprising, considering his now-d...

I have a great giveaway for my blog readers, especially those who have kids/grandkids in their lives. About LEGO Justice League vs. Bizarro League: Batman has joined the newly formed Justice League in order to keep tabs on Superman, a mistrust that is complicated by Superman’s clumsy – but well-meaning – clone, Bizarro. Bizarro’s creation of the Bizarro League has caused confusion amongst the world’s greatest Super Heroes, but an even greater and mysterious threat may force the Justice League and Bizarro League to band together to defeat evil. #JusticeLeague #BizarroLeague Available NOW on Blu-ray+DVD+Digital HD UltraViolet Combo Pack + Batzarro LEGO minifigure. First, check out the widget below: