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Posts Tagged ‘Author Lataeya Lane’

Paranormal Activity 4 Movie Review

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Paranormal Activity 4 directed by Henry Joost and starring Katie Featherston takes place five years after Katie kills her family and kidnaps her nephew baby Hunter.  Hunter now known as Robbie, along with Katie are the new residents of a neighborhood in Nevada.  The moment Katie and Robbie move in across the street, Alice the teen that notices that Robbie is strange begins to experience paranormal events in her home.

The subtle noises in the night become elevated when Robbie is forced to stay a few days with Alice and her family.  Her friend Ben encourages Alice to video record all the strange activity.  Alice feels that Robbie is a bad influence on her brother Wyatt.  After viewing the tapes of recorded footage the teen is convinced that something maybe after her and her brother.  Alice ties to confront her mother about her findings, but her mother continues to not listen and ignore the signs.

Alice eventually discovers that Robbie may be linked to a coven of witches and a demonic force.  By the time she learns this information it is too late for her and her family.

The fast moving movie really was pointless and did not answer any of the questions franchise fans want to know concerning Katie and Kristi’s past that involve the demonic creature.  The movie was done the same way as the others.  A bump here, a crash there, then suddenly Katie pops into the home and randomly kills everyone.  Katie makes a statement at the end of movie telling the possessed Wyatt that “he will be ready soon.”

For those of you who still plan to see the movie, I will not give any more away, but to tell you the truth, I should have gone to see Taken 2, which I am three weeks late seeing.  I am not going to go over special effects or score, because this movie did not bring anything new to the franchise at all.  This movie should have gone straight to DVD and Netflix.  I cannot believe that the production company wasted money to release a movie like this.  I give Paranormal Activity 4 two stars.  I hope they do not make another one for next Halloween.

As a horror fan, I was disappointed and screamed only once.

Happy Reading!!

L.L

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Sinister “Movie Review”

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 15, 2012| 1 Comment »

Sinister directed by Scott Derrickson and starring Ethan Hawke and Juliet Rylance follows the life of writer Ellison Oswalt as he makes an attempt to write his next best-selling novel.  As he struggles to get back on his feet, he begins his writing journey with moving into a new home that has a horrid past.  Keeping that past a secret from his wife and children, Ellison is best known for writing books centered around real murderers and murder victims.  As the family deals with preexisting strain it does not take long for Ellison to realize that it was a mistake to move his family into the house.

After the official move, Ellison discovers a box of home movies in the attic.  Believing that the movies could be useful research for his book, Ellison views the films and learns that strangely the home movies consist of footage of the actual murders.  As he continues to view the films, he is drawn deeper into the darkness that comes with being in the house.  When paranormal disturbances become prevalent, Ellison learns that there is a dark entity that potentially is the source of the murders.  The dark entity is an “eater of children” and consumes their souls over the course of time. When Ellison’s children become the target , the survival of his family is number one priority.  For the first time, Ellison transitions into a “real believer.”

Usually before I see a movie, I have some kind of background knowledge about it.  In this case I knew nothing about the film or what to expect from it.  Derrickson did a great job with the team of writers, production crew and visual effects artists to create a horror film that was meant to live up to the goal of scaring you. Overall the movie was well done.  The script was written well and the character development was realistic in its delivery and was presented in a way that was believable.  Ethan Hawke is not normally seen in this type of film,, so it was a pleasure to see him take on a character like Ellison. The score and sound were two other elements that added to the fear and made the movie more intense.  The score was an extension of telling the story and created a more balanced component to the film.

The idea of a demonic entity preying on children obviously has been done time and time again but It still brought a freshness to the world of horror.  I highly recommend this movie as part of your Halloween film list this season.  All the theatrical elements combined make this movie very haunting and entertaining.  I give Sinister four stars for its dark and malicious components that “draw in” the horror movie fan that gets a kick out of “things that go bump in the night.”

See you in theaters!!

L.L

 

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“Swept into the Darkness” Book Updates

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 26, 2012| Leave a Comment »

So much has been going on with my book since I last blogged about Swept into the Darkness.  The paperback version on my book will be coming out early October and will be sold on Amazon.com.  Currently I am reading the proof copy of the paperback.  I will be making some subtle changes within some of the chapters. It’s amazing the mistakes you can find even after you have read and reread the book several times and even had it edited multiple times!  October is also Indie Author month, and to celebrate all Indie authors I will be participating in a Facebook book promotion.  The event has been extended until the end of November so I will have a book cover spot on November 26th.  Also my official book release will be coming up soon and the actual dates will be announced via my site and twitter once I get those dates approved by my book release host.  That event will also take place on Facebook and will be by ” SPECIAL INVITATION ONLY.”  I am in the process of obtaining some nice prizes for my upcoming Goodreads promotion which will be announced within the next couple of weeks.  In addition to that I am looking for readers to review my book.  So if anyone is interested in providing me with a review please drop me an email and I can send a PDF copy of my book to be reviewed.  I am only looking for the serious reviewer.

As I am working on promoting Swept into the Darkness Chronicles of the Celestial book one, I am typing up book two and writing book three.  Busy, busy, busy.  Please note that this weekend I will post part three of my fall movie preview series.  I know that many of you have been coming on to look at my previews.  I apologize for being late with part three.  I just have been so busy with my book not to mention that I have a new baby at home.  🙂

Happy reading and writing!!!

L.L

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The Possession Movie Review

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 2, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The LionsGate and GhostHouse production of the film The Possession directed by Ole Bornedal opened this Labor weekend.  The so-called “Based on a True Story” was not the horror movie that it claimed to be.  Starring Kyra Sedgwick and Jeffery Dean Morgan, the movie tells the story of a divorced couple, making an attempt to raise their two daughters in two separate homes.  One weekend as the girls spend time with their father in his new home, he takes them to a local yard sale to find items for the house.  His youngest daughter Emily is drawn to a large antique box and ends up buying the box.  Curious over the box it’s self and the possible contents inside the box, the daughter quickly becomes obsessed with it.  Slowly her father notices that his little girl is demonstrating odd behavior at home.  Her life at school is also affected to the point where her dad tries to separate her from the box.

Her downward spiral and her social and physical demise is fast-moving.  The obvious psychiatric evaluation is recommended as well as doctors appointments and MRI’s are scheduled in order for the parents to seek answers in what is wrong with their daughter.  Once medical issues are ruled out the father puts two and two together and learns that his daughter is possessed.  As he familiarized himself with the concept of possession, he realizes that his daughter must have an exorcism.  Finally embracing his heritage, Clyde makes contact with a Jewish priest to seek advice and plead for him to exorcise the demon.

This movie was not what I thought it would be.  The Sam Raimi element of the film to me was non existent.  The special effects were minimal and  the demonic transformation was disappointing.  The movie was not original and had elements of The Unborn, Emily Rose, The Devil Inside, and The Exorcist wrapped up into one film.

The acting skills were pretty basic, and that was not a negative reflection on  Sedgwick and Morgan.  I think it was the lack of commitment and passion from the writers.  Just because the story is “based on true events” does not mean that the writing can be dull.  Just the idea alone is not good enough.  The writing must be passionate so it can transform the story into something that will “Pull us in”.  It was a nice surprise to see Melrose Place’s bad boy Grant Show make an appearance as Stephine’s new man.  The character was really pointless, he took up space in the house and that is all.  The score was not that impressive and did not enhance the movie.

Overall this movie would be best to watch on Dvd or Netflix on a Friday evening when there is nothing else much else to do.  I give this move two and a half stars.

Happy Reading and Writing

L.L!!

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The Dark Knight Rises Movie Review

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on July 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Directed by Christopher Nolan and Starring Christine Bale and Micheal Caine, The Dark Knight Rises is the third film in the modern “Batman” franchise.  Eight years after the death of Harvey Dent, and life long friend Rachael Dawes, Gotham City does it’s best to cope with the loss of a hero.   A broken Bruce Wayne is now isolated and disconnected from a world where he was always in view of the public. Two new villans take the scene in this film, a lovely thief that makes her way in the world by kicking ass and stealing,(Catwoman, played by Ann Hathaway) and a masked protector that seeks nothing but the traditional thing that most superhero villans want; money, power and control over others (Bane,played by Tom Hardy).  As Bane terrorizes the city, a distraught Bruce Wayne aka Batman slowly but surly makes his way back into the limelight trying to protect Gotham and it’s citizens from destruction.

As Bruce Wayne continues to deal with loosing people he loves, the inner struggle he faces grows more intense.
Despite the reconstruction of Wayne manor, the scars that Bruce carry run deep within his spirit and help him to evolve into an even more complex character than we are used to seeing.  Nolan does a wonderful job continuing the telling of “Batman’s” story through the camera lens.  The introduction of the new villans and the directions they are taken  in puts an interesting twist on the overall story.  The action scenes were wonderful as would be expected from a Nolan film.  The all-star cast each played their parts well and made their roles believable and unique to their portrayal.  The special effects were engaging and appropriate for a film of this caliber.  The end has some surprises for sure, and will have the movie goer in tears and in all smiles.  This Blockbuster movie is a must see!! I give The Dark Knight Rises Five stars and hope that a fourth film may surface so that the Batman legacy will continue.

Happy Reading

L.L

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Swept into the Darkness Video trailer

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on June 27, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I finally finished my video book trailer and it is officially up and running live on YouTube.  It is actually a lot work to create something like that on your own and I am very pleased with the end result. The entire project was a lot of fun and I was able to tap into a form of creativity that I really never touched on before.  I have a link to the Trailer on my Book Page but I will also provide the link here so that if anyone wants to see it they can.  This trailer represents the mood of the journey that my main character Sydney London takes throughout book one in the series.  Just by watching the trailer you can walk through the various points of her experience.  Her supernatural abilities, and the challenges of being different as a child.  Her adulthood and the idea that she is on the verge of finally excepting that she will always be different.  Sydney’s encounter with other supernatural beings and the concept that she is willing to do anything to save someone she loves is something else that she must deal with, in addition to falling in love and making an attempt to save the world from destruction.  This young woman has a lot on her plate not to mention coping with a past that just will not stop haunting her. Check it out!

http://youtu.be/DezNGh3I3Qw

Happy Reading

L.L

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Writing and Publishing full time and becoming a new mom

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , on May 28, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Writing and Publishing full time and becoming a new mom.

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Smashwords About LaTaeya Lane Author of Swept into the Darkness

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , on May 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Smashwords About LaTaeya Lane Author of Swept into the Darkness

My debut urban fantasy novel “Swept into the Darkness Chronicles of the Celestial book one has been officially published and is available for purchase on Smashwords.  Within the next couple of weeks my ebook will also be available on Sony, Barnes and Noble.com and Amazon.com .  It’s been a long time since I have had time to write on my blog because I was so busy with making the final edits on the manuscript.  It has been a long road to the finish line when it comes to publishing my book and when it comes to the publishing process the end is never near.  I am currently working on my book trailer which is expected to go live on you tube within the next week or so.  Promoting and advertising is next on the journey so stay tuned for a list of upcoming events and Book tour info.  The paperback version of my book will be released early Fall 2012.

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The World of Fantasy

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 29, 2012| 2 Comments »

What attracts so many people to the world of fantasy?  There are so many different worlds of the genre, so many different aspects of the genre.  It is something that must be a part of you as the creator and the reader.  I feel that the world of fantasy is a place and time where you can escape the reality of everyday life.  You are transported  to a place where you can be and live as anything you want to be.  The imagination, your imagination is infinite.  Every story within the world of fantasy is an out of this world adventure.  The words created are waiting for you to experience the literary journey in what ever way your mind will take you.  The world of fantasy gives off its own illumination.  It is a light that shines brightly upon the dreamers of this world.  It our personal refuge, it reflects our uniqueness and our ability to see beyond the stars of our imagination.

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The Walking Dead episode review

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , on March 13, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Image Last Night’s episode of The Walking Dead was just as shocking and intense as last week’s episode.  I thought that I was never going to get over the death “Dale”.  I was really expecting another character from the cast to die.  I guess at this point no one is really safe.  Carl’s interference with adult matters is really getting on my nerves.  I hate to point fingers but it was his fault that Dale was killed.  He should have reported that he spotted the Walker.  With that aside he just didn’t want to get into trouble.  The whole idea of him being so close to Shane scared me.  He must have thought that since Shane was outsider he wont be judged and criticized  like he would be by his parents.  Confiding in Shane was not a good idea on Carl’s part.  And what the heck was Lori thinking when she approached Shane to express her feelings about the whole situation between them?  At first I thought that was going to be the revelation that Shane needed to turn his life around but instead it was the breaking point.  For a second Shane appeared as if he had a soul.

I knew something was up with him when he took the young man from the barn.  Shane really lost his mind by the time he attacked the guy. (Sorry I can’t remember his name.)    At that point I still could not believe Shane convinced the others to follow him into the woods to track down their guest.  I was on the edge of my seat waiting for something to happen.  I was not surprised when Shane killed him.  The show proceeded in a fast paced manner and by the end I could not compose myself.    When audience members were being taken on Shane’s wild goose chase I knew that Rick was not falling for his crap.  I just can’t believe that Shane was that bold to lure Rick off of the property with the intention of killing him.  With Rick’s fast hand Shane was on the ground before he even realized it, with a deadly stab wound.  I must admit that I was happy to see Shane’s demise.  He has been a major threat to the survival of the group since day one.  The appearance of Carl was annoying but actually worth it when Shane rose as a Walker that had not been bitten.  The first incident happened when T-Dogg and Darryl first encountered their farm guest as a newly turned Walker without any sign of being bitten or scratched.  Carl saved his father by taking out Shane with one bullet to the head.  I believe that part was the most cringing for me.  What in the world happened?  How can you become a Walker and not have suffered a bite or scratch?  This is amazing and makes me think of many reasons why and how this is possible.  Now the farm land is about the be over run with Walkers.  I guess Hershel was thinking pretty clearly when he told Rick that he had enough food and water for them to survive for three days in the basement.  It looks like that is not going to be enough.  This episode was just as wild as a season finale.  Next week’s episode is going to be insane.  It’s shows like this that make me wish that the network had a two hour air time for the show.  It was wonderful.  Extremely entertaining.  I give it five stars. Stay tuned for next week.

Happy Reading and Writing, LL

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