This week I read two books. But they were great books.
113. Kidnapped From Ukraine #2 Standoff. Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch. 2025.
288 pages. [Source: Library] [realistic fiction, family, drama, war] [5
stars]Read this if...
- You enjoy compelling realistic middle grade
- You enjoy dramatic war stories
- You enjoy family and 'found family' stories
73. On a Midnight Clear. Karen Witemeyer. Tracie Peterson. Misty M. Beller. 2025. 304 pages. [Source: Library] [4 stars, novella, Christmas novellas, christian fiction, christian romance]
Read this if....
- You enjoy novellas
- You enjoy historical romance
- You enjoy historical holiday romances
- You love Karen Witemeyer
1930s
- 1931 Dracula. Is it faithful to the novel? Maybe. Maybe not. I do know it is VERY condensed, abridged, and missing characters. Are a few of the acting performances great? Absolutely. Are all of them so? No. But I am glad I watched it. It isn't my favorite of the "Universal Monster" movies from the 1930s, but it is solidly good.
1990s
- 1992 Stay Tuned. This is a dark comedy with a moral or "moral." A couple facing significant marital troubles faces hell together when they are sucked into the television. One moral might be: don't open the door to strangers. A second might be: read the fine print. A third might be: be careful what you wish for. Luckily, this couple has a super-smart-genius son that is able to help them survive. I don't know if it's fully parody/satire. But there's definitely dozens if not hundreds of dark spins on pop culture--movies, television shows, genres and sub-genres. The movie is DARK, but it's meant to be comedic. Yet for those who would prefer their movies not to feature hell/Satan taken so lightly, this might not be the fit for them.
2000s
- 2008 The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior. This is a prequel featuring 'The Scorpion King' as a young boy/young teen. It features a quest to the underworld. It was bad. I'll just be honest. It was bad. The special effects were weak at best. And there wasn't characterization enough to save it.
- 2012 The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption. Of the four sequels, the third movie comes closest to being as enjoyable as the first movie. The movie does veer all the way back to being a comedy with action sequences. As a comedy it works.
- 2015 The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power. This movie was so much better than the second movie and almost as good as the third. All things considered. Ratings really only work if you've seen all five Scorpion King movies. When compared to other movies--say the Lethal Weapon franchise, for example, since it hasn't been that long since I watched those. (I almost said we), then I'm not sure how any of the Scorpion King movies would score. But I liked some of the characters introduced in this one. I loved the eccentric, quirky dad of the love-interest.
- 2018 Scorpion King: Book of Souls. I thought no movie would be as bad as the second movie. I was wrong. It was this one. This is the worst of the franchise. By far. It isn't even close. IT was great fun to watch with someone--however. Because everything was so ridiculously bad, plenty of opportunities to laugh, to make someone else laugh. This movie features REALLY bad costuming and make-up.
© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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