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Alison Pink (7 KP) rated Unbroken in Books
Jan 15, 2018
Louie Zamperini is an amazingly inspiring human being. Unbroken tells the story of his life from his family's move to California due to a bout of pneumonia to his life into his 90s. He went through hell and fought his way back. He went from the deepest, darkest depths of human suffering and emotion to putting himself in a position to help other "lost boys."
This book was a tough read. It is hard to imagine that what Louie lived through is even possible, let alone that people really did experience it and lived to tell the tale... and it is a truly amazing tale. I found myself smiling, horrified, laughing, and with tears streaming down my face through the course of this book. It was a wild ride and well worth the read!
This book was a tough read. It is hard to imagine that what Louie lived through is even possible, let alone that people really did experience it and lived to tell the tale... and it is a truly amazing tale. I found myself smiling, horrified, laughing, and with tears streaming down my face through the course of this book. It was a wild ride and well worth the read!
Erika (17789 KP) rated Ready Player One in Books
May 7, 2018
So, I saw the movie before I read this. After I read through the second chapter, I decided to evaluate it completely separate from the movie.
The nostalgia was high in this, it was a 80s/90s fest. I liked it, because that's my jam, but I can see why some people saw it as forced. The writing wasn't anything to write home about (pun unintended), and I know why Ernie changed some things around for his screenplay of the novel. Some of the scenes would have been really boring to watch.
My one issue with the differences between the book and movie... Seriously, you cast Simon Pegg, then don't use him as much as the book? Lame.
Anyway, I liked the book, and I'm strongly considering reading Armada now.
The nostalgia was high in this, it was a 80s/90s fest. I liked it, because that's my jam, but I can see why some people saw it as forced. The writing wasn't anything to write home about (pun unintended), and I know why Ernie changed some things around for his screenplay of the novel. Some of the scenes would have been really boring to watch.
My one issue with the differences between the book and movie... Seriously, you cast Simon Pegg, then don't use him as much as the book? Lame.
Anyway, I liked the book, and I'm strongly considering reading Armada now.
Hutch (9 KP) rated True Romance (1993) in Movies
Jun 18, 2019
Who said Romamce was dead?
Tarantino really burst onto the scene in unforgettable fashion in the early 90s and sandwiched between Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction is this often overlooked Tarantino penned gem.
Full of the witty dialogue, odd ball characters and great music that we've all come to expect from Tarantino, all bought to life by a stunning supporting cast.
I've always thought Christian Slater has been under rated and he proves my point here. Playing Clarence with so much charm and swagger that you can't help rooting for him and Alabama right from the start.
And the scene with Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken is so well written and played out that its gotta rank right up there with the best of Tarantino.
Full of the witty dialogue, odd ball characters and great music that we've all come to expect from Tarantino, all bought to life by a stunning supporting cast.
I've always thought Christian Slater has been under rated and he proves my point here. Playing Clarence with so much charm and swagger that you can't help rooting for him and Alabama right from the start.
And the scene with Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken is so well written and played out that its gotta rank right up there with the best of Tarantino.
David McK (3801 KP) rated Rocketeer Adventures Volume 1 in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Like, I'm sure, more than a few others, my first exposure to The Rocketeer came from the early 90s movie of the same name: even back then, I remember thinking that it bore more than a few resemblances to the 1988 Amiga game 'Rocker Ranger', with both set during (or near) World War 2, and both concerning a test pilot who learns the use of a jet-fueled rocket pack.
I was completely unaware that the film - and, more than likely, that game - were based on a comic series of the same name: this particular one.
I aoso have to say that the film (from what I remember) draws heavily from this source, although (if you'll forgive the pun) neither ever really seemed to 'take off' for me: to heavily draw me in.
I was completely unaware that the film - and, more than likely, that game - were based on a comic series of the same name: this particular one.
I aoso have to say that the film (from what I remember) draws heavily from this source, although (if you'll forgive the pun) neither ever really seemed to 'take off' for me: to heavily draw me in.
Rolling Stone's 485th greatest album of all time
I listened to this album a lot in my teens. While not Pearl Jam's best/biggest album, it was their newest at the time so more relevant to me. I would have said I loved it then, but I am struggling to see why now. While Last Exit, Corduroy and Better Man are good songs, they don't quite shine enough to let us forget all the nonsense on there. Spin the Black Circle is a dire attempt at punk and the rest is just not great. I think maybe I loved this so much in the 90s because I couldn't stand Eddie Vedder's voice and it seems a little toned down on this album than on others. Not quite as much like the scene in Ted.
I Was an Awesomer Kid
Book
Face it: You were awesome when you were a kid. You feared nothing. You spoke your mind. You tried...
Awix (3310 KP) rated La Mala Educacion (Bad Education) (2004) in Movies
Sep 18, 2019 (Updated Sep 18, 2019)
Another striking movie from Almodóvar's late 90s-early 2000s imperial phase. The complex plot resists easy summary, but concerns the makers of a film adapted from a story based on a (fictional) case of child molestation by Catholic priests - but not everything is quite as it initially appears to be. Flashbacks and the film-within-the-film echo and repeat each other; the line between them eventually blurs and vanishes.
Brilliant performances again, especially from Gael Garcia Bernal, and a fiendishly convoluted and clever script that never loses track of the seriousness of the issues involved: not for the first time, Almodóvar seems to be channelling Hitchcock in a very warped way. Less humane and optimistic than his other films, with a more ambiguous ending, but still a hugely impressive piece of cinema.
Brilliant performances again, especially from Gael Garcia Bernal, and a fiendishly convoluted and clever script that never loses track of the seriousness of the issues involved: not for the first time, Almodóvar seems to be channelling Hitchcock in a very warped way. Less humane and optimistic than his other films, with a more ambiguous ending, but still a hugely impressive piece of cinema.
David McK (3801 KP) rated In the Line of Fire (1993) in Movies
Jan 16, 2022
Early 90s political thriller starring the ever-reliable Clint Eastwood (in, I feel, a rare non-Western role) as the lone still-in-service Secret Service Agent who was on duty when JFK got shot, and who gets pulled into a game of cat and mouse when the current President's life is threatened during his re-election campaign by a psychopath, brilliantly (and creepily) played by John Malkovich, despite and over the advice of that President's chief of staff (who doesn't believe there to be any danger).
This takes a while to get going, and there are more than a few cliches along the way - "I'm going to quit tomorrow' being the most egregious - with the film largely relying on the charisma of its leading actors. Thankfully, they are - mostly - up to the task.
This takes a while to get going, and there are more than a few cliches along the way - "I'm going to quit tomorrow' being the most egregious - with the film largely relying on the charisma of its leading actors. Thankfully, they are - mostly - up to the task.
David McK (3801 KP) rated Moonfall (2022) in Movies
Aug 16, 2022
Peter Capaldi, Dr Who, 'Kill the moon'
Arthur C Clarke, 'Rendezvous with Rama'
2001: A Space Odyssey.
Any number of Roland Emmerich's own disaster movies.
It might seem odd talking about all those, bit throw them in a blender and the result might be something like this!
I was expecting a traditional end of the world disaster movie - like 2012, say, or Deep Impact, or something along that vein - which the movie does start as, with the moon mysteriously knocked out of it orbit and hence causing all kinds of chaos on good old planet Earth. Roughly about 2/3rds of the way in, though, it completely changes tack, becoming more of a sci-fi spectacle than anything, and closer - perhaps - to one of Emmerich's own most successful films of the mid 90s ...
Arthur C Clarke, 'Rendezvous with Rama'
2001: A Space Odyssey.
Any number of Roland Emmerich's own disaster movies.
It might seem odd talking about all those, bit throw them in a blender and the result might be something like this!
I was expecting a traditional end of the world disaster movie - like 2012, say, or Deep Impact, or something along that vein - which the movie does start as, with the moon mysteriously knocked out of it orbit and hence causing all kinds of chaos on good old planet Earth. Roughly about 2/3rds of the way in, though, it completely changes tack, becoming more of a sci-fi spectacle than anything, and closer - perhaps - to one of Emmerich's own most successful films of the mid 90s ...
Becky
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It’s peak 90s London. Shoulder pads are out, crimped hair is in, supermodels are known by their...
Historical fiction Retellings