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    Paradime

    Paradime

    Alan Glynn

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Book

    From Alan Glynn, the award-winning author of Limitless, comes a novel of a twenty-first-century...

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LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Jurassic World (2015) in Movies

Jun 7, 2019 (Updated Dec 4, 2019)  
Jurassic World (2015)
Jurassic World (2015)
2015 | Adventure, Sci-Fi
6
7.6 (103 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
The thing that annoys me most about Jurassic World is how good it could have been. There was a long break between movies here - almost taking time to regroup a bit - and the trailers looked good enough.

Unfortunately, the finished product was underwhelming for me.
There's a lot of stupid going on throughout, but the movie takes itself too seriously to get away with it
(Especially the villains plot to take raptors and use them in Afghanistan - wtf)
The set up to the inevitable disaster is riddled with product placement, and an average script (and a weird sub plot about the two kids parents getting divorced), and then when all hell breaks loose, it just descends into Hollywood nonsense (the scenes with Chris Pratt riding alongside raptors on a motorbike is one of the many times I rolled my eyes), it's a far cry from the original.

Another thing - the main dinosaur threat comes in the shape of a super crazy lab created hybrid dinosaur, which just seems a little... unnecessary - just regular dinosaurs are pretty damn scary!

I like both Chris Pratt, and Bryce Dallas-Howard, unfortunately the chemistry between the two doesn't quite connect. The rest of the cast are fine, and mostly likable.

It's not an awful film by any means, it's just... Ok. I'm sure I'll find myself watching it again at some point, I guess I just wanted more!
  
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Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated The Great Shelby Holmes (The Great Shelby Holmes, #1) in Books

Jun 18, 2018  
TG
The Great Shelby Holmes (The Great Shelby Holmes, #1)
Elizabeth Eulberg | 2016
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Great Shelby Holmes by Elizabeth Eulberg was a wonderful story that I enjoyed. At the beginning of the story the reader is introduced to John Watson who recently moved with his mother to 221 Baker Street in Harlem, New York. John's parents recently divorced. John's mom finished her tour of duty as a military doctor and is recovering from a wound she received in Afghanistan. Mrs. Hudson, new landlady, introduced John to the girl, Shelby, who lives in apartment 221B. John is use to moving around and making friends easily as a military brat but this is the first non-Army post. John's mom selected an apartment to move to in order to be near her new john and a great school for John.

School has not started yet and John does not know anyone or his way around the neighborhood. However, with Shelby as his guide, John learns his way around town soon. He discovered that Shelby knows everyone in their area. Shelby is a talented child who solves mysteries around the neighborhood, but this is an annoyance to Detective Lestrade for the NYPD. John and Shelby friendship causes the reader to be pulled into the story. I could not turn the pages fast enough to find out the answers to my questions and the mysteries.

I give this book a 4 out 5 stars.

I received this book from Bloomsbury USA Children's Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
  
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Booksnthreads (19 KP) rated The Things a Brother Knows in Books

Jun 5, 2018  
TT
The Things a Brother Knows
Dana Reinhardt
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I really wanted to love this book. The topic of returning veterans from Afghanistan deserves a place in young adult literature. Unfortunately, The Things a Brother Knows has some significant weaknesses that overshadowed what should have been the meat of the story.

Reinhardt seems to feel the need to cater to adolescent hormones by throwing in a few unnecessarily suggestive scenes that really lend nothing to the plot. Is she afraid that teenagers won’t read her work otherwise? (In defense of suggestive scenes, I don’t typically have anything against them when they are integral to the story line. One look at my past reading lists should hint at that.)

In this case, the romantic relationships that develop in the story not only come off as improbably and entirely sudden, but personally, I feel they detract from the main plot line of a young man trying to reconnect with and understand his brother who has recently returned home from the war.

I will say, however, that I really do like how Reinhardt has dealt not only with the effects of war on returning soldiers, but also with the family dynamic. Not having any personal experience with this, all I can say is that from an outsider’s standpoint, the portrayals feel authentic. I also really appreciate how she manages to skirt the political issues of the war in favor of focusing on the human aspect.