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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Dolittle (2020) in Movies
Mar 5, 2020
More CGI animals in another adaptation of a franchise that has been around since the 1920s. I do so love Eddie Murphy's comedy portrayal, am I ready for a period appropriate version?
Tommy Stubbins isn't like his uncle, he doesn't want to hunt the animals in the wood. When he shoots wide in an attempt to miss his target he accidentally hits a squirrel, but his reaction makes his uncle and cousin leave him there with the injured animal. Clutching the squirrel and not knowing what to do Tommy finds himself being beckoned by a parrot. She leads him through a gap in a high stone wall to an expanse filled with (not so) wild animals.
Doctor Dolittle has been hidden behind closed doors ever since his wife disappeared. With just the animals for company he's forgotten some of his human manners, he must remember them quickly as he's summoned by the Queen who is gravely ill.
Welsh. That accent that you couldn't quite put your finger on, that was Welsh... yeah, it wouldn't have been my first guess either but let's just accept it and move on shall we?
Seeing the CGI on this in the trailer didn't annoy me, and looking back now I'm not sure how that was the case when Call Of The Wild basically the same thing and I was livid. Just like Call Of The Wild, Dolittle benefits from the comedy you can get from the CGI and it really needed that.
RDJ is a big ticket name, but I'm not entirely sure he was suited to the role of John Dolittle. Perhaps that's partly to do with the fact that so much of his recent history is dominated by him as Tony Stark, perhaps it's because the slightly crazy and vulnerable Dolittle in this film has little impact. The truth for me is probably somewhere in the middle.
Considering the live action section of the films features a lot of Tommy Stubbins (played by Harry Collett) his role seems of little consequence after he's taken us to the estate, after all, Lady Rose would still have gone there and I suspect Polly would have steered him right. Stubbins, in the books, narrates the stories after he first appears, but in this adaptation it's given to Polly, voiced by Emma Thompson. I can understand that decision, she's got a very soothing and yet commanding voice that's perfect for that role.
There seems to be a lot of pieces kept from the books, though they've been tweaked for the modern audience. Not only the change of narrator but Polly is no longer a grey African parrot, instead we're given a much brighter macaw which has a better visual payoff.
One day I'll remember to look at the cast list for animated films before I go in, trying to place voices is so difficult on the fly. All in all the animals are fine, the script doesn't feel great but the antics help it out somewhat.
Our villains are quite varied throughout but Michael Sheen takes a main role as Dr. Blair Müdfly, Dolittle's rival. The interactions between him and the animals did amuse me but his over the top nature that built steadily through the film felt much too cliche, sadly not always in an entertaining way.
There are many things to like hidden in the film. It opens with a great animation that gives us back story which allows us not to suffer through clumsy attempts at the same during the film. I also really enjoyed the way we're shown how Dolittle speaks to the animals, though that does raise other questions that make things unravel, so I'll move on. The squirrel's commentary is hilarious and probably makes him my favourite character, though the octopus isn't too far behind.
Dolittle has a lot of nice little touches but it relies heavily on predictable humour and at times doesn't know when to stop (I'm thinking specifically about a scene towards the end of the film here). Even with its many ups and downs the film was enjoyable to watch, just the once. I'm entirely convinced that with a different accent it would have been infinitely better.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/03/dolittle-movie-review.html
Tommy Stubbins isn't like his uncle, he doesn't want to hunt the animals in the wood. When he shoots wide in an attempt to miss his target he accidentally hits a squirrel, but his reaction makes his uncle and cousin leave him there with the injured animal. Clutching the squirrel and not knowing what to do Tommy finds himself being beckoned by a parrot. She leads him through a gap in a high stone wall to an expanse filled with (not so) wild animals.
Doctor Dolittle has been hidden behind closed doors ever since his wife disappeared. With just the animals for company he's forgotten some of his human manners, he must remember them quickly as he's summoned by the Queen who is gravely ill.
Welsh. That accent that you couldn't quite put your finger on, that was Welsh... yeah, it wouldn't have been my first guess either but let's just accept it and move on shall we?
Seeing the CGI on this in the trailer didn't annoy me, and looking back now I'm not sure how that was the case when Call Of The Wild basically the same thing and I was livid. Just like Call Of The Wild, Dolittle benefits from the comedy you can get from the CGI and it really needed that.
RDJ is a big ticket name, but I'm not entirely sure he was suited to the role of John Dolittle. Perhaps that's partly to do with the fact that so much of his recent history is dominated by him as Tony Stark, perhaps it's because the slightly crazy and vulnerable Dolittle in this film has little impact. The truth for me is probably somewhere in the middle.
Considering the live action section of the films features a lot of Tommy Stubbins (played by Harry Collett) his role seems of little consequence after he's taken us to the estate, after all, Lady Rose would still have gone there and I suspect Polly would have steered him right. Stubbins, in the books, narrates the stories after he first appears, but in this adaptation it's given to Polly, voiced by Emma Thompson. I can understand that decision, she's got a very soothing and yet commanding voice that's perfect for that role.
There seems to be a lot of pieces kept from the books, though they've been tweaked for the modern audience. Not only the change of narrator but Polly is no longer a grey African parrot, instead we're given a much brighter macaw which has a better visual payoff.
One day I'll remember to look at the cast list for animated films before I go in, trying to place voices is so difficult on the fly. All in all the animals are fine, the script doesn't feel great but the antics help it out somewhat.
Our villains are quite varied throughout but Michael Sheen takes a main role as Dr. Blair Müdfly, Dolittle's rival. The interactions between him and the animals did amuse me but his over the top nature that built steadily through the film felt much too cliche, sadly not always in an entertaining way.
There are many things to like hidden in the film. It opens with a great animation that gives us back story which allows us not to suffer through clumsy attempts at the same during the film. I also really enjoyed the way we're shown how Dolittle speaks to the animals, though that does raise other questions that make things unravel, so I'll move on. The squirrel's commentary is hilarious and probably makes him my favourite character, though the octopus isn't too far behind.
Dolittle has a lot of nice little touches but it relies heavily on predictable humour and at times doesn't know when to stop (I'm thinking specifically about a scene towards the end of the film here). Even with its many ups and downs the film was enjoyable to watch, just the once. I'm entirely convinced that with a different accent it would have been infinitely better.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/03/dolittle-movie-review.html
Sarah (7800 KP) rated WandaVision in TV
Mar 7, 2021
A welcome return to the MCU
WandaVision is the latest Marvel series to hit the small screen, arriving in a flood of hype as the first official series to tie in with the rest of the MCU. Initially I hadn’t been interested in this after struggling to enjoy previous series, however after discovering that everyone I know was watching this, FOMO and the fact that we haven’t had a new MCU release since Phase 3 wrapped up with 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, has prompted me to give this a go. And I’m rather glad I did.
WandaVision is set not long after the events of Endgame, and follows Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) as they live an idyllic suburban life in the small town of Westview. However all is not as it seems; Wanda and Vision appear to be starring in their own 1950s style sitcom, as a odd couple with superpowers trying to blend in with the neighbours, including nosy Agnes (Kathryn Hahn) and committee leader Dotty (Emma Caulfield). Strange things soon start happening, and as Wanda and Vision become increasingly confused and suspicious about their new life, outside of Westfield agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park), Dr Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) and Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) are also trying to figure out what’s going on.
Setting WandaVision in the style of various popular sitcoms from the 1950s onwards is a genius move. BeWitched, I Love Lucy, Malcolm in the Middle and Modern Family to name but a few of the obvious influences on show here, and this changing sitcom style really works and blends very well with the super powered action we know and love from the MCU. I’ll admit that I’m not a massive fan of sitcoms in general and my knowledge of older ones pre-1990 is limited at best, however even I could appreciate the love and care that has gone in to crafting this. It looks amazing and feels so authentic, from everything to the set design, costumes and change in aspect ratio.
It is of course helped by the stellar performances by Elizabeth Olsen. In the MCU so far Wanda has been rather sidelined and Olsen has been given little chance to shine. However she is undoubtedly the star of WandaVision and has been given ample opportunity to show off her versatility and talents, and she certainly does. We see a side of Wanda we’ve never seen before and Olsen’s ability to transform into each decade’s sitcom character is brilliant to watch. It’s a shame then that Bettany’s Vision doesn’t quite match up. No matter the decade, Vision never really seems to change much and while he is funny on occasion, I’m not entirely convinced that seeing more of Vision is a good thing. He’s always been the aloof synthezoid and this may have made him a little too ‘human’. However that said, it was still nice to see a lot more of Bettany than we have done in a while.
Once you get over the sitcom styling, the first couple of episodes are quite slow and had it continued in this vein I may have struggling to keep interested. However in typical Marvel style, it soon picks up and immerses us into the full MCU experience I was expecting. While I don’t want to say much about the plot, from episode 3 onwards I was hooked and the story never felt drawn out, and this wasn’t just due to the short half hour episodes. Unravelling the world of WandaVision was hugely enjoyable and one particular character reappearance in episode 5 had me almost squealing in geeky happiness. The only thing WandaVision is really lacking is the humour and camaraderie that have made the rest of the MCU films into what we love best. Yes there is humour and fun, but this mostly comes from Woo and Darcy, and I think it’s noticeable that the funnier Avengers are missing.
For me, WandaVision isn’t perfect however it was still hugely enjoyable and has definitely given me a new found appreciation for Wanda as a character. And mor important of all, it’s filled a rather large Marvel shaped hole brought on by coronavirus. Bring on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
WandaVision is set not long after the events of Endgame, and follows Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) as they live an idyllic suburban life in the small town of Westview. However all is not as it seems; Wanda and Vision appear to be starring in their own 1950s style sitcom, as a odd couple with superpowers trying to blend in with the neighbours, including nosy Agnes (Kathryn Hahn) and committee leader Dotty (Emma Caulfield). Strange things soon start happening, and as Wanda and Vision become increasingly confused and suspicious about their new life, outside of Westfield agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park), Dr Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) and Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) are also trying to figure out what’s going on.
Setting WandaVision in the style of various popular sitcoms from the 1950s onwards is a genius move. BeWitched, I Love Lucy, Malcolm in the Middle and Modern Family to name but a few of the obvious influences on show here, and this changing sitcom style really works and blends very well with the super powered action we know and love from the MCU. I’ll admit that I’m not a massive fan of sitcoms in general and my knowledge of older ones pre-1990 is limited at best, however even I could appreciate the love and care that has gone in to crafting this. It looks amazing and feels so authentic, from everything to the set design, costumes and change in aspect ratio.
It is of course helped by the stellar performances by Elizabeth Olsen. In the MCU so far Wanda has been rather sidelined and Olsen has been given little chance to shine. However she is undoubtedly the star of WandaVision and has been given ample opportunity to show off her versatility and talents, and she certainly does. We see a side of Wanda we’ve never seen before and Olsen’s ability to transform into each decade’s sitcom character is brilliant to watch. It’s a shame then that Bettany’s Vision doesn’t quite match up. No matter the decade, Vision never really seems to change much and while he is funny on occasion, I’m not entirely convinced that seeing more of Vision is a good thing. He’s always been the aloof synthezoid and this may have made him a little too ‘human’. However that said, it was still nice to see a lot more of Bettany than we have done in a while.
Once you get over the sitcom styling, the first couple of episodes are quite slow and had it continued in this vein I may have struggling to keep interested. However in typical Marvel style, it soon picks up and immerses us into the full MCU experience I was expecting. While I don’t want to say much about the plot, from episode 3 onwards I was hooked and the story never felt drawn out, and this wasn’t just due to the short half hour episodes. Unravelling the world of WandaVision was hugely enjoyable and one particular character reappearance in episode 5 had me almost squealing in geeky happiness. The only thing WandaVision is really lacking is the humour and camaraderie that have made the rest of the MCU films into what we love best. Yes there is humour and fun, but this mostly comes from Woo and Darcy, and I think it’s noticeable that the funnier Avengers are missing.
For me, WandaVision isn’t perfect however it was still hugely enjoyable and has definitely given me a new found appreciation for Wanda as a character. And mor important of all, it’s filled a rather large Marvel shaped hole brought on by coronavirus. Bring on The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Andy K (10823 KP) rated Enter the Void (Soudain le vide) (2010) in Movies
Oct 13, 2019
WOW!
Not many modern filmmakers garner such a reputation for being controversial and are well deserved. Lars von Trier and Ari Aster come to mind, but I am sure there are others. They pull no punches with their work, so most provoke extreme reactions either love or hate. Maybe also appreciate the art form or what they are trying to say, but do not enjoy the extreme sex or violence or shock value from many of their scenes.
From the psychedelic opening credits (which are the complete film credits by the way, meaning no end credits at all) this film grabs your attention and should immediately realize what you are about to watch is going to be different, exciting, revolting and most of all unique in every way from most movies you have seen in your life until now.
The film focuses on the relationship between Oscar and Linda, a brother and sister living in Japan when tragedy strikes. Oscar goes to meet a friend for a drug deal only to have something go very wrong. For some reason, the police are present and pursue Oscar to the bathroom where he tries to dispense the drugs eliminating the evidence down the facilities. Shortly after, Oscar is shot in the chest and dies on the bathroom floor.
It seems as if Oscar's "soul" leaves his body and begins a hallucinatory journey interacting with his former friends, acquaintances and sister in a spiritual and mind blowing way to help make him and the audience understand the events which led to his death.
The siblings have had a rough life including the horrible death of their parents in an automobile accident when they were young. They were in the back seat as well, so not only witnessed the physical and emotional trauma, but also had to endure the subsequent separation from each other through foster care having to grow up without each other. Before they were separated, they made a blood pact and said they would always be there for each other no matter what.
Linda works at a dance/strip club and the forlorn about the death of her brother, but continues her job duties including dancing and having sex. She gets pregnant, then deals with the repercussions of the act. She becomes increasingly despondent with her life and wishes her brother was still with her.
Oscar's spirit meanders through the lives of his former life watching and understanding the emotions of those left on Earth.
The film is hard to explain and therefore maybe hard to understand as well. This seems to be one of those movies that is not only the words that are spoken, but the emotions that are portrayed and not said aloud. Whatever you believe spiritually about the soul and reincarnation, this film is not here to change your religious beliefs. It is shown in "first person" most of the time, so you interact with the characters of Oscar's life just as he is.
The use of neon colors both on the exterior cityscape of Japan and interior shots o the dance club are gorgeous and reminded me of what the world would appear as if life used a blacklight. The sequences of drug use could not be described as anything else other than living artwork. The rainbow kaleidoscope of the "trip" were reminiscent of "2001: A Space Odyssey" and I read afterwards which is where Noe drew some of his inspiration.
Undoubtedly, the multitude of graphic sex scenes and shocking imagery will turn many off as some of it is pretty extreme, but I feel suits this film symbiotically and perfectly. In fact, the second half of the film is more style than substance (which you could probably say for a lot of Noe's films), but somehow you don't mind since you are along for the ride and enjoy the spectacle anyways.
After reading about the film after my viewing, I discovered there is a "director's cut" including around 20 minutes of additional scenes bring the running time to over 2 1/2 hours.
It looks like I'll be getting the Blu-Ray and watching again in a few weeks!
From the psychedelic opening credits (which are the complete film credits by the way, meaning no end credits at all) this film grabs your attention and should immediately realize what you are about to watch is going to be different, exciting, revolting and most of all unique in every way from most movies you have seen in your life until now.
The film focuses on the relationship between Oscar and Linda, a brother and sister living in Japan when tragedy strikes. Oscar goes to meet a friend for a drug deal only to have something go very wrong. For some reason, the police are present and pursue Oscar to the bathroom where he tries to dispense the drugs eliminating the evidence down the facilities. Shortly after, Oscar is shot in the chest and dies on the bathroom floor.
It seems as if Oscar's "soul" leaves his body and begins a hallucinatory journey interacting with his former friends, acquaintances and sister in a spiritual and mind blowing way to help make him and the audience understand the events which led to his death.
The siblings have had a rough life including the horrible death of their parents in an automobile accident when they were young. They were in the back seat as well, so not only witnessed the physical and emotional trauma, but also had to endure the subsequent separation from each other through foster care having to grow up without each other. Before they were separated, they made a blood pact and said they would always be there for each other no matter what.
Linda works at a dance/strip club and the forlorn about the death of her brother, but continues her job duties including dancing and having sex. She gets pregnant, then deals with the repercussions of the act. She becomes increasingly despondent with her life and wishes her brother was still with her.
Oscar's spirit meanders through the lives of his former life watching and understanding the emotions of those left on Earth.
The film is hard to explain and therefore maybe hard to understand as well. This seems to be one of those movies that is not only the words that are spoken, but the emotions that are portrayed and not said aloud. Whatever you believe spiritually about the soul and reincarnation, this film is not here to change your religious beliefs. It is shown in "first person" most of the time, so you interact with the characters of Oscar's life just as he is.
The use of neon colors both on the exterior cityscape of Japan and interior shots o the dance club are gorgeous and reminded me of what the world would appear as if life used a blacklight. The sequences of drug use could not be described as anything else other than living artwork. The rainbow kaleidoscope of the "trip" were reminiscent of "2001: A Space Odyssey" and I read afterwards which is where Noe drew some of his inspiration.
Undoubtedly, the multitude of graphic sex scenes and shocking imagery will turn many off as some of it is pretty extreme, but I feel suits this film symbiotically and perfectly. In fact, the second half of the film is more style than substance (which you could probably say for a lot of Noe's films), but somehow you don't mind since you are along for the ride and enjoy the spectacle anyways.
After reading about the film after my viewing, I discovered there is a "director's cut" including around 20 minutes of additional scenes bring the running time to over 2 1/2 hours.
It looks like I'll be getting the Blu-Ray and watching again in a few weeks!
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RəX Regent (349 KP) rated Network (1976) in Movies
Feb 19, 2019
“I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore!”
…the lasting legacy of Peter Finch’s rants, which began with a breakdown and became the ratings winner in the 1970’s Network driven news media. This is of course, fiction but the commentary on the changing and more corporate driven American media industry of the the time is not without merit.
Smartly scripted, on the ball cynicism and yet harking back to the rose tinted nostalgia common with American media movies in whcih the industry was supposedly filled with Walter Cronkites,
the notion that American press was once beyond reproach is clearly a fallacy, in contrast, the notion that American news media was becoming so ratings driven that the news gave way to outlandish editorialism, is not.
Howard Beale (Finch) has an on air breakdown and whilst his best friend and producer, Max Schumacher (William Holden) tries to pull him from the air waves, allowing him to bow out with some dignity, the new wave of corporate management lead by CEO Frank Hackett (Robert Duval) and Holden’s replacement and eventual lover, Diana, (Faye Dunaway), have other ideas.
She sees an opportunity in the ratings spike gained by Beale’s rants which speak to the peoples growing frustrations and takes advantage, only driven by ratings.
Though the screenplay and performances are nothing less than brilliant, there are two core problems with this movie.
The first being that it is too long. The plot seems to be dragged out and repetitive as we approach the almost inevitable conclusion and the second is the level of preaching. But this is a symptom of the first, opening with a good argument, with old school journalism versus the TV generation and as the film goes on, the arguments need to escalate but since this was covered in the first half an hour, the points become laboured and over started.
The notion that the TV generation is shallow and amoral is put at odds with the middle aged newspaper reader, where time and decency are standard. This is a point which I refuse to accept since some of the 20th centuries most amoral acts where committed either before 1936, the birth of television and in the first couple of decades there after, by the very generation whcih is being held up as the moral standard here.
large_network_blu-ray_3The press has always had its paymasters, always had to sell newspapers and whilst the medium and methods may have changed, this does feel like sour grapes by the end. Criticising the characters motivations is one thing, but this film seems to imply that the modern world of television is making sociopaths of us all, dumbing us down and numbing our emotions to the point of accepting nothing but pure spectacle.
In many ways this is true but is also a very flawed argument and comes across as bunch old men crying into there Scotch in some dimly lit bar, in a way not too dissimilar to the print or broadcast media of today, hitting out at the blogging and twitter generation.
The ending was amusing though with the quote “This was the story of Howard Beale, the only known case of a man killed because of poor ratings”.
Very droll.
Smartly scripted, on the ball cynicism and yet harking back to the rose tinted nostalgia common with American media movies in whcih the industry was supposedly filled with Walter Cronkites,
the notion that American press was once beyond reproach is clearly a fallacy, in contrast, the notion that American news media was becoming so ratings driven that the news gave way to outlandish editorialism, is not.
Howard Beale (Finch) has an on air breakdown and whilst his best friend and producer, Max Schumacher (William Holden) tries to pull him from the air waves, allowing him to bow out with some dignity, the new wave of corporate management lead by CEO Frank Hackett (Robert Duval) and Holden’s replacement and eventual lover, Diana, (Faye Dunaway), have other ideas.
She sees an opportunity in the ratings spike gained by Beale’s rants which speak to the peoples growing frustrations and takes advantage, only driven by ratings.
Though the screenplay and performances are nothing less than brilliant, there are two core problems with this movie.
The first being that it is too long. The plot seems to be dragged out and repetitive as we approach the almost inevitable conclusion and the second is the level of preaching. But this is a symptom of the first, opening with a good argument, with old school journalism versus the TV generation and as the film goes on, the arguments need to escalate but since this was covered in the first half an hour, the points become laboured and over started.
The notion that the TV generation is shallow and amoral is put at odds with the middle aged newspaper reader, where time and decency are standard. This is a point which I refuse to accept since some of the 20th centuries most amoral acts where committed either before 1936, the birth of television and in the first couple of decades there after, by the very generation whcih is being held up as the moral standard here.
large_network_blu-ray_3The press has always had its paymasters, always had to sell newspapers and whilst the medium and methods may have changed, this does feel like sour grapes by the end. Criticising the characters motivations is one thing, but this film seems to imply that the modern world of television is making sociopaths of us all, dumbing us down and numbing our emotions to the point of accepting nothing but pure spectacle.
In many ways this is true but is also a very flawed argument and comes across as bunch old men crying into there Scotch in some dimly lit bar, in a way not too dissimilar to the print or broadcast media of today, hitting out at the blogging and twitter generation.
The ending was amusing though with the quote “This was the story of Howard Beale, the only known case of a man killed because of poor ratings”.
Very droll.
Jen Dixon is back in kindergarten. She thought her days as "Class Mom" were behind her: Jen's two daughters are in college after all. But Jen, at age forty-six, is back on the Mom circuit, with her first husband, Ron, and five-year-old son, Max. This is Jen's chance to do things over again, with a husband and the security she lacked the first time around. So when her best friend Nina (also PTA President) asks Jen to be Class Mom, she agrees. The duties of Class Mom seem fairly simple--coordinate field trips, set up class parties, and send out emails to the other parents. Jen does this with aplomb and a fairly decent level of sarcasm, which isn't always appreciated by all the parents. At the same time, she's training for a mud run and attempting to keep the flame going in her marriage with Ron. It doesn't help when she discovers that her high school crush is another parent in Max's class. Jen has a lot going on--can she juggle it all?
This book appealed to me on LibraryThing as I have two daughters in kindergarten and am suddenly in the midst of the whole school dynamic. Luckily, things aren't quite as dramatic as the school portrayed in Gelman's novel! The book came along at a pretty good time, as I've read a string of fairly serious thrillers recent. <i>It's certainly a funny and fast read. </i>
I couldn't help but like Jen. She's an engaging protagonist. Her struggles as a parent, wife, and friend are realistic and yet humorous. Her surrounding cast of characters, while not quite as fleshed out, are also funny, though not perhaps always as realistic (more on that later). I enjoyed that her husband, best friend, and kids weren't the typical stereotypes or cardboard cutouts you often see in novels, but real people, with issues of their own.
Also enjoyable was the way the novel interspersed Jen's emails to the class at the beginnings of many chapters (along with a variety of replies). They were usually funny and lightened up the book and surprisingly moved the plot along fairly well. They also made me grateful for some of the lack of politics at my kids' school--so far. It's still early though, sigh!
The only problem for me was that a lot of the good in this book--great characters, humor--was marred a bit by just a lot going on--not all of it completely believable. There are some silly plotlines thrown in that almost don't seem necessary and once resolved, are a bit disappointing. There's one last "shocker" tossed in at the very end of the novel that did surprise me somewhat, but I'm not really sure it was needed.
<i>Still, this is a very engaging and fun novel for a first-time novelist.</i> It's not a pretentious literary piece, but it's not aiming to be. Instead, it's certainly a witty and fascinating look at the craziness that happens in your children's classrooms. 3.5 stars.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and LibraryThing (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 08/01/2017.
<center><a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">Blog</a>; ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/mwcmoto">Twitter</a>; ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/justacatandabook/">Facebook</a>; ~ <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+KristyHamiltonbooks">Google+</a>; ~ <a href="https://www.instagram.com/justacatandabook/">Instagram</a>; </center>
This book appealed to me on LibraryThing as I have two daughters in kindergarten and am suddenly in the midst of the whole school dynamic. Luckily, things aren't quite as dramatic as the school portrayed in Gelman's novel! The book came along at a pretty good time, as I've read a string of fairly serious thrillers recent. <i>It's certainly a funny and fast read. </i>
I couldn't help but like Jen. She's an engaging protagonist. Her struggles as a parent, wife, and friend are realistic and yet humorous. Her surrounding cast of characters, while not quite as fleshed out, are also funny, though not perhaps always as realistic (more on that later). I enjoyed that her husband, best friend, and kids weren't the typical stereotypes or cardboard cutouts you often see in novels, but real people, with issues of their own.
Also enjoyable was the way the novel interspersed Jen's emails to the class at the beginnings of many chapters (along with a variety of replies). They were usually funny and lightened up the book and surprisingly moved the plot along fairly well. They also made me grateful for some of the lack of politics at my kids' school--so far. It's still early though, sigh!
The only problem for me was that a lot of the good in this book--great characters, humor--was marred a bit by just a lot going on--not all of it completely believable. There are some silly plotlines thrown in that almost don't seem necessary and once resolved, are a bit disappointing. There's one last "shocker" tossed in at the very end of the novel that did surprise me somewhat, but I'm not really sure it was needed.
<i>Still, this is a very engaging and fun novel for a first-time novelist.</i> It's not a pretentious literary piece, but it's not aiming to be. Instead, it's certainly a witty and fascinating look at the craziness that happens in your children's classrooms. 3.5 stars.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and LibraryThing (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 08/01/2017.
<center><a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">Blog</a>; ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/mwcmoto">Twitter</a>; ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/justacatandabook/">Facebook</a>; ~ <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+KristyHamiltonbooks">Google+</a>; ~ <a href="https://www.instagram.com/justacatandabook/">Instagram</a>; </center>
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated NOS4A2 in Books
Mar 15, 2018
<i>I read this novel as my BookBum Club book for January! Check out <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/297482-the-bookbum-club">The BookBum Club on Goodreads!</a></i>
A darkly disturbing thrill ride of a book! I was expecting it to spook me out a little more than it did, but it was super enjoyable even still.
I’ve never read a Joe Hill book before this one, but now I know I want to read more of his work. I don’t think there’s any denying that his writing style really sucks you into the story and he’s a genius as describing things. How can one man come up with so many different Christmas similes? I also loved how this book was set up, where sometimes the end of sentence in a paragraph wouldn’t end because the title of the next paragraph completed the sentence. I thought this was a really unique aspect of the novel, as well as several illustrations dotted throughout.
One thing I really loved about this novel was the characters. I’ve seen some less that glowing reviews whinging about Vic, and while I can understand some people’s frustration at how frustrating she was, I think the whole point of her character to be frustrating. I personally found her troubled but sweet. Lou was equally sweet, a nice human being through-and-through, but at the end of the day, I don’t think he brought an awful lot to the story.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, of course, was Charlie Manx. What a genuinely terrifying character. I’ve read through several books with horrifying characters (Annie Wilkes springs to mind immediately) and Charlie Manx is definitely up there with the worst of them. What made him so chilling, for me, was how I imagined his voice. Every sentence of his speech was lifted at the end by an exclamation mark! He was always so cheery! Always so sinister! And then, of course, we have Bing Partridge who may just be the most repulsive character I’ve ever read about.
I loved the story of this novel, but I’m not going to explain what happened because this novel needs to be experienced, not told, in order to reach its full potential. My only issue was I though maybe 700 pages was a bit long. Chapter after chapter was a new dip and dive in this roller-coaster of a story, but sometimes it just felt like stalling time.
Another thing that disappointed me about this book, and this is what brought it down to 4 stars, is that I was expecting this to be scarier than it turned out to be. Don’t get me wrong, it’s seriously sinister and has some really creepy moments, but I wanted to get to “I can’t sleep” scared. Though saying that, when I was driving home in the dark one day, an old classic black British car (we have a lot of old car conventions around where I live) pulled up behind me and followed me nearly all the way home and I did get the heebie-geebies (don’t worry, I didn’t break the speed limit though).
Overall, this novel is well worth the read if you’re into dark, sinister novels filled with the really weird and the really wonderful. I’m so happy I’ve finally read this novel and have been opened up to the world of Joe Hill’s writing. I will definitely be reading more of his stuff.
A darkly disturbing thrill ride of a book! I was expecting it to spook me out a little more than it did, but it was super enjoyable even still.
I’ve never read a Joe Hill book before this one, but now I know I want to read more of his work. I don’t think there’s any denying that his writing style really sucks you into the story and he’s a genius as describing things. How can one man come up with so many different Christmas similes? I also loved how this book was set up, where sometimes the end of sentence in a paragraph wouldn’t end because the title of the next paragraph completed the sentence. I thought this was a really unique aspect of the novel, as well as several illustrations dotted throughout.
One thing I really loved about this novel was the characters. I’ve seen some less that glowing reviews whinging about Vic, and while I can understand some people’s frustration at how frustrating she was, I think the whole point of her character to be frustrating. I personally found her troubled but sweet. Lou was equally sweet, a nice human being through-and-through, but at the end of the day, I don’t think he brought an awful lot to the story.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, of course, was Charlie Manx. What a genuinely terrifying character. I’ve read through several books with horrifying characters (Annie Wilkes springs to mind immediately) and Charlie Manx is definitely up there with the worst of them. What made him so chilling, for me, was how I imagined his voice. Every sentence of his speech was lifted at the end by an exclamation mark! He was always so cheery! Always so sinister! And then, of course, we have Bing Partridge who may just be the most repulsive character I’ve ever read about.
I loved the story of this novel, but I’m not going to explain what happened because this novel needs to be experienced, not told, in order to reach its full potential. My only issue was I though maybe 700 pages was a bit long. Chapter after chapter was a new dip and dive in this roller-coaster of a story, but sometimes it just felt like stalling time.
Another thing that disappointed me about this book, and this is what brought it down to 4 stars, is that I was expecting this to be scarier than it turned out to be. Don’t get me wrong, it’s seriously sinister and has some really creepy moments, but I wanted to get to “I can’t sleep” scared. Though saying that, when I was driving home in the dark one day, an old classic black British car (we have a lot of old car conventions around where I live) pulled up behind me and followed me nearly all the way home and I did get the heebie-geebies (don’t worry, I didn’t break the speed limit though).
Overall, this novel is well worth the read if you’re into dark, sinister novels filled with the really weird and the really wonderful. I’m so happy I’ve finally read this novel and have been opened up to the world of Joe Hill’s writing. I will definitely be reading more of his stuff.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Poltergeeks in Books
Jun 7, 2018
This review can also be found on my blog <a href="http://themisadventuresofatwentysomething.blogspot.co.uk">The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl</a>.
Poltergeeks by Sean Cummings was such a light, refreshing read. I won this book off of a blog competition, and I'm so glad I did. I absolutely loved it!
Julie Richardson is a 15 year old witch. She's her mother's apprentice. However, when her mother's soul is stolen by something evil, Julie must step up and try to do everything in her power to save her mother. In the process, she is also putting her own life in danger as an evil poltergeist is after her, one who hates witches. This poltergeist will stop at nothing to make sure Julie is dead.
I love the title to this book. I don't think it suits the book 100%, but it's a funny title. I don't really understand where the geek bit comes in as there was no mention of any kind of geek. Julie's best friend Marcus is a bit of a geek but that's about it.
The cover of the book is awesome! I think it matches the story very much. Julie looks to be levitating (which she seems to do a lot in this book against her will), and she's got her trusty amulet that helps her to focus her magic. The cover of this book reminds me of the scene when she's in the old lady's house trying to rid it of poltergeist activity.
I love the pacing of this book!! It kept my attention throughout every chapter. I don't think there was one chapter where I felt bored. The pacing of the book is on track all the way through.
The world building and setting were great. I loved how it took place in a normal town in normal Canada. The setting of the high school where the poltergeist activity takes place is my favourite. =)
The dialogue was easy to understand. However, there are quite a bit of swear words in this book so be warned if you're not big on swearing. I don't think there were too many swear words, nothing over the top or anything. I think the swearing fit in with how 15 year old kids would talk.
I loved all the characters!!! Julie was such a funny character, and I mean funny in the haha sense. I loved her comic timing!! I thought it was brilliant. I loved how Marcus was always into his science how how shocked he was when he couldn't scientifically explain the paranormal goings-on. Betty brought in some humour as well, and I thought she represented a guardian quite well. As for Marla, I don't really like the way the author portrayed her as the stereotypical goth. I've always been irked when goths are stereotyped so that's one thing that got on my nerves.
The plot was really good. I felt it was semi-original as well. It was a bit predictive though, and I already had it figured out who the bad guy was, but it was still a great story nonetheless.
Overall, I felt that Poltergeeks was a great read, and I'd definitely recommend it for those ages 15+. I'm looking forward to the second book in the series coming out!
I'd give this book a 4.5 out of 5.
Poltergeeks by Sean Cummings was such a light, refreshing read. I won this book off of a blog competition, and I'm so glad I did. I absolutely loved it!
Julie Richardson is a 15 year old witch. She's her mother's apprentice. However, when her mother's soul is stolen by something evil, Julie must step up and try to do everything in her power to save her mother. In the process, she is also putting her own life in danger as an evil poltergeist is after her, one who hates witches. This poltergeist will stop at nothing to make sure Julie is dead.
I love the title to this book. I don't think it suits the book 100%, but it's a funny title. I don't really understand where the geek bit comes in as there was no mention of any kind of geek. Julie's best friend Marcus is a bit of a geek but that's about it.
The cover of the book is awesome! I think it matches the story very much. Julie looks to be levitating (which she seems to do a lot in this book against her will), and she's got her trusty amulet that helps her to focus her magic. The cover of this book reminds me of the scene when she's in the old lady's house trying to rid it of poltergeist activity.
I love the pacing of this book!! It kept my attention throughout every chapter. I don't think there was one chapter where I felt bored. The pacing of the book is on track all the way through.
The world building and setting were great. I loved how it took place in a normal town in normal Canada. The setting of the high school where the poltergeist activity takes place is my favourite. =)
The dialogue was easy to understand. However, there are quite a bit of swear words in this book so be warned if you're not big on swearing. I don't think there were too many swear words, nothing over the top or anything. I think the swearing fit in with how 15 year old kids would talk.
I loved all the characters!!! Julie was such a funny character, and I mean funny in the haha sense. I loved her comic timing!! I thought it was brilliant. I loved how Marcus was always into his science how how shocked he was when he couldn't scientifically explain the paranormal goings-on. Betty brought in some humour as well, and I thought she represented a guardian quite well. As for Marla, I don't really like the way the author portrayed her as the stereotypical goth. I've always been irked when goths are stereotyped so that's one thing that got on my nerves.
The plot was really good. I felt it was semi-original as well. It was a bit predictive though, and I already had it figured out who the bad guy was, but it was still a great story nonetheless.
Overall, I felt that Poltergeeks was a great read, and I'd definitely recommend it for those ages 15+. I'm looking forward to the second book in the series coming out!
I'd give this book a 4.5 out of 5.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated The Treatment (The Program, #2) in Books
Jun 7, 2018
(This review can be found on my blog <a href="http://themisadventuresofatwentysomething.blogspot.com/">The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl</a>).
I loved The Program by Suzanne Young, so I had to get The Treatment as soon as it was released to find out what happened to James and Sloane. While I didn't love The Treatment as much as The Program, this was still a good read.
I like the title. It's a good fit for what the books about, and it fits with the first boo in the series.
I like the cover. I like how, to me, it kind of portrays James and Sloane on the run. I had the hardback copy of this book, so when I took off the dust jacket, it had the pill cover which is the treatment.
The world building was done fantastically! I could see each of the scenes in my mind clearly. This time, the setting of the book takes James and Sloane all over the United States.
The pacing was a bit slow for about the first two-thirds of the book, and I was really disappointed. However, I kept reading because I desperately wanted to like this book. Luckily, I was rewarded when the last section of the book picked up pace, and I couldn't wait to see what would happen next.
The plot is good. Sloane and James are on the run from the Program after rekindling their romance from before the Program. They meet other rebels who are on the run, and they all try to stay one step ahead of the Program. Sloane is still wondering if she should take the Treatment, which would restore all of her memories, that Realm gave her. The only thing I didn't like about the plot is that it was too mushy when it came to the romance. The first book in the series wasn't as bad as this. Plus, it seemed in this book that James and Sloane were having sex at the end of almost every chapter!
I thought the characters were written really well even if James and Sloane were humping like rabbits all the time! Sloane is still a very strong female character, and in this book, we're introduced to Dallas who is also a very strong female character. Dallas does have some vulnerability though, and I found it very interesting to learn what she was like before the Program. We're also introduced to Cas in this book. Cas was like the comic relief in this book. He would always try to defuse the situation. Realm is back in this book, and I don't really like him. He's not written poorly, but he just grates on my nerves the way he's always trying to make Sloane second guess her love for James. James is very hot-headed in this book. I still do like him as a character, and I can understand why he got angry.
I enjoyed the dialogue especially when Dallas or Cas where involved in the scene. The dialogue felt very natural and fitting for a young adult book. There is some swearing in this book as well as violence. There are some sexual scenes in this book although they aren't graphic.
Overall, The Treatment (The Program #2) by Suzanne Young starts off being slow but picks up during the last third of the book. The characters are still written very well, and the world building is fantastic.
I'd recommend this book to those aged 16+ who enjoyed The Program and want to know more about Sloane and James.
I loved The Program by Suzanne Young, so I had to get The Treatment as soon as it was released to find out what happened to James and Sloane. While I didn't love The Treatment as much as The Program, this was still a good read.
I like the title. It's a good fit for what the books about, and it fits with the first boo in the series.
I like the cover. I like how, to me, it kind of portrays James and Sloane on the run. I had the hardback copy of this book, so when I took off the dust jacket, it had the pill cover which is the treatment.
The world building was done fantastically! I could see each of the scenes in my mind clearly. This time, the setting of the book takes James and Sloane all over the United States.
The pacing was a bit slow for about the first two-thirds of the book, and I was really disappointed. However, I kept reading because I desperately wanted to like this book. Luckily, I was rewarded when the last section of the book picked up pace, and I couldn't wait to see what would happen next.
The plot is good. Sloane and James are on the run from the Program after rekindling their romance from before the Program. They meet other rebels who are on the run, and they all try to stay one step ahead of the Program. Sloane is still wondering if she should take the Treatment, which would restore all of her memories, that Realm gave her. The only thing I didn't like about the plot is that it was too mushy when it came to the romance. The first book in the series wasn't as bad as this. Plus, it seemed in this book that James and Sloane were having sex at the end of almost every chapter!
I thought the characters were written really well even if James and Sloane were humping like rabbits all the time! Sloane is still a very strong female character, and in this book, we're introduced to Dallas who is also a very strong female character. Dallas does have some vulnerability though, and I found it very interesting to learn what she was like before the Program. We're also introduced to Cas in this book. Cas was like the comic relief in this book. He would always try to defuse the situation. Realm is back in this book, and I don't really like him. He's not written poorly, but he just grates on my nerves the way he's always trying to make Sloane second guess her love for James. James is very hot-headed in this book. I still do like him as a character, and I can understand why he got angry.
I enjoyed the dialogue especially when Dallas or Cas where involved in the scene. The dialogue felt very natural and fitting for a young adult book. There is some swearing in this book as well as violence. There are some sexual scenes in this book although they aren't graphic.
Overall, The Treatment (The Program #2) by Suzanne Young starts off being slow but picks up during the last third of the book. The characters are still written very well, and the world building is fantastic.
I'd recommend this book to those aged 16+ who enjoyed The Program and want to know more about Sloane and James.
Alice (12 KP) rated Ocean Light in Books
Jul 4, 2018 (Updated Jul 7, 2018)
A fantastic installment to a great series
This review was originally posted on my blog raptureinbooks.com
It feels like I’ve been waiting for Ocean Light for 20 years, when in reality it’s probably only 5 or 6 but Ocean Light not only marks the second installment to the Psy-Changeling Trinity it marks a pretty huge milestone in the fantabulous world of the Psy-Changeling. I have one word: BlackSea.
The BlackSea Changelings have been that mystery group for a great many and finally, Ocean Light opens the doors to the black and Nalini Singh drops us in the deep end – figuratively speaking.
This book has my favourite human in it – Bowen Knight. He’s rough, he’s ready, he’s an alpha and he’s dying. Ocean Light is the story of Bowen’s recovery and his ultimate kick-assery of the things that go bump in the night.
After the previous shit-storm where Bowen is gravely injured, we see his rise through the blackness of despair and see him take on the chip that is currently destroying his brain like a boss.
Nothing will take him down. Especially not his own choices.
Our lovely lady of the book is Kaia Luna, a shy, mysterious cook with a scientific background and a really smart pet mouse.
Their growing relationship is beautiful from the outset and Bo brings the shyness out of Kaia really well. She becomes a woman to reckon with under the sweet ministrations of Bowen Knight and I implore you to fuck with her.
Nalini’s writing style is, as always, pretty perfect with nothing bad that I can say about it. She has a way with words and characters that are to die for, plots that I’ve never seen before her and probably never will again.
Ocean Light brings us – as readers – into the deepness that is the black and into the darkness that is The Vanishings. We’re introduced to characters we’ve seen before and to new characters and species that are quite frankly sometimes not what you expect – Bebe I’m looking at you.
Ocean Light has the traditional Psy-Changeling-Human interaction that signature with Nalini’s books and that is threaded throughout each book. We’re 17 books in to the story and I just know Nalini has more to give and there is more for us to learn.
The unique plot base of the Psy-Changeling universe is something that is ever growing and ever evolving with each book. If you’ve never read one of these books I suggest you do. Although you can start with Silver Silence the first in the Psy-Changeling Trinity series – as Nalini Singh gives you plenty of background into the previous history- I highly recommend that you start from the beginning with Slave to Sensation as you will get the full force and magnitude of what is happening in the series and you’ll get the full experience of Nalini Singh’s work.
One of my favourite characters from the preceding books – Kaleb Krychek reappears as the badass that he is in Ocean Light and what I love is that He still retains the badass around everyone but his Sahara. It’s beautiful.
I always give Nalini’s books 5 stars purely because they deserve it. There’s never anything I genuinely say I didn’t like and for a series with this many books that is saying something. Other long running series I’ve read I can lose interest in. Nalini Singh’s books I await with bated breath for the next release.
It feels like I’ve been waiting for Ocean Light for 20 years, when in reality it’s probably only 5 or 6 but Ocean Light not only marks the second installment to the Psy-Changeling Trinity it marks a pretty huge milestone in the fantabulous world of the Psy-Changeling. I have one word: BlackSea.
The BlackSea Changelings have been that mystery group for a great many and finally, Ocean Light opens the doors to the black and Nalini Singh drops us in the deep end – figuratively speaking.
This book has my favourite human in it – Bowen Knight. He’s rough, he’s ready, he’s an alpha and he’s dying. Ocean Light is the story of Bowen’s recovery and his ultimate kick-assery of the things that go bump in the night.
After the previous shit-storm where Bowen is gravely injured, we see his rise through the blackness of despair and see him take on the chip that is currently destroying his brain like a boss.
Nothing will take him down. Especially not his own choices.
Our lovely lady of the book is Kaia Luna, a shy, mysterious cook with a scientific background and a really smart pet mouse.
Their growing relationship is beautiful from the outset and Bo brings the shyness out of Kaia really well. She becomes a woman to reckon with under the sweet ministrations of Bowen Knight and I implore you to fuck with her.
Nalini’s writing style is, as always, pretty perfect with nothing bad that I can say about it. She has a way with words and characters that are to die for, plots that I’ve never seen before her and probably never will again.
Ocean Light brings us – as readers – into the deepness that is the black and into the darkness that is The Vanishings. We’re introduced to characters we’ve seen before and to new characters and species that are quite frankly sometimes not what you expect – Bebe I’m looking at you.
Ocean Light has the traditional Psy-Changeling-Human interaction that signature with Nalini’s books and that is threaded throughout each book. We’re 17 books in to the story and I just know Nalini has more to give and there is more for us to learn.
The unique plot base of the Psy-Changeling universe is something that is ever growing and ever evolving with each book. If you’ve never read one of these books I suggest you do. Although you can start with Silver Silence the first in the Psy-Changeling Trinity series – as Nalini Singh gives you plenty of background into the previous history- I highly recommend that you start from the beginning with Slave to Sensation as you will get the full force and magnitude of what is happening in the series and you’ll get the full experience of Nalini Singh’s work.
One of my favourite characters from the preceding books – Kaleb Krychek reappears as the badass that he is in Ocean Light and what I love is that He still retains the badass around everyone but his Sahara. It’s beautiful.
I always give Nalini’s books 5 stars purely because they deserve it. There’s never anything I genuinely say I didn’t like and for a series with this many books that is saying something. Other long running series I’ve read I can lose interest in. Nalini Singh’s books I await with bated breath for the next release.