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Wow. I certainly knew that the situation in Afghanistan was dire, but it's eye-opening to see just how dire. And it's also eye-opening to see just how much the United States has contributed to that. It's not that the US went in with the intention of making life there miserable, and it's not that many Afghanis themselves aren't also at fault, but it is stunning just how much those that the US put in charge of things seemed to lack any basic knowledge of how the country worked and how the people would react to various ideas. This book describes life in the country from it's pre-Russian invasion days through the present by both reporting its history, and by following the stories of 3 very different citizens; a pro-US warlord, a member of the Taliban, and a housewife. Their experiences can alternate between harrowing and shocking, but remain pretty universally distressing. It's hard not to get angry throughout this book as the amount of human cruelty and stupidity on display can become too much to handle. And in the end, it does live up to its title, as it ably demonstrates that there is no one involved without some blame to bear.
Caitlin Ann Cherniak (85 KP) rated Go Set A Watchman in Books
Oct 22, 2018
I was very disappointed in this book. I read To Kill a Mockingbird in high school, and it became one of my favorite books of all time because it tackled many issues of the time through the eyes of a child and it gave us one of Gregory Peck's most memorable characters of all time, Atticus Finch.
This book doesn't even sound like a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird. The cozy atmosphere is not there. The town drama is not there. Atticus Finch is now a washed up body in the book. The old characters are not there, or at least, not mentioned that often. Even Scout, or her real name Jean Louise, became hateable (I know that's not word), and that upsets me because Scout was a really awesome character from the original book. How do you turn a curious child into a twat? I would love to know!
I'm so angry because how does someone set up an American classic for failure like this? I'm sorry, Harper Lee. I still love you for the original known as To Kill a Mockingbird, but Go Set a Watchman did not do justice, not by a long shot.
This book doesn't even sound like a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird. The cozy atmosphere is not there. The town drama is not there. Atticus Finch is now a washed up body in the book. The old characters are not there, or at least, not mentioned that often. Even Scout, or her real name Jean Louise, became hateable (I know that's not word), and that upsets me because Scout was a really awesome character from the original book. How do you turn a curious child into a twat? I would love to know!
I'm so angry because how does someone set up an American classic for failure like this? I'm sorry, Harper Lee. I still love you for the original known as To Kill a Mockingbird, but Go Set a Watchman did not do justice, not by a long shot.
Darren (1599 KP) rated 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
This modern take on the Shakespeare play ‘The Taming Of The Shrew’.
This follows a group of teenagers through school. When new boy Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) starts up at the school he sees Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) he falls in love. There is a problem with anyone who wants to date Bianca and that is her sister Kat (Julia Stiles) a very angry young lady and their father put a rule on when Kat dates Bianca cane date.
Cameron and Michael (David Krumholtz) come up with a play to trick popular boy Joey (Andrew Keegan) to pay Patrick (Heath Ledger) to date Kat, opening the door for Bianca to date.
Can Patrick tame the shrew?
This is a very good teen comedy filled with young too be star actors in Ledger, Levitt, and Stiles. The story is nicely put together and creates characters that are the good ones are liked and the bad ones are disliked. It also has a very nice soundtrack which keeps the montage scenes going very well. There are some very memorable scenes including the moment where Patrick sings from a crowd to Kat, very funny and heart felt performance.v
https://moviesreview101.com/2012/07/14/10-things-i-hate-about-you-1999/
This follows a group of teenagers through school. When new boy Cameron (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) starts up at the school he sees Bianca (Larisa Oleynik) he falls in love. There is a problem with anyone who wants to date Bianca and that is her sister Kat (Julia Stiles) a very angry young lady and their father put a rule on when Kat dates Bianca cane date.
Cameron and Michael (David Krumholtz) come up with a play to trick popular boy Joey (Andrew Keegan) to pay Patrick (Heath Ledger) to date Kat, opening the door for Bianca to date.
Can Patrick tame the shrew?
This is a very good teen comedy filled with young too be star actors in Ledger, Levitt, and Stiles. The story is nicely put together and creates characters that are the good ones are liked and the bad ones are disliked. It also has a very nice soundtrack which keeps the montage scenes going very well. There are some very memorable scenes including the moment where Patrick sings from a crowd to Kat, very funny and heart felt performance.v
https://moviesreview101.com/2012/07/14/10-things-i-hate-about-you-1999/
Charlie (37 KP) rated Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) in Movies
Oct 16, 2019
Good first half
Contains spoilers, click to show
I didn't expect much from this film. I was expecting dinosaurs roaring and silly humans making mistakes, its a Jurassic Park film, that's usually what we get. Only this film made me very annoyed, like I was angry at this film.
The first half, it's pretty much the advertising, "Save the dinos!" Jeff talking and Chris Pratt running, this bit was good and had the best but saddest scenes of the film.
The cast only just make it on the boat with a good collection of dinosaurs as the volcano erupts. They turn back to see a lone bracchiasaurus trying to get on the boat and calling out in panic as the smoke from the volcano engulfs it.
How dare they give this heartwrenching scene and then follow it with "Velociraptors have the same blood as a T-Rex" "Let's make a super smart dinos that smiles?????"
I was expecting Jeff talking, Chris running and dinos being saved to be the climax of the film. Not a clone child releasing the dinos like she's a part of PETA.
You can watch the whole film if you want but seriously the first half is good in my honest opinion.
The first half, it's pretty much the advertising, "Save the dinos!" Jeff talking and Chris Pratt running, this bit was good and had the best but saddest scenes of the film.
The cast only just make it on the boat with a good collection of dinosaurs as the volcano erupts. They turn back to see a lone bracchiasaurus trying to get on the boat and calling out in panic as the smoke from the volcano engulfs it.
How dare they give this heartwrenching scene and then follow it with "Velociraptors have the same blood as a T-Rex" "Let's make a super smart dinos that smiles?????"
I was expecting Jeff talking, Chris running and dinos being saved to be the climax of the film. Not a clone child releasing the dinos like she's a part of PETA.
You can watch the whole film if you want but seriously the first half is good in my honest opinion.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Sorry We Missed You (2019) in Movies
Nov 5, 2019
Another fiercely committed piece of social drama from Ken Loach. The husband and father of a family on the breadline takes a job as a delivery driver in the so-called 'gig economy'; meanwhile, his wife is on a similar zero-hours contract for her work as a carer. The sheer relentless grind of the work and the ceaseless stress that accompanies it - along with the gradual realisation that they have no rights or protection - slowly tears the family apart.
A fairly typical Loach movie, in that it doesn't really aspire to entertain, nor does it attempt to be impartial. The film's thesis - that zero-hours contracts and the gig economy are just mechanisms to exploit the most vulnerable section of the workforce - is left implicit, but is put across with the customary power. This is no-frills film-making, and rough around the edges in places - but the decision to cast non-professionals in key roles pays off as they give deeply affecting performances. I have seen movies about homeless children in Syria which were less emotionally wrenching to watch than this one. An angry film, and one which seeks to communicate that anger to the audience; quite possibly a very important film, but not at all easy viewing.
A fairly typical Loach movie, in that it doesn't really aspire to entertain, nor does it attempt to be impartial. The film's thesis - that zero-hours contracts and the gig economy are just mechanisms to exploit the most vulnerable section of the workforce - is left implicit, but is put across with the customary power. This is no-frills film-making, and rough around the edges in places - but the decision to cast non-professionals in key roles pays off as they give deeply affecting performances. I have seen movies about homeless children in Syria which were less emotionally wrenching to watch than this one. An angry film, and one which seeks to communicate that anger to the audience; quite possibly a very important film, but not at all easy viewing.
Veronica Pena (690 KP) rated Fifty Shades Darker in Books
Jan 12, 2020
I found myself having a really hard time getting through this novel! Having seen the movies and knowing what happens in this section of the trilogy, I still was fighting myself to finish. I read this and it's counterpart "Darker" at the same time to give myself a more comprehensive view of the story and that definitely helped - being able to know what Ana was doing when she was away from Christian and vice versa, but also being in both of their heads when they were together, having sex, fighting, whatever the situation may be. I still found "Darker" to be more compelling. I think Ana's strongest moment as a character, thus far in the series, is in this novel during her run-in with Hyde. I also greatly appreciated his character development from the beginning of the novel to the end. The excerpt given at the end of this novel is what makes reading "Fifty Shades Freed" so intriguing.
I said it in my review of "Darker" but I'm still angry that there isn't a third Christian point of view to match "Freed" but I'm still eager to round out this series and move on. I can't say I'll ever read them again, but I don't regret starting them, that's for sure.
I said it in my review of "Darker" but I'm still angry that there isn't a third Christian point of view to match "Freed" but I'm still eager to round out this series and move on. I can't say I'll ever read them again, but I don't regret starting them, that's for sure.
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