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Merissa (11800 KP) rated A Little Christmas! Matty's Secret in Books
Dec 12, 2023
MATTY'S SECRET is part of the multi-author A Little Christmas: Season 2 series. We have met Matty before as he is Gaines' best friend. It's finally time for him to get his own Daddy. The romance between Matty and Weston was so smooth, it was divine. The pitfalls that happen aren't anything to do with them, but with Matty's ex, a thoroughly loathsome toad by the name of Putrid Peter. Trust me, it fits!
I absolutely adored how we got Matty and Weston's story, while also catching up with Warner and Terrance, and Austin and Gaines. There were other names I'm not familiar with, so I'll be on the lookout for those, but I'm REALLY hoping Arlo and Lewis are somewhere on JP Sayle's list of books to write. đ
Another thing I loved was how Matty loves his foxes, and they were incorporated into everyday life for him by Weston. I loved Mr Tod and those plates were a magic touch.
I stopped reading for a minute in a couple of places, usually when the exercises were being described. This was nothing to do with the author and everything to do with me having aphantasia. I simply had no idea what they were doing! LOL It sounded good though.
A sweet, cheeky, sweaty, and heartstopping story full of goodness. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Dec 7, 2023
I absolutely adored how we got Matty and Weston's story, while also catching up with Warner and Terrance, and Austin and Gaines. There were other names I'm not familiar with, so I'll be on the lookout for those, but I'm REALLY hoping Arlo and Lewis are somewhere on JP Sayle's list of books to write. đ
Another thing I loved was how Matty loves his foxes, and they were incorporated into everyday life for him by Weston. I loved Mr Tod and those plates were a magic touch.
I stopped reading for a minute in a couple of places, usually when the exercises were being described. This was nothing to do with the author and everything to do with me having aphantasia. I simply had no idea what they were doing! LOL It sounded good though.
A sweet, cheeky, sweaty, and heartstopping story full of goodness. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Dec 7, 2023
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Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Battle of the Sexes (2016) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
Tennis and sex, but without the grunting.
Hereâs a good test of someoneâs ageâŚ. ask the question âBillie-Jean?â. Millennials will probably come back with âHuh?â; those in their 30âs or 40âs might come back with âMichael Jackson!â; those older than that will probably reply âKing!â.
âBattle of the Sexesâ (which I just managed to catch before it left cinemas) tells the true-life story of US tennis star Billie-Jean King (Emma Stone, âLa La Landâ). The year is 1973 and Billie-Jean is riding high as the Number 1 female tennis player. She is a feminist; she is married (to hunk Larry â no not that one â King played by Austin Stowell (âWhiplashâ, âBridge of Spiesâ)); âŚ. and she is also attracted to women, not something she has yet acted on. That all changes when her path crosses with LA-hairdresser Marilyn (Andrea Riseborough, âBirdmanâ, âOblivionâ).
But this is a side story: the main event is a bet made by aging ex-star Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell, âFoxcatcherâ); that â even at his age â as a man he could beat the leading female tennis player of the day.
The film is gloriously retro, starting with the old-school 20th Century Fox production logo. And it contains breathtakingly sexist dialogue by writer Simon Beaufoy (âEverestâ, âThe Full Montyâ). Surely men couldnât have been so crass and outrageous in the 70âs? Sorry ladies, but the answer is yes, and the film is testament to how far womenâs rights have come in 50 years.
This is a tour de force in acting from both Emma Stone and Steve Carell, particularly the latter: a scene where Carell tries to re-engage with his estranged wife (Elisabeth Shue, âLeaving Las Vegasâ) is both nuanced and heart-breaking. Stoneâs performance is also praiseworthy, although it feels slightly less so as it is an impersonation of a (relatively) well-known figure: this is extremely well-studied though, right down to her strutting walk around the court which I had both forgotten and was immediately again reminded of.
One of my favourite movie awards are the Screen Actorâs Guild (SAG) âcastâ awards that celebrate ensemble performances, and here is a film that should have been nominated (it unfortunately wasnât). Andrea Riseborough; Natalie Morales (as fellow tennis player Rosie Casals); comedian Sarah Silverman (âA Million Ways to Die in the Westâ), almost unrecognisable as the brash publicist Gladys Heldman; Bill Pullman as LTA head Jack Kramer; the great Alan Cumming (âThe Good Wifeâ) as the teamâs flamboyant, gay, costume designer; Lewis Pullman as Riggsâs son Larry; Jessica McNamee (magnetic eyes!) as Kingâs Australian tennis nemesis Margaret Court. All bounce off the leads, and each other, just beautifully.
Cinematography by Linus Sandgren (âLa La Landâ) and editing by Pamela Martin (âLittle Miss Sunshineâ) unite to deliver one of the most sexually charged haircuts you are ever likely to see on the screen. For those put off by this aspect of the storyline, the âgirl-on-girl actionâ is pretty tastefully done and not overly graphic: itâs mostly âfirst-baseâ stuff rather than âthird-baseâ!
âWhat a waste of a lovely nightâ. Marilyn (Andrea Riseborough) and Billie-Jean (Emma Stone) get serious.
Directed with panache by the co-directors of the 2006 smash âLittle Miss Sunshineâ â Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris â all in all itâs a delight, especially for older audiences who will get a blast of nostalgia from days when sports were still played at a slightly more leisurely pace⌠and definitely without the grunting.
âBattle of the Sexesâ (which I just managed to catch before it left cinemas) tells the true-life story of US tennis star Billie-Jean King (Emma Stone, âLa La Landâ). The year is 1973 and Billie-Jean is riding high as the Number 1 female tennis player. She is a feminist; she is married (to hunk Larry â no not that one â King played by Austin Stowell (âWhiplashâ, âBridge of Spiesâ)); âŚ. and she is also attracted to women, not something she has yet acted on. That all changes when her path crosses with LA-hairdresser Marilyn (Andrea Riseborough, âBirdmanâ, âOblivionâ).
But this is a side story: the main event is a bet made by aging ex-star Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell, âFoxcatcherâ); that â even at his age â as a man he could beat the leading female tennis player of the day.
The film is gloriously retro, starting with the old-school 20th Century Fox production logo. And it contains breathtakingly sexist dialogue by writer Simon Beaufoy (âEverestâ, âThe Full Montyâ). Surely men couldnât have been so crass and outrageous in the 70âs? Sorry ladies, but the answer is yes, and the film is testament to how far womenâs rights have come in 50 years.
This is a tour de force in acting from both Emma Stone and Steve Carell, particularly the latter: a scene where Carell tries to re-engage with his estranged wife (Elisabeth Shue, âLeaving Las Vegasâ) is both nuanced and heart-breaking. Stoneâs performance is also praiseworthy, although it feels slightly less so as it is an impersonation of a (relatively) well-known figure: this is extremely well-studied though, right down to her strutting walk around the court which I had both forgotten and was immediately again reminded of.
One of my favourite movie awards are the Screen Actorâs Guild (SAG) âcastâ awards that celebrate ensemble performances, and here is a film that should have been nominated (it unfortunately wasnât). Andrea Riseborough; Natalie Morales (as fellow tennis player Rosie Casals); comedian Sarah Silverman (âA Million Ways to Die in the Westâ), almost unrecognisable as the brash publicist Gladys Heldman; Bill Pullman as LTA head Jack Kramer; the great Alan Cumming (âThe Good Wifeâ) as the teamâs flamboyant, gay, costume designer; Lewis Pullman as Riggsâs son Larry; Jessica McNamee (magnetic eyes!) as Kingâs Australian tennis nemesis Margaret Court. All bounce off the leads, and each other, just beautifully.
Cinematography by Linus Sandgren (âLa La Landâ) and editing by Pamela Martin (âLittle Miss Sunshineâ) unite to deliver one of the most sexually charged haircuts you are ever likely to see on the screen. For those put off by this aspect of the storyline, the âgirl-on-girl actionâ is pretty tastefully done and not overly graphic: itâs mostly âfirst-baseâ stuff rather than âthird-baseâ!
âWhat a waste of a lovely nightâ. Marilyn (Andrea Riseborough) and Billie-Jean (Emma Stone) get serious.
Directed with panache by the co-directors of the 2006 smash âLittle Miss Sunshineâ â Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris â all in all itâs a delight, especially for older audiences who will get a blast of nostalgia from days when sports were still played at a slightly more leisurely pace⌠and definitely without the grunting.