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Foul Play (Barlow Sisters #3)
10.0
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Book
She's playing a dangerous game... She's following her heart. He's looking for redemption. Can...
Contemporary Young_Adult Romance
Wicked Crown (The Wicked, #1)
Book
She's not who-or what-she appears to be. Neither is he. Supermodel Vori would be happy to stay in...
Urban Fantasy Paranormal Romance Fake Relationship Royalty Bad Boy
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated The Perks of Being a Wallflower in Books
Aug 18, 2017
Complex range of human emotion in this coming of age book
I read this book after watching the film so I made a lot of comparisons. For one while there are scenes that completely match the book, there are quite a lot of parts missing in the film. No doubt the book is far more detailed - I loved the film so reading it was equally pleasurable. It's more than a coming of age film, it explores prejudice, mental health, sexuality, abuse, so it's more meaningful than expected. Written in a series of letters, Charlie has symptoms of some kind of mental health issue that isn't explicitly mentioned so his attitude to the world is very straightforward yet complex. He watches human behaviour more than participating in social situations. My only gripe is that the writing is pretty bad, and I'm accounting this to the fact the author is trying to write as a 16 year-old boy. Easy to read though.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Styx (2018) in Movies
May 1, 2019 (Updated May 1, 2019)
No-frills drama from Germany (not much dialogue, and most of that in English) achieves genuine tension after a slow start. Competent, compassionate doctor seems to be having no trouble sailing the Atlantic until she comes across a ship loaded with refugees in very bad shape: her small boat can't help, and the authorities advise her by radio to leave the area; but they show no sign of doing anything to help. The arrival on board of a young boy only complicates matters further. What is she supposed to do?
Wears its heart very much on its sleeve as a parable about civilised European attitudes to crises in other parts of the world; not exactly subtle and doesn't seem to have many answers to give. The slow start may also put some people off. However, Wolff carries the film impressively, and the moral dilemma at its centre is engrossing and resonant. Director does good work with what's clearly quite a low budget.
Wears its heart very much on its sleeve as a parable about civilised European attitudes to crises in other parts of the world; not exactly subtle and doesn't seem to have many answers to give. The slow start may also put some people off. However, Wolff carries the film impressively, and the moral dilemma at its centre is engrossing and resonant. Director does good work with what's clearly quite a low budget.
Film and stuff (30 KP) rated Kin (2018) in Movies
May 30, 2019
Underrated
Contains spoilers, click to show
Kin is a modern twist on a story that feels very familiar.
Our hero is a boy that we assume was sent back in time to live in relative safety until his time to do something pivotal in a future war comes about.
The biggest issue is the ending. Audiences are unforgiving of sequel bait endings and this isn't subtle either.
Franco is a cookie cutter bad guy that just about reaches entertaining.
The relationship between our three main characters is thin and underdeveloped.
The beginning catalyst of the father dying suffers from an underdeveloped relationship between him and his sons as well as the father figure being largely unlikable.
All this being said, as an entire piece of work there is plenty to enjoy and that's what you will need to do with this film.
A mild recommendation
Our hero is a boy that we assume was sent back in time to live in relative safety until his time to do something pivotal in a future war comes about.
The biggest issue is the ending. Audiences are unforgiving of sequel bait endings and this isn't subtle either.
Franco is a cookie cutter bad guy that just about reaches entertaining.
The relationship between our three main characters is thin and underdeveloped.
The beginning catalyst of the father dying suffers from an underdeveloped relationship between him and his sons as well as the father figure being largely unlikable.
All this being said, as an entire piece of work there is plenty to enjoy and that's what you will need to do with this film.
A mild recommendation
Awix (3310 KP) rated The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) in Movies
Mar 5, 2018
Largely superfluous entry to the F&F series doesn't feature any of your favourite characters, probably, was only retconned to have any connection to the rest of the series some years later. Identikit bad-boy teen gets packed off to Japan to teach the locals a thing or two about driving on the famously non-congested streets of Ikebukuro.
Really a film struggling to find a reason to justify its own existence: the plot is very forgettable and the rest of it rather so what - film attempts to make quest to go round corners sideways at high speed look like some kind of spiritual mission; essentially fails. Surprisingly unflattering to the Japanese characters, too; wouldn't happen nowadays. The movie's fascination with the fact some people have cameras on their phones is charmingly quaint, too. All the important parts of Tokyo Drift are recycled in later F&F movies, so you only really need to bother with this one if you're a completist.
Really a film struggling to find a reason to justify its own existence: the plot is very forgettable and the rest of it rather so what - film attempts to make quest to go round corners sideways at high speed look like some kind of spiritual mission; essentially fails. Surprisingly unflattering to the Japanese characters, too; wouldn't happen nowadays. The movie's fascination with the fact some people have cameras on their phones is charmingly quaint, too. All the important parts of Tokyo Drift are recycled in later F&F movies, so you only really need to bother with this one if you're a completist.
ClareR (5674 KP) rated She Was The Quiet One in Books
Jun 13, 2018
Boarding School drama
This is my second boarding school drama in under a month, and whilst I thought this was better than Tradition, I still found it hard going in parts. There's a lot of teenage angst which frankly, I am well past the need to experience (other than having to live the dream of being the mother to a hormonal teenaged boy). There were just so many FEELINGS and it all got a bit hard going towards the mid-way point. It was a great mystery though. I didn't guess the perpetrator until about 70% in to the story, so that's not a bad thing. Others might get to it earlier. I could have well done without the epilogue at the end though. It seemed really out of place, and not like the rest of the novel at all. I don't think it added anything to the story.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated Train to Busan (2016) in Movies
Oct 8, 2018
A zombie movie with a heart?
After reading some great reviews for this film (some on Smashbomb) I thought I would give this modern Korean zombie film a try.
Boy was I glad I did.
Nothing too complicated with the plot here. Just a straight escape the zombie hoard before they bite you and make you part of the global onslaught type thing.
The characters are not well explained for the most part, but you care about them anyways when bad things start to happen. Blood and guts are amped down in favor of tension instead which I liked. The chase scenes were great and keep me watching and on the edge of my seat.
For those who don't like foreign films no worries here. The action and story keep you going almost immediately and you forget you are watching and reading at the same time.
Highly recommended. (Find on Netflix currently).
Boy was I glad I did.
Nothing too complicated with the plot here. Just a straight escape the zombie hoard before they bite you and make you part of the global onslaught type thing.
The characters are not well explained for the most part, but you care about them anyways when bad things start to happen. Blood and guts are amped down in favor of tension instead which I liked. The chase scenes were great and keep me watching and on the edge of my seat.
For those who don't like foreign films no worries here. The action and story keep you going almost immediately and you forget you are watching and reading at the same time.
Highly recommended. (Find on Netflix currently).
AJaneClark (3975 KP) rated One of us is Lying in Books
Dec 9, 2019
Suspenseful
Five very different students walked into detention that day, and only four walked out! Outsider, and creator of the Bayview gossip app, Simon dies 24 hours before releasing a post about the other students he shared detention with, a post that would expose their deepest secrets online!
Bronwyn, the overachieving nerd, hoping to head to Yale, Cooper the star baseball jock, Addy the prom queen and Nate the bad boy, are all now looking at facing murder charges when the investigation uncovers Simon's last gossip column, pointing the finger in their direction.
Follow the Bayview 4 as they try to uncover the other secrets, prove their innocence and try to keep up with being teens in a normal high school.
McManus keeps the suspense building in this well written novel. Expect some twists and the odd red herring as you follow the journey of these four very likeable characters, thrown together in an unlikely friendship.
Bronwyn, the overachieving nerd, hoping to head to Yale, Cooper the star baseball jock, Addy the prom queen and Nate the bad boy, are all now looking at facing murder charges when the investigation uncovers Simon's last gossip column, pointing the finger in their direction.
Follow the Bayview 4 as they try to uncover the other secrets, prove their innocence and try to keep up with being teens in a normal high school.
McManus keeps the suspense building in this well written novel. Expect some twists and the odd red herring as you follow the journey of these four very likeable characters, thrown together in an unlikely friendship.
Scarred: Sins and Secrets Series of Duets Book 4
Book
She made me a better man, but I still wasn’t good enough to keep her. Born and raised in...
romance