Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
6.8
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Tom Cruise delivers a riveting and unforgettable portrayal of Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic in Oliver...
Bostonian916 (449 KP) rated McFarland USA (2015) in Movies
Aug 3, 2020
After finding a student who can most definitely run, he learns that the boy has other family obligations that prevent him from participating with the team. Overcoming that, coach convinces friends of the boy to join the endeavor. What they are able to accomplish is truly motivating and inspiring.
I feel corny suggesting this, but I wish Disney would focus more resources on this type of movie. They never cease to satisfy in this arena.
The Lost Airman: A True Story of Escape from Nazi-Occupied France
Book
Arthur Meyerowitz was on his second air mission over France when he was shot down in 1943. He was...
Dean (6926 KP) rated Ford v Ferrari (aka Le Mans '66) (2019) in Movies
Nov 21, 2019 (Updated Sep 13, 2020)
A Bunch of Sweet Peas
Henry Donald and Ann Ross Paterson
Book
In 1911, in the Scottish Border village of Sprouston, the young parish minister wrote to the Daily...
The Chocolate Lady (94 KP) rated The Golden House in Books
Oct 6, 2020
https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2017/08/12/glitter-and-tarnish/
The Spirit Engineer
8.0
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Book
William Jackson Crawford is a man of science and a sceptic, but one night with everyone sitting...
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Midwife's Child (WW2 Resistance Series #3) in Books
May 21, 2023
This is the third in this series but I think it works successfully as a standalone because whilst there are recurring characters, each book is a separate story which focusses on one of those recurring characters.
The Midwife's Child centres around Maggie, a former SOE Special Operations Executive) but now incarcerated in Auschwitz following her capture. There she finds herself working in the camp hospital where the devil incarnate, Joseph Mengele, practised his infamous experiments and where Maggie is determined to save the life of her friend Eva and new born, Leah. The end of the war is fast approaching and the Russians are getting close, Eva is too unwell to go on the forced march so she begs Maggie to save her child and reunite her with her father. A seemingly impossible task but one which Maggie vows to complete.
Told from two timelines, from her time as a doctor working in the 'hospital' at Auschwitz towards the end of the war and the period afterwards, The Midwife's Child is a story of exceptional courage, duty, love, friendship and hope and a story that I highly recommended to those of you who enjoy this genre and I have to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Midwife's Child.
Kelly (279 KP) rated The Birth of a Nation (2016) in Movies
Jan 9, 2019
The film tells a story of a personal history, which may otherwise be forgotten and serves as a stark reminder of what happens when we allow profits to prioritise over humanity. The bulk of the film concentrates on the slipping standards and increasing violence on the plantation where Nat was enslaved. Being a preacher, Nat was privy to conditions on nearby plantations, but chose to act after a series of event, which included the brutal attack of his wife and his own lashing for baptising a white man without the permission of his owner.
The acting within the film was good and believable. The plot line includes some pretty horrific scenes that demonstrates the ways in which slaves were punished. These scenes were used to serve a purpose to the story rather than forced to the audience.
Personally, I felt that the film itself focuses too much on the motivation of Nat Turners rebellion, and brushed over the events of the rebellion and Nat’s execution. However I have still scored the film highly, as I believe that it is a story that needs to be told in order to remind us of the horrific way that an entire race of people were perceived and treated during the 17 and 1800s. So many story’s of brave people have been lost, and we need to be aware of stories like that of Nat Turner in order to understand that slaves were not always complacent of their circumstance.
Fruitvale Station (2013)
6.5
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Though he once spent time in San Quentin, 22-year-old black man Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan) is...