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Midge (525 KP) rated Casualty - Season 32 in TV

Dec 30, 2018 (Updated Jan 1, 2019)  
Casualty - Season 32
Casualty - Season 32
2017 | Drama
10
8.1 (7 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
Includes some great actors (2 more)
Superb storylines
Well written
Fantastic Drama!
I ? Casualty and I have watched it since the show began, in 1986! Some amazing actors have starred in the show over the years. Cathy Shipton who plays Lisa"Duffy" Duffin and Charlie Fairhead, who is played by actor, Derek Thompson, are old favourites. Currently, my most enjoyable scenes are those including William Beck (plays Dylan Keogh), who I think is an absolutely brilliant actor.

Some say that Casualty has had its day, but I hope that the show is not about to disappear from our screens any time soon.
  
Forbidden (The Demon Trappers #2)
Forbidden (The Demon Trappers #2)
Jana Oliver | 2011 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
10
9.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Whoa!

So much happened in this it's hard to know where to start. Let's go with Riley and her big mistake, though I wouldn't have seen that coming with Ori. As for Beck, I kinda wish he hadn't done what he did with the reporter and then stormed off at the end... Those two just need to sort it out and get it together already instead of hurting each other with their barbs.

Straight onto Forgiven and going over to Amazon to buy Foretold, so I can finish this series. Hopefully it will get the ending I want it to have!
  
Right Direction by Benjamin Lazar Davis
Right Direction by Benjamin Lazar Davis
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
This is Beck, circa Sea Change, but with a boxier mix and these lo-fi drums that sound like old sneakers. The songwriting is top notch. This track will resonate with anyone who has had to walk through the darkness. That's always the question: am I doing this right?

Davis got his start in New York City as a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer. We like where he's going with this:

“Fade out but the lights are still glowing
tell me where to go
how long will I run without knowing
if I’m running in the right direction...”
— Benjamin Lazar Davis
  
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Tallulah22 (211 KP) rated You in Books

Jan 4, 2020  
You
You
Caroline Kepnes | 2014 | Crime, Mystery
9
8.0 (27 Ratings)
Book Rating
Compelling read. I picked it up in the morning because book 2 was on order and it was finished by that night. All in, it was around a 5 hour read. (0 more)
It was a great read that I didn't want to put down. The tale of Joe is an imaginative one and you want to keep reading to find out what is going to happen between he and Beck next. Lots of swearing and sex scenes so it is not suitable at all for younger audiences. It is a thrilling view of what people may really be thinking about in the real world without you knowing about it.
  
Broken Wings (Dark Legacy, #1)
Broken Wings (Dark Legacy, #1)
Jaymin Eve | 2019
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Huh...another one that I'm completely torn by. I stayed up half the night reading the first 52% in one sitting.

The plot of having 5 families working under one company that pretty much runs half the world was a little far fetched for me. I'm sure stuff like that happens in the world but at the same time, it's too ridiculous for me to take seriously.

>On the other hand, I loved the relationship between Beck and Riley and let's not forget the rest of the gang and their strong bond.

I'm undecided as of yet whether I'm going to finish the series after that, in my opinion, strange ending.
  
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A Bibliophagist (113 KP) rated You in Books

Jan 27, 2020 (Updated Jan 27, 2020)  
You
You
Caroline Kepnes | 2014 | Crime, Mystery
7
8.0 (27 Ratings)
Book Rating
Unique (3 more)
Well thought out
Fast paced
Creepy
Sometimes loses focus (1 more)
Character feels inconsistant
Unique, interesting and stands on it's own
As a book nerd, and fan of crime podcasts and shows, I had to read this book after loving the show version of it.
     Honestly, this is one of the better adaptations (as far as book to screen goes). The show stays true enough to the book, but the book retains enough to be worth the read, even if you've watched the show.
    The book is presented completely as the internal monologue of Joe Goldburg, a bookstore employee who is unstable, obsessive and violent. It follows his narration(and therefore unreliable account) of meeting Beck, a girl he becomes obsessed with, stalks and eventually forms a relationship with. The book handles this extremely well, presenting Joe ample opportunity to believably narrate every aspect of the story. He manipulates Beck's life, interfering with a current, bad, boyfriend, toxic friendships and Beck herself, to pave way for what he considers the inevitable, Beck and him living happily ever after. However, obviously, when you are a murderous, psycho, stalker, things never go as you imagine.
   Unlike the show, the book never lets you forget that Joe is a monster, having it delivered 100% from his perspective lets us see all the questionable interworkings of his mind. Kepnes obviously referenced incel forums while researching, because a lot of what he says is copy pasta incel rhetoric. He is a bad guy. I think where I struggled with this book is that Beck, in her own way, is a terrible, narcissistic, whiney piece of work. She treats everyone terribly and is very "woe is me". Leaving me to not care about her fate. I watched her fall into his grasp and almost rooted for her demise because she was just the worst. I feel the author needed to deliver something redeeming about her to make me care about what he was doing to her. But up until the end, I hated Beck. But, unlike the show, unlike the masses of Joe fans onlines, I hated Joe too in this book. It was scary how so much he did was so easy, and with the incel like thoughts it reminds you that this would be so easy to happen in real life. At times however, his character felt inconsistent, making dumb descisions or having severe thoughts that didn't feel like his mental instability, just inconsistent story telling. So I would argue that the show was smart in removing all the incel thoughts, all the oversexualized, suddenly very agressive thoughts. Because of course someone who thinks like that could do these things. It's almost scarier that the show version doesn't think this way, just fully 100% believes he is doing the right thing. That's scary. I wish the author had employed that more in her book, something to prove to the reader that Joe fully was convinced he was good. But for every time she attempted to write this she undermined it with some obviously bad thought, that never made the reader doubt for a moment. This isn't bad persay, but I think it took a little creepiness from the book and traded it for shock value. The equivalent of showing the monster in a creepy monster flick. Overall it kept my attention, and I immediately ordered the next book (this one ended very different from the show, and ancillary names were used for different character in season 2) so I'm excited to see what she did in book two, as I won't have something to compare it to.
     Worth the read, whether you've seen the show or not. Dark, real, and very creepy. It'll make you look at strangers a little differently.
  
ierce Fighters: Predators Nature's Toughest Go Head to Head by Lee Martin, and Paul Beck is a neat documentary on animals that brings their characteristic and put them face to face. The photographers who captured these magnificent creatures in these brief moments did a wonderful job of showcasing that predatory instinct that makes your skin shiver knowing you are about to be on the bottom of Mother Nature’s food chain.

The reader is provided a wealth of information; such as, the battles and animal statics along with where the various creatures live, their habitats. The reader learns about animal weapons, as in their body parts, which help them attack or defend themselves.

This is a great book for children who love animals and facts about animals.
  
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Kristina (502 KP) rated You in Books

Dec 7, 2020  
You
You
Caroline Kepnes | 2014 | Crime, Mystery
4
8.0 (27 Ratings)
Book Rating
I was not as impressed with You as I'd hoped I would be. At first, I thought it was extremely unique, the perspective, and I still think that, but after about 20 chapters it was starting to wear down on me. I kept second guessing Joe's knowledge, because what if he had an actual mental illness and only saw things the way he wanted to see them? I was interested to find out what would happen in the end between Joe and Beck; it was an interesting story, to say the least. I just didn't feel like all the hype was absolutely necessary. I will say that Caroline wrote something completely different and that, at least before it grated on me, was refreshing.
  
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Corey Richard Bennett (10 KP) rated Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) in Movies

Jul 18, 2019 (Updated Jul 18, 2019)  
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
2019 | Action, Sci-Fi
Great follow-up to Avengers Endgame (2 more)
Extremely relatable teen angst and romance
Accurate potrayal of the Spider Man character
A lot of story crammed into two hours (0 more)
Contains spoilers, click to show
The last film in the 4th phase of Marvel's Cinematic Universe is a fitting bookend for the Universe so far, and where the Cinematic Universe is heading. After losing his mentor, Tony Stark, Spider-Man Peter Parker tries to resume a life of normality. With high hopes of romance with classmate MJ abroad in Europe, Peter is drawn into a ploy that is ultimately being triggered by fake interloper Mysterio AKA Quentin Beck. With use of virtual reality tech, and military grade drones, Beck tricks Nick Fury, and Peter into thinking beings known as Elementals are attacking Earth. Seemingly with all other Avengers busy or not home, Fury calls upon Tony Stark's chosen successor to help Mysterio in slaying the new beasts.

This is peak portrayal of the web-slinger as Tom Holland makes you really feel for his teenage character who is balancing a life of normality and a life with huge responsibility. Peter constantly thinks of his friends well-being and hiding his secret identity throughout Europe. Then there is the aspect of Peter's budding romance for MJ, played beautifully by Zendaya. This incarnation of MJ is quirky and awkward, which is not like any other portrayals I have seen before, but it matches with Holland's Parker, as he too is awkward as most teenagers trying to find themselves in life.

Now the bad guy. Mysterio is a long well known enemy in the Spider-Man lore, so the twist that he is Master of Illusion should not be a shock, but the trailers did a good job painting the possibility that we were seeing a new incarnation of the dome-headed man of mystery. The trailers also got fans excited, with the possibility of a multiverse being created by the snap of Thanos, now referred to as the Blip by the people of Earth. The multiverse could have been the way to shoe-horn the X-Men into the MCU, but alas it was all a ploy to get the ever powerful Stark Tech glasses (known as EDITH Even Dead I'm The Hero) away from Peter, as Tony had left them to him in his will. Tricking everyone including usually tactful Nick Fury, Mysterio gains Peter's trust, and then his glasses, as Peter thinks Beck is a more fitting replacement to Iron-Man than Peter himself, who wants to live a normal life for the time being. Mysterio almost gets away with his plan, but with one simple slip-up Peter realizes his gaff and pursues Beck to Berlin, which brings me to the best scene (In my humble Opinion).

Knowing Peter is on his way, Beck springs his own web of illusions around Peter which tricks Peter immensely, and dazzles the fan. Tricking Peter to the point that he learns who knows of his plan, dispatches Peter via a train, which Peter barely survives. Beck moves his plans to London where he tries to enact his greatest illusion but a rejuvenated Peter (with help from Happy Hogan) thwarts Beck's plan which ultimately leads to Beck's untimely demise. But with his plan burning around him, he uses his last minutes to frame Peter in his death, and reveal his identity to the world.

In the course of the movie, Peter and MJ finally reveal their feelings for one another, and become a couple before landing back in the USA, but with Peter's secret to the world (which MJ had figured out a while back) their relationship and Peter's safety hangs in the balance. Now the only question alot of people like myself are left wondering, what's next? What's next for the MCU? and Whats next for Spider-Man? Well for the MCU, Black-Widow's solo movie seems to be next in line with Guardians 3 in the Horizon. As for Spider-Man, Marvel and Sony's deal has one more movie left, so hopefully they make a longer agreement, as Tom Holland should being playing this role for a long time. The next film should be a fantastic spot to bring in Kraven the Hunter into the MCU, as Peter Parker is now enemy number 1 in New York and Kraven would be the best villian to set loose to hunt for Peter. Using MJ as bait or even Ned, the story rights itself, even possibly using the comic book story which Kraven buries Spider-Man. But I guess we need a few more years to find out what will happen to Peter, but this film is a great one in a line of great MCU entries.

P.S. Yeah that end-credit scene. Yup, we are getting Secret Wars storyline as the next big Avengers event.
  
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Eleanor (1463 KP) rated You - Season 1 in TV

Jun 7, 2019 (Updated Jun 7, 2019)  
You - Season 1
You - Season 1
2018 | Crime, Drama
A creepy stalker tale for the modern era....
Well that was something; I’m all over the place with my feelings for this series from hating it to loving it; a bit like my feelings for its lead character and narrator Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley.)

Joe is straight off the bat creepy stalker guy when he becomes obsessed with Guinevere “Beck” (Elizabeth Lail) off the back of meeting her in his bookshop - as if Amazon isn’t doing enough on its own to kill independent bookshops…. Convinced they should be together to pretty much save Beck from herself, Joe goes to ever increasing lengths to get to know everything about her and start manipulating her to become part of his life. It offers up a strong commentary on the power social media as well as the back stabbing competitive world of literature and socialites in New York

The narrative from Joe is hypnotic in him justifying his actions and Badgley’s voice is a perfect mixture of good wholesome guy with undertones that just make you shiver. As the series progressed, I got less and less creeped out by Joe and more frustrated with the other characters (oh my maybe Joe is brainwashing me.) With an almost Dexter feel to cheering on Joe at times I had to keep reminding myself that his moral compass was way off in comparison, just because someone is a self obsessed a****** doesn't mean they deserve to die.

The series started off very strongly but did drop off midway and I worry if the second season can bring back the initial engagement, I’ll certainly be tuning in to find out.