Search

Search only in certain items:

Mulan  (2020)
Mulan (2020)
2020 | Action, Adventure, Family
Aladdin.

Beauty and the Beast.

Cinderella.

The Jungle Book.

The Lion King.

Pinnochio

And Mulan.

What do they all have in common? Answer: they're all live action reimaginings of animated movies.

From that aforementioned list, this is also the only one I haven't actually seen the original of, so can't really compare (except I know the original had Eddie Murphy voicing a character), and that the basic plot is about a girl pretending to be a bloke to join the Imperial army.

This also actually had more mystical/magical elements in it than I was expecting for a live action movie, what with the whole 'witch' turning into birds thing and the Phoenix, but was also curiously 'dead' and not really all that involving.
  
Reaper (Birds of a Feather #5)
Reaper (Birds of a Feather #5)
Lena North | 2018 | Contemporary, Paranormal, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Reaper (Birds of a Feather #5) by Lena North
Reaper is the fifth and final book in the Birds of a Feather series, and it goes out with a bang! Annie is spying on Wilder's ranch, with something to tell them, and not sure of her reception or the reaction once she does. It feels strange for her to mingle amongst people she feels like she already knows, and yet doesn't. Olly is his usual taciturn self, and yet Annie breaks through his barriers easy enough. Things don't go easy for the two of them though, and the whole gang gets involved to keep Annie safe until Olly retrieves his head out of his butt!

What a finale. Seriously, it was fantastic. I love Olly, I have done all the way through this series, but I will admit to enjoying seeing him make a fool of himself. I wasn't too impressed with some of his behaviour though, and was glad he was made to see the error of his ways.

So many characters, so many stories. I can't say out of all of them which are my favourites! Lena North has done an amazing job of making each of these characters and situations completely different, and yet maintaining the overall storyline. I wasn't sure at the beginning if I would like these as much as I did The Dreughan Trilogy. I can now confirm that yes, I did - absolutely!

For a fantastic coming-of-age story, then I can definitely recommend this whole series, and basically anything written by Lena North too!

* Verified Purchase ~ July 2018. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
40x40

Awix (3310 KP) rated Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995) in Movies

Feb 14, 2018 (Updated Feb 14, 2018)  
Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995)
Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995)
1995 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
9
7.0 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Turtle Recall
Hugely confident reinvention not just of Gamera the flying turtle but also, maybe, the whole kaiju movie genre. Japan is plagued by man-eating Gyaos birds, finds unexpected assistance when floating island turns out to be giant flying turtle with plasma fireball breath. Stage is set for climactic showdown between Gamera and the last, colossal Gyaos in downtown Tokyo (of course).

Altogether much lighter on its feet than Toho's Godzilla movies from the same period; makers have clearly studied the tropes of the genre and reinvent and deploy them to great effect. Hugely enjoyable monster action sequences, solid work from the human cast as well (Steven Seagal's daughter Ayako Fujitani is clearly the one in the family with acting talent). The two sequels are possibly even better.
  
TR
The Ramblers
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I wish we could give half stars in reviews, as I feel this one is more than a 4 but not quite at 5. Its a beautiful story, wonderful in its simplicity, about relationships and emotions and just being human. You can relate to all the characters, their fears and struggles and joys and challenges in figuring out who they are and their place in the world and just life in general. It was also a trove of information about birds and NYC that was interesting and helped the story instead of weighing it down. I expected it to be more along the lines of chick lit type fluff and was pleasantly surprised to find that it went much deeper. All in all it was a very satisfying read.
  
40x40

James Koppert (2698 KP) rated Where the World Ends in Books

Nov 3, 2019 (Updated Nov 3, 2019)  
Where the World Ends
Where the World Ends
Geraldine McCaughrean | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Thriller
7
5.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
McCaughrean does an incredible job here. She heard a true story of a group of boys and men in the 1800s who go to a 'stack' to farm birds. The stack is a juttering jagged rock rising from the cold Scottish seas, a nasty place to be, so they plan to stay for a few days and then they hope to be collected. Although they weren't. McCaughrean then tried to imagine what happened to them next and what we get is an incredible well imagined narrative of hardship and survival filled with hope and love and triumph and turmoil. One of those novels which gives you a piece of history which was unknown and hard to imagine and at the same time makes you ask yourself what you would do in the same situation.