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Obsessed book reviews (49 KP) rated Fracture in Books

May 7, 2019  
Fracture
Fracture
Amanda K. Byrne | 2015
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
this is the first book by this author that I've read and I couldn't wait to start it after reading the blurb. this is a beautifully written book, it has a feeling of sadness to it which makes the story very black and white in places. the story will have you on the edge from the start to the finish. the relationship between the two characters is fully explored within the book. this book is a fantastic read and I couldn’t put it down till id finished it, the story really sucks you in and keeps a hold of you till the end, leaving you wanting more, I was definitely sad when it had finished, I really wanted it to carry on. I cant wait to read more from this author.

highly recommended

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gayga (2128 KP) rated Small Great Things in Books

Jan 9, 2020  
Small Great Things
Small Great Things
Jodi Picoult | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.7 (19 Ratings)
Book Rating
Everything (0 more)
Nothing (0 more)
Another corker from Jodi
I was almost not looking forward to reading this book as normally Jodi Picoults books put me through the emotional wringer. However, this one left me (mostly) dry eyed. Don’t get me wrong, I love a blub more than most people but it’s nice to occasionally finish one of her books without being covered in tears and snot!

Despite this, it is an awesome book. I’m not going to divulge the story but it’s basically about racism and people’s perceived attitudes to it. The 3 points of view are Ruth Jefferson, a black nurse. Turk Bauer, a white supremacist and Kennedy McQuarrie, a lawyer.

It’s well thought out and you can really get under the skin of the character. A really good read, one I would probably read more than once.
  
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Jean Reno recommended The Easy Life (Il Sorpasso) (1962) in Movies (curated)

 
The Easy Life (Il Sorpasso) (1962)
The Easy Life (Il Sorpasso) (1962)
1962 | Comedy, Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"Italian, a black-and-white movie. If you go to the internet, you can find it. Dino Risi movie, with Vittorio Gassman acting in it. And a French actor named Jean-Louis Trintignant. It is about somebody who is pretentious, who’s always speaking [loudly], always speaking about himself. And somebody in front who is shy. The story is about changing personality, and the moral of the story is, “If you want to change your personality, change with your own rhythm. Don’t try to imitate people.” [This was] reality because so many people try to imitate things that they have seen without any reasons inside themselves. They just want to imitate because they have seen that on screen or in a book. Instead of following their own rhythm, their own needs. I still remember that… long time ago. 30 years ago."

Source
  
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Jeremiah Zagar recommended The Cranes Are Flying (1957) in Movies (curated)

 
The Cranes Are Flying (1957)
The Cranes Are Flying (1957)
1957 | Drama, Romance, War
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"This movie seemed to come out of nowhere. I didn’t even know it existed until I saw it at BAM, and I remember walking out of the theater thinking this is the best movie ever. I love giant, epic films with incredible black-and-white cinematography. There’s one scene in the film that I literally show to everyone I ever make a movie with. It’s shot through a fence, when Tatiana Samoilova is running, and the camera moves past the fence super quickly, and it speeds up with the pace of her running. It has this effect where it makes your heart race in a way that’s insane. The other thing about that movie is that it’s an epic told from a woman’s point of view, which you rarely see. It’s just one of the greatest movies of all time."

Source
  
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JT (287 KP) rated White House Down (2013) in Movies

Mar 17, 2020  
White House Down (2013)
White House Down (2013)
2013 | Action, Drama
6
6.9 (19 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Good action set pieces (0 more)
A plot that we've seen too many times already (0 more)
The White House gets the action treatment once again
For the second time in 2013 the White House was the target of terrorists, as no sooner had Gerard Butler shut the door (or what was left of it) Channing Tatum stepped through to show what he could do. It’s oddly surreal for two films with the same plot to be out the very same year, (and if anyone knows of any others films then please let me know) and with identical scenarios, and outcomes for that matter.

Directed by Roland Emmerich who must have blown up and destroyed more landmarks than we care to remember, has another crack at dismantling the White House. Whereas Olympus was more of an attempt at a serious film, White House Down seemed to opt for a more light-hearted approach, and it was clear that it wasn’t taking itself to seriously.

Tatum plays capitol policeman Cale who, desperate to connect with his daughter, brings her along to the White House for a tour while he interviews for a job on the President’s secret service detail. Failing to make the grade due to a poor disciplinary record and disregard for authority he’s turned away, but as luck would have it is on hand to save the day in McClane-esque fashion.

The problem is its big-budget, overblown on a plot that has been done to death (not just twice in a year) the whole father trying to connect with his son/daughter, while at the same time dealing with his demons and back story is just Hollywood on repeat. Emmerich is a master for the visual, and CGI for that matter as he brings us as close to the chaos as is humanly possible, but in the end, the charge is going to run out and you’re left thinking “yea, give us something we haven’t seen already!”.

The on-screen relationship between Fox’s President Sawyer and Tatum’s head strung cop is pretty good, must be all the time they spent making that god awful Channing All Over Your Tatum music video. So the love between the pair is already there, and it was certainly a hell of a lot better than Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart.

The action is big and ballsey and there are one or two neat moments like the car chase over the White House lawn and the Black Hawk descent, but we’ve seen it all before especially from Emmerich, and you can see he prefers to favour action set pieces as opposed to neatly setting up the plot and constructing dialogue. James Woods is on hand for villain duties as the disgruntled head of the President’s secret service and is wanting vengeance for the death of his soldier son. It’s all pretty bog-standard stuff, and the list of mercenaries are forgettable, no real standouts there either.

It certainly not the worst but doesn’t quite pip Olympus for me, it’s Emmerich on autopilot doing what he does best but while it’s entertaining it’s not unique enough to set it apart from other blockbusters.