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Memoirs of a Geisha
Memoirs of a Geisha
Arthur Golden | 1997 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Romance
9
8.0 (43 Ratings)
Book Rating
Memoirs of a Geisha is a historical fiction book published on September 27th 1997. Told in the first person Viewpoint of Geisha Sayuri (Original name Chiyo), It follows her journey from her childhood in a fishing village on the coast of Japan, forcibly taken to a Hanamachi in Gion Kyoto and raised to become a Geisha before experiencing the horrors of WW2 and being a Geisha during the hard work of rebuilding after a harrowing defeat.

My opinion of the book is one of both curiosity and interest. Japan is one of those countries where its history and culture is both unusual and mysterious. The book gives a brief glimpse into the hidden world of the Geisha which are a prominent spot in Japanese culture but are relatively unknown world wide. I believe that the story of Sayuri is one of personal travel and evolution. Since we see Sayuri';s experience as a child before becoming a Geisha, experiencing the horror of war and eventually finding love with the Chairman.

Arthur Golden was born on December 6th 1956 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. When he was eight years old his parents divorced with his father dying five years later. He spent most of his childhood living in lookout mountain, Georgia before graduating from the Baylor school in Chattanooga in 1974. After earning a degree in Fine art (Specifically Japanese art), an M. A. in Japanese history, Golden spent a summer at the Peking University in Beijing and spent some time working in Tokyo. When he returned to the states he earned an M. A. in English at Boston University. Golden married Trudi Legge and they went on to have two children Hays and Tess.

After getting the initial idea for Memoirs of a Geisha Golden spent six years over the story rewriting it at least three times, changing the view point until settling on the viewpoint of Sayuri. Golden had spent time interviewing several Geisha including Mineko Iwasaki (who ended up suing Golden when the Japanese version of the book came out for breach of contract.....the case was settled out of court in 2003) all of whom provided information about the world of the Geisha. After its release Memoirs of a Geisha spent two years on the New York Times bestseller list, its sold more than four million copies in English alone and has been translated into thirty-two languages around the world. In 2005 the book was made into a movie garnering three academy awards.

My opinion of Arthur Golden is very small and somewhat limited.......I believe he is a fantastic writer and very knowledgeable about Japanese history and art....Much more so than I am but hearing he faced being sued because of citing who his sources were when he was contracted not to has put something of a dampener on his character in my eyes.

Memoirs of a Geisha was released as a Movie on December 9th 2005 under director Rob Marshall and Produced by Steven Spielberg's production Company Amblin Entertainment and Spyglass Entertainment. With its production from pre- to post-production taking place mainly in California US, with a few spots filmed in Kyoto Japan. The movie received mixed reviews in the western world and received somewhat negative reviews in Japan due to its mixed casting of Chinese and Japanese actors and actresses and its relationship to history. Despite the chaos they won three Academy Awards (Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design), a Golden Globe (Best Original Score), A national Board of review (Best Supporting Actress), a satellite award (Outstanding screenplay) and three BAFTA's (Cinematography, Costume design and the Anthony Asquith award for Achievement in film music).

Whilst I quite like the movie I definitely feel that if more effort was put into tying more of both Japanese and Geisha history was some how tied into the movie. As well as using more Japanese Actors and actresses in the roles......despite that I believe the actors and actresses did a very good job in brining the script to life and keep a layer of mystery and fluidity to their roles.

And there you have it a book for all the ages, its definitely under the banner of AWESOME!!!.
  
Paddington (2015)
Paddington (2015)
2015 | Comedy, Family
The timeless storybook written by Michael Bond about a loveable, well-mannered immigrant Bear who tries to adapt to the human world.

The movie opens up with an English Explorer, Montgomery Clyde (Tim Downie), who ventures to the darkest Peru and encounters Paddington’s Aunt Lucy(voiced by Imelda Stauton) and Uncle Pastuzo(voiced by Michael Gambon). Instead of shooting them to take back to the Geographers’ Guild to be stuffed, he teaches them to speak English and introduces them to marmalade. He ends his adventure by telling the two bears he would always give them a home in London. Fast forward 40 years, Lucy and Pastuzo are now raising their very energetic nephew (voiced by Ben Wishaw) and teach him everything they know about London and how to make marmalade. Sadly, tragedy strikes after a devastating earthquake destroys their home. This forces Aunt Lucy to allow the young bear to stowaway on a ship bound for London to find Montgomery Clyde, the explorer, while she takes residence at a facility for retired bears.

The little bear is discovered by the Brown family while wandering Paddington Station. After reading the tag that says, “Please look after this bear,” the Browns take him home and give him the name Paddington. They also agreed to help him find the explorer that once befriended his aunt and uncle. Confused by his new unfamiliar surroundings, Paddington becomes an accident prone guest who inadvertently creates chaos and devastation where ever he goes.

Writer/Director Paul King has made an ingeniously witty, funny film that will appeal to moviegoers of all ages. A sweet and playful take on the beloved 1950s children’s book. For the most part, it does follow the storyline of the book. With the exception of the character Millicent, played by Nicole Kidman, who is a museum taxidermist. She wants nothing more than to make Paddington the newest member of the museum’s collection of stuffed exotic animals.

You can’t help but fall in love with Paddington, and it’s just as easy to love the Brown family. This is a delightfully charming film with the perfect amount of quirkiness. A story of a lost child trying to find friends and a place to belong. A wonderful movie that will melt your heart!
  
Survivor Song
Survivor Song
Paul Tremblay | 2020 | Horror, Paranormal
8
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
A timely & terrifying read


A viral strain of rabies is spreading across Massachusetts. It moves quickly among animals and people, with those being bitten rapidly (think hours) losing their minds and then biting others to spread the disease. Hospitals are overwhelmed. People are under quarantine, with packets of vaccine being dropped from the sky to try to control the animal population. Chaos reigns. Dr. Ramola "Rams" Sherman is a pediatrician, about to be called in to help at an overflowing hospital. Before she can, she receives a terrified phone call from her best friend from college, Natalie. Eight months pregnant, Natalie watched an infected man brutally kill her husband--and received a bite while trying to save him. She must get to a hospital--and fast--to try to save herself and her unborn child. She and Rams begin a horrifying odyssey to get Natalie help, traversing a world filled with untold dangers.


"The presentation of symptoms with this new virus is astronomically fast compared to a normal rabies virus."


Okay, first of all, I rarely read horror books like this, but this novel was offered by my Scene of the Crime group, and I had heard such great things about Paul Tremblay. Second, I am trying to avoid pandemic-type reads and, yet, I found myself reading an incredibly pandemic, virus themed book!

However, I have to say, this was a good book! I can't say I enjoyed it, because it was so incredibly stressful that I think my heart-rate and blood pressure were through the roof while reading this thing. BUT, I could not put it down. Tremblay has created an utterly spellbinding book that also happens to be incredibly timely.

The tension in this book completely crackles. There's a virus spreading across the entire Northeast, but Tremblay focuses his action mainly on just Rams and Natalie. Somehow narrowing the story down on the survival of these two (and Natalie's baby) makes the story all the more terrifying and stressful. Their journey to get to a hospital is fraught with danger and blockages at every turn, and you can totally see this as unfolding a movie, with the "zombies" popping out around every corner. It still makes me shiver even now thinking about it.

While this book is creepy and scary, it makes some amazing (and very timely) points on society and its backward viewpoint toward vaccines, fear culture, xenophobia, and more. I found myself nodding furiously so many times. And, of course, it's filled with words that are so familiar to us now--who knew that CDC, PPE, and quarantine would be such commonplace terms?

Overall, while this is a very tense book and it might resonate a bit *too* much right now, it's very well-written. I flew through it--I'm not usually a horror fan, but it was a good balance of scary and humanizing. 4+ stars.
  
Bird Box (2018)
Bird Box (2018)
2018 | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Enjoyable
Contains spoilers, click to show
I had been eager to watch this for some time after reading reviews, and was not disappointed. Having never read the book in which the film is based, I did not know what to expect. I knew that the film was a horror, but am not easily shocked or scared, so was not expecting much from this point of view, however I did find the film enjoyable in terms of the storyline.

The story is based around a reluctant mother, played by Sandra Bullock, who finds she has to raise the child she never wanted as a result of an apocalyptic event. The general premise of the story is that there are creature, which if you see, result in impending insanity and suicidal thoughts. Malorie, the main character seeks refuge in a house with other survivors (who predictably don’t make it to the end of the story) in order to ride out the apocalypse. Realising that her position is not stable, the story also flashes to the future, showing Malories escape towards a safe haven with her son and the child of one of the other survivors. The path to the safe haven is taken blind folded (to avoid looking at the invisible threat), aided by a small box which contains birds, who can sense the presence of the evil. Having seen a fair few horrors, I am pretty desensitised to the use of fear in the movie - basically, I didn’t find it too scary, however I did feel that the story was intriguing.

One of the most interesting aspects of the film was the story of the relationship between Malorie and her children. The reluctant mother never named the children formally until the end, and we see the relationship and her feelings towards them both evolve over the course of the movie.

I felt that this was one of the better roles Sandra Bullock has played, and she acted well throughout the movie, her scenes that portrayed uncertainty and fear were believable and she evolved the character well as the story line develops.

Would I lose sleep after watching this, no- the film was not that scary, but ultimately I found it an enjoyable story with a sweet twist at the end. I look forward to reading the book next.
  
The Selection
The Selection
Kiera Cass | 2012 | Children
8
7.9 (48 Ratings)
Book Rating
Set many years into the future The US has undergone drastic change. Under the rule of a monarchy once again. Prince Maxon, only child and heir to the throne, is ready to find his future queen. In a lottery type draw, one young lady (between the ages of 16 and 20) from each province is selected as candidates for the throne, and for Maxon's heart. Among them is America Singer. A Five in the caste system (There are eight total). Although her becoming a part of the selection was an accident, of sorts...Will she be able to forget her past and embrace her future? There are 35 girls, and only 1 prince. Who will emerge as Queen?

It has been a long while since I have been so engrossed in a book that I couldn't put it down to go to sleep. I finally had to, as my eyes wouldn't stay open any longer, with only two chapters remaining! I kept having dreams about the book! I finished it as soon as I woke up this morning and am now anxiously awaiting to check out The Elite from the library. Since this is a book about a prince finding a wife, you can expect to have romance with a mild dystopian flair. Although I personally think the emotions are slightly intense for a YA book, it is still clean and decent. Prince Maxon is an honorable man. Parents, please use your own discretion. Kiera Cass has done a fabulous job imagining a new world of castes, monarchy, fashion, rebellion and love. (It's like The Bachelor, but way better!) Please be advised that these books do not stand alone. And once you finish The Selection you are going to want to start The Elite immediately (so do what I didn't do and place a hold on BOTH)! This book ends well, but definitely leaves you wanting more. I have also heard that The Selection is being made into a movie. Although all I could find out was that it is in pre-production. I am thoroughly enjoying this series, but I know that it won't be to everyone's taste. Keep in mind that it is a Young Adult novel and is written for that level. Happy reading! And may the odds be ever in your favor....wait....
  
Superman dies

It doesn't hold.

Back in the early 90s, I remember one comic book,in particular, that made the headlines, when DC decided to take what was then a massive risk and kill off one of their lead characters.

This was in the days, of course, before that trick became 'old hat; before the comic industry kept killing off and bringing back to life their leads.

Reading it now, even if the plot isn't that strong (who is Doomsday? Where has he come from? What does he want? Why was it the the Justice League of Americas B-team that went out to face him and got taken apart?), it's interesting to see how the medium has moved on: in particular (mostly) away for the lurid brightly coloured panels of this comic.

I have to say, as well, if you thought the devastation of Metropolis at the end of the recent(ish) 'Man of Steel' movie was bad, read this ...
  
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David McK (3801 KP) rated I Am Legend in Books

Jul 7, 2019 (Updated Mar 19, 2023)  
I Am Legend
I Am Legend
Richard Matheson | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
7
8.5 (20 Ratings)
Book Rating
Richard Matheson's classic 1954 horror story, that (according to Wikipedia) has been converted four times into movies: The Last Man on Earth (1964), The Omega Man(1971),I Am Legend(2007) and I Am Omega(2007)

Of those, I was aware of only Charlton Heston's The Omega Man and Will Smith's I Am Legend, only having seen the latter. I'm also aware that that film also deviates from the source material (when do they not!), with the book describing the pandemic as (more-or-less) turning people into vampires rather than the zombies of the film. In both cases, Robert Neville seems to be immune to the virus, and is trying to work out how to cure it, while seemingly the last human being on the planet. The two versions, however, also end rather differently, with the novell(a) suiting the title 'I am legend' (and explaining why) more than the movie does!
  
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
2023 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
8
7.8 (12 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I remember going to see Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014.

I had no clue what to expect, and did wonder how the space-faring sheenanigans would fit into the (then) relatively grounded MCU.

Groot stole to show.

Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 2, in 2017?

That belonged to Yondu "he may be your father, kid, but he certainly wasn't your daddy".

Both of those films largely revolved around Chris Pratt's Star-Lord and Zoe Saldana's Gamora.

Volume 3 - again helmed by James Gunn, after a period where he was in Disney's black book due to some old, now deleted, tweets - moves away from that (although it does form one of the sub-plots, following the events of Endgame), instead focusing more on Bradley Cooper's Rocket Raccoon, exploring his (somewhat harrowing) origins as a disposable experiment by the so-called High Evolutionary.

This, IMO, is quite possibly the best Marvel movie since "No Way Home".