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Mrs March has to be amongst the most unnerving, chilling characters I’ve read about. I’m terrible for not reading the synopsis of books. I tend to go by the cover and/ or the last paragraph of bloggers and reviewers reviews (I tend to read the first and last couple of sentences. I’m sorry, I hang my head in shame 😔). Nine times out of ten this approach works for me - and boy did it work well with Mrs March!
I was captivated by the writing in this novel. It’s like the horror movie where you hold your hands over your face whilst continuing to watch between your fingers, because you just can’t stop watching.
This is a descent into paranoia and madness, and I feared for the safety of her husband and son, as well as Mrs March’s. On the outside, she seems to be completely calm and in control.
Mrs March’s husband is a successful novelist, and his latest novel is causing something of a stir. When a shopkeeper suggests that the main character is based on Mrs March, it sends her in to a tailspin. This character, after all, is a prostitute! Is this what people think of her?!
The tension builds and builds until it’s almost unbearable. I couldn’t put it down though, and was left breathless at the end. This isn’t a book for the faint of heart - and boy did I enjoy it!
I was captivated by the writing in this novel. It’s like the horror movie where you hold your hands over your face whilst continuing to watch between your fingers, because you just can’t stop watching.
This is a descent into paranoia and madness, and I feared for the safety of her husband and son, as well as Mrs March’s. On the outside, she seems to be completely calm and in control.
Mrs March’s husband is a successful novelist, and his latest novel is causing something of a stir. When a shopkeeper suggests that the main character is based on Mrs March, it sends her in to a tailspin. This character, after all, is a prostitute! Is this what people think of her?!
The tension builds and builds until it’s almost unbearable. I couldn’t put it down though, and was left breathless at the end. This isn’t a book for the faint of heart - and boy did I enjoy it!
Connor Sheffield (293 KP) rated Logan (2017) in Movies
Apr 19, 2017
Hugh Jackman completes his journey as Wolverine (1 more)
An emotional journey
Mutant with Human emotion
There are so many superhero movies these days, that the genre becomes somewhat dull and repetitive, especially when it comes to Marvel (not saying Marvel is dull and boring, but some of the films are somewhat lacking due to how many films there are each year - Just my opinion), but Logan is one of the greatest comic book movies I have seen for a while, for the fact that it makes Logan more human and explores the feeling of trying to fit into society, despite being so different.
Logan has always had a part of him deep down that just wants to be normal. He never wanted his power and though he's thankful for it in some ways he feels like he wouldn't have been lost without it if he never had it to begin with. This film explores that notion even further than the previous films as shows us Logan in the role of a father figure to young Laura and a son figure to a now very old Charles Xavier. In this film Logan doesn't feel like he's a mutant in the company of other mutants, He feels like he's apart of a family.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!
Later in the film we see Logan's fatherly side after Charles passes away, and Logan risks everything to keep Laura safe and to teach her right and wrong, and give her a parenting love that she hasn't known before in her young life. This also shines through the portrayal of young Laura (portrayed by the talented Dafne Keen) as we see her become more and more attached to Old Man Logan (I had to!). This is what makes this film the most human feeling superhero movie that I've ever seen.
The R rating makes this film come to life by bringing death in the most brutal of ways because it allows Laura to see what Logan has become and makes his message to her and to the audience a lot clearer. "Don't become what they made you"
Through all of the bloody violence and anger Laura is able to understand those words more clearly than if it was a 15 rated film because we see Logan when he becomes savage and truly unleashes his full anger that's built up over his long lifetime of war and hatred.
When this film comes to an end (my lord that ending had me balling like a baby) and we see Laura say her final goodbyes to Logan, you don't want it to end because you know that this has finally been the one time that Logan felt human and felt a true connection to someone. (Also because we want Hugh Jackman to be Wolverine forever)
The cinematography and directing of this movie is beautiful to look at and witness as the scenes unfold. The cast perform to the highest of standards and really deliver a convincing story the makes you feel sympathetic to each of the main characters.
Wolverine will never be the same without Hugh Jackman, but we must not be too quick to dismiss the new casting choice when it comes around. You never know, they might surprise you.
Logan has always had a part of him deep down that just wants to be normal. He never wanted his power and though he's thankful for it in some ways he feels like he wouldn't have been lost without it if he never had it to begin with. This film explores that notion even further than the previous films as shows us Logan in the role of a father figure to young Laura and a son figure to a now very old Charles Xavier. In this film Logan doesn't feel like he's a mutant in the company of other mutants, He feels like he's apart of a family.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!
Later in the film we see Logan's fatherly side after Charles passes away, and Logan risks everything to keep Laura safe and to teach her right and wrong, and give her a parenting love that she hasn't known before in her young life. This also shines through the portrayal of young Laura (portrayed by the talented Dafne Keen) as we see her become more and more attached to Old Man Logan (I had to!). This is what makes this film the most human feeling superhero movie that I've ever seen.
The R rating makes this film come to life by bringing death in the most brutal of ways because it allows Laura to see what Logan has become and makes his message to her and to the audience a lot clearer. "Don't become what they made you"
Through all of the bloody violence and anger Laura is able to understand those words more clearly than if it was a 15 rated film because we see Logan when he becomes savage and truly unleashes his full anger that's built up over his long lifetime of war and hatred.
When this film comes to an end (my lord that ending had me balling like a baby) and we see Laura say her final goodbyes to Logan, you don't want it to end because you know that this has finally been the one time that Logan felt human and felt a true connection to someone. (Also because we want Hugh Jackman to be Wolverine forever)
The cinematography and directing of this movie is beautiful to look at and witness as the scenes unfold. The cast perform to the highest of standards and really deliver a convincing story the makes you feel sympathetic to each of the main characters.
Wolverine will never be the same without Hugh Jackman, but we must not be too quick to dismiss the new casting choice when it comes around. You never know, they might surprise you.
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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017) in Movies
Jul 11, 2019
Alpha, the inter-universal coalition of a thousand planets that has evolved to support millions of life forms, is under attack. Valerian and his partner, Laureline are assigned to find the culprits and destroy them. Based on the main characters in the 1967 French comic book series Valerian and Laureline. Luc Besson sends us out into the vastness of the universe and shows us how wondrous it can be.
The director of The Fifth Element has been working on this film for about ten years. Besson has mentioned he had wanted to work on this project for years and it would not have been made before the technology used in James Cameron’s Avatar. The film is a eye-gasming smorgasbord of star systems, planets and five hundred different alien species. The story itself does not hold many surprises. Heroes looking for villains, lasers pew-pewing across time and space. Goal to save the world as they know.
Valerian (Dane DeHann) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) have a cool/electric repartee of partners who know each other well and are working to combat the underlying…tensions. We learn that Valerian, quite confident in his abilities does not work as well without Laureline by him. Not as the sidekick, but equal. Throughout the film, we see the humor in their relationship with the push and push of their personalities trying to gain the upper hand. The film has some visual and physical comedic moments that tip the hat to screwball, buddy comedies.
The movie is such an incredible visually dazzling event throughout, there’s so much going on that at times I wondered what I could have been missing . The characters are striking: Rhianna’s performance as Bubble was an ocular delight. The costuming and makeup were fanciful, artistic and offbeat. All the CG work in this movie truly makes me wonder what it is like to live in Luc Besson’s mind. I can see the inspiration taken from the comic books which give us the characters and storyline, but the imagination that illustrates Valerian and Laureline’s universe on the big screen is absolutely mind-blowing.
If you are a fan of the Fifth Element, you will enjoy this film. However, you don’t need to be a fan to enjoy this adventure. I highly recommend that you view this in 3D, it enhances the vision created by Besson.
The director of The Fifth Element has been working on this film for about ten years. Besson has mentioned he had wanted to work on this project for years and it would not have been made before the technology used in James Cameron’s Avatar. The film is a eye-gasming smorgasbord of star systems, planets and five hundred different alien species. The story itself does not hold many surprises. Heroes looking for villains, lasers pew-pewing across time and space. Goal to save the world as they know.
Valerian (Dane DeHann) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) have a cool/electric repartee of partners who know each other well and are working to combat the underlying…tensions. We learn that Valerian, quite confident in his abilities does not work as well without Laureline by him. Not as the sidekick, but equal. Throughout the film, we see the humor in their relationship with the push and push of their personalities trying to gain the upper hand. The film has some visual and physical comedic moments that tip the hat to screwball, buddy comedies.
The movie is such an incredible visually dazzling event throughout, there’s so much going on that at times I wondered what I could have been missing . The characters are striking: Rhianna’s performance as Bubble was an ocular delight. The costuming and makeup were fanciful, artistic and offbeat. All the CG work in this movie truly makes me wonder what it is like to live in Luc Besson’s mind. I can see the inspiration taken from the comic books which give us the characters and storyline, but the imagination that illustrates Valerian and Laureline’s universe on the big screen is absolutely mind-blowing.
If you are a fan of the Fifth Element, you will enjoy this film. However, you don’t need to be a fan to enjoy this adventure. I highly recommend that you view this in 3D, it enhances the vision created by Besson.
BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated Chivalrous (Valiant Hearts, #2) in Books
Jan 2, 2019
In 1217 the daughter of a baron has but one obligation in life: To marry the man her father chooses and continue the family line. But what if said daughter wished for something different, what if her heart's desire was to become a knight?
"Gwen felt no fear, only the surge of battle coursing through her. Steeling her. Strengthening her."
Gwendolyn Barnes longs to be be a chivalrous knight like her brothers. But her ruthless father has plans to marry her to a man who is able to break her free spirit. She is expected to become a meek and submissive wife to whomever her father chooses. Even in the Arthurian-inspired land of North Britannia Gwen is expected to concede to her parents decisions. But when Sir Allen comes to Edendale, Gwen finds herself longing for a family of her own, if Sir Allen were the one she was wed to. When tragedy befalls the land they must make their choices. Ones which could separate them forever. Will the love Gwen has found be lost forever? Will she be forced to marry a brute of a man? Will Sir Allen, the hope of the land, be able to save them all from destruction?
"She would cling tight to her shield of faith. God would be her defense."
Chivalrous is a riveting story of faith, hope and love. As I was reading I was constantly reminded of the Disney movie Brave (which is one of my favorites). Dina Sleiman's Valiant Hearts series is incredible! I love imagining what it would have been like to live in medieval England. However, it is hard for me to fathom being born into a culture that does not allow a person to choose their own future. To be bound by rules and regulations that dictate your every waking moment. It makes me grateful to be born in the time I was. There is a lot of emotions experienced in this book. But through it all the message is clear. Never give up! Keep fighting for what is right and true. And God will be with us every step of the way, guiding us into our destiny.
I received a free digital copy of Chivalrous from Bethany House Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
"Gwen felt no fear, only the surge of battle coursing through her. Steeling her. Strengthening her."
Gwendolyn Barnes longs to be be a chivalrous knight like her brothers. But her ruthless father has plans to marry her to a man who is able to break her free spirit. She is expected to become a meek and submissive wife to whomever her father chooses. Even in the Arthurian-inspired land of North Britannia Gwen is expected to concede to her parents decisions. But when Sir Allen comes to Edendale, Gwen finds herself longing for a family of her own, if Sir Allen were the one she was wed to. When tragedy befalls the land they must make their choices. Ones which could separate them forever. Will the love Gwen has found be lost forever? Will she be forced to marry a brute of a man? Will Sir Allen, the hope of the land, be able to save them all from destruction?
"She would cling tight to her shield of faith. God would be her defense."
Chivalrous is a riveting story of faith, hope and love. As I was reading I was constantly reminded of the Disney movie Brave (which is one of my favorites). Dina Sleiman's Valiant Hearts series is incredible! I love imagining what it would have been like to live in medieval England. However, it is hard for me to fathom being born into a culture that does not allow a person to choose their own future. To be bound by rules and regulations that dictate your every waking moment. It makes me grateful to be born in the time I was. There is a lot of emotions experienced in this book. But through it all the message is clear. Never give up! Keep fighting for what is right and true. And God will be with us every step of the way, guiding us into our destiny.
I received a free digital copy of Chivalrous from Bethany House Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Darren (1599 KP) rated Revenge of the Green Dragons (2014) in Movies
Jun 21, 2019
Story: Revenge of the Green Dragons starts as we follow the two young boys that immigrated from China to America and New York City, in a neighbourhood that is run by the Chinese gang known as the Green Dragons.
Recruited at a young age Sonny (Chon) and Steven (Wu) have grown up as part of the Green Dragons under the leadership of Paul (Shum Jr) a businessman that uses the gang to get what he wants. We get to see how the two rise through the ranks in the Green Dragons that even grabs the attention of the FBI.
Thoughts on Revenge of the Green Dragons
Characters – Sonny is the quieter of the two friends that gets taken in by the gang, he is the one that would like a life outside the gang which isn’t as easy as it seems, even when he falls in love. Steven was built for the gang, even after he gets seriously injured in the battle between the gangs, he becomes the one that won’t hesitant to pull the trigger. Paul is the leader of the Green Dragons, a businessman on the outside, that uses his intelligence to make sure he can stay ahead of the game in the gang battle.
Performances – The performances in this movie are fine, nothing is great or bad, we get to see the different ranges of emotions that the two friends must face during their decisions. We don’t have any of the performances that stand out though.
Story – The story follows the gangster storylines we have seen before, two young men or in this case boys get recruited to a rising gang to become big players in their gang in a war against another gang, until they step out of line. This time we follow Chinese immigrants in New York and it shows how they would never hold back on anybody of any age or gender. This does give us a brutality in the story, but in the end it is just more of the same.
Action/Crime – The action is just gun battles and brutality to the people who get in the way of the crimes being committed by the Green Dragons, as we see how they try to stay off the radar while conducting their business
Settings – New York will always be a great choice for settings for crime movies, this is unlike any other showing us how gangs had neighbourhoods and always want more.
Scene of the Movie – Put the gun down, it brings a clever kill.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It offered nothing new to the genre.
Final Thoughts – This is a by the book crime movie, it shows the rise of two in a gang and just where they would go onto be in the gang, but otherwise gives us nothing we haven’t seen before.
Overall: Been Here Seen This.
https://moviesreview101.com/2019/06/18/revenge-of-the-green-dragons-2014/
Recruited at a young age Sonny (Chon) and Steven (Wu) have grown up as part of the Green Dragons under the leadership of Paul (Shum Jr) a businessman that uses the gang to get what he wants. We get to see how the two rise through the ranks in the Green Dragons that even grabs the attention of the FBI.
Thoughts on Revenge of the Green Dragons
Characters – Sonny is the quieter of the two friends that gets taken in by the gang, he is the one that would like a life outside the gang which isn’t as easy as it seems, even when he falls in love. Steven was built for the gang, even after he gets seriously injured in the battle between the gangs, he becomes the one that won’t hesitant to pull the trigger. Paul is the leader of the Green Dragons, a businessman on the outside, that uses his intelligence to make sure he can stay ahead of the game in the gang battle.
Performances – The performances in this movie are fine, nothing is great or bad, we get to see the different ranges of emotions that the two friends must face during their decisions. We don’t have any of the performances that stand out though.
Story – The story follows the gangster storylines we have seen before, two young men or in this case boys get recruited to a rising gang to become big players in their gang in a war against another gang, until they step out of line. This time we follow Chinese immigrants in New York and it shows how they would never hold back on anybody of any age or gender. This does give us a brutality in the story, but in the end it is just more of the same.
Action/Crime – The action is just gun battles and brutality to the people who get in the way of the crimes being committed by the Green Dragons, as we see how they try to stay off the radar while conducting their business
Settings – New York will always be a great choice for settings for crime movies, this is unlike any other showing us how gangs had neighbourhoods and always want more.
Scene of the Movie – Put the gun down, it brings a clever kill.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It offered nothing new to the genre.
Final Thoughts – This is a by the book crime movie, it shows the rise of two in a gang and just where they would go onto be in the gang, but otherwise gives us nothing we haven’t seen before.
Overall: Been Here Seen This.
https://moviesreview101.com/2019/06/18/revenge-of-the-green-dragons-2014/
Dana (24 KP) rated Annihilation, Book One in Books
Mar 23, 2018
So this was my first time being introduced to some of these characters, others, such as Drax, Ronan, Thanos and Gamora I was a bit more familiar with, but only their basic story lines from Guardians of the Galaxy.
My dad gave me these three books to borrow and read because I had told him I wanted to read more graphic novels. I quite enjoyed this series! I loved getting to know the lesser known characters, well, lesser known to me.
The overarching plot wasn't clear at the beginning, but I was okay with that. It kept me guessing what the hell was happening, which I am almost always happy with!
In this book, we get three different comics in the bound book.
The first comic we get is with Drax. We get to see part of his origin story, and his new beginning in this universe. He meets a girl, Cassie, who is honestly one of my favorite (if not my top) character in this series. She is so great! As a combination of sass, bravery, kick-ass-ness, and just an all around badass, she is what more girls need to see in what they are reading. This girl is about eleven years old or so and she is strong. She wears beanies and skirts, but has to deal with problems at home and, spoiler alert, being introduced to an alien race and not batting an eyelash! I just loved this girl.
As for the Drax story, it was mainly setting up the issue of the series and giving a background on why it matters. But that is a good thing. Without this introduction, there would have been no reason to care about the story or the characters in it.
Now, onto the next story: following Richard Rider, a member of the Nova Corps! Now, here is another character/set of characters we are briefly introduced to in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, but I loved getting to know more about it and their role in the universe and a little into their culture and relationships to the rest of the universe. I think Richard is a compelling character and I I enjoyed getting to see him have to deal with adversity from the beginning.
We are also introduced to Super Skrull. I have to be honest, I had no idea who this guy was when I picked up these comics, but I really like this character. His whole culture he comes from is cool to get to explore, but I just loved seeing him do his thing. I am stoked to see what else he has to bring to the table!
Getting the cut ins from the Nova Corps intelligence bank on each of the new characters was both a brilliant way to give new readers like me a brief introduction as to why these characters matter as well as a great way to refresh the memories of those who have known about these characters, but do not necessarily remember their significance to this story. This aspect was expertly done!
Overall, this was a really good beginning to what I think will be a pretty cool set of comics! I can't wait to read the next one!
My dad gave me these three books to borrow and read because I had told him I wanted to read more graphic novels. I quite enjoyed this series! I loved getting to know the lesser known characters, well, lesser known to me.
The overarching plot wasn't clear at the beginning, but I was okay with that. It kept me guessing what the hell was happening, which I am almost always happy with!
In this book, we get three different comics in the bound book.
The first comic we get is with Drax. We get to see part of his origin story, and his new beginning in this universe. He meets a girl, Cassie, who is honestly one of my favorite (if not my top) character in this series. She is so great! As a combination of sass, bravery, kick-ass-ness, and just an all around badass, she is what more girls need to see in what they are reading. This girl is about eleven years old or so and she is strong. She wears beanies and skirts, but has to deal with problems at home and, spoiler alert, being introduced to an alien race and not batting an eyelash! I just loved this girl.
As for the Drax story, it was mainly setting up the issue of the series and giving a background on why it matters. But that is a good thing. Without this introduction, there would have been no reason to care about the story or the characters in it.
Now, onto the next story: following Richard Rider, a member of the Nova Corps! Now, here is another character/set of characters we are briefly introduced to in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, but I loved getting to know more about it and their role in the universe and a little into their culture and relationships to the rest of the universe. I think Richard is a compelling character and I I enjoyed getting to see him have to deal with adversity from the beginning.
We are also introduced to Super Skrull. I have to be honest, I had no idea who this guy was when I picked up these comics, but I really like this character. His whole culture he comes from is cool to get to explore, but I just loved seeing him do his thing. I am stoked to see what else he has to bring to the table!
Getting the cut ins from the Nova Corps intelligence bank on each of the new characters was both a brilliant way to give new readers like me a brief introduction as to why these characters matter as well as a great way to refresh the memories of those who have known about these characters, but do not necessarily remember their significance to this story. This aspect was expertly done!
Overall, this was a really good beginning to what I think will be a pretty cool set of comics! I can't wait to read the next one!
Lee (2222 KP) rated Joker (2019) in Movies
Oct 6, 2019 (Updated Oct 6, 2019)
Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is a down on his luck loner, currently taking seven different kinds of medication and living with his frail old mother (Frances Conroe). Arthur fantasises about living a ‘normal’ life, with hopes of becoming a stand up comedian and dating his next door neighbour, and the lines between reality and fantasy begin to become just as blurred for us during the movie as they do within Arthur’s mind.
We’re in Gotham City during the early eighties. A garbage strike means that the city is currently suffering from a build up of garbage on the streets and the subsequent arrival of ‘super rats’. The rich are getting richer, the poor and the underprivileged even more so. And, at the forefront of all the wealth and power in the city is Thomas Wayne, who is currently looking to run for mayor. There is growing divide and unrest throughout Gotham, all of which serves to add fuel to the increasingly unstable mind of Arthur Fleck.
We’ve had our fair share of Joker portrayals over the decades, the most memorable of which being in 2008, and Heath Ledger’s brilliant take on the character in The Dark Knight. But Joaquin Phoenix brings a side to the Joker we’ve not experienced before - all skin and bone, abused, downtrodden, ridiculed and with a neurological condition that sees him suddenly laughing maniacally and uncontrollably, even during times of stress or sadness. Throughout the movie, we learn that Arthur also had a pretty unpleasant childhood and, for a while, you really can sympathise with him and the suffering he experiences. “I just don’t want to feel so bad any more” he says at one point.
Joker features no CGI, no costumed antics (other than the clowned kind), or any of the traditional comic book movie themes that we’re now so used to seeing. Instead, Joker treats us to something of a slow-burn character study, one mans slow descent into madness, and the birth of one of the most iconic villains of all time. Joaquin Phoenix is incredible in the role, supported by an outstanding cast, including Robert De Niro as a late night talk show host idolised by Arthur and Zazie Beets as the neighbour Arthur becomes obsessed with.
Joker isn’t exactly enjoyable in the traditional sense, uncomfortable at times and a brutally honest depiction of extreme mental health issues. But it’s beautifully shot, subtly weaving itself into the familiar DC universe while remaining unique and original. I was gripped from start to finish and I just hope that the upcoming Robert Pattison incarnation of The Batman fits into the universe and style that has been introduced here within Joker.
We’re in Gotham City during the early eighties. A garbage strike means that the city is currently suffering from a build up of garbage on the streets and the subsequent arrival of ‘super rats’. The rich are getting richer, the poor and the underprivileged even more so. And, at the forefront of all the wealth and power in the city is Thomas Wayne, who is currently looking to run for mayor. There is growing divide and unrest throughout Gotham, all of which serves to add fuel to the increasingly unstable mind of Arthur Fleck.
We’ve had our fair share of Joker portrayals over the decades, the most memorable of which being in 2008, and Heath Ledger’s brilliant take on the character in The Dark Knight. But Joaquin Phoenix brings a side to the Joker we’ve not experienced before - all skin and bone, abused, downtrodden, ridiculed and with a neurological condition that sees him suddenly laughing maniacally and uncontrollably, even during times of stress or sadness. Throughout the movie, we learn that Arthur also had a pretty unpleasant childhood and, for a while, you really can sympathise with him and the suffering he experiences. “I just don’t want to feel so bad any more” he says at one point.
Joker features no CGI, no costumed antics (other than the clowned kind), or any of the traditional comic book movie themes that we’re now so used to seeing. Instead, Joker treats us to something of a slow-burn character study, one mans slow descent into madness, and the birth of one of the most iconic villains of all time. Joaquin Phoenix is incredible in the role, supported by an outstanding cast, including Robert De Niro as a late night talk show host idolised by Arthur and Zazie Beets as the neighbour Arthur becomes obsessed with.
Joker isn’t exactly enjoyable in the traditional sense, uncomfortable at times and a brutally honest depiction of extreme mental health issues. But it’s beautifully shot, subtly weaving itself into the familiar DC universe while remaining unique and original. I was gripped from start to finish and I just hope that the upcoming Robert Pattison incarnation of The Batman fits into the universe and style that has been introduced here within Joker.