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Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino | 2021 | Film & TV, Humor & Comedy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Writing (4 more)
Characters
That it's slightly different from the film
It's Tarantino
More of Cliff Booth
I absolutely loved this book. Have been a Tarantino fan since the beginning and have always loved his dialog and screenplays and the sheer level of detail in his movies. Was really excited when I first learned of this book and I was not disappointed. It is slightly different to the film which I think is a good thing. Nothing majorly changed but you learn more about the characters especially Cliff which I loved as he is my favourite character. When Tarantino retires from movie making I want him to just continue to write novels . Its a perfect fit for him . The man is a writer through and through... !
  
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Amanda (96 KP) rated Ready Player One in Books

Mar 18, 2019  
Ready Player One
Ready Player One
Ernest Cline | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.9 (161 Ratings)
Book Rating
Why in the world did it take me this long to read this book? I could seriously kick myself! I haven't seen the movie yet, I'm not entirely sure I want to after reading this book. I don't think any movie could do it justice. Yes, I liked this book that much.

Imagine a world where the world has kind of gone to pieces and most of the time you want to escape the harsh reality. A man invented a virtual reality called OASIS and before his passing, he stated that there is a hidden Easter egg in the OASIS and whomever finds it, has COMPLETE control of the OASIS and his fortune. It's been several years and NOBODY has been able to find the egg, or even come close to it.

The entire story is told from Wade's point of view. In reality, he's known as Wade, in OASIS he is Parzivel. The creator of OASIS is known to be a huge fan of 80's style; music, movies, tv shows, you name it, he was a fan. Wade goes through all of these shows and movies to get some sort of clue to find out what and where the egg is located. One day, he figures out the first clue and winds up being the first name on the score board.

The idea of going to a virtual school sounded like a really cool idea. From the way it's described in the book, it sounds like a much more effective way to actually learn in a classroom. I think with the way technology keeps advancing, we may very well be on our way to going that route.

I loved all of the 80's references throughout the book. I'm not an 80's child, but I've been told I'm old soul. Like, I'm a reincarnated person who was born in the 30's because I'm not really into the new shows or the new music. Mentions of Monty Python and the other TV shows that I've actually binge watched myself really brought out my inner nerd and it was enjoyable.

The only thing that made me lose a little respect for Wade is when he starts falling for another user named Art3mis. He has NO CLUE who this person is in real life, just her avatar. And in OASIS, the avatar is a blonde woman and Wade falls for her and spends as much time with her as possible. When Art3miss decides to cool it down with him, he kind of acts like a puppy who had its treat taken away. I know he's a kid who just graduated high school so having your first crush on someone really clouds your best judgment, but I found his infatuation with Art3mis rather annoying and I almost wanted to yell at my book and hope he hears me.

Am I the only one who's felt that way?

In the end, I'm rooting for Wade to find all these keys and reach the gates before someone else does. There's another company who actually specifically hires people to find this egg. This company will start charging people to use OASIS and actually give people limited access, no, we don't want that.

The book as a whole was excellent. It caught my attention in the beginning, and even though I was a bit annoyed with Wade, I still WANTED to finish this story. I WANTED to go through the OASIS journey with him and help him, encourage him, to continue and find that egg and help everybody cope with reality, with or without OASIS. If you've seen the movie, read the book. I guarantee that the movie was not able to capture EVERYTHING with this story and you deserve to know EVERYTHING about WADE and his new friends in finding that egg.
  
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Cori June (3033 KP) Mar 19, 2019

Your not the only one who feels that way. There have been numerous times I wanted to yell at a character for being stupid and making bad choices. I am excited to read this, it is on my reading list and I've been having mixed feelings aabout it.

TR
The Running Man
6
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
First and foremost, if you think this is anything like the Arnie movie, think again! That movie only shares the title, a few names, and the idea of a game show with the book.

Written by Richard Bachman (aka Stephen King), this is set in a future dystopia where the gulf between the rich and the poor has widened even further, to the extent that, while the rich have access to new gadgets, medicine and groceries, life is a daily struggle to survive for the poor (who are now treated as vermin by the rich).

The top TV shows are all game shows (OK: like the movie); in all the poor are more-or-less tortured (the shows have names like 'Swimming with Crocidiles' or 'Treadmill to Fortune') to earn money. Of these, the most popular by far is 'The Running Man', which is - basically - a televised manhunt.

This is a pretty quick read - only took me about one day - with the Ben Richards of the novel far more sickly and wasted than the muscular Arnie of the film (Steve Buscemi, perhaps?), with the novel also covering a wider area of land than the Running Man set of that movie (which, remember, is only set in four zones - here, it's more-or-less right across America). The ending is also far more downbeat!
  
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Tommy Wiseau recommended Sonny (2002) in Movies (curated)

 
Sonny (2002)
Sonny (2002)
2002 | Crime, Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"You’d be surprised but, again, I put in parentheses, I’m not here to praise James [Franco]. Okay? But the reason I support his role, because we didn’t have a choice at the time. We picked him because originally… I don’t know if you knew the story here that The Disaster Artist is based on the great storybook Disaster Artist, right? And he basically optioned the book, optioned to produce the movie. But people ask me who are supposed to… Who would I like? Who’s supposed to play me? I don’t know if you heard about it, but long story short, I say Johnny Depp. But we had a conversation with James, and with Greg [Sestero]. And Greg, long story short, he said, “What about James?” I said, “Yeah, he’s good, because I like his movie Sonny.” Sonny is the movie directed by Nicolas Cage. I don’t know if you’re familiar with it or not. It’s about gigolo in New Orleans, Louisiana, etc. So we had a conversation with James, and Greg says, “Sure, whatever. James playing you.” I said, “That’s good idea, because he did the movie Sonny, and which, I like it.” And for some reason, the critics think differently, or public, whatever. But this is relate to my life as well, The Room, basically. Because you have all the flavors. So that’s basically your little quirky backstory."

Source
  
The Lady Ghost (The Decoders #2)
The Lady Ghost (The Decoders #2)
Alba Arango | 2018 | Children
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
You looking for an adventure book for your child or children to enjoy? Well, the series called “The Decoders” by Alba Arango is a good one. It seems to focus on helping others out but also doing what they love to do. Which is solve cases. I have rated it 4.5 Moons – (Stars).

It about three smart kids, how they have adventures. They seem to help their friends and family out. Though in this book it about “The Lady Ghost”. What is happening on the movie set? Why are they scaring people to leave? Is the ghost real or is it fake?

The plot is done well. The characters are developed well. Matt, Steve, and Jenny seem to have different skills that they use to solve mysteries. The stories and mysteries are different. They seem to find someone or a few that seem to help them out.

The adventures seem enjoyable. I enjoy each one. I love that the mysteries are entertaining but not overwhelmed. They are really good for middle graders and children. It one that children can read and fall in love with.

The author does a wonderful job of this and keeping it suitable for children. I just think the story could have been a bit more with the ghost and with movie set. It was a good read. I hope to able to read the next one. I want to read the other adventures of the decoders.
  
The Green Mile (1999)
The Green Mile (1999)
1999 | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
fantastic and convincing performances from the whole cast (3 more)
intriguing and engaging plot despite the film totalling a 3 hour running time: every single time i watch the film, despite knowing the whole storyline, i never feel that the movie is dragging
range of likeable and incredibly despicable characters along with solid character development
incredibly memorable, heartwarming & heartbreaking in equal measures
my GOODNESS it's so harrowing (the only complaints i've received from those i've recommended it to was the number of tears it made them shed) (1 more)
absence of female characters :(
one of my favourite films of all time
i've only just bought the book & i'm slightly nervous to read it (i do usually tend to read the book first) as i'm worried it'll ruin my opinion of the film as a direct adaptation of the book but this means this review is entirely based upon the film independently!!
  
Water for Elephants
Water for Elephants
Sara Gruen | 2007 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.5 (27 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is one of those books that I read because I loved the movie first. So, I was quite surprised when I read how the book begins - with the murder of one of the main characters. When I further realized that August does not own the Benzini Brothers, I began to see the movie as its own story separate from the book.
Jacob is by far the most interesting character of the book, especially since he tells the story as an old man in a nursing home - and has the wisdom and experience to go with his age. His emotions are infectious and I longed to sit down with him and listen to all of his stories in person way before I finished the book.
August is the kind of villain that is confusing in his evil deeds - he has schizophrenia - which makes it somewhat unfair to dislike him so much. His irrational behavior has been exploited for the almighty dollar by Uncle Al - but the real villain tends to fade into the background.
Marlena is beautiful to the point of angelic, very little of what she does can be considered wrong in any way, as she is a victim struggling for freedom for most of the book. She approaches August's mood swings with the same caution due a wild animal, and remains faithful to him despite her personal feelings, and does not leave until he first betrays her. Considering how women today will leave their husbands for any reason, I admire her strong morals.
The background is set during the Great Depression, which made for many intense situations as the circus struggled to profit, as well as the survival of the cast of characters. Though I studied this period in American history, the direct experience gave me a clearer idea of the desperation of people alive during this time - how easily morals could be put on hold for the sake of another mouthful of food or another coin in the pocket. So many men of the circus would work without pay for the promise of another meal and unending hope that life could still improve.
Rosie, the elephant, is also one of the most fascinating characters in the book. She proved to be only one example of how animals were exploited to the point of cruelty for profit. I could not help wondering where the animal activists were.
Needless to say, this book sparked many conversations and inspired many moments of personal contemplation for me. I loved this book, and I highly recommend it.
  
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Maris (8 KP) rated The Cruel Prince in Books

Jun 10, 2019  
The Cruel Prince
The Cruel Prince
Holly Black | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
10
8.4 (36 Ratings)
Book Rating
Absolutely stunning! magical, mystical creatures, and a dark truth. I loved this story and is one of my top favorite reads of 2018.

Are main character Jude is a mortal living in the Fey world with her twin sister. They are bullied from other creatures. Holy Black did a wonderful job writing this story were I could visualize the whole story in my head like a movie.


This lovely gem is such a dark, twisted story that the ending had me shocked. I can not wait for the second book as I need to have more from this story.


Catch my full book review on my book blog
https://vivamariesbooks.blog/2018/09/13/the-cruel-prince-by-holly-black/
  
Another new author for me, and one I am completely happy to have found! When sitting down to read this intriguing sounding book, I wasn't quite sure what to expect,especially with this being a debut author. But, what I found when opening the pages was a book that completely swept me away, held me captive through out and completely stole all my emotions, from happiness to tears and back again. 

The story really blew me away and left me reflecting on my life, and my journeys. The women within the pages of this book are chiseled in heart stealing way, and they all quickly became my friends for life. The author created them and made them real to life, as their reunion story plays out among the pages. They each had issues in their life, and spent time having to find themselves, the real them, just as we have to in real life sometimes. Their struggles and trials really hit home with me on more than one occasion. 

If you are looking for a light hearted, fast paced read full of laughter and fun, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a book that is completely and utterly gripping, that will make you feel like you are watching a movie on the big screen, that will leave you thinking about all that you have at hand, and what God can do for you if you just let Him, then this is the book just for you. A definite 4 star worthy book from a new author that I can't wait to see what's in story for her with more work. If they are like this incredibly stunning debut, then I know I will be a fan for life! 

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Kregel Publications and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*