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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Audible – audio books, original series & podcasts in Apps
Nov 2, 2017 (Updated Nov 2, 2017)
Yay to content, nay to app
I'm torn between giving this a good rating for its content and a bad rating for the app itself, which is the worst on my phone.
Audible itself, is an absolutely brilliant service for those who listen to a lot of audiobooks. For one, the collection is mammoth, much more than Kobo and Scribd. And while one credit doesn't seem like much per month for a book, the daily deals are pretty great and reasonably priced. As a result, I'm able to read two books simultaneously, as well as multitask while listening.
The app on the other hand, is the bane of my existence. While you want to look at your stats as it collects the number of hours you listen to per day, if you pause it for a second, it resets to zero. This is for Android in particular. The bugs are a serious problem, which is why I've complained to Amazon several times about this to no avail. So content yes, app itself no.
Audible itself, is an absolutely brilliant service for those who listen to a lot of audiobooks. For one, the collection is mammoth, much more than Kobo and Scribd. And while one credit doesn't seem like much per month for a book, the daily deals are pretty great and reasonably priced. As a result, I'm able to read two books simultaneously, as well as multitask while listening.
The app on the other hand, is the bane of my existence. While you want to look at your stats as it collects the number of hours you listen to per day, if you pause it for a second, it resets to zero. This is for Android in particular. The bugs are a serious problem, which is why I've complained to Amazon several times about this to no avail. So content yes, app itself no.
Hag 12 Down (6 KP) rated Night Film in Books
Dec 30, 2017
This Book is a challenge, but in a good way.
Brilliant, haunting, breathtakingly suspenseful, Night Film is a superb literary thriller by the New York Times bestselling author of the blockbuster debut Special Topics in Calamity Physics.
On a damp October night, the body of young, beautiful Ashley Cordova is found in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. By all appearances her death is a suicide - but investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. Though much has been written about the dark and unsettling films of Ashley's father, Stanislas Cordova, very little is known about the man himself. As McGrath pieces together the mystery of Ashley's death, he is drawn deeper and deeper into the dark underbelly of New York City and the twisted world of Stanislas Cordova, and he begins to wonder - is he the next victim?
This is a page turner that makes you want to be in the mystery. You will want to watch the Horror films yourself.
On a damp October night, the body of young, beautiful Ashley Cordova is found in an abandoned warehouse in lower Manhattan. By all appearances her death is a suicide - but investigative journalist Scott McGrath suspects otherwise. Though much has been written about the dark and unsettling films of Ashley's father, Stanislas Cordova, very little is known about the man himself. As McGrath pieces together the mystery of Ashley's death, he is drawn deeper and deeper into the dark underbelly of New York City and the twisted world of Stanislas Cordova, and he begins to wonder - is he the next victim?
This is a page turner that makes you want to be in the mystery. You will want to watch the Horror films yourself.
Andy K (10823 KP) rated Band Of Brothers in TV
Dec 31, 2017
Ensemble cast (2 more)
Interviews
Right tone
I remember when I read they were making a mini-series called Band of Brothers about "Easy Company" I thought there would be no way to do it justice and it was too closely released and trying to capitalize on the success of Saving Private Ryan.
I couldn't have been more wrong.
I was enthralled from the first frame when I began watching the DVDs and didn't stop until I was complete. The characters represented in this harrowing true story are some of the most compelling I have ever seen. You believe every moment of their emotional, unending, unimaginable journey and feel like you are right with them along for the ride.
The interwoven interviews give context and real-life coupling to the story you are watching and makes the story all the more poignant.
The all-star cast is brilliant and every one of them carried their weight as part of the ensemble. I have rewatched several times since and it keeps getting better with every viewing.
I couldn't have been more wrong.
I was enthralled from the first frame when I began watching the DVDs and didn't stop until I was complete. The characters represented in this harrowing true story are some of the most compelling I have ever seen. You believe every moment of their emotional, unending, unimaginable journey and feel like you are right with them along for the ride.
The interwoven interviews give context and real-life coupling to the story you are watching and makes the story all the more poignant.
The all-star cast is brilliant and every one of them carried their weight as part of the ensemble. I have rewatched several times since and it keeps getting better with every viewing.
tonidavis (353 KP) rated Game Of Thrones - Season 4 in TV
Jul 14, 2017
The Mountain and Viper episode (5 more)
Purple Wedding
Daenerys
Tyrell's
Ayra
Tyrion
Dragons come into play
Finally this season the Dragons are big enough to be fun to watch Daenerys is finally becoming a strong leader and has some power. Without a doubt this season my favorite episode was the mountain and viper episode and what a great fight scene that consisted of. For the first time in game of thrones series i cant remember much about the final two episode so this is slightly disappointing but my biggest disappointment came in the fact they didn't bring the character Lady Stoneheart into play. By know we all know charterers that get killed on game of thrones don't always stay dead and in the book the character that was killed last season should of returned as a big bad but alas they didn't create her in the TV show and i was highly disappointed by this.
Tee highlight of this season was the second episode got to love a game of thrones wedding. Didn't I say the queen of thorns was brilliant
Tee highlight of this season was the second episode got to love a game of thrones wedding. Didn't I say the queen of thorns was brilliant
Kieran Harvey (51 KP) rated Heat (1995) in Movies
Jul 18, 2017
Acting is outstanding (5 more)
Directing is great
Storylines balanced well
Pacing is good
Action is amazing
Minor characters very good as well
A perfect Heist movie
This is a movie with a lot of "heat" coming off of it......okay no more puns. Everyone I know that has seen it has said how great it is but I just hadn't got round to wathing it until recently and wow. Wow wow wow this movie blew me away. I loved every minute of this movie and there's a lot of them ! There are great films and then there are works of art and I think this is a work of art because it is truly incredible and revolutionary. Every member of the cast is brilliant and some of the themes are very cleverly used as well as showcasing the high levels of intellect the criminals have when setting out a score. If you love movies then this is something you really need to watch and you will likely find it as amazing as I did.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Going Postal in Books
Jul 25, 2017
Sheer brilliance
I tried reading the first Discworld book (The Colour of Magic) years ago & I couldn't get into it. Skip forward to this year & a conversation with some of my learned Pratchett reading colleagues who advised that starting at Book 1 wasn't advisable & instead offered a few alternative starting points - Going Postal being the favourite.
All I can say is that I will be forever thankful for this book. Not only was it a fantastic way of getting into the Discworld series, but it is now among my favourite ever books of all time.
It's beautifully written - full of humour and wit. It's also a great alternative take on industrialisation and the introduction of the postal service. Moist Von Lipwig is a brilliant character, flawed but still loveable, and the supporting characters too all have their charms. Mr Pump especially raised quite a few laughs.
This is Pratchett at his best and if youre ever thinking about tackling the mammoth Discworld series, this is the place to start.
All I can say is that I will be forever thankful for this book. Not only was it a fantastic way of getting into the Discworld series, but it is now among my favourite ever books of all time.
It's beautifully written - full of humour and wit. It's also a great alternative take on industrialisation and the introduction of the postal service. Moist Von Lipwig is a brilliant character, flawed but still loveable, and the supporting characters too all have their charms. Mr Pump especially raised quite a few laughs.
This is Pratchett at his best and if youre ever thinking about tackling the mammoth Discworld series, this is the place to start.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) in Movies
Jul 27, 2017
Special effects (1 more)
Woody Harrelson
Slow paced (1 more)
The title is a little misleading
Not bad, but nothing special
I'll start off by admitting that my personal views probably affected my view of this film, as I'm really not fond of apes. However I did think the first 2 films were good, but nothing to write home about, and I'm afraid the third film fits in to this category too.
Yes the special effects are amazing, Andy Serkis is brilliant as Caesar and Woody Harrelson is great as a bad guy, if a little underused. My issue with the film is that it's title is misleading - the "war" isn't really the kind of war I was expecting. It's also very slow paced and despite a run time of just over 2 hours, it felt much longer. There was also a few silly plot holes and conveniences made to further the story which didn't quite work. Personally I think Dawn was a much better film as it more evenly balanced the ape and human aspects.
Yes the special effects are amazing, Andy Serkis is brilliant as Caesar and Woody Harrelson is great as a bad guy, if a little underused. My issue with the film is that it's title is misleading - the "war" isn't really the kind of war I was expecting. It's also very slow paced and despite a run time of just over 2 hours, it felt much longer. There was also a few silly plot holes and conveniences made to further the story which didn't quite work. Personally I think Dawn was a much better film as it more evenly balanced the ape and human aspects.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated American Pastoral (2016) in Movies
Aug 24, 2017
Ewan McGregor is brilliant (2 more)
Incredibly sad
Not bad adaptation of Philip Roth's book
Harrowing, tragic and moving
Philip Roth's tragic drama about the perfect high school couple and the disintegration of a family has finally made it on to the big screen. Set in the 1960's during massive political upheaval in America, it follows the story of a daughter who disappears after allegedly bombing a store, killing a clerk as part of a 'revolutionary' movement. Her father, played by Ewan McGregor, believes that she has been manipulated and that she is truly innocent throughout, even in the face of all opposing evidence. It's horrific seeing the mother and father's complete breakdown and it seems apparent the daughter Merry is suffering from a mental illness. There's hints of sexual abuse thought to have triggered her stutter, but it is extremely subtle.
It's really quite a sombre watch, especially given that the film begins with the father's funeral. Beautiful acting, but the daughter's character was extremely irritating.
It's really quite a sombre watch, especially given that the film begins with the father's funeral. Beautiful acting, but the daughter's character was extremely irritating.
Daniel Boyd (1066 KP) rated Detroit (2017) in Movies
Sep 11, 2017
Fantastic Performances (1 more)
Extremely Well Crafted
A Dark Stain On American History
Detroit is a movie that is hard to watch, but should be seen by everyone. It tells the heart breaking story of a violent raid on a hotel by an overly aggressive and racist group of police officers. The movie pulls no punches in telling this unfortunately true story of how a group of evil bigots got away with murder.
The cast are brilliant at bringing this harrowing tale to life and the technical aspects of the movie are spot on as well. The direction is great, the lighting and sound are phenomenal and the believability of the whole thing, makes it feel all too real.
This movie is shocking and difficult to stomach, but it does what it is designed to do - to show us how much outright discrimination the police force and other officials could get away with during this time in history.
This movie deserves to be seen by all and it will leave you thinking about the events that it portrays for days afterwards.
The cast are brilliant at bringing this harrowing tale to life and the technical aspects of the movie are spot on as well. The direction is great, the lighting and sound are phenomenal and the believability of the whole thing, makes it feel all too real.
This movie is shocking and difficult to stomach, but it does what it is designed to do - to show us how much outright discrimination the police force and other officials could get away with during this time in history.
This movie deserves to be seen by all and it will leave you thinking about the events that it portrays for days afterwards.
Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Florence Foster Jenkins (2016) in Movies
Aug 15, 2017
Lighthearted at times, quite sad actually, but all a ball of fluff in the end
The story of Florence Foster Jenkins is ambivalent. On the one hand, it shows how money can buy anything, and the upper class privileges that allow anyone to get away with anything. At the same time, you feel sorry for FFJ because she's extremely ill, alone, and she sings terribly, because why the hell not? From being a piano prodigy to contracting syphilis on her wedding night by her ex-husband that destroyed her ability to play let alone hear the pitch of her own voice - so in the end you feel sympathy for her. After that, you witness the brilliant performance of Meryl Streep, who is actually a good singer in reality, having to sing in the most terrible tones possible. Hugh Grant, as per usual, is a sap because that's the only role he knows how to play. Overall, a bit of lighthearted fluff.