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Merissa (13427 KP) rated The Elevator (Close Proximity #1) in Books
Jul 19, 2018
The Elevator (Close Proximity #1) by Erin M. Leaf
The Elevator is the first in the Close Proximity series, which from the looks of this book, is going to be short and steamy reads!
Adrian is a self-proclaimed geek, and works hard for a company that doesn't really appear to deserve him. Greyson is the owner of the building, definitely a millionaire but probably a multi-billionaire, and has his sights set on Adrian.
This is a short story, so expect a fast pace. The whole story takes place from Friday through Monday, so don't expect too much detail. The details you do get though, are brilliant and really help to see all the characters. It is well written, with no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow. I would recommend this read as perfect for a coffee break book, so long as you don't mind being hot under the collar!
More in this series? Bring it on!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Adrian is a self-proclaimed geek, and works hard for a company that doesn't really appear to deserve him. Greyson is the owner of the building, definitely a millionaire but probably a multi-billionaire, and has his sights set on Adrian.
This is a short story, so expect a fast pace. The whole story takes place from Friday through Monday, so don't expect too much detail. The details you do get though, are brilliant and really help to see all the characters. It is well written, with no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow. I would recommend this read as perfect for a coffee break book, so long as you don't mind being hot under the collar!
More in this series? Bring it on!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Hot Fuzz (2007) in Movies
Aug 24, 2018
Hilarious
I've re-watched this again recently and it's just as funny now as it was when I first saw it in the cinema.
It's hilarious, full of wit and British humour. Not only is it a brilliant comedy, it's a great action and mystery flick too. The pairing of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost works as well here as it did in Shaun of the Dead, and there's a great supporting cast in Jim Broadbent, Paddy Considine and the rest, including those blink and you'll miss it cameos.
Whilst I work for a large urban police force, there are a lot of areas of policing I recognise in this film, which for me makes it even funnier watching it back. From having to bring cake (bribes) in for colleagues, to the old school Vauxhall cars, office banter and the more onerous side of policing, they really have done their research. Although I can safely say I've never met an officer quite as dedicated as Angel! But I do reckon a lot of our new recruits have the same view of policing as Danny does...
Such an entertaining film that doesn't get old.
It's hilarious, full of wit and British humour. Not only is it a brilliant comedy, it's a great action and mystery flick too. The pairing of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost works as well here as it did in Shaun of the Dead, and there's a great supporting cast in Jim Broadbent, Paddy Considine and the rest, including those blink and you'll miss it cameos.
Whilst I work for a large urban police force, there are a lot of areas of policing I recognise in this film, which for me makes it even funnier watching it back. From having to bring cake (bribes) in for colleagues, to the old school Vauxhall cars, office banter and the more onerous side of policing, they really have done their research. Although I can safely say I've never met an officer quite as dedicated as Angel! But I do reckon a lot of our new recruits have the same view of policing as Danny does...
Such an entertaining film that doesn't get old.
Steve Fearon (84 KP) rated Found Footage 3D (2016) in Movies
Sep 19, 2018
Some Nice ideas, but a little less than good
Found Footage 3D is a fun idea...a meta horror about a small crew filming their own 'found-footage' horror, so you have a mixture of 'movie within a movie' scenes mixed with their own documentary about the making of their film.
The other aspects of the premise are all very much in keeping with tradition; the haunted cabin, the unseen "spectre", the paranoia etc
It is reasonably well made and well acted for a smaller budget film, and though the script offers few surprises, it is an easy watch, and makes some clever observations on the genre including a brilliant rant by one of the characters about how 'there have only ever been 2 half decent found footage movies, and one of those was 15 years ago!".
All in all, it is a good, fun, at times clever, at others predictable romp through a haunted cabin in the woods, with a self aware cast and an attitude of 'lets just enjoy the tropes'.
Worth a watch.
The other aspects of the premise are all very much in keeping with tradition; the haunted cabin, the unseen "spectre", the paranoia etc
It is reasonably well made and well acted for a smaller budget film, and though the script offers few surprises, it is an easy watch, and makes some clever observations on the genre including a brilliant rant by one of the characters about how 'there have only ever been 2 half decent found footage movies, and one of those was 15 years ago!".
All in all, it is a good, fun, at times clever, at others predictable romp through a haunted cabin in the woods, with a self aware cast and an attitude of 'lets just enjoy the tropes'.
Worth a watch.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated The Exorcist (1973) in Movies
Oct 30, 2018
Shocking for its time
The Exorcist is one of those classics that for me is perhaps slightly overrated. Don't get me wrong, for something made in the 70s it's very impressive, it's just very difficult to judge an older film when you live in more modern times.
The film itself is a very slow burner, which isn't a bad thing as it at least relies more on subtlety rather than being in your face like a lot of more modern horrors are. For me it was a little too slow in parts and I wouldn't say this was scary in the slightest. The physical effects are very good for its time, and some of the scenes are still fairly shocking even now. There are some brilliant classic lines in this too, and Linda Blair is very good as Regan. What I like the most about this film is the ending, as it isn't quite your bog standard predictable Hollywood ending and the first time I saw this I was hugely surprised (but pleased) at how this played out.
This is definitely a classic and one worth watching, just try not to judge on today's standards!
The film itself is a very slow burner, which isn't a bad thing as it at least relies more on subtlety rather than being in your face like a lot of more modern horrors are. For me it was a little too slow in parts and I wouldn't say this was scary in the slightest. The physical effects are very good for its time, and some of the scenes are still fairly shocking even now. There are some brilliant classic lines in this too, and Linda Blair is very good as Regan. What I like the most about this film is the ending, as it isn't quite your bog standard predictable Hollywood ending and the first time I saw this I was hugely surprised (but pleased) at how this played out.
This is definitely a classic and one worth watching, just try not to judge on today's standards!
Courtney (149 KP) rated Goodreads: Book Reviews in Apps
Nov 29, 2018
Keep track of your reading (5 more)
Meet people interested in the same things as yourself
Set yourself reading challenges
Discover new books
Giveaways
Links with kindles
My favourite app (sorry Smashbomb)
I’ve been a member of goodreads for a fair few years now and I quite honestly cant stand the thought of not having it now.
It’s a brilliant place to keep track of all your reading, make ‘shelves’ to save books you like the look of, books you have, books you’ve read.. the possibilities are endless!
As well as this, there are features such as adding friends (and having little competitions to see who can reach their reading goal first), setting yearly reading challenges, looking up a book you might like and seeing the reviews to decide if to get it. There are groups to speak to likeminded people.
Many a time I have spent *cough* hours *cough* just sat scrolling through books and I LOVE it.
If there are any readers out there who haven’t discovered the joys of Goodreads yet then what are you waiting for?? Go!!
(Also feel free to add me on there;))
It’s a brilliant place to keep track of all your reading, make ‘shelves’ to save books you like the look of, books you have, books you’ve read.. the possibilities are endless!
As well as this, there are features such as adding friends (and having little competitions to see who can reach their reading goal first), setting yearly reading challenges, looking up a book you might like and seeing the reviews to decide if to get it. There are groups to speak to likeminded people.
Many a time I have spent *cough* hours *cough* just sat scrolling through books and I LOVE it.
If there are any readers out there who haven’t discovered the joys of Goodreads yet then what are you waiting for?? Go!!
(Also feel free to add me on there;))
Amy Curtis (49 KP) rated White Gold in TV
Dec 4, 2018
Average...
There's only 6 episodes in this programme and I was really looking forward to binge watching it. I'm a big fan of Ed Westwick and I wanted to see what the boys from the Inbetweeners would be like in a different programme. The show was okay and the humour was brilliant. The only thing is it didn't feel like there was much of a story line half the time. It was only from episode 4 that something started to build. Ed Westwick does a fantastic job of taking on a con man who considers himself as a w***er and he speaks directly to the camera at times to talk to the audience directly and remind them why he is one. It was a quick watch and there were rumours that they were bringing a second season out. However due to allegations against Ed, this got put on hold and there is no certainty that White Gold will return. If there was a second season, the plot would need to definitely be expanded on. It is still worth a watch but I wouldn't drop everything because White Gold season 2 has hit my TV screen.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Selfless (2015) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
I’ll keep this short.
What if the extremely brilliant minds, could live another 50 years on this earth after their body is about to expire by transporting their mind into a new, younger body…could those minds continue to create amazing legacy? This is the premise for the film Self/less. Ben Kingsley plays Damian, a wealthy business tycoon type who is dying of cancer decides to “shed” his body for a younger healthy body. That body is played by Ryan Reynolds. But when things do not exactly turn out as they appear to be, Damian has a crisis of conscience and has to decide what is right.
That being said, somewhere in this film there is a good story…they just forgot to show us the right chapters. And thus a movie about identity, doesn’t know what it is. Instead of a great nuanced psychological thriller, we get a ho-hummed derivate small action film that is not something terrible to watch, but not something encouraging you to seek it out. In the end, this is really a redbox movie. And that’s a shame
http://sknr.net/2015/07/10/selfless/
What if the extremely brilliant minds, could live another 50 years on this earth after their body is about to expire by transporting their mind into a new, younger body…could those minds continue to create amazing legacy? This is the premise for the film Self/less. Ben Kingsley plays Damian, a wealthy business tycoon type who is dying of cancer decides to “shed” his body for a younger healthy body. That body is played by Ryan Reynolds. But when things do not exactly turn out as they appear to be, Damian has a crisis of conscience and has to decide what is right.
That being said, somewhere in this film there is a good story…they just forgot to show us the right chapters. And thus a movie about identity, doesn’t know what it is. Instead of a great nuanced psychological thriller, we get a ho-hummed derivate small action film that is not something terrible to watch, but not something encouraging you to seek it out. In the end, this is really a redbox movie. And that’s a shame
http://sknr.net/2015/07/10/selfless/
A beautiful documentary series
Let's face it, you really can't go wrong with a David Attenborough documentary series. He's never made anything less than brilliant, and this Dynasties series is no exception.
Focusing each episode on a different species, the crew have really gone all out on the cinematography to make a truly stunning series. They've spent years filming each set of animals to give you an insight into their lives, which is fairly heartbreaking at times as they don't leave anything out, not even the sadder realities of animal life. My favourites out of the series were definitely the tigers and penguins, shining an informative look into how they bring up their young.
I loved as well how they include a brief behind the scenes segment at the end of each episode, getting to see a little more truth behind the documentary. And it's nice to see how dedicated the crew are to their work and that sometimes human intervention isn't actually a bad thing.
The series also highlights important points about the environment and conservation, and I really hope more people would watch this and get an understanding of the effects we're having on wildlife.
Focusing each episode on a different species, the crew have really gone all out on the cinematography to make a truly stunning series. They've spent years filming each set of animals to give you an insight into their lives, which is fairly heartbreaking at times as they don't leave anything out, not even the sadder realities of animal life. My favourites out of the series were definitely the tigers and penguins, shining an informative look into how they bring up their young.
I loved as well how they include a brief behind the scenes segment at the end of each episode, getting to see a little more truth behind the documentary. And it's nice to see how dedicated the crew are to their work and that sometimes human intervention isn't actually a bad thing.
The series also highlights important points about the environment and conservation, and I really hope more people would watch this and get an understanding of the effects we're having on wildlife.
Marylegs (44 KP) rated Call Me By Your Name in Books
Aug 14, 2019
So I heard lots of good things about this book. It was being (has been) made into a film. So I thought I'll give this a go. And after the effort it was to read this book, all I can say is, meh.
The were elements I really enjoyed, where I started to go "Ooo its starting to get good" and then I would be dragged back into really abstract ways to describe the scene. I honestly don't mind a bit of well done descriptions of visuals of feeling etc. But this just felt pointless. I think its a very, arty, type of writing and honestly its just not my cup of tea.
The story as a whole, is interesting and would normally be my cup of tea. Over a beautiful hot summer in Italy a young professor finishing off his philosophy book and the son of the people housing him in Italy begin a romantic affair in secret. The concept of the story brilliant and refreshingly new. The execution... honestly, not my style and the writing style really stopped me following the story easily. I just like a bit more instant gratification from my books.
The were elements I really enjoyed, where I started to go "Ooo its starting to get good" and then I would be dragged back into really abstract ways to describe the scene. I honestly don't mind a bit of well done descriptions of visuals of feeling etc. But this just felt pointless. I think its a very, arty, type of writing and honestly its just not my cup of tea.
The story as a whole, is interesting and would normally be my cup of tea. Over a beautiful hot summer in Italy a young professor finishing off his philosophy book and the son of the people housing him in Italy begin a romantic affair in secret. The concept of the story brilliant and refreshingly new. The execution... honestly, not my style and the writing style really stopped me following the story easily. I just like a bit more instant gratification from my books.