Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2171 KP) rated File M for Murder (Cat in the Stacks, #3) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Having Laura in town was wonderful since it gave us a chance to get to see a different side of Charlie. We’re actually getting a rather large cast of characters already, but I truly love them all. Yet the characters never slow down the plot, which builds steady to a logical yet surprising climax.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/03/book-review-file-m-for-murder-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
MoMoBookDiary (20 KP) rated Before The Devil Knows You're Dead in Books
Oct 1, 2018
I have to say I really enjoyed Owen Mullen’s first two books featuring PI Charlie Cameron – Games People Play and Old Friends and New Enemies – and have been recommending them both to everyone I speak to. This third novel, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead is even better than the first two!
It may be that once we reach book three we know the characters who feature in all three books. I would love to meet Charlie Cameron!
I felt this book moved at a faster pace than the last which made it impossible to put down. I switched between the paperback and the kindle versions depending on where and when I was reading.
It was gripping and I look forward to Owen Mullen’s next release!
Sons of Anarchy - Season 2
5.5
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TV Season
The second season of the American television drama series Sons of Anarchy created by Kurt Sutter,...
Sons of Anarchy - Season 1
8.0
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TV Season
The first season of the American television drama series Sons of Anarchy created by Kurt Sutter,...
Firestarter (1984)
6.7
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Movie
Drew Barrymore heads up the cast in Firestarter, the suspense-filled film based on the best-selling...
The Thief Taker - Book 1
9.0
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Book
The year is 1665. Black Death ravages London. A killer stalks the streets in a plague doctor's hood...
historical fiction crime
Wish You Were Here
Book
Their holiday brochure said 18 -- 30 ...But they've just turned 35. After ten years together Charlie...
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Rain Man (1988) in Movies
Jun 11, 2020
I need not have worried for this film, it's themes and performances hold up very, very well more than 30 years later.
Starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, RAINMAN tells the story of selfish, self-absorbed, high flying Charlie Babbitt who is shocked to discover that he did not inherit the estate of his estranged father - it went to his brother, Raymond (who Charlie knew nothing about). Finding out that Raymond is autistic, Charlie kidnaps Raymond, figuring he could con his way to his Father's fortune.
The first, most surprising, part of this film is the wonderful chemistry between Cruise and Hoffman. They play off each other very well and seem to have a natural rapport. Hoffman, of course, won the Oscar for Best Actor that year - and it is well deserved, even though some claim that his characterization of Raymond is a "gimmick". I think that is not giving the character - and the performance - it's due, for I found (on this rewatch) that Hoffman's portrayal of Raymond is layered, sensitive and sincere. He builds a character that you want to root for.
The surprise of this film is Cruise's performance as Charlie Babbitt. At the beginning he is playing the "yuppie" jerk quite well - focused only on himself - and his possessions and the money he can make, Charlie is not very likable and is, if I must confess, a bit one-dimensional to start. But something happens along the cross-country road trip that Charlie takes Raymond on - his character (and Cruise's performance) grows and shapes into a fully three-dimensional person that has good traits and bad traits. It is one of Cruise's finest performances - and it is a shame that it was not rewarded with an Oscar nomination.
Director Barry Levinson (Director of the under-rated gem DINER) does a nice job keeping the pace - and the mood - of the film moving forward. This could easily have devolved into an over-sentimental and "schmaltzy" feel good flick, Levinson finds the right balance to make this a "feel good" film.
Letter Grade: A-
8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
The Aviators: Eddie Rickenbacker, Jimmy Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh, and the Epic Age of Flight
Book
From Winston Groom, the best-selling author of Forrest Gump; Shiloh, 1862; and Vicksburg, 1863,...