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Spontaneous (2020)
Spontaneous (2020)
2020 | Comedy, Horror, Romance
9
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
I'm not someone who typically ventures into Romance territory (although I will quietly admit to quite liking The Notebook...) but the promise of people exploding at random intervals drew me in... I have simple needs.
Turns out that Spontaneous is a wonderfully heartfelt (and gory) tale of two college kids who fall in love.
The two leads played by Katherine Langford and Charlie Plummer are some of the most likable characters I've seen in ages. Their chemistry is top tier, and their relationship feels real and relatable and is the glue that holds the whole narrative together.
The gory side of things is quite something. It's nicely spaced out so it doesn't steal the spotlight, but Jesus Christ it's anxiety inducing. I was just on edge for the whole runtime wondering when someone else would violently explode. Would it be mid sentence? Would it be one of the characters I liked? "No one has blown up in a while, and I'm so nervous" is a thought that kept popping (pun fully intended) into my head. Somehow, it's a cute enough love story that is just tense as fuck. Hats off to everyone involved!

Watching Spontaneous is a ride. It's uplifting, suitably visceral, wonderfully acted, and feels meaningful.... definitely nearly(...) cried on more than one occasion. It's all backed by a great soundtrack, and has some lovely cinematography and inspired style choices. Absolutely recommend this one, for romance and horror fans alike.
  
Into the Deep (Into the Deep #1)
Into the Deep (Into the Deep #1)
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
3.5 stars. 3 star for the first half. 4 star for the second half.

Well, I downloaded this as a freebie back in 2012 and it had been sitting on my kindle for ages so as part of Goodreads' "We (heart) YA"'s ABC challenge I decided to read this.

For the first 20-25% I was a little bored with it, finding it hard to get into and Ivy's friends were hard to like. However when Brant really came a part of her life, after the school classes and he more or less saved her, I started to really get into it. Romance reader and all... :)

I really liked the progression of their relationship going from wary classmates to boyfriend/girlfriend. It was a complicated journey thanks to Ivy wanting someone else who wanted her friend but they got there in the end.

As for the plot to blow up the school...I was stumped as to who was behind it. I think I ran through every member of the plot apart from the ones we were centring on. Still had no idea.

I feel I ought to mention Charlie too. She was pretty cool and seems like she'd be a great friend to have.

I know there's a second book in the series but after reading the synopsis of it I'm not sure I want to read it, mainly because it sounds like Brant and Ivy aren't together anymore :(
  
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)
1971 | Fantasy, Musical

"In terms of mind-blowing experiences, I would say the first film was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, just because I think — I’m pretty sure — that’s the first time I ever saw a live action movie in a movie theater as a kid. My dad took me and my brother to see it. I think up till then I’d only seen one animated movie in a movie theater. I think it was Robin Hood, which, for some reason, was really boring to me. But we went to see Willy Wonka, and I was so blown away, and it so freaked me out, that I couldn’t stop thinking about it for years. I had watched movies on TV and stuff, but that was the first time I think I was old enough to go to the movies, and be able to sit through a movie without wanting to get up and run around the theater. Just seeing it that big and getting sucked into it. I don’t even think I realized those were actors and that anything was fake. I think I just thought it was all real, that Charlie was a real kid, and Willy Wonka was a real person. I really think I thought it was real. I really thought the whole family lived in that one room. I was probably in second grade or something… So I probably didn’t actually think it was real, but I responded to it like it was real."

Source
  
Pony Up
Pony Up
Sandy Dengler | 2020 | Mystery
5
5.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Settling into Married Life with Danger
This book opens at Joe Rodriguez’s wedding reception over in Ireland, but it isn’t too long before he and his young wife, Bridgid, are back in Phoenix and settling into wedded bliss. Well, they would be if it weren’t for Charlie Stegener. He is still trying to cause trouble for Joe in particular and the entire Phoenix police in general despite the fact that his wife has dropped out of the mayor’s race. Meanwhile, someone has followed Joe and Bridgid back from Ireland intent on ruining their lives. Can Joe stay one step ahead of both of these problems?

This book follows the previous book in the series very closely. In fact, some of the storylines I thought were wrapped up come back into play. The result feels more like a TV show than a novel, however, with the dueling plots. The characters are wonderful, and fans of the series will be excited to see what happens next to them. Well, mostly. There are a couple of scenes that were excessive, and I have to wonder what one character did to the author to get the treatment they got here. The ending, while wrapping up the plot, did seem a bit abrupt. I did enjoy the book because I like the characters and got caught up in the events, but I’ve enjoyed other books from this author more.
  
Scent of a Woman (1992)
Scent of a Woman (1992)
1992 | Drama
Al Pacino (0 more)
Woo-Ah!!!
When you look up thansgiving movies, Scent of a Women comes up. Yes even though it takes over thanksgiving break, it is far from a thanksgiving movie. Its depressing, sad, motived, caring and heartwarming. Its a excellent movie, but man its very depressing and sad. Both Al Pacino and Chris O'Donnell are excellent.

The plot: Frank is a retired Lt. Col. in the US army. He's blind and impossible to get along with. Charlie is at school and is looking forward to going to college. To help pay for a trip home for Christmas, he agrees to look after Frank over Thanksgiving. Frank's niece says this will be easy money, but she didn't reckon on Frank spending his Thanksgiving in New York.

Pacino painstakingly researched his part in Scent of a Woman. To understand what it feels like to be blind, he met with clients of New York's Associated Blind, being particularly interested in seeing from those who had lost their sight due to trauma. Clients traced the entire progression for him—from the moment they knew they would never see again to the depression and through to acceptance and adjustment. The Lighthouse, also in New York, schooled him in techniques a blind person might use to find a chair and seat themselves, pour liquid from a bottle and light a cigar.

Its a excellent movie, but its very depressing and sad at moments. So get ready to cry at those moments.
  
A Bad Day for Sunshine
A Bad Day for Sunshine
9
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
99 of 200
Kindle
A Bad Day for Sunshine ( Sunshine Vicram book 1)
By Darynda Jones

Del Sol, New Mexico is known for three things: its fry-an-egg-on-the-cement summers, strong cups of coffee - and, now, a nationwide manhunt?

Del Sol native Sunshine Vicram has returned to town as the elected sheriff, expecting nothing more than a quiet ride. But now a teenage girl is missing, a kidnapper is on the loose, and all of this is reminding Sunshine why she left Del Sol in the first place. Add to that the trouble at her daughter's new school, plus a kidnapped rooster named Puff Daddy, and, well, the forecast looks anything but sunny.

But even clouds have their silver linings. This one's got Levi, Sunshine's sexy, almost-old flame, and Quincy Cooper, a fiery-hot US Marshall. With temperatures rising everywhere she turns, Del Sol's normally cool-minded sheriff is finding herself knee-deep in drama and danger.

Can Sunshine face the call of duty - and find the kidnapper who's terrorising her beloved hometown - without falling head over high heels in love . . . or worse?




I’m a huge Darynda fan! I’ve read her Charlie books so many times! This was just brilliant I loved everything about! The characters the story the mystery just everything! The quotes from Del Sol police blotter were so so funny! Darynda has a way of completely sucking you in to everything she writes! Brilliant!!!
  
Endeavor (Voyagers #4)
Endeavor (Voyagers #4)
Ava Olsen | 2023 | Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
ENDEAVOR is the fourth book in the Voyagers series and I'm really hoping isn't the end! After all, as was pointed out, Charlie hasn't found love yet. Please tell me there is more to come!

Anyway, back to this one...

Jared, Alex, and Aiden are all characters we have met in the previous books. Alex is Jarad's bodyguard, and Aiden is his lawyer. The sparks have been there for all to see but they haven't acted on for numerous reasons. But then they stay on Now, Voyager and the love spell works once again.

This was a hard read in places, dealing with stalkers, sexual assault, depression and PTSD, to name just a couple of topics. However, they are perfectly written, with no quick fixes, just understanding and compassion.

It was also hot as hell, and not just because they're in Thailand for part of it! They may have a multitude of reasons, but once they decide to go for it, phew! Hold onto your hats! Hot and steamy and so full of feelings.

Once I started this, I couldn't put it down. Absolutely fantastic and HIGHLY recommended by me.

Just... please tell me there's another book. Please?!

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Aug 14, 2023
  
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Lee (2222 KP) rated Bumblebee (2018) in Movies

Dec 17, 2018 (Updated Dec 17, 2018)  
Bumblebee (2018)
Bumblebee (2018)
2018 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Transformers just got fun again
I have mixed feelings when it comes to the Transformers movies. I enjoyed some, disliked others, and haven't even bothered watching some of them. But with Bumblebee, we get something completely different to what we've had before. A stripped back, character driven story with real heart and less city-wide mass destruction. Michael Bay has now taken a step back into role of producer, and Bumblebee is all the better for it.

We kick things off with a pretty impressive, jaw dropping opener though, as we witness the dramatic fall of Cybertron. Sustaining heavy damage from the Decepticons, Autobot leader Optimus Prime sends one of his best soldiers B127 (who we know as Bumblebee) on a mission to Earth in order to begin setting up a new base for the remaining Autobots.

Bumblebee crash lands in America and we discover that the year is 1987, so before the events of the original Transformers movie. And Bumblebee has a voice! Although it's not very long at all until he finds himself taking serious damage, losing that voice, along with his memory, and he shuts down into a state of hibernation to preserve himself.

We then meet Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld), about to turn 18 and living with her mum, brother and stepdad. She's an unhappy teenager, still mourning the sudden death of her father and is generally struggling with life. While helping out at the local junkyard she uncovers a dusty old yellow VW Beetle and convinces the junkyard owner to let her have it as a birthday present. She manages to get it started, driving it home to begin working on, only to discover that her birthday present is something a little bit more impressive than just a car!

But Bumblebee is still clearly suffering from his recent damage. Cowering in the corner of the garage and flinching at the site of the spanner in Charlie's hand. The pair set about slowly gaining each others trust learning more about each other and becoming friends. Meanwhile, a couple of stray Decepticons have picked up on a signal from the newly awakened Bumblebee and start heading to Earth. They convince the awaiting military team that they have come in peace, in search of dangerous fugitive Bumblebee and need our help, wanting to use Earths satellites to try and track him.

That character driven story that I mentioned earlier is where this movie really excels though. The scenes where it's just Charlie and Bumblebee are wonderful, funny at times and totally believable, and it's clear that they need each other in order to get their respective lives back on track. She even gives him back his voice, fitting him with the car stereo that we're familiar with from previous movies. It's a real Iron Giant or ET vibe, aided considerably by the eighties setting.

Things do come to an intense conclusion, as Bumblebee fights to prevent the Decepticons from transmitting a message to the others. But in a similar vein to the other outstanding action sequences throughout the movie, it's all much more restrained and effective. Transformers just got fun again!
  
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Jimmy jr (0 KP) Dec 17, 2018

Seen preview on TV looks awesome cool all the movies. Rocked and are good

Made You Up
Made You Up
Francesca Zappia | 2015 | Contemporary, Young Adult (YA)
9
6.4 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
I'm big into books that deal with mental illnesses. When I heard about Made You Up by Francesca Zappia, I knew it was a book that was right up my alley. I was not left feeling disappointed.

The plot and world building felt very realistic although I'm not Schizophrenic nor do I know anyone who is. I could not tell what was real and what was a delusion by Alex. Kudos to Zappia for giving us a brief glimpse into how a Schizophrenic would feel. I kept second guessing myself throughout Made You Up. Sometimes it would be obvious that Alex was hallucinating, but there were many times everything felt too real to be a hallucination. I would be wrong, and something realistic would be a hallucination. As you can imagine, there were many plot twists throughout this book. There was one major plot twist which I had predicted towards the beginning which turned out to be true thanks to subtle hints the author would throw in, so be sure to be attention to every word on the page to try to grasp what is Alex's reality and what is not. I did feel like the main storyline of Made You Up was whether or not Miles, the boy Alex met briefly when she was a young child, was actually real or not since she meets him again her senior year of high school. It was fun trying to guess if Miles was real or not and if he was the same boy Alex met as a child.

All of the characters in Made You Up had a lot of depth to them. They were all easy for me to imagine as real people instead of characters in a book. I enjoyed reading about Alex and her thought process and what all she had to go through all the time due to her Schizophrenia. Alex, like all the characters in this book, was a very likable character. Miles was interesting. I didn't really know what to make of him throughout the book (mainly because I was trying to figure out if he was real or imaginary). I did enjoy him, and I was definitely intrigued by his back story. It was great learning about him. I loved little Charlie and how much she seemed to love her big sister, Alex. Alex loved Charlie so much as well, and I loved reading about the tight sisterly bond between them.

Trigger warnings for Made You Up include some profanity, some violence, death, minor gore, some child abuse, mental illness, a minor sexual situation, bullying, references to Nazis, attempted murder, and death.

All in all, Made You Up is a very interesting read with a fantastic plot and well developed characters. It's obvious the author did her homework before writing this novel. I would definitely recommend Made You Up by Francesca Zappia to those aged 16+ who are seeking a book full of twists and turns. Just be warned that this book will have you second guessing almost everything (which isn't a bad thing).
  
Stoker (2013)
Stoker (2013)
2013 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Chan-wook Park, the director of Oldboy and Thirst brings audiences his unique visual style and unsettling themes in his first English speaking film.

After the death of the family's patriarch, his surviving wife and teenage daughter handle the grief in very different ways. Wife Evelyn cries at the funeral, then doesn't seem to be too morose after the appearance of her former brother-in-law, Charles. Daughter India thinks about times her and her father had together when she was a child. They seemed to have much more of a bond in hanging with one another hunting small game. Evelyn seems jealous of their relationship until brother Charlie arrives in her gazes full time.

Charlie just seems a bit to nice and proper and trying to fit in with his new female friends. Something not quite right about him. This is also noticed by the family's live in housekeeper and an aunt that drops by the house sometime after the funeral. Mysteriously, both women go missing sometime after.

India has her own issues at school dealing herself with bullies and an aggressive boy who tries to rape her. She deals with them herself, and with help from others. She seems very pleased with herself and remembers fondly what she has done.

Events then become very disturbing, family members start to show their true feelings for each and motives are explained and revealed for a memorable and unique third act.

Director Park's visual style of interesting camera angles, memorable images and close up photography here as well; however, muted compared to his usual over-the-top style of his Asian films. Disturbing images followed by exterior shots or interesting camera transitional moments are one I love to see if film and there are several of them in this piece.

The unraveling of the mystery and of the character motivations and the continually changing family dynamic are certainly the most interesting aspect of the story. Not sure if I completely understand some of the subtle thematic elements or how they relate to the overall message the film is trying to convey, but that is not a negative.

The ending is shocking and unexpected and not sure if I understand that either, but it ties the story up and makes the audience wonder what will happen to the characters after the credits roll.

Mia Wasikowska stood out to me as very good in this film. Her nuanced and emotional roller coaster of a character was done with conviction. You may remember her from the Alice in Wonderland Tim Burton reboots; however, she is much more wicked this time around.

Not sure if everyone would enjoy as it may seem boring or confusing to some. I did read several 1 and 3 star reviews along with many 9 and 10 star reviews which seem to be the type of movie I am watching lately. Those types of movies are divisive and I like to see which side I am on.

Watch for yourself and tell me what you think.