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TheDefunctDiva (304 KP) rated Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) in Movies
Sep 27, 2017
C is for Candy
Contains spoilers, click to show
And yes, I certainly mean eye candy. Johnny Depp is gorgeous despite the makeup artists’ attempts to make him seem pale and awkward. My brain isn’t working properly due to lack of sleep so I’ll just go ahead and warn you that this is more a regurgitation than a review. Read at your own risk, because I even give the entire ending of the movie away…
This is the story of Charlie Bucket, an impoverished but genuinely good-natured child. His dream is one of millions: to win a Golden Ticket, and tour Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory in the hopes of obtaining an even bigger prize. If this plot sounds familiar, it’s because you’ve seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, or have read the book. I profess my ignorance, for I haven’t read the book Roald Dahl wrote, and therefore have no idea which movie version adheres more strictly to the original text.
Let’s move on by more closely examining Burton’s version. Despite some of the world’s most recalcitrant children winning the four other tickets, Charlie lucks out and becomes the recipient of the last Golden Ticket. This brings great joy to his family and even makes the bed-ridden Grandpa Joe ambulatory again. I love Charlie’s family, especially because his Dad works in a toothpaste factory but everyone in the family has nasty teeth.
The glorious day of the tour arrives and each child shows up with a parental or grandparental guardian. They are introduced first to Willy Wonka by means of a puppet show, which ends in a glorious and unintentional fire. With the smoldering puppets dying disturbingly in the background, Wonka appears with cue cards, giving the impression that the man has no idea how to socially interact. The group then enters the factory.
The first child to be eliminated from the contest is Augustus Gloop. The group has been given free reign of a room made entirely of candy. Augustus cannot resist the lake of chocolate, and he falls in. He is sucked up a tube that leads to the fudge room. Then the Oompa Loompas appear and perform a song engineered for this particular predictable tragedy.
The Oompa Loompas in Burton’s version are short, and they do not have orange hair, but they all have the same face and body. Deep Roy, the actor portraying the Oompa Loompas, deserved an Oscar for effort in my book, for the special features indicate how very involved he was with this production. The songs sung by the Oompa Loompas varied significantly from those in the older version. In fact, I enjoyed how each song of admonishment involved a specific genre of music.
Next Violet Beauregard, the competitive one, is turned into a blueberry by chewing gum. And then we have the case of the sad and supremely spoiled Veruca Salt, who ends up getting thrown down a garbage chute by some very judgmental and highly trained squirrels. After each young lady has been expelled from the contest, the Oompa Loompas say adieu with a musical number.
Throughout the film, Wonka has flashbacks about his father. It seems the elder Wonka was a dentist, and he forbade the young Willy to eat candy. Several scenes show Willy Wonka defying the will of his father, which ultimately led Willy to be a world-renowned chocolatier. Though it was nice to have this subplot as an explanation for some of Wonka’s erratic behavior, I found that I like Gene Wilder’s portrayal of Willy Wonka better. He was whimsical and strange, but the film and the actor seemed to offer no explanation as to how he got that way.
Mike Teavee, a young boy with the attention span of a gnat on amphetamines, is the last of the factory’s victims. He decides to teleport himself into a television screen, which I’m sure seemed like a good idea at the time. Teavee is shown in peril as an Oompa Loompa flips the channels. Now incredibly small, Wonka decides that the best remedy for Mike is the taffy pulling machine.
Charlie is the only child left, and Wonka ushers Charlie and Grandpa Joe into the glass elevator. According to the button, they are going up and out. Indeed, they do, eventually stopping when they crash through the roof of the Bucket house. The grand prize is revealed: Willy Wonka is giving Charlie the factory. This becomes impossible when Wonka forces Charlie to choose between factory and family. Eventually, Wonka reconciles his Daddy issues and allows Charlie’s family to stay at the factory.
The visual effects in this film were amazing. As mentioned previously, Deep Roy was incredible as the face of the many Oompa Loompas. I thought the child actors in this film were also impressive in how they perfectly captured their respective vices. Overall, this was a good film. And yet I still miss moments from the older film, especially the poem with “the grisly reaper mowing.” Call me sentimental…
This is the story of Charlie Bucket, an impoverished but genuinely good-natured child. His dream is one of millions: to win a Golden Ticket, and tour Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory in the hopes of obtaining an even bigger prize. If this plot sounds familiar, it’s because you’ve seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, or have read the book. I profess my ignorance, for I haven’t read the book Roald Dahl wrote, and therefore have no idea which movie version adheres more strictly to the original text.
Let’s move on by more closely examining Burton’s version. Despite some of the world’s most recalcitrant children winning the four other tickets, Charlie lucks out and becomes the recipient of the last Golden Ticket. This brings great joy to his family and even makes the bed-ridden Grandpa Joe ambulatory again. I love Charlie’s family, especially because his Dad works in a toothpaste factory but everyone in the family has nasty teeth.
The glorious day of the tour arrives and each child shows up with a parental or grandparental guardian. They are introduced first to Willy Wonka by means of a puppet show, which ends in a glorious and unintentional fire. With the smoldering puppets dying disturbingly in the background, Wonka appears with cue cards, giving the impression that the man has no idea how to socially interact. The group then enters the factory.
The first child to be eliminated from the contest is Augustus Gloop. The group has been given free reign of a room made entirely of candy. Augustus cannot resist the lake of chocolate, and he falls in. He is sucked up a tube that leads to the fudge room. Then the Oompa Loompas appear and perform a song engineered for this particular predictable tragedy.
The Oompa Loompas in Burton’s version are short, and they do not have orange hair, but they all have the same face and body. Deep Roy, the actor portraying the Oompa Loompas, deserved an Oscar for effort in my book, for the special features indicate how very involved he was with this production. The songs sung by the Oompa Loompas varied significantly from those in the older version. In fact, I enjoyed how each song of admonishment involved a specific genre of music.
Next Violet Beauregard, the competitive one, is turned into a blueberry by chewing gum. And then we have the case of the sad and supremely spoiled Veruca Salt, who ends up getting thrown down a garbage chute by some very judgmental and highly trained squirrels. After each young lady has been expelled from the contest, the Oompa Loompas say adieu with a musical number.
Throughout the film, Wonka has flashbacks about his father. It seems the elder Wonka was a dentist, and he forbade the young Willy to eat candy. Several scenes show Willy Wonka defying the will of his father, which ultimately led Willy to be a world-renowned chocolatier. Though it was nice to have this subplot as an explanation for some of Wonka’s erratic behavior, I found that I like Gene Wilder’s portrayal of Willy Wonka better. He was whimsical and strange, but the film and the actor seemed to offer no explanation as to how he got that way.
Mike Teavee, a young boy with the attention span of a gnat on amphetamines, is the last of the factory’s victims. He decides to teleport himself into a television screen, which I’m sure seemed like a good idea at the time. Teavee is shown in peril as an Oompa Loompa flips the channels. Now incredibly small, Wonka decides that the best remedy for Mike is the taffy pulling machine.
Charlie is the only child left, and Wonka ushers Charlie and Grandpa Joe into the glass elevator. According to the button, they are going up and out. Indeed, they do, eventually stopping when they crash through the roof of the Bucket house. The grand prize is revealed: Willy Wonka is giving Charlie the factory. This becomes impossible when Wonka forces Charlie to choose between factory and family. Eventually, Wonka reconciles his Daddy issues and allows Charlie’s family to stay at the factory.
The visual effects in this film were amazing. As mentioned previously, Deep Roy was incredible as the face of the many Oompa Loompas. I thought the child actors in this film were also impressive in how they perfectly captured their respective vices. Overall, this was a good film. And yet I still miss moments from the older film, especially the poem with “the grisly reaper mowing.” Call me sentimental…
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated Horrible Bosses (2011) in Movies
Aug 7, 2019
We have all had them at some point in our life. You may even have one now. That’s right, I am talking about horrible bosses. So I was more than happy to go see Horrible Bosses, mostly to get suggestions on how to treat my subordinates. What? I never said that I was a great boss. But enough about me, the movie is about three friends whose superiors are making their lives unbearable, so they decide to murder their horrible bosses.
The three friends:
Nick Hendricks (Jason Bateman) has spent years being the dedicated, hard-working employee. He is the first to arrive at work and the last to leave. But for some reason his boss, the company president, Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey) feels the need to torment him on a daily basis. The one thing that has kept Nick going was the promotion to Vice President of Sales that his boss has been telling him that he would get. But when the day comes Dave decides that he will absorb the VP of Sales position within his own.
Dale Arbus (Charlie Day) is a caring dental hygienist who loves his job, with the one exception of his boss Dr. Julia Harris D.D.S. (Jennifer Aniston) who sexually harrasses him constantly. Now, personally, if I had a boss that looked like his boss she could sexually harass me all she wanted and I would be begging for overtime. However Dale is engaged to a wonderful woman, Stacy (Lindsay Sloane), and Dr. Harris demands that either Dale sleeps with her by the end of the week or else she will tell Stacy that Dale has been sleeping with her. Dr. Harris even has incriminating photos that she took of herself and Dale in questionable poses (of course he was unconscious during dental surgery when the pictures were taken but that’s beside the point).
Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis) is an accountant at Pellit & Sons Chemical Plant. He’s dedicated, hard-working and actually loves his job and boss. But when his boss Jack Pellit (Donald Sutherland) suddenly passes away, Jack’s deranged coke-head son, Bobby (Colin Farrell) takes over and all he cares about is making as much money possible until he runs the company into the ground.
Now you may be asking “Why don’t they just quit their jobs?” They thought about that but then they bump into an old High School buddy of theirs, Kenny Sommerfeld (P.J. Byrne), and they see first-hand how hard it is to find a job.
The decision to murder:
Dale thought he had a fantastic plan on how to murder their bosses and it was rather inexpensive but that gets flushed down the toilet. Nick and Kurt were pissed at Dale for a while but luckily the GPS navigation system in Kurt’s car leads them to Dean ‘MF’ Jones (Jamie Foxx). Dean becomes their Murder Consultant and he gives them a wealth of information on how to go about getting away with murder, as well as the idea that they should murder each other’s bosses. Thus the three friends embark on an epic adventure to kill each other’s bosses and save the world.. well, at the very least, save their sanity.
The onscreen chemistry between Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day was so amazing you would think they have been a comedy team for years and friends for even longer. It really seemed very genuine. Walking out of the theatre I overheard some people discussing who out of the three main actors did the better job and I have to agree with pretty much what they said. Though they all did great jobs Charlie Day rocked the screen just a little harder than either Jason did.
Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston & Colin Farrell were phenomenal. They brought such unique flair and realism to their characters. Kevin Spacey will always be the worst boss ever, Colin Farrell will always be the guy I want to party with and Jennifer Aniston is the boss I would love to have. I will be honest, I was guilty of type casting Jennifer but after seeing her in this role, I can safely say I have learned my lesson and I will not make that mistake again. (Psst, film industry, you can learn this lesson too).
While the screen time for Donald Sutherland, Jamie Foxx, Julie Bowen, Wendell Pierce, Ron White and Bob Newhart may have been shorter than I would have preferred, those scenes were still great. There’s even a really short scene with Isaiah Mustafa (fun fact: he attended the Seattle Seahawks’ training camp in 2000) and even though he was fully clothed in the scene I swear I heard “Yum” whispered by most of audience.
There were a couple of things in the movie that I felt could have been done better unfortunately to list those parts would be a major spoiler. But overall, the movie delivered what I expected and more. It was consistently funny, relatable, highly enjoyable, clever with some twists I didn’t see coming and all the actors (regardless of screen time) shined brightly as the stars they are.
The three friends:
Nick Hendricks (Jason Bateman) has spent years being the dedicated, hard-working employee. He is the first to arrive at work and the last to leave. But for some reason his boss, the company president, Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey) feels the need to torment him on a daily basis. The one thing that has kept Nick going was the promotion to Vice President of Sales that his boss has been telling him that he would get. But when the day comes Dave decides that he will absorb the VP of Sales position within his own.
Dale Arbus (Charlie Day) is a caring dental hygienist who loves his job, with the one exception of his boss Dr. Julia Harris D.D.S. (Jennifer Aniston) who sexually harrasses him constantly. Now, personally, if I had a boss that looked like his boss she could sexually harass me all she wanted and I would be begging for overtime. However Dale is engaged to a wonderful woman, Stacy (Lindsay Sloane), and Dr. Harris demands that either Dale sleeps with her by the end of the week or else she will tell Stacy that Dale has been sleeping with her. Dr. Harris even has incriminating photos that she took of herself and Dale in questionable poses (of course he was unconscious during dental surgery when the pictures were taken but that’s beside the point).
Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis) is an accountant at Pellit & Sons Chemical Plant. He’s dedicated, hard-working and actually loves his job and boss. But when his boss Jack Pellit (Donald Sutherland) suddenly passes away, Jack’s deranged coke-head son, Bobby (Colin Farrell) takes over and all he cares about is making as much money possible until he runs the company into the ground.
Now you may be asking “Why don’t they just quit their jobs?” They thought about that but then they bump into an old High School buddy of theirs, Kenny Sommerfeld (P.J. Byrne), and they see first-hand how hard it is to find a job.
The decision to murder:
Dale thought he had a fantastic plan on how to murder their bosses and it was rather inexpensive but that gets flushed down the toilet. Nick and Kurt were pissed at Dale for a while but luckily the GPS navigation system in Kurt’s car leads them to Dean ‘MF’ Jones (Jamie Foxx). Dean becomes their Murder Consultant and he gives them a wealth of information on how to go about getting away with murder, as well as the idea that they should murder each other’s bosses. Thus the three friends embark on an epic adventure to kill each other’s bosses and save the world.. well, at the very least, save their sanity.
The onscreen chemistry between Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day was so amazing you would think they have been a comedy team for years and friends for even longer. It really seemed very genuine. Walking out of the theatre I overheard some people discussing who out of the three main actors did the better job and I have to agree with pretty much what they said. Though they all did great jobs Charlie Day rocked the screen just a little harder than either Jason did.
Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston & Colin Farrell were phenomenal. They brought such unique flair and realism to their characters. Kevin Spacey will always be the worst boss ever, Colin Farrell will always be the guy I want to party with and Jennifer Aniston is the boss I would love to have. I will be honest, I was guilty of type casting Jennifer but after seeing her in this role, I can safely say I have learned my lesson and I will not make that mistake again. (Psst, film industry, you can learn this lesson too).
While the screen time for Donald Sutherland, Jamie Foxx, Julie Bowen, Wendell Pierce, Ron White and Bob Newhart may have been shorter than I would have preferred, those scenes were still great. There’s even a really short scene with Isaiah Mustafa (fun fact: he attended the Seattle Seahawks’ training camp in 2000) and even though he was fully clothed in the scene I swear I heard “Yum” whispered by most of audience.
There were a couple of things in the movie that I felt could have been done better unfortunately to list those parts would be a major spoiler. But overall, the movie delivered what I expected and more. It was consistently funny, relatable, highly enjoyable, clever with some twists I didn’t see coming and all the actors (regardless of screen time) shined brightly as the stars they are.
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated All These Beautiful Strangers in Books
Dec 21, 2018
Review can also be found on www.diaryofdifference.com
A beautiful story about families, love, betrayal, the difference between the rich and poor, and a girl that tries to discover what happened to her missing mother, while discovering herself.
Charlie Calloway has a life most people would kill for – a tight-knit family, a loyal set of friends, and top grades a privileged boarding school. But Charlie’s never been interested in what most people want. Like all Calloways, she’s been taught that she’s different, special – better. So when her school’s super-exclusive secret society extends a mysterious invitation, Charlie’s determination to get in is matched only by her conviction that she belongs there.
But their secrets go deeper than she knows.
Charlie finds herself thrust into the centre of a decades-old mystery – one that implicates her family in not one terrible crime, but two. Uncovering their past may destroy everything she knows – or give her the answer she’s always craved: Who or what was behind her mother’s disappearance ten years ago?
I haven’t heard about this book until I received it as a birthday gift from my sister. The cover is just – gorgeous! You can feel the raindrops on the cover, and the sides are painted black, and you can read out ”I KNOW”. They have been thinking of all the little details.
The story is a bit slow at the beginning. It took me a while to get into it, as they delay the plot for a while, but once you get past that little hill of boredom, it gets better and better. I could imagine myself climbing a mountain with my bike, struggling while climbing, just so I can enjoy the great fast downhill and wind in my face.
The story is told by many people’s perspective, and it changes after each chapter. The amazing thing was, the stories go back in the past as well, but the story keeps flowing in one direction, event by event, which I really enjoyed. If this was poorly made, the book would’ve been so confusing, but fortunately, it wasn’t.
Even though I didn’t expect, this turned out to be a great mystery-solving novel, with wonderful and unexpected plot-twists, and a cliffhanger until the end. Is the mother dead or alive?
Many of the topics covered are very relatable. The difference between children raised in rich families versus the children raised in not-s-rich families. Their thoughts and mindsets, their beliefs, and the people they hang out with. And when a girl like Charlie, who has a father from a rich family and a mother from a poor family, is on the cross-road, it is amazing to see this character develop and make choices for herself, that reflect on both her backgrounds.
A lovely read, fast-paced novel, with a beautiful cover and even more beautiful reading material, this is one of the stories that I would recommend for you to read on a rainy day, covered in a blanket, with a hot chocolate – despite the summer theme on the cover, this was a winter book for me.
A beautiful story about families, love, betrayal, the difference between the rich and poor, and a girl that tries to discover what happened to her missing mother, while discovering herself.
Charlie Calloway has a life most people would kill for – a tight-knit family, a loyal set of friends, and top grades a privileged boarding school. But Charlie’s never been interested in what most people want. Like all Calloways, she’s been taught that she’s different, special – better. So when her school’s super-exclusive secret society extends a mysterious invitation, Charlie’s determination to get in is matched only by her conviction that she belongs there.
But their secrets go deeper than she knows.
Charlie finds herself thrust into the centre of a decades-old mystery – one that implicates her family in not one terrible crime, but two. Uncovering their past may destroy everything she knows – or give her the answer she’s always craved: Who or what was behind her mother’s disappearance ten years ago?
I haven’t heard about this book until I received it as a birthday gift from my sister. The cover is just – gorgeous! You can feel the raindrops on the cover, and the sides are painted black, and you can read out ”I KNOW”. They have been thinking of all the little details.
The story is a bit slow at the beginning. It took me a while to get into it, as they delay the plot for a while, but once you get past that little hill of boredom, it gets better and better. I could imagine myself climbing a mountain with my bike, struggling while climbing, just so I can enjoy the great fast downhill and wind in my face.
The story is told by many people’s perspective, and it changes after each chapter. The amazing thing was, the stories go back in the past as well, but the story keeps flowing in one direction, event by event, which I really enjoyed. If this was poorly made, the book would’ve been so confusing, but fortunately, it wasn’t.
Even though I didn’t expect, this turned out to be a great mystery-solving novel, with wonderful and unexpected plot-twists, and a cliffhanger until the end. Is the mother dead or alive?
Many of the topics covered are very relatable. The difference between children raised in rich families versus the children raised in not-s-rich families. Their thoughts and mindsets, their beliefs, and the people they hang out with. And when a girl like Charlie, who has a father from a rich family and a mother from a poor family, is on the cross-road, it is amazing to see this character develop and make choices for herself, that reflect on both her backgrounds.
A lovely read, fast-paced novel, with a beautiful cover and even more beautiful reading material, this is one of the stories that I would recommend for you to read on a rainy day, covered in a blanket, with a hot chocolate – despite the summer theme on the cover, this was a winter book for me.
KittyMiku (138 KP) rated Flowers for Algernon in Books
Mar 24, 2019
A must read
Contains spoilers, click to show
Flowers for Algernon is an amazing journey that makes you take a step back and rethink things. It brings up a lot of issues that, no matter what time we are in, always seem to be around us, whether we notice or not. I found this story to be touching and in ways a bit disturbing. The journey in which this book takes you on, definitely makes you rethink things you may have done or witnessed in the past. It will have you thinking differently about those with learning disabilities and other mental issues. To see it from the point of view of someone who would go through these hardships, you are able to get the feel and understanding of things that you may not have had before.
Charlie is mentally retarded and it shows in his progress reports, which is where the whole story lies in. His grammar is horrible and his spelling can make it hard to read at first. It was hard to remind myself over the first few pages that the way it was written is exactly how someone like Charlie would write. However, it is very clear from the beginning he wants to "get smart." However, his reasoning behind it makes me shudder. I don't shudder because it makes me scared, but because of the disgust I feel towards how people treat him. He states he wants to please his teacher and be able to join in on conversations with his co-workers. He feels isolated and wants to be more than he is. Even though its clear people are making fun of him, he doesn't see it that way because they are laughing and smiling. To him, that means they are his friends. It isn't until later her realizes they are laughing at him that he begins to understand things.
I really liked how as Charlie learned new things and became more intelligent than he was, his progress reports became clearer and easier to read. But with his intelligence growing, he noticed other areas of his life were lacking. He no longer acted the way he had before, began to think very differently and still had the emotions of a child but in a whole new aspect. He was smart, but it was clear he was happier before the operation and the rise in his I.Q. It kind of goes to show that being smart doesn't always means you will be happy. He had to suffer to understand that the way his mind was changing wasn't exactly what he wanted. He wanted so much and even though he got smarter like he wanted, he lost the motivating factors behind it. He ended up losing his job and a lot of the people who surrounded him because of how his personality changed. It was heartbreaking to see him go through the hardships and feel so alone.
I found myself enjoying the fact that even during these hardships, he remained close with Algernon, the mouse who proved the operation worked. Charlie spoke fondly of the mouse, even though at first he hated him. It was pleasant to see that Charlie still had a friend, even if it was just a mouse. Especially with his memories torturing him whenever they decided to pop up. I found Charlie's childhood heartbreaking and exceptionally disturbing. His mother's ideals seemed to be wrong in my opinion. I don't know what she went through, but to be so harsh on a child and to not believe anyone because of how it might make her look to her neighbors and other people, was quite disturbing to me. I found myself hating the woman, and yet I know there are plenty of people who would do the same to their child, even in this day and age.
I have to say the ending was the most heartbreaking thing I have ever read. I understand there will always be risks to experiments that mess with ones brain, but I had really hoped for the best for Charlie. I wasn't fond of his intellectual self because of how he acted towards others and how he thought, but at the same time, to have him lose everything made me tear up and cry. It was truly not a desirable ending. However, seeing him put others first again was heartwarming. It goes to show you, sometimes it those who don't really understand things that are the kindest of people out there. It makes me think of those social studies of people asking others for money and it is the homeless who will try to help out versus those who have a lot they could give. I firmly believe that this book was created to show just how things can appear to be okay and its really not.
I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone who is in 9th grade or higher. I think we all need a reality check from time to time. I have read this book in high school for a book report and even though I am a decade older, rereading it reminded me of how much I loved this book. It has a bunch of underlying meanings and not just on intelligence. I loved the little hidden lessons and thoughts behind this book. It definitely gets your brain working and really puts our society in a truthful light. Even though its based on mental retardation, you can easily apply a lot of what is discussed in Charlie's progress reports and the things it hints at to other sources of discrimination . I would ultimately rate this book 5 stars out of stars. Though the book seems simple to read, it touches base on things in our everyday world that we normally wouldn't think twice about, and probably should. Flowers for Algernon is truly an amazing read.
Charlie is mentally retarded and it shows in his progress reports, which is where the whole story lies in. His grammar is horrible and his spelling can make it hard to read at first. It was hard to remind myself over the first few pages that the way it was written is exactly how someone like Charlie would write. However, it is very clear from the beginning he wants to "get smart." However, his reasoning behind it makes me shudder. I don't shudder because it makes me scared, but because of the disgust I feel towards how people treat him. He states he wants to please his teacher and be able to join in on conversations with his co-workers. He feels isolated and wants to be more than he is. Even though its clear people are making fun of him, he doesn't see it that way because they are laughing and smiling. To him, that means they are his friends. It isn't until later her realizes they are laughing at him that he begins to understand things.
I really liked how as Charlie learned new things and became more intelligent than he was, his progress reports became clearer and easier to read. But with his intelligence growing, he noticed other areas of his life were lacking. He no longer acted the way he had before, began to think very differently and still had the emotions of a child but in a whole new aspect. He was smart, but it was clear he was happier before the operation and the rise in his I.Q. It kind of goes to show that being smart doesn't always means you will be happy. He had to suffer to understand that the way his mind was changing wasn't exactly what he wanted. He wanted so much and even though he got smarter like he wanted, he lost the motivating factors behind it. He ended up losing his job and a lot of the people who surrounded him because of how his personality changed. It was heartbreaking to see him go through the hardships and feel so alone.
I found myself enjoying the fact that even during these hardships, he remained close with Algernon, the mouse who proved the operation worked. Charlie spoke fondly of the mouse, even though at first he hated him. It was pleasant to see that Charlie still had a friend, even if it was just a mouse. Especially with his memories torturing him whenever they decided to pop up. I found Charlie's childhood heartbreaking and exceptionally disturbing. His mother's ideals seemed to be wrong in my opinion. I don't know what she went through, but to be so harsh on a child and to not believe anyone because of how it might make her look to her neighbors and other people, was quite disturbing to me. I found myself hating the woman, and yet I know there are plenty of people who would do the same to their child, even in this day and age.
I have to say the ending was the most heartbreaking thing I have ever read. I understand there will always be risks to experiments that mess with ones brain, but I had really hoped for the best for Charlie. I wasn't fond of his intellectual self because of how he acted towards others and how he thought, but at the same time, to have him lose everything made me tear up and cry. It was truly not a desirable ending. However, seeing him put others first again was heartwarming. It goes to show you, sometimes it those who don't really understand things that are the kindest of people out there. It makes me think of those social studies of people asking others for money and it is the homeless who will try to help out versus those who have a lot they could give. I firmly believe that this book was created to show just how things can appear to be okay and its really not.
I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone who is in 9th grade or higher. I think we all need a reality check from time to time. I have read this book in high school for a book report and even though I am a decade older, rereading it reminded me of how much I loved this book. It has a bunch of underlying meanings and not just on intelligence. I loved the little hidden lessons and thoughts behind this book. It definitely gets your brain working and really puts our society in a truthful light. Even though its based on mental retardation, you can easily apply a lot of what is discussed in Charlie's progress reports and the things it hints at to other sources of discrimination . I would ultimately rate this book 5 stars out of stars. Though the book seems simple to read, it touches base on things in our everyday world that we normally wouldn't think twice about, and probably should. Flowers for Algernon is truly an amazing read.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Marriage Story (2019) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
One Mann’s Movies Review of “Marriage Story” – a “Kramer vs Kramer lite” in my book, albeit with some great acting performances.
K vs K Lite.
For me, mention the phrase “divorce movie” and there’s only one film that comes to mind – the Oscar-laden classic from 1979 starring an immaculate Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep. THAT toy plane; THOSE stiches! (Gulp). This is the yardstick by which I judge such movies… and to be honest, “Marriage Story” didn’t measure up.
The story.
We start the movie seeing the apparently idyllic married life of theatre impresario Charlie (Adam Driver) and his lead actress and muse Nicole (Scarlett Johansson), together bringing up their young child. But spin forwards and the pair are in the middle of an ‘amicable’ separation, with Nicole returning to her home roots in California and Charlie having an expensive commute to and from New York where he’s struggling to premiere his show on Broadway.
But despite an agreement to keep lawyers out of the equation, Nicole is persuaded to lawyer up with Nora Fanshaw (Laura Dern) tightening up the legal screws until Charlie’s life risks being torn apart. It’s time for him to fight back.
Well regarded by the Academy.
As for “Kramer vs Kramer”, this is a movie that has been garlanded with multiple Oscar nominations. Both Driver and Johansson are nominated in the lead acting roles and Laura Dern seems to be favourite for the Best Supporting Actress gong (after winning the Golden Globe and the BAFTA). Three more Oscar nominations come for the score (by Randy Newman); the original screenplay (by director Noah Baumbach); and a Best Film nomination.
Both leads deliver really emotional performances, with Johansson in particular being very believable in the role. But who knew she was so short?! She always strikes me as a statuesque beauty, but she’s only 5′ 3” and it’s particularly noticeable in a scene filmed at Warner Brothers Studios.
It’s also fabulous to see both the great Alan Alda (here showing signs of his Parkinson’s) and Ray Liotta on screen again, as both low-rent and top-dollar lawyers respectively.
But WHY exactly are they divorcing?
I found the whole set up of the movie as frustrating. There seemed no clear understanding of why the separation is happening. True there is an affair involved (and Mrs Movie Man and I have always lived our nearly 40 years of marriage with the understanding that a “one strike” rule applies). But notwithstanding that, it seems to be more of a ‘drifting apart’ that’s gone on. I just wanted to give them a good shaking and get them to work it out!
This is all obviously unfair – because (and I also know this from experience) that in many marriages ‘shit happens’: some people do just want to do different things; feel suffocated; etc. And – thinking about it – I’m not sure there was any real reason given for Meryl Streep‘s departure in K vs K: which was part of the reason for Dustin Hoffman‘s character’s frustration.
Who do you sympathise with?
This is a movie where the audience is bound to take a side. But for me, there was only one side to take and that was Charlie’s. The actions of Nicole seem reprehensible and unforgivable, and when there are lines to be crossed she seems to have little hesitation in crossing them.
Many people seem to rave about this movie, but…
…I found the pace to be inconsistent. At one point, the story just stops for a soulful rendition by Charlie of a song in a bar, and I frankly just got bored with it. And while there’s a steady build up of the legal case involved, suddenly we seem to skip to a resolution without any real rationale for it. Or did I fall asleep??
A further irritation for me was Julie Hagerty as Nicole’s mum Sandra. She does the kooky mum turn that she did perfectly well in last year’s funny “Instant Family“, but its a role that really didn’t seem to fit in this movie. There’s an element of slapstick comedy in these scenes that just didn’t suit the general tone of the movie.
Overall, I just don’t share the love for this movie. Given the choice, I’d much rather watch Kramer vs Kramer again.
And what was that punchline?
By the way, Alan Alda is a fantastic comedian, and really knows how to deliver a joke. In this movie he’s regaling Charlie with a long-winded story (on the clock) when Charlie interrupts him. How did it end…. Alda revealed the full joke after a press screening at the New York Film Festival… and it’s a corker!
This woman’s at her hairdresser’s, and she says, “I’m going to Rome on holiday.”
He says, “Oh really, what airline are you taking?”
She says, “Alitalia.”
He says, “Alitalia, are you crazy? That’s terrible, don’t take that.”
He says, “Where are you gonna stay?”
She says, “I’m gonna stay at The Hassler.”
“The Hassler! What, are you kidding? They’re renovating the Hassler. You’ll hear hammering all night long. You won’t sleep! What are you gonna see?”
She says, “I think I’m going to try to go to the Vatican.” “The Vatican? You’ll be standing in line all day long—”
(Charlie interrupts at this point, but the joke goes on)
So she goes to Rome. She comes back, and the hairdresser says, “How was it?”
She says, “It was a great trip, it was wonderful.”
“How was the Vatican?”
“Wonderful! We happened to meet the Pope.”
“You met the Pope?”
“Yeah, and he spoke to me.”
“What did he say to you?”
“He said, ‘Where’d you get that f***ing haircut?’”
LOL!
For me, mention the phrase “divorce movie” and there’s only one film that comes to mind – the Oscar-laden classic from 1979 starring an immaculate Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep. THAT toy plane; THOSE stiches! (Gulp). This is the yardstick by which I judge such movies… and to be honest, “Marriage Story” didn’t measure up.
The story.
We start the movie seeing the apparently idyllic married life of theatre impresario Charlie (Adam Driver) and his lead actress and muse Nicole (Scarlett Johansson), together bringing up their young child. But spin forwards and the pair are in the middle of an ‘amicable’ separation, with Nicole returning to her home roots in California and Charlie having an expensive commute to and from New York where he’s struggling to premiere his show on Broadway.
But despite an agreement to keep lawyers out of the equation, Nicole is persuaded to lawyer up with Nora Fanshaw (Laura Dern) tightening up the legal screws until Charlie’s life risks being torn apart. It’s time for him to fight back.
Well regarded by the Academy.
As for “Kramer vs Kramer”, this is a movie that has been garlanded with multiple Oscar nominations. Both Driver and Johansson are nominated in the lead acting roles and Laura Dern seems to be favourite for the Best Supporting Actress gong (after winning the Golden Globe and the BAFTA). Three more Oscar nominations come for the score (by Randy Newman); the original screenplay (by director Noah Baumbach); and a Best Film nomination.
Both leads deliver really emotional performances, with Johansson in particular being very believable in the role. But who knew she was so short?! She always strikes me as a statuesque beauty, but she’s only 5′ 3” and it’s particularly noticeable in a scene filmed at Warner Brothers Studios.
It’s also fabulous to see both the great Alan Alda (here showing signs of his Parkinson’s) and Ray Liotta on screen again, as both low-rent and top-dollar lawyers respectively.
But WHY exactly are they divorcing?
I found the whole set up of the movie as frustrating. There seemed no clear understanding of why the separation is happening. True there is an affair involved (and Mrs Movie Man and I have always lived our nearly 40 years of marriage with the understanding that a “one strike” rule applies). But notwithstanding that, it seems to be more of a ‘drifting apart’ that’s gone on. I just wanted to give them a good shaking and get them to work it out!
This is all obviously unfair – because (and I also know this from experience) that in many marriages ‘shit happens’: some people do just want to do different things; feel suffocated; etc. And – thinking about it – I’m not sure there was any real reason given for Meryl Streep‘s departure in K vs K: which was part of the reason for Dustin Hoffman‘s character’s frustration.
Who do you sympathise with?
This is a movie where the audience is bound to take a side. But for me, there was only one side to take and that was Charlie’s. The actions of Nicole seem reprehensible and unforgivable, and when there are lines to be crossed she seems to have little hesitation in crossing them.
Many people seem to rave about this movie, but…
…I found the pace to be inconsistent. At one point, the story just stops for a soulful rendition by Charlie of a song in a bar, and I frankly just got bored with it. And while there’s a steady build up of the legal case involved, suddenly we seem to skip to a resolution without any real rationale for it. Or did I fall asleep??
A further irritation for me was Julie Hagerty as Nicole’s mum Sandra. She does the kooky mum turn that she did perfectly well in last year’s funny “Instant Family“, but its a role that really didn’t seem to fit in this movie. There’s an element of slapstick comedy in these scenes that just didn’t suit the general tone of the movie.
Overall, I just don’t share the love for this movie. Given the choice, I’d much rather watch Kramer vs Kramer again.
And what was that punchline?
By the way, Alan Alda is a fantastic comedian, and really knows how to deliver a joke. In this movie he’s regaling Charlie with a long-winded story (on the clock) when Charlie interrupts him. How did it end…. Alda revealed the full joke after a press screening at the New York Film Festival… and it’s a corker!
This woman’s at her hairdresser’s, and she says, “I’m going to Rome on holiday.”
He says, “Oh really, what airline are you taking?”
She says, “Alitalia.”
He says, “Alitalia, are you crazy? That’s terrible, don’t take that.”
He says, “Where are you gonna stay?”
She says, “I’m gonna stay at The Hassler.”
“The Hassler! What, are you kidding? They’re renovating the Hassler. You’ll hear hammering all night long. You won’t sleep! What are you gonna see?”
She says, “I think I’m going to try to go to the Vatican.” “The Vatican? You’ll be standing in line all day long—”
(Charlie interrupts at this point, but the joke goes on)
So she goes to Rome. She comes back, and the hairdresser says, “How was it?”
She says, “It was a great trip, it was wonderful.”
“How was the Vatican?”
“Wonderful! We happened to meet the Pope.”
“You met the Pope?”
“Yeah, and he spoke to me.”
“What did he say to you?”
“He said, ‘Where’d you get that f***ing haircut?’”
LOL!
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated A Bad Day for Sunshine in Books
Jun 6, 2020
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!!!
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!!!
Merissa (11612 KP) rated One Last Heist in Books
May 29, 2018
One Last Heist by Dahlia Donovan
One Last Heist has a host of new characters, and our main couple are already married, which made for a lovely change. They both have jobs by day, but are thieves by night. Mack has a list of rules that he works to, helping to ensure he only robs from those who deserve it. And yes, there are plenty of Robin Hood references guaranteed to make you smile. They get caught up in a situation that quickly takes them from their 'normal' into something far more dangerous that could change their lives forever.
I loved how this story played out. Mack and Toshi are brilliant both together and separately. Charlie, Tosh's sister, is autistic and her coping mechanisms are captured perfectly, along with an explanation of the why's and how's. In fact, I have to say that I thought all of the characters were more than capable of standing on their own two feet. They worked great as a team, with their own individual strengths helping each other, but none were so weak they could ONLY be part of the team.
With plenty of twists and turns, only some of which I saw coming, or partially at least, this story kept my interest from start to finish. Absolutely recommended by me.
* 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!
I loved how this story played out. Mack and Toshi are brilliant both together and separately. Charlie, Tosh's sister, is autistic and her coping mechanisms are captured perfectly, along with an explanation of the why's and how's. In fact, I have to say that I thought all of the characters were more than capable of standing on their own two feet. They worked great as a team, with their own individual strengths helping each other, but none were so weak they could ONLY be part of the team.
With plenty of twists and turns, only some of which I saw coming, or partially at least, this story kept my interest from start to finish. Absolutely recommended by me.
* 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!
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated Horrible Bosses 2 (2014) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Kurt, Nick and Dale are back, and with them comes all the rest in Horrible Bosses 2. This time around, we see our would-be criminals (Jason Sudekis, Jason Bateman and Charlie Dale, respectively) as their own bosses.
Horrible Bosses 2 opens on the trio as a guest on a cheesy day-time talk show. They are there to show off their new invention, the Shower Buddy. This spot gets them some notice from the head of a big time, SkyMall-esque, corporation who wants to place a large order. But when the deal goes south, our boys have to figure out a way to save their own skin, and get back at the corporation.
The greatest thing about this sequel? It was not just a rehashing of the first movie. Yes, there are a lot of the elements there, but the plot was different enough that it could have been a movie of its own and not a prequel. Of course, there were some great call backs to the first movie during the film and the closing credits. But there were new things introduced, and not just the same old re-hashing.
Sudekis, Bateman and Day have such a great chemistry together, too. They played very well off each other, and had near perfect timing through the whole movie. Add to this the returning cast from the first film (Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, and Jamie Foxx), and introduce Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz to the mix, and it only increases the fun. Our newcomers blew me away too, because I am not used to seeing them in roles such as this.
There is not a lot bad that I can say about this movie. Great performances by main and supporting cast, a well-rounded plot, with the exception of one part of the wrap-up in the end (I won’t spoil it for you), and a very complimentary soundtrack makes this one of the best comedies I have seen in a while. Thumbs up to these guys! I’m hoping they might be able to find the same magic for a third film!
4.5 Stars out of 5
Horrible Bosses 2 opens on the trio as a guest on a cheesy day-time talk show. They are there to show off their new invention, the Shower Buddy. This spot gets them some notice from the head of a big time, SkyMall-esque, corporation who wants to place a large order. But when the deal goes south, our boys have to figure out a way to save their own skin, and get back at the corporation.
The greatest thing about this sequel? It was not just a rehashing of the first movie. Yes, there are a lot of the elements there, but the plot was different enough that it could have been a movie of its own and not a prequel. Of course, there were some great call backs to the first movie during the film and the closing credits. But there were new things introduced, and not just the same old re-hashing.
Sudekis, Bateman and Day have such a great chemistry together, too. They played very well off each other, and had near perfect timing through the whole movie. Add to this the returning cast from the first film (Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, and Jamie Foxx), and introduce Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz to the mix, and it only increases the fun. Our newcomers blew me away too, because I am not used to seeing them in roles such as this.
There is not a lot bad that I can say about this movie. Great performances by main and supporting cast, a well-rounded plot, with the exception of one part of the wrap-up in the end (I won’t spoil it for you), and a very complimentary soundtrack makes this one of the best comedies I have seen in a while. Thumbs up to these guys! I’m hoping they might be able to find the same magic for a third film!
4.5 Stars out of 5
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated NOS4A2 in Books
Mar 15, 2018
<i>I read this novel as my BookBum Club book for January! Check out <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/297482-the-bookbum-club">The BookBum Club on Goodreads!</a></i>
A darkly disturbing thrill ride of a book! I was expecting it to spook me out a little more than it did, but it was super enjoyable even still.
I’ve never read a Joe Hill book before this one, but now I know I want to read more of his work. I don’t think there’s any denying that his writing style really sucks you into the story and he’s a genius as describing things. How can one man come up with so many different Christmas similes? I also loved how this book was set up, where sometimes the end of sentence in a paragraph wouldn’t end because the title of the next paragraph completed the sentence. I thought this was a really unique aspect of the novel, as well as several illustrations dotted throughout.
One thing I really loved about this novel was the characters. I’ve seen some less that glowing reviews whinging about Vic, and while I can understand some people’s frustration at how frustrating she was, I think the whole point of her character to be frustrating. I personally found her troubled but sweet. Lou was equally sweet, a nice human being through-and-through, but at the end of the day, I don’t think he brought an awful lot to the story.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, of course, was Charlie Manx. What a genuinely terrifying character. I’ve read through several books with horrifying characters (Annie Wilkes springs to mind immediately) and Charlie Manx is definitely up there with the worst of them. What made him so chilling, for me, was how I imagined his voice. Every sentence of his speech was lifted at the end by an exclamation mark! He was always so cheery! Always so sinister! And then, of course, we have Bing Partridge who may just be the most repulsive character I’ve ever read about.
I loved the story of this novel, but I’m not going to explain what happened because this novel needs to be experienced, not told, in order to reach its full potential. My only issue was I though maybe 700 pages was a bit long. Chapter after chapter was a new dip and dive in this roller-coaster of a story, but sometimes it just felt like stalling time.
Another thing that disappointed me about this book, and this is what brought it down to 4 stars, is that I was expecting this to be scarier than it turned out to be. Don’t get me wrong, it’s seriously sinister and has some really creepy moments, but I wanted to get to “I can’t sleep” scared. Though saying that, when I was driving home in the dark one day, an old classic black British car (we have a lot of old car conventions around where I live) pulled up behind me and followed me nearly all the way home and I did get the heebie-geebies (don’t worry, I didn’t break the speed limit though).
Overall, this novel is well worth the read if you’re into dark, sinister novels filled with the really weird and the really wonderful. I’m so happy I’ve finally read this novel and have been opened up to the world of Joe Hill’s writing. I will definitely be reading more of his stuff.
A darkly disturbing thrill ride of a book! I was expecting it to spook me out a little more than it did, but it was super enjoyable even still.
I’ve never read a Joe Hill book before this one, but now I know I want to read more of his work. I don’t think there’s any denying that his writing style really sucks you into the story and he’s a genius as describing things. How can one man come up with so many different Christmas similes? I also loved how this book was set up, where sometimes the end of sentence in a paragraph wouldn’t end because the title of the next paragraph completed the sentence. I thought this was a really unique aspect of the novel, as well as several illustrations dotted throughout.
One thing I really loved about this novel was the characters. I’ve seen some less that glowing reviews whinging about Vic, and while I can understand some people’s frustration at how frustrating she was, I think the whole point of her character to be frustrating. I personally found her troubled but sweet. Lou was equally sweet, a nice human being through-and-through, but at the end of the day, I don’t think he brought an awful lot to the story.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, of course, was Charlie Manx. What a genuinely terrifying character. I’ve read through several books with horrifying characters (Annie Wilkes springs to mind immediately) and Charlie Manx is definitely up there with the worst of them. What made him so chilling, for me, was how I imagined his voice. Every sentence of his speech was lifted at the end by an exclamation mark! He was always so cheery! Always so sinister! And then, of course, we have Bing Partridge who may just be the most repulsive character I’ve ever read about.
I loved the story of this novel, but I’m not going to explain what happened because this novel needs to be experienced, not told, in order to reach its full potential. My only issue was I though maybe 700 pages was a bit long. Chapter after chapter was a new dip and dive in this roller-coaster of a story, but sometimes it just felt like stalling time.
Another thing that disappointed me about this book, and this is what brought it down to 4 stars, is that I was expecting this to be scarier than it turned out to be. Don’t get me wrong, it’s seriously sinister and has some really creepy moments, but I wanted to get to “I can’t sleep” scared. Though saying that, when I was driving home in the dark one day, an old classic black British car (we have a lot of old car conventions around where I live) pulled up behind me and followed me nearly all the way home and I did get the heebie-geebies (don’t worry, I didn’t break the speed limit though).
Overall, this novel is well worth the read if you’re into dark, sinister novels filled with the really weird and the really wonderful. I’m so happy I’ve finally read this novel and have been opened up to the world of Joe Hill’s writing. I will definitely be reading more of his stuff.
Merissa (11612 KP) rated A Songbird Novel Box Set #3 (Geronimo, Hole Hearted, Rather Be) in Books
May 21, 2017
A Songbird Novel Box Set #3 (Geronimo, Hole Hearted, Rather Be)
I have bought these books as individual stories, but I will leave my review for all three on the boxset.
Geronimo
Geronimo is Jane's story. We got a small insight when we had Sarah and Justin's story in Rough Waters, but this one goes into detail about how the tragic events of that day affected Jane's life. I loved how Jane and Harry got together, no angst, no drama, just two people out to enjoy as much as they could. Of course, knowing how the previous Songbird novels have gone, I was waiting for the other shoe to fall. And it did! Fate plays a bit part in this story, whether you believe in it or not, but pushing any doubts to one side, I loved how this story panned out.
With a smooth pace, well-written characters, and slow-building angst, this is a story with an abundance of emotion so be prepared! With no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt the reading flow, this is a book to lose yourself in. With a nice hook into the next book, the Songbird series continues to delight, and Geronimo is most definitely recommended by me.
Hole-Hearted
Hole Hearted is the latest fantastic addition to the Songbird series, and features Felix, Troy, and Cassie. Felix and Cassie are nephew and aunt who didn't know each other existed until it became obvious that Felix's mum wasn't going to survive her battle with cancer. Troy is a counsellor who wants to help this pair professionally, but also on a personal note.
I won't go into the story itself, except to say that it is exceptionally written, will have you crying if you're anything like me, and will tug at your heartstrings throughout. With a smooth, flowing story, there were no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow. In fact, the only thing that disrupted me was either my tears, or when I had to listen to the music that was mentioned! This playlist was right up my alley, and I loved every song!!
An absolutely amazing addition to the Songbird series, and I really can't recommend this book or the series highly enough.
Rather Be
Rather Be is the tenth and final book in the Songbird series, and gives you the same emotional impact as every book that I have read by this author. Charlie and Nixon were best friends throughout school, and became more during one short break in Yosemite. However, life (and Nixon's father) had different plans than them getting together. So for four years, these two go their separate ways until a chance snowstorm strands them both at JFK airport. Charlie seizes the opportunity of spending time with the man she has always loved but can never have. Nixon can't believe that Charlie is here with him once more, and all his old feelings resurface.
The pacing in this book is superb, it never flags in any area. The writing is smooth and there are no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow. The soundtrack that accompanies this story is absolutely spot on, and like with all the books in this series, I love how it tells a story too. There was an added extra in this book though, and I LOVED IT!!! Every couple from the previous books in the Songbird series feature cameo appearances in the Chix storyline! Sheer perfection. We get a small snapshot of their lives and that left me with the warm fuzzies. Definitely and absolutely recommended by me.
Geronimo
Geronimo is Jane's story. We got a small insight when we had Sarah and Justin's story in Rough Waters, but this one goes into detail about how the tragic events of that day affected Jane's life. I loved how Jane and Harry got together, no angst, no drama, just two people out to enjoy as much as they could. Of course, knowing how the previous Songbird novels have gone, I was waiting for the other shoe to fall. And it did! Fate plays a bit part in this story, whether you believe in it or not, but pushing any doubts to one side, I loved how this story panned out.
With a smooth pace, well-written characters, and slow-building angst, this is a story with an abundance of emotion so be prepared! With no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt the reading flow, this is a book to lose yourself in. With a nice hook into the next book, the Songbird series continues to delight, and Geronimo is most definitely recommended by me.
Hole-Hearted
Hole Hearted is the latest fantastic addition to the Songbird series, and features Felix, Troy, and Cassie. Felix and Cassie are nephew and aunt who didn't know each other existed until it became obvious that Felix's mum wasn't going to survive her battle with cancer. Troy is a counsellor who wants to help this pair professionally, but also on a personal note.
I won't go into the story itself, except to say that it is exceptionally written, will have you crying if you're anything like me, and will tug at your heartstrings throughout. With a smooth, flowing story, there were no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow. In fact, the only thing that disrupted me was either my tears, or when I had to listen to the music that was mentioned! This playlist was right up my alley, and I loved every song!!
An absolutely amazing addition to the Songbird series, and I really can't recommend this book or the series highly enough.
Rather Be
Rather Be is the tenth and final book in the Songbird series, and gives you the same emotional impact as every book that I have read by this author. Charlie and Nixon were best friends throughout school, and became more during one short break in Yosemite. However, life (and Nixon's father) had different plans than them getting together. So for four years, these two go their separate ways until a chance snowstorm strands them both at JFK airport. Charlie seizes the opportunity of spending time with the man she has always loved but can never have. Nixon can't believe that Charlie is here with him once more, and all his old feelings resurface.
The pacing in this book is superb, it never flags in any area. The writing is smooth and there are no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow. The soundtrack that accompanies this story is absolutely spot on, and like with all the books in this series, I love how it tells a story too. There was an added extra in this book though, and I LOVED IT!!! Every couple from the previous books in the Songbird series feature cameo appearances in the Chix storyline! Sheer perfection. We get a small snapshot of their lives and that left me with the warm fuzzies. Definitely and absolutely recommended by me.