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Craig Brewer recommended Purple Rain (1984) in Movies (curated)

 
Purple Rain (1984)
Purple Rain (1984)
1984 | Drama, Musical, Romance
8.0 (4 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I would say my number one movie: Purple Rain. I could probably teach a semester of film studies on the first eight minutes of Purple Rain. And if you watch that first eight minutes, you’re going to see why, because the way the music — it’s like the extended version of “Let’s Go Crazy” — the way it’s cut, continuity completely goes out the window. You’ll be on stage with Prince, but then you’ll cut and you’ll see him getting ready to go on stage, then you’ll see him at his house, blowing out candles. Then you see him on his motorcycle coming to the club, cuts to him on stage in the club, cuts to Apollonia coming into town… By the end of that eight minutes, you know everybody’s character, you know their relationship to each other, and the music never stopped. It’s a dizzying… I think you see three tongues within the first eight minutes. You know, Apollonia’s boobs were like an atom bomb going off in my world, because up until that moment, I wanted to marry women, like, “I like that girl. I would want her to be my wife and have kids with her.” But then I saw Apollonia, and I was like, “I have thoughts now in my head that I didn’t have before, and feelings that I’ve never had before!” The same poster that I got at a fair in Vallejo, California of Apollonia in a bikini is up on my wall here in my office, and people still come in here and go, “Damn, I had that poster on my wall!”"

Source
  
Abandon Station (Dyson Bridge #1)
Abandon Station (Dyson Bridge #1)
V.G. Harrison | 2024 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
it finishes on a cliffhanger I did not see coming at me, and I was not prepared!!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

So, here's the thing, right?

I am mighty, MIGHTY annoyed at this book. Why? Because I thought it was a complete story, and it's not: it finishes on a cliffhanger I did not see coming at me, and I hate that! I wasn't prepared, I really wasn't, when it ended, and I am not happy.

It was a great read, though! I was fully engrossed in Merida and her people.

In the now Earth, it was a bit technical,but I kinda read those bits and glanced over the technical jargon used. In the NEW Earth, things were more understandable and I could even follow the politics! There's a lot going on that she isn't privy to, and her people are in danger of being stranded.

But peeps? That cliffhanger means I gotta wait to find out if Merida can get home, if she can find all her people from across the globe, and if her ex gets whatever he deserves!

A quick glance, and I cannot see when I might get my hands on book 2, either. So now, I'm doubly annoyed, with a review to write. Why do I put myself through this, you ask? Let me tell you.

To find books and authors like this: out of my comfort zone and new to me. I loved this book, bar that ending and I'm very pleased, as well as annoyed, that I got to read it.

4 most EXCELLENT stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
Ready Player One (2018)
Ready Player One (2018)
2018 | Sci-Fi
Good, but doesn't live up to the book
I've read (and loved) the book, but I really tried to go into this with an open mind and I think for the most part, I succeeded.

Visually, this film is spectacular. But considering its Spielberg, that isn't a surprise. The pop culture references are a lot of fun, and the soundtrack is fantastic. The cast are great, Tye Sheridan plays Wade very well and he's a likeable character. Mark Rylance as usual is very good, but I feel like we could've seen a bit more of him. The only one who didn't come across well was Ben Mendelsohn - his Nolan just doesn't come across as evil enough. He just isn't that threatening.


The main problem is that this is very different from the book. Some things have been changed for the better (the 2nd challenge in the film was a huge surprise and very enjoyable), but for the main I feel like too much of the detail from the book has been left out, leaving just a hollow shell of the story. It's a shame really as i think this could have been fantastic, if it had just stuck a little closer to the book. Instead of coming out of this feeling in awe, I came out feeling a little underwhelmed with the sense that something was missing.
  
The Leopard (Harry Hole #8) (Oslo Sequence #6)
The Leopard (Harry Hole #8) (Oslo Sequence #6)
Jo Nesbo | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
7
7.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Good, but drawn out
I do love Harry Hole and as a character he's brilliant, flawed and alcoholic yet always pursuing the truth and justice. I do think though that some of Jo Nesbo's stories featuring Harry are a little farfetched and drawn out, and sadly this is one of them.

The plot on this is actually very intriguing and full of twists and turns that I didn't see coming, and apart from some of the more farfetched elements, this is actually a very good thriller. The problem is it's a bit drawn out and could have been condensed a lot more, it just seemed unnecessarily long. This also seemed to have an issue with the timeline, it seemed to jump from one location to another and it made me feel a little confused. Also as much as I love Harry, he seems to do the same things in nearly every book I've read recently - leaves Norway, returns for a case he doesn't want but gets sucked in, then leaves Norway again afterwards. The better stories in the Hole series are the ones where he doesn't leave Norway at all and sadly this book is a bit half and half.

Overall this is pretty good but not flawless. It's definitely not the best book in the Harry Hole series, but neither is it anywhere near the worst.
  
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Merissa (13654 KP) rated Dragon Consultant (Supernatural Consultant #1) in Books

Dec 17, 2018 (Updated May 8, 2023)  
Dragon Consultant (Supernatural Consultant #1)
Dragon Consultant (Supernatural Consultant #1)
Mell Eight | 2015 | LGBTQ+, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Dane is a Supernatural Consultant who gets a job to find out why air space is being terrorized by dragon kits. What he finds when he gets there is an adult male dragon suffering from dragon fever and a bunch of kits that he can't figure out just how they all fit together. He makes a quick decision and takes them all to his large home, calling for help from a doctor friend for the adult male, and help from a mum for the kits.

This is a fast-paced novella as Dane finds out that there is much more to the dragons' story than he originally assumed. Dane is known as the Genie of the East but is in fact a son of a God, which has made having a relationship difficult. There is a bit of confusion between Mercury and Dane as both of them feel inadequate for the other one.

It is well-written, with plenty of story and character development, whilst still leaving plenty to hook you in for the coming stories. Definitely recommended.

* 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!
Dec 9, 2015
  
Bored Gay Werewolf
Bored Gay Werewolf
Tony Santorella | 2023 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Horror, Humor & Comedy, LGBTQ+
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
There’s not a huge amount left to the imagination in this book. It does exactly what the title says: Brian is bored, he’s gay and he’s a werewolf. However, he is a werewolf who is out of control during the full moon - as the dead joggers will attest to - and out of control as a man the rest of the time (too much alcohol, a lot of casual sex, not taking care of himself).

Enter Tyler. He’s also a werewolf, and he wants to create a pack for the 21st century, along with a website and an app. He’s not the nicest of characters, unlike Brian’s work colleagues who are both lovely!

It’s a great cast of characters, and a rather amusing tale on modern life, with toxic masculinity, capitalism and the culture of Wellness - along with some of the most disgusting sounding smoothies and fitness regimes - front and centre.

If there’s another book coming up in a series, I’d love to know if Brian is still in his dead end job, drinking too much, or whether he has decided to take up the job offer at the end of the book.

This book made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion - and this is surely as good a reason as any to want more!!
  
The Hitman's Omega Priest (River City Omegas #1)
The Hitman's Omega Priest (River City Omegas #1)
A.M. Arthur | 2025 | LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
A welcome return to Arthur's omegaverse world
Independent reviewer for GRR, I was gifted my copy of this book.

I found AM Arthur through the Breaking Free series, and I loved them. Painful reading in places, but amazingly written and well delivered. I found myself comparing those books to this and found this a little . . . different. So bare with me while I try to get out of my book brain what it needs to say.

Kensley presented as omega at 14, and in this world, a male omega is shut away for his own good, forced into the priesthood. He hated it, and it never really believed, he was basically paying lip service and keeping his head above water. He never forgave his brother, King, nor Bishop,King's 2nd in command. He still grieved when he heard Bishop had died. Except why does the man standing in front of him make him feel like Bishop did? And who wants Kensley dead?

There is much darkness in Kensley's world and being a male omega puts him way at the bottom of the totem pole. But he should be safe in the church. Until he isn't and the man who comes to save him, he thought dead. But he trusts Bishop, right from the very beginning and things spiral and they have to go into hiding until Kensley is safe.

And therein lies my biggest issue with this book. We never did find out who wants Kens gone, or why. I got that the Master person wanted him cos he is omega, but still. Questions, people, my brain has questions and I cannot dig any more out, no matter how many times I type this paragraph!

So, what I did like?? So much with the steam! It does tend to take over a bit, in places though. Emotional in places, both Kens and Bishop have some deep feelings towards the other that were never resolved and this is the perfect opportunity. But there are other emotions as well, Kensley's life as a priest, Bishop's reasons for disappearing. What King will do when he finds out his best friend ahs defiled his younger brother? And that, I saw coming! I was surprised King waited, but Bishop had just been shot after all. ANd Bishop took it, like a trooper, but he made his point to King and when King sees how Bishop is with Kens gone, he really knows that Bishop loves his brother.

I did not see the thing with King and Malori coming at me. I don't think KING saw it coming to be honest! Malori will need a good deal of love to recover enough to have some sort of reasonable life and I hope King is up to the mark.

Hopefully I will get some answers in their book!

Despite the missing questions/answers to those questions, I really enjoyed this, but there are some trigger warnings and if you have any, you should check out the list.

4 very VERY good stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
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Maddie (37 KP) rated Oxenfree in Video Games

Nov 16, 2017  
Oxenfree
Oxenfree
2016 | Action/Adventure, Horror
Actions have consequences (2 more)
Great characters
Art was beautiful
Sometimes bugged, resulting in closing the game (0 more)
Short to play, but incredibly fun
Oxenfree was a beautifully styled coming-of-age story that pulled the player into the relationships between characters as much as into the drama of the ghost story. At times intense and a little scary (I'm a baby about stuff like that though), but also sweet and compelling. I really wanted everyone to be okay, although I fudged a bunch and not everyone made it out alive.

The actions have consequences aspect is great. The choices felt like realistic situations for the teenagers and each bad/good decision was believable.



Plan on playing this again in the near future to try and better improve my favorite character's chances!