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Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Institution in Books
Mar 5, 2023
Yet another gripping read by Helen Fields and one I very much enjoyed
It has everything - a gruesome murder, an isolated creepy location, serial killers, twists, turns, action and fantastic characters all wrapped up in an excellent story that was hard to stop reading even the parts that were quite gruesome.
Dr Connie and her partner, Baarda, are a great team and I would really like to read more about their work together - if there are more stories in the pipeline ... sign me up!
A very tense and riveting read that I highly recommend and thank you Avon Books UK and NetGalley for enabling be to read and share my thoughts of The Institution.
It has everything - a gruesome murder, an isolated creepy location, serial killers, twists, turns, action and fantastic characters all wrapped up in an excellent story that was hard to stop reading even the parts that were quite gruesome.
Dr Connie and her partner, Baarda, are a great team and I would really like to read more about their work together - if there are more stories in the pipeline ... sign me up!
A very tense and riveting read that I highly recommend and thank you Avon Books UK and NetGalley for enabling be to read and share my thoughts of The Institution.
Chris Hooker (419 KP) rated The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane in Books
Jan 12, 2018
[The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane] by [Katherine Howe] was a unique view of the Salem witch panic. Connie is a modern day researcher with an overly obsessive adviser. The summer after she completes her oral her mother asks her to get her grandmothers house ready to sell. She the house has been abandoned for quite some time and has a deep history to share.
This story shows how we never know the true depth of history, especially our own personal history. The mosaic that the intermingling character stories weave is a great driving force for this novel.
My one complaint was it was a bit on the predictable side but for a debut novel it is a must read.
This story shows how we never know the true depth of history, especially our own personal history. The mosaic that the intermingling character stories weave is a great driving force for this novel.
My one complaint was it was a bit on the predictable side but for a debut novel it is a must read.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Soldier (1998) in Movies
Feb 20, 2021
Heart of a Soldier
Soldier- is a goid sci-fi action film. I like how kurt russell's charcter is mute for like most of the movie. He only says a few lines and thats it.
The plot: Todd (Kurt Russell) has been trained since birth, through brutal conditioning, to be an emotionless killing machine. After 40 years, Todd and his comrades are deemed obsolete when Col. Mekum (Jason Isaacs) promotes a new breed of genetically flawless soldiers. Discarded on the trash-covered planet of Arcadia 234, Todd is rescued by colonists Mace (Sean Pertwee) and Sandra (Connie Nielsen) -- but he's soon forced to face his stronger replacements when the military seeks to wipe out the colony.
Its a good movie.
The plot: Todd (Kurt Russell) has been trained since birth, through brutal conditioning, to be an emotionless killing machine. After 40 years, Todd and his comrades are deemed obsolete when Col. Mekum (Jason Isaacs) promotes a new breed of genetically flawless soldiers. Discarded on the trash-covered planet of Arcadia 234, Todd is rescued by colonists Mace (Sean Pertwee) and Sandra (Connie Nielsen) -- but he's soon forced to face his stronger replacements when the military seeks to wipe out the colony.
Its a good movie.
Erika (17788 KP) rated Dirty John - Season 1 in TV
Nov 7, 2020
Dirty John was a great podcast, so obviously, they created a show. I watched the show prior to listening to the podcast, but I have seen a couple of true crime specials on the story, so it wasn't a new case.
My main thought was, damn, this broad is dumb af. What the hell was wrong with her? I've only seen Connie Britton in American Horror Story, and she was dumb in that too. Maybe it's her MO, not sure. It just caused me to shake my head... A LOT.
Eric Bana was sufficiently creepy and charming. He was the best part of the whole series, and gave the strongest performance.
Would I watch it again? Probably not, but it was entertaining while I was watching it.
My main thought was, damn, this broad is dumb af. What the hell was wrong with her? I've only seen Connie Britton in American Horror Story, and she was dumb in that too. Maybe it's her MO, not sure. It just caused me to shake my head... A LOT.
Eric Bana was sufficiently creepy and charming. He was the best part of the whole series, and gave the strongest performance.
Would I watch it again? Probably not, but it was entertaining while I was watching it.
Sassy Brit (97 KP) rated One Little Lie in Books
Jun 5, 2019
Yep, one little lie is all it takes for it to snowball out of control and turn into a humdinger of a white, furry monster. By the way there are no yetis in this story, that was just me trying to be clever…
Onwards and upwards… You know you want to…
Psychologist Connie’s patient, Alice Mann has a son who is a murderer. Alice’s son killed Deborah’s son and is desperate for her forgiveness. Connie wants Alice to leave it all alone and to not get involved with Deborah, however, in an effort to redeem herself, Alice starts up a support group for the parents of murderers, but there’s one little lie she’s told which is about to snowball out of control.
Confused? You should(n’t) be. But stick with me…
Tension grows between Alice and Deborah and a young girl goes missing. Soon the police are suspecting not only foul play, but that maybe the wrong person was locked up for Deborah’s son’s murder and still out there. (Slaps head, I mean, how thick are these policemen?)
After a slow start (there are several characters and it does jump around a bit) I found the twists and turns of this story really had me on edge. At times I felt I was walking on eggshells around Alice and Deb, just waiting for it all to explode. In my minds eye I can see this as a really good film or BBC drama! Visually I don’t think it would be so complicated. But then, maybe that’s not what I should be taking away from all this.
Incidentally, this carries on from Bad Sister, featuring the same psychologist Connie, and DI Lindsay Wade, but can easily be read as a standalone story. Actually I really liked this aspect, I wasn’t expecting that when I picked up the book.
Once I got into this, I discovered it is actually cleverly written so when you reach the end of each chapter, you’ll not want to stop!
Onwards and upwards… You know you want to…
Psychologist Connie’s patient, Alice Mann has a son who is a murderer. Alice’s son killed Deborah’s son and is desperate for her forgiveness. Connie wants Alice to leave it all alone and to not get involved with Deborah, however, in an effort to redeem herself, Alice starts up a support group for the parents of murderers, but there’s one little lie she’s told which is about to snowball out of control.
Confused? You should(n’t) be. But stick with me…
Tension grows between Alice and Deborah and a young girl goes missing. Soon the police are suspecting not only foul play, but that maybe the wrong person was locked up for Deborah’s son’s murder and still out there. (Slaps head, I mean, how thick are these policemen?)
After a slow start (there are several characters and it does jump around a bit) I found the twists and turns of this story really had me on edge. At times I felt I was walking on eggshells around Alice and Deb, just waiting for it all to explode. In my minds eye I can see this as a really good film or BBC drama! Visually I don’t think it would be so complicated. But then, maybe that’s not what I should be taking away from all this.
Incidentally, this carries on from Bad Sister, featuring the same psychologist Connie, and DI Lindsay Wade, but can easily be read as a standalone story. Actually I really liked this aspect, I wasn’t expecting that when I picked up the book.
Once I got into this, I discovered it is actually cleverly written so when you reach the end of each chapter, you’ll not want to stop!
Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) rated Dirty John in TV
Apr 4, 2021 (Updated Apr 4, 2021)
The creepiness factor is high AF (2 more)
Believable
Accurate
The actual people (3 more)
Painful to watch
OMG, what's with her accent?
Long and drawn out.
I hate giving the show the low rating but it wasn't an enjoyable show. It's difficult to judge something that is literally a reenactment of real people's dramatic events but that's why we are here.
Connie Britton's character was just so submissive and deluded that it was painful to watch. I wanted to see her make different choices and grow a backbone but she was literally playing the woman that this happened to so for what it's worth, she did her job well. Jean Smart played Connie Britton's character's mother very well. The woman who played the daughter was annoying and had a really annoying voice. Again, this is based on real people and very accurate. The people are from Orange County, CA, USA, which might as well be in a different universe than most of us. So what seems bratty and whatever to us is just normal and how it is there. Eric Bana was very creepy. I don't see how the main character could have fallen for a sketchy character like the one he was playing, but again, different life choices. You want to feel sorry for the female characters in this series but seeing the mom basically choosing to be victimized is frustrating and the daughter is just awful. The victim's mom's psychology is bizarre and how she feeds her own daughter's psychology is messed up. I don't get it. It makes me so uncomfortable. Just thinking about it while I'm typing this is making me cringe.
The series is very long and drawn out. I think they could have told the same story in less than half the time with an even greater impact because we wouldn't have as much time to be bored or to hate the characters we're supposed to be rooting for.
If you want to know the story, listen to the podcast by the same name or go down an internet rabbit hole and discover message boards, photos, videos, articles, etc., about the case. But unless you're a masochist with way too much time on your hands, avoid this series.
Connie Britton's character was just so submissive and deluded that it was painful to watch. I wanted to see her make different choices and grow a backbone but she was literally playing the woman that this happened to so for what it's worth, she did her job well. Jean Smart played Connie Britton's character's mother very well. The woman who played the daughter was annoying and had a really annoying voice. Again, this is based on real people and very accurate. The people are from Orange County, CA, USA, which might as well be in a different universe than most of us. So what seems bratty and whatever to us is just normal and how it is there. Eric Bana was very creepy. I don't see how the main character could have fallen for a sketchy character like the one he was playing, but again, different life choices. You want to feel sorry for the female characters in this series but seeing the mom basically choosing to be victimized is frustrating and the daughter is just awful. The victim's mom's psychology is bizarre and how she feeds her own daughter's psychology is messed up. I don't get it. It makes me so uncomfortable. Just thinking about it while I'm typing this is making me cringe.
The series is very long and drawn out. I think they could have told the same story in less than half the time with an even greater impact because we wouldn't have as much time to be bored or to hate the characters we're supposed to be rooting for.
If you want to know the story, listen to the podcast by the same name or go down an internet rabbit hole and discover message boards, photos, videos, articles, etc., about the case. But unless you're a masochist with way too much time on your hands, avoid this series.
colin... (64 KP) rated Uncut Gems (2019) in Movies
Sep 30, 2020
The fact that the Safdie's landed Christmas is still absolutely wild to me. There were so many people in our theater that looked like they just DIDN'T belong there.
First things first, I'd like to get my negatives out of the way really quickly. My issue with this film, and why I view it as lesser than Good Time is one simple reason, and that is heart. I felt every moment of Good Time pulsating through my bones and truly felt for the ride that Connie went through. I saw the pain and remorse and emotion in his eyes grow with every passing moment. In Uncut Gems, I don't get the same gravitas and power of the emotion that is provided in Good Time. I never truly saw any remorse in Howard, nor that he really cared about anything else but himself, so when the emotional beats come when we are supposed to feel bad for him, I have a rather hard time doing that. He's not necessarily an unlikable guy, he just doesn't have that anti-hero vibe that Connie supplied. That is the main facet that significantly detracted from my appreciation for this film.
That being said, everything else is stellar. The grittiness of the cinematography works so well with the world we are being immersed in, with even the long shots being very unsteady and dirty looking in the way that the characters are framed. As everyone else is saying, Sandler puts on a magnificent performance (although if he gets nominated and Robert Pattinson didn't for Good Time, I'll be pretty frustrated) that reminds the public of why he demands the level of respect her does. However, the standout here for me is Julia Fox, who makes this film funnier than it has any right to be. She really carries herself in a way that I felt like I had met her before, or at least someone exactly like her. Going off of that, the humor really really works, so much so that I could argue that this is a black comedy instead of the crime thriller it is listed as. Everything from the situational comedy to the witty lines of dialogue just hits you in the chest.
Overall, a wonderful film that I hope will push the Safdie's into the mainstream like Hereditary did to Aster.
First things first, I'd like to get my negatives out of the way really quickly. My issue with this film, and why I view it as lesser than Good Time is one simple reason, and that is heart. I felt every moment of Good Time pulsating through my bones and truly felt for the ride that Connie went through. I saw the pain and remorse and emotion in his eyes grow with every passing moment. In Uncut Gems, I don't get the same gravitas and power of the emotion that is provided in Good Time. I never truly saw any remorse in Howard, nor that he really cared about anything else but himself, so when the emotional beats come when we are supposed to feel bad for him, I have a rather hard time doing that. He's not necessarily an unlikable guy, he just doesn't have that anti-hero vibe that Connie supplied. That is the main facet that significantly detracted from my appreciation for this film.
That being said, everything else is stellar. The grittiness of the cinematography works so well with the world we are being immersed in, with even the long shots being very unsteady and dirty looking in the way that the characters are framed. As everyone else is saying, Sandler puts on a magnificent performance (although if he gets nominated and Robert Pattinson didn't for Good Time, I'll be pretty frustrated) that reminds the public of why he demands the level of respect her does. However, the standout here for me is Julia Fox, who makes this film funnier than it has any right to be. She really carries herself in a way that I felt like I had met her before, or at least someone exactly like her. Going off of that, the humor really really works, so much so that I could argue that this is a black comedy instead of the crime thriller it is listed as. Everything from the situational comedy to the witty lines of dialogue just hits you in the chest.
Overall, a wonderful film that I hope will push the Safdie's into the mainstream like Hereditary did to Aster.
Sue (5 KP) rated Cards From Khloe's Flower Shop in Books
Aug 13, 2018
Khloe Harper’s dream has always been to run a successful flower shop. Now if she could only open her heart again to love after being betrayed by her previous boyfriend. Could the handsome yet mysterious entertainment lawyer Derek Thomas repair her shattered heart?
Connie Albright is a bit of a frumpy office mouse that is endlessly teased by the mean girls she works with. She creates an imaginary boyfriend that sends her flowers weekly from Khloe’s flower shop. When she finds discovers Walt and a possible happy ending, does her lies make her lose her prince charming?
Gabby Lewis is a recently widowed senior. She is trying to get over the loss of the love of her life and her friends convince her to sign up for a dating website for senior citizens. She is soon matched up with Harry an energetic widower. Can he help to ease Gabby’s grief and make her realize she can have another chance at love?
This is a wonderfully touching story about new love, second chances, and opening your heart to romance. Each character is wonderfully developed (with flaws and all) and has you rooting for a happy ending.
Connie Albright is a bit of a frumpy office mouse that is endlessly teased by the mean girls she works with. She creates an imaginary boyfriend that sends her flowers weekly from Khloe’s flower shop. When she finds discovers Walt and a possible happy ending, does her lies make her lose her prince charming?
Gabby Lewis is a recently widowed senior. She is trying to get over the loss of the love of her life and her friends convince her to sign up for a dating website for senior citizens. She is soon matched up with Harry an energetic widower. Can he help to ease Gabby’s grief and make her realize she can have another chance at love?
This is a wonderfully touching story about new love, second chances, and opening your heart to romance. Each character is wonderfully developed (with flaws and all) and has you rooting for a happy ending.
Rachel Unthank recommended How Sad, How Lovely by Connie Converse in Music (curated)
Ross (3282 KP) rated The Shadow Man in Books
Feb 19, 2021 (Updated Feb 19, 2021)
Good thriller, but not a patch on Fields' other books
This standalone (as far as I know) book sits beside Fields' Luc Callanach (Ava Turner) series, again set in Edinburgh. Other than the brash Chief Superintendent Overbeck, none of those characters are introduced here. Instead, because of the workload of Edinburgh's Major Incident Team, DI Baarda has been called in from London to assist in a murder/kidnapping. Along with him is Dr Connie Woodwine, a brash American criminal psychologist. They are looking into the disappearance of one woman, and quickly link it to the death of another and find that they are on the hunt for someone with issues.
Connie is a fairly stereotypical academic, clinical type as she has virtually no people skills on the surface, issuing demands and attacking conversations head-on in a very un-British way. And yet when we see her interviewing witnesses, such as a young girl who saw a schoolmate be abducted, she is suddenly very tactful and sensitive. In this way, she is both an interesting, complex character, but also a much seen cliched one. She has a tendency to do an awful lot of telling during interviews, explaining to all in the room the theory of her approach to the interview. While this was interesting, it took me right out of the book as something completely unnatural, and read more as a brain dump of the author's research for the book. A little more show, less tell as usual would have worked well here.
Baarda is similarly familiar, a dedicated career cop with marital problems (his wife having an open affair with another officer).
Together, the pair piece together few clues and start to evolve something of a profile for the man who has been kidnapping people. However, I felt this aspect didn't yield results until quite late on, all progress up to that point (next to none) was through standard police work/luck.
The antagonist here was interesting, but nowhere near as dark and mysterious as the blurb makes him sound. We're not talking Hannibal Lecter here, just a confused man with a fairly typical upbringing. Fields essentially cottoned on to an interesting medical/psychological condition and pieced together a plot based on it. While this was enjoyable, it made it somewhat crime-by-numbers.
A good book, but left me longing for Ava Turner's more likable policing style.
Advance reading copy received from the publishers and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Connie is a fairly stereotypical academic, clinical type as she has virtually no people skills on the surface, issuing demands and attacking conversations head-on in a very un-British way. And yet when we see her interviewing witnesses, such as a young girl who saw a schoolmate be abducted, she is suddenly very tactful and sensitive. In this way, she is both an interesting, complex character, but also a much seen cliched one. She has a tendency to do an awful lot of telling during interviews, explaining to all in the room the theory of her approach to the interview. While this was interesting, it took me right out of the book as something completely unnatural, and read more as a brain dump of the author's research for the book. A little more show, less tell as usual would have worked well here.
Baarda is similarly familiar, a dedicated career cop with marital problems (his wife having an open affair with another officer).
Together, the pair piece together few clues and start to evolve something of a profile for the man who has been kidnapping people. However, I felt this aspect didn't yield results until quite late on, all progress up to that point (next to none) was through standard police work/luck.
The antagonist here was interesting, but nowhere near as dark and mysterious as the blurb makes him sound. We're not talking Hannibal Lecter here, just a confused man with a fairly typical upbringing. Fields essentially cottoned on to an interesting medical/psychological condition and pieced together a plot based on it. While this was enjoyable, it made it somewhat crime-by-numbers.
A good book, but left me longing for Ava Turner's more likable policing style.
Advance reading copy received from the publishers and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.