Search
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Marriage Act in Books
Jan 22, 2023
Set in a time not too far away, this is a dark and rather creepy tale that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Would you 'upgrade' your marriage if it meant getting preferential treatment ... the best jobs, the best houses, better health care, education, etc., etc., etc.? But then what if that meant artificial intelligence was listening in to snap shots of your conversations and then analysing them to make sure you are keeping to the terms of your marriage? And if not, a scale of interventions would be put into action. Would you still do it? Well, The Marriage Act will probably make you think again!
Mr Marrs certainly gets you thinking and poses really interesting questions and dilemmas in this well plotted, perfectly paced book told from the viewpoints of his well created characters and with some great twists and turns.
Thoroughly enjoyable and quite an unsettling book that actually doesn't feel that far from becoming a reality! How many have an Alexa, Siri or similar digital voice assistant in the home or on your wrist that just sits there? I'm not a conspiracy theorist, however I imagine it wouldn't take much for a law to be passed in the name of improving the economy or society in some way, then a switch is flicked and the process would start ... definitely not beyond the realms of reality and very scary!
This is the second of Mr Marrs' books I have enjoyed and I will definitely read more in the future and thanks must go to Pan Macmillan, Macmillan and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Marriage Act.
Would you 'upgrade' your marriage if it meant getting preferential treatment ... the best jobs, the best houses, better health care, education, etc., etc., etc.? But then what if that meant artificial intelligence was listening in to snap shots of your conversations and then analysing them to make sure you are keeping to the terms of your marriage? And if not, a scale of interventions would be put into action. Would you still do it? Well, The Marriage Act will probably make you think again!
Mr Marrs certainly gets you thinking and poses really interesting questions and dilemmas in this well plotted, perfectly paced book told from the viewpoints of his well created characters and with some great twists and turns.
Thoroughly enjoyable and quite an unsettling book that actually doesn't feel that far from becoming a reality! How many have an Alexa, Siri or similar digital voice assistant in the home or on your wrist that just sits there? I'm not a conspiracy theorist, however I imagine it wouldn't take much for a law to be passed in the name of improving the economy or society in some way, then a switch is flicked and the process would start ... definitely not beyond the realms of reality and very scary!
This is the second of Mr Marrs' books I have enjoyed and I will definitely read more in the future and thanks must go to Pan Macmillan, Macmillan and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Marriage Act.
Arbor Day Can Be Deadly
8.0
Rate It
Book
He came to stay out of trouble. But when a new friendship pulls him deep into danger, can he make it...
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated The Twylight Tower (Elizabeth I, #3) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
I had a very hard time getting through this book. First of all, Elizabeth annoyed the heck out of me. She was very wishy-washy; either she was b!tchy or she was on the verge of tears. Seriously, she's a queen and she needed to be somewhere in the middle most of the time, not at two extremes all the time. Secondly, the relationship between Elizabeth and Robert Dudley didn't add anything to the story and I'd rather there were less of it. I know that there is truth to the relationship, but the way it is written in this book, it doesn't make for a good read. Three, the whole book was rather boring. The characters I had liked in the previous two were hardly in this entry much, and the author made Meg do some stupid things. I think I'd like the whole concept of the book if it had been written in someone else's eyes instead of the focus being through the Queen's eyes. Most especially if it were either William Cecil or the fictional Meg, because there would be more of a leeway of how to write Elizabeth and it would be from a distance. Fourth on my list... The same tired old plot is rather redundant. Someone's in a conspiracy to knock Elizabeth off the throne. *yawn* Couldn't there be a normal murder or mystery instead? It's already been used to death (no pun intended) in just three books! Of course the Queen wouldn't be interested because it has nothing to do with her, therefore every book in the series must be about offing her! Ugh-and-a-half!
I really don't know if I'll pick up the fourth in the series or just drop it. I would like to know what happens with Meg, but I'll have to think about it.
2 stars
I really don't know if I'll pick up the fourth in the series or just drop it. I would like to know what happens with Meg, but I'll have to think about it.
2 stars
Awix (3310 KP) rated Geostorm (2017) in Movies
Feb 7, 2018 (Updated Feb 7, 2018)
Gerard Butles With The Elements
It's a movie directed by the producer of The Day After Tomorrow and 2012, in which Gerard Butler is shot into space to have a fight with bad weather. If the description alone does not make you engage in fairly serious expectation-management, you must be new to this whole going-to-the-movies business.
Um, yeah: Gerard Butler plays a brilliant but maverick meteorologist (stay with me) who invents a global weather control system codenamed 'Dutch Boy' (possibly because the satellites are really high all the time), then gets sacked for being a pain in the neck. Years later, the system starts to go wrong (unimportant people like Afghans and Chinese meet spectacular weather-related deaths) and Butler is recruited by his brother (don't ask) to figure out the problem.
There is a lot of chasing about and a conspiracy and the world's most oddly designed self-destruct system, and the villain turns out to be the person you thought it was all the time. Butler spends most of the movie in space, which at least means Abbie Cornish can do more as a member of the Secret Service who ends up kidnapping the President (it's that kind of movie). Geostorm hasn't quite figured out how to handle having the President as a character in a movie in the current situation: Andy Garcia plays him in a very sensible, nondescript manner, quite divorced from reality.
I have to say a friend of mine said Geostorm was so bad it made London Has Fallen look like a Christopher Nolan movie, but it's not so much flat-out awful as simply very silly, obvious, and predictable, not to mention very much like all the other movies Dean Devlin produced for Roland Emmerich. I suppose the moral should be 'stick to what you're (reasonably) good at'.
Um, yeah: Gerard Butler plays a brilliant but maverick meteorologist (stay with me) who invents a global weather control system codenamed 'Dutch Boy' (possibly because the satellites are really high all the time), then gets sacked for being a pain in the neck. Years later, the system starts to go wrong (unimportant people like Afghans and Chinese meet spectacular weather-related deaths) and Butler is recruited by his brother (don't ask) to figure out the problem.
There is a lot of chasing about and a conspiracy and the world's most oddly designed self-destruct system, and the villain turns out to be the person you thought it was all the time. Butler spends most of the movie in space, which at least means Abbie Cornish can do more as a member of the Secret Service who ends up kidnapping the President (it's that kind of movie). Geostorm hasn't quite figured out how to handle having the President as a character in a movie in the current situation: Andy Garcia plays him in a very sensible, nondescript manner, quite divorced from reality.
I have to say a friend of mine said Geostorm was so bad it made London Has Fallen look like a Christopher Nolan movie, but it's not so much flat-out awful as simply very silly, obvious, and predictable, not to mention very much like all the other movies Dean Devlin produced for Roland Emmerich. I suppose the moral should be 'stick to what you're (reasonably) good at'.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated The Proposal (2009) in Movies
Aug 9, 2019
If you have ever had an awful boss you will commiserate with Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds) executive assistant to fiendish editor Margret Tate (Sandra Bullock). A Canadian, Margret is about to loose her Visa and prestigious job when she devises a plan to stay in the country by marrying Andrew. Realizing that Margret’s deportation also means he will loose his dream chance at becoming an editor, Andrew unhappily agrees.
To make matters worse a tenacious immigration clerk suspects the false conspiracy and threatens fines and felony charges if the bond is not truly romantic. In an effort to make their rouse seem more convincing the two not-so-in-love birds decide to visit Andrew’s family in Alaska.
Through a variety of comedic events and heart to heart discussions their relationship grows. But this new understanding of one another, and appearance of Andrew’s ex-girlfriend, threaten the marriage ploy.
While it is a cute movie the preposterous premise is the core obstacle with the film. Can anyone actually believe a person would ever fall in love with a boss so heinous that the office instant messages warnings of her arrival?
Further detracting from the film’s romantic attempts is the use of disjointed screwball comedy. These scenes, ranging from Ramone’s (Oscar Nuñez) bachelorette strip tease to Grandma Annie’s (Betty White) dancing in the wilderness, would have been more appropriate in “Animal House” than a romantic comedy.
Still the film does have some redeeming qualities; Ryan Reynolds’ bold delivery combines well with Sandra Bullock’s awkward appeal. Also the meritorious supporting cast will surely make you laugh. But if you are looking to be enchantingly swept away this is not the right film.
More funny than romantic the problematic premise makes “The Proposal” simply an OK comedy.
To make matters worse a tenacious immigration clerk suspects the false conspiracy and threatens fines and felony charges if the bond is not truly romantic. In an effort to make their rouse seem more convincing the two not-so-in-love birds decide to visit Andrew’s family in Alaska.
Through a variety of comedic events and heart to heart discussions their relationship grows. But this new understanding of one another, and appearance of Andrew’s ex-girlfriend, threaten the marriage ploy.
While it is a cute movie the preposterous premise is the core obstacle with the film. Can anyone actually believe a person would ever fall in love with a boss so heinous that the office instant messages warnings of her arrival?
Further detracting from the film’s romantic attempts is the use of disjointed screwball comedy. These scenes, ranging from Ramone’s (Oscar Nuñez) bachelorette strip tease to Grandma Annie’s (Betty White) dancing in the wilderness, would have been more appropriate in “Animal House” than a romantic comedy.
Still the film does have some redeeming qualities; Ryan Reynolds’ bold delivery combines well with Sandra Bullock’s awkward appeal. Also the meritorious supporting cast will surely make you laugh. But if you are looking to be enchantingly swept away this is not the right film.
More funny than romantic the problematic premise makes “The Proposal” simply an OK comedy.
Ross (3284 KP) rated Tell Me Lies in Books
Jan 28, 2020
A change in style for James
I received a free advance copy of this book from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ed James' new series takes place in Seattle rather than the UK-based series he has penned to date. There is also a change in subject, focusing on child abductions rather than the standard "murrdurr" fayre.
Special Agent Max Carter is tasked with tracking down a senator's abducted children. With the clock ticking, we see the action from the abductor's PoV as well as Carter's and the father's. The senator finds himself trying to help the abductor of his children to uncover a government conspiracy in which he may have been involved. The mix of different perspectives allows the story to flow with a good pace, with different angles of the emerging story adding up for the reader in way they wouldn't yet do for the characters. In the middle of the book the investigation did start to feel a little samey (both the FBI agents and the abductor/senator teams going through the same leads one after the other), but this didn't last long.
The change in location sadly comes with a change in writing style and this was a downside for me. I like James' flowing narrative and the American tone and style were quite jarring. I would say more American than genuine American authors. However once I accepted this it did not spoil my enjoyment of the book as a whole.
The ending of the story was mostly satisfying but with some loose ends that I hope to see addressed in subsequent books.
A departure for James' readers but worth the trip, and a good book for fans of Harlan Coben and David Baldacci.
Ed James' new series takes place in Seattle rather than the UK-based series he has penned to date. There is also a change in subject, focusing on child abductions rather than the standard "murrdurr" fayre.
Special Agent Max Carter is tasked with tracking down a senator's abducted children. With the clock ticking, we see the action from the abductor's PoV as well as Carter's and the father's. The senator finds himself trying to help the abductor of his children to uncover a government conspiracy in which he may have been involved. The mix of different perspectives allows the story to flow with a good pace, with different angles of the emerging story adding up for the reader in way they wouldn't yet do for the characters. In the middle of the book the investigation did start to feel a little samey (both the FBI agents and the abductor/senator teams going through the same leads one after the other), but this didn't last long.
The change in location sadly comes with a change in writing style and this was a downside for me. I like James' flowing narrative and the American tone and style were quite jarring. I would say more American than genuine American authors. However once I accepted this it did not spoil my enjoyment of the book as a whole.
The ending of the story was mostly satisfying but with some loose ends that I hope to see addressed in subsequent books.
A departure for James' readers but worth the trip, and a good book for fans of Harlan Coben and David Baldacci.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Closed Circuit (2013) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
oday, we’re going to bring you something a little different from ‘across the pond’ in the form of the latest crime-thriller from
the United Kingdom ‘Closed Circuit’.
Directed by John Crowley, ‘Closed Circuit’ tells the story of a fictional terrorist attack on the city of London and it’s aftermath.
Staring Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall, Julia Stiles, Ciaran Hinds, and Jim Broadbent. ‘Closed Circuit’ follows two lawyers (Bana and Hall)
as they individually attempt to prepare the defense of their client, the lone suspect apprehended in the aftermath of the attack on a London market,
in most high profile criminal case in british history, They quickly learn though that all is not as it appears. As they discover they are being shadowed,
their every move monitored, and their pasts scrutinized, it soon becomes clear that no matter what the outcome of the trial is, it might not be
just their reputations that are on the line.
The movie is a fictional example of what unfortunately, has become almost commonplace in today’s world.
Terrorist attacks, manhunts, expanded surveillance, and it makes you ask yourself, Who is the biggest threat to us? Our enemies? Or those we trust
to defend us from our enemies?
‘Closed Circuit’ was well filmed and is cast be top-notch actors. However, once the movie gets past the very beginning it drags on for a while and has little
dialogue. Every line by the actors in the movie implies others hidden within others and is hard to follow sometimes unless you’re a conspiracy theorist.
I’d give the film 2 and a half out of 5 stars. It’s a good flick, don’t get me wrong. But it’s kind of a downer. Not exactly, an ‘escape’ from the summer heat.
Put it in in your queue for NetFilx.
the United Kingdom ‘Closed Circuit’.
Directed by John Crowley, ‘Closed Circuit’ tells the story of a fictional terrorist attack on the city of London and it’s aftermath.
Staring Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall, Julia Stiles, Ciaran Hinds, and Jim Broadbent. ‘Closed Circuit’ follows two lawyers (Bana and Hall)
as they individually attempt to prepare the defense of their client, the lone suspect apprehended in the aftermath of the attack on a London market,
in most high profile criminal case in british history, They quickly learn though that all is not as it appears. As they discover they are being shadowed,
their every move monitored, and their pasts scrutinized, it soon becomes clear that no matter what the outcome of the trial is, it might not be
just their reputations that are on the line.
The movie is a fictional example of what unfortunately, has become almost commonplace in today’s world.
Terrorist attacks, manhunts, expanded surveillance, and it makes you ask yourself, Who is the biggest threat to us? Our enemies? Or those we trust
to defend us from our enemies?
‘Closed Circuit’ was well filmed and is cast be top-notch actors. However, once the movie gets past the very beginning it drags on for a while and has little
dialogue. Every line by the actors in the movie implies others hidden within others and is hard to follow sometimes unless you’re a conspiracy theorist.
I’d give the film 2 and a half out of 5 stars. It’s a good flick, don’t get me wrong. But it’s kind of a downer. Not exactly, an ‘escape’ from the summer heat.
Put it in in your queue for NetFilx.
Field Marshal: The Life and Death of Erwin Rommel
Book
Erwin Rommel was a complex man: a born leader, brilliant soldier, a devoted husband and proud...
Imperial Brothers: Valentinian, Valens and the Disaster at Adrianople
Book
The latest of Ian Hughes' Late Roman biographies here tackles the careers of the brother emperors,...
Etsy Conversations Podcast | Arts & Crafts | DIY | Online Business | Ecommerce | Online Shopping | Entrepreneur Interviews
Podcast
Featuring interviews with Etsy shop owners. Get to hear the personal Etsy stories behind your...