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To All the Boys I've Loved Before
To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Jenny Han | 2014 | Children
9
8.8 (12 Ratings)
Book Rating
I picked this up mostly because the trailer for the Netflix adaptation looked AMAZING. It's the first book in a trilogy, and I really want to read the other two now! Lara Jean is the middle daughter in a house of three daughters, being raised by their widower father. The relationships between the four of them play a large part in the book, as they are all adjusting to the eldest daughter being away at college. Everyone's roles are changing, and in the middle of that, Lara Jean's private love letters get mailed to the boys she wrote them to, throwing her love life into chaos as well.

I loved almost every character in this book - even Lara's troublemaking best friend has a good heart. I definitely need to watch the Netflix show now, because I really want to see how Chris - aforementioned best friend - is represented!

The family scenes around Christmas really tugged at my heart - Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, and the author absolutely NAILED the nostalgic, slightly dreamy, loving holiday atmosphere.

To All The Boys I've Loved Before was a cute, sweet read, and really my only negative thing to say about it is the ending left me hanging! Which is part of why I really need to read the other two books, so I suppose it was a good strategy. But man I hate cliffhangers!

You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
  
The Liar's Room
The Liar's Room
Simon Lelic | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
8
7.3 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

I was immediately intrigued by the tagline of "The Liar's Room by Simon Lelic. "One room. Two liars. No way out".

Susanna Fenton is not who she seems to be. Years ago, she left her old life and reinvented herself with a new identity.

Now, she is an overprotective mother to teenage Emily. Emily loves her mother but wants a little freedom. When a cute, but older, boy pays attention to her Emily is thrilled and more than willing to keep him a secret from her mother.

Susanna also works as a counselor and meets with a new client, Adam Geraghty. She knows she should trust her instincts but does not and quickly discovers Adam also is not who he seems to be.

Their session becomes a verbal tennis match between them and Emily is the prize.

I had noticed Lelic's "The New Neighbors" in the store and added to my "want to read" list. After reading "The Liar's Room" I have moved it to "need to read soon"! This book was a thriller that was a great read but not easy to figure out people's secrets.

This is a creepy and disturbing tale full of lies, truths, and suspense.

Published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Goodreads, Twitter, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on 1/25/19.
  
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Midge (525 KP) Feb 6, 2019

Great review, Christine! I want to read this, too.

Last Christmas (2019)
Last Christmas (2019)
2019 | Comedy, Romance
Thunderously crass and obvious Christmas turkey, in which A Christmas Carol is involved in a head-on smash with the Richard Curtis rom-com formula: many normally reliable performers are scythed down by the shrapnel, possibly along with unfortunate audience members. The Christmas Carol personal-redemption story formula requires the lead character to be a horrible person in need of reformation; the rom-com pattern requires them to be cute and loveable from the start. Even if Emilia Clarke was as good an actress as I am always being told, she would need to be equipped with a much better script in order to square this particular circle.

This is the main problem the film has to contend with; others include the misplaced belief that quirkiness is an acceptable substitute for actual wit, and a generally pervasive sense of insincerity (it's hard to shake the notion that some key cast members were only employed to help flog this thing in Asian markets). This is before we get to the astonishing non-twist central to the story, or the glib platitudes casually dropped into the script. I imagine people will say its heart is in the right place (somewhat ironically); this is only true if you think the correct place for the heart is between the ears. I laughed once, and this was understandable, for it was at Peter Serafinowicz: unfortunately he is only in one scene.
  
Gremlins (1984)
Gremlins (1984)
1984 | Comedy, Horror
8
8.1 (56 Ratings)
Movie Rating
After Midnight
Gremlins- a classic christmas horror movie, with cute creatures and then if you dont follow the rules the creatures turn into mad creatures. So you better follow the rules cause ifnt than you might get killed or eatting or bitten by them.

Also by the way this movie was PG, yes PG, and this movie does have some gore, death, dark humor and more. IE the mircowave sence. A Family Pitcure, a classic christmas movie by the way and its PG. In response to this and to similar complaints about Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Spielberg suggested that the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) alter its rating system, which it did within two months of the film's release, creating a new PG-13 rating

The Plot: A gadget salesman is looking for a special gift for his son and finds one at a store in Chinatown. The shopkeeper is reluctant to sell him the `mogwai' but sells it to him with the warning to never expose him to bright light, water, or to feed him after midnight. All of this happens and the result is a gang of gremlins that decide to tear up the town on Christmas Eve.

Steven Spielberg was the film's executive producer, written by Chris Columbus and directed by Joe Dante.

A classic christmas horror film, that all people should see and watch.
  
Annie (2014)
Annie (2014)
2014 | Drama, Family, Musical
7
6.0 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The 2014 re-make of Annie, starring Jamie Foxx as Will Stacks, Quvenzhané Wallis as
Annie, Rose Byrne as Grace, Bobby Cannavale as Guy and Cameron Diaz as Miss Hannigan
is a musical that is fun and caused me to sing along.

The story was cute, and obviously at least somewhat predictable if you are older
than 30-ish.

Parts of it were a very tiny bit scary for my son (6), mostly centered around Annie
being swept off by 'bad guys'.

Cameron Diaz does a pretty good job as Miss Hannigan and sings fairly well. She
doesn't 'copy' Carol Burnetts role as Miss Hannigan, but rather makes it her own,
modern version.

Jamie Foxx is great as Will Stacks and has a great voice. He portrays gruff and
unapproachable very well, and I liked him in the role.

The show stealer was Quvenzhané Wallis as Annie. Her performance was great and she
sang her little heart out. I connected with her emotionally and found her to be very
believable as a kid trying to find her place in the world.

I liked the film, and feel it is a good re-make. It isn't one hundred percent like
the original, but a new, modern twist on it.

My son liked it, and my husband liked it more than he thought he would.

We would be happy to see it again in the theatre.

I would give this over 3.5 out of 5 stars.
  
Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)
Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)
2012 | Action, Animation, Comedy
5
6.9 (23 Ratings)
Movie Rating
“Ice Age: Continental Drift” starts with Sid the Sloth telling a cute joke that sets up the whole movie plot and telling a new character how he and his friends fought dinosaurs and glaciers in the past. Manny, Sid and Diego are back on a new adventure going around the world looking for Sids prize acorn.

Manny is sadly separated from his mate Ellie and their daughter. While the trio are on the iceberg Peaches is on land trying to keep up with the cool kids of her class, which brings in a lot of new celebrity voices including Drake, Nicki Minaj and Heather Morris from Glee.

The story then jumps back to the iceberg when the trio comes across a Pirate Monkey named Captain Gutt, and a love interest for Diego in the form of a white tiger named Shira voiced by Jennifer Lopez. The Pirates try to take over and stop the friends from sailing on the high seas.

The movie tends to drag a little and songs are also now included in the dialog. The movie does deliver some rude jokes that younger audiences may not get, which makes it a family flick and a little bit of everything for the whole family. There are some laugh out loud moments and a few tears to be shed, however you would like to slice it, it will make for a nice afternoon movie with the family with younger children.
  
    Puggy - Pug widget & emoji

    Puggy - Pug widget & emoji

    Utilities, Entertainment and Stickers

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    Your little Pug dog on your phone's lock screen will help you keep track of calendar events, give...