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Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated The Target (Will Robie #3) in Books
May 10, 2018
3.5 stars
Will Robie and Jessica Reel have been called upon again to defend their country. And, as usual this is going to be a difficult mission. This is a little different though because they have to go back through training before being deployed. Why? Well, the DCI, Evan Turner, wants them to prove their loyalties to the country. He is still having a little trouble trusting them after their last mission.
Meanwhile, in North Korea Yie Chung-Cha is preparing for a mission of her own. Raised in a labor camp in Yodok she made the way out by killing her own family and performing for the Supreme Leader. She is preparing a retaliation move on the United States for a foiled plot.
Another great book by David Baldacci. He has me on the edge of my seat again. Wanting to know what is going to happen next. I have listened to the other books in this series and was a little disappointed when the gunshots and explosions didn't jump off the page. The audio versions of the Robie books have actual gunshots and explosions that will have you ducking for cover.
This installment of Robie series, gets deeper into Jessia Reel's past, has appearances by Super Agent Vance, and Julie Getty. This story was like an unusual roller coaster ride. It takes you up gets you all excited and then the excitement dies down all to be drawn back up again. I hope there is going to be more from Robie and Reel, because they always keep me on the edge. The excitement is contagious and I can't wait for the next book.
Will Robie and Jessica Reel have been called upon again to defend their country. And, as usual this is going to be a difficult mission. This is a little different though because they have to go back through training before being deployed. Why? Well, the DCI, Evan Turner, wants them to prove their loyalties to the country. He is still having a little trouble trusting them after their last mission.
Meanwhile, in North Korea Yie Chung-Cha is preparing for a mission of her own. Raised in a labor camp in Yodok she made the way out by killing her own family and performing for the Supreme Leader. She is preparing a retaliation move on the United States for a foiled plot.
Another great book by David Baldacci. He has me on the edge of my seat again. Wanting to know what is going to happen next. I have listened to the other books in this series and was a little disappointed when the gunshots and explosions didn't jump off the page. The audio versions of the Robie books have actual gunshots and explosions that will have you ducking for cover.
This installment of Robie series, gets deeper into Jessia Reel's past, has appearances by Super Agent Vance, and Julie Getty. This story was like an unusual roller coaster ride. It takes you up gets you all excited and then the excitement dies down all to be drawn back up again. I hope there is going to be more from Robie and Reel, because they always keep me on the edge. The excitement is contagious and I can't wait for the next book.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Minari (2020) in Movies
Apr 23, 2021
Ensemble cast acting (2 more)
Music and Cinematography
Engrossing story
A Korean Hillbilly Elegy, done right
In "Minari", a struggling Korean immigrant family - the Yi's led by Jacob (Steven Yeun) and Monica (Yeri Han) - leave California for Arkansas farmland to seek a better life. While employed sexing chicks at a factory, Jacob dreams of farming the land on which they live to improve their lives. But will his obsession for this dream stand between him and his family?
The tale is told through the eyes of young David (Alan S. Kim), who is struggling with a hole in the heart and doubts about his mortality. The arrival of Monica's mother (Yuh-Jung Youn) is resented by David, but the woman is wise (as well as foul mouthed) and perhaps the pair will eventually learn to respect one another?
Positives:
- Gloriously bucolic cinematography (by Lachlan Milne) frames an engrossing story of an immigrant family striving for the American dream. The fact that it is semi-biographical for the writer/director Lee Isaac Chung (also Oscar nominated for both) makes it all the more fascinating.
- All of the leading cast work fabulously as an ensemble. Steven Yeun and Yuh-Jung Youn have all the Oscar nomination glory (with Youn as the Grandmother odds-on to win the Supporting Actress award on Sunday). But Yeri Han is also great and the film wouldn't work unless the two child actors (Alan Kim and Noel Cho) delivered, which they do in spades.
- The music, by Emile Mosseri, is strikingly good and - deservedly - also Oscar nominated.
Negatives:
- The ending. Now, I'm all for leaving things in a thoughtful way, allowing the viewer to ponder on things. But this ending was a little too obscure for me. You need to understand (with thanks to this article) that the vegetable Minari purifies (water), grows in unfavourable soils and only really thrives in its second season. Now, forgive me for not being 'up' on my Korean plant botany, but this was too much of a leap for me. For the uninitiated (I assume 95% of the audience) the ending will feel abrupt and unsatisfying.
Summary Thoughts on "Minari":
Having watched "Hillbilly Elegy" and "Minari" on consecutive nights, I was struck by the unexpected parallels between the films (over and above the Yi's calling themselves "Hillbillies"). Both feature a dysfunctional family (though less so here). And both also feature a lead character, from an impoverished background, trying to better themselves and follow the 'American dream'. And front and centre is the growing relationship between a young boy and their grandmother.
But there the similarities end. For I just loved the simplicity of the story-telling in "Minari". No fancy flashbacks and disjointed timeline here. And a sense that you were really in on the journey of both Jacob and his farm and of the relationship between David and his Grandma.
This was heading at one point for a 10 star rating for me. But - for me anyway - the obscurity of the ending left me with a "WTF" feeling. So I've tempered my rating. Still a great film though, and recommended.
(For the full graphical review, please check out the post on One Mann's Movies on the web or Facebook. Thanks).
The tale is told through the eyes of young David (Alan S. Kim), who is struggling with a hole in the heart and doubts about his mortality. The arrival of Monica's mother (Yuh-Jung Youn) is resented by David, but the woman is wise (as well as foul mouthed) and perhaps the pair will eventually learn to respect one another?
Positives:
- Gloriously bucolic cinematography (by Lachlan Milne) frames an engrossing story of an immigrant family striving for the American dream. The fact that it is semi-biographical for the writer/director Lee Isaac Chung (also Oscar nominated for both) makes it all the more fascinating.
- All of the leading cast work fabulously as an ensemble. Steven Yeun and Yuh-Jung Youn have all the Oscar nomination glory (with Youn as the Grandmother odds-on to win the Supporting Actress award on Sunday). But Yeri Han is also great and the film wouldn't work unless the two child actors (Alan Kim and Noel Cho) delivered, which they do in spades.
- The music, by Emile Mosseri, is strikingly good and - deservedly - also Oscar nominated.
Negatives:
- The ending. Now, I'm all for leaving things in a thoughtful way, allowing the viewer to ponder on things. But this ending was a little too obscure for me. You need to understand (with thanks to this article) that the vegetable Minari purifies (water), grows in unfavourable soils and only really thrives in its second season. Now, forgive me for not being 'up' on my Korean plant botany, but this was too much of a leap for me. For the uninitiated (I assume 95% of the audience) the ending will feel abrupt and unsatisfying.
Summary Thoughts on "Minari":
Having watched "Hillbilly Elegy" and "Minari" on consecutive nights, I was struck by the unexpected parallels between the films (over and above the Yi's calling themselves "Hillbillies"). Both feature a dysfunctional family (though less so here). And both also feature a lead character, from an impoverished background, trying to better themselves and follow the 'American dream'. And front and centre is the growing relationship between a young boy and their grandmother.
But there the similarities end. For I just loved the simplicity of the story-telling in "Minari". No fancy flashbacks and disjointed timeline here. And a sense that you were really in on the journey of both Jacob and his farm and of the relationship between David and his Grandma.
This was heading at one point for a 10 star rating for me. But - for me anyway - the obscurity of the ending left me with a "WTF" feeling. So I've tempered my rating. Still a great film though, and recommended.
(For the full graphical review, please check out the post on One Mann's Movies on the web or Facebook. Thanks).
