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Lantern (Danubian #1)
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In the black night, I alone uphold the shrine of the seven lantern gods. The year is 2448....
MM Paranormal Romance
Lee (2222 KP) rated Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018) in Movies
Jul 3, 2018
Not quite as good as the original
Before watching Sicario 2, I really wanted to try and watch the original movie again, but never got a chance. I remember it being brutal and intense, with outstanding performances from Emily Blunt and Benicio Del Toro. I remember it gripping me from beginning to end. But, strangely, I couldn't remember very much about it at all other than basic plot details. I know I would recommend it in a heartbeat though, so I was excited for what the sequel would bring.
In Sicario: Day of the Solado (or just Sicario 2: Soldado here in the UK...), the brutal intensity is introduced right from the start. A suicide bomber blows himself up at the U.S. - Mexican border. Then, in a Kansas supermarket, terrorists enter and detonate two bombs, followed by a third which is detonated while a woman and child plead to be set free. It's shocking, upsetting, and sticks with you uncomfortably for a while, serving as a push to get you behind federal agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) as he's brought in to start a war between the Mexican drug cartels. The plan has something to do with securing the border from terrorists, which kind of doesn't make much sense, but after the events in the opening scenes, you just want somebody to get out there and kick some ass. And with the promise that he's allowed to play things "dirty", you know that Josh Brolin is more than capable. He locates and recruits Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) to help him out, with the promise of getting revenge against the family responsible for the death of his own family. They kidnap the daughter of a top gang boss, and attempt to blame it on a rival gang. But things don't go according to plan.
Like the original, there are plenty of intense, well executed scenes, but this just didn't grip me in the same way as the first movie did. Benicio Del Toro is just brilliant, but the lack of Emily Blunt was noticeable. Still a very enjoyable movie though.
In Sicario: Day of the Solado (or just Sicario 2: Soldado here in the UK...), the brutal intensity is introduced right from the start. A suicide bomber blows himself up at the U.S. - Mexican border. Then, in a Kansas supermarket, terrorists enter and detonate two bombs, followed by a third which is detonated while a woman and child plead to be set free. It's shocking, upsetting, and sticks with you uncomfortably for a while, serving as a push to get you behind federal agent Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) as he's brought in to start a war between the Mexican drug cartels. The plan has something to do with securing the border from terrorists, which kind of doesn't make much sense, but after the events in the opening scenes, you just want somebody to get out there and kick some ass. And with the promise that he's allowed to play things "dirty", you know that Josh Brolin is more than capable. He locates and recruits Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) to help him out, with the promise of getting revenge against the family responsible for the death of his own family. They kidnap the daughter of a top gang boss, and attempt to blame it on a rival gang. But things don't go according to plan.
Like the original, there are plenty of intense, well executed scenes, but this just didn't grip me in the same way as the first movie did. Benicio Del Toro is just brilliant, but the lack of Emily Blunt was noticeable. Still a very enjoyable movie though.
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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated The Tourist (2010) in Movies
Aug 8, 2019
Frank Tupelo, played by Johnny Depp, is a math teacher from Wisconsin who decides to take a vacation in Italy, in hopes of mending his broken heart. While traveling on a train bound for Venice, he befriends an interesting and mysterious woman who sits next to him. Elise Clifton-Ward, played by Angelina Jolie, has been on the run from the mob and the British police for the past couple of years because her lover, Alexander Pearce, embezzled over $2 billion from a mobster. The British police want their cut for taxes owed, but without really knowing what Alexander looks like, the police are essentially just waiting for Elise to make contact with him.
Elise picks Frank to play a part in her plans of steering the mob and the British police in a different direction. After arriving in Venice, they both go their separate ways, but still end up finding each other later while Frank is sightseeing. Elise invites him on her boat and then takes him back to her hotel. They share a few passionate moments as Elise attempts to make the police who are spying on them believe that Frank is really Alexander. When Frank awakens the next day, he realizes that Elise is gone. This is where the action begins. Not only are the police after Frank, so are the mobsters from whom Alexander stole, making for a messy situationi for Frank. With a lot of great twists and turns in this movie as well as smart dialogue, The Tourist succeeds in putting a smile on your face while keeping you on the edge of your seat.
Angelina Jolie’s Elise Ward knows the power of her beauty and uses it to her great advantage. The strong supporting cast includes the likes of Paul Bettany, Timothy Dalton and Steven Berkoff. Unlike most of Johnny Depp’s other movies where he exudes confidence, he is like a lost puppy being chased for something he is unaware of doing. I do have to say that I am always able to see some of Depp’s most famous character, Captain Jack Sparrow, shine through in his current roles. If you watch closely during a chase scene, he starts to run away from the mob exactly as Captain Jack would. Or maybe that’s just how Johnny Depp runs.
Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who makes great use of spectacular views and locales, The Tourist is a great action-adventure with storyline that keeps you interested. Sharp, witty dialog and two of the hottest stars playing the leads make The Tourist a movie worth watching.
Elise picks Frank to play a part in her plans of steering the mob and the British police in a different direction. After arriving in Venice, they both go their separate ways, but still end up finding each other later while Frank is sightseeing. Elise invites him on her boat and then takes him back to her hotel. They share a few passionate moments as Elise attempts to make the police who are spying on them believe that Frank is really Alexander. When Frank awakens the next day, he realizes that Elise is gone. This is where the action begins. Not only are the police after Frank, so are the mobsters from whom Alexander stole, making for a messy situationi for Frank. With a lot of great twists and turns in this movie as well as smart dialogue, The Tourist succeeds in putting a smile on your face while keeping you on the edge of your seat.
Angelina Jolie’s Elise Ward knows the power of her beauty and uses it to her great advantage. The strong supporting cast includes the likes of Paul Bettany, Timothy Dalton and Steven Berkoff. Unlike most of Johnny Depp’s other movies where he exudes confidence, he is like a lost puppy being chased for something he is unaware of doing. I do have to say that I am always able to see some of Depp’s most famous character, Captain Jack Sparrow, shine through in his current roles. If you watch closely during a chase scene, he starts to run away from the mob exactly as Captain Jack would. Or maybe that’s just how Johnny Depp runs.
Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, who makes great use of spectacular views and locales, The Tourist is a great action-adventure with storyline that keeps you interested. Sharp, witty dialog and two of the hottest stars playing the leads make The Tourist a movie worth watching.
Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated The Wife Who Got A Life in Books
Jul 1, 2021
A hilarious look at the trials of life from a woman who is worrying about looming menopause. From two teenagers who seem to create chaos when in the same room together to an absent husband who just doesn’t listen, Cathy has her work set out with her home life.
We follow Cathy on her journey through one year after her sister gifts her a motivational diary, which Cathy decides to use for her own small targets like deciding who is going to clean her mum and dad’s loo to the far reaching targets like dancing with Hugh Jackman.
Every month she has a book club meeting, where more often than not, only a couple of the members have actually read the book. But they use it as more of a night where they can catch up and chat about their lives.
As a trained accountant, Cathy gave up working when she had her two children but did a little bit for some small local businesses, but that changes when she sees Tony one day (who she regularly meets on her dog walks) and he tells her he is in need for an accountant, she then ends up going to work in a hip, cool building which does her confidence wonders.
The book really did have some funny parts which made me giggle, and some that made me cry. The only reason for the 3 star rating was that I don’t think that I was the intended audience (a bit on the younger side and nowhere near menopause, I hope!) but I could still find the funny side in a lot of her worries and the situations that arise throughout.
We follow Cathy on her journey through one year after her sister gifts her a motivational diary, which Cathy decides to use for her own small targets like deciding who is going to clean her mum and dad’s loo to the far reaching targets like dancing with Hugh Jackman.
Every month she has a book club meeting, where more often than not, only a couple of the members have actually read the book. But they use it as more of a night where they can catch up and chat about their lives.
As a trained accountant, Cathy gave up working when she had her two children but did a little bit for some small local businesses, but that changes when she sees Tony one day (who she regularly meets on her dog walks) and he tells her he is in need for an accountant, she then ends up going to work in a hip, cool building which does her confidence wonders.
The book really did have some funny parts which made me giggle, and some that made me cry. The only reason for the 3 star rating was that I don’t think that I was the intended audience (a bit on the younger side and nowhere near menopause, I hope!) but I could still find the funny side in a lot of her worries and the situations that arise throughout.
Jordan Binkerd (567 KP) rated Men in Black International (2019) in Movies
Sep 14, 2019
Chris Hemsworth (2 more)
Tessa Thompson
Pawny
The two twists are visible a mile away (1 more)
No Will Smith, no Tommy Lee Jones
Not as good as the original, but still excellent
I see a lot of derogatory reviews for this one, and I don't really understand that. Is it as good as the original? No. Neither were the other two sequels. I can only think of two sequels in the history of movies that were as good or better than the original: Terminator 2 - Judgement Day and Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back. Okay, three, I forgot about The Road Warrior. My point stands. It's an unfair expectation to put on this film, which was perfectly enjoyable and managed to move the MiB franchise outside New York City for a change.
Agent M is our protagonist, a woman who witnessed MiB in action as a girl and escaped being Neuralized. After tracking down MiB, she's sent to London and partnered with Agent H, a legend in the agency who seems to have lost what made him a competent agent. Together, they must ferret out a mole in the Men in Black....
While they're no Smith and Jones, Hemsworth and Thompson have excellent chemistry as evidenced by their repeatedly being paired with each other. Emma Thompson and Liam Neeson are incapable of failing to entertain, especially in material as bonkers as MiB, and Pawny was hilarious. The storyline is a bit cliche, and you see the twists coming miles away, but on the whole I greatly enjoyed the film. It's exactly what I expected it to be, exactly what it wanted to be. The reason for H's change in character is left a little bit ambiguous and unexplained, but should be clear enough on further consideration. I'd be down for a couple more with this cast, honestly....
Agent M is our protagonist, a woman who witnessed MiB in action as a girl and escaped being Neuralized. After tracking down MiB, she's sent to London and partnered with Agent H, a legend in the agency who seems to have lost what made him a competent agent. Together, they must ferret out a mole in the Men in Black....
While they're no Smith and Jones, Hemsworth and Thompson have excellent chemistry as evidenced by their repeatedly being paired with each other. Emma Thompson and Liam Neeson are incapable of failing to entertain, especially in material as bonkers as MiB, and Pawny was hilarious. The storyline is a bit cliche, and you see the twists coming miles away, but on the whole I greatly enjoyed the film. It's exactly what I expected it to be, exactly what it wanted to be. The reason for H's change in character is left a little bit ambiguous and unexplained, but should be clear enough on further consideration. I'd be down for a couple more with this cast, honestly....
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated My Unfair Lady in Books
Apr 27, 2018
My Unfair Lady by Kathryne Kennedy
Genre: Historical fiction, Historical Romance
Rating: 4/5
Summary (from the back of the book):
HE CREATED THE PERFECT WOMAN… the impoverished Duke of Monchester despises the rich Americans who flock to London, seeking to buy their way into the ranks of the British peerage. So when railroad heiress Summer Wine Lee offers him a king’s ransom if he’ll teach her to become a proper lady, he’s prepared to rebuff her. But when he meets the petite beauty with the knife in her boot, it’s not her fortune he finds impossible to resist…
…FOR THE ARMS OF ANOTHER MAN. Frontier-bred Summer Wine Lee has no interest in winning over London society—it’s the New York bluebloods and her future mother-in-law she’s determined to impress. She knows the cost of smoothing her rough-and-tumble frontier edges will be high. But she never imagined it might cost her her heart…
Review: This book is so cute! The dialogue is lively, the characters are likeable (or in the case of the “bad ones”, hate-able), and the images and descriptions are clear and visible. I loved it by the end of the first chapter.
Summer was my kind of girl. She grinned when things were funny instead of trying to remain indifferent, she wasn’t afraid to show how she felt—but she could also throw a knife, shoot an arrow better than the woman champion of their day, and mount and ride a horse bareback (which I think is so cool!). She has a love for animals—and odd ones at that. She owns a three-legged dog, a dog with four legs but the size of a small horse, a monkey, a pocket-sized puppy, a fox, and a cat with no back legs (it sits in a cart and rolls around the room). She was raised by an Indian (one of those childhood dreams that I never quite left behind…) and he was the one who had taught her all that great stuff. Watching her try to settle into society was hilarious.
MY UNFAIR LADY has a lot of tension in it—both inner turmoil from poor Summer, and also sexual tension between the characters. However, it wasn’t overpowering because was so funny. I found that I laughed just as often as tension was built, so there was a constant, even balance. The end was very exciting, and I found it impossible to put down. Overall, reading this book was a hilarious and wonderful experience, and an unforgettable escape from reality.
Plot: My Fair Lady (the movie) shows a girl who is transformed to a lady, then the man falls in love with her. I love the change that has taken place in MY UNFAIR LADY—The man doesn’t want to change her, because he loves her the way she is. I like this plot better than the first!
Writing: The writing was decent, acceptable, and more readable than a lot of newly published romances. Though it wasn’t Dante, it wasn’t hard to read either.
Content: Refreshingly, there was no language in this book. Summer has her own set of expletives, but they weren’t offensive (“Tarnation!”). As far as sex, let’s just say there were several scenes (pages) in this book that I skipped completely, and just started reading again where the dialogue picked up. I didn’t miss anything important.
Recommendation: Ages 18+ to lovers of Historical fiction, Romance in general, or anyone who loves a girl who can shoot a gun, wield a knife, or use a bow and arrow better than a man!
**Thanks to Danielle at Sourcebooks for supplying my review copy!**
Genre: Historical fiction, Historical Romance
Rating: 4/5
Summary (from the back of the book):
HE CREATED THE PERFECT WOMAN… the impoverished Duke of Monchester despises the rich Americans who flock to London, seeking to buy their way into the ranks of the British peerage. So when railroad heiress Summer Wine Lee offers him a king’s ransom if he’ll teach her to become a proper lady, he’s prepared to rebuff her. But when he meets the petite beauty with the knife in her boot, it’s not her fortune he finds impossible to resist…
…FOR THE ARMS OF ANOTHER MAN. Frontier-bred Summer Wine Lee has no interest in winning over London society—it’s the New York bluebloods and her future mother-in-law she’s determined to impress. She knows the cost of smoothing her rough-and-tumble frontier edges will be high. But she never imagined it might cost her her heart…
Review: This book is so cute! The dialogue is lively, the characters are likeable (or in the case of the “bad ones”, hate-able), and the images and descriptions are clear and visible. I loved it by the end of the first chapter.
Summer was my kind of girl. She grinned when things were funny instead of trying to remain indifferent, she wasn’t afraid to show how she felt—but she could also throw a knife, shoot an arrow better than the woman champion of their day, and mount and ride a horse bareback (which I think is so cool!). She has a love for animals—and odd ones at that. She owns a three-legged dog, a dog with four legs but the size of a small horse, a monkey, a pocket-sized puppy, a fox, and a cat with no back legs (it sits in a cart and rolls around the room). She was raised by an Indian (one of those childhood dreams that I never quite left behind…) and he was the one who had taught her all that great stuff. Watching her try to settle into society was hilarious.
MY UNFAIR LADY has a lot of tension in it—both inner turmoil from poor Summer, and also sexual tension between the characters. However, it wasn’t overpowering because was so funny. I found that I laughed just as often as tension was built, so there was a constant, even balance. The end was very exciting, and I found it impossible to put down. Overall, reading this book was a hilarious and wonderful experience, and an unforgettable escape from reality.
Plot: My Fair Lady (the movie) shows a girl who is transformed to a lady, then the man falls in love with her. I love the change that has taken place in MY UNFAIR LADY—The man doesn’t want to change her, because he loves her the way she is. I like this plot better than the first!
Writing: The writing was decent, acceptable, and more readable than a lot of newly published romances. Though it wasn’t Dante, it wasn’t hard to read either.
Content: Refreshingly, there was no language in this book. Summer has her own set of expletives, but they weren’t offensive (“Tarnation!”). As far as sex, let’s just say there were several scenes (pages) in this book that I skipped completely, and just started reading again where the dialogue picked up. I didn’t miss anything important.
Recommendation: Ages 18+ to lovers of Historical fiction, Romance in general, or anyone who loves a girl who can shoot a gun, wield a knife, or use a bow and arrow better than a man!
**Thanks to Danielle at Sourcebooks for supplying my review copy!**
Billie Wichkan (118 KP) rated Conviction in Books
May 22, 2019
From 'the woman who may be Britains finest living crime novelist' (Daily Telegraph), Conviction stars a strong female protagonist who is obsessed by true-crime podcasts and decides, one day, to investigate one of the unsolved crimes herself.
Its just a normal morning for Anna McDonald. Gym kits, packed lunches, getting everyone up and ready. Until she opens the front door to her best friend, Estelle. Anna turns to see her own husband at the top of the stairs, suitcase in hand. Theyre leaving together and theyre taking Annas two daughters with them.
Left alone in the big, dark house, Anna cant think, she cant take it in. With her safe, predictable world shattered, she distracts herself with a story: a true-crime podcast. Theres a sunken yacht in the Mediterranean, multiple murders and a hint of power and corruption. Then Anna realises she knew one of the victims in another life. She is convinced she knows what happened. Her past, so carefully hidden until now, will no longer stay silent.
This is a murder she cant ignore, and she throws herself into investigating the case. But little does she know, her past and present lives are about to collide, sending everything she has worked so hard to achieve into freefall.
This is my first read by Denise Mina and it won't be my last.
What a brilliant read this was. Wow what an opening this had with it.
This definitely psychological thriller and very chilling.
Loved the writing style and the plot of this story.
Really enjoyed the characters and couldn't stop reading til finished as I just had to know.
Recommend reading!
My thanks to Random House U.K. Vintage Publishing for an eARC via NetGalley and this is my honest voluntary review.
Its just a normal morning for Anna McDonald. Gym kits, packed lunches, getting everyone up and ready. Until she opens the front door to her best friend, Estelle. Anna turns to see her own husband at the top of the stairs, suitcase in hand. Theyre leaving together and theyre taking Annas two daughters with them.
Left alone in the big, dark house, Anna cant think, she cant take it in. With her safe, predictable world shattered, she distracts herself with a story: a true-crime podcast. Theres a sunken yacht in the Mediterranean, multiple murders and a hint of power and corruption. Then Anna realises she knew one of the victims in another life. She is convinced she knows what happened. Her past, so carefully hidden until now, will no longer stay silent.
This is a murder she cant ignore, and she throws herself into investigating the case. But little does she know, her past and present lives are about to collide, sending everything she has worked so hard to achieve into freefall.
This is my first read by Denise Mina and it won't be my last.
What a brilliant read this was. Wow what an opening this had with it.
This definitely psychological thriller and very chilling.
Loved the writing style and the plot of this story.
Really enjoyed the characters and couldn't stop reading til finished as I just had to know.
Recommend reading!
My thanks to Random House U.K. Vintage Publishing for an eARC via NetGalley and this is my honest voluntary review.
Dominicana
8.0
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SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2020 'A story for now, an important story . . ....
Historical Fiction New York Literary Fiction Adult Fiction The Dominican Republic Coming of Age
The House on the Lake
8.0
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No matter how far you run . . . He's never far behind 'Gripping, poignant' Rosamund Lupton ...