Smashbomb

"The poster for Vagabond is an image of a woman with strange, defiant eyes and hair like that of an unkempt animal. In 1985, I was living in New York and going to the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. I had a pretty wild roommate named Lizzie who was really into punk rock. She would party all night and sleep all day. This poster was over her bed. You get the picture. She took me to see Vagabond. I still haven’t recovered. This film introduced me to the director Agnès Varda. Varda has a film language all her own, and anyone who wants to direct will learn story and camera technique by watching Vagabond. You’ll have a field day wondering how she constructed the seamless tracking shots. I had the opportunity to interview Varda, and she gave me the following insight with a glint in her eye: “I try to make something look simple.” Vagabond is a seemingly simple story that gets more complex as you watch it. It begins almost like Sunset Blvd. In the French countryside, the dead body of a young woman is discovered. She’s frozen as if she’s been there for days, and we don’t know anything about her. There is voice-over by Varda herself, not the victim. Who is this woman? How did she get here? Varda will explain for us. The movie plays with time, a theme in Varda’s work that she also explores in Cléo from 5 to 7. With tracking shots moving right to left, Varda goes back in time to reconstruct the events that led to this young woman freezing to death in a ditch. Sandrine Bonnaire’s performance is very raw, almost self-destructive, but very effective. There’s a “There but for the grace of God go I” feeling as you watch her. Every act of rebellion, every bottle of booze, every man she has sex with, brings her closer and closer to her demise. Even when someone is genuinely kind to her, you are wondering when the next act of betrayal will come. The world is a tough place, and sometimes the only grace is the dignity of death. Frozen and still."

Source

Kudos

Merissa (13398 KP) rated Crystal Shard (Paladins of Crystal. #1) in Books

Jul 26, 2022 (Updated Jul 26, 2023)

CRYSTAL SHARD is the first book in the Paladins of Crystal series, a new reverse harem series that promises to be a blast! In a nutshell, Crystal is living with her brother and s-i-l, in a dead-end job. One bad day later and she's hiding in a garden when her muse, whom she didn't know she had, decides to take matters into her own hands. Crystal is transported to a new world and ends up meeting five royal Paladins (Buff Lords). There you go.

Of course, there's more to it than that. I am hoping there will be a book for each of the Paladins but this one was Anton's. Crystal feels attracted to all of them but Anton is the one she spends the most time with. The sparks fly but Anton can't act on his wants and needs, not if he wants his mother to live.

The world-building here is exceptional, just what I've come to expect from this author. The characters are multi-dimensional and, in Crystal's case, snarky and headstrong. This leads to some fantastic situations that you can see clearly.

This book ended way too soon for me. I feel it's going to be a series to read one after the other! Absolutely fantastic. I loved every word and can't wait to read more. Highly recommended by me.

** same worded review will appear elsewhere **

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 20, 2022

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Hutch (9 KP) rated True Romance (1993) in Movies

Jun 18, 2019

True Romance (1993)

1993 | Action, Drama, Mystery

8.5

(25 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Hopper vs Walken (0 more)

Who said Romamce was dead?

Tarantino really burst onto the scene in unforgettable fashion in the early 90s and sandwiched between Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction is this often overlooked Tarantino penned gem.
Full of the witty dialogue, odd ball characters and great music that we've all come to expect from Tarantino, all bought to life by a stunning supporting cast.
I've always thought Christian Slater has been under rated and he proves my point here. Playing Clarence with so much charm and swagger that you can't help rooting for him and Alabama right from the start.
And the scene with Dennis Hopper and Christopher Walken is so well written and played out that its gotta rank right up there with the best of Tarantino.

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David McK (3623 KP) rated Pirate Latitudes in Books

Jan 30, 2019

Michael Crichton's last full work, and in a move unusual for an author best known for techno-thrillers, this novel is actually a historical adventure.

Although it is not the first time he has dabbled in the genre (see also The Great Train Robbery and Eaters of the Dead), I felt that his relative lack of experience of said genre showed: one needs only compare this to a work by Bernard Cornwell, for instance.

I suppose It is possible that the novel was finished but not completed, if you know what I mean, and I also got the feeling that he was trying to jump on the Pirates of the Caribbean (albeit without the magic!) bandwagon with this novel, also set in the Caribbean during the time of Charles II

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Population Zero

Fran Lewis

8.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Imagine a forest so dense and so filled with trees that you cannot see anything but darkness. The...

Science Fiction

The Warp Zone

4.3 (3 Ratings) Rate It

YouTube Channel

NEW VIDEOS EVERY FRIDAY! The Warp Zone is a pop-culture sketch comedy, gaming, and music video...

Ghost in Photo Studio Editor – Prank Pic Montage Maker with Scary Ghosts Camera Stickers Free

Lifestyle and Photo & Video

(0 Ratings) Rate It

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Scare your friends right now! Make ghost photos with fantastic photo montage maker free and have a...

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2434 KP) rated Twelve Slays of Christmas (A Christmas Tree Farm Mystery #1) in Books

Mar 9, 2018

When Holly White calls off her wedding, she returns to her family’s tree farm in Maine just in time for the annual Reindeer Games, which take place in the twelve days leading up to Christmas. However, the night before the games are set to start, Margaret comes in causing problems in her quest to keep the town exactly historically accurate. When Holly finds Margaret dead among the trees a few hours later, the police start looking a little too close to home. Can Holly clear her family and friends before Christmas?

If you are looking for a Christmas cozy, this one is perfect. Each page oozes Christmas cheer, and the games sound like a ton of fun. I’d love to visit and play myself. Unfortunately, I did feel this got in the way of the mystery at times, and Holly spent quite a bit to time reacting to events rather than actually investigating at other points. Still, it held together well overall, and we got a great climax. The characters are already sharp, and their relationships help add to the Christmas cheer.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2017/10/book-review-twelve-slays-of-christmas.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.