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End of Ever After: A Cinderella Retelling
End of Ever After: A Cinderella Retelling
E.L. Tenenbaum | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
End of Ever After A Cinderella Retelling by E.L. Tenenbaum
End of Ever After is the first in a series of fairy tale re-tellings by E.L. Tenenbaum. After reading this one about CinderElla, I can only say that I WILL be reading the others. This was a fantastic re-telling of the original story, rather than the Disney version. I loved how it was played out, told as past and present tense intermingle, giving you hints of what is to come without knowing the full details.

I thought the names given to the characters were excellent, and I thoroughly enjoyed putting the descriptions of the characters and their new names to the ones I already know. Some of the characters hide their truths, others wear them as a shield. Either way, this book is full of characters to love or loathe. I will say from the start that Matteus was a favourite of mine, and I only hope for a HEA in his future! As for the ending here? Sheer perfection for the story. I couldn't envisage it any other way, and don't want to either.

With no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading, I found this book to be wonderfully paced, giving a rich story without too many or not enough embellishments. I loved this world, and can't wait to return to it. Absolutely recommended by me.

* 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!
  
    Makers

    Makers

    Cory Doctorow

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Book

    What does the future look like? A brilliantly entertaining and original novel about the end of the...

Histoire de Melody Nelson by Serge Gainsbourg
Histoire de Melody Nelson by Serge Gainsbourg
1971 | World
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Well, it seems a bit silly to try and sell this album because it speaks for itself. It's one of the most perfect pieces of music ever made. When I started going out with my partner ten or 11 years ago he was obsessed with this record and would play it over and over. Initially it was all ""this is so cool and Serge is so sexy"" and the overall sound is amazing for such a short record. But then you realise that it is so minimal in a way; aside from the orchestration there is a juxtaposition of a really simple instrumentation and then these wild, beautiful string arrangements which is just incredible. However, despite all the other instruments, I discovered how important the bass guitar is from playing this record. For years after listening to Histoire De Melody Nelson the bass guitar was my favourite instrument. The story within the lyrics came later as I delved deeper into the album. You get over one thing that you find fascinating and then the lyrics are something else – the whole concept of him running over Melody Nelson. What is it – 26 minutes long? It's just perfection. You have a song like 'Valse De Melody' which is like a Disney song; just strings and Serge and you become wholly aware of how important the tracklisting is on these songs for the album to be fully realised. I think it's one of the best records ever made. It's one of those records I always think of when I try to finish making an album. I start to take everything unnecessary off what we have recorded. It's a record of simplicity."

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Paisan (Paisà) (1948)
Paisan (Paisà) (1948)
1948 | International, Classics, Comedy
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"This is another film my grandfather showed me at a very young age. It was one of the first times I ever saw reality unfold like that on-screen. The more I watch it, the more that different things pop out. When I was young, this was the first time I ever saw an interaction between an African American and a young Italian kid—and that was big for me, because when I was in Italy my mother was always the only African American around and I was this young Italian kid. So seeing both these cultures represented, and seeing the way they’re represented, made me realize cinema could reflect life—that it’s not just about entertainment, that it can be about something very real. When you really think about the postwar years, the image of Italy was very much constructed through Rossellini films. In the era of Fascism, people like Rossellini and the partisan movement were silenced, so it’s not that they didn’t exist—it’s just that they weren’t allowed to be as vocal because their lives were at stake. The fact that he gave a voice to this movement, showing that Italy did in fact have this fiercely anti-Fascist side that suffered as much as anyone, I think was very important for how Italy has been seen in the postwar years. It’s one of those rare moments when a director has this deeply personal film to make that also coincides with one of the biggest events in world history. I’m definitely drawn to this tradition of filmmaking because I grew up on these films as much as I grew up on Disney."

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Timothy Spall recommended Mary Poppins (1964) in Movies (curated)

 
Mary Poppins (1964)
Mary Poppins (1964)
1964 | Classics, Comedy, Family

"One of my favorite films of all time has got to be Mary Poppins. Well I was old enough to remember it when it came out, but I don’t think I saw it in the cinema, I think I saw it when it eventually came on television. In those days, you had to wait about six or seven years before a film got from the f–king cinemas to the television, and it being Disney, they never actually released their films. It was a very clever policy: They just re-released them every 10 years. I think it’s one of those movies. I was having a very depressing time recently working on a job. I was feeling particularly bad and I put the television on on a Sunday afternoon, and Dick Van Dyke was singing “Chim Chimney” — it just lifted my spirits. Everybody criticized his Cockney accent — and even at the time I probably joined in — and you can criticize his Cockney accent, but you cannot criticize his brilliant comic dancing. It’s f–king wonderful. Oh, it’s wonderful. And the quality of the work: The beauty of that film, the simplicity of it and the way it was made and directed; the charm. The way it appeals to people — it’s the old cliché, you know: Eight or 80. It’s a wonderful piece of work. And it’s magical. It’s one of those films, you know, that you can dip into. If you’re ever feeling low, stick it on and you’ll feel much better. If you haven’t got any illegal drugs, put that on and you’ll be alright. [Laughs]"

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Black Widow (2021)
Black Widow (2021)
2021 | Action
Contains spoilers, click to show
Black widow is part Russian spy movie, part 'Fast and Furious' with a bit of marvel thrown in.
The Russian spy movie part is obvious, Black widow is a Russian spy, she doesn't even have any powers. After finding out that the man who ran the spy program was not dead (that's what happened in Budapest) and had improved on the training Natasha joins forces with her old 'Family' to try and bring him down.
We have car chases, bike chases, flying fortresses, planes, helicopters and family. No one goes to space but I'm sure that, if they had spoken about Family for even a few seconds more then 'Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel)' would have crossed franchises to give them a thumbs up and maybe even lend them a car or two.

(Most) of the film takes place between Captain America: Civil war and Avengers: Infinity war whilst the Avengers are still separated and (almost) no other characters from the franchise appear in the film, the avengers are mentioned (one appears in a photo) and there are nods to things that have happened (what happened in Budapest plays a part in the film) but it is mostly original (to the Disney MCU) characters.

One major difference to the comics and the one thing that has ruffled some fans feathers is the character of Task Master, but the character works for the film so I didn't have a problem with it.

Over all a good addition to the marvel franchise and a glimpse of how they are going to link the films and the new series' together.
  
Coco (2017)
Coco (2017)
2017 | Adventure, Animation
Aspiring musician Miguel, confronted with his family's ancestral ban on music, enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary singer.



This film really does deserve all the excitement around it, and oh my god how I cried.

As a way of not ruining films for me this year I'm trying not to read anything about them before I actually go and see them. The most I'm doing is seeing trailers while I'm at the cinema and then possibly catching the odd synopsis. When it comes to Disney Pixar though it's difficult not to be engulfed in a wave of information months before they're due out. I was however successful on this occasion, and I'm grateful that I got to enjoy it without any more information than had been in the trailer.

For something with a slightly morbid edge to it I thought it was done really well, and while the topic of death is obviously a potential pitfall you're reassured with the warmth and humour throughout the film.

If the songs in a film are good then I'll always be won over, and these ones gave me goosebumps. They bring a smile, and a tear, and that warm feeling inside that makes you sigh.

My last passing comment would be the tears... because I wasn't exaggerating. I cried A LOT. Even though I came out of the film loving the whole thing I was still crying as I drove home. *calming breath* I can feel myself losing my mind right now just thinking about it. It's a beautiful film, everyone should go and see it.