The Civil Wars of Julia Ward Howe: A Biography
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This “lively biography” (The New Yorker) is the first to tell the story of Julia Ward Howe as a...
Memoir Gender studies History
Victoria - Season 2
7.0
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TV Season Watch
Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes joined by Dame Diana Rigg as shooting starts on second series of...
History drama
The Best of Wodehouse: An Anthology
Book
.G. Wodehouse was, by common consent, the most brilliant writer of English comedy in the 20th...
The Devil You Know: Stories of Human Cruelty and Compassion
9.5
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Book
A perspective-shattering work into the minds of violent criminals that reveals profound consequences...
Non-Fiction True Crime Psychology Mental Health Crime
iSEQUENCES
Education and Entertainment
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iSEQUENCES is an educational app for children with Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome that enables...
DietaMozzi
Food & Drink and Health & Fitness
App
Are you in a restaurant and you don’t know what to drink or eat? Are you at the supermarket, on...
Aprender Inglês Áudio Curso Vocabulário Gramática
Education and Travel
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Free Language Learning Audio Phrasebook and Dictionary Offline App for Beginners. The most essential...
Baby Pregnancy Tracker
Education and Medical
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The Baby Pregnancy Tracker enables you to follow the development of your baby through a detailed...
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Star Trek: First Contact (1996) in Movies
Sep 28, 2021
The dramatic opening shots of Picard strapped into the Borg ship (and the subsequent jolts x 2!);
The comical drinking scene between Troi (Marina Sirtis) and Cochrane (James Cromwell);
The “Big Sleep” style holodeck sequence;
The spectacular entrance of the Borg Queen (Alice Krige);
The first warp flight;
The first contact scene, framed by Jerry Goldsmith‘s spectacular theme.
We’re up to the Enterprise-E in this one, and even that gets a self-destruct sequence! These movies must be playing havoc with their insurance premiums!
There are some nice touches for Trek fans in here: the first appearance of Robert Picardo‘s holographic doctor (before he became a regular on Star Trek: Voyager); and Dwight Schultz reprising his role from the TNG series as the nerdy fan-boy Lieutenant Barclay. In addition, the whole cast (including Gates McFadden’s Crusher) get a fairer share of the air time under Jonathan Frake’s direction.
Once again, the time travel (particularly the return journey!) is just a bit too trite and convenient. But other than that, this is a top-notch Trek movie. It features (in Alfre Woodard, just BAFTA nominated) a strong role for a female of colour. And it provides a great chance to showcase Stewart’s acting talents, as he wrestles with his own ‘great white whale’.
Given my love for the movie, I was tempted to give this one 5*s. The one thing holding me back is just a single line of dialogue. Do you know the one? Zephram Cochrane’s line…
“So, you’re astronauts? On some kind of a star trek?”.
It is just SO UTTERLY CRASS that I manage to throw up a little in my mouth as that scene happens. WHY WRITERS, WHY???
ClareR (6106 KP) rated A Spell of Good Things in Books
Mar 31, 2023
Eniola is a boy who looks like a man. His schoolteacher father loses his job due to a shakeup in the education system, and falls into a deep depression. This leaves Eniola working as an errand boy for the local tailor, collecting newspapers and begging (much against his will). He wants so much more for his life, though…
Wuraola is from a wealthy family. Her parents are proud of her succeeding in her aim to be a doctor - and now they expect her to marry. And Kunle is the son of friends that they favour. But he’s volatile in private (to say the least).
We follow the stories of Eniola and Wuraola and the differences in their lives are stark. Eniola goes to school hungry, he’s beaten by the teachers because his parents pay their school fees late (if at all). And finally, he thinks he has found a way out of his poverty - when in fact it’s something far worse.
Wuraola’s life is difficult in a different way: she has a well-paid, well-respected job, but the Nigerian health system is overstretched, underfunded and doesn’t have enough doctors. But she believes in doing her duty, so she works hard, and says yes when Kunle proposes.
Wuraola’s and Eniola’s lives are on a collision course though.
I inhaled this book. It’s gritty and doesn’t hold back in any way. It’s an insight into lives I’ve never experienced and so powerfully told. The themes of domestic abuse, poverty, access to education and political corruption make for a heartbreaking read.
Recommended.