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The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019)
The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019)
2019 | Comedy, Drama
Another crying dog movie... just what my life needs.

Denny picks up a golden retriever puppy from a farm and the two become firm friends. Enzo learns all about racing and is a constant fixture at the track, it's going to be the two of them forever feeling the wind in their faces.

Then one day Eve comes along, she's there a lot and it doesn't look like she's leaving. Can Enzo adapt to family life?

The card on the film states "scenes of emotional upset"... accurate, and right from the very start too. This was made by a savage person. Originally I had a quadruple bill planned but I wasn't sure I could do this film followed by The Sun Is Also A Star and come out the other end as anything but a gibbering wreck so I split it out. That was probably one of the most sensible things I've ever done, there was so much crying.

The way they show Enzo reacting to everything is spot on. If you've watched those dog videos on Facebook where they subtitle in what the dog's thinking, it's just like that but Enzo has a much better grasp of the English language and the sultry tones of Kevin Costner. Some of the moments are wonderful and it made me wonder if my dog did any of them, and then I cried a bit more.

Milo Ventimiglia plays out leading human, Denny, and he's very convincing with the obsession Denny has for racing. The flipside with the struggle of having to be a dad came across too and there are some poignant scenes that came off beautifully.

I wasn't overly engaged with Amanda Seyfried as Eve until the midpoint of the film. Perhaps I was indifferent about her on Enzo's behalf, we may never know, but at the point where it all turned I thought she gave a wonderful and respectful performance.

There's not a huge extended cast, but it's filled with talented actors who bring something great to their characters, Kathy Baker and Martin Donovan were particularly good as Eve's parents, though you can't help but hate them.

It's nicely done overall, nothing seems out of place, there weren't any frivolous scenes. The way we get to engage with the racing is brilliantly executed, especially the scene at the beginning where he actually races in the rain, very exciting to watch. It's a lovely crying dog film (at what point do we declare this an actual genre?), is it predictable? Yes, but it's still a nice easy watch if you've got a box of tissues handy.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-art-of-racing-in-rain-movie-review.html
  
Mae and June and the Wonder Wheel
Mae and June and the Wonder Wheel
Charise Mericle Harper | 2017 | Children
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
Mae and June and the Wonder Wheel by Charise Mericle Harper is about June who loves to play with her dog Sam, especially since she is the only one to whom the dog can talk. When her grandmother sends her a big chalkboard on a wheel, with detailed instructions on how to use it, June is thrilled, and she and Sam have a lot of fun completing the suggested tasks. It's even more fun when a new girl moves in next door and ends up in June's class. Mae seems really nice, but classmate April is bound and determined that Mae will be her friend. The girls have to learn to get along, and eventually Mae and June become fast friends.

This is a very positive, fun story for beginning readers. The illustrations are very helpful in showing what is going on in the story and add a lot to it. Other nice touches are June's sometimes cranky teenage sister, the fact that Mae is a character of color without this fact taking over the story, and the adventure of the wonder wheel. This was a cute book about friendship, about pets, about family. June was a fabulous little kid, though a bit too much over the top at times. Still I liked how she stayed true to herself
  
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ClareR (5784 KP) rated Skyward in Books

Dec 20, 2018  
Skyward
Skyward
Brandon Sanderson | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.6 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
YA Sci-Fi with dog-fighting spaceships!!
A young girl, Spensa (call sign: Spin), wants to escape her life and follow in her father’s footsteps into the Defiance Defense Force. Except her father died in terrible circumstances - he was killed by his own people in a battle against their enemies, the Krell. He has been labelled a coward, the stigma of which has stuck with the whole family. Spensa doesn’t believe it, and wants to restore his reputation. Those in charge of admission to the flight school believe she carries the same ‘defect’ as her father, and set out to make it extremely difficult for her to attend. She isn’t allowed to stay at the school to sleep or eat, and so she finds a cave nearby, where she sleeps, eats and discovers an old spaceship. She goes about repairing the ship, and finds that it has an AI called M-Bot. Something which those on Detritus have no access to.
The beginning of the book was a bit ‘teenage-angsty’, but it did develop into a really good book, with dog fights galore (think Top Gun with space ships!). And M-Bot really made it for me. After THAT ending, I’m definitely looking forward to the next book!
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!
  
Are you looking for a cute story about a dog and its owner? Well children will love this book. It deals with Rock and his Rambee Boo trying to get ready for Halloween. In the process, Rock and his pup Rambee Boo work on a plan for Rambee Boo costume for Halloween,

What will Rambee Boo wear? I noticed that while Rock is working on Rambee Boo's costume and Rambee Boo helps a bit. I hope that Rock has asked his parents for help with some of the things he is using or is using scissors that he is using are safe scissors he can use.

What costume can you guess that they are making for Rambee Boo? What will your children or child decide to want to make for Rambee Boo for Halloween? If he was their dog. What costume would your child or children want to make or come up with for Halloween?

This book is excellent to get before the holiday and have it for Halloween for children to read. It's great to read and come up and get prepared for Halloween. What kind of activities or treats do you and your children enjoy hanging up for Halloween? I am sure some parents watch what candy gets sorted once they come home from Trick or Treating.
  
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