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Goodbye Pet & See You in Heaven: A Memoir of Animals, Love and Loss
Book
When her beloved small dog died, Bel Mooney was astonished at the depth of her ongoing sorrow....
Winter Grilling
Book
Rarely does barbecue come to mind in the subzero climates of winter, but Austrian grilling master...
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Bare-Knuckle Love (Rabid Mongrels MC #1) in Books
Jan 8, 2021
I've been having a hard time getting into books lately--both paperback and e-book--so I decided to go and download some free short stories of Amazon, and this was one of them.
Admittedly, I'm a little wary of what they might be like. I've read some good freebies and I've read some pretty bad freebies. Luckily this falls into the first category for me.
First off, it made me cry twice. That very rarely happens in most M/M stories I read and the fact that it's rather dark in places--more like patches--makes it extra unusual. But I really liked their story and how their romance came about. Anyway, the first time was the dog thing. The second, it was Jason's thought in the last fight.
Secondly. There was a darkness to it but I really liked Hyde. The way he sort of tried to stop too bad a thing happening to Jason after he lost them the money made me melt a little. It was sweet. He might have been President of the MC but he wasn't an altogether bad guy.
Thirdly. Just how despite it being a short story I was a sucker for the romance between these two guys.
I look forward to more instalments with these two.
Admittedly, I'm a little wary of what they might be like. I've read some good freebies and I've read some pretty bad freebies. Luckily this falls into the first category for me.
First off, it made me cry twice. That very rarely happens in most M/M stories I read and the fact that it's rather dark in places--more like patches--makes it extra unusual. But I really liked their story and how their romance came about. Anyway, the first time was the dog thing. The second, it was Jason's thought in the last fight.
Secondly. There was a darkness to it but I really liked Hyde. The way he sort of tried to stop too bad a thing happening to Jason after he lost them the money made me melt a little. It was sweet. He might have been President of the MC but he wasn't an altogether bad guy.
Thirdly. Just how despite it being a short story I was a sucker for the romance between these two guys.
I look forward to more instalments with these two.
Brian Eno recommended Heartland by Owen Pallett in Music (curated)
Mark Arm recommended Duck Stab by The Residents in Music (curated)
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Who Killed Captain Alex? (2010) in Movies
Sep 21, 2020
"𝘌𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦."
Not so much a so-bad-it's-good flick - since at its core, taking consideration into what it had to work with - this is actually a pretty (unironically) great adventure. Seldom has a poster so accurately captured the essence of a film before I mean just *look* at that beast lol. Of course it's got abundant clenched, cocked fistfuls of kitsch, sure - but the base script is sound, and I find it tantamount to insult that much lesser works like 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘥 get lauded for their (nevertheless still lovely) performances from non-actors while the straight-up spectacular work the entirety of the cast gives here is written off as being undeserving of such an appropriate distinction. The action is, as you've heard, mesmerizingly batshit (and surprisingly well shot + edited + performed) and I'm impressed with how endlessly quotable this is - I cannot understate how much this is some God-tier dialogue (peppered with a comically bizarre Emcee track for the ages). One of the top-dog Z-movie exploitation flicks you'll find - very great work, let alone for a first timer given the conditions. It's graciously free on YouTube so there's no excuse not to give this and the director's other (also dope) works the attention they deserve.
Not so much a so-bad-it's-good flick - since at its core, taking consideration into what it had to work with - this is actually a pretty (unironically) great adventure. Seldom has a poster so accurately captured the essence of a film before I mean just *look* at that beast lol. Of course it's got abundant clenched, cocked fistfuls of kitsch, sure - but the base script is sound, and I find it tantamount to insult that much lesser works like 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘥 get lauded for their (nevertheless still lovely) performances from non-actors while the straight-up spectacular work the entirety of the cast gives here is written off as being undeserving of such an appropriate distinction. The action is, as you've heard, mesmerizingly batshit (and surprisingly well shot + edited + performed) and I'm impressed with how endlessly quotable this is - I cannot understate how much this is some God-tier dialogue (peppered with a comically bizarre Emcee track for the ages). One of the top-dog Z-movie exploitation flicks you'll find - very great work, let alone for a first timer given the conditions. It's graciously free on YouTube so there's no excuse not to give this and the director's other (also dope) works the attention they deserve.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated There's Something About Mary (1998) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020
I remember trying to watch this about 11 or so years ago, and turning it off after about an hour because of how middling it was - suffice to say my thoughts haven't really changed. Can't even begin to fathom what people think this has over 𝘋𝘶𝘮𝘣 & 𝘋𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳. I admit there's a pretty terrific analog in here about all these deplorable, delusional men coming together in their shittiness while trying to fool this poor woman into loving them with increasingly ludicrous schemes - but it isn't funny enough to justify waiting until the last act to realize that, especially with this crawling runtime. Let me clarify: Ben Stiller beating up the coked-out dog was *hysterical*, and it does have a handful of other notably funny moments but they're spread thin. The title character is given absolutely nothing to work with besides Diaz's capable talent despite having "something about" her, but I think that inadvertently works given how she's effectively a nonentity template for these guys to project their naïve sociopathic fantasies onto. Sure as hell won't knock the cast though, they're all game playing a troupe of model Farrelly goofballs. Honestly there are just... better comedies out there, dudes - even by these guys.
Kim Pook (101 KP) rated American Murder: The Family Next Door (2020) in Movies
Oct 14, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
This documentary is told through video clips and police footage regarding a missing mother and her children. Shannan is shown in a montage of social media videos talking about her happy family and everything appears normal, they are a family of husband, wife, 2 children and a dog.
After a friend is unable to contact Shannan, the police are called as well as Chris - Shannans husband-who come out to her house and find no trace of anybody in the house, it's like the family vanished into thin air, even a neighbour has no footage of them on his surveillance camera to show of anything suspicious. That neighbour does suggest, however, that something seems off with Chris but it is brushed off.
As the documentary continues, it becomes evident that the neighbour had every reason to be suspicious.
It's certainly a different way to tell a story, as usually it's told through interviews given to the camera or interviewer, so I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it. It turned out I found it just as interesting as a regular documentary if not more, because of watching everything unfold in reality. It was an interesting watch that's for sure, but the outcome is very sad.
After a friend is unable to contact Shannan, the police are called as well as Chris - Shannans husband-who come out to her house and find no trace of anybody in the house, it's like the family vanished into thin air, even a neighbour has no footage of them on his surveillance camera to show of anything suspicious. That neighbour does suggest, however, that something seems off with Chris but it is brushed off.
As the documentary continues, it becomes evident that the neighbour had every reason to be suspicious.
It's certainly a different way to tell a story, as usually it's told through interviews given to the camera or interviewer, so I wasn't sure if I would enjoy it. It turned out I found it just as interesting as a regular documentary if not more, because of watching everything unfold in reality. It was an interesting watch that's for sure, but the outcome is very sad.
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Island in Books
Jan 30, 2021
This is a book written for the Young Adult market ... I have to confess that I am a few years past what I would call a young adult ... well, quite a few actually ... but nevertheless I really enjoyed this story and I know I would have loved it when I was a teenager.
This book is The Famous Five on steroids; although there are six of them and no dog! Full of action, thrills and tension but it also explores many of the issues that young people have to face growing up such as mental health, death, grief and relationships but it does so with ease and with sympathy and understanding.
The characters were really well developed and although not all of them I particularly liked, they all felt right somehow. The setting was perfect and so well described that my hair frizzed due to the humidity! The pace was good and the writing style was easy to read so much so that I raced through quite quickly.
This is a great thriller for people of any age even though it is primarily aimed at young adults and I want to thank HQ (an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers) and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
This book is The Famous Five on steroids; although there are six of them and no dog! Full of action, thrills and tension but it also explores many of the issues that young people have to face growing up such as mental health, death, grief and relationships but it does so with ease and with sympathy and understanding.
The characters were really well developed and although not all of them I particularly liked, they all felt right somehow. The setting was perfect and so well described that my hair frizzed due to the humidity! The pace was good and the writing style was easy to read so much so that I raced through quite quickly.
This is a great thriller for people of any age even though it is primarily aimed at young adults and I want to thank HQ (an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers) and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
MB
Managing Breeds for a Secure Future: Strategies for Breeders and Breed Associations
D. Phillip Sponenberg, Alison Martin and Jeannette Beranger
Book
Bringing together the experience of three top academic experts in breeding procedure, this...