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Ross (3284 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017) in Movies

Jan 8, 2018

Porgs not as annoying as expected (1 more)

Muppet Yoda is back (no CGI nonsense)

The casino scene was pod-racing all over again (waste of time) (0 more)

Contains spoilers, click to show

I enjoyed the film at the time, but something niggles afterwards that some of it was just sloppy.
Captain Phasma - a strong female villain - was barely present and did not add anywhere near as much to the story as hoped for.
There was the perfect opportunity to write Carrie Fisher out of the story in a particularly poignant moment, but that wasn't followed through (and now she will just have to be written out in the opening scenes of the following film "Oh isn't it a shame about General Morgana dying").
The most irritating part of the plot for me was how quickly Finn is supposed to have walked back, dragging Rose. It took them 10 minutes driving to their destination but he somehow manages to walk it in 2 minutes, dragging another person, past a fleet of AT-ATs! That took me right out of the moment.
Rey was not used anywhere near enough. As the strong female lead, having her spend the entire film trying to persuade Luke to help or train her was just a waste of time. They should have just used a montage.
Otherwise it was an acceptable film in the series, less of a remake of Empire than The Force Awakens was of A New Hope thankfully.

Kudos

Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Fates and Furies in Books

Feb 13, 2018

Fates and Furies

Lauren Groff | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry

6.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

This novel details the story of Lotto and Mathilde, who meet as their college days are ending and marry shortly thereafter. Lotto and Mathilde appear to all as a glamorous and lovely couple-- adored by all their friends. However, their marriage and relationship may not be all it appears - even to each other.

Groff starts off the book from Lotto's point of view and then halfway through, we get Mathilde's side. (Therefore, everyone must compare it to "Gone Girl," which is driving me crazy. Can we just stop using "Gone Girl" as the marker to which to compare every book written since?! Thank you.) It's an interesting and well-done plot device, in Groff's deft hands, and you find yourself amazed at how the relationship differs between the two perspectives.

There's a lot of discussion of Lotto and Mathilde's parties (a bit much for me) and a backstory to Lotto's childhood (and eventually Mathilde's). Groff does an excellent job of showing how Lotto and Mathilde's childhood formed the people they became as adults -- and how they acted as spouses. I won't lie - I enjoyed Mathilde's section a bit more, even if I didn't perhaps like her as much as Lotto as a person - she's an interesting character. The end is a little much, but the novel is still well-done. I'd rate it as 3.5 stars - some of it dragged a bit for me, but I certainly enjoyed it.