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ClareR (5726 KP) rated Templar Silks in Books
Aug 10, 2018
Historical fiction at it's best!
William Marshall is on his death bed and is looking back on his life. The Templar Silks of the story are the burial silks that he was given 30 years previously, when he became a secular Knight of the Templar Knights in Jerusalem. He promised that he would become a full member of the Order before he died, so he sends a trusted servant to collect the silk shroud from where he had entrusted it. While he waits for the silks, William slips into drug-induced remembrances of his time leading up to and during his time in Outremer. We learn of the riches of Jerusalem and those that ruled it; that King Baldwin had crippling leprosy, yet still ruled; and that those who ruled supposedly under the eye of God, did so only to gain more money and power (so, the same as everywhere else then, really!).
I'm sad to see that this is the end of William Marshall (I'm giving nothing away here!). I've enjoyed reading all of the books about him: even though they're largely speculation, Elizabeth Chadwick has still done her research in to the time very well.
I'm sad to see that this is the end of William Marshall (I'm giving nothing away here!). I've enjoyed reading all of the books about him: even though they're largely speculation, Elizabeth Chadwick has still done her research in to the time very well.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Hidden Hope ( Hope book 1) in Books
Dec 7, 2022
219 of 230
Kindle
Hidden Hope ( Hope book 1)
By Elizabeth Knight
⭐️⭐️⭐️
It all started with a naked man in an alley….
Oh did that get your attention?
Good, now listen up. For years I’ve been fighting to be on my own and out from under my father’s control. I thought I’d finally managed it after I got my dream job in a London emergency room. Things were going great. I was making good money and even had a place of my own. I should have known the good times wouldn’t last. I apparently was engaged to a man my father picked out and soon found myself kidnapped, tortured, and forced into becoming someone else.
My whole life I’ve been lied to and something was hidden inside me... and now it’s set free.
It was good. Easy to follow exactly what you come to expect from this type of book and subject. I liked her writing style. My only issues if without being to harsh and it’s not necessarily just this book, why oh why when it’s a newly turned female wolf alpha or not to they turn her in to a raging nympho who has to mate every male in site? It gets a bit tedious and I’m not taking anything away from this author as I actually liked the book but this is becoming a bugbear of mine.
Kindle
Hidden Hope ( Hope book 1)
By Elizabeth Knight
⭐️⭐️⭐️
It all started with a naked man in an alley….
Oh did that get your attention?
Good, now listen up. For years I’ve been fighting to be on my own and out from under my father’s control. I thought I’d finally managed it after I got my dream job in a London emergency room. Things were going great. I was making good money and even had a place of my own. I should have known the good times wouldn’t last. I apparently was engaged to a man my father picked out and soon found myself kidnapped, tortured, and forced into becoming someone else.
My whole life I’ve been lied to and something was hidden inside me... and now it’s set free.
It was good. Easy to follow exactly what you come to expect from this type of book and subject. I liked her writing style. My only issues if without being to harsh and it’s not necessarily just this book, why oh why when it’s a newly turned female wolf alpha or not to they turn her in to a raging nympho who has to mate every male in site? It gets a bit tedious and I’m not taking anything away from this author as I actually liked the book but this is becoming a bugbear of mine.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Claiming Hope ( Hope 2) in Books
May 4, 2024
83 of 220
Kindle
Claiming Hope ( Hope 2)
By Elizabeth Knight
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
So you guys remember the naked man in the alley?
Now he’s my mate along with one of his friends. I might also have my eyes on the other two as well because why not? Oh yeah forgot to mention, turns out I’m a werewolf, hence the mating thing. Not only that but I’m the only Alpha Female in existence, which makes sense why that asshole of a fake fiance wanted to keep me for himself.
*Girl you suck at explaining what's going on.*
Shut up I’ve got this handled. Managed to do it last time without you.
Anyway…
Thanks to the four men who came crashing into my life, I was rescued and kept safe. Now I’m on a plane to who the hell knows where while the guys keep alluding to the fact that I have an important role to play in their world. Am I ready to step into whatever they have waiting for me? I’ve only been a werewolf for two weeks and still have so much to learn.
That was so much better than book 1! Hopes wolf is just brilliant I loved it the first time round but this was better. The story had an interesting take I loved her different mates and the pack she now leads. The ending was a cliffhanger but a really good one. Definitely moving on to book 3!
Kindle
Claiming Hope ( Hope 2)
By Elizabeth Knight
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
So you guys remember the naked man in the alley?
Now he’s my mate along with one of his friends. I might also have my eyes on the other two as well because why not? Oh yeah forgot to mention, turns out I’m a werewolf, hence the mating thing. Not only that but I’m the only Alpha Female in existence, which makes sense why that asshole of a fake fiance wanted to keep me for himself.
*Girl you suck at explaining what's going on.*
Shut up I’ve got this handled. Managed to do it last time without you.
Anyway…
Thanks to the four men who came crashing into my life, I was rescued and kept safe. Now I’m on a plane to who the hell knows where while the guys keep alluding to the fact that I have an important role to play in their world. Am I ready to step into whatever they have waiting for me? I’ve only been a werewolf for two weeks and still have so much to learn.
That was so much better than book 1! Hopes wolf is just brilliant I loved it the first time round but this was better. The story had an interesting take I loved her different mates and the pack she now leads. The ending was a cliffhanger but a really good one. Definitely moving on to book 3!
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Love, Death & Robots in TV
Jul 7, 2020
Unique And Visceral Experience
Love, Death, & Robots is an adult animated anthology tv series on Netflix. The series is produced by Joshua Donen, David Fincher, Jennifer Miller, and Tim Miller. Each of the 18 episodes released on the first season was animated by different crews from a range of countries. It's also a re-imagining of 1981 animated sci-fi film Heavy Metal. Starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Topher Grace, Gary Cole, Samira Wiley, and Stefan Kapicic.
Produced by different casts and crews, and consisting of 18 stand-alone episodes, each under 20 minutes, the title of the series refers to the recurring themes of love, death, and robots in each episode. Full of terrifying creatures, wicked surprises and dark comedy, it's a collection of animated short stories spanning several genres like horror, comedy, fantasy, and science fiction. Captivating stories come to life with world-class animation in a plethora of tales unlike anything else.
This series was wicked awesome. Reminded me of some of the other animated anthologies I've seen such as The Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight, except quite a bit more NSFW. This series also gave me a Twilight Zone vibe but bit darker. More blood and guts and highly sexual. Even though it's pretty graphic, I really liked a lot of the stories they told and the twists that most had in the end as well. Some are kind of hit or miss or just better than others but I think that there is definitely something for everyone despite the gore and nudity and language. I especially enjoyed the following episodes, 1. Sonnie's Edge, 8. Good Hunting, 10. Shape-Shifters, 13. Lucky 13, and 18. Secret War. The way they went about the story telling and world building in each episode was phenomenal. I really feel that some of these episodes deserve their own individual films or series to do them better justice. I mean some were just so good and less than 20 minutes felt like not enough or that they could have been even better. I give the entire series overall a 9/10.
Produced by different casts and crews, and consisting of 18 stand-alone episodes, each under 20 minutes, the title of the series refers to the recurring themes of love, death, and robots in each episode. Full of terrifying creatures, wicked surprises and dark comedy, it's a collection of animated short stories spanning several genres like horror, comedy, fantasy, and science fiction. Captivating stories come to life with world-class animation in a plethora of tales unlike anything else.
This series was wicked awesome. Reminded me of some of the other animated anthologies I've seen such as The Animatrix and Batman: Gotham Knight, except quite a bit more NSFW. This series also gave me a Twilight Zone vibe but bit darker. More blood and guts and highly sexual. Even though it's pretty graphic, I really liked a lot of the stories they told and the twists that most had in the end as well. Some are kind of hit or miss or just better than others but I think that there is definitely something for everyone despite the gore and nudity and language. I especially enjoyed the following episodes, 1. Sonnie's Edge, 8. Good Hunting, 10. Shape-Shifters, 13. Lucky 13, and 18. Secret War. The way they went about the story telling and world building in each episode was phenomenal. I really feel that some of these episodes deserve their own individual films or series to do them better justice. I mean some were just so good and less than 20 minutes felt like not enough or that they could have been even better. I give the entire series overall a 9/10.
Felipe (17 KP) rated Chaplin (1992) in Movies
Dec 7, 2020
A modern tragedy meant to be one of the greats
Contains spoilers, click to show
Richard Attenborough delivers another masterpiece of cinematic biography and is a worthy successor to Ghandi. The structure of the film is told as a flashback while Charlie Chaplin is writing his autobiography with a fictional editor that does not exist. We see for the first time the flaws of who Chaplin is as a person and we see him confront his past in a way that is painful not unlike how it is painful when we relive moments in our lives we would rather choose to forget. However, the success of the film is how it strips the illusion of who Chaplin was and presents to us a person who is tragically flawed but who is unbale to appreciate his own genius. An example is when Chaplin's version of the invention of the Tramp is seen for what he imagined it to be an idealized moment in which the character is calling to him except for what it really was, We see the reality of the movies during this time; a hectic spur of the moment improvised invention drawn from real life. Yet we see Chaplin as the midwife to this new artform the movies and we see him develop it for what it is, the highest expression of art that stirs our imagination and makes us believe anything is possible. We even cry during Chaplin's moments of personal tragedy; the insanity and loss of his mother; repeated failed marriages; the death of his best friend, Douglas Fairbanks and finally his tragic and painful exile from America the only place he knew as home all taking place in the backdrop of the invention and evolution of cinema. However, I feel that in the end Chaplin is the one that comes out triumphant. In the last moments of the movie we see how Chaplin despairs that he feels that he has been forgotten and made irrelevant by the changing times; he feels that the weight of not only his age but the weight of the world on his shoulders and yet we see that everything he believes himself to be is completely wrong when Hollywood bestows on him the greatest honor which is not only the special Oscar but also a standing ovation. His final triumph is to be made a knight by Queen Elizabeth II, we are truly made to see that although flawed he is triumphant in the end.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Knight of Cups (2016) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
I’ll just come out and say it … This movie for all it’s grandeur with its ensemble cast and it’s amazing photographic work and direction is something that should be shown at film festivals and in art house movie theaters and NOT your mainstream chain theaters. Someplace where you can order a meal and perhaps a glass of wine or a local ale. Why? If the movie has Christian Bale in its cast you know there’s going to be drama involved regardless of whether or not the movie itself is dramatic. THIS particular film is a drama that could be compared to something written by Shakespeare.
‘Knight Of Cups’ is a romantic drama written and directed by Terrence Malick and stars an ensemble cast including Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Antonio Banderas, Natalie Portman, Brian Dennehy, Armin Muller-Stahl, Isabel Lucas, Freida Pinto, Wes Bentley, Imogen Poots, Teresa Palmer, and Peter Matthiessen.
“Once there was a young prince whose father, the king of the East, sent him down into Egypt to find a pearl. But when the prince arrived, the people poured him a cup. Drinking it, he forgot he was the son of a king, forgot about the pearl and fell into a deep sleep.”
Rick (Bale) is a successful writer born into a powerful family in L.A. The son of Joseph (Dennehy) and brother to Barry (Bently). After the lose of a second brother as well as his mother, Rick becomes disillusioned and loses himself in the excesses found in the ‘City Of Angles’ and nearby Las Vegas. Along this aimless journey he encounters 6 different women Nancy (Blanchett) a doctor, Elizabeth (Portman) a married woman, Helen (Pinto), Isabel (Lucas), Karen (Palmer), and Della (Poots) looking to form some sort of bond or connection. Perhaps even to discover love only to encounter more lose. He wanders from cities, to beaches, then from mountains to deserts. Searching for something meaningful, some purpose all the while trying to hold what remains of his family and his own sanity together and along the way encounters a cast of colorful characters who have their own ideas about life and their own views on how he should live his.
This film was pretty much Malick’s attempt at making an art film with a large budget and a star studded cast. That’s just the thing. He succeeded and it was just too much. From a technical standpoint, it was wonderfully directed with its landscapes and ‘not-the-norm’ angles and close-ups but it simultaneously took away from the people and the story. It was almost as though they were trying to combine a film on the Discovery Channel with a drama. The film was two minutes shy of 2 hours long. Had the director been able to shave 20 minutes from it, then I could see it given a limited run in major theaters. I have to give kudos to the actors and actresses who were on top of their game which made the film worth sitting through once. The film is rated R for scenes of violence, nudity, and language. If you’re enduring one of those days where you just need to disappear and NOT communicate with anyone for a while, go see this movie. It’s runtime and complexity will help take your mind off your troubles. I’d highly recommend though that you save the film for viewing at home. I’ll give this film 3 out of 5 stars.
‘Knight Of Cups’ is a romantic drama written and directed by Terrence Malick and stars an ensemble cast including Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Antonio Banderas, Natalie Portman, Brian Dennehy, Armin Muller-Stahl, Isabel Lucas, Freida Pinto, Wes Bentley, Imogen Poots, Teresa Palmer, and Peter Matthiessen.
“Once there was a young prince whose father, the king of the East, sent him down into Egypt to find a pearl. But when the prince arrived, the people poured him a cup. Drinking it, he forgot he was the son of a king, forgot about the pearl and fell into a deep sleep.”
Rick (Bale) is a successful writer born into a powerful family in L.A. The son of Joseph (Dennehy) and brother to Barry (Bently). After the lose of a second brother as well as his mother, Rick becomes disillusioned and loses himself in the excesses found in the ‘City Of Angles’ and nearby Las Vegas. Along this aimless journey he encounters 6 different women Nancy (Blanchett) a doctor, Elizabeth (Portman) a married woman, Helen (Pinto), Isabel (Lucas), Karen (Palmer), and Della (Poots) looking to form some sort of bond or connection. Perhaps even to discover love only to encounter more lose. He wanders from cities, to beaches, then from mountains to deserts. Searching for something meaningful, some purpose all the while trying to hold what remains of his family and his own sanity together and along the way encounters a cast of colorful characters who have their own ideas about life and their own views on how he should live his.
This film was pretty much Malick’s attempt at making an art film with a large budget and a star studded cast. That’s just the thing. He succeeded and it was just too much. From a technical standpoint, it was wonderfully directed with its landscapes and ‘not-the-norm’ angles and close-ups but it simultaneously took away from the people and the story. It was almost as though they were trying to combine a film on the Discovery Channel with a drama. The film was two minutes shy of 2 hours long. Had the director been able to shave 20 minutes from it, then I could see it given a limited run in major theaters. I have to give kudos to the actors and actresses who were on top of their game which made the film worth sitting through once. The film is rated R for scenes of violence, nudity, and language. If you’re enduring one of those days where you just need to disappear and NOT communicate with anyone for a while, go see this movie. It’s runtime and complexity will help take your mind off your troubles. I’d highly recommend though that you save the film for viewing at home. I’ll give this film 3 out of 5 stars.