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Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Upstart in Books

Jan 2, 2024

1 of 220
Book
The Upstart
By Catherine Cookson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Risen to power and influence, Samuel Fairbrother, a shrewd and newly monied manufacturer and retailer of boots, shoes, and clogs, has decided that his new station in life deserves a more imposing residence. When a thirty-four-room mansion on the outskirts of Fellburn becomes available, he snaps up the estate without hesitation and establishes himself as the owner of the property he sees as the emblem of his wealth and a suitable reward for his new, exalted status in the business world. Along with the house, however, Fairbrother inherits the services of a staff of servants headed by Maitland, the butler, who makes no effort to disguise his disdain for his new boss. So begins a clash of wills between master and man, in which Samuel Fairbrother soon realizes he is at a distinct disadvantage. Not only is Maitland urbane and apparently well educated, he is ingenious at maintaining a position of indispensability. Fairbrother is all too aware that he dare not do without Maitland's services and is forced to conclude that he will never win this conflict. And so an uneasy truce is declared between them. As the years go by and the century turns, Fairbrother witnesses his children, one by one, leave the big house and make lives of their own - all except his eldest daughter, Janet, who by means of a legacy is able to shape the destiny of her father's scattered family and effect the reconciliation that he thought was impossible.

Feels so strange reviewing a Catherine Cookson I’ve love her books from an early age and there is no better comfort read that her. This was a short read and reminded me just how much I love her writing.

Kudos

Handel

Donald Burrows

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Book

Handel is one of the most remarkable figures in the history of western music. His compositions form...

Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Fast & Furious 9 (2021) in Movies

Jul 11, 2021

Fast & Furious 9 (2021)

2021 | Action, Adventure, Crime

6.5

(18 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

I might not be obsessed with this series but I can't argue with its ridiculous action. I had a catch up on the others as it had been a while, though I discovered I watched them in the wrong order... never mind! Here's a bit of a rundown.

The Fast and the Furious - good
2 Fast 2 Furious - meh
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift - too peoply, not enough cars
Fast & Furious - good
Fast Five - my favourite
Fast & Furious 6 - good
Furious 7 - good
The Fate of the Furious - good
F9...

Who really needs an extended synopsis on this one? Cars, family, Corona, space the final frontier. And does it even need any comments on the plot? At this point it's very much random bits of chaos and ridiculous things with cars. Quite honestly, that's the reason I enjoy the films more now they lean into it. Although this one may have become a little too self-aware... in an amusing way.

It wasn't until I did the rewatch that I noticed how much they ignore the concept of genetics when it comes to adding family members. Here we have John Cena playing Jakob, Dom and Mia's brother. It's not the most unbelievable thing in the movie, but it's well up there. Cena has grown on me as an actor, I enjoyed him in The Marine, Bumblebee, and his comedy stylings in Blockers... but we don't talk about Playing With Fire... we never talk about Playing With Fire. He can do funny and he can do serious, but I'm not convinced he was the best choice to combine the two here. His performance was okay, but his style didn't really fit with any of the others. I don't know who I might have put in this role instead, but I think they could have gone with recognisable but not quite as high profile/

As for the other cast members, well, same sh*t different day as they say! Gibson and Ludacris have the same fun dynamic and bring their comedic element to the proceedings. Vin Diesel says the requisite amount of "family" throughout the films, and everyone else does their thing.

Doing the rewatch made me surprisingly emotional when they did the Paul Walker send-off, and there was a nice out to keep the legacy intact. And while it's nice that they keep him in the films, maybe it should just be something that's accepted and not talked about. There's a moment in the film where they say Dom's son is with Brian, and my first thought was horror because I forgot Brian is alive in the franchise, and the look on Dom's face didn't help in that moment either.

F9 has some even whackier action, and it is entirely satisfying to watch. Though unsurprisingly it doesn't take them long to defy the laws of physics... spectacular destruction nevertheless. We know we're in for a tenth instalment, we can only hope for a musical or LEGO version... that last one would be my approved choice.

(I have so many spoiler comments t make about this, but I don't want to ruin the fun of discovering them all for yourself.)

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/07/f9-fast-saga-movie-review.html