Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (4342)

Content

Melanie Caldicott (6 KP) rated Goodnight, Brian in Books

Apr 29, 2021

Goodnight, Brian

Steven Manchester | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry

2.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

The concept of this book originally interested me and I found the first few chapters where the tragedy that caused Brian's disability is uncovered takes place moving. However, I quickly grew tired of Mama and found her a very manufactured, unrealistic character who was just too "perfect". Her "clever" answers in how to bring out the best in Brian and the myriad of problems the rest of the family faced seemed to serve no other purpose than to allow the author a platform from which to preach at us. This, in my opinion, was painfully unsubtle and fiction should not be used as a vehicle for moralising, but to merely describe the experiences of characters, their feelings and reactions which provoke thoughts and empathy within the reader. I did not finish this book as the sermonesque style ultimately became unbearable!

Kudos

Julianne Moore recommended Raveling in Books (curated)

Raveling

Peter Moore Smith | 2001 | Fiction & Poetry, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences, Thriller

(0 Ratings)

Book Favorite

"My brother wrote this book — I had to put it on my list. It's a thriller, but it's also about the disintegration of a family and the ways in which our desire to protect one another can be destructive. I always thought writers were the bravest people, because they seemed to reveal so much of themselves in their work. My brother gave me an understanding of the process. He can take his experience and turn it 190 degrees, and it becomes something else, which is what I do with acting. He's made the art of writing not as foreign to me. I'm still so impressed by people who can create certain feelings on a page, but it was a revelation to see that what my brother and I do is, in a way, not so different."

Source

Kudos

Clea DuVall recommended The Big Chill (1983) in Movies (curated)

The Big Chill (1983)

1983 | Comedy, Drama, Musical

5.0

(1 Ratings)

Movie Favorite

"Throughout my life, I’ve carried with me the image of a woman crying in the shower. At various times when I have experienced loss or grief, I think about that woman and find comfort in her image. Not because she is experiencing deep sadness but because I know how she feels, she knows how I feel, and that kind of recognition makes the feelings manageable enough, so they don’t swallow us up. It wasn’t until I rewatched The Big Chill after not seeing it for over twenty years—and after making my own film, The Intervention, which was inspired by the way The Big Chill made me feel—that I realized that the image in my mind was of Glenn Close in this movie. Sometimes a film can become a part of your DNA, and this one definitely has for me."

Source

Kudos

Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Under Locke in Books

Jan 11, 2021

I fell in love with Dex in this so quickly. It was pretty clear that he had feelings for Iris from early on and I was glad we didn't have to wait until 95%+ for them to get together like in some of the authors other stories.

I'm not a big fan of reading books that centre around MC's but this one is no longer the rule breaking, drug smuggling, beating-people-up club that it used to be and they are actually all pretty decent guys so I actually enjoyed reading about them going straight.

I also have a big thing for tattoo's so them working in a tattoo shop was pretty cool--I still think she should have gone ahead and let Slim or Dex tattoo the rainbow breathing dragon on her.

I cannot wait to read more of Mariana's books.

Kudos

Bostonian916 (449 KP) rated The Wizard (1989) in Movies

Aug 3, 2020

The Wizard (1989)

1989 | Action, Comedy, Drama

6.3

(3 Ratings)

Movie Rating

This movie carries a metric ton of nostalgia for me. I was actually it's exact target audience (nine year old nerd) when it was released, and loved it accordingly.

I recently rewatched this with my family. It still carries waves of emotions stemming from my childhood feelings about it, but a lot of things in the movie simply don't hold up to father time. I'm not sure that they were ever intended to though, to be fair.

Even at the time if felt like the movie was manufactured as a long play advertisement for the about to be released Super Mario Brothers 3 on the Super Nintendo.

With all that being said, and the inevitable baggage that comes with it, I still enjoyed it. So did my young children. I call that a win on any day/