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Darren Fisher (2454 KP) rated Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys in Music

Jan 4, 2021 (Updated Jan 15, 2021)  
Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys
Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys
1966 | Psychedelic
10
8.8 (19 Ratings)
Album Rating Watch
Beach Boys Perfection (or maybe that should read Brian Wilson Perfection)
One of the first cds I bought way back in 1990 (and I still have). Brian Wilson had given up on touring with the Beach Boys and pretty much composed everything on this album. The product and use of unusual instruments (ranging from an electronic Theremin, dogs barking and empty coke cans) make for a very unique album. It certainly has the Beach Boys stamp all over it but this was a massive departure from songs about sun, surfing, cars and girls. Here we had Brian maturing,and sadly beginning to struggle with his mental health, creating a very personal album . Each track is meticulously arranged making it a different listening experience each time (especially through a good set of headphones). There was a lot of in-group fighting as members weren't to keen on Brian new vision. It is often said that Pet Sounds is really a Brian Wilson solo album. Regardless, this is the Beach Boys at the top of their game. Essential listening for sure...

Album highlights:
God Only Knows
I Just Wasn't Made For These Times
Caroline, No
  
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David McK (3505 KP) rated The Last Samurai (2003) in Movies

Feb 6, 2021  
The Last Samurai (2003)
The Last Samurai (2003)
2003 | Action, Drama, War
8
7.2 (33 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Who is The Last Samurai?
In the early noughties, following the success of Ridley Scott's 'Gladiator', there was a rash of historical epic films - 'Alexander', 'Troy', 'Kingdom of Heaven'.

And this.


Which is a strong contender for one of the best of those films.

The film stars Tom Cruise (who, for once, is not playing Tom Cruise) and Ken Wattanabe, with the former a world weary US Civil War veteran (suffering from PTSD?) who is hired to train the modernising Japanese army, and the latter a Samurai leader who thinks Japan is losing its identity; moving too fast into the future.

Captured by that Samurai leader following an early battle, Algren (Cruise's character) soon finds himself beginning to wonder is he fighting in the right side...

Yes, the plot is somewhat akin to 'Dances with Wolves' (or even 'Avatar'), and I've heard the charge of the film being a White Saviour story - a charge, I have to say, that I do NOT find any merit in: indeed, I would argue the opposite (that Cruise's character is saved rather than the one doing the saving) is more true.
  
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Paul Schneider recommended Harlan County U.S.A. (1976) in Movies (curated)

 
Harlan County U.S.A. (1976)
Harlan County U.S.A. (1976)
1976 | Documentary
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"This isn’t so much a movie as it is a galvanizing force. So rarely is there such unambiguous demarcation between good and evil, and all the more so in a documentary. There’s so much here that you can’t believe you’re seeing so close: pickup trucks crunching into strikers’ feet away from the camera, billy-club cracks you can hear. The characters couldn’t be painted with brighter colors, as if they were drawn with Truman Capote’s pen. The baddies are cartoonishly bad: the emotionless Duke Power executives, their burned and disfigured power attorney, and the henchman Basil Collins, more grinning snake than man (greatest villain in film history?). The hero miners shine, still covered in coal dust. Black and white folks fighting together—if ever a movie could get you up out of your seat cheering on the protagonists . . . And for sure these are country people, but they’re canny too. That they know the danger they face is confirmed when one of the miners’ wives reaches into her ample bosom to pull a pistol out from her brassiere. If this weren’t a documentary, it wouldn’t be believed."

Source
  
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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Sep 22, 2020  
Sneak a peek at the Christian historical fiction novel SOMETHING WORTH DOING: A Novel of an Early Suffragist by Jane Kirkpatrick on my blog. There's also a GIVEAWAY to win a $25 or $10 Barnes & Noble gift card, a copy of the book, and/or an Oregon map bag - THREE WINNERS!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2020/09/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-something.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
Some things are worth doing—even when the cost is great.

In 1853, Abigail Scott was a nineteen-year-old schoolteacher in Oregon Territory when she married Ben Duniway. Marriage meant giving up on teaching, but Abigail always believed she was meant to be more than a good wife and mother. When Abigail becomes the primary breadwinner for her growing family, what she sees as a working woman appalls her—and prompts her to devote her life to fighting for the rights of women, including the right to vote.

Based on a true story, Something Worth Doing will resonate with modern women who still grapple with the pull between career and family, finding their place in the public sphere, and dealing with frustrations and prejudices when competing in male-dominated spaces.
      
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BookInspector (124 KP) rated Little White Lies in Books

Sep 24, 2020  
Little White Lies
Little White Lies
Philippa East | 2020 | Fiction & Poetry, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences, Thriller
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The story is told from a dual perspective. Seven years ago Anne’s daughter disappeared, and now she has been found. Her daughter is a teenager now, so Anne needs to learn how to communicate with her again. Another person who is sharing the story is Jess, Abigail’s cousin sister, who was very close to her when they were both little. I think it was quite a strange character pick. I liked Anne’s thoughts in this book, she was lost, confused and kept fighting to get her daughter back, not this estranged child that she has found. But I didn’t really understand the need for Jess, she just kept repeating herself over and over again, not offering much to the book. I would have enjoyed the book more if Abigail shared her experiences and thoughts. That would’ve made the whole book more absorbing for me.

I really liked the way the author created the suspense in this novel. She kept building it up with very creative clues and mentions of some juicy details. I was absolutely engrossed to find out what this secret will be, and pretty disappointed when I found out what that “big” secret was.
  
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Hazel (2934 KP) rated Taken in Books

Oct 18, 2020  
Taken
Taken
Lisa Stone | 2020 | Crime, Thriller
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Having previously read and enjoyed "Stalker" by Lisa Stone, I certainly wasn't going to pass the opportunity to read this one and I wasn't disappointed.

What we have in "Taken" is a complex and gripping story of the abduction of 8 year Leila whose life is far from perfect being the daughter of a mother (Kelsey) prostituting herself and fighting addiction who has already had her older children taken from her.

Told from multiple points of view, we get a real insight into all the main characters which is not as confusing as it sounds believe me ... it works really well and, I believe, it makes the characters more believable and memorable.

The pace is perfect, the plot is absorbing, despite it being a little unrealistic in parts, and I did get the twist fairly early on but it was such that I continued to question myself until it was revealed.

Overall, a thought-provoking and enjoyable read which deals with some difficult subjects that, sadly, are prevalent within today's society but without the usual gratuitous violence which made a refreshing change.

Thank you to HarperCollins UK / HarperFiction and NetGalley for my copy in return for an unbiased review.