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Lee (2222 KP) rated The House with a Clock in Its Walls (2018) in Movies
Sep 16, 2018
After losing both parents in a car accident, Lewis travels to New Zebedee, Michigan to live with his uncle Jonathan (Jack Black) in his large, creepy house. Jonathan's neighbour, Florence Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett) seems to spend most of her time there too as they are old friends. The house is full of clocks and, as you've probably guessed from the title of the movie, an even more mysterious clock lies hidden somewhere within its walls. Lewis discovers that Johnathan is a warlock, Florence is a good witch and that the house once belonged to a powerful warlock, who intended to use the clock as part of a catastrophic evil plan.
Directed by Eli Roth, the movie oozes style and creepiness. It has scares that will terrify younger children, but entertain the parents and it has a good amount of humour throughout. For me though, it felt like all style and not much substance. Despite being based on the first in a series of 12 books, with this first story being published in 1973, the movie version just feels like an amalgamation of things we've seen many times before in recent years. Harry Potter, Miss Peregrine, even the trailer made me think of the Goosebumps movie.
I'm probably being a little harsh, and the latter third of the movie did turn out to be a lot more enjoyable than the first two. I guess I was just hoping for something a bit more.
Directed by Eli Roth, the movie oozes style and creepiness. It has scares that will terrify younger children, but entertain the parents and it has a good amount of humour throughout. For me though, it felt like all style and not much substance. Despite being based on the first in a series of 12 books, with this first story being published in 1973, the movie version just feels like an amalgamation of things we've seen many times before in recent years. Harry Potter, Miss Peregrine, even the trailer made me think of the Goosebumps movie.
I'm probably being a little harsh, and the latter third of the movie did turn out to be a lot more enjoyable than the first two. I guess I was just hoping for something a bit more.
alex (68 KP) rated Ardipithecus by Willow in Music
Nov 6, 2017
Fantastic vocals (1 more)
Diverse songs which are occasionally dramatically different
Fantastical and otherwordly experience
It took me a few full listens of the album to love each and every song. Marceline was the first song I listened to and I completely adored it, often describing it to friends with Florence and the Machine type vocals against Lorde instrumentals. But the rest of the album is vastly different and experimental. I love the imagery in Willow's lyrics and the flexibility of her voice and songs. Vocally she is incredibly talented and her songs feel very organic and personal. Overal I love this album but some tracks will be hit and miss with some listeners.
Milleen (47 KP) rated Three Things About Elsie in Books
Nov 14, 2018
Lying on the floor of her flat in Cherry Tree, 84-year-old Florence thinks about her past and present. She wonders about the new resident who closely resembles a man from her youth. A man her and Elsie had tried to forget. Joanna Cannon has written a wonderful exploration of old age, nostalgia and memory and cleverly combined it with solving a mystery from the past. There are moments of complete wisdom and some of naivety and a few that were poignant and funny. This is a profound book that has been praised for it’s tenderness but it made me laugh out loud as much as contemplate the pros and cons of old age.
Midge (525 KP) rated Wedding Wipeout in Books
Dec 10, 2018
A Brilliant and Witty Mystery!
I really enjoyed Wedding Wipeout far more than I was expecting to. The story-line is brilliant and the mystery is so good that you want to keep on reading.
Rabbi Kappelmacher is planning to retire and is training his assistant, Rabbi Steinmetz, to follow in his footsteps, however, things get interesting when a visitor arrives. Former assistant Rabbi, Marshall Green, is now a lawyer with a case to solve.
One of his firm’s clients has died under suspicious circumstances. An elderly woman, Florence Eisenstein had just married the man she had been dating for the last several months, Alfred Shingle. The morning after her wedding, she is found dead in her bed.
She and her sister, Lorraine, were to be the heirs to their father’s egg cream fortune. Their father’s will, however, stipulated that if either of them married her allowance would cease and the proceeds would immediately pass to the other sister. So why, after so many years of unmarried contentment, did Florence decide to marry and also announce to her family that she had found a way to break the will? A will that, as far as Green was aware, was unbreakable. And why did she say that she was disinheriting her nephew, with whom she was on good terms?
Though Wedding Wipeout appears to be a typical mystery novel and is rather reminiscent of Agatha Christies's Poirot, it's actually quite a refreshing take on the mystery genre. Rabbi Kappelmacher and his sidekick, Rabbi Steinmetz have a very entertaining partnership whilst visiting with suspects and eyewitnesses. I particularly liked the wit and dry humour that was evident throughout the book, although I think that some of the humour and certainly some of the references, may have been lost on me, not being Jewish.
Green believes Florence may have been murdered, even though her own doctor ruled it an accidental death. Using his wit and rabbinic reasoning, Kappelmacher unravels all of the misleading information, red herrings and lies to reveal the truth, whilst Steinmetz tries to keep pace with him.
Wedding Wipeout was a wonderful read. I greatly look forward to reading more books by Jacob M Appel.
Thanks to LibraryThing and the author for a copy of Wedding Wipeout, via Members Giveaway.
Rabbi Kappelmacher is planning to retire and is training his assistant, Rabbi Steinmetz, to follow in his footsteps, however, things get interesting when a visitor arrives. Former assistant Rabbi, Marshall Green, is now a lawyer with a case to solve.
One of his firm’s clients has died under suspicious circumstances. An elderly woman, Florence Eisenstein had just married the man she had been dating for the last several months, Alfred Shingle. The morning after her wedding, she is found dead in her bed.
She and her sister, Lorraine, were to be the heirs to their father’s egg cream fortune. Their father’s will, however, stipulated that if either of them married her allowance would cease and the proceeds would immediately pass to the other sister. So why, after so many years of unmarried contentment, did Florence decide to marry and also announce to her family that she had found a way to break the will? A will that, as far as Green was aware, was unbreakable. And why did she say that she was disinheriting her nephew, with whom she was on good terms?
Though Wedding Wipeout appears to be a typical mystery novel and is rather reminiscent of Agatha Christies's Poirot, it's actually quite a refreshing take on the mystery genre. Rabbi Kappelmacher and his sidekick, Rabbi Steinmetz have a very entertaining partnership whilst visiting with suspects and eyewitnesses. I particularly liked the wit and dry humour that was evident throughout the book, although I think that some of the humour and certainly some of the references, may have been lost on me, not being Jewish.
Green believes Florence may have been murdered, even though her own doctor ruled it an accidental death. Using his wit and rabbinic reasoning, Kappelmacher unravels all of the misleading information, red herrings and lies to reveal the truth, whilst Steinmetz tries to keep pace with him.
Wedding Wipeout was a wonderful read. I greatly look forward to reading more books by Jacob M Appel.
Thanks to LibraryThing and the author for a copy of Wedding Wipeout, via Members Giveaway.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Fighting with My Family (2019) in Movies
Feb 28, 2019
Heavily fictionalised women's-entertainment-wrestling biopic is kept very watchable by solid if familiar structure and a clutch of strong performances. Not really the pure comedy that the trailer suggests it may be; the more serious strands of the plot are surprisingly effective - not really the Dwayne Johnson movie that the publicity material also implies, as a high percentage of his on-screen contribution is in the trailer.
Works pretty well as a sports movie, hitting all the right beats; tries to fudge the fact that entertainment-wrestling isn't strictly speaking sport (i.e., the results of the matches are scripted), not especially successfully. Fun to watch anyway; Florence Pugh carries the movie effortlessly and doesn't even need to go into high gear to do so.
Works pretty well as a sports movie, hitting all the right beats; tries to fudge the fact that entertainment-wrestling isn't strictly speaking sport (i.e., the results of the matches are scripted), not especially successfully. Fun to watch anyway; Florence Pugh carries the movie effortlessly and doesn't even need to go into high gear to do so.
Erika (17788 KP) rated The Little Drummer Girl in TV
Dec 9, 2018
When it was announced that Little Drummer Girl was going to be adapted, directed by Park Chan-Wook, starring Alexander Skarsgård, I was so completely excited. Park Chan-Wook's Stoker is one of my favorite films, and Skarsgård is always good.
I feel like there was a high bar set by The Night Manager, another Le Carre adaptation, and this fell way below it. Every few minutes, my friend and I compared them... Little Drummer Girl was just boring. I feel like they could have easily updated it, since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is still alive and well.
Skarsgård essentially played the same character as when he lost his memory as Eric in True Blood. I like Florence Pugh, but her character was just flat for me.
I feel like there was a high bar set by The Night Manager, another Le Carre adaptation, and this fell way below it. Every few minutes, my friend and I compared them... Little Drummer Girl was just boring. I feel like they could have easily updated it, since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is still alive and well.
Skarsgård essentially played the same character as when he lost his memory as Eric in True Blood. I like Florence Pugh, but her character was just flat for me.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Hidden Fire (Elemental Mysteries #1) in Books
Apr 13, 2020
A phone call from an old friend sets Dr. Giovanni Vecchio back on the path of a mysterious manuscript he's hunted for over five hundred years. He never expected a young student librarian could be the key to unlock its secrets, nor could he have predicted the danger she would attract.
Now he and Beatrice De Novo follow a twisted maze that leads from the archives of a university library, though the fires of Renaissance Florence, and toward a confrontation hundreds of years in the making.
I really enjoyed reading this! Loved the discovery of witches vibe I got. The characters are brilliant I loved them all.it flowed easy enough and I didn't want to put it down. Look forward to book 2.
Now he and Beatrice De Novo follow a twisted maze that leads from the archives of a university library, though the fires of Renaissance Florence, and toward a confrontation hundreds of years in the making.
I really enjoyed reading this! Loved the discovery of witches vibe I got. The characters are brilliant I loved them all.it flowed easy enough and I didn't want to put it down. Look forward to book 2.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Black Widow (2021) in Movies
Jul 10, 2021
Oh, Disney have deigned to finally release another Marvel movie: clearly we are all expected in the cinema. Nth MCU entry is a solid, mid-table variation on the formula; does the usual thing of taking interesting, distinctive talents like Johansson, Pugh, and Shortland and using them to produce something very much of a muchness with previous instalments.
Considering it's Johansson's name above the title, she's less prominent than you might expect - but the supporting cast are such good value it's hard to quibble with this (it's also quite clear that one of the film's functions is to establish Florence Pugh as 'Black Widow 2' for future Marvel projects). Good action, interestingly gritty tone, not very much in the way of plot, decent jokes - reliably entertaining stuff from the world's most consistent franchise production line.
Considering it's Johansson's name above the title, she's less prominent than you might expect - but the supporting cast are such good value it's hard to quibble with this (it's also quite clear that one of the film's functions is to establish Florence Pugh as 'Black Widow 2' for future Marvel projects). Good action, interestingly gritty tone, not very much in the way of plot, decent jokes - reliably entertaining stuff from the world's most consistent franchise production line.
Sarah (7798 KP) rated Three Things About Elsie in Books
Dec 26, 2018
A heartwarming read
My manager gave me this book to try out as she really enjoyed it, and as it turns out I really enjoyed it too, despite never having heard of it before.
This is a very heartwarming and slightly poignant tale of Florence and her past, seen through the eyes of a number of different characters. The plot itself is interesting and very written, it gets very confused at times - but then considering Florence’s mental state, this is kind of the point. It’s a very easy read and one that keeps you gripped. The ending itself for me wasn’t entirely unpredictable, probably because I’ve read too many books myself, but despite this it was still a very satisfying ending. This is an excellent venture into old age, dementia and memory and a very good read.
This is a very heartwarming and slightly poignant tale of Florence and her past, seen through the eyes of a number of different characters. The plot itself is interesting and very written, it gets very confused at times - but then considering Florence’s mental state, this is kind of the point. It’s a very easy read and one that keeps you gripped. The ending itself for me wasn’t entirely unpredictable, probably because I’ve read too many books myself, but despite this it was still a very satisfying ending. This is an excellent venture into old age, dementia and memory and a very good read.
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated Black Widow (2021) in Movies
Sep 6, 2021
Good casting, Scarlett and Florence felt like actual sisters. (1 more)
Good chemistry and acting from David Harbour and Rachel Weisz.
Not much of a thriller or thinker for a spy movie. (1 more)
One actor was greatly wasted in their role.
Scarlett's Swan Song Had Plenty of Action With A Decent StoryNatasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and her sister Yelena (Florence Pugh) are living what seems like a normal life in 1995 Ohio, with their parents, mother, Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz) and
Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and her sister Yelena (Florence Pugh) are living what seems like a normal life in 1995 Ohio, with their parents, mother, Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz) and father, Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour) when suddenly they must leave the country. They are all Russian undercover agents and Alexei, the super-soldier known as Red Guardian, has stolen intel from S.H.I.E.L.D. They flee to Cuba where the sisters are forcibly taken to the "Red Room" for training after they've met General Dreykov (Ray Winstone), their boss. Now in 2016 after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Natasha finds herself a fugitive on the run from U.S. Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt) after violating the Sokovia Accords. She's attacked by an incredibly skilled assassin called the Taskmaster and finds that she's not his target but rather a package she had with her. After learning the package originated from Budapest she heads there where she finds her sister Yelena and learns of a plot that not only jeopardizes the safety of those trained in the "Red Room" but possibly the whole world.
This movie was really good and it was great to see a Marvel movie again. I didn't see this one in theaters but I still enjoyed watching it in the safety of my home with my family. So this movie came off like a really good spy/action movie but definitely had that Marvel feel to it. It really felt like watching something out of the Bourne or Bond series films but with admittedly less plot and gadgets, but the action was really spot on. There was awesome car chase scenes and expertly crafted fight choreography too. It was even reported that they went through 13 BMW X3's for the car chase scene with Scarlett and Florence so you can tell that they really wanted to get things right and had a vision of what they wanted the audience to see for that particular scene as well. I thought there was really great chemistry from all the actors together and that it was pretty good casting. Scarlett and Florence argue throughout the film just like real sisters, and the looks that David Harbour and Rachel Weisz exchange feel like they were genuinely together. The opening scene of the movie had great acting and was very emotional. I just feel like one role/actor was kind of a bad casting and/or was greatly underutilized. I think the biggest flaw of the move was that for being a spy movie, the plot never had any mystery to it and everything was kind of predictable or at least very easy to follow. Not much of a thriller or thinker where you had to put two and two together. The cinematography was spot on and felt like you were watching any big budget spy or action movie and on par with what you expect from Marvel Studios. The tone fit the film for the most part but kind of "see-saw"-ed from time to time as they mixed serious themes with comedic dialogue throughout. But that's to be expected from a PG-13 action/spy movie from Marvel and it was a little reminiscent of the film Captain America in that regard. The music was good and there were a couple of songs that stuck out in that regard American Pie by Don Mclean and a cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit by Think Up Anger; also Cheap Thrills by Sia. The musical score was also good and the Black Widow theme was pretty epic but also with hints of melancholy to it that seemed to underline both her tragic background as well as the tragedy of the events to come in her future. Altogether the movie was really good and I give it a 7/10. If you are big time into the MCU and Marvel franchise movies then this is a must see film but if not then it might come off as just a barely above average action/spy film so that's why it doesn't get my "Must See Seal of Approval"
This movie was really good and it was great to see a Marvel movie again. I didn't see this one in theaters but I still enjoyed watching it in the safety of my home with my family. So this movie came off like a really good spy/action movie but definitely had that Marvel feel to it. It really felt like watching something out of the Bourne or Bond series films but with admittedly less plot and gadgets, but the action was really spot on. There was awesome car chase scenes and expertly crafted fight choreography too. It was even reported that they went through 13 BMW X3's for the car chase scene with Scarlett and Florence so you can tell that they really wanted to get things right and had a vision of what they wanted the audience to see for that particular scene as well. I thought there was really great chemistry from all the actors together and that it was pretty good casting. Scarlett and Florence argue throughout the film just like real sisters, and the looks that David Harbour and Rachel Weisz exchange feel like they were genuinely together. The opening scene of the movie had great acting and was very emotional. I just feel like one role/actor was kind of a bad casting and/or was greatly underutilized. I think the biggest flaw of the move was that for being a spy movie, the plot never had any mystery to it and everything was kind of predictable or at least very easy to follow. Not much of a thriller or thinker where you had to put two and two together. The cinematography was spot on and felt like you were watching any big budget spy or action movie and on par with what you expect from Marvel Studios. The tone fit the film for the most part but kind of "see-saw"-ed from time to time as they mixed serious themes with comedic dialogue throughout. But that's to be expected from a PG-13 action/spy movie from Marvel and it was a little reminiscent of the film Captain America in that regard. The music was good and there were a couple of songs that stuck out in that regard American Pie by Don Mclean and a cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit by Think Up Anger; also Cheap Thrills by Sia. The musical score was also good and the Black Widow theme was pretty epic but also with hints of melancholy to it that seemed to underline both her tragic background as well as the tragedy of the events to come in her future. Altogether the movie was really good and I give it a 7/10. If you are big time into the MCU and Marvel franchise movies then this is a must see film but if not then it might come off as just a barely above average action/spy film so that's why it doesn't get my "Must See Seal of Approval"
