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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2072 KP) rated A Time to Swill in Books
Jul 28, 2021 (Updated Jul 28, 2021)
Chloe Gets Swept into a New Mystery
Chloe Jackson has just returned from packing up her life in Chicago and saying her goodbyes to move full time to her new home in Florida. Her first morning back, she is running on the beach near her new home when she sees a ship that has beached itself. Hearing a cry on board, she climbs on board only to get swept out to sea. Before she is rescued, she’s found a skeleton that reopens a disappearance from twelve years ago. With some of her new friends under investigation, she is determined to find out what happened all those years ago and why it is coming to light now. What will she uncover?
The plot teaser just covers a few of the questions the book quickly gives us, and I had a very hard time putting the book down. In fact, I used a lazy Saturday to finish it faster than I originally planned. Meanwhile, there’s a strong sub-plot, not that we need any more reason to be addicted. Everything is resolved satisfactorily by the time we reach the end. Since Chloe doesn’t know her new friends super well yet, this book gives her, and us, a chance to learn more about them, and I love the character development. I might not normally pick up a book set in a bar, but I definitely enjoyed this one, especially the location – right on the beach. That setting may make this the ultimate beach read. Whether you pick up this book while on the beach or not, allow plenty of time to get lost in a great mystery when you pick up this book.
The plot teaser just covers a few of the questions the book quickly gives us, and I had a very hard time putting the book down. In fact, I used a lazy Saturday to finish it faster than I originally planned. Meanwhile, there’s a strong sub-plot, not that we need any more reason to be addicted. Everything is resolved satisfactorily by the time we reach the end. Since Chloe doesn’t know her new friends super well yet, this book gives her, and us, a chance to learn more about them, and I love the character development. I might not normally pick up a book set in a bar, but I definitely enjoyed this one, especially the location – right on the beach. That setting may make this the ultimate beach read. Whether you pick up this book while on the beach or not, allow plenty of time to get lost in a great mystery when you pick up this book.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Beneath the Stands ( Sugarlake 2) in Books
Apr 7, 2024
66 of 220
Kindle
Beneath the Stands ( Sugarlake 2)
My Emily McIntire
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Elliot Carson left Sugarlake and has never looked back. Revered as the next big thing in basketball, Eli’s a star until an injury ends his career, sending him spiraling with no direction.
But he won’t go home.
He can’t.
Instead, he accepts a coaching gig at Florida Coast University, determined to leave his past behind. But fate has other plans when Becca, his sister’s best friend, shows up as a student and, even worse, becomes the new team manager.
Rebecca Sanger is the preacher’s daughter and the town's disappointment. When she ignores her family’s demands to come home, she’s cut off and needs a job so she can stay enrolled at FCU. She thought she had everything figured out, until Eli Carson—the person she hates more than anything in the world—ends up being her new boss.
Forced together, Becca and Eli’s hatred turns to heat, and they start an affair. But disaster quickly strikes, ripping them apart.
Years pass, and Becca’s back home, under her parent’s thumb, and living a mundane life. When Eli shows up out of the blue with a fiancée in tow, Becca is tasked with planning their wedding.
There’s only one problem.
Becca still loves Eli.
And he hates her.
A pretty decent read especially as lately I’ve struggled with romance. It was interlinked with book one so if you haven’t read it you will need to. It was good seeing conclusion to one story as well as it leading to the next. Flowed well and was a nice hit of that spice. It’s good to read a bit of spicy romance now and again.
Kindle
Beneath the Stands ( Sugarlake 2)
My Emily McIntire
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Elliot Carson left Sugarlake and has never looked back. Revered as the next big thing in basketball, Eli’s a star until an injury ends his career, sending him spiraling with no direction.
But he won’t go home.
He can’t.
Instead, he accepts a coaching gig at Florida Coast University, determined to leave his past behind. But fate has other plans when Becca, his sister’s best friend, shows up as a student and, even worse, becomes the new team manager.
Rebecca Sanger is the preacher’s daughter and the town's disappointment. When she ignores her family’s demands to come home, she’s cut off and needs a job so she can stay enrolled at FCU. She thought she had everything figured out, until Eli Carson—the person she hates more than anything in the world—ends up being her new boss.
Forced together, Becca and Eli’s hatred turns to heat, and they start an affair. But disaster quickly strikes, ripping them apart.
Years pass, and Becca’s back home, under her parent’s thumb, and living a mundane life. When Eli shows up out of the blue with a fiancée in tow, Becca is tasked with planning their wedding.
There’s only one problem.
Becca still loves Eli.
And he hates her.
A pretty decent read especially as lately I’ve struggled with romance. It was interlinked with book one so if you haven’t read it you will need to. It was good seeing conclusion to one story as well as it leading to the next. Flowed well and was a nice hit of that spice. It’s good to read a bit of spicy romance now and again.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Christine (2016) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
If it bleeds, it leads.
Life is precious. Bad times always get good again eventually. Winter turns to spring and you feel the warmth of the sun on your face again. So what drives someone – anyone – to the point of despair sufficient for them to ignore all of the potential upturns and to take their own life?
Christine tells the tragic tale of Florida TV news reporter Christine Chubbuck who committed suicide live on air in 1974. Yes, this is a spoiler, but since most people have some sense of what a film is about before they go to see it, it’s not really a big one. And I think in this case, knowing the outcome is pretty essential since otherwise you will likely spend 2 hours getting increasingly irritated by the erratic behaviour of the lead character and may possibly turn it off. With this movie, the telling is in the journey – not the destination.
London-born Rebecca Hall (“The Town”) plays the 30 year old virgin Christine; a damaged article with past mental issues, she has been moved by her mother Peg (J Smith-Cameron) from Boston to Florida to make a fresh start. But the station is struggling and Christine’s insistence on pursuing dull but worthy stories, such as zoning disputes, isn’t helping: she is driving her boss (Tracy Letts) to distraction. Despite her spiky demeanour and unapproachable nature, her colleagues including Jean (Maria Dizzia), the show’s anchor (and potential deflowerer) George (Michael C Hall) and weatherman Steve (Timothy Simons from “Veep”) all do their best to support her. It is part of the true tragedy of the piece that her downward spiral continues despite their best efforts.
Hall is outstanding in the role. She portrays the crazily compulsive behaviour of Chubbuck extremely well: perfectionism gone wild as she attempts to edit out 3 seconds off a clip while the film is already in the machine. At times the other-worldliness and creepiness of her character become extremely unsettling; an excruciating scene with a married couple in a bar being a case in point. Overall it’s an extremely thoughtful portrayal that is as quiet and unassuming as Ruth Negga’s in “Loving” (but without the smiles or the charm). I would like to think that after the Oscars team picked the ‘obvious contenders’ of Portman, Stone and Huppert, and with a place ‘reserved’ for Streep, they were left with Negga and Hall and had a “dammit, we can only pick 1 out of 2 here” moment.
Letts as the crotchety station chief also delivers a fine performance, and it’s a shame that the script never gave us the chance to see his post-shooting reactions, since the ‘if only’ ramifications for him in particular must have been huge.
In retrospect, Chubbuck’s actions were bizarre: taking her life in such a public way (and insisting the show be recorded for her “reels”) strikes of narcissism and a bitter revenge. While the film is no doubt based on the true recollections of the real-life participants, the screenplay by Craig Shilowich, in an impressive writing debut, for me never quite closed that loop: why this way rather that a car and a hosepipe?
Directed by Antonio Campos, this is never an easy watch. It’s a bit like watching a car crash in ultra-slow motion, and pretty much mandates that you watch an episode of “Father Ted” afterwards to cheer yourself up! But it’s a fascinating study in mental decline, and it’s a useful reminder that it behoves all of us to pay more attention to others around us and reach out with real help if needed before the worst can happen.
Christine tells the tragic tale of Florida TV news reporter Christine Chubbuck who committed suicide live on air in 1974. Yes, this is a spoiler, but since most people have some sense of what a film is about before they go to see it, it’s not really a big one. And I think in this case, knowing the outcome is pretty essential since otherwise you will likely spend 2 hours getting increasingly irritated by the erratic behaviour of the lead character and may possibly turn it off. With this movie, the telling is in the journey – not the destination.
London-born Rebecca Hall (“The Town”) plays the 30 year old virgin Christine; a damaged article with past mental issues, she has been moved by her mother Peg (J Smith-Cameron) from Boston to Florida to make a fresh start. But the station is struggling and Christine’s insistence on pursuing dull but worthy stories, such as zoning disputes, isn’t helping: she is driving her boss (Tracy Letts) to distraction. Despite her spiky demeanour and unapproachable nature, her colleagues including Jean (Maria Dizzia), the show’s anchor (and potential deflowerer) George (Michael C Hall) and weatherman Steve (Timothy Simons from “Veep”) all do their best to support her. It is part of the true tragedy of the piece that her downward spiral continues despite their best efforts.
Hall is outstanding in the role. She portrays the crazily compulsive behaviour of Chubbuck extremely well: perfectionism gone wild as she attempts to edit out 3 seconds off a clip while the film is already in the machine. At times the other-worldliness and creepiness of her character become extremely unsettling; an excruciating scene with a married couple in a bar being a case in point. Overall it’s an extremely thoughtful portrayal that is as quiet and unassuming as Ruth Negga’s in “Loving” (but without the smiles or the charm). I would like to think that after the Oscars team picked the ‘obvious contenders’ of Portman, Stone and Huppert, and with a place ‘reserved’ for Streep, they were left with Negga and Hall and had a “dammit, we can only pick 1 out of 2 here” moment.
Letts as the crotchety station chief also delivers a fine performance, and it’s a shame that the script never gave us the chance to see his post-shooting reactions, since the ‘if only’ ramifications for him in particular must have been huge.
In retrospect, Chubbuck’s actions were bizarre: taking her life in such a public way (and insisting the show be recorded for her “reels”) strikes of narcissism and a bitter revenge. While the film is no doubt based on the true recollections of the real-life participants, the screenplay by Craig Shilowich, in an impressive writing debut, for me never quite closed that loop: why this way rather that a car and a hosepipe?
Directed by Antonio Campos, this is never an easy watch. It’s a bit like watching a car crash in ultra-slow motion, and pretty much mandates that you watch an episode of “Father Ted” afterwards to cheer yourself up! But it’s a fascinating study in mental decline, and it’s a useful reminder that it behoves all of us to pay more attention to others around us and reach out with real help if needed before the worst can happen.
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Gifted (2017) in Movies
Jan 13, 2019
Good Stuff
After the death of his sister, Frank (Chris Evans) opts to take in his extremely intelligent niece Mary (McKenna Grace) and raise her like he thought his sister would have wanted. His hope is to protect her from growing up too fast, particularly from ending up in the clutches of his mom Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan) who would prefer to hole Mary up in a private institution.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
When I look at characters and how they impact a movie, it’s not just about how intriguing they are, but also about how real they are. I love characters that are flawed and you get that with Frank. He’s just trying to do the right thing by his sister and his niece while still trying to live his own life as well. There are oftentimes where he’s wondering if he’s making the right decision and you’re wondering right along with him. I really appreciate the relationship between him and Mary as it wasn’t all rainbows and lollipops. They’ve clearly had some disagreements, but they love each other through it.
The supporting characters helped to hold the movie up as well. Bonnie (Jenny Slate) was probably my personal favorite as the warm caring teacher who genuinely wants the best for Mary. Both encouraging and sweet, she is another character whose story you get to unpack more and more as the movie progresses.
Cinematography/Visuals: 7
Great imagery and shots of a sleepy town in coastal Florida. There isn’t much to blow you away in the way of cinematography, but I appreciate the consistency at the very least. They keep the scenery fresh throughout which was good enough for me.
Conflict: 8
Genre: 7
Memorability: 8
Pace: 10
Plot: 10
Resolution: 8
Overall: 88
I’ve seen Gifted quite a few times, whether all the way through or in bits and pieces. Everytime I watch it, I find someting different to appreciate it. Solid surprise of a movie.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
When I look at characters and how they impact a movie, it’s not just about how intriguing they are, but also about how real they are. I love characters that are flawed and you get that with Frank. He’s just trying to do the right thing by his sister and his niece while still trying to live his own life as well. There are oftentimes where he’s wondering if he’s making the right decision and you’re wondering right along with him. I really appreciate the relationship between him and Mary as it wasn’t all rainbows and lollipops. They’ve clearly had some disagreements, but they love each other through it.
The supporting characters helped to hold the movie up as well. Bonnie (Jenny Slate) was probably my personal favorite as the warm caring teacher who genuinely wants the best for Mary. Both encouraging and sweet, she is another character whose story you get to unpack more and more as the movie progresses.
Cinematography/Visuals: 7
Great imagery and shots of a sleepy town in coastal Florida. There isn’t much to blow you away in the way of cinematography, but I appreciate the consistency at the very least. They keep the scenery fresh throughout which was good enough for me.
Conflict: 8
Genre: 7
Memorability: 8
Pace: 10
Plot: 10
Resolution: 8
Overall: 88
I’ve seen Gifted quite a few times, whether all the way through or in bits and pieces. Everytime I watch it, I find someting different to appreciate it. Solid surprise of a movie.
Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) rated We Drink and We Know Things in Podcasts
Oct 18, 2020 (Updated Oct 26, 2020)
The hosts: Andrea and Tom. (6 more)
The variety of topics.
Keeps my interests throughout.
The humor.
The coolness factor.
Not over-produced or over-commercialized.
Homegrown in Kentucky
Doused in alcohol and lit with knowledge.
I am an avid podcast listener. We're talking up to 12 hours a day, sometimes more, so I'm always looking for something good to feed my ears. I heard a We Drink and We Know Things promo on one of the podcasts in my usual rotation and was so taken by the hosts' personalities and rapport that I paused my usual podcast and went to WDAWKT and immediately dove into their latest podcast. It was so much fun, so interesting, and intriguing that I had to hear more! So for the next three days, I binged their podcast.
To say it's delightful may seem weird to some, considering the topics they cover, but nonetheless, it's true. It made me very happy to hear that they are from my home state of Kentucky because we have such interesting stories from here that need to be told, though that is not the focus of the podcast. Married hosts, Andrea and Tom, are charming, funny, authentic, and real, and their thirst for knowledge cannot be quenched. For that, I am grateful as it means they will never run out of material for their podcast and I'll get to listen to them every week.
Some of the topics they've covered are true crime, ghosts, haunted locations, paranormal, aliens, UFOs, cryptids, urban legends, conspiracies, weird science, strange historical events, and more, and regular episodes Florida Man Friday, Let's Not Meet stories, and Creepypastas.
I have several paranormal stories to share with them so maybe one day, you'll hear my story on one of their episodes.
If these kinds of topics interest you, give this podcast a try. I think you'll like it.
To say it's delightful may seem weird to some, considering the topics they cover, but nonetheless, it's true. It made me very happy to hear that they are from my home state of Kentucky because we have such interesting stories from here that need to be told, though that is not the focus of the podcast. Married hosts, Andrea and Tom, are charming, funny, authentic, and real, and their thirst for knowledge cannot be quenched. For that, I am grateful as it means they will never run out of material for their podcast and I'll get to listen to them every week.
Some of the topics they've covered are true crime, ghosts, haunted locations, paranormal, aliens, UFOs, cryptids, urban legends, conspiracies, weird science, strange historical events, and more, and regular episodes Florida Man Friday, Let's Not Meet stories, and Creepypastas.
I have several paranormal stories to share with them so maybe one day, you'll hear my story on one of their episodes.
If these kinds of topics interest you, give this podcast a try. I think you'll like it.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2072 KP) rated Fashionably Late in Books
Sep 20, 2019
I’m Late Reading This Book, But I Enjoyed It
It all starts with a fashion show. It’s fashion week in Milano – Milano, Florida, that is, and Summer Smythe has snagged tickets for herself and her friend Dorothy Westin to the luncheon and fashion show that are kicking things off. However, things take a strange turn when Angelica Downs, one of the models, asks them for help before the show starts. When they try to track her down, they find her dead body. Angelica’s mother, Frankie, is living in the part of their senior center for those with memory issues, and Dorothy and Summer are worried that Frankie might be next. However, when they go to talk to Frankie, that only leaves them with more questions. Is a killer after Frankie? Who killed Angelica? Can Dorothy and Summer figure out what is really going on?
Having read the previous two books in this series, I knew what to expect, and I wasn’t disappointed. The plot starts off strongly. We don’t seem to be gathering any clues right off the bat, but there is still plenty happening to keep our interest. Naturally, much of that comes back into play as the book leads us to the logical conclusion. The climax was a tad rushed, but it was also fun and answered all of our questions. The characters range from fairly realistic, like Dorothy, to less so, like Summer, to outright wacky. The mix works for this book. We care enough to want to see justice done, but we also are having fun laughing and smiling as things go along. The book is set in December, but the holidays only color events a little. Instead, this is more about the fashion shows and the events happening in connection with them. If you are looking for a delightful book, this is definitely one to pick up.
Having read the previous two books in this series, I knew what to expect, and I wasn’t disappointed. The plot starts off strongly. We don’t seem to be gathering any clues right off the bat, but there is still plenty happening to keep our interest. Naturally, much of that comes back into play as the book leads us to the logical conclusion. The climax was a tad rushed, but it was also fun and answered all of our questions. The characters range from fairly realistic, like Dorothy, to less so, like Summer, to outright wacky. The mix works for this book. We care enough to want to see justice done, but we also are having fun laughing and smiling as things go along. The book is set in December, but the holidays only color events a little. Instead, this is more about the fashion shows and the events happening in connection with them. If you are looking for a delightful book, this is definitely one to pick up.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Truly Dead ( Elise Sandburg book 4) in Books
Jun 20, 2022
Contains spoilers, click to show
110 of 230
Kindle
Truly Dead ( Elise Sandburg book 4)
By Anne Frasier
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
When a demolition crew uncovers several bodies inside the walls of a house where serial killer Frank J. Remy once lived, the discovery sends shock waves through the Savannah Police Department. All of the bodies were hidden before Remy’s imprisonment and subsequent death thirty-six years earlier—except for one belonging to a missing child.
Homicide partners Elise Sandburg and David Gould were the Savannah PD’s dream team, solving uncrackable crimes and catching killers. But their last case resulted in their termination from the squad, until the coroner calls them back to consult, unofficially, on a body found in the wall of a house once occupied by Remy, a killer Elise’s own father sent to jail—a killer who died in prison. The MO seems uncomfortably similar to that of a serial killer wreaking havoc in Florida.
Does Elise have a copycat on her hands? Is Remy’s influence reaching from beyond the grave? Or is Elise making connections where there are none? When her father warns her to back off the case, Elise’s shadowy family history threatens to swallow her once again. But whatever force is at work, she won’t rest until the killing stops.
Now at odds with everyone she cares about and forced to acknowledge her worsening emotional state, Elise struggles to protect the people she loves as the body count rises.
I have loved this series so much. From book one to the end of this I have laughed and cried with Elise and this book was just the perfect finish to the series! Elise finally got to find peace and hopefully heal those scars mentally and physically. I think the book itself I would have given it a 4⭐️ but decided on the 5⭐️ as it’s a fitting ending.
Kindle
Truly Dead ( Elise Sandburg book 4)
By Anne Frasier
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
When a demolition crew uncovers several bodies inside the walls of a house where serial killer Frank J. Remy once lived, the discovery sends shock waves through the Savannah Police Department. All of the bodies were hidden before Remy’s imprisonment and subsequent death thirty-six years earlier—except for one belonging to a missing child.
Homicide partners Elise Sandburg and David Gould were the Savannah PD’s dream team, solving uncrackable crimes and catching killers. But their last case resulted in their termination from the squad, until the coroner calls them back to consult, unofficially, on a body found in the wall of a house once occupied by Remy, a killer Elise’s own father sent to jail—a killer who died in prison. The MO seems uncomfortably similar to that of a serial killer wreaking havoc in Florida.
Does Elise have a copycat on her hands? Is Remy’s influence reaching from beyond the grave? Or is Elise making connections where there are none? When her father warns her to back off the case, Elise’s shadowy family history threatens to swallow her once again. But whatever force is at work, she won’t rest until the killing stops.
Now at odds with everyone she cares about and forced to acknowledge her worsening emotional state, Elise struggles to protect the people she loves as the body count rises.
I have loved this series so much. From book one to the end of this I have laughed and cried with Elise and this book was just the perfect finish to the series! Elise finally got to find peace and hopefully heal those scars mentally and physically. I think the book itself I would have given it a 4⭐️ but decided on the 5⭐️ as it’s a fitting ending.
Lee (2222 KP) rated Fighting with My Family (2019) in Movies
Mar 1, 2019
It's been many years since I last watched any wrestling, and I certainly haven't seen anything of the WWE Divas, or more specifically Paige - the wrestling name of the young British girl whose story is featured in Fighting With My Family. I first got into WWE wrestling, or WWF as it was known back then, sometime during 1986 - just in time for Wrestlemania 3 and the classic main event of Hulk Hogan Vs André the Giant in front of a crowd of over 93,000. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before, and I was hooked. Following that, I used to have to wake up my younger brothers at around midnight whenever there was a major wrestling event on TV, so that we would be able to watch it live from the US. And then eventually, in 1992, they brought Summerslam to Wembley Stadium, and we were able to finally attend an event a little bit closer to home.
Fighting With My Family begins with a young Paige, real name Saraya-Jade, enjoying the WWF wrestling on TV with brother Zak and trying out some of the moves and holds on each other, similar to how I managed to perfect the figure four leglock on my younger brother.... But, that's where the similarities end as Saraya-Jade and Zak are positively encouraged by their parents to beat the crap out of each other, whereas I would probably have been grounded for making my brother cry or something. Their parents, Patrick ‘Rowdy Ricky Knight’ and Julia ‘Sweet Saraya’ are former wrestlers themselves who now run World Association of Wrestling (WAW), where grown up Saraya-Jade (Florence Pugh) and Zak (Jack Lowden) now fight each other for money in regular evening shows. Each day they head out in their WAW van to pick up a bunch of local kids, who would otherwise be headed down a path of criminality, and head to the gym to train them in the ring. Elder brother Roy was also a wrestler, but is currently in prison. It's a simple, close-knit working class family - all looking out for each other, highly passionate about wrestling and each having (or had at one point) a dream to one day make it big in the WWE.
One day that dream has a chance of becoming reality when tryouts for the WWE come to The O2 in London and Zak and Raya are selected to come along. WWE Coach Hutch (Vince Vaughn) puts them through their paces but only Raya is selected to move onto the next stage in Florida. While she heads out to continue her dream, a rejected Zak resigns himself to the fact that he's only ever going to be a small time wrestler. Raya becomes Paige and sets about trying to prove herself as the ordinary Brit girl in among all the dancers, models and cheerleaders who are also with her at boot camp. She's resentful of the others, as they were 'only selected for their tits and ass' and are without any kind of wrestling background. She's lonely, angry and lacking the self confidence she needs to really make it happen. Meanwhile, Zak is struggling with missing out on heading to Florida - disinterested in his new born baby, undertaking grueling matches in front of small crowds, and picking fights in bars just for the hell of it.
Fighting With My Family boasts some real laugh out loud moments, but there is also a lot of relatable family drama and emotion. The cast are all incredible, particularly Florence Pugh as Raya/Paige. Vince Vaughn is a lot of fun as the coach and The Rock also brings a lot of comedy to the few scenes he's in. I absolutely loved everything about this movie and couldn't really fault it at all. Despite knowing beforehand the outcome for Paige, the whole movie just has you wondering throughout if she's going to make it or if she's going to quit, which makes the ending all the more enjoyable. And when you see clips during the credits of her real life family, you appreciate just how spot on some of the casting and acting is too!
Fighting With My Family begins with a young Paige, real name Saraya-Jade, enjoying the WWF wrestling on TV with brother Zak and trying out some of the moves and holds on each other, similar to how I managed to perfect the figure four leglock on my younger brother.... But, that's where the similarities end as Saraya-Jade and Zak are positively encouraged by their parents to beat the crap out of each other, whereas I would probably have been grounded for making my brother cry or something. Their parents, Patrick ‘Rowdy Ricky Knight’ and Julia ‘Sweet Saraya’ are former wrestlers themselves who now run World Association of Wrestling (WAW), where grown up Saraya-Jade (Florence Pugh) and Zak (Jack Lowden) now fight each other for money in regular evening shows. Each day they head out in their WAW van to pick up a bunch of local kids, who would otherwise be headed down a path of criminality, and head to the gym to train them in the ring. Elder brother Roy was also a wrestler, but is currently in prison. It's a simple, close-knit working class family - all looking out for each other, highly passionate about wrestling and each having (or had at one point) a dream to one day make it big in the WWE.
One day that dream has a chance of becoming reality when tryouts for the WWE come to The O2 in London and Zak and Raya are selected to come along. WWE Coach Hutch (Vince Vaughn) puts them through their paces but only Raya is selected to move onto the next stage in Florida. While she heads out to continue her dream, a rejected Zak resigns himself to the fact that he's only ever going to be a small time wrestler. Raya becomes Paige and sets about trying to prove herself as the ordinary Brit girl in among all the dancers, models and cheerleaders who are also with her at boot camp. She's resentful of the others, as they were 'only selected for their tits and ass' and are without any kind of wrestling background. She's lonely, angry and lacking the self confidence she needs to really make it happen. Meanwhile, Zak is struggling with missing out on heading to Florida - disinterested in his new born baby, undertaking grueling matches in front of small crowds, and picking fights in bars just for the hell of it.
Fighting With My Family boasts some real laugh out loud moments, but there is also a lot of relatable family drama and emotion. The cast are all incredible, particularly Florence Pugh as Raya/Paige. Vince Vaughn is a lot of fun as the coach and The Rock also brings a lot of comedy to the few scenes he's in. I absolutely loved everything about this movie and couldn't really fault it at all. Despite knowing beforehand the outcome for Paige, the whole movie just has you wondering throughout if she's going to make it or if she's going to quit, which makes the ending all the more enjoyable. And when you see clips during the credits of her real life family, you appreciate just how spot on some of the casting and acting is too!
Amy Christmas (170 KP) rated Let it Snow in Books
Dec 28, 2018
The last story was quite shoddy (4/10) (1 more)
The patron saint of pigs
A mixed bag of stories.
Contains spoilers, click to show
I had to read this at Christmas time, there is no other way, and at first I really quite enjoyed it, the first story The Jubilee Express was really quite something, I loved jubilee's character and her situation with her parents in prison and being shipped off to Florida. At this point Jeb who she meets on the train seems like a really 2D character (and will co time to be for the entire book) I was dissapointed in Jeb's character as there was a lot more potential there but no purpose from the 3 authors. However Jubilee I loved her motives and personality was great and the way that the story flowed from the train into the waffle house and meeting Stuart was great. The Jubilee Express was filled with weird and wonderful characters and a beautiful ending.
It goes down hill from here.
I've never read anything by John Green but I was dissapointed by his segment. The love between Tobin and The Duke is rushed and fake as hell. It didn't feel realistic in any sense of the word, the love in Twilight was better written. The adventure we follow with Tobin is good and enjoyable but the love aspect is not at all. I wanted this segment over with ASAP.
Then the patron saint of pigs, god. I despised Addie. I get that this short story was meant to be a moral story on being selfless etc etc but I got to the end of the story and again was drowned in superficial love that holds no weight or realism. In the end Addie is just forgiven for all that she has done in the past but we see no real change in her thinking. By the end she still constantly acts in her own interests, she only picks up the pig to prove to her friends that she isn't selfish and self absorbed. However the atmosphere of this last story was nice seeing all the stories fully converge.
However I only truly loved The Jubilee Express.
The rest felt heartless and 2D.
It goes down hill from here.
I've never read anything by John Green but I was dissapointed by his segment. The love between Tobin and The Duke is rushed and fake as hell. It didn't feel realistic in any sense of the word, the love in Twilight was better written. The adventure we follow with Tobin is good and enjoyable but the love aspect is not at all. I wanted this segment over with ASAP.
Then the patron saint of pigs, god. I despised Addie. I get that this short story was meant to be a moral story on being selfless etc etc but I got to the end of the story and again was drowned in superficial love that holds no weight or realism. In the end Addie is just forgiven for all that she has done in the past but we see no real change in her thinking. By the end she still constantly acts in her own interests, she only picks up the pig to prove to her friends that she isn't selfish and self absorbed. However the atmosphere of this last story was nice seeing all the stories fully converge.
However I only truly loved The Jubilee Express.
The rest felt heartless and 2D.