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West of the Moon
West of the Moon
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
West of the Moon is a lovely tale of two sisters who, after their father travels to America from their homeland of Norway, end up in the care of their Aunt. Whist living with their Aunt the two sisters get separated when the Aunt sells the eldest sister, Astri, to the local goat herder. As we soon find out he is as cruel if not crueler than the greedy Aunt. The story basically revolves around Astri saving herself, the spinning girl who is also being held by the goat herder, then rescuing her younger sister Greta and embarking on a journey to America to find their father.

Whilst I can see why many people are enjoying this book, and I will point out that I read an ARC proof so there may still be slight changes to be made, I just wasn’t fond of the writing style for the most part. This was such a small book compared to what I normally read but I just didn’t feel drawn to read it. Additionally, Astri, the main character uses folk tales and myths to deal with the situations around her and as a coping mechanism. Which I just found long winded and at times confusing. I would have preferred a childlike musing of the situations much like in [b:Room|7937843|Room|Emma Donoghue|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1344265419s/7937843.jpg|9585076] by Emma Donoghue, than a child using stories to describe how she feels.

This just wasn’t for me personally and I understand it is aimed at younger readers but I don’t honestly think it would have been my thing even when I was younger. The last section of the book was much better as the folk tale inclusion was minimal and I finally felt like I got to understand Astri’s real feelings about everything that had and was happening to her. I wish it had all been written like this.
  
Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)
1932 | Action, Classics, Romance
7
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
With this classic, Johnny Weissmuller is introduced to the world as Tarzan. Already well known as an Olympic swimming star by 1932, whilst Johnny was not the first on screen Tarzan, his has become the most famous.

Playing the role as a naive childlike action hero, king of his domain whilst being pitched as fish out of water when round westerners or “Civilized” folk, these early action movies spend no time delving into the The Ape Man’s origins, as many subsequent adaptions have.

Here, he is simply Tarzan; the athletic protector of the jungle, able to summon help from his wild allies, apes, elephants etc… as he fights white men, “savages” and any number of wild foes, including crocodiles, hippos and a selection of wild cats.

But only up until his fateful meeting with feisty Jane Parker (Maureen O’Sullivan), a fairy tale, innocent romance blossoms which is actually portrayed in such a way, that it is genuinely heart warming as the series progresses.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Killer Shrews (1959) in Movies

May 3, 2019 (Updated May 3, 2019)  
The Killer Shrews (1959)
The Killer Shrews (1959)
1959 | Sci-Fi
2
4.0 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Well, it was inevitable, wasn't it? When you make a list of those wild creatures that inspire sheer terror in everyday folk, forget about sharks, snakes, spiders, wolves, and the rest - shrews! Shrews are the really scary little buggers. Or so the makers of this film appear to have decided. Unconvincing ship captain (Best) ends up on a hurricane-wracked island populated by mad scientists and the giant, savage shrews they have spawned; much utter nonsense ensues.

Bad acting is compounded by post-synched dialogue and the impressive range of accents on display from the cast, but the thing is that this isn't just a monster movie where the monsters are shrews, it's a shrew-based monster movie where the shrews are realised by a combination of dogs in costume and sabre-toothed glove puppets. Genuinely very funny to watch; objectively deserves a very low score but highly entertaining if you're in the mood.
  
Potions (ft. JT Roach) - Single by Slander
Potions (ft. JT Roach) - Single by Slander
2019
7
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Album Rating
SLANDER (Derek & Scott) is a duo based in Los Angeles and Said the Sky is a native of Colorado. Not too long ago, they released a music video for their emo-dance tune, entitled, “Potions”, featuring indie-folk singer-songwriter JT Roach.

‘Potion’ tells a heartbreaking story of love and loss about a young guy who encounters a female who he desires to be with.

Apparently, he never met anyone quite like her before, and never felt the way that he’s feeling right now. Later, he admits that he would take potions and cross oceans for her love.

‘Potion’ contains a relatable storyline, pleasing vocals, and lush instrumentation flavored with electro-pop and modern dance elements.

SLANDER built a mint name for themselves through jaw-dropping original productions and massive collaborations.

Not too long ago, they added “label heads” to their resume, and turned their popular Gud Vibrations brand into an official record label with NGHTMRE.

https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/slander-said-the-sky-potions-jt-roach/
  
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
Kim Michele Richardson | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I LOVED this book.
Nicknamed Bluet due to her blue skin, Cussy Mary has been an outcast her whole life. Deep in Kentucky, Blue skinned people are looked down upon as tainted, unholy, second class citizens. Now 19, her coal mining father wants nothing more for her than to settle down with a husband and have a family like a decent woman should but she has found her place - as a Book Woman, riding the trails delivering books to the Hill folk, who can't or won't get an education otherwise. Through the books and magazines she delivers she is making a difference in the lives of her patrons, and they are making a difference in hers, giving her a sense of pride an income, and a community. But not everyone is accepting of her as a Blue, and she is increasingly more threatened by the local Preacher, who is determined to "save" her.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Fistful of Dollars (1964) in Movies

Jun 12, 2018 (Updated Oct 22, 2018)  
Fistful of Dollars (1964)
Fistful of Dollars (1964)
1964 | Adventure, Western
Genre-defining spaghetti western is an Italian-made interpretation of a quintessentially American genre, filmed in Spain and based on a Japanese movie (so stop going on about how much you hate globalisation). Taciturn stranger moseys into a divided town south of the border, decides to make some quick money by playing the two ruling gangs off against one another. Cue many trumpet solos and Clint Eastwood gunning folk down like it's going out of fashion.

Not quite up to the same standards as the film that inspired it, Yojimbo, but still a really impressive film in the way it combines Leone's visual style, Eastwood's inscrutable charisma and Morricone's operatic score. The focus is so visual that the film ends up coming across as slightly superficial and overly interested in violence and sadism, but it is still a classic of its kind and really a landmark in both US and European cinema.
  
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Flynn (6 KP) rated Lizard Radio in Books

Sep 18, 2018  
LR
Lizard Radio
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<spoiler>Kind of disappointed there weren't actual lizard people, and we never learned what vaping actually was, or if blight was as bad as they made it out to be,</spoiler> so the book left me wanting a lot more answers to my questions in a fairly unsatisfying way. A lot of terms thrown at you to with no explanation, and the context makes it hard to actually figure out what stuff means.

Pretty good rep of non-binary and trans folk though and how confusing and hard it can be to be yourself in a strict binary world, but for people who haven't experienced anything really related to being gender non-conforming, it might be a bit hard to understand Kivali's perspective.

As a kid who legit thought they weren't human because they were different and wished I was picked up by my fellow aliens, having actual aliens get Kivali would've been a lot more satisfying than them not being real.