Search
Search results
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2099 KP) rated May Day in Books
Jul 1, 2021 (Updated Jul 1, 2021)
Wasn’t What I Was Expecting
Mira’s life in Minneapolis is falling apart, so when a chance comes up to be an assistant librarian and part time reporter in the small town of Battle Lake, Minnesota, she jumps at the chance. She’s not expecting her love life to be super active there, but then she meets Jeff, and it is love at first sight. At least it is for a week until she finds his dead body in the middle of the library one morning when she goes to open it. Worried that she is a jinx, Mira decides to figure out what happened. The fact that she can turn it into an article for the paper is an added bonus. Will she figure out what happened?
This series has been on my radar for years, so it was with anticipation that I picked up this book. I was very disappointed with it. While we start out with Mira finding the dead body, we then flashback to get background on the characters. The result was a slow start to the book. The mystery was decent, with enough to keep me engaged and an ending that surprised me. The characters were more types, built to create comedy instead of be real characters. And most of the jokes didn’t land, especially since they were more raunchy than funny. This definitely isn’t one of my typical cozies, and I found that content off-putting. It was almost forced into the book. I really did want to like this book, especially since I have a few others in the series already. But I will probably move on without reading them.
This series has been on my radar for years, so it was with anticipation that I picked up this book. I was very disappointed with it. While we start out with Mira finding the dead body, we then flashback to get background on the characters. The result was a slow start to the book. The mystery was decent, with enough to keep me engaged and an ending that surprised me. The characters were more types, built to create comedy instead of be real characters. And most of the jokes didn’t land, especially since they were more raunchy than funny. This definitely isn’t one of my typical cozies, and I found that content off-putting. It was almost forced into the book. I really did want to like this book, especially since I have a few others in the series already. But I will probably move on without reading them.
Jeff Lynne recommended Greatest Hits by Roy Orbison in Music (curated)
Omari Hardwick recommended A Pornographic Affair (Une Liaison Pornographique) (1999) in Movies (curated)
Jesters_folly (230 KP) rated Zombeavers (2015) in Movies
Sep 21, 2020
Contains spoilers, click to show
Zombeavers is more an attempted at an 80's slasher film than a Zombie movie, you have your house by the lake, your horny teens and your monsters. The narrative is almost 'by the book' and once you work out what the threat is you could pretty much wright the script yourself. And it doesn't take much to work out the threat, between the title and opening credits you know what's going on before the protagonists do.
The effects are ok, the actual beavers are obviously fake animatronics but this is probably deliberate to help with the cheesy feel of the film, there is blood but not too much guts although there is a scene with a beaver ripped in half which is quite good (I'm not going to mention the scene meant to make any male's eyes water).
As with most 80's slashers there's sex, boobs and pruds. There are a few secondary characters, most of whom have no character and are really only there to flesh out the number victims and, to be honest the main characters don't really have much, well character.
Some of the water scenes seem to be going for a 'Friday the Thirteenth' feel but, where most films would have the characters messing about and joking about the monster and thus adding to their development, Zombeavers just gets down to the action and, as it's run time is is only around 1 hour 17 there is plenty of time for expansion.
If you like slashers then you may like Zombeavers, most of the elements are there but it's predictable, slightly funny and has mostly been done before, just not with Beavers.
The effects are ok, the actual beavers are obviously fake animatronics but this is probably deliberate to help with the cheesy feel of the film, there is blood but not too much guts although there is a scene with a beaver ripped in half which is quite good (I'm not going to mention the scene meant to make any male's eyes water).
As with most 80's slashers there's sex, boobs and pruds. There are a few secondary characters, most of whom have no character and are really only there to flesh out the number victims and, to be honest the main characters don't really have much, well character.
Some of the water scenes seem to be going for a 'Friday the Thirteenth' feel but, where most films would have the characters messing about and joking about the monster and thus adding to their development, Zombeavers just gets down to the action and, as it's run time is is only around 1 hour 17 there is plenty of time for expansion.
If you like slashers then you may like Zombeavers, most of the elements are there but it's predictable, slightly funny and has mostly been done before, just not with Beavers.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated 44 Tiny Secrets in Books
Sep 24, 2020 (Updated Jan 26, 2021)
The protagonist in this book is Betsy, and this book is told from a single perspective. Betsy’s parents are very well known pianists, hoping that Betsy inherited their talent but no matter how much she tries, she can not play the piano well. I feel very sorry for Betsy, she is so eager to please her parents, and she stresses out so much when she fails. 😦 I really didn’t like Betsy’s mother, she seems heartless and blind, seeking a trophy child rather than a real child with its fears and flaws.
The narrative feels pretty slow, to be honest. I think the whole idea was not fully utilised. The book concentrated more on pleasing and inner thoughts, missing what children really like, funny situations, the more of them, the better. 😀 That is why this book has a little depressing atmosphere.
The writing style was enjoyable, and I liked the way the book was designed. It is quite spaced out, and the colourful illustrations are superb. The chapters were too long for my liking and I did feel a little bored. The ending rounded the story nicely, but I hope in the next part of series there will be more surprises and adventures.
So, to conclude, it is a story about a wish to please and impress. Some of the characters annoyed me with their high expectations, but sometimes that is what adults do to children not even realising it. I liked what this story has to offer, but I was expecting more… But it is only my humble opinion, please do give this book a go, and I hope you will like it more.
The narrative feels pretty slow, to be honest. I think the whole idea was not fully utilised. The book concentrated more on pleasing and inner thoughts, missing what children really like, funny situations, the more of them, the better. 😀 That is why this book has a little depressing atmosphere.
The writing style was enjoyable, and I liked the way the book was designed. It is quite spaced out, and the colourful illustrations are superb. The chapters were too long for my liking and I did feel a little bored. The ending rounded the story nicely, but I hope in the next part of series there will be more surprises and adventures.
So, to conclude, it is a story about a wish to please and impress. Some of the characters annoyed me with their high expectations, but sometimes that is what adults do to children not even realising it. I liked what this story has to offer, but I was expecting more… But it is only my humble opinion, please do give this book a go, and I hope you will like it more.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Summer of 84 (2018) in Movies
Sep 26, 2020 (Updated Sep 26, 2020)
Contains spoilers, click to show
I have mixed feelings about Summer of 84, another 80s love letter following in the wake of the cataclysmic popularity of Stranger Things. Probably easier to break this one down into bullet points.
- The four main characters are pretty hit and miss. The actors are all fine, but some of the dialogue and pop culture references seem very forced. They provide the movie with some funny moments for sure, but their characters are fairly cliché and the chemistry goes through some flat moments.
- The story is pretty straightforward and decent, and provides an entertaining mystery, but some of the plot points are odd and a lot of the characters are just insufferably stupid.
- The ending is conflicting as well. Considering the majority of the film is quite comedic and seems intended towards a family audience, the ending is pretty bleak. My initial thoughts were "fair enough, quite ballsy" but now I can't decide whether it was in fact just plain mean spirited. Either way, it left a nasty taste in my mouth, and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.
- A couple of positives - I really enjoyed the music score, and the cinematography. The film has a lovely aesthetic to it.
- Not sure how the babysitter character was supposed to be portrayed, but she seemed a bit too old for a love interest to the 15 year old protagonist. Made me feel uncomfortable...
Summer of 84 is an entertaining enough psuedo-slasher thriller, but it suffers from pacing issues amongst other things that stops it being as good is it could have been.
- The four main characters are pretty hit and miss. The actors are all fine, but some of the dialogue and pop culture references seem very forced. They provide the movie with some funny moments for sure, but their characters are fairly cliché and the chemistry goes through some flat moments.
- The story is pretty straightforward and decent, and provides an entertaining mystery, but some of the plot points are odd and a lot of the characters are just insufferably stupid.
- The ending is conflicting as well. Considering the majority of the film is quite comedic and seems intended towards a family audience, the ending is pretty bleak. My initial thoughts were "fair enough, quite ballsy" but now I can't decide whether it was in fact just plain mean spirited. Either way, it left a nasty taste in my mouth, and I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.
- A couple of positives - I really enjoyed the music score, and the cinematography. The film has a lovely aesthetic to it.
- Not sure how the babysitter character was supposed to be portrayed, but she seemed a bit too old for a love interest to the 15 year old protagonist. Made me feel uncomfortable...
Summer of 84 is an entertaining enough psuedo-slasher thriller, but it suffers from pacing issues amongst other things that stops it being as good is it could have been.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Big Sick (2017) in Movies
Sep 19, 2020
One of those products that feels fresh and generic in about an equal ratio, but this just *soars* off of the chemistry of its cast. Zoe Kazan and Kumail Nanjiani are wonderful, simply wonderful together here; Ray Romano and Holly Hunter are faultless; and Kumail's family + stand-up partners are as well cast as can be even if the latter add nothing more than mostly tired jokes that don't land to the story. I admit this is still pretty scattershot, but for me that's part of what makes it so interesting? If anything is subversive here it's two things: 1. the way this flips the typical romcom on its head by taking on multiple different styles of execution as it goes along (the mostly unfunny but charming as hell opening romance, the anxious but amiable [and more funny] first meetings with the parents, the harrowing confrontation of grief, and the confusing [for the characters] but unfortunately rather rushed through ending resolutions) and 2. Kumail playing himself during a real life tumultuous period in his life. Even though dozens of liberties were taken to make this more palatable for a studio romance, the broad side of things remains rooted in truth even down to supporting scenes - and seeing Kumail as himself act out those real life events and formulate them into a positive story add a whole new level of emotional heft. Plus he's just a rock-solid comedic force in general and he handles the sad scenes nearly just as well. Even if there are still some tropes in this, the base story still feels rather nuanced. Very flawed but so nice, so wholesome.
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Daredevil (2003) in Movies
Sep 20, 2020
"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘺?"
"𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴..."
*Director's cut*
Old proverb states: can a movie *truly* be bad with a Colin Farrell performance this fuckin' gonzo? Just as hokey as you remember, that playground fight is one of the worst things to make it through to pass in any superhero movie - and it's hilarious. Really funny when it tries to be, too though - for that matter. Overstuffed and contrived for sure but not too much more or less cartoonish than most of the stuff in the Raimi 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳-𝘔𝘢𝘯 movies, and this at least endearing market-tested clumsiness is - at the very least - twenty times more palatable than the intolerable formula market-testing in most of the Phase One/Three MCU flicks. This at least tries to have some fun, good humor, comic book replication, varied story beats, and a palpable edge beyond just its superficial emo-ness. I just can't help but smirk at the moon physics fight sequences or corny needledrops ("All this time I can't believe I couldn't see" with a lingering cut to Matt's eyes, come on man lmao). There's also a pretty rock solid backdrop in here about how most of the characters - good or bad - are motivated by greed or self-interest, so ultimately what we have to judge in the end is what's left when that wealth, pride, and/or power is unceremoniously stripped away from them. That final fight/scene with Kingpin is epic. Comes out much more sorta dorkily awkward as opposed to corporately sinister than it did in its day, because of what this has been replaced with and how immeasurably worse it is.
"𝘉𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴..."
*Director's cut*
Old proverb states: can a movie *truly* be bad with a Colin Farrell performance this fuckin' gonzo? Just as hokey as you remember, that playground fight is one of the worst things to make it through to pass in any superhero movie - and it's hilarious. Really funny when it tries to be, too though - for that matter. Overstuffed and contrived for sure but not too much more or less cartoonish than most of the stuff in the Raimi 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳-𝘔𝘢𝘯 movies, and this at least endearing market-tested clumsiness is - at the very least - twenty times more palatable than the intolerable formula market-testing in most of the Phase One/Three MCU flicks. This at least tries to have some fun, good humor, comic book replication, varied story beats, and a palpable edge beyond just its superficial emo-ness. I just can't help but smirk at the moon physics fight sequences or corny needledrops ("All this time I can't believe I couldn't see" with a lingering cut to Matt's eyes, come on man lmao). There's also a pretty rock solid backdrop in here about how most of the characters - good or bad - are motivated by greed or self-interest, so ultimately what we have to judge in the end is what's left when that wealth, pride, and/or power is unceremoniously stripped away from them. That final fight/scene with Kingpin is epic. Comes out much more sorta dorkily awkward as opposed to corporately sinister than it did in its day, because of what this has been replaced with and how immeasurably worse it is.
Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated The Amazing Book is Not on Fire: The World of Dan and Phil in Books
Jun 24, 2019
Two of my favourite things combined together: YouTube and reading!
The Amazing Book Is Not On Fire is just jam-packed with everything a fan could want. Stories, photos, illustrations, quizzes, trivia... There is so much going on!
Of course, the boys talk about their show on Radio 1, and all the opportunities that arose from the job - such as meeting One Direction. They also share their school experiences, their trip to Japan, and a rather unbelievable tale about what happened in Vegas...
As well as all their personal memories and journals, Dan and Phil talk about how they began their YouTube careers, and give advice to those wanting to go into the same profession. There's even a handy generator for video ideas!
All out favourite characters are mentioned, with Jessica, Becky, Dil Howlter, Simon the shrimp and Phil's lion having their own pages. Oh, and a double-page spread of Phil's hamster-breeding experiences.
And yes, there is fan-fiction. Phil Lester's tale, The Hand, features Harry Styles in a rather unexpected manner... And Dan's The Urge is, unsurprisingly, rather strange and dark. They are surprisingly nice reads in themselves!
Everything sounds as if the boys are reading aloud to you, as they've managed to capture their own voices in text. It's honestly just like watching one of their videos!
Here are some of the many visual pages in the book:
[Visit www.bookmarkedreading.wordpress.com for the review featuring images.]
There are deep moments, weird moments, helpful moments, funny moments. I would definitely recommend that any fans of AmazingPhil and Danisnotonfire read this! I'm going to give it 4 stars, as I really enjoyed it!
BookMarked
The Amazing Book Is Not On Fire is just jam-packed with everything a fan could want. Stories, photos, illustrations, quizzes, trivia... There is so much going on!
Of course, the boys talk about their show on Radio 1, and all the opportunities that arose from the job - such as meeting One Direction. They also share their school experiences, their trip to Japan, and a rather unbelievable tale about what happened in Vegas...
As well as all their personal memories and journals, Dan and Phil talk about how they began their YouTube careers, and give advice to those wanting to go into the same profession. There's even a handy generator for video ideas!
All out favourite characters are mentioned, with Jessica, Becky, Dil Howlter, Simon the shrimp and Phil's lion having their own pages. Oh, and a double-page spread of Phil's hamster-breeding experiences.
And yes, there is fan-fiction. Phil Lester's tale, The Hand, features Harry Styles in a rather unexpected manner... And Dan's The Urge is, unsurprisingly, rather strange and dark. They are surprisingly nice reads in themselves!
Everything sounds as if the boys are reading aloud to you, as they've managed to capture their own voices in text. It's honestly just like watching one of their videos!
Here are some of the many visual pages in the book:
[Visit www.bookmarkedreading.wordpress.com for the review featuring images.]
There are deep moments, weird moments, helpful moments, funny moments. I would definitely recommend that any fans of AmazingPhil and Danisnotonfire read this! I'm going to give it 4 stars, as I really enjoyed it!
BookMarked
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated American Made (2017) in Movies
Jul 11, 2019
Biopics can be problematic in their attempt to retell history or use individual perspectives to inform their audience about events that many may already be familiar with. In American Made, Tom Cruise plays Barry Seal, a TWA pilot who is recruited by the CIA to fly reconnaissance missions in Central America. He soon finds himself at the center of drug trafficking, gun trafficking, and as a pawn of several different entities seeking to use his skills and expertise for their own purposes.
The film is ambitious in trying to tell serious historic events as a campy adventure in which Barry is care free despite the consequences of his actions. Nothing about the film seems right. It unfortunately, can make an audience feel uneasy cheering on a drug smuggler who is making inordinate amounts of money for some of the most dangerous individuals on the face of the earth.
A positive effect of the film is that it demonstrates to audiences the complexities of American Foreign policy, drug policy, and corruption that existed in the 1980s and that it shouldn’t be viewed with rose colored glasses. If anything, it may offer another perspective about the period that not too many people may be familiar with and create a desire in them to research more about the period and events.
American Made offers audiences a funny, introspective, personal account of one man’s experience working for the government and drug cartels that allows for a break from some of the more serious and dark portrayals that have typically been featured. Audiences will enjoy reminiscing about the 80s and think back to how complicated the period actually was.
The film is ambitious in trying to tell serious historic events as a campy adventure in which Barry is care free despite the consequences of his actions. Nothing about the film seems right. It unfortunately, can make an audience feel uneasy cheering on a drug smuggler who is making inordinate amounts of money for some of the most dangerous individuals on the face of the earth.
A positive effect of the film is that it demonstrates to audiences the complexities of American Foreign policy, drug policy, and corruption that existed in the 1980s and that it shouldn’t be viewed with rose colored glasses. If anything, it may offer another perspective about the period that not too many people may be familiar with and create a desire in them to research more about the period and events.
American Made offers audiences a funny, introspective, personal account of one man’s experience working for the government and drug cartels that allows for a break from some of the more serious and dark portrayals that have typically been featured. Audiences will enjoy reminiscing about the 80s and think back to how complicated the period actually was.