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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2579 KP) rated Spy School: Project X in Books
Oct 6, 2022 (Updated Oct 6, 2022)
Target: Ben Ripley
Any student will tell you that finals is a stressful time, but it is even more so at Spy School. After all, not only do you have to pass your classes, but failing could lead to serious pain. Ben Ripley has something extra to worry about since he’s been summoned to the principal’s office. Fortunately, he is running a little late since, while he is on the way, the principal’s office explodes. Another attack confirms it – assassins have targeted Ben. Fortunately, Ben’s friend, Erica Hale, knows exactly who is behind it. Unfortunately, that means a trip to find and confront this villain with danger around every corner. Will Ben make it?
This was another wonderful book in the series. The action is almost non-stop, yet it never feels forced into the story but is instead a result of Ben’s need to stop the attempts on his life. There’s also plenty of humor, often coming from the over the top (in the best way) action sequences but sometimes coming from the characters. Speaking of characters, there were a couple of slower moments, which allowed for some good growth. I’m intrigued by the tease at the end of the book, so I’m anxiously awaiting the next entry in the series. If you are a fan old or new, you’ll enjoy this book.
This was another wonderful book in the series. The action is almost non-stop, yet it never feels forced into the story but is instead a result of Ben’s need to stop the attempts on his life. There’s also plenty of humor, often coming from the over the top (in the best way) action sequences but sometimes coming from the characters. Speaking of characters, there were a couple of slower moments, which allowed for some good growth. I’m intrigued by the tease at the end of the book, so I’m anxiously awaiting the next entry in the series. If you are a fan old or new, you’ll enjoy this book.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated The Wild Swans ( Timeless Fairytales book 2) in Books
Jan 5, 2022
3of 230
Kindle
The Wild Swans ( Timeless Fairytales book 2)
By K M Shea
Elise is the foster-daughter of the King of Arcainia, a mathematician, and the country's treasurer. She is not a hero. But when her step-mother, a wicked witch, curses Elise's seven foster-brothers - the princes of Arcainia - and turns them into swans, Elise is the only one who can save them. To break the curse, she must knit seven shirts made of stinging nettles, but there's a catch. She has to complete the shirts without uttering a word, and if she doesn't finish the task, Arcainia and her foster-brothers will be lost. THE WILD SWANS is a retelling of the German Six Swans fairytale and the Dutch Wild Swans fairytale. It is a story of humor, love, adventure, and magic, and it is part of the top selling Timeless Fairy Tales series - a series comprised of loosely related adaptations of your favorite fairytales. All Timeless Fairy Tales take place in the same world and can be read all together, or as individual, stand-alone books.
I must confess I’d never heard of this fairytale where have I been!! This was beautiful and a sure sign of love and strength. I love K M Shea her books are just so well written. Definitely recommended to those that love retellings of fairytales.
Kindle
The Wild Swans ( Timeless Fairytales book 2)
By K M Shea
Elise is the foster-daughter of the King of Arcainia, a mathematician, and the country's treasurer. She is not a hero. But when her step-mother, a wicked witch, curses Elise's seven foster-brothers - the princes of Arcainia - and turns them into swans, Elise is the only one who can save them. To break the curse, she must knit seven shirts made of stinging nettles, but there's a catch. She has to complete the shirts without uttering a word, and if she doesn't finish the task, Arcainia and her foster-brothers will be lost. THE WILD SWANS is a retelling of the German Six Swans fairytale and the Dutch Wild Swans fairytale. It is a story of humor, love, adventure, and magic, and it is part of the top selling Timeless Fairy Tales series - a series comprised of loosely related adaptations of your favorite fairytales. All Timeless Fairy Tales take place in the same world and can be read all together, or as individual, stand-alone books.
I must confess I’d never heard of this fairytale where have I been!! This was beautiful and a sure sign of love and strength. I love K M Shea her books are just so well written. Definitely recommended to those that love retellings of fairytales.
Right Place, Right Time (The Pilsdale Chronicles #1)
8.0
Rate It
Book
Sometimes the path to true love twists so much that you end up right back where you started. Ben...
Contemporary MM Romance Age Gap Best Friend's Dad
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2579 KP) rated Claws of Death in Books
Aug 16, 2023
Who is Crabby Enough to Commit Murder?
After getting out of rehab, Jackie Norwood is looking for any way to rebuild her life, and professionally, she is taking her celebrity chef name on the road, judging food festivals. Her first one is a crab festival in Texas. She is horrified to realize that her fellow judge is her nemesis, Heather Curtis. Then disaster strikes when Heather drops dead after tasting their first dish – a dish prepared by Jackie’s ex-boyfriend. With the police looking at the two of them as suspects in Heather’s murder, Jackie has to jump in and find out what really happened. Can she do it?
Author Cathy Wiley has introduced Jackie in some short stories in the Destination Murders series, and I’m thrilled to see Jackie get her own novel finally. I liked getting to know Jackie better, and the rest of the cast, introduced here, are fantastic. The story starts quickly and never lags. I enjoyed how Jackie pieced things together at the end. Throw in some humor, and this was a book I never wanted to put down. It was over all too quickly. Those who enjoy crab will be interested in the recipes at the end. If you are looking for a fun new series, you’ll be thrilled you got your claws into this debut.
Author Cathy Wiley has introduced Jackie in some short stories in the Destination Murders series, and I’m thrilled to see Jackie get her own novel finally. I liked getting to know Jackie better, and the rest of the cast, introduced here, are fantastic. The story starts quickly and never lags. I enjoyed how Jackie pieced things together at the end. Throw in some humor, and this was a book I never wanted to put down. It was over all too quickly. Those who enjoy crab will be interested in the recipes at the end. If you are looking for a fun new series, you’ll be thrilled you got your claws into this debut.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2579 KP) rated Tough Luxe in Books
May 27, 2023
Twists of the Pretzel, but a Bit Empty Overall
Samantha Kidd has landed a new gig as a fashion columnist for the local paper. But she doesn’t expect that to lead to an invitation to visit someone in prison. Pretzel heiress Suzy Kintz was a high school acquaintance of Samantha’s, but a few years after they graduated, Suzy was convicted of killing her husband, and has been in jail ever since. Now, there is new evidence that might exonerate Suzy. Can Samantha figure out what really happened all those years ago?
I was immediately intrigued by the premise, and I enjoyed watching Samantha try to piece things together. However, when we hit the end, I was found I was left with too many questions – one I’d had since the beginning and a couple more than came up from the climax. I also found a sub-plot involving Samantha and her husband to be cringe inducing. At least that sub-plot led to some great character growth in Samantha. On the plus side, it is always great to hang out with these characters, and I loved the humor of the book. If you are already a fan, you’ll want to see what Samantha gets up to here. If you are new to the series, you should pick up an earlier book first before you see what happens here.
I was immediately intrigued by the premise, and I enjoyed watching Samantha try to piece things together. However, when we hit the end, I was found I was left with too many questions – one I’d had since the beginning and a couple more than came up from the climax. I also found a sub-plot involving Samantha and her husband to be cringe inducing. At least that sub-plot led to some great character growth in Samantha. On the plus side, it is always great to hang out with these characters, and I loved the humor of the book. If you are already a fan, you’ll want to see what Samantha gets up to here. If you are new to the series, you should pick up an earlier book first before you see what happens here.
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Pale Blue Scratch in Books
Aug 21, 2018
Full review can be found on: diaryofdifference.com/2018/06/18/pale-blue-scratch-jay-dinitto-book-review/
I was lucky enough to be approached by Jay DiNitto himself, and he sent me a copy of his first novel - Pale Blue Scratch in exchange for an honest review. This is a book unlike anything else I have ever read, and it left me impressed. I dearly enjoyed it, and maybe you will too.
As mentioned above, this is a book unlike any other that I have read. It is a great mix of fiction / action / fast-paced scenes / philosophy / psychology and a little bit of time-travelling.
Even though we have two main characters - Elizabeth and Vincent, this book focused more on Elizabeth, for various reasons.
<img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1455591169l/28919161.jpg"/>;
There were times when the scenes were slow, and somewhat a bit dull, but there were also times when there were fast-paced scenes that make me bite my nails. Though, as a whole, I found the story to not quite fit my taste. It felt like Elizabeth didn’t have a great or a strong enough reason to do this adventure.
Elizabeth’s character - now this is something quite amusing! I have never met a character like this - so twisted in a cute hippocrytical way. A nun with an adorable sense of humor, that goes around on a mission to make a time-travel machine, and happens to hurt people on her way… I loved her character in a very weird way (don’t judge!)
Now Vincent didn’t quite hit the mark. He seemed more of a plain character, like a little copy of someone else, somewhere, once upon a time. He gave the impression of a person that, unlike Elizabeth, didn’t quite knew where he belonged and what he’s doing. It felt like it didn’t bother him at all. And that’s alright. The moment when this started to hurt me was at the end - when he didn’t change a bit.
Even though a bit disappointed that I didn’t get to read much about time-travelling as I would want to, this book was quite amusing and it covered various random topics that I quite liked. I loved that variety when one moment you talk about religion, the other moment a great action scene happens, and then here we are again, discussing life philosophy.
All in all, to sum it all up - I greatly enjoyed this book! It was definitely unusual read, and unique in every single way. And if you love fiction / action / a bit of time-travelling / humor and philosophy, this might be easily your new favourite book!
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="http://innahcrazy.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>; |
I was lucky enough to be approached by Jay DiNitto himself, and he sent me a copy of his first novel - Pale Blue Scratch in exchange for an honest review. This is a book unlike anything else I have ever read, and it left me impressed. I dearly enjoyed it, and maybe you will too.
As mentioned above, this is a book unlike any other that I have read. It is a great mix of fiction / action / fast-paced scenes / philosophy / psychology and a little bit of time-travelling.
Even though we have two main characters - Elizabeth and Vincent, this book focused more on Elizabeth, for various reasons.
<img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1455591169l/28919161.jpg"/>;
There were times when the scenes were slow, and somewhat a bit dull, but there were also times when there were fast-paced scenes that make me bite my nails. Though, as a whole, I found the story to not quite fit my taste. It felt like Elizabeth didn’t have a great or a strong enough reason to do this adventure.
Elizabeth’s character - now this is something quite amusing! I have never met a character like this - so twisted in a cute hippocrytical way. A nun with an adorable sense of humor, that goes around on a mission to make a time-travel machine, and happens to hurt people on her way… I loved her character in a very weird way (don’t judge!)
Now Vincent didn’t quite hit the mark. He seemed more of a plain character, like a little copy of someone else, somewhere, once upon a time. He gave the impression of a person that, unlike Elizabeth, didn’t quite knew where he belonged and what he’s doing. It felt like it didn’t bother him at all. And that’s alright. The moment when this started to hurt me was at the end - when he didn’t change a bit.
Even though a bit disappointed that I didn’t get to read much about time-travelling as I would want to, this book was quite amusing and it covered various random topics that I quite liked. I loved that variety when one moment you talk about religion, the other moment a great action scene happens, and then here we are again, discussing life philosophy.
All in all, to sum it all up - I greatly enjoyed this book! It was definitely unusual read, and unique in every single way. And if you love fiction / action / a bit of time-travelling / humor and philosophy, this might be easily your new favourite book!
<a href="https://diaryofdifference.com/">Blog</a>; | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/diaryofdifference/">Facebook</a>; | <a href="https://twitter.com/DiaryDifference">Twitter</a>; | <a href="http://innahcrazy.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a>; | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/diaryofdifference/">Instagram</a>; | <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/diaryofdifference/pins/">Pinterest</a>; |
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Operation Finale (2018) in Movies
Jul 2, 2019
Fifteen years after the end of World War II there are still high ranking Nazi officials who have not been brought to justice. One of the biggest names to yet be captured is Adolph Eichmann (Ben Kingsley), the so called Architect of the Final Solution. Then in May 1960 someone in Argentina tips off the Israeli government that Eichmann may be hiding out in near Buenos Ares, Argentina. When the leader of an Israeli special unit finds out he sends an agent, Zvi Aharoni (Michael Aronov), to confirm the identity of the war criminal. When they determine that this has to be their man, a unit of operatives led by Peter Malkin (Oscar Isaac) set out to bring Eichmann to justice. In the past the unit has been able to deliver swift justice and in most cases there was no trial. But for a man that brought so much pain to so many Jewish people they must bring him to justice in the newly established state of Israel for all the world to see. Unfortunately the Argentine government would object to such an operation on its soil. So risky and daring plan for Peter to grab Eichmann near his home and get him to a safe house nearby. The would then have disguise him and Doctor Hanna Elian (Melanie Laurent) would have to keep him drugged all the way to the airport and on to awaiting plane out of the country. All of this will dodging Nazi sympathizers both in the police and roaming the streets. But for the 6 million of their people who died at the hands of men like Eichmann they must try.
This is the incredible true story of the capture of one of the top Nazi officials. The story is set up well by Director Chris Weitz (About a Boy, The Golden Compass). Ben Kingsley and Oscar Isaac give outstanding performances. Kingsley’s character and how his story develops is interesting. The entire supporting cast does well and Nick Kroll (Sing, The House) brings a surprising bit of fun to a heavy story line. Some may say the bits of humor might be a little odd given the subject matter but I thought it brought a realness and humanity to the film. The balance between the humor and showing the horror of World War II was really well done. At a little over two hours it does run a little long and there are flashback scenes that are at inconsistent times.
I was pleasantly surprised by this film. Not having heard this story before I enjoyed how this film was laid out for the audience. It definitely made me want to learn more about this unique true story. I think this is a film that shows the importance of people fighting to bring truth and justice to the world regardless of the odds.
This is the incredible true story of the capture of one of the top Nazi officials. The story is set up well by Director Chris Weitz (About a Boy, The Golden Compass). Ben Kingsley and Oscar Isaac give outstanding performances. Kingsley’s character and how his story develops is interesting. The entire supporting cast does well and Nick Kroll (Sing, The House) brings a surprising bit of fun to a heavy story line. Some may say the bits of humor might be a little odd given the subject matter but I thought it brought a realness and humanity to the film. The balance between the humor and showing the horror of World War II was really well done. At a little over two hours it does run a little long and there are flashback scenes that are at inconsistent times.
I was pleasantly surprised by this film. Not having heard this story before I enjoyed how this film was laid out for the audience. It definitely made me want to learn more about this unique true story. I think this is a film that shows the importance of people fighting to bring truth and justice to the world regardless of the odds.
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Spelled (The Storymakers, #1) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<b><i>I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
Pun intended in that post title.
As the crown princess of Emerald who may be cursed to set the world on fire, Dorthea has been locked in the Emerald Palace since she was born and kept away from anything that could potentially catch fire. When she gets a wishing star, she decides to use it, only to have it completely backfire on her.
<i>Spelled</i> is filled with bits of humor throughout, particularly from the side characters who have quickly become my favorite characters. The main character, on the other hand...
<blockquote>But I really, <i>really</i> don't want to.</blockquote>
Dorthea pretty much annoyed me for a good part of the book. She's snotty, stuck-up, spoiled – gosh, I'm turning that into a tongue twister with so many s-words. She's also whiny – Dorthea spends her time whining and complaining for quite literally a quarter of the book before someone snarks at her and tells her to shut up, grow up, and act like a proper princess (she even had the nerve to say no one else had manners – manners? *flips hair* Ha! Nope!) She's funny at some points, but the majority of her sarcasm seemed more like an attempt at sounding funny rather than actually being as funny as Rexi's use of sarcasm and snark.
<blockquote><b>Bob:</b> No, Priestess. When all his nails are broken, he will die.
<b>Rexi:</b> You can't get a haircut, and he can't get a manicure. Death by salon visit.</blockquote>
I even started wondering if <i>Spelled,</i> as pretty as the cover the book and premise is, would even last. The book isn't strictly a retelling of <i>The Wizard of Oz</i> – there are other fairy tale characters as well. Throwing in other fairy tale characters aren't exactly bothersome in my case, but Schow throws in King Midas and chimeras – both of whom are from <i>Greek mythology</i>, NOT from a fairy tale. Someone please tell me I'm wrong and those two actually appear in a fairy tale, because if they do appear in one, I obviously haven't read enough of the non-gruesome original fairy tales. Or do they actually appear in the gruesome ones? I would love to know.
<i>Spelled</i> could be considered a fun read, if you put aside all of the problems – there's humor, a good premise, and an amazing cast of side characters. But if you don't have the patience to handle a spoiled and stuck-up princess who whines a lot for approximately a quarter of the book, <i>Spelled</i> might not be a book on your radar.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-spelled-by-betsy-schow/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Pun intended in that post title.
As the crown princess of Emerald who may be cursed to set the world on fire, Dorthea has been locked in the Emerald Palace since she was born and kept away from anything that could potentially catch fire. When she gets a wishing star, she decides to use it, only to have it completely backfire on her.
<i>Spelled</i> is filled with bits of humor throughout, particularly from the side characters who have quickly become my favorite characters. The main character, on the other hand...
<blockquote>But I really, <i>really</i> don't want to.</blockquote>
Dorthea pretty much annoyed me for a good part of the book. She's snotty, stuck-up, spoiled – gosh, I'm turning that into a tongue twister with so many s-words. She's also whiny – Dorthea spends her time whining and complaining for quite literally a quarter of the book before someone snarks at her and tells her to shut up, grow up, and act like a proper princess (she even had the nerve to say no one else had manners – manners? *flips hair* Ha! Nope!) She's funny at some points, but the majority of her sarcasm seemed more like an attempt at sounding funny rather than actually being as funny as Rexi's use of sarcasm and snark.
<blockquote><b>Bob:</b> No, Priestess. When all his nails are broken, he will die.
<b>Rexi:</b> You can't get a haircut, and he can't get a manicure. Death by salon visit.</blockquote>
I even started wondering if <i>Spelled,</i> as pretty as the cover the book and premise is, would even last. The book isn't strictly a retelling of <i>The Wizard of Oz</i> – there are other fairy tale characters as well. Throwing in other fairy tale characters aren't exactly bothersome in my case, but Schow throws in King Midas and chimeras – both of whom are from <i>Greek mythology</i>, NOT from a fairy tale. Someone please tell me I'm wrong and those two actually appear in a fairy tale, because if they do appear in one, I obviously haven't read enough of the non-gruesome original fairy tales. Or do they actually appear in the gruesome ones? I would love to know.
<i>Spelled</i> could be considered a fun read, if you put aside all of the problems – there's humor, a good premise, and an amazing cast of side characters. But if you don't have the patience to handle a spoiled and stuck-up princess who whines a lot for approximately a quarter of the book, <i>Spelled</i> might not be a book on your radar.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-spelled-by-betsy-schow/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Don't Look Up (2021) in Movies
Jan 9, 2022
A Brilliant Satire
Satire is a tricky thing to get right, there is a balance between humor and pathos that must be struck in order to drive home the point.
The Netflix Original Satire, DON’T LOOK UP, Directed by Adam McKay (THE BIG SHORT) finds the right line, beautifully.
A send-up of the Climate Change debate (but also, a condemnation of the reaction to the current Global Virus), DON’T LOOK UP has a who’s who of performers that are at the top of their game and delivers a top-notch entertainment that also makes you think.
The plot of the film is simple enough - a PhD Student (Jennifer Lawrence) discovers a “planet killing” comet that is on a collision course with Earth and, joined by her Professor (Leonardo DiCaprio), tries to get the “powers-that-be” to listen to the threat.
DiCaprio (in essence, in the Anthony Fauci role) is superb as the Professor that tries to convince the Politicians about the Science of the threat. His frustration at hitting the brick wall of “political spin” crescendos in an absurdly bravura performance.
Meryl Streep is brilliant (of course) as the President who is more interested in how this situation affects her, politically, than how it affects the populace. She is joined by a sychophantic Jonah Hill (as her son and Chief of Staff). Hill has never been better and understands the nature of this character and mines it for comedic gold.
Cate Blanchette and Tyler Perry are also strong as the Cable News Anchors who are more interested in keeping the conversation “light and fun” and they actually have good “co-anchor” chemistry with each other.
Timothee Chalamet, Mark Rylance, Rob Morgan, Ron Perlman and, yes, Ariana Grande are also strong in smaller, almost cameo, roles.
But the standout star of this film is Jennifer Lawrence as PhD student Kate DiBiasky, the person who discovers the comet (and for whom the comet is named). It is easy to forget just how strong of a performer that Lawrence is but she goes toe-to-toe with Streep/DiCaprio/Blanchette et al and more than holds her own. Her character/performance is the backbone - and conscience - that holds this film together.
Of course, credit for all of this must go to Writer/Director Adam McKay who showed in THE BIG SHORT that he is more than “the comedy Director” of such films like ANCHORMAN and he puts that ability to work, strongly, in this film. He clearly had a vision of what he wanted to put across in this film and straddles the line between humor and seriousness in such a way that no matter what side of the “Global Change” and “Global Pandemic” crisis you are on, you will think that this film skewers you and favors the other side.
Which is the sign of a terrific satire.
Letter Grade: A-
8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
The Netflix Original Satire, DON’T LOOK UP, Directed by Adam McKay (THE BIG SHORT) finds the right line, beautifully.
A send-up of the Climate Change debate (but also, a condemnation of the reaction to the current Global Virus), DON’T LOOK UP has a who’s who of performers that are at the top of their game and delivers a top-notch entertainment that also makes you think.
The plot of the film is simple enough - a PhD Student (Jennifer Lawrence) discovers a “planet killing” comet that is on a collision course with Earth and, joined by her Professor (Leonardo DiCaprio), tries to get the “powers-that-be” to listen to the threat.
DiCaprio (in essence, in the Anthony Fauci role) is superb as the Professor that tries to convince the Politicians about the Science of the threat. His frustration at hitting the brick wall of “political spin” crescendos in an absurdly bravura performance.
Meryl Streep is brilliant (of course) as the President who is more interested in how this situation affects her, politically, than how it affects the populace. She is joined by a sychophantic Jonah Hill (as her son and Chief of Staff). Hill has never been better and understands the nature of this character and mines it for comedic gold.
Cate Blanchette and Tyler Perry are also strong as the Cable News Anchors who are more interested in keeping the conversation “light and fun” and they actually have good “co-anchor” chemistry with each other.
Timothee Chalamet, Mark Rylance, Rob Morgan, Ron Perlman and, yes, Ariana Grande are also strong in smaller, almost cameo, roles.
But the standout star of this film is Jennifer Lawrence as PhD student Kate DiBiasky, the person who discovers the comet (and for whom the comet is named). It is easy to forget just how strong of a performer that Lawrence is but she goes toe-to-toe with Streep/DiCaprio/Blanchette et al and more than holds her own. Her character/performance is the backbone - and conscience - that holds this film together.
Of course, credit for all of this must go to Writer/Director Adam McKay who showed in THE BIG SHORT that he is more than “the comedy Director” of such films like ANCHORMAN and he puts that ability to work, strongly, in this film. He clearly had a vision of what he wanted to put across in this film and straddles the line between humor and seriousness in such a way that no matter what side of the “Global Change” and “Global Pandemic” crisis you are on, you will think that this film skewers you and favors the other side.
Which is the sign of a terrific satire.
Letter Grade: A-
8 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated The 39 Steps (1935) in Movies
Jan 11, 2018
Classic
Admission #1: I loved this film.
Admission #2: It was a little confusing in spots which made it hard at times for me to be fully immersed.
Admission #3: The second admission probably had a lot to do with the fact that I was extremely tired after having run a full day on two hours of sleep.
The 39 Steps succeeded in keeping me interested because of its intriguing premise. It wasn't twenty minutes of watching before I knew there was no way I was going to miss this ending. The film is shrouded in mystery as the main characters run for their lives from location to location holding on to a secret they're not even sure of. The twist is clever and not over-the-top. You can feel it building throughout the entirety of the film. The payoff is definitely worth it.
A man in London tries to help a counterespionage agent. When the agent is killed and he stands accused, he must go on the run to both save himself and also stop a spy ring trying to steal top secret information. Robert Donat is a joy to watch playing the role of main character Richard Hannay. His charm and humor make him instantly likable.
I love when films like The 39 Steps give me yet another reason to appreciate the classics. I give it a very solid 95.
Admission #2: It was a little confusing in spots which made it hard at times for me to be fully immersed.
Admission #3: The second admission probably had a lot to do with the fact that I was extremely tired after having run a full day on two hours of sleep.
The 39 Steps succeeded in keeping me interested because of its intriguing premise. It wasn't twenty minutes of watching before I knew there was no way I was going to miss this ending. The film is shrouded in mystery as the main characters run for their lives from location to location holding on to a secret they're not even sure of. The twist is clever and not over-the-top. You can feel it building throughout the entirety of the film. The payoff is definitely worth it.
A man in London tries to help a counterespionage agent. When the agent is killed and he stands accused, he must go on the run to both save himself and also stop a spy ring trying to steal top secret information. Robert Donat is a joy to watch playing the role of main character Richard Hannay. His charm and humor make him instantly likable.
I love when films like The 39 Steps give me yet another reason to appreciate the classics. I give it a very solid 95.