Search
Search results
Jonas Carpignano recommended The Leopard (1963) in Movies (curated)
Mary Ellen Mark recommended Repulsion (1965) in Movies (curated)
Martin Scorsese recommended Paisan (Paisà) (1948) in Movies (curated)
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2084 KP) rated License to Dill (Pickled & Preserved Mystery, #2) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
Piper’s ex-fiancee arrives in town hoping to get back together even though she has told him repeated they are over. However, the attention soon turns to the soccer team visiting from Italy and the mini-tournament against a team of locals. The Italian team’s manager was an exchange student when he was in high school, and his reappearance has opened old wounds from back then. When he is murdered, it becomes a question of which of those deeds from the past came back to haunt him in the present?
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were just as fun and charming as they were in the first in the series. The plot was wonderful with so many suspects and twists to the story I had a hard time putting it down. Yet things came together for a logical climax.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/02/book-review-license-to-dill-by-mary.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were just as fun and charming as they were in the first in the series. The plot was wonderful with so many suspects and twists to the story I had a hard time putting it down. Yet things came together for a logical climax.
NOTE: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/02/book-review-license-to-dill-by-mary.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Lindsay (1693 KP) rated Threading the Needle (Roma Series Book 3) in Books
Feb 15, 2018 (Updated Apr 9, 2019)
We are at it again with the gang with all them thrown into a murder from the very beginning. Gabriel Valjan gets all them involved including Binica but not in investing it all. It seems to be about Trust or does you trust throughout the book.
It all starts with a young man murder and also thrown in a politician death. What does Farse want, and why is he there? He seems to only show up ever so often. Why is the gang all pulled in to uncover it but it seems that they are being screwed? Dante, Gennaro, Farrugia, and Alessandro are pulled here and there to do something. They get told to investigate the murders. What with Farrugia getting disgraced by the news.
What is Lead of the Year? What are connections? Something is up. We get through from assassins to terrorists. What can a G9 want? Gabriel Valjan get you wondering what in the world is going on in Italy. With all the murders you seem to follow the group. Can they solve it or not?
It all starts with a young man murder and also thrown in a politician death. What does Farse want, and why is he there? He seems to only show up ever so often. Why is the gang all pulled in to uncover it but it seems that they are being screwed? Dante, Gennaro, Farrugia, and Alessandro are pulled here and there to do something. They get told to investigate the murders. What with Farrugia getting disgraced by the news.
What is Lead of the Year? What are connections? Something is up. We get through from assassins to terrorists. What can a G9 want? Gabriel Valjan get you wondering what in the world is going on in Italy. With all the murders you seem to follow the group. Can they solve it or not?
Dean (6921 KP) rated The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard (2021) in Movies
Jun 17, 2021 (Updated Jun 17, 2021)
Cast chemistry between the leads (1 more)
Very funny at times
Very silly thin plot (1 more)
Not as good as the first film
Not AAA rated but still fun
Back again for more blood, bullets and OTT action. Thankfully with quite a lot of the humor as well from the first film.
The plot is rather silly but it doesn't get much attention other than to serve up plenty of scenes with the lead trio going all guns blazing and with plenty of quick fire gags. Definitely not a film to be taken seriously.
We have a whistle-stop tour all around Italy as they take on many bad guys trying to bring Europe to its knees.
A bigger cast and bigger action scenes but ultimately its not quite got the fun of the original. That worked better with Reynolds and Jackson playing off each other. With a 3rd main character this time, it has a different dynamic.
Still with plenty of laughs and one you'll enjoy if you liked the first film.
The plot is rather silly but it doesn't get much attention other than to serve up plenty of scenes with the lead trio going all guns blazing and with plenty of quick fire gags. Definitely not a film to be taken seriously.
We have a whistle-stop tour all around Italy as they take on many bad guys trying to bring Europe to its knees.
A bigger cast and bigger action scenes but ultimately its not quite got the fun of the original. That worked better with Reynolds and Jackson playing off each other. With a 3rd main character this time, it has a different dynamic.
Still with plenty of laughs and one you'll enjoy if you liked the first film.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Chasing the Italian Dream in Books
May 12, 2023
61 of 235
Book
Chasing the Italian Dream
By Jo Thomas
⭐️⭐️⭐️
A summer escape she'll never forget . . .
Lucia has worked hard as a lawyer in Wales, aiming for a big promotion she hopes will shortly come her way. Finally taking a well-earned break at her grandparents' house in southern Italy, the sunshine, lemon trees and her nonna's mouth-watering cooking make her instantly feel at home.
But she's shocked to learn that her grandfather is retiring from the beloved family pizzeria and will need to sell. Lucia can't bear the thought of the place changing hands - especially when she discovers her not-quite-ex-husband Giacomo wants to take it over!
Then bad news from home forces Lucia to re-evaluate what she wants from life. Is this her chance to carry on the family tradition and finally follow her dreams?
I liked this more than I thought I would it’s not something I normally pick up and thought I’d be bored with it but it was a pleasant read. Definitely for those who love a summer romance.
Book
Chasing the Italian Dream
By Jo Thomas
⭐️⭐️⭐️
A summer escape she'll never forget . . .
Lucia has worked hard as a lawyer in Wales, aiming for a big promotion she hopes will shortly come her way. Finally taking a well-earned break at her grandparents' house in southern Italy, the sunshine, lemon trees and her nonna's mouth-watering cooking make her instantly feel at home.
But she's shocked to learn that her grandfather is retiring from the beloved family pizzeria and will need to sell. Lucia can't bear the thought of the place changing hands - especially when she discovers her not-quite-ex-husband Giacomo wants to take it over!
Then bad news from home forces Lucia to re-evaluate what she wants from life. Is this her chance to carry on the family tradition and finally follow her dreams?
I liked this more than I thought I would it’s not something I normally pick up and thought I’d be bored with it but it was a pleasant read. Definitely for those who love a summer romance.
Kim Pook (101 KP) rated Cruel Peter (2019) in Movies
Sep 10, 2020
The movie starts in 1908, a young boy named Peter is accused of cutting a girl with a razor, he insists the girl is lying and his mother defends him even though she knows the girl is actually telling the truth. We learn how evil Peter is soon after when he sets fire to a rat and it is implyed that he killed someone's dog. Peter soon gets a visitor from someone wearing a potato sack on their head, who hits him on the head with a shovel and buries him alive, never to be seen again.
We jump ahead to the present day to a dad studying and then randomly going in his daughters room and finding a boof of spirits in his deaf daughters room. We then jump to another scene of him being offered a job in Italy with some bloke on a boat, who I can only assume is a friend or his boss, its never made clear. Then in the next scene, him and his daughter are pulling up in Italy!?! Literally no lead upto it, just job offer and boom, they're there! The dad is even shown talking to some woman who I thought was a tour guide or his new boss, until she asked him if he'd like to meet her aunt! Anyway, we briefly see his daughter Liz walking down the corridor at her new school and then he finds Peters body whilst on a dig, leading to him searching the Internet and Liz summoning a ghost which we later find out is Peter.
To be honest, I knew from the get go that this movie wasn't going to be great, but I always see a movie to the end so I persevered. The scenes were very poorly put together, they seemed randomly placed and very rushed, random characters would appear, have no introductions (apart from one) and yet seem to have known the dad for a while! Speaking of which, I don't recall ever finding out his name as it was never mentioned. The acting was absolutely atrocious and the sound effects even worse, for example when Liz was supposed to be possessed, she sounded more like a dinosaur from jurassic Park rather than a demon. I was glad to see the end of this truly awful movie.
We jump ahead to the present day to a dad studying and then randomly going in his daughters room and finding a boof of spirits in his deaf daughters room. We then jump to another scene of him being offered a job in Italy with some bloke on a boat, who I can only assume is a friend or his boss, its never made clear. Then in the next scene, him and his daughter are pulling up in Italy!?! Literally no lead upto it, just job offer and boom, they're there! The dad is even shown talking to some woman who I thought was a tour guide or his new boss, until she asked him if he'd like to meet her aunt! Anyway, we briefly see his daughter Liz walking down the corridor at her new school and then he finds Peters body whilst on a dig, leading to him searching the Internet and Liz summoning a ghost which we later find out is Peter.
To be honest, I knew from the get go that this movie wasn't going to be great, but I always see a movie to the end so I persevered. The scenes were very poorly put together, they seemed randomly placed and very rushed, random characters would appear, have no introductions (apart from one) and yet seem to have known the dad for a while! Speaking of which, I don't recall ever finding out his name as it was never mentioned. The acting was absolutely atrocious and the sound effects even worse, for example when Liz was supposed to be possessed, she sounded more like a dinosaur from jurassic Park rather than a demon. I was glad to see the end of this truly awful movie.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Spartacus (1960) in Movies
May 19, 2019 (Updated May 19, 2019)
Kubrick famously disowned the historical epic he took on as work-for-hire, but almost any other director would and should have been proud of the result. Based on a true story (albeit very loosely), Spartacus the slave (Douglas) is sold to a gladiator trainer, leads his fellow inmates in a revolt, and resolves to free every slave in Italy; ruthless autocrat Crassus (Olivier) scents the chance to exploit the crisis for his own political ends.
Slightly disjointed in its structure: the opening act in the gladiator school barely puts a foot wrong (the fight between Douglas and Woody Strode is exceptional), but then the story splits between the story of the growing slave army, which is hokey and sentimental, and that of the political games in Rome, which features a bunch of great actors giving terrific performances. Usual epic spectacle, but a very atypical downbeat ending: the film works very hard to give Spartacus a moral victory, but it's hard not to see this as a conclusion as bleak as that of any of the films that Kubrick actually admitted to. Stirring entertainment anyway; they don't make 'em like this any more.
Slightly disjointed in its structure: the opening act in the gladiator school barely puts a foot wrong (the fight between Douglas and Woody Strode is exceptional), but then the story splits between the story of the growing slave army, which is hokey and sentimental, and that of the political games in Rome, which features a bunch of great actors giving terrific performances. Usual epic spectacle, but a very atypical downbeat ending: the film works very hard to give Spartacus a moral victory, but it's hard not to see this as a conclusion as bleak as that of any of the films that Kubrick actually admitted to. Stirring entertainment anyway; they don't make 'em like this any more.
Lindsay (1693 KP) rated Michelangelo's Ghost (Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery, #4) in Books
Feb 8, 2018 (Updated Apr 9, 2019)
aya was somehow recruited to find a lost treasure. Her old professor starts it off by trying to get to her and with her research. Something happens that, makes Jaya, has to pick up the research after her professor dies.
The author has you intrigued by wanting to know what Jaya gets an email from her former Professor. Once she gets her hands on the sketchbook or famous artist from Italy. Are there connections with Michelangelo?
You will be so involved you will be wondering what's going on with it. How is a ghost story connected to present day Murder? For me, this book seems to have you guessing along the way.
They're a disappearing boyfriend that comes and goes. What up with that. It seems to grow even more intense with a ghost that keeps appearing and disappearing. It comes to be even more intense, as you, go. I thought it was growing creepier. It, not creepy scary. It just my opinion of how I felt at a point. I loved it. You did not ever know what was going to happen when you go to turn the page.
The author has you intrigued by wanting to know what Jaya gets an email from her former Professor. Once she gets her hands on the sketchbook or famous artist from Italy. Are there connections with Michelangelo?
You will be so involved you will be wondering what's going on with it. How is a ghost story connected to present day Murder? For me, this book seems to have you guessing along the way.
They're a disappearing boyfriend that comes and goes. What up with that. It seems to grow even more intense with a ghost that keeps appearing and disappearing. It comes to be even more intense, as you, go. I thought it was growing creepier. It, not creepy scary. It just my opinion of how I felt at a point. I loved it. You did not ever know what was going to happen when you go to turn the page.