Search

Search only in certain items:

40x40

Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated The Outs in Books

Jun 24, 2019  
TO
The Outs
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Well this was... an interesting read...

Just gonna quickly put a little trigger warning in here, as there is graphic and emotional descriptions of depression and suicide. But the story isn't about these things, and they aren't properly talked about until far later in the novel.

You're thrown right into the deep end from page one, having to put the pieces together as the plot progresses. We meet one of our protagonists, Caleb, in an unfamiliar room with mysterious men and a random little girl. He ends up taking her with him as he runs, trying to figure out what he did during the Outs.

The Outs are kinda confusing. They're moments in time where electrical appliances all fail, and anything that happens is forgotten as soon as the Outs end. Oh, and anyone killed during the Outs is resurrected from the dead.

I'm really not sure how to describe this book. The plot is super confusing - Caleb and his aphasic friend, Kitzi, take this weird little girl (Amanda) who somehow has powers over everyone and everything, in an attempt to stop Deeds and his army of Deadheaders. Caleb has a psychopathic voice in his head called Crimes, Amanda's dreams come true, Kitzi's suicide happens to have taken place at the same time the Outs started, she can smell the truth - and somehow they're all connected to the Outs? These three individuals - and many others along the way - each have a big part in what is happening. But how?

Honestly, I cannot explain it. There are so many little ties and strings throughout this book that all add up, and I couldn't possibly include them all.

It definitely is a unique book. The idea is pretty good, too - the whole "nightmares becoming real" and all. But I just didn't connect; I don't know if it was the pacing or what, but I just didn't feel involved in it.

I feel like I should've been able to sympathise with the characters more - they had good backstories, emotional and family issues that different people should be able to relate to. And the narration following Kitzi often makes references to comic books which I personally really appreciated. But I just didn't quite feel them. Maybe it's just me - there's nothing wrong with the writing in particular, so maybe it's just personal preference. I don't know.

I had a few typos in my copy but I received an ARC, not a final copy, so that shouldn't affect anyone buying the book. I loved the cover, and the art at each chapter start was great. Also, the inclusion of "Notes From Last Night" (a site where people recorded notes during the outs for after they forget) was awesome, too. It added a whole other dimension to the world, an extra little bit of interest.

I wanted to like this, I really did. And I didn't dislike it - but it didn't feel like anything special to me. 3 stars for The Outs.
  
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010)
2010 | Action, Drama, Family
One of the better HP adaptations
I have a bit of an issue with the Harry Potter films in general. I'm grateful that they've at least brought the wizarding world onto the big screen, I just think it's a shame that some of them are very poor versions of the books. Part 1 of the Deathly Hallows is a fairly decent adaptation, but even still it's very frustrating to see how much has been missed out. My other half even commented asking if Dobby had a bigger part in the books, as it was obvious even to him as a non book reader that storylines from the books had been implied in the films rather than actually featured.

Still despite all that, it is definitely one of the better in the series and I like how dark the series has gone. The acting is great from the seasoned cast, but at little hit and miss from the younger actors. The effects are fairly good too if a little overused..


I have a love hate relationship with the HP films. I love the sets and how the wizarding world has been brought to life - without these films we wouldn't have the studios in London and the amazing world in Universal Florida. It's just a shame so much of the back story and detail from the books has been left out.
  
40x40

KarenRC (6 KP) rated The Anomaly in Books

Jul 23, 2018  
The Anomaly
The Anomaly
Michael Rutger | 2018 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller
8
7.7 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
Former screenwriter turned YouTuber Nolan Moore, has been leading his team and viewers on adventures to uncover mysteries in various locations, with increasingly disappointing results. His latest expedition takes them to the Grand Canyon in search of a cavern previously found by an old explorer that Nolan wants to see for himself. With his trusty team around him they head off, but after searching for two days, they start to lose hope. Just as they are about to give up and go home, they spot something high up on the canyon wall and for the first time, Nolan is convinced that he has finally uncovered an actual mystery. But what is the secret hidden in the cavern? And just how much are they going to wish that they had never found it?!
I am really excited to hear that the film rights for this book have been picked up because it is written like a Hollywood blockbuster. Not surprising really as the author is in fact a screenwriter from California! But after a bit of a slow start, the action picks up and it is then a fast-paced adventure. In the vein of Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider with some brilliant characters, especially Ken, I can definitely see this on the big screen and can't wait to see who they cast.
  
For Their Child's Sake
For Their Child's Sake
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Sam and Tara have fought the good fight to keep their marriage together. Over a year ago Tara had enough and told Sam he couldn’t come home anymore. His addiction had destroyed their family and she had to protect their child. Sam walked away and into rehab and now wants his family back.

Tara never stopped loving Sam but that doesn’t mean she is ready to just give in and let him back home again. When a playground accident forces them back together again, as a family, will she be able to hold strong to her convictions?

Sam has been waiting for an opportunity to prove to Tara that he is a changed man. Moving back into the house with his 2 favorite girls is just that moment. He will do whatever it takes to prove he is now able to take care of his family the way he should have been all along.

Sam, Tara and Marley navigate their new normal, while trying to put all the pieces of their family back together again. Return to Stonerock in this powerful story that addresses current day situations like addiction and amnesia. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance reader copy, all opinions expressed are my own. Return to Stonerock with this family working on their second chance.
  
A Game of Thrones
A Game of Thrones
George R.R. Martin | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
4
8.8 (87 Ratings)
Book Rating
A Game of Thrones is one of the biggest success stories in my homeland of Northern Ireland, with many of our locations used in the HBO drama series.

Despite that, and despite knowing various people who are either directly involved (as extras) or peripherally involved (costumers) in the filming of the series, I've never actually seen a single episode of it.

Similarly, I (thought) I hadn't read any of the books in the series until I finally got round to reading this one, and realised not that far into it that, actually, yes, I had read it before - it just didn't really *stick* all that much with me (never a good sign).

Nevertheless, I still made it the entire way through the novel, which is told from a different character's perspective chapter about. As a result (I felt) the book feels somewhat fractured: just as
you're getting used to a particular narrator and their perspective, it's over to someone else ...

If I'm honest, there were also times when I felt like skipping chapters and sections of the book (those dealing with Sansa in particular), with not all the plot threads as gripping as each other.

The acid test of the novel? Would it make me more likely to hunt out and watch the TV series? Sadly, the answer is 'No, not really'.
  
40x40

Flying Lotus recommended Eraserhead (1977) in Movies (curated)

 
Eraserhead (1977)
Eraserhead (1977)
1977 | Drama, Horror

"What kind of a–hole would I be without giving David Lynch some love, but I can’t figure out which movie I’d pick of his. I think I’ll have to say Eraserhead in this case, because it was his movie where he put all of himself into it, you know? Every little bit of what he could do on his own, he did it, in terms of designing things and building things and whatever he actually could do and put forth, he put in this movie. He gave it all that energy. I don’t know how many times I’ll be able to do a Kuso, just energetically. If I had to make another movie, I probably would not go as far as I did this time on my own, because it took so much energy and took me away from a lot of things. I’m sure it was like that for him, too. By the time he got to Blue Velvet, he got people who have his style worked out, what things he likes. He didn’t have to try to design every little aspect of it. Then he did, and that, to me, is something that resonates with me. I listened to the making of Eraserhead while making my movie to just kind of keep me inspired."

Source
  
40x40

Stephen Merchant recommended After Hours (1985) in Movies (curated)

 
After Hours (1985)
After Hours (1985)
1985 | Comedy, Mystery

"What else would I include on a list of top five? That is so tricky because that list varies on a week-to-week basis. Another movie I’m really a fan of — and again, I think it mixes all kinds of flavors — is Martin Scorsese’s After Hours. That’s a really eccentric little film. He made it, if you recall, he was trying to make The Last Temptation of Christ and that fell apart, so he went back to basics and wanted to make this sort of short film that he could shoot very quickly in just a couple of months on a small budget. It’s a very, sort of, eccentric film about Griffin Dunne trying to get home from a date that’s gone wrong. It’s like a black comedy equivalent of Taxi Driver; it uses New York as one of the characters, to some degree — this kind of weird, almost Hansel and Gretel forest kind of place, where you can’t escape and there’s strange oddities around every corner. It’s shot through with this brilliantly black sense of humor. Lots of really quotable moments. The playing, as well, from particularly Griffin Dunne, who I think is such an underrated performer, a really great performance of a man just trying to contain his ever increasing panic and rage. Yeah, that’s a film I’ve watched endlessly."

Source
  
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
2013 | Action, Sci-Fi
You know what I love so much about these? The fact that they have no concern for any ounce of seriousness or plausibility - so they can continually chain together one rip-roaringly stupid action scene not confined to any logical sense of reason one right after the other, so just when you think they've finally topped their jubilant buffoonery - boom - suddenly a guy starts shooting ninja stars out of the air with machine guns. Anything is possible. They capture that sense of 'unhinged toxic machismo breaks the laws of physics' allure which was later captured by the 𝘍𝘢𝘴𝘵 & 𝘍𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 sequels, with a similarly (undoubtedly moreso imo) loaded cast. In fact I'm not even sure what the plot is but whatever tf is going on here is shockingly a pretty concise riff on mid-Obama-era tensions. Throws like 3 or 4 different genres at the wall and then douses them with Axe body spray, Tabasco sauce, and Four Lokos; even if the action can get just a little too overcut for my liking it's every ounce the riot that seems. At any rate, Chu >> Sommers - so naturally this is pretty visually appetizing to boot. Not sure what you all expected out of these, it's an astutely sound translation of the source material to live action - at least in spirit. Literally ecstatic that they're bringing this severely underappreciated nutso franchise back.