The Long Shadow of Vatican II: Living Faith and Negotiating Authority Since the Second Vatican Council
Lucas van Rompay, Sam Miglarese and David A. Morgan
Book
With the Second Vatican Council (1962@-65), the Roman Catholic Church for the first time took a...
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Season 3
TV Season
Grissom begins to suffer from hearing loss ("Inside the Box"), as Catherine faces the possibility of...
Probably Approximately Correct: Nature's Algorithms for Learning and Prospering in a Complex World
Book
From a leading computer scientist, a unifying theory that will revolutionize our understanding of...
Rivers of London: The First PC Grant Mystery
9.2
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Book
My name is Peter Grant and until January I was just probationary constable in that mighty army for...
Pete Thompson (4339 KP) rated Coming 2 America (2021) in Movies
Mar 12, 2021
The cardinal sin was casting Leslie f**king Jones like who can honestly think that useless sack of crap can improve a comedy film by just being another loud mouth Melissa McCarthy wannabe. She has zero talent as an actress or comedian. Surely someone involved with the casting had seen the god awful ghostbusters reboot.
Wesley Snipes must be in need of a cash injection to appear in the film. He put in the hammiest role of his career as a general that does a stupid walk in every scene he appears in but I guess this was a bit better than his direct to dvd films.
(spoiler ahead, not that you can really spoil the film)
I'd say the film is just semi rehash of the original about the prince finding his true love. I've kept it basic as that is all the film deserves. Watch the original its better.
Haunted House Murder
Barbara Ross, Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis
7.3
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Book
Tricks and treats keep the Halloween spirit alive in coastal Maine. But this year the haunted house...
Halloween Party Murder
Barbara Ross, Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis
8.0
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Book
Small town traditions are celebrated throughout Maine during the holiday season. But when it comes...
Irish Coffee Murder
Barbara Ross, Leslie Meier and Lee Hollis
8.0
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Book
You don't need to be Irish to enjoy St. Patrick's Day in Maine, where the chilly March weather...
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2357 KP) rated Halloween Party Murder in Books
Aug 26, 2023
I don’t normally read this series, so I was thrilled to actually recognize the characters of Ty and Heather since they also featured prominently in the previous Halloween novella collection Leslie headlined. This novella focuses mostly on the mystery at hand, and doesn’t bring in sub-plots involving Lucy’s family. Again, since I don’t read the series, this was a good thing for me since I don’t have the connections to all the supporting characters. The mystery was good, and I enjoyed watching Lucy’s efforts to figure out what was happening. The element I struggled with the most was the politics brought into this story. There is a local election happening, and the campaigning does play into Lucy’s motives to solve the case, but I still felt like we were being lectured during many of those scenes.
NOTE 1: This is a novella, so expect something shorter than a typical novel before you pick it up.
NOTE 2: This novella was originally the headlining story in the Halloween Party Murder anthology. If you’ve already read it there, you don’t need to buy it again here.
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Airplane! (1980) in Movies
Dec 8, 2020
Airplane! is a well known comedy classic, but for me I’m ashamed to admit that aside from the infamous “Don’t call me Shirley” line, I could barely remember a thing about this film. Airplane! is undoubtedly the mother, and master, of all comedy spoof films. Written and directed by Jim Abrahams and David and Jerry Zucker, this focuses Ted Striker (Robert Hays) who despite his fear of flying boards a plane to win back his girlfriend Elaine (Julie Hagerty), only to wind up having to ensure the plane lands safely when the pilots get sick.
The plot is definitely basic, but what it lacks in proper story it more than makes up for in laughs. I’ve never seen a film so chock full of jokes and gags, and in such a wide variety too. This features everything from subtle(ish) background jokes to witty and smart dialogue and obvious physical humour, and aside for a few misses, the majority of these jokes land perfectly. There’s the crude and hilarious auto pilot scene, to the incredibly funny and smart lines like when stewardess Elaine asks Doctor Rumack (Leslie Nielsen) about the onboard illness, “A hospital? What is it?”, to which he replies “It’s a big building with patients”. There’s something incredibly simple about the humour in this film that works so well, and yet aside from those few misses, it never resorts to crudeness that becomes disgusting and overbearing like most modern comedies do. These gags paired with the spoofing and sending up of disaster movies (plus many other genres) is a winning formula that has been emulated many times over by the likes of The Naked Gun and Hot Shots films since this was released in 1980. Admittedly there are some jokes that nowadays would be considered unacceptable and would never see the light of day, but fortunately these are a small minority and don’t spoil the overall enjoyment of the film, even now 40 years later.
The cast excel too in pulling off the over the top cheesiness you’d expect from a parody, and this is no mean feat. Whilst Julie Hagerty and Robert Hays do well as the main characters, it’s the smaller supporting roles that really stand out especially as they appear to have been given the best lines. You have Leslie Nielsen as the deadpan Doctor Rumack who delivers some hilarious dialogue with such a straight face, Lloyd Bridges as Steve McCroskey with his immortal lines beginning with “Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop…” and my absolute favourite background character Johnny (Stephen Stucker) who has some of the funniest moments you’ll ever see from such a minor character. And a notable mention has to go to Otto the automatic pilot, who even gets a feature in the credits.
Airplane! is a rightful comedy classic that could beat modern comedy films hands down, and it truly is a shame they don’t make spoofs like this anymore. It’s hilariously funny, right until the very end of the credits and an entirely unforgettable comedy experience.
