After.Life (2010)
6.6
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Movie
After a car accident, a young woman caught between life and death meets a funeral director who...
Chained (2012)
Movie
A young man held prisoner by a cab-driving serial killer must make a life or death choice between...
JT (287 KP) rated Into The Abyss (2011) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
Using actual footage of the crime scenes which is disturbing enough, Herzog also draws on the real life interviews of those involved and how it has affected their lives. It also explains to us what causes a person to commit murder, and if taking a life for a life really is worth it in the long run.
What is the most shocking with this film is the complete lack of remorse both inmates have. Michael Perry the condemned, man is courteous and polite in his responses as he sits looking through the perspex glass that separates him from Herzog.
As Herzog states at their first meeting he doesn’t particularly like him but he has respect for him, more than likely due in part to the honestly of his answers and how he’s dealing with certain death. The other is Jason Burkett, sentenced to life for his part in the crime, he won’t get out until much past sixty-five, a terrifying prospect when you’re only in your twenties.
Burkett still tries to command a normal life, married to someone on the outside who he rarely gets to touch physically they have a child on the way, although the conception is kept a closely guarded secret, despite advances to find out by Herzog. Both men have always blamed the other and both claimed their innocence.
The film is broken down into chapters, opening with a somber account of life and death from The Reverend Richard Lopez, the man that holds the hand of those sent to death, for their final walk into the unknown. It then quickly moves to an in-depth look at the murders, the how, the why and the where? This all makes for an impactul watch.
ClareR (5674 KP) rated The Book of Echoes in Books
Dec 4, 2020
Ngozi lives in Nigeria, and we pick up as she transitions from being an orange seller to a house girl. Her life is changed forever when a house burglary goes terribly wrong. Her life takes many twists and turns, and she is determined to make something of her life.
The third voice is that of a female African slave, as she follows her children centuries after her death. She recounts the story of her life and death as well. I found this and Ngozi’s story particularly fascinating, as their stories are so very far removed from my own experience - so is Michael’s, to be honest.
This is a story of poverty, racism and the determination to change your life and break free from the expectations that others have of you. Ngozi is an ‘osu’, an outcast, and she makes a success of her life against all the odds. Michael makes a mistake and society makes him pay for it - wrongly in his case, but again, he’s determined to turn his life around. However the unnamed female slave never managed to live the life she wanted. Slave traders took that opportunity away from her - but she is still filled with hope for her ‘children’ through the generations.
I thought the ending of this book was perfect for all three characters, and I still think of this book a week after I finished it. I think it will be one of those books that will stay with me.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole for serialising this very special book.
Rembrandt
Typex, Gerrit de Jager and Gert Jan Pos
7.0
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Book
Follow the entire painting career of Rembrandt, one of the greatest painters and printmakers in...
The Ratline
Book
In this riveting real-life thriller, Philippe Sands offers a unique account of the daily life of...
Michael Jackson: The King of Pop
Book
As news of the 50-year-old pop superstar's death spread around the world in 2009 there were tears,...
The Case Against William
Book
Criminal defence lawyers must make their peace with one harsh fact of life: most of their clients...
Doonreagan
Book
"Doonreagan House in Cashel, Connemara, for many years home to the author of this play, was where...
Cori June (3033 KP) rated A Dirty Job (Grim Reaper, #1) in Books
Jul 26, 2020
A book about grief, and processing death, Moore's supernatural take on the human soul is unique.
It does drop more F-bombs then I was prepared for; although I'm not sure why since he tends to curse quite often in the other books I've read and I would do the same if I ever found myself in that position.
This book is full of humor and wit, it is also more melancholy as well.