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Rise From The Ashes
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When everyone tells you that you’re meant for bigger things, at what point do you start believing...
The Right One
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"Wrong never felt so right." Morgan Cantrell is a survivor. After running away from an abusive...
Contemporary MM Romance Trigger Warning
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated The Lion King (2019) in Movies
Jul 24, 2019 (Updated Dec 15, 2019)
An amazing looking film that unfortunately lacks soul.
I, like many people, consider The Lion King to be one of finest Disney animations of all time. For me, it ranks alongside Mulan as a favourite, and I immediately fell in love with the characters when it was released in 1994. (I was 5 at the time!)
All these years later, and it still stands as a bonafide classic.
And here we are now, in 2019, and this adaption of The Lion King is the latest in an ever growing line of Disney animations to get the realistic remake treatment.
It aims straight for the nostalgic jugular (and is painfully see through), even if the CGI is pretty damn impressive.
However, impressive CGI means nothing if everything surrounding is empty. It's quite simply missing the heart and soul of the original animation.
In a similar fashion to the recent Jungle Book remake, it's no easy task to convey emotion on these characters when they are photo realistic animals, and the film really suffers as a result.
I feel like that casting was a big contributor as well. A lot of the voice cast are quite simply doing voice over work, and it's painfully obvious is some scenes that the actors were not next to each other whilst performing. The dialogue flows unnaturally on several occasions.
The songs are...ok I guess. Again, they lack a lot of of the heart that made them so enjoyable the first time around.
In particular, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is just awful, listening to Beyonce try to out-Beyonce herself, warbling and riffing unessecarily on a pretty straightforward ballad.
Her involvement had me eye rolling actually. As soon as Hakuna Matata is over and Simba is older, it sort of turned into the Beyonce show - I have absolutely nothing against her, I just thought her involvement with The Lion King was a bit overdone and on the nose.
I'm not sure what I really expected but I feel suitably silly for thinking that this was going to be anything more than a blatant cash grab.
The Lion King offers up nothing new, and the argument of "it's bringing the story to a whole new generation" is rendered mute by just watching the easily accessible and miles better original.
All these years later, and it still stands as a bonafide classic.
And here we are now, in 2019, and this adaption of The Lion King is the latest in an ever growing line of Disney animations to get the realistic remake treatment.
It aims straight for the nostalgic jugular (and is painfully see through), even if the CGI is pretty damn impressive.
However, impressive CGI means nothing if everything surrounding is empty. It's quite simply missing the heart and soul of the original animation.
In a similar fashion to the recent Jungle Book remake, it's no easy task to convey emotion on these characters when they are photo realistic animals, and the film really suffers as a result.
I feel like that casting was a big contributor as well. A lot of the voice cast are quite simply doing voice over work, and it's painfully obvious is some scenes that the actors were not next to each other whilst performing. The dialogue flows unnaturally on several occasions.
The songs are...ok I guess. Again, they lack a lot of of the heart that made them so enjoyable the first time around.
In particular, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is just awful, listening to Beyonce try to out-Beyonce herself, warbling and riffing unessecarily on a pretty straightforward ballad.
Her involvement had me eye rolling actually. As soon as Hakuna Matata is over and Simba is older, it sort of turned into the Beyonce show - I have absolutely nothing against her, I just thought her involvement with The Lion King was a bit overdone and on the nose.
I'm not sure what I really expected but I feel suitably silly for thinking that this was going to be anything more than a blatant cash grab.
The Lion King offers up nothing new, and the argument of "it's bringing the story to a whole new generation" is rendered mute by just watching the easily accessible and miles better original.
Ali A (82 KP) rated The Bletchley Riddle in Books
Oct 14, 2024
Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis and his fourteen-year-old sister, Lizzie, share a love of riddles and puzzles. As WWII gets closer and closer to Britain, the siblings find themselves amongst the greatest secrets of all - Britain’s codebreaking facility at Bletchley Park. As Jakob joins the country’s top minds to crack Nazi’s Enigma cipher, Lizzie transfers notes between departments in the park and tries to solve the mysterious disappearance of their mother in her off time.
While the Novis siblings work hard on their tasks, messages and codes begin to arrive under their doorstep. It doesn’t help that while they try to figure out if the messages are truly for them (and possibly from their mother), that there is an inspector lurking outside the gates of the park, watching Jakob and Lizzie’s every move. They must figure out a way to put their bickering aside and work together to decipher the clues if they want to uncover the answers to the puzzle.
As usual, I will pick up anything Ruta Sepetys touches and learn about a part of history I hadn’t known about before I read the book. This book is no exception as we take a deeper dive into the codebreakers Bletchley Park during WWII. I knew there were codebreakers during WWII, but what I didn’t realize is that they consisted of mathematicians, chess champions, and librarians (which, as a librarian, this absolutely makes sense why they were needed!).
Though this book is aimed at middle grade, I will say it felt like it would be more for upper middle grade / younger high school age. Lizzie is fourteen and Jakob is nineteen so their voices were a little older, but nothing major or graphic happened that would make the novel need to be young adult.
Even as an adult, when it came to the description of the codes’ breakthroughs or the ins and outs of the Enigma machines, I would get lost, but overall I just assumed the characters knew what they were talking about and trusted them.
Overall, I loved the twists and turns that kept the pages moving for me. I know I had a hard time as an adult solving the clues, so young readers who like spies and code cracking, are sure to love this too.
*Thank you Viking Books for Young Readers and BookishFirst for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
While the Novis siblings work hard on their tasks, messages and codes begin to arrive under their doorstep. It doesn’t help that while they try to figure out if the messages are truly for them (and possibly from their mother), that there is an inspector lurking outside the gates of the park, watching Jakob and Lizzie’s every move. They must figure out a way to put their bickering aside and work together to decipher the clues if they want to uncover the answers to the puzzle.
As usual, I will pick up anything Ruta Sepetys touches and learn about a part of history I hadn’t known about before I read the book. This book is no exception as we take a deeper dive into the codebreakers Bletchley Park during WWII. I knew there were codebreakers during WWII, but what I didn’t realize is that they consisted of mathematicians, chess champions, and librarians (which, as a librarian, this absolutely makes sense why they were needed!).
Though this book is aimed at middle grade, I will say it felt like it would be more for upper middle grade / younger high school age. Lizzie is fourteen and Jakob is nineteen so their voices were a little older, but nothing major or graphic happened that would make the novel need to be young adult.
Even as an adult, when it came to the description of the codes’ breakthroughs or the ins and outs of the Enigma machines, I would get lost, but overall I just assumed the characters knew what they were talking about and trusted them.
Overall, I loved the twists and turns that kept the pages moving for me. I know I had a hard time as an adult solving the clues, so young readers who like spies and code cracking, are sure to love this too.
*Thank you Viking Books for Young Readers and BookishFirst for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
iWepPRO WiFi Passwords Generator
Utilities and Social Networking
10.0
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Connect to WiFi Hotspots for free and check routers security all over the world. Now you can scan...
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Sons of Thunder (Brothers in Arms Collection) in Books
Apr 27, 2018
I loved the concept of Sons of Thunder. It had great potential and I’ve seen tons of five-star reviews for it. Sadly it didn’t meet my expectations.
I had a hard time reading it for a few reasons. One was the writing. It had a sort of funny style. It was as if short dramatic phrases were placed at the end of a paragraph, but the phrases were not dramatic in any way, nor were the necessary. It made the whole thing feel awkward. It was also hard to follow and I got confused a lot.
The second was the romance. I immediately saw and understood how Markos looked at Sofia. But their relationship jumped around from courteous to in-love to friends to not-talking, and I couldn’t understand where they actually stood or how they saw each other. It was like a whole first chunk of their relationship was missing from the book. There was no connection to the characters.
Third, I didn’t like the Chicago club stuff at all. It turned me off right away.
As I mentioned above I didn’t finish Sons of Thunder. There was nothing compelling me to continue, there wasn’t any plot, and the characters were beginning to aggravate me and I didn’t connect with them. I skipped to the very last page just to see what happened, and was not surprised to see that exactly what I thought would happen, did happen.
I was very disappointed by Sons of Thunder, especially considering all the five star reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. I really wish I had loved it, but I must share my 100% honest opinion. Please know that I and the few other readers who didn’t like it are the minority by a landslide. I hope you’ll consider other reviews before you make a decision.
I had a hard time reading it for a few reasons. One was the writing. It had a sort of funny style. It was as if short dramatic phrases were placed at the end of a paragraph, but the phrases were not dramatic in any way, nor were the necessary. It made the whole thing feel awkward. It was also hard to follow and I got confused a lot.
The second was the romance. I immediately saw and understood how Markos looked at Sofia. But their relationship jumped around from courteous to in-love to friends to not-talking, and I couldn’t understand where they actually stood or how they saw each other. It was like a whole first chunk of their relationship was missing from the book. There was no connection to the characters.
Third, I didn’t like the Chicago club stuff at all. It turned me off right away.
As I mentioned above I didn’t finish Sons of Thunder. There was nothing compelling me to continue, there wasn’t any plot, and the characters were beginning to aggravate me and I didn’t connect with them. I skipped to the very last page just to see what happened, and was not surprised to see that exactly what I thought would happen, did happen.
I was very disappointed by Sons of Thunder, especially considering all the five star reviews on Goodreads and Amazon. I really wish I had loved it, but I must share my 100% honest opinion. Please know that I and the few other readers who didn’t like it are the minority by a landslide. I hope you’ll consider other reviews before you make a decision.
pheebs (3 KP) rated Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda in Books
Nov 23, 2017
The plot is progressive and thoroughly entertaining. (1 more)
The main character is a big fan of musical theatre, stars in Oliver (a play that I love)
Hands down the best biscuit is an oreo
Synopsis:Simon Spier is sixteen and trying to work out who he is – and what hes looking for. But when one of his emails to the very distracting blue falls into the wrong hands, things get all kinds of complicated. Because for Simon, falling for Blue is a big deal.
‘The love child of John Green and Rainbow Rowell’ – Teen Vogue
“The best kind of love story.”—Alex Sanchez, Lambda Award-winning author of Rainbow Boys and Boyfriends with Girlfriends
This book is a whirlwind of emotions, as soon as I finished scouring its pages I felt as if I had to read the book all over again, I did then abruptly lent it to a friend who found it just as amazing as I did. It’s a heartfelt story which really seems to capture the essence of being a teen in modern-day society, dealing with our problems, our worries, our trials and tribulations.
The main character is Simon, a boy who is finding life hard, with an overly happy family who like to be very involved and love to talk openly about their feelings, something that Simon is finding increasingly hard more specifically with his sexual preferences. The protagonist of the story is an unlikely fellow who creates dilemmas in Simon’s mind as he wishes to save his previous ‘Blue’. Simon is surrounded by bountiful characters that link smoothly into to his life an thoughts in a normal manner. We learn about his family through his fond memories and thoughts as well as the conversations they exchange in the book, the same can be said for his closest friends. He has three friends that stand out as more prominent characters, the book also focuses on how his relations with them change and how it affects them.
The book is written in a subjective narrative, it tells us only the information that Simon knows so that we know no more or less than him, equating to us having a possibly bias view towards certain characters, thus once again making it more realistic. It deals with problems that teens struggling with their sexuality in day-to-day life face both in the real world and the cyber one. It reveals to us just how hard it is to control information that gets leaked out onto the internet, how fast it can spread and change your life in the ‘real’ world. Your life can be drastically altered by a few words and a persons malicious intentions and this book helps prove just how down heartening it can be as well as focusing on the light at the other end of the tunnel.
All of the characters play great roles in Simon’s life, he lives in a very open family so he feels as if he is keeping something terrible from them especially with of hand comments that his fathers sometimes makes. We read about different things in his life that he loves such as drama, as he attends school play rehearsals often.he deals with the struggles of maintaining friendships under pressure.
I would recommend this book to anyone no matter their age, race, gender or sexual preference. It’s a romantic coming of age comedy that warms me to my toes making me wanting to keep reading over and over again (as I have done many a time). If you liked ‘Will Grayson, Will Grayson’ by John Green and David Levithan then you will most definitely enjoy this book.
‘The love child of John Green and Rainbow Rowell’ – Teen Vogue
“The best kind of love story.”—Alex Sanchez, Lambda Award-winning author of Rainbow Boys and Boyfriends with Girlfriends
This book is a whirlwind of emotions, as soon as I finished scouring its pages I felt as if I had to read the book all over again, I did then abruptly lent it to a friend who found it just as amazing as I did. It’s a heartfelt story which really seems to capture the essence of being a teen in modern-day society, dealing with our problems, our worries, our trials and tribulations.
The main character is Simon, a boy who is finding life hard, with an overly happy family who like to be very involved and love to talk openly about their feelings, something that Simon is finding increasingly hard more specifically with his sexual preferences. The protagonist of the story is an unlikely fellow who creates dilemmas in Simon’s mind as he wishes to save his previous ‘Blue’. Simon is surrounded by bountiful characters that link smoothly into to his life an thoughts in a normal manner. We learn about his family through his fond memories and thoughts as well as the conversations they exchange in the book, the same can be said for his closest friends. He has three friends that stand out as more prominent characters, the book also focuses on how his relations with them change and how it affects them.
The book is written in a subjective narrative, it tells us only the information that Simon knows so that we know no more or less than him, equating to us having a possibly bias view towards certain characters, thus once again making it more realistic. It deals with problems that teens struggling with their sexuality in day-to-day life face both in the real world and the cyber one. It reveals to us just how hard it is to control information that gets leaked out onto the internet, how fast it can spread and change your life in the ‘real’ world. Your life can be drastically altered by a few words and a persons malicious intentions and this book helps prove just how down heartening it can be as well as focusing on the light at the other end of the tunnel.
All of the characters play great roles in Simon’s life, he lives in a very open family so he feels as if he is keeping something terrible from them especially with of hand comments that his fathers sometimes makes. We read about different things in his life that he loves such as drama, as he attends school play rehearsals often.he deals with the struggles of maintaining friendships under pressure.
I would recommend this book to anyone no matter their age, race, gender or sexual preference. It’s a romantic coming of age comedy that warms me to my toes making me wanting to keep reading over and over again (as I have done many a time). If you liked ‘Will Grayson, Will Grayson’ by John Green and David Levithan then you will most definitely enjoy this book.
Snapdeal: Online Shopping App
Shopping and Lifestyle
App
Upgrade your life with Snapdeal, India’s #1 shopping app and your one-stop shop for fast, easy and...
Empires & Allies
Games
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Get ready to annihilate the enemy! Join your friends, form alliances, build your army and prepare...
Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Seinfeld - Season 1 in TV
Jan 22, 2021
I always assumed I wouldn’t like Seinfeld in the 90s. In fact I was opposed to the very idea of it on principle. And that principle was: I’ve never heard of this guy as a comedian, and American stand-up usually isn’t funny. I never saw a single episode until six months ago – in my head it was some dumb, canned laughter show with very forced scripts and little charm. I just didn’t get why it was always quoted amongst the best sitcoms of all time, and I wasn’t willing to find out. This is called “being ignorant”. Guilty.
One random day with nothing else inspiring me I finally took the plunge and put an episode on. Guess what happened? I laughed, I found it completely charming and witty and easy to watch, with some great lines and likeable characters. 3 hours later I had done 6 episodes and was as hooked as anyone can be with anything. It was just so nostalgically and completely 90s! And I loved that!
A show doesn’t run for 9 years and over 170 episodes without being some kind of special, especially taking into account the depreciation due to being dated, as all sitcoms eventually are, and it really is quite remarkable – deserving of a place in the conversation of the greatest ever American half hour shows. Sure, there is an element early on in the preoccupation with everyone’s sex life and dating habits that is a little creepy in 2020, but I am totally willing to forgive it.
Shows that are hyper aware of themselves and the audience are odd creatures the minute they take themselves too seriously, and Seinfeld never does that. It knows it is trivial, essentially about nothing and going nowhere, and style-wise it is always winking at us for being in on the joke and a part of it, even to the point of applauding new characters on their entrance, which is a uniquely American thing to do.
The secret of the show is undoubtedly the chemistry of the four leads, so mismatched that it someone works a spell and creates magic, much in the same way Friends managed to do, times six. Jerry Seinfeld himself is a very likeable everyman, and the schtick of each show beginning and ending with 30 seconds of stand up is a gimmick that grows on you, as does everything about it: the more you watch, the more you love it for what it is.
Jason Alexander as the balding, quirky, self-conscious, opinionated best friend is perhaps my least favourite of the regular quartet, but he has some amazing moments over the course of things, and plays great dead-pan. But the other two are on a plane of equal genius. The verbal timing of the super cute, super smart Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine (who I have fallen in love with a little bit in 1993) and the physical slapstick timing of Michael Richards as Cosmo Kramer (surely one of the most memorable characters in sitcom history) have both left me aching with laughter time after time after time. Just a glance or an expression is often enough.
And the great thing is, it never seems to get old. They are always finding new ways and new situations that keep it fresh. Some trick! Even in the final season of the 9, when there is a small melancholia creeping in because they all know it is coming to an end, it still manages to create moments that aren’t just repeats of previous gags. Which means, as future background watching it is 100% perfect. Leave it on whilst doing something else, look up once in a while, and like the best of all long running US comedy shows each episode is indistinguishable from any other in the best way – it is like having a friend in the room.
I can’t imagine ever saying it is amongst my very favourites, maybe because I missed out on it first time around – which I put down to an inherent middle aged appeal, rather than a youth appeal – but I wouldn’t also ever argue with anyone that did say that it was one of their favourites. Because I get it now. And I’m so glad I got to do it, no matter how late to the party!
One random day with nothing else inspiring me I finally took the plunge and put an episode on. Guess what happened? I laughed, I found it completely charming and witty and easy to watch, with some great lines and likeable characters. 3 hours later I had done 6 episodes and was as hooked as anyone can be with anything. It was just so nostalgically and completely 90s! And I loved that!
A show doesn’t run for 9 years and over 170 episodes without being some kind of special, especially taking into account the depreciation due to being dated, as all sitcoms eventually are, and it really is quite remarkable – deserving of a place in the conversation of the greatest ever American half hour shows. Sure, there is an element early on in the preoccupation with everyone’s sex life and dating habits that is a little creepy in 2020, but I am totally willing to forgive it.
Shows that are hyper aware of themselves and the audience are odd creatures the minute they take themselves too seriously, and Seinfeld never does that. It knows it is trivial, essentially about nothing and going nowhere, and style-wise it is always winking at us for being in on the joke and a part of it, even to the point of applauding new characters on their entrance, which is a uniquely American thing to do.
The secret of the show is undoubtedly the chemistry of the four leads, so mismatched that it someone works a spell and creates magic, much in the same way Friends managed to do, times six. Jerry Seinfeld himself is a very likeable everyman, and the schtick of each show beginning and ending with 30 seconds of stand up is a gimmick that grows on you, as does everything about it: the more you watch, the more you love it for what it is.
Jason Alexander as the balding, quirky, self-conscious, opinionated best friend is perhaps my least favourite of the regular quartet, but he has some amazing moments over the course of things, and plays great dead-pan. But the other two are on a plane of equal genius. The verbal timing of the super cute, super smart Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine (who I have fallen in love with a little bit in 1993) and the physical slapstick timing of Michael Richards as Cosmo Kramer (surely one of the most memorable characters in sitcom history) have both left me aching with laughter time after time after time. Just a glance or an expression is often enough.
And the great thing is, it never seems to get old. They are always finding new ways and new situations that keep it fresh. Some trick! Even in the final season of the 9, when there is a small melancholia creeping in because they all know it is coming to an end, it still manages to create moments that aren’t just repeats of previous gags. Which means, as future background watching it is 100% perfect. Leave it on whilst doing something else, look up once in a while, and like the best of all long running US comedy shows each episode is indistinguishable from any other in the best way – it is like having a friend in the room.
I can’t imagine ever saying it is amongst my very favourites, maybe because I missed out on it first time around – which I put down to an inherent middle aged appeal, rather than a youth appeal – but I wouldn’t also ever argue with anyone that did say that it was one of their favourites. Because I get it now. And I’m so glad I got to do it, no matter how late to the party!