Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (2317)

Content

Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Great Expectations in Books

Nov 13, 2019

This classic tale follows the life of Philip 'Pip' Pirrip as he discovers escaped convicts, falls in love and meets the eccentric Miss Havisham. When a mysterious benefactor bequeathes him money to make a gentleman of him Piip grasps the opportunity with both hands.

For me Great Expectations is the archetypal Dickens novel, in that it is very uneven and full of dull and tiresome sections which do little to advance the plot but instead let Dickens show off his love of absurd names and his observations of social hierarchies in Victorian London.

The first part is fine - after the rather clumsy opening paragraph. The scenes on the marshes are evocative, Stella is well portrayed as the unobtainable target of his affections and Miss Havisham steals the show.

It is when Pip arrives in London that it all starts to go wrong. The characters become flat and two dimensional, only there to demonstrate how he is progressing in his quest to become a gentleman, the usual Dickens tool of the name that slightly indicates their character frequently used instead of actually providing them with any character. Very little of this section is actually relevant to the plot in hand and just seems to be filler to pad the book to the requisite number of episodes.

Once Pip returns home for the final chapters and the big reveal the story once again picks up as the various plot strands laid in the first part come together.

Overall the first and last parts of the book are worth reading, but the middle bit can be safely skimmed through as the reader won't miss anything important and will avoid much tedium.

Kudos

TacoDave (3994 KP) rated Parasite (2019) in Movies

Nov 14, 2019

Parasite (2019)

2019 | Drama

8.6

(40 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Story (3 more)

Acting

Humor

Unexpected twists

It's long? (0 more)

This Parasite gets under your skin...

I will try not to spoil anything, because I really enjoyed watching this movie unfold. It's the kind of film where you can't really guess where it is going, because where it is going is so strange...

Based on the director, I expected sci-fi or horror. This movie isn't either of those genres: it is basically a human-level character study, but in a universe with slightly-cartoonish logic.

I know that doesn't make much sense, but if you watch the movie you might agree.

The main family is broke. They have no money for food and their neighbor recently put a password on their wifi, so they don't even have phones that work. When the son gets the chance to become a tutor to a rich girl, even though he isn't qualified, he jumps at the chance. And, slowly but surely, he and his family plan ways to get all four of them hired on at the rich owners' house.

That's all I will say, because discovery is important for this movie to work. There is a lot of drama and real-life class struggle, but the movie is often punctuated by humor that takes a second to register. It might be a physical sight gag; it might be a turn of phrase; it might be a facial expression; but I found myself laughing out loud, even as uncomfortable things were happening.

If you don't mind subtitles, I strongly recommend Parasite. It is as good as the reviews say.

Kudos

Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Silverthorn in Books

Nov 25, 2019

Silverthorn

Raymond E. Feist | 2013 | Fiction & Poetry

9.2

(5 Ratings)

Book Rating

When Princess Anita is poisoned, Prince Arutha needs to find the antidote but to avoid suspicion must do so secretly. Assembling a small band of his most trusted companions he heads off to search out Silverthorn, the only known cure for the poison.

Magician was a sprawling epic fantasy tale, spun out of role playing sessions with its own self contained story. In itself it is impressive but in coming up with the sequal (and the third book to make them a trilogy) Feist really shows his flair for story telling. This book is a self-contained quest in its own right but also part of a bigger whole, a feature that would result in a very long series of books.

And what a story it is. Again influenced by the Friday night role playing sessions our heroes are a varied band, each with their own strengths, who must use all their skill and abilities to discover and return the antidote. But what they discover on the way reveals a much more powerful threat to the Kingdom of the Isles.

The characters are strong and likeable, the set pieces enthralling and well written. Okay so it's not stunningly original relying on a lot fantasy tropes and owing a huge debt to Tolkien but it is rarely derivative, always taking its own path so this doesn't detract from it in the end.

This trilogy of Magician, Silverthorn and A Darkness At Sethanon form an almost perfect epic fantasy trilogy that for my money is just as essential as The Lord Of The Rings for fantasy buffs.