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Lea (77 KP) rated Her Name Was Rose in Books
Aug 8, 2019 (Updated Aug 8, 2019)
Wow!!! Stumbled across this book in my local library and couldn't put it down. I read it within the first night and what a book. One of my favourite plotlines within the book was the fact you can't believe everything you see on social media. Completely drawn in from the first page and honestly, that ending was shocking.
Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated The Front Runner (2018) in Movies
Jul 2, 2019
At the end of the 1984 Democratic Primaries a relative unknown Senator from Colorado, Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman), concedes victory to Walter Mondale. But being the runner up to the Democratic Party Presidential nominee catapults Hart to the national stage. Fast forward to 1988 and Hart is the overwhelming front runner to be not only the Democratic nominee but most likely the next President of the United States. He is a progressive and has a knack for explaining politics so that everyone can understand. He’s well spoken, has popular policies, a clear message for the future and is a handsome man to boot. It seems like nothing can stand in his way. That is until three weeks into the primary elections reporters from the Miami Herald, Tom Fiedler (Steve Zissis) and Pete Murphy (Bill Burr), get wind of a story of Hart and a young woman from Miami spending time together at yacht party. Since Hart is very much married to his wife, Lee Hart (Vera Farmiga), they decide to investigate. They find out that the two may be meeting in Washington D.C. at Hart’s townhouse. They follow the young woman, Donna Rice (Sara Paxton), from Miami to D.C. There they take photos of the two together and print a story. The media blitz is on and the story explodes. Hart now faces one of the first personal political scandals. He must try and navigate a new media age to not see his political career slip away.
Even though this is a true story and some of you may already know the facts I will put the disclaimer of spoilers ahead. This is the story of Senator Hart and his fall from grace as a sure fire Presidential Nominee to out of politics in the blink of an eye, in one of the first “tabloid” political scandals. The Jason Reitman (Up in the Air, Thank you for Smoking) directed film focuses heavily on the interaction between politicians and reporters. It shows, and touches on, how this relationship evolves/devolves so quickly. There are plenty of moments that you can tie into today’s media and how maybe this instance influenced how the media reported on the private lives of politicians.
Overall I thought the film was good. I thought that telling the story from the side of the media and the people on the campaign was really interesting. I just thought that it was not overly compelling. You can’t feel bad for Hart because it was his actions and how he handled the situation that led to the eventual result. Also yeah the media maybe went too far at some point but also you could see how the reporters were just trying to do their jobs. The film has a large ensemble cast. J.K Simmons, Molly Ephraim, Chris Coy, Alfred Molina, Kevin Pollak, Mamoudou Athie and the list goes on. They all do okay but really this is all about Jackman. His performance is outstanding. The story did drag a little at points but for a political drama it was not overboard. I think it could have been a little shorter.
To use a real story that had such a media spotlight on it was ambitious and I give the filmmakers credit for that. But you can see some of the limitation on screen. Not really a theater must see but definitely if this is a story you are not familiar with it is worth the watch. Again it draws a lot of parallels and makes a lot of nods to today’s media and political climate.
Even though this is a true story and some of you may already know the facts I will put the disclaimer of spoilers ahead. This is the story of Senator Hart and his fall from grace as a sure fire Presidential Nominee to out of politics in the blink of an eye, in one of the first “tabloid” political scandals. The Jason Reitman (Up in the Air, Thank you for Smoking) directed film focuses heavily on the interaction between politicians and reporters. It shows, and touches on, how this relationship evolves/devolves so quickly. There are plenty of moments that you can tie into today’s media and how maybe this instance influenced how the media reported on the private lives of politicians.
Overall I thought the film was good. I thought that telling the story from the side of the media and the people on the campaign was really interesting. I just thought that it was not overly compelling. You can’t feel bad for Hart because it was his actions and how he handled the situation that led to the eventual result. Also yeah the media maybe went too far at some point but also you could see how the reporters were just trying to do their jobs. The film has a large ensemble cast. J.K Simmons, Molly Ephraim, Chris Coy, Alfred Molina, Kevin Pollak, Mamoudou Athie and the list goes on. They all do okay but really this is all about Jackman. His performance is outstanding. The story did drag a little at points but for a political drama it was not overboard. I think it could have been a little shorter.
To use a real story that had such a media spotlight on it was ambitious and I give the filmmakers credit for that. But you can see some of the limitation on screen. Not really a theater must see but definitely if this is a story you are not familiar with it is worth the watch. Again it draws a lot of parallels and makes a lot of nods to today’s media and political climate.
Sam (74 KP) rated It Started With A Tweet in Books
Mar 27, 2019
Phone addict Daisy will do anything for a like on social media. She shares almost everything from her life and exaggerates about all of it too. It’s a good skill to have when your job is to run the social media of a company, not so good when you accidentally send an explicit tweet through your company’s account rather than your own.
Daisy’s life is turned upside-down. She is sacked from her job after her tweet goes viral, and hopeless that she will find another place willing to take her. A digital detox is just what she needs. She goes to stay at a farm her sister Rosie has bought and helps her renovate it, meeting some interesting people along the way.
It Started With A Tweet reminded me of Cecelia Ahern and Sophie Kinsella, so it was right up my street. It’s lighthearted and laugh-out-loud funny and overall a really entertaining read. Daisy’s constant comments made me giggle and she was such a lifelike character.
It was also interesting to read someone going through a digital detox because I know for sure that I wouldn’t be able to just stop using my phone and my laptop. My life is social media, so I have a real understanding of Daisy’s character.
Daisy’s life is turned upside-down. She is sacked from her job after her tweet goes viral, and hopeless that she will find another place willing to take her. A digital detox is just what she needs. She goes to stay at a farm her sister Rosie has bought and helps her renovate it, meeting some interesting people along the way.
It Started With A Tweet reminded me of Cecelia Ahern and Sophie Kinsella, so it was right up my street. It’s lighthearted and laugh-out-loud funny and overall a really entertaining read. Daisy’s constant comments made me giggle and she was such a lifelike character.
It was also interesting to read someone going through a digital detox because I know for sure that I wouldn’t be able to just stop using my phone and my laptop. My life is social media, so I have a real understanding of Daisy’s character.
Erika (17788 KP) rated Hoopla Digital in Apps
Nov 4, 2017
In some ways, Hoopla is better than Overdrive, in terms of content. This is also one of the app available media from the public library. Hoopla doesn't have a limited amount of copies available, so you can rent anything, regardless of how many people are borrowing the same thing. The only negative is that I can only borrow 4 things a month.
Movie Critics (823 KP) rated Planet Earth - Season 1 in TV
Jun 12, 2017
Planet Earth also uses flawless time-lapse photography to show climate and seasonal changes -- like a sandstorm in the Sahara Desert or the transformation of parched desert land in Africa into a lush feeding ground for species of all shapes and sizes.
Critic- Common Sense Media
Original Score- 5 out of 5
Read Review: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/planet-earth
Original Score- 5 out of 5
Read Review: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/planet-earth
Dean (6925 KP) rated Natural Born Killers (1994) in Movies
Aug 14, 2017
TheDefunctDiva (304 KP) created a post
May 10, 2019
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2103 KP) rated The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney in Books
Mar 9, 2018
I found this to be an interesting and balance biography of Walt Disney. The author played media critic a bit too much, which bothered me, but in the end I walked away with a clearer picture of a true American success story.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/06/book-review-animated-man-life-of-walt.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2013/06/book-review-animated-man-life-of-walt.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Micky Barnard (542 KP) rated Messenger in Apps
Sep 25, 2018
Reliable and easy to use
In general, messenger delivers the best platform for messaging around on social media. It's intuitive to use and you can send pictures, use gifs, filters etc. Group chat within messenger also works very well. I am occasionally dissatisfied when updates come and usability is changed but I do find that the issues are ironed out in the end.