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Michael Packner (32 KP) rated Dane Cook: Vicious Circle (2006) in Movies
Jun 17, 2019
I gotta say, I remember liking Dane Cook much more in the 2000s when I was in my 20s. I still like him in films like Mr Brooks and Employee of the Month, but his stand up just doesn't grab me like it used to. I enjoy his energy and how much he enjoys what he's doing. Watching him brings me a feeling of nostalgia that I most definitely enjoy, but most of the jokes just fell flat for me this time around. Sure, some of it is still funny as hell. The guy was talented, but I just don't connect with his type of humor much anymore. It's kinda disappointing. Makes me feel old. It was still worth the trip down memory lane. A lot of these jokes feel dated though as well. Kids today would not understand the type of humor that we engaged in back then. Dane Cook is most definitely for people who enjoyed their 20s in the 2000s. That's definitely me. The only question you have to ask yourself is how much of it do you still connect with.
Merissa (13443 KP) rated Chasing Butterflies (Bad Girls #1) in Books
Dec 17, 2018
Chasing Butterflies (Bad Girls #1) by Jennifer Labelle
Chasing Butterflies is the first novella in the Bad Girls series. In it, we meet Sawyer. She left her home town with her big sister and never looked back. Now, due to the death of her sister, she returns there, needing a fresh start. Her first night in town, and she bumps into the one memory she was hoping to avoid.
This is a very fast-paced novella, although it is an easy read. Unfortunately for me, I didn't really connect with Carley before she died, so the impact on Sawyer was pretty much lost. And while I understood Sawyer's reasons for selling her parents' home, actually moving back there to work didn't make a lot of sense. Not exactly a fresh start.
Still, this was written very well, with love a foregone conclusion so the declarations that came thick and fast actually didn't seem that premature. For a quick coffee break book, then I would recommend this.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This is a very fast-paced novella, although it is an easy read. Unfortunately for me, I didn't really connect with Carley before she died, so the impact on Sawyer was pretty much lost. And while I understood Sawyer's reasons for selling her parents' home, actually moving back there to work didn't make a lot of sense. Not exactly a fresh start.
Still, this was written very well, with love a foregone conclusion so the declarations that came thick and fast actually didn't seem that premature. For a quick coffee break book, then I would recommend this.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Elli H Burton (1288 KP) rated Tell Me Who I Am (2019) in Movies
Oct 25, 2019
It's direction. (2 more)
The courage of the people involved.
The way it's shot.
Heartbreaking. Unbelievable.
The story follows twins Alex and Marcus they are 54 years old and when they were 18 Alex lost his memory. He couldn't remember anything or anyone other than his twin brother. (All in the introduction, no spoilers here)
It is something so unique it wouldn't be believed if it wasn't true. This in itself is such an interesting premise but it's full of so many twists and turns by the end you're head is spinning.
The story is gripping, at times I thought I'm tired maybe here will be a good time to pause, go to sleep and start back up tomorrow but I couldn't switch it off. It makes you go from confusion, anger, sadness and rage in such a small amount of time.
What makes this so heartbreaking is that not only is it true, it is something I believe every person should watch. It touches on subjects that happen in peoples everyday lives and aren't talked about enough.
I sincerely hope people will watch this, appreciate these courageous men for their pure strength and if the story they tell is similar to something in your life, it will help you open up too.
It is something so unique it wouldn't be believed if it wasn't true. This in itself is such an interesting premise but it's full of so many twists and turns by the end you're head is spinning.
The story is gripping, at times I thought I'm tired maybe here will be a good time to pause, go to sleep and start back up tomorrow but I couldn't switch it off. It makes you go from confusion, anger, sadness and rage in such a small amount of time.
What makes this so heartbreaking is that not only is it true, it is something I believe every person should watch. It touches on subjects that happen in peoples everyday lives and aren't talked about enough.
I sincerely hope people will watch this, appreciate these courageous men for their pure strength and if the story they tell is similar to something in your life, it will help you open up too.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Cats (2019) in Movies
Dec 24, 2019
Here's where I wrinkle my nose up at the Smashbomb scoring system - Cats isn't so much 'shoddy' as - well, it's such a particularly strange film that it's actually quite hard to tell whether it's any good or not. My instinct is to say not: a selection of character actors, comedians and musical theatre stars are CGI'd into human-animal hybrids like something out of The Island of Dr Moreau and hoof and yowl their way through a selection of TS Eliot's comic poems set to music. The plot does a good impression of being absolute gibberish, as the singing cat-people compete to get sent off to the bit of the sky that radio waves bounce off where they will receive a new life, while Idris Elba schemes to rig the contest. It's just weird.
Alternatively, this is a quasi-Lovecraftian surreal Arabesque which, fatally, fails to consider the difference between presentational and representational performance modes inherent in the transference of a narrative between theatrical and cinematic contexts. (i.e., people dressed as singing cats in a theatre can be beautiful and moving; people CGI'd into singing cats in a big-budget movie is more disturbing than anything else.) Jennifer Hudson's maximum-Streep, maximum-volume onslaught on 'Memory' made me want to hide under my seat.
Alternatively, this is a quasi-Lovecraftian surreal Arabesque which, fatally, fails to consider the difference between presentational and representational performance modes inherent in the transference of a narrative between theatrical and cinematic contexts. (i.e., people dressed as singing cats in a theatre can be beautiful and moving; people CGI'd into singing cats in a big-budget movie is more disturbing than anything else.) Jennifer Hudson's maximum-Streep, maximum-volume onslaught on 'Memory' made me want to hide under my seat.
Merissa (13443 KP) rated Shadow of Deception (The Kazumi Chronicles #1) in Books
Dec 17, 2018
There is so much that goes on in this book, but that is not a bad thing. In fact, even when it had finished, I still needed more!!
You get a prologue with a young child, then it skips forward ten years and she is the sole survivor of a plane crash. You don't know how or why, and you stay with "Gabi" as she tries to figure out who she is and where she belongs. She is taken to a secret location where there is a specialised group of people called Sarcomeres.
I won't go into the story any further as I hate giving away spoilers. Suffice it to say, I loved every word. It is full of action and intrigue, with snippets of memory surfacing occasionally. There is certainly more than enough to keep your attention! With a hint of romance between Finn and Gabi/Kazumi as well, this is a well-rounded story with full-bodied and believable characters.
This is certainly an author I will be following and I really hope that she brings out more books in general, but specifically with this world and characters. Highly recommended.
* I received this book from Xpresso Book Tours in return for a fair and honest review. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
You get a prologue with a young child, then it skips forward ten years and she is the sole survivor of a plane crash. You don't know how or why, and you stay with "Gabi" as she tries to figure out who she is and where she belongs. She is taken to a secret location where there is a specialised group of people called Sarcomeres.
I won't go into the story any further as I hate giving away spoilers. Suffice it to say, I loved every word. It is full of action and intrigue, with snippets of memory surfacing occasionally. There is certainly more than enough to keep your attention! With a hint of romance between Finn and Gabi/Kazumi as well, this is a well-rounded story with full-bodied and believable characters.
This is certainly an author I will be following and I really hope that she brings out more books in general, but specifically with this world and characters. Highly recommended.
* I received this book from Xpresso Book Tours in return for a fair and honest review. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Eilidh G Clark (177 KP) rated Pigeon English in Books
Jul 2, 2019
This is a great first novel
This is a must read. Written in first person and from the point of view of Harry, an eleven year old boy (If my memory serves me well) is the most intelligent and convincing narration I have come across. The novel is funny yet disturbing and the reader is told of the young boys own world but through the innocence of a (not quite mature enough to understand the world) boy. Present tense with analepsis allows the reader into the distance between his old life and his new life. Kelman's terrific talent of show not tell, and the young protagonists inexperience creates a sense of irony, as the adult reader see's what the child is too young to notice himself.
I am not going to go into the plot as I feel that this is something I do not want to spoil but believe me, Kelman's characters are fully fleshed out and the world they live in as real as any run down council estate in the UK. This novel surprised me, made me laugh and brought me to tears and has left a tiny book shaped hole in my heart. Well done Stephen Kelman
I am not going to go into the plot as I feel that this is something I do not want to spoil but believe me, Kelman's characters are fully fleshed out and the world they live in as real as any run down council estate in the UK. This novel surprised me, made me laugh and brought me to tears and has left a tiny book shaped hole in my heart. Well done Stephen Kelman
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated American Ultra (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Jesse Eisenberg plays a “stoned” cold killer without a memory in the new action comedy American Ultra. But when the pompous government weasel played by Topher Grace decides to eliminate the asset, Stoner Eisenberg finds himself running for his life and yet relying on secret spy skills he didn’t know he had. Think Jason Borne meets Pineapple Express. Only with way more low budget action and far less stoner humor. Which is a shame because American Ultra doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. If it would have made a commitment to either the action or the stoner comedy, we would could have and a solid movie in either direction, but instead we just get, meh.
That isn’t to say the film is bad. I went in with low expectations and enjoyed myself. It has some chuckles but they are few and far between. Kristen Stewart seems right at home with her performance of Eisenberg’s girlfriend who is caught up in the ride and helps him along the way. While Jesse Eisenberg and Topher Grace are not menacing and their action sequences seem stiff and awkward. However this film makes it clear that it doesn’t take itself seriously and thus if you just go along with the ride you may enjoy it.
That isn’t to say the film is bad. I went in with low expectations and enjoyed myself. It has some chuckles but they are few and far between. Kristen Stewart seems right at home with her performance of Eisenberg’s girlfriend who is caught up in the ride and helps him along the way. While Jesse Eisenberg and Topher Grace are not menacing and their action sequences seem stiff and awkward. However this film makes it clear that it doesn’t take itself seriously and thus if you just go along with the ride you may enjoy it.
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