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The Chocolate Lady (94 KP) rated Evevingland: Stories in Books
Oct 5, 2020
Michael Knight's a collection of short stories gives us the flavor of the many attributes of the city Mobile Alabama and a taste of some of its varied inhabitants, with some wild weather (both literally and figuratively) thrown in for good measure. See what I thought of these stories in my review of "Eveningland" here. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2017/03/26/mobile-stories/
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Jonah Hex (2010) in Movies
Feb 28, 2021
A recent re-watch of Jonah Hex went something like this:
- a lot of stuff happened before that title card that it's already incoherent
- wait, Michael Fassbender is in this?
- I can't see what's happening
- ah sweet, it's the dude from Mastodon.
- wait, Will Arnett is in this?
- Megan Fox really drew the short straw on a lot of her movie projects
- is that Michael Shannon!?
- ah sweet, it's the dude from John Wick.
- wait, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is in this!?
- once again, couldn't see what the fuck was happening because of the piss poor lighting, but Jonah Hex is nearly dead again, apparently.
- Ah cool, here's a mid-runtime action heavy sequence, still can't tell what's happening.
- wait....nope, it's over.
Christ, this movie is a blurry mess that's impressively hard to follow considering its short runtime. I love the Jonah Hex comics, I tend to enjoy Josh Brolin and John Malkovich, how is this such a trainwreck?
That Mastodon soundtrack is badass though.
- a lot of stuff happened before that title card that it's already incoherent
- wait, Michael Fassbender is in this?
- I can't see what's happening
- ah sweet, it's the dude from Mastodon.
- wait, Will Arnett is in this?
- Megan Fox really drew the short straw on a lot of her movie projects
- is that Michael Shannon!?
- ah sweet, it's the dude from John Wick.
- wait, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is in this!?
- once again, couldn't see what the fuck was happening because of the piss poor lighting, but Jonah Hex is nearly dead again, apparently.
- Ah cool, here's a mid-runtime action heavy sequence, still can't tell what's happening.
- wait....nope, it's over.
Christ, this movie is a blurry mess that's impressively hard to follow considering its short runtime. I love the Jonah Hex comics, I tend to enjoy Josh Brolin and John Malkovich, how is this such a trainwreck?
That Mastodon soundtrack is badass though.
Adrian Denton (4 KP) created a post
May 12, 2018
David McK (3185 KP) rated Two Ravens and One Crow (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #4.5) in Books
Jan 28, 2019
This is a short story, that seems to follow the usual Kevin Hearne's strategy of setting a short story between the 'main courses' of his full novels: a taster, if you will, of what those novels are like.
In this particular case, this story is set after the events of [b:Tricked|106843|Tricked|Alex Robinson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347400465s/106843.jpg|102982] but before (I believe, not having read it yet!) of those from [b:Trapped|8428140|Trapped|Michael Northrop|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1395769555s/8428140.jpg|13291342], and deals some more with the aftermath of Atticus's trip to Valhalla in [b:Hammered|10443590|Hammered|Mark Ward|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328728608s/10443590.jpg|15348265].
The Two Ravens of the title refers to Odin's birds Hugin and Munin, while the One Crow is the Morrigan, who appears to Atticus six years into training his apprentice Granuaile and insists that he must go on a journey with her.
If I'm honest, I found the previous full-length novel ([b:Tricked|106843|Tricked|Alex Robinson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347400465s/106843.jpg|102982]) to be a bit of a let-down; thankfully he appears to be back on form in this short story.
:-)
In this particular case, this story is set after the events of [b:Tricked|106843|Tricked|Alex Robinson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347400465s/106843.jpg|102982] but before (I believe, not having read it yet!) of those from [b:Trapped|8428140|Trapped|Michael Northrop|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1395769555s/8428140.jpg|13291342], and deals some more with the aftermath of Atticus's trip to Valhalla in [b:Hammered|10443590|Hammered|Mark Ward|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328728608s/10443590.jpg|15348265].
The Two Ravens of the title refers to Odin's birds Hugin and Munin, while the One Crow is the Morrigan, who appears to Atticus six years into training his apprentice Granuaile and insists that he must go on a journey with her.
If I'm honest, I found the previous full-length novel ([b:Tricked|106843|Tricked|Alex Robinson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347400465s/106843.jpg|102982]) to be a bit of a let-down; thankfully he appears to be back on form in this short story.
:-)
While [a:Michael Crichton|5194|Michael Crichton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1359042651p2/5194.jpg] may be more famous for books-that-became movies blockbuster like [b:Jurassic Park|6424171|Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)|Michael Crichton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344371661s/6424171.jpg|3376836], tha's not the only of his works that have been turned into movies:a longside that, we have the likes of [b:Congo|7672|Congo|Michael Crichton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388889401s/7672.jpg|688299], [b:Timeline|7669|Timeline|Michael Crichton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1405420745s/7669.jpg|1525987], and this.
Largely, however, I've found hose to be pretty forgettable: I know I saw 'Sphere' (the movie) before I first read the book, but (truth be told) I didn't really remember all that much about either.
With that in mind, and with Goodreads at-long-last implementation of the re-read feature (yay!), I decided to re-read the novel recently.
And, unfortunately, I still found it pretty forgettable.
Don't get me wrong: it's a pretty adequate sci-fi thriller (in this case about a mysterious Sphere found at the bottom of the Pacific inside a spacecraft that has lain there for hundreds of years), but it lacked - for me - the connection with the characters (none of whom I found to be all that likeable, or even interesting), the thrill-factor (if you will), or even the implied awe and majesty of the Dinosaurs in [b:Jurassic Park|6424171|Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)|Michael Crichton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344371661s/6424171.jpg|3376836].
In short: it's OK, but not Crichton's best.
Largely, however, I've found hose to be pretty forgettable: I know I saw 'Sphere' (the movie) before I first read the book, but (truth be told) I didn't really remember all that much about either.
With that in mind, and with Goodreads at-long-last implementation of the re-read feature (yay!), I decided to re-read the novel recently.
And, unfortunately, I still found it pretty forgettable.
Don't get me wrong: it's a pretty adequate sci-fi thriller (in this case about a mysterious Sphere found at the bottom of the Pacific inside a spacecraft that has lain there for hundreds of years), but it lacked - for me - the connection with the characters (none of whom I found to be all that likeable, or even interesting), the thrill-factor (if you will), or even the implied awe and majesty of the Dinosaurs in [b:Jurassic Park|6424171|Jurassic Park (Jurassic Park, #1)|Michael Crichton|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344371661s/6424171.jpg|3376836].
In short: it's OK, but not Crichton's best.
Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) in Movies
Sep 10, 2017
Great acting (1 more)
Visually Stunning
Not quite worth all the awards, but great cast
What a strange film. It basically entails Michael Keaton's character, an aging, flailing theatre actor, who is basically having a nervous breakdown and hallucinates throughout the movie.
While the cast is absolutely incredible (Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts), and the acting is equally top-class, the film itself feels like it falls short.
The cinematography is quite stunning, especially the dream sequence with the bird itself. But I am slightly baffled to how this was put up for so many Oscars. A good film, but not a great one.
While the cast is absolutely incredible (Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts), and the acting is equally top-class, the film itself feels like it falls short.
The cinematography is quite stunning, especially the dream sequence with the bird itself. But I am slightly baffled to how this was put up for so many Oscars. A good film, but not a great one.
AJaneClark (3962 KP) rated The Vampire Affair in Books
Oct 27, 2020
Buffy meets Mills & Boon
Another nocturne short read from Mills & Boon (Silhouette). Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer style vampire hunters, combating some nasty vampires set on taking over the world, one business at a time.
The characters are well developed, and the plot is well written. Again I very much enjoyed reading this as a break between heavier novels.
With some naughty scenes, a sassy female and a strong male lead. Michael comes from a line of vampire hunters, with some additional strength as a buy product of a relative turned vampire, overcoming his vampiric affliction. Having lost a past love to the vampires, he was reluctant to fall for Jessie... but love overcomes all.
The characters are well developed, and the plot is well written. Again I very much enjoyed reading this as a break between heavier novels.
With some naughty scenes, a sassy female and a strong male lead. Michael comes from a line of vampire hunters, with some additional strength as a buy product of a relative turned vampire, overcoming his vampiric affliction. Having lost a past love to the vampires, he was reluctant to fall for Jessie... but love overcomes all.
Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated Chocolate Cake in Books
Jun 18, 2018
Chocolate Cake by Michael Rosen is a short picture book about a boy’s love of chocolate cake. The boy ends up not being able to wait for his chocolate cake and this is the storm of his midnight chocolate cake feast. The boys mistake is that is does not clean up his trail of it. His mom figures out what happened in the end, which allows for a lesson on teaching children of being truthful.
The illustrations is great. The illustrations are unique. They appear to be hand drawn which helps the book to authentic.
I have this book 4/5 stars.
Thank you Penguin Random House UK Children’s and Puffin via NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
The illustrations is great. The illustrations are unique. They appear to be hand drawn which helps the book to authentic.
I have this book 4/5 stars.
Thank you Penguin Random House UK Children’s and Puffin via NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
David McK (3185 KP) rated Total Recall (1990) in Movies
Jun 21, 2019 (Updated Sep 16, 2019)
Forget the rather pointless Colin Farrell-starring 2012 remake, this is the original (and best) of the 2 movies to share the name, itself based on the Philip K Dick short story 'We Can Remember It for You Wholesale' - it bears little in common with that story, however, other than the idea of false memory implants!
Starring a pre-T2 Arnold Schwarzenegger alongside Sharon Stone and Michael Ironside, the main plot of this is actually open to interpretation: are these events actually happening, or is Arnie's character of Douglas Quaid dreaming them? Every thing that happens after he visits Rekall is left deliberately open to interpretation, even down to the film ending with a white out instead of a black out ...
Starring a pre-T2 Arnold Schwarzenegger alongside Sharon Stone and Michael Ironside, the main plot of this is actually open to interpretation: are these events actually happening, or is Arnie's character of Douglas Quaid dreaming them? Every thing that happens after he visits Rekall is left deliberately open to interpretation, even down to the film ending with a white out instead of a black out ...
BookInspector (124 KP) rated From the Shadows in Books
Sep 24, 2020
The main characters in this novel are detective Monica and social worker Michael. I really enjoyed the way the author developed these two characters throughout the book. Monica is a single mother who is trying her best to be a good mum and a good detective. She is an interesting character with a very distinctive appearance. Michael had his own issues in the past, but at the moment his main goal is to find his client Nichol, who suddenly disappeared, and he is the only one who cares enough to find him. While Monica is dealing with dead teenagers, Michael is launching his own investigation into finding the missing boy. The case gets more tangled and complicated, so Monica and Michael start working together to solve it all.
I really liked this cooperation and teamwork between these two characters, they compliment each other. The narrative was fast paced and full of twists and turns. Sometimes I used to feel, that Michael’s wish to find Nichol was too repetitive, it made him look a little boring at times. I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives, especially the killer’s parts. It was visible that man is absolutely out of his mind, but still, very amusing to read.
I enjoyed the writing style of this novel, the suspense was very well kept, and overall delivery of the plot is very intriguing. The chapters are quite short, and the whole book was a really quick read for me. The ending was quite unexpected, but at the same time quite disappointing. I was expecting something more. So, to conclude, This is a really good thriller, filled with layered characters and plot. I really enjoyed it, and I hope you will give this book a try and enjoy it as much as I did. 🙂
I really liked this cooperation and teamwork between these two characters, they compliment each other. The narrative was fast paced and full of twists and turns. Sometimes I used to feel, that Michael’s wish to find Nichol was too repetitive, it made him look a little boring at times. I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives, especially the killer’s parts. It was visible that man is absolutely out of his mind, but still, very amusing to read.
I enjoyed the writing style of this novel, the suspense was very well kept, and overall delivery of the plot is very intriguing. The chapters are quite short, and the whole book was a really quick read for me. The ending was quite unexpected, but at the same time quite disappointing. I was expecting something more. So, to conclude, This is a really good thriller, filled with layered characters and plot. I really enjoyed it, and I hope you will give this book a try and enjoy it as much as I did. 🙂