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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019) in Movies
Oct 8, 2020
This retelling of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield takes us from his birth, through his adolescence and adulthood. With the tempo set like a whirling dervish from the moment David (Dev Patel) takes us with him to witness his birth and travel along through his pivotal life moments as he tells his story.
We see his birth where his mother, Clara Copperfield (Morfydd Clark, playing a double role, later as Dora Spenlow) a slight, fantastical woman, and the steadfast housekeeper, Peggotty (Daisy May Cooper) go through the hectic confusion while people mill about, entering and exiting during the process of birth. His Aunt, Betsy (Tilda Swinton) goes about, adding to the calamity insistent that the child of her late brother would be a girl, who would carry her legacy as a Trotwood. Her eccentricity noted immediately as she storms out once learning the child is a boy.
The film progresses, with the same quick tempo, through his brief, idyllic childhood with his mother, then his trip to Yarmouth summering with Peggotty’s family where his imagination begins its bloom in the house that is a boat, by the sea. Once David returns home, he is informed that his mother had married, and his stepfather sends him to London. He is sent to live with Mr. & Mrs. Micawber (Peter Capaldi and Bronagh Gallagher) while he works at the bottle factory.
David’s life goes from famine to feast, bear to bull. However, he has learned resilience through his encounters with people of all classes and situations. As Copperfield makes his way through life, the tempo slows down, and the frenzy subsides.
Yes, it’s a remake, the film is beautifully made, the cast is an incredibly talented international group. Hugh Laurie and Tilda Swinton provide an endearing portrait of eclectic personalities. The film is just a charming and whimsical piece of storytelling.
We see his birth where his mother, Clara Copperfield (Morfydd Clark, playing a double role, later as Dora Spenlow) a slight, fantastical woman, and the steadfast housekeeper, Peggotty (Daisy May Cooper) go through the hectic confusion while people mill about, entering and exiting during the process of birth. His Aunt, Betsy (Tilda Swinton) goes about, adding to the calamity insistent that the child of her late brother would be a girl, who would carry her legacy as a Trotwood. Her eccentricity noted immediately as she storms out once learning the child is a boy.
The film progresses, with the same quick tempo, through his brief, idyllic childhood with his mother, then his trip to Yarmouth summering with Peggotty’s family where his imagination begins its bloom in the house that is a boat, by the sea. Once David returns home, he is informed that his mother had married, and his stepfather sends him to London. He is sent to live with Mr. & Mrs. Micawber (Peter Capaldi and Bronagh Gallagher) while he works at the bottle factory.
David’s life goes from famine to feast, bear to bull. However, he has learned resilience through his encounters with people of all classes and situations. As Copperfield makes his way through life, the tempo slows down, and the frenzy subsides.
Yes, it’s a remake, the film is beautifully made, the cast is an incredibly talented international group. Hugh Laurie and Tilda Swinton provide an endearing portrait of eclectic personalities. The film is just a charming and whimsical piece of storytelling.
ClareR (5996 KP) rated My Name is Monster in Books
Jul 30, 2020 (Updated Jul 30, 2020)
My Name is Monster is a book that really took me by surprise. It’s far more thoughtful and gentle than a lot of other post-apocalyptic books that I’ve read before. I kept expecting something terrible to happen - but it becomes apparent that the terrible thing has already happened.
After a series of wars, both sides have unleashed a sickness that has wiped out the population, and the survivors of that have died of starvation. Monster is a survivor. She had sheltered in the Arctic Seed Vault where she had been working. When she emerges, she is alone. She takes a boat and makes for the Scottish coast. When she washes up on a beach, shipwrecked, she walks towards the only place she really wants to see - home.
She starts to build a solitary life, resigned to living alone. And then one day she finds a child. She names her Monster, and renames herself Mother.
This is a story that made me think about the role of society, and what happens to an individual when there IS no society. It also showed what it means to be a mother: that it isn’t always the ones who give birth who are the mothers. Often it can be the things that a person DOES that makes them a mother. It also shows that one doesn’t have to have lots of possessions to be content. Contentment can be achieved through work or relationships.
There was a point quite early on, where I wondered whether this was the book for me, but I’m glad that I kept on reading. It’s the little things in this book that are actually the big things: the actions of an individual and love.
This was a really enjoyable, satisfying read. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my copy of this book.
After a series of wars, both sides have unleashed a sickness that has wiped out the population, and the survivors of that have died of starvation. Monster is a survivor. She had sheltered in the Arctic Seed Vault where she had been working. When she emerges, she is alone. She takes a boat and makes for the Scottish coast. When she washes up on a beach, shipwrecked, she walks towards the only place she really wants to see - home.
She starts to build a solitary life, resigned to living alone. And then one day she finds a child. She names her Monster, and renames herself Mother.
This is a story that made me think about the role of society, and what happens to an individual when there IS no society. It also showed what it means to be a mother: that it isn’t always the ones who give birth who are the mothers. Often it can be the things that a person DOES that makes them a mother. It also shows that one doesn’t have to have lots of possessions to be content. Contentment can be achieved through work or relationships.
There was a point quite early on, where I wondered whether this was the book for me, but I’m glad that I kept on reading. It’s the little things in this book that are actually the big things: the actions of an individual and love.
This was a really enjoyable, satisfying read. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my copy of this book.
Girls Made of Snow and Glass
8.8
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Frozen meets The Bloody Chamber in this feminist fantasy reimagining of the Snow White fairytale ...
Lost Children Archive
9.0
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From the two-time NBCC Finalist, a fiercely imaginative novel about a family's summer road trip...
Lindsay (1779 KP) rated The Lady Who Cried Murder (Mac Faraday Mystery #6) in Books
Apr 16, 2022
If you are looking for murder or mystery to enjoy, Lauren Carr will not disappoint. I read almost all of her books. Her books will have you lured in for more than you are expecting. Each book or audiobook can be read as a standalone though you can read them in series. This one is about a girl who wants to be a celebrity but will see get it all and easy money. Will she get it all, or will she pay the price?
There seem to be more secrets and murders than one person can handle. We meet a mother who thinks her daughter has stood abducted. The daughter shows up at a press conference and has set up her mother. Her mother is angry and does some things and changes her will. Whatever happens to her daughter Khole?
David does not want to stand up once more, so he does the interviewer something by checking it out. But do they listen to him when he wants to make sure it is not a setup to make it a circus of the Spenser police department?
Does David find Khole killed and cut up? Who had done it and why? What is Khole's big announcement about what she would tell the interview? We seem to be working with David and Mac and Cameron and Joshua. The team appears to be paired up and works out who the killer is? Guess who gets pulled into these are their girlfriends. You will not guess who is behind all the murders. This one ended up having me guessing until the end. I still did not know who it was up to until the end.
There seem to be more secrets and murders than one person can handle. We meet a mother who thinks her daughter has stood abducted. The daughter shows up at a press conference and has set up her mother. Her mother is angry and does some things and changes her will. Whatever happens to her daughter Khole?
David does not want to stand up once more, so he does the interviewer something by checking it out. But do they listen to him when he wants to make sure it is not a setup to make it a circus of the Spenser police department?
Does David find Khole killed and cut up? Who had done it and why? What is Khole's big announcement about what she would tell the interview? We seem to be working with David and Mac and Cameron and Joshua. The team appears to be paired up and works out who the killer is? Guess who gets pulled into these are their girlfriends. You will not guess who is behind all the murders. This one ended up having me guessing until the end. I still did not know who it was up to until the end.
City of Shadows
9.0
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In this all-new Counterfeit Lady Novel from USA Today bestselling author Victoria Thompson newlywed...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated So Close ( Blacklist 1) in Books
Apr 26, 2024
77 of 220
Book
So close ( Blacklist 1)
By Sylvia Day
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The one you believe isn't always the one you can trust...
Widower Kane Black is still ruinously married to his late wife, Lily. Grief has hollowed him… until he sees a woman with his wife’s inimitable beauty on the streets of Manhattan. He whisks her up to his towering penthouse, protectively under guard, nestling her in dark opulence where Lily’s memory is a possessive beguiling force.
Aliyah, Kane’s mother, deals in science. There are too many questions, too few answers, and too much at stake. “Lily” has dangerous control over Kane and there can be only one queen on the throne.
Amy, Kane’s sister-in-law, has been bloodied by deceit and betrayal, and she’s devolving into murderous rage. She’s paid too high a price and now intends to claim what she’s owed.
Three women, linked by buried secrets, circle the man who unquestioningly accepts the return of his beloved long-dead wife. Kane is happier than he’s ever been, and he’ll do anything to stay that way.
This was different to what I expected. First of all I think I’ve been starved of news from the Crosses and it was nice to catch up on them a little. This is was messed up family all being played by a devious mother trying to control her sons. Amy is completely vindictive and horrid but is it a product of what these men and the mother in law from hell have done or is she naturally that way? When you read this and learn about Lily I wasn’t expecting the answer and yes I had a WTF moment! The book was good and I did enjoy it but I think the last 10 chapters are what made me give it 4⭐️ instead of 3.
Book
So close ( Blacklist 1)
By Sylvia Day
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The one you believe isn't always the one you can trust...
Widower Kane Black is still ruinously married to his late wife, Lily. Grief has hollowed him… until he sees a woman with his wife’s inimitable beauty on the streets of Manhattan. He whisks her up to his towering penthouse, protectively under guard, nestling her in dark opulence where Lily’s memory is a possessive beguiling force.
Aliyah, Kane’s mother, deals in science. There are too many questions, too few answers, and too much at stake. “Lily” has dangerous control over Kane and there can be only one queen on the throne.
Amy, Kane’s sister-in-law, has been bloodied by deceit and betrayal, and she’s devolving into murderous rage. She’s paid too high a price and now intends to claim what she’s owed.
Three women, linked by buried secrets, circle the man who unquestioningly accepts the return of his beloved long-dead wife. Kane is happier than he’s ever been, and he’ll do anything to stay that way.
This was different to what I expected. First of all I think I’ve been starved of news from the Crosses and it was nice to catch up on them a little. This is was messed up family all being played by a devious mother trying to control her sons. Amy is completely vindictive and horrid but is it a product of what these men and the mother in law from hell have done or is she naturally that way? When you read this and learn about Lily I wasn’t expecting the answer and yes I had a WTF moment! The book was good and I did enjoy it but I think the last 10 chapters are what made me give it 4⭐️ instead of 3.
This is such a gentle, beautifully written book, about a harrowing, terrible subject. I had seen other reviews saying how much they'd enjoyed this, however based on the synopsis, I was hesitant at first: a mother kills her six year old daughter with a hatchet. What can be poetic or lyrical about that?
The story jumps back and forth in time as it follows the lives of the mother, father, the daughters and Ann, the 'new' wife. It isn't confusing though, surprisingly. The murder isn't one of those protracted descriptions, it's more of an aside. I don't even think that it comes across as something that was done on purpose.
This book is about the repercussions of this single act and how it affects all those involved, even those who weren't there.
I was captivated. I know that seems like a big thing to say about a book, but once I got going (real life and it's distractions, eh!) the end seemed to come around all too quickly.
I would highly recommend this - but make sure you have a box of Kleenex to hand. It's achingly sad in places.
The story jumps back and forth in time as it follows the lives of the mother, father, the daughters and Ann, the 'new' wife. It isn't confusing though, surprisingly. The murder isn't one of those protracted descriptions, it's more of an aside. I don't even think that it comes across as something that was done on purpose.
This book is about the repercussions of this single act and how it affects all those involved, even those who weren't there.
I was captivated. I know that seems like a big thing to say about a book, but once I got going (real life and it's distractions, eh!) the end seemed to come around all too quickly.
I would highly recommend this - but make sure you have a box of Kleenex to hand. It's achingly sad in places.
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated No One Is Coming To Save Us in Books
Apr 9, 2019
No One Is Coming to Save Us is a hard book to explain. Set in North Carolina it follows the life of 5 people who are related and not related.
First there is Ava who is desperate to have a child, but she barely sees her husband Henry and she has had too many miscarriages to count.
Then there is Sylvia, Ava's mother who is the stereotypical black mother, in everyone's business and determined to get the best for her child.
Up next is Jay Jay who used to live in the same small town. At the first opportunity he moved away from the small town, but now he is back and wants to win back Ava's affection.
Henry, is Ava's husband and he hasn't done right by her and when she finds out, all bets are off.
Don, is Sylvia's husband, but they haven't lived together since Ava was a little girl.
All of these people are living their lives in small town North Carolina. There really wasn't much of a climax or anything to look forward to in this book. It was a disappointment for me.
First there is Ava who is desperate to have a child, but she barely sees her husband Henry and she has had too many miscarriages to count.
Then there is Sylvia, Ava's mother who is the stereotypical black mother, in everyone's business and determined to get the best for her child.
Up next is Jay Jay who used to live in the same small town. At the first opportunity he moved away from the small town, but now he is back and wants to win back Ava's affection.
Henry, is Ava's husband and he hasn't done right by her and when she finds out, all bets are off.
Don, is Sylvia's husband, but they haven't lived together since Ava was a little girl.
All of these people are living their lives in small town North Carolina. There really wasn't much of a climax or anything to look forward to in this book. It was a disappointment for me.
Madbatdan82 (341 KP) rated The Perfection (2019) in Movies
May 27, 2019
Chello there!
I love stumbling on little treats like this. Had heard nothing about, hadn't seen the trailer, read the blurb and thought why not - and I'm glad I did. Story starts with a former chello child prodigy who had given up chances of fame etc to take care of her sick mother. When her mother dies she returns to her old life and meets her schools new prodigy and the quickly form a friendship and decide to go on a trip together. What follows is a cracking story of love, betrayal, abuse, jealousy & revenge done really really well with some good gore and plenty of twists. The only down I had was the very last scene so it left me with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. Without giving too much away the scene itself is really good but I thought 'oh my God that's cool, that's even cooler - but wait - why wud they do that?'. But apart from that its amazingly good and totally worth a watch!