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Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated A United Kingdom (2017) in Movies
Oct 1, 2017
One of the greatest love stories in the past century
Rarely can you make a claim that a true relationship is the greatest love story in the past century until you hear about Seretse Khama and his wife Ruth.
As an African chieftain of Bechuanaland, now Botswana, Khama was studying law in the UK before meeting Ruth, a secretary and daughter to a British Army captain. Even after the Second World War interracial couples faced much prejudice, but none so much as a king of a British protectorate and an ordinary white woman.
Facing many trials and tribulations, even exile from his own country thanks to the British relationship with the then apartheid nation of South Africa, the couple attempt to endure endless hardships to be the rightful rulers of Botswana.
It's always magnificent when you hear these stories are based on real life events. The Notebook has nothing on this.
As an African chieftain of Bechuanaland, now Botswana, Khama was studying law in the UK before meeting Ruth, a secretary and daughter to a British Army captain. Even after the Second World War interracial couples faced much prejudice, but none so much as a king of a British protectorate and an ordinary white woman.
Facing many trials and tribulations, even exile from his own country thanks to the British relationship with the then apartheid nation of South Africa, the couple attempt to endure endless hardships to be the rightful rulers of Botswana.
It's always magnificent when you hear these stories are based on real life events. The Notebook has nothing on this.
Andy K (10823 KP) rated The Beguiled (2017) in Movies
Nov 19, 2017 (Updated Nov 19, 2017)
Colin Farrell (2 more)
Bad lighting for interior scenes
All emotion was drained
Really wanted to love it
Tonight I watch both versions back-to-back as the original Eastwood version is one of my favorite of his films. This new version removes any emotion form most of the characters and situations and leaves us nothing to replace it. I don't mind if the movie is told from the "female" point of view, whatever that means, but the screenplay for this story still has to be interesting, emotional and intense and this has none. The actors (except Colin Farrell who is awful in everything) do the best with the material they are given; however, this more "sterilized" version of the story doesn't hold a candle to the original. I generally think Sofia Coppola is overrated as a director and would never have gone anywhere in Hollywood without her last name.
Becbec (5 KP) rated Solar Bones in Books
Dec 13, 2017
The writing style (1 more)
Skillfully written
This is one of those books, a bit like Kent Haruf's books, in which not a lot happens. There is no full stop. I expected the full stop to be at the end but nope none there either. The author is very clever in how he manages to switch from one subject to the next without using a full stop. It is simply a man narrating his life. Not an original idea for a plot but well executed. There isn't really a big event until the end of the novel. You come to root for this man, ordinary and unremarkable as he is. Although i could see the ending coming i found it devastating. My only criticism was that it kept going after the 'big' ending but I suppose that's part of the writing style.
MissCagey (2652 KP) rated The A Word in TV
Dec 27, 2017
The chemistry of the cast (1 more)
Balanced view of autism
Fantastic
I haven't seen Series 1. In fact I didn't realise there had been a prior series, so I watched this in isolation and I was none the wiser! This stood as a series on it's own. Now, I have no personal experience of autism so I don't know whether the portrayal is accurate but I found it really interesting. At the beginning the parents seem to have a solid marriage and appear to be coping well with their son's autism but as the series progresses you find out that all is not as it seems and at least one of them is struggling. This series could have sugar coated the affect of autism on a family but it didn't and that is to it's credit.
All the characters are memorable and I loved how their lives intertwined.
All the characters are memorable and I loved how their lives intertwined.
Chris Hooker (419 KP) rated The Sham in Books
Jan 12, 2018
[Ellen Allen] in [The Sham] leaves you questioning throughout the story what is really going on. None of the characters in this book would be considered 'normal' but some are more malicious than others.
The story begins with Emily having a run in at the local park with some "mean girls", one who is her step Aunt Becky. The four girls have brought a young boy to the park and proceed to torture him. Em wants to stop them but is frozen. Out of nowhere comes Jack to stop the girls. Seems like a clear case of good vs. evil right? Not quite, Jack has his own secrets.
Soon the girls involved in the attack begin disappearing. They whole small town is in a panic. Who is to blame?
[Allen] does a fantastic job of creating a twisting story with an ending that you never see coming.
The story begins with Emily having a run in at the local park with some "mean girls", one who is her step Aunt Becky. The four girls have brought a young boy to the park and proceed to torture him. Em wants to stop them but is frozen. Out of nowhere comes Jack to stop the girls. Seems like a clear case of good vs. evil right? Not quite, Jack has his own secrets.
Soon the girls involved in the attack begin disappearing. They whole small town is in a panic. Who is to blame?
[Allen] does a fantastic job of creating a twisting story with an ending that you never see coming.
Vincent Jozajtis (1 KP) rated The King's Speech (2010) in Movies
Feb 11, 2019
7.5
The King's Speech is a movie about a man overcoming fear and self-doubt - physically manifested as a stutter - in order to fulfil a role he never chose or thought would be his. Based on the real-life struggle of King George VI, in focusing on his human frailty, the film tells a story anyone placed in such a pressing situation can relate to.
Editing: 1
Cinematography: 2
Performances: 1.8
Story: 1.7
Sound: 1
Total:7.5
Editing: The cut it needed. Unfussy and at the service of the story. Some techniques might have been used to enhance the king's feelings.
Cinematography: Textbook perfection. Every shot expertly framed to elicit emotion and feeling.
Performances: I think some of the best performances in recent cinema.
Story: An extraordinary episode from history and pitch-perfect story telling. I was engrossed.
Sound: No risks taken but none needed.
Editing: 1
Cinematography: 2
Performances: 1.8
Story: 1.7
Sound: 1
Total:7.5
Editing: The cut it needed. Unfussy and at the service of the story. Some techniques might have been used to enhance the king's feelings.
Cinematography: Textbook perfection. Every shot expertly framed to elicit emotion and feeling.
Performances: I think some of the best performances in recent cinema.
Story: An extraordinary episode from history and pitch-perfect story telling. I was engrossed.
Sound: No risks taken but none needed.
Sonofdel (6291 KP) rated Hangman (2017) in Movies
Feb 24, 2019
Not bad for the genre
Contains spoilers, click to show
I watched this as i am a fan of the genre and when i watch these sort of films i inadvertently end up comparing them to one of the best films of the genre, namely Seven. This is not a patch on that but it is worth watching. Al pacino as the retired cop is always the one to watch, but he is well supported by Karl Urban and Brittany Snow. The idea behind the film is a clever one and its done well though i can imagine a lot of people trying to figure out what the hangman word is and what it has to do with the film. None of this becomes apparent until the end five minutes and its a little convoluted. i would give this a watch if you like your serial killer films
A group of ghost hunters have returned to the island to search for the ghost of a Prohibition era rum runner. However, when their leader gets murdered, Bea must figure out which of her guests might be a killer in order to clear her friend Kate of the crime.
The story is fun, and the way it wove a mystery from the past into what was happening now was great. The characters are strong, as I expected from the first two books. The humor I’ve enjoyed was still there as well. Unfortunately, the book had some serious editing flaws, including multiple characters getting the location where the body was found wrong. None of these impacted the final outcome, but it did detract from my enjoyment.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2014/10/book-review-legend-of-sleepy-harlow-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
The story is fun, and the way it wove a mystery from the past into what was happening now was great. The characters are strong, as I expected from the first two books. The humor I’ve enjoyed was still there as well. Unfortunately, the book had some serious editing flaws, including multiple characters getting the location where the body was found wrong. None of these impacted the final outcome, but it did detract from my enjoyment.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2014/10/book-review-legend-of-sleepy-harlow-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Cynthia Armistead (17 KP) rated The Devil Inside (Morgan Kingsley #1) in Books
Mar 1, 2018
I finished this book and its sequel a week or so ago. They didn't make enough of an impression to compel me to write about them at the time. However, one issue has stuck with me, so I decided to go back and write about it briefly.
Jenna Black has absolutely NO understanding of BDSM, and she has done a disservice to those who do practice it. I am not an authority on the subject, but I have some exposure, and none of the activity she describes rings true. She doesn't even understand the equipment! That seriously damages her standing as a writer, as far as I'm concerned. There's more than enough information available to anyone who wants to do the research, and it wouldn't have been too difficult for her to find serious practitioners to critique the BDSM content had she cared to do so.
Jenna Black has absolutely NO understanding of BDSM, and she has done a disservice to those who do practice it. I am not an authority on the subject, but I have some exposure, and none of the activity she describes rings true. She doesn't even understand the equipment! That seriously damages her standing as a writer, as far as I'm concerned. There's more than enough information available to anyone who wants to do the research, and it wouldn't have been too difficult for her to find serious practitioners to critique the BDSM content had she cared to do so.