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Eleanor Luhar (47 KP) rated Butter in Books

Jun 24, 2019  
B
Butter
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I remember my friend talking about this book a while ago, but I didn't know anything about it. But then I saw it on Goodreads and decided to check it out of my library.

'Butter' is big. Like, 423 pounds big. He has no friends, unless you count Doc Bean or the Professor.

Despite spending many summers at FitFab - a summer camp for the slightly -ahem- larger population of kids - he just can't seem to shed the excess weight. In fact, all he ever seems to do is gain more.

Butter also has a crush. But he knows he doesn't have a shot with the gorgeously skinny Anna, so he talks to her anonymously via the internet. Under the handle "SaxMan" and with the alias of JP, Butter promises Anna that they'll get to meet each other on New Year's Eve. Little does she know, Butter has a more deadly plan ready for the last day of the year.

After launching ButtersLastMeal.com, Butter is swamped with new friends, asking what's on the menu for Butter's last night on earth. The popular kids are suddenly inviting him to parties every weekend, and even Anna is talking to him in real life.

But as the deadline draws closer, Butter can't decide whether to go through with his plan or not. Is he really ready to leave this life behind? Is he really willing to stay?

This novel is written in a very accurate teenage voice. As an incredibly obese teenager, Butter suffers in the social department. A lot of his problems are relatable to those of us who aren't quite society's idea of perfect. I can't say I know much about this, but I'm sure there are lost of people who could also relate to his weight and dieting issues.

Butter's real name isn't revealed until the last page, which I thought was a great touch. I didn't even notice at first; he was just Butter. But it makes a big point about how he decides to shed his old identity and move on, making a positive change to his lifestyle.

This could be a bit triggering to some people, with mentions of weight problems, dieting, eating disorders, and suicide. I did find it a bit hard to read at times because of these aspects, but none of it was talked about too much.

I raced through this, reading half of it just this morning. It's a really good read, and although it hasn't quite made its way into my favourites, I think Butter deserves 4.5 stars.

BookMarked
  
A Simple Favor (2018)
A Simple Favor (2018)
2018 | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Fair warning, if you see this film you will want Blake Lively to be your lover by the end of the it.

There's no denying that this is an entertaining film. There's also no denying that it's predictable. Even without knowing the plot you can basically guess the way it's going to progress.

Blake Lively is amazing though. I honestly thought I'd never seen her in anything, but of course she's been in Green Lantern and Accepted. The latter being a favourite and the former... well, I thought Deadpool had taken care of that one for us... oh well. She does a great job of her role in this one. You can see her devious nature in the way she interacts with everyone and she really does improve the scenes she's in.

I love Anna Kendrick, she's funny and very talented but I wasn't overly keen on her character in this. While I understand that Stephanie takes a major character shift when she realises what has happened, I didn't enjoy the way they did that on the screen. There were some baby steps followed by some huge leaps. At one point I was convinced that they'd gone... "Anna Kendrick always sings... we should get some of that in there." I don't feel like it added anything to the film at all. I'd be interested to see how her character unfolds in the book.

The humour in it is entertaining but the side story of the other "mums" and particularly their inclusion in the summing up of the story feels out of place and more comedy than was right for this film.

Rating this one is tricky. Apart from those odd bits I didn't hate the film and none of it was badly dont... but I don't think I enjoyed it either. I took the evening to think it over and honestly I'm still not sure so therefore it's sitting at the three and a half mark. There's an outside possibility that I'll watch it again to see if I can figure it out, but I don't think it'll be any time soon unless I'm really at a loose end.

Based on the book A Simple Favour by Darcey Bell.

What should you do?

I personally wouldn't recommend watching this until it's streaming. But plenty of other people would disagree with me on that.

Movie thing you wish you could take home

Emily and Sean's house. Although I'm baffled as to why the kitchen is so small so I'd probably expand into the living room space.
  
Nobody's Fool (2018)
Nobody's Fool (2018)
2018 | Comedy, Drama
Is this really a romcom? That's what I have to ask myself. It's amusing but beyond that I'm not a fan of whatever this movie seems to be.

Tiffany Haddish had grown on me after Night School a couple of months ago, I'm not convinced that this one is helping my opinion at all though. She's my favourite part of this film though along with Frank for the most part.

Danica's job plays a big part in the sub plot of this one and it reminds me a lot of How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days. Only in that it actually made sense and more than a little effort had been put into the execution.

Until about the halfway point I was enjoying the movie, but damn it if Danica wasn't a complete bitch. I wasn't exactly a fan at the beginning but it went swiftly downhill. She's got plenty of things that you should be able to identify with, but absolutely none that you want to. She's a surprisingly dislikeable character. It was honestly refreshing to have Frank tell her to f*** off. In most movies that situation is glossed over and given a narrative that is a bit more palatable.

A lot of us can identify with the perils of online dating, so for the briefest moment you can feel the pain she's going through. Charlie is a hideous culmination of experiences. I'm sure we all noticed something that made us a little queasy to see. There's definitely a good drinking game in there somewhere.

While my dislike of this film evened out for a while it was reinforced with that ending. It really made me hate Frank just a little bit, and want to actively boo the screen.

As a last note on the film I'd like to say that I love seeing Whoopi Goldberg again. She's in some of my favourite films and it was great having her back in such a funny role. Keep an eye out for her scene with Tanya at her house, best bit of the whole film.

What you should do

There are better romcoms out there to see. I'd suggest Think Like A Man or How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days instead.

Movie thing you wish you could take home

Despite my feelings for Danica she does have fantastic taste in sofas and I'd love one of those pink ones to curl up in.
  
Navy Seals vs. Zombies (2015)
Navy Seals vs. Zombies (2015)
2015 |
3
3.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Characters – LT Pete Cunningham is leading the Navy SEALS, he must put his trust in the newest member of the team in AJ, while trying to get the team through the hordes of zombies to prove once again that his team in the elite military team. Commander Sheer is running the operations from the military base, he doesn’t want to see his men take any unnecessary risks. VP Bentley is the man the team are sent to rescue, he is in the running for the next presidential race. AJ is he newest member of the SEALS team, he is about to become a father and this is his first mission as part of the team, where he must prove himself to the rest of the unit.

Performances – The performances in the film suffer because of the lack of interesting non-generic characters. none of the actors get a chance to show their skills as performers, with large parts of the film just being headless running around.

Story – The story here follows a Navy SEALS unit that must go into Baton Rouge to rescue the Vice president and the scientists behind the outbreak. This is everything a zombie story has given us before, we have a group of people running around a city trying to elude the zombies that outnumber them. We know the team will dwindle down as the film unfolds which is the normal. The starting point for the weaknesses comes from that fact this story is set in a world where zombie film don’t exist, which is clear by all the behaviour through the film. Most of the actual storytelling is saved for the closing of the film which fills in most of the blanks we don’t mention until then.

Action/Horror – The action in the film is just shooting zombies, it is nothing new and becomes overly repetitive after a while. The horror side of the film gives us zombies that run, they never feel like a threat to the anybody.

Settings – The film is set in Baton Rouge, which is considered a military area, I think, the truth is, it could have been any city without any major locations being shown.

Special Effects – The effects in the film are weak with even basic door explosion looking weak, the zombie look is acceptable for a low budget film.


Scene of the Movie – The explaining.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – The stupid decisions.

Final Thoughts – This is a basic zombie film that offers nothing new to the genre, it I filled with stupid decisions and generic action.

 

Overall: Basic zombie nonsense.
  
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