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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2346 KP) rated D is for Deadbeat (Kinsey Millhone, #4) in Books
Mar 9, 2018
On a fall Saturday, Alvin walks into Kinsey’s office and asks the PI to track down someone named Tony to give him a check. However, Tony turns out to be a teenager, the check Alvin gives Kinsey for his services bounces, and then Alvin is shot. What has Kinsey stumbled into this time?
The places this book leads from that set up were absolutely wonderful, and I loved seeing where the plot lead. I did feel things stalled out a little before we reached the climax, but the book ended on a great note. Likewise, the characters could have been a little sharper, but maybe that was more my aversion to the obnoxious Christian sect we meet in this book. Overall, still a fantastic read.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/05/book-review-d-is-for-deadbeat-by-sue.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
The places this book leads from that set up were absolutely wonderful, and I loved seeing where the plot lead. I did feel things stalled out a little before we reached the climax, but the book ended on a great note. Likewise, the characters could have been a little sharper, but maybe that was more my aversion to the obnoxious Christian sect we meet in this book. Overall, still a fantastic read.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/05/book-review-d-is-for-deadbeat-by-sue.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.

Andy K (10823 KP) created a poll
Nov 3, 2018

Andy K (10823 KP) rated Independence Day: Resurgence (2016) in Movies
Jul 5, 2019
The cheese won me over!
Ok fine it's not the greatest film ever and is not going to win any awards; however, I would put this up there with any popcorn film over the last few years for sure.
The bus scene is hilarious and the script is hokey at times, but if you don't take it too seriously I think it's just fine.
Others had mentioned the CGI being sub par, but it didn't bother me as annoying or stand out as being bad.
Unfortunately, the film did not do well at the US box office, so probably done for good unless rebooted by Disney now that thy own everything.
Maybe Deadpool or the X-Men will show up with Aliens and Planet of the Apes and there will be an all out world challenge! (Doubtful I suppose...)
The bus scene is hilarious and the script is hokey at times, but if you don't take it too seriously I think it's just fine.
Others had mentioned the CGI being sub par, but it didn't bother me as annoying or stand out as being bad.
Unfortunately, the film did not do well at the US box office, so probably done for good unless rebooted by Disney now that thy own everything.
Maybe Deadpool or the X-Men will show up with Aliens and Planet of the Apes and there will be an all out world challenge! (Doubtful I suppose...)

Lee (2222 KP) rated Your Name (2016) in Movies
Nov 24, 2019
Your Name probably spent about a year sitting on my Amazon Prime watchlist before I eventually decided to watch it. A movie with 370 reviews and an overall rating of 5 stars, constantly overlooked by me in favour of old episodes of The Office! And then, one cold and gloomy weekend afternoon, I decided to give it a go.
To be honest, it didn’t really do anything for me at first, it felt a bit messy and a little confusing and I very nearly gave up on it after about 20 minutes. And then it grabbed me - the beautiful animation, the incredible storytelling, the emotion and the drama all clicked and took hold and by the end of it all this movie had completely blown me away. I’m only sorry I didn’t give this a chance sooner and I cannot recommenced it enough. Incredible.
To be honest, it didn’t really do anything for me at first, it felt a bit messy and a little confusing and I very nearly gave up on it after about 20 minutes. And then it grabbed me - the beautiful animation, the incredible storytelling, the emotion and the drama all clicked and took hold and by the end of it all this movie had completely blown me away. I’m only sorry I didn’t give this a chance sooner and I cannot recommenced it enough. Incredible.

Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated Ace in the Hole (The Big Carnival) (1951) in Movies
Mar 3, 2020
It ran with the tagline “You’ll think about it… You’ll talk about it… You’ll Remember it”, and we have! Considered now as one of the most ahead of its time films ever made, thanks to the Oscar nominated writing of Billy Wilder, and his eye for how real human beings behave. A massive box office flop in 1951, it is now one of the highest rated films of Douglas’ career, still clinging on in the IMDb top 250 films of all time. As down on his luck journalist Chuck Tatum, Douglas growls his way through a performance about ambition, selfishness and media exploitation, as he attempts to rescue a man trapped in a rock fall, whilst seducing his wife and putting the life of the victim secondary to his own needs at every turn. “Not below the belt, but from the gut!” A classic in every sense.

Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated The Vikings (1958) in Movies
Mar 3, 2020 (Updated Mar 5, 2020)
In a productive period seeing him make four or five films a year, Douglas returned to work for Richard Fleischer in his pursuit for the great epic that would finally win him the Oscar. The Vikings was a star-studded spectacle that despite some memorable scenes between himself and Tony Curtis, falls a little flat as a satisfying film in entirety. A box office hit, but a critical flop, it has to be counted as somewhat of a failure, except for the fact it is one of the better known moments in his career, thanks largely to the powerful visual of Douglas with a dead eye and scar; proving you merely point a camera at him and get magic. My favourite trivia around this film is that Douglas offered a prize for best beard on the first day of shooting, only to turn up himself entirely clean shaven.
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