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A Daddy for Christmas: Ever
8.0
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Book
From an embarrassing Halloween costume to an unexpected very large early Christmas present, can two...
Contemporary MM Seasonal Romance Age Play
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2109 KP) rated A Fatal Groove in Books
Jul 27, 2023
Murder is Anything but Groovy
It’s the weekend of the Bluebonnet Festival in Cedar River, Texas, and Juni Jessup and her sisters are looking forward to fun while also selling coffee and introducing the bands on the main stage. Their first customer of the first day is Mayor Bob. When Juni goes to drop something off at his office a little later, she finds him dead. With their reputations once again on the line, the sisters try to figure out what is happening. Mayor Bob was popular because he didn’t make any waves, so who would want to kill him?
After an initial strong start, the book stalled a bit introducing some sub-plots before it really got started again. I did guess the killer a little early, but I needed Juni to fill in most of the rest. Once again, there are some odd uses of they/them pronouns, and Juni’s first-person narration comes across as judgmental a few times. Overall, I do like her and I love her relationship with her sisters. The love triangle is still in play, although it takes a back seat to the rest of the happenings. There are lots of smiles and some laughs along the way as well. If you enjoy music and are looking for a fun mystery, this is the series for you.
After an initial strong start, the book stalled a bit introducing some sub-plots before it really got started again. I did guess the killer a little early, but I needed Juni to fill in most of the rest. Once again, there are some odd uses of they/them pronouns, and Juni’s first-person narration comes across as judgmental a few times. Overall, I do like her and I love her relationship with her sisters. The love triangle is still in play, although it takes a back seat to the rest of the happenings. There are lots of smiles and some laughs along the way as well. If you enjoy music and are looking for a fun mystery, this is the series for you.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2109 KP) rated Bring the Night in Books
Sep 8, 2023 (Updated Sep 8, 2023)
Suicide? Or Murder?
Los Angeles in 1939 was experiencing a rash of suicides, but in the middle of them, PI Nate Ross is hired to prove one was murder when a brother and sister walk into his office wanting him to find the truth about their father’s death. The cops quickly ruled it another suicide, but they insist that it was murder. It isn’t long before Nate is finding more questions than answers and receiving threats. Can he figure out what is going on?
The suicide or murder question is a common trope of mysteries, and this book doesn’t spend long before Nate is certain it was murder. I had a couple of the twists figured out, but I didn’t grasp the full picture until the end. Even then, I had to think about the ending to make sure everything made sense; a little more exposition would have been nice. Nate is fun to be around as always, and the rest of the cast is interesting as well. As a PI novel, there’s a little more language and violence than in the typical novels I read, but it was still minimal. The use of slang from the time is a bit over the top, but it does help bring the period to life. Fans of the genre will be glad they picked up this book.
The suicide or murder question is a common trope of mysteries, and this book doesn’t spend long before Nate is certain it was murder. I had a couple of the twists figured out, but I didn’t grasp the full picture until the end. Even then, I had to think about the ending to make sure everything made sense; a little more exposition would have been nice. Nate is fun to be around as always, and the rest of the cast is interesting as well. As a PI novel, there’s a little more language and violence than in the typical novels I read, but it was still minimal. The use of slang from the time is a bit over the top, but it does help bring the period to life. Fans of the genre will be glad they picked up this book.
Blindspot
Book
An ambitious district attorney. An enemy she can’t see. A daughter at risk. From the author of...
Domestic Murder Psychological Thriller
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Hitman: Agent 47 (2015) in Movies
Jun 11, 2019
Clinical and incomprehensible
The transition from video game to movie is notoriously difficult to get right. From box-office disasters like Super Mario Bros. to the poorly received Resident Evil franchise, it appears no film is spared from either financial woe or critically panning.
Hitman has become one of the most popular game series’ ever but the 2007 film of the same name failed to kick-start the franchise’s transition to the silver screen. Now, eight years later, Rupert Friend stars as the red tie-wearing assassin in Hitman: Agent 47, but does it succeed as a reboot?
Friend stars as the titular character, an emotionless killer hell-bent on tracking down the creator of the ‘Agent Program’ from which he was created. Alongside him for the ride is Hannah Ware’s Katia Van Dees, a young fearful woman searching for a man she does not know.
The usually excellent Zachary Quinto (Star Trek) also stars as a clichéd villain in a thankless role blighted by stilted dialogue and cardboard emotions. This most certainly isn’t his finest work.
The story is incredibly simple, barely fitting into the film’s slender 96 minute running time and the clinical filming style of director Aleksander Bach really doesn’t help. Beautiful locations like Berlin and Singapore are wasted in favour of sleek office sets, populated by one-dimensional characters that we couldn’t care less about.
Nevertheless, Friend plays the emotionless Agent 47 with ease and is one of the highlights in a film lacking in any real punch – it’s all been done before, and better.
Ware is disappointingly wooden, though her veneer seems to crack towards the finale and we get to see the character she could have played. It’s a shame that for the majority of Hitman’s running time we see no real prowess in her performance.
The action sequences are slick and nicely choreographed but Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation did them only last month and in a more detailed and ultimately successful style.
However, clever gun-work is mixed nicely with the film’s 15 certificate and each barrel discharge feels much more real. It’s certainly more interesting than the two sequels to Taken and many other action thrillers that sport the 12A rating.
The climax leaves things wide open for a sequel, but the ending is incomprehensible to anyone who hasn’t played the games and leaves a bad taste in the mouth – probably not a great thing when trying to get audiences excited for a follow up.
Overall, Hitman: Agent 47 is much like its titular character. A slick outer shell hides not a lot underneath with a cast of wasted talent and a been-there-done-that attitude to the stunts. There’s some great sequences, but you’ll have to dig deep to find any real merit here.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2015/08/30/clinical-and-incomprehensible-hitman-agent-47-review/
Hitman has become one of the most popular game series’ ever but the 2007 film of the same name failed to kick-start the franchise’s transition to the silver screen. Now, eight years later, Rupert Friend stars as the red tie-wearing assassin in Hitman: Agent 47, but does it succeed as a reboot?
Friend stars as the titular character, an emotionless killer hell-bent on tracking down the creator of the ‘Agent Program’ from which he was created. Alongside him for the ride is Hannah Ware’s Katia Van Dees, a young fearful woman searching for a man she does not know.
The usually excellent Zachary Quinto (Star Trek) also stars as a clichéd villain in a thankless role blighted by stilted dialogue and cardboard emotions. This most certainly isn’t his finest work.
The story is incredibly simple, barely fitting into the film’s slender 96 minute running time and the clinical filming style of director Aleksander Bach really doesn’t help. Beautiful locations like Berlin and Singapore are wasted in favour of sleek office sets, populated by one-dimensional characters that we couldn’t care less about.
Nevertheless, Friend plays the emotionless Agent 47 with ease and is one of the highlights in a film lacking in any real punch – it’s all been done before, and better.
Ware is disappointingly wooden, though her veneer seems to crack towards the finale and we get to see the character she could have played. It’s a shame that for the majority of Hitman’s running time we see no real prowess in her performance.
The action sequences are slick and nicely choreographed but Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation did them only last month and in a more detailed and ultimately successful style.
However, clever gun-work is mixed nicely with the film’s 15 certificate and each barrel discharge feels much more real. It’s certainly more interesting than the two sequels to Taken and many other action thrillers that sport the 12A rating.
The climax leaves things wide open for a sequel, but the ending is incomprehensible to anyone who hasn’t played the games and leaves a bad taste in the mouth – probably not a great thing when trying to get audiences excited for a follow up.
Overall, Hitman: Agent 47 is much like its titular character. A slick outer shell hides not a lot underneath with a cast of wasted talent and a been-there-done-that attitude to the stunts. There’s some great sequences, but you’ll have to dig deep to find any real merit here.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2015/08/30/clinical-and-incomprehensible-hitman-agent-47-review/
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Wishful Thinking in Books
Feb 13, 2018
Jennifer is a busy single mom, struggling to keep up at work while still spending enough time with her two young boys. One day her lost smartphone shows up on her doorstep and Jennifer discovers a new app has been installed. This app, she soon comes to realize, allows her to time travel -- to basically be in two places at the same time. Suddenly Jennifer is able to keep the long hours her boss is demanding, while still picking her boys up from school and getting in quality time Mom/kid time. She is the superwoman she's always dreamed of being. But is it too good to be true?
I'll confess that a good portion of this book made me cringe. Not because it's bad. In fact, it's the opposite. It's a smartly written, captivating novel with a harried heroine who captures your heart pretty quickly. For me, the book was stressful because it hit home! A busy working mother who has demands at the office, but who also wants to spend time with her kids? That certainly describes a lot of us. Much like when I'm watching an action or horror movie for a first time, I felt myself tensing, anxiously wondering what was going to happen to Jennifer. Was she going to get caught using the app? Was the Jennifer at the office going to somehow show up with her kids? Would her co-workers find out? Her kids? Would the app make her sick? This couldn't go on forever, right?
And that's basically the premise behind Wicoff's clever novel. Of course, being in two (and over time, as Jennifer becomes dependent on the app, three places) places isn't all it's cracked up to be. Jennifer is tired, experiencing some strange sensations, potentially losing friendships, and wait, is she aging rapidly when she's living two days in the span of what should only be one?
Wicoff does a great job of showing the pressures many working parents feel. It's true - sometimes you do feel like you have to be a superwoman! Her book is also populated with fun characters -- in particular, Dr. Sexton, Jennifer's kooky neighbor, who also happens to be a genius scientist and inventor of said app.
If it all sounds a little improbable, it is, and you'll have to be prepared to suspend disbelief a bit, but Wicoff does such a great job, that it isn't really that hard. The book veers off a bit in its final quarter, turning more from the harried working mom scene, to a bit of an almost mystery/avenger plot, which is also completely improbable, and a very strange twist, but it's fun, too. You can't help but rooting for Jennifer (and Dr. Sexton, too). Overall, a crazy 3.5 star rating.
(Note, I received an advanced copy of this book in return for an unbiased review.)
I'll confess that a good portion of this book made me cringe. Not because it's bad. In fact, it's the opposite. It's a smartly written, captivating novel with a harried heroine who captures your heart pretty quickly. For me, the book was stressful because it hit home! A busy working mother who has demands at the office, but who also wants to spend time with her kids? That certainly describes a lot of us. Much like when I'm watching an action or horror movie for a first time, I felt myself tensing, anxiously wondering what was going to happen to Jennifer. Was she going to get caught using the app? Was the Jennifer at the office going to somehow show up with her kids? Would her co-workers find out? Her kids? Would the app make her sick? This couldn't go on forever, right?
And that's basically the premise behind Wicoff's clever novel. Of course, being in two (and over time, as Jennifer becomes dependent on the app, three places) places isn't all it's cracked up to be. Jennifer is tired, experiencing some strange sensations, potentially losing friendships, and wait, is she aging rapidly when she's living two days in the span of what should only be one?
Wicoff does a great job of showing the pressures many working parents feel. It's true - sometimes you do feel like you have to be a superwoman! Her book is also populated with fun characters -- in particular, Dr. Sexton, Jennifer's kooky neighbor, who also happens to be a genius scientist and inventor of said app.
If it all sounds a little improbable, it is, and you'll have to be prepared to suspend disbelief a bit, but Wicoff does such a great job, that it isn't really that hard. The book veers off a bit in its final quarter, turning more from the harried working mom scene, to a bit of an almost mystery/avenger plot, which is also completely improbable, and a very strange twist, but it's fun, too. You can't help but rooting for Jennifer (and Dr. Sexton, too). Overall, a crazy 3.5 star rating.
(Note, I received an advanced copy of this book in return for an unbiased review.)
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