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Kirk Bage (1775 KP) rated The Battle of Algiers (1966) in Movies

Jan 28, 2021  
The Battle of Algiers (1966)
The Battle of Algiers (1966)
1966 | Classics, Drama, War
7
7.4 (8 Ratings)
Movie Rating
This film-maker was unknown to me entirely before I decided to watch this film. In fact, I had only heard of the film itself quite recently from seeing it mentioned as one of the best films in the genre as a commentary on political insurgency and civil unrest. It is so well regarded that even the US military used it to prepare troops for entering Iraq. The main actors are largely unknown and many of the supporting cast and extras are not actors at all. The camera is allowed to wander and wobble, and such is the feel of random chaos at times you’d be forgiven for thinking this was a documentary. Nominated for 3 Oscars, and faultless in achieving its goal of humanising both sides of an argument, you can see the influence on Oliver Stone and Paul Greengrass, to name but two better known directors with a political edge.

It’s not a film I would feel the need to go back to, unless demonstrating to someone how to make something staged feel entirely real. I admire this film very much, but wouldn’t exactly call it entertaining or even rewarding as a story. Its purpose is to reinforce the tragedy of a people facing oppression and to realise the lengths both sides will go to in protecting their ideals and relative freedoms. The excellent hand held photography and score by the always inspirational Ennio Moricone are other reasons to watch it. As a history lesson of North Africa post WWII it also has a lot to offer.
  
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Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Briar Rose in Books

Sep 6, 2019  
Briar Rose
Briar Rose
Jana Oliver | 2013
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received this book as a first reads copy via GoodReads and My Kinda Book.

I'll start by saying I love the cover of this book.

Then: I'm a big Jana Oliver fan, having loved her Demon Trappers series so when I saw the First Reads giveaway on Goodreads for this I just had to enter and luckily for me, I was picked as one of the winners.

I have to admit that I, too have always liked the idea of Princes and Princess' and fairy tale endings and this was a unique take on it, with the twisted fairy tale one that is almost of Briar Rose's own making.

I kinda wish I could say more but I don't want to ruin it for those who are going to read this...sorry ;D

Saying that, it was very unique to me, as I have never seen or heard of anything like this before, and I really enjoyed it. Maybe it was the authors style which I can easily fall into or maybe it was the idea of the story but I was captivated by it from early on.

I also really liked all the major characters though it took a while for Pat to grow on me. The rest; Briar, Joshua, Reena and Ruric were all pretty cool from the start.

If you're a fan of the author then you should give this a try, as well as those who like fantasy books as this is no ordinary fairy tale.