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Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated The Heartbeat Thief in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<b><i>I received this book for free from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
Strangely enough, I enjoyed <i>The Heartbeat Thief</i>. Senza is the most perfect character I've ever met she's flawless, admired, wealthy, loved, intelligent. She knows it, but she doesn't want to flaunt it, which is what I really liked about Senza as a character. She hates going to parties and balls, and she dreads getting married off to a man that she doesn't want. I think I have a thing for characters who have an inner rebel in them.
Senza seems to have a perfect life until her grandmother dies. After that, she seems lost and obviously wants to carve her own path in life instead of letting her mother take the reins from her. Her discovery of eternal life is almost like a deal with a devil. She has to sacrifice her life to become immortal and keep her looks forever, but she has to carefully steal the heartbeats of another if she wants to keep her immortality. If she's not careful, those around her would be able to find out about her and accuse of witchcraft or something equally sinister.
<blockquote>Your spell must be fed, one heartbeat at a time. You must learn to steal them from the living. One here, one there. A person will not notice a skipped beat, and they must never know it is you who is making them skip. And you must do it, or the spell will fade and die.</blockquote>
Krafton's latest novel is a book I'm just interested in how the story will play out. Senza doesn't really come across as a selfish person in general until she decides to play with the strings of fate. As time goes by, she has to disguise herself from those around her so they don't find out what she did. Senza goes from place to place and she meets all kinds of people from all walks of life throughout the book. There's not exactly a clear plot going on here, and I almost expected a tragic ending where karma decided to finally bite back at Senza.
<i>The Heartbeat Thief</i> is a book with a unique storyline where one eventually realizes just what kind of price is really paid when death is defied. It's nicely done for a book where there's a character who doesn't have any flaws whatsoever.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-the-heartbeat-thief-by-aj-krafton/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Strangely enough, I enjoyed <i>The Heartbeat Thief</i>. Senza is the most perfect character I've ever met she's flawless, admired, wealthy, loved, intelligent. She knows it, but she doesn't want to flaunt it, which is what I really liked about Senza as a character. She hates going to parties and balls, and she dreads getting married off to a man that she doesn't want. I think I have a thing for characters who have an inner rebel in them.
Senza seems to have a perfect life until her grandmother dies. After that, she seems lost and obviously wants to carve her own path in life instead of letting her mother take the reins from her. Her discovery of eternal life is almost like a deal with a devil. She has to sacrifice her life to become immortal and keep her looks forever, but she has to carefully steal the heartbeats of another if she wants to keep her immortality. If she's not careful, those around her would be able to find out about her and accuse of witchcraft or something equally sinister.
<blockquote>Your spell must be fed, one heartbeat at a time. You must learn to steal them from the living. One here, one there. A person will not notice a skipped beat, and they must never know it is you who is making them skip. And you must do it, or the spell will fade and die.</blockquote>
Krafton's latest novel is a book I'm just interested in how the story will play out. Senza doesn't really come across as a selfish person in general until she decides to play with the strings of fate. As time goes by, she has to disguise herself from those around her so they don't find out what she did. Senza goes from place to place and she meets all kinds of people from all walks of life throughout the book. There's not exactly a clear plot going on here, and I almost expected a tragic ending where karma decided to finally bite back at Senza.
<i>The Heartbeat Thief</i> is a book with a unique storyline where one eventually realizes just what kind of price is really paid when death is defied. It's nicely done for a book where there's a character who doesn't have any flaws whatsoever.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-the-heartbeat-thief-by-aj-krafton/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
JT (287 KP) rated Let Me In (2010) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
t’s a hard thing remaking or rebooting a classic, whatever you want to call it, you have to make sure of one thing…don’t balls it up! Thankfully director Matt Reeves doesn’t do that, in fact he takes a brilliant original and puts his own spin on it.
The story of course is very much the same, Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a shy and slightly reclusive young boy who is struggling to come to terms with his parents impending divorce. On top of that he is viciously bullied at school and has no one to turn to but the imaginations of his own doing and personality.
When he befriends Abby (Chloë Grace Moretz) who is equally as shy as him a friendship blossoms between them against the backdrop of a cold and at times sinister winter. Abby is not quite what she seems deep down, that much is clear from the outset as her father (Richard Jenkins) goes out on nightly rampages to forage for the one thing that will keep her alive, blood.
Reeves does well to take the story in some new subtle directions such as the revelation that her so called father might well have started out as a mere boy himself and is purely by Abby’s side through need rather than wanting.
It doesn’t overshadow what is a true story of friendship and standing up in the face of adversity
There are some scenes however that stay true to Let the Right One In which of course would be lost if not included, but also the addition of new ones that are very much welcomed.
The acting is exceptional from the young leading man and woman. Smit-McPhee whose run out in the apocalyptic journey The Road only showcased his acting stature, and Moretz proves that she has a great future, if not already, having made her mark.
Reeves keeps this film focused on the young pairing with Owen’s mother being reduced to a mere blur even when she stands only a few feet away, his Dad just a voice on the end of the phone. Unlike the original Let Me In is very much a horror flick for the blood thirsty millennial generation, and the gore is well used and timed to perfection. It doesn’t overshadow what is a true story of friendship and standing up in the face of adversity.
There is no reason to compare this film with the original, despite the story and protagonists all being the same Reeves conducts his approach with originality that makes this equally brilliant.
We should all applaud Reeves for doing something that is incredibly hard in a fast changing industry that craves money from remaking or rebooting films to satisfy a new generation of film goers. He’s made a remake that was actually good!
The story of course is very much the same, Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a shy and slightly reclusive young boy who is struggling to come to terms with his parents impending divorce. On top of that he is viciously bullied at school and has no one to turn to but the imaginations of his own doing and personality.
When he befriends Abby (Chloë Grace Moretz) who is equally as shy as him a friendship blossoms between them against the backdrop of a cold and at times sinister winter. Abby is not quite what she seems deep down, that much is clear from the outset as her father (Richard Jenkins) goes out on nightly rampages to forage for the one thing that will keep her alive, blood.
Reeves does well to take the story in some new subtle directions such as the revelation that her so called father might well have started out as a mere boy himself and is purely by Abby’s side through need rather than wanting.
It doesn’t overshadow what is a true story of friendship and standing up in the face of adversity
There are some scenes however that stay true to Let the Right One In which of course would be lost if not included, but also the addition of new ones that are very much welcomed.
The acting is exceptional from the young leading man and woman. Smit-McPhee whose run out in the apocalyptic journey The Road only showcased his acting stature, and Moretz proves that she has a great future, if not already, having made her mark.
Reeves keeps this film focused on the young pairing with Owen’s mother being reduced to a mere blur even when she stands only a few feet away, his Dad just a voice on the end of the phone. Unlike the original Let Me In is very much a horror flick for the blood thirsty millennial generation, and the gore is well used and timed to perfection. It doesn’t overshadow what is a true story of friendship and standing up in the face of adversity.
There is no reason to compare this film with the original, despite the story and protagonists all being the same Reeves conducts his approach with originality that makes this equally brilliant.
We should all applaud Reeves for doing something that is incredibly hard in a fast changing industry that craves money from remaking or rebooting films to satisfy a new generation of film goers. He’s made a remake that was actually good!
All the King's Men: The Beginning (All The King's Men #6)
8.0
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NOTE: This book is a prequel. Reading the first five books of the series will greatly enhance your...
Paranormal Romance Vampires
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children in Books
Aug 3, 2018
It doesn’t hurt me to say that I have watched the movie before I read the book. What hurts me to say is that even though I loved the book, I enjoyed the movie way more. But I am not here to compare the book and the movie, because I loved them both in a different way.
‘’I had just come to accept that my life would be ordinary when extraordinary things began to happen.’’
Jacob was raised by his grandfather, who told him stories about the amazing house he used to live in, and all the children that lived with him, that had amazing abilities and were different than ordinary people. Grandpa Portman would even show Jacob pictures of the children and their peculiarities - he would tell him stories about the invisible boy, the girl that could float if she didn’t have iron boots, the girl that could breath out fire and the children that could easily lift the heaviest rocks. He would also talk about the danger and the big monsters that the children were so scared of.
And Jacob believed and loved these stories - he shared an amazing bond with his grandpa. Until, of course, he grew up. Suddenly, he was old enough to know this isn’t true, and stopped believing. His grandpa would try to convince him, and warn him that the monsters are coming, but the only conclusion he had is that his grandpa lost his marbles.
But then his grandpa dies, and Jacob sees the monsters himself. Despite everyone believing that he is crazy, just like his grandpa, Jacob now has no choice but to find these strange children - and get answers to all his questions.
The book moves quite slow, and it is not until half of the book that we actually get to meet the children. As a person that watched the movie, this was extremely frustrating, as I kept waiting and waiting, and nothing special happened for 90 pages.
The author puts photographs in the book, and they are perfectly put in the book to explain how a character looks, and to describe the scene better. This was the strawberry to my cake in this book. I immensely enjoyed the beautiful photographs and how perfectly well they fitted with the book and detailed the characters. The only character that I couldn’t imagine was Miss Peregrine - her picture is not at all what I expected. At first, I thought about sharing some of those pictures here - but then, I assumed you might enjoy them more if you explore them yourself while reading the book, as they come - as I could never be able to do that as well as Ransom Riggs did.
For the ones you watched the movie first - the movie is not at all the same as the book. So lower your expectations, otherwise you will be disappointed. The movie seemed to have put three books into one, and swapped people’s abilities, and made up some scenes and places.
The book, however, had parts that you wouldn’t see in the movie, and its own magic of detailed descriptions to your favorite stories and characters.
I hated Jacob. Not just at the beginning, but all the way through. Mister ‘’I-am-too-good-for-everything’’ , Mister ‘’My-family-is-so-rich-I-will-try-my-best-to-get-fired-from-work-because-my-uncle-owns-the-shop’’. No - Just no. As much as I enjoyed his story, his character is very egocentric and unlikeable. I actually liked Grandpa Abe so much more, even though he was only partially and ghostly present in the book.
Miss Peregrine didn’t reveal much of her character as she does in the movie. We don’t get to read a lot about her to be honest, and she was the one person I expected to see more of.
We get to hang around with the children a lot though, and meet Emma, the girl that has fire powers, and that used to be Grandpa Abe’s lover and now Jacob - which is more than weird, but oh well…
‘’She moved to pinch me again but I blocked her hand. I’m no expert on girls, but when one tries to pinch you four times, I’m pretty sure that’s flirting.’’
We get to meet Millard, the invisible boy, Olive, the girl that can float without her iron boots, Fiona, who can make plants and trees grow in seconds and many other lovely children with even lovelier abilities.
This is an amazing story about extraordinary people, children who will amuse you with how cute they can be, a bit of (well, a lot of) time travel and a great valuable lesson that everyone in this world is peculiar and extraordinary in their own way! A must-read to all of you that love some fantasy stories and different worlds.
‘’I had just come to accept that my life would be ordinary when extraordinary things began to happen.’’
Jacob was raised by his grandfather, who told him stories about the amazing house he used to live in, and all the children that lived with him, that had amazing abilities and were different than ordinary people. Grandpa Portman would even show Jacob pictures of the children and their peculiarities - he would tell him stories about the invisible boy, the girl that could float if she didn’t have iron boots, the girl that could breath out fire and the children that could easily lift the heaviest rocks. He would also talk about the danger and the big monsters that the children were so scared of.
And Jacob believed and loved these stories - he shared an amazing bond with his grandpa. Until, of course, he grew up. Suddenly, he was old enough to know this isn’t true, and stopped believing. His grandpa would try to convince him, and warn him that the monsters are coming, but the only conclusion he had is that his grandpa lost his marbles.
But then his grandpa dies, and Jacob sees the monsters himself. Despite everyone believing that he is crazy, just like his grandpa, Jacob now has no choice but to find these strange children - and get answers to all his questions.
The book moves quite slow, and it is not until half of the book that we actually get to meet the children. As a person that watched the movie, this was extremely frustrating, as I kept waiting and waiting, and nothing special happened for 90 pages.
The author puts photographs in the book, and they are perfectly put in the book to explain how a character looks, and to describe the scene better. This was the strawberry to my cake in this book. I immensely enjoyed the beautiful photographs and how perfectly well they fitted with the book and detailed the characters. The only character that I couldn’t imagine was Miss Peregrine - her picture is not at all what I expected. At first, I thought about sharing some of those pictures here - but then, I assumed you might enjoy them more if you explore them yourself while reading the book, as they come - as I could never be able to do that as well as Ransom Riggs did.
For the ones you watched the movie first - the movie is not at all the same as the book. So lower your expectations, otherwise you will be disappointed. The movie seemed to have put three books into one, and swapped people’s abilities, and made up some scenes and places.
The book, however, had parts that you wouldn’t see in the movie, and its own magic of detailed descriptions to your favorite stories and characters.
I hated Jacob. Not just at the beginning, but all the way through. Mister ‘’I-am-too-good-for-everything’’ , Mister ‘’My-family-is-so-rich-I-will-try-my-best-to-get-fired-from-work-because-my-uncle-owns-the-shop’’. No - Just no. As much as I enjoyed his story, his character is very egocentric and unlikeable. I actually liked Grandpa Abe so much more, even though he was only partially and ghostly present in the book.
Miss Peregrine didn’t reveal much of her character as she does in the movie. We don’t get to read a lot about her to be honest, and she was the one person I expected to see more of.
We get to hang around with the children a lot though, and meet Emma, the girl that has fire powers, and that used to be Grandpa Abe’s lover and now Jacob - which is more than weird, but oh well…
‘’She moved to pinch me again but I blocked her hand. I’m no expert on girls, but when one tries to pinch you four times, I’m pretty sure that’s flirting.’’
We get to meet Millard, the invisible boy, Olive, the girl that can float without her iron boots, Fiona, who can make plants and trees grow in seconds and many other lovely children with even lovelier abilities.
This is an amazing story about extraordinary people, children who will amuse you with how cute they can be, a bit of (well, a lot of) time travel and a great valuable lesson that everyone in this world is peculiar and extraordinary in their own way! A must-read to all of you that love some fantasy stories and different worlds.
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children in Books
Oct 26, 2018
It doesn’t hurt me to say that I have watched the movie before I read the book. What hurts me to say is that even though I loved the book, I enjoyed the movie way more. But I am not here to compare the book and the movie, because I loved them both in a different way.
‘’I had just come to accept that my life would be ordinary when extraordinary things began to happen.’’
Jacob was raised by his grandfather, who told him stories about the amazing house he used to live in, and all the children that lived with him, that had amazing abilities and were different than ordinary people. Grandpa Portman would even show Jacob pictures of the children and their peculiarities - he would tell him stories about the invisible boy, the girl that could float if she didn’t have iron boots, the girl that could breath out fire and the children that could easily lift the heaviest rocks. He would also talk about the danger and the big monsters that the children were so scared of.
And Jacob believed and loved these stories - he shared an amazing bond with his grandpa. Until, of course, he grew up. Suddenly, he was old enough to know this isn’t true, and stopped believing. His grandpa would try to convince him, and warn him that the monsters are coming, but the only conclusion he had is that his grandpa lost his marbles.
But then his grandpa dies, and Jacob sees the monsters himself. Despite everyone believing that he is crazy, just like his grandpa, Jacob now has no choice but to find these strange children - and get answers to all his questions.
The book moves quite slow, and it is not until half of the book that we actually get to meet the children. As a person that watched the movie, this was extremely frustrating, as I kept waiting and waiting, and nothing special happened for 90 pages.
The author puts photographs in the book, and they are perfectly put in the book to explain how a character looks, and to describe the scene better. This was the strawberry to my cake in this book. I immensely enjoyed the beautiful photographs and how perfectly well they fitted with the book and detailed the characters. The only character that I couldn’t imagine was Miss Peregrine - her picture is not at all what I expected. At first, I thought about sharing some of those pictures here - but then, I assumed you might enjoy them more if you explore them yourself while reading the book, as they come - as I could never be able to do that as well as Ransom Riggs did.
For the ones you watched the movie first - the movie is not at all the same as the book. So lower your expectations, otherwise you will be disappointed. The movie seemed to have put three books into one, and swapped people’s abilities, and made up some scenes and places.
The book, however, had parts that you wouldn’t see in the movie, and its own magic of detailed descriptions to your favorite stories and characters.
I hated Jacob. Not just at the beginning, but all the way through. Mister ‘’I-am-too-good-for-everything’’ , Mister ‘’My-family-is-so-rich-I-will-try-my-best-to-get-fired-from-work-because-my-uncle-owns-the-shop’’. No - Just no. As much as I enjoyed his story, his character is very egocentric and unlikeable. I actually liked Grandpa Abe so much more, even though he was only partially and ghostly present in the book.
Miss Peregrine didn’t reveal much of her character as she does in the movie. We don’t get to read a lot about her to be honest, and she was the one person I expected to see more of.
We get to hang around with the children a lot though, and meet Emma, the girl that has fire powers, and that used to be Grandpa Abe’s lover and now Jacob - which is more than weird, but oh well…
‘’She moved to pinch me again but I blocked her hand. I’m no expert on girls, but when one tries to pinch you four times, I’m pretty sure that’s flirting.’’
We get to meet Millard, the invisible boy, Olive, the girl that can float without her iron boots, Fiona, who can make plants and trees grow in seconds and many other lovely children with even lovelier abilities.
This is an amazing story about extraordinary people, children who will amuse you with how cute they can be, a bit of (well, a lot of) time travel and a great valuable lesson that everyone in this world is peculiar and extraordinary in their own way! A must-read to all of you that love some fantasy stories and different worlds.
‘’I had just come to accept that my life would be ordinary when extraordinary things began to happen.’’
Jacob was raised by his grandfather, who told him stories about the amazing house he used to live in, and all the children that lived with him, that had amazing abilities and were different than ordinary people. Grandpa Portman would even show Jacob pictures of the children and their peculiarities - he would tell him stories about the invisible boy, the girl that could float if she didn’t have iron boots, the girl that could breath out fire and the children that could easily lift the heaviest rocks. He would also talk about the danger and the big monsters that the children were so scared of.
And Jacob believed and loved these stories - he shared an amazing bond with his grandpa. Until, of course, he grew up. Suddenly, he was old enough to know this isn’t true, and stopped believing. His grandpa would try to convince him, and warn him that the monsters are coming, but the only conclusion he had is that his grandpa lost his marbles.
But then his grandpa dies, and Jacob sees the monsters himself. Despite everyone believing that he is crazy, just like his grandpa, Jacob now has no choice but to find these strange children - and get answers to all his questions.
The book moves quite slow, and it is not until half of the book that we actually get to meet the children. As a person that watched the movie, this was extremely frustrating, as I kept waiting and waiting, and nothing special happened for 90 pages.
The author puts photographs in the book, and they are perfectly put in the book to explain how a character looks, and to describe the scene better. This was the strawberry to my cake in this book. I immensely enjoyed the beautiful photographs and how perfectly well they fitted with the book and detailed the characters. The only character that I couldn’t imagine was Miss Peregrine - her picture is not at all what I expected. At first, I thought about sharing some of those pictures here - but then, I assumed you might enjoy them more if you explore them yourself while reading the book, as they come - as I could never be able to do that as well as Ransom Riggs did.
For the ones you watched the movie first - the movie is not at all the same as the book. So lower your expectations, otherwise you will be disappointed. The movie seemed to have put three books into one, and swapped people’s abilities, and made up some scenes and places.
The book, however, had parts that you wouldn’t see in the movie, and its own magic of detailed descriptions to your favorite stories and characters.
I hated Jacob. Not just at the beginning, but all the way through. Mister ‘’I-am-too-good-for-everything’’ , Mister ‘’My-family-is-so-rich-I-will-try-my-best-to-get-fired-from-work-because-my-uncle-owns-the-shop’’. No - Just no. As much as I enjoyed his story, his character is very egocentric and unlikeable. I actually liked Grandpa Abe so much more, even though he was only partially and ghostly present in the book.
Miss Peregrine didn’t reveal much of her character as she does in the movie. We don’t get to read a lot about her to be honest, and she was the one person I expected to see more of.
We get to hang around with the children a lot though, and meet Emma, the girl that has fire powers, and that used to be Grandpa Abe’s lover and now Jacob - which is more than weird, but oh well…
‘’She moved to pinch me again but I blocked her hand. I’m no expert on girls, but when one tries to pinch you four times, I’m pretty sure that’s flirting.’’
We get to meet Millard, the invisible boy, Olive, the girl that can float without her iron boots, Fiona, who can make plants and trees grow in seconds and many other lovely children with even lovelier abilities.
This is an amazing story about extraordinary people, children who will amuse you with how cute they can be, a bit of (well, a lot of) time travel and a great valuable lesson that everyone in this world is peculiar and extraordinary in their own way! A must-read to all of you that love some fantasy stories and different worlds.
Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Green Book (2018) in Movies
Dec 23, 2018
Phenomenal
Sometimes a solid film can catch you off guard. Blockbusters, Marvel films, anything Disney, those are the ones you expect to succeed and most times they do. However, sometimes films come along that aren’t highly publicized that gives you a glimpse of its potential in a trailer you never even would have seen had you not gone to see a certain movie. Enter Green Book, the story of famous black pianist Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and his decision to embark on a tour in the deep south accompanied by his driver and protector, an American-Italian man named Tony Lip (Viggo Mortensen).
Acting: 10
You can tell someone is killing at their job as an actor in a movie when you don’t even recognize them. Viggo Mortensen is out of this world amazing in his performance as Tony. He’s tough as nails, but you can see his softer side coming forth as the movie progresses. He and Mahershala Ali have a phenomenal chemistry that carries the story and entertains you from start to finish. They make you feel as if they’re actually becoming the best of friends as their worlds collide. I loved the intensity of some of their scenes and how they could turn on a dime and bring you a little laughter. Also, not-so-small shout out to Linda Cardellini who plays Lip’s wife Dolores as her performance was extremely solid as well.
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
Tony Lip is easily one of my favorite characters in any 2018 movie this year. He is the typical gruff male and the stereotypical American-Italian type, but it’s eye-opening and fun to watch a character like that in a setting that’s not a mafia movie. His progression is what makes him great, or adds to his greatness rather. I couldn’t imagine coming across a guy like Tony Lip and not liking him after five minutes of meeting him.
I don’t want to downplay Don Shirley’s character, although Lip does steal the show. Shirley is one we can learn from, a guy that fights through adversity and is determined to win at all costs. He is a lost soul that drowns himself in the highs and lows of alcohol and music. You pity him and you cheer for him at the same time.
Cinematography/Visuals: 9
I am always impressed with period pieces and how they are able to capture regions so well. There is such a great depiction here of the northeast vs. the deep south that transports you easily from one region to the next. One minute you’re on a bustling street in the middle of New York and the next you’re on country road surrounded by trees being taken to a backwoods gas station. Just thinking about it even now made me add another point on. I also loved the stark contrast between the beautiful venues where Shirley would play and the grimy hotels he had to stay in because of the color of his skin. It was a major eye-opener and a punch to the gut when you see it on screen.
Conflict: 10
Genre: 8
Memorability: 10
Great choice on the title as it alone helps the film to stand out. You will understand when you see it, trust me. Overall Green Book is a beautiful tale that ultimately breaks stereotypes and spin things in a different light we don’t quite expect. I loved how there were a number of scenes that were not only funny, but touching at the same time.
Pace: 10
Plot: 10
Resolution: 10
Slightly cheesy, slightly unrealistic. I don’t care. To me, it was a fitting ending to an overall solid story. It’s got my seal of approval.
Overall: 97
I love when unexpected gems hit me in the face like Green Book. Go see this film. You will not be disappointed.
Acting: 10
You can tell someone is killing at their job as an actor in a movie when you don’t even recognize them. Viggo Mortensen is out of this world amazing in his performance as Tony. He’s tough as nails, but you can see his softer side coming forth as the movie progresses. He and Mahershala Ali have a phenomenal chemistry that carries the story and entertains you from start to finish. They make you feel as if they’re actually becoming the best of friends as their worlds collide. I loved the intensity of some of their scenes and how they could turn on a dime and bring you a little laughter. Also, not-so-small shout out to Linda Cardellini who plays Lip’s wife Dolores as her performance was extremely solid as well.
Beginning: 10
Characters: 10
Tony Lip is easily one of my favorite characters in any 2018 movie this year. He is the typical gruff male and the stereotypical American-Italian type, but it’s eye-opening and fun to watch a character like that in a setting that’s not a mafia movie. His progression is what makes him great, or adds to his greatness rather. I couldn’t imagine coming across a guy like Tony Lip and not liking him after five minutes of meeting him.
I don’t want to downplay Don Shirley’s character, although Lip does steal the show. Shirley is one we can learn from, a guy that fights through adversity and is determined to win at all costs. He is a lost soul that drowns himself in the highs and lows of alcohol and music. You pity him and you cheer for him at the same time.
Cinematography/Visuals: 9
I am always impressed with period pieces and how they are able to capture regions so well. There is such a great depiction here of the northeast vs. the deep south that transports you easily from one region to the next. One minute you’re on a bustling street in the middle of New York and the next you’re on country road surrounded by trees being taken to a backwoods gas station. Just thinking about it even now made me add another point on. I also loved the stark contrast between the beautiful venues where Shirley would play and the grimy hotels he had to stay in because of the color of his skin. It was a major eye-opener and a punch to the gut when you see it on screen.
Conflict: 10
Genre: 8
Memorability: 10
Great choice on the title as it alone helps the film to stand out. You will understand when you see it, trust me. Overall Green Book is a beautiful tale that ultimately breaks stereotypes and spin things in a different light we don’t quite expect. I loved how there were a number of scenes that were not only funny, but touching at the same time.
Pace: 10
Plot: 10
Resolution: 10
Slightly cheesy, slightly unrealistic. I don’t care. To me, it was a fitting ending to an overall solid story. It’s got my seal of approval.
Overall: 97
I love when unexpected gems hit me in the face like Green Book. Go see this film. You will not be disappointed.
Craig Davidson (18 KP) rated Aliens (1986) in Movies
May 11, 2019 (Updated May 11, 2019)
Hudson (3 more)
Pulse rifle
Alien queen
Marines
Stop ya grinning and drop ya linen
Contains spoilers, click to show
So what can I say about aliens. Since its release in 1986 it's become probably one of my favourite and go to films. James Cameron at his best.
The whole cast are amazing and although the movie is a little yawn until the marines come in to it I just adore it.
The movie picks up where alien finished finding Riley in the escape craft form the nostromo 57 years later. She is picked up by a salvage craft and taken back to be grilled by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation (nooooo) as to why she destroyed the nostromo.
As usual the big wigs do not believe the story and inform Ripley that the planet LV-426 is now inhabited by terraformers who are changing the planet to be more earth kike. Soooo after the grilling Ripley gets Carter Burke (slimey weasel corporate man ) sends people from Hadleys Hope station to investigate the coordinates where the alien ship was first encountered. And of course Newts dad ends up with a beauty of a face hugger on his mush. This starts the chain of events that basically wipes out the whole station.
So after a while Burke and Lt Gorman. track down Ripely to ask her to join them as an advisor and go back to LV-426. She of course says no until she has a dream and leaves her ginger pussy at home.
So now the film really begins and the USS Sulaco comes in to shit looking like a giant gun.
We then meet the colonial marines including Android bishop and my favourite film character of all time hudson.
They all arrive and on the planet and eventually come across the little girl Newt (Rebecca but no body calls her that ,except her brother ) who has survived the alien invasion by crawling around the air ducts.
The marines eventually find the rest of the colony via there trackers and head to collect them. Of course they find the colony people stuck to the walls by some sort of secreted resin ( but secreted by why what ?) With there chest cavities well open exposing there inner organs. They then find a live one ( in a shit ya pants moment) and we get to see the alien push through the poor woman's chest.
The marines torch the little git and then all hell breaks loose. But we get to hear the iconic sound of the pulse rifle and get to hear Vasquez shout "let's rock" as they try to sort out the pesky bug problem by spraying the whole place with bullets.
We loose slot of the secondary cast in this scene and they also crack one of the nuclear reactors which will blow up soon.
The marines fight hard but they end up loosing the drop ship and are stranded. So the plan is hatched to remote a new drip ship down from the sulaco.
The android bishop has to crawl down a very long pipe in a very claustrophobic scene to get a signal to use the remote control.
The rest of the people left alive Ripley ,Hicks ,Gorman ,Hudson ,Vasquez ,Newt and the horrible Burke at left in the station to set up and defend themselves and fortify the area.
But the alien have there clever mama and they attack in force.
It's is in this attack we see how brave the loudmouth marine Hudson is in what is my opinion one of the greatest last scenes ever of a character "fuck you " being his last words.
After this the rest are lost apart from Hicks and Ripley and newt and bishop .
Newt takes a slide down a vent and gets lost , Ripley then goes and gets her and comes across the bad ass bitch that's has been laying the alien eggs . A fight happens and Ripley gets newt out and back to the drop ship and back to USS Sulaco with hicks and bishop. But ohhhhh no the mama alien was on board and rips bishop in half and covers the place in milk. Ripley beats the crap out of the mama alien with a really cool fork lift then they all go to sleep.
Aliens for me is a classic and better than the original.
The whole cast are amazing and although the movie is a little yawn until the marines come in to it I just adore it.
The movie picks up where alien finished finding Riley in the escape craft form the nostromo 57 years later. She is picked up by a salvage craft and taken back to be grilled by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation (nooooo) as to why she destroyed the nostromo.
As usual the big wigs do not believe the story and inform Ripley that the planet LV-426 is now inhabited by terraformers who are changing the planet to be more earth kike. Soooo after the grilling Ripley gets Carter Burke (slimey weasel corporate man ) sends people from Hadleys Hope station to investigate the coordinates where the alien ship was first encountered. And of course Newts dad ends up with a beauty of a face hugger on his mush. This starts the chain of events that basically wipes out the whole station.
So after a while Burke and Lt Gorman. track down Ripely to ask her to join them as an advisor and go back to LV-426. She of course says no until she has a dream and leaves her ginger pussy at home.
So now the film really begins and the USS Sulaco comes in to shit looking like a giant gun.
We then meet the colonial marines including Android bishop and my favourite film character of all time hudson.
They all arrive and on the planet and eventually come across the little girl Newt (Rebecca but no body calls her that ,except her brother ) who has survived the alien invasion by crawling around the air ducts.
The marines eventually find the rest of the colony via there trackers and head to collect them. Of course they find the colony people stuck to the walls by some sort of secreted resin ( but secreted by why what ?) With there chest cavities well open exposing there inner organs. They then find a live one ( in a shit ya pants moment) and we get to see the alien push through the poor woman's chest.
The marines torch the little git and then all hell breaks loose. But we get to hear the iconic sound of the pulse rifle and get to hear Vasquez shout "let's rock" as they try to sort out the pesky bug problem by spraying the whole place with bullets.
We loose slot of the secondary cast in this scene and they also crack one of the nuclear reactors which will blow up soon.
The marines fight hard but they end up loosing the drop ship and are stranded. So the plan is hatched to remote a new drip ship down from the sulaco.
The android bishop has to crawl down a very long pipe in a very claustrophobic scene to get a signal to use the remote control.
The rest of the people left alive Ripley ,Hicks ,Gorman ,Hudson ,Vasquez ,Newt and the horrible Burke at left in the station to set up and defend themselves and fortify the area.
But the alien have there clever mama and they attack in force.
It's is in this attack we see how brave the loudmouth marine Hudson is in what is my opinion one of the greatest last scenes ever of a character "fuck you " being his last words.
After this the rest are lost apart from Hicks and Ripley and newt and bishop .
Newt takes a slide down a vent and gets lost , Ripley then goes and gets her and comes across the bad ass bitch that's has been laying the alien eggs . A fight happens and Ripley gets newt out and back to the drop ship and back to USS Sulaco with hicks and bishop. But ohhhhh no the mama alien was on board and rips bishop in half and covers the place in milk. Ripley beats the crap out of the mama alien with a really cool fork lift then they all go to sleep.
Aliens for me is a classic and better than the original.
Darren (1599 KP) rated From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) in Movies
Sep 2, 2019
Thoughts on From Dusk till Dawn
Characters – Seth Gecko has just been sprung from prison by his brother, he wants to get across the border to complete a deal which would see them both have freedom, he is the one that remains in control wanting to keep everything calm, which would mean not leaving a pile of bodies behind them. He does deliver the threats which would see them as a danger, though he does just want things to be simple. Richard or Ritchie is must more of a loose cannon, he is paranoid and this makes him more dangerous, as he will kill people putting their safety at risk. He is protected by his brother, as he doesn’t seem like he is capable of putting a plan together himself. Jacob was a priest that has lost his faith after his wife’s death, he I taking his family on a vacation and gets forced into helping the brothers, he wants to keep them safe, willing to risk his own life to make this happen. Kate and Scott are his children, they are dealing with their own loss the best way they know how to and being supportive to their father. Santanico is the beautiful dancer that will stop a bar with her dance, she is one of the leaders of the vampires who has been waiting for the food in human form.
Performances – George Clooney is great to see in this role, after this we only usually see him in smooth talking roles, rather than a rough criminal, showing he could become any role offered to him. Tarantino in this film is creepy and putting himself in the supporting role does hide any restrictions he might have as an actor. Harvey Keitel is great showing a character that is meant to be hating his life choice, but remaining strong for his children. Juliette Lewis and Ernest Liu are both solid enough in the supporting roles without getting too much more to work with, while Salma Hayek turns heads with her performance.
Story – The story here follows two criminals trying to get to Mexico, the family they force to help them across the border and the bar they find, filled with vampires that they must fight to survive the night. Where this story stands up on its own, is by making it a criminal tory to start with, having no hints of horror or vampires involved, as we just watch the two loose cannons trying to get to safety, by pulling the rug out from under us to thrown us into the horror idea is genius switch of pace for the story. we do have themes going on especially with the Jacob character needing to find his lost faith which finding it will become the big part in fight the vampires. The story also exists in a world where vampire stories do exist, which gives them ideas on how to fight back, which was the main attraction to the 90’s horror stories.
Action/Horror – The action in the film involves the fighting with the vampires, we get to take everything to a new level for this side of the genre, with the blood splatter in the action, which the horror gives us because we vampires which are a staple of horror, but we do focus on the action over the scares.
Settings – The film uses the getting to the location setting of the camper van which does show us the road trip feel to the film, but it is the bar that will be one that is always going to be hard to forget, being a run down biker and trucker bar.
Special Effects – The special effects are some of the best you will see in the vampire genre, it shows that you can get plenty done with practical effects, with the only weakness come from the human to vampire transformations, which look CGI and have dated.
Scene of the Movie – The battle.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The transformations have dated badly.
Final Thoughts – This is one of the most fun vampire movies you will ever see, it has plenty of blood flying around the screen and will keep you entertained from start to finish.
Overall: Purely entertaining vampire movie.
Characters – Seth Gecko has just been sprung from prison by his brother, he wants to get across the border to complete a deal which would see them both have freedom, he is the one that remains in control wanting to keep everything calm, which would mean not leaving a pile of bodies behind them. He does deliver the threats which would see them as a danger, though he does just want things to be simple. Richard or Ritchie is must more of a loose cannon, he is paranoid and this makes him more dangerous, as he will kill people putting their safety at risk. He is protected by his brother, as he doesn’t seem like he is capable of putting a plan together himself. Jacob was a priest that has lost his faith after his wife’s death, he I taking his family on a vacation and gets forced into helping the brothers, he wants to keep them safe, willing to risk his own life to make this happen. Kate and Scott are his children, they are dealing with their own loss the best way they know how to and being supportive to their father. Santanico is the beautiful dancer that will stop a bar with her dance, she is one of the leaders of the vampires who has been waiting for the food in human form.
Performances – George Clooney is great to see in this role, after this we only usually see him in smooth talking roles, rather than a rough criminal, showing he could become any role offered to him. Tarantino in this film is creepy and putting himself in the supporting role does hide any restrictions he might have as an actor. Harvey Keitel is great showing a character that is meant to be hating his life choice, but remaining strong for his children. Juliette Lewis and Ernest Liu are both solid enough in the supporting roles without getting too much more to work with, while Salma Hayek turns heads with her performance.
Story – The story here follows two criminals trying to get to Mexico, the family they force to help them across the border and the bar they find, filled with vampires that they must fight to survive the night. Where this story stands up on its own, is by making it a criminal tory to start with, having no hints of horror or vampires involved, as we just watch the two loose cannons trying to get to safety, by pulling the rug out from under us to thrown us into the horror idea is genius switch of pace for the story. we do have themes going on especially with the Jacob character needing to find his lost faith which finding it will become the big part in fight the vampires. The story also exists in a world where vampire stories do exist, which gives them ideas on how to fight back, which was the main attraction to the 90’s horror stories.
Action/Horror – The action in the film involves the fighting with the vampires, we get to take everything to a new level for this side of the genre, with the blood splatter in the action, which the horror gives us because we vampires which are a staple of horror, but we do focus on the action over the scares.
Settings – The film uses the getting to the location setting of the camper van which does show us the road trip feel to the film, but it is the bar that will be one that is always going to be hard to forget, being a run down biker and trucker bar.
Special Effects – The special effects are some of the best you will see in the vampire genre, it shows that you can get plenty done with practical effects, with the only weakness come from the human to vampire transformations, which look CGI and have dated.
Scene of the Movie – The battle.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The transformations have dated badly.
Final Thoughts – This is one of the most fun vampire movies you will ever see, it has plenty of blood flying around the screen and will keep you entertained from start to finish.
Overall: Purely entertaining vampire movie.
Bound for Justice Box Set
Book
Bound for Justice: A Box Set Against the Rules Targeted by a drug cartel, Teague is out for...
ANTHOLOGIES AND COLLECTIONS BONDAGE AND BDSM CONTEMPORARY EROTIC ROMANCE
Hazel (1853 KP) rated The Storyteller in Books
May 30, 2017
An Ethical Question
Jodi Picoult is the bestselling author of numerous novels, with My Sister’s Keeper being the most well known, perhaps. All of her stories are well written although it is still possible to notice improvements in the writing over the years right up until now with her latest, The Storyteller, which quite possibly could be her best yet.
Arguably, The Storyteller does not quite read as a Jodi Picoult novel is known to. This is, in part, because of the nature of the story. Most of her previous books deal with medical ethics and/or court cases, whereas this story contains neither. The Storyteller contains a combination of past and present - the main focus being on the Holocaust.
Four people narrate the novel: two in the present day and two giving an account of their experience during the Second World War. It begins with Sage Singer, a 25 year old, hermit-like woman with a disfiguring facial scar – the result of a terrible accident, one that also led to the death of her mother. For the past three years Sage has been participating in a grief group – a place where people who have lost loved ones can come together and talk about their feelings. After three years surely Sage would no longer need the help of the group? However she still attends, not because she finds it helpful, but for the opposite reason. She even says herself: “If it were helpful I wouldn’t still be coming.” It unfolds that she still blames herself for her mother’s death despite the reassurances that it was an accident and not her fault.
It is through the grief group that Sage meets an elderly man, Josef Weber. After becoming friendly and discovering that Sage comes from a Jewish family, Josef confesses to something terrible – he was a Nazi during the war. He killed people. He wants Sage to represent all the Jews he killed and forgive him. Then he wants her to help him die.
Whilst, Josef recounts his experience of being part of the Nazi party, another account is also given. Minka, Sage’s grandmother, describes the terrors she faced as an imprisoned Jew suffering fates such as the deaths of all her family and friends and her time in Auschwitz. Another element to the novel is the vampire story Minka wrote as a teenager. This is interspersed between the other chapters of the book. Unwittingly, Minka’s fictional tale reflects the alienation and destruction of the Jews. The final character is Leo who, like Sage, is narrating the present day, and trying to locate ex-Nazi members in order for them to be punished by the government.
One thing to praise Picoult for, not just in The Storyteller, but also in all her novels is the amount of in-depth research she undertakes to make her stories as accurate as possible even though they are fictional. Minka’s account was written is such a way that it was almost believable that Picoult had been there and experienced it herself. She even learnt to bake bread so that she could write from the point of view of a baker. This is pure dedication!
The Storyteller is an amazing, beautiful book, which is not purely an enjoyable read. It informs, shocks and stays with you for a long time. You will question your own morals and ability to forgive. Is anyone entirely evil? Is anyone entirely good? Perhaps we are both, so why should anyone have the right to treat others as inferior from themselves?
Arguably, The Storyteller does not quite read as a Jodi Picoult novel is known to. This is, in part, because of the nature of the story. Most of her previous books deal with medical ethics and/or court cases, whereas this story contains neither. The Storyteller contains a combination of past and present - the main focus being on the Holocaust.
Four people narrate the novel: two in the present day and two giving an account of their experience during the Second World War. It begins with Sage Singer, a 25 year old, hermit-like woman with a disfiguring facial scar – the result of a terrible accident, one that also led to the death of her mother. For the past three years Sage has been participating in a grief group – a place where people who have lost loved ones can come together and talk about their feelings. After three years surely Sage would no longer need the help of the group? However she still attends, not because she finds it helpful, but for the opposite reason. She even says herself: “If it were helpful I wouldn’t still be coming.” It unfolds that she still blames herself for her mother’s death despite the reassurances that it was an accident and not her fault.
It is through the grief group that Sage meets an elderly man, Josef Weber. After becoming friendly and discovering that Sage comes from a Jewish family, Josef confesses to something terrible – he was a Nazi during the war. He killed people. He wants Sage to represent all the Jews he killed and forgive him. Then he wants her to help him die.
Whilst, Josef recounts his experience of being part of the Nazi party, another account is also given. Minka, Sage’s grandmother, describes the terrors she faced as an imprisoned Jew suffering fates such as the deaths of all her family and friends and her time in Auschwitz. Another element to the novel is the vampire story Minka wrote as a teenager. This is interspersed between the other chapters of the book. Unwittingly, Minka’s fictional tale reflects the alienation and destruction of the Jews. The final character is Leo who, like Sage, is narrating the present day, and trying to locate ex-Nazi members in order for them to be punished by the government.
One thing to praise Picoult for, not just in The Storyteller, but also in all her novels is the amount of in-depth research she undertakes to make her stories as accurate as possible even though they are fictional. Minka’s account was written is such a way that it was almost believable that Picoult had been there and experienced it herself. She even learnt to bake bread so that she could write from the point of view of a baker. This is pure dedication!
The Storyteller is an amazing, beautiful book, which is not purely an enjoyable read. It informs, shocks and stays with you for a long time. You will question your own morals and ability to forgive. Is anyone entirely evil? Is anyone entirely good? Perhaps we are both, so why should anyone have the right to treat others as inferior from themselves?