Search
Hazel (1853 KP) rated A Library of Lemons in Books
Dec 17, 2018
<i>This ebook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
A Library of Lemons</i> is the most recent novel by children’s author Jo Cotterill. It is a moving story about a child’s perception of a life heavily affected by loss and grief, and the impact a positive friendship can bring. Calypso is only ten years old but has the reading age of someone much older. In fact she loves books so much that she prefers them to interacting with other people. Since her mother’s death five years previously, Calypso’s father has distanced himself from the world, focusing on writing and reading in his study, and has encouraged his only daughter to do the same: “be your own best friend.” However, a new girl at school causes Calypso to question and change the way she views the world.
Despite never having had a friend at school, Calypso quickly develops a strong friendship with Mae who also has a passion for reading. The difference is Mae lets herself feel emotion and is happy to let other people into her life, a concept that is initially alien to Calypso. As time goes on Calypso realizes she is the happiest she has ever been and that Mae has filled a gap she did not know was there. Regrettably, her newfound contentment is shattered on discovering that something is wrong with her father, and that he has developed an unhealthy obsession with lemons…
From the very beginning the reader is shown how difficult Calypso’s life is. She often comes home to a cold, dark house where she has to fix herself her own dinner from a very limited supply of food. Yet until Calypso meets Mae, she does not realize that there is anything wrong with this. Once Calypso learns that her father is suffering with depression – something that older readers will already have guessed – she sees how unfair life is for her and notices that she is very different from other children her age. This is a heartbreaking situation for readers to imagine, but Calypso’s strength as a young carer is admirable – similarly to characters in some of her favourite books, such as<i> Anne of Green Gables</i>.
There are so many well-known novels referenced in <i>A Library of Lemons</i>, which emphasizes Calypso’s love of literature. Although Cotterill has included children’s classics amongst these titles, it is doubtful that young readers will be familiar with them all. This poses the problem that certain allusions to characters or storylines will be lost, however if the youngsters are just as passionate about reading as Calypso is, they may be inspired to seek out these famous works.
I was initially drawn to <i>A Library of Lemons</i> because I had loved Cotterill’s previous novel, <i>Looking at the Stars</i>. I was not aware at first that this novel tackled mental illness – which was not a problem as I often read books of that genre – but I was expecting something powerful and moving. And that is what I got. I much preferred <i>Looking at the Stars</i>, which I thought was a lot more emotional and shocking – a refugee camp in a third world country – however <i>A Library of Lemons</i> is still a beautiful story with deep and quotable prose.
Before I finish this review I would like to praise Cotterill for the way she dealt with the taboo subject of mental illness. Often illnesses of this nature are either glamourized or stigmatized, neither of which occurred in this novel. Cotterill’s portrayal of depression and its affects on both sufferer and child are extremely realistic. The way that the book ends is also true-to-life. There is no happy ever after, no amazing cure – but there is hope, a glimpse of recovery and a better future.
Although Calypso is ten, her advanced reading age and the difficult subject matter result in a book that is more suitable for young teenagers. Young and old adults will also enjoy it too, especially those who can relate to certain situations Calypso has to deal with. <i>A Library of Lemons</i> is definitely a story to read if you are a lover of books - a bookworm. You will not be disappointed.
A Library of Lemons</i> is the most recent novel by children’s author Jo Cotterill. It is a moving story about a child’s perception of a life heavily affected by loss and grief, and the impact a positive friendship can bring. Calypso is only ten years old but has the reading age of someone much older. In fact she loves books so much that she prefers them to interacting with other people. Since her mother’s death five years previously, Calypso’s father has distanced himself from the world, focusing on writing and reading in his study, and has encouraged his only daughter to do the same: “be your own best friend.” However, a new girl at school causes Calypso to question and change the way she views the world.
Despite never having had a friend at school, Calypso quickly develops a strong friendship with Mae who also has a passion for reading. The difference is Mae lets herself feel emotion and is happy to let other people into her life, a concept that is initially alien to Calypso. As time goes on Calypso realizes she is the happiest she has ever been and that Mae has filled a gap she did not know was there. Regrettably, her newfound contentment is shattered on discovering that something is wrong with her father, and that he has developed an unhealthy obsession with lemons…
From the very beginning the reader is shown how difficult Calypso’s life is. She often comes home to a cold, dark house where she has to fix herself her own dinner from a very limited supply of food. Yet until Calypso meets Mae, she does not realize that there is anything wrong with this. Once Calypso learns that her father is suffering with depression – something that older readers will already have guessed – she sees how unfair life is for her and notices that she is very different from other children her age. This is a heartbreaking situation for readers to imagine, but Calypso’s strength as a young carer is admirable – similarly to characters in some of her favourite books, such as<i> Anne of Green Gables</i>.
There are so many well-known novels referenced in <i>A Library of Lemons</i>, which emphasizes Calypso’s love of literature. Although Cotterill has included children’s classics amongst these titles, it is doubtful that young readers will be familiar with them all. This poses the problem that certain allusions to characters or storylines will be lost, however if the youngsters are just as passionate about reading as Calypso is, they may be inspired to seek out these famous works.
I was initially drawn to <i>A Library of Lemons</i> because I had loved Cotterill’s previous novel, <i>Looking at the Stars</i>. I was not aware at first that this novel tackled mental illness – which was not a problem as I often read books of that genre – but I was expecting something powerful and moving. And that is what I got. I much preferred <i>Looking at the Stars</i>, which I thought was a lot more emotional and shocking – a refugee camp in a third world country – however <i>A Library of Lemons</i> is still a beautiful story with deep and quotable prose.
Before I finish this review I would like to praise Cotterill for the way she dealt with the taboo subject of mental illness. Often illnesses of this nature are either glamourized or stigmatized, neither of which occurred in this novel. Cotterill’s portrayal of depression and its affects on both sufferer and child are extremely realistic. The way that the book ends is also true-to-life. There is no happy ever after, no amazing cure – but there is hope, a glimpse of recovery and a better future.
Although Calypso is ten, her advanced reading age and the difficult subject matter result in a book that is more suitable for young teenagers. Young and old adults will also enjoy it too, especially those who can relate to certain situations Calypso has to deal with. <i>A Library of Lemons</i> is definitely a story to read if you are a lover of books - a bookworm. You will not be disappointed.
Lee (2222 KP) rated The Mule (2018) in Movies
Jan 29, 2019 (Updated Jan 29, 2019)
A simple, enjoyable story
It appears there's just no stopping Clint Eastwood. Not only does he star in The Mule, a movie 'inspired by a true story', but he's also on producing and directing duties too. Just when you think you've seen him in his last ever role, he's back, 88 years old and still going strong!
Eastwood is Earl Stone, a highly successful horticulturist and Korean war veteran who we first meet in 2005. He arrives at a horticulture convention where he charms the ladies, engages in friendly competitive banter with other exhibitors and sneers at the guy promoting a new way of ordering flowers over the internet, before going on to win first prize for best bloom. But over the years all of this success has been at the expense of his family and while he's buying everyone in the bar a drink to celebrate his win, his daughter is getting married, wondering where her father is while her mother consoles her. A life on the road devoted to work has lost Earl the most important thing in life.
Shifting forward 12 years to 2017 and Earl has been forced to close up the flower business, blaming the damn internet for it all. He pays off his farm workers as best he can before heading off to his granddaughters house where she is holding a garden party. His presence only causes tension though - his daughter can't bear to be anywhere near him, while his ex wife takes the opportunity to once again give him a piece of her mind, disappointed that despite a lifelong devotion to work, he now can't even afford to help pay for his granddaughters upcoming wedding.
So when an offer comes his way, working as a mule for the cartel in return for good money, Earl accepts. An old man traveling, with no previous speeding tickets, is less likely to be stopped than the traditional Latinos they usually use, and Earl benefits by continuing his love of traveling the country in his trusty old truck. He tries the charming old man routine with the cartel members he comes into contact with on both sides of his deliveries, with varying degrees of success, but in-between he manages to just enjoy life - driving on the open road, singing along to the radio for hours on end. And the money certainly is good - Earl is able to buy a brand new truck, help pay for his granddaughters wedding and even help prevent a bar he's been going to for the last 50 or so years from closing. He gradually becomes more trusted within the cartel, becoming responsible for transporting increasingly larger quantities of drugs and drawing the attention of the more powerful cartel members. Attending big parties at their lavish houses, dancing with bikini clad girls and engaging in threesomes, this ninety something certainly is making the most of his twilight years! As power shifts within the cartel and Earl gets drawn deeper in, he finds himself having to decide between the cartel and his family. A decision with very different but serious consequences depending on which path he chooses.
All the while Earl is having his fun, the net is closing in on him in the form of a couple of DEA agents played by Bradley Cooper and Michael Peña. Under pressure to secure a bust from boss Lawrence Fishburne, they're getting closer and closer to capturing the cartels top mule. All three of these actors are seriously underused though in what are essentially pretty standard cop roles.
The Mule is a fairly simple movie with no big sense of drama, and certainly no Breaking Bad levels of cartel tension. However, I was never bored at any point and just found myself completely engrossed in it all, swept along by the genial nature of Earl and what was an enjoyable, sentimental story.
Eastwood is Earl Stone, a highly successful horticulturist and Korean war veteran who we first meet in 2005. He arrives at a horticulture convention where he charms the ladies, engages in friendly competitive banter with other exhibitors and sneers at the guy promoting a new way of ordering flowers over the internet, before going on to win first prize for best bloom. But over the years all of this success has been at the expense of his family and while he's buying everyone in the bar a drink to celebrate his win, his daughter is getting married, wondering where her father is while her mother consoles her. A life on the road devoted to work has lost Earl the most important thing in life.
Shifting forward 12 years to 2017 and Earl has been forced to close up the flower business, blaming the damn internet for it all. He pays off his farm workers as best he can before heading off to his granddaughters house where she is holding a garden party. His presence only causes tension though - his daughter can't bear to be anywhere near him, while his ex wife takes the opportunity to once again give him a piece of her mind, disappointed that despite a lifelong devotion to work, he now can't even afford to help pay for his granddaughters upcoming wedding.
So when an offer comes his way, working as a mule for the cartel in return for good money, Earl accepts. An old man traveling, with no previous speeding tickets, is less likely to be stopped than the traditional Latinos they usually use, and Earl benefits by continuing his love of traveling the country in his trusty old truck. He tries the charming old man routine with the cartel members he comes into contact with on both sides of his deliveries, with varying degrees of success, but in-between he manages to just enjoy life - driving on the open road, singing along to the radio for hours on end. And the money certainly is good - Earl is able to buy a brand new truck, help pay for his granddaughters wedding and even help prevent a bar he's been going to for the last 50 or so years from closing. He gradually becomes more trusted within the cartel, becoming responsible for transporting increasingly larger quantities of drugs and drawing the attention of the more powerful cartel members. Attending big parties at their lavish houses, dancing with bikini clad girls and engaging in threesomes, this ninety something certainly is making the most of his twilight years! As power shifts within the cartel and Earl gets drawn deeper in, he finds himself having to decide between the cartel and his family. A decision with very different but serious consequences depending on which path he chooses.
All the while Earl is having his fun, the net is closing in on him in the form of a couple of DEA agents played by Bradley Cooper and Michael Peña. Under pressure to secure a bust from boss Lawrence Fishburne, they're getting closer and closer to capturing the cartels top mule. All three of these actors are seriously underused though in what are essentially pretty standard cop roles.
The Mule is a fairly simple movie with no big sense of drama, and certainly no Breaking Bad levels of cartel tension. However, I was never bored at any point and just found myself completely engrossed in it all, swept along by the genial nature of Earl and what was an enjoyable, sentimental story.
Bob Mann (459 KP) rated I, Tonya (2017) in Movies
Sep 29, 2021
Some Darwin award winners.
Man, I personally found this one to be an exceedingly uncomfortable watch.
“I, Tonya” is cleverly filmed as a pseudo-documentary, featuring re-enactments of the real-life interviews of most of the participants in this true-life drama. I recently bitterly criticised some film critics for spoiling the story of Donald Crowhurst, the subject of the recent “The Mercy”. But I was about to do exactly the same here, *assuming* that you all know the lurid tale of the rivalry between Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan that led up to an ‘event’ in 1994 that shocked the world. And of course, many of you younger folk don’t know: case in point my 26 year old son who I went to see this with, and who went into the story blissfully blind of the drama about to unfold. So I will try to keep this review spoiler-free.
Playing Tonya from a (not very credible!) 15 years old to her mid-20’s is Margot Robbie (“The Wolf of Wall Street”, “Suicide Squad”) in what is a BAFTA and Oscar nominated performance. And for good reason: the performance is raw, visceral and disturbing in reflecting a victim who still thinks everything at heart is her own fault.
Also BAFTA and Oscar nominated is Allison Janney (“The Girl on the Train”) as Tonya’s obnoxious chain-smoking mother LaVona. Janney is truly terrifying as the mother who abuses her daughter both physically and mentally in a driven attempt to make her the best ice-skater in the world.
Victims seem to attract abusers, and Tonya is surrounded by people who are just plain bad for her: notably her husband Jeff (Sebastian Stan, “The Martian”, “Captain America: Winter Soldier”) and his slimy and pitifully self-deluded friend Shawn (Paul Walter Hauser). The end credits video footage of the real-life players show just how well these parts were cast.
Why so uncomfortable to watch? There is a significant degree of domestic abuse featured in the film, both in terms of LaVona on her child and Jeff on his wife. This is something I abhor in general, having been brought up to believe it is never EVER acceptable to lay a hand on a woman. To have these cowardly individuals sensationalised in the movie I found to be really upsetting. I strongly feel, for this reason alone, that the film should have had an 18 certificate. Violence in film should be related to the context as well as the severity. (Note that this is in stark contrast to my comments of recent BBFC decisions to make “Phantom Thread” and “Lady Bird” 15-certificates when I believe they should have been 12A).
The film is executed extremely well, with 4:3 framing for the staged interviews, and ice skating scenes that seamlessly cut between the professional clearly doing the stunts and Robbie (who must also be a half decent skater too). The soundtrack is nicely littered – “Guardians of the Galaxy” style – with classic hits of the early 90’s.
To think that this story actually unfolded in this way is nothing short of astounding… but it did! There is an astonishing video clip here (#spoilers) of the run up to, and the immediate aftermath of, the Kerrigan incident. I came out of the film with a deep feeling of sadness for Harding (at least, as portrayed) and utter disgust that the villains of this piece could be a) so cruel and out of control and b) so utterly stupid. These are individuals who really should have been sterilised to stop them polluting the gene pool any further.
Written by Steven Rogers (“Stepmom”) and directed by Australian Craig Gillespie, there is no doubting that this is a powerful film: played to an absolutely silent and gripped Saturday night cinema audience. And it has truly dynamite performances from Allison Janney and Margot Robbie. But be warned that you’ll need a strong stomach to go and see it without being affected by it afterwards. It’s a mental keeper.
“I, Tonya” is cleverly filmed as a pseudo-documentary, featuring re-enactments of the real-life interviews of most of the participants in this true-life drama. I recently bitterly criticised some film critics for spoiling the story of Donald Crowhurst, the subject of the recent “The Mercy”. But I was about to do exactly the same here, *assuming* that you all know the lurid tale of the rivalry between Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan that led up to an ‘event’ in 1994 that shocked the world. And of course, many of you younger folk don’t know: case in point my 26 year old son who I went to see this with, and who went into the story blissfully blind of the drama about to unfold. So I will try to keep this review spoiler-free.
Playing Tonya from a (not very credible!) 15 years old to her mid-20’s is Margot Robbie (“The Wolf of Wall Street”, “Suicide Squad”) in what is a BAFTA and Oscar nominated performance. And for good reason: the performance is raw, visceral and disturbing in reflecting a victim who still thinks everything at heart is her own fault.
Also BAFTA and Oscar nominated is Allison Janney (“The Girl on the Train”) as Tonya’s obnoxious chain-smoking mother LaVona. Janney is truly terrifying as the mother who abuses her daughter both physically and mentally in a driven attempt to make her the best ice-skater in the world.
Victims seem to attract abusers, and Tonya is surrounded by people who are just plain bad for her: notably her husband Jeff (Sebastian Stan, “The Martian”, “Captain America: Winter Soldier”) and his slimy and pitifully self-deluded friend Shawn (Paul Walter Hauser). The end credits video footage of the real-life players show just how well these parts were cast.
Why so uncomfortable to watch? There is a significant degree of domestic abuse featured in the film, both in terms of LaVona on her child and Jeff on his wife. This is something I abhor in general, having been brought up to believe it is never EVER acceptable to lay a hand on a woman. To have these cowardly individuals sensationalised in the movie I found to be really upsetting. I strongly feel, for this reason alone, that the film should have had an 18 certificate. Violence in film should be related to the context as well as the severity. (Note that this is in stark contrast to my comments of recent BBFC decisions to make “Phantom Thread” and “Lady Bird” 15-certificates when I believe they should have been 12A).
The film is executed extremely well, with 4:3 framing for the staged interviews, and ice skating scenes that seamlessly cut between the professional clearly doing the stunts and Robbie (who must also be a half decent skater too). The soundtrack is nicely littered – “Guardians of the Galaxy” style – with classic hits of the early 90’s.
To think that this story actually unfolded in this way is nothing short of astounding… but it did! There is an astonishing video clip here (#spoilers) of the run up to, and the immediate aftermath of, the Kerrigan incident. I came out of the film with a deep feeling of sadness for Harding (at least, as portrayed) and utter disgust that the villains of this piece could be a) so cruel and out of control and b) so utterly stupid. These are individuals who really should have been sterilised to stop them polluting the gene pool any further.
Written by Steven Rogers (“Stepmom”) and directed by Australian Craig Gillespie, there is no doubting that this is a powerful film: played to an absolutely silent and gripped Saturday night cinema audience. And it has truly dynamite performances from Allison Janney and Margot Robbie. But be warned that you’ll need a strong stomach to go and see it without being affected by it afterwards. It’s a mental keeper.
Ross (3284 KP) rated The Darkslayer: Wrath of the Royals in Books
Feb 5, 2019
Strong debut novel, deeper than expected
Wrath of the Royals, the first in the 16 book Darkslayer series following Venir, the Darkslayer (an axe-wielding barbarian) and his companion Melagal (the cowardly "rogue") as they run from the titular wrath of one of the royal families. Venir tends to get himself into bets, as alpha male types just seem attracted to him, and one such bet ends him in the bad books with one of the most powerful, and twisted, royal families.
This leads to the pair going on the run to escape the inevitable wrath. However, little do they know that the Underlings (those twisted, evil humanoids Venir is driven to hunt) are after Venir from different angles - one due to his relentless genocide of their race, and another due to being hired to hunt him down by the royals.
On the surface, I expected this to be a basic sword and sorcery tale; the barbarian wandering the wilds hacking down the Underlings. I was pleasantly surprised to find a fairly well told tale with different layers and a more intricate plot than I had expected.
Halloran's prose is decent, with a good knack for getting the balance between over-narration and concise descriptions. There is enough description of the world without it being laboured. There are some odd choices for phrases or wording here or there (eg "Impending pain was on its way"), and the book could do with a decent thorough edit, but for a first book it is a good effort.
The world of Bish turns out to be something of an experiment on the part of a God, seeing if she can design a world that will remain in permanent conflict for eternity, good and evil constantly vying but neither side ever truly winning. While this could be seen as literally setting up for "deus ex machina" whenever the author chooses, this didn't really come to the fore in this book.
Venir is a reasonably well-crafted character, albeit a stupid brute and something like Logen Ninefingers from Joe Abercrombie's First Law (when he puts on his magical helmet (yes I know!) he becomes more driven to destruction, somewhat akin to the emergence of The Bloody Nine). Numerous times he just gets up in the night and wanders off searching for the conflict he has sensed, the helmet guiding him onwards. But his actions play well off those of his travelling companions, which has now become something like the fellowship of the ring, but without a ring.
The book ends with an extended epilogue giving an idea of Venir's life before he found his magical axe, shield and mind-controlling helmet.
A good self-contained book, which concludes well and could be read on its own, without continuing the series, though I plan to (ideally before my Kindle Unlimited period runs out!).
This leads to the pair going on the run to escape the inevitable wrath. However, little do they know that the Underlings (those twisted, evil humanoids Venir is driven to hunt) are after Venir from different angles - one due to his relentless genocide of their race, and another due to being hired to hunt him down by the royals.
On the surface, I expected this to be a basic sword and sorcery tale; the barbarian wandering the wilds hacking down the Underlings. I was pleasantly surprised to find a fairly well told tale with different layers and a more intricate plot than I had expected.
Halloran's prose is decent, with a good knack for getting the balance between over-narration and concise descriptions. There is enough description of the world without it being laboured. There are some odd choices for phrases or wording here or there (eg "Impending pain was on its way"), and the book could do with a decent thorough edit, but for a first book it is a good effort.
The world of Bish turns out to be something of an experiment on the part of a God, seeing if she can design a world that will remain in permanent conflict for eternity, good and evil constantly vying but neither side ever truly winning. While this could be seen as literally setting up for "deus ex machina" whenever the author chooses, this didn't really come to the fore in this book.
Venir is a reasonably well-crafted character, albeit a stupid brute and something like Logen Ninefingers from Joe Abercrombie's First Law (when he puts on his magical helmet (yes I know!) he becomes more driven to destruction, somewhat akin to the emergence of The Bloody Nine). Numerous times he just gets up in the night and wanders off searching for the conflict he has sensed, the helmet guiding him onwards. But his actions play well off those of his travelling companions, which has now become something like the fellowship of the ring, but without a ring.
The book ends with an extended epilogue giving an idea of Venir's life before he found his magical axe, shield and mind-controlling helmet.
A good self-contained book, which concludes well and could be read on its own, without continuing the series, though I plan to (ideally before my Kindle Unlimited period runs out!).
Hazel (1853 KP) rated Stargirl (Stargirl, #1) in Books
Dec 7, 2018
<i>This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Stargirl</i> is a popular young adult novel by Jerry Spinelli, originally published in 2000. But what is it that has kept it a favourite sixteen years later? The story is told by Leo Borlock, a student in the 11th grade at Mica Area High School. This year there is a new girl who calls herself Stargirl and, like her name, is completely different from everyone else. She has an outlandish dress sense, plays the ukele at lunchtimes, knows and celebrates everyone’s birthdays. The only word the school can think of to describe her is “HUH?”
Despite the weirdness surrounding her, Stargirl quickly becomes popular. People are entertained by her, want to be with her, want to be her. Leo is equally fascinated by her and is shocked when she begins to pay him attention. However, after a while the novelty of Stargirl wears off. Students begin to despise her and shun her. Stargirl does not care, but Leo does. He tries to change Stargirl, tries to make her act normal like everyone else.
<i>Stargirl</i>, like the titular character, is a breath of fresh air. It is quick and easy to read with the benefit of added humour. It also contains a powerful message. Although Stargirl is not affected by the behaviour of her fellow students, it is shocking the extent that the entire student body goes to in shunning her. This is a form of bullying, something that a child in the real world faces everyday. And that child will be bothered by it, will be hurt, and will be upset. It will probably affect their future.
Leo’s behaviour is something that everyone will be able to recognize in themself. Conforming to the norm. Leo wanted Stargirl to change, to go by her real name, Susan. To stop wearing eccentric clothing. To stop drawing attention to herself. Ultimately, what Leo was asking was for Stargirl to stop being herself. And that is really sad. I have lost count of the times people have said to me “Just be yourself,” but do they mean that? Perhaps they are really saying, “behave like everyone else, and you’ll fit in”?
Spinelli’s most important message in <i>Stargirl</i> is that we should not be afraid to be ourselves. It is unlikely that anyone is as bizarre as Stargirl, yet if everyone stopped being so scared to reveal their true feelings, likes and dislikes etc, perhaps schools would become less intimidating places?
<i>Stargirl</i> is suitable for teenage and adult readers who want something quick to devour. It will entertain, and, although it has a rather ambiguous ending, nothing disastrous happens in the book. It will hopefully leave you feeling as care free as its main character.
Stargirl</i> is a popular young adult novel by Jerry Spinelli, originally published in 2000. But what is it that has kept it a favourite sixteen years later? The story is told by Leo Borlock, a student in the 11th grade at Mica Area High School. This year there is a new girl who calls herself Stargirl and, like her name, is completely different from everyone else. She has an outlandish dress sense, plays the ukele at lunchtimes, knows and celebrates everyone’s birthdays. The only word the school can think of to describe her is “HUH?”
Despite the weirdness surrounding her, Stargirl quickly becomes popular. People are entertained by her, want to be with her, want to be her. Leo is equally fascinated by her and is shocked when she begins to pay him attention. However, after a while the novelty of Stargirl wears off. Students begin to despise her and shun her. Stargirl does not care, but Leo does. He tries to change Stargirl, tries to make her act normal like everyone else.
<i>Stargirl</i>, like the titular character, is a breath of fresh air. It is quick and easy to read with the benefit of added humour. It also contains a powerful message. Although Stargirl is not affected by the behaviour of her fellow students, it is shocking the extent that the entire student body goes to in shunning her. This is a form of bullying, something that a child in the real world faces everyday. And that child will be bothered by it, will be hurt, and will be upset. It will probably affect their future.
Leo’s behaviour is something that everyone will be able to recognize in themself. Conforming to the norm. Leo wanted Stargirl to change, to go by her real name, Susan. To stop wearing eccentric clothing. To stop drawing attention to herself. Ultimately, what Leo was asking was for Stargirl to stop being herself. And that is really sad. I have lost count of the times people have said to me “Just be yourself,” but do they mean that? Perhaps they are really saying, “behave like everyone else, and you’ll fit in”?
Spinelli’s most important message in <i>Stargirl</i> is that we should not be afraid to be ourselves. It is unlikely that anyone is as bizarre as Stargirl, yet if everyone stopped being so scared to reveal their true feelings, likes and dislikes etc, perhaps schools would become less intimidating places?
<i>Stargirl</i> is suitable for teenage and adult readers who want something quick to devour. It will entertain, and, although it has a rather ambiguous ending, nothing disastrous happens in the book. It will hopefully leave you feeling as care free as its main character.
Hazel (1853 KP) rated A Step Towards Falling in Books
Dec 14, 2018
Rating: 3.5
<i>This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
A Step Towards Falling</i> by Cammie McGovern is a book full of important messages. As with a couple of her previous novels, McGovern writes about characters with developmental disabilities, i.e. Autism, focusing on the ways in which they interact with the world around them and vice versa. This particular story is written with teenagers in mind, featuring topics such as dating and future prospects.
One of the narrators Emily, along with high school football player Lucas, are being punished for not helping a disabled student when they witnessed her being assaulted. In order to appease the school they are subjected to forty hours of community service – voluntarily helping to run the Boundaries and Relationships class at the Lifelong Learning Centre. Here they meet a handful of people with disabilities who need help to identify what is and what is not acceptable in potential romantic relationships. Although Emily and Lucas initially think members of the group are strange, they soon learn to see through their quirks and admire them for their positive personalities.
The second narrator, Belinda, is the assaulted girl. To begin with she is no longer attending school as her grandmother has deemed it an unsafe place. Belinda describes her life with childlike innocence, naively believing she is like everyone else and not understanding why she never receives the same privileges, e.g. joining after school clubs, getting a job. Whilst she slowly regains her confidence to return to school, Emily and Lucas begin to enjoy working at the LLC, however continue to feel guilty, as they are aware that although they are doing a great job, it is not doing anything to make Belinda’s life better. So, they aim to change that.
Although relationships feature heavily in this novel, <i>A Step Towards Falling</i> is largely based on similar themes to Jane Austen’s <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> – incidentally Belinda’s favourite story. Each key character have their own prejudices towards other people and act as though they are better than everyone else. Emily instantly judges Lucas to be a popular, uneducated boy due to his position on the school football team. Likewise, Lucas judges Emily for hanging out with “nerdy” people who only care about grades and getting into good colleges. Belinda, despite being different due to her disability, believes she is better than other people in her class because she can read and use a computer, whereas many can barely string a sentence together.
What McGovern is stressing throughout this narrative is the importance of getting to know someone first instead of arrogantly assuming you know exactly what they are like based on appearance. As can be revealed in <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>, someone who appears rude and distant may actually have a lovely, kind and considerate personality. Emily and Lucas learn this quite quickly, and Belinda is not far behind them. It is a shame that not many other people are as swift to realize this.
Although <i>A Step Towards Falling</i> is a work of fiction it deals with issues that many high school students, and even adults, face even if they do not realize it. Football players are often presumed to be unintelligent, likewise clever, “nerdy” people may come across as distant and uncaring. The worst thing that most, if not all, are guilty of is the presupposed belief that developmentally disabled people are weird and to be avoided. This is entirely false, as McGovern reveals; they have the right to the same life as anyone else, the only difference is they may take longer to learn what comes naturally to most people.
As a novel, <i>A Step Towards Falling</i> is a fairly gentle read about completely realistic events. Although there are references to Belinda’s assault, there is nothing majorly distressing. On the other hand, it is a bit too plain sailing, with no climax to speak of. Through her attempt to create an accurate representation of disabled people, McGovern fails to grip the reader or create excitement. There is no suspense or anticipation, which unfortunately makes the book a little disappointing.
Overall the story line may not be the most thrilling however it has a powerful voice and a satisfying ending. All teenagers, and adults too, should read this book and become more mindful of their behaviour and prejudices. Naturally this is not something that will be easy to completely eradicate, but as this book reveals, once you are aware of your inaccurate impressions it become easier to accept people the way they are, and become confident in getting to know their true personality.
<i>This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
A Step Towards Falling</i> by Cammie McGovern is a book full of important messages. As with a couple of her previous novels, McGovern writes about characters with developmental disabilities, i.e. Autism, focusing on the ways in which they interact with the world around them and vice versa. This particular story is written with teenagers in mind, featuring topics such as dating and future prospects.
One of the narrators Emily, along with high school football player Lucas, are being punished for not helping a disabled student when they witnessed her being assaulted. In order to appease the school they are subjected to forty hours of community service – voluntarily helping to run the Boundaries and Relationships class at the Lifelong Learning Centre. Here they meet a handful of people with disabilities who need help to identify what is and what is not acceptable in potential romantic relationships. Although Emily and Lucas initially think members of the group are strange, they soon learn to see through their quirks and admire them for their positive personalities.
The second narrator, Belinda, is the assaulted girl. To begin with she is no longer attending school as her grandmother has deemed it an unsafe place. Belinda describes her life with childlike innocence, naively believing she is like everyone else and not understanding why she never receives the same privileges, e.g. joining after school clubs, getting a job. Whilst she slowly regains her confidence to return to school, Emily and Lucas begin to enjoy working at the LLC, however continue to feel guilty, as they are aware that although they are doing a great job, it is not doing anything to make Belinda’s life better. So, they aim to change that.
Although relationships feature heavily in this novel, <i>A Step Towards Falling</i> is largely based on similar themes to Jane Austen’s <i>Pride and Prejudice</i> – incidentally Belinda’s favourite story. Each key character have their own prejudices towards other people and act as though they are better than everyone else. Emily instantly judges Lucas to be a popular, uneducated boy due to his position on the school football team. Likewise, Lucas judges Emily for hanging out with “nerdy” people who only care about grades and getting into good colleges. Belinda, despite being different due to her disability, believes she is better than other people in her class because she can read and use a computer, whereas many can barely string a sentence together.
What McGovern is stressing throughout this narrative is the importance of getting to know someone first instead of arrogantly assuming you know exactly what they are like based on appearance. As can be revealed in <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>, someone who appears rude and distant may actually have a lovely, kind and considerate personality. Emily and Lucas learn this quite quickly, and Belinda is not far behind them. It is a shame that not many other people are as swift to realize this.
Although <i>A Step Towards Falling</i> is a work of fiction it deals with issues that many high school students, and even adults, face even if they do not realize it. Football players are often presumed to be unintelligent, likewise clever, “nerdy” people may come across as distant and uncaring. The worst thing that most, if not all, are guilty of is the presupposed belief that developmentally disabled people are weird and to be avoided. This is entirely false, as McGovern reveals; they have the right to the same life as anyone else, the only difference is they may take longer to learn what comes naturally to most people.
As a novel, <i>A Step Towards Falling</i> is a fairly gentle read about completely realistic events. Although there are references to Belinda’s assault, there is nothing majorly distressing. On the other hand, it is a bit too plain sailing, with no climax to speak of. Through her attempt to create an accurate representation of disabled people, McGovern fails to grip the reader or create excitement. There is no suspense or anticipation, which unfortunately makes the book a little disappointing.
Overall the story line may not be the most thrilling however it has a powerful voice and a satisfying ending. All teenagers, and adults too, should read this book and become more mindful of their behaviour and prejudices. Naturally this is not something that will be easy to completely eradicate, but as this book reveals, once you are aware of your inaccurate impressions it become easier to accept people the way they are, and become confident in getting to know their true personality.
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Wonder Woman 1984 (2020) in Movies
Jan 22, 2021
I swung between wanting to see this and not, had it been a normal world then of course I would have gone regardless, but as it is I wasn't having strong feelings about this one.
Diana's dreams come true at the hands of an ancient artefact that can grant wishes. But as a wish is given something is taken away, and when Maxwell Lord, businessman and entrepreneur, makes a wish, the world is about to learn the lesson of the phrase... "be careful what you wish for".
First off... this absolutely would have been better on the big screen. It's never been so apparent to me that a cinema experience of a film holds so much power, it's making me understand the differences in early reviews and home viewing reviews a lot more these days.
The story of WW84 is really a very simple one. Doodad does magic, people are evil, goodie must make them good again. And that somehow fills a whole 2 hour 31 minutes of film... it doesn't feel like a very satisfying experience. For all that opener, the conclusion seems to be fleeting and dare I say it... not entirely believable. Overall the whole thing doesn't get particularly deep at any point despite there being a lot of opportunities around the wishes, and there are some questionable moments that could fill several blog posts.
There's been a long pause between me writing the first part and continuing here. That pause involved me staring at my notes and contemplating just writing "meh" and finishing the review there. I'm really going to try and elaborate on my feelings though.
For a film with two villains it's not got much proper villainy in it. Barbara Minerva becoming Cheetah is massively underwhelming from what felt like a promising build-up, and Maxwell Lord, despite having the potential, was not big bad material. Neither had the drive in them to be a truly powerful force in the film, and what's the point in a villain if you can't get on board to hate them?
Kristen Wiig did give a great performance as Barbara, it was a smooth and interesting transition as she progressed, and it left me a lot less "meh" than everything else. But did anyone else just keep thinking Catwoman though?
I thought Pedro Pascal had 80's businessman down pretty well, but I found him to be a little lacklustre, and the character's story felt like the reason for that.
As with the first film, Gal Gadot is majestic on screen as Diana and Wonder Woman... but even here I found myself shrugging at what was going on, and cringing at some problematic plot points. I'm trying to work out if the appeal of the first film was partially due to the amusement of Diana discovering the world for the first time. Here she's savvy and elegant (even for the 0s), and she didn't have the same humour. Instead, we've got that role filled by Steve (Chris Pine). His discovery of the 80s world was fairly amusing, but the way in which he came back bugged me.
All in all characters really didn't grab me, out two main newbies felt very much like rip-offs of other things rather than a great recreation of their source material.
Visually the film was amazing, the bright colours, the style, all fit the era and you gotta love some parachute pants. But outside of that it just merged into other films for me.
That CGI... how can you get so many things right but somehow not do the villains? It's Steppenwolf all over again, Cheetah looked bad. Not only that, but it took an immense amount of time for us to even get to that full effect... so why wasn't it on point? How are DC incapable of animating their villains?
Will I watch this again? Probably, but I'm not overly fussed about it being anytime soon. It wasn't anywhere near as entertaining as the first for me, and didn't have enough action to cover up the disappointing story and character work. I really wish I felt strongly one way or the other on this and not having just another sitting on the fence swinging my feet review. I did appreciate some early vaguely Quidditchy vibes at the beginning though.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/01/wonder-woman-1984-movie-review.html
Diana's dreams come true at the hands of an ancient artefact that can grant wishes. But as a wish is given something is taken away, and when Maxwell Lord, businessman and entrepreneur, makes a wish, the world is about to learn the lesson of the phrase... "be careful what you wish for".
First off... this absolutely would have been better on the big screen. It's never been so apparent to me that a cinema experience of a film holds so much power, it's making me understand the differences in early reviews and home viewing reviews a lot more these days.
The story of WW84 is really a very simple one. Doodad does magic, people are evil, goodie must make them good again. And that somehow fills a whole 2 hour 31 minutes of film... it doesn't feel like a very satisfying experience. For all that opener, the conclusion seems to be fleeting and dare I say it... not entirely believable. Overall the whole thing doesn't get particularly deep at any point despite there being a lot of opportunities around the wishes, and there are some questionable moments that could fill several blog posts.
There's been a long pause between me writing the first part and continuing here. That pause involved me staring at my notes and contemplating just writing "meh" and finishing the review there. I'm really going to try and elaborate on my feelings though.
For a film with two villains it's not got much proper villainy in it. Barbara Minerva becoming Cheetah is massively underwhelming from what felt like a promising build-up, and Maxwell Lord, despite having the potential, was not big bad material. Neither had the drive in them to be a truly powerful force in the film, and what's the point in a villain if you can't get on board to hate them?
Kristen Wiig did give a great performance as Barbara, it was a smooth and interesting transition as she progressed, and it left me a lot less "meh" than everything else. But did anyone else just keep thinking Catwoman though?
I thought Pedro Pascal had 80's businessman down pretty well, but I found him to be a little lacklustre, and the character's story felt like the reason for that.
As with the first film, Gal Gadot is majestic on screen as Diana and Wonder Woman... but even here I found myself shrugging at what was going on, and cringing at some problematic plot points. I'm trying to work out if the appeal of the first film was partially due to the amusement of Diana discovering the world for the first time. Here she's savvy and elegant (even for the 0s), and she didn't have the same humour. Instead, we've got that role filled by Steve (Chris Pine). His discovery of the 80s world was fairly amusing, but the way in which he came back bugged me.
All in all characters really didn't grab me, out two main newbies felt very much like rip-offs of other things rather than a great recreation of their source material.
Visually the film was amazing, the bright colours, the style, all fit the era and you gotta love some parachute pants. But outside of that it just merged into other films for me.
That CGI... how can you get so many things right but somehow not do the villains? It's Steppenwolf all over again, Cheetah looked bad. Not only that, but it took an immense amount of time for us to even get to that full effect... so why wasn't it on point? How are DC incapable of animating their villains?
Will I watch this again? Probably, but I'm not overly fussed about it being anytime soon. It wasn't anywhere near as entertaining as the first for me, and didn't have enough action to cover up the disappointing story and character work. I really wish I felt strongly one way or the other on this and not having just another sitting on the fence swinging my feet review. I did appreciate some early vaguely Quidditchy vibes at the beginning though.
Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2021/01/wonder-woman-1984-movie-review.html
Gareth von Kallenbach (977 KP) rated Glory Road (2006) in Movies
Aug 14, 2019
Sports films have long been a popular genre in Hollywood as classics such as Pride of the Yankees, The Natural, and Raging Bull are all examples of some of the finest examples of sports films which encapsulate the very essence of the sport they portray.
In the new film Glory Road Josh Lucas stars as Don Haskins, a girls Basketball coach who is given the chance to coach a Division 1 team at Texas Western in 1966.
The small school cannot offer the coach much in the way of amenities as Don and his family are required to live in the student’s dorm. Since his dreams of playing pro ball came to a halt after a knee injury, Haskins looks at his job as a chance for him to make a name for himself.
The task will be daunting as Texas Western is a very small school that puts the majority of its athletic budget into the football program leaving next to no money for the gym, new equipment, and recruiting of players.
After a frustrating attempt to recruit players at a local invitational, Haskins sets his sites on a young African American player who while big on attitude, is also big on potential.
With scholarships to offer, Haskins and his staff travel the nation and shock the conservative school by offering scholarships to 8 African American players. In a day and age when teams had at most 1-2 African American players; many of whom did not see much playing time; this is a risky move for the coach.
Undaunted, the coach begins the process of integrating his new players with his current players all of whom are Caucasian, which leads to some tension over starting rights, abilities, and styles.
Haskins is a no nonsense coach who is very strict in regards to grades, effort in practice, and above all avoiding late nights and carousing while the season is underway. Despite this, many players decide to test the will of the coach which raises issues of commitment to the team and discipline, all of which are standard staples of sports films.
When the season starts, a funny thing happens. Not only is the coach playing his African American players in a heavy rotation, but little Texas Western is winning their games and beating some of the more noted teams in the country in the process.
As their notoriety increases so does the amount of hostility directed towards the team from racially incensed fans who do not like the make up of the team and especially hate their success.
Despite this, the team finds itself in the National Championship game against powerful Kentucky coached by the legendary Adolph Rupp (Jon Voight), where Haskins makes history by starting and playing only his African American players which is a first in NCAA finals history.
While the marketing and trailers for the film certainly do not hesitate from telling you most of the above and underscoring that the team ends up in the finals and that the film is based on a true story, it is not about the final results, it is about the journey the team took getting there.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer is a master at knowing what the fans want and director James Gartner gives viewers a by the number film that delivers the goods. Yes, the film heavily uses all the sporting clichés from the ailing player, the us against the world mentality, the team of misfits, and so on all of which combines to offer little cinematic tension as it is very clear early on and from the ads where this film will end up.
Despite tipping their hand early and throughout, the filmmakers have decided not to rock the boat and have stuck with a tried and true formula that results with a winning albeit very predictable film.
Lucas does a solid job in the roll and makes the best of the material he has to work with. The game sequences are well managed and rousing which had members of my preview audience cheering.
While it offers little originality, Glory Road is a lot of fun, and despite mining every cliché in the book, is an entertaining time at the movies.
In the new film Glory Road Josh Lucas stars as Don Haskins, a girls Basketball coach who is given the chance to coach a Division 1 team at Texas Western in 1966.
The small school cannot offer the coach much in the way of amenities as Don and his family are required to live in the student’s dorm. Since his dreams of playing pro ball came to a halt after a knee injury, Haskins looks at his job as a chance for him to make a name for himself.
The task will be daunting as Texas Western is a very small school that puts the majority of its athletic budget into the football program leaving next to no money for the gym, new equipment, and recruiting of players.
After a frustrating attempt to recruit players at a local invitational, Haskins sets his sites on a young African American player who while big on attitude, is also big on potential.
With scholarships to offer, Haskins and his staff travel the nation and shock the conservative school by offering scholarships to 8 African American players. In a day and age when teams had at most 1-2 African American players; many of whom did not see much playing time; this is a risky move for the coach.
Undaunted, the coach begins the process of integrating his new players with his current players all of whom are Caucasian, which leads to some tension over starting rights, abilities, and styles.
Haskins is a no nonsense coach who is very strict in regards to grades, effort in practice, and above all avoiding late nights and carousing while the season is underway. Despite this, many players decide to test the will of the coach which raises issues of commitment to the team and discipline, all of which are standard staples of sports films.
When the season starts, a funny thing happens. Not only is the coach playing his African American players in a heavy rotation, but little Texas Western is winning their games and beating some of the more noted teams in the country in the process.
As their notoriety increases so does the amount of hostility directed towards the team from racially incensed fans who do not like the make up of the team and especially hate their success.
Despite this, the team finds itself in the National Championship game against powerful Kentucky coached by the legendary Adolph Rupp (Jon Voight), where Haskins makes history by starting and playing only his African American players which is a first in NCAA finals history.
While the marketing and trailers for the film certainly do not hesitate from telling you most of the above and underscoring that the team ends up in the finals and that the film is based on a true story, it is not about the final results, it is about the journey the team took getting there.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer is a master at knowing what the fans want and director James Gartner gives viewers a by the number film that delivers the goods. Yes, the film heavily uses all the sporting clichés from the ailing player, the us against the world mentality, the team of misfits, and so on all of which combines to offer little cinematic tension as it is very clear early on and from the ads where this film will end up.
Despite tipping their hand early and throughout, the filmmakers have decided not to rock the boat and have stuck with a tried and true formula that results with a winning albeit very predictable film.
Lucas does a solid job in the roll and makes the best of the material he has to work with. The game sequences are well managed and rousing which had members of my preview audience cheering.
While it offers little originality, Glory Road is a lot of fun, and despite mining every cliché in the book, is an entertaining time at the movies.
Chris Sawin (602 KP) rated The Midnight Meat Train (2008) in Movies
Jun 19, 2019
Step Away from the Meat
The Midnight Meat Train is a horror film based on the short story of the same name written by Clive Barker. The story was published in the first volume of Barker’s Books of Blood short story collection. The Books of Blood totaled six volumes with four to five stories in each volume and were published between 1984 and 1985. The first volume made Barker an overnight success with Stephen King hailing Barker as, “the future of horror.”
The screenplay for the 2008 film was written by Jeff Buhler (writer for the 2019 remakes of Jacob’s Ladder, Pet Sematary, and The Grudge) and directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (Versus, Godzilla: Final Wars). Bradley Cooper stars as a struggling photographer named Leon Kauffman. While he’s secured a job as a photographer, he hasn’t been recognized as a professional just yet. But Leon has a meeting with a professional artist named Susan Hoff (Brooke Shields) that could potentially change his career status. In Leon’s eyes, he doesn’t think that any other photographer has really captured the heart of the city and that’s what he aims to do with his work. However, Susan’s criticism is that Leon is failing at his dream and to only see her again once he finds what he’s looking for.
Leon confronts some thugs during a mugging and documents the ordeal with his camera. The pictures impress Susan and she tells Leon that he’ll be featured in her next show if he brings her two more shots like the newest ones. Leon encounters Mahogany (Vinnie Jones), a butcher that works at a meat packing plant. Leon develops an obsession over Mahogany and stalks him constantly while photographing him wherever he goes. Leon suspects that Mahogany and the train he takes so late at night are the cause for so many missing people over the past three years. Leon doesn’t know how these people disappear until he follows Mahogany onto the train one fateful evening. But this operation is much more complex and dangerous than Leon first realized and his life is forever altered because of it.
This is one of the few times where the short story that inspired the film was read before seeing it. This is coming from someone who is a sporadic reader at best, but Clive Barker has been a personal favorite author for as long as this cynically bonkers brain can remember. Most of the films based on Clive Barker’s works come from The Books of Blood; Book of Blood (Volume One), Dread (Volume Two), Rawhead Rex (Volume Three), Quicksilver Highway (Volume Four, “The Body Politik”), Candyman (Volume Five, “The Forbidden”), and Lord of Illusions (Volume Six, “The Last Illusion”). Barker has always been able to build these incredibly terrifying worlds in his writing with demented characters while maintaining this richly horrifying atmosphere. Thinking so highly of Barker and admiring his work so much made expectations a little high for this film. This is also Ryuhei Kitamura’s first American and English-speaking film. The Midnight Meat Train is one of the few times where the final product actually exceeded expectations.
The Midnight Meat Train pays more attention to blood, gore, and thrills than actually attempting to be scary. The kills in the film are exceptional and director of photography Jonathan Sela (John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2) delivers some incredibly captivating cinematography. There’s a scene where Mahogany knocks a woman’s head off her shoulders with his mallet that he’s always carrying around, but you see it all from her perspective; she puts her hands up as a last defense before the final blow, the room spins, the camera focuses on Mahogany and the headless corpse, he lowers his mallet as she blinks a few times, and the camera pans out from her eyeball to show her severed head.
Vinnie Jones has an overwhelming and powerful performance in The Midnight Meat Train. He doesn’t have much in the way of dialogue, but he makes a massive impact on screen because of his enormous presence. The English actor is 6’2”, so you’re already drawn to this big guy when he enters a room anyway, but give him a gigantic meat mallet and a desire to kill and he evolves into this unstoppable monster that many would consider frightening. Jones knows how to utilize his facial expressions and body language in a way that says more than any string of dialogue would.
The one issue with the film is that every person seemed to be able to sense when somebody else was behind them. While it made for some intriguing camera shots, the execution killed whatever attempts at suspense The Midnight Meat Train was going for. It would have been more satisfying to see at least one person get shanked or clocked in the temple without expecting it.
The Midnight Meat Train is a relentless gorefest that remains true to its source material. The horror film is worth a watch for any fan of Clive Barker’s work or horror films in general. There was this sinking gut feeling that the film wouldn’t keep the ending in tact since it seemed like it wouldn’t translate well on-screen. Without giving too much away, the ending is completely satisfying to those who are familiar with the short story. This is a remarkably excellent horror film that fails to get the recognition it deserves.
The Midnight Meat Train is currently streaming on Amazon Prime, YouTube, and Google Play for $1.99, on Vudu for $2.99, and iTunes for $3.99. The Multi-Format Blu-ray (which is the unrated director’s cut version of the film) is currently $6.50 with prime shipping on Amazon Prime and the DVD is running for $9.99 with prime shipping. On eBay, the pre-owned DVD is $4.58, the brand new DVD is $8.49, and the new Multi-Format Blu-ray is $10.98 and all three have free shipping.
The screenplay for the 2008 film was written by Jeff Buhler (writer for the 2019 remakes of Jacob’s Ladder, Pet Sematary, and The Grudge) and directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (Versus, Godzilla: Final Wars). Bradley Cooper stars as a struggling photographer named Leon Kauffman. While he’s secured a job as a photographer, he hasn’t been recognized as a professional just yet. But Leon has a meeting with a professional artist named Susan Hoff (Brooke Shields) that could potentially change his career status. In Leon’s eyes, he doesn’t think that any other photographer has really captured the heart of the city and that’s what he aims to do with his work. However, Susan’s criticism is that Leon is failing at his dream and to only see her again once he finds what he’s looking for.
Leon confronts some thugs during a mugging and documents the ordeal with his camera. The pictures impress Susan and she tells Leon that he’ll be featured in her next show if he brings her two more shots like the newest ones. Leon encounters Mahogany (Vinnie Jones), a butcher that works at a meat packing plant. Leon develops an obsession over Mahogany and stalks him constantly while photographing him wherever he goes. Leon suspects that Mahogany and the train he takes so late at night are the cause for so many missing people over the past three years. Leon doesn’t know how these people disappear until he follows Mahogany onto the train one fateful evening. But this operation is much more complex and dangerous than Leon first realized and his life is forever altered because of it.
This is one of the few times where the short story that inspired the film was read before seeing it. This is coming from someone who is a sporadic reader at best, but Clive Barker has been a personal favorite author for as long as this cynically bonkers brain can remember. Most of the films based on Clive Barker’s works come from The Books of Blood; Book of Blood (Volume One), Dread (Volume Two), Rawhead Rex (Volume Three), Quicksilver Highway (Volume Four, “The Body Politik”), Candyman (Volume Five, “The Forbidden”), and Lord of Illusions (Volume Six, “The Last Illusion”). Barker has always been able to build these incredibly terrifying worlds in his writing with demented characters while maintaining this richly horrifying atmosphere. Thinking so highly of Barker and admiring his work so much made expectations a little high for this film. This is also Ryuhei Kitamura’s first American and English-speaking film. The Midnight Meat Train is one of the few times where the final product actually exceeded expectations.
The Midnight Meat Train pays more attention to blood, gore, and thrills than actually attempting to be scary. The kills in the film are exceptional and director of photography Jonathan Sela (John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2) delivers some incredibly captivating cinematography. There’s a scene where Mahogany knocks a woman’s head off her shoulders with his mallet that he’s always carrying around, but you see it all from her perspective; she puts her hands up as a last defense before the final blow, the room spins, the camera focuses on Mahogany and the headless corpse, he lowers his mallet as she blinks a few times, and the camera pans out from her eyeball to show her severed head.
Vinnie Jones has an overwhelming and powerful performance in The Midnight Meat Train. He doesn’t have much in the way of dialogue, but he makes a massive impact on screen because of his enormous presence. The English actor is 6’2”, so you’re already drawn to this big guy when he enters a room anyway, but give him a gigantic meat mallet and a desire to kill and he evolves into this unstoppable monster that many would consider frightening. Jones knows how to utilize his facial expressions and body language in a way that says more than any string of dialogue would.
The one issue with the film is that every person seemed to be able to sense when somebody else was behind them. While it made for some intriguing camera shots, the execution killed whatever attempts at suspense The Midnight Meat Train was going for. It would have been more satisfying to see at least one person get shanked or clocked in the temple without expecting it.
The Midnight Meat Train is a relentless gorefest that remains true to its source material. The horror film is worth a watch for any fan of Clive Barker’s work or horror films in general. There was this sinking gut feeling that the film wouldn’t keep the ending in tact since it seemed like it wouldn’t translate well on-screen. Without giving too much away, the ending is completely satisfying to those who are familiar with the short story. This is a remarkably excellent horror film that fails to get the recognition it deserves.
The Midnight Meat Train is currently streaming on Amazon Prime, YouTube, and Google Play for $1.99, on Vudu for $2.99, and iTunes for $3.99. The Multi-Format Blu-ray (which is the unrated director’s cut version of the film) is currently $6.50 with prime shipping on Amazon Prime and the DVD is running for $9.99 with prime shipping. On eBay, the pre-owned DVD is $4.58, the brand new DVD is $8.49, and the new Multi-Format Blu-ray is $10.98 and all three have free shipping.
Ivana A. | Diary of Difference (1171 KP) rated Mayhem in Books
Oct 2, 2020
I am so happy to have the opportunity to be part of the blog tour for Mayhem by Estelle Laure. Thank you to the team at Wednesday Books, for sending me an e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
Estelle Laure, the author of This Raging Light and But Then I Came Back believes in love, magic, and the power of facing hard truths. She has a BA in Theatre Arts and an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults, and she lives in Taos, New Mexico, with her family. Her work is translated widely around the world.
It's 1987 and Mayhem Brayburn has always known something's off about her and her mum, Roxy. Roxy is in constant physical pain, and Mayhem has an irresistible pull to water. She knows they aren't like the other people.
When one day, Mayhem's stepfather goes one step too far, her and Roxy escape to Santa Maria, California, the beach town that holds the answers to all of Mayhem's questions about who her mother is. There, she meets the kids who live with her aunt, and she opens the door to the magic that runs through the female lineage of the Brayburn family. The very magic Mayhem is next in line to inherit and which will change her life for good.
But when she is on a mission to search for a man that has been kidnapping girls from the beach, her life takes another dangerous turn and she needs to pay the price of vigilante justice and to ask herself whether revenge is worth the cost.
My Thoughts:
Mayhem by Estelle Laure is one of a kind. Entwined with mystery, magic with family heritage and revenge, this book is full of emotions.
The beginning of the book, although powerful, is very slow. It took me a little while to get into it, but as soon as I was hooked, it stayed amazing.
Mayhem is an interesting character. She holds a lot of emotions inside of her, all from past experiences that have shaped her character. Sad to say that most of her experiences were not good, and she holds the burden for it all. I can imagine how hard it must be to write a character as complicated as Mayhem, and I think Estelle Laure did and amazing job doing it.
I loved the kids as well - each of them different in their own way, battling their own demons and living through their bad experiences in the past. Some of these characters drastically change over the course of the book, which was unbelievable to me.
The magic aspect of this book was interesting, and for me, original. I have seen many reviews mentioning that this might not be true, and it is a very similar story to The Lost Boys. Since I haven't watched The Lost Boys, I am unable to comment on this part. Personally, I really enjoyed the magic concept with the water, the dependency on it and the family heritage part too.
If you are searching for a YA fantasy thriller, with rich characters and mysterious adventures, I think you will definitely enjoy this book.
Estelle Laure, the author of This Raging Light and But Then I Came Back believes in love, magic, and the power of facing hard truths. She has a BA in Theatre Arts and an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults, and she lives in Taos, New Mexico, with her family. Her work is translated widely around the world.
It's 1987 and Mayhem Brayburn has always known something's off about her and her mum, Roxy. Roxy is in constant physical pain, and Mayhem has an irresistible pull to water. She knows they aren't like the other people.
When one day, Mayhem's stepfather goes one step too far, her and Roxy escape to Santa Maria, California, the beach town that holds the answers to all of Mayhem's questions about who her mother is. There, she meets the kids who live with her aunt, and she opens the door to the magic that runs through the female lineage of the Brayburn family. The very magic Mayhem is next in line to inherit and which will change her life for good.
But when she is on a mission to search for a man that has been kidnapping girls from the beach, her life takes another dangerous turn and she needs to pay the price of vigilante justice and to ask herself whether revenge is worth the cost.
My Thoughts:
Mayhem by Estelle Laure is one of a kind. Entwined with mystery, magic with family heritage and revenge, this book is full of emotions.
The beginning of the book, although powerful, is very slow. It took me a little while to get into it, but as soon as I was hooked, it stayed amazing.
Mayhem is an interesting character. She holds a lot of emotions inside of her, all from past experiences that have shaped her character. Sad to say that most of her experiences were not good, and she holds the burden for it all. I can imagine how hard it must be to write a character as complicated as Mayhem, and I think Estelle Laure did and amazing job doing it.
I loved the kids as well - each of them different in their own way, battling their own demons and living through their bad experiences in the past. Some of these characters drastically change over the course of the book, which was unbelievable to me.
The magic aspect of this book was interesting, and for me, original. I have seen many reviews mentioning that this might not be true, and it is a very similar story to The Lost Boys. Since I haven't watched The Lost Boys, I am unable to comment on this part. Personally, I really enjoyed the magic concept with the water, the dependency on it and the family heritage part too.
If you are searching for a YA fantasy thriller, with rich characters and mysterious adventures, I think you will definitely enjoy this book.