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David McK (3453 KP) rated Stardust (2007) in Movies
Aug 3, 2019 (Updated Apr 6, 2021)
Starring a pre-Daredevil Charlie Cox and based on the book of the same name by Neil Gaiman, this actually sticks pretty close to it's source material for the majority of its runtime: that is, up until about the last 30 minutes or so when it goes off in completely its own tangent.
I also have to say that I found the inclusion of Ricky Gervais to be completely out of place (I find his whole schtick to be incredibly annoying anyway), and Robert De Niro playing against type as Captain Shakespeare also took me quite by surprise the first time I saw it (but good on him for being game enough to do so).
I also have to say that I found the inclusion of Ricky Gervais to be completely out of place (I find his whole schtick to be incredibly annoying anyway), and Robert De Niro playing against type as Captain Shakespeare also took me quite by surprise the first time I saw it (but good on him for being game enough to do so).
BookInspector (124 KP) rated Dog Share in Books
Jul 1, 2021
This novel is told from a dual perspective. Suzy is a woman in her late forties, that is left on her own to deal with her partner’s “project”, a failing whisky distillery on Hebridean island. I really liked Suzy, she is a strong and hard-working woman, who is ready to take responsibility to save people’s livelihood. Ricky is our second protagonist, he is a single father to an eleven-year-old boy, who really wants a dog. 😀 Ricky brings funny relationship stories and single parenthood woes to this novel. But all the characters in this book are connected by Scout, a stray dog that Suzy adopts.
The narrative of this novel is pretty easy flowing, and most of the time the characters are sharing their past and present lives and thoughts. The topics discussed in this novel are parenthood, compatibility in relationships, love for dogs, and life in general. I really liked how the author incorporated her life in York and Glasgow in the novel.
The audiobook I listened to was narrated by Cathleen McCarron and Robin Laing, and they have done an amazing job in bringing this book to life. I loved the northern accent, it gave this book a completely different feeling compared to my reading style. I love Scotland, and to hear all the details about nature and the island itself made me want to go there asap. 😀 The ending of this book rounded up the story very nicely.
So, to conclude, I enjoyed listening to this book, It is set in a beautiful environment with very realistic and believable characters, that make me want to have a pet of my own. 🙂 I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a great place to travel while reading and who loves dogs, because in this case, Scout brought people together.
The narrative of this novel is pretty easy flowing, and most of the time the characters are sharing their past and present lives and thoughts. The topics discussed in this novel are parenthood, compatibility in relationships, love for dogs, and life in general. I really liked how the author incorporated her life in York and Glasgow in the novel.
The audiobook I listened to was narrated by Cathleen McCarron and Robin Laing, and they have done an amazing job in bringing this book to life. I loved the northern accent, it gave this book a completely different feeling compared to my reading style. I love Scotland, and to hear all the details about nature and the island itself made me want to go there asap. 😀 The ending of this book rounded up the story very nicely.
So, to conclude, I enjoyed listening to this book, It is set in a beautiful environment with very realistic and believable characters, that make me want to have a pet of my own. 🙂 I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a great place to travel while reading and who loves dogs, because in this case, Scout brought people together.
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated The Curse of Captain Lafoote in Books
Apr 27, 2018
This book was hard to read. It was confusing, and it didn't seem to have a plot. A lot of things happened, but it didn't seem to really have plot.
I felt like there should have been more emotional reactions. Everything was from Ricky's perspective, so I was in his head, but most of the time I didn't know what he was thinking, so I didn't connect with him very well.
The beginning had pretty good pacing. The middle was really exciting. But then things got confusing again, and two thirds of the way through I just got really flustered because there were no answers (and no plot) in sight. I gave up, but then sighed and read one more page, and it got exciting again.
But at the end I was still confused. I was glad I finished it because I was getting annoyed. I found myself reading only the dialogue during the last quarter of the book.
I'm still not quite sure what the plot was. I don't know what the curse was. I don't know what happens at the end. All I know is Ricky and Rebecca survive and sail away on a boat (I think it's stolen) and the dog is gone. Maybe. Actually I'm not sure if the dog is gone or not.
Confusing. See? this is my confused face. o.0
(And while we're at it, this is my pirate face. o.-- )
Content: clean
I felt like there should have been more emotional reactions. Everything was from Ricky's perspective, so I was in his head, but most of the time I didn't know what he was thinking, so I didn't connect with him very well.
The beginning had pretty good pacing. The middle was really exciting. But then things got confusing again, and two thirds of the way through I just got really flustered because there were no answers (and no plot) in sight. I gave up, but then sighed and read one more page, and it got exciting again.
But at the end I was still confused. I was glad I finished it because I was getting annoyed. I found myself reading only the dialogue during the last quarter of the book.
I'm still not quite sure what the plot was. I don't know what the curse was. I don't know what happens at the end. All I know is Ricky and Rebecca survive and sail away on a boat (I think it's stolen) and the dog is gone. Maybe. Actually I'm not sure if the dog is gone or not.
Confusing. See? this is my confused face. o.0
(And while we're at it, this is my pirate face. o.-- )
Content: clean
Ross (3284 KP) rated After Life in TV
Apr 11, 2019
Gervais tries to break the mould again
Once again we see Ricky Gervais try to break the mould for a sit-com, this time by covering some pretty deep and heavy topics. While the humour is still there, it comes through fairly infrequently and is a little off kilter, when compared to the drama of the series.
Gervais plays Tony, a journalist on a local free paper who has recently lost his wife to cancer. Tony has simply given up on life and, while he cannot bring himself to end it, he seems to have decided to just do whatever he wants, no matter the consequences. He is rude to people in the street, makes his colleagues' working days miserable, and while he visits his dad in a care home regularly he clearly hates it and is just doing it out of duty.
Most of the comedy comes through in Gervais doing what he does best - being rude and nasty and way over the top in insulting people. The humour here is more for the shock value (calling a 6 year old a tubby little c**t for example) rather than a more considered layer of humour. As Tony has decided he can just do whatever he wants and hang the consequences, he takes a stand against stupid rules (the scene where he takes his nephew for tea in a café was brilliant).
I preferred the drama side of the series - him trying drugs, meeting new people and gradually softening over the series were some very touching moments and very well written. However when weighed against the comedy it just seems incongruous. I think Gervais needs to think about whether he wants to write a drama (and tone down the comedy a little more) or a comedy (and try less to push the boundaries).
Tony's epiphany was a little rushed/hard to spot. It seems that after 5 episodes of not caring about anything, the 6th starts off with him suddenly being a changed man out of nowhere. There were small moments where he seemed to soften but there was no sudden realisation big enough to justify the change of heart in the last episode.
This was a pretty hard hitting, emotional series, but I think it lost a little of the impact by having Gervais in it and trying to shoe-horn his sense of humour into it.
Gervais plays Tony, a journalist on a local free paper who has recently lost his wife to cancer. Tony has simply given up on life and, while he cannot bring himself to end it, he seems to have decided to just do whatever he wants, no matter the consequences. He is rude to people in the street, makes his colleagues' working days miserable, and while he visits his dad in a care home regularly he clearly hates it and is just doing it out of duty.
Most of the comedy comes through in Gervais doing what he does best - being rude and nasty and way over the top in insulting people. The humour here is more for the shock value (calling a 6 year old a tubby little c**t for example) rather than a more considered layer of humour. As Tony has decided he can just do whatever he wants and hang the consequences, he takes a stand against stupid rules (the scene where he takes his nephew for tea in a café was brilliant).
I preferred the drama side of the series - him trying drugs, meeting new people and gradually softening over the series were some very touching moments and very well written. However when weighed against the comedy it just seems incongruous. I think Gervais needs to think about whether he wants to write a drama (and tone down the comedy a little more) or a comedy (and try less to push the boundaries).
Tony's epiphany was a little rushed/hard to spot. It seems that after 5 episodes of not caring about anything, the 6th starts off with him suddenly being a changed man out of nowhere. There were small moments where he seemed to soften but there was no sudden realisation big enough to justify the change of heart in the last episode.
This was a pretty hard hitting, emotional series, but I think it lost a little of the impact by having Gervais in it and trying to shoe-horn his sense of humour into it.
Chris Sawin (602 KP) rated The Big Boss (Tang shan da xiong) (1972) in Movies
Jun 23, 2019
The 70s cheese that's present in every Bruce Lee film seems overexposed in the film that would eventually lead to him becoming a martial arts action star. The Big Boss is very reminiscent of Riki-Oh - The Story of Ricky. That should be the other way around, but I managed to see Riki-Oh first and The Big Boss later. The two films are similar to each other for their over the top violence. This is Lee's bloodiest film and it's edited from when it was originally shown in theaters in '71.
Other than being bloody, the film is very unrealistic. It seems like anyone can jump ten feet into the air at will at any given point in time, a man leaves his outline in the wall after getting kicked through it by Bruce Lee, and Lee kills the main villain of the film by sticking his fingertips (all of them) into the villain's abdomen. That's just scratching the surface of the film's ridiculousness. Characters are very cliche, as well. The Chow Mei character is a typical damsel in distress kind of female character that is generally weak, has a crush on the main character of the film, and cries...AT EVERYTHING.
The Big Boss is definitely more cartoonish than any other Bruce Lee film. With all that being said, there's something still enjoyable about it. Maybe it's the fact that it jumpstarted Bruce Lee's career as a movie star or that films that contain over the top violence that don't take themselves too seriously are generally pretty awesome. It's a film worth seeing for the history behind it and it's worth owning for the Bruce Lee fans who know what it paved the way for.
Other than being bloody, the film is very unrealistic. It seems like anyone can jump ten feet into the air at will at any given point in time, a man leaves his outline in the wall after getting kicked through it by Bruce Lee, and Lee kills the main villain of the film by sticking his fingertips (all of them) into the villain's abdomen. That's just scratching the surface of the film's ridiculousness. Characters are very cliche, as well. The Chow Mei character is a typical damsel in distress kind of female character that is generally weak, has a crush on the main character of the film, and cries...AT EVERYTHING.
The Big Boss is definitely more cartoonish than any other Bruce Lee film. With all that being said, there's something still enjoyable about it. Maybe it's the fact that it jumpstarted Bruce Lee's career as a movie star or that films that contain over the top violence that don't take themselves too seriously are generally pretty awesome. It's a film worth seeing for the history behind it and it's worth owning for the Bruce Lee fans who know what it paved the way for.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Omens (Cainsville, #1) in Books
Aug 18, 2019 (Updated Jun 15, 2021)
Loved it
Contains spoilers, click to show
Twenty-four-year-old Olivia Taylor Jones has the perfect life. The only daughter of a wealthy, prominent Chicago family, she has an Ivy League education, pursues volunteerism and philanthropy, and is engaged to a handsome young tech firm CEO with political ambitions.
But Olivia’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence. When the news brings a maelstrom of unwanted publicity to her adopted family and fiancé, Olivia decides to find out the truth about the Larsens.
Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois, an old and cloistered community that takes a particular interest in both Olivia and her efforts to uncover her birth parents’ past.
Aided by her mother’s former lawyer, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia focuses on the Larsens’ last crime, the one her birth mother swears will prove their innocence. But as she and Gabriel start investigating the case, Olivia finds herself drawing on abilities that have remained hidden since her childhood, gifts that make her both a valuable addition to Cainsville and deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies. Because there are darker secrets behind her new home and powers lurking in the shadows that have their own plans for her.
This is a reread for me I first read this a couple of years ago. Kelley Armstrong is one of my favourite authors and I've read pretty much everything she has written! So I decided to start Cainsville from the beginning.
I remember how I was rooting for Gabrielle from his first appearance. Although Ricky is so hot Gabe has always held my heart. The beginning of their relationship was so rocky but I just loved reliving how great they are working together.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

But Olivia’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence. When the news brings a maelstrom of unwanted publicity to her adopted family and fiancé, Olivia decides to find out the truth about the Larsens.
Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois, an old and cloistered community that takes a particular interest in both Olivia and her efforts to uncover her birth parents’ past.
Aided by her mother’s former lawyer, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia focuses on the Larsens’ last crime, the one her birth mother swears will prove their innocence. But as she and Gabriel start investigating the case, Olivia finds herself drawing on abilities that have remained hidden since her childhood, gifts that make her both a valuable addition to Cainsville and deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies. Because there are darker secrets behind her new home and powers lurking in the shadows that have their own plans for her.
This is a reread for me I first read this a couple of years ago. Kelley Armstrong is one of my favourite authors and I've read pretty much everything she has written! So I decided to start Cainsville from the beginning.
I remember how I was rooting for Gabrielle from his first appearance. Although Ricky is so hot Gabe has always held my heart. The beginning of their relationship was so rocky but I just loved reliving how great they are working together.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Darren (1599 KP) rated 2001 Maniacs (2005) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Story: 2001 Maniacs starts as three history students Anderson (Gillespie), Nelson (Edrington) and Cory (Carey) failing through college before spring breaks gives them a chance to party some more. When the three friends meet fellow travellers including two hot girls Joey (Malcolm), Kat (Heekin) and Ricky (Gross) they arrange to meet back up on the beach and we continue our adventure with our three friends who find Pleasant Valley.
When the six find themselves being welcomed by the Mayor Buckman (Englund) for a celebration they decide to stay. As the strangers spend more time in the town they start to go missing before learning the truth about the people in the town. Who will make it out alive.
2001 Maniacs is one of those horrors that came out at the perfect time, it was the time when gore and nudity were big in the industry and this does everything needed. The story is pretty simple, strangers arrive in town and welcomed only to learn not everything is as it seems. Sure this is easy to watch but it is also important that nothing becomes over-complicated too.
Actor Review
Robert Englund: Mayor Buckman is the man running Pleasant Valley, he is from a time where the south was still in control meaning he only accepts white people in his town. It isn’t long till we learn his motives as the man who welcomes guests with arms wide open. Robert is always going to be a good lead for a film like this.mayr
Lin Shaye: Granny Boone is the host where the guests are staying. She is welcoming throughout the stay trying to make sure all the women look extra pretty. Lin is good in this role where we get to see the added quirky character.
Giuseppe Andrews: Harper is the charming man of the local town that seduces the women who come to town before finding his own way to kill them. Giuseppe is good in this role as you believe he will be calm and crazy in the same side.
Jay Gillespie: Anderson is the nice guy of the three friends travelling who meets the beautiful Joey where he sees a potential new girlfriend, when he learns what is going on he must try to survive. Jay is solid in this role but it could easily be any of the friends.
Support Cast: 2001 Maniacs has a supporting cast which is mostly the victims but also most of the women end up having to do some sort of nudity.
Director Review: Tim Sullivan – Tim gives us a film that reaches all the special effects levels and is filled with all the gore and nudity fitting the genre.
Comedy: 2001 Maniacs has a few good one liners when it comes to the kills.
Horror: 2001 Maniacs is gored filled for all of the kills but isn’t suspense filled.
Settings: 2001 Maniacs keeps most of the film in this small town showing how this is more of a tradition rather than mistake.
Special Effects: 2001 Maniacs has great effects when it comes to the kills which is important for the film.
Suggestion: 2001 Maniacs is one for the horror fans out there to sit down and watch. (Horror Fans Watch)
Best Part: The kills.
Worst Part: No suspense.
Kill Of The Film: Got Milk.
Believability: No
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: Has one.
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Budget: $3 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 27 Minutes
Tagline: The south will rise again!
Overall: Enjoyable horror that pushes the boundaries on kills.
https://moviesreview101.com/2016/10/08/movie-reviews-101-midnight-halloween-horror-2001-maniacs-2005/
When the six find themselves being welcomed by the Mayor Buckman (Englund) for a celebration they decide to stay. As the strangers spend more time in the town they start to go missing before learning the truth about the people in the town. Who will make it out alive.
2001 Maniacs is one of those horrors that came out at the perfect time, it was the time when gore and nudity were big in the industry and this does everything needed. The story is pretty simple, strangers arrive in town and welcomed only to learn not everything is as it seems. Sure this is easy to watch but it is also important that nothing becomes over-complicated too.
Actor Review
Robert Englund: Mayor Buckman is the man running Pleasant Valley, he is from a time where the south was still in control meaning he only accepts white people in his town. It isn’t long till we learn his motives as the man who welcomes guests with arms wide open. Robert is always going to be a good lead for a film like this.mayr
Lin Shaye: Granny Boone is the host where the guests are staying. She is welcoming throughout the stay trying to make sure all the women look extra pretty. Lin is good in this role where we get to see the added quirky character.
Giuseppe Andrews: Harper is the charming man of the local town that seduces the women who come to town before finding his own way to kill them. Giuseppe is good in this role as you believe he will be calm and crazy in the same side.
Jay Gillespie: Anderson is the nice guy of the three friends travelling who meets the beautiful Joey where he sees a potential new girlfriend, when he learns what is going on he must try to survive. Jay is solid in this role but it could easily be any of the friends.
Support Cast: 2001 Maniacs has a supporting cast which is mostly the victims but also most of the women end up having to do some sort of nudity.
Director Review: Tim Sullivan – Tim gives us a film that reaches all the special effects levels and is filled with all the gore and nudity fitting the genre.
Comedy: 2001 Maniacs has a few good one liners when it comes to the kills.
Horror: 2001 Maniacs is gored filled for all of the kills but isn’t suspense filled.
Settings: 2001 Maniacs keeps most of the film in this small town showing how this is more of a tradition rather than mistake.
Special Effects: 2001 Maniacs has great effects when it comes to the kills which is important for the film.
Suggestion: 2001 Maniacs is one for the horror fans out there to sit down and watch. (Horror Fans Watch)
Best Part: The kills.
Worst Part: No suspense.
Kill Of The Film: Got Milk.
Believability: No
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: Has one.
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Budget: $3 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 27 Minutes
Tagline: The south will rise again!
Overall: Enjoyable horror that pushes the boundaries on kills.
https://moviesreview101.com/2016/10/08/movie-reviews-101-midnight-halloween-horror-2001-maniacs-2005/