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Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Fatman (2020) in Movies
Nov 12, 2020
Billy Wenan (Chance Hurstfield) is a very spoiled, entitled, and sadistic young boy. He has the advantages of privilege and lives with his wealthy Grandmother but is rude and condescending to the staff. Billy is also very arrogant and petty to the point that a Runner Up finish at his private school Science Fair after a string of wins motivates him to hire a Hitman (Walton Goggins) to intimidate the victor to falsely admit to cheating so he can claim victory.
This is not the first time Billy has hired the Hitman and when he gets a lump of coal for Christmas from Santa (Mel Gibson) he is enraged and hires the Hitman to take out Santa.
Santa has his own issues as a decline in revenue has forced him and his wife Ruth (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) to take on a project with the government to not only restore his fully stipend but to pay additional funds that will ensure financial stability.
The fact that the Hitman has his own reasons for having issues with Santa further motivates him to take the job and rushed north to face Santa on his own turf.
“Fatman” is a dark and entertaining new holiday entry that gives a contemporary take on Santa and his Elves as they must contend with the issues, politics, and changing world that face many companies.
The at times dark nature of the film is an interesting contrast to the usual overly sweet films that are commonplace this time of year and Gibson and Goggins backed by a strong supporting cast turn in memorable performances.
While not one for the kids; “Fatman” is a solid piece of entertainment and Eshom and Ian Nelms keep things moving at a steady pace and provide an interesting and contemporary look at Santa in the modern world and combine it with a story about finding a way through adversity.
This is not the first time Billy has hired the Hitman and when he gets a lump of coal for Christmas from Santa (Mel Gibson) he is enraged and hires the Hitman to take out Santa.
Santa has his own issues as a decline in revenue has forced him and his wife Ruth (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) to take on a project with the government to not only restore his fully stipend but to pay additional funds that will ensure financial stability.
The fact that the Hitman has his own reasons for having issues with Santa further motivates him to take the job and rushed north to face Santa on his own turf.
“Fatman” is a dark and entertaining new holiday entry that gives a contemporary take on Santa and his Elves as they must contend with the issues, politics, and changing world that face many companies.
The at times dark nature of the film is an interesting contrast to the usual overly sweet films that are commonplace this time of year and Gibson and Goggins backed by a strong supporting cast turn in memorable performances.
While not one for the kids; “Fatman” is a solid piece of entertainment and Eshom and Ian Nelms keep things moving at a steady pace and provide an interesting and contemporary look at Santa in the modern world and combine it with a story about finding a way through adversity.
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated A Love Song for Liars (Rivals, #1) in Books
Jan 11, 2021
3.5 stars.
I picked this up free a few months ago after reading another of the authors works and enjoying it.
This one follows Annie who is playing lead in her schools musical of The Little Mermaid. She wants to prove to her rock star father that she can cut it in the music industry while he doesn't want her anywhere near it, unlike his protégé Tyler. He was her best friend for a long time, the boy from the wrong side of the tracks who she fell for, before her dad offered to send him to the same prestigious private school as her and show him how to make his music better. Then he went from her best friend to they boys she hated in the span of a few weeks. It's hard to stay hating him when he lives in your pool house and keeps coming to your rescue, though.
I found this a quick easy read. I got drawn into the angst that was Annie and Tyler's relationship really quickly. There's an element of love/hate but you quickly see the hate is hiding a hurt from several months ago when Tyler said something she was never meant to hear. They have a rather interesting back story that we learn as the story progresses and I was willing them to just go for it, despite all the things that could go wrong or spoil it for them. They just had a deep connection that I felt deserved to explored.
Unfortunately, it seems their story is spread over three books with a fourth addition as a bonus and I will be reading them at some point in the future but my reading list is almost 100 books long right now - though I have been steamrolling through them lately - so it's on my wish list on Amazon.
It also appears I should have read the Wicked series by this author first as that is Annie's dad Jax's romance but, oh well. I'll read it at a later date, too.
I picked this up free a few months ago after reading another of the authors works and enjoying it.
This one follows Annie who is playing lead in her schools musical of The Little Mermaid. She wants to prove to her rock star father that she can cut it in the music industry while he doesn't want her anywhere near it, unlike his protégé Tyler. He was her best friend for a long time, the boy from the wrong side of the tracks who she fell for, before her dad offered to send him to the same prestigious private school as her and show him how to make his music better. Then he went from her best friend to they boys she hated in the span of a few weeks. It's hard to stay hating him when he lives in your pool house and keeps coming to your rescue, though.
I found this a quick easy read. I got drawn into the angst that was Annie and Tyler's relationship really quickly. There's an element of love/hate but you quickly see the hate is hiding a hurt from several months ago when Tyler said something she was never meant to hear. They have a rather interesting back story that we learn as the story progresses and I was willing them to just go for it, despite all the things that could go wrong or spoil it for them. They just had a deep connection that I felt deserved to explored.
Unfortunately, it seems their story is spread over three books with a fourth addition as a bonus and I will be reading them at some point in the future but my reading list is almost 100 books long right now - though I have been steamrolling through them lately - so it's on my wish list on Amazon.
It also appears I should have read the Wicked series by this author first as that is Annie's dad Jax's romance but, oh well. I'll read it at a later date, too.
Spring Cleaning 2
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•• Spring Cleaning 2 was built by Sam Warfield, graduate of Newton Academy -- a revolutionary...
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Two girls, two stories, one epic novel — now a New York Times bestseller! From Lauren Oliver,...
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Mathway - Math Problem Solver
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With millions of users and billions of problems solved, Mathway is the world's #1 math problem...
Darren (1599 KP) rated Knives Out (2019) in Movies
Nov 26, 2019
Verdict: Pure Fun
Story: Knives Out starts with the apparent suicide of Harlan Thrombey (Plummer) on his 85th birthday, the family Linda (Curtis), Walt (Shannon), Richard (Johnson), Joni (Collette) Meg (Langford), Jacob (Martell) and Ransom (Evans) were all in attendance along with Harlan’s nurse Marta (Armas).
Lieutenant Elliott (Stanfield) lets private investigator Benoit Blanc (Craig) look at the events of the night after he gets an anonymous request to investigate the death believing it was murder, with the whole family have cause to potentially murder.
Thoughts on Knives Out
Characters – Benoit Blanc is a private investigator that has a connection to the family and has been given an anonymous letter to investigate the death, he has his way which unlike the normal police will push the family for the truth, knowing most are lying when they talk to him. Marta Cabrera is the nurse to Harlan, she has the closest relationship to him, knowing most of the family secrets, while just working to make sure her family is secure. Harlan is the self-made millionaire author that has started to get disappointed by the behaviour of his own children. Linda is the eldest daughter who has her own real estate business that she is proud of her work, believing she has done better than the other siblings. Walt is the youngest son who runs the publication of the books, which has always seen him try to push his father into selling the rights to entertainment sources. Richard is the husband to Linda that has been caught by Harlan being forced into telling the truth or being exposed. Joni is the daughter in the law of the deceased son that is an influencer and has been getting an allowance since her husband’s death. Ransom is the black sheep of the family, son of Linda and Richard, he has always lived the life of luxury never having to work on anything himself. Meg is the daughter of Joni that is the closest of any of the younger family members to Marta, she has seen herself be put through school but Harlan. LT Elliott is leading the investigation to the death, he is happy to put it down as suicide, but will let Benoit lead his own investigate.
Performances – The performances here are a pure joy, Daniel Craig gives us a career best, Ana De Armas continues to rise up the Hollywood name list, proving herself with a sweet innocent figure, Chris Evans brings to light a character complete against the type we are used to seeing form him. Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson and Toni Collette are wonderful too showing they can become anybody like we know from them. Everybody in this film is wonderful to watch.
Story – The story here follows a private investigator who decides to investigate an apparent suicide where he will dig up the family secrets to learn there might have been foul play. This story is a who-dun-it where everybody could be a suspect as nobody wants to tell the truth and everybody is hiding the truth too. There is a unique way of telling the story that will surprise you and turn the usual flow on its head, almost pointing out just how predictable certain TV shows involving a murder are. We do have plenty to unpack through the story, though there is a slight drag through the middle of the film.
Comedy/Crime/Mystery – The comedy comes from the colourful characters we get to meet and their actions, while the crime mystery mix together to keep us guessing to the complete truth of what happened, we get plenty of references to other crime stories too.
Settings – The film is mostly set on the grounds of the death, we have the luxury mansion, when we stay in this location everything does feel like ‘Clue’ but whether we leave it does take a little bit away from the quirky style.
Scene of the Movie – Ambulance arrives.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We never learn where Marta is from, with the on running joke she is South American, each character claims she is from a different country.
Final Thoughts – This is a quirky joyful comedy that leaves you guessing to the truth with performances that shine throughout the film.
Overall: Entertaining Mystery.
Story: Knives Out starts with the apparent suicide of Harlan Thrombey (Plummer) on his 85th birthday, the family Linda (Curtis), Walt (Shannon), Richard (Johnson), Joni (Collette) Meg (Langford), Jacob (Martell) and Ransom (Evans) were all in attendance along with Harlan’s nurse Marta (Armas).
Lieutenant Elliott (Stanfield) lets private investigator Benoit Blanc (Craig) look at the events of the night after he gets an anonymous request to investigate the death believing it was murder, with the whole family have cause to potentially murder.
Thoughts on Knives Out
Characters – Benoit Blanc is a private investigator that has a connection to the family and has been given an anonymous letter to investigate the death, he has his way which unlike the normal police will push the family for the truth, knowing most are lying when they talk to him. Marta Cabrera is the nurse to Harlan, she has the closest relationship to him, knowing most of the family secrets, while just working to make sure her family is secure. Harlan is the self-made millionaire author that has started to get disappointed by the behaviour of his own children. Linda is the eldest daughter who has her own real estate business that she is proud of her work, believing she has done better than the other siblings. Walt is the youngest son who runs the publication of the books, which has always seen him try to push his father into selling the rights to entertainment sources. Richard is the husband to Linda that has been caught by Harlan being forced into telling the truth or being exposed. Joni is the daughter in the law of the deceased son that is an influencer and has been getting an allowance since her husband’s death. Ransom is the black sheep of the family, son of Linda and Richard, he has always lived the life of luxury never having to work on anything himself. Meg is the daughter of Joni that is the closest of any of the younger family members to Marta, she has seen herself be put through school but Harlan. LT Elliott is leading the investigation to the death, he is happy to put it down as suicide, but will let Benoit lead his own investigate.
Performances – The performances here are a pure joy, Daniel Craig gives us a career best, Ana De Armas continues to rise up the Hollywood name list, proving herself with a sweet innocent figure, Chris Evans brings to light a character complete against the type we are used to seeing form him. Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson and Toni Collette are wonderful too showing they can become anybody like we know from them. Everybody in this film is wonderful to watch.
Story – The story here follows a private investigator who decides to investigate an apparent suicide where he will dig up the family secrets to learn there might have been foul play. This story is a who-dun-it where everybody could be a suspect as nobody wants to tell the truth and everybody is hiding the truth too. There is a unique way of telling the story that will surprise you and turn the usual flow on its head, almost pointing out just how predictable certain TV shows involving a murder are. We do have plenty to unpack through the story, though there is a slight drag through the middle of the film.
Comedy/Crime/Mystery – The comedy comes from the colourful characters we get to meet and their actions, while the crime mystery mix together to keep us guessing to the complete truth of what happened, we get plenty of references to other crime stories too.
Settings – The film is mostly set on the grounds of the death, we have the luxury mansion, when we stay in this location everything does feel like ‘Clue’ but whether we leave it does take a little bit away from the quirky style.
Scene of the Movie – Ambulance arrives.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We never learn where Marta is from, with the on running joke she is South American, each character claims she is from a different country.
Final Thoughts – This is a quirky joyful comedy that leaves you guessing to the truth with performances that shine throughout the film.
Overall: Entertaining Mystery.
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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Best Laid Plans in Books
Feb 13, 2018
Nicky James is a single mother who has devoted her entire adult life to raising her son, Austin - now a teenager. She works as a draftsman ("draftsperson") at an architecture firm and goes to school in the evening. She meets Lauren Thomas, a senior architect at her firm, when Lauren requests Nicky's expert help on her projects. Nicky falls quickly for the beautiful and talented woman, but quickly discovers a roadblock when she realizes Lauren isn't used to full commitment. Nicky isn't used to doing anything with less than her whole heart. Can she and Lauren get past their issues?
This was an interesting and heartfelt novel. It's told from the perspective of both women, so you can attempt to understand each of their varied point of views. I enjoyed that I could empathize with pieces of each: the tenderhearted mothering side of Nicky and the workaholic, private aspects of Lauren, for example. There are certainly some cliche aspects to the novel and a few scenes where the dialogue made me wince a bit, but overall it's refreshing to read a novel dealing with two women attempting to reconcile their issues with sexuality and love. It's certainly frustrating at points; for instance, Nicky doesn't even initially seem willing to try with Lauren and her coming out issues. I get that it must be hard, but let's face it, coming out is hard at any age! Things also get a little over-dramatic quickly: it's one date, they work together, why the freakout, etc.
Still, it's a very readable book and oddly exciting at times. I found myself pulled into Lauren and Nicky's story. Nicky and her son, especially, are just plain lovable. You can't help but root for them. There are also some hot sex scenes, which, hey, is a bonus, right? Overall, this is a compelling, fun, and sexy 3.5 stars.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley (thank you); it is available everywhere as of 07/12/2016.
<a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">My Blog</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/justacatandabook/">Facebook</a>; ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/justacatandbook">Twitter</a>;
This was an interesting and heartfelt novel. It's told from the perspective of both women, so you can attempt to understand each of their varied point of views. I enjoyed that I could empathize with pieces of each: the tenderhearted mothering side of Nicky and the workaholic, private aspects of Lauren, for example. There are certainly some cliche aspects to the novel and a few scenes where the dialogue made me wince a bit, but overall it's refreshing to read a novel dealing with two women attempting to reconcile their issues with sexuality and love. It's certainly frustrating at points; for instance, Nicky doesn't even initially seem willing to try with Lauren and her coming out issues. I get that it must be hard, but let's face it, coming out is hard at any age! Things also get a little over-dramatic quickly: it's one date, they work together, why the freakout, etc.
Still, it's a very readable book and oddly exciting at times. I found myself pulled into Lauren and Nicky's story. Nicky and her son, especially, are just plain lovable. You can't help but root for them. There are also some hot sex scenes, which, hey, is a bonus, right? Overall, this is a compelling, fun, and sexy 3.5 stars.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley (thank you); it is available everywhere as of 07/12/2016.
<a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">My Blog</a> ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/justacatandabook/">Facebook</a>; ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/justacatandbook">Twitter</a>;
Bookapotamus (289 KP) rated All We Ever Wanted in Books
May 29, 2018
Wow. Just wow. This book is SO relevant right now with the #metoo movement and #timesup. It breaks my heart to realize how often stories like this happen, to anyone, of any age or social/financial status - there is no discrimination, and sadly there just isn't enough conversation about these topics. I applaud Emily Giffin for writing this book.
I had no idea in detail what this story was about when I requested it from NetGalley. I like to be surprised with Emily's books, and I've never read one I didn't like. And I sure was surprised by this one! It's almost like, "If you could walk in someone's shoes" - I felt like i was dropped into this book, as if I was in on a secret, and I just sat back and watched the secrets unravel and unfold.
Something happened to Lyla. Something not good at all. It started with a bunch of elite private high school kids (and some not-so-privileged) at a party, with a lot of alcohol... and you can just imagine it from there. Something happens. Accusations fly, lies are told, people unravel, secrets come out, and trusts are broken.
This books tells the story from several angles and I found myself so attached to them all. They are so well written I honestly felt as if I was in a mother's head, a father's mind and in the thoughts of a 16 year old girl.
I sailed through this, as I do most of Emily's books because I love her writing style and how easily I can just jump into her stories. I wanted to find out more, I wanted justice, and I craved a neat and tidy resolution, but we all know these types things are never neat and tidy.
This book is important. I wish everyone would read this. Although every #metoo story is different, this casts a glimpse into how each and every incident causes so, so much pain, to so many people - and ultimately how getting these types of stories out in the world, can hopefully ease some of that pain by helping and educating others.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to review this amazing book.
I had no idea in detail what this story was about when I requested it from NetGalley. I like to be surprised with Emily's books, and I've never read one I didn't like. And I sure was surprised by this one! It's almost like, "If you could walk in someone's shoes" - I felt like i was dropped into this book, as if I was in on a secret, and I just sat back and watched the secrets unravel and unfold.
Something happened to Lyla. Something not good at all. It started with a bunch of elite private high school kids (and some not-so-privileged) at a party, with a lot of alcohol... and you can just imagine it from there. Something happens. Accusations fly, lies are told, people unravel, secrets come out, and trusts are broken.
This books tells the story from several angles and I found myself so attached to them all. They are so well written I honestly felt as if I was in a mother's head, a father's mind and in the thoughts of a 16 year old girl.
I sailed through this, as I do most of Emily's books because I love her writing style and how easily I can just jump into her stories. I wanted to find out more, I wanted justice, and I craved a neat and tidy resolution, but we all know these types things are never neat and tidy.
This book is important. I wish everyone would read this. Although every #metoo story is different, this casts a glimpse into how each and every incident causes so, so much pain, to so many people - and ultimately how getting these types of stories out in the world, can hopefully ease some of that pain by helping and educating others.
Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to review this amazing book.
Charles-Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg, Premier Grand Mayaniste de France: 2015
Book
Two hundred years ago, on September 8, 1814, in the northern French city of Bourbourg, a boy was...