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The Martian
The Martian
Andy Weir | 2014 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
8.9 (50 Ratings)
Book Rating
When a sarcastic botanist is trapped on Mars
This was pretty hilarious, much more humorous than expected even after watching the film. The story follows American astronaut Mark Watney, as he becomes stranded alone on Mars in the year 2035 and must improvise in order to survive. As a botanist and engineer, he's able to think on his feet - and much of the science sounds incredibly plausible, explained in great detail.

But the best part is Watney's alter-personality from being logical and organised, to being extremely witty and sarcastic. All the while surviving on godforsaken potatoes. There are also snapshots of how his other crew members are managing, and how earth is following his progress as he becomes the face of primetime TV. It's a race against time.

All I know is that if you're ever stranded on a desert island, you'll definitely need to bring a botanist engineer space pirate with you.
  
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
Trevor Noah | 2017 | Biography
10
9.2 (16 Ratings)
Book Rating
An insider's view of Apartheid
It seems unlikely that comedian Trevor Noah would have ever made it out of the prison of colonialism, apartheid, poverty and violence, yet now he's regarded as one of South Africa's biggest export. His memoir is brutal and harrowing, describing how because of the illegal interracial relationship between his Xhosa mother and his Swiss-German, his birth was actually a crime.

It's hard to imagine that this legal segregation only ended 26 years ago, yet Noah then faced the turbulent legacy of post-apartheid. Being mixed race posed its own problems, as Noah describes never fitting in anywhere, but being accepted to a certain degree because of his 'whiteness' and his chameleon-like ability to adapt to his surroundings.

There are moments which are truly disturbing, as Noah speaks about his violent stepfather and going hungry. In this way, his life can be seen as a story of personal survival, through intelligence and humour, which millions have come to love.
  
Graduation Day  (1981)
Graduation Day (1981)
1981 | Horror, Mystery
Original idea (0 more)
Horrible acting (2 more)
Terrible ending
Shitty special effects
Stay in School kids, so you don't end up in a shitty movie like this
Midvale High, 1981.
Point form version. Track star wins the race. Track star drops dead
Sister comes for funeral
Students drop dead
The coach is a suspect
More students drop dead
Coach gets killed by real killer
Real killer digs up and poses dead girl in grad gown
Real killer gets bumped out a window with girl corpse on top of him
THIS MOVIE STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN!!!! Only reason it got two bombs is Vanna White was in it. And the always reliable Linnea Quigley makes an appearance...
Horrible script, even more horrible acting and a shitty ending made this movie the worst thing I've ever seen... Next to the Brittany Spears movie, Crossroads... And the Spice Girls flick... Which both stunk up the place... But this movie, from a genre I love, ranks down there amongst the shittiest of the shitty.
  
The Missing  - Season 2
The Missing - Season 2
2016 | Drama
writing (2 more)
cast/acting
direction
Season 2 of The Missing sees the return of our favorite French detective from Season 1, Julien Baptiste. Right off the bat, this season feels bigger than the first. The fact that we see the return of the missing child in this from the first episode sets of the show for a more interesting run. Relationships become muddled as a family tries to cope with the return of a daughter who has been gone so long. I don't wish to give anything away, but I will say that the twists and turns and interconnected plot-points in this are much greater than in season 1. Whereas season 1 did not feel like a race against time, this season does 100%. The tension is there from start to finish. I think the writers did a better job of making the story as well as the characters strong in this season.
  
Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal #1)
Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal #1)
Zen Cho | 2015 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Fabulous Magical Regency Romp
Sorcerer to the Crown is a Regency era fantasy novel packed with romance, mystery, and adventure. Fans of historial fiction and gaslamp fantasy like Jonathan Strange & Mister Norell, the Chrestomanci series, or A Great and Terrible Beauty will enjoy this romantic romp through an alternative London where magic is a gentleman's sport and issues of race, class, and gender are as worrying as the general decline of magic in England.

Zacharias Wythe charms as the stoic Sorcerer Royal and Prunella Gentleman, the snarky orphan with a troubling amount of magical talent, is easily his match. The relationship between the two has a Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet quality that still manages to feel fresh and unique.

Cho has crafted a wonderful fantasy world replete with interesting characters and intriguing mysteries, it's easy to see why this book gained a nomination for 2016's Locus Award for Best First Novel.
  
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Tammykayla (20 KP) rated Split (2016) in Movies

Feb 16, 2019  
Split (2016)
Split (2016)
2016 | Horror, Thriller
Split
Contains spoilers, click to show
Split is a psychological thriller based on a guy with dissociative personality disorder, with 23 personalities. Kevin the original personality is taken over by Mr Dennis, a twisted personality steals three teenage girls and locks them up in his basement. The girls are then visited my his multiple personalities, these include; Patricia a woman whose in it with Mr Dennis, Hedwig a nine year old boy and many more. The girls try and make several attempts to escape but are caught and kept separated.

In the mean time several of the personalities are aware of what Mr Dennis and Patricia are doing and attempt to email their psyciatrist/ therapist, who has been working with them for year, for help. However Mr Dennis always the one who attends these meetings and lies about his intentions.

The race to escape is on when it is revealed that there is a 24th personality called Mr Beast; with inhuman strength and cannibalistic tendencies.

Will the girls escape alive??
  
A Discovery of Witches - Season 1
A Discovery of Witches - Season 1
2018 | Fantasy
Dull as Ditchwater
The trailers for this show looked so exciting. We saved it on Sky+ so that we could watch a few episodes at a time and not have to wait a whole week for the next one. I love shows that are a bit supernatural or spooky, and couldn't wait to see this.

There were entire episodes where, at the end, we both wondered did anything of any note or point actually happen? The main characters just seemed so wet and, frankly, pathetic. For such incredibly powerful beings encompassed by this raging passion, Diana and Matthew are rather boring. There just seems to be no oomph, no real force behind any of them.

The one thing that did intrigue me was the demon race - we all know what witches and vampires are, but what can the demons do? That said, I'm feeling more inclined to read the books than to persevere with the next series.