Search
Search results
ClareR (5864 KP) rated Ascension (Phobos #1) in Books
Jul 6, 2018
A great concept
Six boys and six girls are chosen to be the first people to colonise Mars in a speed-dating show like no other. We follow Leonor mainly, as she navigates her life and 'dates' on board the Cupido. It's a bit 'cheesy' in places, and you do get a sense of the fact that it has been translated from French: it gives the language a more lyrical feel (in my opinion). The story though, is great!
I'm not a fan at all of reality TV. I'll turn the channel over every time. This novel shows the whole ridiculousness of the concept: a few 6 minute dates before you choose your life partner?! Madness!
This novel also shows how corrupt big business and government can be in the race to make more and more money. Lots to think about whilst you're reading - the ideas have to come from somewhere!
I liked where the story cut away from the space ship to the organisers of the TV show and two other characters, Andrew and Harmony. I think they may be quite important in the following books in this trilogy. And yes, I have preordered book 2, which incidentally, releases in October!
Thanks to Readers First for my copy of this book.
I'm not a fan at all of reality TV. I'll turn the channel over every time. This novel shows the whole ridiculousness of the concept: a few 6 minute dates before you choose your life partner?! Madness!
This novel also shows how corrupt big business and government can be in the race to make more and more money. Lots to think about whilst you're reading - the ideas have to come from somewhere!
I liked where the story cut away from the space ship to the organisers of the TV show and two other characters, Andrew and Harmony. I think they may be quite important in the following books in this trilogy. And yes, I have preordered book 2, which incidentally, releases in October!
Thanks to Readers First for my copy of this book.
FilmIntuition (33 KP) rated How to Walk Away in Books
Jul 26, 2018
The kind of book you're enjoying so much that you can't wait to finish it but at the same time will hate to see it end, author Katherine Center managed to such a feat in How to Walk Away.
While as a disabled individual, I'm often disappointed by the way that popular culture portrays disabled characters as either saintly, pitiable, or evil, I was impressed by the way that Center creates a fully three dimensional heroine who goes through a wide range of emotions after surviving a horrific plane crash.
And although on the surface, the thought of adding a romantic comedy subplot to the novel seemed way out of left field, because Center kept the protagonist so firmly grounded in reality, it wound up working really well.
The second recent upbeat romance involving a disabled lead to be chosen as an official selection by Book of the Month alongside Helen Hoang's sexier title The Kiss Quotient, while some of the contrivances in How to Walk Away's final fifty or so pages move it into cliched romcom territory, it's such a sweet, well-earned finale that it's easy to forgive.
A terrific disabled centric beach read, this one will walk away with your heart.
While as a disabled individual, I'm often disappointed by the way that popular culture portrays disabled characters as either saintly, pitiable, or evil, I was impressed by the way that Center creates a fully three dimensional heroine who goes through a wide range of emotions after surviving a horrific plane crash.
And although on the surface, the thought of adding a romantic comedy subplot to the novel seemed way out of left field, because Center kept the protagonist so firmly grounded in reality, it wound up working really well.
The second recent upbeat romance involving a disabled lead to be chosen as an official selection by Book of the Month alongside Helen Hoang's sexier title The Kiss Quotient, while some of the contrivances in How to Walk Away's final fifty or so pages move it into cliched romcom territory, it's such a sweet, well-earned finale that it's easy to forgive.
A terrific disabled centric beach read, this one will walk away with your heart.
The Marinated Meeple (1853 KP) rated BlacKkKlansman (2018) in Movies
Aug 29, 2018
The Acting (2 more)
The Dialog
Cinematic Craftsmanship
The wrong people will see this.... but it's still very good.
First let me say that racism hurts my very soul, it depresses me, and affects me deeply. I know it is alive and well in this country. I really wish it wasn't. I say the wrong people will see this because the people that should see this, don't watch movies like this. Racist people don't watch spike lee joints. Every scene in this movie is beautifully shot, and each ethnic slur packs a punch. I felt slapped around at the end of the film. I felt sick to my stomach and the very tail end was a roundhouse. Normally I don't talk politics, but in this case it's bigger than "politics" and falls under human decency, and we currently are lacking in that. I hope that we can get back on track soon and movies like this will be more comedy than reality.
The acting was superb, and really engaging. there are some big names in this cast. The dialog was so well written despite the horrific things said. The cinematography was excellent, and beautiful. Spike Lee was at the top of his game with this one.
The acting was superb, and really engaging. there are some big names in this cast. The dialog was so well written despite the horrific things said. The cinematography was excellent, and beautiful. Spike Lee was at the top of his game with this one.
Awix (3310 KP) rated King of Thieves (2018) in Movies
Oct 10, 2018
Michael Caine leads a crack team of crock crooks in robbing a safe deposit vault in London in this loosely-based-on-reality black comedy thriller. Quite apart from Caine, the film has an excellent cast (Jim Broadbent, Tom Courtenay, Ray Winstone, Paul Whitehouse, and Michael Gambon, plus Charlie Cox for the streaming generation), which will probably be what draws most people to it.
Initially this looks like it's going to be a slightly cosy comedy thriller about blokes who are too old be robbers any more, but - very pleasantly - it quite soon acquires some real heft and gravity to it, with the various members of the gang falling out and attempting to double-cross each other - most of these actors are well-known as comedians, but there is some proper meaty drama here and scenes with a definite tension to them.
Not quite as much Caine as you might hope for, but he is still the guv'nor as far as British film acting is concerned, and this is his best role for a while. Everyone else is good too. The film never quite gets the shifts between comedy and gangster thriller right, and the low budget keeps it from being very cinematic, but it's an engaging movie driven by great performances.
Initially this looks like it's going to be a slightly cosy comedy thriller about blokes who are too old be robbers any more, but - very pleasantly - it quite soon acquires some real heft and gravity to it, with the various members of the gang falling out and attempting to double-cross each other - most of these actors are well-known as comedians, but there is some proper meaty drama here and scenes with a definite tension to them.
Not quite as much Caine as you might hope for, but he is still the guv'nor as far as British film acting is concerned, and this is his best role for a while. Everyone else is good too. The film never quite gets the shifts between comedy and gangster thriller right, and the low budget keeps it from being very cinematic, but it's an engaging movie driven by great performances.
Sam (228 KP) rated Green Valley in Books
Oct 19, 2019
Characters (3 more)
Descriptive Scenery
Thrilling Plot
Captivating Storyline
Sometimes has confusing dialogue (1 more)
Weird Chapter Setup
A Chilling Spectacle
This novel is truly something to behold, tackling the hard subject of technology, this novel takes place in a future where only a select group of people have agreed to live within a 24/7 virtual reality while the rest of the world has expunged all invasive technology, right down to the motion sensors that open doors at the supermarket.
It is within this universe that the novels chooses to display both the pros and cons of technological advancement as well as warns against advancing too far to the point where humanity becomes lost.
Although the chapters are set up weird, split from chapters into sections that seem unnecessarily placed, this seems to be a technical problem rather than a problem with the actual story. The story itself is both well organized and well written, building beautiful images of this world as well as developing characters as the story advances. Personally, I feel the ending seemed a bit rushed however qhether this was due to the actual writing or the fact that I couldn't put the book down is yet to be decided.
It is within this universe that the novels chooses to display both the pros and cons of technological advancement as well as warns against advancing too far to the point where humanity becomes lost.
Although the chapters are set up weird, split from chapters into sections that seem unnecessarily placed, this seems to be a technical problem rather than a problem with the actual story. The story itself is both well organized and well written, building beautiful images of this world as well as developing characters as the story advances. Personally, I feel the ending seemed a bit rushed however qhether this was due to the actual writing or the fact that I couldn't put the book down is yet to be decided.
Animal 4D+
Education and Entertainment
App
Updates: - Multi languages: English, Spanish, Turkish, Japanese, Bahasa, Deutsch, Mandarin, Korean,...
Fab - #1 Shopping App for Accents & Decor
Shopping and Lifestyle
App
The Fab shopping app provides 24/7 access to a curated selection of unique lifestyle products from...
The Wave: A Memoir of Life After the Tsunami
Book
Winner of the PEN/Ackerley Prize 2014 The book opens and we are inside the wave: thirty feet high,...
Whatever the Cost: Facing Your Fears, Dying to Your Dreams, and Living Powerfully
David Benham, Jason Benham, Scott Lamb and Tony Evans
Book
Are You Ready to Live With a Full-Throttle Faith? This trade paper edition follows the story of...