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Ross (3282 KP) rated Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre in Books
Nov 19, 2019
Like a more realistic Scooby Doo story
This part of the non-Moore-approved pre-Watchmen story revolves around Laurie Jupiter, daughter of the original Silk Spectre. In a burst of teen angst she pushes against her mum's vigilante training regime (and the news of some of the saucier aspects of her past) and runs away from home with her new boyfriend.
She meets a camper van full of hippies and heads off to San Francisco with them. She soon uncovers a nefarious plot to poison the LCD supply in the city (zoinks!) and sets out to uncover them.
There is a certain Scooby Doo feel about this book, and while it is entertaining enough, and the artwork is enjoyable, it doesn't really seem to add much to the pre-Watchmen series as a whole. One exception is the Nite Owl and the Comedian's brief involvement in Laurie's decision to head home to Mom, their two different approaches showing their personalities.
She meets a camper van full of hippies and heads off to San Francisco with them. She soon uncovers a nefarious plot to poison the LCD supply in the city (zoinks!) and sets out to uncover them.
There is a certain Scooby Doo feel about this book, and while it is entertaining enough, and the artwork is enjoyable, it doesn't really seem to add much to the pre-Watchmen series as a whole. One exception is the Nite Owl and the Comedian's brief involvement in Laurie's decision to head home to Mom, their two different approaches showing their personalities.
John Taylor recommended Gimme Shelter (2014) in Movies (curated)
Awix (3310 KP) rated It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955) in Movies
May 11, 2020
Stop-motion monster movie with Ray Harryhausen's special effects. Odd goings-on in the Pacific lead the authorities to suspect a giant radioactive octopus is on the loose. Sure enough the beast is soon dry-humping the Golden Gate Bridge and menacing downtown San Francisco (at least, those parts within tentacle-reach of the seafront).
The bits with the octopus attacking the city are put together with Harryhausen's usual verve and skill, but - as ever - they are mostly confined to the end of the film; the rest of it is rather like a stolid Navy training film entitled 'How to Deal with Giant Octopi': functional but uninspired, and (apart from a sluggish romantic subplot) almost entirely procedural. Hits all the beats of the atomic sea monster subgenre, but doesn't have the sense of fantasy or fun that the best known films of this kind have. Some good stuff but threatens to drag even at less than 80 minutes in length.
The bits with the octopus attacking the city are put together with Harryhausen's usual verve and skill, but - as ever - they are mostly confined to the end of the film; the rest of it is rather like a stolid Navy training film entitled 'How to Deal with Giant Octopi': functional but uninspired, and (apart from a sluggish romantic subplot) almost entirely procedural. Hits all the beats of the atomic sea monster subgenre, but doesn't have the sense of fantasy or fun that the best known films of this kind have. Some good stuff but threatens to drag even at less than 80 minutes in length.
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Frog Music in Books
May 10, 2018
**Received as a First Read for an honest review**
I was really excited to read this book. I have had [b:Room|7937843|Room|Emma Donoghue|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1344265419s/7937843.jpg|9585076] on my TBR list for a very long time, just haven't gotten my hands on it yet.
Blanche Beunon is a french burlesque dancer living in San Francisco in 1876. It's the end of the gold rush and smallpox is everywhere. Blanche is returning home one afternoon, when she literally runs into Jenny Bonnet and her riding machine. They quickly form a "friendship" and Blanche's life gets turned upside down.
During the week that Blanche has left her job and is trolling around town with Jenny, Jenny is murdered. Blanche is sure it's her "maques" Arthur and Ernest who have done it, since they have been so upset with her since becoming friends with Jenny.
This book just didn't do it for me. It was a very slow start and really didn't get interesting until the last 60 pages.
I was really excited to read this book. I have had [b:Room|7937843|Room|Emma Donoghue|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1344265419s/7937843.jpg|9585076] on my TBR list for a very long time, just haven't gotten my hands on it yet.
Blanche Beunon is a french burlesque dancer living in San Francisco in 1876. It's the end of the gold rush and smallpox is everywhere. Blanche is returning home one afternoon, when she literally runs into Jenny Bonnet and her riding machine. They quickly form a "friendship" and Blanche's life gets turned upside down.
During the week that Blanche has left her job and is trolling around town with Jenny, Jenny is murdered. Blanche is sure it's her "maques" Arthur and Ernest who have done it, since they have been so upset with her since becoming friends with Jenny.
This book just didn't do it for me. It was a very slow start and really didn't get interesting until the last 60 pages.
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated 11th Hour (Women's Murder Club, #11) in Books
May 10, 2018
I really really liked this book. All of the WMC books keep me on the edge of my seat for what is going to happen next, but in this one, I really couldn't see what was coming next. Lindsay Boxer is pregnant, Cindy & Yuki are in relationships with Lindsay's partner and Boss(respectively). Someone has buried seven heads in the backyard of a famous movie star. Not too long ago, he was aquitted of his wife's murder, could he really be the murderer. Some vigilante is killing drug dealers. While this may be a great help to the city of San Francisco, this really isn't the best way to go about getting rid of the dirty laundry.
<spoiler> There was one part of the book that baffled me. Before the killer for the drug dealers went out on his last kill, he gave his wife something to help explain why he killed one of his victims. I didn't hear anymore about that after the killer was stopped.</spolier>
<spoiler> There was one part of the book that baffled me. Before the killer for the drug dealers went out on his last kill, he gave his wife something to help explain why he killed one of his victims. I didn't hear anymore about that after the killer was stopped.</spolier>
Awix (3310 KP) rated Star Trek IV - The Voyage Home (1986) in Movies
Mar 26, 2019
Fourth big-screen Trek dodges the usual 'all SF blockbusters must be action movies' pitfall and opts for some gentle social comedy instead. Alien probe is outraged by the extinction of Earth's whales and decides to wipe out civilisation; Kirk and the gang have to travel back to 1980s San Francisco to recruit some substitute cetaceans and save the day. Very possibly riding on the coat-tails of Back to the Future, but also Nick Meyer's Time After Time (Meyer wrote the middle section of the film).
Solidly structured and engagingly played: the actors know their characters backward and it's a pleasure to spend time with them. Interesting to speculate about the original version of the film, which would have co-starred Eddie Murphy (Paramount nixed the idea). Doing a lighter Trek works well here, but led to the studio insisting on comedy bits being added to future films in the series, which was arguably a big mistake. Doesn't detract from the entertainment value of Star Trek in one of its magisterial phases.
Solidly structured and engagingly played: the actors know their characters backward and it's a pleasure to spend time with them. Interesting to speculate about the original version of the film, which would have co-starred Eddie Murphy (Paramount nixed the idea). Doing a lighter Trek works well here, but led to the studio insisting on comedy bits being added to future films in the series, which was arguably a big mistake. Doesn't detract from the entertainment value of Star Trek in one of its magisterial phases.
Lenard (726 KP) rated Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) in Movies
Jun 2, 2019
Oh no there goes Boston?
Four years ago, Godzilla awoke and destroyed San Francisco. A small boy was trampled. While the mother worked on a way to communicate with monsters, the father ran away and went into wildlife photography. Now, working for Monarch, the monster hunting secret organization, mom is captured and her Orca device is being used to wake up all the monsters (I refuse to call them Titans). Plot twist: mom wants the monsters to destroy everything so the Earth can rebuild itself. Yes, another ecoterrorist plot. There is also some lesson about symbiosis and invasive species but that is for ecology class. Anyway, a few times, Godzilla shows up just in time to save the puny humans who have tried for 65 years to kill him. Why are all these doctors and professors so dumb in these Godzilla movies? Everything they do leads to another problem like they never consider the consequences of their action if it alleviates the present predicament.
Celia Davies spends her days helping the women of 1867 San Francisco via her free medical clinic. One of her patients, a former Chinese prostitute is found murdered, and Celia must know what happened to her. Meanwhile, Nicholas Greaves is the police officer assigned to the case, and he is determined to get justice for the young woman. But where will the investigation lead?
This is a good debut that will please any fan of historical mysteries. The characters are intriguing, and their history makes them seem even more real. The plot did bog down a few times, but never for very long, and we reach a logical conclusion before the end. The world of 1867 is brought to wonderful life as well, and it’s easy to get lost in another time.
NOTE: I was sent a copy of this book in hopes I would review it.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/04/book-review-no-comfort-for-lost-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
This is a good debut that will please any fan of historical mysteries. The characters are intriguing, and their history makes them seem even more real. The plot did bog down a few times, but never for very long, and we reach a logical conclusion before the end. The world of 1867 is brought to wonderful life as well, and it’s easy to get lost in another time.
NOTE: I was sent a copy of this book in hopes I would review it.
Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2016/04/book-review-no-comfort-for-lost-by.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
Awix (3310 KP) rated Dirty Harry (1971) in Movies
Feb 17, 2018 (Updated Feb 17, 2018)
Supremely tough cop thriller that helped elevate Clint Eastwood to iconic status. Worthless hippie-scumbag Scorpio commences reign of terror in San Francisco, only laconic police detective Harry Callaghan has the spine to do what must be done in order to stop him.
Probably best not to think too hard about the morality and politics on display: they are at best deeply illiberal and at worst borderline fascist (antihero Harry doesn't give a fig about Scorpio's legal rights, tortures a wounded prisoner for information, etc). The film is playing with a stacked deck, anyway: Scorpio (nice performance from Andy Robinson - it almost ended his career, as he became so closely associated with the role) is an irredeemable monster, the embodiment of every concern respectable folks had about the 60s counterculture. Needless to say Harry (embodying traditional American values) shows no mercy as the story progresses. Story is very well-told, with just enough moments of ambiguity to keep it from being solely a piece of ultra-right-wing wish fulfilment. Essential Clint.
Probably best not to think too hard about the morality and politics on display: they are at best deeply illiberal and at worst borderline fascist (antihero Harry doesn't give a fig about Scorpio's legal rights, tortures a wounded prisoner for information, etc). The film is playing with a stacked deck, anyway: Scorpio (nice performance from Andy Robinson - it almost ended his career, as he became so closely associated with the role) is an irredeemable monster, the embodiment of every concern respectable folks had about the 60s counterculture. Needless to say Harry (embodying traditional American values) shows no mercy as the story progresses. Story is very well-told, with just enough moments of ambiguity to keep it from being solely a piece of ultra-right-wing wish fulfilment. Essential Clint.
