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Hazel (1853 KP) rated You Know Me Well in Books
Dec 7, 2018
<i>This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review </i>
David Levithan is a well-known young adult author particularly in the LGBT communities. Throughout his career he has teamed up with other authors to write contemporary fiction that explores romantic relationships and feelings between teenagers. <i>You Know Me Well</i> is the result of a collaboration between Levithan and Nina LaCour, another American YA author.
Alternating between two points of view, <i>You Know Me Well</i> is about two homosexual teenagers, Mark and Katie, who are both going through difficult times in terms of their love life. Mark is in love with his best friend, but clearly the feelings are not reciprocated. On the other hand, Katie has run away from the chance to meet the girl of her dreams. A case of being in the right place at the right time results in a great friendship blooming between the two characters. Whilst relationships are breaking down all around them as a result of their actions, Mark and Katie discover that they understand each other more than anyone else has done in the past. With each other’s help, they begin to repair or come to terms with their current situations.
Although set near San Francisco during Pride Week – a positive festival to promote the stance against discrimination toward homosexuality – Levithan and LaCour write so freely about the topic that it appears a “normal” way of life, which is ultimately what people are campaigning for. Neither of the main characters experience any judgment on account of their sexuality.
Whilst <i>You Know Me Well </i>is a deeply honest novel about coming to terms with the truth and the heartaches of love, it does not particularly work well as a story. The ending feels ambiguous leaving both Mark and Katie in very similar situations to the beginning of the book, although marginally happier. In a way this enforces the point that there are not always “happy ever after” endings, but in terms of literature it does not make much of a story.
<i>You Know Me Well </i>comes with all sorts of messages about love, coming up with plans for the future, running away from your problems etc. but it is arguably a disappointment for readers who want a fictional tale to delve into and take them away from their everyday life. The subject matter, whilst listed as young adult, is more appropriate for school leavers or college students due to the unrealistic lack of parental intervention. On the other hand, if you are already a fan of David Levithan and know what to expect in his novels, You Know Me Well should live up to your anticipations.
David Levithan is a well-known young adult author particularly in the LGBT communities. Throughout his career he has teamed up with other authors to write contemporary fiction that explores romantic relationships and feelings between teenagers. <i>You Know Me Well</i> is the result of a collaboration between Levithan and Nina LaCour, another American YA author.
Alternating between two points of view, <i>You Know Me Well</i> is about two homosexual teenagers, Mark and Katie, who are both going through difficult times in terms of their love life. Mark is in love with his best friend, but clearly the feelings are not reciprocated. On the other hand, Katie has run away from the chance to meet the girl of her dreams. A case of being in the right place at the right time results in a great friendship blooming between the two characters. Whilst relationships are breaking down all around them as a result of their actions, Mark and Katie discover that they understand each other more than anyone else has done in the past. With each other’s help, they begin to repair or come to terms with their current situations.
Although set near San Francisco during Pride Week – a positive festival to promote the stance against discrimination toward homosexuality – Levithan and LaCour write so freely about the topic that it appears a “normal” way of life, which is ultimately what people are campaigning for. Neither of the main characters experience any judgment on account of their sexuality.
Whilst <i>You Know Me Well </i>is a deeply honest novel about coming to terms with the truth and the heartaches of love, it does not particularly work well as a story. The ending feels ambiguous leaving both Mark and Katie in very similar situations to the beginning of the book, although marginally happier. In a way this enforces the point that there are not always “happy ever after” endings, but in terms of literature it does not make much of a story.
<i>You Know Me Well </i>comes with all sorts of messages about love, coming up with plans for the future, running away from your problems etc. but it is arguably a disappointment for readers who want a fictional tale to delve into and take them away from their everyday life. The subject matter, whilst listed as young adult, is more appropriate for school leavers or college students due to the unrealistic lack of parental intervention. On the other hand, if you are already a fan of David Levithan and know what to expect in his novels, You Know Me Well should live up to your anticipations.
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Darren (1599 KP) rated Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992) in Movies
Oct 14, 2019
Characters – Nick Halloway is a fast-talking businessman that has been getting away with slacking through his job for years now, after another session on the drinks, he looks to skive off, only to get caught in the middle of an experiment which turns him invisible, Nick must figure out who he can trust to help him after the CIA look to hunt him down to use him for their own benefit. He isn’t the most interesting character, he doesn’t come off as funny as it seems he should be either. Alice is the new woman that comes into Nick’s life, she is the one he turns to for help as she is prepared to listen to his story over most other people. David Jenkins is the man hunting down Nick, he is a CIA agent that will do whatever it takes to add to the security of the country, seeing Nick as the next generation of secret agent.
Performances – Chevy Chase does feel slightly mis-cast in this role, he doesn’t seem to handle the comedy on the level it is meant to be coming from his character. Daryl Hannah does all she needs to as the love interest, she doesn’t need to do much either. Sam Neill is highlight of the performances with just how he handles the evil agent.
Story – The story follows a man that gets turn invisible in a mysterious event, seeing him being chased down by the government while he tries to figure out how to get out of his situation. This is an interesting spin on the invisible man story, it does try to make the story a comedy which is where the story falls short, because it is an unlikable character that gets turn invisible rather than somebody whose experiment going wrong. Nick doesn’t just anything to help himself, which disappoints, it does feel kind of cheesy and by the end you will feel like not everything is answered.
Comedy/Sci-Fi – The comedy misses more often than hitting, it just doesn’t seem smooth. The sci-fi elements don’t get bought to the front with incident happening and that being it.
Settings – The film is set in San Francisco which does always make for a solid back drop for any movie.
Special Effects – The effects in the film do feel great for the time with certain moments, the make-up shot is the highlight because of camera angle.
Scene of the Movie – Let’s try make up.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The comedy.
Final Thoughts – This is a comedy that does miss a lot of the jokes and ends up feeling flatter than it should have been.
Overall: Disappointing comedy.
Performances – Chevy Chase does feel slightly mis-cast in this role, he doesn’t seem to handle the comedy on the level it is meant to be coming from his character. Daryl Hannah does all she needs to as the love interest, she doesn’t need to do much either. Sam Neill is highlight of the performances with just how he handles the evil agent.
Story – The story follows a man that gets turn invisible in a mysterious event, seeing him being chased down by the government while he tries to figure out how to get out of his situation. This is an interesting spin on the invisible man story, it does try to make the story a comedy which is where the story falls short, because it is an unlikable character that gets turn invisible rather than somebody whose experiment going wrong. Nick doesn’t just anything to help himself, which disappoints, it does feel kind of cheesy and by the end you will feel like not everything is answered.
Comedy/Sci-Fi – The comedy misses more often than hitting, it just doesn’t seem smooth. The sci-fi elements don’t get bought to the front with incident happening and that being it.
Settings – The film is set in San Francisco which does always make for a solid back drop for any movie.
Special Effects – The effects in the film do feel great for the time with certain moments, the make-up shot is the highlight because of camera angle.
Scene of the Movie – Let’s try make up.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The comedy.
Final Thoughts – This is a comedy that does miss a lot of the jokes and ends up feeling flatter than it should have been.
Overall: Disappointing comedy.
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BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Finch (2021) in Movies
Nov 18, 2021
Very Effective
There are times when there is a “Perfect Storm” of film material, performance, mood, style and execution of said material and the headspace that I am in when I sit down to view the movie that elevates a film viewing experience above the norm.
Such was my experience when I sat down and watched the Tom Hanks Post-Apocalyptic film FINCH on AppleTV+. On paper, it looks like a run-of-the-mill “last few survivors on Earth struggle to remain alive” film, but - in my experience - it was much better than that.
Starring Tom Hanks as loner scientist Finch, who is scraping by in the remains of St. Louis with a dog and 2 robot helpers - robots of his own creation. When conditions in St. Louis worsen, Finch must pack up (with his 3 companions in tow) and head to a place where he thinks that life might be better - San Francisco.
Pretty standard “road movie” stuff, right? But in the hands of an Actor like Hanks, Emmy Winning GAME OF THRONES Director Miguel Sapochnik, a script by Craig Luck and Ivor Powell that digs into the humanity of Finch (and the situation) and some top-notch Computer animation of the Robots (especially “Jeff” voiced by Caleb Landry Jones), this film elevates itself above the norm.
There are not too many actors who could hold the attention of an audience for 2 hours speaking with 2 robots and a dog, but Hanks manages to do this - and do this very well. He brings his basic decency to the fore and makes us root for him from the start.
The surprise for me was the voice work of Caleb Landry Jones (GET OUT) who matches Hanks beat for beat and brings the same level of decency to his character. It is a testament to Jones’ work in a Motion Capture suit - and the “mo-cap” (Supervised by Scott Stokdyk) that makes the audience see and feel emotions on the face of the robot that just aren’t there. It’s that good.
Director Sapochnik really moves the film at the correct pace as he stops for the humanity, but doesn’t dwell on it too long - and, thus, avoids making the film too sentimental and mawkish. It is a delicate balancing act that this film walks very well.
Probably the biggest movie-going surprise of the year for me. A film that, at this point, will end up in my Top 10 of 2021.
Yes, I am as surprised as you are by this.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Such was my experience when I sat down and watched the Tom Hanks Post-Apocalyptic film FINCH on AppleTV+. On paper, it looks like a run-of-the-mill “last few survivors on Earth struggle to remain alive” film, but - in my experience - it was much better than that.
Starring Tom Hanks as loner scientist Finch, who is scraping by in the remains of St. Louis with a dog and 2 robot helpers - robots of his own creation. When conditions in St. Louis worsen, Finch must pack up (with his 3 companions in tow) and head to a place where he thinks that life might be better - San Francisco.
Pretty standard “road movie” stuff, right? But in the hands of an Actor like Hanks, Emmy Winning GAME OF THRONES Director Miguel Sapochnik, a script by Craig Luck and Ivor Powell that digs into the humanity of Finch (and the situation) and some top-notch Computer animation of the Robots (especially “Jeff” voiced by Caleb Landry Jones), this film elevates itself above the norm.
There are not too many actors who could hold the attention of an audience for 2 hours speaking with 2 robots and a dog, but Hanks manages to do this - and do this very well. He brings his basic decency to the fore and makes us root for him from the start.
The surprise for me was the voice work of Caleb Landry Jones (GET OUT) who matches Hanks beat for beat and brings the same level of decency to his character. It is a testament to Jones’ work in a Motion Capture suit - and the “mo-cap” (Supervised by Scott Stokdyk) that makes the audience see and feel emotions on the face of the robot that just aren’t there. It’s that good.
Director Sapochnik really moves the film at the correct pace as he stops for the humanity, but doesn’t dwell on it too long - and, thus, avoids making the film too sentimental and mawkish. It is a delicate balancing act that this film walks very well.
Probably the biggest movie-going surprise of the year for me. A film that, at this point, will end up in my Top 10 of 2021.
Yes, I am as surprised as you are by this.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)