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David McK (3372 KP) rated Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) in Movies

Mar 22, 2022 (Updated Apr 13, 2023)  
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
1989 | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Light-hearted slacker romp through history, starring a very-young Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter as the eponymous duo Bill & Ted (respectively, Winters and Reeves) who are in danger of failing their high school history assignment and so being split up forever.

Which is obviously NOT what the future society wants, based - as it is - on their music, and so sends Rufus back in time via a time travelling phone box (shades of the TARDIS, anyone?), to help them pass said history course.

Silly? Absolutely?

Fun? Yep.

Remember, folks, in their immortal words: "Be Excellent to each other"
  
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Dean (6925 KP) rated Watcher (2022) in Movies

Nov 12, 2022  
Watcher (2022)
Watcher (2022)
2022 | Drama, Horror, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Old school Thriller (1 more)
Very photogenic
Bit abrupt towards the end (0 more)
Who is watching who?
A decent, intelligent thriller that feels like an old classic. Slight Hitchcock vibes in places. A woman moves with her husband to Romania and is often alone throughout the day and not knowing the language feels isolated. While people watching from the her window she notices a figure watching her.
A very nice looking film, great photography. It's a slow burn and feels like a longer film but makes the every day things feel tense when you feel you are being watched. Well worth checking out.
  
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Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Hit Count in Books

May 10, 2018  
HC
Hit Count
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Lloyd liked to hit hard and he taught his brother, Arlo, everything he knows.

Arlo makes the junior varsity football team his freshman year which is almost unheard of. Since Lloyd had taught Arlo everything, Arlo is good at hitting hard. A sophomore on the JV team, Dinos befriends Arlo and teaches him about conditioning. Football is more than just hard hitting, you have to be able to last the whole game. Arlo's dad was a proud papa. Lloyd, was jealous that he didn't make is as far as Arlo had. And Arlo's mom, was not into the game at all. She was so fearful of head injuries that she kept "The File" that had every bit of information that had anything to do with traumatic brain injury. None of this kept Arlo from playing and becoming "Starlo". He excelled at the sport throughout his high school career. He treated his body like a temple and always stayed in top physical condition. But is all of this enough to avoid the effects of the "Hit Count"?

I love football. My family and I watch our favorite team every Sunday, Monday, or Thursday, or whatever day they are playing during the season. I'm not a big fan of high school football, but I have attended a few games as a student. I have always had a fear of my child playing a sport like football where being slammed around is part of the objective. While they have made many strides in improving the equipment used, it's hard to avoid concussions when you are constantly hit.

I liked this book more than I thought I would. From other reviews, I thought it was going to be more oafish. This is a good YA novel that I would recommend to high school boys.

**I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
  
The Revenge of Magic
The Revenge of Magic
James Riley | Children, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Intriguing Series Debut
It’s been six months since the attack on Washington, D.C. Six months since Forsythe “Fort” Fitzgerald’s world was turned upside down when a giant creature comes up from the ground and destroys many of the monuments there, killing his father in the process. In that time, one thought has kept Fort moving forward – the desire for revenge.

One day, Fort is surprised to be visited by the representatives of a school for magic. Thirteen years ago, four magic books were found and only those born after they were discovered can read and use them. When Fort is offered a chance to study at this school, he jumps on it, figuring this is a chance to learn something to help him extract his revenge. However, not everything at the school is what it seems. Can Fort learn what people are hiding from him? Or will he be kicked out before that happens?

Since this is the first in the series, there is some world building that happens here. However, it is mixed into the story so well that it never really slows things down. It borrows a few fantasy tropes, but it mixes them up in such a way that it makes you forget where you might have seen them before. The characters have layers to them, and, while they feel developed for a first book in a new series, I suspect we will be seeing much more depth to them as the series progresses. The story moves forward quickly, and I never wanted to put it down. This is a little darker and has less humor than James Riley’s earlier series, but it isn’t really that dark. I’m intrigued by the threads left dangling at the end of this book and can’t wait to see where things go next. Pick this book up today so you won’t be left behind on this magical ride.
  
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Parfs (178 KP) created a post in Avengers: Endgame (Discussion)

May 4, 2019  
So like most moooovie lovers and general nerds and geeks (still not sure what category I fit in to) I absolutely loved this movie and wanted to have a place to discuss some of the scenes and see what everyone's general opinion was. If you choose to read on and haven't seen the movie there are likely to be spoilers so you have had a warning.

1st off the whole 5 years later bit I believe places the time line now in 2021 as a discussion between Thanos and Nebula back in 2012 (pretty sure that is what was on screen during this portion of the moooovie) said that the other Nebula was from 9 years in the future. If that is the case Peter Parker is returning to school in 2021, 5 years after being dusted. I am really hoping Spider-Man - far from home covers this off as it seems weird to return to school with all his school friends and still be in the same class. I assume they were all dust too for convenience.

2nd, one of my favourite scenes is during the end battle where Pepper lands in her suit and then all the female characters all line up behind her doing their various we are here to kick your butt poses in a pure cinema moment which was just awesome too see. Now there is a but, this just felt a little bit forced from a plot point and did feel like the big bosses wanted to have a look at us moment. It also made me feel sad that Black Widow didn't get a chance to be there as she has been the driving force for this mesaage during the whole marvel cinematic universe.

3rd, the Black Widow point comes up again. Why at the end when they are Tony's wilderness retreat and laying the floating wreath was there not one for Nat? Did she not sacrifice for the entire universe too? Seems they missed a very poignant moment there.
  
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Bohan Reviews (215 KP) May 8, 2019 (Updated May 8, 2019)

Your first point is one that I thought about almost as soon as I left the theater. I liked the idea of the movie being five years later because that adds a sort of legitimacy to the pain that they are all feeling, but I do think that it adds in a weird dynamic. Theoretically, everyone alive is now five years older than everyone who was dust, so if they don't address that in the new film, that will feel like a hole.

As for the Black Widow thing, I'm glad that they didn't give her her own funeral. For me, it wouldn't have felt in line with the character and it wouldn't have been something that she wanted. I like that Bruce and Steve have their own moment where they kind of acknowledge it at the end and for me that was enough closure.

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Parfs (178 KP) May 8, 2019

Yeah, I can see that, fair point. Just feel there could have been a little extra to acknowledge it with the whole team.

Take Me for Granted (Take Me, #1)
Take Me for Granted (Take Me, #1)
K.A. Linde | 2014 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Romance
10
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
For someone who doesn’t like reading bad boy/good girl tropes, I seem to be reading a lot of them lately. I don’t even know why I picked up a copy of Take Me for Granted. The synopsis was one I have read a thousand times and the cover was nothing eye catching.

But let me tell you I am sure glad I did. If downloading it was whim then I don’t even know what opening it up was. I was hooked from the very first page though. I identified with Ari more than most female leads. While I didn’t grow up in a rich family nor do I attend an Ivy League school, I care more about schoolwork than I do most people. Reading Ari’s inner monologues and thoughts had me laughing because I understood. It’s so easy to push people away, create a cold demeanor, and escape into school work. School doesn’t hurt you the way people can.

Grant was also absolutely charming. He reminds me so much of my own fiancé in ways and I loved listening to him banter with Ari. At first, his pushiness rubbed me the wrong way. Having been in an abusive relationship, I wanted so much to just scream no in his face over and over again until he understood. However, he wasn't actually harmful in his pushiness, just persistent, and, honestly, had the patience of saint when it came to Ari considering how wishy washy she was at times.

I really enjoyed the story. Linde has a lovely, easy style and is a fantastic storyteller. I especially liked being able to read from both Grant's and Ari's POVs. The cliffhanger nearly destroyed me though, so you better believe I am going to continue the series. Somehow Linde’s characters crawled their way beneath my skin, and I won’t be content until I know they received a happy ending.
  
TB
The Boy Who Killed Grant Parker
Kat Spears | 2016
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Luke Grayson's life turns upside when he's sent to Ashland, Tennessee his senior year of high school to live with his father and stepmother. Luke's mother no longer wants to deal with his trouble-making ways and thinks his father, a Baptist preacher who has never played a role in Luke's life, can help straighten him out. But Luke's reputation comes with him to Ashland, where he stands out as the new kid from the big city. He's too progressive for this rural Tennessee town and rapidly becomes the target of the high school's golden boy, Grant Parker, who singles Luke out and makes his life miserable. But things change quickly after a confrontation between Luke and Grant goes awry and suddenly, overnight, life in Ashland changes dramatically for Luke.

I wanted to like this book, but I just never connected with it, or Luke. Having grown up and lived in small towns, I understand how truly small and exclusive they can be. But this novel just fell flat for me. I was immediately bothered by the fact that Luke's mother shipped him off for his senior year to his extremely rigid (and awful) father, despite the fact that the his greatest transgressions seemed to be a couple of silly (and harmless) pranks at his old school. I never felt any sort of connection to Luke as a character, and truly, at points, I found reading his story a little painful and thought "blah blah blah" at huge sections of text. He's a passive character, without a lot of depth to him. In fact, the only character with any true depth to her was Luke's friend, Delilah and her storyline is the only one that seems to have any heft. But she often gets lost in the shuffle.

Overall this one was just too much eye-rolling (on my part) and a little "too YA" for me. While it should be a nuanced commentary on the perils of high school and small town living, I just wanted it be over.