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Midge (525 KP) rated Pie Hard in Books

Mar 16, 2019  
Pie Hard
Pie Hard
Kirsten Weiss | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A Great Cozy Read!
I have come to adore cozy novels in recent months, so I jumped at the chance to read this delightful little mystery. What could be a better setting than a beautiful, picturesque little town in coastal California with a gorgeous pie shop! This is the third book in the Pie Town Mystery series by Kirsten Weiss, the first book being ‘The Quiche and the Dead’ followed by ‘Bleeding Tarts.’

Valentine (Val) Harris’ pie shop, ‘Pie Town’ is struggling, however, when Val’s quirky business partner and pie crust expert, Charlene, allows a reality television crew from the show 'Pie Hard' to film the shop, it seems that things might be about to change. If Val can tolerate criticism from an abrasive pastry chef during filming, the free publicity might turn the unusual opportunity into the sweetest deal she didn’t know she needed.

When the show’s bossy producer, Regina Katz, gets pushed to her death, Val and Charlene, once again, turn crime-solvers in the hope of finding the killer. Val needs to stay cool long enough to solve the crime and keep ‘Pie Town’ from falling apart, or else she just might go up in smoke before she ever graces the small screen.

For anyone, like me, who hasn’t read the first two books of the series, Kirsten Weiss, without being too overt, provides plenty of back-stories. Written in the first person, the characters in this novel were a scream and I particularly liked Val and Charlene’s interaction. I really enjoyed the easy-to-read writing style, the plot and the pace of the book.

All in all, “Pie Hard” is a lighthearted, lovely read, that combines mystery, thrills and murder and mayhem.

I'm looking forward to reading the first two books of the series with, hopefully, more to come!

[Thanks to #NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the ARC of #PieHard in exchange for an honest review.]
  
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.
  
Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)
Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)
2015 | Horror
A good antagonist for this one (1 more)
An interesting approach to character helplessness
Overall drop in quality of the cast and camerawork is noticable. (1 more)
Lacks some of the character of the first 2 movies
Whannell Takes the wheel...
So the third instalment sees co-writer Leigh Whannell take the wheel of this fledgling franchise, probably since James Wan is one of the busiest men in hollywood.

Whilst the familar faces of the first two movies are missing in this prequel, the mystic (Elise) returns as the point of familiarity, and one suspects the popularity of her character has led to this prequel.

The casting of the movie is interesting, with a generally weaker cast despite a bigger budget...the main protagonist does a decent job of essentially being a teenage scream queen, being pursued by a breathing-masked ghost/entity with mucky feet that torments her after she has her legs broken in a car accident.

Her claustrophobic situation, being essentially bed-bound, leads to a number of uncomfortable scenes, with the very creepy 'man who can't breath', as well as a hand, foot and faceless woman at one point.

The pacing of this film seems a little faster, getting to the ghostly scenes much quicker, and perhaps a little impatient to get to the moneymaking shots, some of which felt a little tacked on as 'additional scares' without any context, but they are mostly fun so I can let them slide.

The film answers a few questions about Elise, and how she meets the two goons that follow her around during the other films, as well as showing her talking with the other psychic from Insidious 2, and they are constantly making references to the family from the earlier movies, but most of this is pretty incidental to the core of the actual film itself.

All in all its a solid if unspectacular sequel, with some great moments, some clunky exposition and throwbacks, and some questions answered that you never knew needed answering!
  
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Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Welcome to Marwen (2018) in Movies

Jun 22, 2019 (Updated Sep 25, 2019)  
Welcome to Marwen (2018)
Welcome to Marwen (2018)
2018 | Biography, Drama
I knew what I'd be seeing on the screen for this one but it was still intriguing to watch.

When we're seeing the dolls in action you can tell that every detail has been taken into account. The way they move their limbs, the articulation and their reactions are all spot on. If you listen during the fight scenes you can even hear the plastic on plastic thunking. The little touches in Marwen itself are wonderful too.

Transitions between the fictional town and the real town are done in a surprisingly smooth way. The shifts through the bar's frontage keep the action flowing in the busier points of the movie and are a nice change of pace from the camera and photographs.

You end up thinking about a lot of things. It took me longer than it probably should have done to work a few things out (no spoilers), but when I did it opened up a whole other train of thought and even a day later I'm still thinking about it.

Steve Carell does an amazing job of conveying the trauma that Mark is having to deal with, and the moments where his anxieties take him are so horribly real. The film overall punches you in the face with emotions. There's one particular moment with Kurt and his car that made me anxious myself and I actually wanted to scream at the screen, if I'd been at home I would have been screaming. Before you ask, of course I was crying! So much at one point I thought I was going to choke on the lump in my throat.

What you should do

I have no doubt this one will be under appreciated as it is a little unusual, but it is worth a watch at some point.

Movie thing you wish you could take home

I'd quite like to try those meatballs.
  
Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab, #1)
Midnight's Daughter (Dorina Basarab, #1)
Karen Chance | 2008 | Fiction & Poetry
I adore the Dorina Basarab series. To truly appreciate them I recommend reading alongside Karen's other major series the Cassie Palmer series.

Dorina is a 500 year old dhampir with some serious memory problems from most of her life, so while she has experience and fun stories to tell she is still very modern and youthful. An outcast to both vampire and human world's, and repeatedly mocked and attacked by them too, Dory shows how 500 years helps build a thick skin. But deep down we still get a sassy, strong woman than Chance is known for writing.

The reason I love Dory starts in Midnight's Daughter but grows in the series. And that is because Dory is relateable. She is strong. She knows she is strong. She is confident in her strength. She knows her limitations. But she is also afraid. This internal dialogue you read is so very real and lifelike.

She is also hilarious and Karen chance style of writing will have you laughing as well as scream for the safety of for favourite characters.

Midnight Daughter as a book is well writte . With attention to detail throughout the history and action scenes that you will be holding for more at the stench or getting rather flustered at some romantic encounters. There is a good balance and it is infused with emotion and sensation so you aren't just stuck with a dry sex scene, it is romance not boring bedrooms with flat description or over the top swooning.

The romance plays key files in the plot and not just the sake of it being a romance. Much like in the Caddie Palmer series.

The storyline is very much a scene setter for the rest of the books. While a lot happens it is breaking the mold set by Carrie Palmer.

All in all a fun battle in both bar brawls and bedrooms with deep undercurrents of isolation, stigma and abandonment covered. Read it. Read it now.
  
    Hotel Transylvania 2

    Hotel Transylvania 2

    Games, Entertainment and Stickers

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Build your own monster hotel with Drac and all your favorite monsters from HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 2!...

    Ultimate Button Box

    Ultimate Button Box

    Lifestyle and Entertainment

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    ***AWESOME LOUD SOUNDS AND SWEET LOOKING GRAPHICS!!! *** -> TOP 10 WORLDWIDE APP! -> # FEATURED ON...

Vrooom Vrooom by King Crimson
Vrooom Vrooom by King Crimson
2001 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"When I was about ten, I was given The Compact King Crimson on cassette tape and that’s what led me to “21st Century Schizoid Man.” This song is from In the Court of the Crimson King, which has the screaming face on the cover, and the face is inspired by the Arthur Janov book The Primal Scream. Primal Therapy: The Cure for Neurosis. “My Dad told me that at the time of the book and album there was a real fad for going out into nature and screaming guttural sounds. It became this zeitgeist self-help technique and I believe that’s what influenced the book, but essentially, it’s a guy having an existential meltdown and the song taps into that. “I think because I was young when I heard it, I didn’t appreciate this more complex meaning, and at the time I just appreciated the sheer aggression of the music. It was also the first time I’d ever heard those complicated time signatures and polyrhythms, as well as the combination of distorted guitar and saxophone. ""I hadn’t grown up on jazz, so I sort of thought it was for nerds, but when I heard this and heard the sax on the time signatures I was like ‘This is like jazz rock’. In the Court of the Crimson King is hailed by lots of people - like Shellac - as the first Math Rock or Post Rock record. They also invented heavy metal if you think about it, because they were doing riffs before Black Sabbath. “Our first album, Making Dens, is heavily indebted to King Crimson. We very much wore our influences on our sleeve in the beginning, and we had this approach of throwing everything including the kitchen sink at our songwriting. Whenever I listen to Making Dens, I hear the chaos of a band trying to sound like King Crimson. They’ve been a big influence for Mystery Jets."

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Power Corruption & Lies by New Order
Power Corruption & Lies by New Order
2009 | Rock
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I love Power, Corruption & Lies. I also love Movement and I play it all the time, as it was the first album after Joy Division. It still has a bit of that Joy Division darkness, almost with a sense of defeat about it, which is kind of how I felt when I was a teenager in the late fucking '70s. But I think Power, Corruption, the record after it, there's more light in it. It's more joyous, it's more lyrically lighter. And I think Bernard Sumner found his own voice, loosened up and just became Bernard when he came out of Ian Curtis's shadow. This album is a huge inspiration and I was fascinated at the time by the way that New Order would take electronics and the sequencer sound, which I loved from Donna Summer's 'I Feel Love', and they took it and applied it to rock & roll. They first did this with 'Temptation', which was released before 'Blue Monday'. I was previously in a band on Factory called The Wake and we'd opened for New Order. I'd had a tape recorder and I'd recorded some of their shows. They were playing 'Temptation' live, long before it was released as a single. I was obsessed by the way they took that tut-tut-tutut-tut-tut-tut sequence inspired by Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder's arpeggio sound. To this day, that's still a big influence on Primal Scream. I'm just saying thank you to Bernard, Hooky, Stephen and Gill because I remember buying that record when it came out with a beautiful Peter Saville sleeve. The reason there's no writing on the album cover of Screamedelica is in total homage to Saville and Factory Records. A lot of our albums have no writing on the cover either. I mean, 'Age Of Consent': What. The. Fuck. Is. That? Playing with New Order back in the early '80s was like a fucking dream at the height of their fucking power!"

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