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Rachel King (13 KP) rated Rugged and Relentless (Husbands for Hire, #1) in Books
Feb 11, 2019
This book had quite an intriguing premise -- four women decide to place an ad for husbands in order to revive a dead mining town and turn it into a sawmill town. Their good intentions did not account for the reality of the kind of men who would be showing up for such a curious promise, and the likelihood of their being able to maintain control of a town full of men. I also found it a bit ironic that the book is marketed as a Christian fiction book, though the four women have made themselves heads over the men and are anything but submissive -- even Cora, the one woman actually engaged. Still, the scenario presents some humorous situations as the women interact with the various men of many colorful backgrounds.
The major issue of control is a point of contention for the women throughout the book, as it is obvious that food and lodging won't be enough to corral the men into subservience, even food as delicious as Evie's. Jake is one of the men that steps in to act as bodyguard to the women and leader over the men, since he conveniently has a background in running a sawmill. Jake's presence in Hope Falls is an accident, though, as he had no previous interest in obtaining a wife and was more interested in pursuing revenge for the murder of his brother. He adopts the name Jacob Creed to hide his identity, and uses the husband ad as a cover for his true intentions, but his attraction to Evie is obvious to all but Evie herself.
Evie's self-esteem issues regularly get in the way of her being able to build a relationship with any of the men, especially the one man who gets under her skin, Jacob. She covers her low self-esteem with a bossy pride that annoyed me throughout the book, as her main obstacle seemed to be herself. But Jacob's approach to her low self-image will have any woman with "heft" cheering, especially when he almost force-fed her cookies.
This book was a fun and humorous read, with an original concept that I found refreshing.
The major issue of control is a point of contention for the women throughout the book, as it is obvious that food and lodging won't be enough to corral the men into subservience, even food as delicious as Evie's. Jake is one of the men that steps in to act as bodyguard to the women and leader over the men, since he conveniently has a background in running a sawmill. Jake's presence in Hope Falls is an accident, though, as he had no previous interest in obtaining a wife and was more interested in pursuing revenge for the murder of his brother. He adopts the name Jacob Creed to hide his identity, and uses the husband ad as a cover for his true intentions, but his attraction to Evie is obvious to all but Evie herself.
Evie's self-esteem issues regularly get in the way of her being able to build a relationship with any of the men, especially the one man who gets under her skin, Jacob. She covers her low self-esteem with a bossy pride that annoyed me throughout the book, as her main obstacle seemed to be herself. But Jacob's approach to her low self-image will have any woman with "heft" cheering, especially when he almost force-fed her cookies.
This book was a fun and humorous read, with an original concept that I found refreshing.
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Alita: Battle Angel (2019) in Movies
May 13, 2019
Fighting fit
#alitabattleangel may just be the most #intense & visually splendid mature cgi fest I've seen in a long long time. Having not seen #anime that inspired this #movie i had no idea what i was walking into with this one. Upon leaving it i not only felt extremely satisfied but also like i had experienced something #breathtaking & full to the brim with #passion. To start I can't stress enough just how god damn #beautiful this #film is, cgi is staggering as well as jaw dropping. From the intricate inner machinery wires, dust particles & realistic lighting to the tiny blemishes on skin Alita simply knocks it out the park. Its locations are vast, immersive, claustrophobic, lived in, #depressing & full to the brim with story telling/world building so much so that they could each tell a story themselves. #Animation is slick, fluid & #natural with #human & cgi interaction weighty & almost flawlessly done. Story wise its extremely empowering as we watch #Alita grow from & innocent child like #girl into a tuff driven #woman. Seeing Alita emit such wonderful human emotions such as #love, excitement & #happiness is not only #heartwarming but also #magical. Starting so warm & ending so bleak we see Alitas innocence almost ripped away from her as she is forced to #mature fast letting her primal instincts & bad human traits (such as jealousy/#anger) take control tarnishing her other wise loving/careing inner self. Its tense, adrenaline inducing stuff & this mixed with well constructed action & your token damn right nasty at times #robertrodriguez death scenes its not always the happiest of films either. #Deep themes are explored but theres alot of them too so only surfaces are scratched. My favourite being how #society/entertainment glorifies/condones violence & uses it as a tool to control us all. Negatives - if anything #Battleangel is far to short, i feel i needed another hour of content in there somewhere especially the final act which felt rushed. If we dont get a sequel or 3 i will be very disappointed as this is a fantastic world i simply must know more about it. A must see for sure. #edskrein is an absolute joy to watch too. #odeon #odeonlimitless #robot #thursdaythoughts
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Mandy (2018) in Movies
May 13, 2019
Oh Mandy
#Mandymovie is an intoxicating & nauseating experience that left my head spinning & my body warm/tingly sunk into my seat. From the second #mandy starts i was simply hooked, #nostalgia running through my body & its #perfect visuals glistening off my eye balls. I felt almost in a #trance with its soothing/#hypnotic #soundtrack & its cinematography bathed in colour Mandy is simply #gorgeous right to its core. Atmosphere begins #beautifully creating so much intrigue, a sence of wonder/#mystery & a massive sense of love/commitment however its not long until this flips to deeply #unerving, #unsettling & down right skin crawling fast. So many scenes are Dialog sparce but with so much depth in the visuals & sound its really not missed or needed at all. An example of this is Cages love for mandy is shown as complete devotion, #passion/commitment like he sees her almost as a godess/his reason to live (shown using glowing light and warm fire acompanied by soft slow dialog) yet other peoples love for her is the complete oposite more as an #obsession, an object or a #desire (shown using pulsing red light, slow zooms and freeze frames and frantic pitch changing broken dialog). Its a masterful way of telling us about the characters & story making us feel/experiance there #emotions rather than wait for dialog to develop them for us. Acting is also stellar with this being #nicolascage best role in a very long time. His character is a #haunted & troubled man & his #pain can be felt deeply whenever he is on screen. Infunces/homages are everywhere here from #darioargento to #fridaythe13th & other #80s #horror movies. Infact mandy could easily be mistaken for a film released decades ago its that well made & its also destined to become a #cultclassic its self. Mandy is an absolute rare gem, every scene its drenched in such style, care & mesmerising #beauty youll be pushed to find another film like it now days. Im being vauge here on purpouse because to watching this film in the dark, on a big screen, turned up loud trully is one of the best experiences ive had watching a film this year. Insanely good & the perfect #arthouse #horror movie. #odeon #odeonlimitless #filmbuff #filmcritic
Merissa (12710 KP) rated Puzzle Pieces (La Trattoria Di Amore #1) in Books
Jun 10, 2019
Puzzle Pieces (La Trattoria Di Amore #1) by J.P. Sayle
Puzzle Pieces is the first book in the La Trattoria Di Amore series, and also the first book by this author I have read. Needless to say, it won't be the last!
Although Seb has some serious stalker issues that he realises and knows he needs to fix, I somehow felt more sorry for him, than wary. Maybe it was how he looked after Richie, even as he fought his own feelings. I don't know. All I do know is he wormed his way under my skin and, although I still wanted to kick him at times, I could understand what he was doing, or where he was coming from.
Richie was an incredibly naive young man who went with the flow rather than fighting for what he wanted. The only thing/person he fought for was his mum. And wasn't I in tears at 36%?! Oh yeah, great big hiccuping sobs, f'ugly crying at its best! Thanks for that, Ms. Sayle!! My poor kids wondered what was wrong until I explained it was the book I was reading. Saying that, Richie is still a strong individual who won't allow himself to be walked over (most of the time). I loved the clashing between Seb and Richie, and liked how they worked things out.
All in all, this is an amazing book, with subtle hints at a crossover with the Manx Cat series by this author, which is now on my TBR pile. If I had to say anything negative, it would be the points of view that keep changing in the middle of paragraphs are a bit off-putting. Still, it wasn't a huge thing in the bigger picture. The plot was smooth with no holes, and the characters grew as the story progressed.
An excellent start to the series, and definitely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Although Seb has some serious stalker issues that he realises and knows he needs to fix, I somehow felt more sorry for him, than wary. Maybe it was how he looked after Richie, even as he fought his own feelings. I don't know. All I do know is he wormed his way under my skin and, although I still wanted to kick him at times, I could understand what he was doing, or where he was coming from.
Richie was an incredibly naive young man who went with the flow rather than fighting for what he wanted. The only thing/person he fought for was his mum. And wasn't I in tears at 36%?! Oh yeah, great big hiccuping sobs, f'ugly crying at its best! Thanks for that, Ms. Sayle!! My poor kids wondered what was wrong until I explained it was the book I was reading. Saying that, Richie is still a strong individual who won't allow himself to be walked over (most of the time). I loved the clashing between Seb and Richie, and liked how they worked things out.
All in all, this is an amazing book, with subtle hints at a crossover with the Manx Cat series by this author, which is now on my TBR pile. If I had to say anything negative, it would be the points of view that keep changing in the middle of paragraphs are a bit off-putting. Still, it wasn't a huge thing in the bigger picture. The plot was smooth with no holes, and the characters grew as the story progressed.
An excellent start to the series, and definitely recommended by me.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Debbiereadsbook (1416 KP) rated Stone The Crows (Wolf Winter #2) in Books
May 29, 2018
much better read than book one!
I was gifted my copy of this book.
This is book two in the Wolf Winter series, and you probably should read book one, Dog Days, before you read this one. I didn't much care for that book, though.
This one, however, is a whole different matter!
I said in my review for Dog Days that I was left with so many questions about the Wolves, and the Prophets and what was going on. I'm STILL left with questions about what's going on, but I'm feeling better about being left waiting, you know? Does that make sense?? I still have questions, but I'm not left hanging, right? Sorta, kinda!
Nothing is settled here. The Prophets are still doing despicable things to the people and indeed to Jack and Gregor. They took Gregor's Wolf and Jack's skin. The Prophets are still trying to get the upper hand on the Gods, but it's HOW they are doing it: preying on ordinary folk, in extraordinary situations, that gives this book the horror tag I've given it.
Nick is human, but Gregor takes a shine to Nick after he saves him. I wasn't sure about Gregor, not in the beginning. we heard such horrible things about him from jack in Dog Days, and I did NOT want to like him, but he grows on you! He has that "Mine" moment you get with werewolves, and I loved that, even though he refused to admit what was going on, even to himself, it was NICK he wanted to save first, not his brother Jack.
Who the Prophet turned out to be was a bit of a shocker, and what she did to Nick was no picnic, and she's STILL out there. So there is more to come. Or at least I HOPE there is! Because you know, I still have questions!
I found this a much better read than Dog Days, and I read it in two sittings, cos that darn dayjob got in the way.
Thank you to Ms Moore for my copy.
4 solid stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
This is book two in the Wolf Winter series, and you probably should read book one, Dog Days, before you read this one. I didn't much care for that book, though.
This one, however, is a whole different matter!
I said in my review for Dog Days that I was left with so many questions about the Wolves, and the Prophets and what was going on. I'm STILL left with questions about what's going on, but I'm feeling better about being left waiting, you know? Does that make sense?? I still have questions, but I'm not left hanging, right? Sorta, kinda!
Nothing is settled here. The Prophets are still doing despicable things to the people and indeed to Jack and Gregor. They took Gregor's Wolf and Jack's skin. The Prophets are still trying to get the upper hand on the Gods, but it's HOW they are doing it: preying on ordinary folk, in extraordinary situations, that gives this book the horror tag I've given it.
Nick is human, but Gregor takes a shine to Nick after he saves him. I wasn't sure about Gregor, not in the beginning. we heard such horrible things about him from jack in Dog Days, and I did NOT want to like him, but he grows on you! He has that "Mine" moment you get with werewolves, and I loved that, even though he refused to admit what was going on, even to himself, it was NICK he wanted to save first, not his brother Jack.
Who the Prophet turned out to be was a bit of a shocker, and what she did to Nick was no picnic, and she's STILL out there. So there is more to come. Or at least I HOPE there is! Because you know, I still have questions!
I found this a much better read than Dog Days, and I read it in two sittings, cos that darn dayjob got in the way.
Thank you to Ms Moore for my copy.
4 solid stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
Jordan Binkerd (567 KP) rated The Scorpion King 3: Battle For Redemption (2012) in Movies
Oct 27, 2019
Victor Webster sells the fights (5 more)
Ron Perlman is never a bad thing.
Neither is Temura Morrison.
Billy Zane is comically evil
Krystal Vee and Selina Lo pull off their reason for being here - hot chicks kicking ass.
Nice scenery and sets
Victor Webster fails to sell being The Rock, even aside from skin ton (2 more)
The story and lore are all over the place, not helped by the setting
The Warriors of the book announcing themselves just felt silly and contrived
Muddies the franchise and lore
The longer this goes the more damage this franchise does to itself. Let's review what we've seen so far:
-The Mummy Returns: At the end of his life, the Scorpion King leads an army to take over and subjugate the world, aided by Anubis, which proves that the Egyptian gods are, you know, gods.
-The Scorpion King: Mathayus is ostensibly the last living Akkadian, and leads a revolt against an evil king who....wants to take over and subjugate the world. Some tragic irony there, knowing where he ends up.
-The Scorpion King II: Rise of a Warrior: There's a whole kingdom of Akkadians, and Mathayus leads a revolt against the general who killed both his father and the rightful King, usurping the throne. Given that just a decade or two later the entire race has been wiped out, maybe putting the rightful heir back on the throne didn't end well?
Which brings us to this movie, featuring numerous human characters with the names of the Egyptian pantheon (maybe named in homage to their gods, but it feels like the idea is that these men will be mistaken for God's by myth and legend) and doubles down on the "conquest is evil" theme. Mathayus has lost his queen and kingdom from the first film to plague, reduced to being a mercenary again. The action primarily happens in Egypt and.... Cambodia? Vietnam? Thailand? Somewhere around there, with little explanation of how the characters go that distance. This just makes the whole thing more inconsistent and convoluted. I shudder to think about the damage the next one will do....
-The Mummy Returns: At the end of his life, the Scorpion King leads an army to take over and subjugate the world, aided by Anubis, which proves that the Egyptian gods are, you know, gods.
-The Scorpion King: Mathayus is ostensibly the last living Akkadian, and leads a revolt against an evil king who....wants to take over and subjugate the world. Some tragic irony there, knowing where he ends up.
-The Scorpion King II: Rise of a Warrior: There's a whole kingdom of Akkadians, and Mathayus leads a revolt against the general who killed both his father and the rightful King, usurping the throne. Given that just a decade or two later the entire race has been wiped out, maybe putting the rightful heir back on the throne didn't end well?
Which brings us to this movie, featuring numerous human characters with the names of the Egyptian pantheon (maybe named in homage to their gods, but it feels like the idea is that these men will be mistaken for God's by myth and legend) and doubles down on the "conquest is evil" theme. Mathayus has lost his queen and kingdom from the first film to plague, reduced to being a mercenary again. The action primarily happens in Egypt and.... Cambodia? Vietnam? Thailand? Somewhere around there, with little explanation of how the characters go that distance. This just makes the whole thing more inconsistent and convoluted. I shudder to think about the damage the next one will do....
Elli H Burton (1288 KP) rated The Silence of the Lambs (1991) in Movies
Nov 7, 2019
The acting is 100% (2 more)
The story is fantastic
The way it is shot is genuinely awesome.
Have the lambs stopped screaming?
Okay so this is one of my favourite films because it just ticks every box.
Acting - Anthony Hopkins won an oscar for best actor because of this film. He is excellent, he is so creepy, elegant, scary, inviting, chilling, intriguing and he just oozes the sophistication, intelligence and depth of the character. He delivers his performance in this with a real passion. He is also so limited with what he can do physically (usually locked up) but he owns the set when the cameras are rolling.
Jodie Foster - I haven't seen her in anything else which I am actually embarrassed about because I loved her in this. No surprise, she won an oscar for best actress in this film. I genuinely feel like (towards the end mainly, as she has said in an interview that Anthony Hopkins did actually frighten her) she was terrified for her life. She could have been in the situation irl and i wouldn't be shocked. The character could have been played so many ways but Jodie played it perfectly. A clever, naive, strong, determined woman.
All other supporting actors were fantastic, such as Ted Levine as Buffalo Bill (my goodness he is so creepy he makes your skin crawl) and Scott Glenn as Jack Crawford (definitely feel the underlying tones of an unsavory character).
It is shot in such a way you dont see often, the talking to the camera shots, showing you things in Bills house like the pictures are all such subtle things but make it even more chilling. They also don't shy away with language(a word is said in this film atleast twice and it's so rare to hear on film) which sometimes, as not very nice this word is, the situation calls for it in this unnerving thriller, gross words and scenes need to be real to feel uneasy which you do in this.
Hats off to the wonderful Thomas Harris for writing such a gripping, interesting story that we were fortunate enough to see made to this magnificent film.
Acting - Anthony Hopkins won an oscar for best actor because of this film. He is excellent, he is so creepy, elegant, scary, inviting, chilling, intriguing and he just oozes the sophistication, intelligence and depth of the character. He delivers his performance in this with a real passion. He is also so limited with what he can do physically (usually locked up) but he owns the set when the cameras are rolling.
Jodie Foster - I haven't seen her in anything else which I am actually embarrassed about because I loved her in this. No surprise, she won an oscar for best actress in this film. I genuinely feel like (towards the end mainly, as she has said in an interview that Anthony Hopkins did actually frighten her) she was terrified for her life. She could have been in the situation irl and i wouldn't be shocked. The character could have been played so many ways but Jodie played it perfectly. A clever, naive, strong, determined woman.
All other supporting actors were fantastic, such as Ted Levine as Buffalo Bill (my goodness he is so creepy he makes your skin crawl) and Scott Glenn as Jack Crawford (definitely feel the underlying tones of an unsavory character).
It is shot in such a way you dont see often, the talking to the camera shots, showing you things in Bills house like the pictures are all such subtle things but make it even more chilling. They also don't shy away with language(a word is said in this film atleast twice and it's so rare to hear on film) which sometimes, as not very nice this word is, the situation calls for it in this unnerving thriller, gross words and scenes need to be real to feel uneasy which you do in this.
Hats off to the wonderful Thomas Harris for writing such a gripping, interesting story that we were fortunate enough to see made to this magnificent film.
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Horrible Bosses 2 (2014) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
Kurt, Nick and Dale are back, and with them comes all the rest in Horrible Bosses 2. This time around, we see our would-be criminals (Jason Sudekis, Jason Bateman and Charlie Dale, respectively) as their own bosses.
Horrible Bosses 2 opens on the trio as a guest on a cheesy day-time talk show. They are there to show off their new invention, the Shower Buddy. This spot gets them some notice from the head of a big time, SkyMall-esque, corporation who wants to place a large order. But when the deal goes south, our boys have to figure out a way to save their own skin, and get back at the corporation.
The greatest thing about this sequel? It was not just a rehashing of the first movie. Yes, there are a lot of the elements there, but the plot was different enough that it could have been a movie of its own and not a prequel. Of course, there were some great call backs to the first movie during the film and the closing credits. But there were new things introduced, and not just the same old re-hashing.
Sudekis, Bateman and Day have such a great chemistry together, too. They played very well off each other, and had near perfect timing through the whole movie. Add to this the returning cast from the first film (Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, and Jamie Foxx), and introduce Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz to the mix, and it only increases the fun. Our newcomers blew me away too, because I am not used to seeing them in roles such as this.
There is not a lot bad that I can say about this movie. Great performances by main and supporting cast, a well-rounded plot, with the exception of one part of the wrap-up in the end (I won’t spoil it for you), and a very complimentary soundtrack makes this one of the best comedies I have seen in a while. Thumbs up to these guys! I’m hoping they might be able to find the same magic for a third film!
4.5 Stars out of 5
Horrible Bosses 2 opens on the trio as a guest on a cheesy day-time talk show. They are there to show off their new invention, the Shower Buddy. This spot gets them some notice from the head of a big time, SkyMall-esque, corporation who wants to place a large order. But when the deal goes south, our boys have to figure out a way to save their own skin, and get back at the corporation.
The greatest thing about this sequel? It was not just a rehashing of the first movie. Yes, there are a lot of the elements there, but the plot was different enough that it could have been a movie of its own and not a prequel. Of course, there were some great call backs to the first movie during the film and the closing credits. But there were new things introduced, and not just the same old re-hashing.
Sudekis, Bateman and Day have such a great chemistry together, too. They played very well off each other, and had near perfect timing through the whole movie. Add to this the returning cast from the first film (Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey, and Jamie Foxx), and introduce Chris Pine and Christoph Waltz to the mix, and it only increases the fun. Our newcomers blew me away too, because I am not used to seeing them in roles such as this.
There is not a lot bad that I can say about this movie. Great performances by main and supporting cast, a well-rounded plot, with the exception of one part of the wrap-up in the end (I won’t spoil it for you), and a very complimentary soundtrack makes this one of the best comedies I have seen in a while. Thumbs up to these guys! I’m hoping they might be able to find the same magic for a third film!
4.5 Stars out of 5
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